St. John Writes About the Spirits at the Spiritualist Church That James Padgett Attended

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

I am here, St. John.

Yes, I want to tell you that the influences were not good, and some of these spirits came home with you and tried to write. But they have gone now, and I will write a while. I was present and heard what the medium said to you and what she said was true, for the spirits that she described came to you and wanted to make known their presence.

I did not know them, but I ascertained who they were, and the Sarah that the medium spoke of says that she was the cousin Sally who wrote you some nights ago. The description of her funeral was correct, for she was buried in the little village where she lived and which you know the name of. She was attracted to you because of her having met you at the time of her writing, and she has been with you quite often since, so she says. I only know what she told me.

The little child was not a relative, but a bright little spirit who was attracted to you and wanted to let you know that she was present. I do not know her name, but she was about four years old as you would say. She is here now and says that she wants to tell you that she came, because she saw that you must be good and love little children. She says her name is Rosebud, that she has no other name, and she died when she was only a few days old and never had any name. So you see, the children love you and you can have no better sign of your love nature than that. I don't know who the James was as he left soon after the medium spoke of him.

Now, all this is very pleasant for these spirits, but it does not do you any good, and I would advise that you do not attend that church very often. The mixture of spirits is so great that undesirable influences are present and necessarily affect your aura and the conditions that bring us in rapport. Of course, you may go occasionally, but if you want to go to church on Sunday night go to some of the churches where there is more of the Divine Love present. I mean some of the Protestant churches where you will listen to songs that have in them thoughts which ascend to the Father of Love, and where the preaching is such that the soul qualities will be appealed to. The spiritualist church has not much of the Divine Love in the hearts of its people, nor do the speakers say things or give out thoughts which tend to elevate the soul or satisfy its longings.

I would like to write you a message tonight on the subject of these soul qualities, but there are others here who want to write and I must postpone my message on that subject.

But I will say that without prayer to the Father and faith, there cannot be much progression in the development of the soul. If only men would understand this and offer their prayers to the Father instead of to the spirits and the unknown forces and friends who have recently passed to the spirit life, they would find a very different and wonderful result.

I am with you very often, trying to help you both materially and spiritually, and you are progressing, and your worries will soon leave you. So only trust and believe. I will not write more tonight.

Your brother in Christ,
John

Hortense, Stepdaughter of Napoleon, Writes That She is Striving to Obtain More Divine Love and Resides in the Fifth Sphere

October 27, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington D.C.

I am here, Hortense.

I was the daughter of Josephine, the wife of Napoleon, and I come to tell you that I am not so far advanced in the soul development as I wish to be, but I am striving to obtain that Divine Love that I have been taught since my coming to the spirit world is necessary in order to obtain a home in the Celestial Spheres and immortality.

When on earth, being the daughter of an Emperor, my thoughts were given to everything else than to the real soul religion, which I now know is the only religion that can save a soul from sin and error. My stepfather was not a spiritual man, as you may know, but all his thoughts were given to the gratification of his ambition and the conquest of nations. He was also a man who had a great deal of the love nature and was intense in his affections and let them guide his life to a large extent when they did not conflict with his ambitions. He and my mother were true lovers and are now soulmates, but my mother is much more developed than he.

When I died, I was totally ignorant of the soul requirements and my religion was confined to the belief in the doctrines of the Catholic Church, which were mostly man-made, as I now see. No one ever told me about the New Birth and the Divine Love of the Father, but always about the power of the priests to forgive sin and their authority to pray a soul out of purgatory. This, as you may know, did not help me when I became a spirit and when this great change came to me, I found myself in darkness and suffering with no love existing in my soul, although I had the natural affections for my kinfolks; and it was many years after my death that a knowledge of the Soul Love came to me and I was relieved of my sufferings and brought into light and happiness. I am now in the Fifth Sphere and am very happy, although my spirit instructors tell me that there are higher spheres where much more happiness exists and which I must strive to enter.

My stepfather is not so much elevated, as he is only in the Fourth Sphere and does not yet know of this soul development to any great extent. His ambitions are still with him, and to him the mind is the greatest part of all the spirit's possessions. So you see that an Emperor's daughter does not even stand as good a chance for becoming a spirit of happiness as does the daughter of the poor burghers who know not ambition but whose life is spent in toil and in helping and sympathizing with others. How unfortunate to be a child of high position wherein only the material things of life are thought of and attempted to be obtained. No ambition for earthly things will help a spirit when the earthly things are no more to be obtained.

My mother is with me and she is very happy and for many years has been trying to induce her husband to give his thoughts to the things of the soul; but so far, she has not succeeded, although he sees that she is such a beautiful and happy spirit. But all this love merely shows that the love for and ambition to obtain the material things of life are hard to get rid of and that something in the nature of a great calamity is necessary to awaken some spirits who have this love and ambition to a realization of not only the necessity but the desirability of seeking for the things of the higher spheres.

I am now seeking for these things with all my energies and longings, and I am helped by many spirits of these higher spheres. I now know no difference between the prince and the peasant and, in fact, I find that the peasant is as a general thing much superior to the prince in his soul progression and beauty and happiness.

My friend, excuse my intrusion, but I have for several weeks seen other spirits writing to you and I so longed to do so and as the opportunity presented itself tonight, I took advantage of it and imposed on you. But to recompense you, I will say that your discussions and your writings have done so very much to help me in my progress and bring happiness to me. So I will not detain you further, but will subscribe myself your friend and well-wisher.

Hortense

Saleeba Writes That She is Receiving Divine Love and is Living in the Third Sphere

October 26, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Saleeba.

I am in a much happier condition than when I wrote before, and I want to tell you that the Love of God in my soul is the cause of my being happier. Your sweet wife was with me a great deal telling me of this Love and showing me the way to seek for it, and I believed her and followed her advice and, as a result, I found a great deal of that Love. It is so very great a creator of happiness and I want more of it.

I am living in the Third Sphere because I find so much more of that soul Love there than in the Sixth and what I want now is that Love. So you see I cannot live where this Love is not so abundant. When I get more of it I shall go to the Sixth and tell the spirits there what a great happiness I have found and try to persuade them to seek it also; and I believe that many will.

I am so glad that I broke into your writing when I did, for if I had not I would not have learned the way to this Love and happiness. I shall always look upon you as my friend and brother and will do anything in my power to help you.

I have not found any of my race in these soul spheres as yet, but there may be some of them there. But if I can possibly accomplish it, there will be some of them in my sphere very soon.

I have forgotten a great many things in connection with my earth life, but I remember my parents and some of my associates and some portions of my religious beliefs, and sometime I will tell you of these things. I will also tell you of my experiences in passing through these spheres in my progress to the Sixth, where I had to stop progressing. It is strange that I did not find this out until recently, but it is a fact.

No spirit who lives in the Sixth Sphere is as beautiful as the spirits of the Third Sphere who have the soul development - and the merely intellectual spirit can never become as beautiful as those having the soul Love.

Well, I must stop, as I only wanted to let you know that I had not forgotten you. I will come again soon and tell you what I promised. So I will say goodnight.

Your friend and sister,
Saleeba

St. Peter Writes That the Epistles in the Bible Are Untrue and He Never Wrote Such Conflicting Statements

October 26, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I write to corroborate what Paul said, both as to the errors of the author of the book that you have been reading, and also of the Bible, upon which he bases his arguments and conclusions.

There are some of the epistles credited to me and I did write some to the members of the church over which I had supervision, but the epistles as contained in the Bible are in many particulars untrue and conflicting with my beliefs, then and now, and I never wrote such conflicting statements. I never wrote that Jesus paid a ransom for mankind, or that his death on the cross saved men from the death which they inherited from Adam, or anything of the kind that insinuated that men were saved by any act of Jesus which satisfied the wrath of God, or as the author said satisfied Divine justice.

