The Errand of Angels

During my sophomore year at Brigham Young University, I signed up for a mentoring program through the local school district. I was assigned to meet each Monday with a fifth-grade boy named Israel Mendoza.  Although I did not at that time have a great love for kids in general, I quickly bonded with this little boy with big brown eyes and a sweet smile.  In addition to working on his math homework, we talked about his life.  Israel told me his family did not have a lot of money, and he was sometimes teased by his classmates because he wore the same sweatshirt to school most days.  I did the best I could to encourage him in his schoolwork and his life.  We were great pals.

         
At my first visit with Israel after Christmas, I learned that his teacher had organized a Sub For Santa type of project for Israel’s family.  Israel was very excited about his new basketball and that he no longer had to wear the same sweatshirt to school every day.  I was delighted to see the big smile on Israel’s face as he talked about the gifts of love that had been given to his family. 
         
After Israel told me about his Christmas, he asked me some deep questions.  He was concerned about whether death was scary and whether God was real.  Since we were in a public school setting, I did not know at first what would be appropriate for me to say.  I finally had the thought to ask him if his family went to church, and Israel said his family was Catholic.  I asked if they believed in Jesus, and he confirmed that they did.  Then I told Israel that death is not scary because we get to be with Jesus up in heaven, and He loves us so much that it will be wonderful to be with Him.  We felt the warmth of Jesus’ love for us as we talked about these questions for about half an hour, and then it was time for me to leave.
         
As I walked back to campus, I realized my visits with Israel were the highlight of my week, so I decided to tell him the next time we met together. Israel was proud of the fact that he was the first kid I had ever mentored, and I could not help but love my angelic boy.  Each time I walked back to campus from his school, I found myself thinking of ways I could keep mentoring him after that year so I could encourage him to continue working hard at school.  I hoped he would go to college and build a happy life for himself.  I had big dreams for my little friend.
         
On the next Monday, I walked to the school as usual and signed in at the office.  I had arrived a little early, so I leaned into the classroom to tell Israel’s teacher that I would wait in the hall until he came in from recess.  She looked at me with a strange expression on her face, and then she said Israel had been killed in a car wreck the past weekend.  I was shocked and heartbroken.  I cried all the way back to campus and often during the next week.
         
At the time, I could only see how sad it was for Israel to die so young.  I still cry when I think about him, especially when I think of how much his mother must miss him.  But as I look back on the experience, I realize the Lord knew Israel was coming to the end of his time in this life.  God did not want this sweet boy to be sad or scared, so He inspired Israel’s teacher to make his last Christmas a wonderful time for his family, and He inspired me with the right words to help Israel feel peace about death instead of fear.   Then He called His boy home.  It was all part of His plan.
         
Jesus taught, “Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14).  I feel the time I spent with Israel was a little taste of heaven, and I know that Israel really is happy with Jesus now.  A favorite hymn states, “The errand of angels is given to women; and this is a gift that, as sisters, we claim” (As Sisters in Zion, LDS Hymnbook, 309).  I believe the Lord sends angels from both sides of the veil to help children.  How grateful I am that the Lord chose to place a young and inexperienced college sophomore into that boy’s life, and that He gave me wisdom beyond my own to act as an angel in preparing Israel for the next step in his journey.

Amazing Grace

The Atonement, or “at-one-ment”, is the process by which Christ makes us one with God. It is the heart of the Plan of Salvation and the Gospel of Christ. Christ described this goal during his Intercessory Prayer in John 17. He prayed that his disciples and those that believe on their words “all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us . . . And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one” (John 17:21-23). We are most familiar with the cleansing power that flows out of Christ’s Atonement and into our lives as we invite it through baptism and continuing repentance, but becoming ‘one’ with Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father involves more than this. Repentance and baptism are the beginning, but eternal life (life with and like God) requires that we become perfect in one (John 17:23, 2 Nephi 31:17-20).
         
The Atonement encompasses the entire process of making us whole through cleansing and healing, then making us holy by endowing us with Christ’s desires, discipline, character and capacity. It is ridiculous to imagine the completion of this process during this short mortal life, but it becomes conceivable when we consider eternity ahead. If we offer Christ our broken hearts (Psalms 34:18, 3 Nephi 9:20), He puts them back together and then fills them with His goodness until our “cup runneth over” to bless all around us (Psalms 23:5-6). With lamps well supplied and brightly lit, we are prepared to meet Christ (Matthew 25:1-12). 
         
We define grace as help from Christ given through the Atonement (lds.org, search Grace). All of us are constantly blessed by Christ’s grace whether we recognize it or not. None of God’s blessings could come to us without the Atonement, because through the fall and our own sins we have been cut off from God (Alma 42:6-7, Alma 12:22). Like the nails that connected Christ’s body with the wood of the cross (Isaiah 22:23), and as the iron rod (1 Nephi 15:23-24) or the word of God made flesh (JST, John 1:16), Christ is our connection with God and His blessings. We do not earn grace, for we will never pay Him back for all He has done for us and start to earn blessings (Mosiah 2:20-24). However, because the purpose of God’s plan is our growth and because He respects our agency, some grace or help or blessings are conditional upon our intentions and actions (D&C 130:20-21). 
         
As we invite more grace into our lives, Christ cleanses and heals us, then begins to endow us with His characteristics and expand our understanding and strength. The beginning of this course is a realization of our own weakness and desperate need for Christ’s grace (Ether 12:27), which unfortunately often involves painful experiences. But then as we learn to humble ourselves and rely on Christ, we have more faith, hope and charity bestowed upon us to bring us to Christ not just in physical proximity but in character (Ether 12:28). We begin to know God better because we are more like Him (Moroni 7:48), and thereby make progress toward the goal of eternal life (John 17:3). We feel Christ working in us and through us to magnify our efforts and our strength so we can better do His work (Moses 1:39). 
         
I see this process happening in my life. After years of health problems shook me to the core and exposed my weaknesses in painful ways, I sought to better understand and invite Christ’s grace to help me grow. He has blessed me with experiences that have increased my faith in the power of prayer, and I now have daily joy in praying for others and knowing that my small and simple prayers for them will make a significant difference in their lives. He has helped me learn hope from the big trials I have experienced, so now I have greater peace and do not ‘sweat the small stuff’ as much as I did before. He has endowed me with great love for my husband and children and continues to increase that love as we pray and work (and sometimes fail but always try again) to build an eternal family. As I attend the temple regularly to light my lamp with His truth, He enables me to find answers in the scriptures to the questions I have, and He gives me inspiration that makes me a more effective teacher to my family and to my Sunday School class. When I remember to counsel with Him in prayer about the coming day, He reminds me of responsibilities I might otherwise forget and smooths out my path so I can complete what is needed. He gives me patience with my limitations by helping me see that what I accomplish is enough for now. I know the path is a long one and there is much work and sacrifice ahead, but the changes the Lord has already made in my heart allow me to trust that He will finish the job if I keep putting my hand in His and following where He leads.