Last thought before death?

I read somewhere (perhaps in an unreliable introduction to Tibetan beliefs) that rebirth is conditioned by the last thought before death (or perhaps affected by a thought or desire that you have *after* death). Another belief that's similar, if not the same, is that a person may have had some (good or bad) life but that having some (bad or good) final dying thought determines their rebirth (e.g. into hell or heaven). 1. When (historically) was this view introduced into scriptures? 2. What is the evidence and/or reasoning for this view? 3. Is this view espoused by all schools of Buddhism, or do different traditions have different views? It seems to me that my mind has or generates lots of semi-random thoughts: they're like memories, or dream fragments, etc., they come and go. That kind of ideation (often visual images, fragmentary visions of people I've known or of places I've seen) is especially apparent when I'm asleep-and-dreaming. They're also apparent if I'm feverish and/or [delirious](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/delirious) . I expect that people often aren't at their most mentally acute when they're dying. 4. Are we supposed/expected to have some kind of control over such thoughts/ideas/images? Or are these too *anatta*, and neither 'self' nor 'controlled by self'? If it's true that they are not self, and not subject to control-by-self, then how are they associated with the *kamma* which affects rebirth? Or is it some other, different kind of "last thought" which affects rebirth? Googling to try to begin to research this topic I found [this brief article which describes 'the Last Thought Moment'](http://www.buddhisma2z.com/content.php?id=223) and which says for example, > Later still, the theory developed that the last thought moment (*cuticitta*) a person has before they die will determine their next life. This idea, now current in **Theravāda**, seems to be an unjustified development of the Buddha’s teachings and at odds with his idea of **kamma** and the efficacy of morality. 5. Is this article reliable, i.e. is true as far as you know, or does it say some things that would contradict or add to? 6. The [account of the Buddha's own death](http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.16.1-6.vaji.html) is of his having mastered *jhanas*, and making use of that ability at the time of his death: > And the Blessed One entered the first jhana. Rising from the first jhana etc. Is this what everyone is supposed to do when they die? Must we (and can we) hope that we will be so lucid at the time of death? Aren't people often unconscious or asleep or perhaps in a coma or something when they die? 7. Can you summarize what conclusion you draw, about - How to practice Buddhism now? - What if anything to expect or hope at time of death? - Whether death and rebirth are even especially worth thinking about (or whether we're even capable of thinking about them), or whether it's more important/useful to think about this life?