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RESOLUTION FOR FELLOWSHIP SUPPORT
OF UrantiaN RELIGIOUS BELIEF AND PRACTICE

WHEREAS; the Fellowship includes within its constitutionally stated purposes "...fostering a religion...";

WHEREAS; many current members of the Fellowship hold religious beliefs that are born from teachings that are revealed in the Urantia Book, and are engaging in group worship and group religious identification based on these beliefs;

WHEREAS; many current members of the Fellowship believe that the Urantia Book is a divine revelation, that "Urantia" is the name of our planet and that the three concentric circles symbolize both our highest and most profound comprehension of reality and our loyalty to the divine administration thereof;

WHEREAS; many current members of the Fellowship are realizing the crucial importance of establishing a Urantia religious identity that is recognizable by the world at large;

WHEREAS; the emerging revelatory religion born from the teachings presented in the Urantia Book needs appropriate, unencumbered name-identification and symbolism;

BE IT RESOLVED, therefore, that The Urantia Book Fellowship hereby intends to foster and encourage the emergence of clearly defined Urantia religious groups. Through this resolution we wish to give our blessings to all members of the Fellowship, who so desire, to openly distinguish themselves as religionists and Urantia Book believers, with a mission to live, teach and honor the high spiritual teachings and concepts presented within the Urantia Book, especially including the restated teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. As Urantians, we herewith declare that we use the word Urantia to identify both our planet and our religion and, also, as the symbol and expression of our religious belief, we have long used and will continue to use the three concentric circles of azure on a background of white, which we believe to be the banner of Michael of Nebadon and the material emblem of the Paradise Trinity Government of All Creation.

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RESOLUTION FOR CREATION
OF A COMMITTEE ON REVELATORY RELIGION

WHEREAS; the emergence of revelatory religion is an inevitable consequence of the prolonged presentation of revelation;

WHEREAS; the Fellowship is organized as a social organization that includes a spiritual purpose;

WHEREAS; there has lately occurred a strong desire for more religious fellowship among readers of the Urantia Book, evidenced by the creation of unique Urantia Book inspired "churches" (at least two to date);

WHEREAS; there is no standing committee for religious matters in the Executive Committee;

BE IT RESOLVED, therefore, that the General Council create a new standing committee, The Committee on Revelatory Religion, for the following purposes:

1. To strengthen the Fellowship's ability to foster a revelatory religion, as per Article II of the Fellowship Constitution - "Purpose: ...to increase and enhance the comfort, happiness, and well-being of Man, as an individual and as a member of society, by fostering a religion...";

2. To assist Societies who wish to form their own religious organizations;

3. In conjunction with Items 1 and 2, in whatever ways are appropriate, encourage and facilitate the application of the Urantia Book's guidance regarding group religion. For example, from Paper 99, "The Social Aspects of Religion", (99:6:2):

"There is a real purpose in the socialization of religion. It is the purpose of group religious activities...

To dramatize the loyalties of religion To magnify the lures of truth, beauty, and goodness To foster the attractions of supreme values To enhance the service of unselfish fellowship To glorify the potentials of family life To promote religious education To promote neighborhood welfare To provide wise counsel and spiritual guidance To encourage group worship To encourage human friendship To conserve morality To facilitate the spread of the gospel"

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RESOLUTION FOR A VALUE-ADDED FELLOWSHIP

WHEREAS, both The Fellowship and The Urantia Foundation share in common the following:

1. A purpose: "...fostering a religion, a philosophy, and a cosmology which are commensurate with Man's intellectual and cultural development"

2. Printing and distributing The Urantia Book

3. Creating translations of The Urantia Book

4. Membership organizations for their respective supporters

5. Traditional sympathy for the trademarks on the names "Urantia", Urantian" and the three concentric circles

6. Traditional resistance to "churchification"

BE IT RESOLVED, THEREFORE, that The Fellowship define itself to prospective new reader/members in value-added ways that distinguish it from The Urantia Foundation, by doing the following things:

1. The Fellowship will allow and encourage its members to develop a distinct revelatory religious identity for themselves, apart from Fellowship membership. ("Just as certainly as men share their religious beliefs, they create a religious group of some sort which eventually creates common goals."; and "Religion has little chance to function until the religious group becomes separated from all other groups--the social association of the spiritual membership of the kingdom of heaven." 99:5:7,4)

2. The Fellowship will recognize that the words "Urantia", "Urantian", and the concentric circles have an important significance in establishing a revelatory Urantian religious identity; and be willing to litigate for their religious use among its members.

