© 1980 Urantia Foundation
The holiday season is upon us and we are approaching the end of our 30th year. We would like to extend to all of you our best wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year. The holiday season and the end of another year offer an opportunity for reflection. As so often in the past, the previous twelve months have been eventful.
Among the more notable occurrences this past year has been the number of conferences. We are aware of at least fourteen conferences in the states of California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Massachusetts (2), Missouri, Oklahoma, Oregon, Washington, D.C., Ontario Province and Quebec Province. The number of attendees ranged from in the twenties to just over 160. Representatives from the Foundation were able to attend nine of these conferences. We made new acquaintances and renewed old friendships and we are very grateful for the kindness and hospitality extended to us at these gatherings.
It is our desire to have a representative of the Foundation attend conferences in the hope of establishing and improving good lines of communication, but the small number of Trustees and staff can cause scheduling conflicts and we regret we were not able to attend all the meetings.
In addition to attending conferences in the U.S. and Canada, we were able to send a representative to Europe to visit with readers and study groups in Finland, France, Italy and Sweden. We were visited here in Chicago by readers from Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia and Tahiti. Correspondence from new readers was received from all continents. Telephone inquiries from new readers or interested persons have been a daily occurrence and we frequently were visited by both new readers and old friends.
Problems concerning the copyright to The Urantia Book have been successfully handled outside of court and so we did not have to initiate any lawsuits concerning copyright this year. As is reported in more detail below, the suit of Urantia Foundation vs. Robert Burton was resolved this year with the judge of the case rendering a decision which upheld the Foundation’s copyright in The Urantia Book. The unavailability of a French translation continues, but the final hearing in the Paris appeal has just occurred so we are anticipating a decision in the not too distant future. The Trustees continue to regret this current lack of a French translation, but sincerely appreciate the patient support exhibited by so many French fellow believers.
Problems with the registered marks have also been successfully handled except for the unfortunate situation regarding the First Urantia Society of Houston, Inc. We were forced to initiate a lawsuit in this matter, but Urantia Brotherhood is currently exhausting all remedies to resolve the matter internally.
Although book sales were down this past year, we can see several factors which contributed to this slowdown and believe they will have only a temporary effect. We already see a gradually increasing sales trend from the low levels at the beginning of the year. The seventh printing of The Urantia Book will occur in 1981. This year also witnessed the initiation of a 20% discount policy on purchases of 5 or more books for all persons and we hope this will be a service for those who like to buy extra books for loan copies or gifts.
It is difficult to assess our progress this past year. First, there is an apparent decrease in interest from new readers as evidenced by a decrease in sales. However, this decrease is countered by an increase in interest and commitment among those already reading the book as evidenced by the number of conferences, a new Urantia Society, and the formation of new study groups. Whether such an inverse relationship between the activity level of new readers and old readers indicates a natural growth trend can only be speculation. Until we have a much longer period of history to review, we can only guess at the growth patterns that may in time emerge more clearly.
We hope we share with you a view of the long range mission of this revelation. Although we have had problems and will no doubt have new ones, we believe that from a broad perspective our major responsibilities are being fulfilled. As another year comes to an end, we see that: 1) The supernal teachings of The Urantia Book are available to anyone who wishes to read them except, of course, where there is no translation or the help of a bilingual person, but the Trustees are actively addressing the translation problems, 2) interest in these teachings continues to come from new readers as well as increases within the ranks of those already reading, 3) the original teachings are still totally intact and there is no confusion about finding the true text, and 4) the copyright which preserves the original text now and the registered marks which will identify the original text in future times are strong. Such an overall healthy state of affairs is due to your continued spiritual, mental and material efforts. Thank you for your support.
Foundation President, Tom Kendall, and his wife, Carolyn, visited students of The Urantia Book in several European countries in September. The purpose of the trip was to discuss Foundation matters and to maintain friendly relations with fellow believers.
The itinerary included visits to Lund, Sweden; Helsinki, Finland; Paris and Avignon, France; and Verona, Italy. Study groups meet regularly in these and other places on the continent. It is especially gratifying to see such quality study taking place in spite of the language difficulties that affect many students.
Despite the problems surrounding the French translation there are still strong ties of friendship between French-reading European students and those in the United States. This is true of relations with believers in other areas of the world as well. We all need to maintain and foster attitudes of mutual understanding based on our common goal, the wise and successful spread of the teachings of The Urantia Book.
