Transcription
Welcome to the similarities between the teachings of Emmanuel Swedenborg and Joseph Smith video.
All right, a statement by Benjamin E. Park. He says, "Where did Joseph Smith get his ideas?" Well, some of the more mystical elements echoed spiritualist figures like Emmanuel Swedenborg. So, he's saying Joseph Smith was influenced by Swedenborg.
All right, a statement here by Catherine L. Albanese. She says, "Joseph Smith likewise knew something of the mystical revelations of the then-celebrated Swedish author and visionary Emmanuel Swedenborg." Joseph Smith was familiar with him and knew something of him. And Swedenborg, who in Smith's 19th-century upstate New York environment, had become something of a hermetic household magus. So, people in Joseph Smith's area knew about Swedenborg, and Joseph Smith himself knew about Swedenborg.
This can be found in the book *Joseph Smith Jr.: Reappraisals After Two Centuries*, edited by Reid Nielsen and Terrell Givens. And this article was by Catherine L. Albanese in this book.
All right, so a little bit of information about Swedenborg. This is from Wikipedia. He was born in 1688 and died in 1772. So, that's well before Joseph Smith was born. He was a Swedish pluralistic Christian theologian, scientist, philosopher, and mystic. And I think he was also a baron, so a pretty smart guy.
So, we know that Joseph Smith was familiar with Swedenborg because he actually made a comment about Swedenborg. This can be found in D. Michael Quinn's book *Early Mormonism and the Magic World View*. The prophet Joseph Smith said the following: "Emanuel Swedenborg had a view of things to come, but for daily food, he perished." So, kind of a cryptic comment. I don't really know what that means. He had a view of things to come, but for daily food, he perished. And I guess Joseph Smith was there to offer the correct daily food.
All right, another key figure in the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of course, was Parley P. Pratt. He wrote an influential book entitled *Key to the Science of Theology* in 1855. And in there, he also shows that he was familiar with Swedenborg. The Apostle Parley P. Pratt said that Swedenborg's revelations were received from unholy spirits. So, that's what Pratt said. You know, maybe Swedenborg received his revelations from the devil or from unholy spirits.
And Parley's brother was Orson Pratt. He was also an Apostle and he was familiar with Swedenborg as well. You can find this in the *Millennial Star*, 1848. Orson Pratt said, "Swedenborg taught doctrines in some respects true and in other respects false."
And another key figure in the early Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was Sidney Rigdon. He was probably familiar with Swedenborg as well. This comes from an article by Marianne Myers in *Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought*, 1983. Of course, Rigdon was a member of the First Presidency and he was a key figure in the entire restoration. Mary says, "Sydney Rigdon was a native of Pittsburgh, where Swedenborgians were active as early as 1790." So, well before the Book of Mormon was published, Swedenborg and Swedenborgians were active in Sidney Rigdon's area.
And we know that Sidney Rigdon was close with a minister named Alexander Campbell. Alexander Campbell had his own periodical. He was the editor. The periodical was called *Millennial Harbinger*. And in there, there are some accounts about Swedenborg. So, maybe Sidney Rigdon would have been reading this paper because he was a follower and a believer in Alexander Campbell's teachings. It looks like it's like a letter to the editor, some kind of a traveler's reply, excerpts from the traveler's journal. But this came out in 1830, so very early on, you know, very early on in the restoration of the Mormon Church. So, this traveler said, "I read two hours in the visions of Swedenborg on heaven and hell and a sketch of his life."
All right, so this traveler, who went by the name of Francis, was actually introduced to Sidney Rigdon, according to this *Millennial Harbinger* periodical. So, the traveler said, "I had the privilege of spending several days at Alexander Campbell's house. I was introduced also to Walter Scott, to Sydney Rigdon, to Adamson Bentley, etc." So, that's interesting. Somebody who was reading about Swedenborg seemed to know some information about Swedenborg, also was introduced to Rigdon.
