Jesus Writes Further About "Who and What is God?"

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

I am here, Jesus.

I have been with you as you prayed and joined in your prayer to the Father for the inflowing of His Great Love into your soul in great abundance; and I know that His Holy Spirit is present and that His Love is flowing into your soul, and that you are becoming in at-onement with the Father. His Love will always come to you when you pray as you have tonight, and His listening ear is always open to the earnest aspirations of His children who come to him with the true longings of the soul.

You have the secret of reaching the Father's Love, and on all occasions when you feel that you need that Love, or desire a nearness to the Father, use the secret and you will not be disappointed.

You are in better condition tonight in your soul development and perceptions and can receive my message which I have desired for some time to communicate and to do which I was waiting only for you to be in a complete rapport with me.

Well, you will remember that in the early stages of our writings, I communicated to you my knowledge and conception of: "Who and what God is," and that I have recently told you that I desired to rewrite the message, as your condition is now so much better to receive these truths than it was when the message was written; and so, tonight, I will deliver the message and will take a more complete possession of your brain and control of your hand than I was able to do at the time mentioned.

Then the question is: Who and What is God?

In dealing with this question, you must realize that it is not so easy to describe in language that mortals can comprehend the Essence and Attributes of God, and I feel the limitations that I am under in endeavoring to give you a satisfactory description of the only and true God; not because of the paucity of knowledge and conception on my part, but because of the fact that you have not the required soul development to enable me to form the necessary rapport with you in order that through your brain may be expressed the exact truth as to who the Father is.

Well, to begin, God is Soul and Soul is God. Not the soul that is in the created man, but the Soul that is Deity and self-existent, without beginning or ending, and whose entity is the one great fact in the universe of being.

God is without form, such as has been conceived of by man in nearly all ages, and especially by those who believe in the Bible of the Hebrews, as well as in that of the Christians. But nevertheless, He is of form, which only the soul perceptions of the soul of a man, which has arrived at a certain degree of development, that is taken on the Divine Nature of the Father and, thus, become a part of the Soul of God can discern and realize as an entity. There is nothing in all nature with which men are acquainted or have knowledge of that can be used to make a comparison, even in the spirit perceptions, with this Great Soul; and, hence, for men to conceive of God as having a form in any manner resembling that of man, is all erroneous; and those who, in their beliefs and teachings deny the anthropomorphic God are correct.

But, nevertheless, God is of form such as to give him an entity and Substance and seat of habitation, in contradistinction to that God which, in the teachings of some men, is said to be everywhere in this Substance and entity - in the trees and rocks, and thunder and lightning, and in men and beasts, and in all created things, and in whom men are said to live and move and have their being. No, this concept of God is not in accord with the truth, and it is vital to the knowledge and salvation of men that such conception of God be not entertained or believed in.

To believe that God is without form is to believe that he is a mere force or principle or nebulous power and, as some say, the resultant of laws; which laws, as a fact, He has established for the controlling of His universe of creation, and which are expressed to men by these very powers and principles, that to some extent, they can comprehend.

The child has asked: "Who made God?"

And because the wise men cannot answer that question, in their wisdom, they conclude and assert that there can be no real God of personality or soul form and, hence, only force, principle or evolved laws can be God; and in their own conceit think that they have solved the question.

But the child may not be satisfied with the answer, and may ask the wise men: "Who made principle and force and laws that must be accepted as the only God?"

And then, the wise men cannot answer unless they answer: "God," which they do not believe, but which let me say, is the true and only answer.

God is back of force and principle and law, which are only expressions of His being, and which without Him could not exist; and they are only existences, changeable, dependent and subject to the will of God, who only, is Being.

God then, is Soul, and that Soul has its form, perceptible only to Itself, or that of man, which, by reason of the sufficient possession of the very Substance of the Great Soul has become like unto God, not in image only, but in very Essence. We spirits of the highest soul progression are enabled by our soul perceptions to see God and His form. But here, I use the words "see" and "form," as being the only words that I can use to give mortals a comparative conception of what I am endeavoring to describe.

When it is remembered that mortals can scarcely conceive of the form of the spirit body of a man, which is composed or formed of the material of the universe, though not usually accepted to be of the material, it will be readily seen that it is hardly possible for me to convey to them a faint idea even of the Soul form of God, which is composed of that which is purely spiritual - that is, not of the material, even though to the highest degree sublimated.

And although I am not able, because of the limitations mentioned, to describe to men that form which they may glean a conception of the Soul's form - as such form can be seen only with the soul's eye, which eyes men do not possess - it must not be believed that because men cannot understand or perceive the truth of the Soul's form, therefore, it is not a truth. A truth, though not conceived or perceived by men, spirits or angels, is still a truth, and its existence does not depend upon its being known; and even though all the mortals of earth, and the spirits and Angels of Heaven, save one, could not perceive the existence of that truth, yet its existence perceived by that one irrefutably proves its reality.

