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TIDINGS 3 August 20055covered the oven and the mill for grinding grain. It requiredtwo persons to operate this type of mill, one to grind andanother to feed the grain. As a small boy Jesus often fed grainto this mill while his mother turned the grinder.In later years, as the family grew in size, they would allsquat about the enlarged stone table to enjoy their meals,helping themselves from a common dish, or pot, of food.During the winter, at the evening meal the table would belighted by a small, flat clay lamp, which was fi lled with oliveoil. After the birth of Martha, Joseph built an addition tothis house, a large room, which was used as a carpenter shopduring the day and as a sleeping room at night.Painting on the cover of this issueAbout Jesus’ HomeWe asked Vern: What prompted you to make the drawing,the thoughts that came to you while you were creating it, andwhy do you think the midwayers included this description ofJesus’ home?As you probably remember, the painting is a derivative work based quite literally on a pencil sketch by VernVerass, who deserves credit for most of the interpretation.You could say that Vern worked out the house and I setit into the landscape.—Graeme ChapmanBrisbane, AustraliaVERN VERASSDuffy, AustraliaIDID THE ILLUSTRATION after reading the section onwater storage vessels in the Kitchen area. There was probably athe Nazareth home in 1980. I had been traveling in thebench or table here as well. Although I’ve provided a glimpseUSA, Canada and New Zealand and kept a journal inthrough the door, a specific illustration could be done of thewhich I illustrated ideas, impressions and scenes along thehouse interior showing the loom, sleeping mats, pots, dishes,way, this was one such attempt. The awesome significance oflampstand, stools and stone table.the 7th bestowal experience of our Local Universe CreatorI think the reason we have such a detailed description isSon in such a humble abode struck me and I wanted toto give us a greater understanding of his humble habitat. Thevisualise his home and surroundings. I included a plan viewUniverse Creator willingly divesting himself of power andand a topographical impression of the location showingcomfort of regal status. Some of us have enjoyed the experiencesurrounding hills and proximity of Nazareth to the sea toof traveling to Israel and have walked the hills he walked, theget a better understanding of where he grew up. I includeddescription we have makes more real Jesus the child growingthe main items mentioned in the text; the roof shelter, sandup in such basic surroundings.box, animal shelter, garden, wood stove, grain mill and foodI hope this gives a better impression of my thinking preparation area. I know there are flaws in my illustrativeregarding the illustration.interpretation. The surrounding wall wasprobably not as high behind the house andCopies of Vern Verass’s illustration of Jesus’ Nazareth home andthe garden was probably more extensive withGraeme Chapman’s painting on the cover are both available forpurchase from ANZURA (Australia and New Zealand Urantiafruit trees. The stairs to the roof may have beenAssociation). For more information go to their website at:wooden as Joseph was a carpenter but musicwas valuable and stone was freely available. Ialso should have included some large pitchers,

6TIDINGS 3 August 2005Birth of JesusAugust 21, 7 B.C.A“The Adoration of the Magi,” Pieter Aertsen, 1560LL THAT night Mary was restless so that neither of them slept much.By the break of day the pangs of childbirth were well in evidence, and atnoon, August 21, 7 B.C., with the help and kind ministrations of womenfellow travelers, Mary was delivered of a male child. Jesus of Nazareth wasborn into the world, was wrapped in the clothes which Mary had broughtalong for such a possible contingency, and laid in a near-by manger.In just the same manner as all babies before that day and since havecome into the world, the promised child was born; and on the eighthday, according to the Jewish practice, he was circumcised and formallynamed Joshua (Jesus).—The Urantia Book, P.1351 - §5 to P.1351 - §6A Lesson of Love A ConversationDOROTHY ELDERDirector, Urantia Book Internet SchoolDURING A UBIS STUDY coursethat, if Hamid, a mere man, could findthat I was facilitating not long ago,it so easy and natural to love his sons andone of the students, an engineer forcarefully rear them, wouldn’t Allah asa US petroleum company, was participatthe infinite upholder of a universe haveing in the class while he was overseeingeven a bigger and greater love for alla project in the United Arab Emirates.his children? Wouldn’t Allah, capableThis reader, (I’ll call him John), was onof such love and possessing infinitetop of an oil derrick over-looking thewisdom, want his children to take carePersian Gulf. He was observing safetyof themselves wisely, the same way he,procedures, and when he spotted a manHamid, raised and watched over his ownnot wearing his safety hat he remindedsons? Wouldn’t Allah’s attitude towardshim to follow company procedures tohim be one of the love of a father?always keep the hard-hat on. The manThis conversation