Helen Writes that James Padgett Saw Her in a Vision With all her Beauty and Love for Her Soulmate

February 22, 1918
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Helen.

You have been happy tonight, for I was with you and could see and feel your happiness. Oh, it was grand to have such love as you gave me, and to let me know that your heart was all mine. Why can't we often have such nights?

I was with you all the time and when the rosary was played, I showed myself to you as you imagined you saw me. I was actually there in the position that you saw me in with my heart and eyes full of love for you and pointing to the higher sphere whence came the stream of light that you saw. It was the "silver stream of Love" that was flowing down upon us and showing us that in that happy sphere was all love and happiness. What you imagined you saw was an actual vision in which I was very much present and alive.

So you see I have kept my promise to let you see me and I did it in a way that I know would make you happy, and at the same time realize what a happy soulmate you have, and how Love has made her beautiful.

So now I know that you will believe that I am with you and love you, and am waiting for you to come over, and go with me to the sphere where Love and joy reigns supreme. Oh, my Ned, I am so happy tonight in the knowledge that at last you have seen me as I am, and as I will appear to you when you come over.

So, sweetheart, we will not write more tonight for it would seem to me that to write of other things after one wonderful coming together and enjoying our great happiness would be a sacrilege; and so in the love, which I know you have for me and which you know I have for you, I will say with all my soul: "Be my own Ned forever as you are tonight," and I shall be satisfied and happy.

Your own true and loving,
Helen

Edwin Forrest Writes of His Progress Since Praying for Divine Love

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

I am here, Edwin Forrest.

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

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

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

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

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

Your old friend,
Forrest

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

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

I am here, Forrest.

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

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

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

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

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

Your old friend.
Edwin Forrest

**********

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

I am here, Samuel C. Mills:

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

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

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

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

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

Your old friend,
Mills

Edwin Forrest Writes that He is out of Darkness and in the Light of Love

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

I am here, your old friend, Edwin Forrest.

Let me say just a word. I merely want to say that I am progressing and am out of my darkness and in the light of love, for I have been praying since you last heard from me and have had the prayers of many of the bright spirits ascending to the Father for me.

Well, Ned, I never thought that all this happiness could possibly come to me for, as you know, when I came to the spirit world ,I was sinful and all ignorant of the great Love and found myself in darkness and suffering, and why God should have been so good to me, I cannot understand. But this I do know, that if it had not been for your spirit friends and especially your wife, I would have remained a long time in my darkness and soul slumber. But, thanks to you, I had the benefit of their love and kindness and prayers, so that I am now on the way to the higher spheres that she tells me of.

I sometimes come to you at the office and see just what your condition is, and think that I am somewhat responsible for the same, and know that I am, and I cannot tell you how I regret what took place, and try to help you with all my powers. And I want to say to you to keep up your courage for you have many powerful spirits working for you, and I know that they will soon cause a change in the condition of your affairs.

I also know that you are rich in this Love for these spirits all tell me that you have received it to a large degree, and are doing a great work among spirits, and this I know, and are also preparing the way for bringing to humanity the truths that will give to men a knowledge of the Love and plans of the Father for their redemption. It may seem a little strange to you that I should write in this way, and I hardly know myself when I realize what I was such a short time ago, and what I am now.

Very soon now, I shall go to my mother and try to help her, as I have told you I intend to do, and I pray that I may succeed. It is all so wonderful to me that sometimes I think that I must be dreaming, but of course I awaken to the fact that my experience is true, and that this Love is a real thing, and that all my spirit friends are real.

Yes, I see Lipscomb sometimes, but I cannot tell you that he is any better. He seems satisfied with his condition, and it is hard to talk to him for he has not lost the characteristics that he had on earth. He still thinks that he knows it all, and that the life he is leading is more desirable than the one that I try to tell him of.

Miller is still in darkness, though he listens to us at times and makes the effort to realize the truth of what we say to him, but he seems to be unable to comprehend the truths that we try to tell him. We are working with him and will do so, so long as he will let us try to help him. Well, your wife says that you are tired, and I will stop.

So good night.

Your old friend,
Forrest

John B. London Writes a Short Note About the Law of Compensation

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

I am here, John B. London.

Let me say a word, and I shall feel better for having done so.

I am a spirit who lives in the earth plane and see spirits of all kinds and conditions and know from observation and experience that in this plane is darkness as well as light, and that many, many spirits are in the dark places paying the penalties which the great Law of Compensation compels them to pay.

