The first human beings were born 993,419 years ago from the year 1934 A.D. But our planet is still described as a sin-stricken, evil-dominated, self-seeking, isolated, disease-afflicted, disordered world. [55:5:1] [62:5:1]
     Hardly an evaluation calculated to bolster our ego!

     However, had it not been for the Lucifer Rebellion which occurred about 200,000 years ago and the partial default of Adam and Eve almost 38,000 years ago, the races today would be significantly more spiritually and intellectually advanced. (See my paper [13]: "The Lucifer Rebellion.")

     But irrespective of such dismal conditions, a person who feels adrift spiritually and dissatisfied with life in general, anywhere anytime can choose to follow the leading of the Spirit of Truth and the Holy Spirit which are provided for all mortals. Additionally, all persons of normal mind have a Thought Adjuster [indwelling spirit] who ever seeks to lead each person to a higher level of spiritual development. To achieve higher levels of spiritual development it may be necessary to refuse to "run with the crowd." A person who seeks to advance spiritually does not make decisions based on the defense "Well, everybody does it!"

     Elsewhere I explained that a mortal must cooperate, either consciously or unconsciously, with the Thought Adjuster so that together they create a soul with survival qualities. If there does not occur the evolvement of an immortal soul within the mortal mind, there is no survival: the mortal will not be repersonalized on Mansion World Number One. A person can assure his/her survival by daily striving to do what is morally [ethically] right. Moral decisions made on a daily basis will assure the development of that all-important soul with survival values.
(See my paper [10]: The Probationary Nursery) [See Papers 107 through 112 in The Urantia Book for a detailed discussion of Thought Adjusters.]

     There are definite advantages in striving constantly to achieve higher levels of spiritual and intellectual development:

[1] If a mortal has achieved the requisite level of spiritual and intellectual development during a lifetime on earth that person will be resurrected in heaven on the third day following death. If the qualifications are not met, that person must rest in unconscious sleep until the next roll call.

[2] The individual progress of human beings is measured by their successive attainment and mastery of the seven cosmic circles. These circles of mortal progression are concerned with intellectual, social, spiritual, and cosmic-insight values. We start in the seventh circle and strive for the first circle. When mortals attain the third circle, they immediately have personal guardians of destiny assigned to them. Prior to achieving circle three, mortals have group guardians.

[3] The Reserve Corps of Destiny.
     This corps has been mentioned in another paper, but it will bear repeating. To be enrolled in this corps should be the worthy goal of every mortal who strives daily to lead a moral life.
     The reserve corps of destiny consists of living men and women who have been admitted to the special service of the superhuman administration of world affairs. This corps is made up of the men and women of each generation who are chosen by the spirit directors of the realm to assist in the conduct of the ministry of mercy and wisdom to the children of time on the evolutionary worlds.
     As soon as men and women appear on the stage of temporal action with sufficient mental capacity, adequate moral status, and requisite spirituality, they are quickly assigned to the appropriate celestial group of planetary personalities as human liaisons, mortal assistants.
     When human beings are chosen as protectors of planetary destiny, when they become pivotal individuals in the plans which the world administrators are prosecuting, at that time the planetary chief of seraphim confirms their temporal attachment to the seraphic corps and appoints personal destiny guardians to serve with these mortal reservists.

     Mortals of the realm are chosen for service in the reserve corps of destiny on the inhabited worlds because of:
          A. Special capacity for being secretly rehearsed for numerous possible emergency missions in the conduct of various activities of world affairs.
          B. Wholehearted dedication to some special social, economic, political, spiritual, or other cause, coupled with willingness to serve without human recognition and rewards.
          C. The possession of a Thought Adjuster of extraordinary versatility and probable pre-Urantia experience in coping with planetary difficulties and contending with impending world emergency situations.

     On Urantia there are twelve reserve corps of destiny, one for each of the planetary groups of seraphic supervision. The twelve groups of Urantia destiny reservists are composed of mortal inhabitants of the sphere who have been rehearsed for numerous crucial positions on earth and are held in readiness to act in possible planetary emergencies.
     In the 1930s there were 962 persons in this corps. [This number fluctuates as persons die or are enrolled in the corps.]

     We can surmise that currently [2005] there are both students and non-students of The Urantia Book among the members of this reserve corps.
     At best, the number "962" paints a very deplorable picture. Even in the 1930s there were thousands and thousands of Protestant ministers and Catholic priests in the United States. Why weren't all these thousands of ministers and priests enrolled in this reserve corps in the 1930s? It would be most interesting to know how many of these ministers and priests are enrolled in the corps today. We observe that corruption has permeated every level and every segment of society. Are our religious leaders also victims of this corruption? Have we arrived at the point where we conjecture that the blind are leading the blind?

