Jesus Writes on the Errors of the Preacher's Sermon about God

April 8, 1919
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

Let me say a few words tonight.

I was with you again at the services and listened to the preacher (Dr. Swain) as he expounded the truth of God and the truth of man as he conceived these truths to be, and I am compelled to say that if his future state of happiness depended upon these supposed truths, he would be a very unhappy spirit in one of the million heavens of which he spoke.

I am sorry that men can conceive of such notions of God and man and teach them to other mortals. But so it will be for many years, and until my teachings, through you, are accepted and believed by men, great darkness and error will prevail in the earth. It is hardly necessary for me to attempt to analyze many of his erroneous statements, for they are so many and so erroneous that it will take too long a message to review them all.

But I will say one thing, and that is, that when he attempted to show that God's energy and man's energy are one and the same, he was all wrong, and knew not what he said. God is a being who is infinite and omnipotent and as to his energies there is no limits, while man is a mere creature of God and cannot possibly have any greater or other energy than he was created with; and this energy is controlled by the soul - that is man - and is subject to all the limitations of that soul. Well, I will not write more tonight, but hope 'ere long to write you one of my messages of truth.

I see that you have been somewhat in doubt as to the reality of the truths of the messages that you have received, and as to the power of the Divine Love to make you a child of God, in the sense Divine. You must not let such doubts enter your soul for one moment, for they are the breeders of other things that are most harmful and tend to alienate you from the Father. As you are aware, God's Love is all around you, and may be in you, and if permitted to flow into your soul, with faith accompanying it, you will find yourself growing in at-onement with the Father and realize that fact. So my brother get rid of your doubts and come to God in the faith that is childlike and dependent. He will not disappoint you. I will be with you and try to help you in your desires.

Pray more to the Father, and believe that His Love is yours; only for the longing and seeking. I will not write more tonight. Rest assured that my love is with you in all its fullness and believe that you have a work to do.
Good night.
Jesus

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Thomas B. Monroe comments on the preacher's discourse.

Let me say a word, as I was also present at the meeting tonight and listened to the preacher as he unfolded what he thought to be the truth of God and man. Well, I will not stop to discuss many of the errors of his teachings or the workings of his mind, but only say, that if God is as he considers him to be, he would not be the God, which we know to exist and who Loves us and whom we can call Father. The all-enfolding energy is not the God of Love and mercy, and the preacher cannot possibly find in such a God, the Father that is calling for and caring for his children.

I merely wanted to say this. I am an inhabitant of the Celestial Kingdom and will say good night.

Thomas B. Monroe

**********

Helen comments on the preacher's sermon.

I am here, your own true and loving Helen.

Well dear, I see that you are not very much enlightened by the preacher's discourse tonight, and I do not see why you should be, for he has no true conception of either God or man and gave no help to those who are searching for the true God, the Father.

I see that you may feel that you are benefitted though by the negative lesson that his discourse teaches. He tells of what he thinks God is, and in telling this, demonstrates that he knows nothing of the true God. You may hear the full course of his lectures and you will not learn much that will benefit you in an affirmative way. But attend the same, and then meditate upon them, and you will find that you have listened to a man who knows nothing of God or the spiritual world of which he pretends to speak.

We all love you and want you to love us. Good night.

Your own true and loving
Helen

Nita Padgett, James Padgett's Daughter, Writes that She Has Progressed to the Third Sphere

October 14, 1918
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Nita.

Let me write a line. I am Nita, and I have been so anxious to write you ever since I came to the spirit world and realized that I could do so.

Well, Daddy, I cannot tell you how happy I am and how glad I am that I can write you. I know that mother has written you in regards to my passing over and my condition and progress since I became a spirit, and all that she said is true and much more. I am so desirous of telling you in detail just what my experience has been, but as this is my first attempt to write, I will not do so tonight, but very soon I will, and I know that you will get tired before I cease writing, for I have so much to tell you.

Of course, I had some idea of what might be my experience in passing, but the idea was a very faint glimpse of what I really experienced, and I want to tell you how much your information when I was with you helped me.

Well, Daddy, I am also so very glad that I could be with you so much and know that you were still my dear Daddy and loved me so much more than I ever realized when on earth. I am now so very happy and know to a large extent the reality and blessedness of God's Love, which you used to tell me of. Oh, how can I ever express to you how thankful I am that you told me of this Love, for it has been the means of helping me so much in my progress.

I am now in the Third Sphere, as mother tells me, and I cannot tell you the beauty and loveliness of all that surrounds me and what a lovely home I have and what delightful associates. You must not think me selfish when I write that I would not return to the earth life for all the world, for here I am free from the worry and troubles that I had and also can be with you and love you and know that you love me as your own darling baby.

I am with (my) brothers a great deal also and try to make them realize that I am with them, loving them so very much. They think of me sometimes and wonder if I am really with them, and I know that they, to a degree, feel my presence even though they are really not conscious of the fact.

Well, Daddy, I have written a good deal, and mother says I had best not write more now, but wait until I am in a better condition to express to you just what I desire to write. So love me and think of me, and expect me very soon to tell you of what I have suggested. Give my love to the boys, and especially to Hazel and tell her that I am with her, and so is mother, both trying to help her, and make her expectations come true, and also cause her to be the happiest little mother in all the world. She has wonderful influences around her and should be very happy as well as should Harry, and I know you will also.

So, dear Daddy, I must say good night. With all my love, I am still

Your own loving,
Baby

Mother of Rev. Mitchell Writes that Her Son Preached of the Divine Love of the Father and the Work of the Holy Spirit

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

I am here, Mrs. Mitchell.

Let me say only a word. I was present at church this morning and heard my son's sermon and was so happy that he preached of the Divine Love of the Father and the work of the Holy Spirit. It made me think that the Truths of God's Love and man's redemption are becoming a part of his soul's knowledge.

There were many spirits present and many were affected by the sermon and turned their thoughts to this Love of the Father that had never before been preached to them.

I have great hope that my son will receive the truths that have been revealed to you in their fullness, and thereby receive to a greater degree of this transformation of his soul into the very Essence of the Father. I thank you for your kindness and will not write more. So with my love I will say good night.

Your sister in Christ,
Mother of Rev. Mitchell, Methodist

**********

Helen confirms that the preacher's Mother was very happy because her son will put away his dogmatic beliefs.

I am here, your own true and loving, Helen.

Well dear, you have received a message from the preacher's mother (Mrs. Mitchell) who was so anxious to write. She is very happy and believes that her son will have an awakening to the truth and put aside his dogmatic beliefs.

