© 2023 Urantia Association of Spain
Mariano Pérez lives in Torrejón de Ardoz (Madrid). He has worked as a training instructor for 39 years in a railway company. He is married and has three daughters.
¶ 1. How did you come across The Urantia Book and why do you think you found it?
I came to The Urantia Book by reading The Testament of Saint John, by J.J. Benítez, in which he thanked the Urantia Foundation.
¶ 2. What was your first impression when reading it?
I had the intuition that it was truly important, I was convinced that I had found valuable information that would change the way I see the world.
¶ 3. At what point in the reading (document, sentence, etc.) did you accept that The Urantia Book is really what it claims to be?
In the first documents, which speak of God the Father.
¶ 4. How has The Urantia Book changed your life?
I think there are two fundamental things that have changed in my life after reading and trying to integrate the teachings of The Urantia Book. One is the perception of the world, or rather of life. For example, knowing what there is after leaving this world. The upward career that we have is in itself a motivation to live. The other is the commitment to seek to do the divine will, to improve in perfection, to work on personal religion. This is undoubtedly the most difficult, but it is a firm commitment.
¶ 5. Has your faith changed after reading it? If so, in what way?
I already had faith, but it has clarified many things that I did not understand. It has clearly strengthened my faith even more.
¶ 6. Is there any point (or points) of the revelation that you find difficult to accept?
I am struck by the savage reaction that the inhabitants of the Garden of Eden had when they attacked the neighboring Noddite population and left no one alive, immediately after Eve was missing. It is not about accepting concepts or anything like that, since they are facts, but it is striking how violence was so present in those who were supposed to be the most advanced human beings.
¶ 7. What is the part that has impressed you most deeply?
Without a doubt the life of Jesus of Nazareth, who is an example to follow. Also the complexity of Creation, its administration and its grandeur. There is no time to get bored.
¶ 8. How do you understand “doing the will of the Father”?
I believe that only with wisdom and spiritual discernment can we discover what the true will of the Father is. The intuition felt through the “call” of the Thought Adjuster, passing through the filter of that wise discernment, should lead us to make decisions in accordance with the will of the Father.
¶ 9. Have you become conscious of the presence of your Adjuster?
Not consciously. If I said otherwise I would be presumptuous and deceiving myself.
¶ 10. Have you tried to put the Master’s teachings into practice? What has been the result?
Isn’t that the same as doing the Father’s will? That’s what we’re doing. Many times we do things convinced that it’s the same thing that our Sovereign and Master would do, the results are another thing; but I believe that the intention is what’s important.
¶ 11. Do you think that The Urantia Book has something “mysterious” that makes not everyone decide to read it?
It’s not the book: it’s the people, the moment they find themselves in, their needs. When it comes to the spiritual path, each of us has a tailor-made suit that is what we are looking for. Ours is the teachings of the fifth revelation, its proposal for a personal religion. Others look in evolutionary, dogmatic religions, because that is what they need. Others don’t even look, they are lost in the fog of materialism and self-gratification.
¶ 12. Is there anything else you would like to say regarding The Urantia Book?
Many things could be said, but I want to focus on the Urantia movement itself. I think they make some mistakes that occur in other religious and other types of institutions and that have to do with the overprotection of the institution, of making the movement a banner, of feeling different from the rest of the people, of doing things thinking of conventional ideals instead of seeking spiritual unity, starting with ourselves, with the different organizations that exist around Urantia. We must leave past mistakes behind and be an example of brotherly functioning. It saddens me sometimes to see certain actions.
¶ References
- Index of the magazine “Luz y Vida” of the Association of Spain
- This article from the magazine “Luz y Vida Online”