textfiles/occult/URANTIA/p055.txt

             Urantia Book Paper 55 The Spheres Of Light And Life
        SPIRITWEB ORG, PROMOTING SPIRITUAL CONSCIOUSNESS ON THE INTERNET.

  Subjects Archive The Urantia Book Urantia Book PART II: The Local Universe :
The Evolution Of Local Universes Administration Of The Local Universe The Local
    Universe Mother Spirit The Local Universe Sons Of God The Life Carriers
  Personalities Of The Local Universe Ministering Spirits Of The Local Universe
   The Seraphic Hosts The Ascending Sons Of God Physical Aspects Of The Local
 Universe Energy--mind And Matter The Constellations The Celestial Artisans The
  Local System Administration The Local System Headquarters The Seven Mansion
    Worlds The Morontia Life The Inhabited Worlds The Planetary Princes The
  Planetary Adams Planetary Mortal Epochs The Lucifer Rebellion Problems Of The
        Lucifer Rebellion The Spheres Of Light And Life Universal Unity
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                    Paper 55 The Spheres Of Light And Life

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Introduction

THE age of light and life is the final evolutionary attainment of a world of
time and space. From the early times of primitive man, such an inhabited world
has passed through the successive planetary ages--the pre- and the
post-Planetary Prince ages, the post-Adamic age, the post-Magisterial Son age,
and the postbestowal Son age. And then is such a world made ready for the
culminating evolutionary attainment, the settled status of light and life, by
the ministry of the successive planetary missions of the Trinity Teacher Sons
with their ever-advancing revelations of divine truth and cosmic wisdom. In
these endeavors the Teacher Sons enjoy the assistance of the Brilliant Evening
Stars always, and the Melchizedeks sometimes, in establishing the final
planetary age.

This era of light and life, inaugurated by the Teacher Sons at the conclusion
of their final planetary mission, continues indefinitely on the inhabited
worlds. Each advancing stage of settled status may be segregated by the
judicial actions of the Magisterial Sons into a succession of dispensations;
but all such judicial actions are purely technical, in no way modifying the
course of planetary events.

Only those planets which attain existence in the main circuits of the
superuniverse are assured of continuous survival, but as far as we know, these
worlds settled in light and life are destined to go on throughout the eternal
ages of all future time.

There are seven stages in the unfoldment of the era of light and life on an
evolutionary world, and in this connection it should be noted that the worlds
of the Spirit-fused mortals evolve along lines identical with those of the
Adjuster-fusion series. These seven stages of light and life are:

1. The first or planetary stage.

2. The second or system stage.

3. The third or constellation stage.

4. The fourth or local universe stage.

5. The fifth or minor sector stage.

6. The sixth or major sector stage.

7. The seventh or superuniverse stage.

At the conclusion of this narrative these stages of advancing development are
described as they relate to the universe organization, but the planetary values
of any stage may be attained by any world quite independent of the development
of other worlds or of the superplanetary levels of universe administration.

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1. THE MORONTIA TEMPLE

The presence of a morontia temple at the capital of an inhabited world is the
certificate of the admission of such a sphere to the settled ages of light and
life. Before the Teacher Sons leave a world at the conclusion of their terminal
mission, they inaugurate this final epoch of evolutionary attainment; they
preside on that day when the "holy temple comes down upon earth." This event,
signalizing the dawn of the era of light and life, is always honored by the
personal presence of the Paradise bestowal Son of that planet, who comes to
witness this great day. There in this temple of unparalleled beauty, this
bestowal Son of Paradise proclaims the long-time Planetary Prince as the new
Planetary Sovereign and invests such a faithful Lanonandek Son with new powers
and extended authority over planetary affairs. The System Sovereign is also
present and speaks in confirmation of these pronouncements.

A morontia temple has three parts: Centermost is the sanctuary of the Paradise
bestowal Son. On the right is the seat of the former Planetary Prince, now
Planetary Sovereign; and when present in the temple, this Lanonandek Son is
visible to the more spiritual individuals of the realm. On the left is the seat
of the acting chief of finaliters attached to the planet.

Although the planetary temples have been spoken of as "coming down from
heaven," in reality no actual material is transported from the system
headquarters. The architecture of each is worked out in miniature on the system
capital, and the Morontia Power Supervisors subsequently bring these approved
plans to the planet. Here, in association with the Master Physical Controllers,
they proceed to build the morontia temple according to specifications.

The average morontia temple seats about three hundred thousand spectators.
These edifices are not used for worship, play, or for receiving broadcasts;
they are devoted to the special ceremonies of the planet, such as:
communications with the System Sovereign or with the Most Highs, special
visualization ceremonies designed to reveal the personality presence of spirit
beings, and silent cosmic contemplation. The schools of cosmic philosophy here
conduct their graduation exercises, and here also do the mortals of the realm
receive planetary recognition for achievements of high social service and for
other outstanding attainments.

Such a morontia temple also serves as the place of assembly for witnessing the
translation of living mortals to the morontia existence. It is because the
translation temple is composed of morontia material that it is not destroyed by
the blazing glory of the consuming fire which so completely obliterates the
physical bodies of those mortals who therein experience final fusion with their
divine Adjusters. On a large world these departure flares are almost
continuous, and as the number of translations increases, subsidiary morontia
life shrines are provided in different areas of the planet. Not long since I
sojourned on a world in the far north whereon twenty-five morontia shrines were
functioning.

