Welcome.

Our ward is great. As in really, really, really great. I can’t quite put my finger on it. Maybe it’s mountain grit combined with loving hearts, but whatever “it” is, the members of our ward have a nice grip on the magic, and week after week, I am so blessed by my associations with some of earthside’s finest.

Sunday last was no exception.

The woman who facilitated the lesson in Relief Society is a sister of great faith. Her words, stories, and phrases were so inspired and inspiring. The added comments were likewise soul filling. There were a couple times when sweet silence filled the room. The teacher was not in a hurry to dismiss it or talk through it; rather, she let it come and, soft as morning settling dew, doctrinal truths gently caressed our hearts, strengthening faith and building testimony. It was so beautiful, and I was so much edified.

After church, I texted this sister.

“I do not have words to thank you for the lesson you facilitated today. Everything you shared was so Spirit backed…”

“It’s not me,” she responded, “but thank you…”

I replied,

“…I know it’s not you. That’s what I mean, that’s what I love. That’s what I appreciate.”

Something more that I especially appreciated was one of her stories (as follows); it made me think of angel help in a bit of a different way, and I loved the additional insight.

This mother of several children homeschools her children. One day the home internet stopped working, and she was in need of that resource. In the past when she’s had internet trouble (it comes with mountain living!), her tech savvy husband has been able to both diagnose and fix the issue. He was, however, out of town during this particular incident and unable to help her. With faith in Christ pulsing through every vein and artery in her body, she prayed, “Father, I really need the internet. Please will you send an angel to help us?”

No sooner had the question rolled from her lips did she receive one in return: “Which angel would you like?”

Grateful for the inquiry, she made her specialized request (her father-in-law who was also quite computer savvy), and a couple minutes later, the family’s internet was up and working.

She doesn’t regard it as coincidental. Neither do I.

And so what of requested angels? Is this something of a privilege? Something in which we can partake, for which we can ask?

Of angels ministering here on earth, Elder Holland has said,

“…it is rich doctrine and rich history indeed.

Usually such beings are not seen.

Sometimes they are.

But seen or unseen they are always near.

Sometimes their assignments are very grand

and have significance for the whole world.

Sometimes the messages are more private.

Occasionally the angelic purpose is to warn.

But most often it is to comfort,

to provide some form of merciful attention,

guidance in difficult times…”

(“The Ministry of Angels,” Holland, J., October 2008)

How gently kind of Father. And how willing and submissive and honorable of angels.

And I love these words by Elder Joseph F. Smith:

“When messengers are sent to minister

to the inhabitants

of this earth, they are not strangers,

but from the ranks of our kindred,

friends, and fellow-beings

and fellow-servants…

In like manner our fathers and mothers,

brothers, sisters, and friends who

have passed away from this

earth, having been faithful, and worthy to enjoy

these rights and privileges, may have a

mission given them to visit their relatives and friends upon

the earth again, bringing them divine Presence

messages of love, of warning, of reproof and instruction,

to those whom they had learned to love in the flesh.”

(Gospel Doctrine, Salt Lake City: Desert Book Co., 1970, pp. 435-36)

My own family history has a sweet angel to infant story. It’s my mom’s story, and I don’t think she would mind if I shared it here. My mom, Carol, was born prematurely and so was in need of intentional and careful watch care when she came home. Because premature bodies can have a bit of a challenge time regulating temperature, my retiring to bed grandmother asked my not yet tired grandfather to please see to it that Carol was checked and well covered prior to coming to bed. He agreed to the task but forgot. As he came to bed, my grandmother stirred and asked him, “Robert, did you cover Carol?” He admitted that he had forgotten to which my grandmother replied that she had seen a person in white at my mom’s crib side covering her.

Both my grandparents felt it was Winnie, grandpa’s mother who died in her early 30’s.

A message of love from the “divine Presence” for my grandparents and my mom – given in a moment of mortal shortsightedness.

How absolutely kind.

And so should we ask for angels? Even certain ones? Yes, yes, yes!

Unto all the world: “Which angel would you like?” Those are tender words from an equally tender source.