A dream I had

[thekabalist]

Hi forum,

This is the message Vanhin was referring to that I posted at the other forum. The dreams below are the reason I went to the LDS section of that forum in the first place. I'm still working on the implications of such dreams so if anyone wants to comment feel free.

Hello forum

You don't know me but I was hoping you can help me. I am a Jew not a Christian. I don't see myself as partaking into Christianity though I respect it profoundly. However, last week I had two dreams involving mormons and I would like to try to understand. I think you will understand why I cannot turn to my own kindred for help to understand a dream about a different religion. I will narrate my dreams to you. Can you help me understand them?

Here are the dreams:

### Dream 1 ###

I was on top of what I acknowledged to be a Mormon Temple though in my dream it had nothing to do with the temples I've seen in pictures. It was kind of like a crystal castle or fortress. I was inside some sort of a pool with my father and another man I could not see. This pool looked like a mormon baptismal sink I saw many years ago in a documentary and I assume this memory is where the imagery in my dream came from. It had bulls that decorated it. The water was warm and reached us slightly above the knees.

The pool formed kind of like a waterfall of cascading pools, that went down this crystal temple, forming kind of like a spiral set of stairs. The water would fall into another pool and we would descend. I saw that there were two of such spiral sets.

I then reached the floor level. There were three floors. The floors looked like small streams with water going only to the height of our heels, and the water current seemed to form some sort of natural walkway. All the floors seems to be the same. I saw couples that were moving from one way to another in such a natural walkway. They were always in twos tall blonde and of very handsome appearence. This is all I remember.

### Dream 2 ###

A few nights later I had the following dream. I was going to a mormon church just because I enjoyed fellowship despite being Jewish. The church itself didn't look like a church at all but rather like a synagogue. I was sitting at a balcony, and was surrounded by female friends. The reason I only remember females may be because in synagogues the ladies will sit on the balcony. They were all very young and I remember that they were very nice to me. I saw the service and it was a typical Jewish service with a procession of the scrolls only difference that people were dressed in clothes I couldn't recognize but seem like the clothes of the high priesthood in the Jewish temple of ancient times.

In the dream I returned the following week only to find that one of my friends was getting married. She was so young I thought. This may come from the fact that I know mormons marry young like orthodox Jews also do. She seemed very happy and all the girls were excited. The next week, the same thing with another girl. The third week, once again one girl was getting married. This time, I saw her entering the church dressed in a typical bride gown only she was wearing a beatiful dark-blue vest on top of it. This is what I remember from the second dream.

Both dreams happened to me in a week's time. I don't have any regular contact with Mormons nor do I remember any particular even that may have triggered these dreams. So I was wondering if you could help me to understand them?

If you can't help, that's ok I thank you for taking your time to read this anyway. I hope I have not offended you or your faith in my narrative.

שלום

shalom

peace

[pam]

Have you ever seen a picture of what our baptismal fonts look like in our temples?

[Vort]

Have you ever seen a picture of what our baptismal fonts look like in our temples?

"This pool looked like a mormon baptismal sink I saw many years ago in a documentary..."

[thekabalist]

Have you ever seen a picture of what our baptismal fonts look like in our temples?

Yes Vanhin showed it to me at the other forum. But in my dream it looked somewhat different. They were engraved unto the sides of the pool. At least the first one. I don't remember if I saw it in the others.

[thekabalist]

"This pool looked like a mormon baptismal sink I saw many years ago in a documentary..."

I only remember vaguely the pool I saw in a documentary. It was about 15 years ago. Do they all have the same design?

[pam]

Thanks...I was going to show you a picture if you had not actually seen one.

[pam]

Let me post one anyway.

All the ones I've seen have the actual baptismal font supported by oxen as in this picture. Though the designs and the materials used could vary from temple to temple.

[Maya]

I warmly recomend a book by: Marlena Tanya Muchnic. It is very tiny and can be bought from Amazon.com I am also Finnish like Vanhin (elder).

[Misshalfway]

Have you ever had dreams from God before? I guess I ask because we believe God speaks to individuals and leads them to things and sometimes he uses dreams to do it. I can't say that is what this is.....but being an LDS person and seeing the similarities between our temple services and your dreams and the close (sometimes unseen relationship between Mormons and Judiasm), its hard for me not to wonder if God is trying to tell you something.

I have had dreams that are similar. And they seem to be different than my regular everyday dreams. I can usually remember every detail and there is some knowing inside of me that they are important. My dreams tend to be warning dreams. At least so far. Yours seem to be trying to teach you something. But....I would have to say that only you can answer as to whether or not they are revelation dreams.

If anything, perhaps learning about the LDS faith might be important right now in your life. How do you feel about that? My first gut reaction is that I think this might be, at least, one viable conclusion.

