My new friend and fellow student/teacher Ben….you are so very welcome. And thanks to Julian and Gene for the support. Ben, I’d like to make clear my opinion that the past is the past and it is not wise to spend much time, energy, or angst over the history of the movement these past 60 years…it is not irrelevant, however it is not very relevant to the contents of the Revelation, the current status of dissemination, or the future of our world and its progress through the mortal epochs. Please be assured that our world, the Shrine of Nebadon, is in the most capable and caring hands and every single world in all the universes of time and space share the same destiny….Light and Life. Our little world is unique (as are all others by the way) in the evolutionary process of the mortal epochs of progress, but every world makes it eventually.
Those who have fears and anxieties and impatience and disappointments in the evolutionary process are to be viewed with tolerant indulgence….and some pity. Jesus said “Fear Not”, not even if all material things shall fail and all worldly efforts falter….we are to persevere in faith….but more than faith….with confident joy for our own safety and destiny….and that of our world. Worry not and be careful of the voices you give “ear” to. Each of us is fully endowed and encircuited and no one stands between any of us and our Lord. The Holy Spirit of the Mother, the Father Fragment, and the Son’s Spirit of Truth speak to us each and the Most Highs rule in the kingdoms of men (the Mortal Epochs). By the way, the only certain way to tell who is NOT a reservist and spokesperson for the gods is simply to identify those who claim to be….they’re not, most definitely.
The state of harmony, cooperation, and unity between the Fellowship, the Foundation, and the Association has never been so strong as now. The leadership and the membership have all been working for many years to bring all 3 into greater unity and harmony and cooperation and joint venture. This is a moment in time to celebrate for those of us who have lived through the turmoil and trials of the noble history of all those who have committed time, energy, money, expertise, and talent to the movement. This issue has been discussed by many students in other forums and venues. The following is copied from a similar conversation at another venue…all the words are my own and my own opinion and you, Ben, are welcome to share them as you determine but be advised….I am but a tadpole with a single voice and opinion and also have no standing or authority so find your own truth by your own experience and live that truth the best you know how. Peace and blessings to you Ben!
~ “I hope I have expressed my great enthusiasm and optimism for the status of dissemination in the world today in contrast to those who whine and point fingers lamenting the failure of the student body to grow and prosper. I view the movement as vigorous and growing and increasingly dynamic around the world today.
The organizations suffer growing pains, not decaying bones and hardened arteries. It is increasingly difficult to keep up with the global growth story. The U.S./N. American story is not THE story. Nick wrote about the lower number of people attending conferences but what he didn’t present was that in 2016 alone there were conferences in Italy, Russia, Spain, U.K., Germany, Budapest, Bogota, and other places too….Quebec in 2015, Africa in 2017, Netherlands in 2018. There’s a lot going on that’s outside the USA!!
Latin America is exploding in readership as is Africa….India and Asia will likely be next. And then there is the technology breakthroughs. Conferences are now live streamed (and archived if interested). Study groups are growing in number and participants by language on Skype, Zoom, etc. no matter one’s geographical location. The Association has Board members from 8 countries (11 members) and committee volunteers from over a dozen countries. The Foundation reports growing book sales, especially digital, and especially non-English. The Association and Urantia Book Internet School is spending lots of money in translation capabilities to keep up with demand for materials, communications, and education (great classes and teachers by the way – very cool experience – in the 3 I’ve had, there were students from 5-8 countries out of 20 students per class). Money is being spent to develop websites and databases and local/regional conferences for groups, large and small, no matter where they are, their language, or their budget to expand communication, cooperation, socialization, and continued growth.
In my 40 years as a reader and enthusiastic disseminator, I have never witnessed anything like this ever! It is truly astounding….breath taking even. Those who think anyone or anything has failed and in default, is like all other whiners I’ve heard over the years – they are the ones who do nothing and contribute nothing and so know nothing about nothing at all. A poor choice for information, let alone inspiration. There’s so much to do! And so many doing it! The earth moves and the wind strengthens and momentum grows in its velocity and mass and force. Who does not know this? Who cannot feel this?
