Discovering Swedenborg

Last year in the Spring of 2014 I started on a journey, one that would help lead me closer to God. I have always been a spiritual person dedicated to my faith throughout my life. I had been a youth leader, graduated from Institute and served on it's committee, spoke at Stake Conference, dedicated to my church callings, but at this time, I desperately sought more light and knowledge than I had. I started to fervently pray for guidance and help to find new avenues that I could study that would help me to spiritually progress, as a Progressive Mormon, I felt I had hit a road block with some of the standard works, and was struggling at church to feel uplifted. I had been researching Near Death experiences simultaneously for new direction in my artwork, and in April of 2014, I stumbled upon a documentary on Emanuel Swedenborg called Splendors of the Spirit. My heart jumped and I was overcome with excitement, because I knew that I had found what I was looking for. Here is quick introduction to who he was.

I'm surprised that I had never heard of him, but I often refer to his works in my personal conversations. There are a lot of things I like about Swedenborg. First, I respect him and the kind of person he was, the life he lived, I appreciate what he felt called to do, and the countless contributions he gave both in the world and service in opening the scriptures (God's Word) to full understanding. I love that he published his works anonymously and felt so deeply about his mission that he used his own funds to publish and get these opened works to the people. So many people have been inspired by these ideas Helen Keller, Johnny Appleseed countless authors and artists, in fact Swedenborg influenced foundational ideas that shaped my own LDS church. This research concluded that the Book of Mormon used over 52 Swedenborg specific phrases, and key selections from the Four Doctrines. I found it very interesting. It was in high circulation in the US at the time. For more information here is a link to Vernal Holly's research http://sidneyrigdon.com/vern/1999swdn.htm

My excitement turned to frustration as studying Swedenborg did not come as easy as I had hoped. I struggle with limited funds to purchase the books I want to study. I have no one in close proximity to bump ideas off of or ask questions, and nobody I know seems interested in studying along with me. The difficulty of the language, often repetitiveness and symbolism are a little daunting for me to understand/grasp fully. So I hesitate to teach it to my kids until I understand it fully. I have been using my Sunday school lessons as a back drop for topics to study in the Bible Study Notes by Dole. It's a start and helps teach ideas at simple primary levels. I hope to eventually be able to purchase the traditional hard bound Acrana Celesta that have all the commentary supplemental helps, but will do my best with out them until I have funds.

From the very start I have enjoyed the loving messages that seem to resinate with me. I thought I'd start with the Genesis Story because it was the beginning. You can follow me on my journey as I try to discover new treasures from the Old and New Testament. For now I will be studying the Old Testament because that is what the seminaries are studying this year.

#Swedenborg #spirtuality