The Mystery of
Swedenborg’s Rules of Life
The Rev. Dr. Erik E. Sandstrom
Acting Curator Swedenborgiana
D
o you remember Swedenborg’s Rules of Life? Here they are, also in Swedish
for the few nostalgic Swedish readers of New Church Life:
• Diligently to read and reflect on
the Word of God
• To be content with God’s
providence
• To observe a proper behavior
• To obey what is commanded
and keep your conscience pure
• To attend faithfully to your
office and duties
• To be useful to society in general
• Att flitigt läsa och öfvertänka
Guds ord
• Att vara nöjd med försynens
skickelse
• Att iakttaga ett värdigt
uppförande
• Att lyda buden och bevara ett
rent samvete
• Att trofast fullgöra sina
ämbetsplikter
• Samt att vara en nyttig
samhällsmedlem
How many of you have received these sometime during your education
or upbringing in the New Church? Do you still have them in your house
somewhere? Many of you will know the story of how they came about. Yes,
Swedenborg proudly presented them to the king and queen in gratitude for all
their help during the troublesome Gothenburg trials, and they honored him
with a golden snuff box.
Just kidding. Nothing of the sort! Instead, the original of these Rules of
Life has never been found! Not even with all of Swedenborg’s material now
available on the web can we find these rules in Swedenborg’s own papers, or his
own hand. So even though they have been part of the religion curriculum in
all our church schools, and been the subject of numerous talks at Swedenborg
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