Do You Dream (Spiritual) Dreams?

[lds2]

I don't remember my dreams unless they are nightmares and I wake up. But some in my stake have had dreams that they believe will happen, one about food being too expensive to buy at the store, and another of a meeting where those who had their food storage were invited to stay after Sacrament. They were very brief but they felt that they were significant dreams that they should remember.

President Hinckley said that the prophecies of Joel have been fulfilled which includes people dreaming in the last days.

Elder Richard J. Scott said in conference, "It is important that our daily activities do not distract us from listening to the Spirit. Revelation can also be given in a dream when there is an almost imperceptible transition from sleep to wakefulness.

If you strive to capture the content immediately, you can record great detail, but otherwise it fades rapidly. Inspired communication in the night is generally accompanied by a sacred feeling for the entire experience...It is the Lord doing the teaching through the Holy Ghost...

When it is for the Lord’s purposes, He can bring anything to our remembrance. That should not weaken our determination to record impressions of the Spirit. Inspiration carefully recorded shows God that His communications are sacred to us. Recording will also enhance our ability to recall revelation. Such recording of direction of the Spirit should be protected from loss or intrusion by others."

So I was wondering...have you had dreams that have led you to answers of question you have had or warned you of future challenges? As always, when we talk about others dreams or inspiration we should treat these things with respect, and also be careful we don't share sacred things that should "be protected."

Also, if you have such dreams accompanied by a sacred feeling do they happen when you are going to sleep, do you wake up from a sound sleep, are they gradual happenings early in the morning or later as your waking? or ??

Edited April 11, 2012 by lds2

[HiJolly]

I don't remember my dreams unless they are nightmares and I wake up. But some in my stake have had dreams that they believe will happen, one about food being too expensive to buy at the store, and another of a meeting where those who had their food storage were invited to stay after Sacrament. They were very brief but they felt that they were significant dreams that they should remember.

President Hinckley said that the prophecies of Joel have been fulfilled which includes people dreaming in the last days.

Elder Richard J. Scott said in conference, "It is important that our daily activities do not distract us from listening to the Spirit. Revelation can also be given in a dream when there is an almost imperceptible transition from sleep to wakefulness.

If you strive to capture the content immediately, you can record great detail, but otherwise it fades rapidly. Inspired communication in the night is generally accompanied by a sacred feeling for the entire experience...It is the Lord doing the teaching through the Holy Ghost...

When it is for the Lord’s purposes, He can bring anything to our remembrance. That should not weaken our determination to record impressions of the Spirit. Inspiration carefully recorded shows God that His communications are sacred to us. Recording will also enhance our ability to recall revelation. Such recording of direction of the Spirit should be protected from loss or intrusion by others."

So I was wondering...have you had dreams that have led you to answers of question you have had or warned you of future challenges? As always, when we talk about others dreams or inspiration we should treat these things with respect, and also be careful we don't share sacred things that should "be protected."

Also, if you have such dreams accompanied by a sacred feeling do they happen when you are going to sleep, do you wake up from a sound sleep, are they gradual happenings early in the morning or later as your waking? or ??

sounds like you've been exposed to the AVOW people. I used to participate.

We have a young man in our ward who dreamt that a huge earthquake would hit the salt lake valley (we're in the south end of the valley), and was so sure he *knew* by a visionary dream that it was real and would happen by the fall of 2008 (or 2009, I forget but either way it was later that year) that he delayed and actually re-scheduled his wedding. The earthquake never happened.

For me, I have had several dreams that turned out to be either prophetic, or merely informational. Each time I awoke normally from my sleep, but with a very clear remembrance of the dream.

I could not tell whether my dreams were real, or divine, until outside events occurred that confirmed them. Except the one about the akashic library, or the sephira of Da'at. That was really amazing.

All of them were really clear after I woke up, and were in 'color' which not all my dreams are. Prophetic dreams are kinda random and rarely had anything to do with the events of my current life.

Informational dreams, though, always had something to do with the recent events of my life.

[Guest]

I've had two dreams that I can think of that were spiritual, personal revelation. It doesn't make sense to me that I'd get anything beyond that.