In a prior edition of Urantia Brotherhood Bulletin, a study group in Bogota, Colombia was mentioned. This is the first study group in Central or South America of which we are aware. Urantia Brotherhood recently was able to send representatives to visit with the group. In late October of this year, representatives of the Bogota study group visited Chicago to meet with Urantia Brotherhood and Urantia Foundation.
Understandably, a Spanish translation is a primary concern to this group. We had a very productive exchange of viewpoints regarding translations, the conditions in Latin America for the spread of the teachings, and how the Bogota study group has faithfully continued studying the teachings with the aid of a few bilingual members despite the lack of a translation. It was a pleasure to meet with these fellow students of The Urantia Book and we believe our relation ship will continue to grow and prosper.
On August 29, 1980 in the United States District Court, Western District of Michigan, a judgment was entered in the case of URANTIA FOUNDATION vs. Robert Burton. This judgment granted Urantia Foundation, plaintiff, its motion for Summary Judgment in all respects. The Court found, among other things, “that the plaintiff has a valid statutory copyright in The Urantia Book.”
Urantia Foundation was forced to bring suit against Mr. Burton (the defendant in the case), when early in 1975, the defendant made photocopies of portions of The Urantia Book and then distributed them publicly. The defendant undertook this course of action specifically in order to challenge the validity and the Foundation’s ownership of the copyright in The Urantia Book.
This decision is of considerable significance. For not only is this the second court decision to uphold the copyright in The Urantia Book, but also it was made in response to a planned, concerted effort to challenge the validity and ownership of the copyright.
Exciting News!
URANTIA Foundation has established a URANTIA Book Printing Fund. All funds received as a result of the coming seventh printing fund raising campaign will be used specifically for the seventh and subsequent printings of The URANTIA Book.
How Will it Work?
When a URANTIA Book is sold, the cost of printing that book plus ten percent (inflation factor) will be allocated to a special fund. When we are ready for the eighth printing, the money will be taken from this fund for that specific purpose. We will continue this sane procedure for all future prlntings.
When Does the Fund Raising Begin?
As you will remember, this fund raising program was first announced in the last issue of this newsletter. Also, the chairman of the URANTIA Brotherhood Finance Committee gave a report on the initial plans for the fund raising at the August Workshops in Lake Forest, Illinois. The Committee is now in the process of developing the program and making preliminary contacts. We are happy to report that even before plans. for the fund raising have been finalized, a number of people have reacted to the first announcements of the drive by donating or pledging money toward the seventh printing.
How Much is Needed?
We need to raise $210,000 in order to print 25,000 books. This is not an easy goal to achieve. The Brotherhood Finance Comittee has accepted this challenge. They will assist the Foundation in this effort since the Foundation does not have enough personnel to undertake such a fund raising program and both organizations as well as all students of The URANTIA Book share a direct and mutual interest in its continued availability. This fund drive for the seventh printing is separate and distinct from our annual joint fund appeal letter from URANTIA Foundation and URANTIA Brotherhood which asks you to contribute to cover the general operating costs of both organizations for the coming year only. Our hope is that even in these difficult economic times you will make a special effort to contribute to both appeals as the printing of new books and operating costs are both essential. We know that all of you will give this your serious consideration so that when you hear from the Committee, you will respond in a generous manner.
Fund Raising For the Seventh Printing
Within the next couple of weeks the Finance Committee of the Brotherhood will undertake a capital fund drive for the specific purpose of obtaining funds for the seventh printing of The URANTIA Book. You will be hearing more about the drive as the plans unfold. This is the first time since the third printing that funds will be solicitied for a specific purpose. We urge you to give this your utmost consideration as the Finance Committee makes additional announcements in the near future. We know that all of you will continue to give us your financial support.
“I have just been loaned a very cherished copy of The Urantia Book. I must return it shortly and feel I must obtain a copy of my own. I have never read a book such as it that struck such chords of logic and basic truths. It is satisfying a searching void I have felt.”
“To start off, I’d like to say that without a doubt The Urantia Book is the most wonderful mind stimulating spirit energizer I have ever read in my entire life. It has given me such an enlightenment of God and his son Michael that it is hard for me to describe in words what the book has done for all my un-answered questions. It’s amazing the amount of information that has been compiled in one book.”
“…no matter what blunders your fellow men make in their world management of today, in an age to come the gospel which I declare to you will rule this very world.” UB 143:1.4