--- title: Times and Seasons description: Issues of 1845 to 1846. authors: - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints editors: - Ebenezer Robinson - Don Carlos Smith - Smith, Joseph, Jr. - Taylor, John collections: - periodicals tags: - newspaper - times-and-seasons - nauvoo - nineteenth-century periodical: Times and Seasons volume: 6 number: 22 published: 1846-02-01 publisher: E. Robinson and D. C. Smith; later John Taylor publisher_place: Commerce and Nauvoo, Illinois language: en type: article reference: "“A Dream,” *Times and Seasons* 6, no. 22 (February 1, 1846): 1111–1112." printed_title: A DREAM. source: url: https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_times-and-seasons_1846-02-01_6_22 transcription: Text from the Centerplace.org transcription (https://www.centerplace.org/history/ts/v6n22.htm), with its page breaks; this Internet Archive scan is the reference copy (its OCR was used only as a witness for OCR repair) identifier: per_utah-and-the-mormons_times-and-seasons_1846-02-01_6_22 start_page: 1111 end_page: 1112 curator_note: A Mormon newspaper published by the church in Nauvoo; included for historical study. Inclusion does not imply endorsement. rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1846 (Nauvoo, Illinois); published before 1931, so public domain in the United States source: https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_times-and-seasons_1846-02-01_6_22 publication_year: 1846 --- # A Dream I stood in the midst of a vast field, surrounded by an immense wilderness interwoven with lakes rivers, and streams. The field and wilderness were filled with lions, tigers, bears, wolves, and all manner of wild beasts; also horned cattle, horses, camels, dromedaries, mules, asses, goats, and all species of animals. I looked and beheld some sheep scattered abroad through all the field and wilderness among all the beasts of the field. The lord of the field said to his chief shepherd, "appoint twelve other shepherds, and send three east, three west, three north,, and three south, and let them appoint other shepherds to assist them, and gather together all my sheep throughout all the field and wilderness, for it is not meet in mine eyes that my sheep should remain scattered abroad among all the beasts of the field and forest, lest they be devoured." I saw that the shepherds went and labored with all their might, and gathered them together in flocks throughout all the field and wilderness, and appointed a shepherd over each flock. The lord of the field said to the chief shepherd, "Go to, now, call the twelve principal shepherds, and let them call upon all other shepherds, and let all join together, and prepare a safe pasture, in a choice piece of land, for all my sheep, and build a high wall around it, and build a high tower in the midst thereof, and let a great book be prepared and kept in the tower; let all my sheep be named, and let the shepherd over each flock send up the name of each sheep, that it may be recorded in the book, and all such shall have the privilege of coming in and out and pasture. Let there be a great covering go forth from the tower, that there may be a shelter for my sheep from the heat and tempest." And a chief shepherd, the twelve principal shepherds, went forth with others and labored with all their might to prepare the choice piece of land for a pasture for the sheep, and also to build the great tower. And while they were building the tower, lo! a great wonder appeared among the sheep. It was discovered that some of the sheep that had been fair to look on began to have great horns rise up, their teeth became like those of a lion, and their wool changed to long coarse hair, and they had claws as a bear; they had not the disposition of the sheep, but ran about and roared like the lion, desiring to destroy the sheep. They ran out of the flock and mingled with the wild beasts of the forest; and while many of the principal shepherds had gone out to call upon other shepherds to assist in building the tower, some of the strange beasts that had left the flock returned from the wilderness with a number of wolves to devour the flock. The chief shepherd with his brother, who also was a noble shepherd, with two of the principal shepherds, went out to meet them in order to save the flock. When they saw them they fell upon them and devoured the chief shepherd and his brother, and severely wounded one of the other two. But those of the principal shepherds who were abroad, hearing of the death of the two shepherds, immediately returned with those two who were not devoured in saving the flock. Then was there great mourning among all the shepherds and the flock, because the two chief shepherds were devoured. Nevertheless, the lord of the field said to the twelve principal shepherds. "cease not my work, neither let your hands be slack, but continue the building of the tower and preparing the pasture for the security of my sheep, for they must be saved." And they were joined by many other shepherds, and labored with greater diligence than ever, and the lord of the field helped them, and they reared the tower, and built the wall, and prepared the choice piece of ground, much