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 CHEHUGHT DEFOSJJR 
 

 MY SPIRIT MOTHER AS SHE APPEARS 
 TO ME 
 
True 
 Spirit Return 
 
 George McGehean 
 Lois McGehean 
 
 
 Spiritualistic Publishing Co. 
 
 Cincinnati, Ohio 
 

 Copyright, 1922 
 
 89 
 
 GEORGE and LOIS McGEHEAN 
 
 Cincinnati. O. 
 
 DEC 26 72 
 
 ©CU692555 
 tvt J 
 
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 CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Spiritualism 6 
 
 Heaven 15 
 
 The Power of the avenging Spirit 29 
 
 Future Punishment and Warning by One 
 
 of Heaven's Guardian Angels 36 
 
 Suicides 41 
 
 Power of Satan and His Evil Spirits. . . 48 
 The Power of God and His Spiritual 
 
 Forces 69 
 
 Noah as an Illustration of Love and 
 Wrath Combined of an All Powerful 
 
 God 81 
 
 King Solomom as Revealing the Wonder- 
 ful Power of Prayer to an Almighty 
 
 God 87 
 
 Moses as an Illustration of Promises 
 Fulfilled and Protective Love of an 
 
 Omnipotent God 98 
 
 Job's Great Patience and Illustration 
 of the Almighty Power of God over 
 
 the Limited Power of Satan 133 
 
 The Revelation of a Wondrous and 
 Powerful Love is Portrayed to the 
 World by the Gift of the Son Jesus 
 
 Christ from an Omnipotent God 152 
 
 Skeptics 225 
 
TRUE SPIRIT RETURN 
 
 Cincinnati, Ohio, 
 November 8, 1922. 
 To the World: 
 
 It is ivith pleasure that I am permitted 
 the privilege of expressing my thoughts 
 to the world through my son and daughter, 
 George and Lois McGehean, and it is with 
 heartfelt gratitude to our heavenly Father 
 that he has granted me permission to 
 linger here on this earth, thus giving me 
 an opportunity to ivork ivith them and, 
 through their aid, spread forth many glad 
 messages and joyous truths from the land 
 of your spirit friends and loved ones. 
 
 It affords me much delight to correct 
 the many erroneous ideas that seem to 
 have been formed by some concerning the 
 doctrines of Spiritualism and spirit re- 
 turn. It has long been my desire to carry 
 on the work from tvhich I found so much 
 enjoyment while divelling in this world as 
 a mortal; namely, writing stories, poems 
 and essays. 
 
 It has been twenty-five years since I 
 
2 True Spirit Return 
 
 bade farewell to this earthly sphere and 
 crossed the cold river of death to enter 
 into the land of eternal happiness, and 
 not for all the gold and silver, nor pre- 
 cious stones, nor all of the wealth that the 
 world contains, neither kingdoms nor 
 palaces, would I return in the flesh to 
 your sin-cursed planet with its weight of 
 sorrows untold — and I can speak for my 
 spirit friends, your spirit friends and 
 loved ones as well, for I know that they 
 feel as I do. 
 
 So grieve not for those that have lifted 
 the veil and passed into the great beyond. 
 Rather rejoice that they are freed from 
 the shackles of pain and woe the earthly 
 mortals are compelled to bear. 
 
 Shed no bitter tears nor think of us as 
 in the grave — His but the empty shell, our 
 souls are ivith God in heaven. 
 
 If there is one little word of comfort or 
 one ray of sunshine that I can send into 
 some darkened heart-broken soul, let me 
 not forget to say it, or to pass a sunbeam 
 into a clouded life. 
 
 If I can but feel through this small 
 volume I have brought consolation and 
 understanding to some lonely heart, I ivill 
 
True Spirit Return 3 
 
 reckon that my work has not been in 
 vain, but it is my fondest hope that I 
 can send cheer and gladness into the lives 
 of many. 
 
 So go forth, little book, on your mission 
 of golden truths and spread all around 
 you the light of Spiritualism. 
 
 Enter the homes of thousands and carry 
 with you the symbols of love, hope, faith 
 and charity. 
 
 Shed the light of peace and hope far 
 into the corners of the globe. 
 
 Fly to the north, 
 And fly to the south, 
 Fly to the east, 
 Fly to the west, 
 And fly to the world, 
 That loves you best. 
 
 I can well remember years ago when on 
 this earth, while a missionary in China, 
 my attempts to lead the darkened souls of 
 the heathen land into the light of Chris- 
 tianity. 
 
 Sometimes it was very hard and seemed 
 a hopeless task to convince them of the 
 wonderful and beautiful truths of salva- 
 tion. 
 
4 True Spirit Return 
 
 Their hearts were filled with a love for 
 idols, and reverence for the religion of 
 their ancestors, and prejudice and doubt 
 would rise up like a stone ivall against 
 this new faith that told of one God, Jesus 
 Christ His Son the Redeemer of mankind, 
 and the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Then they must be taught to look to a 
 strange book for guidance, namely, the 
 Scriptures, but their unwillingness to ac- 
 cept the truth was gradually and finally 
 overcome through patience and prayer. 
 
 Just so, at times, it seems that the 
 grand and glorious doctrines of Spiritual- 
 ism have trouble in finding its way into 
 the hearts and souls of the people. 
 
 So I fain tvould pray, as in years gone 
 past, that our heavenly Father enable me 
 to guide, through the pages of this little 
 book, the ivorld into the path that leads to 
 the bright and golden star of Spiritualism. 
 
 And if there is aught concerning this 
 subject that any earthly mortal does not 
 understand I would be glad to enlighten 
 him, for, as a spirit from heaven above, I 
 feel that I am in a position to knotv 
 whereof I speak. 
 
 You will find the mystery of calling up 
 
True Spirit Return 5 
 
 your loved ones from the Spirit realm 
 that has been revealed in this small 
 volume a very simple one; but you must 
 have faith and confidence in their power 
 to return, and they will give rich blessings 
 of hope, joy, peace and love. 
 
 With love and best wishes to the world, 
 
 MOTHER. 
 
True Spirit Return 
 
 SPIRITUALISM 
 
 I wish to present to you one of the 
 grandest and noblest themes npon the 
 face of the globe, namely, Spiritualism. 
 
 Sad to relate, there are few who know 
 the full meaning of this word, but I will 
 try as best I can to place this wonderful 
 matter before you as clearly as possible 
 as has been revealed to me by my loved 
 ones who have gone before. 
 
 When I have completed this little book 
 it is with heartfelt hope that everyone 
 who reads these pages will be the happier, 
 and permit their souls to be filled with 
 new hopes and joys; that is, the possi- 
 bility of meeting and communing with 
 their dead. 
 
 What a comfort it is to know, when we 
 stand at the grave of our loved ones, that 
 their souls can return to us and be our 
 guardian angels. 
 
 When we are brought face to face with 
 the glorious truth, then we will know that 
 death cannot separate us from the ones 
 
True Spirit Return 7 
 
 who have entered the gates of eternity. 
 Then we can know that even yet, while we 
 are still upon this earth, they are not lost 
 to ns. 
 
 When they have entered the great be- 
 yond, they have only gone to a world that 
 is but a short distance from our earthly 
 dwelling place, and can travel the space 
 in a few second's time. 
 
 When we have learned their language, 
 both silent and spoken, we will realize the 
 wonderful meaning of Spiritualism, and 
 instead of trying to drive it from our 
 churches we will consider no religion com- 
 plete without its sweet, ennobling influ- 
 ence. 
 
 When the world has thrown open its 
 doors to the spirits of our dead loved 
 ones, then this earth will become more 
 like heaven. 
 
 Every day we will grow more perfect, 
 until finally there will be no sin, and a 
 great millennium will dawn upon the face 
 of the globe. The two worlds will be so 
 closely connected that it will be but a 
 stepping stone from one to the other. 
 
 But we have a great deal to learn be- 
 fore we reach that state of perfection. 
 
8 True Spirit Return 
 
 You will then look back and wonder how 
 you could have been so slow accepting this 
 wonderful faith, a faith that draws us 
 closer to the feet of our Savior and to the 
 Cross whereupon he died and shed his 
 life's blood that we might live. 
 
 We are merely in our A, B, C's at the 
 present time, so let us keep our eyes and 
 ears open for the new and wondrous 
 teachings on this subject from those who 
 have dipped deeper into this matter than 
 we have. 
 
 First, let us not scoff or make light of 
 so serious a matter, but turn our hearts 
 and souls with the greatest reverence to- 
 wards the study of Spiritualism and all 
 connected with it. 
 
 I have said that it is possible for our 
 loved ones to return to us from the shores 
 of eternity and be our guardian angels, 
 and this is quite true, but they can do 
 more for us if we have faith in them and 
 their ability to aid us. 
 
 Like mortals, they want their work to 
 be appreciated, and they like to be wel- 
 comed and recognized. So why pause for 
 a moment on the brink of this wonderful 
 revelation that will break in glorious 
 
True Spirit Return 9 
 
 splendor, uniting the two worlds together 
 in one bond of love and sympathy. 
 
 You can feel the bright golden light of 
 a new day dawning in one peaceful and 
 happy reunion. Our friends from the 
 spirit world will guide us in our business 
 affairs, as well as the hearts and souls of 
 their loved ones in their earthly homes, 
 bringing good cheer and merriment to all. 
 
 Instead of misunderstandings and heart- 
 aches, as is sometimes the case, there is 
 harmony and peace when our spirit 
 friends are guiding us in the paths of 
 truth and justice. It will be easier, 
 through their sweet ennobling influence, 
 for us to get a clearer vision on life 's per- 
 plexing problems, and to forget and for- 
 give the wrongs that have been inflicted 
 upon us. 
 
 With their .silent voices whispering right 
 from wrong, as our eminent writer and 
 speaker, Professor Doyle, has expressed 
 it, "How can we sin?" 
 
 But don't mistake me to mean that we 
 are exempt from yielding to the tempta- 
 tions of this world even while our loved 
 ones are pleading with us to turn away; 
 for we are born in sin, and not until 
 
10 True Spirit Return 
 
 we cross the cold river of death and 
 enter the shores of eternity do we become 
 perfect; or when the millennium dawns 
 upon this earth, which will not be until 
 Spiritualism has reached its highest 
 zenith; will we mortals be less prone 
 to sin, and will we close our eyes to many 
 a flowery path that leads astray, or to the 
 road of destruction and finally to the bot- 
 tomless pits of hell where we will be com- 
 pelled to serve a long and dreary term 
 before we are permitted into the gates of 
 heaven or to see our loved ones when we 
 are guided by our spirit friends. 
 
 To this purpose we should aim with 
 untiring zeal, for it is surely worth while 
 to have a religion that brings us nearer 
 to a state of perfection each day that we 
 become more and more endowed with the 
 principles of Spiritualism. 
 
 With this sweet influence around us we 
 cannot fail to makes ourselves and others 
 far happier than if we were without the 
 presence of these guardian angels. 
 
 But let us first consider how we can 
 best woo the spirits of our dead, so that 
 they can reveal themselves to us, and we 
 
True Spirit Return 11 
 
 cannot only hear their voices but see 
 their forms. 
 
 What shall we do to call them from the 
 land of eternity when we need them for 
 some special task, or even to consult with 
 them on ordinary affairs of everyday life. 
 
 There are many and varied ways of 
 calling up the dead. The one most com- 
 monly used at the present time, and which 
 proves very effective, is the laying of 
 hands upon the table, and demanding, 
 either silently or aloud, that the spirit if 
 present rap three times, and if the spirit 
 is present it will be made manifest by the 
 trembling of the mortal's hands and of 
 the table, and also three raps on or under 
 the table. 
 
 This result can be obtained better by 
 what is known as a medium, but as 
 Spiritualism progresses the possibility of 
 everyone becoming efficient in this power 
 of calling up their loved ones will be in 
 keeping with the affairs of everyday life. 
 
 The seances that are often held by a 
 crowd of persons who are interested in 
 the advancement of this cause, frequently 
 result in wonderful revelations, as well as 
 unexpected happenings. 
 
12 True Spirit Return 
 
 The souls from spirit land are very fond 
 of music, and will go quite a distance to 
 hear a piece played on any of our earthly 
 instruments, even a victrola. When the 
 music is soft and low and sweet they will 
 come all the way from heaven to listen to 
 its bewitching strains, especially when it 
 is played for the purpose of charming a 
 spirit form to this world. 
 
 They will tarry long and sometimes 
 perform what mortals consider wonderful 
 and miraculous tricks. They are full of 
 fun and like a good joke as well as any 
 earthly mortal; for in heaven they are a 
 merry crowd. They laugh and play and 
 can do more work in an hour than we 
 earthly mortals can do in a day, so I have 
 been informed by a saucy little spirit from 
 the other world who knows. 
 
 Why shouldn't they be a jolly crowd? 
 With no aches or pains to worry them, 
 and, as this same little saucy spirit has 
 told me, Professor Doyle is correct in his 
 statement that bodies are whole and per- 
 fect in heaven. 
 
 There are no blind or crippled or de- 
 formities of any kind in this land of 
 eternal happiness. So grieve not, fond 
 
True Spirit Return 13 
 
 mother and father, when the angel of 
 death has taken away your little child in 
 the spring-time of its life, or in its sweet 
 babyhood days, or even yet when they 
 have reached the age of womanhood and 
 manhood, for, remember, they will never 
 know again the pangs of suffering and 
 sorrow that this world contains. 
 
 Do not moan for yonr mother or father, 
 my children, who have crossed the river 
 of death, when the antnmn winds have 
 strewn dead leaves across their path, or 
 winter's snow has turned their hair to 
 silvery gray and bent their forms with 
 the weight of years. 
 
 When onr loved ones are sadly afflicted 
 with some earthly malady, or with some 
 kind of deformity, why should we sorrow 
 when they are able to throw aside this 
 imperfect shell that causes them only pain 
 and suffering when they can have a new 
 body, whole, perfect and beautiful, within 
 the golden gates of heaven? 
 
 Why think of them as gone when we 
 can so easily call them back if we only 
 learn the way, which is very simple, if we 
 can teach ourselves to have faith in the 
 doctrines of Spiritualism. 
 
14: True Spirit Return 
 
 They often come without being called 
 to help and guide us over the rough and 
 stony points in life, but unknown and un- 
 recognized by their earthly friends or 
 relatives unless they are believers in 
 Spiritualism. 
 
 How much better it would be if every- 
 one knew of this wonderful and glorious 
 truth! How much better it is when our 
 spirit friends are greeted with a warm 
 welcome, acknowledged and appreciated 
 by their own, in this world of sin and sor- 
 row! How much brighter our whole 
 world would be for this universal recog- 
 nition! How pleased and happy our 
 friends of the heavenly sphere would be 
 over this belief in their power to return 
 and abide with us. 
 
 We could not fail to mark the difference 
 in our lives from the time we took up the 
 study of Spiritualism, on and forever 
 after. 
 
True Spirit Return 15 
 
 HEAVEN 
 
 What is heaven like? so many people 
 ask. Once more, I refer to Professor 
 Doyle. He has correctly described it as a 
 beautiful place, with magnificent homes, 
 whose green lawns and gardens of lovely 
 flowers, I wonld add, never fade, wither 
 or die. 
 
 The massive shade trees, with their 
 foliage of leaves, which hold their color 
 of spring-like tinting through the whole 
 year long, can be seen everywhere. 
 
 Along the broad white roads their 
 branches overlap for miles and miles, 
 making cool sweet avenues. The parks 
 and mountainsides are filled and covered 
 with these large trees, and they are of all 
 the different varieties that grow upon this 
 earth. 
 
 Not only the spring tints can be seen in 
 the foliage, but the gold and crimson of 
 autumn lends enchantment to the view; 
 but these leaves never wither and die any 
 more than the souls that go there from 
 this world. 
 
16 True Spirit Return 
 
 Even the snow-capped monntains of 
 winter are there to add loveliness to the 
 scene. The skies are bine and the clonds 
 are soft and fleecy, as they are here, bnt 
 there are no storm clonds to mar their 
 beanty. 
 
 There are gorgeons snnsets in heaven, 
 bnt no night, only twilight, soft and cool, 
 when the spirit sonls can rest and medi- 
 tate. 
 
 The snnrise in the land of eternity is 
 beantiful, even far more glorions than 
 anything we ever saw on this earth. The 
 seas instead of being bine are of a silvery 
 glow and the shores are of gold. 
 
 Bnt this brilliancy of coloring is not 
 painfnl to the eyes for there is a soft light 
 over the whole landscape. There are 
 sparkling streams and rivers that wind in 
 and ont throngh banks of flowers of every 
 kind and trees whose heavy green 
 branches dip low into the water's edge. 
 
 There are springs and wells whose cool 
 refreshing waters are as clear as crystal. 
 Some of the hills are bine-topped and 
 pnrple in the distance, and the parks and 
 gardens are filled with lakes and foun- 
 tains. 
 
True Spirit Return 17 
 
 The lakes are dotted with white sail- 
 boats, and the clear sparkling waters of 
 the fountains cover the surrounding flow- 
 ers with showers of diamonds. 
 
 Sometimes the question is asked, "Are 
 there any animals in heaven!' ' Yes; 
 every kind that is upon the face of this 
 globe is represented there, even the lions, 
 bears, and tigers, only they are as tame 
 and gentle as a house pet. 
 
 As my spirit guide has told me, "many 
 is the time, while strolling through the 
 parks of heaven, I have met a lion and 
 paused to stroke his shaggy mane. ,, 
 
 The cat and dog can be found just as 
 much at home there as here, not to men- 
 tion cows and horses, and white woolly 
 sheep can be seen grazing in the pastures 
 and on the hillside, but they do not get 
 their coats soiled and smutty like they do 
 here. 
 
 Poultry of every description, from the 
 turkey on down to the chicken, can be seen 
 strutting about the yards. The national 
 bird of America, the eagle, sails through 
 the blue skies of heaven as much a king 
 of birds there as here. 
 
 There is to be found the ostrich in the 
 
18 True Spirit Return 
 
 land of eternal souls, but he is not robbed 
 of his stately plumes for the purpose of 
 trimming hats. 
 
 Also the brilliant feathered peacock, 
 but he does not permit his vanity to get 
 the best of him in heaven as he does on 
 earth, but in spite of his handsome feath- 
 ers he is as humble as any bird. 
 
 The dove in heaven, as in this world, 
 holds the responsible position of being 
 messenger bird, and the pigeon flies 
 around at his own sweet will, but no one 
 ever thinks of eating him when he is 
 young, juicy and tender. 
 
 The robin redbreast retains the honor 
 of being the sacred bird in the eternal city. 
 The parrot is as talkative and saucy in 
 the world above as in the world below, but 
 you never hear him say a curse word up 
 there. 
 
 You will find all the variety of song- 
 birds, including the nightingale, mocking- 
 bird, the canary and the lark, also all kinds 
 of the small bird variety, from the wren 
 on down to the English sparrow, but these 
 last-named fowls do not fuss and scrap 
 and try to drive away other birds in 
 heaven as they do on earth. 
 
True Spirit Return 19 
 
 Heaven is full of butterflies of the most 
 gorgeous kind, but their wings are strong 
 and never broken, and like the flowers, 
 they never die. 
 
 What are the seasons in heaven! One 
 long perpetual spring — cool, sweet and 
 balmy, with the fragrance of flowers ever 
 stealing into the soft breezes. 
 
 You have often heard it said, "How I 
 wish the weather could be neither too hot 
 nor too cold, but just right.' ' That is the 
 way you find it in the world to come; 
 perfect, with the softest of breezes to fan 
 and rustle the leaves and flowers. Per- 
 petual spring the whole year round. Per- 
 haps you wonder how flowers, trees and 
 plants can flourish with only one season, 
 but that is one of the wonderful miracles 
 of heaven that we earthly mortals cannot 
 understand until we get there. 
 
 "You wonder what we appear like in 
 the golden city of eternity ?" my guardian 
 angel asked me one day. 
 
 "Bobed in garments of snowy white we 
 appear in heaven,' ' she answered me, 
 "and the women and children wear their 
 hair to their waist, parted on one side or 
 in the middle as they prefer." 
 
20 True Spirit Return 
 
 The men are also robed in white, but 
 they wear their hair short with no beard. 
 It is only when they have been accnstomed 
 to have a beard on earth and wish to ap- 
 pear natural to those who know them, or 
 are related to them, that they allow their 
 spirit forms to be seen like that, but on 
 reaching heaven this immediately disap- 
 pears. This is another one of the wonder- 
 ful miracles of the world above. 
 
 There are countless instances like that, 
 of varied descriptions, such as when the 
 spirit was afflicted with the loss of some 
 portion of his body while on earth or was 
 suffering from some peculiar deformity, 
 this would be the way that they would 
 return to you from the land of eternity to 
 this world. 
 
 Their hair grows luxuriant and beauti- 
 ful in heaven, but retains the same color 
 that the spirit possessed when a mortal 
 on earth in the days of youth. Only when 
 they are seen by their earthly friends do 
 they appear with gray hair or partly so, 
 if that was the color when they passed out. 
 This is in order that they can be recog- 
 nized. They have the same features there 
 as here, and their hair and eyes are the 
 
True Spirit Return 21 
 
 same color and they are the exact height 
 of their earthly form, if they have grown 
 to maturity, when passing out. 
 
 Though their features may be more or 
 less irregular, still they do not appear 
 ugly in heaven, though they may have 
 been considered so on earth. For with the 
 glow of love and perfect happiness shin- 
 ing from their faces, and their spiritual 
 bodies in perfect health, how can they 
 appear ugly? 
 
 They are always planning for the good 
 of some of their loved ones or friends on 
 earth, and nothing makes them any hap- 
 pier than to be understood by the one they 
 are attempting to aid, and they know no 
 greater joy than to see their loved ones 
 accomplish certain feats through their 
 efforts. 
 
 So why not meet them on half-way 
 ground? Did you ever stop to think that 
 when we fail to recognize the doctrines of 
 Spiritualism we are denying our beloved 
 ones of the heavenly sphere? 
 
 There seems to be one stumbling block 
 which stands in the way of many would-be 
 believers in this faith which I wish to 
 clear from their path of difficulties. It is 
 
22 True Spirit Return 
 
 the question that arises in the minds of a 
 large majority, which is a very natural 
 one. 
 
 How is it possible for them to return, 
 and, after seeing the trials, troubles and 
 sorrows that accompany us through life, 
 still be happy? " Perhaps it is another 
 one of heaven's miracles,' ' you will say 
 when I tell you that it is quite possible. 
 
 As my spirit guide has told me, "we are 
 certainly not known as a cold-blooded, 
 heartless set in heaven, so it couldn't be 
 for that reason that we can remain happy 
 while our friends and relatives on earth 
 are going through with a certain amount 
 of suffering and sorrow." In the first 
 place, life on this earth, with all its sor- 
 rows and perplexing questions, compared 
 to eternity is of short duration. "lis but 
 a stepping stone from earth to heaven, 
 and our real life is just begun after we 
 have entered the golden gates of eternity. 
 
 The bitterness that we have just passed 
 through will make the next world the 
 sweeter. 
 
 We will remember our troubles and af- 
 flictions just long enough to draw out the 
 contrast of the two worlds more vividly, 
 
True Spirit Return 23 
 
 and heaven will seem the more beautiful 
 in consequence. 
 
 I doubt whether the angels who have 
 dwelt in the land of eternity the whole of 
 their lives, and have never known the 
 sorrows that earthly mortals have passed 
 through, find heaven half as beautiful as 
 the souls who have come from the world 
 of pain and afflictions. 
 
 Knowing this, and having passed safely 
 through the portals of death from this 
 world to gain life eternal in the next 
 world, as my guardian angel has told me, 
 I can better understand how it can be 
 possible for our spirit friends to remain 
 happy while their loved ones are going 
 through a certain amount of suffering 
 and sorrow on earth. 
 
 And then again, we spirits who are in 
 heaven have a broader view of earthly 
 matters and can see on every side of a 
 question. But while we were in this world 
 we could see but a short distance ahead, 
 and often we mistook blessings for sor- 
 rows. 
 
 There is a great difference in which 
 matters appear to us from the land of 
 eternal happiness. In heaven all earthly 
 
24 True Spirit Return 
 
 wrongs are forgiven and forgotten, and 
 we soon find out, after arriving at our life- 
 long home, that the troubles and adversi- 
 ties that have not been straightened out 
 when we left this world will be righted in 
 heaven, and all wrongs will be adjusted 
 there. 
 
 Of course, while everything that went 
 crooked on earth is untangled in heaven, 
 still this fact does not prevent our spirit- 
 ual friends from taking pleasure in 
 smoothing out the rocky paths of life as 
 much as is in their power. 
 
 Why deny them this privilege by throw- 
 ing doubts as to their power and ability 
 to return to us in the spirit form? 
 
 Sometimes the question is asked, "How 
 can they be happy in heaven when they 
 are separated from their loved ones?" 
 But we believers in Spiritualism know 
 that no form of death can take our dear 
 friends and relatives away from us. 
 
 The mortals of the worldly sphere often 
 wonder what spiritual bodies appear like 
 to each other in heaven. 
 
 They are not flimsy, vapory or trans- 
 parent there as they are when seen by 
 mediums and others, but present a very 
 
True Spirit Return 25 
 
 solid and substantial appearance, and at 
 a glance they look like a well-fed crowd. 
 
 "Doubtless you will think it strange 
 that we can look so well and eat nothing, ' ' 
 murmurs my guardian angel, with a 
 chuckle. "Another one of heaven's mir- 
 acles/ ' I hear you say. "Do we look like 
 flesh and blood up there ?" Why of course 
 we do, only in heaven the glow of health 
 is in our faces and our complexions are 
 perfect. We don't have to use beauty 
 creams there to keep the skin soft and 
 clear, and prevent wrinkles. 
 
 You have heard about heavenly music, 
 but you can never even imagine how di- 
 vinely sweet and grand it is until you 
 have heard its entrancing strains. The 
 most wonderful music on earth does not 
 begin to compare with it. 
 
 There is the sound of the rippling wa- 
 ters and the rushing waterfalls and the 
 murmuring brook, blended with the voice 
 of nature, from the boom of the ocean to 
 the songs of the birds, and the soft tink- 
 ling of silvery bells. 
 
 Sometimes there are the sounds of the 
 earthly night-winds which only lend a 
 sweet cadence to the music and make it 
 
26 True Spirit Return 
 
 the more enchanting. Then again, there 
 is heard the merry breezes rustling the 
 leaves and flowers, and yon seem to see 
 the golden sunbeams dancing with the 
 shadows. 
 
 In heaven everyone can play and sing. 
 All the musical instruments that you find 
 on earth are there, from the pipe-organ 
 down to the Jew's harp, and everyone can 
 handle them prfectly. 
 
 There are no discords in heaven when 
 it comes to music any more than in other 
 affairs of life. All is peace and harmony 
 there. 
 
 Every home has the different kinds of 
 musical instruments that are found on 
 this earth. The golden harp is a general 
 favorite in this wonderful land of per- 
 fection and beauty, and although it is 
 considered here as one of the most difficult 
 of instruments to learn, even a little child 
 can play it up there. 
 
 The melodies that can be brought forth 
 from the golden harps are so divinely 
 sweet that no words can describe them. 
 
 Quite often they have the grandest con- 
 certs in the parks where the band is ac- 
 companied by every musical instrument, 
 
True Spirit Return 27 
 
 except the pipe-organ, and then it is that 
 the music rises and swells and fills the 
 hills and dales and winding roads with 
 sweet enchanting echoes, then grows faint 
 and fainter still, only to die away in the 
 distant snow-capped and purple-crowned 
 mountains. 
 
 But the fact that they have such de- 
 lightful and beautiful music in heaven 
 does not prevent them from enjoying our 
 earthly strains, and we can draw their 
 spirit forms from the land of eternity to 
 this world quicker by music than in any 
 other way except the laying on of hands 
 upon the table. 
 
 They think a great deal of our music, 
 also, because it always brings them closer 
 to their loved ones. 
 
 Of course, they do not expect the per- 
 fection in earthly music that they hear in 
 heaven, but the spirits of the eternal 
 world are not a critical set. You have no 
 idea what delight it gives them to hang 
 around a victrola or piano-player while 
 paying us earthly mortals a visit from the 
 spiritual world above. 
 
 They like to go to the parks here and 
 have a jolly good time, flitting around 
 
28 True Spirit Return 
 
 among the crowd, seeing bnt unseen, and 
 listening to the varied conversation and 
 the sweet strains of music from the band 
 concert; that is, if they are lucky enough 
 to drop in on band concert night. 
 
 Many a .silent laugh they have had to- 
 gether over the jokes and remarks made 
 by different persons and the fact that 
 they could see and hear everything with- 
 out being themselves seen. 
 
 One thing that always amused us most 
 was the fun we often got out of the ques- 
 tion, when mingling in a lively crowd, 
 What would they do and say if they knew 
 that ghosts were along? So I have 
 been informed by my saucy little spirit. 
 They have had many a merry laugh over 
 the scatteration and consternation they 
 pictured would occur if these mortals 
 knew the truth. 
 
 But if Spiritualism were in full swing 
 these worldly folks would not be afraid of 
 any ghost that walks the earth, unless 
 they are cold-blooded murderers or crim- 
 inals of the deepest dye. In that case 
 matters would be different. 
 
True Spirit Return 29 
 
 THE POWER OF THE AVENGING 
 SPIRIT 
 
 Woe to such a wicked class if they fall 
 into the hands of the avenging spirit 
 when God has given him the right and the 
 power to avenge a cruelly heartless wrong, 
 or a horrible cold-blooded murder on this 
 earth. When the one who has been per- 
 mitted to play the part of an avenging 
 spirit was a good, kind mortal and was 
 driven out of this world through a mur- 
 derer's hand, woe unto the slayer. 
 
 It is no fancy on the murderer's part 
 when he feels that he is haunted by day 
 and by night with the spirit of the one 
 whose soul he dared to thrust into etern- 
 ity without the heavenly Father's per- 
 mission. 
 
 No fancy when he is pursued by silent 
 footsteps, and when he takes flight in 
 sudden terror. It is no imagination that 
 causes him to come to a sudden pause and 
 look with a frightened and startled ex- 
 pression in his eyes, back and over his 
 own shoulder, to ascertain whose unseen 
 
30 True Spirit Return 
 
 hand had been laid so lightly upon his 
 shoulder, but with such power as to draw 
 him back and cause him to come to a dead 
 stop ! It is no vision of the brain that he 
 seems to see the fixed staring gaze from a 
 pair of glassy eyes that are piercing 
 through the blackness of night. 
 
 A dim, shadowy form was all the mur- 
 derer could discern, as vapory as the air, 
 but it stood out as clearly as a human 
 form, gray and weird. But there was no 
 mistaking those eyes which gleamed with 
 an accusing light, and suddenly their cold, 
 icy stare changed and glowed like two 
 balls of fire. 
 
 Was it a vision that had formed its 
 strange, unreal appearance from a con- 
 science stricken soul ? No ; and it was not 
 that that made him shrink back in horror, 
 and then with a low frightened cry flee 
 through the darkness, only to be pursued 
 again by the same silent footsteps and 
 dragged back by the same unseen hand, 
 and confronted by a gray shadowy form 
 with eyes that stared, fixed and glassy at 
 times, and then burned like coals of fire 
 until the murderer could feel his soul 
 
True Spirit Return 31 
 
 shrivel as though consumed by a red-hot 
 blaze ! 
 
 Turn where he may, he was haunted 
 by the ghost of his dead victim. Look 
 where he might, those eyes ! There was 
 no getting away from them. 
 
 In some instances criminals of the 
 deepest dye have been known to give 
 themselves up to the prison bars and the 
 death sentence because they have been 
 haunted and tortured by the avenging 
 spirit. 
 
 But the prison cell, with its cold stone 
 walls and iron bars, does it shut out the 
 gray phantom that has haunted him for- 
 ever by day and by night? No! 
 
 It only drew him closer to this weird 
 gray form. There was no escaping it 
 now. He was locked in with it. He 
 looked helplessly at the stone walls and 
 iron bars of the narrow cell and then 
 cowered back into a far corner. 
 
 The ghost of his dead victim was slowly 
 creeping upon him. "My God," he cried, 
 "spare me." The first prayer that had 
 passed the lips of this hardened sinner 
 since he had knelt in childhood at his 
 mother's knee. 
 
32 True Spirit Return 
 
 But the spirit form crept close and 
 closer still, until it was bending over him. 
 He could feel its icy breath and cold, 
 clammy hands upon his face. 
 
 "Take it away," he cried, with one wild 
 shriek that rent the air with a blood- 
 curdling sound, which echoed through the 
 prison cells. 
 
 "He is going mad," some said. 
 
 "He is conscience-stricken/' others 
 said. 
 
 Both were right, but they did not know 
 the true cause. That he was haunted by 
 the avenging spirit of his murdered vic- 
 tim, and that its presence had driven him 
 to madness, and the gaze from its glassy 
 eyes had pierced his soul until his dead- 
 ened conscience had awakened to the full 
 consciousness of the horror of his crime. 
 
 But he could only wait now the time for 
 the carrying out of his death sentence 
 and welcome even this gloomy prospect as 
 a release from this never-tiring watch by 
 a gaunt and shadowy spectre that hovered 
 over him by night and by day. 
 
 "This occurrence that I have been de- 
 scribing is only one of many different 
 
True Spirit Return 33 
 
 varieties of its kind," my guardian angel 
 informed me one day. 
 
 Sometimes the spirit that has been 
 very cruelly wronged is allowed by our 
 heavenly Father to punish the transgres- 
 sor in any way he chooses. It is not al- 
 ways souls that have been cast into eter- 
 nity by wicked hands that are permitted 
 to avenge the crimes of another. 
 
 These ghosts of vengeance sometimes 
 appear to the murderer in the same 
 clothes that he, the victim, wore when he 
 was slain by him; and except for the fact 
 that he enters through closed doors or 
 walls, or rises mysteriously before him 
 from apparently nowhere, his form and 
 features are as clear as in life. 
 
 The strangest of all is that when these 
 spirits who return to haunt and avenge 
 the wrongs that have been committed 
 against them have the same wound that 
 his assassin inflicted upon him to cause 
 his death. 
 
 It may be a bullet hole or a cut throat, 
 or a deep knife gash in some other part of 
 the body with the crimson life-blood eb- 
 bing fast. 
 
 It is all there just as the murderer last 
 
34 True Spirit Return 
 
 saw his victim, even to the livid pallor 
 and look of anguished pain that the dying 
 one wore in his last moments. 
 
 In cases of this kind the ghost of the 
 murdered one usually haunts the spot or 
 house where he was killed. The slayer 
 may have gone away, but woe unto him 
 if he returns to either place or home 
 where his hand sent a soul to eternity. 
 
 He will torture and harass this wicked 
 mortal either into confessing his crime or 
 committing some desperate deed that will 
 lead to his discovery, or .sometimes in his 
 despair he would be driven to suicide. 
 
 If the victim is an inmate of his own 
 home, such as a wife, relative, friend or 
 servant, as the case might be, and the 
 unfortunate one has been secretly killed, 
 his ghost will appear before the remain- 
 ing members of the household, and by 
 many and various methods reveal the 
 crime. 
 
 Or even if it happens to be a stranger, 
 stopping at the gates, that has been mur- 
 dered, this avenging spirit will rise be- 
 fore the family and tell in hollow tones 
 how he met his tragic death. 
 
 If, by chance, the criminal moves away 
 
True Spirit Return 35 
 
 from the scenes of his crime, and strang- 
 ers come to live there, this avenging spirit 
 will hannt the place and finally give the 
 secret away. This, of course, results in 
 the murderer's capture and imprison- 
 ment. 
 
 These cases that I have just mentioned 
 are extreme ones and, comparatively 
 speaking, are few. 
 
 But don't misunderstand me when I re- 
 peat that in heaven all wrongs are for- 
 given; for after the avenging spirit has 
 been permitted to punish and right some 
 cruel and heartless wrongs that have been 
 committed against him on earth, he for- 
 gives and forgets it immediately on re- 
 turning to the city of eternal happiness. 
 
36 True Spirit Return 
 
 FITTUBE PUNISHMENT AND WABN- 
 
 ING BY ONE OF HEAVEN'S 
 
 GUABDIAN ANGELS 
 
 So it behooves us mortals to beware 
 and take care lest we allow ourselves to 
 become careless and permit our lives to 
 drift far away from the teachings of the 
 Holy Book, our Sacred Word of God. 
 
 It is hardly possible that the murderer 
 or criminal of darkest deeds realized when 
 he took the first step that it would carry 
 him to the dark prison cell or to the death 
 sentence. But step by step he gets farther 
 and farther away from the foot of his 
 Savior's Cross, until finally he is lost in 
 the darkness of sin. 
 
 So let us take warning from the mur- 
 derer's fate, for it is a horrible thing to 
 be haunted by the ghost of an avenging 
 spirit. It is a serious matter to be lost in 
 the darkness of sin, for then it will be 
 many long and weary years, or may be 
 ages, before the wanderer finds his way 
 home in heaven. 
 
