 |
|
|
|
|
|
~370~ The Birth of a Divine Revelation
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX The Carolyn Kendall Document I n a document dated April, 1996, Carolyn Kendall provided her views of the history of the Urantia organizations, some background on the origins of the Revelation, and authority for policies which were adopted by Sadler and the later Board of Trustees.She offered the following facts about herself: About the author: the daughter of Forum member, Clarence N. Bowman, (1923-1956); joined the Forum in 1951; employed by William S. Sadler, M.D., 1952-1954, and 1957 (as a receptionist); charter member of First Urantia Society, 1956-1961; founding member of Orvonton Urantia Society, 1961-1977; rejoined First Society, 1977 to present (president, 1989-1993); served on General Council, 1976-1985, chairman, Fraternal Relations Committee, 1977-1982; vice-president, Urantia Brotherhood, 1982-1985; member of Foreign Extension (now IFC), Domestic Extension and Publications Committees, the wife of Thomas A. Kendall, trustee of Urantia Foundation, 1963-1983 (president 1973-1983); currently employed part-time by The Fellowship. You will note that she made claim to be a member of the Forum, but the Forum, as a genetic body, was nonexistent in 1951. Many individuals who came into the Urantia group after 1942, and before creation of the Urantia Brotherhood coincident with publication of the Papers in 1955, claimed to be members of the Forum, but the claim was misleading. See Carolyn’s Note 7 below. She entitled her document: THE PLAN FOR THE URANTIA BOOK REVELATION I offer that document here, for record purposes, and to show how many individuals, including Sadler, were influenced by “instructions” from evil sources. The document enlightens our understanding of the evil influence which crept into 533 after Lena’s death, and the cause of the corruption of the Revelation. Carolyn’s information is uniquely important because it offers insight into how information was relayed from the Contact Commission members to intimates at 533, and how the evil was prosecuted. Carolyn’s information is uniquely important also for she has the diary her father wrote during the period from 1923, the earliest date of the Forum, through the 1950’s. Carolyn has refused to make public hard data on the dates and entries from her father. Therefore, it is not possible to separate information from that unique source, and Carolyn’s interpretation of that information.
26 - The Kendall Document ~371~Carolyn tells the story of how her father informed Bill Sadler of his diary, and how Bill urgently instructed him not to keep record of the Forum events. Clarence Bowman then used ink eradicator to blot out those entries. Many years later the eradicator faded, leaving the original ink entries visible for Carolyn to read. In perusal of Carolyn’s document we encounter difficulty in separating her thoughts and ideas from true instructions, (from the actual Revelators), from false instructions, (from Caligastia), from anecdotal information, from opinions from the Contact Commissioners, and so on. The opinions of the Contact Commissioners were generally regarded as infallible truth. She always shows quotations marks around her authorities, but her comments are often intimately interwoven with her sources. She numbers her reference citations, which can be found at the end of this analysis. Remember that her conclusions are strictly her opinions. The headings are hers, from her document. I show her text in a different font. INTRODUCTION We are told in The Urantia Book that revelators came to earth on missions and for specific purposes. There was an ordained plan for how each bestowal son would carry out his program of upstepping evolutionary life and imparting new spiritual truth. Carolyn’s reference is to passages in The Urantia Papers which describe the various dispensations of the earth, and the divine beings (bestowal sons) who administer those dispensations.There was a master plan for The Urantia Book, and I believe it is still in operation. Its features were specific. They guided the content, the quality, the publishing, and the protection of the Fifth Epochal Revelation. It decreed the establishment and the function of Urantia Foundation and Urantia Brotherhood.The constitution of Urantia Brotherhood was approved by the highest planetary authority. The relationship between the Foundation and the Brotherhood was prescribed. This feature of the plan is where I believe the guidance was not followed, and where subsequent problems arose to bedevil both Foundation and Brotherhood. As we read further on, we will find that Carolyn bases these premises on various instructions, true and false. Little did Carolyn realize the literal accuracy of her use of the word “bedevil.” The plan was conveyed by the revelatory providers to the contact commissioners, who shared it with the groups known as the Seventy and the Forum. The commissioners had latitude to share elements of the plan with later arriving persons perceived to have leadership potential. The original messages which outlined the plan were not published as part of the revelation and would eventually
~372~ The Birth of a Divine Revelationbe destroyed. The former Forum members who became Brotherhood leaders and Foundation trustees carried on knowledge of how the revelation was to progress. However, because of the recent schism, discontinuity occurred in the transmittal of information. Nowhere in her document does Carolyn distinguish between instructions received prior to 1939, and those received after. Furthermore, the false instructions were channeled through Christy, a key member of the Contact Commission. Therefore, origins were thoroughly confused in everyone’s mind. The Sadler’s, the Kellogg’s, and Christy all accepted Christy’s channeling as valid. Sadler had two criteria for judging channeling and channeled materials:
He did not admit to evil spirits as the origin of such productions. Although he admitted to spirit communications, (after all, he was in the thick of it from first-hand experience), he never reached the insight to classify real transmissions taking place from malevolent spirit beings through the minds of human mortals. The threat from Caligastia is plainly indicated many places in The Urantia Papers.Page 610: Caligastia, your apostate Planetary Prince, is still free on Urantia to prosecute his nefarious designs, but 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. Page 865: But it should be made clear that the midway creatures are not involved in the sordid performances taking place under the general designation of “spiritualism.” The midwayers at present on Urantia, all of whom are of honorable standing, are not connected with the phenomena of so-called “mediumship.” Sadler just did not believe the Devil had such power. His acceptance of Christy’s “communications” were based on these premises:
We should understand the environment at 533. For more than thirty years Sadler had been dealing with strange events. SS would speak unexpectedly in the middle of the night, causing his wife to call Sadler. He would write if a pencil were placed in his hands and requested to do so, completely in his sleep. Large masses
26 - The Kendall Document ~373~of writing appeared mysteriously in his home. The actual Revelation appeared mysteriously out of nowhere. World War II was imminent; the Revelation had been delayed. SS was no longer active. Lena was no longer present with her wise counsel. Sadler may have felt a great loss. He may have desired direct communications and instructions. He may have longed for counsel and help. Many conversations certainly took place among the insiders at 533 on the best path of action. He was uncertain and confused. At this point he was sixty-seven years old. Much water had flowed under the bridge. He had remained honest to the phenomenon which rested on his shoulders. But uncertainty now beset him. He no longer had control. He really did not know what to do. The decisions were taken out of his hand. Christy came to his rescue. Unaware of what she was doing, she sat down at her famous typewriter and sought help. She opened her mind to the “midwayers.” She got much more than she, or Sadler, or anyone else, bargained for. When Christy channeled she started with messages typed out on her typewriter through “automatic writing.” Was that any different from the Sleeping Subject? After all, he had verbal communication through his mouth and through his hands. In her eyes, and in the eyes of Sadler, her solicitation of celestial help was the same as the Sleeping Subject. Voices were then heard coming from the air. What more did Sadler, Christy, Bill Sadler, and the Kelloggs need to convince them of the authenticity of the communications? But Sadler was woefully negligent. Although he considered himself an expert on psychic phenomena he never differentiated between spiritualism and spiritism. He never really believed such powers were available to the devil. Every phenomena of this type he had previously witnessed he thought was due to fraud. The confusion he faced was still evident in the 1960 “History” document. There the remark was made that “the revelators worked through the mind of a human subject.” This phrase was struck out of the expanded version but it shows that even then confusion continued about how the communications took place. The creation of visible images and audible speech is prevalent in the “spiritualist” community. Refer to my examination on Spirit Entry Into Human Mind. The Devil, as the source of that phenomenon at 533, could then pretend to be a midwayer speaking audibly with them. Prior to 1939 Sadler never heard audible voices associated with the Revelation. Now he did.What could Sadler do? He was caught in that morass. He was forced to accept those materials, although he may have held reservations about them. He was indeed caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. This was the reason he became so irascible after Lena’s death. Christy began spiritist adventures. The text of the Great Revelation was altered. Sadler had an intuitive sense that something was wrong but did not come to grips with it. Then Harold Sherman forced his hand. As Carolyn continued:  ~374~ The Birth of a Divine RevelationThe plan was never presented as a 1-2-3 listing of do’s and don’t’s. If one is discerning, facets of the plan will emerge, just as they dawned upon each Forum member and Brotherhood leader. As was true in past revelations, in the realm of revelatory planning, timing is everything. The “plan,” of course, was the new direction under the management of no less a personality than Caligastia himself. DEVELOPMENT OF The Urantia PapersThe revelators began planning the content of The Urantia Papers in the Middle Ages. It was instigated and approved by Michael himself — the