Question
Gramps,
Now that I have been ordained an Elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood, and am no longer a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood.. can I still exercise the keys of the ministering of angels to call upon angels?
Patrick
Answer
Patrick,
Thank you for your question. I was reminded of the words of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland who said:
“I believe we need to speak of and believe in and bear testimony of the ministry of angels more than we sometimes do. They constitute one of God’s great methods of witnessing through the veil, and no document in all this world teaches that principle so clearly and so powerfully as does the Book of Mormon.” For a Wise Purpose
In answering your question, there are a couple things to consider. First, Priesthood assignments such as this are cumulative. The duties of the Aaronic Priesthood are implicit in the duties of the Melchizedek Priesthood. Making an Elder does not unmake a Priest.
Second, what does it mean to exercise the key of the ministering of angels? The blessing of ministering angels is available to all worthy members of the Church through the Aaronic Priesthood. So, yes, Melchizedek Priesthood holders, women, and children who have been baptized can all enjoy this blessing. The Aaronic Priesthood holds the keys to open the door for all who are worthy to enter.
President Dallin H. Oaks explained it this way:
“Through the Aaronic Priesthood ordinances of baptism and the sacrament, we are cleansed of our sins and promised that if we keep our covenants we will always have His Spirit to be with us. I believe that promise not only refers to the Holy Ghost but aslo to the ministering of angels, for “angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ” (2 Ne. 32:3). So it is that those who hold the Aaronic Priesthood open the door for all Church members who worthily partake of the sacrament to enjoy the companionship of the Spirit of the Lord and the ministering of angels.” Dallin H. Oaks, The Aaronic Priesthood and the Sacrament,” Ensign, November 1998.
President M. Russel Ballard also taught this.
“All who have made sacred covenants with the Lord and who honor those covenants are eligible to receive personal revelation, to be blessed by the ministering of angels, to commune with God, to receive the fulness of the gospel, and, ultimately to become heirs alongside Jesus Christ of all our Father has.” M. Russell Ballard, “Let Us Think Straight, ” Brigham Young University Devotional, August 20, 2013; speeches.byu.edu
Perhaps all members of the church, then, should learn more about ministering angels. Elder Holland encouraged us with these words:
“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. 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 (see 3 Ne. 7:18; Moro. 7:29–32, 37; D&C 107:20).” For a Wise Purpose
`To learn more about ministering angels, there is a wonderful talk (also a book) by Donald W. Parry, called Angels, Chariots and the Lord of Hosts.
Gramps
