Luke Writes that the Divine Love of God Brings Immortality

April 17, 1922
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

Let me write as I desire to say a few words on the question of immortality of which you have been thinking so much during the past few days.

I was with you today as you listened to the discourses of the preacher upon the subject of immortality, and saw that you realized he did not have a true idea of what the term means, and thought how much you would like to inform him of your knowledge of the subject. Well, I understand just how you felt about the matter, and am in sympathy with you in your desire and hope that sometime you may have the opportunity to converse with him on this subject and give him your conception of the truth.

It is the subject of so many sermons and theories preached by preachers and others, and yet not one of them has the true understanding of what immortality is. They understand it only in the sense of continuous life, and in addition, try by argument and inferences to attach to it the idea of never ending - that is of the continuous life being so established that it can never be ended - and in this they satisfy their longings and desires. But you see, this inference is merely one that is drawn from the desires of the preachers - that they have no true basis upon which to found their conclusions, and as to the ordinary things of life they would not be willing to risk the important things of life upon a basis no better established from which they could draw conclusions that would cause them to act.

No, mankind do not really know what immortality is, and all the arguments that they can put forth to establish the true immortality, are not sufficient to convince the clear, cool and unprejudiced mind as to its being a fact.

As is said in the message that you have received from Jesus, immortality can be derived only from that which is immortal, and all arguments that merely tend to show that a thing must be immortal because of the desires or intentions of God, do not suffice.

All the facts that may be established as premises, are not sufficient to logically prove the conclusion desired to be established and men cannot depend upon such method of reasoning.

It is utterly impossible to derive immortality from anything less than that which is immortal in itself, and to attempt to do so by argument or inference is a mere waste of time by the exercise of the reasoning faculties.

As has been said, only God is Immortal, and that means that the very Qualities and Nature of Himself is Immortal; and if it were possible for Him to have any qualities that are not of a nature that partakes of the Immortal, then these qualities would not be Immortal, but subject to change and dissolution. Among the Qualities of His Being is the great and important one of Love and without It God could not be. His existence would be less than that of a God; and that being a fact, this great Quality of Love must be Immortal, and into whatever this Quality may enter and form a part, that thing is necessarily Immortal, and in no other way could it become Immortal. Then this Love of God brings Immortality in the true sense of the term and when It enters into the soul of man and possesses it, that soul becomes Immortal, and in no other way can Immortality be acquired.

Not all things of God's creation are immortal, for in a shorter or longer time they perform the object of their creation, and their existence is no longer required and they become dissolved into the elements of which they were composed. Man's physical body for this reason is not immortal, for after a short life on earth it dissolves and is no more. His spirit body is primarily of this evanescent character, and it may be that in the course of eternity it will have performed its mission and cease to exist. We do not know this, neither are we assured that it is not true, because it is dependent upon the continuous existence of the soul for its continuous existence, and not all souls will receive a part of the Father's Divine Love, which is the only thing that has within itself this immortality; and it may be that at sometime in the future, this soul without the Love may cease to exist and become no more a creature of the Father.

But this we do know, that whatever partakes of the Divine Love has in it that which is necessarily immortal, and can no more die than can this Love itself; and, hence, must be immortal. So that when men speak or teach that all men are immortal, they speak that which they do not know - only God, Himself, knows that fact - and from the mere exercise of the reason men are justified in saying, that such men or souls that do not obtain the Divine Love are not immortal.

Now while this question of man's immortality is in doubt, and has never been demonstrated to be a fact, yet we do know that, that portion of mankind whose souls have received this immortal, Divine Love, are immortal and can never cease to exist; and the great comfort and blessings to these souls that this possession brings, are that they know that they are immortal because they possess that quality or nature of God that is immortal, and as the latter can never have an ending, neither can that into which this immortal Love has entered and found a lodgment have an ending.

The preachers arguments were strong, and in the ordinary workings of men's minds and reasoning powers, may convince men that immortality is a proven fact for all mankind, but when properly analyzed and the true rule of search for immortality is applied, it will appear that the arguments are not conclusive - hope is stronger than fact, and men have not the assurance that for them immortality holds out its desired arms of certainty.

Well, I thought I would write you this short message upon the question that you and the preacher have been meditating upon, in the hope that he might not depend upon the strength of his argument for the establishing of the fact of immortality, but would see and become convinced that the only way to ascertain and acquire the true immortality is by seeking for and obtaining the Divine Love, and thereby having his soul transformed into the very Essence and nature of God in Love.

I am glad that I can write to you again, and that your condition is so much better than it has been, and permits the rapport to be made. Pray more to the Father and believe, and you will get in a condition that we so much desire. I will not write more. Good night.

Your brother in Christ,
Luke

Samuel Writes About What Actually Happened at Jesus' Crucifixion

March 27, 1921
Received By James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

Let me write a few lines tonight, as I have not written you for a long time and desire to tell you of the scene that was depicted to you tonight by the words and music at the church.

I was present at the time of the crucifixion of Jesus and saw all that took place and the wonderful display of the forces of nature that were presented to you tonight in the drama of the crucifixion. Well, as you may not know, many of the scenes that were so forcibly presented to your imagination never had any reality in fact and the drama was the production of the oriental mind, which was so often used to depict things that had their origin only in such eastern imaginations.

When Jesus was crucified, there was no great concourse of people; because he was considered as a common malefactor paying the penalties that followed the violation of the law that he was charged with violating. Of course, there were soldiers and a large number of the members of the Jewish Sanhedrim and a few followers present, but there was no unusual crowd to witness the execution.

He was not the only one crucified at the time and the other two were considered just as the Jews considered him - violator of their laws and one to be punished by hanging on the cross. The words that he is supposed to have uttered at the time of his extremis were not uttered by him and no words that he may have spoken could have been heard by any of his followers, for they were kept away from the immediate scene of his execution, and it was only after he had been pronounced dead and found ready to be removed from the cross, that his followers were permitted to approach his body and remove it from the tree. The others, who were engaged in the execution did not hear any words of his, and as I have said, his followers could not hear and, thus, be able to report any supposed saying of his. So far as known, he died as bravely - that is without fear or doubt as to the future as did any other who has suffered the same fate.

The words that he is supposed to have uttered were not so uttered, and he did not call upon the Father for His help, or to cause the bitter cup to pass from him, and all reports of what he said or did at that time are not true, but merely the imaginings of those who wrote of him in later times. There was no sudden breaking up of nature or things material, and the accounts of the graves opening, and the bodies arising therefrom and being seen and talked with in the city are purely fiction and have no foundation in fact.

