Holiness Rather Than License
Few things in this world are so misused, and yet so deeply longed for, as the power of sex and the gift of affection. In the common talk of the day these are either treated lightly, as though they were but a play of impulse, or they are condemned with harsh words and left shrouded in fear. Both methods do wrong to the truth.
The life-force is a sacred endowment. It is given that man and woman may be co-workers with God in the up-building of bodies and in the refining of character. When this force is squandered upon appetite, it drags the soul downward. When it is ruled by a pure will and an enlightened heart, it becomes a fire upon the altar, giving warmth and light to the home and strength to the spiritual life.
Affection as the Foundation of the Home
True affection is not a passing fancy, nor a fever that burns itself out. It is a quiet, steadfast devotion, in which each seeks the welfare of the other before his own ease. Upon such affection a home may safely rest.
Where there is mere passion without tenderness, the union soon becomes a yoke. Where there is duty without affection, the house is kept in order but the heart remains unsatisfied. The proper use of the life-force demands both: a chaste ardor and a gentle regard, each balancing the other.
The Law of Transmutation
The teachings preserved in the Church of Illumination declare that the very force which in the lower nature feeds appetite, may, when rightly directed, nourish the higher faculties of the Soul. This is the work of transmutation.
By sobriety in thought, by modesty in conduct, and by prayerful aspiration, the student learns to lift the creative force from the body to the heart and brain. In this way the same energy that might have been spent in restless indulgence is turned into endurance, clarity of mind, and a deeper capacity for love.
Guidance for the Student
This study is not for those who would trifle with sacred things. It is for men and women who desire to order their lives in purity, who would found their homes upon reverence, and who understand that the misuse of the life-force has brought untold sorrow upon the race.
Instruction in these matters is given gradually and with care, that no burden be laid upon the conscience which it cannot yet bear. Questions of marriage, continence, and self-control are considered in the light of both Scripture and experience. No rule is urged upon any, save that of honesty before God and kindness toward one’s companion.
Those who seek more definite teaching in this department of the work may make their desire known by writing to the Sanctorium. In all such correspondence, modesty and directness are expected, and will be met with the same.