"A dream is a wish your heart makes," as was told by the famous Cinderella as she sung about love to her mice friends. We all have dreams of our hearts desires whether it is of true love with a handsome prince or a thrilling adventure of a high-speed chase. Dreams are what we look forward to each night as we shut our eyes to rest and we are excited to share them with everyone when the morning arrives. Most people consider dreams to be somewhat of a bonus when we are sleeping, like a movie to entertain us as we sleep. However, according to the Bible Dictionary, a dream is one of the means by which God communicates with men.
A dream is a vision or prophecy that the Lord will bless his righteous servants with. These visions enable the righteous to receive counsel and commandments of the Lord. In 1 Nephi 2:1-2 the Lord came unto Lehi in a dream to inform him that since he obeyed and testified of the destruction of Jerusalem the people were angry with him and sought to kill him. The Lord then told Lehi to depart in the wilderness with his family for safety. Lehi and his family were saved thanks to the Lord. Also, in 1 Nephi 8 and 11, Lehi and Nephi see the tree of life in a vision. They can understand what the path is like to eternal life and what needs to be done in order to receive the kingdom of God.
Sometimes we receive dreams that we don't understand. In Daniel 2:3 the king states, "I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream." Whenever I have a dream that I don't understand the meaning of I make it a point to ask someone like a friend or a family member. They will give me good counsel allowing me to more fully understand the meaning. Also, when I am confused about a certain dream I am able to ask of God for guidance because he knows all things. In Genesis 40:8 it says, "We have dreamed a dream but there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me them, I pray you." God is the one who gives us dreams so if we are troubled it is smart to ask God in faith for help since He gave it to us in the first place.
The prophet receives revelation from the Lord to help guide the saints in these latter days. Also, bishops and patriarchs receive guidance from the Lord. Although it may seem that only the members who have high callings in the church receive visions I know that God blesses all those who are righteous with dreams and revelations. The important thing to remember is that God manifests visions to those who are righteous. He won't make things known unto the wicked and hardened hearts; otherwise it would have been Laman and Lemuel receiving the visions instead of Lehi and Nephi. They would not have known what to do with the information and would not ask of God for guidance.
We need to be worthy to receive the counsel of God. For myself, there was a time when I was truly worthy. It was when I was a sophomore in high school. I had the desire to attend seminary my sophomore year because I didn't attend my freshman year. Gordon B. Hinckley advised us to read the Book of Mormon, so I did. I had a change in heart and my attitude changed to be more righteous. Because I was obedient, I had a dream given from the Lord…My grandpa was not a member of the church and he had passed away, a nonmember, when I was a freshman in high school. Well, one night I had a dream where I was sitting with my grandpa, my mom (my grandpa's daughter), and my friend. My grandpa looked at me and told me that he could never hold me or see me again. I was heart broken at these words. My friend was confused because she didn't know my grandpa but my mom told my friend it was because he wasn't a member. My friend understood and said oh. ...Then I woke up and was extremely sad and I told my mom about my dream. We knew that what my grandpa meant was that he couldn't see me again because he was not sealed to my grandma or my mom yet. My mom and I started crying. My mom told me to call my grandma and tell her my dream and then my grandma started crying. My grandma told me that she was almost finished with my grandpa's paper work and that they would be sealed together as soon as possible. I am glad to say that my grandma and grandpa and all their children are now sealed together for all time and eternity. I was so honored to have received this dream for I knew it was from God and that He wanted me to help my grandma get my grandpa's paperwork done. I was on such a spiritual high the rest of that day and was so grateful that the Lord would bless me, a young fourteen year old. I just realized that I was the same age as Joseph Smith. Wow. The Lord will bless the righteous and innocent with great things.
Dreams are a wonderful gift from God. The prophets of old have been saved when in danger and knew what the Lord wanted with them. The prophets today are able to give us counsel and guidance from the Lord. And we, the people, receive personal revelation to help us in times of trouble and confusion. I am so grateful for dreams and visions and I hope to remain worthy to receive them throughout my life on this earth. Amen.
Work Cited
Bible Dictionary
1 Nephi 2:1-2
1 Nephi 8:11
Daniel 2:3
Genesis 40:8
17 comments:
The dream about your Grandpa was amazing. You received an important message, and your family is blessed. I am very happy for all of you, on this side of the veil and on the other side.
Wow! I can't even imagine how you felt. It is amazing that you were blessed with such a dream. I've received revelation through scriptures, but never in something like a vision. You must have felt the Lord so close in your life.
Hiilei, I really liked your blog! I like how you mention how you have to be worthy to receive such dream from Heavenly Father. You used good examples and insights.
Great blog! I love how you talked about the dreams of a prince or of a high speed chase and then taught how the Lord gives us dreams about what is really important. I am quite impressed with your personal experience you added in there and can relate to a level-such a great experience and testimony builder.
Loved the personal experience! This blog is a great reminder that we need to be righteous, so when God needs for us to know something, we will be ready to receive it. Thank you.
I am really grateful that you decided to share this personal experience you had, it was very touching. I know that Heavenly Father blessed you with this dream and I hope that you will cherish it always.
I love your personal example. It must have been an amazing experience. I also like how you state that we don't have to have a higher calling in the church to receive revelation.
wow! I really loved the part about the dream--it gave me goosebumps! This blog really made me think about dreams as more than just random stories your brain makes up. I will definately think more about my dreams and what they could mean from now on.
When I first read the title, before I even started reading the post, I thought: "Dreams are a wish your heart makes." It is truly remarkable that these dreams are blessings the Lord will bestow upon us for righteousness. It is amazing to be able to feel his love all around us.
I love the logical and wonderful advice: that if a dream is from God, and you want to know what it means, just ask Him who gave it to you. It is wonderful that you recognized the dream for what it was, for me it was only after the fact that I realized the source of my own dream.
Wow! That is such a powerful dream you had about your Grandfather. I too know that when I live worthily the Spirit has always opened up locked doors for me and given me directions on how to accomplish things that I don't understand. Being worthy to receive revelation is so amazing!
Awesome, your experience really shows that god still speaks to the righteous. great Blog
Amazing, I had never thought of dreams this way. This shows that God does indeed still speak to men.
Yay, Cinderella quotes! What an original way to start your blog. I wrote a blog on dreams also, but I loved reading the insights you gave.
That was a really great story about your dream about your grandpa. Great revelation. Thanks for your personal story and your strong knowledge of the topic.
I was really touched by the story about your grandpa. Dreams really are an amazing part of life and I am always fascinated with the power and symbolism of dreams. Our Heavenly Father is truly a God of mystery.
I guess I never really thought my Dreams could also be God communicating with me. Dreams really are gifts.
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