מלאכים - Angels

[The Rebbe]

I must first apologize for my absence. It has been one of those busy lifecycle weeks at the synagogue. Wedding, funeral, bar mitzvah, counseling. The life of a Rabbi is never dull.

I was praying for all of you this week, and I hope that you all were able to rest in His shalom.

Something I came across this week in the Chumash made me think about angels. What is the nature of LDS thought on angels? Do you believe in angels? Do you believe they are able to minister to humanity today, or are they creatures of biblical expression only?

Thank you everyone. I am well-pleased to learn from you. It is good to be one of many.

[Alaris]

We believe angels have been or will be born on this world. We believe the archangel Michael is Adam and Gabriel is Noah. We believe the final prophet of the book of Mormon, Moroni, died about 400 AD and appeared to Joseph Smith to start this last dispensation. In fact Moroni 7 is a great read where he is speaking to us about how angels will only cease to minister due to a lack of faith.

What do you believe about Angels? In particular, what are your thoughts on the Angel of the Lord who the Lord warned the children of Israel will not be as forgiving as He? The same angel who led the Israelites in a pillar of fire.

[The Rebbe]

We believe angels have been or will be born on this world. We believe the archangel Michael is Adam and Gabriel is Noah. We believe the final prophet of the book of Mormon, Moroni, died about 400 AD and appeared to Joseph Smith to start this last dispensation. In fact Moroni 7 is a great read where he is speaking to us about how angels will only cease to minister due to a lack of faith.

What do you believe about Angels? In particular, what are your thoughts on the Angel of the Lord who the Lord warned the children of Israel will not be as forgiving as He? The same angel who led the Israelites in a pillar of fire.

Fascinating! So...do you believe, then, that angels have physical forms? Or, can they take on the form of a created being?

We believe that angels are supernatural beings. They appear widely throughout Jewish literature (Tanakh, Talmud, Mishnaic writings, even Kabbalistic writings).

The Hebrew word for angel is מלאך (mal’ach), and it means messenger. The angels in early biblical sources were deliverers of specific information. Often they would carry out some particular function. In the Torah, for example (as I'm sure you know!), it was an angel that prevented Abraham from slaughtering his son Isaac. Another angel appeared to Moshe in the burning bush and yet another gave direction to the Israelites during the desert sojourn following their deliverance from Egyptian bondage. In later biblical texts, angels are associated with visions and prophesies and are given proper names.

Among the most famous stories of angels in the Bible is the encounter between the patriarch Jacob and an angel with whom he wrestles all night. In the morning, when Jacob asks his adversary to identify himself, the angel admonishes him not to ask. Afterwards, Jacob names the place P’niel — literally “face of God.” In explaining this choice, the Torah makes plain that the wrestling adversary was an emissary of God: “I have seen a divine being face to face, yet my life has been preserved.”

In the books of the prophets, angels continue to carry out their function as messengers, but they are also associated with visions and prophecies. One particularly detailed account is recorded in the first chapter of Ezekiel. The prophet encounters four creatures (chayot in Hebrew) that resemble human beings, but each has four faces (human, lion, ox and eagle), four wings and their legs are fused into a single leg. A parallel vision is recorded in the tenth chapter, only there the angels are described as cherubim (Hebrew masculine plural of cherub).

Not all the angelic figures in the Bible are identified as such. The three visitors who came to Abraham and Sarah are described in the text as anashim, or men, though rabbinic sources indicate they were angels . Likewise, the angel that appeared to Jacob is described merely as ish, or man. When biblical angels are asked to identify themselves, they refuse.

Interestingly (and quite beautiful, I might add), the Talmud records a teaching that two ministering angels — one good and one evil — accompany a person home from synagogue on Shabbat evening. If they find the person’s home prepared for Shabbat, the good angel declares: “May it be Your will that it shall be like this for another Shabbat.” And the evil angel answers against his will: “Amen.” If the home is not prepared, the reverse happens: The evil angel voices a wish for it to be this way for another week and the good angel responds “Amen.” 

Shalom Aleichem, a liturgical song welcoming angels into the home before the Sabbath meal, is inspired by this teaching.

Due to their unique nature, we believe that it is impossible to communicate directly with angels, although there have been stories of great Sages who were able to do so.

It is certainly forbidden to pray to angels. Not only forbidden, but it would be a waste of time since angels can only do what
G-d tells them to do anyway! However, G-d always has an attentive ear to His children, and He is waiting for our prayers.

