Father Gives Grace To The Humble

 From time to time, I have received a question about the ministering of angels. Some folks being concerned with not having received the ministering of angels. They make statements like: God needs to give me the ministering of angels, so I can have faith; I have prayed like Enos, all day and all night, and still nothing; I need angels to tell me what to do; Angels come to others, they should come to me; etc.

I myself have found that angels come when it fits in with Father's plan. They do not come when there is no need. Everything must be done according to the plan, the purpose of this earth. I am reminded of the scripture from James, chapter 4, verse 3:

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

Heavenly Father is not vain, and does nothing for vanity, and if we ask to see angels for vanity, then it is not likely that we will have our request granted. In fact, I would be more worried about a devil showing up, masquerading as an angel of light, and deceiving people who ask for their own desire.

Father gives grace to the humble. Humble means we are doing things for Father, the things He commands us to do, and when we ask for the assistance of an angel in doing the things Father commands us to do, then it is often at those times, when an angel will be requested to help us. Yet, we are to be the angels that Father needs to go do His work.

I came across a talk given by Brother Woodruff, from which I would like to quote just a small portion:

I am pleased to meet with so many of our friends this morning, and I feel desirous to talk to you upon a principle that I very seldom dwell upon before the congregations of the Saints. I have had my mind somewhat exercised of late on various thing, perhaps for the purposes known to the Lord better than myself, though they are principles we are all more or less acquainted with.

One of the Apostles said to me years ago,

"Brother Woodruff, I have prayed for a long time for the Lord to send the administration of an angel to me. I have had a great desire for this, but I have never had my prayers answered."

I said to him that if he were to pray a thousand years to the God of Israel for that gift it would not be granted unless the Lord had a motive in sending an angel to him. I told him that the Lord never did nor never will send and angel to anybody merely to gratify the desire of the individual to see an angel. I said to him that these were my views. The Lord had sent angels to men from the creation of the world, at different times, but always with a message or with something to perform that could not be performed without. I rehearsed to him different times when angels appeared to men. Of course, I referred to the last days an angel would fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach to them that dwelt on the earth. The reason it required an angel to do this work was the Gospel and the Priesthood had been taken from among men.
Hence, God had to restore it again.

Now, I have always said, and I want to say it to you, that the Holy Ghost is what every Saint of God needs. It is far more important that a man should have that gift than he should have the ministration of an angel, unless it is necessary for an angel to teach him something that he has not been taught.

I am going to refer to some of my own experiences with regard to the ministration of angels and that operation of the Holy Ghost. I have never prayed for the visitation of an angel, but I have had the ministration of an angel several times in my life.