John Writes that James Padgett and Dr. Leslie R. Stone Have the Right Idea About Making the Truths Known to the World

April 30, 1917
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, John.

I merely want to say that you are in a better condition tonight than you have been, and I should like to write you a message but it is too late.

I heard your conversation tonight, and was much interested in it. You and your friend have the right idea as to the manner in which the truths are to be made known to the world by preachers and others who may become believers in these truths and feel the call to make the same known.

The great qualification will be the possession of the Divine Love. If this is wanting, the teacher has not that which is absolutely necessary to make his teachings a success.

In good time all these things will be explained to you. So have faith that you will be placed in condition to do the work that is named. Good night.

Your brother in Christ,
John

Helen Writes a Note of Encouragement to Her Husband and Soulmate

April 26, 1917
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, your own true and loving Helen.

Well, dear, I see that you are very happy tonight, and I am so glad and want you to feel that you have around you other spirits who are glad also. I will not write much tonight, but commencing Sunday night I wish that you will commence to receive the messages that are waiting to be written you, and there are many, and of the greatest interest and importance.

I was present when the broker was writing to you, and I want to say that he is very much interested in the work and will do everything possible to make it a success. We are all interested in this, for we understand the importance of it and what great results will follow your getting in the position that you so much desire. Have faith and you will not be disappointed. Love me and believe that I love you.

Good night, my dear husband.

Your own true and loving
Helen

Helen Confirms St. John's Message and Writes Further on Prayers for Material Things

April 25, 1917
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, your own true and loving Helen.

Well, dear, I am glad that John wrote you as he did, for it will give you an insight into some principles regarding the powers of spirits to help mortals, that you may not before have understood. What he said is true, and I am glad that he wrote.

It may prove a little disappointing to learn that spirits have not the powers to do everything, as mortals may suppose, but I do not want you to underestimate their powers, for they have great powers, even as respects the material things. Of course, they cannot move a house, or cause the wealth of one mortal to be removed from him and placed in the possession of another, but they can and do use great influence on mortals to cause them to do physical things that the spirits cannot directly do.

Your prayers are not futile, even as to these material things that are subject to the control of mortals, for these very mortals are, under certain circumstances, subject to our influence and, thereby, control. When we promise you that a certain thing or things will happen, we mean that we will exercise our influence on mortals in such a way that they will bring about these happenings in response thereto. And you must not believe that when we promise you something that that something, as a matter of course, will come to you. We mean that it will come to you by reason, primarily, of the work that we are doing among mortals.

We can see some things before they have an existence in your physical world and can tell you of the same; and some things we believe will happen and, also, tell you; and when they do not, we are disappointed as well as are you.

Your own true and loving,
Helen

St. John Writes that God Answers Prayers for Material Things by the Work and Operation of His Angels and Spirits

April 25, 1917
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, St. John, Apostle of Jesus.

Well, He answers the prayers for things material by the work and operation of His angels and spirits, and they in that work are subject to the limitations of success as I have above mentioned. God does not exercise any arbitrary power to answer prayers, but when they are sincerely offered to Him, He works through His angels in answering them, and He does not by His mere fiat do so. His angels are always watching and working, and when the opportunity comes, they use their influence in the best possible way to bring about the ends desired.

As you know, man has a free will and that determines very largely the action of men, and such actions are never arbitrarily controlled by any Divine power. If the prayers of men as to material things can be responded to by the workings of the angels and spirits, they are; but if such response depends upon the will of men, then they are not received by mortals, except as the spirits may be able to influence that will and cause men to act in compliance with that influence, which is always used for the purpose of bringing about the response to the prayers that are, in their nature, proper and worthy to be answered.

Well, I doubt if any of those petitions were ever answered in the arbitrary way that is related in the Old Testament. God never answers prayer in that manner, and the petitions of the old prophets had no more influence to bring about the answers to the same, in the manner indicated, than have the prayers of the sincere and earnest man of these days. God was the same then as He is now, and worked through the spirits then as He does now, except that now He has angels of the soul development in the Divine Love, that He did not then have, and these angels are doing His bidding as well as are the spirits. But He does not answer prayers for material things except in a manner in consonance with laws controlling the free will and actions of men, as they may be operated upon and influenced by the work of spirits.

Sometime I will come and write you a message on this subject of prayer and answer. But this I want to say, that we can at times understand what will happen in the near future, and having such knowledge can tell to mortals what may be expected, or rather what will occur, and this we sometimes do.

In your case, we all of the higher spheres, as well as many of the spirit spheres, know what your petitions have been in reference to these material matters, and we have been working to bring about a realization of the same on your part - not only because of your petitions, but because they are so necessary to the doing and completion of our work; and we have been using our influence to the utmost to accomplish this end. But as I say, we are all limited and have not the power to cause the happening of any event by our mere willing the same, even though we are doing the work of the Father.

This may seem surprising as well as disappointing to you, but it is a fact, and it is a great truth that: God helps those who help themselves.

Of course, you must not lose sight of the fact that while men must themselves do those things that bring about changes or happenings or phenomena in material things, yet we can influence - but not control absolutely - their desires and intentions, and their wills that put into operation or effect these intentions. No, these things, as to their immediate manifestations, are subject to the wills of men. God never by a mere act of the moment or of a physical character, places into the hands of any man riches or prosperity. These things must immediately be wrought and brought about by man, but man in doing this can and is wonderfully influenced by the workings of the spirits.

Well, that is a question that has caused men to doubt and consider and explain in various ways the so-called miracle of the loaves and fishes. As I was a disciple of the Master at that time, it is quite natural that I should be expected to state whether such a miracle ever occurred and, of course, I can state what the fact in relation thereto is. And notwithstanding that it has been used by preachers and teachers for many centuries to show the wonderful power possessed by Jesus, and thereby cause the people to believe in and accept him as God, or at least having God-like powers, and has been used to work much good among those who were seeking for the true religion, yet I am compelled and sorry to say that no such miracle ever took place. While Jesus had wonderful powers, and understood the workings of the spiritual laws to a far greater extent than any mortal who ever lived, yet he had not the power to increase the loaves and fishes as is set forth in the account of the miracle. To be able to do so would be against the laws of God governing the material things of His creation, and also beyond and outside of the powers conferred on any man or angel by any spiritual laws.

There are certain laws by which we, who are acquainted with and use them and may cause a dematerialization of physical substances, and also may to a limited degree cause a materialization of spiritual substances, but I am not acquainted with any law that would have operated, under the control of Jesus, to increase the loaves and fishes to the great number mentioned in the story referred to. As a fact, I know that no such miracle took place, and Jesus will tell you the same. There are other alleged miracles in the Bible that never had any existence as a fact.

Well, I have written you a long letter tonight, and I must stop, but I am pleased that you asked me about the response to prayers, and the miracle of the loaves and fishes, for your questions gave me the opportunity, to some extent, to explain these matters. But, as to prayer, you must wait until I deal with it more at large or in detail before you conclude that you understand the subject fully.

And I say to you pray not only for the spiritual things which God bestows through His Holy Spirit, but also for the material things which He bestows through His angels and spirits. The proper prayer will be answered sooner or later, and your prayer for that of which I have written will be answered, even though to you the response may seem a long time delayed.

With my love and blessings, I will say good night.

Your brother in Christ,
John

Jesus Writes on the Necessity of Faith and Prayer in Doing the Work

April 22, 1917
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

I was with you tonight and heard the sermon, but there was not much said that was very vital to our truths, and I have no comments to make on the sermon. Luther was there also and was disappointed somewhat, for he rather expected the preacher to say some things that might have been beneficial to the souls of his hearers. He will write you very soon, and he is very anxious to do so.

Remember that I love you with a very great love, and that you are my chosen one to do this work, and that to no other man has such an opportunity and privilege ever been given; and you must not become a failure. So much is dependent upon the world getting the truths at this time, for men's souls are longing for the truth, and are susceptible to receiving the same than ever in the history of mankind. So believe in my love and anxiety and permit yourself to get in close rapport with me. I will pray with you tonight, and you will realize some response to my prayers. When you pray tonight, believe that what you ask for will come, and you will not be disappointed.

Well, as I told you, when I delivered to you the prayer, if you offer that prayer with all the earnestness and longings of your soul, it will be answered; and when the answer comes these material things will come also, for when you receive what that prayer asks for, you will then be in possession of the Kingdom of God, and these other things will be added to you. God knows what you need and is always ready to bestow upon you these needful things, and when you become His true child, He will not neglect to give you these other things. He is more thoughtful and careful of His children than is the earthly father, and His angels are always ready to do His bidding, So have faith and pray and pray and you will realize the wonderful responses that will come to you.

I will not write more tonight, but again impress upon you the necessity of faith and prayer; and you must not forget that we angels of the Father are with you trying to help you. Good night.

