© 2000 David Kantor
© 2000 The Urantia Book Fellowship
¶ 1966
721 books distributed
Urantia Foundation establishes formal policy regarding permission to quote passages from the book, to use the name “Urantia” and to use the concentric circles symbol. See “Guidelines for Use of Urantia Book Materials”
March 20 — Memorial service held for five Forum members
Minnie Kulieke (Mrs. Edmond F. J. Kulieke), Lulu Steinbeck, Caroline Brown, Lee Miller Jones, Edmond F.J. Kulieke, Sr. See “Group Memorial Service for Five Forum Members”
March 24 — Christy sends out letter to field representatives emphasizing early warnings about discussing the origins of the book. Read text of Christy’s letter See PDF replica of Christy’s letter
July — Alvin Kulieke conducts six day series on astronomy for First Urantia Society of Los Angeles.
August 30 — See Vern Grimsley’s overview of his “Urantia-based radio ministry”
Oklahoma Society begins providing bookmarks with quotes to local bookstore in effort to pique interest in The Urantia Book.[1]
December 6 — Vern Grimsley writes to Emma Christensen reporting on various situations in Southern California. See correspondence See Christy’s response
¶ 1967
1,146 books distributed
April 28 — Urantia Foundation approves second printing of the Jacques Weiss translation in three volumes, including footnotes, a pocket inside the front cover containing maps and diagrams of the cosmos, and Bible references added by Weiss. Dr. Sadler provided the approval with the simple condition that Weiss note in the book that these were additions made by the translator and were not part of the original text.
July — Jacques Weiss publishes “The Origin of The Urantia Book” See Jacques Weiss’ history
July — Correspondence between Meredith Sprunger and Emma Christensen; Meredith wants to be more aggressive in outreach. Christy responds by sending Meredith a copy of “Wise Comments and Advices,” a collection of paragraphs implicitly of origin in conversations with the revelators. See correspondence between Meredith and Christy
August 4-5 — Second Triennial Delegate Assembly of Urantia Brotherhood[2]
August — Alvin Kulieke elected President of Urantia Brotherhood[2:1] [Picture of Alvin Kulieke teaching at 533]
Family of God Foundation established as a California Non-profit Corporation
August — Edith Cook finds an error in the diagrams Weiss included with the French text. Weiss had printed extra diagrams and sent them to Urantia Foundation as Christmas cards. Weiss had shown dark gravity bodies as existing in unpervaded space as well as in pervaded space. Edith pointed out that there was, according to The Urantia Book, only one belt of dark gravity bodies and that this was in pervaded space. Edith considers this to be a “major error” and reports to the trustees that “His concept would change our whole idea of the shape of the master universe.” She further comments that she sees these maps as misrepresenting the teachings of The Urantia Book.
August 25 — Jacques Weiss meets with trustees in Chicago during which time the error on his diagram is reviewed. Weiss finally gave up in frustration and said he was not going to redo the maps at this point, that he would use up the ones he had, and perhaps would take up the matter at a later time.
November 9 — Jacques Weiss expresses frustration with what he sees as Urantia Foundation’s hyper-vigilant concern about the spread of the revelation. Excerpt from his letter to the trustees: “Before 1955, the Forum, who held the manuscript, was centered on the waiting aspect. Several members believed that the Book would not even be published during their lifetime. Then the Hierarchy judged that the situation had matured and the time had come. They gave the green light for the publication with instructions to go slow, even very slow for the beginning. You have remained ever since in that position of first gear, without any further contact with the Hierarchy. Now they judge that the time has come to pass in second gear, not in high. But have you asked them? Obviously no. On the French side, we have constantly been helped by guardian angels and other entities who suggested and approved the passing in second gear, and furnished the corresponding opportunities. You have witnessed the results. We believe in their guidance and follow it, looking more lightly at the legal viewpoint since a spiritual, moral, mental and physical agreement exists between us.”
1967 Annual Reports:
Address to the TDA — E. L. Christensen
Keynote Address to the TDA — Alvin Kulieke
¶ 1968
1,400 books distributed
February 11 — Letter from Vern Grimsley to Emma Christensen describing successes with radio broadcast. See correspondence
March 1 — Second printing of The Urantia Book — 10,000 copies[3]
Martin Myers moves in to 533 Diversey Parkway.[^4]
Editor’s note: Martin took up residence at 533 Diversey Parkway and became a faithful companion and caretaker for both Dr. Sadler and Emma Christensen during their declining years. It seems unfortunate that Martin’s long dedication to this difficult and challenging service — significantly easing the transition of these last two members of the contact commission to the mansion worlds — has been so largely obscured by his political misfortunes of more recent years.
