Angels to bear you up

I wrote this post two nights ago, but blogger did me the honor of deleting the text and saving the empty draft for me. I’ll do my best to reconstruct it.

Last Saturday my stake held a stake-wide Relief Society Meeting. Usually these only take place before the annual RS Broadcast, or in some kind of conference, but the Stake Presidency felt we needed time to just be together. It was a rather short meeting. The main speaker, a sister in the stake, shared a story that I’ll do my best to paraphrase.

Imagine a great concrete block with a family, two parents and four children, standing together on top of it. A rumbling suddenly began and the family didn’t quite know what was happening. A crack appeared in the concrete block and the family tried to stay together, but the oldest son slipped and fell off the block. After a while, the family readjusted to their situation. The one day the rumbling began again. Another crack formed, and one of the daughters slipped and fell off. The parents watched, helpless, as the rumbling came yet again and their other daughter slipped. A few more years passed and the rumbling began again. The mother couldn’t believe this was happening. She watched in horror as her youngest son, her Nephi, who had always been valiant, slipped and fell off the block. The rumbling came back one more time. The mother was devastated to see a crack form in the foundation and watch her husband slip and fall.

The mother in this story was, of course, the sister speaking to us. There was hardly a dry eye in the room as we listened. She described how difficult it has been to lose all her family in the gospel, although they all remain close. But then she talked about times when she has felt angels round about her, to bear her up, as described in D&C 84:

88 And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.

As I said, it was a short meeting. It was because the Stake President stood up after the sister and said that he couldn’t follow up her talk with his original remarks. He simply read a few scriptures of comfort and ended the meeting. Angels are always round about us, to bear us up, more likely in the times we feel the most alone. I want to never forget that.