© 2016 Suzanne Kelly, Jeffrey Wattles, Mark Kurtz, Alexander H., Kathleen Swadling, Daniel Swadling
© 2016 International Urantia Association (IUA)
¶ In This Issue
- Journal Editorial November 2016 – Suzanne Kelly
- How to Participate in Jesus’ Gospel Movement – Jeffrey Wattles, USA
- Considerations for Study of the Human Jesus – Mark Kurtz, USA
- Reporting Conference Experiences – Alex H, Germany
- Follow the Yellow Brick Road – Kathleen Swadling, 2015 Anzura Conference, Sydney
- To Catch a Fraud – Daniel Swadling, Australia
¶ Journal Editorial November 2016
Suzanne Kelly
Greetings fellow Journal readers,
This issue of the Journal is only the second one for 2016. Beginning in 2017 we will be doing only two issues per year with perhaps an additional “Special Edition Issue” like this one with Urantia Association Conference presentations from around the globe. In this issue our presenters will be coming to you from Texas and Alabama USA, from Sydney Australia, and from Cologne Germany.
Our first up is Jeff Wattles, USA with his presentation from the Conference in San Antonio Texas June 2016; How to Participate in Jesus’ Gospel Movement. Jeff as a consummate professor is able to teach us how to assist Jesus in his movement by realizing Truth is a gift; our intuition is a gift. And faith is a gift. It is living, and it grows. What we receive as a gift, we exercise in action. Later we find our own way to give voice to truth. With practice we become comfortable and skilled. How shall we do this work? I’m going to give you two methods. They both involve study and experience. By the end of his thought provoking presentation you too will be participating in this magnificent movement.
¶ How to Participate in Jesus’ Gospel Movement
Jeffrey Wattles, USA
Presented in San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A., June 11, 2016_
Song
You’ve got to know this Jesus well
You’ve got to know this Jesus well,
You got to study and pray and walk in his way
You’ve got to know this Jesus well
Coming from Northeast Ohio, I can tell you that one thing that gives me genuine satisfaction is when LeBron James gets an assist for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He passes the ball excellently to his team member who is in position—and goes on to make a basket.
It’s like that on the team working in Jesus’ gospel movement. We assist the Spirit of Truth as another human being is approaching, making, or confirming the most important decision that a person makes in this life.
By the end of this talk, I want everyone to know how to assist in Jesus’ gospel movement. I have some general principles to propose and some examples of how I do things. Don’t imitate me. Just use my personal stories to stimulate you to be a living prophet in your way.
¶ Considerations for Study of the Human Jesus
Mark Kurtz, USA
Used for the Alabama Urantia Online Study Group; January 10, 2016
The Urantia Book informs us that man is a Paradise origin idea.
“Let us make mortal man in our image,” [UB 6:5.7]
is attributed to the First and Second Sources. Condescension details for man were formulated.
The Father and the Eternal Son created the first down step with the original Michael Creator Son. The original Michael participates in creating more Michael Sons including Michael of Nebadon. Michael partnered with a Paradise daughter of the Infinite Spirit and they fully cooperated in their “man plan” while creating a local universe. They completed architectural spheres and then made ready to create man, perhaps according to a flexible “Trinity Master Man Plan.” Life Carriers implanted life, which eventually resulted in human beings. The Father’s Paradise Plan was advancing on Urantia.
The Paradise Father set a vital requirement for Michael to live as His created sons. This requirement included human life experience. Gabriel headed the Salvington commission tasked to find suitable parents to establish a suitable home. Consider the high probability the Father and Paradise Sons are aware of all human genetic history. Gabriel surely had vetted all genetic links. He then selected Joseph and Mary to be the parental couple. We may assume his decision was based on the then best available physical and temperamental features.
Urantia Book students are aware of Urantia planetary history, which includes many difficulties. Peter set new difficulties in motion during his Pentecost sermon and others concentrated on a new doctrine featuring the Risen Lord. Jesus’ humanity was mostly put aside. Until now, Urantians have been mostly unaware of Jesus’ detailed heroic, brave, and courageous human life. He lived a marvelous model of and for man.
¶ Reporting Conference Experiences
Alex H, Germany
Dear Urantia-Community,
I would like to report on my experience of the 2016 US National Conference (UAUS) and Summer Study Session (Urantia Book Fellowship) that took place at the Trinity University in San Antonio.
