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Early Mormon Visions & Near Death Experiences
EARLY MORMON VISIONS & NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES
These sites tend to disappear and valuable content is lost, so I am adding it here. The rest of the site where this was taken from is already not working. Source 1
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| EARLY MORMON VISIONS & NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES By Robert Fillerup Last modified: November 27, 1996 This article was originally presented at Sunstone Symposium 90, August 22, 1990. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION THE DARKNESS OR TUNNEL THE LIGHT THE BEING OF LIGHT LIFE REVIEW OR FORGIVENESS OF SINS RECEIVING OF KNOWLEDGE AND ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS RE-ENTRY INTO THE BODY INABILITY TO TALK ABOUT EXPERIENCE AFTER EFFECTS OTHER MORMON VISIONARY EXPERIENCES DOCTRINE & COVENANTS, Section 137 COMMON ELEMENTS INTEREST IN THE NDE WAYS TO INDUCE ANGELIC VISITATIONS CONCLUSION APPENDIX FOOTNOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY INTRODUCTION I would wager that there is not a single soul in this audience that is unfamiliar with Joseph Smith's First Vision. Probably most of you are also aware that there are several accounts of the event, differing in time and content. It is probable that fewer of you are familiar with the terms ``NDE'' or ``OBE'' or ``core experience.'' And probably very few have ever associated the near-death experience with the First Vision or other early Mormon visionary experiences. 1 Some years ago, while reading a newspaper article about the near-death experience, I was suddenly struck with the similarity between the basic elements of such experiences and the basic elements of the First Vision. Since that time I have read essentially everything I could find on the subject, and today I propose to share some of my findings with you. The hypothesis presented in this paper is that modern research into near death experiences (NDE's) and out-of-body experiences (OBE's) can provide clues as to what really happened during Joseph Smith's First Vision, as well as some of the other early Mormon visionary experiences, such as sections 76, 87, and 137 of the Doctrine and Covenants. Prior to 1975, the death-revival experience was talked about and written about mostly in obscure paraphyscology journals, folklore gatherings, tabloid newspapers, or books which gained little exposure or recognition. 2 However, in 1975, Dr. Raymond A. Moody, Jr. published a book entitled ``Life After Life'' which almost instantly became an international best-seller. The cover of the 6th paperback printing announces that it is ``[t]he astounding bestseller that offers true experiences of those people declared clinically `dead'... descriptions so similar, so vivid, so overwhelmingly positive that they may change mankind's view of life, death and spiritual survival forever.'' Moody was the first to gather together several accounts of ordinary people, talking about their near-death experience in sincere and ordinary terms. Moody's book allowed those who may have had similar experiences to ``compare'' theirs' to the model near-death experience he proposed. While Moody's book was not the first to attempt to explain the near-death experience or "NDE" (a phrase he apparently coined), his Life After Life was the first serious study in medical circles on whether there was life after death. Other doctors, such as Kenneth Ring, Michael Sabom, Bruce Greyson, and Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, followed with books of their own. Moody collected some 150 cases,3 and from those was able to develop what has become known as the core near-death experience: A man is dying and, as he reaches the point of greatest physical distress, he hears himself pronounced dead by his doctor. He begins to hear an uncomfortable noise, a loud ringing or buzzing and at the same time feels himself moving very rapidly through a long tunnel. After this, he suddenly finds himself outside his own physical body, but still in the same immediate physical environment, and sees his body from a distance, as though he is a spectator. He watches the resuscitation attempt from this vantage point and is in a state of emotional upheaval. After a while, he collects himself and becomes more accustomed to his odd condition. He notices that he still has a ``body,'' but one of a very different nature and with very different powers from the physical body he has left behind. Soon other things begin to happen. Others come to meet him and help him. He glimpses the spirits of relatives and friends who have already died, and a loving, warm spirit of a kind he has never encountered before.a being of light.appears before him. This being asks him a question, nonverbally, to make him evaluate his life and helps him along by showing him a panoramic, instantaneous playback of the major events of his life. At some point, he finds himself approaching some sort of barrier or border, apparently representing the limit between earthly life and the next life. Yet, he finds that he must go back to the earth, that the time for his death has not yet come. At this point he resists, for by now he