I have also had dreams that frightened me so badly that almost nothing in real life scares me at all. Period. Part of my motivation for staying close to the Lord is so that these do not come back– it has been about seven years now, but the fear still feels fresh.

The last kind is the loveliest; the prophetic ones. The Lord has used these to teach me gospel principles and, very occasionally, to give me a heads-up about things coming up in my life. I wouldn’t ever ask for one– I don’t think I would– because, would you ask for an angel to come visit you? But they are glorious. I call these “True Dreams,” and they have a quality every bit as distinct as those awful ones I used to have as a child. I have never had to call on someone else to interpret these, I assume because the Lord is careful to use symbolism which is easy for me to understand.

(Yes, it is weird how my subconscious can’t seem to get that trick down.)

Thank you for posting on this. I have been praying lately to be able to remember my dreams because I felt like it might help me sort out some difficulties I’m working through right now. Called my sister just today, in fact, to see if she could help me sort through the slush. It’s nice to feel like I’m in good company.

About six months later I found myself in a dream very similar to these horrible nightmares but something was different. I was at church, the one I grew up in. I walked into the relief society room and there was my mother, my angel, as vibrant and whole as she ever was. She was surrounded by all the strong women I remembered from those precious days of my youth, all listening attentively to whomever was speaking. My mother beckoned to me. I approached her and leaned over her shoulder and to my rapture I could feel her warmth. I felt- VERY vividly her thick course hair on my neck, her warm breath, the tiny hairs on her arm as she reached up and stroked my cheek. Ahhh…blessed contact, real and comforting. And she spoke to me “Don’t forget I love you Sweetheart. Please go find your Dad, he’s out there and he needs someone.” I knew exactly what she meant even before I woke. It was all I needed. How poignant this was for me to realize that in the gospel we are there together. And, my selfish desire to have her on this earth again was keeping me from reaching out to those who were still very much in need of my attention.

The Lord comforts and guides us in innumerable ways, if we are but willing to listen.

In one dream there was a set of stairs that I understood represented my climb toward heaven. The stairs were deep and easy to climb at first, then became increasingly smaller until they were just an inch deep toward the top. At that point it was necessary for me to reach up and receive help to get into heaven. Reaching down to help me was someone who represented my husband. At the time I needed to know I couldn’t make it on my own.

The other dream helped prepare me for my mission.

I like the suggestions of keeping a dream journal and also asking for the Spirit.

Thanks for this post and discussion.

I have recurring dreams that have the same location from real life, but with twists and additions which is how I know I’m dreaming. Whenever I’m worried about something, I end up in that dreamscape.

I’ve had a couple of spiritual dreams, one giving comfort when I absolutely needed it. The others dealt with the same topic and for all of them I can remember the feeling so clearly and strongly I can’t doubt it was something special.

Thank you Segullah for being such an open and welcoming forum for all areas of life, publication and discussion!

About dreams, I don’t really have spiritual dreams either, though I have often wished I did. But for years I had (and still occasionally have) a recurring dream. I would usually dream that I was back in school. It was the end of the semester, and I would realize that I had a class I had not attended since the beginning of the semester and I was not prepared for the final. Or, a common variation on this was where I would dream that I was supposed to play a recital in a few days which I had forgotten all about and had not practiced for. I have also had dreams where I am suddenly back in graduate school in music. I know these dreams have a lot of meaning as I have had had many issues over the years with regrets about my lack-of career and sadness over not being where I thought I would be. In the past few years I have done a lot more with my music, though I am still a SAHM, and the dreams don’t happen as often, I think because I am more at peace with my life.

Judith breaks what she calls “Liberating dreams” up into 3 groups:”Psychological Dreams” (dreams about fears,insecurities or anxieties; or dreams affirming strengths or emotional achievements), “Predictive Dreams” or “Guidance Dreams”. I started keeping a dream journal and have been amazed at what my subconscious tackles each night. It’s really interesting.

i’ve had one dream in my life that felt, to me, like it was significant, in which i was invited to have a phone call on a special phone that reached through to the spirit world, to talk with a member of my bishopric who had recently died of cancer and whom i had wished i could talk to about something but it was too late. even though he’d been an old man the whole time i’d known him, his voice on our call was the voice he’d had as a younger man in his prime, which caught me off guard. it was a very comforting for me to talk to him in my dream, as i was truly wrestling with something that i felt like he was the only person i knew whose insight i trusted. i wish i had more dreams like that one!

i like the thoughts you’ve shared Melissa. ♥

I confess that I’m not very skilled at reading symbolism and have actually resisted learning about it because I’m afraid I would start looking for meanings far beyond what is actually intended (I tend to get carried away like that). But even your brief descriptions show how much value there can be in trying to read the underlying messages. As you said, I also believe that I’m the only one who can truly say what the symbolism means, which is an additional gift of the Spirit.

In the post, I gave only small snips of my dreams. There is additional information that would probably help in the interpretation. For example, the evening before the carillon dream, we had attended a carillon concert at the Y. I took organ lessons from Dr. Cook eons ago, and it was fun to see him play again. I spent some time that night thinking about things I had done in the past. I’m guessing the dream was a way for my mind to try and incorporate some of my past experiences into something I could use now.

And I’ve never been on rollerblades in my life, but it was so much fun in the dream I think I should take it up.