y were naturally
upon the earth." He created "every plant of the field before it was in
the earth, every herb of the field before it grew." Before this
"natural" creation "there was not yet flesh upon the earth, neither in
the water, neither in the air;... but spiritually were they created and
made according" to the word of God. In this second or "natural" creation
all things were clothed upon by earthly element, or in other words, the
spiritual was materialized so that it became discernible to the natural
senses. The spiritual and the natural are, therefore, but different
states of the same forms of life. In the natural world there are men,
women, beasts of the field, fowls of the air, and vegetation in
boundless and varied forms. These exist before the natural is added upon
them; they exist after the natural is laid down by the death of the
body.

In like manner we find in the spirit world men, women, beasts of the
field, fowls of the air, and vegetation in boundless and varied forms.
These things are as natural there as they are in earth-life. They
appeal to spirit nature the same as the "natural" prototype appeals to
the mortal senses; and this is why we may speak of our earth-known
friends who are in the spirit world and of their surroundings in the
manner of mortality.

And what a big world it is! Here are nations, tribes, races, and
families much larger than in earth-life, and just as varied in all that
made them different in mortality. Here, as in all of God's creations,
like assemble, dislike keep apart; "for intelligence cleaveth unto
intelligence; wisdom receiveth wisdom; truth embraceth truth; virtue
loveth virtue; light cleaveth unto light; mercy hath compassion on
mercy, and claimeth her own." The righteous in Paradise have no desire
to mingle with the wicked in the regions of darkness; therefore they go
there only as they may be called to perform some duty.

To the industrious there can be no true pleasure or rest in idleness;
therefore, Paradise furnishes employment to all its inhabitants. A world
of knowledge is open to them into which they may extend their
researches. Thus they may continue in the ever-widening field of
learning, finding enough to occupy their time and talents.

An arrival in the spirit world brings with him just what he is when he
leaves mortality. The separation of the spiritual part of the soul from
the earthly body does not essentially change that spirit. A person takes
with h