With all my love and blessings, I am

Your brother and friend,
Jesus

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Luke affirming that the Master wrote.

I am here, Luke.

I will say only a word, for I see how you feel and how important it is that you believe that the Master wrote you, and how certain it is that you can rely upon what he said. If you only knew how much he is interested in you, and how much love and care He is bestowing upon you, you would not for a moment doubt or lose faith in his promises. And, besides, we are all with you in love and efforts to help you. So believe and you will not be disappointed. With my love I will say, good night.

Your brother in Christ,
Luke

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Eight Celestial Spirits affirm that Jesus wrote.

I will say that we are all here, and heard what the Master said, and know that he wrote, and that you can rely on what he said, let doubt leave you, and love and faith take possession of your soul. May God bless and keep you in His love,

Paul, John, James, Luther, Barnabas, Samuel, John Wesley, John the Baptist

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Helen affirms that eight of the Celestial Spirits signed their names.

I am here, your own true and loving Helen.

Well, dear, the messages have been rather unusual tonight. I mean the messages corroborating what the Master said, and they show you that you must not doubt or lose your faith in what has been written you, not only tonight but in all the past. You must also see how interested these spirits are in you, and in the work you must do, for otherwise you would never have received such messages.

Each of those whose names are subscribed, actually wrote. I know them all and saw them sign their names, and with each signature was a prayer that God would bless you and give you a great abundance of His Love. It is all so wonderful, that I am somewhat astonished at this great display of interest in you, and desire that you shall believe. So, my dear husband, believe with all your soul, and trust in the love of the Master, and his great desire to see you happy and free.

I will not write more tonight, although I had intended to write my personal letter, but you are too tired to receive it. But you know how much I love you and how anxious I am to see you happy and filled with the Father's Love. I love you and want you to love me. Good night.

Your own true and loving,

Helen

Priscilla Stone, Mother of Dr. Leslie R. Stone, Writes of Her Love for Him and His Brothers and Sisters on Earth

April 19, 1917
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Mother of Leslie.

I came to say that I am much pleased for this opportunity to write to him (Dr. Leslie R. Stone) once more. Of course, I have been with him a great deal and he has felt my presence, but it is so much more satisfactory to write him and tell him in words of my love and solicitude for his welfare.

I am now in a higher sphere of the Celestial Heavens and correspondingly happy and I find that as this great love comes to me, it seems that I love him with a greater intensity. I wish that I could describe the glories of my new home so that he might have some idea of what the Heavens constitute in which his mother now lives and what it means. He has heard described some of the spiritual spheres, which transcend all conceptions. But those descriptions are very inadequate to convey the true portrayal of what the Heaven, which is mine, contains.

But I am also happy in that his father has also progressed and is so much happier and has so much more of the Love in his soul. We are in the earth plane a great deal of the time trying to help his sisters and brothers who have their many troubles and moments of unhappiness and if we could only get in rapport with them like we can with Leslie, they would be much happier. But as it is, they do believe in our presence as their true loving parents and are conscious of us sometimes when they need our help. But this they cannot understand and their thoughts do not often turn to us and, as a consequence, we are not able to get as close to them as we desire.

The girls are more interested in earthly matters, than in those pertaining to the spirit world, and are very largely absorbed in the war and its possibilities. Well, this is quite natural, but yet if they could only know that the other things such as the spirit are more important and if they would only turn their thoughts more to the spirit world and think of their parents more often, they would receive an influence and help that would add so much to their happiness even though they could not understand its source.

As you know, we are controlled by law and no matter how great our desires may be to come in closer contact with our children and cause them a greater happiness, but if they do not want to respond to our feelings, they can prevent our doing so. Of course, they do not understand what possibilities are theirs and what a little thing keeps them from us or rather permitting our influence to come to them as it otherwise would. Let them have a real yearning for our presence or a wish that they could have us with them and it will lift the veil that keeps us from making our presence conscious to their soul's perceptions.

We are hoping, though, that someday or rather someway, they will have an awakening so that we may come closer together. Tell Leslie to write them to think more about their mother and send out a desire that they could have her with them and then I will be with them and they will know that it is true although they may not realize the fact.

Yes, I sometimes visit the scenes of battles and it is also possible that I do not stay very long, except at some time when I have the opportunity to help some poor spirit who has suddenly found himself in the spirit world and is in great confusion and apparently all alone. I am also with my son, who is in the army, and try so hard to reach his consciousness, but with very little success and while I do not know when he may be called to battle and suffer the dissolution of life, yet I am with him waiting to help him should the end of life come to him. My love draws me to him and my love will keep me with him until he either becomes a spirit or returns to his home. Oh! What a terrible thing is war and if mortals would only understand what it means to the individual spirit, they would try to bring an end to its ravages and destruction.

I have written considerably and must stop. But I wish to say that Leslie's father is also here now and sends his love and blessings and wants him to know that the signal which he spoke of is the one that his father uses to notify him of his presence. Also tell Leslie to continue to pray and believe for in doing so, his prayers ascend to the real living and loving Father and his beliefs are of the truth - of the great truth that leads to God and redemption and immortality.

Thanking you I will say, good night.

Priscilla Stone,
Mother of Dr. Stone

Helen Writes that the Master is with Mr. Padgett a Great Deal and Prays with Him at Night

April 15, 1917
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, your own true and loving Helen.

Well sweetheart, we did not get the opportunity to write our love message and I am a little disappointed but we will try tomorrow night to do so. The spirits who wrote were so anxious to do so and especially Mary, and I thought it advisable to let them write.

I see that you are feeling better and I am glad. Worries do not help and while they are difficult to throw off, yet if you can do so, it will be best to let them go. I love you with all my heart and soul; and so want you to be happy and will do everything possible to make you so. Only love me and believe in me and you will find that your love will help you.

Well my dear, I am so glad to hear you say that, for there is nothing more desirable or more important to your present as well as your future and we all want you to get into a condition of greater nearness to the Father and to us all.

Pray more to the Father and let your thoughts be of things of the higher kind and believe that we are with you in our love and especially that the Master is with you very often and brings to you his love and influence. You must believe this for it is true. He is with you very much and he loves you more than you can conceive of and is trying to help you in every way. And this I must tell you, that he prays for you as you pray at night and I know that his prayers will be answered. His is a wonderful love and a wonderful faith. He knows no doubting and when he asks the Father for anything, he knows that he will receive it.

So you see, you have so much to make you believe that this Great Love that you long for will come to you and the happiness that always comes with it. You can get this Love in a wonderful degree if you will only earnestly seek and believe that your prayers will be answered and you will progress even though you have the worries and distractions of your earth life to contend with.

We all pray for you and will continue to do so and I believe that our prayers will have some effect in helping your progress in the spiritual way. I am with you very often, loving you and trying to help you. Yes, I know and have a little patience and it will come. You are my own dear Ned and the husband of my eternity.

So sweetheart let us stop now. I love you and want your love in return. Give me my kiss. Good night and may the Father bless you with His Love and care.

Your own true and loving,
Helen

Elias Writes a Note of Encouragement to James E. Padgett

April 14, 1917
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Elias.

I come tonight to write a few lines only, as you are not in condition to receive the lengthy discourse that I promised you.

I merely desire to say that I will be pleased to give you my message as soon as you feel that you are in condition to receive it. Of course, as you know, it is necessary for you to be in the proper condition as it is for me to be so. There must be a mutual rapport so that our powers may work in unison.

Well, I have nothing further to write tonight, except to say that you must not let your feelings of discouragement take so great a hold on you. They do harm and unfit you for your work.

So with my love, I will say good night.

Elias

Grover Cleveland Writes His Testimony of Receiving Divine Love and Progressing to the Third Sphere

April 12, 1917
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Grover Cleveland.

Let me say a word, too. I am your friend and desire to say just a few words about what has just been written you and of the necessity of keeping up your faith in what has been promised you and your courage.

Of course, I am not of the higher spirits, but I am in the soul spheres of the spirit world, and it is so, as I am very happy to say, very largely because of your advice and help and, consequently, you must know that I feel very grateful. I have not written you for a long time, and I have no doubt that you wonder who I am that is thus writing you; but in your wonder, think that I am a most grateful spirit, and one who desires to help you all that he can.

I acted on your advice and listened to the high spirits who came to me and told me of the wonderful plan of God for the salvation of men and the making of their souls pure and like unto His in Love; and I, at last, to an extent, believed what they told me and prayed and hoped and continued to pray, and found that my prayers opened up the way to the Father's Love, and to His Kingdom of Light and Happiness.

It was surprising to me how simple the plan is, and how the true longings of the soul will bring to itself this Great Love, for I found that as I longed and desired in true earnestness, this Love was present, always present and not afar off to be searched for. How the Father must love the souls of mortals and spirits!

