Monday, July 30, 2012

Helen Writes That She is Glad That James Received a Message From Joe Shellington

June 17, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Helen.

Well, sweetheart, you had quite a long letter from Joe Shellington ,and I am glad that you let him write for it seemed to help him so much. He is now progressing and praying to the Father and has some faith. As he said, I have been trying to help him, and he listens to me with much interest. Soon, I believe, he will see the light and get out of his darkness.

Do as he requests. Send a copy of the letter to his wife, for I believe it will do her good, as well as him. She is not so much in love with him now but, yet, she will feel better by knowing that he loves her and is alive.

I don't know, as I have not inquired, but I will in order to let you know. But it is not best that either of them should know at this time.

Well, I will not write very much tonight, as you have written enough. I must tell you, though, that I love you with all my heart and soul, and I am so glad that you do me.

I was with you and saw your condition of mind and know just how you felt. The worship was all of Jesus, and he says that is not right. But, nevertheless, while these people speak of Jesus as God, yet, in their hearts they worship God, and you must not feel that they are sinning very much in calling Jesus' name so much. They speak of Christ and if they only knew the true meaning of that name their worship would be all right. But they fail to know the difference between Jesus and Christ and, hence, make the mistake of worshiping Jesus Christ, meaning Jesus.

But their hearts have the Love of the Father and they will be benefited by such Love even though they look upon Jesus as God. He knows just what they mean, and while he does not like to be worshiped, yet, he sees that their longing is for God.

I must now stop and will only say that you have much Love in your soul tonight. So with all my love, I will say goodnight.

Your own true and loving,
Helen

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Joe Shellington, a Friend of James E. Padgett, Writes About His Experience of Dying and Finding Himself in Semi-Darkness and Suffering

June 17, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Joe Shellington.

Well, I am glad to be able to write to you and let you know that I am in the land of the living. I have waited a long time to write to you but, as your band would not consent to my writing, I had to wait until it was agreeable to them, as well as to you.

I am in a state of semi-darkness and am suffering somewhat from the recollections of my life on earth, but thanks to your wife, I am commencing to see the light and to learn the way out of my sufferings.

When I found myself dying, I thought that I was going to sleep and that my body was resting from the cares and pains which my sufferings had caused, and when my spirit was separated from my body, I hovered around for a long time expecting that when my body should feel refreshed I would go into it again and continue my life on earth. But after waiting a long time and failing to see my body awaken, I commenced to wonder what had taken place and, at last, came to the conclusion that I was a dead one, and that no more would I walk on earth as a mortal.

Well, as soon as I realized that fact, I looked around and saw my mother and father, and several others that I knew on earth, and they told me that I had died, and was then a spirit, and would never more go into my body. And I commenced to ask questions and wanted to know where I was and what place I was in. They told me that I was in the spirit world, and in what is called the earth plane, and that my future home would be in that plane until I had by repentance and suffering progressed to a higher one.

My mother, who is a very beautiful spirit, tried to comfort me and told me that I must now think of the things that belong to the spirit world, and not let my thoughts run on the things that I had been interested in while a mortal. But while I considered her advice and was impressed with what she said, yet, I could not follow her advice, as I was compelled by something - which I did not understand - to give my thoughts to the affairs of earth, and especially to my wife and daughter. I was with them nearly all the time for many long day, and tried to speak to them and advise them what they should do, but they would not pay any attention to me. Of course, I know now that they did not know that I was present and did not hear my voice; but at the time, I thought it very strange, for they were just as real and unchanged to me as when I was with them in the body.

I never fully realized what my position was until long months after I died, and I could not think of anything but them at first and was with them all the time. I saw them sorrowing and weeping because of my death and tried so hard to comfort them, but all to no purpose. I, at last, saw that it was utterly hopeless for me to make them feel that I was with them, and so I sought for light or information among my spirit friends, and sought from them to know how I could reach my dear ones; but I could get no consolation, as they told me that it was only through the instrumentality or help of some earth medium could I ever be able to communicate with them or let them know that I was still alive and loved them just as I did when on earth.

So one time in my wanderings, I entered the circle of the medium where you heard me talk to you, and then I was happy because I thought that now I would be able to reach my wife and daughter. But I was disappointed, for you never told them that I had talked to you, and wanted them to know that I was anxious to talk to them. I suppose you thought that they would not believe, and so neglected to tell them. But you were mistaken in this, as they would have believed you had you told them.

My wife knows something of spiritualism, though she has not much faith in it, and while she may not absolutely have believed, yet, she would have had interest enough in it to have sought for the opportunity to learn more and, if possible, to hear me speak to her. So while you disappointed me, yet, I cannot altogether blame you.

But, old friend, do not fail to let her know that I have written to you tonight, and if not too much trouble, I would like for you to send her a copy of this message.

I still love her and am with her very often, and try my best to make her feel my presence, and realize that I am doing my best to comfort her. If she only knew how dear she is to me and that my whole heart burns with love for her, she would be happier, for I believe that she will be mine when she comes over, and through all eternity. So do not fail to send her a copy of this message.

When I passed over, I was not one particle afraid and while I was not just in condition to know what was taking place, yet, there was no dread or apprehension of my being in any way harmed. I arose, as I have said, from my body, but did not leave it and stayed with it and with my loved ones even until it was buried and then continued with my dear wife.

After I realized that I was a spirit, I found myself in a dark atmosphere surrounded by dark spirits who, I supposed, were like myself. My mother, while she often came to me, did not live with me but, as she told me, in a higher sphere where much happiness exists.

I was not happy and I suffered very much from my recollections of my earth life and had no fixed home. All spirits in a condition like mine have to roam about with no place that they can call home. Often have I longed for a home but found none, and even now I have one that is not very beautiful; but I am progressing and light is coming to me and my sufferings are decreasing. I rather expected to find myself in Hell, as I was not a Christian, and as I was taught that all who are not Christians and believe in Jesus must go to Hell. But I have not seen that Hell, and I do not believe that there is any such place. Yet, the sufferings which we all have creates a Hell enough for any spirit who wants such a Hell.

Well, I am now learning to pray to God and to believe in His Love, and the more I pray and the stronger my belief becomes, the more light I see and the less I suffer. Your wife came to me at about the time I spoke to you at the medium's, and tried to help me, and she has been with me many times since and has helped me very much. She is a beautiful spirit and seems filled with the Love of God, as she says. So I am seeking that Love, and I believe that I will soon get enough of it to get out of my present condition.

I thank you so much for this opportunity, and when it is agreeable I will come and write to you again. I will not take up more of your time tonight. So with my kindest regards and many thanks, I am

Your old friend,
Joe Shellington

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Jesus Writes on the Subject of: "Why Men Should Believe that I, Who Write to You, Am the True Jesus of the Bible, and Why I Write to You"

June 15, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

I want to tell you tonight that you are much better in your spiritual condition and I desire to write a message, and have you take it, if you feel that you are in condition. Well, I desire to write on the subject of, "Why men should believe that I, who write to you, am the true Jesus of the Bible, and why I write to you."

When I lived on earth men did not believe that I was a God, or that I was anything more than a teacher of God's truths, possessed of wonderful powers - not then so well understood as they are now since men have comprehended to a limited extent the possibility of the spirit forms operating through the material world; that is, the spirits of men - and the mortals of the other - have the power to communicate with one another, and that the powers possessed by the spirits, which are almost unlimited may, to a certain extent, be conferred upon and exercised by men. This intercommunication and possession of powers, and the conferring thereof on men, was not so well understood when I was on earth as they are now.

I, by reason of my soul development and my knowledge of spiritual things, was able to exercise these powers to an extent that made the people of my time suppose that I was the only Son of God, possessed of many of His powers and attributes; and as a matter of fact, I was possessed of these powers and attributes, but I was only a mortal when on earth, and only a spirit after I passed from the earth to the spiritual life.

Of course, my development of the soul qualities were such as to enable me to do many things on earth which no other mortal could do, and after I became a spirit to obtain a position in the spirit world that no other spirit had obtained. Yet I am only a spirit, a highly developed one, possessing more knowledge of God's truths and having more soul development than any other spirit.

If I were God, or a part of God, I would be something more than the mere spirit that I am, and my position would be such that I could not or would not communicate with you in the manner that I do. But I am only a spirit having the same form and means of communicating with the mortals of earth that other spirits have, only to a greater degree. I am not doing that which should be surprising to mankind. My home, of course, is in a sphere far above that of the earth sphere, and my condition of development is far greater than that of any other spirit, and I am not of the earth in any particular, yet, my powers are correspondingly great and my ability to communicate is in accordance with my powers and knowledge.

If I were God, I would not resort to the means of communication that I do now, and it would not be surprising that men would not believe that I would so communicate. But as I said, not being God, there is no reason that I should not communicate through you or any other qualified medium the great truths of my Father and the plan provided by Him for man's salvation.

So men should not think that because I am the Jesus of the Bible, and have for so many years been accepted and worshiped by so large a part of the human race as God, or rather a part of Him that, therefore, it must not he believed that I, as a spirit, have not the qualifications and powers of other spirits, and because I do so communicate that I do that, which as God I should not do.

Well, I must not write more as you are not just in condition. But I will finish the next time you write, as I very much want men to understand my position with reference to them and to the spirit world.

I am not so much in rapport with you tonight as usual, and you are not in condition to take my meaning. We will try again soon. I want you to pray more to the Father and have more faith. I will come again soon. I will say goodnight.

Your friend and brother,
Jesus

Friday, July 27, 2012

Bright Star Writes Answers to Several Questions from James

June 8, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Bright Star.