Okay, Swedenborg's most popular book in America was *Heaven and Its Wonders and Hell*. So, that was pretty popular in America and Joseph Smith's area. The book was originally written in Latin in 1758 and translated into English in 1812, so well before the Book of Mormon was published and the church was restored. So, this was his popular work. And there's going to be a lot of parallels, a lot of similarities in this book to Joseph Smith's teachings and the restoration of the gospel.
John G. Turner, a professor at George Mason University, in his book *Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet*, said, "*Heaven and Its Wonders and Hell*, the book by Swedenborg, became an American bestseller in the 1820s." So, that's interesting.
All right, so Joseph Smith and the other early church leaders who were familiar with Swedenborg, they didn't necessarily need to read this *Heaven and Hell* book because the information in that book was summarized in a lot of other places, you know, shorter pamphlets, other books, etc. And we get this information from John L. Brooke from his book *The Refiner's Fire*. An excellent book. And he says, "Swedenborg's cosmos was summarized in various short texts available in the Palmyra, New York area, and translations of his original texts would not have been too difficult to locate in the 1830s." So, yeah, summarizing in other pamphlets, other books, etc. We'll go into a few of those in the Palmyra, New York area where Joseph Smith lived.
All right, and we also know that one of Swedenborg's books was in the library in Palmyra. This, according to Brandon G. Kinney, in his book which came out in 2011 called *The Mormon War*. He says, "The library in Palmyra, New York, where where young Joseph Smith spent much of his youth, had an 1817 edition of the popular *Theophany Arcana Celestia* of Emmanuel Swedenborg." So, that book, *Arcana Celestia*, however you say that, was in the library in Palmyra, New York. So, Joseph Smith could have gone over there and had access to it.
All right, there was also an article about Swedenborg in the *Western Repository*, a newspaper that was close to where Joseph Smith lived. This is also found in Quinn's book *Early Mormonism and the Magic World View*. On December 6, 1808, so well before the Book of Mormon, etc., 1808, a newspaper article about Swedenborg appeared on the front page of a Canandaigua newspaper. The newspaper was called the *Western Repository*, and that newspaper was in a town only 12 miles from Joseph Smith's home. So, maybe he would have seen this article.
All right, there was also a newspaper advertisement for Swedenborg's book *Heaven and Its Wonders and Hell* that appeared in 1826. So, it's still pre-Book of Mormon. It was a mail-order newspaper advertisement in a Canandaigua newspaper. So, yeah, Joseph Smith may have seen this as well.
All right, some more information from Quinn's book. I'm paraphrasing here. Joseph Smith probably did read books that contain information about Swedenborg and his doctrines. These books were Sibley's *Complete Illustration of the Occult Sciences*, which came out in 1807, which had a pretty long summary and introduction to Swedenborg's works. So, we got Sibley's book. And then we have a three-volume text on *Religions of the World*, which had an article on Swedenborg as well. Joseph Smith was probably familiar with these books.
And Michael W. Homer had an interesting statement in *Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought*, 1994. He said, "Mormonism and spiritualism share a common ancestor in Swedenborgianism." So, that's interesting. Mormonism has a common ancestor in Swedenborgianism.
All right, another way that Joseph Smith may have been introduced to Swedenborg's teachings. Maybe it came from one of his wives. He married Sarah Cleveland around 1842. Sarah was also married to John Cleveland, a Swedenborgian. Swedenborgian is just a member of Swedenborg's church. Swedenborg did establish a church. Joseph Smith was married to his wife, Sarah Cleveland. So, we got some polyandry there. A little meme here about Joseph Smith and his plural marriages. He had 34 wives. Age of the youngest was 14. 11 of them were already married. People like Sarah Cleveland, she was already married to John Cleveland, but that didn't stop Joseph Smith from marrying her and 10 others. One mother-daughter pair. It's kind of weird. And eight biological sister wives. Kind of weird, marrying both sisters. And he had seven teenage brides. So, how is this very different from the fundamentalist leader Warren Jeffs, pictured on the left here?
All right, so we also know that Joseph and Emma Smith stayed with the Clevelands in their spacious home in Quincy, Illinois. Joseph stayed there for 17 days in 1839. So, he would have been talking to John Cleveland, the husband. So, maybe getting introduced to some of Swedenborg's teachings. You can find this in George D. Smith's book *Nauvoo Polygamy*, 2008.
