Dissemination of the URANTIA Papers

I posted this a few weeks ago at the Urantia Association International website. But wanted to share it here as well for my beloved fellow students at TruthBook. Before posting the text, a couple of things. First is a link to a presentation by David Kantor, a long time student and activist servant who just posted a video that is a must-view for those affiliated with the Fellowship, Foundation, Association or otherwise work to disseminate the UB.

https://vimeo.com/143497030

Second, apologies to my Fellowship friends; the following was written specifically for the audience at the Association's website. I worked in service to the Fellowship and my Society for many years and know of the great dedication and worthy results over the decades by the Fellowship as organization and by its many supporters. Kudos to all of you in your endeavors. The Association and Fellowship and Foundation have multiple "joint ventures" that all support, including the unified study group directory, attendance at and participation in the Parliament of World Religions (this year was the third or fourth time all worked together), educational committee joint works, next year there is a combined conference in Texas, and more such work together.

The video above is about an hour long and filled with very interesting facts, reflections, and ideas about the "state" of the movement and the growing opportunities to work in service and in dissemination. Mr. Kantor is, I believe, an active member in the Fellowship but offers illumination to the trials, frustrations, and challenges that all disseminators face. There are some awesome graphics and production quality videos utilized in his presentation. One of the most revealing and hopeful elements presented is how many individuals and small groups of disseminators are changing the landscape, for the better, in reaching a growing population of reader/students. Hope you enjoy it too.

My prior post:

Greetings fellow truth seekers and students of the URANTIA Book!!

I am starting this topic to explore the history, current status, and potential future of the dissemination of the UB and its teachings and I invite all who will to join in. There is no particular focus for the thread but some ideas for sharing might include:

How I found the UB (or did it find me?)

Forms of dissemination you have attempted and found either success or failure in those different forms of effort.

Current dissemination efforts you are supporting.

Forms of dissemination you would like to support or know about.

The history of UB dissemination efforts.

Dissemination began back in the 1950’s by the Foundation and the Brotherhood (formed originally by members of the Forum). The Foundation has, for the last 60 years, been the publisher of the UB and its distributor. Distribution was originally an exclusive work for the Brotherhood which developed many grass roots systems and networks for hand to hand, study group, library, used and new book stores, book fairs, Jesus Birthday celebrations, local conferences, and other forms for getting the printed book into circulation. That success allowed the Foundation to focus on two priorities: commercial book distribution systems and translations. The Foundation has also been very supportive in supplying free or discounted books to many disseminators over the decades.

Today, the Foundation and the Urantia Association work together to get cases of books into the hands of study group hosts and Association members (and others) overseas where there is no commercial distribution system – demand must come before the supply side will respond. So while the West can buy UB’s from multiple commercial book distributors, books are being shipped into India, Africa, S. America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, the Philippines, and other countries where there are students and study groups needing books (often such places require free or deeply discounted books due to national/local poverty). Some disseminators do truly take great personal risk in this act of dissemination in service to the growing student body.

While there are over 1000 study groups that meet in person, the fastest growing form of study groups are Skype and on-line, usually organized by language rather than geographical proximity. The Foundation and Association do not need to create readers or promote readership….as the growth in readership is now an exponential explosion of demand making it more important to “respond” to rather than “create” demand. Many from sponsoring organizations are also on the ground in every continent and many countries, organizing group events and supporting study group hosts and establishing book distribution networks, either private or commercial.

The number of schools with published curriculum and experienced instructors is increasing and so is their student body. My wife and I have taken 3 classes with UBIS where each class of 20 often had students from 3-4 continents and 6-8 different countries!!! From my first touch of a UB to today, the planet is being blessed by the efforts of so many to disseminate the book and its teachings.

As to dissemination of the “teachings” of the Revelation, there is much variety. The Association’s efforts are to promote the living of the truth by those who disseminate and the sharing of knowledge, truth, experience, and wisdom by students with each other – there are no creeds, dogmas, beliefs, or other forms of leadership or group expression of the teachings….the book contains the teachings and students both learn from and teach one another in their learning and sharing and caring. The readership determines the form and content of disseminating the teachings and not the service organization or any form of hierchy (no praise priests allowed!!)

A big thank you to I don’t know who….but to you and them who got a used UB into a small used book store in a little dusty western town in 1976 just in time for me to find it after looking for my own book for over 2 years after another hippie loaned me his for a summer read in 1974. And to those gentle folk in Northern California who were the first readers I ever met and not until 1984 who placed a book, a Concordex, and a Paramony in the public library which I found roaming the religion/philosophy aisles as I always do – I was struck by lightening and wept in joy that day. Thankfully those days are long gone and the book is everywhere….but it did not happen easily, quickly, or without the work of thousands of students. But there are still places where the book requires the passing of the book from one reader’s hand to another’s hand carried by boat or burro to reach those who wish their own copy in their own language.

What a privilege to serve with a valiant corps of disseminators inspired to share that which has meant so much to each of us who so endeavor together in this service to our world and to those who made this gift to us. Peace

fanofVan aka Brad

Greetings Friends!!

To nod and Ysmael - I certainly agree that the internet is a defining moment for dissemination. I do find it odd however, that such opinions are shared on a website of dissemination! Hahahahaha....kind of funny don't you think? Both of you and all of us here who share this book together are also disseminators - students, student/teachers, and all of us in serious discussion of the contents of the UB....especially when this site is most true to its purpose - new readers meeting seasoned students in the process of discovery. Dissemination. I think it a most worthy topic to discuss the profound differences in dissemination before and after the world wide web and the evolutionary reality of instant global communication - it is a game changer for sure! And yet, there are still many places where digital devices and internets are not available or affordable and yet such souls find ways to discover the UB, start study groups (often sharing one book amongst many readers in such group discovery) and places with internet which are highly censored and controlled as to available content where the UB is not available. It is proper to remove local, recent, personal biases when considering the access to the internet vs. the need for printed books!

