Lukes Writes About the Spirits Who Reside in the Twilight Zone and Their Progress in the Natural Love

February 5, 1917
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Luke.

I merely want to say that you are in better condition tonight, and that I will write a few lines upon a subject that may be of interest to you.

In the spirit world, there are many spirits who are in neither darkness nor light, but are in what has been called the Twilight Zone, and are neither very happy nor unhappy. These are spirits who have progressed from the lower spheres, where they expiated their sins and errors of the earth life and have gotten rid of their recollections of many of their sins and have progressed somewhat in the development of their natural love and, also, in the acquirement of the intellectual knowledge, and are not feeling the stings of conscience, but are realizing the happiness which the forgiveness of their sins and the improvement of their intellects causes them to have.

They are, to a large extent, very much in the condition of men who have paid the penalties of their sins, yet have not received such increase in their natural love as to enable them to progress to the higher intellectual spheres where the spirit becomes to a more or less degree the perfect man. And they have been a long time making their progress, for it is a fact that the development of their souls from the condition of the wholly sinful man to that where such sins have almost disappeared is a very slow development.

These spirits, though, are not to be classed with the dark spirits who so often come to you for help and relief from their darkness, for they are in that condition where it is difficult to convince them that they need any help in order that they may have a more wonderful progress and obtain greater happiness.

In this Zone, the spirits seem to be well satisfied with their conditions and have the belief that their advancement must necessarily be slow and that there is not a better and quicker way to obtain relief from their conditions.

Among this class of spirits commences the greatest difficulty for the higher spirits to successfully convince them of the great truth of the Divine Love and the possibilities of obtaining a condition that will place them in the higher soul spheres without the long delay in making their progress.

In the lower spheres, the spirits are not satisfied and generally are very desirous of getting relief from the darkness and suffering and, as a consequence, we can do more to convince them of the truths that are so necessary for them to know.

You would be surprised to know the number of spirits who are in this Zone, and the great number of years they have been in making the progress that they have made. Many of them have been in the states to which I refer for centuries and yet have never known any desire to progress out of those states except in the way that they consider to be the gradual and natural way to advance.

I will not write more now. So, good night, and may God bless you.

Your brother in Christ,
Luke

Jesus Writes on the Subject: What Men Can Do to Eradicate War of Nations and Evil From Their Souls

December 24, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

I desire to say that I was with you tonight at the church and listened to the preacher's (Dr. Mitchell) sermon and was somewhat surprised that he should have declared that all the wars and persecutions and outrages that, in the manner described, have been perpetrated on mankind since my coming can be ascribed to my coming and my teachings.

I, of course, can only resent the imputation and declare that the preacher has misconceived the cause of these wars and persecutions, and to charge that they are due to my truths, or the truths that I taught, is not only an injustice to me, but a great injury to the truths and objects of my mission to mankind. Never did I attempt by force or constraint to compel a human soul to believe in my truths or to became a follower of me, in or out of the church.

My mission on earth was to show men the Way to the Father's Love and to declare to them the Great Gift of this Love, and also to break down and destroy the erroneous beliefs and ignorance that then existed among men as what was necessary in order to seek for and obtain this Love of the Father and their own salvation. And so far as the truths, moral or spiritual, which I taught antagonized the false beliefs and practices of men, there was - and necessarily would be - a conflict in the thoughts and lives of those who followed me and those who persisted in their existing beliefs. To this extent, I brought a sword into the world, but it was not the sword that called for bloodshed and murder and persecutions; it was the sword that pierced men's souls, where this great conflict should and must be fought to the end.

No nation can be more spiritual in its government, or in its treatment of other nations, than are the individuals composing it, spiritual. The nation cannot be greater than or different from the individuals who control it, be such control centered in one or more individuals, or in a secular or religious head. The ruler, if he be not a real follower of me, although he may claim to be, cannot in his acts or deeds attribute to me the results of the carrying into action his thoughts and desires and ambition.

The present war, of which the preacher spoke with such horror and lamentation, is not due to my coming into the world as an iconoclast or destroyer of sin and error, but to the fact that men refused to be controlled or persuaded by my doctrines of peace and acted because of the sin and evil desires and immoral ambition that they possessed and permitted to control them. The sword, which he claims I brought into the world, did not cause these sinful and inhuman desires and ambitions to manifest themselves in the form of war and all the evils that follow it. No, this war is not a part of my warfare or the plan of the Father to bring salvation to mankind.

The cause is this and only this: The exercise by men in control of the nations of their desires for increased power and territory and subjugation of nations, together with their sinful cravings for what they call glory and unsatisfied ambition. Had they understood my warfare, each of there men would have found his enemy in himself and nowhere else, and the great war would be a war of the soul and not the war of nations.

Each nation claims that its war is right, and that God is on its side, and prays to that God to assist it in overcoming its enemies. But I want to say here, and it may astonish those who believe that if they conceive that they are in the right and pray to God for success that their prayers will be answered, that God hears only the prayers of the righteous, or of the sinner who prays for mercy and salvation. Never in all the history of mankind has God responded to the prayers of men or nations to assist in the destruction of other men or nations, and this, notwithstanding the accounts in the Old Testament of the many times that he was supposed to have helped the Jews to destroy their enemies.

If men, for a moment, will think that God is a God of Love and that all people are His children, the equal recipients of His Love and Care, they will realize that His Love would not permit Him to sacrifice the happiness or well-being of one class of His children to satisfy the desires of revenge or hatred or outraged justice as they conceive it, of another class of His children. In all the beliefs of this kind, men have misconceived God and His Nature - with men like other creatures, His powers are governed by God's immutable Laws, and those laws are no respecters of persons. Man was given a free will, which he could exercise righteously or sinfully and God does not forcibly control such exercise, but the same exercised rightly or wrongly is subject to Law, which imposes penalties or rewards according as the Law is violated or obeyed.

This war, which so many mortals believe and declare is a punishment inflicted on men because of their sins and disobedience - that is, that it was specially caused by God because of such condition of men - and some expounders of the Bible teach that it was prophesied centuries ago - this war, I say, is solely the result of the sinful conditions and workings of men's souls and thoughts and the natural effect of the causes that men themselves created and the exact workings of the Laws that such causes brought into operation. And in a similar condition, where the same causes exist, Laws will invariably operate - wars will occur and recur until the possibility of the causes cease to exist.