is taken up with his experiences in the afterlife and does not want to return. He is overwhelmed by intense feelings of joy, love, and peace. Despite his attitude, though, he somehow reunites with his physical body and lives. Later he tries to tell others, but he has trouble doing so. In the first place, he can find no human words to describe these unearthly episodes. He also finds that others scoff, so he stops telling other people. Still, the experience affects his life profoundly, especially his views about death and its relationship to life. (Moody 1975, 21-23) In a sequel, Reflections on Life after Life, Moody added several new elements which could occur that he had discovered ``in studying the large number of accounts of near-death experiences which [he] had collected since the completion of Life after Life.'' (Moody 1977, 9-29). These elements include the vision of knowledge, cities of light, a realm of bewildered spirits, supernatural rescues, (I.e., experiencers saved by the intervention of some spiritual agent or being), and finally more on the judgment (or forgiveness of sins). As Dr. Kenneth Ring observes, ``The components of this experience ... do not all occur in any actual instance, nor do they appear in an invariant sequence.''(Ring 1980, 23). |
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| THE DARKNESS OR TUNNEL Several NDErs, as they are often called, report that one of the first things they encounter is an awful noise, sometimes coupled with a sense of impending doom. The noise is variously described as a loud ringing; buzzing; a loud click; roaring; banging; whistling sound like the wind; music; bells tinkling; etc., (Moody 1975, 30). One woman I interviewed described the sound as "dissonant voices." (Fillerup-Mitton 1990). Almost all NDErs recall an encounter with some form of darkness early in the experience. It is often accompanied by a sensation of impending doom. A very close friend of mine described his experience, which he had while a missionary in Alaska, as an evil spirit, attempting to squeeze his life out. (Fillerup-Mendenhall 1990). Another young man I interviewed described the sensation as a terrible blackness that engulfed him and knocked the wind out of him. (Fillerup-Cook I, 1990). In the medieval Vision of of Barontus, ``an unseen force chokes Barontus into unconsciousness.'' (Zaleski 1987, 45). Connected closely with the darkness is the travel through a tunnel; also variously described as a cave, well, trough, enclosure, tunnel, funnel, vacuum, void, sewer, valley, cylinder, very dark-deep valley, the valley of the shadow of death, (Moody 1975, 31-34), or sliding down a trough or slide, (Nelson 1989, 138), or a dark passage (Rawlings 1978, 98). Joseph Smith, in his 1838 account, describes what happened to him as follows: I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me and had such astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me and it seemed to me for a time as if I was doomed to sudden destruction. But exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of the enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction, not to an imaginary ruin but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being. Just at this moment of great alarm I saw a pillar of light ... THE LIGHT Common to almost every account is the seeing of the light or the entry into the light. As one woman, Jayne Smith, described the event: I was standing in a mist....While I was pouring out [my] feelings....the mist started being infiltrated with enormous light and the light just got brighter and brighter and brighter and, it is so bright but it doesn't hurt your eyes, but its brighter than anything you've ever encountered in your whole life. At that point, I had no consciousness anymore of having a body. It was just pure consciousness. And this enormously bright light seemed almost to cradle me. (Ring 1984, 62). Tom Sawyer, well known for speaking about his experience, explained: Its an extremely brilliant light. It's pure white. It's just so brilliant.... [the] most magnificent, just gorgeous, beautiful, bright, white or blue-white light. It is so bright, it is brighter that a light that would immediately blind you, but his absolutely does not hurt your eyes at all... It is so bright, so brilliant, and so beautiful, but it doesn't hurt your eyes. (Ring 1984, 57). Compare Joseph Smith in 1832: ... a pillar of fire light above the brightness of the sun at noon day come down from above and rested upon me and I was filled with the spirit of god and the Joseph Smith in 1835: ... a pillar of fire appeared above my head, it presently rested down upon me head, and filed me with Joy unspeakable, a personage appeared in the midst of this pillar of flame which spread all around, and yet nothing consumed ... (Jesse 1984, 75) And Joseph Smith in 1838: ... I saw a pillar In 1840, Orson Pratt described Joseph Smith's experience as follows: ...he, at length, saw a very bright and glorious light in the heavens above; which, at first, seemed to be at a considerable distance. He continued praying, while the light appeared to be gradually descending towards him; and, as it drew nearer, it increased in brightness, and magnitude, so that, by the time that it reached the tops of the