Is there any truth to the idea that we have guardian angels who watch over and protect us?
Larry E. Dahl, associate professor of Church history and doctrine, Brigham Young University.
The topical guide and Bible dictionary in the LDS edition of the Bible both contain numerous references to “Angels,” and the topical guide also lists references to “Ministering Angels.” However, the term “guardian angel” is not used in the scriptures. The closest the scriptures come to the concept is in expressions such as “I have given the heavenly hosts and mine angels charge concerning you” (D&C 84:42; see also D&C 109:22), and “Mine angels shall go up before you” (D&C 103:20).
The scriptures are clear about the role of “ministering angels,” as Mormon testified:
“It is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief.” (Moro. 7:37.)
Just what do angels do when they “appear and minister unto men?” The scriptures show that they:
—announce and testify of events pertaining to God’s work and glory (see Matt. 1:20–21; 28:1–6; Luke 1:11–20; 2:8–14; Rev. 14:6ff; D&C 88:92–110);
—preach the gospel and minister “unto the children of men, to make manifest concerning the coming of Christ” (Moro. 7:22; see also Moses 5:58);
—declare “the word of Christ unto chosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him” (Moro. 7:31; see also Mosiah 3:1–27);
—bring to earth “their rights, their keys, their honors, their majesty and glory, and the power of their priesthood” (D&C 128:21; see also 27:12; 110:11–16; JS—H 1:68–70);
—protect and guide the servants of God in times of trouble so that they may accomplish his purposes (see Acts 5:18–20; Dan. 3:28; 1 Ne. 3:29; Hel. 5);
—bring comfort, instruction, and warnings to faithful individuals in times of need (see Gen. 16:7; Ex. 23:20–23; Matt. 2:13, 19–20; 1 Ne. 11:14–15:30; Alma 8:14–18).
Who are these angels? The Lord has revealed that “there are no angels who minister to this earth but those who do belong or have belonged to it.” (D&C 130:5.) Such personages may be spirits—who have not yet been born into mortality or have lived on the earth but who have not yet been resurrected—or beings with tangible bodies who have been either resurrected or translated. (D&C 129:1–9 gives one of the meanings of the term angels as “resurrected personages” and distinguishes between them and “spirits,” acknowledging that either may appear. Many additional scriptures illustrate that the term angels may refer both to spirits and to resurrected or translated beings.)
President Joseph F. Smith gave us some insight about angels who minister to those on the earth:
“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. The ancient prophets who died were those who came to visit their fellow creatures upon the earth. They came to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; it was such beings—holy beings if you please—who waited upon the Savior and administered to him on the Mount. The angel that visited John, when an exile, and unfolded to his vision future events in the history of man upon the earth, was one who had been here, who had toiled and suffered in common with the people of God. … 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 from the divine Presence messages of love, of warning, or reproof and instruction, to those whom they had learned to love in the flesh.” (Gospel Doctrine, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1970, pp. 435–36.)
It makes sense that our previous prophets and apostles who have lived on this Earth, are currently ministering to us today. Think about that. Adam, Noah, Enoch, Abraham, Israel, Moses, Joseph, Lehi, Nephi, Alma, Moroni, Mormon, and hundreds of others, are all actively involved in the lives of each of us currently on earth. We have their help and support.
We hear about the return of the Lost 10 Tribes and they will bring their records with them. I feel those tribes have already begun coming back. Think about the Pilgrims and Puritans who returned to this land. I believe they count as part of this return. How about the many converts to the Church today? We are baptising thousands from the lost tribes.
Think of whom are some of the most important angels who are helping us today. I name three essential ones. Moroni, George Washington, and Joseph Smith. As it says in D&C 27:5 “Behold, this is wisdom in me; wherefore, marvel not, for the hour cometh that I will drink of the fruit of the vine with you on the earth, and with Moroni, whom I have sent unto you to reveal the Book of Mormon, containing the fulness of my everlasting gospel, to whom I have committed the keys of the record of the stick of Ephraim.” This Book of Mormon we are so blessed with, is being spread across the world under the stewardship of Moroni. He is the critical angel for us today.