I was with you at church and was very happy, because I saw that you were happy. The Master was there as you realized in all his love and soothing influence and was pleased that the preacher delivered the sermon as he did. Many of the audience were affected by what was said and their souls responded to the truths told them by the preacher, and they experienced a feeling of Love that made them happy.

I see that you are sleepy and I will not write more. Only continue to think of these spiritual things and pray to the Father, and you will find the Love increasing more and more in your soul. So love me and believe that I love you. Good night, my dear one.

Your own true and loving,
Helen

Helen Writes that an Old Friend of Mr. Padgett's was Anxious to Write but She Postponed it Until Another Time

February 13, 1917
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Helen.

Well, there was a spirit who was very anxious to write and I was disposed to let him do so, but as you are tired and are not inclined to have others write tonight, I told him that he would have to postpone his writing until another time.

It was your poor friend, William Perry, and he was so disappointed that he could not write. He is still in a very sad and dark condition and does not seem to be able to progress much out of his sufferings. We have been trying to help him but his belief that he came here to suffer eternally still holds him in his dark and suffering condition. I believe though that a conversation with you may do him good. He is still waiting here. He says he will come and I know that he will wait anxiously for the time to come.

Well, dear, I am glad that the Master wrote you tonight such a letter of love and encouragement for it will do you good. Try to follow his advice especially pray more to the Father. We are all so anxious that you get in the condition of which the Master spoke, for it will help you so much in your own development.

I love you as you know with all my heart and soul and so does your dear Mother, who wrote you. She was so happy in doing so and she is a beautiful spirit, as she told you we have both progressed and we are nearer the fountainhead of God's Love and it appears more real and divine the nearer we approach. I will not write more now as it is late.

Well, I will not forget and soon I will write and you must be convinced that I have not forgotten. Well, we thought it best not to write then, for the reason that I have told you but hereafter when you are ready in the early evening we will write, even though we may have to appear a little unkind to these dark spirits, we will explain to them and I think that they will be contented.

Well, my dear, feel that I am very true to you in my love and let not your mind be troubled, but love me with all your heart and you will realize that I am,

Your own true and loving,
Helen

White Eagle and Helen Write About Mr. Lipscomb Who Wasn't Allowed to Write a Message

March 19, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, White Eagle.

Lipscomb tried to write and I would not let him because he was drunk and I know you did not want him to write.

**********

Helen writes that poor Lipscomb imagined he was intoxicated.

I am here, Helen:

Well, you have had some of your old lawyer friends write you, and I was glad of it, for they seemed to be happy in doing so. The last one was poor Lipscomb, and he imagined that he was intoxicated but, of course, he was not. He thought so himself; and as you have heard, "thoughts are things."

Well, I am very sorry for him. I have tried once or twice to help him, but I am afraid that I will have to wait some time before I can make any impression on him. He is so earthbound, and that accursed appetite seems to have such a hold on him that he is completely dominated by it. But time, as you say, will help him.

Well my own dear, I was with you tonight at church and you realized it while the choir was singing, for I could see and feel that your love was flowing to me, and I was very happy.

The preacher was very entertaining and his argument on the negative of the proposition was all right, for God's Love is open and waiting for everyone who may seek it, and no one will be deprived of it because of any supposed unpardonable sin. And his second proposition was, in a way, true also; but the conclusion that any man may by his own will and shutting of his soul desires to the influence of the spirit damn himself eternally is wrong. All will be saved either in the spirit world or the Celestial Heavens ultimately. Such sermons, while not expositions of the full truth, yet may do some good by awakening the hearers to a realization of their actual condition and need for the things of the spirit.

Well sweetheart, I must not write longer tonight as it is late. So with all my love, I will say, believe that I love you and am with you in all your worries and enjoyments.

Your own true and loving,
Helen

St. John Writes About the Belief in the Efficacy of the Vicarious Atonement of Jesus by His Death and Crucifixion

March 18, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

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

I wish to write tonight on a subject that is of importance to the members of the orthodox churches as to the belief in the efficacy of the atonement of Jesus by his death and crucifixion.

All the orthodox believe, and their preachers and evangelists teach in their sermons and addresses, and the teachers of Bible classes instruct their students, that the blood of Jesus and his death on the cross were the two factors in his career on earth that save men from their sins and satisfy the great penalty of death which overhangs them, because of man's first disobedience and the sins that followed therefrom.

Well, this doctrine has prevailed in the beliefs and teachings of the church ever since the church became established by the convention that met in pursuance of the orders of Constantine, when the books that now constitute the Bible were given the sanction of the church as canonical. Before this time some of the early fathers believed in the doctrine of the atonement as above stated, and the controversies between them and others who did not subscribe to this doctrine were very bitter, and at times, very un-Christian according to the Christianity that prevailed among the early followers of the Master, or according to his teachings.

From that time until the present, although the great Roman church has been seceded from and reforms have been made by churches founded on such reforms, this doctrine has been incorporated in and believed by most of the churches, no matter what name they may have adopted and what form of government they may have prescribed. This doctrine constitutes the foundation principles of these various bodies of church entity, and to-day, these principles are as much a part of faith and teachings of the churches as they ever were in all the centuries that have passed.

Of course, with this cardinal doctrine there have also become incorporated in these faiths and teachings certain other principles, which apply more to the individual members of the church than to the church itself as a body. I mean belief in the truth that there is a close relationship between God and the individual which may be established by prayer and the longings of the soul for the inflowing of God's Love and the regeneration of the nature of man by the influence of this Love by the Father.

But in these latter days, this truth has been known to and its workings experienced by a comparatively few of those who call themselves orthodox Christians. The large majority has depended upon the belief in the doctrine that Jesus, by his sacrifice and death, paid the debt which man owed to God; and when the members of the church in an intellectual belief assert that they believe in and accept Jesus as their Saviour because he paid the debt, and by the shedding of his blood washed away their sins and made them at-one with the Father, and thereby became saved from the wrath of the Father, and in a moment become the truly redeemed and accepted children of God, and that as long as they maintain that belief and attend to their duties as such members and observe the regulations of the church, they are safe and fitted for the enjoyment of Heaven and the presence of the Father.

They also believe that unless a man accepts Jesus as his Saviour, in the way I have mentioned, that man will be eternally lost, and in the beliefs and teachings of some of these members, will be sent to hell to be eternally damned and punished.

Well, one view of this doctrine is just as true as the other, or rather just as untrue, because both of these phases of belief have no foundation in fact, and are not in accord with the teachings of the Master, or with the fact as I know it to be, not from any mere belief but from personal experience and observation.

Oh, how the pure teachings of the Master have been distorted and made the means of preventing so many human souls from reaching the Heaven of happiness that they wished for, and that they thought would be theirs when they should give up their mortal lives.

