Millions of enfranchised souls pass from earth life and find the spirit
world--the "Summerland"--a Heaven, and stay therein for vast lengths of
time. The change from this life of toil, and misery to an existence of
rest from all pain and sorrow of earthly existence is really Heaven
enough for the average human mind. A place of beautiful surroundings,
where everything necessary for their comfort is furnished them, without
money and without price and, best of all, where they no longer fear
being grabbed up and punished by the devil for their sins of ignorance
committed when in the body. It is not possible for us, plunged, as we
all are, into the vortex of this difficult existence, to realize what
all this means to the world-weary. If one shall halt by the way, or
fall aside from the great unending procession nothing stops. The
terrible, tumultuous waves of humanity roll on, and the lost are not
missed or mourned for, save by the few that were responsible for their
coming, or for the awful lack of help and tendance that made them
failures in the battle of life.
The great army of the commonplace, the neither positively good nor the
very bad, is the largest class of all humanity. The most pestiferous
and difficult to adjust to the law of progress and advancement. Hold
one of them out of hell by the hair of the head, and when he is let go
he only drops further in, and nothing teaches him but the "slings and
arrows" of misfortune, and every dreadful experience that can be handed
out to him. Much of this almost universally deplorable condition--it
may be the whole of it--has been induced by false, unreasonable
religious teachings. The human mind needs every inducement to effort
to overcome its natural inertia instead of being put to sleep by
promises of being exempt from all responsibility connected with its
final redemption.