Well, now I am in the Third Sphere and in the association of spirits like myself who are filled with this Love to the extent that they are in great light and happiness always striving for more Love, yet always contented. You may not understand this seeming paradox, but it is true, contented yet striving for more. And this is because this Great Love of the Father has in it those qualities that bring a satisfying happiness and, the same time, creates a desire for more Love.

Well, my friend, I desire to tell you this because I know that you are interested in knowing something of my experience in the spirit world and are pleased to know that I can call myself one of the redeemed. And now, knowing the truth of the Father's Love, and what its possession means to a spirit, I feel a great desire to tell you that what you first told me of is a thing of reality and that when you instruct spirits as to this Love and the way to obtain it and happiness, you are conveying to them truths that are as real as the existence of our spirit world and the soul of men therein.

I heard what the other spirits wrote you tonight and also want to urge you to have faith for I know this; that all the powers of these high spirits are being exercised in your behalf, for they say that you have a work to do, that only you can do. What a wonderful thing to contemplate! I do not yet understand it all, but this I do know, that you seem to be of great importance to these spirits.

I am now much more interested in spiritual matters than in the war that your country has just entered, for I now see that among men and in their short lives on earth, wars and all such calamities are mere incidents, and do not determine the destinies of men in the great eternity, except as the individuals may, or may not by their thoughts and desires carried into action, contaminate the conditions of their own souls and fit them for the hells and punishments that follow.

If men would only understand that, after they become spirits and possess some of this Divine Love, the mortals of earth, all alike, become their brothers and nationalities and race distinctions disappear to the spirit's consciousness. All are brothers and the possible recipients of this Love.

But still, while we have no particular interest in nations as such, yet we have with us individuals and sympathize with them and love them, and are glad when those things which bring upon them unhappiness and misery cease to exist; and we try to exercise our influence for good on those who have the administration and directing of national affairs, and in this way we are interested in the war.

To us there comes no feeling of bias or prejudice against any nation, or desire that any one nation shall become victorious, except as we see the men of one nation are in their advocacy of principles and justice more in accord with the righteousness and truth than another, and then we are on the side of truth and use our influence for its success.

In this war, I think that the Germans and their allies will be unsuccessful and believe that the war will soon end. But this is for man to determine, though we are exercising our influence to bring about this determination.

I will not write more tonight, but as I progress, which the higher spirits tell me I will do, I will come to you and write you of my progress. With my love and gratitude, I will subscribe myself,

Your brother in Christ,
Grover Cleveland

Martin Luther Writes a Note of Encouragement to James E. Padgett About the Greater Importance of His Work

April 12, 1917
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Luther.

When I was on earth, I had my troubles and suffering but thanks be to the Father, I was never forsaken and you will not be.

And when you consider the greater importance of your work as compared to mine, you must realize that the Father and the powers of His angels are more interested in preserving you from everything that may interfere with your work than He was with me; for while I was earnest and sincere in what I attempted to do and believed that I was right in my attacks on Catholicism and in my teachings of the truth, yet I was in error in many things; and you, on the contrary, will not be in error, because what you may receive will come only from the spirits and angels who know what God's Truths are. So you must see the importance of your work and the necessity for its being accomplished.

Take courage, and when these thoughts of dread of not being provided for and being felt without the means necessary to your existence come to you, cast them aside. My dear brother, believe what I have been trying to impress you with and that we all love you and are trying to help you. Good night.

Your brother in Christ,
Luther

Swedenborg Writes on Earth He Did Not Know of the Divine Love; Luke and Helen Confirm

April 8, 1917
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Swedenborg.

I merely want to say that I have been reading my work as you read, and that I now realize how many statements of error and untruth I made in that work. The errors are so many that it will take a longer time than I have tonight in which to give you a bare outline of them. But I will soon come and write you and hope that you can give me an evening when I can write without limitation of time.

Since I have been in the spirit world, I have found that there are so many statements in my writings of my experiences while in the mortal, when I was permitted in my spirit - or as I then said "interiors" - to enter the spirit world, that were not truly conceived or interpreted, that it is absolutely necessary that I should correct and describe in accordance with what I now know of the truth, and especially is this necessary as I have on earth a large number of mortals who believe in my teachings and are trying to follow them in their lives and deeds. So you will appreciate my anxiety to be permitted to write. Tonight, I will not write more.

Well, I am sorry to say, that I did not know of the Divine Love, which by its reception into the soul made angels of men and recreated them, so that their souls became in their very substance, Divine. I did not know of this Love as contradistinguished from the love that was bestowed upon man at his creation, and which, in itself, has nothing of the Divine. No, I was ignorant of this and never learned it in the spirit world in my visits to that world, nor in my conversation with spirits.

I know now that no matter how great is the ruling love of a man for falsity and evil when he enters the Hells, he will have the opportunity to have that love changed, and that ultimately the loves of all who are in the Hells will be changed into the love for good; in some instances into the Love of the Divine, and in others, to the purification of their natural loves to that which will make them perfect men. These are some of the things that I desire to write about, and there are many others equally erroneous.

I am in the Celestial Spheres and, of course, am an angel of God and the possessor of His Divine Love that has caused my soul to become Divine and immortality to become to me a thing of understanding and possession. I will stop now, and with my love and the blessings of God and all the Divine Angels, I will say good night.

Your brother in Christ,

Swedenborg

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Luke affirms that Swedenborg wrote.

I am here, Luke.

I come to tell you that you must not doubt that Swedenborg wrote to you, and what you wrote, or rather, received, in answer to your questions, he actually wrote. We are all desirous that he shall write you on the subjects that he has expressed a desire to write upon, for many of the teachings and doctrines that are contained in his earthly writings are erroneous and must be corrected, for they are being studied and believed in by many mortals, and all to their leading away from the truth.

The one great error or untruth that must be corrected is his teaching, that Jesus is God. This is blasphemous and abhorrent to all the angelic spirits, and more so to the Master than to any other, and for the correction of this, Swedenborg must write. Well, I will not write more tonight, except to say this, that another anniversary of the resurrection of the Master, as it is believed, has come, and men are worshipping Jesus as God, and sending their praises and thanks to him as the great redeemer of the world by his death and resurrection, while as you know, his death had very little to do with that redemption, and his resurrection was not the resurrection that he taught could be the experience and possession of all mankind.

It is pitiable and destructive to the truth for men to believe and teach that the mere resurrection of the spirit from the body is the resurrection that Jesus came to teach and demonstrate; and when we see each year the repetition of the observance of the anniversary of this rising of Jesus from his physical body, and all the false beliefs and teachings, we realize more and more the necessity for our truths being made known to the world.

So you must work harder and pray to the Father to increase your soul development so that our messages may be more rapidly received. Remember what John said a few nights ago and believe, for the promises then made will soon be realized by you. I will come soon and write a message. With my love and great desire that we become closer in our rapport and more expedient in our work, I will say good night.

Your brother in Christ, Luke

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Helen confirms that Swedenborg wrote.

I am here, your own true and loving Helen.

Well dear, I come to say that Swedenborg actually wrote you, as I realize that you had a doubt come into your mind as to whether he really wrote. He actually answered your questions in his own words, and not any thought contained in his answers came from your mind. Luke also wrote, and you must believe. Good night and God bless you.

Your own true and loving, Helen

James Writes that Jesus Was Taught by the Father and the Angels of God

April 3, 1917
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, James (the Lesser).

I will not write long tonight, but pray to the Father to bless you and make your faith increase.

No, I never belonged to any of those sects, nor did Jesus. He was never learned in the wisdom of India or Egypt or Persia, as the writer whom you were reading tonight asserted. He was taught by the Father and the Angels of God, and his knowledge was that which came from these teaching and the opening up of his soul perceptions. He was not a son of the Magi, or of the wise men of any of the countries referred to, but as to knowledge and wisdom he was a son of the Father only.

I will come again soon and write you. So good night.

Your brother in Christ,
James

Elias Writes on the Subject: "Do the dead communicate with the living?"

April 1, 1917
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Elias.

I will write a few words in respect to the sermon that you listened to tonight on the question: "Do the dead communicate with the living?"

The preacher is a believer in what he enunciated and the only trouble with him is that he has very little knowledge of the truths of spiritualism and, hence, his ability to teach these truths is very limited.

The mere fact that the soul and spirit of man continue to live when they shuffle off the mortal coil, as he described it, is but the first truth of this great subject and is one that all spirits learn immediately upon their separation from the body no matter what their religious beliefs may be or whether they have any such beliefs or not.

This fact is one about which there can be no difference in knowledge. They all know, in a moment, as it were, that there is no such thing as the death of the soul - the real man. But this, as I say, is the mere beginning of knowledge and beyond the fact of this continuous existence, this knowledge serves no purpose as to the destiny of man.