But, as I have said, the truth of God's form - the Soul's form can be testified to by more than one of the Celestial Spirits of men passed from earth; and the possibility is before mortals of the present life, in the great future, if their souls have become possessed of the Divine Substance of God's Love in sufficient abundance to perceive God as I have attempted to explain.

The created soul of man has its form, it being made in the image of God, yet man cannot see that form, although it is a fact and can be testified to by many in the spirit realms. And here it needs to be said that when in our message we speak of God as being without form, we mean any such form as men have or think they have conceived of, and our expressions must not be considered as contradictory to what I have tried to explain as the form of God.

Well, in addition to the form, God has a personality, and this is expressed and made known to man by certain attributes, which to the consciousness of man is existent in the universe; and to some philosophers and scientists and wise men these attributes are their impersonal God himself, and to them the only God. They make the created, the Creator, not realizing that behind the expression must be the Cause; and that greater than the attribute must be that from which the expression of the attribute is projected or, as they better like to say, evolved.

And here, I, who know, desire to say that these manifested attributes or forces and powers and principles and laws and expressions do not, all together, constitute or be that from which they flow or in which they have their source. God is Himself, alone. His Attributes or expressions manifested to mortals or spirits, are only the results or effects of the workings of His Spirit, which Spirit is only the active energy of His Soul - Himself. And, hence, the form of God is not distributed over the whole universe of creation where His attributes may be, or because they are everywhere manifested.

No, as was said by Moses of old, and as was said by me when on earth: God is in His Heavens. And although it may be surprising and startling to mortals to hear, God has His habitation, and God the Substance, the Self-existing and Soul form, has His locality, and men do not live and move and have their existence in God; but in His emanations and expressions and spirit they do.

As you are somewhat exhausted, I think this a good place to stop. I am pleased that you are in such good condition. So be prepared for an early resumption of the message.

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

Your brother and friend,
Jesus

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

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

I am here, Jesus.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Your brother and friend,
Jesus

Nathan Plummer Writes that He Now Has Hope and is Grateful for Help From Dr. Leslie R. Stone

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

I am here, Nathan PIummer.

Let me say a word now. I am not his (Dr. Leslie R. Stone's) mother and can't write as his mother does, but I am grateful. too, for I now have some hope and a part of the cause is what he told me while on earth.

He may not realize just how the things that he said to me may have this effect, but they have. For when the spirits of his friends told me of what I may hope for, if I will only believe and try to get the Love that they told me of then, I think of what he said to me and it becomes so much easier to believe what these spirits tell me.

I wish I could write longer, but I must stop. I am hoping and some light has come to me and I am following Forrest, who I know was as great sinner as I was and now a very beautiful sinner. I am commencing to learn some of those Heavenly things in Hell but it is hard, as I said.

Your old friend,

Nathan Plummer

**********

Postscript by Dr. Leslie R. Stone

I used to talk to Nathan Plummer when he was on earth of the great importance of praying to the Heavenly Father to fill his soul with His Divine Love, and he remembered what I told him. Forrest knew him when they both were on earth and were in darkness and suffering after they passed into the Hells.

Forrest wrote Mr. Padgett, and his band helped Forrest to progress and pray for Divine Love and obtained it and he became so much brighter. When Plummer saw the great change in Forrest's appearance, he asked how it was he was so much brighter in his spirit body. Then Forrest told him that he had written through Padgett for help and asked to meet a bright spirit that belonged to Padgett's band, and Forrest told Plummer that these bright spirits told him to pray for the Divine Love and some of this Love had come into his soul, shining through his spirit body, that made the great change in his appearance.

Plummer was so surprised to see this great change in Forrest's appearance and, as Plummer wrote Padgett, he knew what a great sinner Forrest was on earth. He then realized if Forrest could get out of the Hells there was hope without doubt, and it caused Plummer to seek by earnest prayer for the Divine Love and Plummer did and that enabled him to progress out of the dark condition into a brighter sphere.

As this message was written 47 years ago, I have no doubt both Plummer and Forrest must now be above the Seventh Sphere in the Celestial Heavens, where these Celestial Spirits are seeking and obtaining the Divine Love in increased progression nearer and nearer to the fountainhead of the Father with the consciousness of the certainty of Immortality.

Dr. L. R. Stone (1964)

Paul Writes About "What is the real body that is resurrected at the time of the physical death?"

October 4, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Paul.

Yes, I come tonight to write you upon a subject that may be of interest to you and important to all mankind. If you are in condition to receive my message I will write. Well, the subject is: "What is the real body that is resurrected at the time of the physical death?"