“We look upon George Washington, the father of our country, as an inspired instrument of the Almighty; we can see the all-inspiring Spirit operating upon him. And upon his co-workers in resisting oppression, and in establishing the thirteen colonies as a confederacy; and then again the workings of the same Spirit upon those men who established the constitution of the United States.” (Lorenzo Snow Journal of Discourses 14:304)
Think of the calling of our Prophet Joseph Smith. The Lord said, “For behold, I will be with him, and I will sanctify him before the people; for unto him have I given the keys of this kingdom and ministry. Even so. Amen.”
“The Prophet Joseph Smith was called of God to restore these great blessings to earth and to stand at the head of the dispensation of the fulness of times. During the Prophet’s ministry, all things were restored that were necessary to lay the foundation of the greatest dispensation of all time. The priesthood, with its essential keys, was restored; the Book of Mormon was translated; the Church was organized; and doctrines, ordinances, and covenants were revealed, including the ordinances and covenants of the endowment and the marriage sealing. The Lord declared that He had committed unto Joseph Smith “the keys of my kingdom, and a dispensation of the gospel for the last times; and for the fulness of times, in the which I will gather together in one all things, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth” (D&C 27:13).” The Restoration of All Things: The Dispensation of the Fulness of Times
“Chapter 44: The Restoration of All Things: The Dispensation of the Fulness of Times,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2011), 507–16
Moroni Guardian Angel of America
“…By whose power victory so often perched on our banner? It was by the agency of that same angel of God that appeared unto Joseph Smith, and revealed to him the history of the early inhabitants of this country, whose mounds, bones, and remains of towns, cities, and fortifications speak from the dust in the ears of the living with the voice of undeniable truth. This same angel presides over the destinies of America, and feels a lively interest in all our doings. He was in the camp of Washington; and, by an invisible hand, led on our fathers to conquest and victory; and all this to open and prepare the way for the Church and kingdom of God to be established on the western hemisphere, for the redemption of Israel and the salvation of the world. This same angel was with Columbus, and gave him deep impressions, by dreams and by visions, respecting this New World…Under the guardianship of this same angel, or Prince of America, have the United States grown, increased, and flourished, like the sturdy oak by the rivers of water… When Justice is satisfied, and the blood of martyrs atoned for, the guardian angel of America will return to his station, resume his charge, and restore the Constitution of our country…One positive decree of Jehovah, respecting this land, is, that no king shall ever be raised up here, and that whosoever seeketh to raise up a king upon this land shall perish…” Moroni Guardian Angel of America Orson Hyde Journal of Discourses 6:65.
George Washington’s Title of Liberty
Just think about it. We have the honorable and wonderful man named George Washington as one of the great angels who is serving us today.
“We have taken up Arms in Defence of our Liberty, our Property, our Wives, and our Children, we are determined to preserve them, or die.” George Washington’s Address to the Inhabitants of Canada (14 September 1775) See Annotated Book of Mormon page 297 Purchase Here
May 1973 Ensign-Comments Prayer at Valley Forge-The painting and article “The Prayer at Valley Forge” [February insert] were very interesting and appropriate. There is another story, by B. H. Roberts, about George Washington and the Bible that really deserves retelling. It is found in the Contributor, vol. 10, p. 275 (Below)
A PROPHETIC INCIDENT
“In the April number of the Century is a well-written and profusely illustrated article on the Inauguration of Washington, by Clarence Winthrop Bowen. Among the illustrations is a facsimile of the page of the Bible on which Washington laid his hand while taking the oath of office, and it is to this that I wish specially to call attention.
