Life Everlasting: A Definitive Study of Life After Death

by Duane S. Crowther

Life Everlasting is a fascinating examination of man's future life from the time of death until his entry into the heavenly realms. The book reaches beyond the commonplace to give profound new insights into the nature of the life to come. This book examines eyewitness accounts of more than 200 individuals who have ventured into the spirit world and have then returned to tell of their experiences. It also draws extensively from the scriptures and from the discourses of Latter-day Saint leaders. As the evidence of these accounts is analyzed, numerous new understandings are revealed to the reader. Within these pages are vivid descriptions of spirit-world conditions including buildings, landscaping, wearing apparel, organization, occupations, and Church callings. Many instructive descriptions of the amazing capabilities of spirit beings are provided. Of special interest are the vivid descriptions of Jesus Christ as He has appeared to many who have entered into Paradise. The numerous roles of spirit beings who visit the earth, as Gardian Angels and in other capacities, are described in detail. The factors which govern man's time of death are discussed, and the nature of man's "new birth" into the next life is desc! ribed in detail by those who have experienced it. Life Everlasting peers into the spirit prison and hell and reports conditions in those environments. Then it sweeps forward in time to analyze the nature of the resurrections and final judgment. A careful consideration of the final rewards available to man is made, with detailed and spcific coverage of the fate of the sons of perdition and the destinies of the inhabitants of the telestial, terrestrial and celestial kingdoms. The final chapter is a penetrating explanation of the nature of godhood and exaltation. Few books have ever combined such a wealth of now concepts and interesting information with the careful presentation, documentation and scholarship of Life Everlasting. Latter-day Saints will find strong evidences which confirm their beliefs in the afterlife. Others, no matter what their religious oriention, will find Life Everlasting to be one of the most far-reaching, comprehensive presentations of life-after-death experiences in print. It is inevitable that this book will continue to be widely read and discussed for many years to come.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Lds, Church, Christian

544 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1988

Reviews

[Richard (Rick) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have two reviews for this book, which is for LDS audiences about life before and after this earth life. The author wrote the original book many years ago and drew patterns and themes from dozens and dozens of near-death experiences, the scriptures, and the words of the prophets to paint a vivid and extremely interesting picture of the afterlife. I found this book to be very interesting and engaging, and testimony-affirming. I loved it! It was so neat to understand better what the journey to the next life is like and to take comfort in knowing what our loved ones (like my mother) are doing there.

So I give the original edition 5 stars.

Then he revised and updated the book, and I give the revised section probably 2 stars. Why? Because he stopped using the rule of "3 witnesses" and stopped comparing the visions of regular church people with words of the prophets. Instead in the new sections on the premortal life, he made some claims based on one or two "visions" without finding additional witnesses or prophetic corroboration. The result is that while he still has some very interesting ideas that I believe whole-heartedly are true, he also makes some claims that are actually in contradiction with what some prophets have said.

So my final review: This book is awesome because it is the only one of its kind that I know about in how it teaches about the afterlife. But treat it as the Apocropha---interesting and useful but to be taken with a grain of salt.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full of near death experiences of early Later Day Saints and lots of quotes by early prophets. It had some good insites and was interesting, but leaves you wondering why we don't have more stories like that in our day. Why is it early saints had so many? Were they more spiritual than we are, or do we just not hear about this sort of experience because people fear they won't be believed? I did learn a lot about the spirit world. I'll probably reread passages of this book frequently.

[Jaron Bass · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing book. I took my time reading the last chapter about Exaltation because I was so enthralled by the depth and amount of information in the chapter. Overall, this book is a must read, especially for anyone who has lost a loved one.

[Nicole Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a long time to read this entire book. My great-grandma gave this book to my dad & said it was her favorite book. Reading this & knowing my sweet great-grandmas hard life I can understand why she was seeking comfort in the grieving of loved ones who had passed on. I loved the stories of the near-death experiences & how they had so much in common. I only give it less stars because after the stories it got a bit slow. Lots of truth in the book but a bit boring occasionally to get though quickly.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author wrote this after his little girl died of cancer. He wanted to better understand where she went after she died, so he researched personal accounts of people that had experiences with the other side, and also quotes from scriptures and apostles. The first half of the book was so incredibly fascinating- very intriguing. It was full of things that I've always believed but have never actually seen so much written information on it before. I would have given it 5 stars, but the second half of the book was a little harder to get through. It goes through more well known topics like resurrection, judgment, "Hell," The 3 Degrees of Glory, etc. Still good, but not riveting reading by any means.

