People not of our faith often inquire as to what Mormons believe about different subjects. This article below, written by D. Lauritsen, helps those not of our faith understand members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Inadvertently called by friends of other faiths, the “Mormon Church”) beliefs concerning angels. Latter-day Saints believe that there are good and bad angels, and that God uses angels to help build His kingdom and promote His work on the earth.
Not only do the scriptures, including the Holy Bible, and the Boo
k of Mormon, a record giving an account of God’s dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the American continent, give many accounts of angelic visits, but there have also been many accounts of angelic visits in modern times. Joseph Smith, a prophet whom God called to restore the Church of Jesus Christ to the earth, had many angelic visitations in connection with the restoration.
Do Mormons Believe In Angels?
Brief Answer: Yes, Latter-day Saints believe in angels and angelic visitations to man—visitations now as well as in ancient times, and visitations in the future.
Detailed Answer: Jesus revealed to Joseph Smith that angels are of two types: angels of God and angels of Satan.
The angels of God are primarily:
a. resurrected persons who live in the presence of God and act as his representatives and messengers to the earth (Peter, James, John, John the Baptist, Moroni, a Book of Mormon prophet, and so on).
b. the spirits of unresurrected persons who once lived on the earth and who now dwell in the presence of God and act as his celestial representatives and messengers (Gabriel).
c. the spirits of persons who have not yet been born on the earth but who live in the presence of God and act as his representatives and messengers (Jesus Christ in 3 Nephi 1:3 and in Ether 3:7–16).
d. the spirits of deceased persons who dwell in the spirit world awaiting resurrection (1 Peter 3:18–12; also Lazarus in Luke 16:19–31; see Question 32).
Those celestial beings referred to in a, b, and c, whose duties include visiting mankind on the earth as representatives of God, must hold his holy priesthood. Thus, the angelic messengers referred to in the scriptures are male (such as Gabriel, Moses, and Elias). Their female counterparts in the celestial realm are on God’s errand also, but their duties and responsibilities do not presently include acting as messengers to the earth. However, as pertains to the spirits in the spirit world awaiting resurrection, there are numerous written accounts attesting to the fact of both male and female spirits being permitted by God to visit their families on earth as part of God’s purposes.1
Some writers of the old and New Testaments, as well as Jesus himself, employed metaphors in their speaking and writing. Subsequently, artists across the centuries often included these metaphors in their works when portraying heaven and its inhabitants. Thus, God and his angels have often been portrayed with wings (Exodus 25:20; ruth 2:12; Malachi 4:2). In reality, neither the Father, Son, or their angelic messengers have wings, as Joseph Smith noted during his various visitations by celestial beings.
The angels of Satan consist of that one-third of the pre-mortal hosts of heaven that rebelliously chose to follow Satan, as both Isaiah and John the revelator saw in vision (Isaiah 14:12–17; revelation 12:7–9). Because of their open rebellion against the Father and the Son, Satan and his spirit followers were cast out of heaven and exiled to the earth. Hence, they forfeited the blessings of being born as corporeal human beings and being raised and nurtured in families. Consequently, Satan and his followers became even more enraged at God and have relentlessly sought to destroy those who do have physical bodies and seek to follow God’s plan. So desperate are Satan and his angels to have physical bodies that they not only seek to posses the bodies of human beings (Matthew 8:28; 9:32; 12:22, 43–45) but they are also willing to take over and inhabit the bodies of swine (Matthew 8:31).
Additional Resources:
More information about Mormons at the official site of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Request a free Book of Mormon, a companion to the Bible and another testament of Jesus Christ.
Visit a local meetinghouse.
Note:
1. For more information, see Life Eternal by Duane Crowther.
Source: D. Lauritsen, Mormons Under a Microscope, (Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort, Inc., 2010), 125-127.