continued forresponded that he wasn’t too concernedwell over an hour as Hamid was fi lledwith such cautionary measures becausewith enthusiasm upon contemplatingPlato and Aristotle, detail from “School ofAthens”RaffaelloSanzio1509-1510Allah was the only one he had to fear,an enlarged and illuminating concept ofand if Allah was angry with him and chose to punish him itAllah as a universal, loving Father. He said, “This makes betterwouldn’t make much difference if he was wearing a hard-hat,sense to me! I will henceforth believe in a loving Father-Allah,or not. John saw that the man spoke sincerely in making thisnot an Allah I must fear. And I will teach this lesson to mycomment, and he paused to engage him in conversation.sons, just as you have taught it to me.”John began by asking Hamid about his family, and theAnd Hamid was a happier man for this encounter. Heman’s countenance radiated joy as he talked about his muchand John had many other conversations as the weeks wentloved three sons. John also inquired about Hamid’s parents,by, and our class was much enriched by John’s sharing his and he learned that the parents had reared him in a lovingexperience with us.environment and had watched over him wisely as a childFor more information about The Urantia Book Internet Schooland youth. The conversation centered around the father-songo to their website at: http://mercy.urantia.org/ubis/relationship, and soon John asked if it wasn’t reasonable

TIDINGS 3 August 20057The Third Annual Mexico Urantia Association Conference2005 June 11 & 12SANTIAGO KNEELANDAUM, Spanish Translator ISBI’M PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE that the ThirdReader Conference of the Urantia Association ofMexico was held this past 11th and 12th of June,2005 in Mexico City.The Conference title was “The Life and Teachings ofJesus” and it covered topics, all viewed from the fourthpart of the book, such as: Identity and Genealogy ofJesus, The Bestowal Missions, All of His Public Life,Good & Evil, The Mind, The Soul, Death, FraternalAt the auditorium. More pictures at www.urantia-iua.org/photos/and Parental Love, plus many more.We had excellent presenters, many of whom weremany of them either knew about the book, or had the book,founding members of the Urantia Association of Mexico,but did not really read it. Many of them were amazed bysuch as: Liza Palm (Representative Urantia Foundation),the information they were receiving, and since there was noMary Tere Ortega (President AUM), Eligio Bautista (Vice“preacher,” and it was the readers that were presenting, theyPresident AUM), Victor Oracio Hernandez, Edgar Ibarragan,realized that they too could access all this knowledge of truthFrancisco Javier Torres, Guadalupe Torres, Rebeca Aguirre,by reading the book. Since the Conference was about JesusIsrael Moreno, Raduyshurishka Fedorenko, Fernandoand his teachings, many of our Mexican brothers and sistersMaldonado, Jazmin Vazquez, Roberto Martinez, Franciscowere also able to relate in many ways, and were enlightenedSerrano, Alberto Chavez, and from Uruguay, representingby just hearing all the things the presenters were saying.the Southern Cone Association, Jaime Diaz Page.Among the things we learned in Mexico from this typeThis was the third annual conference held by theof conference, is the lesson of the great truth giver and theassociation, since its foundation in 2002. Among the thingsgreat truth seeker, and the marvelous, enlightening andwe’re coming to have, as a new and growing association, isrewarding experience of them meeting. The policy of thea dedicated and thorough readership base. We could see itUrantia Foundation and to an extent the IUA, has beenin this conference since many of the presenters were formerto remain low-key from massive publicity, and that thepresenters and have come to enhance and further their studiesRevelation should be distributed by person-to-person contact.of The Urantia Book. This, along with other activities and theIn my personal opinion, we should maintain this policyestablishment of study groups, has given us a Mary Tere Ortega, President AUM and let our unseen friends guide each of us insolid base that will allow us to grow.getting the Revelation to the people that areOne of the highlights in this conference wasready and willing to receive it. Nevertheless, wethat we opened the invitation to readers as wellcan create instances such as the conference weas non-readers. Although this was a bold movehad, avoiding massive publicity, and incorrectfrom what the AUM, as well as the rest of thecommunication channels, where truth seekersassociations had traditionally done, it provedcan attend and experience the joy we all haveto be quite rewarding. The event was publicizedexperienced when we attend a conference;through channels and groups of people thatand rejoice not only from listening andhave “alternative religions” and most are truthcomprehending The Urantia Book in deeperseekers, much like most of us before we foundlevels, but also feeling the Loving Service andThe Urantia Book. We got a good number ofsense of brotherhood of each presenter, as they these people in the conference, and we saw thatcommune in the Gospel.