August 2-3 — Third Summer Study Session of Urantia Brotherhood Read “Address of Welcome” by E.L. Christensen
Publication of “A Study of the Master Universe” by William S. Sadler, Jr.[4]
¶ 1969
2,822 books distributed
January 25—First regional conference in Oklahoma City, conducted by Clyde Goodman28
March — Georgia Gecht resigns from FUSLA See Georgia’s resignation letter See Georgia’s related correspondence with Marian Rowley
April 26 — Death of Dr. William S. Sadler[4:1]
According to Meredith Sprunger: “On Friday evening he seemed to understand that his earthly life was about to close. With mental clarity he gave a farewell talk to those who were close to him, in which he included the following words: ”This world is very real, but the next one is much more real. It is easy to leave the pains of this world for the pleasures of the next. And I am going to enjoy every moment of it. The transition from this world to the next is very easy. There is no pain. I am very conscious of everything that is going on. I could go on visiting with you for hours, but it would be no use. The chapter is closed. The last lines have been written; the book is finished.“ Then, turning to Christy, he said, “And now Christy I pass the responsibilities of Urantia on to you. I know you will do well for you have always been a good soldier. When you leave you will pass the torch to the younger members. I’ll tell them hello up there for you.” See “Memorial Service for Dr. William S. Sadler” See entry for Dr. Sadler in “National Cyclopedia of American Biography”
May — See Robert Burton’s letter of complaint to Urantia Foundation regarding lack of work on translations
August 1-2 — Fourth Summer Study Session of Urantia Brotherhood[3:1] See E.L. Christensen’s welcome address — “Our Call to Service”
October — Robert Burton complains to Urantia Foundation regarding lack of accountability for contributed funds. See Robert Burton’s letter
See addendum to Robert Burton’s letter Note: Urantia Foundation apparently never responded to Robert Burton’s request for information. See Robert Burton’s additional request for information of June 1970
November 1 — First Urantia Society of Fort Wayne, Indiana installed (Urantia Brotherhood)[3:2]
¶ 1970
4,452 books distributed
March 13—Eleven delegates from the Interseminary Movement of the Southwest meet with Clyde Goodman in Oklahoma City to find out about The Urantia Book.[1:1]
June 7 — First Urantia Society of Wenatchee, Washington installed (Urantia Brotherhood)[3:3]
July 31-August 1 — Third Triennial Delegate Assembly of Urantia Brotherhood[3:4]
See resolutions calling for reform of Urantia Foundation
See E.L. Christensen’s address of welcome — “Our Challenge”
See Robert Burton’s letter to trustees following failure to get reform resolutions passed Note: Robert Burton’s explusion from Urantia Brotherhood was eventually sought due to his efforts at reform. He was charged with, among other accusations, preaching “the doctrines of the Lucifer Manifesto of unbridled liberty, and disrespect of, and rebellion against, rightfully constituted leadership, in this case, of the custodians of the fifth major epochal revelation accusing or insinuating that they have participated in fraud, autocratic rule, suppression of free expression, violation of the principles of fairness and justice, and improper conduct of policy discussion, alleging secrecy and insinuating wrongdoing . . .” See charges brought against Robert Burton
September 29—Urantia Foundation applies for a trademark on the stylized word, “Urantia” See Intra-Office News Memorandum of December 10, 1970
1970 Annual Reports:
Keynote Address to the TDA — Alvin Kulieke
¶ 1971
5,894 books distributed
January 31 — First Urantia Society of Houston installed (Urantia Brotherhood)[3:5]
February 21 — [Letter from L.C. to Bob Burton regarding Burton organizational concerns]
March 1 — Third printing of The Urantia Book — 15,000 copies[2:2]
May 2 — Governing board of First Urantia Society of Los Angleles issues statement of support for Urantia Foundation in matter of charges of mishandling of funds, misconduct, and irresponsible administration of a public trust being brought by attorney Robert Burton. See FUSLA statement of support
May 6 — Urantia Foundation orders plates used in original printing to be destroyed.
The original plates were only good for approximately 30,000 impressions on India Paper. (The 1st printing used such paper, but subsequent printings used a synthetic thin paper). There were apparently some 2,200 nickel plated lead plates (stored with a beeswax coating) of convex shape (to fit on a cylinder for printing).
June 29—Urantia Foundation receives registration for the name “Urantia” as a “trademark for books.” (Registration # 915734)
July 30-31 — Urantia Brotherhood Summer Study Session See program for 1971 Summer Study Session See Welcome Address by E. L. Christensen
July — Urantia Foundation submits application to register the name “Urantia” as a service mark — application is denied by trademark examiner. See “Urantia Foundation’s Trademarks: How They Got Them and What They’re Doing With Them”
Martin Myers and Vern Grimsley appointed “special agents” for the Trustees of Urantia Foundation.
September — Trouble is brewing in Southern California where Burton King is attempting to start a school at which The Urantia Book will be used to supplement other teaching materials. Urantia Foundation tried to prevent Mr. King from obtaining copies of the book by cutting off supplies to his local bookstore.
- See first refusal letter, 8/6/71, to Doris George
- See second refusal letter, 09/20/71, to Bob Johnson
- A third attempt is made to order books, 11/26/71 — see correspondence
- See internal Urantia Foundation memo regarding this situation, 12/1/71
- Letter from Julia Fenderson — she visits the store, reports to Chicago, 12/4/71
- Foundation internal memo about Julia’s report
- Urantia Foundation sends third refusal letter, 12/13/71
- A fourth attempt is made to order books, $360.00 check included, 2/4/72
- Urantia Foundation sends fourth refusal letter, 2/9/72
In October of 1974, Urantia Foundation initiated a lawsuit in against Burton King. See sample of Burton King’s literature
October 16 — Emma Christensen resigns as Trustee — replaced by Jim Mills[3:6] [See photograph of Jim Mills] [See Intra-Office News Memorandum of October 20, 1971]
1971 Annual Reports:
- President’s Report — Alvin Kulieke
- Committee on Education — Kenton Stephens
- Fraternal Relations Committee — Al Dyon
¶ 1972
6,242 books distributed
April 24 — Jacques Weiss, ready to proceed with a reprinting of Volume II for purposes of replacing the 2,000 copies damaged in 1969, is informed by Urantia Foundation that they are not likely to authorize him to proceed with this printing. On May 11, Weiss placed an order with a Paris printshop to begin a third printing of Volume II. He claimed that this printing was needed to replace 2,000 copies of Volume II of the second printing which had been damaged. However, he ordered 5,500 copies (supposedly due to economies of scale related to printing costs). Urantia Foundation declared this a contractual violation and used the opportunity to sue Weiss, thereby gaining control of the French text.