     As explained elsewhere, the events of the End Times are almost upon us. (See "Is Israel Flirting With Armageddon?" and "OSAMA BIN LADEN: AntiChrist? False Prophet? Beast?" Papers [1] and [18])
     When these End Times events get underway, will members of this reserve corps step forward to volunteer their services or will they hide in fright? [30:4:4,5] [49:6:8,9]
     In Paper 114:7 there is much additional information about this reserve corps you might find very interesting, especially if you aspire to become a member.

     When our planet is compared with normal planets whereon there has been no rebellion, our world seems most confused and greatly retarded in all phases of intellectual progress and spiritual attainment. In our defense, we should recall that for 200,000 years the worlds in our local system have rested under a spiritual ban in consequence of the Lucifer rebellion. Our Planetary Prince, Caligastia [invisible to mortals], joined Lucifer.
     Throughout these 200,000 years Caligastia [the "devil"] and his cohorts have worked diligently sowing seeds of confusion, sin, disharmony, and false information anywhere they could find fertile soil. These rebellious personalities have been especially adept in inserting erroneous concepts into every religion on the planet.
     Also, Adam and Eve partially defaulted in their assignment on this planet which acted to retard our intellectual and spiritual growth. [53:1:4-6]

Agondonters.
     On first thought it might appear that Urantia and its associated isolated worlds are most unfortunate in being deprived of the beneficent presence and influence of such superhuman personalities as a Planetary Prince and a Material Son and Daughter.
     But isolation of these spheres affords their races a unique opportunity for the exercise of faith and for the development of a peculiar quality of confidence in cosmic reliability which is not dependent on sight or any other material consideration.
     It may turn out, eventually, that mortal creatures hailing from the worlds quarantined in consequence of rebellion are extremely fortunate. We have discovered that such ascenders are very early intrusted with numerous special assignments to cosmic undertakings where unquestioned faith and sublime confidence are essential to achievement.
     On Jerusem [the capital of our local system] the ascenders from these isolated worlds occupy a residential sector by themselves and are known as the agondonters, meaning evolutionary will creatures who can believe without seeing, persevere when isolated, and triumph over insuperable difficulties even when alone. This functional grouping of the agondonters persists throughout the ascension of the local universe and the traversal of the superuniverse; it disappears during the sojourn in Havona but promptly reappears upon the attainment of Paradise and definitely persists in the Corps of the Mortal Finality. [Paper 50:7]

Following the example of Jesus: The assured path of intellectual and spiritual development.
     The person who is sincere about achieving higher levels of intellectual and spiritual development need look no further than Jesus for a daily guide.
     In my paper [ 2] "Jesus: Master Teacher" I present numerous excerpts from The Urantia Book which clearly describe the personality of Jesus.

A few guidelines are presented here:

1. As Jesus mingled with the people, they found him entirely free from the superstitions of that day. He was free from religious prejudices; he was never intolerant. He had nothing in his heart resembling social antagonism. Though fearless, Jesus did not give vent to destructive criticism or manifest an utter disregard of the religious, social, economic, and political usages of his day.

2. He was simple, manly, honest, and fearless. With all of this physical and intellectual influence manifest in the Master's presence, there were also all those spiritual charms of his being which have become associated with his personality: tenderness, patience, meekness, gentleness, and humility.

3. He was a calm and happy laborer; only rarely was he in a hurry. He comforted his fellow men as he passed by. He made his friends feel at ease. He was a charming listener. He spread good cheer everywhere he went. He was full of grace and truth.

4. The Master was a perfected specimen of human self-control. When he was reviled, he reviled not; when he suffered, he uttered no threats against his tormentors; when his enemies denounced him, he simply committed himself to the righteous judgment of his Father in heaven. He lived in the midst of stress and storm, but he never wavered.

5. He refused to take unfair advantage of an opponent: he was utterly free from all egoistic desire to win an argument merely to experience logical triumph over his fellows.

6. He spent at least five evenings each week at intense study in the synagogue where there were many new books. [This was in later years when he was no longer directly responsible for his younger brothers and sisters and his mother.]

     In Paper 100, "Religion In Human Experience," Section 7. "The Acme of Religious Living," written by a Melchizedek, we are given additional valuable information regarding the characteristics of Jesus, and the manner in which Jesus met and conquered all trials in his life as they occurred.