[Guest]

But some in my stake have had dreams that they believe will happen, one about food being too expensive to buy at the store, and another of a meeting where those who had their food storage were invited to stay after Sacrament. They were very brief but they felt that they were significant dreams that they should remember.

I went to Stake conference alone a couple of years ago. I ended up sitting on the stage (waaaay in the back) next to a very nice lady who talked to me the whole time. Toward the end she told me (or warned me, rather) that through dreams and other means, she had become quite sure that within a year society would collapse, and many of us would be asked to leave the valley. The rest would be living in tent cities, defending each other and our resources.

Good times.

[Vort]

I went to Stake conference alone a couple of years ago. I ended up sitting on the stage (waaaay in the back) next to a very nice lady who talked to me the whole time. Toward the end she told me (or warned me, rather) that through dreams and other means, she had become quite sure that within a year society would collapse, and many of us would be asked to leave the valley. The rest would be living in tent cities, defending each other and our resources.

Good times.

Did she actually listen to any of the conference?

[Guest]

Did she actually listen to any of the conference?

I don't see how. I recall that I was taking notes to take home to my sick husband, but I can imagine I missed a lot of it. (Good point, Vort.)

[Seminarysnoozer]

I don't remember my dreams unless they are nightmares and I wake up.

Also, if you have such dreams accompanied by a sacred feeling do they happen when you are going to sleep, do you wake up from a sound sleep, are they gradual happenings early in the morning or later as your waking? or ??

One can only remember dreams, that is the thought pattern that comes from REM sleep, if one wakes immediately from REM and stays awake for at least 5 minutes. The normal pattern of sleep is to go through stages 1, 2, 3, 4, and REM every 90 minutes, so a person may go through 4 or 5 REM episodes. We relatively spend more time in REM sleep in the later ultradian cycles. So, statistically it is more likely to wake out of REM sleep in the later half of the night. This is magnified by certain medications such as antidepressants which can consolidate all the REM at the very end. If one passes through REM in the earlier ultradian cycles but maintains sleep then there is no way to form memories about it.

REM is, in part, a way for the brain to file new memories with older ones and understand and characterize their relationship with each other. I kind of think of it as trying to file a library book. You might go down the row of books looking at each title until you see the right spot for the book in the hand. As the brain is going through these files of memories trying to categorize the new memory amongst older ones a funny story develops as if one is just reading the titles of each book in succession. That is why dreams can be a mixture of old memories, new ones and the fabrication of the imaginative parts of the brain trying to link them together.

I think it is unfortunate that we sometimes interchange the terms dreams and visions. A dream should just be called a dream and vision should just be called a vision. By definition a dream occurs when a person is not conscious, even though the tail end of it can be retained in functional memory. And a vision occurs during consciousness.

[jb789]

From reading the scriptures (such as Joseph Smith's visions in D & C, or Nephi's) dreams and visions are basically the same thing, meaning the mind is opened to the glory of eternity, yet visions occur when awake, and dreams when sleeping. The process is the same though, in that if the dream is truly revelatory and of God, there will be no mistaking of this by the person having the experience - if it is truly of God, it will be as Joseph Smith described in the first vision - he knew it was of God, there was no doubt in his mind.

Often I think people can get confused when they dream things they think might be revelation, but in many cases it can be just our own minds. This is very different than the experiences Joseph, Nephi, and others had, where it was coupled with "eternal glory", leaving no room for doubt it was from God.

[LittleWyvern]

I only dream about my college classes.

Although, I did figure out how heapsort worked that one night...

[HiJolly]

From reading the scriptures (such as Joseph Smith's visions in D & C, or Nephi's) dreams and visions are basically the same thing, meaning the mind is opened to the glory of eternity, yet visions occur when awake, and dreams when sleeping. The process is the same though, in that if the dream is truly revelatory and of God, there will be no mistaking of this by the person having the experience - if it is truly of God, it will be as Joseph Smith described in the first vision - he knew it was of God, there was no doubt in his mind.

