FOURTH VISIT TO THE CASTLE.
Mission of Thomas and the elders--The king and guard--The elder
addresses the king--Conversation with him--He refuses wisdom--A
dialogue with a mind on fear--Calls a great multitude to hear the
elder--Address of the elder--Conversation with the circle--Imputed
righteousness--A thousand times ten thousand converted, and received
into the temple.
After the conclusion of the lesson, the Master said, “Thomas, thou
wilt go with the four and twenty elders, and see what remainest in the
castle.”
The command was obeyed. When we reached the castle, we saw a dense
cloud resting over the place, and there was a large number which no
mind could count, wondering at the departure of the hundred and forty
and four thousand. It was a day of fasting and prayer. The elders said,
“They mourn without success. The Lord hath done great things for us,
whereof we are thankful. We will listen to their lamentations.”
Presently, a mind descried us, and straightway he went to the citadel.
I heard his report to the king, whom he met at the gate. “The four and
twenty elders have returned, and have taken their position on the wall,
where thou hast ordered thy servant to stand.”
K. What is their report?
M. They have just arrived--I heard no report.
K. Then take with thee thy guard, and bring me word what they may say
unto thee.
M. They bear no arms.
K. Then go thou with thy company, and hear their report.
The centurion came, and said, “the king desireth a report from thee,
and I am the messenger.”
The elder of the elders replied, “Tell the king we have found favor
with God; for, verily, he dwelleth not in temples made with hands, and
we are satisfied with all we have seen and heard.”
M. Dost thou wish to return to the fold again?
E. We have come to tarry only while we may do thee and thy fellow
servants good, as our Master hath commanded us. Wilt thou say to the
king, that the half was not told us before we left the castle. We have
tidings of great good for all who obey the truth, and are faithful to
the law of harmony and peace. We invite the king and his household
to hear our report, which will end thy fasting, and soon change thy
sadness into joy.
M. Then I will report thy wish to the king.
I went with him, but the elders remained. The messenger entered by
the north gate, and when he approached the palace, the king’s servant
required us to wait. Soon the king made his appearance, and said,
“Bringest thou a report?”
M. I have a message for thee from the elders.
K. Thou mayest say to them, come where I am, that I may see them face
to face.
M. Lo! they are waiting thy pleasure.
K. Invite them all to my council chamber.
We all went where he requested.
“I am now ready to hear the report of the elders,” said the king.
“May it please thee,” said the senior, “we have found favor with
God, and grace and peace are multiplied unto us. We have washed in
a stream, and thou seest our garments are white as snow. The circle
will receive thee, when thou art willing to cast thy crowns into the
treasury of good, and learn war no more. Thou wilt not regret the
sacrifice, for what thou consecratest to the good of mind, will do thee
more honor than all thy works of power. We saw a mystery unfolded to
us, which will not do thee good, until thou shalt become acquainted
with it also. The mystery of iniquity thou hast understood, from thy
reception into the throne of power; but the mystery of godliness thou
mayest yet learn. There are minds who can teach thee the mystery of
mutual confidence. It will not be taught thee here; for now thou art
surrounded with minds distrustful of each other. Thou distrustest
them, and they distrust thee. But we have found a circle where no mind
distrusts, because they know each other’s thoughts. The whole circle
need no compulsion to do right, because right is their meat and drink.
They delight in right, and wisdom is always with them. They worship
God without fear, and love one another without dissimulation. There
is a rainbow over their heads, and a cloud of fire by night to warm
their hearts with love forever. There no iron rule becomes necessary to
enforce obedience; for obedience is loved, and what is loved is not
avoided. The Master is not a tyrant, but a father; and, when the father
commands, his children delight to obey his commands. What is the wish
of the father, is the wish of his children. Hence, no disorder or wrong
can enter the circle we have found.”
K. Then, thou art satisfied with what thou hast seen and heard?
E. We are satisfied with what we have seen and heard. We will not
return with thy permission to tarry here.
K. When wilt thou return to thy new friends?
E. When we can do no good here.
K. Thou wilt not expect to convert me?
E. We expect only thy pleasure. It is not our will to control thee, but
to aid thee in the path of true wisdom and happiness.
