the following is copy/pasted from Norm's Free Urantia website. The thrust of my own blog is to show the operation going on by Allen Rice and I am using this bio of Vern Grimsley alongside the Urantiagate document to show the many parallels between The Rice family and Mr. Grimsley. I love that name- sounds like Ozzy saying "Mr. Crowley". Not entirely dissimilar. Nowm's website also has a way more in depth piece called "Crimes against the Master" for those looking at the origins of the trouble rather than the current ops. The piece below gives a good "end of the world" scenario for Mo Siegel as well which I hadn't heard of. Apparently Mo, the owner of Celestial Seasonings tea, which I believed was referenced in the "First Earth Battalion" document from Men Who Stare at Goats.
So there is the Rice family with their end of the world credo- running around doing creepy things with electronics.
A History of The Urantia Papers
by Larry Mullins
with Dr. Meredith Justin Sprunger
Chapter Ten
AFTER THE INITIAL EUPHORIA of having Urantia Books, a slow disappointment began to creep over the early Urantians. The expected impact of the Fifth Epochal Revelation did not happen. Books mailed out to famous people 1 were either not replied to, or responded to with brief, curt notes. No major newspaper reviewed the book. Sir Hubert Wilkins, who assisted Dr. Sadler in the early days and who was equally baffled by the sleeping subject phenomena, had studied the Papers periodically for twenty years in Chicago at 533 Diversey Parkway. 2 When the book was published, he sent out twelve copies to special friends. Wilkins reported that he had received only one interested response. "People seemed to think it was some kind of a joke novel or something of the kind. Anyway, the response is a good criterion of their real mind ability."
In 1958, a nineteen-year old college student who was interested in becoming a minister wrote to Urantia Foundation from Kansas. His name was Vern Grimsley. Grimsley was originally introduced to the Urantia Papers by Dr. Sprunger. He later presented The Urantia Book to his University of Kansas fraternity brothers, who included Richard Keeler, Martin Myers, and Hoite Caston. In 1962 Myers and Keeler drove to Chicago to meet with Dr. Sadler and Christy. By 1963 a series of letters were exchanged between Vern and Nancy Grimsley and Dr. Sadler, culminating with Sadler inviting the couple to Chicago for a meeting. About the same time, young Martin W. Myers began to have significant influence at 533 Diversey Parkway. Martin Myers was an enthusiastic reader of The Urantia Book and he especially impressed Christy.
As things gradually settled down, the early Urantians at 533 resolutely geared themselves for yet another test of time. But, they were no longer young. Both Christy and Dr. Sadler were concerned that there were virtually no young readers coming into the fold, and there would be no one to whom the torch could be passed. After the second printing, in July of 1968, Martin Myers came to 533 Diversey Parkway for temporary housing while he "searched for an apartment." Myers, who had trained as a lawyer, soon became a permanent resident at 533. Martin helped the aging doctor and Christy, and tended to them in many ways. He advised Christy about the course of the Revelation from a legal perspective. After Dr. Sadler died on April 26, 1969, Martin drew even closer to Christy. 3
After the death of Brotherhood President Alvin Kulieke in 1973, Christy wrote a letter to the Trustees and "other VIPs" titled: "The Brotherhood is in Crisis." She expressed grave concerns about the lack of new people being attracted to the movement. "We cannot allow Caligastia and those unfriendly to the Urantia Book to prevail." (I have never found any document in which Dr. Sadler mentions Caligastia 4, or expresses concern about him. The culture was undergoing significant changes at 533). By 1973 young Martin (he was in his early thirties) was named a Foundation Trustee, and immediately began to advocate a draconian, legalistic approach to "managing" the Revelation.
A shift to authoritarian leadership
On June 29, 1973, Martin Myers gave a remarkable speech: "Unity not Uniformity" at a Urantia Conference in Los Angeles. For the first time, rank and file Urantians heard references to what Martin called "the mandates." The "mandates" were special "guidelines," Martin claimed, which the celestial Revelators had given the Contact Commission. Supposedly, the "mandates" were passed along to Urantia Foundation. The current Trustees, he implied, inherited these mandates to manage the propagation of the Revelation. Martin's strategy to control the Revelation was by means of resolute copyright and trademark enforcement. In his speech, Myers structured a Foundation "slow growth" policy into the next millennium, and startled his audiences with quotes from the "mandates." However, what Martin actually quoted in his speech were selections from the "admonitions" or "suggestions" that accompanied the mandate to publish The Urantia Book nearly two decades before he had attained the status of Trustee. Urantians who disagreed with their use noted that Mr. Myers was very selective in the passages he had read in his speech. They complained that Martin was emphasizing the warnings and omitting entirely the positive admonitions that Dr. Sadler had published in his Consideration of Some Criticisms paper of 1958. Chapter Eight documents the fact that the so-called "mandates" never existed as such. As noted, Sadler's paper clearly explains that there was a mandate to publish the book, accompanied by an elaborate set of what Dr. Sadler referred to as "admonitions" or "suggestions."
Many Urantians believe that in this speech Myers positioned Urantia Foundation as an aggressive central authority -- between readers and the Revelation -- supporting this posturing by supposed "secret messages" given to the Contact Commission by celestial beings, and allegedly passed on to the Trustees. Over the next few years, some Urantians objected as the secret "mandates" found their way to selected Foundation supporters and were revered as precious privileged information.
Urantians have also commented that, by the time they were being passed around, these suggestions were copies of copies of outdated, heavily edited administrative information. The Revelators had ordered the originals "destroyed by fire" immediately after the publication of The Urantia Book. In the light of these instructions, it cannot be appropriate that copies would have been made and preserved. It is even worse that these copies were brought forth 20 years after publication and used to establish the "authority" of a small group of individuals. Many have further protested that no copy of the complete text of the supposed "mandates" was ever provided the general readership. Today, many Urantians consider the so-called "mandates" as only apocryphal curiosities that should be allowed to fade peacefully into the mists of time.
Some Urantians point to the mandate episode as an example of precisely what the Revelators sought to avoid. They knew human nature, and how easy it would be to develop an inner circle of entitled "special people" who have "exclusive" information that they could use to control others. However, before long, just about everyone had a version of the so-called mandates. As Bill Sadler, Jr. wrote in an undated memo, circa April, 1955: "It is so difficult to avoid the transient ego satisfaction of betraying the possession of secret information."
From the time of the first public announcement of their existence, the "mandates" had a strong influence on many Urantians. After the Myers speech, there was a definite shift of Foundation policy -- away from the Declaration of Trust which mandated the protection, preservation, and publication of the original text -- to a newly defined mission of preservation and protection of the copyright, the so-called "marks," and name "Urantia." None of these items were ever owned by the Contact Commission, and could not have been entrusted to Urantia Foundation. The copyright, the "marks" and the name Urantia were not part of the Substantive Estate and thus they are not mentioned in the Declaration of Trust.
