Angels Are Limited in What They Can Do for Us, March 10

And there came two angels to Sodom at even: and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. Genesis 19:1. Lot had been kept with Abraham's household, and he had become so molded that he had the same courteous spirit that Abraham manifested. These men [the angels] appeared just like other men when they came to Lot, and if a spirit of courtesy had not been cultivated by Lot, he might have perished with the rest of Sodom. The wickedness of the inhabitants of Sodom was so great that they would have abused the men who brought this message and were entertained by Lot. But angels of God protected Lot from being torn in pieces by the rabble that were outside his door. They smote them with blindness so that they could not find the door. After this exhibition of wickedness the angels opened to Lot the object of their visit. They told Lot that if he had any sons or daughters in that place to bring them out of the city. Lot was permitted to go to his relatives and tell them that the city was to be destroyed and that they must flee from it. But all his entreaties and all his warnings were of no avail with them. They mocked at what they called his superstitious fears. Why, here was Sodom just as it had been, and there was no evidence in anything their eyes beheld that led them to think there was a destruction before them. But the angel, as Lot returned, was in haste, and bade them flee out of Sodom. Lot was, as it were, stupefied at the thought that he must go without his property, and with only his wife and two children with him. The angels laid hold upon them and led them out of the city.... As soon as they were out of the city and on their way toward the mountain, the angel said to them, “Flee for your life, and tarry not in all the plain.” The command was “Look not behind you.” ... The wife of Lot turned her eyes toward the city, [looking] for what she had left there; the curse of God came upon her, and she was turned into a pillar of salt.... We can see that Lot made a mistake when he made his home in Sodom. Here he lost not only all his possessions; he lost all but two of his children. This is a lesson that we should take to heart. There may be very flattering openings for the children of God, but they must look on every side of the question before deciding. The very first question with every one of us should be “How will it be with my soul?”—Manuscript 19a, 1886.