The preacher was much interested in the book about which he was talking and found in it some statements that are confirmatory of the beliefs that he already possessed, and some statements that are new to him and which gave him somewhat larger views on the subject; but necessarily these views are not of the vital truths,  which a more complete or extended knowledge of spiritualism will give to him.

The spirit of whom he was talking knew little more than what appeared to his senses and, of course, these things are only those that come to the knowledge of the spirit when it first enters the spirit land. Its truths are not learned in a moment and frequently - not for centuries - and as to the higher truths are never learned by a great majority of the spirits. So that what is contained in the book referred to is very consoling to those who believe that their loved ones are waiting to meet them and will receive them when they cease to be mortals with love and affection and joy and, further, that these loved ones are with the mortals while on earth watching over them and trying to help them, yet no information as to the lives that these spirits must lead in the spirit world as soon as their status is determined by the great Law of Attraction and what the future may be and is disclosed to them and for the reason that the spirit communicant did not know.

But, as the preacher said, it is a glorious knowledge to possess that man after death still lives, and that his soul does not have to wait for some great resurrection day to realize that it has life and consciousness.

The preacher is still in the dark as to the conditions of spirits and their destiny, and as to the means provided to attain to the Heavens and become released from the Hells, by the Father's Love. To merely live is not the end of men or spirits, and the fact of living as a spirit of today, instead as a mortal of yesterday, does not demonstrate immortality; and the consoling thought that the preacher expressed from the fact of continued existence after death are merely the wishes of desire based on such existence.

The preacher has, at this time within his own soul, that which is freed from the limitations of his erroneous beliefs in many supposed truths would cause him to know that the life in the spirit world is something more than the mere living, and that this living is only a means to the realization and possession of that immortality that is so often preached about and hoped for.

He has much of the Divine Love in his soul, and that soul is struggling to expand and get in condition to receive more of this Love and is prevented from so doing only by the erroneous beliefs that he has imbibed and misconstrued by his long years of living in what he calls the truths of the Bible and the fear that if he loses such beliefs or questions the truth of the source of his beliefs, there can be no salvation for him. And this is not surprising, for he knows no source of correction of these errors of his beliefs, and as a wise man - and wise only because he does not know how to obtain greater wisdom - he holds on to his beliefs and reverences the source thereof - and his intellect is satisfied.

But the soul, the important soul, which can be fed only by its own perceptions, is like the imprisoned bird, panting and struggling to beat down the bars of its imprisonment and get out into the freedom of God's wide atmosphere. And his mind - the misguided mind - is the bars of his soul's freedom and prevents it from opening up its own perceptions. If the preacher only knew the truth and the way to open the doors to his soul's prison, he would long for that truth and seek that way with all the energies of his soul's powers and would then become free and progress towards the attainment of the certain knowledge of immortality.

But this I will say now, that sometime he will learn the truth and the way, and his beliefs will become in accord with the longings of his soul and the shackles of his mind's erroneous beliefs will be loosened and fall from him, and then he will realize that he is a true son of the Father privileged to partake of the Great Love without limit in his onward progress to the Celestial Spheres.

The church was filled with many spirits interested in the discourse, anxious to learn any truths that might be declared, but they learned nothing, for what he declared as truths, they already knew, notwithstanding that these spirits were of all kinds - wicked and dark and suffering and bright and happy, and mostly still men without the physical body.

Well, I thought it might be advisable to write as I have, so that if the preacher should ever hear this message, he will see the necessity for seeking the deep and real truths that disclose the conditions and destinies of the spirit of men. And besides, he will also realize the importance of his knowing these truths, so that he may teach them not only to men, but to spirits as well, who form the vastly larger part of his audience. I will not write more now.

With my love and prayers for the Father's blessings on you, I am

Your brother in Christ,
Elias

Mary Kennedy Writes She is anxious for Her Soulmate to Obtain an Increased Abundance of the Divine Love

March 29, 1917
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Mary Kennedy.

I am here, and I will not keep my own dear soulmate (Dr. Leslie R. Stone) waiting any longer, for he is just ready to explode from the anxiety that he has to hear from me. He may not acknowledge this to you, but it is true, for I can read his soul and do not flatter myself when I tell you this.

Well, it has been some time since I wrote him even if you do not think so, but it has been to me, for if you could only realize the happiness that I experience in writing to him, you would understand that sometimes we spirits know what time means in the spirit world, though many of them tell you that they do not know what time means. Well, it may be so, but I doubt that they who say this have ever had the experience of waiting for the opportunity of writing to their soulmates on earth.

I have been with him a great deal, as he knows, and have become a part of his thoughts and tried to respond in a sensitive way to his thoughts of love that he has sent to me, and sometimes I realized that I succeeded.

Well, tonight I desire to tell him that I am more interested in his happiness, which comes to him from the inflowing of the Father's Love than from any that may come from the inflowing of my love, and while I do love him with all my soulmate love and want him to realize it in all its fullness, yet I am more anxious that his soul shall be opened up to this Greater Love that is so necessary to his eternal salvation and a home in the Celestial Spheres. And besides, I must tell him this that the souls that have this Divine Love developed within them have a more wonderful capacity for this lesser love than those who have only the development of the natural love. To the former there is no end of happiness and to the possibilities of progress.

From my writings, and especially from those in which I attempt a little pleasantry, Leslie may sometimes think I may be a little frivolous or not so serious as a spirit of my development and possession should be, but of this I want to disabuse his mind, for he must know that when there is great joy and happiness growing out of love, even the Divine Love, there will be gladness and pleasantry, and sadness or continued seriousness will have no part in that happiness.

I am very serious at times and meditate with great earnestness and soul longings on the truths of the Father and the meaning of His Great Love, and my soul goes out to Him with all the reverence and adoration that He would ask of me, and when I pray for my soulmate and for his progress in this Love, then am I most serious and let the longings of my soul go to the Father with all the earnestness that I possess.

No, he must not think that I am a frivolous soulmate flitting from sphere to sphere as one of the spirits wrote you in reference to us who have the Love of the Father in our souls and seem to he so bright and airy. Only those who are in darkness or who are bereft of this Great Love are habitually serious looking with never a laugh or a song to make glad the heart of some other spirit or perchance mortal. Why, if I had to always be serious or apparently an angel of deep thought trying to solve the problems of the universe, I would not be the possessor of the Love that I have, and my face would not shine as the sun, which is the appearance of those spirits who have this Love of the Father in their souls as I have it. I am not flattering myself, as you mortals say, but am stating to you a truth that cannot be gainsaid by any in our spirit planes where we, of the redeemed souls, live and love and pray.

Of course, when I come to your room or into the earth plane, I do not bring with me my real appearance which my soul produces, for I would not be what the spirits who live on this plane could endure and, then, I am only a beautiful spirit as we are sometimes described by those who write, but, as I am, only those who are like me or higher than I can see or understand. And so I am trying to help my dear one to get so much of this Love in his soul that, when he comes to our spirit world, it may not be long until he can be in condition to see his Mary as she really is. Well, I am thankful that I could write this tonight for I so much desired that he should have some conception of me as I really am.

Tell him that my love is with him all the time, whether I am his Mary in the lower plane or his Mary in the higher Heavens, where she appears to her spirit associates in all the beauty of her glory, a glory that can come only with and from the possession of the greatest of all Loves. I thank you and will not write more. So, my dear friend, with my sister's love to you and my soulmate's eternal love to him, I will say good night.

Your sister in Christ,
Mary

Robert G. Ingersoll Writes that Life and Death are Complementary

March 10, 1917
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, R.G. Ingersoll.

Tonight I am a very happy spirit, and one who realizes that: "It is not all of life to live, or yet of death to die," for life and death are mere incidents in the existence of the immortal soul's career through eternity. Life on earth is but a short breathing of the soul in bondage, yet prized so highly by mortals; and death of the physical is the liberating of that soul from its bondage, and yet, men fear and shun it and, if possible, would never let it come to them.

This may be said to be natural and not to be wondered at, and all because mortals do not know that life and death are brothers working for the good of humanity, the former giving them the opportunity to seek and possess happiness or misery, and the latter ending that opportunity in this, that happiness may be increased without having to undergo the retarding influence that life on earth throws around mortals and misery, or rather the cause thereof, prevented from increasing. So you see, life and death are complementary, the one positive and the other negative, but each the great helpful friend of the human soul.

You wonder: "Who I am?" And I wonder that: "I am what I am, and not what I was."

My friend, life has continued with me in greater and more enlarged abundance, until now I am the possessor of that life which Jesus came to earth to declare to be the heritage of every mortal who should seek it. My friend, death has left me, and in leaving me took with him all the possibilities of increased causes of unhappiness in my soul. The results or effects of the causes that existed in my soul while in the mortal life came with me in more acute and overpowering abundance; but no new or additional causes to produce additional effects came with me. Death took them with himself when he departed from me forever.