A period of litigation and enforcement against Urantians began shortly after Myers became a Trustee. A very real fear of being targeted by litigation dominated much of the Urantia movement. A policy of slow growth ensued. The price of the Book increased dramatically, to a point where Clyde Bedell said it was becoming "A rich man's Bible." Distribution was tightened. Written permission by Urantia Foundation was required to quote publicly or print even short passages from The Urantia Book. Use of the three azure blue concentric circles on a white background (the Banner of Michael) and the terms Urantia or Urantian were forbidden without written authorization by Urantia Foundation. Between 1974 and 2000, numerous lawsuits against Urantians were set into motion.
Licensing the Banner of Michael
In the mid- and late Seventies, Urantia Foundation forced a divisive licensing agreement on Urantia Brotherhood Societies. This agreement was structured and driven by Martin Myers (who had Christy's full support). When I met Berkeley Elliott in 1975 and began to get involved with the movement, it had been common practice to freely use the three concentric azure blue circles described in the Urantia Papers. Everywhere there were pillows, bumper stickers, rings, and amulets with the Banner of Michael on them. Under the new Urantia Foundation licensing agreement, Urantia Brotherhood Societies such as the First Society of Oklahoma could no longer use the three concentric azure blue circles, which were now referred to as the "marks" (the trademarks registered by Urantia Foundation) 5 without authorization and without being a "licensed society in good standing." The words Urantia or Urantian could not be used without Foundation permission. Personal use, such as religious expression, of the three concentric azure blue circles by individuals was forbidden. Many Urantians have protested that these "marks" are in reality the banner of our Creator Son, Michael of Nebadon, and the material emblem of the Paradise Trinity. They have commonly ignored these legalistic restrictions. The Urantia Papers clearly support the position that the three concentric azure blue circles were not designed by, and cannot be "owned" by, Urantia Foundation or any other mortal agency:
". . . Gabriel called his personal staff together on Edentia and, in counsel with the Most Highs, elected to assume command of the loyal hosts of Satania. Michael remained on Salvington while Gabriel proceeded to Jerusem, and establishing himself on the sphere dedicated to the Father the same Universal Father whose personality Lucifer and Satan had questioned in the presence of the forgathered hosts of loyal personalities, he displayed the banner of Michael, the material emblem of the Trinity government of all creation, the three azure blue concentric circles on a white background." [605 bottom, 606 top.]
Myers provided insight into his philosophic position when he mailed a "Special Report" to thousands of readers in April 1990, admonishing them: "Down here on rebellion-torn and sin-seared Urantia, the Foundation owns the trademarks, the word `URANTIA,' and the Three Concentric Circle Symbol in perpetuity."
Urantia Brotherhood had freely used the three concentric azure blue circles for two decades. However, the officers reluctantly accepted the retro-fitted agreement that stated they had been licensed all along by Urantia Foundation to use this emblem. By the late seventies, virtually the entire Brotherhood was drawn into Urantia Foundation's licensing agreement, and those who refused were ostracized and threatened with litigation. The officers of the Brotherhood were assured that the agreement was for the benefit of the Revelation and would not be used as a device to control their fraternal organization. This assurance appears to be disingenuous in light of subsequent events. In November, 1979, Clyde Bedell wrote a letter to Martin Myers admonishing him that the restrictions Urantia Foundation was imposing on Urantians were inhibiting religious freedom of expression:
"You are not permitting me the latitude all Urantians should have, must have. Rather, you are assuming the role of owners of the Revelation and the New Gospel, who will mot [sic] tolerate its presentation except in your light, which possibly may be an ingrown centripetal light within a small island peopled by a small and determined group of hierarchal authoritarians . . . Martin, I believe you are, as a group, treading on grounds that threaten our Movement with schism and great danger. History suggests that self-perpetuating power in the hands of any "religious group" that cannot be reached by the people they are intended to serve, becomes tyranny. You shudder at the word -- `Not us.' you say. But every hierarchal authoritarianism stood once where you stand, asserting the `good of the movement.'" 6
Clyde told me, near the end of his life, that his concerns about the dangers of self-perpetuating power had been curtly brushed aside. Unfortunately, within a few years of his 1979 letter to Martin, a schism even more acute than Clyde might have ever imagined was soon to develop in the Urantia Movement. It began in California, and was led by a "Special Agent" of Urantia Foundation.
The Grimsley WW III "channeling" episode
This is a painful, perhaps the most painful, series of events in the history of the Urantia Papers. To some, at first blush, it seems to be a political issue, not directly related to the history of the Urantia Papers. However, as we began to probe this "off-limits" territory, and open some of the doors that have been hitherto sealed, it became evident that the Grimsley episode is closely tied to the events described in Chapter Nine that had eventually led to the compromising of the Declaration of Trust and the original text of The Urantia Book. The events surrounding the Grimsley story may explain why the question of exactly what happened to the original text has so long been cloaked in mystery. Further, the ramifications of what happened during the Grimsley crisis affect the welfare of the Revelation to this day, as we shall see. Since this is a very sensitive and glossed-over issue, I have relied almost totally upon documentation and sources that are very close to the Foundation's viewpoints. I have avoided speculation as much as possible and let the facts and the protagonists speak for themselves. I have treated this episode at some length because, as Hoite Caston, a former Trustee, wrote about the Grimsley episode: "This event is too big to simply sweep under the rug. It would leave a lump so large we would soon be tripping over it again." 7 Indeed, like the dynamics that drove the changes in the second printing, I believe the Grimsley episode cannot remain a lump comfortably tucked away under a cosmetic rug of secrecy.
Vern Bennom Grimsley, Martin Myers' fellow fraternity brother, had become the golden boy of the Urantia Movement by the nineteen-eighties. Grimsley had established himself as a prominent insider in both Urantia Foundation and Urantia Brotherhood. Mr. Grimsley had become quite close to Christy, and was a highly regarded speaker at Urantia conferences. Grimsley established the Family of God Foundation (FOG) as a not for profit spiritual outreach organization in 1967. He was granted "special agent" status by Urantia Foundation in 1971. I heard his wonderfully orchestrated speech at a Urantia International Conference in Snowmass in 1981. He ended his speech with a plea for unity in the movement and raced off the platform. The music of bagpipes filled the convention tent. Vern stood in the crowd in mock exhaustion, apparently barely able to acknowledge the acclaim, while nearly a thousand Urantians rose to their feet, applauding and cheering. Vern Bennom Grimsley's star never shined brighter.
The Kendalls' account of the Grimsley crisis states that in January of 1983, about eight months after Christy's memorial service, Vern Grimsley called Martin Myers and the Kendalls with a stunning announcement. He said that on December 16, 1982, he had begun receiving "messages" from the "Midwayers" in the form of audible statements. He said he had been instructed to purchase a 25-acre property in Clayton, California, to house the approximately 40-member staff of the Family of God organization. Myers immediately flew to California where he joined the Castons and Keelers for an advance tour of the property. 8
One might wonder why such bizarre "messages" were not simply rejected out of hand. Some have said it was because Vern's credibility and "charisma" were so convincing. However, if one accepts Thomas Kendall's account of Myers' support of Christy's messages, we might surmise that Trustee Myers (at least at first) was very open to the possibility that they were valid. Keeler and Caston definitely supported the "messages" at first. Early in the crisis Dr. Paul Knott interviewed Vern Grimsley. Vern declared that Christy had told him he was a Destiny Reservist. Dr. Knott asked how Christy would know this. Vern replied: "I don't know, but I think she got messages the same way I got messages." Dr. Knott subsequently interviewed several people, (he does not disclose who) but none conceded that they knew of any statement by Christy that she had received "messages" after 1955. 9 The Kendalls both insist otherwise.
