"What did your father have to do with it?"
"My father died in March 1992. He came back
and gave me a blessing, and that relieved me of the
pain."
"What do you mean, your father came back and
blessed you?"
"My father and I were very close. He was the
one that gave me the blessing when I was five years
old. When he died, I became aware of it before the
doctor called. The same voice that I heard in the
tunnel told me, during the night, that my father had
died (Dad died early Monday morning.) My father came
to me at 1:30 am Tuesday morning, and told me several
things, including why he had to go, what I should be
doing, and what my mother should do regarding our
genealogy. Then Dad said he would be with me when I
had medical emergencies.
"In August 1992, when I was in so much pain
from the barium (morphine shots administered every two
hours were not helping), one night at three in the
morning, I cried out: 'Lord, what did I do wrong?' I
also cried: 'Dad, you promised you would be here!'
Suddenly my father was at my bed and I felt him put
his hands on my head. Within a few seconds, there was
a feeling as if someone were pouring something warm
over my body. It cascaded from my head to my toes,
and the pain left. My father smiled and then he left.
The next day I began passing the stones."
"You said that your choice was to come back to
earth despite the knowledge that you would be
subjected to greater pain. Do you know why you made
that choice?"
"I wanted to be with my family -- I would do
anything to be with my boys and my wife."
"Did you have a feeling for any mission you
might have?"
"Yes. My purpose for being, now, is to teach
people accountability and responsibility; to teach
them that they are agents with freedom to choose; and
to let them know that there is a Father in Heaven who
loves them beyond all description."
"Because of this experience, have your
feelings about life or death changed?"
"Absolutely. Life has greater meaning, since
I no longer look at myself as an unfortunate victim of
disease. Nor am I the victim of other circumstances
caused by family, parents, neighbors, and others -- or
of 'accidents.' Instead, I make the choices that
decide my fate. That is a wonderfully liberating
feeling."
"Has the experience changed your religious
perspective?"
"Yes. It is still my knowledge that the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the
Church of God. Nothing I saw or heard during the
experience contradicted what I had previously learned
in the Church. My priorities have changed, however.
I am more people oriented than I was before. I used
to be program oriented, but now I know that people are
far more important than programs. My experience
taught me that the Lord had boundless love for *all*
people, whether or not they are members of the
Church."
"Is there any message you would like to leave
for others?"
"Yes. Despite what the world teaches, there
is a loving Father in Heaven who loves *every* person.
that love, which I have experienced, is
indescribable. We are literally the children of God,
and He knows each one of us by name. He is willing to
bless us with any righteous desires that we have. All
we need to do is ask -- and be willing to pay the
price."
THE END