Further letters from students of Dr. Murdo MacDonald-Bayne
Dated August 1978, from J.C. in N.Z.:
The Doctor was in New Zealand in part of 1938-39. He lectured in Christchurch (where I lived) for six months and I went to his classes twice a week. I was in my early 20s and was the "baby" of the class. The others have all passed over by now.
The Doctor advertised that he was showing slides of the Himalayas and that is what attracted me. I had no idea what he was going to speak about. We were very staunch Anglicans. Nobody would go with me so I went alone.
I was thrilled with the talk and slides and put my name down for the lectures. About sixty of us attended them all, mostly middle-aged folks. Nearly all of us had a God up in Heaven and a very hot Hell below, so it took quite a while to get rid of that. These days we could have learnt quite a lot in a short time but we were all in the Primers then. We heard much in the six months but it took a few years and much practice for it to sink in.
We had three textbooks: The Higher Power You Can Use, and Books 1 and 2 of What is Mine is Thine. Quite a high degree of the students had health problems and were all cured before the classes were finished.
Some that were psychic used to see the Doctor standing at the foot of their bed in the middle of the night giving them healing. One lady student I became friendly with, got illumination and the Father did many great healings through her until she passed.
After Doctor left Christchurch about thirty of us gathered regularly once a week and studied his books. We bought all the ones as they came out. We had them sent from Africa and he autographed them all. Until he died, we received monthly letters from Africa. I have a few left which I am posting to you by mail.
The Doctor's idea of living in the NOW is a perfect idea but it is not easy to do. After all, the Christ can only function in the present and most people are thinking in the past or future most of the time. I hope you get as much pleasure from the Doctor's books as we do. They are a way of life.
- kind regards, from J.C.
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Dated August 1978, from Stella A. to Mr. D.W.:
To me it seems a very long time ago that Dr. Mac was with us giving us all those wonderful lectures and also giving us wonderful treatments for our various ailments, especially to the various vertebra which keep getting out of place. He was also a Homeopath and gave his patients homeopathic medicine. He had shelves of pills and bags of herbs in his strong room. He spent three-and-a-half days a week in Johannesburg and two days in Pretoria. He lectured in J'burg on a Thursday and in Pretoria on a Tuesday.
Dr. Mac was a Champion Piper and always judged the pipes at the Caledonian Games held in J'burg and elsewhere on the Reef. He worked very long hours and usually took two short holidays a year. Sometimes he took his bagpipes with him and, going miles out into the country, he would practice, and the cows and horses would come up to the fence to listen to him.
For most of the time that he lived in J'burg he lived with his sister in a double storey house in ...... , which is a short distance from where I live.
Dr. Mac had an amazing power. He had requests from all over the world, asking him to give absent treatment. His son Don, was one of these who received treatment whilst his father was in S.A. and he was in England. One could feel this power flowing from him.
It was very sad that in 1954/55 his own health gave out, but he would not give in. We all felt that he was indestructible and when we heard of his passing we could just not believe it, although he had been very ill.
Although I have not always lived up to his teaching, my life was greatly improved in every way. I suppose quite a lot has remained with me. I wish you success with your undertaking and I am sure that your striving to understand his teachings will be of more benefit to you than it was to us who were given it direct.
- Yrs. sincerely, S.
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(another letter from S.A., J'burg, S. Africa:
The book 'Divine Healing of Mind and Body' was based on a series of lectures given in J'burg during August/September 1948. I can remember this because my mother had passed away at the end of July 1948, and the lectures were a great help to my family.
These lectures were indeed most remarkable as not only the Master spoke through Doctor but some of the disciples and other great people. One could actually see that change come over Doctor as they took over his body. His stature seemed to change as well as his voice and one could tell whether it was a person with a gentle or dynamic personality, and he seemed to be surrounded by a great light. This must have been a great strain on Doctor as he said it was rather distressing when he came back into his body again.
(a further letter):
With regard to 'Divine Healing of Mind and Body' it was the Master Jesus who spoke through Doctor. There was also the disciple John, who came and spoke to us once, and a very dynamic person who often overshadowed Doctor in other lectures.
All I can tell you is that when Doctor started to lecture, a very bright light surrounded him, and when the Master spoke through him, one was conscious of a very powerful but gentle being, talking to us. Lots of the students could hear music and see other beings from the other world. When John spoke to us he told us how Jesus asked them all to watch and pray in the garden, and how ashamed they were when they all fell asleep. He was so overcome with remorse that he kept losing control of Doctor's body.
At the end of each lecture Doctor used to come out of his trance-like state whilst still in the auditorium, but it was too painful to watch, as he experienced great emotion. But after a while, he would walk out in the trance-like state to a small room where the Master would leave him.
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