Angels
By
Connie Raddon
Color Key:
Quotes from the
Mormon Teachings in blue.
Quotes from the
Bible in red.
Although
one’s understanding about Angels is not essential for salvation, I wanted to
write a comparison to point out that even in some of the smaller details (like
the nature and purpose of angels), Mormonism and Biblical Christianity contradict
each other.
What Does the Bible Say?
The word
translated as “angel” in the Hebrew is “malak”; in Greek it is “angelos”. Both mean “messenger”. It can be used to describe
·
Human
Being Messengers: 1 Sam 11:3; Job 1:14; Luke 7:24, 9:52
·
Prophets: Isaiah 42:19; Haggai 1:13
·
Priests: Malachi 2:7
·
Non-human
agents (used figuratively): Ex 14:19; 2
Sam 24:15-17; Psalm 104:4
However, in the
Bible, the most common use for “angel” refers to specific spiritual and
superhuman beings who are sent to humans as messengers from God. The Bible describes the characteristic of
these spiritual and superhuman beings:
·
They
have a personal existence:
o
Gen
16:7-11 – An angel speaks with Hagar in a two-sided conversation
o
Judges
13:2-21 – An angel has a conversation with Manoah and his wife
o
Matt
28:2-7 – An angel speaks to the women at Jesus’ empty tomb. He is described “his
appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow”.
·
They
are very numerous:
o
Daniel
7:10 “Thousands upon thousands were attending Him”.
o
Matt
26:53 “…more
than twelve legions of angels”.
·
They
have different ranks in dignity and power:
o
Zech
1:9-11 “These are those whom the Lord has sent to patrol
the earth”.
o
Daniel
12:1 “…Michael, the great prince who stands guard over
the sons of your people…”
o
1
Thess 4:16 “For the Lord Himself will descend from
heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of
God…”
o
Eph
1:21 – Christ is above all – “far above all rule and
authority and power and dominion…”
o
Coloss
1:16 For by Him all things were created, both in the
heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or
rulers of authorities – all things have been created through Him and for Him.”
·
They
are spirit:
o
Hebrews
1:14 “Are they not all ministering spirits…?”
·
They
appear to man in human form:
o
Luke
24:4 “While they were perplexed about this, behold, two
men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing”
“We know angels
never die (Luke 20:36) and they possess superhuman intelligence and power (Mark
13:32; 2 Thess 1:7; Psalms 103:20). We
know their strength is great, which could be a result of not being confined to
a physical nature (Psalms 103:20; Rev 5:2, 18:21) We also know their activities are described
as ‘marvelous’ (Isaiah 6:2-6; Matthew 26:53; Rev 8:13)”1
“There are no
reports of angelic appearances to man until after the call of Abraham. And then from that time onward there are
frequent references to their ministry on earth.
Then Jesus was
born.
And here we are
introduced to what we call the
ministrations of angels. It sort of seems like Jesus brought them with Him
to earth and they came with their King to do him service while He was here.”2
“So there’s the
Biblical view. In summary, angels are a
creation of God, superior to human beings in power, might, and ability, who
govern the affairs of heaven and earth, and the final state of the redeemed
humanity is said to the ‘like’ them.
Bottom line in
Mormonism: they are all human beings in
some state of progression or another.
The LDS completely discount the Biblical idea that angels are a
completely different species from humans, created in heaven for heavenly
purposes.”3
What Does Mormonism Say?
“Angels are not, as traditional Christians aver
[believe, declare], special creations of God.
Rather, they are human beings who minister for the Lord. An angel may be a resurrected being (D&C
129:1); a translated being; an unembodied spirit, one who has not yet taken a
physical body; a disembodied spirit, one who has lived and died and now awaits
the resurrection…”4
“Indeed, one of the signs of the times, and one of the
spiritual indicators of a people’s worthiness, is the extent to which angels
continue to minister, inasmuch as ‘it is by faith that the angels appear and
minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the
children of men, for it is because of unbelief’ (Moroni 7:37)
‘The keys of the ministering of angels’ were restored
by John the Baptist on 15 May 1829 (D&C 13:1). Further, the ministry of angels is a gift of
the Spirit (Moroni 10:14), a gift the Saints of God are encouraged to seek
(D&C 46:8).”5
The LDS
scriptures teach that if a man and woman
do not get married in the temple, (with the LDS priesthood authority), they
will not be sealed together but instead they will only be as the angels – like
it is a form of punishment – and they will not be able to progress any further.
