Jesus Writes that He was Present with James E. Padgett and Dr. Leslie R. Stone During Their Discussion of Spiritual Things

July 19, 1920
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

Let me write a few lines as I see that you are in a better condition tonight and feel that you would like to hear from me. Well, my dear brother, you must know that always we are anxious and ready to write, and it is only because your condition is such that we cannot form the rapport that enables us to come to you and give expression to our thoughts.

I have been with you this evening as you and your friend (Dr. Leslie Stone) discussed spiritual things of the future and saw that a new awakening had taken place in your soul and I felt very glad that such was the fact. It is useless for us to attempt to communicate when you are not in condition, for you would not understand just what we desire to convey, even if we could transmit our thoughts. But in the mere physical act of writing, you must have a soul development or opening up to the truths that are ours, and which become yours when you are attuned to receive them.

I will tell you of one fact that may be helpful to you both and that is that many of your spirit friends are surrounding you, always ready to help you and inform you of their love. This is not said in the way of merely assuring you that you are very seldom alone, but of impressing on you the fact that only upon yourself depends the Love - words of these spirits in making known to you, consciously, that they are present and have thoughts to convey that are worthwhile. Nothing frivolous or immaterial to your soul's growth, but always that which will cause you to know that they are true, thinking, loving friends.

Very soon now, I will come and write again about the great vital truths of the Father that are necessary for man to grasp and understand. Keep up your faith and pray to the Father, and ask for a bestowal of this Love in increased abundance, and you will be like the man who while all adrift at sea, yet realizes that around him are those things that will save him and bring him safely to shore.

I will not write more now. Good night, and God bless you both.

Your friend and brother,
Jesus

Jesus Writes that the Divine Truth Must Be Declared to all Mankind

May 2, 1920
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

Let me write for I am anxious to tell you that you are in a much better condition than you have been for a long time, and your thoughts of today and especially of tonight have put you in a spiritual condition, and if you continue in these thoughts and longings, you will soon enable us to make the rapport by which we can continue our messages with greater frequency and with exact expression of what we desire to convey.

I have been with you a great deal today and have tried to exercise upon your soul and mind an influence that will cause you to more fully realize the responsibility that rests upon you and the importance of the work that you are to do. I was with you at church this morning and saw the impression made upon your mind by the preacher, when he asked the question - if anyone had anything to offer that would show him that he had not grasped all of the truth as to the spiritual things, as he called them, that would cause men to aspire for and obtain a higher course of living - and also saw that you realized that your work, if carried to its conclusions, would answer that question.

And so you must think of this question and try with all the powers that have been given you to learn these truths, so they can be made known - not only to the preachers of the so-called Christian Churches but to all mankind. You already have truths enough to show this minister that he is not preaching the true Christian spirituality that I came to the world to teach, and did teach, and that he must not rest satisfied with his knowledge of spiritual things but must seek for more light and truth, and then make them a part of his own possessions, and teach them to the world of men, and especially those to whom he has the opportunity of ministering.

I am much pleased that you are in so much better condition of soul, and want you to persist in your efforts to obtain more of the Love of the Father, and then you will be able to bring true enlightenment to the unthinking and unknowing world, of the truths that are so vital to their salvation.

I was also with you tonight and saw the impression made on you by the preacher when he set forth Samuel as he then was, as an example to be followed by the true seekers after the important things that lead to spiritual regeneration and perfect manhood, and was glad that you could appreciate how far the character of Samuel fell short of what is necessary to make a man the Divine Angel, or even the perfect man. The preacher does not experience the truth of the Divine Love in his soul, and in fact has not even an intellectual knowledge of its existence and operations. He believes that I am God, and that my blood washes away the sins of all men who believe in me; and thus thinking, he is satisfied to rest upon the promise of the Gospels, which he accepts as the true teachings of me.

Samuel is now here, and was with you at the church, and realized how devoid he was, at the time spoken of by the preacher, of that thing which was necessary to his salvation. And that his demand upon the people to behold him, and then bring any charge of unrighteousness that they could against him and his conduct as a servant and prophet of Jehovah. This is a very pretty story and to a certain extent contains in it a teaching of the moral laws that works for good, but it is not more important than many other things contained in the Old Testament. Samuel will come sometime and write you of his life on earth, and his ministry as a servant of Jehovah.

Well my dear brother, I will not write more tonight, but will soon come and write an important message, which I know will not only benefit but interest you. Well, I will write on the subject that you suggest, for this is an important thing for men to know, as so many think they are doing God's Will in their various courses of living and in their various forms of worship. His Will is one that corresponds with all the laws that affect man in every way, and men must know what this Will is.

I will come soon and write on this subject and hope that you may be successful in receiving my message as I intend to deliver it. With my love and blessing, and the assurance that I will be with you in all times of need and try to direct you in your thoughts, I will say good night.

Your friend and brother,
Jesus

A.G. Riddle Writes that Heaven is a Real Place of Matieral Substance as well as a Condition of the Soul

February 27, 1920
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

Let me write a short time tonight as I see that you are anxious to hear from some of your friends in the spirit world.

I have not written for a long time, though, I have been desirous to do so, and tonight will say only a few words in reference to my progress and happiness in my condition as a Celestial Spirit, for I am now in the Celestial Heavens, and know the truth of many things that have been written you.

It is a little difficult for me to recite to you the wonders of these Heavens and the perfect happiness that is enjoyed by those spirits that have found their home and abiding place in the many mansions that Jesus spoke of while in the flesh. You must know that Heaven is a place as well as a condition, notwithstanding the fact that so many of the spiritualists teach that it is only a condition or state of the soul. No, this is not all of the truth, but is a great part of the truth; for the condition of the soul determines just what Heaven it shall occupy and find its harmony and happiness in; but the all-loving Father has provided that the soul shall have a place corresponding to its condition in which it may live and progress.

If Heaven were only a state of the soul, then it would not be a real, existing thing, with the substance and reality that the soul, even in its state of bliss, must have as a necessary accompaniment to the enjoyment of what the Father has provided for its true condition of living. Heaven, as a place, is real and independent of the state of the soul, though it is necessary for the soul to be in a corresponding state in order that it may enter into this Heaven and fully realize that it is a home suitable for its condition and enjoyment.

If it, I mean Heaven, were not a real objective and perceptible place, then the soul would be limited by its own condition that would be very narrow, as I may say, and confined to the limits of its own state and separated from the states of other souls and without the social intercourse that makes Heaven a place of such happiness and contentment. Every soul would then be in the condition of the ascetic in human life, and introspection and contemplation would be the source and only means of possible bliss, and knowledge of those things that are spoken of as beyond the heart of man to conceive of, and which are truly and certainly provided by the Father's Love for the continuous and never-ending progress of the soul towards higher and greater enjoyment would have no real, conscious existence in that soul.

As man, in his earth life in which condition of the soul determines his Heaven, is provided with those surroundings and material things that are intended to make him happy or miserable, so in the Heavens things material are provided to enable the soul of man to better enjoy its own condition. The things of Heaven are not all spiritual, as conceived by so many men, but are partly composed of the material of the universe and are so constituted and formed as to supply the desires and wishes of the soul with that which will satisfy the soul's longings for beauty and harmony and perfect enjoyment.

