Obviously, as a society, we Urantians have messed things up pretty well. And maybe, with the advent of nuclear weaponry, the chances are relatively high for a wipe out. In contradistinction, there may be some signs that we have now turned the corner--and really are heading for "Light and Life" as a far distant objective.

   Who could have predicted such a possibility fifty years ago?  Who could have predicted that major Western powers, formerly always at one another's throat, would collaborate to prevent the genocide of a dominantly Muslim group in the Balkans? And are there faint signs of peace breaking out in Palestine, Ireland and elsewhere?

   Has the Urantia revelation had some role? No direct evidence is available, but could it be that many of that large number of printed books that appear to have disappeared without trace, have actually been read in private--and digested?

   If The Urantia Book is the missing link, what made it effective? It could hardly be due to the correction of erroneous doctrines nor that it has diminished Biblical fundamentalism. So what could there be in those 2000-odd pages that holds such power?

   One answer is given in the Section entitled "The Trinity Teacher Sons" in Paper 19: "The true perspective of any reality problem--human or divine, terrestrial or cosmic--can be had only by the full and unprejudiced study and correlation of three phases of universe reality: origin, history, and destiny."

   The missing link in our human understanding of the meaning of life is present in the above triad of "origin, history, and destiny."

   Archaeologists, historians, and scientists have provided us with a background story about our origins and history that is reasonably serviceable but can provide us with nothing factual about human destiny.

   On destiny, Christians have the assurance from Jesus that: "In my Father's house there are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you." These words provide comfort for the faithful but no real detail about destiny.

   So for the vast majority of Earthlings, destiny, the afterlife, there is a blank. Touching this, the revelators warn that there is " a great danger of succumbing to the error of the circumscribed viewpoint, to the evil inherent in a segmentalized conception of reality and divinity." (215) 

   Knowledge of destiny is the essential missing element for completing a "universe frame" in which we may comprehend the meaning of our earthly sojourn. (1260)

   "Man's terrestrial orientation, his cosmic insight, and his spiritual directionization are all enhanced by a better comprehension of universe realities, and the techniques of interassociation, integration, and unification." (1162)

   The dangers inherent in the missing information on human destiny are  removed by the Urantia Papers. They provide extensive information  about our divine destiny--not only as far as our attainment of the presence of the Father in Paradise, but far beyond in detailing the real and possible roles for the Finaliter Corps of which we will eventually become members.

   Maybe the effect of The Urantia Book has  been much greater than statistics on book sales (one book per 4000 Urantians) might indicate--perhaps even enhancing confidence in the fact of a divine destiny to the point that it is now being expressed as an enhanced international morality.

   But that is only an uncertain "maybe." What is certain is that a moral force has been unleashed among nations at a level never before seen.

   What is also certain is that as confidence in the reality of that last member of the triad, "destiny," grows, so will there be an enormous increase in the appeal, and the effect, of religion. Without such a destiny, for many, mortal life becomes meaningless, even a cruel joke.

   "History alone fails adequately to reveal future development--destiny. Finite origins are helpful, but only divine causes reveal final effects. Eternal ends are not shown in time beginnings. The present can be truly interpreted only in the light of the correlated past and future." (215)