“There truly is no such thing as ‘death'”

My weekly column for the Deseret News appeared, as usual, in the Thursday print edition but, for some reason, wasn’t published online until this morning.  It’s now available for reading online, though, by those who’ve learned to endure my inevitable and often-noted viciousness, name-calling, and incandescent rage:

“The Council of Fifty and Mormon history”

I intend, as I say, to write a longer review for the Interpreter Foundation.

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Speaking of which:

Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture has published its new article for the week:

“‘I Kneeled Down Before My Maker’: Allusions to Esau in the Book of Enos,” by Matthew L. Bowen

Today marks the 270th week in a row that the Interpreter Foundation has published at least one new article in its journal.  That’s not bad for an organization that was founded over lunch in an Olive Garden restaurant, with not so much as a bank account or a dime of money, just 271.5 weeks ago.

I’m grateful to all those — writers, editors, source checkers, administrative helpers, donors, technical experts, and others — who have made this achievement possible.  I don’t think that it can be plausibly described as anything other than amazing.

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Over the years, I’ve read a great deal about so-called “near-death experiences” (NDEs), which I find both fascinating and, on the whole, believable.  Last night, I finished reading a book by Dr. Penny Sartori.  While working as a nurse in a British hospital for twenty-one years (seventeen of them in intensive care), she became concerned about modern medical treatment of dying patients and began research that would eventually earn her a Ph.D.  In the course of her studies, she became intrigued by NDEs, beginning as a cynic but soon leaving her cynicism behind.  

On page 177 of Penny Sartori, The Wisdom of Near-Death Experiences: How Understanding NDEs Can Help Us Live More Fully (London: Watkins Publishing, 2014), I came across this quotation from a near-death experiencer named Jules Lyons that nicely expresses one reaction to the phenomenon:

“There truly is no such thing as ‘death’.  What many see as ‘the end’ is really just a change, like a change of clothes, or a change of vehicle, or a change of residence.  I do wish I could take away all fear of death from people, as, if anything, what we call ‘death’ is actually a release and an immensely beautiful journey.

“It’s heartbreaking to hear people grieving for loved ones they feel have ‘gone forever’.  I wish I could help people know that the loved ones we have ‘lost’ are very much alive and, in fact, are much closer to us than we realize!”