Often I think people can get confused when they dream things they think might be revelation, but in many cases it can be just our own minds. This is very different than the experiences Joseph, Nephi, and others had, where it was coupled with "eternal glory", leaving no room for doubt it was from God.

I totally disagree that dreams & visions are the same. I've had both.

HJ

[Gargantuan]

If you have a dream, it may be advantageous and helpful to you. It could be your subconscious mind working as you sleep. If you have a true vision, it will be so meaningful to you that it may be advantageous as well. It will be, however, so meaningful that you will have a hard time forgetting it. There may be students who wish they could have a full-blown vision about the answers to an exam just before that exam, but that isn't always the way it works. LOL

The vision may give you more knowledge of a topic or it can give you more understanding. These sort of events are usually helpful and sometimes personal and rarely shared unless they may be helpful to others as well.

Edited April 12, 2012 by Gargantuan
LOL

[Seminarysnoozer]

I totally disagree that dreams & visions are the same. I've had both.

HJ

Yes, that is why I think it is unfortunate that we use the word "dream" when talking about a vision that occurred at night. If one is really dreaming, knowing what we know now about sleep medicine, that is a state of unconsciousness. Our religion has never supported the idea of enlightenment from a state of unconsciousness or even a state of being half awake and half asleep. That doesn't seem consistent with the God we worship to provide instruction during a time when we are not consciously listening to the still small voice. Usually, that kind of insight requires "listening" very carefully with full consciousness.

We don't go and smoke weed for inspiration, we don't use morning glory or jimson weed in a ceremonial fashion, we don't use mushrooms or kava to become more in tune with the spirit, we don't drink alcohol to clear our mind and we don't find inspiration in the unconsciousness. We approach things the opposite way, with full consciousness, concentration and a careful ear for the still small voice.

[NeuroTypical]

Yep. I've dreamt about nuclear war back in the '80's, economic collapse in the '90's, and the earth crashing into Jupiter in the '00's. I've dreamt entire epic stories chronicling a person's life and loves. I've had concepts play themselves out in dreams, like "betrayal" played out in several different (sometimes contradicting) ways in one dream. Dreams rock.

But no, I have never dreamt that the prophet will issue a call for the saints to gather in the mountains for two years. AVOW spews false doctrine and is full of crazy and deluded people. Several stake presidents, two GA's, and at least one apostle is on record of saying flat out that AVOW teaches false nonsense. No, there are no plans for a callout. No, bishops don't have plans to move their flocks to the rockies. The counsel is what it's been for a long time - for the saints to gather at the stakes of zion where they live. According to direct statements from many church leaders, there is nothing in the works to change that counsel.

lds2, if you've fallen for what AVOW is selling, I urge you to untangle yourself from their seductive melodramatic web. The only good place those paths lead, is away from them and back to reality.

[LeKook]

I've had dreams of future events that have come true, but I just record them for my own records and don't share them. When the plane hit the Pentagon on 9/11, I had dreamed about the Friday before it happened, shared the dream with a friend because it was such a strange thing to dream about that I couldn't make sense of it until after the event actually happened.

Been like this since I was just barely old enough to walk, had an NDE and to me this stuff is pretty normal and nothing exceptional. When these dreams happen often they lack enough context to make them preventive.

[HiJolly]

Yes, that is why I think it is unfortunate that we use the word "dream" when talking about a vision that occurred at night. If one is really dreaming, knowing what we know now about sleep medicine, that is a state of unconsciousness. Our religion has never supported the idea of enlightenment from a state of unconsciousness or even a state of being half awake and half asleep. That doesn't seem consistent with the God we worship to provide instruction during a time when we are not consciously listening to the still small voice. Usually, that kind of insight requires "listening" very carefully with full consciousness.

We don't go and smoke weed for inspiration, we don't use morning glory or jimson weed in a ceremonial fashion, we don't use mushrooms or kava to become more in tune with the spirit, we don't drink alcohol to clear our mind and we don't find inspiration in the unconsciousness. We approach things the opposite way, with full consciousness, concentration and a careful ear for the still small voice.

So....

