This book is outstanding for the following reasons:
- The inclusion and reference to approximately 200 Near Death Experiences (NDE).
- The efficient topical organization, ie - "The Amazing Capabilities of Spirit World Beings".
- The excellent summary, analysis, and combination of NDE, scriptures and statements from Church Leaders.
While I found the entire book to be fascinating and
informative, it was the last chapter regarding Exaltation that provided such a
powerful epiphany for me. From previous NDE
readings I was already aware that righteous individuals are very engaged and
busy in the spirit world. Often those
who have a NDE report that family members in the spirit world are delayed or in
a hurry when they meet. This initially
was surprising to me because somehow I expected paradise would be a place of
serenity and rest.
Crowther's chapter on "Exaltation", however has
really altered my view regarding Eternal Life and the importance and absolute
necessity of making the best use of our time, both on earth and in the spirit
world. Somehow it had never registered
with me what it means to receive "all that the Father has". For that to occur an individual must be
perfect; knowing all things. I fully
expect that compared with mortality, we will learn a hundred times faster in
the spirit world. But even with an
incredible increase in the speed of learning, it will take a very long time and
remarkable dedication to learn all the Father knows; which is essentially
everything.
Somehow my words are weak in conveying this concept, but
reading this book, and particularly the last chapter, has forcibly impressed upon
me the gargantuan magnitude of the responsibility before us if we are to
receive all that the Father has. We
really do need to be "anxiously engage in a good cause, and do many things
of our own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness" (D&C
58:27) if we are to have even a prayer or hope of obtaining Eternal Life. I realize that it is impossible for us to
comprehend the things of eternity with our rudimentary mortal minds, but
Crowther has at least pulled back the curtains so I am more aware of the
immensity and the grandeur of these concepts.
