Author explores the roles and purposes of angels

(by Trent Toone deseretnews.com 7-28-13)

Angels exist and they are anxiously engaged in blessing lives.

That's one of several messages shared in Donald W. Parry's new book, "Angels: Agents of Light, Love and Power."

"It is my testimony that angels do exist," the author wrote in the book's introduction. "I testify also that the sacred work of angels continues in our own time. I am convinced that angels are at work among us now."

Parry is a professor of the Hebrew Bible at Brigham Young University. He has served as a member of the international team of translators of the Dead Sea Scrolls for almost 20 years. Parry is also the author or co-author of more than 30 books and numerous articles on the Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

In "Angels," Parry asserts that angels have always been a fascinating topic for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He writes that LDS Church founder Joseph Smith received dozens of communications from angels. During the decades since 1971, general conference speakers have referred to angels or cited scriptures about angels more than 1,400 times. LDS Church leaders have also referred to angels in various official publications.

"One of the things that will become more important in our lives the longer we live is the reality of angels, their work and their ministry," Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve said in Ensign article in 1996. "I refer here not alone to the angel Moroni but also to those more personal ministering angels who are with us and around us, empowered to help us and who do exactly that."
In his book, Parry cautiously uses reliable Mormon sources to address these questions:

• What are angels?
• What powers and abilities are angels given?
• How do angels communicate with mortals?
• What are the assigned missions and roles of angels?
• How do angels reveal truth and teach the doctrines of the gospel?
• How do angels minister to and comfort mortals?
• What is the role of guardian angels in the modern world?

"Angels move about the earth conducting the Lord's divine work. They serve, minister and mingle among us, usually without our awareness," Parry writes. "Most of us in mortality will never see an angel, but each of us nevertheless enjoys the blessings of the restored gospel because of the divinely directed actions of angels."

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