WILLIAM S. SADLER, JR.
23 July 1960
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA
Part 4 of 11
Transcribed by Kristen Maaherra
Scanned by Christel Schmidt
Formatted by David KantorPart 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11
I just think it's going to take everything I have. Otherwise-
Audience: Why shouldn't it?
Well, of course ETC.
This thing is so big, so beautiful, so grand, so immense, so much bigger than I realized, and so much bigger than I now realize, that how could you miss an excursion like this one?
Audience: (Can't understand tape).
Tell her language has to progress and grow. The slang of today will be--
Audience: (Can't understand tape) realization or reaccepting the idea of Lucifer (can't understand tape).
No.
Audience: But I had a different conception of (can't understand tape). Every philosopher I read -- including Aristotle -- got me to the same place, and I stagnated (can't understand tape).
I've been down those roads, too.
Audience: It no fun, is it?
No, because they don't know the way out. They get caught in cul-de-sacs.
Audience: I don't know what that means, but -
Well, blind -- dead -- box canyons.
Audience: I could do nothing about the situation I was in, and it frustrated me. (Can't understand tape). And this I don't know the word for.
No. When you take inventory of the inevitabilities -- if we're going to have courage, then we have to come up against hardships and disappointments". If we're going to be altruistic, then we've got to encounter situations of social inequality. If we're going to have hope, then we've got to live with insecurities and recurrent uncertainties. If we're going to know what faith really is, then we're going to have to know less than we can believe. We're never going to be able to prove things. If we really have got to fall in love with the truth, then we've got to have a thoroughgoing experience with error and falsehood.
If we're going to become real idealists, then we must encounter situations that are not good and not beautiful to stimulate our reach for better things. If we're going to find out what it's really like to be loyal, we've got to face the potential of cowardice, betrayal, and default. And look it right in the eye. If we want to be unselfish, then we've got to live, all our lives, with an animalistic and belligerent self that wants ego expression. And if we really want to find out how sweet pleasure is, we must know pain as a contrast. Now this, to me, is not for pantywaists.
Audience: Like darkness is the absence of light (can't understand tape).
Yeah. I've always mentally visualized this. I get a lot of this stuff down to very simple symbols to feel them. And I see Ellis Island, where you check in. And if Peter Rabbit showed, that would be all right with me, too. But I see a big archway there. This is the Port of Entry. And on each of the columns supporting this arch, there's a bronze tablet. One on each column. On one it says, "No pantywaists need apply." And on the other it says, "We don't want any S.O.B.'s, either." Now, that's a nice distinction to go down the middle of that road and avoid either ditch.
Audience: (Can't understand tape).
In talking to executives in business, I've portrayed my ideal of a businessman: a man who's wonderfully hard in the head, exquisitely soft in the heart, and has got the two ponies together in harness. This is a very great guy to work for. Or to work with. But, believe me, if he's very soft in the head, he doesn't last very long. And if he's soft in the heart, how can you have any loyalty for him?
Audience: You mean if he's hard in the heart
Hard in the heart, I mean. But I find men like this. They are hard-headed and soft-hearted.
Audience: You look for them.
Yes. They're wise. They're wisely sympathetic, not -
Audience: Not maudlin.
They're never soft, but always kind. And sometimes kindness means being tough.
Audience: Compassionate.
I like to associate those two with the pedigree that they give us over on page 290-291. It says, when you get to Havona, you've got just one aspect to perfection -- perfection of purpose. As far as your purpose is concerned, you have obeyed the Father's command, "Be you perfect even as I am perfect." (290.3). Nothing is going to upset you for long. I mean, you really believe. You've tested this thing. But, in getting there -- jump over to the next page, the third paragraph:
"But long before reaching Havona, these ascendant children of time have learned to feast upon uncertainty, to fatten upon disappointment, to enthuse over apparent defeat, to invigorate in the presence of difficulties, to exhibit indomitable courage in the face of immensity, and to exercise unconquerable faith when confronted with the challenge of the inexplicable. Long since, the battle cry of these pilgrims became: "In liaison with God, nothing -- absolutely nothing -- is impossible." (291.3).