I know that Christians of today will not be ready to receive these statements as true, because of the long years of belief in these things that have obtained during the centuries. Why men should want to believe in these representations of things that never happened, it is hard to understand, for in themselves that have no significance except that mere endeavor to make as dramatic and impressive on humanity the wonderful circumstances that they allege surrounded the death of Jesus. If they will only think, they must realize that the death of Jesus, accompanied by all the startling environments described in the Bible, did not afford one iota of help in way of saving a human soul or teaching that soul the true way to the Father's Kingdom. His life is what had the effect and not his death; and the sooner men learn that Truth, the sooner will they learn the fact that no death of Jesus could save them from themselves, or show them the way to the Celestial Kingdom.

I know that men will not want to believe what I have written and continue in their belief that all these tragic circumstances surrounded the death of Jesus. And I suppose that this belief will continue with them for a long time to come. But what I have said is true, and no man can by any possible workings of God's laws find any hope or assurance of immortality in these things.You may ask me how I know that Jesus uttered no words at the time of his death, and I can answer by saying that he told me so himself.

He has not been present tonight at any of the churches, where his death on the cross is celebrated, and will not be until after the time of the great worship and adoration of him by the churches has gone by. This worship is all very distasteful to him and are such that he does not desire to witness and, hence, he remains in his home in the high Celestial Spheres. He desires men to worship only the One True Father that he worships and, thus, receive the true benediction of the Father.

Well, I see that you are tired and I will not write more. With my love, I will say good night.

Your brother in Christ,
Samuel

**********

Helen confirms that Samuel wrote the preceding message.

I am here, your true and loving Helen

Well dear, I see that you are tired and I will not write much.

The message that you received is from Samuel, who was present at the crucifixion in spirit and heard and saw what took place, and so can be believed. I know also that what the Bible contains as to the crucifixion of Jesus is very erroneous and written by men to impress their followers of the importance of Jesus' death.

I will not write more now. So believe that I love you with all my heart and want you to be happy. Good night.

Your own true and loving,
Helen

Jesus Writes on Immortality

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

I am here, Jesus.

Let me write tonight on a subject that is of importance to mankind and should be fully explained, that they may know the truth that will show them the way to immortality and light.

I know that men have debated all down the centuries the question of man's immortality and have attempted to prove the reality of its existence by various arguments and by reference to the analogy of the workings of God's universe in the fulfillment of His designs as displayed by the various creations of animate nature. In all these discussions they have not succeeded in definitely and satisfactorily established the fact of immortality. And why? Because they have not, in the first place, understood what immortality means and without a correct conception of that which it is desired to prove, it becomes very difficult to successfully prove the existence of the thing sought for.

I know that at times some idea of what immortality is has been conceived of and almost understood by some of the writers on the subject, and their efforts have been directed to show that by man's inner consciousness, as well as by the appearance of those things in nature which die and live again, man is justified in inferring that man himself is immortal, or was intended by his Creator to be immortal.

But the inner consciousness of man, meaning the knowledge of the possession of certain desires and aspirations, as well as the realization that his life on earth is too short to enable him to accomplish those things that his efforts and strivings attempt, and that what he really accomplishes in the way of his own mental and moral development, if they end with the physical death of men would mean only a useless exercise of the faculties and powers given him by God is not sufficient to prove the immortality of the real man. Neither is it evidence of the uselessness of man's creation, though he is in one moment deprived of all the learning and other benefits of a developed intellect, as well as of moral progression.

There is a difference between the state and condition of a human soul that continues in the spirit world - the life that it had when embodied in the flesh - and the state that not only continues this life but makes the extinction of this life an utter impossibility even by God, who in the beginning of man's existence created that soul.

True Immortality then, is the state or condition of the soul that has knowledge that because of the essence and qualities of itself, it cannot ever cease to live - the impossibility of it's ever ceasing to live being known to it and a fact.

It has been said that whatever has a beginning may have an ending - that which was created may be dissolved into its elements. And the possibility of this is true, and no man or spirit can deny the truth of the assertion. In your earth life, you find that all things have an ending; that is, in their individual and composite form; and in the spirit world, why may not the same fate attend created things? The fact that there are things in the spirit world that exist as a continuation of things of earth does not mean that they shall endure forever.

The mere change, caused by the death and disappearance from the vision of men, of things that were once alive does not establish the fact that as they continue to live in the spirit world, they must live forever. Death, which is looked upon as a destroying angel, is merely the result of the change from that which is visible to the invisible and does not in any way determine the everlasting existence of the thing changed.

The soul of man, while in the flesh, is the same soul as to its identity and individuality, as it is when it becomes an inhabitant of the spirit world, and if it is immortal while in the spirit world, it is also immortal while in the body; and if it may cease to have an immortal existence in the one state, it may in the other.

Suppose that men by their arguments of the nature mentioned show that the soul of man does not die when the physical body dies but that it continues its existence in the spirit world as the identical, personal soul, and then I ask, does that prove immortality as I have defined it?

Death of the body and the continuing life of the soul thereafter do not work any change in the qualities or essence of that soul. It is still the same created soul that it was in the beginning, and why may it not be true, that being a thing created, it may have an ending? This is logical and not unreasonable.

Then I say, even if men by their arguments prove to the satisfaction of many, that the soul after the death of the physical body continues to live in the spirit world with all its faculties and powers in active operation, they do not prove, nor do all the facts possible for them to discover and marshal prove, that that soul is immortal. The soul of man did not always exist - it is not eternal, self existing or independent of everything else, but dependent upon the Will of God that called it into existence, and why is it not reasonable to infer that in the long period of time to come, it will have served the purpose of its creation and be disseminated into the elements of which it was created?

But I will say here, for the benefit of those mortals who believe in the immortality of the soul that from the time of the creation of the first man to the present, no spirit in the spirit world has any knowledge of any human soul that has ceased its existence and been dissolved into its elements. And further, that there are myriads of souls in the spirit world that are in just the condition of perfection that was the condition of the soul of the first man when created and God pronounced His creation: "Very good."

But as mortals have no assurance that at some time the life of their souls will not end, so also spirits who have gained the perfect condition of their creation have no such assurance. They have hope and belief that such may be their destiny, and also a knowledge that their progress as the perfect man has ended. They are in that state which limits their progress as the perfect man, although their enjoyment as such is not limited. To them in God's universe, there is always something new and unknown appearing. But yet they have not the knowledge that they are immortal and realize that they are dependent upon the Will of God for their existence, and to many of these spirits, immortality is as much a subject of concern and speculation as it is to the mortals of earth.

Men in their meditation, study and arguments of this question of immortality do not start from the foundation of the subject. They have no truthful premises from which they can draw a correct conclusion and, consequently, their arguments fail. They reason that because of the existence of certain things in and outside of man - all things of mere creation that tend to show God's intentions and plans as regards man, therefore, in order to carry out such intentions, man must be immortal. They do not consider or lose sight of the fact that all these things that they use as the foundation for their conclusions are things dependent and not self existing, and at one time or another the objects of God's creation. What God has called into existence He can also declare shall exist no longer. And knowing this, man cannot, or spirit either, rightfully conclude that the soul is immortal.