In the several Heavens are homes, real and substantial, suited to the states of the souls and differing as those states differ in their requirements. These material things are not subjective as so many mortals teach, but are objective as are things of earth and are the objects of sight and touch and of the other spiritual senses.

When I desire to go into a city, and indulge my desires, I find a city with streets and avenues and houses and other things that belong to a city, just as do you mortals of earth when you visit your cities; and so, when I desire to go into the country and enjoy the fields and hills and streams and gardens, they are all here, real and existing, and not the subjects of mere thoughts or state of my soul; and when I am absent from city or country, that city or country continues to exist in all its beauty and magnificence just as truly as when I am present.

Men must know that the soul in its Heavenly life requires these material things and has them, just as a soul when enveloped in a body of flesh requires the material things of earth. While the condition of the soul determined its place of living, yet that place is also existing and real and awaits the coming of that soul in a condition of harmony.

In these Heavens, there is nothing nebulous or impalpable or only a reflection or image of the soul's condition, but everything is real and substantial and lasting as the eternal hills; and when the soul finds a habitation, it is not the effect of its own condition, but a place already prepared for the habitation of that soul and in accord with its true condition. Otherwise, Heaven would be a place of confusion and of appearances and disappearances, with no stability or abiding qualities, and the many mansions, spoken of by Jesus as existing in his Father's house, would have no real, permanent being, but depending for their creation and existence upon the mere state of the soul. The mansions are there and change not, and whether or not they shall have occupants depends upon the harmony of souls in their correspondence with the harmony of God's Laws creating these mansions.

l have written you this short description of the Heavens, as based upon my knowledge and experience, devoid of speculation or metaphysical musings. I am glad that I could write you again.

I am very happy and know that the Divine Love of the Father is a thing real and transforming, and the all sufficient thing to create in the souls of men, and of spirits, that state which will enable them to have and enjoy the mansions of the Father in the Highest Heavens. I will not write more now. Good night.

Your friend and brother in Christ,
A.G. Riddle

Jesus Writes about the Incarnate Soul

February 15, 1920
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

I am here as I promised last night and will write on the subject of the Incarnate Soul.

You may have observed in your studies of the different theories of the creation of man that always the question has arisen as to the relationship of the spiritual and physical; that is, as to the soul and the material body. I know that many theories have been set forth as to how and when the soul became a part of the physical body and what was the means adopted by the Laws of Nature, as they are called, for the lodgment of the soul into that body, and the relationship that one bore to the other. Of course, this applies only to those mortals who believe that there is a soul separate in its existence and functionings from the mere physical body; as to those who do not believe in the distinctive soul, I do not attempt to enlighten but leave them to a realization of the fact when they shall have come into the spirit world and find themselves existing without such body, but really existing, with the consciousness that they are souls.

When the physical body is created, it has no consciousness of its having been created, for it is merely of the unconscious creations that are of the other material creatures of nature and does not feel or sense in any degree the fact that it is a living thing dependent upon the proper nourishment of its mother for its growth and continued life in accordance with the Laws of Nature and the objects of its own creation. The father and mother, being necessary to the creation or formation of this merely animal production, know only that in some way there has come into existence an embryo thing that may eventuate into a human being like unto themselves.

If this thing were allowed to remain without the soul, it would soon fail to fulfill the object of its creation and disintegrate into the elements of which it is formed and mankind would cease to exist as inhabitants of the earth. This physical part of man is really and only the result of the commingling of those forces that are contained in the two sexes, which according to the Laws of Nature, or of man's creation, are suited to produce the one body fitted for the home of the soul that may be attracted to it to develop its individuality as a thing of life and possible immortality.

The result of this commingling is intended only as a temporary covering or protection for the growth of the real being and does not in any way limit or influence the continuous existence of the soul, and when its functions have ended, the soul, which has then become individualized, continues its life in new surroundings and in gradual progression and the mere instrument used for its individualization is disseminated into the elements forming its appearance and substance. As this body was called from the elements for a certain purpose, when that purpose shall have been served, it returns to these elements.

This body, of itself, has neither consciousness nor sensation, and in the beginning has only the borrowed life of its parents, and then when the soul finds its lodgment, it has only the life of the soul; for the human life can exist only so long as the soul inhabits the body, and after such habitation commences, the borrowed life of the parents ceases to exercise any influence, or directing force, on the body. This, then, is really the true description of the physical body, and if it were all of man, he would perish with its death and cease to exist as a part of the creation of the universe of God.

But the soul is the vital, living and never dying part of man - is really the man - and the only thing that was intended to continue an existence in the spirit world. It was made in the image of God, and there is no reason for its existing for the continuing companionship of the physical body. And when men say or believe that the body is all of man and when it dies, man ceases to exist, they do not understand the relationship or functioning of soul and body and know only the half truth, which is visible to their senses; that the body dies and can never again be resuscitated. This is a determined fact and all arguments by analogy to show that man must continue to live notwithstanding the death of that body are not apposite and very inconclusive.

All these analogous appearances only show that the objects of the analogy ultimately die, and thus fail to prove that these objects are eternal, just as much as if there had never been any change in their condition or appearance. The final demonstration is that they die, and when this analogy is applied to man, it must show that he dies also and is no more. But the questions are asked:

"Whence comes the soul? By whom created? How does it become incarnated in man and for what purpose, and what is its destiny?"

First let me state that man has nothing to do with the creation of the soul, or its appearance in the flesh. His work is to provide a receptacle for its coming - a mere host, as it were, for its entry into the flesh, and existence as a mortal or in the appearance of a mortal. But his responsibility in this particular is very great, for man can destroy that receptacle, or care for it so that the soul may continue in earth life a longer or shorter time. And while this receptacle is the creation of man and without him it could not be brought into existence, yet the soul is no part of his creation and is independent of the body; and after the earth life in the spirit world, it will cease to remember that it was ever connected with or dependent upon the creation of its parents. The soul, in the spirit life as a truth, is so separated from and dissociated with that body, which was its home while in the earth life that it looks upon it as a mere vision of the past and not a subject for its consideration.

As has been told you, the soul was created by the Father long before its appearance in the flesh and awaited such incarnation for the purpose only of giving it an individuality, which it did not have in its preexistence, and in which it has a duplex personality - male and female - that is needed to be separated and made individual. We, who have had this preexistence and incarnation in the flesh and have obtained this individuality, know the truth of what I have here stated.

There is a law of God controlling these things that renders these preexisting souls capable of knowing the desirability of incarnation and they are always anxious and ready for the opportunity to be born in the flesh and to assume the separate individuality that they are privileged to assume. As men provide the receptacle for their appearing and homing, as it were, they become aware of the fact and take advantage of the opportunity to occupy the receptacle and become ostensibly a human being with the necessary result of individuality.

I am glad that you are in a better condition and will continue the messages as we have been desiring to do for some time. I shall be with you and help you in every way and hope that you will keep up your faith and prayers to the Father. Good night and God bless you.

Your brother and friend,
Jesus

Jesus Writes that Man is Spiritual and Must Have Spiritual Food and is Anxious to Continue Writing Messages

February 14, 1920
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

Well, my disciple, I realize that your desires are that I shall deliver a message to you tonight, and I am anxious to do so, yet I see you are not in condition that I may take possession of your brain that is necessary in order to write satisfactorily. I am sorry that this is so, but it is a fact, and we will have to wait awhile longer, which will not be very long, for you are much improved, and if you continue to pray you will soon become in that soul condition that will enable me to make the rapport.