July 3 — Bob Burton writes letter to Jacques Weiss explaining why Urantia Foundation does not have a valid copyright in The Urantia Book. He also indicates that he is trying to get Urantia Foundation to evaluate his newly completed Spanish translation. See Burton’s letter to Weiss
July 11 — Jacques Weiss registers trademark on the words “EDITIONS Urantia” with the National Trademark Register in France.
July 21-22 — Sixth Summer Study Session of Urantia Brotherhood — the last to be held at 533 Diversey Parkway[3:7] See “Urantia Foundation Assesses the Situation”
Henry Begemann begins work on a Dutch translation in Holland [4:2]
Fall — Dr. Philip Calabrese and Dr. Robert Hunt jointly teach a course at California State College, Bakersfield, entitled “An Introduction to The Urantia Book.”
Urantia Foundation submits re-written application for registration of the name “Urantia” as a service mark, receives approval “for educational purposes—namely, religious teachings.” (Registration # 948104)
Explusion of Robert Burton from Urantia organizations. The Executive Committee of Urantia Brotherhood led by Alvin Kulieke brough formal charges against Robert Burton and sought his expulsion from Urantia Brotherhood. Among other things, he was charged with preaching “the doctrines of the Lucifer Manifesto of unbridled liberty, and disrespect of, and rebellion against, rightfully constituted leadership . . .” Bob had grown impatient with Urantia Foundation’s inability to mobilize resources for a Spanish translation of The Urantia Book. He reportedly hired a translator in Mexico and had a Spanish translation completed. Urantia Foundation apparently took possession of this manuscript but it was never published. Urantia Foundation began work on an “official” Spanish translation some ten years later.
- See charges brought against Robert Burton
- See report of events at hearing Robert Burton subsequently referred to himself as “the first excommunicated reformer of the 533 Urantia Institution.” In 1973 he wrote to President Paul Snider regarding a review of his status.
- See official notice of Robert Burton’s “excommunication”
- See Paul Snider’s letter to Robert Burton, October 1973
- See Robert Burton’s response to Paul Snider, October 1973
¶ 1972 Annual Reports:
- President’s Report — Alvin Kulieke
- Vice President’s Report — E. L. Christensen
¶ 1973
8,047 books distributed
French UB Text removed from circulation — 1973 announcement by Urantia Foundation
Death of Alvin Kulieke See “Memorial Service for Alvin Kulieke”
January — Emma Christensen elected President of Urantia Brotherhood (for completion of Alvin Kulieke’s term following his death.)[3:8] See Emma Christensen’s memo, “The Brotherhood is in Crisis.”
June 29-July1 — First Western Urantia Conference — held in Los Angeles under the sponsorship of First Urantia Society of Los Angeles.[2:3] See Emma Christensen’s Address of Welcome to the Conference See “Unity, not Uniformity” — seminal policy statement from Urantia Foundation
August 4-5 — Fourth Triennial Delegate Assembly of Urantia Brotherhood; Paul Snider elected President of Urantia Brotherhood[2:4]
August — Fourth printing of The Urantia Book — 25,000 copies. With this printing, Urantia Foundation began inserting a “notice” regarding copyright and trademark claims related to the name and symbol inside the cover of every book.[3:9],[1:2]
August 21 — Jacques Weiss contacts Paul Snider (Brotherhood President) requesting copies of resolution passed by the General Council at the August meeting. Letter is filed with note stapled to it which says, “Don’t Respond.” See copy of letter
Martin Myers appointed Trustee of Urantia Foundation
Thomas Kendall elected President of the Board of Trustees of Urantia Foundation.
November 11 — Urantia Foundation notifies selected readers that lawsuit against Jacques Weiss is being initiated. See copy of Urantia Foundation lawsuit announcement This lawsuit essentially halted sales to French-speaking readers. The price of underground photocopied editions soared to over $200.00 per copy in France, supplied to readers through the efforts of Andre Heisse. Heisse and his co-workers evaded apprehension by agents of Urantia Foundation by frequently moving their equipment and generally conducting their operation as did the Resistance propagandists during World War II.
November — Urantia Foundation begins mobilization for Burton King lawsuit See internal memo regarding Burton King and sample of his publication
December — Urantia Foundation submits application to register the word “UrantiaN” as a trademark. Initial application denied. Application later approved after Urantia Foundation convinces trademark examiner that the word “UrantiaN” has no known meaning. See “Urantia Foundation’s Trademarks: How They Got Them and What They’re Doing With Them” from CUBS newsletter
1973 Annual Reports:
- President’s Report — Emma Christensen
- Treasurer’s Report — Harry Rowley
- Secretary-General’s Report — Marian Rowley
- Charter Committee — Mary Lou Hales
- Education Committee — Kenton Stephens
- Fraternal Relations Committee — Albert Dyon
- Foreign Extension Committee — Bernard Burton
¶ 1974
9,745 books distributed
February 9 — Paul Snider informs Vern Grimsley that the Executive Committee of Urantia Brotherhood is contributing $500.00 to his Family of God Foundation. See correspondence
Urantia Foundation submits “Confirmatory Agreement” to Urantia Brotherhood.
See: Copy of the Confirmatory Agreement
See: A Commentary on the nature of the Confirmatory and Licensing Agreements by Dan Massey
April 1 — John Hales becomes Resident Director of Urantia Brotherhood.