 The length of time for his punishment 
 
True Spirit Return 37 
 
 depends upon the deepness of his sin. 
 But no matter how wicked the man or 
 woman has been on this earth they will 
 not be held in the black and bottomless pit 
 forever. 
 
 It is a mistaken idea that the majority 
 of people have that there is eternal pun- 
 ishment. The Greek word that has been 
 translated in the Bible as eternity should 
 read as age, which means for the time 
 being, or, in other words, as long as God 
 sees fit to keep the transgressor in his 
 dungeon home, and that would be accord- 
 ing to the weight of his sins. No; not 
 forever ! 
 
 Do you think that a kind heavenly 
 Father would create poor, helpless mor- 
 tals, only to destroy their opportunity for 
 happiness for the remainder of their lives 
 with their souls writhing and burning 
 through countless years of eternity! 
 
 For why did Christ, the beloved Son of 
 God, leave His throne in heaven and come 
 to this world of sin and suffering, to be 
 scoffed at, and finally to be crucified with 
 a crown of thorns upon His brow? Look 
 you upon those cruel nails that pierce the 
 tender flesh! See those drops of blood! 
 
38 True Spirit Return 
 
 Hear that agonized cry, "Forgive them, 
 Father, for they know not what they do ! ' ' 
 
 And the Father's voice from heaven, 
 "He gave His life that all might live," 
 and looking back on this sad scene with 
 the words of the Father and Son still 
 ringing in onr ears, tell me, can you be- 
 lieve that the majority or masses of sonls 
 are doomed to eternal punishment in a 
 pit filled with fire and brimstone! There 
 is hope for ALL. 
 
 The belief that onr opportunities for 
 eternal happiness are lost on the other 
 side of the grave is a sad mistake. There 
 is hope beyond the grave, I repeat. This 
 fact should not make us careless, never- 
 theless. For it will be a longer and more 
 severe punishment if we do not repent of 
 some of the many sins we commit before 
 the angel of death has taken us across the 
 cold dark river. 
 
 It would be far better for him to lead a 
 good true life, true to himself and to 
 others and enter the golden gate of heav- 
 en immediately after leaving this earth, 
 without having to pass through the dark 
 and gloomy dungeons of hell. 
 
 Let him read the Holy Book of Grod 
 
True Spirit Return 39 
 
 constantly, and that will keep him close to 
 the feet of his Savior, and let him study 
 the doctrines of Spiritualism, and that 
 will enable him to read the Holy Word 
 with a clearer knowledge. 
 
 He might drift into bypaths and away 
 from the main road, bnt if his heart and 
 soul are filled with the proper teachings, 
 he will be drawn back to the way that 
 leads to the Savior's throne in heaven. 
 
 But should he truly repent of his sins, 
 though deep-dyed, on this side of the 
 grave and lives a Christian's life ever 
 afterwards, until his soul is called away, 
 he will find a home in the eternal city. 
 
 He will then be saved from the black 
 and gloomy pits of hell; so despair not, 
 my friend, who has wandered far away 
 from the fold, for through the blood of 
 our Savior ye shall be saved, for has He 
 not told us that though your sins be as 
 scarlet, they can be washed as white as 
 snow? 
 
 But delay not your repentance, for the 
 cold hand of death may strike you help- 
 less, and it will be too late, and as the 
 poet has said : Of all sad words of tongue 
 
40 True Spirit Return 
 
 or pen, the saddest are these: It might 
 have been. 
 
 There is one thing I wish to mention 
 before closing np this subject, and that is 
 that Grod, the Creator of the universe and 
 every living creature, the All Powerful, is 
 our Supreme Judge, but is far more 
 merciful and kind in His judgment of us 
 than our earthly friends. 
 
 This, I think, should be a great comfort 
 and consolation to us. This knowledge 
 should encourage us to accomplish as 
 many noble and unselfish deeds as is in 
 our power, and be a great incentive to 
 high principles and right living. 
 
 Then, again, how can we stray far from 
 the foot of our Savior's Cross when we 
 know that it grieves both Father and Son 
 and the Holy Ghost, and that our Savior 
 sits at the right hand of His Father's 
 throne to intercede ever for us? 
 
True Spirit Return 41 
 
 SUICIDES 
 
 There are a few matters I wish to men- 
 tion. They are with reference to the ex- 
 ceptions that it takes to form a rule. 
 
 As a rule, persons who dare to send 
 their souls to eternity, through their own 
 hand, by committing suicide are doomed 
 to future punishment. 
 
 There are a few exceptions to this rule, 
 but (rod is the Judge of these few suicides 
 that escape future punishment. He 
 weighs every side of the question with ac- 
 curate justice. He considers the motives 
 and all the circumstances connected with 
 it. And, of course, He is in a position to 
 know the ins and outs of the whole affair 
 from beginning to end. These sad trage- 
 dies He will handle as they rightly de- 
 serve. 
 
 There is one class of suicides I wish to 
 make mention of as belonging to the ex- 
 ceptions that form the rule; that of one 
 who has, according to the laws of God, 
 lived a true, good life, but has been driven 
 to desperation and finally to suicide by 
 
42 True Spirit Return 
 
 the heartless and cruel treatment of one 
 who is very near and dear to him, and 
 should be kind and loving, but instead has 
 made life more bitter than death. 
 
 These poor unfortunates that have suf- 
 fered so on earth will enter the golden 
 gates of heaven without any delay. 
 
 There is another exception that goes to 
 form the rule. That of one who is driven 
 to end his own life through a chain of un- 
 happy events that crowd around him with 
 such confusing persistence that he scarce- 
 ly knows which way to turn to avoid a 
 terrible catastrophe. 
 
 These are not counted among the 
 doomed who are compelled to serve a term 
 in the gloomy dungeon of hell. 
 
 There is a third class that I wish to call 
 your attention to ; those whose minds have 
 become clouded through brooding long 
 over sorrows and troubles that have 
 weighed so heavily upon their hearts that 
 in a moment of desperate despair they 
 put an end to their weary lives. 
 
 Do not question here, "Why did God 
 permit it?" 
 
 That is a subject that is broad and deep. 
 It is enough to say that God doeth all 
 
True Spirit Return 43 
 
 things well, and gathers the storm-tossed 
 sonl to His broad bosom to rest. 
 
 Thongh onr heavenly Father is all 
 powerful He is not responsible for all of 
 the ills or misfortunes that befall this 
 world. He has not made us machines, 
 but has given us wills and brains of our 
 own, and the power to think, and His Holy 
 Book to guide us. As ye sow, so shall ye 
 reap, says the Holy Word of God. Many 
 times the troubles and sorrows that we 
 endure are brought upon us by our neg- 
 lect and miserable mistakes, but our kind, 
 heavenly Father, knowing our weaknesses 
 in sin and earthly temptations, judges us 
 leniently and gathers us tenderly in His 
 arms. 
 
 But as I have said before, God is not 
 responsible for all of our sorrows and 
 troubles, but there are times when He 
 sees fit to chastise His earthly children 
 when they have wandered far away from 
 the Cross. 
 
 It is for their good and to bring them 
 back before they are lost in the darkness 
 of sin, and ere they wander .so far that 
 death might call them away before they 
 have repented, and they must needs pass 
 
44 True Spirit Return 
 
 through the shadows of the bottomless pit 
 before reaching His home in heaven. 
 
 As a father punisheth his children so 
 punisheth He: with the same loving kind- 
 ness and gentle tenderness he shows to 
 his erring children. 
 
 "While I am speaking of exceptional 
 cases of suicides, let me mention a few 
 circumstances in which murderers escape- 
 future punishments. 
 
 Under these conditions they would go 
 straight to heaven, though the death angel 
 might call them away before they had an 
 opportunity for repentance. These cases 
 are extremely rare, and very seldom 
 known to live long after the occurrence, 
 even though they may have been par- 
 doned by the law, for the horror of their 
 crimes weigh so heavily upon their brains 
 and hearts that their physical bodies lose 
 strength until they can no longer be a fit 
 resting place for their souls, and they 
 take flight. But in all their seeming dis- 
 regard for the commandment of God, are 
 swiftly guided by the angel of love 
 through the pearly gates of heaven. 
 
 These sad cases are parallel in likeness 
 to those I have just mentioned as suicidal 
 
True Spirit Return 45 
 
 exceptions. The points relating to their 
 strange history are very similar, and they 
 are generally persons from whom the 
 world would least expect suicide or 
 murder. 
 
 They are usually of a kind and gentle 
 nature, unselfish and of high and noble 
 principles, giving all, and expecting noth- 
 ing in return but love and kindness. But 
 frequently they meet with not only cold 
 rebuffs, but such cruel and unfair treat- 
 ment, mingled with horrible threats, that 
 finally, hemmed in a corner as it were, 
 and fenced in, and suddenly driven to des- 
 peration, they strike the blows that cost 
 their own lives or that of others. 
 
 And then sometimes it ends in a double 
 tragedy. The murderer commits suicide, 
 and then the world stands back in horror, 
 but God, knowing all and understanding 
 as no mortal could, stoops down in pity 
 and places the worn soul in the arms of 
 the love angel. 
 
 Bring him to My mansion of peace and 
 rest are the words of our heavenly Father. 
 
 Softly and gently the snowy wings are 
 folded around the bruised and tired soul, 
 and away from the gray and misty shores 
 
46 True Spirit Return 
 
 of death he is carried to the home of 
 eternal happiness. 
 
 There is another exception I wish to 
 mention with reference to murder cases. 
 There are persons who kill in self-defense 
 according to God's knowledge, but not 
 man's, for they are incapable of a clear 
 decision, as they do not know all the cir- 
 cumstances concerning the tragedy, nor 
 can they read the inmost soul of the one 
 who committed the deed. 
 
 Soldiers that fight and kill in battle 
 come under this class. In the eyes of 
 God this is considered self-defense, for 
 they were drawn into it through a chain 
 of circumstances they could not prevent. 
 
 In the World War, for instance. And 
 again I hear people say, "Why did God 
 permit it?" which carries me back to a 
 subject that is broad and deep, and I 
 have neither the space nor the time to 
 discuss it here, but I would answer that 
 question by saying that God did not per- 
 mit it. 
 
 It was the devil's work, and it is an 
 insult to the Lord to say that He was in- 
 strumental in causing the bloodiest fight 
 that was ever fought on this universe; it 
 
True Spirit Return 47 
 
 was the devil's work from start to finish, 
 but innocent people and innocent nations 
 were dragged into it by the cunning brain 
 and plans of his satanic majesty. 
 
 Nothing gives him more delight than to 
 see nations, countries among themselves, 
 families, relatives and friends at war, 
 which leads me into my next subject — The 
 Power of Satan and his Evil Spirits. 
 
48 True Spirit Return 
 
 POWEE OF SATAN AND HIS 
 EVIL SPIRITS 
 
 6 1 Is there really a devil V ' ■ you have 
 heard it asked. 
 
 Yes; and he is a very powerful one. 
 
 Do not deceive yourself into thinking 
 that you are free from such an enemy. 
 To close your eyes to a danger does not 
 lessen, but increases it. 
 
 "But I do not believe in a devil," I 
 hear you say. "You don't, do you?" 
 
 It is because you do not find it is a 
 pleasant belief to hold. Wake up, ye who 
 have lulled yourselves to .sleep on the idle 
 dreams that there is no such foe to con- 
 tend with. Take care, ye who fancy your 
 foot firm in the foundations of Christian- 
 ity lest you slip at any moment. Take 
 heed lest this demon of cunning wicked- 
 ness offers you a draught that contains 
 poison. The poison of sin that will cause 
 the death of the soul. 
 
 By this I mean lost — lost in the dungeon 
 of hell until it can be redeemed again 
 through the blood of our Savior. Watch, 
 
True Spirit Return 49 
 
 for fear that lie hand you temptations 
 done up in such neat and attractive pack- 
 ages that you fail to recognize satan, as 
 the giver, or to see the hidden viper 
 among its contents, the sting of which 
 would cause instant death to your spirit- 
 ual being. 
 
 Or even yet knowing that it is the 
 devil 's hand that offers you this deadly 
 missive the temptation is so great that you 
 cannot resist it. 
 
 Or bolder still, he holds before your 
 eyes a sin so hideous and gaunt that you 
 draw back in horror. 
 
 " Accept,' ' whispers the persuasive 
 voice of satan, ' * 'Twill lead to untold 
 wealth and glory." 
 
 "Oh, no," you reply. 
 
 But instead of turning away and be- 
 seeching God to remove this destructive 
 monster of sin you continue to gaze, until 
 you become fascinated and accept even 
 against your own will, knowing that the 
 wages of sin are death. 
 
 Vice is a monster of so frightful mien, 
 As to be hated needs but to be seen; 
 Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face, 
 We first endure, then pity, then embrace. 
 
50 True Spirit Return 
 
 But as a rule, satan prefers more cun- 
 ning and deceitful methods. Disguised in 
 a form so fair and beautiful, he is ofttimes 
 mistaken for an angel of love and mercy, 
 and drawing back the curtain of time, he 
 bids us look down the vista of future 
 years. We obey. And behold a path 
 .strewn with flowers of wondrous beauty 
 and banked on both sides with garlands of 
 roses and, in the distance, marble palaces 
 of surpassing grandeur. 
 
 We turn from the rough and narrow 
 highway to enter this flower-strewn path 
 to find, alas ! when it is too late, that its 
 bright, entrancing petals were only to hide 
 traps and pitfalls; its garland of roses to 
 tear the flesh, and its wondrous palaces of 
 grandeur and beauty to fall and crumble 
 around you, crushing and breaking your 
 heart, and ruining your life forever. And 
 to find at last that this flower-strewn path 
 leads far away from the gates of heaven. 
 
 The silent and unseen forces of satan 
 but make him the more powerful. He is 
 there, but you do not see him. It is like 
 fighting an enemy in the dark. If you can 
 persuade yourself, either through your own 
 influence or his, that he does not exist at 
 
True Spirit Return 51 
 
 all, then you have unconsciously enlisted 
 on his side and unintentionally lent your- 
 self a ready aide to his devilish plans and 
 diabolical schemes, and unwillingly given 
 yourself over into the devil's net, and 
 placed yourself in his power and under 
 his thumb to turn you whichever way it 
 suit his satanic majesty, which would be 
 far from the portals of heaven. 
 
 Yes, satan is very real and powerful. 
 He dwells in the underworld with his evil 
 spirits. 
 
 The Holy Book tells us that he was 
 once an archangel in heaven, but he be- 
 came overpuifed with his own importance, 
 and imagined that he could become 
 greater than Grod, and wanted to run the 
 kingdom to suit himself. 
 
 He became very flip and his Supreme 
 Euler fired him from his lofty position in 
 heaven and sent him and a bunch of his 
 followers to the black and bottomless pits 
 of hell, where they have dwelt ever since. 
 
 These creatures were angels also, but 
 now they are the evil spirits that are so 
 often mistaken for our good spirits of the 
 dead. 
 
 They do a lot of mischief and cause us 
 a great deal of trouble. 
 
52 True Spirit Return 
 
 They even go so far in their imitations 
 of Spiritualism that frequently with the 
 devil's aid we mortals are quite deceived 
 by them. 
 
 This often discourages would-be be- 
 lievers and sometimes causes them to turn 
 away from the doctrines of Spiritualism, 
 for these evil spirits generally give bad 
 advice, and are ofttimes rough and cruel. 
 
 But we must remember that by keeping 
 our spirit friends and loved ones close 
 around us we can feel secure from an in- 
 vasion of this kind, and at sight of these 
 picket guards these imps of satan will 
 slink away like whipped curs. 
 
 This experience should only make us 
 stronger in our faith in Spiritualism and 
 cause us to be more determined to spread 
 its glorious teachings far and wide. 
 
 There is another imitator of Spiritual- 
 ism — the magician. He puts up before 
 the world such wonderful and natural 
 imitations that half of the public think it 
 is all fake. 
 
 This should not be mixed up with the 
 true philosophy of Spiritualism, nor 
 should we permit ourselves to class the 
 
True Spirit Return 53 
 
 works of our spirit friends and tricks of 
 the deceiver as one. 
 
 The magician, deceived by his own de- 
 ceit, scoffs at the idea of spirit return, 
 and, as a rule, you will find this class the 
 most skeptical and the hardest to reach 
 with the true facts concerning Spiritual- 
 ism. 
 
 He is unconsciously influenced by his 
 satanic majesty who causes him to think, 
 "My work is a fake, so must be the other 
 fellow's, only he doesn't put up as good a 
 job of it as I do," and half the public are 
 persuaded to the same belief, while the 
 devil sits back and laughs in his sleeve 
 when he thinks how easily deceived mor- 
 tals are. 
 
 The devil's motto is "Kevenge!" For 
 when the Euler of the universe hurled him 
 from the throne above to the bottomless 
 pits below he vowed vengeance against his 
 Maker and all mankind. And then he 
 plants this spirit of* revenge in the hearts 
 and souls of earthly mortals, which 
 causes them to commit deeds of the 
 deepest dye. This he knows will be the 
 means of reaping in a larger harvest for 
 his own kingdom. 
 
54 True Spirit Return 
 
 His greatest desire is to rob as many 
 souls for his own dreary abode as possi- 
 ble. For lie knows that the deeper and 
 darker their sins are, the longer must be 
 their prison terms in his dungeon home. 
 
 The author, in his fancied writings, who 
 has portrayed satan in his characteristic 
 description has rightly credited him with 
 making the true remark, when in a loud 
 voice he cried, "Oh, for one wise soul in 
 hell! I have plenty of fools, but, oh, for 
 one wise soul and one innocent one, close 
 to the foot of her Savior's cross I fain 
 would draw her. What a triumph it 
 would be to win two such souls for my 
 throne!" and a fiendish, mocking laugh 
 rang and echoed through the cells of hell. 
 
 "Like jewels in a crown I would place 
 them," he muttered, with a hoarse, tri- 
 umphant laugh. 
 
 His satanic majesty bargained, so the 
 story went, with a philosopher that was 
 bent and old, but was possessed with wis- 
 dom beyond his years. "Youth, beauty 
 and love will I give you for your soul in 
 hell," says satan to the aged man, "but 
 you must help to win for me her soul, 
 and I will give in return the love of this 
 
True Spirit Return 55 
 
 beautiful girl," and satan lifted the veil 
 and showed him the vision of Marguerite. 
 
 The philosopher bowed his head in sor- 
 rowful assent, and signed the compact 
 with his own life's blood. 
 
 Satan laughed and rubbed his hands to- 
 gether gleefully. "Two souls are as good 
 as mine," he muttered, but he little reck- 
 oned on the power of the Cross and an 
 avenging God. 
 
 For at that last bitter moment, as Mar- 
 guerite and Faust stood at the cold river 
 of death, and satan and all the world 
 thought that they were lost, a kind, loving 
 Father stooped down and gathered them 
 up to His glorious home above. 
 
 Marguerite had lived so close to her 
 Savior's Cross the whole of her life, and 
 although she had wandered away in those 
 last bitter days, and it was far from its 
 rugged steps that the angel of death 
 found her, she was saved, forgiven by the 
 heavenly Father. 
 
 For He knew that she was truly repen- 
 tant, and she had not forgotten to pray in 
 Christ's name, and she was redeemed on 
 the brink of the grave, much to the dis- 
 may of satan and his imps. 
 
56 True Spirit Return 
 
 "Though your sins are as scarlet, they 
 shall be washed as white as snow," and 
 "Pray, ask in faith and believing, thou 
 shalt receive," are the words that came 
 before Marguerite. 
 
 The words from the Holy Book of God 
 were the only rays of sunshine that en- 
 tered her darkened sonl in a dreary prison 
 cell, where satan ofttimes visited her, and 
 whispered in a hoarse and hollow voice, 
 ' 'You are mine," and with a mocking 
 laugh, he said, ' ' Why pray now ? You are 
 too late," but Marguerite turned away 
 from him and prayed as she had never 
 done before. 
 
 She prayed, hoping against despair, and 
 she did not forget to include her friend. 
 And he was saved also, in spite of the fact 
 that he had signed the contract with his 
 own life's blood. 
 
 Doubtless, he was spared the tortures 
 of hell through not only the prayers of 
 Marguerite but his own. But like her, 
 Faust as a philosopher had lived a true, 
 good life and had always been kind to his 
 fellow men. 
 
 And God saw that it was the cunning 
 brain of his satanic majesty that had 
 
True Spirit Return 57 
 
 planned and caused it all, and that Mar- 
 guerite and Faust had no inclination on 
 their part to live the wicked lives the devil 
 had mapped out for them, but the philos- 
 opher, in momentarily yielding to the voice 
 of satan, had placed himself in a trap, 
 and closed the door upon him, and there 
 was no possible way of getting out unless 
 aided by a higher power than his satanic 
 majesty. 
 
 Had Faust remembered (or perhaps he 
 did), the fear that satan portrayed at the 
 sight of the Cross when they were stroll- 
 ing through the garden at the close of 
 day, near the little church where Mar- 
 guerite had been wont to go, he would 
 have surely realized in his despair the 
 strength of a higher power. 
 
 It was on an occasion when Faust, hav- 
 ing almost despaired of Marguerite's life, 
 thinking his satanic majesty all-wise, had 
 asked of him a question, "Will she live?" 
 Satan, with his thin, cruel lips pressed 
 tightly together, looked greatly annoyed 
 as he pointed upward, and shook his head, 
 and answered, "I do not know. Ask of a 
 Higher Power who holds the mysteries of 
 life and death in His hand." 
 
58 True Spirit Return 
 
 Beluctantly, satan had acknowledged the 
 superiority of God, not because he wished 
 to, but he dared not do otherwise, for he 
 knew where the limit was to his own evil 
 control. 
 
 Faust looked in wonder at his compan- 
 ion, for at the same time satan had 
 pointed upward the sky had grown black, 
 and great streaks of lightning played 
 above their heads and darted like tongues 
 of fire through the firmament. And he 
 trembled and shrank within himself. The 
 clouds sank low, and grew dark and heavy. 
 Loud peals of rumbling, muttering thun- 
 der burst forth from their stormy midst, 
 while the lightning flashed incessantly. 
 
 In satan's eyes there was written an 
 expression of intense fear, for in the 
 voice of the thunder he heard but the 
 voice of an accusing, angry God, and in 
 the lightning he saw His almighty hand. 
 
 "Look, look!" exclaimed the demon of 
 the underworld, in tones of abject terror, 
 "The Cross, the Cross; I cannot bear the 
 sight of the Cross." 
 
 And covering his frightened face with 
 his hands, he knelt and bowed in silence, 
 until his head had touched the ground. 
 
True Spirit Return 59 
 
 Faust, in greater wonder still, looked 
 and saw that the Cross on the little church 
 where Marguerite had worshipped since 
 childhood was wreathed in lightning, and 
 stood out clearly against a black sky. 
 
 Faust gazed as though fascinated, as 
 vivid flashes of lightning played around 
 the Cross, and he seemed to draw strength 
 and courage from this illuminated symbol 
 of Christ. 
 
 What had struck terror in the heart of 
 satan shone forth as an emblem of hope 
 to the heart of the man. 
 
 Faust, emboldened by satan 's fear of 
 the Cross, sought to gain a release from 
 his soul bondage. 
 
 His satanic majesty had now risen to 
 his feet and walked away, but in the op- 
 posite direction from the church; nor did 
 he turn his head for fear his eyes might 
 once more encounter the terrors of the 
 Cross. 
 
 The young man followed him. "Are 
 you afraid of the Cross? " Faust ques- 
 tioned him, in a tone that might have been 
 termed light and bantering. 
 
 A shudder ran through the powerful 
 frame of the devil at the mere mention 
 
60 True Spirit Return 
 
 of this name as he drew himself together 
 and answered: "Yes." 
 
 "That is strange," Faust replied. 
 
 "Not so singular/' answered satan, 
 evasively. "Everyone fears something." 
 
 "But God is not afraid of anything," 
 replied Faust. 
 
 "No, you fool," answered satan savage- 
 ly, "how can He be, when He is Euler and 
 Maker of the universe, and Creator of 
 all living creatures!" 
 
 "You admit the almighty power of 
 God?" asked Faust. 
 
 His satanic majesty smiled a faint 
 smile, and answered: "Yes, there are 
 some truths that even the devil himself 
 dare not lie about," and a dry, hard, 
 chuckle proceeded from the devil's throat 
 at his own wit, and Faust laughed in spite 
 of the seriousness of the situation. 
 
 But the face of the young man grew 
 suddenly grave as he scanned the hard, 
 cruel features of his companion. "Me- 
 phisto, I would beg of you to free me 
 from this horrible soul bondage." 
 
 "That you signed with your own life's 
 blood!" exclaimed satan. "Never!" and 
 the devil, perceiving that Faust had taken 
 
True Spirit Return 61 
 
 advantage of his fear of the Cross, drew 
 himself up and gave the man a look so 
 fierce and angry as to hush him into mo- 
 mentary silence, and it was his turn to 
 tremble and shrink back in fright. 
 
 ""What! think yon," asked satan, in 
 mocking tones, "that I have worked so 
 hard and so long to win one wise sonl and 
 one innocent one for my throne in hell 
 only to lose them now at the last mo- 
 ment ?" 
 
 "Yon refuse?" persisted Faust. "Then 
 I will appeal to a higher power. I will 
 pray God to enable me to break asunder 
 the chains that hold me to such a fate." 
 
 "You pray to God?" repeated satan. 
 "You, who sold yourself to the devil for 
 youth, love and beauty?" and a mocking 
 laugh rang out upon the night air, cold 
 and cruel. 
 
 "Listen!" exclaimed satan, with a hard 
 fiendish look in his evil eyes. "Your 
 days are numbered and your doom is 
 fixed. Ere four moons have passed over 
 your head you will hang upon a gallows 
 in yon prison yard. Your worthless body 
 they will throw into the ground without 
 ceremony, and your worthy soul I will 
 
62 True Spirit Return 
 
 gather up for my dungeon home," and 
 again that mocking laugh rang out upon 
 the air, cold, pitiless and cruel. " Permit 
 me," said his satanic majesty, bowing 
 low, with mock courtesy, "to show you 
 your future home. Come," he demanded 
 sharply, but Faust shrank back, and his 
 eyes had a frightened expression in them. 
 
 And the man turned away and his face 
 grew deadly pale. "Oh, no," he cried," 
 "not now. It will be time enough when I 
 must go. I do not wish to see the place 
 of terrors at the present." 
 
 "Your wishes are not to be considered," 
 replied the devil in tones of heartless in- 
 difference, and throwing open the great 
 iron gates satan bade him look. 
 
 Faust looked, and saw not the Cross, 
 but the horrors of hell. 
 
 "Spare me," cried the man, "I cannot 
 bear the thoughts of spending my future 
 life in such a horrible place. And Mar- 
 guerite, must she come, too?" 
 
 "Marguerite, whose soul you so valiant- 
 ly aided me in winning for hell? Yes, 
 she will also make this dreadful abode her 
 final home." 
 
 Once more the devil's mocking laugh 
 
True Spirit Return 63 
 
 rang out clear and distinct, and Fanst 
 winced at the reminder that he had played 
 a part in aiding the devil in snch a dia- 
 bolical plot. 
 
 His satanic majesty gave the man a 
 scornful glance as he continued in a sar- 
 castic voice, "Yes, and Marguerite will 
 be sentenced to life imprisonment for 
 committing a crime that you influenced 
 her to, and she will die of a broken heart 
 and from being locked up in a cold iron 
 cell, but I cannot tell just how soon this 
 will cause her death, for only the higher 
 powers know that; but I judge it will not 
 be long before I can gather up her soul 
 for my dreary abode. There will be no 
 chance for you to look upon her fair, 
 beautiful face after she has left this 
 world," went on the devil, with a fiendish 
 gleam in his wicked eyes, ' ' for though you 
 will both be prisoners of mine, I will see 
 to it that you are locked in different 
 cells.' ' 
 
 "It is horrible!" moaned Faust. "Is 
 there no way I can pay this debt, without 
 spending my future life in such a place?" 
 
 "None," replied Mephisto. 
 
 "I cannot, I will not spend my future 
 
64 True Spirit Return 
 
 days with you; and Marguerite, it is too 
 terrible for such a sensitive and beautiful 
 girl to be imprisoned in your black dreary 
 underworld. It must not he. The thought 
 of it makes my blood run cold!" 
 
 ' 'You should have thought of that 
 sooner," answered satan, with a sneering 
 smile; "you are too late now!" 
 
 "I will not listen to you any longer," 
 replied Faust. "There surely must be 
 mercy in a higher power," and in spite 
 of the devil's protest Faust kneeled and 
 prayed as he had never done before. 
 
 And the devil, knowing the miraculous 
 power of prayer, grew nervous and un- 
 easy and descended to the underworld to 
 get his imps to aid him in drawing the 
 chains of bondage tighter around his 
 worldly victim. Well pleased with his 
 work he ascended to earth once more, 
 and again that mocking laugh echoed 
 through the night air, cold, heartless and 
 cruel. 
 
 "I've got you now!" exclaimed the 
 devil, rubbing his hands gleefully together, 
 "you are mine; no prayers can save you 
 
True Spirit Return 65 
 
 But he little reckoned on the merciful 
 kindness of a powerful God. It was far 
 greater than even his satanic majesty had 
 weighed it out to be. For the prayers of 
 Marguerite and Faust were heard, and 
 they were saved in spite of the devil's 
 cunning devices. 
 
 It is said that truth is stranger than 
 fiction, and I would say that this story of 
 Faust and Marguerite is no stranger than 
 truth, except for the fact that our real 
 devil has not the power to change old age 
 to youth. That is merely a fancy on the 
 author's part to make the story go, but 
 he is possessed with all the cunning and 
 deceitful ways that the writer has given 
 him credit for, and is just as dangerous 
 and powerful a foe. 
 
 I have given this narrative of Faust 
 and Marguerite merely as an illustration 
 of how his satanic majesty tempts mortals 
 on this earth. So once more I would 
 warn you who think your foot firm to take 
 care and beware lest you slip at any mo- 
 ment, for in real life there is a devil who 
 cries out loudly: "Oh, for one wise soul 
 in hell and one innocent one," and sad to 
 
66 True Spirit Return 
 
 relate he has won not few but many such 
 souls for his dire abode of gloom and 
 darkness and terror. 
 
 Watch close lest at any moment this 
 monster of the underworld trick you into 
 following one of his flowery paths that 
 lead only to death and destruction. 
 
 The most powerful weapon that we can 
 use against this dangerous foe, his satanic 
 majesty, is the sword of prayer, and our 
 greatest protection, the Holy Book of God 
 and close companionship with our spirit 
 friends from the heavenly sphere. 
 
 Again, I seem to hear some one mur- 
 mur, "But why does God permit satan to 
 have so much power and authority, and 
 permit him so many privileges in this 
 world and in the world below ?" Eight 
 here I would like to say you mortals on 
 earth take more upon yourselves than we 
 of the heavenly sphere. We would never 
 dare to question God's wisdom, His su- 
 preme power, or aught connected with 
 Him. Enough to say, as I said before, 
 "God doeth all things well." 
 
 The devil's time of glory is limited. 
 There will come a day when he will be 
 
True Spirit Return 67 
 
 chained in his own dnngeon home, and not 
 allowed to walk broadcast npon the earth, 
 causing mischief and wreckage wherever 
 he goes; and for every sonl that he has 
 enticed into his kingdom, just so much 
 longer and harder must be his punishment 
 and imprisonment. He will dwell in the 
 deepest and darket pits of hell, where 
 the world's hardest criminals are kept. 
 The only spot in hell where burns perpet- 
 ual fire and brimstone that is often re- 
 ferred to in the Bible. 
 
 Then God will reveal his mighty power 
 as well as His great mercy and wonderful 
 love and kindness. Then will Christ walk 
 the earth and the great millennium will 
 spread its golden wings over the world 
 and Spiritualism will have entered, as I 
 said before, into all the churches, and 
 reign supreme in every home. Peace, 
 happiness and harmony shall dwell in 
 every heart. There will be no wars, no 
 unrests, or disturbances of nations, fami- 
 lies and individuals. 
 
 Peace, glorious peace will greet you 
 everywhere, for the disturber, the wrecker 
 of homes and countries will be chained in 
 
68 True Spirit Return 
 
 the bottomless pits of hell where burns 
 perpetual fire and brimstone. Eev. 21st 
 ch., 10th verse, which shows the power of 
 the almighty God, and leads me into my 
 next subject the power of God and His 
 spiritual forces. 
 
True Spirit Return 69 
 
 THE POWEE OF GOD AND HIS 
 SPIRITUAL FORCES 
 
 Who can doubt the almighty power of 
 God? 
 
 Pause for a moment to consider the 
 vastness of the universe and stop to think 
 that His hand created it all. 
 
 And if we would spare a moment's time 
 to read these few words found in the last 
 chapter of Revelations, thirteenth verse, 
 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and 
 the end, the first and the last, we would 
 then grasp the wonderful sublimity of God. 
 
 Have you tarried long enough to drink 
 in the full meaning of these words! 
 
 You may understand, in part, this 
 wonderful verse of the Holy Book, and 
 get a faint glimmer of the magnificent 
 grandeur of our Maker and Ruler of the 
 whole universe, heaven above, earth be- 
 low, and hell beneath, also the intricate 
 solar systems; but try as you might to 
 see the full meaning of these few simple 
 words, and to understand the full beauty 
 and glory of God, and the vast eternity of 
 
70 True Spirit Return 
 
 His life, it would be impossible for your 
 mortal brain to comprehend it all. 
 
 Alpha and Omega means the beginning 
 and the end, the first and the last. God is 
 the beginning and the end. Can you un- 
 derstand that! "Yes!" I seem to hear 
 you say, but you answer too quickly. 
 Think long and deep. 
 
 "No!" I hear you say. "I thought I 
 did, but the harder I tried to untangle the 
 meaning of those words, the more puzzled 
 I became." 
 
 Just so ! It was like attempting to solve 
 a mystery. In short, you felt as though 
 you had run against a blank wall, and 
 could get no farther in your degrees of 
 understanding. 
 
 What was it that perplexed you most, 
 the first or last part of the verse! The 
 first few words seem to mystify me the 
 most, but the latter part I comprehend 
 better. 
 
 Is it little wonder when I tell you the 
 true meaning of Alpha, I am the begin- 
 ning, the first, which infers that God has 
 lived forever in the past! I repeat that 
 your mortal brain cannot possibly grasp 
 so mystical a truth. It is beyond you, 
 
True Spirit Return 71 
 
 but in the future, when death has lifted 
 the veil, you will understand. Now you 
 see as through a glass darkly, but then 
 you shall see clearly. 
 
 But let us glean all that we can from 
 this glorious truth. It is easy for us to 
 understand what the present means, and 
 it does not seem so difficult for us to com- 
 prehend the future as extending into 
 years, and even into countless ages be- 
 yond the present time; but the farther 
 away the years are from us, the more we 
 are compelled to stretch our imagination, 
 until finally we reach a very fine point, 
 and something seems to snap. We have 
 reached the limit of our earthly vision. 
 Our mortal brain has compassed as great 
 a space into the future as it is capable of. 
 
 But when we have entered the golden 
 gates of heaven, then we will understand. 
 Then we will know how it can be possible 
 for the future to extend into such a vast 
 eternity of countless years and ages for- 
 ever and forever without end. 
 
 But let us turn back and reconsider the 
 past. This space of time includes the 
 beginning that God refers to, and is 
 harder to understand than the latter part 
 
72 True Spirit Return 
 
 of the verse, but let us at least try as 
 best we cau to comprehend in part a por- 
 tion of its wonderful meaning. 
 
 But as previously mentioned it might be 
 possible for your mortal brain to begin 
 to comprehend an eternal future, a partial 
 but not an eternal past that extends back 
 forever and forever without end. Amen. 
 
 Do not understand me to say you do not 
 believe this strange, miraculous fact; you 
 simply cannot understand it. 
 
 And even when I say that it will become 
 clear to you when you have entered the 
 great beyond, while it is evident that this 
 is true, still you are puzzled and dazed as 
 to how the higher powers are going to 
 knock such a hard problem into your thick 
 brains. In short, you wind up by feeling 
 like a blockhead. 
 
 I would add, that by you I do not refer 
 to that hardened class of sinners who re- 
 fuse to believe in the existence of a God 
 and call the Bible a myth. They are 
 popularly termed skeptics and pride them- 
 selves on their non-religious faculties. 
 But should, by chance, this little book fall 
 into their hands, I pray that it may be 
 the means of lifting their souls to God. 
 
True Spirit Return 73 
 
 But I have drifted a little from my sub- 
 ject. I will handle skeptics later on. 
 
 I was preparing to say that the average 
 person figures time past from some defi- 
 nite date, either historical, astronomical, 
 geological or Biblical. 
 
 The general masses of people, as a 
 rule, either consciously or unconsciously, 
 thoughtfully, or unthoughtfully, reckon 
 time past from the creation of the earth, 
 spoken of in the first chapter of Genesis, 
 which shows the wonderful power and 
 handiwork of God. 
 