In February of 1983 Grimsley announced a new "message:" "The time has not arrived to publicize the Book." The Kendalls' account says that Martin stated on February 26 that Vern should be invited to attend the Executive Committee of Urantia Brotherhood that evening, and declared: "They'll really take a strong stand against publicity when they hear about Vern's experiences." In May of 1983, Martin's father died and Martin invited Vern to conduct the Kansas memorial service. On September 4, 1983, seven months after he had learned of the first Grimsley message, Myers gave a speech at a media conference in Los Angeles. He included a long and glowing tribute to Vern and his organization:
". . . at this time it is appropriate to make special mention of another group... the Family of God Foundation. Under the tireless, indefatigable leadership of Vern Bennom Grimsley. . . the Family of God Foundation has defined new levels of effective planetary service . . . Their unflinching loyalty to the purposes and goals of Urantia Foundation and Urantia Brotherhood has materially aided in the inauguration of a new age on Urantia . . . one can anticipate from the signs on the horizon that their real work is only beginning." 10
About this time, the Executive Committee of Urantia Brotherhood began discussing the topic of publishing The Urantia Book as a paperback. Councilor Harry McMullan brought a mock-up in three volumes, leading some people to believe he was proposing splitting up the book. In truth, the idea of publishing the Jesus Papers separately had long been discussed among Urantians. Some General Councilors believed a separate publication of the Jesus Papers, as a new and enlarged gospel of Jesus, would reach a great number of Christians who might not be immediately attracted to the full version of The Urantia Book. (Recall that Meredith Sprunger was led to read the entire book after he read the Jesus Papers.) Other Councilors, apparently unaware that the original text had already been compromised, believed such an action would somehow endanger what the Foundation now euphemistically termed the "inviolate text."
In the midst of this Brotherhood discussion, the issue of channeling -- and the question of continued special celestial guidance -- abruptly emerged from the shadows of the inner circle. On September 19, 1983, yet another "message" supportive of Urantia Foundation's policies supposedly came to Mr. Grimsley while he was taking a bath, and it was very clear: "Don't split up the Book." 11 This "message" was relayed personally by Vern to the Executive Committee of the Brotherhood, and soon it was being leaked to many bewildered readers. The leaders on the Executive Committee of Urantia Brotherhood were strongly influenced by these messages with a few notable exceptions. Especially active in resisting them was Councilor Harry McMullan who, along with Berkeley Elliott, represented the Oklahoma Society on the Council and urged fellow Councilors not to docilely accept the Grimsley admonitions as Midwayer directives.
However, a considerable number of leaders in the power structures of the Brotherhood and Foundation bought into Mr. Grimsley's "messages." It was pointed out by some of these leaders that Christy herself was said to have once stated that Vern Grimsley was a member of the "Reserve Corps of Destiny." Some recalled that in Vern's funeral oration for his dear friend Christy, he had revealed that she had, in effect, "commissioned" him to carry on her work. Vern had declared in his memorial speech that among the 92-year old Christy's final requests was an urgent entreaty to protect and preserve the Revelation with "especial attention to the copyright and registered marks." Then Grimsley had made a strong appeal for unity at the memorial service:
"Christy gave me clear and explicit instructions to deliver this message of spiritual unity and spiritual priorities, not only at her memorial here today, but throughout the Urantia movement in the future. And I pledged to her: `This I shall do until I die.' She directed that I should commission us all to rededicate our lives to God . . . and to labor valiantly for the spiritual unification of the Urantia movement." 12
Numerous Urantian leaders, especially those who believed Christy had received special celestial "guidance," declared that Vern's report clearly indicated that Christy's "mantle" had been passed to Vern Bennom Grimsley. However, it might be noted that Christy had confined her "messages," and her alleged status as a "contact personality" to a small inner circle. Grimsley was eventually to boldly go public, and this may have been his undoing within the inner power structure. Especially when his messages took a grim and chilling new turn.
On October 6, Grimsley was supposedly "told" by the anonymous voices to: "Prepare for World War III." 13 Grimsley cautioned of world-wide upheavals, and the Family of God began storing food and supplies. By mid-October Grimsley mailed over 100 letters to Urantian "leaders" warning them of impending global war and urging them to visit him to discuss the situation. Vern's doomsday predictions shook the Urantia community. Supported by additional "messages," he urged that key Foundation files and Book inventories be transferred to his fortified headquarters in Clayton, for their safety and security. On October 30, 1983, after ten years, a majority of Urantia Foundation Trustees voted to revoke Vern Grimsley's "special agent" status. Thomas Kendall refused to sign the notification letter. Near the end of the month, a concerned Hoite Caston visited Vern. Caston, Myers and Keeler were now in very tight communication, and to many Urantians their actions seemed orchestrated toward the common purposes of distancing themselves from Vern and removing Thomas Kendall, President of Urantia Foundation -- Grimsley's most prestigious supporter. The fraternity brothers seemed especially concerned that Vern had elected to go directly to the Urantia Community with his doomsday "message."
Fear gripped the Urantia Community, and many leaders remained undecided about the "messages." Meredith Sprunger had energetically resisted the apocalyptic tide of fear from the beginning and openly declared that Grimsley's messages were delusional. He traveled to Oklahoma City to soothe the fear there, and we benefited from his cool head, professional knowledge, and spiritual wisdom. In Boulder, Clyde Bedell urged readers to remain calm, and he deplored the fact that Brotherhood "leaders" had begun building fallout shelters and "running around like chickens with their heads cut off." On October 27, 1983, Morris "Mo" Siegel, the National Extension Representative of Grimsley's Family of God (FOG) organization, took the floor after a Boulder study group. This future Trustee held court for a half-hour, warning the already frightened Urantians about the predicted World War III nuclear holocaust and the dreadful aftermath that would follow. Siegel explained that at considerable cost he had built and outfitted a personal fallout shelter for his family, and he cautioned that an attack could come without warning.
