Neville's First Lecture / Begins Teaching, February 2, 1938

Neville says that 2 February 1938 was his first time publicly telling the story of God's law. The source identifies the first lecture as Secret of the Sperm and recounts Neville taking his son to it.
Date (happened)
2 February 1938
certain
  1. 2 February 1938 conclusion
    Reasoning Fifteen-plus independent first-person tellings across roughly 1964-1972 all give '2 February 1938' with no credible contradiction; this meets the bar for a settled date.
  2. 2 February 1938 stated · preferred
    Source The Most Precious Gift ¶17"the 2nd day of February 1938", told in The Most Precious Gift (nid 1028)
  3. 2 February 1938 stated · probable
    Source phase-2 canonical event (fingerprint references)
  4. between 2 February 1938 and 16 April 1965 stated
    Source Inner Talking ¶37"since 1938, the 2nd day of February of 1938", told in Inner Talking (nid 1200)
  5. 2 February 1938 stated
    Source Imparting and Implanting the Word ¶35"back in 1938 on the second day of February", told in Imparting and Implanting the Word (nid 1314)
  6. 2 February 1938 stated
    Source The Talent ¶4"February 2, 1938", told in The Talent (nid 1509)
  7. 2 February 1938 stated
    Source What Must We Do Believe ¶7"the 2nd day of February, 1938", told in What Must We Do Believe (nid 1853)
  8. February 1938 stated
    Source Manner Jesus Birth Sign ¶31"since 1938, the month of February", told in Manner Jesus Birth Sign (nid 1860)
Show all 24 claims
  1. 2 February 1938 stated
    Source The Secret of the Sperm ¶70"the 2nd day of February, 1938", told in Secret Sperm (nid 1913)
  2. 2 February 1938 stated
    Source Strong Imagination ¶36"since 1938 / the second day of February 1938", told in Strong Imagination (nid 1929)
  3. 2 February 1938 stated
    Source Paul's Autobiography ¶37"February 2, 1938", told in Paul's Autobiography (nid 2019)
  4. 1938 stated
    Source Immortal Man ¶2"back in 1938", told in Immortal Man (nid 2137)
  5. between February 1938 and February 1972 stated
    Source Feel After Him ¶4"I started back in February of 1938 and here I am, this is February of 1972", told in Feel After Him (nid 23)
  6. 2 February 1938 stated
    Source David Christ ¶0"thirty-four years ago... the second day of February, 1938", told in David Christ (nid 3953)
  7. 2 February 1938 stated
    Source The Finances Of Neville Goddard What He Charged For Lectures And Why He Never Charged For Private Interviews ¶34"I started this work back in 1938 on the second day of February"
  8. 2 February 1938 stated
    Source Nevilles Awakening Birthday At Sir Francis Drake Hotel San Francisco July 20The Most Precious Gift excerpt says Neville had told God's law since his first time on 2 February 1938
    Reasoning Neville directly identifies 2 February 1938 as the start of his public telling/teaching; the date is not inferred from publication metadata.
  9. 2 February 1938 stated
    Source Goddards Homes West Hollywood New YorkNeville lecture excerpt and chronology
    Why First lecture titled Secret of the Sperm.
    Reasoning The first-person excerpt explicitly dates the beginning of Neville's meetings to 2 February 1938.
  10. before 22 February 1963 bound
    Source Paul's Autobiography ¶37bound P551703 / nid2019
    Reasoning Retrospective passage P551703; non-preferred before bound.
  11. c. 1938 stated · probable
    Source The Finances Of Neville Goddard What He Charged For Lectures And Why He Never Charged For Private Interviews ¶21"His first independent lecture; admission was kept low for local students"
  12. 2 February 1938 stated · probable
    Source The Most Precious Gift ¶17passage 528143 (lecture nid 1028): 'I've been telling this story of God's law since my first time on the 2nd day of February 1938'
    Reasoning Neville states this exact date himself as the day he first began publicly teaching the story of God's law; probable rather than certain because it is a decades-old specific date recalled from memory, but it is a direct, unambiguous stated date, not a relative expression.
  13. 2 February 1938 stated · probable
    Source Imparting and Implanting the Word ¶35passage 536869 (lecture nid 1314): 'I started this work back in 1938 on the second day of February. I had nothing. It was with a borrowed five dollar bill to pay the rent...the rent was three dollars and six people came.'
    Why Six people attended the first meeting, each paying about a dollar out of sympathy or embarrassment, though Neville charged nothing; he lectured three times a week in New York City without charging.
