Listening to others

Listening to testimonies in church today, I was reminded of how grateful I am that the gospel isn't just a part of my life but that it is my life. I have been blessed with a million spiritual experiences that help me understand better how to walk not only in His footsteps, but with Them everyday. I had such an experience recently and since I don't think it's something I should freely tell, I'll just share what I learned from it!! =)

I haven't been able to sleep this past week due to a stuffy/runny nose that does not allow me to breathe and because my head has so much sinus pressure, I'm waiting for my face to explode. Having so much twilight time, I've read a ton of church books and talks on dreams & personal life experiences of our apostles. To some extent everyone is a dreamer. Even though I don't remember 3/4 of what I dream every night, I have realized that dreams are very important to have and to understand. In one of Oscar Hammerstein's songs he says:

You've got to have a dream,
For if you don't have a dream,
How are you gonna make that dream come true?

I don't normally talk about dreams with my friends, even though sometimes they're actually in my dreams, but what I learned this week includes several scripture stories of when dreams were followed or when God spoke through a dream. When our mental images are guided by reason and motivated by some righteous ambition, we usually have our own interpretation of the dream that we can take into our lives and learn from. But we can also profit from the dreams of others. It is significant that neither the dreams or the interpretations are always given to those for whom the benefit is intended. And the interpretations are rarely accepted by those who have the greatest need for them. I'm excited for Conference next week and for the dreams and visions the apostles may have had in knowing what to talk about. The idea wasn't necessarily for them, but it's for us- for us to listen to and act upon. And some of us don't accept it, when we are truly the ones with the greatest need for it. When an inspired message comes to a prophet, each of us is supposed to support its good for our own benefit. Sometimes, like King Nebuchadnezzar, many of us not only forget our dreams, but we also lose track of the interpretation. This made it necessary for Daniel to dream Nebuchadnezzar's dream over again for him. Joseph also did most of the work on Pharaoh's dream. The Apostle John was called "the Revelator" because he revealed divine messages to others. But we have to put these messages into operation if we expect to get the maximum benefit. Many great men have done a lot of inspired dreaming and constructive thinking, with us written in as the beneficiaries of the dream. The Psalms of David and the Proverbs of Solomon contain messages given for our benefit. It was also just for us that God thundered the Ten Commandments from the top of Mount Sinai.

Even the mistakes made by the world's worst sinners contain a message intended for us, and some of them have been written down so that it wouldn't be necessary for us to make these same mistakes personally. But we can also make ourselves the beneficiary of every good thing that ever happens. The great atoning sacrifice was also made in our own personal interests, and yet some people will lose many of its benefits because they don't get the right interpretation of its importance. What a terrible tragedy will be revealed on Judgement Day if we discover that great blessings are missing from our lives, because we never listened and learned from what other's are saying. For Conference next week, I hope I get tickets to every session so I can sit there at the feet of our latter day apostles and learn from their dreams and visions, and soak up every word that they've been inspired to say just for me. I can't wait!

Last summer I went to an Institute class where we read the Conferences talks for our lessons. That way we were always pondering the messages of Conference and remembering what we were supposed to be working on and learning from. My goal for this Conference is to never forget or lose what I learned from it. I personally know that most of our serious problems come because we lose things. The Bible speaks of the lost sheep and the lost coin. Frequently our salt loses its savor. The lights go out in that city built on the hill. We often lose our faith and the spirit of our success. Because their oil was missing, the foolish Virgins were not permitted to attend the marriage feast. And we will definitely not be permitted into celestial glory if our necessary virtues are missing. But with the right kind of dreams, a copy of Conference talks with us at all times, and our consistent reading of the scriptures, we can hold onto and never lose our faith, our wealth, our health, or our eternal inheritance. =)