3. The Fellowship will encourage the emergence of such a Urantian religious identity considering its potential appeal to young people and future generations of Urantia Book readers. By participating in this socio-cultural-religious environment, the Fellowship's readership services can provide support within a larger context that includes the basic human need for religious belonging.

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RESOLUTION FOR A FULL ACCOUNTING
OF THE DIRECT REPRESENTATION ISSUE

WHEREAS; petition was made to the General Council for direct society representation by a vote of the delegates to the 1991 Triennial Delegate Assembly;

WHEREAS; that resolution was not acted upon in a conclusive manner within the three year period immediately following that Assembly;

WHEREAS; a subcommittee of the Judicial Committee was charged with formulating a response to that resolution, in conjunction with concerns raised by the Executive Committee regarding possible constitutional issues;

WHEREAS; the General Council had approved the recommendations of the aforementioned subcommittee "in spirit" by a 3/4 majority vote in 1993, at the General Council meeting held in Boulder, CO;

WHEREAS; there is no record of what action the Executive Committee then took on this issue;

WHEREAS; a greatly modified "mystery" proposal, embodying neither the substance of the original 1991 Resolution, nor the subsequent Judicial Subcommittee recommendations; a proposal that called for increasing the General Council to approximately 54 members, was instead submitted for vote and defeated at the 1996 Flagstaff General Council meeting;

BE IT RESOLVED, therefore, that, pursuant to Section 6.5, a full accounting of General Council/Executive Committee actions on this matter be provided to the TDA and the Societies so as to preserve the spirit and intent of the TDA resolution process, and to provide a basis of understanding for future action on this issue.

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RESOLUTION FOR SEPARATION OF POWERS:
WALKING THE 5TH EPOCHAL TALK

WHEREAS; The Urantia Book states that "The only sacred feature of any human government is the division of statehood into the three domains of executive, legislative, and judicial functions";

WHEREAS; The Urantia Book states that "The great struggle in the evolution of government has concerned the concentration of power"; that "The universe administrators have learned from experience that the evolutionary peoples on the inhabited worlds are best regulated by the representative type of civil government when there is maintained proper balance of power between the well co-ordinated executive, legislative, and judicial branches";

WHEREAS; the Fellowship as presently constituted has no such separation of powers, as evidenced by the role of the Executive Committee in nominating Officers to the General Council; and as evidenced by the fact that nearly 1/3 of the 1997 TDA delegates are current members of the General Council; and that some of these occupy seats that are currently subject to re-election;

WHEREAS; pursuant to Section 14.1, it requires only five members of the Executive Committee to have effective veto power over any changes to the Constitution;

WHEREAS; legislative, judicial and executive functions are all vested in various degrees in the Executive Committee;

BE IT RESOLVED, therefore, that the Fellowship make changes in its Constitution to provide for an organizational structure that is more clearly patterned after the principle of separation of powers, as articulated in the Urantia Book.

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RESOLUTION FOR CHANGING TDA DELEGATE CREDENTIALS

WHEREAS; a cardinal role of the TDA is to provide an opportunity for members of the Fellowship not currently serving as General Councilors to actively participate in the governing of the Fellowship;

WHEREAS; such participation by non-Councilors can provide a greater diversity of viewpoint to the General Council and the Executive Committee;

WHEREAS; approximately one-third of the 1997 TDA delegates are also current members of the General Council;

BE IT RESOLVED, therefore, that the qualification criteria for TDA delegates be changed to disallow currently seated General Councilors.

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