This is a sacred and special topic that is very dear to my heart and has brought me great comfort in my grief. It has helped me to understand the purpose of my husband's death and given me focus to be more consecrated in my daily life so that I can always be worthy of the influence of the spirit. Through living a more consecrated life, striving to fully and completely keep my temple covenants, and studying and practicing the principles of receiving personal revelation found in the scriptures and among the words of our living prophets, I have been able to discover specifically what the Lord intends for me to do, to understand the purpose of him being on the other-side of the veil, and the blessings, protection and direction that our family can receive as a direct effect of that sacrifice.
First, it is important to understand what our righteous loved ones do after they leave this mortal state and enter the spirit world. It is important to understand that they continue to labor in the Lord's vineyard in both the mortal and spirit world.
President Ezra Taft Benson said: “Sometimes the veil between this life and the life beyond becomes very thin. Our loved ones who have passed on are not far from us” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1971, 18; or Ensign, June 1971, 33). President Brigham Young taught that the postmortal spirit world is on the earth, around us (see Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young [1997], 279).
President Wilford Woodruff taught: “The same Priesthood exists on the other side of the veil. … Every Apostle, every Seventy, every Elder, etc., who has died in the faith as soon as he passes to the other side of the veil, enters into the work of the ministry” (Deseret News, Jan. 25, 1882, 818).James E Faust quotes the Prophet Joseph F Smith in a conference talk. He said,
We do not consciously realize the extent to which ministering angels affect our lives. President Joseph F. Smith said, “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.”6 Many of us feel that we have had this experience.Having close family members on the other-side of the veil is a significant blessing to those who continue to labor on this side of the veil. As the last days reach their culmination, I believe that it will become more and more important for family members to have the additional support that can be given through the power of the Holy Ghost and by virtue of those sealing covenants that bind us together quite literally. These ideas are discussed by Jeffery R Holland below in his talk "The Ministering of Angels."
God knew the challenges they would face, and He certainly knew how lonely and troubled they would sometimes feel. So He watched over His mortal family constantly, heard their prayers always, and sent prophets (and later apostles) to teach, counsel, and guide them. But in times of special need, He sent angels, divine messengers, to bless His children, reassure them that heaven was always very close and that His help was always very near.
From the beginning down through the dispensations, God has used angels as His emissaries in conveying love and concern for His children... 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.He continues to explain the need for angels in this day due to the calamities and current spiritual sickness that seems to plague our country and our families.
In the course of life all of us spend time in “dark and dreary” places, wildernesses, circumstances of sorrow or fear or discouragement. Our present day is filled with global distress over financial crises, energy problems, terrorist attacks, and natural calamities. These translate into individual and family concerns not only about homes in which to live and food available to eat but also about the ultimate safety and well-being of our children and the latter-day prophecies about our planet. More serious than these—and sometimes related to them—are matters of ethical, moral, and spiritual decay seen in populations large and small, at home and abroad. But I testify that angels are still sent to help us, even as they were sent to help Adam and Eve, to help the prophets, and indeed to help the Savior of the world Himself. Matthew records in his gospel that after Satan had tempted Christ in the wilderness “angels came and ministered unto him.” 8 Even the Son of God, a God Himself, had need for heavenly comfort during His sojourn in mortality. And so such ministrations will be to the righteous until the end of time. As Mormon said to his son Moroni, who would one day be an angel:
“Has the day of miracles ceased?
“Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved?
“Behold I say unto you, Nay; for … it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men. …
“For behold, they are subject unto [Christ], to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness.” 9 -HollandThe scriptures in Moroni 7:25-37 partially cited above help us to understand that our loved ones work under the direction of Jesus Christ and are only allowed to communicate what he would desire them to communicate with us. They are not allowed to reveal information that we are not seeking or not prepared for. We must still pray unto the Father- asking, knocking and seeking. We must study the scriptures. As needed and as we are prepared, additional insights can be gained through personal revelation as ministering angels aid in that communication.
These are the things we must do to be worthy of that help and that communication
"I ask everyone within the sound of my voice to take heart, be filled with faith, and remember the Lord has said He “would fight [our] battles, [our] children’s battles, and [the battles of our] children’s children.” 10 And what do we do to merit such a defense? We are to “search diligently, pray always, and be believing[. Then] all things shall work together for [our] good, if [we] walk uprightly and remember the covenant wherewith [we] have covenanted.” 11 The latter days are not a time to fear and tremble. They are a time to be believing and remember our covenants." -HollandHolland stresses the presence of these ministering angels in our daily life in his conclusion.
My beloved brothers and sisters, I testify of angels, both the heavenly and the mortal kind. In doing so I am testifying that God never leaves us alone, never leaves us unaided in the challenges that we face. “[N]or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man [or woman or child] upon the face thereof to be saved.” 13 On occasions, global or personal, we may feel we are distanced from God, shut out from heaven, lost, alone in dark and dreary places. Often enough that distress can be of our own making, but even then the Father of us all is watching and assisting. And always there are those angels who come and go all around us, seen and unseen, known and unknown, mortal and immortal.As he bears testimony, he counsels us to pray for angels to attend us and encourages us to join with our family members on the other side of the veil in being the Lord's hands and doing his work for his children on this earth.
May we all believe more readily in, and have more gratitude for, the Lord’s promise as contained in one of President Monson’s favorite scriptures: “I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, … my Spirit shall be in your [heart], and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.” 14 In the process of praying for those angels to attend us, may we all try to be a little more angelic ourselves—with a kind word, a strong arm, a declaration of faith and “the covenant wherewith [we] have covenanted.” 15 Perhaps then we can be emissaries sent from God when someone, perhaps a Primary child, is crying, “Darkness … afraid … river … alone.” To this end I pray in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.Dallin H. Oaks explains how to be worthy of communication and receive that help promised from our loved ones who are called to serve and help our families as ministering angels.