K. Hast thou not been flattered with new things?
E. We have seen, and do testify, that new things have been discovered
to us.
K. When new things have been found, is it not prudent to test them by
experience before we trust too implicitly in them?
E. Thou wilt not test them, we apprehend, even as we have done.
K. When thou hast tested them, I will hear thee again.
E. Would it not be better for thee to test them by thy own experience?
K. It would not be better, if I disliked the experience.
E. True; but thou wilt have no experience without a trial of them.
K. I will wait thy tests.
E. We will wait thy pleasure.
When he had concluded, we departed to a mind who was not unwilling to
hear, because he had no authority to rule over others. He was wholly
depressed in his mind about relieving himself from his fears.
“Thy fears disturb thy quiet,” said the elder.
M. My fears not only disturb my quiet, but the quiet of others.
E. Why dost thou fear?
M. How can I help my fears, when every thing makes me fear?
E. Thou mayest be aided, so that thy fears will not control thee.
M. Thy confidence I do not realize.
E. My confidence will be thine, when thy fears are removed.
M. That will not soon be realized.
E. I know thy condition, and thou knowest that as thou art, even so I
once was. Dost thou remember me?
M. I have seen thee, but thou dost not wear the same garments? Why
didst thou change?
E. I was with thee, when thou didst first enter within these walls. I
was thy teacher, when thou wast where thou wouldst not return. I saw
thee, when thou wast in a condition that elicited my sympathy. Dost
thou wish farther relief?
M. I would not refuse what thy kindness has to bestow.
E. Thy fears will not be removed without instruction. What thou fearest
is what should be overcome. I will aid thee to see that thy fears are
not true to thee, nor true to thy progress.
M. Thou wilt not say, my sincerity is not true?
E. Thy sincerity is no proof of thy faith.
M. What is well I believe.
E. Thou believest what is not well.
M. What do I believe, which is not well?
E. That which thou fearest is not well.
M. Thou wouldst not banish all fear.
E. He who fearest is not made wise in love; because what is feared
is not hoped for, but dreaded as an evil. I would remove all fear,
for thou canst not fear and be free. When thou fearest, thou art in
bonds, and when thou art in bonds, thy heart is unreconciled to thy
condition. It is not satisfactory to thyself. Thy unreconciliation
is dissatisfaction with thy condition. Thou wouldst hope for better
things, but thy mind hath been instructed in many errors which remain
to disturb thee.
M. Thou hast said, in thy pilgrimage with us, that what I believe was
true.
E. I said, as I believed; but thou wilt understand that belief is not
always correct. Thou canst believe because of my saying; but thou canst
not know without investigation and tangible facts. The circle, which
bids me labor for thy good, walk not by faith but by wisdom. They are
not controlled by opinions or faiths, but by actual experiments. It
is not actual experiments and demonstrations of facts which weary thy
mind, and paralyze thy industry, but it is thy opinions and doubts.
They are the messengers of discontent and trouble. If thou wouldst
distrust thy distrust, and doubt thy doubts, thy mind would feel the
inspiration of hope. When thy mind hopest for good, thy confidence is
superior to thy doubts. Then the despondency of thy condition vanishes.
M. But what have I to hope for?
E. Thou wilt ask, what is there which I may not hope for? There is
no good, which thou mayest not attain. The wisdom of circles, whose
glory thou hast not seen, may be thine by receiving it. But thy doubts
cause thee to reject thy own good. When the prize is offered thee, thou
refusest, because of thy unbelief. Thy doubts distrust and reject the
best good. They rob thee by thy own consent. It is, indeed, no wonder
to me now, why thou shouldst not advance, and become more happy. I
would advise thee, but thy wisdom apprehends mischief from me. Now, I
am not of thy circle, thou fearest some evil intention is with me. The
worst evil thou canst suffer, is the evil of resisting wisdom.
M. I would not resist what is wise and good, but I would know that it
is wise and good before I receive it.
