Dreams

Yesterday I was called as a Gospel Doctrine Teacher in my ward.  Yikes!  I've got to up my game!
We're studying the Book of Mormon, so that's happiness right there.
My first goldmine lesson is on the vision of the Tree of Life from Nephi and Lehi.  As I read the scriptures about other visions from scriptures, something occurred to me.
I know that as members of His church, we don't have a sole claim on God's love, attention, or blessings.  I know that, but so often I forget it.  The scripture stories I looked up are King Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel, Pharaoh and Joseph, Peter and Cornelius.  I thought of other visions and dreams.  Amulek and Alma.  Saul/Paul and Ananias.  It doesn't always happen this way, but in these instances, a dream or vision is had and another provides the interpretation or the reason for the dream.  Peter received an enigmatic vision of a group of animals that were previously unclean for food standing on large sheet.  He was commanded to eat the animals.  He refused, but was rebuked and told that what the Lord deemed clean was clean.  He was confused about the dream until the next day when a gentile by the name of Cornelius sent three men to ask Peter to come and teach him.  Ah ha!  It made sense.  The gospel could be preached outside of the Jewish nation.
As I thought about this I realized that often times the vision comes to one we would consider unworthy.  Nebuchadnezzar was about to kill his priests because they couldn't guess what his dream was about.  Pharaoh killed servants on a whim.  Saul was pretty foul to the Christian Jews.  None of them was a prophet.  Why did they receive the dream/vision?
I think it is because they were in a position to move things forward on a grand scale.  Daniel says something quite remarkable to Nebuchadnezzar.  "Thou, O king, art a king of kings:  for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.  And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all." (Daniel 2:37-38)
The Lord giveth and taketh away.  Do we understand the breadth of that statement?  I didn't think that it meant even those who aren't the greatest leaders in the world.  (What they do with it is a different story and they are accountable for that.)
I'm not saying it would happen, but what if President Obama received a vision about our country?  I have my own feelings about how he would handle that, but maybe I need to be a little more humble.  Maybe he would seek out his helpers and wizards that peep and moan.  Then, maybe he would go where he needed to.  Who would have believed it of Saul?  Who would have believed it of Pharaoh?
It's my food for thought for this week as I look into the symbolism of the parts of the Tree of Life.