It was Chancellor Robert R. Livingston, one of the committees of five appointed to draft the Declaration of Independence, who administered the oath of office to Washington. “Just before the oath was to be administered,” says Mr. Bowen, “it was discovered that no Bible was in Federal Hall. Luckily Livingston, a Grand Master of Free Masons knew that there was one at St. John’s Lodge in the City Assembly Rooms near by, and a messenger was dispatched to borrow the Bible, which is to-day the the third oldest lodge in the United States.”
In further describing the solemn ceremonies of that occasion the Century article says: “Secretary Otis of the Senate held before him [Washington] a red velvet cushion, upon which rested the open Bible of St. John’s Lodge. ‘You do solemnly swear,’ said Livingston, ‘that you will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and will, to the best of your ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.’ ‘I do solemnly swear,’ said Washington, ‘that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” He then bowed his head and kissed the sacred book, and with the deepest feelings uttered the words, ‘So help me God!’ ”
The page of the Bible which Washington kissed, and on which his hand rested while taking the oath, is indicated in the Bible of St. John’s Lodge by the leaf being turned down. A copper-plate engraving is on the opposite page illustrating the blessings of Zebulun and Issachar as pronounced upon them by the patriarch Jacob in Genesis xlix, thirteenth and fourteenth verses respectively. The page on which Washington’s hand rested contains part of chapter forty-nine of Genesis, beginning with the thirteenth verse; and also part of the fiftieth chapter down to verse eight inclusive. The particular thing which struck me as being a remarkable circumstance is that the page indicated contains the blessing of Jacob upon the head of his favorite son Joseph, which reads as follows:
“22. Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a wall, whose branches run over the wall.
“23. The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him.
“24. But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong, by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; from thence is the shepherd the stone of Israel.
“25. Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee, and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
“26. The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors, unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills; they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.”
To the Latter-day Saints the blessing of Joseph [son of Jacob] has a particular significance, for the reason that they, more than any other people, are familiar with his descendants, and the blessing promised them in which also they hope to participate. The Book of Mormon is a history, chiefly, of the descendants of Joseph; and in the mighty nations which have peopled the American continent, the Latter-day Saints see, in part, the fulfillment of the great blessings pronounced upon his head.
The brass plates which were taken by the colony of Lehi from Jerusalem, and which they brought with them to America, contained a genealogy and from that Lehi learned he was a descendant of Joseph. Nephi describes the matter thus:
“And it came to pass that my father, Lehi, also found upon the plates of brass, a genealogy of his fathers; wherefore he knew he was a descendant of Joseph; yea even that Joseph who was the son of Jacob, who was sold into Egypt, and who was preserved by the hand of the Lord, that he might preserve his father Jacob, and all his household from perishing with famine.” — I Nephi v, 14.
In the early wanderings of the above-named colony, before it had left the wilderness of Arabia for America, the Lord in speaking with Nephi said to him: “Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart. And in as much as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you, yea a land, which is choice above all other lands.” — I Nephi ii, 19, 20.
Ever after this time the land to which this colony was being led, and upon which it finally located, was spoken of among them as the land of promise. When the Messiah appeared among the descendants of this colony in America, which he did after his resurrection and shortly after he left his disciples in Jerusalem, he referred to these people being descendants of Joseph and also to this land of promise which they had received. He chose twelve apostles on the continent of America as he had chosen a like number in Judea to be special witnesses for him, and in a conversation, he had with them he said:
“Ye are my disciples; and ye are a light unto this people, who are a remnant of the house of Joseph, and behold, this is the land [America] of your inheritance; and the father hath given it unto you. And not at any time hath the father given me commandment that I should tell it unto your brethren at Jerusalem. *
This much did the father command me, that I should tell unto them: That other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one
shepherd. And verily, I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said other sheep I have who are not of this fold, etc.” — III Nephi xv, 11 — 22.
Nothing can be clearer than that the family of Lehi and his posterity, which grew into a mighty people, a great nation upon the continent of America, were descendants of Joseph, the son of Jacob. And now let us consider this fact in connection with the blessing pronounced upon the head of Joseph by his father Jacob; but before doing so I wish to call attention to the blessings which Moses also pronounced upon the descendants of Joseph just previous to his death; it is recorded in Deuteronomy chapter xxxiii.