We believe that when we perform a mitzvah (commandment), we create an angel that accompanies us. The commandments which create that attachment are the true "guardian angels" of a person.

And what of that pillar of fire?

The earliest traditions of the Exodus from Egypt refer to the pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night, which accompanied the Children of Israel on their way through the desert. The visible symbol of the presence of G-d caused a panic among the Egyptians as it cut them off from the Israelites, and continued to guide and protect the latter uninterruptedly throughout their wanderings. Later generations remembered it as a special sign of divine favor (Psalm 78:14), no less important than the parting of the Sea of Reeds itself. Another early tradition connected the cloud with the Tent of Meeting.

The pillar of cloud served not as a regular escort marching at the head of the people, but as an intermittent presence, descending from time to time to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting when G-d conversed with Moshe.

The priestly authors, on the other hand, taught that "a cloud of the L-rd" (not a pillar) with a fiery appearance by night, permanently covered the Tabernacle from the day of its completion, lifting only to signal the breaking of camp for a new journey.

The Divine Presence in Solomon's Temple was similarly accompanied by the descent of the cloud though the pillar of cloud and of fire did not accompany the Israelites into the Promised Land.

[SouEu]

This is from the Bible Dictionary for the LDS scriptures:

Angels
These are messengers of the Lord and are spoken of in the epistle to the Hebrews as “ministering spirits” (Heb. 1:14). We learn from latter-day revelation that there are two classes of heavenly beings who minister for the Lord: those who are spirits and those who have bodies of flesh and bone. Spirits are those beings who either have not yet obtained a body of flesh and bone (unembodied) or who have once had a mortal body and have died and are awaiting the Resurrection (disembodied). Ordinarily the word angel means those ministering persons who have a body of flesh and bone, being either resurrected from the dead (reembodied), or else translated, as were Enoch, Elijah, etc. (D&C 129).

There are many references to the work of angels in the Old Testament. In some passages the “angel of the Lord” speaks as the voice of God Himself (Gen. 22:11–12). The word angel is also sometimes used to designate a human messenger, as in JST Gen. 19:15 (Appendix), and may have some application also in Matt. 13:39–42. There is evidence of nonmortal beings who serve God in heaven (1 Kgs. 22:19; Alma 36:22) and also of some who do God’s will and minister to men on the earth (Gen. 28:12; 32:1; 2 Sam. 24:16; 1 Kgs. 19:5–7; 2 Kgs. 1:15; 19:35; Ps. 91:11).

We find angels mentioned by name in Dan. 8:16; 9:21; 10:13, 21; 12:1; Luke 1:19, 26. In latter-day revelation we learn that the angel Michael is Adam, and the angel Gabriel is Noah (HC 3:386).

In the New Testament there are many references to the ministry of angels but no clear statement as to their nature or their relation to mankind in general. Angels attended on our Lord throughout His life on earth (Matt. 1:20; 2:13, 19; 4:11; 28:2–8; Luke 1:11–20, 26–30; 2:9–15; 22:43). Jesus often spoke of angels (Matt. 13:14–30, 37–41; 16:27; 18:10; 22:30; 24:36; Luke 15:10, etc.). The Sadducees did not believe in supernatural beings, but the Pharisees believed in both angels and spirits, which fact Paul used to his advantage when brought before the Sanhedrin (Acts 23:7–9). Other New Testament references are Acts 7:53; 1 Cor. 4:9; 6:3; 11:10; Gal. 1:8; 3:19; Col. 2:18 (where we are warned against worship of angels), and throughout the Revelation of John. There are references to fallen angels in 2 Pet. 2:4 and Jude 1:6.

The scriptures speak of the devil’s angels. These are those spirits who followed Lucifer and were thrust out in the war in heaven and cast down to the earth. See Rev. 12:1–9; D&C 29:36–38; Moses 4:1–4; Abr. 3:27–28; and as alluded to by Peter and Jude cited above.

Latter-day revelation contains much about the nature, ministry, and identification of angels. See 2 Ne. 32:2–3; Alma 12:28–29; 13:24–26; Moro. 7:29–31; D&C 7:6–7; 13; 27:16; 76:21; 110:11–16; 128:21; 129; 132:16–18. Angels do not have wings (HC 3:392).