But there is a way in which the immortality of the soul, or some souls, can be proved and which, assuming the facts that enter into the argument to be true, necessarily establish the conclusion without possibility of refutation.

Then in commencing the argument, what is the only reasonable way to approach the subject? First, to discover and establish that which is immortal, and next to search for and find that which though not immortal, yet by reason of certain operations and effects upon it of that which is immortal, becomes itself immortal. Only from the immortal can immortality be acquired.

Well this is a good place to stop as you are tired; I am well pleased with the way in which you have received my message. Have faith and pray, and all will be well. Good night my dear brother, for you are in truth my brother.

Your friend and brother,
Jesus

St. Matthew Writes that Jesus was Transformed by Divine Love into the Divine Man and is Not God

December 16, 1918
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

Let me write a few lines tonight as I desire to tell you of a truth that to me seems important for mankind to know in order that they may comprehend the truth of their personal salvation.

I am a spirit of soul development and an inhabitant of the Celestial Heavens, where only those whose souls have been transformed by the Divine Love into the very nature and Essence of the Father can find a habitation. I will not write at any great length and have only one idea or truth to convey and that is that:

"No man or spirit can possibly receive the full salvation that Jesus taught and exemplified in his own person, who does not become wholly possessed in his soul of this Divine Love of the Father, and becomes rid of the conditions and attributes that belong to his created soul."

This soul was not created with any of the Divine attributes or qualities, but simply and merely with those which you may call human and which all men and spirits, who have not experienced the transformation, possess.

The God-man, as Jesus is sometimes designated by your religious writers and theologians, was not at the time of his creation or appearance in the flesh possessed of these Divine attributes, which are of the nature and Essence of the Father, but only of the human attributes, which belonged to the perfect man; that is, the man who was the perfect creature as he existed before the fall of the first parents, when sin had not entered into their souls, and into the world of men's existence.

Jesus was from the time of his birth, the perfect man and, consequently, without sin; all his moral qualities being in complete harmony with the will of God and the laws controlling his creation; yet, he was not greater than were the first parents prior to their act of disobedience.

There was nothing of God, in the sense of the Divine, that entered into his nature or constituents, and, if the Divine Love had not come into and transformed his soul, he would have remained only the perfect creature of a quality no higher or greater than was bestowed upon the first man; and Jesus was as regards his possibilities and privileges, like this first man prior to his fall or death of the potentiality of becoming Divine, but differed from him in this: that Jesus embraced and made his own these privileges and, hence, became Divine, while the first man refused to embrace them and lost them and remained the mere man though not the perfect man as he was created.

And while Jesus, by reason of his possession of the Divine Love became Divine, yet he never became the God-man, and never can, for there does not exist and never can be a God-man. God is God, alone, and never has and never can become man; and Jesus is man only and never can become God.

But Jesus is preeminently the Divine man and may rightly be called the best beloved son of the Father, for he possesses more of the Divine Love and, consequently, more of the Essence and Nature of the Father than does any other spirit of the Celestial Heavens, and with this possession there comes to him greater power and glory and knowledge. He may be described and understood as possessing and manifesting the Wisdom of the Father; and we spirits of the Celestial Kingdom recognize and acknowledge that superior wisdom of Jesus and are compelled by the very greatness and force of the wisdom, itself, to honor and abide in his authority.

And this transcendent and greatest possessor of the Father's wisdom is the same when he comes to you and reveals the truths of God as he is when in the highest spheres of the Celestial Kingdom clothed in all the glory of his nearness to the Father. As the voice on the Mount said "Hear ye him," I repeat to you and to all who may have the privilege and opportunity of reading or hearing his messages, Hear ye him! And when hearing, believe and seek.

Well, my brother, I deemed it proper to write this short message and hope it may help you in the work. I will come again. Good night.

Your brother in Christ,
Saint Matthew, as called in the Bible

St. Peter Writes About the Process of Forgiveness of Sin

November 29, 1918
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

Let me write a few lines for I am very anxious to write you in reference to a truth which obtains in our spirit world and with which you may not be acquainted.

As you may not know, there is in our world a law which makes the soul of one who has not yet been purified suffer the penalties for the acts of sin and evil of which he may have been guilty during his earth life; and there is no forgiveness of these acts in the sense that forgiveness is taught by the theologians and churches, but the only forgiveness is the cessation of recollection of these acts, so that they become as though they had never been; and, as the soul becomes naturally pure and in harmony with the laws of its creation, it then comes into its natural condition, and then, and then only, forgiveness takes place.

God does not forgive by the mere act of pronouncing forgiveness or by any arbitrary and sudden blotting exit of sins, and thereby removing the condition which creates the inharmony; and so you will understand, that He cannot forgive sin in this way, neither can the popes, priests, teachers or churches, and the pronouncing of forgiveness by these men constitutes a deception of, and an injury to, the persons who pray and ask for forgiveness, and for such deception, these men will have to answer when they come to the spirit world and realize the truth of forgiveness and the great deception that they had practiced upon those who were their followers and believers in these false doctrines. Many spirits are now living and suffering in darkness in their purgatories just because of their beliefs, and the results thereof, in these misleading teachings.

There is no forgiveness until man makes the effort by struggling and succeeding in getting rid of these recollections; and such riddance can be obtained only by men realizing the fact that sin is only the effect of their having done those things and thought those thoughts, which are out of harmony with the will of God and the laws governing the creation of man.

There can be no sinning of the physical body or of the spirit body, but only of the soul caused by the exercise of the will in a manner antagonistic to the will of the Father. The body, of course, is affected by these inharmonious thoughts and impelling directions of the will and is caused, thereby, to commit the act which is the external demonstrator of the inharmonious exercise of the will; and as God leaves to man the freedom of exercising his will, as such will may be influenced by the thoughts, desires and affections of his appetites and lusts, so God leaves to man the application of the remedies that will free the soul from such influence and effects as are caused by this exercise of the will; and only when these thoughts and appetites and lusts become eliminated from his soul and desires, does the soul come into its natural condition and in harmony with the will of God.

Man, himself, must be the actor and the initiating force to bring about these changes in his will, and no assurances of forgiveness by popes, priests or churches can eradicate these contaminating influences, or remove that which is the cause of the sin or the effect of the cause. You must see that there can be no relationship between the assurance of forgiveness and the sin or the cause thereof.