    Reasoning Neville states the exact year and day directly and without hedging. A second, much later lecture (nid 3960, passage 556277) recalls the same origin but reads '1978' -- almost certainly an ASR/transcription digit corruption of 1938, since that same passage's own chronology places the start of his lecturing before 'the war broke' (WWII) and before his father's 1948 first visit to America, which is incompatible with 1978. Treated as corroborating the 1938 date, not as a competing claim; no separate claim written for the corrupted digit.
  14. 2 February 1938 stated
    Source Nevilles Thoughts If Leaving Permanently ¶37passage 547004 (nid 1857): 'I started on my wife's birthday, the second day of February, 1938.'; independently corroborated at passage 556016 (nid 3953): 'I started on the second day of February, 1938.'
    Reasoning Neville states the exact calendar date directly and identically in two separate, independently-dated lectures (1966 and 1972). This is the happening date of his first lecture, not either telling's own date.
  15. 2 February 1939 estimated · probable
    Source John 10: The Shepherd ¶27phase4 lecture_event_match decision=different; evidence passage(s) 549817 in lecture nid(s) 1948; Lecture-event match (unresolved): event 8514 — Passage 549817 explicitly identifies the February 2, 1939 professional start at The Harmony bookstore; no candidate is supplied.
  16. 1939 stated · refuted
    Source John 10: The Shepherd ¶27"back in 1939, which was ten years after he embraced me and sent me into the world to do it", told in John 10 Shepherd (nid 1948)
    Why pm-actor-525: refuted by the M7 dating pass (529; 525's readers, packet 007): Isolated 'back in 1939' reading conflicts with the overwhelming, repeated 'February 2, 1938' from many other tellings; read as a loose or misremembered framing, not competing evidence.
Place
Steinway Hall
Persons
Neville Goddard
Wilhelmina Goddard
Told / reported
  1. 7 October 1968 stated
    Source The Most Precious GiftThe Most Precious Gift (nid 1028), telling 1028-6, told 1968-10-07
  2. 16 April 1965 stated
    Source Inner TalkingInner Talking (nid 1200), telling 1200-2, told 1965-04-16
  3. 15 December 1967 stated
    Source Imparting and Implanting the WordImparting and Implanting the Word (nid 1314), telling 1314-7, told 1967-12-15
  4. 2 February 1970 stated
    Source The TalentThe Talent (nid 1509), telling 1509-0, told 1970-02-02
  5. 28 January 1966 stated
    Source What Must We Do BelieveWhat Must We Do Believe (nid 1853), telling 1853-2, told 1966-01-28
  6. 1972 stated · probable
    Source Immortal ManImmortal Man (nid 2137), telling 2137-1, told 1972
  7. 2 January 1972 stated · doubtful
    Source Feel After HimFeel After Him (nid 23), telling 23-0, told 1972-01-02
  8. 22 February 1963 estimated
    Source Paul's Autobiographynid 2019 surviving delivery claim after refutation. All claims: 1963-2-22 certain; 1969-6-20 refuted; 1963-2-22 certain (preferred)
    Why Lane L7 (#2354) re-derivation. Supersedes in substance, not in storage, the refuted-date told claim(s) on this event; those rows stand per append-only.
    Reasoning Re-derived, not walked down. The existing told claim(s) on this event took their date from a delivery claim on node 2019 that the corpus has since REFUTED, so the corpus was asserting that Neville told this on a day it separately says he did not lecture. That is a contradiction rather than an over-confidence, and lowering the confidence would have hidden it instead of resolving it. The refutation stands and the told claim is the wrong side of it. Node 2019 surviving (non-refuted) claim: 1963-2-22 at `certain`. All claims on the node: 1963-2-22 certain; 1969-6-20 refuted; 1963-2-22 certain (preferred). Superseded here: delta 5: 1969-06-20 at `certain` (run `corpus v1 / phase3b`). The telling is dated by its lecture, so with the refuted date removed from consideration the surviving claim is what the telling inherits, at that claim own confidence and no higher.
Show all 19 claims
  1. 7 October 1968 estimated
    Source The Most Precious Giftdelivery claim on lecture nid 1028 ('The Most Precious Gift'), catalog #474
    Why The rejected 1957 catalog #66 claim is left on the node, not deleted; flagged here for the record.
    Reasoning Lecture nid 1028 carries two conflicting preferred=1 legacy catalog claims: 1957 doubtful (catalog #66, inside the disputed #49-76 block) and 1968-10-07 certain (catalog #474). Both the lecture's own v1.1/l1.3b/w1 annotation on the 1957 claim ('the transcript recounts a July 1959 experience as past, excluding 1957; lower catalogue #66 while retaining the independently catalogued 1968 occurrence') and the human processing notes independently rule out 1957 on the same internal evidence, so 1968-10-07 is preferred; not a silent pick.
