Real angels don't have wings
The subject of angels is of interest to many people today. The New Age movement popularized the subject in several books. No people on the earth today have more experience with angels than Latter-day Saints. We owe our existence not only to the personal appearance of the Father and the Son to Joseph Smith in 1820, but also to a string of visitations by heavenly messengers and angelic beings that followed.
Throughout history, heavenly messengers or angels have been sent from God to convey instruction, warnings, foretell events, confer knowledge, and keys of authority. Angels play a role in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. For example, it was an angel named Gabriel who appeared to Daniel in the Old Testament. Gabriel also was the angel who appeared to Mary and told her that she would bear the Son of the Eternal Father. Michael is chief among the angels and is known as the archangel and "the prince."
Angels can choose to be visible or invisible to mortal eyes. The servant of Elijah saw an army of angelic beings surrounding and protecting the people of Israel. A multitude of angels appeared to shepherds who were abiding in the fields watching over their flocks outside of Bethlehem the night Jesus was born.
Joseph Smith taught:
There are two kinds of beings in heaven, namely: Angels, who are resurrected personages, having bodies of flesh and bones—For instance, Jesus said: Handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. Secondly: the spirits of just men made perfect, they who are not resurrected, but inherit the same glory. When a messenger comes saying he has a message from God, offer him your hand and request him to shake hands with you. If he be an angel he will do so, and you will feel his hand. If he be the spirit of a just man made perfect he will come in his glory; for that is the only way he can appear—Ask him to shake hands with you, but he will not move, because it is contrary to the order of heaven for a just man to deceive; but he will still deliver his message. If it be the devil as an angel of light, when you ask him to shake hands he will offer you his hand, and you will not feel anything; you may therefore detect him. These are three grand keys whereby you may know whether any administration is from God. (Doctrine and Covenants 129:1-8)
Joseph gave further clarification in a sermon sometime later:
"An angel of God never has wings. Some will say that they have seen a spirit; that he offered them his hand, but they did not touch it. This is a lie. First, it is contrary to the plan of God; a spirit cannot come but in glory; an angel has flesh and bones; we see not their glory. The devil may appear as an angel of light. Ask God to reveal it; if it be of the devil, he will flee from you; if of God, He will manifest Himself, or make it manifest. We may come to Jesus and ask Him; He will know all about it; if He comes to a little child, he will adapt himself to the language and capacity of a little child." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith)
Wings, the Prophet Joseph explained, are figurative scriptural symbols of power to move, act, etc. Another interesting observation is than true angels of God do not have "sandy hair." He recounted the following incident in Church history:
"There have also been ministering angels in the Church which were of Satan appearing as an angel of light. A sister in the state of New York had a vision, who said it was told her that if she would go to a certain place in the woods, and angel would appear to her. She went at the appointed time, and saw a glorious personage descending, arrayed in white, with sandy colored hair; he commenced and told her to fear God, and said that her husband was called to do great things, but that he must not go more than one hundred miles from home, or he would not return; whereas God had called him to go to the ends of the earth, and he has since been more than one thousand miles from home, and is yet alive. Many true things were spoken by this personage, and many things that were false. How, it may be asked, was this known to be a bad angel? By the color of his hair; that is one of the signs that he can be known by, and by his contradicting a former revelation." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith)
Some critics of Mormonism's origins have tried to write off the appearances of the members of the Godhead and the various angelic ministers as "angels of light." The Bible tells us that Satan and the spirits who follow him can appear as angels of light to deceieve mankind. The Bible is correct in this. However, the teachings of Joseph Smith on this subject teach us how an angel of light may be detected. It is impossible that Satan could appear as a resurrected being like Jesus Christ or God the Father, because they have glorified, perfected, TANGIBLE bodies, which fact is apparent to those who have seen them.
