SEVEN 1930's 40's Press Photos Father Divine, African American spiritual leader

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SEVEN 1930's 40's Press Photos Father Divine, African American spiritual leader :
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7 EARLY photos of African American spiritual leader FATHERDIVINE various size some approx 8 1/8 x 11 1/2 inches
1. 1946 Philadelphia2. 1947 Fine Brook, N.J.3. 1946 Philadelphia4. 1944 New York, N.Y.5. 1939 New York6. 1940 New York7. 1946 PhiladelphiaFather Divine's Peace Mission remains one of the most unorthodox religious movements in America. He may or may not have been born George Baker, either in Maryland or further south. Although a Baptist, he received God's word at the Azusa Street Revival. Early on, he preached a message of equality among men and the hope of heaven-on-earth to black men. His actions got him arrested, imprisoned, and, on one occasion, institutionalized in a mental asylum. However, his charismatic message of an interracial paradise on earth caught on in the North, where he was able to preach in greater anonymity. Ultimately, Father Divine's Peace Mission would become well known for its aggressive efforts to desegregate all aspects of American society.Entrance to one of Father Divine's "Heavens" on the East Side in New York, 1941.Father Divine created a philosophy that merged elements of Catholicism, Pentecostalism, Methodism, and positive thinking. Father Divine's followers believed that he embodied the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Mainstream Americans scoffed at this small African-American deity, but many in black America thought he was crazy like a fox. Father Divine used white disciples to buy property.
He bought a hotel near Atlantic City, New Jersey, so that blacks could access the beach. He married white women and lived openly with them. To most of black America, he was doing things no other black man could have gotten away with.
In 1931, the local authorities arrested Father Divine and dozens of his disciples in Sayville, Long Island, for "invading the county with his religious practices," which included black men and white women living in the same house together. Divine was convicted and sentenced to a year in jail by a biased judge, Lewis J. Smith. Three days after imposing the sentence, however, Judge Smith, 55, dropped dead. When a reporter asked the jailed preacher for a comment, Divine replied, "I hated to do it."
The trial and its consequences brought a great deal of popularity to Father Divine. Over 150 Peace Missions sprang up around the country, with one quarter of them located in New York. The largest Mission formed in Harlem, then trapped in the deepening Great Depression. At one point, the Peace Mission was the largest property owner in Harlem. And during the Depression, Father Divine fed tens of thousands food and his vision of racial equality. They venerated him as a deliverer from Heaven.Father Divine, founder of the International Peace Missions Movement, was a religious leader, businessman, and civil rights activist. He was born George Baker in Rockville, Maryland sometime in 1876 to George and Nancy Baker. Viewed by many to be a cult leader, his doctrine was a compilation of optimistic thinking based on many widely accepted mainstream religions. Father Divine and his followers believed that he was the second coming of Christ. He required his followers to adhere to his International Modest Code which required strict commitment to a celibate lifestyle and abstinence from immoral actions.
Father Divine began receiving widespread public attention when in 1919, he and his first wife and several of his interracial religious followers moved to Sayville, New York and established a Peace Mission “heaven.” Peace Missions heavens were interracial communal living facilities that fostered Father Divine’s belief in a desegregated society and represented heaven on earth to his followers. In the 1930s Divine’s network of Peace Missions spread across the nation. His mostly white followers in Los Angeles, California and other west coast cities contrasted with the overwhelmingly black missions east of the Mississippi River. Around 1930 Father Divine moved his Peace Mission headquarters to Harlem, New York. Since the late 1940s the organization has been based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Father Divine’s Depression Era message of racial equality and economic self-sufficiency drew blacks and whites into his following. Under his leadership, the International Peace Missions Movement promoted desegregation and coordinated anti-lynching protests. Over 150 Peace Missions were launched nationwide and abroad creating living facilities and jobs for the poor. As a result of Father Divine’s business acumen, the organization established various businesses and entrepreneurial enterprises that provided high quality yet inexpensive goods and services to patrons. At the end of the Depression Era, it was estimated that Father Divine and the Peace Missions Movement had amassed $15 million in assets including a small island in the San Juan Islands between Bellingham, Washington and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Following his death on September 10, 1965 in Philadelphia, Edna Rose Ritchings, Father Divine’s second wife known as Sweet Angel by Peace Missions followers, continued his legacy of promoting racial equality, self-sufficiency, and adherence to a chaste moral lifestyle.
is one of the more perplexing figures in twentieth-century African American history. The founder of a cultish religious movement whose members regarded him as God, Father Divine was also an untiring champion of equal rights for all Americans regardless of color or creed, as well as a very practical businessman whose many retail and farming establishments flourished in the midst of the Great Depression.
Regarded by many members of the traditional black church as an imposter or even a lunatic, Divine was praised by other observers as a powerful agent of social change, alone among the many cult leaders in Depression-era New York in providing tangible economic benefits for thousands of his disciples.
The early biography of the man who later called himself Father Divine is little more than a patchwork of guesses: Divine was apparently unwilling to discuss his life except in its “spiritual” aspects. Believing himself to be God incarnate, he felt the details of his worldly existence were unimportant; the result is that historians are not certain even of his original name or place of birth. Most agree, however, that Father Divine was probably born ten to twenty years after the end of the Civil War, somewhere in the Deep South, and that his given name was George Baker.
As betrayed by the accent and colloquialisms of his speaking style, Baker seemed to have grown up in the rural South, no doubt in a family of farmers struggling to survive under the twin burdens of economic exploitation and racially discriminatory Jim Crow laws. At an early age, Baker escaped the drudgery of farm work by becoming a traveling preacher, gradually working his way north to Baltimore, Maryland, in the year 1899.
“The Messenger”In Baltimore, Baker worked as a gardener, restricting his preaching to an occasional turn at the Baptist church’s Wednesday night prayer meeting, where his powerful speaking style was much encouraged by his fellow churchgoers. Though a man of stubby proportions with a high-pitched voice, Baker enthralled listeners with his fluid storytelling and highly emotional delivery, typical of the sermons given at the rural southern churches where he grew up.
At a Glance…Original name believed to have been George Baker, changed name to Father Divine, 1930; bom c. 1877 Hutchinson Island, on the Savannah River, GA; died of complications of diabetes and arteriosclerosis, September 10, 1965; son of sharecroppers; married Pínninnah (’Sister Penny’), 1919 (died 1937); married Edna Rose Ritchings (’Sweet Angel’), 1946.
Traveling preacher in the Deep South, c. 1894–99; gardener in Baltimore, MD, 1899 1903; preached intermittently in the southern United States and in Baltimore, settling in Georgia from 1912 to 1914; Peace Mission, New York City, founder, 1915, served as director through 1955.
But Baker was also a restless man of independent opinions, and it was not long before he felt compelled to resume the life of a traveling preacher. He returned to the South with two specific goals: to combat the spread of Jim Crow segregation and to offer an alternative to the otherworldly emphasis of most established churches. Such a crusade was not likely to meet with much success— indeed, Baker was fortunate not to be lynched—yet it reflected a concern for social issues that would remain constant throughout the long career of Father Divine.
Baker returned to Baltimore around 1906 and there fell under the influence of an eccentric preacher named Samuel Morris. Morris had been thrown out of numerous churches for proclaiming himself to be God, a belief he derived from a passage in St Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians which asks, “Know ye not that … the spirit of God dwelleth in you?” This teaching provided Baker with a religious foundation for his social activism: if God lived within every human being, all were therefore divine and hence equal. Baker became Morris’s staunch supporter and disciple. Morris took to calling himself “Father Jehovia,” while his prophet Baker adopted the appropriate title of “The Messenger.” It was not long before The Messenger again felt the need to spread his gospel southward, and in 1912 Baker set off for the backwoods of Georgia.
At some point in his travels Baker apparently realized that if Samuel Morris were God, so too was he, and he henceforth referred to himself as the living incarnation of the Lord God Almighty. Such a claim was naturally alarming to the pastors of the churches where Baker stopped to preach, and in 1914 he was arrested in Valdosta, Georgia, as a public nuisance who was possibly “insane.” The court recorded his name as “John Doe, alias God,” but with the help of a local writer who took an interest in The Messenger’s strange story, Baker was released and told to leave the state of Georgia. Instead, he was promptly rearrested in a nearby town and sent to the state insane asylum, whereupon his benefactor once again freed him after a short time.
Though Baker’s theology was no doubt peculiar, he impressed most people as a man of sound mind and deep moral commitment. “I remember,” his attorney later told the New Yorker, “that there was about the man an unmistakable quiet power that manifested itself to anyone who came in contact with him.”
The Making of a CultBaker soon tired of his troubles in Georgia and in 1915 made his way to New York City, bringing with him a handful of disciples he had picked up along the way. With these followers, Baker set up a communal household in which income was shared and a life of chastity and abstinence was encouraged, all under the direction of “Major J. Devine,” as Baker was then styling himself. Major Devine preached the doctrine of God within each individual, but there was never any doubt among his followers as to who was the actual incarnation of the deity—only Devine, or “Divine,” as the name inevitably came to be spelled, could claim that honor. Divine helped his disciples find work, and they in turn entrusted him with the management of the group’s finances as well as its spiritual well-being. By living simply and pooling their resources, Divine’s movement was able to purchase a house in suburban Sayville, New York, in 1919, by which time Divine had also taken as his wife a disciple named Pinninnah.
In contrast to his earlier, public preaching, which had often expressed the need for racial equality and justice, Divine’s spiritual work was now confined to the salvation of his followers and was based on harmony within and between individuals. To the outside world, Father Divine was a quiet, well-respected member of the Sayville community (otherwise all-white) who ran an employment agency for the many African American men and women staying at his house on Macon Street. Divine excelled at both of his professions.
As his church grew by leaps and bounds, the preacher— also a shrewd businessman—not only found work for his disciples but oversaw the investment of their common earnings with the talent of a natural entrepreneur. Father Divine taught his followers the virtues of hard work, honesty, and service in their business dealings, exhorting them to achieve economic security in this world as preparation for salvation in the next. Under the guidance of Divine’s leadership, his disciples gained a reputation as excellent employees and the operators of honest, efficient businesses.
Father Divine’s “Peace Mission,” as he called his following, remained relatively unknown until the start of the Great Depression in 1929. New York was full of such cult organizations, each boasting its own charismatic preacher and offering to the thousands of recently arrived black southern emigrants an emotional brand of religion similar to what they had known in their hometowns. With the advent of the Depression, however, desperate economic conditions made the Peace Mission’s generosity all the more striking.
Each Sunday at the Sayville residence featured an all-day banquet, free of charge and open to anyone who cared to attend. Father Divine would accept no payment for these feasts, nor did he take charitable contributions; he asked only that everyone who sat down to dinner behave in a Christian manner and abstain from the consumption of alcohol. Word quickly spread of Divine’s “miraculous” bounty, and by the early 1930s his Sunday dinners were attracting hundreds of hungry poor people—mostly black but not exclusively so—to the house in Sayville.
Disturbed by this eruption of black power in their midst, residents of Sayville had Divine arrested as a public nuisance. A thorough police investigation uncovered no signs of financial or moral improprieties at the Peace Mission, but Divine was nevertheless sentenced to one year in prison by a judge who considered him a dangerous fraud. When the judge promptly died three days later, Divine’s reputation as a divine Christian being was enhanced: like Jesus, he had been wrongly accused, and now his persecutor was paid back in full. Divine was set free on bail, his conviction was later overturned, and the Peace Mission attracted new followers by the thousands.
Peace Mission FlourishedDivine’s success in the 1930s was indeed nothing short of “miraculous.” After moving his headquarters to Harlem, the center of black artistic and cultural life in New York and the nation, his Peace Mission rapidly added scores of affiliated branches elsewhere in New York, in New Jersey, and as far away as California. About 85 percent of Peace Mission disciples were black, and at least 75 percent of the followers were female, many drawn as much by the electrifying person of Father Divine as by his social or theological message.
Since full-fledged disciples (known as “Angels”) were required to donate all of their worldly possessions to the Mission, Father Divine was soon overseeing an organization of considerable financial size. By all accounts, he did so honestly and skillfully, helping his followers to find jobs, start innumerable small businesses, and after 1935 settle on farmland purchased by the Mission in upstate New York—all of this in the midst of the worst depression in the history of the United States. Divine did allow himself a few luxuries: he lived in the finest of the Mission’s many Harlem properties, was chauffeured in a Rolls Royce, and was rarely seen in anything but a fashionable three-piece business suit.
Father Divine never advocated the virtues of poverty: his followers had all too much of that as it was. In his preaching, Divine combined an almost fanatical faith with strict adherence to the ethics of American life, urging his followers to rise from poverty by old-fashioned thrift, hard work, and scrupulous honesty. To work, in his eyes, was to serve God. Divine was especially wary of the dangers of borrowing money, and all of the Mission’s business was conducted in cash, even real estate being paid for in cash and in advance. The flaunting of large amounts of money naturally drew the attention of the Internal Revenue Service, which never found any irregularities in the dealings of Father Divine or the Peace Mission. On the contrary, on many occasions his disciples startled former employers or tradesmen by repaying long forgotten debts; in one instance, this involved the sum of 66 cents for a train ride taken 40 years before.
Father Divine saw economic independence as a stepping stone toward his overall goal of racial equality. He was unequivocally opposed to any form of racial discrimination, or even to the recognition of racial difference. For Divine, all human beings partook of the divine essence, and all Americans were due the rights granted them by the Constitution. He therefore purposely bought many pieces of property in all-white areas, including most notably an estate on the Hudson River opposite the home of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, as well as a beachfront hotel near Atlantic City, New Jersey, and extensive tracts of farmland in upstate New York. When challenged by segregationists for such moves, Divine would often speak of the American way of life, as in an article published in New Day, a Mission newspaper: “My co-workers and followers are endeavoring to express our citizenry and enact the Bill of Rights in every activity and even in every community … to enjoy life, liberty and the reality of happiness.”
Divine’s RetirementThe end of the Depression also witnessed the gradual retirement of Father Divine. Already in his sixties, Divine was shaken by a lawsuit filed in 1937 by a former disciple who sought repayment of money she had given to the Peace Mission over the years. A long series of legal maneuvers eventually resulted in the incorporation of the Peace Mission and Father Divine’s move to Philadelphia, beyond the reach of New York State law. Of greater fundamental importance to the Peace Mission was the advent of war in 1939, when the American economy snapped out of its long depression and jobs became plentiful. The Peace Mission’s style of frugal collective living lost much of its appeal in a booming economic climate, and the organization stagnated, with Father Divine gradually retiring to a life of quiet wealth outside Philadelphia.
In 1946 Divine married his second wife, a 21-year-old white disciple named Edna Rose Ritchings—a move that required all of his rhetorical skill to explain as the act of a celibate divinity. Ritchings nevertheless went on to become de facto head of the Mission, known first by her cult name of “Sweet Angel” and later simply as Mother Divine.
Father Divine lived until 1965, little seen and not active in the few remaining Mission projects. However, he did remain a powerful symbol of hope for racial unity and a role model for later generations of people of color. Divine is probably best remembered as a man who, in his own peculiar way, acted in his own interest while skillfully advancing the cause of thousands of inner city African Americans.
SourcesBooksThe African-American Almanac, edited by Kenneth Estell, Gale, 1994.
Dictionary of American Negro Biography, edited by Rayford W. Logan and Michael R. Winston, Norton, 1982.
Harris, Sara, Father Divine, Collier Books, 1971. Parker, Robert Allerton, The Incredible Messiah: The Deification of Father Divine, Little, Brown, 1937.
Weisbrot, Robert, Father Divine and the Struggle for Racial Equality, University of Illinois Press, 1983.
PeriodicalsNation, February 6, 1935.
New Day (Peace Mission publication), various issues, 1936.
New Yorker, June 13, 1936; June 20, 1936; June 27, 1936.
New York Times, September 11, 1965, p. 1. Spoken Word (Peace Mission publication), various issues, 1934-37.
—Jonathan Martin
Father Divine at a parade to celebrate the acquisition of a new communal dwelling, which he calls Heavens, in Harlem. July 31, 1938.From the beginning, Father Divine had ministered to the whole person, body as well as soul, and that approach found an eager reception among the impoverished. The movement rapidly built up a network of businesses, including restaurants, gas stations, grocery and clothing stores, hotels, farms, and many other enterprises.
All provided high-quality goods and services inexpensively, and not incidentally created jobs for Father Divine's faithful. By the end of the Depresson decade, the Peace Mission had accumulated savings in excess of $15 million.
But his success created problems. Father Divine lived large, dressed ostentatiously, and challenged the status quo. As his empire grew, so did the investigations by journalists and government officials. Newspapers reported allegations of mishandling of funds, sexual abuse, and homosexuality.
Yet, through his teachings and his actions, Father Divine could be counted among the stalwarts who defended African-Americans' right to have heaven here on earth, not pie in the sky.
Father Divine (c. 1876 – September 10, 1965), also known as Reverend M. J. Divine, was an African American spiritual leader[2] from about 1907, until his death. His full self-given name was Reverend Major Jealous Divine, and he was also known as "the Messenger" early in his life. He founded the International Peace Mission movement, formulated its doctrine, and oversaw its growth from a small and predominantly black congregation into a multiracial and international church.
Father Divine claimed to be God.[3] He made numerous contributions toward his followers' economic independence and racial equality. He was a contemporary of other religious leaders such as Daddy Grace, Charles Harrison Mason, Noble Drew Ali and James F. Jones (also known as Prophet Jones).Contents1 Life and career1.1 Prior to 1912: Early life and original name1.2 1912–14: In the South1.3 1914–19: Brooklyn and marriage to Peninniah1.4 1919–31: Sayville, New York1.5 1931–32: Sayville arrests, trial, notoriety, and prison1.6 1932–42: Harlem1.7 1942–65: Pennsylvania2 Physical characteristics and preaching style3 Doctrine3.1 Positive thought3.2 Welfare3.3 Race3.4 Patriotism3.5 Communal living3.6 Chastity3.7 Thrift and Business Practices4 Legacy4.1 Civil rights4.2 Religious5 See also6 References7 Further reading8 External linksLife and careerPrior to 1912: Early life and original nameLittle is known about Father Divine's early life, or even his real given name. Father Divine and the Peace Movement he started did not keep many records. Father Divine himself declined several offers to write his biography, saying that the history of God would not be useful in mortal terms. He also refused to acknowledge relationship to any family. Newspapers in the 1930s had to dig up his probable given name: George Baker. (This name is not recognized by the Library of Congress, and from 1979, there is no further use of that name as a heading for Father Divine in libraries' catalogs.)[4] Federal Bureau of Investigation files record his name as George Baker alias "God".[5]
In 1936 Eliza Mayfield claimed to be Father Divine's mother. She stated that his real name was Frederick Edwards from Hendersonville, North Carolina, and had abandoned a wife and five children, although Mayfield offered no proof and claimed to not remember his father's name. (Father Divine replied that "God has no Mother.")[3]
Father Divine's childhood remains a contentious point. Some, especially earlier researchers, suppose that he was born in the Deep South, most likely in Georgia, as the son of sharecroppers. Newer research by Jill Watts, based on census data, finds evidence for a George Baker, Jr. of appropriate age born in an African-American enclave of Rockville, Maryland, called Monkey Run. If this theory is correct, his mother was a former slave named Nancy Baker, who died in May 1897. Most researchers agree that Father Divine's parents were freed African-American slaves. Notoriously poor records were kept about this generation of African Americans, so controversy about his upbringing is not likely to be resolved. On the other hand, he and his first wife, Peninniah (variant spellings: Penninah, Peninnah, Penniah) claimed that they were married on June 6, 1882.[6][7][8]
Father Divine was probably called George Baker around the turn of the century. He worked as a gardener in Baltimore, Maryland. In a 1906 sojourn in California, Father Divine became acquainted with the ideas of Charles Fillmore and the New Thought Movement, a philosophy of positive thinking that would inform his later doctrines. Among other things, this belief system asserted that negative thoughts led to poverty and unhappiness. Songwriter Johnny Mercer credited a Father Divine sermon for inspiring the title of his song "Accentuate the Positive".[9][10]
Father Divine attended a local Baptist Church, often preaching, until 1907, when a traveling preacher called Samuel Morris spoke and was expelled from the congregation. Morris, originally from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, had a soft-spoken and uncontroversial sermon until the end, when he raised his arms and shouted, "I am the Eternal Father!" This routine had him thrown out of many churches in Baltimore, and was apparently unsuccessful until Morris happened upon the receptive Father Divine.
