About the Class

The course is structured as a series of 10 weekly Zoom meetings, each about two and a half hours long, with no additional work requirements. 

Week 1

After first getting to know a bit about each other’s spiritual journeys, and considering some often-asked questions about the book’s nature and origins, the first class meeting will focus on an overview of the course. We will emphasize personal sharing in all of the class sessions.

Week 2 - Week 9

The heart of the course – the next 8 sessions – uses the book's "Table of Contents" and the natural grouping of the Papers as a sort of overview of the text, allowing us to “drop into” and briefly sample its many different “regions.”

We will share many short passages, all of which have been carefully selected to both intrigue new readers and expose them to the incredibly varied types of material in the different sections of the text. 

Along the way we will explain many new terms ("morontia," "Thought Adjuster," "the Supreme", "Central/Super/and Local Universes," etc.), so that by the end of the course, students will be quite comfortable with the book’s “vocabulary.” 

Week 10

In the last session, in addition to summarizing and sharing our class experience, we will provide information on study groups, organizations, conferences and the culture of the emerging Urantia movement, in order to help new readers begin to participate, insofar as they are motivated.

Philosophical Context of the Course

The Course is rooted in the profound, relational context of spiritual family. It is designed not only to familiarize new readers with the structure and basic themes of The Urantia Book, but also to introduce new participants to the changed way of living that results from the truth that we are all children of God – sisters and brothers in spiritual family – a reality that transcends any and all religious, philosophical, and cultural differences. We hope this universal approach will allow everyone to feel comfortable and at ease. 

Click to view a more detailed Outline of the Course.

Please note:

The structure is a bit different from some of the other UUI classes. Since the entire course will occur in the live, online video conference each week, it is important that participants be able to attend most of the weekly sessions. 

Those who miss any of the sessions will be able to view a video recording of the Zoom meeting.

• We ask participants who miss a class to watch the video recording of the missed session prior to the next class meeting.
• In addition, participants must be able and willing to use the Zoom online video-conferencing application (rather than phone call-in) to participate in this online study group experience. 
• The class may occasionally extend beyond the 2.5 hour timeframe for those students who wish to stay for some additional discussion. 

First-time Zoom users will need to download an applet from the Zoom.us.com website in order to join the online meeting. 

• You can go to https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362193-How-Do-I-Join-A-Meeting- to learn more about Zoom.  For the best results, users should be running the latest version of their browser on their computer or other device.

FAQ

After I enroll, what happens next?

1. After enrolling in the course you will receive a confirmation email, with weekly reminders of the course start date. 
2. A few days before the course starts, you will receive an email with login information for the online Zoom meetings and a copy of the study material for the first class meeting. 
3. A reminder email with the login information will be sent to participants the morning of the start date of the class.