Today's Favorite Verse: Matthew 2:12, 13, 19-20

Today's Favorite Verse: Matthew 2:12, 13, 19-20
"And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life. "

I noticed the three different dreams mentioned in this chapter. First to the wise men to not return to Herod, and leave another way. Then to Joseph to flee to Egypt with his family. He is told to remain there until he brings him word. That word wasn't from a third party, saying Herod was dead. It was from the angel of the Lord in a third dream telling him to arise and take the family back to Israel. I pondered on what a righteous man Joseph must have been to have visitations of angels in dreams, and obey what he was told. It made me ponder on our day and how import it is that we are able to receive personal revelation for us and our family. It can have not only spiritual but also physical consequences.

"I feel to emphasize the warning President Russell M. Nelson issued us: that “in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.” One of the many reasons you will need the constant influence of the Holy Ghost is that you live in a season in which the adversary has become so effective at disguising truth that if you don’t have the Holy Ghost, you will be deceived. Many obstacles lie ahead. The distractions will be many."
(Dallin H. Oaks, "Coming Closer to Jesus Christ", BYU Devotional address on February 10, 2026)

Day 4055

Today's Favorite Verse: Joel 1:28

Today's Favorite Verse: Joel 1:28
"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:"

This is the time that we are living in.

When Moroni visited Joseph Smith he quoted this verse in Joel. I have wondered what other explanations and scriptures that couldn't be mentioned were told him? Surely, the instructions have been passed to us in other scriptures and in the temple, but it would have been interesting to know all that was covered that night.

"He also quoted the second chapter of Joel, from the twenty-eighth verse to the last. He also said that this was not yet fulfilled, but was soon to be. And he further stated that the fulness of the Gentiles was soon to come in. He quoted many other passages of scripture, and offered many explanations which cannot be mentioned here."
(Joseph Smith-History 1:41)

Day 4036

Today's Favorite Verse: Genesis 40:8

Today's Favorite Verse: Genesis 40:8
"And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you."

Joseph was a dreamer, that is how he received revelation. I pondered on some of the dreams I have received. There are some things I have learned over the years. First, pray for the interpretation. My dreams have personal meaning for me. If they are from God, personally for me, then by prayer He will also give the interpretation. Be careful who you share a dream with. Like Joseph his family didn't understand the dreams he had when younger. They got down right rude and nasty about the whole thing. His siblings even turned on him. Later his dreams were shown to be prophecy that came true. It's better to hold it to yourself because it was for you anyways. If God wants to give someone else the same dream and interpretation He can. On that same hand there is no need to read stories about other people's dreams, they weren't for you. About the only dreams I care about is when a prophet relates it, for he's the one that receive revelation for the church.

"It is true that the Prophets have told us of dreams and visions which they have had, and in some instances the Lord has explained or interpreted them, and as such we are to receive them. But where he has not deigned to give the interpretation we must wait until he does, for it does not belong to men to give their own private interpretation thereto. It is written, “Interpretations belong to God,” and where it has pleased him to interpret, it behooves us to accept it, and where it has not pleased him to do so it becomes us to wait until he does, and not attempt to obtrude upon mankind our private interpretation of what God has revealed. Where plain predictions are uttered, we are to receive them as we would the writings of any other author—according to the plain and obvious meaning of the language."
(Erastus Snow, "Ancient Prophecy, Etc.", JD 16:200)

"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:"
(Joel 2:28)

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:"
(Acts 2:17)

