Men and Women Blessed by the Priesthood
The Prophet Joseph Smith once said, “Wicked spirits have their bounds, limits and laws, by which they are governed … and, it is very evident that they possess a power that none but those who have the priesthood can control” (History of the Church, 4:576).
Question and Note:
I believe a righteous woman through the Priesthood of their marriage, or endowment, or baptism, as a member of the true Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has the same ability as male priesthood holders to bruise the head of Satan just as any other worthy male with the priesthood has that power. I do feel it is best for a woman to receive a Priesthood blessing first if that is possible. I’m only surmising here. If any of you have any further information about this from one of the Brethren I would appreciate you sharing it with me.
I love what is said in the Pearl of Great Price, Moses 4:21, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, between thy seed and her seed; and he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
Do the words above of, “between thy seed” mean that Satan has seed as in spirit children, or does it more likely mean his seed is the other one-third that were fallen angels with him? (Let me know if you have heard please)
Enmity (which derives from an Anglo-French word meaning “enemy”) suggests true hatred, either overt or concealed. Hostility implies strong, open enmity that shows itself in attacks or aggression. Animosity carries the sense of anger, vindictiveness, and sometimes the desire to destroy what one hates. Source See, I believe it is ok to HATE; Evil and Satan!
Angels Visited the Native Americans
First, says Mr. Boudinot: “It is said among their principal or beloved men, that they have it handed down from their ancestors, that the book which the white people have, was once theirs: that while they had it they prospered exceedingly, etc. They also say, that their fathers were possessed of an extraordinary Divine Spirit, by which they foretold future events, and controlled the common course of nature; and this they transmitted to their offspring, on condition of their obeying the sacred laws; that they did, by these means, bring down showers of blessings upon their beloved people; but that this power, for a long time past, had entirely ceased.” Colonel James Smith, in his journal, while a prisoner among the natives, says: “They have a tradition, that in the beginning of this continent, the angels or heavenly inhabitants, as they call them, frequently visited the people, and talked with their forefathers, and gave directions how to pray.”
Angel Tells Joseph the Name of the Hill
Joseph Smith said to his father, “I have taken the severest chastisement that I have ever had in my life.” When his father began to interrogate him as to who had a right to find fault in him, he answered, “Stop, father, stop, it was the angel of the Lord. As I passed by the hill of Cumorah, where the plates are, the angel met me and said that I had not been engaged enough in the work of the Lord; that the time had come for the record to be brought forth; and that I must be up and doing and set myself about the things which God had commanded me to do.” (History of Joseph Smith by His Mother, pp. 99–101.) This event occurred before Joseph even obtained the plates. The translation was yet in the future. Joseph could only have learned the name of the hill from Moroni. Obviously, if that was the case, then the hill in New York is actually Cumorah, as the prophets have consistently taught.
Michael the Archangel in America
This has always been a mighty land in God’s plan. It was in the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman prior to his death, called the great high priests together and there bestowed upon them his last blessing. The Lord appearing there proclaimed Adam to be Michael, the Prince, the Archangel. (D&C 107:53-54) It is to that same spot that Adam, as the Ancient of Days, shall come to visit his people (D&C 116), where judgement shall be set and the books opened. (Daniel 7:9 Revelation 20:4) It is here on this land that the New Jerusalem shall be built “unto the remnant of the seed of Joseph” — ourselves and those others the literal descendants of Lehi. (Ether 13:5 1 Nephi 14:1-2, 2Nephi 10:18) And finally, it is here on this hemisphere that Zion shall be built. (Tenth Article of Faith.) It is this fact and this purpose, the building of Zion on this hemisphere, which is Zion, which seems to be the dominant elements in all of God’s dealings with them who possess this land, for Isaiah, speaking more than twenty-five hundred years ago, declared that “out of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3.) President J. Reuben Clark, Jr The Glorious Purpose page 103
Plates Under Charge of Holy Angels
“The hill Cumorah, with the surrounding vicinity, is distinguished as the great battlefield on which, and near which, two powerful nations were concentrated with all their forces. Men, women and children fought till hundreds of thousands on both sides were hewn down, and left to molder upon the ground. . . .
