But I tell you they are all wrong, and their disappointment will be very great when they come into the spirit world. I know that many men believe that the performance of church duties and the observation of the requirements of the church as to baptism and the sacraments, etc., will be sufficient to enable them to get into the kingdom. There is only one way - that through the gate of prayer and sincere longing. But this should be modified to fit the exact fact, for there is no possibility of getting into this fold by climbing the fence. He that attempts to climb over the fence is a thief and a robber. In answer to prayer, there are other instrumentalities of the Father working to prepare the soul condition that is required, and these instrumentalities are the bright spirits of the celestial heavens whose duties, among others, are to answer the prayers of the penitent in the way of infilling the soul with influences, that turn the thoughts and aspirations to this divine love and its operations.Īs I said when on earth, there is no other way to get into the sheepfold but through the gateway provided. The Holy Spirit never performs this work of preparing the soul for the reception of this love, but merely brings the love and causes its inflowing when the soul is in condition to receive it. When a man in true earnestness and sincere aspirations prays to the Father for this divine love, such prayer not only brings love, but causes those portions of the soul which are capable of receiving this love to open up to its coming and to work in such a way as to attract the love. The only means by which this can be accomplished are prayer and faith. Of course, man cannot of himself open up his soul to this inflowing, for while he has great power, yet the will is not sufficient, nor has he any other inherent qualities that will enable him to place his soul in such condition, as to make possible the work of the Holy Spirit in causing the love to flow into the soul. There is only one way, and that is by the opening up of the soul in such a manner that this love, when it comes in response to sincere seeking, may find an entrance and a condition of development that will cause it to find a lodgment and abiding place, harmonious and satisfactory to the qualities of its own existence. So the important question is: 'How does it come into the soul, and what must men do to induce its inflowing?' It is waiting for all men to receive it, but never comes into the soul of its own initiative and without invitation. Into the souls of men, and comes only when men seek for it in sincerity and with effort. The only way in which the soul may become an inhabitant of the celestial spheres, is by its obtaining of the divine love and thereby become a partaker of the divine nature of the Father, and this can be accomplished only by the inflowing of the divine love by means of the operation of the Holy Spirit, which is the instrumentality used by God to carry this love to the souls of men. The soul may also become only the everlasting part of man in the spiritual kingdom, as contradistinguished from the celestial heavens. Well, the soul is the man and may become the angel of God's kingdom. I have also shown you how the physical and spiritual bodies change their component parts, and as such bodies, disintegrated and disappear in the form that they may have at any one time. I have already explained to you the difference between and the respective functions of the physical body, the spiritual body and the soul, and how the real man is the soul, which may live forever.
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