Spiritual Advice and Guidance Blog: Urantia Book

Q: I am concerned about the use of the term 'surviving mortal.' How do I know if I am destined to survive, and is there any chance I will not survive between my planet of origin and the first Mansion world?

A: I guess there is always a chance, but it seems to me that the overwhelming feeling that one gets from reading the Revelation is that the vast majority of human beings WILL survive in eternity. And that includes you.

My understanding is that one must simply CHOOSE to survive, and then have FAITH that that survival is inevitable. Doubt is the one thing that the believer has to resist, and so Jesus always exhorted us to develop a living faith - one that leaves no room for doubt. Unless you deliberately choose otherwise, your survival is assured.

"The door of eternal life is wide open to all; "whosoever will may come"; there are no restrictions or qualifications save the faith of the one who comes."139:12.7

Even if you may fear that your own faith might be somewhat lacking, The Urantia Book says this:

... it is the nature of the Sons of God to give every created being a full and equal chance for salvation and survival. Jesus wanted not only the mortals of this world but the onlookers of innumerable other worlds to know that, when doubts exist as to the sincerity and wholeheartedness of a creature's devotion to the kingdom, it is the invariable practice of the Judges of men fully to receive the doubtful candidate. p1566:6 139:12.7

The Master looked upon men as the sons of God and foresaw a magnificent and eternal future for those who chose survival. He was not a moral skeptic; he viewed man positively, not negatively. He saw most men as weak rather than wicked, more distraught than depraved. But no matter what their status, they were all God's children and his brethren. p2093:3 196:2.9

I think you can rest assured that you will also be given every opportunity to survive, if that is your desire. Your faith and your own choice in this matter are the keys to eternal life.

I hope you will take a look at two of our short flash presentations regarding this issue. One is: You Can Live Forever and the other one is After You Die. Both of these presentation are beautiful condensations of Urantia Book truth regarding the surety of survival, and eternal life.

Labels: eternal life, faith, Jesus, Mansion Worlds, survival

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Wednesday, January 07, 2009

How do I know if I am destined to survive...?

I am concerned about the use of the term 'surviving mortal.' How do I know if I am destined to survive, and is there any chance I will not survive between my planet of origin and the first Mansion world?

I guess there is always a chance, but it seems to me that the overwhelming feeling that one gets from reading the Revelation is that the vast majority of human beings WILL survive in eternity. And that includes you.

My understanding is that one must simply CHOOSE to survive, and then have FAITH that that survival is inevitable. Doubt is the one thing that the believer has to resist, and so Jesus always exhorted us to develop a living faith - one that leaves no room for doubt. Unless you deliberately choose otherwise, your survival is assured.

"The door of eternal life is wide open to all; "whosoever will may come"; there are no restrictions or qualifications save the faith of the one who comes."(139:12.7)

Even if you may fear that your own faith might be somewhat lacking, The Urantia Book says this:

... it is the nature of the Sons of God to give every created being a full and equal chance for salvation and survival. Jesus wanted not only the mortals of this world but the onlookers of innumerable other worlds to know that, when doubts exist as to the sincerity and wholeheartedness of a creature's devotion to the kingdom, it is the invariable practice of the Judges of men fully to receive the doubtful candidate. p1566:6 (139:12.7)

The Master looked upon men as the sons of God and foresaw a magnificent and eternal future for those who chose survival. He was not a moral skeptic; he viewed man positively, not negatively. He saw most men as weak rather than wicked, more distraught than depraved. But no matter what their status, they were all God's children and his brethren. p2093:3 (196:2.9)

I think you can rest assured that you will also be given every opportunity to survive, if that is your desire. Your faith and your own choice in this matter are the keys to eternal life.

I hope you will take a look at two of our short flash presentations regarding this issue. One is: You Can Live Forever and the other one is After You Die. Both of these presentation are beautiful condensations of Urantia Book truth regarding the surety of survival, and eternal life.

Labels: choice, death, faith, God, Jesus, survival, The Urantia Book

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Thursday, May 01, 2008

Why would someone choose NOT to survive? And are there really "swines" among us?

Q: I have more questions that after reading the UB has made me wonder how or why a personality would chose to NOT survive death and NOT to go on to a career in eternality. Do you know of such reasons other than genetic make-up or the self-destruction of the body so it can no longer function for thinking and reason?
Additionally, are there truly "swines" out there that UB tells us to not cast pearls upon? And if so, how do we know this or when do we know when to stop casting pearls? I always have hope that a grain of sand will perhaps reach into the soul of this so-called "swine" and lodge there like such as does in an oyster. The oyster tries so hard to throw off the grain of sand and in its struggle, it develops the beautiful pearl itself.

