ABOUT US

Alec Gaunt was a naturally gifted psychic and healer who had a fascination with spirit communication. He was involved with spiritualist groups most of his life. His ability to communicate with spirit and know their intentions was extraordinary. He was a powerful healer and many local individuals received the benefit of his gifts.

In 1949, Alec and his wife Phyllis embarked upon a spiritual search for truth and together they researched many of the world religions and philosophies. It was during this time that Alec was guided to a used bookstore in North Vancouver, British Columbia, where he found one of the Padgett volumes published by Dr. Leslie Stone. As Alec was a gifted psychic, he was drawn to the book because he saw a light around it! He received promptings from his spirit guides to read this book and follow its teachings. This book interested Alec and Phyllis so much that they began praying for God’s[1] Divine Love.

Upon receiving the Divine Love in their souls, Alec and Phyllis knew that they had found the great Truth that they had been searching for – the way to God and at-onement with Him.

In a taped interview of Phyllis in 1997, she recalled the early history of the work accomplished by Alec, explaining how Alec became well-known for his spiritual work in distributing the Padgett volumes and that he gave many lectures based on the Padgett messages and healings in spiritualist churches in and around Vancouver during the 1950s and 1960s. Alec also started many prayer and discussion groups where he would speak to people and discuss the Padgett messages. Phyllis recalls that before Alec left the earth plane,[2] he had created 24 Divine Love groups—an amazing legacy that continues in western Canada to this day.[3]

Phyllis recounted that Alec and Phyllis corresponded with Dr. Leslie Stone and Dr. Stone came to visit them three times[4] in Vancouver from his home in Washington, D.C. Both Dr. Stone and Dr. Daniel Samuels collaborated with them for a number of years.[5]

For many years, Alec and Phyllis held weekly prayer groups in their home that included beginner and advanced groups as well as groups that focussed mainly on healing and learning about the spiritual laws.

Alec combined the development of mediumship with the prayer practise of receiving Divine Love. Alec and Phyllis understood the importance of praying for God’s Cloak of Protection when opening up in this way and they prayed for only the highest and best to surround them. Their goal was to continue the work that James Padgett started and to allow only Celestial spirits to communicate. As Alec and Phyllis continued to progress in Divine Love, their unique spiritual gifts continued to develop and strengthen; as did the spiritual gifts of other individuals in their groups who were also dedicated to soul progression by praying for Divine Love.

Alec had a strong and influential personality. He made it clear to those attending the prayer groups that each person was responsible for his or her own soul condition and that the condition they brought with them affected the spiritual condition of the prayer circle as a whole. Alec also emphasized the power of positive thinking to help in one’s daily efforts to think and act in loving ways.

Over the years, Alec and Phyllis worked with a few dedicated mediums in the Vancouver area. They received hundreds of messages that were recorded and transcribed[6] beginning in the 1950s until Alec’s death in 1970. Messages were received from many of the same Celestial spirits who were channelled through James Padgett – even Jesus of the Scriptures, his apostles, ancient teachers and healers, historical figures from ancient to modern times and many others.

Thus, Alec and Phyllis left a great legacy as they were largely responsible for developing a culture for the prayer practise that is still followed in various Circles of Light in western Canada to this day.

Some of the messages received during the last years of Alec’s life are now available electronically thanks mainly to the efforts of two dear soul sisters, Helge Mercker[7] who spent two years re-typing the old manuscripts from 2012 to 2014, and Darlene Gaunt (Alec’s daughter-in-law) who spent two years working with us editing, formatting and researching. Messages of Love – Vancouver, B.C. 1958 – 1970.

Note to reader:

[1] We lovingly refer to “God” throughout this document and we believe there is only one God, who is a God of Love and God alone is who we worship. We know that God is known by many different names (i.e., Creator, Heavenly Father, Source, The Almighty, The Most High, All in All, Jehovah, etc.) and we believe it does not matter which name you choose when you call out to God, God hears you: When you reach out to God, God reaches back to you in Love.

[2] Alec Gaunt passed to the spirit world in 1970.