trees, the whole wilderness, for some distance around, was illuminated in a most glorious and brilliant manner. He expected to have seen the leaves and boughs of the trees consumed, as soon as the light came in contact with them; but, perceiving that it did not produce that effect, he was encouraged with the hopes of being able to endure its presence. It continued descending, slowly, until it rested upon the earth, and he was enveloped in the midst of it. When it first came upon him, it produced a peculiar sensation throughout his whole system; and, immediately, his mind was caught away, from the natural objects with which he was surrounded; and he was enwrapped in a heavenly vision, and saw two glorious personages ... (Jesse 1989, 391). THE BEING OF LIGHT Some sort of being of light is encountered by almost all of the core NDErs. Tom Sawyer states: ``It's almost like a person. It is not a person, but it is a being of some kind. It is a mass of energy. It doesn't have a character like you would describe another person, but it has a character in that it is more than just a thing. It is something to communicate to and acknowledge. And also in size, it just covers the entire vista before you. And it totally engulfs whatever the horizon might be... Then the light immediately communicates to you... This communication is what you might call telepathic. It's absolutely instant, absolutely clear. It wouldn't even matter if a different language was being spoken....whatever you thought and attempted to speak, it would be instant and absolutely clear....You have a feeling of absolute pure love. It's the warmest feeling. (Ring 1984, 58). In the words of one of Dr. Maurice Rawlings'patients, a non-Christian: ``I was stopped by this brilliantly lighted person. He knew my thoughts and reviewed my life.'' (Rawlings 1978, 88). Moody states that ``most of those who are Christians in training or belief identify the light as Christ and sometimes draw Biblical parallels in support of their interpretation. A Jewish man and woman identified the light as an `angel.'"(Moody 1975, 59). An active LDS woman who related her NDE to me not more than three weeks ago said that ``The light felt like a blanket. Like total love. I knew that I was home. I had total mobility. I felt free. In the center of the light `back there' was the outline of a man. I thought he had substance and that I could have touched him. There were no words spoken, just a total mental process. I know several languages, but this language was nothing like any of them.'' (Fillerup-Mitton 1990). (Incidentally, this same woman said that she only learned later, through another experience, who the being was and that he was resurrected.) Compare Joseph Smith in 1835: A personage appeared in the midst of this pillar of flame, which was spread all around and yet nothing was consumed. Another personage soon appeared like unto the first: he said unto me thy sins are forgiven thee. He testified also unto me that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I saw many angels in this vision. (Jesse 1989, 127). And Joseph Smith in 1838: When the light rested upon me I saw two personages (whose brightness and glory defy all description) standing above me in the air. (Jesse 1989, 273). LIFE REVIEW OR FORGIVENESS OF SINS A life review, which is sometimes perceived as a forgiveness of sins is often experienced. Quoting one woman: And I said to him [the Being], ``This is all so beautiful, this is all so perfect, what about my sins?' And he said to me, `There are no sins. Not in the way you think about them on earth. The only thing that matters here is how you think.' (Jayne Smith in Moody, A woman I recently interviewed indicated that the first thing the being of light said was: ``I want to show you something'' and Boom, I looked over and it was me. He showed me my life, in an instant, like a video, yet I experienced emotions. I saw my sins. He said ``yes, but look what you've learned.'' I started to be embarrassed, he said ``Don't worry, its all forgiven. Don't feel guilty.'' (Fillerup- Mitton, 1990). Another woman said ``my life flashed before me. I was experiencing judgment.'' (Nelson 1989, 153). Notice what Joseph Smith said in 1832: ...I saw the Lord and he spake undo me saying Joseph my son, they Sins are forgiven thee. go thy way walk in my statutes and keep my commandments ... (Jesse 1989, 6) And Orson Pratt's 1840 accout of Joseph's experience: ...He was informed that his sins were forgiven. He was also informed upon the subjects, which had for some time agitated his mind. (Jesse 1989, 391). |
Early Mormon Visions & Near Death Experiences Studies Doctrine Mormon