 In the beginning God created the heaven 
 and earth. 
 
 And the earth was without form and 
 void, and darkness ivas upon the face of 
 the deep, and the spirit of God moved 
 upon the face of the waters. 
 
 And God said, Let there be light, and 
 there was light. 
 
 And God saw the light, that it was good 
 and God divided the light from the dark- 
 ness. 
 
 And God called the light Bay, and the 
 darkness he called Night, and the evening 
 and the morning were the first day. 
 
74 True Spirit Return 
 
 And God said, Let there he a firmament 
 in the midst of the waters, and let it 
 divide the waters from the waters. 
 
 And God made the firmament and di- 
 vided the waters which were under the 
 firmament from the waters which were 
 above the firmament, and it was so. 
 
 And God called the firmament Heaven, 
 and the evening and the morning were 
 the second day. — Genesis i, 1-8. 
 
 I wish to say that thus it was that God 
 made seven days, but Biblical students as 
 well as geological and astronomical schol- 
 ars tell us that these days referred to in 
 the first chapter of Genesis are not twen- 
 ty-four-hour days, but each day covers a 
 period of one thousand years or more. 
 
 But the Holy Book says that God com- 
 pleted His work in six days, and rested on 
 the seventh day, and blessed it, and made 
 it holy. 
 
 Thus the heavens and the earth were 
 finished and all the host of them. 
 
 And on the seventh day, God ended his 
 work which he had made, and he rested 
 on the seventh day from all his work, 
 which he had made. 
 
True Spirit Return 75 
 
 And God blessed the seventh day and 
 sanctified it; because that in it he had 
 rested from all his work which God cre- 
 ated and made. — Genesis ii, 1-3. 
 
 So this is how and why we observe a 
 Sabbath. Bnt this day of rest was changed 
 later on to the first day in the week, 
 and is observed as snch by the majority 
 of people. 
 
 But there are a few religions classes 
 who still retain the seventh day as their 
 Sabbath. 
 
 To return to my subject, when God had 
 made the earth habitable, then He created 
 man in His own image and placed him in 
 a beautiful home to live, known as the 
 Garden of Eden. 
 
 And God said. Let us make man in our 
 image after our likeness; and let them 
 have dominion over the fish of the sea. 
 and over the foivl of the air, and over 
 the cattle and over all the earth, and over 
 every creeping thing that creepeth upon 
 the earth. 
 
 So God created man in his own image, 
 in the image of God, created he him, male 
 and female created he them. 
 
76 True Spirit Return 
 
 And God blessed them, and God said 
 unto them. Be fruitful and multiply, and 
 replenish the earth, and subdue it; and 
 have dominion over the fish of the sea, 
 and over the fowl of the air, and over 
 every living thing that moveth upon the 
 earth. — Genesis i, 26-28. 
 
 We all know the story of the serpent 
 and how he tempted them, and how they 
 listened to his sly whisperings, and 
 yielded to his advice, and consequently 
 were driven from the Garden of Eden by 
 God their Maker. 
 
 He then told them that for their dis- 
 obedience they must earn their bread by 
 the sweat of their brow and for this sin 
 they must surely die. 
 
 And the Lord God commanded the man, 
 saying, Of every tree of the Garden thou 
 may est freely eat; 
 
 But of the tree of the knowledge of 
 good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; 
 for in the day that thou eatest thereof 
 thou shalt surely die. 
 
 — Genesis ii, 16, 17. 
 
 And ever since that time you have been 
 working hard, and also constantly tempted 
 
True Spirit Return 77 
 
 by the .serpent, or devil as he is usually 
 called, and ever and anon the death angel 
 has hovered around your door. 
 
 The Holy Book tells us that God cre- 
 ated us from the dust of the earth in His 
 own image, but our punishment for sin is 
 that our bodies return to the dust from 
 which they were made. 
 
 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat 
 bread, for out of it wast thou taken; for 
 dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou 
 return. — Genesis iii, 19. 
 
 And so it has been from time imme- 
 morial that these sacred, solemn words 
 have always been said when performing 
 the rites of our dead — the words that 
 struck such a cold chill and dreary sad- 
 ness to our hearstrings, words that echoed 
 through our souls like a funeral knell, 
 "for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt 
 thou return." Genesis iii, 19. 
 
 But when Spiritualism has gained bet- 
 ter control over the word there will not be 
 felt the bitter heartache that we have ex- 
 perienced in the past over giving up our 
 loved ones at the grave. Even now, since 
 Spiritualism has gained partial control of 
 
78 True Spirit Return 
 
 the earth, the pangs of sorrow at the de- 
 parture of our dead are not nearly so 
 great as they once were. 
 
 I refer especially to those who fully un- 
 derstand this glorious doctrine of Spirit- 
 ualism. They will understand that fare- 
 well at the grave is not farewell. They 
 will know that the spirit form can soon 
 return to comfort, cheer and strengthen 
 them in their pilgrimage through life. 
 
 We have, in the forepart of the subject, 
 "The Power of God and His Spiritual 
 Forces," attempted to prove the vast 
 eternity of God's life, which is so great 
 as to be beyond our comprehension. 
 
 It is enough to say that God has lived 
 forever in the past. He still exists in the 
 present, and He shall live forever in the 
 future. 
 
 It is a subject that is almost as broad 
 and deep as eternity itself. It would take 
 volumes, and I would needs write until 
 midnight for many countless nights should 
 I be able to tell of all the wonderful 
 power of an almighty God. So let us dip 
 lightly on the various points in the his- 
 tory of God as given to us in His Holy 
 Book. 
 
True Spirit Return 79 
 
 In His creation of the earth and the 
 firmament and all the solar system, as 
 well as the creation of man and all living 
 creatures, we have a marvelous example 
 of His skilled and wonderful handiwork. 
 
 The preparation of earth for man and 
 the making of a beantifnl garden, known 
 as the Garden of Eden, for him to dwell 
 in, shows the wondrous love of God. 
 
 But when man listened to the voice of 
 the serpent and disobeyed his Maker, we 
 have a sample of God's wrath, when He 
 drove him and his companion out of the 
 garden to earn their bread by the sweat 
 of their brow. 
 
 We have another illustration of God's 
 anger and punishment for sin, when Cain 
 killed his brother Abel. 
 
 And when God asked Cain where his 
 brother was, the murderer answered, 
 "Am I my brother's keeper?" Genesis 
 iv, 9. 
 
 And he said, What hast thou done? The 
 voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto 
 me from the ground. — Genesis iv, 10. 
 
 This is a sample of the avenging spirit 
 which has been previously referred to in 
 
80 True Spirit Return 
 
 this book in my subject on "The Power of 
 the Avenging Spirit.' ' 
 
 Thus it has been from ages back up to 
 the present time that the blood of the 
 slain cries out upon the slayer and a 
 curse from God has not ceased to rest 
 upon the murderer. 
 
 And now art thou cursed from the earth 
 which hath opened her mouth to receive 
 thy brother's blood from thy hand. 
 
 When thou tillest the ground it shall not 
 henceforth yield unto thee her strength; 
 a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be 
 in the earth. — Genesis iv, 11, 12. 
 
 And so it is that we have countless in- 
 stances throughout the Bible of the power 
 of God's love and wrath so close to each 
 other that you could rightly call them 
 parallel. 
 
 "We have an example of God's almighty 
 love and anger combined in the instance 
 of Noah and the flood. 
 
True Spirit Return 81 
 
 NOAH AS AN ILLUSTRATION OF 
 
 LOVE AND WRATH COMBINED 
 
 OF AN ALL POWERFUL GOD 
 
 But this presents to us an instance 
 where God shows love to only one man 
 and his family, as well as the birds and 
 beasts and other living creatures that God 
 bade him save in numbers of twos and 
 sevens. 
 
 But God's anger was against the rest 
 of the world, for, with the exception of 
 Noah and his family, the people had 
 grown very wicked. 
 
 And God saw that the wickedness of 
 man was great in the earth and that every 
 imagination of the thoughts of his heart 
 was only evil continually. — Genesis vi, 5. 
 
 And the Lord said, I will destroy man, 
 whom I have created, from the face of 
 the earth; both man, and beast, and the 
 creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; 
 for it repenteth me that I have made 
 them. 
 
82 True Spirit Return 
 
 But Noah found grace in the eyes of 
 the Lord. — Genesis vi, 7, 8. 
 
 So, as you remember, God sent a flood 
 which covered the whole world, even to 
 the highest mountain tops; and every liv- 
 ing creature, including man, was de- 
 stroyed, except Noah and his family and 
 animals, fowls and insects. 
 
 The flood lasted forty days and nights, 
 but Noah and his folks were unharmed, 
 for they were good people and obeyed 
 God, so their Maker loved them and 
 spared their lives out of all the wicked 
 ones that were destroyed. He com- 
 manded him to build an ark to live in 
 until the flood had passed away, and also 
 showed him how and what size to make it, 
 and even told him what kind of wood to 
 use. And, as you well remember, when 
 Noah wanted to discover if the land was 
 dry he sent out a dove. 
 
 Now listen, children, grown as well as 
 otherwise, for I wish to say that God had 
 planted an extra amount of brains in this 
 little feathered creature's head, and he 
 was possessed with a vast amount of 
 wisdom and knew just exactly what to do. 
 
True Spirit Return 83 
 
 When the waters had abated sufficiently 
 for his tiny bill to pluck an olive leaf, he 
 did so, and carried it back to Noah. And 
 then the man knew it would not be long 
 before they could leave the ark. 
 
 Seven days later Noah sent him out 
 again, and when the dove discovered that 
 there was a dry resting place for the 
 sole of his little feet, he returned not to 
 Noah, and the man knew that the land 
 was dry and he opened up the doors of 
 his ark and found that it was true. And 
 once more they stepped out onto earth, 
 and they did not forget to drop down on 
 their knees and give thanks to God for 
 their safe deliverance. 
 
 God was so well pleased with them that 
 He promised never more to send a flood 
 that would engulf the whole world, and 
 as a symbol of His promise He placed 
 the rainbow in the sky, which often ap- 
 pears after storms or heavy rains, as a 
 reminder of that promise made long ages 
 ago by our heavenly Father to His faith- 
 ful followers, Noah and his family. 
 
 Just here we have a noble example and 
 lesson of how our Creator keeps and 
 holds sacred a promise, for never again 
 
84 True Spirit Return 
 
 since that flood in Noah's time have 
 mighty waters engulfed the whole world, 
 as can be testified by geologists, as well 
 as Biblical students. 
 
 We find many more instances of God's 
 fulfillments of promises in the Bible, for 
 example, in the twenty-first and twenty- 
 second verses of Genesis we find this com- 
 forting promise in these beautiful words: 
 
 And the Lord smelled a siveet savour; 
 and the Lord said in his heart, I will not 
 again curse the ground any more for 
 man's sake; for the imagination of man's 
 heart is evil from his youth; neither will 
 I again smite any more everything living, 
 as I have done. 
 
 While the earth remaineth, seedtime 
 and harvest, and cold and heat, and sum- 
 mer and winter, and day and night, shall 
 not cease. — Genesis viii, 21, 22. 
 
 This promise was made immediately 
 after the flood, and we all know how 
 truly our heavenly Father has kept that 
 promise. For have we not the seasons as 
 they once were in the days of Noah? 
 
 Winter, with its mantle of snow in the 
 colder climates. Spring, with its fresh 
 
True Spirit Return 85 
 
 green tintings and fruit blossoms every- 
 where. Summer, with her wreaths of 
 golden sunbeams, and brilliant flowers. 
 Autumn in all her glory of crimson and 
 gold. 
 
 These beautiful seasons God has given 
 us because He loves us and holds His 
 promise sacred. 
 
 Do we appreciate His great love and 
 kindness? No; I fear not, and it grieves 
 Him that this is true. 
 
 Do we, like Noah, fall on our knees 
 and pray, thanking our Creator for His 
 many blessings 1 No ! I fear not. We 
 can well draw a lesson from our fore- 
 father, Noah. 
 
 But let us pass on, for we have tarried 
 long enough with Noah, and we are hard 
 pressed for time. 
 
 But forgive me, little dove! Just one 
 word to the world I would add concerning 
 your noble history since the days of the 
 flood. 
 
 You retained the brains that God had 
 given you, and through all the countless 
 ages past you have shown the same wis- 
 dom that you portrayed for Noah. 
 
 You have been placed in many trusted 
 
86 True Spirit Return 
 
 and dangerous positions, but you have 
 never failed. You have always carried a 
 brave heart as well as a wise head. 
 
 So you won for yourself the honorary 
 title of messenger bird, which you still 
 hold through countless ages of eternity, 
 in the realm of heaven. 
 
 But let us be traveling. 
 
True Spirit Return 87 
 
 KING SOLOMON AS REVEALING 
 
 THE WONDERFUL POWER OF 
 
 PRAYER TO AN ALMIGHTY 
 
 GOD 
 
 Would you mind if we stop at the mar- 
 ble palace of King Solomon, son of King 
 David? 
 
 Here we have an illustration of the 
 power of prayer, combined with God's 
 love, and a wondrous sample of promises 
 fulfilled by our heavenly Father. 
 
 When King David died the throne 
 passed into the hands of his son, Solo- 
 mon. This kingdom extended over all 
 Israel, and was a mighty one. 
 
 David was a good man and a good king, 
 and was beloved by his people. He walked 
 with God, and kept His commandments. 
 So the Lord greatly loved David. 
 
 Solomon had been taught by his father 
 the ways of right living, and when he 
 was grown he did not depart from them. 
 
 So it was that Solomon, like his father, 
 found favor in the eyes of God and was 
 loved by Him. 
 
88 True Spirit Return 
 
 But when at the death of David, his 
 father, Solomon fell heir to the throne, 
 he grew exceedingly timid. He felt great- 
 ly his inability to rnle and guide wisely 
 such a mighty nation. So he knelt in 
 prayer to God. 
 
 His petition was as humble as a little 
 child's, but it contained the wisdom of 
 Solomon himself. For he prayed not for 
 silver or gold, or riches itself, nor yet 
 for long life, nor even for the lives of 
 his enemies, but for great wisdom and 
 good judgment to guide and rule a mighty 
 people. 
 
 And these are the words of Solomon's 
 prayer, as found in the seventh, eighth 
 and ninth verses of First Kings, third 
 chapter : 
 
 " And now, Lord, my God, thou hast 
 made thy servant king, instead of David 
 my father; and I am but a little child; I 
 know not how to go out or come in. 
 
 And thy servant is in the midst of thy 
 people which thou hast chosen, a great 
 people, that cannot be numbered nor 
 counted for multitude. 
 
 Give therefore thy servant an under- 
 
True Spirit Return 89 
 
 standing heart to judge thy people, that 
 I may discern between good and bad; for 
 who is able to judge this thy so great a 
 people? — 1 Kings iii, 7-9. 
 
 And God was so well pleased with Solo- 
 mon's prayer, that he asked neither for 
 riches, long life or the lives of his ene- 
 mies, but wisdom instead, that the al- 
 mighty Father promised to give him not 
 only what he had prayed for, but more 
 besides. And so it was God bestowed not 
 only great wisdom upon Solomon, but 
 immense wealth, and long life besides. 
 
 We have God's answer to Solomon's 
 prayer in the twelfth to the fourteenth 
 verses in the third chapter of first Kings : 
 
 Behold, I have done according to thy 
 words! hoi I have given thee a wise 
 and understanding heart; so that there 
 was none like thee before thee, neither 
 after thee shall any arise like unto thee. 
 
 And I have also given thee that which 
 thou hast not asked, both riches and 
 honor: so that there shall not be any 
 among the king's like unto thee all thy 
 days. 
 
 And if thou wilt walk in my ways to 
 
90 True Spirit Return 
 
 keep my statutes and my commandments, 
 as thy father David did walk, then I will 
 lengthen thy days. — 1 Kings iii, 12-14. 
 
 Here we should draw a lesson from the 
 humble prayer of Solomon, and might it 
 not be that if we should show the same 
 humility and faith that this great man 
 portrayed, God might bestow upon us 
 some wonderful blessing that we little 
 expect 1 
 
 Solomon recognized his Creator at all 
 times, whether he wished for a blessing 
 or not, and like Noah he never forgot to 
 thank the Lord for his many gifts of 
 kindness. 
 
 I would say that God, as well as our 
 spirit friends, like to be recognized and 
 appreciated, and we can draw more help 
 and guidance from them if we treat them 
 thus. 
 
 The trouble with half of us is we don't 
 pray to the Lord unless we wish a favor 
 from Him, and often our prayer is ac- 
 companied by complaint, or sometimes we 
 fail to pray at all. 
 
 Solomon recognized God at all times 
 and the Lord rewarded him accordingly, 
 
True Spirit Return 91 
 
 and never failed to keep His promise to 
 a dot. 
 
 Solomon became the wisest king and 
 man in the world. The Bible tells us that 
 there was none so wise as him, neither 
 before or after. His wisdom exceeded 
 that of the sages of later date and the 
 fame of it spread far and wide over all 
 the countries of the east. 
 
 Kings, qneens and princesses came from 
 far and near to hear the wonderful words 
 of wisdom spoken by the lips of this 
 great man. 
 
 His wisdom embraced all subjects, even 
 to the knowledge of trees and plants in 
 the forest, down to the tiniest fern. He 
 was equally informed concerning all ani- 
 mals, from the beasts of the forest down 
 to the household pets; also birds and 
 butterflies to the smallest of insects. 
 
 And of the flowers, from the stately 
 lily and queenly rose to the modest violet 
 and sweet forget-me-not, even to the 
 flowers that ran wild in the fields and 
 woods, King Solomon knew them all and 
 delighted in relating their history from 
 beginning to end. 
 
 Just here we might pause to learn an- 
 
92 True Spirit Return 
 
 other lesson from this remarkable man. 
 This famous king of renowned wisdom 
 thought not himself too great to listen to 
 the voice of nature, and was an earnest 
 student of her marvelous teachings. Stay 
 close to the heart of nature, and you will 
 stay close to the heart of God. 
 
 But let us return to the palace where 
 King Solomon reigns in all his magnifi- 
 cent glory; where kings, queens, nations, 
 and masses of people have come to hear- 
 ken to the speech of one man and to lay 
 at his feet rich gifts of gold and silver 
 and jewels of every kind. 
 
 And as this grand but humble king had 
 prayed, God gave him power to rule his 
 people with great wisdom and justice, 
 and was loved by them. With all of his 
 power, wealth and renown, Solomon did 
 not forget God nor His commandments, 
 and the Lord gave him long life as 
 promised. 
 
 His riches grew from day to day, until 
 his wealth exceeded that of any king be- 
 fore or after him. Still, Solomon remem- 
 bered God, for with a portion of his 
 wealth he built a temple to the Lord, the 
 beauty and grandeur of which were never 
 
True Spirit Return 93 
 
 seen before, and placed in its golden altar 
 the Ark of the Covenant. 
 
 Its walls were inlaid with gold, and at 
 the entrance of its massive doors were 
 two chernbims of gold, whose wings over- 
 laped, and within were two other chern- 
 bims of gold, and there was a golden 
 chain dividing the altar from the remain- 
 der of the temple. 
 
 The pillars were of stone, and npon 
 them were carved the most beautiful de- 
 signs of ferns and flowers, and within 
 could be found the dark green palms in 
 luxuriant growth. 
 
 Out of respect to God this beautiful 
 temple was built in silence during the 
 seven years that it took to erect this 
 wonderful structure. There was not heard 
 the sound of neither hammer nor an axe, 
 or a hatchet. 
 
 Solomon had employed the most skilled 
 of workmen, and he had them to hew, 
 carve and prepare everything miles away 
 from the temple, and then hauled to 
 where it was being erected. 
 
 When the temple was completed Solo- 
 mon called in all the people of Israel, and 
 they had a great meeting which was 
 
94 True Spirit Return 
 
 known as the dedication of this sacred 
 place, and the king had put on the altar 
 two golden candlesticks, and all of the 
 gold and silver cups that had belonged 
 to his father, David. 
 
 The king exhorted his people to wor- 
 ship constantly in this beautiful temple 
 that the Lord had given them and to have 
 no other gods before them but the One 
 above. 
 
 And these were the words that Solomon 
 prayed: 
 
 And Solomon stood before the altar of 
 the Lord in the presence of all the congre- 
 gation of Israel, and spread forth his 
 hands toward heaven. 
 
 And he said, Lord, God of Israel, there 
 is no God like thee, in heaven above or on 
 earth beneath, who keepest covenant and 
 mercy with thy servants that walk before 
 thee with all their heart: 
 
 — 1 Kings viii, 22, 23. 
 
 When Solomon had completed the tem- 
 ple of the Lord he then began building his 
 own palace, which, when finished, was the 
 most magnificent palace in the world. 
 
True Spirit Return 95 
 
 There was nothing to compare with it in 
 splendor, grandenr and size. 
 
 It was made of stone that was white 
 like marble. Its halls and courts and 
 many of its rooms were inlaid with gold 
 and some of its colossal pillars were made 
 of brass, while others were made of stone 
 with designs of lilies carved npon them. 
 
 Golden chains of massive size could be 
 seen in different parts of the palace, and 
 were used as ornaments, and the king's 
 throne was of gold, and was set with 
 precious stones. 
 
 And his swimming pool! Oh, my! 
 wouldn't the kiddies of today open their 
 eyes, and the grown-ups, too? For this 
 pool was large enough to accommodate 
 one thousand people. 
 
 It was made of white marble and shaped 
 exactly like an enormous lily and was sup- 
 ported by twelve brass oxen; three with 
 their heads turned to the north, three with 
 their heads to the south, three with their 
 heads to the east, and three with their 
 heads to the west. There was a circular 
 flight of steps carved of white marble all 
 around this swimming pool. 
 
 Its waters gleamed in the sun like a 
 
96 True Spirit Return 
 
 golden sea, for its basin was lined with 
 some kind of metal resembling brass. It 
 was called by King Solomon and his peo- 
 ple the Molten Sea, and was recognized as 
 the most be ant if nl swimming pool in the 
 East, and never before or after has there 
 been known to exist one so wonderful in 
 splendor, size or originality. 
 
 The palace took thirteen years to bnild. 
 
 King Solomon lived a long and nseful 
 life, as God had promised him, and finally 
 died, and was laid to rest with his fathers. 
 
 His father, King David, had been loved 
 dnring his reign, and mourned for at his 
 death. But King Solomon! There was 
 no king loved, honored and respected by 
 his own people, and even all of the eastern 
 world, and never was a king so moaned 
 for either before or after. For kings, 
 queens and nations mourned over the 
 death of this great man. 
 
 But let us leave him in all of his silent 
 grandeur. For we well know, that as we 
 stand at the sepulcher of this man, we 
 behold before us a monument of truth, 
 justice and godliness, combined with 
 power, intellect and wisdom. 
 
 But let us leave him in his lonely tomb 
 
True Spirit Return 97 
 
 of mournful splendor. Let us turn away 
 from the marble palace of glorious beauty, 
 and marvelous and sublime workmanship 
 of brass, gold, silver and precious stones, 
 and follow Moses up a lonely mountain 
 trail. 
 
98 True Spirit Return 
 
 MOSES AS AN ILLUSTRATION OF 
 
 PROMISES FULFILLED, AND 
 
 PROTECTIVE LOVE OF 
 
 AN OMNIPOTENT GOD 
 
 What a contrast to the wondrous and 
 dazzling splendor that onr eyes have so 
 recently been gazing npon. 
 
 What a difference from feasting and 
 plenty, crowds and merriment, we turn 
 to Moses fasting on a lonely monntain-top, 
 surrounded by a dreary wilderness. 
 
 Forty days and nights had Moses fasted 
 and prayed, but on the last day he hears 
 a voice from the bushes nearby command- 
 ing him to make an ark and to hew two 
 tables of stone, and that He, God, would 
 write with His own fingers the ten com- 
 mandments; and he expected Moses, his 
 brother Aaron, and the children of Israel 
 to follow and obey them from generation 
 to generation. 
 
 God told Moses the blessings that would 
 accompany them if they would hearken 
 unto these commandments and walk in 
 His statutes. They must have no other 
 
True Spirit Return 99 
 
 gods before them, and they must have 
 more faith in His power to deliver them 
 into the promised land. 
 
 They must not be so rebellious and 
 stiff-necked a people, and God commanded 
 Moses to remind them of the many mir- 
 acles He had allowed his brother Aaron 
 and himself to perform in order to save 
 them from hunger, thirst and the giants, 
 while passing through the wilderness. 
 
 He told this good prophet to tell these 
 people that He was a just God, and that 
 He had promised their forefathers, Abra- 
 ham, Isaac and Jacob, that the Israelites 
 should be released from their state of 
 bondage, under King Pharaoh, in the land 
 of Egypt ,and taken to a country of free- 
 dom and plenty — a land that should be 
 theirs to rule and live in forever and 
 ever, as long as they observed His teach- 
 ings and He, the Lord, was a God of His 
 word, mighty and powerful, and would 
 not fail in one of His promises. 
 
 Just here we find another faithful ob- 
 servance of God's promises, mingled with 
 love, tolerance and patience towards an 
 impatient and rebellious people, as well 
 
100 True Spirit Return 
 
 as wrath towards them when they sinned, 
 but forgiveness when they repented. 
 
 When the voice of the Lord had ceased 
 to speak, tongues of fire and clouds of 
 smoke darted forth from where the Lord 
 had stood, and when the smoke had 
 cleared away, Moses went to the spot and 
 found two tables of stone, with the ten 
 commandments written upon them. 
 
 Making an ark, as God had commanded 
 him, he placed them in it, and started 
 down the mountain-side with the ark upon 
 his shoulders, to deliver the message that 
 God had given him to the children of 
 Israel. 
 
 But first he reminded them of another 
 time when God had ordered him, Moses, 
 to go up on the mountain-top, and after 
 fasting forty days and nights He would 
 write the ten commandments on two 
 tables of stone that he had hewn, and 
 they should be placed in the ark, and the 
 Israelites should keep them and read and 
 obey them, also they should carry them 
 into the promised land, where they should 
 be put in the Holy Temple, Where their 
 laws could be taught from generation to 
 generation. 
 
TAKING A MESSAGE 
 
True Spirit Return 101 
 
 He also reminded them of how they had 
 treated the Lord in His absence and how 
 impatient they had become, and how 
 donbtfnl they had been of the Lord's 
 power and intentions to deliver them 
 safely out of the wilderness. 
 
 And they had murmured greatly, and 
 complained that Moses had brought them 
 into the wilderness to starve and to die 
 and God had deserted them, and when 
 Moses found them, they had gathered to- 
 gether all of the golden bracelets, ear- 
 rings and rings that belonged to their 
 wives, and melting them together made 
 a golden calf to worship in place of God. 
 
 "When Moses had seen what they were 
 up to, he was so angry that he dashed the 
 tables of stone upon the ground, and they 
 fell into pieces, and the prophet uttered 
 words of condemnation and sorrow, and 
 in his grief refused to eat for another 
 forty days and nights. 
 
 Then was heard a mighty voice from 
 heaven, which made the earth tremble, 
 and the children of Israel also, and these 
 were the words they heard in tones of 
 wrath : 
 
102 True Spirit Return 
 
 Thou shalt have none other gods before 
 me. 
 
 Thou shalt not make thee any graven 
 image, or any likeness of anything that 
 is in heaven above, or that is in the earth 
 beneath, or that is in the waters beneath 
 the earth. 
 
 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto 
 them, nor serve them; for I the Lord, thy 
 God am a jealous God, visiting the iniqui- 
 ty of the fathers upon the children unto 
 the third and fourth generation of them 
 that hate me. 
 
 And showing mercy unto thousands of 
 them that love me and keep my command- 
 ments. — Deuteronomy v, 7-10. 
 
 Then the Lord threatened, in His anger, 
 to destroy them for their disobedience 
 and idolatry, bnt Moses felt a spark of 
 pity suddenly kindling in His heart for 
 the children of Israel, and dropping on 
 his knees, he beseeched pleadingly that 
 God spare His people, using as a 
 strong inducement the fact that their ene- 
 mies the Egyptians, would laugh in deri- 
 sion, and point their fingers in joy at 
 
True Spirit Return 103 
 
 any calamity that might befall them be- 
 fore reaching the promised land. 
 
 Here again we have an example of the 
 power of prayer, for the Lord's heart was 
 softened and He forgave and spared His 
 wayward children. 
 
 Then, when they told Moses that they 
 remembered, and would profit by their 
 past sins and promised to worship God 
 and keep His commandments, the prophet 
 delivered God's message. 
 
 He spoke with force, and they listened 
 in hushed and respectful silence. 
 
 ' ' Once more the Lord has written for us 
 His Ten Commandments on these tables 
 of stone," said Moses. 
 
 Let us treasure them, and see that no 
 harm befalls them. Teach them to your 
 children, keep them in your hearts, copy 
 them and hang them by your firesides, 
 on your doors, on your gates, and place 
 them on the walls of your schools that 
 all may know the laws and wishes of their 
 Creator. 
 
 Blessed are they that honor and obey 
 these commandments, and long shall be 
 their lives in the land which the Lord thy 
 God givest thee. 
 
104 True Spirit Return 
 
 Then Moses described to them the 
 beauties of the land of Canaan, the 
 promised land, the land that flows with 
 milk and honey; the country where deep 
 wells and clear springs are found without 
 the digging; where homes are built with- 
 out the building; where fields of barley 
 and corn are planted without the planting, 
 and the hillsides abound in sheep and cat- 
 tle of every kind and the rocks in the 
 mountain-tops can be changed into gold, 
 silver, iron and precious stones. 
 
 Moses told the children of Israel that 
 all this wealth would be theirs if they 
 would but obey the commandments of God. 
 But should they disregard these sacred 
 laws the wrath of a mighty God would 
 fall upon them, and instead of being the 
 ruling and most powerful nation in the 
 world they would shrink away to nothing, 
 and the fingers of scorn would be pointed 
 at them as the people cursed by God and 
 all the plagues that had visited the Egyp- 
 tians would fall heavily upon them. The 
 children of Israel bowed their heads in 
 silence and promised to obey God. 
 
 But let us turn back the pages of time 
 and peep into the earlier history of the 
 
True Spirit Return 105 
 
 Israelites, back even to where Moses was 
 a baby in the bulrushes and, later on, 
 when he had grown to be a man and 
 prophet of the Lord and was also ap- 
 pointed by God to lead his people out of 
 Egypt to the land that flowed with milk 
 and honey. 
 
 There is not a prettier story in the 
 Bible than the story of Moses in the bul- 
 rushes, and is known by every child in 
 the Christian world, and shows the won- 
 derful and miraculous protection of a 
 powerful God that he unceasingly had 
 held over him since babyhood. 
 
 "When Moses was a tiny baby there 
 ruled in Egypt, where he was born, a hard 
 cruel king, named Pharaoh. 
 
 He hated the children of Israel, of 
 which nationality little Moses belonged, 
 for he could see that they were growing 
 into a powerful and mighty nation, and he 
 feared them that they might some day 
 rise in battle and conquer, and rule in the 
 land of Egypt. 
 
 He could also see that they were God's 
 favored people, and he was jealous of 
 them. So he did all in his power to make 
 it unpleasant for them, and to crush and 
 
106 True Spirit Return 
 
 break their spirits, and to shorten their 
 lives by giving them hard and rough 
 tasks daily in the fields and at the making 
 of bricks. 
 
 Bnt while they were worn, weary and 
 heart-sick over the way that they were 
 treated, still, the nation continned to 
 grow. So Pharaoh decided to have all of 
 the boy babies that belonged to the He- 
 brew families killed, bnt ordered his men 
 to let all of the girl babies live. 
 
 So when the mother of little Moses 
 heard of this, she was greatly grieved 
 and frightened. So she managed to hide 
 him aronnd her home nntil he was three 
 months old, and then fearfnl lest the king 
 shonld find him there she bethonght her- 
 self of a safer place, that she might con- 
 ceal the little one from the king's crnel 
 clntches. 
 
 He was a beantifnl child, and her heart 
 was wrapped np in him, and she conld not 
 bear the thoughts of losing him, so she 
 placed the baby in an ark, and covered it 
 with pitch and tar. Then, going down 
 where a stream of water flowed, she placed 
 the ark, with the little one in it, in among 
 the bnlrnshes and flaglilies, close to the 
 
True Spirit Return 107 
 
 bank, but he was securely hid from view, 
 unless some one chose to go into the water. 
 
 The mother then left her little girl, the 
 baby's sister, to watch that no harm be- 
 fell her brother. And lo, and behold, who 
 should come down to dip her feet into this 
 clear, sparkling stream but King Phar- 
 oah's daughter, with her train of maid- 
 ens, and she saw this lovely child in his 
 little ark floating around among the bul- 
 rushes and flaglilies. 
 
 " Bring him to me," she said to her 
 maidens. 
 
 And when they brought the child to her 
 and she had looked at him she said, "He 
 is a Hebrew baby." 
 
 But when the king's daughter continued 
 to gaze upon Moses, he wept, and her 
 heart was stirred with pity for this tiny 
 little creature. 
 
 "Bring him to my palace," she said to 
 the maidens, "for I wish to care for him, 
 but first find me a Hebrew woman who 
 can nurse and watch over the baby, and I 
 will adopt him as my own son, and I will 
 pay wages to the one who cares for him." 
 
 And note the wisdom which God placed 
 in the sister's answer, and the wondrous 
 
108 True Spirit Return 
 
 protection of a divine power as well as a 
 sister's love for her mother and her little 
 brother, when she answered the king's 
 daughter, thus: 
 
 "Did yon say," questioned the little 
 girl, "that you wished a Hebrew woman 
 to nurse the baby? I will get you one." 
 
 "Go!" commanded the king's daughter. 
 
 The child went and got the baby's 
 mother, but only she herself, the baby, 
 and his parents were wise to this, for the 
 princess never dreamed that this woman 
 was even related to the little fellow. 
 
 "Take this child and nurse and care for 
 it, and I will pay you well for your serv- 
 ices," said the princess, holding out the 
 baby to the Hebrew woman, and joyfully 
 the mother took her own child, glad that 
 its life had been spared, and that she need 
 not be separated from him. 
 
 And the king's daughter named the 
 little Hebrew baby Moses, for as she said, 
 "that means I drew him up out of the 
 water." 
 
 Thus it was that Moses was raised in 
 the king's palace, and his mother re- 
 mained with him until he was a good-sized 
 boy, and then she returned to her home. 
 
True Spirit Return 109 
 
 But Moses stayed at the palace until he 
 was grown, and then he returned to his 
 own people. 
 
 When he saw how his brethren were be- 
 ing treated by the Egyptians he was sore- 
 ly grieved, and once when he was walking 
 along the road he saw one of the task- 
 masters severely beating an Israelite 
 without cause, so Moses looked to the 
 right and to the left, and seeing no one in 
 sight slew the man and hid his body in 
 the sand. 
 
 On another occasion Moses saw one of 
 the Egyptians tying two of his brethren 
 to a stake, and he rebuked the man, ask- 
 ing him, "Why do you so mistreat people 
 who work so hard!" and the man an- 
 swered him, "Who are you! Are you a 
 God or a judge that you have a right to 
 tell me what to do! Perhaps you would 
 kill me, too, as you did the other task- 
 master," and when he said this, Moses 
 was afraid and said to himself, "everyone 
 knows that I have killed this man and the 
 king will kill me." 
 
 So Moses made his escape to the land 
 of Midian, and sat down by a well to rest 
 and to think. When King Pharaoh heard 
 
110 True Spirit Return 
 
 what Moses had done he was angry, and 
 sent ont men to search and to kill him, 
 bnt Moses was guarded by the almighty 
 power of God's protection, and they 
 conld not find him. 
 
 And when Moses had rested by the well 
 for a time, out came seven fair damsels, 
 and the fairest of them he picked out for 
 a wife; bnt, mind yon, in his heart only, 
 for he had to ask her father first. 
 
 Bnt he was very polite, and helped them 
 to draw water for their cattle. When 
 they went in the house they told their 
 father about the kind stranger who had 
 helped them to draw water. 
 
 "Why don't you call him into supper V 
 asked the father. 
 
 So the girls called Moses into the house, 
 and this was the beginning of the young- 
 man's courtship, and it was not long be- 
 fore Moses married the girl of his choice, 
 with the father's consent, for he was well 
 liked by him. 
 
 When Moses had been with his wife's 
 people only a short time, sad reports came 
 to him of the cruel way in which King 
 Pharaoh and his men were treating the 
 children of Israel. 
 
True Spirit Return 111 
 
 Matters were getting worse with them, 
 and it was almost more than they conld 
 bear, so Moses prayed God to deliver His 
 people from their state of bondage, and 
 out of the hands of the Egyptians. 
 
 God had already discovered how over- 
 bearing and cruel the Egyptians were 
 treating His chosen people, and his wrath 
 kindled strong against them, and He was 
 determined to show His mighty power 
 through signs, wonders and miracles, that 
 would fill their souls with terror. 
 
