The daily schedule of Encampment offered the participants two hours in the afternoon for free time.  On the other hand, we were also given a list of 20 questions to ponder.  I only got around to pondering the first one to my own satisfaction.  The question is:

How do I know that the New Message from God is real?

As I pondered this, I recalled a Bible verse that first appeared in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 19:15), and was later quoted in the New Testament (2 Corinthians 13:1) “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” (New International Version). Over the next few posts, I plan to bring forth “witnesses,” to present evidence, for the reality of the New Message from God.

One witness is the decency and magnanimity of the students of the New Message. Many teachings make claims for what will be produced in students who follow them.  A teaching could be evaluated both on the quality of its claims, and its effectiveness in producing its claims in its students.  One of the steps in Steps to Knowledge describes what the New Message promises to its students:

“To come into the proximity of Knowledge means that you become more and more like Knowledge itself—more whole, more consistent, more honest, more devoted, more concentrated, more self-disciplined, more compassionate and more self-loving. All of these qualities are developed as you approach that which is the source of these qualities.” (Step 18, “Today I feel the truth arising within myself”)

I was a student of the New Message for about 2 1/2 years (1988-1991), and I’ve been a student from April 2010 to the present. There are people who have been students for a much longer time than I.  I was able to ask if there was any student of the New Message who they knew to be convicted of a serious crime.  They knew of no one.  I believe that if the students of the New Message were subjected to a battery of psychological tests, they would be found to be well-adjusted and integrated human beings.

How do I know this?  Because I spent 5 days, give or take a few hours, among more than 70 people, who had nothing else in common than their studenthood of the New Message. In those five days, not one unkind, snarky or sarcastic word was spoken to me. I observed no cliques of people who thought they were better or more important than other people.  I observed no one trying to leverage the gathering for a romantic encounter or a business deal.  I have never been around a group of that many people, who were that cleansed of the normal human complement of wounds and itches.

So one way I know that the New Message from God is real is the nobility of its promises to the students who follow its teachings, and its ability to deliver on its promises.

Welcome to Mystery of Ascension! We are students and advocates of the the New Message from God. We are members of a worldwide community. We seek to assist the world in successfully navigating difficult times ahead. We seek to assist the world in successfully emerging into a greater community of intelligent life. You will also find some poetry. Find out more about us here. Contact us here.