President’s Message

From , , By Enrique Traver, Brazil on

Dear Brothers and Sisters

Reading about Jesus’ journey back from Rome with Gonod and Ganid, papers 133:4.1 up to 133:4.12, Jesus meets several people, professionals in different areas of human activity or work and advises them on how they should carry out their daily work to reveal God and do his will. Perhaps, in these papers what Jesus is telling us is that always, in whatever activity or occupation we have, we can minister God to the people around us, revealing truth, goodness, beauty, justice and righteousness.

One passage caught my attention and caused me deep reflection, and that was precisely Jesus’ conversation with the owner of a Greek inn to whom he said:

To the mistress of the Greek inn he said: “Minister your hospitality as one who entertains the children of the Most High. Elevate the drudgery of your daily toil to the high levels of a fine art through the increasing realization that you minister to God in the persons whom he indwells by his spirit which has descended to live within the hearts of men, thereby seeking to transform their minds and lead their souls to the knowledge of the Paradise Father of all these bestowed gifts of the divine spirit. 133:4.8 (1475.1) [emphasis added]

Each one of us is an inn. We host God himself within us. Could we have a more illustrious or important guest? Some Most High guest?

He is a permanent guest in our inn and while being there, we are constantly receiving the spiritual nourishment we need to ensure our survival. Imagine if you had an inn and didn’t receive guests. How long would your business survive? We must serve this guest with all honor, with all love, with the desire to always do his will, in the certainty that by doing so we will keep him with us infinitely.

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The Importance of Organizational Unity

By Gaétan Charland, Canada on

Many students of the revelation, as well as our members, may wonder why the unification of Urantia Association International and the Urantia Book Fellowship is important. A recent survey conducted by Urantia Association revealed that an overwhelming majority—92.3% of respondents—favor unity. While many of us pray for unity within the Urantia movement, we may not fully understand what this unity will require from each of us, and from the two organizations involved in this unification process.

Unity is not merely a matter of concern for the welfare of the organizations involved; it significantly impacts the mission of the revelation to the world. Why is this the case? To answer this, we must ask ourselves the right questions. Consider what the young Jesus pondered when faced with important decisions: “As the years passed, this young carpenter of Nazareth increasingly measured every institution of society and every usage of religion by the unvarying test: What does it do for the human soul? Does it bring God to man? Does it bring man to God?”

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Update on Unity Initiative

From , , By Governance Committee on

For several years, Sue Seccombe, President of the Fellowship, has been in discussion with our President, Enrique Traver, about ways the Association and Fellowship could collaborate. In October 2023, the Fellowship General Council approved a resolution establishing a “Unity Committee” to explore and make recommendations regarding “details and options … of steps toward unity between [our] two organizations.”  The Fellowship selected their Unity Committee members which were approved at their February 2024 General Council meeting.

In February, the Association approved the chartering of a Special Unity Committee granting authority to pursue discussions with the Fellowship towards unifying our two organizations. Our Unity Committee members are Gaétan Charland (Canada), Committee Chair, Michael Zehr (USA), Andrés Rodriquez (Colombia), Chris Moseley (UK), Susan Owen (USA). This committee met on April 29th to get to know each other and discuss the benefits and challenges of unity with the Fellowship. A second meeting was held May 15th to get acquainted further and discuss expectations for this endeavor.

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Retrospective on the 2024 International Conference

From , , Presented by Francine Fortin on

Come with me, I’ll take you to Urantia Association’s 12th International Conference 2024 Nature and Nurture of the Soul held from Friday, March 29 to Sunday, March 31, 2024, at the Maritime Conference Center in Baltimore City, USA.

A superb, comfortably appointed center, with indoor pool, 232 rooms, 55 meeting rooms and an auditorium that can accommodate over 350 people.

The name Maritime, referring to all that is nautical, has inspired more than one reader on the following quote from The Urantia Book:

The mind is your ship, the Adjuster is your pilot, the human will is the captain. The master of the mortal vessel should have the wisdom to trust the divine pilot to lead the ascending soul into the morontia havens of eternal survival. 111:1.9 (1217.4)

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Baltimore Children and Teen Program

From , , Presented by Alice Wood, USA on

The Children and Teen Program at Urantia Association’s Baltimore Conference provided kids with a space to play, make friends, and learn about Urantia teachings. Sixteen kids were put into two different mixed-age groups and moved through activities in the Hometown Nazareth curriculum, a Vacation Bible School curriculum made by Group (group.com). This curriculum was adapted by Urantia Book readers for Urantia kids, and it helped pave the way for the volunteers to talk about Jesus as our earthly brother, and as Michael our Creator Son. It provided fun music videos, Nazareth-themed activities and crafts, stimulating decor, and verbal prompts that the volunteers used for starting conversations. The volunteers thoroughly adopted the spirit of the program. They very often dressed as residents of Nazareth. They could be heard talking about the times that Jesus lived in, Jesus’ childhood, and when opportunities presented themselves, volunteers segued from talking about Jesus to things like Michael and the Mother Spirit, the meaning of “morontia,” and the spirit of service.

