Elane Durham's Life & Plan Reviewed
—based on Arvin S. Gibson, Echoes From Eternity (Horizon Publishers, 1993), pp. 62-76
Elane Durham, b. June 1944, Libertyville, Illinois; m. 1963, Osceola, Indiana (?)
This account has been based on the one indicated above. I have taken the liberty of rewording the
transcription of Mrs. Durham's utterances [interviewed Oct 1992] so as to conform with a written
language style. The reader may be assured that I have used the utmost dilligence to preserve her
meaning intact. I must state up front that Mrs. Durham later joined the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, when the missionaries taught her the plan of salvation. She had read her own
published account to them when they first brought up the subject. Then and later many principles
taught by this church would trigger an experience of deja vu in her, hence building an association
between the principle and something learned in this near-death experience. Therefore, some readers
will recognize some of her expressions in the form taught by the Mormons. It should be instructive
to compare this version of her accout with the one in Sunshine magazine.
/p.63/ On October 22, 1976, I had a stroke, precipitated by a brain tumor, followed by a marvelous
experience. I must tell you that this experience was the most singular and most important thing that
has ever happened to me. At the time I was attending the American Floral Arts School in Chicago, and
was just three days short of graduation. It seemed as if I had a cold coming on; a headache had
plagued me for a couple of days, and I felt lethargic. My cousin and some school friends went
sight-seeing while I went back to the hotel room, which I shared with her, to rest. I had dinner in
the hotel with a friend, after which things got hazy and I don't remember much. Apparently, I went
back to the hotel room and got in bed. I remember looking at the clock, and it was 12:20 a.m. By
12:40 a.m. they had me in the hospital emergency room. My cousin, who had returned home and had
retired, awakened me when she heard me cry out. She noticed blood on my lip where I had bitten
it during a seizure. I was not aware that I was having seizures; I just felt tired, as if I were ill with
a bad cold. When a couple of seizures happened in the presence of my cousin, she went next door
in the hotel to get help. A classmate from school called the paramedics, who arrived just in time
to witness me having another seizure. Despite my objections they took me to Mercy Hospital in
Chicago.
There were five seizures by the time I reached the hospital. By 1:05
a.m. my heart had stopped for the second time. They revived me, but by this time I had lost my
ability to speak, my eyesight was gone, and I had no sense of feeling. It was sort of a twilight
state that I was in, not caring about anything physical that was happening to me. However, as my
physical senses deteriorated, my spiritual senses sharpened. I became strangely aware of certain
things concerning myself. I knew the nurse who was attending me was having difficulty. From
some spiritual sense I understood that she had never seen anyone die before. Such inevitable
consequences of my physical emergency were troubling her. I knew that she was from the third
floor. I knew that they were short-handed. I knew they had brought her in to help. I heard the
doctor say to her: "Look, if you can't handle this we'll get you out of here and get someone else
who can handle it." /p.64/ As the nurse continued to struggle with her emotions, I became aware
that she was offering a prayer. It wasn't heard with my ears, but I could feel her prayer.
By this time the medical people became concerned with what my
religion was. My cousin was Catholic, and they assumed that I was too, so they sent for a priest
to give me last rites. I heard their discussion about getting a priest. Cautioning them, the nurse
said she was afraid I would hear them talking about my impending death. The doctor responded,
"She can't hear anything. She's out of it." I next remember hearing the nurse greet the priest
with a sigh of relief. She exclaimed something on the order of, "Oh my God, Father, I'm so glad
you're here." and he responded, "What do we have here?" She proceeded to tell him that I had
experienced eleven seizures that she knew they could, and that I was a very sick girl. He said that
he was going to pray because we needed God's help. He told me to move something if I could
hear him; I don't know whether I was able to move or not. As he started to pray I could feel it. I
recognized that it was much more than the last rites. He finished the last rites per se and
continued with the prayer. It felt as if it were a power that washed over me in a series of . . . like
megavolts of electricity. It was . . . I can't explain what it was like. There was a feeling of
spiritual power. Then I felt a pressure on my chest. I didn't recognize it as a heart attack, but I
heard them code me. The priest later said that they quickly moved him out when that happened
—and it would have been impossible for me to see him, yet I did.
