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<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">North Idaho Teaching
Mission Group</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">Topics: Shaping Light,Service,
The Urantia
Movement, Leadership</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">Teachers: Elyon</span></font></div>
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<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">October 27, 2002</span></font></div>
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<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">*   Elyon
(Jonathan TR):  Greetings to you,
this is Elyon again, happy to be among you
to share.</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">    You
each are guardians of light, though
perhaps a more appropriate word would be
custodians, for light is in your custody.
However, both words serve their purpose, for
it is of vital importance to preserve light,
to not be one who distorts but one who
transfers light with clarity, sharpness.
Yet, as one who is in custody of light, it
is not a custody of being captured, for you
are all motivated -- as I witness this -- to
spread light, to radiate, to give it out so
that others may benefit from illumination.</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">    I
am pleased with your discussion of my
suggestion last week, discussing how you
shape light.  You have brought up good
metaphors and illustrations of how this may
take place.  I will bring one more comment
to this discussion, and that is as you share
spiritual light be it in the form of
conveying knowledge of things spiritual,
wisdom gained from your experiences, or the
helping hand of one human being to another
in need, this broadcast of light takes form
as it shines upon another individual.  So,
as we had discussed that shaping spirit
using the metaphor of a balloon or a vessel
circles around the shape of spirit within
oneself, you also bring shape to light by
permitting it to be shed upon another.
Letting your light shine, as any source of
illumination provides, lights up objects in
its proximity.  In darkness visible
discernment of shape is difficult.  With
illumination shape is recognized.  So,
extending beyond oneself you bring form to
light by letting it radiate upon another and
letting that other be illuminated that their
shape be revealed, and in so doing they see
within themselves the potential and the
degree of actual presence of that light that
they too may give out to others.</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">    I
have not prepared a lesson.  Instead
rather I wish to join your prior
conversation and make some other comments.
You have spoken of service, and I have heard
the phrase of serving God as well as the
desire to serve others in need.  I begin by
saying that the easiest form of service to
be had is serving God, for each one of you
is solely the desire of the Father to be His
communion comrade.  Though the Father is
aware of all that transpires throughout the
vast universe, His divine abilities are such
that without distraction He is singly
focused intensely upon each one of you.  And
this draw of God towards you is the divine
desire for human experience.   Therefore, as
you rise in the morning you have already
begun your service to God.</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">    Michael
and Mother Spirit are two
creator personalities who have more causes
than the Father.  The Father’s supreme
desire is your experience.  On the other
hand each Creator Son and Creative Spirit
have universes to build and to settle in
Light and Life.  This begins the ministry
service to others.  Here enters variety in
task, in value, in method.  Recall that
Jesus said, “Whatsoever you do for these
little ones you do for me.”  It may be said
that living your life is an unceasing
service to God the Father who indwells you,
and such a conscious practice the human
engaged aware of this relationship is
developing the skills that Michael and
Mother Spirit seek so that you may help
their other children.</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">    You
have spoken of service as small
acts, individual endeavors, short periods of
benefit, and you have pondered the value and
some means whereby you may engage in
apparently bigger acts of service, those
that entail coordination of people to
effectively reach a service goal or to leave
a larger imprint upon humanity of spirit
manifestation.  These are the considerations
that you have that bring delight to the
Creator Son and to the Creative Mother
Spirit.  When Michael was leaving this world
he said, “Go forth and proclaim the gospel
to all the world”,  and this indeed is a
large task even on a small world like
Urantia.  Therefore you and I may take that
as priority one, any form of service.  It is
not to say that tying the shoe of a little
child is not service if you do not preach
the gospel to that little one, for you know
with a short interval of thought that this
incorporates doing unto others as you would
have them do unto you.  The gospel is
preached in deed as well as word.  Herein is
the stumbling point for many an organization
that undertakes service, for it is easy to
lose track of the primary objective -- in
our case, promoting the gospel -- and become
mired in the orchestration of the various
tasks that result from gospel enlightenment
within yourselves and sharing.  Soon
deliberations begin over the mechanics, how
to host a function, how to collect and
distribute recycled jackets, how to feed
hungry people.  I am not saying these ought
not to be undertaken, for there is great
need on this world for such ministries.  I
simply stress the prominence in any
motivation of revealing the love of the
Father to all and demonstrating that among
mankind you can love one another.  Then it
is up to you the degree to which you wish to
carry this gospel to the world.</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">    There
is an expression I witness many of
you say as you leave your residence that you
are “heading out”. I find that humorous, for
where is the “in” that you are exiting from?
As one who has lived quite some time,
residence has shifted so often that it does
become indiscernible what is home and what
is “out there”, for the borders, the
boundaries, of home grow increasingly large.