All right, some more information. And I failed to mention this source, but it's Craig W. Miller. We got a lot of information from his article about Joseph Smith and Swedenborg. Craig Miller's article is entitled, "Did Emmanuel Swedenborg Influence LDS Doctrine?" You can see the address for it here. This information he obtained from a book by William E. Hunter, *Edward Hunter: Faithful Steward*, 1970. So, a man named Edward Hunter converted to the LDS Church in 1839. He became a presiding bishop, but formerly, Hunter was a Swedenborgian. Joseph Smith stayed with Hunter for three days and discussed a number of topics, including the teachings of Swedenborg. So, that's interesting. Joseph Smith and Edward Hunter talking, I guess 1839 or later, but you know, Hunter was a former Swedenborgian before he joined the Mormon Church.
All right, so that is some evidence about how Joseph Smith may have heard about Swedenborg. Let's get into some of the parallels and the similarities here. Now, a lot of these are going to come from Craig W. Miller.
Both Joseph Smith and Swedenborg were visited by the Savior. So, that's interesting.
All right, so Swedenborg said that this being, the Savior, appeared to him in the midst of a strong, shining light. So, very similar to Joseph Smith's description of the First Vision. You can find this in Ed Bliss's book, *What Mormons Don't Know About Mormonism*, 2007. It's very similar to the CES Letter. A lot of the same information, but some different. And, you know, he explains things a little different. It's about as long as the CES Letter, about 150 pages. So, if you read the CES Letter and you really liked that, I would recommend that you read this as well. Ed Bliss, *What Mormons Don't Know About Mormonism*.
All right, so there was an account of this vision by Swedenborg, the vision of the Lord coming to him, in an article entitled "Swedenborgians" in the *Reflector* newspaper in Palmyra, New York, where Joseph Smith lived. And this account in this newspaper appeared on March 16, 1830, like two years before Joseph Smith had recorded his First Vision. The first recorded account is after this article in the *Reflector*. So, in this article, it says, "The Lord manifested himself to him, that Swedenborg, by a personal appearance." So, maybe Joseph Smith got the idea for a First Vision from Swedenborg. Swedenborg certainly was not the only one having these types of visions. However, there was a lot of people pretending to be prophets and mystics and receiving revelations, etc.
All right, they talked about Swedenborg's vision in the *Western Repository* as well, newspaper, December 6, 1808. It said in there, "The Being, or the Lord, said, 'I am God, the Lord, the Creator and the Redeemer. I have chosen the Swedenborg to explain to men the sacred writings.'" Now, listen to this part: "I, the Lord, will dictate to thee, Swedenborg, what thou oughtest to write." So, writing down revelations, you know, very similar to what Joseph Smith did with the Book of Mormon. I had a First Vision of the Lord or of God and Jesus. And then, you know, having all the experience with the Angel Moroni, who told them or told Joseph Smith to translate what was on the golden plates. Well, for Swedenborg, "I, the Lord, will dictate to him, Swedenborg, what thou oughtest to write." So, very similar.
And another parallel here, pointed out by Craig Miller. Swedenborg said that he conversed with angels on a daily basis for 27 years. So, Joe Smith made similar claims. I mentioned the Angel Moroni, all kinds of angels in the Kirtland Temple, etc.
All right, we also know that Swedenborg founded a church as well. It was called the New Jerusalem Church. So, they had that in common as well. And I believe this one pictured above is one of Swedenborg's churches from the New Jerusalem Church. Looks pretty nice.
All right, another interesting fact, and this is the fact that probably most people will know if they know anything about Swedenborg and Joseph Smith. Swedenborg divided the heavens into three categories or three levels, I guess: the celestial, the spiritual, and the natural. Of course, the celestial is the same word that Joseph Smith used. The word spiritual and natural are different. Joseph Smith called them, of course, terrestrial and telestial. So, of course, the LDS Church also divides heaven into three: celestial kingdom, terrestrial kingdom, telestial kingdom, kind of as pictured above. There's outer darkness for a very few sons of perdition. You can read about this in Doctrine and Covenants, Section 76.