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Announcing Two New Programs

From , , By Alice Wood, USA on

SerphiMail for Big Kids and Teens

Your big kids and teens can receive activity pages through the post office mail. Each SeraphiMail page contains a single, simple lesson. With a quote, some commentary, and an activity (like a crossword or a prompt to draw a picture), your kids will get exposure to the simple truths of The Urantia Book on a regular basis.

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Urantia Association International Conference, 2027

From , , By Eduardo Franco, Brazil on

During the Baltimore conference the location for the next international conference was announced – BRAZIL! Thanks go out to the Urantia Association of Brazil for hosting our fifteenth conference.

The exact location and details will be released in the coming months. Please visit the country website to learn if you need a visa as they may take time to obtain. Click to watch the promotional video and whet your appetite for congregating with fellow readers in this lush location. We look forward to seeing you in Brazil!

Fourth European Conference, Paris

From , By European Conference Committee on

June 6 to June 9, 2025

In Paris, from Friday June 6 to Monday June 9, 2025, (Pentecost), the French invite you to a European Conference.

Our team: 1 Ivan, 2 Sophie, 5 Georges, 7 Gilles, 12 Robert, 13 Jean

The Theme

The Distributivity of God: Man as God’s Heir

It’s good to tell people, “You are formidable, unique and both the world and the Universe need you!” But can you really explain why? Through three or four short presentations, followed by research workshops, we propose to answer these questions so that we can enlighten mankind.

There will also be time for socializing and getting to know each other.

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ANZURA Conference 2024 – Melbourne

By Anzura Conference Committee on

4 –7 October 2024

This year’s ANZURA Annual Conference will be held 4 –7 October at the Edmund Rice Centre in Lower Plenty, Melbourne. It is a retreat and conference venue situated on the Yarra River in Lower Plenty. Nestled on 20 acres of native bushland, we will be surrounded by the peace and tranquility that only the natural bush setting can provide. It’s approximately 20 kilometres from the heart of Melbourne and 40 minutes from Melbourne’s International Airport.

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About the Journal

From ,

The Journal is produced twice yearly and contains essays, articles and study aids by readers and for readers of The Urantia Book. Any interpretations, opinions, conclusions, or artistic representations, whether stated or implied, are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of Urantia Association International, the National or Affiliate Urantia Associations, or the editorial team of the Association’s Journal.

You can view the entire collection of issues in the archives. All issues before 2017 are downloadable PDF format.

The Journal is currently published in English  , French  and Spanish  . (There are some older issues that were published in Finnish .) You can view the French and Spanish Journals by clicking on the language choices in the pull down menu at the top of the page.

Journal Online Archives
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Journal Editorial – May 2024

From , By Richard Jernigan, USA on

In every study group I’ve attended over the years conjecture invariably enters our discussions. Some of it is wild speculation; other comments are more thoughtfully informed. In this issue of Journal we feature two interesting propositions. David Kantor, who has been working on a documentary focused on Christianity and The Urantia Book, speculates on the role of Christian philosopher Thomas Aquinas’ 13th century Summa Theologica as possible groundwork for the fifth epochal revelation. James Woodward gives us a detailed analysis of that allusive word “morontia,” and why it was necessary for the revelators to invent a new term to embrace a new concept more adequately.

Also, in this issue Mark Blackham explores the idea that the celestial personalities far above us sometimes find themselves at odds with one another. In his article “Dealing With Conflict In A Spiritual Life,” Mr. Blackham observes that disagreement in the heavenly realms is not unusual, particularly at the system, constellation, and local universe levels. He delineates the multiple beings whose role it is to mediate and reconcile the problems arising in creating and managing our grand universe.

Bringing us back to how our celestial friends do guide and enlighten us with new truths, Richard E. Warren provides a three-part study on “Truth, Beauty, and Goodness and the Father,” and how those three supreme values inform and help us develop our relationship with God.

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Thomas Aquinas and Some Speculation on the Origin of The Urantia Book

From , By David Kantor, USA on

Curiosity, rumors, second-hand recollections, and imaginative speculation continue to fuel interest in a topic of widespread interest—How The Urantia Book came into existence. While the true story likely never will be known by humans simply because it involves things beyond our comprehension, it’s possible to amuse ourselves by creating a plausible story from these suppositions as they combine with information taken from The Urantia Book and the history of Christianity. So, consider the following as mere speculation.