Interstingly, resurrected beings have the ability to conceal their glory and appear as common mortals. For example, Jesus appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus shortly after his resurrection and they knew him not. They perceived him as a mortal man. Thus, the Apostle Paul leaves us with a provocative exhortation, to be kind to and be willing to take in strangers, saying that some had "entertained angels" without knowing it. (Hebrews 13:2)
Latter-day Prophets after Joseph Smith's time have amplified our understanding of angels even more. For example, we are taught that no angels have ever ministered to this earth except those who belong to it. In other words, we are the fellowservants of the angels. In many cases, they are connected to us, either being members of our families who have lived on earth and passed into a glorious afterlife or they are spirits who are awaiting birth into this mortal domain. It is logical to assume that those who have the most personal interest in our protection and success in this life are those who are related to us by past or future family ties.
The Bible, Apocrypha, and Jewish tradition tell us the names of seven important angels. They are Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, Phanuel, Uriel, Raguel, and Sariel. By modern revelation, we know that each of these archangels lived on earth as a mortal man. Each of them were "key-holders" of the Holy Priesthood of God. We know the mortal identity of three of them. Michael was the man Adam, to whom God gave dominion over the earth in the Garden of Eden. He is the chief over all of them. Raphael was the mortal prophet Enoch. Gabriel was the mortal prophet Noah. No further revelation is available to identify the other angels, but the heads of the other gospel dispensations in earth's history would include Moses, Peter, Abel, and Joseph Smith.
An angel who figured prominently in the Restoration of the gospel is Moroni. Moroni was the son of Mormon, who compiled the documents that comprise the Book of Mormon and engraved them on metallic plates. When his father was mortally wounded in battle, Moroni completed his father's record, translated the Book of Ether to include with it, and then added his own testament as the last book of the Book of Mormon. Around 420 A.D., He built a stone box and buried the plates in a hill near what is now modern-day Palmyra, New York.
Some 1400 years later, Moroni appeared as a resurrected being to the young Prophet Joseph and revealed him the location of the plates and instructed him in his future mission. For four years, Moroni attended to the spiritual preparations of young Joseph. Moroni was not an angel of light. He had a physical form, as do all resurrected personages. Here's how Joseph described him:
"He had on a loose robe of most exquisite whiteness. It was a whiteness beyond anything earthly I had ever seen; nor do I believe that any earthly thing could be made to appear so exceedingly white and brilliant. His hands were naked, and his arms also, a little above the wrist; so, also, were his feet naked, as were his legs, a little above the ankles. His head and neck were also bare. I could discover that he had no other clothing on but this robe, as it was open, so that I could see into his bosom. Not only was his robe exceedingly white, but his whole person was glorious beyond description, and his countenance truly like lightning. The room was exceedingly light, but not so very bright as immediately around his person." (Joseph Smith History 1:31-32)
The Bible promised us that God would send "another angel flying in the midst of heaven" who would have the everlasting gospel to bring to the earth, which would be taught to every nation in the last days before the Second Coming. This passage speaks of Moroni who would bring the Book of Mormon to the earth. The Lord confirmed this, telling Joseph Smith in 1831:
"I have sent forth mine angel flying through the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel, who hath appeared unto some and hath committed it unto man, who shall appear unto many that dwell on the earth. (Doctrine and Covenants 133:36)
Many have seen this angel, Moroni, and he will appear unto many to confirm the testimony of the Book of Mormon. I have had the amazing privilege to hear the testimony of a man in Newport News, Virginia who saw the angel Moroni and the gold plates and felt the powerful witness of the Holy Ghost bearing witness of the truth of his words.
In 1829, Joseph Smith and his scribe, Oliver Cowdery, were visited by four angelic beings: John the Baptist, who restored the Aaronic Priesthood and the apostles Peter, James, and John, who conferred the keys of the kingdom, the Melchizedek Priesthood, and the holy apostleship. Again, these were physical beings. They laid their tangible hands upon the heads of Joseph and Oliver, performing these ordinations by the laying on of hands. Here is Oliver Cowdery's stirring account of the appearance of John the Baptist:
"On a sudden, as from the midst of eternity, the voice of the Redeemer spake peace to us, while the veil was parted and the angel of God came down clothed with glory, and delivered the anxiously looked for message, and the keys of the Gospel of repentance. What joy! what wonder! what amazement! While the world was racked and distracted—while millions were groping as the blind for the wall, and while all men were resting upon uncertainty, as a general mass, our eyes beheld, our ears heard, as in the ‘blaze of day’; yes, more—above the glitter of the May sunbeam, which then shed its brilliancy over the face of nature! Then his voice, though mild, pierced to the center, and his words, ‘I am thy fellow-servant,’ dispelled every fear. We listened, we gazed, we admired! ’Twas the voice of an angel from glory, ’twas a message from the Most High! And as we heard we rejoiced, while His love enkindled upon our souls, and we were wrapped in the vision of the Almighty! Where was room for doubt? Nowhere; uncertainty had fled, doubt had sunk no more to rise, while fiction and deception had fled forever!