8TIDINGS 3 August 2005Mind Body & Spirit Exhibition in LondonGARY RAWLINGS, COSTAS DIAMANTOPOULOS, EILEEN APPLEYARD AND ROBERTO LARAUrantia Association of United Kingdom and IrelandPLEASE FIND ATTACHED the variousreports on the Mind Body Spirit Show heldin London at the end of May 2005, and onceagain a memorable occasion for all concernedwhere in total 47 books were sold at this eventfrom the stand in addition 4 sets of MP3’s, 6 ofthe Daily Thoughts to Ponder and one set of audiotapes with a CD-ROM departed from stand No49 to truth seeking mortals who visited us therewhich numbered over three hundred in the 5-dayevent, with myself as the anchor man supportedby a wonderful array of talented Urantia membersfrom our association, and thank you:Eileen, Donna, Costas, Chris, Gavin, Roland,Max, and Roberto—what a team effort that can be summedup in one word: Outstanding.Please find the set of photographs on the IUA websitehttp://www.urantia-iua.org/photos/ showing that all hadgreat experiences with our soul brothers and sisters who weredrawn to our stand for one reason, and that is to know andunderstand about The Urantia Book.Many thanks to the IUA and the Urantia Foundation fortheir support, Jane Ploetz for her “Daily Thoughts to Ponder”and Jan Bernard for the MP3’s; also to our donor for assistingwith the cost of the event, and all those who participated inmaking a large number of mortals aware of The Urantia Bookand its teachings, and we look forward in seeing you all onceagain at the Mind Body Spirit show in Manchester on the29th September 2005 for 3 days.In loving and loyal service,—Gary Rawlings, President, Urantia Association of theUnited Kingdom & IrelandCostas Diamantopoulos writes:This year’s festival was held on the Bank holiday weekend,26th -30th of May. Our association with the aid ofsponsors amongst our ranks occupied stand 49. We all gavefreely our time to be there, man the stand and assist withRoberto, Costas, Eileen, Gavin and Gary at stand #49. More pictures atwww.urantia-iua.org/photos/the presentation of the Book to newcomers. Those attendeeshungry enough for the Truth purchased the book. They camemainly from London but the book was sold also to foreignersliving in London, including Poles, Slovakians, Ukrainiansamongst others.An interesting achievement of our team was the invitationby the Rastafarian Society to participate in their exhibition inJuly. The two ministers (man and woman) of this EthiopianChristian Orthodox Church proved to be of a highly inquisitive nature, well versed in the subjects of the Trinity and God’snature. They felt the Book would reinforce the faith of manyamong their folk, who number up to 5,000.We also succeeded in selling two Russian and two Spanishbooks among the 43 total sales the highest achievement insales of the book to date in such exhibitions. Counting fromlast year’s similar event as a cycle a total of 120 books weresold in UK and Ireland directly from such collective effort,the highest ever sales of the book in the realm. This does nottake into consideration any secondary sales after the event.It seems that our closely knit team benefits even morefrom the previous experience of working together andfocusing in spreading the teachings, that every time theresults flow with less effort.