Then, Clyde took the floor. Among other things he said:
"If there are strange voices and groanings in the night for some Urantians and the sound of eerie warnings in some ears, they may possibly be from our friends `upstairs' . . . or they may be, and in my opinion most likely are, the jumbled echoes, fears, doubts and confusions - I hope - that are born of dual loyalties, loyalties to our spiritually immature human state, and our burgeoning - I hope - but incomplete loyalties to Jesus and to the Father . . . Highly activist Urantians who are loyal to official [Urantian] policies in the light of the Book's demands for loyalty above all else to our universe rulers, put a `severe strain on the soul . . . the human mind does not well stand the conflict of double allegiance.' . . . Now, if war does not come, we will be, not the nearly `secret society' we have thus far been due to 533's repressive policies, but a discredited laughing stock." 14
On Wednesday, November 16, 1983, Vern gave instructions to Richard Keeler, his largest contributor and the Executive Investment Manager of Family of God, to liquidate the FOG account. Vern ordered that the money, which amounted to approximately $1,300,000, be sent to him immediately. Grimsley informed Keeler that the disembodied "voices" had told him it was "Red Alert," and World War III was going to begin the weekend of November 18-20. He told Keeler he wanted to convert the money into gold for the coming catastrophe. The money was wired the next day. 15 On the same day that Vern called Keeler, Hoite Caston sent the "first version" of what he called a "report" to Grimsley by Express Mail, asking for his "feedback." The document, which had obviously been prepared earlier for use at a timely moment, strongly criticized Grimsley and exposed many fallacies in his claims, while presenting Martin Myers as completely negative about Vern's messages. On the same day that Caston mailed a copy to Vern requesting feedback, he sent copies of the negative report to all the members of the Brotherhood Executive Committee to "help them" in their deliberations about Vern. 16 On Sunday, November 20th, after enjoying a safe weekend, Richard Keeler sent a hand-written resignation letter as the Investment Manager of the Family of God to Vern and Nancy Grimsley. In this letter multi-millionaire Keeler also informed the Grimsleys he had bequeathed his entire personal wealth to FOG, but now the organization would be stricken from his will. 17 (See Appendix B.)
Meanwhile, in the inner power-structure, fraternity brother Myers began to consolidate an anti-message stand. He declared in confidential discussions that he was concerned with public perception: "I don't want this movement to become known as a doomsday group and that it's being led by a guy who's claiming to get messages." The Kendalls defended Vern, stating that the previous messages had the ring of truth, curiously reasoning this because they had "confirmed what were already accepted policies." Tom Kendall then made a fateful decision. After conferring with the other Trustees, he decided he and his wife Carolyn should go to Clayton to personally discuss the matter with Vern. One Trustee cautioned him not to say he was representing Urantia Foundation, and Tom agreed to this admonition. 18
Thomas Kendall and Carolyn were but two of the leaders who had believed and supported Grimsley. Before his doomsday message, Vern had won over a great many leaders, including five future Trustees, two of whom, Gard Jameson and Philip Rolnick, were actually working for Vern in his Clayton headquarters as volunteers. Another future Trustee, Morris "Mo" Siegel, was listed in the Family of God brochure as a FOG "National Extension Representative" and was headquartered in Boulder. Yet another future Trustee, Richard Keeler, was "Executive Investment Financial Manager" for FOG. However, Grimsley quickly began to lose support after it became obvious the "Red Alert" World War III "message" was clearly a dud. The persuasive efforts of Martin Myers helped undermine Grimsley's underpinnings. When the Kendalls returned from California, they discovered that Myers had been hard at work and the tide had, for them, disastrously reversed. By the time Tom Kendall had an insight about what had been going on behind the scenes, it was too late and he lamented:
"I began to realize that Martin believed that he, not I, should be president of the Board of Trustees . . . I suspected that he was waiting for a plausible excuse to have himself installed as president. The Vern Grimsley controversy presented the opportunity. I was served notice on December 31, 1983, that I was no longer president and steps to remove me from the board had begun."
Considering Martin Myers' original support for Vern and alleged long support for Christy's "messages," the charges against Kendall were most intriguing. Kendall was charged with being "subject to the influence of psychic phenomena" and that such phenomena "were in degradation of the teaching of The Urantia Book in that the Book urges the function of evolutionary wisdom and rational judgment as amplified by one's own spiritual experience in solving problems and challenges . . ." 19
Kendall disputed the charges, and reminded the Trustees that "the matter of how to deal with the French situation" in 1980 was "solved" through the Trustees' belief in a "message" Christy "received" and one that she (a Trustee Emeritus) and Martin (a Trustee) had brought to the attention of the other Trustees. 20
This appeal to logical consistency failed, and, after 20 years as a Trustee (and 10 years as President of the Foundation), Kendall was summarily humiliated and expelled, and Martin was soon elected the new president of Urantia Foundation. Myers eventually named as Trustees fraternity brothers Hoite Caston (June, 1986) and Richard Keeler (July, 1989). When asked later why he appointed these men as Trustees, since both had originally supported Vern, Martin replied that they were "rebellion-tested." 21 Ironically, in 1992 Keeler would succeed in turning Myers out of the presidency. (Patricia Mundelius, daughter of Bill Sadler, Jr., assumed the presidency after Martin was ousted, and would be eventually replaced by Richard Keeler, who had led the palace guard revolt against Martin). Myers sued Urantia Foundation in 1993 over his removal. The precise charges that had resulted in the removal of Martin Myers were never clarified.
Many Urantians had cause to recall Clyde Bedell's warnings about establishing a self-perpetuating oligarchy of five to direct Urantia Foundation.
When Grimsley's predicted outbreak of World War III failed to materialize on a specific date, the FOG movement quickly lost momentum and fizzled out, embarrassing several prominent leaders and leaving permanent scars. In June of 1984, Hoite Caston produced a final "report" of over 250 single-spaced pages plus appendixes regarding the affair. It had been edited by Richard Keeler. The final document was described by Nancy Grimsley as "defamatory" and containing "many instances of error, distortion and false representation." The massive "report" refuted virtually every aspect of Vern's activity, behavior, and character, and did not leave a blade of grass standing. It contained excerpts from the "messages" in which the supposed "celestial voices" made silly jokes and lewd comments. The repugnant content of some of these "messages" convinced virtually all the fence-sitters to abandon support of FOG. Nancy pleaded with Hoite not to distribute the document but to no avail. Notwithstanding the tabloid tone of much of Caston's work, the report contained much wisdom and is instructive about the danger of charismatic practices, especially channeling.
More than ever, after the World War III "channeling" fiasco, perhaps the best kept secret at 533 Diversey Parkway was Christy's "channeling" activities and the alteration of the original text. Evidently unaware of these practices, Caston made the following comment on page 237 of his report:
"Can the Urantia movement afford to have in leadership positions individuals that [sic] accept guidance from hallucinatory voices, visions, and other forms of psychic phenomena? In my opinion, this behavior would be highly questionable if the individuals themselves were experiencing the phenomena, but when the leaders are accepting and promulgating the unsubstantiated `contacts' and claims of another person, what does that say about their sense of judgment and responsibility?"
Christy's "channeling" activities were all the more confounding because one of the most quoted "admonitions" among Urantia Foundation's prized apocrypha warns against this very thing. Christy herself, as President of Urantia Brotherhood, used it in a letter to Urantia "leaders:"
"Many strange "-isms" and queer groups will seek to attach themselves to the Urantia Book and its far-flung influence. Our most trying experiences may well be with such groups who will so loudly proclaim their belief in the teachings of the Book and who persistently seek to attach themselves to the movement. Great wisdom will be required to protect the newly forming Brotherhood from the distorting and distraction influences of those multifarious groups and equally distracting and disturbing individuals, some well-intended and some sinister, who strive to become part of the authentic constituency of the Urantia Brotherhood."