On presettled worlds, planets without morontia temples, these fusion flashes
many times occur in the planetary atmosphere, where the material body of a
translation candidate is elevated by the midway creatures and the physical
controllers.

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2. DEATH AND TRANSLATION

Natural, physical death is not a mortal inevitability. The majority of advanced
evolutionary beings, citizens on worlds existing in the final era of light and
life, do not die; they are translated directly from the life in the flesh to
the morontia existence.

This experience of translation from the material life to the morontia
state--fusion of the immortal soul with the indwelling Adjuster--increases in
frequency commensurate with the evolutionary progress of the planet. At first
only a few mortals in each age attain translation levels of spiritual progress,
but with the onset of the successive ages of the Teacher Sons, more and more
Adjuster fusions occur before the termination of the lengthening lives of these
progressing mortals; and by the time of the terminal mission of the Teacher
Sons, approximately one quarter of these superb mortals are exempt from natural
death.

Farther along in the era of light and life the midway creatures or their
associates sense the approaching status of probable soul-Adjuster union and
signify this to the destiny guardians, who in turn communicate these matters to
the finaliter group under whose jurisdiction this mortal may be functioning;
then there is issued the summons of the Planetary Sovereign for such a mortal
to resign all planetary duties, bid farewell to the world of his origin, and
repair to the inner temple of the Planetary Sovereign, there to await morontia
transit, the translation flash, from the material domain of evolution to the
morontia level of prespirit progression.

When the family, friends, and working group of such a fusion candidate have
forgathered in the morontia temple, they are distributed around the central
stage whereon the fusion candidates are resting, meantime freely conversing
with their assembled friends. A circle of intervening celestial personalities
is arranged to protect the material mortals from the action of the energies
manifest at the instant of the "life flash" which delivers the ascension
candidate from the bonds of material flesh, thereby doing for such an
evolutionary mortal everything that natural death does for those who are
thereby delivered from the flesh.

Many fusion candidates may be assembled in the spacious temple at the same
time. And what a beautiful occasion when mortals thus forgather to witness the
ascension of their loved ones in spiritual flames, and what a contrast to those
earlier ages when mortals must commit their dead to the embrace of the
terrestrial elements! The scenes of weeping and wailing characteristic of
earlier epochs of human evolution are now replaced by ecstatic joy and the
sublimest enthusiasm as these God-knowing mortals bid their loved ones a
transient farewell as they are removed from their material associations by the
spiritual fires of consuming grandeur and ascending glory. On worlds settled in
light and life, "funerals" are occasions of supreme joy, profound satisfaction,
and inexpressible hope.

The souls of these progressing mortals are increasingly filled with faith,
hope, and assurance. The spirit permeating those gathered around the
translation shrine resembles that of the joyful friends and relatives who might
assemble at a graduating exercise for one of their group, or who might come
together to

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witness the conferring of some great honor upon one of their number. And it
would be decidedly helpful if less advanced mortals could only learn to view
natural death with something of this same cheerfulness and lightheartedness.

Mortal observers can see nothing of their translated associates subsequent to
the fusion flash. Such translated souls proceed by Adjuster transit direct to
the resurrection hall of the appropriate morontia-training world. These
transactions concerned with the translation of living human beings to the
morontia world are supervised by an archangel who was assigned to such a world
on the day when it was first settled in light and life.

By the time a world attains the fourth stage of light and life, more than half
the mortals leave the planet by translation from among the living. Such
diminishment of death continues on and on, but I know of no system whose
inhabited worlds, even though long settled in life, are entirely free from
natural death as the technique of escape from the bonds of flesh. And until
such a high state of planetary evolution is uniformly attained, the
morontia-training worlds of the local universe must continue in service as
educational and cultural spheres for the evolving morontia progressors. The
elimination of death is theoretically possible, but it has not yet occurred
according to my observation. Perhaps such a status may be attained during the
faraway stretches of the succeeding epochs of the seventh stage of settled
planetary life.

The translated souls of the flowering ages of the settled spheres do not pass
through the mansion worlds. Neither do they sojourn, as students, on the
morontia worlds of the system or constellation. They do not pass through any of
the earlier phases of morontia life. They are the only ascending mortals who so
nearly escape the morontia transition from material existence to semispirit
status. The initial experience of such Son-seized mortals in the ascension
career is in the services of the progression worlds of the universe
headquarters. And from these study worlds of Salvington they go back as
teachers to the very worlds they passed by, subsequently going on inward to
Paradise by the established route of mortal ascension.

Could you but visit a planet in an advanced stage of development, you would
quickly grasp the reasons for providing for the differential reception of
ascending mortals on the mansion and higher morontia worlds. You would readily
understand that beings passing on from such highly evolved spheres are prepared
to resume their Paradise ascent far in advance of the average mortal arriving
from a disordered and backward world like Urantia.

No matter from what level of planetary attainment human beings may ascend to
the morontia worlds, the seven mansion spheres afford them ample opportunity to
gain in experience as teacher-students all of everything which they failed to
pass through because of the advanced status of their native planets.

The universe is unfailing in the application of these equalizing techniques
designed to insure that no ascender shall be deprived of aught which is
essential to his ascension experience.