“And of Joseph he said; Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that croucheth beneath, and for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon, and for the chief things of the ancient mountains and for the precious things of the everlasting hills, and for the precious things of the earth and the fulness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush, let the blessing come upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.”
It will be observed both in this blessing pronounced upon Joseph by Moses and in the one given him of Jacob, that special stress is laid upon the excellent character of the land to be inhabited by Joseph. Jacob said his own blessings had prevailed (i.e. were more extended, more excellent) above the blessings of his progenitors, unto the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills— his inheritance was to be more extended than that given to his progenitors, and all those blessings he gave unto Joseph, and his land was to be blessed with the blessings of heaven and earth; with blessings of the breast and of the womb. While Moses tells us that his land shall be blessed with the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, with the precious things of the ever- lasting hills, with the precious things of the earth and the fulness thereof. All this leads us to believe that the land to be inhabited by the descendants of Joseph is to be a rich, fruitful and there- fore a choice land; more excellent than that given to his brethren. Now look, I pray you, upon the continent of America, north and south. Consider its varied climate, embracing as it does the torrid zone near the center of it, and then extending to the frigid zones north and south. Think of its vast wealth and variety of fruits and flowers, grains and vegetables; the bread fruits, figs, limes, oranges, bananas, pine apples, dates, rice, maize and other fruits and vegetables of the tropics too numerous to enumerate; and with them remember the hardier fruits and grains and vegetation of the colder climates. Call to mind the mighty forests, inhabited by an infinite variety of birds and beasts. Remember its extensive plains, the Llanos of the South and the great rolling prairies and plains of the North, capable of sustaining innumerable herds of sheep and cattle and horses. Forget not the precious things of the chief mountains, the wealth of the everlasting hills — the gold, the silver, the lead, the copper, the iron, the inexhaustible coal fields, the underground petroleum lakes, the precious stones. Think of the great rivers that afford easy entrance into the interior of this mighty continent — the great high-ways of commerce; view from the mountain tops the splendid harbors which abound along the shores; remember the fruitful seas surrounding this blessed continent, and, as all these things are called to mind, tell me, is not the land of Joseph blessed with the precious things of the earth and the fulness thereof? With the precious fruits brought forth by the sun and the precious things of the everlasting hills, and with the precious things of the deep?
But not only were the descendants of Joseph to be blessed with a goodly land, and an abundance of the good and precious things of the earth, but they were to be blessed also with the “precious things
of heaven;” according to Moses, and according to Jacob Joseph was to be helped by the God of his father, who would bless him with the “blessings of heaven above.” What may more appropriately be regarded as “blessings of heaven above,” the “precious things of heaven” than the revelations of God, the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ? Surely nothing! And according to the Book of Mormon the descendants of Joseph on the continent of America had both. They carried with them from Jerusalem the writings of Moses and the prophets whom the Lord raised up to Israel up to the time of their departure for America. Furthermore, the Lord sent prophets among them to teach them the way of truth, to admonish them of -their sins, to warn them of approaching calamity when their iniquity required the chastening hand of Almighty God to correct it, that peradventure some would repent. Then after his resurrection the Son of God came among them, taught them the fulness of the Gospel and organized his Church in their midst — truly then the descendants of Joseph were blessed with the “precious things of heaven,” and they preserved the words of their prophets and teachings of the Messiah in their records; and these things, in part, have come to us in the Book of Mormon.
Again, the family of Lehi was but a part and a very small part of the descendants of Joseph; the greater number of his descendants remained in Judea until, in connection with the ten tribes, and forming a part of that body of people, they were led away. But when Lehi and his colony left Jerusalem and planted themselves in America, the figure used by Jacob in blessing Joseph, was completed — Joseph was indeed “a fruitful bough by a well whose branches ran over the wall.” And though the great nations which sprang into existence on the American continent, consisting in the main of his posterity, have been destroyed, and broken up, until nothing is left of them but a few wandering tribes and the ruins of their once grand civilization — still many millions of them have been very faithful to the Lord and his truth in the days of their probation, and have doubtless died with a lively hope of a glorious resurrection.
