Memorial | p. xvii |
Preface | p. xxi |
A Terrible Accident and the NDE which followed | p. xxi |
A Similar Near-Death Experience | p. xxiv |
The Purposes of This Book | p. xxiv |
The Process and Goal: Heading Toward Omega | p. xxv |
Who This Book Is For | p. xxvi |
Use of "Mormon" Terms | p. xxvii |
Responsibility and Authorship | p. xxvii |
Acknowledgments | p. xxix |
Latter-day Saint Perspectives on Near-Death Experiences | p. 1 |
Joseph Smith's Experiences and Their Aftermath | p. 3 |
Their Pertinence to NDEs | p. 3 |
The First Vision of Joseph Smith | p. 4 |
Visits of the Angel Moroni | p. 6 |
The Translating of the Book of Mormon | p. 8 |
The Witnesses of the Book of Mormon | p. 9 |
Baptism under the Direction of an Angelic Messenger | p. 10 |
A View of Jesus Christ in the Kirtland, Ohio Temple | p. 12 |
The Reaction of Professional Religionists to Joseph Smith's Testimony | p. 13 |
The Ubiquitous Nature of Spiritual Experiences | p. 14 |
Joseph Smith's Impact and Accomplishments | p. 14 |
The LDS Church Today | p. 15 |
Mormons and Near-Death Experiences-Preparing the Way | p. 17 |
About the Author | p. 17 |
How Life Everlasting Was Researched and Written | p. 18 |
An Agonizing Loss-The Death of Laura Jean Crowther | p. 20 |
A Changed Direction-Adding Near-Death Experiences | p. 20 |
New Versions and Translations | p. 22 |
How Was Life Everlasting Received by the Latter-day Saints? | p. 22 |
The Beginning of a World-wide Expansion of Knowledge | p. 24 |
Books on Near-Death Experiences | p. 24 |
Some Evidences of the March to Omega | p. 27 |
Insights on the Lord's Concept of Timing of "Revealed" Information | p. 28 |
LDS Scriptural References to the Timing of Information | p. 29 |
Do Mormons Experience More NDEs Than Others? | p. 31 |
Are All These Communications from the Spirit World "Doctrine"? | p. 35 |
Different Criteria and Definitions for "Truth" and "Doctrine" | p. 37 |
"Shared," or "Secret"? | p. 38 |
The Logic of Information Divulgence | p. 41 |
Summary | p. 45 |
Mormon Contributions to NDE Research | p. 47 |
Duane Crowther | p. 47 |
Craig Lundahl and Harold Widdison | p. 48 |
Brent and Wendy Top | p. 50 |
Arvin Gibson | p. 52 |
Sarah Hinze | p. 57 |
Lee Nelson | p. 58 |
Richard Eyre | p. 58 |
Kevin Christensen | p. 58 |
Other LDS Professionals Involved in Near-Death Research | p. 59 |
Personal-NDE Researchers | p. 60 |
Bias among Mormon Researchers? | p. 61 |
Summary of Mormon Contributions to NDE Research | p. 63 |
Near-Death Experience Correlations with LDS Teachings on Death and God | p. 67 |
About the Author | p. 67 |
Context of Chapters 4 and 5 | p. 68 |
Death-An Important Subject for Latter-day Saints | p. 68 |
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit | p. 69 |
The Holy Ghost and Spirit Matter | p. 70 |
We Lived Before We Were Born: The Offspring of God | p. 72 |
LDS Belief Regarding a Premortal Existence | p. 73 |
Do NDEs Verify LDS Beliefs Regarding God, Heaven, and a Premortal Home? | p. 73 |
Seeing, Hearing, and Touching Jesus | p. 74 |
Encounters with Our Father in Heaven | p. 76 |
NDE Evidence for Premortal Existence | p. 78 |
And a Little Child Shall Teach Them | p. 79 |
Some Experiences Not in Sync with LDS Doctrine | p. 80 |
Where Do We Go after Death? The Postmortal Possibilities | p. 81 |
Life Review and Total Recall: A Partial Judgment? | p. 82 |
An Unpleasant Life Review | p. 83 |
Hell and Satan | p. 84 |
An Extensive View of Hell | p. 85 |
Rescue from Hell: Positive-Negative Polarity | p. 87 |
Correlation between the Prophet Alma's and Howard Storm's NDE | p. 88 |
Unbaptized Infants and Children Go to Heaven | p. 91 |
The Ministering of Angels | p. 92 |
Summary-Death and God Correlations | p. 94 |
Near-Death-Experience Correlations with LDS Teachings on God's Plan | p. 95 |