Yes, I did. Let me tell you that I am with you tonight for the purpose of helping you get out of your despondency. You must not be so downhearted. You are too lonely to be left alone. Go to the Lord for help. I am not the only one here. Your wife and father and mother and grandmother and Christ and Prof. Salyards are here. I know him very well, he is your friend and my friend. He is not the only one that you will hear from tonight. Come to the Saviour's love and you will be helped.

[Mr. Padgett: Are you Bright Star?]

Yes, I am, and you must believe that I am. Yes, very often I come to help you and try to let you know that you are not to be left to your own ways of thinking.

[Mr. Padgett: Shall I go to Mrs. R. B.?]

Yes, you must come soon and I will talk to you and you will know that I am the Indian Squaw that you spoke to when you were present on the two occasions that you visited the medium.

[Mr. Padgett: Who wrote Saturday night?]

You were written to by your father and mother and grandmother and your wife, also Jesus. Yes, he will if you will call for him, he will teach you the truths of the Bible and of his own knowledge. He is the greatest of all teachers. He is a lovely spirit and loves you and all mankind. Be a true follower of his teachings and you will become a very spiritual man. He is the only one for you to follow. Yes I do, and he teaches me and all of us who have the Love of God in our hearts.

[Mr. Padgett: Are you Indians in the earth plane?]

I am in the Fourth Sphere. We are only in the earth plane to help you mortals. Our home is not here, but higher up.

[Mr. Padgett: Are visits to Mrs. R. especially beneficial?]

No! it is not, but you may be helped some by learning that your friends are not dead, but living.

[Mr. Padgett: Did the spirits actually speak to me at the séance?]

Yes, they all spoke to you and you cannot help but believe that they did.

[Mr. Padgett: What was the meaning of the light?]

It was merely the power of the spirit manifested. No, it did not mean anything in particular, it was merely an evidence of the presence of spiritual power. Yes; your wife is the one provided for you.

[Mr. Padgett: Do you know Mr. Colburn?]

Yes, I do. He is a very good man and is gifted with the power of clairvoyance and having taps come to him. He is not a very strong medium, but is going to become such in the near future. You will be able to help him develop as a medium in the way of writing with the planchette. You are too spiritual to be long without the power of seeing the truth of the Lord's ways. Yes, but not in as great a degree as you will soon have. You are very near the Kingdom. Keep trying for the light and you will soon get it, and then you will be able to help mankind in a spiritual and a physical way. Be only true to yourself and God.

[Mr. Padgett: Did not the people at the séance think of her only in a material way?]

Yes, that is the way that they thought of me, but I am more than that. I have a spiritual side to my being as well as the side that they know of. You, however, can see the spiritual side - for you are spiritually-minded and not satisfied with mere phenomena and with you, I like to talk of spiritual things.

Let me go now.

Goodnight,
Bright Star

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Professor Joseph Salyards Writes That He was Much Interested in Jesus' Message About His Life

June 8, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, your old Professor.

I am very happy and want to tell you that you are in much better condition to write than you have been since I commenced to write to you. I am so glad of it, for it indicates improvement in your physical as well as your mental condition.

I was much interested in the last message of the Master, because it sets forth facts which are not in accord with the Bible story, and with what I had been led to believe. Of course, he knows what the truth is, and when he tells us anything, we never for one moment doubt him, and neither must you. And when you come to analyze and consider the statements made by him, you will find them more in accord with reason than the story contained in the Bible.

In his statements there is nothing miraculous, or that calls for a belief that is beyond the reason to conceive of. Everything is so natural and in accord with the workings of nature, as has been observed in the case of the birth of every other human being. His statement, as to how and when there came to him the knowledge that he was the chosen one of God to bring to earth the glad tidings of the restoration of immortality and the Divine Love of the Father waiting for all mankind, is I believe very new and will be surprising to most men. But how reasonable this is.

Had he known from the time of his birth that he was the Christ, which had been promised to the Jews, is it possible that during all the thirty years in which he remained in obscurity, he would not have made his mission known and commenced the work of proclaiming to mankind the glad tidings which he afterwards proclaimed? It seems wholly incredible that he would not have done so. The years from twenty-five to thirty are very important years in the life of a man, and many great things have been accomplished by mere man during that period of life; and it is not reasonable that one who had the knowledge from his infancy that he was the special messenger of God, clothed with all the powers and knowledge of the truth, which Jesus displayed after he commenced his public ministry, would have remained in seclusion during the years that I have named, and not given the world the benefit of these great possessions. No, to me, his story is one in consonance with reason and I must believe it. At any rate, the fact that he say it is true is sufficient.

Well, I had hoped to resume my discourse on the laws of the spirit world before now, but your time has been so occupied that I could not intrude upon you; but very soon, if agreeable to you, we will continue.

With all my love, I will say goodnight.

Your old professor and teacher,
Joseph Salyards

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Jesus Continues Writing About His Life up to the Time of His Public Ministry

June 8, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

I will continue my letter as to my birth and work, as I commenced it last night.

When I was satisfied that I was chosen by my Father to perform His work of declaring to the world the bestowal of His Great Gift of the Divine Love that was in His Nature, and which formed the predominant principle of that Nature, I commenced my ministry and continued to work for the redemption of mankind on earth until my death on the cross. I was not then as perfect as I am now, and my knowledge of the truths of the Father was not so great as it is now.

Let men know, though, that what I taught was true, even though I did not teach all the truth, and they will learn that I am my Father's true son, and the special messenger by whom these great truths was to be taught to mankind.

I was not, when on earth, so filled with the Love of the Father as I am now and had not the power to make men feel that this Love is the only thing that will reconcile them to the Father and make them at-one with Him, as I have now. So men must believe that I am communicating to them the real truths, which will show them the way to the Father's Love and to their own salvation.

You have in your mind the desire to know how it was that the wise men came to me with their offerings and adoration, if I was not specially created by God to become His son and representative on earth.

Well, the wise men came, but their coming was not because of any knowledge they had that I was a child divinely created, or that I was not a natural child, but because they were astrologers and at the time saw a new and brilliant star in the heavens, and which to them meant that some important event had taken place; and being students of the Old Testament, wherein such a star was referred to as the forerunner of the birth of a saviour, they concluded that that star was the one intended, and that my birth being a lowly one, as they expected was the one that the Scriptures meant and, consequently, that I was the Christ spoken of. But outside of this knowledge as astrologers and that of the Scriptures, they had no knowledge that I was the Christ to be born; and when it is asserted that they had any information from God or His angels that I was the Christ, that assertion is not true.

I know this, because since my coming to the spirit world, I have met these men and talked with them, and they have told me what I write. So while I was the Christ referred to in the Bible - I mean in the prophecies of the Old Testament - yet, those wise men had no other knowledge of that fact than what I have told you.

I know that I was sent by the Father to perform the mission which I performed, and that it was intended in the beginning that I should be anointed as the Christ, but this I did not know until after I became a man and was then told what my mission was by the angel and my own inner voice.

My mother or father or brethren did not know, and even after I had proclaimed my mission and showed the wonderful powers that had been given to me, they did not believe in my mission, but thought that I was besides myself, that is, as you say, crazy with the belief that I was the chosen one of my Father. The Bible, itself, shows that this was their condition of mind.

So while I am the Christ of the Bible and the chosen instrument of the Father to make known the great truths which I have proclaimed, and which I shall proclaim through you, yet, I am not the only begotten son of God in the sense in which it is usually accepted. And much less am I God. As I have said, there is only one God, and I am merely His son and teacher sent to the world to declare to mankind the bestowal of the gift of immortality and the way in which men may obtain it.

I will deal further with myself as we progress in our writings. Let no man believe that I was born of the Virgin Mary, or that I was begotten by the Holy Spirit, or that I am God, for all these things are not true.

For the present I will stop, and with all my love and blessings and the blessings of the Father, will say good-night.

Your friend and brother,
Jesus

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Helen Writes That Jesus Wasn't Offended Because James Was Too Sleepy to Take a Longer Message

June 7, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Helen.

Well, sweetheart, you are too sleepy to write, as you had better go to bed and get a good night's sleep.

The Master was not at all offended, for he understood that you could not keep awake sufficient to write. He will finish the next time and you will be interested in the discourse.

With all my love, I will say goodnight.

Your own true and loving,
Helen

Monday, July 23, 2012

Jesus Writes About His Birth and Life up to the Time of His Public Ministry

June 7, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

I want to write to you to-night about my birth and life up to the time of my public ministry.

I was born in Bethlehem, as you know, in a manger and when I was a few days old, my parents took me to Egypt in order to avoid the soldiers of Herod who were sent to destroy me and who did kill a great number of male infants of less than two years of age. The Bible story of my birth and the flight of my parents and the murder of the innocents is substantially correct; and I only wish to add to it that when my parents arrived in Bethlehem, they were not compelled to seek the manger of a stable in order that I might be born on account of poverty - for they were supplied with funds and everything that was needed to make my birth comfortable for my mother and as a matter of fact, my father was not poor in the world's goods as poverty was considered in those days.

The Bible says the wise men came and brought offerings of gold and frankincense to my parents, or rather to me, but my parents have told me that it did not amount to so very much, so far as the money value of the same was concerned and that their expenses of fleeing to Egypt was met by the funds that my father had prior to his reaching Bethlehem.

After they arrived in Egypt, my father sought the home of a Jew who was his relative and lived there for a long time doing the work that his trade fitted him to do; and by his work supported the family and to an extent educated myself and my brothers and sisters, for I had four brothers and three sisters and were all, except myself, born in Egypt.

When I became of proper age, I attended the common school provided for small children and was taught those things that had to do with the religion of the Jews, and some things that were not religious in their nature. I was never taught the philosophy of the Egyptians or of the other pagan philosophies; and when it is stated that I received my religious ideas or moral teachings from any of these philosophers, they are mistaken. My education as to these matters of religion was derived from the teachings of the Old Testament, or rather from Jewish teachers whose text book was the Old Testament.