The word angel is used in various ways. A person who is a divine messenger is called an angel. Thus Moroni, John the Baptist, Peter, James, John, Moses, Elijah, and Elias all ministered to Joseph Smith as angels. These all shall be exalted and inherit celestial glory. The scriptures also speak of another class of persons who, because of failure to obey the gospel, will not be exalted and will become angels in eternity. These are spoken of as angels in Matt. 22:29–30 and D&C 132:16–18. This latter designation should not be confused with the use of the term angels having reference to the heavenly messengers sent forth to minister to the inhabitants of the earth.

[kittycat51]

Our current Prophet President Russell M. Nelson has used the phrase many times of "parenting beyond the veil". What he means by this is that loved ones who have passed have the ability to guide, direct, protect, warn us etc, after they have left this life. We believe that the veil that exists between this life and the next to come is very thin at times. So yes in effect like a guardian angel. There have been many instances of people who hear voices of warnings of close loved ones who have passed. What many don't realize or confuse this with is the gift of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost's purpose we believe is to testify of Christ. Some may say, that the Holy Ghost warned me to stop before getting into an accident, when in fact I believe it is a loved one in the form of a guardian angel doing the warning.

My brother in law passed away several years ago at a relatively young age. The morning of his passing, my then youngest was about 12. He heard a very clear and distinct audible voice tell him that morning that everything was going to be ok. When he heard the voice he turned with a start thinking somebody was standing there next to him in the room. He then dismissed it as his wild imagination. But then we found out within the hour that my husbands dear beloved younger brother had passed. My son did not know whose voice he heard, but I'm sure it was a loved one to help give my son comfort that was soon going to be needed.

My cousin saw my grandmother after she had passed away sitting at the foot of her bed and smiling at her. When her father called later that evening to tell her that our grandmother had passed, my cousin said, I know, she came to visit me.

My brother passed away last year from cancer. My parents have had many instances where they have strongly felt his presence in the same room. They have received great comfort from those feelings.

YES full wholeheartedly we believe in angels!

[Fiannan]

Well, we know lots of angels were quite bad during the era of Enoch and contributed to the need to destroy the earth.

[sandman45]

We believe angels have been or will be born on this world. We believe the archangel Michael is Adam and Gabriel is Noah. We believe the final prophet of the book of Mormon, Moroni, died about 400 AD and appeared to Joseph Smith to start this last dispensation. In fact Moroni 7 is a great read where he is speaking to us about how angels will only cease to minister due to a lack of faith.

What do you believe about Angels? In particular, what are your thoughts on the Angel of the Lord who the Lord warned the children of Israel will not be as forgiving as He? The same angel who led the Israelites in a pillar of fire.

I disagree.

Joseph told us exactly how it is in the doctrine and covenants

“There are two kinds of beings in heaven, namely: Angels, who are resurrected personages, having bodies of flesh and bones--
2 For instance, Jesus said: Handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
3 Secondly: the spirits of just men made perfect, they who are not resurrected, but inherit the same glory.
4 When a messenger comes saying he has a message from God, offer him your hand and request him to shake hands with you.
5 If he be an angel he will do so, and you will feel his hand.
6 If he be the spirit of a just man made perfect he will come in his glory; for that is the only way he can appear--
7 Ask him to shake hands with you, but he will not move, because it is contrary to the order of heaven for a just man to deceive; but he will still deliver his message.
8 If it be the devil as an angel of light, when you ask him to shake hands he will offer you his hand, and you will not feel anything; you may therefore detect him.“

According to this The Father and the Son are Angels (the son after his resurrection). Michael is an arch angel or also an angel since he was immortal and then fell to mortality and then returned to immortality.

Gabriel is mentioned as an Angel and therefore is a resurrected man.

Same with Moroni which Joseph explains in detail in his history.

Everyone before they were born were spirits.

And after death and before resurrection are spirits.

Angels minister to the world they belonged to and they do still minister unless the unbelief of the people is so bad then they cannot.

“Moroni 7: 37 Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and 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, and all is vain.”

[Alaris]

We believe angels have been or will be born on this world. We believe the archangel Michael is Adam and Gabriel is Noah. We believe the final prophet of the book of Mormon, Moroni, died about 400 AD and appeared to Joseph Smith to start this last dispensation. In fact Moroni 7 is a great read where he is speaking to us about how angels will only cease to minister due to a lack of faith.

What do you believe about Angels? In particular, what are your thoughts on the Angel of the Lord who the Lord warned the children of Israel will not be as forgiving as He? The same angel who led the Israelites in a pillar of fire.

I disagree.

