I AM HERE. Professor Salyards.

(I have especially set some time aside tonight for the rest of your message.)

Yes, and I am very much pleased that you have, and that you are in such good condition to write tonight. Well, I desire to continue my discourse on the laws of the spirit world as known to many spirits.

The next law is that no matter how much knowledge of material things and of purely physical laws a man may have acquired on earth, his knowledge is not sufficient to fit him for the higher things of the spirit life.

Many men think that, because they have this great knowledge of the material universe, they need not attempt to learn the laws which control the operations of spirit life, or the laws which determine the position and development of that part of man commonly known as the soul. This is a very great mistake; and, sooner or later, all human beings will realize the necessity of learning these more important laws of the soul development, and of the spiritual part of man. While on earth, I never attempted to investigate these laws; and, consequently, when I came into the spirit world, I was as a newborn babe in my understanding of these laws. And so will all humans be who have neglected the investigation and study of these laws.

Therefore, I would advise every man to give his best endeavor to the study of these laws, and especially that part of them which deals more particularly with the soul’s development and progress towards the greatest happiness. These laws are set forth and declared to a very large extent in the New Testament. And in some parts of the Old are many suggestions as to what a man should do to save his soul from “death.” By this I mean the death that comes with neglect to exercise all the qualities of the soul that a man is capable of exercising when in the mortal life. A man may let his faculties of mind “die” by neglecting to feed it on proper mental food; and so with the soul. Of course, the soul never dies, as far as is known, in the sense of absolute destruction and disintegration. But it can get into such a state of inertia or lethargy that, so far as it is a part of the activities of man, it may as well be dead.

I don’t mean to say that the mere neglect to exercise these soul faculties will cause a man’s soul to remain dead forever, for that is not so. Sooner or later, either in the mortal life or in the spirit life, this soul will have an awakening. But that awakening may be delayed for many years, and even centuries; and, in its highest sense, the soul may never have an awakening. So, let men know the importance of studying and applying these spiritual laws to their own selves while mortals. And, when they come to be spirits, they will find what a great advantage such study and application have proven to be to their progression and happiness.

There is another law of the spirit world that is of vital importance to those in the mortal life, and one which they can learn, and that is that no man can, of himself, save himself from the penalties of the Law of Compensation. I have written about this before, but it is of such vast importance and affects all human beings to such an extent that I feel justified in saying something more on the subject.

THIS LAW OF COMPENSATION IS AS FIXED AS ANY OF GOD’S LAWS. IT CANNOT BE AVOIDED UNDER ANY CONDITION OR CIRCUMSTANCE EXCEPT ONE, AND THAT IS THE REDEMPTION OF A MAN’S SOUL BY THE LOVE OF THE FATHER ENTERING INTO IT AND MAKING IT AT-ONE WITH HIS OWN, AND LIKE HIS IN ALL THE QUALITIES THAT PARTAKE OF THE DIVINE ESSENCE.

I know that many men do not believe that there can be any forgiveness of sin, because they say it is impossible to make the soul of a man clean in a moment when it has been steeped in everything vile and sinful while living the life of a mortal. Well, this I believe to be true, and I do not think that any of our greatest teachers of these highest Truths attempt to declare the doctrine of instantaneous cleansing of a vile and sinful soul; at least, that is not the doctrine taught by the greatest of all teachers, the man of Nazareth, whom I sometimes see and converse with. And he, I believe, knows more of the laws governing the salvation of men than any other, or all other teachers combined.

His teaching here is that, while a soul is not instantaneously cleansed by receiving a portion of the Divine Love, as we have heretofore explained it to you, yet, the inflowing of such Love into the soul of a man starts him into the way of right thinking, and causes him to realize that his soul is open to the influence of this Divine Love.

So, mortals as well as spirits may receive this awakening of Divine Grace to a very large extent, as soon as they realize that this Love is the only thing that will remove the penalties of this Law of Compensation.

I do not believe that, as soon as the sinner feels this Love coming into his soul, he becomes a saint and at once gets rid of his evil nature, for that can hardly be. Such an instantaneous cleansing would scarcely serve the purpose for which the work of this redemptive Love is intended.

