Every man is received in heaven who receives heaven in himself while in the world, and he is excluded who does not.

The nature of heaven is to provide a place there for all who lead good lives, no matter what their religion may be.

Worship does not consist in prayers and in external devotion, but in a life of kindness.

That all who have ever been born men from the beginning of creation, and are deceased, are either in heaven or in hell, follows from those things which have been said and shown in the preceding article, namely, that Heaven and Hell are from the human race.

Charity means love towards the neighbor and compassion, for anyone who loves his neighbor as himself also has as much compassion for him in his suffering as he does for himself in his own.

Charity alone, or love and compassion, is what joins [the Lord and a person] together.

The essence of love is that what is ours should belong to someone else. Feeling the joy of someone else as joy within ourselves-that is loving.