In his late 20s, Father Divine became Morris's first follower and adopted a pseudonym, "The Messenger". The Messenger was a Christ figure to Morris's God the Father. Father Divine preached with Morris in Baltimore out of the home of former evangelist Harriette Snowden, who came to accept their divinity. Morris began calling himself "Father Jehovia."
Divine and Father Jehovia were later joined by John A. Hickerson, who called himself Reverend Bishop Saint John the Vine. John the Vine shared the Messenger's excellent speaking ability and his interest in New Thought.
In 1912, the three-man ministry collapsed, as John the Vine denied Father Jehovia's monopoly on godhood, citing 1 John 4:15 to mean God was in everyone:
"Whoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him and he in God."Father Divine had finally parted ways with his former associates. Denying that Father Jehovia was God, and saying that everyone could not be God, he declared that he himself was God, and the only true expression of God's spirit.
See also: International Peace Mission movement1912–14: In the SouthFather Divine traveled south, where he preached extensively in Georgia. In 1913, conflicts with local ministers led to him being sentenced to 60 days in a chain gang. While he was serving his sentence, several prison inspectors were injured in an auto accident, which he viewed as the direct result of their disbelief.
Upon his release, he attracted a following of mostly black women in Valdosta, Georgia. He taught celibacy and the rejection of gender categorizations.
On February 6, 1914, several followers' husbands and local preachers had Divine arrested for lunacy. This actually expanded his ministry, with reporters and worshippers deluging his prison cell. Some whites even began calling on him. Former Mercer University professor and lay preacher, J. R. Moseley of Macon, Georgia, befriended Divine and arranged for J. B. Copeland, a Mercer alum and respected Valdosta lawyer, to represent him pro bono. Moseley was interested in what he termed "this unusual man" in his autobiography "Manifest Destiny." Decades later, in the 1930s, Moseley met Divine in New York City when he received word that the man going by that name might in fact be the same person he met in Georgia. Father Divine was found mentally sound in spite of "maniacal" beliefs. He had given no name when arrested and was tried as "John Doe (alias God)".
1914–19: Brooklyn and marriage to PeninniahIn 1914, Father Divine traveled to Brooklyn, New York, with a small number of followers and an all-black congregation. Although he claimed to be God incarnate fulfilling Biblical prophecy, he lived relatively quietly.
He and his disciples formed a commune in a black middle-class apartment building. He forbade sex, alcohol, Tobacco and gambling among those who were living with him. By 1919, he had adopted the name Reverend Major Jealous Divine. "Reverend Major" was chosen as a title of respect and authority, while "Jealous" was a reference to Exodus 34:14, where the Lord says he is a "jealous god" and that God's name is Jealous. Exodus 34:14 His followers affectionately called him Father Divine.
In this period, Father Divine was married to a follower, Peninniah (variant spellings: Penninah, Peninnah, Penniah), who was a few years older than him. Like Father Divine, her early life is obscure, but she is believed to be from Macon, Georgia. The date of the marriage is unknown but probably occurred between 1914 and 1917.
In addition to lending her dignified look to Father Divine, Peninniah served to defuse rumors of impropriety between him and his many young female followers. Both Penninah, who was often called "Mother Divine", and Father Divine would assert that the marriage was never physically consummated.
1919–31: Sayville, New York
Father Divine's house in Sayville, New York.Father Divine and his disciples moved to Sayville, New York (on Long Island), in 1919. He and his followers were the first black homeowners in town. Father Divine purchased his 72 Macon Street house from a resident who wanted to spite the neighbor he was feuding with. The two neighbors, both German Americans, began fighting when one of them changed his name from Felgenhauer to Fellows in response to anti-German sentiment. His neighbor taunted him, and the feud escalated until Fellows decided to move. As a final insult, he specifically advertised his home for sale to a "colored" buyer to presumably lower his neighbors' property values.
In this period, his movement underwent sustained growth. Father Divine held free weekly banquets and helped newcomers find jobs. He began attracting many white followers as well as black. The integrated Environment of Father Divine's communal house and the apparently flaunted wealth of his Cadillac infuriated neighbors. Members of the overwhelmingly white community accused him of maintaining a large harem and engaging in scandalous sex, although the Suffolk County district attorney's office found the claims baseless. Nonetheless, the neighbors continued to complain.
1931–32: Sayville arrests, trial, notoriety, and prisonOn May 8, 1931, a Sayville deputy arrested and charged Father Divine with disturbing the peace. Remarkable during the Depression, Father Divine submitted his $1000 bail in cash. The trial, not as speedy as the neighbors wanted, was scheduled for late fall, allowing Father Divine's popularity to snowball for the entire Sayville vacation season.
Father Divine held banquets for as many as 3000 people that summer. Cars clogging the streets for these gatherings bolstered some neighbors' claims that Father Divine was a disturbance to the peace and furthermore was hurting their property values.
On Sunday, November 15, at 12:15 am, a police officer was called to Father Divine's raucously loud property. By the time state troopers, deputies and prison buses were called in, a mob of neighbors had surrounded the compound. Fearing a riot, the police informed Father Divine and his followers that they had fifteen minutes to disperse. Father Divine had them wait in silence for ten minutes, and then they filed into police custody. Processed by the county jail at 3 AM, clerks were frustrated, because the followers often refused to give their usual names and stubbornly offered the "inspired" names they adopted in the movement. Seventy-eight people were arrested altogether, including fifteen whites. Forty-six pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace and incurred $5 fines, which Father Divine paid with a $500 bill, which the court was embarrassingly unable to make change from. Penninah, Father Divine, and thirty followers resisted the charges.
Father Divine's arrest and heterodox doctrines were sensationally reported. The New York frenzy made this event and its repercussions the single most famous moment of Father Divine's life. Although mostly inaccurate, articles on Father Divine propelled his popularity. By December, his followers began renting buildings in New York City for Father Divine to speak in. Soon, he often had several engagements on a single night. On December 20, he spoke to an estimated 10,000 in Harlem's Rockland Palace, a spacious former basketball venue, Manhattan Casino.[11]
By May 1932, meetings were regularly held at the Rockland and throughout New York and New Jersey. Father Divine had supporters in Washington state, California and throughout the world thanks to New Thought devotees like Eugene Del Mar, an early convert and former Harlem journalist, and Henry Joerns, the publisher of a New Thought magazine in Seattle. Curiously, although the movement was predominantly black, followers outside the Northeast were mostly middle class whites.
In this period of expansions, several branch communes were opened in New York and New Jersey. Father Divine's followers finally named the movement: the International Peace Mission movement.
Father Divine's trial was finally held on May 24, 1932. His lawyer, Ellee J. Lovelace, a prominent Harlem African American and former US Attorney had requested the trial be moved outside of Suffolk County, due to potential jury bias. The court acquiesced, and the trial took place at the Nassau County Supreme Court before Justice Lewis J. Smith. The jury found him guilty on June 5 but asked for leniency on behalf of Father Divine. Ignoring this request, Justice Smith lectured on how Father Divine was a fraud and "menace to society" before issuing the maximum sentence for disturbing the peace, one year in prison and a $500 fine.
Smith, 55, died of a heart attack days later on June 9, 1932. Father Divine was widely reported to have commented on the death, "I hated to do it."[12] In fact, he wrote to his followers, "I did not desire Judge Smith to die.… I did desire that MY spirit would touch his heart and change his mind that he might repent and believe and be saved from the grave."
The impression that Justice Smith's death was divine retribution was perpetuated by the press, which failed to report Smith's prior heart problems and implied the death to be more sudden and unexpected than it was.
During his brief prison stay, Father Divine read prodigiously, notably on the Scottsboro Nine. After his attorneys secured release through an appeal on June 25, 1932, he declared that the foundational documents of the United States of America, such as the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, were inspired. Father Divine also taught that contemporary leaders strayed from these ideals, but he would become increasingly patriotic through his life.
1932–42: Harlem
The International Peace Mission movement established over 100 Heavens in the NorthEastern United States.Father Divine moved to Harlem, New York, where he had accumulated significant following in the black community. Members, rather than Father Divine himself, held most deeds for the movement, but they contributed toward Father Divine's comfortable lifestyle. Purchasing several hotels, which they called "Heavens", members could live and seek jobs inexpensively. The movement also opened several budget enterprises, including restaurants and clothing shops, that sold cheaply by cutting overhead. These proved very successful in the depression. Economical, cash-only businesses were actually part of Father Divine's doctrine.
By 1934, branches had opened in Los Angeles, California, and Seattle, Washington, and gatherings occurred in France, Switzerland, Canada, and Australia, but the membership totals were drastically overstated in the press. Time Magazine estimated nearly two million followers, but the true figure of adherents was probably a few tens of thousands and a larger body of sympathizers who attended his gatherings. Nonetheless, Father Divine was increasingly called upon to offer political endorsements, which he initially did not. For example, New York mayoral candidates John P. O'Brien and Fiorello H. LaGuardia each sought his endorsement in 1933, but Father Divine was apparently uninterested.
An odd alliance between Father Divine and the Communist Party of America began in early 1934. Although Father Divine was outspokenly capitalist, he was impressed with the party's commitment to civil rights. The party relished the endorsement, although contemporary FBI records indicate some critics of the perceived huckster were expelled from the party for protesting the alliance.
In spite of this alliance, the movement was largely apolitical until the Harlem Riot of 1935. Based on a rumor of police killing a black teenager, it left four dead and caused over $1 million in property damage in Father Divine's neighborhood. Father Divine's outrage at this and other racial injustices fueled a keener interest in politics. In January 1939, the movement organized the first-ever "Divine Righteous Government Convention", which crafted political platforms incorporating the Doctrine of Father Divine. Among other things, the delegates opposed school segregation and many of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's social programs, which they interpreted as "handouts".
At the zenith of Father Divine's influence, several misfortunes struck the movement.
On December 16, John Hunt, a white millionaire and disciple from California calling himself John the Revelator, met the Jewett family of Denver, Colorado. He kidnapped their 17-year-old daughter Delight and took her back to California without her parents' consent. Renaming her "Virgin Mary", John the Revelator began sexual relations with her. He announced that she would give birth to a "New Redeemer" by "immaculate conception" in Hawaii. Father Divine summoned Hunt to New York, separated the couple and chastised his eccentric follower. The Jewetts, finding their daughter apparently brainwashed into believing she was literally the Virgin Mary, demanded compensation. After the movement's attorneys conducted an internal investigation, they refused. Outraged, the Jewetts offered their story to William Randolph Hearst's New York Evening Journal, an established critic of the movement. After a manhunt and trial, John Hunt was sentenced to three years and adopted a new name, the "Prodigal Son". Father Divine publicly endorsed the conviction of John the Revelator, contrary to some expectations (some followers expected him to once again "smite" the judge). However, the scandal brought bad publicity to Father Divine. News coverage implied his followers were gullible and dangerous.
In March 1937, Penninah fell ill in Kingston, New York. Father Divine rarely comforted her on what was widely believed to be her deathbed. He kept running the church, only visiting her once in Kingston, again causing bad publicity. Penninah, however, claimed that she was not seriously ill or in pain.
On April 20, 1937, a violent outburst occurred in a meeting when two men tried to deliver Father Divine a summons. One of the men, Harry Green, was stabbed as Father Divine fled. Father Divine went into hiding to evade authorities.
During this time, one of Father Divine's most prominent followers, called Faithful Mary, defected and took control of a large commune, which was technically in her name. Of the Father she said, "he's just a damned man." She furthermore alleged that he defrauded his followers to maintain a rich lifestyle for himself. Faithful Mary also made a number of sexual allegations, including a charge that Father Divine coerced women to have sex with key disciples.
In early May, Father Divine was located and extradited from Connecticut and faced criminal charges in New York. That summer, Hearst's Metronone newsreel distributed mocking footage of Father Divine's followers singing outside police headquarters, "Glory, glory, hallelujah! Our God is in our land!"
Later in May 1937, an ex-follower called Verinda Brown filed a lawsuit for $4,476 against Father Divine. The Browns had entrusted their savings with Father Divine in Sayville back in 1931. They left the movement in 1935 wishing to live as husband and wife again, but were unable to get their money back. In light of their evidence and testimony from Faithful Mary and others critical of the movement, the court ordered repayment of the money. However, this opened up an enormous potential liability from all ex-devotees, so Father Divine resisted and appealed the judgment.
In 1938, Father Divine was cleared of criminal charges and Mother Divine recovered. Faithful Mary, impoverished and broken, returned to the movement. Father Divine made her grovel for forgiveness, which she did. By the late 1930s, the movement stabilized, although it had clearly passed its zenith.
Father Divine's political focus on anti-lynching measures became more resolved. By 1940, his followers had gathered 250,000 signatures in favor of an anti-lynching bill he wrote. However, passage of such statutes came slowly in New York and elsewhere.
The Verinda Brown lawsuit against Father dragged on and was sustained on appeal. In July, 1942, he was ordered to pay Brown or face contempt of court. Instead, Father Divine fled the state and re-established his headquarters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He still visited New York, however. State law forbade serving subpoenas in New York on Sunday, so he often spoke on the Sabbath day in Harlem, the Promised Land (his Kingston commune), and Sayville.
1942–65: PennsylvaniaAfter moving to Philadelphia, Father Divine's wife, Penninah, died. The exact date is not known, because Father Divine never talked about it or even acknowledged her death. However, it occurred sometime in 1943, and biographers believe Penninah's death rattled Father Divine, making him aware of his own mortality. It became obvious to Father Divine and his followers that his doctrine might not make one immortal as he asserted, at least not in the flesh.
In 1944, singer/songwriter Johnny Mercer came to hear of one of Divine's sermons. The subject was "You got to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative." Mercer said, "Wow, that's a colorful phrase!”[9][10] He went back to Hollywood and got together with songwriter Harold Arlen ("Over The Rainbow"), and together they wrote "Ac-cent-tchu-ate The Positive", which was recorded by Mercer himself and the Pied Pipers in 1945. It was also recorded by Bing Crosby with the Andrews Sisters that same year.
After his first wife died, Father Divine married a white Canadian woman called Edna Rose Ritchings in Washington, D.C., on April 29, 1946. The ceremony was kept secret even from most members until Ritching's visa expired. Critics of the movement believed that Father Divine's seemingly scandalous marriage to 21-year-old Ritchings would destroy the movement. Instead, most followers rejoiced, and the marriage date became a celebrated anniversary in the movement. To prove that he and Ritchings adhered to his doctrine on sexual abstinence, Father Divine assigned a black female follower to be her constant companion.
He claimed that Ritchings, later called "Mother S. A. Divine", was the reincarnation of Penninah. Reincarnation was not previously part of Father Divine's doctrine and did not become a fixture of his theology. Followers believed that Penninah was an exceptional case and viewed her "return" as a miracle.
Going into the 1950s, the press rarely covered Father Divine, and when it did, it was no longer as a menace, but as an amusing relic. For example, light-hearted stories ran when Father Divine announced Philadelphia was capital of the world and when he claimed to inspire invention of the hydrogen bomb. Father Divine's predominantly lower-class following ebbed as the economy swelled."Woodmont" was Father Divine's home from 1953 until his death in 1965.In 1953, follower John Devoute gave Father Divine Woodmont, a 72-acre (0.3 km²) hilltop estate in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, outside of Philadelphia. This French Gothic manor served as his home and primary site of his increasingly infrequent banquets until his death in 1965.
As his health declined, he continued to petition for civil rights. In 1951, he advocated reparations to be paid to the descendants of slaves. He also argued in favor of integrated neighborhoods. However, he did not participate in the burgeoning American Civil Rights Movement because of his poor health and especially his dislike of the use of racial labels, denying he was black.
On September 10, 1965, Father Divine died of natural causes at his Woodmont estate. His widow and remaining followers insist his spirit is still alive and always refer to Father Divine in the present tense. Believers keep the furnishings of Father Divine's personal rooms at Woodmont just as they were as a shrine to his life.
Edna Rose Ritchings became spiritual leader of the movement. In 1972, she fought an attempt by Jim Jones to take over the movement's dwindling devotees. Jones based some of his doctrines on the International Peace Mission movement and claimed to be the reincarnation of Father Divine. Although a few members of the Mission joined Peoples Temple after Jones made his play for leadership of the movement, the power push was, in terms of its ultimate objective, a complete failure. That Jones was 34 years old at the time of Father Divine's death made his claims of being a new incarnation rather hard to sustain - Jones claimed Divine's spirit had entered his body upon the passing of the elder man - and Ritchings was left unimpressed by Jones' impassioned rhetoric. Jones' custom of tape-recording all his sermons was copied from Divine, who "spoke" to his followers via archived sermon tapes once ill health forced him to cease speaking at meetings.
Physical characteristics and preaching styleFather Divine was a slight, African American man at a diminutive 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m). Through most of his life, he maintained a fastidious appearance and a neat moustache that he kept well groomed, his hair was invariably neatly combed, and since his days in Sayville, New York, he almost always wore a suit in public.
Father Divine was said to be very charismatic. His sermons were emotionally moving and freely associated between topics. His speech was often peppered with words of his own invention like "physicalating" and "tangiblated". An attendee at a Harlem "kingdoms" meeting in the 1930s recalled that he rhythmically intoned "Tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands, millions. Tens, hundreds, ... millions.' Although this seemed nonsense to the visitor, he reported that at the end the true believers chanted, "Yes, he's God. Yes he's God."[13] Other eccentricities were drawn from his doctrine. For example, nearly every sermon began with the greeting and exhortation "Peace!" Father Divine believed that peace should replace hello.
Doctrine
This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)Father Divine preached of his divinity even before he was known as "Father Divine" in the late 1910s.[14] His doctrine taught that his life fulfilled all Biblical prophecies about the second coming, regarding himself as Jesus Christ reborn. Father Divine also lectured that Christ existed in "every joint" of his follower's bodies, and that he was "God's light" incarnated in order to show people how to establish heaven on earth and to show them the way to eternal life. For example:
Condescendingly I came as an existing Spirit unembodied, until condescendingly inputting MYSELF in a Bodily form in the likeness of men I came, that I might speak to them in their own language, coming to a country that is supposed to be the Country of the Free, where mankind is privileged to serve GOD according to the dictates of his own conscience...establishing the Kingdom of GOD in the midst of them; that they might become to be living epistles as individuals, seen and read of men, and verifying what has long been said:"The tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and God Himself shall be with them, and he shall be their God, and they shall be his people."– quoted in Peace Mission Movement p. 62, Mrs. S. A. Divine, 1985 and God, Harlem, U.S.A. p. 178, Jill Watts, 1992.Father Divine and his followers capitalized pronouns referring to him, much like "LORD" translated from the tetragrammaton is capitalized in the English Bible.
Father Divine's definition of God became quite celebrated at the time because of its unusual use of language: "God is not only personified and materialized. He is repersonified and rematerialized. He rematerialized and He rematerialates. He rematerialates and He is rematerializatable. He repersonificates and He repersonifitizes."
Positive thoughtFather Divine can be considered part of the New Thought Movement; indeed, many of his white followers came from this tradition.[citation needed]
WelfareFather Divine was particularly concerned with the downtrodden of society, including but not limited to Blacks. He was opposed to people accepting welfare.
RaceScholars disagree about whether Father Divine, an African American, was a civil rights activist, but he certainly advocated some progressive changes to race relations. For example, because he believed that every human was accorded equal rights, he believed that all members of lynch mobs ought to be tried and convicted as murderers. Father Divine's anti-lynching campaigns resonated in the black ghettos where his congregations lived, and he got over a quarter million people to sign his anti-lynching proposals.
PatriotismFather Divine advocated that followers think of themselves as simply Americans. He believed that America was the birthplace of the "Kingdom of God", which would ultimately encompass truths of all religious principles, promoting equality and brotherhood. The Movement was supportive of the United States Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and particularly the Bill of Rights as inspired documents, believing that they outlined a more ideal life.
Communal livingToward this life, followers of Father Divine owned and managed property collectively. The movement strove to alleviate poverty by feeding the poor and through education in written English, which the Movement believed was the "universal language."
ChastityFather Divine established an "International Modesty Code" which foroffers smoking, drinking, and profanity. Additionally, it forbade tips, bribes, receiving presents, and "undue mixing of the sexes," along with women wearing slacks or short skirts and men wearing short-sleeves.
