Here is some music to go with it (not Olivia this time - one topic she never covered):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZKuzwPOefs
One of the most important and fascinating persons you will ever meet in a dream is a dream messenger. Unlike most other things in dreams where you have to interpret the symbolism, with the dream messenger you just have to listen to what they say.
Elder Richard G. Scott gave the following advice about dream messengers.
“The Lord uses individuals for whom we have great respect to teach us truths in a dream because we trust them and will listen to their counsel. It is the Lord doing the teaching through the Holy Ghost. However, He may in a dream make it both easier to understand and more likely to touch our hearts by teaching us through someone we love and respect.”
Dream messengers may simply be a manifestation of the Holy Ghost. In that sense, it could be a trusted friend, family member, church leader or even the prophet. The Spirit will just manifest itself as this person that you know and trust.
But sometimes the dream messenger is a real person. It may be someone you know who has passed on or it could be someone you’ve never met before like an ancient ancestor. If the messenger is not someone you’ve met then you will know in your heart and by witness of the Spirit that the person is a messenger of God and you should listen to them. Sometimes the messenger will be the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
The messenger may have more to offer than to just deliver a message. They may show you things and possibly even take you on a journey. In this case, the messenger is not just a messenger but also serves as a guide
In waking visions, messengers and guides are also very common.
In Nephi’s waking vision of the tree of life, he had a dream guide that he described in 1 Nephi 11:11,
“...for I beheld that he was in the form of a man; yet nevertheless, I knew that it was the Spirit of the Lord; and he spake unto me as a man speaketh with another.”
However, it is important to note that not all waking visions will have a messenger or guide. Like dreams, it depends on what and how the vision wants to communicate.
Those who've have NDEs (Near Death Experiences) often report meeting a messenger or guide. But once again, they are not always present.
In Visions of Glory, Spencer recorded a number of NDEs. The first one he remembers was when he was in the hospital. He was out of his body for about 20 minutes. During that time, he saw some very interesting things but there was no messenger or guide during the experience. However, in his next two NDEs, there was a guide who took him to places and showed him very important things.
Messengers and guides are important to mindful in any kind of vision, including dreams. You can listen to this entire talk by Elder Scott on Paulo Oliveira recent post.
I find it interesting that we have visitations in our sleep. What is it about being asleep that makes us more susceptible to visitations such as dreams or dream messengers? In fact, I find sleep fascinating in general. Why did the Lord make us so that we require sleep? I know our cells regenerate with proper rest? Perhaps that's it. Or perhaps it's a merciful way to keep us from sinning 24/7. Or perhaps our spirits are easier to communicate with when our bodies are basically shut down. I actually feel vulnerable when I sleep because I sleep like a rock. I pray before I go to sleep for protection against evil/unclean spirits which ALWAYS works. But I just don't like the idea of not being aware of my surroundings for part of the night. Anyway, it's wonderful we can be visited by messengers of God in our sleep to help us here in mortality against evil. God is so awesome!!!
ReplyDeleteWhen my wife was pregnant with our first child, she had a disturbing dream of the baby coming out without a head. The day of delivery, she had difficulty, because the baby was not dropping as it should. She had xray done to see the problem and found the baby's head had not fully developed. Amniotic bands had attached themselves to the top of the head, where ever these detached bands attach, the bone structure has been stunted. You may have seen people in life with, maybe a deformed or shrunken part of the arm or hand where these bands had attached.
ReplyDeleteIn any case our little boy was born and died within an hour of birth, the top part of the head was covered but you could tell the whole top of the skull was effected.