[tmtranscripts] 3-1-02 S.E. Idaho Transcript

[Bill Kelly]

SE IDAHO/Pocatello TeaM
March 1, 2002

Prayer by Daniel (Bob S): This is Daniel.  Let us be at prayer.  Oh, most
kind and wonderful Servant of all; You who have created this beautiful
universe; You who have created us, the least of your spirit-lead beings; we
pray for these, our brothers and sisters and their brothers and sisters
around this sorry planet, for we understand the depth of our fallibility,
the weaknesses of our resolve, and the power which You hold.  Now we ask
that this power, this message, this truth may come forward and enter into
our minds and our very beings, as our will permits, according to the
guidelines of the Master under whose aegis we meet.  Amen.

Daniel (Bill): Greetings, this is Daniel, your teacher, your guide, your
friend and companion.  You have stretched your jaw muscles to masticate the
tough meat of Tomas' words tonight.  You have engaged strongly with the
message of both Tomas and Machiventa, and your struggles have strengthened
your resolve to follow the Master and share his message.  Remember Elijah
of old who in a mood of discouragement mourned that only he was left
faithful to God when the nation was bending a knee to Baal, and God said,
"I have reserved for myself 4,000 who do not bend the knee to Baal."
Elijah was looking for the will of God in dramatic events: thunder,
lightning, earthquakes and fire that would grab the attention of that
nation who were apostate and back-slidden from God.  But he did not find
God's answer in the fire, thunder, lightning or earthquake—but in a still
small voice.  Remember also Jesus' apostles who expected the kingdom to
come in three years, and their leader to be crowned the Messiah, leading
the armies of Israel against the heathen, thus forcing the kingdom of God
upon them.  They were repeatedly disappointed.  They were habitually
discouraged.  They even brought the Master to moments of impatience: "How
long must I be with you?  Do you not understand what I have been teaching
you?", said he to these his followers.  So by way of remembrance, join the
human race, [laughter] and find yourself in Elijah's shoes.  Find yourself
in the company of Michael in his bestowal mission.  All of this my friends
translates into a reality that you are normal, human apostles.  I
understand your discouragement, but I counsel you with words of "patience".  

	Also, I counsel you to be skeptical with the information that you have
access to, for it is superficial.  In the nature of surveys there is social
pressure, unconscious at times, but still manifest.  The opinions of the
heart cannot be accurately categorized by the statistical methods of
opinion surveys.  It is extremely difficult to express one's true feelings
in a social context which is structured with political implications and
cultural values.  We celestials have more information than you.  We have
the universe reports.  We have the information of the seraphim of Urantia,
the guardians of each mortal on this planet.  We therefore often say things
which seem to contradict your perceptions.  We do this deliberately and
with knowledge a forethought, for it is our role to keep you looking upward
rather than backward.  Also, in addition to having more information, we are
a little more practiced in patience because we've been around longer than
you have.  Patience is a function of longevity.  Adults usually have more
patience than children because they have lived longer.  They have a larger
scope of experience in which to measure any particular time-period in terms
of change.

You also are to be reminded of the fact that progress is not steady, but is
irregular and very multifaceted in its manifestation.  Consider this.  The
great evolution which has occurred on the planet has not been the result of
the mediocrity of the average.  Democracy has one major fault: it fosters
mediocrity because by its very nature it requires the consent of the
majority, and the majority fall in the average range.  What brings about
evolutionary progress is always the result of spiritual leadership often
couched under other umbrellas than the term "spiritual" or even
"religious".  But  progress on Urantia is truly fostered and brought about
by spiritual energy.  Human leadership becomes grand when that mortal
responds to the direction of their Thought Adjuster/Thought Controller.
Indeed is Letah correct in her affirmation that she can change the world in
a small way, and she will be about the business of doing so.  

You, in this country as well as other nations, suffer from a lack of
spiritual leadership.  This is one of the reasons the Teaching Mission is
here.  We are training you to be spiritual leaders.  No, you probably won't
be elected president of the United States or even senator from Idaho, not
even the mayor of Pocatello or American Falls; but you have great
influence.  You have many admirers among your friends and acquaintances.
All of you.  You often underestimate your influence because you haven't
enough information. 

	And then there is the problem of animal lethargy.  You have to fight
against animal lethargy in order to make spiritual progress.  Remember your
ancestors only thought when they were hungry.  The rest of the time their
minds were in neutral.  People often make the greatest progress only under
stress.  When things are too comfortable critical thinking subsides, and
custom and tradition take over.  

	The devastating tragedy of 9-ll has stimulated thinking.  The majority
still follows the mediocre program of thought, yes, but many are giving
thought for the first time to new ideas.  We have told you this repeatedly,
that there is an undercurrent of dissatisfaction with the old ways of doing
things, to fall back always and forever on violence and force as a last
resort, rather than statesmanship as a first resort.  Look at what is
happening in the schools in recent years.  There are curriculums stressing
peaceful resolution of quarrels on the play ground which are being
inaugurated in many school districts.  This is not something that your
ancestors could report on.  Evolution is very slow, but terribly effective.