God never ceases to love and care for mankind and always He desires that men shall be happy and at-one with Himself, and that they shall exercise their wills in accordance with His Will and His Laws; but just as certainly does He never - by compulsion or force - endeavor to compel men to exercise their wills in a manner that is not voluntary with them. Should He do this, men would cease to be the greatest of His Creation and incapable of giving Him that voluntary love and obedience which only is acceptable to Him.

But from what I have said, it must not be inferred that the Father is indifferent to men's sufferings and the calamities that wars bring upon mankind, for He is not; and, if, in His Wisdom, He saw that it would be for the lasting good of the men who are engaged in the present war, that He should intervene by the mere force of His Powers and end the war, He would do so. But in that Wisdom, He sees that there is a good which men should have, greater and more eternal than their mere physical and material good, and that greater good cannot be obtained by them through His suddenly bringing this war to an end without regard to their souls, and thoughts and desires. The Law of Compensation must work as well for nations as for individuals even though, apparently, the innocent suffer as well as the guilty.

On earth, as men are now constituted, that is, in their condition of sin and disobedience to the Laws of their being - exact justice cannot be expected and is not received, because this justice is the subject of men's dispensation and not that of God. A man is influenced by his desires which, in turn, control his will and results in his acts and deeds, which must of necessity, bring their results. These results can be avoided only by absence of deeds, and these by a different exercise of the will and this by the change of desire. So when a man so desires and wills, God will not set aside the Law of Compensation and cause results to follow that are not the consequences of such desire and will.

But God is always willing that these evil results shall have no existence, and through the influence of His Love and Holy Spirit is calling men to learn the way to wholly prevent the possibility of these results coming to them, either as individuals or as nations. He has provided the Way and is teaching men the knowledge thereof, through and by which the causes that produce these harmful results may be utterly destroyed and prevented from ever arising to bring to them the deplorable results, such as are manifested in the present war.

God will not interfere by His mere fiat to cause the one side or the other of those who are engaged in this war of bloodshed and carnage to become victorious. The Law of Compensation must work and as the leaders of the respective nations have sown, so must the nations reap and in this, the innocent must suffer in this reaping, because as conditions are, the Law could not work its fulfillment unless all within the scope of its workings should feel its operation. But the Father and the hosts of His angels and the spirits of men are working to bring this terrible catastrophe to an end.

You have written long, and it is late, so I will postpone the further consideration of the subject to another time. Believe that I am with you and love you and will sustain you in your desires to do my work.

Your brother and friend,
Jesus

Jesus Writes About the Battle of Armageddon

August 13, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

I was with you tonight and heard the address of the preacher (Elder Daniels) and the explanation of the cause of the Great War (World War I) that is now raging in Europe, and it was a very intelligent and truthful one and the real foundation of the war.

I will not come as the Prince Michael, as the preacher said, to establish my Kingdom on earth and take into me those whose names are written in the book and destroy those whose names are not therein written, for I have already come and am now in the world working to turn men's hearts to God and to teach them the way by which they may become at-one with the Father and receive into their souls the Divine Love.

In no other way will I ever come to men on earth for they will not need me as a visible king with the powers and armies of the spirit world in visible form to subdue the evil that exists. There will arise no Satan to fight against me or my followers in the sense that the preacher teaches, for besides, the fact that I am already in the world fighting for the salvation of men, there is no Satan. The only devils or evil spirits who are trying to influence men to evil thoughts and actions are the spirits of men, which still retain all their sins and wickedness and the evil that exists in the hearts of men themselves.

How pitiable it is that the preacher and his followers believe that the spirits of men who have died the natural death are also dead and resting in the grave, or in oblivion, waiting for the great day of my appearance on earth, as they say, in order to come again into life and be called by me into my Kingdom. How much they lose by such beliefs, and how great and surprising will be their awakening when they pass through the change called death.

There will be no Battle of Armageddon - only as each man, or the soul of each man, is now fighting the battle between sin and righteousness. This is the only battle that will ever be fought between the Prince of Peace and Satan. Each soul must fight its own battle, and in that fight the Powers of God, by His instruments, which never cease to work, will be used to help that soul overcome the great enemy, sin, which is of man's creation.

These teachings of the preacher do great harm to mankind in that they cause the individual man to believe, that I, as the Prince of Peace, will come in mighty power, and in one fell swoop will destroy evil and all who personify it, and thereby do the work which each individual man must do.

I know that it will be very difficult to persuade the people of this sect that what they teach and what they conclude the Bible teaches is not true, but I hope that when my truths are brought to light and men have the opportunity to learn the truth, that many of them will halt in the security of their beliefs and attempt to understand these truths, as they must understand them, either in the mortal life or in the spirit world, in order to enter the Kingdom of God.

As to these prophecies of Daniel, they have no application to the present condition of the world, and so far as they were written by him, or by any other prophet, they related only to the times in which they were written. No man, inspired or not, and no spirit had the omniscience to foretell these wonderful things that are now taking place in the world, and any attempts to apply these supposed prophecies to the happenings of the present day are without justification and the results of the imaginations of men that the occurrences fit the prophecies.

Peace will come, but not as the result of any Battle of Armageddon, or any other battle based upon the principles which the preacher applies to these prophecies. As I have said, this battle is going on all the time, and it is an individual fight between the sinful soul and the creatures of man's disobedience. So do not waste your time in reading or listening to these unreal and foundationless teachings of men who think that they have discovered the intentions of God with reference to the destiny of nations.

I will not write more tonight, but at sometime I may say more on this subject, though, its only importance is that it attracts men's attention away from the truth and creates beliefs which do harm. I will soon come and write another message of truth.

I am with you, as I told you, trying to help you and to show you the way to that New Birth, which is yours and all others who will follow my instructions. I love you as a younger brother and will continue to bless you with my influence and prayers. So doubt not and pray to the Father and you will find the truth in greater fullness and receive corresponding happiness. I will now stop.

Your brother and friend,
Jesus

Martin Luther Writes About the Futility of Religious Ceremonies as Redemption from Sin

June 29, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Luther.