Word made Book. Though neither a bestowal nor emergency mission, The Urantia Book is both a remedial and upstepping enterprise, an array of resident and visiting celestial beings were conscripted for service to the revelatory undertaking. The celestial beings functioned as invisible behind-the-scenes directors to the contact commissioner, the dependable human facilitators who carried the project to completion. The idea that the content of The Urantia Papers began in the Middle Ages may have been part of the diversion of Caligastia, or it may have been wild imagination, part of the myths which developed strictly out of human minds at 533. It shows gross inability to recognize planetary destiny developed over eons of time. The statement that — Page 853:76:5.6 “no comprehensive plan for far-reaching world welfare was promulgated to the mortals of earth until the arrival of Machiventa Melchizedek, in the times of Abraham, who, with the power, patience, and authority of a Son of God, did lay the foundations for the further uplift and spiritual rehabilitation of unfortunate Urantia,” — Page 853, certainly is a specific indication that the plans for this world extend over far reaches of time, and that the timing of the Urantia Revelation can be understood only within that destiny context. But simple minds need simple answers. The phrase “the Word made Book” is pure Devil talk. By these simple phrases he denigrates our Creator. The “Word,” of course, is a silent but suggestive reference to the use of “Word” in John’s Gospel. John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Now the Devil would make our Creator, the Word, into a book. How repulsive! While Carolyn states that the Revelation came under the auspices of our Creator, she interprets this phrase as the Creator, the Word, making (creating) the book. 26 - The Kendall Document ~375~Nowhere in the Revelation does it say that Michael was directly involved in the creation of the Revelation. Assignment is to various divine commissions: “the accompanying papers dealing with Deity and the universe of universes . . . have been formulated by an Orvonton commission sent to Urantia for this purpose,” “sponsored as a group by a commission of Nebadon personalities,” “sponsored by a commission of twelve Urantia midwayers,” “I, the Melchizedek director of the revelatory commission intrusted with this task,” are all phrases indicative of the celestial personalities involved in the revelation task. However, a clear statement shows that nothing occurs on this planet without the express consent and approval of our Creator: 322:20:4.6 “A Michael-bestowal world becomes the individual and personal ward of a Master Son and, as such, is wholly subject to his own plans and rulings.”The first Urantia paper was read to the Forum on January 18, 1925. This paper consisted of answers supplied by ABC, the midwayer, to 181 written questions pertaining to Deity and the cosmos. These questions were compiled from hundreds of questions which had been solicited from the Forum in December 1924 by the revelators. The questions were sorted, classified and duplicates discarded. Questions were then presented to the Revelatory Commission. More questions and more papers followed. Altogether 57 papers comprised the first series and consisted of at least 1700 typewritten pages. This period lasted until 1929. (See Backnotes: (1.1)) & (4.1)These dates are unverified in any other source known to me. Carolyn obviously obtained them from her father’s diary. They are exceptionally helpful to tell us how rapidly the Revelation was appearing. We should remember that these Papers were not the actual Revelation, but precursors to the Revelation. We do not have evidence to show how closely the content of the precursor Papers were parallel with the actual Papers given in 1934. We also don’t know how many additional precursor Papers were given between 1929 and 1934. Carolyn’s following remark is not helpful to determine these facts. The first 57 papers were further expanded through the asking of more questions by the Forum. “The first three parts were completed and certified to us in A.D. 1934. The Jesus Papers were not so delivered to us until 1935.” (1.1) This second series, plus the Jesus Papers, totaled about 4,500 typewritten pages.(4,500 typewritten pages is about nine reams of 8 X 11 paper, or about one carton according to paper vendor packing methods.) Important Note: Carolyn distinguishes the actual Revelation as the “second series.” The first series were the precursor Papers. The “third series” was the corrupted text. ~376~ The Birth of a Divine Revelation (4.1) The Forum was then invited to review the 196 papers and “ask questions concerning clarification of concepts and the removal of ambiguities.” “During this period very little new information was imparted. Only minor changes were made in any of the Papers. Some matter was added — some removed — but there was little revision or amplification of the text.”(1.1)This is the point at which corruption entered. Carolyn’s quotation is from the “History” document. We do not know if she had independent sources to provide this evidence. This is also the comment Matthew Block uses to justify the changes he believes were made to the Revelation after 1935. The original papers were received in English in the handwriting of the unidentified contact personality. (1.2) & (2.1) The handwritten papers were never seen by the Forum. (4.2) Each was typewritten on an Underwood upright typewriter. The papers were typed at least three times. (3.1)Carolyn here fails to distinguish the earlier Papers in the handwriting of SS, from the actual Revelation in an unknown handwriting. She cites Christy. Christy may never have described the difference. THE “CONTACT PERSONALITY” Regarding the human subject: “His was an exemplary and inspiring life else he would not have been chosen for such an important task by the Revelatory Commission.” (3.2) “We were enjoined to refrain from discussing the identity of the Contact Personality and, after the publication of the Book, to make no statement at any time as to whether the ‘subject’ was still living or was deceased.” (1.1) “The human subject was necessary for any written communications and for The Urantia Papers.”(1.2)The phrase “exemplary and inspiring life” is sheer hogwash. Christy fabricated this picture, to elevate the status of SS. This remark should be contrasted to the remarks from William and Bill Sadler to a “hard-nosed businessman” “who didn’t believe in that nonsense.” Christy was also the source of the anecdotal adoration later repeated by Meredith Sprunger about Sadler. See Chapter 16. The last remark is curious because it suggests that the process of the actual Revelation involved SS. It contradicts the anecdotal accounts of Papers appearing in bank boxes, or mysteriously appearing in Sadler’s office. The remark pertains to both the precursor Papers, and the “second series” of the actual Revelation. If so, all Papers appeared mysteriously in the home of SS while he was asleep, both the precursor Papers and the actual Revelation. 26 - The Kendall Document ~377~FUNCTIONING OF THE CONTACT COMMISSIONERS “The individuals charged with the responsibility of gathering up the questions and comparing the typewritten text with the original handwritten manuscript came to be known as the “Contact Commissioners” "[Only] these Contact Commissioners attended ‘contacts’ and received written communications through the contact personality.” (1.1) The Commissioners were the custodians of the Urantia Manuscript, keeping the carbon copy of the typewritten transcript in a fireproof vault. They were also charged with full responsibility for supervising all the details connected with the publication of the Book, securing the international copyrights, etc. “The Papers were published just as we received them. The Contact Commissioners had no editorial authority. Our job was limited to ‘spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.’” (1.1) During these early years the Contact Commissioners received many communications and directives in writing.” . . . “Between 1939 and 1955 eight written communications were given to the Seventy by the Seraphim of Progress attached to the Superhuman Planetary Government of Urantia.” (1.1) The last new written communication was read to the Forum in 1952. (see below) (8.1) “Almost all of these messages had a notation at the bottom of the last page which read: “To be destroyed by fire not later than the appearance of The Urantia Papers in print.’ It was the design of our unseen friends to prevent the appearance of an ‘Urantia Apocrypha’ subsequent to the publication of The Urantia Book. (1.1) Dr. Sadler and Christy were permitted to retain several of the communications after publication, but she was required to destroy them before her death. (3.1) In 1982 during her final illness Christy directed their destruction by two trusted associates. (9.1)The comment: “[Only] these Contact Commissioners attended ‘contacts’ and received written communications through the contact personality” is from the History document. Prior to 1939, communications were strictly through writing. “Audible” communications began after 1939, with Christy’s channeling. Note that Carolyn cites no authority for “securing the international copyrights, etc.” This instruction came through Christy’s channeling and was not quoted by William Sadler or Bill Sadler, Jr. as authority, although they relied on it for later policy decisions. The remark, “Between 1939 and 1955 eight written communications were given to the Seventy by the Seraphim of Progress attached to the Superhuman Planetary Government of Urantia,” is cited by Carolyn as part of the History document, but this statement is not in any version of the History document known to us. She is here confusing two sources, the earlier written instructions, and the later channeled instructions through Christy. Her entire presentation displays a lack of recognition about the two different methods of communication. The eight written communications between 1939 and 1955 were the messages channeled by Christy. Actually, the dates were 1942 to 1955. This comment is highly important. It confirms my deduction that changes to the text did not begin until after 1939. This was the beginning of the deception of Sadler through Christy. That corruption came from the “instructions” through the mind of Christy. ~378~ The Birth of a Divine RevelationIt is highly probable that Sadler was unaware of “instructions” received by Christy much later, and that some came after his death. Carolyn stated in public presentation in Montreal in 1993 that Christy continued to receive “instructions” through the 1970’s, at least ten years after Sadler died. She confirms these late dates in the remark below. The statement, “Seraphim of Progress attached to the Superhuman Planetary Government of Urantia,” was an invention of Caligastia to provide authority for his “instructions” and “directions.” The presence of the contact personality was not required for verbal contacts between the Revelatory Commission or the successor Midwayer Commission and Contact Commissioners. The verbal contacts which had begun twenty years before the papers appeared, continued into the early 1980s. (1.2 & 1.3) “The midwayers were very real to us — we frequently talked with them during our varied ‘contacts.’ We quite fully understood that the secondary midwayers supervised the contacts.” (1.1) Once when asked why words unique to The Urantia Book were pronounced in a certain way, Dr. Sadler answered, “We heard some of them spoken.” Verbal contacts have not been reestablished since the demise of the last contact commissioner. (9.1) & (9.2)This is one of the most revealing remarks we have available concerning Caligastia communications, and the corruption of the Revelation. In my notes on the “History” document I raised the concern about the form of the “verbal” contacts. There I expressed doubt that the communications were audible through the air. When I prepared those remarks I was unwilling to admit that channeling was taking place at 533, or that Caligastia had inveigled himself into those environs. I later became convinced that, indeed, Christy was engaged in such nefarious machinations. Earlier above I indicated how those “verbal” communications can take place. A human channeler must be present before audible communications are possible. If Sadler and other members of the Contact Commission heard voices, Christy was at that moment in a trance (marginal conscious) state. Carolyn is clearly confused about the form of the “verbal” contacts. She may have been led into this confusion by Christy. Even Christy was not present until 1923, some fifteen years after the onset of the revelation process. Later, when she began to channel, Christy may have felt that written “verbal” transmissions, and audible “verbal” transmissions were equivalent. The “successor midwayer commission” is a more precise indicator of the sham by Caligastia to take over the revelation after Lena’s death. This new “administration” was created by the Devil to control the Revelation. Note that Carolyn states the “contact personality” was not required for these “verbal” communications. Of course, she refers to the later audible communications. In other words, some other mechanism of communication was used. The Devil had taken over. SS was no longer functioning. If SS had been available Sadler certainly would have checked these new operations through him. 26 - The Kendall Document ~379~Matthew Block’s work opened to me the possibility of corruption taking place at 533. He caused me to examine sources more carefully, and to collate the information that was available to us. Carolyn Kendall has contributed immeasurably to this investigation, but she did not have a glimmer of how her document would confirm our suspicions of the corruption at 533. Her unquestioned faith in Christy opened this window for us. The confusion over all of this information was the failure to distinguish between the form of communications prior to 1939, and that after. The earlier communications were strictly through writing; thus the remarks about written communications. The later communications were through both writing and audible mechanisms. The former writing was produced by midwayer control of the muscles of SS, or materialized directly on paper. The later writing was through automatic trance, by Christy during her channeling sessions. The audible was those “voices” created by Caligastia when he had Christy’s mind under his control. THE DELAY IN PUBLISHING THE URANTIA BOOK Had not World War II occurred, the book might have been published in 1940 or 1941. It was assumed that when the war concluded, permission would be granted to publish The Urantia Book. (4.2) The war was barely over in 1945 when a new menace arose that postponed the dream of worldwide peace and spiritual regeneration. In January 1946, the Melchizedeks declared war on communism.They viewed communism as one of the “great[est] threat[s] to the religion of Jesus and to the freedom of man: in two thousand years.” [The] seraphim advocates of the past [angels of the churches] and of the future [angels of progress] have been mandated to abandon their traditional perspectives while they have been bidden to stand shoulder to shoulder in defense of the present.” The Melchizedeks promised: “The Master’s teachings at Urmia will sometime prevail. The brotherhood of men will someday begin. Whether it requires a decade or a century, we will prevail against the forces of retrogression and enslavement.” They expressed the hope they could “prevent global war. But most of all we crave to foster a spiritual awakening of your fellow mortals.” (10.2) The course of communism was watched as the Melchizedeks worked behind the scenes. Finally, rather than delay until the downfall of the Godless, oppressive system, the go-ahead was given in August 1952 to publish the Papers in 1955.This is the first occasion in which Carolyn actually quotes the spurious instructions. The paragraph is based entirely on perverse communications received after Lena’s death, and when SS was no longer functioning. I show actual quotes in italics. The Melchizedeks do not declare war on any human institution, political system, cultural tradition, or social practice. They view those elements of mankind as evolutionary steps in the long climb out of animalism. The fears expressed in 1946 were purely human. Caligastia played on those fears, to divert attention from righteous goals. This diversion is starkly portrayed in the statements:
~380~ The Birth of a Divine Revelation“The seraphim advocates of the past [angels of the churches] and of the future [angels of progress] have been mandated to abandon their traditional perspectives while they have been bidden to stand shoulder to shoulder in defense of the present.” Neither immortal angels, nor immortal midwayers, nor members of the immortal celestial host abandon any plan for the long-term rehabilitation of mankind. Neither do they defend current human concerns when they view the far reaches of the future in the salvation of mankind. These statements are pure perversion, to sidetrack Sadler, the other members of the Contact Commission, members of the Forum, and to corrupt the Revelation. They played upon current human emotions and concerns. Except for the 1945 “message” I have been unable to obtain copies of the complete text of these perversions. Therefore we cannot determine if Carolyn’s statements about the 1952 release of the Revelation for publication in 1955 is accurate. Unfortunately, for those who cannot see beyond the day, godlessness is pervasive throughout the world, and is not limited to the communist economic system. We have now witnessed the demise of Communism as a social philosophy, yet the world continues to degenerate into further godlessness. ASSIGNMENTS OF RESPONSIBILITIES The following instructions were read to the Forum in November, 1951. They were directed “to the Contact Commissioners (the Custodians of the Urantia revelation) from the personal regent of the acting Planetary Prince of Urantia”:Clearly, another celestial personality has taken over the management of the Revelation, one who identifies himself as the “personal regent of the acting Planetary Prince of Urantia.” Actually, he was the Planetary Prince of Urantia before he was demoted, or “cast down” by Jesus. Here he impresses himself upon the mortal Urantia personnel as one who is still acting. And he really is. He is still free on Urantia to prosecute his nefarious designs. How sadly disappointing to realize that Sadler was hoodwinked into accepting these spurious perversions of the Revelation, and the Revelatory process. This following is part of the November, 22, 1951 “Instruction.” “I desire to inform you concerning certain decisions and rulings formulated by the planetary government which pertain to the affairs of The Urantia Book and the ensuing Urantia Brotherhood. Today, I am calling into being a supreme planetary conclave to signalize my creation of the Supreme Court of Urantia. I have recently had a meeting with all persons and groups concerned with the Urantia revelation. As a result of this conference, I have made certain decisions and am handing down the following rulings:
26 - The Kendall Document ~381~In the Papers the Revelators referred to the Revelation as Papers. They did not use the word book. Only this perverted personality reduces the status of a divine Revelation to that of a secular book. And it has been known as a secular book to most people since. Individuals loyal to holiness and righteousness do not conceive of placing private ownership through copyright on a divine Revelation. Individuals not loyal to the Creator easily place commercial control through copyright on a secular book. As we can see, he is here structuring a new management, which consists only of himself and his equally nefarious companion, Daligastia. The “supreme planetary conclave,” the “Supreme Court of Urantia,” and the other “persons and groups” were nothing more than figments of his invention. How could Sadler know the difference? We now come to the actual mechanisms by which he subverted the Revelation. This continues the November, 1951 “Instructions.”
The “seraphim of progress,” and all other groups in this “mandate,” of course, are part of his fabrication. These include the “Seraphim of the Churches,” the “Midwayer Commission,” (note that they are the successor to the original Urantia Revelatory Commission), and the “Seraphic Overseers.” I’m sure the personnel at 533 were impressed with all the attention they were getting with these imaginary celestial organizations. Caligastia had to interleave his new management strategy with the former instructions and human organizational thinking. We know from the letter from Clyde Bedell to Wilfred Kellogg, dated October 30, 1933, that thinking toward the Urantia Foundation was already well underway at that early date. This includes instructions Sadler received on June 24, 1933. But to continue with Carolyn’s list:
~382~ The Birth of a Divine Revelation“This communication represents my ruling up to this date respecting your Forum, the Seventy, The Urantia Book, the Urantia Foundation, and the proposed Urantia Brotherhood.
a. I, and I alone, will direct the time of the publication of The Urantia Book. b. If I do not provide such instructions on or before January 1, 1955, then the Trustees of the Urantia Foundation should proceed with plans for future publication in accordance with their own judgment. c. I approve of your plan to publish the Index of The Urantia Book in a separate volume.