My development in the knowledge of the truths, which I taught during my public ministry, was caused by my inner spiritual faculties, and my teacher was God who, through His angels and through my soul perceptions, caused to come to me those truths or rather the knowledge of them, and in no other way did I obtain it. I was not born with the knowledge that I was the son of God sent to earth to teach these great truths, or to announce to mankind the rebestowal of the great gift of immortality, and the means of acquiring it. But this knowledge of my mission came to me after I became a man and had the frequent communions with God by my spiritual senses.

I was never in the presence of the Jewish priests, expounding to them the law and asking questions when about twelve years of age, as stated in the Bible, and not before my first appearance after I became a man did I attempt to show priest or layman that I was the messenger of the Father, and sent by Him to proclaim the glad tidings of immortality restored, and of the great Love of the Father which was necessary to make all men at-one with Him, and to give them a home in His Kingdom.

I never was a sinful boy or man and did not know what sin was in my heart; and strange as it may seem, I never sought to teach others these truths until after my mission was declared by John the Baptist. In my boyhood days, I was the same as other boys and engaged in the plays of childhood and had the feelings of a child and never thought I was anything else than a child. In no wise was I different from other children, except in the particular that l have named, and any account of me to the contrary is untrue.

My teachings were those that the Father had committed to me from the beginning, but which I was only conscious of after I became a close communicant of the Father, and learned from Him my mission. So you must believe that I was a son of man as well as a son of God, and that in the literal sense. I would not have been true to my mission had I claimed that I was the only son of God, for it is not true - and men should not so teach it.

Yes, I know it was said that my mother was told of the object of my birth and what a blessed woman she was, but this is not true. My mother, as she has told me, had no reason to suppose that I was different from other children born of men. The story of the Angel of God coming to her and telling her that she must submit to the birth of a child who would be begotten by God or by His Holy Spirit, and that she - as a virgin - should bear and give birth to that child, is not true, for she never in all her life told me that she had any such visitor; and I know that she would be as much surprised, as are many men, that such a thing as the birth of a child by a virgin could take place. So you see the Bible account of my being begotten and all the attending circumstances are not true.

My father, Joseph, never supposed at any time that I was not his child, and the story of the angel coming to him and telling him that he must not put her away because of appearance is not true, because he never in all my conversations with him, intimated that I was other than his own child.

Between the time that I was twelve years of age and my public ministry, I lived at home with my parents, and assisted my father in his business of carpenter, and during all this time no hint ever fell from him that I was not his child, or that I was different from other children, except that I did not do sinful things.

When I commenced to get this Divine Love into my soul, I became very close to the Father, and this relationship resulted in my realizing that I was sent by God with a mission to perform and a great and important truth to declare; and at last the voice in my soul told me that I was my Father's true son and I believed it and commenced to teach and preach the truths of His Love bestowed and the salvation of men.

I knew John the Baptist when I was a child growing up. He was my cousin and we often played together and afterwards discussed the truth of my mission and the way in which it should be made known to the world. John was a great psychic and saw in his vision who I was and what my mission on earth was and, hence, when the time came, he made the announcement of my coming. He realized the difference in our missions and spoke of his not being worthy to unloosen my shoes. But, yet, he did not fully understand my mission and the great truth of the bestowal of immortality upon man by the Father.

I first became the Christ when I was anointed by my Father, and that occurred at the time of my baptism by John. I, as Christ, am different from myself as Jesus. Christ means that principle which the Father has conferred upon me, which made me at-one with Him in the possession of this great love. Christ is that Love itself made manifest in me as man. This Christ principle is universal and is everywhere, just as is the Holy Spirit, but I am limited in my place of occupancy just as you are.

I never as Jesus merely promised the great gift mentioned in the Bible, such as, where two or three are gathered together there will I be also; for it would be impossible for me to be in all places at the same time. But Christ, being without form or limitation, is omnipresent and, consequently, may fulfill my promise in this regard. Christ is as much alive today as ever. He was never crucified and never died as did Jesus.

Well, I think you are too sleepy now to continue, well, because you need sleep. I know of no special influence being exerted over you to produce sleep. I will continue in the near future.

Your brother and friend,
Jesus

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Jesus Writes That the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit) is Not God and There is No Such Thing as the Unpardonable Sin

June 6, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

I want to tell you, once and for all, that the Holy Ghost is not God and that the unpardonable sin is a thing which has no existence either in the world of mortals or in the spirit world. I never used the expression contained in the Bible in reference to the unpardonable sin, and it has done more harm to my cause than most any other thing.

Well, I was not conceived by the Holy Ghost as many believe. I was a man created and born as other men, Only, as I have told you, I was without sin.

All writings which make the Holy Spirit equal to the Father are untrue. The Holy Spirit, as I have told you, is a mere instrument of God in doing His work among men, and for men to believe that the Holy Spirit is God is blasphemy - but even that sin will be forgiven men.

I hope that before we get through our writings, I will make it so plain and convincing that the Holy Spirit is not God, but a mere spirit, though the Greatest Spirit in His Kingdom, that men will cease to worship it as God.

Yes, I will write a formal message on this subject, and you will see that the Holy Spirit cannot possibly be God. So do not let this question interfere with your belief in me or in what I write to you. You are now in the way to truth and the Kingdom, and if you will continue to pray and have faith you will become an inhabitant of that Kingdom, no matter what the Bible may say, which is apparently in conflict with what I write.

So with all my love, I will say goodnight.

Your friend and brother,
Jesus

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Ann Rollins Describes Several Spheres and Their Character and the Object of Their Creation


June 5, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

Well, my dear grandson, I am here and desire to write awhile tonight about some things that are true and show you the workings of God's Love among men and spirits. I have had a great deal of experience, although I have not been in the spirit world a very long time - as we count time, which we do not, but I merely use the expression that you may understand what I mean.

I am, as I told you, in the Second Celestial Sphere, where your wife and mother also are. In this sphere, all the inhabitants are spirits who have been redeemed by the Divine Love and great mercy of the Father, and by the great gift of immortality which Jesus wrote you about the other night.

I am now so developed in my soul qualities that I realize that I am a part of the Father's Divine nature, and that I have in me those qualities of His nature that make me immortal, and which immortality can never more be taken from me; and what I say applies to all the inhabitants of this sphere.

Of course, you will understand there is, yet, more Love which we may obtain, because our progress in the Divine Love never ceases, until we get into the very presence of the Father and are able to see Him with our soul perceptions. This phase you cannot possibly understand as you are now, but when you come to the place where I am, you will - and it is even possible for you, in a way, to comprehend it while in the mortal life, but not to the extent that you will when you become a spirit and live in this sphere.

Your mother and wife now have this quality of soul perception, but even among us there is a difference of comprehension of this, and I am told that as I progress higher and receive more of this Love, this soul perception will become clearer and more satisfactory to me. So when you hear us say we are redeemed and have as our possession a part of the Divine Essence of the Father, you must understand that it is a comparative thing, and that we are not perfect - even the Master is not perfect as God is perfect, so he tells us - but he is progressing in the acquisition of this Love and in the increased power of this soul perception.

Until we reach the First Celestial Spheres, we have not a sufficient quantity of this Love to make us partakers of this Divine Nature of the Father to the degree that all the natural loves are absorbed by the Divine Love; for all below that sphere have more or less of the mere natural love, which causes them to retain their worldly affections. I mean those things which tend to retard their progress. Of course, our natural love for our relatives or friends does not leave us even after we reach the Celestial Spheres, but when we become inhabitants of these spheres, we have no interest in the affairs of earth or its government.


Seventh Sphere:

The Seventh Sphere is the one that divides those spirits who have merely intellectual or moral qualities which are developed, as it were, to the highest degree from those spirits who, in addition to mental and moral development, have their souls developed by the Divine Love of the Father.

No spirit who has not this Love can become an inhabitant of the Seventh Sphere, so that when you hear of any of your spirit friends or acquaintances, or of any other spirits, being in the Seventh Sphere, you will know that these spirits have received the Divine Love to an extent a little short of that which enables them to enter the First Celestial Sphere and which makes them at-one with the Father and, hence, immortal.


Sixth Sphere:

The Sixth Sphere is one where the mental and moral qualities are developed to their greatest extent, and it is not necessary for the spirit to have this soul development to any great extent in order to become an inhabitant of this sphere. In other words, it is a sphere which is given more especially to those spirits who have given more thought to the improvement of their minds and their moral qualities than to the development of their souls by obtaining the Divine Love of the Father. This sphere is one of great happiness for these spirits of mental and moral excellence, and it is the highest that they can attain to in their progression in the spirit world.

Of course, these spirits may also receive this greater soul development - for the Divine Love is free and waiting for all of God's children; but my observation has been that when the spirits, who find their happiness in purely mental pursuits or in the development of their moral natures, get into this sphere, they seldom become dissatisfied enough with their condition of happiness to desire or seek for a greater one. In fact, the majority of them will not believe that there is any greater happiness that they can attain to and, hence, the deadening satisfaction which possesses them.

I know it may be a little difficult for you to understand this matter as I have attempted to explain it, but what I have said is true; and in the day of separation these spirits will realize that fact, but then it will be too late to remedy their neglect or want of the soul desire for the soul development that comes only by the inflowing of the Divine Love into the soul in sufficient abundance and which is necessary to permit them to become inhabitants of the Celestial Kingdom.


Earth Plane

Well, when a spirit enters the spirit world its condition of mental, moral or spiritual development determines where it shall first live. In the large majority of cases, the first home of the spirit is the earth plane, and in that there are a number of planes, respectively, higher or lower than others. So when the spirit finds itself in the earth plane, it also finds that its condition is not much different from what it was on earth. The same ideas of right and wrong, of beliefs, of affections and of desires obtain. Sometimes these conditions will last for many years, and again the change can come comparatively soon. This change of condition depends frequently upon the friends or relatives who try to help and instruct them when they come over.