 The Lord decided to choose Moses and 
 his brother Aaron, to perform these mir- 
 acles, and to lead the children of Israel 
 out of Egypt through the wilderness, and 
 into the promised land. So one day while 
 Moses was watching his father-in-law's 
 flock, God spoke to him. "Moses," He 
 said, "Moses, where art thou?" 
 
 "Here I am, Lord," answered Moses. 
 "What can I do for Thee?" 
 
 And Moses looked and saw that from 
 whence the voice proceeded there were 
 clouds of smoke and fire, but the bush 
 that was in it did not burn, and he gazed 
 in wonder, and the voice spoke again: 
 "Moses, take off thy shoes for thou art 
 
112 True Spirit Return 
 
 on Holy ground, thou art in the presence 
 of the Lord." 
 
 "Yes, Lord," replied the young man, 
 obeying God's command. 
 
 "Moses," said the Lord, "I have seen 
 the sorrow and distress of your people, 
 and I have compassion on them, and wish 
 to appoint your and your brother Aaron to 
 lead them out of their troubles to the land 
 that flows with milk and honey. Go to 
 King Pharaoh and tell him that your peo- 
 ple wish to offer up sacrifices unto God in 
 the wilderness." 
 
 "But who am I that such a responsible 
 and difficult task should be placed on me? 
 Would King Pharaoh hearken unto my 
 voice?" 
 
 "I will make you as a God before King 
 Pharaoh," replied the Lord. "I will 
 anoint you and your brother as my pro- 
 phets and give you the power to work 
 many miracles before his eyes, that he 
 will know that I am Lord, the supreme 
 God. With the rod that is in thy hand I 
 will enable thee to work many wonders," 
 and God instructed Moses what to do, and 
 told him to teH Aaron of his plans. 
 "First, turn your rod into a serpent, if 
 
True Spirit Return 113 
 
 the king refuses to listen to you," com- 
 manded the Lord. 
 
 So Moses got his brother Aaron, and 
 together they went to King Pharaoh and 
 delivered God's message to him. 
 
 "Who are you, and who is the Lord, 
 that He should require of me that I 
 should take my men from work by the 
 thousands out of the fields, and from 
 making bricks?" was the infamous an- 
 swer of this wicked king. "Show me a 
 proof of His power." 
 
 This was what Moses wished him to 
 say. "Come hither," demanded the 
 prophet to his brother Aaron, "take this 
 rod and show the king the almighty power 
 of God by changing this rod into a ser- 
 pent. ' ' 
 
 Then Aaron took the rod and stretching 
 forth his arm demanded that the rod take 
 the form of a snake, and immediately the 
 rod fell from his hand a living, writhing 
 serpent, crawling at his feet. 
 
 But while the king was amazed he was 
 stubborn, and tried not to show his aston- 
 ishment. "Bring in my sorcerers and 
 see if they can do the same thing with 
 their enchantments," demanded Pharaoh 
 
114 True Spirit Return 
 
 to his men, and the magicians of Egypt 
 were brought before the throne, and 
 commanded to perform the same trick 
 that the prophets had done, and when the 
 wizards turned their enchantments into 
 snakes, the king laughed in scorn. 
 "See," sneered King Pharaoh, "your 
 power is no greater than theirs." But 
 when Aaron's snake ate up the magicians' 
 snakes the king was frightened. 
 
 "Go," he said to Moses and Aaron, 
 "and take your people to worship their 
 God in the wilderness, but first change 
 this serpent into a rod again." 
 
 But no sooner had the prophets gotten 
 out of sight than King Pharaoh's heart 
 was hardened, and he determined not 
 only to break his promise to free the 
 Israelites, but to put double the task up- 
 on their shoulders, and to be still more 
 cruel to them. 
 
 And when Moses heard of this he was 
 greatly troubled and discouraged, and he 
 complained to the Lord that matters were 
 getting worse instead of better, and God 
 told him not to let that worry him, for He 
 would permit the king's heart to become 
 hardened, for that would give Him, the 
 
True Spirit Return 115 
 
 Lord, an opportunity to show His power 
 in signs and miracles, and every time 
 King Pharaoh broke his promise or re- 
 fused to free the children of Israel, He 
 would send a horrible plague upon him 
 and all the Egyptians, and it would come 
 seeming through the hands of Aaron and 
 himself, but these wicked people will learn 
 that the hidden power comes from God. 
 
 "All your miracles, signs and wonders 
 you shall work with yonder rod that you 
 hold in your hand," commanded God of 
 Moses. "'Go again to King Pharaoh and 
 demand release of your people, and if he 
 refuse, all of the rivers, wells and springs 
 of Egypt shall be turned to blood." 
 
 So thus it was that Moses and Aaron 
 returned to demand freedom for Israel 
 from the King, but he refused and Moses 
 bade his brother to stretch out his rod 
 that the rivers, wells and springs might 
 turn to blood, and immediately it was so, 
 and the Egyptians had naught but blood 
 to drink, and King Pharaoh called in his 
 magicians to see if they could do likewise, 
 and at their command all the waters in 
 the lakes turned to blood and the fish died, 
 
116 True Spirit Return 
 
 which made matters a thousand times 
 worse. 
 
 So for seven days it was thus, and King 
 Pharaoh was compelled to call on the 
 prophets to change the rivers and lakes 
 of blood back into clear crystal water, 
 again promising if they did so, he would 
 permit the children of Israel to leave, and 
 to worship their God in the wilderness. 
 
 With one sweep of Aaron's rod, the 
 waters resumed their normal state again. 
 But it was the same old story; when the 
 Israelites were ready to start on their 
 journey he called them back. 
 
 "What shall I do now, Lord?" asked 
 Moses. 
 
 "Send them a plague of frogs," an- 
 swered the Lord. 
 
 And Aaron stretched forth his rod, and 
 frogs by the thousands came forth out of 
 the ponds, rivers and creeks, and the 
 earth was black with them. They came 
 into the houses and hopped upon the beds 
 and went into the pantries, on the tables 
 and chairs and into the dough that was 
 being kneaded into bread. 
 
 Pharaoh sent for his sorcerers to see if 
 they could perform the same trick, and 
 
True Spirit Return 117 
 
 they brought forth frogs by the hundreds 
 out of the wells and springs. 
 
 4 'This is horrible," exclaimed King 
 Pharaoh, "go quickly and get Moses and 
 Aaron that they may remove these pests." 
 
 "What do you wish of me!" asked 
 Moses. 
 
 "To remove these frogs," answered the 
 king. 
 
 ' ' That you may lie to me again 1 ' ' asked 
 Moses. "Know you that for every lie 
 you give to the children of Israel, G-od 
 will send you a plague?" 
 
 "Upon my sacred word, I will not lie 
 this time," replied Pharaoh. 
 
 And Aaron stretched out his rod and 
 all of the frogs in the land died, and a 
 horrible .scent rose up from their dead 
 bodies. But no sooner were their bodies 
 gathered up, and thrown into the sea, 
 than Pharaoh's heart was hardened again 
 and he refused to let the Israelites go. 
 
 "What next, Lord, shall I send him?" 
 asked Moses. 
 
 "A plague of flies," answered God. 
 
 Then Aaron stretched forth his rod, 
 and swarms of flies, by the million flew 
 over the land and the air was black with 
 
118 True Spirit Return 
 
 them. They flew into the houses and fell 
 so thick and fast into the food that the 
 Egyptians were unable to eat. Still, 
 Pharaoh sent for his wizards to see if 
 they could do likewise, and with their en- 
 chantments they brought forth flies by the 
 hundreds, and they came so thick and fast 
 that the Egyptians were blinded by them, 
 and again King Pharaoh was compelled 
 to call on the prophets for help. 
 
 ' ' What now?" asked Moses, as he stood 
 before the king. 
 
 "I beg of thee to remove these flies,' ' 
 answered Pharaoh, "for we can neither 
 see nor eat for them." 
 
 "When, tomorow?" asked Moses. 
 
 "No; today," replied the king. 
 
 "That you may glory over and deceive 
 my people again?" question Moses. 
 
 "I give my oath that I will not deceive 
 the children of Israel again, ' ' replied King 
 Pharaoh, "if you will only remove these 
 flies." 
 
 "Not today, but tomorrow I will be- 
 seech the Supreme Euler to take away 
 this curse from your paths," but no 
 sooner were the Egyptians freed from 
 
True Spirit Return 119 
 
 this plague than King Pharaoh repented 
 of his promise. 
 
 "Send them lice/' said the Lord to His 
 prophets. And Aaron smote the dnst with 
 his rod and it became as lice, and they 
 were everywhere, even on man and beast, 
 and King Pharaoh called in his wizards 
 to see if they could do likewise, but they 
 were unable to perform this miracle, and 
 they became frightened. 
 
 Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, 
 This is the finger of God; and Pharaoh's 
 heart was hardened, and he hearkened 
 not unto them; as the Lord had said. 
 
 — Exodus viii, 19. 
 
 "What next, Lord?" asked Moses. 
 
 "Send them boils from their head to 
 their feet, both man and beast," said the 
 Lord. 
 
 So it was that the Egyptians were af- 
 flicted with this terrible malady, and the 
 magicians would not have been able to 
 have gone to the king had he sent for 
 them, for they could not walk for the boils 
 that were on their heels. 
 
 Thus it was. that one plague after an- 
 other was sent to the Egyptians, and no 
 
120 True Spirit Return 
 
 sooner had the Lord removed the curse 
 than King Pharaoh would break his prom- 
 ise to release the children of Israel; but 
 in his distress he admitted to the al- 
 mighty power of God; and his people, 
 seeing the troubles that were besetting 
 them, through the king's disobedience and 
 deceit, beseeched him to let the children 
 of Israel go, before they were all de- 
 stroyed, but he would not even hearken to 
 the voice of his people. 
 
 So another plague was sent upon this 
 wicked king, the plague of hail, which 
 came with fire and rain, and peals of 
 thunder which rent the air with such 
 terrible force that man and cattle that 
 were in the fields were killed and all of 
 the barley and corn were destroyed and 
 large branches of trees were broken and 
 all vegetables were laid low. 
 
 So the Lord was compelled to send an- 
 other plague. What was left of the wheat, 
 vegetation and shrubbery were eaten up 
 by locusts, who came in millions and set- 
 tled over the land of Egypt. 
 
 Then King Pharaoh admitted to his 
 own wickedness, and the omnipotence of 
 God. Yet his heart was softened only for 
 
True Spirit Return 121 
 
 a short time. "Cast a pall of darkness 
 over the land/' commanded God, and so 
 Moses ordered Aaron to raise his rod 
 toward the heavens, which he did and im- 
 mediately the blackness of midnight with- 
 out moon or stars fell upon the earth, and 
 the Egyptians were terrified and afraid 
 to come ont of their homes. 
 
 So once more Pharaoh was obliged to 
 call on Moses for help, bnt no sooner had 
 the darkness been lifted from the face of 
 the earth, than Pharaoh's heart was 
 hardened again. 
 
 "What, Lord, shall we do next?" asked 
 Moses. 
 
 "We shall send one more calamity up- 
 on them, and that shall be the last, then 
 King Pharaoh will be glad to see you go. 
 The first born shall die by My own hand, ' ' 
 replied the Lord. "The first born of the 
 Egyptian families, from the throne down 
 to the humbest servant, even to the low- 
 liest in the dungeon shall die. I will spare 
 not even the first born of the cattle in the 
 field. There shall be death in every 
 family. ' ' 
 
 Then God instructed Moses how to have 
 the Passover supper, so that no harm 
 
122 True Spirit Return 
 
 should befall the households of Israel. 
 He told them to sprinkle blood on their 
 gates and doorposts, so that when He, 
 the Lord, came in the dead of night to 
 destroy the firstborn He would know that 
 was not an Egyptian family, and He 
 would pass it by. Thus was constituted 
 the feast of the Passover which is held 
 sacred by many of the Israelites of today, 
 as a memorial of God's power and won- 
 derfully miraculous preservation from 
 harm during this last calamity, as well as 
 from the previous plagues of Egypt. 
 
 But to return to our subject, "do these 
 things that I have commanded thee/' said 
 the Lord to Moses, "and I will not even 
 let a dog wag his tail crooked at you." 
 
 Then in the silent hours of night a form 
 glided through the land with the sword 
 of wrath in His mighty hand. There was 
 weeping, wailing and moaning where the 
 silent form had paused, but where the 
 blood had been sprinkled there was no 
 sorrow, no death, for the silent visage 
 passed them by, but in the home whose 
 doorpost no blood was sprinkled there 
 was some one dead. 
 
True Spirit Return 123 
 
 In all the homes of Egypt, death had 
 come, and never before had there been 
 such weeping. 
 
 "Go," said King Pharaoh to Moses, 
 "and tarry not, before we are all de- 
 stroyed." 
 
 So Moses and Aaron got the children 
 of Israel together, so that they might pre- 
 pare for their journey, and King Pharaoh 
 did not attempt to stop them this time, 
 and God softened the hearts of the Egyp- 
 tian people and caused them to give the 
 Israelites many presents to take with 
 them, even to gold and silver, so that 
 they were well supplied with everything 
 for their trip. 
 
 But when the children of Israel had 
 gathered together all of their little ones, 
 even to all of their cattle, and the bones 
 of their grandfather Joseph, who had 
 pleaded not to be left behind, but to have 
 his body carried with them, and buried in 
 the promised land, even then when King 
 Pharaoh heard that the Israelites had 
 gone he sent an army of men to pursue 
 them. This is what God had said he 
 would do and was what the Lord wished 
 
124 True Spirit Return 
 
 of him, for He wanted to show His mighty 
 power through the hands of His prophets 
 by performing one more wonderful mir- 
 acle, before the children of Israel had 
 gone forever. 
 
 The Israelites had entered the wilder- 
 ness by the time that Pharaoh's men had 
 reached them, and were camping by the 
 Eed Sea, but when the king's army drew 
 near, the Lord came down in a clond of 
 fire, and settled upon the earth, separat- 
 ing the Egyptians from the Israelites. 
 
 And the men from Egypt were afraid. 
 "This is the hand of God," they said. 
 The cloud was dark on the side where 
 Pharaoh's men were camping, but it was 
 as light as day on the side of the Is- 
 raelites, and they could see as plainly as 
 if there was no night around them. 
 
 This cloud, or pillar of fire, never de- 
 serted them, but guided them through 
 their long journey in the wilderness. 
 
 And the Lord went before them by 
 day in a pillar of a cloud to lead them the 
 way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to 
 give them light; to go by day and night. 
 
True Spirit Return 125 
 
 He took not away the pillar of the 
 cloud by day, nor the pillar of ,fire by 
 night, from before the people. 
 
 —Exodus xiii, 21, 22. 
 
 What could be more beautiful than this 
 divine protection over the children of 
 Israel that God exercised! We can have 
 that same wonderful protection today, if 
 we only trust him. 
 
 But let us return to the Israelites by 
 the shores of the Red Sea. On the mor- 
 row God performed another miracle which 
 filled the hearts of all with wonder. 
 
 "How are we to cross the Eed Sea?" 
 asked the Israelites, in distress, "without 
 being drowned ?" 
 
 "Lift thy rod upward and out over the 
 waters of the Red Sea and they shali 
 divide into high banks on either side, and 
 it shall be so that the Israelites shall pass 
 over on dry land," commanded a voice 
 from the clouds. 
 
 "Lift thy rod, Aaron," Moses said to 
 his brother, "over the waters of the Red 
 Sea that the children of Israel may pass." 
 
 And Aaron did as he was told and the 
 mighty waters of the Red Sea rolled back 
 
126 True Spirit Return 
 
 in billowy waves and stood as a high wall 
 on either side, and the Israelites passed 
 through in safety with all of their little 
 ones and cattle. 
 
 The Egyptians conld not see what had 
 happened to the Israelites for the black 
 cloud that rested between them, but when 
 the children of Israel were safely across, 
 God lifted the cloud, and in wonder they 
 beheld what had transpired at the break 
 of dawn. "This is the hand of God," 
 they said, "and He fights for the children 
 of Israel, so let ns return. But look; the 
 waters still stand on either side. Per- 
 haps we can still capture them," and thus 
 they debated among themselves. "Let us 
 go in and try," they said, but when they 
 had reached half way, the wrath of God 
 shone down so fiercely upon them through 
 a pillar of fire that they were again 
 frightened. "Let us flee," they said, "for 
 the hand of God is against us, "but they 
 had not more than turned to go back when 
 the Lord took the wheels off: of their 
 chariots and caused them to drag heavily 
 through the sands. 
 
 "Lift thy rod over the waters," de- 
 manded a voice from the clouds, and 
 
True Spirit Return 127 
 
 Aaron did so under Moses' command, and 
 the mighty waters of the Eed Sea rolled 
 back, and King Pharaoh's men were 
 drowned, and in the early morn their dead 
 bodies lay scattered everywhere on the 
 sea shore. 
 
 Thus it was the Israelites were saved 
 from the Egyptians by the miraculous 
 power of God, through the hands of His 
 prophets, Moses and Aaron. 
 
 When the children of Israel saw what 
 the Lord had done for them they wor- 
 shiped and gave thanks for their safe 
 deliverance, promising to trust and obey 
 Him, in all matters and at all times. 
 
 But let us not attempt to follow them 
 through their long, weary journey in the 
 wilderness, for we would like to take the 
 time to stop over at the home of Job, the 
 most afflicted, and yet the most patient 
 man in the world; one whose faith in 
 God never wavered through all of his 
 sorrows. It may be that we can draw 
 some sweet lessons of patience from this 
 godly man. 
 
 But just a few more words concerning 
 Moses and the children of Israel. God 
 continued to work signs and wonders for 
 
128 True Spirit Return 
 
 them, through their forty years journey 
 in the wilderness. When they were hun- 
 gry He sent them quails, and manna from 
 heaven, and when they were thirsty, 
 Moses had but to command Aaron to 
 smite the rock with his rod and the spark- 
 ling waters flowed. 
 
 But Aaron died before they reached 
 the promised land, and they mourned for 
 him thirty days and nights. Here we 
 have an example of God's fulfillment of 
 a promise to punish as well as reward. 
 
 Aaron was a good man, and God loved 
 him, but he sinned grievously in the eyes 
 of the Lord when he ordered the Israelites 
 to make a golden calf, and permitted them 
 to worship it while Moses was on the 
 mountain-top. So the Lord told him that 
 for punishment of this sin he must die 
 before reaching the land of Canaan. 
 
 But we have another instance similar 
 to that of Aaron, where God fulfills His 
 promise to punish as well as reward, and 
 draw not back in wonder when I tell you 
 that his name was Moses. Though I can 
 scarcely blame you for being astonished, 
 for the Holy Book tells us that he was the 
 greatest prophet that ever lived, either 
 
True Spirit Return 129 
 
 before or after, and never was there one 
 who performed the wonders, signs and 
 miracles as he had done. 
 
 And the Lord had said of him that 
 there never had been a prophet that He 
 had talked face to face as He had to 
 Moses, bnt like his brother Aaron, he had 
 disobeyed and displeased Him greatly on 
 one occasion, and while he conld view the 
 promised land, he could not set foot 
 upon it. 
 
 Because ye trespassed against me 
 among the children of Israel at the waters 
 of Meribah Kadesh, in the wilderness of 
 Zin, because ye sanctified me not in the 
 midst of the children of Israel. 
 
 Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; 
 but thou shalt not go thither unto the land 
 which I gave the children of Israel. 
 
 — Deuteronomy xxxii, 51, 52. 
 
 So according to the Word of Grod, Moses 
 died in the land of Moab, on the top of 
 Mount Nebo. He knew that his death 
 was near at hand, so he gave the children 
 of Israel a farewell message, and went 
 up on the mountain-top to view the 
 promised land. It was not far away, but 
 
130 True Spirit Return 
 
 it seemed out of reach to Moses, for he 
 knew that his feet were not to tread its 
 soil. 
 
 It may be that a few pangs of disap- 
 pointment shot through the heart of this 
 great prophet at sight of this beautiful 
 land, but he was reconciled to be punished 
 for a sin he knew full well he should not 
 have committed, and all through his life 
 he had remained so close to his Lord that 
 now he is not afraid to die, and knows 
 that he is going to a far more beautiful 
 country than the one that greets his eyes. 
 
 So alone with his God on a lonely 
 mountain-top, the soul of Moses passes 
 out and is carried upward to heaven, and 
 the Lord Himself takes his body into the 
 valley of Moab and buries him there, and 
 to this day no one has been able to find 
 the sepulcher of Moses. 
 
 " Moses is dead," saith the Lord to the 
 children of Israel, and he appointed 
 Joshua in his place to lead them, exhort- 
 ing him to follow the Commandments and 
 to keep close to his Creator, as Moses had 
 done. 
 
 These words spoke the Lord unto 
 Joshua: Have not I commanded thee? 
 
True Spirit Return 131 
 
 Be strong, and of a good courage; be not 
 afraid, neither be thou dismayed; for the 
 Lord thy God is with thee, whithersoever 
 thou goest. Joshua i, 9. 
 
 We can well take these comforting and 
 strengthening words to ourselves. They 
 will help ns over many a rough and 
 rugged path. 
 
 The children of Israel mourned thirty 
 days and nights for Moses. They had 
 only to cross the Jordan, and they would 
 be in the promised land, but the waters 
 of this river were stormy and turbulent, 
 and now that Moses was dead, all eyes 
 were turned to Joshua for help and 
 guidance. 
 
 ' ' Take twelve men representing the 
 twelve tribes of Israel," commanded a 
 voice from the clouds, "and let them bear 
 the ark of covenant, and when the soles 
 of their feet have touched the brim of 
 the river, the waters shall divide into a 
 high wall on either side, and the children 
 of Israel shall pass over on dry land." 
 
 So Joshua did as God commanded him, 
 and no sooner had the twelve priests, 
 bearing the ark, dipped their feet in the 
 
132 True Spirit Return 
 
 river's edge, than the waters were divided 
 into the high walls, and the Israelites 
 passed over without harm. 
 
 Now that we have landed the children 
 of Israel safely in the promised land, the 
 country promised to their forefathers, 
 Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, let ns leave 
 them, and .stop over at the home of Job. 
 
True Spirit Return 133 
 
 JOB'S GEEAT PATIENCE AND IL- 
 
 LUSTEATION OF THE ALMIGHTY 
 
 POWEE OF GOD OVEE THE 
 
 LIMITED POWEE OF SATAN 
 
 In the land of Uz there dwelt a man 
 rich in cattle and household goods with 
 grounds extending far into the east and 
 west and on into the north and south. 
 
 He was known to be the wealthiest and 
 most prosperous man in the east, and 
 one who feared God and hated evil. He 
 had seven sons, and three fair daughters. 
 
 But when they were drinking wine and 
 feasting in their eldest brother's house, he 
 always offered up a sacrifice for each one 
 separately in the Holy Temple, fearing 
 that they might have had vain thoughts 
 displeasing to the Lord. 
 
 Thus did this godly man continually. 
 The name of this good and upright man 
 was Job, and there came a day when the 
 sons of God went up into the temple to 
 worship the Lord, and satan came among 
 them. 
 
134 True Spirit Return 
 
 "Where did you come from?" asked 
 the Lord. 
 
 ' ' From going up and down on the earth, 
 and walking about on it," replied satan. 
 
 And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence 
 contest thou? Then Satan answered the 
 Lord, and said, From going to and fro in 
 the earth, and from walking up and down 
 in it. — Job i, 7. 
 
 "Hast thou considered my servant, 
 Job," questioned God, "a more perfect 
 and upright man never lived?" 
 
 "Does Job fear God for nothing?" re- 
 plied satan, "have you not placed a fence 
 of protection around him, and have you 
 not caused him to prosper beyond any 
 man in the east; have you not given him 
 untold wealth? Take away what he has, 
 and he will curse Thee to Thy face." 
 
 But put forth thine hand now, and 
 touch all that he hath, and he will curse 
 thee to thy face. — Job i, 11. 
 
 "All that he hath is in thy hand," saith 
 God, "but spare his life," and satan went 
 away from the presence of the Lord. 
 
True Spirit Return 135 
 
 And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, 
 all that he hath is in thy power; only 
 upon himself put not forth thine hand. 
 So Satan went forth from the presence of 
 the Lord. — Job i, 12. 
 
 So there came a time one day when the 
 sons and daughters of Job were feasting 
 and drinking wine at their eldest brother's 
 house, when a messenger came to him and 
 said, "I was tending your drove of oxen 
 and the ponies were grazing beside them, 
 when out came three bands of Sabeans, 
 and went away with them, and killed the 
 men who were watching them with the 
 edge of their sword, and I alone am left 
 to tell thee." 
 
 No sooner had this man ceased speak- 
 ing than another messenger came and 
 said, "I was watching over your camels 
 when a band of robbers came out, and 
 stole them and killed all of the men, and I 
 alone am left to tell thee.'' 
 
 While this servant was yet speaking 
 there came another and said, "I was 
 guarding sheep in yonder field, when 
 there came a fire from heaven, and de- 
 stroyed them as well as the men who 
 
136 True Spirit Return 
 
 were watching them. I alone am left to 
 tell thee." 
 
 While he was speaking there came an- 
 other messenger and said, "Your sons 
 and daughters were feasting and drinking 
 wine in their eldest brother's house, when 
 there came a strong north wind from the 
 wilderness, and blew it down to the earth, 
 killing them all, and I only am left to 
 give the message." 
 
 Then Job rose and rent his mantle, and 
 shaved his head, but dropping on his 
 knees, the grief-stricken man raised his 
 voice to God and said, "the Lord gave, 
 and the Lord hath taken away; blessed 
 be the name of the Lord." Job i, 21. 
 
 How many of us have said these words 
 when sorrow and adversity have come up- 
 on us! If we could only say them in the 
 same .spirit that Job did, our troubles 
 would be easier to bear. 
 
 If we could only say as Job did, "not 
 my will, but Thine, Lord," our sor- 
 rows would grow lighter. 
 
 And there came another day when the 
 sons of God met before the Lord in His 
 holy temple and sat an met with them. 
 
True Spirit Return 137 
 
 " Where did you come from!" asked 
 the Lord. 
 
 "From going to and fro on the earth 
 and walking up and down on it," replied 
 the devil. 
 
 "Did you observe My servant Job; 
 that he has held to his integrity, even 
 though you prevailed upon Me to destroy 
 all that he hath, without cause, did you 
 take note that he still retains his faith in 
 God, and he is still a good and upright 
 man?" question the Lord. 
 
 "A tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye, 
 and skin for skin ; yea, all that a man hath 
 will he give for his life. Touch his bone 
 and flesh, and he will curse Thee to Thy 
 face," replied satan. 
 
 "All that he hath is in thy hands, but 
 spare his life," answered the Lord. 
 
 Then satan went away from the pres- 
 ence of God, and smote Job with sore 
 boils from the sole of his feet to the 
 crown of his head, and his sufferings were 
 so great that he robed himself in sack- 
 cloth and ashes, and sitting out in front of 
 his house, mourned in his misery, but 
 never once found fault with his Creator, 
 or ceased to trust Him. 
 
138 True Spirit Return 
 
 And his wife asked of him, "why don't 
 yon curse God and die?" He replied, 
 "has not the Lord given! Has He not a 
 right to take away?" 
 
 And he reproached her for her lack of 
 faith, and abnsive words, against the 
 Supreme Enler. And then his friends 
 came to comfort and to monrn with him, 
 but they only added to his sorrow and 
 sufferings, for they seemed to think that 
 he was being punished by God for some 
 hidden sin, that they knew nothing about. 
 
 And finally Job had to tell his friends 
 to leave him alone in his sorrow, but they 
 insisted upon staying, arguing among 
 themselves the source of Job's afflictions, 
 until he became so grieved that the poor 
 man cursed the day he was born, but 
 never a word against the Lord passed his 
 lips. 
 
 Then they rebuked him for cursing the 
 day of his birth. Job admitted that he 
 had done wrong in this, "and friends," 
 he exclaimed, "you know not the anguish 
 that I am suffering, or you would not re- 
 proach me so." 
 
 Then he tried to prove to them that he 
 had not departed from the paths of 
 
True Spirit Return 139 
 
 righteousness, and he attempted to con- 
 vince them that he was not being pun- 
 ished for some sin he had committed. 
 
 ' 'Judge me not so harshly," he pleaded 
 of his friends. "Think you if the afflic- 
 tions that weigh so heavily upon me were 
 on your shoulders that you would bear 
 them any better that I have! Because 
 I murmur in the depth of my pain and 
 sorrow is no sign that / have ceased to 
 love God." 
 
 But in their inconsistence, they accused 
 him of impiety, because he attempted to 
 justify himself. 
 
 "You miserable comforters," exclaimed 
 Job, "you have said words that add only 
 to my grief; if you were in sorrow I 
 would say things to strengthen and com- 
 fort you," and he rebuked them for find- 
 ing fault and reproving him for what he 
 did not deserve. 
 
 Then Job spoke of the frailty and im- 
 mortality of man in beautiful and elo- 
 quent language. These were a few words 
 that he brought before them. 
 
 He cometh forth like a flower, and is 
 cut down; he fleeth also as a shadow, 
 and continueth not. — Job xiv, 2. 
 
140 True Spirit Return 
 
 But man dieth, and wasteth away; yea, 
 man giveth up the ghost and where is he? 
 
 As the waters fail from the sea, and the 
 flood decay eth and drieth up: 
 
 So man lieth down, and riseth not; till 
 the heavens be no more, they shall not 
 awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. 
 
 —Job xiv, 10-12. 
 
 If a man die, shall he live again? all the 
 days of my appointed time will I wait, 
 till my change come. 
 
 Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee; 
 thou wilt have a desire to the work of 
 thine hands. — Job xiv, 14, 15. 
 
 Then Job discoursed at length on the 
 omnipotency of God in every way. "Our 
 Divine Euler is too great to do anything 
 small," said Job to his friends. "He is 
 too powerfully just to do anything unjust. 
 He has too powerful a love for those who 
 worship Him, and keep His Command- 
 ments to really be unkind to them. There 
 may happen events that we do not at the 
 time understand, but who are we that we 
 should question the powerful wisdom and 
 goodness of God? Everything will come 
 out for the best" continued this man of 
 
True Spirit Return 141 
 
 afflictions, "if we only have faith in God, 
 for He maketh the rain to fall on the just 
 and the unjust, and the sun to shine upon 
 the wicked and righteous, but the wicked 
 may flourish for a season, but he will 
 be cut down at any moment by the hand 
 of God, and while the righteous may have 
 trials and sorows for a while, he will be 
 rewarded if he will only hold fast to his 
 integrity, and have faith in the almighty 
 God. The Lord will know where to find 
 His servant Job," went on the speaker, 
 "when He sees fit to draw him from the 
 afflictions that encompass him." 
 
 But he knoweth the way that I take; 
 when he hath tried me, I shall come forth 
 as gold. 
 
 My foot hath held his steps; his way 
 have I kept, and not declined. 
 
 — Job xxiii, 10, 11. 
 
 Thus spoke this man of God, describing 
 again the wonderful power of our Creator 
 in these thrilling words, found in the 26th 
 chapter of Job, from the 5th to the 12th 
 verses. 
 
 Dead things are formed from under the 
 waters, and the inhabitants thereof. 
 
142 True Spirit Return 
 
 Hell is naked before him, and destruc- 
 tion hath no covering. 
 
 He stretcheth out the north over the 
 empty place, and hangeth the earth upon 
 nothing. 
 
 He bindeth up the water in his thick 
 clouds; and the cloud is not rent under 
 them. 
 
 He holdeth back the face of his throne, 
 and spreadeth his cloud upon it. 
 
 He hath compassed the waters with 
 bounds, until the day and night come to 
 an end. 
 
 The pillars of heaven tremble, and are 
 astonished at his reproof. 
 
 He divideth the sea with his power, and 
 by his understanding he smiteth through 
 the proud. 
 
 Then Job next protesteth his sincerity, 
 and declares himself not to be a hypocrite, 
 and denounced them as a doomed people, 
 without hope. 
 
 Terrors take hold on him as waters, a 
 tempest stealeth him aivay in the night. 
 
 The east wind carrieth him away, and 
 he departetli; and, as a storm, hurleth him. 
 out of his place. — Job xxvii, 20, 21. 
 
True Spirit Return 143 
 
 The servant of the Lord then talked of 
 the wonderful valne of wisdom. 
 
 " There is a vein for the silver and a 
 place for the gold," continued this elo- 
 quent speaker, "and the brass is melted 
 out of the stones, and the iron is gotten 
 from the earth." 
 
 "The sapphire is found in the ground 
 with the dust of gold upon it. The crystal 
 is found in the rocks and the corals and 
 pearls are hidden away by the sea, and 
 in the depths of the ocean. The floods 
 break forth from waters that settle at the 
 foot of hills, unknown to man, and are 
 dried up by an unseen hand, the hand of 
 God. 
 
 "Mighty rocks are overturned, and the 
 mountains are torn up by the roots. 
 
 "Great floods are turned loose, and 
 bound up again in the clouds of heaven. 
 
 "Out of the earth cometh bread, but 
 beneath it is fire. 
 
 "There is a path that no fowl knoweth, 
 and no vulture's eye has ever seen; a 
 path where no lion's whelps have trodden, 
 nor yet the fierce lion found a trail, but 
 the powerful eye of God has pierced its 
 depths. 
 
144 True Spirit Return 
 
 " There are hidden treasures that the 
 divine power has brought to light. 
 
 "But wisdom, where is wisdom and 
 understanding? 
 
 "The depths saith, it is not in me, and 
 the sea saith, it is not with me. 
 
 "It cannot be exchanged for gold or 
 silver, or precious stones, nor yet for 
 pearls. Its price is above the price of 
 rubies. ' ' 
 
 No mention shall be m,ade of coral or 
 of pearls; for the price of wisdom is 
 above rubies. — Job xxviii, 18. 
 
 The latter part of this verse has been 
 a well-known proverb for centuries past. 
 But wisdom, where can wisdom be found? 
 
 Job tells us that it is a gift from God, 
 and I would add, that like Solomon we 
 should pray for it. And Job also in- 
 forms us in the 28th chapter of Job and 
 28th verse, which is as follows: And 
 unto man he said, Behold the fear of the 
 Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from 
 evil is understanding. 
 
 Then the speaker concluded his speech, 
 by once more referring to the power of 
 God in these words : He setteth an end to 
 
True Spirit Return 145 
 
 darkness, and searcheth out all perfection; 
 the stones of darkness, and the shadow of 
 death. Job xxviii, 3. 
 
 For he looketh to the ends of the earth, 
 and seeth under the whole heaven. 
 
 To make the weight for the winds, and 
 he weigheth the waters by measure. 
 
 When he made a decree for the rain, 
 and a way for the lightning, of the 
 thunder. 
 
 Then did he see it and declare it; he 
 prepared it, yea, and sarched it out. 
 
 —Job xxviii, 24-27. 
 
 Job's friends were silent after his elo- 
 quent discourse, but after a time, Elihu 
 the youngest in the crowd, spoke up and 
 questioned Job as to how he knew of his 
 own favor in the eyes of the Lord, or how 
 could he be sure of his own righteousness? 
 
 Job then enumerated the many blessings 
 he had done for mankind; such as giving 
 to the poor, kindness to the widow, and 
 orphan, as well as beasts and animals of 
 all kind. He had always worked hard, 
 and God had permitted him to prosper in 
 consequence, and he had never owed a 
 debt to any man or had he ever been un- 
 
146 True Spirit Return 
 
 true to his wife and family, neither had 
 he ever even given a thought to the wife 
 of another, and he had worshipped God, 
 and kept His commandments since child- 
 hood. 
 
 Elihu then spoke again, and upbraided 
 the others for talking to Job the way they 
 had, and the unjust accusations that they 
 had made against him. 
 
 He then reasoned with Job, telling him 
 what a good and upright man he con- 
 sidered him, but he argued with him in 
 such a kind, clear and good-natured way 
 that when he had finished speaking, Job 
 had not near the good opinion of himself 
 as when Elihu had begun his statement, 
 and felt rather humble. 
 
 Just a word concerning Job, Elihu was 
 right. Job was a man so good, or nearly 
 perfect, that, no doubt, he unconsciously 
 thought himself perfect, but his friend 
 points out to him, that in the eyes of God 
 no man is perfect or without sin. 
 
 But I agree with Elihu, that while Job 
 was not perfect, there is little doubt that 
 any man would have borne the afflictions 
 which had fallen upon Job, with the same 
 fortitude and patience, as well as have 
 
True Spirit Return 147 
 
 the trust and faith that all would be 
 righted. 
 
 Then there was heard a voice out of 
 the whirlwind, "straighten up, and an- 
 swer me like a man; you spoke of the 
 power of God, but the half of it you did 
 not tell. Were you here when the world 
 was first created V 9 
 
 "No, Lord," answered Job, humbly. 
 