There are many messages yet to be written and I am anxious that you receive them in order that they may be delivered to the world, for the world is now awakening to a greater realization of the fact that man is spiritual and must have spiritual food. The war is causing many people to think of the hereafter and the destiny of the soul; and the knowledge that the world now has of the future life is very meager and unsatisfactory, merely a knowledge that the spirit survives death and experiences more or less happiness in the spirit life.

As you know, this is not the vital thing in the destiny of man, for while a knowledge of the survival of man from the death of the physical may and does give a great deal of consolation to the near and dear ones who are left on earth, yet that fact does not, in the slightest degree, determine the condition or destiny of the soul that has left its home in the flesh; and there are no means, now known to men, to show that destiny, except some things written in the Bible, which are the subjects of much speculation and controversy and want of belief. The consolation of those who have faith in the Bible is founded on that faith, or rather, in most cases, belief; but there are a number of believers in the truths of the Bible with a conscious soul perception of their real meaning, who have that faith which makes certain to them the facts of destiny and the possession of love in their souls.

I will come soon and endeavor to write a formal message; in the meantime let your prayers ascend with more earnestness and longings to the Father. As you know, I love you as my brother and disciple, and am with you as you pray each night, uniting in our prayers, and you must let your faith increase and believe that your prayers are being heard, and will be answered to the fullest. I will not write more now.

So my brother, good night, and may the Father bless you with His greatest blessings.

Your brother and friend,
Jesus

Jesus Writes About God and His Personality

April 7, 1919
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

Let me write a few lines. I see that you were much interested in what the preacher (Dr. Swain) said tonight about God and His personality, and that you gave him several questions, which he could not answer. This must be expected, for to men is not given ordinarily a true conception of God, or who or what He is, and only by the development of their souls by the Divine Love can they obtain any conception of His being. As their souls thus develop, they become a part of His Divinity, and their soul perceptions become opened up to a realization of who God is, to a small degree at least, and then they know that He is something more than an all enveloping energy, supplemented by a purposeful will.

The preacher has not these soul perceptions and cannot conceive of God, the Soul, but can only express to you the truthfulness of the evidences of God's existence, such as the energy that he spoke of.

As you know, this energy is His Spirit, although the preacher has not the exact conception of what this Spirit is or how it operates. He confuses the soul and spirit, and makes the mere instrument by or with which God expresses His energy to be the real true substance of God, the Soul. He is right when he says that he cannot go back of this energy to find God, for his soul perceptions have not yet been awakened to a cognition of that from which the energy proceeds, or which is the very source from which flows all the manifestations that, to his mind, constitute God.

He is like the theologians and philosophers, who believe that these manifestations and energies and forces are the only God, the only personal God; and he may be shocked to hear that his teachings amount to only this. But it is true, and to him there is no more personal God than to the others, with this exception; that he attempts to believe that in some manner and in some way connected with this energy, there is a Will which has in it a purpose of love or kindness or fatherly care; but the real personal God, with his Great Soul of Love which is being always bestowed upon the individual man, he does not conceive of or make his own.

God is Soul, and only Soul, which has in it all the attributes of Love and wisdom and thought for the welfare of His creatures. He is a thinking and seeing God, and all the energies of His Soul are used to make men better and happier. As is the natural father of the man a personal father, so is the Great Soul of God, a Personal Father to all His children; and men when they have the development of their souls in the Divine Love will know that God is personal - something more than an all enveloping energy or force or mere manifestation of His existence.

The preacher says, in substance, that God is everywhere, and His presence may be realized by all who are willing to receive that manifestation, and that whether they are or not willing, that presence exists just the same. This is pantheism, toned down a little by his beliefs in a more personal God, but still pantheism, and wholly wrong and violative of God's being.

The source of things can never be the things themselves, although the things as they flow from the source have some of the qualities of the source itself, and so these manifestations of God's existence, while they are of His qualities, yet they are not equivalent of His presence or the source from which they flow. God is not everywhere, but in His Heavens, and all these expressions of His powers and will and energies are merely evidences that there is a source from which they all come, and they are not that source itself.

And again, the preacher said that God created the body of man and not the spirit, as he calls it, meaning the soul, so that the body is a creation by itself and cannot contain in it the spirit or the spirit body, but that this spirit is outside of the human body and is, in a general way, a part of one Great Spirit that is universal and everywhere and that, therefore, all men, no matter what their conditions may be in the earth life or in the eternity part of life, are brothers, and God is the Father of them all.

Well in this the preacher is mistaken, for every man has his own individual spirit and soul, and on the state or condition of that soul depends the happiness or misery of the man; and he is merely the brother of other men because he is a creature of God and made in his image, and not because he is a part of the universal spirit, which the preacher believes permeates everything and exists everywhere. And God is the Father, because these children are His creatures, the objects of His creation, and individualized, each working out his own destiny. As we have told you, some of these children will always remain the merely created children, while others will partake of His Divine Love and become a part of His divinity and inhabitants of the Celestial Spheres.

The preacher has many things to learn, and as he believes in the search for the truth, if he will let the Divine Love flow into his heart and transform his soul into the very essence and substance of the Father's divinity, he will be able to learn many things spiritual as well as of things material are governed by law, and unless the soul gets into a condition that enables it to see and realize the higher truths of the spirit world, it can never obtain knowledge of things spiritual, and one of the objects of such knowledge is God.

Well, I have written enough and will stop. With my love, I will say good night.

Your brother and friend,
Jesus

Robert Dale Owen Writes about His Book on the Phenomena of Spiritualism and Says He Never Heard of Divine Love

February 11, 1919
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Robert Dale Owen.

Let me say just a word, for I am interested in your work and in the phenomena of spiritualism. I have been with you as you read the book, which attempts to show the truth of spiritual manifestations, and the instances mentioned of spirits showing themselves in the garb of humans are true. I was then an investigator of the question and had only the knowledge, which I received from my own observation and, hence, was an outsider, as it were, of these spiritual phenomena. I mean that I was not one of the gifted ones of earth, who can have the power of receiving or communicating with spirits by reason of the fact that they possess the power of seeing or feeling or hearing the presence of spirits. I was not so gifted.

I am now an investigator of things spiritual, but not of the possibility of communicating with the spirit world, for this I know to be a fact, and beyond all question, and men who doubt the fact are in the condition of those who will not learn, because they do not believe in the first principles of the phenomena and are willing to let their prejudices or their indifference lead them away from the truth.

The phenomena, which I have portrayed in my book, are very simple and of the lower order of spiritual phenomena, and yet men will not believe because they fail to approach the subject with open minds and desire to learn the truth even though the search for the same leads them along lines of investigation that are so foreign to the course of study that they are pursuing in their various vocations. Of all the bigoted and hardheaded investigators of truth, the preachers are the most difficult to teach the truth of spiritualism, and their periscope is one that enables them to see only in a straight line that has been laid down to them for ages and holds them in its iron grasp.

I would like to come to you sometime and write you a long description of the spirit world and its phenomena, although it may not surprise you very much, considering what you have had revealed to you.

