Everyone dreams, but can God communicate with people through dreams? Can the dead communicate with the living?

Bible passages answer the first question with a yes. Both Joseph the Patriarch and Joseph, husband of Mary, had the will of God made known to them through dreams. Job 33:14-16 also says that God can speak to people in dreams.

"If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision and will speak unto him in a dream," says Numbers 12:6.

Some religions teach that God once spoke to people in dreams but doesn't anymore.

"There is little need nowadays to revive the laws and canons enacted in past ages against divination through dreams," according to the Catholic Encyclopedia.

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that dreams were more commonly used by God for revelations before Christ came to Earth. Today his teachings are recorded in the Bible to guide people. Jehovah's Witnesses also feel it is a sign of the latter days that some may fall away from the faith by following untruths, such as uninspired dreams.

The Rev. Michael J. Imperiale of the First Presbyterian Church of Salt Lake said his faith has no doctrinal stand on dreams. But, he said, "God can certainly work in our conscious or subconscious lives."

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints doesn't rule out the possibility that some dream-based revelations still exist for the faithful.

"Inspired dreams are the fruit of faith, they are not given to apostate peoples," Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Council of the Twelve wrote in "Mormon Doctrine."

It would also be consistent with LDS doctrine for someone to have a personal revelation in a dream that applied to his or her own life or family but not for that of the entire church. Only the prophet receives revelation for the entire church.

Of course, not all dreams are revelations, but how can one tell the difference? One common theme is that dreams from God are religious in nature. And consistent.

Any revelation through dreams must be in accordance with what God teaches in the scriptures, the Rev. Imperiale said.

"God will not contradict himself," the Rev. Imperiale said.

Joseph Smith, first prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, stated in the "History of the Church" that a faithful man will dream about the work he is engaged in. For example, a dream is not of God if a temple worker dreams about missionary work instead.

Wilford Woodruff, fourth president of the LDS Church, said he had some dreams that were revelations. For example, he once dreamed that one of his children had died. He later received a letter telling him the same thing.