 "And," continued the Divine Ruler, but 
 let us quote His exact words, as we find 
 them in the Holy Book, 38th chapter of 
 Job, 4th to 18th verse, as follows: 
 
 Where wast thou when I laid the foun- 
 dations of the earth? declare, if thou hast 
 understanding. 
 
 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if 
 thou Jcnowest? Or who hath stretched the 
 line upon it? 
 
 Whereupon are the foundations thereof 
 fastened, or who laid the cornerstone 
 thereof? 
 
 When the morning stars sang together, 
 and all the sons of God shouted for joy? 
 
 Or who shut up the sea with doors, 
 when it brake forth? 
 
 When I made the cloud the garment 
 
148 True Spirit Return 
 
 thereof, and thick darkness a swaddling 
 band for it, 
 
 And brake up for it my decreed place, 
 and set bars and doors. 
 
 And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but 
 no further; and here shall thy proud 
 waves be stayed? 
 
 Hast thou commanded the morning 
 since thy days; and caused the day spring 
 to know his place; 
 
 That it might take hold of the ends of 
 the earth that the wicked might be shaken 
 out of it? 
 
 It is turned as clay to the seal, and they 
 stand as a garment. 
 
 And from the wicked their light is with- 
 holden, and the high arm shall be broken. 
 
 Hast thou entered into the springs of 
 the sea, or hast thou walked in the search 
 of the depth? 
 
 Have the gates of death been opened 
 unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of 
 the shadoiv of death? 
 
 Hast thou perceived the breadth of the 
 earth? declare, if thou knowest it all. 
 
 "No, Lord," admitted Job, and this 
 servant of God bowed low in humble ac- 
 
True Spirit Return 149 
 
 knowledgment of the almighty power hid- 
 den within the whirlwind. 
 
 "Forgive me," pleaded Job, "I am an 
 ignorant, sinful fool!" 
 
 "Bise," demanded the voice from the 
 whirlwind, "draw a long breath, and for 
 thy faith, patience and righteousness, thou 
 shalt be made whole. Thy strength shall 
 return to thee, and thou shalt be rewarded 
 with double the wealth in land, cattle, ser- 
 vants, silver and gold, and seven sons and 
 three fair daughters shall be added to 
 thy household for the ones you so sadly 
 lost." 
 
 And Job rose as he was commanded, 
 and drew a long breath, and lo, and be- 
 hold, the boils that were upon him dis- 
 appeared as if by magic, and the blood 
 flowed through his veins with healing 
 strength and vigor. 
 
 His friends looked in amazement at 
 this wonderful miracle. "The words that 
 this man has spoken," they whispered, 
 "are true," but they were so bewildered 
 that they stole away in silence, and Job 
 was left alone. He then walked along a 
 wooded path to try his strength. 
 
 When he reached a beautiful stream of 
 
150 True Spirit Return 
 
 water, he sat down beside it, beneath the 
 shade of a large tree, to reflect and medi- 
 tate on the wonders and goodness of God. 
 
 It did not take Job long to regain his 
 wealth and donble it as God has promised, 
 and in the years to come the Lord gave 
 him seven sons and three of the fairest 
 and most beautiful daughters in the land. 
 
 All of the days of Job's life were pros- 
 perous after that one test that God had 
 permitted satan to give him, in order to 
 prove to the devil his mistaken idea and 
 reason for Job's goodness and righteous- 
 ness. 
 
 Satan had attributed all of Job's reli- 
 gion to selfish motives and the fact that 
 God had guarded and protected him al- 
 ways and caused him to be wealthy and 
 prosperous beyond any man in the East. 
 
 "Take these blessings and riches away 
 from him," replied satan, and he will 
 curse Thee to Thy face." 
 
 So in order to prove to his satanic ma- 
 jesty his mistake the Lord permitted him 
 to send these afflictions upon this right- 
 eous man; only God warned the devil not 
 to take his life, showing how limited is 
 
True Spirit Return 151 
 
 the power of satan besides the almighty 
 power of our divine Creator. 
 
 And so it was that Job, by his patience 
 and continued faith and trust in God, 
 proved the devil a lie and himself true 
 gold. 
 
152 True Spirit Return 
 
 THE EEVELATION OF A WONDROUS 
 AND POWERFUL LOVE IS POR- 
 TRAYED TO THE WORLD BY 
 THE GIFT OF THE SON JESUS 
 CHRIST FROM AN OMNIPO- 
 TENT GOD 
 
 What greater love could God have 
 shown the world than this? He gave His 
 only begotten son to us, that whosoever 
 believeth on Him should not perish, but 
 have everlasting life. 
 
 This is the most precious and grandest 
 gift and sacrifice our heavenly Father 
 could have made for us. 
 
 Since the first creation of man God had 
 been confronted with the problems of sin, 
 and He had punished them the way that 
 He had considered they deserved. 
 
 Adam and Eve, our first foreparents, 
 were driven out of the Garden of Eden for 
 disobedience, and Cain was sent a wan- 
 derer upon the face of the globe, with a 
 mark upon him for killing his brother, 
 Abel. 
 
 The world had become so wicked that 
 
True Spirit Return 153 
 
 God was compelled to destroy all of the 
 people in it with a flood except Noah and 
 his family. Then the Lord promised 
 never more to send a flood that would en- 
 gulf the whole world again, and set his 
 rainbow in the sky as a token of His 
 promise. 
 
 But, finally, the world became so wicked 
 and idolatrous that God did not know 
 what to do with it. 
 
 This was long after the reign of King 
 Solomon. "I will be compelled to de- 
 stroy them, body and soul," said the Cre- 
 ator of the universe, "and all living crea- 
 tures. I cannot stand this." 
 
 " Father, spare them," pleaded the Son. 
 "Let me suffer in their place," and the 
 Son of the heavenly Father looked down 
 in pity on the sin-cursed world. 
 
 Then a powerful wave of love and com- 
 passion swept the mighty heart of God 
 for the sons of man. "Go, My Son," He 
 replied, and then it was that a compact 
 was signed between Father and Son, that 
 if the Son should leave His throne in 
 heaven to dwell on earth, and suffer and 
 be persecuted, and finally crucified, His 
 blood that was shed upon the Cross would 
 
154 True Spirit Return 
 
 redeem the lost souls of man, in the past, 
 present and future. 
 
 "But one request I would make of the 
 sons of man," said the victor Emanuel, 
 in a pathetic voice, "and that is, that they 
 will only accept, acknowledge, and believe 
 that I am their Savior, and through my 
 blood, upon the Cross, they are saved." 
 
 "Go, My Son," repeated the Lord, 
 "and do what you can for the children of 
 earth. ' ' 
 
 In the fifty-second chapter of Isaiah 
 we find a prophecy foretelling the coming 
 and suffering of Christ, also His cruci- 
 fixion. The prophet Elijah was sent by 
 the Lord to prepare the way and announce 
 the coming of Christ to the sinful world. 
 So it was no great surprise when it was 
 whispered around that a child had been 
 born that should be King of the Jews. 
 
 That night, in a quiet little city called 
 Bethlehem, of Judea, a tiny baby lay in 
 the manger among the lowing cows, be- 
 cause there was not room in the inn for 
 this wee prince from heaven. 
 
 Not far away, the shepherds were tend- 
 ing their sheep, when lo, and behold, an 
 angel stood before them, and said, ' ' Christ 
 
True Spirit Return 155 
 
 is born and is in yonder manger ;" and 
 they were filled with joy, and spread the 
 glad news quickly about. 
 
 This same angel returned to where 
 Mary and Joseph were bending over Him, 
 in His humble crib. "Name Him Jesus/' 
 commanded this white-robed figure, "for 
 that means Savior of men." 
 
 So it was, as the angel had demanded, 
 they called the babe Jesus. Now there 
 were certain Wise Men in the East who 
 knew through prophecy that it was time 
 for the Savior's arrival on earth, and 
 the exact date would be marked by a new 
 star in the sky, called the Star of the 
 East, and that it would guide them to His 
 whereabouts. 
 
 So lo, and behold! The Wise Men 
 looked up in the sky, and when they saw 
 this strange, beautiful star, they said 
 among themselves, "He has come, the 
 Savior has come, let us follow the star 
 that we may find and worship Him." 
 
 And when they had started traveling 
 the star moved on ahead of them, and 
 when it had reached where the shepherds 
 were watching their sheep it stopped over 
 their heads, for they were the first to re- 
 
156 True Spirit Return 
 
 ceive the glad tidings from an angel of 
 heaven. 
 
 "The Christ child, where is He!" asked 
 the Wise Men of the shepherds. "We 
 have seen His star in the East, and we 
 have come to worship Him. ,, 
 
 Then they pointed to the manger, and 
 no sooner had the Wise Men started than 
 the star moved on and paused over the 
 place where the Babe was resting in its 
 bed of straw. 
 
 They then entered the house, where 
 Jesus and His mother Mary and Joseph 
 were staying, and when they saw the little 
 prince from heaven they fell on their 
 knees and worshiped Him. They also 
 opened up a box if gold, frankincense, 
 and myrrh, as a present for the little 
 fellow. 
 
 King Herod was ruling at the time of 
 Christ's birth, and when he heard of it 
 he was greatly alarmed, for he thought 
 that this new king would in time take his 
 throne, so he plotted in his mind to have 
 him killed. When the Wise Men passed 
 through Jerusalem Herod stopped them 
 and told them to find out where the Christ 
 child was; that he wanted to worship 
 
True Spirit Return 157 
 
 Him, but in reality he wished to have 
 him destroyed. But the Wise Men had 
 been warned in a dream by an angel of 
 the Lord not to return to the king, and of 
 his intentions, so that went back to their 
 homes in an opposite direction. 
 
 When Herod discovered that he had 
 been deceived by the Wise Men, he was so 
 angry that he had all of the boy babies 
 under two years old killed that were in 
 the land of Israel and along the coast 
 hoping that he might kill the Christ baby 
 among them. 
 
 There was great moaning and weeping 
 among the mothers for their little ones. 
 But just after the departure of the Wise 
 Men an angel came to Joseph in a dream 
 and said, "take the child and his mother 
 and flee quickly to the land of Egypt, for 
 King Herod seeks to destroy his life. ' ' 
 
 So Joseph rises in haste and takes the 
 child and his mother to the land of Egypt, 
 and they travel in the dead of night. 
 
 "Stay here," commanded the angel, 
 "until King Herod is dead, or until I 
 give you a message to leave." 
 
 They remained in Egypt until one day 
 the angel came to them and said, "King 
 
158 True Spirit Return 
 
 Herod is dead; come back into the land of 
 Israel." 
 
 So Joseph took the mother and young 
 child and started for the land of Israel, 
 but hearing that King Herod's brother 
 ruled in his stead became frightened and 
 despite a warning from God stopped over 
 in the land of Galilee, in the city of 
 Nazareth, and so it was according to 
 prophecy Christ became the Nazarene of 
 Galilee. 
 
 He grew from babyhood to childhood 
 like any other little one, but He seemed 
 possessed with a quaint lot of knowledge 
 for His age. His mother and Joseph went 
 to Jerusalem once a year, to the Passover, 
 and always took Him with them. When 
 they were returning home from the Pass- 
 over they missed Him, but thought at 
 first that He was with some of His rela- 
 tives in another part of the company, and 
 did not get uneasy about Him until the 
 third day. He was twelve at that time. 
 Mary and Joseph went back all the way to 
 Jerusalem to find Him, and they came 
 across the Christ child sitting in the holy 
 temple among the wise men and doctors 
 of learning; expounding questions, and 
 
True Spirit Return 159 
 
 asking the meaning of matters beyond His 
 years, and they listened with amazement 
 at the remarkable wisdom that came from 
 this boy's lips. "VvTiy did yon leave us, 
 my son? Your father and I were very 
 uneasy about you," said Mary. "Why 
 should I come?" asked the Christ child. 
 "Do you not know that I must be about 
 My Father's business?" And Mary could 
 not understand this strange answer. 
 
 So Jesus grew in stature and favor, 
 with God and man. When the Christ 
 child had reached the age of manhood, 
 there came one John the Baptist, preach- 
 ing in the wilderness, and baptizing in 
 the river Jordan all who wished to repent 
 of their sins and be saved in the kingdom 
 of heaven. 
 
 Many thought that John the Baptist 
 was Jesus Christ. Multitudes from all 
 parts of the country came down to be 
 baptized and to hear this great man speak. 
 Among them came the Pharisees and Sad- 
 ducees, and John rebuked them, thus: 
 i ' Who warned you of hell-fire, you genera- 
 tion of vipers and set of hypocrites? 
 First prove yourself worthy by the good 
 fruits of your labor before coming to me. 
 
160 True Spirit Return 
 
 There comes one after me whose shoes I 
 am not worthy to nnlace. I baptize with 
 water but he will baptize you with the 
 Holy Ghost and fire. The wheat he will 
 gather. The flour he will place in the 
 garner, but the chaff he will throw into 
 the fire." 
 
 Then came Jesus from Galilee, to be 
 baptized by John the Baptist in the Eiver 
 Jordan. 
 
 ' 'Lord, it is I that should be baptized 
 by Thee, not Thou by me, for I feel that 
 I am unfit.' ' "Not so," Christ replied, 
 "suffer it be so that the laws of God and 
 righteousness shall be fulfilled." 
 
 So Jesus was baptized by John the 
 Baptist, and as the Divine One came up 
 out of the water the spirit of God in the 
 form of a dove flew down and lit on His 
 shoulder, and a voice from heaven said, 
 "This is my beloved Son in whom I am 
 well pleased." St. Matthew iii, 17. 
 
 Jesus went straightway from the River 
 Jordan to the wilderness to fast and pray 
 forty days and nights. When He was 
 very hungry, satan came to Him and said, 
 "If thou be the Son of God command 
 these stones to be turned into bread." 
 
True Spirit Return 161 
 
 "It is written that we should not live by 
 bread alone, but by the word of God," 
 Christ replied. 
 
 Then satan taketh Him to the holy city 
 of Jerusalem, and carrying Him up into a 
 high pinnacle of a temple, demanded of 
 Christ, "if thou be the Son of God cast 
 thyself down, for it is written that the 
 Lord has given His angels charge over 
 you, to bear you up lest thou dash thy 
 foot against a stone at any time." 
 
 "It is written again that thou shalt not 
 tempt the Lord thy God," Christ an- 
 swered him. 
 
 Then satan took the Savior on an ex- 
 ceedingly high mountain and showed Him 
 the glory of the surrounding kingdoms. 
 
 "All these will I give Thee if Thou wilt 
 fall down and worship me," said the 
 tempter. 
 
 "Get thee hence, satan," demanded 
 Christ, "it is written that thou shalt wor- 
 ship the Lord thy God alone," replied 
 Jesus. 
 
 Then satan left Christ for a season, and 
 angels came to minister unto Him. When 
 Christ left the wilderness He went to 
 Galilee, where He had heard that John 
 
162 True Spirit Return 
 
 the Baptist was in prison, and from there 
 to Capernaum. 
 
 He found these people in the darkness 
 of sin and shadow of death, and He 
 spread the light of the gospel before them, 
 and showed them the path to eternal life. 
 
 From this time on our Savior preached 
 constantly, all along the coast and dif- 
 ferent parts of the country, using many 
 beautiful parables as illustrations. 
 
 One day, while Jesus was preaching by 
 the seashore, He saw a man named Simon 
 Peter and his brother Andrew. They 
 were fishing, but luck was against them, 
 for their nets were empty, but at a word 
 from Christ they became full, and the men 
 marveled at this. 
 
 ' 'Follow Me," demanded Christ, "and 
 I will make you fishers of men, and Simon 
 Peter and his brother Andrew became 
 disciples of Christ. 
 
 Not far from this place, as they jour- 
 neyed by the sea, they came upon two 
 other brothers, James and John, who 
 were mending nets in their father's ship. 
 
 "Leave, and follow Me," Christ de- 
 manded, and they immediately left their 
 father's ship and went with the Savior, 
 
True Spirit Return 163 
 
 and from that time on where disciples of 
 Jesus. 
 
 The fame of the Savior spread through 
 all the country, and into the land of Syria. 
 Jesus went about preaching the gospel, 
 and healing the sick everywhere. He per- 
 formed many wonderful miracles, such as 
 raising the dead, casting out devils, and 
 curing the insane. He also healed those 
 who came to Him with incurable diseases, 
 such as the palsy and leprosy. He made 
 the lame to walk, and the blind to see, and 
 He comforted those in sorrow, and healed 
 the broken-hearted. Yet, for all this kind- 
 ness to humanity there were those who 
 found fault with Christ. The Scribes 
 criticized Him for sitting and eating at 
 the table with the Publicans, and knowing 
 their hearts Jesus rebuked them. ' ' Think- 
 est thou that I have come to call the right- 
 eous to repentance? They are saved, but 
 the sinners are lost lest I mingle with 
 them and show them the way." 
 
 They were amazed that He knew their 
 thoughts, and wondered what manner of 
 man He was that could read their minds. 
 And when Christ cast out devils there 
 were some to say that He was in league 
 
164 True Spirit Return 
 
 with Beelzebub, the leading devil, or He 
 would not have that power. 
 
 Hearing their words, he questioned them 
 thus: "Do you not think that a house or 
 kingdom divided against itself will fall? 
 Would it be of advantage to satan and 
 his kingdom that devils remain in mor- 
 tals? Yes," replied Christ. "Then why 
 should He wish to cast them out? Would 
 it add to the kingdom of heaven if all 
 possessed with evil spirits were freed 
 from them? Yes," answered our Savior. 
 
 They who had spoken were hushed and 
 awed into silence by the truth of Christ's 
 words. "He speaks with authority," they 
 whispered among themselves. 
 
 On another occasion the Scribes and 
 Pharisees accused Jesus Christ of break- 
 ing the Sabbath because He healed the 
 sick on that day, and fed His disciples by 
 plucking corn from a field. 
 
 "How many of you, if you had an ox 
 or a sheep in the ditch on Sunday, would 
 not stop to get him out, or who is it 
 among you who does not take his horse 
 to water on that day?" 
 
 They could not answer the Savior, for 
 
True Spirit Return 165 
 
 they found themselves so much in the 
 wrong. 
 
 Once, when Jesus Christ and His dis- 
 ciples were in a large crowd, a man af- 
 flicted with the leprosy came to the Savior 
 to be healed. " Cheer up, my son," said 
 the Lord, "thy sins are forgiven thee." 
 
 "Hear Him blaspheme God," declared 
 a group of Scribes and Pharisees, only 
 the Ruler above has the power to forgive 
 ,sins. 
 
 "Know you," replied Christ, "that the 
 son of man has also the power to forgive 
 sins? What difference does it make 
 whether I say son, thy sins are forgiven 
 or take up thy bed and walk — you are 
 healed ! ' ' 
 
 To prove that I have the power from 
 my heavenly Father to both heal diseases 
 and forgive sins at the same time I repeat 
 thy sins are forgiven thee; take up your 
 bed and walk. 
 
 No sooner spoken, than the man was 
 healed of his leprosy, and the Scribes and 
 Pharisees marveled and were frightened 
 at the power that Jesus Christ manifested. 
 
 They then went upon the mountain 
 where Christ preached a long sermon, the 
 
166 True Spirit Return 
 
 contents of which has been handed down 
 from generation to generation as contain- 
 ing the essential teachings of salvation. 
 In this discourse is found the golden rule, 
 and many verses that are taken as stand- 
 ing proverbs and new-year's resolutions, 
 the one I will quote for you which, if 
 followed from year to year, will make of 
 you a just and broad-minded person. 'Tis 
 this — 
 
 Judge not, that ye be not judged. 
 
 For ivith ivhat judgment ye judge, ye 
 shall be judged; and with what measure 
 ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 
 St. Matthew vii, 1, 2. 
 
 We are warned against false prophets 
 who come to us in sheep's clothing, but 
 inwardly they are ravening wolves. We 
 will know them by their fruit. "Do we 
 gather grapes of thorns, or figs of this- 
 tles?" questioned our Savior; "nor does a 
 bad tree give good fruit nor a good tree 
 bad fruit; but the bad tree is hewn down 
 and thrown into the fire while the good 
 tree is saved. Thou must not save up 
 treasures on earth alone, where moth and 
 rust doth corrupt and thieves do break 
 
True Spirit Return 167 
 
 through and steal, bat rather lay up for 
 yourselves treasures in heaven, where 
 moth and rust do not corrupt and thieves 
 do not break through and steal, for where 
 your treasure is there will be your heart. ' ' 
 
 The Savior exhorted them that they 
 should love not only their neighbors but 
 their enemies as well; and they should 
 pray for them which persecuted and de- 
 spitefully treated them, and they shall 
 have their reward in heaven. 
 
 Jesus Christ taught the spirit of love, 
 humility, and forgiveness, as well as 
 generosity. But He cautioned them thus: 
 "Give not that which is holy unto the 
 dogs, neither cast your pearls before 
 swine lest they trample them under-foot 
 and turn and rend you again.' ' 
 
 He also explained the commandments 
 to them. "It is said," declared Christ, 
 "that thou shalt not kill, but I say that 
 if you are angry with him without a cause 
 you will be in danger of judgment, or if 
 you say to him you fool, you will be in 
 danger of hell-fire. It is written in the 
 commandments, thou shalt not swear, ex- 
 cept to the Lord, but I say that you shall 
 not swear bv heaven above, for it is God's 
 
168 True Spirit Return 
 
 throne; nor by the earth, for it is His 
 foot-stool; nor by the city of Jerusalem, 
 for it is the city of the King; nor by thy 
 head for thou canst not make one hair 
 white or black. If thy eye offend thee, 
 pluck it out," commanded Christ, "or thy 
 hand or arm offend thee, cut them off; 
 for it is better to lose a portion of your 
 body than your whole soul should be cast 
 into hell." 
 
 By Christ's last statement He means if 
 anything stands between you and the 
 kingdom of heaven cast it aside, no mat- 
 ter how great the sacrifice. 
 
 "Ask, and it shall be given thee by thy 
 Divine Father," said our Savior, "knock, 
 and it shall be opened unto you; seek and 
 ye shall find. For if our earthly fathers 
 know how to give good gifts, how much 
 better does our heavenly Father know 
 how to give; for who among you if he 
 were to ask for bread would expect to 
 receive a stone from his earthly parent." 
 
 Then Christ .said these beautiful words, 
 which have brought so much peace and 
 comfort to the hearts of many: 
 
 Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs 
 is the kingdom, of heaven. 
 
True Spirit Return 169 
 
 Blessed are they that mourn; for they 
 shall be comforted. 
 
 Blessed are the meek; for they shall 
 inherit the earth. 
 
 Blessed are they which do hunger and 
 thirst after righteousness; for they shall 
 be filled. 
 
 Blessed are the merciful; for they shall 
 obtain mercy. 
 
 Blessed are the pure in heart; for they 
 shall see God. 
 
 Blessed are the peacemakers; for they 
 shall be called the children of God. 
 
 Blessed are they which are persecuted 
 for righteousness' sake; for theirs is the 
 kingdom of heaven. 
 
 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile 
 you, and persecute you and shall say all 
 manner of evil against you falsely for my 
 sake. 
 
 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad; for 
 great is your reward in heaven; for so 
 persecuted they the prophets which were 
 before you. 
 
 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the 
 salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall 
 it be salted? it is thenceforth good for 
 
170 True Spirit Return 
 
 nothing, but to be cast out, and to be 
 trodden under foot of men. 
 
 Ye are the light of the world. A city 
 that is set on an hill, cannot be hid. 
 
 —St. Matthew v, 3-14. 
 
 These twelve verses contained in 
 Christ's Sermon on the Monnt are the 
 twelve beatitudes that have been for cen- 
 turies past used as references as to the 
 virtue and blessing of an individual. Note 
 that there is a verse for every month — 
 twelve of them. Now, what month in the 
 year were you born? If in February, 
 your verse would be the second to cor- 
 respond with the second month beginning 
 with the first beatitude, and your virtue 
 and blessing would be according. Now 
 look and see which verse is yours. 
 
 "When Christ had finished His Sermon 
 on the Mount, He concluded with these 
 words: " Those who hearken unto my 
 saying, and do them, I would liken to a 
 wise man, who built his house upon a 
 rock. The rain descended; the winds 
 blew; the floods came, and beat upon that 
 house, but it stood as firm as the rock 
 upon which it was built. But those who 
 
True Spirit Return 171 
 
 do not heed My teachings, I would liken 
 nnto a foolish man, who bnilt his house 
 upon the sand. The rains descended; 
 the winds blew; the floods came, and beat 
 against that house and it fell, and great 
 was the fall." 
 
 In Christ's Sermon on the Mount, we 
 find the Lord's prayer, the prayer that 
 begins with "Our Father which art in 
 heaven, hallowed be Thy name," and has 
 been said for ages past, the world over, 
 in all of the churches, synagogues, halls 
 and temples, in the palace of the king, 
 and also homes, from the mansion on 
 down to the humblest hut. 
 
 When our Savior had come down from 
 the mountain it was eventide, and friends 
 and relatives brought their loved ones 
 who were sick and afflicted, and laid them 
 at Jesus' feet to be healed. He had but 
 to lay His hands upon them and speak a 
 few words and they were well. 
 
 Among the rest, there came a centurion, 
 who knelt and beseeched Jesus to cure his 
 servant who was at the house sick with 
 the palsy. 
 
 "Lord," he exclaimed, "my servant 
 suff ereth much. Wilt thou not cure him ? ' ' 
 
172 True Spirit Return 
 
 ' 'Bring him to me," Christ requested. 
 
 "Savior, he is at my house, which is a 
 long ways off." 
 
 "Then," replied Jesus, "I will go there 
 myself. ' ' 
 
 "No, Master," answered the centurion, 
 "my roof is no fit resting place for Thy 
 presence; for I am a man of great au- 
 thority, with a large number of soldiers 
 under my command. I ,say this or that 
 and they obey my orders." 
 
 "A greater faith, a more humble spirit, 
 I have never beheld in all of Israel," 
 Christ replied. "Son," exclaimed the 
 Savior of souls and men, "thy faith hath 
 made they servant well; and at that self- 
 same hour the man with palsy was cured. 
 
 "There will be many from the east and 
 the west sitting with me at My Father's 
 throne, along with Abraham, Isaac and 
 Jacob, and you will be among them, ' ■ 
 Christ said to the centurion. 
 
 The crowds followed them, and as they 
 passed through towns, villages, and cities, 
 the sick were placed in the street for 
 Christ to heal. There was one woman 
 who had suffered with an incurable plague 
 for many years, and she had trouble in 
 
True Spirit Return 173 
 
 reaching Him for the multitude ahead of 
 her. "If I could only touch the hem of 
 His garment/' she exclaimed in despera- 
 tion. She finally succeeded in reaching 
 the Savior as He was passing on through 
 the crowd, and she placed her finger-tips 
 lightly on the edge of His robe. Feeling 
 that His power had gone out from Him, 
 He turned to see who had laid their hand 
 upon the border of His garment. 
 
 " Sister, " He said, "thy faith hath 
 made thee whole," and from that moment 
 she was well and strong. 
 
 As Jesus and His disciples went on in 
 their journey, a certain scribe, hearing the 
 wonderful teachings of our Savior, and 
 seeing His marvelous works, wished to 
 go with Him. 
 
 "Lord and Master, permit me," he 
 pleaded, "to follow Thee whithersoever 
 thou goeth." 
 
 But Christ replied, "the foxes have 
 holes, the birds have nests, but the Son 
 of God hath nowhere to lay His head." 
 To His disciple, who wished to tarry in 
 order to bury his father who had just 
 died, the Savior commanded him to let 
 the dead bury their dead. To the multi- 
 
174 True Spirit Return 
 
 tude He said, "take no thought of what 
 ye shall eat, drink or wear on the mor- 
 row. Sufficient unto the day is the evil 
 thereof. Doth not the heavenly Father, 
 who feedeth the raven, and knoweth when 
 the sparrow falleth to the ground, com- 
 prehend your needs and wishes'? For 
 how much greater are you than the birds 
 of the air?" 
 
 And ivhy take ye thought for raiment? 
 Consider the lilies of the field, how they 
 grow; they toil not, neither do they spin!" 
 
 And yet I say unto you, That even 
 Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed 
 like one of these. 
 
 —St. Matthew vi, 28, 29. 
 
 "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and 
 all things, shall be added unto you," de- 
 clared the Savior. 
 
 When they had proceeded into another 
 town, Jesus saw Matthew counting out re- 
 ceipts, "come and follow me," the Master 
 said, and immediately the man left his 
 work and followed Christ. From that 
 time on he became a disciple of Jesus. 
 They then got into a boat, just Christ and 
 His disciples, that they might get over on 
 
True Spirit Return 175 
 
 the opposite shores to rest from the mul- 
 titude, but the crowd followed them in 
 boats and Jesus was compelled, though 
 worn and weary, to continue preaching 
 and healing. It was getting on close to 
 eventide, and the crowd, having brought 
 no dinner along, were hungry. 
 
 "What shall we do, Lord?" asked the 
 disciples. "They look as though they are 
 famished. Had we not better send them 
 home to get something to eat?" 
 
 "No," replied the Lord, "they would 
 famish and faint by the wayside." 
 
 "But Lord, how are we to feed such a 
 large crowd?" they asked. 
 
 "How much food have we?" asked 
 Christ. 
 
 "Five loaves and two fishes." "Pass 
 them around to the crowd," was Christ's 
 command to His disciples. 
 
 "But how can we feed a crowd of five 
 thousand with five loaves and two fishes ? ' ' 
 they asked. 
 
 "Oh ye of little faith; break up the 
 bread and fishes as I demanded thee and 
 pass them around," commanded Christ, 
 and they did accordingly, and found that 
 
176 True Spirit Return 
 
 everyone had a plentiful supply, and there 
 were twelve baskets of scraps left over. 
 
 Then the crowds returned to their 
 homes, and Jesus and His disciples got in 
 their boat to cross over into the other 
 side of the country. It was night, and the 
 winds and waves were high. A tempest 
 was stirring in the air. The Lord was 
 fast asleep on a pillow in the back of the 
 boat. "Wake up, Master,' ' they ex- 
 claimed, "lest we perish. ,, 
 
 "Fear not," He replied, rebuking the 
 winds and waves until they became calm, 
 and they marveled at His power, saying 
 among themselves "even the sea obeys 
 His voice." 
 
 When they had reached the other shore 
 it was morning, and there came to meet 
 them a man possessed with many devils. 
 He made his home for years among the 
 tombs and the wild mountain sides. Night 
 and day he would run back and forth 
 among the tombs and mountains, cutting 
 himself with rocks and crying. He had 
 been chained and bound with iron fetters 
 but had burst them asunder. No one 
 could tame him, and all fled in terror at 
 sight of him. But when he saw Jesus 
 
True Spirit Return 177 
 
 from a distance he fell down and wor- 
 shiped Him, calling ont in a lond voice, 
 " Christ, the Son of God, why hast thou 
 come to torment us?" But Jesus was 
 not afraid, and went close to the man 
 and said "What is thy name!" 
 
 "Legion," he replied, "for we are 
 many. ' ' 
 
 Then the devils within the man began 
 to beseech Christ at least not to drive 
 them out of the country. 
 
 "Leave! thou evil spirits from this man, 
 to return never more," and they straight- 
 way left his body as their abode. At that 
 moment there happened along a herd of 
 swine, two thousand in number, and ac- 
 cording to the wish of the devils not to 
 be driven out of the country, Christ per- 
 mitted them to enter the swine, and the 
 hogs, being possessed with the devil, ran 
 violently down the hill, and were choked 
 in the sea. The men who were tending 
 the swine were frightened at what they 
 saw and ran to the city, telling everyone 
 they met what had happened to the wild 
 man and the hogs. The man who had 
 been possessed with evil spirits was sit- 
 ting quietly on a stone, clothed in his 
 
178 True Spirit Return 
 
 right mind, and when the crowds came to 
 look at him, Jesus, noticing that they 
 shrank back and were afraid of him, said 
 — "fear him not; he will not harm yon 
 now. He was so grateful to Christ for 
 what He had done for him that he wished 
 to remain with the Savior and serve Him 
 the remainder of his days, but Jesus bade 
 him to return to his people and tell them 
 what the Lord had done for him. When 
 the multitude had left it was evening, and 
 Christ, having preached the gospel to 
 many, and healed quite a large number of 
 people of their afflictions, told his disciples 
 to get in a ship, while He went up on the 
 mountain to pray. When they were in 
 the boat, and Christ was alone on the 
 mountain-side, He saw that the winds 
 were contrary and boisterous, and they 
 were having a hard time to make the ship 
 go. So about the fourth watch of the 
 night Christ went to them, walking on 
 the sea. When they saw Him they were 
 frightened, for they thought that He was 
 a spirit. 
 
 "Be of good cheer/ ' said Christ, "be 
 not afraid, it is only I." 
 
 "Lord Jesus, if it is really you," said 
 
True Spirit Return 179 
 
 Peter, "command me to walk on these 
 waves to Thee." 
 
 "Come/' demanded Christ, and Peter 
 stepped out of the ship and onto the 
 water, but when he had walked a short 
 distance, and he began to sink, he be- 
 came frightened, and holding out his arms 
 to the Lord, he cried out, "save me, Lord 
 Jesus, ere I perish." 
 
 The Savior caught him by his arms and 
 held him up. Oh ye, of little faith, think 
 ye, that I would let you perish?" Christ 
 exclaimed. No sooner had Jesus Christ 
 and Peter entered the boat than there 
 was a great calm of the winds and waves, 
 and they marveled again at the power of 
 the Lord. The Savior called His twelve 
 disciples to Him, and told them to go out 
 in twos, preaching the gospel in different 
 parts of the country. He gave them the 
 power to heal the sick and to cast out 
 devils, and also instructed them how to 
 preach. "You must always be courteous 
 when you enter a town, village or city," 
 demanded Christ. "When you go to one's 
 home salute, and if they treat you kindly 
 mark it down as peace and a blessing for 
 that home, but should they be disrespect- 
 
180 True Spirit Return 
 
 ful, or refuse to admit you into their 
 dwelling, shake the dust off of your feet 
 and never return to that place again, but 
 mark it down for a curse. For verily, I 
 say that one who mistreats and refuses to 
 receive Me denies My heavenly Father, 
 who sent Me here on earth to save the 
 souls of men, and it is the same with My 
 disciples, whosoever denies and treats 
 them unkind it is the same as denying 
 Me and are subject to punishment. You 
 are going among wolves in sheep's cloth- 
 ing a great part of the time; be careful,'' 
 cautioned Christ, "lest they put you in 
 prison. Be as wise as serpents, and as 
 harmless as doves," the Savior advised 
 them. So they went their different ways 
 in twos, as Jesus had wished them, and 
 they preached and healed the sick. One 
 day, when they had returned from one of 
 their trips, they complained to Christ that 
 a stranger had been seen by them casting 
 out devils, and he was not a follower of 
 yours. "Was it right that he should do 
 this?" they asked. 
 
 "Did he do this in my name?" ques- 
 tioned the Savior. 
 
 "Yes," they replied. 
 
True Spirit Return 181 
 
 "Then he committed no sin," Christ 
 answered them, "he who giveth a cnp of 
 cold water in My name," continued Jesns, 
 "also shall have his reward in heaven." 
 
 "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of 
 God?" they asked. Christ took a little 
 child and held him in His arms. "One of 
 these," He replied, "and should any man 
 do aught for a child of earth in My name 
 great will be his blessings. But should 
 any man do aught against one of these 
 that believe in Me, it were better that a 
 millstone were tied around his neck and 
 he were cast into the ,sea." Then the 
 mothers brought their children to Jesus to 
 be blessed by Him, but His disciples, fear- 
 ing that this might disturb and worry 
 Christ, tried to stop them, but He re- 
 proved His apostles for this, saying, ' ' suf- 
 fer, them to come unto Me, and forbid 
 them not, for of such is the kingdom of 
 heaven. ' ' 
 
 When it was eventide Jesus took Peter, 
 James and John on an exceeding high 
 mountain. When they were alone Christ 
 became transfigured before them. His 
 raiment appeared as white as snow, and 
 His face shown like a bright light, and 
 
182 True Spirit Return 
 
 there was talking with Him the two 
 prophets Moses and Elias that had been 
 dead for long ages past. Here we have 
 illustration of spirit return, which is one 
 among many, for all through the Bible we 
 find such examples. To quote the exact 
 words, I will give you the 4th verse of 
 St. Mark, 9th chapter: 
 
 And there appeared unto them Elias, 
 with Moses; and they were talking with 
 Jesus. 
 
 "It is good for us to be here, Lord," 
 said Peter. "Wilt thou not permit us to 
 build three tabernacles; one for Thee, 
 one for Moses, and one for Elias ?" 
 