All right, so it's important to note that this revelation in Doctrine and Covenants, Section 76, was given to Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and to Sidney Rigdon. We had talked about Sidney Rigdon being close to Alexander Campbell, Swedenborg being mentioned in the *Millennial Harbinger*, Campbell's newspaper. So, it's interesting that these two got this revelation on the three degrees of glory, which is very similar to Swedenborg. So, of course, it says the heading to D&C 76 says that a vision was given to Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and to Sidney Rigdon at Hiram, Ohio, February 16, 1832.
Right back to Craig W. Miller. Swedenborg likened the celestial, spiritual, and natural heavens to the sun, moon, and stars. Sounds familiar, eh?
All right, so Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon also described these three kingdoms as the sun, moon, and stars. And D&C 76 again. I'll read this quickly. "We saw the terrestrial world, whose glory whose glory differs from that of the church of the firstborn, who have received the fullness of the Father, even as that of the moon differs from the sun in the firmament. We saw the glory of the telestial, which glory is that of the lesser, even as the glory of the stars differs from that of the glory of the moon in the firmament." So, again, these three kingdoms of heaven being compared to the sun, moon, and stars, both by Rigdon, both by Rigdon and Smith, and Swedenborg. Pictured above here, you have the whole plan of salvation. You can see on the right side, the celestial kingdom in the yellow, that's the sun. Terrestrial kingdom in the blue, that's the moon. And telestial kingdom in the red, that's the stars.
All right, so Joseph Smith also mentioned this idea of the heavens being divided into sun, moon, and stars in his Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible, First Corinthians chapter 15. It's interesting to note that Sidney Rigdon was the principal scribe for the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible. So, again, they're kind of working on this together. And then they're kind of working, or they kind of got the vision for D&C 76 as well, together. These verses in First Corinthians 15:40-42 were probably translated "quote unquote" shortly before the vision in D&C 76. So, this was the first scripture about this, and then D&C 76 came shortly after. It's interesting, you know, Rigdon and Smith working on this together. So, I'll read this quickly: "Also, celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial, and bodies telestial; for the glory of the celestial is one, and the terrestrial another, and the telestial another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star in glory; so also is the resurrection of the dead."
Back to Craig Miller here. Swedenborg said that those of the lower heavens, in general, cannot see the inhabitants of the higher heavens. So, that's very similar to what a lot of church general authorities have said. You know, the people in the lower cannot go up higher, but the people in the higher can go down into the lower, or or see what's going on in the inhabitants of the lower.
Miller continues here. Swedenborg said that communication does occur between the higher and the lower realms. There are angels who communicate between the heavens. So, very similar to some of the teachings of the general authorities.
All right, a very similar idea here in D&C 76 to what Swedenborg is talking about. It says, "These in the telestial kingdom, the lowest kingdom, are they who receive not of his fullness in the eternal world, but of the Holy Spirit through the ministration of the terrestrial." So, the terrestrial administers to the lower kingdom, telestial, through the Holy Spirit, or the Holy Ghost. And the terrestrial, through the ministration of the celestial. So, the celestial minister to those in the terrestrial kingdom, and also the telestial will receive it of the ministration of angels, who are who are appointed to minister for them, or who are appointed to be ministering spirits for them in the telestial, for they shall be heirs of salvation. So, very similar to what Swedenborg was saying.
All right, another similarity here, pointed out by Miller. Priesthood robes are worn in heavenly marriage ceremonies. Wow, how similar is that to what goes on in getting married in the temple for the Mormon Church? Priesthood robes are worn in heavenly marriage ceremonies. Up on the left, you can see how the men dress in the temple ceremony. The one in the picture on the right here is some priesthood robes of the Catholic Church. The husband wore robes like those of Aaron, while the wife was arrayed as a queen.
Miller continues here. Swedenborg said that there were three heavens in the celestial glory or kingdom. Very interesting. So, the celestial kingdom is divided into three heavens or three areas. And of course, the Mormon Church believes the same. And we find the Mormon teaching in D&C 131, verse 1: "In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees." So, exactly the same as Swedenborg.
