My Weekend with Al and Jeanne

[dmreed2]

Hi again Audley,


During your weekend with Al and Jeanne I understand that Joseph Smith the founder of the Mormon Church gave a long message. Jeanne said she visited with you about my upbringing in the Mormon and Catholic Church and thought you would be interested in reading my testimonial from Joan Warden's new book. She asked me if I would post it here for you to read. Here it is.
love and hugs,
David


I grew up in a mixed religious family with four brothers and a sister. My Father and his side are Catholic and my Mother and her side of the family are Mormon. We alternated each week going from either the Catholic Church or the Mormon Church. This was quite unusual and, as a result, I never felt completely committed to either faith. But I did get to contrast between the two, which was encouraged by my parents.
At the time, I didn't realize that this was actually a blessing from God, but as an adult, I can appreciate it now. This allowed me to contemplate the truths, or lack thereof, between each church. And much to my parent’s chagrin as a young adult when they expected me to choose one or the other, I chose not to commit myself to either one.
I remember clearly an event in the Catholic Church that was profound for me. I was perhaps 13 or 14 years old when I went up to receive the Eucharist bread wafer from the priest and it dropped on the floor. I picked it up and walked away without putting it into my mouth, as I had been taught never to put anything in your mouth that falls on the floor. I walked back to the pew where my dad was and stood there for awhile.
A woman in the pew in front of me turned around and looked straight into my face with a hateful scorn and said, "I saw you drop the Eucharist on the floor! Show respect for the body of Christ and put it into your mouth!"
I could feel the tension and scorn of the people around me all focused on my apparently mortal sin. My dad gently patted me on my shoulder and said "It’s ok son, go ahead and eat it, don't worry yourself." I then promptly ate the bread wafer and everyone around me turned their gaze off me.
This had a huge impact on me and I left the church that day a young teenager feeling miserable and despised. I remember thinking, "Does Jesus really care that I dropped that on the floor?" Well, for some time I wouldn't go back and when I started to again, it was even more as an outsider looking in.
A similar event also occurred to me while attending the Mormon Church. When I was very young boy maybe six years old, I was in Sunday school class. At the end of the lesson, we all folded our arms and said a prayer, at the end of which, I promptly made the sign of the cross as I had been taught in the Catholic Church. Well, I should tell you that Mormons don't do this. All of my peers whom have never witnessed the sign of the cross stared at me in puzzlement, and one frightened boy yelled, "He must be a devil or demon or something like that!" This caused all in the room to squirm away from me. The rest of the day and for months after, I felt like I was wearing the scarlet letter.
My parents got wind of the incident and took me aside and comforted me and told me not to be bothered by it. But the memory never left and I continued to feel like an outsider whenever it was my week to accompany my mother to church. Nevertheless, my experiences with the Mormon Church were mostly good. There was a lot of love shared and a deep commitment to living a good moral lifestyle. I also felt this love from most of the people I met in the Catholic Church.
After deciding not to follow either faith of my parents, I put my search on the backburner and concentrated on what I felt society wanted me to do. After all, the promise of a fruitful and rich life was assured, if I just went along with the program. I left high school unsure of what to do and there were the military recruiters eager to plan out the next few years of my life. I then joined the Navy and followed in line with many other young graduates to what was supposed to lead to fulfillment and bliss.
As you can guess, that wasn’t the case and with each passing year, I grew more and more at odds with the military. Initially, it was the way they treated the lower rank and file, but later I began to question the whole notion of war and its role in humanity. I was becoming a passivist and as each year ticked by, I could feel my soul leading me away from this illusion that war is sometimes the answer to society’s sicknesses.
The day I finally left was one of the happiest times of my life. My soul had been liberated. And today I can say with utter confidence that war has no place in God’s World. Never has, Never will. I am also eternally grateful to Father for not ever allowing me to be placed in a position that I might have been forced to act in violence. It didn’t go unnoticed by me that I spent most of my time either in a classroom or training. Despite all the years I was there, I was never in any dangerous situation. The gift of free will is guided and I can certainly attest to that.
Shortly after leaving the Navy, my search for God intensified in great part to my recognition that He had been guiding me all along, despite my folly decisions. I began to read about the different religions of the world, not in great detail, but enough to have a basic understanding. But in them all, they didn’t satisfy my curiosity. I then began reading spiritual books. I was particularly interested in Near Death Experiences and also watched television shows like John Edwards, who is a medium.
Then it occurred to me that God, or His angels, might be communicating over the internet through messages. I thought, "Why not? So I began to do searches for messages online, which eventually lead me to a New Birth website. The richness, detail and love I felt from these messages told me I was very near to finding what I had been searching for. This Divine Love thing was completely new to me and, at first, I didn’t give it much attention but instead devoured the messages on descriptions of the afterlife. But, in time I kept returning to these messages and occasionally those delivered through Padgett.
After being lead to the messages of Divine Love, I would turn my gaze elsewhere and get interested in other activities of life but I would return to the messages with a renewed interest. Every time I returned to nourish my soul, I would want to stay longer and as time went on my interest in the distractions of life became a little less. This went on for over ten years and it's been in the last few months or so that I’ve committed myself more to prayer.
One thing that did happen, and kind of just naturally, is that I stopped planning so much and was living more day to day, week by week. This has created a life that from outward appearance would seem undirected and unsatisfying. But for me its been just the opposite. I feel so much more at peace and have never done without. My needs have always been met, so little that they may be, because my need for God has grown. I recently read a message and I’ll paraphrase it for you:
Don’t plan, Live, Love, pray for God’s Love, and let myself enjoy the spiritual journey.
All of these things I recognize I need to work much harder at, especially praying for God’s Love and giving love. I guess I can sum up my spiritual journey in this way:
When my life was so well planned, I felt so confused. Now that my life is so confusing, everything is going as planned.