Some Elements of the Plan | p. 96 |
Life Is a School | p. 99 |
Increased Ability to Learn | p. 100 |
Contention and Anger Management | p. 102 |
Love and Forgiveness | p. 103 |
The LDS View of Man's Ultimate Potential | p. 104 |
Early Christian Belief | p. 105 |
NDE Hints of Man's Ultimate Potential | p. 105 |
Multiple Heavens: A Hierarchy of Places | p. 106 |
Salvation for the Dead | p. 107 |
Doctrines and Evidences | p. 109 |
Summary | p. 114 |
Research on NDEs | p. 117 |
Representative Near-Death Experiences | p. 119 |
What Is a Representative NDE? | p. 119 |
Experiences Designed to Benefit the Involved Individual | p. 119 |
Lucinda Hecker's Drowning NDE and Later Experiences: In-depth Interviews | p. 120 |
Bill Essex's Boot-Camp NDE: His Account and Follow-up Interview | p. 127 |
Analysis of Lucinda's and Bill's Experiences and Accounts | p. 133 |
Follow-up Interviews | p. 137 |
Why Follow-ups? | p. 137 |
David Herard's Vietnam Battlefield NDE and Follow-up Interviews | p. 137 |
John Hernandez: A Firefighter's Group NDE and Follow-up Interviews | p. 144 |
John Stirling's Motorcycle-Accident NDE and Follow-up Interview | p. 148 |
Derald Evans' Exploding-Rifle NDE and Follow-up Interview | p. 157 |
Bill English's Life Changes from NDEs | p. 159 |
More Follow-up Interviews | p. 161 |
Elizabeth Clark's Overdose NDE and Follow-up Interview | p. 161 |
Crystal Clark's Early Childhood NDE and Interview | p. 170 |
John W. Clark's Construction Accident NDE and Interview | p. 171 |
Vern G. Swanson's Account of His Deceased Wife's Appearance | p. 174 |
The Objective of Repeat Interviews | p. 176 |
Future Research on the Meaning of NDEs | p. 179 |
An Overview of the History of NDE Research | p. 181 |
The International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS) | p. 182 |
NDE-A Misnomer | p. 183 |
A Variety of Studies | p. 183 |
The Nature of Early Research | p. 185 |
Evolution of the Research Effort | p. 187 |
Expansion of Research Beyond the United States | p. 189 |
Research in Other Cultures | p. 190 |
An Israeli NDE | p. 191 |
Jewish Views of the Afterlife | p. 193 |
Native-American NDEs in North America | p. 194 |
Native-American Records in Central America | p. 194 |
Corroborative NDEs and Prospective Studies | p. 196 |
Significant Happenings in NDE Research: People, Events, and Ideas | p. 199 |
What Is Important? | p. 199 |
Raymond Moody | p. 199 |
IANDS | p. 200 |
The Journal of Near-Death Studies | p. 201 |
Human Consciousness Beyond Death | p. 202 |
Physicist-Scientists vs. Physician-Scientists | p. 204 |
Personal Interviews | p. 204 |
Unique Personal Accounts | p. 206 |
Specialized Studies | p. 208 |
Corroborative NDEs | p. 214 |
Prospective Studies | p. 216 |
NDE vs. Non-NDE Study in a Hospital Environment | p. 217 |
Comparison of Bonenfant's Findings with Data from Gibson | p. 218 |
The RERC Study | p. 219 |
David B. Haight's Experience | p. 221 |
The Impact of NDEs on LDS Professionals | p. 225 |
The Nature of God and Man | p. 227 |
About the Author | p. 227 |
The Impact of NDEs on the Author | p. 228 |
Nagging Questions | p. 228 |
Beverly Brodsky-An In-Depth NDE | p. 229 |
A Different Realm of Time and Space | p. 229 |
Andy Petro's NDE | p. 230 |
A Paradox of Truth | p. 230 |
The Nature of Christ and God | p. 231 |
University of the Light | p. 232 |
The Characteristics of Light | p. 233 |
God's Light | p. 234 |
Duality of Light and Existence | p. 235 |
Interconnectedness in the Living Cosmos | p. 236 |
A Cosmic Dance | p. 237 |
The Paradox of Reality | p. 238 |
Intelligence and Creation | p. 239 |
No Joy without Opposition | p. 240 |
My Increasing Faith | p. 241 |
The Therapeutic Value of NDEs | p. 243 |
About the Author | p. 243 |