Even so, there seems to be an irresistible attraction to such "influences." There is also an inexplicable ebb and flow of the tides and loyalties driving the Urantia Foundation oligarchy. After Hoite Caston and Dr. Thomas C. Burns resigned as Trustees, some Urantians were astounded as Urantia Foundation moved again to embrace Vern Bennom Grimsley's counsel. In November of 1999, Urantia Foundation posted a report on the internet that the new group of Trustees had traveled to California to meet at length with Mr. Grimsley. Three members of the new configuration of Trustees (Keeler, Siegel, and Jameson), had worked for FOG, and had given considerable financial support to FOG. It was not disclosed exactly what was discussed at the conference. However, after the meeting, Grimsley's services as a speech writer were employed by Urantia Foundation to prepare an address expressing the familiar Foundation theme of the "need for unity." The address, written almost entirely by Mr. Grimsley, was delivered by President Richard Keeler at the 1999 Fellowship Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Conflicts, confusion and litigation
Friction between Urantia Foundation and Urantia Brotherhood progressively increased when Martin Myers took over as President of Urantia Foundation. Thomas Kendall observed:
"The separation of the Foundation and Brotherhood has gradually eroded. The Foundation has increasingly adopted a proprietary attitude toward not only The Urantia Book, but the Brotherhood as well . . . by applying the hammer of marks management."
In October of 1989, Urantia Foundation President Martin Myers de-licensed Urantia Brotherhood; it was forbidden for Urantia Brotherhood to use the name "Urantia" and the three concentric circles -- the so-called "marks." Urantia Brotherhood was also ordered to change its name since it was told it could no longer use the word "Urantia." Urantia Brotherhood obediently became The Fellowship. (Years later the name was changed to The Urantia Book Fellowship). Nearly all of the existing Brotherhood Societies voted to stay with the original Brotherhood, now the "Fellowship." 22
Following this series of upheavals, a revival of the interest in channeling again rose among Urantia Book readers and has been yet another divisive factor in the movement. Many readers were astounded that, after the chaos that channeling had caused the movement in the Eighties, channeling activities would again gain momentum in the Nineties -- in some cases, replacing serious study groups, with "channeling" sessions, in which disembodied "celestial beings" began "speaking" through human "receivers" to credulous Urantians. Urantia Foundation, under Keeler, granted permission for channeled works to be published along with excerpts from the Urantia Papers. A "channeling" session was a feature of the Fellowship 1999 International Conference in which an alleged entity named "Ham" supposedly "spoke" through a human "receiver" and answered questions from the audience. While not opposing the rights of anyone to indulge in such activities on their own time, many experienced readers found the resurgence of "channeling" to be a wasteful and unfortunate diversion with no connection to the Urantia Papers. Some believe that "channeling" practices fly in the face of Dr. Sadler's warnings about such psychic phenomena. Some Urantians believe "channeling activities" by Christy and their acceptance as a reinforcement of organizational power have confused the readership about the role of psychic phenomena and have opened a Pandora's box of error.
As previously quoted, Dr. Sprunger opposed the channeling activities from their inception. Referring to the period of conflicts, litigation, and differing philosophical views on celestial guidance and contact, Meredith has noted philosophically:
"Most of us now realize that the Fifth Epochal Revelation has been launched on the troubled and turbulent seas of evolutionary struggle." 23
The IUA is born
After the split with Urantia Brotherhood, Urantia Foundation decided to create a new fraternal branch, and it established the International Urantia Association, or IUA. This group is a "task-oriented, social and service organization formed by Urantia Foundation to foster in-depth study of The Urantia Book and its teachings." Unlike the original arrangement of a separate Brotherhood as approved by the Midwayers, the IUA organization is not autonomous and is closely linked to the Foundation Trustees. Members are pledged to support Urantia Foundation and the copyright, and the organization continually solicits donations for Urantia Foundation projects. IUA expressly declares itself not to be a religious organization. Thus the IUA, like Urantia Foundation and the Fellowship, resolutely avoided defining a religious mission as part of its vision.
More litigation
After Martin Myers became President of Urantia Foundation in 1983, the policy of litigation against Urantians was pursued with renewed energy. Among the series of major lawsuits was a 1991 litigation that was launched against Kristen Maaherra, a homemaker in Arizona, for sending out free computer indexes containing the text of The Urantia Book. 24 JJ Johnson was also served papers without warning as a "co-conspirator," although the charges against JJ were subsequently dropped without explanation or apology. The litigation weapon proved dreadfully costly, draining JJ of thousands of dollars to reply to the groundless charges. A few years later Kristen's husband, Eric Schaveland, was sued by Urantia Foundation in a separate action for using the three concentric azure blue circles on a website.
The suits against Maaherra and Schaveland proved to be the undoing of the previously invincible team of Urantia Foundation lawyers. With the support of donations from many Urantians, Kristen and Eric resolutely brought the Foundation's legal steamroller to a standstill. The Maaherra litigation fragmented the Urantian community and dragged on for nearly a decade, shattering Kristen and Eric's family life and siphoning millions of dollars from Urantia Foundation. For over two years during this litigation, The Urantia Book was declared to be in the public domain, based upon the Court's judgment that the original 1955 United States Copyright of The Urantia Book was invalid. Eventually Urantia Foundation won a reversal and a Pyrrhic victory. The ambiguous wording of the reversal left the copyright wide open to further litigation.
The defiant stand of Kristen and Eric seemed to inspire other Urantians to challenge Urantia Foundation's control of the text. In 1994, during the litigation, before any judgments had been made, the Pathways Company defied the copyright by printing and selling to the Urantia readership about 5,000 copies of Part IV of the Urantia Papers, The Life and Teachings of Jesus.
During the period the Urantia Papers were in the public domain in 1995, the Pathways Company published the complete 1955 original text of the Urantia Papers, informing the general readership for the first time of the changes that had been made in the Foundation's printings after 1955 and listing the more significant ones in the back pages of their printing. Uversa Press (The Fellowship, formerly Urantia Brotherhood) published the Urantia Papers in a two column format in 1996. In 1999, Michael Foundation of Oklahoma City published Part IV of the Urantia Papers (without Paper 120) under the title: Jesus: A New Revelation. This publication contained a list of changes that Urantia Foundation had made to the original text.
In the meantime, it became common knowledge among Urantians that the original 1955 text of The Urantia Book was not being published by Urantia Foundation. In response to reader inquiries, in 1994 Urantia Foundation published a small pamphlet titled: "Corrections to the Text." Admitting at last that changes had been made, the pamphlet states in part: "Almost half the changes, including a small number that might be considered to be more than minor changes, were made in the second and third printings. These changes were made by those individuals who were directly responsible for preparing the original text for publication." Presumably this meant Christy and Marian Rowley. As discussed in Chapter Nine, there had been no statement printed in the Book itself to alert a purchaser of later printings with a full disclosure that the "Corrections to the Text" document (with its approximately 150 changes) was available.
As the millennium drew to a close, after nearly a quarter-century of aggressive litigation against Urantians, Urantia Foundation launched yet another lawsuit by announcing on December 1, 1999 it was filing suit against Michael Foundation and its founder, Harry McMullan, for publishing the Jesus Papers. The announcement said the Trustees' vote to sue Michael Foundation was unanimous. Urantia Foundation announced: "The Foundation's copyright in The Urantia Book makes possible the preservation of the inviolate text for the next fifty years."