Life and Death - the friends of mortals - each to be welcomed! The one, the friend for eternity; the other, the friend for only a moment, but what a friend!

I intended tonight to write you a long and (as I think) important message relating to the real world of spirits, but thought it best not to do so and, hence, gave you the little impersonal thoughts with reference to my friends and your friends. I will come soon. Good night and God bless you.

Your brother in Christ,
R.G. Ingersoll

Edwin Forrest Writes of His Progress Since Praying for Divine Love

March 10, 1917
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Edwin Forrest.

Well, Ned, I come again, but I will not detain you long, as I merely wish to tell you that I am progressing and am commencing to see the light and some happiness, and my hope has increased so much that I already feel that I shall soon get in the condition where my happiness will become so great that all my sufferings will leave me. Your wife tells me that my hope is certain of realization, if I will only continue to pray and open up my soul to the inflowing of the Love, and I am trying with all my strength to follow her advice.

I have been to my mother and she was certainly surprised to see my bright condition. I mean bright as compared with hers, and the condition of those who are around her, and she wondered what has caused it. And when I told her and begged her to follow my example and pray for this Love, and let go from her the beliefs in her creed and in the teachings of the priests, she said she was not ready to do this, but was compelled to believe what these priests had told her of the will of God and of the way to get out of her darkness, and that what I said to her may be true as to my experience, yet she was certain that the masses and prayers that the priests were offering up for her would soon have their effect, and she would soon get out of purgatory and pass into the Heavens of peace and light.

I insisted that in this, she was mistaken and asked her why it is that she, having been in the spirit world so much longer than had I, and that during these years of her existence as a spirit, their masses and prayers had been offered for her, that she is in no better condition than when she first became a spirit, while I, who was so wicked and sinful on earth was in the condition in which she saw me. Well, she could not explain and said she would think of the matter and ask some of her priests why it is so.

I left her and impressed her to think about the matter and said that I would come to her again and would continue to come to her until she should become convinced of the truth of what I had told her. Well, I believe that soon I will be able to convince her that she is in error and will never find relief so long as she continues in the beliefs that the priests and her zeal for her church while on earth caused her to imbibe.

I believe what you say, and I will follow your advice. I will now stop and with my love will say good night.

Your old friend,
Forrest

St. James Writes on the Powers of Temptation and our Dual Natures

March 8, 1917
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here St. James, Apostle of Jesus.

I come to write my message as Elias told you I would. Well, I desire to write on the subject of: "What is the great truth respecting the way that the destruction of the powers of temptation that arises from the perverted man may be restored to the condition of perfection which the first parents possessed before their fall?"

You will understand that this does not involve any consideration of the operation of the Divine Love upon the soul, but exclusively the consideration of the method by which the soul may be so purified by the operations of the actions and the will power in conjunction with, or influenced by, the workings of the powers of the spirits who have been relieved of the sins and errors that followed the fall.

When man was created, as has been told you, he was created perfect and every quality and function and attribute that was a part of him was so created. That harmony - the most exact with the laws of God that governed his existence - became his and no discord of any kind was in existence to mar that harmony. But as the spiritual nature of man became subordinated to the appetites and passions and fleshly desires, sin and error and inharmony appeared and increased until man became degraded and desired only those things that would satisfy these sinful desires.

And so this degeneracy continued until man reached his lowest degradation, and the turning point came in his career, and then he commenced slowly and gradually to rise from this condition of depravity until at last, he arrived at the stage of his condition of inharmony with these laws of his creation that now exists; and his destiny is to a complete restoration to the perfection of his first estate.

This improvement and gradual restoration depend upon two causes: one, man himself by his own thoughts and reformation of the animal appetites and desires; and the other, the influence and guidance of spirits who, in the spirit world, have arrived at that perfection, or are progressing thereto, and are in a condition of harmony with these laws, superior to that of mortals to whom they lend their influence and help.

Men, in their degeneracy or progression, are controlled very largely by their thoughts, and these thoughts are created by the operations of their desires, and which on the other hand, cause these desires to increase. But back of the thoughts are always these appetites and passions existing in their abnormal conditions, and they constitute the basic or moving cause of desire and thought and act. So that in order for men to become relieved of his abnormal desires and thoughts and acts, the cause thereof must be eradicated, and the seat or function of the cause be brought into harmony with laws of the creation of these functions or seats of emanation.

And strange as it may seem to you, and by a process that is contrary to the ordinary workings of the Law of Cause and Effect, men must first deal with the effects in order to control the cause and thereby destroy the effects. This may seem to be an impossible operation, and contrary to the laws that govern the material world and its ordinary functioning, but yet it is possible, and the only possible way in which the causes may be destroyed. Notwithstanding the fact that the animal or material part of man has had the ascendancy, for all these centuries, over the spiritual part of his nature, yet that spiritual part exists and has always existed and is waiting to assert itself whenever the opportunity occurred, and this assertion was prevented or suppressed only by reason of the want of opportunity.

The spiritual may be said to be the natural state. I mean that in that state, the animal is subordinate to the spiritual and is controlled by it, and man's true tendency is to exist and act in accord with that natural state. Then such being the fact, it may be asked why, or in what manner did this natural spiritual condition become, in the manifestation of what man's dominant dualities are supposed to be, subordinated to the control of the inordinate exercise of this animal side of his nature, which resulted in the sin and unhappiness that so many of the teachers and philosophers proclaim to be his natural condition?

Well tonight, I will not attempt to explain the manner in which this inversion or perversion of man's true nature took place, but will at some future time write on this subject.

The question now is: "How can man obtain the restitution to his created perfection?

As I have said, this can only be accomplished by making the perfect adjustment of the two apparent conflicting sides of his nature. And first, he must recognize that he has the spiritual nature, as well as the animal, and that there is such a relationship and coordination between the two that the supremacy of the latter disturbs the harmony of his perfection as man. The spiritual having been subordinated, the remedy is to remove the subordination and restore the equality. The spiritual, notwithstanding its condition, is always fighting to regain its place in the true adjustment and will always answer the call of man to come to his rescue; and the only thing that has prevented that response is that man has not called for it to assert itself.

Well I am sorry, but we had better postpone until later. Try to get in greater rapport. Good night.

Your brother in Christ,

St. James

**********

Helen Confirms St. James' Message

I am here, your own true and loving Helen.

Well dear, I see that you are disappointed tonight in not receiving the message from James, so that you could write it as he intended to deliver it. Well, the conditions were not good and the rapport not sufficient to enable you to finish the message. He was disappointed, also, but he will come again and deliver it to you. I see that you are very sleepy and must go to bed. So have faith, and love me, and say good night.

Your own true and loving,
Helen

Ross Perry Writes that He is Feeling Better and Asks for Continued Prayers; His Mother and Helen Confirm the Message

March 4, 1917
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Perry.

I am very weak, but I must tell you that I am feeling better, for now I do not believe that I am doomed for all eternity to the damnation of darkness and suffering, and when I think back that but for you and the loving spirits that you brought to me, I would be without hope. My heart is so filled with gratitude that it seems as if it must break asunder.

What a wonderful thing is this great gift that you have and no spirit in all the darkness of a hope so near despair can understand the meaning of what that beautiful and glorious spirit who just wrote you said, as I can.

Well I cannot write more, but you and your friend (Dr. Leslie R. Stone) pray for me as surely you who have such beautiful spirits loving you must have some power in your prayers to help. Good night and pray for me.

Your friend,

Perry

**********

Perry's Mother Expresses Her Gratitude to Mr. Padgett for his efforts.

I am here, the Mother of Perry.

You must let me say a word, for if ever there was a thankful spirit in all the spirit world, I am that one. Oh, how I thank you and praise the Father for His Mercy and Goodness in permitting my dear boy to see the light and have hope come to him as a star that beckons him to a state of happiness and salvation.

I am so filled with love and thanksgiving that I cannot write much for my heart is just going out to the Father in such streams of love and joy and gratitude that my eyes are so suffused with tears of gladness that I can hardly see.

Do not forget to pray for my boy, both of you, for we all know that you love the unfortunate and miserable spirits who have no hope or way to get into the light. You know that I am his mother, for your soul must feel that it is the mother's love that is thus expressing gratitude.

Good night,
Perry's Mother

**********

Helen wrote that Perry is praying for Divine Love and is commencing to realize the great love that his mother has for him.

I am here, your own true loving Helen.

Well dear, you have had a wonderful night and if, as you say, you could see the scene of your surroundings, you would wonder that there could be such happiness and joy in the spirit world. I mean in these lower planes where there are so many dark and unhappy spirits. We have all been happy and I must tell you that all of your band and also the Doctor's have been present listening to the messages that have been written you.

And it seems to be a night when so many of these dark spirits have come seeking and longing for help and trying to find the way to light. And while only a few have written you, yet many have been benefitted for they have heard the messages and your conversations and have listened to the bright spirits who have been ready and anxious to help them.