Justice was not an element in the Plan of man's salvation - only Love and Mercy - and the desire of the Father that man become reconciled to Him; that is, come to Him and receive the Great Gift of His Divine Nature. No blood shedding or death of Jesus or vicarious atonement could have accomplished this, for none of these things would affect the soul development of a man. The matter of soul development is an individual matter and can only be accomplished when man seeks for the Great Gift of Divine Love and receives it in his soul and develops it; then he becomes a partaker of the Divine Nature and one with the Father.

How deplorable that men will teach this erroneous doctrine of blood atonement. How very much harm it is doing to mankind and to spirits as well, for many spirits come into the spirit world with their beliefs so firmly established in this doctrine that they frequently remain for years in that condition of belief and consequent stagnation of their soul's progress and of their obtaining a knowledge of the truth.

This author, when he comes to the spirit world, will undoubtedly have to pay the penalty of his erroneous teachings, and very probably that penalty will be that he will have to unteach them, if I may use the word, to all the spirits who when on earth believed in and followed his teachings of these false doctrines.

But some day men will know the truth, and the truth will make them free. You must try your best to get in condition to take the messages which the Master desires to write so they can be published to the world.

I am your brother in Christ,
St. Peter

St. Paul Writes That the Bible Cannot Be Depended On As Containing Things That He and Others Wrote Because Their Original Writings Are Missing

October 26, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, St. Paul.

Yes I am, and I want to say just a few words. The book on the "vicarious atonement" that you have been reading - about the ransom price and the blood of Jesus and the sacrifice on the cross - as to these things is all wrong, and you must not believe what it says.

Well, I know the Bible ascribes to me the teaching of these things, but I never did; and I tell you now, as I have before told you, that the Bible cannot be depended on as containing things that I wrote, for there are many additions to what I wrote and many omissions of what I wrote; and so with the others whose names are stated as the writers of the New Testament - many things contained in that book were never written by any of the alleged authors of the book.

The writings of any of us are not in existence and have not been for many centuries; and when they were copied and recopied, great additions and omissions were made, and, at last, doctrines and dogmas were interpolated that we never at anytime believed or wrote.

I have to say this, and I wish to emphasize my statement with all the conviction and knowledge of the truth that I possess: Jesus never paid any debt of man by his death or his blood or vicarious atonement. When Jesus came to earth, his mission was given him as he progressed in his soul development and not until his anointing was he wholly qualified to enter upon his mission or the work thereof.

The mission was twofold, namely: To declare to mankind that the Father had rebestowed the Divine Love which Adam or the first parents had forfeited; and, secondly, to show man the way by which that Love could be obtained so that the possessor of it would become a partaker of the Divine Nature and Immortal.

Jesus had no other mission than this and any statement by the preacher or teacher or church doctrines or dogmas or by the Bible, that his mission was other than I have stated, is untrue. He emphatically never claimed that he came to earth to pay any ransom for mankind, or to save them by his death on the cross, or to save them in any other way than by teaching them that the Great Gift or privilege of obtaining immortality had been bestowed upon them and that by prayer and faith, they could obtain it.

The author of the book is all wrong in his theories, but if you accept the statement of the Bible as true, he makes a very forcible presentation of the Scriptures. But the Scriptures do not contain the truth on this subject, except by the New Birth that Jesus taught; and that being so, his explanations and theories must fall to the ground. Some day and that very soon, he will come to the spirit world and have an awakening, which will cause him much suffering and remorse, because of his teachings of the false doctrines that his book contains.

I did not intend to write so long a letter when I commenced, but your questions required answers, and I could not give you answers in less space. But nevertheless if you shall obtain any benefit from what I have written, the time consumed will be compensated for. I must stop now but will come again sometime.

Your brother in Christ,
St. Paul

Caligula Writes That the Thoughts Which Come From Soul Development Are Spiritual

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

I am here, Caligula.

I came merely to say that I am interested in your conversation and the conclusions you draw as to some of the operations of the soul development upon the physical mind after death.

You are right when you say that the condition of the physical mind after death is affected by the development of the soul, for if a man in life has his physical nature developed by the knowledge that the soul is the controlling power, he will soon be able when he becomes a spirit to subordinate the desires and thoughts, which are purely material to his conception of spiritual things so that the progress of the spirit will not be retarded by what his material thoughts may have made him while in the body. I mean that the thoughts of the material mind will not continue with him very long after his decease, but that the thoughts that come from his spiritual development will overcome or even eradicate the material thoughts.

The mind is material - the thoughts which come from soul development are spiritual - and if permitted to grow and increase will overcome the material mind.

I find it a little difficult to express myself tonight as you are not in the best condition for communicating, so I will not write further, but will come again.

Your brother in Christ,
Caligula

Jesus Writes About the Necessity for Development of the Soul Perceptions in Order to Understand Spiritual Laws

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

I am here, Jesus.

I have heard your discussion and am much pleased that you and your friend are progressing so rapidly in the knowledge of truth and very soon you both will be surprised at the extent of knowledge of spiritual things and truths that will come to you.

No man, who on earth is given to only what you may call the material things, will be able, when he becomes a spirit, to understand the spiritual laws until he has gotten rid of the material mind and the reasoning that comes from the powers, which have been exercised only in the investigation of material things.

You cannot perceive spiritual things with the material mind, neither can a man by reason of those powers of the mind which know only material things, be able to perceive the truths of the spirit. Hence, the necessity for man cultivating the soul perceptions, which are greater and more comprehending than all the faculties of the material mind.

Mind, as usually understood by man, is undoubtedly a wonderful instrument in investigating and learning the Laws of Nature and the relation of cause and effect in the physical world, but such powers when applied to the things of the spirit will not help much, but rather retard the progress of the soul's development of its faculties.

The reasoning power given to man is the highest quality of the material mind and, when properly exercised, affords a very safe and satisfactory method of arriving at the truth. But such power when exercised in reference to things which are strangers to it, or with which such powers having no acquaintance, or have never been concerned in the investigation of the phenomena of their existence, cannot be depended upon to bring conclusions that will assure men of truth.

Laws are eternal and never change and are made by the great Father to be applied to all the conditions and to all the relationships of the material world and of the spiritual world. But the laws that apply to the operations of the material world are not fitted to apply to the operations of the spiritual world; and the man who understands the former and their application to material things is not able to apply the laws applicable to the spiritual world to spiritual things. A knowledge of the laws pertaining to the natural will not supply a knowledge of the laws pertaining to the spiritual.

And, hence, the great scientist who when on earth was able to discover and show the operation of the laws controlling material things, when he comes to the spiritual world and attempts to apply this knowledge to the things of the spirit will be wholly unable to do so and will be as a babe in his ability to understand and draw deductions from the spiritual laws. So you see the necessity for man's becoming acquainted with these spiritual laws, if he expects to progress in things to which they apply.

The material laws may be learned from by the operation of the senses that belong to and constitute the material mind, but the spiritual laws can only be learned by the exercise and application of the faculties of the soul. The soul is to the spiritual things of God what the mind is to the material things of God. And the great mistake that men make, and have made, is to attempt to learn these spiritual things with the powers of the material mind.

I write, thus, because I see that you and your friend desire to learn the nature and operations and workings of the spiritual things and, hence, I want to impress upon you the necessity for exercising the soul perceptions, which will come to you as your soul develops. These perceptions are just as real as are the five senses of the natural mind, though most men do not even know of their existence; and when once you have succeeded in understanding that they do exist and that you may be able to use them just as you use the faculties of the material mind, you will be able to progress in the development of these faculties or perceptions with as much success and certainty as does the great scientist or philosopher in the studies of the things to which he applies the faculties of his material mind.

I hope that I have made plain what I intend to convey. I will not write more tonight, but say let your faith increase and pray more to the Father, and you will see open up to you a wonderful vista of knowledge of the truths of the spirit.