E. How canst thou know what thy wisdom rejects? When thou askest aid,
how canst thou be benefited, so long as the aid is rejected? Must
not the aid be received to help thee? Wouldst thou require tangible
evidence, or demonstrations of its usefulness before thou wouldst
accept what thy necessities demand? Thou askest for the proof of a
thing, when thou rejectest the only means which can give thee the
required satisfaction. As well might the ignorant say, “I will receive
instruction when I am satisfied by experience that it will be for
my advantage, and not before,” as for thee to demand knowledge of a
subject before thou receivest the lessons, which will make thee know
the truth of the subject.
M. Then, I must receive what thou sayest as truth, and test it by my
experience.
E. Thou wilt test it in no other way than by thy experience. All thou
knowest to be good or bad, thou knowest by thy experience.
M. May I not know from others’ experience?
E. Thou mayest believe, but thou canst not know. To know is to
understand by the test of thy experience. The test of experience will
not deceive thee. By it thou mayest try the philosophy which we teach.
Thy mind will not doubt what it knows; but it will doubt what minds
say; because thou hast already found many errors in the sayings of thy
friends, but never one in the counsels of thy experience. Experience
is true. However bitter it may be from the errors of thy life, yet it
is true. Falsehoods even are true, as are facts; but there is this
distinction, which experience has established. Falsehoods are wrongs,
facts are not. Nevertheless, thou must see that wrongs are true to
falsehoods, and falsehood to wrongs. The cause is true to its effect.
If the cause be inharmonious with good, the wretchedness must ensue.
If the cause be harmonious with mind, the effect can not be wrong.
Therefore, falsehood, being a cause, and that cause not being in
harmony with the progress and happiness of mind, must beget its true
effect when received. That effect is wrong, and wrong because an evil
is inflicted. All evil is true to the effect it produces. When a mind
is in harmony with error, the error is true to that mind. The error
is true to its effect. It is sure to produce its own likeness--to
stamp its own image, when received by the mind. No effect, disagreeing
with the cause, can ever exist in nature. Consequently, all things
are causes of other things, and the cause and effect are true to each
other. This is what we may call truth.
M. Then truth is the relation of cause and effect?
E. It is the relation which will disclose a truth to thee. The things,
being true to each other, will not be false to each other; so with
mind. The things which are in harmony with mind, are true to that mind,
and the things which are otherwise, are false. Thou knowest that, when
thou hast entertained that which was incongenial with thy mind, it was
productive only of evil. It was false to thy peace. It was untrue to
thy happiness, because the relation was not true to thy wants. Error
is error, only because thy mind is disappointed. Truth is truth when
no disappointment occurs. Thou hast sought for peace and happiness in
things which bear no relation to thy seeking. Thou hast not learned
the philosophy of cause and effect. When thou receivest the sayings
of mind, thou hast been sometimes deceived; and thou believest when
they tell thee what is for thy good. They, too, will not satisfy thy
mind without adapting their instruction to thy understanding. Error
has been taught thee, or things have been offered thee which disturb
the sympathy of thy mind. They are false to thy wants. Thou seekest
happiness. They destroy it. That is false to thee and thy good. Thou
shouldst not trust in thorns to produce grapes, nor in thistles to
produce figs; but thou shouldst know that nothing is, or ever can be
true to thy good, which is, or shall be, incongenial with the sympathy
that makes thee a child of God.
M. I see that thy philosophy makes no relation eternal; because, when
a thing changes, it disturbs the relation which it has sustained to
another thing.
E. The relation is eternal to things which are eternal. But thy errors
are not eternal things. I see they will soon be destroyed in thee. When
thou hast an affinity, or holdest a relation to things which disturb
thee, the connection, thus formed, will be true to itself so long as it
remaineth, but when the error is destroyed by the philosophy we teach,
the relation is broken, and the effect of that relation must cease. The
error will disturb no longer than it remaineth.
M. Is it not even so with the truth?
E. It is.
M. Why may not minds, then, lose the truth, and sink into utter
hopelessness and despair?
E. Minds may not lose the truth, when they never have found it. Thou
hast not yet found the truth. Thou hast learned some facts. Facts
are the wisdom of nature as revealed to mind in parts. The truth is
the infinite whole, and is incapable of being divided into parts.
