Dreams

[MichaelGB]

Has anyone ever had a dream that started out beautiful and peaceful, and turned bad?

Where do such dreams come from?

Do they come from God, the devil, or our own minds?

[annewandering]

I would suspect everyone has had dreams like that. My personal opinion is they mostly come from our fears.

Not sure why God would interfere with a good dream. Satan, being the mean person he is might just to be annoying. Mostly they are from our own minds and fears.

[MichaelGB]

Thank you.

Richard G. Scott wrote about one of his dreams here.

Has anyone had any dreams like this?

[RipplecutBuddha]

Has anyone ever had a dream that started out beautiful and peaceful, and turned bad?

Where do such dreams come from?

Do they come from God, the devil, or our own minds?

I've heard they come from sleeping.

[MichaelGB]

I've heard that Mormons believe that all feelings of peace and joy come from God, and negative feelings of fear and despair come from the devil, but I've had dreams that started out comforting (producing feelings of peace and joy), but ended disturbing (producing feelings of hopelessness, fear, and despair); where does that come from?

Can the devil intrude into our dreams?

Can he tell when we're feeling good, and inject something to really mess with our minds?

I know Joseph and Brigham Young recorded some nice dreams, but did any prophets or general authorities ever record any bad dreams?

Edited August 26, 2012 by MichaelGB

[dahlia]

I've heard that Mormons believe that all feelings of peace and joy come from God, and negative feelings of fear and despair come from the devil,

Oh for goodness sake. Dreams have nothing to do with the devil.

I don't know about all Mormons, but this Mormon doesn't believe that stuff. Have you taken any science classes? Psychology? Why are you worried about 'the devil' as opposed to your own needs to have your problems or issues arise from someplace other than yourself?

[Bini]

Oh for goodness sake. Dreams have nothing to do with the devil.

I'm not so confident to say that God or the Devil have nothing to do with dreams. I think it's possible, depending on one's righteousness, to receive confirmation or revelation (to a degree) through dreams. But to answer OP, it's been awhile since I've experienced a pleasant dream that has abruptly gone nightmarish.

[volgadon]

I'm not so confident to say that God or the Devil have nothing to do with dreams. I think it's possible, depending on one's righteousness, to receive confirmation or revelation (to a degree) through dreams. But to answer OP, it's been awhile since I've experienced a pleasant dream that has abruptly gone nightmarish.

Very well put.

[Misshalfway]

Oh for goodness sake. Dreams have nothing to do with the devil.

I don't know about all Mormons, but this Mormon doesn't believe that stuff. Have you taken any science classes? Psychology? Why are you worried about 'the devil' as opposed to your own needs to have your problems or issues arise from someplace other than yourself?

Well, I'm one of those mormons who "believes in that stuff". Primarily because I've had experience with both kinds of dreams....the revelation kind and with Satan and his servants as they try to disrupt my peace.

What you are saying is true too. There is a lot of "psychology" going on in our dreams too......stuff that isn't coming from any other source but us.

But don't you think God is working inside of our minds? inside of our "psychology"? It's not like I'm out here hearing your promptings and I'm pretty sure you are not hearing mine. Satan is doing the same thing too. Tempting us inside of our thoughts and feelings and psychological experiencing. If they both work inside the mind, what's to stop them from working inside of dreams?

[Misshalfway]

I just thought I would add that the scriptures talk frequently about God communicating through dreams. Like Joseph when he was told to flea take Mary and Jesus into Egypt, or when Lehi was commanded to leave Jerusalem. Revelation through dreams is one of the gifts of the spirit.

I've been warned in my dreams in similar ways... less "important" certainly. I've also had my deceased mother visit me and other family members in dreams. Heard many people talk about dead ancestors communicating through dreams. Dreams must be one way for possible communication through the veil.

I won't share my Satan dreams. I'll just say that he is a nasty buggar.

[MichaelGB]

If they both work inside the mind, what's to stop them from working inside of dreams?

The same dream?

[Sicily510]

Dreams are what you make of it, I had bad dreams and they've derived from stress, the environment I was in, ideas, and negative thoughts. It comes down to whether your a positive person with thoughts that will sustain a positive influence in actions of deeds, charity, caring and helping others. When I think of myself I become consumed with self-gratification and dwell on past poor choices I've made. These are all common factors of how the adversary wants us to think. But when I think of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ my yolk and afflictions become lightened inspiring me to have a better wonderful dream.

The Lord did visit them with his Spirit, and said unto them: Be comforted (Alma 17:10).

10 And it came to pass that the Lord did visit them with his Spirit, and said unto them: Be comforted. And they were comforted.

I didn’t know which was louder—my footsteps in the big, silent house, or my pounding heart. I hurried through the darkness and down the stairs to my parents’ room. I tried to step softly so the stairs wouldn’t creak.

Our hundred-year-old house often creaked and popped at night. Dad said it was the sounds of the old wood and adobe settling as the night cooled down. But it still sounded scary.

Dad was out of town for work, and I felt bad waking Mom up, but I had to talk to her. I stood in the doorway. The moonlight shone through Mom’s white curtains. I felt a little less frightened already.

“Mom?” I called softly.

She turned over. “What’s the matter?”

“I had a bad dream again.”

“Oh no. Come snuggle with me, OK?”

Relieved, I climbed into the big bed. The sheets felt cool and soft. Mom hugged me tightly. “Do you want to tell me about it?”

“It was the dream with the giant shark.”

“You’ve had that dream before,” Mom said. I nodded and tucked my head under Mom’s chin. “Well, you’re safe, sweetheart. Sleep here with me until morning. After school tomorrow, we can talk some more.”

All day I wondered what Mom would say after school about my scary dreams. The shark dream wasn’t the only one. Sometimes I dreamed about a prickly monster. One night I even dreamed that my family was in a car accident.

My dreams really bothered me. Sometimes I screamed and cried in the night. I even felt afraid to fall asleep.

After school, I sat down with Mom. “Are you still thinking about the giant shark?” Mom asked.

I nodded.

“What do you think you’re going to do about those scary dreams?”

“Mom, they’re dreams. I didn’t make them start. I don’t think I can make them stop.”

“Probably not by yourself,” Mom said. “But there’s someone I ask for help when I have a problem I can’t solve by myself.”

“You mean Heavenly Father!” I said.

“Right! You can ask Heavenly Father to help you sleep well at night, with no bad dreams.”

“In my prayers before bed?”

“Then, and any other time you’re thinking about it. I know He will listen to you and help you.”

“How do you know?” I asked.

“I ask Heavenly Father about problems a lot, and He helps me. Just this morning I asked Him what to do about your scary dreams.”

“Did He help you?”

“Yes. I had the idea that you should pray about your dreams, and when that idea came to my mind, I felt the Holy Ghost telling me it was a good thing to do.”

“How did it feel?”

“I felt warm and happy, and I felt sure everything would be OK,” Mom said. “Do you know what I mean?”

“I think so,” I said. And then I noticed that I felt warm and happy inside. “Mom, that’s how I feel right now!” I said.

“That’s the Holy Ghost telling you that what you’re learning is right,” Mom said.

That night, and every night for a long time afterward, I prayed that I could sleep well with no bad dreams. My bad dreams didn’t come back. Heavenly Father answered my prayer.