Published in 1894 | 294 pages | PDF reader required
INTRODUCTION
In presenting this book to the public an explanation is hardly necessary, and, were it not for the fact that the contents of the book were obtained by extraordinary processes, though uniformly natural and spiritual, but for reasons which need not be mentioned, seemingly beyond the present reach, methods and understanding of the material scientist, and hence needed a few brief words of explanation to the uninitiated reader, even what now shall be said might well have been omitted. The contents of the book, most simple in diction, straightforward in purpose and pure in character, need no interpreter, but are their own exponent; but their origin and the marvellous manner of their translation from the spirit world to our earth plane, which form an essential groundwork and feature of the book-for were the book at all or but of human origin, the teachings and facts therein contained might be regarded as preposterous, fictitious, or possibly absurd-need the explanation which we shall give.
It is needless to say that strange occurrences and mysterious phenomena have ever been in the world since the birth of man and that they have been relative to and always associated with the conduct and history of every race. The more religious, spiritual and receptive the people were, notwithstanding the grade of their culture and civilisation, the more numerous and pronounced were these occult demonstrations, and on the other hand, the more material and beastly they were the less would these signs of the spirit be. Some said in ignorance that these strange things were supernatural in their origin and were the direct interposition of Deity, either to avenge Himself upon His children for their untoward wickedness or to justify the lives of His saints and prophets and thus warn their enemies, the hard-hearted, or worshipers of idols. Others still said that they were the work of the devil, and those that could not account for them by natural law and causes traced them to credulity, imagination or ignorance. Yet, every bible or religious book which purports to have come from the skies by or through inspired writers or media, contained its quota of these wonderful and seemingly mysterious phenomena. The Christian Bible is one long narrative of such phenomena from Genesis to Revelation, and the works of the prophets, not excepting those of the woman of Endor, together with the alleged miracles of Jesus and the marvellous acts of the apostles, show how plenteous had been the outpouring of the spirit in those early days.
The soul cycles in and through periods of spiritual waves. The world is seemingly favored at such times, for then the angelic hosts draw near to the earth and do a mighty spiritual work. This was peculiarly the case at the close of the old dispensation when the minor prophets, crowding the threshold of the new age, voiced the new inspirations of the spirit of truth which, then and later, under John and Jesus more abundantly bore fruit and blest the world. And we find that in the new Messianic order the phenomena and teachings of the Christ became so overpowering and exalted, so irresistible and eloquent, that they worked a revolution among the masses and classes that overthrew the priestly Jewish hierarchy and degenerate but imperial Rome. These cycles mark unfoldments as well as revolutions and bespeak progress as well as destruction and decay. In all old orders of social, political and religious life the new order, like the rose in the bush, is concealed. It but really needs the transformation or the decay of the external form or vestment to let out the new apocalypse. Then the new order moves on in its progress until a new inbreathing calls for a new outbreathing and the advanced age of light that colors the rising morn is born. Thus the chain lengthens link on link through the years and the prophesy comes literally true daily, "I came not to destroy but to fulfil."
And so modern Spiritualism, since its advent in 1848 and yet farther back by twenty years, came with the old yet ever new message of life and immortality, of truth and love. It, consistent with all true revelations of the spirit, aimed to free man from the domination of materialism and consequent atheism, infidelity and sin that thrived under its sway, and to teach him of the facts and reality of spirit, his own deathlessness and spiritual power and the soul benefits to be gained by such revelation. Thus began the harmonial philosophy, science and religion of Spiritualism as modernly conceived and received. From that day to this the old and new world have felt the power of the spirit and slowly but surely its peaceful and imperial encroachments have been watched and studied by science and the Church. Now, amid the many tokens of the spirit as given or revealed through the diversified phenomena and phases of medial and spirit power, this humble work of the spirit, this book, is sent to the world to mark a new step and unfoldment of the soul along the line of angelic ministry and human wellbeing. The book is sent for a purpose and the intelligences who sent it know that it will fulfil that purpose.