All right, another similarity or parallel pointed out by Miller. Swedenborg said that you must be married in heaven to inherit the highest heaven. Huh, wonder where Joseph Smith got that idea.
All right, an interesting statement here by John L. Brooke. Swedenborg claimed that marriage should be a new covenant or a spiritual union. Huh, ever heard of the new and everlasting covenant of marriage that the Mormons talk about?
All right, so here is the Mormon source: D&C 131:2. "And in order to obtain the highest, that's the highest degree in the celestial kingdom, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood, meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage." You got to have that new and everlasting covenant in order to make it into the highest. So, very similar to Swedenborg. And in fact, there is a book entitled *The New and Everlasting Covenant*, talking about marriage.
All right, a statement here by Albanese again. Swedenborg taught that there would be conjugal, is that how you say that? He taught that there would be conjugal love between heavenly soul mates.
All right, and to get to a little bit more detail about what about what Swedenborg meant, you can read his book *Marital Love*. It's wise delights. Swedenborg said that married couples would enjoy an intercourse like that in the world. This is in heaven. And of course, he's talking about having sex. But this intercourse would be pleasanter and more blessed, but the result would be no offspring. So, you could have sex, be very pleasant and blessed, this intercourse between married couples, but no offspring. So, of course, Mormons believe you'll have sex in heaven if you get into the highest degree of glory in the celestial, but they believe that it will result in offspring, spirit offspring, which they will then populate their own planets.
All right, so what about Mother in Heaven? Well, Catherine L. Albanese talks about Swedenborg's teachings about this. Swedenborg's teachings have hints of the Father-Mother God of Hermeticism. We're not going to get into what Hermeticism is. You can look that up on your own. But Swedenborg talks about this idea of a Father-Mother God or of a heavenly mother.
All right, so in an editorial footnote in the *History of the Church*, Volume 5, page 254, it quotes Joseph Smith as saying, "Come to me. Here's the mysteries that man hath not seen. Here is our Father in Heaven and our Mother, the Queen." So, this idea that God is married with at least one wife, and probably plural wives. God the Father in Heaven is married to the Mother, or the Queen, or the Heavenly Mother.
All right, so according to Miller, both Swedenborg and Joseph Smith taught the idea of a spirit world. Swedenborg said that the world of spirits is a place of preparation for either heaven or perdition. Very similar to Smith.
All right, statement here by Brent and Wendy Top in their book *Glimpses Beyond Death's Door*. I think these are true, true-believing Mormons. Swedenborg did describe in some detail the spirit world, preaching of the gospel to those who on earth lived good lives but did not there enjoy such knowledge.
All right, so a little bit more detail about what Swedenborg was talking about. This comes from his book *Concerning the Earths in Our Solar System*, 1758. "The gentiles, or the non-Mormons, or the non-Swedenborgians, I guess he would say, the gentiles in another life are instructed by angels, and they who have lived good lives according to their religious principles receive the truths of faith." Kind of like in this spirit world, this interim, so after you die but before you're resurrected, those who live good lives will have a chance to hear the gospel. And Swedenborg talks about this. They can learn the religious principles, receive the truths of faith, and they can acknowledge the Lord.
All right, so here is the Mormon teachings: Doctrine and Covenants, Section 137, verse 8. "Also, all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom." So, very similar.
The spirit world is also talked about in the Book of Mormon, Alma chapter 40, verse 21. You can look at the whole plan of salvation here, pictured above, and the spirit world is right in the middle between death and resurrection.
Okay, the Book of Mormon says, "There is a space between death and the resurrection of the body, and a state of the soul in happiness or in misery until the time which is appointed of God, that the dead shall come forth and be reunited both soul and body, and be brought to stand before God, and be judged according to their works." So, that space between death and the resurrection of the body, the spirit world. Both Swedenborg and Smith talk about it in their holy, quote unquote, writings.
