April 20, 1993
From Noltis & Jeremiah – P. O. Box 684 – Eden UT, 84310-0684
Woods Cross Group Announces Teaching Mission Phenomena
(From the Letter dated as above)
Dear Urantia Book Reader:
The Salt Lake City (Woods Cross) Urantia Study Group would like to tell you of a spiritual phenomenon that we have been experiencing the last two years. It involves a channeling process with our celestial government and what we believe is the second part of the Fifth Epochal Revelation.
Most study groups have heard of this new form of communication; some (55) are now also participating. Since we wish to bring this exciting development to the attention of the entire Urantia Book readership, we are mailing the enclosures to all listed study groups.
We encourage you to take the time to seriously consider if this teaching mission may be a path to God for you at the present time.
Enclosed is:
1. Teacher Ham's (an invisible ascending son from Edentia, our group teacher) address to the general Fellowship in Los Angeles on February 1, 1992.
2. A paper from two of us describing our experiences.
Please feel free to use this material without restriction. We would be delighted if you made copies for all who request them. We are available for questions, private discussions of our personal experiences, copies of lessons from our teachers in either transcript or tape medium, and introductions to other teacher groups in your area if you wish to attend and see first hand what is happening. Of course we welcome you to visit us in Utah.
With love and peace,
Salt Lake, Woods Cross and Ogden Urantia Study Groups
The Correcting Time
Experiences of Some of Those Involved
During the last two years, a channeling phenomenon has begun progressing throughout the Urantia Book readership. Various celestial beings have been making contact and talking through various contact persons to mortals. It started here in the Salt Lake City area in February, 1991; a teacher named Ham started teaching on a weekly basis. He claims to be an ascending son on a mission from Edentia to start the Correction Time. At first it was just a local Utah occurrence that was disregarded by most people. We made tapes of these teachings from teacher Ham available to anyone requesting them and answered any inquiries from those desiring more information. Now there are many teachers actively conducting meetings with groups of people around the United States and overseas (55 at last count, with new groups continuously coming online or requesting a teacher). The phenomenon is not just foolishness coming out of Utah from a few egotistical, self-serving, or glory-seeking individuals, but has emerged from a general spectrum of Urantia Book readers and others from many different backgrounds and geographic locations. Even now there are formal critiques written of this channeling experience.
We who have been involved from the start would like to produce a written paper of our experiences with this mode of communication to share with anyone interested in this development. It is our desire to reach everyone in the Urantia readership community and encourage them to take a look at these proceedings and to determine on their own if such a path to God is of interest to them. There are some individuals who have sent written reports to the readership in which they claim that this mission is false so as to steer people away from it. This they are entitled to do, and no judgment is here passed. However, many readers, seeing only their works, draw a conclusion without any first hand knowledge of the teaching mission, its messages, lessons, or the experiences of those involved. Since there has been no written report describing the mission or, more importantly, the spiritual growth and experiences of those who accept this mission as a revelation, we seek to fill this need out of love for all Urantians, and in accordance with the instructions of our teachers.
With spiritual experiences, the proof is in the fruits produced. One must look at the meanings and values of one's experiences to determine the level of divinity expressed. To see how the teaching ministry has effected changes in those individuals involved or touched by it, we must study the changes manifested in these people and/or the changes in ourselves. If the experience brings them closer to God, fills their life with true happiness, joy, and a better insight into the meanings and values of the spiritual world; promotes a deeper understanding of reality and what is important; and makes us more tolerant, loving, and less judgmental toward our fellows, then the experience is surely good and reflects divine guidance. We have seen the teaching ministry affect people from many backgrounds, and indeed it has brought these higher standards of living to them, including, in some cases, a fuller meaning to the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. The urge to serve our brothers has been fulfilled by our obligation to bring forth the Father's love and goodness to others. We welcome your inquiries to talk to us, to watch us, to come visit us, to see what kinds of spiritual fruits have been produced in us by the Teacher Corp of Machiventa. Then you will know.
If this mission is for you, you are welcome to join and participate. If it is not, you will at least have a first hand experience, and some understanding of this "channeling mission" which is spreading across the Urantia movement. There are many paths to God. Only you can determine which path is for you. We just ask you to be open minded, to read some of the transmissions and lessons from the teacher corp, to visit a channeling meeting, to talk and visit with people involved. Do not allow others to make this choice for you. As one of the leading rabbis of the Sadducees, Gamaliel stated in regard to the early Christian teachings [UB 2067;6], "Refrain from these men and let them alone, for if this counsel or this work is of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them, lest haply you be found even to be fighting against God." Read everything you can, even the critiques of the mission. Truth must stand, and can be subjected to criticism and interpretation [UB 69;5, 1088;9]. We only ask that you not make up your mind totally on hearsay or works criticizing the mission. Don't be afraid to read about or hear the mission teachings either directly or by tapes and transcripts.