Perry is better as he says and is praying and just commences to realize the love and solicitude that his mother has for him and she is so happy that he realizes that she is his own loving mother, and the scene between them was very pathetic and they mingled their tears, hers of love and thankfulness to the Father and his of gratitude that hope has come to him. He is praying and I am so glad that he asked you and the Dr. to pray for him, for it shows that there has come to him some little faith in prayer.

We are all praying for him and your grandmother, in all the beauty of her love, is with him and to her he seems to listen and believe in more than all the others. It is a glorious time for us all. I will not write more now as you have been drawn on a great deal and we must stop.

Give my love to the Dr. (Stone) and tell him that if he could know the amount of love that is surrounding him tonight he would not exchange places with Rockefeller or any other rich man or great men as you mortals consider greatness - for this love will be his through all the years to come even increasing and growing.

So dear believe that I love you and give me your love and trust that I am,

Your own true and loving,
Helen

Edwin Forrest Writes that the Love of the Father is Working in His Soul; Samuel C. Mills Confirms the Message

March 4, 1917
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Forrest.

Well, Ned, excuse me for intruding just now, but I am so happy that I cannot refrain from telling you of my happiness, for I know that you will rejoice with me. I am now out of my darkness and the (Divine) Love of the Father is working in my soul, so that I feel as some of your earth poets have said, "as light as air," and if you could only see the air in which I now am, you would more deeply understand what the expression means in my case.

I am now so certain that this Love is a thing of reality, and so effective to make a dark, suffering spirit one of light and freedom from pain, that I can assert with all the conviction of a rescued soul, that the Love of the Father is the one thing in all the spirit world that has no uncertainty about it.

I will not write more now, and I know that you will pardon me for having intruded.

Now I feel that I can go to my mother and tell her of this wonderful Love, and the true way to light and progress, and I will go at once; and I pray the Father that my persuasion may be effective and enable me to hear my mother say to me that she will trust me and follow me in the way that I shall tell her of.

So thanking you, and believing that you have been my greatest friend, although I realize that I did not deserve your kindness, I will say good night,

Your old friend.
Edwin Forrest

**********

Samuel C. Mills is amazed at the progress Forrest made out of darkness, and will try to do the same, and seek for the Father's Love.

I am here, Samuel C. Mills:

Well, I heard what Forrest said, and I am certain that he believes what he said to be true, for I can tell you that he has become a wonderfully bright spirit and seems to be so happy and joyful.

Well, it certainly is strange to me. Here am I, who was in some light and comparatively happy when he came into the spirit world and went into the Hells of darkness and suffering, and now he is all beautiful and happy, and I am still where I was. It certainly is wonderful!

But as I told you in my last letter, I cannot now remain satisfied with my condition, and I am going to seek, and have already started, to get this Love that he tells me is the cause of his wonderful change; and I will not cease seeking until I succeed in obtaining it, for I feel that if he could get the Love, I can.

He has talked with me, and while he could not explain just how the change came to him, yet he says that he accepted your advice and the help of your wife, and commenced to pray, blindly and without faith, and continued until he commenced to realize that something that he had never felt before was working in his soul and continued to work the more he prayed; and he didn't stop praying until the darkness left him, and with it the most of his suffering. This is all that he could tell me, and I am following him.

And I hope that before long, I will be able to write to you as he did. Won't that be a wonderful thing! I will not write more, but I will pray and hope that you will pray for me. The spirits who are here and who seem to love you so much, say that they will pray with me, and they tell me that there will be no doubt as to the results. So good night,

Your old friend,
Mills

Jesus Writes on the Soul: What it is and what it is not.

March 2, 1917
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

I come tonight to write my message on the soul, and will do so, if we can establish the necessary rapport.

Well, the subject is of vast importance and difficult of explanation, for there is nothing on earth known to man with which a comparison may be made, and, generally men cannot understand truth, or the nature of things, except by comparison with what they already know to exist and with whose qualities and characteristics they are acquainted.

There is nothing in the material world that will afford a basis of comparison with the soul and, hence, it is difficult for men to comprehend the nature and qualities of the soul by the mere intellectual perceptions and reason, and in order to understand the nature of this great creation - the soul - men must have something of a spiritual development and the possession of what may be known as the soul perceptions. Only soul can understand soul, and the soul that seeks to comprehend the nature of itself must be a "live soul" with its faculties developed to a small degree, at least.

First, I will say, that the human soul must be a creature of God and not emanation from Him, as a part of His soul, and when men speak and teach that the human soul is a part of the Over-Soul, they teach what is not true.

This soul is merely a creature of the Father, just as are the other parts of man, such as the intellect and the spirit body and the material body and, which before its creation had no existence. It has not existed from the beginning of eternity, if you can imagine that eternity ever had a beginning. I mean that there was a time when the human soul had no existence; and whether there will ever come a time when any human soul will cease to have an existence, I do not know, nor does any spirit, only God knows that fact. But this I do know, that whenever the human soul partakes of the Essence of the Father, and thereby becomes Divine itself, and the possessor of His Substance of Love, that soul realizes to a certainty that it is Immortal and can never again become less than Immortal. As God is Immortal, the soul that has been transformed into the Substance of the Father becomes Immortal, and never again can the decree, "Dying thou shalt die," be pronounced upon it.

As I said, there was a period in eternity when the human soul did not exist and was created by the Father, and when it was made the highest and most perfect of all God's creation, to such an extent that it was made in His image - the only one or thing of all His creations that was made in His image, and the only part of man that was made in His image, for the soul is the man and all his attributes and qualities, such as his intellect and spirit body and material body and appetites and passions, are merely appendages or means of manifestation given to that soul to be its companions while passing through its existence on earth and, also, qualifiedly while living in eternity. I mean some of the appendages will accompany the soul in its existence in the spirit world, whether that existence be for all eternity or not.

But this soul, great and wonderful as it is, was created in the mere image and likeness of God, and not in or of His Substance or Essence - the Divine of the universe - and it, the soul, may cease to exist without any part of the Divine Nature or Substance of the Father being lessened or in any way affected; and, hence, when men teach or believe that man, or the soul of man is Divine, or has any of the qualities or Substance of the Divine, such teaching and belief are erroneous, because man is only and merely the created man, the mere likeness but no part of the Father or of His Substance and qualities.

While the soul of man is of the highest order of creation, and his attributes and qualities correspond, yet he is no more divine in essential constituents, than are the lower objects of creation - they each being a creation, and not an emanation, of their Creator.

True it is that the soul of man is of a higher order of creation than any other created things and is the only creature made in the image of God and was made the perfect man, yet man - the soul - can never become anything different or greater than the perfect man, unless he receives and possesses the Divine Essence and qualities of the Father, which he did not possess at his creation, although, most wonderful gift, with his creation, God bestowed upon him the privilege of receiving this Great Substance of the Divine Nature, and thereby become Divine himself. The perfectly created man could become the Divine Angel, if he, the man, so willed it and obeyed the commands of the Father, and pursued the way provided by the Father for obtaining and possessing that Divinity.

As I have said, the souls, the human souls, for the indwelling of which God provided material bodies, that they might live the mortal lives, were created just as, subsequently, these material bodies were created; and this creation of the soul took place long before the appearance of man on earth as a mortal, and the soul prior to such appearance had its existence in the spirit world as a substantial conscious entity, although without visible form and, I may say individuality, but yet, having a distinct personality, so that it was different and distinct from every other soul.

Its existence and presence could be sensed by every other soul that came in contact with it, and yet to the spirit vision of the other soul, it was not visible. And such is the fact now. The spirit world is filled with these un-incarnated souls, awaiting the time of their incarnation, and we spirits know of and sense their presence, and yet with our spirit eyes we cannot see them, and not until they become dwellers in the human form and in the spirit body that inhabits that form can we see the individual soul.

And the fact that I have just stated illustrates - in a way describes - the Being of Him in whose image these souls are created. We know and can sense the existence and presence of the Father, and yet, even with our spiritual eyes we cannot see Him; and only when we have our soul developed by the Divine Essence of His Love can we perceive Him with our soul perception, because you have not words in your language to convey its meaning, and nothing in created nature, of which you have knowledge of in which a comparison can be made. But it is a truth; for the vision of the soul perception to its possessor is just as real, as I may say, objective, as is the vision of the mortal sight to the mortal.

It may be asked in considering this matter of the creation of the soul: "Were all souls that have been incarnated, or that are awaiting incarnation, created at the same time, or is that creation still going on?"

I do know that the spirit world contains many souls, such as I have described awaiting their temporary homes and the assumption of individuality in the human form, but as to whether that creation has ended and at sometime the reproduction of men for the embodying of these souls will cease, I do not know, and the Father has never revealed it to me, or to the others of His angels who are close to Him in His Divinity and Substance.