All right, so both Swedenborg and Smith talk about an apostasy or a falling away from the true church of Christ. Miller says Swedenborg said that the church that Christ established has passed from the earth. And Joseph Smith, in his history, put it like this: "My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects or the religions were right. I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong." So, again, both Swedenborg and Smith talking about this apostasy. And Swedenborg said that the Lord will establish a new church on the earth once more. And Swedenborg did establish that church. We talked about it a little bit already, the New Jerusalem Church. And here is Joseph Smith's account of establishing the new church: D&C 1:30. "And also those to whom these commandments were given might have power to lay the foundation of this church, the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth." So, we got both Swedenborg and Smith restoring the church because of the apostasy, the falling away of Christ's church in the beginning.
All right, another similarity, pointed out again by Miller. Swedenborg said that little children who die, Christian or not, go directly to heaven. Sounds familiar, right?
All right, so Swedenborg put it like this, in his book *Heaven and Its Wonders and Hell*, 1812 English edition: "Every infant dying such, whether he be born in the church or out of the church, whether of godly or ungodly parents, is accepted of the Lord. Every infant is accepted of the Lord who dies, and they will be educated by angels."
All right, the Book of Mormon in Moroni chapter 8 puts it like this: "This thing shall ye teach, repentance and baptism unto those who are accountable and capable of committing sin. But little children are not. Yea, teach parents that they must repent and be baptized, and humble themselves as their little children, and they shall all be saved with their little children. And here's a key part: And their little children need no repentance, neither baptism, but little children are alive in Christ." So, in other words, their infants or little children are saved. They don't need to repent, they don't need baptism. They are alive in Christ. So, very similar to Swedenborg.
Okay, both of them talked about the opposition in all things. Swedenborg said that without opposition in all things, the universe would not exist, and men would appear dead.
All right, so the Book of Mormon puts it like this in 2 Nephi chapter 2, verse 11, talking about the opposition in all things and the idea that men would appear dead. So, let's read this quickly: "For it must needs be that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor evil. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one. Wherefore, if it should be one body, it must needs remain as dead." Very similar to Swedenborg, having no life, neither death, nor corruption, nor incorruption, happiness, nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility. So, you got to have this opposition in all things. I actually believe in this. I think this is true.
All right, Swedenborg said that man is not saved by faith alone. So, I guess he's not a born-again Christian. But man must show works from a changed heart. You've got to have works, not just faith. The sign pictured above here will work for salvation. I don't really believe in this. I just believe in being saved by grace.
All right, the Book of Mormon puts it like this in Alma chapter 11:37. "God cannot save them in their sins, for I cannot deny his word. And he hath said that no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, how can ye be saved except ye inherit the kingdom of heaven? Therefore, ye cannot be saved in your sins." You got to do good works. There's other scriptures in the Book of Mormon and other Mormon scriptures that talk about this. So, here we see the man pushing the boulder up the hill. You have to earn your salvation.
All right, another interesting fact here from Charles Holly, an article entitled "Swedenborgianism and the Frontier," *Church History*, 1937. I guess that's some kind of a journal. One of Swedenborg's cherished projects was in the direction of temperance, or in other words, the absolute prohibition of alcoholic beverages. Hmm, wonder who else came up with that idea.
All right, so the Mormon teaching is in Doctrine and Covenants, Section 89. "Inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you, behold, it is not good, neither meet in the sight of your Father. And again, strong drinks are not for the belly, but for the washing of your bodies."
All right, Swedenborg was not a big fan of eating meat as well. An idea that also shows up in the Doctrine and Covenants. This is Emmanuel Swedenborg, *Heavenly Arcana*, Book 1, 1756. He says, "Eating the flesh of animals, considered in itself, is somewhat profane. For in the most ancient times, they never ate the flesh of any beast or bird, but only grain, especially bread made of wheat, the fruits of the trees, vegetables, milks, and such things as are made from them, as butter, etc." Joseph Smith came up with a similar idea.