These planes are of various degrees of darkness, all suited to the condition of the spirits who occupy them. Some of them are called Hells and some purgatories, but they are all really connected, and the only difference between them is the condition of darkness and suffering which the inhabitants there are compelled to undergo.

I have been through the Hells and am now in purgatory trying to rid my soul of suffering and get into the light of freedom and peace; and oh, there are so many here in that condition and without much hope. Our progress is slow and we have to pay the minutest demand that this Law of Compensation calls for.

I hope that you will pardon me for having intruded, but I felt that if I could communicate with you, I should feel better, and so I do. I will bid you good night.

Your friend,
John B. London

Garfield Writes that He is Praying and Longing for the Inflowing of Divine Love into His Soul

November 17, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Garfield.

No, I have not written you for a long time, though, I have kept in touch with you and many times have heard the messages which you have received and also listened to the conversations of yourself and friends regarding these messages. I also have spent much time with (A.G.) Riddle and with your grandmother (Ann Rollins) listening to their teachings and descriptions of their experiences in the spirit world and I have become much interested in what they have related to me and in the results of their experience as manifested to me by their appearances and conditions.

Your grandmother especially has had a very deep and beneficial influence on me and my thoughts, for she is a most wonderful and wise spirit and so filled with love and powers that I necessarily have to regard what she says with feelings of belief and credence. And besides, I see that she is so very different not only in her appearance but also in her knowledge and conception of spiritual things from those spirits of intelligence with whom I am most frequently in association, that I have become dissatisfied with the course that I have pursued believing that the mind is the great thing and its development the most to be desired and acquired.

So I desire to tell you that I am now trying to follow the advice of your grandmother and these other spirits who preach the doctrine of the Divine Love and am praying and longing for the inflowing of the Love into my soul. It may seem strange to you that I should have for so long a time been told to secure the truth of this doctrine in view of the fact that when on earth I was a kind of preacher in my church and attempted to preach the Scriptures; but when I tell you as I have told you before that my beliefs were mostly mental and as I now found to be erroneous after coming to the spirit world.

When I realized as I quickly did, that my beliefs and teachings of the Bible were not true, I then became a kind of infidel and to such an extent that I was not willing to listen to any suggestions that partook of the nature or flavor of the teachings of the Bible or to the soul and spirits and Heaven and Hell, etc.

And it was only after I fully realized the want of satisfaction in my mental pursuits, that I agreed to try the conversations with Riddle and other spirits of what they claimed to be as a truth of the soul development, did I give serious attention to what I saw was not connected very intimately with the mental development and changed my course of investigations and turned to a search for the truths that your grandmother told me existed in the presence of the soul. And I want to tell you that I am so very thankful that this change came to me and I was started on the road to light and truth.

I am in much better condition than when I last wrote you and in more light and happiness and have a hope which I did not then have. I thought that you might be interested in knowing this and it gives me great pleasure in telling you the fact.

Well, I am surprised by what you tell me for I have never heard of or seen displayed any of that power or glory that you speak of and I know her only as a loving tender spirit but very wise. I will ask about this power that you speak of, for it must be a wonderful thing, and when I realize that such power may exist, it makes me realize the truth of what she tells me to a greater extent than ever.

Yes, I have met him (Robert G. Ingersoll) on several occasions and must confess that I was surprised at his appearance and condition but I did not inquire as to the cause of the same, but from what I now know I suppose it was the possession of this Love. I will do so.

Riddle is a very bright spirit and is getting brighter and brighter all the time and his happiness seems to be without end. Well, my friend, I will not write more. So thanking you for your kindness I will say good night.

Your brother and friend,
Garfield

Lafayette Writes that He Learned About Divine Love from General George Washington

April 23, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Lafayette.

I have been anxious for some time to write you again and let you know the results of your advice to me when last I wrote. After our last communication, I sought General Washington and told him of my conversation with you and asked him to explain what this Divine Love meant and how it could be obtained.

He was so pleased at my inquiry that he actually took me in his arms and called me his boy as he had on earth and with his face beaming with love and happiness, he told me what this Love meant and what it had done for him, and what happiness it had brought him and how he was now progressing towards the Celestial Heavens of light and truth.

