Page:Heaven Revealed.djvu/167

 "The Lord's spiritual kingdom in the heavens is various according to what appertains to faith, insomuch that there is not one society, nor even one in a society, who, in those things which relate to the truth of faith, is entirely agreed with others as to his ideas. Nevertheless the "Lord's spiritual kingdom in the heavens is one, because all account charity as principal; for charity constitutes the spiritual church, and not faith, unless you say that faith is charity. Whoever is principled in charity, loves his neighbor, and with regard to his dissenting from him in matters of belief, this he excuses, provided only that he lives in goods and truths. He does not even condemn the well-disposed Gentiles, although they are ignorant of the Lord, and know not any truth of faith; for he who lives in charity, that is, in good, receives such truths from the Lord as suit with his good; and good Gentiles receive such truths as in another life may be bended into truths of faith."—A. C, n. 3267.

"Let this truth be received as a principle, that love to the Lord and charity towards our neighbor are the essentials on which hang all the law, and concerning which all the prophets speak, and thus that they are the essentials of all doctrine and of all worship, then all heresies would vanish, and out of many churches would be formed one church, however they might differ as to doctrines and rituals. . . Then all would be governed as one man by the Lord, being like the members and organs of our body, which, although diverse in their forms and functions, have nevertheless relation to one heart on which they all depend both in general and in particular, be their respective forms ever so various. In this case, too, every one would say of another, in whatsoever doctrine or in whatsoever external worship he was principled. This is my brother; I see that he worships the Lord, and that he is a good man."—Ibid. n. 2385.