A: Thank you for your post and for your questions. I'll answer as best I can.
About choosing not to survive -- there are a number of different opinions about what transpires here because The Urantia Book is not very specific and this is a topic we're all interested in and concerned about. It is my opinion that relatively few, if any, people can actually choose not to survive death while in this life -- others disagree and think many people don't make it to the mansion worlds. In any event, we can see the results of some pretty atrocious people doing very bad things but I don't know that any of that equates to personality extinction; the angels know and understand our motives better than we do. The whole ascension scheme of surviving death to awaken on the mansion worlds, the remedial work and the 570 different levels of morontia life we experience while there, fusion with our adjuster, and the beginning of our paradise ascension career as spirit beings is so thorough and complete it doesn't seem to me to be designed for only a few ascenders. Each personality is unique -- we each will contribute to the unfolding of the Supreme -- so every personality that is extinguished leaves a void. So it's my interpretation that here on earth this non-survival concern is not something to worry about -- particularly since our world has had so much happen to knock it off course and we're experiencing the results of those abnormalities.

When the time does come to be able to make a full and informed choice about eternal personality survival only those spirit beings who no longer relate to reality would be candidates for non survival. That occurs when a being first begins to reflect upon themselves, starts to idolize their own personality, feeds their own ego, disengages spiritually from the cosmos -- as exemplified by Lucifer.

Yes, there are "swines" among us -- usually we won't recognize them but I'm sure they stood out in Jesus' eyes. Your analogy of a grain of sand is a good one and one worth striving for, even with difficult people. The world is full of difficult people who would be redeamable if the right circumstances were presented to them -- they can always have the opportunity for redemption on the mansion worlds however. Probably the best concept for what "swine" would be is that there are people who through faulty genetics or accident or bad personal choice no longer function with human will dignity -- their connection to the higher adjutant mind spirits has been cut off. They look human and talk human but are really very high grade animal beings -- they'd be sociopaths -- and there's probably little if anything any of us could do that would be of value for them; it never hurts though to try to place that grain of sand that can become a pearl.

Becoming perfect is an ideal -- good to hold before us in consciousness but unattainable on earth. The last perfect person was Jesus and before that was Eljah as far as we know. I think our Father in heaven wants us to become the best mortal being we're capable of during this life. We're not spirit beings -- we're so far from that state it's nearly incomprehensible -- we're material beings with a spirit impulse. We have this one material life to live and experience before we're off to a new level of experience that is closer to the spiritual existence but still far removed. We do well if while here not attempting to renounce our nature or to assume the cloak of being spiritual but if instead we work at being the best material being we can be, knowing that the more spiritual is our purpose.

Good that you're sticking with reading The Urantia Book -- like peeling an onion. It's a life-time journey of adventure and discovery. Yes, it certainly can be confusing, but that's not because it doesn't make sense, it's because we don't yet understand, and rereading improves comprehension and understanding. There's nothing else like it for the seeker.

There are my opinions and I hope they help provide some answers.

Labels: ascension scheme, casting pearls, survival, The Urantia Book

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Thursday, February 14, 2008

Some Urantia Book Questions

I've read the book a total of 4 times since 2001 and every time I read it I find new
answers. According to The Urantia Book, once we die and we accept the Paradise Career we move forward to the mansion worlds. It says that spirits don't remain on
the planet as ghosts or demons. True?

Do you think anyone in the history of our planet has ever denied the Paradise
adventure?

Would it be ok for me to write a fantasy-like story about God and what I gathered from the Urantia book concerning him and his divine plan so that I can draw people toward the book and its teachings?

A: Yes, every time The Urantia Book is read it offers up new insight â€” your thought patterns improve whenever you spend time with the book and new interpretations of the concepts will always come to mind. That's why studying the book can become a life-long endeavor â€” it never gets old.

Once we die, whether we accept the Paradise career or not, there's no return to earth. Should a choice be made before death not to survive, at death there's nothing to continue on. "Those who go to the mansion worlds are not permitted to send messages back to their loved ones. It is the policy throughout the universes to forbid such communication during the period of a current dispensation." (112:3.7)

There's always been an interest in unexplained phenomena; that's why shamans and medicine men and witch doctors had so much power during the long evolutionary development of humanity and that's why conjurers, psychics, magicians, and slight of hand street performers are still popular today. Under the right circumstances our minds are quite easily deceived and focusing on the paranormal is an excellent example of deceiving oneself.

The easiest way to answer this quandary about paranormal events or any other quandary is to ask yourself what makes more sense, the full range of the logically defined cosmology laid out by The Urantia Book which, in the case of paranormal events includes replete explanation of the soul, its development and rebirth on the mansion worlds, or a convoluted system of beliefs devised in an attempt to explain these otherwise difficult to explain occurrences? Without hesitation I put my trust in the straight forward teachings of The Urantia Book â€” it makes logical sense to me. Just because paranormal events seem to exist doesn't mean that they actually do â€” there are other and better explanations for what may otherwise appear to be real.

You can take classes in developing your psychic ability â€” it's a teachable capability. Some people come by it naturally, others can be taught; it's just another function of mind that can be developed. It's also a venture not sanctioned by TUB nor an avenue that Jesus followed â€” access to the psychic realm is not a requisite for spiritual advancement.

About whether anyone in history has ever rejected the Paradise adventure â€” that's a hard one to speculate upon. It doesn't seem very likely that anyone would willingly choose not to participate but TUB does say that the choice not to survive can be made during this life so I expect that some actually have made and do continue to make that choice. If no soul growth has occ