[3] One of the groups that Alec started included Al and Jeanne Fike, who prayed in the same prayer group for over 40 years for Divine Love. Al and Jeanne continue to pray in this same prayer group as well as other prayer groups that have developed from this original group. They are directors and founding members of the DLSF and through the DLSF they have helped others form Circles of Light in various parts of the world. In 2016, Jeanne and Al were both ordained as ministers by the Foundation Church of Divine Truth.

[4] There is evidence of the work done by Alec and Phyllis in the writings of Dr. Leslie Stone and in the writings of Dr. Daniel Samuels.

[5] In an August 3, 1998, letter from Phyllis to Reverend Jocelyn Harleston of the Foundation Church of the New Birth, Phyllis enclosed writings from Jesus through Dr. Daniel Samuels regarding the work of Alec and Phyllis in 1955.

[6] Alec and Phyllis used the most sophisticated technology of the day to record the messages that came through: a reel-to-reel tape recorder, an IBM Selectric typewriter and a Gestetner machine!

Born: August 25, 1852
Passed: March 17, 2023

James Padgett was the oldest of three sons born to John H. Padgett and Ann R. Padgett. He and his siblings, Edward and John, were born in Washington D.C. The son of a butcher, Padgett grew up in the nation’s capital: he was only eight years old when the American Civil War began.

Padgett studied in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia at New Market Polytechnic Institute, which first opened on September 5, 1870. Joseph H. Salyards was one of the school’s two opening principals. Padgett became good friends with Professor Salyards.

By 1872, Padgett returned to Washington D.C. and was studying law under Albert G. Riddle, Esq. Mr. Riddle was a former Congressional Representative from Ohio, and he was a personal friend of President Abraham Lincoln. By 1876, Padgett was a practicing attorney, and in December 1877, Albert Riddle, Francis Miller and James Padgett announced the association of their new law firm, specializing in Insurance and Railroad business. Padgett became a prominent attorney as a member of the Washington D.C. bar.

On December 15, 1880, Padgett married Helen Worman Heyde, daughter of Rev. George Watson Heyde and Susan Olivia Whitehill Heyde. Rev. Heyde was a Methodist minister, and for 25 years he was also the chaplain of the Seamen’s Union Bethel, in Baltimore, Maryland. Helen was 18 years old, and James was 28 when they married.

James and Helen had three children: Edward Riddle Padgett, Harry Heyde Padgett, and Helenita Padgett. The Padgett family lived in Washington D.C. while James Padgett practiced law in various capacities throughout his 45 years as member of the bar.

Helen and James were married for thirty-two years, but in 1910, Helen and James separated. After a lengthy illness, Helen passed on February 12, 1914. James was devastated at the loss of his wife, who was just over 51 years old at the time of her passing. Padgett turned to the Spiritualist groups of Washington D.C. in an effort to make contact with his lost love.

During a spiritualist meeting, a medium named Mrs. Maltby told Padgett that his wife was present, and she described her nearly perfectly. She also went on to say that Padgett possessed the gift of mediumship through “automatic writing”, and that he must endeavor to develop his own mediumship skills.

Padgett began attempting to receive messages from spirit, but in the beginning he could only see scribbles on paper, which he said looked liked “fish hooks” and “hangers”. However, Padgett continued, and he eventually was able to make out a short paragraph – it was from his wife, Helen. She wrote to Padgett that she was often with him and was so happy to be able to communicate in this way.

Padgett had serious doubts that he was receiving messages from his departed wife. He insisted it was a trick of his own mind. He asked Helen for proof, and she wrote about experiences that the couple shared that only she would know. Still, Padgett doubted, and he believed it was of his own mind or sub-conscious mind.

Still doubting his mediumship skills, Padgett began to read and study spiritualism and life in the spirit world. He continued to receive messages from Helen, and he asked her in which sphere did she reside. She answered that she was in the Second Sphere. Having studied the spirit world at some length, Padgett knew that Helen should advance to a higher sphere. At first, Helen declined because she thought it was so easy for her to be close to Padgett from where she resided. Padgett insisted, and Helen said she would speak with Padgett’s grandmother, Ann Rollins, who had been in spirit for some time.