Now, this again is no hayride. These people are wearing experiential campaign ribbons by the time they get there. And they've got the battle stars --
Audience: And scars.
And scars of veterans. I've often thought -- let me read you about my patron saint in here. If the Urantia Brotherhood should ever become Roman Catholic, I'd adopt this guy as my personal saint.
Audience: Must be Van.
Huh?
Audience: Must be Van.
Oh, of course. Of course it's Van. You see, my problem wasn't Lucifer. My problem was the problem of faith and wisdom.
Audience: Your faith and your wisdom?
Yes. It always seemed to me that when you accepted a religion, you tied a bandage around your eyes, and you put out your hands, and you said, "Credo, credimus," and "the Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord, I will trust in God." You stopped thinking, you know?
Audience: Like on (can't understand tape).
And even after I had these Papers, I accepted them with reservations --
Audience: Where are you, Bill?
This is 755. 'Till I read this story. And all of a sudden, this ceased to be a problem. I think they could have written dissertation after dissertation about the relationship between faith and wisdom, but the story of Van was worth 100 pages of preachment
"Shortly after Satan's inspection and when the planetary administration was on the eve of the realization of great things on Urantia, one day, midwinter of the northern continents, Caligastia held a prolonged conference with his associate, Daligastia, after which the latter called the ten councils of Urantia in session extraordinary. This assembly was opened with the statement that Prince Caligastia was about to proclaim himself absolute sovereign of Urantia and demanded that all administrative groups abdicate by resigning all of their functions and powers into the hands of Daligastia as trustee, pending the reorganization of the planetary government and the subsequent redistribution of these offices of administrative authority. " (755.3)
Pause to consider there are 100 members of the Prince's corporeal staff. They were the link between human beings and the invisible Prince. They could see both ways. These 100 were all ex-mortals, 50 ex-men and 50 ex-women. One from each of the other planets in the local system. Well, from. each of 100 other planets. None from. this world, and no two from anyone world. They'd all died, survived, gone through the mansion worlds, were citizens on Jerusem, had not yet fused with their Adjusters. Of course this can happen, you know -- I said it happens on the fifth mansion world - that's average. It could happen much later and does in many cases.
And they were selected from, I presume, a very large number who volunteered to come down here on the Urantia adventure. They had gotten as far as Lucifer, sovereign of the local system. They knew Satan, his executive officer. They knew Planetary Princes, secondary Lanonandeks. They knew nothing beyond the system. The highest authority they had personal dealings with was the System Sovereign. They're back down here -- they don't have their Adjusters with them, because Adjusters won't work on a descending mission, only in connection with the ascending. The Adjusters are standing by.
They're superhuman beings because they have an evolution of soul which is postmortal. We have embryonic souls. Their souls had gone on growing all through the seven mansion worlds. And on Jerusem, for some unknown length of time. So that while they're corporeal, they're really superhuman. This soul is a reality. It's got mind, it can think.
"The presentation of this astounding demand was followed by the masterly appeal of Van, chairman of the supreme council of co-ordination. This distinguished administrator and able jurist branded the proposed course of Caligastia as an act bordering on planetary rebellion and appealed to his conferees to abstain from all participation until an appeal could be taken to Lucifer, the System Sovereign of Satania; and he won the support of the entire staff" (755.4)
Now, if he had had a bandage around his eyes, he would have simply said, "Yes, yes, of course." This is his superior who's issuing these orders.
Audience: Thank God he didn't.
"Accordingly, appeal was taken to Jerusem, and forthwith came back the orders designating Caligastia as supreme sovereign on Urantia and commanding absolute and unquestioning allegiance to his mandates. "(755.4)
Now, again, this is backing up from the highest authority that Van has had any personal contact with. Or that any of these 100 have dealt with. He's checked with the home office. And the home office has said, the regional vice-president has this authority. Don't argue with him.
" And it was in reply to this amazing message that the noble Van made his memorable address of seven hours length -- "
I'm going to listen to the tape of that, someday.
Audience: Laughter.
" -- in which he formally drew his indictment of Daligastia, Caligastia, and Lucifer as standing in contempt of the sovereignty of the universe of Nebadon; and he appealed to the Most Highs of Edentia for support and confirmation." (755.4)
Audience: He really had courage.