We can see how he casts his management in the first person. “ . . . the full custody of The Urantia Book has been placed in my hands.He is the one now in charge. He will “ now make the following rulings . . .” He, and he alone, will direct the publication of the Papers.We can readily see how he explicitly guides the policies of the Foundation and the Brotherhood. In August, 1952 he offered the following: “I share in your aspirations, concur in your longings, minister to your shortcomings, and wholeheartedly bless your undertakings.” (10.5) Well, yes, he does offer his blessings, under his direct supervision. THE TIMING OF THE URANTIA BOOK In April 1955 William S. Sadler, Jr., prepared a paper, “Timing of The Urantia Book,” for the files of the Executive Committee drawn from “certain wise comments and advices.” It was known that these “wise sayings” were originally writ-
26 - The Kendall Document ~383~ten communications addressed to the contact commissioners. We had heard them read in 1951 in their original form. Bill had adapted the language for “public” consumption, and he also read this paper to the Forum: This shows explicitly that the written channeled “certain wise comments and advices” were edited for public consumption. This was necessary because of their impurity. Many channeled communications are polluted by the mind of the channeler, in this case Christy, and could not be presented for public perusal and inevitable analysis in raw form. The “originally written communications” shows that they were written by Christy under “trance control,” and then edited by Bill Sadler. We come now to a most famous Instruction. It has been published by various individuals because of its importance to Foundation and Brotherhood policy. Carolyn assigns it to the August, 1952 instruction. I have questioned the origins of this instruction. It contains much truth. I expounded on that truth in many of my discussions with Urantia groups. I believe there were two versions of this Instruction. The original came from the Revelators. The other was a 1952 “doctored” version of the original. Other evidence suggest valid instructions were later doctored to meet the needs of Caligastia. The following continues with Carolyn’s text. “We regard The Urantia Book as a feature of the progressive evolution of human society. It is not germane to the spectacular episodes of epochal revolution, even though it may apparently be timed to appear in the wake of one such revolution in human society. The Book belongs to the era immediately to follow the conclusion of the present ideological struggle. That will be the day when men will be willing to seek truth and righteousness. When the chaos of the present confusion has passed, it will be more readily possible to formulate the cosmos of a new and improved era of human relationships. And it is for this better order of affairs on earth that the Book has been made ready. “But the publication of the Book has not been postponed to that (possibly) somewhat remote date. An early publication of the Book has been provided so that it may in hand for the training of leaders and teachers. Its presence is also required to engage the attention of persons of means who may be thus led to provide funds for translations into other languages. “You who dedicate your lives to the service of the Book and the Brotherhood can little realize the import of your doings. You will doubtless live and die without fully realizing that you are participating in the birth of a new age of religion on this world. “The future is not open to your mortal comprehension, but you will do well to diligently study the order, plan, and methods of progression as they were enacted in the earth life of Michael when the Word was made flesh. You are becoming actors in an ensuing episode when the Word is made Book. Great is the difference in these dispensations of religion, but many are the lessons which can be learned from a study of the former age.
~384~ The Birth of a Divine Revelation“You must again study the times of Jesus on earth. You must carefully take note of how the kingdom of heaven was inaugurated in the world. Did it evolve slowly and unfold naturally? Or did it come with sudden show of force and with spectacular exhibition of power? Was it evolutionary or revolutionary? “You must learn to possess your souls in patience. You are in association with a revelation of truth which is a part of the natural evolution of religion on this world. Over rapid growth would be suicidal. The book is being given to those who are ready for it long before the day of its world-wide mission. Thousands of study groups must be brought into existence and the book must be translated into many tongues. Thus will the book be in readiness when the battle for man’s liberty is finally won and the world is once more made safe for the religion of Jesus and the freedom of mankind.” (10.5) This is the famous “possess your souls in patience” instruction. It was quoted by Sadler, Christy, Martin Myers, and others. However, this version has been polluted by Christy’s channeling. How this came about we do not know. It may be that Caligastia suggested that the version the Contact Commission had earlier received was incomplete, and he here completes it for them. As I shall show in following Chapters, one of his easiest techniques for corrupting the Revelation was to take valid text, and then insert compromising words or phrases. This same technique shows here. Many of the phrases are insertions for this revised version:
2. 3. “ Here is one of the great perversions I discussed above. Again, suggestion of “a study of the former age” is pure nebulosity. And nebulosity is the stock-in-trade of Caligastia.
26 - The Kendall Document ~385~
5. This last paragraph probably is part of the original instruction, not a perverted insertion. Clearly the personnel at 533 were in a state of great confusion concerning their instructions, and guidance from “above.” They had received instructions. Now they were being told that those instructions were not complete, or needed rephrasing. No wonder Sadler was confused and irascible. Furthermore, once started on this path, the entire text of the Revelation was subject to “improvement.” THE PLATES OF THE URANTIA BOOK “Before the demise of Dr. Lena K. Sadler in August, 1939 she had collected about twenty thousand dollars for the publication fund, and this was used to set type and prepare plates for the printing of the Book. “ It was these plates of The Urantia Book which constituted the basis for the formation of the Urantia Foundation. This Foundation, set up under the laws of Illinois, was completed on January 11, 1950. The first Board of Trustees were: William M Hales, president; William S. Sadler, Jr., vice president, Emma L. Christensen, secretary; Wilfred C. Kellogg, treasurer, and Edith Cook, assistant secretary.Carolyn is quoting from a section of the “History” document, with additional remarks by herself. Unfortunately, she offers no information about the date of the preparation of the plates. That date would be extremely helpful to determine the changes to the Revelation after Sadler understood the Revelation to be “complete and certified.” We then would be able to trace the corruption more precisely. “It was learned that one of the wealthy members of the Forum desired to contribute fifty thousand dollars for the publication of the Book. By instruction, this was circumvented, because, they told us, it was best to give all parties concerned an opportunity to contribute to the publication fund. Accordingly, an ap-
~386~ The Birth of a Divine Revelationpeal was made for $50,000.00 to defray the expense of printing ten thousand copies. The response was immediate. The sum contributed was in excess of forty-nine thousand dollars.” (1.1) The plates were destroyed between the second and third printings of The Urantia Book in 1971. New offset printing technology had made the old letterpress plates obsolete. (9.5)Again, she is mixing remarks from the “History” document with other sources. URANTIA FOUNDATION — PUBLICATION OF THE URANTIA BOOK When she joined the Forum in 1939, Marian Rowley recalls that she read the papers in their typewritten form. After the book was plated — sometime during World War II, an employee of Donnelly Printing Co., Mary Penn, proofread the papers. When she had questions about certain items, she came to 533 Diversey to consult with the contact commissioners. (5.1) The final set of galley sheets read by the Forum in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s were stamped, “Proofed by Oppy.” (7.0)Carolyn confuses galleys and the press plates. Galleys might have existed years before the press plates were finally cast. The press plates could not have been cast sometime during World War II if galleys were still being proofed in the early 1950’s. This is a crucial point. If the printing plates were cast sometime during World War II we could believe that further changes to the text of the Revelation no longer took place. This would confirm my deduction that Sadler was brought to a sharp halt of such practices due to the pressure of Harold Sherman. Unfortunately, Carolyn is not clear in her understanding. When the book was published by Urantia Foundation on October 12, 1955, it was not portrayed as being error-free. The multiple processes of transcribing from handwritten manuscript to typewritten pages; the retyping of these pages two to five times; and from the typewritten to typeset form, presented opportunities for errors to creep into the papers which were not caught by even two professional proofreadings. (3.1) By publication day, Christy and Marian had already collected a list of errors noticed by sharp-eyed Forum members. (8.1) The midwayers did not volunteer the location of errors, just the information that there were errors in the published text. (3.1)Carolyn apparently is unaware that the errors were more than typesetting. Actual text contradictions were found, as well as other serious errors. See following chapters.