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| RECEIVING OF KNOWLEDGE AND ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS Jayne Smith says: ``I remember I knew that everything, everything in the universe was OK, that the plan was perfect. That whatever was happening - the wars, famine, whatever - was OK. Everything was perfect. Somehow it was all a part of the perfection, that we didn't have to be concerned about it at all. And the whole time I was in this state, it seemed infinite. It was timeless. I was just an infinite being in perfection. Tom Sawyer, as well as gaining an understanding of, and interest in quantum physics, ``was able to have long and precise discourses on cosmology, religion, and ancient history, all subjects he says he learned during his experience `in the light'.'' (Harris 1990, 133). Joseph Smith no sooner got possession of himself ``so as to be able to speak, than I asked the presonages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right, (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong) and which I should join. I was answered that I must join none of them... He again forbade me to join with any of them and many other things did he say unto me which I cannot write at this time. (Jesse 1989, 273). RE-ENTRY INTO THE BODY While other events can occur during an NDE, experiencers often are surprised or startled when they find themselves suddenly back in their bodies. Typically, however, they have no recollection how they have accomplished their ``re-entry,'' for at this point they tend to lose all awareness. Very occasionally, however, the individual may remember ``returning to his body'' with a jolt or an agonizing wrenching sensation. Some suspect that they reentered ``through the head.'' Afterward, when he is able to recount his experience, he finds that there are simply no words adequate to convey the feelings and quality of awareness he remembers. He may also be or become reticent to discuss it with others, either because he feels no one will really be able to understand it or because he fears he will be disbelieved or ridiculed. (Ring 1984, 38). Joseph Smith 1838 When I came to myself again I found myself lying on my back looking up into Heaven. INABILITY TO TALK ABOUT EXPERIENCE ``I couldn't talk about my experience because I was afraid people would dismiss me, calling what happened a hallucination. Even my psychiatrist didn't understand.'' (Harris 1990, 121). As one patient, in talking to Dr. Sabom stated: ``People will think I'm crazy. I wouldn't dare tell my wife. She would have me as a candidate for the [psychiatric ward]. But you've expressed an interest in it and you seem sincere. I'm not telling you everything, Doctor. Just enough so that you won't get too uptight with me. Maybe later, when I know you better and know how serious you really are about this thing.'' (Sabom 1982, 136) AFTER EFFECTS After effects of NDE's include feeling of immense love and joy ****(sources) (JS 1832 - ``and my soul was filled with love and form any days I could rejoice with great joy and the Lord was with me; JS 1835 - JS 1840 - ``leaving his mind in a state of calmness and peace indescribable'' (Pratt 1840). Also loss of interest in material things, desire to share with others, to love and help everyone, and even to form communal societies. OTHER MORMON VISIONARY EXPERIENCES We now turn to examining other early Mormon visionary experiences. As an introduction, the thoughts of Stanislav Groff on the near-death experiences are instructive: Transpersonal experiences involving transcendence of spatial barriers suggest that the boundaries between the individual and the rest of the universe are not fixed and absolute. Under special circumstances, a person may identify experientially with anything in the universe, including the entire cosmos itself. In this group belong experiences of merging with another person's identity, of tuning in to the consciousness of a specific group of people, or of one's consciousness expanding to such an extent that it seems to encompass all of humanity. Similarly, individuals may sometimes report transcending the limits of our specifically human experience, identifying instead with the consciousness of animals, plants, or inorganic objects and processes. It is even possible to experience consciousness of the entire biosphere, of the planet as a whole, or of the entire material universe.'' (Grof in Doore 1990, 25). It seem appropriate here to reflect upon Moses who was ``caught up into an exceedingly high mountain, and he saw God face to face, and he talked with him, and the glory of God was upon Moses'' and ``therefore Moses could endure his presence,'' that he ``looked, and beheld the world upon which he was created; and Moses beheld the world and the ends thereof, and all the children of men which are, and which were created; of the same he greatly marveled and wondered.'' (Moses 1:1-2, 1:8). (Read Moses 1:9-10 also.) Grof continues: ``Many transpersonal experiences involve an apparent extension of consciousness beyond the phenomenal world and the time-space continuum as we ordinarily perceive it. In this category we find numerous visions of archetypal personages and themes, of deities and demons of various cultures, of complex mythological sequences, and of the spirits of deceased people, suprahuman entities, and inhabitants of other universes. Because transpersonal experiences can convey instant intuitive information about any aspect of the universe in the present, past, and future, they appear to violate some of the most basic assumptions. (Grof in Doore 1990, 25) Joseph Smith, in his poetic rendition of Section 76 of the Doctrine and Covenants, gave us the following: 11. I, Joseph, the prophet, in spirit beheld, And the eyes of the inner man truly did see Eternity sketch'd in a vision from God Of what was, and now is, and yet is to be. Further in the same poetic rendetion is found the following: 15. I marvel'd at these resurrections, indeed! For it came unto me by the spirit direct:- And while I did meditate what it all meant, The Lord touch'd the eyes of my own intellect:- 16. Hosanna Forever! they open'd anon And the glory of God shone around where I was; And there was the Son, at the Father's right hand, In a fulness of glory, and holy applause. Section 76 of the Doctrine and Covenants contains what is known as the vision of the three degrees of glory. Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, while retranslating the book of John, became concerned about whether heaven contained more that one kingdom. (The need for information). And on February 16, 1832, Joseph and Sidney ``being in the Spirit,'' said that ``our eyes were opened and our understandings were enlightened, so as to see and understand the things of God.''(verse 12) At the close of the vision we have the following: 113. This is the end of the vision which we saw, which we were commanded to write while we were yet in the Spirit. 114. But great and marvelous are the works of the Lord, and the mysteries of his kingdom which he showed unto us, which surpass all understanding in glory, and in might, and in dominion 115. Which he commanded us we should not write while we were yet in the Spirit, and are not lawful for man to utter; 116. Neither is man capable to make them known, for they are only to be seen and understood by the power of the Holy Spirit, which God bestows on those who love him, and purify themselves before him; 117. To whom he grants this privilege of seeing and knowing for themselves; 118. That through the power and manifestation of the Spirit, while in the flesh, they may be able to bear his presence in the world of glory. Dr. Kenneth Ring, in Heading toward Omega, noted that a fair number of experiences report what he labeled as ``prophetic visions'' or PVs as he calls them. (Ring 1984, 194). He describes the general PV as follows: There is, first of all, a sense of having total knowledge, but specifically one is aware of seeing the entirety of the earth's evolution and history, from the beginning to the end of time. The future scenario, however, is usually of short duration, seldom extending much beyond the beginning of the twenty-first century. The individuals report that in this decade there will be an increasing incidence of earthquakes, volcanic activity, and generally massive geophysical changes. There will be resultant disturbances in weather patterns and food supplies. The world economic system will collapse, and the possibility of nuclear war or accident is very great (respondents are not agreed on whether a nuclear catastrophe will occur). All of these events are transitional rather than ultimate, however, and they will be followed by a new era in human history marked by human brotherhood, universal love, and world peace. Though many will die, the earth will live. While agreeing that the dates for these events are not fixed, most individuals feel that they are likely to take place during the 1980's. Accounts contain visions of geophysical changes, earthquakes, volcanic activity, landmass changes, weather changes, famine, social disorder, economic collapse and of course war. (Ring 1984, 199-201), (Ring 1988, 8-9). John Perry (The Heart of History, Perry, 1987) shows that PVs are found throughout history, and Ring (Ring 1988, 11-12) refers to a classic PV that happened in 1892!. Experiencers almost invariably perceive the future events they see as happening just around the corner. Perhaps the explanation is that because they see the events in an instantaneous, other-dimensional time frame, it becomes very difficult to say with certainty when they will happen. Joseph Smith's prophecy on war, Section 87, of the Doctrine and Covenants contains rather specific references to bloodshed, famine, earthquake, the thunder of heaven, and fierce and vivid lighting, etc. What is not clearly stated is any specific time references. However, in a companion revelation received at almost the same time Joseph declares boldly: And now I am prepared to say by the authority of Jesus Christ, that not many years shall pass away before the United States shall present such a scene of bloodshed as has not a parallel in the history of our nation: pestilence, hail, famine, and earthquake will sweep the wicked of this generation from off the face of the land, to open and prepare the way for the return of the lost tribes of Israel from the north country. ... (skipping some here) Repent ye, repent ye, and embrace the everlasting covenant and flee to Zion, before the overflowing scourge overtake you, for there are those now living upon the earth whose eyes shall not be closed in death until they see all these things, which I have spoken, fulfilled. Remember these things; call upon the Lord while He is near, and seek Him while He may be found, is the exhortation of your unworthy servant. (HC I:316). |
Experiences Death and Visions Mormon Early
