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October 19th, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington D.C.
I am here, John.
I was with you tonight and heard the preacher answer the questions,
and some of his answers were very satisfactory, but there was one
that did not exactly satisfy the true longings of the man who is
in search of truth - I mean the one that asks what should a man
do who is not satisfied with any of the churches.
Well, if he can find no church that provides truths that satisfy
that man's inquiring soul, then that man can never feel that he
should go to any church for information as to those things which
he has no knowledge of or which he has grave doubts about.
The churches, of course, can give no information of truths that
the churches themselves do not know, and if the truths that these
churches teach fall short of what the man is seeking for, then these
churches cannot possibly be satisfactory to him. While the churches
differ in their creed and government, and perhaps in some particular
construction or interpretation of the Bible, yet they, the orthodox
churches, are all founded upon the teachings of the Bible, and they
cannot teach greater or other truths than that Book contains, and,
hence, if a man is seeking for truths that are not in the Bible,
his inquiries cannot be answered by those whose knowledge is confined
to the Bible teachings. And the non-orthodox churches cannot give
forth the truths of the spiritual kingdom of God for they to a large
degree reject the Bible and depend very largely upon ethical and
moral doctrines, and the results of the works of mere conscience
in determining the right and wrong of things. The spiritual things
are not known or taught by these churches, and, consequently, the
inquiring mind cannot get from them the information or help that
it is calling for.
I know that in such a condition and want of knowledge of truth
on the part of the churches, such a man is without the privilege
of having his cravings for the truth and his cravings for spiritual
things satisfied. And, as a consequence, he must seek further to
get the information which he may consider so necessary, and when
he comes to so seek, he will find no place where such knowledge
may be found.
The mere intellectual acquirements of students and philosophers
will not supply what the man is seeking and he is without any possibility
of obtaining what he seeks for. And so the preacher's suggestion
that he and two others form a church of their own, would have some
force were it not for the fact that any church that might be so
formed would have no greater possession of the truth than the churches
that he has failed to find any satisfaction in.
There are many men on earth today in the condition of the man spoken
of, and many who refuse to seek in the churches for the truth, are
without any recourse to other means or places or teachers of whom
they can learn the things that they are searching for.
The spirits have known of this condition of men for these many
centuries and have been trying to supply a way or create a medium
through which the great spiritual truths of God could be made known
to men. And for that very purpose we are now using you to receive
our messages of truth and make them known to mankind, and provide
a church, may I say, where the seeking man may find answers to his
inquiries.
We shall complete our delivery of these truths through you and
then the man who cannot find a church where his searchings can be
satisfied, will find a reservoir of truth opened up to him, that
will not require any preacher or church to explain it.
As you proceed in your experience with the churches and teachers
of the old truths, as they call them, you will more fully realize
the necessity for our work and your work. I will not write more
tonight, but will come soon and deliver a formal message.
With my love and blessings I will say good night.
John
This message is a composite of two, being published
in Volume II on page 128 and Volume III on page 277. For more details
see this page.
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