Speaking in honor of his recently deceased friend, Joseph Smith Jr. It has been so from the Church’s very formation. Whether he knew it before that radio program or publishing his classic work, he knew it then-Latter-day Saints are keenly interested in what an ancient Book of Mormon prophet called “the state of the soul between death and the resurrection” (Alma 40:11). “I think I have already had about a hundred sent to me,” quipped Moody. Moody these “golden questions”: “How much do you know about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?” and “Would you like to know more?” Interestingly, that very month an article appeared in the Ensign, the Church’s official magazine, entitled “The Spirit World, Our Next Home.” Many of the radio listeners asked Dr. Predictably, most were Latter-day Saints who asked Dr. What stood out to me from the program were the many comments and questions that came from the listening audience during the call-in portion of the program. It was with the Church-owned radio station KSL, a 50,000-watt station whose broadcast signal could be received throughout the Intermountain West and beyond. One radio interview in particular highlighted the keen interest of the Latter-day Saint community in his topic. Shortly after the release of his book, Life After Life, Raymond Moody visited Salt Lake City as part of a publicity tour promoting the book. Let me illustrate how these two factors are intertwined in our beliefs regarding the afterlife and our reactions to modern research and reports of near-death experiences. Why are Latter-day Saints so interested in near-death experiences? What does The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints bring to the discussion? In my estimation, the answers to these questions are found in our doctrine and history. Moody can expect to respond to his book with concern are scientists and physicians who regard this kind of study as “unscientific.” Īlthough there was the expected criticism and suspicion, it can be argued that Moody’s books and the works of many other NDE researchers and experiencers have, to date, received greater acceptance among Latter-day Saints proportionally than those of other Christian faith traditions. One priest referred to it as “selling cheap grace.” Others simply that the question of life after death should remain an issue of blind faith and should not be questioned by anyone. Some religious representatives of a denominational church have already expressed their criticism of studies like this. There will be members of the clergy who will be upset by anyone who dares to do research in an area which is supposed to be taboo. Moody will have to be prepared for a lot of criticism, mainly from two areas,” Kubler-Ross wrote. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, whose groundbreaking book On Death and Dying was influential in the development of hospice services for the terminally ill, predicted such a reaction in the foreword she penned for Moody’s Life After Life. Criticism, concern, dismissal, and denunciation have also surrounded this work, coming both from secular and religious circles. Moody and the study of near-death experiences that he founded are not without their critics, however. Over the next forty-plus years have come hundreds of books, articles, documentaries, and even Hollywood movies on the subject. Moody’s work opened the publishing floodgates. More than seven million additional copies of these books were sold. Moody, such as Reflections on Life After Life, The Light Beyond, Glimpses of Eternity, and Coming Back, further examined dimensions of the near-death experience. The term near-death experience (NDE) is widely used today-both for good and for ill-depending on how a person views it. In this landmark book, Moody coined a new term to describe the phenomenon he had repeatedly encountered in his medical practice. Moody has sold over thirteen million copies worldwide. Top, a Latter-day Saint scholar, is a professor of Church history and doctrine at Brigham Young University.įirst published in 1975, the book Life After Life by Dr.
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