Olympia Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The Righteous Government meeting usually held on Saturday up in the Promised Land, Ulster County, New York, was held in Philadelphia on this Saturday evening because of the great two-day demonstration and dedication of the new and spacious Philadelphia Hotel taken over by some of the Followers recently.
Thousands packed the Olympia auditorium which is situated about a block and a half from the new Hotel, and many political and religious speakers as well as others of the various professional fields of activity, spoke on this occasion as well as all day and well into the evening Sunday. Motion pictures of the various Peace Mission activities along with scientific and educational sound pictures were shown on both days, no collections being taken and no fees whatsoever charged--everything being Absolutely Gratis as usual wheresoever FATHER Personally presides or HIS Spirit has full sway.
Major Silverman was the first to speak after FATHER Personally arrived and many others too numerous to mention spoke during the course of the evening. A few of the names are herein recorded, however.
FATHER'S beautiful and stirring Lectures given whilst in Philadelphia are indeed well worth considering, especially concerning the present important political issues.
THANK YOU, O MASTER OF OMNIPOTENCY!
(The foregoing statements are those of the transcriber, after which FATHER Speaks as follows:)
PEACE, EVERYONE: At this particular instance I have arisen to say, we have visiting friends with us as usual and MY Pleasure and MY Happiness will be the same today, yesterday and forever, to be mindful how we entertain strangers, those who are strange to our policies and do not know the truth as we think we know it.
At this particular instance I arose to say our visiting friends are welcome to speak and move volitionally if they care to, even as we do. This does not necessarily say we represent every person according to their respective version for there are those who call themselves MY Followers who do not represent MY version, but a good many may have--all of them whichever who are real Followers do have faith in ME and believe every word I Say. Nevertheless there are those who are quickened by the Spirit of MY Actual Presence who may have ideas and opinions and divers versions they may not have been emancipated from, but it is good to be here.
I would like to say to our visiting friends, especially the politicians and representatives of the divers political parties, you are welcome to speak in these different audiences and speak according to the dictates of your own conscience regarding your respective party. Of course because you are a Republican it does not say that I AM representing the Republican party; it does not necessarily mean that I AM representing the Republican party because I represent a Real Democracy.
If you are a Democrat you are welcome to speak here as well as the Republicans. You are welcome to move volitionally or speak by introduction according to custom, the same as the Republicans. Do not feel as if though you will hurt our feelings or MY feelings because you are speaking for Mr. Roosevelt. Do not think you can hurt ME because you are speaking for Mr. Willkie. I Speak according to the dictates of MY Own Conscience; not one of MY Followers is responsible for ME neither AM I responsible for what any one of them says.
As a democracy you are free to speak and move volitionally if you care to, but it is good to move according to judgment with the right concept and the understanding of the truth and be not by any means selfish or egotistic.
I further wish to say, there are many ministers of the Gospel and representatives of divers religious movements; you are welcome to speak according to the dictates of your own conscience. Feel free to move volitionally as we do if you care to, for I have a democracy developed and brought to fruition, a real Utopia for the good of the people, therefore this truth cannot be shaken.
Be governed by your highest intuition and speak according to the dictates of your own conscience.
I just wish to say further in reference to one of our honored speakers, the party who mentioned ME or MYSELF as a man, do not think or feel as if though the party was consciously discrediting or disrespectful to your religious conviction although at times such may look a little that way, but according to custom, men and women speaking, they speak according to what is in their hearts and in their minds and they cannot speak truthfully more than what is according to their conviction; nevertheless, you have a right to your religious conviction; that is your constitutional right for which I Stand.
If perchance there are a few million in the United States through their religious conviction by MY Teaching of the Constitution and by teaching religion so vividly and stressing Righteousness, Truth and Justice and exemplifying it so effectively they have been converted into the recognition and the realization that I AM GOD, they have a right to their religious conviction; that is constitutional. But it does not say that someone else has not a right to theirs to the extreme reverse if they see it that way. Therefore as a democracy I give each and everybody a privilege to speak according to the dictates of their own conscience and after their own conscience has spoken, when it is converted and when MY Spirit touches it, they think differently.
It is a privilege to realize GOD deals in the affairs of men! Through HIS Condescension here you all are and there I AM; there I Sit and here you stand! In the Unity of the Spirit, of Mind, of Aim and of Purpose to you I Come, unifying the children of men and making them ONE.
JESUS prayed for this of which I AM doing. What said HE concerning this mystery in the seventeenth chapter of Saint John?
'I pray that they may be ONE even as We are One!'
By the Unity of the Spirit, of Mind, of Aim and of Purpose I AM making millions
and millions ONE and ONE in reality, socially, politically and economically as
well as mentally and spiritually ONE.