Helen wrote to Padgett that she met with his grandmother and what a glorious spirit she was. She was dwelling in the “High Celestial Heavens”. She had told Helen that the only way for a spirit to progress to the Higher Celestial Realms was through prayer to the Heavenly Father for His Divine Love.

In addition to Helen’s messages, Padgett received messages from his mother, Ann R. Padgett, his father, John H. Padgett, and his grandmother, Ann Rollins. His mother confirmed what his grandmother had said that soul progression to the Celestial Heavens can only be accomplished through prayers to God, asking for His Divine Love.

Helen took the advice of these spirits, and through subsequent messages, Padgett could follow her progress through the different spheres of the spirit world. Helen prayed for God’s Divine Love, and she found that as her prayers were answered and she received God’s Love in her soul, she noticed a change in her spiritual appearance. Because of the change in her soul condition, she was becoming “etherealized” and “brighter.”

As Helen progressed through the spheres, she advised Padgett that he would benefit greatly from the same prayers while he was still a mortal on earth. Padgett refused to believe that he could benefit from such, but the spirits insisted. They wrote many messages to Padgett, stating that they were dwellers of higher spirit spheres and possessed knowledge of Divine Truths, and that even Jesus himself would come to Padgett and corroborate what they had said.

Jesus did come and write through Padgett, but Padgett thought it was absurd to think that Jesus of the Bible would come to write him any messages. He threw many of the early messages from Jesus in the trash.

Padgett, still a practicing attorney, never went public with his mediumship skills. He only shared his experiences with a few close friends that he had met at spiritualist meetings or séances. His closest friends, Doctor Leslie R. Stone, Dr. Francis A. Goerger, and fellow attorney, Eugene Morgan had “instinctive feelings” that these were, in fact, messages from Jesus.

By the time Padgett started saving messages, the earliest message from Jesus was dated September 28, 1914, and it refers to a message from a few days prior. In this message, Jesus urged Padgett to pray for Divine Love, and Jesus wrote of other Truths that Padgett found astounding as a long-time Methodist and Sunday school teacher.  The message urged him to “Go to your Father for His Help. Go in prayer, firmly believing, and you will soon feel His Divine Love in your heart.”

As an attorney, Padgett found facts hard to accept without certain proof. This was no different, and he doubted that he had received any messages from Jesus. He asked Helen, as well as his mother, father and grandmother, asking who it was that wrote, and was it really Jesus. All of them corroborated that Jesus had written.

Padgett, and his few close friends, began to pray for Divine Love. As they did, they could physically feel the Love of the Father in the area of their hearts.

Over the course of the next nine years, Padgett received over 2,500 messages from various spirits. He received messages from friends and loved ones he knew while alive as well as High Celestial spirits. Padgett was able to help spirits in lower dark spheres, and with the help of his wife Helen, and his grandmother Ann, and others, they were able to learn about Divine Love, transform their souls and become redeemed Children of God entitled to enter the Celestial Heavens.

The hand written messages of Padgett were given to Dr. Leslie Stone when Padgett died. Dr. Stone had as his mission to ensure that the messages were published. Today, there are four volumes of messages published by the Foundation Church of the New Birth, the entity founded by Dr. Stone. There are also many other internet sources (linked here) where you can read the published messages, as well as scanned copies of the original hand-written messages that still exist.

Whether you believe in the source of these messages or not, they teach one primary Truth – the gift of God’s Divine Love. But you can prove the existence of this Love yourself by taking “the test.” Say the prayer for Divine Love, and see for yourself as you can feel God’s Love as it comes into your soul.

We can all become redeemed children of the Father as we share in His Divine Essence through the gift of His Love. “This is the greatest miracle of the universe.”

To read more about the Padgett Messages, see our Links to Divine Love Ministries page for reference to many sites.

Read a channelled message from James Padgett here

Following Alec’s passing into spirit, Percy Hayes became involved with Phyllis in carrying on the spiritual work. Percy had also been a seeker of truth all of his life and when he read the Padgett volumes, he too knew that he had found the Truth that he had long sought for.

