December 29, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.
I am here, your Helen.
I will write you a little, if I am permitted to do so; but I suppose I will have to be real stern to another spirit here who says that she wants to write and tell you one little secret, which she has and if I will only let her say it, she will love me forever. So I suppose I must let her say it.
Mary now writes:
Well, Doctor*, don't you know whom Helen was talking about? I don't believe you do, because when I said I had a secret, you would immediately say it was not I, for I don't keep secrets but tell all I know - no matter who hears me.
But you are wrong, for I have a secret and I want to tell it to you, but only on condition that you promise not to reveal it. I assume that you promise. So listen as I whisper it to you: I love you with all my heart and soul and want you to know it.
Now Helen, I have told him, and I thank you.
Helen now writes:
Well, isn't she a cute little sweetheart! But she had to tell him or she would burst open, as you mortals say.
Well, sweetheart, you have had a long writing tonight and I will not detain you longer. I will say, though, that I am so happy and only wish that you could get one glimpse of me now, for you would see such love for you that you would never more doubt. But I must stop. So good night to you both.
Your own true and loving,
Helen
*Dr. Leslie R. Stone
Friday, April 12, 2013
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Jesus Writes About the Great Plan of the Father for Redemption
December 28, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.
I am Jesus.
I will write only a few lines. I merely want to say that what you have read tonight from your wife as to her progress and her condition of Love is all true. She is in such a state of happiness that you must not wonder that she was not able to describe to you her home and her new surroundings, for they are beyond description in the words that you mortals use to express your ideas.
But this I will say, that the heart of man has never conceived nor the mind of man thought of the great blessings and joy which the Father has prepared for those who love Him in the way of possessing His Divine Love, which makes their souls at-one with Him and causes them to partake of His Divine Nature and realize that they are a part of His Great Divinity and Immortal.
If mortals would only learn of this great plan of the Father for their redemption, and then believe and try to get this Great Love, how much more happiness there would be, not only among spirits but among mortals also, for this Love can be possessed to a very great degree by mortals, notwithstanding (that) they have all the trials and temptations of the flesh.
My object is to have you and your friend obtain this Great Love while you are still in the flesh, for your work will require that you have this Love so that you can not only teach its existence, but by your very lives show and prove to mankind that it is a thing of reality.
I will soon write you another message that will show another great truth which mankind must know.
Well, I will explain that sentence in one of my messages very soon, and will to the satisfaction of your friend show that God never leads any of his children into temptation, and that I never said in teaching my disciples the Lord's prayer, that they should pray that God would not lead them into temptation. I will also write you the actual prayer which I taught them, and which is the true prayer which all men with fervent, honest, longing hearts should offer to the Father. So let not this trouble you or your friend, for God does not lead men into temptation but, on the contrary, uses the influence of his righteous spirits upon them to help them resist all temptation.
With all my love for you and your co-worker, and the blessings of the Father upon you both,
I am your brother and friend,
Jesus
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.
I am Jesus.
I will write only a few lines. I merely want to say that what you have read tonight from your wife as to her progress and her condition of Love is all true. She is in such a state of happiness that you must not wonder that she was not able to describe to you her home and her new surroundings, for they are beyond description in the words that you mortals use to express your ideas.
But this I will say, that the heart of man has never conceived nor the mind of man thought of the great blessings and joy which the Father has prepared for those who love Him in the way of possessing His Divine Love, which makes their souls at-one with Him and causes them to partake of His Divine Nature and realize that they are a part of His Great Divinity and Immortal.
If mortals would only learn of this great plan of the Father for their redemption, and then believe and try to get this Great Love, how much more happiness there would be, not only among spirits but among mortals also, for this Love can be possessed to a very great degree by mortals, notwithstanding (that) they have all the trials and temptations of the flesh.
My object is to have you and your friend obtain this Great Love while you are still in the flesh, for your work will require that you have this Love so that you can not only teach its existence, but by your very lives show and prove to mankind that it is a thing of reality.
I will soon write you another message that will show another great truth which mankind must know.
Well, I will explain that sentence in one of my messages very soon, and will to the satisfaction of your friend show that God never leads any of his children into temptation, and that I never said in teaching my disciples the Lord's prayer, that they should pray that God would not lead them into temptation. I will also write you the actual prayer which I taught them, and which is the true prayer which all men with fervent, honest, longing hearts should offer to the Father. So let not this trouble you or your friend, for God does not lead men into temptation but, on the contrary, uses the influence of his righteous spirits upon them to help them resist all temptation.
With all my love for you and your co-worker, and the blessings of the Father upon you both,
I am your brother and friend,
Jesus
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Helen Writes that She Has Progressed to the Third Celestial Sphere
December 28, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.
I am here, your Helen.
I am ready to write as I promised you today, and you must not think that I will not tell you of what is so dear to me and should be to you. It has been a long time since I wrote you very much in detail about myself, and you do not know what has taken place in my soul progression for some time past.
Well, I have been praying and trying to get more Love of the Father in my soul and have succeeded to such an extent that I am now in the Third Celestial Sphere, where are your grandmother and mother also; and my dear, if I could only tell you of the joys and grandeur of this sphere, I should be most happy, but I have not the words at my command to give you any satisfactory idea of what the appearance and conditions of this sphere are.