You don't believe the Bible, then. How do you deal with Daniel and Joseph as inspired interpreters of dreams? Or Nephi as one whom god spoke to in a dream? It's all through the scriptures.

For my part personally, though, I agree with LeKook-- I've never been able up to this point to act on a visionary dream. I just haven't known it was 'prophetic' until *after* the event occurred. BUT I wouldn't say it could never happen.

HJ

[Vort]

Not me. I have dreamed a few times of seeing jumbo jets crash. A couple of times I didn't know I was dreaming, and it was just horrific. But had a jetliner crashed after such a dream, it would not have occurred to me to think that my dream somehow anticipated a real-life crash.

[Seminarysnoozer]

So....

You don't believe the Bible, then. How do you deal with Daniel and Joseph as inspired interpreters of dreams? Or Nephi as one whom god spoke to in a dream? It's all through the scriptures.

For my part personally, though, I agree with LeKook-- I've never been able up to this point to act on a visionary dream. I just haven't known it was 'prophetic' until *after* the event occurred. BUT I wouldn't say it could never happen.

HJ

Yes, I believe in the Bible. I also don't expect the people of those eras to know much about sleep medicine either. Like I said, I think it is unfortunate that we use those terms interchangeably. I would say that God spoke to Nephi in a vision. In by doing so the body may be put into a state that makes it difficult to know whether it is in the body or not. But, the episode in which the vision occurred is not REM sleep. People nowadays hear the word "dream" and think, I do that, I dream. Those events are not talking about REM sleep dreams, in my opinion. Tell me what the difference is between the use of the word "dream" in the Bible in the references you gave, versus vision? I am not sure that you could tell me there is much of a difference. If that is true, why not call them visions? It isn't REM sleep dreams though.

REM sleep dreaming is a known function of the human brain as well as animal brains. It can be measured and observed. God does not communicate through the body, He communicates spiritually or through the Holy Ghost directly to our spirit. That is all through the scriptures.

[carlimac]

I've had dreams of warning a couple times involving my kids where they were in harm's way. I'd wake up shaken. Within a day or so my children were in situations not identical but very close to my dream and I immediately recognized the setting and potential for harm and was able to prevent what had happened in my dream.

Other times I've had sort of semi visions where a scene will flash in my head and then within a short time (days or weeks) it will come to pass- sort of- again not an identical scene but close...kind of like the children's book- Half Magic. (LOL) I had that happen with a car crash involving some of my sister's friends. Indeed a couple days later they were in an accident. Another one was a sensation of me walking down the hall of a hospital. Within a week my dad was hospitalized. That same sensation came again shortly before my mom was diagnosed with cancer. I had a very vivid dream about wild animals-tigers and bears just outside my window the night or two before some wild animals (lions I believe) escaped from a preserve in MN. THAT was bizarre! And no, I didn't let them out.

BUT I've had enough visual flashes of an odd scene , or some frightening dream about my children where nothing happens that I don't worry too much about it. I've had the same dream about an airplane not flying high enough to clear the foothills of Salt Lake City and crashing on Bonneville golfcourse after trying to turn around many times. I hope that one never comes true. Sometimes I"m on the plane and sometimes I'm just watching it from my childhood home.

I also frequently dream I'm a nurse at the hospital again and have far too many patients to care for. It's the end of the shift and I have forgotten to go into the room to check one of my patients for thw whole shift. And another dream that it's the end of the school year and I haven't gone to one particular class even once or done a single assignment- usually math. I've also had frequent dreams that I can't find a husband to marry and I'm being sent on yet another mission.

[mnn727]

I almost never remember my dreams and don't think I've ever had a prophetic one.

I have however had very strong impressions about some things while awake.

[bytor2112]

About 6 months or so after I became active in church (after 21 years of no activity), I had a dream that I was late for class and as I ran into the class, all the students turned to look at me smiling and the teacher said, we saved you a seat and pointed to a chair in the front row. HE knew I was coming.....

[NeuroTypical]

By the way, my "Earth crashes into Jupiter" dream was one of the most peaceful dreams I'd ever had, as well as one of the most visually stunning.

