The great miracle of the modern day temple is that we can go seeking counsel and inspiration from Jesus Christ. It is no longer required to have the Hoshen as it was under the Law of Moses. The Jews knew that the Hoshen could provide many gifts including prophecy and warnings. So as modern day followers of Jesus Christ who attend the temple can we qualify for similar experiences?
Are those things only for the prophet of the church? Joseph Smith taught very clearly that “To be a minister of Jesus, a man must testify of Jesus; and to testify of Jesus, a man must have the spirit of prophecy; for, according to John, (Rev 19:10) the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Joseph Smith Teachings of Presidents Manual) President Nelson has reiterated this by saying, “In coming days it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost”
When Joseph Smith was visited by the Angel Moroni he spoke the words from Joel 2:
- 27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.
- 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:
- 29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
- 30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
- 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
- 32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance,
In 2001, President Gordon B. Hinckley, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter–day Saints announced in an opening statement at General Conference, “The vision of Joel has been fulfilled wherein he declared,” he then quoted the KJV of Joel 2:28–32. This was interesting timing considering the destruction of the twin towers had just created some of the biggest, most notorious pillars of smoke in history. I see this declaration to mean that it is happening now! (not many many years ago and not in some distant future) Once the gifts, dreams, and prophecy are poured out upon many people I don’t believe it will just stop. All the gifts and promises of the scripture will roll on until the Second Coming.
Disciples of Christ everywhere can draw strength and faith from these promises. As we see signs of the Second Coming in the world arounds us, we can call on the name of the Lord and he will answer and deliver us. Hence the Hosanna Shout which we did at April GC 2020 which means “Save us!” or “Deliver us!”
I had a personal experience with this principle right before Covid hit.
I was warned in a dream/image right before waking that Covid would be coming to the US, it would be bad, and that I should prepare. I understood this in my mind but also saw imagery of the Passover Door and heard the words that Christ IS the door. This was a little over 40 days before April 2020 General Conference when the prophet would unveil a NEW SYMBOL for the entire church. I see many layers of symbolism. I will go into more detail in my next post.
I know God hears and answers our prayers. Before anyone I knew was worried about the Corona virus I decided to ask and seek answers about it. As I thought on what was happening in China I thought there’s a tiiiny chance things could get bad here eventually. No one seemed too worried but I have known for years that big things would happen in the year 2020. Maybe this was it? In mid February our family had decided to do a 40 day challenge to prepare for general conference. We were going to practice charity, pray for others more often, do family history once a week, pray to be prepared in all things, and study the first vision. A few days later I had the dream. Then, about a week AFTER the dream the prophet challenged the entire church to do a 40 day challenge to “Hear Him”. I found this interesting in light of the passover imagery because the hebrew word for Passover is “Pesach.” It is composed of the words “peh”+ “sach”, which means “The mouth that speaks.” So the prophet was now challenging us to “Hear Him (The Mouth that Speaks)”
(Random side note: the fulfillment of their freedom through the Peh+sach is kind of cool in that it is also Moses himself overcoming one of his biggest weaknesses that initially hinders his faith when he begins his journey with hearing the Lord’s voice. Exodus 4:
- 10 ¶ And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.
- 11 And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?
- 12 Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. )
DREAM #1 that occured after praying about the covid virus that was just starting in China: That morning as I woke up I saw the image of a Passover Door in my mind’s eye and heard the phrase “comings and goings”.
This was a reference to Doctrine and Covenants 88:
91 And all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men’s hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people.
118 And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.
119 Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;
120 That your incomings may be in the name of the Lord; that your outgoings may be in the name of the Lord; that all your salutations may be in the name of the Lord, with uplifted hands unto the Most High.
121 Therefore, cease from all your light speeches, from all laughter, from all your lustful desires, from all your pride and light-mindedness, and from all your wicked doings.
The image of the Passover Door was an obvious reference to this being a big plague after all.
I also felt lead to read Isaiah chapter 26:
There’s a problem and a promise:
Problem:
17 Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O Lord….
20 ¶ Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
Promise:
3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
4 Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.
AND THEN the next night I had DREAM #2 with the words “I am the door”:
My front door was open and I was watching the road. I noticed that some scary thieves pulled up in front of our driveway. I was trying to close the door but laundry on the floor was preventing me from closing it. I quickly moved the clothes as the robbers got closer and almost to the door! I slammed it shut and locked the door in the knick of time. It was close.
My Impression: I felt like the Lord was reminding me to prepare in every way for the Lord who comes as a thief in the night and not to get so bogged down in daily work that I neglect the greater need. It also gave me hope that it’d be close but we’d escape the worst of the coming covid trials.
And then I felt lead to this scripture:
John 10: 8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
At the time I posted about a portion of this on Facebook and said: After reviewing these scriptures I was able to buckle down and prepare my house early before everything went crazy! Now I’m homeschooling 5 children suddenly, praying for Grandparents health/elderly friends, worried about traveling friends who are shut out of the country, my husband can’t work as an owner of a small business, I was just called to be the Young Women President (on the last in person Sunday before the shut down) and we are trying to (but currently shut down) finish building a house we planned at the peak of good times, and hoping to move in a few months. Do I worry and fear at times? Yes. However, overall I have more peace than ever because I know God is with us in it all.
He’s with each of us. All we need to do is stop, listen, and hear his instructions. He is THE DOOR to our deliverance and he is THE MOUTH that speaks to us if we will but take time to “Hear Him.”
Every Sabbath we have the opportunity to shut ourselves in, take a little moment and remember that his blood is still above the door as we remember him. He will protect us in all our comings and goings! Come what may. We can do anything if we have Christ with us. Those dreams have forever linked The Passover, Covid, and the lead up to the Second Coming in my mind. 
Follow Up to My Personal Dream and My Experience With Covid
The Covid pandemic was a difficult time for our family. However, we managed to find strength through our faith in Christ, and we also discovered blessings amidst the trials.
Our family all got Covid right after moving into our new house. I wondered if this might be the case considering I saw the robbers in the dream approach our house right after closing the door. The process of finishing the new build and “Closing” on our new house while covid was raging was as stressful as watching the robbers approach in my dream. Then right after closing we all got really sick from Covid. This was particularly difficult for me because it made underlying health issues worse. Almost exactly a year later we all got Covid again. This time the lasting effects of long Covid on my body were extremely difficult to bear. I saw many doctors, tried dietary changes, took up meditation, tried brain training to reduce pain, took various medications, started doing cold water therapy daily, swimming, and everything else under the sun to cope with my daily pain, exhaustion, and resulting anxiety. Nothing helped very much until I went to the temple at the start of Passover week (April 15 2022). Then 3 days later on April 18th 2022 I laid on my bed in pain, crying , praying, and pondering on the Passover miracles and the blessing that flow from Christ as we attend the temple. I felt a feeling of warmth, a gentle kiss on the cheek, and then the pain disappeared. I was healed. My health problems were of the relapsing and remitting kind so I was not sure if I was healed for a time or for good. Only time would tell. As of today (almost a year later) I still have not had a relapse of any of the same problems that plagued me for so long.
I share this sacred experience to witness to the world that Christ taught and blessed through healing while on this Earth. He died and then was resurrected. Today, he STILL LIVES, he STILL WALKS with us, and he STILL HEALS as a means of teaching and blessing our individual lives.