Urantia Brotherhood Association
Urantia Brotherhood Association will be a fellowship of readers of The Urantia Book and will pursue goals originally formulated for its predecessor (Urantia Brotherhood). The Association's essential aim will be the spiritual regeneration of all mankind. The activities of Urantia Brotherhood Association will be intended to spread the teachings of The Urantia Book mainly by word of mouth, a quiet person-to-person approach that proceeds without fanfare, focusing—as Jesus did—upon each individual's spiritual progress.
On a personal level, members of the Association will strive to achieve progressive mastery of the teachings through lifelong study and application, seeking to implement their spiritual ideals and live the teachings to their highest degree of individual understanding.
On an organizational level, the Association's long-term task will be to encourage the formation of thousands of study groups, so that we can gradually prepare ourselves for the time when the majority of men and women hunger for truth, thirst for beauty, and quest for goodness—the age just ahead, during which spiritual truths will flower in the lives of each human being.
In structural terms, Urantia Brotherhood Association will foster and facilitate the voluntary transformation of stable and mature study groups into Urantia Societies. These Societies will function on a regional level and will operate with great autonomy.
The Association's Organizational Aspects
In October 1989, the Trustees of Urantia Foundation created Urantia Brotherhood Association as a legal entity. Since that time, the Trustees have sought the advice of readers of The Urantia Book and others who are experienced and knowledgeable about the structure and operations of voluntary organizations. The Trustees have benefitted from their advice and have made substantial progress in formulating the key elements of the new Association's constitution. At this stage, however, the Trustees have not prepared a draft that is sufficiently polished and detailed to permit distribution to Urantia Societies and other readers of The Urantia Book. When a draft constitution has been completed, we will circulate it widely and will seek the comments and suggestions of friends and supporters.
The information that appears below is intended as a general guide to our current thinking. Our efforts to work out the details may lead to further refinements.
Relationship with Urantia Foundation
Urantia Brotherhood Association will be separate from Urantia Foundation but interrelated with it. For example, the Association's constitution will attest to support for Urantia Foundation's fundamental policies and principles (e.g., minimal organization, proper procedures, slow growth). Further, the Association's constitution and by-laws will refer to and recognize the rights and prerogatives of Urantia Foundation. As a matter of regular routine, the judicial branch of the Association will be responsible for verifying that the executive and legislative branches act in harmony with the Association's constitution.
While administering its own internal affairs and pursuing its own projects, Urantia Brotherhood Association will cooperate with Urantia Foundation in relation to topics for which the Trustees bear full responsibility. These duties of the Trustees include keeping the text of The Urantia Book and its translations inviolate; protecting the unique and universal significance of the Foundation's registered marks; authorizing and supervising efforts to translate The Urantia Book into many additional languages.
The Association's Active Endeavors
On a practical level, Urantia Brotherhood Association will act as Urantia Foundation's agent for the sale of The Urantia Book. The Association will administer the library placement and book consignment programs. In addition, the Association will assist Urantia Foundation in developing study aids and carrying out other projects which may be initiated from time to time.
Urantia Brotherhood Association will seek to foster the slow, person-to-person spread of the teachings of The Urantia Book throughout the world—an effort in which study groups will continue to play a crucial role. In cooperation with Urantia Foundation, the Association may wish to work out ways to train teaching counselors and advisory guides who will assist others in seeking to understand and appreciate The Urantia Book's teachings.
In part, the activities of Urantia Brotherhood Association will take note of the many insights provided by the authors of The Urantia Book with respect to the growth and development of human society. The Association will encourage individuals to promote implementation of the Father's plan for our world's progressive advancement, drawing on their own personal experience and the spiritual inspiration they derive from reflecting on the teachings of The Urantia Book. As an organization, however, the Association will not take positions on social, cultural, or political issues.
The Association's Constitutional Structure
The Association's three branches will be independent of each other and subject to mutual checks and balances. Neither the executive nor legislative branch—nor any of their respective officers—will be able to dominate the Association.
Separate elections will be held for each of the three branches. Members At Large will be entitled to vote in all three cases, but members of Urantia Societies will elect a higher proportion of the Association's officials.
Compared with its predecessor, Urantia Brotherhood Association will have notable advantages:
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Constitutional arrangements that will prevent the concentration of power in a small clique who can dominate the central organization and manipulate its deliberations; shorter terms of office and greater accountability to a wider electorate (Members At Large as well as Urantia Societies).
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Because of the constitution's separation of powers and its systematic checks and balances, greater assurance that the Association will adhere to proper procedures and carry out reasonable and balanced programs.
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A well-defined relationship with Urantia Foundation and a clear statement of support for the Foundation's fundamental policies and principles.
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Special provisions for readers of The Urantia Book who reside outside the United States.
Horizons and Vistas
With all this in mind, the Trustees of Urantia Foundation are confident that Urantia Brotherhood Association will provide a social and fraternal forum in which individuals can serve, encourage, and inspire each other, calling attention to and benefiting from The Urantia Book's supernal teachings.
On page 2082, the midwayers tell us that “Urantia is now quivering on the very brink of one of its most amazing and enthralling epochs of social readjustment, moral quickening, and spiritual enlightenment.” We believe that members of Urantia Brotherhood Association, acting with enhanced understanding of the Supreme Being's evolving purpose in a universe dominated by love, will make notable contributions to that outcome. By helping each other understand and appreciate the teachings of The Urantia Book, the members of Urantia Brotherhood Association will create a new spiritual climate that fosters their whole-personality growth and dramatically increases their potential usefulness to all mankind.
For our part, we cannot imagine a nobler endeavor.
The Trustees of Urantia Foundation