Suddenly I had vision. It was as if there were a part of me rising
from somewhere in the vicinity of my head. I saw the priest as I went past him. The nurse, who
had been praying, was in my view, allowing me to observe that she was a dark-haired girl. I noticed
something on the bed, which I realized was my body, which I knew I didn't need. I felt
indifferent toward it. Almost instantly I was in a dense foggy area. Knowing I wasn't alone I had no fear.
Looking about me I turned toward the right where I saw a distant light which resembled a bright star.
The light began to move toward me and I sensed that I moved toward the light at an /p.65/ incredible speed.
As the Light approached closer to me I realized that it was a personality. Emanating from the light were
love and understanding. It was the most immense amount of love that one might imagine. It was as though
I were in the presence of that one person in my life who had loved me beyond anything, despite anything,
that I might have done, which love was magnified many times. That is sort of how it was — in a way.
When I got close to the light, something in my peripheral vision distracted me. I looked down
and to the side where I saw a host of people. Even though rays from the light were shining over
the tops of the people's heads, they didn't seem to notice. They appeared to be shuffling around
aimlessly. I could feel anger and confusion coming from them. It was as if they were all lost.
They seemed to be agonizing over the pain that they felt. They seemed to be bound to the earth, not
being able to see the light over them. Looked at the people I thought to myself, "You can go to the
same place I am; all you have to do is look at the light." Then the light spoke to me — only
not in language as here on earth. It spoke to me from everything that it was into everything that I
was. I not only heard it but understood it with every fiber of my being. There was total
communication between that being and my being.
And he (it was a male voice and I understood it to be a man) said to me, "Through me you have eternal
life." Instantly a whole jumble of thoughts came together in my mind, leaving me with the conviction
that this was my Creator, my Savior. I understood that He had had a part in the creation of the earth.
Other thoughts tumbled through my mind, including thoughts of humility, i.e., I wasn't sure
that I belonged there. (I did not see an individual, but I knew that He was there. He was an
attribute of the Light. He was – How can I explain it? – it was so much more powerful than
seeing a figure. I was seeing Him with "spiritual eyes," which is so different from the way I saw
things on earth that I can't begin to explain it.) /p. 66/ Because of my religious upbringing
(Methodist, Presbyterian), I always tended to look at things as being either black or white, right or
wrong; there were no in-betweens. Measured by that standard I frequently came up wanting in my own
mind. Therefore, in the presence of this marvelous being I simply felt unworthy.
I found myself reliving experiences in which I had not behaved as I should have. In my mind, for
example, my brother John was always a favorite of my Mom. If I did something wrong, and John got in
trouble for it, that was okay by me. It was his just reward for being Mom's choice — not that
I was vindictive or didn't love him — it was more a sense of indifference. In the presence of
the Light I relived incidents, such as those with my brother, that I had long forgotten. These were
those particular events from my life, where I could feel the effects of my misbehavior. With John,
for example, I could feel his sense of rejection when I did something that hurt him. As the events
in my life proceeded, whenever I felt the distress of others, this being of love communicated the
thought, "This is because of the society that you were raised in. You behaved in this way, in part,
because of the way you were raised. And that is not enough to keep you from the presence of God.
You did not turn your back on God." Incidents appeared in my life where I had succeeded in a
competitive environment bettering someone else. I had not hurt other people intentionally, yet my
competitive success had had the same effect as though I had. Their sense of rejection was evident to
me, and I could feel their hurt also. I saw many of these events as though in a high-speed video,
except one with my brother where I dropped a small block of wood on him. That series of pictures
slowed, and I could sense his feelings of rejection and hurt. Moreover, I understood that he felt
that I was the choice child of my mother. Throughout this process I was accompanied by
a feeling of the Savior's love. Once I realized that He loved me regardless of what I had done,
that I had never rejected God, but had always searched for Him, then my mind exploded with questions.