I have described to you my home in the Second Celestial Sphere, though very inadequately, but that home cannot compare with what I have now, and I cannot better describe it than to say it is beyond all possible conception of what you can possibly have of beauty and grandeur and Love. I am only in the lower planes of this sphere, but these are so filled with the Father's Love, that it almost seems impossible that there can be any spheres where there is more of this Love but, of course, as Jesus and all the apostles and some others who write you have their homes in these higher (Celestial) Spheres and nearer to the fountainhead of Love, consequently, there must be more Love where they are.
I am so happy that I can scarcely tell you of what this happiness means but, at any rate, I must say that there is never the slightest thing to interfere with my happiness or to make me think that I am not an accepted child of the Father partaking of His Love to an extent that makes me immortal and never again subject to death.
This happiness is not such as satisfies only for a while, but is one continual source of living, free from all that might enter into the feelings or lives of spirits that know not that they are one with the Father and a part of Him in Love and beauty. I am only wanting one thing now to make my life complete, and that is to have you with me; but from this you must not think that I am not perfectly happy and contented, for I am, but as you have been told, I am only one half of the complete one, the other half must come and join the half that I am before the perfect one can become completed. So my dear Ned, you must try now harder than ever to get this Great Love in your soul in more abundance, and you may if you will only pray and have faith, for the Master says that you can, and he knows.
Yes, I have my individual home here, just as I had in the lower spheres, and it is just as real, and more so, as any home which you have on earth. My garments are the same in appearance, as to form, but oh, so much more beautiful and shining white, and my countenance, too, is more beautiful and full of expressions of Love. So you see, I have a greater Love for my Father and a greater Love for you; for as my Love for the Father increases, my Love for you also increases, and I know that when you come over this Love will be so great, that you will wonder that such Love could exist.
I do not think that I had better write more tonight as I do not feel like telling you of other things, and I only want to enjoy this Great Love free from communicating about other matters, though at another time, I shall be pleased to do so.
So sweetheart, think of me as I am now, filled with this Great, new Love that is possessing my whole being, and now dear you are the object of this Love outside of that which is the Father's.
I will not write more, but will say that I am yours now and for all eternity and am waiting, oh so longingly, for the time to come when you can be with me. I will stop writing.
Your own true and loving,
Helen
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.
I am here, your Helen.
I am ready to write as I promised you today, and you must not think that I will not tell you of what is so dear to me and should be to you. It has been a long time since I wrote you very much in detail about myself, and you do not know what has taken place in my soul progression for some time past.
Well, I have been praying and trying to get more Love of the Father in my soul and have succeeded to such an extent that I am now in the Third Celestial Sphere, where are your grandmother and mother also; and my dear, if I could only tell you of the joys and grandeur of this sphere, I should be most happy, but I have not the words at my command to give you any satisfactory idea of what the appearance and conditions of this sphere are.
I have described to you my home in the Second Celestial Sphere, though very inadequately, but that home cannot compare with what I have now, and I cannot better describe it than to say it is beyond all possible conception of what you can possibly have of beauty and grandeur and Love. I am only in the lower planes of this sphere, but these are so filled with the Father's Love, that it almost seems impossible that there can be any spheres where there is more of this Love but, of course, as Jesus and all the apostles and some others who write you have their homes in these higher (Celestial) Spheres and nearer to the fountainhead of Love, consequently, there must be more Love where they are.
I am so happy that I can scarcely tell you of what this happiness means but, at any rate, I must say that there is never the slightest thing to interfere with my happiness or to make me think that I am not an accepted child of the Father partaking of His Love to an extent that makes me immortal and never again subject to death.
This happiness is not such as satisfies only for a while, but is one continual source of living, free from all that might enter into the feelings or lives of spirits that know not that they are one with the Father and a part of Him in Love and beauty. I am only wanting one thing now to make my life complete, and that is to have you with me; but from this you must not think that I am not perfectly happy and contented, for I am, but as you have been told, I am only one half of the complete one, the other half must come and join the half that I am before the perfect one can become completed. So my dear Ned, you must try now harder than ever to get this Great Love in your soul in more abundance, and you may if you will only pray and have faith, for the Master says that you can, and he knows.
Yes, I have my individual home here, just as I had in the lower spheres, and it is just as real, and more so, as any home which you have on earth. My garments are the same in appearance, as to form, but oh, so much more beautiful and shining white, and my countenance, too, is more beautiful and full of expressions of Love. So you see, I have a greater Love for my Father and a greater Love for you; for as my Love for the Father increases, my Love for you also increases, and I know that when you come over this Love will be so great, that you will wonder that such Love could exist.
I do not think that I had better write more tonight as I do not feel like telling you of other things, and I only want to enjoy this Great Love free from communicating about other matters, though at another time, I shall be pleased to do so.
So sweetheart, think of me as I am now, filled with this Great, new Love that is possessing my whole being, and now dear you are the object of this Love outside of that which is the Father's.
I will not write more, but will say that I am yours now and for all eternity and am waiting, oh so longingly, for the time to come when you can be with me. I will stop writing.
Your own true and loving,
Helen
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Jesus Writes That He Visited the Preacher of a Unitarian Church and Believes He Will Accept the Truths in the Messages
December 28, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.
I am here, Jesus.
I came tonight to tell you that you did the right thing by sending the message to the person who wrote the article upon the subject of Christianizing the Bible, for I now believe that he will appreciate it to a very great extent.