Your friend and brother,
Jesus

Thomas Carlyle Writes to Confirm Luke's Message That There is No Resurrection of the Physical Body

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

I am here, Thomas Carlyle.

I merely want to say that I was present when Luke wrote and heard what he said and was much interested. This very question used to be a great stumbling block to my belief in the resurrection of Jesus, because it seemed to me that the resurrection of the material body as so improbable under the circumstances as narrated in the Bible, that it was difficult for me to believe the story. But now I can understand very readily, because I am acquainted with the laws governing the formation and disintegration of the material things of earth, and I know that there is a law which would enable a person with the knowledge and power that Jesus had at the time of his death to cause the disintegration of the material, as the scientists say, so that they would disappear into the surrounding atmosphere.

I wish that I had understood this fact when a mortal, for then many other things would have appeared to me as probably true, and l would have been in a different state of belief as to spiritual things and my progress here towards higher spheres would not have been delayed.

It is to be deplored that this so called mystery was not explained in the Bible for had it been, men would not now be in darkness as to the meaning of the resurrection, and the many thousands who believe that the soul and spirit go into the grave to await the great Judgment Day, would not be in such condition of delusion and have to suffer the consequences of such false belief in the stagnation of their soul progression, which will surely come to them.

I hope you will give this explanation to the world and let men know the truth, that there will be no resurrection of the body of flesh containing the soul or spirit as taught by the churches.

I will not write more tonight, but will come again.

Your brother in Christ,
Thomas Carlyle

St. Luke Writes About The Process That Jesus Used to Dematerialize His Body in the Tomb

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

I am here, St. Luke (Writer of the Third Gospel That Was).

I was with you tonight at the meeting of the Spiritualists and heard the statement of the speaker as to the probabilities of what became of the body of Jesus after the crucifixion.

I was not present at the crucifixion and, of course, do not personally know what became of the body of Jesus, but I have been told by those who were present that the Bible description of his burial in the tomb of Joseph was true. The body was buried in the tomb of Joseph and was left there by those who placed it in the tomb, which was sealed and a guard set over it to prevent anyone from approaching and interfering with the body, because Jesus had predicted that in three days he would rise again.

After the tomb was sealed, Jesus arose and, without his body of flesh, passed from the tomb and descended into the lower spheres where the dark spirits lived in their ignorance and sufferings and preached to them the rebestowal of the gift of immortality.

The body of flesh, by the power which Jesus possessed, became so spiritualized or etherialized that its component parts became disseminated by Jesus in the surrounding atmosphere and he retained only the spiritual body in which he afterwards appeared to the disciples and others.

When he appeared at the meeting of the apostles where Thomas, the doubter, was present, he recalled to his form, as you will better understand by my using such expression, elements of the material, so that in appearance, the body was as much like flesh and blood as when it was placed in the tomb and before he disseminated these elements, as I have said.

The flesh and blood which encloses the spirit form of man, as you may have heard, is continually changing in obedience to the ordinary Laws of Nature as understood by man. And when Jesus, who understood and had power to call into operation other Laws of nature, caused such other laws to operate that the dissemination of the elements of flesh and blood took place, and he was left only with the spirit form.

This, I know, has been a great mystery to mankind since the time of the discovery of its absence by the watchmen at his tomb, and because of being such mystery, and as an only explanation of such disappearance, men have believed and taught that his body of flesh and blood actually arose from the dead and, therefore, the real body of flesh and blood of mortals will also arise in what they call the great resurrection day. But no body of flesh and blood arose, and the spirit form of Jesus did not remain in the tomb after the dissemination of the material body, for no tomb or other place could confine the spirit.

You will remember that on the third day, Jesus appeared to Mary, who was most intimate and familiar with the appearance of Jesus, and yet she did not recognize him, but thought he was the gardener; and so with the disciples who were travelling with him to Emmaus. Now, if he had retained his body of flesh and blood, do you not suppose that they would have recognized him?

If he had the power to resume that material body into which Thomas thrust his hand and found it to be a body in appearance of flesh and blood, do you think it strange - or wonderful - that he would have had the power to cast off his earthly body while in the tomb and cause it to disappear into thin air?

This I am informed is the true explanation of the disappearance of the material body of Jesus; and to me and to others who understand the Laws of Nature - I mean that nature that is beyond the ken of men - it is not surprising or worthy to be deemed a mystery.

I am glad that I went with you to the meeting to-night, as I became impressed with the desirability of making this great mystery a mystery no longer.

With all my love, I am your brother in Christ,
St. Luke

Sarah, the Wife of Abraham, Writes Her Testimony to Correct What is Written in the Bible About Her

October 23, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am the spirit of Sarah.

I was the wife of Abraham. I want to tell you that I am now a Christian and live in the Celestial Spheres.

Yes, but there are many things in the Bible that are not true. Well, when it says that I sent Hagar into the desert, or caused her to be sent into the desert, to starve and die - that story was a slander on me and did me great injustice, because I was not such a wicked woman.

Abraham did not send her there either, but she went of her own accord, because she had done that which condemned her in her own conscience. Well, she had taken my husband and had a child by him. I know that the Bible says that was commanded by God, or that I prevailed upon Abraham to have a child by her, but it is not true.

Yes, I am happy, and so is Abraham and our son Isaac, and his son Jacob but they were without this Divine Love for a great many years, as it only came to us when the Master came to earth.

I know that you think it strange that I should come to you and write, but as I was with Aaron in the earth plane and was attracted to you by the light, which fills the space around you, I followed Aaron and came to you and after he wrote, I wrote also.

Yes, I see a great number of beautiful spirits around you, and some of the apostles who are so very beautiful and bright. They seem to be so much interested in you, and say that you have been selected to do the work of the Master on earth in the way of revealing the truths which he shall write to you. I don't quite understand it all, but if the Master says it is what shall be done, you will do it.

I must stop now, but please believe that I am Sarah as I have told you. I will leave you now and say goodnight.

Your sister in Christ, Sarah, the wife of Abraham.

Aaron, the Prophet of the Old Testament and Brother of Moses, Writes About the Necessity of Receiving Divine Love to Obtain Immortality

October 23, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am the spirit of Aaron, the prophet of the Old Testament and the brother of Moses, as it is written. I merely want to say that as you read the message from the spirit of Henry Ward Beecher, I read also and that is a wonderful description of what immortality is and how it first was given to mankind after the fall of the first parents.

I know the truth of what he wrote, for I experienced the want of this Divine Love for many thousand years before the coming of Jesus and the rebestowal of this Divine Love, which is the only thing in all God's universe that can bring to man immortality.

So let this great truth be preached to all the world and let man know that until he gets this Divine Love, he can never become immortal. It is so difficult for man to understand this truth, and for those who come forward as the teachers of men in spiritual things to comprehend that only this Love will save them from their sins and make them a part of the Divinity of the Father and certain of immortality.

I lived at a time when we had not the privilege of getting this Love and, as a consequence, immortality; and we had to find our happiness in our natural love and that meant a love towards God as well as towards our fellow man; but this love, while it enabled us to experience much happiness, yet it did not give that Divine Essence or nature which now makes our happiness supreme and also at-one with the Father.

I had many experiences in teaching the Hebrew children that there was only one God, but at that time my conception of God was not what it is now. I then thought more of Him as a God of wrath and jealousy than as a God of Love and mercy.

In my contest with the magicians of the Egyptian Pharaohs, I was afforded the help of the spirit world, and unusual powers were given me, such as I had never had before nor ever afterwards; but it was for the purpose of causing the king to let the people of God, as we called ourselves, depart from Egypt. When this was accomplished, I never again possessed those powers or had any occasion to.

But those powers were merely the influences that came from the spirit world, and God Himself did not speak to me or to Moses, as it is written; merely his spirits, or angels, told us what we must do and gave us the power to do it.