Of course, there will be but one resurrection and that takes place at the time the mortal becomes an inhabitant of the spirit world. There will never be what is called a general resurrection of the dead, for the mortal can die only once - I mean in a physical sense. In order to live in the spirit realms, it is necessary that he have a spirit body that preserves the identity of his individuality, and having this body (and never having been without it after the soul is incarnated in the earthly body) and not needing an additional body, there is no possibility of another resurrection, or of another body being added to the one that the soul already has.

The body that dies when the man ceases to be a mortal disintegrates into its elements, and never again do these elements form the same body that becomes decayed and, hence, it is impossible for that body to be resurrected. The only body that is ever resurrected is the body that encloses the soul of the mortal at the time he gives up the earth life.

I know that many believe that when the man dies, his conscious existence ceases, and he becomes, as it were, dead in body, soul and spirit; that although the physical body decays and returns to dust or ashes, yet the soul and spirit, in some mysterious and unexplainable manner, continues to exist as an unthinking sleeping entity not subject to sensation or activity, and so remains until the great day of judgment or of Christ's coming when, in response to the summons, it arouses itself, answers the summons, and again becomes clothed in the body which it possessed while in the human form. In their belief, it may not be the exact or identical body which once existed, but the new body will be one of flesh and blood and of such a nature as to be in substance the same body that was dead and buried and decayed.

But this is not true. For the very laws of nature, with which men are acquainted, prove the impossibility of such an occurrence. And many arguments have been formulated and declared to prove that such a resurrection cannot be - that it will be wholly impossible for the elements that constituted the old body to again assemble in the same form and give to the soul the body that it discarded when it experienced its freedom from the bonds of the flesh.

But the advocates of this untrue theory respond that God is all powerful and, in some way not understood by men, will resurrect this old body and clothe the soul therein so that the identity of the individual will appear. It must be remembered that God works and produces beings and entities in accordance with laws that he has established, and not by any special, sporadic act, irrespective of and, as said, in contravention of these laws.

Man understands, to some extent, the workings of these laws in what he calls nature, or the normal, and some spirits understand not only what man understands, but also the workings of these laws that may be called above nature or super-normal, and the laws work the same and without change or interference in the one case as in the other.

As it would be impossible to clothe a mortal having one body of flesh with another body of flesh, so in the spirit world it would be impossible to clothe the spirit who has a spirit body with any additional body, whether of flesh or other substance. This spirit body is a thing of real substance and not susceptible of being enveloped in any other body.

Well, I see that you are not in condition to write and I will postpone the remainder of the message until later. I have not written you for some time and am glad of the opportunity to again write. I understand what you mean and will act on your suggestion as I think it a very wise and desirable one. I will come more often and write. So with all my love I will say, good night.

Your brother in Christ,
Paul

**********

Paul Continues the Previous Message

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

I am here, Paul.

I will finish my message tonight if you are so inclined. Well, we will try.

As I was saying, the body that is resurrected at death is not the physical body, but the spirit body; and never after the first resurrection is there another. I am now dealing with the resurrection other than that of the soul, or the resurrection from the death of which I have before written you.

The body that is once laid in the grave will never be resurrected and neither will any of its elements enter into any other body for the purpose of a resurrection. The body of flesh is created for one purpose only, and when that purpose has been accomplished, never will that body or any derivation from it be used for any other resurrection. This body of flesh is of matter, and like all matter, is used for the life on earth only, and cannot be used for any function or clothing any spirit in the spirit world, and neither can it be translated into the spirit realms. All material bodies must die and never will there come a time when men can leave the earth and enter the spirit life in these material bodies.

I know that it has been written that certain of the prophets of old were translated into the spirit Heavens clothed in their fleshly bodies, but this is not true, for it is impossible that such a thing could be, for the same laws apply to the physical body of the saint as to that of the sinner; both are of the earth - earthly - and must be left behind when the spirits of men enter the Heavens of spirits.

So that when men believe and preach the general resurrection of the material body, or the special resurrection of the same, they are in error and do not believe or preach the truth. Flesh and blood, or flesh without blood, cannot inherit the kingdom, and no belief or teachings can make that true which is untrue.

I do not desire to write more on this subject, because many men who are acquainted with the Laws of Nature, and many more, who will become acquainted with these laws, know and will know and understand the impossibility of the material entering the realm of the spiritual. So thanking you for your kindness, I will say good night.

Your brother in Christ,
St. Paul

John Writes About the Purification of the Natural Love

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

I am here, St. John.

I want to write tonight on a subject that is important, and I hope that you will he able to receive my message, for I have been waiting for some time to deliver it. Well, I desire to discourse on the subject of: "What is the destiny of the mortal who has not experienced the New Birth, but who will progress to that condition which may be called the perfect man?"