A flood of questions entered my mind. I wanted to know why there was war and peace? Why there were
deaths of innocent babies? What was meant by "heaven"? What was the correct version of the Bible?
What was the true church? I had a million questions more. With these questions whirling in my mind
He took me into Himself. I was surrounded and encompassed by the Light. It was a feeling that was
similar to being hugged — only better. There was such an infusion of love. It's impossible to
describe the experience in words. I perceived billions and billions of tiny sparkles, one of which I
knew was me. Some were brighter than others, yet all were surrounded by the love of God. While thus
enveloped by the Light, I knew the answers to the questions that had formulated in my mind, clear to
me were secrets from the beginning of time to eternity, understandable were myriads of principles.
I understood, for example, that when I left earth I would leave with whatever spiritual growth I had
attained there, and would bring it with me into this new world.
As these feelings of love and knowledge enveloped me the light began to dissipate. Suddenly I found
myself situated on a height taller than a mountain on earth, overlooking a beautiful expanse of land
with a massive body of water. In the sky above were two moon-like bodies. The atmosphere appeared
to be a mixture of gray and white. One of the moon-like bodies had a bluish tint to it, the other
body seemed farther away and was pure white. Gazing at the pattern of the land below, I discerned it
as symbolic of myself the way I fit in as part of a whole pattern in the universe. I became
conscious of a man standing next to me — a man representing knowledge and authority —
someone with that role such as Adam or Abraham. I had the sense that this superior being had been
there since the beginning of time. He was there to guide me through the answers to my questions.
He began to teach me, first about war and peace. He told me that wars were not in God's plan, but
because I had chosen to go there — and his hand went down in a pointing gesture — I had
subjected myself to an environment where wars could occur. Looking /p. 68/ in the direction he was
pointing, I could see the earth as a sphere. I could say, "Off in the distance," but it's very hard
to explain the way it appeared. I could see the valley, and at the same time I could see the earth
off in space. The earth was a round sphere, but it looked as if it were in the middle of a dust
storm. I could see the earth, but I could also see much darkness, many storm clouds, or something
around it. The being with me let me know that the earth was the most dreaded place to go. Yet it
was also where one might learn the most quickly, by reason of adversities. Earth was put here for us
to learn, and we are here for that purpose. I immediately understood. It was part of the knowledge
that was already in me and it was what he was telling me. Since I had chosen to come to earth, I
understood that I had become susceptible to all the vicissitudes of an earthly environment, including
war. War wasn't part of God's plan, but he allowed it to occur as part of the teaching experience.
In war we learn lessons of giving and receiving as well as the lessons of violence and destruction.
In this manner I learned that there are analogous lessons regarding the rich and poor. For those who
come to earth and gain physical wealth, they have a responsibility to use it wisely. Whereas the
poor person needs to learn how to receive in order to help the wealthy person learn how to give.
Even the bum on the street teaches us important lessons. Similarly, for those who have special
talents; they have a responsibility to develop and use their talents for the benefit of all. Those
with wisdom and knowledge have a responsibility to teach others.
I asked why little children had to die, and my teacher sort of chuckled. He said, "You know they
didn't have to be born. Suppose there is a pond of water and you drop a pebble into the water.
The dropping pebble makes a ripple. Think of a child being born who immediately dies without drawing
breath. That child is like the ripples in the water when one considers the number of lives that it
touches. There are the parents, the grandparents, the doctors, and the nurses. Whereas if a child
lives for a few days, months, or years, think of the other beings that the life of that child
touches." My teacher told me that death leaves behind a void that is hard for mortals to understand.