He is not an orthodox Christian as I have learned, but is the preacher of a Unitarian Church in the little town in which he lives and is a very broad minded man. I have learned this by visiting him and saw the condition of his mind and beliefs upon subjects related to what you have written him.
He may have some doubts as to the source of the message and may not feel inclined to accept your statements as to how you received it as true, but yet his doubts will not be altogether of such a nature that he may not have some hesitation on saying that such a thing as your receiving my message could not be true.
At any rate he will become interested in the subject matter of the message and will find some thoughts that he never before had.
And I fully realize that when you shall publish my messages, the great difficulty in their being accepted will be the doubts of the people as to their source, but you will have to compile the book in such a way that the testimony of the numerous writers will be so strong that the doubts will not be able to withstand the evidence of my being the writer of the messages. And when men read the same, they will realize that the truths which they contain could only come from a higher source than mortal mind and that the hand of the Father is in them.
I merely write this tonight to show you that we will have a great difficulty to have people believe that I wrote the messages and that we will have to do everything possible to convince them of the truth of the source of the writings. But if this difficulty should appear almost insurmountable in the beginning, yet after a while when men come to appreciate the inherent truth and importance of the messages, they will easily believe that I wrote them, and especially will this be the case with those men who are not orthodox in this belief.
So I will continue to write and you to receive the messages and when the time comes to publish them, I do not fear that they will not be gladly received.
Very soon I will write you another, which will be very important to mankind.
I will only say further that I am with you trying to influence you to do the right thing in your life and to believe with all your heart in the Divine Love of the Father and in my mission and your work.
I will not write more but will say with all my love that I am,
Your brother and friend,
Jesus
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.
I am here, Jesus.
I came tonight to tell you that you did the right thing by sending the message to the person who wrote the article upon the subject of Christianizing the Bible, for I now believe that he will appreciate it to a very great extent.
He is not an orthodox Christian as I have learned, but is the preacher of a Unitarian Church in the little town in which he lives and is a very broad minded man. I have learned this by visiting him and saw the condition of his mind and beliefs upon subjects related to what you have written him.
He may have some doubts as to the source of the message and may not feel inclined to accept your statements as to how you received it as true, but yet his doubts will not be altogether of such a nature that he may not have some hesitation on saying that such a thing as your receiving my message could not be true.
At any rate he will become interested in the subject matter of the message and will find some thoughts that he never before had.
And I fully realize that when you shall publish my messages, the great difficulty in their being accepted will be the doubts of the people as to their source, but you will have to compile the book in such a way that the testimony of the numerous writers will be so strong that the doubts will not be able to withstand the evidence of my being the writer of the messages. And when men read the same, they will realize that the truths which they contain could only come from a higher source than mortal mind and that the hand of the Father is in them.
I merely write this tonight to show you that we will have a great difficulty to have people believe that I wrote the messages and that we will have to do everything possible to convince them of the truth of the source of the writings. But if this difficulty should appear almost insurmountable in the beginning, yet after a while when men come to appreciate the inherent truth and importance of the messages, they will easily believe that I wrote them, and especially will this be the case with those men who are not orthodox in this belief.
So I will continue to write and you to receive the messages and when the time comes to publish them, I do not fear that they will not be gladly received.
Very soon I will write you another, which will be very important to mankind.
I will only say further that I am with you trying to influence you to do the right thing in your life and to believe with all your heart in the Divine Love of the Father and in my mission and your work.
I will not write more but will say with all my love that I am,
Your brother and friend,
Jesus
Monday, April 8, 2013
Helen and Jesus Write Different Opinions to Mr. Padgett About Writing to a Man Who May Not Appreciate It
December 27, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.
I am here, Helen.
Well sweetheart, I have been waiting for some time to write to you and tell you that you are not doing the right thing by sending the message to the man who wrote the article in which the message comments on his, a man that will not appreciate what it contains. I say this because I have visited him since you commenced to think of writing to him and find that he is another self-conceited man and has opinions of his own which are not easily influenced.
I would like you to send it to anyone who would appreciate it, but I do not believe that the man you have in mind will.
Well, as you say, Jesus is the one to judge and he may think differently from me and I think I may ask him. He may decide that you had better send it even though he sees that the man will not believe in the ways of its coming.
So I will not say that you do not send it until he has decided the matter, and he is here now and will write you, but before I stop, I want to say that I love you with all my heart and am with you trying to comfort you and make you feel the effect of my love. So with all my heart, I will say good night.
Your own true and loving,
Helen
* * * * * * * * * *
Jesus does not think that that message could do harm and may do some good.
I am here, Jesus.:
Well my dear brother, I have read what your wife wrote you and at first thought I agreed with her for I am afraid that the person referred to is of the character that she describes. Yet, when I consider the matter, I am inclined to think that it may be a wise thing to send it to him as while he may not believe that I wrote it, yet, he may find some truth in it that may set him to thinking and help him to a broader view of man's relation to the Father. At any rate try the experiment as it can do no harm and may do some good.
I will now write you another message on a matter of utmost importance and I hope that you will be in condition to receive it. I will not write more tonight.
Well, I am with you very often and my love is influencing you all the time and the Love of the Father is flowing into your soul, also. I am so glad that you feel to such an extent the importance of this work and I promise that very soon now, you will be in condition to do my work as you desire and I want you to.
So continue to let your soul long for more of the Father's Love and His faith and you will find that they will come to you in increasing abundance and that you will become very happy. I will be with you and give you my love and will pray to the Father on your request with all the faith that I have that He may answer my prayers. So only trust and believe and you will see the glory of the Father and your own salvation to the highest.
