Ministering Angels and the Book of Mormon
Amaleki, the last writer in the portion of the Book of
Mormon that wrote in the small plates of Nephi , gave us this invitation: “Come
unto God, the Holy One of Israel, and believe in prophesying, and in
revelations, and in the ministering of angels” (Omni 1:25). The reality of ministering angels is a theme
we find in throughout the Book of Mormon, and believing in the Restoration
means that we believe in the ministering of angels.
Jacob wrote that when Sherem, the anti-Christ, confessed his sins, he specifically admitted the existence of “the ministering of angels” (Jacob 7:17). Mormon spoke of ministering angels and how they show themselves “unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness. And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfill and to do the work of the covenants of the Father” (Moroni 7:30-31). Moroni recognized that the “beholding of angels and ministering spirits” is a spiritual gift from God (Moroni 10:14) and included this in the very last chapter of the Book of Mormon. So what angels do we see in the Book of Mormon who minister to the people? “An angel of the Lord came and stood before” Laman and Lemuel to stop from beating Nephi when they were on their mission to get the plates of brass (1 Nephi 3:29). Nephi “saw the heavens open; and an angel came down and stood before” him, and he was given a vision of the life of the Savior and the future of his posterity and the rest of the world (1 Nephi 11:14). Jacob told the people that the Messiah’s name would be Christ, “for in the last night the angel spake unto me that this should be his name” (2 Nephi 10:3). Apparently he had a visit from an angel which taught him great things about the plan of salvation. The powerful teachings of Mosiah 3 about the atonement of Christ were given to King Benjamin by an angel that came to him with “glad tidings of great joy” (Mosiah 3:3). An angel came to Alma and the sons of Mosiah and rebuked them saying, “Why persecutes thou the church of God?” (Mosiah 27:13) Years later the same angel came to Alma again, commending him for his faithfulness and telling him to “return to the city of Ammonihah” to preach to them (Alma 8:16). He went and found Amulek, who took him in because of his own experience with an angel. Amulek reported to the people, “As I was journeying to see a very near kindred, behold an angel of the Lord appeared unto me and said: Amulek, return to thine own house, for thou shalt feed a prophet of the Lord” (Alma 10:7). After Lamoni and his wife were miraculously converted to the Lord through Ammon, many of the people were converted as well and “many did declare unto the people that they had seen angels and had conversed with them” (Alma 19:34). When Nephi and Lehi taught the Lamanites, they were circled about as if by fire and the people “saw the heavens open; and angels came down out of heaven and ministered unto them” (Helaman 5:48). Samuel the Lamanite testified to the Nephites that he was testifying to them was true because “an angel of the Lord” had declared it unto him (Helaman 13:7). He specifically quoted the angel several times as he preached to them. After his departure, Mormon recorded that “angels did appear unto men, wise men, and did declare unto them glad tidings of great joy” (Helaman 16:14). Nephi, the son of Nephi , was “visited by angels and also the voice of the Lord”—not just once, but “angels did minister unto him daily” (3 Nephi 7:15, 18). When the Savior visited the Nephites and blessed their children, the people “saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled their little ones about” (3 Nephi 17:24). As the people waited for the return of Jesus after the first day of His visit, “Angels did come down out of heaven and did minister unto them” (3 Nephi 19:14). All of these accounts of angels among the people of Nephi stand as a witness for those who believe in the Book of Mormon that angels do indeed minister unto the children of men. The experience of the three witnesses and that of Joseph Smith himself confirm that angels will minister unto us in our day as well. We simply cannot believe in the Restoration of the gospel without having faith that God sends angels to minister unto the children of men.
Jacob wrote that when Sherem, the anti-Christ, confessed his sins, he specifically admitted the existence of “the ministering of angels” (Jacob 7:17). Mormon spoke of ministering angels and how they show themselves “unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness. And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfill and to do the work of the covenants of the Father” (Moroni 7:30-31). Moroni recognized that the “beholding of angels and ministering spirits” is a spiritual gift from God (Moroni 10:14) and included this in the very last chapter of the Book of Mormon. So what angels do we see in the Book of Mormon who minister to the people? “An angel of the Lord came and stood before” Laman and Lemuel to stop from beating Nephi when they were on their mission to get the plates of brass (1 Nephi 3:29). Nephi “saw the heavens open; and an angel came down and stood before” him, and he was given a vision of the life of the Savior and the future of his posterity and the rest of the world (1 Nephi 11:14). Jacob told the people that the Messiah’s name would be Christ, “for in the last night the angel spake unto me that this should be his name” (2 Nephi 10:3). Apparently he had a visit from an angel which taught him great things about the plan of salvation. The powerful teachings of Mosiah 3 about the atonement of Christ were given to King Benjamin by an angel that came to him with “glad tidings of great joy” (Mosiah 3:3). An angel came to Alma and the sons of Mosiah and rebuked them saying, “Why persecutes thou the church of God?” (Mosiah 27:13) Years later the same angel came to Alma again, commending him for his faithfulness and telling him to “return to the city of Ammonihah” to preach to them (Alma 8:16). He went and found Amulek, who took him in because of his own experience with an angel. Amulek reported to the people, “As I was journeying to see a very near kindred, behold an angel of the Lord appeared unto me and said: Amulek, return to thine own house, for thou shalt feed a prophet of the Lord” (Alma 10:7). After Lamoni and his wife were miraculously converted to the Lord through Ammon, many of the people were converted as well and “many did declare unto the people that they had seen angels and had conversed with them” (Alma 19:34). When Nephi and Lehi taught the Lamanites, they were circled about as if by fire and the people “saw the heavens open; and angels came down out of heaven and ministered unto them” (Helaman 5:48). Samuel the Lamanite testified to the Nephites that he was testifying to them was true because “an angel of the Lord” had declared it unto him (Helaman 13:7). He specifically quoted the angel several times as he preached to them. After his departure, Mormon recorded that “angels did appear unto men, wise men, and did declare unto them glad tidings of great joy” (Helaman 16:14). Nephi, the son of Nephi , was “visited by angels and also the voice of the Lord”—not just once, but “angels did minister unto him daily” (3 Nephi 7:15, 18). When the Savior visited the Nephites and blessed their children, the people “saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled their little ones about” (3 Nephi 17:24). As the people waited for the return of Jesus after the first day of His visit, “Angels did come down out of heaven and did minister unto them” (3 Nephi 19:14). All of these accounts of angels among the people of Nephi stand as a witness for those who believe in the Book of Mormon that angels do indeed minister unto the children of men. The experience of the three witnesses and that of Joseph Smith himself confirm that angels will minister unto us in our day as well. We simply cannot believe in the Restoration of the gospel without having faith that God sends angels to minister unto the children of men.
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