26 - The Kendall Document ~387~In the years after publication, errors brought to Christy’s or Marian’s attention were welcomed. The Foundation wanted the book to be perfect. However, Christy was adamant -- no changes could be made arbitrarily. Between 1955 and 1982 proposed corrections and changes were submitted by either of two surviving contact commissioners to the revelators for permission. (3.1) The corrections and changes made by Sadler and Christy, the only two surviving members of the Contact Commission, had time constraints. Sadler died in 1969, and could have contributed to text changes only in the second printing. Christy could have been the only person submitting the changes for approval, and they could have been submitted only through her channeling. The true Revelators had long since left the scene. Any permission was now made strictly through Christy, This statement by Carolyn is another direct confirmation of Christy’s channeling. This remark is useful in another respect. It suggests that Sadler knew Christy continued to channel after publication in 1955, and submitted to the “instructions” received through her. The trustees of Urantia Foundation did not participate in the process of correcting the text of The Urantia Book. Their job was to publish the book with whatever latest changes were authorized by the midwayers. They were to maintain the text inviolate, backing it up by copyright. (9.1) It ought to be clarified to the readership by the Foundation that the corrections made after 1982 were apparently made without the authorization of the midwayers. (8.2) Reportedly, in publishing their latest edition, the Foundation is reversing changes made after 1982. (9.3)Again, this remark confirms Christy’s channeling. When she died the Trustees no longer had her authority to warrant any changes. Carolyn does not recognize that Sadler made changes under his own authority. AN “UNENCUMBERED” URANTIA BOOK The following continues with Carolyn’s personal remarks. The revelators were concerned that the book might become a means for the personal aggrandizement of the humans associated with it. “The main reason for not revealing the identity of the ‘Contact Personality’ is that the Celestial Revelators do not want any human being — any human name — ever to be associated with The Urantia Book. They want this revelation to stand on its own declarations and teachings. They are determined that future generations shall have the book wholly free from all mortal connections — they do not want a Saint Peter, Saint Paul, Luther, Calvin, or Wesley. The book does not even bear the imprint of the printer who brought the book into being.” (1.1) They did not want anyone to make either a name or money for himself off The Urantia Book. (2.2)
~388~ The Birth of a Divine RevelationThe revelators had definite opinions regarding anything that might presume to explain or even obscure the book. As the book was being prepared for its initial publication, one of the contact commissioners proposed to the Revelatory commission that he write an introduction to pave the way for the book. They declined his offer, commenting, “How could a candle illuminate the way for a powerful beacon of light?” The commissioner later said, “So, I didn’t write my book.” (1.3)This statement offers some insight into the thinking and human aspirations going on at 533. They had firm ideas about what form the papers should take. In January 1954 Bill Sadler wrote a simplified version of the Foreword and first five papers which he titled, “The Alpheus Twins’ Version of The Urantia Papers.” He read each chapter on successive Sundays to the approval of, and encouragement by, the Forum. The next week he announced he could not continue his project. The midwayers had remonstrated with him, telling him to “knock it off.” They did not want a simplified version of the revelation to compete with the original version. (2.2), (5.1) & (8.1) Only material of the highest quality could be considered by the trustees and then, if approved, published separately.Another reason exists for the caution to Bill Sadler by Caligastia. If he were to publish “reduced” versions of the Papers he would open the Pandora’s box of other persons doing the same. This possibility was counter to secular control of the Revelation. SAFEGUARDING THE NAME URANTIA We come now to one of the most devastating “instructions” given by Caligastia. This led to great turmoil within the Urantia community, and subverted a free and clear Revelation. A well-known message is the advice about protecting the name Urantia: “You have not done enough to safeguard your name. (Meaning the name Urantia.) Make it very safe for one generation so the name URANTIA cannot be preempted.“In a common-law trust you hold the name. You do it also in a corporation. A corporation has status in law. You also do it in the copyright. You must carefully register it with the division of government that I have looked into, that controls trade relations, Trademarks, and then you are protected in common law connected with a volunteer association such as you are planning in the Urantia Brotherhood. In all those ways you must safeguard the name. THIS IS ONE OF YOUR MOST IMPORTANT DUTIES. “In 50, 75, or 100 years the name will be fairly safe. You safeguard it for a generation and it will largely take care of itself. (They are talking about the name Urantia.).” (10.1)
26 - The Kendall Document ~389~Well, certainly, if the Revelation is tied up under secular law for one generation, if everyone’s mind is conditioned to those legal policies, and if legal precedent is set, it will largely take care of itself. THIS IS ONE OF THEIR MOST IMPORTANT DUTIES, but the personalities at the scene simply could not see through the deception.How devious. One can see from the human elements of the phraseology how this “instruction” came out of the mind of Christy through her channeling. It probably also was edited for public consumption. “Safeguard your name,” “common-law trust,” “corporation,” “status in law,” “copyright,” “division of government,” “control trade relations,” are all secular legal vehicles. This “instruction” focused reliance on just such mortal devices, rather than upon trust in God. The phrase “division of government that I have looked into” is especially telling. Immortal beings do not have to “look into” any secular mortal institutions. “There must be one Urantia Brotherhood. Study groups may call themselves groups to study The Urantia Book.” (10.6) & (3.3) “Other religious groups will spring from the Urantia teachings. The Urantia Book, Urantia Brotherhood, Urantia Foundation and Urantia Societies will be the exclusive carriers of the name, Urantia, but they should not claim to be the exclusive carriers of the truth.” (10.7) & (3.3)Here Carolyn’s sources are Christy and Christy’s channeled productions. The Devil is embellishing on his methods to control the Revelation. THE URANTIA BROTHERHOOD “It was inevitable that some sort of fraternal organization would grow out of the teachings of The Urantia Book. All interested persons could see that the Urantia teachings were opposed to the sectarianism of Christian believers. It was clear that it was not the purpose of the Urantia Revelation to start a new church.” (1.1) It was the trustees’ responsibility to plan the Brotherhood. (3.3) This organization would be delegated the task of disseminating The Urantia Book and its teachings. While it was not to be a church, there needed to be an efficient, minimal organization. In consultation with outside authorities on organizations a governing structure similar to the Presbyterian church was adopted for the Brotherhood. (2.2)The “Articles for Urantia Brotherhood Constitution” were read to the Seventy in November 1950. The organizational outline was presented to the Seventy a month later. The preamble to the Brotherhood Constitution and more of the Constitution was read to the Seventy in December 1951. (4.1) It should be recalled that this “plan of organization” was “provisionally approved for the inauguration of the Brotherhood” by the recently installed planetary prince in August 1952. (10.5) ~390~ The Birth of a Divine RevelationThis is how Caligastia authorized himself, and achieved secular control over the organizations. This document from Carolyn is important not only for revealing the mechanism of how Caligastia achieved control, but also for the history it offers into critical events. “Sunday, January 2, 1955, at 12 o’clock there was a meeting of 36 people in the Forum room for the purpose of organizing the Urantia Brotherhood. First, Doctor read a communication directing how it should be done, then Bill Hales presided and called each one of the 36 up to the front to sign the constitution. (After elections) the meeting closed with the Lord’s Prayer, and the deed was done. Believe me, it was the most thrilling thing! We were all very much impressed — some were crying and I was shaking like a leaf. We’ve waited so long, and it just seemed hardly possible.” (5.2) On March 7, 1955, William S. Sadler, Jr. distributed a memo addressed to the Executive Committee of Urantia Brotherhood, with copies placed into each committee secretary’s notebook. Again, the paper was adapted from written communications and was read to the Forum. It was entitled “Some Problems Confronting a New Religious Organization,” and opened with: Following is partial text of one of Christy’s 1950’s channeled “communications.” It is highly instructive to understand the psychology at 533. Caligastia plays right into human attitudes; it was easy for him to style his “instruction” to cultivate purely human desires. The text probably is a blend of channeled material and human editing. I have been unable to obtain copies of the entire document. “It seems most appropriate to bring to the attention of the Executive Committee certain wise comments and advices which have been gathered over a period of time, relative to the future problems of the Urantia Brotherhood and its component societies.” (2.2) “Of course, you probably know that the best government in the world is that which governs least, that the true purpose of government is to prevent government, and that the government which prevents the most government is best because it leaves the individual free — permits him his liberties and inalienable rights — but prevents predatory groups from interfering with these liberties. When people are all spirit-led they won’t need any more government than they have on Havona . . . ‘That organization is best which is so organized as to prevent all other organizations.’ “When people come to you about The Urantia Book and URANTIA Brotherhood and tell you that since the Thought Adjusters are here and indwell everyone and the Spirit of Truth has been poured out upon all flesh, therefore, it isn’t necessary to have an organization but just to trust in God, etc., don’t argue with them. They are right ... “If we undertake this work without an organization, we will have in the English-speaking world alone fifty other organizations spring up who will all claim the right to use the name ‘Urantia,’ each one claiming to be the ‘only true and original’ Urantia Brotherhood. It would become the most disgraceful thing in the 26 - The Kendall Document ~391~world since the early days of Christianity. Not since the gospel of Jesus has there appeared on earth such a dynamic nucleus about which could be built so many organizations and which would attract so many differently motivated men — good, bad, and indifferent. “We must create an organization whose major purpose is to prevent other organizations and, therefore, the most benign. Create an organization which will organize the least and thereby prevent all other organizations with their tyranny and disgrace and their disrupting influences... “We have an organization.... (It is organized) to allow as much liberty as possible. When the time comes that we feel it can be improved, we will have the experience to do so. “We should foster an organization that will give every one a right to his own belief and interpretation but an organization what will prevent confusion, disruption and disgrace. We should have an organization that will have control over the wicked minority who might by organization seek to disgrace the very purpose for which the book was given to the world. If we do not have an organization to safeguard the name, then will such an organization rise to take the name . . . “Some idealists will join us but they will later go off in their own way just like Abner and they will do a good work, and we will bid them Godspeed because we have an organization which prevents any one from being restricted or inhibited. “We might consider asking an idealist if he thinks The Urantia Book should be copyrighted or just trust to the Spirit of Truth to take care of that? Idealists are to an organization what comets are to the solar system. They are spectacular but you can’t depend on them. You cannot plan to receive from an idealist a regular income for a social organization, but he can go out and get a million dollars sometimes. “We have to deal with many things in our jobs that are not ideal. When this book is once published, if the idealists control it, they would provide no organization and soon a lot of selfish people would start to work to make a name out of it. Lucifer, Satan, and Caligastia were idealists, at the start. But they were something else. They were egoists. Marry idealism to egotism and you have a fatal combination. “Abner was an idealist, a wonderful man . . . Paul was an idealist. He had ideas and it was a great pity they did not work together, then they would have had a religion for the Orient and a better religion for the Occident. If idealists and idealists could work together it would save a lot of time and lives. One refused to have an organization; he was impractical. The other (Paul) built an organization, and he knew he was building in a practical way. We can love Abner but we must respect Paul . . . You are going to have a lot of (people) come along now. Some idealists but mostly idealists. “You must carefully consider the organization Jesus created before he left the planet. It was an organization designed to prevent confusion, to ordain justice, to safeguard majorities against minorities. He did not leave the ecclesiastical hierarchy that subsequently grew up. But he did leave a simple social organization that could carry on and prevent confusion . . . “Failure to organize would witness, I believe, the most terrible failure for The Urantia Book. It would allow all manner of designing groups and organizations to spring into existence and to use the name Urantia, to prostitute the teachings of The Urantia Book, and to dictate its policies. ~392~ The Birth of a Divine Revelation“Many things we have debated and discussed over the years. Many things we have thought of and discarded years ago, but we bring in new people and they do not know what has gone before . . . “Think for a moment of the large number of warring and disgraceful organizations that would be in existence if we did not control the name Urantia and provide for some authoritative recognition . . . Think of it in the future: One million . . . people in confusion and there are a dozen different organizations that want to do something for them about The Urantia Book. They get literature from several different groups each claiming to be the one and only true one . . . That would be true if we did not occupy the field with an organized group.“That organization is best that coordinates most while it organizes least.” I shall now compare individual remarks from these “wise comments and advices” with the Revelation. The perversions which took place in these “special communications” becomes clear. “Of course, you probably know that the best government in the world is that which governs least, that the true purpose of government is to prevent government, and that the government which prevents the most government is best because it leaves the individual free — permits him his liberties and inalienable rights — but prevents predatory groups from interfering with these liberties. When people are all spirit-led they won’t need any more government than they have on Havona . . .”That organization is best which is so organized as to prevent all other organizations. This is pure balderdash. This “teaching” is explicitly denied by the Revelation. P.517 45:7.3 - The entire universe is organized and administered on the representative plan. Representative government is the divine ideal of self-government among nonperfect beings. P.83374:5.5 - Adam made a heroic and determined effort to establish a world government. P.1489 - Peace will not come to Urantia until every so-called sovereign nation surrenders its power to make war into the hands of a representative government of all mankind. P.1491134:6.10 - The individual will enjoy far more liberty under world government. You can see the great confusion such statement created. The Devil then quickly modifies that remark and goes on to say: “If we undertake this work without an organization, we will have in the English-speaking world alone fifty other organizations spring up who will all claim the right to use the name ‘Urantia,’ each one claiming to be the ‘only true and original’ Urantia Brotherhood. It would become the most disgraceful thing in the world since the early days of Christianity.