As you know, there is a future for the mortal who receives the New Birth and a different one for him who has only the complete and pure development of his natural love. This latter condition does not depend upon the mortal having in his soul the Divine Love or the Essence of the Father, but merely upon the purification of the natural love so that all sin and error and inharmony form no part of his state of soul or mental existence. This condition is not the result of a New Birth, or of a change in the constituent elements of his soul, but merely the elimination of those things therefrom, which were the results and the necessary sequences of the defilement that followed the fall.

Now as man lost by this fall the qualities which made him the perfect creature of his Maker, it is only necessary for him to regain what he lost by that fall in order to become the perfect man once more; and in recovering this state of perfection, it is not required that he should seek - or actually add to the qualities which he at first possessed - any new or additional qualities or attributes, but only that he regain what he had been deprived of by his disobedience; and when that is accomplished, he will come again in harmony with the laws of his creation and have all the potentialities and excellence that he originally possessed.

And now, what will that future be? And in order to determine this question it is only necessary to understand what his inherent condition or qualities were when he was the perfect man of his Father's creation.

At that time he was possessed of those things of which he is now the possessor, except that then they were all so accurately adjusted that every sense and function of his body, as well as every faculty of his soul and mind, were so in harmony with the laws of his creation, that he was capable of doing the will of the Father, and obeying every requirement that was imposed upon him. He was then, not only a perfect being as regarding his physical formation, but also as regarding his mental and moral qualities which, of course, included all the emotions and appetites and spiritual aspirations. But, as we have written you before, all these faculties were subject to his will and, in a certain sense, his will was controlled by the exercise of these faculties.

His body was in the beginning made of matter, changeable as it now is, but of a more ethereal kind, and not subject to decay and disintegration in such a short time, as it now is, but yet, subject to this decay; and man, as regards his physical being, necessarily was compelled to die, and to have released his spirit body and his soul from this physical vesture, and thereafter exist as pure spirit. This was not the death that he died as a consequence of his disobedience, but the death natural to him, by reason of the very nature of his creation. His soul and spirit body were not subject to death in the sense of annihilation, but were given the qualities of continual existence in a pure and perfect state, and the only difference that the fall made as to these parts of his being, is that the purity and harmony that were men's are now no longer parts of his soul and spirit. Whether immortality was a quality of that existence, we spirits do not know, and therefore cannot assert, but as his created soul and spirit body had a beginning - mere creatures of the Father - it may be that they were intended to have an ending, as individualized soul and spirit.

Of course, they were created from something, and not from nothing, as some of your theologians say, and it is possible, in the order of change, which seems to be the law in the spirit world as well as in the mortal world, that this soul and spirit may be resolved again into that something. But as to this finality we do not have any knowledge because, so far as the observation of spirits in this world go, no soul or spirit body - and I mean the body as a composite whole and not as to its constituent elements - has ever been resolved into that something, or been deprived of its individualized existence. Therefore, I cannot say that when man was created, it was intended that, as man, he should not be immortal, or that he should be so.

But you will readily see, that after man shall have accomplished the purification of his soul and become in mind and spirit body, as it was intended he should be at the time of his creation, he will be nothing more nor less than he was at that time and have no other or greater qualities or freedom from limitations and changes than he had before his fall. Of course, he will have no physical body, and here let me say that there is no fact or experience known to the spirit world that justifies the assertion that man on earth will ever be immune to physical death. I know that some say, that in the far future men may make such progress in the development of their natural love that their condition of inner purity will be so great as to cause the physical bodies to become so etherialized as to render them free from physical death. But that I cannot conceive will ever happen, for men were made to become inhabitants of the spiritual realms and the short time they were decreed to live the earth life was for the purpose only of giving the soul an individualized existence.

Never was it intended that the physical form should have an eternity of existence, no matter how pure, or, as they say, etherealized it may become, for it was made of matter, of the earth, earthy, while the soul was made of that which had its origin in the spirit realm and composed of spirit substance, so that it cannot be conceived that in the beginning man was created for an immortal earth existence.

I see that you are tired, and I will finish later. I am glad that I could write tonight and also that you are in such good condition to receive my message. So with my love and blessings and assurances that you have every reason to keep up your courage and hope, I am

Your brother in Christ,
John

John Writes on "Why should men learn that they are not to be left to themselves in their conception of what life means..."

July 2, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, John.

I come tonight to tell you of a truth, which is important for you to know as well as for the world of mankind. I will not write a very long message, but what I may say will be the truth and every man should understand it and make it his own. I will not write upon any subject that you have been instructed upon before, but will deal with a subject entirely new and my subject is:

"Why should men learn that they are not to be left to themselves in their conceptions of what life means, and what its importance is in the economy of man's creation and destiny."

I know that this may seem to you to be a strange subject to write on, but it is one that should be of interest to all men who know that the earth life is very short and then eternity takes them into its embrace and never again permits them to become creatures of time.