Audience: He went to a higher court, then.
Yes. "Meantime the system circuits had been severed; Urantia was isolated. Every group of celestial life on the planet found itself suddenly and without warning isolated, utterly cut off from all outside counsel and advice. (755.5)
"Daligastia formally proclaimed Caligastia 'God of Urantia and supreme over all.' With this proclamation before them, the issues were clearly drawn; and each group drew off by itself and began deliberations, discussions destined eventually to determine the fate of every superhuman personality on the planet." (755.6)
Let's skip a paragraph.
"For more than seven years this struggle continued. Not until every personality concerned had made a final decision, would or did the authorities of Edentia interfere or intervene. Not until then did Van and his loyal associates receive vindication and release from their prolonged anxiety and intolerable suspense." (756.1)
Audience: Seven years of patience!
Seven years.
Audience: When I think of some of the problems I have are rather insignificant.
Now to me, that simply unlocked the door to religion. I'm not afraid of it. I can realize that religion is not a subtraction. It's an augmentation. But, of course, you've got to redefine religion now.
That took guts. Chill, steel guts. As the Papers go on to say, Van's appeal got to Edentia, and they promptly replied to it Vindicated. But the circuits were cut while it was on its way here, and it was marooned in a relay energy transformer for 200 thousand years!
And it was during the time of the presentation of these Papers that they got it out. This was Van's final technical clearance.
Now this is the sort of thing that, I think, characterizes the universe in which we live. It's not an easy universe. It's fair, but not easy. It's kind, but not soft. It's loving, but not mawkish. It engenders happiness, but not content. And I would personally differentiate those words in this wise. Contentment is like a cow standing up in his -- pretty far in high grass --
Audience: Laughter. In her.
Munching peacefully and giving milk contentedly. Happiness, to me, is inseparable from growth. Growth means some change. Change means adjustment. Adjustment means turmoil. Turmoil means pain. And it is the content of pain in the overall of happiness that gives it its piquancy. And forever separates it from contentment, which has about as much personality appeal as cold pablum.
Audience: Laughter.
Audience: In other words, you would agree, I think -- I wouldn't give you a dime for peace of mind
No, no. That's right. Peace of mind, ah, phooey, it's for the birds. I find well-adjusted people to be supremely boring.
Audience: Yep.
Maladjusted people have tensions that they're trying to resolve, and they're going places in the resolution of those tensions.
Audience: Well, with this, you know where you're going.
Audience: Laughter.
A little neuroticism, I think, is good for people. And if any of you folks are well-adjusted, all I have to say is, don't brush it off on me, I've got (can't understand tape).
Audience: Laughter.
Audience: Well, the doctor said not long ago, we don't need more tranquilizers, we need "do" pills.
That's right.
Audience: I beg your pardon?
Audience: "Do" pills. Audience: Sure you do.
Audience: Instead of tranquilizers.
Audience: (Can't understand tape) or D double O?
Audience: D double O?
What, Clyde?
Audience: (Can't understand tape). I was merely spelling do.
Oh.
Audience: There's another way, too. DUE.
Audience: I'm familiar with that one.