Have I crossed the line of propriety into complete overthetop boldness? If so, I apologize. I tend to call 'em like I see 'em. And you seem, if I may say so, open to discussing different doctrine without being threatened by the interchange.

[beefche]

changed, just so you know, it is my understanding that doing work for the dead is against the Jewish religion. The LDS church has an agreement with the Jews to not to any work for the Jewish dead unless it is done expressly by a Jewish convert for his/her own direct line.

thekabalist, can you explain to us why work for the dead is offensive? I remember hearing why, but can't remember it well enough to explain.

[Vanhin]

Changed,

Those are some of the impressions I got as well when I first saw his dreams. And I certainly agree with Misshalfway too... :)

Regards,

Vanhin

[thekabalist]

Have you ever had dreams from God before? I guess I ask because we believe God speaks to individuals and leads them to things and sometimes he uses dreams to do it. I can't say that is what this is.....but being an LDS person and seeing the similarities between our temple services and your dreams and the close (sometimes unseen relationship between Mormons and Judiasm), its hard for me not to wonder if God is trying to tell you something.

Yes, in Judaism we believe that a dream is like a small prophecy. But what baffles me is: Why would I a Jew dream about the LDS Temple? I have yet to make sense of it. I cannot talk about this with my peers because I fear what they will think of it. This is why I went to the LDS section of the previous forum to ask my questions. Sadly I didn't feel comfortable continuing this discussion over there with so many Evangelicals casting stones at us.

I have had dreams that are similar. And they seem to be different than my regular everyday dreams. I can usually remember every detail and there is some knowing inside of me that they are important. My dreams tend to be warning dreams. At least so far. Yours seem to be trying to teach you something. But....I would have to say that only you can answer as to whether or not they are revelation dreams.

I am fairly good at understanding my dreams. When I can't there is a myriad of literature and even of peer help to count on. But this time I am completely left out in the shadows without understanding. Still a part of me finds it challenging.

If anything, perhaps learning about the LDS faith might be important right now in your life. How do you feel about that? My first gut reaction is that I think this might be, at least, one viable conclusion.

I don't mind that at all. This is why I am here. :)

Have I crossed the line of propriety into complete overthetop boldness? If so, I apologize. I tend to call 'em like I see 'em. And you seem, if I may say so, open to discussing different doctrine without being threatened by the interchange.

On the contrary. You LDS folks have been nothing but extremely nice and gentle. The very opposite of my previous experience with Christians.

b'shalom

[thekabalist]

the first thought that comes to mind is doing baptismal work for your father. Has he passed away? While doing baptisms for the dead there are three people - the person performing the ordinance (baptiser) the proxy person (baptisee) and the person for whom the work is being done (there in spirit only). Here is a link for baptisms for the dead - link.

My father is still alive. In Judaism we also have rites for the purification of the souls of the dead. But what baffles me is why I would be shown an LDS Temple. If G-d wanted me to do something on behalf of the dead why did I not dream about reciting kaddish for them? This is what I don't understand.

link concerning twelve oxen supporting the molten sea - link.

I understand that the imagery comes from Solomon's Temple and I find it very beautiful. I am at this point inclined to believe there must be something to do with the 12 tribes. But what could it be?

The first thought that comes to mind is generational. Two spiral sets, one maternal, one paternal.

I would be inclined to agree with you rationally, but it doesn't "feel" right. Do you also believe that when you hear the right interpretation for your dream it resonates within your soul?

In the sealing room, where parents are sealed to children, and grandchildren, and so - on and so-forth, generations bound in a neverening web - in that room there are two mirrors. The mirrors are set at an angle so that they reflect into one another. Looking into the mirrors ...

- It is hard to imagine how something can go on forever and ever, but Brandon said that as he looked into mirrors in the sealing room, he saw his family reflected there in a never-ending line for as far back as he could see. That gave him some idea of what eternity is all about. from link

Yes, coming to think of it this sounds somewhat right. In Judaism we also believe that we are all connected. There is a portion of the soul that we believe is not unique to us but yet a connection to all of Israel. It's as if all of Israel were infinetely connected.

By the way I really enjoyed this text. Sounds very beautiful and profound. Could it be that this means we should be connected somehow in our learnings?

I then reached the floor level. There were three floors.

whenever we hear "three" the first thought is that of the three Kingdoms of God...

96 And the glory of the celestial is one, even as the glory of the sun is one.

97 And the glory of the terrestrial is one, even as the glory of the moon is one.

98 And the glory of the telestial is one, even as the glory of the stars is one;

(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 76:96 - 98)

Yes this sounds right. Coming to think of it the first floor looked more beatiful than the others. Judaism also believes that heaven has multiple levels.