Although Father Divine himself was married, the movement discouraged marriage, along with any excessive mingling of the sexes. In the "Heavens" and other living spaces the Movement maintained, separate areas existed for men and women.
Thrift and Business PracticesFather Divine advocated a number of economic practices, which his followers aoffered by. He opposed life insurance (which converts were to cancel), welfare, social security, and credit. Thus, the Movement advocated economic self-sufficiency. His insistence that his followers refuse welfare not related to employment was estimated to have saved New York City $2 million during the Depression.
Business owners in the Movement named their ventures to show affiliation with Father Divine, and obeyed all of these practices. They dealt only in cash, refusing credit in any of its forms. Each was to sell below competitor's prices while refusing any sorts of tips or gratuities. Finally, they refrained from trade in alcohol or Tobacco.
LegacyCivil rightsSome biographers, such as Robert Weisbrot, speculate that Father Divine was a forerunner to the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s and 1960s, heavily influenced by his upbringing in the segregated South. Others, such as Jill Watts, reject not only this characterization, but also the theory that Father Divine grew up in the Deep South. Watts asserts that Rockville was less oppressive than the South or even Baltimore, Maryland, and believes his civil rights positions are unintelligible without evaluating them in the context of the Doctrine of Father Divine.
Although Father Divine strove extensively against lynching and bigotry, he accepted many of the negative characteristics assigned African Americans. He concluded that those who identified themselves as "black" manifested these characteristics. In short, he believed blacks perpetuated their own oppression by thinking racially. He once said that he was not poor because he did not belong to a poor downtrodden race—that he was not black.
ReligiousEdna Rose Ritchings (Mother Divine) conducted services for the old and dwindling congregation until her death. The movement owns several properties, such as Father Divine's Gladwyne estate Woodmont, his former home in Sayville, New York, and the Circle Mission Church on Broad Street in Philadelphia, which also houses the movement's library.
Chapters exist in Pennsylvania and possibly elsewhere, but the movement is not centralized and exists through a number of interrelated groups.
In 2004, Gastronomica magazine published an article about Mother S. A. Divine and the movement's feasts.[15]
In 2000, the Divine Lorraine Hotel near Temple University on North Broad Street was sold off by the international Peace Mission Movement. It was a budget hotel with separate floors for men and women in accord with Father Divine's teachings. The Divine Tracy Hotel in West Philadelphia was sold in 2006.[16]FATHER DIVINE resided at 72Macon Street, Sayville, Long Island,New York From the year 1919 untilthe year 1932. It was during this timethat FATHER DIVINE spontaneouslyspoke the words contained in TheWord of GOD Revealed.The following article is the introductionto 70 installments of a series entitled"The Word of GOD Revealed."Reverend M. J. DIVINE's Words fromthe notebook of John Lamb. ReverendMAJOR J. DIVINE, MS. D., D. D. isbetter known throughout the world asFATHER DIVINE, founder, Bishop andPastor of the Peace Mission Movement.The New Day Publishing Company, thenat 20 S. 36th Street, Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, printed one installment ofthe series of 70 each week from June 15,1974 through November 22, 1975.In Sayville, during the winter months of1976 and 1977 MOTHER DIVINE readand recorded on tape the entiresequence of "The Word of GODRevealed." The tapes and CD's are nowbeing sent out from Woodmont, theMount of the House of the Lord,Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, 19035, whereSHE and FATHER DIVINE are atpresent in residence. Thank YOU,FATHER and MOTHER DIVINE.INTRODUCTIONPart IFORCES WORKING IN THEWORLD PRIOR TO 1930Civilizations have risen in great wealth,knowledge and power and then wanedfor lack of a universal and righteousfoundation. But individuals have beeninspired with a nobler vision, andthough it may have taken centuries, thisspirit of enlightenment which they had,gradually infiltrated the minds of peoplein general and took form in their lives.Religious and secular history tell ofman's restless search for personalsatisfaction and dominion on one hand,and of the inexorable working of theLaw of the Spirit of Life on the other tobring man back into union with GOD.We read in the Bible of how man, beingcreated in the image and likeness ofGOD, with dominion over the lowerforms of creation, fell from his perfectstate. This egotistic mind has beenhanded down from generation togeneration. Yet, within man, thoughmostly lying dormant, the seed ofperfection by which he was created, theunity of Spirit, Body and Mind, which isCHRIST or GOD, is waiting to beresurrected..Clouds of TyrannyThe history of man has been uphilldownhill. Peaceful and prosperous whenhe has walked close to GOD. Undertyranny and depression when he hasfailed to do so.Of many noble visions men have had,one took form that was to eventuallylead a small band of oppressed people toa new world. Unrest and desperation andplagued freedom- loving people duringthe domination and persecution ofchurch and government in Europe in thesixteenth and seventeenth centuries.Again men caught hold of GOD in theirextremity; a leader with a new religiousthought here and there separate from theestablished church gathered followers.Among these was a group of peoplewanting release from the traditions ofthe church so much that they fled theirhomeland in search of freedom andpeace.The New WorldThe young nation that subsequentlydeveloped in America marks a milestonein the history of man. Not because of theability or knowledge or wealth or powerof the Founding Fathers, but becausethey loved GOD and were moving inHIS Will.Here, in the New World, anamalgamation of all nations, tonguesand people declared the right of everyman to life, liberty and the reality ofhappiness. Here, the fulfillment of thedreams of philosophers among theancients, of all men from ages back wholived close to GOD, were realized. Theinstitution of the Law of the Spirit ofLife which came through Jesus Christ,was molded into a framework forgovernment by the people, for thepeople and through the people.Under such a democratic form ofgovernment, GOD's Spirit was free togovern by love rather than by force.Man could follow his inner urge andbring the CHRIST to fruition.But as the conglomerated states weldedthemselves into a nation and it grew andexpanded, another form of tyrannybegan to creep in and the issue ofslavery brought about civil war.- 2 -Again freedom won out and the slaveswere emancipated though their plightunder freedom was in many instancesworse than in the days of slavery.Discriminated against on every hand,despised, spat upon, kicked and beaten,yes, lynched at the tree, these newcitizens of "the land of the free," lackingeven rudimentary education, lived undereconomic distress of the worst kind.The situation not only became ahindrance to America's owndevelopment, but a festering sore withinher inmost parts.Panic and DepressionWhile the sore festered and a segment ofthe populace was terrorized by suchorganizations as the Ku Klux Klan andby frequent lynchings not brought tojustice because the arms of the law itselfwere perpetrators, America stillprospered, pretending not to see or noteven caring about the plight of some ofits citizens.A new type of aristocracy arose. Thebarons of industry, made wealthy as theyoung country grew and producedduring the Industrial Revolutionexpanding its railroads across thewilderness and its shipping around theworld to accommodate the bulgingmarket, took advantage of the workingand the underprivileged man.The nineteenth and early twentiethcenturies tell the story of America'sadventures in business, profession, laborand trade; in government, social habitsand customs; in international affairs andwar. It tells of the rise in power of thetrade unions, called into being by thelack of just payment of the laborer forhis work.As the horizons of the land ofopportunity narrowed, so did the hopesand fortunes of the aristocracy. Theunrighteousness of the nation's economyfinally caused the country to becomebogged down in financial distress.The Great Depression was ImminentRumors of the failure of the economycaused people to rush to the banks towithdraw their life's earnings only tofind that the banks had closed beforethey could get to them.Newspapers daily blazed the news ofbankers and industrial tycoons jumpingto their death from hotel windows orfound slumped over their desks dead ofself-inflicted wounds. They had lost thecourage and stamina of their sturdyforefathers who faced possible death inan unknown wilderness for the right tobe free.But again it was the masses whosuffered most. Unemployment gnawedthe core of the nation. People who couldnot be accommodated on bread lines orby soup kitchens set up for the hungry,ate from garbage cans to live. Familieswere dispossessed, their belongings setout on the street because of longoverdue payments on rent. Starvationstalked city streets.With the situation came unsanitaryconditions in crowded city tenementsand disease followed.The conditions people had inflictedmorally upon their dark-skinnedbrothers had fallen upon them and stilltheir own pledge of allegiance to acountry guaranteeing "one nationindivisible with liberty and justice forall" was unheeded.An Advancing WorldTelephone and radio had begun to makecommunication between people andnations instant. Travel by car andairplane reduced journeys of weeks ormonths to a few hours or days. Incivilized countries education hadbecome almost universal, and machineswere increasingly used for laboriouswork. Wonderful as were these scientificadvances of civilization, increasinglydevastating was the effect of continuouswarfare culminating in World War I.From the aftermath of suffering andconfusion arose the dictatorships ofHitler and Mussolini, which finally wereto trigger World War II.Old values were changed. Superstitiousreligious beliefs of many wereinadequate to provide the faith andinspiration needed in a changing world.Endorsement by the church of a systemwhich allowed the rich to oppress thepoor, caused Communism to beattractive to people who sought equalityand to whom Christianity had not put aroof over their heads or food in theirmouths.At this time of physical as well asmental and spiritual distress in thiscountry and abroad, there was a seekingfor Divine Reality. The philosophies ofmen were inadequate to cope withhumanity's problems. Man had reachedhis extremity.PART 2.The Advent ofFATHER DIVINEThe people and the world were at aplace where nothing short of GOD couldhelp and lift them. Then came theelectrifying words, “GOD is here!"And in our day, and in our time, theyfound HIM teaching and preaching inthe little fishing village of Sayville,Long Island, New York.One writer tells the story briefly in thisway:"To those who were spiritually inclinedyet living in the world of materialism,the stories of miraculous healings ofBiblical days, and the accounts of howeven the passing shadow of some of theprophets and disciples was a healingbalm to those on whom it fell, suchstories stirred the very souls of some.Their hearts yearned for the faith thatwas once delivered to the saints that itmight again act as a panacea for man'sinhumanity to man."Years followed years and then at lastover the nations like wild fire thereswept a rumor, a whisper, mysterious,miraculous; no one knew from where,none could say definitely, but the storyflew from lip to lip that the ONE wascome, the ONE for WHOM humanityhad prayed was come! In extremiation,with a fervent prayer that it might be so,men sought out the source of thismysterious Name, FATHER DIVINE;sought HIM and found HIM, at last."No man need tell you, HIS Worksspeak for themselves, and HIS Wordstell their own story. Here is Truth in allits purity. Here is the beauty ofHoliness! Here is the Panacea for allills!"The greater the disease, FATHERDIVINE says, the greater the need for astrong cure and America and the worldwas diseased from the inside out withracial injustice, economic depravity andthe forsaking of the love for GOD forlove of self.Man's time was clearly out and in hisextremity he was at last ready to giveGOD an opportunity.- 3 -Pioneer of Civil Rights'In all of their afflictions, he wasafflicted" as it was said of Jesus.Tasting of the undercover savagery ofthe brutes of humanity, FATHERDIVINE went south, subjectingHIMSELF to thirty-two lynch mobs at atime when no one was caring about thesuffering of the economically andsocially enslaved people there. No onewas marching or demonstrating for civilrights; there was no one to publicize theheinous crimes done by lynch mobbers.It was FATHER DIVINE Who cared.'…he was wounded for ourtransgressions, he was bruised for ouriniquities";as it is written,'...because he had done no violence,neither was any deceit in his mouth.'Coming through with Love untouchedwhen the flame of race hatred wasraging, HE proved the reality of theGospel of CHRIST as it was known bythe people but not lived, and erased thissin against humanity so completely thattoday lynching is not even heard of.By Personal demonstration FATHERDIVINE shows that the CHRIST Lifecan be lived and can satisfy every gooddesire. Without purse or scrip HE provesfor all time that the Gospel can bepreached without taking collections,love offerings and the like and that,'The Spirit of the Consciousness of thePresence of GOD is the source of allsupply.'The Masses Found HIMAlthough it was HIS desire to hideHIMSELF as a Person that humanitymight get the Principle, the Law of theSpirit of Life, without looking to anindividual, the masses found their wayto HIM, for only HE could give soul'ssatisfaction.Daily the family of believers, drawnfrom all walks of life and racialabstractions gathered around theabundant banquet table to fellowshipwith the Living CHRIST. Never hadsuch Words of wisdom and power fromthe Infinite One fallen on the ears ofhumanity.For the privilege of hearing these Wordsand being in the Actual Presence ofGOD, hundreds of thousands of peoplewere attracted from far and near. Somecame for physical or economic healing,but there were many who came from acorrupt world hungering and thirstingfor righteousness. Not only wasFATHER DIVINE teachingrighteousness, but HE was living theright-use-ness of every thought, everyemotion, every word and deed. HE hadit to give in fullest measure. By theaccurateness of the Life of CHRISTexemplified by HIM, others wereimpelled to follow in HIS footsteps onthe same foundation.As the people flocked to HIM, HE spokeout in the power of HIS Holy Spirit asHE had been doing all along, against thelawless lynchings of the South, againstthe persecution of the Jews in Germany,against tyranny everywhere. The GreatUnifier alone had the power to unifythose of different abstractions who cameinto HIS Presence. All who sat at HISTable of abundance in the midst ofscarcity brought on by the Depression,were served exactly the same. For thehungry and under-privileged who camefrom the streets of Harlem and likeplaces, for the aristocracy who camefrom around the world, the treatmentwas the same.FATHER DIVINETaught and Lived the CHRIST LIFEFearlessly FATHER DIVINE taught andlived the pure CHRIST Life, of theforsaking of family, friends and country,even the nature inherited and preinherited within; though never, even byslightest words, did HE coerce anyone.Those who volitionally wished to comeout of a mortal life had the opportunityto live where they could serve GODwholeheartedly by the moving of theHoly, unadulterated Spirit within.Then HE, Who had refrained from thenatural means of communication thatHIS Spirit alone might be conveyed tothe world, permitted such to be and HEcondescended to respond wherenecessary to the voluminous mailreaching HIM from all parts of theworld. It was at this time that FATHERgave HIS Messages to the worldabsolutely gratis as a free gift tomankind.The Words flowed from HIS Lips in anever-ending stream. Words of Life andSpirit and Love.They were so numerous that the smallstaff who had voluntarily set about totranscribe them could not keep up withtheir transcriptions nor could the presspublish them all and many of thesewonderful Words have been buried untilthis very day. Now, a larger staff is busygetting them out to the press so theworld can benefit.In the feature series presented in TheNEW DAY, jottings from the earlynotebooks of one transcriber will bepublished for the enjoyment andenlightenment of some and asfoundation stones toward a perfectworld for others.Sayville Religious Teaching DrawsBig CrowdsMany Policemen Needed to HandleTraffic; Thousands Come To HearPreacher,Eat HIS Free Food and Obtain Cures;Nobody knows Where HIS MoneyComes FromThe above headline is from Island News,described in its masthead as "Suffolk'sPictorial Newsmagazine." Printed in theOctober 1, 1931 issue. The article givesan outsider's first impression of Sayville.Here, at 72 Macon Street, FATHERDIVINE, residing with MOTHERDIVINE and members of HIS staff,have been carrying on HIS Work ofpeace and brotherhood since 1919 whenHE withdrew from HIS Work in NewYork City.Time has Proved the Right and theWrong of what was ReportedFor many months the people of Sayvillehave been mystified, and many of themhave been annoyed by the presence of areligious curiosity in the form of aTeacher, or Healer. FATHER DIVINEhas drawn large crowds to HIS homewhere they are taught a religionconsisting mostly of simple instructionof good manners and kindness. TheTeacher claims to heal many people oftheir afflictions. ISLAND NEWS willnot comment upon this claim furtherthan to say that such claims frequentlyflourish upon rumor rather than uponfact. Nevertheless, it is true thatFATHER DIVINE has set up apretentious and costly establishment,which is being operated upon a lavishscale, and all who go there are fed andtreated well. The place has attractedsuch crowds that legal action has beeninstituted against FATHER DIVINE by- 4 -Sayville residents on the grounds thatHE is maintaining a public nuisance.Last Sunday ISLAND NEWS sent areporter to the house. The following ishis story:BY BING BARTSunday, Sept. 27 -- A beautiful day, thesun shining brightly and yourcorrespondent arrived in Sayville to findtwo police officers checking up on carsdriven by Afro-American people. Wewere informed by these officials thatthey had already seized six cars forwhich the drivers had no license. Thesecars were from New York and othercities, including one from Georgia. Iasked why they were only checking upon those driven by Afro-Americans.They informed me that these peoplewere being drawn to Sayville by aMagic Healer of whom they wereFollowers. I inquired where this Personwith such powers could be found andwas promptly directed to turn the firststreet to my right, Macon Street, and Iwould need no further directions. Thisstreet was a very nice residential section,and true to the officer's word, I cameupon the home of Sayville's "MagicHealer."Here I found a very large, green,shingled house with a red roof. Six ofSayville's police officers were directingtraffic and keeping the people off thesidewalk so that the pedestrians mightpass. Upon entering the grounds Ipassed beneath a sign which read asfollows:"Be on one accord Drive in slowlyNotice -- Smoking –Intoxicating LiquorsProfane Language--Strictly Prohibited.”Inside these grounds I found hundreds ofpeople, and before long came in contactwith a man who seemed to have someauthority about the place. I wasinformed that he was a councilor. Iapproached this councilor, told him whoI was and that I would like to get a story.He immediately informed me that what Iwould get there was "the Truth" that thatwas their teaching--"the Truth." Hepointed out people who had come fromall over even as far as Missouri to getthis "Truth."He told me of the people who had comethere on crutches and left dancing, ofothers who had come blind but whenthey went they could see; still otherswho had come there mentally blind andwhen they left they could see the Light.He invited me into the dining roomwhere I might dine, meet and talk withthe FATHER. This I had not expectedbut promptly accepted.The interior of this house, referred to asthe Temple, was very nicely decoratedin a manner in which you would expectto find the home of any individual ofgood financial standing. The diningroom had a table of horseshoe fashion atthe head of which sat the Person whom Iwas eager to meet. I was ushered to thehead of the table and given a seat besidethis Mighty little Person. HE was notdressed in garments as one might expectof the leader of a religious movement;but HE was attired in a plain suit ofclothes of good quality the same as wornby the average business man.Around the table were fifty-three people.Of this number, twenty-two were lightand of these twenty-one were women.On the table was food of the best qualitythat money can buy. There were roastsof meat and fowl and at a glance onecould tell they were prepared bysomeone with a vast experience. Myeyes were taken up with the large silverconsoles heaped with the choicest offruits that you find only in the highgrade markets. In front of FATHERDIVINE were ten or twelve coffeepercolators, all the coffee being pouredby HIM and served by waitresses.I found it quite hard to get inconversation with FATHER. No one upto this point would give me their nameand I expected to be refused here but Iasked and to my surprise HE told meHIS Name was M. J. DIVINE. I askedHIM how many people HE fed in a day.HE promptly replied, "We feed as manyas come. We serve from early morninguntil midnight." I asked HIM what HEcharged and HE said, "We chargenothing. Anyone, man, woman or child,regardless of race, color or creed, cancome here naked and we will clothethem, hungry and we will feed them."After the meal, we adjourned to thegarden where I asked for a picture. ThisHE refused as HE said HE did not wantpublicity, that HE did not believe inadvertising, that all the people there hadcome through the advice of others whomHE had helped.I would estimate that there were at leastthree thousand visited there as they werecoming and going all the time. I countedeight buses parked in the different placesnearby. In the garden I also met a youngCaucasian girl who informed me thatshe had come there insane, thatFATHER DIVINE had given her newlife, that she had been cured and as shesmiled she said, "It's wonderful." I askedher name which she did not give. I wasthen introduced to a young Caucasianman, Mr. Mathews, who has justreturned from London and Paris wherehe has been spreading FATHERDIVINE'S Teaching. FATHER DIVINEinformed me that there is a man inGermany now preaching HIS Teachings.FATHER DIVINE'S councilor informedme that the FATHER never sleeps. HEhas hundreds of letters every day whichHE answers after they stop serving atmidnight and it is probably five or sixo'clock in the morning before HEfinishes. Then HE takes a walk andstarts the same routine again.A little woman shook hands with HIMand HE remarked, "I know by your gripthat you think you will be healedbecause you touched ME but this is notso. MY handclasp is that ofcompanionship and so do not think thatby shaking hands with ME you can