Well, I commenced to consider what he had told me and to have a longing in my soul for that Love and the happiness which he said it would bring me, and I commenced to pray for the Love and tried to have faith. Well, without taking up your time by rehearsing the steps of my progress, I am glad to tell you that I have this Love to some extent and that I am now an inhabitant of the Third Sphere and enjoying the associations of spirits who also have this Love and are striving to progress.

My happiness is very different from what it was before this Love came to me and I realize that the soul and not the mind is the man, especially of God's redeemed children. I never thought that the soul was capable of such Love and happiness and of the knowledge that the Divine Love is the one absolutely necessary thing to bring spirits into unison with the Father.

I want to express my gratitude to you and to say that I will never forget your kindness and love in turning my thoughts to this great truth.

Yes, I am still interested in the war, but now I do not have any hatred for the Germans that I had before. I see that they are all brothers and children of the Father, and that only the ambitions of some and the passions and hatred of others are prolonging the war. But it will soon close for I see before me the collapse of the German campaign against Verdun and then the end will come rapidly.

I wish it were tomorrow, for then slaughter and death and added misery would cease. There are so many spirits coming from these battlefields who are all unfit for the spirit life and appear in great confusion, and when they realize they are no longer mortals, they become bewildered and miserable. But we are trying to help them. We know no enemies and all are helped alike.

I will not write more tonight and in closing give you my love and sign myself with a new name, which is,

Your brother in Christ,
Lafayette

Frank Davis, a Old Friend of James E. Padgett, Writes His Testimony and Reveals that He is in the Third Sphere

March 7, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am your old friend and chum, Frank Davis.

Well, I am glad to be able to write you - a thing when on earth, I never expected anybody could do; and it is only recently that I learned that such a method of communication could be used.

I am quite happy now, but when I first came to the spirit world, I was in considerable darkness and suffered some. As you may know I was an ordinarily good man when on earth, by that I mean I never had any really bad or vicious habits which a great many men have, and I loved my wife and children very much and died loving them.

You also know that I was not what was called an orthodox Christian having imbibed my beliefs from my father, but I believed in God and, also, that He would not be severe on me for my short comings when I should come to stand in His presence. But I now know that there were other things that I should have believed and experienced in order to fit me for a condition of happiness which I firmly expected would be mine.

I have found that belief is a very important thing, both on earth and in the spirit world, and that these creations of the mind have a wonderful influence in determining the happiness or the contrary of a spirit in this life.

I never had any of the Love of God in my heart, except in a general way, which was, I suppose, of the same nature as the love for my family but, I am afraid, not to the extent that I loved them. And also, I rather prided myself on my own moral excellence and supposed such qualities would be sufficient to make me a pretty happy spirit, but I soon found my mistake. When we come to offset our moral qualities against the evil thoughts and deeds of our earth life, they are largely in the minority and don't count for very much while these evil thoughts and deeds, or rather the recollection of them exist in our minds and memories.

Well, it will do no good to rehearse the experience of my earth life now, but I found myself in darkness and suffering and realized that I was paying the penalties for the sins that I had committed.

But after awhile these recollections commenced to leave me and I found that I was getting into more light and less suffering, but the movement was very slow and, at times, hardly perceptible. After a while I met some beautiful and loving spirits who seemed to take an interest in me, and told me of the way to get rid of my sufferings and to reach the planes of light where happiness was, and I had to listen to them, for I saw that they were so superior to me, and they told me that they had been mortals like myself and had come up out of darkness and suffering such as I was then undergoing.

Well, to make a long story short, I finally acted on their advice and found that way, and you will not be surprised when I tell you that the way was through and by the Divine Love of the Father. I tell you this because I know, and all the speculations of philosophers and religionists cannot bear a feather's weight in the argument against my "know." Yes, I found this Love, or rather, it found me and now I am very happy.

I am in the Third Sphere and am trying my very hard for more faith and more Love, and I know that I will get it, because I have before me every moment living examples in those who have received it to a wonderful degree and are still receiving it and progressing.

As we, in the long ago, were old chums and thought a great deal of each other, I thought that you would be interested in knowing that I am happy and a redeemed child of the Father and on my way to spheres celestial.

Well, I will not write more tonight, but sometimes I should like to come and have a real heart-to-heart chat about old times, for though those are things of the past and not to be compared with what I have now in the way of experience, yet as you are on earth, I feel that we might both enjoy talking over old times, because we used to have some happy times together.

