The Grand Universe

Book excerpt: THE BOOK OF URANTIA was presented by celestial authors through an anonymous human receiver. It was published in 1955 as The Urantia Book, a 2,097-page volume divided into four parts and 196 papers. These papers describe God, the grand universe and its many inhabitants, the origin and history of our planet (Urantia), the life and teachings of Jesus, and the glorious destiny God has planned for every creature throughout his vast domains. This volume comprises Part I, The Central and Superuniverses, and Part II, The Local Universe, together comprising the Grand Universe wherein we live. The other two volumes, Part III, The History of Urantia and Part IV, The Life and Teachings of Jesus are published separately. Since the first printing in 1955 a number of changes were made to the text by two different publishers, resulting in inconsistencies. In 2007 a joint Standard Reference Text Committee was formed of long-time readers to review the changes and adopt a uniform text for future printings. This book duplicates the 1955 book word for word and line for line, with footnotes indicating the Committee's decisions.