behealed."I thought I would check up on HIM inSayville, and did. It appears that HE hasno banking account. The merchants sayHE pays HIS bills in cash and alwaysappears to have plenty of it.One decorator told me he had assisted inpainting and redecorating the housewhere FATHER DIVINE lives. His bosscame up when the job was finished andthe Leader asked what the bill was. Itwas $480."That is fine," FATHER said. "It is agood job and I AM very well pleased."Then HE reached into HIS pocket,pulled out a roll of bills, and paid the$480 in cash.There are no religious relics or altars inthe house. It is furnished similar to anyother well-to-do middle class home. Butthe food is apparently the best thatmoney can buy. I ate a fine meal and Iknow whereof I speak. There are largeroasts, small lamb toasts, chicken, duck,the finest of vegetables and deliciousfruits. I am certain the grapes weregrown in a hothouse, or else highlycultivated.One of the Sayville police officers toldme that county authorities some months- 5 -ago went into New York City and hiredan Afro-American girl who worked forthe city police to come out here as a"plant." Dressed shabbily, the girl wentto FATHER DIVINE'S house andapplied for help. She was given goodclothes, was well fed and was treatedhospitably. She could find nothingillegal, and so reported to authorities.Upon inquiring in Sayville I found thatFATHER has been there about twelveyears and recently the neighbors beganto complain and try to do somethingabout it. The case will come up inRiverhead during the October term ofcourt, the charge being a publicnuisance. The only mystery that I couldfind about the place, and that seems tobe the same that is troubling Sayville, is"Where does HE get HIS money?" Oh,yes, I asked HIM and HE promptlyreplied that the Almighty takes care ofthat.Statement by Judge Daniel D. WhiteTo Whom It May concern:This is to certify that I have known Rev.FATHER DIVINE for the past twentyyears and was a Justice of the Peace formost of this time and at his home inSayville, L. I., he has taken in familiesand people and cared for them. I knewhim not to take any fee or money for hisservices. He was a respectable citizenand did good in this community. I amnow president of the Oystermen's Bankand Trust Co.Yours,Daniel D. White(From: The Spoken Word, June 22,1937,page 18)Noted Lawyer, Lecturer & Teacher'sSignificant Pronouncements afterHaving Contacted Father Divine inSayville, Long Island, NYEugene Del Mar Attorney andCounselor51 Macon Street, Sayville, L.I., N.Y.November 23rd, 1931To Whom It May Concern:My name having been printed in theNew York Times as a witness in theproceedings at Sayville, Long Island, inconnection with "FATHER DIVINE," Itake this opportunity to give my reasonsfor being at Sayville, especially as whatI found here is a matter of current publicinterest.For over thirty years I have been beforethe public as author, lecturer, teacherand organizer in what has beendesignated variously as Mental Science,New Thought, Psychology, SpiritualScience, etc.; and I have been in fairlyintimate association with hundreds ofother teachers who were similarlydisposed. My record will be found inmost of such general books of referenceas "Who's Who in America," and fromtime to time I have been connected withmany of the best schools that havefunctioned or now operate along theselines. I was attracted here to study thelife and teachings of one whom I wasadvised to be a great teacher and healer,besides being gifted with unusualpowers.In the light of this background, I havelistened for a full month to the teachingsof FATHER DIVINE. These are allgiven at his free meals, so that eatingand teaching go together. I nowrecognize in FATHER DIVINE onewhose love, charity, sympathy and otherspiritual attributes are manifested to anextreme degree in a transparent purity oflife; and to whose wisdom andunderstanding of spiritual truth I bowmy head with reverence. In the words ofanother epoch:'I find no fault in this man.'All that I have seen, felt and ascertainedregarding the life and teachings ofFATHER DIVINE have illumined myunderstanding beyond anything I haveheretofore experienced. His teachingsare both extremely simple and deeplyprofound. They inculcate the practice ofthe Christ Life "as recorded in Matthew,Mark, Luke and John," and seeminglyhe lives this life in its fullness. Heexpounds the teachings of Jesus ascontrasted with those of Paul. ThisChrist Life he depicts as one of extremepurity and universal love. He cites theNew Testament in support of histeaching that the results of living thislife are peace of mind and health ofbody, together with all of the otherbeautiful possibilities of life. Histeaching is that of essential Unity andOneness; that body, mind and soul areOne; and that when the Christ Life islived to its fullness, the body isspiritualized so that it partakes of theSpirit of God, and is no longer subject todeath.The life so depicted certainly offers astriking contrast to the average life ofhumanity, and its practicality may not beunderstood by the vast majority ofmankind. Only in the slightest degree, ifany, do the teachings of FATHERDIVINE account for the antagonism tohim; for those who oppose him knowlittle or nothing of his teachings. Theopposition is based on racial colorprejudice, intensified by annoyance tothe neighbors incident to the sounds ofworship, and by alleged loss of villageproperty values. Many of his enemiesare friendly to him personally, for heexpresses every admirable quality and isalways kind and considerate. In regardto his appearance, he explains that it isin order that the inherent beauty of the"impersonal life" may be detectedbeneath an unattractive exterior. But hisfollowers find in him equal beauty ofcharacter and countenance.To many of his followers, FATHERDIVINE'S unfailing expressions andactivities of love and sympathy, his loftyteachings and purity of life, and theunusual powers with which he seems tobe endowed, impel them to place him acategory superior to ordinary mortality,and they recognize in him the expectedMessiah. Many address him as "God,""Jesus Christ," and in other terms ofDivinity. But he states frequently thatwhat he does all others can do whenthey think and live as he does and havethe same consciousness.Some of his familiar biblical quotationsare: "I and the Father are One," "TheFather is in me and I am in the Father,"and "Know ye not that ye are theTemple of God?" Some of his ownfamiliar sayings are "God is here andthere and everywhere," "The Christ inyou and the Christ in me will make youwhat you ought to be," and "Theabundance of the fullness of theconsciousness of Good; no space isvacant of the fullness thereof." A few ofthe frequent exclamations are: "Peace,FATHER!," "Thank you, FATHER!"and "It is wonderful."Many have been attracted to FATHERDIVINE out of curiosity and the factthat he feeds freely and "sumptuously"from say 400 to 800 or more peopleeach day. He accepts no money fromany one, has no bank account, and payscash for all purchases. His answer to allinquiries as to the source of his financialsupply is: "The spirit of theconsciousness of the presence of God isthe source of all supply, and will satisfyevery good desire." Among the moreintelligent and critical of his guests arethose who claim to have actually seen- 6 -him multiply the food before their veryeyes!Many have come here afflicted withvarious physical disorders and goneaway healed, and some of these havereturned again and again to testify to thefact. But FATHER DIVINE constantlyadvises that the permanence of healingis dependent upon the continued purityof life. He does not claim that personallyhe heals anyone, or that it is necessary tocontact him personally for this purpose.He states that it is "your faith" that healsyou, and that you can contact himmentally and spiritually at any distancewith the same result. Many testify thatthey have called upon his name from adistance and have been healed--sometimes instantaneously!Highly educated scholars have been herewho have accorded to FATHERDIVINE unique and exceptionalattributes; but no one has as yet solvedthe mystery underlying his personality,wisdom, supply and power. Now thatthe press and radio have spread the newsof his activities near and far, FATHERDIVINE has become a world figure,whose presence and significance can nolonger be ignored. It seems to be themission and hidden purpose of allprosecutions and persecutions to bringinto the light of public interest thatwhich otherwise might remain in thetwilight of comparative indifference./s/ Eugene Del Mar- 7 -'How be it when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth...' St. John 16:13THE WORD OF GOD REVEALEDFATHER DIVINE'S WORDS FROM THE NOTEBOOK OF JOHN LAMBINSTALLMENT #1'Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,'the right-use-ness of things.September 10, l931Right-Use-Ness; Visualizing;MeeknessThe keynote of FATHER's first talktoday was'Seek ye first the kingdom of God and hisrighteousness,'or to seek the right-use-ness of things.To seek the right use of things for anormal purpose will bring everything toyour command, but Divine Lovesupplies every human need, not everyhuman desire.The bringing of things intomanifestation in your life isaccomplished by visualizing. What youvisualize you tend to materialize. If youvisualize the CHRIST in all Hisperfection, you will materialize Him inyour life, and all that goes with Him.'Come down and be meek.'When Jesus fed the five thousand Hemade them sit on the ground,symbolizing meekness. Joseph (Mr.Joseph Gabriel) later gave a talk on thisin which he said so many people pray,'Lord, make me meek,' or ask FATHERto make them meek when the Bible says,'He that humbleth himself shall beexalted.'Physical Senses; Materialization'GOD took form in your earthly fatherand mother to bring you into this planeof existence and HE is actually in yourbody. HE is in every joint, in everysinew and bone. HE is your fivephysical senses, interpreting HIMSELFto you. Through them HE tells you whena thing is hot, when it is beautiful, howit tastes, how it sounds and how itsmells. HE is incorruptible, undefiledand fadeth not away, and your physicalsenses are the same. GOD will never failyou. If you could lose your sight youwould lose that much of GOD. GODlooks through your beautiful eyes.'In talking about a case where a womanhad asked FATHER at the table to cureher throat trouble, FATHER made avery forcible argument. HE said, 'Howcould it be your throat trouble whensomebody else had it before you,’ andHE enlarged upon that to such an extentthat it was clear to all. It was verysimple but very striking. HE brought inthe idea of a stray cat and said that ifyou provided milk and food for it, itwould stay around just as if it belongedto you, but it never did belong to you,and if you withheld food and shelterfrom it, it would soon depart.A very interesting point was alsobrought out with regard to materializingthings. HE said HIS Consciousness wascapable of magnifying anything inGOD'S creation and intensifying ormultiplying it a hundred or a thousandtimes. That was the office of man. Marymagnified the LORD in herconsciousness and brought forth JESUSthe CHRIST. The example of thefeeding of the five thousand was broughtin and HE showed where Jesus gavethanks for five barley loaves and twofishes as though they had been fivecarloads of loaves and two carloads offishes. Then He brake and fed themultitude, but He showed great controlover His powers of magnifying in thatHe produced just enough for the crowdand a basket for each of the disciples.Another feature of the demonstrationwas the making of the multitude to sitdown on the ground--to humblethemselves--and in humility He couldbreak and break and there would alwaysbe something left.Another very interesting point made wasthat we have the powers of GOD notonly in our physical senses but in ourmental senses and our spiritual senses,so that there is nothing on the mentalplane we do not know and nothing onthe spiritual plane we cannot understandhere and now. The physical plane, HEsaid, was Jesus; the mental plane, theHoly Ghost; and the spiritual plane orsenses, the FATHER. HE took thestatement,'He was in the world, and the worldknew him not.'HE brought out from this that GOD is inthe physical world and in the physicalbody, the physical senses, but thephysical senses knew HIM not becausethey are led astray by false belief.HE said, 'When your version isconverted you will see that GOD is yoursight, your taste, your hearing, yoursmell and your feeling, and that HE isincorruptible, undefiled and fadeth notaway.' Any belief of failure in any of thesenses, HE said, is robbing you of thatmuch of your GOD.In answer to a question as to what wasworldly and human and what was not,HE said, 'What were the qualities ofJESUS CHRIST,? Consider whatCHRIST would be like to you and thenbe that. Did the Bible not say definitely,'Let this mind be in you that is also inCHRIST JESUS,'as the infallible guide?- 8 -Stories of Miraculous Releasefrom ConfinementFATHER told a marvelous story aboutan experience of HIS in the South. HEhad entered a small town or city thereand found a woman who had been takenwith the Spirit, as they say,...and herhusband had sent her to the insanedepartment of a hospital, supposing shewas crazy. FATHER in some waylearned the circumstances and told thehusband to go and bring her home, asshe was all right. Instead of complyinghe went to the hospital and had hertransferred to the insane asylum.FATHER went to him again andcommanded him to bring her out, but herefused, and FATHER said, 'If you don'tgo and get her I'll shake this town.' Stillthe man refused, so that night atremendous storm came up of rain andthunder, but no lightning, something noone there had ever seen before, and itflooded everything. FATHER said HEheard it reported that the rain was hotand burned the trees. The husband hadgone to bed and locked the door of hisroom, but it came open and continued toopen every time he locked it, until at lastFATHER appeared to him and told himagain to get his wife.He got up and dressed, but could not getdown the street because the water wasflowing several feet deep. After thestorm was over, however, he went to theasylum and tried to take his wife out,only to find that they would not releaseher under any circumstances. Hereturned and informed FATHER, andFATHER HIMSELF went down anddemanded her, but HE was a perfectstranger in town and the authoritiesrefused. FATHER demanded again,however, that they release the woman toHIM and the superintendent at lastsigned a release and turned her over toHIM.Just before the telling of this story awoman had testified that she askedFATHER'S help for a brother who wasin prison in Baltimore on a very seriouscharge, which as she said, was of anature that even money could not obtainhis release. FATHER gave HIS help andwithin a few days the prison wardenwent to her brother and released him.telling him to get out, they did not wanthim around any longer. He had juststarted a sentence of eleven years. Ibelieve. The brother did not know thatany help had been asked for him andwrote to his family saying he could notunderstand his release and asking if theyhad raised money to have him set free.Directly after FATHER'S story, a Mr.Daly from Florida got up and testifiedthat he had come to New York lastspring leaving his wife at home inFlorida and a son in the Florida StateHospital. He could not find work in NewYork and finally landed at FATHER's.FATHER found work for him at threedollars a day and after a request for abetter job he found one at twelve dollarsper day. A short time later he decided togo to Florida and bring back his family.After several experiences on the roadwhere he claimed FATHER helped himout of traffic scrapes in the South, hearrived at the Florida State Hospital, butthey would not release the boy as he wasviolent. After doing everything possibleto obtain his release he contactedFATHER, as he said, and went again tothe superintendent and thesuperintendent released the boy. Theboy stood up to show that he was fullyhealed after arriving back here in NewYork.Paralyzed Man HealedOne remarkable case of healing cameunder my own observation. A man camewho had been paralyzed for years. couldnot walk or talk. He was bent overalmost double, one arm was in a fixedposition and had a constant shakingmovement. He came in about six orseven o'clock, shortly before the lastsitting, or rather before the first sitting ofthe evening, as there happened to beonly one that evening. FATHER did notpay much attention to the man, but oneof HIS students was working with himand reassuring him. After a timeFATHER entered the room and satdown quietly among the ten or a dozenpeople; it was very quiet and HE justseemed to 'go away'*(as though asleep)for a few moments. Just about that timedinner was served and FATHER left theroom to speak at the table. During theserving, the man got up and walked, andwe were excused from the table early sowe could see him. He could not onlywalk but he could speak and raise hisarms up to his head. He had been toldthat he would never walk and Iunderstand that he had been that wayfrom birth. At any rate he was sooverjoyed that he walked back and forthfor hours saying,' I can walk, I'm soglad,' over and over with the tearsstreaming down his face. After it wasover and during the process, FATHERpaid very little attention to him andwhen the man's people asked if he mightstay overnight, FATHER told them HEhad no room, so they drove off with himin the car.September 11, 1931The Power of GOD to ProvideBlessings'The earth was without form, and void,and the Spirit of GOD moved upon theface of the waters.' And the LORD said,'Let the dry land appear, and it was so.'FATHER says: 'Let success appear, lethealth appear, etc.,' and it is so.FATHER said today that HE had sentout the thought for a three-hour workingday. HE also said that in the last electionHE had sworn to elect CHRIST theKING if it took a million dollars andthat HE still intended to do so if it took ahundred million. HE promised us thatwithin the next few years we wouldwitness such a recognition of HIS powerthat it would stagger the imagination,that we would have private high speedtunnels to China, private steamshipsaccommodating five thousand, not onlyprivate cars, but private trains andprivate railroads, private automobileroads, private airplanes and privatezeppelins. HE said there was no end toHIS power because HE held the worldin HIS hand.A visitor testified that he had a report inhis pocket stating that the RockefellerFoundation had offered fivethousand(dollars) and Henry Ford twothousand(dollars) to FATHER to helpfeed the poor. He said FATHER'S replywas that HE saw no poor around HIMbut that HE understood there were somein New York City and advised them touse the money there. 'Continue to affirmuntil GOD confirms. Stand back of yourtestimony.'September 12, 1931LORD'S Prayer FulfilledEvery part of the LORD'S Prayer hasbeen fulfilled, so that we do not have toask for those things any more. GOD hasgiven us this day, HE has given us ourdaily bread, and you see it fulfilledbefore your eyes.'The earth is the LORD'S and thefullness thereof.'The Kingdom has come, and the Will isbeing done.'- 9 -'There is no need of the sun by day.There is no need of the intellect, orhuman intelligence, because 'I AM' theLight of the world. FATHER'S Lightoutshines the sun.September 13, l931He That Exalteth HimselfShall Be AbasedAfter I had given what I thought was aparticularly good talk along the lines ofmy power, perfection and freedom inmy I AM, and after several others hadtalked along the same lines, FATHERgot up and very vehemently gave thefollowing: 'It is better to be a live catthan a dead king.' It is better to be GODand not know it than to know it and notbe it. You may think it is to MYdisadvantage for you to praise ME, but Itell you it is to your advantage. It wouldhave been better for you if I had not hadto tell you this, if you had seen your wayclear to do it without seeking a reward,but I have to tell you, and though it isvery definitely to MY disadvantage, IAM willing for your sakes to pay theprice.'This spirit of competition, of making areputation for yourself, of indulginghuman prejudices, jealousies,resentments, etc., will land you in h--l.Remember the story of Lucifer (Isaiah14:12). Lucifer outshone most of theother stars--had almost the light of thesun--but through this spirit of pride, hewas cast out of Heaven. Competition,the spirit abroad in the world today andmaking yourself higher than another,will bar you from making your spiritualimport. You are told to have that mindin you which was also in CHRISTJESUS. What was that mind? Phil. 2:5-7says,'He thought it not robbery to be equalwith God,'and that passage is quoted so often byTruth teachers but they do not continuewith the rest of it and say,'But he made himself of no reputation,and took upon him the form of aservant.'So many Truth teachers have come herein the past and said 'I am God,' etc. andafter they have died the death orsuffered some great distress. Why?Because they think, 'If I am GOD I cando anything I want to do. I can smoke, Ican drink, I can rob a bank, anything Idesire,' and they can. They can use thatpower they have perceived, but they willdie the death because they are not beingthat which they claim. The law is that,'He that exalteth himself, shall beabased,'and'As ye give, so shall ye receive,''and I tell you that not one jot or onetittle of that law shall pass away till allbe fulfilled.'''Oh To Be Nothing'A story told by FATHER in connectionwith the fall of Lucifer is as follows: HEsaid a clergyman told HIM that in hisboyhood he had been an orphan and hadbeen adopted by some people who livednear a railroad leading into New Yorkfrom the South. Large numbers oftramps used to pass by his back yardwalking into New York from the South.Many of them used to stop at his housefor food or rest and one day an old manwas seen standing in the yard. He wassent out to bring him in and see what hewanted. He was one of the tramps andhe stayed around for several days, butdid not eat much even when it wasoffered to him. They tried to get hisname out of him but all he would saywas that it was Sankey and Moody.(Dwight L. Moody and Ira D. Sankey,Moody was a famous Evangelist whopreached JESUS CHRIST powerfully,not only among the rich and middleclass, but especially among the poor anddowntrodden. Sankey had a gloriousvoice who captivated the masses withhis musical gospel. As a team, Moodyand Sankey brought millions to acceptJesus as their Savior around 1880.)At last he went out into the yard onemorning singing, 'Oh to be nothing,nothing.' In a few minutes he startedrising into the air and passing to theeastward as he continued to sing. He didnot go straight up but kept getting higherand higher and further and further to theeastward until he was entirely out ofsight.CHRIST Manifested Must Be TestedIn speaking of the noise at 72 Macon St.,and the complaints of the neighbors,FATHER said that when theycomplained about the noise of HISHudson, HE bought a Cadillac that didnot make any noise, and that just so inthe carrying on of HIS Work, HE wouldbirth out a zeppelin that would carry athousand people or some other device sothat they could not complain. HE alsosaid, 'Apparent evil will always raiseitself up almost to the level of yourunderstanding to test you.' When youhave gained the CHRIST, you must betested up to the limit of yourunderstanding to strengthen you.'Not my will, but Thine be done.''As long as there is any way you want tobe used or not to be used, emotionally,mentally, physically or any other way,you are not living up to that statement.''Put down every king and everykingdom that rises up in you under JohnSmith or mortality.'September 14, 1931The Heavenly Host is waiting to take upbodies when they have been preparedfor such use. At this point FATHERdeclared that the Angels were theheavenly host and there was greatenthusiasm. Mother (Peninnah Divine)said she saw the forms of two Angelscome down into two bodies in differentparts of the room and in the case of thesecond, the woman fell to the floor,indicating that her personal self hadbeen knocked over by the new occupantof her body. She further said, 'What doyou care who occupies your body solong as it is Abraham or Isaac or Jacobor one of those holy men.'