 But Jesus did not answer him, for He 
 knew that the disciples were afraid of 
 this return of the two prophets from the 
 dead, and that Peter was so frightened 
 that he was only talking through his hat. 
 A cloud then overshadowed the three 
 forms, and a voice spoke out from the 
 mist and said, "this is My beloved Son, 
 hear ye Him." When the cloud had van- 
 ished, there was only Christ, and He 
 charged His disciples not to tell what they 
 had seen until He had been buried and 
 had risen from the dead. Again, we have 
 
True Spirit Return 183 
 
 a reference in the scriptures of spirit 
 return, and we can find this announcement 
 in the 9th verse of the 9th chapter of 
 St. Mark, as follows: 
 
 And as they came down from the moun- 
 tain, he charged them that they should tell 
 no man what things they had seen, till the 
 Son of Man were risen from the dead. 
 
 They questioned each other as to what 
 the Savior could mean by, "return from 
 the dead," hut they hated to ask Him for 
 an explanation. When they had come 
 down from the mountain-top, Christ called 
 all of His twelve disciples to Him and 
 told them that the time was nigh at hand 
 when the Son of God would be killed by 
 the son of man. "They will," continued 
 Jesus, "throw Him into prison, scoff at 
 Him, scourge and spit on Him, and finally 
 crucify Him on the Cross with a crown of 
 thorns upon His brow." 
 
 "We would not permit anything like 
 that to happen to our Savior," replied 
 Peter, and at that moment satan crept in 
 trying to tempt Christ to let His disciples 
 save Him from such a fate. But Jesus 
 ordered the devil away with these words, 
 "get thee from behind Me, satan," and to 
 
184 True Spirit Return 
 
 His apostles He replied, "suffer that it 
 be so that the ransom for souls might be 
 paid." When they had gone but a little 
 ways there came running after them a 
 man and knelt at Jesus 's feet, saying: 
 ' ' Good Lord and Master, what can I do to 
 inherit eternal life?" 
 
 "Hast thou kept the commandments 1 ' ' 
 questioned Christ. 
 
 "From my youth up," answered the 
 young man. 
 
 Jesus looked at him and loved him. 
 "Son," He said, "there is one thing thou 
 lackest. Sell all that thou hast and give 
 it to the poor. Then take up thy cross, 
 and follow me," but the young man 
 turned away, grieved, for he had great 
 possessions. 
 
 "How hard it is, children," said Christ 
 in sorrowful tones, "for the rich to enter 
 the kingdom of heaven." 
 
 "Who then can be saved!" questioned 
 Peter, in a troubled voice. I follow thee 
 and observe the commandments," he con- 
 continued, "but I have not sold all my 
 possessions, nor have I given up my fam- 
 ily for Thee." 
 
 "There is no man living who has given 
 
True Spirit Return 185 
 
 up father, mother, brother and sister, 
 wife and children, all for Me," Christ re- 
 plied. 
 
 "How then, is it possible for anyone 
 to be saved?" asked the disciples. 
 
 "With man, many things seem impos- 
 sible, bnt with God, all things are pos- 
 sible," Christ replied. 
 
 The Savior then left them, and went on 
 His way to Capernaum. When the dis- 
 ciples were alone together, they argued 
 among themselves as to which should be 
 the greatest after Christ had left them. 
 When Jesus returned, He asked them 
 what big discussion had they been holding 
 in His absence, but they were ashamed 
 to tell Him. 
 
 "Know ye that he that is first shall be 
 last, and he that is last shall be first, and 
 the greatest among you is the least, for he 
 that serveth the world in My name is a 
 servant of the Lord, and greater than the 
 ones He has served." 
 
 Even so does the son of man; for even 
 the son of man came not to be ministered 
 unto but to minister, and to give his life 
 a ransom for many. — St. Mark x, 45. 
 
186 True Spirit Return 
 
 When they had traveled to Bethany, 
 close to the Mount of Olives, Jesus told 
 His twelve disciples that He was going 
 into Jerusalem, and He sent two of His 
 apostles to go to a village near by, and 
 to get a colt that no man had ridden, 
 and to unloose him, and bring him to 
 where they were stopping. 
 
 ' l They will ask of you, why are you 
 taking him away, and your must answer, 
 that the Lord and Master hath need of 
 him, and they will say no more." 
 
 The two apostles went to the village as 
 Jesus had demanded to them, and found 
 the colt hitched to a house where two 
 roads met, and they unfastened him. 
 Just as the Lord had said, a man standing 
 near by questioned them, thus: "Why 
 are you unhitching him?" "The Master 
 hath need of him," they answered, and 
 the disciples were permitted to carry the 
 colt away without further words. They 
 returned with him to Christ, and throwing 
 their garments over his back, the Lord 
 mounted him and rode away. The dis- 
 ciples walked at His side, and the multi- 
 tude followed them, some going ahead and 
 others behind, and they shouted, "Hosan- 
 
True Spirit Return 187 
 
 na, to the Son of King David, and Lord 
 from heaven. Hosanna, in the highest," 
 they sang. Some threw garments in the 
 path of the Savior for His colt to tread 
 upon, and others plucked branches from 
 the trees and spread them before Him. 
 Thus Christ, accompanied by His apostles 
 and a multitude of people who loved and 
 worshipped Him, made His entry into the 
 City of Jerusalem on a colt that no man 
 had ever ridden before. Jesus went into 
 the holy temple, and found that the scribes 
 and high priests were desecrating this 
 sacred place, for they were buying and 
 selling there the things they ought not. 
 Christ overturned the moneychanger's 
 tables, and would not permit anyone to go 
 out with doves or silver cups which the 
 scribes and high priests had sold them. 
 To the .scribes and priests he said, "the 
 holy temple of G-od is, and always will be, 
 the house of prayer, but you have made 
 it a den of thieves." 
 
 The scribes, Pharisees and high priests 
 were so angry with Jesus that they sought 
 among themselves how they might kill 
 Him, but they were afraid of the people. 
 So the Savior passed out unharmed, for 
 
188 True Spirit Return 
 
 His time had not yet come. The disciples 
 and Himself went from there to Bethany, 
 and they spent the entire day and night 
 in this village. It was eventide when they 
 journeyed forth from there, and Jesns 
 having not eaten since He left Jerusalem 
 was exceedingly hungry. Seeing a fig 
 tree from a distance with leaves upon it 
 they went over to where it stood, hoping 
 that they might find fruit, but the time for 
 figs had not come. "No man shall ever 
 eat figs from thee any more, in the pres- 
 ent or future," said Christ to the tree. 
 They then returned to the holy city of 
 Jerusalem, and Jesus went again into 
 the temple of God, and the scribes and 
 high priests came to Him, and said, "by 
 what authority did You overturn our 
 money tables V 9 
 
 "I will answer your question," Jesus 
 replied, "if you will answer Mine. Did 
 John the Baptist baptize with power from 
 God or man?" questioned Christ. 
 
 They were afraid to say "with power 
 from heaven" for fear that He would 
 say "why did ye not believe?" And they 
 feared not to say that the power was from 
 John the Baptist, for many of the people 
 
True Spirit Return 189 
 
 had great faith in this prophet, so they 
 answered "we cannot tell." 
 
 "Then," replied Jesus, "I cannot tell 
 why I did these things in the temple which 
 yon complain about." 
 
 The Savior passed ont again unharmed, 
 although they would have liked very much 
 to destroy Him. He and His twelve dis- 
 ciples then went back to the little town 
 of Bethany. On their way they passed 
 the fig tree that Jesus Christ had cursed, 
 and it had withered away to the ground. 
 
 "Look, Lord," exclaimed Peter, "the 
 fig tree that Thou cursedst is dead ! What 
 shall we do after Thou art gone?" he 
 questioned of Christ. 
 
 ' ' Your heavenly Father will send a com- 
 forter to take My place when I am gone 
 — the Holy Ghost — and he will guide and 
 remind you of My teachings. But verily, 
 I say unto you, have faith in God and 
 prayer, for it is written that if two or 
 more are gathered together in My name, 
 and pray for a certain thing, and have 
 faith, it .shall come to pass," continued 
 Christ, as we find it in the 23d and 24th 
 verses of the 11th chapter of St. Mark, 
 as follows: 
 
190 True Spirit Return 
 
 For verily I say unto you, that who- 
 soever shall say unto this mountain, Be 
 thou removed, and he thou cast into the 
 sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but 
 shall believe that those things which he 
 saith shall come to pass; he shall have 
 whatsoever he saith. 
 
 Therefore I say unto you, What things 
 soever ye desire when ye pray, believe 
 that ye receive them, and ye shall have 
 them. 
 
 ' ' When ye pray/' said the Savior, "do 
 not forget to ask God to help yon, to for- 
 give those who have trespassed against 
 yon. For if yon are not willing to for- 
 give, how can yon expect to be forgiven 
 by yonr Father in heaven ?" 
 
 As Christ and His apostles were sitting 
 up against the treasure house of the 
 Lord, there were many rich ones who 
 threw in large sums of money, but finally 
 a poor widow came along and placed in 
 the box two pence. There were some 
 standing near by who scoffed and laughed 
 at this small amount, but Christ reproved 
 them, saying, "she hath given more than 
 the rest, for it is all that she hath, but the 
 
True Spirit Return 191 
 
 rich have given out of their plenty, and 
 will not miss it." They went on a little 
 farther and the crowd followed, and Jesns 
 Christ paused to preach the gospel to 
 them, for it was close to His last days on 
 earth. The scribes and high priests, 
 anxious to confuse the Savior and get 
 something against him that they might 
 have Him arrested and thrown into pris- 
 on, brought a woman before Him, and 
 stood her in their midst. "Behold, here 
 is a woman who has sinned grievously 
 and broken one of the ten commandments. 
 Did you say that Moses ordered, accord- 
 ing to the law, that such as she should be 
 stoned?" questioned the scribes and chief 
 priests. 
 
 Christ, seeing the wickedness of their 
 hearts, answered them wisely, "which 
 one among you is guiltless let him cast the 
 first stone?" And they all hung their 
 heads, for they were conscience-stricken, 
 and one by one, even to the eldest, left 
 the place and Jesus Was alone with the 
 woman. 
 
 "Sister," He said, "has any man ac- 
 cused you of breaking this command- 
 ment?" 
 
192 True Spirit Return 
 
 "No, Lord," she replied. 
 
 "Then go and sin no more," Christ 
 commanded her. "Thy sins are forgiven 
 thee," he said. When Peter, Andrew, 
 James and John got an opportunity they 
 called the Savior away from the crowd 
 and other disciples to ask a few questions 
 of Him on the qniet. 
 
 "Lord, what did yon mean in your ser- 
 mon, "By the destruction of the temple," 
 and "the judgment of Christ?" they ques- 
 tioned Him. 
 
 "Do you see this temple of stone, and 
 these massive buildings?" Christ asked 
 of them as He sat down on the side of 
 Mount of Olives, and leaned His back 
 against the walls of the temple. "In that 
 day, when the Son of God shall return to 
 sift the wheat from the chaff, not one of 
 those stones will you find standing. Close 
 to that time, false prophets will rise up 
 in My name, and also false Christs will 
 attempt to lure you into believing it is 
 I. Men will deceive you in those days, if 
 they can, but heed them not. There shall 
 be wars and rumors of wars and divers 
 happenings. Nations shall rise up against 
 nations, and kingdoms against kingdoms, 
 
True Spirit Return 193 
 
 but be not troubled, for the time of judg- 
 ment is not yet come. These shall be sor- 
 rowful times, for there shall be plagues 
 and famines throughout the world. Ye, 
 who are righteous, shall be hated and per- 
 secuted for My sake; but remain faithful 
 unto the end and ye shall be saved. They 
 may even bring you before the courts, 
 but be not troubled, nor even think what 
 words either before or then ye shall say, 
 for the Holy Ghost, that the Father hath 
 sent from above, shall be in you, and shall 
 speak the truth for you. 
 
 ' ' Brothers shall rise up against brothers 
 to have them killed, children against 
 parents, and parents against children. 
 Never in the history of the world, either 
 before or after the earth was first cre- 
 ated, is there known to be such sorrows, 
 trials and tribulations. Then the sun and 
 moon will refuse to give their light and 
 the stars will fall. The heavens will be 
 shaken, and then ye shall know that the 
 judgment day is at hand. The son of 
 God and the son of man will come in all 
 His glory, wrapped in a cloud of light, 
 and He will send His angels to the four 
 winds of the earth to gather them up 
 
194 True Spirit Return 
 
 from the uttermost parts of the world to 
 the uttermost parts of heaveu. 
 
 "The return of Christ, my dear dis- 
 ciples is likened unto the parable of the 
 fig tree," said Jesus. "When you see 
 fresh, green leaves upon it, you know that 
 summer is nigh at hand. When you see 
 these signs that I have told you about, you 
 will know that the judgment of Christ is 
 near at hand, even at the door, but the 
 moment or the hour or the day, no man 
 knoweth, not even the angels in heaven, 
 nor the Son of God, but the Father, alone. 
 
 "When the Son of God is crucified, and 
 risen from the dead, the third day He 
 goeth to His heavenly Father. It is like, 
 when I leave this world, unto a man who 
 goes forth on a long journey, and he in- 
 structs his servants and porter to have 
 the house in order, for he knows not the 
 hour that he may return, whether at morn, 
 at eve, or at midnight. So he leaves his 
 command to watch, lest he find them 
 sleeping. And unto you, My dear dis- 
 ciples, and the world at large, I say. 
 Watch, lest the Son of God returns at 
 any moment and find you sleeping on that 
 great and awful day." 
 
True Spirit Return 195 
 
 It was two days until the Passover, 
 and the scribes, chief priest and the elders 
 of the people had met at the palace of 
 Caiaphas, the high priest, to consult how 
 they might kill Christ by craft. They 
 said, it would not do to kill Him on the 
 day of the Passover on account of the 
 people, for they would rise up in rebel- 
 lion against it. In Bethany, at that time, 
 Christ and His twelve disciples were eat- 
 ing at the home of Simon, the leper, when 
 a woman came with an alabaster box, full 
 of precious ointment, and breaking it open 
 she poured the entire contents on His 
 head. 
 
 "What waste," the disciples exclaimed 
 indignantly, "she could have sold the 
 ointment for three hundred pence, and 
 given the money to the poor." 
 
 "Blame her not, or murmur against 
 her," commanded Jesus, "for she hath 
 wrought a good deed, and verily, I say, 
 that wheresoever the gospel shall be 
 preached in all parts of the world, this 
 what she has done will be told as a memo- 
 rial of her, for she hath anointed before- 
 hand, My body, for burying." 
 
 "As for the poor," continued Christ, 
 
196 True Spirit Return 
 
 "ye have thein with you always, to do 
 good whenever you wish, but Me you 
 have hut a little while." 
 
 When Jesus had ceased to speak, there 
 rose one of the twelve apostles, named 
 Judas Iscariot, and went to the palace of 
 the high priest, where they were plotting 
 against the life of Jesus Christ. 
 
 "What will you give me," he asked, 
 "if I deliver him unto you." 
 
 They promised Judas thirty pieces of 
 silver if he would get the Savior into 
 their hands by craft, and from that time 
 on Judas Iscariot sought an opportunity 
 to betray Christ. When it was the day 
 of unleavened bread the disciples asked 
 the Savior where they should prepare the 
 feast of the Passover so that they might 
 eat it together. Jesus selected two of His 
 apostles to go to the city, and said to 
 them, "you will see a man carrying a 
 pitcher, follow him, and when he enters 
 the house say to him, "my good man, 
 where is the guest room! My Lord and 
 Master wishes to eat the Passover supper 
 at your home with His disciples, and he 
 will show you a large upper room with 
 everything already prepared." "Come, 
 
True Spirit Return 197 
 
 then, and let us know, that we may re- 
 turn immediately and partake of the 
 Passover. " The two apostles went to the 
 city and found the place, and that it was 
 as the Lord had told them, so they re- 
 turned for the rest. It was evening when 
 Christ and His disciples reached the house 
 where they were to eat the Feast of the 
 Passover, afterwards called The Lord's 
 Supper, which has been kept in all the 
 Christian churches since that time. For 
 it was the last supper they had eaten 
 together before His crucifixion, and was 
 accompanied by a feeling of deep sadness. 
 
 "Do this in memory of Me," He said 
 to His disciples, and the remainder of the 
 Christian world now and forever after, 
 "lest ye forget the agony that the Son of 
 God and the Son of Man went through 
 for your sakes. The bread represents 
 My Body, that shall be nailed upon the 
 Cross, and the wine My blood, that shall 
 be shed for you that your soul may have 
 eternal life." 
 
 Jesus Christ and His twelve disciples 
 sat down at the table together, and the 
 Savior took the bread and blessed it and 
 breaking it up, passed it to them. "Take, 
 
198 True Spirit Return 
 
 eat," He said, "for this is My body." 
 He then gave thanks, and ponring ont 
 the wine passed it to the apostles. "Take, 
 drink," He said, "for this is My blood. 
 Verily, I ,say unto thee, there is one 
 among you who shall betray Me," Jesus 
 told His twelve disciples. 
 
 "Is it I Lord, is it IV And another 
 asked, "Is it I!" 
 
 "The one who dippeth with Me in the 
 dish," Jesus Christ replied. "The Son 
 of man must go, as it is written, but woe 
 unto that man who betrays Him," uttered 
 the Savior. "It would be better that He 
 had never been born." 
 
 After they had sung a hymn, Jesus and 
 His apostles went up on the Mount of 
 Olives to rest and pray. "This night I 
 will do that which will cause you to be 
 offended with me," Christ announced sad- 
 ly. "I will smite the shepherd, and the 
 sheep will be scattered, but on the third 
 day I will go before you into Galilee." 
 "I will not get offended with Thee," said 
 Simon Peter, "though all the rest may. 
 I love You so, that I would lay down my 
 life for Thee," he added vehemently. 
 
True Spirit Return 199 
 
 "Neither will I get angry with You, 
 Lord," they all chimed in. 
 
 Jesus turned His attention to Peter, 
 and said, " verily, I say unto you, Simon 
 Peter, this night before the cock has 
 crowed twice you will deny Me thrice.' ' 
 
 "No, Lord, I could not do that," an- 
 swered Peter, and he repeated his asser- 
 tion that he would die for Him. The 
 Savior then took Peter, James and John 
 and went to the garden of Gethsemane, 
 that He might pray to His heavenly 
 Father for strength and courage for the 
 coming hours of agony. For His body 
 seemed to have suddenly grown heavy 
 and weary, and His soul was sorrowful 
 unto death. Great drops like drops of 
 blood, stood out upon His brow. 
 
 "Tarry here, and rest," Christ said to 
 His disciples, "while I go alone to pray." 
 
 And Jesus went a little distance off, 
 and dropping on His knees, lifted His 
 voice in prayer to the almighty God, and 
 these were His words in this moment of 
 anguish. And he said, Abba, Father, all 
 things are possible unto thee; take away 
 this cup from me; nevertheless not what I 
 
200 True Spirit Return 
 
 will, hut what Thou wilt. St. Mark xiv, 
 36. 
 
 When the Savior returned He found 
 them sleeping. 
 
 " Simon Peter/' He said, "couldst thou 
 not have watched one hour longer! Watch 
 and pray lest ye yield to temptation, ' 9 
 cautioned Christ of His disciples. "The 
 spirit is indeed willing but the flesh is 
 weak. ' ' 
 
 But they were deep in slumber and did 
 not hear or answer Him, so Jesus walked 
 away, and prayed again to the heavenly 
 Father. When He returned they were 
 still asleep, and He repeated to them 
 what He said before, but their lids were 
 closed heavily over their eyes and they 
 knew not what the Savior had spoken. 
 So Christ left them again to pray, and 
 when He return a third time and found 
 them still wrapped in slumber He said, 
 "Sleep on now and get your rest; it is 
 enough; behold the hour has come when 
 the Son of Man has been betrayed into 
 the hands of sinners." 
 
 "Come, arise, and let us go hence," de- 
 
True Spirit Return 201 
 
 manded Jesus. "Lo, the man by whose 
 hand I have been betrayed is here." 
 
 And no sooner had Christ spoken than 
 Judas, one of the twelve appeared with a 
 multitude, who were armed with swords 
 and staves, and the chief priests, scribes 
 and elders of the people were along. 
 Judas hastened forward to greet our 
 Savior, and kissed Him, saying at the 
 same time, ' ' Master, Master, ' ' For he had 
 said to the enemy, "whosoever I kiss that 
 will be as a token that it is Christ. Take 
 Him away in safety to the palace of the 
 high priest." 
 
 When Judas had betrayed the Son of 
 Man with a kiss the multitude laid rough 
 hands upon Him and took Him away. 
 There was one in the crowd who cut off 
 the ear of one of the servants of the high 
 priest with his sword. He did so, be- 
 cause his indignation against the mob 
 who were taking Jesus from them knew 
 no bounds. But Christ told him to put up 
 his sword for those who fought with the 
 sword should die by one. To those who 
 were leading Him away, Jesus said, 
 "Know ye that were I to send up a peti- 
 tion to My heavenly Father to be deliv- 
 
202 True Spirit Return 
 
 ered from your hands He would send 
 more than twelve legions of angels to My 
 aid, but the time is not far when I will be 
 with Him in His kingdom of Glory, so 
 suffer it to be so, that the Scriptures 
 might be fulfilled, and the souls of men 
 might be saved." 
 
 "Why come with your swords and 
 staves to take Me as though I were a 
 thief in the night ?" questioned the Savior. 
 "Was I not daily in your temples, preach- 
 ing and teaching, and healing the sick? 
 And ye took me not then, but that which 
 is written must be fulfilled." 
 
 And they all forsook Him and -fled. 
 —St. Mark xiv, 50. 
 
 Here we find one of the shortest but 
 saddest verses in the Bible, one wrought 
 with meaning, and that strikes to the 
 heart with a pathetic thrill. 
 
 Yes, in His hour of need they had left 
 Him. His disciples, who but a short while 
 ago had declared their love for the Savior, 
 and had proclaimed their willingness to 
 die for Him, had, in a moment of fright, 
 deserted their Friend at sight of the 
 enemy. There is no doubt, though, that 
 
True Spirit Return 203 
 
 Christ, understanding, had already in His 
 heart forgiven the eleven apostles. But 
 Judas, the betrayer of the Son of God? 
 His doom is sealed by the almighty pow- 
 ers from heaven. They carried Christ to 
 the palace of the high priest to be tried 
 by him, the scribes, chief priests and 
 elders. They sent ont to get witnesses 
 that they might condemn Christ to death, 
 but conld find none, that is, no two that 
 agreed even on false statements. Finally, 
 there were two witnesses who swore false- 
 ly against the Savior by saying that they 
 had heard Him say that He conld destroy 
 the temple of God, that was bnilt with 
 hands and build one without hands, but 
 their statements did not agree, but the 
 high priest held that against the Savior 
 as he could get nothing else. The high 
 priest stood up in their midst and said to 
 Jesus, ' 'nearest Thou what these wit- 
 nesses say against Thee? Hast Thou 
 nothing to answer them?" 
 
 But Jesus was silent. 
 
 "Art Thou Christ, the Son of the 
 Blessed?" question the high priest. 
 
 "I am Jesus," Christ replied, "and 
 thou shalt see Me sitting at the right hand 
 
204 True Spirit Return 
 
 of power, and descending in a clond of 
 glory from heaven.' ' 
 
 And the high priest rent his garments 
 at these words. "Hear ye Him? Hear 
 Him blaspheme? Hear Him say that He 
 is the Son of God? What need we of 
 further witnesses V 9 
 
 And they all pronounced Him guilty, 
 and condemned Him to death. They 
 bound Him with ropes, for on the mor- 
 row they were to take Him before Pilate, 
 the Governor, for a second trial, for with- 
 out his consent they could do nothing. 
 The multitude then spat upon Him, and 
 covered His face, and buffeted Him, and 
 the scribes, chief priests and Pharisees 
 mocked at Him, saying, " prophesy !" and 
 the servants of the high priest slapped 
 Him on the face. Simon Peter had followed 
 the Savior at a distance, even into the 
 palace of the high priest, and when the 
 trial of Christ was going on he was down 
 below warming his hands by the fire with 
 the servants. Finally, a maid of the high 
 priest looked at Peter and said, "Wast 
 thou not one who was with Jesus of 
 Nazareth !" 
 
 "No, I was not," answered Simon 
 
True Spirit Return 205 
 
 Peter. "I understand not what you 
 mean," he added. 
 
 He then went out on the porch and the 
 cock crowed. A little later on the maid 
 came out on the porch where Simon Peter 
 was, and to those standing near she said, 
 "does he not look like one of them?" 
 When they agreed with the maid, Peter 
 declared he knew nothing of this man, 
 and for the second time he denied Christ. 
 
 "But," persisted some of them, "we 
 know that you are a Galilean for your 
 speech betrays you, so you must be one 
 of the followers of Jesus." But Peter 
 denied Christ a third time, saying with a 
 curse that he knew nothing of this man. 
 And immediately the cock crowed a sec- 
 ond time, and then Simon Peter was re- 
 minded of his Savior's words, "before 
 the cock crows twice thou shalt deny Me 
 thrice, and when he thought of what he 
 had done he went out into the night and 
 wept bitterly. When it was morn, the 
 scribes, chief priests, and elders, met at 
 the palace of the high priest to consult 
 on the best methods of putting the case 
 of our Savior before Pilate, so that there 
 could be no chance of His not being sen- 
 
206 True Spirit Return 
 
 tenced to death. While they were plotting 
 and planning the best way to get rid of 
 onr Lord and Savior, there came running 
 to the palace a man breathless and white, 
 and threw thirty pieces of silver at their 
 feet. 
 
 "Take it," he exclaimed. "I have sold 
 the blood of an innocent man." 
 
 It was Judas Iscariot. He had re- 
 pented his deed when he had found out 
 that Christ had been condemned to die. 
 Judas was already suffering for his sin, 
 red-hot coals of remorse, the punishment 
 that the almighty God frequently sends 
 on the transgressor. After he had left 
 the thirty pieces of silver with the scribes 
 and other conspirators, Judas Iscariot, 
 his soul torn by his own black deed, goes 
 out and hangs himself. Then the high 
 priest who had answered Judas when he 
 had said "I have sold innocent blood," 
 "What's that to us? See to it," he 
 commanded, "that you don't betray us." 
 
 Though the sin of Judas was deep, it 
 was nothing to compare with the cold- 
 blooded, heartless cruelty of the high 
 priest, scribes, chief priests and elders, 
 and the multitude who were influenced by 
 
True Spirit Return 207 
 
 the former in their handling of Jesus 
 Christ in His trial and crucifixion. Bnt 
 they had no sooner started to discuss 
 what they should do with the thirty pieces 
 of silver, than the man, Judas Iscariot, to 
 whom they had just been speaking, was 
 dead by his own hand, but unknown to 
 them. 
 
 "It is unlawful to put silver that is 
 the price of blood in the treasury," they 
 said, after a consultation they decided to 
 buy a Potter's field with the money to 
 bury strangers in, and it was called the 
 Field of Blood, and is known by that 
 name to this day. 
 
 When the high priest, scribes and elders 
 had bound Christ again they, with the 
 multitude, took Him to Pilate, the Gov- 
 ernor, for His second trial. And when 
 Jesus stood before Pilate, He was asked 
 by him, ' i Art Thou the king of the Jews 1 ' ' 
 
 "Thou sayest it," Christ replied. 
 
 The scribes and high priests told many 
 untruths about the Savior to Pilate, the 
 governor. 
 
 "Hearest Thou what they witness 
 against you?" he questioned of Jesus. 
 But the Savior answered never a word, 
 
208 True Spirit Return 
 
 and Pilate marveled greatly at this. Now, 
 it happened that on feast day, the gov- 
 ernor was in the habit of releasing a pris- 
 oner to the people, whomsoever they 
 wished. Along with Christ there was a 
 prisoner, a noted criminal who had com- 
 mitted murder. Pilate, seeing that they 
 had brought Christ for enmity, and wished 
 him destroyed for the same reason, hoped 
 that when he put the question before them 
 as to which he should free, Barabbas, the 
 murderer, or Jesus, they would say, 
 " Barabbas." But the scribes and elders 
 persuaded the multitude to choose the 
 criminal instead. 
 
 Now, when Pilate was seated on his 
 judgment throne, his wife sent a message 
 to him saying, "have nothing to do with 
 that just man, for I have suffered much 
 in a dream because of Him." 
 
 "Which of the two shall I deliver unto 
 you for freedom, Jesus, which is called 
 Christ, or Barabbas?" Pilate questioned 
 of the people. 
 
 "Barabbas," they cried, and Pilate was 
 sorrowful. 
 
 "Why, what evil has Jesus done!" he 
 questioned of them. 
 
True Spirit Return 209 
 
 But they called out again, "free us 
 Barabbas." 
 
 "What," asked the governor, "do you 
 wish done with Jesus V 9 
 
 "Crucify Him," they yelled. 
 
 Again Pilate repeated, "what evil has 
 this man done unto you?" 
 
 But they cried the louder, "crucify 
 Him." 
 
 Then Pilate, the governor, seeing that 
 they were growing wild, and into a mob, 
 and that he could do nothing with them, 
 took water and washed his hands before 
 the multitude. 
 
 "I," said he, "wash my hands of the 
 blood of this just person. See ye to it 
 that my name is cleared," he added. 
 
 "His blood is on our heads, and the 
 heads of our children," they all cried. 
 
 Then Pilate delivered Barabbas unto 
 them to be freed, and Jesus to be crucified. 
 "When the soldiers of the governor had 
 scourged Christ, they took Him to the 
 common hall, and gathered the other band 
 of soldiers there. The multitude and the 
 scribes and elders were there also. They 
 took His raiment off, and clothed Him in 
 scarlet. They platted a crown of thorns 
 
210 True Spirit Return 
 
 and placed it upon His head. They put 
 a reed in His right hand, and bowed the 
 head and knelt in mock worship, saying, 
 "hail, king of the Jews." 
 
 And then the scribes and chief priests 
 said, "prophesy I" and took the reed 
 from His hand and smote Him across the 
 face with it. The soldiers then took the 
 scarlet robe of! and replaced his own gar- 
 ment upon Him. They then led Him out 
 to be crucified. On the road they were 
 met by a man named Simon, and he was 
 from Cyrene. Christ was so faint and 
 weak from what He had undergone, and 
 from fasting, that He was unable to carry 
 His own cross so they compelled this man 
 to carry it for Him. What a blessed 
 honor was this, the bearing of the cross 
 for Christ! When they had reached a 
 place called Golgotha, meaning the place 
 of the skull, they offered Christ vinegar 
 and gall mingled together on a sponge 
 that had been placed on a reed, and 
 handed it to Him in this manner. He 
 tasted of this horrible mixture, but al- 
 though He was extremely thirsty He 
 could not drink it for the bitterness 
 therein. At the third hour Christ was 
 
True Spirit Return 211 
 
 crucified. They took His garments and 
 divided them, casting lots over them, that 
 the words of the prophets might come to 
 pass. The multitude then sat down and 
 watched Him. His accusation was written 
 in large letters over His head, "This is 
 Jesus, the king of the Jews." 
 
 Two thieves were crucified with Christ, 
 one on either side, that it might be as 
 the prophets had written, He was num- 
 bered with the transgressors. Those that 
 passed wagged their heads at Him, and 
 scoffed at Him, calling out, "Hail, king of 
 the Jews." The chief priests, scribes and 
 elders mocked at Him saying, "Oh, Thou, 
 that destroyest a temple, and makest it 
 in three days, come down from there. Oh 
 Thou king of Israel, save Thyself, so that 
 we shall believe that Thou art the Savior. 
 He can save others, but Himself He can- 
 not save," they said mockingly. "Let 
 Him call on God," sneered some of the 
 Pharisees. "That is, if God will have 
 Him. He claims to be His son, and to 
 trust in Him," they added, scornfully. 
 The two thieves cast the same mockery in 
 His teeth. 
 
 About the sixth hour Jesus Christ called 
 
212 True Spirit Return 
 
 out in His agony, "My God, My God, 
 why hast Thou forsaken Me?" Then 
 some said, "He is calling for Elias," 
 while others dipped the sponge in vinegar 
 and gall and placing it on a reed handed it 
 to Christ, bnt He could not drink of this 
 bitter mixture. "Let Him alone, and see 
 if Elias will come and save Him," they 
 called out mockingly. 
 
 From the sixth to the ninth hour of 
 Christ's suffering the world was suddenly 
 wrapped in darkness. About the ninth 
 hour, Jesus called out again with a loud 
 voice, and then gave up the ghost. The 
 vail of the temple was rent in twain from 
 top to bottom, and there was a terrific 
 earthquake, and enormous rocks were 
 torn asunder, and some of the graves 
 opened, and the dead saints arose, and 
 after the resurrection went into the Holy 
 City and were seen by many. 
 
 Here we have another illustration of 
 spirit return as we find it in the 52d and 
 53d verses of the 27th chapter of St. 
 Matthew, as follows: 
 
 And the graves were opened: and many 
 bodies of the saints which slept, arose. 
 
True Spirit Return 213 
 
 And came out of the graves after His 
 resurrection, and went into the Holy City, 
 and appeared unto many. 
 
 Now, there was a centurion who, with a 
 crowd of others, were leaning against the 
 walls of the temple watching Christ, and 
 when His spirit took flight, and at that 
 moment the vail was rent in twain, and 
 the earth did tremble, they were greatly 
 afraid, saying, "This was truly the son of 
 God." 
 
 There were many women beholding 
 Jesus from afar off. They had followed 
 Him from Galilee for the purpose of min- 
 istering unto Him. Among these were 
 Mary Magdalene, from whom the Savior 
 had cast seven devils, and Mary, the 
 mother of James and Joses, and the 
 mother of Zebedee's children. When 
 it was even, there came a very rich man 
 named Joseph, who was also a disciple of 
 Christ. He went to Pilate, the governor, 
 and begged of him to give him the body 
 of Jesus Christ. Pilate commanded that 
 the body of our Savior be taken down and 
 placed in the possession of this kind and 
 wealthy friend of the persecuted. So 
 
214 True Spirit Return 
 
 when Joseph had received the body of 
 Christ he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 
 and pnt it in his own new tomb that had 
 been hewn ont of the rock, and rolling an 
 immense stone against the entrance of the 
 sepnlcher he departed. Mary Magdalene 
 and the other Mary were sitting up against 
 the tomb when Joseph left. On the morn- 
 ing following the day of preparations the 
 chief priests and Pharisees went to Pilate 
 and said, "we remember that that de- 
 ceiver said, when He was yet alive, 'I will 
 be buried, but on the third day I will 
 rise again from the dead.' Now, lest His 
 disciples steal Him away by night, and 
 claim that He had risen from the dead, 
 and the last error be worse than the first, 
 we beseech thee to command that the tomb 
 of Jesus be guarded until that time is 
 past." 
 
 "You have keepers at your disposal," 
 said the governor, ' ' to watch the sepulcher 
 of Jesus. Make it as secure as possible. 
 There have already been keepers out there 
 since the body was placed in its tomb." 
 
 So, after taking a few extra soldiers 
 along to make matters doubly sure, so that 
 the body of Christ could not be taken 
 
True Spirit Return 215 
 
 away, and not contented with this, they 
 sealed up the tomb of Jesus. 
 
 On the following morn, when Jesus 
 Christ had been in his tomb three days, 
 there was a terrible earthquake, for the 
 angel of the Lord had descended from 
 heaven and rolled away the stone from 
 the tomb of Christ and was sitting upon 
 it. His countenance was like lightning, 
 and His raiment was as white as snow. 
 The keepers did shake for fear of Him, 
 and were as dead men. There came in 
 the early morning hour Mary Magdalene 
 and the other Mary to see the sepulcher. 
 "Fear not," said the angel to the women, 
 "for I know that you have come to see 
 Jesus who was crucified, but He has risen 
 as He said He would. Behold the place 
 where the Lord rested. Now, go quickly, 
 and tell His disciples," commanded the 
 angel. "Say that the Savior has risen 
 from the dead and will meet them in 
 Galilee as He had promised, and for them 
 to hasten thither." Mary Magdalene and 
 the other Mary were amazed at what they 
 had seen and heard, but they hurried 
 quickly with great fear and joy, to break 
 
216 True Spirit Return 
 
 the glad news to the sorrowing disciples. 
 But they met Jesus on the way. 
 
 " Hail, Mary," He said, and they caught 
 Jesus by the feet and worshiped Him. 
 
 "Be not afraid," Christ said to them, 
 "but hasten to My brethren and tell them 
 that I am risen from the dead, and will 
 meet them in Galilee, as I promised to do 
 just before My crucifixion." 
 
 So Mary Magdalene hastened on ahead, 
 where she found the disciples weeping 
 and mourning for the Savior. "Grieve 
 not," she said, "for Jesus has risen from 
 the dead, as He told us He would, for I 
 saw and talked with Him," but they be- 
 lieved her not. There were two others 
 who lived in the country to whom Christ 
 appeared, but in a different form. They 
 recognized Him, and rushed to the residue 
 to tell them that were there about it, but 
 they believed them not. Jesus next ap- 
 peared to His disciples and surprised 
 them while they were sitting at meat in 
 Galilee, and He upbraided them for their 
 lack of faith and non-belief. 
 