I am with you trying to help you in every way and especially in the way of your being able very soon to lay aside your professional work and give all your attention to my work.
The happiness will come, only have faith and use your best efforts to bring about the results desired.
I will stop now but in closing, I will assure you of my great love and interest in you. So with all my love, I am
Your brother and friend,
Jesus
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.
I am here, Helen.
Well sweetheart, I have been waiting for some time to write to you and tell you that you are not doing the right thing by sending the message to the man who wrote the article in which the message comments on his, a man that will not appreciate what it contains. I say this because I have visited him since you commenced to think of writing to him and find that he is another self-conceited man and has opinions of his own which are not easily influenced.
I would like you to send it to anyone who would appreciate it, but I do not believe that the man you have in mind will.
Well, as you say, Jesus is the one to judge and he may think differently from me and I think I may ask him. He may decide that you had better send it even though he sees that the man will not believe in the ways of its coming.
So I will not say that you do not send it until he has decided the matter, and he is here now and will write you, but before I stop, I want to say that I love you with all my heart and am with you trying to comfort you and make you feel the effect of my love. So with all my heart, I will say good night.
Your own true and loving,
Helen
* * * * * * * * * *
Jesus does not think that that message could do harm and may do some good.
I am here, Jesus.:
Well my dear brother, I have read what your wife wrote you and at first thought I agreed with her for I am afraid that the person referred to is of the character that she describes. Yet, when I consider the matter, I am inclined to think that it may be a wise thing to send it to him as while he may not believe that I wrote it, yet, he may find some truth in it that may set him to thinking and help him to a broader view of man's relation to the Father. At any rate try the experiment as it can do no harm and may do some good.
I will now write you another message on a matter of utmost importance and I hope that you will be in condition to receive it. I will not write more tonight.
Well, I am with you very often and my love is influencing you all the time and the Love of the Father is flowing into your soul, also. I am so glad that you feel to such an extent the importance of this work and I promise that very soon now, you will be in condition to do my work as you desire and I want you to.
So continue to let your soul long for more of the Father's Love and His faith and you will find that they will come to you in increasing abundance and that you will become very happy. I will be with you and give you my love and will pray to the Father on your request with all the faith that I have that He may answer my prayers. So only trust and believe and you will see the glory of the Father and your own salvation to the highest.
I am with you trying to help you in every way and especially in the way of your being able very soon to lay aside your professional work and give all your attention to my work.
The happiness will come, only have faith and use your best efforts to bring about the results desired.
I will stop now but in closing, I will assure you of my great love and interest in you. So with all my love, I am
Your brother and friend,
Jesus
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Mary Kennedy Writes About Her Love for Her Soulmate and that She is Now in the First Celestial Sphere
December 26, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.
I am here, Mary Kennedy.
Well, you had a spirit write you who wanted the light, and your band thought it advisable to let him write, and they also saw another spirit who is filled with love for a mortal, who some spirits such as Helen say doesn't deserve it, and they have let her write, and she is doing so. I merely wanted to do a little independent writing myself to let that dear boy* see that I am able to write him and tell him that I love him, just as I have told him so many times before.
I was with him at church tonight and enjoyed the singing very much, as he did, and tried to make him feel my presence, and I believe that he did.
But I will not make love to him or he might get tired of hearing me tell him and get in such a condition of conceit that he will think that all he has to do is to say, "Mary, come and tell me that you love me better than anyone else." So have determined that I will not in the future tell him so often of my love - that is, if I can keep from doing so, and I doubt that I can. Helen says that I am such a lovesick girl that if a brick house stood between him and me, I would butt my brains out trying to get to where he is. And maybe she is right. But anyhow, I have the right to do it if I choose, and no one else has any right to say I shan't.
So let him know that it is real mean to take advantage of my weak condition, or strong maybe, and want me to do all the love-making. He doesn't have to write his love to me as I do to him, for if he only thinks love, I can see it in his heart and enjoy it, just as if I should receive a letter from him telling me of it.
But I must stop this love-making, and tell him that I am with him, and am so interested in his soul progress, and I know that he is progressing, for I can see his influence of love not only for me but for the Father as well, and his soul development means a great deal to me as well as to himself.
I am now in the First Celestial Sphere and am so very happy, and when I have the opportunity, and you are willing, I desire to tell him of my beautiful home and the great things that the Father has prepared for me and bestowed upon me to make me happy. They sing, "That eye has not seen, etc.;" but his eyes will not have to see, for when I write him of the great things that the Father has prepared for me, he must know and realize that they will be his someday, as well as myself also.
So let me say just one word more and, that is, that you must continue to pray to the Father for His Love and blessings and for faith, and he will find that his soul will expand in joy and peace, and that he will realize that he is coming closer and closer to his own true soulmate.
Mary
*Dr. Leslie R. Stone
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.
I am here, Mary Kennedy.
Well, you had a spirit write you who wanted the light, and your band thought it advisable to let him write, and they also saw another spirit who is filled with love for a mortal, who some spirits such as Helen say doesn't deserve it, and they have let her write, and she is doing so. I merely wanted to do a little independent writing myself to let that dear boy* see that I am able to write him and tell him that I love him, just as I have told him so many times before.
I was with him at church tonight and enjoyed the singing very much, as he did, and tried to make him feel my presence, and I believe that he did.
