BYU statistics professor Candace Berrett’s devotional on Oct. 6 told students to look for the mortal angels that bring them closer their Heavenly Parents’ love while they wait for answers to prayers.
Throughout her speech, Berrett expressed gratitude for the mortal angels that helped her during her trials in life. She also emphasized God and Christ are never far away, especially during trials. “I want each of you listening to this now to know that the Lord is closer than you know,” she said.
She told stories of the waiting periods in her life: waiting to be married and to have children, waiting for a cure to her father’s cancer, waiting for her anxiety and depression to be healed. She said difficult times like these can lead to questioning if Heavenly Parents are actually aware of those struggling.
She explained that during those trials, however, there was always an angel sent to her by Heavenly Father.
Berrett described these mortal angels as “those who reminded me of my Heavenly Parents’ love of me.”
These mortal angels could be anyone, she said. A friend who gave her a priesthood blessing was an angel to her. Another friend who commented on her Instagram post was an angel. Her therapist has been an angel for her. She said that even strangers can be angels. They were angels to her because they ministered with the words of Christ and reminded her of God’s love.
These angels in life will come when needed, she said. “It’s not just in the desperate times where we will find angels ministering to us. It can and often will be in the simple times, too.”
Berrett discussed how angels come to those who are waiting for answers or help or guidance, but they are not always going to end the individual’s waiting. Instead, she said Christ uses angels to connect heaven and earth. “He enabled the descending of angels to earth to aid in our making use of that atonement that we may ascend to heaven.”
She said angels offer grace to show people back to the path of heaven and that people often serve as angels to each other. Many times, she said, people don’t even realize angels are serving them until they look back at the experience later.
Showing her skills as a statistician, she described the importance of angels serving one by one. She described a study she did with a colleague where they discovered 95% of BYU students are connected to over half of all BYU students through just three of their classes. She said this means if each student ministered one by one, then very quickly one person becomes 16,000 people, and angelic work would occur.
Berrett urged all students to prepare themselves to be angels to others. “We need each other. We are not meant to accomplish this life alone. While we are waiting, we have angels ascending and descending all around us.”
She said while someone waits for answers or angels, they should not be idly waiting. Instead, those waiting should be actively seeking God, choosing faith and hope, and working towards the desired outcome.
Choosing another definition of wait, Berrett said an individual can also choose to wait upon, or serve, the Lord. She slightly altered a scripture from Isaiah to highlight this point: “they that wait on the Lord shall … mount up with wings as (angels).”