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| DOCTRINE & COVENANTS, Section 137 And now we turn to Section 137. On January 21, 1836, Joseph is seated while his father anoints his head and seals blessings upon him, and then the presidency does the same thing. It is apparently while still seated and while these blessings were going on that Joseph says: The heavens were opened upon us and I beheld the Celestial Kingdom of God and the glory thereof, whether in the body or out I cannot tell. I saw the transcendent beauty of the gate through which the heirs of that Kingdom will enter, which was like unto circling flames of fire. Also the blasing throne of God whereon was Seated the Father and the Son. I Saw the beautiful streets of that Kingdom which had the appearance of being paved with gold. (See 2 Cor 12: 1-4 for Paul's version of his similar experience; and 1 Nephi 1:8 for Lehi's.) Joseph sees his father, mother, and his older brother Alvin who had already died and marvels that Alvin had obtained an inheritance, etc. (Note: again I beheld the Terrestial Kingdom)(also rest of vision is not in D&C). At the end of the vision as recorded in Joseph's diary, he says: ``I also beheld the redemption of Zion and many things which the toung[e] of man cannot describe in full.'' It is interesting note that throughout that day as well as the next several of the brethern ``had the heavens opened'' as Joseph put it, and they saw angels, the face of the Savior, etc. At the end of January 22, 1836, we find the following note in Joseph's diary: ``The spirit and visions of God attended me through the night.'' The following account by someone else who had essentially the same vision is interesting: Four days ago, I died and was taken by two angels to the height of heaven. And it was just as though I rose above not only this squalid earth, but even the sun and moon, the clouds and stars. Then I went through a gate that was brighter than normal daylight, into a place where the entire floor shone like gold and silver. The light was indescribable, and I can't tell you how vast it was. This second account was given by a man named Salvius-in the sixth century A.D. (Zaleski 1987, 5). COMMON ELEMENTS Comparing the NDE and the First Vision suggests the following common elements: * (1) Initial darkness or void * (2) Entry into a brilliant light * (3) Encountering a being or beings of Light * (4) Life review or forgiveness of sins * (5) Giving of information or answers to questions * (6) Possible prophetic vision * (7) Awarness of returning to body * (8) Inability to describe what was seen * (9) Rejection of story or reluctance to tell it to others. Using the model as a point of reference, the visions of Abraham and Moses, as contained in the Pearl of Great Price, the visions of Lehi, Nephi, Enos and others in the Book of Mormon, and the visions in early Mormonism, to suggest a few, take on added dimensions. Carol Zaleski has done a similar thing in her book, Otherworld Journeys, Accounts of Near-Death Experience in Medieval and Modern Times, where she compares the NDE to early Christian visionary writings. (Zaleski 1987). J.R. Porter did the same thing in his Muhammad's Journey to Heaven (Porter in Davidson 1975, 1-26). Even as we speak F. Gordon Greene and Stanley Krippner are linking the imagery structures of otherworld passage as found in myths, fairy tales, and fantasies to the otherworld passage as found in out-of-body experiences and near-death experiences. And Dr. Hugh Nibley, in his current lecture series at BYU, suggests that the prophetic-kingship rites of passage in Abrahamic and Egyptian writings is a form of NDE. Rites of passage and initiatory descents into the Underworld are similarly discussed by J.G. Bishop in his Hero's Descent to the Underworld. (Bishop in Davidson 1975, 109-129). INTEREST IN THE NDE Well, why all the sudden interest in the NDE? Just last Friday (August 17, 1990) morning, I was lying in bed reading the book What Survives, Contemporary Explorations of Life After Death, which is a collection of essays of prominent NDE researchers. (Doore 1990). At the same time ABC's ``Good Morning America'' was airing a segment entitled `Real-life Flatliners'' where they were interviewing Tom Sawyer and Kate Valentine and having them relate their experiences. Also on the program was Dr. Melvin Morse explaining his new book Closer to the Light, which examines the NDE in small children. That same evening, my wife and I saw the movie Flatliners, while the movie Ghost, which we had seen just a few days earlier, played in the next theatre. It is almost impossible to escape the current preoccupation with the NDE. And more and more researchers are seeing controlled NDE's or OBE's as possibilities. WAYS TO INDUCE So what makes an NDE happen. Stanislav Grof and his wife have been involved the last fourteen years (in government sponsored research) experimenting with various powerful nondrug alternatives to psychedelics, especially a psychotherapeutic technique called holotropic therapy. ``Holotropic therapy combines controlled breathing, evocative music and other forms of sound technology, focused body work, and mandala drawing. By using this nondrug approach, we have been able to induce the entire spectrum of experiences characteristic of psychedelic sessions and classical shamanic journeys.'' Colin Wilson, the well-known British writer, tells how he was gradually converted from skepticism to belief by the sheer weight of the evidence. ``A skeptic can usually