© 2020 Jeannie Vázquez
© 2020 International Urantia Association (IUA)
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On August 24th and 25th, 2019, the Urantia Association of Mexico organized its Third National Conference in Mexico City, which was attended by sixty-four readers of The Urantia Book from various cities of Mexico and Uruguay.
This gathering with our Mexican siblings was a cheerful and fraternal occasion, where we met again with several old friends and got to know personally other virtual friends who have been frequent participants in the online conferences organized by Urantia Association International’s Education Committee and in the online meetings of the Latin American Study Group.
Conferences organized by the Urantia Association of Mexico are characterized by being dynamic and participative, as well as interesting, instructive, and free for all attendees. The Mexican Association holds bi-monthly conferences and workshops where the attendees are invited to study and present themes from The Urantia Book. This dynamism is reflected in National Conferences because the attendees participate actively during their ongoing presentations, showing discernment and interest in the shared teachings. It is fascinating to see so many faces eager to absorb the teachings; answering their insightful questions is often a challenge for the presenter.
On the Saturday upon registration we all received a gift of candies with the three concentric circles impressed in blue. These were made by our dear friends Dulce Piña and Pedro Cazales.
Alfredo Esquivel greeted the assistants, and Hector Palacios, the master of ceremonies, delivered the opening speech. We enjoyed three lectures in the morning. The first one was given by Luisa Gutiérrez, who spoke about “What is Ministry,” in which she presented her personal experience in learning how to share the teachings of The Urantia Book.
Sergio Monrroy Gutiérrez explored the theme “The Wealth” in his presentation, by examining the counsel that Jesus gave to a certain rich man during his stay in Rome. The third presentation was about “Cosmic Consciousness and Spiritual Perception,” in which I examined the reasons why the revelators say in the Foreword of The Urantia Book that they “…endeavor to expand cosmic consciousness and enhance spiritual perception” for human beings. [UB 0:0.2]
In the afternoon lectures, Camilo Vargas spoke to us about “The Art of Living,” in which he examined the concepts of the Greek philosopher Rodan of Alexandria as presented in Paper 160 of The Urantia Book.
To conclude the Saturday lectures, Rogelio Ortiz presented an analysis of the “Discourse on Jonah,” that our Master Jesus gave to the young Philistine truth-seeker Gadiah during his stay in Joppa.
The presentations on Sunday began with a lecture by Ramiro Ramirez, who spoke on “The Rule of Living,” presenting different versions of the golden rule as it was known in ancient Egypt, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and as it was taught by different teachers such as Confucius, Lao-Tsé, Pythagoras, and Epicurus.
Jaime Díaz Page presented the theme “Realities of True Religion,” telling us about the efforts that the believer should make in practicing the religion of the spirit according to the teachings of Jesus and the revelators, who have invited us to carry out a personal search for divine truth through our faith and determination to explore the realities of religious experience.
I presented a workshop entitled “The Strengthening of Faith,” in which my assistants and I analyzed how we can strengthen our faith and make it an experiential, living, and growing faith.
In the afternoon, we celebrated the anniversary of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, reading this tribute by Martín Guzmán in his honor:
Tribute to Jesus of Nazareth
More than 2000 years ago Jesus was born on Urantia, the man that gave us the wonderful legacy of the example of his life and teachings and also established for all eternity that he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Thank you, Master!
It is not always easy to follow you, but you did not say it would be. There is no challenge more sublime or more rejoicing task than striving to follow in your footsteps.
Today, Master, we meet together those of us who are so fortunate to have a group of friends and siblings with similar interests and we declare ourselves your children, to celebrate your anniversary.
May these simple words serve as a symbol of the great love we feel for you, beloved Creator, and hopefully can be more and more every day those who accept you and are willing to follow you. Happy anniversary, beloved Brother-Father. I hope one day we can tell you this personally, and you allow us to give you an incredible hug there in Salvington, if this is our destiny.
But today, from Urantia, we send you this message with our best wishes for love and happiness.
Thank you, beloved Master and Universal Sovereign Jesus-Michael of Nebadon! Happy Urantian Anniversary No. 2025!
The celebration was followed by the transfer of the Mexican Association Presidency, in which the outgoing President Alfredo Esquivel handed over his position to the new President, Martín Guzmán. The Treasurer, Héctor Landín Vazquez, also took up his new position. We were enthralled to see Alfredo and Martin hugging each other, wrapped in the flag of Michael of Nebadon.
At the closing of the conference we had the pleasure of hearing Hector Palacios singing opera. Ramiro Ramírez, an outstanding guitar player and singer known in Mexico as Ramiro Jarkyn, and Luisa Gutiérrez, saxophonist and singer, delighted us by singing and playing their instruments.
After this closure, it was time to say goodbye to our friends. Thank you, dear friends, for your efforts in organizing this educational and fraternal meeting. We took with us a treasure of memories of these shared, happy moments.
See you next time!
¶ References
| Peru 2021 International Conference – Registration Now Open | Tidings — March 2020 — Index | Reports on Nigeria-Ghana Urantia Conference |