“Therefore, if a man marry him a wife in the world, and
he marry her not by me nor by my word, and he covenant with her so long as he
is in the world and she with him, their covenant and marriage are not of force
when they are dead, and when they are out of the world; therefore, they are not
bound by any law when they are out of the world. Therefore, when they are out of the world
they neither marry nor are given in marriage; but are appointed angels in
heaven, which angels are ministering servants, to minister for those who are
worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory. For these angels did not abide my law;
therefore, they cannot be enlarged, but remain separately and singly, without
exaltation, in their saved condition, to
all eternity; and from henceforth are not gods, but are angels of God forever
and ever” D&C 132:16-17
“Angels are those beings who have been on
an earth like this, and have passed through the same ordeals that we are now
passing through. They have kept their
first estate far enough to preserve themselves in the Priesthood. They did not so violate the law of the
Priesthood and condemn themselves to the sin against the Holy Ghost as to be
finally lost. They are not crowned with
the celestial ones. They are persons who
have lived upon an earth, but did not magnify the Priesthood in that high
degree that many others have done who have become Gods, even the sons of
God. Human beings that pertain to this
world, who do not magnify or are not capable of magnifying their high calling
in the Priesthood and receive crowns of glory, immortality, and eternal lives,
will also, when they again receive their bodies, become angels and will receive
a glory. They are single, without
families or kingdoms to reign over. All
the difference between men and angels is, men are passing through the day of
trial that angels have already passed through.
They belong to the same family that we do; but they have proven
themselves worthy only of an exaltation to the state of angels, whereas we have
the privilege of obtaining not only the same exaltation they enjoy, but of
going further until we become Gods, even the songs of God.” (Brigham Young, January 5, 1860, Journal of Discourses 9:102-103
“Those
without eternal marriage may be angels. Now, the angels will be the people who did not
go to the temple, who did not have their work done in the temple. And if there are some of us who make no
effort to cement these ties, we may be angels for the rest of eternity. But if we do all in our power and seal our
wives or husbands to us… then we may become gods and pass by the angels in
heaven. Some might say, ‘Well, I’d be
satisfied to just become an angel.’ But you would not. One never would be satisfied just to be a
ministering angel to wait upon other people when he could be the king
himself.” The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball (12th President of the
LDS Church), pg. 51
“God, angels, and men are all of one
species, one race, one great family, widely diffused amont the planetary
systems as colonies, kingdoms, nations, etc.”
LDS Apostle, Parley P. Pratt, Key
to the Science of Theology 1978, pg 21
Mormons claim
they are Christian. However, the LDS
belief about angels is NOT Biblical, and therefore, NOT consistent with
Christian beliefs.
On May 18, 1873 (as recorded in the
Journal of Discourses, Vol. 16 p. 46), Brigham Young issued a challenge: “Take up the Bible, compare the religion of
the Latter Day Saints with it, and see if it will stand the test.”
I have accepted that challenge from
Brigham Young.
On the subject of Angels, the LDS
religion FAILS this test.
1“Where Mormonism Meets Biblical Christianity Face to
Face: An A to Z Doctrinal Comparative
between Mormonism and Biblical Christianity” by Shawn Aaron McCraney
(2011) pg. 14-15
2 Ibid pg 15-16
3 Ibid pg 16-17
4 “LDS Beliefs: A
Doctrinal Reference” by Millet, Olson, Skinner, and Top; Robert Millet is the author of the section on
Angels in this book. Pg. 36
5 Ibid pg. 36
Other
Sources used for this article:
The BIBLE
The New STRONG’S
Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
The New UNGERS
Bible Dictionary
“In Their Own
Words – A Collection of Mormon Quotations” Compiled by Bill McKeever
The Book of
Mormon (LDS Scripture)
The Doctrine
& Covenants (D&C) – (LDS Scripture)
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