The circumstances that led to its translation from the spiritual spheres are of themselves a wonderful demonstration of the book's intrinsic worth and its heavenly origin. The author of this introduction, whose guide dictated for the author of the narrative the present form of the book, was impressed a year ago, March, 1893, to write a short protest against the Meyer's bill, a bill which was then pending in the Illinois state legislature and which was a stab at mediumship, Spiritualism and the exercise of the rights of a citizen of his constitutional, religious freedom; and having written it, he sent it to a Chicago newspaper, in which it shortly appeared. It was read by the hero of this narrative, Mr. C. H. Horine, and was so thoroughly appreciated and approved of by him, he being a Spiritualist and the writer a Unitarian clergyman, that he sent a congratulatory letter to him. Strange to say, this one letter led to a steady correspondence and friendship between them, which, by a series of collateral, both material and spiritual events, of which they were not aware but which seemed to come as the evolution and product of the friendly union, brought about the outworking in material form of the design of the spirit intelligences who, it was afterward learned, first inspired the writing of the protest and the letter of congratulation that followed, and secondly, brought together by such means the forces and affected the organisation of the spirit bands and co-workers on both sides for the work and completion of the translation of the book. That such combination of forces and intelligences was necessary to the successful unfoldment of the work, the guides of the media who assisted the author of the book spiritually, and the mediums themselves through whom the book in all of its parts came, do attest. This was not done in the dark but openly and in the daylight. The guide of "White Rose," who dictated materially and inspirationally the form of the bock for the author in spirit life, together with the guides of Lizzie S. Bangs who assisted the spirit band who transcribed the book in material writing and who call themselves "Everlasting Unity," also "Azur," the guide of A. Campbell, who precipitated the paintings on porcelain, and Mr. C. H. Horine, his spirit friends and she who is his real co-partner, the heroine of the narrative, all had to be brought together and their forces combined before one word or symbol of the narrative could be received. All this elaboration of the program of work was so silently planned and unfolded, as a whole unconsciously to the earth media, that each one of the mediums employed knew of the book but not of the part he or she should play or take until the first instructions, which were given in November, 1893, had been received. Then the earth instruments looked back over the past months and saw and realised the purpose and design in all that had transpired. Thus the book was begun and thus it was ended by "Everlasting Unity" through their earth media, chosen and brought together to one place for this one noble work. It can be said finally that the paintings that are herewith presented as lucid illustrations of portions of the narrative, in half-tone reproductions, were given in oil on porcelain, enclosed within sealed slates, and each one was given through the mediumship of A, Campbell by his guide Azur; concerning the order and character of the subjects, neither A. Campbell nor Mr. Horine, who sat with him, were informed and hence they knew nothing. The spirit band gave the earth subjects and the character of their drawings as tests, and they were indeed tests, inasmuch as Mr. Horine on looking at them found them to be exact reproductions of the scenes in the old Kentucky home. The other drawings were scenes from the author's spiritual sphere, her home and surroundings. These paintings were finished, each one separately, in less than one hour at two sittings each, the longer time being used for exactness of detail. Concerning the material or independent writing, it was received by the independent process, familiar to all spiritualists, in the form and character as is illustrated by the photographs of slates given on separate sheets in the book. Mr. Horine sat through the entire series of sittings and has elsewhere testified to their receipt and genuineness. The psyche, Lizzie S. Bangs, received from six to eight full written slates at each of the sittings, Mr. Horine holding the slates with the medium, and these sittings were held three times a week and were begun in November, 1893, and were ended April 28th, 1894. It was the writer's pleasure to attend at least forty of them and he can testify and here testifies to the absolute genuineness of the slate writing as received through the psyche, Lizzie S. Bangs.
The book, spiritual in its origin and lofty in its teachings, pervaded by a sweet and overpowering spirit of love, bearing its lessons of spirituality home to all, will be as a voice crying in the wilderness, but the writer writes under the influence and inspiration of his beloved guide, this prophecy to the reader, "Blessed are the eyes that shall see and the ears that shall hear what is enfolded in the thought of these pages." And she adds, "Dear reader, approach the open pages as you would the delicate bloom of a flower, not to mar nor to destroy, but the more reverently to appreciate a heavenly work. Accept of its teachings and, by the more sensitively imbibing the fragrance of its inspiration and its love, thus come more closely into oneness with the Divine."
WHITE ROSE.