But I will not make love to him or he might get tired of hearing me tell him and get in such a condition of conceit that he will think that all he has to do is to say, "Mary, come and tell me that you love me better than anyone else." So have determined that I will not in the future tell him so often of my love - that is, if I can keep from doing so, and I doubt that I can. Helen says that I am such a lovesick girl that if a brick house stood between him and me, I would butt my brains out trying to get to where he is. And maybe she is right. But anyhow, I have the right to do it if I choose, and no one else has any right to say I shan't.
So let him know that it is real mean to take advantage of my weak condition, or strong maybe, and want me to do all the love-making. He doesn't have to write his love to me as I do to him, for if he only thinks love, I can see it in his heart and enjoy it, just as if I should receive a letter from him telling me of it.
But I must stop this love-making, and tell him that I am with him, and am so interested in his soul progress, and I know that he is progressing, for I can see his influence of love not only for me but for the Father as well, and his soul development means a great deal to me as well as to himself.
I am now in the First Celestial Sphere and am so very happy, and when I have the opportunity, and you are willing, I desire to tell him of my beautiful home and the great things that the Father has prepared for me and bestowed upon me to make me happy. They sing, "That eye has not seen, etc.;" but his eyes will not have to see, for when I write him of the great things that the Father has prepared for me, he must know and realize that they will be his someday, as well as myself also.
So let me say just one word more and, that is, that you must continue to pray to the Father for His Love and blessings and for faith, and he will find that his soul will expand in joy and peace, and that he will realize that he is coming closer and closer to his own true soulmate.
Mary
*Dr. Leslie R. Stone
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Jesus Writes That He is Not God and Explains Free Will and the Violation of God's Laws of Harmony
December 25, 1915
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.
I am here, Jesus.
I come tonight, because I see that you are lonesome and feel the need of companionship, and I come to you as a brother and friend to cheer you and make you feel that though you have no mortal friend with you, yet you have a friend in the spirit who is closer than a mortal brother and who loves you with a deep and abiding love.
To-day has been one in which the people of your land have celebrated what they suppose is my birthday and have also worshiped me as one of the triune Godhead, as they believe. But as I have told you before, such worship is all wrong and is very distasteful to me and only makes me the more anxious and determined that this great falsehood shall be exposed and not believed in any longer.
There is only one God and that is the Father, and He alone must be worshiped, for He alone can save mortals from the result of their sins and from the consequences of the great fall of the first parents. I do not want men to look upon me as anything more than an elder brother who is filled with the Divine Love of the Father, and very close to Him in the Qualities of Love and Faith.
I am a spirit who is possessed of a knowledge of the Attributes of the Father, that no other spirit is, and yet am only one of his children as you and the rest of mankind are, and for my own brothers to worship me as God makes me very unhappy, seeing that they can have such a little knowledge of the Truths of the Father.
Tomorrow this worship and praise will be continued and I must look upon it with all the distaste that I have, and realize that I am not able to set men aright in their beliefs and worship. Oh, I tell you the harvest is ripe and the laborers are few, but very soon, I hope this truth of the oneness of God, and the brotherhood of myself with all humanity may be revealed to mankind through the messages that you may receive and transmit to men.
The one Great Truth that is the foundation of men's salvation is the New Birth, and the fact that the Divine Love of the Father is waiting for every man to let it enter his soul and make him at one with the Father.
I am with you very often and am trying to impress you with the great necessity of having these truths revealed, as men's souls are longing for the truth, and their intellects are dissatisfied with the present teachings of theology, and the sayings of the Bible in many places. While this is to be deplored, yet the time will come when the light, that I came into the world to disclose, will shine for every man who may come within the reach of my teachings.
Last night, I was reading as you read an article, which advocated the eliminating from the Christian teachings of a large part of the New and nearly the whole of the Old Testament, and the formulating of a faith based entirely on my sayings and the writings of some of the Bible writers. Such a plan is one that should be investigated by the thinking Christians of the present day and in a modified way adopted.
The only difficulty in carrying out this plan effectively, and having it produce the results desired, is that the Bible does not contain many sayings of mine disclosing the truths and does contain many sayings attributed to me which I never said.
Take that saying over which a controversy is now being had, and which is referred to in another article contained in the book mentioned, that is, that I said, "I came not to bring peace to the world, but rather a sword."
Now, while it appears in Matthews' Gospel as coming from me, I never said it, nor used any expression that would convey the meaning that some of the commentators are endeavoring to place upon the words. I never taught war upon a man's neighbors and never at any time was such a thought a part of my teachings to the disciples or to any others. No, militarism is all wrong and against all the precepts of truth, and it should not, for a moment, be believed by any Christian or by anyone else that such action was ever advocated by me.
While the truth will cause a division, as I know, among men as to what the truth is and may even separate and cause bitter thoughts and even hatred to arise in the souls of men towards their fellow men, and even brother may come to dislike brother, yet the accomplishing of such results was not the object of my coming to earth and teaching the truths, but rather are the results of the unavoidable conflict between truth and error.
Truth cannot compromise even for the sake of peace, and error will not submit or acknowledge its untruth so long as it can get any mortal to believe in and advocate it.