 "When Mary told you that she had seen 
 Me, why did you not believe her?" Jesus 
 Christ questioned of them. "And did I 
 
True Spirit Return 217 
 
 not tell you that I would rise again on the 
 third day?" 
 
 They then rose, and fell on their knees 
 and worshiped Him, but there were some 
 who saw Christ and still doubted that it 
 was He, for we have the proof of this 
 fact, strange as it may seem, in the 17th 
 verse of the 28th chapter of St. Matthew, 
 as follows: 
 
 And ivhen they saw Him they worshiped 
 Him; out some doubted. 
 
 And so it was in ages past that there 
 were always some to doubt, even when 
 everything has been proven, and it is held 
 plainly before their very eyes. "We have 
 that same trouble today. We still have 
 those who doubt this and that, no matter 
 how strong the argument may be, or how 
 well proven. There are even those who 
 doubt the Bible, which is the foundation 
 of all beliefs, scientifically, historically, 
 and religiously. 
 
 There are even those who do not be- 
 lieve in the existence of a God, as power- 
 ful and almighty as He has proven Him- 
 self to be. This class of people are 
 called skeptics, but there are other classes 
 
218 True Spirit Return 
 
 of persons whom we might term skeptics 
 also. These believe in God and the Bible, 
 bnt thy do not think it possible for sonls 
 to return after leaving this earth. We 
 might term the last named as skeptics on 
 spiritualistic doctrines. "We have much 
 to contend with in that line before we 
 can spread the grand and glorious teach- 
 ings of Spiritualism to the four corners 
 of the world. Doubt, written in great big 
 capital letters. But let us leave the 
 skeptics to their own fate for a little 
 while and tarry with our Savior, who has 
 just risen from His tomb after being 
 buried three days. Let us pause at His 
 side until He is gathered up to sit in 
 glory on the right hand of the throne. 
 But we have this comforting assurance 
 and proof of spirit return by our Savior 
 in these words, as we find them in the 
 20th verse of the 28th chapter of St. 
 Matthew, as follows: 
 
 And lo, I am with you alway, even unto 
 the end of the world. Amen. 
 
 When Christ had surprised His disciples 
 by suddenly appearing before them, He 
 made an appointment with the eleven that 
 
True Spirit Return 219 
 
 He wished to meet them on a certain 
 mountain in Galilee, for He had a few in- 
 structions to give them before ascending 
 to His Father in heaven. But in the 
 meantime, while Mary Magdalene was on 
 her way to break the glad tidings to the 
 disciples, the soldiers who had been guard- 
 ing the tomb of Jesus for the chief priests, 
 scribes, and elders went to them and told 
 them what had happened. When the 
 elders and others found out the truth 
 about Christ's resurrection they were 
 amazed, dumbfounded. They all met at 
 the palace of the high priest and had a 
 consultation over the matter, and when 
 they had come to a decision they called in 
 the soldiers who had guarded the tomb of 
 Jesus, and said, "we will give you large 
 sums of money if you will say, the dis- 
 ciples came and stole Him away by night, 
 while we were asleep, and if this gets to 
 the governor's ears we will make it all 
 right with him." And to this day it is 
 a common saying among the Jews that 
 Christ was stolen away by His disciples 
 while the keepers slept, as we find it in 
 the Holy Book, as follows: 
 
220 True Spirit Return 
 
 And when they were assembled with the 
 elders, and had taken counsel, they gave 
 large sums of money unto the soldiers, 
 
 Saying, say ye, His disciples came by 
 night and stole him away, while ive slept. 
 —St. Matthew xxviii, 12, 13. 
 
 So they took the money and did as they 
 were taught; and this saying is commonly 
 reported among the Jews until this day. 
 — St. Matthew xxviii, 15. 
 
 And as the Scriptures tell us, the sol- 
 diers accepted the money and spread the 
 last-named report around. 
 
 When the Savior met His disciples on a 
 mountain-top, in Galilee, He spoke these 
 words unto them: "All power is given 
 to Me from the heavenly Father above. 
 A portion of this power will I extend to 
 those who believe, love and follow me. 
 But they must be baptized as I myself 
 was, in accordance with the laws of the 
 almighty God, and now that I have been 
 crucified and risen again, that the world 
 might be redeemed, in acknowledgment of 
 Me, baptize in the name of the Father, 
 the Son, and the Holy Ghost. I would 
 
True Spirit Return 221 
 
 have of you to spread the gospel to every 
 nation. And to those who believe in Me 
 and are baptized and try to follow My 
 teachings and commandments, I will give 
 to them a certain power, especially if they 
 are preaching, or instructing, verbally or 
 written truths about My heavenly Father, 
 the Son, or the Holy Ghost, or it may be 
 of the narrow path that leads to the 
 eternal city. If they do these things in 
 My name, I will enable them to combine 
 works, teachings and signs together, such 
 as casting out devils or evil spirits, the 
 healing of the sick by the laying on of 
 hands, and other wonders.' ' 
 
 We have every reason to believe that 
 the power that was given to the disciples, 
 long centuries past, extend into the pres- 
 ent, for now and then we see wonderful 
 manifestations of it. But what we need 
 in the present time is more faith and less 
 of doubts, and more of the spirit of 
 Spiritualism, and then we would be sur- 
 prised to find out how many wonderful 
 things we could do in Christ's name. We 
 find the proof of this God-given promise 
 of power from Christ to those who be- 
 
222 True Spirit Return 
 
 lieve, trust and obey Him; and the fact is 
 mentioned that the apostles continued to 
 perform many miracles even after Christ 
 had ascended to His throne in heaven, 
 namely : 
 
 And these signs shall follow them that 
 believe: In my name shall they cast out 
 devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 
 
 They shall take up serpents; and if 
 they drink any deadly thing, it shall not 
 hurt them; they shall lay hands on the 
 sick, and they shall recover/' 
 
 —St. Mark xvi, 17, 18. 
 
 And they went forth and preached 
 everywhere, the Lord working with them, 
 and confirming the word with signs fol- 
 lowing. Amen. — St. Mark, xvi, 20. 
 
 When Jesus Christ had finished these 
 sayings He blessed His disciples, and bid- 
 ding them farewell He slowly ascended up- 
 ward from the mountain-tops of Galilee 
 until He was lost in the white, fleecy 
 clouds of heaven. What a beautiful pic- 
 ture Christ slowly ascending to heaven 
 and the apostles gazing wistfully after 
 Him. Fancy their temporary grief when 
 
True Spirit Return 223 
 
 the last of their Savior was lost to them 
 beyond the vast canopy of blue. But only 
 a short while did they mourn, and then 
 of a sudden they felt the strange, silent, 
 unseen form lingering very close to them, 
 and it seemed to bring them wonderful 
 consolation. 
 
 And the silent voice seemed to whisper, 
 "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the 
 end of the world.' ' Yes; the spirit form 
 of Christ had returned to His disciples, as 
 He had promised them He would, to guide, 
 comfort and strengthen them through life. 
 Just so, today, the spirit form of Jesus 
 comes to His followers on earth, pleading 
 in His silent voice to forget not His 
 teachings, and attempting to direct us for 
 our good, and into paths that lead to the 
 city of eternal happiness. And so it is our 
 own dear loved ones come to us from be- 
 yond the grave, beseeching us to recognize 
 and permit them to help and guide us 
 along with their spirit friend and brother 
 Jesus Christ. Shall we turn a deaf ear 
 and heart to the pleadings of these silent 
 voices? Nor yet shall we forget the 
 pathetically comforting words that come 
 
224 True Spirit Return 
 
 echoing down to us through the stonj 
 ages of time! 
 
 Come unto me, all ye that labour, and 
 are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 
 
 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of 
 me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; 
 and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 
 
 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is 
 light. —St. Matthew xi, 28-30. 
 
True Spirit Return 225 
 
 SKEPTICS 
 
 The world is full of what is called 
 skepticisms of various kinds. Some, as I 
 mentioned before, who do not believe in 
 the Bible, and others not in the existence 
 of a God, while there are many who do 
 not think that there is a real, live devil, 
 and there are those who cnt np the Holy 
 Book to suit themselves, and take as evi- 
 dence, for certain facts, what truths please 
 themselves. Then there are some who, 
 after a thorough research of the Bible, 
 from beginning to end, and acknowledg- 
 ing belief in every word of the Scriptures, 
 claim that they do not believe in the im- 
 mortality of the soul, and attempt to 
 prove it by a book full of quotations from 
 the Holy Word of God. But I must say 
 that such long and continued argument 
 only furnishes stronger proof that the 
 soul is immortal, which means imperish- 
 able, ever-living, never-dying, that never 
 dies. 
 
 For how can anyone reconcile the non- 
 immortality of the soul with the resur- 
 
226 True Spirit Return 
 
 rection of Christ and others, when man 
 is the sonl and the sonl is not in man? 
 For when the body decays and goes to 
 dust, that would be the end of that body, 
 if the body were the sonl, and there were 
 not two distinct parts of man — the ontside 
 shell, and the sonl within — which, accord- 
 ing to the teachings of the Holy Book of 
 God, reveal to ns that the sonl is im- 
 mortal, imperishable, ever-living, never- 
 dying. 
 
 With all dne respect, I refer to Judge 
 J. F. Eutherford. While I agree with 
 him on many points I cannot agree with 
 him on his declaration that the soul is not 
 immortal; for this question is of too 
 much vital importance to treat lightly, and 
 not give it the deepest consideration. 
 
 But let us follow up the subjects as we 
 come to them, and give the last-named 
 topic due attention later on. 
 
 We were speaking of those who do not 
 believe in the Bible at all. They call it a 
 myth, a fairy tale, and ■ laugh and scorn 
 at those who do believe in these holy 
 words from God. Sometimes, they do not 
 believe in the Divine Creator, but quite 
 often they do, and when these non-be- 
 
True Spirit Return 227 
 
 lievers are those willing to acknowledge 
 the existence of an almighty God, they are 
 always clammering for proofs that this 
 Holy Book was dictated from God to the 
 prophets, apostles, and Christian sages 
 of olden times, to be handed down to the 
 coming generations as a gnide book to 
 heaven. They seem not to know that 
 proofs are all aronnd them. Are they 
 purposely blind or are they looking at 
 this matter through the darkened glasses 
 of ignorance? It is strange that anyone 
 in this enlightened time and country 
 should hold such a view. We often find 
 this kind of skepticism among very in- 
 telligent people, which makes it the more 
 deplorable and inexcusable, and the harm- 
 ful influence radiating from such persons 
 would be greater and more disastrous, 
 than from one less versed in knowledge. 
 We frequently find that doubt concern- 
 ing the true origin of the Bible is found 
 among scientists, and even doctors of 
 medicine, though I do not just know why 
 this is true unless these classes of men 
 reason out things to such a fine point 
 that they reach the point of doubt and 
 skepticism, which, of course, is a compli- 
 
228 True Spirit Return 
 
 ment to the Lord, for His wonderful 
 handiwork in creating such a perfect 
 system, that through revolutions and 
 changes everything seems to form itself, 
 but this is no excuse for him. He should 
 keep in mind that a higher power started 
 and set this perfectly wonderful system 
 in motion, and he would not get lost 
 among his many deductions in the black 
 and doubtful swamps of skepticism. But 
 he comes out of the slush and mud of his 
 conclusions bawling for proofs. 
 
 To your right, Mister, is a great big 
 proof called the miraculous preservation 
 of the Bible by the hand of an almighty 
 God through countless ages to the present 
 time, and on your left is another proof — 
 the strong corroboration between histori- 
 cal and biblical facts; and another proof 
 lies just behind you on the rocks, stones, 
 and slabs of ancient times, in lands where 
 Bible-records have been made in various 
 languages and different places, but they 
 all fit in, are the same, corroborate, as it 
 were, and in front of you is another proof 
 —the voice of nature calling softly the 
 truths of the Bible. They are all around 
 you, Mr. Skeptic, if you only choose to 
 
True Spirit Return 229 
 
 open your eyes and look around. Let me 
 tell you a little story which, according to 
 chronicled events, is known to be true. 
 Doubtless you have heard it before, but 
 never attached much importance to it as 
 containing proofs of truths of the Bible 
 that lay hidden and preserved by the 
 powerful will and hand of God until the 
 beginning of the present century. By 
 the fire-side of the Arabian home a story 
 is told to the kiddies that sounds like a 
 fairy tale but is true. It runs something 
 like this: "In the days of old, A. D. 79, 
 after Christ had been crucified, in the city 
 of Pompeii, a maiden was suddenly ar- 
 rested at the fountain, without a moment's 
 warning, and turned into a marble statue. 
 Likewise the guest in the hall was turned 
 to stone, and the wanderer upon the 
 streets was changed into a marble statue." 
 The explanation of this strange affair 
 can be accounted for by the fact that 
 Pompeii was situated so close to the 
 volcano, Mount Vesuvius, that when her 
 crater overflowed, with its molten mass 
 of fire, brimstone, lava, smoke and ashes, 
 the city and its inhabitants had no warn- 
 ing, no opportunity to escape its fiery 
 
230 True Spirit Return 
 
 tongue, and the people were buried in- 
 stantly as they walked, sat, or stood, or 
 at any pursuit, this flame of seething fire 
 found them, covering the bodies with 
 ashes which preserved them, and through 
 chemical process changed them into mar- 
 ble or stone. Not until the year of 1748 
 was this city excavated from its ashes of 
 ruin, and not until the year of 1809 was a 
 thorough search made of Pompeii, and it 
 was discovered that beneath its buried 
 depths lay secrets that had been hidden 
 away, but which revealed and threw light 
 upon many Bible truths that had hitherto 
 been in darkness. For it must be remem- 
 bered that the existence of the city of 
 Pompeii was during the time of Christ 
 and His apostles. 
 
 The land of Egypt gives us many proofs 
 that the Holy Word is true, and carries 
 us back to the days of Moses, thousands 
 of years ago. Owing to the dryness of 
 the climate of this country everything is 
 preserved to such a wonderful extent that 
 they are as fresh and unharmed as they 
 were thousands of years ago. In our 
 American museums we find Egyptian 
 mummies, of kings and queens, pictures, 
 
True Spirit Return 231 
 
 statues, works of art, writings on papy- 
 rus scrolls, and slabs of stone. We have 
 already found many Bible records upon 
 some of these slabs of stone and the papy- 
 rus paper, and they all coincide, showing 
 that their facts are correct, thereby forg- 
 ing another link in the chain of proof that 
 the Bible is divinely dictated and divinely 
 preserved. There have been discovered 
 other Bible proofs in the land of Assyria 
 and Babylonia. In Nineveh, a capital of 
 Assyria, is the largest library in the 
 world, but it is all recorded on stone, and 
 in the ancient tongues. There are, com- 
 paratively speaking, a few papyrus paper 
 writings. The history of nations, and the 
 victories and downfall of kings, were 
 written upon them, and school books of 
 stone lined the walls. There were also 
 story-books of various kinds in large num- 
 bers, besides fairy tales for the little ones. 
 Not only were these found, besides rec- 
 ords of manners and customs, but there 
 were quite a number of Bible accounts, 
 which all fit into each other, proving their 
 truth without a doubt. Then again, stands 
 out the wonderful and important point, 
 that these Bible records were strangely 
 
232 True Spirit Return 
 
 preserved from harm and were not dis- 
 covered nntil it was safe and best for 
 them to be found, till the beginning of the 
 present century, when they could be used. 
 And now they rise up as glorious proofs 
 of the divine God in all His mighty power. 
 The way it happened was this: In the 
 year of 607 Nineveh was destroyed, but 
 unknown to anyone the palace library was 
 preserved beneath a covering of sand and 
 debris, so that not even the inhabitants 
 of the nearest city knew of its existence. 
 An army of 10,000 passed right over it 
 and was not conscious of its presence, 
 but finally, through investigations, the 
 treasures hidden beneath were brought to 
 light, and the richest of them all were the 
 proof to the world of Bible truths. 
 
 In Palestine of today we see little or 
 no difference at all in the manners, cus- 
 toms and mode of living to the ancients 
 of the past, and affords us a good idea of 
 the way that they lived in the days of 
 Christ and the apostles, which, when com- 
 pared to the Bible, is a perfect counter- 
 part of the Scriptures. Another proof 
 that the Holy Bible is something more 
 than a myth. 
 
True Spirit Return 233 
 
 Then there is the skeptic who does not 
 believe in a God or a Bible either, for, of 
 course, if he denies the former he would 
 consequently discountenance the latter. 
 A non-belief in both is a more deplorable 
 condition than to believe only in the ex- 
 istence of God, and not in the Bible; for 
 without these two powers we have no 
 foundation whereupon to rest or base the 
 slightest theory, whether scientific, his- 
 toric or religious. But strange to stay 
 we quite frequently find this class of 
 skepticism among the most intelligent and 
 prominent men in the world — more is the 
 shame. But not saying that the highest 
 type of Christianity and nobility do not 
 exist where there is belief in God and 
 the Bible among that class of men known 
 as scientists and physicians; but the lead- 
 ing number of skeptics who deny the al- 
 mighty power and His word are found in 
 these two classes. This kind of doubt is 
 sometimes found among a more ignorant 
 set of people, but there is more excuse 
 for it, and no reason for such views of 
 darkness when all around is the light of 
 the gospel. But you will notice that 
 within the last few years, since Spiritual- 
 
234 True Spirit Return 
 
 ism has been gaining better control of the 
 world, this form of skepticism, or infidel- 
 ity, as it should be termed, is fast melting 
 away under the warm snnny influence of 
 its guardian angels of the spirit realm. 
 Especially among that class of scientists 
 and doctors which I have just made men- 
 tion of, we find a great change. Many 
 who formerly doubted the truth of God, 
 the Bible and the immortality of the soul, 
 have come to realize the glorious truths 
 of Spiritualism, through the guidance of 
 spirit friends and loved ones. 
 
 The world is very wicked at the present 
 time, even more so than in the previous 
 century, but this is due to certain warring 
 influences led by satan and his imps, 
 plagues, famines, and various disasters, 
 but this is according to prophecy, and is 
 the forerunner of the golden millennium. 
 But if we could only give our spirit 
 friends a better opportunity, more recog- 
 nition and cooperation, we would find 
 that they could fight the evil forces, name- 
 ly, the devil and his demons, with greater 
 skill and efficiency, and we would see the 
 results in a better world. If we wouldn't 
 make the horrible mistake of mixing evil 
 
True Spirit Return 235 
 
 spirits with good spirits of our departed 
 ones, we would not feel the influence or 
 receive the harm of wicked imps half so 
 much if we would permit our dear ones of 
 the spiritual kingdom to aid us in com- 
 bating with these demonlike forces. For 
 that is what, with all due respect, Judge 
 J. F. Eutherford has done, and to use his 
 own expression, "they won't mix any 
 more than oil and water," for I wish to 
 say to him, as I said before, evil and good 
 spirits are as far apart as east and west, 
 and should not be confused with each 
 other. 
 
 But let me return to my subject of 
 skeptics who neither believe in Grod nor 
 the Bible. I sometimes think that they 
 are a bigoted, conceited set of block-heads, 
 who don't believe half what they pro- 
 claim, but want to be smart, and different 
 from anyone else. I have many instances 
 in mind where noted infidels have, all 
 through their lives, denied the existence 
 of a God, and boasted of it to the world, 
 but when it comes to the final, and the 
 death angel, grim, black and gaunt, comes 
 to claim its own, terror seizes upon the 
 victim, and he calls for help to the Su- 
 
236 True Spirit Return 
 
 preme Being, whom, down deep in his 
 heart, he knew existed all the time. 
 
 There is one who rises np before me at 
 the present moment. He was gifted with 
 an eloquent tongue and pen, and could 
 have swayed the world for an immense 
 amount of good, but instead he preferred 
 to wield a wicked influence by declaring 
 in writings and speech his non-belief in 
 God and the Bible. Through his wicked, 
 ungodly influence many both old and 
 young, were driven from the churches, 
 and turned into mocking, scoffing infidels. 
 He had read the Bible many times from 
 beginning to end, and there was scarcely 
 a clergyman who had its precious words 
 at their fingertips as did this man, and 
 yet he proclaimed to the world that he 
 did not believe in this Book or the divine 
 hand that wrote it. And with his brilliant 
 mind, he would twist and contort these 
 phrases and verses of the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, telling in his own eloquent lan- 
 guage why he did not believe in its 
 contents. He brought these arguments 
 before the public with such distinct and 
 convincing conclusions that those who 
 were foolish enough to pause and listen, 
 
True Spirit Return 237 
 
 and finally to hearken, were like the moth, 
 drawn and duped into the bright de- 
 structive blaze of this man's belief. He 
 had followers, this man did, but for every 
 soul that he drew down to perdition, he is 
 now paying the price. Like so many other 
 skeptics of his kind, he prided himself on 
 his morality, but this we can take with a 
 grain of salt. What morality he did pos- 
 sess he borrowed from the Bible, the book 
 he scoffed at, and professed not to be- 
 lieve, otherwise he wouldn't have had that 
 much to boast of. For, in his self-conceit 
 and all-importance, he wanted to appear 
 before the public as self-sufficient, fearing 
 or believing neither God, the Bible or the 
 devil. But when this well-known infidel, 
 Ingersol, came to die, to meet his Maker 
 face to face, he changed his views. He 
 acknowledged Him yes ; but not by calling 
 upon him for help, or admitting His divine 
 power, for the .spirit of Bob Ingersol was 
 proud and haughty even unto death. This 
 infidel acknowledged the existence of God 
 by cursing Him. Yes; with every dying 
 breath Ingersol cursed God to the last, 
 for he knew that he had lied to the world, 
 and had been a bitter enemy to the al- 
 
238 True Spirit Return 
 
 mighty power, and that there awaited 
 him a warm reception in the regions be- 
 low. Showing that there is a God who 
 rights matters and who does not forget, 
 for it is a known fact that Bob Ingersol's 
 death brought abont more converts to the 
 right way of thinking, and closer to the 
 Maker and His divine words than he had 
 done harm during his lifetime. This 
 proves the almighty power of God; and 
 let us not forget that, no matter what 
 subject we handle, whether skeptics or 
 otherwise, in this book or out of it, we 
 never forget that we are under the con- 
 trol and the guidance of the Supreme One, 
 and we never lose sight of our Creator as 
 our Guiding Star. 
 
 There is another noted infidel who 
 comes plainly before my mind. His name 
 was Voltaire. Like Ingersol, he never lost 
 an opportunity to air his opinion to the 
 world, and to convert every one he met 
 into thinking that there was no such thing 
 as God, and that the Bible was a mere 
 fictitious history written by man, and had 
 no truth in it. 
 
 Like Ingersol, he prided himself on his 
 morality. His brilliant speech won many 
 
True Spirit Return 239 
 
 over to his seeming way of thinking. On 
 one occasion, when he was aboard one of 
 the ocean steamers, he as nsnal was de- 
 claring his non-belief in the existence of 
 God. A great number of the passengers 
 were being contaminated by his words, 
 and had already turned their backs on the 
 teachings of Christianity, and were willing 
 to deny their Maker. But in the midst of 
 his infamous speech an angry God was 
 growing angrier. The billowy waves that 
 lashed the sides of the ship were climbing 
 higher; the sky was growing black and 
 the sea was getting wild and restless. A 
 storm was brewing in the air. Finally it 
 broke in all its fury. The ship was hurled 
 from side to side by the mighty waves, 
 and was tossed by the tempest like a frail 
 piece of bark. The billows rolled high, 
 and the storm raged. The passengers, 
 terror-stricken, were huddled together, and 
 Voltaire, who, but a few moments before 
 had denied the existence of God, was the 
 first one to drop on his knees and pray, 
 "Oh, God, spare us." But the almighty 
 One was already angry with this infamous 
 infidel, and considering that his glory had 
 lasted long enough, and knowing that his 
 
240 True Spirit Return 
 
 prayer was the result of fear rather than 
 love, and fully aware that if he saved him 
 he would only deny Him again, was de- 
 termined to show this man and his fol- 
 lowers that there was a God who realized 
 and saw all. So a strange thing happened. 
 All were saved but Voltaire, the infidel. 
 They were putting out the life boats, and 
 there was room for everyone, but when 
 the captain attempted to assist Voltaire 
 into one of the boats an angry, seething 
 wave like the angry hand of God, caught 
 his body, and whirling it around in fury 
 carried it out on the mad torrents of the 
 stormy sea, and it was lost forever in her 
 foamy depth. Those who saw never for- 
 got, and his death was the turning point 
 in their lives and most of the lives he 
 had converted into infidelity. Never again 
 did those who had been with the infidel, 
 and listened to the blasphemous words 
 of this man against the Creator, and then 
 call on Him for help, thus contradicting 
 his own statements — never again did they 
 deny the existence and power of an al- 
 mighty God, especially when this infamous 
 creature was the only one lost on the ship, 
 as though the hand of God was in it. 
 
True Spirit Return 241 
 
 There was still another that I well re- 
 member who brought about more converts 
 to true Christianity by his death than he 
 had ever done against it during his whole 
 life. 
 
 He was an infidel of the deepest dye, 
 believing in neither God, the Holy Bible, 
 nor anything connected with it. He also 
 claimed that he led a much more moral 
 life than those who believed in all that 
 rot, to use his own vile expression. Not 
 content with lecturing in the halls and 
 auditoriums, he would stand on street 
 corners, and frequently he would be 
 mounted on a box, proclaiming to the 
 world at. large and all that could get 
 within range of his voice, that he did not 
 believe in the existence of God or the 
 truths of His book. He gave reasons, and 
 pointed out the fact that those who did 
 not, to use his own expression, waste their 
 time on such rot, lived much better lives 
 and were far more generous-hearted and 
 moral, than believers. Note the stress 
 that these noted, as well as other infidels, 
 make on their morality. It is without a 
 doubt the devil's trump card that his 
 satanic majesty hands to these deniers 
 
242 True Spirit Return 
 
 of a Supreme Being, to deal out to the 
 people, for lie knows that this card is at- 
 tractive, will take, will win, in the devil's 
 cause against Christ, the kingdom above, 
 and the almighty power over all, the Su- 
 preme One — God. He uses these infidels 
 for his own purpose and glorification. He 
 handles them like a toy, and when he is 
 done with them he casts them aside and 
 breaks their flimsy souls, nor cares that 
 they pay a heavy price. Yes, these boast- 
 ers that claim not to fear or believe in 
 God, man or the devil, are instruments of 
 the latter, whose existence they deny, and 
 enemies to mankind, and to the Creator, 
 making themselves subject to severe pun- 
 ishment from His hands. 
 
 Who says that God does not exist! 
 Who says that God is dead or asleep? 
 
 To continue my account of this fellow 
 who made stump speeches against God. 
 He drew the crowds. At first they came 
 from mere idle curiosity. But his argu- 
 ment was strong and convincing, and he 
 spoke with force and eloquence. First, 
 they paused, then tarried a while, and then 
 stayed. He spun and wove his net with 
 the greatest ease. He threw this maze of 
 
True Spirit Return 243 
 
 deception out over the people, and they 
 were ensnared by its dangerous and 
 treacherous folds. The elect of the town, 
 were there, both old and young. At first, 
 understand, they only came from curios- 
 ity, but they became fascinated, and be- 
 fore they were half aware of it they were 
 entrapped and slaves to this pretended 
 belief. Which goes to show that it is 
 dangerous to play with fire, or to listen 
 for a moment to anything spoken against 
 the Supreme God or His Holy Book. He 
 became bolder and more fearless in his 
 argument, until finally he announced that 
 he could prove that there was no God, and 
 that the crowd gathered around could go 
 by this proof. Then, in mocking tones, 
 he lifted his voice and raised his eyes and 
 arms to the sky and said, "If there be a 
 God, show His power and strike me dead. ' ' 
 Just that quick, right on the instant, no 
 sooner had the words left his mouth than 
 the man fell over dead. God had once 
 more shown His wrath and almighty 
 power, and that He was not to be trifled 
 with. He used a very small instrument 
 wherewith to kill this man, but He used 
 it quickly, that the people might know 
 
244 True Spirit Return 
 
 that He was God, and that there was a 
 higher power. It was only a tiny wasp, 
 but it did its work for the Lord, for He 
 caused this small insect to sting this 
 daring and wicked man on his temple, 
 the most vital part of one's head, and 
 cause instant death. It is needless to say 
 that all present recognized in this strange 
 occurrence the hand of God. This sinner 
 had made his wager with God and lost. 
 He had not one follower out of the thou- 
 sands he had won to boost his name or 
 say a kind word about him when he was 
 dead. He was spoken of with contempt, 
 and his life and death pointed to as a 
 warning to all. 
 
 There are other kinds of skeptics who, 
 as I mentioned before, believe in God, 
 part of the Bible — the Old Testament for 
 instance — but while they recognize a 
 Christ they will not admit that He had 
 already come upon this earth, lived and 
 suffered as mortal man, was finally cruci- 
 fied, and on the third day after burial 
 rose from the dead. Many of these that 
 seem to think this know differently, but 
 for reasons of their own prefer to hide it, 
 but there are others who have been taught 
 
True Spirit Return 245 
 
 wrong from generation to generation, for 
 we have proofs of it in the Scriptures. 
 St. Matthew xxviii, 11, 12, 13, 15. 
 
 But I have already proven that Christ 
 lived on earth, and suffered Himself to be 
 crucified and rose again on the third day. 
 And I have shown by the Scriptures that 
 our Savior shed His blood as a ransom 
 for many, that the world might be re- 
 deemed. 
 
 There are those who believe in God, 
 His Son, as Christ, the Redeemer, and 
 the Bible, but they claim not to believe in 
 the existence of a devil. But I have, in 
 my subject on the power of satan and his 
 imps, proven that he is very much in ex- 
 istence, a very real and personal devil, 
 dangerous to deal with, cunning, deceitful, 
 treacherous and insidious to the limit. 
 He and his evil spirits ofttimes personate 
 our loved ones, friends and relatives of 
 the spirit world, causing us much trouble, 
 and prejudicing the minds of many 
 against Spiritualism. I repeat, that the 
 best way to help drive them from our 
 homes is to keep in close touch with the 
 spirits of our own dear ones, and then 
 
246 True Spirit Return 
 
 we can better keep the evil forces out of 
 our lives. 
 
 There are others who claim not to be- 
 lieve in hell or future punishment, but I 
 have shown, in the last-named subject, 
 that there is with certainty such a place. 
 Don't deceive yourself into thinking 
 otherwise. 
 
 Then again, there are those who pre- 
 tend not to believe in a heaven or hell, 
 but acknowledge God and the truth of the 
 Bible. 
 
 I call it pretense, for I cannot see how 
 they can read the Holy Book intelligently 
 and have such beliefs and non-beliefs. 
 
 There is such a variety of skepticism 
 that it would take too much time to go 
 over them at present. 
 
 But of course we must take into con- 
 sideration that the Bible is written in 
 figurative and symbolic speech through- 
 out many of its pages, which account for 
 a few slight variants of opinion, which is 
 of small consequence. But when it comes 
 to questions of vital importance, that is 
 different. There is no excuse for anyone 
 who lives in this enlightened time, and 
 has full access to the Holy Book, to deny 
 
True Spirit Return 247 
 
 the existence of God, the truths of the 
 Bible, Jesus Christ as our Bedeemer, 
 heaven or hell, or the prince of demons 
 and his wicked imps; nor yet should we 
 deny the immortality of the soul. This 
 brings me back to the first part of my 
 subject on skepticism. 
 
 I refer to Judge Butherford when I 
 speak of non-belief in the immortality of 
 the soul. How he can reconcile the non- 
 immortality of the soul with the resurrec- 
 tion of Christ from the tomb, or the resur- 
 rection of mankind, which is the strongest 
 proof of spirit return, or Spiritualism, T 
 cannot understand. 
 
 Eesurrection means the rising again 
 from the dead, a springing into new life, 
 which is the true meaning, as given us by 
 Winston's dictionary, which would be im- 
 possible if the soul were not immortal. 
 If the soul, to quote the exact words of 
 the noted biblicist, were as he pictures it 
 to be (and he claims to get his theory 
 from Genesis ii, 7) — And the Lord God 
 formed man of the dust of the ground, 
 and breathed into his nostrils the breath 
 of life; and man became a living soul." 
 As I said before to quote the exact words 
 
248 True Spirit Return 
 
 from a paragraph by Judge J. F. Buther- 
 ford on "What is the Soul?" 
 
 It is true that Catholic and Protestant 
 clergymen for centuries have taught the 
 people that the soul is the divine part of 
 man, which cannot die, and that therefore 
 there is no death of the soul. This is not 
 supported, however, by the Scriptures, 
 which read: The Lord God formed man 
 of the dust of the ground, and breathed 
 into his nostrils the breath of life; and, 
 man became a living soul. Genesis ii, 7. 
 
 The word soul means a moving, breath- 
 ing, sentient being; i. e., a living creature 
 that possesses the sense of sight, hearing, 
 touch, taste, smell. It will be conceded 
 that the dust out of which Jehovah formed 
 the body was not immortal, nor did it 
 have intelligence. It must be further con- 
 ceded that the breath of life which God 
 breathed into the nostrils of that body did 
 not constitute the soul; but that the body 
 perfectly formed, and the breath which 
 Jehovah then placed in its organism to- 
 gether formed a living, moving, sentient 
 being, which we call a soul. Every crea- 
 ture that breathes is a soul; no creature 
 possesses a soul. 
 
True Spirit Return 249 
 
 Note that our friend declares that no 
 creature possesses a soul. Then what 
 becomes of the soul when the body goes 
 to dust, as we all know occurs when what 
 is known as death strikes us, and we are 
 laid away beneath the sod? The soul, 
 according to the picture that Eutherford 
 has made of it, would go to dust also if 
 the soul and body were one instead of two 
 distinct parts, the outer man, shell or 
 body, which dies, crumbles, goes to dust, 
 suffering the death that the Divine Cre- 
 ator inflicted upon our foreparents for 
 their disobedience, and the inner part, 
 which is the soul within the soul, the part 
 that never dies. He further attempts to 
 prove that the soul is not immortal by 
 saying, that the first man was earthly of 
 the earth, for which, of course, we have 
 the Scriptures to refer to as to the truth- 
 fulness of this statement, but then again, 
 we find that: 
 
 So God created man in his own image, 
 in the image of God, created he him; male 
 and female, created he them." 
 
 — Genesis i, 27. 
 
 If we wish to take the Bible as our 
 
250 True Spirit Return 
 
 arbiter, then we have proof here that even 
 thongh man was formed from the dust he 
 was made in the image of God. Did not 
 God have an immortal soul? And when 
 the Divine One breathed life and intelli- 
 gence into this piece of clay, did He not 
 breathe into him an immortal soul? Do 
 yon think that He wonld have forgotten 
 this most important factor of all! Is 
 there any place in the Bible that teaches 
 that the sonl is not immortal! No, the 
 further on yon read, and the deeper yon 
 wade, the stronger rise np the proofs that 
 the sonl is immortal, imperishable, ever- 
 living, never-dying. Furthermore, Jndge 
 Rutherford admits that he believes that 
 the Divine plans of redemption throngh 
 Christ extended back to the first creation 
 of earth and man, and we have every evi- 
 dence of this in the 15th verse, 3d chapter 
 of Genesis, as follows: And I will put 
 enmity between thee and the woman, and 
 between thy seed and her seed; it shall 
 bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise 
 his heel. This is a prophecy given to onr 
 first foreparents when they committed 
 their first sin that the Savior wonld some 
 day come on earth, and shed His blood as 
 
True Spirit Return 251 
 
 a ransom for all. The seed of the woman 
 means Christ, and the head that shall be 
 bruised by the heel of the seed of the 
 woman means the serpent, or satan, and 
 indicates that through the redemption of 
 Christ satan is overcome and the whole 
 world is saved. 
 
 And God dressed Adam and Eve in the 
 skins of animals, and the question has 
 been asked, "what did they do with the 
 bodies that were slain ?" And we have 
 the proof in Genesis 4th chapter, 4th verse 
 that their blood was offered up as sacri- 
 fices to God in representation of the com- 
 ing of Christ, which went to show that 
 these first foreparents felt that the op- 
 portunity and invitation of redemption 
 extended back to them as well as to fu- 
 ture generations. And why not, for are 
 we not told in the 6th chapter of Eomans, 
 23d verse, that, For the wages of sin is 
 death, but the gift of God is eternal life 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. What 
 could breathe stronger of the immortal 
 soul and life everlasting than these last 
 few words, and the fact that these sacri- 
 fices of the blood of animals were made 
 in recognition of the coming Savior, and 
 
252 True Spirit Return 
 
 that after His crucifixion the Lord's sup- 
 per was observed in remembrance of the 
 blood He shed for the sins of the world. 
 
