February 11th, 1916.
Received by James Padgett.
Washington D.C.
I am here, Stephen B. Elkins:
I have written you before, and I merely want to say now that I am in a better condition than when I last wrote you. I acted on your advice, and went with your grandmother, who is so very beautiful, and good, and listened to her explanations of the way to get out of my darkness and sufferings, and tried to follow her advice; and as a result, I find that much of my suffering has left me and I am in more light. I tell you, the relief that has come to me is beyond description, and the hope that I now have helps me to see that there is complete salvation for me, and that I may attain to the happiness which she tells me of.
I want to express to you my thanks for your assistance, and for directing me to those beautiful and bright spirits who compose your band, and who are doing so much good to the spirits in darkness and torment.
I now realize how unimportant were all the things of earth. I mean the material things, such as money and position and fame, and if I could only tell my children and wife and the others of my family what are the important things for them to do, I would be so happy; for notwithstanding the fact that I am no longer a mortal, I love them with all my heart and soul, and want to see them happy.
But, of course, I don't know how I may reach them, for they do not believe in spiritualism, or that I can communicate with them, or even that I am in a position to realize the real life of the spirit world. They are thoroughly orthodox and are resting in the security, as they believe, of their faith in the teachings of the church to which they belong. I am so helpless in this particular, and I see no way by which I can benefit my loved ones, except as I may be able to influence them by my presence, which is with them almost continuously.
Yes, I know you would help them if you could, but I fear it is as you say, and your informing them of my having written you would do no good. So I will have to try to influence them as you say, and in their moments of weakness or unhappiness, when their longings for higher things assert themselves, try to make my presence and influence felt by them as a reality. But I will not despair, for God, in his mysterious workings, may at sometime turn their thoughts to the things of the soul, and then I feel that I will be able to get nearer to them.
I am now in the earth plane, but in a place so much brighter than when I first entered the spirit world. My associates and surroundings are so very different, and my soul seems to have expanded, so that I am commencing to understand what this great love that your grandmother and others talk to me about, means. If I had only known when on earth, what are the real things of existence, and how the soul is everything, how much happier I would be now, but that is past and I am striving now to work for the future.
I want to say this though, that you are a most favored man in the matters pertaining to the soul development, and in the great number of exalted spirits who seem to be with you so often, and write you such wonderful messages of love and truth. I often come to your room when these spirits are present and hear what is written; and when the greatest of all spirits write you, I am almost overcome with the glory of his presence and the love that he seems to cast upon you and all about the room. He is a most beautiful and loving spirit, and his advice has shown me that only the Divine Love of the Father can bring to mortals or spirits the great happiness which I see that these exalted spirits possess.
I, of course, when on earth was not a believer in these things of the soul, or in any Jesus or even in a God in the sense that I now realize exists; and when I came to the spirit world you cannot understand how ignorant and poor I was. But now I know that there is, and was on earth, a Jesus, and that he is the most wonderful of all the spirits that I have ever seen, and, as I tell you, I have seen very many from the Celestial Spheres. But I must not write more, for you have been very kind in receiving this long letter. I again wish to express my thanks to you for your great help.
Well, I understand, but the worry that you have in that particular is only for the moment. It will soon become a thing of the past and disappear from your mind; for I must tell you that you will not be left to worry much on this subject. You have the help of a powerful band of spirits, helping you in this way as well as in other ways, and sooner or later you will realize the results of their assistance. So don't let this matter worry you very much. I wish that I could help you, but I cannot, and can only try to encourage you by telling you what I have.
So I will say goodbye and hope that I may have the privilege of writing again.
With my best wishes and kindest feelings, I am
Your friend,
Stephen B. Elkins