Correspondence between Walter Lanyon and Father Divine

Published in
THE SUFFOLK CITIZEN,
Sayville, Long Island, N. Y.
October 16, 1931

A LETTER FROM ONE OF REV. DIVINE'S DISCIPLES

The Suffolk Citizen, Sayville, L. I..
New York

The Beach, Sayville, Long Island, N. Y.

The Beach, Sayville, Long Island, N. Y.
Gentlemen:

I believe many of your subscribers and readers would be interested to know that the Work which is carried on by the Reverend M. J. Divine here in Sayville is not restricted to this Town, but that it reaches out into many other parts of this Country and across the sea to Europe, Asia and Africa. Various representatives are in the Field now, carrying FATHER DIVINE's Message to the world, and others are going out from here continuously imbued with the spirit of HIS teaching to tell others about the Wonderful Thing they have found in Sayville.

It has been my great privilege, and that of my wife, to have a part in carrying this good news. As you will see from the enclosed printed announcement, I lectured in London, England, on FATHER DIVINE's Message for a period of six weeks last June and July. The International New Thought Alliance in London, one of the largest centers in the world, was glad to throw open its doors to a representative of FATHER DIVINE, and the Message was so enthusiastically received by capacity audiences and the benefits received by many were so great that a further series of lectures was requested. The people were so eager to hear of FATHER that during our entire stay in London, Mrs. Mathews and myself were deluged with invitations and requests for personal interviews to such an extent that our time was not our own.

This demand is now being met by a widely known international lecture and author, Mr. Walter C. Lanyon, and that is my real reason for writing you. I have just secured from FATHER DIVINE's Secretary, before it went to the files, a letter from Mr. Lanyon telling FATHER personally about his work in London and, since Mr. Lanyon is so well known in New York City and throughout this Country. I thought it might be of interest to your readers, and that his schedule of lectures, if published, might catch the eye of some reader who would be in London during October, 50 that he would have an opportunity of verifying for himself the familiarity of the Name FATHER DIVINE and Sayville in London.

I have known Mr. Lanyon personally for many years and he has been considered by many the foremost lecturer in this Country on spiritual, scientific subjects. He has lectured in New York before large crowds that came day in and day out for weeks in mid-summer when ordinarily it is difficult to get audiences together. He has lectured In most of the large cities in the United States and has made at least one round-the-world lecture tour. He is the author of various books which many people use as daily guides in their lives. He has been most successful, and last year had reached the apex of his career as an intellectual celebrity. Shortly after that time he came in contact with FATHER DIVINE and HIS Teaching and since then he has been carrying FATHER's Message across the sea. Last Spring, after an introductory series of lectures in London, he made a tour through Spain and North Africa and returned to London while I was there. The demand was such that we both lectured there at the same time and in various surround mg towns. Many times, although we were in the same vicinity, we were too thoroughly occupied to contact one another, but Mr. Lanyon, Mrs. Mathews and I later made a trip together into France and. Germany. When we returned to America last month Mr. Lanyon stayed in Germany to do some work there and has now returned to London again to continue.

I am sure this letter from Mr. Lanyon would be interesting as I say, to many, even to those who know little of FATHER DIVINE's Work, as it gives some idea of what that Work is. If you see fit to publish it together with any part of my letter to you, I would thank you to preserve Mr. Lanyon's letter for me so that I may return it to FATHER DIVINE's Secretary intact, for her files.

Yours very truly,


J. M. MATHEWS
37 Macon Street, Sayville, L. I.
New York.


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FROM WALTER LANYON

Peace FATHER:

The wonderful letter which came yesterday was so full of light that it made me see things I had only dreamed of before. You should see You Angels over here unfolding before the gracious spirit of Your teaching -- they are learning to get rid of the nasty personality which has intruded itself so long. They rise and call it Wonderful, and they speak in sure terms of the glorious accomplishment of the power as shown forth by You. It is Wonderful, FATHER. Heaven and earth are full of Thee.

I should like to talk to You about certain things that have happened. They are too wonderful to put down on paper. But then I in reality have talked it all over with You and You know all about it anyway.

My lectures have been of such a nature that the power has almost been visible, something like the glorious thing I recognized when I came to You. You remember how dumb I was. I was so filled with amazement that although I had lectured to capacity crowds for years, I was just plain dumb with the wonder of the revelation You gave to me.

I only had about three or four hours with You, but that was enough to change everything in my life and open the doors of the Heaven that Jesus spoke of as HERE and NOW.

I know what it was. I lost my personality; it fell off of me like an old rag. It just wasn't the same any more. I wish all the seekers after the Light that come to You could leave their nasty personalities on the dump heap. The personality gets so swollen with pride and it wants to tell of its good works, and it wants credit for everything that it ever did. Holier than Thou, it points its finger of scorn at everything or everybody who does not fall down and worship it. And finally it assumes the noble role of 'Official Stone Caster' but eventually it has to hear the command 'He that is without sin let him cast the first stone.' Every Judas has to spend his or her thirty pieces of silver that they have gained by their jealousy. It draws heavy interest. How they can come to You and not drop off the personality and come out into the glorious Sons of the Living GOD is more than I can see.

I understand now why You said to me over and over again, 'It is not necessary to contact ME Personally.' I know now what the lesson was that You were giving me. Blessings, FATHER, it is Wonderful.

Yes, FATHER, the blind see. the lame walk and the dumb speak. All these things take place and greater even than this is the insight that comes to the new-old consciousness of the I AM. Truly, FATHER. ALL THINGS ARE P0SSIBLE and PROBABLE to the person who has gotten rid of the personality. It is Wonderful.

I am giving forty lectures this month to great masses of people who come now to hear about the Word from You, and not to a personality or teacher. They are beginning to say 'Thank You, FATHER,' and are bursting out with 'It is Wonderful.' Believe me, FATHER, the people have been starved for the Word of the LIVING GOD.

They have been satiated with the personal teaching -- and the swollen personalities that have tried to put themselves over on them. If Jesus would not allow Himself to be called Good, what it is that makes these personalities try to fill that place. 'Call not me good. One who has sent me into expression, He is the only good.'

Sometimes I feel your co-operation very plainly and of course, the glorious joy and blessings of Angels is always appreciated. Everything that You told me has worked out into expression.

I don't want to go on too long, FATHER, but I want to tell You how amazed I was that You paid no attention to anything that happened -- at Your table -- and finally I knew why. It was because to You it was and is perfectly natural for the power of GOD to manifest, and so You are Divinely Indifferent. That helped me so much; it made me firm in the recognition that Good is the natural state of things and the action of the Laws of GOD should not seem strange or unusual, but Divinely Natural.

Blessings and love to You, and Mother and the Angels. Sing a little song for me.

Love,
WALTER
44 Leyland Road,
Lee S E 12
London, England
Oct. 2, 1931

P. S. FATHER, a growth on a woman's neck just disappeared all of a sudden, so completely that she didn't know for sure whether she had even had it, although it had been there for years. Years, in the human way, are nothing in the Divine.

N. B. I have lovely lecture work planned all over Europe. It is Wonderful. A lot of wonderful things have happened -- but they will keep.

 

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