An LDS author by the name of Julie Rowe has written a couple of books – the first titled “A Greater Tomorrow” and the second “The Time Is Now” – which are purported to be about, and center on, her experiences with having a near-death experience (NDE), visiting the spirit world, and the things she witnessed therein. She publicly self-proclaims these experiences as being completely true, and invites the reader to study and pray about her account to know of its truthfulness. I have done this. However, upon careful and prayerful study of her account as it is written in “A Greater Tomorrow” (I haven’t yet read her second book), and comparing it with revealed truths as contained in scripture and spoken by latter-day Prophets and Apostles, I have come to believe that it is false and that Julie has either been deceived, or, worse, is intentionally trying to deceive others in order to take advantage of them and/or lead them astray from correct gospel teachings. The following document represents the culmination of my findings thus far and I invite you to carefully and prayerfully study it in light of the restored gospel truths we have.
I realize this is a very sensitive matter, and don’t desire to hurt or offend anyone, but at the same time I am interested in seeking after truth and that inevitably may cause hurt feelings. This is a hard subject for me to even broach because of the sacred nature of the issue – namely, one person’s near death experience which, if true, involves many very personal and sacred experiences with the divine. However, if it is not true (and the evidence is strong that it isn’t) then that also brings up some very serious concerns that should be honestly examined and addressed appropriately.
I don’t intend this to be a personal attack on Julie Rowe (though inevitably to some it may seem like it is), but rather an honest examination of her claimed experiences. If her experiences are true then they should hold up under the scrutiny of light and truth. However, if they are not true and are not in harmony with the gospel (and the evidences I have gathered and present herein suggest this is the case) then that brings up a whole other set of issues which should be carefully examined. I am not seeking to undermine or tear anyone down or their beliefs. Rather, I am seeking after truth and, if necessary, to expose the hidden things of darkness so as to help my brothers and sisters not be led astray.
Briefly, there are a number of things about Julie’s account (as found primarily in “A Greater Tomorrow” – again, I haven’t yet read “The Time Is Now”) and behaviors that concern me, namely:
- Julie unequivocally declares her books/account as true and authentic. This raises some serious concerns and questions because:
- There are false doctrines and/or teachings that clearly contradict scriptures and other revealed truths as taught by latter-day Prophets and Apostles.
- She reveals many new doctrines and/or teachings which have not been revealed before in scripture or by latter-day Prophets and Apostles.
- There appear to be contradictions in her book wherein she contradicts her own self.
- There is compelling evidence of plagiarism, both from scriptures and from other people’s NDE’s and/or dreams and visions.
- There are inconsistencies, such as missing important information within the text which she herself refers to but doesn’t include. This may support the point above that she is plagiarizing material from other sources, but failing to include important and key information which the original source material covers.
- There are indications of a strong element of deception on the part of Julie towards her audience, i.e. that she is knowingly and purposefully deceiving others.
- There are inconsistencies in her online life, persona, and account as found on ldsavow.com which raise questions and concerns and show an element of deception there as well.
- Her self-proclaimed “mission” and purpose in writing the book(s) involves “Energy Healing,” a practice which is questionable and may not be in harmony with gospel teachings or practices.
- She is publicly teaching these things in her books, on radio, on the internet, and in-person at firesides, speaking engagements, and other public gatherings. Whether it is intentional or not Julie has garnered a large public following and her teachings, which may not be fully in harmony with gospel teachings and practices, have the possibility of influencing and leading many others astray or into questionable practices.
- I have been personally threatened by an unknown person, either Julie Rowe, or someone closely affiliated with her and/or who has a vested interest in her “success,” to remain silent with the information I have or they would publicize criminal history information on me (which happened when I was a teenager and has since been resolved both legally and with the Church). This act by an unknown and cowardly person closely associated with Julie Rowe shows a willingness to engage in criminal and unethical behavior against others in an attempt to silence and humiliate others who may have honest and sincere questions or concerns about Julie Rowe and her account.
- No one, including Julie Rowe or those who support her, have as yet been able to address my concerns outlined in this document or disprove them. Rather than addressing the issues openly and directly they would rather ignore it and/or attack my personal character. I am willing to have an open and honest discussion of the issues I present herein and if someone is able to disprove something I say as false then I am willing to publicly acknowledge it and correct the mistake.
