Treasurer—Gard bought a copy of The Urantia Book in 1972 while studying comparative religion at Stanford University. His first impression was that it was like no other book that he had been familiar with in either philosophy or religion. Soon after, his friend Brian, a fellow student, borrowed it and said, “Gard, do you know what you have here? A revelation!”
This response piqued Gard’s interest, and he began to read the book. He says that, “Reading The Urantia Book for the first time was the beginning of a pilgrimage of discovery, the beginning of the realization that God has a will for each of our lives. This pilgrimage is the greatest adventure that one could ever imagine.” He agrees with his friend, former Forum member, Clyde Bedell, that Paper 140, The Ordination of the Twelve, should be read regularly, to understand and engage the greatest message ever delivered in the history of the planet.
After 25 years as a certified public accountant and financial planner, Gard returned to college to obtain a PhD in comparative religion at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, California, United States. He has published three books having to do with the epic narratives of China, India, and the West, and has been teaching Chinese and Indian philosophy at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, United States, for the last twenty years. He is the co-founder of the Children's Advocacy Alliance, the Interfaith Council of Southern Nevada, the Nevada Community Foundation, and with his wife, Florence, Volunteers in Medicine of Southern Nevada, a free and charitable healthcare clinic for those without access to healthcare.
He and Florence have been married for 40 years, and they have two children, Michael and Julia.