26 - The Kendall Document ~393~Obviously, if he is to assume control he must have an organization by which he can achieve that control, and he immediately must rectify the notion of no government. He then enters into subtlety of argument of why organizations are necessary. “We must create an organization whose major purpose is to prevent other organizations and, therefore, the most benign.”The implication is that no other human organizations would be permitted if they do not come under the auspices of this central organization. And how could he get control through the Urantia Foundation? By secular legal licensing procedures under trademark and copyright. "Create an organization which will organize the least and thereby prevent all other organizations with their tyranny and disgrace and their disrupting influences . . . “We have an organization . . . (It is organized) to allow as much liberty as possible. When the time comes that we feel it can be improved, we will have the experience to do so." This series of statements is at the heart of the policies of the Urantia Foundation since its inception, and provided the logic for the tyrannical control instituted by Martin Myers. Although Myers has disappeared from the scene because of his maniacal assumption of authority, the Trustees continue to base their decisions on these devilish communications. “We should foster an organization that will give every one a right to his own belief and interpretation but an organization what will prevent confusion, disruption and disgrace. We should have an organization that will have control over the wicked minority who might by organization seek to disgrace the very purpose for which the book was given to the world. If we do not have an organization to safeguard the name, then will such an organization rise to take the name" . . . Here Caligastia raises the bogey man of the “wicked minority.’”He then justifies an organization to “safeguard the name.” “Some idealists will join us but they will later go off in their own way just like Abner and they will do a good work, and we will bid them Godspeed because we have an organization which prevents any one from being restricted or inhibited.”Here he raises the obstacle of good-intentioned people who will bring damage to the Revelation through their misguided ideas and efforts. Again he reinforces the necessity of an organization to put controls on such supposed damage.
~394~ The Birth of a Divine Revelation“We might consider asking an idealist if he thinks The Urantia Book should be copyrighted or just trust to the Spirit of Truth to take care of that? Idealists are to an organization what comets are to the solar system. They are spectacular but you can’t depend on them. You cannot plan to receive from an idealist a regular income for a social organization, but he can go out and get a million dollars sometimes.” We can see the continual repetition and reinforcement of the need for legal corporate entities and secular control. But we also see denigration of personalities who led the world in the reformations of mankind. Caligastia is catering to, and reinforcing, William Sadler’s conservative mid-western mind, and the mental attitudes of those Sadler chose for his organizational care of the Revelation . He goes on and on with this tirade. “We have to deal with many things in our jobs that are not ideal. When this book is once published, if the idealists control it, they would provide no organization and soon a lot of selfish people would start to work to make a name out of it. Lucifer, Satan, and Caligastia were idealists, at the start. But they were something else. They were egoists. Marry idealism to egotism and you have a fatal combination". He is not afraid to invoke images of his own rebellious actions. “Abner was an idealist, a wonderful man . . . Paul was an ideaist. He had ideas and it was a great pity they did not work together, then they would have had a religion for the Orient and a better religion for the Occident. If idealists and ideaists could work together it would save a lot of time and lives. One refused to have an organization; he was impractical. The other (Paul) built an organization, and he knew he was building in a practical way. We can love Abner but we must respect Paul . . . . You are going to have a lot of (people) come along now. Some idealists but mostly ideaists." These are sideswipes against Abner and Paul. Men with driving religious fervor are here classified as “idealists,” implying that they cannot build lasting spiritual work, that they are a threat to the social order, and that their work should be conditioned by this “central organization” to “save a lot of time and lives.” “You must carefully consider the organization Jesus created before he left the planet. It was an organization designed to prevent confusion, to ordain justice, to safeguard majorities against minorities. He did not leave the ecclesiastical hierarchy that subsequently grew up. But he did leave a simple social organization that could carry on and prevent confusion . . . ."
26 - The Kendall Document ~395~We find these remarks in the Revelation concerning the organizations Jesus created: P.1593141:7.4 - The religion of Jesus was wholly based on the living of his bestowal life on earth. When Jesus departed from this world, he left behind no books, laws, or other forms of human organization affecting the religious life of the individual. P.1865170:5.14 - When Jesus’ immediate followers recognized their partial failure to realize his ideal of the establishment of the kingdom in the hearts of men by the spirit’s domination and guidance of the individual believer, they set about to save his teaching from being wholly lost by substituting for the Master’s ideal of the kingdom the gradual creation of a visible social organization, the Christian church. So it was not Jesus who created the ecclesiastical organizations, but his followers. P.2068194:4.12 - Stephen, the leader of the Greek colony of Jesus’ believers in Jerusalem, thus became the first martyr to the new faith and the specific cause for the formal organization of the early Christian church. This new crisis was met by the recognition that believers could not longer go on as a sect within the Jewish faith. They all agreed that they must separate themselves from unbelievers; and within one month from the death of Stephen the church at Jerusalem had been organized under the leadership of Peter, and James the brother of Jesus had been installed as its titular head. P.2085195:10.11 - The living Jesus is the only hope of a possible unification of Christianity. The true church — the Jesus brotherhood — is invisible, spiritual, and is characterized by unity, not necessarily by uniformity. Uniformity is the earmark of the physical world of mechanistic nature. Spiritual unity is the fruit of faith union with the living Jesus. The visible church should refuse longer to handicap the progress of the invisible and spiritual brotherhood of the kingdom of God. And this brotherhood is destined to become a living organism in contrast to an institutionalized social organization. It may well utilize such social organizations, but it must not be supplanted by them. “Failure to organize would witness, I believe, the most terrible failure for The Urantia Book. It would allow all manner of designing groups and organizations to spring into existence and to use the name Urantia, to prostitute the teachings of The Urantia Book, and to dictate its policies. Repeatedly, we see how Caligastia is perverting religious truths into a secular institutional organization to control the Revelation.“Think for a moment of the large number of warring and disgraceful organizations that would be in existence if we did not control the name Urantia and provide for some authoritative recognition... Think of it in the future: One million... people in confusion and there are a dozen different organizations that
~396~ The Birth of a Divine Revelationwant to do something for them about The Urantia Book. They get literature from several different groups each claiming to be the one and only true one... That would be true if we did not occupy the field with an organized group. “That organization is best that coordinates most while it organizes least.” Once again we see how these “Instructions” conditioned the policies of the Urantia Foundation, both in the method of secular licensing, and in its execution of the Revelation. To this day the Trustees follow these “Instructions.” (Note that Carolyn introduces many ellipses into her publication of the “Instructions.” We do not know what material she may have deleted that would permit a better assessment of the intent of the original, or what other contradictions it may have contained.) Again, on May 2, 1955, William Sadler, Jr., prepared a memorandum for the Executive Committee consisting of material adapted from “certain wise comments and advices.” The first part was entitled, “Past and Present Tests.” It was also read to the Forum: “If our first test was the endurance of delay, the second test was that of unity. We are still undergoing this test . . . . Our particular mission is to function effectively through this transitional period which is witnessing the materialization of the Book and which will lead to those future times when the social activities of Urantia believers will begin to function in the more formal organization of the Brotherhood. To do this effectively we must meet the test of trust and confidence. We must avoid suspicion as we would shun a deadly spiritual poison. We must make a practice of nipping suspicion in the bud. We must make sure that all short circuits of doubt and suspicion are avoided. In this manner may we keep our group influence intact. The policies of the Foundation, built upon these channeled instructions, created great suspicions of the motives and purposes of that organization. The policies of Martin Myers, (and later of Richard Keeler), to limit the circulation of the Revelation, and control its use, repelled many honest hearts. One cannot claim a divine gift, and then place it under secular control without destroying its integrity. The exhortation about suspicion probably was directed to the Contact Commissioners and members of the “Forum,” to keep them from looking hard into the instructions being given them. The second part was titled, “Our Baptism of Joys and Sorrows.” It was also read to the Forum in May 1955: “We have been called to do a great work and ours is the transcendent privilege of presenting the Papers to the peoples of our strife-torn world. “Supercilious scientists will ridicule us and some may even charge us with collusion and fraud. Well-meaning religionists will condemn us as enemies of the Christian religion and will accuse us of defaming Christ himself. “Thousands of spiritually hungry souls will bless us for the message of the Book, and thousands of others will condemn us for disturbing their theologic complacence.
