John advises James to take more care with his reading material.

January 19th, 1917

Received by James Padgett.

Washington D.C.

I am here, John:

I wish to write only a few lines tonight to tell you that you are not in condition of soul that you should be, and that you may be, for I see that you have been thinking a great deal lately of certain teachings and philosophies that do not lead your soul to development that is necessary in order for you to enjoy the Love that may be yours and which at times you have possessed and experienced. So I want to advise you to give up the investigating or even reading of these things, and confine your thought to the teachings of truth which you have received and will receive from the spirits of the Celestial and the higher spiritual spheres.

The meat of what you read in the books that you have been reading is merely speculation and sometimes contains the truth and at other times errors, while what you receive from these spirits who write you of these deep and religious truths are based on knowledge which only spirits of the development of those who write you can learn and instruct you in.

The truths that you shall learn from the sources that I have mentioned will be sufficient to enlighten your mind and to develop your soul and you will find that by learning them, great benefit will come to you.

Let these unusual philosophies take care of themselves because they cannot take care of you and they only serve to distract your mind from the truths which are real and never changeable and which must determine the condition of men and spirits and movements of the universe.

Of course, it may benefit you some to consider the teachings of the Bible which you cherish and accept as the word of God and which we say is not His word and was never written by men inspired by Him and which do not contain the sayings as teachings of Jesus surmounted with the interpolations and thoughts of me and to compare them with the truths which shall come to you from us and by such comparison you will see what great errors there are in the Bible and what injury the belief in such teachings is doing and have done to humanity.

This will be a point of the work that lies before you because when your work comes to be published, it will be read in light of what the Bible contains and the interpretations placed thereon by the theologians and commentators and the errors will then be readily seen by men, and as a consequence, rejected, and man’s conception of God and His relationship to man and the latter’s destiny will become the only line and cornerstone.

I know that if you follow my advice you will find yourself grow into a better condition for the reception of these truths and also realize that your soul development will progress with great rapidity, so that your soul perception will become so accurate that you will be able to know the truth and all its inherent meanings.

I will try to help you in this regard and will let you feel the influence of my presence and efforts to assist you to get in this condition. I have many messages to write you yet, as well as have the Master and also many high spirits who will contribute to the filling of the book of truths that we know to be truths.

So, my dear brother, think of what I have said and determine that you will follow my advice, and you will soon see the beneficial results.

Well, there are many other things that you may read and so occupy your mind. History and fiction of the better class and also many sermons and essays based on the teachings of the Bible, for as I have said, the discussion of these things will help you in comprehending and formulating and fixing in your mind, and soul, the real truths.

Yes, of course I do, for there is no religious doctrines or teachings on earth that I am not acquainted with.

I learned these things in order to appreciate just what men used to help them to avoid false doctrines and beliefs and to learn the truths which may be necessary for them to know. As you know there are many beliefs on earth and some particular truth is required for some particular mind that may be imbued with these beliefs in order to show that mind the error of its belief and the truth that it should know.

The Bahaist have not the knowledge of the great Truths of the New Birth or of the Divine Love as contradistinguished from the natural love in its purified state, and while their doctrines and teachings are very beautiful and beneficial to men in a moral point of view, yet they do not show men the true way to the Celestial home and the coming into an at-onement with the Father in the Divine Nature or in His Divine Love.

So remember what I have said and you will soon see the results of following my advice. I will come soon and communicate a truth which deals with the great love of the Father.I will not write more now but in closing; will say that we all love you very much and are very much interested in your work and are working with you.

So, only believe and pray to the Father for His love and blessings and you will find a wonderful happiness and contentment and the opening of your soul perceptions that will bring you very near to Him, and to us all in love and rapport.

With all my love and blessing, I am

Your brother in Christ,

John