  2. 15 December 1967 estimated
    Source Imparting and Implanting the Worddelivery claim [d0] on lecture nid 1314 -- Neville lectures catalog #397, single uncontested delivery claim.
    Why Single legacy-catalog claim, state legacy_unreviewed, but not one of the flagged 1957/#49-76 catalog block entries under suspicion.
    Reasoning The lecture whose passage 536869 carries this telling has one delivery claim, 1967-12-15, stated/exact/certain; no competing claim exists on this lecture to arbitrate between.
  3. 23 February 1965 estimated · probable
    Source nid 3960 surviving delivery claim after refutation. All claims: 1948-??-?? refuted; 1965-2-23 probable (preferred)
    Why Lane L7 (#2354) re-derivation. Supersedes in substance, not in storage, the refuted-date told claim(s) on this event; those rows stand per append-only.
    Reasoning Re-derived, not walked down. The existing told claim(s) on this event took their date from a delivery claim on node 3960 that the corpus has since REFUTED, so the corpus was asserting that Neville told this on a day it separately says he did not lecture. That is a contradiction rather than an over-confidence, and lowering the confidence would have hidden it instead of resolving it. The refutation stands and the told claim is the wrong side of it. Node 3960 surviving (non-refuted) claim: 1965-2-23 at `probable`. All claims on the node: 1948-??-?? refuted; 1965-2-23 probable (preferred). Superseded here: delta 1: 1948-00-00 at `certain` (run `v1.1/l4/w1/B6`). The telling is dated by its lecture, so with the refuted date removed from consideration the surviving claim is what the telling inherits, at that claim own confidence and no higher.
  4. 25 February 1966 stated
    Source Nevilles Thoughts If Leaving Permanentlylecture nid 1857 dated 1966-02-25 (chrome dateline '2/25/66' narrowing an existing year-only 1966 claim).
    Reasoning The lecture whose passage (547004) carries this telling is dated 1966-02-25 by a certain delivery claim.
  5. 1972 stated
    Source David Christlecture nid 3953 ('David Christ') dated 1972 (recovered extraction note calculating thirty-four years after 2 Feb 1938).
    Why nid 3953's transcript is flagged provisional/not yet human-corrected, but the delivery-year claim itself is certain.
    Reasoning The second, independent telling of this same date (passage 556016) is carried on lecture nid 3953, dated 1972 by a certain delivery claim (year only).
  6. 19 February 1965 estimated · probable
    Source The Secret of the Spermdelivery claim d0 on lecture nid 1913, 'The Secret of the Sperm'
    Reasoning The lecture in which this fact is told is itself dated 1965-02-19 by a probable claim built from internal evidence (a vision on the morning of his own 19th-of-February birthday, cross-referenced with a December-1964 Montreal scientific-congress article); the told claim cannot be more certain than that delivery date.
  7. between 22 November 1971 and 6 December 1971 estimated · probable
    Source Strong Imaginationdelivery claim d2 on lecture nid 1929 ('Strong Imagination')
    Reasoning The telling occurs in this lecture, whose delivery is bound 1971-11-22 to 1971-12-06 by a probable claim (d2) anchored to Joseph C. Wilson's corrected 22 November 1971 death; a told claim derived from that delivery cannot exceed its probable ceiling.
  8. 1966 estimated
    Source Nevilles Thoughts If Leaving Permanently ¶37passage 547004 (lecture nid 1857, "Nevilles Thoughts If Leaving Permanently"); lecture's only delivery claim d0 is 1966 exact/certain, from Neville explicitly identifying the present world as '1966'
    Reasoning Passage 547004 is Neville narrating in the first person starting to lecture on his wife's birthday, 2 February 1938, on a borrowed five-dollar bill -- this is the telling. The owning lecture nid 1857 carries one delivery claim, year-only 1966 exact/certain. The telling inherits that precision and confidence exactly.
  9. 17 June 1968 estimated · probable
    Source John 10: The Shepherddelivery claim d0 on lecture nid 1948, source-header dateline '6/17/68', probable
    Reasoning The professional-beginning story is recounted by Neville within lecture nid 1948 as a 29-years-past memory; the telling occasion is the lecture's own delivery date, which is only probable (single source-header dateline, not independently corroborated), so the told claim inherits that ceiling.
