Theos-Talk Archives (March 1998 Message tt00188)

Famous Swedenborgians:

Helen Keller, born blind and deaf, struggled with her disability and overcame
it to the extent that she obtained a degree from Radcliffe College. She
authored several books which includes LIGHT IN MY DARKNESS, a testimonial of
the importance of the teachings of Emmanuel Swedenborg in her life. An
activist for the blind and disabled, she's been immortalized in books and
film.

Johnny Appleseed, a.k.a. John Chapman (1774-1845) was he was a legendary
character and environmentalist before his time. He was born in Massachusetts
and ventured West about 1800, carrying with him apples for planting. He lived
the rest of his life in Ohio and Indiana, wandering about clad in rags like a
pilgrim, tending the apple orchards he started wherever he found a good spot.
The seeds that he planted and the saplings he gave away to the local Indians
and to the new settlers helped to build the orchards of the Midwest. Chapman
also planted the seeds of many healing herbs--catnip, horehound, and
pennyroyal--and despite his eccentric appearance, he was regarded as a healer,
and something of a saint by Indians and homesteaders alike.

Chapman took great joy in sharing his love of spiritual knowledge. As he
traveled from one settlement to another, he would read from the Bible and
leave behind different sections from the books of Swedenborg. He took these
books and separated them into sections and would leave them at different
homes. The next time he returned, he would bring the next section for
exchange.

Both persons, in my view, are theosophists with a small "t" because they went
about performing good works and left the world a better place just by being
who they were.

The pastor of the Church of the New Jerusalem (Swedenborgian) has lectured on
and off at the Washington Lodge of the TS (Adyar) for years.

Lmhem111

.