Man lives and dies and never lives again according to the materialist, and he is as the brute animal without any future. But the spiritualist, and by that I mean those who believe that there is something more to man than the mere material, believes he lives and never ceases to live, although the physical body dies never to be resurrected again as such body. Now as we take either the one or the other of these views, the meaning of man's earth life assumes a very different aspect and calls for very different thoughts and actions on his part in living his life.

Of course, if what is called "death" is the end of things that man should do, or he should think he should do, as the old saying, "Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow you shall die," and with that death comes oblivion and forgetfulness never to be awakened again into consciousness, his mission in the universe is fulfilled, and he can no more experience the hopes or ambitions or joys or sorrows, which were his as a living man. But on the other hand, if man never ceases to live, then his thoughts and conduct should be turned towards the accomplishment of that, which will provide for him the best possible future.

Those of both opinions know that when death comes, the physical body can no longer be used, and those who believe in the continuous existence know that as the physical body perishes, man must have some other form or body in which may be lodged the consciousness of this continued existence, and that body must be as real as the one which he relinquishes. Such being the fact, the man who knows that death does not end all will naturally and necessarily seek to learn what that body of continued existence is like and what is necessary to enable him to obtain that body and thereby enjoy the living in eternity. And, thus, seeking he will not be satisfied to learn that that body is the mere spirit body, which has been his during all the years of his earth life but will desire to further learn what the relationship is between that body and the manner of living his earth life.

I know that of himself, man cannot to any degree discover this relationship, and that he must depend upon the teachings and experiences of those who have experienced the separation of the spirit from the physical in order to at all comprehend this relationship.

As one having had this experience, I wish to say that the spirit body is, of itself, a creation like as is the physical body and has its existence only for the purpose of preserving man's individuality and of containing and sheltering his soul, both while on earth and after he becomes a spirit.

Then his living means that he is placed on the earth merely to acquire an individuality, and to learn that within him is the soul, which is his real self and which he must cherish and educate and feed with the higher thoughts and goodness of his original creation and not neglect the opportunities that come to him for this development.

I know that this seems incoherent to you with no special object in view, but you are mistaken in thus thinking for the object will soon be seen. But as you are not just in condition for further writing tonight, I will postpone my writing until later. So trusting that you will not feel inclined to reject the message, I will say good night.

Your brother in Christ,
John

St. John Writes on: "What does the spirit of man do when it leaves the physical body for eternity?"

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

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

I come tonight to tell you a vital truth, which I know you will be interested in. The question has often been asked: "What does the spirit of man do when it leaves the physical body for eternity?"

Many spirits, I know, have written you about this matter and some of them have described their personal experiences, yet in all the information that you have received, there are some facts that have not been referred to, and I will in a brief way describe them.

When the spirit leaves the body, there is a breaking of the silver cord, as it is called, and thereby all connection between the spirit and the body is severed for all eternity - never again can that spirit enter that body, and neither can any other spirit, although, I know it is claimed by some spiritualists that another spirit may inhabit the cast-off body. But this is all wrong, for no spirit ever enters the body, which has once been the home of another spirit and, hence, claims made by some of the wise men of the East that such a thing can be, have no foundation in fact.

When the silver cord is once severed, no power that is known to the Spirit World, or among spirits of the highest sphere, can again resuscitate that body and cause the manifestation of life and, hence, in the miracles mentioned in the Bible where it is said that the dead were brought to life, it must be understood that this tie between the spirit and the body was never broken.

In those ancient days, as now, there were persons who had the appearance of being dead, and so far as human knowledge was concerned were dead, but who were really in a state of what may be called suspended animation  with no signs of life appearing to the consciousness of men. Death was thought to have taken place, yet in no case where the supposed dead were raised to life had the.mortal really died.

As Lazarus has already told you, when Jesus commanded him to come forth, he had not died, and so of all the other supposed dead who were called to life. When this tie has been once severed, there are certain chemical laws affecting the physical body, and certain spiritual laws affecting the spirit, which absolutely render it impossible for the spirit to again enter the body; and as you have been informed, we all, mortals and spirits and angels as well, are governed by laws which have no exceptions and never vary in their workings. So I say, when once the spirit and body separate, it is for all eternity, and the spirit then becomes of itself, a thing apart, controlled entirely and exclusively by laws governing the spirit body.

With the spirit's entry into the Spirit World comes the soul, still enclosed in that spirit body, and to an extent controlled by that body, which latter is also, in certain particulars, controlled by the soul. The spirit body has not, of itself, the power to determine its own location or destiny as regards place for the Law of Attraction, which operates in this particular, operates upon the soul, and the condition of the soul determines the location of itself, and as the spirit body is the covering of the soul, it must go where this Law of Attraction decrees the soul shall abide.