April 19 — Duane Faw contacts Urantia Foundation for the first time. He early began development of the Paramony, relating Biblical references to The Urantia Book. Display Duane’s letter
May 6 — Steve Dreier appointed Field Representative of Urantia Brotherhood.
June 26 — See letter from Urantia Foundation to Brotherhood President regarding use of concentric circles symbol on Summer Study Session materials Note: Up until 1973 records show Urantia Brotherhood freely using the concentric circles symbol on internal materials without any reference to Urantia Foundation’s claim of ownership.
July — Urantia Foundation shuts down “Urantia Produce” company in Berkeley, California See correspondence related to the “Urantia Produce” incident
July 26-27 — Summer Study Session of Urantia Brotherhood held at Kendall College, Evanston, Illinois.[2:5]
August — See letter from Leone Sadler to Clyde Bedell thanking him for the Concordex
September 3 — Paul Snider, President of Urantia Brotherhood, signs “Confirmatory Agreement.”
October 4 — See internal Urantia Foundation notice regarding impending legal action against Burton King
October 24 — See Paul Snider’s notification to members of Urantia Brotherhood re: Burton King lawsuit
November 9 — First Urantia Society of Western Springs installed (Urantia Brotherhood).[2:6]
November — Copies of Urantia Foundation “Confirmatory Agreement” sent to each of the eight Urantia Societies for ratification.
Editor’s note: Three societies signed and returned them, three raised questions about them, and two flatly refused to sign claiming they contained false statements about their having operated in the past under a license from Urantia Foundation.
1974 Annual Reports:
- President’s Report — Paul Snider
- Vice President’s Report — E. L. Christensen
- Secretary’s Report — Anna Rawson
- Secretary General’s Report — Marian Rowley
- Foreign Extension Committee — Bernard Burton
- Domestic Extension Committee
- Education Committee — Kenton Stephens
¶ 1975
9,924 books distributed
January 11—Paul Snider, President of Urantia Brotherhood and Tom Kendall, President of Urantia Foundation meet with Oklahoma City readers in an attempt to calm reactions to Urantia Foundation’s Confirmatory Agreement which had been signed by Paul Snider as President of the Brotherhood, and now needed the ratification of the Societies.
January 16 — Vern Grimsley writes to Paul Snider providing ideas for restraining enthusiastic readers who want to spread the revelation. See copy of correspondence Vern Grimsley’s paranoia eventually led to his own psychological instability and the collapse of his organization, The Family of God Foundation. He was still advising Urantia Foundation trustees as recently as 1999.
April 4-6 — Southern California conference sponsored by First Urantia Society of Los Angeles.
April 16 — Emma Christensen confides to Vern Grimsley that Urantia Foundation has failed to register their name and marks in many foreign countries and seeks his help to exploit international contacts resulting from Vern’s radio broadcasts as a means of obtaining proper registration and usage. The plan is to let Urantia Brotherhood Corporation do the mailing for Grimsley so that Urantia Foundatino can show it’s marks as in use in the target country.See copy of correspondence
June 6 — Urantia Foundation and Urantia Brotherhood sign Confirmatory Sales Agreement See Confirmatory Sales Agreement
Paul Snider, who signed the agreements for the Brotherhood, later declared that he had signed them under false pretenses because he was told at the time that the reason was to protect the book when, as it turned out, Martin Myers and the attorneys had cooked up a mechanism to leverage control of the organizations. Paul, in effect, declared his signature morally, if not legally, null and void.[4:3] See letter of re-evaluation which Paul Snider wrote as President of the Glenview Society in 1990
July 27-30 — Education Committee Summer Workshops, Kendall College
August 1-2 — Nearly 300 readers attend the first General Conference of Urantia Brotherhood at Kendall College, Evanston, Illinois[2:7]
Publication of “Appendix to a Study of The Master Universe” by William S. Sadler, Jr. — Second Society Foundation[4:4]
Library of Congress classification for The Urantia Book changed from “Parapsychology and Occultism” category to “Other Religions” and “Other Beliefs and Movements”[3:10]
Urantia Foundation sues Bob Burton for copyright infringement.[3:11]
Bob Burton gave away photocopies of The Urmia Lectures and also mailed copies of Paper 72 — Government on a Neighboring Planet — to all the members of the U.S. Congress. He is also rumored to have given a copy of The Urantia Book to President Kennedy. Bob had acquired a manuscript for the first Spanish translation of the book which had been done by Marvin and Betty Tackett. Urantia Foundation ended up in possession of the manuscript and effectively prevented publication. Several sources have told me that the Trustees had some of the translated papers evaluated and as a result felt that it was a poor quality translation. It had apparently been done by a non-reader strictly on a pay-for-service basis. A Spanish translation remained unavailable until one was produced under Urantia Foundation control some eighteen years later in 1993.
See Bob Burton’s “Assessment of the Situation at 533”
See a sample of the copyright violations for which Bob was sued
See public documents of Urantia Foundation vs. Robert Burton
First meeting of study group in Peru (Trujillo)
Brotherhood leader censured by Urantia Foundation trustee for criticizing Family of God Foundation use of Urantia gatherings for fund raising purposes. See “Recommended Urantia Brotherhood Goals” by Meredith Sprunger, 1975
Urantia Foundation sues Urantia Universal Studios for use of the name “Urantia”.
Family of God Foundation broadcasts now carried by local stations in all 50 states; also now carried by American Forces Radio Network.
