© 2024 Urantia Association of Spain
Luis Alfonso was born in the magical region of the Eastern Plains of Colombia, 61 years ago. He is married and has two children; he resides in Bogotá, Capital District, with his family. He works as an independent legal consultant, mainly in the economic regulation of energy markets and energy transition. Since 1997 he has worked as a university professor in different areas of Law. He has studied The Urantia Book since 2003 and has participated in several courses as a student and professor-facilitator at UBIS.
¶ 1. How did you come across The Urantia Book and why do you think you found it?
I learned about the book in early 1997 when I asked my brother-in-law, a wonderful human being and an excellent ENT doctor, what he wanted as a gift for his fiftieth birthday; he only knew that it had no known author and that it dealt with the universe and the history of the planet. Three years later, to my surprise, I found it displayed in a bookstore among books dealing with natural gas and electric energy markets. The only similarity between those books was the blue and white color of the cover.
The book came into my life when I was looking for answers to the most transcendental questions I was asking myself at that time: Who am I? Why do I exist? What is my mission in life? I like to believe that the book came at the stage when my Thought Adjuster was beginning to move from Adjuster to Controller.
¶ 2. What was your first impression when reading it?
When I started reading it, I felt a mixture of joy, for having found it, like when one discovers something wonderful; sadness, because by then my brother-in-law had passed away; astonishment, for the profound revelations; and frustration, for the difficulty in understanding it. Two years later, when I finished reading it, I had a feeling similar to that of having put together a puzzle and the certainty that a new stage in my life was beginning.
¶ 3. At what point in the reading (document, sentence, etc.) did you accept that The Urantia Book is really what it claims to be?
It was a gradual process. From the reading of the Prologue I felt my curiosity multiplied; the permanent discovery on each page encouraged me to persevere in reading. I remember these wonderful moments that led me to assume that the book is really what it claims to be: i) the presentation-declaration of the Divine Counselor at the end of Document 1, especially in the part that says: “I have often enjoyed the supreme pleasure of being for a time in the direct personal presence of the Universal Father. I describe the reality and the truth of the nature and attributes of the Father with unquestionable authority. I know of what I speak”_, together with the perception that the book presents profound realities, in a descriptive form; ii) the discovery of the abode of the Universal Father, the Eternal Isle of Paradise, literally transcended my imagination (Doc. 11); iii) the discovery of the Thought Adjuster, the greatest of discoveries (Doc. 107 to 110); and iv) the transmission of the extracts of the instruction prior to Michael’s seventh bestowal given by Emmanuel (Doc. 120). When I began to read the life and teachings of Jesus I no longer had any doubt about the reality of the revelation.
¶ 4. How has The Urantia Book changed your life?
It has been a progressive change, in which I have slowly gone from knowledge and intellectual reason to personal experience in the inner life. I highlight some aspects. The discovery that the command: “Be perfect as I am perfect” is the reason for the divine plan (UB 1:0.3); that God is love; that attunement with the Thought Adjuster is the great goal of human existence (UB 110:3.4); that God is the greatest experience of human existence and that the search for God is the unlimited and endless bestowal of love (UB 117:6.9), have given purpose, meaning and fullness to my life.
The book has given me techniques and tools for growth from the inner life. Discovering that imperfection is part of the divine plan, that divinity manifests itself imperfectly through human imperfection, has helped me to elevate the value of our human nature. Understanding that uncertainties and inevitable vicissitudes (Doc. 3:5) are the best school of life has motivated me to live each daily experience with greater enthusiasm. The philosophical affirmations with which the development of the mote of morontia begins (Doc. 48.7), have inspired me to better understand who we are and new meanings of human life. The techniques to prepare the essential ground for development (UB 100:1.5) and religious habits (UB 100:1.7) are facilitating my disposition for spiritual growth.
Knowledge of the life of Jesus has allowed me to know the revelation of the Father to man and begin to experience the understanding of self-realization, through prayer, worship and love of neighbor.
¶ 5. Has your faith changed after reading it? If so, in what way?
Yes, my faith has changed significantly after reading the book. I feel that I have moved from belief to personal experience of spiritual meanings and values in the inner life. Today I perceive faith not only as a state of mind, but as a personal experience in the search for spiritual reality. I perceive faith as the reality of harmonious work with my Adjuster, with divine guidance, through love of neighbor.
¶ 6. Is there any point (or points) of the revelation that you find difficult to accept?
No. At first I had difficulty with the Prologue, due to disbelief, generated mainly by the limitations of the mind in the face of the different levels of reality and manifestation of the divinity that it describes. After several readings of the Prologue, I felt that my mind was ready to assimilate the book, and that willingness has been increasing.
¶ 7. What is the part that has impressed you most deeply?
What has most deeply impressed me is the revelation that God resides in the mortal mind, the discovery of the fact that the actuality of sublime love, the will of the Universal Father, resides in the mind subject to the human will.
¶ 8. How do you understand “doing the will of the Father”?
To do the Father’s will it is necessary to recognize it. In the supreme commandment the Father reveals himself to us and reveals his will: “Be perfect as I am perfect.” He tells us I am perfect and my will is that you be like me. Jesus revealed to us the Father’s will as the sum total of his attributes: the Father in heaven is holy, just, great, true, beautiful and good, through a life full of love for one’s neighbor. Thus, Jesus revealed to us the human meaning of doing the Father’s will in the experience of loving one’s neighbor as the Father loves us.
From that recognition, I understand that to do the will of the Father is to live the supreme decision; it is to recognize that the Father is our origin and destiny; it is to walk the path of God. It is the greatest, truest, most beautiful and best experience of human existence. It is to strive to imitate the love of divinity; it is to sincerely long to be as God is, the actuality of love. It is to work harmoniously with the Thought Adjuster; to strive to respond to divine guidance. It is to love God with all the strength of the heart, mind and soul; it is to enlist the entire personality for the service of one’s neighbor. In short, it is to love God through altruistic service, seeking the greatest benefit for one’s neighbor: the search for God and the salvation of the soul.
¶ 9. Have you become conscious of the presence of your Adjuster?
Yes, my faith is based on the awareness of the presence of my Adjuster. I perceive his presence in prayer and worship, in love for my neighbor, in happiness, peace, faith and in the other fruits of the spirit. The fruits of the spirit are the fruits of the presence and tireless work of my Adjuster; without him there are no fruits of the spirit. On the other hand, becoming aware of the poisons of the mind helps me to be aware of my disconnection from the presence of the Adjuster; I use fear and anxiety as alarms that indicate my disconnection from the divine presence.
¶ 10. Have you tried to put the Master’s teachings into practice? What has been the result?
Yes, especially the acceptance of divine sonship, the birth of the spirit, the fatherhood of the Father, brotherhood in the spirit and the new commandment, through selfless service and forgiveness. I perceive the results in greater trust in God, a greater longing and perseverance in the search for God; an inner life of peace, happiness, love and faith; and the sincere desire to know and serve others better.
¶ 11. Do you think that The Urantia Book has something “mysterious” that makes not everyone decide to read it?
I feel that The Urantia Book comes to each person at the right time. Possibly a person who is not spiritually motivated will not read it; which in some measure shows that the book reveals living spiritual realities.
¶ 12. Is there anything else you would like to say regarding The Urantia Book?
I want to highlight the coherence of The Urantia Book. Although many issues are addressed throughout its content, in different parts and by different revelators, I am fascinated by the coherence I find in the revelations on each topic presented. Only the truth and its reality can be so coherent!
Thank you so much!
¶ References
- Index of the magazine “Luz y Vida” of the Association of Spain
- This article from the magazine “Luz y Vida Online”