By Jay Peregrine, Executive Director, Urantia Foundation, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Second Society Foundation was founded in 1961 for the "...further teaching of the principles of The Urantia Book for the betterment of all mankind" − which in practice meant the publication and promotion of two works by William S. Sadler Jr., A Study of the Master Universe [2] (SMU), published in November 1968, and Appendices to A Study of the Master Universe [3] (ASMU), published in 1975. These books were rarely found in bookstores even in the early days, being typically obtained by requesting a copy from Second Society Foundation.
Notwithstanding some controversy in the early days of their publication, stemming from concerns over the wisdom of publishing interpretations of the teachings of The Urantia Book, the appearance of SMU and ASMU did not in the long run seem to have much of an impact on the general readership. The works have remained of interest mostly to students of Urantia Book cosmology and philosophy. The books outline an "Hegelian" reading of the history and projected future of the Universe of Universes as portrayed in The Urantia Book, using Hegel's famous "thesis, antithesis, synthesis" approach to understanding the material. Sadler Jr. had a reputation among readers of really knowing the "hard parts" of the book. He was in demand as a lecturer and teacher on these subjects at Urantia gatherings. Much of his life's work on these subjects is summarized in these two volumes.
Second Society Foundation continued after Bill's death and reprinted the two books at least once. By the mid 2000s, the Foundation was all but defunct. The President, Patricia Mundelius − Bill Sadler's daughter and Trustee Emeritus of Urantia Foundation − asked Urantia Foundation to act as agent for selling the books, which the Foundation did for several years.
In 2010 the Board of Second Society Foundation voted to cease operations and turned over to Urantia Foundation the disposition of the two books. The copyrights were transferred to Urantia Foundation, which obtained International Standard Book Numbers for both books. Both A Study of the Master Universe [2] (ISBN: 978-0911560-11-4), and Appendices to A Study of the Master Universe [3] (ISBN: 978-0911560-12-1) will soon be available for purchase through regular book sales channels. The books are still available directly from Urantia Foundation.