26 - The Kendall Document ~397~“Are we ready for the baptism of joys and sorrows which will certainly attend upon the early distribution of The Urantia Book? “Many strange isms and queer groups will seek to attach themselves to The Urantia Book and its far-flung influence. Our most trying experiences will be with such groups who will so loudly acclaim their belief in the teachings of the Book and who will so persistently seek to attach themselves to the movement. Great wisdom will be required to guard the Urantia Brotherhood from the distracting and distorting influence of these multifarious groups and from equally distracting and disturbing individuals, some well-intentioned and some sinister, who will strive to become a part of the authentic constituency of the Urantia Movement.” “We can really forecast very little about the reaction of the present generation to the teachings of The Urantia Book. But we can greatly lessen our persecution and ridicule by a reasonable exercise of foresight and wisdom. Our troubles will be greatly lessened if we avoid all discussion of the origin of the book. We should be determined to know but one thing -- the soul-surviving message of the Book.” (10.1a)“THE EXTRAORDINARY TRUST . . .” Throughout the early period, emphasis was placed upon serious study of the Papers. “In 1939, some of us thought the time had come when we should form a class to engage in the more serious and systematic study of The Urantia Papers. This project was presented to the Forum and when those who wished to join such a group were counted, it was found that just 70 persons desired to enter upon this study. So for several years this class was referred to as “The Seventy.”Two or three years preceding the formation of The Seventy an informal group had been meeting on Wednesday evenings. “The Seventy carried on systematic study of The Urantia Papers from April 5, 1939 until 1956. It was the forerunner of the later ‘School of the Urantia Brotherhood.’ “During these years the Seventy enrolled 107 students. The Seventy carried on its work of study, thesis writing, and practice of teaching for 17 years.” (1.1)“Membership in the Seventy had stringent requirements. One must have read all the papers before being accepted into the Seventy. Attendance was taken, a good excuse being necessary for absence from the Wednesday evening class. (1.2) & (4.2) The following communication was read to both the Seventy and to the Forum. It was from the regent of the acting planetary prince: Here he is once again. He styles himself again as the “regent of the acting planetary prince.” In the Revelation the celestial personalities would not identify themselves in a personal way, in order that adoration or veneration would not interfere in attention to the Revelation. “I have great personal interest in your group and deep affection for you as individuals. I commend your loyalty, but I am somewhat amazed at your relative indifference to the importance of the mission which has been entrusted to your hands. Your group of Seventy may seem to show more interest because you are selected and because you are under more or less discipline. But the majority of
~398~ The Birth of a Divine Revelationyour Forum shock me by their lack of enthusiasm. ... I admonish you ever to be alert to the importance of the extraordinary trust which has been placed in your hands.” (10.4) Well, he certainly had a great personal interest in the group. I was stunned to hear this “painful paragraph,” as Bill Sadler described it. I thought of the Forum as the most dedicated group of human beings I had ever encountered. It was an eye-opening insight into how much was expected of the human recipients of the Urantia revelation. (8.2) You can see how he attaches himself directly to their hearts. The objectiveness of the Revelators in prior communications with Sadler is overwhelmed by this personal appeal. The purpose of the “pain” was to obtain complete devotion, not to the truths of the Revelation, but loyalty to the plans of the “acting planetary prince.” TRAINING OF TEACHERS AND LEADERS As originally envisioned, the Urantia Brotherhood School was conceived as a summer program taking place at Pine Lodge in Beverly Shores, Indiana. Dr. Sadler purchased the property with the idea that students would live in cottages on the property as they prepared themselves to go out into the world as teacher and leaders of the new revelation. It was eventually realized that only professional school teachers or retirees could devote entire summers to such a program. They were desirous of recruiting the teacher corps from a broad range of believers. (1.2) This statement by Carolyn does not make sense. Any person in their right mind would know that working people could not attend lengthy summer sessions. Also, it is highly doubtful that Sadler bought the property merely for use in the training of “teachers and leaders.” This is part of Carolyn’s fanciful imagination, which plagues much of her “history.” It is also a good illustration how minds can become deluded under “belief” patterns. “Among the early activities of the Brotherhood was the organization of the School of the Brotherhood which began its first session in September 1956” . . . “The course of study is planned to cover a three years’ seminary education. At present [1966], only part time work is provided at [Wednesday] evening sessions.” . . . “The number of registered students taking credit courses has averaged about thirty. A like number of ‘auditors’ attend the classes.” . . . “The degree granted after three years of study is that of ‘Ordained Teacher.’ A shorter course of study leads to the status of ‘Certified Leader.’” (1.1) The curriculum was broad: Doctrines of The Urantia Book, Science in The Urantia Book, Topical Studies; Life and Teaching of Jesus; Analytic Studies of Parts I and II; History of the Bible — Old & New Testaments; Books of the bible; Denominations, Sects & Cults;
26 - The Kendall Document ~399~Ancient & Modern Philosophy: World Religions; Harmony of the Gospels: Urantia Brotherhood — Organization and Constitution; Educational Psychology; and Speaking and Teaching. (11.0) Eventually, the School ran out of students in the Chicago area. The first Summer Study Session was held in Chicago in 1968. It drew students to the three-day sessions from all over the United States. (12.0) The summer sessions continued for the next few years. In 1975, a special meeting attended by fifty leaders held prior to the first General Conference in Evanston, the focus of the “Brotherhood School” was shifted from an institutional concept to a more diffused idea: “[W]e regard the Urantia Brotherhood School as a generic term designating educational activities anywhere in the Urantia Brotherhood. We see individuals, study groups, and societies as the basic channels of educational activity.Just as the Urantia Brotherhood does not aspire to become an institutional church; so the Brotherhood School does not plan to become an educational institution. . . The Committee on Education plans to research and define standards of excellence for teachers and educational activities which will help teachers in self- evaluation and growth as well as furnish criteria for evaluating educational effectiveness in groups and institutions.” . . . “We generally should not get involved in striving for social change, establishing learning centers, or building a structured educational institution.” (6.0) The teacher training program lost momentum after 1975. The seminars and workshops, the Boulder School and Los Angeles’ School of Meanings and Values have been worthy achievements, though not as extensive as what was envisioned by the early leaders, nor, I suspect, by the revelators.Here one can see how 533 made specific plans for promulgation of the Revelation but how those plans did not come to fruition. The attempts at creation of various “schools” have all failed. Other spiritual forces were at work to control the unfolding of the Revelation. The Fellowship must reactivate itself as an educational institution and foster the kind of teacher and leader training that was envisioned by the revelators. Societies could be induced to sponsor educational training programs in their local areas if curriculum were developed. (8.2) Carolyn here expresses her personal opinion of how the organizations current in 1996 might continue some of the planning which came first out of 533. BROTHERHOOD AND FOUNDATION RELATIONSHIP There was no mention in the original Brotherhood Constitution of Urantia Foundation. There was no mention of Urantia Brotherhood in the Declaration of Trust. I once asked Christy why. She said only that there wasn’t supposed to be any connection between the two organizations. (8.1) Recall that “[T]he launching of the Brotherhood shall be left to the decisions of the Trustees of the Urantia Foundation. They shall act personally — unofficially — and no record of such action shall appear in the transactions of the Urantia Foundation. They shall assume all and full responsibility for the organization and inauguration of the Urantia Brotherhood.” (10.5) The first public linkage of the
~400~ The Birth of a Divine Revelationtrustees and Brotherhood was made in a 1970 letter. “The Urantia Brotherhood was organized by the trustees of Urantia Foundation under the direction and guidance of the governing planetary authorities.” This was a carefully worded statement that skirted a Brotherhood/Foundation connection. The same letter went on to state: “[T]hough Urantia Foundation and Urantia Brotherhood work closely together, they are two distinct and separate organizations, with different responsibilities, duties, and prerogatives.” (9.4) These different responsibilities were the subject of William S. Sadler, Jr’s Intra-Office Memorandum of 1958 which described how, in 1937, the Foundation and Brotherhood started out conceptually as one organization. Because there needed to be two dissimilar functions, two separate organizations were then envisioned. Bill’s memo emphasized potential danger areas in the relationship between the two organizations: “Unless the Foundation conducts itself with wisdom it may breed dissension between itself and the Brotherhood. [T]here is no place in Urantia Foundation for naivete or any exhibition of proprietary feeling toward The Urantia Papers.Of course, preliminary thought to an organization for care of the Revelation was underway in 1933 before the actual Revelation. Refer to the letter from Clyde Bedell to Wilfred Kellogg. Also refer to the letters to the Copyright Office soliciting information, again, in 1933 before the actual Revelation.Although there was a confused idea that the Brotherhood was to be independent of the Foundation, the origin, based on these spurious “instructions,” was intimately tied to the Trustees, and hence to the Foundation. Even the 1970 letter helped solidify this intimate tie, though many, including Carolyn, believed it maintained a separation. The “governing planetary authorities” were none other than Caligastia shaping the conduct of the organizations. The idea that “there is no place in Urantia Foundation for naivete or any exhibition of proprietary feeling toward The Urantia Papers” was effectively denied by legal control through copyright and trademarks.Personally, I find it amazing that these people could have become so deluded through the tortuous logic that was implanted in their minds.