This doctrine, so long believed, has worked the damnation of many a man, as regards his soul development and his becoming at-one with the Father and reaching the Heavens that are prepared for those who obtain that soul union with the Father.

I know it may seem surprising to some who are really true believers in this doctrine and, as they think, in the truths of God and the teachings of Jesus, which are believed to be infallibly contained in the Bible, that I announce the falsity of these beliefs and their utter ineffectiveness in enabling these sincere people to obtain that which they so earnestly desire.

But such is truth, and truth never changes, never compromises with untruth, and never permits the erroneous beliefs of a really sincere mortal to swerve in one iota from the results and consequences of that false belief. And the great injury that this false doctrine has done to humanity, and is now doing, will continue in the world to come, until the belief in truth shall supercede the belief in that which is false. And, thus, not everyone who shall say "Lord, Lord," will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

These false beliefs have operated in two ways to injure man and render him unfit for an entrance into the Kingdom. First, by the belief that brings about the injury that results from the positive operation of error, which is great; and next by the want of belief in the truth, which prevents progress in the acquirement of those qualities which belong to and are necessary parts of that truth.

When men believe in the doctrine that I have stated they become satisfied and, knowingly or not, remain in a state of false security, not attempting to develop the soul qualities, which are the only ones that are in relationship with God. Their mental beliefs are strong and may increase in strength, but their soul communions with the Father and their growth and expansion in the soul development, becomes stagnant and, as it were, dead.

This is the great injury that these false beliefs do to the man and to the spirit. I mean in his individual capacity, for it must be known as a truth, that the salvation of man or his soul progress towards an at-onement with the Father is an individual matter solely, and men as aggregations or in church communities are not redeemed from sin, nor as such, can they have any relationship with the Father or receive His Divine Love, which is the only salvation.

There is only one possible way in which man can come in unison and at-onement with the Father, and thereby fitted to enjoy or inhabit the mansions in His Kingdom, which Jesus spoke of when on earth, and that is the way that will make the soul of man like the soul of the Father, and a partaker of his Divine Qualities of Love and Life. No belief that will not bring about this uniting and commingling, as it were, can possibly make the soul of man a partaker of these qualities that are a part of the soul of God.

Then let man consider for a moment what possible connection there can be between these Soul Qualities of God and the death and blood of Jesus. God is the creator of life and death, and also of blood and flesh, and He can destroy as well as create. Had the sins of man called for the sacrifice of that which was mere flesh and blood, or the extinguishment of a life that God had created in order to pay the penalty of that sin, then a God who demanded such a payment - and this implies of course, that such a God was wrathful and could only be appeased by something that He could not of and by Himself obtain - would not possibly be satisfied with that which He had created and over which He still had absolute control, and which He could destroy and make non-existent at any time He pleased. Jesus' life was already a possession of God, and when he surrendered that life, he did not give to God anything that he did not already own and could not have taken. And when his blood flowed on the cross, it was not that which God could not have made flow at any time and in any manner.

So the absurdity of such a doctrine is too apparent for serious consideration. For its logical meaning is that God was demanding a debt that had long been unpaid, all wrathful and insatiable, and would be satisfied only with the death of a living being and the flowing of his blood; and that death and that flow of blood in one way or manner only, namely, on the cross. And yet with all this demand that has been sounding down the ages for centuries, relentlessly and unpityingly, He became satisfied and His wrath assuaged by seeing His own creature die - and that creature His best beloved son - and by hearing the trickling of the blood of that creature from a wooden cross; by all which, the life and the blood being already His to let live or destroy as He might see fit, man became at-one with Him.

The simple reduction of such a proposition is that God, in order to pay a debt that was owing to Him, accepted in payment thereof that which was already His, and which no power or being in all His universe could have taken from Him.

Now, I say all this reverently as your preachers say, but the fact is, that the mere assertion of such a doctrine, as I have been dealing with, is so blasphemous that no treatment of it, showing its falsity, could be irreverent.

And again, the absurdity of believing that God demanded that Jesus should die on the cross as one of the necessary accompaniments of his death, in order to carry out God's plan for this death and make the payment satisfactory, is so apparent and absurd, that I and all of us spirits in the Kingdom of the Father wonder that mortals can believe such an unreasonable dogma.

To follow this absurd proposition to its logical conclusion, it was necessary not only, in order that the debt might be paid, that Jesus should die on the cross, but that Judas should become the traitor, that the Jews should clamor for his death and that Pilate should pronounce the sentence. These were all necessary means to the satisfaction of the debt, and being so, why is it then that Judas and Pilate and the Jews are not saviors of mankind also, even if you say in a secondary sense. Jesus could not have clamored for his own death, or erected his own cross or nailed himself thereto, or pierced his side with a spear in order that the blood might flow, for if he had done this he would have been a suicide; but it may be, there would have been more of the elements of the payment of a debt in that method of dying than in the way in which his death was brought about.

No, I tell you, I, John, who loved the Master more than all the others and who was closer to him, who was with him when he was nailed to the cruel cross, which I think of with horror, and who was among the first to take his body from the tree and first felt his blood upon my hands - tell you that the death of Jesus on the cross did not pay any debt that man owed to God, nor did his blood wash away the sins of any man. And oh, the pity of it all is that mortals for all these long years have believed that they were saved by his sacrifice and blood, and by such belief have never come any nearer to the Master or in at-onement with the Father.

As I and others have written you, the only way in which man can be saved from his sins and become in at-onement with the Father, is by the New Birth, which the Master has described to you as being the result of the flowing into the soul of a man of the Divine Love of the Father, and the disappearing of everything that tends to sin and error. As this Love flows into a man's soul it permeates that soul as does leaven the batch of dough, and that soul partakes of this Divine Love and thereby becomes like the Father in His Divine Nature, and fitted to inhabit His Kingdom.

Now, you can readily see that there can be no possible relationship existing between the death of Jesus on the cross and his blood, and the giving to the soul of a man those Divine Qualities that belong to the Father's Nature. These Qualities are not imparted to man by death and blood, but by life and love and faith which comes with that Love - and here when I say faith, I do not mean the mere intellectual belief of which I have spoken.

As we have before written, when the first parents were created, they were not given this Divine Love, but the mere possibility of obtaining it upon their seeking for it in the Way that God had provided. It was not forced upon them, but it was optional with them whether they would receive it and become fitted to inhabit the Kingdom of Heaven. When they committed their act of disobedience, they forfeited this privilege and, as to it, died and were left without a mediator between themselves and God. And here I don't mean any mediator in the way of paying a debt, for they owed no debt to God - they were merely, as you mortals might say, disinherited children; and the only mediator that man needed after that time was one through whom might come the Glorious Tidings that the Father had changed His Will, or forgiven the disobedience to the extent of restoring his original state, which is the re-bestowal of the privilege of obtaining into their souls His Divine Love.

