Mother Divine (Part 2)

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The second part of an interview with Mother Divine held in June, 1997. She talks about the significance of Father Divine’s dark complexion.

The Bible Institute (Part 2)

The Bible Institute (Part 1)

Two episodes documenting the 50th anniversary banquets held at The Bible Institute in north Philadelphia on April 29th and 30th, 1996. These are a little longer than previous posts – 6-7 minutes each.

Divine Tracy Hotel Banquet (Part 2)

Divine Tracy Hotel Banquet (Part 1)

Heaven on Earth

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“There’s no point in seeking to go somewhere else that you don’t know about. Enjoy this good earth God gave us.” – Miss Kingdom

“There was a child born unto me…”

Reincarnation is not central to Father Divine’s doctrine of “Heaven on Earth”, but it did become an important aspect of his marriage to “Sweet Angel” (Edna Rose Ritchings) in 1946. He claimed she was the reincanation of his first wife Peninniah, the first Mother Divine, who died in 1943. Peninnah was a devoted follower of Father Divine in the early days of his Peace Mission and became his “spiritual wife” in 1914 or 1917. Though Peninnah was “dark complected” and Sweet Angel is “light complected”, many followers speak of the resemblances of the two “Mother Divines.” In this video, Miss Meekness Love tells a personal story about her past, before she became a follower of Father Divine. The story sheds light on Father Divine’s conception of reincarnation. Rather than seeing reincarnation as part of rigid cosmology, it is brought out as a willful, creative and compassionate act. This interview was held in March of 1996.