October 10-12 — Sacramento, California regional conference
November 13 — Judgment handed down by French court in Weiss case See copy of Judgment
December 6 — Regional Conference, Tampa Florida
1975 Annual Reports:
- Committee on Education — Meredith Sprunger
- Fraternal Relations Committee — Carolyn Kendall
- Report of the Secretary — Anna Rawson
- Domestic Extension Committee — Thomas A. Kendall
- Foreign Extension Committee — Bernard Burton
- Publications Committee — Leone Sadler
¶ 1976
10,123 books distributed
January — Death of Leone M. Sadler
Urantia Foundation registers name “Urantia” and the concentric circles symbol as trade marks. See “Urantia Foundation’s Trademarks: How They Got Them and What They’re Doing With Them”
February 8 — San Francisco Bay Area Urantia Society installed (Urantia Brotherhood)[2:8]
There were strong political forces at play that brought about the chartering of the San Francisco Society. Vern Grimsley had maintained virtual control over Bay Area politics through his Family of God Foundation. He had never wanted a Urantia Society in which members of his Foundation would be involved because he wanted to maintain the appearance of being a separate politically independent organization. But with a triennial delegate assembly immediately on the horizon and Society ratification of the Foundation’s confirmatory agreement a major burning issue, Urantia Foundation needed to muster as much support as possible. It was known that any delegate from Vern’s organization could be counted on to vote for ratification so the entire process was rushed through the appropriate formalities. This in spite of the fact that a short time previous to this, Urantia Foundation, through its representatives on the Council and the Brotherhood Executive Committee, had pushed through a moratorium on the chartering of any more societies until the controversy over the confirmatory agreement was settled. This moratorium was then used to suspend the chartering process for the Dallas group (which had applied prior to the Bay Area group) because it was assumed that their vote would be against ratification. In spite of these machinations, the Societies failed to ratify the agreement.3
February — Richard Prince appointed Field Representative of Urantia Brotherhood.
March 31 — With another major conference on the horizon outside the direct control of Chicago, (this one sponsored by the Oklahoma Society — long viewed as a center of sedition by the Chicago office) Urantia Foundation issues strict guidelines regarding what is permissible at any conference of readers regarding how quotes may be used from the book, as well as the use of the name “Urantia” and the concentric circles symbol on any materials used in conjunction with the conference. See “Guidelines for Holding a Urantia Conference”
Family of God Foundation begins broadcast coverage of the Middle East over Radio Jordan.
April — Fifth printing of The Urantia Book — 25,000 copies[3:12]
April 4 — Urantia Brotherhood submits formal protest to Urantia Foundation for attempts to control Brotherhood internal affairs, specifically, the up-coming conference in Oklahoma City.
See: Brotherhood letter of protest to Conference Guidelines
See: Urantia Foundation response
See: Urantia Foundation defense of Confirmatory Agreement
April 24 — Fort Wayne, Indiana regional conference
May 1 — Eastern Regional Conference, Sudbury, Mass
May 21-23 — Southern Oregon Regional Conference, Indian Mary Park, Grant’s Pass, Oregon, USA
June 21-22 — Fifth Triennial Delegate Assembly[2:9]
June 25-27 — International Forum, Oklahoma City
June — Meredith Sprunger succeeds Paul Snider as President of Urantia Brotherhood5
See Clyde Bedell’s letter to Tom Kendall regarding Urantia Foundation criticism of the Concordex
Urantia Foundation initiates lawsuit in state of New York to protect claims to the word “Urantia”[3:13]
First meeting of study group in Colombia (Bogotá)
Urantia Foundation submits “Assignment Agreement” to the Executive Committee of Urantia Brotherhood with pressure to sign. This agreement required Urantia Brotherhood to sell all rights it had acquired during its 23 year use of the name “Urantia” and the concentric circles symbol to Urantia Foundation for $1.00. See: Urantia Foundation’s “Assignment Agreement”
June 25-27 — Urantia International Forum of Urantia Brotherhood held at Lake Eufaula, Oklahoma, followed by major study seminar program.
August — Problems erupt related to Urantia Foundation’s attempts to control the drawings published as “An Artist’s Conception of the Master Universe”. Jacques Weiss maintained that Jacques Dupont had created the maps as a “work for hire.” Dupont maintained that Weiss had stolen the maps from him. Weiss had apparently given them to a Swiss artist for touch-up and improvements. Urantia Foundation considered Weiss to be creating the maps as a “work for hire” and that Weiss had contracted this work out to Dupont and the Swiss artist, still as “works for hire” for purposes of Foundation retention of control. The Foundation maintained that they owned the drawings because Weiss was an “agent” of Urantia Foundation and the drawings had to receive Foundation approval before printing, thereby clearly making Urantia Foundation the owner of all rights in the drawings.
October 2 — Wenatchee, Washington (USA) Regional Conference
November — Florida Regional Conference, Lakeland, Florida
November 1 — Urantia Foundation issues final directives to Oklahoma Society regarding the use of marks, etc. See Tom Kendall’s letter to Berkeley Elliott
November 23 — Urantia Foundation files to register the stylized word “Urantia” as a collective membership mark to indicate “membership in Urantia Brotherhood.”
Duane Faw comments: Since Urantia Foundation was not a membership organization it could not file on its own behalf, therefore it had to ride piggy-back on the Brotherhood. It bought for $1.00 whatever interest the Brotherhood had developed in a membership organization and applied as “successors-in-title.” It alleged Urantia Brotherhood was “a related company” which was partly true but inadequate to justify registration, therefore the application was amended to read “a social and fraternal organization” and “members of a related association, namely Urantia Brotherhood.”’ (True.) It also swore “…and the use of the mark to indicate membership in said related company (association) is supervised and controlled by Applicant…” which was patently false. There is nothing in the Declaration of Trust or the Brotherhood Constitution authorizing such a relationship.
