Thank you very much Mara and hello to all of you. 
What is a living fraternal association of men and women who intimately believe and live the teachings of Jesus and the fifth epochal revelation, The Urantia Book?
Our society, traversed by serious crises which, under various names, explode before our eyes, is perhaps only the tip of the iceberg of a deep-seated evil, whose roots are rooted in fatalism: a convenient excuse for “not acting”, for turning in on oneself.
The association is there, more alive than ever, like a bastion.
It “brings together” women and men who are “happy” to find each other, beyond their differences.
Happy to weave new social and fraternal bonds; and quite simply to find themselves together, united by the same passion.
Happy to bring the best of themselves.
Whether it is a question of studying, communicating, exchanging… Or simply reinventing “living together” in a society that is losing its meaning.
“Joining forces” for a purpose other than profit is a breath of fresh air, in a world where success in life is too often confused with success in life.
As spectators of a world that ignores them, many, whatever their age, find with association a new breath of fresh air, a new surge of enthusiasm… And sometimes even the humanity they lacked.
In this world where everything seems to escape us, the association-cement of social and fraternal cohesion restores the hope of building a different society.
A stronger society “of its differences”, more tolerant, more supportive.
Because we believe in the strength of the human being, association is more than ever an elixir of youth.
It can help regenerate a society without vision, without direction.
If the association does not have the monopoly to change things, it is nevertheless a space of freedom to understand each other, to become aware that we are all in solidarity with each other.
An association means planting the seeds of a more altruistic, more supportive and more responsible society.
One that we will leave to future generations.
Because it is an integral part of social life, because it draws its roots from the human being, the association deserves to be encouraged and its members should get involved in it to find a real dimension in a “divided” world where everyone aspires to more unity and fraternity.
TO LIVE TOGETHER!
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The Art of Living
There are just two ways in which mortals may live together: the material or animal way and the spiritual or human way. By the use of signals and sounds animals are able to communicate with each other in a limited way. But such forms of communication do not convey meanings, values, or ideas. The one distinction between man and the animal is that man can communicate with his fellows by means of symbols which most certainly designate and identify meanings, values, ideas, and even ideals.
Since animals cannot communicate ideas to each other, they cannot develop personality. Man develops personality because he can thus communicate with his fellows concerning both ideas and ideals.
It is this ability to communicate and share meanings that constitutes human culture and enables man, through social associations, to build civilizations. Knowledge and wisdom become cumulative because of man’s ability to communicate these possessions to succeeding generations. And thereby arise the cultural activities of the race: art, science, religion, and philosophy.
Symbolic communication between human beings predetermines the bringing into existence of social groups. The most effective of all social groups is the family, more particularly the two parents. Personal affection is the spiritual bond which holds together these material associations. Such an effective relationship is also possible between two persons of the same sex, as is so abundantly illustrated in the devotions of genuine friendships.
These associations of friendship and mutual affection are socializing and ennobling because they encourage and facilitate the following essential factors of the higher levels of the art of living:
- Mutual self-expression and self-understanding.Many noble human impulses die because there is no one to hear their expression. Truly, it is not good for man to be alone. Some degree of recognition and a certain amount of appreciation are essential to the development of human character. Without the genuine love of a home, no child can achieve the full development of normal character. Character is something more than mere mind and morals. Of all social relations calculated to develop character, the most effective and ideal is the affectionate and understanding friendship of man and woman in the mutual embrace of intelligent wedlock. Marriage, with its manifold relations, is best designed to draw forth those precious impulses and those higher motives which are indispensable to the development of a strong character. I do not hesitate thus to glorify family life, for your Master has wisely chosen the father-child relationship as the very cornerstone of this new gospel of the kingdom. And such a matchless community of relationship, man and woman in the fond embrace of the highest ideals of time, is so valuable and satisfying an experience that it is worth any price, any sacrifice, requisite for its possession.
- Union of souls—the mobilization of wisdom.Every human being sooner or later acquires a certain concept of this world and a certain vision of the next. Now it is possible, through personality association, to unite these views of temporal existence and eternal prospects. Thus does the mind of one augment its spiritual values by gaining much of the insight of the other. In this way men enrich the soul by pooling their respective spiritual possessions. Likewise, in this same way, man is enabled to avoid that ever-present tendency to fall victim to distortion of vision, prejudice of viewpoint, and narrowness of judgment. Fear, envy, and conceit can be prevented only by intimate contact with other minds. I call your attention to the fact that the Master never sends you out alone to labor for the extension of the kingdom; he always sends you out two and two. And since wisdom is superknowledge, it follows that, in the union of wisdom, the social group, small or large, mutually shares all knowledge.