These new plates were given to Moroni to finish the history. And all the ancient plates, Mormon deposited in Cumorah, about three hundred and eighty-four years after Christ. When Moroni, about thirty-six years after, made the deposit of the book entrusted to him, he was, without doubt, inspired to select a department of the hill separate from the great depository of the numerous volumes hid up by his father. The particular place in the hill where Moroni secreted the book, was revealed, by the angel, to the prophet Joseph Smith, to whom the volume was delivered in September, A.D. 1827. But the grand repository of all the numerous records of the ancient nations of the western continent, was located in another department of the hill, and it’s contents under the charge of holy angels, until the day should come for them to be transferred to the sacred temple of Zion.” 1866 Orson Pratt Millennial Star (28 (27): 417)
Nibley Explains Angels
Some have thought it strange that God should use any earthly implements and agents at all, when he could do all things himself just as easily. But even the Moslems, who protest that Christianity places needless intermediaries, notably Jesus and the Holy Ghost, between God and man, declare in their creed that they believe “in God and his Angels and his Prophets and his Books.” Does God need all of these to do his work with men? However we may rationalize, the fact is that he does make use of them…” Ancient Temples: What Do They Signify? By Hugh Nibley September 1972
Angel Witnesses Cumorah is the Place of the Last Battles
“The Angel also informed him that America had once been people by a remnant of the seed of Israel of the tribe of Joseph who became two great Nations upon this Land one of those Nations were the present Natives of America or the Indians the other Nation was distroid [sic] about four hundred years after Christ.” Pratt, Parley Parker 1807-1857. An epistle written by an elder of the Church, https://catalog.lds.org/assets?id=790a9435-99fc-44a2-95ef-8d9a1cd6a553&crate=0&index=2
Angel Moroni, was with Joseph Smith, Washington, and Columbus,
“In those early and perilous times, our men were few, and our resources limited. Poverty was among the most potent enemies we had to encounter; yet our arms were successful; and it may not be amiss to ask here, 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. Trammeled by poverty and by an unpopular cause, yet his persevering and unyielding heart would not allow an obstacle in his way too great for him to overcome; and the angel of God helped him—was with him on the stormy deep, calmed the troubled elements, and guided his frail vessel to the desired haven. 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.” Orson Hyde, JD 6:368
Brigham Young About Angels
“They are just as busy in the spirit world as you and I are here. They can see us, but we cannot see them unless our eyes were opened.” (Discourses of Brigham Young, p.378)
Note: Is there any doubt about when angels come? They come when they are needed, asked for, summoned, expected, desired, prayed for, sent, and whenever the Lord needs to bless us with their presence. They are sent to protect, to reprimand, to share a message, to prepare the way, to over come evil, and to be our comfort.
Section 129, Keys for Determining If Administrations Are from God,” Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual (2002), 319–21
Historical Background
In the early days of the Church, many were curious about angels, spirits, and resurrected persons. About the time Joseph Smith recorded this revelation, he wrote: “A man came to me in Kirtland, and told me he had seen an angel, and described his dress. I told him he had seen no angel, and that there was no such dress in heaven. He grew mad, and went into the street and commanded fire to come down out of heaven to consume me. I laughed at him, and said, You are one of Baal’s prophets; your God does not hear you; jump up and cut yourself: and he commanded fire from heaven to consume my house.” (History of the Church, 5:267–68.)
Doctrine and Covenants 129 describes the difference between angels who have gone through mortality and have been resurrected and those who are still spirits. It also gives three keys “whereby you may know whether any administration is from God” (v. 9).
The Prophet Joseph Smith may have known these keys long before this revelation was recorded. Earlier, Michael helped the Prophet by detecting Satan, who had appeared to Joseph as an angel of light (see D&C 128:20). Nothing further is known about the incident, and whether the Prophet learned of these keys at that time is not known. However, Wilford Woodruff recorded in his journal that he learned of these keys from Joseph Smith as early as 1839 (see Journal of Wilford Woodruff, vol. 2, 27 June 1839, Historical Department, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City).