The logical dichotomy between control of the Revelation through copyright and trademarks, and independent status for the Brotherhood, was reinforced by recourse to human law. Legal control demanded that the Foundation interfere in the operations of the Brotherhood/Fellowship. This eventually led to the legal disfranchisement of the Brotherhood by Martin Myers, then President of the Foundation.
26 - The Kendall Document ~401~Caligastia had gotten his hand into the machinery, fully aware of what he was doing to the integrity of the organizations, and the bitter contest over the Revelation which would follow. Carolyn continues: But the Brotherhood offers its members something more which the Foundation can never offer, to wit: the feeling of participation and the feeling of belonging. It also offers it members a feeling of responsibility, for in time the official decisions of the Brotherhood will reflect the will, purpose, and intent of its members.
When the members of the organizations encountered the bitterness of the fracture, they recognized that “wisdom” must be exercised by the Foundation if cordial relations were to continue. But personality expression by individual Trustees, empowered by lack of public accountability, prevented such “wisdom.” “Being an elective body, the Brotherhood is vulnerable. A really clever conspiracy could destroy the Brotherhood or otherwise divert or pervert its mission. Such vulnerability is inherent in a self-governing body.”Little did anyone realize how the Foundation would become an autocratic body, and not the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood was subject to democratic process. The Foundation was a pure oligarchy. The fruits of this great delusion were yielded when Martin Myers became President. He subverted it to his personal whims, resulting in the simultaneous resignation of three Trustees. Sadler began with the expectation that the Trustees would all be wise men from the industrial and business community. He had faith in such secular mechanism. But that was a fundamental error. Through Christy’s personality weakness, Martin Myers later acquired complete dictatorial control, and the Foundation became subject entirely to his private desires. Dictatorial polices by the Foundation continue to this day. “Ideally, the Foundation should remain in the background. It should little appear in the eyes of the public. To the public the Brotherhood is the important organization, to the extent that we can cause the Brotherhood to do the work of the Urantia movement, we have succeeded in holding ourselves in reserve and in so doing we minimize potential friction.” (2.3)
~402~ The Birth of a Divine RevelationBLURRING THE EDGES BETWEEN BROTHERHOOD AND FOUNDATION Here Carolyn continues with her thoughts about the organizations. I don’t believe for a moment a “clever conspiracy” perverted the Brotherhood in its mission. However, I do believe it was diverted in 1975 from its primary role of fostering “serious and systematic study,” formal teacher and leader training, and dissemination of The Urantia Book and its teachings. Thus was the door set ajar for the Brotherhood to preoccupy itself with three areas of endeavor,
This third item invaded the Foundation’s territory. The trustees accepted input by the Brotherhood grudgingly. In retrospect, the Foundation might have been better advised to set up separate ad hoc committees, subject to its own parameters, rather than working with Brotherhood ad hoc committees. (8.2) The Foundation closed off all input from the Brotherhood on these issues in 1987, and used the licensing agreement as leverage. (9.6) At first, from 1950 to 1956, the Foundation remained entirely in the background. The Foundation’s office was located at 333 N. Michigan Avenue in Chicago, instead of at 533 Diversey, where it moved to later and has remained. Over time the two organizations seemed to merge through shared activities; overlapping personnel (there weren’t enough qualified people to fill all positions); joint fund raising, appeals to Brotherhood members for support in infringement lawsuits; appearances by trustees at Brotherhood-sponsored meetings; the confirmatory licensing agreement which impinged upon all aspects of Brotherhood activities — usage and display of marks; and copyright guidelines that spelled out how all quoted material would be used. All of these created the image of two interrelated organizations. The 1983 joint Brotherhood and Foundation paper, “Statement of Dissemination and Publicity,” was an effort by the Brotherhood to enunciate a policy acceptable to the more conservative Foundation. It was fairly successful, but the Brotherhood should have felt free to pursue dissemination according to its own experience and wisdom. Later, the Foundation’s demand that the Brotherhood cleanse itself of personnel not acceptable to the Foundation and the involvement of the Foundation in the revision of the Brotherhood’s councilor removal amendment, stepped beyond the bounds of their authority, and into the realm of proprietary control. For a period of years, the trustees withdrew into the background and only surfaced to raise the price of the book or to close off avenues of access to the book. The internal matter of the simultaneous resignations of three trustees, and the Brotherhood’s reactions thereto, brought about the disenfranchising of the Brotherhood. With a new administration, the Foundation, in a relatively short period, had moved to redeem itself by publishing translations, a taped version, a computerized version, soft cover editions, and offering even-handed sales and discounts. While they have not satisfied all their critics with respect to coordination of new readers, nevertheless, they are to be commended. (8.2)
26 - The Kendall Document ~403~These remarks by Carolyn provide a brief synopsis of the great fracture which took place under the false assumptions and instructions provided by Caligastia. Rather than basing their trust in God, with heartfelt cooperation toward the dissemination of a Great Revelation, their trust in secular institutions, and in the false expectation of “wise men,” lead to great turmoil and social doubt. DISSEMINATION OF THE URANTIA BOOK Dr. Sadler wrote about the dissemination of The Urantia Book: “At the time of publication of The Urantia Book we were given many suggestions respecting the methods we should employ in the work of its distribution. These instructions may be summarized as follows: 1.Study of methods employed by Jesus in introducing his work on earth. Note how quietly he worked at first. 2.We were advised to avoid all efforts to achieve early and spectacular recognition. “However, one thing should be made clear. Nothing is to be done to interfere with the energetic and enthusiastic efforts of any individual to introduce The Urantia Book to his varied contacts and human associations.” (1.1)Judging from a close reading of past messages, the time for The Urantia Book is approaching. Any effort to artificially slow or suppress the book at this point would cause it to miss its timed entry into the evolutionary mainstream. It is a fallacy to believe that whoever controls the book controls the movement. Rather, when believers exhibit more enthusiasm for scholarship and more aggressive personal dissemination of the book and its teachings, there will follow an upsurge in sales of books. When more teachers and leaders are trained, or train themselves, study groups will improve. When there are better study groups, they will attract and hold more students; and more students will buy more books. It worked in the old days! (8.2) REVIEW: CLEAR AND INCONTROVERTIBLE FACTS Here follows a summary by Carolyn of instructions from Caligastia via Christy. One can see from unfolding developments how these diabolical instructions perverted a Great Revelation.
~404~ The Birth of a Divine Revelation5) The revelators advised that there should be only one official “Urantia” social outreach organization--democratic, but minimally organized — to occupy the field. 6) Although the trustees planned and launched the Brotherhood, the revelators advised that the two organizations — the publishing and the social — be organically disconnected from each other. Under this plan, each would carry out its mission without interference from, or accountability to, the other. CONCLUSIONS
(Refer to previous discussions.)
(Carolyn’s remarks were in the context of current events.) Already, these more-the-merrier versions are engendering contradictory rationale for changes made, or not made, in earlier printings. With the jumble of non- authoritative voices, the consequent confusion will only raise questions in the public mind about the authenticity of the revelation. The Fellowship should immediately abandon the project and revert to its original mission.
An alternative to this confused state would be to create a new coordinative, outreach, educational organization, Urantia Brotherhood, into which both IUA and Fellowship would merge. It would be licensed by the Foundation to use the name, Urantia, but would be independent of the Foundation and never worry its pretty little head about publishing and distributing the book.
How sad that Carolyn and all other participants in this degradation of organizations could not grasp how they had been betrayed and their thought conditioned by a malicious spirit personality determined to disrupt the course or the Revelation.
26 - The Kendall Document ~405~But the hand of God is far stronger than any fallen and rebellious Son. The Revelation would achieve its purpose. Following are Carolyn’s document references. BACKNOTES: use browser back button to return to place in document
|
|
|
|