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain who cries the sky is falling….unless you listen to me and do as I say. Pitiful. Sad. A sorry sight.”
~ “Yes, since Pentecost, every mortal is fully encircuited and endowed by the trifecta of Spirit and infused by the voice of truth. The UB says much about those who believe they are in communication with various spirits and personalities – we are taught that only the TA, Holy Spirit, and Son’s Spirit speak to us and they cannot be distinguished one from another. No one named the MoronJohnson exists or speaks to anyone. Any and all voices allowed in mind come through the single voice/channel, indistinguishable and united in the purpose of personal circle progress.
The issue of priests is not limited to the Israelites or contemporary with Jesus. They’ve been around since the caves, if not the trees. Papers 86-90 gives the long history of those who claim to speak to the gods and for the gods and insert themselves between humanity and the gods. Nothing could be more primitive or false….or self important. What a crock!!
IMO, Nick has doomed his message by his confession of its source and authority and his assertions of self in the issue. But it matters not. The Most Highs still rule and will succeed and there is far less dis-unity than is claimed and what remains recedes and wanes with time. I also think the need for consolidation is far less than once upon a time. The movement and the dissemination of the Papers no longer is dependent upon any singular organizational entity…however, a united readership joined by mutual interest and objective will always have a role, regardless of the reality that there will be many individuals, groups, and organizations with even more diverse and unique service projects too. Unity and unification are not the same things. One might have one without the other – unified disunity (been there, done that)…but unity of purpose might indeed lead to unification. We shall see. But I doubt the doom of anyone or any organization in August of 2017 – Good Grief!”
~ “Loyalties are easily entangled and hard to differentiate from the loyalty to shared objectives vs. persons who share objectives…or seemed to once upon a time. The movement has certainly been affected by this conflict. Me too. It was not loyalty to a person though, it was a disapproval and distrust for a specific person in a specific role that mistakenly led me to blame an institution and organization for the perceived flaws and failures of a person – kind of the opposite effect I suppose?
I was very evangelistic as a newer student and subject to emotionalisms and absolutisms in ways I have outgrown as I studied more and lived more and applied the teachings more in my personal journey. It is not difficult to become myopic and defensive and demanding in our beliefs. And sometimes such perspective leads to a serious case of love for one’s opinion and “knowledge” (prejudice) and to believe one’s perspective is superior to all others’ (spiritual pride). Such a personal experience is what makes Nick’s claims so obviously flawed. His prejudice and pride are not particularly well disguised.
Nick’s “objective” is not in dispute…or not by me. Unity is desirable for many reasons, as you say – efficiencies, economies of scale, focused resources, and many more desirous opportunities might come by greater unity. The very point and purpose of those ongoing efforts today for enhanced cooperation, team building, coordination, and shared resources…including money, volunteers, joint committees, and leadership meetings/dialogue within the leadership and membership of the Fellowship/UAI/Foundation. The shared “objective” is NOT the issue – and neither are “personalities” or false loyalties. Evolutionary progress by shared experience and enhanced wisdom thereby should lead the student body to ever greater unity in spirit…without uniformity of process, priority, strategy, and tactic…the movement thrives now BY its diversity.
The Foundation and Brotherhood built bridges into an uncertain and perilous future…and the growing student body has survived the human frailties, faults, and failures of leadership, membership, and organization to reach this time when the Revelation has a dissemination-life of its own. From the written document to the printing plates and press to the digital world of the internet.”
~ “I am very sensitive to the issue of stewardship as well – the stewardship of the Papers as well as that of other people’s money. And I am very aware of the dangers of personal pride and the far greater danger of spiritual pride…and have witnessed the rise and fall of some mighty people in the movement who appeared well versed in the teachings which include specific and dire warnings regarding pride and prejudice. I remember a time when publication stopped for a season and books could not be ordered and also receiving a cease and desist order with threat of litigation for having possession of an “illegal” digital index of the UB, gifted to me by a dedicated servant of dissemination and fellow student of the Papers. The power over-reached by some caused me to revolt and support the “reformation” promised by the Fellowship.
