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with the view of confirming scientific doctrinals for the sake of gain; and several of them scrutinize the Word that they may see the nakedness of the land; that is to say, that they may see that the truths of the church are not truths, but only serviceable to persuade others that they are truths, for the sake of lucre.
But they who are in the affection of truth for the sake of truth and of life, consequently for the sake of the Lord's kingdom, have indeed faith in the doctrinals of the church; but still they search the Word for no other end than for the sake of truth, and derive therefrom their faith and conscience. If they are told by any one that they must abide in the doctrinals of the church in which they were born, they think within themselves, that, if they had been born in Judaism, Socinianism, Quakerism, Christian Gentilism, or even out of the church, the same would have been told them by those among whom they were born; it being the general cry, Here is the church, Here is the church, Here are truths and nowhere else. And this being the case, they are of opinion that the Word ought to be searched with devout prayer to the Lord for enlightenment.
Such persons do not disturb any one within the church, neither do they at any time condemn others, knowing that every one who is a church lives from his faith. (A. C. 5432.)
Spurious intelligence and wisdom consist in not seeing and perceiving from an interior ground what is true