Phyllis was ordained through the International Spiritualist Alliance in 1970 and Percy was ordained through the Universal Brotherhood Spiritualist Church in 1972.

Percy and Phyllis discovered they were soulmates and married in 1972. Soon after they were married, they moved to Edmonton, Alberta. Phyllis gave readings in their home and they held various weekly prayer groups with interested seekers. Phyllis was blessed with psychic gifts and the gift of trance mediumship. Percy was always by her side and he prayed to be her spiritual “battery.” Percy had the gift of healing and together they were both great teachers of the Truths. They also spoke at various schools and spiritualist churches.

In 1987, they were ordained through the Foundation Church of Divine Truth and in 1991, Percy and Phyllis became trustees of the Foundation Church of the New Birth and were dedicated to the mission of the Foundation Church of the New Birth to preserve and protect the messages received through James Padgett for all time and without any changes whatsoever.

In the early 1990s, Percy and Phyllis moved back to the Vancouver area. They continued on with the spiritual work and held many prayer circles, healings and psychic readings in their home and they spoke at different spiritualist churches in Greater Vancouver (as Alec had done previously), including many times at the First United Spiritualist Church in Burnaby.

Percy and Phyllis conceived of and starred in their own television show called “The Psychics.” The show ran courtesy of a local community television station located in Surrey, BC. Viewers called in to ask random, unscripted questions to Reverends Percy and Phyllis Hayes who taught that everyone was psychic and psychic gifts were gifts from God to help mankind through the maze of life. They taught that an individual’s life was not written in a book somewhere but that each soul created its own destiny with its own free will. The show was very popular; it ran weekly from 1992 to late 2001. [8]

Note to Reader:

[8] The show’s named changed to “The Psychic” in about 1998 as Percy hosted the show alone until 2001. Phyllis passed to the spirit world in 2000.

Jeanne first heard about Divine Love when she was 18 years old when she had a “chance” meeting with Dr. Daniel Samuels and his wife who, she found out, were visiting Vancouver from New York City. They crossed paths while they were all touring a museum on the campus of the University of British Columbia. Jeanne realized that she must have been guided by the angels to meet Dr. Samuels and his wife when three years later she was introduced to the Padgett volumes and the Foundation Church of the New Birth, she recognized a photograph of Dr. Samuels in the material sent to her by the church!

This same divine synchronicity continued to unfold in her life when Jeanne explains that one of the mediums involved in Alec’s Divine Love prayer groups mentored Al Fike beginning in 1973 and another one of these mediums mentored Jeanne beginning in 1970. A few years later, after Alec’s death in 1970, these two mediums reconnected and decided to start a prayer circle in West Vancouver (this prayer circle continues to the present day). In 1975, Jeanne and Al met one another for the first time in this prayer circle. They were married in Stanley Park in 1976!

From 1975 to 2010, this prayer circle with its core group of nine members came together for weekly prayers with the singleness of purpose to support one another in their individual and collective purpose to pray for Divine Love!

During these years members of the prayer group made connections with other Divine Love followers in California, the Foundation Church of the New Birth and the Foundation Church of Divine Truth.

In 1982, Al and Jeanne were guided to take a road trip with their young family to Southern California where they met and prayed with Victor Summers and other Divine Love followers in San Diego. Victor, who was then the head of the Foundation Church of the New Birth, had in his possession most of the original transcripts of the messages from Jesus and Celestials received by automatic handwriting through James Padgett from 1915 to 1923 and was very happy to show this incredible treasure to Jeanne and Al.

In July 2012, Jeanne and Al were prompted by their spirit guides to host a Divine Love Retreat at their home in Gibsons, BC. The inspiration for the retreat had started after they had met a few Divine Love followers in San Diego who were eager to visit Canada. Initially, the Fikes expected only five people to attend and so they were astonished in the end to have a group of 43 people from as far away as Africa, Australia, Hawaii, across the continental United States and Canada come together to pray!