The teaching mission has been established here on Urantia to teach the extended gospel of Jesus, as we know from the Urantia Book, to the entire planet. Its message is simple, the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man.
We who believe in the Urantia Book want newcomers to look at the book directly in deciding if it is for them, not to rely on book reports, journalists, or even our own explanations of the book. We encourage first hand experience. We would like to go a step further: even if you do not accept that supernal beings are communicating to us, at least keep your mind open and continue to look every once in a while at the messages and lessons coming from the teachers. Please do not fully and finally close the door. In our experience, there have been some who do not accept the teachers as celestial beings, but who do state that the lessons are many times very spiritual. Freely take of these lessons and utilize them in your lives, for that is the main message of the Urantia Book; to search for truth wherever it comes from, and to adjust our lives to becoming more Godlike, and to establish the kingdom of heaven on earth.
Faith: We believe that accepting the teaching mission as part of the divine plan must be based on faith and faith alone, at least at first. One cannot prove the existence of God; it must be grasped by faith. From trying to expose the Urantia Book to others over the years, we know that you have probably experienced all sorts of reasons of why the book is false, or is the work of the devil. Acceptance of the book is up to the reader. One cannot force the belief of the book on anyone. We can present the material, and be available to answer questions and help in directing one through it. The reader must accept it on his own. If he is truly searching, he may look into what the book has to offer.
It would be wise for each of us to look back on how we accepted the Urantia Book. The Indwelling Monitor and the Spirit of Truth will help direct one in this task, but human will is supreme. If an individual is content with where he is in his beliefs and experiences, he will not consider the book. Even the Father himself does not force any of His children to go against their own will, or require an individual to do anything which would be un-comfortable. And so it is with this teaching mission. The individual is alone with just his Monitor and the Spirit of Truth to help him decide. True he must have the book or, in the case of the teaching mission, some information or lessons from it. This is what we wish to do; to provide seekers with relevant material of the correcting time teaching mission.
Modern man has little time to read and absorb all the religionist information around him. We here in Utah are continuously being bombarded by various religionist missionaries with their literature, books and paths to God. They believe that they are serving God, and they are. One does not have the time to investigate fully all this literature. Why should you the reader take the time and investigate the correction time literature? At first it was a small, insignificant effort to which only a few people responded. Now it has grown, and hundreds of Urantia Book readers have spent some time in studying the teaching mission and have accepted the mission as stated. You might say that enough Urantia Book readers have embraced this mission to insure that it would not be a waste of time for you to look at the mission seriously. Note, however, that sheer numbers of acceptances by Urantia Book readers do not imply it is correct or true. Indeed many have rejected it. Do not be afraid. Have no fears that if you start to read transcripts, hear tapes or attend some transmitting meetings that you will be sucked into it, programmed, or embracing evil. We suggest that you ask the Father in prayer to protect you, to allow only righteous beings to speak to you. Many of us do just that. You know from the Urantia Book that Caligastia or any rebel entity cannot enter the normal mind without willing them in directly [UB 610;3]. Calling out to our Father for only righteous and loyal spiritual helpers to instruct or counsel you should take this fear out of you. It does take a time commitment. We and others welcome you to take the time, and will gladly assist in supplying you with material and our own personal experiences.
Adjudication of the Lucifer Rebellion:
We know from the Urantia Book that the adjudication of the rebellion was started sometime before the 1930's [UB 610;1, 611 ;3]. Sometime this adjudication must be completed, and we ask the reader to think of various options that the celestial governments may act on after this obstacle to our normal evolutionary progress is removed. Surely the planet would be restored to the normal communication circuitry which was severed at the outbreak of rebellion [UB 529;3]. How much of a delay and how long would it take to reestablish the circuitry so that Urantia could once again experience communications with neighboring worlds and the headquarter planets? Would celestial beings be able to communicate with us? which orders? what techniques? Would the final adjudication result in a new dispensation with the appearance of either a Magisterial or Trinity Teacher Son? Is the Urantia Book to be the general (fifth) revelation to this planet during and after the adjudication? or is the Urantia Book just the first part of an epochal revelation? It would be wise, and a learning experience, to think of the various options open to Deity to act upon after final termination of the rebellion, in order to prepare oneself to recognize any developments along these lines. The Monitor and Spirit of Truth would help one in such thinking; the search for God is never a waste of time. During the previous and greatest revelation, most people failed to recognize the divine mission of our Creator Son. One must be aware that just because some people declare such an epochal revelation does not mean it is true. There are many false prophets. But one should look into and study any such claims if one is to access the largeness, consistency and reasonableness of such a movement, especially when such claims are coming through a path close to your own belief systems. We believe that the teaching mission has progressed to the point where hundreds of Urantia Book readers in many different areas of the country are receiving similar information of a spiritual nature that is consistent and reasonable enough to encourage each reader to spend some time and determine for him or herself if this teaching mission is the second part of the fifth epochal revelation.
