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 tained in His holy Word, and thereby effecting an intellectual and spiritual improvement in the condition of mankind. We believe that the time when this circumstance is to be accomplished is, when there no longer exists pure and spiritual truth in the professing church; and we believe that this state has actually overtaken the church which now popularly prevails. We believe, further, that a human instrument, chosen and commissioned by the Lord, is requisite to make known the Divine excellencies in which the second advent is to consist—that none but a good and wise man could be qualified for such a purpose—and that if such a one solemnly declares that he has been so selected, he is entitled to credit, provided he sustains his profession as Swedenborg has done, by delivering to the world a body of Divine doctrines before unknown, and yet drawn from the Holy Scriptures, and confirmed by the testimony of their literal sense.

These doctrines we venture to recommend to your intellectual study and affectionate acceptance, because we are assured that they are the truest and the best. Allow me also earnestly to solicit your pecuniary assistance in giving them publicity through the medium of the press. In doing this, our only desire is to assist in the promotion of that piety and truth—that sincerity, wisdom, and goodness, which are the inseparable companions of a pure, precious, and imperishable religion—a religion eminently calculated to confer on man the love of God, and which teaches that the true way to heaven is to be unceasingly employed in the endeavour to add something to the wisdom and happiness of our fellow Creatures.