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Urantia Book Historical Society archive
ARC Mss 68
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Research Collections
Title: Urantia Book Historical Society, Inc. archive
Identifier/Call Number: ARC Mss 68
Physical Description:
21 boxes
(21 Linear Feet)
Date (inclusive): 1906-2006
Date (bulk): 1964-1989
Abstract: The Urantia Book Historical Society archive chronicles the philosophy, activities, and teachings of the Urantia Book from
its inception in the early 1910s to 2006. The collection consists of materials concerning Urantia Foundation and related groups,
such as administrative records, court documents, conference proceedings, correspondence, newspaper-clippings, audiovisual
material, Urantia book prints, essays, organizational publications and related research materials. Included are educational
materials of the Urantia Book, especially the Boulder School, and members' personal papers.
Physical Location: University of California, Santa Barbara Library, Special Research Collections
Language of Material: English, French, and Spanish.
Conditions Governing Access note
The collection is open for research.
Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or
quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given
on behalf of the Department of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply
permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.
[Identification of Item], Urantia Book Historical Society, Inc. archive, ARC Mss 68. Department of Special Collections, UC
Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.
| 500,000 BC | Dalamatia |
| 200,000 BC | The Lucifer Rebellion |
| 600-500 BC | Urantia witnesses a proliferation of religious truth |
| 37,848 BC | Adam and Eve |
| 1980 BC | Melchizedek's Teachings; Machiventa Melchizedek, the onetime sage of Salem, was invisibly present on Urantia for a period of one hundred years, acting as resident governor general of the planet |
| 7 BC | Jesus' birth |
| 1827 – 1915 | Life of Ellen G. White, one of the founders of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, and also influential in William S. Sadler's early theological beliefs |
| 1875 | William S. Sadler MD and Lena K. Sadler (nee Kellogg) were born |
| 1906 | Contact made with sleeping subject |
| 1932 | The Forum is established |
| 1934 | Believed the worst of the materialistic age is over; the higher minds of the scientific world are no longer wholly materialistic in their philosophy |
| Papers on the Life and Teachings of Jesus, the Urantia Papers Part I,II,II are compiled | |
| 1935 | Urantia Papers Part IV compiled |
| 1955 | The Urantia Foundation established |
| 1961 | Jacques Weiss translated the Urantia Book into French |
| 1975 | Inaugural Urantia Brotherhood International Conference - Kendall College, Evanston Illinois |
| 1955 | The Urantia teachings are published in October |
| The Urantia Brotherhood established | |
| 1989 | The Urantia Foundation disenfranchises Urantia Brotherhood which changes its name to "Fifth Epochal Fellowship" |
| 1984 | The Jesusonian Foundation established |
| 1991 | Copyright disputes |
| 2006 | The establishment of The Urantia Book Historical Society |
The Urantia Book, first published in 1955, is spiritual book that presents the origins, history, and destiny of humanity.
The teachings traverse 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, but
instead the writings are believed to be from celestial beings providing an "epochal" religious revelation. The Uranita 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 the "voice" was not his but celestial beings channeling through him.
By 1923, the Sadlers began to host friends and colleagues to weekly theological and philosophical discussions. The interests
of the Sadlers and the group were in vogue during the time because the turn of the century had led to sweeping changes in
technology and culture, between 1880 and World War I, that created new modes of conceptualizing and experiencing concepts
of time and space. There was a socio-cultural collision between science and cultural of "seeing the unseen," evident in the
invention of x-rays and popularity of negative space in art but also in the growth of spiritualism.
It was in those meetings William Sadler mentioned the unusual sleeping case. Piqued in interest, the group devised questions
for the celestial beings through the sleeping patient would answer. The answers received were 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," including
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 as "The Seventy," a predecessor
to School of the Urantia Brotherhood.
By 1950, the group evolved into the Urantia Foundation, a non-profit organization, responsible of the papers and spread of
its teachings. The writings were officially published in 1955 as The Urantia Book and eventually translated into several different
languages with several subsidiary organizations and study groups.
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. The collection mainly relates to the Urantia Foundation
and Urantia Brotherhood but also includes documents relating to Urantia schools and education-- specifically the Boulder School--
Urantia Association International, and Urantia Book conferences. The collection consists of correspondence, pamphlets, booklets,
business practices, court proceedings, publications, unpublished manuscripts, reviews and critiques of the writings, legal
documents, and research/reference materials compiled by its members and executive committees. Also included A/V and digital
materials of interviews, presentations, and events. The collection is loosely arranged into seven series: Urantia Book Administrative
files, Conferences and Workshops, Correspondence, Urantia Book Education and the Boulder School, Meredith Sprunger files,
Literature, and Audiovisual. The collection includes digital media not yet accessible until forensic capture.
Series. I Urantia Book Administrative files mainly consist of administrative records, including meeting minutes, memoranda, internal correspondence, and publications.
Many of files relates to copyright issues, and consequently legal proceedings. In addition, the series includes subject files
on members, especially of former board members. In particular, there are files relating to Vern Grimsley. Grimsley founded
the Family of God foundation and established a radio ministry. After Emma Christensen, the last Contact Commissioner died,
Grimsley announced he was receiving special messages warning World War III was imminent and urged the Urantia Brotherhood
to move to Clayton, California. The documents detail his prophecies and how Grimsley's announcement cause agitation through
the foundation, which led to what is known as the Vern Grimsley-Clayton incident. The administrative files include the Urantia
Brotherhood and some relate to estrangement between the Foundation and Brotherhood. Arranged by subject.
Series II. Conferences and workshops consists mainly of conference proceedings, booklets, workshop materials, and related materials of conferences, workshops,
and meet-ups on a national and international level.
Series III. Correspondence consists mainly of letters, but also includes memoranda, faxes, and related materials demonstrating communication internally
and among members.
Series IV. Urantia Book Education and the Boulder School mainly consists of curriculums, course readings, workshop materials. The majority of the files relate to the administrative
structure of the Boulder School.
Series V. Meredith Sprunger files consists of correspondence and writings done by Sprunger during his tenure as the president of the Urantia Brotherhood. The
correspondence mainly centers of communication with other members and Urantia Book organizations. The writings relate to the
teachings and benefits of the Urantia Book.
Series VI. Literature consists of published and unpublished materials regarding the teachings, philosophies, and history of the Urantia Book. Many
of the writings are papers and articles contextualizing the Urantia Book teachings with society. The writings also include
children's literature used in many children's programs. Of particular note, the series includes resources on understanding
Urantia Book terminology-- in the form of etymology guides, glossaries, indexes, and appendices-- and research materials compiled
for teachings and writings. Arranged by
Series VII. Audiovisual materials consists of audiocassettes, U-matic, VHS videotapes, reels, and DVDs of recorded services, interviews, events, and segments
of UB (Urantia Book) radio. The recordings mainly cover talks from prominent members of Urantia Book groups. Materials mainly
range in date from the 1960s into the 2000s. Arranged by format.
The collection retains its physical arrangement and folder titles of the creators. Some titles have been changed when applicable
for comprehension.
The Urantia Book Historical Society archive has a digital archive maintained by volunteers of the Society.
Margaret Frances Case Cook Papers, Mss 17, Special Research Collections, UCSB Library.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Philosophical theology
Religion -- Philosophy
Urantia Foundation
Urantia Book
Booklets
Pamphlets
Administrative records
Correspondence
Sadler, William S, (William Samuel) -- History
Sadler, William S, (William Samuel), 1875-1969 -- History