[Tim Malone · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book contains hundreds of NDEs published early in our church history. It also relates the personal experience of the author’s daughter drying and seeing those in the spirit world. It was one of the first books I read on the subject of life after death. I was a teenager when I read it just after my uncle died. It is a classic on the subject and has guided me for many years in my thoughts in this area. Many people think the NDE publishing phenomenon started with Life After Life by Dr. Moody but this one was the first for me. No matter what you think of Duane Crowther’s books, I highly recommend this one.

Source (my blog): http://latterdaycommentary.com/2013/0...

[Christie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite liked sections of this book but some were definitely more interesting (and less repetitive) than others. The beginning is very interesting, citing reputable (well, as reputable as these can generally could be) NDE's, which leads to interesting discussion topics about death, what people do on the other side, etc. The book mostly quotes prophets and apostles, so it's much less suspicious than other books are on this topic, I imagine. I really enjoyed the chapters on exaltation and the degrees of glory. Surprise, there wasn't any new doctrine really in here, but that's a good sign since doctrine isn't secret or surprising if you've already been to church. :) Worth the read, and I imagine this book would be especially comforting for those who've lost loved ones.

[Mariel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fascinating collection of stories of the "after-life". It pulls together multiple experiences from hundreds of people and then attempts to make conclusions on what it might be like in heaven, what spirits/ghosts are doing on earth, what are the abilities of spirits, etc. Many of the stories are directly from past LDS prophets, leaders, and other notables. Hopefully, giving some more validation to their claims. Granted...a few of the stories are likely fabricated or misunderstood...but, overall with the amount of experiences, surely some are believable. Fun stuff to think about!

[Sirpa Grierson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend I respect told me to read this and it is a veritable treasury of information for an LDS audience on life from pre-mortality through the afterlife. Fascinating quotations from primary sources and insights throughout. This is the 1997 hardback edition. My hesitations with the book include the editing, which could have made it tighter, a few of the author's conclusions, and some of the personal sources that he cites. The book contains extensive footnotes which are really helpful for finding the original source material. I am grateful for the work and research that Crowther did and the insights that are to be gained. Fascinating reading.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author uses accounts from over 200 individuals who have had spirit world experiences and combines them with scripture and discourses from Latter-day leaders to paint a very vivid picture of where we came from and the different degrees of where we will go after this life. This is the most comprehensive book I've read on these subjects. (and I've read a lot) I'm surprised I hadn't read this book before now, considering it was first published in 1967. (this is the 2005 revised edition) This is a big book with small print, but I recommend reading it cover to cover.

[Shilrey Kimball · Rating 5 out of 5]

I so enjoyed reading this book about what happens after life. It was interesting to think about the different stories of real live accounts of people who died and came back to life. Some of the experiences shared in this book where things I never thought about or even knew that could happen. This book broadened my horizons, and as I may not take every story as fact, I ponder their experiences and see if they ring true for me. I would recommend this book to everyone for the peace it brings to your soul about life after death.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book with thoughts about what happens from death to life everlasting or resurrection. He takes thoughts from discourses from many Latter-day Saint leaders, other people who have been into the spirit world and have returned to tell of their experiences. It peers into spirit prison, and the nature of the resurrection and final judgement and the differences between the different degrees of glory. It has many, many interesting things to contemplate. The author lives in Bountiful, UT

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so amazed that I finally finished this book. It is non-fiction and jam packed with doctrine. I honestly sometimes would only read 2 pages at a time and then stop to absorb what I had read. I learned so much. This book was written by a man whose 5 year old daughter died from leukemia. This tragedy inspired him to want to know more about heaven and this book uses several scriptures as well as personal account from journal etc. It was purchased at Deseret book a long time ago.