I desire to write a short message tonight on the subject of: "The observance of the ceremonies which my church still uses in its worship is not approved by God or Jesus." I will not detain you very long and will try to express myself as succinctly as possible.

Well, as you may not know the church of which I am the founder believes and teaches the necessity of infant baptism and the observance of the Lord's Supper as necessary parts of its church doctrine, and of such very great importance that without them it is difficult to become an accepted member of the invisible church of Christ. Nothing is further from the truth than these doctrines for the baptism of infants, for they have no virtue to save one from his sins or to make him in atonement with the Father, and the mere fact that water is sprinkled on an infant's head and some blessing pronounced by the preacher does not in any way bring that infant in unison with the Father.

Baptism is of man's creation and to God it means nothing more than an outward ceremony that affects the infant merely as regards its connection with the established earthly church. It is not possible for this baptism to have any effect upon the soul of the infant and neither does it open up the soul faculties to the inflowing of the Divine Love. God cares not for these ceremonies, and rather looks upon them with disapproval, for their tendency is to make men and women neglectful of the great truth that will bring them in harmony with God's Laws of Love and redemption. And the same thing may be said of any and all kinds of baptism, whether the subject thereof be an infant or a grown man or woman.

As to the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, it has no part in God's plan for the redemption of mankind and it is merely a reminder of the association of Jesus with his disciples. It cannot affect the condition or development of the soul and, as now understood and practiced, this sacrament is of no importance for Jesus does not want to be remembered in the way of recalling to him the tragedy on the cross, which was only the result of the malice and envy of the Jews; and the blood spilt is not an element that enters into the plan of the salvation of men. And besides, with this sacrament there is always more or less worshiping of Jesus as God, which he, Jesus, abhors and looks upon as blasphemy.

So you see, the celebration of the Last Supper is a thing which is not acceptable to God or to Jesus. He does not want men to believe that they can be saved by any sacrifice of him or by any blood which he may have shed as a result of his crucifixion.

Of course, you will remember that the question, of what the wine and bread of the sacrament really were, was one that engendered much controversy and even hatred and ill-feeling on the part of those who were assisting me in the great Reformation. If I had known then what I do now, no such question would have been debated or believed in by me and taught for many years. The blood of Jesus was no more than any other man's blood, and the commemoration of the last supper that Jesus gave his disciples before his death is a useless ceremony and brings no help to those who indulge in this sacrament.

I see that you are tired and sleepy and I will not write more now. So with my love and wishes for an increase in you of the Divine Love, I am

Your brother in Christ,
Luther

Luke Writes About the Doctrine of Original Sin and the Principle Involved in "Whosoever Will"

April 27, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Luke.

I have not written you for some time and desire to write a short message tonight on the subject of: "What is necessary for a man to do to recover the purity of soul and love that was possessed by the first parents - I mean as a man possessing the natural love only."

Well, in the first place, he should realize that he is a perfect creature of God, and that his sins and diseases are merely the results of his own thoughts and of qualities that have come to him down the long ages of his ancestors living on earth.

He need not suppose that these sins and desires are inherent in or a part of his creation, for they are not, but merely accretions that fastened themselves upon him by reason of the thoughts he has had and the resultant course of life he has led, and when he changes these thoughts, which will necessarily bring about a change in his manner of living, he will find that he can progress toward the condition of the perfect man.

I know that many of these thoughts are so deep seated that they seem almost a part of his very nature and can only be eradicated by the death of his physical body; but this is not true, for man, even while in the full vigor of his manhood and possessed with all the appetites and desires, which arise from the perverted indulgence of these desires either on the part of himself or on the part of those from whom he is said to have inherited them, may relieve himself from these desires and become a man having only the thoughts of good and desires for those things, which are in harmony with the nature of his perfect creation.

This I know seems to man a thing impossible and so thinking, he does not try to accomplish what I say he may accomplish and to become free from these sins and unnatural appetites. The almost universal belief in original sin has caused men - all along the ages - to think that such a task is hopeless, and that they are thinking and acting only in accordance with the appetites and desires that God has implanted in their natures, and that so long as they indulge these thoughts and desires in a moderate or respectable way, they are not doing that which is contrary to God's Will or to their own nature.

But this doctrine of original sin is a mocking, damnable lie, and the sooner man realizes the fact that it is a fraud and deceit, the sooner he will be able to get rid of those things, which have placed him in his present condition and held him there bound, as it were, hand and foot. This supine submission to this old and ever recurring belief is the great thing that prevents man from starting to progress towards the attainment of that condition, which is purity and health and the perfect man.

Man must decline and no longer submit to this belief, which, I am sorry to say, is fostered by the teachings of the orthodox churches in order to sustain and make forcible their creeds and dogmas, and to show to man that he is not to be considered worthy of the mercy of the Father and cannot possibly obtain that mercy and be relieved from the great wrath and punishment that God has prepared for him, unless he believes and acknowledges that he is a dependent and lost man, unworthy of the Father's favor, or the help of the instrumentalities which the Father uses to assist men in regaining their lost estate.

If men would only think, and in thinking realize that they are dear children of the Father and His highest creation, and that He prizes them above all His creatures and wants them to know that they are beings of such wonderful qualities and possibilities, they would then have come to them an overpowering and convincing sense of what they really are, and of how necessary it is for them to assert their rights as such exalted creatures of the Father and would realize that they are masters of sin and disease, for they are the creators of the same.

When they shall assume such position and become possessed of such knowledge, they will find that they have a wonderful power as creatures of the Father, they will realize that they are masters of sin that must be gotten rid of.

Let men for a moment think again and thinking, know that God does not desire His greatest creature to become or be less than the perfect being that He created. He is not flattered nor does He have any pleasure in the thought that man is degraded and fallen from His perfect creation, and that in order to rise again he, man, must believe that God may show His power in rescuing him from his low and hopeless condition. No, God is not pleased by man assuming such an attitude, nor does He need any such helpless condition of man that He may show His power or gratify what the teachings of these orthodox imply, His vanity, which He has not.

In this particular, man must work out his own salvation, but it will be a difficult task so long as he continues to believe and act upon that belief, that he is a creature of original sin, and that as God in the beginning failed to make him the perfect man, so now, only God can remedy what He failed to provide in His creation, and that man of himself can do nothing; that all he has to do is to wait until God is pleased to recreate him and thereby take from his very nature this great curse of the original sin. See the great fatality of such belief and how it tends to make man a slave of and obedient to this false belief in this blight of original sin?