Many years ago, in 2009, I joined and started participating in an online community ldsavow.com (sometimes referred to as AVOW – an online forum and community for discussing last days, world events, preparedness, and gospel related topics). I actually knew of AVOW as early as 2006 through family members and had occasionally used their account/s to participate in discussions. Julie Rowe joined AVOW and created an account on January 25, 2008 under the username of “Julie Rowe.” I never knew or was aware of her under that username as she was mostly a “lurker” (someone who reads posts but doesn’t actively participate or post themselves). Over the next few years she posted a total of 40 posts, almost all of them dealing with dreams she has (or claims to have) had, and never once having mentioned anything about a NDE. The last time “Julie Rowe” logged onto AVOW (as of this writing) was March 10th, 2011.
The following year, on August 14th, 2012, Julie Rowe, for whatever reason, created a new account on ldsavow under the username of “fellowdreamer.” She was still a lurker for over a year and it wasn’t until late 2013-early 2014 when she began suddenly posting a lot and became an active participant on AVOW. It was about this time when I first became aware of Julie (though I only knew her as “fellowdreamer”) as she started (on her second or third post) talking about a NDE she has had back in 2004. Her posts were also frequently about energy healing (which often caused a lot of commotion and controversy on AVOW), call-outs, and tent cities. She then published her first book, A Greater Tomorrow, in May of 2014 and used AVOW as a medium to help get publicity for her book and into the mainstream.
Many people began talking about her book and it grew in popularity over the next several months. I never really felt a desire to read the book, though I was a little curious. It wasn’t until the Castle Dale Pageant when I first had a chance to read the book. As some family, friends, and I drove down together to see the pageant my friends brought along their copy of the book A Greater Tomorrow, and we each took turns reading it aloud. We only got about halfway through the book during this time, but even so there were things that were bothering me about her account that I just couldn’t fully express at that time. Later, on August 30-31, I was able to borrow the book from my friends and finished reading it. After finishing the book I again started reading it, but this time studying it more thoroughly and writing down my concerns. I had to return the book on the 31st so I didn’t get very far at that time.
Later, I think sometime in October, I was again able to borrow the book, this time for a greater length of time. I began again to study Julie’s book in greater detail, comparing it with scriptures and latter-day revelations from prophets and apostles. As the Lord guided my studies I slowly came to the realization that Julie’s account was false and was not in full harmony with the gospel. During this time a friend on avow who also shared some concerns about another popular NDE (Visions of Glory) began questioning these accounts. He was ultimately silenced for speaking out, but I contacted him and we began collaborating together and sharing doctrinal knowledge and information. He was working on analyzing Visions of Glory, and I was working on A Greater Tomorrow. Neither of us had read the book the other was working on, but we still shared findings with each other.
One day this friend contacted me and asked me to take a look at the user “Julie Rowe” on ldsavow and see if it might be the same person as “fellowdreamer” (Julie Rowe). I looked into it and was indeed surprised to find that they were one and the same person. I searched some more and began reading some of her old posts under the name of “Julie Rowe.” For me this begged the question of why create a new account instead of using her old one? One possible indication comes from a thread wherein she posted both as “Julie Rowe” and then years later under the new name of “fellowdreamer.” In this thread, under the username of “fellowdreamer,” she said this: ”I would rather keep my personal identity out of the picture, but too late for that.” It seems that for whatever reason (perhaps because she had only ever posted her experiences as “dreams” and not a NDE before?) she didn’t want people to know that she (“fellowdreamer”) was “Julie Rowe.”
As the evidences of deception on the part of Julie were starting to pile up I felt the need to bring it to light and share my findings with others so as to warn my brothers and sisters of this deception. I continued working on studying Julie’s book in light of the gospel and writing my findings. In an attempt to try resolving the matter privately and also to give Julie the opportunity to explain herself and come out with the truth herself, instead of me publicizing it, I emailed her asking her to be truthful with me and asking her if her account was true. At this time I also started a thread on AVOW asking others for insight and guidance on whether we should rebuke publicly or privately people who are publicly doing things that are wrong. It was during this discussion on the thread that another person by the username “ramsrn” contacted me privately about Julie Rowe wondering if it was her that I was concerned about. I replied back affirmatively and then they replied back that they had concerns as well. We began contacting each other via email with our findings. Interestingly enough “ramsrn,” never having read Julie’s book, has done much research on Julie’s online life and persona and has come to the same conclusion that Julie is deceiving people. I will refer you to this person’s findings as a separate document for more particulars of the inconsistencies and deceptions of Julie’s life on AVOW. Still, I have done some myself, though my research has been more focused on Julie’s book and how it isn’t in harmony with the gospel.
I also contacted a few other people privately (primarily Christopher Parrett, the owner and administrator of ldsavow.com, and Mills Crenshaw, a radio show host on k-tlk who has had Julie on as a guest a number of times) to express my concerns and share with them my findings in case Julie Rowe did not come clean. They both responded unfavorably, essentially warning me to be careful and not rock the boat (“steady the ark” is the term they both used). Shortly thereafter one of Christopher’s moderators, “shinnosuke,” contacted me to gather the evidences I had. I sent him the information I had and he promised to do what he could to make sure it received a fair hearing.