Mr. McMullan is a very visible Urantian. He is a General Councilor, having served on the Executive Committee of the original Urantia Brotherhood and subsequent Fellowship for nearly two decades. The Urantia Book Fellowship, however, demurred involvement in the litigation and announced the conflict between McMullan and Urantia Foundation was a "private matter." Yet some Urantians believe that a subsequent letter by Fellowship President Janet Farrington Graham to the membership seemed to support the Foundation's contention that printing the Jesus Papers separately has jeopardized their current version of the "inviolate" text. In the Fellowship's MIGHTY MESSENGER, for Fall, 1999, Farrington reprinted her letter. Generally ambiguous, the letter was very specific on one point. Referring to an August, 1996 General Council debate about printing the Jesus Papers separately, she wrote:
"The council was then reminded that when The Urantia Book first went into the public domain, the council voted unanimously to protect and preserve the text inviolate; this project of publishing Part IV as a separate volume was deemed to be in conflict with that resolution."
Farrington reports that the two councilors who wanted to fund the printing then withdrew their request to "rethink the project." Some Urantians believe she left the strong implication that the issue had been resolved by the General Council, when in fact it had not. Certainly, the implication that printing Part IV separately violates de facto the original text of The Urantia Book has never been established. Many Urantians believe such an idea did not attain the status of dogma among some members in the Fellowship until Vern Grimsley warned: "Don't split up the book." Other Urantians believe the issue that initiated the litigation is control of the text and copyright, and had nothing to do with preserving the original text. They observed that Mr. McMullan's action did not affect the preservation of the original text as Urantia Foundation has defined it: keeping three copies of the 1955 printing in a temperature-controlled environment. An inviolate version of the original text has not been published by Urantia Foundation since 1955.
Urantia Brotherhood
Urantia Brotherhood was initially designed to function as a fraternal organization, independent of Urantia Foundation. Unfortunately, as Dr. Sprunger points out, the leaders of the Forum who formulated the constitution of the Brotherhood did not take the time to structure it directly from the teachings of The Urantia Book. They elected to use an organizational model and constitution designed after a 16th Century Presbyterian prototype. In the place of the 36 elders in the 16th century model, there was established a Brotherhood General Council of 36 Councilors drawn from the Wednesday night "Seventy" group. The constitution of the Brotherhood was tacitly accepted by the Midwayers with the comment that it allowed "for its own emendation." According to History One and Two, these Councilors and their successors were to direct the Brotherhood for the first nine years. After that, the Brotherhood was to be governed by the actions of a Triennial Assembly composed of various delegates elected by Urantia Societies. 25 In a 1958 intra-office memo, Bill Sadler, Jr. saw the Brotherhood maturing into a directly representative "republican institution."
In 1955, the newly chartered Urantia Brotherhood visualized organizing thousands of Urantia Book study groups, and gradually chartering Urantia Societies. The precise nature of these Societies was ambiguous. Many of the founding members of Urantia Brotherhood regarded the organization as a religious one. It was the original vision of Dr. Sadler that Urantia Societies would develop as bona fide religious groups. Under Dr. Sadler's leadership, a key element of the Constitution of the Brotherhood was the development of ordained teachers. A school to train and ordain teachers was established shortly after publication of the Book. On numerous occasions Dr. Sadler discussed the nature of this new religious organization with Dr. Sprunger. 26
The fear of "churchification"
As the Brotherhood developed, a view surfaced in Urantia Brotherhood that was very different from that of Dr. Sadler and Dr. Sprunger. A developing majority of the members of the early Brotherhood shared both a strong fear of what they derisively termed "Churchification" and a biased attitude against institutionalized religion. There was even a marked uneasiness in the original group toward the use of an opening prayer for meetings. The General Council of the Brotherhood eventually deleted the words "ordained teacher" from the constitution, fearing it had an institutional ring. The Brotherhood now defined itself, not as a religious organization, but as "an educational-social organization with a religious purpose." 27 After the death of Dr. Sadler, Urantia Foundation withdrew all of Dr. Sadler's Bible Studies from distribution. These study aids related the Urantia Book to Biblical concepts.
Even so, many in the Urantia Brotherhood were enthusiastic about introducing religious, educational and other leaders to The Urantia Book. Meredith Sprunger wrote of those early days:
"Illusions of grandeur about initiating a spiritual renaissance on our planet invigorated Urantia Conferences. Gradually evolutionary reality began to change the picture. Religious and political leaders were not impressed. The Book was succinctly dismissed as a contemporary Gnostic document or politely ignored." 28
In the early nineties, the Triennial Delegate Assembly (which consists of directly elected representatives from Societies) voted for direct representation in the General Council. Societies wanted representatives who were elected by them and who were directly accountable to them. In response, the General Council of the Fellowship voted to amend the constitution and allow direct representation from societies and establish a separation of Executive and Judicial powers. However, the Fellowship Executive Committee was, for some reason, unable to accomplish the emendation of its constitution. The current Urantia Book Fellowship remains structured in the 16th century Presbyterian model although the Presbyterian Church itself has long since discarded it in favor of a more contemporary organizational structure. The issue has been shelved without resolution.
The New Fellowship
There has evolved a fundamental change in the original Brotherhood which is now The Urantia Book Fellowship. Whereas the original Urantia Brotherhood was conceived to be a fraternal association of religionists, the new Fellowship is evolving as a facilitator of local or regional associations of religionists. The concept of a monolithic social organization has evolved into a service organization which fosters and encourages more intimate local religious and fraternal associations. David Kantor, a member of the General Council Executive Committee, has been instrumental in carrying this concept of service to a global level, especially by means of the internet. Under Kantor's direction, the Fellowship website and internet activities for the first time have very successfully and openly brought reliable information, news, and Urantia Movement history to the entire Urantia community.
Mr. Kantor's perspective is that an infrastructure of grass roots organizations developed by Urantians on an intimate local level would best serve the Revelation at this time. Kantor observes that these kinds of personal associations would "have a better chance of surviving the political struggles which seem to engulf larger social organizations." Thus, he advocates that the Fellowship remain unencumbered by religious trappings so it may more effectively serve in a non judgmental capacity the varied Urantian efforts to develop socialized expressions of their religious beliefs. However, to some Urantians, there remain the problems of how far tolerance should go, as well as how to provide for the needs of individual -- not socialized -- religious development.
The question of a Urantian religion
The Urantia Papers are not a religion, any more than Jesus of Nazareth is a religion. Yet, the Urantia Papers are profoundly religious. To many Urantians, the secular political struggle for control of the Urantia Papers has so dominated the movement that the more significant questions have been neglected: Do the Urantia Papers change lives? Do they make people better -- more benevolent, kinder, more committed to serving humankind?
