In many cases, the spiritual meaning of "own," both as a verb and as an adjective, is relatively literal. When people are described as the "Lord's own," however, it specifically means those people who know Him and have His Word. This has taken various forms since the dawn of humanity; in the prehistoric church known as the "Most Ancient Church" the Lord's truth -- the direct expression of His love -- flowed into people directly. In the Ancient Church the Lord's Word was recognized in nature and in the form of deeply representative stories, some of which were passed on to us in the early chapters of Genesis. Among the Children of Israel the Lord's Word was expressed through the Ten Commandments, the laws of Moses, the very history of the nation of Israel and the various psalms and prophecies. The early Christians had those stories along with the teaching and inspiration of Jesus himself. We now have the whole Bible, including the teachings of Jesus, and can understand the Bible's true meaning. Each of these churches, then, was at some point the Lord's own.

1976. ¹ About a wicked sharing

Some female spirits came to me, I presume not long departed from the life of the body, for they were still unaware that they were in the other life, but when it was pointed out to them, they were able to recall.

They first appeared as if they were good, for that was the air they put on, but when they had withdrawn, I heard from others that they were wicked, being among those who think a sharing of sexual intercourse between women and men to be not only allowable, but even holy. They say they had been born in sins, and they could not hold themselves back from this indulgence, so they think it unclean to be joined to any others than those of the same mind. In fact, they revile marriage, because to them it is not holy, even characterizing marriages as unclean.

I was told there are such people of both sexes in human societies, who engage in this sharing without the purpose of marriage, marital love, and having children, thus only to satisfy their lust-a life they called most enjoyable, which they had led since childhood.

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