Claim. Heaven and hell separate at death along a single sorting criterion — whether a person lived for others or for themselves — making “absolute selflessness” the operative principle of spirit-world order.
Elaboration. SMM treats living-for-others as the sole orientation question: “Heaven is for people who live for the sake of others. The one who lives a self-centered life can never be there; he will be in hell” (2.2. Heaven is where people serve and live for one another, 91-173, 1977.2.6). The terms are absolute and ascending: “The individual must live for the family; the family for the tribe; the tribe for the people; the people for the nation; the nation for the world; the world for the universe; the universe for the cosmos; and the cosmos for God. Then who does God live for? He lives for you” (ibid, 303-260, 1999.9.9). At death, the sort happens automatically: “When people who lived for themselves go to the spirit world, after making a circle they enter hell. In contrast, people who lived for others go to the spirit world, after making a circle they enter heaven” (ibid, 203-100, 1990.6.17). This makes selflessness not a virtue but a structural condition of spirit-world residence.
See also. csg-spirit-world-needs-no-money-knowledge-or-power