© 2000 David Kantor
© 2000 The Urantia Book Fellowship
Compiled from varied sources by David Kantor
This document is the work of the author and should not be mistaken for an “official” history. Neither should any views expressed herein be mistaken for those of any organization or individual other than the author.
This timeline shows a wide range of events, many of which have been a source of embarrassment to sincere readers. Many readers wonder why we have not been more successful in manifesting the high ideals contained in the teachings of The Urantia Book in our social affairs.
I would like to offer the view that what this history shows is a dynamic, growing, vital readership which has boldly experimented with multiple approaches to introducing The Urantia Book to a distracted world. In addition, this readership has repeatedly resisted the spin-off of cults, generally recognized and steered clear of charismatic individuals and charlatans who see the readership as an unled flock just waiting for the appearance of a shepherd, kept from slipping into an overly-conservative, dogmatic doctrinaire position relative to the text, successfully resisted the efforts of organizations which have spent millions of dollars trying to shape this emerging religious movement after their own designs — these are indicators of extreme vigor amongst the readership. If you know anything about the evolution of religious movements, this colorful history should not surprise you. It is not likely that something as psychologically, spiritually, and socially powerful as The Urantia Book could be dropped into the planetary thought-stream without creating a lot of turbulence. If it didn’t, I don’t suppose it would be worth much more than its weight in paper at the recycling center.
This timeline of the events related to the appearance of The Urantia Book in 1955 must be considered a work in progress. Corrections and additions are actively solicited. The objective is to some day have a timeline in which each entry is linked to a supporting document. These documents are presently being actively sought, acquired and digitized. The student of this history should also be aware that there appear to be serious discrepancies between the stories which characterize this “history” and current research being done on the sources of The Urantia Book. For further information on this see Some Human Sources for Materials Contained in The Urantia Book, Matthew Block, 1994; See also, examples of source materials.
There are many apocryphal stories surrounding the development and publication of the text, many of which appear to be much more related to metaphysical fantasy than to reality. I have therefore not included items for which no basis can be found outside of rumor and conjecture. Additional difficulty in determining the sequence and timing of events results from the secrecy required of the Forum during the years the Papers were being received and reviewed.
This timeline attempts to depict known events. It is drawn from many sources. Events which have no source other than the personal recollections of individuals are color-coded dark green. I have included only those events for which multiple anecdotal sources are in relative agreement. These stories often have different dates for their purported occurence; every attempt continues to be made to properly fit these puzzle pieces together.
Editorial comments appear in burgundy and are to be taken as interpretations and opinions of the author.
Please send all corrections, additions and copies of supporting documentation to sysop@urantia-book.org. Items noted herein as speculative will not be changed unless documentation is provided. Any additions must also be accompanied by appropriate documentation.
For a quick overview see “How the Urantia Book Came Into Existence” by Bill Sadler.
There is also a short document titled, “A History of The Urantia Movement” consisting of notes regarded as written by Dr. William S. Sadler.