Mormonism's NDE Cult

[Philo Sofee]

Kishkumen
I think one can have a genuine intellectual or even scientific interest in NDEs, but these people substituted them for priesthood authority. They constructed legitimacy by having an NDE, namedropping GAs, and freaking people out about the end of the world.

Excellent observations. Yes, the priesthood they hold and that comes in a trickle down from the brethren is so unsatisfying, that this substitute makes very good sense. And when one wants attention, one always draws on the very soon ending upon us, Jesus us a comin, Jesus is on the way! Are you ready? Gotta pay the tithing for your own good, you don't have much time left to straighten up your life and get back on the covenant path. It's the perfect brainwash formula. It worked with so many of us for decades even, and we ain't stupid. And, of course, the emphasis is going to be on obedience, the cult way. They entirely misconstrue the entire process, but one can't see it from the inside, weirdly enough.
The brethren's priesthood is not legitimate to them, and leaves them entirely unsatisfied, hence the trade off using NDE's, their OWN "first visions," and wala! The formula for getting attention, money, and fame are simply handed to the person pushing it. It is a gigantic ego rush with everyone ululating over you for having had the real deal witness of the next life. I mean, who wouldn't follow you? TELL THAT STORY!!!
The brethren want all the attention and glory here now, so it makes sense those with NDE's swap their phony worthless priesthood which does nothing for them, for the fame, power, and attention that the NDE's gives them. One can see the perfect reasonablness of trading in their thin gruel from the church for their own chicken noodle NDE for the soul.

[Res Ipsa]

Kish, here's an account of a vision a Quaker lady had after visiting the Cardston Temple. http://www.toadland.net/1er/lastdays/Ca ... Vision.pdf

She describes Cardston as one of several Zions or refuges that Mormons will gather to during the tribulations. Harrison's vision has him traveling to Cardston at the direction of apostles during the tribulations. He portrays Cardston as one of many refuges used before the final gathering in Missouri.

[Gadianton]

Great topic, Reverend.

I'm not familiar with the sources you listed. My brush with NDE's was from the Book Return from Tomorrow when I was seminary age. My parents already had the book and I think I heard about it during seminary. I was fascinated by the book at the time. What gave the book credibility for me, at that time, was the guy wasn't Mormon, but became Christian later on. Unlike the "x minutes in hell" books Christians write these days, Ritchie's experience doesn't fit very well with EV afterlife beliefs, but is a perfect fit for Mormon beliefs.

I don't know him, but he doesn't seem to have the link to visions or the apocalyptic vision of Christ's return being imminent.

He completely ignores all that stuff, and simply wants something vague, but "scientifically" credible (what for him is credible) to beat secularists over the head with.

[Kishkumen]

The brethren's priesthood is not legitimate to them, and leaves them entirely unsatisfied, hence the trade off using NDE's, their OWN "first visions," and wala! The formula for getting attention, money, and fame are simply handed to the person pushing it. It is a gigantic ego rush with everyone ululating over you for having had the real deal witness of the next life. I mean, who wouldn't follow you? TELL THAT STORY!!!

The brethren want all the attention and glory here now, so it makes sense those with NDE's swap their phony worthless priesthood which does nothing for them, for the fame, power, and attention that the NDE's gives them. One can see the perfect reasonablness of trading in their thin gruel from the church for their own chicken noodle NDE for the soul.

I recall one time someone said something to the effect of, "We don't want to just follow Joseph, we want to BE Joseph." This was a powerful statement, because this is, in my view, what motivates so many extreme Mormons. (It can also motivate real seekers on a quite different path.) Part of Joseph Smith's genius was his decision to share the goods with others, and this meant that there would not just be one king/queen and priest/priestess but many. People go through the temple to be prepared for the possibility that they could step into these roles, but they are not really told what the endgame or point is.

What does this really mean? There is no robust conversation of it. So, they make it up for themselves. These days, for people like these cultish yo-yos, it seems to mean being seen as a savior of others, whatever form that takes, and whatever it might cost. So many people out there "looking for answers" and seeking salvation. Someone will fill that need, or at least appear to, in exchange for power, money, attention, sexual gratification, or what have you. The Ballards, Daybells, Vallows, Harrisons, and Hildebrandts of the world rise up to fill that need and gratify their own lusts. Our moral discourse is so corrupt that most people can't even articulate the problem.

[Kishkumen]

Kish, here's an account of a vision a Quaker lady had after visiting the Cardston Temple. http://www.toadland.net/1er/lastdays/Ca ... Vision.pdf

She describes Cardston as one of several Zions or refuges that Mormons will gather to during the tribulations. Harrison's vision has him traveling to Cardston at the direction of apostles during the tribulations. He portrays Cardston as one of many refuges used before the final gathering in Missouri.

A "Quaker lady"? Another made-up story? Thanks for sharing this.

[Kishkumen]

Great topic, Reverend.

Thanks, Dean!