God gave to man, in his creation, the great power of will and the right to its unlimited exercise, subject only to the penalties of a wrongful exercise; and by the exercise of that will, man created sin and disease and became depraved and fallen, and the possessor of false beliefs as to the perfection of his nature. By the exercise of that will, man - himself - must redeem himself from this condition of depravity and false belief and again become the perfect man - God's wholly perfect creation.

As man was in the beginning the perfect son of God, and by his own will created his own and only devil, so must he - by this same power - kill this devil and again become the perfect son. He must believe and declare and show the sincerity of his beliefs by his acts and living, that he is a perfect son of the Father needing no new creation.

This I have written to show what man was in the beginning, and what he really and truly is now; although covered with sin and disease and false beliefs. To recover this lost estate or better, condition, he will find that by searching for and learning and acting upon many of the moral precepts of the Bible and of other so-called sacred writings, he will be greatly helped and strengthened in his efforts. But above all, let him understand and believe with the certainty of knowledge, that he is God's highest and most perfect creation.

Now, from what I have said, it must not be inferred that man is his own God, and has not - and needs not - any tender, loving Father, who is interested in him and always ready to help him whenever he earnestly and in sincerity asks the help of that Father. Always is man dependent upon God; but that dependence is not recognized by God, unless man first recognizes it and by his longings and thoughts shows to the Father that he needs His help.

This may seem unbelievable, but man was created so independent in his great will power, as regards the dualities of thought and desire both spiritual and material, that God never interferes to compel. The principle involved in "whosoever will" must be exercised by man before the Father will intervene. But when it is exercised, He does intervene and never refuses or fails to answer the call of the sincere cry of man for help.

And God does help man in his recovery from the state of false beliefs and degradation, that I have mentioned. His Love overshadows men, and His instrumentalities are always ready and waiting to answer the call upon Him for His help in assisting them out of their condition of sin, disease and false beliefs; for, as I have elsewhere written you, in God's universe there must be perfect harmony, and the present man, so far as his own creation of inharmony is concerned, is not in that harmony. Ultimately, man, all men, will become again the perfect man.

Of course, you will understand that what I have written does not apply to the redeemed sons of God who receive the New Birth and become partakers of the Divine Nature of the Father, for in their case, the perfect man is absorbed in the Divine Angel.

I have written longer than I intended, but as the theme is an interesting as well as important one, I thought it best to write just as I have. I will now say good night and leave with you my love and blessings.

Your brother in Christ,
Luke

Luke Writes on "The sins of the parents are visited upon the children unto the third and fourth generations."

April 9, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here. Luke.

I desire tonight to write for a short time on the text that, "The sins of the parents are visited upon the children unto the third and fourth generations."

I know that usually the explanation of the text has been that the material sins, or rather the sins which result in material injury or affliction. are visited upon the children and to a very great extent this is true. But that explanation is not what was intended by the declaration.

Man is not only a material or physical being, but is more largely a spiritual being, having a soul and spirit which never ceases to exist, and which are just as much a part of him while on earth, as when he becomes a spirit; that is after he has left the vestments of flesh and blood.

These real parts of man are of more importance to him and his real existence than is the physical part, and the sins which man commits are not the results of any primary physical action, but of the operations of the powers which form or have their real seat in the spiritual part of his being.

The physical part of man is not the originator of sin, but merely manifests its effects, and it (sin) almost always manifests itself on and in the physical body and leaves its scars apparent to the consciousness of men upon such body; and, hence, as man is able in his ordinary condition to perceive the effects more plainly on this body, he thinks that the meaning of the text must refer to the sins that affect and are shown upon his body, and at the same time ignores or is not sensible of the fact that the great effect or injury of sin is upon and to the spiritual part of man. As the physical body is affected by the results of these sins being carried into operation, so much more so is the spiritual part of man affected by the fact that these sins had their creation in that spiritual part of man.

It may be asked, "In what way can the effect of sin upon a man that is upon his soul and spirit, have any injurious effect upon the spirit and soul of his child, so that the child may suffer from the sin of the parent?"

Well, when a child is conceived and gestates and is born, he not only partakes of the physical nature of his parents, but also of the qualities and condition of the spirit and soul of the parents. This may seem improbable, but it is a fact that the spirit and soul that enters into the child when it is conceived comes from the great universe of soul and spirit, wholly independent of the parents and is not in its nature or qualities a part of the parents as is the flesh and blood which build up and produce the physical body of the child. But while this is true, it is also true that this spirit and soul of the child is susceptible to and in a way absorbs the influence of the spirit and soul of the parents, not only at the time of conception but also during the period of gestation, and even for years afterwards, and to such an extent that this influence continues beyond the mere earthly existence of the parents and into the life of the progeny to the third and fourth generation, as the text says.

The spirit part of the child is more susceptible to the influence and evil effects of these sins than is really its physical body, for as I have said, the spirit part is the originator and breeder of the sins, if I may so express it, while the body is merely the recipient of the exercise of the sins and the objects of their manifestation.

The influence of spirit upon spirit is more extensive and certain than mortals can possibly conceive of, and the results of that influence are not so apparent or known to the consciousness of the succeeding children, or to the respective parents, as men suppose, and as a fact they do not understand or become conscious of the fact that such influence is operating upon the spiritual parts of their children. They see and realize that the effects of such sins become manifested in the physical body, and as their ordinary natural senses cannot perceive the condition of the spirit, they conclude that the text can only mean that these sins are visited upon the material bodies of their children.

But I must tell them that, while great and deplorable injury is inflicted on these material bodies, yet greater and more lasting and more grievous - in the way of manifestations - injury is inflicted upon the spiritual nature of the children; not only because this nature continues to live, but because men, not realizing that this nature has been injured, make no attempt to find and apply a remedy as they so often do in the case where these sins manifest themselves in the physical body.

And besides, there are many sins that do not affect the mere material body, but which do great injury to the spiritual nature, and which to the senses of men are never perceptible.