While the mind and the mental faculties and the senses have their seat in the spirit body, yet the Law that I speak of does not operate upon these faculties, as is apparent to every spirit, which he knows from observation as well as from experience, that the combined power of all these faculties cannot move a spirit body one step in the way of progress unless such faculties have, in their influence upon the soul, caused its condition to change; and in the matter of mere mental or moral advancement this can be done.

So, I repeat, the condition of the soul determines the locality as well as the appearance of the spirit body, and this Law of Attraction is so exact, that in its operations, there is no opportunity for chance to interpose, and place the spirit body in a location which is not its by reason of the operation of this Law. So that when the spirit body enters the Spirit World, it must go to and occupy the place which its enclosed soul determines that it shall occupy. No interposition of spirit friends or love of parent or husband or child can prevent this destiny; although for a time, until the soul has really had an awakening as to its condition of severance from the mortal life, these relations or friends may retain the spirit body near the place of its entrance into the spirit life, even though that place be one of more beautiful surroundings and happiness than the one to which it is destined. But this situation does not last long, for the Law works, and as the soul comes into full consciousness, it hears the call and must obey.

And, thus, you see friends and loved ones in spirit life meet with love and kindness and consolation, the newly arrived spirit, but the parting must come, and every soul must find its home according as its own qualities have determined. And yet the consolation mentioned is a real one, for in many instances, if it were not so, the lonely spirit would experience fear and bewilderment and all the unspeakable sensations of being deserted.

Then there comes a time, when every soul must stand alone, and in its weakness or strength realize that no other soul can bear its sorrow or take from its burdens or enter into its sufferings and, thus, is realized the saying that: "Each soul is its own keeper and alone responsible for its own condition."

Of course, in many cases the loving friends may visit that soul in its place of existence and offer consolation and help and encouragement and instruction, but in some cases this cannot be, for as this soul is then laid bare to itself, all its deformities, and sins and evil qualities come before it and, thus, throws around it a wall, as it were, that prevents the good friends and loving ones from appearing to it.

And, thus, again comes into operation the great Law of Attraction for while these more elevated friends, cannot come to that soul, yet other spirits of like souls and qualities may become its associates and render such assistance as the blind can lead the blind in their movings about. And I wish here to say, notwithstanding what some of your spiritualistic teachers have said, that the soul has its location as well as its condition.

The above condition that I have described is the destiny of some souls shortly after becoming spirits, and it is a deplorable one, and you may think that such souls are deserted by the loving influences of God's ministering spirits, and left all alone in the dreary places of their habitations. But such is not the case, for while they are deprived of the presence to them of the higher spirits, yet, the influences of love and compassion are flowing from these spirits, and at sometime will be felt by the lonely ones, and as these influences are felt the poor souls commence to have an awakening, which gradually causes the wall of their seclusion to disappear until at some time, the higher spirits find that they can manifest their presence to these unfortunate ones.

And besides this, every spirit, no matter how fallen, has a work to do, even though it may appear insignificant, and among these spirits of similar conditions some are a little more progressed than others, and by reason of a Law which causes the more progressed to help the lesser, the latter are frequently helped from their low estate.

Now what I have last written applies, of course, to the spirits who are wicked and vile and without any soul development in the way of goodness, but a similar principle enters into the conditions of all the spirits in the earth plane, although the higher they are in that plane the greater opportunities they have for receiving help and progressing. Of these latter, and the operation of the mental thoughts and moral qualities upon the condition and progress of the soul, I will write you later.

I have written enough for tonight, and leaving you my love and blessings, I will say good night.

Your brother in Christ,
John

Samuel the Prophet Writes About the Incarnation of the Soul

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

I am here, Samuel.

Yes, Samuel, the prophet.

Well, I will not write long tonight, as I merely want to say that you are much better in your spiritual condition, and the rapport between us is so much greater than heretofore. Tonight, I desire to say one word on the subject of my knowledge of how a soul is born into the flesh and becomes an individualized person.

I heard what Luke wrote you, and I agree with him in his explanation of the character and qualities of the soul in its state before its incarnation; but I want to add one other thing to what he wrote and, that is, that when the soul first separates into its two component parts, and one of these parts enters into the physical body, the other part remains a mere soul, invisible even to us, but having an existence of which we are conscious and hovers close to the earth plane seeking the opportunity to also incarnate and become individualized; and this happens within a short time after the separation from the half that has already incarnated. Of course, when I say a short time, I do not mean in a few months or even a few years, because sometimes there is a space of several scores of years between the two incarnations; but such time seems short to us who know nothing of time.

The soul, which remains as Luke has told you, as well as the soul that enters the human body, loses its consciousness of having been a part only of one complete soul, and of its relationship to the other part of that soul and exists in the supposition that it is still a complete soul and needs no other soul to make it complete. This is a provision of the Father's goodness, so that the soul that continues in its pristine existence will not become lonely or unhappy.

