I AM HERE. Lot of the Old Testament.

I come to you because I am now a follower of the Master. I want to add my testimony to that of others of olden times who have written you that Jesus is alive and the ruler in the Celestial Heavens, and that he is now working among men and spirits to show them the Way to eternal life and the Divine Love of the Father.

I am not a Hebrew who would have denied him had I lived when he came to the earth, for, in my thoughts and belief, I expected the coming of the Messiah. And, to me, Jesus was that Messiah in all the qualities and spiritual possessions that I expected him to have.

Of course, when I lived, we had not the privilege of knowing what the Divine Love of the Father meant. We only knew that there was a God, and that God loved us, as we thought, as His chosen people; also, that He wanted us to live correct lives on earth, and thereby receive His Blessings and all the rewards that an obedient life might bring to us as mortals. But as to this Greater Love which makes angels of us all who possess It, we had no knowledge. Nor had we ever been taught by our seers or prophets that such a Love existed; and, as I know, the privilege of obtaining It did not then exist. Only with the coming of Jesus came that Love again to man and to spirits.

But God gave us a natural love, in contradistinction to the Divine Love. And we had a love for Him which, when fully purified, would make us spirits with a happiness that is beyond all conception of human happiness. But we were not even taught of that happiness, and we only had glimpses in the teachings of our prophets that such happiness might exist in the future life.

I was a lover of God, as I then understood what God was, but such love was not that which arose from my conception of Him as a Tender, Loving Father, but more as a “stem, wrathful” God—one of “jealousy” and always watchful and “ready to punish” for disobedience to His Commands. And, yet, we also learned that He would reward us when we obeyed Him and did His Will.

SO, YOU SEE, THE GOD OF MY DAYS AND THE GOD OF THE PRESENT, AS WE NOW CONCEIVE HIM TO BE, ARE NOT SIMILAR. AND ALL MEN SHOULD NOW UNDERSTAND AND BELIEVE THAT JESUS CHRIST BROUGHT TO LIGHT—AND, BY THAT, I MEAN TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF MEN—THE POSSIBILITY OF THEIR KNOWING THE TRUE GOD OF LOVE AND MERCY. ALSO, THEY SHOULD NOW UNDERSTAND THAT, BECAUSE OF GOD’S GREAT MERCY IN REBESTOWING UPON MANKIND THE POSSIBILITY OF MEN BECOMING POSSESSED OF HIS DIVINE LOVE, THEY NOW HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY OF BECOMING AT-ONE WITH GOD AND CERTAIN OF IMMORTALITY.

It was long years after Jesus came before I received this Divine Love or believed the great Truths which Jesus taught. I was so satisfied in my happiness as a spirit possessing merely this natural love, which had been purified and freed from sin and error, that I thought there could be no greater love or no greater happiness. But, in the course of time, I had reasons to think that there might be another, if not greater, Love in operation in the spirit world because of the wonderful beauty and brightness of some of the spirits that I met at times. And I started to make investigation of the matter, and, as a result, I learned of this Divine Love; and, at last, I sought for and found It. And what a Treasure I found!

I am now so filled with It that my happiness is beyond all conception of not only man but also of spirits who live in lower spheres than I do.

I must not write more tonight, but I will tell you that I am one of the many Celestial spirits who are now interested and engaged in doing the great work for the redemption of all mankind.

Jesus is our leader, and we are all following him in the effort to redeem the world; and, by that, I mean the individuals who comprise the world. For you must know that redemption is an individual matter, and not one that can be accomplished in the way of redeeming a nation or a race as a whole.

So, you see, back of this work is the great power of the Celestial as well as of the Spiritual Heavens.

I have written enough for tonight.

(Mr. Padgett asked a question.)

Well, the incident of my wife turning into a pillar of salt is like a great many others related in the Old Testament. These incidents are mere figures of speech used to illustrate some moral or spiritual Truth. My wife was never turned into salt, but died a natural death, and her remains were buried where mine were buried. She is now in the Celestial Heavens also.

So, my dear brother, I must say good night.

LOT.