November 11th, 1915.
Received by James Padgett.
Washington D.C.
I am here, Your father:
I have been much interested in your conversation tonight, and I see that your two friends are firm believers in spiritualism and in the communications while you receive from the spirits who profess to write.
Of course Dr. Stone who is a believer of some years standing has no doubt whatever; but Mr. Morgan, having so recently embraced this belief, is at times a little skeptical, and this is natural; but his belief will grow, and we firmly believe, as do you, in the near future, and he will be a great help to you and to the cause. He is now undergoing that change in his ideas of life here and on earth, that he will soon realize the truths as we shall teach them to you.
I want to say a word in reference to the message which you received from your friend, Mr. Lipscomb. He is a spirit in a very dark and depraved condition and shows upon his spirit countenance the results of his dissipated life on earth. His soul has very little development, and his mind is in such a condition that he will require much discipline through suffering, before he will commence to see the light, and comprehend that the truths of God are eternal and never change, and that he must accept these truths before he can progress much.
He was so anxious to write to you, and expressed his desires in such a pitiable way, that we thought it would do him good to permit him to write, and he did. Mr. Riddle has talked to him and endeavored to show him the way to light and relief, but at this time he is not in condition to receive or understand these truths, and he has gone back to his dark and dreary condition and his hell, as he calls it.
We will not desert him, though, but will continue to use our influence and love to help him, and in course of time, he will realize that he must ask help from the Father, and then he will receive it. He is not of a very reverent turn of mind, and his ideas of earth are with him still, and will remain with him until he becomes persuaded that there is only one thing that will take him out of his darkness and suffering.
There is another thing that I wish to tell you, and that is that he is still visiting the bar rooms, which he so frequently visited when he was on earth, and is drinking his whiskey and other accursed drinks as he thinks. The attraction of this stuff and these places is holding him fast to this manner of living. So you see his life here is not much different from what it was on earth, only he is not able of himself to indulge in these appetites, but must use the appetites and organs of some of his late earth friends to satisfy his appetite. This, of course, is a matter of imagination, but to him it is as real as was his drinking on earth, and for the time being, causes him to believe that he is actually satisfying his cravings. But while he is not doing so, he is working injury to some mortals whom you know, in that he is causing them to drink more than they otherwise would.
Oh, the curse of habits and evil appetites once acquired and never gotten rid of. So his only salvation now is for him to have some great awakening as to his true condition, and then his reform may commence, but until then it is almost hopeless to try to help him. I will not write more of him tonight, but say that we will not permit him to write again until he gets into a better condition.
We are all very happy and are with you a great deal, loving you and trying to help you. You must not let your worries possess you so much for they do you harm. Yes, I know that it is difficult not to worry under such circumstances, but soon you will not have cause to worry as we have told you.
Well, you may lose faith and we can hardly blame you, but the relief will come just the same.
I will not write more tonight.
Your loving Father,
John H. Padgett