A man is not only the parent of a child's material body but in a secondary way is also the parent of its spiritual nature, and the condition of the parent's spiritual nature influences and determines to a large extent the qualities and tendencies of the child's nature for good or evil, not only while it is a mortal but frequently after it has ceased to inhabit the veil of flesh. So let parents know that they do not live to themselves alone as mortals but that their evil thoughts and deeds have a greater or lesser influence upon the spiritual natures of their children, especially at the time of conception and during gestation. Then how important that every parent during these times particularly, and at all times, should have their spiritual natures in that condition of purity and freedom from sin, that their children may be conceived and born in a condition of soul purity, which will not reflect any evil that they can charge their parents with being the creators of.

If men would only realize these facts and live their lives in accordance with the truths, which I here declare, how much sooner would the human race be brought into harmony with God's Laws and the souls of men be freed from sin and evil.

I know it is often said that it is unjust and not in accordance with the justice of an impartial God that the sins and penalties arising from the disobedience of our first parents should be visited upon mankind who were and are their progeny, as such mankind had no part in that disobedience. But when it is remembered, and it is a fact, that God did not create sin or evil or impose such upon the first parents for their disobedience, but that they themselves created evil and sin, and men have been creating these in-harmonies ever since, it will be seen that an impartial God, who is our only God, is not responsible for either sin or evil and the consequent penalties which they impose. And, as has been written you before, the abolishing of sin and evil and their penalties is in the power of man and his will.

As these first parents created these evils, as I have explained, and in the manner that I have pointed out to you, their sins, by the influence which they have upon the spiritual nature at the time of conception and birth become, as it were, a visitation and that is the spiritual desires and tendencies and inclinations toward that which is evil (sic), and this influence continues with the child for years after its birth, according as the child and parents are closely associated together in their earth lives. And as each succeeding generation caused the visitation of its sinful influence and tendencies upon the succeeding generation, you can readily see how men, all men, became subject to the sins and evils and penalties which were brought into the world by the first parents.

Instead of God being the creator of these things or visiting them upon the children of man, He declares that their existence is contrary to the harmony of His creation and must be eradicated before man can come into that harmony and an at-onement with Him. And as He gave to man the great power of free will, without any restriction upon its exercise, except as a man's understanding of the harmony of the operations of God's Laws might influence him to exercise this great power; and as man in the wrong exercise of that power brought into existence these things of evil and sin, so man, as he perceives this plan of God's harmony, must exercise that will in such a way as to free himself from these things which are not part of God's creation, and are out of harmony with His plans for the creation and preservation of a perfect universe, of which man is its highest creation.

God never changes. His Laws never change. Only man has changed from the perfection of His creation; and man must change again before that perfection will again be his.

Now from all this it must not be inferred that man is left to his own efforts to bring about this great restoration, for that is not true, because God's instrumentalities are continuously at work influencing man to turn again to his first estate and become the perfect man, as he ultimately will become. I am not here referring to the workings of the great Divine Love which, when a man possesses in a sufficient degree, makes him more than the perfect man.

So, "the sins of the parents are visited upon the children to the third and fourth generation," means the tendencies and inclinations toward that which is evil (are created) not by God, but by man himself, solely and exclusively.

And oh man, could you see the results of these sins upon the spiritual natures of your children, as you often see them upon their material bodies, you would hesitate in your sinning and think, and thinking would see the way by which the great blot upon the happiness and salvation of humanity could be removed and its progress to the "perfect man" be hastened and assured.

Well, I have written enough for tonight, and hope that what I have said may be understood and meditated upon by all who may read it. I will not detain you longer, and with my love and the blessings of one who is now not only the perfect man, but a possessor of the Divine Nature of the Father and an inheritor of immortality, say good night.

Your brother in Christ,
Luke

**********

Luke makes some corrections in the previous message.

April 10, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington D.C.

I am here, Luke.

I desire to make some corrections in my message of last night and will thank you to receive them.

I desire to say, that when I spoke of the sins of the parents being visited upon the children at the time of conception and birth, I meant that these sins, by the influence which they have upon the spiritual nature of the child, became, as it were, a visitation. I did not mean that any part of the real sin of the parents became a part of the spiritual nature of the child, but only that the influence of the parent's sins upon the child is sufficient to give the spiritual desires and tendencies of the child an inclination towards that which is evil; and this influence is continuous with the child for years after its birth according as the child and parents are closely associated together in their earth lives.

Let this point be made plain so that man may not quibble about the meaning of what I wrote. Otherwise, the message is true and just as I intended it should convey to you the truth of the meaning of the text.

I will not delay you longer tonight, but with my love and blessings say,

I am your brother in Christ,
Luke

Jesus Writes About the Beliefs of Christian Scientists

April 5, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

These people (the Christian Scientists) obtain by their study of the principles that God is everything, and that their will must be subjected to His, a certain union with the power of the spirit world that calls into operation those powers which give them strength of will and a belief that their appetites for the stimulant (smoking) has left them; and that being so, they may easily refrain from further indulging this appetite.

The spirit forces help them to a greater extent than they possibly understand; but in order for this help to become effective, these people must necessarily come in rapport with these forces. They, by what they believe they possess in the way of having a proper conception of the true relationship of themselves to God, further believe that there is some power which exists in the spirit realms that is sufficient to take from them their appetites and enable them to lay aside these appetites for what they realize is the unreal.

This faith is a wonderful thing in helping man to do, or not to do, a particular thing. And even though they may not understand the true principle upon which this faith works out the results of which they testify, yet they acquire the faith which causes them to come into close rapport with the powers that actually help them to a successful realization of their desires.

As a matter of fact, God does not, as you may say, personally intervene in these matters, for He performs His work by means of spirits or ministering angels, as the Bible teaches, in things having to do with the material things affecting a man's existence; and even in the matters of the soul, He uses the Holy Spirit as an instrument to bring to man His Divine Love and infill the soul of man with its presence and essence and influence.

Many of these Christian Scientists have in their souls this Divine Love without really understanding that it is there or why or how it came to them; but they see the effect and have a knowledge that there is some power within them that enables them to come closer to the Father and experience the presence of His Love.

Christian Science is, in many particulars, a belief which leads to a faith that brings the true, sincere believer into an at-onement with the Father and makes the believer a possessor of this Divine Love of the Father; and yet many of its teachings are misleading and hard to understand, and not suitable for the great mass of mankind, because of certain mental requirements necessary to be understood before the seeker can grasp the truth that this Divine Love is the only thing that will save him from his sins and fit him for the Kingdom.