Then came the channelers – those who would correct, complete, revise, continue, and update the Revelation and provide believers with spirit names and the names of spirit guides, and bless certain “indigo” children, and give updates on the rebellion and its adjudication, and guide us through the planetary emergency(ies), and anoint reservists, and speak for the gods. The audience gained and unified by revolt was then certainly and suddenly destroyed by a chasm of disharmony. Now, one might be loyal to flawed leaders in one outfit or support a growing priesthood of soothsayers in another! Good Grief! Took me well over a decade to lay aside my own disappointments, frustrations, feelings of being betrayed, and gain a perspective of self-forgetting service for the greater cause of dissemination while forgiving perceived evils in others. So, yes, there is much in the movement’s past to regret and lament and wonder what if?
But the past is….the past. Now as I look back, I see all the turmoil and fracturing as so very human and am comforted by the fact that humans may help or hinder by our loyalties and our failures but we are not in charge and planetary progress in the hands of the Most Highs will most certainly prevail, more often and more likely despite human frailties than because of them. But mostly what I see is progress in the movement by painful experience and evolutionary adjustment TO the failures in its past….lessons learned, fences mended, bridges built, harmony being restored, agreement on fundamentals of mission and priorities of ministry. Sincerity brings sound results to all individuals and joint ventures but the lack of wisdom and experience also brings results, consequences which must be overcome by greater wisdom. Then, of course, new lessons and challenges and failures will arise in this never ending evolutionary process.
It seems that some of us cannot see the past as the past and believe that only by going back can we go forward. Now we have someone who is channeling with the gods and demanding we go back in time with specific instruction and deadlines….or else!! IMO, Nick has now destroyed whatever credibility he might have procured by his Treatise by such a maneuver and claim. Considering the past of the movement, who in their right mind would ever follow the directives of anyone who claims to speak to and for the gods????? Even if he were right….and he’s not.
I suspect that Nick’s displeasure with the Association is focused on their clear directive against all channeling and channelers? I also wonder if he, like others, feel that dissemination of the Revelation and its teachings requires the fostering of a religion, an institutional and formalized church? Thus his objection to the term “personal religion”…which, according TO the Papers is the only true religion – the relationship of the each with the Spirit. By the way the Charter does not suggest a “personal” philosophy or cosmology…but it does certainly promote a personal religious experience. This common sense recognition of reality appears to violate Nick’s apocrypha beliefs. Nick has also proposed that speeches and letters written by some are “continued revelation” and that the revelators are still speaking to and directing those who are worthy of such specialness – including himself of course! Nick would make the apocrypha ABOUT the Revelation more important than the Revelation itself…how very typical…and disastrous!!!”
From the UAI Charter:
1.1 The Urantia Association International (UAI) is a nonprofit, service organization formed to disseminate the teachings of The Urantia Book in order to promote, improve, and expand comprehension and appreciation among the peoples of the world of cosmology, of the relationship of the planet on which we live to the universe, of the genesis and destiny of man and his relation to God, and of the true teachings of Jesus. In so doing, UAI shall endeavor to increase and enhance the comfort, happiness, and well-being of man, as an individual and as a member of society, through the fostering of a personal religion, a philosophy, and a cosmology commensurate with man’s intellectual and cultural development.
And the channeling policy:
Within certain groups of people reading The Urantia Book, there has developed a phenomenon labeled “channeling” or the “Teaching Mission.” Advocates of this phenomenon claim to be in touch with superhuman personalities, who sometimes have names taken from The Urantia Book. While Urantia Association neither endorses, promotes, nor denies any individual’s personal experiences, we must assure readers that neither Urantia Association nor The Urantia Book has any connection with this phenomenon.
Urantia Association has taken great care over the years to ensure that The Urantia Book is not publicly identified with cultic, psychic, or occult groups and phenomena.
Urantia Association, as an organization, does not sanction channeling activities at Association sponsored functions, seminars, conferences or internet discussion groups. We believe that The Urantia Book‘s teachings should be unencumbered by public alliance with either New Age beliefs or traditional religions.
"Live loyally today—grow—and tomorrow will attend to itself. The quickest way for a tadpole to become a frog is to live loyally each moment as a tadpole."