If such spirit helpers are themselves developed in the line of intellectual pursuits, they will more naturally endeavor to direct the newly arrived spirit along the same line of thought and aspirations; and so with the morally developed helpers, they will make the questions of morality the important ones for the new spirits to give attention to.

And so with the spiritual helpers, or those who have received the Love of the Father in their souls, and to whom such Love is the most important thing in all the spirit world. Naturally they will endeavor to instruct the spirit in matters pertaining to this Love and the increased development of it. So you see, much depends upon the helpers which the new spirit finds waiting its advent into the spirit world, and the instructions which such spirit helpers give it.

But more will depend upon the condition of the spirit itself. As I have said, when it comes into the spirit world it brings with it all its beliefs, desires and affections, and these respective qualities will, to a more or less extent, influence the directions of its progress. It is much easier to influence a spirit who has had, while on earth, awakened in him a love of God even to a small degree, to pursue the thoughts that will lead him into spiritual ways, than to persuade one who has never had that awakening.

And so with the spirit who, while on earth, gave his studies and thoughts to mental pursuits, to the exclusion of thoughts relating to God or to religious matters. Such spirits will naturally be attracted to those things which it considers a continuation of its earthly thoughts, or which will enable it to pursue the development of those thoughts; and consequently, they are its "treasures" which necessarily have the most of its affections and from these affections will arise its desires which will, unless something greater intervenes, cause it to follow the course of these desires. And the same principles can be applied to every condition of the spirit - mental, moral or spiritual.

Now, to the point of your question. Such spirit, following the natural inclination of its condition as I have explained, will endeavor in its progress to get into that sphere where there are afforded the greatest opportunities for the development of the particular phase of its condition which constitutes its chief motive force. And this is in accordance with a spiritual law.

The spirit desiring above all else the development of its mental qualities will naturally seek that sphere where these qualities have the greatest opportunity for such development. And so with the moralist and the spirit of religious thought.

Now, God, in His great wisdom and goodness, has provided these several spheres and made them suited for the purposes of their creation; and all the spirits have the choice as to which they will enter and seek to live in. But, of course, not only one sphere of its kind is provided, but there are several so provided, so that there may be progression on the part of spirits who have these several phases of desires and attractions.

The Second, the Fourth and the Sixth spheres are appropriated for those spirits who have more of the qualifications and desires for advancement in their mental and moral pursuits, or rather for the development of those qualities possessed by them which pertain more to the mental and moral natures.

Of course, in their progress from the lowest to the respective higher spheres that I have mentioned, the spirit must pass through the intervening spheres; but they do not linger in them or seek to make them their homes, or stay in them for their development, because in these intervening spheres the qualities which these spirits are attempting to develop, are not given much attention, and these spirits would not be much benefited by remaining in these spheres. But the fact of passing through these intervening spheres does not indicate (for the contrary is true) that these spirits in so passing, in any degree, receive any additional love or development of their soul qualities. So that a spirit in the Third Sphere, possessing the Divine Love, may have more soul development than one who lives in the Sixth Sphere who has not the Divine Love.

And so in contrast to the Second, Fourth and Sixth Spheres that I have named, the Third, Fifth and Seventh Spheres are the ones appropriated to and specially prepared for the spirits who are seeking the development of the Divine Love into their souls; and in these spheres, Divine Love is the great thing that is sought for and acquired. The spirits of these spheres may be just as highly developed in their mental and moral qualities as are those before describe; and frequently they are more so - for with the soul development in the Divine Love, strange as it may seem to you, comes mental and moral development, but this development of the mind is not the chief thing for which these spirits seek.

Every desire and aspiration with them is subordinated to their great efforts to obtain this Divine Love to the highest degree, and ever and ever are these spirits seeking for it, and they have never become satisfied, in contrast to those who merely seek the mental and natural love development. As I have said beyond the Sixth Sphere, these merely mental or moral seekers cannot progress unless they seek for the Divine Love, and in this Sixth Sphere the mind's happiness is reached.

And the Sixth Sphere is a more prolific one of probation, in the sense that many of these spirits are awakened to the necessity of seeking this soul development, because after some of these spirits have been there for a long time, they commence to realize this limitation to their mental happiness. And, strange as it may seem to you, they frequently make their first start by calling up the recollections of their childhood days, when they were taught and believed that God loved them, and that His Love was the greatest thing in all the world.

So you see here illustrated, in a way you probably never have thought of, the saying of Jesus that, "Except ye become as little children, ye can in no wise enter the Kingdom of Heaven." But many of these spirits have no childhood recollections of this kind, and then comes the work of the higher spirits who have been redeemed by this Great Love of the Father.

In all this you will see how God recognizes and respects the independent will of His creature. He does not force them to seek His Love, but waits until they, by their own experience, learn that what they once thought was all sufficient for their happiness, is not sufficient; and realizing this insufficiency, they become dissatisfied, and with such dissatisfaction comes the wish to learn the great unknown of desire which, at last, causes them to feel their dependence upon a source of happiness not emanating from themselves.

And thus, my dear son, in my imperfect way, I have attempted to give you a description of the several spheres and their character and the object of their creation. You must believe what I have told you for it is true; and in believing you will see the great advantage in striving to enter the spheres of the soul or the Divine Heavens; for in doing so, you will not only gain your soul's development but also the development of your mental qualities and your moral nature also. And thus you will understand the great saying of the Bible: "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you."

Well, I have written you a long letter and must stop. So with all the love of a devoted grandmother,

I will say goodnight,
Ann Rollins

Friday, July 20, 2012

Jesus Writes That Ann Rollins Will Explain the Truths of God in the Next Message

June 5, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

I merely want to tell you tonight that you are so much better in your condition for writing my messages and for receiving the Love of the Father in your soul. You took my message last night in a very satisfactory way, and I am pleased with the manner in which you caught my meaning. So very soon we will have another message and a very important one. I am with you in your hours of lonesomeness, trying to help and comfort and lead you to the Love of the Father.

Tonight I will not write more, as I desire that another shall write, who will give you a message that will interest you very much. I mean your grandmother. She is a very capable spirit in discussing the things pertaining to the spirit. I mean those things which reveal to men the truths of the Father, as she has learned them and understands them. Not merely in a mental sense but in the way of her soul perceptions.

So you will receive much benefit from what she may write, and you will realize that she is a wonderful spirit in the knowledge of all these things that tell of God's Love and of His care and mercy towards mankind.

I will now, with my love and blessings and those of the Father, say goodnight.

Your brother and friend,
Jesus

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Jesus Writes a Formal Message: "Why Man Must Receive This Divine Love in Order to be Admitted to the Kingdom of Heaven or Celestial Kingdom"


June 5, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

I am with you tonight as I heard you longing for me and have come to comfort and bless you. My dear brother, you have the Love of the Father in your soul to a great extent this night, and I see that you are very happy and feel that the Father is very near you. And I am so glad that your condition is such, for I want to tell you how much the Love of the Father is waiting to bless you and make you at-one with Him and a true child of His affections

I am now prepared to give you my next formal message, and if you feel that you would like to take it tonight, I will do so. Well then, I will write on the subject: "Why man must receive this Divine Love in order to be admitted to the Kingdom of Heaven or Celestial Kingdom."

In that Kingdom there are no spirits who have not received this Love, so that their natures are of the Divine Essence of the Father. I do not mean that any spirit is perfect in this Divine nature, but that the spirit has so much of this Divine Love in his soul as to make him in unison with the nature of the Father. There are different degrees of perfection, or rather there are different degrees of possession of this Love by the spirits, and their happiness and glory are dependent upon the amount of Love possessed by them. No spirit, though, who is an inhabitant of this Kingdom, is without this Divine Love; and no spirit has in its soul any sin or error that may have been a part of it while in the earth life.

All the spirits know that they are immortal, just as the Father is immortal; and this knowledge comes to them only from the possession of this Love, which is the Divine Essence that flowed into their souls from the great Divine nature of the Father. Should anything in the soul not be in unison with the Soul of the Father, that spirit could not possibly enter into that Kingdom; and as the soul of such spirit remains in such condition of inharmony, it can never be received into the Celestial Kingdom.

I know that among men and spirits, also, it is thought and asserted that the Father is all merciful and all good, and in His great plan for the salvation of men and for establishing the harmony of His universe, no man or spirit will be excluded from His Heavenly Kingdom; but in this thought, mortals and spirits both are mistaken; and I am sorry to say that many of them wil,, when too late, realize this error.

God has certain principles which are fixed and which are necessary for men to know and obey in order for them to become at-one with Him and partake of His Divine nature; and if they fail to obey the requirements of these principles, they will forever be excluded from possessing that in their souls which will make them like the Father, and admit them to His Kingdom.

They, in such condition, or want of the qualifications, even though they were admitted to the Kingdom, would not be happy, for their condition would wholly fail to respond to those things in the Kingdom which give happiness to the true children of the Father; and they, of necessity, would be most unhappy, and heaven would not be a heaven to them. So you see, all spirits, in order to inhabit this Kingdom, must have the prescribed requirements of soul love and soul development.

As I said when on earth, "He that enters into the sheepfold in any other way than through the gate is a thief and a robber," and no thief or robber is fitted for this Kingdom of Divine Love.