3. THE GOLDEN AGES

During this age of light and life the world increasingly prospers under the
fatherly rule of the Planetary Sovereign. By this time the worlds are
progressing under the momentum of one language, one religion, and, on normal
spheres,

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one race. But this age is not perfect. These worlds still have well-appointed
hospitals, homes for the care of the sick. There still remain the problems of
caring for accidental injuries and the inescapable infirmities attendant upon
the decrepitude of old age and the disorders of senility. Disease has not been
entirely vanquished, neither have the earth animals been subdued in perfection;
but such worlds are like Paradise in comparison with the early times of
primitive man during the pre-Planetary Prince age. You would instinctively
describe such a realm--could you be suddenly transported to a planet in this
stage of development--as heaven on earth.

Human government in the conduct of material affairs continues to function
throughout this age of relative progress and perfection. The public activities
of a world in the first stage of light and life which I recently visited were
financed by the tithing technique. Every adult worker--and all able-bodied
citizens worked at something--paid ten per cent of his income or increase to
the public treasury, and it was disbursed as follows:

1. Three per cent was expended in the promotion of truth--science, education,
and philosophy.

2. Three per cent was devoted to beauty--play, social leisure, and art.

3. Three per cent was dedicated to goodness--social service, altruism, and
religion.

4. One per cent was assigned to the insurance reserves against the risk of
incapacity for labor resultant from accident, disease, old age, or
unpreventable disasters.

The natural resources of this planet were administered as social possessions,
community property.

On this world the highest honor conferred upon a citizen was the order of
"supreme service," being the only degree of recognition ever to be granted in
the morontia temple. This recognition was bestowed upon those who had long
distinguished themselves in some phase of supermaterial discovery or planetary
social service.

The majority of social and administrative posts were held jointly by men and
women. Most of the teaching was also done jointly; likewise all judicial trusts
were discharged by similar associated couples.

On these superb worlds the childbearing period is not greatly prolonged. It is
not best for too many years to intervene between the ages of a family of
children. When close together in age, children are able to contribute much more
to their mutual training. And on these worlds they are magnificently trained by
the competitive systems of keen striving in the advanced domains and divisions
of diverse achievement in the mastery of truth, beauty, and goodness. Never
fear but that even such glorified spheres present plenty of evil, real and
potential, which is stimulative of the choosing between truth and error, good
and evil, sin and righteousness.

Nevertheless, there is a certain, inevitable penalty attaching to mortal
existence on such advanced evolutionary planets. When a settled world
progresses beyond the third stage of light and life, all ascenders are
destined, before attaining the minor sector, to receive some sort of transient
assignment on a planet passing through the earlier stages of evolution.

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Each of these successive ages represents advancing achievements in all phases
of planetary attainment. In the initial age of light the revelation of truth
was enlarged to embrace the workings of the universe of universes, while the
Deity study of the second age is the attempt to master the protean concept of
the nature, mission, ministry, associations, origin, and destiny of the Creator
Sons, the first level of God the Sevenfold.

A planet the size of Urantia, when fairly well settled, would have about one
hundred subadministrative centers. These subordinate centers would be presided
over by one of the following groups of qualified administrators:

1. Young Material Sons and Daughters brought from the system headquarters to
act as assistants to the ruling Adam and Eve.

2. The progeny of the semimortal staff of the Planetary Prince who were
procreated on certain worlds for this and other similar responsibilities.

3. The direct planetary progeny of Adam and Eve.

4. Materialized and humanized midway creatures.

5. Mortals of Adjuster-fusion status who, upon their own petition, are
temporarily exempted from translation by the order of the Personalized Adjuster
of universe chieftainship in order that they may continue on the planet in
certain important administrative posts.

6. Specially trained mortals of the planetary schools of administration who
have also received the order of supreme service of the morontia temple.

7. Certain elective commissions of three properly qualified citizens who are
sometimes chosen by the citizenry by direction of the Planetary Sovereign in
accordance with their special ability to accomplish some definite task which is
needful in that particular planetary sector.

The great handicap confronting Urantia in the matter of attaining the high
planetary destiny of light and life is embraced in the problems of disease,
degeneracy, war, multicolored races, and multilingualism.

No evolutionary world can hope to progress beyond the first stage of
settledness in light until it has achieved one language, one religion, and one
philosophy. Being of one race greatly facilitates such achievement, but the
many peoples of Urantia do not preclude the attainment of higher stages.

4. ADMINISTRATIVE READJUSTMENTS

In the successive stages of settled existence the inhabited worlds make
marvelous progress under the wise and sympathetic administration of the
volunteer Corps of the Finality, ascenders of Paradise attainment who have come
back to minister to their brethren in the flesh. These finaliters are active in
co-operation with the Trinity Teacher Sons, but they do not begin their real
participation in world affairs until the morontia temple appears on earth.

Upon the formal inauguration of the planetary ministry of the Corps of the
Finality, the majority of the celestial hosts withdraw. But the seraphic
guardians of destiny continue their personal ministry to the progressing
mortals in light; indeed such angels come in ever-increasing numbers throughout
the settled ages since larger and larger groups of human beings reach the third
cosmic circle of co-ordinate mortal attainment during the planetary life span.

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This is merely the first of the successive administrative adjustments which
attend the unfolding of the successive ages of increasingly brilliant
attainment on the inhabited worlds as they pass from the first to the seventh
stage of settled existence.

1. The first stage of light and life. A world in this initial settled stage is
being administered by three rulers:

a. The Planetary Sovereign, presently to be advised by a counseling Trinity
Teacher Son, in all probability the chief of the terminal corps of such Sons to
function on the planet.

b. The chief of the planetary corps of finaliters.

c. Adam and Eve, who function jointly as the unifiers of the dual leadership of
the Prince-Sovereign and the chief of finaliters.