But I must not write more on this subject tonight for, as I have told you, I will come sometime and show you its merits and demerits in detail.

I will soon come and finish my last message, and as there are so many more that I desire to communicate, I hope that we may proceed faster in our work. I will be with you in your daily life in my love and influence, and try to help you to that condition of mind and soul progress that you pray for, and that are so very necessary.

Yes, I hear your request, and I pray as you desire; and I know that the Father answers my prayers, as he also answers yours. Only have more faith and more soul longings, and you will soon realize an inflowing of this Love to a wonderful degree.

I must stop now. With all my love and blessings, I am

Your friend and brother,
Jesus

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

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

Jesus Writes About the Relationship of Man to the Creation of the World and the Origin of Life

January 15, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

I come tonight to tell you that you are in a very much better condition than you have been for some time, and your rapport with us is so very much greater, that I feel that I should write you a message upon an important subject which is vital to the salvation of man from the sins and errors of his life on earth, and I will write a portion of what I desire to write.

Well, I will first say that there are so many men and women on the earth, who believe, or assert that they believe, that through their own efforts they can develop those soul qualities which are necessary to bring them in accord with the Soul of the Father, that I find that the task of convincing these persons of the errors of their beliefs, or assumption of beliefs, will be a very great one. This task will not be confined to those who have given real and deep study to the mysteries of life, both on earth and thereafter, but also to a much greater number who have a kind of smattering of this supposed knowledge, which the wiser or more learned publish to the world as a result of their investigations.

It is more difficult to convince the ignorant, who think that they know the laws of being and the plan of the workings of God's universe, than to convince those who have given sincere thoughtful study to the same, because the latter, generally, as they progress in their investigations become convinced that the more they should know as a result of their investigations, the less they really know.

I do not know just what is the most important subject for comment tonight relating to these matters, for there are so many, all of which I must at some time instruct you about; but I will write tonight about "The relationship of man to the creation of the world and the origin of life."

Your Bible says: In the beginning God created the Heavens and the earth, etc., out of a void, and continued that creation until there was a perfect Heaven with all its glories, and a perfect earth with inhabitants of every kind - all perfect and made just as an all wise and all powerful God would create; and as a climax to all, man, who was so perfect that he was made in the image of his Creator.

Well, this story is just as good and satisfactory as any that has been conceived and written by man, and is just as worthy of belief, but as a fact it is not true, for there never was a time or period when there was a void in the universe or when there was chaos.

God never created anything out of nothing, but His creations, such as are perceived by and known to men, were merely the change in form or composition of what had already existed, and always will exist as elements, though there will undoubtedly be changes in form and appearance and in constituent elements in their relation to one another.

God was always existent - a Being without beginning, which idea the finite mind, I know cannot grasp, but it is true; and so also everything which is in the universe today always existed, though not in form and composition as they now are; and as they are - they will not continue to be, for change eternal is the law of His universe. I mean as to all things which may be spoken of as having a substance whether they be material or ethereal.

Of course, His Truths never change, and neither do the laws by which the harmony of the universe is preserved and continued perfect. Now, the earth on which you live did not always have an existence, as an earth, and neither did the firmament and the great galaxy of planets and stars, but they were not created out of nothing, and neither was there chaos, for in God's economy of being there is never any chaos, which if it should be, would mean the absence of the workings of His laws and harmony.

But the earth and the firmament were created - at one time they had no existence as such, and at a coming time they may cease to have such existence, and this creation was in an orderly way, according to design, with no element of chance entering into it; and such creation was not through what your wise men may call accretion or evolution - that is self-evolution - for every new or additional exponent of growth or manifestations of increase was the result of God's Laws, which He operated in the creation of the creature.

There is no such thing as self -evolution, or that development which arises from the unassisted growth of the thing developed, and this applies to all nature as well as to man. To grow, to become nearer perfection, implies the decay and disappearance of some elements which have performed their missions and work in the growth of the thing created, and never do the same elements continue in the development of that which the laws in their operations bring to greater and greater perfection.

But in all this work of creation, there are Laws of Disintegration and Apparent Retrogression operating, as well as Laws of Positive Construction and Advancement; and again, these former laws do not operate by chance, but by design just as do the latter class of laws. The All Creator knows when - for the purpose of bringing forth the perfect creature - be it man or animal or vegetable or mineral - the Laws of Decay and Retrogression as well as the Laws of Advancement and Increased Effectiveness shall operate, and He never makes a mistake in setting into operation these laws and never pronounces the result of His work, "Not good."

As has been said, a thousand years are as a day with God, and while for many long years it may appear to man, there are retrogression and delay in bringing to perfection a creature of the Creator's works, yet that apparent retrogression is not such a fact, but only a course or method adopted for bringing forth the higher or greater perfection. I know it is difficult to explain these workings of creation to the finite, earthy mind but you may grasp some conception of what I desire to make known.

Man, in his creation, was not the slow growth as were some of the other creations of God, but was from and at the beginning made perfect, with the exception of the qualities of Divinity and Immortality. He did not grow from a lower creature, as some of your scientists have proclaimed, by the slow process of evolution, and this a self-evolution resulting from inherent qualities which were developed by experience, but he was created the perfect man.

I will stop for the present.

Your brother and friend,
Jesus

Jesus Writes About the Importance of Seeking the Divine Love and Not Be Satisfied by Merely Developing the Natural Love in a Pure State

January 10, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

I come tonight to tell you of a truth which is important to all mankind, and which I desire that you receive just as I write it, so give your best care to receiving just what I shall attempt to write.

I have read with you tonight many sayings contained in the alleged epistles of Paul and Peter, and I realize that they do not seem to be consistent with the truth that has been declared to you by myself and by the apostles who have written to you, and I desire that you shall understand some of these inconsistencies and discard from your mind these sayings of the epistles wherever they do not agree with what we have written or what we shall write.

In the first place, the continual reference of these epistles to my being God is all wrong and must not be believed; also the statement that my blood washes away sin or that I died on the cross for the salvation of men, or that I took upon myself the sins of mankind and thereby relieved them from the burden of their sins, and the punishment which they must suffer in expiation of their evil deeds and thoughts.

