47. Their lot in the other life is this. At first they take several wives as well as concubines there as they did in the world, but because in the spiritual world there is conjunction of minds, and those who disagree in mind cannot remain together, but they separate of their own accord, and eventually they mate with a woman of similar mind, thus by degrees they separate from their wives, and finally are united with one, with whom their mind agrees. Moreover, those who persist in polygamy in course of time become so weak and impotent that they become disgusted with marriage, for this is the effect of lasciviousness.

There are two aspects to the life of each person. We might call them "heart" and "mind," a part of us that wants and feels and a part of us that thinks and knows. The Writings usually refer to these as the "will" and the "understanding." They are reflections, and receptacles, of the Lord's infinite love and infinite wisdom. Of the two, the heart or will is ultimately the most important. Who we actually are is determined by what we love, and the things in our heart ultimately determine our place in heaven (or hell). But the will is beyond our control; we can't force ourselves to want something good or to not want something bad; we can control our actions, but not our feelings. Because of this power, the Lord works subtly and carefully in our hearts, in ways we can't sense. Most of the work and interaction goes on in our minds through the working of what the Writings call "Divine Truth," which is essentially the Lord's entire essence expressed in a form that is compatible with our minds. When the Bible talks about the Lord's "spirit," it represents this operation of Divine Truth in our minds, the way he reaches out and embraces us, and invites us to embrace him back. And when the Bible talks about people having "spirit," it is talking about our minds when we embrace Divine Truth.