Late 1976 — Harold Sherman, a member of the Forum, publishes a book titled, “How to Know What to Believe” containing a chapter called, “Pipeline to God.” This is Sherman’s account of a conversation with Dr. Sadler in which the way in which The Urantia Book came into being was discussed. Sherman also provides details concerning his disagreement with Dr. Sadler regarding the inclusion of material about psychic and paranormal phenomena in the Urantia Papers. See materials related to the publication of Sherman’s book
1976 Annual Reports:
- President’s Report — Paul Snider
- Vice President’s Report — E. L. Christensen
- Committee on Education — Meredith Sprunger
- Treasurer’s Report — Harry Rowley
- Publications Committee
- Report of the Secretary-General — Marian Rowley
- Charter Committee
¶ 1977
10,874 books distributed
First regional conference in Kansas City; visit by members of the Oklahoma City Urantia Society (Urantia Brotherhood.)
March — Urantia Foundation wins lawsuit against Burton King and Urantian Research. Burton King ordered to turn over all study aids and study materials containing the word “Urantia” or the concentric circles symbol to Urantia Foundation for destruction.[3:14]
March 5-6 — Urantia Brotherhood Field Representative’s workshop
Jim Mills makes tour of California study groups giving series of lectures on the Foreword.
Meredith Sprunger begins outreach effort which eventually sends brochures and offers of loaner books to nearly 8,000 UCC Ministers in North America, as well as some 5,000 members of the American Philosophical Association. See: A Personal History of Interface Ministry
Urantia Foundation announces it will no longer allow readers to purchase case lots of books at wholesale prices. [See Urantia Foundation letter to Chairman of FUSLA’s successful book distribution program]
May 14 — Spring Eastern Regional Conference, Pascoag, Rhode Island, USA See transcript of Dan Massey’s presentation, “Growth—Supreme, Ultimate, and Absolute”
May 20-22 — Third Oregon Regional Conference, Grant’s Pass, Oregon, USA
July 12-14 — Southwest Regional Forum, Lake Eufaula, Oklahoma
July 23-24 — First Canadian Conference, Victoria, B.C., Canada
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Begemann from the Netherlands visit Urantia Foundation to discuss problems in Europe resulting from the Foundation’s withdrawal of the French translation from circulation as well as issues related to Henry’s work on the Dutch translation.[3:15]
Second Lake Eufaula Conference, Oklahoma
Houston Society splits in two — one portion aligned with Foundation principles and the other declaring itself an independent organization — “First Urantia Society of Houston, Inc.”
September 3-5 — 180 readers attend Third Western Conference, sponsored by First Urantia Society of Los Angeles, held at Irvine, California.
See “Some Thoughts on the Philosophy of Foundation/Brotherhood Relationships” by Meredith Sprunger
October 1 — Urantia Foundation Special Agent, Vern Grimsley, submits quarterly report on suspicious persons, organizations and activities in the Western region. See report
October 1-2 — Northwest Regional Conference, Wenatchee, Washington, USA
November 3 — Fall Eastern Regional Conference, Clinton, Connecticuit, USA
November 12-13 — Ohio Valley Conference, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
1977 Annual Reports:
- President’s Report — Meredith Sprunger
- Vice President’s Report — E. L. Christensen
- International Fellowship — Martin Myers
- Fraternal Relations — Carolyn Kendall
- Domestic Extension — Thomas A. Kendall
- Education Committee — Lynne Kulieke
¶ 1978
9,622 books distributed
In 1978, a gentleman named Lorian “Rocky” Melchizedek showed up in San Francisco seeking converts from local study groups for his “Earth Order of Melchizedek” headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada.
February 1 — Urantia Foundation submits application to expand trademark registration of the stylized word “Urantia” to include “printed publications—namely, books, booklets, brochures, pamphlets, newsletters, bulletins, and leaflets concerning educational, religious, or philosophical subjects.”
February 21 — Urantia Foundation raises issues about the Concordex:
- 2/21 — Urantia Foundation requests more Concordexes from Clyde Bedell
- 5/22 — Urantia Foundation submits long list of concerns about the Concordex
- 5/26 — Letter from Foundation’s attorney regarding concerns
- 6/5 — Clyde responds to Foundation’s concerns
- 7/3 — Foundation’s brief response to Clyde
- 7/15 — Tom Kendall and Martin Myers fly to California to meet with Clyde regarding this matter. Duane Faw and Urantia Foundation Special Agent Vern Grimsley also attend the meeting. See transcript of meeting See PDF reproduction of original transcript
February 1, 1979 — Martin Myers reviews the meeting with Clyde in a letter to Duane Faw. Display copy of February 1, 1979 letter
See PDF original of “The Controversy over the Concordex”
March 17-19 — Tampa Florida Regional Conference
April 9 — Portland, Oregon regional conference
April 18 — Urantia Foundation granted registration of the stylized word “Urantia” as a collective membership mark “Indicating membership in a Social and Fraternal Organization.”’ (Reg. # 1089942)
Second regional conference in Kansas City; visit by members of the Oklahoma City Urantia Society (Urantia Brotherhood).
May 13 — Spring Eastern Regional Conference, Worchester, Mass., USA
May 13-14 — Midwest Regional Conference, Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA
May 13-14 — Bowen Island gathering, B.C., Canada
May 18 — Jim Kimmel floats proposal for setting up The Commonwealth Government of the Spiritual Brotherhood of All Mankind in Hawaii to be developed by principles derived from the fifth epochal revelation. See Jim’s proposal
June 3 — Central Atlantic Conference, Washington, D.C., USA
July 1 — Urantia Foundation Special Agent, Vern Grimsley, submits quarterly report to Urantia Foundation regarding suspicious people, organizations and businesses in the Western region. See copy of report
July 8 — [See letter from Brotherhood President regarding licensing agreement]
July 10 — Urantia Foundation wins court injunction against “NUrantia HEALTH MASSAGE” of Long Beach, California in Federal District Court. This had originally been “Urantia HEALTH MASSAGE” but when the Foundation complained, an “N” was added to the beginning of the name. The court considered this a “colorable imitation” of the registered trademark of Urantia Foundation.