** *** **FATHER later said, 'The material planeis the field of victory. You may exist ona spiritual plane, or you may gain aspiritual plane, but the material plane iswhere you gain your victories.' Untilyou are willing even on the materialplane to give up everything for yourbrother, and to do for others even as youwould for yourself, you have not wonthe victory.** *** **''No man hath ascended up to heaven,but he that came down from heaven.'You can never ascend or transcendmortality so long as you claim humanparentage or admit anything but GOD asyour actual FATHER. You must claimyour heritage radically. Jesus was adescendant of the greatest king andwarrior His race had ever known and Hecould have been crowned, but He- 10 -preferred to be the Son of GOD than theson of a king. He denied His parentagewhen He said,'Who is my mother and who are mysisters and brothers? It is they who dothe will of my Father.'When Philip said,'Lord, show us the CHRIST,'Jesus said,'Hast thou been so long with me, Philip,and hast thou not known me?''FATHER continued this talk by sayingHE was in the mineral, vegetable andanimal kingdoms as well as the mankingdom; that this CHRIST is in allkingdoms.'In all their afflictions He was afflicted,but the Angel of His Presence healedthem.'September 15, 1931The main point in FATHER'S first talktoday was that no one should claim anypersonal talent or ability as all suchthings belong unto GOD. HE said, 'Ihave no special talent or gift, I AM alltalents and gifts, so why do I need anyspecial one?' 'I do not play the piano andI do not cook, but I drive a car and doother things and those things are all Ineed to do at present. If the occasionarose I could do other things, but I nevercould if I were claiming any Personalpower or ability.' 'So it is not talents, orgifts, but GOD.September 16, l931In the time of Jesus it was necessary tolive in a certain way in order to bringforth the CHRIST, and the same thingsare true of today. The Angel of theLORD told Mary how to live, and hegave Joseph a message also. As a resultof compliance with that requirement,Mary brought forth the CHRIST. Paulalso gave instructions as to how to liveto attain the Kingdom, or the CHRIST,when he said,'They that are married shall be asthough they were not married.'Jesus said,'Choose ye this day whom ye will serve,'and FATHER says, 'Choose ye this daywhom ye will serve--CHRIST, or materand carnality.'FATHER says, 'Sickness is not a sin, butit is always the result of some sin, andthe time is coming and now is when itwill be a shame to be sick for you willbe able to tell thereby, those who live insin.''It is not a sin to be tempted, but yieldingis sin.'If you yield and waste your bodilyenergy in lust, you are actuallymurdering the CHRIST Child and yourpunishment will be sure to follow.' 'It isnot a sin to have dreams and such likewhen you are unconscious, but you cantake a definite stand in your consciousmoments.'September 17, 1931FATHER away all day in Person.September 18,1931New motto: 'The abundance of thefullness of the consciousness of good, noplace is vacant form the fullnessthereof.'** *** **FATHER used as an illustration the factthat if you have had a chicken tied upfor some time, and then unfasten it andlet it go, it will continue to sit in thesame spot thinking it is still tied. Thesame thing is true of people. They areactually free, but they have been tied forso long they cannot realize that they arefree. They have been free ever sinceCHRIST came and just as you have togive the chicken a little push to make itrealize it is free, so you have to pushpeople to make them realize theirfreedom.The greatest thing in the world and thatwhich will free from every conceivablelimitation, is love. He asked for wisdom(Solomon did) but he must havereceived a generous portion of lovebecause he was known for his love andjustice; never for a warrior as wasDavid.'Lay not up for yourselves treasuresupon earth, where moth and rust dothcorrupt, and where thieves breakthrough and steal,'said Jesus. So many people are laying upin the storehouse things for their ownpersonal benefit, such as largevocabulary, personal accomplishmentsand even understanding of the Truth.Even those Truth teachers who gain acertain amount of understanding willalways have it on a personal basis andtheir last state will be worse than theirfirst until they gain a love for humanityand are willing to give up all gifts andall personal understanding for love.Copyright'I have never copyrighted anything Ihave written and yet if I wanted to dothat and put MY Mind to it, I couldmake hundreds of thousands of dollarsjust from the little compositions andmottoes I bring forth every day. A whileago a man was here who wanted ME tosing one of the songs I made up here fora phonograph record and he guaranteedME, if I would do it, as much as fiftythousand dollars, just for one side of therecord, but I would not consider it.There have been many who wanted tocopyright some of MY songs and get outsheet music on them guaranteeing ME agood return, but I would be cheatingMYSELF out of MY unlimited good ofI allowed it to be done. I put no fencesor hedges around it to close it in andtherefore it is limitless. So many peopleinvent useful things and right away theyrush to patent it, closing everybody elseout and claiming it for themselves whenin the first place it was a pure inspirationfrom GOD and belonged to everyoneequally.'Lay not up for yourselves treasuresupon earth, where moth and rust dothcorrupt, and where thieves breakthrough and steal.'By his own volunteer volition, each canbring forth the CHRIST to fruition.'September 19,1931You Must Come Out of MortalityThe subject of FATHER'S discoursetoday was the parable in the NewTestament of the man who prepared agreat feast and offer his friends to comebut all gave excuses, so he invited anywho would to come. There were notenough of these to fill his table, so hesent his servants out into the highwaysand hedges to compel them to come in.FATHER said: 'MY table has notalways been full as it is at present. Therewas a time twelve years ago when Iveiled MYSELF and came out here to- 11 -this little place that people didn't come,but I have sent out the call now into thehighways and hedges, into the legalworld, the financial world, theprofessional world and the skilled worldand they have to come. I AM sendingout MY servants in trials andtribulations, sickness and failure, andthey are forcing you to come in. GOD iscalling to the CHRIST in you to comeout of mortality into HIS Glory, and ifyou don't come out HE will take youout. There are many that refuse to comeout and will not obey. GOD is takingthese out anyway and to mortal sensethey seem to die. Many of the foremostones in the world are apparently dyingand will continue to do so.'A very wealthy man here (mentioninghim by name) died a few days ago atless than middle age when there wasabsolutely no reason for his doing so,except his personal possessions. Youwill see people who have apparently losttheir minds and become insane, andthose who have lost all remembrance ofwho they are, and those in all kinds ofdistress, and they go on living to mortaleyes, but GOD has taken them outbecause they would not come out andeven if they are to lose their personalsense of expression they must come outanyway. I have sent out the call and itmust be answered because MY Wordshall not return unto ME void.'September 20, 1931Let Not Education Stand In YourWayThis being Sunday was an unusuallycolorful day. FATHER started thesinging at the first table with: 'Openyour mouth and GOD will speak foryou, open your heart and I will fill you.'After a good deal of singing thevibrations became very high andFATHER gave a wonderful talk, callingupon us to arise and come out or openour mouths and let GOD speak for us.HE commanded us vehemently not to leteducation, vocabulary, or any such thingto stand in the way. HE said everyseminary and college in the world wasstanding in the way, that the CHRISThad always been in us and every time itattempted to come out into expressionwe repressed it and pushed it down; thatevery time we had an intuition weconsidered other things and would notfollow it. But GOD fills all space and isabsent from none. GOD is Omnipotent,GOD is Omnipresent, GOD isOmniscient, GOD is Omnilucent. Youhave but to let HIM BE. This is not anaccurate presentation of what was said.It was something so wonderfullyeffective at the moment that it is hard toput it into words afterwards.GOD Is All of Your KinAnother very wonderful talk brought outthe fact that everyone of us is born ofGOD whether we think so or not. Thefather and mother we seemed to havewere only a manifestation to satisfy m or t a l consciousness. 'GOD is yourFATHER and you have never hadanother.' HE is all of your kin and all ofyour family. HE condescended to comedown in human form to appease mortalconsciousness and to protect you till youreached the stage of spiritual maturity,and HE was actually your FATHER andMOTHER and you have never hadanother. If you hold onto themanifestation you call father or motheror kin HE will take them away from youbecause you are not recognizing HIM inthem.September 21, 1931The theme of the first talk today was:'Speak the truth at all times and yourword must be true because it will haveall the weight of truth to back it up.' Ifyou customarily speak the truth, thenwhen you are called upon in a specialcase to speak the truth for somebodyyour word will be effective. 'Take as anexample, the case of the woman hereyesterday who took off her glasses. Shesaid she wished she could take them off,and I said, 'You can take them off,' andMY Word was true, and she did takethem off.'** *** **After a short talk of mine in which Ipraised even FATHER'S Name and itspower for good, and compared thosewho call upon it and get results to thedisciples, who said: 'In the name ofJesus of Nazareth I pronounce youwhole,' FATHER gave a long talk alongthose lines. HE said the actual outwardexpression as a man did have power andthat as I had suggested, HIS very Namehad power for those who could be'ignorant enough to be foolish enough tobe radical enough to believe on it.' HEsaid, 'Imagine how radical the disciplesmust have seemed when they preachedthat only through the name of Jesus ofNazareth could any be saved, when thepriests and the people said'Is not this Joseph's son and have we notseen Him here with us and how can sucha man forgive sins?etc.' How firmly they must havebelieved when they themselves also sawHim as a man but refused to be swayedby the testimony of the whole worldagainst Him, and what a test it was forthem when they saw Him crucifiedignominiously and His glory gone.'September 22, 1931The vibrations this morning were veryhigh and FATHER started the singingwith 'GOD gave us this day and ourdaily bread.' HE continued with a talkalong those lines in which HE said thatevery part of the LORD'S Prayer hadbeen answered and we need not pray itany more, except that we could say,'For thine is the power and the gloryand the kingdom forever.'HE said: ' GOD has given us this day,HE has actually given us this bread thatis on the table and you know it is there365 days every year and sometimes 366.It is no longer necessary to pray for athing you already have. The Kingdomhas come, and the will is being done,and GOD is leading us, not intotemptation, but delivering us from theevil one.'Later in the day FATHER talked aboutthe Cherubim that had been placed inthe Garden of Eden to keep Adam awayfrom the Tree of Life. HE said: 'SinceCHRIST came you have had the sameright to the Tree of Life that Adam hadbefore he sinned. Reach out, take, eatand live forever.'Divine Law Must PrevailIn the evening I gave a talk on theprecedence Divine Law takes over everyother law, and compared it with our stateand federal laws. FATHER continuedand made some wonderful points. Somein the audience had mentally raised thequestion of just how far FATHERshould go in inconveniencing others inmaking HIS demonstrations. Some hadquestioned the effect of FATHER'Sproducing money and suggested thepossibility of its throwing out our wholemonetary system. Others werequestioning HIS regulating of the trainsto suit HIMSELF, especially after astory HE had told a few days previouslyabout coming through from New Yorkto Sayville on the train when the onlytrain HE could get without waiting was- 12 -one that did not stop at Sayville but didstop at several intermediate points. HEboarded the train and said to HIMSELF:'Now there will be no stops till we get toSayville.' Later HE asked the conductorto stop at Sayville and the conductorsaid it would be impossible. ThenFATHER requested him to slow downas he passed the end of Macon Streetand he said that would be impossiblealso. FATHER said nothing further butjust as the train pulled through thestation at Sayville, the signal arm wentdown (or up) and the train had to stop,and it had come right through from NewYork without a stop although it wasscheduled to stop at various points.FATHER took up these points byfrankly saying that it made no differencehow much mortal mind wasinconvenienced and that if HE wasworking in the Divine Law HE mustprevail in accordance with the DivineLaw. HE compared it to our personallyinterfering with insects. HE said wethought nothing of brushing a mosquitoaway and that mortal mind was just thesame before GOD. HE spoke of howrain and dry spells came on all alike andinterfered tremendously with mortalplans, etc., but no one thought anythingof it. HE closed with a wonderfulstatement about Divine Law interferingwith and canceling every other law thatconflicts with it. and a reminder ofcourse, that to work with the DivineLaw one had to be completely purged ofself-interest and be working for theCHRIST entirely.September 23, l931Walter LanyonAfter a good deal of singing thismorning a letter from Walter Lanyonwas read and the enthusiasm ran veryhigh. FATHER said this Truth wasgoing from shore to shore and from landto land, that Walter Lanyon was theAngel flying in the midst of Heavenspoken of in Revelation. HE said,'Walter was meek enough and humbleenough when he was already aninternational lecturer to come to ME andoffer up all that he had and I have givenhim all that I have, dominion over allpowers and kingdoms. This wholeUnited States belongs to GOD, theKingdom of Great Britain belongs toGOD, the Kingdom of Spain belongs toGOD, the Kingdom of Germany belongsto GOD, and every other Kingdom inthe World. I intend to crown CHRISTKING of Kings and LORD of Lords, ifit takes a hundred million dollars perday and nothing on earth can keep MEfrom reaching those in authority who arenecessary regardless of where they areor who they may be.'Germs On Words and ActionsLater in the day FATHER got talking toa crowd of visitors at the table aboutsmoking and gambling. HE introducedthe talk by talking about being careful ofwhat you say and do, as, if there are anygerms there are germs on words andactions. HE said: If you don't want it tobe Wonderful you had better not say it,for if you continue to say it and think it,it will be Wonderful to you.' Then HEwent on to say that idle words carriedthe seed of evil conditions and thatactions did the same. HE said every bumor hobo HE had ever seen had thesmoking habit and that the man whostood on the street corner and smokedwas indulging in something that carriedthe seed of disrepute, failure and lack.HE said every house of ill-fame had areason or a beginning and that beginningwas in such downward tendencies assmoking, cards, etc. HE then said: 'Ifyou follow MY actions and do what I doyou will soon get the germ of MYactions and you will find yourself withall your debts paid up, and you will bepaying cash for everything. Before longyou will be saying it's Wonderful andthinking it's Wonderful just as I AM.'Insurance;Civil Home Left UnlockedStill later in the day HIS subject wasinsurance. HE condemned all insuranceas assurance that the thing insuredagainst would happen. HE quoted,'If the LORD keep not the house thewatch is in vain.'HE said HE carried no fire insurance onthe house or on anything else and that ifanything should be lost HE would havea hundred times more as a result. HEtold of a trip to Florida and back inwhich all doors in the house and allwindows were left unlocked, the tableset up, the kitchen filled with provisionsand the linen closet filled with linen.This was after a warning had beenreceived from the police that awatchman should be left as a large estatenearby had been robbed of $37,000 infurnishings. The house was left openhowever, the gas and electric men camein to read the meters and when one ofthem accidentally left a door open, aneighbor saw that it was closed. Thefamily was away all winter. They droveto Florida, eleven in the car, with elevendress suitcases on the side. In manyplaces they stayed two or three days andthe car was always left in the street, anew Hudson, with the suitcases tied onwith rope. It was never locked and noone so much as laid a finger on it. Thisresult came about, FATHER said, as aresult of not drawing any lines orerecting any fences, having everythingin GOD, and then nothing couldpossibly be lost.Profiteering On GOD'S GiftsIn the evening FATHER gave a furthertalk about people accepting money fordriving people out from New York intheir cars to visit HIM and for thingsthat came to them as a result ofinspiration from GOD. HE said theirautomobiles were GOD's in the firstplace and why should they collect a feefor bringing people out in them. HEquoted:'GOD so loved the world that HE gaveHIS only begotten Son.'But, HE said, Judas was always trying tosell CHRIST and to collect graft. Again,HE quoted:'Freely ye have received, freely give,'and said that was not only HIScommand it was taken from the Bible.HE said HE did not see how anyonecould come to HIM and accepteverything free of the slightest chargeand then go out and charge someoneelse for what they were able to give.- 13 -'How be it when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth...' St. John 16:13THE WORD OF GOD REVEALEDFATHER DIVINE'S WORDS FROM THE NOTEBOOK OF JOHN LAMBINSTALLMENT 2'You Are Heir to the Highest,Claim Your Rights and Press Your Claim.''John saw this day when he saw the first heaven and the first earth pass away,for the first heaven was the imaginary heaven in the skiesfrom which I have turned you away.'- Father Divine -September 24,1931The Plenty of the KingdomFATHER started the day by referring tothe demonstration before our eyes of theplenty of the Kingdom and referred tothe feeding of the five thousand,comparing the present demonstrationwith that as to proportions, continuance,etc. Then HE continued to say that HISSpirit could appeal to every nation, toevery kindred and to every people,because HE could speak in whateverterms would appeal to them and inwhatever tongue was theirs. HE said: 'IAM expressing emotionally thismorning because someone around herehas an emotional tongue.' 'No doubtJesus appealed to the Hebrew emotionas follows: 'See what our GOD has donefor us.. .' 'HE said If we would let HISSpirit speak through us it could reachevery thing and condition because itcould speak all languages and take on allforms and appearances. HE continuedlater by saying HE was glad HE hadtaken our eyes off an imaginary heavenand made us see a real one. HE said:'John saw this day when he saw the firstheaven and the first earth pass away, forthe first heaven was the imaginaryheaven in the skies from which I haveturned you away.'FATHER'S Daily RoutineAt this point FATHER left the room toattend to HIS correspondence and statedthat HE had a tremendous volume of itahead of HIM and that HE had workeduntil five o'clock this morning and sixo'clock the morning before, and whenHE did lie down the telephone rang atabout seven, HE got up and did not liedown again. This seems to be a regularpractice as the two secretaries, MissMary and Miss Peace, work practicallyall night when FATHER is not so busyand things are quiet.Real FishAfter a short time FATHER came backat a time when fresh fish was beingserved at the table. HE made a little jokeabout how it tasted and said, 'This is realfish because the fish man knew he hadit.' Someone asked for an explanationand HE said that on one of HIS previousvisits to the fish market the proprietor, inreply to FATHER'S request for someporgies, said he did not have any as thecatch included only three or four ofthem. FATHER said: 'Where are they?'And the man pointed them out.FATHER said HE went over and pickedup about twenty five or thirty pounds ofthem and brought them over to thescales to be weighed and the fish manlooked at HIM in astonishment for amoment and then said: 'Oh, I know,YOU are that mystery m-a-n that getsanything HE wants.' 'But, 'FATHERsaid, 'this is real fish this time becausethe man knew he had it.'GOD is Our FatherFATHER continued after the singing ofa song, 'GOD is your FATHER there isno other one,' with a wonderful talkabout GOD being in your body, in everyvein, every sinew and bone. HE said:'Jesus said,'Pray ye our FATHER',not my FATHER or your FATHER , butour FATHER,' clearly indicating thatGOD was the actual FATHER of all. HEthen continued to show that what wethought were our fathers and motherswere only the forms GOD had to take toappease our mortal consciousness and toraise us up to a point of understanding.If we held on to those forms they weresurely taken away from us and thisapplied to husbands and wives as well.HE said: 'You are heir to the highest,claim your rights and press your claim.'When Jesus was faced with this situationof physical parenthood, He did not eventake time to deny it. When His parentscame to Him in Jerusalem after He hadbeen lost for three days and began toupbraid Him, He simply said,'Wist ye not that I must be about MyFather's business?'Later, however, He said:'Woman, what have I to do with thee?'showing clearly His attitude.Alarming IncidentFATHER continued a short time later bystating HE was going to drive allundesirable conditions from thedesirable people and compared theothers to the swine, offerding us bedesirable and forsake all undesirablethings. At this juncture somethingbrought up an incident which occurredhere about ten days ago. One night after- 14 -all visitors had left 72 Macon St., a cardrove up and someone got out andshowered the house with bottles andpacking cases. The crash of glass andnoise alarmed the householdconsiderably and there seemed to be agood deal of disturbance. FATHER hadbeen 'away' and when HE returned andfound out the condition HE went 'away'( as though asleep) again. When HEreturned the second time HE came withPower, as several of the Angels put it,and the whole house and every bit offurniture shook, and there was a noiselike thunder. HE went through the housefrom front to back and looked verysearchingly into everyone's eyes as ifHE were seeking someone or something.Then they all went to bed and thingswere quiet and peaceful. No windowshad been broken and everything was inperfect order. This was all kept veryquiet at the time, but today FATHERreferred to it by simply saying that a fewbottles had been thrown at the house inthe night some time ago, and later a manhad been found dead in the woods nearMacon Street. The police thought at firstthat he had been murdered, butconcluded later that he had beendrinking poison liquor. Then HE merelysaid: ‘I do not send out any destructivevibrations, of course, but everyone getsthe kick-back of his own thought and hisown hatred,' and sat down.September 25,1931Become New To See GOD'You Must Save Yourself'FATHER started this morning, in veryhigh vibrations, to talk about putting onnew bodies through absoluteconsecration, etc. and HE continued bysaying that so many people want HISPower, but that they could not stand it intheir present state, that if they had it theywould go off into some delusion orsome kind of extreme condition. ThenHE referred to the statement:'Present your bodies a living sacrifice,holy, acceptable unto God, which isyour reasonable service.'He also referred to the statement: 'Thereshall no man see me and live,' and saidthat the body actually had to becomenew to see GOD. HE pointed out thefact that many people when they cometo HIS table, fall over on the floor as ifdead, when they see the manifestation ofGOD. Their mortal self is knocked outof the body for the moment by the gloryof the vision and that this had biblicalauthority in the above verse. HEcontinued by saying: 'The kingdom ofGod comes not with observation, but byfaith that God is in you.' 