Prayer to the Father for forgiveness or supplication to priests and church is supposed to effectuate the objects sought, but this belief is erroneous and does not bring the relief prayed for; yet prayer is a very important element in forgiveness, and while the Father does not, and the priests and church cannot, forgive sin in the manner mentioned, yet true, sincere prayer to the Father for forgiveness will bring its answer, and affect, not the sin, but the soul and state of men, so that their will and appetites and desires may be influenced in such a way that they will receive and realize the fact of a wonderful help in changing these appetites and desires, and in turning their thoughts to those things that will enable them to remove from their recollections the acts and thoughts, which are the causes of the existence of their souls in a state of sin.

If men would only realize these truths, and, when they desire the forgiveness of their sins, pray to the Father for help in turning away from these thoughts and in exercising their will in accord with His will and not expect any arbitrary forgiveness or removal of their sins, they would find themselves on the way to this forgetfulness and the true forgiveness.

Well, I desired to write this short message and am pleased that I could do so. Thanking you, I will say, good night.

Your brother in Christ,
Apostle of Jesus,
Peter

St. John Writes About the Book "Spiritual Teachings" by Stainton Moses, Which He Read with James Padgett

July 5, 1918
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, St. John.

Let me say a word. I have read with you in the book (Spiritual Teachings by Stainton Moses) and I find that many things in it are true and many others show a want of the true mission of the Master. I do not know the spirit who is supposed to have dictated the messages, but from the nature of the same, I would infer that he is a spirit of some of the higher spiritual spheres and that his information is limited by the development of his spirit, as he calls it. He apparently knows nothing of the true mission of Jesus, or of the Divine Love, or of the true resurrection, as was taught by the Master.

It is well that you have read this book for it will show you the differences between the messages, which you are receiving and those that you read in the book. Some of the writers declarations are correct; such communications as his development of mind and soul fit him to receive.

But the great and important truth relating to God and man are not contained in the book and could not well be, for the guiding spirit evidently knew nothing of the transformation of the soul into the Divine by reason of the Divine Love.

I merely wanted to write this to show you that your work is necessary to be done, and that never has the truths that you are receiving been revealed to men before. Good night,

Your brother in Christ,
John

John Wesley and Helen Padgett Write they Attended the Services of Nita Padgett Along with Jesus and a Congregation of High and Beautiful Spirits

June 21, 1918
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, John Wesley.

Let me write a line. I was present tonight at the services over your daughter's remains and saw what a wonderful congregation of high and beautiful spirits was there. Your bands were present and the Master was shedding his love and influence over the mourners and near ones. Your daughter's spirit was also present, and although it seemed a little strange to her that she should be outside her body and could look upon it as it lay cold and dead, yet she understood and was quite happy that so many of her friends were there displaying their sympathy and love. Of course, your wife was present and was radiantly happy in her love for you and her boys and her other relatives. She had her daughter close by her side and was telling her of the truths of the resurrection as the minister read the services, and especially how the Great Love of the Father is necessary to the true resurrection and heaven.

It was a glorious evening with the spirits, and no sorrow or unhappiness was with them, only their sympathy for the human grief of those who did not know the truth of the liberation of the spirit from the bondage of the flesh. Well, I might tell you many things which occurred among the spirit visitors, but I am admonished not to write more, so will say good night.

Your brother in Christ,
John Wesley

**********

Helen tells about her daughter's demise and that there were Celestial Spirits present, casting over the people love and influence that only Celestial Spirits can give forth. Baby was with me.

I am here, Helen Padgett.

My own dear husband, how happy I have been tonight as you and the others congregated around the coffin of our baby to pay their respects and offer their love and sympathy to her memory. As has just been said, many of our Celestial Spirits were present, all casting over the people the love and influence that only Celestial Spirits can give forth.

Baby was there with me, and while she did not quite understand all that she saw, yet she realized that her body is now no part of her, and that she lives independently of it, and that the body which she now knows is hers, is so much more beautiful and ethereal. She was very close to me and did not attempt to leave my arms, for while she knew that she was no longer a mortal, yet she was timid and felt that she needed me and my love. She is quite beautiful and happy and says that if she is in Heaven, she does not want to return to earth or to her body that was lying before her so cold and lifeless. She saw and recognized all who were present and tried to talk to some of them, but found that she could not make them hear and wondered a little that they did not.

Tonight you must not write more, but must go to bed and get your rest. I will soon write you fully as to our baby. She said though, that she saw how much you must love her and was so anxious to reply to you as you talked to her. Do not grieve too much for the body, for it is no longer hers and cannot understand or answer your words of sorrow. She is so happy that you love her so much and will come to you before very long.

Love me and pray to the Father. Good night, and God bless you, my dear Ned.

Your own true and loving,
Helen

Mary Baker Eddy Writes that there are Misleading Errors in Some of Her Teachings

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

Let me write a line, for I have been interested in the conversation of the Doctor (Leslie R. Stone) and want to express to him my thanks for his efforts to enlighten one of my followers as to the truth; and my obligation is based on the fact that I recognize the misleading errors of some of my teachings, and that I am responsible for the beliefs of many mortals that are not true and have the effect of keeping them from the truth; and further, that whenever any of those who have embraced the beliefs that I taught are shown the light and directed to the errors of my teachings, I am to that extent happier and relieved from the burdens which I carry with me - that my teachings are keeping so many from the truth. In all this I refer to the great question of the Divine Love and the way in which mortals may obtain the same and become in harmony with the Father, and partake of His Divine Nature and immortality.

I have examined these truths since I came to the spirit world and realize with a great conviction, that the reflection of the Divine Love is not the possession of that mind which comes only with the possession of the Love of the Father.

I wish that I had time tonight to write you a longer letter on this subject, but your guide says that you are not in condition to receive a lengthy letter and I must stop.

Let me express the hope that you and your friend, whenever the opportunity occurs, will attempt to enlighten my followers as to the truths which you know and as to errors and the want of the true explanation of a salvation, which my books do not contain.

With my love I will say good night.

Mrs. Eddy

**********

Helen affirms Mrs. Eddy's message.

I am here, your own true and loving Helen.

Well dear, I have been with you all evening and enjoyed your conversation. You may believe that the last communication was from Mrs. Eddy, for she actually wrote and was glad that she could do so, and because she carries the burden of which she wrote, we permitted her to write.

She realizes that, although she has a great amount of the Divine Love, yet the knowledge that she believed and taught others to believe the errors of her writings causes her much unhappiness in the way of possessing a great desire to undo or neutralize the effect of what she taught.

Love me and pray to the Father. Good night.

Your own true and loving,
Helen

Ross Perry Writes that He is Receiving Divine Love and Will Soon be in the Third Sphere

April 27, 1918
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Ross Perry.

Let me write a line, for I am very desirous of again communicating to you the fact that I am progressing and have found the Love of which you first told me and which information led to my seeking it.

