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I AM HERE. Ann Rollins.
Well, my dear grandson, I am here and desire to write awhile tonight about some
things that are true, and to show you the workings of God's Love among men and
spirits.
I have had a great deal of experience, although I have not been in the spirit
world a very long time as we count time, which we do not; but I merely use the
expression so that you may understand what I mean.
I am, as I told you, in the Second Celestial Sphere where your wife and mother
are also. In this sphere, all the inhabitants are spirits who have been redeemed
by the Divine Love and Great Mercy of the Father, and by the Great Gift of
immortality which Jesus wrote you about the other night.
I am now so developed in my soul qualities that I realize that I am a part of
the Father's Divine Nature, and that I have those Qualities of His Nature in me
that make me immortal, and which immortality can never more be taken from me.
And what I say here applies to all the inhabitants of this sphere.
Of course, you will understand that there is yet more Love which we may obtain
because our progress in the Divine Love never ceases until we get into the very
Presence of the Father and are able to see Him with our soul perceptions.
You cannot possibly understand this phase as you are now, but, when you come to
the place where I am now, you will. And, in a way, it is even possible for you
to comprehend this while in the mortal life, but not to the extent that you will
when you become a spirit and live in this sphere.
Your mother and wife now have this quality of soul perception, but, even among
us, there is a difference in comprehension of this. And I am told that, as I
progress higher and receive more of this Love, this soul perception will become
clearer and more satisfactory to me. So, when you hear us say that we are
redeemed and have a part of the Divine Essence of the Father as our possession,
you must understand that it is a comparative thing, and that we are not perfect.
Even the Master is not perfect, as God is Perfect, as he tells us. But he is
progressing in the acquisition of this Love and in the increased power of this
soul perception.
Until we reach the First Celestial Sphere, we have not a sufficient quantity of
this Love to make us partakers of this Divine Nature of the Father in that
degree that all the natural loves are absorbed by the Divine Love. For all below
that sphere have more or less of the natural love which causes them to retain
their worldly affections. I mean those things which tend to retard their
progress.
Of course, our natural love for our relatives or friends does not leave us even
after we reach the Celestial Spheres. But when we become inhabitants of these
spheres, we have no interest in the affairs of earth or its government.
The Seventh Sphere is the one that divides those spirits who have merely
intellectual or moral qualities developed to the highest degree, as it were,
from those spirits who, in addition to mental and moral development, have their
souls developed by the Divine Love of the Father.
No spirit who has not this Love can become an inhabitant of the Seventh Sphere.
So, when you hear of any of your spirit friends or acquaintances, or of any
other spirits, being in the Seventh Sphere, you will know that these spirits
have received the Divine Love to an extent a little short of that which enables
them to enter the First Celestial Sphere, and which makes them at-one with the
Father and, hence, immortal.
The Sixth Sphere is one where the mental and moral qualities are developed to
their greatest extent, and it is not necessary for the spirit to have his soul
developed to any great extent in order to become an inhabitant of this sphere.
In other words, it is a sphere which is given more especially to those spirits
who have given more thought to the improvement of their minds and their moral
qualities than to the development of their souls by obtaining the Divine Love of
the Father. This sphere is one of great happiness for these spirits of mental
and moral excellence, and it is the highest that they can attain to in their
progression in the spirit world.
Of course, these spirits may also receive this greater soul development, for the
Divine Love is free and waiting for all of God's children. But my observation
has been that, when the spirits who find their happiness in purely mental
pursuits or in the development of their moral natures get into this sphere, they
seldom become dissatisfied enough with their condition of happiness to desire to
seek for a greater one. In fact, the majority of them will not believe that
there is any greater happiness that they can attain to, and, hence, the
deadening satisfaction which possesses them.
I know it may be a little difficult for you to understand this matter, as I have
attempted to explain it, but what I have said is true. In the day of separation,
these spirits will realize that fact. But then it will be too late to remedy
their neglect or want of soul desire for the soul's development that comes only
by the inflowing of the Divine Love into the soul in sufficient abundance, and
which is necessary to permit them to become inhabitants of the Celestial
Kingdom.
(What happens when a spirit first enters the
spirit world?)
Well, when a spirit enters the spirit world, its condition of mental, moral or
spiritual development determines where it shall first live. In the large
majority of cases, the first home of the spirit is the earth plane; and, in
that, there are a number of planes, respectively higher or lower than the
others. So, when the spirit finds itself in the earth plane, it also finds that
its condition is not much different from what it was on earth. The same ideas of
right and wrong, of beliefs, of affections and of desires obtain.
Sometimes, these conditions will last for many years; and, at other times, the
change will come comparatively soon. When spirits come over, this change of
condition frequently depends upon the friends or relatives who try to help and
instruct them.
If such spirit helpers are themselves developed in the line of intellectual
pursuits, they will more naturally endeavor to direct the newly arrived spirit
along the same lines of thought and aspirations. Likewise, the morally developed
helpers will make the questions of morality the important ones for the new
spirits to give attention to. And so with the spiritual helpers, or those who
have received the Love of the Father in their souls, and to whom such Love is
the most important thing in all the spirit world. Naturally, they will endeavor
to instruct the spirit in matters pertaining to this Love and the increased
development of It. So, you see, much depends upon the helpers which the new
spirit finds waiting its advent into the spirit world, and the instructions
which such spirit helpers give it.
