Untitled article by Dudley Marvin Canright

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Apr 21, 1868

CONVERSATIONS ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. NO. 8.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

BY ELD. D. M. CANRIGHT.

Bro. E. There is one thing with regard to Sr. White's having visions that I should like to understand better than I do. I cannot see how it is possible for her to see so much in one vision. In the few minutes in which she is in vision, sometimes she sees enough to fill volumes, if all written out. It would be utterly impossible for the mind, naturally, in the same length of time to receive one-hundredth part of the ideas she receives while in vision. I know that this seems to be changing the subject, but I thought of it, and would like to know what you think about it. It is sometimes brought up as an objection against her visions.

Min. This is surprising, indeed; and I have often thought of it myself; but circumstances have occurred with other individuals, where the mind has exhibited the same wonderful power of thought, in the case of drowning persons particularly. Those who have been drowned, and then restored to life, tell us that in the short space of three or four minutes, all the events, the words, and the actions of their former life, pass through their minds. They seem to appear before their minds in a sort of panoramic review. They can seem to see a thousand things at a glance.

Bro. D. Is there any authentic record of such events?

Min. Yes, I have just been reading from a book, entitled, Man all Immortal, by D. W. Clarke. He relates some very interesting instances of the kind. If it would interest all, I will read a few pages on this point.

Bro. A. I should like to hear, for my part, and I think we all would.

Bro. B. Yes, read on.

Min. You will remember that Clarke is a strong believer in the immortality of the soul, and hence he has mixed in this idea to some extent; but the facts are what we wish for. He says:

“A Fourth Class of Mental Phenomena, Bearing upon the Subject, is found in the Surprisingly-quickened Action of the Memory in the case of Drowning Persons.

“In many instances of this kind, the memory seems to have been so astonishingly quickened, that the whole past life—even its long-forgotten incidents—rush back upon the soul, so as to appear in clear and distinct view upon the broad field of its vision.

“An individual of my personal acquaintance was nearly drowned some years since. He stated that when first precipitated into the foaming deep, he fully realized the hopelessness of his condition; but almost at the very moment, the recollection of former events and of former years came rushing upon the memory. Its action was intense and rapid. Everything was remembered with all the distinctness of present life. Incidents, events, acts, words—all started up in rapid succession, till his whole life seemed to be reflected as from a mirror. His memory seemed to have grasped every event from very childhood to middle life, and hung them up, as though painted on canvas, before the broad glance of the drowning man. Almost by a miracle, he was plucked from the very jaws of death; but ever after was he accustomed to dwell with astonishment and wonder upon the singular development of his memory while the floods compassed him about, and to declare that he believed it possible for the mind to recollect everything that had ever come within the range of thought and feeling.

“Admiral Beaufort, of the British Navy, gives a like account of the action of his mind when placed in circumstances precisely similar. This whole account is so striking that we give it entire. It is taken from the life of Sir John Barrow, published in London, and is contained in a letter from Admiral Beaufort, addressed to Dr. Wollaston. It is as follows:

‘Many years ago, when I was a youngster on board one of His Majesty's ships in Portsmouth harbor, after sculling about in a very small boat, I was endeavoring to fasten her along side the ship to one of the scuttle-rings; in foolish eagerness I stepped upon the gunwale, the boat of course upset, and I fell into the water; and not knowing how to swim, all my efforts to lay hold of the boat or the floating vessel were fruitless. The transaction had not been observed by the sentinel on the gangway, and therefore it was not till the tide had drifted me some distance astern of the ship, that a man in the foretop saw me splashing in the water, and gave the alarm. The first lieutenant instantly and gallantly jumped overboard, the carpenter followed his example, and the gunner hastened into a boat and pulled after them.'

‘So far, these facts were either partially remembered after my recovery, or supplied by those who had latterly witnessed the scene; for during an interval of such agitation, a drowning person is too much occupied in catching at every passing straw, or too much absorbed by alternate hope and despair, to mark the succession of events very accurately. Not so, however, with the facts which immediately ensued. My mind had then undergone the sudden revolution which appeared to you so remarkable, and all the circumstances of which are now as vividly fresh in my memory as if they had occurred but yesterday.

‘With the violent but vain attempt to make myself heard, I had swallowed much water. I was soon exhausted by my struggles, and before my relief reached me, I had sunk below the surface; all hope had fled, all exertion ceased, and I felt that I was drowning.

‘From the moment that all exertion had ceased—which I imagine was the immediate consequence of complete suffocation—a calm feeling of the most perfect tranquility superseded the previous tumultuous sensations. It might be called apathy; certainly not resignation, for drowning no longer appeared to be an evil. I no longer thought of being rescued, nor was I in any bodily pain. On the contrary, my sensations were now of rather a pleasurable cast, partaking of that dull but contented sort of feeling which precedes the sleep produced by fatigue. Though the senses were thus deadened, not so the mind; its activity seemed to be invigorated in a ratio which defies all description, for thought rose after thought with a rapidity of succession that is not only indescribable, but probably inconceivable by any one who has not himself been in a similar situation. The course of those thoughts I can even now in a great measure retrace—the event which had just taken place, the awkwardness that had produced it; the bustle it must have occasioned—for I had observed two persons jump from the chains—the effect it would have on a most affectionate father, the manner in which he would disclose it to the rest of the family, and a thousand other circumstances minutely associated with home, were the first series of reflections that occurred.

‘They took then a wider range—our last cruise—a former voyage, and shipwreck—my school—the progress I had made there, and the time I had misspent—and even all my boyish pursuits and adventures. Thus traveling backward, every past incident of my life seemed to glance across my recollection in retrograde succession; not, however, in mere outline, as here stated, but the picture filled up with every minute and collateral feature; in short, the whole period of my existence seemed to be placed before me in a kind of panoramic review, and each act of it seemed to be accompanied by consciousness of right or wrong, or by some reflection on its cause or its consequences; indeed, many trifling events which had been long forgotten then crowded into my imagination, and with the character of recent familiarity.

‘The length of time that was occupied by the deluge of ideas, or rather the shortness of time into which they were condensed, I cannot now state with precision; yet certainly two minutes could not have elapsed from the moment of suffocation, to that of my being handed up.’”

Bro. B. That was remarkable indeed. I now remember of having heard others make similar statements.

Min. Yes, this man in the short space of two minutes, had all the scenes of his life distinctly presented before his mind. Certainly that is as much, if not more wonderful than any vision Sr. White has ever had. It shows what the mind can do in certain circumstances. Dr. Clarke gives additional circumstances illustrating the point, but I forbear reading them now.

Bro. D. I am glad that this subject has been introduced; it helps my mind much, for I have often thought of the same objection, how it could be possible for Sr. White to see so much in one vision. But these facts certainly show that it is possible for the mind to receive ideas and impressions very rapidly.

(To be continued.)