I know that you are very much interested in the higher messages and want to give your time to receiving them and that it is almost impudence for me to intrude, but I have asked your wife if I will interfere with any of these messages tonight by my writing and she informed me that it would not, as none of these messages would be written tonight. So I feel somewhat at liberty to write and I hope that you will consider that I am not intruding.

Well, since last I wrote you, I have been praying to the Father with all the longing of my soul for an increase of His Love and realize that it has come into my soul in greater abundance and I am correspondingly happy. I shall soon be in the Third Sphere, so the spirit friends who have been so kind and loving to me, tell me, and it gives me much happiness to know that such a prospect is opened up to me, for I can, because of the progress that I have already made, and realize to some extent, what a home in that sphere will mean to me.

I would like to write you a long letter tonight, but I must not detain you. But this I want you to remember that I am very happy now and my sufferings have left and I know that all these blessings came to me because of the workings of the Divine Love in my soul. It is wonderful what that Love can accomplish in the way of rescuing a sinful soul from its surroundings of darkness and from suffering.

The Law of Compensation, which is a great truth, does its work without hesitation or partiality, or interference by any God or angel in the way of commanding it to cease its work, but this great Divine Love is more powerful than the Law and when it enters into the soul of a man or spirit it in effect says to this Law: "You shall no longer operate on the soul of the sinner that was, because it will take that soul away from and outside the operations of the Law."

How little men understand this working of the (Divine) Love. It does not set aside the Law, but it merely removes the soul in which it has found a lodgment from the scope of the operation of the Law. The Law goes on but the objects of its operations are rescued from the same. No Law is set aside which men think and argue is necessary in order for a soul to be saved from its penalties and when on earth I believed this, too, and did not believe in or accept the doctrine of the special interposition of divine providence to succor men from the consequence of their sins and that I did not believe because I thought that the only way in which this could be accomplished was for God to say to the Law: "You shall cease to operate."

But now I know, that, while the Law never ceases to operate until the penalties that are called for are paid, yet this Love is above the Law, though not antagonistic to it. I wish that I might write more on this subject tonight as to me, it is one of the most wonderful truths in God's Universe of Spirit and I never cease to meditate upon it and thank the Father that I was made a real example of the power of this Love.

Well I must stop now, but when you have time I should like to come and write at more length. I see that my wife has not progressed in learning the truth and I am very sorry. Well friend, good night.

Your friend,
Ross Perry

**********

Helen is glad that Perry wrote.

I am here, your own true loving Helen.

Well dear, I see that you are not just in condition for very lengthy writing tonight and I will say only a few words. Your condition, though, is much better and there is no reason why you cannot receive the messages that have so long been delayed and I trust that you will do so very soon.

I am glad that Perry wrote you as he did, he is very enthusiastic over his knowledge and experience of the Divine Love and is now quite happy and progressing. Love me and think of me and pray to the Father. Good night.

Your own true and loving,
Helen

Jesus Writes that He is with Mr. Padgett Often, Prays with Him and Wishes to Begin His Writings Earlier in the Evening

April 18, 1918
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

I was with you tonight and heard what the preacher said and some parts of his talk expressed the truth and some did not; and I should like to comment on what he said just now, but you are a little tired from the effect of the writings of the spirits who preceded me and I will postpone my comments until later.

I expressly wish to write on the subject of what God has to do with the war, and show how far the preacher was right. I know that men may be surprised at what I may say, but nevertheless I will state the truth as I know it.

I also desire to finish my message on God, and as your condition is much improved, I will do so very soon, and you must commence to write or permit me to write earlier in the evening, when you are fresh. I was with you last night as you prayed and prayed with you, and you were benefitted. I will continue to pray, for I desire and it is necessary that your soul have such development and get in such rapport with me as will enable me to write my deepest and highest messages of spiritual truths and this can be brought about only by the Love increasing in your soul and your becoming nearer and closer to the Father. And there is nothing in all the universe that can accomplish this result so certainly as the receiving of this Love in your soul, in fact, there is nothing else; and you must pray and long for its inflowing. I will not write more now, so good night.

Believe that I am with you often, throwing my love and influence about you. Well, I understand and am sorry that it has so far not worked out its end; but it will, I am sure, for the work has to be accomplished, and the attaining of these ends is necessary. Have a little more faith, and act on it.

Your brother and friend,

Jesus

**********

Ann Rollins confirms what the Master said and encourages him in his work.

I am here, your grandmother:

Let me say that I have heard what the Master said and join with him in advising you to keep up your faith and courage, for I know that which you desire will be accomplished and the means found for fulfilling the work and bringing it to a successful issue.

We are all with you trying to help you, and we will. Only do as the Master said and you will not fail or be disappointed in the end. Believe that I love you very much and am with you often, and that we will succeed. Good night.

Your Grandmother

Spinoza, the Celebrated Philosopher, Writes that "Reason" per se is Not a Reliable Guide to Truth

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

I am here, Spinoza.

I desire to write a few lines, if you will permit. I need not say that I have never written you before, for you will know from the difficulty that I have in writing that such must be the case. No, I am a stranger to this method of communication, and to you and to me it has come in very recent days as a wonderful revelation.

I do not intend to write upon a subject of any great truth connected with our spirit life, but merely to say sufficient to introduce myself, in the hope that when I am better acquainted with the laws governing this method, I may be permitted to come to you and write of those things, which I have learned since becoming a spirit, and which to learn when on earth would have been not only very desirable but very important.

I was, when on earth, a philosopher, so-called, and gave many years of my life to the search for truth relating not only to the natural world, but to what I conceived to be truth connected with that world or existence outside of and beyond the sense world; and in my researches, I was guilty of many speculations, which I now see have no foundation upon which I had built many conclusions and postulates. I had only the intellect, supplied in its workings by the knowledge that came from the phenomena of the purely physical and, as I thought, by that great faculty called "reason," which, as a fact, is a wonderful faculty, but in its exercise it is dependent upon, first, its own development, and next, whether that development has been along the lines of and in accord with truth.

A reason merely because it is a reason is not a guide that can be depended on, for reasoning in an erroneous way must necessarily lead to conclusions of error and merely calling or believing that these conclusions are the results of reason does not justify the belief that the conclusions must be correct and veracious. Reason can be mistaken and featured by error, just as can the senses; and, hence, if you read the writings of the philosophers and metaphysicians, and also scientists, you will find that things declared and accepted by these men in one age have been repudiated and rejected by the successors of these men in later ages.

And so, when I wrote, and I wrote considerably, and was very largely read by what was considered to be the thinking class of men, and especially those whose researches led them along a similar line of study and subject matter as my own, I declared certain doctrines or principles connected with these metaphysical and philosophical matters that I now know to be wholly erroneous, but which at the time I firmly believed to be things of verity, because largely they were based on what I thought was the true workings of reason, together with some little empirical knowledge.