All right, so in the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 89, it's put this way: "Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving. Nevertheless, they are to be used sparingly. And it is pleasing unto me that they, that is the meat, should not be used only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine." Well, the church doesn't do that these days, but they don't live according to their own scriptures. "All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life, as also the fruit of the vine, that which yieldeth the fruit, whether in the ground or above the ground." So, all these red parts are very, very, very similar to Swedenborg. Got a little joke here, pictured above in this meme. It's winter or famine somewhere in the world, so let's go ahead and eat meat.
All right, Swedenborg also taught about sons of perdition. Maybe Joe Smith got his ideas for sons of perdition from Swedenborg. So, Miller says, "Swedenborg taught that one way to qualify for perdition is to know the truth and then deny it."
All right, so the Prophet Joseph Smith said something very similar in his King Follett sermon, delivered on April 7, 1844. One of his last sermons, I believe, that he gave. We'll read this quickly. All the parts in red are similar to the Swedenborg teachings. "All sins shall be forgiven except the sin against the Holy Ghost, for Jesus will save all except the sons of perdition. What must a man do to commit the unpardonable sin? He must receive the Holy Ghost, have the heavens opened unto him, and know God, and then sin against him. After a man has sinned against the Holy Ghost, there is no repentance for him. He has got to say that the sun does not shine while he sees it. He has got to deny Jesus Christ when the heavens have been opened unto him, and to deny the plan of salvation with his eyes open to the truth of it." So, very similar.
All right, so both Swedenborg and Smith taught about the law of consecration. Swedenborg taught that celestial beings incorporate the law of consecration into their lives. Interesting. Gordon B. Hinckley, the President of the Mormon Church, said, "The law of sacrifice and the law of consecration have not been done away with and are still in effect." And indeed, they show up in the temple ceremony, which we'll read next.
All right, so everybody that goes through the Mormon temple ceremony, the endowment, I believe accepts the law of consecration. So, here is the wording. Here is the wording from the temple ceremony. And we have Noah to thank for this. He's pictured above. You can watch his videos on YouTube of all of the Mormon temple ceremonies. So, here's what it says in the temple ceremony: "You and each of you covenant and promise before God, angels, and these witnesses at this altar, that you do accept the law of consecration, and that you do consecrate yourselves, your time, talents, and everything with which the Lord has blessed you, or with which he may bless you. You consecrate all of that to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the building up of the kingdom of God on the earth. Each of you bow your head and say, 'Yes.'" So, you promise, you covenant, you swear to this law of consecration. Swedenborg also had a similar teaching.
All right, Swedenborg also taught that all things in the physical world exist due to the existence of a spiritual quality cause that then brings about a physical world effect. So, all things kind of exist spiritually that brings about the physical world effect. Pictured above here, Swedenborg made a statement as well. He said, "All the things that exist in the physical world are present in the spiritual world in their perfection, including books and documents and much more."
All right, so Joseph Smith said something very similar in the Book of Moses, chapter 3, verse 5. That's in the Pearl of Great Price. Says, "I, the Lord God, created all things, created all things, plants, herbs, man, woman, of which I have spoken spiritually before they were naturally upon the face of the earth. I, the Lord, created all things spiritually before they were naturally upon the face of the earth." So, very similar.
All right, and Miller says that Swedenborg also said that God is man. God is man. And Albanese put it like this: "Swedenborg taught that God was a divine human." Sounds familiar, right?
All right, so the Prophet Joseph Smith put it like this: "God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, like a divine man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens." So, very similar. Lorenzo Snow made a couplet out of this idea: "As man now is, God once was; as God is now, man may be." So, very similar to Swedenborg.
And Swedenborg also claimed that there are millions of inhabited earths. This has been talked about in Ed Bliss's book again.
All right, so here is a passage from Swedenborg's book *Concerning the Earths of Our Solar System*, 1758. "I had a desire to know whether other earths exist. It has been granted me of the Lord to discourse and converse with spirits and angels who are from other earth." So, there are other earths, according to Swedenborg, and he has conversed with the spirits and angels from those other planets or earths.
All right, so Joseph Smith put it like this in the Book of Moses again, chapter 1, verse 33. "And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose." And in D&C section 88, verse 37, it puts it like this: "And there are many kingdoms; for there is no space, no space out there in the universe, in the which there is no kingdom." So, the space is filled full of these kingdoms, filled full of these other earths, other inhabitants, other human inhabitants.