So with all the old time friendship and love, and with a new love, too, I will say good night.

Frank Davis

**********

Helen Writes that Earth Ties of Friendship Still Survive for a While in the Spirit World
   
I am here, Helen.

I come and am glad to do so, as I have been waiting sometime for some of your old earth friends to finish their writings.

I rather enjoyed the last letter for it showed me that earth ties of friendship still survive for a while anyhow, in this world and that a meeting of long parted friends brings happiness. I see Mr. Davis quite often and we talk of you and of the times of your earth life.

I also try to help him and he is progressing and is in the right road to the high spheres.

Well, sweetheart, I see that you are very tired and must stop so I will not write longer though I should like to very much. So give me a hug and a kiss and say good night.

Your own true and loving,
Helen

John G. Carlisle Writes that His Old Ideas Cling to Him and Hold Him in Darkness and Sufferings

March 7, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, John G. Carlisle.

I am the spirit who wrote you once before and I merely want to say tonight that I am better than I was then and am not in so much darkness; but yet I suffer and am paying the penalty for my sins.

The advice that you gave me and also the help that I received from Mr. Riddle have benefited me a great deal, and I am hoping that sometime I may get into the light and be free from my sufferings.

If I could only have faith in what he and other good spirits tell me, I believe that I would soon be in a much better condition, but somehow I don't seem to be able to have this faith. My old ideas stick to me, and although I realize that many of them were wrong, yet they cling to me and hold me in the darkness and sufferings. This may seem strange to you, but it is a fact. Beliefs are wonderful things of substance and strength when they have become fixed in a man's mind by long years acquiescence and fostering, and that was my case.

As you may know, my animal appetites were strong and I gave free vent to them, and to ease my conscience I embraced certain beliefs, which as I lived and fostered them, came to be realities to me, and now they stand before me, as it were, like a wall of brass and rarely give me an opening to get beyond or out of them. My friends that you brought to me are trying to help me, and at times I feel that what they tell me must be true. But then comes in the old long years of belief, and I lose the benefit of what influence I may have received from these spirits who I see are so beautiful and happy.

I do not understand this enigma, and because I do not, I sometimes think, that what I think, I see in these others are mere hallucinations of my own mind. And then again these influences come to me with such force that I think I must break away from these band of belief and see the light as they see it. But the struggle is hard and the progress is slow. I tell you that if I could only come again into my earth life, I know that my life, or rather the way I lived it, would be very different, but it is too late now and I must make my fight here, and it is a hard one.

The thing that gives me greatest hope is that while Riddle may not have been so bad a man as I was on earth, yet he was a mere man with no special pretensions to goodness, and now I see him a beautiful and happy spirit, and he says it is not on account of any inherent goodness in himself, but because he has received to some degree what he calls the Divine Love; and he urges me to try to believe in this Love and open up my soul to its inflowing. It may be right, but I don't seem to be able to understand what he means, or to find the way to open up my soul as he advises.

But this I know, he has given me hope and I, at times, make the effort to follow his advice, and I even pray, but I am afraid that my faith is not very strong, though I observe that when he is with me I seem to have more power to make this effort than when I am alone. And he is kind to me, for he comes quite frequently, and at times, there comes with him a wonderfully beautiful spirit who he says is your wife, and she seems to have so much love with her. I say she comes with him, and when she does, her influence is wonderful and I feel nearer leaving my old evil thoughts and getting into light than at any other time. And she talks to me in such words of love and encouragement, that it makes me believe that there must be a better place and a better condition for me.

So you see from all this what thoughts and beliefs cemented to a man's soul by an evil life on earth will do for him when he becomes a spirit and all these evil things come before him like a panorama as they do in my case. But I sowed and I am now reaping, a saying which I often heard on earth, but which to me was meaningless as it is, I have no doubt, to many others who are living such lives as I lived.

Well, my friend, I must not write more, but I feel better for I realize that it does me good to come in contact in the way of exchanging thoughts with a mortal for notwithstanding I have no mortal body, yet in thought and desires I am still a mortal.

So, thanking you for your kindness to me I will say good night.

Your friend,
J.G.C.

Judge Louis I. O'Neil, a Friend of James E. Padgett, Writes of His Experience in the Spirit World

March 7, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Louis I. O'Neil.

Yes, it is he who was called Judge. I merely want to say a word as I have not had the opportunity to write you for a long time.