Some persons seem to be able to receive more of this Love in a short time than do others, and, consequently, their complete redemption is more quickly accomplished. But I have experienced the inflowing of this Love and Its effect upon my sinful nature, and upon my recollections of the deeds of my earth life which calls this Law of Compensation into operation, and, to me, there does not seem to be any probability of an instantaneous cleansing of the soul so that a man becomes fitted to live in the Celestial Heavens where the Father’s Love exists in all Its purity and completeness. I know it is taught by many preachers, and it is also the dogma of some churches, that the blood of Jesus cleanses from all sin, and that in the twinkling of an eye. But you must not believe this, for it is not true. The blood of Jesus was spilled many centuries ago and has now become a part of other elements of the natural world, and cannot save anyone. And I will go further and say, as Jesus has taught me, that his blood never had any efficacy in saving anyone. He never taught that his blood could do any such thing, or that the shedding of his blood was the means of saving a soul in any sense. He is not now teaching any such doctrine, and he is disappointed that those who lead the masses of mankind should teach any such doctrine, because it takes their attention away from the one and vital principle which is necessary to their salvation, AND THAT IS THE NEW BIRTH. AND THIS DOES NOT COME TO A MAN BECAUSE THE BLOOD OF JESUS WAS A SACRIFICE TO APPEASE THE “WRATH” AND “REQUIREMENTS” OF THE FATHER, OR BECAUSE OF ANY VICARIOUS SUFFERING OF JESUS, BUT SOLELY BECAUSE THIS NEW BIRTH IS APART FROM ALL THESE DOGMAS, AND MEANS MERELY THE DIVINE LOVE FLOWING INTO A MAN’S SOUL, AND THAT SOUL BECOMING A PART OF THE DIVINE LOVE OF THE FATHER THEREBY.

But to return to this Law of Compensation, no man, by his own exertions, can save himself from the operations of this law. And so long as he has this idea of depending on his own powers, he will have to pay the penalties. Of course, as he pays these penalties, he progresses nearer and nearer to a time and condition when the law will cease to operate upon him, and he will become comparatively happy. But such payment may require long years of suffering and unhappiness.

So, I say, let man know that, for every act and deed, and for not doing what he should have done, he will have to answer the law. I do not mean by this repetition to cause men to think that I delight in showing them that they will have to suffer and live in darkness for an uncertain length of time, for I do not take any pleasure in calling their attention to this great law and the certainty of its operations. Rather, I do this to help men to avoid these sufferings and unhappiness by seeking the Love of the Father while on earth, because, from my observations, I believe that It can be found more easily while in the flesh than after a man becomes a spirit.

Another law of the spirit world is that every human being of one sex has in the earth plane—I mean on earth or in the spirit world—one of the opposite sex who is his soulmate. The importance of this Provision of the Father for the happiness of humans and spirits has never been fully understood by those who have not met and recognized their soulmates with certainty.

I know that, on earth, men have claimed that certain of the opposite sex were their affinities. And with such claims as an excuse, they have done much wrong and sin. But the soulmate is not an affinity which may be suggested by the passions or desires, but is one provided by the Grace and Love of the Father for one soulmate to live with the other through all eternity. Before they took on the form of flesh, they were united. And, in accordance with God’s Plan, when they separated and became mortals, they became no less soulmates, although they may not recollect their former unity or relationship while living the mortal life. But, as certain as God lives, at some time after they become spirits, these two soulmates will learn their true relationship to each other and, if nothing insurmountable intervenes, will come together again in true union and happiness.

The mere fact that a certain man and a certain woman are husband and wife on earth does not mean that they will live together as husband and wife through all eternity. If they are soulmates, they may; but if they are not, they will certainly separate after they enter the spirit world. That true relationship cannot be hidden here, and no mere form of relationship of husband and wife will suffice to keep the persons together.

The great Truth of soulmates is one which needs further elucidation, and one which I will try to explain more fully hereafter. But now it is sufficient to say that every man born of woman has his soulmate, either on earth or in the spirit world, and vice versa.

Well, I have written a great deal tonight and you are tired, and so am I. And, so, I will continue the rest of my discourse another time.

With all my love and best wishes for your happiness and success, I am

Your old professor and friend,

JOSEPH H. SALYARDS.