Throughout
Church history, there have been many prophetic pretenders. In recent years
especially, many have been claiming locutions from dreams to support their
flavour of apocalyptic theology and their claim to be God’s chosen mouth-piece
(and not the president of the Church)
and even some claiming to have prophetic dreams “okaying” immoral
behaviour such as homosexuality. In a recent work on prophetic dreams by 3
LDS authors, we find the following means by which one can examine purported
dreams that are said to be revelations:
SPIRITUAL DREAMS ALIGN WITH COMMANDMENTS
For a dream to be revelation, its message
must be in agreement with commandments the Lord has already revealed. The Lord
will never give a dream whose message goes against His commandments. As
President Boyd K. Packer explained, not all dreams come from God: “The evil one
has the power to tap into those channels of revelation and send conflicting signals
which can mislead and confuse us. There are promptings [including dreams] from
evil sources which are so carefully counterfeited as to deceive even the very
elect” (Boyd K. Packer, “Revelation in a Changing World,” 14). One safeguard
against such deception is to remember that our Father in Heaven will never give
us a dream that will go against counsel against His prophets. In Deuteronomy
13:3-4 the Lord instructs: “Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that
prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know
whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye
shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments,
and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.”
A dream will not contradict gospel
principles, church programs, or procedures that have been established by the
First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve. President Thomas S. Monson gives
us questions we can ask to determine whether any type of revelation is from
God. We might ask ourselves these questions about our dreams:
1. Is the dream contrary to the instructions
from a living Prophet?
2. Is there anything secret?
3. Does it bring harmony and peace of mind?
4. Does it square with the scriptures?
5. What have you done yourself to ask of the
Lord?
6. Are you keeping the commandments? (Thomas
S. Monson, Favorite Quotations, 104)
By answering these questions affirmatively,
we can know by the Spirit whether the information given in a dream aligns with
the Spirit.
President Charles W. Penrose told of a visit
from a woman who was a great believer in dreams. She asked him to interpret a
dream, and President Penrose’s first question was, “Sister, what did you have
for supper last night?” She answered, “’I had some fried pork and onions.’ ‘Well,’
[he] said, ‘that is the interpretation.’” President Penrose went on to explain:
“I do not want you to infer from this that
when the Lord gives a dream to anybody, or persons dream something which is
enlightening to their souls and comforting to their heart and seems to be clear
and plain, I wish to attribute that to anything else but what they think it is;
but I do say and repeat, that nothing is to be received in this Church by way
of direction and commandment, outside of the order which God has established in
his Church, and which is most wise and beneficent and beneficial. Follow the
counsel and advice and commandment revealed through the head of the Church to the
church and we will not go wrong” (Charles W. Penrose, in Conference Report,
October 1922, 26).
When considering the messages we receive
through the dreaming, we would be wise to follow the counsel President James E.
Faust of the First Presidency gave about voices that are contrary to the Spirit
of the Lord. If a dream does any of the following, we can be assured that it
did not come from the Lord:
· Requires the dreamer to conjure
up perceived injustices or abhor challenge and work.
· Offers sensual enticements.
· Lulls the sleeper into carnal
security.
· Professes sophistication or
superiority.
· Encourages the dreamer to rely on
the arm of flesh.
· Puffs the dreamer up with pride.
· Destroys hope.
· Promotes pleasure seeking.
· Tempts the dreamer to spend money
or things that are not of worth.
· Encourages the dreamer to labor
for that which cannot satisfy. (See James E. Faust, “The Voice of the Spirit”)
Even if a dream seems logical or has merit,
if it goes against what is already established by prophets, seers, and
revelators, a Latter-day Saint may be sure it is not from God. In 1913, the
First Presidency stated:
“Be not led by any spirit or influence that
discredits established authority and contradicts true scientific principles and
discoveries, or leads away from the direct revelations of God for the
government of the Church. The Holy Ghost does not contradict its own
revealings. Truth is always harmonious with itself. Piety is often the cloak of
error. The counsels of the Lord through the channel he has appointed with be
followed with safety, therefore, O! ye Latter-day Saints, profit by these words
of warning” (Joseph F. Smith, Anthon H. Lund, and Charles W. Penrose, “A
Warning Voice,” 1149). (Mary Jane Woodger, Kenneth L. Alford, and Craig K.
Manscill, Dreams as Revelations [Salt
Lake City: Deseret Book, 2019], 27-29)