Spiritual Experiences (Buss) n. 5917

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5917. THERE ARE TWO STATES OF MAN, ESPECIALLY OF A LEARNED MAN. With men who teach and who reason about Divine truths, there are two states; one when they are teaching and thinking from doctrine, the other when they think in themselves apart from doctrine. While they are in the former state, they are [not] then in a state from themselves, because only in thought from doctrine; and, as long as they are in this state, they know nothing else than that the things they are saying are true: at such times, they take the things they say from the memory. But, when they are in the second state, they are then in themselves; and they think from their will, or love, consequently from their life; and then they do not think anything from their doctrinal. This state is the proper one of a man's spirit, because he thinks from his will, or from his love, therefore from his life: the former state is not his proper one, because it is apart from the will, which constitutes the very life. After death, therefore, a man remains such as was his second state, because that state is the state of his life; but the former is not the proper state of the man, because this state is merely a state of thought from the memory. In the latter state, the former state is laid asleep; and, in that state, he is urged to speak as he then does by the love of fame. Many examples may be given of those, who, in their proper state, have thought against the Divine and against all things of the Church, but, in the former state, while they were preaching, have thought nothing else than that the truth really is as they [then] declared.


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