Well, you have asked me some questions, which I cannot answer in one breath. But I am in the Third Sphere, where many spirits are pursuing their studies of things which pertain to the laws of the spirit world, as well as to the laws of the earth.

I have not heard of the Divine Love, except as we call all love divine, and it must be so, for it leads us to the spheres where those who are sinless and in harmony with the Father reside. I am a true believer in the things of God and in the redemption of all mankind, sooner or later. My intellect is only part of my existence in the spirit world, and above and greater than that is the love that causes me to become in harmony with the laws of God, and at-one with him. These are the answers to your questions, and I should like to write you at length upon the truths of what I have so briefly stated. I know that you are very busy in receiving communications from the spirit world and have little time for communications from strangers, yet I should like to write at least one letter in reference to my condition and knowledge of things as I have found them.

I say what is true, for I have never heard of the Divine Love in the sense that you have spoken of. I have never talked with spirits who claim to have this Love, and to be better than are the spirits who are progressing in the love which they have, and as to immortality, I only know that death merely sets the soul of the mortal free and enables it to enter onto its progress towards the higher spheres, where truth and goodness are.

Let me wait a moment in my astonishment, for I see more spirits who seem to be of a different order of spirit from me, and are brighter and more beautiful, and are willing to tell me of the Divine Love, for they all claim to know it. But I do not understand and I am sure that if they are possessed of this Love, it is only another form of belief. I am all confused and cannot think for the moment. I will come again. I must go. Good night,

Robert Dale Owen

St. Stephen Writes on the Meaning of the Divine Nature

November 13, 1918
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, St. Stephen.

Let me write a few words tonight as I am one of the spirits whom your wife wrote of last night would come tonight with the desire to write.

My subject is: "What is the meaning of the Divine Nature which the soul of man partakes of, upon the transformation of that soul by the inflowing and possession of the Divine Love?"

This, as you may perceive, will be somewhat difficult to explain and, principally, because men have no very definite conception of what is comprehended by the term "Divine." They, of course, associate this word with God, and to them God is a being whose nature and qualities are above their finite conceptions and, as a result of their thoughts, is that which is over and above everything that is called or supposed to be understood as natural. To some, God is a being of personality, and to others, a kind of nebulous existence included in and composing all the various manifestations which are transcendently above what they conceive to be the merely natural or human.

I will not attempt to discuss who or what God is, except as to one of His qualities or attributes, and that the greatest - for you must know that all the qualities of God are not of equal greatness or degree of importance in the workings of His essence of substance. All, of course, partake of His Divine Being, but, as you might say, there is a difference in the workings and scope of their operations.

You have been told that the Divine is that which has in it, to a sufficient degree, the very Substance and Essence of God, Himself; and this is true, for Divinity belongs to God alone and can be possessed by others, spirits or mortals, only when He has transfused into or bestowed upon the souls of men a portion of this Divinity, and to the extent thereof made them a part of Himself.

There is nothing in all His universe that is Divine or partakes of the Divine except that which is of the soul, for all else is of the material, and this even when it has the form or appearance of the spiritual. And even the soul, as created, is not Divine and cannot become such, until it is transformed into the Divine by the transfusion into it of that which, in its very substance, is Divine.

Many souls in the spirit world, although pure and in exact harmony with their created condition, are not Divine and never will become such, and this only because these souls will not desire and seek to become Divine in the only way provided by the Father.

It is a mistake for men to believe that because God has created this or that object or thing, it is necessarily Divine, for His creations are no more a part of Himself than are the creations of men a part of themselves; and thus you will see that in all God's creation, there is nothing Divine except what has been privileged by His grace to partake of His Divinity. And, hence, the stars and worlds and trees and animals and rocks and man himself, as created, are not Divine.

Men have claimed that in man there is a spark of the Divine - a part as they say of the "Oversoul," and that it needs only the proper development to make the soul of man wholly Divine. And this theory is based upon the idea that this development can be accomplished by the exercise of the mind or the moral qualities guided by the conscience, which they assert is of itself Divine; especially when dominated by reason, which has been so often worshiped by philosophers and others (to whom the mind is supreme) as Divine. And they have attempted to differentiate man and the lower animals and attributed to the former the qualities of Divinity, because he is endowed with reason and the lower animals are not and have substituted degrees in the order and objects of creation in the place of differentiation between the Divine and non-Divine.

God is wholly Divine and every part and attribute of Him is Divine, and while they are parts of the whole, yet they may be separated in their workings and bestowals; and the man or soul that is the recipient of the bestowal of one of these qualities or attributes is not necessarily the recipient of the others.

Omnipotence and omniscience are those attributes of God's Divinity which He never bestows upon the souls of men or spirits, and as to them He is the exclusive possessor, although in all His attributes there are powers and knowledge, and they accompany the bestowal of all attributes of which they are parts; and one of these Divine attributes may be bestowed upon man, and yet man not become Deity. There is and can be only one God, although He may give of His Essence and very Substance, so that a man can become as He is in that Essence and Substance, to the extent that it is bestowed.

As regards man and his salvation and happiness, the greatest of God's qualities or attributes is His Divine Love, which is the only one that can bring the souls of men into a oneness and nature with the Father, and which has in it the quality of immortality. This Love has a transforming power and can make that which is of a quality foreign to and different from itself of the same essence as itself; and, more than this, can eliminate from that thing those constituents which naturally and necessarily are its components, without injuring or destroying the thing itself.

Well we must stop here. I will finish later.

I am St. Stephen

**********

Helen confirms that St. Stephen wrote on the meaning of the Divine Nature.

I am here, your own true and loving Helen.

Well dear, you have had a very interesting letter tonight upon a very vital and important subject, and I am sorry that the writer could not finish his message, but the rapport became very weak and he was compelled to stop. He will come again soon and finish as he is very anxious to do so. It was Stephen who wrote and he is a most beautiful spirit possessing this Love to a degree that I cannot conceive of, and a most glorious spirit in his appearance.

I am glad that you were in such good condition and I hope that you will continue to improve so that more of the messages may be delivered to you every other night. There are so many messages to be written.

Your own true and loving,
Helen

John Writes that the Most Effective Way of Reestablishing the Rapport is by Praying More for Divine Love

September 23, 1918
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, John.

Let me write a few lines, as I see that you are expecting some of the higher spirits to write tonight, and yet you are not just in that condition which will enable them to write of the higher truths that are waiting to be made to you. I am sorry that this is so, for there are many messages to be delivered; and the spirits are very anxious to write. But you are in better condition than you have been for some time, and if you continue to improve in a very short time, you will be able to receive the messages.

Tonight I merely wish to say that we have been with you a great deal trying to influence your mind and tune your thoughts to things spiritual so that your soul may become more in accord with us, and we be enabled to make the rapport that is necessary. You have thought more tonight of these spiritual truths than for some time and, as a consequence, your soul has had a new awakening, as it were, and taken on the qualities that will enable us to form the rapport, and for that result we are thankful and pleased and desire to advise you to continue in these thoughts and the opening up of your soul. We are all very anxious for the return of the rapport and the opportunity to continue the writings, as so very much time has been lost and the urgency of communicating the truths is very great, and they must not be longer delayed.