Thus, in very many particulars the blessing of Joseph has been realized by his posterity upon the land given to them of the Lord — the continent of America — both north and south. And if any one should doubt the truth of what is here stated; if he should regard the Book of Mormon as being untrue and insist that the aborigines of America are not the descendants of Joseph, then we may ask when, where, and in what way have the blessings pronounced upon the head of Joseph been fulfilled.
But what seems singular in connection with these promises made to Joseph and the account of their partial fulfilment in a portion of his posterity inhabiting America is, that after the nations, composed largely of his descendants, had been destroyed and other peoples from Europe — among whom, however, were also large numbers of the descendants of Joseph through the loins of Ephraim* — had taken possession of the land, at the real establishment of that government which is destined to shape the destiny of the great continent of America — the land of Joseph — the very first executive chosen for that nation when being sworn to preserve, protect and defend the constitution of this land which God had inspired men to frame, he placed his hand upon the very page of the bible containing the blessing pronounced upon the head of Joseph by the patriarch Jacob, and kissed it in token that he swore by God’s holy word that he would preserve inviolate the constitution which God prepared for this land.
Will men call this merely coincidence? Strange coincidence indeed it is, if that be all that it is. Observe that the forty-ninth chapter of Genesis is near the very first leaves of the Bible, and in laying the book open upon a velvet cushion for the use of one to be sworn, it would naturally be parted near the middle of the volume and not parted at the first few leaves.
Let others believe all this to be coincidence if they choose, but for my own part there is too much that is significant to assign it to that class of phenomena so conveniently disposed of by calling them coincidents. And I believe that the men who opened the old masonic bible at the page containing the blessing of Joseph were unwittingly prompted by the powers of heaven, and it heralded an era big with promise for the descendants of Joseph,’ — the establishment of a grand government under which they would eventually attain to the full enjoyment of all that was pronounced upon their great progenitor by the inspired patriarchs Job and Moses.” B. H. Roberts.
* “The very great majority of the patriarchal blessings given to the Latter-day Saints so far, proclaims them to be the descendants of Joseph through his son Ephraim“—B. H. Roberts. May Ensign 1973 Comments
George Washington’s 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation
“Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to “recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”
Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.
And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.
Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.”
G. Washington (his actual signature)
NOTE:
Shortly after the Thanksgiving Proclamation was written, it was lost for 130 years. The original document was written in long hand by William Jackson, secretary to the President, and was then signed by George Washington. It was probably misplaced or mixed in with some private papers when the US capitol moved from New York to Washington, D.C. The original manuscript was not placed in the National Archives until 1921 when Dr. J. C. Fitzpatrick, assistant chief of the manuscript’s division of the Library of Congress found the proclamation at an auction sale being held at an art gallery in New York. Dr Fitzpatrick purchased the document for $300.00 for the Library of Congress, in which it now resides. It was the first official presidential proclamation issued in the United States.
But, behold, verily, verily, I say unto thee, no one shall be appointed to receive commandments and revelations in this church excepting my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., for he receiveth them even as Moses. D&C 28:2
“Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it. In the short space of twenty years, he has brought forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and power of God, and has been the means of publishing it on two continents; has sent the fulness of the everlasting gospel, which it contained, to the four quarters of the earth; has brought forth the revelations and commandments which compose this book of Doctrine and Covenants, and many other wise documents and instructions for the benefit of the children of men; gathered many thousands of the Latter-day Saints, founded a great city, and left a fame and name that cannot be slain. He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people; and like most of the Lord’s anointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood; and so has his brother Hyrum. In life they were not divided, and in death they were not separated!” D&C 135:3