Acting as interpreters for the seraphic guardians and the finaliters are the
exalted and liberated midway creatures. One of the last acts of the Trinity
Teacher Sons on their terminal mission is to liberate the midwayers of the
realm and to promote (or restore) them to advanced planetary status, assigning
them to responsible places in the new administration of the settled sphere.
Such changes have already been made in the range of human vision as enable
mortals to recognize these heretofore invisible cousins of the early Adamic
regime. This is made possible by the final discoveries of physical science in
liaison with the enlarged planetary functions of the Master Physical
Controllers.

The System Sovereign has authority to release midway creatures any time after
the first settled stage so that they may humanize in the morontia by the aid of
the Life Carriers and the physical controllers and, after receiving Thought
Adjusters, start out on their Paradise ascension.

In the third and subsequent stages, some of the midwayers are still
functioning, chiefly as contact personalities for the finaliters, but as each
stage of light and life is entered, new orders of liaison ministers largely
replace the midwayers; very few of them ever remain beyond the fourth stage of
light. The seventh stage will witness the coming of the first absonite
ministers from Paradise to serve in the places of certain universe creatures.

2. The second stage of light and life. This epoch is signalized on the worlds
by the arrival of a Life Carrier who becomes the volunteer adviser of the
planetary rulers regarding the further efforts to purify and stabilize the
mortal race. Thus do the Life Carriers actively participate in the further
evolution of the human race--physically, socially, and economically. And then
they extend their supervision to the further purification of the mortal stock
by the drastic elimination of the retarded and persisting remnants of inferior
potential of an intellectual, philosophic, cosmic, and spiritual nature. Those
who design and plant life on an inhabited world are fully competent to advise
the Material Sons and Daughters, who have full and unquestioned authority to
purge the evolving race of all detrimental influences.

From the second stage on throughout the career of a settled planet the Teacher
Sons serve as counselors to the finaliters. During such missions they serve as
volunteers and not by assignment; and they serve exclusively with the finaliter
corps except that, upon the consent of the System Sovereign, they may be had as
advisers to the Planetary Adam and Eve.

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3. The third stage of light and life. During this epoch the inhabited worlds
arrive at a new appreciation of the Ancients of Days, the second phase of God
the Sevenfold, and the representatives of these superuniverse rulers enter into
new relationships with the planetary administration.

In each succeeding age of settled existence the finaliters function in
ever-increasing capacities. There exists a close working connection between the
finaliters, the Evening Stars (the superangels), and the Trinity Teacher Sons.

During this or the following age a Teacher Son, assisted by the
ministering-spirit quartette, becomes attached to the elective mortal chief
executive, who now becomes associated with the Planetary Sovereign as joint
administrator of world affairs. These mortal chief executives serve for
twenty-five years of planetary time, and it is this new development that makes
it easy for the Planetary Adam and Eve to secure release from their world of
long-time assignment during the following ages.

The ministering-spirit quartettes consist of: the seraphic chief of the sphere,
the superuniverse secoraphic counselor, the archangel of translations, and the
omniaphim who functions as the personal representative of the Assigned Sentinel
stationed on the system headquarters. But these advisers never proffer counsel
unless it is asked for.

4. The fourth stage of light and life. On the worlds the Trinity Teacher Sons
appear in new roles. Assisted by the creature-trinitized sons so long
associated with their order, they now come to the worlds as volunteer
counselors and advisers to the Planetary Sovereign and his associates. Such
couples--Paradise-Havona-trinitized sons and ascender-trinitized
sons--represent differing universe viewpoints and diverse personal experiences
which are highly serviceable to the planetary rulers.

At any time after this age the Planetary Adam and Eve can petition the
Sovereign Creator Son for release from planetary duties in order to begin their
Paradise ascent; or they can remain on the planet as directors of the newly
appearing order of increasingly spiritual society composed of advanced mortals
striving to comprehend the philosophic teachings of the finaliters portrayed by
the Brilliant Evening Stars, who are now assigned to these worlds to
collaborate in pairs with the seconaphim from the headquarters of the
superuniverse.

The finaliters are chiefly engaged in initiating the new and supermaterial
activities of society--social, cultural, philosophic, cosmic, and spiritual. As
far as we can discern, they will continue this ministry far into the seventh
epoch of evolutionary stability, when, possibly, they may go forth to minister
in outer space; whereupon we conjecture their places may be taken by absonite
beings from Paradise.

5. The fifth stage of light and life. The readjustments of this stage of
settled existence pertain almost entirely to the physical domains and are of
primary concern to the Master Physical Controllers.

6. The sixth stage of light and life witnesses the development of new functions
of the mind circuits of the realm. Cosmic wisdom seems to become constitutive
in the universe ministry of mind.

7. The seventh stage of light and life. Early in the seventh epoch the Trinity
Teacher counselor of the Planetary Sovereign is joined by a volunteer ad-

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viser sent by the Ancients of Days, and later on they will be augmented by a
third counselor coming from the superuniverse Supreme Executive.

During this epoch, if not before, Adam and Eve are always relieved of planetary
duties. If there is a Material Son in the finaliter corps, he may become
associated with the mortal chief executive, and sometimes it is a Melchizedek
who volunteers to function in this capacity. If a midwayer is among the
finaliters, all of that order remaining on the planet are immediately released.