  10. 20 June 1969 stated · refuted
    Source Paul's AutobiographyPaul's Autobiography (nid 2019), telling 2019-4, told 1969-06-20
    Reasoning || v1.1/l7/told-close: the delivery claim this was derived from (nid 2019, 1969-6-20) was refuted by the L7 adjudication (#2363). The corrected told claim from the same lecture stands at 1963-2-22. This row is retired rather than deleted so the derivation history remains readable.
  11. after 1948 bound · refuted
    Source delivery claim [d0] on lecture nid 3960 ('The Dreamer') -- an open lower bound, 'after 1948', derived from the same passage 556277 recounting his father's 1948 first attendance as a completed past event.
    Why Provisional ASR transcript, not yet human-corrected, per the lecture's processing notes.
    Reasoning Per the inheritance rule, this told claim can be no more precise or confident than the delivery claim it rests on: the only claim on lecture nid 3960 is an open bound, 'after 1948' (type=bound, qualifier=after, confidence=certain), so the told claim mirrors that exactly rather than inventing a month/day. || v1.1/l7/told-lower: lowered `certain` -> `doubtful`. The telling-date 1948-??-?? is refuted on the source lecture (nid 3960) and no live claim on that node supports it, so the corpus can no longer say WHEN this was told. ⛔ The row is KEPT, not retired: it also records THAT nid 3960 tells this event, which is true and checkable from the passages, and retiring it would discard that with the date.
Sources

Source

  • The Most Precious Gift ¶17 (And, yet, I’ve been telling this story of God’s law since my first time on the 2nd day of February 1938. I had been telling it week after week, and I did not know it!)
  • Inner Talking ¶37 (But, again, let me repeat that it may comfort you, I have been teaching now since 1938, the 2nd day of February of 1938 across this country, as I am to you—small audiences, large audiences, vast audiences on radio where you could not number them where tw…)
  • Imparting and Implanting the Word ¶35 (May I tell you, I started this work back in 1938 on the second day of February. I had nothing. It was with a borrowed five dollar bill to pay the rent…the rent was three dollars and six people came. I didn’t charge. Either through sympathy or embarrassme…)
  • The Talent ¶4 (I started lecturing on February 2, 1938, sharing my experiences based upon my use of the talent.)
  • What Must We Do Believe ¶7 (So in the month of November I began to assume that he was actually living in my place, even to the point of putting my hand, my imaginary hand, on his head, and feeling his presence at the table, and feeling his presence in my place.)
  • Manner Jesus Birth Sign ¶31 (And so, since 1938, the month of February, I have taken platforms all over the country. I do not come on and read anything whatsoever. I could talk this night from now until the voice gives out…I don’t need notes.)
  • The Secret of the Sperm ¶70 (Well, I would not say this is actually your answer, but many a person coming to my meetings over the years, I started on the 2nd day of February, 1938. And it has been an unbroken series since, from coast to coast.)
  • Strong Imagination ¶36 (I started on the second day of February 1938, and anyone who can go back far enough will know I have never once asked for one nickel.)
  • John 10: The Shepherd ¶27 (Then this one said to the other, “He is called the mad mystic of 48th Street. Oh, you should hear him…he’s as crazy as they make them.)
  • Paul's Autobiography ¶37 (When I started to teach this, I was teaching only the Law of God. I started on February 2, 1938, and I only spoke of God’s Law – and I have proven it and it worked.)
  • Immortal Man ¶2 (Well, that has been my hope since I started teaching back in 1938 — to make it so clear that there is no misunderstanding.)
  • Feel After Him ¶4 (Well, I have seen it numberless times in my thirty-four years of teaching. I started back in February of 1938 and here I am, this is February of 1972, and I’m yet to see it fail—if we, the operant power, apply it.)
  • David Christ ¶0 (I started on the second day of February, 1938, and I’ve never taken a piece of paper to the platform to read. Whether I am here before a living audience or radio or TV, I have always spoken extemporaneously, which I will tonight, but for just a short int…)
  • The Finances Of Neville Goddard What He Charged For Lectures And Why He Never Charged For Private Interviews ¶35 (I started this work back in 1938 on the second day of February)
  • Nevilles Awakening Birthday At Sir Francis Drake Hotel San Francisco July 20 (The Most Precious Gift excerpt)
  • Goddards Homes West Hollywood New York (first-lecture section)
  • The Finances Of Neville Goddard What He Charged For Lectures And Why He Never Charged For Private Interviews ¶21 (His first independent lecture; admission was kept low for local students)
  • Nevilles Thoughts If Leaving Permanently ¶37 (I started on my wife’s birthday, the second day of February, 1938. I started on a borrowed five dollar bill to pay the rent.)