The Urantia Book discusses in full [UB 615-618] the reasons for allowing the rebellion to run for 200,000 years, and that nothing can happen until the adjudication is finally over [UB 610;7]. Go into yourself, seek your inner guidance to determine if the rebellion has been finally adjudicated, if the Father and Michael have answered all our prayers, given the mandate to end our suffering on Urantia, and will advance the planet to the first stages of light and life.
The teaching ministry has stated that the Lucifer Rebellion was fully adjudicated by the Ancients of Days in 1984-85, that Lucifer, Satan, Caligastia and Daligastia did not repent, and that they are no longer—extinction of personality. The present 1991 mission is an emergency mission, (just like Machiventa's mission 4000 years ago), in which Machiventa Melchizedek was installed as acting Planetary Prince (he was offered Planetary Prince by Michael but refused it) and brought with him 100 teachers from Jerusem and Edentia to teach the extended gospel to Urantians, and to uplift the entire planet so that a Trinity Teacher Son could come to initiate a new dispensation and lead the planet to settled status of light and life. Prince Machiventa and his teachers are invisible but can make contact with certain mortals with the help of Life Carriers, midwayers, power directors, etc. so that they can communicate (teach) by placing words or thoughts into the mind of willing mortal transmitters/receivers (TR) from which they speak to the mortals assembled. The TR's are conscious when this communication is going on and each one's experiences are a little different from the others. Later the teaching mission was augmented by Michael himself taking the helm, and his bringing many beings, power and much love to Urantia. Our understanding is that the initial mission was proceeding too slowly.
Correcting Time Mission:
The mission is called the Correcting Time and teachers are available for any group or person requesting one. The main mission of the correcting time is to spiritually uplift the planet as well as to correct the political, environmental, social and technological aspects of the world. Urantia is Michael's planet, and he desires that it advance spiritually and be an example to all Nebadon. The planet is ripe for an unprecedented spiritual advancement, and it depends only on us. Our wills are supreme, but many beings are here to help us spread the extended gospel and to show the Father's love by direct example of living.
The teacher corp desires to first reach all the readership of the Urantia Book, and then from this base of strong believership to begin teaching the rest of humanity. First the major efforts will be focused here in the United States, since the book has a strong foothold here, then it will spread to the rest of the world.
We know from the spirit of the Urantia Book teachings that whenever the universe governments desire to make a revelation, it is possible to directly contact and coordinate humans to accomplish such presentations, subject to human will. All revelations necessitate some form of communication between celestial beings and mortals. Examples are the gathering together of the one hundred human subjects to assist the Prince's corporeal staff [UB 742;8]. "They were assembled from widely separated places by coordinated Thought Adjuster direction and seraphic guidance at the threshold of the planetary headquarters." Such mortals indeed communicated with celestial beings and changed their lives completely to perform a mission asked of them. The mortals involved with the transmission of the Urantia Book are another example.
Some Urantians were fortunate to be able to communicate with celestial beings when they were incarnated in the flesh; for example, those that knew the Prince's corporeal staff, Adam and Eve, Machiventa and the Master. On normal worlds, many celestial beings live on the world in the flesh, and mortals can freely go visit them in person at their centers to personally communicate face to face. These teachers are always present; the visible Prince's staff (ascending sons returned to mortal worlds as teachers [UB 742;5] ) stays on for thousands of years until the arrival of the Material Son and Daughter [UB 744;4], which in turn are visibly present on the planet until long settled in light and life [UB 584;3]. Imagine how life would be if we or our leaders could go to such a center on earth and be taught directly by celestial beings. Remember that these visible teachers would have access to many orders of beings on high as well as the universe broadcast circuits to obtain knowledge and counseling. Our only limitation would be our own.
Thus, in all the universes, we Urantians are one of the few exceptions of not having celestial beings available for counsel and instructions, due to our isolation. It would not be hard to conjecture that some kind of direct communication would be possible after restoration of the planet to normalcy after final adjudication of the rebellion. Is this teaching mission the technique which Deity is utilizing to restore and advance the planet? You and only you must determine that, and it must come from the heart. You know because you know.
