© 2015 Carolyn Kendall
© 2015 Urantia Foundation
| Looking Back at the UAI 2015 Québec Conference | Volume 9, Issue 3, Sept. 2015 — Index | Thoughts and Reflections on What The Urantia Book Means to me |
By Carolyn Kendall, Illinois, United States
Editor’s Note: Carolyn Kendall, a member of the Forum and a longtime student of The Urantia Book, shares her perspective on the events leading up to its first printing almost sixty years ago.
Sixty years have passed since a new epochal revelation appeared on our world, Urantia. A small group of humans performed the service of recording the words spoken by the revelators, though in some cases they were provided in handwritten form. Common, everyday tools were used to create the Urantia Papers: pencils, paper, an upright manual typewriter, and a printing press. No golden tablets or chiseled stones materialized.
The Urantia Book project took nearly fifty years to complete from the beginning to the publication of the book. The first twenty years were spent by the unseen superhuman revelators and the six humans, known as the contact commissioners, persuading one another of the reality and reliability of the other group. The book’s delivery included another and larger group called the Forum, which acted as a sounding board of human listeners. The Forum was composed of average, everyday people who listened to the papers read to them every Sunday afternoon. They submitted questions, the answers to which provided greater insight into the complex new concepts being presented. The human perspective was vital; the content of the text had to be comprehensible to a range of humans, not only to the superhuman providers and their small group of human associates. As the revelation evolved, some of the papers were retyped several times until the revelators were satisfied with the content.
Urantia Foundation was established in 1950, and the trustees began planning to copyright the text and to register the three concentric circles symbol, following the instructions of the revelators in each case. The human associates reviewed the final text before it was sent to the printing company, checking for errors, such as spelling and typing errors. The revelators indicated their preferences regarding design, font, and binding.
After the Second World War, while evaluating the dangers of nuclear weaponry and envisioning the likelihood of the fall of Communism, the revelators announced that the contact commissioners could begin the printing process. In 1953, publication was approved by the revelators to begin in early 1955; the actual date of release was in October of 1955.
Meanwhile, Urantia Brotherhood was established as a social outreach organization. At first only one organization was envisioned. But it was soon realized that there were several functions that needed to be considered and perhaps separated. The Foundation assumed the responsibility of publishing, translating, and protecting the text, while the Brotherhood took on all of the more public, social, and outreach activities.
Finally, the great day arrived on Wednesday, October 12, 1955. Attendees at the Wednesday evening study group, the “Seventy,” received their books that evening. Also, they engaged in a Remembrance Supper led by Edmond Kulieke, who gave a brief talk. He was assisted by Lee Miller Jones, Lulu Steinbeck, and Clarence Bowman. Everyone present was given their previously ordered copies of The Urantia Book. The members of the Forum received their books the following Sunday afternoon, also at 533 W. Diversey Parkway, in Chicago.
Publication happened to fall on the anniversary of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus in 1492. That year in the fifteenth century also marked the traditional end of the Middle Ages. It was at that time, according to the contact commissioners, that the midwayers of Urantia sent a formal request to the rulers of the superuniverse, the Ancients of Days, requesting permission to impart a new revelation to our world, Urantia. They wished to include more about Jesus than was contained in the four Gospels of the New Testament. It was not until the time of the fifth epochal revelation, in the twentieth century, that the midwayers received the answer to their earlier request: permission to include Part IV of The Urantia Book—The Life and Teachings of Jesus.
Thumbing through the book for the first time was a thrill beyond imagination. Here were all the papers in their proper order. The expanded table of contents was a pleasant surprise. The quality of the paper—“Bible-type paper”—according to Bill Sadler Jr, was “exquisite.” It was an opaque white. Lighterweight paper was used in the middle of the book, while slightly thicker paper was used for the beginning and ending papers of the book. A young man, whose name I did not know, sat on the front steps and began reading his copy of the book. Another man was photographed carrying a partial box of books on his head while his wife carried some of the books in her arms to lighten his load.
There was satisfaction on the part of older Forum members, who were thankful they had lived long enough to hold the book in their hands. But there was also some anxiety. How would they share the book with others? What would their pastors say? What if they were ridiculed by their friends and relatives? Two Brotherhood committees made lists of well-known individuals to whom gift books would be sent. Not one of those recipients responded prompting the policy of introducing the book by person-to-person means.
Two years after publication, I noticed that some books brought to meetings were well-used. They were dingy, cross-references filled their margins, and makeshift plastic covers protected their books. Others’ books were still in pristine condition.
At first, Dr. William Sadler urged us to “infiltrate the churches.” But soon he changed his mind after a couple of readers became too aggressive in their dissemination tactics. Eventually things sorted themselves out. Those who were good at introducing the book did so, and the others bolstered their courage and prayed for guidance.
¶ References
| Looking Back at the UAI 2015 Québec Conference | Volume 9, Issue 3, Sept. 2015 — Index | Thoughts and Reflections on What The Urantia Book Means to me |