“But, dear brother, think, further think for a moment, what joy filled our hearts, and with what surprise we must have bowed, (for who would not have bowed the knee for such a blessing?) when we received under his hand the Holy Priesthood as he said, ‘Upon you my fellow-servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer this Priesthood and this authority, which shall remain upon earth, that the Sons of Levi may yet offer an offering unto the Lord in righteousness!’
“I shall not attempt to paint to you the feelings of this heart, nor the majestic beauty and glory which surrounded us on this occasion; but you will believe me when I say, that earth, nor men, with the eloquence of time, cannot begin to clothe language in as interesting and sublime a manner as this holy personage. No; nor has this earth power to give the joy, to bestow the peace, or comprehend the wisdom which was contained in each sentence as they were delivered by the power of the Holy Spirit! Man may deceive his fellow-men, deception may follow deception, and the children of the wicked one may have power to seduce the foolish and untaught, till naught but fiction feeds the many, and the fruit of falsehood carries in its current the giddy to the grave; but one touch with the finger of his love, yes, one ray of glory from the upper world, or one word from the mouth of the Savior, from the bosom of eternity, strikes it all into insignificance, and blots it forever from the mind. The assurance that we were in the presence of an angel, the certainty that we heard the voice of Jesus, and the truth unsullied as it flowed from a pure personage, dictated by the will of God, is to me past description, and I shall ever look upon this expression of the Savior’s goodness with wonder and thanksgiving while I am permitted to tarry; and in those mansions where perfection dwells and sin never comes, I hope to adore in that day which shall never cease.” —Messenger and Advocate, vol. 1 (October 1834), pp. 14—16.
Other angels who appeared to Joseph Smith and his associates included Moses, Elijah, and Elias who conferred specific keys and authority to accomplish specific tasks related to the gathering of Israel, the turning of the hearts of the children to the fathers and the fathers to the children (Malachi 4:5-6), and the Abrahamic covenant. This occurred in Kirtland, Ohio, on April 3rd, 1836, the day of the Jewish Passover.
Angels have appeared in physical form to Latter-day Saint pioneers and also in modern times. Angels appear to many within our temples. Even when unseen, their presence is felt in those sacred premises. When I was a missionary, I also taught and baptized and baptized a man in France who was visited by an angel and whose family was visited by angels to bear witness of the truth of my own testimony to him. My wife, my children, and I have been the recipients of angelic protection on several occasions. I know angels exist from personal experience.
My experience is not unique. One does not have to be a Latter-day Saint to have experienced such manifestations. Many among us have had incidents of protection, guidance, and inspiration from contact with angels, without ever knowing it. If you trace back through your life, you may recall an odd meeting with someone who seemed very familiar to you, but whom you just couldn't place. That individual may have had a knowledge of you and your situation that you felt was uncanny. Perhaps he offered encouragement, discussed your thoughts regarding an important choice, or perhaps offered advice against a course of action. To reiterate, it isn't an experience unique to Latter-day Saints. God loves all his children and he often dispatches angels to watch over us and help us in times of need.
Angels, as servants of God, respect our agency. They regard us as fellowservants. They do not desire our worship or honor. They are servants of God sent to help us when we have need. When we pray, angels are often sent to our aid without our knowing it. If we should be privileged to be made aware of that intervention, then we should count ourselves as blessed.
Angels are real. They are a manifestation of God's love for us and they are concerned about our successes and failures in life. It is possible for mortals to detect the difference between angels from God and angels of light sent from Satan. I leave you with the words of the angel in the Book of Revelation:
"I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." (Revelation 19:10)
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