The Heavenly Doctrines often speak about affections.
Apocalypse Explained 1175:3 explains that they are the societies of spirits we're associated with.
The same is meant by affection as by love. But love is like a fountain and affections are like the streams therefrom, thus affections are continuations of love. Love as a fountain is in the will of man; affections, which are streams from it, flow by continuity into the understanding, and there by means of light from truths produce thoughts....
[T]he societies of heaven are not thoughts but affections, consequently to be led by means of these societies is to be led by means of affections, that is, to be led by means of affections is to be led by means of societies; and for this reason in what now follows the term affections will be used in place of societies.
The next sub-section explains “Why a person is led by the Lord by means of affections and not by means of thoughts....” And the final one explains why a person can be saved “in no other way.”
For if a person knew all things of the Word, and all things of doctrine, even to the arcana of wisdom that the angels possess, and thought and spoke about them, so long as his affections were lusts of evil he could not be brought out of hell by the Lord.
Fascinating stuff. (To read the whole series start at
Apocalypse Explained 1173:2.)
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