Let man know, that no Mercy or Love of the Father will be given him to enable him to enter this Kingdom, unless that man seeks this Love and this Mercy in the way the Father has ordained that they shall be sought for. No special providence will be extended to any man, and if he comes to the marriage feast without his wedding garment, he will be cast out and not be permitted to enjoy the feast. Men may reason to the extent of all their reasoning powers to prove that the Father, being a loving and merciful Father, will not cast them out or keep them from entering this Kingdom, because they are all His children and the objects of His Love and favor, and that one is as dear to Him as the other, and that He is no respecter of persons, and, therefore, will treat all alike; but I tell them that they are mistaken, and if they wait until the Great Day when the sheep shall be separated from the goats, they will realize to their everlasting exclusion from this Kingdom, that what I say is true.

Of course, every spirit ever born is the object of the Father's care, and He makes no distinction between the spirits and mortals that He has created, and wants every one of them to inhabit His Kingdom and partake of those things which He has provided for them, and which are beyond their conception in the greatness of the grandeur and beauty of these things. And He calls to all His creatures to come and partake of these great provisions that He has made for them, and no creature is refused the gift of these things, or heard to ask and not be answered with their bestowal; yet, when that man or spirit who has this great boon, and the way shown by which he can receive these gifts, refuses or neglects to follow that way or to receive these gifts in the way ordained by the Father, then all these Great Gifts are withdrawn from him, and never, after the Great Day of separation, will he have the privilege of receiving them.

And men cannot say that the Father is unjust or unmerciful or unloving because He forever, thereafter, shuts the door to these privileges or the opportunity of receiving them. Men have rejected His Gift and neglected to search His plans for their great happiness, and, consequently, they will have no right to complain, when they, like the foolish virgins, find the door shut against them.

So I say, men must realize the necessity of putting on the wedding garments and of filling their lamps with oil, in order to be admitted into the Kingdom.

I will not herein tell the way in which men must prepare themselves for an entrance into this Kingdom of the Father, for it would take too long, but I will in a future message explain this fully; but I will say, before closing, that if men will pray to the Father for the inflowing into their souls of His Divine Love, and have faith, they will find themselves on the true way to become inhabitants of His Kingdom.

As it is late I must stop writing, and with all my love and blessings and the blessings of the Father, will say good night.

Your friend and brother,
Jesus

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Jesus Writes That Ancient Spirits From the Sixth Sphere Have Only Intellectual Development and Not Divine Love

June 2, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

No, the spheres in which she (Saleeba) lived are the ones that your grandmother described as being the homes of the merely intellectual spirits. In these different spheres are many subspheres and the different races of mankind naturally congregate with those spirits of their own race - so that while this Egyptian may have lived in these different spheres, it does not follow that she lived in the same subspheres with the spirits of other races and, in all probability, she did not.

She is a very ancient spirit, but her age as compared with eternity - that which is passed as well as that to follow - is as a grain of sand on the seashore to all the rest of the sand. She is old as men consider age, but as we look upon it, she is of the now and not very old. She will tell you of the spheres in which she lived, but they will not be any different, or any greater than the ones your grandmother described. And she has not progressed above the Sixth and cannot until she receives the Divine Love and Essence of the Father.

So, as she describes these spheres to you, keep in mind the fact, that she has never gotten beyond the Sixth, as described by your grandmother. She may have passed through what seems to her many more spheres than the ones described by your grandmother, but all the various stages through which she passed constitute no more than the six lower spheres. She never was in the seventh or passed through it.

So let your mind be settled on this point: No spirit who is without this Love has ever gotten beyond the Sixth Sphere. The ancient Bible patriarchs and prophets, such as Moses, Abraham, Elisha, and the others, never got beyond the Sixth Sphere until my coming when they received the Divine Love - and the fact that they are ancient spirits does not necessarily imply that they are in a very high sphere now.

Your grandmother, for instance, is in a much higher sphere than all of the ancients who have never received the Divine Love.

So the fact that a spirit is ancient does not, of itself, mean that it is of a very high order of spirit. Many a spirit who passed over comparatively recently is as high in the Sixth Sphere as are these ancient ones. And many a spirit who came to the spirit world within a short time, your wife for instance, is in a higher sphere than many of these ancient ones who have been in the spirit life for centuries - yes, centuries upon centuries - and for the reason that these ancients have only the mental development, which can carry them into the Sixth Sphere only, while your wife has the soul development which has already carried her to the Celestial Spheres.

So do not think that because a spirit who comes to you may be an ancient spirit, it may be in a high sphere, or can instruct you in those things which will lead you to the Father's Kingdom for it is not true.

The Egyptian who came to you is now seeking this Love and she will receive it and progress higher as she develops her soul, but she will never get higher than the Sixth Sphere until her soul development fits her for the higher spheres. The mere fact that she has the mental development, which enabled her to progress to the Sixth Sphere will not help her in any degree to progress above it. As her soul develops, she will leave the Sixth Sphere and inhabit a sphere of soul education, which is in unison with her development, and it may be the Third only, but this sphere will enable her to make more rapid progress than if she should remain in the Sixth, because of the reasons that your grandmother portrayed in her message.

So do not be impressed with the thought that because a spirit is an ancient one, it can help you or instruct you in those things which pertain to your soul development. Of course, their mental qualities are developed to a high degree, and they can tell you many interesting things about the times in which they lived, and of their experiences in the spirit world; but these things, while interesting, do not help you to attain to the Divine Kingdom. As regards this soul knowledge, they may be mere babes and totally devoid of all the things necessary for the soul development through Divine Love.

I have many things yet to write about, and as we write you will see that I am the true Jesus, and that my knowledge of the Father's Kingdom is the greatest possessed by any spirit, be he ancient or modern. I wish that I could write to you every night, but under present earthly conditions I cannot, because it might interfere with your life on earth. But, as I have told you, very soon you will be in the condition where I will have your services all to myself and my work. I will not write more tonight, but only say - believe - and you will see the glories of the Father, and your own salvation and happiness.

Your friend and brother,
Jesus

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Princess Saleeba, an Ancient Egyptian Spirit, Writes About Her Life on Earth and in the Spirit World and Reveals Her Desire to Learn the Secret to Obtaining Divine Love

June 2, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

Let me write just a little as I need help, and I saw how you helped the last spirit who wrote. It was wonderful what a change came to her as you told her of God's Love, and when she went with that beautiful spirit who spoke so lovingly to her, I thought that hope is for me, too. So I know you will help me as I need it so much, and you seem willing to help us all.

I am a woman who lived a great many years ago in a land that is far distant from your home and at a time that runs back into the centuries. I was an Egyptian Princess and lived in the time when your Jesus, that I heard you speak of, was not known to the world. I was taught the philosophy of the ancient Egyptians, and Osiris and Isis were our god and goddess. We worshiped them, but not in love or soul adoration, but in fear and dread. They were not the loving Father that you say your God is, but the dread things of power and wrath that called for our obedience through fear of punishment and the tortures of the hells, which they were supposed to rule in and there torment the spirits of mortals who disobeyed them. So you see, our souls were not developed with love, but our minds were controlled with fear, and we offered our sacrifices to appease the terrible threatenings of their wrath.

I was naturally a loving woman, and in my life outside of my religious beliefs, I was compassionate and sympathetic. Those who were subject to me in our intercourse of government loved me and were grateful and obedient subjects. But when it became a question as to our worship and religious duties, I sacrificed many of them to satisfy the wrath and demands of our gods. These sacrifices were made at first openly, but so great did they become and deleterious to the good of the nation in its political aspect that latterly our sacrifices were made in private, but they were made nevertheless.

Our beliefs were as real and as earnest as are the beliefs of you Christians in your God of Love and mercy, and we did the will of our gods with as much belief that we were doing our duty, as do you the will of the Father in the belief that you are doing your duty.

But as I now see, what a difference in the motives, and what a difference in the results. Our motives were to appease our angry gods, and thereby prevent their wrath from falling upon us who continued to live - and your motives are to get and be filled with the Love and Mercy of a Father of Love and to have your souls filled with that which will enable you to live in His presence and become supremely happy.

In the long years that I have lived in the spirit world, I have learned all this intellectually, and many other things that show me the cruelty and degradation of the beliefs that prevailed when I was a mortal and which resulted in the deaths physically of many of my subjects and the death, also, of their souls.

Love to us was not a thing divine. Obedience and placating the anger of the gods were the divine things to us. And now, while I have heard of this Love of your Father and have seen the results of this Love upon their appearances and the apparent happiness of the worshipers of your God, yet, I have never understood this Great Love, except in an intellectual way.

My soul has never felt the influence of this Love, and I had never before thought it necessary for me to seek the secret of obtaining the benefit of this Love. But I now see that there is something more to this secret than the mere knowledge of the Love's existence, which the mind tells me must exist. And so having, in my journeys to earth, heard of your meetings with the spirits who are seeking this Love, or rather a way out of their darkness and sufferings, and having seen the effect of some of their efforts, I came to you to learn the way, if possible, by which I may obtain the soul experience which I have heard you, and the beautiful spirits who come to you, speak of.

Of course, my ancient beliefs still have some influence over me, though, I have found that Osiris and Isis are myths but, yet, that negative knowledge has not supplied me with the means by which I can get this Love you speak of. While I know that the angry gods do not exist, still there is a void in my soul which I realize has never been filled. So I pray that if you can help me to the way that will lead to my finding this soul-filling Love that you speak of, I will be greatly obliged if you will do so and will follow that way.

In the years since my coming into the spirit world, I have lived in a number of spheres, each one in succession a progressive one. But in none of these spheres, which I have lived in, have I found that the inhabitants are possessed of this soul Love that I am anxious to obtain. In the higher spheres in which I have lived and in the highest, there is a wonderful development of the mental qualities and the knowledge possessed by these spirit inhabitants is beyond all conception of mortals.

Sin does not exist in these highest spheres and happiness is very great, and the spirits are very beautiful and bright. But in my comparison of the beauty and brightness of these spirits with those who claim this soul development of Love, I notice a great difference.

