THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR TRUTHFULNESS

Ben H. Swett
Holloman AFB, NM
11 August 1967

My father-in-law, Lawrence Haskins, had been operated on in Oklahoma City. The doctors took out the top two-thirds of his stomach and the lower third of his esophagus. After I hung up the phone, I picked up a pen and let my hand write:

OK. So. The case is one of anger! You are most angry. The reason?

"The false diagnosis of Lawrence Haskins has destroyed the faith of Ila and Wyn."

OK, add also, cut the faith of Ben.

"You got that right."

OK, the case resolves down to this: that the diagnosis of the body of Lawrence Haskins was not correct.

"You said he was not cancerous."

Yes! The body bordered on cancer, as the "tests" did show some of the "signs." The doctor did more to damage than he would have with the cryotherapy procedure. (The use of extreme cold, such as liquid nitrogen, to freeze tumors is one type of cryotherapy. It was a relatively new treatment at this time.) However, the amount of organs he removed was not as much as he might. So: cancer is still a factor, just as it would have been with cryotherapy. And the diagnosis of cancer in the lymph is correct, as we pointed out: not a localized condition.

"Why did you say the doctor would use cryotherapy? He did not."

So? The chances of his seeing the use of cryotherapy were good. The biopsy changed his mind, as well it might. Cannot always determine the choices individual men will make, as you know. We could deal, but the case is not closed.

"As far as Wyn and Ila are concerned, the case may as well be closed."

OK, so far as Wyn and Ila are concerned, it is--what of Ben?

"Before I go on acting as your agent, telling people what you say, I've got to have proof that it is true."

Proof?

Yes! Proof that what you say is true.

O?

"I'm not going to continue with this if what you tell people through me winds up hurting them. I'll quit cold first."

O?

"I won't be some blind mouthpiece for just any old spirit, or my own imagination. If what is said is going to hurt people, they are better off as they are."

OK--if what we tell you hurts other people, you will not tell them what we say. That is the truth. Ben, how did the diagnosis go wrong? Can you name a point?

"You said he did not have cancer. He did. You said that cryotherapy would be used. It was not."

OK! The tumors were deemed malignant as the biopsy determined. The difficulty is in the biopsy. The lymph nodes are one source of potential cancer. The doctor removed them as he saw that possibility. The doctor did not remove all of the area that he might. The doctor did disagree with our diagnosis and our treatment. He can only cut out: he cannot cure cancer. The present state is about as bad as the first, as it will soon prove! OK. So we check off point-by-point: the surgeon did not put him on a diet. More, the doctor did not care. He reverted to habit. Against this, we can not admit to any failure. This you have always.

"But you stated what he would do."

OK, that was a mistake. The doctor did see what we saw, and because of the biopsy, decided not to take a chance with cancer. This we could not decide. But the telling of Ila was still a good move. She was able to aid Lawrence, and so it was worthwhile.

"Not if it destroyed her faith!"

OK, have we destroyed your faith?

"Well, darn near."

The stubborn ones do make it difficult.

"Meaning me."

Yes, you are.

"So? I'm not a jellyfish."

OK! That is as it should be.

"If my pride and their faith in me were all that's at stake here, I could take it, but I will not lead my friends astray, to put their faith in false gods!"

Yes, that is so: if the pride of Ben was all involved, you could take it. But the faith of Ila and Wyn in the Way, that is important.

"If you're going to restore my faith in you, you're going to have to prove yourself."

O? The case of a threat? I tell you, the care of some is a job. The care of God is for a task to be done. The task is to make his world.

"So, I'm trying to help with that. Am I not part of that plan?"

So? But only as a part of his plan. No, you are not in line with his plan. The Ben-case is now closed.

"So you can threaten, too. Did God make you lie when you were here?"

No, God did not make me lie. The case is closed.

"You told me to tell Scott a dead bird would rise from the dead, and to tell Mac and his wife that he would not die. Those predictions failed. So, either you are of God, or not. If so, prove it. If not, forget it."

No proof is possible in unbelief. Any proof is denied.

"I'm not that way, and you know it."

Yes, we know. Ben reopens the Ben-case. Can believe. OK. The facts:

1. The three statements as given: (a) the tumors are dangerous, (b) they will show signs of cancer, (c) the doctor will use cryotherapy.

2. The doctor's findings: (a) the tumors are dangerous, (b) the biopsy indicates they are cancerous, (c) does not
choose--nor does he care--to use cryotherapy.

So we were wrong in saying what the doctor would choose to do. We were right about the urgency and the indications (signs) of the biopsy. Are you going to drop all we have done, to prove that we could not tell what one doctor would say?


"No. But why did you say it if you weren't sure?"

There was a good chance he would do what we said he would, but we did not know. There is such a thing as free will, you know. And it was better to have told that to Ila than any other possibility.

"Not if it hurts her or anyone else spiritually."

OK, perhaps, but time will tell.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There is no substitute for truthfulness. If anyone makes predictions that do not come true, they have departed from the truth no matter how they may justify their "little white lies" or what excuses or rationalizations they make after the fact.

Spirits cannot predict the results of individual free will; they can only say what someone is likely to do. That means they cannot predict with certainty anything in which free will is involved--and that includes almost everything that happens to human beings.

Therefore, I will act as a filter for anything I receive, and not just pass messages along to other people. This may reduce my effectiveness, but it will also reduce the likelihood of deception and the effects of mistakes made by well-meaning spirits.


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