 But let us consider woman for a short 
 space of time. Having proven without a 
 doubt that man is in possession of an im- 
 mortal soul, it would seem unnecessary to 
 say that woman has an immortal soul 
 also, but the fool skeptics are not all 
 dead yet, even if I did bury a few in the 
 first part of this subject in skepticism, 
 for I saw the announcement made in the 
 paper a few nights ago, by Ambassador 
 George Harvey, who said that he did not 
 believe that women had souls, but he was 
 under the strong impression that man 
 was the only proud possessor of such an 
 article. So I feel in duty bound, as I am 
 a woman-soul, to contradict this absurd 
 statement. We all know that Eve, our 
 beloved grandmother, was made from the 
 rib of our dear grandfather, for we have 
 the Scriptures to prove it, for we find in 
 the 2d chapter of Genesis, 21st to 24th 
 verses the following: 
 
 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep 
 to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and he 
 
True Spirit Return 253 
 
 took one of his ribs, and closed up the 
 flesh instead thereof. 
 
 And the rib, which the Lord God had 
 taken from man, made He a woman, and 
 brought her unto the man. 
 
 And Adam said, This is now bone of 
 my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall 
 be called Woman, because she was taken 
 out of Man. 
 
 Therefore shall a man leave his father 
 and his mother, and shall cleave unto his 
 wife; and they shall be one flesh. 
 
 — Genesis ii, 21-24. 
 
 So, if woman was made from the rib 
 of a man, and we have proven that man 
 has an immortal soul, then we wonld con- 
 sequently conclude that woman has an 
 immortal sonl also. And if the first man 
 and woman that God created had im- 
 mortal souls, then it stands to reason 
 that the whole human race has an im- 
 mortal soul. 
 
 There is one paragraph of Judge J. F. 
 Rutherford's of which I wish to quote 
 the exact words, for the manner in which 
 he uses the last word, immortal, followed 
 by the Bible reference, 1 Corinthians xv, 
 
254 True Spirit Return 
 
 47, is very misleading unless one chances 
 to look up this Bible reference for him- 
 self, and find that there is nothing said 
 in this verse about the soul not being 
 immortal. This is a mere interpretation 
 of Eutherford 's, and the word, immortal, 
 is his own insertion. To make myself 
 clear, I will quote the exact words of 
 Eutherford, and then I will give the exact 
 words as we find them in the Scriptures. 
 Thus we find Judge Eutherford as saying 
 in his book, "Can the Living Talk with the 
 Dead?" "Thus did God form the first 
 man from whom the whole human race 
 sprang, and we have a clear and positive 
 statement in the Scriptures that the first 
 man is of the earth, earthy, and not Di- 
 vine, not immortal." 1 Corinthians, 15th 
 chapter, 47th verse. 
 
 This is what Eutherford has said with 
 reference to his belief that the soul is not 
 immortal, and cites us to proofs of this 
 fact in 1st Corinthians, 15th chapter, 47th 
 verse, which reads, in the Holy Book, thus : 
 The first man is of the earth, earthy; 
 the second man is the Lord from heaven. 
 There is nothing in this verse that men- 
 
True Spirit Return 255 
 
 tions the word immortal, or teaches that 
 the soul is not immortal. 
 
 It is true it speaks in Genesis of the 
 first man being earthy, of the earth. What 
 of that? We all know that Adam and 
 Eve, as previously mentioned, were cre- 
 ated from the dust of the earth, which 
 consequently would make them of the 
 earth, earthy, but would not deprive them 
 of a soul; for we have the proof in the 
 Scriptures that man was made in the 
 image of God (Genesis ii, 27), and our 
 Creator had an immortal soul, and it is 
 not possible that our Divine Father would 
 have forgotten the most important part 
 of man, the immortal soul. 
 
 By the second man is meant Christ, 
 and we all know that He is of heaven, 
 heavenly, which is told in the latter part 
 of the verse in 1st Corinthians, 15th chap- 
 ter, 47th verse, but there is nothing in 
 these last-named words to indicate that 
 the soul is not immortal. 
 
 Again, Eutherford attempts to prove 
 that the soul is not immortal, and that 
 the well-known phrase " there is no death' ' 
 is a lie, started by satan in the Garden of 
 
256 True Spirit Return 
 
 Eden, and has been handed down from 
 generation to generation, and believed by 
 the people, and that is why so many have 
 been deceived into thinking that the soul 
 is immortal, imperishable, ever-living, 
 never-dying; and he says that this lie 
 has also been sent ont from the pulpit by 
 clergymen at fnnerals, when they pro- 
 claim that the soul of this body was 
 hovering close to the form in the coffin. 
 
 He draws his deduction from the fact, 
 spoken of in Genesis, when our fore- 
 parents first disobeyed God, and He told 
 them that for this they should surely die, 
 and satan had lied to them, and said, 
 "you shall not surely die;" but this did 
 not mean the death of the soul, but bodily 
 death, for we find it in the Scriptures in 
 the 3d chapter of Genesis, 17th, 19th, 
 23d and 24th verses. 
 
 And so it is that our friend Rutherford 
 has drawn false conclusions from these 
 last-named verses in the Scriptures, yet 
 claims to use the exact words, but with all 
 due deference to him as a devotee of this 
 theory, I must say that the conclusion of 
 the immortality of the soul is based upon 
 satan's lie, and is wholly unsupported by 
 
True Spirit Return 257 
 
 anything else except the lie of the adver- 
 sary. 
 
 Then again, he has far mistaken and 
 misinterpreted the 28th verse of the 10th 
 chapter of St. Matthew, which is accom- 
 panied by these words from Rutherford, 
 as follows: "If the soul be immortal, 
 then G-od himself cannot destroy the soul. 
 Jesus is authority for this, 'fear Him 
 which is able to destroy both soul and 
 body.' (Matthew x, 28.) There is not a 
 single Scripture in the Bible that war- 
 rants anyone in saying that the soul is 
 immortal. ' ' 
 
 This is the interpretation of this verse 
 (Matthew x, 28) in the exact words of 
 Rutherford himself, that there is not a 
 single Scripture in the Bible that war- 
 rants anyone in saying that the soul is 
 immortal. The very same verse that 
 Judge J. F. Rutherford takes to prove 
 that the soul is not immortal, I would 
 take to prove that the soul is immortal; 
 but let us quote the entire verse, and then 
 we can better glean the true meaning 
 from it. 'Tis as follows: 
 
 And fear not them which kill the body, 
 
258 True Spirit Return 
 
 but are not able to kill the soul; but rather 
 fear him which is able to destroy both 
 soul and body in hell. — Matthew x, 28. 
 
 Note that Eutherford, before making 
 this partial quotation, remarks that "if 
 the sonl be immortal then God himself 
 cannot destroy it," and we know that God 
 has power to destroy the sonl. Bnt we 
 wish to remind him that the Holy Book 
 says : And Jesus looking upon them 
 saith, With men it is impossible, but not 
 with God; for with God all things are 
 possible. (St. Mark, x, 27.) 
 
 Let ns consider the first half of this 
 verse, which is as follows : And fear not 
 them which hill the body, but are not 
 able to kill the soul. (Matthew x, 28.) 
 
 Here we have a proof that man is com- 
 posed of two distinct parts — a body and a 
 sonl, and it is natural to suppose that 
 while there is life and breath in man that 
 the soul would dwell within the body, and 
 not be hanging around on the outskirts, 
 or absorbed into the body, so that the 
 soul and body would be one, as Judge 
 Eutherford would have it, for he has said 
 
True Spirit Return 259 
 
 "every creature that breathes is a soul. 
 No creature possesses a soul.'' 
 
 Let us now consider the latter part of 
 this verse, which says, But rather fear 
 him, which is able to destroy both soul and 
 body in hell. (Matthew x, 28.) 
 
 These words are even a stronger proof 
 that man is two distinct parts, for note 
 the expression, "both body and soul." 
 But we should not ignore the last two 
 words, "in hell," which mean, taking the 
 verse as a whole, that Christ was giving 
 to His disciples of the present, as well as 
 the past, both a caution and warning 
 against fear of man when preaching the 
 gospel truths, for they could only de- 
 stroy the body, but rather fear God, who 
 is able to destroy both body and soul in 
 hell, the last phrase meaning the future 
 place of punishment for sinners who dis- 
 obey God's laws and commandments, and 
 do not believe in Christ as a Eedeemer, 
 which place we see so often referred to 
 throughout the Bible. This place of fu- 
 ture punishment, or hell, as it is termed 
 in the Scriptures, would be everlasting, 
 and is ofttimes likened unto death, but 
 
260 True Spirit Return 
 
 Christ has paid the ransom and saved ns 
 from this eternal punishment, for again I 
 repeat these beautiful words: 
 
 For God so loved the world, that he 
 gave his only begotten Son, that whoso- 
 ever believeth in him should not perish, 
 but have everlasting life. 
 
 For God sent not his Son unto the 
 world to condemn the world; but that the 
 world through him might be saved. 
 
 St. John iii, 16, 17. 
 
 And the curse of death, that Judge 
 Eutherford refers to, has been removed; 
 and I think, taking the Bible for refer- 
 ence, that we can truthfully say there is 
 no death, the soul is immortal, imperish- 
 able, ever-living, never-dying, for we find 
 these hopeful words in the Holy Book: 
 
 But now being made free from sin, and 
 become servants to God, ye have your 
 fruit unto holiness, and the end everlast- 
 ing life. 
 
 For the wages of sin is death; but the 
 gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus 
 Christ, our Lord. — Romans vi, 22, 23. 
 
 And Judge J. F. Rutherford has said, 
 
True Spirit Return 261 
 
 "let the Bible be the final arbiter upon 
 this question.' ' 
 
 I agree with him on this decision, and 
 would add that the Bible should decide all 
 questions, but according to the Scriptures, 
 as quoted by Judge Eutherford himself, 
 the argument for non-immortality of the 
 soul must fall, for he has failed to bring 
 forth any proof from the Holy Book to 
 support his argument. 
 
 And as he has admitted that Spiritual- 
 ism depends on the immortality of the 
 soul, then his arguments against Spirit- 
 ualism must fall with it, for here are his 
 exact words (as found on page 51, in his 
 book, "Can the Living Talk with the 
 Dead"): "I most emphatically agree 
 with you, Mr. Psychic, that, according to 
 the testimony of all these witnesses, the 
 ability of the living to communicate with 
 the dead depends upon the one important 
 question, 'Is the soul of man immortal! ' 
 In other phrase, your argument must 
 stand or fall upon the truthfulness or 
 falsity of the theory of the immortality of 
 the soul. If it is true that every man has 
 inherent immortality, then there is a basis 
 for your argument, but if that contention 
 
262 True Spirit Return 
 
 is false then there is no basis for your 
 argument and your argument must fail. 
 It is of first importance then, that we de- 
 termine what the soul is, and determine 
 whether it is mortal or immortal. Let 
 the Bible be the final arbiter upon this 
 question. ' ' 
 
 So these are his words upon the ques- 
 tion, and as we have already proven and 
 decided what the soul is, and have per- 
 mitted the Bible to be the final arbiter 
 that the soul is immortal, let the golden 
 light of Spiritualism flood the darkened 
 hearts of the people that they may read 
 the Word of God with understanding. 
 
 Judge J. F. Eutherford is greatly mis- 
 taken when he announces that the doc- 
 trines of Spiritualism belittle the sacrifice 
 and redemption of our Savior upon the 
 Cross. He even goes so far as to say that 
 the truths of Spiritualism deny the atone- 
 ment of Christ, but I wish to say that if 
 there is any denial in any way of Jesus 
 Christ, our Savior, I wish they would 
 read this little book through, and they 
 would find out how cruelly they have mis- 
 judged the golden teachings of the heav- 
 enly spirits. 
 
True Spirit Return 263 
 
 Especially would I have them read, 
 "Jesus Christ as a Gift from God," which 
 is one of my subjects in this little book, 
 and should go to show that this great gift 
 of love from God is not lost to me or 
 others believing as I do. And I wish to 
 say also, that he has entirely mistaken 
 Sir Conan Doyle's interpretation of the 
 death and sacrifice of Christ. I feel that 
 I must correct the erroneous idea that 
 Judge J. F. Eutherford has formed con- 
 cerning the statement that Sir Arthur 
 Conan Doyle has made about the Savior's 
 death and life. I am sure that Sir Arthur 
 did not intend to make light or belittle the 
 sacrifice of our Savior upon the Cross, or 
 to ignore the great ransom price that the 
 Son of God has paid with His precious 
 blood. I feel quite sure that Sir Conan 
 Doyle simply means that while the death 
 and sacrifice of Christ was great, so also 
 was His life, which he describes as noble 
 and beautiful. In other words, he was 
 not belittling the death of Christ, but was 
 enlarging upon His wonderful life, as an 
 example to mankind. Then, again, Judge 
 Eutherford has criticised Sir Conan Doyle 
 with reference to his remark concerning 
 
264 True Spirit Return 
 
 the churches, which I feel in duty bound 
 to say was not meant in the way in which 
 Judge Eutherford has interpreted it. 
 Does the Judge forget that he made the 
 same remark in different language? Yes, 
 we all know that the churches will fall 
 if there is not a change in them from the 
 wickedness, the worldliness which is creep- 
 ing into them, and the harmful influence 
 of satan and his evil spirits. But I do 
 not believe that the Lord intends this to 
 happen, for from time immemorial, and 
 ages past, the temple of God has been as 
 a recognition of Him, and if we would 
 permit the purer and higher influence of 
 the spirits from the heavenly sphere to 
 sweep through them, we would find that 
 the old time religion of Christ, and His 
 redemption, and the truths of the Holy 
 Book, and the love, as well as wrath of 
 God, would be taught and remembered. 
 But instead, we drive away our best 
 friends who would help us to combat these 
 evil forces that are in the churches, and 
 in the homes, and stirring up trouble and 
 war between nations and countries. But 
 when these loved ones of ours, from the 
 spirit realm, fain would help us, we fre- 
 
True Spirit Return 265 
 
 quently turn our backs upon them, failing 
 to recognize their presence, and give them, 
 not only the cold shoulder, but act, in 
 word and deed, as though we were 
 ashamed of our own dear ones from the 
 world beyond, and then wonder why these 
 spirit friends do not accomplish more. 
 
 Then again, we permit ourselves to be- 
 come prejudiced and skeptical because we 
 meet with prejudice and skepticism in 
 writings and speech from those who have 
 dipped deep enough into Spiritualism 
 only to be led away on to the false side 
 by the cunning brains of his satanic ma- 
 jesty, who would have the world believe 
 that all of the spiritual forces are evil, 
 thus limiting the powerful influence for 
 good of our heavenly spirits, thereby al- 
 lowing ourselves to be drawn in by his 
 deceitful lies. 
 
 Yes, I thoroughly agree with Judge 
 Eutherford in his proclamation that the 
 devil is a liar, and the father of lies, and 
 is still using deceitful and cunning meth- 
 ods to lead the world away from the foot 
 of our Savior's Cross. Not only that, but 
 I will agree with him on the fact that the 
 devil and his imps are impish enough to 
 
266 True Spirit Return 
 
 pose, and pass themselves as our dear be- 
 loved ones of the spiritual realms of 
 heaven. This is done to misguide and to 
 throttle Spiritualism, for the devil well 
 knows that its doctrines would be fatal to 
 his diabolical plans, and would lessen the 
 number of earthly prisoners in his dire 
 abode. 
 
 As I said before, we should not mix the 
 two forces, for they will not mix any more 
 than oil and water, and are as far apart 
 as the poles. 
 
 I see that another one of our friends 
 besides Judge J. F. Rutherford, Billy 
 Sunday, has been beguiled by the deceit- 
 ful and cunning voice of satan to think 
 and proclaim that Spiritualism is the 
 work of the devil; and so it pleases his 
 satanic majesty that they should think 
 thus, and by confusing the two forces 
 hold to the evil one, and by the silent com- 
 mand of this artful schemer, turn away 
 the good forces from the higher powers 
 above. But the two forces have always 
 existed for ages past, since the first crea- 
 tion of man, and we have examples of 
 them all through the Bible, and they were 
 constantly waging war with each other 
 
True Spirit Return 267 
 
 then, as they are doing at the present 
 time. 
 
 Perhaps yon remember, that thousands 
 of years back, in the days of Moses, when 
 this remarkable prophet and his brother 
 Aaron performed their wonderful mir- 
 acles before King Pharaoh, he would al- 
 ways call in his magicians, or witches, 
 and they would perform like miracles with 
 their enchantments; but theirs was the 
 powers from the evil forces, or satan, 
 while that of the prophets was the power 
 of God. But should we discountenance 
 the good powers, because the evil forces 
 were running close or parallel with them? 
 Note that, as is usual, the good powers of 
 the prophets came out ahead of the evil 
 powers of the witches, or magicians, for 
 the latter 's snakes were eaten up by 
 Aaron's one big snake; and the sorcerers 
 were stumped on the plague of lice, and 
 they were compelled to admit that the 
 power of the prophets came from God. 
 Just so will the stronger powers of the 
 good spirits of today come out ahead of 
 the weaker forces of the evil spirits, caus- 
 ing Spiritualism and its wonderful doc- 
 trines to come out victorious if we but 
 
268 True Spirit Return 
 
 open our doors and hearts to them, and 
 give them the opportunity that they are 
 oftwhile seeking. 
 
 We see the contending forces running 
 close to each other in the time of the 
 prophets, after the Israelites had reached 
 the promised land, that existed between 
 the angels from heaven and the evil pow- 
 ers of satan and his imps. Especially are 
 we reminded of this when we call to mind 
 the beautiful picture of the angels from 
 heaven contending against the evil influ- 
 ence of the devil, who had persuaded King 
 Herod to kill the Christ baby, but the 
 angel was sent by God from heaven to 
 warn Joseph in a dream. "Flee into 
 Egypt,' ' was commanded, "with the child 
 and its mother," and they fled in the dead 
 of the night, and the Christ baby was saved 
 from the cruel edge of the king's sword 
 through the warning voice of the angel. 
 Just so today, we ofttimes get warnings 
 of danger. Should we turn a deaf ear? 
 Might it not by chance be angel voices 
 from heaven, perchance, the angel voice 
 of our loved one? 
 
 And there are times in life when two 
 roads meet, and we know not which one 
 
True Spirit Return 269 
 
 to take. Shall we fail to hearken to the 
 persuasive silent voice that whispers 
 "take this one to the right." Might not 
 these silent voices "be the voices from 
 heaven? May they not be onr guardian 
 angels from the spirit world above, who 
 would save us a world of suffering and 
 sorrow had we only hearkened unto their 
 voices ? 
 
 These are not the voices, nor have they 
 anything in part with the ones that Judge 
 Eutherford has warned us about, nor 
 should they be counted as such. 
 
 Note the various Bible references con- 
 cerning cautions against witches, evil 
 spirits and mediums controlled by the 
 wicked forces that the judge cites us to, 
 as a proof that the Holy Book is against 
 the doctrines of Spiritualism. 
 
 Judge J. F. Eutherford is truly correct 
 that the Holy Book is full of warnings 
 against witches, magicians, and all evil 
 forces, and I heartily agree with him that 
 we cannot be any too careful in avoiding 
 these evil influences of satan and his 
 demon forces, nor can we put up too 
 strong a fight against them; and let me 
 add that I know of no better way than 
 
270 True Spirit Return 
 
 with the help of God, His Son Christ 
 Jesus, and the Holy Ghost, with not only 
 the aid of the angel forces from heaven, 
 hut the angel spirits of onr loved ones. 
 
 And shonld these two forces that I have 
 just mentioned, the good and the bad, be 
 engaged in deadly, silent combat, and the 
 good should come out victorious, we would 
 find that the grand and noble doctrines of 
 Spiritualism would gain control over the 
 homes, churches and nations, and there 
 would be less of suffering, moaning, and 
 bitter crying in this world. 
 
 Looking at both sides of this question, 
 it is fatally wrong to consider one alone 
 when they both exist, for if we recognize 
 the good and not the evil, we permit the 
 latter an opportunity to take advantage 
 of us, and when we take into account only 
 the evil forces we are limiting the power 
 of the good forces and driving them away 
 from us. With all due respect to Judge 
 Eutherford and Billy Sunday, this is what 
 they have done, or so fatally confused 
 the good with the evil that the good has 
 been lost to them, thus causing them to 
 form wrong opinions and conclusions. 
 There is the story of King Saul, that the 
 
True Spirit Return 271 
 
 judge has mistakenly given us, as a strong 
 proof against Spiritualism. As the nar- 
 rative went, King Saul was greatly 
 troubled in his heart, so he adjourns to 
 the witches' cave for advice. He dis- 
 guised himself, for he did not wish it 
 known that the king was consulting 
 witches, nor did he wish to be seen going 
 to her cave. Besides, there was a law in 
 the country at that time against all medi- 
 ums, witches, and magicians that foretold 
 future events or used enchantments of 
 any kind, and the king was supposed to 
 hunt them up and have them killed. 
 
 When the witch of Endor saw King- 
 Saul, although he was so completely dis- 
 guised that no one could recognize him — 
 the moment she set her sharp bead-like 
 eyes upon the king she knew him and be- 
 came frightened, for she suspected that 
 he had come to have her killed. "Why 
 have you deceived me like this! ,, she 
 asked, "have you come to have me mur- 
 dered as you did the other wizards! " 
 "Be not afraid," the king replied; "if 
 you will answer me what I wish to know 
 I will not harm you or let your where- 
 abouts be known." "With whom would 
 
272 True Spirit Return 
 
 you wish to speak ?" questioned the witch 
 of Endor. "With Samuel, the prophet," 
 answered the king. The witch called 
 Samuel, who had been dead for some time, 
 in a loud voice, and immediately there 
 arose before them a little old man, with a 
 mantle across his shoulders, and whom 
 the king recognized as Samuel the prophet. 
 
 When King Saul saw who stood before 
 them he fell down and worshiped him. 
 "What is it you would have, and why 
 have you come to disturb me?" asked 
 Samuel. "I am sorely troubled," an- 
 swered the king, "for tomorrow we go in 
 battle with the Philistines; and tell me, if 
 you please, that all will be well with my 
 three sons and myself. I," continued the 
 king, "have prayed to God, but He has 
 hearkened not, nor heard my voice, neither 
 have I been answered in my dreams at 
 night. ' ' 
 
 "It is because of your wicked disobedi- 
 ence that God does not hear you," replied 
 the prophet Samuel, "and tomorrow you 
 and your three sons will be with me, and 
 your people, the Israelites, will fall into 
 the hands of the Philistines, not only this 
 
True Spirit Return 273 
 
 but your neighbor, David, will become 
 king. ' ' 
 
 King Sanl was so overcome with grief 
 and fright that he fell to the ground, and 
 was like one who was in a dead faint. 
 His servants who had come with Saul 
 picked him up and placed him upon a 
 couch, and the witch of Endor offered him 
 food, but the king was so troubled that 
 he refused to eat. "You must take some 
 food," she said, "to strengthen your body, 
 that it may sustain its weight home." 
 But the king refused to eat. Then the 
 witch of Endor went out and killed a 
 fatted calf, and kneaded up some bread, 
 and cooked them for King Saul and his 
 servants. "Eat, my Lord," she said, 
 "thou and thy servants, before you grow 
 weak from fasting." But Saul had al- 
 ready become weak from lack of food, for 
 his heart had been so troubled that he 
 had not eaten since yesterday, early morn. 
 "Take food," the witch and his servants 
 pleaded with him, until he was finally 
 persuaded to eat. When King Saul and 
 his men had eaten, they went out into the 
 darkness of night. 
 
 And the King's heart was troubled. 
 
27 A True Spirit Return 
 
 What the dead prophet Samuel had told 
 King Saul in the cave of the witch of 
 Endor came but partly true, and still, in 
 many ways, this strange prophecy came 
 to pass. The king and his three sons 
 were killed, their bodies hung upon a 
 wall and then burned, but not on the 
 morrow. This happend a few days later. 
 
 The Philistines and Israelites waged a 
 bloody battle. The Israelites did not fall 
 into the hands of the Philistines, but there 
 were so many slain by the enemy that the 
 Israelites fled from the army of Philis- 
 tines. The three sons of King Saul were 
 killed by archers, and the king himself 
 was sorely wounded, and when he saw 
 that his sons were dead he begged his 
 armourbearer to kill him with the sword, 
 but he was afraid. Then King Saul fell 
 upon his sword, and when the armour- 
 bearer saw what the king had done he 
 fell upon his own sword. Thus it was 
 that the king, his three sons, and armour- 
 bearer were all killed in one day. And 
 when the Philistines found the body of 
 King Saul they cut off his head and hung 
 his body upon the wall. 
 
 Now, there were certain brave men be- 
 
True Spirit Return 275 
 
 longing to the king's army, who, when dis- 
 covering what the enemy had done, stole 
 the body by night, and burning it to pre- 
 vent discovery, buried the bones. And 
 they moaned for the king seven days, and 
 as the dead prophet Samuel had foretold 
 in the witches 's cave of Endor, David 
 became king. 
 
 This is the story of King Saul and the 
 witch of Endor, and Judge Eutherford 
 has pronounced it, among other Bible 
 references, as proof and warning against 
 the doctrines of Spiritualism. But I wish 
 to say that the judge has confused matter 
 again, and sadly gotten his wires crossed. 
 What if the witch of Endor was influenced 
 by evil spirits and King Saul did go to 
 this wizard for advice? That does not 
 mean that every one who is able to call 
 up the dead, to prophesy certain events, 
 to cast out devils, or even to heal the 
 sick by the laying on of hands, are given 
 the power from satan and his demons. 
 But there is a higher God-given power of 
 prophecy and miracles that our prophets 
 possessed. They were in those days 
 greatly aided by the spiritual forces of 
 good angels from heaven, just as I have 
 
276 True Spirit Return 
 
 every reason to know that those at the 
 present time who listen are aided by the 
 angel forms of onr loved ones. 
 
 During the days of Christ, we know that 
 there was a God-given power that Jesns 
 and His disciples, and even a few others 
 that followed in His teachings, and 
 worked in His name, were able to do such 
 as casting ont devils, healing the sick, and 
 performing many other wonderful mir- 
 acles. And we know that this gift from 
 God was extended through the courtesy 
 of Christ to not only His disciples of the 
 past but to those of the present. So, when 
 Judge J. F. Eutherford forms the opin- 
 ion, and passes it on to the world, that 
 all forms of healing with the laying on of 
 hands, and otherwise, .are the works of the 
 devil, I simply wish to announce that he 
 is mistaken. Has he forgotten, does he 
 not remember the promise that Christ 
 made to His disciples, after the resurrec- 
 tion, just before His ascension into heav- 
 en? Our Savior made them this condi- 
 tional promise, which includes the present 
 generation, as well as those of the past. 
 But these signs and wonders must be 
 
True Spirit Return 277 
 
 worked in His name, and the power mnst 
 be recognized as coming from God, and 
 there mnst be observance of the laws of 
 baptism, as Jesns Christ went throngh 
 with, that His Father's wishes might be 
 fulfilled, thns permitting themselves to be 
 baptized in the name of the Father, the 
 Son, and the Holy Ghost. How conld it 
 be possible for anyone who respects these 
 rnles to be working with the devil and his 
 imps, especially when we keep onr spirit 
 loved ones close aronnd ns to gnard and 
 keep the evil ones away? For we well 
 know there is no deceiving God, and if we 
 conscientiously follow ont certain require- 
 ments of His, and He permits certain 
 promised works to be performed by ns, 
 we have every reason to suppose that onr 
 power comes from God and not from 
 satan. 
 
 We find this beautiful promise in the 
 16th chapter of St. Mark, 17th, 18th and 
 20th verses, as follows: 
 
 And these signs shall follow them that 
 believe: In my name shall they cast out 
 devils, they shall speak with new tongues. 
 
278 True Spirit Return 
 
 They shall take up serpents; and if they 
 drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt 
 them; they shall lay hands on the sick, 
 and they shall recover. 
 
 And they went forth, and preached 
 everywhere, the Lord working with them, 
 and confirming the word with signs fol- 
 lowing. Amen. 
 
 While Jesus Christ made us these won- 
 derful promises to perform these marvel- 
 ous miracles, He had preserved for Him- 
 self the privilege of raising the dead, from 
 the dead, but He has given us an oppor- 
 tunity to talk with their angel spirit forms. 
 
 We have not a more positive proof of 
 the immortality of the soul, and of spirit- 
 return, than the incident which occurred 
 on the mountain-top, during the trans- 
 figuration of Christ, before His three dis- 
 ciples, Peter, James and John, and we 
 know that these spirit-forms were not 
 personators of the devils' imps, for they 
 were with Christ, and they were the spirit 
 form of Moses and Elias, and if this 
 could happen once it could happen again 
 and many times over. 
 
True Spirit Return 279 
 
 If two spirit forms could find their way 
 to earth, thousands of others could. And 
 we are taking the Bible for our final ar- 
 biter, and find these important proofs in 
 St. Mark, 9th chapter, 4th verse, as fol- 
 lows: And there appeared unto them 
 Elias, with Moses; and they were talking 
 with Jesus. 
 
 Judge J. F. Eutherford has said that 
 the general condition of depravity and 
 wickedness was due to the fact that satan 
 and his demons were having and taking 
 an extra amount of privilege at the pres- 
 ent, for their time is limited, and they 
 wish to do as much mischief as possible 
 before the day of their imprisonment or 
 destruction. He has also said that, ac- 
 cording to the Scriptures, these trouble- 
 some times of war, wickedness, and strife, 
 is a forerunner of the millennium, or the 
 second coming of Christ, and I heartily 
 agree with him on his two last statements. 
 But I cannot countenance his declaration 
 that this wave of Spiritualism that is 
 sweeping the country since the World's 
 War is under the influence of satan and 
 his demons. Once again, he has confused 
 
280 True Spirit Return 
 
 the two forces, recognizing only the evil 
 powers, and pushing the good ont of ex- 
 istence, as far as his own mind and heart 
 goes. 
 
 Of conrse, we have strong evidence that 
 the demon forces are hard at work, and 
 have pnt off some successful stunts in 
 their line, but that is no reason why we 
 should dub all of the spiritual powers as 
 evil. And considering the plight that the 
 world is in, it is quite natural that our 
 best friends, our spirit loved ones, should 
 come down to help us, thus accounting 
 for the wave of Spiritualism that Judge 
 Eutherford referred to. For what more 
 could they do for us than to come when 
 we need them most? Is not a friend in 
 need a friend indeed! Shall we turn them 
 away with cold indifference or heartless 
 and cruel denial? 
 
 Judge J. F. Eutherford has likened 
 Spiritualism to the vision that Kipling 
 has made of it, which is as unfair as it is 
 wrong. 
 
 In his poem on Spiritism, he has de- 
 scribed it in one of his verses as follows: 
 
True Spirit Return 281 
 
 Oh, the road to Endor is the oldest road, 
 
 And the craziest road of all! 
 
 Straight it runs to the witch's abode, 
 
 As it did in the days of Saul. 
 
 And nothing has changed of the sorrow 
 
 in store, 
 For such as go down on the road to Endor. 
 
 I wish to say right here, that the road 
 to Spiritualism and the road to Endor 
 are two separate and distinct roads, which 
 lead in opposite directions. 
 
 I agree that the road to Endor is a 
 crazy old road and wrought with sorrow, 
 but the road to Spiritualism is a straight 
 road, and wrought with peace, joy and 
 gladness. 
 
 The poet has told us, concerning it, 
 that the path to Spiritism, leads to "A 
 land of fadeless beauty.' ' 
 
 There's a land of fadeless beauty, 
 Bright beyond the narrow sea, 
 Where the rainbow lasts forever, 
 And the stars eternal be. 
 Homes, no human hands can fashion, 
 There forever shall endure; 
 Spirits free from earthly passion, 
 Deathless Spirits glad and pure. 
 
282 True Spirit Return 
 
 There's a land whose chilly winter 
 Never spreads its frosty gloom; 
 Where no deadly blight can wither 
 Gardens of perennial bloom; 
 'Tis a land where never sorrow 
 Bids the mourner's tears to flow; 
 Where no frowning dark tomorrow 
 Ever dawns on hnman woe. 
 
 This is the land of beauty and eternal 
 joy that the fingers of onr spirit friends 
 point ns to; and if we follow their guid- 
 ance we can be sure of finding this haven 
 of rest, and heaven of glorious happiness. 
 
 I see that Judge J. F. Eutherford 
 claims that the soldier boy who has been 
 giving messages to his mother is an im- 
 poster; namely, the devil, or one of his 
 demons in disguise. For one conclusive 
 reason that this young spirit belongs to 
 the demon forces and not his mother's 
 son, who had passed out on the battle- 
 field, the Judge relates the fact that this 
 soldier spirit tells of hearing that one, 
 who was known as Christ, had been seen 
 moving around and among the sick and 
 dying soldiers, and ministering unto them, 
 and the spirit son even mentioned having 
 
True Spirit Return 283 
 
 caught a glimpse of the Savior, and He 
 shone with a soft, glimmering light. 
 
 Judge Eutherford has denounced the 
 fact of our Savior 's being on the battle- 
 field as unnatural and out of the question, 
 and originating from only a lie such as 
 satan and his imps could perpetrate, giv- 
 ing, as a reason, that the Savior did not 
 approve of wars, killing, and the battle- 
 field, consequently it would be preposter- 
 ous to think of finding Christ in such an 
 ungodly spot as the field of war. 
 
 We agree with the judge that our 
 Savior does not approve of wars, fighting, 
 and killing, but we consider Him broad- 
 minded enough not to blame the soldiers 
 for what they had been unwittingly drawn 
 into, through a chain of circumstances not 
 of their own making, and we give the 
 Savior credit for going where He was 
 most needed. It is typical of the Savior 
 to be ministering unto the sick and dying 
 soldiers on the battlefield, and to cheer 
 and comfort those who were so far away 
 from their homes and loved ones. So like 
 His life on earth, full of deeds of kindness 
 and love. As He told His disciples He 
 
284 True Spirit Return 
 
 came not to be ministered unto, but to 
 minister. 
 
 I do not see anything strange or un- 
 natural in the spirit soldier boy's mes- 
 sage to his mother, and I have no doubt 
 that when the spirit form of Christ was 
 not on the battlefield with the wounded 
 and dying soldiers, He was at the home of 
 some loving mother, wife or sweetheart, 
 giving them silent words of comfort and 
 cheer. I am quite sure this accounts for 
 so many brave hearts during the war. 
 
 We have absolute proof from the Scrip- 
 tures that Christ returned in spirit form 
 after his resurrection and ascension into 
 heaven, for the Bible tells us that Jesus 
 said to His disciples just before preparing 
 to leave and go to His Father's home, he 
 made this sweet and comforting promise, 
 which is intended for the disciples of to- 
 day as well as the past, for Jesus Christ 
 shows no partiality, and the proof of His 
 continued presence on earth is found in 
 St. Matthew, 28th chapter, 20th verse, as 
 follows : Teaching them to observe all 
 things whatsoever I have commanded you; 
 and, lo, I am with you alway } even unto 
 the end of the world. Amen. 
 
True Spirit Return 285 
 
 So cheer up, wake up from your dream 
 of mystified doubts and perplexities. Cast 
 aside the web of gloomy thoughts that 
 confuse and bewilder your brain and 
 heart in trying to reconcile life eternal 
 with the non-immortality of the soul. 
 Turn your eyes away from such dark in- 
 consistencies to Scripture teachings. Turn 
 your face to the golden light, of the joy- 
 ful truth, that the soul is immortal, im- 
 perishable, ever-living, never-dying, and 
 that through the sacrifice and redemption 
 of Christ we have life eternal. 
 
 Not only the Bible but nature teaches 
 us that our souls are immortal, and that 
 there is life eternal in all things. The 
 flowers wither and die only to spring up 
 again in a more beautiful form. Turn 
 where we may the golden tidings of life 
 everlasting is whispered to us, and the 
 soft cooing breezes, that are wafted from 
 seeming nowhere, breathe the sweet, glad 
 message that there is eternal life. The 
 tall, white stately lily, the crimson rose 
 and the modest little violet all declare the 
 same grand truth of life. The seasons, 
 in all their glorious changes, speak in elo- 
 quent language of a life eternal. The 
 
286 True Spirit Return 
 
 murmuring brook, the constant flow of the 
 river, the rushing waterfalls, and the 
 never-ceasing going in and out of the 
 tides, all proclaim the one joyous blessing 
 of everlasting life. And when you see the 
 gold and crimson splendor of a glorious 
 sunset die and fade away into a pall of 
 grey, you know that it will rise again in 
 the east with a new robe of silver glow, 
 and break into a new dawn, a new day. 
 Everywhere we turn we see evidences of 
 immortality and life everlasting. We 
 hear it whispered in every rustling leaf, 
 and the voice of nature carries it on into 
 one glad song — there is no death. And 
 the poet catches the sweet refrain and 
 echoes the voice of nature, and sings it 
 to the world. 
 
 " There is no death; 
 The stars go down, 
 To shine upon 
 Some fairer shore; 
 And bright in heaven's 
 Jeweled crown, 
 They shine forever more." 
 
 THE END. 
 
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