There are many things I could say but at this particular instance I would just like to say to our visiting friends, if there are any speakers here just now the time is near at hand and the auditorium is pretty well crowded. You will hear through the loud speakers and others will hear you not only in this auditorium but on the outside. Those who desire to speak may come forward and make themselves known. If you have been invited to speak here you are welcome to do so and speak according to the dictates of your own conscience, especially as far as your political or religious views are concerned.
But of course it is true, those of MY Followers will not digest negative thoughts or doubtful thoughts conveyed concerning ME.
For this cause if you touch ME in a doubting way, in a degrading way or in a low-rating way, it will stir the spirit of their conviction and will cause them to react upon the impulse of the moment, if only in the expression of the emotions they make while you are talking, even though they need not say anything before nor after, for I will show both you and them better than I can tell you; not only better than I can tell them but I will show them better than even you can tell them!
I need not say more, I will say a little more a little later on. I AM the SCALE of JUSTICE and I AM weighing everything willingly or unwillingly as a Person, but when things are weighed on the Scale they may be weighed in opposition to your personal feeling, your personal desire, fancy or pleasure, but as the SCALE of JUSTICE I must weigh each and everyone of you and I must as I have demonstrated weigh the political parties and their respective representatives on the SCALE of JUSTICE, MY Righteous Government Platform! I thank you.
(At this point several speeches, some of them political, others religious or pertaining to the spiritual side of life, were given. Among the speakers were Mr. Brooks, Republican, of Philadelphia and Mrs. E. Taylor of Hamilton, Ohio. Directly following Mrs. Taylor's speech the Rosebuds stated in unison that they, the youth of the Peace Mission Movement, demanded the immediate passage of the Anti-lynching Bill and strongly endorsed the three great documents, the Constitution and its Amendments, the Declaration of Independence and FATHER DIVINE'S Righteous Government Platform. They also demanded the immediate enactment of the Bill of Rights in every community, city, state and in the federal government, after which they and the hugh assembly sang the inspirational song, "Pass the Anti-lynching Bill." It was after this that our Beloved SAVIOR again spoke as follows:)
PEACE, EVERYONE: At this particular instance I would like to say, the melody of our righteous, patriotic song we just sung is beautiful and it is sweet but the words are better for the benefit of the hearers. We are going to ask the Juniors, the Rosebuds, to sing the words so that the general public may hear what we say and what we mean. I thank you.
(The Rosebuds then came up on the rostrum and enthusiastically sang this song again waving their white handkerchiefs in the air. Shortly thereafter several other visiting friends availed themselves of the opportunity offered them to speak. Among them were Mr. Austin Norris, Philadelphia Attorney; who later became FATHER DIVINE'S Attorney; Mr. Oscar Neumann, representing Roosevelt's Campaign Committee; Mr. John E. Gattling of the Willkie Club; Mr. C. Harris of the real estate business; Mr. Joseph Q. Stokes, Democrat; Reverend Gibson of Philadelphia; and Miss Edith Burleigh, Metaphysician, also of Philadelphia.
As it was then nearly ten o'clock, the time designated for the motion pictures to be shown, FATHER once more condescended to bless the vast audience with HIS abundant Words of Wisdom, speaking as follows:)
PEACE, EVERYONE: At this particular instance I rise to say, while you are getting ready for the pictures, a few words in reference to what has been said and also in reference to what shall be shown. I would just like to say as you heard a few say, not a true Follower of MINE is on the relief! Those who live exactly according to MY Teaching and abide in MY Spirit, even though there have been many oppositions in the way of employment--I will tell you more concerning the mystery tomorrow evening, no doubt--but there have been many oppositions and conflicts set up as barriers and as opposition to prohibit the True and the Faithful from having employment; nevertheless, with all of the opposition, over and above every opposition not a true Follower of MINE is on the relief!
I do not merely lift you from the relief rolls and place you in a place if you give ME a chance, where you can have a-plenty to eat, but we also take you out of the slums and put you in places where you would not be ashamed to live!
Those who live exactly according to MY Teaching and abide in MY Spirit, I will eventually emancipate them completely from all of the slums and from every undesirable surrounding condition, and will establish their going in the land of the living with a sanitation that cannot be competed with!
Oh, how glorious it is to realize Cleanliness is next to GODLINESS! If you live exactly according to MY Teaching you will lift up yourselves from all indecency, incompetence and untruth and will establish the truth in all you say and in all you do. You will live Soberly, Righteously and Godly!
Not a True Follower of MINE would owe any old back bills even though they be fifty, sixty or seventy-five years back, if they were honest debts--and refuse to pay them! MY True Followers do not drink intoxicating liquors, wines nor beers. They do not indulge in things that do not represent true Christianity, therefore their minds are clear and they are in harmony with the INFINITE.
