read by W. Norman Cooper--We need to tell each other our experiences of the Divine. We need to hear each other's stories, each other's fumbling words, images, and metaphors. Gradually, together we can build up a deeper understanding of the nature of God, and of divine relationship with human beings. Hearing other people's experiences stretches our own imagination; it opens possibilities for us, and it enlarges our understanding of our own experiences. For the first 150 years, Friends shared a common set of words, images, and metaphors, based on those in the Bible, to describe their experiences of the Divine. This shared language was like a code, or a shorthand. A single phrase would direct the listener to a specific story in the Bible, to previous messages in meeting for worship or in Friends literature, and--perhaps most importantly--to their own personal experiences understood through this lens.

Martin Paxton Grundy Friends Journal, February 2002 p. 11