But each day that a person doesn't live, that person will get closer to immortality and the
fulfillment of his ultimate destiny. Death and other adversities that we find in life, he said,
should not be thought of as adversities, but rather as lessons learned. Consider: those who become
ill and disabled, they /p.69/ learn the lessons of receiving help from others and of endurance; those
who help the disadvantaged, they learn the lessons that service brings. As I found all this
knowledge re-awakened in me by my teacher, I understood that there are only two things that we can
take from the spiritual realm to earth: one is love, and the other is knowledge — at least
whatever knowledge resides within us. And the same is true when we die, when we return to the
spiritual realm. We take with us only love and knowledge — that additional knowledge that we've
made reside withing us while in this life.
As a youth and young adult I had used the King James version of the Bible. In recent years a number
of other versions of the Bible were produced, such as the American Standard Bible, the New World
Bible, and others. Moreover, before the King James version was produced in England, there were still
other versions. I wondered which was the correct version, and I asked my teacher. In his response
he didn't use the word "Bible" to refer to it. He used the term, a "history of a people." I don't
remember the exact words, but that was the sense of it. At any rate, he told me that our Bible was
only a small portion of the history of the people and the King James version was the most accurate.
He said that more records had been found, and there were still more records to be found.
A corollary question which I asked in conjunction with the question about the Bible was which church
was true. I had investigated a number of churches and I was still searching for the correct church.
My instructor said that "the church" was created in heaven, but that we, as individuals, had divided
that church with our fears and with our groping for power and control. The word "pagan" wasn't used,
but the sense of it was that humans had divided the original church in mankind's quest to rule. He
let me know that when I found the church here on earth that believed in the history of the people (as
described in the King James version of the Bible) and believed that there was additional history that
had been found — and that there was still more to be revealed — I would recognize that
church by the same spirit I felt there with him. He also told me that "the /p.70/ church" had
apostles and prophets, but that they weren't accepted any more today than they had been in ancient
times when Christ was here. By that time in our discussion I knew that I was to return to earth.
He told me that fifteen or twenty years in the future I would come upon a new people, and I would
find them on my own. I would know I had reached that stage in my life because at that time Communism
as I knew it would have been destroyed, and new governments would have been formed. There would also
be massive changes in the government of the country where I lived. Concerning our government, I was
able to see the variables which affected our future. If, for example, we became a caring people and
helped others in need, then our government would flourish. On the other hand, if we continued in a
selfish self-contained manner, then we would suffer accordingly.
Most of what my teacher told me was knowledge that I already understood. He would say something and
then I would think, "Of course, I know that." He also let me know that some of what he told me I
would forget when I returned to earth — I would not be allowed to remember it. In a global
sense I knew that there were other galaxies and other worlds. There were other places to live, to
learn lessons from. Earth was not the only place where lessons could be learned. In fact, I could
have stayed where I was and continued to learn, but not as quickly as I would if I were to return to
earth. The hardships and adversities of earth life accelerate the learning experience. The lessons
learned here help us reach a more perfected state. My teacher let me know that children are the most
important gift we can have. A major responsibility is to nurture and raise children, teach them to
discern right from wrong. While he was teaching me about the importance of children he asked me if I
would like to see myself before I was born — before I came to earth. I told him I would, and it
was as if I were looking in a bathroom mirror that was fogged over. I could see myself, but I was
unable to distinguish my hair style or facial characteristics. Seated in what seemed to be a waiting
area I observed that there were five beings around me. Two of them were in a teaching capacity and
were strong spiritual beings. Three of them were lesser spiritual beings. They were all guardian
angels, or /p.71/ whatever, and the three lesser ones were there to learn — one might say
"angels in training." In this pre-mortal environment I saw that I was making all the decisions for
my life. I was choosing what to go through: what I wanted to accomplish in order to learn various
lessons. There were different choices available to me. I knew, for example, that I was going to be
the oldest of the children in my family. There was a choice between three fathers and two mothers; I
would have learned equal lessons from all of them. I knew that I would have a physical crisis and
would be miraculously healed; and I would have a second health crisis which I would survive. My life
on earth could be prolonged, I understood, by living so as to be in a helping capacity — helping
others. You know, that might not sound like such a good deal here and now, but over there it was
understood that helping others is a primary purpose. As I was making these different choices
concerning my life one of the lesser spiritual beings remarked that the consequence of some of these
choices would be that I would have a difficult life. He wondered if I were sure that was what I
wanted to go through. One of the more advanced beings responded that I could advance faster by
making such choices.