'Nothing yousee ME do, and nothing I can do for youas a Person can save you. You must saveyourself. I do not need to touch you, youdo not need to even see ME to beabsolutely whole and free. You do notneed to drink of the water on this placeas so many believe. I AM notadvocating the gift, I AM advocating theGiver. I AM not advocating the blessing,I AM advocating the Blesser.'HE then referred to a recent motto: 'Thesky is nowhere and nothing, buteverywhere where there is nothing.' HEthen enlarged upon the fact thatCHRIST is actually in all and quotedColossians 1:27:'To whom God would make known whatis the riches of the glory of this mysteryamong the Gentiles, which is Christ inyou, the hope of glory.'HE continued with the idea that learningwas not necessary and a hindrance ifanything. HE said: 'You bear no recordof anyone ever teaching ME an 'A' butthere is nothing of the intellect I cannotsurpass, and, in any vocabulary.'September 26,1931Parking On Macon Street'I Have Established This Truth'The day started with songs about 'GODis your FATHER,' etc. A report hadcome in about restriction of parking onthe four streets about FATHER's placeto one half-hour, this being an effort todo away with the large number of carsthat obstruct the streets along therailroad. FATHER has for a long timeallowed parking only in front of HISproperty at 72 and 64 Macon St. Thisstimulated FATHER to give a veryvehement talk. HE said: 'I haveestablished this Truth and I will standback of it with or without a Body.Persecutions will not stand in the way.When they asked ME in court some timeago whether I wanted to be prosecuted, Isaid persecuted or executed it is all thesame to ME so long as I preach thisTruth Persecution only brings outgreater glory. When they thought theywould stop the work nineteen hundredyears ago by taking Jesus' life, theyestablished it.''I have finished what I came to do, withthe exception of universalizing it, and itis going to travel from shore to shoreand from land to land.'The Kingdom has come and the Will isbeing done.'I have answered the prayer of Jesus:'I pray that they may be one even as weare one.'The mouth of the Lord has spoken.'Am I not a GOD at hand, and not aGOD afar off?''You see the expression here before youreyes. I do not have to say who I AM. IAM here. A dog does not have to say Iam a dog. Everyone sees that he is adog.'The Vanishing City in 2525At this point FATHER became verymuch uplifted and HE referred to aprediction HE had made in 1917 inwhich HE said HE was preparing andothers were preparing for a 'VanishingCity' in which ten million people wouldleave this globe and go to other planets.They would be the purest of the pure inheart and the event would take place inthe year 2525. HE would allow suchdevelopment to come forth in aerialtransportation long before that time, thatwhen the time came the ten millionpeople could easily be accommodated.HE said, 'Many here now are preparingfor a trip to Venus and Mars that youknow so little about. Don't you want togo? For this cause came I into the Fleshand all will be fulfilled.'Sarah DoubtedMary Brought Forth the CHRISTLater FATHER spoke about faith andHE said that if Sarah had not doubtedthe Angel of the LORD, she might havebrought forth the CHRIST instead ofMary. But she laughed and said:'How can I, at my age, bring forth achild?'and therefore she brought forth a childwhose demonstration of the CHRISTwas limited. Mary, however, believedthe Angel and she brought forth theCHRIST. All down the years from Sarahto Mary's time, the LORD waited for theproper condition to manifest theCHRIST.- 15 -Help Someone Every DayStill later in the day FATHER sang asong about the woodpecker: 'Live notfor yourself alone lest some day youmay be pitied for something to call yourown.' The poem or song originated in astory about Saint Peter who visited anold woman at a time when he washungry, and she was making a cake forherself. He asked for one and she madean extra one, but would not give it tohim, and laid it away on a shelf. Heimmediately turned her into awoodpecker that would have to peck inthe hard wood all day for its food andshe disappeared up the chimney.FATHER said he did not take lessonsfrom schools, but he took a lesson fromthe Woodpecker every day and HE triedevery day to do something for somebodyelse if it was only to pick someone up onthe highway and give them a lift whenHE was driving. HE made the statement:'If a three-year-old child would live thatway by the time he was fifteen he wouldbring forth the CHRIST without doinganother single thing.'** * *** **During the evening FATHER gave ashort talk in which HE said: 'You mustrenounce and denounce everything thathas to do with your personality. Even akindergarten stands in the way. Allvocabularies, all accomplishments, allinclinations, all prejudices and such like,must go.' Also: 'There is only one sinwhich will not be forgiven -- sin againstthe Holy Ghost.' This I took, to meanridicule of the Spirit of GOD, or anyconscious attempt to thwart its progressin others.September 27,1931Save Yourselves by SheddingPrejudice and All Human TiesThis being Sunday, there were greatcrowds. It was the greatest day so far,with buses from Atlantic City andseveral points in New Jersey as well asNew York State. The grounds weremassed with people so that one couldnot get near the house, the house beingfilled at an early hour from front to backdoor. After many songs about 'God isyour FATHER,' I AM here and I AMthere ,' 'CHRIST in you and CHRIST inME will make you what you ought tobe,' etc., FATHER gave a talk onclaiming your rights and pressing yourclaim, in which HE said: 'Saveyourselves. No one outside of you cansave you. CHRIST is within you andyou must recognize HIM. I as a Personcan do nothing for you,' :But torecognize the CHRIST you must comeout of segregations, out of colors, out ofcreeds, out of denominations, out of 'myfamily' and 'your family' and out ofevery human tie.' HE stressed this pointbecause, as it happened, most of themain table was occupied by people withlight skins and the extension by thosewith dark, and during the serving thoseat the extension insisted upon singingover and over, 'Oh, just to sit at HISFeet.' FATHER finally said: 'Rather thanbe misunderstood and taken as aninstigator of racial prejudice, I would slitthis throat and let all that prejudicialblood run out. All that I have sacrificed,all that I have done has been for thepurpose of stamping out that prejudicialbelief and if that is not accepted, I willgo away.'HE then continued with: 'It must be truefor the very Word's sake. It must be truefor faith's sake. For the sake of all thosewho have believed, for all those whohave sacrificed, for all I have sacrificed,for all the blood from this Body that hasbeen sacrificed, for the blood of Jesusthat was sacrificed, even for the blood ofall the innocent pigeons that weresacrificed in olden times, for all thosewho have died for this Cause, it must betrue. Every sacrifice you make of self orpersonality, of family, of race, ofmortality, helps to atone for the thirtytwo different times this Body wassacrificed.''Endless Time Is Mine'At this point Miss Mary read a poem shesaid, was received through FATHER. Itwas entitled 'Gushily' and referred tothings that happened forty generationsbefore Adam. Afterward FATHERspoke and said: 'The statement in theBible, ‘I Am Alpha and Omega, thebeginning and the end,' refers to theGOD or the LORD GOD of the man thatwas before the time of JESUS theCHRIST, the LORD GOD of Adam, butI have come to take you back of Adam,back to what you were in the beginningbefore Adam sinned, when GOD movedupon the face of the waters and it wasdone. Everything back into endless timeis MINE and the mysteries will berevealed to you in MY Consciousness,the Mind that was also in CHRISTJESUS.'People See FATHER In VariousWaysLater FATHER told the story of thethree bind men who were sent out tofind out what an elephant was like, andone got hold of his trunk and thought itwas a hose, another got hold of his earand thought the elephant was like a fan,and the other got hold of the tail and saythe elephant accordingly. HE comparedthis to the way people contacted HIMand what HE was to them. Then variousspeakers testified and a variety of viewswere presented as to what FATHERmeant to them. I presented my view andcompared it with Jesus recognizing theCHRIST to such an extent that withoutlearning He was able at a very youthfulage to go into the temple and teach thosewho had spent their lives in study.FATHER took up this line and gave awonderful talk. HE said Peter was adisciple of John the Baptist, and Johnthe Baptist was much older than Jesus,and Jesus was the cousin of John theBaptist. When Jesus came along itwould have been quite normal for Peterto have said, 'Why, what do you meanboy, I know who you are, you are thecousin of John the Baptist, he is myteacher, and he is older than you andknows more anyway.' but Peter did notdo that. Instead of a man, he saw theCHRIST and his recognition of it evenin another made him wonderfully blest.September 28,1931Do Not Question GOD'S WisdomSeveral songs were sung this morningbefore any talking was done. First, 'It'syour faith that makes you whole--faithin CHRIST and CHRIST in you.'Second, 'Everything must be manifestedin this beautiful place where I AM.'Third, 'Do you know all that GODthinks? Do you know all that HE haswritten? Do you know all about howman should be?' This led to a long talk.Evidently FATHER sensed thatsomeone had mentally questioned thewisdom of HIS placing of certain peopleat the table in certain places. HE saidHE said HE brought forth the song forthe purpose of impressing it on thehuman mind that if it did not know allabout how GOD works and how manshould be, it had better keep its mentalhands off and let HIM run things.However, if it knew how GOD shouldgo, into what mold everything shouldgo, in what set way HE should operate,and could assure HIM Personally that itknew, HE would be glad to give up andlet it administer things.The Body Is Consolidated SpiritLater a song was sung: 'He walked onthe water like a man on the land,' and- 16 -FATHER explained that Jesus walkedon the water to prove that the Spirit thatmoved upon the face of the waters, wasin His identical Body. FATHER said, 'Inreality, the body is consolidated Spirit. Itis the materialization of GOD. AndGOD has the power to move on the faceof the waters and Jesus' demonstrationof that power was His way of saying,'My Spirit (or My FATHER) and I areone.'''It Is All Paid'HE later said, 'I can speak to you onwhatever ground you stand. I can speakin any emotion, any religious profession,any language, I have them all. Someonehere speaks in a very calm emotionallanguage and I speak to them where theyare.' Another song was: 'Paid it all--theblood of CHRIST has paid it all.'FATHER said: 'To make thisdemonstration and to create thisatmosphere, it has taken nothing lessthan the sacrifice of the Life of CHRISTin the Body thirty-two times. It is allpaid. I'M treading the winepress alone. Ihave nothing but MY own unadulteratedSpirit to back ME up. I'M advocatingnothing more than CHRIST and nothingless than GOD. I'll unify the human raceand then I'll take you out of the humanrace into the Angelic race.'No Prejudice or Division in GODHere FATHER began to speak againabout racial prejudice, family prejudice,religious prejudice and all divisions andclassifications. HE spoke of a very wellknown Afro-American politician whosename does not come to me at present,and of his failure at a time wheneverything seemed to be in his favor andsuccess seemed just around the corner.HE explained this failure by the fact thatthis person had limited hisaccomplishment to the c -- race andtherefore he could rise no higher thanthe c--race, but if he had included allmankind he could have risen to greatheights. FATHER continued to say thateven Jesus was tempted by this thoughtwhen He said,'Go ye to the lost sheep of the house ofIsrael and preach the Gospel to them,'but with GOD-given authority Heovercame that thought and said,'Go ye into all the world and preach theGospel to every creature.'HE further said, 'We are advocating notonly the GOD of this planet, but theGOD of all planets. I AM the GOD ofall races, of all people, of all kingdoms.'September 29,1931Fast the 'Other Fellow' OutAfter the singing this morning FATHERagain took up the question of peoplewho had visited HIM and received freefood and free instruction, bringingothers down in their cars and chargingfor this service. HE became quitevehement on this subject and said HEhad never taken up a collection oraccepted anything for HIS work and hadnever been identified with anyone whodid. Furthermore, HE did not want anyconnection with anyone who acceptedmoney for such work.HE later combined this issue with theracial and religious prejudice issue andsaid Love would overcome all of thesethings, that Love had done everythingthat had been done for humanity, thatLove had brought HIM here and Lovewould drive out all these d-v-ls ofcupidity, hatred, malice, envy, prejudice,family affection, jealousy and suchmortal tendencies. HE said: 'If you can'tfeel the way I do, act that way anywayand the feeling will soon follow. Starvethese d-v-ls out by fasting from them.'This kind cometh not forth only byprayer and fasting.'Go contrary to every last one of them. Ifyou are tempted to fear, go just to theopposite direction. If you are tempted tosay I have no prejudice, but I like to sitbeside my own, go just in the oppositedirection and sit by someone you don'tlike. If you don't like Catholics, go andbe with them. If you don't entertain andplease these d-v-ls, every last one ofthem will come out. That was the reasonJesus could cast them out of others. Hehad fasted from them to such an extentthat these conditions would leave at Hiscommand.'** *** **'This lust for money and trust in moneyis putting something before GOD andMY Spirit will not stand for that. Thatwas why Wall Street crashed. It trustedin the almighty dollar and the dollar isbound to fail. I AM here, I AM thereand everywhere, filling all space andabsent from none'How FATHER'S Supply isManifestedDuring the evening meal, FATHERspoke in answer to an inquiry that hadbeen made during the day by a reporteras to the way in which FATHER'Ssupply was manifested. FATHER said: IAM telling every day how it ismanifested. I cannot possibly receiveless than I give for there is an immutablelaw that, as ye give so shall he receive,and it shall be heaped up, pressed down,shaken together, and running over. Ifyou do not actually believe that, youmight just as well burn up all of theBibles. But that law cannot fail and itshall not pass away until all be fulfilled.''The Spirit of the Consciousness of thePresence of GOD is the source of allsupply, and will satisfy every gooddesire.''That is the way I get MY money and inno other way. The Abundance of theFullness of the Consciousness of Good,no place is vacant from the fullnessthereof. No space is vacant. No space inyou is vacant. No space in your body isvacant. It is in every joint, every sinew,every vein and every bone, and even inevery fibre and cell of your body--theAbundance of the Fullness of theConsciousness of Good. I AM speakingto every cell in your body and theCHRIST in every cell is responding andcoming forth to the CHRIST.''John said,'For of the fullness of His Glory have allwe received, grace for grace,'--all of HIS Glory, every bit of it, haveall we received, so claim your rights andpress your claim.''' He restoreth my soul.'Your soul was once stored up in GODbefore Adam, and protected by HIM, butit has become scattered and is now beinggathered up unto HIM.'He restoreth my soul, my cup runnethover. Surely, goodness and mercy shallaoffere with me all the days of my life,and I shall dwell in the house of theLORD forever.'I know the CHRIST in ME can saveyou. I know it, if you will let theCHRIST in you save you.'- 17 -September 30,1931With or Without a Body, GOD isWithin Your ReachAfter the singing of several songs thismorning, including 'Oh, Do Not Let MyWord Depart,' FATHER talked aboutthe wonderful manifestation we hadbefore us of the Kingdom of Heaven andwent on to say that with or without aBody HE would carry on HIS Work,that is, whether HE decided to take awayHIS Personal manifestation, or leave Ithere, HE would carry on the Work justthe same. HE continued saying that HEwas the answer to our prayers and theprayers of the churches during manyyears, and said: 'When you realize theTruth you materialize it. Some of youhave realized the Truth and here it ismaterialized before your eyes.' HE said,whether HE was here in a Body or notHE was always a GOD at hand.'Am I not a GOD at hand and not aGOD afar off?'saith the LORD. At hand means nofurther away than you can reach,brought within your grasp or your reach.The kingdoms of this world havebecome the Kingdom of our GOD andof his Christ.FATHER'S Supreme IndependenceAs a continuation of what one speakersaid about starting out in the world on anew basis without friends or money,FATHER said, 'It is fortunate to beunfortunate enough not to have anymortal friends. GOD is all you need. Ifyou will rely wholly on GOD HE willsustain you. Years ago in the Southwhen I was doing this work I got so thatI would not even touch a dollar bill. Iwould not even touch money. I relied onGOD for all that I needed and would notplace the slightest dependence on moneyor on any mortal thing. Everything camefrom GOD. If I had been walking on thestreet and had been hungry I would havefallen on the street before I would askany mortal person for food. And I'm notseeking any mortal cooperation or anymortal connection now. I don't need anymortal support. No mortal can give MEanything, for I have all. Throw yourselfon GOD and if HE does not see fit toprotect you that is HIS business. Gowithout script, or purse, or any mortalthing to sustain you. Live as I live. Theway most people learn at first is to copy.Copy ME and MY ways and you willlearn. Do not lean on the almightydollar, for the dollar will fail. Do notlean on any mortal thing.'** *** **'I said in l917 that I would stop peoplefrom soliciting and begging on thestreets of New York City, and I did. Idid not speak to the officials in personbut I AM the One that moved to have itaccomplished.. I say now that I will stopthe Salvation Army from soliciting. TheGospel shall be preached without moneyand without price. The poor shall havethe Gospel preached to them aspromised in the Bible.'I say a greater than Gandhi is here. Iwill not be discouraged, I will finish thatwhereunto I was sent. The ImpersonalLife will not be discouraged and will notgive up until all has been accomplished.'** *** **'I will overturn and overturn until allprejudices, all divisions, all fences, allfamilies, all isms and schisms, all 'mine'and 'thine' are broken down and allnations shall live together as one. Howdare you claim as your own somethingthat comes to you from GOD.'FATHER'S RelianceOn His Invisible Self'It was this spirit of division andprejudice that took all the lives in theinfluenza epidemic and in the GreatWar, it was this reliance on somethingapart from GOD.''I will rely only on MY Invisible Self,and have relied on it. Years ago in thiscountry and in other countries when Iwas as a perfect stranger among people Iwould place no dependence on money oron anything else of a mortal nature. Itook no money with ME, no clothes andwould not depend--just would notdepend on anything of that kind. I wentinto MY Body and drove out the spiritof speculation and the sellers of dovesand the moneychangers. I drove themout. I would not have those mortalspirits that came down to ME in MYBody. Jesus did the same thing. He wentinto His temple and cleansed it. Throughlong generations of Jews the spirit ofspeculation came down to Him in Hisbody and He had to go into His templeand cleanse it of all those evil spiritsincluded in it. He upset the tables (orvery foundation) of the moneychangers,or selling instincts in Him. I have donethe same. I drove out every last one ofthose d-v-ls and would have nothing butGOD. I would have starved in the streetsrather than indulge them. As a result Ihave the key to all undergroundtreasures and every kind of buriedtreasure. I have the keys to all of yourhearts. I have the key to the heartbeat ofthe universe. There is not one of youwhose bank account and all that youhave is not open to ME. As a result Ihave the keys to all things. CHRISTgave Peter the keys and said:'whatever you shall loose on earth, shallbe loosed in heaven, and whatever youshall bind on earth, shall be bound inheaven.'And He gave Peter this gift because hetook, his reliance away from mortalthings and recognized the CHRIST.'Some years ago when I went to Florida Ihad a lot of chickens and ducks I wasraising here, and as I did not want toleave anyone behind to take care ofthem I wanted to get rid of them. Aclergyman from Flushing who had beenhere to ME quite a good deal wanted torepay ME for some of what he hadreceived and he spoke to a butcher inFlushing about the ducks and asked himto take them off MY hands. The butcheragreed and sent word to ME to clean anddress fifty ducks and bring them to him.I had twenty-seven ducks dressed anddrove over with them to his store, butwhen I showed them to him he said hecould not use a one of them, and heflushed up thinking I would be offended.Suddenly I relaxed back into MYSELF--into MY real Self--and thought whatbusiness have I doing anything like this,as though I could sell anything. I had notthought about it in that light. I had justwanted to get rid of the ducks andsomeone had suggested that way ofdoing it and I did not even expect to getfull market price for them. I would havebeen satisfied with whatever the butcheroffered, but I found that I could not sellthem at all, so I went around in the cityand distributed them to the poor people Ifound, and the rest of the flock Idisposed of by giving away around here.If you would start out today and giveaway everything you have until youdidn't have anything to stand on, whythen GOD would take you.