"Revelation can also be given in a dream when there is an almost imperceptible transition from sleep to wakefulness. If you strive to capture the content immediately, you can record great detail, but otherwise it fades rapidly. Inspired communication in the night is generally accompanied by a sacred feeling for the entire experience. The Lord uses individuals for whom we have great respect to teach us truths in a dream because we trust them and will listen to their counsel. It is the Lord doing the teaching through the Holy Ghost. However, He may in a dream make it both easier to understand and more likely to touch our hearts by teaching us through someone we love and respect.
When it is for the Lord’s purposes, He can bring anything to our remembrance. That should not weaken our determination to record impressions of the Spirit. Inspiration carefully recorded shows God that His communications are sacred to us. Recording will also enhance our ability to recall revelation. Such recording of direction of the Spirit should be protected from loss or intrusion by others."
(Richard G. Scott, "How to Obtain Revelation and Inspiration for Your Personal Life", Apr 2012 General Conference)

Day 3759

Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Nephi 17:11-12

Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Nephi 17:11-12
"Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depths, or in the heights above.
But Ahaz said: I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord."

Oddly, I had an experience the other night where someone sent me a message that I didn't read until the following morning. They said that they were impressed that I would have a dream that night and it was really import that I remember all of it and tell them what it was the next morning. I replied in the morning "Hmm, I didn't have any dreams." What I didn't say was if I did have a dream I wouldn't tell you. Then they told me I needed to pray about having a dream and then tell them. I didn't respond, because I absolutely would not do that. I don't ask the Lord for such things to satisfy someone else's curiosity. It's also not appropriate that someone else would be getting impressions about me dreaming things and telling them. I certainly wouldn't let them interpret any of my dreams for me either. Asking for dreams and visions is about as wrong as asking for signs in my book. The Lord knows were to find me when he has something to share.

This all reminded me of a talk by Elder Renlund where he told someone he would not pray about what they were asking either.

"I told him that he was mistaken, and he implored me to pray about it. I told him I would not."

He went on further to explain.

"I did not need to pray about this request for one simple but profound reason: only the prophet receives revelation for the Church. It would be “contrary to the economy of God” for others to receive such revelation, which belongs on the prophet’s runway.
Personal revelation rightly belongs to individuals. You can receive revelation, for example, about where to live, what career path to follow, or whom to marry. Church leaders may teach doctrine and share inspired counsel, but the responsibility for these decisions rests with you. That is your revelation to receive; that is your runway.
The promise of personal revelation through the Holy Ghost is awe-inspiring, much like an airplane in flight. And like airplane pilots, we need to understand the framework within which the Holy Ghost functions to provide personal revelation. When we operate within the framework, the Holy Ghost can unleash astonishing insight, direction, and comfort. Outside of that framework, no matter our brilliance or talent, we can be deceived and crash and burn.
...The scriptures also teach us how to receive personal revelation. And we ask for what is right and good and not for what is contrary to God’s will. We do not “ask amiss,” with improper motives to promote our own agenda or to fulfill our own pleasure. Above all, we are to ask Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ, believing that we will receive.
...A second element of the framework is that we receive personal revelation only within our purview and not within the prerogative of others."
(Elder Dale G. Renlund, "A Framework for Personal Revelation", Oct 2022 General Conference)

Day 3388

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Nephi 1:14

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Nephi 1:14
"And it came to pass that when my father had read and seen many great and marvelous things, he did exclaim many things unto the Lord; such as: Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty! Thy throne is high in the heavens, and thy power, and goodness, and mercy are over all the inhabitants of the earth; and, because thou art merciful, thou wilt not suffer those who come unto thee that they shall perish!"

As I was reading this part in the chapter header "The Lord warns Lehi to depart out of the land of Jerusalem, because he prophesieth unto the people concerning their iniquity and they seek to destroy his life." I pondered on how many times God has led His people to a new location because others were seeking their life. Even the pioneers had to move to the Great Salt Lake valley because of persecution. Nephi speaks of his father Lehi's vision of the destruction of Jerusalem and many being carried away captive into Babylon. After Lehi goes back to testify to them and they seek his life, the Lord then tells him to take his family and leave. I pondered on how they truly would have perished if they had not listened to God. That I can trust in the Lord guiding me if there is ever a time we are called to leave due to coming civil unrest or persecution. The key is you have to listen when you are warned.