You will naturally ask how I know this, as we have said these souls are not visible to us, and I can only answer that we spirits who have developed our souls to a high degree have acquired certain faculties, or what you may call senses, which enable us to know these things. It is not necessary that we should see these unindividualized souls in order to know of their existences and the qualities that they possess any more than it is that we should be able to see the Great Oversoul of the Father in order to understand its qualities and attributes and existence. I know it is hard for you to understand this, and I cannot now satisfactorily explain it, for your senses of the earth life are not capable of comprehending the explanation, but what I tell you is true.

We often see the birth of the two parts of the souls into mortals and know that such souls then, for the first time, assumes a shape and form, for this invisible image of God fills the whole of the spirit body, and from that body assumes or receives its form, and thereby becomes individualized. The soul is the life of the spirit body and never leaves it during the earth life of the mortal; and comes with it at the death of the physical body, and remains a part of it during all the time of the existence of the spirit body in the spirit world. Whether it can ever become lost is a question upon which I shall write you later. You will remember that Jesus said, according to the Bible, "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul?"

I will say this, though, at this time that a man may retain his soul as a fact and yet have a consciousness of having lost it, and he is then as if he had no soul.

I have said to you what I intended to write, because Luke had omitted to speak of the condition of that half of the soul that remained in the spirit world after the other half had been incarnated.

Matters of this kind, though, are not important as regards the salvation of man, or the perfecting of his soul to such a degree that that soul may become at-one with the Great Soul, having what it did not possess before its seeking a dwelling place in the flesh and, that is, the Divine Nature of the Father and immortality as an individualized, never dying person.

As we proceed in these writings, you will understand the importance of the soul's becoming incarnated, and then leaving the flesh and again returning to the spirit spheres. And you will also learn that the doctrine of evolution is to an extent correct, but not as commencing from an atom or from an animal inferior to man. Back of and greater than this doctrine of evolution is the great and more Divine doctrine of involution; for if the soul had not come from above and been placed in the physical man, there would never have been any evolution; and if the soul had never received its individualized existence by coming into the body of the human, it would never have evolved to the Divine Nature, as well as to the individualized being that follows that incarnation.

When I say the Divine Nature, I do not mean that all souls, either on earth or in the great eternity, necessarily receive that Divine Nature, for many of them do not and never will; but all, no matter whether they come into the Divine Nature or retain the nature which was theirs in their preexistence, will become individualized personalities, and which will be theirs so long as that soul and its spirit body shall continue to exist.

I have written enough for tonight, but will come again and write you other truths. So with my love and blessings,

I am your brother in Christ,
Samuel

St. Paul Writes About the Truth of the Resurrection

January 16, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, St. Paul, of the New Testament.

I come tonight to tell you of a truth that is important for men to know and which you must place in your Book of Truths. I have written you before on my alleged writings as they are contained in the Bible and which, as I have said, were not written by me as they there appear.

I desire tonight to write for a short time on the subject of the "Resurrection," because, as I see, the church doctrine of the resurrection is founded more on what is ascribed to me than on the writings of the Gospels, though the latter also contain a basis for the doctrine.

I never said there would be a resurrection of the physical body nor of the individual clothed in any body of flesh, but my teachings were that man at death would rise in a spiritual body, and that not a new one made for the special occasion of his departure from the material body, but one that had been with him through life and that came into an individualized form when he first became a living being.

This spirit body is necessary to man's existence and is that part of him which contains his senses and is the seat of his reasoning powers. Of course, the organs of the physical are necessary for the utilization of these senses and without these organs, there could be no manifestations of the senses, which are inherent in the spirit body. Even if a man should lose the perfect workings of his physical organs of sight, yet the power of seeing would still exist in him, although he might not be able to realize that fact; and this same principle applies to the hearing and the other senses.

So when man loses his physical organs, which are necessary for him to see with, he is dead as to sight, just as dead as he ever becomes with reference to all the other organs of sense when the whole physical body dies; and were it possible to restore these physical organs that are necessary to enable him to see or hear, he would be able to see and hear just as he was before their loss. The restoration of these organs does not, of itself, bring him the power to see and hear, but merely enables the faculties of sight and hearing to again use the organs for the purpose of manifesting the powers, which are in and a part of the spirit body.

When the whole physical body dies, the spirit body at the very time of death becomes resurrected and with all these faculties of which I have spoken and thereafter continues to live free and unencumbered from the material body, which these organs being destroyed can no longer perform the objects of its creation. It becomes dead, and thereafter never has any resurrection as such material body, although its elements or parts do not die, but in the workings of God's laws enter upon other and new functionings, though never that of reuniting and forming again the body that has died.

