Scope and Contents Handwritten letter from N.D. Pendleton to Bishop William F. Pendleton. Pendleton discusses the Kramph Will case, and the possibility of appealing Judge Smith’s decision. He worries that an unsuccessful appeal may bring more negative attention on the Church. He writes, “I am not unmindful of the fact that Judge Smith decided the case on the ground that the will itself was void because its devise was to a body teaching the doctrines as laid down in the Writings of the Honorable Emanuel...

Scope and Contents Handwritten letter from N.D. Pendleton to Bishop William F. Pendleton. Pendleton has spoken with Harvey Lechner regarding the Church’s legal standing in the Kramph Will case. Lechner has examined the relevant laws and is concerned that the Church and the Academy are legally vulnerable. Any form of fornication and adultery is against the law, as is the teaching of these ideas. As Pendleton understands from Lechner, “Any institution which holds and teaches things against public policy is...

Scope and Contents Handwritten letter from N.D. Pendleton to Bishop William F. Pendleton. Pendleton requests that W.F.P. notify him when the time for the Pittsburgh District Assembly is determined so that they may begin preparations. Pendleton asks for advice on how best to announce the General Office. They have begun work on the first General Office and find it very interesting. Pendleton wishes they had a board for making announcements, but they will have to get along without one for now. Pendleton has been...

Scope and Contents Handwritten letter from N.D. Pendleton to Bishop William F. Pendleton. Pendleton informs W.F.P. that the program prepared for the upcoming annual meetings in Bryn Athyn does not leave an opening for Pendleton’s rebuttal of Rev. C. T. Odhner’s paper. Pendleton is glad that Miss Beekman is also writing on the subject, and that she too disagrees with Rev. Odhner’s denial of the Angelic Human. However, he is concerned that some of his statements in the sermon referred to in Odhner’s original...

Scope and Contents Handwritten letter from N.D. Pendleton to Bishop William F. Pendleton. Pendleton is returning the enclosed papers to W.F.P.. Of Miss Beekman’s work, Pendleton writes, “Miss Beekman brings to the consideration of the subject - not to mention many things characteristic of her unusual enlightenment - an entirely new view of the ‘Holy Spirit which came upon Mary.’ I had always taken for granted that the Holy Spirit thus spoken of was the Jehovah seed - the ultimate Truth from thereof, by which...

Scope and Contents Handwritten letter from N.D. Pendleton to Bishop William F. Pendleton. No Date. Pendleton recollects a conversation he had with W.F.P. concerning evolution and its relationship to Swedenborg’s teachings. Pendleton writes, “At that time I was full of the idea that certain phases of evolution were capable of a profound rendering in the light of the doctrines. But I could never permit that or any other theory to impinge upon the truth of revelation as I understood it. It has also been a belief...

Scope and Contents Handwritten letter from N.D. Pendleton to Bishop William F. Pendleton. No Date. Over the last few days, Pendleton has been questioned repeatedly whether still-born children are “gifted with immortality.” Pendleton has been unable to answer this question, and he wonders if W.F.P. has thoughts on the issue. He writes, “I am aware of the position held by Bishop Benade, but some doubt was cast on it in my mind several years ago by considering certain apparent analogies which the state of life of...

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Handwritten letter from N.D. Pendleton to Bishop William F. Pendleton. No Date. Pendleton references a conflict involving Alfred S. and the “first Ama” which he feels he does not have enough information to speculate about. He is glad to hear that W.F.P. plans to give a public statement on creation, with a specific focus on the “first Ama.” Names mentioned: Alfred S. (Stroh?)

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Handwritten letter from N.D. Pendleton to Bishop William F. Pendleton. No Date. “Enclosed you will find the prayer left in the Liturgy. The little volume of 'Posthumous Tracts' makes an excellent text book for a preliminary course in Swedenborg’s Science. It might be used to advantage in school works.”

Scope and Contents Typed letter from N.D. Pendleton to Rev. Albert Bjorck in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Pendleton is pleased that Bjorck will return to work in England in the summer, and he hopes Bjorck will be able to attend the Assembly in Colchester. Pendleton briefly discusses the topic of the Lord as the Word; He writes, “one should have in mind the difference between the Word as written and the Word as livingly enacted by the Jews, there is a parallel between the living enactment of the Word and the Mary...