121. Many people believe that simply believing what the church teaches cleanses us from our evils; some believe that this is achieved by doing good, some that what is needed is knowing, discussing, and teaching about churchly matters; some opt for reading the Word and devotional literature, some for going to church and listening to sermons and especially taking Communion, some for renouncing the world and being resolutely devout, some for confessing themselves guilty of all sins--the list goes on and on. However, none of these activities cleanses us unless we examine ourselves, see our sins, admit them, accept responsibility for them, and repent by not committing them any more, doing all this apparently on our own but at heart acknowledging that it comes from the Lord.

[2] Until this happens, none of the things I just listed helps. They are being done either for credit or hypocritically. To angels in heaven, people of this sort look either like beautiful harlots with the rank smell of disease, or like misshapen women made up to look attractive. Or again, they may look like actors playing their roles, like mimes on stage, or like apes dressed up in human clothes.

Once the evils have been banished, though, then the behaviors I have listed become filled with love, and these individuals look beautifully human to angels in heaven, like their own friends and companions.