As you have been told, the most effective way of reestablishing the rapport is by your praying more sincerely and frequently to the Father for the inflowing of His Love, for you must know that the possession of that Love in your soul brings you in closer union with us than anything else that could possibly exist. I say this that you may appreciate the importance of action in the particular mentioned on your part and also the vital necessity for doing the work which has been assigned you to do. So take my advice and make the effort and success will undoubtedly come and we will all be happier.

I will not write more tonight as I prefer to wait until you get in a condition which will permit me to disclose some of the truths that I desire to communicate. Believe that we are with you and love you and above all else desire the development of your soul in Love and progress towards a condition of religious experience. Pray to the Father and believe that it is I who am writing, and that I am your sincere and true guardian and friend,

John

John Writes that Men or Prophets Cannot Tell What Will Happen Centuries Ahead.

March 10, 1918
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, John.

I see that you are in a much better condition tonight and that your soul is more in harmony with the spirits of the higher spheres, and we could write now, but your hand and arm are tired, and this is a matter that we always consider and try not to cause you any unnecessary fatigue.

Other spirits are here tonight, hoping that they might have written, but under the circumstances they will not. The Master is here also, and says that he will not attempt to write tonight as he intended, but will soon come and deliver a message.

I am glad that you are feeling so much better spiritually and physically, and I feel that you will continue to do so. So pray more to the Father and turn your thoughts to spiritual things, and you will find a wonderful happiness that even the worries of your daily life cannot take from you.

(John responds to questions asked by Mr. Padgett.)

No, emphatically. And those who believe that there ever lived such mortals are greatly mistaken. The highest of us spirits cannot know or foretell the future in the sense in which the seers and prophets are supposed to have done in the centuries of which the Old Testament wrote.

No man, whether in the flesh or in the spirit, ever has the omniscience of the Father and to foretell what will happen centuries ahead is a power that belongs only to the Father. So that all the attempted application of prophecies as contained in the Bible to the happenings, or future happenings of the present day, are futile and without any justification. Man must depend upon the condition and acts of this day to determine what will happen in the short time that some expect the world to last.

What a position for them to take, when we, who live so close to the Father, cannot possibly know. All this, of course, refers to the material affairs of men in their lives on earth. As to spiritual things, we can tell what the future of each man or nations of men will be if certain conditions are observed or not observed.

Well, I will write you on this subject when the opportunity presents itself. I will not write more now. With all my love and the blessings of the Father I will say good night.

Your brother in Christ,
John

John Writes that Many of the Sayings in the Bible He Did Not Write or Authorize to be Written

March 2, 1918
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, John.

I will not write now, except to say, that your spiritual condition is much improved and you are advancing in your soul perceptions of the truth and of the reality of the Father and His Love.

Yes, I know, but you must remember two things with reference to the writings in the Bible ascribed to me, namely:

First, that many of the sayings therein contained, I did not write or authorize to be written; and, secondly, that at the time I lived on earth and wrote, my knowledge of the truth and of God was not so great or so correct as it is now.

I realize that some things I then believed and taught were not in accord with the truth, as I now know it to be, even my conception of Jesus and his mission on earth, and his return to earth, was not true. Then, although I was a close companion of the Master and had many lessons of instructions from him, I was a quite ignorant man and did not grasp the spiritual meanings of his teachings, and up to the time of my decease, my beliefs were more colored by things of the material than by those of the spiritual.

For instance, I, as did the other disciples, supposed that he was coming to earth again in a short time - at any unexpected time - and set up his kingdom on earth. Now, this is a fact, notwithstanding that he had said that his kingdom would be a spiritual kingdom, though existing on earth. I could not dissociate from my conception of the establishment and existence of this kingdom, the idea that in some way it would be an actual, visible kingdom in which the Master would be the king, and rule as other kings ruled, except it would be a rule of righteousness.

All this may seem a little strange to you. but if you will consider for a moment that my teachings as a Jew were to the effect that when the Messiah came, he would actually rule on earth as a king, you will understand how difficult it was for me to get the idea, or make the distinction between that kind of kingdom and one which would be purely spiritual.

At some time, I will write you more fully on this matter, for I realize its importance, as many, yes a majority of the professed Christians, now believe that Jesus, at sometime, will come to earth and establish a material kingdom and rule all the nations of the earth; and some of these enthusiastic Christians believe that they will be of the elect and become princes and sub-rulers in that kingdom as material men called by the resurrection to again become the human, although glorified, as some of them express their faith. Well, they will be disappointed, for when they shall have passed from the mortal to the spirit, they will forever remain spirits, and the only kingdom that they will live in thereafter will be a spirit kingdom; and that, whether the kingdom of the restored man or of the Divine Angel will not be on the earth.

I must stop now. So pray to the Father and strive for a deeper and more abiding faith, and you will realize the truth and this experience. Good night.

Your brother in Christ,
John

Helen Writes that Many Spirits Were Also Present at Rev. William Sunday's Service

February 23, 1918
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

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

Well my dear husband, I am so glad that the Master has written you, and that the rapport has been re-established so that he can continue the delivery of his messages, for as he said they, the spirits, are all very anxious to do the work.

I was with you tonight and besides me were the Master and your special guardian, John, and we were all watching the impressions made upon your mind by the preachers and saw that what he said, which was contrary to the truths that you have received, made no impression upon your beliefs, except that you desired to be able to tell him of his errors. I will not refer to the occasion further as the Master has written you fully on the subject, and you realize that he corroborates what I said a short time ago in regard to the good that the preacher is doing.

I am glad that you are in much better condition of soul and are able to realize more and more the existence of the Love in your soul and the fact of your increased nearness to the Father. This makes us all very happy, and we know that you will now be able to do your work with greater rapidity and receive therefrom a wonderful happiness. Continue to pray to the Father, and turn your thoughts to these spiritual things, and think of the great responsibility that is resting upon you.

I will soon come and write you a real long letter of love, and I know you will feel that love surrounding you in great abundance. Many spirits are here tonight and rejoice that the rapport has been re-established. I love you as you know and want you to love me, and you will not be happier than I when you come into possession of the surroundings that you desire as you so often depict them in your mind's eye. Have faith and you will not be disappointed, and you need not fear the judgment that comes to all men after death.

I will not write more now. May you be happier as the days go by. Good night.

Your own true and loving,
Helen

Jesus Writes About the Preacher Who Does Not Know the Truth that the Judgment is Not Eternal

February 23, 1918
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

I see that you are in good condition tonight, and that I am able to make a rapport with you. I was with you at the meeting tonight and saw the workings of your mind and the pity, as it were, that you had for the preacher (Rev. Billy Sunday), because of his want of knowledge of what the judgment is that comes to all men after death. A judgment that is certain and exact, but not one pronounced upon man by God, as the preacher proclaimed.

I was trying to impress you in your thoughts and you felt the influence of my suggestions and realized that you did not fear the judgment, or rather its results, because you know the way in which the judgment for you can have no terrors, or no eternity of condemnation. I wished as you did that the preacher might know the truth and then proclaim it to his hearers, and in this manner show them that the judgment is a certainty that cannot be escaped from, and that its sentences are not for an eternity of duration.

