Mustard Seed Grant Project—Translating the Simplification of the Foreword
Mustard Seed Grant Project—Translating the Simplification of the Foreword
By Jean Ascher, Blommenslyst, Denmark
Editor’s Note: Jean, AKA Yourantiaman, is the Foundation’s Danish translator. He received a Mustard Seed Grant to cover the costs of translating and printing a pamphlet written by William S. Sadler, Jr., to add to his extensive library of secondary works and other printed materials related to The Urantia Book.
As a grateful recipient of a Urantia Foundation's Mustard Seed Grant, I’m very glad that my goal of translating and printing the Simplification of the Foreword, a pamphlet written by William S. Sadler, Jr., has become a reality. I greatly appreciated their decision!
Because I had already translated The Urantia Book into Danish, the translation of this booklet only took about a month, with two proofreads and corrections. The printing took less than four days—and then we had a beautiful 40-page booklet!
The content of this document is a transcription of a talk given by Bill Sadler Jr. to a group of young people in an attempt to clarify and simplify the teachings of the Foreword of The Urantia Book. In an article written in June of 1960, Sadler accepts responsibility for “the sacrifice of meaning, for the dilution of fact, and for the distortion of truth.” He admits that “much fact has been diluted to simplify the understanding of some fact. Much truth has been distorted so that some truth could be more easily comprehended.” Many readers have found his material helpful.
Translating Urantia-related books and materials is a passion of mine. The work is both enjoyable and educational. To date I have translated 15 different secondary works, all with the permission of the authors.
Throughout all my years with The Urantia Book, from 1976 to today, I have not yet succeeded in finding a suitable location for my collection of more than 265 Urantia-related books and other historical material. Several attempts have been made without success, but I continue undeterred to maintain them for future generations.
Admittedly, the Danes are one of the most atheistic peoples in the world, so sales of my printed translations are by no means breaking any records. But the mere fact of being able to present the revelation is a great joy and pleasure.