Upon obtaining release from their agelong assignment, a Planetary Adam and Eve
may select careers as follows:

1. They can secure planetary release and from the universe headquarters start
out immediately on the Paradise career, receiving Thought Adjusters at the
conclusion of the morontia experience.

2. Very often a Planetary Adam and Eve will receive Adjusters while yet serving
on a world settled in light concomitant with the receiving of Adjusters by some
of their imported pure-line children who have volunteered for a term of
planetary service. Subsequently they may all go to universe headquarters and
there begin the Paradise career.

3. A Planetary Adam and Eve may elect--as do Material Sons and Daughters from
the system capital--to go direct to the midsonite world for a brief sojourn,
there to receive their Adjusters.

4. They may decide to return to the system headquarters, there for a time to
occupy seats on the supreme court, after which service they will receive
Adjusters and begin the Paradise ascent.

5. They may choose to go from their administrative duties back to their native
world to serve as teachers for a season and to become Adjuster indwelt at the
time of transfer to the universe headquarters.

Throughout all of these epochs the imported assisting Material Sons and
Daughters exert a tremendous influence on the progressing social and economic
orders. They are potentially immortal, at least until such time as they elect
to humanize, receive Adjusters, and start for Paradise.

On the evolutionary worlds a being must humanize to receive a Thought Adjuster.
All ascendant members of the Mortal Corps of Finaliters have been Adjuster
indwelt and fused except seraphim, and they are Father indwelt by another type
of spirit at the time of being mustered into this corps.

5. THE ACME OF MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT

Mortal creatures living on a sin-stricken, evil-dominated, self-seeking,
isolated world, such as Urantia, can hardly conceive of the physical
perfection, the intellectual attainment, and the spiritual development which
characterize these advanced epochs of evolution on a sinless sphere.

The advanced stages of a world settled in light and life represent the acme of
evolutionary material development. On these cultured worlds, gone are the
idleness and friction of the earlier primitive ages. Poverty and social
inequality have all but vanished, degeneracy has disappeared, and delinquency
is rarely observed. Insanity has practically ceased to exist, and
feeble-mindedness is a rarity.

The economic, social, and administrative status of these worlds is of a high
and perfected order. Science, art, and industry flourish, and society is a
smoothly

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working mechanism of high material, intellectual, and cultural achievement.
Industry has been largely diverted to serving the higher aims of such a superb
civilization. The economic life of such a world has become ethical.

War has become a matter of history, and there are no more armies or police
forces. Government is gradually disappearing. Self-control is slowly rendering
laws of human enactment obsolete. The extent of civil government and statutory
regulation, in an intermediate state of advancing civilization, is in inverse
proportion to the morality and spirituality of the citizenship.

Schools are vastly improved and are devoted to the training of mind and the
expansion of soul. The art centers are exquisite and the musical organizations
superb. The temples of worship with their associated schools of philosophy and
experiential religion are creations of beauty and grandeur. The open-air arenas
of worship assembly are equally sublime in the simplicity of their artistic
appointment.

The provisions for competitive play, humor, and other phases of personal and
group achievement are ample and appropriate. A special feature of the
competitive activities on such a highly cultured world concerns the efforts of
individuals and groups to excel in the sciences and philosophies of cosmology.
Literature and oratory flourish, and language is so improved as to be symbolic
of concepts as well as to be expressive of ideas. Life is refreshingly simple;
man has at last co-ordinated a high state of mechanical development with an
inspiring intellectual attainment and has overshadowed both with an exquisite
spiritual achievement. The pursuit of happiness is an experience of joy and
satisfaction.

6. THE INDIVIDUAL MORTAL

As worlds advance in the settled status of light and life, society becomes
increasingly peaceful. The individual, while no less independent and devoted to
his family, has become more altruistic and fraternal.

On Urantia, and as you are, you can have little appreciation of the advanced
status and progressive nature of the enlightened races of these perfected
worlds. These people are the flowering of the evolutionary races. But such
beings are still mortal; they continue to breathe, eat, sleep, and drink. This
great evolution is not heaven, but it is a sublime foreshadowing of the divine
worlds of the Paradise ascent.

On a normal world the biologic fitness of the mortal race was long since
brought up to a high level during the post-Adamic epochs; and now, from age to
age throughout the settled eras the physical evolution of man continues. Both
vision and hearing are extended. By now the population has become stationary in
numbers. Reproduction is regulated in accordance with planetary requirements
and innate hereditary endowments: The mortals on a planet during this age are
divided into from five to ten groups, and the lower groups are permitted to
produce only one half as many children as the higher. The continued improvement
of such a magnificent race throughout the era of light and life is largely a
matter of the selective reproduction of those racial strains which exhibit
superior qualities of a social, philosophic, cosmic, and spiritual nature.

The Adjusters continue to come as in former evolutionary eras, and as the
epochs pass, these mortals are increasingly able to commune with the indwell-

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ing Father fragment. During the embryonic and prespiritual stages of
development the adjutant mind-spirits are still functioning. The Holy Spirit
and the ministry of angels are even more effective as the successive epochs of
settled life are experienced. In the fourth stage of light and life the
advanced mortals seem to experience considerable conscious contact with the
spirit presence of the Master Spirit of superuniverse jurisdiction, while the
philosophy of such a world is focused upon the attempt to comprehend the new
revelations of God the Supreme. More than one half of the human inhabitants on
planets of this advanced status experience translation to the morontia state
from among the living. Even so, "old things are passing away; behold, all
things are becoming new."