He is an earnest man in his beliefs, and teaches just as he believes, and the pity is that he does not know the truth. But, nevertheless, he is doing good to those who hear him, for many of them are caused to think of things spiritual, and of the future as well as of the present, who otherwise might and would neglect these important things that will determine the kind of judgment that they will have to undergo; and I am glad that he is so preaching and doing a work that in many instances will lead men to meditate upon their spiritual condition, and ultimately lead them to seek for the Love of the Father, which they may obtain by their longings, though their beliefs may be erroneous as to how this Love may be obtained.

Men are constituted with a mind and a soul, each having its own perceptions and ability to comprehend the truth, and sometimes it happens that the perceptions of the soul will enable them to see and reach out for this Love, while they may be wholly blind in their mind perceptions, and even these latter perceptions may be in conflict with the operations of the perceptions of the soul.

Until the truths that I, and the other spirits, are revealing to you shall become known to the world, there will be nothing in existence or in the knowledge of men that can supply the place of these truths so much as the beliefs that have been and are being taught by the teachings of the Bible, for in it are many truths, especially those that show men the way to attain to moral perfection; and that, as you know, was one of the objects of my teachings when on earth, but not the great object of my mission. Nevertheless, the man who learns and applies these moral truths to his daily life and conduct comes nearer to the enjoyment of that harmony that man must obtain in order to get into a unison with God's laws, that is necessary to his regeneration and to his becoming the perfect man. And besides, as he - I mean the mortal - progresses in this regeneration, he will find it easier for him to learn by his soul perceptions the great truth of the transformation of the soul through the New Birth.

I approve of the efforts of this preacher to bring men to a realization of their relationship to God, even though he has many erroneous beliefs, and says many things that are contrary to the truth, and not in accord with the true relationship of man to God.

I will write you soon upon this matter of the judgment, and what it means and the variety of its operations. Tonight, I will not write longer, for I think it best to not draw upon you too much at this renewed conjunction of rapport with your condition. I have been with you very often of late, and tried to influence you with my love and suggestions, and I must tell you that you have progressed much in your soul development and nearness to the Father's love.

Continue to meditate upon these spiritual things, and pray to the Father, and you will realize a great increase in the possession of this Love and in your condition that will enable us to come in closer rapport with you.

Well, I will do as you suggest, and am pleased that you feel as you say, for we must do the work as rapidly as possible. We have lost much time and will have to work the harder to bring about the completion of our delivery of the truths. But you need not fear that we will not be successful. We will complete the book and you will receive the other gifts that are promised you. Only have faith and pray, and all will be well.

I must stop now, but before doing so must assure you that I am praying with you in your prayers at night, and that your prayers will be answered. Other spirits will now be able to write you and they have many messages to communicate and all are anxious to do so. Keep up your courage and believe in me and what I tell you. With my love and the blessings of the Father, I will say good night.

Your brother and friend,
Jesus

Jesus Writes He is Very Much Interested that James Padgett Get in that Condition of Soul to be in Rapport With Him Again

February 19, 1918
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

Well, my brother, I see that you are in much better condition tonight than you have been for some time past, and I desire to tell you that it is due to the facts that you have turned your thoughts more to spiritual things, and have prayed more to the Father. If you will continue to do these things you will soon be in that condition of soul where I can make the necessary rapport with you in order to deliver my messages.

I have been very much disappointed in not being able to deliver my messages of the higher truths as I intended, and have felt that we have lost much valuable time in pursuing our work, and it is true but now I hope that we will not have to delay longer our communications. And we will not, if you will take my advice and in that way try to remedy the difficulties that beset us.

I know that you are interested in the work, and intellectually desire to receive the messages, but this, as I have told you, is not sufficient. You must get in that condition of soul development that will bring you in rapport with me as I come to you for the purpose of writing these higher truths. It has been explained to you that a particular quality of rapport is required in order that we may be able to get in that condition of harmony that will enable us to use your brain and hand so that the messages may be delivered. So for the next few days try to have your soul opened up to the inflowing of the love so that the development may come to you.

I have many messages to write before the book will be completed, and so have many other spirits who are engaged in the work. Pray, and let all the longings of your soul go to the Father, and you will realize the response that will fit you for the work. With my love I will say good night.

Your brother and friend,
Jesus

Jesus Writes that the World is Now Awakened to a Greater Realization that Man is Spiritual and Must Have Spiritual Food

December 16, 1917
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

Well, my disciple, I realize that your desires are that I shall deliver a message to you tonight, and I am anxious to do so, yet I see that you are not just in condition that I may take that possession of your brain that is necessary in order to write satisfactorily. I am sorry that this is so, but it is a fact, and we will have to wait a while longer, which will not be very long, for you are much improved, and if you continue to pray, you will soon become in that soul condition that will enable me to make the rapport.

There are many messages yet to be written and I am anxious that you receive them in order that they may be delivered to the world, for the world is now awakened to a greater realization of the fact that man is spiritual and must have spiritual food. The war is causing many people to think of the hereafter and the destiny of the soul; and the knowledge that the world now has of the future life is very meager and unsatisfactory, merely a knowledge that the spirit survives death and experiences more or less happiness in the spirit life.

As you know, this is not the vital thing in the destiny of man, for while a knowledge of the survival of man from the death of the physical may and does give a great deal of consolation to the near and dear ones who are left on earth, yet the fact does not, in the slightest degree, determine the condition or destiny of the soul that has left its home in the flesh; and there are no means, now known to men, to show them that destiny, except some things written in the Bible, which are the subject of much speculation and controversy and want of belief.

The consolation of those who have faith in the Bible is founded on that faith, or rather, in most cases, belief; but there are a number of believers in the truths of the Bible with a conscious soul perception of their meaning, who have that faith which makes certain to them the facts of destiny and the possession of Love in their souls.

I will come tomorrow night and endeavor to write a formal message. In the meantime, let your thoughts turn more to the things of the spirit, and your prayers ascend with more earnestness and longings to the Father.

As you know, I love you as my brother and disciple and am with you as you pray each night, uniting in your prayers, and you must let your faith increase and believe that your prayers are being heard and will be answered to the fullest. I will not write more now. So my brother, good night, and may the Father bless you with His greatest blessings.

Your brother and friend,
Jesus

John Writes on How God Answers Prayer During Times of War and Explains the Law of Rapport and Communication

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

I am here, St. John, brother of James - Apostle of Jesus.

I come to you today because I see what your condition is and that you need encouragement, and as I am your special guardian, I could not abstain from writing you as I have. So I say, trust in the Father and in our help and you will not be disappointed. It has been a long time since I have written you in regards to spiritual things, and I desire very much to do so, as I have important messages to communicate, as have many other spirits who have been accustomed to write you.

While your material affairs are important, yet these spiritual truths are of more importance, not only to you but to the world for whom they are primarily intended. The world needs these truths more at this time than ever before, and the sooner we can complete our book of truths the better it will be for suffering humanity, and for many whose hearts are now lacerated because of the great destruction of human life caused by the war.

Well, I know that many believe that in some way God has an overpowering direction as regards the progress and outcome of the war, and in a certain sense this is true, for He is always interested in and seeks to reach the souls and hearts of mankind and, of course, desires that the great suffering and devastation shall cease. But as the cause of all this was the evil desire and ambitions of men, He will let men, themselves, control the conduct and outcome of the war. He will not by His exercise of power in an arbitrary way end the war or determine which of the contending nations shall be successful, except in this, that through the instrumentality of His spirit, He will influence the minds and consciences of these men in such a way that right and justice will prevail, and the evil thoughts and deeds of men be stopped in their operations.

