The first Relief Society lesson of the month is generally selected and prepared by the Relief Society president: in short, totally random and fairly unpredictable, and thus difficult to prepare for. However, now that I’ve been called into the Relief Society presidency, one of my duties is to prepare a lesson, and March is my turn! So, although the contents may not be as close to the Relief Society lessons you will receive on Sunday, the gospel principles are certainly just as applicable to all of our sisters.
This lesson will actually have a familiar ring to it, as the title is identical to my very first blog post: The Errand of Angels. However, as I studied the topic that I have studied and applied over the last nine and a half years, I was amazed at the broad applications involved.
Since “The errand of angels is given to women” (Hymn 309), I decided to study and ponder what, precisely, the errand of angels is. The more I delved into the scriptures, the more I was impressed by what angels do on this earth.
1. Angels announce events relevant to the Lord’s work on Earth. They proclaimed the birth (Luke 2:9-14) and resurrection (Matthew 28:1-8) of the Savior and the restoration of the Church of Christ (Revelations 14:6-20).
2. Angels preach the gospel. , both Moroni (Moroni 7:22) and Moses (Moses 5:58) stated that the gospel was preached by angels of the Lord. I only found two stories in the scriptures pertaining to this, and one I wasn’t sure of (the conversion of Alma the Younger and the sons of Mosiah). However, In Moses 5:6-8, Adam and Eve are taught the gospel by an angel, thus learning of their Savior, Jesus Christ.
3. Angels declare the word of Christ to chosen vessels. Those who have been chosen to do specific tasks often receive angelic instructions. Think of Gabriel’s visits to Mary (Luke 1:26-38) and Joseph (Matthew 1:20-23), prior to the birth of Christ. Gabriel also visited Zacharias to announce the impending birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1:11-20). Similarly, the angel Moroni visited the boy Joseph Smith to aid in the bringing forth of the Book of Mormon and the restoration of the Church (JS-H 1:30-47).
4. Angels bring their keys, honors, and priesthood to Earth to restore them. The Aaronic priesthood was bestowed by John the Baptist (JS-H 1:68-73) and the Melchezidic through the visitation of Peter, James and John (D&C 27:12-13). Without these, the gospel could not have been fully restored.
5. Angels guide and protect God’s servants, enabling them to fulfill their missions and appointments. The most obvious example that sprang to my mind was that of Shadrach, Mischach, and Abindigo when thrown into the fiery furnace (Daniel 3:28). We discussed in the previous blog the intervention of an angel to prevent Laman and Lemuel from murdering Nephi and Sam (1 Nephi 3:29). In Acts 5:18-20, the apostles Peter and John are arrested, and are freed by an angel of the Lord.
6. Finally, angels provide comfort, warnings, and directions to the faithful as needed. Perhaps the best example of this is in Alma 8:14-18. Having preached unsuccessfully in Ammonihah, Alma leaves the city discouraged. An angel appears and tells him to be of good cheer. The angel – the same one who rebuked him when he rebelled against the church – reminds him that he was blessed and has cause to rejoice. Alma follows the instructions to return to the city and there meets Amulek, his missionary companion. Other angels provide similar comfort and warnings. Hagar is comforted and sent back to her mistress, Sarai, in Genesis 16:7. Joseph is warned to take the baby Jesus and flee to Egypt (Matthew 2:13), then later told when to return (Matthew 2:19-20).
Now we know the various missions that angels perform on this earth. Over the remainder of the week, we will examine ways that we can seek to perform these same errands, thus growing closer to Heavenly Father and to our Savior.
Related Articles:
The Errand of Angels is Given to Women
Relief Society: Building Unity