Again, when it said that from the beginning, the Father had foreordained my death on the cross that man might be redeemed from the penalties of sin in all men who lived thereafter are all wrong and have no foundation as facts in the plan of God for the salvation of man and the restoring of the harmony of His universe and the eradication of all sin and error from the world.

Neither Paul nor Peter wrote these things and never did I teach them, for they are not in accord with the great plan of salvation; and the further away will be the realization by them of the truth of the only plan the Father has provided for their redemption, which I came to earth to declare and explain to my apostles first, and then to the whole world.

In these epistles too much emphasis is given to the importance of faith and works. I mean faith in the mere beliefs, which these epistles taught followed by works and not enough importance to the foundation truth of man's redemption from sin and becoming reconciled to the Father. I mean the New Birth by the inflowing into their souls of the Divine Love of the Father's through the ministrations of the Holy Spirit.

Many of their teachings as to man's conduct towards man and as to the lives that the recipients of these truths should lead as effecting their own purification and becoming in a condition of righteousness are true and are as applicable to the conduct and living of men today as they were in the days in which the apostles taught. But when the epistles teach or lead men in any particular to understand that these, what may be called merely moral principles, will enable a man by their observance to enter into the Kingdom of God, or the Celestial Kingdom, they are false and misleading, and men when they become spirits will realize that while leading the lives which these teachings call them to lead, they will become very happy and occupy conditions and positions in the spirit world that will make their happiness far superior to that which they enjoy on earth and even enable them to become occupants of higher spiritual spheres; yet they will never be permitted to enter the Kingdom of the Father, which can only be attained to by the possession of Divine Love.

So I say, men must understand and realize the difference between the results to them from leading merely good and moral lives which affect and develop the natural love and those results which ensue from the New Birth.

I have attempted to explain to you why the great and important truth of my mission to earth, as I explained it to my apostles, and as was taught by them and written by them, was not preserved and contained in the Bible as now written and accepted by the church as canonical. The great desire in those days was to show and impress upon men those teachings which affected their conduct on earth and to hold out to them the rewards that would following such living, and also the rewards which would follow their lives in the spirit world which would become their homes after death. And, as I have said, the leading of lives in accordance with these teachings would ensure men a great happiness in the spirit world, but not the happiness which my teachings, if observed, would lead to.

In the various copyings and compilations of the writings of the apostles many changes from the originals were made, and those persons who performed this work, and I mean by this the dignitaries and rulers of the church did not know the difference between those things which would bring about a purification of the natural love, and those things which were necessary to fit a soul for entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. And, hence, when they came to perform this work, they made the error of teaching that the living of the moral life would entitle the soul to a reward which they supposed would be the Kingdom of Heaven and immortality. And this erroneous teaching has prevented many a man from gaining the right to the Kingdom of Heaven, as they honestly and sincerely believed would be theirs, when they came to pass into the spirit world.

Many of these teachings are intended to make a reformation in the lives of men and to purge their souls from sin and error so far as the natural love forms a part of the condition of the soul; and I taught these moral truths to a very large extent, for such teachings were necessary, because men's will was out of harmony with God's Laws, which affected the natural love, as well as out of harmony with the laws that affected the Divine Love of the Father; and it is the object and plan of God to bring into harmony both of these loves, and thereby enable man to enjoy those things which are provided and waiting for him.

As I said when on earth, "Narrow is the way and strait is the gate which leads to life everlasting and few there be that enter therein," I repeat now; for it is apparent from the observation of the way in which mankind from the beginning have exercised their wills, which God leaves free to their own volition, that a vast majority of men will never enter in at the strait gate, but be contented to live in the spheres and happiness which their natural love, in its perfect state and progress, will fit them for.

That all men will ultimately be brought into harmony with God, in either the natural love or in the Higher One, is certain, and that all sin and error will finally be eradicated from God's universe is decreed, but the time will depend to a great extent upon the wills and desires of men and, hence, while my great mission in coming to earth and teaching men was to show the way to the Celestial Kingdom, yet a lesser part of my mission was to teach them a way to their redemption from sin and error that would result in the purification of the natural love; and to my great regret and to the untold injury to man, my moral teachings were more at large set forth in portions of the Bible, as now accepted, than were my teachings of the Higher Truths.

I will not write more tonight but will continue later. Well my dear brother, I see that you are in a much better condition spiritually than you have been for some time, and you must thank the Father for it. Your conception of last night's experience is true, and you received a wonderful amount of the Divine Love, and I was was with you in love and blessing. So continue to pray and trust in the Father and you will realize a wonderful happiness and power and peace. I must stop now.

Your brother and friend,
Jesus

Luke Writes on the Truth of the Atonement, Part One

December 30, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, St. Luke.

I come tonight to tell you of a truth that is of very great importance to you and to mankind, and desire that you shall be very careful in receiving what I may say. I am in a condition of Love that enables me to know whereof I write and to cause what I may say to be accepted by you as true.

I want to tell you that the Love - of which we have been writing - is the only Love that can make a spirit or man at-one with the Father, and this my theme: The Atonement.

This word, as used in the Bible and as interpreted by the churches and the commentators on the Bible, carries with it a meaning of some price being paid by Jesus for the redemption of mankind from their sins and from the punishment that they will have to undergo because of having committed sin; and, also, the idea that God, as an angry and insatiable God, was waiting for the price to be paid in order for His wrath to become satisfied and for man to stand before Him acquitted of sin and the consequences of disobedience.

This price, according to the teachings of the churches and the persons named, must have been paid by one who in his goodness and purity was capable of paying this price; that is, one who had in him such inherent qualities and, by his sacrifices, was of such inherent worth as to satisfy the requirements of the demands of this angry God whose laws had been disobeyed. And they also teach that the only way by which such price could have been paid was by the death on the cross of Jesus, who was the only person in all creation that possessed these qualities sufficiently to meet these requirements; and that by his death and the shedding of his blood, the sins were atoned for and God was satisfied. This is the orthodox belief of the atonement and plan of salvation.

In short, a perfect human being free from all sin, a death on the cross and a shedding of blood, which was necessary that the sins of mortals might be washed away and their souls made clean and fitted to become a part of the great family of God.