I would just like to say at this instance, I would like to see all of you give witness by raising your hands if you abstain from self-indulgence and drinking intoxicating liquors. (Immediately a sea of hands were raised.) It is indeed Wonderful! I would like to see how many are there here who have paid all of their old back bills. (Again thousands of hands filled the air.)
That is what we are doing daily and you will find some slight sketches and reflections of what we are doing through the pages of "The New Day," especially under "Righteousness, Marches On!"
This is a part of our religious conviction, to live Soberly, Honestly, Godly and True by refusing to do those things we used to do--I AM speaking in your name now--and by lifting up a Standard whereby you can express your independency and prove to the world conclusively you are independent over and above opposition!
I further wish to say, MY Followers do not belong to any insurance for they believe such an act is a mistrust in the Presence and the Power of the ALMIGHTY. Aside from that they do not believe in the Old Age Security Act because they, as a body and as though an organization, believe that GOD will protect them in the future as well as the present!
There are many points for consideration I thought I would drop to give you MY visiting Friends and Hearers just a sketch of what we are endeavoring and what we expect to have all over the universe.
The millions and millions of Followers of MINE who refuse to indulge in intoxicating liquors, wines and beers and other unnecessary indulgences, they save themselves by so doing, thousands and thousands of dollars annually. It was conservatively estimated by one of MY New York critics that I have prohibited one industry from making from one hundred to one hundred and twenty or one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars annually just in New York City! This they said on one industry and that was cosmetics--something that the average person uses for the purpose of making themselves look like what they are really not, for the purpose of deceiving the people, to cause the people to believe they are beautiful when they are not beautiful.
These Followers of MINE and Believers and Friends under the guidance of MY Spirit and of MY Mind, by so doing they save themselves all over this country millions of dollars yearly by abstaining from self-indulgence and from any usage of anything that is not absolutely necessary and constructive; not only cosmetics but drugs and horse-racing, gambling, the number racket and every other profane and obscene manner of expression such as mortality uses as a mortal indulgence! They save millions and millions annually in the United States by adhering to MY Teaching and by being governed and controlled by MY Spirit!
By so doing they can buy real property in any community they desire to, for with them they unite consolidatedly together as one man at Jerusalem.
Capital and Labor have actually united; they are no longer twain but the are ONE! By this the rich and the poor as they may be termed are united together as you see us sitting and standing in this auditorium. We have overcome every sense of segregation and discrimination in consciousness therefore we bring an end to every expression heretofore established for our vocabularies that would tend to reflect segregation and create division or draw a line of demarcation!
I often hear our noted speakers, friends and educators even, delight in calling themselves apparently so-and-sos! Each of these vulgar names by which you are called as Afro-Americans, as I may explain it in speaking to you as to the public in order that you might understand it; the very segregational term by which is you as an Afro-American, either so-and-so or so-and-so is vulgar.
What a vulgar people you are if you impose such upon you! You have imposed such upon yourselves as cattle and as other animals that are branded, and especially branded with the low-rated degree of expression that a brand has ever been given! I think I had better stop! When I touch those points you stir ME. I will tell you more tomorrow.
But every segregational term that is used concerning ME as being termed of some of you, it is used for the purpose of low-ration and distortion and perversion! It is vulgar and those who will use it are vulgar people even if they are not conscious of it!
So-called intelligent people in this advanced civilization!--they are not intelligent enough to know thoughts are things and words that are spoken segregationally, they enact themselves in expression; they take on bodily forms and manifest it!
Take these thoughts to consideration and remember, as illiterate as you may term ME to be as an Educator, I Came to educate the educators out of ignorance of such as they have been steeped in, binding themselves down and others whom they call their friends! If you are a friend of MINE, how dare you to say a so-and-so? It is distinctly understood and well known in this prejudiced and malicious and dishonest nation, among them the very word that expresses segregation, it acts upon the impulse of the moment in the act of low-ration, low-rating the person of whom you are speaking, especially when you are spoken of vulgarly by a vulgar name that is used for that purpose!
I do not wish to bore you. Because of your name as being termed a so-and-so, that vulgar name by which you are called, thousands and millions of American citizens have been robbed out of their franchise in some parts of this country! Thousands and thousands have been robbed out of jobs and out of decent and respectable places to stay! They have been forced to live in indecent and unsanitary conditions and surroundings that would produce immorality and debauchery even without the desire to produce it! I think I had better stop! It is Wonderful!
(And with these last explosive remarks FATHER resumed HIS seat to let other visiting friends who wished to speak, do so.)
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