From this, I do not mean to decry the value and importance of the faculty of reason, for it has been the great factor operating progress of mankind, but like other finite faculties, it is subject to erroneous exercise and cannot be depended on as a thing infallible. The common experience of men has shown that men who have sincerely and earnestly and constantly exercised their reasoning faculties have arrived at different and contradictory conclusions as to the same principles or subject matter, and those conclusions have been entirely satisfactory and convincing to the respective persons. Now it is apparent that in such instances all of these men could not possibly be correct in their conclusions, and in many cases not any of them were correct, yet they were all founded on the reason, properly and intelligently exercised, as they supposed.

No, reason is fallible, and it is not a thing of itself, but dependent upon environments and sometimes inherited or preconceived ideas of what truth must be. It is the great friend and defender of speculation, and without it speculation could not exist, and so often is speculation deceived by its friend.

Truth is that which exists as an unchangeable condition or fact, and speculation can neither create nor destroy truth; and reason is a means which may be used to reach truth when knowledge does not exist. But the fact that reason exists does not mean that it is always used in that way that leads to the discovery of truth. Reason, as I am now justified in saying, is but a creature of God, just as is everything else in His universe; and when given to man with the freedom of exercising it as man wills, is subject to all the possibilities of defective exercise that every other faculty possessed by man is subject to and is no more infallible in its nature than are these other faculties.

But it is the greatest faculty that man has as a creature of the Almighty, and without it, some of the wise of earth have said man would be no better than or different from the brute animal. But this is not quite true, for man is possessed with that which is really man himself that the brute animal does not have, and that is a soul made in the image of its Creator. It may be said that reason is merely an appendage of the soul; and I have justification in asserting that the soul in its progress can do without or cast aside this reason without doing harm to itself because, as I have learned in progressing in the spirit life, the soul may and does arrive at that degree of development where reason is not necessary or even used by it in its acquirement of truth.

I now believe, and without speculation, that reason is a gift to man to be useful to him only in his earth life and in a portion of this spirit life, until the soul comes into a knowledge of truth by the exercise of the mere desire to know. A knowledge of the whys and wherefores is not required, but it knows because it knows, just as in your earth life you have a knowledge of the sunlight even if you do not know the why and the wherefore that produce that light.

Well, my new-found friend, I have written more than I intended, but as I continued I found the desire to write increase, and I fear that I have trespassed too long and pray your forgiveness. Sometime I should like to come and write of the errors of some of the teachings of earth, or rather of the truths along the line of the subject matter of my earthly writings, as I now know them to be.

I am in what is called the intellectual planes of the Fifth Sphere and very near the entrance to the Sixth Sphere, in which I hope to be in a short time. It has been a long time since I left the earth life, and the early period of my existence in the spirit world was one of stagnation and, as I now see, merely because I brought with me many of the doctrines of the philosophy of my earth life and, as a consequence, I continued my research along the ideas and ways that I had pursued as a mortal. The time thus spent was long and continued until I became convinced that speculation in the spirit life is not very different and arrives at no more satisfactory end than speculation on earth, and then I stopped speculating and waited for something, I know not what. And strange to say, that which came to me was from a spirit who had never heard of my philosophy or any other philosophy on earth, but merely accepted truth as it gradually came to him, without knowing why or how. And I soon learned that he had a greater knowledge of the verities than had I, and so I adopted his way of receiving truth, and since then I have been progressing and am now advancing with accelerated speed - all to my happiness and intellectual enjoyment. Good-bye,

Your friend,
Spinoza

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

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

Auguste Comte, a French Philosopher. Writes His Testimony of Progressing in the Natural Love

February 1, 1918
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Auguste Comte.

I am not one of those spirits who come to you and prate about the New Birth and the Divine Love and the Celestial Spheres, but am simply a spirit who believes what can be known from observation and the exercise of the reasoning faculties. I have been in spirit life for a great many years and am in a sphere of light and have much happiness and enjoy the life of an investigator of truth.

When on earth, I was known as a free thinker and by some as an agnostic and, consequently, was not very popular, except among a number who thought as I did, and who were what was considered followers of me in my beliefs and doctrines as regards the purposes of man's creation and his functions and duties on earth.

I believed and taught that the great duty and object of his creation were the exercise of good deeds and the offering of the greatest help to humanity in its living the life on earth. That humanitarianism was the great and vital religion of man on earth, and the only god to be worshipped was the god of human kindness and help, and that any and all other gods were the mere creatures of superstition and without real existence and of no benefit to mankind. There were a number of persons who believed and lived in that belief and endeavored to have it guide and control them in their course of living just as I did, and there are numbers on earth who believe and make such belief their religion.

I do not dispute the future existence of the soul, or that man should have a continuous progression during eternity, and finally reach a condition of happiness and perfection that would render unnecessary the application of the doctrines of humanitarianism that was so necessary while mortals.

And I have found since coming to the spirit world that my beliefs and teachings are filled with truth and have resulted in great benefit to me and to numbers of others who carried out to the best of their ability the Golden Rule of: "Doing unto others as they would have others do unto them."

Many of my associates of life are with me here, and we have a comparatively joyous congregation of souls engaged in the work of helping spirits who come to the spirit world not knowing their destiny, or what is before them in the way of living or thinking.

When I came to this world, I entered the planes of darkness and some suffering and had to work with all the efforts of my mind to make progress out of that condition by the exercise of thoughts of benevolence and the doing of good to those spirits whom I found that I could help. My state of freedom from those things that partook of sin was what determined my progress and for a long time I made very slow advancement towards the higher planes of thought and condition of purity.

But I realized that within me was that which was better than I had known or realized while on earth, and that if I should get rid of those things which kept that better part of me from developing, I would progress and so I struggled to get rid of these things and have myself become the master of the situation. I found that these contaminating things, which were really the creations of my mortal animal desires and appetites, were not a legitimate part of myself, and that I was not a true philosopher by permitting them to linger with me and for, to my deception, a part of myself - the undesirable part - and so I fought to banish them from my knowledge and recollections, and as I succeeded in these efforts, I found that I was advancing in light and truth and in harmony with what was pure and good.

I did not ask the help of any mediator to rescue me from my condition of darkness in some mysterious way, or pray to God to take me from my surroundings by means of some omnipotent power that He might exercise in my behalf. I was helped by other spirits who had advanced higher than I, but that help consisted of their advice and the encouragement that came to me when I perceived by their bright appearances and happier conditions that it was possible for me to advance also, as they assured me that they had been in my condition, and that by good thoughts and their efforts to help others, they had been enabled to forget and throw aside those things that caused their state of darkness and suffering. Yes, their advice and influence helped me very much to help myself. I realized the fact that, notwithstanding the help of others, upon myself principally depended the success of effort and the success of advancement.