In the earlier days of the movement, this question was surprisingly absent. The Urantia Papers were born into a world in which intellectualism reigned supreme. Early Forum members were admonished about this. Mary Lou Hales came into the Forum in 1932. She said in a 1993 interview:
"We were told in effect that -- `You are accepting this Revelation intellectually, but you are not accepting it emotionally. We are very anxious that you should let it do more in your lives.' And so, it was our fault, you see, that we were not accepting it in the right way, emotionally, letting it influence our lives the way it should. [The Revelation] was wonderful. We were all thrilled and excited about it and what you should do about this or that, but apparently we were not letting it really change our lives or help us become more spiritual." 29
Carolyn Kendall's father, Clarence Bowman, was a member of the original Forum. When the Papers were finalized on May 31 of 1942, the Forum became a Sunday Study Group. Carolyn was 19 when she met Dr. Sadler and she joined the Sunday group. She said this of her religious experience:
"The spiritual thing I felt was strangely missing from the Forum . . . It was later on, long after publication, that I realized there was a spiritual message there. Now maybe I was deficient. I probably was. There were high-powered people in the Forum, but I never heard that the Father loves you and that we are all sons and daughters of the Father. That wasn't emphasized, it was read, but it didn't come out." 30
Perhaps, as a consequence, a nonreligious culture characterized the early movement. The three major Urantia organizations define themselves as secular, or at least nonreligious: Urantia Foundation, the International Urantia Association (IUA), and The Urantia Book Fellowship. Notwithstanding the excellent service that has been done by many individual members as they foster independent religious expression, the political cultures of all the organizations are relatively secular and non-representational. The individual units generally tend to have a more religious flavor. This grassroots religious activity is viewed favorably by some Urantians who point out that the Urantia Papers state:
"All non-religious human activities seek to bend the universe to the distorting service of self . . ." [67, par.1]
Urantia Study groups have traditionally remained intellectual forums. Gradually, more religious expression has been encouraged at Urantia Fellowship conferences. Hymns, prayers, and group meditations are more and more accepted practices, but generally the fear of "churchification" prevails. Nearly all Urantians view the political chaos of the movement and observe that very little of it has any relationship to the philosophy and spiritual message of the Urantia papers. Many Urantians agree that a great deal was lost when Urantia Brotherhood abandoned its formal schools for developing certified religious leaders and teachers. A fourth organizational alternative, to address the necessity for a purely religious outlet for Urantians, has long been advocated by Meredith Sprunger.
Dr. Sprunger on a Urantian religion 32
Dr. Sprunger believes there is a great need for new religious institutions to serve the growing edge of spiritual development in this world authentic religious institutions that will appeal to the highest spiritual aspirations of humankind. Dr. Sprunger believes the Urantia Papers will provide the inspiration for that coming spiritual renaissance. Further, Dr. Sprunger asserts that such religious institutions are a necessary step in fulfilling the mission of the Urantia Movement.
These new spiritual organizations will not supplant nor compete with existing Urantia secular organizations. They will draw circles large enough to include and unite many believers, and complement what is now being done. In recent years, spiritual seekers all over the world have emerged in unprecedented numbers, accompanied by a growing disenchantment with existing religious institutions. In the Urantia Movement there is an increasing longing for a "religious community" that goes beyond the usual study group and occasional conference. More and more Urantians long for a sense of "spiritual family" and a clear community identity. There is a growing desire for spiritual nourishment Urantian spiritual nourishment from birth to death. Urantia study groups and societies, which are primarily intellectual-social groups, can't fulfill all the functions of traditional religious institutions. It is the conviction of Dr. Sprunger that the most important activity in the Urantia Movement at this time is to focus upon the development of resources to help actualize new religious institutions:
"New Urantian religious institutions will serve as vehicles through which the Fifth Epochal Revelation can be carried into the world. We also need dedicated Urantians to research and develop creative symbolism as well as appropriate social and religious expression of the Fifth Epochal Revelation."
Dr. Sprunger notes that there have been several spontaneous but short-lived attempts to establish such religious institutions already. When such attempts are made, there is a danger that such institutions will be extemporized, without taking the time and effort to study the teachings of The Urantia Book. Meredith suggests that teams of dedicated Urantians must study the information provided in the Book so that new organizations will authentically reflect the truth-insights of the Fifth Epochal Revelation. The mission of these teams would be to evolve a body of resources. Otherwise the pressure of necessity will fashion religious organizations without such help. Dr. Sprunger cautions:
"The history of religion demonstrates that when strong spiritual ideals and aspirations inspire people, and there are insufficient intellectual and social structural foundations to guide these people in their creative religious expression, all kinds of irrational beliefs are likely to appear, such as: visions of angels, channeling of celestial beings, speaking in tongues, attempting miracles, and doomsday predictions."
Meredith notes that such emotional and psychic phenomena almost always occur in an unstructured social-spiritual atmosphere. The most effective way to establish rational order, reliable stability, and genuine spiritual identity is to evolve structured outlets for social and spiritual Urantian expression. Such outlets will also sponsor creative outreach and loving service.
Is a new paradigm called for?
There is yet another religious perspective to consider. Urantian Rosey Lieske of Phoenix, Arizona is among a growing number of Urantians who passionately believe the Urantia Papers present a message that cannot be embraced by intellectual analysis nor orchestrated by organizational structure. To Rosey the Urantia Papers define with precise clarity the call of Jesus of Nazareth for ever more intimate levels of personal relationship, through worship, meditation and prayer to God directly and without intervention. She says:
"We live in a world that is ravenous and in need of the living gospel of Jesus. We have the dynamic and simple genius behind the Master's plan of action toward spiritual self -- and collective actualization on a planetary level. Worship and Service. Not even three little words. Just two -- ready to be either buried or mobilized into action."
The intellectual and emotional appeals for unity in the Urantia Movement leave Lieske cold. She believes the Papers tell us that "goals not creeds" will someday unify religionists. She says that creedal formation, though inevitable, will not yield a naturally spiritual result.
"Spiritual communities will not spring from the soil of intellectual, creedal, agreement alone -- only from real experience borne by faith in action, which is the will to love God -- the will to serve his family. Goals, worship-inspired and service-driven, goals that are made and met -- both personal and collective -- will provide the dynamic for the birth and evolution of true spiritual community."
To Lieske all of the conflict in the Urantia Movement arises because religious forms have been wedded to political ones. She believes Urantian organizations fail to deliver the spiritual message of The Urantia Book because Urantians have too often come to venerate the book itself. She asserts that the Kingdom can never be construed, constructed, made manifest, or manipulated by human energies alone. It can only be accessed through worship, which is step one of the Master's program, and implemented in the "real world" by step two: service. However, Rosey wonders whether many contemporary Urantians can as yet make the paradigm stretch:
"The question remains as to whether large numbers of our spiritual community will mature and grasp the opportunity to ACT on revelation. Can Urantians replace politics and intellectualism with the transcendent message of the gospel -- positioning it as their first priority -- and strive to return the flock to the Master? Find God, become like Him -- find your brother, serve him!"
The process of the "baptism of joys and sorrows" on the evolutionary seas of struggle continues. Some Urantians believe we are now engaged in the preliminary stages of an authentic new age of religion in the world. Time will tell. How soon a significant leadership role may be assumed by Urantians is open to question. In Chapter Eight we reported that Bill Sadler, Jr. (presumably) quoted the Revelators as saying:
"You will doubtless live and die without realizing you are participating in the birth of a new age of religion on this world."
