I dreamed a dream that
caused me to think that I will soon be disappointed by a church leader who I
esteem highly and should be prepared for it.
 |
| Akiane Kramarik vision of Jesus |
I know that telling the interpretation of the
dream before revealing the dream is not the way Joseph the 11th son of
Israel did it, but I felt that I wanted to get it out of the way before I started
talking about the dream and talking of dreams in general.
I believe that God communicates to us not only
by feelings in our hearts, impressions to our minds, or direct speech, but also
through dreams and vision. Since both dreams and visions are highly subjective
and colored by the culture in which we live, God provides an interpreter of
dreams.
The Gift of the Holy Ghost
The gift of the Holy Ghost is the privilege—given to people who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ, been baptized, and been confirmed as members of the Church—to receive continual guidance and inspiration from the Holy Ghost.
How do I know my dream
was from God? Well, it is simple. I
have the Gift of the Holy Ghost and I can discern if something pertaining to me
is from God or just mental release of stored information, which is what dreams
normally are.
I am not a prophet, nor do I claim special
privilege that other people cannot have. I just know that the dream, or I will
write revelation has relevance to me and I am getting personal with my
Christianity and sharing it here.
I did meditate on it and inquired of God
if it was okay for me to share my dream. I felt it would be okay. One thing I
have learned when dealing with God is that He does not give me things if I
cannot keep most of what He gives to myself. ...unless He expressly wants what He
gives shared.
You know how crazy people would think I was if
I shared everything that God gave to me? I am referring to other Christians too, who
would think me insane--let alone the non-believers! If I say that God spoke to
me last night, and I have before, I get the raise brow and the knowing
nod.
If I say I felt like God was telling me
something, I get approval--almost like if it came down to it I could recant it
and say that I was mistaken about my impression without hurting my image or trying the faith of
another person. I have misinterpreted things I have received too, but that is a
different issue to be addressed.
God Always Does Things
with Purpose.
God would not just give me a dream, answer to
a prayer, or commandment without there being a purpose behind it in some way towards my benefit and salvation. Now, that goes for everyone on the planet
too.
Every revelation that is from God that
humanity has the honor to read or hear has come to us through necessity. Moses had his
visions so that he could lead and teach the Israelites after hundreds of years
of slavery to be a free people under God.
Joseph Smith had his visions to restore the
Church of Christ on the earth with its accompanying priesthood authority from
God. God waited on both men to be ready to receive His communications, as he
does for all of us--He waits until we can handle it.
What we choose to do with the information
after He gives it to us determines how much more He will give to us. The last
thing He will do is overload us or overwhelm us with knowledge.
He wants us to be able to gain understanding,
which is why I try unsuccessfully to live the Gospel perfectly. By that I mean,
I don't repent each time I make a mistake right away; otherwise, I pray too
much and ask for forgiveness to think I am going anywhere but Celestial Glory,
but that is another topic.
What is the Dream!
I know, I know...
There I was at the home of my stake president
with my wife and kids. For some reason we were there doing some type of
activity with our families that I did not pay attention to very well. My
wife and I were sitting in the same room with our stake president talking about some
particular issue while the president had one of his small children, struggling
with him to get the child to comply with some command. It looked like the child
was resisting him as he tried to finish dressing him.
As I sat there listening to the president
talk, he threw some mild profanity at the child. My wife then exclaimed an
affectionate reprimand, "Oh, my Bishop."
She may have only said those words in the
dream, but the president and I understood those three words to mean more. She
preached a sermon of loving forgiveness and warning to try to be better.
In the dream I understood her using the title
of bishop instead of president since he was also our bishop before he became
the stake president. It was a term of endearment so to speak. He understood the
reprimand and apologized for using the language and my wife and he moved on to
discuss, whatever it was. I don't remember from the dream.
The president still struggled with the child
who fought him on every angle. This same child spoke with us as an intelligent
person, but transformed between being a young child and an older one. He was
very obstinate, but not wicked as I could tell from the feelings that came off
of him.
The president let out a few strings of
expletives and I did not know how to receive him after that. I lowered my gaze
away from him as he spoke further. My wife again reprimanded him in the words,
"Oh, my Bishop!"
After speaking with us for some time, the
president asked me, "Rod, what do you think?" He referred to the
ongoing conversation we had of which I do not recall.
I reflected on his question for some time and
then said. "I don't know. I can't get passed what you did. I cannot even
make eye contact with you because I am so disappointed."
That was all I said, but since it was a dream,
it was not all I communicated. In those words I communicated that I was shocked
that he would speak to his child in such a crude manner and yet expect me not
to comment on it.
I communicated that I was ashamed and hurt by
the experience because I was expected to still view him as a Christian leader
to direct my spiritual paths. I communicated hurt and sheer shame!
He replied, "I understand and am glad
that you were honest with your feelings."
That was all he said, but what I understood
was him thanking me for being willing to point it out and be honest with him
instead of glossing it over and having a bad experience later. He admitted to
not being perfect and still struggling with life's issues though God had called
him to be in the position he held. He apologized sincerely and humbly sough my
forgiveness, which I gave.
I left his home with my wife and family
afterwards feeling satisfied with him, but aware also that he was VERY human
and in need of God's grace as much as anyone else.
That brings me back to:
I dreamed a dream that
caused me to think that I will soon be disappointed by a church leader who I
esteem highly and should be prepared for it.
The Lord gives
multiple interpretations of Dreams and visions
After I thought about it for a while, I put
myself in the position of the president and took all of that first impression
out of my mind. One of my children became the “me-character” in the dream but
my wife remained the same.
I wonder if my children see me the way I saw
the president. I wonder because they see all of me. They have seen me at my
lowest and at my best. I am their spiritual guide. The older they get, the more
imperfections they see in me.
My wife is my eternal companion and we are
both more prone to be tolerant of each other than other people would be
including our children who will eventually grow up and move away.
My wife and I forgive each other of each
infraction because we understand life a little more than our children in many
respects.
Maybe I was supposed to see it that way also.
I know that I cannot hide my imperfections from my children, but I should be
quick to apologize if I make a mistake and move to help the children learn from
my mistakes and move on.
So, I dreamed a dream that caused
me to think that I will soon disappoint one of my children and should
be prepared for it.
...prepared to ask forgiveness.
...prepared to let
my children understand that I am in as much need of the grace of
God as anyone.
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