Can celestial beings communicate directly? Can celestial beings, including ascending sons from on high come to Urantia and communicate with mortals? First of all we know that the Father himself is at one and the same time farthest removed from, and most intimately associated with, his planetary mortal sons [UB 1176; 1 ]. He can speak directly and immediately with you when you attain the first psychic circle [UB 1210;?]. Even though in our original Urantia Book study group before teacher Ham, only one person could hear her Thought Adjuster consciously and directly. We have seen many in our Ham teacher group advance to be able to hear the Father. Some can have a two way conversation at any time on demand. Such advancement in these mortals resulted, we suspect, from spending much more of their time trying to grow spiritually. They are determined to implement the teachings in the Urantia Book in their everyday living. They actively seek the Father's will and strive to live it. Of course one could evolve along these lines with just the Urantia Book, but we believe that this spiritual growth resulted from the lessons and involvement with the teaching mission. One seems to understand me gospel intellectually from reading the Urantia Book, but to really know it spiritually, to feel it in their souls, to actively desire it, results from participating in the teaching mission, and be surrounded by like individuals all attempting and actually growing spiritually. It is hard to communicate this feeling to the unbeliever or the uninformed, but those who do, know what we are talking about. It seems similar to the Urantia Book discussion on page 1125;1 in which one is trying to describe their belief in God, "how do you know that I do not know?" and page 1127;1 "I know what I have experienced because I am a son of I AM." "To all of your fellows who have had a similar experience, no argument about the personality or reality of God is necessary, while to all other men who are not thus sure of God no possible argument could ever be truly convincing" [UB1107;?]. Of course, they also have help from the unseen spiritual helpers.
When one seeks the Father, prays for guidance, shows love to his fellows and eagerly devotes himself to service of his fellows, the Father will draw closer, the seraphim will cause events in your life to occur to force you to make the hard decisions necessary for attainment of the circles. Such a process is nonlinear; the more you seek the Father and want to grow spiritually, the more you do. Each new experience or awareness leads to further understanding and development.
Yes, the Father does actively assist and help his children. We also know from the Urantia Book that Michael's Spirit of Truth is universal and guides one in searching for truth. However, this is more circuit-like than personal. We also have the local universe Mother Spirit to guide us. Since we have the Father, Son and Spirit with us, why can't we communicate with other celestial beings? We just must have faith and try.
Can mortal man hear from others?
The mind-energy manipulators discussed on page 504;8 state that "these are the experts of intercommunication between morontia and other types of intelligent beings. This form of communication between mortals is practically nonexistent on Urantia." This statement implies that some mortals can communicate, and did so in the past. Can larger numbers of mortals with this capacity be present after the Urantia Book revelation?
On pages 864-865 we are told that some midwayer groups are "of great assistance on an evolutionary world in the service of quick and reliable personal communication." Continuing to quote the Urantia Book:
"Contact personalities. In the contact made with mortal beings of the material worlds, such as with the subject through whom these communications were transmitted, the midway creatures are always employed." As this statement is written, it is not limited to just the transmission of the Urantia Book, as reference is made to mortal beings in general. It is not qualified by requiring the contact personalities to be unconscious. Further down the page [UB 865;4] we note that "it is exceedingly difficult for primary midwayers to make direct contact with material agencies." However [UB 865;4] "the secondary creatures are almost exclusively attached to the ministry of the material beings of the realm."
Continuing on this page [UB 865;7] it is stated that "the midway creatures are not involved in the sordid performances taking place under the general designation of 'spiritualism'." They "are not connected with the phenomena of so-called 'medium-ship'." How do we completely understand this page (865) in the Urantia Book? Much has to do with the qualifier "sordid." Phenomena under such names as channeling, spiritualism, mediumship have been going on in this world for centuries. The definition of the adjective "sordid" means dirty, filthy, marked by baseness or grossness. Thus the Urantia Book states that any meaningless or ugly experience or performance of unknown origin, outside of known natural phenomena is not caused by midway creatures, all of who are of honorable standing. Who is doing such sordid performances? is it a being? If so, a loyal being trying to promote the divine plan in the best ways possible to those mortals involved? Or are they rebel entities attempting to spread confusion? an inexperienced TR? Are such phenomena strictly a psychological experience occurring in the subconscious mind? We cannot tell, but given any performance, we humans should be able to tell whether the event is sordid or not via the Spirit of Truth. The lessons we receive from our teachers through the TR's are beautiful and spiritual, not sordid.