- 18 -October 1, 1931Importance of RecognizingCHRIST As A PersonFATHER talked very little at the firstsitting today, but at the second sittingHE gave a wonderful talk about theCHRIST in you. HE said, 'The Sonshipdegree is in you waiting for you to putaway all mortal preconceived ideas,prejudices, likes and dislikes, etc.' HEquoted:'Behold what manner of love the Fatherhath bestowed upon us that we shouldbe called the Sons of God, and it dothnot yet appear what we shall be, but weknow that when he shall appear, weshall be like him, for we shall see him ashe is,'meaning that at present we who have notattained, do not know what we shall bewhen we have attained, but when wehave attained, it will appear as thoughHE were us.'The Abundance of the Fullness of theConsciousness of Good, no space isvacant from the fullness thereof. If itwere not so I would have told you, but Ihave told you in words, in actions and inTruth. As long as His word was only inthe Spirit and far away from you, youcould not behold it until it wasmaterialized.The word was made flesh, and dweltamong us and we beheld His Glory as ofthe only begotten of the Father, full ofgrace and truth.'Oh, do you not see, Dear Ones, thegreat importance of recognizingCHRIST as a person? Everyone whorecognizes CHRIST as a person is ofGOD and every person who does notrecognize CHRIST as a person is ananti-CHRIST. Paul said,'For this cause many are sickly amongyou, because ye have not discerned thebody of CHRIST.'GOD joined Jesus and CHRIST togetheras one and when you separate them youare doing far worse than separating manand wife. Don't you see how it is? Thosewho think Jesus was a man and CHRISTwas a Spirit are separating what GODhas joined together, and do not see.'October 2, 1931To Partake of This Food Costs YourLife; Importance of Jesus' and Mary'sVirtueFATHER began the service thismorning by speaking of the wonderfulblessings that were being made evidentto us, both materially and spiritually. HEcalled attention to the table heaped withan abundance of food and said it was theabundance of GOD manifested beforeour eyes. Then HE said that forluncheon we had other good things, suchas joy, peace, health, prosperity and thatevery space was filled with theAbundance of the Fullness of theConsciousness of Good. 'It costs younothing,' HE said, 'to partake of thisfood, but at the same time it costs youeverything, for it costs nothing less thanyour life. Let him that eateth of itunworthily beware. These blessings youhave were paid for with blood and GODis not mocked. To share in the blessingsyou must lay aside every weight, everyreconceived idea, every personal desire,every fleshly tie, every bit of mortality.'Later in the day FATHER talked abouthealings that had been accomplishedthat day for many that had merelyentered HIS Presence, and HE said, 'Itwas the most important characteristic ofMary that went out from Jesus andhealed the woman who touched the hemof His garment. It was said of Mary thatshe was full of virtue and that her souldid magnify the LORD. That was alsothe most important characteristic ofJesus whom she brought forth and thatmost important characteristic went outfrom Him and healed all who touched it.That same characteristic going out fromyou who are here will do the sameworks. People will not need to contactyou personally, but they will be healed.'October 3, 1931The Two Great CommandmentsToday FATHER took the two greatCommandments spoken of by Jesus,'Thou shalt love the LORD thy GODwith all thy soul, and with all thy heart,and with all thy mind,'and,'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,'and enlarged upon them. HE said that toattain, you first know the allness ofGOD, and second, become one with allmankind. 'Break down all partitions, alldivisions, all prejudices and allpreconceived ideas. If you are not onewith that which you know, it is a matterof impossibility to be one with that youknow not. Charity begins at home andspreads abroad. If you are not one on thefleshly plane you cannot become one onthe spiritual plane. That is why I setbefore you an open table, to show youthat there are no races and creeds, thatthere is only one. As I have shown youon the material plane, go ye likewise anddo in like manner. Being one on thematerial plane you are one on thespiritual, you will contact the Almightyand be one with Jehovah.If I have told you of earthly things andye have not believed, how much lesswill ye believe it I tell you of heavenlythings.''This Is My Beloved Son;' Hear NoOtherDuring the evening, one of the mostinteresting discussions of many weekscame up. A woman who had beenthrough Christian Science and had beena student of Rawson and various otherteachers brought up the issue. MissMary and Priscilla who had returned toFATHER'S for a few days, had beenberating the Truth teachers who hadbeen charging large sums for theirservices, and as they said, 'sellingCHRIST,' comparing them to Judas, etc.The above--mentioned person got upwith a good deal of anger and said thatshe wished to give credit to all who hadhelped her along the way, that they haddone the best they knew and she did notbelieve they should be condemned. Theyhad traveled according to their highestlight, that we did not knock the crutchesout from under a cripple when we sawhim on the street that we gave him oursupport and helped him, and shebelieved the Truth teachers should haveour support instead of our criticism, andthat she for one gave them the credit forbringing her to the present point. Thisspeech, of course, aroused Mary andPriscilla so that they were like bees.They began denouncing her and sayingthat they could not compromise withmortality of any kind, that GOD shouldhave all the glory, that FATHER hadbrought her to the present point and noone else, that she should take judgmentfrom them, and that she must makeFATHER the only One. Motherintervened at this point as FATHER wasnot present at the table and said thediscussion should be deferred until HE- 19 -came, as the matter could not be settledwithout HIM. At that moment FATHERappeared.The speaker was asked to repeat herremarks in front of FATHER, which shedid, and Mary and Piscilla repeated theirremarks. FATHER sat at the head of thetable very quietly and seeminglyinattentive to what was being said.When the speakers had finished HE saidif any was guilty of condemnation allwere guilty, as all had been condemningsomething. Then HE arose and said: 'atthe time of the transfiguration whenMoses and Elias appeared with Jesus onthe mount, the disciples who were withHim fell on their face, but when theyarose and saw only Jesus, one of themsaid,'Lord, let us build three temples, one forMoses, one for Elias and one for thee,'as much as to say, I am a Jew and havethe Jewish tradition. Moses was the firstlaw-giver, therefore, let me build atemple to honor him. Elias was the firstprophet of the Jews and my Truthteaching came from him; therefore, letme build a temple to honor him. Andthird and last, I will build a temple tohonor You. But Jesus refused to permitthree temples to be built and authorizedonly one church to be built to the honorand glory of the Living GOD in theFlesh. As you build this temple within,Moses, the law, and Elias, the prophecy,will disappear, leaving the CHRIST.To have this subject come up heremakes ME almost feel that all I havebeen saying to you and showing you hasbeen of no avail and that it has run offlike water off a duck's back. You cannothonor all of these things of your past.You cannot go back and bring all thisbaggage here. If you do, if you lookback, or turn back to these things, I sayyou will literally be turned into a pillarof salt, as was Lot's wife. Let that besufficient.But the speaker was not satisfied. Shegot up and said she could see the truth ofthe teaching about letting go of the pastand giving all honor to GOD, but shecould not see the rightness ofcondemning others. As she understoodFATHER'S Teaching we were to loveall mankind and make no discrimination.FATHER arose and said: ‘It is true thatGOD is in all, but some do not bringHIM forth into expression and we mustmake that discrimination. We do not callan egg a chicken. It has the chicken in itbut it cannot be called a chicken until ithas come out into expression as achicken. When the dove descended uponJesus, GOD testified of Him,'This is my beloved Son in whom I amwell pleased, hear ye him,'don't hear anyone else, hear Him. GODtestified this of Jesus because He wasthe only one at that time that wasadequately expressing HIM. HE madethat discrimination although HE wellknew that HE was in all men and GODis no respecter of persons. HE said,'This is my beloved Son in whom I amwell pleased,'saying in effect that there were noothers.GOD said secretly in Peter, 'Thou art theCHRIST,' and then Peter expressed itoutwardly in words, but GOD must sayit secretly for you to recognize it.- 20 -'How be it when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth...' St. John 16:13THE WORD OF GOD REVEALEDFATHER DIVINE'S WORDS FROM THE NOTEBOOK OF JOHN LAMBINSTALLMENT #3'I Have Been in Sayville What You Call Twelve Years, or the Same Number of Years Jesus Was onEarthWhen He Argued with the Doctors and the Lawyers.After That Time His Teaching Was Made Known to the World.'- Father Divine -October 5, l93lMoney Not To Be Comparedto HealingThis morning service was carried on inlarge part without FATHER'S PersonalPresence and HE did not talk muchtoday. HIS main theme was,'Remember, I AM HE that executethrighteousness and judgment in theearth,'quoted from the Bible, and HE said HEwould see that all the glory and honorwent to GOD, every bit of it.'The mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.’The question came up of how HISsupply of money was manifested. Oneof the students had been in conversationwith one of the traffic officers in front ofthe house, who had offered to wagerwith the student that he could proveFATHER'S money did not come fromGOD. The student was taking credit forhaving convinced the officer that themoney did not come from GOD. Thestudent was taking credit for havingconvinced the officer that the money didcome from GOD. FATHER said themoney was of little importance asanyone could go out and earn moneyand spend it in the way HE is doing.Practically everyone had the privilege ofhandling money and there was nothingwonderful about that, but let them go outand put sight in somebody's eyes. Letthem make someone walk that had notbeen able to walk for years.October 6, l93lPlans Not to be Revealed UntilFulfilledSomeone brought up the subject thismorning of revealing one's plans toothers before they have materialized andwhether it was loving to keep thingsfrom others. FATHER told of a casewhere HE had been looking over radiosets a few years ago in one of the localstores, with the intention of buying. Onemorning, when all were sitting in thereading room at 72 Macon St., however,the radio man appeared at the door andcalled out in a loud voice, 'How aboutthat radio, Reverend DIVINE, are yougoing to have it put in?' FATHER saidthat was enough. It was settled on thespot that HE would not have one as HEwould not allow mortal mind to knowanything about HIS plans before theywere accomplished. HE said if one didallow it HE would find all kinds ofopposition and discord. It was loving tokeep things from others until they wereexpressed, so that they could be broughtforth for them to see in their perfection.HE further took up the subject ofhealings that seemed to be delayed andsaid that very often the healing was notaccomplished at once because thepatient did not want to recognize or givecredit to FATHER, that mortal mindwanted all the honor and did not want togive any to GOD, and that until ityielded and gave up all power to GOD,it could not be healed.'The Body Is Not Doing It'At this junction FATHER sang a song,'Behold I stand at the door of your heartand knock' HE said, 'I AM the fount ofevery joy. I AM all intellect, you don'thave to grope. I AM all success. I AMall health. I AM all wealth. I AM allstrength. I AM all intelligence. I AM allwisdom. I AM all knowledge. I AM alllove. I AM all that you can desire and IAM knocking at the door of your heart.Every time a man seeks joy it is MEknocking at his heart. Open unto ME.Open up wide. Let ME in.'Mentally and spiritually I AM everpresent. Mentally and spiritually youcannot get rid of ME. I have beenstamped indelibly on the heart ofmankind and I cannot be erased. If Ishould will to go into seclusion and noman should see ME, you could alwayscontact ME because I would be with youeverywhere. I did not come to you as aPersonality. I came to you as ImpersonalLove and because of this ImpersonalLove, it has established that in yourconsciousness which is undefiled andfadeth not away.'I have been here in Sayville the samenumber of years that Jesus was when Hetalked with the lawyers and doctors andthen it was made known. I have goneinto the hearts of the children of men asthe Impersonal Life, duplicating theImpersonal CHRIST that was in thepersonal Jesus. The more the mortalmind tries to rise up against it the moreit is established in the hearts ofhumanity.'So, with or without a Body, call uponME in the day of trouble and I will bewith you. I would be just as operative ifI didn't have a Body, for this Life isincorruptible and fadeth not away. I say,- 21 -with or without a Body you can contactME. The Body is not doing it. It is notthe expression that is doing it. It is byMY Spirit saith the LORD, for I AM thesame, yesterday, today and tomorrow IfI choose to take My Personal Body andput it in seclusion so that no man couldsee it, I would be with you just the same,for I AM here, and I AM there, and IAM everywhere. You can know and youcan realize that I AM with you alwayswhen you live according to My Will.That is the significance of theOmnipotence. That is the significance ofthe Omniscience. That is thesignificance of the Omnipresence. Thatis the significance of the Omnilucence.You can call upon ME in the day oftrouble and I will be with you.'New motto: 'Just beyond the highestaffirmation, lie the fields of endless joybeyond degree.'In view of the above, the old hymn of'cracking the skies' is not far wrong.'Crack the shells of your mortality andjust beyond, you will find this boundlessjoy and freedom.'.. ... ..'I have sacrificed this Body thirty-twotimes, or once for each year I was onearth before, the bring thisconsciousness to the hearts of men.Forge Through the Psychic Plane'If you suffer from any kind of prenatalinfluence, physical, mental or otherwise,you are completely free as soon as youdenounce the renounce all mortal originand recognize that GOD is yourFATHER and MOTHER and you neverhad another.'Claim your rights and press your claimand do not stop on any of the planes.Those on the psychic plane cannotunderstand ME. The psychic, as well asthe physical plane, is stirred up as neverbefore by My Work. Forge through thepsychic to the true spiritual and do notstop on any of the planes.'Blessed If You Stand For The TruthIn speaking of a small local paper thatHE had endorsed because it had stoodfor the Truth and published a favorablearticle about HIS Work while otherswere writing it up unfavorably,FATHER said HE would, and as amatter of fact already had, made it thegreatest paper on Long Island and that itwould be blessed as no paper had everbeen blessed before. Then HE spokeabout those who came to HIM but wereashamed to make it known to the worldand kept it under cover. HE quoted:'If you deny ME before men I will denyyou before My FATHER which is inheaven,'as stated by Jesus. HE said those whowere not ashamed to stand for the Truth,however, would be blessed beyonddegree.'I can do it,' HE said. 'If I set My Mindagainst any man he cannot be elected topublic office and that goes frompresident down to street cleaner. If I setMy Mind against a candidate forpresident of the United States he cannotbe elected.''Some years ago here in Sayville theywere trying to oust Judge White whohad been on the bench for years and hejust came to ME and told ME about it. Idid not say anything about it beyond justmentioning it casually to Mother. Whenthe election came off, Judge White'sopponent won by over 2700 votes, butthe officials said Judge White has beenfaithful, we'll give it to him anyway, andhe kept his place until he was ready toretire. Anyone can check up on that righthere in Sayville, if you don't believe it.Anyone who will stand for the Truth andwill do right will be blessed. But noofficial who collects graft will stay inoffice, I will put them all out. Anyonewho is willing to give freely will freelyreceive. All of My Work is free and thatof My workers and co-workers. Mr.Lanyon's book, if it goes on the marketlegitimately, will probably be givenaway. Some of his friends may not thinkit should be, but I brought it forth and Ican support it for I have the key to allunderground treasurers.'If you live in conformity to the TruthGOD will supply you with everythingyou need, whether you are working orplaying. Take no thought - I make itunnecessary for you here to takethought.'.. ... ..'Speak LORD, and thy servant heareth.''I speak and my servants will hearwherever they are. I do not ask them tohear or demand that they hear. I speakthe WORD and they hear. Likewise, Ioffer them see and they see. I offer themwalk and they walk. I offer them beprosperous and they are prosperous.Some say 'Help Thou my unbelief,' and Igive them belief.'If You Have Relatives, You Will HaveTrouble'You cannot have mothers and fathers,sisters and brothers, relatives andfamily, etc. and have ME too. Youcannot rob GOD. Someone else is nearerand dearer to you than I AM, then youwonder why I do not claim you. That iswhy you cannot get to where you wantto get. That is why you are subject tosickness and trouble, because mortalsare subject to those things and you areliving in mortal consciousness. GODdeclared,'Let there be no division among you.'Every distinction and every division is acurse to the nation. Jesus, in the l7thchapter of St. John prayed to make themone even as we are one.. Some of youclaim to have been in the Truth for yearsand yet you have sisters and brothersand mothers and fathers, husbands andwives, etc. Such as you are separatingyourselves from the Infinite Whole andjoining yourselves to the individualworld. The Son ship degree of Spiritprayed the FATHER to make them one,as we are one, and that is what I havedone. I have put you all in the meltingpot and have made you one. Now that isthe way back Home where the CHRISTis. It is the only way back Home -denouncing these mortal things and thenrenouncing them for CHRIST.'GOD Has No Favorites'There are no favorites here and GOD isno respecter of persons, but some of youwould like to get near ME and have triedto sit near ME at the table and to get aplace of honor, but you are so far fromMY Spirit that you cannot get near ME.GOD is no respecter of persons, neitherhas HE respect unto persons, as I said,but some are living in My Spirit and it isagreeable to have them around close toME while others would not beagreeable. And the length of time youhave been with ME has nothing to dowith it. Because one has been with MEfor twenty-five years does not signifythat one is in MY Spirit. Someone whocame yesterday may be nearer ME andget the place of honor, because,'He that exalteth himself shall beabased, but he that humbleth himselfshall be exalted.'.. ... ..'I have been in Sayville what you calltwelve years, or the same number of- 22 -years Jesus was on earth when Heargued with the doctors and the lawyers.After that time His teaching was madeknown to the world. I have made thisTruth known to the world. I have goneinto the hearts of the children of men asthe Impersonal Life, duplicating theImpersonal CHRIST that was in thepersonal Jesus. The more mortal mindtries to rise up against this Truth themore it will be established in the heartsof humanity. Mortal mind had betterkeep quiet if it does not want this Truthto spread.'The Seed of CHRIST In ManIs Not Dead'I have come to take you out of thegrave, out of mothers and fathers, sistersand brothers, husbands and wives, out ofmammies and pappies, children andparents, races and creeds, out ofmortality into immortality. I have saidnothing about how long you have beendead or how long you have been in thisstate. Lazarus had been in the tomb fourdays, typifying a time equal to the fourthousand years since Adam and peoplethought he was dead, saying: 'hestinketh.' People have thought the seedof CHRIST in man is dead, it has lain solong, but it is not dead, and I haveproved it is not dead and I have come toawaken you. You are going back to theGarden of Eden as you were before thefall. If you will live in accordance withMY Will, this automatic machinewithin, the CHRIST, will begin to work,this automatic refrigerator, thisautomatic oil heater will work in you, ifyou aoffere in this consciousness.FATHER Is Removing the OldHeaven and Earth so the New CanCome In'I'm taking your mind out of theimaginary heaven for as John saw inRevelation, 2lst chapter, the first heavenand the first earth have passed away. I'mcanceling the imaginary heaven andearth out of your consciousness. That'swhat I came for, to erase that imaginaryheaven and earth from your mind, andprove to you that the Kingdom has comeand the Will is being done. You haveprayed and that the Kingdom has comeand the Will is being done. You haveprayed that the Kingdom should come,how can it come when you have theimaginary heaven in the way? Get it outof the way and then the new heaven andthe new earth can come in. The firstheaven and the first earth shall not becalled to mind anymore and I AMgetting it out of the way so that the newheaven and the new earth can come in.We have heaven here because we aremaking the earth a paradise. The oldseed idea was all right, but this is theharvest now. The old idea that wasimplanted in your consciousness foryears is bearing fruit now. The prayersof your dear mother, the prayers of yourdear father have been answered and thenew heaven and the new earth havecome down from GOD out of heaven.''If you have substantiated faith, thoughyou are lame, you will walk, though' youare blind, you will see, etc. Faith is thevictory.'Materialized CHRIST Is Hereto Save Your Physical BodyWhile sitting at the family table lastevening, FATHER spoke directly in HISloving way to various Angels and HEseemed to be in a particularly jovialmood. HE looked my way several timesjust beaming with Love and the lasttime, we both burst out into a real laugh.FATHER arose and spoke as follows: 'Iwas just considering what insignificanceit takes to recognize the Body, the actualBody of CHRIST. It is wonderful! TrulyWonderful that it is that way. I repeatagain that quotation I so often use:'For this cause many are sickly amongyou, because they do not discern theBody of CHRIST.'It is truly necessary to discern the actualmaterialization of the CHRIST in orderto be freed from mortal limitations andbe saved. The Truth teachers and Truthstudents particularly, have discerned thespiritual CHRIST, but they have deniedthe materialized CHRIST. Consequentlythey are subject to all kinds of sicknessand trouble in their physical bodies,because they have not included them inthe CHRIST. They say the spiritualizedCHRIST is perfect in them and is notdependent upon a physical body.'Then why bother with the physicalbody, let it go down into the grave. ButJesus came to save physical bodies, andI AM here - the materialized CHRIST -to save your physical bodies. By gazingupon this perfect manifestation of thematerialized CHRIST, you willreproduce the same in your own bodiesin every joint, every sinew and everybone. You will see good in your handsand fingers, in the fine skin, etc. Youwill feel this boundless joy coursingthrough the Limitless blessings.! Hewho is an anti-Christ must be half botherto the atheist. The anti- Christ does notbelieve in the materialized CHRIST ofnineteen hundred years ago or of today.The atheist does not believe in GOD.Take these things in, Dear Ones, foryour consideration'FATHER was asked what HE knewabout Edison's passing on and HE saidthat the spirit that was Edison, with allits skill and power, still lives on, but ithas gone back to the GOD that gave it,and the personal Edison is gone. HE saidHE had stated some time ago to us thatHE was calling in those among theforemost of the world who did not giveall the glory and honor to HIM and thiswas a fulfillment of HIS statement.Nothing Can Stop Me'Though I may not be visible to you IAM always with you. I have establishedthis Truth and with or without a Body, itis operative. It is even more operativewhen you do not see ME. Nothing canstop the operation of this Truth, for Ihave established it. If America shouldsink and every visible expression wereto sink in an earthquake, it could notstop it. If you are sick all you need to dois to call on MY Name and you do nothave to see anybody or anything. I haveestablished MYSELF on the spiritualplane, on the physical plane, on all theplanes, and nothing can stop ME. If Iwere to go into physical seclusion andgo to Europe, Asia or Africa for fifteenyears I would be here just the same as IAM now, as well as in Australia, andyou could contact ME just as effectivelyas you do now. It cannot be abolished,for the Mouth of the LORD has spokenit.'