Dreams and Visions: Divine instructions

by Adam Yankee

Have you ever tried to solve a Rubik’s cube before? It’s darn near impossible to figure out unless you have the pattern to solve it. Once you have the instructions to it, it becomes easier to solve all of the different twists and turns until you’ve accomplished your goal. Our Father in heaven gives us instructions for our lives very much the same way as we use instructions to solve this cube. He has many ways to instruct us, but some of the greatest ways that He does this is by giving us dreams and visions. With these dreams and visions, we can also solve our life’s twists and turns.

Being in the latter days, we are very fortunate to be blessed with these dreams and visions. In Joel 2:28-29, it states “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.”[1] This is a very awesome scripture, it proves to us that we all can have these blessings bestowed upon us to help guide us in our lives and possibly help others along the way. When I was eight years old, my father passed away. It was a very hard time for me at that age to accept that he had died. I knew we would be together again, but to an eight year old that seems like an awfully long time to be without my father. Not long afterwards during the night, I had a dream. I will not share all of what my dream contained because of its sacred and personal nature, but in it many things happened. In it I had gone to heaven, and I saw and learned many wonderful things, some of which in my later years found out are taught in the temple. I saw that my father was well and was needed on the other side to do the lords business working alongside with many great people that have come and gone from the earth including the prophets. By the end of this experience I was in a large building that I would describe as a giant chapel and there was a lot of singing, during this I was headed toward a door and when I reached out and opened it, I saw the most beautiful sight imaginable, it was almost indescribable and I was only allowed that one brief glimpse before I woke up. I did not wake up in the top of my bunk bed; I had woken up peacefully on the floor curled up without my blanket like I had been laid there. When I asked my mother if I had fallen out or if she had placed me there, she informed me that she hadn’t. 1 Nephi 1:8 “And being thus overcome with the Spirit, he was carried away in a vision, even that he saw the heavens open, and he thought he saw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God.”[2]

In order for our dreams to become a reality, or our visions to blossom to their full potential we must act upon them. We can’t just sit there and wonder when it will happen or expect it to be delivered to us. You can’t order your dreams from eBay or Amazon. Thomas S. Monson once said, “The mark of vision. Vision without effort is daydreaming. Effort without vision is drudgery; but vision coupled with effort, will obtain the prize.”[3] How often do we give up on certain things because we label the task as to hard, or think it was foolish to think that I could do it anyways. I believe that if you truly pray to the lord and ask for his guidance, that you could accomplish whatever the task with his help. Richard G. Scott has some very valuable insight, “As you apply His truths, they will generate vision in your mind and commitment in your heart. You will learn to make reality of your worthy dreams for the future.”[4]

Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints holds a great place in my life. If not for the churches reorganization back to the Earth, much of my life would feel like there was a hole there. Many of the things that we know due to the church will help bring us eternal happiness in the time to come. The key moment to the reorganization of truth back to the Earth was because of a vision. Joseph Smith, a mere boy of fourteen struggling to know what church was true asked of the Lord in a grove of trees and beheld God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Numbers 12:6 “And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.”[5] Joseph Smith was called of God in a vision to restore the true church. Now it wasn’t going to be easy, anything good and worthwhile will not happen without adversity but with the Lord on your side you have nothing to fear. Joseph Smith in his account of what happened wrote, “However, it was nevertheless a fact that I had beheld a vision. I have thought since, that I felt much like Paul, when he made his defense before King Agrippa, and related the account of the vision he had when he saw a light, and heard a voice; but still there were but few who believed him; some said he was dishonest, others said he was mad; and he was ridiculed and reviled. But all this did not destroy the reality of his vision. He had seen a vision, he knew he had, and all the persecution under heaven could not make it otherwise; and though they should persecute him unto death, yet he knew, and would know to his latest breath, that he had both seen a light and heard a voice speaking unto him, and all the world could not make him think or believe otherwise.”[6]

I know for a surety that God gives us dreams and visions in these later days. I have been blessed to have had many personal experiences with these revelations. I’ve also been blessed to have a mother who also receives many dreams and visions. Sometimes maybe we may not always see or comprehend when we’ve had an important revelation, but when we realize it, it brings many blessings. As long as we work towards the things we know we must do and with the Lord, we can always accomplish the things He wants for us.

[1] Bible Old Testament, Joel 2:28-29
[2] Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 1:8
[3] “Finishers Wanted” Thomas S. Monson, Ensign July 1972
[4] “Making the Right Decisions” Richard G. Scott, Ensign May 1991
[5] Bible Old Testament, Numbers 12:6
[6] Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith Hist. 1:24