His spirits are working to this end at this time, and have been for a long time, and so have the evil spirits been working to bring discord and destruction upon humanity. The leaders of the nations have been, in a large degree, obsessed by these evil spirits and have been influenced in many of their thoughts and acts by these dark ones, who delight in seeing mankind suffer and in evil asserting itself.

The spirits of truth are exercising a wonderful power over the hearts and souls of men, and one that will cause them to soon realize that evil must not be allowed to prevail and that truth and right must assert themselves to the end that the war must not only cease, but that men must become more in unison with truth and justice. In this way, the Father will answer prayer, and His Love will also continue to flow to men.

I know that prayers are ascending unto the Father from many men and from many of the churches of the respective contending nations for success, but only those prayers will be answered which tend to bring about the overruling of evil and injustice; and the spirits who are working the Father's Will will answer these prayers only which - in their answer - will bring about the desired end.

As I have said, while God does not take interest in these matters by His arbitrary power and decree that the one or the other of these warring nations shall overcome and conquer the others, yet, He does by His angels exercise such influence upon the men who are engaged in the struggle, that in the end His Will will be brought to pass. But men, immediately, must determine the course and results of the issue, and no miracle will be performed which will make one side the conqueror of the other, and while this is so, this determination by men will be influenced as I have stated.

Man has his free will and, as we have written you, that is never arbitrarily controlled by the Father, but in the exercise of that free will, whenever man violates the Laws of God, man must suffer the penalty of that violation. This is a never changing law of the material as well as of the spirit world. When evil is sown, evil must be reaped, and until this evil ceases to operate as a cause, good will not appear. The men who are directing the war must understand that this law is operating in the conduct of the war, and that evil thoughts put into execution will inviolably bring evil consequences.

You may look for an earlier determination of the struggle than some men now believe possible, yet ere that end comes many mortals will become spirits and find their homes - some in the darker spheres, and some in those of light and love, but all are the children of God and will not be forsaken by Him in the great eternity.

Well, you have not been in that condition of mind that has enabled us to make the necessary rapport with you. We must have a mind that is filled with thoughts of the higher things of truth, even though we do not use those thoughts. Our thoughts are all spiritual, and our truths can be received only by the mind in a spiritual condition, and you, lately, have not had so much of this spiritual mind as formerly. Our contact has not been so close, and our rapport, necessary to enable us to express through your mind these spiritual truths, has not been so perfect.

And when I say mind. I merely mean the organs of the brain as influenced by the thoughts of the mind; for I will tell you what you may not know, that these component organs of the brain are not always and under all conditions receptive of the same control by the minds of spirits. You may receive through your brain a long and profound message of things pertaining to what you may call the material, and yet under similar conditions of these organs, not be able to receive messages of the higher truths; and the conditions of these brain organs are caused by the condition of the soul in the possession of things spiritual.

It is difficult for me to express just what I intend to convey but this you will understand, that upon the development and possession by the soul of things spiritual, depends the capacity of the human brain to receive the various kinds of messages. A medium who is merely intellectual and morally good cannot receive those messages of the highest truths, because there can be no rapport between the brain of such a medium and the mind of the higher spirit who may desire to communicate. And, thus, you will understand why it is that the messages from the earth-bound spirits or from those who have merely the intellectual development, are so vastly more frequently received by mediums than messages from spirits of the soul development.

A spiritual thought - I mean a thought which can come only from a spirit who has the development of the soul that makes that soul Divine - cannot possibly pass through a human brain which has never been developed by a soul in which the Divine Love has entered and worked its regenerating powers. Things of the material may be conveyed through a brain purely material, things moral through a brain which has been influenced by moral truths, and things spiritual through a brain which has assimilated those truths that come only with the development of the Soul by Love. This is the Law of Rapport and Communication.

Well, I will not write more now. But in closing urge you to have faith in us, and let your worries leave you, and pray more to the Father. Goodbye.

Your brother in Christ,
John

John the Baptist Advises James Padgett on How to Get Into a Better Condition to Receive Messages from the Higher Spirits

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

I am here, John the Baptist.

I merely wish to say that your condition tonight is not such as to permit the high spirits to communicate to you the important spiritual truth,s which they are waiting to write, and that you will receive communications from your friends of the spirit world upon matters more personal.

We have so many messages to communicate that we find the time is hardly long enough in which to do so, and we earnestly hope that you will soon get in condition to receive our messages. Let your mind turn more to the truths, which have been revealed to you and to the Love of the Father, and you will soon find yourself in a better condition. So wishing that you will take my advice, I will say good night.

Your brother in Christ,
John the Baptist

John Writes that James Padgett Did Not Learn Any Truth From the Spiritualist Preacher

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

I am here, John.

Well, I was with you tonight and you did not learn any truth from the preacher's (Terry) discourse that is vital to the salvation of men. He does not know the truth and, consequently, cannot teach others. You could readily see his want of knowledge when he declared that Jesus was not different from the other teachers, to whom he referred, or did not teach any truths that they did not teach. No, I am sorry to say, he does not know the truth, and his opportunity is so great to teach the truth for the majority of his hearers do not believe in the orthodox creeds, and their minds are open to a reception of the truth.

His conception of the relationship of man to God and of man's own constitution as regards spiritual things are all wrong, and he will not be able to learn the truth from the investigation of Spiritualism as he is now studying it, for all he knows is that men - when they become spirits - continue to live and have the power of communicating with mortals, and also that spirits are all happy or very shortly after their entrance into the spirit world may become so by their own exertions by the development of the "divine spark," as he calls it that exists in all men's souls.

He may learn the truth before he comes to the spirit world, and he may not; for there is no way other than through the information contained in your writings by which he can learn these truths. His advising his hearers to pursue the course of conduct that the moral teachings of the great teachers of light, as he denominates them, show to men will not give them the truth and the light and the liberty of which he so loudly discoursed.

There were many spirits present and some of them communicated to their friends, as the preacher told them, for he is a psychic and has the gift of clairaudience and also of clairvoyance to some degree, but he also is a man of quick perception and readily grasps the conditions of the mind and desires of those who are so anxious to hear from their departed friends, and sometimes he uses the information which he gathers by the exercise of his quick wit to describe to the people the presence of those in the spirit life that they are anticipating will make their presence known by communicating. But aside from this, he receives many messages from the spirits and he tries honestly to deliver them to the hearers for whom they are intended.

Now, while all this is true and affords consolation to many of these anxious ones, yet the meetings do you no good as we have told you, for the influences of the spirits who attend these meetings are not helpful to the development of your soul qualities, and it is not desirable that you come in contact with these spirits who always try to make a rapport whenever the opportunity occurs.

There were also some spirits of the higher order present, who were interested in their relatives and friends, and tried to get in rapport with these persons for the purpose of helping them; but generally their efforts were not very successful as the conditions prevailing did not enhance the probability of making the rapport or permitting the influence to be felt.