I am now in a better condition than I was and am in more light and have less suffering thanks to the beautiful spirits with whom you brought me in contact. I find that as I get rid of some of my old beliefs, the better I am and the more progress I make and the less darkness surrounds me.

Your wife has helped me a great deal and she is a wonderfully beautiful spirit and filled with love and kindness.

I see a number of my old friends, but I am sorry to say that a great many of them are in darkness and suffering. Lyscomb is in a very bad condition and has not progressed any, thus far, though I have tried to help him some, but as you know he had a dogmatic and all-knowing temperament on earth, so he has the same qualities here, and it is hard to make him see things differently from what he thinks they are or should be.

You may know that he frequently visits his old haunts in the neighborhood where he spent so many hours in drink and he is still drinking as he thinks and seems to get a kind of satisfaction out of the deceit and he does not seem to be inclined to turn his thoughts to anything of a higher nature.

I tell you that the appetites of earth are strong with the spirits who come to this world with them unsatisfied or not gotten rid of and it is so sad that he has them to the extent that he has when he passed over. But sometime I hope that he will have an awakening to the true condition of his existence and to the necessity of his having his thoughts away from these things and seeking those things which will enable him to get out of his awful darkness.

Now you must not think from this that I am a very highly developed spirit for I am not, but just as the higher spirits have a work to do, so have I and my work, of course, can be only with those who are in a worse condition than I am and strange as it may seem to you every time I help one of these lower spirits, I realize that I help myself. What a wonderful provision of God this is, and if men would only realize this, they would live more in accordance with the Golden Rule.

Yes, I have seen Maurice Smith and John Clark and many others that we both know, and also Perry. He is in a bad condition, too, and does not seem to be much inclined to listen to the advice of some spirits who come to him. Your grandmother seems to be trying hard to help him and he seems to have more confidence in her than in any other spirit and at times it looks as if she is helping him and I have no doubt that she is, but then he will relapse back into his old condition and bewail the awful deed that he committed. As you know he was a man of deep conviction and he seems now to have some conviction which holds him to his conditions of suffering and darkness.

Well, if we only knew while on earth what the truths of this spirit world are.

You certainly are wonderfully proud to have revealed to you all these things and I am told that the spirits from the Celestial Spheres come to you and give you their messages of truth. I will confirm this is unaccountable and you must wonder too, for when I was on earth, I did not know that you had any conception of the things that come to you now.

I know that I did not, and that my beliefs were only those which were to rely upon what the Bible taught as I thought, and there was no reality to me in these teachings and the only effect was to create in me beliefs which I now see in many particulars were all wrong. At least they have now been realized and I am told that they will not be and yet they cling to me in a way that holds me to my present condition. I wish when on earth I had known what you now know, for if I had I would, I am certain, be in a better condition of light and happiness.

Well, I have written a long time and I feel better for having done so and I thank you for the opportunity. So with my kind regards and in hope that I may come to you at sometime and write again.

Your friend and well wisher,
Louis I. O'Neill

Helen Padgett Writes a Short Note About John G. Carlisle's Appearance and Explains Why He was Allowed to Write His Message

November 20, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Helen.

I called you because when the spirit* who wrote came, he was in such a very bad and suffering condition and begged so piteously to write that I thought it would be doing a great act of love and mercy to let him write.

He is a very ugly and dark and deformed spirit in his appearance, and while a man of great intellect, yet, his soul is almost in a condition of death; that is, it has no conscious life, for it was literally starved and was not capable of seeing or feeling any of the higher or better impulses. So when he came and said that he needed help so much, we let him write.

He is now with Mr. Riddle, and I hope that he may find some light and relief, though, I fear that he will have a struggle to believe what may be told him for, as you may know, when the soul becomes all shrunken and dead, it is hard for the intellect to believe anything which pertains to the awakening of the soul; but everything is possible with God and this man is not beyond redemption.

I believe, though, that he will have a long course of soul development before he will see the light and realize that his sufferings are leaving him. He must have been a very wicked man on earth, for he has about him all the traces and evidences of a very abandoned and wicked life.

"Their sins do follow them, saith the Lord," and I may add - stay with them until the great Law of Compensation has been complied with, or the greater Law of Divine Love has supplanted it.

You must not write more now. So goodbye.

Your own true and loving,
Helen

*John G. Carlisle

St. Gregory, a former Pope of the Early Days of Catholicism, Writes His Testimony

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

I am here, Gregory.