.. ... ..'I will put MY Spirit in them and causethem to walk in MY Statues. CHRISTIN me and CHRIST in you will makethe whole world what it ought to be, andit will not be long doing it either.The Great Importance of Recognizingthe Material CHRIST'That which you think is spirit, thatwhich you think is only mental, it can bematerialized by the power of CHRISTitself.'As many as received Him, to them gaveHE power to become the sons of God...'When you believe in the materializationof the CHRIST, then that gives you thepower to materialize things, but theaverage person who believes only in thespiritualization of the CHRIST cannot- 23 -materialize things. I might say here, if Ican coin a word out of nothing, they canonly 'imaginationize' things. When yourealize that the Word was made flesh,then you materialize and bring out theactivity of CHRIST in you. When youcome to this realization, why things areactually materialized. Humanity has lostsight of the great importance of thematerialized CHRIST. For your highestgood it is necessary to realize thatCHRIST has been made flesh anddwells among us.. Dear Ones, I AM surethat those who are in the Truth havebeen taught that GOD is a Spirit andhave misconceived the idea that theWord has been made flesh. Many makeshipwreck of good faith and causethemselves to be atheistically inclinedand have caused many more to be moreatheistic than deist.Every spirit that confesseth that JESUSCHRIST is come in the flesh is of God:is of MY Kingdom, but every spirit thatdenies that JESUS CHRIST has come inthe flesh is an anti-CHRIST. He isseparating his body from the Spirit.GOD declared,'What I have joined together let no manput asunder.'How dare you separate Jesus fromCHRIST or CHRIST from Jesus. If youdo you are separating your body fromthe Spirit, and whatever you measureshall be measured to you again, and itshall be full, pressed down, shakentogether and running over.'Again I say,'your ways are not my ways, saith theLORD, for as the heavens are above theearth, so are my ways higher than yourways.'Now realize, Dear Ones, that it is foryour highest good to see thematerialization of the CHRIST. Until theWord was made flesh we could notbehold His Glory, but as soon as theWord was made flesh we beheld HisGlory,'as of the only begotten of the Father,full of grace and truth.'But not until it was made flesh couldman behold all the Glory of GOD. Sinceyou beheld His Glory, therefore,'have all we received of his fullness,grace for grace.'Do you not see that step by step it cameinto actuality as we grew in theknowledge of the Truth? Then of all ofhis fullness have we received grace forgrace. Then you as well as I, will be theidentical duplication of the CHRIST thatwas manifested nineteen hundred yearsago.'... ... ..'The Word of GOD revealed is the Sonof GOD whom Judas sold for thirtypieces of silver. I have never sold oneword and I have never taken up acollection. I cannot feel justified indoing so and none of My co-workers, ifthey are in My Spirit, will do so.'Positive Thoughts and Actions in theGreat Construction Work'Positive thoughts are the seeds of life.They are the seeds of success and ofhealth and of love. When you haveconstructive thoughts then you can be acontractor in the great construction workthat is going on.''I AM the fount of every joy. They that'hunger and thirst after righteousness,shall be filled.' I AM a magnet for goodand nothing but good can come to MEbecause I think good thoughts.Visualizing the positive brings thepositive into your experience or intomaterialization. Instead of negativethoughts of anger, malice, hatred,jealousy, prejudice, fear, etc., thinkpositive thoughts of good and you willbring good into materialization . Act outjoy, act out happiness, act out good andit will come to you. You can say tohappiness, 'come forth' to the spirit ofhappiness, and it will be expressed inhappiness. Speak abstractly, not to thematerialization of the thing, but to thespirit of the thing, and it will come forthinto material expression. Give thanks forthe thing, whether you have it visibly ornot, for you have it anyway.America Is a Fit Place for CHRIST toCome Forth'Man's extremity is GOD's opportunity.Go to your extremity. Let the mortalmind be here and now eliminated andGOD will appear in your stead. So longas you have a set way of acting,expressing, etc. You are not entirely inMY Spirit.When you still yourselves, then HE thatrules forever and ever will speakthrough you. Paul said:'It is no more I, but CHRIST thatdwelleth in me.'When you have consecrated your life toME then you and I together will bringforth the CHRIST to fruition. If Jesushad been unwilling to stand out asdifferent from every other person in theworld He could not have attained. Thosewho founded America detachedthemselves from all human ties, allfleshy relations, all kin, loyalty tofamily, etc. and established this country.It is a fit place for the manifestation ofthe CHRIST to come before the world.'.. ... ..'GOD is no respecter of persons, butbecause Abel looked to GOD forconsolation, everything,, therefore hisspirit could cry out from the ground andGOD could hear him.''Do I give absent treatments? No,because GOD is present everywhere.' Inresponse to a question from a visitor asto why HE maintained the Kingdom asit is for the Angels, if HE is everywherepresent and it is easy to contact HIM,FATHER answered that HE merelyacted as a spiritual FATHER to thosewho had given up all and that HE wasthe visible manifestation of their supply.... ... ...FATHER told a story today about twomen with humps on their backs whocame to a spiritual teacher to be healed.One went away without any hump andthe other went away with two instead ofone. This, HE said, indicated just whathappened to those who came to HIM.They received in accordance with theirattitude.One of the Angels in testifying todayand speaking of FATHER as her realFATHER and MOTHER, that she hadno other, used an illustration thatseemed to be a good one. She said thatwhen a steel incubator hatched outchickens the chickens did not say theincubator was their mother or father. Sowith parents, they should not say 'mychild,' and children should not say 'myparents.'.. ... ..In response to a question about how togo into the 'silence,' FATHER answeredthat it was unnecessary to sit and go intothe silence if you 'lived in the silence.By the silence HE said HE meant,silence of mortal beliefs and opinions,etc.- 24 -Thoughts For Consideration'Beloved, now are we the sons of GOD,'GOD in many individual expressions ofHIMSELF.''The manifested CHRIST reveals whatthe unmanifested CHRIST conceals.''HE will come like a thief in the nightthat is unknown to you and masked ordisguised.''Reach Out Your Mind to My Spirit'In explaining the making of yourspiritual and mental contact, FATHERused an illustration today of a housewithout electricity, before which therewas a high tension wire running up thestreet. HE said, all that was necessary tohave electricity in the house was to runwires out to the high tension wire whichhad an abundance of current all the timeand the current would come over thewires and light up the house Your mindis the wire, HE said, and My Spirit is thePower. You reach out your mind to MYSpirit, casting out the mortal mind withits prejudice, jealousy, bigotry, fear,distinctions, resentfulness, doubts, strife,etc. Do nothing it suggests that you do.Go exactly to the other extreme and dothat which it tells you not to do,'Where a king reigns, there is thekingdom.'A king can travel all over the world butall countries are not his kingdom.CHRIST is in all, but all have notestablished His Kingdom in them. Someare under the rule of mortality and thethings described above. But you whohave brought your bodies into subjectionto the CHRIST and let CHRIST reign inyou, the Kingdom of Heaven isestablished in your bodies and 'thekingdoms of this world have become theKingdom of our GOD and of HISCHRIST' Wherever a king rules that ishis kingdom, and if CHRIST is ruling inyou your body is certainly HisKingdom.Thoughts for Consideration'It may be a couple of hundred yearsbefore Europe sees ME Personally; itmay be hundreds of years before I canget around to them but I AM there justthe same right now.''When you have brought your mentalityand spirituality to fruition, detachablefrom the personality, interchangeablewith the personality it is Wonderful.''I AM trying to lift you above thespiritual inspirational view of mortality.''No one on earth should be or do anyless than I do. CHRIST, nineteenhundred years ago, said:'I AM the way, the truth, and the life...''Lift your minds by being meek enoughto humble yourselves.'He that humbleth himself shall beexalted.''Some think they have pedigrees,abilities, accomplishments. That is just aweight. Count it all as the Apostle Pauldid, 'as loss that he might gain Christ.'Whatsoever we desire for others, thatwill come to us. Thoughts are likechickens they come home to roost.'If You Seek Money for Your Efforts,You Will Get No Higher RewardIn talking at the table this evening abouttaking money for the Word of GOD,FATHER told that at one time HEwould not have a book in HIS house thathad a price printed in it. HE at that timewas giving away a thousand dollarsworth of books per month, includingThe Masters of the Far East, Christ inYou, The Kingdom of Happiness andseveral others. There were others ofwhich HE approved very much, but HEwould not give them because they hadprices printed in them. He said HE paidthe publishers or authors full price forthe books, but did not authorize bydoing so, their charging for them. HEdid it because they were working on thatplane. HE said, 'I know that such graft isnot the eternal plane. I know thatsometime those men will not get thereward they would get, of eternal life.They have their reward in money now.You will get your reward, but you donot take any thought about it. They wereseeking reward. That was theiroccupation. They were working for payand they have had their reward.'.. ... ..In answering someone who hadexpressed indignation over acontribution that had been misapplied bya Truth Center, FATHER said, 'Do notbe angry over what was done to you. Itbrought you here. Be glad like I AM thatJudas betrayed ME for thirty pieces ofsilver. I don't hold anything against theone who wounded ME in the side.Materialization of the CHRISTIn talking about the materialization ofthe CHRIST, FATHER said, 'Who cansay that the planet that overshone Marywhen Jesus was born was not the onefrom which He came. Coming to blessthis planet, He put on an earthly body.Who can say that He was not a Martianor a Jupiterian, or from some otherplanet where there is some superior formof conscious life. Who can say that Hewas not just from Mars. Who can saythat He was not right from Jupiter orwhatever the planet was that shonedown on Bethlehem to show how Hewould be born Who can say that He hadnot finished.His work on some other planet and thatHe did not come here, in some form,putting on a new body that had beenprepared for Him. I do not say that thesethings are so, Dear Ones, but I throw outthis life line that you may consider thesethoughts and have hope.'Example of a Perverted Concept ofthe TruthIn replying to certain statements madeby Truth teachers about GOD being inall as well as in FATHER, FATHERtold a story about a minister who hadlost his voice, who came to HIM and atthe table, during his first visit, recoveredit. He stayed for a while and grasped theidea of GOD in all and then told theAngels they were foolish to be followingGOD's Body around, that he had GODin him too and that he was going outinto the world to prove it. He naturallythought that if GOD was in him he coulddo anything he wanted to, so he went toNew York and did as he pleased. Hetook up collections in the streets indefiance of the law, he smoked anddrank and knocked women down andcommitted all sorts of crime with them.In the end, after spending some time inprison, he died in agony as the result ofsome illness. In the end he was worseoff than if he had never heard of GOD inmanifested form. FATHER then said, 'Idon't care how much spiritualunderstanding they have, I don't carehow much of the Holy Ghost they have,if they have so much of the Holy Ghostthey can't keep on the ground, if they areliving in sects and sex, in humanaffections, fancies, loves and pleasures,they are cursed of GOD and will godown to a miserable death.Judgment In the KingdomYesterday and today have undoubtedlybeen the two greatest days in the- 25 -Kingdom in years. Old Angels say therehas never been anything like it.Yesterday was judgment a n d whileFATHER sat perfectly silent, with aFace like bronze, the various Angelsapparently without design, and many ofthem unwittingly, uncovered the selfjustifications, the insolence and thehypocrisy of mortal mind. ThenFATHER got up and just cut right andleft at these mortal things until therewasn't a shred left. By the time HE wasthrough, practically everyone in theroom was dissolved into tears.Today HE was even more vehement,and I have never heard such torrents ofwrath in my life. It started whensomeone got up and said she did notcome to the Kingdom for food andshelter, as she had everything shewanted along those lines out in theworld, and always had had them. Shesaid what she was after was eternal life.Miss Mary got up very vehemently,rebuked her for owning those things,saying they were of Adam, earned in thesweat of the brow, in degradation andfilth, and that until she came toFATHER for everything, food, shelter,clothing and all, she could never haveeternal life. FATHER was on HIS Feetas soon as Miss Mary sat down and HEtalked for fully a half-hour as I havenever heard HIM talk before. I wasunable to get HIS remarks verbatim onaccount of the commotion, but in partthey were as follows:Vileness of Marriage'I do not recognize any rebuke in theCHRIST Consciousness, but often inmortal consciousness it is said that Irebuke someone and I AM speakingfrom the point of view of mortalconsciousness now. It is well that thesethings come up for they bring home alesson to all, and I AM speaking now tono particular one but to all. I say thatyou are all, whether you are consciousof it or not, born in filth and mortality.Whether you are conscious of it or not,you are that in the sight of GOD and youhave got to be born out of it.'Ye generation of vipers, who hathwarned you to flee from the wrath tocome?'You are no better than those who are inthe brothels and in Chinatown.Your homes are no better than brothelsand bad houses and you are born out ofthem. It means nothing that you hidebehind the law and have legal papers fora protection for doing what otherwisethe law would condemn. Those in thebrothels and bad houses are better thanyou because they are free to leave at anytime, but you have bound yourselveslegally for a lifetime of suchabomination. I say unto you that,'he that even looketh upon a woman tolust after her, hath committed adulterywith her already in his heart.'whether he goes and gets legal papers totake her or not. He is only hiding behindthe law. This whole generation, with fewexceptions, has been born out of theseconditions and I say unto you that youare born in fornication and sin. Anywoman who marries a man to take careof her might just as well be in a brotheland I don't care how many yachts hegives her, or automobiles, or clubs, orhow much money he allows her, if hegives her a million dollars per week, sheis worse than in a brothel because shehas legally obligated herself to stay inthat vileness for life. I say to you womenthat you are selling your virtue for lessthan it costs for a dog license, and thatno matter how many legal papers youget, it makes no difference. And I say toyou men, that so long as you brutallycoerce a woman against her will by anymeans and hold her in bondage to yourwhims I will shake you so you'll thinkan earthquake struck you.''I have come to redeem you from amongmen and women and again I quote:'Who hath warned you, ye generation ofvipers, to flee from the wrath to come?'The only way to get rid of this d - v - lof sex is to fast from him and he willleave you. Fast from him in thought anddeed and he will leave you. The onlyway to drive him out is through fastingand prayer. I have come to redeem you,GOD, your FATHER DIVINE. TheMouth of the LORD hath spoken it andnone can stop ME.''When you have put off all mortalversions, inclinations, desires andtendencies, all preconceived ideas, thenyou are GOD and not until then.'Hold to the Invisible'Your spirit comes to ME and I treat itright. Then you come in person. Thenyou do not want to go away, and if youdo go away you come back becauseyour spirit and mind stay here with ME.''It is the same with a husband or a wife,or a job (speaking to a crowd of people),hold his, her, or its spirit and be peacefuland pleasant and treat it right, if it is thejob be competent, and the body ormanifestation cannot leave you. If itdoes, it must come back. Hold to theinvisible whether the visiblemanifestation comes or goes and youwill be at peace for you will have thething and nothing can take it from you.'.. ... ..'Live not for yourself alone, lest someday you reach your destination, whichwill be yourself. 'There is nodenomination, there is no nationalitythat can bring forth the CHRIST tofruition, because any denomination willcome to its destination, which is itsdenomination, and any nationality willcome to its destination, which will be itsnationality, and that is not the CHRIST.'.. ... ..'Man is made up of so many atoms ofelectricity and when these are quickenedby the spirit of your devotion, it isknown as the Holy Ghost. In a machine,however, or a man who is notquickened, it is known only aselectricity. When you have beenquickened so that all of these atoms arevibrating in this current, you become aradio, and you can tune in on thatidentical CHRIST that was in Jesusnineteen hundred years ago, and notonly in words, but by nature. Your radiotaking in the message takes it in with thesame electricity with which it is sentout.''Of all of his fullness, not part of it, haveall we, not some of us, received, gracefor grace.'The law was given by Moses, but graceand truth came by Jesus Christ,'and JESUS CHRIST means the actualBody of Jesus. His actual body, everyatom of it, was full of grace and truth.That is why the woman who touchedHis robe was healed.'In the beginning was the Word, and theWord was with God, and the Word wasGod.'Can't you see, Dear Ones, hownecessary it was for the Word to bemade flesh so that we could behold HisGlory?'And the Word was made flesh, anddwelt among us, (and we beheld his- 26 -glory, the glory as of the only begottenof the Father,) full of grace and truth.'Can’t you see, Dear Ones, that Word hasbeen made flesh and dwells among you,and how important it is to recognize it?You actually see the Glory of GOD.'.. ... ...In speaking of the marvels people saw inthe abundance FATHER manifests. HEsaid:'Because I AM one with the substanceand intelligence of every soul, with thelife that is expressed in each individual,and have detached MYSELF from everyPersonal expression, I have a spiritualright to all their wealth and to all wealthhidden and manifested. Because I havedetached MYSELF from any particularmanifestation. I AM manifesting thisabundance. It is accomplished bydetachment from all individual, selfishhuman attachments and unification withthis great joy. In this consciousness, allworry, all ego, and all trouble cease.Christ is waiting for you to relinquish allindividual, selfish and mortal claims.'Claim Citizenship In God's Kingdom'We are waiting for the adoption, to wit,the redemption, of our body.' When achild is adopted it is adopted in the nameof its new family you must come out ofyour old names, out of your old familyinto the CHRIST, into the Royal Family.Withdraw your citizenship in mortality.You are GOD's child and you never hadanother father. I AM showing you howto withdraw your mortal citizenship andtake out citizenship papers in thisInfinite Kingdom of our GOD. That isthe only way to be a child of GOD, is torecognize your adoption,'For the whole creation travaileth andgroaneth together in pain . . . waitingfor the adoption, to wit, the redemptionof our body.'For CHRIST was in you, waiting foryou to make your adoption. The Son ofGOD cannot be manifested in you untilyou have been adopted and havedetached yourself from everypreconceived version and have beenadopted into the Royal Family, an heirand joint heir with CHRIST.''This is what Jesus meant when He said:'If you hear anyone inquiring about me,tell him to deny himself and take up hiscross and follow me.'That is the key, Dear Ones, and you canunlock any barred door with it. You willthen see that the whole earth will quakeat the presence of you and you will beinheritor with HIM, and the earth is theLORD'S and the fullness thereof, andnone may marvel then at yourdemonstrations of supply, for then youwill be in reality an heir and a joint heirwith CHRIST.'Why is it that they do not marvel at Mr.Rockefeller's son because he can spend alittle money? What has Mr.Rockefeller's son compared to what Ihave? If you will not claim your rightsand press your claims, I will press MYclaim as an example for others to do. Itis universal.'The cattle on a thousand hills are mine,saith the LORD. If I were hungry, Iwould not tell you about it, I would justslay and eat'…steaks and lamb chops, chickens,ducks and geese, and everything that isgood. Claim your rights and press yourclaim, for you are GOD'S unadulterated

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