Conjugial Love

[...per]petual worship of God. They told them that the city was one of the courtyards leading to heaven, and that its temple was an entrance to a much larger and more magnificent temple in heaven, where the angels glorify God through prayers and praises for all eternity.

"It is ordained," they said, "both here and in heaven, that you must first enter the temple and stay there for three days and three nights. After this original: "initiation"; a formal admission or introduction into a new status or group initiation, you are to enter the houses of the city—which are actually chapels we have consecrated for divine worship—and in every house, join the congregation in a communion of prayers, praises, and original: "repetitions of holy things"; likely referring to the recitation of creeds, scriptures, or liturgy recitations of sacred teachings. You must also take care that nothing but pious, holy, and religious subjects enter your thoughts or become part of your conversation."

After this, the angel led his companions into the temple. They found it filled and crowded with many people who had held high positions on Earth, as well as many of an inferior class. Guards were stationed at the doors to prevent anyone from leaving until they had completed their three-day stay.

Then the angel said, "This is the second day since this current congregation entered the temple. Observe them, and you will see their manner of glorifying God."

When they examined the people, they noticed that most of them were fast asleep, and those who were awake were listless and yawning. Because they had kept their thoughts constantly elevated toward God without any attention to the original: "inferior concerns of the body"; the basic physical needs and functions of human life physical needs of the body, many of them appeared to themselves and others as if their faces were disconnected from their bodies. Several others had a wild and frantic look in their eyes because they had been disconnected from looking at the physical world for so long. In short, everyone was completely exhausted and seemed to feel a weight on their chest and a great weariness of spirit. This showed itself as a violent dislike for what they heard from the pulpit; they eventually shouted at the preacher to end his sermon, for their ears were original: "stunned"; overwhelmed or ringing from the continuous sound overwhelmed, they could not understand a single word he said, and the very sound of his voice had become painful to them.

They then all left their seats and, crowding together in a mass toward the doors, they broke them open and forced their way past the guards.

The priests then followed them, walking close by their side, teaching, praying, sighing, and encouraging them to celebrate the solemn festival, to glorify God, and to make themselves holy. "And then," the priests said, "we will initiate you into the eternal glorification of God in that most magnificent and spacious temple which is in heaven, and so introduce you to the enjoyment of eternal happiness."

However, these words made very little impression on them because their minds were so sluggish from the long period of keeping their thoughts elevated above their ordinary labors and activities.

But when they attempted to pull away, the priests grabbed hold of their hands and clothing in order to force [them to stay...]