John Bytheway

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Angels Round About Us

October 11, 2015 1 Comment

My family enjoyed Brother Devin G. Durrant’s talk, and his introduction of a new word into the LDS world, “ponderize!” So, in case you’re interested, here’s our first verse to ponder and memorize, posted on the most popular place in the house – no, not the library – the fridge!

Ponderize w

We chose a verse about angels because we had recently watched the movie, “The Cokeville Miracle,” about an elementary school held hostage in Wyoming in 1986, and the stories the children told of people dressed in white who helped them.

In April of 1989 General Conference, President Ezra Taft Benson gave a classic talk entitled “Beware of Pride” (President Benson was in frail health, so it was read to the congregation by President Hinckley). But he also gave another entitled “To the Children of the Church” (which was read by President Monson). In that talk, President Benson spoke to the children in these words:

Now I want to say something to you children who do not feel safe and who are frightened or hurt and do not know what to do. Sometimes you may feel all alone. You need to know that even when it seems that no one else cares, your Heavenly Father does. He will always love you. He wants you to be protected and safe. If you are not, please talk to someone who can help you—a parent, a teacher, your bishop, or a friend. They will help you.

President Benson then recounted the story from 3 Nephi 17 of the Savior’s visit and the angels ministering to the children. Then he said:

I promise you, dear children, that angels will minister unto you also. You may not see them, but they will be there to help you, and you will feel of their presence.

I wanted my children to hear these statements from President Benson, especially after watching that movie. I don’t know why some live and some die in these types of tragedies. I wouldn’t dare to try to explain it. We may never know in this life. But, instead of focusing on what we don’t know, we focus on what we do know, and we keep the faith. I have always loved the statement of President John Taylor:

God lives, and his eyes are over us, and his angels are round and about us, and they are more interested in us than we are in ourselves, ten thousand times, but we do not know it (Journal of Discourses, 23: 222).

If you don’t mind a book recommendation, Brother Donald W. Parry wrote an excellent book on angels that I found to be very helpful and inspiring. Get it here.


Comments

  1. Laura says

    October 22, 2015 at 4:24 pm

    Thanks for the encouragement today.

    Reply

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JOHN BYTHEWAY served a mission to the Philippines and later graduated from Brigham Young University. He has a master's degree in religious education and is a part-time instructor at the BYU Salt Lake Center. John is the author of many bestselling books, audio talks, and DVDs, including How to Be an Extraordinary Teen; Life Rocks; and his first children's picture book, The Sacrament. He and his wife, Kimberly, have six children.

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