We have our loves and our harmonies and peace reigns supreme but, yet, I am not satisfied, and so with many others who live where I do. But the cause of this dissatisfaction is not revealed to us and only, as I say in my visits to the earth plane and hearing of this Love, have I become convinced that the great secret of our dissatisfaction may be found among those spirits who claim to have this wonderful Love.

So I come to you and ask you to show me the way to learn of it. Well, I have visited the earth plane many times since I have been a spirit and, occasionally, have conversed with the spirits who claim to have this Love, and they have to some degree told me of this Love, but I never thought much about it until lately. I was happy in my condition, as I have told you of it, and did not think it worthwhile to inquire into the fact of what this Love meant. But somehow, lately, the desire to learn of it has taken possession of me and, hence, I come to you because I see others coming to you who say they need help.

I did not go to the others you speak of because I thought that I might get more help by coming to you first. The spirits who are seeking your help say that they can in some way obtain an advantage in coming to you first. I don't know why, but they believe it. And when I saw the effect of their coming to you, I thought it might be so and, hence, I came. I was the daughter of one of the early Pharaohs and my name was Princess Saleeba. I do not know how to compute the centuries, but I lived before the pyramids were built, so you see I have been in the spirit world a long time. Not now, but sometime I will come again and write you more in detail a description of the spheres through which I have progressed.

I have called for your mother, and she is so very beautiful. She must have a great amount of this Love. She says that she will show me the way to obtain it, and will love me herself, and take me to the greatest spirit in all the spirit world in whom I can see this Love developed in its greatest perfection. And I am going with her.

So remember my promise to come again, for I will. So with many thanks and my kindest regards, I will say goodnight.

Saleeba

Monday, July 16, 2012

Ann Rollins Confirms That Jesus Wrote on the True Meaning of "Immortality"

May 28, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, your Grandmother.

Well my son, the discourse of the Master is wonderful. Never before has he explained to mortals the real inner truths of immortality and other truths of a kindred nature. I was somewhat impressed with the earnestness with which he wrote and the great exertion of his thoughts and love that accompanied his writing. You must study the message earnestly for in it are truths, which appear nowhere else that I am aware of.

Oh, the great blessings of the Father to his children! How thankful we should be that we live in a time when this Great Gift has been restored to mankind and have the privilege of partaking of it.

I will not write more tonight as you are considerably exhausted by your writing. So with all my love and best wishes for your welfare,

I am your loving Grandmother,
Ann Rollins

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Jesus Writes on the True Meaning of "Immortality"


May 28, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

I want to tell you what I mean by immortality, as you and your friend differed today in your ideas of what it means.

When Adam*, or whom he typified, was told that if he should disobey God and eat of the forbidden fruit, he should surely die, the word death meant death of the soul so far as its future progress in that which would insure its receiving the Divine Essence of the Father's Love was involved. It did not mean the physical death or the death of the body, because it is very apparent that after his doom was pronounced, he lived in the flesh a great many years. But his soul's progression stopped.

And it was only after my coming to earth and teaching the doctrine and truth of man being restored to the condition which Adam occupied before his fall, did mankind have the privilege of becoming immortal again - that is, of being permitted - and in condition - to obtain that soul progress, which would enable them to become one with and a part of the Father in His love and affections.

I do not mean that Adam was endowed with this Divine Love when he was created, but that he had that formation of soul potentialities which, if properly exercised, would have brought him in that unison with the Father that would have made his nature divine. And when he disobeyed the commandments of the Father, he died - so far as that possibility of obtaining that Divine Nature is concerned.

As to those who lived on earth between Adam's fall and my revelation of the truth of redemption, they did not receive this nature, or potentiality, and were compelled to live only as mortals and spirits having the natural love. They never were admitted into the Father's Heavenly Kingdom, but existed merely as spirits having the natural love which was bestowed upon Adam and his race. Abraham, Isaac, and the rest of the persons who are described in the Bible as being children of God and obedient to His commands, were not partakers of this Divine Nature and became so only after my coming to earth and showing the way to its attainment.

When I was sent to earth, God sent me with the truth as to redemption and conferred upon man the privilege of receiving His Divine Essence. No sacrifice or death of mine brought this great boon, but only with my coming came this Love and the way to obtain it. Adam was not created immortal, but had only the potentiality of immortality, and after his death, man ceased to have this potentiality until God sent it to them with my coming to earth.

And when it was said that: "As in Adam all men die, so in me were all men made alive,"** it was merely meant that when Adam fell, that which formed a part of his being and made it possible for him to become immortal was taken from him - that is, as to that potentiality and privilege, he died, and was no more able to attain to the condition of soul that enabled him to become one with the Father, or to partake of His Divinity; and in this death remained the condition of mankind until, as I say, I came and brought with me the restored gift of the soul attribute, which made it possible for man to again become immortal.

When this gift was bestowed upon man, it was also bestowed upon all those who were then living in the spirit world, but they could obtain it only in the way that was provided for man to obtain it. Understand me, everything that was lost by Adam's fall was restored by my coming with the restored gift; and it embraced every spirit who had ever lived as mortal and every mortal who thereafter lived up to the present time.

My coming, of itself, or the death or sacrifice of me by the Jews, did not restore mankind to the condition that existed in Adam before his fall. I was only a messenger of God sent with that gift and to teach the truth of its restoration to mankind and to spirits. And when, after my death, I descended into Hell, as the Bible says (but which saying does not express the destination of my going, for the true meaning is that I went into the world of spirits), I proclaimed to the spirits the truth of the bestowal of this restored life which had been lost by Adam's disobedience.

All spirits, good and bad, now have this restored potentiality of obtaining the Divine Nature that I have spoken of, or immortality. So you see, when Adam died, it was the death of the soul quality or potentiality which makes immortality possible.

When the Bible speaks of those men of ancient times who were God's prophets and beloved children and as walking with Him, it merely means that they had obtained such a high development of their natural love that they could occupy those spheres in the spirit world upon their physical death, which made them mere spirits of mortals, close to the Father and supremely happy. I mean that happiness which does not partake of the Divine Nature. They were not in the same condition of soul attributes as was Adam before his fall - for they did not have this potentiality, and any interpretation of anything written in the Bible which gives to any man or spirit, at that time, the possibility of receiving the Divine Essence of the Father is erroneous and misleading.

As I have said, my death or sacrifice by blood, as is emphasized in creeds and worship of the churches, did not in the slightest degree work to bring about the restoration of this great favor of God to man. They were merely the results of the conditions of the beliefs of men in the Jewish nation, which would not tolerate my declarations of truth. My death, etc., did not appease any wrath of God towards men, but of His own Great Love for His creatures He bestowed this gift or privilege of the soul, which man had lost by Adam's disobedience.

It was the disobedience of believing that he was not dependent upon God for the soul quality or potentiality that made it possible for him to partake of God's Divine Nature. The tree of good and evil merely represented the knowledge that God had reserved unto Himself of the existence of that, which if known to Adam, would have subjected him to temptations that would destroy this soul quality of which I have spoken. And when Adam ate of the fruit of this tree that is - when he disobeyed God and sought the knowledge of those things which subjected him to the temptations that might cause him to cease to be all good - God took away the potentiality of Adam becoming one with Him and immortal. It was a direct punishment for disobedience, and the result was that man was left mere man, either as a mortal or as a spirit.

I do not think that it was ever said that if Adam should eat of the tree of life, he would live forever and become as gods, because he was already the recipient of this tree of life in that attribute of his soul which could by its proper development make himself like the gods; and here you must understand that gods could mean only those who possessed this Divine Nature of the Father. There was only one God, and all other living beings in the spirit world were merely those who were possessed of the God-like qualities of love and obedience. None were gods. The Angels of God were merely the spirits that I have last described.

When it was said that man was made a little lower than the Angels, it meant that while these Angels had that Divine Nature perfected to a more or less degree, man had only the potentiality of soul that would enable him to obtain that development which would perfect him so that he could become an Angel. But this saying does not apply to any man born after Adam and before my coming with the announcement that God had restored to man this Divine attribute which Adam had forfeited.

So you see, the loss of immortality does not mean the death of the physical body, but the death of that quality or potentiality of the soul which enabled man to become like the Father in certain of His Divine attributes. And more strictly speaking, the mere possession of the soul of this quality is not immortality, or rather it does not make a man or spirit immortal, but merely gives him such quality of soul and potentiality that by its proper development he may become immortal.

In the future, all men, either as spirits or mortals, will possess that soul quality or potentiality until the great day of judgment shall again take from those who have not, at the time, perfected their souls into the enjoyment of the Divine Nature, as I have explained. When that day comes, those who are without this Divine Essence in their souls, will be forever deprived of the privilege of receiving this Great Gift or obtaining of this Divine Essence or, in other words, of God's Divine Love. And after that time, those spirits who have never acquired this Divine Nature will be permitted to live merely as spirits enjoying their natural love, just as Adam after his fall, and all spirits and men who lived between that time and my coming, lived only in their natural love. This is the second death. Adam's was the first, and the great day of judgment will declare the second. And after that never again will man have the opportunity of partaking of this Divine Essence of the Father and "becoming as one of the gods."

Men may reason to the utmost of their limited intellects in the way of saying that God would not subject His creatures to this second death and, thereby, deprive them of this great boon of becoming partakers of His Divine Nature and the great happiness that comes with it, but such reasoning, or the conclusion reached, will not change the fact. What I tell you is the fact and many men to their sorrow will, when too late, realize that it is true. And men will not be justified in complaining of this.

The opportunity is now given and will in the future be given to all men and spirits to become the children of the Father in the Angelic and Divine sense, and if they refuse to do so, they can have no grounds upon which to base the accusation of injustice against the Father or His love. He will still be their Father, even though they may not accept His Great Gift, and they will  - from the natural love bestowed upon them - be comparatively happy, but they will not partake of His Heavenly Kingdom.

