Sidney B. Sperry Symposium: The role of angels in salvation

PROVO, Utah — Studying the work of angels in the Old Testament and throughout the scriptures helps individuals learn in the latter days, Taylor Halverson said during the Sperry Symposium at BYU on Oct. 31.

Halverson, who is a consultant for the Center for Teaching and Learning at BYU, discussed seven episodes from the Old Testament in which angelic messengers sent from God save people from physical calamity.

"Although a thorough investigation of every passage with reference to angels is not possible here, a definite pattern emerges from the passages presented," Halverson said. "Angels of the Lord — the Lord's divinely commissioned messengers authorized to speak the will of the Lord in response to human crisis — they provide an opportunity to faithfully respond to God's message, and thereby be saved from physical calamity."

In his presentation, Halverson included several accounts of angels in the Old Testament. He discussed: the angel of the Lord who saves Hagar in Genesis 16, angels saving Lot from Sodom's destruction in Genesis 18-19, the angel of God who saves Hagar and Ishmael in Genesis 21, the angel of the Lord who saves Isaac in Genesis 22, the angel of God who saves the Israelites in Exodus 14 and the angel of the Lord who saves Jerusalem in Isaiah 37.

See the full story on ldschurchnews.com.

This story is provided by the LDS Church News, an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is produced weekly by the Deseret News.