The Prophet Joseph Smith taught: “An angel of God never has wings. Some will say that they have seen a spirit; that he offered them his hand, but they did not touch it. This is a lie. First, it is contrary to the plan of God: a spirit cannot come but in glory; an angel has flesh and bones; we see not their glory. The devil may appear as an angel of light. Ask God to reveal it; if it be of the devil, he will flee from you; if of God, He will manifest Himself, or make it manifest. We may come to Jesus and ask Him; He will know all about it.” (History of the Church, 3:392.)
When Do the Angels Come?
“The ministry of angels in the lives of ordinary, devoted people often goes unrecognized.
At certain sacred times, God has sent his holy angels to instruct and minister to his children. Think of the angel who first taught Adam about the Atonement; the angel who announced to Mary that she would bear the child Jesus; the angels who sang glories to God the night of Christ’s birth; the angel who comforted the Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane; and the angels who brought the keys of the Restoration to Joseph Smith.
No wonder the angels came at such times. These were history’s crowning events. But angels have also come at times that were significant mostly because of their personal, spiritual meaning in the lives of ordinary but faithful men and women.
Personal Manifestations
Some of these personal visits were dramatic and powerful. Think of the angels who ministered to the Nephite children in the account of 3 Nephi 17 [3 Ne. 17], or the angel who chastised Alma and Mosiah’s sons in answer to a father’s prayer. (See Mosiah 27.)
Other personal manifestations have been so quiet that those who received them were unaware of the angelic presence. The ministry of these unseen angels is among the most sublime forms of interaction between heaven and earth, powerfully expressing God’s concern for us and bestowing tangible assurance and spiritual sustenance upon those in great need.
Think of the angel who came to comfort the sleeping Elijah when he was in such despair that he wished to live no longer. (See 1 Kgs. 19:4–8.) Or recall when Joseph Smith “saw the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb, … in foreign lands, standing together in a circle, much fatigued, with their clothes tattered and feet swollen, with their eyes cast downward, and Jesus standing in their midst, and they did not behold Him. The Savior looked upon them and wept.” (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 2:381; italics added.) The Prophet also “saw Elder Brigham Young in a strange land, … in a desert place, upon a rock in the midst of about a dozen [hostile] men. He was preaching to them in their own tongue, and the angel of God standing above his head, with a drawn sword in his hand, protecting him, but he did not see it.” (Ibid.; italics added.)
For an unforgettable picture of unseen angelic armies, think of Elisha’s young servant, who cried when he was surrounded by an ominous army, “Alas, my master! how shall we do?” Answered Elisha, “Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” Then Elisha said, “Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” (See 2 Kgs. 6:15–17.)
President J. Reuben Clark eloquently captured the blessing of unseen angels in the lives of ordinary, devoted people in his masterful sermon, “To Them of the Last Wagon.” President Clark recognized the “mighty men” who led the early Saints, but he reserved his most reverent tribute for “the meekest and lowliest” found in “the last wagon in each of the long wagon trains.” Out in front of these toiling caravans were “the Brethren,” for whom “the air was clear and clean and … they had unbroken vision of the blue vault of heaven.” But, in contrast, “back in the last wagon, … the blue heaven was often shut out from their sight by heavy, dense clouds of the dust of the earth … [which made] the glories of a celestial world [seem] so far away.”
by Clark Kelley Price
Even though some of the early brethren had seen “in a vision, the armies of heaven protecting the Saints in their return to Zion” (History of the Church, 2:381), President Clark mentioned angels only once. After describing the grinding frustrations of lame oxen, broken hubs, and sick children in the last wagon, he spoke of a pregnant mother trying to breathe through heavy, choking dust. “Then the morning came when from out that last wagon floated the la-la of the newborn babe, and mother love made a shrine, and Father bowed in reverence before it. But the train must move on. So out into the dust and dirt the last wagon moved again, swaying and jolting, while Mother eased as best she could each pain-giving jolt so no harm might be done her, that she might be strong to feed the little one, bone of her bone, flesh of her flesh. Who will dare to say that angels did not cluster round and guard her and ease her rude bed, for she had given another choice spirit its mortal body that it might work out its God-given destiny?” (New Era, July 1975, p. 8; italics added.)