August 13 — Field Representative’s meeting held in conjunction with General Conference.
August 13-18 — Second General Conference of Urantia Brotherhood held at George William’s College, William’s Bay, Wisconsin
See Urantia Foundation’s “Tips on Preparing your Presentation”
See “Remarks to the Brotherhood Conference” by E. L. Christensen
See letter acknowledging Houston Society’s decision to contest charter ruling
September — Sixth printing of The Urantia Book — 25,000 copies[3:16]
September 23-24 — Colorado Regional Conference
September 23-25 — Pacific Regional Conference, Hilo, Hawaii, USA
September 30-October 1 — Northwest Regional Gathering, Wenatchee, Washington, USA
Urantia Foundation sues reader Arnold Zakow for copyright enfringement.
French readers working on corrections to the Weiss translation begin publication of “La Lettre” newsletter.
Unable to get the Urantia Societies to ratify the “confirmatory agreement” signed by the President of Urantia Brotherhood, Urantia Foundation submits a highly restrictive “licensing agreement” to the individual Societies for purposes of licensing them to use the Foundation’s registered marks.6
See: Urantia Foundation’s “Licensing Agreement”
See letter to Houston Society regarding their refusal to sign the Licensing Agreement
Urantia Foundation sues Don Pettrie
October 1 — Urantia Foundation “Special Agent,” Vern Grimsley, submits quarterly report on suspicious people and organizations in the Western U.S. See copy of report
October 7-8 — Regional meeting, Anchorage, Alaska, USA
October 28 — Central Atlantic Conference, Rockville, Maryland, USA
November 4 — Northeast Regional Meeting, Pawling, New York, USA
1978 Annual Reports:
- President’s Report — Meredith Sprunger
- International Fellowship — Martin Myers
- Fraternal Relations — Carolyn Kendall
- Charter Committee — Mary Lou Hales
- Domestic Extension Committee — Thomas A. Kendall
- Publications Committee — Barbara Kulieke
- Education Committee — Lynne B. Kulieke
¶ 1979
9,727 books distributed
January — Julia Fenderson writes Meredith Sprunger about issues related to Meredith’s vision of outreach. See Julia’s letter to Meredith See Meredith’s response to Julia
February 1, 1979 — Martin Myers reviews issues related to the Concordex in a letter to Duane Faw. Display copy of February 1, 1979 letter
February — Henry Begemann begins a series of 17 talks in Paris on the Foreword. Henry traveled from Holland to Paris for each of these sessions which ended in May of 1980, by which time a substantial group of readers had developed in Paris.
February 6 — Urantia Foundation receives expanded trademark registration for the stylized name “Urantia” to include “printed publications—namely, books, booklets, brochures, pamphlets, newsletters, bulletins, and leaflets concerning educational, religious, or philosophical subjects.” (Reg, # 1112713)
February 23 — See correspondence from Meredith Sprunger to Julia Fenderson discussing his conversation with Dr. Sadler regarding secrecy
March 10 — Kansas City Regional Conference; “Jesus: God and Man,” and “Personality.”
March 16-18 — Tampa-Bradenton Florida Regional Conference
April 28 — Central Atlantic Conference, Washington, D.C., USA
May 12 — Urantia Society of Central Connecticut installed (Urantia Brotherhood)[2:10]
May 18-19 — Fifth Southern Oregon Regional Conference, Grants Pass, Oregon, USA
June 9-10 — Midwest Regional Conference, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
June 16 — Urantia Society of Dallas installed (Urantia Brotherhood)[2:11]
July 16-29 — Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Regional Conference
July 28-30 — Pacific Northwest Regional Gathering, Vancouver, B.C., Canada
August 13-16 — Urantia Brotherhood Education and Fraternal Relations Committees workshops, Lake Forest, Illinois, USA
August 17-18 — Sixth Triennial Delegate Assembly of Urantia Brotherhood5
TDA refuses to seat delegates of First Urantia Society of Houston, Inc. and seats delegates of First Urantia Society of Houston instead.3 See correspondence related to Houston affair
John Hales elected President of Urantia Brotherhood[2:12] [See “Meredith Sprunger Declines Second Term”]
Dr. Richard Prince and Douglas Frazer tour Latin America, discussing issues with Spanish speaking readers related to a Spanish translation of the Urantia Book.3
September 7-8 — Oklahoma Regional Forum, Lake Eufaula, Oklahoma, USA
September 12 — Marian Rowley lets Dick Prince know that the Triennial Delegate Assembly has passed a resolution regarding a Spanish translation. See correspondence
September 14-15 — Regional Conference, Sevierville, Tennessee, USA
October 2 — Dick Prince writes to Martin Myers about the potential difficulties involved in Martin simultaneously being a trustee of Urantia Foundation and Chair of the International Fellowship Committee of Urantia Brotherhood. See Dick’s letter to Martin See Martin’s response
October 5-7 — Southern California conference, the Los Angeles Society hosting the Urantia Society from Oklahoma City.