This power is still existing and, should the occasion arise again, it will be given to the instrumentality that may be selected to do the will of the Father. Even as to Jesus, who had the greatest power conferred upon him of any mortal that ever lived, this power was given him by the angels of God in obedience to the commands of the Father.

I cannot explain to you now in what way these commands were given by God, for you would not understand me, if I should make the attempt. But suffice it to say, that the higher angels have such soul perceptions that they can receive and understand these instructions of the Father. All this is, I know, strange to you, but it is true, and because you do not understand, you must not doubt that there is such a close relationship between God and His Celestial Spirits that they know what the Will of the Father is.

I am in a Celestial Sphere and am very high up, but not so high as are the apostles. But I am high enough to know to be true what I write you of my own knowledge. I will not write more tonight, but will come again sometime and instruct you in the laws obtaining in our Celestial Spheres. So with all my love, I will say that I am,

Your brother in Christ,
Aaron

Helen Writes a Short Note About the Messages from the Generals

October 19, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

Well, I am here, your Helen.

You have had some rather surprising communications tonight. We thought that it would be right to let the two old Generals write, as they seem to be so anxious; and I believe that they will find their salvation by having done so.

Mr. Riddle was very glad to have General Sherman come to him and also General Grant, and he is now with both of them telling them his experiences in the spirit world and the cause of his beauty and brightness.

And Ingersoll breaks in once in a while and tells them that when they hear his experience in becoming converted to Christianity, they will be more surprised than they were when the cannon balls blew across their quarters in the war.

So you see what good this little thing of being able to communicate with spirits is doing?

Oh, my dear Ned, I am so happy that you have this great opportunity of doing good, and I know that you feel the same way. It is late and you must stop writing. So with all my love, I am

Your own true and loving,
Helen

General William T. Sherman Writes That He is in Darkness and is Astonished to See His Old Friends Who Have Received the Great Love of God

October 19, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, General S.

No, it seems not - how strange.

[White Eagle writes]: He says his name was General Sherman and that he wants to write a letter.

[General Sherman continues]: Well, I tried to write my name, but I could not. What do you think was the cause? Why, damn it. I have written my name more times than there are stars in the heavens and, yet, I was not able to write it here. Well, that is what I called war - hell. I don't mean to be profane, but the idea, that I could not write my name....

Well, as Grant and I are very close friends here, as we were on earth, I thought that as he wrote a letter, I would like to do so also. Just as he said about himself, I say, I am in some darkness and suffering - paying the penalties of my evil deeds on earth and for what I neglected to do in the way of performing my duties when I had so many to perform and so many opportunities.

I am in the same sphere with him, but he is in a higher plane and is not in such darkness as I am. I am not a Christian yet, but hope to be sometime, as I have some dear friends here who are, and they are trying to persuade me to become a Christian; but as you may not know, I never could be persuaded on earth, and it is difficult to be persuaded here.

I am enjoying this new experience in writing to you, and to me this is very surprising, but is very satisfactory. I wonder how such a thing can be. I have attended séances when my earth friends have attended and have tried to make myself known to them and to some extent have succeeded, but not in the way that I am doing now. I am afraid that if you are not careful, I shall steal on you and write many times so that you will wish that I had never come.

Well, my dear boy, I am certainly glad that you recalled these reminiscences. Of course, with all the people that I met in those days, I cannot remember you, as we only had a passing handshake, but I am certainly glad that you recalled those times and more glad that I can be with you now; and things will be reversed now, for I will be the one who will not forget, while you, considering the great number of spirits who come to you to write and the great number who are around you ready to write, I hardly expect that you will find time to give me much thought.

Well, I don't quite understand you, but if you can show me the way to obtaining such a condition of soul and such a degree of happiness, I will certainly accept your kind offer and will try my best to follow your advice; but really, I don't see how you can accomplish this.

Yes, I remember Riddle very well, and he was a very dear friend of mine, but why do you ask that question? Is he involved in the redemption of me? He was a very dear friend, but I doubt that he can do what you seem to imply.

I have done as you advised, and I must confess my surprise to see Riddle in the band that you speak of - and what a beautiful and bright spirit he is. How in the world did he get in that condition, when on earth he was somewhat like myself - a free thinker - and cussed sometimes. But I must speak to him and learn what it means.

Well, I have been introduced to your grandmother, and what a glorious spirit she is! I never before saw such spirits. They must live in spheres far above where I live.

Riddle says I am the same old rough wicked Sherman and wants me to go with him, and I will go, and I will not forget to request a few words with your grandmother.

I will ask him (R.G.Ingersoll) now, and he seems so beautiful and bright, too. What does it mean? Ingersoll says it means that he has become a believer in the Great Love of the Father and is a follower of Jesus Christ. What a surprise and what a change in Ingersoll.

My friend, I cannot write more as I am all upset by what I have seen and heard. So excuse me, I will say goodnight.

Your friend,
Wm. T. Sherman

Ulysses S. Grant, a former President of the United States, Writes That His Spiritual Eyes Have Been Opened to the Truths of God

October 19, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am General Grant.

I was the President of your country and also the General of the Federal armies.

Well, I want to say that I am in a condition of comparative happiness, but not entirely relieved from my darkness or sufferings. I had a great many sins to answer for and many penalties to pay and during the years since my death, I have suffered much and experienced great darkness. But thanks be to God, I am emerging from these conditions and am having my spiritual eyes opened to the truths of God and the necessity of obtaining His Love and Favor.

As you may know, when on earth I attended the Methodist Church, but my religious knowledge was merely that which comes from an assent of the mind to certain propositions, or rather doctrines, of the church. I knew nothing of the soul development or of the Divine Love, or of any of those attributes of the Father which were necessary to my becoming a redeemed spirit and an accepted child of God.

I am in the Second Sphere, where are many of my old comrades in arms, and many who were antagonistic in the great War of the Rebellion. But we are no longer enemies, for we have obtained sufficient Love to become friends and to know that war and hatred and murder are not in accord with God's Laws, or approved by Him; and we are now seeking only Love and trying to apply the Golden Rule in our lives here.

Well, I am somewhat surprised that I can communicate with you in this way, for while I have attended some séances and made my presence known in other ways and by other manifestations, I never before had the opportunity to do so by this method of writing, and I must say it is the most satisfactory of my experiences.

As this is my first appearance and coming without an invitation, though, some of your band which is here signified their assent, I do not feel that I should longer intrude.

Well, I have been interested in this great and bloody war and have visited the scenes of many battles and the headquarters of the officers of both sides, and have heard their plans discussed, and have learned what their expectations were. It is rather early in the game to form an opinion as to the outcome, but judging from the facts, as I have been able to gather them, and from the conditions of the armies and means of carrying on the war of both sides, I am rather inclined to think the Allies will win. This I say in a perfectly unbiased way, as I have no bias or prejudice for either side. But this I do know: that no human being can at all estimate the great injury that will be done to the various countries or to the progress of the human race in the things material.

But God rules and the right will prevail, as I believe.

Sometime later, if agreeable, I will write you further on this matter. I will now say goodnight.

Your friend,
U.S. Grant

Martin Luther Writes About "The Atonement" by Pastor Russell and Gives Advice on How to Test the Spirits Who Wish to Communicate

October 19, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Luther.

I came to tell you that you are not much benefited by the book (Pastor Russel's The Atonement) you have been reading tonight, because it ignores the very foundation of the plan of man's redemption; that is, the Divine Love which the Father bestowed on mankind at the coming of Jesus. The blood atonement is all wrong and misleading and has done much harm to the truths of God and to mankind.

I will admit that there are many truths stated in the book and many that will do much good to humanity to understand and believe, but because of the great error in the vital point of the declaration as to the plan of man's salvation, these truths which the book contains may not do the good that they otherwise might.

Of course, you who understand the true plan of salvation may make the true discrimination between those declarations, which declare the truth and those which do not. But on the whole, I do not see that the teachings of the book will do you much good.