Well, I see that you are feeling better tonight and more hopeful and realize the result of the prayers that you offered to the Father and the increase of your faith in us. If you will continue to pray and exercise this faith you will find yourself helped to such an extent that the troubles you have will not worry you very much and in addition, such a condition of mind on your part helps us to more effectively perform our part of the work in bringing to you those things that you so much desire. You may not understand the philosophy of this, but sometime I will come to you and make clear the operation of the laws that are brought into use in bringing these results. Only believe and pray, and you will not be forsaken.

Well, I will not write more, but soon I must come and write a message, and if you improve, I will be able to do so in a very satisfactory way. So try to get in this condition. Remember that I love you and am with you very often, trying to help you spiritually and materially, and that you will be so helped. With my love and blessings I will say good night.

Your brother in Christ,
John

**********

Helen agrees with John that Mr. Padgett was not benefitted by attending meeting

I am here, Helen.

Well dear, I see that you are tired and I will not write much. But I must say that I am so glad that you are feeling better and more hopeful. Keep up your courage and everything will be alright.

I was with you at the meeting, but will not write my impressions now. You were not benefited. Try to have faith and pray, and I believe that tomorrow night you will be in condition to receive my letter that I so much desire to write. Love me and believe that I love you. Good night.

Your own true and loving,
Helen

Solomon Writes About the Necessity of James E. Padgett Receiving Messages as Rapidly as Possible

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

I am here, Solomon.

It has been a long time since I wrote you, although I have been present many times when the other spirits were delivering their messages and, of course, have been much interested in you and the messages.

As you will remember, I told you in my message that you had been selected to do the work that the spirits of the Celestial Sphere, led by Jesus, had determined that you should do, and that you must realize the great importance of the work and also the importance of the mission conferred upon you in this regard and urged you to believe in the truth of what I had written.

Well, I come to reiterate what I then said, and also to impress upon you the necessity for doing this work as rapidly as possible for conditions are such that the world is very much in want of these truths, as men are turning their thoughts more and more to things spiritual and to the future life. This war will result in men seeking a religion that will satisfy not only the longings of their souls, but the efforts of their intellects in searching for the truth; and these truths when they are presented to men will give that satisfaction.

Well, the explanation is that these people when they pray attract to them the spirits, and also believe that God will answer their prayers, and these spirits endeavor to help them, and often succeed; and many times the things that these people pray for come to them by natural means.

And this I will say, that never does God by His omnipotence, as regards these material things, answer prayer. All His answers to prayer are brought about by the workings of the spirits who do God's bidding, and in no other way are prayers for the material things answered. I know that this may be surprising to many of these people who believe that God, by His great powers, answers prayer but it is a fact.

Well, that is an illustration of the work of spirits, as I have explained. These spirits, when the prayers of that man (Mueller) ascended to God, heard them, and in obedience to their work, impressed mortals to do that which resulted in answer to these prayers. Many prayers have been answered in this way and will be so long as mortals pray and have faith.

I will not write more now. So good night.

Your brother in Christ,
Solomon

Jesus Writes that the Father's Love is Never Far Away When Temptation Strikes

May 23, 1917
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

I come tonight to say a few words that you may be encouraged in your spiritual condition and made to feel that I am with you in your doubts and despondency.

I was with you last night and realized just what your condition is and tried to influence you with my love and sympathy, and when you felt that you were all alone, I endeavored to impress you with my help and the power of the Love that I have received from the Father.

I know that while you are in the flesh and temptations come to you, there will be times when you will think that you are forsaken, or that the Father's Love is not in and about you in all its beauty and sustaining influence, and that then thoughts will come to you, such as Job speaks of in the book that you have been reading, and God will seem a long way off.

But, my brother, let me tell you with all the knowledge and love that I have that God is never a way off from you in his love and that he is always ready and willing to help and comfort you, if you will only have faith and let your longings go out to him for the inflowing of this Love into your soul. It is never absent from you, and awaits only your invitation for making itself real and consciously present with you. You only can prevent its coming into your soul and, if you will believe that this is true and endeavor to realize how close this Love is to you and how anxious the Father is that you receive it, you will be able to overcome these thoughts that arise from the weakness of the flesh or, rather, from the strength of the animal part of your nature.

So try to remember what I say, and whenever these thoughts come to you, look upon them as merely thoughts that come in the visions of the night and have no real foundation for their existence. As you may not know, real thoughts can arise only from that which is real, and when this Love of the Father comes into your soul, appetites and passions that arise from the perversion of the animal nature of your being cease to be real and are merely the recollections of what has been - a resultant of that perversion. This Love makes that - which aforetime was perverse - a genuine thing of truth in harmony with God and goodness.

Life is of God and, when not perverted by the will of man, is like unto the goodness from which it comes; and good and evil are conditions which are only, as in the one case God is real, and in the other, evil is not real as being a part of the creation of God. It, sin, is the creation of man, and that man disobedient and out of harmony with his own creation and the laws of his creator.

I write this to encourage your faith in the goodness of God, and in the inherent goodness of yourself, and to confirm your faith and knowledge in the truth that in God's universe all is good, and only that is sinful which man himself, in violation of the will of the Father, had created and afterwards cultivated and nurtured. So believe this, that when this Love comes into your soul you have the possession of that which will enable you to forget the creatures of your own will and make successful your efforts to cease the cultivation of this resultant of your own creation.

It is only when you, for the moment, forget or cease to realize that this Love is yours does the existence of the evil, which was as you may think to be naturally yours, become to you real, at least in your thoughts appear to be real. You have experienced the condition of soul when these thoughts had no place in your life, and were to you as if they had never been; and what you have thus experienced may, if you let live your faith in the possession of this Love continue to be your condition without intermission, and you be enabled to enjoy consciously the reality of its continuous existence.

And I further know that this state of freedom from thoughts of evil requires you to watch and, upon the first suggestion of such thoughts, pray to the Father for the increased expression of His Love and you will not be disappointed. As in the prayer, which I have given you, you are taught to ask that help may be given you to overcome all temptations of the flesh and the influence of the evil ones, so I repeat, let your supplications for this help ascend to the Father when first you feel the temptation, for so far as regards your condition of soul qualities, these temptations and influences are real.

The evil ones are with all mortals, and the condition of the soul determines whether they, the evil ones, can or not make a rapport with the mortals; and when this Love comes into the soul, such rapport is impossible. Then the secret of overcoming temptations is to have the soul qualities in such condition that the rapport cannot be made.

I know that men, sometimes, by their course of thinking of things good and pure invite this rapport, but this is not to be relied on as a sure preventive, for thoughts are changeable and the results of the appetites and emotions, and the natural, as I may say, tendencies of men are to gratify these appetites when not curbed by the higher development of their moral qualities, which qualities are very susceptible to the influence of the sensual natures of man.

I felt the necessity of writing to you as I have, for it is so important both for yourself, personally, and as my instrument for the work that has been given you to do, that you acquire more of this Love and the knowledge by which you may be helped so very much to overcome these temptations and influences. The more Love, the less the power of temptation and the possibility of thoughts that do not find their source in this Love. So I say to you: watch and pray.

Well, I will not write more tonight, and with my love and blessings will say good night and God bless you. I will come soon and write another message and hope that you may be in condition to receive it as successfully and correctly as you did my last one.

Your friend and brother,
Jesus