Be an Angel
by Tamara Francis
At the end of the Pandemic, my husband and I were driving along the French countryside after visiting the cemetery where Claude Monet rests among magnificent flowers. After a relaxing scenic view of the miles of fleur-de-lis blooming everywhere, we arrived in Rouen, France but spent 30 minutes journeying in circles. After traveling all night and driving in a foreign country, fatigue was setting in, thus we made a phone call to the hotel asking for help because we could not find our destination even though Siri announced over and over that we had arrived. The manager stepped outside, we waved and he jumped into our car. He then leaned out the window and flashed a card in front of a touchless keypad, at which time, six sizable bollards blocking entry into the hotel street, neatly dropped down and we could gain access to our destination. This 15th-century Bourgtheroulde hotel was located where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake, and her influence as of late, has flooded my mind.
In the course of the 100 Years’ War between England and France, King Charles VI died. His then nine-month-old grandson, Henry VI of England was announced as the new King of the shared monarchy between France and England. Political enmity and maneuvering between the uncles and those positioning for power led to skirmishes and even war, many of the local French people suffered from the decisions of others including raids on their farm animals causing a sentiment that those taking without asking needed to be banished. During this time the young maiden Joan, who lived in Domrèmy, tended sheep and served at the local inn near the Vosges Forest. As Winston Churchill explains, when she was about 13 years of age, Saint Michael appeared to her in a vision and told her she was to lead the armies of liberation for France (Churchill pp. 355-364).
At first, Joan was averse to this monumental calling, but when Saint Michael visited her again and also brought Saint Margaret and Saint Catherine to continue the conversation with her, Joan knew what she was appointed to do. Her father was appalled when he learned what his daughter was about to perform but she received support from a neighboring town governor and traveled in male attire across France on horseback. Later while visiting the heir to the throne, Charles of France, she told him that he would be king and even described where his sword was and what it looked like, thus proving that she was being divinely guided to help him. Joan led the French Armies to push the English further back and Charles VII was coronated King of France. She now felt her mission was finished and she asked to go home but was considered of great political value thus she was asked to take Paris which she attempted, but was wounded. It became evident that Joan worshipped God more than the church or any political party and an apparent wedge formed. Eventually, at age 19, Joan the Maiden met her own bollards, she was wounded again while attempting to take Paris the second time. The French governor tried to secure his domain and pulled up the drawbridge, leaving her unprotected. Joan the deliverer was sold to the English for a modest sum, went through an unfair trial, and was condemned to death with no offer of protection from King Charles or her beloved country. She was burned at the stake for heresy and succumbed to flames while holding a cross made from the wood she was being burned with. Reminding all of her deep abiding faith, the last word she uttered was, “Jesus!”
We may never have a vision such as Joan the Maiden but we may be surrounded by angels unawares. In Hebrews we are given the clue to remember them that suffer adversity and “be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (King James Bible, Heb. 13.2). This is something to consider. We don’t know exactly when we will have an experience with an angel, but in my life, bollards have been removed. I feel as though there have been times when I received love and aid from earthly and heavenly angels.
Do we believe in angels? President Nelson affirms, “Yes, we believe in angels—heavenly messengers—seen and unseen; and earthly angels who know whom to help and how to help. Gospel messengers, or angels, can include ordinary people like you and me” (Nelson pp. 17-25). Elisha certainly found out that there were unseen angels as he prayed to the Lord to open the eyes of his servant who then saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots suggesting that we may not see all the help that is available to us or surrounding us (2 Kings 6.17). In His own words, the Savior said: “I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your heart, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up” (Doctrine and Covenants 84:88). What glorious hope and promises we can receive in our need or be to others because of the love of God.
There are moments when those around us are lost, spinning in their circles of heartache, grief, sorrow, and agony. Jeffery R. Holland helps us remember “When we speak of those who are instruments in the hand of God, we are reminded that not all angels are from the other side of the veil. Some of them we walk with and talk with—here, now, every day. Some of them reside in our own neighborhoods. ... Indeed, heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind” (Holland 30).
A few years ago while studying abroad in the Jerusalem Center a student heard from her instructor, “Women are often called ‘angels’—hovering, looking pretty, making people feel good, etc. No angels in the scriptures do that! They are bold, they have a message to share, and they lead. If you’re going to be an angel, BE an angel!” (Clarus Project).
Joan the Maiden may not have felt pretty as she rode across France in male attire, fought against those oppressing her people, or as a prisoner of war. Joan saw angels and was an angel. We most likely may have no idea what the person standing next to us has endured, what sphere of trauma, or what halo of despair they feel, but as we succor the weak, lift the hands that hang down and strengthen the feeble knees (Doctrine and Covenants 81:5), recognizing them that are in bond by being bound with them (Heb. 13.3) - that is what angels do. This feels like enduring, understanding, listening, and jumping into their lives to help move the bollards in their path. Like Claude Monet, we can bring vibrant effects of light to those who find themselves searching for hope.
Joan of Arc
Brought light in dark
Led and lifted the weary
Angel of Deliverance
Burned at the stake
Martyr ~ Saint
Pretty
Works Cited
The Bible. Authorized King James Version, published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1983.
Churchill, Winston S. A History Of The English-Speaking Peoples: The Birth of Britain. Chartwell Edition, vol. 1, The Educational Book Company LTD London, 1956, pp. 355-364.
The Clarus Project. “Be an Angel.” Instagram, January 25, 2024, www.instagram.com/p/C2hreEDL-d-/. Accessed 02/22/2024.
Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, UT: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981.
Holland, Jeffery R. “The Ministry of Angels.” Ensign, November, 2008, pg. 30. (accessed February 14, 2024). www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general- conference/2008/10/the-ministry-of-angels?lang=eng¶=14#p14.
Nelson, Russell M. Accomplishing the Impossible. Desert Book Company, 2015, Salt Lake City, Utah, pp, 17-25.
Image by the author taken at the Joan of Arc Museum, April 12, 2022. Author’s collection.
Poem by Tamara Francis.