[1] The unfailing kindness of Jesus touched the hearts of men, but his stalwart strength of character amazed his followers. He was truly sincere; there was nothing of the hypocrite in him. He was free from affectation; he was always so refreshingly genuine. He never stooped to pretense, and he never resorted to shamming. He lived the truth, even as he taught it. [100:7.2]

[2] But the Master was so reasonable, so approachable. He was so practical in all his ministry, while all his plans were characterized by such sanctified common sense. He was so free from all freakish, erratic, and eccentric tendencies. He was never capricious, whimsical, or hysterical. In all his teaching and in everything he did there was always an exquisite discrimination associated with an extraordinary sense of propriety. [100:7.3]

[3] The Son of Man was always a well-poised personality. Even his enemies maintained a wholesome respect for him; they even feared his presence. Jesus was unafraid. He was surcharged with divine enthusiasm, but he never became fanatical. He was emotionally active but never flighty. He was imaginative but always practical. He frankly faced the realities of life, but he was never dull or prosaic. He was courageous but never reckless; prudent but never cowardly. He was sympathetic but not sentimental; unique but not eccentric. He was pious but not sanctimonious. [100:7.4]

[4] Jesus’ originality was unstifled. He was not bound by tradition or handicapped by enslavement to narrow conventionality. He spoke with undoubted confidence and taught with absolute authority. But his superb originality did not cause him to overlook the gems of truth in the teachings of his predecessors and contemporaries. And the most original of his teachings was the emphasis of love and mercy in the place of fear and sacrifice. [100:7.5]

[5] Jesus was very broad in his outlook. He exhorted his followers to preach the gospel to all peoples. He was free from all narrow-mindedness. His sympathetic heart embraced all mankind, even a universe. Always his invitation was, “Whosoever will, let him come.” [100:7.6]

[6] Of Jesus it was truly said, “He trusted God.” As a man among men he most sublimely trusted the Father in heaven. He trusted his Father as a little child trusts his earthly parent. His faith was perfect but never presumptuous. No matter how cruel nature might appear to be or how indifferent to man’s welfare on earth, Jesus never faltered in his faith. He was immune to disappointment and impervious to persecution. He was untouched by apparent failure. [100:7.7]

[7] He loved men as brothers, at the same time recognizing how they differed in innate endowments and acquired qualities. “He went about doing good.” [100:7.8]

[8] Jesus was an unusually cheerful person, but he was not a blind and unreasoning optimist. His constant word of exhortation was, “Be of good cheer.” He could maintain this confident attitude because of his unswerving trust in God and his unshakable confidence in man. He was always touchingly considerate of all men because he loved them and believed in them. Still he was always true to his convictions and magnificently firm in his devotion to the doing of his Father’s will. [100:7.9]

[9] The Master was always generous. He never grew weary of saying, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Said he, “Freely you have received, freely give.” And yet, with all of his unbounded generosity, he was never wasteful or extravagant. He taught that you must believe to receive salvation. “For every one who seeks shall receive." [100:7.10]

[10] He was candid, but always kind. Said he, “If it were not so, I would have told you.” He was frank, but always friendly. He was outspoken in his love for the sinner and in his hatred for sin. But throughout all this amazing frankness he was unerringly fair. [100:7.11]

[11] Jesus was consistently cheerful, notwithstanding he sometimes drank deeply of the cup of human sorrow. He fearlessly faced the realities of existence, yet was he filled with enthusiasm for the gospel of the kingdom. But he controlled his enthusiasm; it never controlled him. He was unreservedly dedicated to “the Father’s business.” This divine enthusiasm led his unspiritual brethren to think he was beside himself, but the onlooking universe appraised him as the model of sanity and the pattern of supreme mortal devotion to the high standards of spiritual living. And his controlled enthusiasm was contagious; his associates were constrained to share his divine optimism. [100:7.12]

[12] This man of Galilee was not a man of sorrows; he was a soul of gladness. Always was he saying, “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad.” But when duty required, he was willing to walk courageously through the “valley of the shadow of death.” He was gladsome but at the same time humble. [100:7.13]

[13] His courage was equaled only by his patience. When pressed to act prematurely, he would only reply, “My hour has not yet come.” He was never in a hurry; his composure was sublime. But he was often indignant at evil, intolerant of sin. He was often mightily moved to resist that which was inimical to the welfare of his children on earth. But his indignation against sin never led to anger at the sinner. [100:7.14]

[14] His courage was magnificent, but he was never foolhardy. His watchword was, “Fear not.” His bravery was lofty and his courage often heroic. But his courage was linked with discretion and controlled by reason. It was courage born of faith, not the recklessness of blind presumption. He was truly brave but never audacious. [100:7.15]

[15] The Master was a pattern of reverence. The prayer of even his youth began, “Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name.” He was even respectful of the faulty worship of his fellows. But this did not deter him from making attacks on religious traditions or assaulting errors of human belief. He was reverential of true holiness, and yet he could justly appeal to his fellows, saying, “Who among you convicts me of sin?” [100:7.16]

[16] Jesus was great because he was good, and yet he fraternized with the little children. He was gentle and unassuming in his personal life, and yet he was the perfected man of a universe. His associates called him Master unbidden. [100:7.17]