Minds sometimes call facts truths; but we teach that truth, which is
infinite, so far, and no father, as it has been made known to us. Thou
hast been taught the truth in part, and what remainest for thee to
learn, is what thou hast no knowledge of. It is ignorance in thee, as
it is in us. This truth is the infinite harmony and wisdom of God in
the universe. All revelation of that wisdom, is true to thy happiness;
because thy mind is not discordant with nature, only as thy ignorance,
or education, hath perverted it. Thus, the revelation of wisdom,
agreeing with thy happiness, is true to thee, and what is true to thee,
as cause and effect, will never be false, because it is governed by an
immutable law.
M. Then, thou wouldst teach that truth is eternal and error not.
E. Truth is true to the good of mind eternally, because it is in
harmony with the relation of cause and effect. Error is in harmony only
with ignorance. Ignorance is the absence of knowledge. It is the mere
thing of childhood--the infancy of mind in its eternal progress. But
when the infant becomes the philosopher, it puts away childish things.
The swaddling clothes of the babe will not truly cover the grown man.
They are true to the infant, like the Mosaic covenant of forms to the
Jewish people; but they cover not the wants of enlarged sympathy for
the great brotherhood of mind. The infant people required protection,
and their wants were supplied. They asked only what they received. The
minds of this circle have sought for no more than they have found. They
have sought to establish their own wisdom, in opposition to the wisdom
of a higher circle; and they have found, by experience, the avails of
their search.
M. Then minds can find what they seek for?
E. They can find the degree of wisdom which they seek for. They can
generally find whatever opinion they prefer, because they will prefer
only an opinion agreeing with their measure of wisdom. All which
disagree with their degree of reform in wisdom is wrong. Nothing to
them is right, but the righteousness in them. They seek for nothing
more.
M. How, then, can they progress in wisdom.
E. As others influence them by instruction, as we have sought to do
unto thee.
M. Then thou wilt go on; I like thy philosophy.
E. Thou wilt see a philosophy in thy progress which will satisfy thee,
that thy errors are of no service to thee.
M. I am now satisfied of that, but what are my errors?
E. Thou wilt not receive all we wish thee to hear alone. When thou wilt
call thy friends together, who sympathize with thee, and who have no
opposition to wisdom, nor fear of instruction, we will visit thee, and
say unto all what thou mayest apply unto thyself.
M. I will call my friends now. They hear my voice, and will respond to
my wish.
The multitude assembled, and the elder proceeded to address them.
“Thou hast a work to do, my friends. The wisdom of a superior circle
hath delegated to me the duty of undoing the errors I have inculcated
among the minds of those with whom I have labored. Nothing is more
sincerely regretted, than my wrongs. It has been my honest endeavor to
do away wrong; but I find many errors, which I have taught, and now
it becomes my pleasing duty to correct them. Among those errors, none
stand more prominent than the doctrine of imputed righteousness, and
the fears and selfishness which it has encouraged. The principle, which
imputes to another what he never had, or will possess, is fatal to the
idea of impartial justice, and wrong in its effect upon individual
responsibility. I have found that wisdom, which discloses the fact,
that thy wrongs can not be justly imputed to another. Neither is it
just for another to assume thy wrongs without thy practice. Indeed, thy
wrongs are thy own, and no one can make them his own without adopting
them. When they are adopted by another, that mind is as criminal as he
who first practiced them. So, will it be seen, that no mind can claim
happiness because another is virtuous. The virtues of the wise must
become our own, or they will not promote our enjoyment. Thou knowest I
have taught thee to hope for good, because thy Savior was righteous.
As well might mind hope for good, because God is good. There never was
a time when God was not good, but what availeth his goodness, until it
becomes thy own; and to become thy own, it must become thy practice.