We conceive that physical evolution will have attained its full development by
the end of the fifth epoch of the light-and-life era. We observe that the upper
limits of spiritual development associated with evolving human mind are
determined by the Adjuster-fusion level of conjoint morontia values and cosmic
meanings. But concerning wisdom: While we do not really know, we conjecture
that there can never be a limit to intellectual evolution and the attainment of
wisdom. On a seventh-stage world, wisdom can exhaust the material potentials,
enter upon mota insight, and eventually even taste of absonite grandeur.

We observe that on these highly evolved and long seventh-stage worlds human
beings fully learn the local universe language before they are translated; and
I have visited a few very old planets where abandonters were teaching the older
mortals the tongue of the superuniverse. And on these worlds I have observed
the technique whereby the absonite personalities reveal the presence of the
finaliters in the morontia temple.

This is the story of the magnificent goal of mortal striving on the
evolutionary worlds; and it all takes place even before human beings enter upon
their morontia careers; all of this splendid development is attainable by
material mortals on the inhabited worlds, the very first stage of that endless
and incomprehensible career of Paradise ascension and divinity attainment.

But can you possibly imagine what sort of evolutionary mortals are now coming
up from worlds long existing in the seventh epoch of settled light and life? It
is such as these who go on to the morontia worlds of the local universe capital
to begin their ascension careers.

If the mortals of distraught Urantia could only view one of these more advanced
worlds long settled in light and life, they would nevermore question the wisdom
of the evolutionary scheme of creation. Were there no future of eternal
creature progression, still the superb evolutionary attainments of the mortal
races on such settled worlds of perfected achievement would amply justify man's
creation on the worlds of time and space.

We often ponder: If the grand universe should be settled in light and life,
would the ascending exquisite mortals still be destined to the Corps of the
Finality? But we do not know.

7. THE FIRST OR PLANETARY STAGE

This epoch extends from the appearance of the morontia temple at the new
planetary headquarters to the time of the settling of the entire system in
light and life. This age is inaugurated by the Trinity Teacher Sons at the
close of their

                                top of page - 632

successive world missions when the Planetary Prince is elevated to the status
of Planetary Sovereign by the mandate and personal presence of the Paradise
bestowal Son of that sphere. Concomitant therewith the finaliters inaugurate
their active participation in planetary affairs.

To outward and visible appearances the actual rulers, or directors, of such a
world settled in light and life are the Material Son and Daughter, the
Planetary Adam and Eve. The finaliters are invisible, as also is the
Prince-Sovereign except when in the morontia temple. The actual and literal
heads of the planetary regime are therefore the Material Son and Daughter. It
is the knowledge of these arrangements that has given prestige to the idea of
kings and queens throughout the universe realms. And kings and queens are a
great success under these ideal circumstances, when a world can command such
high personalities to act in behalf of still higher but invisible rulers.

When such an era is attained on your world, no doubt Machiventa Melchizedek,
now the vicegerent Planetary Prince of Urantia, will occupy the seat of the
Planetary Sovereign; and it has long been conjectured on Jerusem that he will
be accompanied by a son and daughter of the Urantia Adam and Eve who are now
held on Edentia as wards of the Most Highs of Norlatiadek. These children of
Adam might so serve on Urantia in association with the Melchizedek-Sovereign
since they were deprived of procreative powers almost 37,000 years ago at the
time they gave up their material bodies on Urantia in preparation for transit
to Edentia.

This settled age continues on and on until every inhabited planet in the system
attains the era of stabilization; and then, when the youngest world--the last
to achieve light and life--has experienced such settledness for one millennium
of system time, the entire system enters the stabilized status, and the
individual worlds are ushered into the system epoch of the era of light and
life.

8. THE SECOND OR SYSTEM STAGE

When an entire system becomes settled in life, a new order of government is
inaugurated. The Planetary Sovereigns become members of the system conclave,
and this new administrative body, subject to the veto of the Constellation
Fathers, is supreme in authority. Such a system of inhabited worlds becomes
virtually self-governing. The system legislative assembly is constituted on the
headquarters world, and each planet sends its ten representatives thereto.
Courts are now established on the system capitals, and only appeals are taken
to the universe headquarters.

With the settling of the system the Assigned Sentinel, representative of the
superuniverse Supreme Executive, becomes the volunteer adviser to the system
supreme court and actual presiding officer of the new legislative assembly.

After the settling of an entire system in light and life the System Sovereigns
will no more come and go. Such a sovereign remains perpetually at the head of
his system. The assistant sovereigns continue to change as in former ages.

During this epoch of stabilization, for the first time midsoniters come from
the universe headquarters worlds of their sojourn to act as counselors to the
legislative assemblies and advisers to the adjudicational tribunals. These
midsoniters also carry on certain efforts to inculcate new mota meanings of
supreme value into the teaching enterprises which they sponsor jointly with the
finaliters.

                                top of page - 633

What the Material Sons did for the mortal races biologically, the midsonite
creatures now do for these unified and glorified humans in the ever-advancing
realms of philosophy and spiritualized thinking.

On the inhabited worlds the Teacher Sons become voluntary collaborators with
the finaliters, and these same Teacher Sons also accompany the finaliters to
the mansion worlds when those spheres are no longer to be utilized as
differential receiving worlds after an entire system is settled in light and
life; at least this is true by the time the entire constellation has thus
evolved. But there are no groups that far advanced in Nebadon.