And because of the great gift of free will to man, truth itself, with all the power and knowledge of the Father back of it, will not compel a man to accept it against his will and, hence, as man is very fallible and thinks and believes according as his finite, mental faculties convince him that a certain thing is or is not true, he will not be willing to surrender his convictions until the truth shall come to him in such a way as to persuade him of its reality; and as men differ so much in the operations of their minds and reasoning faculties there will necessarily be a great division among them as to what is and what is not true. And, hence, there will arise disputes and hatred and even wars among them in maintaining their respective beliefs and opinions as to what is truth.
While these feelings of discord must necessarily follow the advent of Truth, yet I did not come for the purpose of bringing a sword, but for the purpose of showing men what the Truths are and of causing harmony and belief in these Truths. Never is hatred, nor discord nor, war among men justified - no matter what the cause - and if men will only learn the Truth, there will never exist such feelings or acts.
Truth is of itself, a thing apart, and admits of no variations or modifications and, hence, the minds of men must submit to and embrace Truth; it will never accommodate itself to the beliefs of men. One is fixed and unchangeable, and the other is always changeable, and until founded on a knowledge of the Truth, will at sometime or other have to change, because in the end, Truth will be established in the hearts and minds of men, so that harmony and peace shall reign in all God's universe.
Error does not exist in the world because God created it or permits it to exist, but solely because there belongs to man an unrestricted will, which controls and influences his thoughts and acts, and which in turn is influenced by the desires and appetites of the mortal.
I know it is said that if God did not permit evil and carnal thoughts and desires to exist in the world, there would be no reason or possibility for man to exercise his will in a way that would bring him to all these feelings of hatred, etc., that I speak of. But this is merely saying that if a man had not the power of free will, he would commit no sin and indulge in no error, for you must know that in his creation he was given not only the privilege and the power, under certain conditions, to become a being entirely free from sin - which is merely the violation of God's established laws - but also the privilege and power to violate these laws. As he wills so shall he be.
Everything in nature may be turned into an instrument of harm if the laws, which establish the functionings and workings of these things, are violated. Sin as an abstract thing does not exist, but is the result of disobedience to some law whose operations in conformity to its creation must be pursued and should always be pursued; and men who violate it must suffer the consequences of such violation.
Mortals may not fully realize that every law carries with it a penalty for its violation, and this applies to the smallest law in the material universe as well as to the greatest law in the Spiritual Kingdom, and this penalty is just as sure in its operation as is the law itself.
A man may be created, physically, almost perfect and so long as he lives in that way, which does not violate some physical law which is operating to keep him in that physical perfection, he will suffer no pain or in-harmony in his being; but just as soon as he does violate this law, the penalty therefore asserts itself and he suffers. Now this arises not because there was existing in the abstract any pain or suffering and had not man violated this law, he would never have known that there was such a thing as pain or suffering; but when he did violate the law, there came into operation the penalty which, as I said is always the result of violating the Laws of Harmony.
And the same principle applies to the moral and spiritual universe. As I said, there is no such thing as sin or error in the abstract, for so long as a mortal may know and follow the truth, he will never realize the existence of any such thing as sin or error, but the moment that Law of Truth is violated, the penalty asserts itself, and man realizes that sin and error do exist; not as an abstract entity, but as a concrete sensitive thing, which will continue to exist until the violation of that law ceases and harmony in its operation is again restored, or rather until man in his thoughts and acts is brought into harmony with the operations of the law.
So you see, God did not create or permit sin or error to exist in the sense that it is an independent entity, waiting to influence men to do wrong and violate His laws of perfect harmony, but rather that when men in the exercise of their will, which He will not compel, violates one of His laws and thereby, as to themselves, interferes with that harmony, they cause the in-harmony to arise, which brings with it the pains and sufferings and sins and errors which are prevalent in the world.
Let men think, if they can, of sin or error in the abstract, and then try to describe it. What is the result? Only vacuity.
So I say, God did not create sin or error, but gave to man that great gift of will, free and not subject to His control, and then man became the responsible being that he is. But in giving man this great gift, He did not relinquish or subordinate His will to that of man nor did He confer upon man the power to change or modify His immutable laws, which He, Himself, will not do. And within the limitations that man can exercise his will, that is when such exercise does not interfere with the will of God or His laws, man may exercise that will with impunity, and without responsibility, as it were, but when in the exercise of that will he infringes upon the will of God or violates one of His laws then, while man is not controlled in the exercise of his will, yet for such violation he must pay the penalty which such violation calls into operation.
God has decreed that His universe shall be one of harmony in its workings, and that no man shall destroy or interfere with that harmony, and no man can; but as man is a part of that harmony, his every act which tends to interfere therewith - and it does not, except as to himself - brings upon himself the penalty of that interference.
Let a man who has violated this harmony, and thereby as to himself, becomes inharmonious, again get into that harmony, and as to him there would be no sin or error; and let every man do this and there would be no sin or error in all God's universe.
So, I repeat, there is no sin or error, in the abstract, in all the universe, and they appear only when man in the exercise of his will interferes, as to himself, in the harmony of God's laws. It makes no difference what the cause of this interference may be, or in what way the will of man may have been exercised, or for what reason, to bring about this in-harmony, the effect is the same. Because harmony and in-harmony cannot exist together no matter what the cause may be. No matter that in one case the cause may appear excusable or even, apparently forced on the individual. The excuse for, or apparent justification of the cause, will not make what is inharmonious unite and work in unison with God's Laws of Harmony.