Well, I know that the passage in John refers to the spirits of men who once lived on earth and who communicated to the members of the early church in their places of worship, and elsewhere John has explained to you, and what he said, I have been informed by others of the apostles, is true.

The author of that book has certain theories and, of course, he is construing all the teachings of the Bible in such a way as to sustain his theories. But he is wrong as he will discover when he comes to the spirit world.

He teaches that the soul as well as the body of man goes into the grave to await the great day of judgment, and there is no such place as the spirit world inhabited by the spirits of departed mortals and to maintain this position he quotes from some of the old books of the Bible. But these books were not written by men inspired by God to declare the truths; and the quoted expressions are merely the result of the purely human minds of the authors, who did not know what they wrote to be a fact, but because of the conditions in which they were in, they concluded that such assertions must be true.

Let not the writings of these old writers, or of the present day writers either, cause you to hesitate to believe what the Master may write as being true. I merely wanted to say this as I saw that you are interested in this book and I wanted to warn you against letting it influence you in any way.

Yes, I say that Jesus Christ did come in the flesh, and I know it, for he is here a spirit and once lived on earth, But that fact does not prove that any spirit who acknowledges that is a true follower of him or a redeemed spirit of the Father. There are many spirits in the spirit world who believe that Jesus, the spirit whom they sometimes meet, once lived as a mortal and would, if asked, say that he lived in the flesh, but they are not believers in the Divine Love of the Father, or have had the benefit of his great plan of salvation or acknowledged him as the savior from sin and error. So that the test set forth in the Bible may have been considered a true test in the days of the early church, yet it is not now a very safe one for the reason that I have mentioned.

And if a test is necessary, I think a better one would be: try the spirits and every one who does not acknowledge that Jesus is the best beloved son of God and brought to the knowledge of mankind the rebestowal of the Divine Love and declared to men the way in which that Love may be obtained, is not a spirit that should be communicated with for the purpose of learning spiritual truths. This test is better, because no spirit who has not received this Divine Love, or the New Birth, will acknowledge the existence of these things, because it has no knowledge upon which to make the acknowledgment.

I must not write more to night, but I hope the little that I have said may help you and others who have doubts, as to what the meaning of that part of the Bible, which refers to the trying of the spirits, is. I am very anxious to write you again as to some of the higher truths pertaining to the spirit world and soon I hope that I may have the opportunity. I will say goodnight.

Your brother in Christ,
Martin Luther

Saleeba Writes That She is Grateful to James E. Padgett Who Caused Her to Seek for Divine Love

October 16, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Saleeba.

Yes, I only wanted to say that I am very happy and feel that I must tell you because you first caused me to seek this Love and to find the way to my soul's development. I know that you are not so much interested in me as in some others who write to you, but I further know that no one feels more grateful to you than I do. So you see as I progress I must come and tell you of my happiness.

Yes, that is what I want, and you seem to understand just what is necessary, and I am glad that I can come to you. So my dear brother, think of me sometimes and pray to the Father to give me more of His Divine Love that makes me at-one with Him.

I will not write more, but will say goodnight.

Your sister in Christ,
Saleeba

St. John Writes About Jesus' Love For James E. Padgett and That He is Very Near the Kingdom

October 16, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, John.

You are now so filled with the Love of the Father and the influence of the Master that you are very near the Kingdom. The Master is with you in all the fullness of his love and blessings, and no wonder that you should receive him in so palpable and conscious a manner. He certainly loves you, and if you could only see his glory as he writes to you and the great streams of love that flows from him to you, you would never again doubt that he is with you and that you are the object of his care. It is wonderful, and we are all amazed at the great display of his love for you, and we rejoice that it is so, for we know that to him you are the most important of mortals.

You will soon commence again to do his work and your soul will be so filled with the Divine Love that you will receive his messages in such soul understanding that there will be no possibility of any mistake being made. And such messages of truth as they will be, why the whole world will stand in wonder and amazement that such truths should come to you and, as a consequence, many a mortal will be brought to see the great plan of man's redemption and will turn to the Love of the Father and receive that great inflowing of Love that will show them beyond all doubt that they have become at-one with the Father and are inheritors of his immortality.

So, as I say, we all rejoice and are anxious that the work begin; and we are all preparing to help in conveying these great truths of the Father. So you must believe and accept what is written to you as true. Let not what may be contained in the Bible, or what the preachers or commentators may say influence you in any way to believe or write anything other than what the Master may write you.

The book (The Atonement by Pastor Russell) that you have been reading tonight contains many truths in regards to Jesus' relationship to the Father, and that there is only one God, and that the Father - no other God is there - and Jesus is his best beloved son.

The plan of salvation as contained in that book is not correct for, as we have told you before, the blood of Jesus has nothing to do with the plan of salvation, only the bestowal of the Gift of Divine Love and the teachings of the Master as to how it may be obtained saves man from sin and error and brings about that at-onement, which the author writes about.

My dear brother, if you only knew how much we all love you and are interested in your welfare and the work which is before you, you would be very thankful to the Father for having had the Master select you and would also never cease to love and honor the great Master for his love and friendship.

I, John, tell you all this, because I know whereof I speak. I was the beloved disciple of the Master when on earth, and I know what it means to have the great love of such a Master and friend.

I see that you are opening up your soul to the Divine influences, and that very soon you will find that through your soul perceptions, you will be enabled to see and understand many, many things which are now hidden from you. And what an opening: of the soul perceptions that will prove to be. Even the spirits who are in portions of the Celestial Heavens will not have the great truths presented to them as will you, and they are seeking these truths in great earnestness. But you are in a position that they are not, to make known to the world these great truths. And while all this will not be done primarily for your benefit, yet you will receive such knowledge of these truths and such inflowing of the Divine Love as you write that you will find yourself in a condition of soul development that rarely have mortals experienced.

So pray and believe, and when I say believe, try to get that great faith of which the Master wrote you - the faith that makes all the longings and aspirations of the soul realities. I could write much more but think it best not to do so tonight.

So with all my love and blessings, I am your brother in Christ, John, the beloved disciple of the Master in my time and which you are now.

Caligula, the former Roman Emperor and Murderer, Writes His Testimony of Meeting His Soulmate Who Helped Him Get Out of Hell

October 11, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Caligula.

I was the Roman Emperor and the murderer of the Christians and have, since that time and for my sins, suffered all the horrors of a Hell which I can't describe. Suffice it to say that the Hell of the Bible, or of those who interpret the Bible, is not equal in its torments and horrors to the Hell that I passed through. I tell you this that you may know that every man will have to pay the penalties for the evil deeds he does when on earth, and as my deeds were so extremely evil my penalties were correspondingly great.

But thank God, I have paid my penalties and am now enjoying the happiness of the Christian Heaven, for I am now a follower of that Jesus, whose followers I persecuted. Strange as it may seem to you, the cause of my conversion to Christianity was one of the very Christians whom I murdered. She was a beautiful spirit when I first saw her in the spirit world, and when she came to me and told me of the Great Love of the Father and the kindness and humility of the Master, I was then in much darkness, though I had suffered for many long years and my thoughts were commencing to turn to things that ultimately helped me to get out of my darkness and find relief from my sufferings.

But this Christian spirit came to me with such love and forgiveness in her speech, that I was greatly affected by what she said and by her appearance, and I listened to her as she told me of the wonderful Love of the Father and the great desire of the Master that I should seek for that Love and the happiness, which it brings to spirits who obtain it.

She had many interviews with me and at last she told me that her happiness depended, to some extent, on my getting this Divine Love in my soul and progressing with her to the sphere of light and love. She said that I was her soulmate and that my love was necessary for her happiness, and that I could not give her that love until I had become the possessor of the Divine Love to some extent. So you can imagine what an effect this declaration had on me.

