GOOD AND EVIL

May 23rd, 1917. 

I am here, Jesus.

    Jesus, your brother and friend. 

    I come tonight to say a few words, that you may be encouraged in your spiritual condition and made to feel that I am with you in your doubts and despondency. 

    I was with you last night.  Realized just what your condition is.  Tried to influence you with my love and sympathy.  When you felt that you were all alone, I endeavored to impress you with my help and the Power of the Divine Love, that I have received from the Father. 

    I know that while you are in the flesh and temptations come to you, there will be times when you will think that you are forsaken.  Or, that the Father's Divine Love is not in and about you, in all its Beauty and Sustaining Influence. That when thoughts will come to you, such as Job speaks of in the book that you have been reading and God will seem a long way off.  My brother, let me tell you with all the Knowledge and Love that I have, that God is never a way off from you in His Love.  That He is always ready and willing to help and comfort you.  If you will only have Faith and let your longings go out to Him for the inflowing of this Divine Love into your soul.  It is never absent from you and awaits only your invitation, for making Itself real and consciously present with you.  You only, can prevent Its coming into your soul.  If you will believe that this is True and endeavor to realize how close this Divine Love is to you, and how anxious the Father is that you receive It, you will be able to overcome these thoughts, that arise from the weakness of the flesh, or rather, from the strength of the animal part of your nature. 

    So try to remember what I say.  Whenever these thoughts come to you, look upon them as merely thoughts, that come in the visions of the night and have no real foundation for their existence.  As you may not know, real thoughts can arise only from that which is real.  When this Divine Love of the Father comes into your soul, appetites and passions that arise, from the perversion of the animal nature of your being, cease to be real.  Are merely the recollections of what has been, a resultant of that perversion.  This Divine Love makes that, which aforetime was perverse, a genuine thing of Truth, in Harmony with God and Goodness. 

    Life is of God.  When not perverted by the will of humans, is like unto the Goodness from which it comes. Good and evil are conditions, which are only, as in the one case God is Real, in the other, evil is not real, as being a part of the Creation of God.  It, sin, is the creation of humans.  That humans are disobedient and out of Harmony with their own Creation and the Laws of their Creator. 

    I write this to encourage your Faith in the Goodness of God and in the inherent goodness of yourself.  To confirm your Faith and Knowledge in the Truth, that in God's Universe all is Good.  Only that is sinful, which humans themselves, in violation of the Will of the Father, have created, afterwards cultivated and nurtured.  So believe this, that when this Divine Love comes into your soul, you have the possession of that, which will enable you to forget the creatures of your own will and make successful your efforts to cease the cultivation of this resultant of your own creation. 

    It is only when you, for the moment, forget, or cease to realize, that this Divine Love is yours, does the existence of the evil, which was as you may think to be naturally yours, become to you real.  At least in your thoughts appear to be real.  You have experienced the condition of soul when these thoughts had no place in your life.  Were to you, as if they had never been.  What you have thus experienced, may, if you let live your Faith in the possession of this Divine Love, continue to be your condition without intermission.  You will be enabled to enjoy consciously the reality of Its continuous existence. 

    I further know, that this state of freedom from thoughts of evil, requires you to watch.  Upon the first suggestion of such thoughts, pray to the Father for the increased Expression of His Divine Love.  You will not be disappointed. As in the prayer which I have given you, you are taught to ask that help may be given you to overcome all temptations of the flesh and the influence of the evil ones. So I repeat, let your supplications for this help ascend to The Father, when first you feel the temptation.  For, so far as regards your condition of soul qualities, these temptations and influences are real.  The evil ones are with all mortals.  The condition of the soul determines whether they, the evil ones, can, or not, make a rapport with the mortals.

    When this Divine Love comes into the soul, such rapport is impossible.  Then the secret of overcoming temptations is, to have the soul qualities in such condition that the rapport cannot be made.  I know that humans, sometimes, by their course of thinking of things good and pure invite this rapport (with God), but this is not to be relied on as a sure preventive.  For thoughts are changeable.  The results of the appetites and emotions, the natural, as I may say, tendencies, of humans, are to gratify these appetites, when not curbed by the higher development of their moral qualities.  Which qualities are very susceptible to the influence of the sensual natures of humans. 

    I felt the necessity of writing to you as I have.  For it is so important both for yourself personally and as my instrument, for the work that has been given you to do, that you acquire more of this Divine Love and the Knowledge, by which you may be helped so very much to overcome these temptations and influences.  The more Divine Love, the less the power of temptation and the possibility of thoughts, that do not find their source in this Divine Love. 

    So I say to you: watch and pray. 