faster than before. And the lord of the field said, "let a shepherd be appointed to visit the flocks of sheep that dwell among the great lion of the east, and see that their names are sent up to be recorded in the great book that is kept in the tower." And I thought in my dream, it fell to my lot to visit the flocks of sheep in the east. And according to the commandment of the lord of the field, I went to the flocks in the east, and found shepherds with all the flocks. Then I called upon the shepherds to send me the names of the sheep of their flocks, that they might be recorded in the great book of the tower, and most of the shepherds began to send to me the names of the flocks of sheep with them; and my soul was made glad, because of the shepherds hearkening to the commandment of the lord of the field, that the flocks might have a shelter from the approaching storm and heat. But there were some who did not send up their names to be recorded in the book. While I was passing through the wilderness, among the lions, I found a large flock of sheep very beautiful, with a faithful shepherd, and I asked him if he had sent up a list of the names of his sheep to be recorded in the great book, and he told me he had not, at which I wondered, but he said he would soon; so I went my way. The shepherd labored diligently to increase his flock, seek out all the sheep, and nourish the lambs, but he forgot to give them a name in the book of the tower, with all the sheep in the field; and I was much grieved and troubled in spirit for them, for they were so fair and beautiful I wished them to have a name and a place in the great tower, with all the sheep, that they might escape the storm. When I had secured all the names that the shepherds sent, I returned to behold the great tower and goodly pasture and principal shepherds surrounded with thousands of other shepherds, and an almost innumerable number of sheep that the shepherds had gathered together: and I wondered with great admiration, for I beheld that the tower was finished, and the wall around the pasture, and the covering to shelter the sheep from the storm. While I was overwhelmed with joy at the magnificence of the sight, I cast my eyes upon a conspicuous part of the tower, and beheld written in large Hebrew Letters "Tower of Joseph, the Seer." At this moment I heard the lord of the field say to the leader of the twelve principal shepherds, go and bring the great book from the tower and read the names of my shepherds and sheep who have built this tower, and as he brought out the book, I saw on its back the following words, "Book of the Law of the Lord." As the leader of the twelve principal shepherds commenced to read the names, it seemed from the dead silence that prevailed among the myriads present as though all nature had ceased to breathe. A herald stood with a trumpet and proclaimed aloud each name as it was read from the book. Notwithstanding the great joy that rested upon many thousands of the shepherds and sheep that were present whose names were recorded in the book, I was grieved in spirit and wept much, for I had seen some fair and beautiful sheep among the great lion of the east whose names were not recorded in the book. Then I heard the voice of Lord of the field commanding the twelve principal shepherds, saying-call in all the shepherds and sheep whose names are written in the great book of the tower, and let all the great gates of the outer wall be shut, and let the shepherds gather all the sheep under the cover. The shepherds did as they were commanded, and when they were all gathered under the cover, there began to be a great heat from the sun for many days through all the wilderness and fields, save the green pasture which had a cover. And there was a great plague rested upon the sea, and all the fishes in the sea died, and all the rivers and streams of water through the field and wilderness dried up, and the herbs and grass were withered, and when none of the beasts of the forest or cattle could obtain water nor any green food, they became mad and began to devour each other, and there was a great destruction throughout the vast field and wilderness: the stronger devoured the weaker animals until they were all destroyed. The stronger then began to devour each other, until but few were left in all the forest. At the end of the heat there was a great storm of wind and rain, mingled with hail, even the weight of a talent, and it fell upon all the beasts of the forest who were not devoured by the first calamity, then they fled to the walls of the choice pasture for shelter, but they could not get in for the gates were shut. Their roaring without the walls in agony because of the falling of the hail made the sheep tremble within; nevertheless they were safe within the walls and under cover. In the midst of this calamity and judgment without, I was suffering in spirit within, fearing that some of the sheep whose names were not written in the great book of the tower were trampled down by the beasts of the forest or destroyed by the hail. Whoever has the gift of interpreting dreams, and will give a true interpretation to the foregoing, will confer a favor on a shepherd of the East.