Discerning the Light
The veil between heaven and earth usually hides the angels from our sight. Yet often in the early stages of our spiritual development, we may experience unmistakable contact with the angels of the unseen world. These experiences may move our sense of belief to a sure sense of knowledge, as we exclaim with Alma, “O then, is not this real?” And Alma replies to us, “Yea, because it is light; and whatsoever is light, is good, because it is discernible.” (Alma 32:35; italics added.)
Yet our discerning this light does not yield perfect knowledge. We must nourish the tree of faith to “get root” against the day “when the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it.” (See Alma 32:37–38.) As we wait for additional flashes of spiritual light, our days of nourishment and testing can last many years.
The early manifestations of “discernible” angelic contact in our spiritual development frequently occur in youthful conversion experiences, missionary service, or times while we are attending college. These crucial, formative periods of spiritual breakthrough in a young person’s life may be compared with the Kirtland period in Church history; and the years that follow may be compared with the period of Nauvoo and beyond.
Youthful Kirtland Years
The early years of Kirtland were an unusually happy time for Joseph Smith and the Saints. What wonderful events had blessed them in only a few years: the Vision in the grove, the publication of the Book of Mormon, the formal organization of the Church, the optimistic launching of missionary work, the school of the prophets, and mighty revelations outlining a glorious future. It was a youthful, buoyant time. The Saints had no inkling of what waited for them, coiled like a deadly snake barely around the corner of history: mobs, persecution, apostasy, and martyrdom.
But first the angels came. Indeed, the dedication of the Kirtland Temple in March of 1836 represented the greatest spiritual outpouring in modern Church history. Joseph wrote that, shortly after the dedicatory prayer was offered, “Frederick G. Williams arose and testified that [during the prayer] an angel entered the window and took his seat between Father Smith and himself. David Whitmer also saw angels in the house.”
Later, “Brother George A. Smith arose and began to prophesy, when a noise was heard like the sound of a rushing mighty wind, which filled the Temple, and all the congregation simultaneously arose, being moved upon by an invisible power; many began to speak in tongues and prophesy; … and I beheld that the Temple was filled with angels. … The people of the neighborhood came running together (hearing an unusual sound within, and seeing a bright light like a pillar of fire resting upon the Temple,) and were astonished at what was taking place.”
Of one of the concluding meetings, Joseph wrote, “The Savior made his appearance to some, while angels ministered to others, and it was a Pentecost and an endowment indeed, long to be remembered, for the sound shall go forth from this place into all the world, and occurrences of this day shall be handed down upon the pages of sacred history, to all generations.” (History of the Church, 2:427–33.)
Dark Nauvoo Years
Now contrast those glorious experiences with the dreadful conditions under which the Nauvoo Temple was dedicated less than ten years later. Joseph and Hyrum had been slain. The Church was racked with dissension and apostasy, and the dark spirit of the martyrdom hovered over Nauvoo like the destroying angel of death. The Saints knew they could not stay. They worked frantically to finish the temple, even as they also hurried to gather provisions and prepare wagons for their plunge into the great unknown trek westward.
Part of the Nauvoo Temple was dedicated in October 1845, even before it was finished, and in December Brigham Young began to administer the temple ordinances day and night. Within two months, the first company of wagons crossed the frozen Mississippi, never to return.
The story is told of a blind convert named Brother Williams who came from Massachusetts to Nauvoo in time to help complete the temple. Brother Williams had heard the stories of Kirtland, and he believed fervently that when the Nauvoo Temple was dedicated, the Savior and even the resurrected Joseph would return. He anticipated great spiritual manifestations that would heal his blindness. He believed that each stone they were laying brought him one step closer to the Savior’s healing hand.
But the Nauvoo Temple dedication was no Kirtland. As far as we know, there were no visible manifestations, no angelic ministries, no Pentecost.
We Lived Once in Kirtland
Our youthful years as missionaries and students are, despite their typical growing pains, frequently a kind of Kirtland for us: a simple and beautiful time, filled with intellectual breakthroughs, private spiritual moments, and emerging idealistic convictions. Those years may lift us for a time above the noise and smoke and confusion of worldly valleys to a high mountain peak, where we develop a growing closeness to the Infinite.