To have the continuous companionship of the Holy Ghost is the most precious possession we can have in mortality. The gift of the Holy Ghost was conferred upon us by the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood after our baptism. But to realize the blessings of that gift, we must keep ourselves free from sin. When we commit sin, we become unclean and the Spirit of the Lord withdraws from us. The Spirit of the Lord does not dwell in “unholy temples” (see Mosiah 2:36–37; Alma 34:35–36; Hel. 4:24), and no unclean thing can dwell in His presence (see Eph. 5:5; 1 Ne. 10:21;Alma 7:21; Moses 6:57).Thus our ability to stay clean is key to our ability to receive communication from the other side. This is not just clean from large sins. This is avoiding every unholy and impure practice in our lives. It is repenting at the first sign of a mistake. It is having clean thoughts and desires. For me, the incentive of being able to receive this help has far out weighed temporal sacrifices that I have had to make. Practices such as might prayer and fasting also help to draw us nearer to the Spirit and enhance our ability to spiritually hear and see beyond mortality.
“The word ‘angel’ is used in the scriptures for any heavenly being bearing God’s message” (George Q. Cannon, Gospel Truth, sel. Jerreld L. Newquist [1987], 54). The scriptures recite numerous instances where an angel appeared personally...When I was young, I thought such personal appearances were the only meaning of the ministering of angels...But the ministering of angels can also be unseen. Angelic messages can be delivered by a voice or merely by thoughts or feelings communicated to the mind. President John Taylor described “the action of the angels, or messengers of God, upon our minds, so that the heart can conceive … revelations from the eternal world” (Gospel Kingdom, sel. G. Homer Durham [1987], 31).The purpose of communication with ministering angels is to receive revelation from God. As we are seeking that knowledge and direction through our personal dedicated study, our interactions with the other-side will increase in frequency and magnitude. Our spiritual state and readiness will directly affect those communications.
Nephi described three manifestations of the ministering of angels when he reminded his rebellious brothers that (1) they had “seen an angel,” (2) they had “heard his voice from time to time,” and (3) also that an angel had “spoken unto [them] in a still small voice” though they were “past feeling” and “could not feel his words” (1 Ne. 17:45). The scriptures contain many other statements that angels are sent to teach the gospel and bring men to Christ (see Heb. 1:14; Alma 39:19; Moro. 7:25, 29, 31–32; D&C 20:35). Most angelic communications are felt or heard rather than seen.Elder Oaks directly correlates personal revelation with ministering angels in his BYU speech,
"A more familiar gift of the spirit is personal revelation. Alma described the universal character of this spiritual gift in Chapter 32:23 as follows, "And now he imparted his word by angels to man, ye not only men but women also, now this is not all. Little children do have words spoken unto them many times which confound the wise and the learned."Elder Oaks explains that these communications are synonymous with feeling the Holy Ghost. This is my experience as well. I do not know for certain if every communication is delivered through a ministering angel. The principle of delegation is clearly present in the scriptures and in the teachings of the gospel. We learn this principle in our temple worship. There are many times that ministering angels deliver messages without disclosing their identity, and so this is not always easy to discern. I believe this is the case so that we are not distracted from the purpose of the communication. When a message needs to be acted upon immediately, and our spiritual focus is necessary the method of delivery of the message is not pertinent.
Elder Oaks again confirms the importance of being clean in these interactions.
How does the Aaronic Priesthood hold the key to the ministering of angels? The answer is the same as for the Spirit of the Lord.
In general, the blessings of spiritual companionship and communication are only available to those who are clean. As explained earlier, through the Aaronic Priesthood ordinances of baptism and the sacrament, we are cleansed of our sins and promised that if we keep our covenants we will always have His Spirit to be with us. I believe that promise not only refers to the Holy Ghost but also to the ministering of angels, for “angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ” (2 Ne. 32:3). So it is that those who hold the Aaronic Priesthood open the door for all Church members who worthily partake of the sacrament to enjoy the companionship of the Spirit of the Lord and the ministering of angels.Of special comfort to those who have lost children is this statement by Joseph F Smith
President Joseph F. Smith delivered one of his most significant addresses—“Status of Children in the Resurrection”—at a temple fast meeting in February 1918. From it we gain not only an insight into the power and prophetic stature of one schooled and prepared in doctrine, but we are allowed also a brief glimpse into the heart of a noble father who—having lost little ones to death and having mourned their absence—rejoices in the sure knowledge that (1) children are immortal beings, spirits who continue to live and progress beyond the veil; and (2) as taught by the Prophet Joseph Smith, children will come forth from the grave as they lie down—as children—and such persons will thereafter be nurtured and reared to physical maturity by worthy parents. “O how I have been blessed with these children,” exulted President Smith, “and how happy I shall be to meet them on the other side!” Beyond the Veil- Two Later-day Revelations
Oaks, Dallin H, "The Aaronic priesthood and the Sacrament" Ensign, Nov 1998, 38-40. https://www.lds.org/ensign/1998/11/the-aaronic-priesthood-and-the-sacrament.p1?lang=eng
Holland, Jeffery R. "The ministering of Angels," General Conference Oct 2008
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/the-ministry-of-angels?lang=eng
Faust, James E. "A Royal Priesthood." General Conference April 2006
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2006/04/a-royal-priesthood?lang=eng
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