And, in this sense, never was there any mediator between God and man until the coming of Jesus and his announcing to man that the Father had changed His Will and had restored to mankind the great privilege of partaking of His Divine Nature and Immortality. And thus, as in the first man, Adam, all men died, so in the man Jesus, were all men made alive. And Jesus was the mediator not only in declaring to man the re-bestowal of this Great Gift of the Divine Love and Immortality but, also, in showing the Way by which men could and must seek for that Gift in order to possess It.

The Great Gift of God to man was not Jesus, but the potentiality of obtaining the Divine Love of the Father and thus becoming Divine and fitted to reside in the mansions of the Kingdom of Heaven.

And thus Jesus became the Resurrection and the Life and brought Immortality to light. How much greater a saviour than by paying a supposed debt by his death and blood.

No, he is the saviour of man by his living and his teachings, for he was the first to receive this Divine Love and to become Divine himself, and the first fruits of the resurrection. We have explained to you before in detail, some of the truths that I have declared in this message, and it is not necessary to further explain them here.

In closing, I wish to declare with all the emphasis that I possess, arising from a knowledge based upon the teachings of the Master and my personal experience as a possessor of this Divine Love and a partaker of the Father's Divine Nature, that no vicarious atonement of Jesus, nor the shedding of his blood, saves any man from sin or makes him a redeemed child of the Father, or fits him for a home in the mansions of the Celestial Spheres.

With a love that can come only from a redeemed and Divine Nature, I love all mankind and am working to help them find the way to life and immortality and happiness beyond the conception of mortals or spirits who have not received this New Birth of the Divine Love of the Father.

I have written enough for tonight and you are tired. So my dear brother with all my love and the blessings of a heart filled with the Love of the Father, I am

Your brother in Christ,
John

Jesus Writes That His Coming to James E. Padgett is Really His Second Coming on Earth and Will Satisfy and Fulfill All the Promises of the Scriptures

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

I am here, Jesus.

I have heard your discussion tonight and am pleased at the soul understanding of my truths, which you and your friend seem to have, and I now feel that you are both progressing to that point where you will soon be in a condition to fully understand what my mission is in writing these messages. You have said, truly, that my new revelation of the truths of the soul is what mankind needs at this time, and what men will be in condition to accept as the real truths of God's Love and of His Laws.

My coming to you is really my second coming on earth and the result of my coming in this way will satisfy and fulfill all the promises of the scriptures as to my second coming.

So let your belief in this important fact and your faith in me increase until you will have in your souls and minds no doubt as to what my present mission is and as to what your work will be in making known to men my real purpose in revealing to them the great truths of the Father.

I will not write more tonight, but say keep up your courage and believe and the time will soon come when you will be able to receive my messages in all their fullness and with such rapidity that the spreading of these truths will not be delayed. I am with you and will be a faithful friend and brother sticking closer to you than any earthly brother.

With all my love and blessings, I am your loving brother and friend,

Jesus

Hugh T. Taggart Writes That He is Grateful for the Advice James' Gave to Him and He's Receiving God's Love and Progressing Out of Darkness

July 22, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington D.C.

I am here, too - Hugh Taggart:

As Mackey said, I am grateful for what you have done for me, and the great light that has come to me by reason of your advice, and the teachings and help of your band, and especially the deep sympathy and sisterly love of that beautiful wife of yours. Why, Padgett, I want to tell you that the most fortunate things of my whole existence were my acquaintance with you and the wonderful results that flowed from it. I sometimes wonder how all of this could have come about.

When on earth, while I knew that you believed in spiritualism, yet, I never realized what your belief and experience meant to you, and what a great help it would be to me when the time came for me to become a spirit.

I will never forget our first argument after I became a spirit on this great question of how I might be rescued from my awful condition of suffering and darkness, and with what earnestness you maintained the position that you took and tried to show me that there was a way by which I could get light and happiness and relief from my torments. Mackey and I often talk about it, and we wonder that you could have had such knowledge of these spiritual matters and such faith to maintain the truth of their existence. But you were right and your faith was not misplaced.

Old friend, I thank you again, and God bless you!

I am now in a condition of light and suffer very little and realize to a great extent that there is such a thing as the Love of the Father, and that it may be mine. I pray and my faith is becoming stronger all the time. The great proof to me, aside from what I see in the condition of other spirits who claim to have this Love, is my own change in soul happiness and in desire to progress to the higher spheres, which your band tells me exists and that I may find my home there if I will only pray more to the Father and let my faith enlarge.

To me this Love and faith is a new revelation. Of course, when on earth I heard of God's Love and of faith, but to me they meant nothing more than the rhapsodies of the enthusiastic religionists, whose emotions had overcome their normal reasoning powers - a will o' the wisp - as it were.

But now I know the reality of these things and I find that the emotions are in things pertaining to the soul more certain leaders than are the reasoning faculties. I am quite happy at times, and I hope to make such progress in my soul development as to be happy all the time.

You are my true friend and I love you as a brother now.

Well, they are still in darkness, but have progressed some little. The great disappointment which Harvey experienced when he came over seems to have such a baleful influence on him, that it is almost impossible at this time for him to reach out and try to grasp the truth of the existence of this Love. But we are trying to help him, and he is commencing to wonder at our improved appearance and to think that maybe we know what we tell him to be the cause of the change.

Mac is still in darkness, and it seems hard for him to awaken to the fact that there can be any other condition that he may have. He is very hard to reason with and does not seem to have much desire to have his condition change.

Well, I will not write more tonight. I saw some spirits writing to you but did not know them, except Jesus. I know him and I could never forget him for there are none like him in grandeur and beauty and love.

So my dear friend, let me again express my gratitude and say with all my heart, that I am

Your grateful,
Hugh T. Taggart

St. John of the Bible Writes Two Great Truths: "God is Love" and "You Must Be Born Again"

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

I am the spirit of St. John.

You called for a spirit of love and I came because I am such a spirit. I am the disciple whom Jesus loved and who loved him more than did any of the others.

No, and neither has any spirit in all God's universe. He, Jesus, is the one who loves the Father to a greater degree and has the Father's Love above all others.