We are not permitted to reveal the nature of the work of the finaliters who
will supervise such rededicated mansion worlds. You have, however, been
informed that there are throughout the universes various types of intelligent
creatures who have not been portrayed in these narratives.

And now, as the systems one by one become settled in light by virtue of the
progress of their component worlds, the time comes when the last system in a
given constellation attains stabilization, and the universe administrators--the
Master Son, the Union of Days, and the Bright and Morning Star--arrive on the
capital of the constellation to proclaim the Most Highs the unqualified rulers
of the newly perfected family of one hundred settled systems of inhabited
worlds.

9. THE THIRD OR CONSTELLATION STAGE

The unification of a whole constellation of settled systems is attended by new
distributions of executive authority and additional readjustments of universe
administration. This epoch witnesses advanced attainment on every inhabited
world but is particularly characterized by readjustments on the constellation
headquarters, with marked modification of relationships with both the system
supervision and the local universe government. During this age many
constellation and universe activities are transferred to the system capitals,
and the representatives of the superuniverse assume new and more intimate
relations with the planetary, system, and universe rulers. Concomitant with
these new associations, certain superuniverse administrators establish
themselves on the constellation capitals as volunteer advisers to the Most High
Fathers.

When a constellation is thus settled in light, the legislative function ceases,
and the house of System Sovereigns, presided over by the Most Highs, functions
instead. Now, for the first time, such administrative groups deal directly with
the superuniverse government in matters pertaining to Havona and Paradise
relationships. Otherwise the constellation remains related to the local
universe as before. From stage to stage in the settled life the univitatia
continue to administer the constellation morontia worlds.

As the ages pass, the Constellation Fathers take over more and more of the
detailed administrative or supervising functions which were formerly centered
on the universe headquarters. By the attainment of the sixth stage of
stabilization these unified constellations will have reached the position of
well-nigh complete autonomy. Entrance upon the seventh stage of settledness
will no doubt witness the exaltation of these rulers to the true dignity
signified by their names, the Most Highs. To all intents and purposes the
constellations will then deal directly with the superuniverse rulers, while the
local universe government will expand to grasp the responsibilities of new
grand universe obligations.

                                top of page - 634

10. THE FOURTH OR LOCAL UNIVERSE STAGE

When a universe becomes settled in light and life, it soon swings into the
established superuniverse circuits, and the Ancients of Days proclaim the
establishment of the supreme council of unlimited authority. This new governing
body consists of the one hundred Faithfuls of Days, presided over by the Union
of Days, and the first act of this supreme council is to acknowledge the
continued sovereignty of the Master Creator Son.

The universe administration, as far as concerns Gabriel and the Father
Melchizedek, is quite unchanged. This council of unlimited authority is chiefly
concerned with the new problems and the new conditions arising out of the
advanced status of light and life.

The Associate Inspector now mobilizes all Assigned Sentinels to constitute the
stabilization corps of the local universe and asks the Father Melchizedek to
share its supervision with him. And now, for the first time, a corps of the
Inspired Trinity Spirits are assigned to the service of the Union of Days.

The settling of an entire local universe in light and life inaugurates profound
readjustments in the entire scheme of administration, from the individual
inhabited worlds to the universe headquarters. New relationships extend down to
the constellations and systems. The local universe Mother Spirit experiences
new liaison relations with the Master Spirit of the superuniverse, and Gabriel
establishes direct contact with the Ancients of Days to be effective when and
as the Master Son may be absent from the headquarters world.

During this and subsequent ages the Magisterial Sons continue to function as
dispensational adjudicators, while one hundred of these Avonal Sons of Paradise
constitute the new high council of the Bright and Morning Star on the universe
capital. Later on, and as requested by the System Sovereigns, one of these
Magisterial Sons will become the supreme counselor stationed on the
headquarters world of each local system until the seventh stage of unity is
attained.

During this epoch the Trinity Teacher Sons are volunteer advisers, not only to
the Planetary Sovereigns, but in groups of three they similarly serve the
Constellation Fathers. And at last these Sons find their place in the local
universe, for at this time they are removed from the jurisdiction of the local
creation and are assigned to the service of the supreme council of unlimited
authority.

The finaliter corps now, for the first time, acknowledges the jurisdiction of
an extra-Paradise authority, the supreme council. Heretofore the finaliters
have recognized no supervision this side of Paradise.

The Creator Sons of such settled universes spend much of their time on Paradise
and its associated worlds and in counseling the numerous finaliter groups
serving throughout the local creation. In this way the man of Michael will find
a fuller fraternity of association with the glorified finaliter mortals.

Speculation concerning the function of these Creator Sons in connection with
the outer universes now in process of preliminary assembly is wholly futile.
But we all engage in such postulations from time to time. On attaining this
fourth stage of development the Creator Son becomes administratively free; the
Divine Minister is progressively blending her ministry with that of the
superuniverse Master Spirit and the Infinite Spirit. There seems to be evolving
a new and sub-

                                top of page - 635

lime relationship between the Creator Son, the Creative Spirit, the Evening
Stars, the Teacher Sons, and the ever-increasing finaliter corps.

If Michael should ever leave Nebadon, Gabriel would undoubtedly become chief
administrator with the Father Melchizedek as his associate. At the same time
new status would be imparted to all orders of permanent citizenship, such as
Material Sons, univitatia, midsoniters, susatia, and Spirit-fused mortals. But
as long as evolution continues, the seraphim and the archangels will be
required in universe administration.