    Well, I will not write more tonight.  With my love and blessings will say goodnight and God Bless you.  I will come soon and write another message and hope that you may be in condition to receive it, as successfully and correctly as you did my last one. 

Your friend and brother, Jesus

May 24th, 1917

I am here, James

    I came to write on the subject of: "The frailties of the human mind and moral qualities".

    I have heard you read the Master's message and believe that in it you will find much Truth, upon which to reflect.  I desire to add a little, to what has been therein said.  Here I want further to say, that while that message was intended for you personally, yet the Truth and advice therein given, may be applied to every mortal.  The good results will follow, no matter who that mortal may be.

    I have, as you know, been in the spirit world a great many centuries, as you conceive of time.  Have during that long period been very close to mortals in all parts of the earth, of all nationalities and beliefs, education and enlightenment.  In my experiences with these mortals, I have observed the nature and temptations.  The various ways in which mortals have been assailed by such temptations and their efforts to overcome the same, together with their successes and failures.

    Now, first let me say that the nature (of the qualities of their minds, not their True Nature as souls) of humans are today, the same as it was when I lived on earth.  The perversions and sins of the souls of humans, are just as many and of the same kind, as they were in my day in the flesh.  Temptations, both outward and inward, are just as hard to overcome, as they were, when first the Glad Tidings of Love and Redemption were proclaimed by the Master.  Except, that prior to that time, humans had not the Divine Love to help them overcome and subdue these temptations, as they now have.  The regret is, that while this Great Helper, Regenerator and Conqueror of sin and temptation (the Divine Love) is now in the world of mortals and subject to their call, yet so comparatively few make the call, or realize the fact that this Helper is always waiting to enable them to overcome temptations.

    Prior to this time of the coming of the Divine Love, Moral Truths were taught to humans, just as they are today.  Many humans, not necessarily among the Jews, understood and attempted to apply these Truths to their daily lives. Endeavored to overcome the temptations, arising from the sins, that so constantly formed a part of their existence and that also came from the influence of the evil spirits.  It is all wrong to suppose that in these early times and among these early races of earth, Moral Perceptions were not developed and taught.  Humans then, made the fight to overcome temptations and become good, noble beings, so far as these Moral Truths and Principles were then understood and used by humans would make them.

    In all ages since the fall of the First Parents, humans have, to a more or less degree, had Knowledge of what is called the Moral Truths.  The natural love of humans has existed in a more or less imperfect condition.  Humans have been kind, loving and true.  Have to an extent controlled their appetites and tendencies to evil lives.  To suppose that humans of today, are not subject to so great temptations and are of themselves better able to resist the same, is a mistake.  The present great war (1917) proves the fact.  For humans were never, I mean those who make a pretense to culture and civilization, so brutal in their acts. So apparently devoid of all conception of right, wrong and of mercy, as are many of those who are engaged in the present struggle.

    So I say, humans of today, can lay no greater claim to moral qualities, than could those of the times when they were supposed to be heathens and undeveloped in these moral qualities.

    Of course there is in the world today, more of what may be called education and conventionality.  But behind these things, which are largely the results of merely intellectual development, humans have the same perverted souls, or rather appetites and desires.  Are subject to the same temptations as were humans of old.  If humankind were left dependent upon the cultivation and improvement of these merely Moral Powers, I fear that temptation would continue to have all its influence and harmful power on the souls of humans, that it had in the past.

    I know, it is said, "that the world is growing better".  But the question is:  Is that assertion True?  If so, what is the cause?

    Go to India, to China and to some other countries, where the teachings of the supposed moral laws only obtain.  Learn if there has been any improvement in the condition of humans souls.  If they have, in any degree, succeeded in overcoming the temptations that the human race is subject to.  In learning, you will find, that except in the case of a few of these people, the conditions of their minds and souls are just as perverted as they were in centuries past.  That it is only in those countries where the influence of Christian nations have control, do these people suppress the tendencies of perverted minds, to do those things that arise from the want of the exercise of Moral Precepts, or Knowledge.

    This is the Truth, of what mere moral teachings have accomplished, where only the mere Moral Truths, as is supposed, are taught.  Temptations are with humans.  Will be with them forever, unless they be controlled, or overcome, by something greater, or more certain, than what humans conceive to be Moral Truths.  

    Now, you will see from this, that merely Moral Concepts will not necessarily, or, at least, for a long time to come, be able to bring about the destruction of the powers of temptation that arises from the perverted (mental) nature of mortals.

    I must stop now and in doing so will leave you my love and blessings.  Goodnight.

Your brother in Christ, James, brother of John.