We were outside in our back field on a nice clear day. The only problem was, the entire sky was taken up with Jupiter. From horizon to horizon was nothing but those colorful red swirling winds - I finally got a sense for how massive Jupiter was in relation to earth in this dream. I was standing there with my family, and was vaguely wondering if this wouldn't start impacting gravity, or plate tectonics, or suck the atmosphere away or something. Then in under a second, every structure in our neighborhood and all the vehicles just smashed completely flat. Every stack of hay, every fence post, every weed and blade of grass, just collapsed down into itself and became about as thick as a smashed soda can. It was accompanied by a very unique sound - like the sound of a hundred tires popping at the same time, but the escaping air was being crushed and compressed as well. I'll always remember that sound.

Then my family and I, still standing there, exchanged some worried glances with each other. Then it dawned on us that our physical bodies were somewhere in what used to be our house. I remember thinking "well, that wasn't bad at all", as I looked into the eyes of my family and saw they were ok.

Yep - if we ever crash into Jupiter, I want it to be like that. But no, I can't really bring myself to believe that my dream had anything to do with any sort of foreshadoing or reality.

[lizzy16]

I never have spiritual dreams. There always nightmares or sexual.

I have a friend that says she has all sorts of spiritual dreams about those she does temple work for.

Makes me wonder if I'm just not church focused enough.

[Seminarysnoozer]

I never have spiritual dreams. There always nightmares or sexual.

I have a friend that says she has all sorts of spiritual dreams about those she does temple work for.

Makes me wonder if I'm just not church focused enough.

Don't be hard on yourself, it is impossible to be focused during a state of unconsciousness.

[lds2]

I went to Stake conference alone a couple of years ago. I ended up sitting on the stage (waaaay in the back) next to a very nice lady who talked to me the whole time.

It always is frustrating that people talk when one is trying to listen...I'm not nice enough to politely listen...I'm a shusher...my family will verify this :) especially during general conference and Sacrament meetings. I even did my best to kindly shush a lady near me at a conference recently who kept talking directly to the speaker as if they were having a two way conversation and it was very distracting. She was so excited about what he was saying I think that she didn't even realize what she was doing.

As far as those dreams being from a site where dreams are discussed, I don't think so. One sister was sharing her dream in a stake meeting last week and the other had never heard of other people having dreams about food, she shared it when food was being canned. But there was nothing else about leaving or whatever. I think she was more thinking that the food would be asked for at some point to help feed the poor and the needy.

But taking normal dreams literally even when they are recurring is almost always a big mistake. As y'all know I find dates, dreams and things like that interesting...and almost none of these things EVER happen the way people dream/think. However, when a lot of people start having similar dreams I find that very interesting...and some do seem to have the "Gift" of dreams where their's are more of a spiritual/vision nature.

Soo...I was wondering since it was just talked about in conference how often people might have what they feel are prophetic dreams/visions and when they have them, etc.

Again, we have to be careful that we don't offend the Spirit...but since I don't have prophetic dreams or even nice dreams that I remember I was wondering about other people's experience with these. Does this mostly happen for people that wake slowly, early morning, have a family history of visions/dreaming, or ???

Now nightmares are another matter. I have had the English Essay Exam dream where my mind is completely blank and woken up from that on many occasions. I also find losing the diamond in my wedding ring sufficiently horrifying to wake myself up.

Several people among my ancestors have had NDEs or visions, but none that I know of from this generation...lot's of inspiration though.

Edited April 13, 2012 by lds2

[jb789]

Does this mostly happen for people that wake slowly, early morning, have a family history of visions/dreaming, or ???

Indeed if one has a true dream/vision from God, it won't be shared for speculation, only in the most sacred of circumstances when it can be of benefit to another to hear an account of it.

But, for your question if these happen for people that wake slowly, in early morning, etc, in my limited experience it has nothing to do with these factors. If God wishes to communicate to one in this manner (via dreams), it will be in his time and manner (D & C 88:68) It has nothing to do with family history, or what kind of sleeper we are, etc - it comes when one has their mind and will "single with God", and when it is necessary for one's personal spiritual progression.