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
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