And, hence, the man whose will may be excused in the way mentioned by reason of heredity, or environments, or want of proper mental or moral instruction is just as much out of harmony with the violated law, as is the man who willfully violates the law. The penalty must be enforced just the same in each case, as the only remedy is the restoration of the harmony.
But there is this difference between the individuals of what may be called the involuntary class and the individuals of the voluntary class, the former will find it easier, and with more rapidity, to get into this condition of harmony than will the latter.
So men must not accuse God in permitting sin and error to exist in the world, as they do not exist, except as man brings them into existence by the wrongful exercise of his will. All sin and error bring their sufferings, and if there were no sufferings, and men were permitted to exercise their wills irrespective of the laws which govern the universe without incurring the penalties, then the only result would be that anarchy would prevail in all God's universe where men live, and in the spirit universe as well, for the will and its great franchise of unrestricted exercise pass with the mortal when he leaves his material body.
So with all my love I will say, good night.
Your brother and friend,
Jesus
Received by James Padgett
Washington, D.C.
I am here, Jesus.
I come tonight, because I see that you are lonesome and feel the need of companionship, and I come to you as a brother and friend to cheer you and make you feel that though you have no mortal friend with you, yet you have a friend in the spirit who is closer than a mortal brother and who loves you with a deep and abiding love.
To-day has been one in which the people of your land have celebrated what they suppose is my birthday and have also worshiped me as one of the triune Godhead, as they believe. But as I have told you before, such worship is all wrong and is very distasteful to me and only makes me the more anxious and determined that this great falsehood shall be exposed and not believed in any longer.
There is only one God and that is the Father, and He alone must be worshiped, for He alone can save mortals from the result of their sins and from the consequences of the great fall of the first parents. I do not want men to look upon me as anything more than an elder brother who is filled with the Divine Love of the Father, and very close to Him in the Qualities of Love and Faith.
I am a spirit who is possessed of a knowledge of the Attributes of the Father, that no other spirit is, and yet am only one of his children as you and the rest of mankind are, and for my own brothers to worship me as God makes me very unhappy, seeing that they can have such a little knowledge of the Truths of the Father.
Tomorrow this worship and praise will be continued and I must look upon it with all the distaste that I have, and realize that I am not able to set men aright in their beliefs and worship. Oh, I tell you the harvest is ripe and the laborers are few, but very soon, I hope this truth of the oneness of God, and the brotherhood of myself with all humanity may be revealed to mankind through the messages that you may receive and transmit to men.
The one Great Truth that is the foundation of men's salvation is the New Birth, and the fact that the Divine Love of the Father is waiting for every man to let it enter his soul and make him at one with the Father.
I am with you very often and am trying to impress you with the great necessity of having these truths revealed, as men's souls are longing for the truth, and their intellects are dissatisfied with the present teachings of theology, and the sayings of the Bible in many places. While this is to be deplored, yet the time will come when the light, that I came into the world to disclose, will shine for every man who may come within the reach of my teachings.
Last night, I was reading as you read an article, which advocated the eliminating from the Christian teachings of a large part of the New and nearly the whole of the Old Testament, and the formulating of a faith based entirely on my sayings and the writings of some of the Bible writers. Such a plan is one that should be investigated by the thinking Christians of the present day and in a modified way adopted.
The only difficulty in carrying out this plan effectively, and having it produce the results desired, is that the Bible does not contain many sayings of mine disclosing the truths and does contain many sayings attributed to me which I never said.
Take that saying over which a controversy is now being had, and which is referred to in another article contained in the book mentioned, that is, that I said, "I came not to bring peace to the world, but rather a sword."
Now, while it appears in Matthews' Gospel as coming from me, I never said it, nor used any expression that would convey the meaning that some of the commentators are endeavoring to place upon the words. I never taught war upon a man's neighbors and never at any time was such a thought a part of my teachings to the disciples or to any others. No, militarism is all wrong and against all the precepts of truth, and it should not, for a moment, be believed by any Christian or by anyone else that such action was ever advocated by me.
While the truth will cause a division, as I know, among men as to what the truth is and may even separate and cause bitter thoughts and even hatred to arise in the souls of men towards their fellow men, and even brother may come to dislike brother, yet the accomplishing of such results was not the object of my coming to earth and teaching the truths, but rather are the results of the unavoidable conflict between truth and error.
Truth cannot compromise even for the sake of peace, and error will not submit or acknowledge its untruth so long as it can get any mortal to believe in and advocate it.
And because of the great gift of free will to man, truth itself, with all the power and knowledge of the Father back of it, will not compel a man to accept it against his will and, hence, as man is very fallible and thinks and believes according as his finite, mental faculties convince him that a certain thing is or is not true, he will not be willing to surrender his convictions until the truth shall come to him in such a way as to persuade him of its reality; and as men differ so much in the operations of their minds and reasoning faculties there will necessarily be a great division among them as to what is and what is not true. And, hence, there will arise disputes and hatred and even wars among them in maintaining their respective beliefs and opinions as to what is truth.
While these feelings of discord must necessarily follow the advent of Truth, yet I did not come for the purpose of bringing a sword, but for the purpose of showing men what the Truths are and of causing harmony and belief in these Truths. Never is hatred, nor discord nor, war among men justified - no matter what the cause - and if men will only learn the Truth, there will never exist such feelings or acts.