At this point Julie Rowe emailed me back and told me that her account was true and that if I wanted to learn the truth for myself to study and pray about it. I replied back, perhaps a bit too aggressively, that I have done this and that I have found her account to be false and that I hoped she would begin telling the truth before I did. Shortly thereafter “shinnosuke” informed me that he believed me and that he and several others had concerns about Julie Rowe, which they expressed to Christopher, but Christopher seemed to have no intentions of allowing anyone to discuss the matter. “shinnosuke” also informed me that he was no longer a moderator and would be leaving AVOW over this issue with Julie Rowe.
I then personally emailed Christopher and Mills both a copy of my findings up to that point. About this time is when I received the anonymous letter in the mail threatening me to not publish my “attack” against Julie Rowe or they would retaliate by publishing information all over the internet about my past. The only people (that I’m aware of) who knew of my intent to publish my findings was Julie Rowe, Mills Crenshaw, Christopher Parrett, Christopher’s moderators, and a few close friends who have been supportive of me. I do not know who it was that sent the threatening letter, though I believe it was someone who has a vested interest in Julie’s “success.” Nor do I do care if they do so – my past has been resolved and taken care of both legally and with the Church. It is the truth that I am after and I hope to help protect my brothers and sisters from being led astray. If these people are afraid of the truth then perhaps they should take a careful look at themselves and see where they stand in this “eternal contest between truth and error” as Elder Oaks has spoken about in this past October General Conference.
About a month has now passed since I first contacted Julie privately about my concerns. She has yet to respond back addressing my concerns and honestly I am not sure she will. Instead, Julie has continued publicly to teach her account as truthful at various public gatherings, on the radio, and online. I have also been busy, continuing to study her account and add to the body of evidences against it. The following then is the culmination of my efforts to come to know the truth thus far and to share my findings with others. I have at this time only gotten about halfway through analyzing A Greater Tomorrow, but the evidences are already overwhelming that Julie’s account is false. I have organized my analysis according to the following topics:
- False doctrines and/or teachings which clearly contradict scriptures and/or words of latter-day Prophets and Apostles.
- New teachings and/or revelations which we don’t have any revealed word on.
- Inconsistencies and/or contradictions wherein Julie appears to contradict herself, or says/does things that just don’t make sense in light of other information.
- Plagiarism. Obvious or suspected examples of plagiarism where she may have “borrowed” from other sources (scriptures and/or other people’s accounts of NDE’s, dreams, and visions) to write her story.
- Disjointed story elements or missing information that causes the story to not make sense as read. This may be indicative of Plagiarism or “borrowing” elements from other sources.
- Energy Healing.
- Evidences of purposeful and willful deception towards others.
- Julie’s online life, persona, and inconsistencies.
- Julie’s “dreams” posted on AVOW.
- Conclusion.
A note on copyrighted materials: I quote and cite the works of others (most notably Julie Rowe) extensively in this analysis and these references are either in the public domain or have been reproduced with the intention of being in compliance with the Fair Use provisions of U.S. Copyright Laws. According to Fair Use provisions:
In addition, according to the U.S. Copyright Office:Fair use is a limitation and exception to the exclusive right granted by copyright law to the author of a creative work. In United States copyright law, fair use is a doctrine that permits limited use of copyrighted material without acquiring permission from the rights holders. Examples of fair use include commentary, search engines, criticism, parody, news reporting, research, teaching, library archiving and scholarship. It provides for the legal, unlicensed citation or incorporation of copyrighted material in another author's work under a four-factor balancing test.
17 U.S.C. § 107
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 17 U.S.C. § 106 and 17 U.S.C. § 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include:
1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;).
In accordance with the Fair Use of some copyrighted materials, here then is my in-depth review of Julie’s account as found primarily in “A Greater Tomorrow” and on ldsavow.com.The 1961 Report of the Register of Copyrights on the General Revision of the U.S. Copyright Law cites examples of activities that courts have regarded as fair use: “quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment; quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, for illustration or clarification of the author’s observations; use in a parody of some of the content of the work parodied; summary of an address or article, with brief quotations, in a news report; reproduction by a library of a portion of a work to replace part of a damaged copy; reproduction by a teacher or student of a small part of a work to illustrate a lesson; reproduction of a work in legislative or judicial proceedings or reports; incidental and fortuitous reproduction, in a newsreel or broadcast, of a work located in the scene of an event being reported.”
(Source – http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)