But all this conception of the atonement is wrong and not justified by any teaching of the Master, or by any of the true teachings of the disciples to whom he had explained the plan of salvation and what the atonement means.

I know that in various parts of the New Testament, it is said that the blood of Jesus washes away all sin, and that his death on the cross satisfies the Father's demand for justice; and therein, there are many similar expressions conveying the same idea. But these sayings of the Bible were never written by the persons to whom they are ascribed, but by writers who, in their various translations and alleged reproductions of these writings, added to and eliminated from the writings of the original writers until the Bible became filled with these false doctrines and teachings.

The writers of the Bible, as it now stands, were persons who belonged to the church which was nationalized about the time of Constantine and, as such, had imposed upon them the duty of writing such ideas as the rulers or governors of this church conceived should be incorporated in the Bible for the purpose of carrying out their ideas in order to subserve the interests of the church and to give it such temporal power as it never could have had under the teachings and guidance of the pure doctrines of the Master.

For nearly two thousand years, this false doctrine of the atonement has been believed in and accepted by the so-called Christian churches and has been promulgated by these churches as the true doctrine of Jesus and the one upon which the salvation of man depends; and the consequences have been that men have believed that the only things necessary to their salvation and reconciliation to God were the death of Jesus and the washing away of their sins by the blood shed on Calvary.

If men only knew how futile his death was and how inefficacious his blood is to wash away sin and pay the debt to the Father, they would not rest in the assurance that all they have to do is to believe in this sacrifice and this blood, but would learn the true plan of salvation and make every effort in their power to follow that plan and, as a consequence, have their souls developed so that they would come into harmony with the Father's Love and Laws.

Atonement, in its true meaning, never meant the payment of a debt or the appeasing of the wrath of God, but simply the becoming at-one with Him in those qualities that will insure to men the possession of His Love and the Immortality that Jesus brought to light. The sacrifice of Jesus could have no possible effect upon the condition of man's soul qualities, and neither could the blood shedding make a vile and sinful soul pure and free from sin.

God's universe is governed by laws as immutable as they are perfect in their workings, and the great thing to be accomplished by the plan, which He provided for the redemption of men, is to have every man come into harmony with these laws, because just as soon as that harmony exists there, will be no more discord and sin will not be known to humanity. And so only that which will bring man into this harmony can possibly save him from his sins and bring about the atonement that Jesus and his disciples taught.

Man, when created, was endowed with what may be called a natural love, and that love, to the extent of the quality that it possessed, was in perfect harmony with God's universe, and so long as it was permitted to exist in its pure state was a part of the harmony of the universe; but when it became defiled or impregnated with sin or anything not in accord with God's Laws, it became inharmonious and not at-one with God, and the only redemption required was the removing of those things that caused the in-harmony.

Now, the only way in which this in-harmony could be removed was by the natural love becoming again pure and free from that which defiled it. The sacrifice on the cross could not furnish this remedy and neither could the blood atonement accomplish it, because the sacrifice and the blood had no relation to the evil to be remedied. So I assert, if these things paid the penalty and satisfied God and thereby He had no further claim upon man for any debt supposed to be due Him from man, it necessarily implies that He kept the souls of men in this condition of in-harmony and would not permit the same to be removed until His demands for satisfaction and blood had been met; and that then, when He should be appeased, He would permit men by His mere ipse dixit to again come in harmony with His Laws and the workings of His universe. In other words, He would be willing to let men remain out of harmony with His universe and the workings of His laws, until He had His demands for sacrifice and blood satisfied.

This, as is apparent to any reasonable man, would be a thing so foolish that no mere man in matters pertaining to his earthly affairs would adopt as a plan for the redemption of those sons of his who had been disobedient.

I see you have a caller and will continue later.

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

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

I am General Grant.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Your friend,
U.S. Grant

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

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

I am here, Caligula.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

John the Baptist Writes About the New Birth - God's Plan of Salvation

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

I am here, John the Baptist.

I desire to write to you tonight about a certain truth, which you must know in order to be able to teach others the importance of studying the plan of God for the salvation of man - I mean, that in order for men to be saved from their sins they must believe in the way that the Master shall teach you in his messages. I do not intend to dwell at large upon the New Birth, for that has already been told you of a number of times. But I want now to deal with the truth that this is the one thing that perfects mankind, and spirits as well, and enables them to obtain the soul qualities, which are absolutely necessary before a man can become at-one with the Father.

The other things which the churches teach as necessary sacraments, such as baptism, the laying on of hands, and the Lord's Supper, or communion, are things which are not necessary. They were never intended as being anything more than merely symbolical, and even as symbols, the last-mentioned does no good, but rather harm - for besides being used to remind the followers of Jesus of his communion with them before his sacrifice, they look upon it as something which saves a soul from sin and fits it for Heaven.

I want you to understand that all these things are not important to a soul's becoming at-one with God, and that mortals must learn the truth of what I say.

Many preachers, as well as laymen, believe that only the blood of Jesus can save from sin, and that his death was necessary for man's salvation; but I want to tell you that if he had died a natural death, beloved by all who knew him, and honored by the whole Jewish nation, his blood would have been just as efficacious, and his death just as important, as they were, because he was killed as a result of hatred and envy on the part of the Jewish authorities. In neither case would the blood or the death in one particular have anything to do with the salvation of men.

His living and teaching, and the making known to man the Great Gift of the Father, and the way to find the Gift and possess it, were the things that brought to man salvation. Jesus lived and taught and loved us; he did not die and suffer and make an atonement for us.

The living Christ is of more importance to our happiness and salvation than the dead Jesus, and so Jesus, himself, teaches. And he is not pleased with those who teach the dying Jesus instead of the living Christ. I, John, was and not only a precursor of the Master, but a follower, also, and it was not his blood or death that saved me, but his living and teaching me the way to obtain the Divine Love of the Father.

I am much interested in the salvation of all men, and want to do everything in my power to help men to learn the way to truth and light and Love. I am trying, as well as are many others of our band who are with you now, in carrying forward this work of showing men the truths which will lead them to the Father's Love.

I have only to say further that you must pray more to the Father and keep up your courage and belief in the Master, and all these things will be properly worked out to a final and happy conclusion.

I will not write more tonight. So with my love and blessings, I will say good night.

Your brother in Christ,
John the Baptist