[Audley]

/thank you Al, I look forward to seeing you in August. with love, Audley

[Audley]

Hi Dennis, thank you for sharing your testimonial. I can identify. I particularly liked your last comment
"Don’t plan, Live, Love, pray for God’s Love, and let myself enjoy the spiritual journey"
with love, Audley

[dmreed2]

Hi Audley,

I have to say thank you for answering my prayer! I had recently said a prayer asking God what it was that I wasn't doing or needing to do more of? And God used you as His channel to remind me to; "Don't plan, Live, Love, Pray, Pray for Gods Love and to let myself enjoy the spiritual journey". I had written that sentence and the testimonial over a year ago and had forgotten that important part. Its amazing the ways in which God answers our prayers and whom He will use to answer them. In that sentence I was actually just paraphrasing a message that was contained in the Judas Iscariot book that you and I love so much.

with Love,
David

[AlFike]

This is a remarkable testimony David and beautifully written. I love the last phrase about not planning. It makes a wonderful quote. Maybe you should add it as your by-line at the bottom of each of your posts like some of us have. It would be a great reminder to all of us. Thank you for sharing your story here. I believe that you have a future as a teacher of these truths in the world. I think that life will take some remarkable twists and turns for you my friend which will open doors for your gifts of teaching and writing. You have a lot to share and you do so with such humility and grace that even the most hardened skeptic would at least have to give you credit for being such a sincere and beautiful soul.

I don't think that you see what a remarkable person that you are David. Even amongst all the Divine Love followers, you stand out in the crowd with your light and humility. And of course, it is your deep humility which prevents you from seeing these qualities. Never loose that attribute David, it is your signature and a reminder to all of us what true humility is. God bless you for being you my friend. You are a wonderful teacher and a gift to those of us who struggle with ego driven motivations. You show us the way without even trying. May you continue to do so as your light grows in the Love. Much love to you brother.......Al

[dmreed2]

Hi Al,

That’s a great suggestion I’ll do that.

I have read that words written or spoken come from the imaginary world and are the symbols we have adopted to communicate with each other and try to explain what is real; Gods Soul, our souls, and His Truths. You have mastered this art of communication and your words have touched me in a real way, right to my soul. This and your dedication to developing your mediumship abilities have helped me and many others in ways you cannot imagine. Thank you Al from the bottom of my heart!

Much love to you also my brother
David

[Audley]

David; I got a lot out of what you just replied to Al, and i apologize for responding to you by the wrong name earlier, sorry.

With love, Audley

[AlFike]

Thanks David for your kind words. I think that when I'm feeling a little down or frustrated, I'm come back to your words. This simple acknowledgement goes right to my soul. It makes all this effort and time spent here and with various prayer circles worthwhile. I receive lots of encouragement from the angels and without this I think that I would have turned away from this role a while back but to know that I have through my instrumentality helped one soul is of great value to me. To hear your sincere words gives this old medium a lift and a sense of joy. What a lovely gift to start out my day . Much love to you brother and only a few weeks left until we meet eye to eye. I'm so glad that you are able to come. Your presence will go a long way to bring up the light level in the room . God bless......Al

[dmreed2]

Thanks Audley and Al, no worries Audley, I do the same thing frequently. I'm looking forward to seeing you too Al, eye to eye, heart to heart, in just a few weeks. This retreat is sure to be an experience of a lifetime.
With Love,
David

[gildaholy]

Thank you David, for sharing your story and testimony with us! Thank you all for sharing and for your love and support for one another! It is beautiful and humbling to be a witness of the true message of our brother Jesus Christ! ...I used to suffer from terrible anxiety, depression and uncertainty, I still struggle sometimes, but is not overwhelming anymore, is almost non-existant..... I know I'm on the right path....I feel so humbled and grateful!
Love,
Gilda