It has been many years now that my husband and I moved from the East coast to Utah. I remember the vivid dreams I would have of someone murdering me. I could feel my blood turn to ice as I was being killed. I had physical pain from it as I woke up. Then the impressions came that we needed to move to Utah. Once in Utah I thankfully never had another one of those dreams. I am grateful that we are here. I feel physical and spiritual safety where we are. In Stake Conference today the leadership spoke of how they expect in the next little while (months?) 2,000-3,000 people to move into our stake boundaries. How people are coming here and some do not really understand why. It is for them to hear the gospel. The mission we are in is the highest baptizing mission in the church and that's Utah!. It is amazing how the Lord is moving people around. As massive development is all around us, price of homes going up, and roads are in gridlock I do not resent those that are coming. We can make room, for the Lord has a purpose for bringing them here.

Day 3350

Today's Favorite Verse: Acts 10:10, 17, 19

Today's Favorite Verse: Acts 10:10, 17, 19

"And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,

Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon’s house, and stood before the gate,

While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee."

I had missed the part that Peter was hungry when he fell into this trance and saw a vision of unclean animals and was commanded to eat. All the more reason for him to doubt and ponder on this vision afterwards. I can picture him wondering if the dream was simply because he was hungry? Not all dreams mean something. Things around us, experiences we have had can appear in our dreams. President Wilford Woodruff, a visionary man, explains it thus.

"A man eats a hot supper when he goes to bed; he gets the nightmare; he is chased by a bear; or he falls over a precipice, and as soon as he strikes the ground he wakes up. Now, the Lord had nothing to do with that. A man may go to bed half worried to death, tired, and dream about something that will never take place. Last night, for instance, I dreamed I was making glass houses out of blocks of glass two feet square. Now, I don't know that the Lord was in that. Yet I have had dreams of a very different character.

(Wilford Woodruff, "The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff", by G. Homer Durham, page 283)

President Woodruff, continues in the book to share several examples of inspired dreams he has had. Then he says "Hence there are a great many things taught us in dreams that are true, and if a man has the spirit of God he can tell the difference between what is from the Lord and what is not. And I want to say to my brethren and sisters, that whenever you have a dream that you feel is from the Lord, pay attention to it." (pg. 286)

The important thing Peter did was ponder on his vision and ask the meaning. Then the spirit was able to give confirmation and instruction that Peter needed to follow. It is so important to have that confirmation that something is of God, because sometimes it can come from the wrong source. This past week I had a dream where in it I did something I would never do. I just knew it was not of God. Then the next night I had a dream of a similar nature. At that point it was so seared in my brain I had to actively stopping my mind from reviewing it again during the day. That third night of going to bed I asked that I would no longer be troubled by such a dream. That I could have it removed from my thoughts. And, if I was somehow wrong in the purpose of such a dream that the interpretation be made known to me. The wonderful thing was I was troubled no more by that dream and those thoughts were gone in the morning. I have not thought about it again until now, but thankful only in an instructional way confirming the need to test the source of our dreams and pray about it.

Day 3187

Today's Favorite Verse: Genesis 40:8

Today's Favorite Verse: Genesis 40:8

"And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you."

I pondered on being able to receive answers to my dreams, because I prayed to understand. You can read all the "dream books" in the world and that won't give you true answers. When you pray about the meaning of a dream it is interesting that the meaning is sometimes not what seemed to be the focus.

Day 2199

Today's Favorite Verse: Genesis 37:4-5

Today's Favorite Verse: Genesis 37:4-5

"And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.

And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more."

Family dynamics are funny things. You would think out of all the people in the world that you could tell a dream to is your siblings. What you learn instead is that they are the very people that will tear you down. As Joseph had to figure this out, he never stopped dreaming. The Lord had other plans, and instructed him on when and where and how to reveal things, ultimately he saved his family's lives.

Day 2196