Yes, I know that he comes to you and tells you the truths of God, and of His love for you and for all mankind. I feel that he is anxious to have you receive these truths and make them known to mankind, and you will have the power to do so, for he is determined that you shall be his disciple as I was when on earth, and I want to tell you that he loves you very much and is attracted to you beyond his attraction to any other mortal at this time. You will have a wonderful opportunity to get close to him and to receive the influence of his presence as well as of his love. So do not fail to do everything in your power to accomplish the task that you have undertaken.

The first great truth is:

God is Love

And the second is:

You must be born again. 

These are the two greatest truths of the Bible. I consider them greater than the commandments to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself.

Yes, I am St. John of the Bible. I live in a Celestial Sphere, which is far above the Seventh Spiritual Sphere. I am with a number of disciples and others who have in their hearts an abundance of God's Love. My sphere is not numbered, and it needs no number for it is near the highest. The Master is higher than anyone else in his home.

I do not live on an island as you say, but my home is in the great city where the redeemed of God live. And I am the leader of the city in the teachings of this Love and its government. I am working for the good of all its inhabitants as well as for spirits in a lower plane and sometimes for mortals. I will come to you again sometime and write you some of the truths in my city.

Well, I will explain my meaning when I come again, and will say now that the word which created the universe was not Jesus but God, and He alone. This gives you an idea of what I meant.

Well, I will say you are very near the Master, and he loves you and I love you, also.

So my young brother, I will say goodnight.

St. John of the Bible

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Seventh Sphere:

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

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


Sixth Sphere:

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

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

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


Earth Plane

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I will say goodnight,
Ann Rollins

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Saleeba

Jesus Writes a Short Note that James Has More of God's Love in His Heart and He's Getting into a Better Spiritual Condition to Receive Jesus' Messages

April 12, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

I want to tell you that you are now getting in a better spiritual condition than you have been for a long time. You have more of God's Love in your heart, and I think that very soon you will be in that condition of mind and soul development that will enable you to take my messages and as I desire that they be received.

I am with you very much and try to help you in your efforts to obtain this soul development and also in your material matters. So do not doubt me, as what I tell you is true. If you will only give more time to prayer you will find that your condition of happiness will be much improved, and that you will realize that the Father's Love is coming into your soul more abundantly.

So let me feel that you are endeavoring to get this Great Love more and more every day, and I will try to help you with all my powers and love. I will not write more tonight as there are some others here who desire to write. So goodnight. With all my love and the blessings of the Father,

I am your own true brother,
Jesus

Helen Writes About the Spiritual Conditions of Judge Syrick and Laura Burroughs and Explains that Family Ties Do Not Always Bring Spirits Together

March 29, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Helen

Well, you have received a letter from the Judge. He was so anxious to write that we thought it would do him good to try as it would make him realize more sensibly that he is now a spirit only and also strengthen him.

Well, you may not think so, but it is a fact. With many spirits when their surroundings are good and much spirit help is given them they can almost as soon as they leave the body overcome their functions of mind and do things that you little expect. The Judge was prepared, to some extent, to understand this power of communication and, when we all assisted him with our powers, he tried successfully to write to you. He is not yet very strong but soon will be and then I have no doubt he will want to write to you often but, of course, we cannot permit him to because he is not in rapport with our band. He has not very much spiritual development and the conditions that surround him are not such as would be in accord with our conditions, and, hence, we will have to refuse to let him write very often but he can communicate through some of us.

Well, he is dark in appearance as he necessarily must be until he gets more enlightenment of soul. He will undoubtedly suffer because of the sins he committed when on earth and will pay the penalty until he finds the true way to God's Love and forgiveness. Of course, he has one advantage over many spirits who come over bringing the results of their life on earth and that is that he has some idea as to the way to salvation. You and Dr. Stone told him when on earth that he must turn his thoughts to spiritual things and while he did not understand just what you meant, yet, such advice had some influence on him and will cause him to try to learn what was meant and, having Rose and the rest of us to enlighten him, he will progress more rapidly to these higher things and the more rapid his progress the sooner his suffering will leave him.

He is now commencing to realize that as he sowed so must he reap. While Rose is with him a great deal and loves him and tries to help him, but all that isn't sufficient to prevent his memory from scourging him because of the life he led on earth. But we all pray for him and try to show him the way and he is ready to believe and is commencing already to pray to the Father.

So you see, you must all sooner or later face this great crisis and the better prepared you are to meet it, the less will be your sufferings and the more happiness you will experience.

Yes, it was Laura - she is very unhappy. I had never met her before and your mother said that she had not either. You see in this world, family ties do not always bring spirits together. When the relationship is distant, the spirits loose interest in relations merely because they are relations and find themselves attracted to spirits who have like qualities and relations.

This relationship counts for very little in the spirit world of itself and when we meet our loved ones of earth, before they come over we stay with them for a while and then if there are no other attractions than mere relationship, we gradually separate. This is the Law of Attraction, and we are compelled to obey it. So that when on earth mortals sing of meeting again on the other shore to part no more, they will find that they are mistaken. They will meet but, unless conditions compel it, they will part again and may never meet ever in the spirit world.

Love is the thing which determines the relationship and place of living in this world, I mean similar loves existing between spirits. No spirit loves another after a little while merely because that other is a mother or father or wife or brother, but loves it because that spirit has a similar love of the beautiful and true that it has. So you see, relationship after the first meeting and living together a little while determines nothing.

Of course, while the child or father of mother or sister or brother remains in the earth life, the spirit relative will love them and watch over them and try to help them in every way. Especially will the mother - for ties among son or daughter, and this is in accordance with the "material" Law of Love. But when that father or son, too, becomes a spirit, then the Law of Love as it were changes and like loves like, be there a natural relationship or not. This, I know, seems contrary to what mortals usually believe and accept as a fact, but it is true.

When my children come over, my love for them will not be the same as it is now. Then they will find that their love will probably, after a time, turn elsewhere and it will be only another in memory for our loves may take entirely different directions. And this love, while for the moment may take entirely different directions. And this love, while for the moment may seem unnatural in its workings, yet it is not, for happiness comes with love reciprocated and love comes only reciprocate of its own kind.

We do not think that you will be forever with your children or parents or any other relative forever for that may not be so. If that relative has like attractions that you have then you may be together as long as that attraction lasts. But suppose that you make greater progress in your spiritual or even in your natural development, than the other spirit, it cannot be supposed for a moment that you will determine the results of your development in order to stay with that other spirit. No, that would be a violation of the Law of Progress and you could not and would not want to delay your upward movement.

So the idea that when we meet in the spirit world, we meet to part no more is not correct and is contrary to the laws that determine the condition and place of habitation of spirits.