But the day always seems to come when we must leave our Kirtlands. When we do, sooner or later, we may have our own kind of Nauvoo, perhaps more than once. We will have our own frozen rivers and parched deserts to cross, a moral or financial or intellectual wilderness to tame. It will not always be fun. Perhaps we will feel bewildered and disappointed, and we may look back longingly to those youthful years, wondering why we cannot recapture the way things were in our days of Kirtland.
When our Nauvoo comes, we may find ourselves living in a culture that offers little reinforcement for our belief in the ideals of family life. The surrounding environment may even discourage and attack our devotion to marriage and children. Some of us may begin to feel a growing sense of distance in our marriages, as those around us take for granted that modern men and women should not feel bound by unconditional family commitments. But we will know better, for we lived once in Kirtland, where the Spirit whispered to us that the doctrine is true: marriage is sacred and love is forever.
After leaving our Kirtland, some may feel the waning of their sense of spiritual wonder, as the accumulating pressures and pollutions of life seem to cast doubt on the reality of inspiration or the worth of the institutional Church or the value of giving ourselves unselfishly to others. Especially in that kind of Nauvoo, some of us may turn away bitterly and say that the stories of Kirtland were not really true.
“How could they be true?” some will ask. “We see no angels here, not now, when we need them most. What happened at Kirtland must have been the foolish imagination of our youth.” We will feel pressure to see things this way, for we may be surrounded by unbelievers who whisper tauntingly in our ears as did the enemy in Nauvoo: “Your Prophet is dead. Wake up—it was all a childhood dream.”
Our Nauvoos Must Come
When our Nauvoo comes, it will neither surprise us nor throw us off course if we have kept the image of Kirtland burning brightly in our memories. “It is all right,” we will say. “We understand. We receive our full witness only after the trial of our faith. After much tribulation come the blessings.” And we will pick up our wagons and our families and head west.
As we do, we will sense that Kirtland was given to us as a first witness, to be told to our children and their children’s children, that they may know that God is the Lord. He slumbers not nor sleepeth. We will know that, always, for we were there, that season in the Mormon village of Kirtland.
I still think of Brother Williams, his blind eyes glistening with hope, waiting for Jesus and his angels to come to the Nauvoo Temple. I don’t know what happened to him after Nauvoo. Did he find the healing he hungered for? Did he find his Savior and see the face of Brother Joseph? I suppose that he and the other faithful ones of Nauvoo did find the enlightenment and the peace they sought—but later, perhaps within the last wagon along some dreary prairie trail, or in struggling to build a new life, far away in the West.
I suppose that Brother Williams made the same discovery as did the Saints in the Martin and Willie handcart companies, which were trapped by heavy, early snows on their way across the plains. In a conference address, Elder James E. Faust shared the feeling of one company member:
“‘Not one of that company ever apostatized or left the Church, because everyone of us came through with the absolute knowledge that God lives, for we became acquainted with him in our extremities.
“‘I have pulled my handcart when I was so weak and weary from illness and lack of food that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other. I have gone on [to some point I thought I could never reach, only to feel that] the cart began pushing me. I have looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart, but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the angels of God were there.” (Ensign, May 1979, p. 53.)
Such unseen angelic manifestations in the “extremities” of our lives may, over time, have more profound meaning than the more visible outpouring of Kirtland. The Lord has promised that if you are true and faithful, the Lord himself may be “in your midst and ye cannot see me.” (D&C 38:7.) Even if you do not see him, he can “be on your right hand and on your left, and [his] Spirit shall be in your hearts,” and the angels who came to Kirtland will be “round about you, to bear you up.” (D&C 84:88.)
Moreover, our memories of Kirtland can be enriched by our later, perhaps more turbulent, experience. The very meaning of earlier witnesses may well grow richer with the perspective of time. It is because of what we saw in Kirtland that we ventured to Nauvoo. That we have once seen so clearly is our witness that we can again see clearly, with greater depth, even in the very midst of our afflictions.
When do the angels come? If we seek to be worthy, they are near us when we need them most. The mountain might even be full with the horsemen of Israel and their chariots of fire.” Bruce C. Hafen, provost at Brigham Young University, serves as a Gospel Doctrine teacher in the Sharon Fifth Ward, Orem Utah Sharon Stake.