"This seven years of waiting was a time of heart searching and soul discipline. Such crises in the affairs of a universe demonstrate the tremendous influence of mind as a factor in spiritual choosing. Education, training, and experience are factors in most of the vital decisions of all evolutionary moral creatures. But it is entirely possible for the indwelling spirit to make direct contact with the decision-determining powers of the human personality so as to empower the fully consecrated will of the creature to perform amazing acts of loyal devotion to the will and the way of the Father in Paradise. And this is just what occurred in the experience of Amadon, the modified human associate of Van." (7 56.1ast-7 57.1)
Amadon was a native here on earth. "Amadon is the outstanding human hero of the Lucifer rebellion. This male descendant of Andon and Fonta was one of the one hundred who contributed life plasm to the Prince's staff, and ever since that event he had been attached to Van as his associate and human assistant. Amadon elected to stand with his chief throughout the long and trying struggle. And it was an inspiring sight to behold this child of the evolutionary races standing unmoved by the sophistries of Daligastia while throughout the seven-year struggle he and his loyal associates resisted with unyielding fortitude all of the deceptive teachings of the brilliant Caligastia." (757.2)
"Caligastia, with a maximum of intelligence and a vast experience in universe affairs, went astray -- embraced sin. Amadon, with a minimum of intelligence and utterly devoid of universe experience, remained steadfast in the service of the universe and in loyalty to his associate. Van utilized both mind and spirit in a magnificent and effective combination of intellectual determination and spiritual insight, thereby achieving an experiential level of personality realization of the highest attainable order. Mind and spirit, when fully united, are potential for the creation of superhuman values, even morontia realities. " (757.3)
Page 762. "At the time of these momentous transactions I was stationed on Edentia, and I am still conscious of the exhilaration I experienced as I perused the Salvington broadcasts which told from day to day of the unbelievable steadfastness, the transcendent devotion, and the exquisite loyalty of this onetime semi savage springing from the experimental and original stock of the Andonic race. (762.1)
"From Edentia up through Salvington and even on Uversa, for seven long years the first inquiry of all subordinate celestial life regarding the Satania rebellion, ever and always, was: 'What of Amadon of Urantia, does he still stand unmoved?'" (762.2)
Audience: (Can't understand tape). (Everyone talking at once).
"And all this is a beautifully touching and superbly magnificent illumination of the wisdom of the Father's universal plan for mobilizing the Corps of Mortal Finality on Paradise and for recruiting this vast group of mysterious servants of the future largely from the common clay of the mortals of ascending progression -- just such mortals as the impregnable Amadon." (762.last)
This, to me, is, I think, the yardstick of survival and progression. I think every human being, somewhere along the line -- either piecemeal or in some crisis -- faces a decision which is just as challenging to him as these decisions were to Van and Amadon. I think every recruit has to prove himself.
Now, I'm mindful that the decisions would vary. They'd be fair. Jesus never told the Alpheus twins to feed his sheep. He told them to be good fishermen. He told Peter to be a good shepherd. The difference in his admonition to the 12 is a classic example of his statement, "Of the teacher, more is expected than of the student; of the master, more than of the servant." ["Of the teacher, more is expected than of the pupil; of the master, more is exacted than of the servant." From the Ordination Sermon, (1570.2)] This thing is done with exquisite fairness. But I think it's proportional.
Audience: To the ability?
I think everybody gets challenged 100%, whatever that means.
Audience: It's your talent.
Sure, it's your talent.
Audience: (Can't understand tape).
Sure. The guy who had 5 talents, he doubled them. This was par for the course.
Audience: He expected it.
He expected it. But the vice-president who put it in the safe deposit box got fired.
Audience: He sure did.
That's my favorite story in here. It meant the most to me when I read it. It answered the one question that I had never had anybody answer up until then. And I now know that there's no bandages.
Audience: (Can't understand tape). No, except you think there are.
Audience: Sometimes it's harder to do--well, it is harder to do-what he did, to stand quiet for seven years while all this stuff was going on and be patient and believe and not let them break him down.
That's murder. Just murder.
Audience: I've been through one for a year and a half, boy, I'll tell you, I know.
Audience: Seven years (can't understand tape). (Everyone talking at once).
Audience: I even doubted sometimes I was doing the right thing. You know, am I being hard-headed.
Sure you do.
Audience: And then there was something that just gave me the courage to keep right on. And now, I can see that it's right.
Audience: It makes me feel better (can't understand tape).
Audience: Your (can't understand tape) coming out (can't understand tape).
Audience: Boy, I even doubted my own sanity.
Audience: Wednesday night was the culmination of (can't understand tape) it was just a little personal thing, but it does work.
I'll tell you where I think it helps to have humor. You see, if you're going to have that kind of courage, you could also be very paranoid. They think they're right, too.
Audience: They know they're right.
They know they're right. Again, you're walking a crown road that's slippery. And there's the ditch of default, and there's the ditch of ego exaltation on the other side. Neither one of which is particularly desirable. How can you have courage without being a fathead? You know what I mean?
Audience: Sure.
To be courageous without being bullheaded. To be willing to yield to your convictions without being paranoid in the process. And I believe that the title ingredient there is humor.
End of Tape.
Next: Part 5