So the resurrection of the body, as taught by me, is the resurrection of the spiritual body, not from death, for it never dies, but from its envelopment in the material form which had been visible as a thing of apparent life.

There is a law controlling the uniting of the two bodies and the functioning of the powers and faculties of the spirit body through the organs of the physical body that limits the extent of the operations of these faculties to those things that are wholly material - or which have the appearance of the material - and when I say material I mean that which is grosser or more compact than the spirit body. Thus, these faculties of sight of the spirit body can, through the organs of the material body, see what are called ghosts or apparitions as well as the more material things, but never, in this way, see things of pure spirit. And when it is said that men or women see clairvoyantly, which they do, it is not meant or is it a fact, that they see through the organs of the physical eyes; but on the contrary, this sight is one purely spiritual, and its workings are entirely independent of the material organs.

Now when this body - the material - dies, the spirit body becomes resurrected, as it is said, and free from all the limitations which its incarnation in the flesh has imposed, and it is then able to use all its faculties without the limitations or help of the physical organs and, as regards the sight, everything in nature, both material and spiritual, becomes the object of its vision; and that which the limitations of the material organs prevented its seeing and which to men is the unreal and non-existent becomes the real and truly existing.

This, in short, is what I meant by the resurrection of the body; and from this you will realize that the resurrection is not to take place at some unknown day in the future, but at the very moment when the physical body dies and, as the Bible says, in the twinkling of an eye. This saying of the Bible attributed to me, I did write and teach. This resurrection applies to all mankind, for all who have ever lived and died have been resurrected and all who shall live hereafter and die will be resurrected.

But this resurrection is not the "Great Resurrection" upon which, in my teachings, I declared the great truth of Christianity to be founded. This is not the resurrection of Jesus that I declared "without which is our faith as Christians vain." This is the common resurrection, applicable to all mankind of every nation and race, whether they have a knowledge of Jesus or not. And many times in many nations has it been demonstrated before the coming of Jesus, that men had died and appeared again as living spirits in the form of angels and men, and were recognized by mortal men as spirits who had a previous earth existence.

So I say, this is the resurrection common to all men; and the coming and death and resurrection of Jesus, as taught by the churches, did not bring the Great Resurrection to the knowledge or comfort of men and did not furnish the true foundation upon which the true Christian belief and faith rest.

Many of the infidels, agnostics and spiritualists assert and claim and truly that the resurrection of Jesus, as above referred to, was not a new thing and did not prove to humanity a future life any more convincingly than had been proved before his time by the experiences and observations of men and followers of other sects and faith, and of no faiths at all.

The great weakness of the church today is that they claim and teach as the foundation of their faith and existence this resurrection of Jesus as set forth above; and the result is, as is plainly and painfully apparent to the churches themselves, that as men think for themselves, and they are doing more than ever in the history of the world, they refuse to believe in this resurrection as sufficient to show the superiority of Jesus' coming and mission and teachings over those of other reformers and teachers who had preceded him in the world's history of faiths and religions. And as a further result, the churches are losing their adherents and believers. Christianity is waning and rapidly, and agnosticism is increasing and manifesting itself in the forms of free thought societies and secularism, etc.

Hence, you will see the necessity of making known again to mankind the true foundationstone of the real Christianity that the Master came to teach and which he did teach, but which was lost as his early followers disappeared from the scene of earthly action and practice and men of less spiritual insight and more material desires, with their ambition for power and dominion, became the rulers and guides and interpreters of the church.

There is a Resurrection, though, that the Master taught, and his apostles when they came into a knowledge of taught, and which I as a humble follower taught, which is vital to man's salvation and which is the true foundation of true Christianity; and which no other man, angel or reformer ever before taught or has since taught.

It is too late tonight to explain this Resurrection, but I will come again very soon and try to make it plain to you and to the world. I will now say good night and God bless you and keep you in His care.

Your brother in Christ,
Paul

* * * * * * * * * *

Jesus Confirms St. Paul's Message on the Resurrection   

I am here, Jesus.

I am pleased that Paul was able to write you so successfully as he did upon the two subjects, which I know will prove to be interesting to you and the one that Paul wrote about is very vital to the beliefs of man, for upon the question of the resurrection is founded the doctrine of what is called Christianity, and I must say that that foundation as explained by the orthodox churches and the commentators on the Bible is a very weak foundation and very vulnerable to the assaults of those who are not satisfied with the authority of the Bible or the explanations of its teachings as they now exist. Paul will finish this most important message, and let me impress upon you to make the effort to get in the best condition for receiving it correctly.

Well, I will not write more tonight, but only further say that I am with you in my love and influence and trying to help you in the ways of which we have written you. With all my love and blessings, I will say good night.

Your brother and friend,
Jesus