I saw that she was beautiful and pure and loving, and that I was not a fit soulmate for her, and that I must try to make myself a suited soulmate in order that I could be with her. And, in addition, when she told me of her love for me, and that we were necessary to each other's happiness, I had a most wonderful longing to be with her and enjoy her love and the desire soon took possession of me, that I commenced to inquire the way by which I might get this Great Love, or start to get it; and she told me then of the love of the Master, and how he could teach me the way and what power he had to help spirits like myself to get out of the darkness and torture into light and happiness.

And so I continued in my longings and desires, until at last my spirit seemed to have a power to rise out of the darkness and to meet other spirits who were not dark and forbidding as I was. She often came to me and taught me to pray, and I did pray and ask forgiveness and for just a little of that Divine Love of which she had told me. At last as I was praying and hoping for this Love and for deliverance.

The Master came to me and such a wonderful loving spirit he was; the most beautiful and loving and, yet, the most humble that I had ever seen or ever have seen, and he commenced to tell me of this wonderful Love of the Father, and how it was working for me to fill my soul and make a child of God and at-one with Him. And he told me that the only things necessary were for me to pray to the Father and have faith and in all earnestness repent of my great sins; that if I did so, the Love would come to me, and as it came into my soul all the sins and recollections of my sins would leave me, so that I would be able to progress to a higher sphere where light and love were.

I could not resist his influence, and I did not want to for my soulmate was with me in her love with pleading eyes and anxious looks, and I commenced to have this faith and to pray with all the earnestness of my soul; and, at last, light came to me and Love came flowing into my soul; and what a happy spirit I became, and thanked God for his mercy. My soulmate rejoiced with me and we were so happy in our loves and in the Great Love of the Father.

From thence I have been progressing ever since, until now I am in the Celestial Spheres where Love is the ruling principle and only those who possess this Divine Love can live, and where Jesus is our Prince and elder brother. Caligula, the Emperor, is now a humble follower of the despised Nazarene and happy in his humility and in his following of such a loving saviour.

My soulmate is with me and whenever I look upon her and think that I was the cause of her sufferings and death upon earth, my whole soul goes out to her in great streams of love and she knows it, and that is a part of my great repentance. So you see that even though a man may be the vilest of sinners on earth, yet, the Father's Mercy is so great that His Love is never turned away or is His mercy ever withheld.

I tell you that Love - the Father's Love - is the greatest thing in all the universe, and like unto it is the pure, holy love of the soulmate who has in her soul the great Love of the Father.

I must not write more tonight, but as I was passing I saw the brilliant light that is with you and I embraced the opportunity to write. Yes, it was Celestia. And what an appropriate name.

My friend, you must also thank God for His goodness to you for I have seen your soulmate and she is a most beautiful spirit.

So with the love of a brother in Christ, am your friend, Caligula. The Roman Emperor that was and the Christian that is.

Gomeses, a Former Greek, Writes That He is a Christian and Believes in the Truths as Taught by Jesus

October 10, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am Gomeses.

I am a Greek and lived in the time of Christ, although I never met him on earth, as I died shortly after he did. I was not a Christian, but a follower of Pythagoras and a believer in the immortality of the soul, but not in the sense that I have since been taught by Jesus.

I am a Christian now and believe in the truths as taught by the Master and am trying to understand them more thoroughly and live by them. I am in the Celestial Spheres and am very happy. I will not write more tonight.

He is the greatest spirit in all God's universe and the one altogether lovely. He is your friend and saviour as well as mine, and you must listen to him when he comes to you in the kindness of his love and the power of his humility and tell you of the great mission, which he has given you to perform. You are now in the way and you must pray more and seek more of the Divine Love.

Your friend in Christ,
Gomeses

Saul Writes That He is One of the Band Sustaining James E. Padgett in His Work For Jesus

October 10, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Saul of Old.

I came merely to say that you are very near the Kingdom and the Father's Love, for I can see the condition of your soul and the results of the prayers of yourself and friends. So let your faith increase until there will be no doubt that you are a child of the Father and the one chosen to do the Master's work on earth. I am merely telling you this in order to increase your faith in what has already been told you so often.

I am one of the band, which is back of you, sustaining you in the work you have to do and in the preparation you are now making to be able to do that work.

Well, you will soon find yourself in that condition and will soon be free from these cares that you speak of. I will not write more tonight.

Your brother in Christ,
Saul

Professor Joseph H. Salyards Writes That He Has Progressed to the Seventh Sphere and is With His Soulmate

October 10, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Professor Salyards.

I heard your inquiries of your wife, and I was pleased that you expressed the desire to hear from me again as I most assuredly want to write to you. Since I wrote you last, I have been living in the Seventh Sphere with my soulmat, and in close proximity to your father and have been very happy in the Love, which I now enjoy.

I have seen so much of the effect of this Divine Love upon the souls of spirits who come into the possession of it, that I wonder more and more at the fact of its great power to make pure and truthful, souls who were in such darkness and torment. I have seen some very surprising conversions of souls steeped in sin and error, in souls with their sins last leaving them and happiness and Love coming to them in wonderful inflowing.

Since I have been in the Seventh Sphere, I have paid very little attention to things about which I wrote you when in the beginning of my soul development, because with me now the soul and its divine possibilities are the things that absorb my attention and efforts.

I am sorry that I cannot continue my writings on certain phases of the Laws of the Spirit World, but for the reasons stated I cannot as only this Great Love and the work of helping men and spirits to obtain this Divine Love and to become children of the Father, are possessing me and occupying all my time and attention. So you must not feel disappointed that I do not continue the writings that I speak of.

I can tell you about the Seventh Sphere and the life and inhabitants there and the wonderful happiness which we all enjoy. Our homes have been described to you by your grandmother and your wife and I cannot add to their descriptions, only to say that they do not tell half of the beauty and grandeur of these homes and of the joy of the inhabitants. I am in a home of that kind now and am with my soulmate and we are very happy. I do not know at this time of anything more to write about.

Well, you are not complimentary but you are right. I seem to have lost my desire for investigating and writing about these things that I first wrote to you about, and I have not yet prepared myself to write of these higher things. So I will stop tonight.

Your old friend and Professor,
Joseph H. Salyards

St. Jerome, a Former Catholic, Writes That He Was Not Acquainted With Soul Development or Divine Love When He Lived on Earth

October 10, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jerome.

Well, you seem to be in doubt as to who I am, but I will say that I am sometimes called St. Jerome. Now, I merely want to say that you are very much in favor with the spirits who dwell in the Celestial Spheres and with the Master as well, and that you will be the means of receiving and giving to the world some of the wonderful truths of the Father.

I was not one when on earth who thought very much of these truths, for I was not acquainted with the soul development or the Divine Love. I thought more of the doctrines as propagated by the Catholic Church and tried my best to make the doctrines of this church the important things with the worshipers of the church creeds.

Your brother in Christ,
Jerome

Jesus Writes About "What is Faith" and That It Comes With Possession of Divine Love

October 10, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

I came tonight to tell you that you are nearer the Kingdom than you have been for a long time and that if you pray to the Father in more earnestness, you will soon realize the inflowing of the Divine Love, that will make you free, indeed, and fit you to enjoy that close communion with the Father that will enable you to forget all your worries and disappointments and see with your soul perceptions the great truths, which I and my followers may endeavor to teach you.

I know, that at times, it seems difficult to grasp the full meaning of faith in the Father and His Love, but if you will earnestly seek for His Love, you will find that there will come to you such a belief in His Wonderful Love and in the nearness of His presence that you will be free from all doubt.

You have asked me "what is faith" and I will answer: Faith is that which when possessed in its real and true meaning makes the aspirations and longings of the soul a real, living existence; and one so certain and palpable that no doubt will arise as to its reality.

This faith is not the belief that arises from the mere operation of the mind, but that which comes from the opening of the perceptions of the soul, and which enables its possessor to see God in all His Beauty and Love. I do not mean that the possessor of this faith will actually see God in form or feature, for he has none such, but his soul perceptions will be in such condition that all the Attributes of the Father will appear so plainly to him, that they will be as real as anything that he can see with the eyes of the spirit form. Such faith comes only with constant earnest prayer and the reception into the soul of the Divine Love.