find some loophole in the most well authenticated accounts,'' writes Wilson, ``yet when we read perhaps a hundred accounts, all of which seem to point to the same conclusion, it becomes very hard to feel so certain that they all amount to self-deception or willful mendacity.'' The overall case for survival is so strong that ``it would be rather perverse to go on thinking up objections.'' (Doore 1990, 7) I was struck by the similarity of these near-death experiences to the experiences of the mystics, and it seemed logical to conclude that the two are basically identical; both are glimpses, so to speak, of the ``eighth level of consciousness.'' (Colin Wilson in Doore 1990, 20). Wilson has ``no doubt whatever that the glimpses of a `wider reality' as experienced by the mystics are objectively true.'' ANGELIC VISITATIONS In this paper I have purposely stayed away from discussion of the appearance of spirits, angels, demons, or whatever, to man while he is apparently in full control of his faculties. I have also excluded any examination of phenomena associated with the use of urim and thumin, seer stones, divining rods, or other implements. Experiences in Mormon history such as the Angel Moroni, John the Baptist, Peter, James and John, etc., may need to be examined in the context of ritual sacrifice, ceremonial magic, quantum physics, and several other of the more esoteric mysteries, and not in terms of a near-death or out-of-body experience (although they do contain several common elements. See Abraham, Chapter 3, for example). In any event, a study of angelic appearances is beyond the scope of this paper. CONCLUSION In conclusion, I suggest that the First Vision in particular, and other early Mormon visionary experiences to some degree, have so many elements in common with the near-death experience or out-of-body experience, that we cannot dismiss them as mere coincidence. It appears that millions of people all over the world, whether LDS or not, have already experienced their own First Vision. Perhaps the words in the book of Joel, 2nd chapter 28th and 29th verses may be relevant to us after all: 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: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. THANK YOU |
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Experiences Death and Visions Mormon Early
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| APPENDIX This presentation is not the time or place to debate whether NDE's or OBE's are real journeys of the soul, or merely physiological processes of the brain. As Dr. Kenneth Ring, one of the most well-known researchers on the NDE, has stated, ``One of the firmest conclusions to be drawn from the body of near-death research is that the NDE itself is an authentic and much replicated phenomenon.there is simply no doubt that it occurs. This is not to imply, of course, that there is any unanimity among investigators concerning its interpretation; that is another story, but it is not germane here.'' (Ring 1984, 38). Suffice it to say, that Dr. Michael Sabom, among others, has demonstrated, as outlined in his book Recollections of Death, that experiencers can give highly specific and accurate facts of things seen or heard during their OBE's, of which they could have had no prior knowledge, and which can be verified after they return from the experience. (Sabom 1982, Chapter 7). For an interesting discussion of various points of view, see: ``Epilogue: What Should We Believe?'' in Gary Doore, ed., What Survives? Contemporary Explorations of Life After Death. FOOTNOTES 1 In their collection of Mormon visionary experiences, The Journey Beyond Life, Vol. 1, Michele R. Sorensen and Dr. David R. Willmore cite the works of Dr. Raymond Moody, Jr., Dr. Elisabeth Kuebler-Ross and Dr. George G. Ritchie but fail to make any connection between the First Vision and the NDE. Craig Lundhal's study of Mormon visionary accounts from 1838 to 1975 showed that they follow the classic NDE. Craig Lundhal, ``The Mormon Explanation of Near Death Experiences.'' Anabiosis 3 (June 1983). Just two days ago (August 21, 1990), I first encountered Kevin Christensen's study entitled ``Views From Palmyra: NDEs and the Book of Mormon,'' which briefly alludes to the First Vision and other early Mormon visionary experiences, and suggests that ``several sections of the Doctrine and Covenants may be of interest to NDE researchers. Some of these are visions which depict and discuss conditions in the afterlife.'' He then lists sections 19, 76, 88 137 and 138 as possibilities. 2 Such as the papers given at the University of Exeter in 1971 in London and printed in H.R. Ellis Davidson, The Journey to the Other World (Cambridge, D.S. Brewer Ltd. 1975). Ironically, one of the earliest works to systematically collect various NDE's and OBE's was Duane Crowther's Life Everlasting (Bookcraft, Salt Lake City 1967), which gathered accounts from Mormonism. And in another strange twist, Dr. George Ritchie, who gave a lecture in 1965 that inspired Dr. Moody to begin his research, did not put his own experience into book form until 1978, in his Return from Tomorrow. 3 Moody, Life After Life, p. 16. |
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TOPIC: Early Mormon Visions & Near Death Experiences