Los Angeles may be nicknamed The City of Angels, but Salt Lake City could vie for that title in the Intermountain West.
With the Christmas Box Angel monument in the Salt Lake Cemetery, a golden Angel Moroni serving as an unofficial logo for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and also adorning the top of the Salt Lake LDS Temple, angels are probably more common here than most other cities.
The former CBS series, "Touched by an Angel," was frequently filmed in Salt Lake City, and angels are depicted in various other local churches, too.
Angels are generally considered the essence of goodness and service. They're divine beings, messengers from God who are mentioned throughout the Bible and a prominent element of Christianity.
But in this age of modern technology and increased skepticism, do most Christian churches still consider angels as real? What do various churches believe about angels?
"There's been a resurgence of interest in angels," said Father John Kaloudis of Salt Lake's Holy Trinity Cathedral.
However, he said this interest is very much a distortion of biblical beliefs because a lot of it overlooks God.
"We do believe in angels," he said of Greek Orthodox beliefs, but much of this modern angel interest has left out God the Father, the Son and Holy Ghost.
"Angels are messengers, but don't forget the master," he said.
Greek Orthodox church members strongly believe in guardian angels and the whole spiritual world to which they belong.
Catholic Online operates an extensive Web site on angels, saints.catholic.org/angels.html, and refers to them as "The Magnificent Servants of God."
This Roman Catholic site defines an angel as "a pure spirit created by God," non-bodily creatures. It also includes a ranking of the "Nine Choirs of Angels" and provides references for early angels in the church, as well as fallen angels (demons).
The site also stresses the Catholic belief in a guardian angel, a heavenly spirit is assigned by God to watch over every person and to guide him to do good. Also included are references to angels in the Bible and prayers to guardian angels.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that angels are real, powerful and glorious spirit creatures.
However, they do not believe two "widespread misconceptions" about angels: First, contrary to popular belief, they do not believe angels began their lives as humans — they existed in heaven long before God created life on Earth. Second, witnesses believe faithful angels are not permissive or tolerant of wrongdoing. They believe angels uphold God's righteous standards and act according to his direction.
They also believe God's invisible angelic forces are able to provide protection today, as they did for Elysia in 2 Kings 6:15-17.
The Rev. Tom Goldsmith of the First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake City said his faith has no formal doctrine on angels. However, he believes most church members consider angels to be metaphors in the scriptures. However, he said they would still not be ruled out liturgically. Church members use scientific methods to form a lot of their beliefs, but maybe room should be made for angels.
Regarding guardian angels, he said maybe there are some. "We certainly need them," he said.
Pastor Mike Gray of Southeast Baptist Church, a Southern Baptist congregation, said the church teaches angels are real.
"They minister to believers," he said, indicating angels are referred to in the Book of Hebrews as ministering spirits.
Regarding guardian angels, he said there is evidence they assist born-again Christians.
Pastor Gray also said the church teaches that demons are the "negative angels."
The Rev. Michael J. Imperiale of Salt Lake's First Presbyterian Church said his faith's doctrine is based on what the Bible teaches. It shows that angels have been God's messengers in the past for various duties, though nothing is said of their mission to man today.
"We believe angels exist," he said, explaining there may be instances where people today are aided by some divine presence, like angels. However, he said the Bible doesn't indicate that everyone has a guardian angel.
The Rev. Imperiale said Presbyterians prefer to focus on God and Christ, our definite salvation, because so much angel talk is just conjecture.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes in angels, though all angels are wingless.
"An angel of God never has wings," the Prophet Joseph Smith taught.
LDS members believe angels have the same form as human beings and no angels minister to the Earth, except those who belong to it.
They also believe in different kinds of angels — the righteous who have been translated (Three Nephites, John the Revelator), the spirits of just men made perfect and resurrected beings who have bodies of flesh and bone.
"Angelic messengers bring knowledge, priesthood, comfort and assurances from God to mortals," The Encyclopedia of Mormonism states.
Church members believe that angels helped restore the gospel and priesthood authority to the Earth. Many temples in the LDS Church are adorned with angels on their spires. A 12-foot-high Angel Moroni sits on the east side of top of the Salt Lake Temple as a symbol of the restoration of the Gospel. Some other LDS temples along the Wasatch Front have also had Angel Moroni statues added atop them in recent years.
Moroni, a Book of Mormon prophet, represents John's vision in the Book of Revelation in Mormon doctrine: "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." (Rev. 14:6).
The LDS Church generally believes that guardian angels should be viewed as a figure of speech because those who have the gift of the Holy Ghost may be warned or protected through the spirit of revelation and not usually through angelic visits. Every person born in the world can also have the light of Christ, which also offers protecting divine guidance from God.
There's also a process outlined in the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 129, to further test spirits to see if they are good or evil.
Richard Paul Evans, noted author of the "Christmas Box" books and a related foundation, has made an angel depiction, placed in the Salt Lake City Cemetery, for his foundation's cause of lost children. He has more than two dozen other, identical angel statues in other parts of the United States and Australia. More such angels are also in the works across the world.
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"Angels have become our logo," Evans said, explaining it's symbolic of what the foundation tries to do in restoring hope.
A member of the LDS Church, Evans said the wings on his angel are merely symbolic.
"I don't know if anyone believes in winged angels," he said.
E-mail: lynn@desnews.com