Because one mind is good, or just, or right, it is not true that all
are so. And yet the doctrine I taught thee, encouraged the expectation
that, because thy Master was good, he would impute his righteousness
unto thee. As well might the claim of thy righteousness be maintained,
because another was exalted to a circle of purity. Thou hast no lessons
in nature to sustain the doctrine of imputed righteousness. All law,
which recognizes equity and justice, repudiates the slander upon the
name of Jesus. He transfers no good to thee, which thy condition will
not receive as thy own inheritance. Thou shouldst not depend on being
saved from thy wrongs, otherwise than by forsaking them. No good can
come unto thee in wrong; and so long as thy wrongs remain, the good
of thy Master availeth thee nothing. To be saved, thou shouldst not
depend on the good of another, but on the good thou mayest attain by
seeking wisdom, and forsaking folly. What, therefore, I have taught
thee, inconsistent with this sentiment, I would ask thee to abandon;
for no good can arise to thee from any source, without thy wisdom shall
control thee to make it thy own. And, when it is thy own, it is not
another’s. Read thy lesson of wrong no more, and forsake the teaching
which would flatter thee with hopes of bliss, because another is more
holy than thyself. Thy Savior is he who saves. No mind is thy Savior,
unless he saves. To save is to make thee wise, and when thou hast
become wise, thou wilt put away wrongs and errors. No mind is wise in
the wisdom of my circle, who refuses instruction in wisdom, or who
neglects to practice its requirements.
“I have seen thy ways, and I have watched thy mourning with solicitude.
Thou hast waited in hope for the redemption, because another was
good. Thou hast waited for another to do what thou shouldst have
done thyself. It is this which has wronged thee. Hadst thou felt the
necessity for thy own exertions, and depended less on the doctrine
of imputed righteousness, as thou hast been taught, I would not now
need to correct the wrong I have done. But, when thou hopest for good
because another is wise, thou art prone to security in indolence. Thou
seest that it is mischievous to encourage indolence, and yet, when thou
waitest for another to do thy work, thy indolence is apparent. Be wise,
then, and be active to be wise.”
The circle said, “Who then can be saved? If we have no righteousness of
our own, and are not permitted to hope for it in another, who among us
will be saved?”
E. Those with thee who seek and find wisdom, and who will not neglect
the good of mind.
C. Then there is no need of a Savior, if we can save ourselves.
E. There is no need of hoping for the righteousness of another to be
placed to thy credit; because no such injustice will be manifest to
thee. There is need of a teacher to instruct thee in the truth of
divine wisdom; and he who instructs saves, when his instruction is
received, and as it is received. The ignorance of mind is removed by
instruction, and as it is removed, the mind instructed is saved from
its ignorance. When a mind errs, it errs not because it naturally
prefers the error, but because its ignorance prevented the reception
of wisdom. The evils, which mind practices, are not practiced because
the mind loves the evil, in preference to good, but because, through
ignorance, it misjudged. The ignorant mind is liable to misjudge, but
the wise are instructed. Mind must love, and prefer for itself that
which is good, or that which it supposes is best adapted to promote
its own enjoyment. But very many find their judgments in error. They
do wrong to do themselves good. True wisdom, however, reveals the
ignorance of their judgment. Good can never come out of evil, nor evil
out of good. Temporary advantage may be taken of another’s opinion,
whereby wrong may ensue to him; and when the mind has received what it
has sought and obtained at the expense of another, it is not satisfied,
because the wrong never can satisfy what God has made right and good.
And the greater the wrong, the greater the dissatisfaction; because
right and wrong can never agree, but must from their disagreement
war with each other. The mind, therefore, acting wrong, encourages
contention in itself, and where there is a conflict, the law of harmony
is disturbed, and with it the peace of him whose enjoyment is dependent
upon it. He who saves is, therefore, a deliverer from these evils of
ignorance.
C. Thou makest every teacher then a Savior.
E. I would teach thee, that every one who saves is a savior. He who
teaches wisdom and inculcates principles of righteousness in the minds
of others, saves them from their ignorance and folly. Is it not so?
C. It so appears; but why should any mind hope for salvation by the aid
of Jesus?
E. The aid which Jesus brings thee, is the aid we bring. Jesus comes
not to thee, except through the circles interlinking him to thee.