They will be like the guests invited to the marriage feast who, because of various excuses, declined to attend. While they were not deprived of other food and sustenance, yet, the more precious food, which the host had provided for them at the feast, they never partook of, and never thereafter had the opportunity to. Many of my parables in the Bible illustrate this great truth when properly understood. But men in those days did, when I was on earth, and men now harden their hearts and shut their intellects to the truths of these parables and to my teachings.

Of course, ultimately, all these men will be saved from sin and error and, in fact, sin and error will be destroyed entirely and men and spirits will live comparatively happy; but they will live in death and not in life, so far as the life of the soul with its possibilities of becoming Divine, or of enjoying the great happiness which the Divine Love of the Father bestows, is concerned.

So you see, immortality does not pertain to the physical body or to the spiritual body, or to the soul unqualifiedly, but to those qualities of the soul, which makes it possible for the soul to become in its nature Divine. And immortality does not mean mere continuous existence, because every spirit and every soul may live through all eternity in their individualized form. And when it was said in the Bible that I brought immortality and life to light, it did not mean that I showed man merely that they would, as spirits, continue to live forever, but it meant that they would live forever in the Father's Kingdom with natures Divine and not capable of being deprived of the great and true life which obtains only in that Kingdom.

So let you and your friend think over what I have written, and in places where my meaning may not appear plain, I will try by the inspiration of my knowledge and power to enlighten your souls and intellects. You are both very mediumistic and easy recipients of inspiration, and as your souls seem to be attuned to the truth and as you are seeking earnestly for the truth, I will endeavor with all my powers to inspire you with such intellectual thoughts and spiritual perceptions as will enable you to see these truths in all their nakedness, and face to face, and not as through a glass darkly.

I must now stop and give you my blessings, and the blessing of the Father.

Your friend and brother,
Jesus
__________________

* Adam, typified one of the first parents whose names are Aman and Amon. Both these spirits wrote through Mr. Padgett. Their messages will be posted in the future.

** 1 Corinthians 15:22

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Jesus Writes About The Real Truth of Life on Earth and What It Means to Mortals

May 25, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

You are better tonight in your spiritual condition and I will write a formal message. I desire to write on the subject of, "The real truth of the life on earth, and what it means to mortals."

When men come to the knowledge that they are children of the Father and under His care and protection, they will see that they must lead such lives as will fit them to become in union with the Father and be able to partake of His Love which makes them, as it were, a part of Himself. I mean that there is in all men the potentiality of becoming a part of the Divine Essence. But in order for them to partake of this Divinity, they must let the Love of the Father, in its highest nature, enter into their souls and make them at-one with Him.

No mere love that they had bestowed upon them as creatures of the Father's handiwork will enable them to attain to this exalted condition.The natural love, of itself, is not sufficient, because when that love was bestowed upon them it was merely intended to enable them to live in a good and harmonious way with their fellowmen. It was not the Real Love that formed a part of the Divine nature of the Father, and was not intended to make men a part of that nature. So, in order for men to receive this Higher Love, they must do the Will of the Father while on earth, or they will have a more difficult work after they become spirits in receiving the wonderful inflowing of this Divine Love.

The earth is the great plane of probation, and the development of the souls of men depends upon their correct living  in accordance with those principles, which the Father has established as the means whereby they may receive this condition of Love, which alone can make them at-one with Him.

Merely good deeds are not sufficient. Back of all deeds must be the soul's development, which results only from the possession of this Love. I do not mean by this that deeds do not form a part of this development, for they do; but deeds without the possession of this Love will never make a man the possessor of the one thing needful to ensure his entrance into the Heavenly Kingdom.

Men must love one another and must, of course, "do unto each other as they would be done by." If this rule of conduct was observed, men would be much happier on earth, even if they do not possess the Divine Love that I speak of.

No man can of himself become filled with this Love, for in only one way will it come into his soul and that is: by prayer to the Father for its inflowing and faith that He will give it to him who asks earnestly and humbly. I know that some men think that prayer is nothing more than an appeal to their own better selves, but I tell you that this is a wrong belief; and when they realize the truth that prayer ascends to the Father, and is heard by Him and answered, they will understand the great mission and benefit of prayer.

Let men live the most exemplary lives and, yet, they will not necessarily become partners of this Great Love and have the qualities that are necessary to enable them to receive the great gift of unison with the Father. I urge all men to live a good moral life, because it has its own reward in the spirit world, and makes them happier as spirit beings in a condition of mere natural love, and will fit them for a life in the spirit world, which will bring to them happiness; but not the happiness of those who fit themselves for a greater happiness in the Celestial Kingdom.

I will not discourage men from seeking the life of a moralist, or of one who tries to follow the truths of conduct which the golden rule imposes, but on the contrary, emphasize the necessity for such a life. A good man approaches nearer to the image of the Father than any other being can possibly attain to, and his reward in the future life will be that which comes only from living the life of such a man. So I say, the more a man lives in accordance with these moral precepts, the nearer he will approach the image in which he was created.

But why should men be satisfied with the image when the Real Substance may be theirs by obeying the invitation of the Father? The image may satisfy some who are content with small things, but the aspiring soul wants the Real Substance, which the Father offers freely to those who will accept His invitation.

No man can really live a good moral life unless he has as his guide the Love that I have mentioned. I do not believe that any man who knows the difference between the image and the Substance will be satisfied with the former for, if so, he is rejecting the greatest happiness that even the Father can bestow upon him.

So let not men be content with trying to live good moral lives, but seek with all their hearts the Love that makes them truly Angels of God; and such Angels as can feel and realize (by reason of the Divinity which such Love brings to them) the certainty that they are immortal.

Immortality is only of God, and anything less than God, or His Divine Essence, which makes the creature a part of that Divinity, is not immortal.

Adam and Eve (as they are called) were mortals, free from sin and obedient to the Father, and thought that they were immortal; but when the temptation came and they yielded, they realized to their great sorrow that they were not immortal. And so will every spirit of mortal be in the future life where the Divine Love of the Father has not become a part of its existence.

Life on earth is an important part of the great eternity of living, and men should realize this to its fullest meaning, and not think the earth a mere stopping place where the spirit is enfolded in flesh only for the pleasures and gratification of its carnal appetites. This earth life is a fleeting shadow of the spirit life, but an important shadow to the happiness which man may enjoy in the future. It is the most important period of man's whole existence, and the way that such life is lived may determine the whole future life of the man. I don't mean that there is no redemption beyond the grave, for the mercy of the Father continues into the spirit life; but when man fails to accept this mercy - I mean the way in which he may become a Divine child of the Father while in the earth life, he may never accept it in the spirit life.

So many spirits are contented to remain in the happiness of their natural love, and refuse to be convinced that there is a greater Love and happiness awaiting them in the Father's Kingdom, which may be theirs if they will only believe and seek. This I say from my knowledge of the real condition of spirits in the spirit world, and the difficulty, which the redeemed spirits have found in their endeavors to convince these spirits who are enjoying the happiness of their natural love, that there is a happier and better sphere in which they may live, if they will seek for the Divine Love of the Father.

As I said when on earth, "Strait is the gate and narrow is the way, which leads to life eternal and few there be who enter therein."* And this saying applies to the spirit world as well as to the material world. So let me urge upon all men to seek the strait and narrow way, for only by it can men come to the full enjoyment of what the Father has provided for them.

I will now stop, but in closing will say, with all the love and knowledge which I possess: Let men seek this great Divine Love, and in faith they will find it, and forever be one with the Father - immortal as He is immortal and happy beyond all conception.

So I will say with all my love and blessings, and the blessings of the Father, "Seek and ye shall find."

Goodnight. Your loving brother and friend,
Jesus
________________________________

* Matthew 7:14

Friday, July 13, 2012

Helen Writes a Short Note That Jesus' Earlier Message Was Full of Truth

May 24, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Helen

Well, you had a message from Jesus and I am glad that you could write for him, though it was not one of his formal ones as he said, but it was full of truth and interesting. So you must think of it and you will get benefit from it.

Professor was disappointed that he could not finish his message, but he was not at all offended that you went to sleep. He understood that you could not keep awake, and so he will try again.

I am very happy and am almost with your mother in her new home and feel that I will soon be with her. So you must rejoice with me in my progression.

I see that you are not in a very good condition to write tonight, and I will not write more now.

With all my love, I am your own true and loving,
Helen

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Professor Joseph Salyards Writes About the Law of Progress and That the Natural Love Has Its Limitations

May 24, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Professor Salyards.

I would like to give you another installment of my discourse, if you feel inclined to take it at this time.

It was the Master, you must not doubt.

Well, there is another Law of the Spirit World which provides that:

No spirit can ever progress to the higher sphere until he realizes that he must 
seek the Love and help of the Father

You may say that there are many spirits in the higher spheres who have never received this Love, and who notwithstanding have progressed and are now comparatively happy spirits. This is true, but their progress is merely intellectual and moral. They can progress to a limited degree only and then must stop in their progress, as the progress of the mind and the natural love has its limitations.

But such progress is not the progress that I speak of. This is without limitations and leads to spheres without end - progressing nearer and near to the very Fountainhead of the Father, as the Divine Love increases in greater abundance in the soul to progress higher. This I am told by spirits from these Celestial Spheres.

Well, I am sorry that you became sleepy for it broke the thread of my discourse so that I cannot resume. Yes, I understand and do not blame you, but the effect is just the same. As your wife wants to write, I will stop.

Your old friend and teacher,
J. Salyards

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Jesus Writes About His True Mission on Earth

May 24, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

You are feeling better tonight, and l will try to write a little. I do not know that you are in condition to take a formal message, but I will tell you some things that will be of interest to you and mankind.