Some members of the reserve corps of destiny are contact personalities and are conscious of their preparation for action [UB 1257;5]. The teaching mission has stated that the number of persons in the reserve corps of destiny has been steadily increasing, including most of us who have accepted this teaching ministry. Seraphim with the assistance of the midway creatures and the physical controllers can make actual contact with mankind, but such occurrences are very unusual [UB 1246;5]. Ardnon and his associates were contacted for the announcement of the forthcoming bestowal of Michael [UB 1317;3]. Communications with the System Sovereign and with the Most Highs are routinely performed in the morontia temples when settled in ages of light and life [UB 622;4]. Some humans have had the opportunities to observe seraphim beings prepared for transport service [UB 438;5]. The universe representative of the Infinite Spirit spoke through Father Melchizedek on the mount of transfiguration [UB 1755;3]. Just recently the archangels' circuit has functioned on Urantia [UB 1191 ;1]. The Paradise Trinity concept was revealed to a few individual since the times of Jesus [UB 1145;2]. Machiventa collaborated with the many prophets and seers between his incarnation and the Master's [UB 1024;7].
We know that when a Planetary Prince comes to a world, he usually takes with him a group of ascending mortals from the system capital to be the connecting link between the invisible prince and the mortals [UB 574;4]. "The sincere religionist is conscious of universe citizenship and is aware of making contact with sources of superhuman power" [UB 1100;6]. On page 570, in discussing various modified orders of ascension, in which some survivors skip the mansion worlds and awaken either on the system, constellation or universe level, we note that "before any of these groups may go forward, they must journey back as instructors to the worlds they missed, gaining many experiences as teachers in those realms which they passed by as students." "Beyond the third stage of light and life, all ascenders are destined to receive some sort of transient assignment on a planet passing through the earlier stages of evolution" [UB 625;11]. Many of the teachers of the teaching ministry are from advanced planets settled in light and life. Throughout the entire ascending career, all beings function as students and teachers [UB 339;?]; the universe is one vast school [UB 412;3, 558;2].
By making references to various passages of the Urantia Book on the possibilities of mortals making direct communication with celestial beings, we are not trying to prove that the teaching mission is real, but rather to guide the reader in his studies of the book to ascertain what does the Urantia Book teach of this phenomenon. The readers must determine by themselves from such readings, or direct experience with the teachers, if such communication is possible.
"Remember that the order of progressive evolution is subjected to sudden and unexpected periodical changes in both the material and the spiritual worlds" [UB 1863; 12]. The Master on Mount Olivet, said: "you should be wise regarding the ripening of an age; you should be alert to discern the signs of the times" [UB 1915;3]. Revelation will continue throughout the ages [UB 1599;1]. The truth can best be criticized by revelation [UB 1138;?]. In summary, the Master taught: "Divine truth must not be discounted because the channel of its bestowal is apparently human" [UB 1733;1].
Do the teachers support the Urantia Book?
The teachers are all coordinated and teach a similar message. The message is essentially the Urantia Book. They define the fifth epochal revelation to be in two parts; first the Urantia Book revelation in written form, followed years later by direct contact with celestial beings on a large scale—the teacher corp. The only difference between the information in the Urantia Book and what they have been teaching is that the Lucifer Rebellion has been fully adjudicated (1984-1985), and the system circuits are to be reopened, thus ending the spiritual isolation of Urantia, and completing reconnection to the constellation circuits allowing the normal interplanetary communication as well as easy, direct communication between mortals and higher beings. The only other change in the Urantia Book teachings is that they are revealing our spiritual names to us now, rather than as stated in the Urantia Book [538;3, 1188;6] that we are not conscience of our names until after fusion. How big a deal is this change in names? If one was misleading us, of all the concepts and ideas of the Urantia Book, why would they only change this insignificant concept, accepting all the others? Indeed, some teacher groups had trouble with this, and as a result, no names were given, while we at Salt Lake City readily accepted these new names. Various critics always point out that these names, being given before fusion violate the Urantia Book and cannot be true. What names are more spiritual than other names? Abraham changed his name from Abram [UB 1021;2], Jesus changed Simon's name to Peter [UB 1525;1]. The celestial beings know us by our spiritual names, and all records are based on these names, so it is not too surprising that since they are actively talking to us in a two-way mode, it is easier to utilize our real names. Some mortals heard their names first by hearing the teacher refer to them using their spiritual names. Did the teacher slip and forget to translate to their given earth name? It does help with uniqueness when we have three John's in our group of 40. If you have problems with these names, forget them. They are not important to the teaching and messages received.