C. Does he exercise direct control over thy circle?
E. He exercises control over all circles of less wisdom than himself;
but we have been taught by others, and they by others, and so on to
the circle in which Jesus resides. The wisdom taught us is the wisdom
he would teach, were he our direct instructor; because it would be
unwise to undertake to develop mind, only as mind is developed to
receive instruction. The circle of wisdom, which instructs us, could
not comprehend the degree of Jesus, until wisdom improved them by
successive degrees, so that they would be capable of receiving it.
Soon will thy wisdom unite with my circle, for I see thou art ready to
receive the truth without fear.
C. I have not many fears, but I have some further inquiries, which my
mind is not fully settled upon.
E. Proceed.
C. Thou hast taught us, that imputed righteousness was unjust. How can
that be unjust, which is freely offered on condition of our acceptance,
or bestowed without our wish?
E. The injustice consists in the wrong. All is wrong which is not good.
It is not good to deceive thee with wrong. The wrong is not right,
and what is not right is unjust. The wrong of deceiving thee, leads
thee wrong, and encourages thee to hope for another’s wisdom without
having the principles and works, which will be found important to thy
progress. The imputed righteousness of Jesus will never benefit thee,
until that righteousness becomes thy own by practice. No good can come
to thee, unless the good be received and adopted. When it is adopted,
it is thine, and not before.
C. Thou wouldst not teach, that all evils are unjust.
E. Thou wouldst not reject what is well, when thou understandest it.
The well is not evil. The good is not evil. The just is not evil. Evils
are not evils absolutely. The worst evil is ignorance. Ignorance will
not live forever in any mind--I would say, the ignorance of right and
wrong as I understand right and wrong. Therefore, it is not an absolute
evil. It is even so with all other evils; they are temporary, not
eternal.
C. The evil of wretchedness is worse than ignorance.
E. Wretchedness is the effect of ignorance. The effect can not exceed
the cause.
C. Yea; but it may be more lasting.
E. How can the effect of ignorance be more lasting than the cause?
C. When minds do wrong, their wrongs remain, as thou hast said, till
they are corrected. Thou sayest that thy mission here is to correct thy
wrongs, and yet thou claimest wisdom unknown to thee, when thy wrongs
were done.
E. My wrongs were the wrongs of thee, and those with thee. When I
taught thee wrong, thy wrongs justified my teaching. Thy sympathies
were as mine; but what was my wrong, was not thine, nor thine mine.
When I came here, I came to undo my wrongs, which thou hast adopted,
and by adoption made them thine. I was wrong as thou art; but what I
would do, thou wilt not undo. I would undo what thou canst not do.
That thou mayest understand me, I taught thee what thou didst receive
and adopt. I taught thee wrong. My wrong was in teaching. Thou didst
receive and adopt, and thy wrong was in receiving and adopting, when
thou shouldst have weighed my saying in the balance of impartial
justice and truth. My mission is to undo my teaching, when I was with
thee. Thy duty is to undo what thou hast adopted without weight. I told
thee wrong. I now correct that wrong. I was in error. I would now make
thee to know it. And when thou seest my folly as I see it, thy wisdom
will be increased.
C. Then wisdom consists in seeing our own faults.
E. It consists not only in seeing them, but forsaking them. The wisdom
is in forsaking follies.
C. Have we follies that wisdom does not approve?
E. Thy works must show.
C. What works?
E. Thy reform will show thee thy follies.
C. What follies?
E. The folly of depending on others to do what thou shouldst do thyself.
C. What should we do ourselves?
E. Put away all wrong.
C. What wrongs should we put away?
E. The wrong of ignorance.
C. Of what are we ignorant?
E. Of that which thou knowest not.
C. What is that?
E. The wisdom of God.
C. How may we know the wisdom of God?
E. By instruction in righteousness.
C. Who will instruct us?
E. A circle whom we have seen. Wouldst thou be introduced to that
circle?