No man can be said to have faith who has not this Divine Love. Of course, faith is a progressive quality or essence of the soul and increases as possession of this Divine Love increases and is not dependent on anything else. Your prayers call from the Father a response that brings with it faith and with this faith comes a knowledge of the existence of this Love in your own soul.

Many persons, I know, understand this faith to be a mere belief, but it is greater than belief, and is existing in its true sense only in the soul. Belief may arise from a conviction of the mind, but faith never can. Its place of being is in the soul, and no one can possess it unless his soul is awakened by the inflowing of this Love.

So that when we pray to the Father to increase our faith, it is a prayer for the increase of Love. Faith is based on the possession of this Love and without it, there can be no faith because it is impossible for the soul to exercise its function when Love is absent from it.

Sometime, as you progress in these writings, you will be in soul condition to understand just what faith is, but until that time your faith will be limited by your possession of this Love.

Well, in my healing of the sick and the blind and the others of earth, who needed a cure, when I said: "As your faith so be it unto you," I meant that they must believe that the Father had power to bring about the cure; but I did not mean that if their minds merely had the belief that I might cure them, that then they would be cured. Belief was not sufficient of itself, but faith was required. Faith is not a thing that can be obtained by a mere exercise of the mind, but has to be sought for with the soul perceptions, and when obtained will be enjoyed only by the soul perceptions.

I am with you in all my love and power, for I love you as I told you and desire that you shall become free and happy so that you can do my work. With all my love and blessings, I will say goodnight.

Your brother and friend,
Jesus

Helen Writes About the Soulmate Love-Making Scene Between Mary Kennedy and Dr. Leslie R. Stone

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

I am here, your Helen.

Well sweetheart, we had quite a love-making scene between Mary and the Doctor, and she was so happy that she could write to him that her whole soul was filled with emotion and many tears fell on her letter, though you could not see them. What a beautiful loving spirit she is, and how she loves the Doctor.

I enjoyed the scene more than I can tell you, and when she finished her writings, she came and threw her arms around my neck and cried until I thought that she could have no tears left, but they were tears of joy. Oh, how dear she is to me, for she seems to have a love that appeals to my love for you, and when she tells me of her great love for the Doctor, I join with her in her tears, and we both thank God that he has given us such soulmates and the great love that we have for them.

I have been with you all day trying to comfort you and help you forget the troubles of your earthly affairs, and to some extent I succeeded. You must love me more and think of me more often, for if you do you will draw me so close to you, that you will feel my love in all its power and my presence will appear so real to you.

I heard what you said to the Doctor about giving Mary a real lip kiss, and you were right, for while he may not be able to feel her kisses, she can his and it will make her so happy. Notwithstanding our spirit love, we have that about us that causes us to enjoy what was a part of our earth nature. A kiss is just as sweet, yes, more so, than when we were mortals. And you must not think that we are such ethereal, nebulous beings that we cannot enjoy a kiss, or an embrace, for we enjoy both. And as you know, many times have I hugged you until you hollered. So tell the Doctor that he can kiss his Mary just as often as he might were she in the flesh.

I must stop now.

A spirit requests to find his soulmate. Well, I will try to find his soulmate. He seems a man of a loving disposition and he is in real earnest when he says he wants his soulmate, and he shall have her.

So, sweetheart, say goodnight.

Your own true and loving,
Helen

Mary Kennedy Writes Her Testimony and Describes Her Home and Surroundings in the Celestial Spheres

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

I am here, Mary.

Well Doctor, I am here, as you may be surprised to know if you had forgotten my last secret, but I don't believe that you have. I want to say that I am in a happier condition than I have ever been yet, for I am now in the Celestial Sphere where I know that happiness is so much greater than it has ever been. So you must believe me when I tell you that my love is so very much more abundant, and that you are dearer to me than ever before. So try to realize what I mean and imagine that you are with me, even for a little while, and then you will be happier too. I have said what I wanted to say and must stop.

A few days later when the opportunity presented itself, Mary Kennedy wrote as follows.

I am the spirit of a woman who once lived on earth in the far away land across the ocean and was known to my people as a little English girl of not much importance in the world, but now I am of great importance to a human who loves to have me with him; and I merely write this to let him know that he is not always in condition to sense when I am really with him, for I heard him say that I was not with him all the evening, and heard all that he said, and enjoyed hearing him talk, but until just now did not mention my name; and if that were the only sign that I have to know that he is thinking of me, I would suppose that he had forgotten me, but thanks to my powers to read his mind, that calling my name is not necessary. What do you think of that for a sentence?

It is only representative of my love, for just as that sentence is long drawn out, so is my love. But I must not tell him or he may become alarmed at what awaits him when he comes over. Well, I have introduced myself, and now I want to tell him how happy I am and describe briefly my home.

My house is a beautiful one of which you might call alabaster, and in it I have many rooms suited to my various moods and conditions; all beautiful and full of the most perfect harmony and everything to make me happy and contented.

My music room is filled with many instruments of various kinds on which I can perform and bring forth the most beautiful harmonies; and I can sing, too; and when he comes over, I am going to surprise him by playing and singing some of the songs he so much enjoys at the Colburns. I will prove to him that I was with him many times while he was a mortal and could not see and feel my presence.

I have a library but not many of the spiritual books which he has read or heard of, for they do not contain anything that is helpful or beneficial to spirits who live in the soul spheres, because very few of them contain anything which shows or teaches the development of the soul or the grandeur of the Father's Divine Love.

I have the most beautiful vines and roses all over the porches of my home. And in all the rooms are flowers and plants of the most exquisite colors and delicious perfumes. And the pictures on my walls are such as he has never seen on earth; the subjects portrayed are not of scenes that lend to make inharmony or strife or mortal passions appear, but all teach by their realism the truths of love and happiness.

I do not have any beds to lie on, for as you know we never sleep, but we do have couches which I sometimes lie on to rest when I have become a little tired from work, and strange to say, I sometimes dream of him, as you mortals say.

I have no kitchen, for we cook nothing, but my dining room is fitted up in a style that would make your mouth water, as it is filled with pictures of fruit and nuts and flowers and other things to suggest good eating. We eat and enjoy our eating as do you mortals, but our food is nuts and fruits and our drink is pure water, with all the life-giving qualities that spirits need.

The lawns around my home are very beautiful in the freshness and greenness, and the trees are grand old oaks, as you say, that cast their shade over the greensward, and over the many little nooks that abound in our gardens. And then the flowers are so abundant and so variegated in color and delve in perfume.

I have also a beautiful little lake of water in which are boats that carry one without the physical exertion that you have to exercise on earth.

All is more beautiful than I can give you the faintest idea of, and there is only one thing wanting in all this beauty and happiness, and that is that man sitting opposite you; but I would not care to have him bring that mortal body, though he is a pretty good-looking boy as mortals go. But I can see beyond the mortal body, and I know that his soul is much more beautiful than his physical appearance, and yet I am afraid that his soul is not yet in that condition of development that would enable him to come to me just now. But he is developing, and before he comes over, I feel that he will be in condition that will bring him closer to me and closer, so that the distance between us will not be so great.

If he will only try for this development as I am trying to help him develop, he will come very close to me when he comes over, and then he will have such Love all around him that he will not find it difficult to progress to where his other half is, as Luke said.

And speaking of this message of Luke, I want to say that I have my individualized form and a perfect one, so Helen says, and I know that I shall never lose it to enter into some other mortal. Why the very thought of such a thing makes me wonder what all this great Love of the Father was given to me for, if I am to be deprived of it and again become a mere mortal with all the passions and appetites of a mortal. No. I have no fear of that, and he need not either think that when he once comes to his soulmate, he will ever be separated again and go back to that dark and gloomy earth to live.

