By Emanuel Swedenborg was a spiritual philosopher. He believed that a good marriage helps each partner in their personal growth. As humans, we all have limitations, which is why this is so important. Sometimes, we know what’s right but still struggle to act on it. According to Swedenborg, nobody can be blamed for this natural tendency which comes from a self-centred instinct. But to find a better life we do need to go through a process of change—developing what he called the ‘marriage of good and truth’ within ourselves.
Alignment of feeling and thought
When good feelings and helpful thoughts align within us, they lead to meaningful action. But they don’t come together if we know what’s right but don’t really want to do it. Or if we want to do something good but aren’t thinking clearly about how to make it happen. Spiritual growth is all about the heart and mind gradually coming together so that we start to accept what we know is true and think in ways that align with what we feel is good. This is the ‘marriage of good and truth’. So personal progress requires both good intentions and a solid understanding of how to put them into action.
Swedenborg’s vision
Swedenborg had an inner vision about this.
One night, he woke suddenly and saw an angel high in the eastern sky, holding a glowing piece of paper in his right hand. The paper shone brightly, illuminated by sunlight, and in its centre, he could see golden letters forming the words: “The marriage between good and truth.” The writing emitted a soft radiance that expanded into a large halo around the paper, resembling the warm, gentle light of springtime dawn.
As the angel began to descend, Swedenborg observed that the paper’s glow gradually faded. The golden letters changed colour, first to silver, then to copper, to iron, and finally to rusty iron and corroded copper. The angel continued to descend into a dark cloud, and as he passed through it and reached the ground, the paper seemed to disappear, though he still held it in his hand. Swedenborg commented that this vision unfolded in a part of the spirit realm where everyone first is conscious after death.
Implication of vision
We are told that the angel explained that in the Lord God, what is divinely good and divinely true exists perfectly: goodness is the essence and truth is the expression of this essence.
The vision seems to imply that good and truth become less beautiful and so less a harmonious unity as the paper descends to those people who are less spiritually developed.
Individual Growth within a Partnership
Swedenborg’s idea of conjugial love is about creating a deep, inner unity between partners, based on shared spiritual values. Living together in harmony can be a great opportunity for both partners to grow and improve their inner well-being. He believed this kind of connection is key to personal growth and spiritual transformation for both people. “Conjugial love” is the deep harmony that can exist in a marriage when both partners complement each other in how they live together—each learning from and adjusting to the other, based on what is good and true.
A strong relationship offers lots of chances for growth, as partners listen, learn, and support each other. With good intentions and a clear understanding, they can take effective action together, benefiting from each other’s strengths.
Personal growth after death
Swedenborg even suggests that in the afterlife only a spiritually united couple can fully experience heaven, while someone who chooses to stay single can only experience the fringe of this advanced spiritual state. In other words, the fullest expression of the “heavenly marriage of good and truth” is achieved through a deep connection of hearts and minds in a conjugial partnership.
What he is saying is that the flowing in of “conjugial love,” into a partnership is essential for full individual personal growth. Consequently, I understand him to be saying that without such a deeply shared life, no one can reach the highest heavenly state. Swedenborg himself remained single during his lifetime. However, his position is that anyone who hasn’t been fortunate enough to find a suitable partner in this life, may have to wait until life after death before a suitable partner is provided under divine providence.
Copyright 2025 Stephen Russell-Lacy
Author of The Great Questions of Life
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