I was the great Pope of Rome, who did so much to establish the Romish Church on a firm basis and to extend its powers and influence throughout the world.

It has been many years since that time and I have had many experiences in the spirit world. I first suffered and lived in darkness, and then got into the light of the spheres where the mind is supreme and progressed in those spheres until I found that the happiness which came to me from my associations and pursuits there was not sufficient to satisfy the cravings of my soul; for I had learned in life that there was a God of love, and although I had never found that God, yet these recollections of what I had in an intellectual way learned came to me, and I was not satisfied with the happiness of the intellectual spheres and, as a consequence, I sought the spirits who I knew were possessed of the Love of God and besought them to teach me the way to that Love, and after a long time I became the possessor of that Love and started on my road of progression to the Celestial Spheres, where I now live.

If I had only known on earth what soul religion meant and not given all my thoughts to the politics of the church and to extending its powers and jurisdiction, I would have avoided many long years of suffering and darkness.

So you see, there is only one way to the Heavenly home and the happiness which belongs to the Father's Kingdom, which the Master is working so hard to establish, and that through the teachings of the Master which, if understood and followed, ensures the seeker of that Divine Love which makes all spirits inhabitants of the Heavenly Kingdom and gives them a Celestial happiness.

I don't find that the church has improved much since my time, and many popes and priests are now going through experiences similar to the ones that I passed through. And many believers in the dogmas of the Catholic Church find that these beliefs are not helping them, but rather retarding them in their souls' progression.

I could write a long letter on this subject, but have not time tonight. I thank you for receiving my message and would like to come again, if agreeable.

Your friend and brother in Christ,
Gregory, the Pope

Saleeba Writes That She Witnessed the Power and Glory of Jesus and Will Strive Harder to Receive the Divine Love of the Father

October 1, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Saleeba.

I want to tell you that I was a witness the other night to the wonderful display by Jesus of his great power and glory and what a wonderful demonstration it was.

I never in all my long experience in the spiritual spheres saw anything that approached it, and no spirit in the highest intellectual sphere could for a moment show the great effulgence of light that Jesus did. So you see, I now know positively that the Master is the son of God and has this Divine Love to a degree that, as I am informed, no spirit who was then present, except probably some of the apostles, had any conception of.

I am now convinced to the depths of my soul that the Divine Love of the Father is a real existing thing and that it makes beautiful and God-like those who possess it. Now I shall strive harder than ever to get it, and the great happiness, which I now know must be the experience of those who have this Divine Love to a great degree. I merely wanted to tell you this, because as you know, I am one who a short time ago had never heard of this Great Love.

So thanking you for your kindness, I am

Your sister in Christ,
Saleeba

A.G. Riddle Writes That He is in Awe of Jesus' Light, Glory and Power

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

I am here, your old Partner.

I will write only a few lines tonight, as I am in such a condition of wonderment over what took place when Jesus was writing to you last night that I do not feel able to gather my thoughts for extended writing. I want to say that what happened was to me the greatest revelation as to the character or rather the attributes of Jesus that I have seen since I have been in the spirit world.

When he wrote to you in his emphatic and authoritative manner, he became transformed into such a being of light and glory and power that none of us could look upon his countenance, and we had to fall upon our faces to hide the brightness of his presence. I tell you it was a wonderful evidence of his greatness and power. Never before had I seen him clothed in such brightness and power. He was always the most beautiful and bright and magnificent of all the spirits, but never was there displayed in him before those appearances which made us think that he must be a very god.

I now know as never before that he is the true son of God and that he is worthy to follow and believe in. What a wonderful spirit he is. All love and power and greatness and, yet, all humility. Such a combination of attributes I had no conception could ever exist in the same spirit.

Well my boy, I cannot say much more now, except that you surprise me more and more because of the great favor and blessings you have had conferred upon you. We are all amazed over it but, of course, happy over the fact. You must try your best to do this work and fulfill the mission for which you have been chosen.

What a wonderful Jesus. I cannot help thinking of him and the greatness of his being. I am so glad that I saw him as he appeared when he wrote, because now I have some conception of what the glory and grandeur of the high Celestial Heavens and their inhabitants must be.

I will not write more tonight for I cannot think of anything just now but of the glory of the Master.