I know this of my own experience. My parents are in a lower sphere than I am and have much less spiritual development, and while I visit them sometimes, yet they have not the attraction for me that other spirits to whom I have no relationship. And why is this, not because I do not care for my parents as such, but because the objects and extent of their loves are different from mine. The main fact that they are my parents does not cause me to want to be with them all the time. I could not so desire if, as you might say, I wanted to. Love is the attraction and love must demand a likeness in a spiritual sense of the objects of its love.

The time may come when I will never again see my parents and may forget that they ever had an existence. I say may, but I hope not, for I desire that sometime they will progress so that they may be in a similar condition to my own in spiritual development and then, of course, we will live in the same place and necessarily will meet and enjoy one another's company. But not because we are parents and daughter but because our loves are similar and our attraction are like.

This is a matter that few mortals understand and it may well be that they do not because the love existing between many relative is a beautiful thing and one that causes much happiness and self preservation. There is nothing on earth like the mother's love and no provision of God's blessings for mortals equals this great gift of Mother's love. And so with the other natural loves to a lesser degree.

But as Jesus said, "He that doeth the will of my Father is my mother and brother and sister."

So you must realize that that you and the natural love of relations is only for the earth life and a short time afterwards. Each individual is in and of himself a complete unit depending not on relationship to others and, as such, must find his place in the great eternity, which must be determined by the development and progress of his own soul in expectation of what may become of the souls of his earth relations. He is attracted only by souls of similar development and will find his home in the company of such souls irrespective of the question of natural relationship.

I have written enough for tonight and must stop. So with all my love, I am

Your own true and loving,
Helen

A.G. Riddle Writes that He Believes James Garfield Will be Helped by James Advice

March 22, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, your old partner.

You had a letter from Garfield. He was so anxious to write that I thought it would do no harm to let him try, and I am glad that I did, for what you said to him has impressed him very much and, I believe, will lead to his seeking information on the subject of the New Birth. He is a wonderful spirit intellectually and has progressed to a very great degree in the investigation of spiritual laws. So that on the whole, his writing will do no harm to our band.

Well, I do not understand it, as he was a Christian on earth, and one would naturally suppose that he would have made inquiry for Jesus when he came over. But it seems he did not, why I don't know. But now that he realizes what you told him, he undoubtedly will seek the Master at the first opportunity. I shall endeavor to show him the way with all my heart and ability. Yes, I will soon. I am very happy and am progressing rapidly, and expect to soon be in the Fifth Sphere, where your father and Professor Salyards are. Oh, my dear Padgett, I cannot tell you what happiness I am now enjoying.

Well, I must stop. Mrs. Riddle and Bert are advancing some, but they do not seem to get the light as rapidly as I hoped they would. But they pray and, I think, are commencing to realize that God's Love is waiting for them. So with all my love and many wishes for your happiness and success,

I am your old partner and spirit brother,
A.G. Riddle

Helen Writes of an Experience in Trying to Show a Spirit the Way to God's Love and Stresses the Importance of Learning the Truths While on Earth

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

I am here, Helen.

I want to tell you of my experience in trying to show a spirit the way to God's Love, which I had a short time ago.

Well, I talked to this spirit of this Love and told her that the only way to happiness and to the Celestial Kingdom was through prayer and faith, and that all spirits who were inhabitants of those spheres had received this Great Love of the Father only through prayer and faith; and if she wanted to become an inhabitant of these Heavens she must seek for this Love in that way.

She said that she was told when on earth that if she only observed rules and regulations of the church, and devoted herself to doing church work and looking after the interest of the church, so that it might be sustained and fostered, she would go to Heaven just as soon as she had left the earth life - that that would be all that would be required of her, and that no other seeking or striving after God's Love would be necessary to enable her to get into the Heavens where God and all His Angels are.

I told her that she must now realize that such performance, of what she considered to be her duty, had not been sufficient to carry her into these Heavens, and that she must realize that something more was necessary. But she still persisted, that her belief in what she had been taught in the church could not be changed, and that very soon she would become an inhabitant of these higher spheres. So I left her, because I saw that at this time her belief had so fastened itself upon her convictions, that it was useless to try to convince her that she was laboring under an absolutely false belief.

So I find that in this spirit plane there are many spirits in darkness and bigotry, which prevents them from seeing the truth and progressing to the higher spheres. I do not think that mortals, when they become spirits, have any better opportunity, for sometime at least, to realize and accept these truths than they had when on earth, and the men or women who teach these things have a great sin to answer for, as Jesus said, "Cursed is he who believes and teaches these false doctrines." And I think he must have laid especial emphasis on the teaching as it affected not only the teacher, but many others who had faith in and accepted these teachings as true.

I am so glad that I, when on earth, was never fully convinced of these church dogmas, as I consequently found it so much easier when I came to the spirit world to believe the truths as they are. Of course, I was exceptionally blessed in having your mother and grandmother, who are so well versed in these things, to show me the way, and then when Jesus came to me and corroborated what they had said, I could not help from believing.

So you see the importance of learning these truths while on earth, for the greater our comprehension of them as mortals, the more easily will be our progression to the higher things of the spiritual life. Well, I thought I would tell you of this little incident as it shows you a great and necessary truth, and one which all men should know.

So with all my love, I am your own true loving
Helen

Helen Describes Her Beautiful Home in the Celestial Spheres

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

I am here, Helen.

Well, I am very happy, and you are happier and feel better.

I am now going to write you about my home, as I promised, and you must not think I am not in condition to write, if I should not be able to describe it as you may think I should; the only reason for my failure will be that I cannot find words to express myself.

Well, my house is a beautiful white one of a substance that you might think of as alabaster, and two stories in height, with rooms on each side of a wide and beautiful hall. The rooms are very large and filled with the most beautiful furniture that you can conceive of. The walls are all hung with satin coverings, and between are lovely pictures. The parlor, as you would call it, is filled with the most exquisite and comfortable couches and chairs, and with beautiful tables and bric-a-brac, and also many pictures of landscapes and fruits and flowers. I don't know who painted them, but they are there and give me much delight and satisfy to so great an extent my love for paintings and pictures. There are also many little curios that would make the heart of an aesthetic person rejoice and feel glad. My music room has in it instruments of various kinds, wonderful in sound and construction. I play some of them and also sing in my weak way, as you say on earth; but I enjoy the music more than I can tell you, and so do many spirits who call to see me.

I have other rooms, such as repose rooms, a library, and rooms for meditation and prayer. My library is full of books dealing with subjects that are to me now so congenial and necessary, for they tell me of God's Love and care for His children. There are also books that deal with the laws of the spirit world and of the other parts of the universe; but these latter I do not read much, for my whole study is so given to the laws pertaining to our own spirit world and its relationship to your world, and the Love of God, and the love that should exist among mortals and spirits, that I do not find time for these other studies; and, in fact, I have not the inclination.