C. Thy circle will not receive such minds as we are.
E. My circle will prepare thy mind, and receive thee when prepared.
C. Why doth thy circle not worship as we do?
E. Because it is not in accordance with our wisdom. Thou wilt worship
with new light, when thou seest the wisdom which will be unfolded to
thee. Now, thou seest with fear and trembling; but when the pure
wisdom shines upon thee from the throne of goodness, the doubts and
fears of thy mind will be dissipated with the rising glory of eternal
day. The vain imaginings of a misguided mind, will be corrected, and
the beautiful harmonies of nature will control thy mind, and give thee
peace, that transcends thy longing soul. The voice of kindness will
rekindle thy devotions, and the sweet influence of welcome associates,
will touch the soft emotions of gratitude and praise. Thou hast not
seen wisdom so pure, goodness so great, hope so unclouded, life
so sweet, and society so agreeable, as that to which I propose to
introduce thee and thy friends with thee. Thou wilt learn thy lessons
of love with pleasure, thy lessons of peace with content, and no lash
of fear will urge thee, when thou understandest the joy of the blessed.
C. But why may I not receive the same instruction in this castle?
E. Thou wilt receive thy instruction only where it is to be found. Thou
knowest such only can instruct thee as are competent. They can not
instruct thee without removing the veil from thy face, so that thou
canst see, as well as hear, wisdom in mercy.
C. I would not object to leaving the castle, if my associates would
accompany me.
E. Thy associates are even waiting for thee to say, “I will go.”
C. How dost thou know?
E. I know with a sight you have not obtained.
C. Canst thou tell my intention?
E. I can tell thee, that thy mind is to go.
C. How may I know this, and see as thou dost?
E. By doing as I require thee. When thou shalt see the light of the
temple, thy vision will be so increased as to discern the thoughts of
mind, and when thou seest the thoughts of mind, thou wilt no longer
walk by faith, but by sight. In this consists the wisdom of the circle
to which I now belong. They have no doubts or fears, because doubts
are the results of blindness. What thou seest, thou canst not doubt or
fear, because the truth is not to be feared, but dispels doubts and
sorrows.
C. Is there no fact, which ought to be feared?
E. The most fearful thing, which spirits need to avoid, is their
neglect of wisdom. Their opposition to improvement is the most
dangerous thing which they need fear. It is what they should overcome.
Thy fears will vanish with the light of wisdom. They will not mar thy
joy, nor disturb thy quiet, when the wisdom of our circle teaches thee
the folly of fear. Not every one of thy companions will go with us. I
see a mind in yonder palace, who is waiting for my experience to aid
him. He will not be aided in that manner. He wishes me to test the
realities of my circle for him, but thou canst now see, that my test
will not be a test for him. When indolence asketh another to do what
belongeth to him who is controlled by it should do, the improvement
will be procrastinated until indolence is satisfied. There will be no
reform in the hands of indolence, and where there is no reform, there
is but little wisdom. I have seen much indolence in this castle. I
have seen much indifference to progress, and I am satisfied that no
wisdom can improve the condition of minds here, unless that wisdom be
received, to give vitality to the works of righteousness. I wait thy
response.
C. I will try thy circle.
E. Thou wilt not receive what is given thee without trying it, because
the trying is what will introduce thee into it.
C. Then, I can try it here.
E. Not till thou hast received it.
C. But, may I not receive it here, as elsewhere?
E. Thou mayest receive what thou canst here, and practice it; but what
thou lackest is sight. Now, thou only believest, because of my saying;
but when thou seest, thou wilt know, not because of my saying, but
because what thou seest will make thee know the wisdom which I now
declare unto thee. Thou wouldst prefer facts for faiths, realities for
doubts, and stability for uncertainty.
C. I will go with thee.
E. Who else?
The whole company were of one mind. They all said, “I will go.” I
recorded their names in the book of life, and found a thousand times
ten thousand, who sung a new song on the walls of scorn, and were
received into the temple not made with hands, as were the hundred and
forty and four thousand. They were made free from the bondage of fear
and doubt; and, when they were free, they said, “Glory, glory, to the
Lord God Almighty, who art from everlasting to everlasting, Supreme
over the works which he hath made; and who suffereth no unclean thing
to frustrate the immutable counsel of his wisdom and pleasure.” And the
voice of the temple was one voice; for joy was increased, when reform
was effectual in reclaiming so great a multitude.