In that view, going forth to preach the
gospel to the world means that you can be at
home and out in the world at one and the
same time, that even your small acts within
the limitations of a neighborhood are as
valuable as crusades across the planet.
Conversely, the needs of another halfway
around your globe are just as important as
the needs of your next-door neighbor.</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">    I
applaud your sensitivity and your keen
observations of need, for you recognize that
human upliftment spans the spectrum from
physical needs all the way on up to the most
fulfilling of all human hunger, and that is
personal intimate experience with God and
all the assurances derived therefrom.</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">    Much
inspiration has occurred in many
lives drawn from the study of the life of
the master.  His method of ministry and
outreach has been repeated, the taking into
confidence of a few, the development of a
corps, and the extension of that ministry to
the multitudes.  I know you recognize that
it would not be feasible for each of you to
undertake preaching tours of the nature of
Jesus’ activities of his time.  But the
principle of engaging others in your task is
good, and you know the range of
personalities that Jesus enlisted in his
corps.  Their talents were varied not only
horizontally in the sense of what they could
perform, how they could function such as a
treasurer or speaker or usher, but they were
varied in degree of spiritual sensitivity.
Some were pacific, some complacent, some
nearly militaristic.  This variety is
beneficial.</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">    As
I began by saying that Michael has a
cause, and that is Light and Life for
Nebadon, each one of you provides the
variety for him to complete his task.
Saying this, my motivation and goal is for
you to recognize that your horizontal
talents do not make you greater or lesser
than another but part of the team.  Never
sell yourself short if you feel less
enlightened than someone else, for the
method that Michael employed here when he
was on earth enlisted many individuals that
one in an academic sense would say were
unqualified.</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">    Well,
as any good conversation proceeds,
one must not hold the floor for too long.
Therefore I am hoping to dialogue with you
at this time.</span></font></div>
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<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">    Harold: 
Is there a set design at work
within the Urantia movement?  Are we
fulfilling all the aspects of it?  Are there
things we should be doing to motivate
progress in this Urantia movement?</span></font></div>
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<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">*   Elyon: 
I respond by first recalling to
your memory how prior to the outreach
ministry of Jesus and the apostles they
spent many months in training, and that when
they were engaged in this training period
the apostles grew restless.  They were
motivated; they had no project as yet.  When
the missions began then they saw the wisdom
of their master.  Then the impatience of
preparing gave way to the appreciation of
the wisdom of becoming prepared.  Secondly,
they cherished those times when they had the
master to themselves, for as the missions
unfolded private time became scarce.  This
was over the course of a few years.  The
revelation efforts you are  engaged in this
epoch span a larger period of time, but the
principle applies.  First, the interval of
preparation, and that is the interval you
have been engaged in of study, of
encouraging others to study, developing a
sound and working knowledge of the Urantia
Papers.  And the movement you speak of has
done well in encouraging this undertaking
without forcing a ready-made doctrine of
interpretation on this revelation.  However,
picture if you will a box full of sand.  It
does well to contain the sand until at some
time there is a crack in its side.  Soon the
sand begins to spill, a little at first
until it opens wider and then more.  And if
you have ever experienced the frustration
when the bottom falls out there is no
holding it back.  We are in transition
towards this spilling.  One day you will
look back upon these times of preparation
and realize it was an entirely different
time than the phase you will be engaged with
at that time.  The spilling will be small at
first and grow increasingly larger.</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">    There
has become present within this
movement quite a range of skills and
talents, not only book writers and
publishers, but those who can teach
practices found in many of the religions
such as meditation, those engaged in healing
the physical ailments of others, and also
those quite astute in the management of
money.  And there are many other talents I
have not listed.  This broad platform is
important, for in this era we are not simply
working in the area of Galilee; we are
working across the globe.</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">    Some
within this movement are like the
early grain of sand that has left the box.
I do not discourage those early grains of
sand from spreading out.  There will be some
grains of sand that never do leave the box.
It appears empty but you will find a few
still within.  There is a twofold nature at
work: those who preserve and those who
promote, though I suppose you could say
there are those who promote preservation.
Wringing as much as I can out of this box of
sand metaphor, I would like to say that if
all the sand left the box, what would all
these worldwide ministers have to point back
to say, “There is where I found it.  There
is the answer.”  So, taking this revelation
to the world not only entails weaving it
into the thought-stream present in humanity
today, but it must also preserve noticeably
its distinction so that you can look back
and say, “There is where we found it.”</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">    It
is important that the Papers remain
available, but warehouses full of books do
not transform souls.  Therefore that second
step of becoming known, present, published,
and out in practice is important.  Jesus was
successful not in the few short years but in
the resulting centuries.  Many of his
followers did not adhere precisely to his
teachings, but he was successful.</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">    Today
we are engaged in the same
actions.  Seek inspiration of the Divine
Indweller of what you may do, but also trust
that your own human interests are valuable.
