THIS IS VOLUME ONE of a chronology of historical events, decisions and actions taken regarding the dissemination of the Urantia Book, mainly by those who believed this task was their sacred responsibility. It is told through letters, notes, diaries, newsletters, reports, and other writings.

Every now and then new readers ask me what I know about the history of the Urantia Book. Who wrote it? Why it is not more well-known? What happened from the time the revelation was published to today? Why are they given whitewashed accounts, as if there is something to hide? When I first found the book in Los Angeles in 1977, I too had these questions.

After writing my initial letter to the publisher, Urantia Foundation, they referred me to a long-time reader named Julia Fenderson. Julia had studied the book in manuscript form since 1939, as a member of the Forum in Chicago. When I asked Julia these questions, she simply said, "You don't need to know that. Just read the book." This response did not satisfy me at all. If this truly was an epochal revelation, as I believed it to be, then I did need to know—even if others didn't. Right then I embarked on a quest to learn all I could about the origin and history of the Urantia revelation, but again and again I came up against a tight-lipped wall of secrecy.

At that time there were two organizations: The Urantia Foundation as publishers of the book and the Urantia Brotherhood as the membership organization. I joined the Brotherhood to meet and stay in touch with other readers. Before the Internet this was the only way.

Little was known about the history except for vague mentions—verbal and in correspondence and newsletters—of "instructions" and "mandates" from higher beings admonishing us "go slow" and to not advertise the book. "This book is for the future, not now," was the word that came down from "headquarters." Above all, old-timers were sworn to secrecy regarding the book's origins. Rumblings of disagreements between the liberal and conservative wings of the readership, revolving mainly around protecting and preserving the copyright, were already in motion.

To tide the wave of enthusiastic readers wanting to aggressively and prematurely share the teachings with a world that was not yet ready for it, individuals in positions of leadership had emerged within the Foundation seeking full control of the revelation—not only of the text but of the word "Urantia" and the three-concentric-circles trademark. Lawsuits were in progress funded by the Foundation to prevent unauthorized use, while the other side accused the Foundation of suppressing the spread of the revelation and mishandling donated funds. Divisions in the "movement" began to appear. Ambitious leaders were ousted and others came in their place. One by one, the "gentler" older generation began to pass away.

Throughout the years these differences escalated, and in 1989 a full-blown war resulted in a permanent parting of the ways between the Foundation and the Brotherhood. The Split forced the readership to choose sides.

A large majority went with the Brotherhood. Painted as "rebels," the organization was legally required to change its name and now called itself "Fifth Epochal Fellowship." The Foundation, with the few readers who remained loyal to them, later created a new organization, International Urantia Association (IUA).

From the beginning the Foundation had sent new readers to the Brotherhood. Now, as sole publisher of the book with information on the inside cover advertising only their own organization, the Foundation diverted each new reader to the IUA, leaving the Fellowship with no way to grow. Details of The Split were swept under the rug, and new readers were left in the dark about the history except for occasional mentions of the "rebel" group that had gone astray.

* * *

During this time of turmoil I had temporarily retreated from the Urantia scene, though I never stopped reading the book itself. Then in 1993 I was sent a xerox copy of "Pipeline to God," a chapter in a 1977 book, How to Know What to Believe, by a popular metaphysical author named Harold Sherman. Sherman and his wife Martha had been members of the Forum that studied the Urantia papers in Chicago before publication. For five years—1942 to 1947—they attended the weekly meetings and interacted with the personalities involved, and there was disharmony and disagreement even then, which Sherman recounted in this chapter. For the first time—for me at least—details emerged giving a picture of the story behind the Urantia Book: how it came about and where the seeds were sown for the discontent that was now rampant in the Urantia movement. (It's no wonder that leaders of the Urantia community on all sides wanted to suppress distribution of Sherman's book, which opened many old wounds and caused outrage among those who wanted to bury the past.)

* * *

In 1991 a couple in Colorado was sued by Urantia Foundation for publishing and giving away a computerized version of the book with a search engine. During the trial, many documents were made public as evidence. When the Internet came along in the late 1990s, I discovered the Fellowship's website with its "Timeline of Events in the Revelation Community," masterfully compiled by David Kantor. Here, detailed year by year in correspondence and other primary documents collected from individuals and files of the Brotherhood/Fellowship, was evidence of a turbulent Urantia history. Many blanks, going back to the early decades of the 20th century, were filled in.

In 1995, as a result of the trial, the Urantia Book was declared to be in the public domain. The Fellowship immediately published its own book, and was promptly sued by Urantia Foundation. In 1997 the Court of Appeals restored the copyright to Urantia Foundation and the Fellowship discontinued printing their book. A new lawsuit was filed by Urantia Foundation in 1999 for copyright infringement against Michael Foundation, publisher of Jesus—A New Revelation, which was comprised of papers 121-196 of the Urantia Book. Michael Foundation won the lawsuit, and after a series of appeals by Urantia Foundation, the Urantia Book was finally and permanently placed in the public domain in 2001.

In 2000 the original diaries of Harold and Martha Sherman came into my hands, and together with my partner Matthew Block we transcribed and published them as The Sherman Diaries. These told an even deeper story of the early days, and led me to unearth more Urantia-related documents of historical significance in the Harold Sherman collection at the University of Central Arkansas. Sherman had introduced his friend Sir Hubert Wilkins to the Forum in 1942, and among Wilkins' papers at the University of Ohio I also found Urantia-related correspondence. Through a Wilkins family member I came into possession of Wilkins' +150-page Urantia notebook, which we scanned and published in 2015, before it was turned over to the main Wilkins archive. Another great resource for Urantia-related documents is the growing online library at ubhistory.org, founded by the late Victoria Clark. It is my hope that in time many more sources of prime documents will be brought forward to give a fuller picture.

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This first volume of The Urantia Chronicles, covering the beginning and the first nine years after publication in 1955, includes not only what the believing "insiders" were saying and doing to share the revelation but also the opinions and reactions of skeptical "outsiders." In the belief that not all relevant documents have surfaced to date, I am hereby providing a framework for future findings to graft onto. This is—and will ever continue to be—a work-in-progress.

Some will read this chronicle and say we failed; others will say we succeeded. I leave it to you to decide.