October 21 — Duane Faw writes to Urantia Brotherhood regarding the establishment of a more business-like book distribution plan. Display Duane’s letter
December — Henry Begemann declares Urantia Foundation in default. See: “The Situation in France” — a history of the French translation and a stinging indictment of Urantia Foundation’s mismanagement of same.
Dr. Meredith Sprunger organizes and incorporates “The Christian Fellowship of Students of The Urantia Book” (not to be confused with “The Urantia Book Fellowship”). Purpose is to provide interface with mainstream Christian clergy.
1979 Annual Reports:
- President’s Report — Meredith Sprunger
- Vice President’s Report — E. L. Christensen
- International Fellowship — Martin Myers
- Publications Committee — Barbara Kulieke
- Education Committee — Lynne B. Kulieke
- Charter Committee — Mary Lou Hales
¶ 1980
7,866 books distributed
January — 100,000th copy of The Urantia Book distributed5
April — Begin 10 year controversey over a multi-media production on readership history — In October of 1979, the Brotherhood Publications Committee endorsed a proposal to create a multi-media “official” history of the movement. Ten years later there were still problems getting permission to show the presentation; it never attained a state of usability.
Review transcript of proposed slide-tape program
- April 17, 1980 — Internal Foundation memo negating need for the project
- April 18, 1980 — Memo outlining goals and procedures for the project sent to leadership
- Undated Internal Foundation memo: “Move to kill project”
- October 1, 1980 — Foundation grants permission for one showing
- November 18, 1980 — Memo from William Hales providing rationale for not having a history
- April 11, 1981 — Response to William Hales from the Publications Committee
- May 29, 1981 — Additional memo from William Hales opposing project
- July 31, 1981 — Letter from Duane Faw to William Hales justifying project
- September 20, 1985 — The General Council tries to prompt the production of a viable history. See 1985 Resolution and Memorandum on the creation of a factual history of Urantia Brotherhood
- 1987 — Berkeley Elliott and Dan Massey ultimately completed a full revision of the script, recorded it, and presented it at the 1987 General Conference in Brunswick, Maine. It was shown about 6-8 times during the conference, always to a substantial audience. Subsequent to this, Berkeley made further revisions in the show and had it transferred to video tape. The Brotherhood circulated this video tape privately to interested groups and intended to develop an official version that could actually be published (and sold). Among the obstacles to this was the fact that many of the visuals which had been used had simply been photographed from books and were protected by copyrights. Berkeley undertook to fix this aspect of the production. However, about the time the product was ready to go, the breakup with Foundation occurred rendering significant portions of the presentation obsolete.
- March 31, 1989 — See letter from Brotherhood office regarding preliminary showings of the revised project
- See also: Christy’s 1966 letter regarding importance of secrecy Text only version of Christy’s letter
May 2 — Meredith Sprunger responds to some criticisms by Martin Myers of Meredith’s approach to evangelism. Display
May 9-11 — Southeast Regional Conference, Palm Beach, Florida, USA
May 16-18 — Kansas City regional conference; “Spiritual Lifestyles for a New Age.”
May 24-26 — Sixth Southern Oregon Regional Conference, Grants Pass, Oregon, USA
May 27 — Dick Prince writes to Tom Kendall providing comprehensive overview of some translation issues related to both French and Spanish translations. See correspondence
May 31-June 1 — Northeast Regional Conference, Cape Cod
June 6-8 — Midwest Conference, Lake Forest, Illinois, USA
June 14 — First Idaho Gathering, Jerome, Idaho, USA
June 14 — Central Atlantic Conference, Washington, D.C., USA
June 27 — Urantia Foundation sues First Urantia Society of Houston, Inc. for using the word “Urantia” in their name and publications; Urantia Foundation denied preliminary injunction.6 Court in Houston remands matter to the Brotherhood Judicial Committee which ruled that the group aligned with Foundation principles was the legitimate group. On this basis the court ruled in favor of Urantia Foundation.3 See “Findings of Fact, Conclusions and Recommendations” in the Houston matter
July 9-13 — Ontario Conference, Lake Couchiching, Canada
July 11-13 — Rocky Mountain Regional Conference, Sedalia, Colorado, USA
August 3-8 — Urantia Brotherhood Summer Workshops at Lake Forest Academy.
August 29 — U.S. District Court in Michigan upholds Urantia Foundation claims against Bob Burton[3:17] See public documents of Urantia Foundation vs. Robert Burton
September 12-14 — Southwest Forum, Lake Eufaula, Oklahoma; sponsored by Dallas-Ft. Worth readers
October — Representatives of readers from Bogotá, Colombia, visit offices of Urantia Brotherhood to discuss matters related to producing a Spanish translation.[3:18]
October 11 — Northeast Regional Conference, Natick, Mass., USA
November — Urantia Foundation begins search for English-French translators who can continue their effort to create a new French translation. Nigel Hornby, who had been working on this task in Paris had dropped out of the effort after partial completion of only ten papers. See Nigel Hornby’s comments to Tom Kendall regarding some of the related problems
December 29-31 — Second Pacific Conference, Kamuela, Hawaii
1980 Annual Reports:
- President’s Report — John Hales
- Vice President’s Report — E. L. Christensen
- Secretary’s Report — Katherine Harries
- Charter Committee — David Elders
- Domestic Extension — Harry McMullan
- International Fellowship — Martin Myers
- Publications Committee — Barbara Kulieke
¶ Notes
[^4:] Urantia Foundation’s Special Report of April 1990
Notes from the historical archive of the First Urantia Society of Oklahoma ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
Newsletters of Urantia Brotherhood ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
Newsletters of Urantia Foundation ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
Misc. documents and correspondence on file, author’s personal notes — additional verification is being sought for some of these items ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