Why is it that we don't hear about dreams and visions like in the early days of the Church? Brothers and sisters used to share this all the time.
When was the last time you heard a person sharing an experience of this kind? Let's say when was the last time you heard someone saying they had a vision of the Celestial Kingdom or a visit from the other side of the veil. How would your reaction be if you heard such account? Is it that we have become so spiritually weak that if if we hear these accounts we will not believe them and label them either as lies or the account of a mentally disturbed person?
The Church leaders have talked about keeping those experiences to ourselves because they are "Too sacred" to share by what would happen if the Prophet Joseph Smith did not share the First Vision, Nephi or Lehi or so many other great people from the Scriptures. They did all the opposite, they told the world. They wanted others to hear these experiences so they could benefit from them.
Thoughts?
This is what I believe in a Nutshell. There are designated prophets that receive revelation for us and the world at large. These are special individuals. The gift of being a seer is the least common and the most difficult. Most of us have a hard time receiving our own revelation, much less for a large group. So it is sacred to ourselves when we receive revelation. Here I think is the trick. When someone says that they know the church is true and you feel the spirit when they say it; you can pretty much guarantee that they have been given confirmation by the spirit that the church is true. If someone says that they have a knowledge that the church is true, well I think everyone should know that one. The Prophets say it all the time.
Only those designated can receive revelation for the church at large. Everything else is hypocrisy and self serving. Communication is still up, so listen to the prophet and apostles. I am a non conformist and I fight everything, but I believe in these designated individuals. I have had to many strange things happen to believe otherwise. These other accounts maybe interesting, but I will throw them out the window just as fast as I will listen to them or read them. It has no substance.
I would als agree that we as a people have never been more spiritually weak. I think that God is pouring out his spirt more than he ever has. He has promised us this in the last days. And we are some of the strongest, or the strongest ever sent. There is hope.
That is just my take on it. I think it is right!
Edited: Quasar on 24th Sep, 2008 - 3:23am
Many of these experiences occur in the temple and are very sacred and not something to be shared casually. There are other experiences, such as dreams and visions, that are unique to the individual. As Quasar said, they are not for the general population of the Church. Only the prophet receives that kind of revelation. The revelation we receive for our stewardships is usually not something you would commonly repeat to those whom it does not pertain to.
I have had friends and relatives confide some sacred experiences to me. I have had experiences of my own. They are very sacred and not to be shared casually. The veil can be VERY thin at times.
LDS_Forever asked:
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Why is it that we don't hear about dreams and visions like in the early days of the Church? Brothers and sisters used to share this all the time. |
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When was the last time you heard a person sharing an experience of this kind? Let's say when was the last time you heard someone saying they had a vision of the Celestial Kingdom or a visit from the other side of the veil. |
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A temple is literally a house of the Lord, a holy sanctuary in which sacred ceremonies and ordinances of the gospel are performed by and for the living and also in behalf of the dead. A place where the Lord may come, it is the most holy of any place of worship on the earth. Only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness. |
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There are designated prophets that receive revelation for us and the world at large. These are special individuals. The gift of being a seer is the least common and the most difficult. Most of us have a hard time receiving our own revelation, much less for a large group. So it is sacred to ourselves when we receive revelation. |
I feel if individual dreams or visions were meant to be shared with everyone then they wouldn't be just for you but many people would receive it unless its a warning that you're meant to pass on to someone who doesn't have dreams or visions.
Name: Michael
Country:
Title: Spiritual experience
Comments: The Savior told us not to cast our pearls before swine. He did not say that everyone is swine. It requires discretion and perhaps the promptings of the Spirit to let us know when to share these pearls and when not to do so.