As with the rebellion being terminated, it has to happen sometime. Usually universal happenings are not revealed until they occur. One exception to this was Van's teaching of the coming of a Material Son, but this was based on the tradition that he was aware of from hailing from Jerusem [UB 822;6-7]. And even Van had trouble with the exact timing of Adams' arrival which caused much trouble and disappointment [UB824;5]. No one knew of Machiventa's coming as attested by the astonishment of Amdon [UB 1015;2-3] when Machiventa entered his tent. Likewise, the Master's corning was unannounced until the communication of celestial beings to Mary and Elizabeth [UB 1345;4 1346;5]. Even traditional happenings in the universe do not always occur as is witnessed by the coming of our Planetary Prince almost half a million years after the appearance of human will, rather than concurrently [UB 741 ;1], or the Sangik races all occurring at once and in the same family, and the appearance of the Andonic race prior to the colored races [UB 735;7]. No one had pre-knowledge of the coming of the Urantia Papers; it just happened. Only a few were called to help in their transmissions, and even today, many years after their publication, only a few humans know of their existence, much less accept them as a divine revelation. The Urantia Book talks about Machiventa moving his headquarters to Urantia [UB 1025;1-2, 1251;2-3]. Some supernals look for Melchizedeks' appearance any day or hour [UB 1251;4]. Michael has promised to return. When will the next son come? will he be a Magisterial or Trinity Teacher Son? Will we all know by general announcement? If so, in what form of communication? In questions like this, we do not come from fear in the possibilities of missing some planetary event, but rather remind ourselves of the story of Matadormus, the rich man seeking ordination. He failed at first to take heed of the Master's instructions, but did later and so deprived himself of that intimate planetary event [UB 1801-1803]. Do not conclude that the times of revelation (God communion) have either occurred in the past or in times to come, and to someone other than yourself.
Yes, the teacher corp supports and promotes the Urantia Book; indeed it is the basis of the teachings. Even though most of the groups with teachers are Urantia Book study groups, many people not familiar with the book have been drawn to the channeling meetings. Many of their questions are very basic to readers, and the celestial teachers tell them to consult the book or have readers more familiar with the book help them understand the concepts or guide them in the book in search of such understandings.
The Urantia Book states [UB 1062;1, 1048;7] that a religion cannot be so complicated that only philosophers can understand it. Have you ever had trouble in handing out the Urantia Book which comprises some 2100 pages of "heavy reading?" Most people do not like to read. In fact 13% of Americans can not read at all, to say nothing about the re*st of the world. Most of us who read the Urantia Book love to read and have spent considerable time in learning its truths. Are we to become teachers of this wealth of knowledge? This is precisely what the teacher corp has in mind. They desire us to learn and to teach others by talking mostly one-on-one. By living these truths, we become lights which will attract the interests of others when they sense that we have something that they desire. Their Thought Adjuster will help them notice such truths, goodness and beauty. At first we can share our interpretations of higher reality, followed by tapes or transcripts of lessons from Machiventa's teacher corp. If such persons are interested and receptive to further truths, then one can finally expose them to the Urantia Book. Teacher Ham has stated that he would rather have it the other way, the book first followed by his lessons. But the Urantia Book contains so much information, and is so complicated, that it brings confusion for many individuals. Many people in our teacher group have not been readers of the Urantia Book, but believed in the teachers, continued to come to hear their lessons, and eventually started to read the book. Some, because of educational limitations, have trouble reading the book but have progressed spiritually by listening and studying the teacher lessons.
The Urantia Book is the bedrock of the teaching ministry. Do not fear that the teachers will take you away from the book; rather you will find yourself reading it more than ever before!
Many of us have been seekers in the past, unhappy with traditional religion with its spiritual boundaries. With prayer and seeking, we have been lead to the Urantia Book. We believe that similar processes will occur with others so that they will be attracted to this Uplift mission. The opening of the planet circuits will allow increased awareness for all, and many people will be responding to this increased spiritual calling and will begin to seek for higher understanding. We who are knowledgeable of the Urantia Book are being called to help guide these multitudes.
Are we establishing a priesthood in the Urantia movement?
No, we have no plans nor have we been taught anything along the lines of an organization or church to be created. We request no money, we seek no power. We utilize our spiritual names (if you don't accept that, then code names or nicknames) so as not to draw attention to ourselves for purposes of personal aggrandizement. The teachers have stressed that they, like Michael and the Father, are no respecters of persons, loving all equally. We know from the Urantia Book that the kingdom of heaven will eventually be established on earth. Read the last paragraph on page 1866. Reflect also on the statement [UB 1363;1]: "nothing good ever comes out of Nazareth"; Machiventa, Christ Michael and the Urantia Papers did not come through any established power centers. On page 1866;2 it states: "Sooner or later another and greater John the Baptist is due to arrive proclaiming 'the kingdom of God is at hand'." Will this John come in our lifetime? is he part of this mission? Similarly [UB 500;6] states: "some day a real musician may appear on Urantia...one such human being could forever change the course of a whole nation." In humor some say this was Elvis, but great events are forecasted for the planet in the Urantia Book. Will we recognize and support them? or will we be indifferent and possibly resist them? Only in our hearts will we know.
