The Love Was Beyond Words - Near Death Like Experience (NDE Like)
What Researchers Found
The Story
Russell Ricks was an 8-year-old boy born with neurological disabilities, including complete agenesis of the corpus callosum and hearing loss. He faced severe bullying and abuse at school. Desperate to escape, he prayed to God to take him away from the pain. While crying on his bed, he blacked out and had an out-of-body experience. He floated above his sleeping body and was pulled into a bright light. He traveled through space to a spiritual realm, landing in a forest clearing filled with love, new colors, vibrating plants making heavenly music, and the presence of ancestors. He witnessed creation and saw a symbolic Aspen tree. A voice warned of a point of no return. Jesus appeared, comforted him, and took him to a golden city of light. Jesus reassured him about his life purpose, promised to stay by his side, and sent him back. After returning, Russell felt ongoing bliss and strength to endure abuse, knowing God's support. At age 50, he learned of his brain condition through an MRI, received therapy to improve social skills, and held steady jobs. He built a large blended family, pursued art capturing spiritual themes, wrote a book sharing his story, and helped others with similar disabilities gain hope and compassion.
“never I could never go back to heaven like I would try but I found myself”
This NDE-like experience scores moderate evidential strength from an OBE providing a ceiling-level view of self and highly specific spiritual scenery matching previously unknown temple mural details (Aspen grove, boulder, pathway, golden city with temple/tabernacle shapes), verified years later via temple visit and president confirmation. Immediate reporting to mother and partial corroboration by others' similar accounts bolster it, but no clinical death, medical veridicals, or independent third-party checks on physical perceptions limit higher rating.
Score reflects verifiable perceptions reported. A low score indicates the experience was primarily spiritual or subjective, not that it didn't occur.
Score reflects transformation as described. Domains scored 0 indicate the topic was not discussed, not that no change occurred.
Are you here because someone you love has died?
These accounts were gathered because death may not be the end. Thousands of people have experienced something beyond — and come back to tell us about it.
What Researchers Found
This NDE-like experience scores moderate evidential strength from an OBE providing a ceiling-level view of self and highly specific spiritual scenery matching previously unknown temple mural details (Aspen grove, boulder, pathway, golden city with temple/tabernacle shapes), verified years later via temple visit and president confirmation. Immediate reporting to mother and partial corroboration by others' similar accounts bolster it, but no clinical death, medical veridicals, or independent third-party checks on physical perceptions limit higher rating.
Score reflects verifiable perceptions reported. A low score indicates the experience was primarily spiritual or subjective, not that it didn't occur.
Score reflects transformation as described. Domains scored 0 indicate the topic was not discussed, not that no change occurred.