"All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother"
--- Abraham Lincoln (16th President of the United States of America; 1809 - 1865)
Be advised that this is a true story and maybe somewhat graphic to some people. Rest assured that nobody dies in this story, and it ends well. One of the underlying messages of this story is to not judge a book by its cover. And the other is that angels and the goodness of God are real. In this story, I don't speak of the spiritual angelic beings that we usually think of, but of another sort, the mortal kind who help others in diverse and selfless ways. When we are in the service of our fellow beings, we are in the service of God and we too can be an angel to somebody in need.
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If you want to read a little more about angelic beings specifically, consider reading my post, "Ministering of Angels".
THE MUTE
As missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I could always feel the Holy Ghost and angels protecting us (See "A Still, Small Voice"). One such angel was a smaller middle-aged gentleman who we’d run into while looking for people to teach one morning. We’d first met him outside of a house that had the door partially cracked open and an open chain fence, which at least meant that there were people home and it was worth stopping by to introduce ourselves. He was sitting outside on the ground while the rest were inside (There must have been at least 3 men inside). We tried talking to him first but as soon as he saw us he stood up, approached us, and kept waving his arms as if to hurry us away from the house. His body language was frantic and the look of urgency on his face said it all but not a word came out of his mouth.
This man was mute. I don’t wish to be graphic but he didn’t have a tongue. Let's just leave it at that. His actions made it clear that we’d best move on so we took the hint, wished him well, and never returned to that house for the sake of safety.
We saw him around every now and then wandering the streets. Once we were teaching a young family about the Ten Commandments on the sidewalk and he came over to listen. Most people didn’t voluntarily come to listen to us so this was nice.
THE TONGUE
Words are powerful. They have the power to hurt or heal, to discourage or inspire, but words are only one way we communicate.
But consider the power of words. God said, "Let there be light: and there was light". Joshua spake, and the great lights which God had created stood still. Elijah commanded, and the heavens were stayed for the space of three years and six months so that it did not rain. ...All this was done by faith. Even one of Christ's names is "The word", "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God". (John 1:1)
The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ says, “…Then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel” (2 Nephi 31:13). All of this is symbolic of course. Baptism of fire is symbolic of light and purification, things that come into one’s life when living the gospel. The next chapter continues, “…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” (2 Nephi 32:2-3). In this context, The "tongue of angels" has reference to the Holy Ghost --- words that edify, uplift, and are Christ-like. Those who speak the tongue of angels speak about Christ, speak like Christ and speak Christ's words. To speak with the tongue of angels includes speaking by inspiration of the Holy Ghost which happens all the time, like when giving words of comfort to a friend, when giving a Priesthood blessing, or when saying your prayers.
ANGELS
Now to the topic of Angels. The world often jumps to certain Christmas-like imagery when they hear the word “angel”, and there are many definitions and categories of angelic beings (Like Cherubim for example), but the simple definition of angel is "Some messenger of the Lord"; the book of Hebrews calls them “ministering spirits” (Heb. 1:14) Now, as far as I'm concerned, that may include individuals that are living, as well as those on the other side of the veil. Angels come in all shapes and sizes and they work to bless the Children of God.
Elder Scott and I are resting on the sidewalk after an appointment with this family (mentioned in a few paragraphs earlier) fell through. A strange man shows up out of nowhere and starts talking to Elder Scott and me in English. He’s using foul language and is quite outspoken and loud. He is full of energy and is moving around a lot. His behavior feels unpredictable and his attitude was anything but warm. He didn't want to hear about God. We know to keep our distance from him. I just don’t feel good about him at all! People don’t just walk up to us speaking fluent English in Mexico. To be honest, I think I only ever had one person approach us who turned out to be good (See "No Accidents"), the rest were bad --- like actual criminals.
Just then, mid-sentence, this sketchy man sees somebody behind us, is startled, and without a word, turns the other way. Elder Scott and I turn around to see what he’s running from, to see if we should be running too but all we see is this little mute man. He's sitting next to Elder Scott and me on the sidewalk. That’s it. By the time we turn back, the angry stranger is nowhere to be seen. Our mute friend just sits with us on the sidewalk for a while as we take in what just happened in complete silence. We bask in the much-needed silence for a minute or two. We thank him. He nods and smiles. And we part ways, never to return to that place and never seeing either of the men again.
I don’t know what intentions that angry stranger had, I know he wasn’t associated with good business. As for the mute man, I started thinking of him as our guardian angel.
Angels have been around since the beginning of time. Some angels are seen, others unseen. We believe in angelic beings, such as those that announced Jesus' birth, and those who came to Joseph Smith, but not all angels are dressed in white. By simpler definitions, angels are those who look out for others. They are those people who go to those in need. They give us strength, they lead us into better paths, and they protect us from danger. Such angels include our friends and family past, present, and future. It is my testimony that our ancestors are among such angels who are aware of us and looking out for us.
Teaches Moroni in the Book of Mormon, “…Have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men?... 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…” (Moroni 7:36-37)
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