A Personal Note | p. 244 |
What Is Psychotherapy? | p. 244 |
Finding Truth | p. 246 |
Interviewing Those Who Had NDEs | p. 247 |
Therapeutic Value | p. 249 |
Death and Meaning | p. 250 |
Understanding Suffering | p. 251 |
Using Premortal Choice Respectifully | p. 253 |
Respecting Freedom of Choice | p. 254 |
Another Psychologist's View | p. 256 |
Degradation and Redemption | p. 257 |
Requisite Disclosure | p. 261 |
The Need for Proper Research Methods and Techniques: An LDS Sociologist Views the NDE | p. 263 |
About the Author | p. 263 |
Background | p. 264 |
My Introduction to NDEs | p. 264 |
Cost-Benefit Studies | p. 265 |
Sociology-Areas of Study and Limitations | p. 266 |
Cultural Effects | p. 268 |
Science and Religion | p. 269 |
Enigmas of Science | p. 271 |
The Rush to Legitimacy | p. 273 |
Problems Associated with NDE Research | p. 273 |
Representiveness of the Data | p. 274 |
Examples of the Improper Use of Statistics | p. 275 |
The Interactive Effect | p. 279 |
From the Experience to Its Interpretation and Meaning | p. 280 |
Different Impacts of Being Transformed by the Near-Death Experience | p. 282 |
The Impact of Misuse of NDE Information | p. 285 |
Interesting Findings | p. 285 |
NDEs and Research Efforts | p. 286 |
Fruitful Areas for Future Research | p. 286 |
Conclusion | p. 289 |
The Life-Changing Aspects of Teaching about NDEs | p. 291 |
About the Author | p. 291 |
Course Development | p. 292 |
Course Texts | p. 294 |
Course Effects on Students | p. 295 |
Students Who Had NDEs | p. 296 |
Results of Surveys on Changes in Attitudes and Beliefs | p. 302 |
Chart: NDE-Course Effects on Students | p. 304 |
Observations about the Surveys | p. 306 |
Comparisons, Religious Effects, and the Future | p. 309 |
NDEs that Add Insights to Mormon Theology: A Comparison with Key Elements of LDS Theology | p. 311 |
The Light | p. 312 |
The Plan: Everything Has a Purpose | p. 313 |
Love | p. 315 |
Life's Review | p. 316 |
Families and Genealogy | p. 319 |
Knowledge | p. 322 |
Premortal Life | p. 323 |
Reincarnation? | p. 325 |
Opposition: Pain and Joy | p. 326 |
Satan, Demons, and Hell | p. 327 |
Encounters with Deity | p. 330 |
A Being of Light | p. 332 |
Different Levels in the Spirit World | p. 334 |
A Beautiful City of Light | p. 335 |
Choice as Part of the Plan | p. 336 |
Spirits Seen in Different Forms | p. 337 |
Other Events and Examples | p. 341 |
The Religious Impact of Some NDEs: Individuals Who Became Mormons as a Result of NDEs | p. 343 |
Interesting Conversion Cases | p. 343 |
Jack Wait-A Friend from High School | p. 346 |
Elane Durham | p. 353 |
A Remarkable Healing | p. 353 |
Revelatin and the Power of God: Why the LDS Church? | p. 355 |
Which Is the Best Religion? The Religion that Brings You Closest to God | p. 358 |
How Close Is Omega? | p. 361 |
Mormons and NDEs | p. 361 |
Common Elements or Stages of the NDE | p. 361 |
Why the Many Parallels between NDEs and LDS Theology | p. 363 |
What of Omega? | p. 363 |
Other Evidence in Support of the Omega Theory | p. 365 |
Mormon Contributions toward the March to Omega | p. 370 |
This Book as a Tributary | p. 371 |
Other LDS Correlations with Near-Death Experiences | p. 372 |
Some Deviations | p. 374 |
So, What of the Future? | p. 375 |
Future Research | p. 376 |
Conclusions | p. 378 |
Omega Found? | p. 380 |
References | p. 383 |
Latter-day Saint Scriptures | p. 383 |
Other Latter-day Saint Writings | p. 384 |
Near-Death Literature | p. 385 |
Indexes | |
Index of Persons Cited | p. 393 |
Index of Elements of Near-Death Experiences and Research Cited | p. 402 |
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |
The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.
The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.