Truth is of itself, a thing apart, and admits of no variations or modifications and, hence, the minds of men must submit to and embrace Truth; it will never accommodate itself to the beliefs of men. One is fixed and unchangeable, and the other is always changeable, and until founded on a knowledge of the Truth, will at sometime or other have to change, because in the end, Truth will be established in the hearts and minds of men, so that harmony and peace shall reign in all God's universe.
Error does not exist in the world because God created it or permits it to exist, but solely because there belongs to man an unrestricted will, which controls and influences his thoughts and acts, and which in turn is influenced by the desires and appetites of the mortal.
I know it is said that if God did not permit evil and carnal thoughts and desires to exist in the world, there would be no reason or possibility for man to exercise his will in a way that would bring him to all these feelings of hatred, etc., that I speak of. But this is merely saying that if a man had not the power of free will, he would commit no sin and indulge in no error, for you must know that in his creation he was given not only the privilege and the power, under certain conditions, to become a being entirely free from sin - which is merely the violation of God's established laws - but also the privilege and power to violate these laws. As he wills so shall he be.
Everything in nature may be turned into an instrument of harm if the laws, which establish the functionings and workings of these things, are violated. Sin as an abstract thing does not exist, but is the result of disobedience to some law whose operations in conformity to its creation must be pursued and should always be pursued; and men who violate it must suffer the consequences of such violation.
Mortals may not fully realize that every law carries with it a penalty for its violation, and this applies to the smallest law in the material universe as well as to the greatest law in the Spiritual Kingdom, and this penalty is just as sure in its operation as is the law itself.
A man may be created, physically, almost perfect and so long as he lives in that way, which does not violate some physical law which is operating to keep him in that physical perfection, he will suffer no pain or in-harmony in his being; but just as soon as he does violate this law, the penalty therefore asserts itself and he suffers. Now this arises not because there was existing in the abstract any pain or suffering and had not man violated this law, he would never have known that there was such a thing as pain or suffering; but when he did violate the law, there came into operation the penalty which, as I said is always the result of violating the Laws of Harmony.
And the same principle applies to the moral and spiritual universe. As I said, there is no such thing as sin or error in the abstract, for so long as a mortal may know and follow the truth, he will never realize the existence of any such thing as sin or error, but the moment that Law of Truth is violated, the penalty asserts itself, and man realizes that sin and error do exist; not as an abstract entity, but as a concrete sensitive thing, which will continue to exist until the violation of that law ceases and harmony in its operation is again restored, or rather until man in his thoughts and acts is brought into harmony with the operations of the law.
So you see, God did not create or permit sin or error to exist in the sense that it is an independent entity, waiting to influence men to do wrong and violate His laws of perfect harmony, but rather that when men in the exercise of their will, which He will not compel, violates one of His laws and thereby, as to themselves, interferes with that harmony, they cause the in-harmony to arise, which brings with it the pains and sufferings and sins and errors which are prevalent in the world.
Let men think, if they can, of sin or error in the abstract, and then try to describe it. What is the result? Only vacuity.
So I say, God did not create sin or error, but gave to man that great gift of will, free and not subject to His control, and then man became the responsible being that he is. But in giving man this great gift, He did not relinquish or subordinate His will to that of man nor did He confer upon man the power to change or modify His immutable laws, which He, Himself, will not do. And within the limitations that man can exercise his will, that is when such exercise does not interfere with the will of God or His laws, man may exercise that will with impunity, and without responsibility, as it were, but when in the exercise of that will he infringes upon the will of God or violates one of His laws then, while man is not controlled in the exercise of his will, yet for such violation he must pay the penalty which such violation calls into operation.
God has decreed that His universe shall be one of harmony in its workings, and that no man shall destroy or interfere with that harmony, and no man can; but as man is a part of that harmony, his every act which tends to interfere therewith - and it does not, except as to himself - brings upon himself the penalty of that interference.
Let a man who has violated this harmony, and thereby as to himself, becomes inharmonious, again get into that harmony, and as to him there would be no sin or error; and let every man do this and there would be no sin or error in all God's universe.
So, I repeat, there is no sin or error, in the abstract, in all the universe, and they appear only when man in the exercise of his will interferes, as to himself, in the harmony of God's laws. It makes no difference what the cause of this interference may be, or in what way the will of man may have been exercised, or for what reason, to bring about this in-harmony, the effect is the same. Because harmony and in-harmony cannot exist together no matter what the cause may be. No matter that in one case the cause may appear excusable or even, apparently forced on the individual. The excuse for, or apparent justification of the cause, will not make what is inharmonious unite and work in unison with God's Laws of Harmony.
And, hence, the man whose will may be excused in the way mentioned by reason of heredity, or environments, or want of proper mental or moral instruction is just as much out of harmony with the violated law, as is the man who willfully violates the law. The penalty must be enforced just the same in each case, as the only remedy is the restoration of the harmony.
But there is this difference between the individuals of what may be called the involuntary class and the individuals of the voluntary class, the former will find it easier, and with more rapidity, to get into this condition of harmony than will the latter.
So men must not accuse God in permitting sin and error to exist in the world, as they do not exist, except as man brings them into existence by the wrongful exercise of his will. All sin and error bring their sufferings, and if there were no sufferings, and men were permitted to exercise their wills irrespective of the laws which govern the universe without incurring the penalties, then the only result would be that anarchy would prevail in all God's universe where men live, and in the spirit universe as well, for the will and its great franchise of unrestricted exercise pass with the mortal when he leaves his material body.
So with all my love I will say, good night.
Your brother and friend,
Jesus
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