All right, and Swedenborg also talks about the Lord being the sun. This is again *Concerning the Earths in Our Solar System* book. He says, "The Lord is the sun of heaven, from whom all light therein is derived." And Joseph Smith put it like this in Doctrine and Covenants, Section 88, verse 7: "Christ is in the sun, and the light of the sun." So, very similar, "and the power thereof by which it was made."
All right, so Swedenborg also talks about the moon being inhabited. Joseph Smith probably mentioned something similar. Swedenborg says that there are inhabitants in the moon, is well known to spirits and angels. I'm not sure why he uses the word "in the moon." I don't know if he means "on the moon."
Okay, Oliver B. Huntington said that Joseph Smith believed that the moon was inhabited as well. This is in the *Young Women's Journal*, February 6, 1892. Oliver says, "As far back as 1837, I know that he, Joseph Smith, said that the moon was inhabited by men and women the same as this earth." And there's a lot of other accounts of this as well. You can go watch my video, "Mormon Moon Men and Other Space Inhabitants." I think that's what it's called. Brigham Young said something similar. He said, "Who can tell us of the inhabitants of this little planet that shines of an evening called the moon?" So, Brigham Young saying, yes, there are inhabitants on the moon. He continues, "So it is in regard to the inhabitants of the sun. Do you think that it is inhabited? The sun? I rather think that it is. Do you think there is any life there? No question of it. It was not made in vain." And that was a very common, a common belief in the 19th century that the moon and the sun were inhabited.
All right, Swedenborg also taught about eternal progression. Another Mormon teaching. This is from Ed Bliss's book again. Swedenborg taught that humans would eternally progress in love, faith, and charity. And this is how Swedenborg put it. He says, "It is evident that they," and he's talking about spirits and angels, "are continually advancing in wisdom." And I believe he says spirits and angels are human. And he says they are continually advancing in wisdom.
All right, so the Prophet Brigham Young taught this eternal progression idea as well. "When we have learned to live according to the full value of the life we now possess, we are prepared for further advancement in the scale of eternal progression for a more glorious and exalted sphere." So, this idea of eternal progression, very similar between the two, Swedenborg, Joseph Smith, Brigham Young.
All right, another similar teaching is the pre-existence, or the premortal life. Both Smith and Swedenborg taught about this. Swedenborg taught that spirits were matched with each other in a premortal life and said that "two souls which grew up together before life are bound to find each other again on earth." So, this idea of soul mates. Joseph Smith doesn't get too much into that, but it's interesting that they both believed in this pre-existence.
All right, Todd Compton talks about this in his book *In Sacred Loneliness*. He says, "This Swedenborg doctrine of the pre-existence foreshadows the doctrine that Joseph taught Mary Elizabeth Lightner when he proposed to her." So, maybe that was the idea of soul mates, you know, that they were destined to be together, that they had made some type of agreement in the pre-existence that Joseph Smith would marry Mary Elizabeth Lightner. But it's very similar to the Swedenborg doctrine.
All right, it's also interesting to note that Emmanuel Swedenborg talks about the Urim and Thummim and the stones therein. This in his book *Heaven and Its Wonders and Hell*. He says, "The precious stones in the Urim and Thummim, according to their colors respectively, signify the whole of divine truth."
All right, so Joseph Smith talks about this Urim and Thummim as well. This account here is from the *History of the Church*, Volume 5. It says, "With the records was found a curious instrument which the ancients called the Urim and Thummim, which consisted of two transparent stones set in the rim of a bow fastened to a breastplate." So, they both talk about this Urim and Thummim.
All right, so that's going to do it for this video. Quite a few similarities here. Probably a lot of these similarities, a lot of people are not familiar with. This comes from digging deep and finding all of these accounts and sources. But it's very interesting to compare the two. They're very similar prophets, quote unquote, prophets. But that's going to do it for this video, and I thank you for watching. The similarities between the teachings of Emmanuel Swedenborg and Joseph Smith video.