TIDINGS 3 August 2005We intend to increase our efforts this year again startingfrom the autumn and attempting to include Scotland andWales as well as many smaller local exhibitions.We all believe that our effort to spread the book isrewarded with the fruits of the spirit and as such we willcontinue to do so, hoping that others will follow our steps indifferent countries. If every Urantia Association worked inthe same way, membership increases and book sales will bemeasurable attainments during our short sojourn on Urantia,through our teamwork. However the seeds we plant rightnow will bear ample fruits in future generations and the joyof this achievement will follow us in eternity.Eileen Appleyard writes:As a new reader of The Urantia Book from Ireland, I wastruly honoured to join in with the boys at stand no. 49and to do my little bit in both the sharing and representing of“god-in-action”. From the moment I was greeted by Roberto,at Heathrow airport (a special, kind, warm and loving soul) Iknew I was re-uniting with a very “special family” indeed.My few days were fi lled with many happy memories ofmeeting in with such fi ne people who came to our stand,and I was one of the lucky ones who was given the option ofvisiting other stand holders, chatting with them, and sharingour news, with our “description” leaflets.Quite a few of those people did actually make the effortin whatever spare time they had to visit our stand, witha passion for truth, guidance and information. (Which Ireally did appreciate, as it made me feel my time had notbeen wasted).It was almost like we had a magnet of “unseen beauty”hovering over our heads as we all did our little bit in assistingthose souls, who were somewhat enchanted by the dedication,care and spirit of my lovely spirit brothers, Gary, Costas,Roberto, Gavin and Max and my spirit sister Donna.These boys worked with such amazing love, gave fromtheir Hearts to all who came in contact with them. Theywere always ready to expand and nourish the “hunger forenlightenment” within the hearts of all interested seekingmales and females of Urantia.Gary was like “big brother” to us all, always ready to stepforward and give of his time and endless energy. I will neverforget the kindness and encouragement that I received fromeach and every one of you, for the welcome and hospitalitythat you all shared, in your own special way. May God blessyou all. eileenappleyard@hotmail.com.9Roberto Lara writes:This Mind Body & Spirit festival was a different experience,as on this occasion two women were at the stand, Donnafrom Australia and Eileen from Ireland; they provided thefeminine touch. This is indeed a new and important aspect forthe future, since when I saw them presenting the teachings ofThe Urantia Book, I felt that we (the human race) have madegreat progress. Women are our other half in these endeavoursand I saw them as comrades, striving to share the Good News,that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.A Melchizedek tells us the importance of “agreeableworking groups” to achieve certain projects.P.432 - §6 Social architects do everything within theirprovince and power to bring together suitable individuals thatthey may constitute effi cient and agreeable working groupson earth; and sometimes such groups have found themselvesreassociated on the mansion worlds for continued fruitfulservice. But not always do these seraphim attain their ends; notalways are they able to bring together those who would form themost ideal group to achieve a given purpose or to accomplish acertain task; under these conditions they must utilize the bestof the material available.Malavatia Melchizedek emphasizes that these associationsmultiply four times the potential of two human beings.P.494 - §10 7. And then, climax all of these proceduresof multisocialization with the concurrent enhancement ofspiritual insight as it pertains to the augmentation of all phasesof personal endowment through group spiritual associationand morontia co-ordination. Intellectually, socially, andspiritually two moral creatures do not merely double theirpersonal potentials of universe achievement by partnershiptechnique; they more nearly quadruple their attainment andaccomplishment possibilities.Teamwork comes to my mind, powerful teamwork, whenmen and women are working together; at the stand I justexperienced this concept, it is real and doable. I see the relativeequality (in their own spheres of action) of men and womencomplementing one another, I see the future of the humanrace achieving full respect and trust between the sexes, sincethose are the pillars for a better and genuine civilization.Many thanks to Donna and Eileen for being with usand really hoping that in the future men and women willbe together hand in hand, working for a heavenlike society,since that is the way things should be and are to be.Finally, an immense gratitude to my Father and yourFather for the extra help He always gives us all to accomplish a small step in announcing the Good News.

10TIDINGS 3 August 2005LIFECLIMBThe climb to perfection is a perilous ascentfull of chugholes, pitfalls and cliffsAnd though the scenery is varied and the way well markedwe’re continually plagued by “what if ’s”.Those what if ’s are followed by should haves’,darn it’s, oh no’s and what’s nextAnd, it wasn’t on purpose, I refuse to believe it,and of course the occasional possessed.Cause there is always two guides, and it’s hard to tell,who knows the way and who is lostAnd not until the next panoramic viewdoes mis-direction tell you the cost.For Mis-direction is incredibly cleverand will convince you he knows the wayBut halfway there his piper arrives,him you always must pay.Then sooner or later on the mountain climb of lifeMr. Experience you will findHe’ll help you discover your faithful guideand leave Mis-direction behind.For Mr. Experience always waits,you decide if he’s bad

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