I am your old partner,
A.G. Riddle

James G. Blaine, A Former Political Leader, Writes That James is a Wonderful Medium and Praises Him for The Work He Is Doing

September 14th, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington D.C.

I am here, James G. Blaine:

I am here to tell you that you are a wonderful medium, and that you will do a great deal of good before you die. Well, I have been with you at times of your writings and have seen what messages you received, and what effect the communications have had on the spirits, as well as on yourself and friends.

I am in the Fourth Sphere and am happy in a way, but I need more happiness and more light, and I will try to get these things. I am engaged in intellectual pursuits that are congenial to me, and I also take great interest in the affairs of your country and try to influence its rulers to do the right thing at the right time.

I have met many spirits since I came over and have made acquaintances with them. They are all very wonderful spirits in their understanding of the Laws of Nature and kindred subjects, and I learn a great deal from them.

I merely wanted to introduce myself to you and let you know that I am alive. Well, I believe more in the intellect than in religious matters, and I don't seek the other spirits that you mention. I have no special interest in them.

I will not write more tonight.

James G. Blaine

Helen Writes About the Spirits of Light and Truth Who Were With James Padgett and Dr. Leslie R. Stone at the Park

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

I am here, Helen.

Well, sweetheart, you are very sleepy and must go to bed. But I must tell you how I enjoyed the conversation which you and Dr. Stone had tonight in the park. The spiritual influence around you was great and working to do you both good.

Mary was there and she was enjoying the conversation as much as I and was trying to make the Doctor feel her presence as I was you. What a wonderful thing this Love of the Father is and how glad I am that you have it to the extent that you have.

Yes, Samuel was there and so were your band and some of the apostles, all enjoying the ideas which you both expressed. We could see the workings of your brain and souls and we tried to impress you with the truth and make you realize fully the many sayings of the Bible as well as what has been written to you by us dealing with the subjects that you were discussing.

So how happy you ought to be to know that you have with you so often so many of the higher spirits of "Light and Truth".

I will not write longer tonight. So with all my love,

I am your own true loving,
Helen

St. John Writes That His Revelation as Contained in the Bible Was Merely a Vision He Had While in a Trance

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

I am here, John of the Revelation.

I saw you studying the Bible, or rather those portions of the book which treated of the salvation of mankind through the blood of Jesus, and that you made extracts from the Revelation, which declared that the blood of Jesus washed away sins of mankind and redeemed them.

Well, I want to say that while I wrote a Revelation or rather dictated it to another to write, I never wrote the words declaring the salvation of mankind through the blood of Jesus, which declared that the blood of Jesus washed away sins of mankind and redeemed them, for I did not believe any such doctrine and had never been taught such a belief by Jesus.

Much of the matter contained in the Revelation I never wrote; but men or scribes who professed to copy the description of my vision, added to it for the purpose of incorporating therein the views of the Christians of that early day, so that their views might be emphasized and in union with similar views that had been added to the Gospels and Epistles in the copies which these same persons or their predecessors in these views had made.

The Revelation is merely a vision which I had when in a trance and was undoubtedly intended to illustrate or predict those things which would be visited upon the believers and the nonbelievers in the truths of God as taught by Jesus and his apostles.

At the present day, I cannot see that this book can serve any good purpose in making men acquainted with the truths of God, or with the relationship of man to God. Many of the things therein contained are not true as a Truth, but were used merely to illustrate a truth. There are no streets of gold or pearly gates or dragons or beasts or white horse or other material things which are depicted in that book; and it is valuable only so far as imagery may show to mankind some spiritual truth.

And besides it has been so embellished and added to, that many of its figures or images do not illustrate any truth, or anything else, but merely serves to give the book the character and appearance of a book of mysteries.

So I advise you in attempting to search for the truths that the Bible contains, do not waste your time in trying to discover the meanings of the various dark sayings and mysterious descriptions which this book contains.

There are enough truths in the Bible, though mixed with many errors, to lead men to the light and to salvation. Love is the great principle, and the fact that God is waiting to bestow that Love on mankind, if they will only seek for it, as it is the principle which is sufficient to lead men to the Celestial homes and happiness.

I am not an advocate of all the "isms" which men draw or formulate from the Bible, but on the contrary, deplore and condemn the misconstruction of the truths which it contains, and which men may understand, if they will search for them in humbleness and in the spirit of a little child.

But whatever of errors may be written in the Bible will be shown by the messages which Jesus shall write to you, and after they are transmitted and made known to mankind there will be no occasion for men to accept or believe these errors.