Quality of the lessons:
Many readers were not impressed with the prose and the quality of the written messages coming from the teachers compared to the Urantia Book. Remember that imply that one rejects the Thought Adjuster, that you can't trust them, nor state that all dreams are devoid of any spiritual content; only that one should look at each idea, expression and word and try to determine which have spiritual meaning. During such thinking, the Monitor will (mostly unconsciously) direct you through any truths contained. Always be ready for the next thought, dream or whatever form of communication one may be experiencing. Our celestial teachers always say that we must go inside of ourselves to determine whether each word and expression being channeled is true for us. Just pick up what you need, leave the rest. Each mortal picks up different information and not all ideas are accepted. One may think in terms of what percent of the information being channeled is correct or properly transmitted. The Spirit of Truth will help you in this seeking. We doubt that you will find it at zero percent.
Transmission Errors:
Transmission errors will occur as this form of communication is new to us and has to be developed by practice. Nearly all TR's in the beginning have difficulty in determining which messages are their own thoughts and which are those from the teachers. With practice, some TR's can minimize these errors in transmission, but not eliminate them completely. We have been instructed to test each word and expression to ascertain the truth contained by our own Spirit of Truth. Many errors will be corrected by subsequent messages by the same teacher and TR, or by other TR's and /or other teacher groups. Many times we request separate confirmations and usually we receive them. The teacher corp knew of the problem of different TR's getting different messages, and decided before the mission began to allow them to happen. They want mortals to develop faith, to develop our own abilities to determine what is right for us. Thinking through these misunderstandings or transmission errors has helped us tremendously. We do not judge nor make fun of the TR's, as they are trying their best to do the Father's will. Some teacher groups have fragmented over various issues of who is more accurate in transmitting.
Is it Caligastia?
The teaching mission stresses Michael's rule and the love of the Father. We are taught to love each other, to seek the stillness to commune with the Father, to seek the Spirit of Truth of Michael, that the Urantia Book is very accurate and a divine revelation. Why would Caligastia or any rebel entity teach this? Remember the Master's teaching—"a house divided must fall." Could Caligastia be up to his nefarious designs and actually be deceitful in preaching a loving Father and Michael to entrap us or program us, so that at a future date he would take off the mask and instruct us to worship him? Even if you don't believe in the Spirit of Truth protecting you, or that calling out to the Father in prayer will allow only righteous beings to communicate with you, you still have your mind to check each transmission to determine if it is Caligastia—the real Caligastia. If such were the case, we would recognize that it was Caligastia when the mask came off and would certainly not follow. If you do have this fear of being mislead, read all the transcripts and check for when Caligastia would take off his mask and proclaim his evil ways. You can then notify the teaching groups of such happenings if you feel they wouldn't be able to make this determination themselves. This teaching mission is not the work of Caligastia or any other rebel being. This mission cannot be false because it involves doing the Father's will. Doing the Fathers' will can never be false.
"Neither Caligastia nor Daligastia was ever able to oppress mortals or to coerce any normal individual into doing anything against the human will" [UB 753;3]; "he has absolutely no power to enter the minds of men, neither can he draw near to their souls to tempt or corrupt them unless they really desire to be cursed with his wicked presence" [UB 610;3]. In the beginning you could be justified in questioning us here in Utah, but now many people from many places are communicating with us, and it would be hard to assume that they are all abnormal or Satanic. Do not be afraid of this devil if you chose the Father's will.
Is it a psychological phenomenon?
We are not psychologists, so the usual explanations of subconscious mind reactions, multiple personality or mass hysteria do not have much meaning to us. Those who do understand such phenomena state that they cannot explain the transmission/receiving we have been experiencing. These alternate explanations are harder to accept than direct communication with celestial beings. One must explain why so many people, some familiar with the Urantia Book, others not, from so many different backgrounds and locations, all channel similar information of a spiritual nature. Most TR's had no desire in doing such channeling.
Even if it were a collective unconscious phenomenon, we feel it would still be worth it, as very lovely spiritual messages are given. Nearly all who have been involved have grown spiritually as never before.
Why do we need teachers?