Emma Christensen, the last of the Contact Commissioners, told me that work on the revelation began in the Middle Ages. Other apocryphal sources specify the 1200s.  From comments in The Urantia Book, we can reasonably assume that Machiventa was present on the planet in the capacity of Resident Governor General sometime in the High Middle Ages. This period, particularly in the 12th century, saw a widespread spiritual awakening across Europe. It was the apex of Christian civilization.  There was a desire to know more about Jesus and how to live a Christ-like life (see references below). 

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What is Morontia?

From , By James Woodward, USA on

Definitions

Though it may be premature to forecast wide acceptance of The Urantia Book, it’s clearly rising in visibility due to decades of wise dissemination efforts and, of course, the internet. The first page of the Foreword, however, carries four statements calling attention to the serious problem of confusion on Urantia. We are notified—and warned—that progress on our world will depend on the evolution of human wisdom and revelation. Our own community of reader / believers is also confused about certain terms and definitions found in the teachings. We ought to resolve this confusion among Urantia Book devotees as we continue to take the advanced messages out into the mainstream. It is in that spirit that I advance my personal theory: morontia is akin to supermorality.

Evolving mortal creatures experience an irresistible urge to symbolize their finite concepts of God. Man’s consciousness of moral duty and his spiritual idealism represent a value level—an experiential reality—which is difficult of symbolization. 0:2.1 (3.14) [all bold indicates author’s emphasis]

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Dealing With Conflict in A Spiritual Life

From , By Mark Blackham, Canada on
Mark Blackham

Conflicts are an inevitable part of life on inhabited worlds, especially those worlds in the earlier stages of social and spiritual evolution. And this is certainly the case at the present stage of development on Urantia.

Things have improved over the centuries and, no doubt, they will continue to improve over time. But not until the distant future, when our planet finally attains the utopian ages of light and life, will we be entirely free of discord. This is not to say that, at such a time, we will all be of the same mind. But the way we deal with our differences will change significantly. Until we reach that utopia, and apart from national wars, we will experience two personal spheres of conflict—one is the conflict that takes place in the inner life (mind and soul), and the other is the conflict that occurs in the outer life (family and social).

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Truth, Beauty, Goodness, and the Father’s Will

From , By Richard E. Warren, USA on

Part 1 of 3

To material, evolutionary, finite creatures, a life predicated on the living of the Father’s will leads directly to the attainment of spirit supremacy in the personality arena and brings such creatures one step nearer the comprehension of the Father-Infinite. Such a Father life is one predicated on truth, sensitive to beauty, and dominated by goodness. 106:9.12 (1175.1)

When the adventure of organizing time and space began, God commanded an imperfect universe to: “Be you perfect, even as I am perfect.” In time, along with the rest of creation, we will attain perfection and satisfy this preeminent and organizing command from the Father of all by living truth, creating beauty, and performing goodness.

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By UAUS Conference Committee on

Dear Friends and Students of The Urantia Book,

Urantia Association International and Urantia Association of the United States invite you to attend the live broadcast of the 2024 Urantia Association International Conference via Zoom. The conference will be held March 28-31 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

The theme of the Conference will be “Nature and Nurture of the Soul”. Check out the latest video!

The broadcast will be available during the following periods:

  • Friday, March 29th, at 8:45 am EDT to 4:10 pm EDT
  • Saturday, March 30th, at 8:45 EDT to 4:10 pm EDT
  • Sunday, March 31st, at 8:15 am EDT to 11:00 am EDT

To calculate the streaming times where you live, visit: TimeandDate.com

We will also be offering two Special Workshops exclusive for the Zoom attendants.

Special Workshops:
The first workshop will be facilitated by Sherry Cathcart Chavis, titled, “Faith Unveiled: Nurturing the Soul’s Journey Towards Divine Perfection,” on Friday, March 29th from 9:30 am to 10:30 am EDT.

Faith is the key to soul transformation; its activities ensure the soul’s eternal salvation and progress. It inspires profound reflection, fosters spiritual growth, and aligns the soul with divine ideals, ultimately guiding it toward the goal of finding God and achieving divine perfection.

Reading Assignment: Before the workshop convenes, read and study Paper 132 (The Sojourn at Rome), Section 3, Truth and Faith.

The second workshop will be offered on Saturday, May 30th from 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm EDT. It will be facilitated by Agnès Lazar and Guy Perron on the theme, “How do we feed our souls? What is in the way of nurturing our soul?”

As we know from the revelation, each of us is the mother of our soul and therefore, we have the responsibility as good mothers to feed it properly.