When I came to the world to teach the truths of my Father, the world was almost devoid of spiritual conception of the true relationship of God to man, and God was a being of power and wrath only. It was because of this conception of Him that the Jews were so devoid of the true knowledge of His nature and attributes. They only knew Him as a God who was interested in their material welfare and did not realize that He was a God who wanted them to know Him as their Spiritual Father and Saviour from the sins and evil natures that they possessed. And, consequently, when I came - they looked upon me, I mean those who accepted me as their Messiah, as one who would redeem them from the slavery which their Roman conquerors had placed them in and make them a great and independent nation more powerful than all the nations of the earth and fitted to rule the whole world.

They had no conception of my true mission on earth, and even my disciples, until shortly before my death, looked upon me merely as a saviour of them from the burdens which the Roman yoke had placed upon them. The only one of my disciples who had any approximate realization of what my coming to earth meant was John, and that was because of the great amount of love that seemed to be a part of his nature and being. To him, I explained my real mission and taught him the spiritual truths which I came to teach, and the only way in which mortals could receive that Love of the Father, which was necessary to make them one with the Father and enable them to partake of the Divinity of the Father.

Hence, only in John's Gospel is written the one necessary requirement to a full salvation and redemption of mankind. I mean the declaration that men must be Born Again in order to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the only true way by which a man can become a true child of the Father and fitted to live in and enjoy the Father's Kingdom to the fullest.

The other disciples had more or less conception of this necessary truth, but not the full comprehension of what it involved. Peter was more possessed of this Love than were the other disciples, except John, and with it he also understood that I was the true son of my Father, but he never understood nor declared that I was God. He was a man filled with zeal and ambition, but his development of love was not sufficient to enable him to fully realize that my Kingdom was not to be an earthly one, until after my death, and then the conviction came to him in all its truth and fullness, and he became the most powerful and influential of all my disciples.

After the Pentecost, all of my disciples understood what my real mission was, and they went into the world and preached the true doctrines of my mission on earth, and the Love of the Father for His children, and the fact that that Love was waiting for all who should seek for it.

So you see that many of my disciples when on earth were not possessed of the true conception of my mission, and were not true followers of me in that inner meaning of what the Love of the Father meant, and what I tried to preach to them.

I have on earth now many mortals who understand my teachings better, and with a greater extent of soul knowledge, than did my disciples when journeying with me through Palestine.

But there are a great many men and women now living who do not understand my teachings, even though they think they understand the Bible and the interpretations of its discourses in accordance with the accepted doctrines of the learned and so-called teachers of its truths.

I don't feel that you can write more tonight and so will stop and say that you must continue to get stronger, spiritually and physically, so that we can continue our writings more rapidly and with greater satisfaction. So believe that I am Jesus and your true friend and brother who is with you very much trying to help you and make you happy and contented.

With my love and prayers, I am
Jesus

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Jesus Writes That James Must Have Faith and Trust in the Father's Love

May 18, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

Let me write just to say, be true and the power will be given you, and the truth of my Revelations shall be heard throughout the world by the work that you shall do in the way of writing.

The richer will be your soul, but you must have faith and trust in the Father's Love. I have said it and you will see the glory of the Father displayed, if you will pray and believe.

With faith, there will be revealed all these precious things in existence.

Your brother and friend,
Jesus

Monday, July 9, 2012

Jesus Writes a Short Note and Arranges a Time for James to Continue with His Messages

May 13, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

Well, I am ready to write more of my discourses, and I want you to prepare for our writing very soon. I think that tomorrow night will suit for the work. Commence about nine o'clock, and then you can write until we finish it.

Yes, very soon the Love will come to you in abundance, and you will realize its cleansing effect, and will also experience a wonderful peace filling your soul. So tomorrow night we will write.

She was correct, except that she may have overdrawn her description of my beauty and goodness, but she thinks as she wrote and you must believe what she said.

Well, I love you with all the love of an elder brother who is filled with the Love of the Heavenly Father. This is all that I can say for it is most comprehensive and leaves nothing to be added.

I will pray with you tonight that the Father's Love may come to you in great abundance. So with the love that I mention and my blessings and the Love and blessings of the Father,

I am your true friend and brother,
Jesus

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Ann Rollins Writes About Seeking the Love of God on Earth; Meeting Jesus; Describes His Appearance; and Discusses Probation

May 13, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, your Grandmother.

I am happier than I can tell you. I am living in my home of which I told you a few nights ago, and it is a beautiful home beyond the possibility of description. Tonight, I want to tell you of my experience in seeking the Love of God, and in realizing that He is my Father, who loves me with a Love that knows no shadow of wavering or cessation.

I was not always filled with faith, or believed so implicitly in prayer, but in my early married life, I received the conviction that if I would be happy in life and fitted to receive the blessings which the Bible promised to those who should seek the Lord and his Love, I must see the necessity of seeking; and I, with all the earnestness of my nature, commenced seeking for the Father's Love, and as a result I found it and with it a great happiness and peace.

You know what my spiritual condition was in my later years on earth, and how my faith was such that, although I was nearly deaf and blind, yet, I was happy and joyful. Well, when I came to the spirit world, I brought that faith and love with me, and I found that it was just as real here as it had been on earth. Of course, in some of my beliefs I was mistaken, such as my belief that Jesus was God, and that his death and blood saved or could save me from sin and damnation; but notwithstanding my mistakes in these particulars, my love for the Father was not interfered with, and I continued to live in that love and was happy.

I had not been in the spirit world a great while before spirits of a higher order than myself came to me and told me many wonderful things of the Father's Kingdom, and that my progress to the higher spheres would depend upon my receiving more of this Divine Love in my soul and becoming more at-one with the Father.

The first time I saw Jesus was after I had been in the Third Sphere a short while, and when I met him he impressed me as being the most beautiful and loving spirit that I had ever seen; and when he told me that he was Jesus, I, of course, was somewhat surprised, because I had believed that he was sitting in the Heavens on the right hand of God, as I had been taught on earth to believe.

And when he saw my surprise, he looked on me with a wonderful love and said that I must not further believe that he was God, or even a part of Him, or that he was in the high Heavens accepting the worship of men, for he was only a spirit as I was and was still working among mortals as well as spirits to lead them into the light and the way to the Father's Love.

At first, I confess, it was difficult for me to believe this, and I had my doubts; but his manner of talking to me and the wonderful love that he displayed, not only for me but for all mankind, soon convinced me that he was the true Jesus and not an imposter. And afterwards, I met many spirits who knew him and had been his followers for many years, and they told me that he was the Jesus of the Bible, and I could not do anything else but believe. And now, after my long years of association with him and feeling his ministrations of love and the influence of his greatness, I know that he is the true Jesus, who by his teachings and overwhelming love saves men from their sins, by showing them the way to the Father's Kingdom. So my dear son, do not doubt what I tell you now in reference to this matter, or what I have already told you.

Well, it is somewhat difficult to describe his appearance, but I will try. He is of a commanding figure, as you say on earth. His features are regular, and his eyes are of a deep blue, almost a purple blue, with such depths of love in them that under its influence you almost forget to note the color of his eyes. The hair is a beautiful brown, worn long and parted in the middle so that it falls over his shoulders. His nose is straight and somewhat long, with nostrils very refined and showing the artistic elements in his nature. His other features are in keeping with those I have described. He wears a beard quite long and very silky and brown like his hair. His manner is grace itself and modesty personified and, yet, in him is the intensity of feeling which can show itself in just indignation when the occasion requires. And, yet, with all the great beauty of his person and the greater love of his soul showing itself, he is very humble - more so than any spirit I have seen.

I have given you a bare outline of his appearance, and you will never fully realize in your mind's eye just what his appearance is; and only when you come over and meet him will you fully understand the appearance of the most wonderful and beautiful and loving spirit in all God's universe.

Some day this will happen; and you will not have the doubts that I had, and your heart will go out to him from the first moment of your meeting. My dear son, it is a greater privilege than you can appreciate to be thus prepared to meet your friend and teacher; for he is your friend to a degree that is beyond what I thought he would ever be while you are on earth.

So you see, my experience was a somewhat exceptional one, and one secret of its being so is that I received very great faith and the Love of my Father while on earth.

While the teachings of many preachers are that the earth is the only place of probation, and that teaching is not correct; yet, if it were believed more, and mankind should prepare their future in view of that belief, many a man, when he becomes a spirit, would avoid experiences that are very unpleasant and retard his progress in the spirit world. Of course, such a belief (that the earth is the only place of probation) when the mortal fails to make the preparation, will work him great injury after he becomes a spirit; because such a belief is difficult to get rid of, and as long as it lasts the spirit is very apt to believe that his status is fixed forever and, hence, he will not progress until he accepts the truth.

So you see after all, the only good belief is a belief in the truth, which never changes.

Probation is not confined to the earth life but is with man and spirits alike. In fact it never ends, for each preceding condition of a spirit is nothing more than a probationary condition to what follows. But the great probationary condition, undoubtedly, is that which exists for the mortal while on earth; and if that probation is accepted and made the most of, the spirit of man gains an advantage which is beyond my ability to describe.

Sometimes men do not attempt to take all the advantage of this probation on earth, and come to the spirit world in all their material thoughts and sins, with their souls dead, as Jesus said, and find that in such condition, as spirits, they have a more difficult time to awaken from such condition and progress; and I am informed that some spirits have been in this world for many, many years and have not yet had an awakening. So you must see the importance of taking advantage of the earth probation.

Well dear son, I have written a great deal and must stop now, though I should like to write you a much longer time. So with all my love I will close, and sign myself,

Your loving Grandmother,
Ann Rollins