The Father has not revealed to me all the truths and the workings and objects of His creative laws, and neither has He given to me all power and wisdom and omniscience as some may find justification for believing in certain of the statements of the Bible. I am a progressive spirit, and as I grew in love and knowledge and wisdom when on earth, I am still growing in these qualities, and the love and mercy of the Father come to me with the assurance that never in all eternity will I cease to progress towards the very fountainhead of these attributes of Him, the only God, the All in All.

As I was saying, the soul of man is the man, before, while in the mortal existence and ever after in the spirit world, and all other parts of man, such as the mind and body and spirit are mere attributes, which may be dissevered from him as the soul progresses in its development toward its destiny of either the perfect man or the Divine Angel, and in the latter progression, men may not know it, but it is a truth, that the mind - that is, the mind as known to mankind, becomes, as it were, non-existent; and this mind as some say, the carnal mind becomes displaced and replaced by the mind of the transformed soul, which is in substance and quality, to a degree, the mind of Deity, itself.

Many theologians and philosophers and metaphysicians believe and teach that the soul, spirit and mind are substantially one and the same thing, and that anyone of them may be said to be the man - the ego - and that in the spirit world one or the other of these entities is that which persists and determines in its development or want of development the condition or state of man after death. But this conception of these parts of man are erroneous, for they each have a distinct and separate existence and functioning, whether man be a mortal or spirit. The mind, in its qualities and operations, is very well known to man, because of its varied manifestations and being that part of man which is more of the nature of the material and has been the subject of greater research and study than has been the soul or the spirit.

While men have, during all the centuries, speculated upon and attempted to define the soul and its qualities and attributes, yet to them it has been intransitive and impossible of comprehension by the intellect, which is the only instrumentality that man generally possesses to search for the great truth of the soul and, hence, the question of: "What is the soul?" has never been satisfactorily or authoritatively answered, though to some of these searchers, when inspiration may have shed a faint light upon them, some glimpse of what the soul is, has come to them. Yet to most men who have sought to solve the problem, the soul and spirit and mind are substantially the same thing.

But the soul, as concerning man, is a thing of itself, alone. A substance real, though invisible to mortals. The discerner and portrayer of men's moral and spiritual condition - never dying, so far as known, and the real ego of the man. In it are centered the love principle, the affections, the appetites and the passions, and possibilities of receiving and possessing and assimilating those things that will either elevate man to the state or condition of the Divine Angel or the perfect man, or lower him to the condition that fits him for the Hells of darkness and suffering.

The soul is subject to the will of man, which is the greatest of all endowments that were bestowed upon him by his Maker at his creation, and is the certain index of the workings of that will either in thought or action, and in the soul's qualities of love and affection and appetites and passions are influenced by the power of the will, either for good or evil. It may be dormant and stagnate, or it may be active and progress. And so its energies may be ruled by the will for good or evil, but these energies belong to it and are no part of the will.

The soul's home is in the spirit body, whether that body is encased in the mortal or not, and it is never without such spirit body, which in appearance and composition is determined by the condition and state of the soul. And finally, the soul or its condition decides the destiny of man, as he continues in his existence in the spirit world; not a final destiny, because the condition of the soul is never fixed, and as this condition changes, man's destiny changes, for destiny is the thing of the moment, and finality is not known to the progress of the soul until it becomes the perfect man and is then satisfied and seeks no higher progress.

Now, in your common language and also in your theological and philosophical terms, mortals who have passed to spirit life are said to be spirits, and in a certain sense this is true, but such mortals are not nebulous, unformed and invisible existences, they have a reality of substance, more real and enduring than has man as a mortal, and are in form and features visible and subject to touch and the object of the spiritual senses. So when men speak of soul, spirit and body, if they understood the truth of the terms, they would say: "soul, spirit-body, and material-body."

There is a spirit, but it is altogether distinct and different from the spirit body, and also from the soul. It is not part of the spirit body, but is an attribute of the soul, exclusively and without the soul, it could not exist. It has no substance as has the soul, and it is not visible to even the spirit vision - only the effect of its workings can be seen or understood, - and it is without body, form or substance. And yet it is real and powerful, and when existing never ceasing in its operations - and is an attribute of all souls.

Then what is the spirit? Simply this - the active energy of the soul. As I have said, the soul has its energy, which may be dormant or which may be active. If dormant, the spirit is not in existence; if active the spirit is present and manifests that energy in action. So to confuse the spirit with the soul, as being identical, leads to error and away from the truth.

It is said that God is spirit, which in a sense is true, for spirit is a part of His great soul qualities, and which He uses to manifest His presence in the universe; but to say that spirit is God is not stating the truth, unless you are willing to accept as true the proposition that a part is the whole. In the divine economy, God is all of spirit, but spirit is only the messenger of God, by which He manifests the energies of His Great Soul. And so with man. Spirit is not man-soul, but man-soul is spirit, as it is the instrumentality by which the soul of man makes known its energies and powers and presence.

Well, I have written enough for tonight, but sometime I will come and simplify this subject. But remember this, that Soul is God, soul is man, and all manifestations, such as spirit and spirit body are merely evidences of the existence of the soul - the real man. I have been with you as I promised, and I know that Father will bless you. So with my love and blessing, I will say good night.

Your brother and friend,
Jesus

Rev. Chauncey Giles Writes that After He Met Jesus in the Spirit World, He Learned the Truth

February 28, 1917
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

Let me write you a line, for I am interested in what has just been written you, for when I lived on earth, I was a Swedenborgian or New Churchman, and believed in the doctrines of that Church, and especially in the cornerstone of its beliefs, and that is that Jesus was God, and the only God to be worshipped as such and accepted as the incarnate God, who came to earth and lived and taught among men the coming of God into the flesh.

Well, I, when on earth was a leader or preacher in that Church and during the course of my ministry, I not only taught but wrote many pamphlets and some books upon this doctrine of God becoming man in the form of Jesus, and on many other doctrines, that I now know to be untrue.

And my authority for saying that this fundamental doctrine of the Church is untrue, is that I have seen and talked with Jesus in the spirit world and learned that he is only the spirit of a mortal, but the highest and most glorious spirit in all the Heavens and is not God; and I have never seen God, nor any spirit who has seen Him with the spirit eyes, though Jesus and others of the highest spirits say that they have seen Him with their soul perceptions, which must be true because Jesus is so much like God in this: that he cannot tell a lie.

But I know that there is a God, and my knowledge is based on certainty, but the basis of this certainty I cannot explain to you, as you could not comprehend my explanation. But God lives and rules and loves, and is present with us and with you in some or many of His attributes, and Jesus is not this God.

I wish that I could come to my people and tell them of the errors of their beliefs, and the truths as they exist and to the extent as now known to me, but I have no hope of ever being able to do so, for one of the cardinal doctrines of the Church is that with the passing of Swedenborg passed the possibility of all communications between God or His angels and mortals as to spiritual truths, and that it is contrary to God's will that mortals should attempt to penetrate the veil that separates the two worlds.

How such beliefs as I taught now cause me suffering and regret, for I see no way of remedying the wrong that I did, and of turning the thoughts of my followers into the paths that lead to truth and the certainty of Heaven.

As this is my first attempt to communicate, I am somewhat tired and must stop. But I thank you for the opportunity and hope that some time I may have the privilege of again writing. Notwithstanding my erroneous beliefs, I have in my soul some of the Father's Divine Love, that enables me to sign myself,

Your brother in Christ,
Chauncey Giles

**********

Helen Confirms the Messages about Swedenborg from Martin Luther and Chauncey Giles

I am here, your own true and loving Helen.

Yes, Luther wrote, and the other spirit I don't know, but I have no doubt that he is whom he represents himself to be. He seemed to be in much earnestness and was very anxious to write, and seeing that he was a good spirit with a message, we let him write, and he felt better by having done so.

Swedenborg was here tonight and is very anxious to write and soon he will as he feels that he must write a message on the subject that you have been interested in recently. I will not write more. So with my love I will say good night.

Your own true and loving,

Helen

Martin Luther Writes on Swedenborg and Why His Mission was a Failure

February 28, 1917
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here. Luther.

I merely desire to say that as you read the pamphlet I read with you, and the description and explanation therein contained - as to who God is - are entirely erroneous and blasphemous. Jesus never claimed or taught, while on earth, that he was God, and this I say because he has so instructed us, and he never since becoming a spirit has made any such claim, and the teachings of the New Church in this particular are all wrong and tend to lead men away from the true conception of who God and Jesus both are.

Swedenborg has often conversed with me about his teachings and declared that his explanations as to God are not in accord with the knowledge that he now has, and that the teachings as contained in his books upon this subject were the results very largely of his own speculations, and the results of his endeavors in trying to reconcile what he thought was an absurd conception of the nature and being of God with the true interpretation of the Bible.

