President Anderson’s Letter – July 28, 2013

This week I am including the complete letter and not just the missionary experience because I think it teaches ideas that everyone can use in their callings.

Dear Missionaries,

This last week, our Son who served a Mission in Argentina wrote me and shared the following:

“I was reading towards the end of Mosiah the other day and came across a scripture that made me think of what you all are doing down there [with Harvesting]…  Mosiah 27:14 where the angel is speaking to Alma and says, 

‘… Behold, the Lord hath heard the prayers of his people, and also the prayers of his servant, Alma, who is thy father; for he has prayed with much faith concerning thee that thou mightest be brought to the knowledge of the truth; therefore, for this purpose have I come to convince thee of the power and authority of God, that the prayers of his servants might be answered according to their faith.’

… reading this I understood a little better how our prayers in behalf of other people can help them be brought to the knowledge of the truth, and sometimes angels intervene if our faith is great enough.”

I enjoyed his insight of how not just the Power and Authority of our calling is involved with Harvesting, but also, if our faith is great enough, angels can intervene in the conversion process.  As I was reading in the Doctrine and Covenants, I came across how our “power and authority” compares to angels “power and authority” in proclaiming this Gospel:

“ And ye shall go forth in the power of my Spirit, preaching my gospel, two by two, in my name, lifting up your voices as with the sound of a trump, declaring my word like unto angels of God. And ye shall go forth baptizing with water, saying: Repent ye, repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (D&C 42:6-7)

Immediately after Nephi instructs us of the importance of the “Doctrine of Christ” he teaches us by what power we can help others to understand and embrace this Doctrine, with “the tongue of angels”:

“And now, behold, my beloved brethren, I suppose that ye ponder somewhat in your hearts concerning that which ye should do after ye have entered in by the way. But, behold, why do ye ponder these things in your hearts? Do ye not remember that I said unto you that after ye had received the Holy Ghost ye could speak with the tongue of angels? And now, how could ye speak with the tongue of angels save it were by the Holy Ghost? Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.” (2 Nephi 32:1-3)

Hence we speak the “words of Christ” with “the tongue of angels” because of the “power of the Holy Ghost” that we are able to invite all to come to Him. It is by our faith that we will receive the blessings and miracles of the ministering of angels, whether we see them or feel their presence and influence. Mormon taught his son Moroni this principle:

“And now, my beloved brethren, if this be the case that these things are true which I have spoken unto you, and God will show unto you, with power and great glory at the last day, that they are true, and if they are true 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 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. For behold, they are subject unto him, 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.” (Moroni 7:35-37, 30; see vs. 25-29 also)

Knowing and understanding that angels will minister to you and those you teach, whether you see them or not, will be something you and they will feel. The “power of the Holy Ghost” in you and in them is an important factor for the miracle of “ministering angels” to occur, and it will only come to those “of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness”.  According to your faith, ministering angels will lead you to those they have prepared:

“We found some amazing people, and one of the things we had struggled with, was opening our mouths, so I really went in with a huge focus on talking to everyone, well, because I raised my companion’s desires to talk to everyone, we saw miracles. Everyone I saw, I went up and talked to them, and in turn, by the end of the night, my companion had very high desires to do the same.  I saw a man, sitting on a curb, and ran up to him to give him a card of Jesus Christ, when I gave it to him, he said, ‘You are the ones who pray right?’  I in turn smiled and introduced the Harvest Blessing.  He told us that is what he needed and that he wanted very bad to be baptized.  It was a miracle to see that the Lord knew our desires, and he put certain people in our paths, knowing we would talk to them, and we found amazing people.”

Ministering angels will connect your faith to those you teach, and give you power and authority to commit them to everything that will give them the peace they seek:

“We visited a man who we had planned on teaching repentance. But when we got there I saw that he had cigarettes so we immediately decided to teach the word of wisdom as well. He has lost his family because of his addictions and kept saying over and over that he was ready to change. He said he’d keep the word of wisdom and when I asked him to hand over his lighter and cigarettes he did so with a smile on his face! He said how relieved and peaceful he felt! There were tears in his eyes as he told us that this was his time to change and to overcome his addictions. What a truly repentant man! He accepted baptism, church and was excitedly flipping through the pages of the Book of Mormon as we left his home.”

They will recognize that you truly are “ministering angels”, messengers sent from God, sent to them because of their prayers:

“We were harvesting, and were running short on time, but felt very strong that there was one more person that we needed to bless.  We stood in the middle of the road, and felt out which apartment was in need. We crossed and passed by a group of wild peacocks, to a little apartment building. We walked straight to the third door and knocked.  As we knocked, a woman got out of her car and called out to us in a southern drawl, ‘Yes? Can I help you?’ We explained who we are and asked for her name. ‘Why, I’m Miss Karen.’ She let us pray with her, and as we said amen, she started her own prayer and said, ‘Father God, thank you for these angels.  I saw them two hours ago talking to my neighbor, and by their countenances, I knew they were your messengers. I wanted to talk to them, but I didn’t dare. I prayed for them to come back and talk to me, and I thank you for answering my prayer.’  She finished, and we related to her how we were guided to her door.  Her eyes got all big and she said, ‘I was sitting in my car, getting ready to leave, when I had a quiet feeling to stay and wait a bit longer. I watched you walk out of that house, stand in the road, and then walk to my door.  I knew it was of God, and that I had to get out and talk to you.’  She’s going to be baptized, and it showed me how orchestrated every move of this work is.”

Elder Holland also teaches us the purpose of angels in this immense work:

“From the beginning down through the dispensations, God has used angels as His emissaries in conveying love and concern for His children. Time in this setting does not allow even a cursory examination of the scriptures or our own latter-day history, which are so filled with accounts of angels ministering to those on earth, but it is rich doctrine and rich history indeed. 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.” (Jeffrey R. Holland, General Conference, October 2008)

Missionaries, I know we are surrounded by these “ministering angels” to give us power and authority to accomplish our purpose, God’s purpose, in bringing the souls of South Florida to Christ. They will manifest themselves according to your faith, diligence and authority as representatives of Jesus Christ. They will prepare the way and strengthen us through adversity. We are encircled, inspired and protected by these angels as we learn from one of President Monson’s favorite scriptures:

“And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.” (D&C 84:88)



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