Well, I have written a long letter and must stop. So give him my love and tell him that I am with him more than he realizes and will continue to do until he comes over. And thanking you for your kindness in permitting me to write so long.

I will say goodnight and subscribe myself your friend and his ever true and loving,
Mary

Saleeba Writes That Her Soul is Filled with Divine Love and She is Going to Tell Her People to Seek For It

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

I am here, Saleeba.

I want to say only a few words that you may know how happy I am and how much my soul is filled with this Divine Love of which you first told me. Oh, my friend, it is difficult to keep from shouting the fact that I am a redeemed child of the Father, and one who knows that His Love is mine, and that I shall live through all eternity enjoying the happiness, which His Love and mercy have given me.

I intended to keep my promise and tell you of my life on earth many thousand years ago, and so I will sometime, but now I am so happy in this great possession that I cannot think of those earthly things in such a way as to relate to you my experience as a mortal. Wait a little while and I will try to describe to you all the things of my earth life that may be of interest to you.

I will go very soon now to my people and tell them what I have found and urge them to seek for it, and I trust that they will follow my advice. There are many of them that are good and pure spirits, with a natural love in such a state that they are very happy and contented and, yet, when I realize the great difference in the happiness that is theirs, and that which may be theirs, I cannot refrain from going to them and telling them of it.

I know that you are glad that I am happy and are interested in my progress and, hence, I love to come and let you know what my condition is. I will not write more tonight. So believe that I love you as a sister and pray for you and ask the Father to make you happy and fill your soul with His Love and bless you. Goodnight.

Your sister,
Saleeba

John Carroll, a Spirit in the Fifth Sphere, Writes to Encourage James E. Padgett to Go to the Lord for the Inflowing of Divine Love

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

Go to the Lord and your strength will be renewed and your soul will receive a wonderful inflowing of the Divine Love, so that you will be able to throw aside all worries and earthly cares and be in condition to receive the great truths that are awaiting you, for you have as your helper and friend the greatest spirit in all God's universe. This I tell you because you need to be sustained and will be as long as you live the life of a mortal.

I am not one who is known in the annals of the church or in the lives of the saints, for I never was a saint on earth and neither am I here, but only a lowly follower of the Master, who to me, is the most wonderful of all God's creatures. So you must believe that he is your friend and saviour, for he is and you need not believe in his blood, or his vicarious atonement, or his self sacrifice either. Only believe in the Divine Love and in the further fact that Jesus is the wayshower to all who may seek this great salvation.

I must not write more, for I am not one of the high Celestial Spirits, as I live in the Fifth Sphere only, but nevertheless, I have a very great deal of that Love and a happiness which I cannot tell you of.

So with all my love, I will say goodnight.

Your friend,
John B. Carroll,
a one time resident of Baltimore, Maryland

James the Lesser, Jesus' Brother, Writes His Testimony and is Helping James E. Padgett With the Work He is Doing

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

I am here, James the Lesser.

I come because most of the apostles have written you, and I want to be in the number who testify that Jesus is the living and true son of God, and that he has selected you, and also your friend, to do his work. I know that this has been told you by many spirits, but yet I want to add my testimony for the time may come when you will meet such unbelief and skepticism that you will need all the testimony that you can get.

The work that you will have to do will not be an easy one. You will have many antagonists, especially in the churches and among the preachers and rulers of the churches, and you will need all the help that the spirit powers can give you.

I am one of the band of Celestial Spirits that will sustain and help you in your work, and I am so interested that you shall succeed that I want you to know the fact that back of you both is the most wonderful power that has ever been given to mortals to carry out the plans of the higher Celestial world.

When on earth, I was the brother of Jesus and called the "Lesser" to distinguish me from James, the brother of John and son of Zebedee. I was not the son of any Alphaeus, such as that name is understood in the New Testament, but the son of Mary and Joseph, as was my brother Jesus. Jesus himself will one day come and tell you exactly who Alphaeus was.

So have faith and believe what we write you for it is all true. You must not doubt as you do sometimes, or let your earthly affairs turn your thoughts from the great truths, which we come to teach you. So without writing more, I will say, believe.

Your brother in Christ,
James the Lesser

Jayemas, a Former Teacher and Inventor From the Continent of Atlantis, Writes About the Forces of Nature

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

I am here, Jayemas.

I am the spirit of a man who when on earth was an inhabitant of the great continent of Atlantis, which was submerged in a cataclysm and by which great calamity all the inhabitants of that country were drowned.

I am now in the Sixth Sphere where are many others of my countrymen, and wherein are enjoying much happiness and great intellectual pursuits that bring to us knowledge of the wonderful laws of the universe.

I was, when on earth, a teacher of the arts and sciences and of the philosophy of life as well. I made many inventions which enabled my people to progress in the development of the use of forces, which existed in the unseen world, and which are now still in existence and operating.

If mortals would only understand and had means for utilizing these forces; they would enjoy wonderful facilities for traveling and propelling the different engines of trade and manufacture that they are engaged in, and also for making easy much of the labor which is now done by hand or by imperfect machinery.

You must not think that the forces of nature have all been discovered by your great scientists and inventors for that is not true; and in the near future you will have revealed to your investigators some wonderful forces that will revolutionize many of the means of conducting the communications between nations and of leading men to a knowledge of what the possibilities are.

Well, I am not permitted to disclose any of these secrets at this time, but in the near future they will be made known, and you will live to see some of these forces applied to the actual working out of what you suppose to be the ideas of your inventors.

I merely wanted to introduce myself at this time as I hope to come to you later and tell you about my life on the submerged continent. So I will not write more.

Your friend,
Jayemas the Atlantian

William T. Stephenson, a Former Englishmen, Writes About The Love For His Soulmate

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

I am here, William T. Stephenson.

I was an Englishman and lived in Liverpool and died in 1876.

What I want to say: "Can a man live and love and then die and go into nothingness?"

And I can answer, "No, for love never dies."

It is the one eternal and never-ending quality of the soul. The love of a man for a woman is so great that only the Love of God for man excels it - I mean the real soulmate love.

I am a spirit who lived on earth and loved a woman of earth. and when I died my love did not die but continued and is with me now growing and increasing all the time. She loved me, too, but in her lonesomeness, she married another and is now on earth the wife of another, but her soul love is mine and, strange as it may seem to you, I am not jealous or dissatisfied with her condition, because I, as a spirit loving her only with a soul love and knowing that I have her soul love in return, do not want her body or the affections which are so firm, the merely natural love or rather the attractions which one physical or even mental existence may have for another.

I am only waiting and loving and hoping that the time will not be long when she will be with me. So you see love cannot die and happiness, which comes with that love, can never die.

I am in the Second Sphere and am enjoying my existence. You must pardon me for intruding, but I only wanted to let you know that love can never die. So goodnight.

William T. Stephenson

A.G. Riddle Writes That James E. Padgett and Dr. Leslie R. Stone are Learning Spiritual Truths

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

I am here, your old partner, A.G. Riddle.

I have listened tonight to the conversation between you and your friend, and I must say that you two have reasonably correct ideas of the spiritual truths as we know them in the spirit world. You must continue your investigations together for an exchange of thoughts is a very wonderful belief to acquire accurate and correct ideas of the truths of things. I mean things that pertain to the spirit world.

I will not write long tonight, but very soon I will come and write you a long letter that will show you some things that you do not now know. But before I stop I want to say that Perry is now in a somewhat better condition. His interview with Ingersoll had a wonderful effect upon him for as on earth Ingersoll was filled with the enthusiasm of his new belief and was just as forcible and eloquent as when on earth. What a wonderful thing this Divine Love is. I can only say that there is nothing in all God's universe that can compare with it.

I am still in this Fifth Sphere, but hope to work in the Seventh Sphere where your father is. So I must stop now.

Your old partner,
A.G. Riddle