I arrived right on time at the Trinity University Campus after an 18-hour trip with three flights from Cologne to Berlin, Berlin to Chicago and Chicago to San Antonio. The Tex-Mex welcoming was just about to start and there was no time to rest as I wished to hug the few people I knew and meet all these new ones directly. After having nice introduction conversations, many of us went up to the Skyline Room, where we all met every evening. Having a wonderful view of the Skyline of San Antonio, this was my first moment thinking, “Yes, now the German guy is in Texas! Feels nice!” And, as I remembered it from other conferences, I just needed to forget for a while where I came from so I could get used to how open and lovely all these brothers and sisters are, and how quickly we get into that feeling of brotherhood.
After the first plenary presentation on Friday with Carolyn Prentice about “The Master Teacher: Exploring how Jesus taught,” I attended James Woodward’s workshop on “Worship: What’s Rest Got To Do With It?” James gave us a good summary on what The Urantia Book teaches about how to worship the Father truly and effectively in our everyday life. After that we, some of the young adults from the YAYA (Youth and Young Adults) and the UYAI (Urantia Young Adults International) groups, along with Jeffrey Wattles, conducted a workshop together with 30-40 people attending. Our workshop was about “Young Adult Students on the Master’s Teachings.” In that workshop we had three groups with three different topical questions. We repeated this workshop on Saturday. In our group we discussed the opportunities of holding an online study group, and shared our experiences with the other participants. Everyone was very excited about how well we young adult readers interact and what our plans are, as the YAYA and the UYAI Committees will work together in future. I would like to thank everyone who took this chance to encourage us younger readers in our activities and offered support for our future plans. The last workshop I attended on Friday was Derek Samaras’ about “The Attractive Personality of Jesus.” In two hours he presented how important it can be for us to be mindful about our own attractiveness in order to spread the gospel.
¶ Follow the Yellow Brick Road
Kathleen Swadling, 2015 Anzura Conference, Sydney
¶ Introduction
We’ve done a lot of talking this weekend about the individual’s journey with faith and about developing the character traits required to stay on that pathway that leads us all the way to Paradise and beyond. I’d like to focus on what believers who’ve made the big decision to enter into the kingdom of heaven, do collectively to help an evolutionary world move along the pathway towards the era of Light & Life. I’m going to refer this this pathway as the “Yellow Brick Road.”
Yes, I think you all know where I stole this term from. That famous children’s movie: The Wizard of Oz. The idea to borrow this concept evolved in my mind as I was contemplating the experiences I had in the developing stages of becoming a believer in God. I’ve always thought of those special moments that occurred in my inner life that helped to bring me closer to having a faith in God, were like fine golden threads connecting my inner most core with the source of truth. As more and more fine golden threads emerged they started to wind themselves into a thick golden rope. I started to feel like I had found a golden freeway. Everything that came before was like looking for the on ramp to the freeway; once I found that on ramp and entered the freeway I was on my way!
¶ To Catch a Fraud
Daniel Swadling, Australia
Presented at the Sydney ANZURA Conference, October 2015_
I began this presentation with a simple experiment. Without any warning I caused a very loud, totally unexpected noise that startled the audience and elicited the typical gasps, shrieks and jolting movements from everyone as you would expect. I informed the audience that I had just activated their fear responses and pointed out that they were right now as one body, behaving in unison through their fear and asked, isn’t that great we’re all united like this together? Isn’t that what we’re all seeking? some kind of togetherness that leads to brotherhood for us to live in peace and harmony and on to eternal life?
Well that way, my friends I hope to show today, is a complete fraud. Fear has a role to play in our survival, granted, but we know through The Urantia Book teachings that survival on its own is not enough. There must be growth to pass through time and into eternity. Growth is necessary on the pathway to Paradise and beyond.
Few persons live up to the faith which they really have. Unreasoned fear is a master intellectual fraud practiced upon the evolving mortal soul. [UB 48:7.4] from Morontia Mota No. 2
Fear is a fraud. It says one thing and delivers another—to our disadvantage. While fear may assist us in avoiding an immediate and short-term threat, enabling us to survive a little longer, sustained and unreasoned fear actually impedes our longer-term growth, affecting even the growth of our soul. Thus fear threatens the eternal survival we seek. It is retarding the growth of our souls and slowing our path to God.