© 2021 Zwelakhe Patrick Kubheka
© 2021 Urantia Foundation
By Zwelakhe Patrick Kubheka, Eastern Cape, South Africa
It is with great pleasure that I share my devotion to The Urantia Book with you, my fellow Urantians.
A bit of background first: I was born in 1974 to a traditional Zulu family that believed in—and thoroughly practiced—an African indigenous religion which The Urantia Book calls “ancestor worship.” We don’t perceive it as worship of the dead, but that is a topic for another day.
In 1986 my mother converted to Christianity and our lives took a turn. Around 1990 I made a personal choice to “follow Jesus.” Christianity and African spirituality were the only faiths I knew until 1993 when I left my hometown (Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa) to advance my education in Durban. In this coastal City I started expanding my spiritual boundaries by exposing myself to other religions through reading and making friends with people from various walks of life.
I received even more religious exposure when I was granted a scholarship to study in Tronoh, Malaysia, from May 2001 to August 2007. My student years in Southeast Asia were spent in a mostly Muslim community, where I witnessed firsthand their impeccable dedication to Islam. I was particularly moved by the practice of daily prayer, five times a day, and every single day. Their adherence to fasting during the month of Ramadan was another source of inspiration. It was during this period that I received a special gift of the Qur’an from a Muslim friend with whom I had enjoyed many discussions on various topics of our beliefs.
What made my Malaysia experience uniquely significant was the fact that I lived in a Malay-Muslim reality full time, completely surrounded by their culture, and detached from my South African familiarity. In addition to exposure to Islam, I met and fellowshipped with many Christian brothers and sisters in Ipoh, a short distance from Tronoh. This extraordinary opportunity was a platform to supplement my understanding of—and tolerance of—our multiple Urantia religions.
In 2012, I came across The Urantia Book on the internet. I know beyond doubt that my crossing paths with this revelation was a divine response to my pleas during moments of depression. In 2008 I had been diagnosed with a chronic illness, leading to one of the darker chapters in my life. For years I searched for lasting relief, including exploring online. More than bodily healing, I needed healing of mind. What I longed for was assurance that my life was still worth its existence. That assurance came in 2012 in the form of the Urantia Papers.
I bought my first hard copy in 2014. The fifth epochal revelation has brought me a vastly renewed strength of character for fighting life challenges. I have discovered a much broader sense of identity as a faith son on a very long path to Paradise; the awareness that I am a cherished cosmic citizen in this unimaginably huge universe is empowering!
Coincidentally, the discovery of The Urantia Book quenched a long-lasting thirst for truth that had not been satisfied through my Christian experiences and with studying the Bible. My search for truth included such things as universe origins; the origin of the Nephilim and our colorful human races; where Cain’s wife came from; what were Jesus’ teen years like; and how could a loving God torture erring children with eternal hellfire.
Back in 2003 I raised these queries with one pastor in Malaysia, where I was an active member of a Christian church. The pastor didn’t give me the kind of response I expected. With a compassionate smile, he simply advised me to remain hopefully patient as I continued my search, then he assured me that in time all my queries would be addressed. Somehow it sounded like he knew the answers—or at least some—but he felt I wasn’t ready.
After reading The Urantia Book and reflecting on my prevailing thought patterns in 2003, it dawned on me why I wasn’t led to the book then: I would have promptly rejected some of its teachings on race origins without a second thought, and this rejection could have compromised my attitude towards the entire text. Certainly, though I was neither ready nor desperate enough in 2003, my 2012 circumstances were just perfect for a wholehearted reception of truth since “many truths are not really felt except in adversity.” UB 48:7.18
I now live and work in the Eastern Cape Province. The Urantia Book continues to play a vital role in my everyday life as a Christian, a parent, a professional, and a community member. It has literally become scripture to me, the second Bible so to speak. Whenever I find myself in intense internal decisionmaking conflict, I seek God’s will in prayer and perusal of scriptures (the Bible and the fifth epochal revelation). I am never disappointed!
I have known no better source of inspiration and guidance for my daily life than The Urantia Book. I feel privileged that my wife has gracefully embraced it as well, allowing us to align our family values with its teachings. Knowing that our parenting experience will be considered for accreditation by the Urantia Parental Commission on the first mansion world feels like a bonus as we morally guide our offspring through the intriguing maze of this life. After discovering the eternal value of parenting, we prayed for another child, and in August 2016, we were blessed with an adorable baby girl. In gratitude we named her Fonta Vevona Kubheka, after our original ancestor, Fonta, and the seraphim chief of the souls of peace during the reign of Adam and Eve, Vevona.
One of my favorite pastimes is observational astronomy, and The Urantia Book has brought deeper meaning to this hobby. I can’t find words to express the overwhelming emotion evoked by looking up at the southern skies between the constellations of Sagittarius and Scorpio, with the comforting awareness that I am looking toward Paradise, the far distant residence of the Trinity, then add the mystery that although I am looking into space, this distant Paradise is outside time and space.
With joyful anticipation, I look forward to the next life on the first mansion world. In the meantime, I aspire to continue serving further here on Urantia. My South African people would benefit from translations of the fifth epochal revelation into indigenous languages. The field is wide, and the workers are few. Drawing motivation from my divine Monitor and the victorious lives of human heroes like Amadon, I shall strive to emulate them as I serve.