- The enthusiasm for living.Isolation tends to exhaust the energy charge of the soul. Association with one’s fellows is essential to the renewal of the zest for life and is indispensable to the maintenance of the courage to fight those battles consequent upon the ascent to the higher levels of human living. Friendship enhances the joys and glorifies the triumphs of life. Loving and intimate human associations tend to rob suffering of its sorrow and hardship of much of its bitterness. The presence of a friend enhances all beauty and exalts every goodness. By intelligent symbols man is able to quicken and enlarge the appreciative capacities of his friends. One of the crowning glories of human friendship is this power and possibility of the mutual stimulation of the imagination. Great spiritual power is inherent in the consciousness of wholehearted devotion to a common cause, mutual loyalty to a cosmic Deity.
- The enhanced defense against all evil.Personality association and mutual affection is an efficient insurance against evil. Difficulties, sorrow, disappointment, and defeat are more painful and disheartening when borne alone. Association does not transmute evil into righteousness, but it does aid in greatly lessening the sting. Said your Master, “Happy are they who mourn”—if a friend is at hand to comfort. There is positive strength in the knowledge that you live for the welfare of others, and that these others likewise live for your welfare and advancement. Man languishes in isolation. Human beings unfailingly become discouraged when they view only the transitory transactions of time. The present, when divorced from the past and the future, becomes exasperatingly trivial. Only a glimpse of the circle of eternity can inspire man to do his best and can challenge the best in him to do its utmost. And when man is thus at his best, he lives most unselfishly for the good of others, his fellow sojourners in time and eternity.
I repeat, such inspiring and ennobling association finds its ideal possibilities in the human marriage relation. True, much is attained out of marriage, and many, many marriages utterly fail to produce these moral and spiritual fruits. Too many times marriage is entered by those who seek other values which are lower than these superior accompaniments of human maturity. Ideal marriage must be founded on something more stable than the fluctuations of sentiment and the fickleness of mere sex attraction; it must be based on genuine and mutual personal devotion. And thus, if you can build up such trustworthy and effective small units of human association, when these are assembled in the aggregate, the world will behold a great and glorified social structure, the civilization of mortal maturity. Such a race might begin to realize something of your Master’s ideal of “peace on earth and good will among men.” While such a society would not be perfect or entirely free from evil, it would at least approach the stabilization of maturity. https://bigbluebook.org/160/2/
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“Religion must become a forceful influence for moral stability and spiritual progression functioning dynamically in the midst of these ever-changing conditions and never-ending economic adjustments.” (99:1.2)
«La société Urantia ne peut jamais espérer s’installer comme par le passé. Le navire social s’est enfui des baies abritées de la tradition établie et a commencé sa croisière sur la haute mer du destin évolutionnaire; et l’âme de l’homme, comme jamais auparavant dans l’histoire du monde, a besoin d’examiner attentivement ses chartes de moralité et d’observer minutieusement la boussole de la direction religieuse. La mission primordiale de la religion en tant qu’influence sociale est de stabiliser les idéaux de l’humanité pendant ces temps dangereux de transition d’une phase de civilisation à une autre, d’un niveau de culture à un autre. » (99: 1.3)
«Au grand jour du jugement du royaume, beaucoup me diront: ‘N’avons-nous pas prophétisé en votre nom et par votre nom fait de nombreuses merveilles?’ Mais je serai obligé de leur dire: «Je ne vous ai jamais connu; éloignez-vous de moi, vous qui êtes de faux docteurs. Mais quiconque entend cette accusation et exécute sincèrement sa mission de me représenter devant les hommes, tout comme je vous ai représenté mon Père, trouvera une entrée abondante dans mon service et dans le royaume du Père céleste. » (140: 3,20)
«Enseignez à tous les croyants que ceux qui entrent dans le royaume ne sont pas ainsi immunisés contre les accidents du temps ou les catastrophes ordinaires de la nature. Croire à l’Évangile n’empêchera pas d’avoir des ennuis, mais cela vous assurera que vous n’aurez pas peur lorsque des ennuis vous envahiront . Si vous osez croire en moi et que vous vous engagez de tout cœur à me suivre, vous entrerez certainement sur la voie sûre du trouble. Je ne promets pas de vous délivrer des eaux de l’adversité, mais je promets de vous accompagner à travers chacune d’elles. » (159: 3.13)
Friendship enhances joys, glorifies the triumphs of life and fidelity is a treasure of the soul.