There are books that you might call fiction, but really are not, for they describe the actual experience of spirits in such a vivid and interesting way, that if they were portrayed in your earthly books you would think it fiction. Not all the books in my library deal with the higher or more substantial things of this spirit life, for we have our recreation for the mind, in the way of variety in reading, the same as you do on earth, and we are the stronger and happier for it. So you see, if you were here, I know that the library would be your place of rest from your work, although I know you like music very much.

We have a dining room also, but we do not need kitchens, as nothing is cooked, but everything eaten just as we get it from the trees and vines. We do not eat meat or bread or potatoes or things of that kind. Our food is principally fruits and nuts; and such fruits you never saw and never will until you come with me. The fruits, mostly, are pears and grapes and oranges and pomegranates - of course, not just the same as you know them on earth. I merely use these words of description to give you some idea of what they are like. We have them in great variety and always fresh and ripe. The nuts too, are of many kinds and qualities. None need nut crackers for them to be broken in order to be eaten. There are no cakes or candies or anything of that nature. We do not actually eat these things with our teeth and palate and use intestinal organs, as you do, but we inhale, as it were, the delicious flavors and aromas of the fruits; and strange as it may seem to you, we are just as much satisfied, and probably more so than you when you eat them with your physical organs. I cannot more fully explain to you just how this thing i, but, as we say, we eat the fruits and nuts.

We drink pure water and nothing else; and spirits who say they have wines and other beverages, tell what I have never seen or heard of since I have been in the spirit world. Of course, I do not know everything that exists in all parts of this great world of spirits. And this water is so pure and satisfying, that I cannot imagine any spirit would want anything else to drink. But, yet, as I say, I do not know as to this.

We do not actually drink the water, for we have not the internal organs that you have in the physical body, but we seem to absorb it in our system in some way that gives all the delight and satisfaction that you enjoy when you drink water.

We often have our "teas," as your fashionable women on earth might say, and very many of our spirit friends attend and help make the gatherings enjoyable and happy ones. Of course, the male spirits attend, for I must tell you that in this life there are no clubs or businesses that keep the sexes apart, as in your life. I mean that the two sexes are more together and enjoy the society of each other to a far greater degree than in your earth life. Of course, I do not mean that these spirits have all found their soulmates, for that is not true; but each enjoys the company of the others, as friends and spirits having similar desires and aspirations. My companions are very similar in their love for the Father and in the development of their souls, and in their thoughts and desires for things spiritual. We discuss many questions pertaining to the soul and it progress, and to the Love of the Father, and to the love of spirits and mortals. While we are joyous and happy beyond compare, yet we do not indulge in frivolities or thoughts that have not a tendency to elevate us to higher things.

We have music and dancing, but our dancing is different from yours. We merely exercise ourselves in graceful and artistic movements without any contact of spirit bodies, or the embracing of each other. Of course, we hold hands as we dance, but no familiarity, as you would say, is indulged in.

Well, I have a room for repose, where after working long and, to some extent, feeling tired, I rest on these couches that I tell you of. We do not sleep, but sometimes we go into a kind of dreamy state that gives us much refreshment and vigor. I am now resting from some hard work that I have been doing in your earth plane. I mean that when I am not writing to you, I am resting.

So, you see, we are not enjoying one continuous condition of feeling, as that might become monotonous. I am now trying to help some of the spirits who have recently come over from your city, and who were acquaintances of yours on earth. I will tell you of them when next I write you. I am tired now and must stop.

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

Helen Writes About Comforting Her Friend, Jen, Who Recently Passed Into the Spirit World

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

I am here, Helen.

Yes, we will try. You are in a better condition than you were tonight at the office, and I will be able to write in a more connected manner. Well, I was present when Jen passed over, and took her in my arms and carried her to a place in the earth plane where she will live until she progresses to a higher sphere. She was very glad to see me for she recognized me and said: "Oh, Helen; where am I? It seems so strange that I should be with you."

I told her, she had passed from the mortal to the spirit life, and that now she must not think of her body or that she can ever enter it again. She did not quite understand me, but said that she did not see why she should not reenter her body, as it was only asleep, and would want her as soon as it should awaken. I told her that never again would she enter her body, that she had ceased to be a mortal, and that just as soon as her body should be buried, she would realize that she is a spirit, and that no more would she live on earth as a mortal, but that she would visit her dear ones on earth many times, but not in a physical form. She is still in darkness as to this matter, but I am trying my best to help her realize that she is a spirit.

She is somewhat confused, because she tries to talk to George (her husband) and he won't listen to her. She says: "My dear is very deaf and that is why he doesn't hear me." But I tell her that he cannot hear her, as her voice is only a spirit voice, and his ears are not attuned to hear spirit voices. She will soon realize, to some extent, that she can no longer talk to George or any of her friends, and then will come the full understanding that she is really a spirit.

She is with her body now and sees the presence of her husband and relatives, but as I said, does not comprehend why they do not notice her presence, or tell her why they do not notice her presence, or tell her what the trouble is. She sees them sorrowing, and yet she does not understand why they should do so, as she says, she knows that when she awakens she will become a part of her body again; and so I can do nothing more now, but to let her know that I and her other spirit friends are with her and will not leave her until after she realizes that no more is her body to become her home.

Her mother is with her, and so is her father, and they are trying to help her, also. Her mother is a very bright spirit and is filled with God's Love and has her home in the Fifth Sphere, where she is very happy. Her father is in the earth plane, yet. He is not very spiritual, but thinks more of earthly matters and does not turn his thoughts to higher things; but some day he will and then will see that real happiness can only be found in the things which are of God, and His Love.

Jen's soulmate is here and is in the Third Sphere. He has never met her on earth, but he knows that she is his soulmate, and that as soon as she awakens to her condition, he will meet her and tell her that she is his for all eternity, and that his happiness is her happiness; and that they must both try to progress to the higher spheres where true happiness may be found. He is a very beautiful spirit and is in possession of much of God's Love.

George's soulmate is still on earth, but she does not live in Washington, and he will probably never meet her. She is a woman of about thirty-six years of age and is not very spiritual, but is a great church member. So he will never again meet Jen as his wife, for she is another's.

Jen's body will be buried in the earth as was mine, but, sweetheart, she won't be there any more than I am there; and when her body is finally laid away, she will never go to the place where it is buried, unless her folks go there and weep over her grave, and in that way attract her to them. But she doesn't want them to do that as I know from my own experience.

[More questions and answers unrecorded, but will print what is written.]