But more depends upon the condition of the spirit itself. As I have said, when
it comes into the spirit world, the spirit brings with it all its beliefs,
desires and affections; and these respective qualities, to a more or less
extent, will influence the directions of its progress. It is much easier to
influence a spirit who, while on earth, has had awakened in him a love of God,
even to that small degree which encourages him to pursue the thoughts that will
lead him into spiritual ways, than it is to persuade one who has never had that
awakening. And so with the spirit who, while on earth, gave his studies and
thoughts to mental pursuits to the exclusion of thoughts relating to God or to
religious matters. Such a spirit will naturally be attracted to those things
which it considers a continuation of its earthly thoughts, or which will enable
it to pursue the development of those thoughts; and, consequently, they are its
treasures which necessarily have the most of its affections. And from these
affections will arise its desires which, unless something greater intervenes,
will cause it to follow the course of these desires. And the same principle can
be applied to every condition of the spirit: mental, moral, or spiritual.
Now to the point of your question.
Such spirit following the natural inclination of its condition, as I have
explained, will endeavor in its progress to get into that sphere where there are
afforded the greatest opportunities for the development of the particular phase
of its condition which constitutes its chief motive force. And this is in
accordance with a spiritual law.
The spirit desiring the development of its mental qualities above all else will
naturally seek that sphere where these qualities have the greatest opportunity
for such development. And so with the moralist and the spirit of religious
thought.
Now, God, in His Great Wisdom and Goodness, has provided these several spheres
and has made them suited for the purposes of their creation. And all the spirits
have the choice as to which they will enter and seek to live in. But, of course,
not only one sphere of its kind is provided, but there are several so provided
so that there may be progression on the part of spirits who have these several
phases of desires and attractions.
The Second, the Fourth, and the Sixth Spheres are appropriated for those spirits
who have more of the qualifications and desires for advancement in their mental
and moral pursuits, or, rather, for the development of those qualities they
possess which pertain more to their mental and moral natures.
Of course, in their progress from the lowest to the respective higher spheres
that I have mentioned, spirits must pass through the intervening spheres. But
they do not linger in them or seek to make them their homes, or stay in them for
their development because, in these intervening spheres, the qualities which
these spirits are attempting to develop are not given much attention, and these
spirits would not be benefited much by remaining in these spheres. But the fact
of passing through these intervening spheres does not indicate that these
spirits, in so passing, receive any additional love or development of their soul
qualities in any degree, for the contrary is true. Thus, a spirit in the Third
Sphere, possessing the Divine Love, may have more soul development than one who
lives in the Sixth Sphere who has not the Divine Love. And, so, in contrast to
the Second, Fourth, and Sixth Spheres that I have named, the Third, Fifth, and
Seventh Spheres are the ones appropriated to, and specially prepared for, the
spirits who are seeking the development of the Divine Love into their souls.
And, in these latter spheres, the Divine Love is the greatest thing that is
sought for and acquired.
The spirits of these spheres may be just as highly developed in their mental and
moral qualities as are those before described, and, frequently, they are more
so. For with the soul development in the Divine Love, strange as it may seem to
you, comes mental and moral development. But this development of the mind is not
the chief thing for which these spirits seek. With them, every desire and
aspiration is subordinated to their great efforts to obtain this Divine Love to
the highest degree. Ever and ever are these spirits seeking for It, and they
have never become satisfied (in contrast to those who merely seek the mental and
natural love development).
As I have said, beyond the Sixth Sphere, these merely mental or moral seekers
cannot progress unless they seek for the Divine Love; and, in the Sixth Sphere,
the mind's zenith of happiness is reached.
The Sixth Sphere is a more prolific one of probation in the sense that many more
of these spirits are awakened to the necessity of seeking this soul development
than are spirits of any of the lower spheres because, after some of these
spirits have been there for a long time, they commence to realize this
limitation to their mental happiness. And, strange as it may seem to you, they
frequently make their first start by calling up the recollections of their
childhood days when they were taught and believed that God loved them, and that
His Love was the greatest thing in all the world. So, you see here illustrated,
in a way you probably never have thought of, the saying of Jesus that “Except ye
become as little children, ye can in no wise enter the Kingdom of Heaven."
Many of these spirits have no childhood recollections of this kind, and then
comes the work of the higher spirits who have been redeemed by this Great Love
of the Father.
In all this, you will see how God recognizes and respects the independent will
of His creatures. He does not force them to seek His Love, but waits until they
learn by their own experience that what they once thought was all-sufficient for
their happiness is not sufficient; and, realizing this insufficiency, they
become dissatisfied; and with such dissatisfaction comes the wish to learn the
great unknown of desire which, at last, causes them to feel their dependence
upon a Source of happiness not emanating from themselves.
Thus, my dear son, in my imperfect way, I have attempted to give you a
description of the several spheres and their character, and the object of their
creation.
You must believe what I have told you, for it is true. In believing, you will
see the great advantage in striving to enter the spheres of the soul, or the
Divine Heavens; for, in doing so, you will not only gain your soul's development
but also the development of your mental qualities and your moral nature also.
And, thus, you will understand the great saying of the Bible: “Seek ye first the
Kingdom of God and His Righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto
you."
Well, I have written you a long letter and must stop. So, with all the love of a
devoted grandmother, I will say good night.
ANN ROLLINS.
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About James E. Padgett
 Born August 25, 1852, Mr. James Edward Padgett
practiced law in Washington, D.C. Subsequent to his wife's, Helen,
passing in February, 1914, James learned from a psychic that he had
the gift of automatic writing. Based on the promptings of the
psychic and with a desire to reach his dearly departed Helen, he
commenced take messages from the spirits in the spirit world. At
first, James denounced the messages as merely coming from his mind,
driven by a strong desire to reach his departed wife. Eventually,
however, James could not deny the fact that information he was
receiving could not have possibly come from his own mind - for the
content of the messages surpassed his own education and knowledge.
Before his passing in March, 1923, James had accumulated hundreds of
messages from spirits and celestials in the spirit world.
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