We are, however, satisfied regarding two features of our speculations: If the
Creator Sons are destined to the outer universes, the Divine Ministers will
undoubtedly accompany them. We are equally sure that the Melchizedeks are to
remain with the universes of their origin. We hold that the Melchizedeks are
destined to play ever-increasingly responsible parts in local universe
government and administration.

11. THE MINOR AND MAJOR SECTOR STAGES

Minor and major sectors of the superuniverse do not figure directly in the plan
of being settled in light and life. Such an evolutionary progression pertains
primarily to the local universe as a unit and concerns only the components of a
local universe. A superuniverse is settled in light and life when all of its
component local universes are thus perfected. But not one of the seven
superuniverses has attained a level of progression even approaching this.

The minor sector age. As far as observations can penetrate, the fifth or minor
sector stage of stabilization has exclusively to do with physical status and
with the co-ordinate settling of the one hundred associated local universes in
the established circuits of the superuniverse. Apparently none but the power
centers and their associates are concerned in these realignments of the
material creation.

The major sector age. Concerning the sixth stage, or major sector
stabilization, we can only conjecture since none of us have witnessed such an
event. Nevertheless, we can postulate much concerning the administrative and
other readjustments which would probably accompany such an advanced status of
inhabited worlds and their universe groupings.

Since the minor sector status has to do with co-ordinate physical equilibrium,
we infer that major sector unification will be concerned with certain new
intellectual levels of attainment, possibly some advanced achievements in the
supreme realization of cosmic wisdom.

We arrive at conclusions regarding the readjustments which would probably
attend the realization of hitherto unattained levels of evolutionary progress
by observing the results of such achievements on the individual worlds and in
the experiences of individual mortals living on these older and highly
developed spheres.

Let it be made clear that the administrative mechanisms and governmental
techniques of a universe or a superuniverse cannot in any manner limit or
retard the evolutionary development or spiritual progress of an individual
inhabited planet or of any individual mortal on such a sphere.

In some of the older universes we find worlds settled in the fifth and the
sixth stages of light and life--even far extended into the seventh epoch--whose
local systems are not yet settled in light. Younger planets may delay system
unifica-

                                top of page - 636

tion, but this does not in the least handicap the progress of an older and
advanced world. Neither can environmental limitations, even on an isolated
world, thwart the personal attainment of the individual mortal; Jesus of
Nazareth, as a man among men, personally achieved the status of light and life
over nineteen hundred years ago on Urantia.

It is by observing what takes place on long-settled worlds that we arrive at
fairly reliable conclusions as to what will happen when a whole superuniverse
is settled in light, even if we cannot safely postulate the event of the
stabilization of the seven superuniverses.

12. THE SEVENTH OR SUPERUNIVERSE STAGE

We cannot positively forecast what would occur when a superuniverse became
settled in light because such an event has never factualized. From the
teachings of the Melchizedeks, which have never been contradicted, we infer
that sweeping changes would be made in the entire organization and
administration of every unit of the creations of time and space extending from
the inhabited worlds to the superuniverse headquarters.

It is generally believed that large numbers of the otherwise unattached
creature-trinitized sons are to be assembled on the headquarters and divisional
capitals of the settled superuniverses. This may be in anticipation of the
sometime arrival of outer-spacers on their way in to Havona and Paradise; but
we really do not know.

If and when a superuniverse should be settled in light and life, we believe
that the now advisory Unqualified Supervisors of the Supreme would become the
high administrative body on the headquarters world of the superuniverse. These
are the personalities who are able to contact directly with the absonite
administrators, who will forthwith become active in the settled superuniverse.
Although these Unqualified Supervisors have long functioned as advisers and
counselors in advanced evolutionary units of creation, they do not assume
administrative responsibilities until the authority of the Supreme Being
becomes sovereign.

The Unqualified Supervisors of the Supreme, who function more extensively
during this epoch, are not finite, absonite, ultimate, or infinite; they ere
supremacy and only represent God the Supreme. They are the personalization of
time-space supremacy and therefore do not function in Havona. They function
only as supreme unifiers. They may possibly be involved in the technique of
universe reflectivity, but we are not certain.

None of us entertains a satisfactory concept of what will happen when the grand
universe (the seven superuniverses as dependent on Havona) becomes entirely
settled in light and life. That event will undoubtedly be the most profound
occurrence in the annals of eternity since the appearance of the central
universe. There are those who hold that the Supreme Being himself will emerge
from the Havona mystery enshrouding his spirit person and will become
residential on the headquarters of the seventh superuniverse as the almighty
and experiential sovereign of the perfected creations of time and space. But we
really do not know.

[Presented by a Mighty Messenger temporarily assigned to the Archangel Council
on Urantia.]

                                top of page - 637

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  Subjects Archive The Urantia Book Urantia Book PART II: The Local Universe :
The Evolution Of Local Universes Administration Of The Local Universe The Local
    Universe Mother Spirit The Local Universe Sons Of God The Life Carriers
  Personalities Of The Local Universe Ministering Spirits Of The Local Universe
   The Seraphic Hosts The Ascending Sons Of God Physical Aspects Of The Local
 Universe Energy--mind And Matter The Constellations The Celestial Artisans The
  Local System Administration The Local System Headquarters The Seven Mansion
    Worlds The Morontia Life The Inhabited Worlds The Planetary Princes The
  Planetary Adams Planetary Mortal Epochs The Lucifer Rebellion Problems Of The
        Lucifer Rebellion The Spheres Of Light And Life Universal Unity

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