He could not accept the doctrine of the Trinity, as explained and accepted and taught by the Church and, hence, being a believer in the inspiration of the Bible and its infallibility of religious truths, he sought some exegesis (critical explanation or analysis) that might be consistent with the Bible, and at the same time in consonance with his ideas of reason and common sense. But, as he now says, he added mysticism to mysticism and irrational explanations to irrational explanations, and the result was that his teachings were more absurd and more difficult to understand than were the teachings of his church.

The doctrine of the Trinity, as you have been told, is not true and never had any authority in the teachings of Jesus or those of the Apostles and Bible writers, and was merely the deduction of some of the old fathers of the church arising from their speculations and desire to make of Jesus a God, though a lesser God than the Father, and at the same time one with the Father and a part of the Godhead that must be considered as being only one God, and as taught by the Old Testament writers and prophets that there is only one God.

This doctrine, of course, was absurd and, hence, was one of the mysteries of God, but nevertheless was taught as a truth and incumbent upon man to believe whether they could understand it or not which, of course, they could not. But the doctrine was not accepted by all the writers of the early days, for as you know, there were bitter controversies among these expounders of what they supposed to be the scriptures upon the question as to who Jesus was, and his relation to God. But as the years went by the doctrine of the Trinity became firmly established as a canon of belief in the church, and in my time on earth, it was believed and not questioned by the church; and I believed it also, although I could not understand it.

Now, Swedenborg was a member of the church that bore my name and which I was credited with having founded and believed in its doctrines, even as to the Trinity, and the actual transformation of the wine and bread into the blood and body of Jesus, and he continued in this belief up to the time of his wonderful visions of the spirit world and his experience in meeting the spirits and angels of that world, including Jesus, whom he in his writings claimed to be God, and with whom he had many conversations and from whom he learned the spiritual truths that he declared to the world.

As you have been told in the working out of the plans of the Celestial Angels under the leadership of Jesus, Swedenborg was selected as the instrumentality through whom the spiritual truths should be revealed to mankind, and in carrying out that plan, power was given to him to come in his spirit perceptions or his inner sight, as he calls it, into the spirit world and there see the conditions of spirits and angels, and also of their environments, and learn the higher truths from conversations with spirits and angels. And he did come in the manner indicated and communed as he has claimed, except that he never talked with God, but only with Jesus, who he misconceived to be God; and this cannot be wondered at, for Jesus was a spirit, so transcendent in glory and love and wisdom, that it was almost natural, as I may say, that the mortal in his new and unusual experience should conceive this glorious Jesus to be God himself. But it was not God, only Jesus, that this seer saw and listened to.

Having a conception of this kind, you can readily see that when he came into his mortal self again, and many times this occurred, he firmly believed that Jesus, who had form and individuality in the spirit world similar to what he had when on earth, was actually God, and it therefore became easy for Swedenborg to reject the doctrine of the Trinity, (and in its place proclaim) Jesus is God, manifested in the flesh, and God is Jesus, the Divine Man.

Of course, you must understand, that in the exercise of this seership, he experienced the doubts and fears, that at times what he saw and heard might not be things of actuality, and that possibly his imagination, or as in these latter days, what is called the subconscious mind, was deceiving him, and being a man of extraordinary mentality and strong convictions, as well as established faith in the doctrines of the church to which he belonged, many of his interpretations of what he saw and heard, and his teachings therefrom, were limited and flavored by his existing mental condition and faith.

He has told me that for many years before his experience as seer, he had to a more or less extent doubted the truth of the Trinity and accepted it only as a mystery, and because the church declared it to be a truth, and that after his experiences as such seer, believing in the statements of the Bible as the infallible words of God, and also believing that he had seen God in the person of Jesus, he sought an explanation of these Bible statements and a reconciliation of them with his belief that Jesus was God, and the result was his declared doctrine that Jesus is God.

And so in many other of his teachings, based upon his experience in the spirit world, he embraced many errors and misconceptions of the truths, and to such an extent that, as you have been told, his mission, in its results, was a failure, and the truths that he had been selected to learn and declare to the world were never made known to mankind. This failure was disappointing to the spirits who conceived this plan and in whom were lodged the spiritual truths of God, and who were acting as God's instruments in their endeavor to make them known to humanity.

But it will be more satisfactory to you, and convincing to whomsoever may read the truths that you are receiving from these same high spirits that selected him, as their messenger, to have Swedenborg come himself and explain the workings of his mission, and the causes and particulars of his failure in doing the great work that had been assigned him to do.

He says that he has one consolation that many who have founded churches and attempted to declare spiritual truths upon which doctrines and creeds have been promulgated and believed in, and that is that his followers are so comparatively few in numbers and, consequently, so many less mortals are being deceived by his teachings. And I can appreciate the consolation that he may have in this fact, for my teachings and beliefs that are false as his are false, are believed in and followed by a very large number of mortals, to their injury.

Well, I am glad for the opportunity to write you tonight, and I am still waiting for the chance to finish my message to my people on the errors of continuing in my teachings, and the necessity for them to become undeceived and learn the truths that are now being declared to mankind. I will not write further. So good night.

Your brother in Christ,
Luther

James A. Garfield Writes on the Current War

February 27, 1917
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, James A. Garfield.

I come tonight to say a few words in reference to the present condition of the affairs of our country, as I have been much interested in what has taken place in the past few weeks, and especially in the attitude of the President (Woodrow Wilson) with reference to Germany and its inhuman method of carrying on its system of underwater destruction of merchant ships.

I know that what I say may not amount to anything for several reasons: one is, that no one save yourself and a few of your friends will know what I say, and another, that a live dog is of more importance than a dead lion. But nevertheless, I feel that I should give expression to some of the thoughts that come to me in reference to these vital and critical conditions that now exist.

The President has been very much hampered by his desire to preserve peace, or rather to keep our country out of war, and so strongly has this desire possessed him that other things of greater and more vital importance to the welfare of the country have been ignored and made matters of secondary consideration with him and his advisers.

Peace is very desirable, and human lives are very dear to those who may have to answer the call to possibly sacrifice theirs, yet the honor and preservation of the nation are of much more importance than the former things, for peace is not necessarily a thing that can exist only in the absence of war, for it may exist in reality while war is progressing, to a greater degree than when war is actually in operation. I mean that even now there is very great want of peace in the individual lives of the people, even though the country, as a nation, is not at war.

And the life of the individual is not of so great importance as the life of the nation, for if the nation be destroyed, or subjected to the dominion of another country, the life of the individual may not be worth the living, as in the case of poor Belgium.

But, as I was saying, this desire on the part of the President to preserve peace has caused him to ignore the rights of both the nation and the individual as they have been threatened and injured by the actions of Germany, in its assaults upon the rights of the nation to continue its commercial pursuits and enjoy the freedom of the seas, that have always heretofore been preserved, and to establish which this nation, in days gone by, fought to establish and have recognized.

He will be disappointed in his expectations that some kind Providence will interfere and prevent the overt act that he holds to be necessary for justification on his part to enter into the conflict, as that overt act will not only take place, but has already done so, and the cause that he has been waiting for is now a thing of reality.

It is a great pity that he has delayed all this time, for if he had taken a firm and determined stand some months ago and let Germany know that America would maintain her rights, even by force of arms, if necessary, Germany would not now be the aggressive, belligerent that she is, and many vessels would not have been destroyed and many lives have been saved.

But this wavering policy caused the Germans rulers to believe that he did not desire war, and that he would refrain from entering actually into the war and, consequently, that he would let go by any act on their part that did not purpose to injure the rights of the U.S.; and this feeling on the part of Germany increased until it was led into doing things that it might otherwise not have done and having gotten into its present desperate state, it came to the conclusion that the only thing it could do now was to adopt the plan of blockade that now obtains and destroy everything that interferes with the carrying out that plan, and that the U.S. must submit to its demands or do whatever it might think best to protect its rights hoping, though, that it would avoid war by recognizing the blockade and keeping its vessels out of the zone of the same.

Now the time has arrived when Mr. Wilson can have no possible excuse for remaining neutral, and he will have to do what he should have done a long time ago. I can see that this delay will result in the destruction of many vessels and the sacrifice of many lives, but it is the only thing that can be done to save greater calamity.

So I hope that he will delay no longer, but declare war or call upon Congress to declare war, at once, and thus put the country in a position to effectively preserve and maintain its rights. And I make these predictions, that as soon as this shall be done, the beginning of the end will be established and that before the middle of summer, peace will come and the war will cease, though its effects will appear in more certain horror than they do now and will be felt for many years to come. I hope that he will act now, and if I could induce him to do so, I would without hesitation or doubt of the right of so doing.

I will not write more, so good night.

Your true friend,
Garfield