Joseph told us exactly how it is in the doctrine and covenants

“There are two kinds of beings in heaven, namely: Angels, who are resurrected personages, having bodies of flesh and bones--
2 For instance, Jesus said: Handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
3 Secondly: the spirits of just men made perfect, they who are not resurrected, but inherit the same glory.
4 When a messenger comes saying he has a message from God, offer him your hand and request him to shake hands with you.
5 If he be an angel he will do so, and you will feel his hand.
6 If he be the spirit of a just man made perfect he will come in his glory; for that is the only way he can appear--
7 Ask him to shake hands with you, but he will not move, because it is contrary to the order of heaven for a just man to deceive; but he will still deliver his message.
8 If it be the devil as an angel of light, when you ask him to shake hands he will offer you his hand, and you will not feel anything; you may therefore detect him.“

According to this The Father and the Son are Angels (the son after his resurrection). Michael is an arch angel or also an angel since he was immortal and then fell to mortality and then returned to immortality.

Gabriel is mentioned as an Angel and therefore is a resurrected man.

Same with Moroni which Joseph explains in detail in his history.

Everyone before they were born were spirits.

And after death and before resurrection are spirits.

Angels minister to the world they belonged to and they do still minister unless the unbelief of the people is so bad then they cannot.

“Moroni 7: 37 Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and 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, and all is vain.”

I'm not sure what you're disagreeing with - that resurrected beings are spirits?

[sandman45]

Just saying people who have NOT been born are spirits NOT Angels.

Also that they are spirits until resurrected.

Once resurrected they are considered Angels as The revelation Joseph received puts it.

[Alaris]

Just saying people who have NOT been born are spirits NOT Angels.

Also that they are spirits until resurrected.

Once resurrected they are considered Angels as The revelation Joseph received puts it.

Ah - thank you for clarifying. I don't think Joseph Smith intended to leave the word "angels" out of the second class of being, but I will have to think on that! Angels are just Mala'ki (sp?) as our Jewish friend pointed out - or messengers. I am compelled to share the one scripture where the same hebrew word for angel is translated to "messenger" in the KJV:

Malachi 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger (my angel,) and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord (not YHWH), whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant (the angel of the covenant,) whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD (YHWH) of hosts.

So the Holy Ghost - if indeed he has no body - is a lesser being to the angels?

[creator]

I believe there are different types of angels. Some might visit from heaven and others are more so just like you and me. Perhaps it would even be correct to say that all mankind are angels to either God or the Devil.

[Maroriginal1]

Angels are fundamental to LDS doctrine. All of the previous posts provide great insight into this.

Interestingly it goes much deeper than individual angels that carry out the work of the Lord in LDS theology. We believe in the New and Everlasting Covenant that binds family lineage together through ordinances performed within our temples. Those keeping commandments and covenants can be Sealed together as husband/wife; children and parents. The traditional cliche’ LDS phrase “families are forever” is in my opinion a poor representation of something much deeper. We are not mearly brought together forever. But our hearts are turned towards each other as Malachi prophesied would happen in the latter days. Children yet born and ancestors deceased are bound together. We offer saving ordinances to them. They offer guidance and protection to us. Call it angels if you will as they are souls, but perhaps not quite in the formal sense of being set apart by G-d to appear and minister to a prophet for the greater whole of his work. On a personal level we claim the privilege of salvation for our families by binding together through covenant and righteousness. And with that comes the privilege of ministering of angels, or family bound to us. Many in the LDS faith lay claim to visitation and help from beyond the grave in times of need. I like to think that on a personal level an angel is in the vernacular sense a verb, rather than a noun, for the aid and comfort they provide. Whereas the angels in scripture sent by G-d are by his command and ordination. Our church was restored by heavenly visitation. To not believe in heavenly messengers is incongruent to LDS beliefs. And likewise we believe heavenly messengers can and will continue. This is something that sets us apart from most religions.

Just a curiosity; Is is not customary for Jewish couples to be bound together by their hands in a marriage ceremony?

[capctr]

Interestingly, yet also sadly, my neice lost her husband in an avalanche while he was snowmobiling in Beaver almost three weeks ago. His funeral was alternately heartbreaking, uplifting, and even funny(he was always gifted with comedic timing). I noticed as his six daughters got up to sing, all but the oldest were crying(having lost their daddy). When my neice asked her eldest was okay(worry due to possible shock), she told her she was fine, because when she went upstairs earlier, to get ready, her dad was standing at the top of the stairs, smiling at her. Thus, she was absent the fear and mystery of death.
So yeah, angels come in different ways and for different reasons.