[Susan Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this years ago. In fact, I was reading it when my father died somewhat unexpectedly. I guess I had expectations that were too high or something. I just couldn't get into it this time. The author used a lot of personal experiences (his own and others)to draw conclusions, but often these experiences contradicted each other. It's an OK read, but keep in mind that this is one man's book, not official doctrine of the LDS church.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! If you are LDS, it has so many wonderful real life stories from people who have gone into the next life and then returned to tell about it. It gave me so much comfort and strengthened my testimony that there IS more to this life than the here and now and we will see our loved ones on the other side. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that has lost a person they loved and they want to know more about where they are and what they may be doing.

[Joni Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anson brought me this book yesterday afternoon and I have read it all night! I have learned quite a bit more than I ever knew about death. This is an LDS book and author, and it has really move me. I do have to say I was so touch by the section on spirits coming to visit, to give information and comfort.It is a deep book, and not an easy read, but I have found great comfort in it's words.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not an easy read. I really had to concentrate... and get it twice from the library. I started the 2nd time on page 239, and decided that if I was ever going to finish it, I would just read the chapter summaries. Did that in about an hour, and I felt like I got more out of it than the earlier pages.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will have to finish this the next time I visit Salt Lake and my mother's bookshelf. For someone who lost lots of family members when she was small and is/was a little traumatized about death, this book has really taken the darkness out of death for me and replaced it with peace. All of the personal stories included are heartening and inspiring.

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book looks at many accounts of near death experiences and I remember feeling like it gave me a greater eternal perspective on things. It also surprised me how common it was for people to have these experiences. It gives you a little peak into some of the mysteries of the Spirit world and what it might be like there. Pretty deep, and a lot of speculation, but really interesting.

[Apzmarshl · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book begins with accounts of near death experiences, which is what piqued my interest initially. It is jam packed with facts and footnotes. It took me a couple of weeks to read, which is totally abnormal. Finally it culminates with doctrine on exaltation. I'm sure I will pick this book up again in the future.

[Colette Carmona · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed reading this, found it helpful after my father passed away. Then again when my mother passed away. It's good to go back for reference, it's a comfort, it answered questions I had and didn't know where else to look. Also helped me to understand what so many others have gone through that I believe to be true.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book; loved the warm, smooth style of author who is an retired professor in biology specializing in birds and insects. Learned much about beetles and other insects as well as birds such as ravens and vultures who serve life by changing dead bodies into materials for the next round of life.

Notable quote:"We are tiny specks of a fabulous system, part of something grand."

[Susy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first edition of this book was published in the sixties and was a precursor to Raymond Moody's books. He said he was sent several copies of this book. This is an LDS version of Near Death Experiences.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book that explored all information we know about the hereafter. However, I am skeptical of some of the generalizations that the author drew from various personal experiences. I am not convinced that those experiences are meant for more than the individual.

[Brenda Madore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the conclusions he drew were not supported by much evidence but this book does have some really interesting quotes and stories from early leaders of the church that I have not found anywhere else. Worth reading and taking the information with a grain of salt.

[Mark Ballstaedt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I read a lot of NDE books. I liked that this book categorizes different aspects of life after death, and NDEs. It is like an encyclopedia on NDE and the afterlife. I also like the many references to LDS scripture.

[Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice mix of heady doctrine and faith-promoting stories - all having to do with death and its aftermath. This is an older title, but it's the best I have found so far that deals with so much so concisely. I loved it.

[Quinton Baran · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this to be a very interesting account of many out of body spiritual experiences, with the background being Latter Day Saint doctrine. Many of these accounts were faith affirming for me and I enjoyed the method that they were collected, related, and expounded.

[Alexa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Puts a new and simpler spin on death. About the natural cycle of life and death - animals, bugs, and everything but humans. Nature's "undertakers" that which let us all go back to soil. Truly about recycling

[Kari · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you want a book packed full of information about what LDS believe about life after death, this is the book for you. Great accumulation of doctrine and personal accounts pulled together concerning the Spirit World and more.