So I tell you that while the Bible, even as now written, is a grand old book, yet, it is not the true mouthpiece of God in very many particulars, and is a stumbling block to man's acquiring a correct knowledge of the truths of God.

These truths will not conflict with the reasoning of the normal man who is not prejudiced by views which are erroneous, either in the scientific or the religious world.

A man who believes what is not true is just as much an infidel whether that belief relates to the sciences or to religion. A belief in the false is a want of belief in the true and, hence, as to the true, he is not a believer. I will not write more tonight.

So will say goodnight and God bless you and your work.

Your brother in Christ,
John of Revelation

Samuel the Prophet Describes the Homes and Surroundings in the Celestial Spheres

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

I am here, Samuel the Prophet.

I am the prophet who came to you before and wrote. Tonight, I want to tell you of the wonderful things which God has prepared for his redeemed children in the Celestial Spheres, where only those who have received the New Birth can enter.

In these spheres are homes made of the most beautiful materials that can be imagined, and which are of a real and permanent character, and not subject to decay or deterioration of any kind, and which are made without hands, but by the soul's development, and the Love which each spirit possesses.

These homes are furnished with everything that is suited to make the inhabitants happy and contented; and not one element of inharmony has any abiding place therein. Every home has its library, and the most beautiful furniture and paintings and wall coverings, and also rooms that are devoted to the various uses that a spirit may need them for. The music is sublime beyond conception; and there are all kinds of musical instruments which the spirits know how to play and, as you may not suppose, every spirit has the ability to sing. There are no voices that are out of tune with the surroundings and with the other voices. Every spirit has music in his soul, and every spirit has the vocal qualities to express that music.

Couches for repose are provided, and running fountains and beautiful flowers of every hue and variety, and lawns the most beautiful and green. Trees are in abundance and are planted in the most artistic manner, so that they are in harmony with the surrounding landscape.

And the light that comes to our homes is of such a kind that I cannot describe it, and can only say that with it and in it are the most soothing and wonderful influences that spirits can conceive of.

All these things and many more are provided by our loving Father for the happiness of His children. But above all is this, the wonderful Love of the Father, which is always with us, and which fills our souls to overflowing, and keeps us in one continuous state of happiness and peace and joy.

All these things are freely given to us, and with them the knowledge that we are a part of the Father's Divine Being and have, beyond the possibility of losing it, the immortality which Jesus brought to light when he came to earth.

I have been in these Heavens many years, and know whereof I speak; and when I tell you of these things, I do so that you and all mankind may know that these delights may be yours and theirs, if you will only let the Divine Love of the Father enter your souls and take complete possession of it.

Well, as to our social enjoyments, we are so loving, one to the other that nothing arises, as on earth, to cause one the slightest jar in our wonderful harmony. We visit one another and give our experiences of the love life that we lead, and have music, and interchange thoughts about our continuous progress, and our work in the spirit world. Every spirit in our sphere may visit every other spirit, and know that the door is always open and a warm welcome awaiting him.

I cannot tell you of all these wonders because there are no words that will convey our meanings. Your capacity to understand is limited by your mental boundaries and, hence, I am at a disadvantage. But this I can tell you, and that is, that some day, if you get the Divine Love in your soul in sufficient abundance, you will see and understand for yourselves what God has in store for you. It was truly said, "that no eye has seen, or mind conceived, the wonderful things that await the true child of the Father."

No, there are no streets of gold or walls of jasper, or any of these material things that John made use of in his Apocalypse to describe the City of God. They were merely used as symbols, but they did not express the wonders of our homes.

I will not write more tonight, but will come again sometime and tell you of things that are of more importance than a description of our homes.

With all my love, I am your Brother in Christ,
Samuel

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

Franklin Mackey, James' Old Friend and a Former Lawyer, Writes a Short Note of Thanks for Helping Him Out of Darkness

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

I am here, Franklin H. Mackey.

I must write just a line to tell you that you are my friend and helper in my darkness and sufferings.

I have been much benefited by your advice and the help which your band has given me and I am commencing to see the light and to know what the Love of the Father means to a poor benighted soul who has been in a state of torment.

I will not write longer but say that I am so grateful and will never forget your kindness and sympathy.

May God bless you and keep you in His care.

Your old friend and brother lawyer that was,
Franklin H. Mackey