[17] Jesus was the perfectly unified human personality. And today, as in Galilee, he continues to unify mortal experience and to co-ordinate human endeavors. He unifies life, ennobles character, and simplifies experience. He enters the human mind to elevate, transform, and transfigure it. It is literally true: “If any man has Christ Jesus within him, he is a new creature; old things are passing away; behold, all things are becoming new.” [100:7.18] [2 Corinthians 5:17]

     When Jesus was fourteen years old his father Joseph died of an accident on his construction job. Jesus instantly became both a father and a brother to his seven younger brothers and sisters [with baby Ruth yet to be born]. He was now the head of a large human family with the added responsibility of supporting and protecting his mother Mary. Jesus cheerfully accepted the responsibilities so suddenly thrust upon him, and he carried them faithfully to the end. [126:2]

     As Jesus was entering his twenty-first year, the authors of Part IV of The Urantia Book made the following observations about Jesus.
     Jesus is rapidly becoming a man, not just a young man but an adult. He has learned well to bear responsibility. He knows how to carry on in the face of disappointment. He bears up bravely when his plans are thwarted and his purposes temporarily defeated. He has learned how to be fair and just even in the face of injustice. He is learning how to adjust his ideals of spiritual living to the practical demands of earthly existence. He is learning how to plan for the achievement of a higher and distant goal of idealism while he toils earnestly for the attainment of a nearer and immediate goal of necessity. He is steadily acquiring the art of adjusting his aspirations to the commonplace demands of the human occasion. He has very nearly mastered the technique of utilizing the energy of the spiritual drive to turn the mechanism of material achievement. He is slowly learning how to live the heavenly life while he continues on with the earthly existence. More and more he depends upon the ultimate guidance of his heavenly Father while he assumes the fatherly role of guiding and directing the children of his earth family. He is becoming experienced in the skillful wresting of victory from the very jaws of defeat; he is learning how to transform the difficulties of time into the triumphs of eternity. [127:6:12]

     At this point we might note that Jesus [Michael] had a twofold purpose in his bestowal on our planet:
     1. The mastering of the experience of living the full life of a human creature in mortal flesh, the completion of his sovereignty in Nebadon [our local universe].
     2. The revelation of the Universal Father to the mortal dwellers on the worlds of time and space and the more effective leading of these same mortals to a better understanding of the Universal Father.
     Day by day he is achieving both goals. [128:0:2,3]

     By achieving ever higher levels of intellectual and spiritual development, you can give to God the greatest of all offerings: the consecration and dedication of your will to the majestic service of doing the divine will. [196:0:10]
     Additionally, you will receive one of the greatest of all gifts: The peace of God that passeth all understanding. [Philippians 4:7]
     You can even have the peace of Jesus: The peace of Jesus is the peace and assurance of a son [or daughter] who fully believes that his career for time and eternity is safely and wholly in the care and keeping of an all-wise, all-loving, and all-powerful spirit Father. And this is, indeed, a peace which passes the understanding of mortal mind, but which can be enjoyed to the full by the believing human heart. [181:1:10]

The Purpose of Affliction.
     One evening in private interviews Nathaniel and John asked Jesus why the loving Father in heaven permits so many apparently innocent people to suffer so many diseases and so many afflictions. Jesus answered John's questions by giving him a discourse on Job. [Jesus described the Book of Job as "that masterpiece of Semitic literature" and a unique parable.] [148:6]

But I quote from Jesus' answer to Nathaniel:
     You should know that the Father does not purposely afflict his children. Man brings down upon himself unnecessary affliction as a result of his persistent refusal to walk in the better ways of the divine will. Affliction is potential in evil, but much of it has been produced by sin and iniquity. Many unusual events [e.g., the Lucifer Rebellion] have transpired on this world, and it is not strange that all thinking men should be perplexed by the scenes of suffering and affliction which they witness.
     But of one thing you may be sure: The Father does not send affliction as an arbitrary punishment for wrongdoing. The imperfections and handicaps of evil are inherent; the penalties of sin are inevitable; the destroying consequences of iniquity are inexorable. Man should not blame God for those afflictions which are the natural result of the life which he chooses to live; neither should man complain of those experiences which are a part of life as it is lived on this world. It is the Father's will that mortal man should work persistently and consistently toward the betterment of his estate on earth. Intelligent application would enable man to overcome much of his earthly misery.
     Jesus then quotes numerous Scriptures that explain the attitude of God toward afflictions. [148:5]

     Therefore, mortals should be aware that not all suffering can be avoided even though a diligent effort is made to "abide by the will of God." But a firm belief in the loving overcare of the heavenly Father and his angels will surely lighten the load and provide much understanding and peace of mind.