I'm not familiar with the sources you listed. My brush with NDE's was from the Book Return from Tomorrow when I was seminary age. My parents already had the book and I think I heard about it during seminary. I was fascinated by the book at the time. What gave the book credibility for me, at that time, was the guy wasn't Mormon, but became Christian later on. Unlike the "x minutes in hell" books Christians write these days, Ritchie's experience doesn't fit very well with EV afterlife beliefs, but is a perfect fit for Mormon beliefs.

Yes, you need a good narrative. One of the problems with the whole Christian story these days is that it lacks a strong afterlife narrative. There are complicated historical and theological reasons for this, so I am not dissing Christians here. But it is a marketing problem of a kind. People seem to want a "Homer's Odyssey of the soul," or something like that. And the really juicy NDEs, the ones that are almost certainly made-up nonsense, do the best they can. They are still pretty thin gruel, if you ask me. That is why, if you really want a good Christian "other=world" narrative, you can't beat Dante. Everything else is just a cheap knock-off.

For a lovely but shorter Classical/pagan precursor, see Vergil, Aeneid Book 6. In my view, nobody in the Western cultures really tops the Greco-Roman pagans on this stuff. Dante had to borrow from Vergil in order to give us a decent afterlife/otherworld narrative.

[Kishkumen]

Both sides of my family come from Raymond. One side is LDS. I never have caught a whiff of anything like this. But that's also part of cultishness -- they only share with other insiders. The book Abducted sounds familiar to me. Blythe sounds interesting. Is the book Terrible Revolution?

Yep! Terrible Revolution is the one.

Abducted

is valuable because it is an exploration of the human psychological mechanisms that lead people to believe/experience these visions and dreams as something meaningful within a particular group. It is really about false memories of a more dramatic kind, and, according to Clancy, you can slot in UFO abductions, memories of ritual Satanic abuse, and even NDEs. The interesting thing here is that people who did not in the first instance claim to have had such experiences start to construct these false memories and then they come to believe them as though they genuinely experienced them.

[Kishkumen]

Is this where Dr. Daniel Peterson's fervent belief in NDEs stems from?

It seems that Mormons have been interested in NDEs for some time now. It is outside the formal LDS teachings, but it fits among those miracles wherein the "veil" is breached in some way.

Could the case of Lazarus be considered an NDE?

Hmmm. I am going to say not because we don't have a record of his subjective experience of his death and return.

[Res Ipsa]

I think it would be interesting to trace the idea of NDEs tearing the veil in a way that allows the ability to have visions of the past and future in LDS culture. That idea is what Dawkins would describe as a meme. How it spread and came to dominate an LDS subculture would be fascinating, in my opinion.

Using just published accounts:

Return from Tomorrow (Ritchie & Sherill) 1978
[NDE/Non-LDS/evil spirits in bar]

Elder Malcolm S. Jeppsen, president of the Utah South Area, addresses the area priesthood leadership meeting. 1992.
Warns against "latter-day gnostics who believe that they are endowed with special knowledge of the mysteries and that the veil has been rent for them, the doomsayers who forecast future events ....

Ensign Article about “Sherrie” June 1995
[NDE/veil/continued spiritual experiences]

My Peace I Give Unto You (Lake and Mendenhall) 2001
[NDE/veil]

In 2002, Denise’s parents do a 400 stop book tour across the US

Possibilities: Lessons from the Spirit (Mendenhall) 2002
[NDE/veil]

The Mendenhalls conduct 20 “Ezekiel Seminars” For people with spiritual gifts.

Return from Tomorrow republished after Ritchie’s death 2007

2011-2020 Mendenhall teaches “Jedi Seminars” on spiritual warfare.

Conquering Spiritual Evil (Mendenhall) 2012
[NDE/veil]

Visions of Glory: (Thom Harman) 2012
[NDE/veil]

Gaze into Heaven -- Near Death Experiences in Early Church History (Marlene Bateman Sullivan) 2013
[NDE]

A Greater Tomorrow (Julie Rowe) 2014
[NDE/veil]

Living on the Edge of Heaven (Chad Daybell): 2017
[NDE/veil]

Conquering Spiritual Evil 2 (Mendenhall) 2020

Did this idea that NDE's gave people who experienced them supernatural abilities originate within LDS culture, or was it incorporated into LDS culture? I've never paid attention to NDE's, so I have no idea.

ETA: Well that was easy. Incorporated into LDS culture it is: https://med.virginia.edu/perceptual-stu ... /NDE10.pdf This is a paper from 1983 on increases in psychic experiences by individuals following an NDE.

Or not. Added Gaze into Heaven. This is a compilation of 50 NDE experiences during early church history. The author says she compiled them from historical records. To know whether those experiences involved a permanent tearing away of the veil would require reading the book. It's now inhabiting my Kindle.

[Dr. Shades]

In my view, the whole genre of NDE literature is dodgy in the extreme. What was the big one in the 1990s?

Embraced by the Light by Betty J. Eadie.

Wasn't that receiving a similar kind of adulation from Mormons?

Yes.