ENDNOTES:
1. These "famous people" included Sholem Asche, Ralph Bunche, Norman Cousins, Aldous Huxley, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Edward Teller. THE FELLOWSHIP BULLETIN, Winter, 1992, page 1.
2. Harold Sherman claims that he and his wife had interested Sir Hubert Wilkins in the Forum, but this seems to be one of his flights of fancy. Dr. Sadler wrote in a March 17, 1959 letter to Reverend Adams (Appendix B): "From a standpoint of general science, I think the studies of the late Sir Hubert Wilkins were the most extended and exhaustive. For a period of twenty years he periodically spent time in Chicago going over the Papers. He would work weeks at a time, ten hours a day. . ." This must have been prepublication since Wilkins would hardly have gone to Chicago to study the Papers if he had a book, and the activity could not have begun until 1935 at the earliest, seven years before Sherman got involved. Also, Dr. Sprunger has stated that Dr. Sadler told him he consulted Wilkins in the early days.
3. AFFIDAVIT OF MARTIN MYERS, May 24, 1993.
4. "The doctrine of a personal devil on Urantia, though it had some foundation in the planetary presence of the traitorous and iniquitous Caligastia, was nevertheless wholly fictitious in its teachings that such a "devil" could influence the normal human mind against its free and natural choosing. Even before Michael's bestowal on Urantia, neither Caligastia nor Daligastia was ever able to oppress mortals or to coerce any normal individual into doing anything against the human will. The free will of man is supreme in moral affairs; even the indwelling Thought Adjuster refuses to compel man to think a single thought or to perform a single act against the choosing of man's own will." [Page 753, par. 2]
5. SPECIAL REPORT TO THE READERS OF THE URANTIA BOOK, April 1990, page 22
6. CLYDE BEDELL gave me this letter along with some other correspondence in 1984, a few months before his death.
7. VERN GRIMSLEY MESSAGE EVALUATION by Hoite C. Caston, June 17, 1984, page 10.
8. June 21, 1990 Report by Thomas A. and Carolyn B. Kendall, titled: RESPONSE TO URANTIA FOUNDATION'S SPECIAL REPORT TO THE READERS OF THE URANTIA BOOK AND COMMENTS ON OTHER RELATED SUBJECTS, page 7.
9. Letter from Dr. Paul D. Knott to undisclosed readers, November 20, 1983.
10. June 21, 1990 Report by Thomas A. and Carolyn B. Kendall, titled: RESPONSE TO URANTIA FOUNDATION'S SPECIAL REPORT TO THE READERS OF THE URANTIA BOOK AND COMMENTS ON OTHER RELATED SUBJECTS, page 8.
11. IBID., page 8.
12. URANTIA BROTHERHOOD BULLETIN, Spring, 1982, page 5.
13. June 21, 1990 Report by Thomas A. and Carolyn B. Kendall, titled: RESPONSE TO URANTIA FOUNDATION'S SPECIAL REPORT TO THE READERS OF THE URANTIA BOOK AND COMMENTS ON OTHER RELATED SUBJECTS, page 8.
14. TO BE (upset) OR NOT TO BE by Clyde Bedell, "Read to a Boulder meeting, the evening of 10/27/83, after the people had been given a half-hour or so scare talk urging the storage of food, water, etc., the preparation for each family member of a big kit to take to fall-out shelters, upon alarm, etc.," pages 3 and 5.
15. VERN GRIMSLEY MESSAGE EVALUATION by Hoite C. Caston, June 17, 1984, page 206.
16. IBID., page 28.
17. IBID., Appendixes.
18. June 21, 1990 Report by Thomas A. and Carolyn B. Kendall, titled: RESPONSE TO URANTIA FOUNDATION'S SPECIAL REPORT TO THE READERS OF THE URANTIA BOOK AND COMMENTS ON OTHER RELATED SUBJECTS, page 8.
19. IBID., page 8.
20. IBID. Tom is referring to an episode he recorded on page 6 (The date of the astounding incident was approximately November, 1980): "TAK: [Thomas A. Kendall] After the Board of Trustees meeting the next Saturday, Christy and Martin had read a message to me which had allegedly come to her earlier in the week. It said: `Do not become involved in long, drawn out discussions with Mr. Weiss. Read page 840.' [NOTE: Jacques Weiss was a Frenchman who translated The Urantia Book into French and then published it in 1962 after obtaining permission of Urantia Foundation.] 'I interpreted the message, as did administrative assistants, Scott Forsythe and Michael Painter, to mean that we were not to get bogged down in lengthy negotiations. It may be concluded that the other Trustees interpreted this message to mean we should not get involved in any negotiations. Page 840 had to do with Caligastia's plot. The meaning of this reference is also open to question." From this passage written by Foundation supporters Carolyn and Thomas Kendall we may reasonably arrive at two remarkable conclusions. First, Martin Myers bought into, and apparently encouraged, Christy's channeled "messages." Second, that these "messages" had not only evidently dictated the alteration of the original text of The Urantia Book since 1967 (as previously documented), the purported contents of these "messages" were routinely weighed when Urantia Foundation established its policies!
21. IBID., page 7.
22. Many readers remained baffled by the "split." I was a member of the Brotherhood General Council when the final vote was taken. For myself, and for most of the other Councilors, it was our most painful moment as Urantians. However, since the Brotherhood had been summarily disenfranchised and the so-called "marks" had already been "taken away" by Urantia Foundation, there was no choice left the General Council. It should be noted that two future Trustees who were members of the Council at the time, Morris "Mo" Siegel and Gard Jameson, were vocal advocates of defying Urantia Foundation's control tactics and both voted for the split.
23. THE FUTURE OF THE FIFTH EPOCHAL REVELATION by Meredith J. Sprunger, a paper dated 2/10/93, page 1.
24. The 1955 printing of The Urantia Book has a statement at the end of the Contents of the Book, just before the Foreword: "(An exhaustive index of The Urantia Book is published in a separate volume.)" The Revelators had approved of the project years before. When Maaherra was sued 35 years later, the comprehensive index was still unpublished.
25. HISTORY OF THE URANTIA MOVEMENT ONE, by a Group of Urantian Pioneers, assisted by Members of the Contact Commission, 1960, page 10.
26. THE FUTURE OF THE FIFTH EPOCHAL REVELATION by Meredith J. Sprunger, a paper dated 2/10/93, page 1.
27. IBID., page 1.
28. IBID., page 1.
29. THE CONJOINT READER, Publication of the School of Meanings and Values, Santa Monica, CA, Summer, 1993, page 10.
30. IBID., page 3.
31. PLANETARY PRINTS, Rocky Mountain Urantia Society of Denver, Spring, 1985, page 26. (Clyde Bedell photo and text page 256 in book.)
32. The essential material for this section was taken from, and based upon THE FUTURE OF THE FIFTH EPOCHAL REVELATION by Meredith J. Sprunger, a paper dated 2/10/93.
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