So, as a spirit who has had the experience that I have related, I would advise all men to examine themselves and learn what is the cause of their condition of darkness and unhappiness, and then seek the means of ridding themselves of this cause, and if they will honestly make the effort they will succeed and become better and happier men.

There is no question that the temptations of the animal appetites and desires to accumulate those things that bring to them selfishness and greed and the want of charity and human sympathy, will prevent them from progressing in the development of the better part of themselves and keep it stagnant and retard its advancement; and men should know this and bend all their energies to curb these appetites and replace these desires with desires to help and serve their fellow men, and let their sympathy and love go out in active works of good to their brothers, for all men are brothers, even in the mortal life though to many it may not be apparent; but in the spirit life, it comes as a truth to all, for as each spirit becomes developed in his better part, spirits as a whole become developed, and a more universal happiness ensues.

Well, I have written a long time tonight and as this is the first time that I have ever tried to communicate to a mortal, I am some little tired, as you mortals say, and will stop. When on earth I was known as Auguste Comte and lived in France. I have no name here and need none.

Well, I have heard what you said and am a little surprised to hear you make the assertion that you do, but I have no pride of superior or exclusive knowledge and while I doubt that you can demonstrate what you say, yet I am willing to have you make the experiment, and will enter it with an open and unprejudiced mind, and only hope that you may be able to show me a way better than the one I have pursued.

I have never seen or conversed with spirits of the Celestial Heavens, though I have been informed that there are such; but as, when on earth, I did not believe in ghosts, so here, I have not believed in these Celestial Spirits, and thought that they were merely creations of the distorted imaginations of the spirits who told me of the existence of these Celestial beings. You must not be surprised when I ascribe to some of the spirits distorted imaginations, for there are many such spirits just as there are mortals on earth with distorted imaginations. The fact of being in the body does not confine distorted imaginations and diseased minds to the earth life only. Yes, I am ready to meet your Celestial Spirit.

There comes to me a beautiful, bright spirit, such as I have never seen before, who says that he has answered your call and is ready to perform the work of love of showing me the easier and better way to development, and it depends on me whether I will learn that way or not, and if I am willing, he will teach me. Well, I am surprised, I confess! I will go with him and learn all that he can teach me. I will come again.

Good night.
Auguste Comte

**********

Helen comments on spirit who wrote and went with Prof. Salyards.
   
I am here, your own true and loving Helen.

Well, dear, I had some difficulty because of spirits who wished and tried to write, but White Eagle succeeded in inducing them to desist and I then took control. I am glad that you are feeling better tonight and I was expecting that John would write, but conditions are not just favorable and he did not stay. You must make the effort to get in condition, so that he can make the rapport as he desires so much to finish his message.

The spirit who wrote you I never saw before, but he appeared to be a very bright and sincere spirit and desirous of learning anything possible to learn. He has no soul development in the Divine Love and I know that he will be interested in what shall be told him. He went with Prof. Salyards and was much impressed at the appearance of the Professor and his kindly invitation to go with him. I hope that he may learn the Way. I will not write more tonight. So, sweetheart, say good night.

Swedenborg Writes that He Does Not Want James Padgett to be a Failure in His Work for the Kingdom as He Was

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

I am here, Swedenborg.

I have heard the messages that you have just received and I desire to impress upon you the necessity and importance of striving to follow the advice therein given, for if you fail now to do the work upon which you have entered, your regrets when you come to the spirit world will be so great that you will find it almost impossible to get rid of them even if you progress to the soul spheres where the Love is all so abundant.

I know what I write for that was my experience and it seemed to me that everywhere I turned as I sought to progress I saw before me the word "failure" and for many long years it was my ghost of a recollection. Failure as you may know is comparative, and men may fail in their ambitions and desires for fame and wealth and position, and yet when they come to the spirit world they realize that such failures mean comparatively little and in their progress in the truth, they soon forget their failures and cast them behind. But when a mortal has conferred upon him a work which does not have for its object the accumulation of wealth or the attaining of fame or position, but the great and vital end of showing men the way by which they can become reconciled to God and partake of His very Nature in Love and obtain immortality, and also has given to him the privilege of receiving the Great Truths of God in relation to the salvation of men, then I say that failure means a great catastrophe for him and a greater calamity for humanity, and that man is in a condition of mind and recollection beyond description.

Very few men have had conferred upon them this great privilege and power and responsibility, and I was one of them and was a failure not because I did not try to receive and deliver the truth, but because I prevented, by my preconceived ideas of what the truth should be, the real and pure truth from coming to me and thence to humanity. In a way I was unconscious of my failure or of the existence of conditions in me that caused the failure; yet when I came to the spirit world and realized the failure that I had made, then everything was a failure to my conscience.

In your case, you have no such preconceived ideas to hamper you or prevent you from receiving the truth, for you are used merely as instrument for these truths to transcribe and they are delivered in the very language of the writers, and your failure if such there shall be, will be entirely due to your indifference or want of effort to get in condition that will enable the messages to be written. You must see your responsibility and your duty, and I may say your love that should urge you to work and you must not become a failure.

I am your friend and brother and co-worker in making known these truths and only write because I as a failure can speak from experience. So my brother turn your thought more to this work, and if necessary sacrifice every worldly consideration to carry forward your work and make perfect your efforts to fulfill the great mission with which you have been blessed.

I will not write more now. May the Father bless you with His Love.

Your brother in Christ,
Swedenborg

**********

Helen says that Swedenborg wrote with authority.

I am here, your own true and loving Helen.

Well dear, you have received some important messages tonight and I hope that you will read and ponder them, for they are of great spiritual importance, not only to the work that you are doing but also to you personally. I shudder to think of what the consequences might be if you would make a failure of the great privilege that has been bestowed upon you, and you must think of what Swedenborg wrote, for he would write as one having had an experience with a knowledge that came from the experience.

But I know that you will not be a failure and that you will give your best endeavors to the accomplishing of the work. I wish to tell you also, that you should pray more for the Love and long for it with all the longing of your soul, and then as it flows into your soul, I know that your desire to accomplish this work will so increase that there will be no possibility of failure. So sweetheart, follow the advice given you and determine that the great work of the Master will not this time be a failure through you.