What need do we have for teachers when we have the Urantia Book and our Thought Adjusters? True, we can find God by only responding to our prompts from the Monitor, but man is a social being; we need many contacts and interactions with others [UB 1092;3]. "Spiritual growth is naturally stimulated by intimate association with other religionists" [UB 1094;2]. The teachers are here to help us individually advance spiritually, as well as coordination of group activities for uplifting our fellows. The universe is one vast school. We have the opportunities now to become teachers and students in active mission callings. Think about it—how can we not desire higher celestial beings for both group and individual teachers? Many Urantians pay fees for seminars and workshops on all sorts of instructions for self improvement, finding oneself, etc. Here we have the opportunity for very knowledgeable teachers, and free for the asking. One only has to have faith. "It is not the mission of the Mystery Monitor to smooth your ruffled feelings or to minister to your injured pride" [UB 1192;2]; however, the teachers help when asked. Our highest calling in this existence is to make contact with the Thought Adjuster, but only a few are able to consciously hear His voice, so the teachers are here to help us in this limitation.
If this teaching mission is an epochal planetary revelation, then all beings in the universe would love to serve. Deity would never leave out any order of beings; all have a chance to participate in some way according to their abilities. That includes us as well as midwayers and every other type of being in the universe. To come to this backward and confused planet, Michael's planet, to participate in a great spiritual awaking, this has attracted beings from all over to volunteer for service. Not many times do such opportunities exist in the universe. Some of our teachers come from worlds settled in light and life, in which everything is in harmony and most individuals do not need much in the way of service. They point out to us how we have so many opportunities for service to our fellows, to build and develop character, that we are truly blessed.
Remember the seraphim are ministering to us whether we want them or not, even if we don't know of them or believe in them. We are very desirous of communicating with our universe brethren and to expand our understanding to higher levels of universe realities. The teachers help us and call us to action if we are willing.
How to obtain a teacher:
Teachers are available for any group or individual desirous of one. One just has to ask; prayers are always heard and the requests are sent to the appropriate authorities. Making contact with the teachers takes practice, and we would be happy to help anyone in making this contact. Each person's experiences are a little different, and we have heard of many approaches and techniques which we can explain to you to help you make contact. The plan to write future articles on this subject as we do not want this paper to be even more lengthy. Call or write us, or others. The more personal experiences of others you become familiar with, the better it helps in your own development.
Conclusion:
We can't prove the mission is true. We can only state that we fully believe in it, and can express our personal experiences with it. We are agondonters; this is a cherished status that only a very small number of beings possess. We can believe without seeing. The teaching mission wishes to preserve that status, and still allow us to grow. They want us to develop our faith. They will not show signs nor try to prove the mission is real. They do not even tell us what the Father's will is, but require us to go inside to determine it on our own. They do teach us how to draw closer to the Father, how to search and seek a personal relationship with Him. They want us to determine the will of God for ourselves by seeking His presence inside. Only the Father and Michael give unfailing guidance, and they are always ready to give it. We just have to develop this partnership and spend the time seeking. The Master gave signs by his various miracles, but they did not hold the believers in his fold. Direct appearances by celestial beings have not been made to us as it would end our growth as agondonters. We must rely on faith [UB 1128;3].
Look at it directly. You make the decision. Don't follow humans who you perceive as superior or spiritually more advanced. Make the decision yourself. Seek the highest source. Develop a personal relationship with Christ Michael and our Father. Honestly seek their help in determining if this new form of communication is for you. The main purpose of this correcting time mission is for mortals to look within and seek the guidance of the Father. Seeking the will of God is our highest motivation [UB 22; 1].
The book has been available for 38 years; many individuals gathered in many study groups are knowledgeable with the extended gospel of Michael. The celestial beings who brought forth the Urantia Book, as well as the Father, Christ Michael and Prince Machiventa would like all mankind to go the second mile as referenced on page [2084;5j. "Religion does need new leaders, spiritual men and women who will dare to depend solely on Jesus and his incomparable teachings ... the spiritual renaissance must await the coming of these new teachers of Jesus’ religion who will be exclusively devoted to the spiritual regeneration of men. And then will these spirit-born souls quickly supply the leadership and inspiration requisite for the social, moral, economic, and political reorganization of the world" [UB 2082; 10].
Come join us, and others, in this correcting time. We are all truly blessed with this opportunity to serve, to being about our Father's business
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Thern Blackburn (Joshua)
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John J. Wormeck, Ph.D. (Jeremiah)
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References are given by UB, page, semicolon, paragraph. The Urantia Book, Urantia Foundation, 533 Diversey Parkway, Chicago, IL 60614 (1955). ISBN 0-911560-02-5. Opinions and interpretations are those of the authors. April, 1993
[Scanned from the original and converted to standard fonts and spacing.] R. Besser, March 6, 2002
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