If you wish to write, perform plays, join in
hospital efforts, whatever it is, the Father
seeks that experience.  Michael needs those
workers.</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">    The
nature of the evolving universes is
change, and that applies to your movement.
Understanding the balance and the timing of
process should alleviate any bickering among
fellows as to which is the right way to do
it just as was found when Paul and Peter and
even Abner had their differences.  You have
been counseled through your text not to
start another religion.  As you seek to
uplift the religions existent upon Urantia
today, remember that not starting a religion
does not mean hiding a revelation.  Let it
be known.  The revelation will transform the
religion.  Some of it will be as the
nourishing water of life seeping up from the
ground below as it would if each of you were
engaged in some religious organization and
seeded your thoughts within that context.
But as you know not all moisture comes in
that way.  Much moisture falls from above,
and this is what the package of the Urantia
Papers does.  So, while you engage in
efforts of seepage, let it shower as well.
Let it be known what source you derive your
inspiration from.</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">    There
are factions in your society which
cannot tolerate difference, but at this
point in the evolution of your culture many
are able to deal with variety, be it ethnic,
cultural, political.  You have been exposed
to much that is beyond what a small clan of
people would tolerate.  Being one engaged in
the Correcting Time manifesting as the
Teaching Mission, I am one who adheres to
outreach, so I encourage you to be creative,
to help advance this movement.</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">    Does
this help?</span></font></div>
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<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">    Harold: 
Yes.  It seems that all
religions take origin in a leader.  The
Urantia movement is almost singly doing
without a leader.  Is that part of the plan
to not concentrate on a leader to direct it,
or is that in the process of being fulfilled
too?</span></font></div>
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<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">*   Elyon: 
This undertaking is somewhat
different than those you cite.  Firstly,
small organizations with a leader often
dissipate when the leader is no longer with
them.  Secondly, those movements that do
survive often deify their leader.  In the
case of Christianity they were correct.  As
you know from your reading of the text each
epochal revelation had a pivotal figure or
figures such as Adam and Eve.  Why I bring
up Adam and Eve is so I may segue into my
next point, and that is their goal was the
education and enlightenment of those who
entered the Garden training centers and then
to send them back to their clans that they
may uplift their own peoples.  My point is
that this revelation outreach effort is
taking perspective of not one powerful
leader but a multitude of little leaders.
Each of you is like the ones trained in the
Garden to return to your homelands.  You see
this in this Teaching Mission.  No one
teacher runs the show.  No one TR is the
sole voice.  This is true across the entire
Urantia movement.  It will be difficult, for
this variability of leadership often, given
human nature, brings fighting.  Who’s right?
Who’s wrong?  What’s appropriate?  What’s
inappropriate?  But trust me, it is most
powerful in its effectiveness and strongest
in its durability.  If Adam and Eve had
traveled the entire world teaching everyone
they ran into it would be months or perhaps
years before those tribes would have lost
the vision after they, Adam and Eve, left.</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">    I
point to the melchizedeks who have no
leader.  By being such they each have become
leaders.</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">    One
other note, though it is wise to
offer correction to any individual you may
note to be on a wayward tangent to the
purposes of the revelation, it is also
beneficial to support the variety, to
tolerate the differences of approach so that
those who do have leadership initiative are
not squelched or ridiculed.  Support them
even if their undertakings are not your
preferred approach.</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">    Do
you have more comments?</span></font></div>
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<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">    Harold: 
That is clear and interesting.
I wish that those in leadership roles now
could hear that and accept diversity.  It’s
been a problem for those in authority.</span></font></div>
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<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">*   Elyon: 
True indeed.  To return to the
box of sand, when one is comfortably
carrying the box it feels powerful,
controlled.  When the box starts to leak
there is a scramble to maintain that
authority.  It is natural in human nature,
and the transition will be somewhat rugged,
but eventually the attempt to maintain the
borders will appear useless and futile.  So,
those like yourselves can offer the ministry
of initiating that seed thought that will
allow the growth of accommodation coupled
with the awareness that each approach is
acceptable.</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">    As
I have pointed out, the revelation
must not disappear.  Some personalities are
well suited to preservation and will fight
to the death to not have the revelation
altered or destroyed.  This is good, for
there will be many who, like Paul the
apostle, will weave the revelation into
other thought-streams and change the color.
And that too is good, for I know each of you
found the revelation through these other
paths.  You within the movement are the ones
to plant the seeds of understanding.</span></font></div>
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<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">    Harold: 
Thank you.</span></font></div>
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<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">    Elyon: 
You are welcome.</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Courier New" size="4"><span style="font-size:14pt">    I
observe that the grains of sand in the
hourglass are falling through, and I will
take my leave at this time.  I love you all.
As our master often said, be of good cheer.
Farewell. </span></font></div>
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