another story of angels

Another story that was posted on Facebook by a friend...Thanks Britney.

"I went on a date with a friend last night. While we were walking to the restaurant he stopped and talked to a homeless woman and offered to buy her dinner. He bought her dinner and then gave her his coat which was worth at least $150."

"He truly lives the gospel and what it stands for; Props to my homie Jared for staying true."

Jared-i don't know you but props from me too! Another reminder that angels do live among us. Thanks for your example.

took this gem from a friends facebook posting...

We were given two hands to hold. Two legs to walk. Two eyes to see. Two ears to listen. But why only one heart? Because the other was given to someone else for us to find.

Wrong Number Miracle

(Doug found this story)

She could hear the desperation in the voice on the message left on her answering machine. It was 5 a.m. on the day before Thanksgiving, and the caller, Lucy Crutchfield, was leaving a message for her daughter telling her that she would send money for groceries, even though she'd have to miss a mortgage payment to do it.

But Lucy had dialed the wrong number. Instead of getting her daughter, she got Virginia Saenz, a real estate agent from the San Diego area.

The message broke Virginia's heart. She did the only thing she could think of. She called Lucy back. She told Lucy that the number she dialed wasn't her daughter's and then told her she didn't need to worry anymore. Virginia volunteered to buy the groceries Lucy's daughter needed so that Lucy could pay her mortgage.

Virginia then called Lucy's daughter and asked her what she needed. All that was asked for was milk and eggs. That furthered Virginia's heartache. She felt that if one was asking for only milk and eggs, they probably needed so much more.

So, Virginia went grocery shopping on Thanksgiving morning with her 14-year-old son in tow to tell her what kids liked to eat. They bought food for a Thanksgiving dinner and enough groceries to get Lucy's daughter through the end of the month.

Angels do live among us.

"I have spoken . . . of heavenly help, of angels dispatched to bless us in time of need. But when we speak of those who are instruments in the hand of God, we are reminded that not all angels are from the other side of the veil. Some of them we walk with and talk with—here, now, every day. Indeed heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind."

"May we all believe more readily in, and have more gratitude for, the Lord's promise as contained in one of President Monson's favorite scriptures: 'I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, . . . my Spirit shall be in your heart, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up' (D&C 84:88). In the process of praying for those angels to attend us, may we all try to be a little more angelic ourselves—with a kind word, a strong arm, a declaration of faith and 'the covenant wherewith [we] have covenanted' (D&C 90:24). Perhaps then we can be emissaries sent from God." (Elder Jeffrey Holland -October 2008 General Conference)

The Snake Story

Here's a great story I heard at a meeting I was at recently. It was told by a man who lives in the East Lancaster area. I may not have all the details exactly right-but the gist of the story is as follows:

One early morning-around 4:00 a.m. he was up and planning his day, meditating and praying. He got a prompting to go check the weather. He thought that was an odd prompting and thought "I dont need to know what the weather is going to be today" and continued on with his praying. Anyway, he received this prompting again and thought, "Ok. I will go and check the weather." When he opened his front door he heard the unmistakable sound of a rattlesnake right outside his door. Instinctively he jumped. While he was mid-air he thought,"Great. I am mid-air and the snake is somewhere below me and I don't know where it is and I am barefoot." He landed, not on the snake, but went and got a shovel, found the snake and killed it. (nice story)

A few minutes later he returned to his praying and pondering and wondered why he was so prompted to check the weather and find the snake. And then he remembered. A 16 year old girl came to his house every morning and waited on his porch for a ride to seminary. The Lord was protecting this girl. (He said, I don't know why he found me expendable, but he loved this girl.) He later felt that this girl needed to hear about this experience and so he shared with her how much her Heavenly Father loved her.

I love this story because it epitomizes many things that I love. First-that there is a God in heaven who hears and answers our prayers. Second-we need to act on promptings when we receive them. Third-That our Heavenly Father does indeed love us very much.

Further Protection

One day, years ago, in the town of Gelsenkirchen, Germany there was a missionary who was having a very bad, horrible, rotten, terrible, no good day. She was walking her bike to the repair shop for about the 4th time that week. (And it was only Wednesday!) Frustrated, because instead of working, time was being wasted in bike repairs. Not only that but each repair cost money, and resources were limited. Feeling very alone and sad she offered up a silent prayer to her Heavenly Father, asking him if he saw her or if he heard her or if he was even aware of her plight. And then, she was given a sweet little gift. A vision of sorts. In her minds eye she saw her family at home gathering in family prayer. She heard her earthly father ask in prayer to bless and watch over his daughter and son while they were on their missions. Quick calculations were made, and even though it was later in the day in Germany it was probably the exact time her family was having their morning family prayer at home. Her spirit soared. She knew she was being watched over. She knew someone cared. She felt her burden lifted. She knew that not only did she have a earthly father who cared for her, her Heavenly Father was equally aware of her and did indeed answer her prayer.

(And the bicycle repairman that day took pity and didn't even charge me for my repair!)

Protection

"No mother would carelessly send her little children forth to school on a wintry morning without warm clothes to protect against the snow and rain and cold. But, there are numerous fathers and mothers who send their children to school without the protective covering available to them through prayer-a protection against exposure to unknown hazards, evil people and base temptations." -Spencer W. Kimball

Freshman Year

My niece started BYU this week, causing me to reflect on my own college experience. I started out at BYU about 2 weeks after High School graduation. I was 17 1/2 years old. My mom after a very long and tearful goodbye, left me in my dorm room all alone. My never met nor seen nor spoken to before roommate had not yet checked in. I was alone. I was lonely. The tears and anguish seemed never ending. I had felt the like only world I had known been ripped from me. I did the only thing I knew how to do when I was sad. I got on my knees and prayed to Heavenly Father. After a few minutes of pleading to be rescued from my sorrow, I felt a warm arm drape across my shoulders. I heard a male voice say, "I will be your friend. I will be with you always." This voice was so audible and the warmth across my shoulders was so tangible that I opened my eyes and peeked to see who had come into my room. No one was there. But I was comforted. Those words, "I will be your friend. I will be with you always." have given me support numerous times since then.