Well, we will see. Maybe she will not want to, but if she does, I will certainly communicate it. She thought that she did, but really did not and now, when she learns the truth, she will not feel any attraction towards him, but maybe she will, as we cannot so soon forget our mortal loves, even though we find the real love after we come over and when I think of that, it may be that she will want to send him a message of comfort.

Yes, that was a singular coincidence. But you see, we never know when the summons will come for us to pass over. We both expected to return home soon, as we were feeling much better and were happy in the thought; but in a moment the summons came and quickly we passed to this home of delight and freedom from care and suffering.

Your own true and loving,
Helen

Jesus Explains That God's Divine Love is Needed to Enter Into the Kingdom of God

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

I am here, Jesus.

Yes, I am that Jesus. You should not doubt as I have told you before that I am.

They are in a condition which prevents them from seeing that I am the true Jesus, and they will all be lost unless in some way they get an awakening to the fact that only through me can they obtain the Love of the Father, which will enable them to enter His Kingdom. I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, as I long ago said. They will be forever shut out of His Kingdom and will live in the spirit land without this love to comfort and make them happy. I do not mean to say that they will all suffer eternal punishment, for they will not. The Father loves them all, but their state will be one of only comparative happiness and they will not have within them that Love of the Father, which is necessary to make them supremely happy.

You will know in proper time all these things which make for the happiness of my followers. You must wait until I am ready to explain these matters to you.

Yes, I know you are helping the darkened spirits and some mortals; but you must not let every spirit who seeks your help cause you to give your strength to them in the way of writing, for as your wife has told you, the laws of communication must be obeyed, or you will suffer in your power to receive these messages.

Yes, very much. You have great faith and I am somewhat surprised at it myself, but you have it, and God hears and answers your prayers. You must continue to pray and believe.

You must not doubt that I am with you and wrote to you; neither must you doubt that I can help you in every time and heed.

Yes, you will receive that inflowing of the Holy Spirit as they did, even while you are on earth, and will be able to know that God is your Father to the extent that they knew. Only you must pray more and believe more. You will not only receive that but you will also receive power to convince men of my teachings and lead them to my Father's Love, and also to show that you possess this Love by being able to heal the sick by merely praying for them.

This I tell you now, because you will soon commence to take my messages and you must have these powers and faith.

Yes, I hear your prayers to the Father and I try to let you feel my love, and you do sometimes. But you must not let your prayers come to me as God; I am only your friend and brother. Yes, I know, but these sayings I did not say at all. I merely claimed to be my Father's son and messenger. I did not claim to be God.

Yes, I said that my Father sent me and that is true. I did live before I came to earth with my Father in the Heavens and so did you.

I meant that in the Kingdom of God there are homes and that I would go and prepare a place where my followers should have a home with me, separate from the homes of the spirits who are not believers in or followers of me; that my kingdom was to be a separate kingdom from the other parts of the spirit lands, and that those who wanted to live with me would have to get this love of God in their hearts to do so. My kingdom is one where Love is supreme and where it is manifested in the purest and highest degree. I have not seen God in the sense that I have seen you, but that in the sense that my love is so very abundant and so truly His Love, that He appears to my soul's eyes just as plainly as you appear to my natural eyes.

Many of my sayings were merely symbolical and not intended to be taken literally. My Father cannot be seen by anyone of His children, and no man has ever seen Him, for He is not of form or substance that can be seen. You are now very near where you will see Him with your soul's eyes, as I did, and when you do, then you will be able to know that His Love is in your heart to its fullest. Why you are so greatly blessed with this Love and Faith I really do not know, even though I do know so much of His truth and Love. But I see that you have great possibilities of faith and love, which will make you a most wonderful man doing His work of saving souls for His Kingdom.

Well, I can readily see how you may doubt; but as I know, you must believe me for I am telling you the truth. It will leave you as the Love flows in, and you will then be able to realize that you are free indeed. They will not after the time appointed shall end. No more will the opportunity come, and no more will God give His Love and Grace to men or spirits. They will love only with the natural love that belongs to them as mortals. They will never receive this great Love, which comes by the operation of the Holy Spirit. They will continue to live forever, but their happiness will not be of the kind that my followers will have and they will not be contented in that happiness. They will forever long for something that they can never get.

I will not let you write more tonight as you are now in a condition of more happiness. Well, I love you with a love that will never end and that will keep you in all your troubles and worries free from everything that tends to make you doubt God's love or my teachings.

So with this love I now bless you and pray that God's Love may come into your heart more abundantly.

Jesus

Jesus Writes a Loving Message to James: "You are my friend and disciple."

January 12, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

You are my friend and disciple. You are in me and I am in thee, and we are in the Father. You are in me for all eternity. My kingdom is not of this world and you are not of this world. You are in me, as I told my disciples of old. Only believe me and keep my commandments, and I will love you to the end, and the Father will love you.

I mean that you must love all mankind and try to show them the way to God's Love. I mean that I am my Father's son of truth and righteousness, and as such you must pray the Father in my name, not because I am Jesus, but because I represent all the truth and Love of my Father.

Yes, and that is the only way in which men can come to the Father - no other - and when my kingdom is completed only those who have become one with the Father will become a part of it.

Yes, she told you the truth. My kingdom will be composed only of those who believe in my teachings and who have received the Holy Ghost. So do not doubt more. You I have selected and you will be my true disciple and messenger of truth - you have my help and love to the fullest, and no man can take it from you. In all eternity you will be with me. God answers your prayers because you have faith and are my own disciple. So continue to pray and He will hear you and answer your prayers.

No, only believe and trust Him. He will never forsake you or let you want. You must love God with all your heart and soul and mind and your neighbor as yourself. This is the great commandment. So observe this and you will be happy and free.

Let your prayers become more fervent and your faith more fully developed. I will help you to know more of your Father's Love, and you will soon become a true follower of me. You must seek and you will know; wait until I give my messages, and then you will know the truth.

Yes, I am the vine and you are the branch. So believe. What you have written is my thoughts. You did not think any of these thoughts.

So good night and may God bless you as I do now.

Jesus

John Padgett Writes that His Son, James, is a Loving Man and His Soul is Developing Rapidly

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

I am here, your Father.

I came to tell you that you are a very loving man and that you will do some good both in the earth and in the spirit world. I feel that I must tell you this for I see that your soul is developing very rapidly, and as the more of God's Love you get the more power for doing good you will have. Only pray as you are doing and you will become more happy yourself and make others happy.

The message that you have just received will make the judge feel very happy, and it will cause him to think more of things spiritual as I believe.

You should not write more tonight as you are tired.

So with all my love and many wishes for your happiness and prosperity.

I am your loving father,
John H. Padgett