Urantia Book Historical Society, Inc. archive, 1906-2006, bulk 1964-1989

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Summary

Abstract:
Materials produced by the Urantia Foundation, its members, and related groups, mostly related to The Urantia Book.
Extent:
21 Linear Feet (21 cartons)
Language:
English , French , Spanish; Castilian .
Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], Urantia Book Historical Society, Inc. archive, ARC Mss 68. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains materials related to the Urantia Foundation and Urantia Brotherhood, Urantia Association International, and Urantia Book conferences.

The collection details the history and administrative structures of the Urantia Book, from its inception to the early 2000s, which includes individual members and subsidiary groups' materials.

Materials may include correspondence, organizational publications, business practices, legal documents, conference proceedings, publications, unpublished manuscripts, reviews and critiques of the writings, newspaper clippings, and other related reference materials. Also included are audiovisual recordings and digital materials of interviews, presentations, and events.

Biographical / historical:

The Urantia Book, first published in 1955, is a spiritual book that presents the origins, history, and destiny of humanity. The teachings covers concepts of the universe, life and teachings of Jesus from a Christian perspective, and personal spiritual growth. The exact circumstances surrounding the origins of The Urantia Book are vague as the book is without an author, and instead the writings are believed to be from celestial beings providing an "epochal" religious revelation. The Urantia Book consists of 196 papers divided into four parts.

The Urantia writings did materialize in Chicago, Illinois during the 1920s. In 1911, William S. Sadler and his wife Lena Sadler, both prominent physicians in the Chicago area, were deeply interested in the supernatural. William Sadler had been approached by a neighbor who was concerned about her husband's sleeping patterns. The patient, in question, would be unable to wake and breathe abnormally. The Sadlers began to investigate the husband's sleeping patterns, and over time, the man began to speak while he slept and they claimed the "voice" was not his, but that of celestial beings channeling through him.

By 1923, the Sadlers began to host friends and colleagues to weekly theological and philosophical discussions. Piqued in interest by the sleeping case, the group devised questions for the celestial beings, through which they believed the sleeping patient would answer. The answers they received were believed to be fully-formed explanations of the universe, later known as the Urantia Papers. The group deemed themselves as the Forum, and was formalized as a closed group of 30 members and pledged to secrecy. A smaller group of five individuals called the "Contact Commission," which included the Sadlers, was responsible for gathering the questions from the Forum, acting as the custodians of answers received.

It is claimed the papers of the book physically materialized from 1925 until 1935 in a way that was not understood even by the Contact Commission nor the Forum, with the first two parts being completed in 1934 and the third and fourth in 1935. The last Forum gathering was in 1942. In 1939, members began to formalize classes to engage in the more serious and systematic study of the Urantia Papers. The initial class had seventy members and for several years referred to itself as "The Seventy." "The Seventy" acted as a predecessor to School of the Urantia Brotherhood.

By 1950, the group evolved into the Urantia Foundation, a non-profit organization, responsible for the papers and the spread of its teachings. The writings were officially published in 1955 as The Urantia Book and eventually translated into several different languages supported by several subsidiary organizations and study groups.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Urantia Book Historical Society, Inc., June 28, 2007; additional materials donated September 25, 2005.
Arrangement:

The collection retains its physical arrangement and folder titles of the creators. Some titles have been changed when applicable for comprehension.

The collection has been intellectually arranged by topic and format into seven series:

  • Series 1: Urantia Book Administrative files
  • Series 2: Conferences and workshops
  • Series 3: Correspondence
  • Series 4: Urantia Book Education and the Boulder School
  • Series 5: Meredith Sprunger files
  • Series 6: Literature
  • Series 7: Audiovisual

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the collection and physical objects belong to the Regents of the University of California acting through the Department of Special Research Collections at the UCSB Library. All applicable literary rights, including copyright to the collection and physical objects, are protected under Chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code and are retained by the creator and the copyright owner, heir(s), or assigns.

All requests to reproduce, quote from, or otherwise reuse collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Department of Special Research Collections at UCSB at special@library.ucsb.edu. Consent is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California acting through the Department of Special Research Collections at UCSB as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner, heir(s), or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or their assigns for permission to publish where the UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], Urantia Book Historical Society, Inc. archive, ARC Mss 68. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Location of this collection:
UC Santa Barbara Library
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9010, US
Contact:
(805) 893-3062
special@library.ucsb.edu
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