We reached a point in the discussion where most of my questions were answered. My instructor made it
clear that I must return to earth. I didn't want to return, but he said I had to — my work on
earth was not yet finished. He observed that if I really wanted to stay I could, but if I
stayed, I wouldn't learn my lessons as fast as I would if I went back. My instructions were that I
should take back with me the love that I felt there and give it to others when I returned. By giving
that love to others my own soul would grow. My teacher let me know that I wouldn't remember
everything I had seen and heard when I returned, but sometime in the future I would again hear his
voice through someone else's mouth. I would recognize it by the same spirit I felt while there in
his presence. It would also be recognizable by the mile-markers along the pathway of life which
identified particular events in time that he had told me about. And I would find a people
who had much of what I was looking for. /p.72/
I was then enveloped by that same loving, golden light that I had felt before. Then the light left
to some extent and I found myself in a grassy area, with a hill to my left, and a river that ran by
several hundred yards to my right. The colors were beyond any earthly description. A vague idea can
be obtained by looking at the rainbow hews that we see through a crystal. Yet these colors were more
brilliant. There were daisy-like flowers that ran through the grass. And the grass — each
blade had a life force of it own. The trees had a personality of their own. I should tell you that
I was dressed in a long white flowing gown. The whiteness in the gown was different from any white I
had seen before; there were depth and iridescence associated with it. It was an alive
white, as were all the other colors. It was a pure white, and it was as if you could see into its
depth and glowing beauty. My hair was long, unlike what it was in life. In running across the grass
my feet didn't touch the ground. I could feel the air around me — not that there was a lot of
wind — just a refreshing feeling of the air. There was a sound in the air that completely
defies description. It was as if there were a multitude of voices, and a multitude of instruments,
blended and playing soft music. The twittering of birds and other beautiful sounds were all
melodically instrumented into the music which wafted through the air. The sounds just flowed into me
in a soft, soft manner. In the distance by the river there were six or seven people standing by some
trees, and I could tell that they were waiting for me. It was as if they /p.73/ knew I was coming;
one of them looked up and said, "There she is!" A man leaning against a tree motioned with his arm
and said, "Hurry, Elane, everyone's waiting." Running toward them, I felt the air against me, but my
feet didn't touch the ground. Power and energy were coming off of everything. I realized that
everything there had a life and personality to it. Two women broke away from the group and began
running toward me. When they got within about twenty feet, I recognized one as my grandmother. She
had been dead since I was about nine years old. The man against the tree was my mother's step-dad,
and he had been dead since I was sixteen or seventeen. The lady immediately behind my grandmother
was Aunt Virginia, my husband's aunt, who had died the previous February. All of them were dressed
in white, a white which radiated light. Their hair and faces were not the same as on earth, but I
recognized them quickly. They were about thirty years of age in appearance, much younger than when I
had seen them last. Aunt Virginia was badly crippled when I knew her in life with one leg shorter
than the other. Here, she was completely restored to normal function. As I saw my relatives and
felt of their joy, I had the thought, "Man, if my kids could only see this; if they could only see
Aunt Virginia now." I no sooner had the thought, than WHAM! It was a heavy duty body slam, and I was
back in my body at the hospital. I was on the gurney in the emergency room, and I could see the
defibrillator poised above me for a second jolt.