It might be useful to define the term "disseminate" to guide the conversation forward. The Association's stated mission is the dissemination of "the teachings" which does, still, include getting printed books into the hands of readers who seek it out but have no access to commercial distribution or cannot afford to buy the book - sometimes carried by burro or on top of head or smuggled into danger zones for such distributions - into jungles and across deserts, sometimes shipped on slow boats to distant lands in strange languages. The Association partners with the Foundation who's primary purpose is focused on printing, publishing, translating, and distribution of the book - but also provide the Association free or deeply discounted books for such dissemination needs. Translations of the text remain a huge cost and priority for the Foundation. The Foundation also helped found, finance, and launch the UBIS (UB Internet School) which is growing into self funded autonomy but has been around quite awhile....since the internet. The International Association has spent 3 years building a multi-lingual website for its world wide membership as a communications device for all readers in all languages.

So, to me, dissemination includes translating, printing, distribution of the UB, but also the hosting of gatherings of students to teach and to learn from one another and form bonds of friendship and teamwork - from study groups (virtual ones by language are growing fast) to Birthday Celebrations to regional conferences to national ones and even international ones, and it includes radio broadcasting (internet style) and websites for readers to share art and ideas and news, and the development of formalized curriculums and the formation of teacher corps to assist in the development of true scholarship and specialized studies, and too many other forms to list here now. This is all dissemination of either the book itself or the teachings within a growing community. All this requires infrastructure, organization of resources and volunteers, servants and servant leaders who bring to bear great professional expertise in such organizational potential.

Did not this model and pattern for dissemination begin in Dalamatia? And repeated by the Garden and Machiventa and the Master? Why would the 5th Revelation be "self disseminating" - and how? Why would the hand and sincere efforts of willing mortals be bypassed with this record of fact and truth? How do the Most Highs, angels, and midwayers work on planetary destiny without human participation and activation? Are we to await miracles and require the celestials to operate on the material levels required for dissemination?

As to the "rich man's" issue....I understand and it is true that, especially early on, that most all the money raised for the work of printing and publishing and placing the book hand to hand and hand to library, etc. came from some deep pockets and much of today's support still comes from those of means - however the number of donors is increasing while the average amount per donation declines...a healthy democratization effect by a growing student body. The subsidization of the bridge of pre-internet dissemination by the wealthy and educated and successful early readers is what made the first printing and the 1oth printing and the first translation and the 15th translation possible. So I do not lament such largesse which offered no material reward or recognition for this generous support to dissemination of Revelation. But truth be told, I have purchased many a case of books from the Foundation and the Brotherhood and Societies paid cash, donated cash, for thousands of books to be given away to readers, libraries, etc......for decades! The Foundation has never made $1 of profit publishing the UB - oh contrare, even today, the sales proceeds barely cover or don't even cover actual printing and distribution costs of the printed book, which means all translations are completed only by donations and volunteers - as is the internet school and all administrative expenses, etc., etc., etc. Does anyone believe anyone makes money at dissemination?? Hahaha - that's a good one!

Everyone who has a UB, has it ONLY because of and by the volunteerism and free will donations of disseminators in time gone by....every single book, no matter how discovered. They don't drop out of the sky.....or not until now anyway!! Regarding the Foundation, Fellowship, and Association, I can testify that hardly anyone has ever been paid anything, including their own expenses. Paid administrative staff has been lean and low paying while 99% of all work is done and has always been done by willing, nay, eager volunteers. Today, I'd estimate the number of active volunteers and donors in those 3 organizations alone at over 2000 souls (and growing) and cannot begin to count how many individuals and teams work outside of the Big 3 creating all sorts of new forms of dissemination in loving expressions of selfless service. All do so in anonymity or very close to it, known primarily by other servants and volunteers only.

I have always recognized this reality....I got mine because someone else (many someone elses) did something, personally, to make that happen...somewhere, somehow, sometime....someone chose the priority and the act to put this bread upon the water where it came to me. It was not accidental. It could not happen without human intervention and intention. I was the beneficiary of loving service. Been a disseminator myself ever since I discovered I was not the only person with a book. Oh joy!! One of the greatest thrills and rewards I have enjoyed is working in teams with common purpose but very diverse skills, interests, and abilities - learning how to accomplish with others what none may accomplish alone. Isn't there something about like minded souls who strive together to serve others and what blessings and power may come by such sincere endeavor? I think so, yes, I think there is. We here enjoy the fruit of other's loving labor - work with faith!! It is not by faith only or works without faith....those with faith must ACT or there is no faith at all.

The world wide web brings new opportunities...but again - nothing happens on the internet unless and until some person or team of persons ponies up cash and time and ingenuity and creativity and passion and dedication and perseverance. The internet ain't magic after all....nor free. TruthBook is one great example. Who thinks this site which is free to use is actually without cost? Who designed it and created it and pays for it? Who keeps it operational? Who gave vision to such a wondrous site? How many have benefited? What might it lead to in the future? Have friendships been made? Has teamwork been afoot here? Has anyone been inspired to study more and do more in the spirit of love and service? Behold Dissemination.

Today, there is a dramatic shift in tactics and strategies to be sure....but all remain within the definition of dissemination. Or so I think.

Brad aka fanofVan.....Van and Amadon - also disseminators!!!

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