‘4. Soul. The soul of man is an experiential acquirement. As a mortal creature chooses to “do the will of the Father in heaven,” so the indwelling spirit becomes the father of a new reality in human experience. The mortal and material mind is the mother of this same emerging reality. The substance of this new reality is neither material nor spiritual—it is morontial. This is the emerging and immortal soul which is destined to survive mortal death and begin the Paradise ascension.’ 0:5.10 (8.10)

Livestream Link:
This broadcast will be interactive via Zoom and will be live-streamed on Facebook. To help coordinate our clocks, here are some streaming time slots across the globe:

  • México City and Edmonton: Friday and Saturday: 6:45 am to 2:45 pm. Sunday: 7:15 am to 9:00 am
  • Bogotá and Lima: Friday and Saturday: 7:45 am to 3:10 pm. Sunday: 7:15 am to 10:00 am
  • Los Angeles and Arizona: Friday and Saturday: 5:45 am to 1:10 pm. Sunday: 5:15 am to 8:00 am
  • Buenos Aires and São Paulo: Friday and Saturday: 9:45 am to 5:10 pm. Sunday: 9:15 am to 12:00 pm
  • Paris: Friday and Saturday:  1:45 pm to 9:10 pm. Sunday: 1:15 pm to 4:00 pm
  • Sydney: Friday and Saturday: 11:45 pm to 7:00 am Sunday. Sunday: 11:15 pm to 2:00 am Monday.
  • Auckland: Saturday and Sunday: 1:45 am to 9:10 am. Monday: 1:15 am to 4:00 am

Join Zoom Meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86500983536

Meeting ID: 865 0098 3536

One tap mobile:

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Meeting ID: 865 0098 3536
Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/keHnoHm8dl

President’s Message – March 2024

From , By Enrique Traver, Brazil on

Following Jesus

Enrique Traver

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

This world is only a bridge; you may pass over it, but you should not think to build a dwelling place upon it. 156:2.1 (1735.5)

He told them they could not stand still; they must go forward in righteousness or retrogress into evil and sin. He admonished them to “forget those things which are in the past while you push forward to embrace the greater realities of the kingdom.” 156:2.6 (1736.3)

This world is an arena where we develop and conquer the first steps to reach the morontia worlds, followed later by the steps to the spirit level. As Jesus said: just a bridge to cross. Reaching the end of that worldly bridge allows us to reach another shore, to reach a new reality of eternity, of the birth of the spirit, of drawing closer to the presence of our Father. Passing across this bridge implies a continuous straightforward movement with no stops for whatever reason. We must move ahead. When we keep moving forward, we free up the flow and attract other people to the journey. We produce the fruits of the spirit.

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The 2024 Urantia Association International Conference Approaches

From , By Michael Zehr, USA on

Nature and Nurture of the Soul

 Baltimore, USA. March 28 – 31, 2024

Urantia Association International and Urantia Association of the United States are hosting the 12th International Conference in Baltimore, USA.  Sponsored by Urantia Foundation and Truthbook, the conference has been organized and coordinated by a host of worldwide volunteers to provide a spiritual learning experience for the global Urantia Book reader community.

The theme of the conference is The Nature and Nurture of the Soul.

To establish a framework for the study, all references to the soul from The Urantia Book were gathered and sorted into eight subtopics – four on the Nature of the Soul, and four on Nurture of the Soul.

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New Unity Initiative

From , By Governance Committee on

Last year, Sue Seccombe, president of Urantia Book Fellowship, created a petition and sent if far and wide across our Urantia community. The petition was focused on unity and it garnered over 600 responses, almost all in the affirmative for setting our sights on true spiritual unity, and even organizational unity.

Due to that positive response, the General Council of the Fellowship passed a resolution creating a small team to engage with Urantia Association to discuss unity. Their resolution included terminology about the possibility of seeking unity between the two fraternal organizations. The resolution tasked their Unity Committee with: “Exploring the details and options of organizational cooperation and steps toward unity between the two social organizations that will best benefit the growth, understanding, and credibility of the Urantia revelation and presenting these recommendations to the General Council.” Such an executive action passed by the Fellowship’s General Council, signals an openness to resolve the historic schism.

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Focus on the Father – Faith

From , By James Woodward, USA on

Going out on a limb of faith requires faith. 

Faith is a holy paradox: It’s a grab-hold thing on spirit levels and a let-go thing on material levels. With the affirmation of faith, we acknowledge a spirit reality and the divine beings who inhabit that reality—without seeing it, or them. With living faith, we invest implicit trust that those realities and beings are friendly to us, even love us. With the exercise of faith, we snuggle up to those realities and beings like we do our beloved family and our nurturing natural environment. With the perfection of faith, we fully share the will of God, living the Perfect Plan. For mortals that’s a plan in progress.

“Perfecting is of God. To wish for perfection is of man.” 

— Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
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