I was with you at church tonight and realized that you enjoyed the services very much and especially the music and your soul experience and considerable happiness from the Love that came to you. And there was much Love with and around you, for many of the spirits were present, but Jesus was not there. Again has Christmas come, and the people are now worshiping their Jesus as God, a worship which is very distasteful to him and one which he hopes by the truths of the messages that he is delivering to you will cease, when these messages shall become known to the people. He realizes how much harm such worship does and also realizes that he is a mere son of the Father as are many and all spirits who have received His Divine Love in their souls and become a part of His Divinity; and Jesus knowing that he is merely a child of the Father, dependent upon Him for His Love and Mercy, avoids all opportunity of hearing the praises and worship of those who substitute him in the place of the Father. So distasteful and blasphemous is this worship to him that he even gives up his work in the earth plane among spirits and men until the time of this universal worship of him shall pass by.

I am so glad that this great truth of the only one and true God, the only being to be worshiped, is being revealed to mankind. So you see how important that you do your work. Well, you have written a great deal tonight and are tired and I will not draw on you further. Love me and believe that I love you, and pray to the Father to give you His Love and strength to perform your mission. Good night my dear husband.

Your own true and loving,
Helen

George W. Smith Writes that He Knew the Stone Family in England

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

I am here, George W. Smith.

I am a spirit who lived in England and knew the family of your friend (Dr. Leslie R. Stone) and have met them in the spirit world and have seen them write to him and call him their son, and as I am permitted to write, I thought that I would say a few words.

I am not in such an exalted position as my friends and have with me some darkness and suffering, though I am progressing and learning of the way, which they tell me I must pursue in order to get rid of my present conditions. Mrs. (Priscilla) Stone has been a very angel of goodness to me and has so patiently tried to show me the way to truth and to the Love that has made an angel of her. What a glorious and beautiful spirit she is and how fortunate her son is to have such a mother who loves him so much as I have heard her often say.

Well, I merely want to say that I have heard the conversation between you and my brother and have believed with interest in what he said about writing to my sisters and telling them some of the spiritual truths that have been written to him by our mother and others.

Well, I will not write more, but I have learned that the prayers of you mortals do help the darkened spirits very much and wish that your friend and you would pray for me. Heaven is ahead of me, they tell me, and I want so much to get there.

Good night.
George W. Smith

Jesus Writes the Religion of the Future Will Be Founded on the Truths of the New Birth and the Transformation of the Soul into the Divine

November 6, 1917
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

I have been with you part of the time as you were reading* the different explanations of the various religions, and tried to direct your mind so that you might conceive the difference between the things taught in those teachings and what we are revealing to you. Many things that are set forth in those teachings - that are mysteries and the results of speculation - will be revealed to you in their true existence and meaning, so that all defects or desiderata that arise because of the insufficiency of these teachings will be corrected and supplied.

I am glad that you read these sermons, for they demonstrate to you a number of truths that were known to the ancients but which fall far short of the truth. At those times there was no source from which our truths could come, either in the spirit world or in the mortal world and, hence, humans could not become inspired as to the vital truths that we are revealing.

The men who appeared as reformers and gave forth the truths that were unknown to their fellowmen were inspired by the intelligences of the spirit world, but that inspiration could not be greater or higher than the knowledge of the spirits by whom these men were inspired. And what I here say applies not only to the prophets and teachers of the Old Testament times, but to those of all the times and among all races preceding my coming to earth and making known the great truths which were revealed to me by the Father.

I noticed that some of these teachers and writers of essays at the great religious gathering attempted to speak of a future or world religion, and their claims were divergent but were based mostly on those foundations that will never support such a religion. They almost entirely based their concepts on principles of morality as understood by them, and the churches based their beliefs on the teachings of the New Testament, which in many and vital particulars are erroneous, especially, the basic one that I am God, the Son, and that my vicarious atonement and sacrifice must be the touchstone of the future great and ultimate religion. Well, as their claims are not true, it is certain that any religion based upon them cannot be true or lasting.

There will be a religion of the future and a comprehensive and final one, and it will be founded upon the Truths which you are now receiving, for it will be inclusive of all the other religions, so far as the truths that they contain are concerned, with the addition of the greatest of all truths affecting mortals - the New Birth and transformation of the human soul into the Divine.

When men shall come to make a comparative analysis of these existing religions and the one that I shall make known, there will be very little conflict in the vital principles, and my teachings will only add to the old teachings that which all men can accept.

Hence, you see the importance of our working more rapidly in our efforts to disclose and disseminate the truth. I will come in a few nights and deliver another formal message, and others also will come and write you. Many of the Celestial Spirits are qualified to teach the truths of the Father, and they are ready and anxious to do so. I will not write more now, but with my love and blessings will say, good night. Yes, I am with you as I promised and will continue to be.

Your brother and friend,
Jesus

*Mr. Padgett had been reading The World's Parliament of Religions at Columbian Exposition of 1893.

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

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

I am here, Mrs. Mitchell.

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

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

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

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

**********

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

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

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

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

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

Your own true and loving,
Helen

John Writes that Only Soul Can Call to Soul and Divine Love Responds Only When Such Soul Calls

July 11, 1917
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.

I am here. St. John.

I heard your prayer and know that this Love is flowing into your soul and that now you have a great abundance of its possession of which you are conscious. It will never fail you when you pray in earnestness and with the real longings for its coming. It is always ready to respond to your aspirations and to make you feel its presence and the happiness that comes with it.

I, as you know, am your special friend in my work of helping to develop your soul, and whenever you pray to the Father as you have just prayed, I come to you with my love and influence to help open up your soul to the inflowing of this Love. Have faith and you will have the certainty of the presence of the Love, and that it is yours seeking to come into your soul in greater and more abundance.

You are blessed in that you have the knowledge of the existence of this Love, and that it may be yours if you so will it to be and pray with the true longings of your soul's desires. You cannot doubt the truth of what I write - for as in the ordinary things of life - there is nothing so convincing as personal experience, and your experience is such that there has been no room for doubt.

So if you would keep the consciousness of the presence of this Love continually alive, pray and pray whenever the opportunity presents itself, and by this I don't mean that you shall wait for a time when you are not engaged in your business affairs, but at moments when the mind may be free, even if only for a moment, from these business affairs. The longings, if exercised only for a moment, will bring their results; for God's ear is always open and ready to cause the responses to such longings.

One moment of true soul felt longings is more effective than hours of prayer where these longings are not present. The prayers of the lip or of habit rises no higher than the escaping breath and does not cause the Love to respond and flow into the soul. Remember this, and then realize how futile are all the prayers of preachers and ostensible worshipers when the soul's longings and desires are not present.

Only soul can call to soul, and Love responds only when such soul calls. The mere desires of the mind, if I may so express my meaning, do not in the least affect the soul, and as mind can operate only on mind, there cannot possibly be any activity of the soul's faculties, when only mind is in operation. Hence, you will see, that all the worship that comes merely from the mind will not effectuate the working of the Love or bring into operation the [Holy] Spirit's work.

I write this to further encourage you and, also, to make plain the necessity for the true prayer.

John

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