Thank you so much for the comments. Look forward to continuing this discussion.

b'shalom

[thekabalist]

changed, just so you know, it is my understanding that doing work for the dead is against the Jewish religion. The LDS church has an agreement with the Jews to not to any work for the Jewish dead unless it is done expressly by a Jewish convert for his/her own direct line.

thekabalist, can you explain to us why work for the dead is offensive? I remember hearing why, but can't remember it well enough to explain.

I'm unaware of such agreement or who it was made with. However it isn't against the Jewish religion to do works for the dead. In fact it is an important part of the Jewish religion. We do it all the time.

I can see how some would find offensive that conversion work is done on behalf of the dead among the Jewish people though.

b'shalom

[Misshalfway]

But what baffles me is: Why would I a Jew dream about the LDS Temple?

I can't say I know either. Maybe it was just some random occurance that just happened to be freakishly detailed and accurate. Maybe you ate too much bread at dinner. But it would seem to me that God is trying to tell you something.

I don't think God cares that you are a Jew when it comes to helping you grow. If God has truth to share why would He purposely keep it from us? Only because it didn't fit into our current understanding of things? God doesn't think inside of boxes and I don't think he is afraid to take us out of ours. If He has a lesson to teach, I would think learning the lesson would be the safest route.

[Dravin]

I'm unaware of such agreement or who it was made with. However it isn't against the Jewish religion to do works for the dead. In fact it is an important part of the Jewish religion. We do it all the time.

Interesting. Are we talking things along the lines of funeral rites? Or something else. I imagine the type of work done differs but my understanding that rites on behalf of the dead were mostly a LDS thing in the Judo-Christian world, this is an apparently lacking understanding.

I know we disagree on Christ but it's nice to run into something with some measure of shared faith who doesn't see all we (the LDS) do as weirdness incarnate.

[thekabalist]

Interesting. Are we talking things along the lines of funeral rites? Or something else. I imagine the type of work done differs but my understanding that rites on behalf of the dead were mostly a LDS thing in the Judo-Christian world, this is an apparently lacking understanding.

I know we disagree on Christ but it's nice to run into something with some measure of shared faith who doesn't see all we (the LDS) do as weirdness incarnate.

This is an interesting theme that I believe deserves its own topic. :)

[FunkyTown]

My personal thoughts on this:

Judaism and the Torah place a great importance on intertwining meanings. I have read that the Hebrew word for sly is very similar to the word 'Nachash' or serpent, meaning that when Genesis calls the Serpent sly, he is increasing the meaning of the word and makes the serpent out to be doubly evil or manipulative. This word development increases the meaning and grants shadows of meaning far beyond the raw text.

The LDS church claims a close kinship to the Jewish nation: They use the word 'Zion' to describe the city of the lord. They have an order of priesthood named after the very epitome of Levitical power: Aaron, brother of Moses. They have temples, do works for their dead. Like the Ashkenazi jews, they marry clad all in white. They have prophets. There is even a man called, 'The American Moses' by journalists for leading his people through to their land in the desert from a place where they were oppressed, their property stolen and their lives even taken.

They have patriarchal blessings. They have a commandment from God on what they can and cannot eat. They even believe in blessings assigned by relation to the sons of Abraham.

If we assume a kinship based upon this, could it be that God is fulfilling his promise to Isaiah? That the stick of Ephraim and Manasseh are being brought together and that a nation could rise from the dust itself, throwing off the long sleep of captivity in Babylon?

If that were the case, and we were translating the dreams through the lens of a Jewish/Latter-Day Saint brotherhood, would it take on new meaning?

Hi forum,

This is the message Vanhin was referring to that I posted at the other forum. The dreams below are the reason I went to the LDS section of that forum in the first place. I'm still working on the implications of such dreams so if anyone wants to comment feel free.

[Just_A_Guy]

TheKabalist, doesn't Ezekiel talk about a fountain or river erupting from the temple at Jerusalem?

[thekabalist]

Was the dark blue anything like the blue in your flag?

http://www.pongo.co.il/imageTool.aspx?pic=/productpics/pic_6_9_293_5572429.jpg&width=400

Just curious :). Blue vest on a white dress - reminded me of Israel's flag.

I believe it was darker. Ah do you know where the Israeli flag comes from? It's a prayer shawl we call tallit:

[thekabalist]

TheKabalist, doesn't Ezekiel talk about a fountain or river erupting from the temple at Jerusalem?

Interesting. I hadn't thought of that. But this one seemed to be taking me into the Temple. And still I wonder why an LDS Temple. I've been seriously confused about what G-d may be trying to tell me.

[deseretgov]

I think dreams are awesome. But what I really like is dream architecture, especially pertaining to water. You should draw what you saw in your dream or have someonw draw it dor you. It would be awesome to see it on paper.