	Spiritual intervention of the dramatic, forceful sort that you may yearn
for, the magic wand to correct the evils of the world, cannot happen, for
it is contrary to the Prime Directive.  [Ed:  Human will must always be
respected.]   So Jesus did not ascend to the throne at Jerusalem and become
the Messiah.  But his spiritual message, that we are all children of God
and brothers and sisters, transformed the world even though it was diluted
and attenuated.  And that message, which is simply a statement of reality,
is still the most powerful concept that any person can ever hear!

	My friends do not become discouraged.  When I say, " become discouraged",
I mean, do not continue in discouragement.  Do not succumb to
discouragement, but realize that crises are time of great potential.  Do
your part in spreading the message.  Talk about these ideas with your
friends.  Stick out your neck and differ from the majority opinion!  You
probably will not be crucified.  [Laughter and comments.]  You may reply,
"Well, Daniel, that's easy for you to say, sitting up there on a cloud
telling us what to do."  [More laughter.]  And I tell you, "Yes, you are
right".  It was not easy even on my planet of origin which was in the early
stages of Light and Life.  We were still struggling with some of these same
issues, although we had certainly advanced farther that this planet has.  

	I am your coach.  The game is life.  We are going to win.  We're going to
win!  I have concluded my remarks.  Do you have comments or questions?

Virginia/Letah: Daniel, I really thank you.  You know its really easy to be
discouraged if you look always at the negative or the bad situation, but
the couple of thoughts that came into my mind as you were talking, (I've
been listening to the tape of the Urantia Book which has papers 99 and 100,
and I don't remember which it is.)  but it says that confusion comes before
growth and  before destruction; and when I listen to that I felt that it is
still our choice, choice in the middle of confusion, to choose growth or to
choose destruction.  I don't know if that is the purpose of that sentence
in the context of the paper, but it certainly puts it back on us doesn't
it?  Your reference to the magic wand that I have asked for has never been
given to me.  [Laughter.]  I've often thought that it would just be so easy
to make a perfect world (which of course God has done) and He really does
have patience.  Maybe it is because He is older, wiser, all those things
that we wish we were.  I wish I was.  Thank you.

Daniel (Bill): My dear, I appreciate your comments in particular.  They are
very germane to what I was trying to communicate.  It is true that there is
a great deal of confusion; and you are completely correct that destruction
or growth depends upon individual choice.  Yes, God has made a perfect
universe.  I haven't seen it yet but I have heard a great deal about it;
but this isn't that universe.  This is the evolving, perfecting universe,
as you know.  And struggle is the name of the game. 

	We need two things to persist in this struggle: one, the willingness to
carry on, the decisions to carry on; and two, the strength to carry on.
Sometimes, when you are discouraged, it is hard to tell whether you lack
the willingness or whether you lack the strength.  The solution to both of
these always comes back to the time that you spend in quiet with the Divine
Presence.  That time does not have to be restricted to 10 minutes in the
morning or 10 minutes at night, but more ideally that time is at any
moment, at any moment that you can turn for that affirmation of willingness
and for that strength to carry on.  Thank you for your comments, my dear.

Lori: Daniel, thanks for reminding me that we need to have patience. But it
is difficult for me when my children are involved and I am making decisions
that affect who they are and how they feel about the world they are in.
It's easy to loose sight of being patient.

Daniel (Bill): Yes, Lori, understood.  Balance is necessary between
recognizing the crucial character of developmental milestones and the need
for action to maximize these, with the other truth, which is that there is
time for growth.  Try as you might, you cannot provide a perfect
environment for your children because you are not in charge of all of the
influences which come upon them.  Of course  you have to strive to do the
best that you can.  But do not lose your peace of heart in the anxiety of
that process, because if you do, then you weaken your loving influence due
to the interruptions of anxiety.  Do you understand?

Lori: Yes, that anxiety can takeover and give over to paranoia.  And if I
can keep my peace of heart I can take the anxiety and move it away.  And
only through quiet and putting those thoughts aside, on the back burner or
aside, can growth occur for me.  Because if I have those thoughts lingering
there but not taking over, I really can feel like, in a bigger way, that I
am getting the whole picture.  And I can begin to focus on what the best,
big picture might be.

Daniel (Bill): Exactly, and when the anxiety is gone you open up a channel
to guidance so that it comes to you more efficiently, whereas anxiety
blocks guidance from your Thought Adjuster.

Lori: Thank you, because you've reminded me of that throughout the week,
that I've listened [laughter] right at the moment that we are talking
about—quiet at the moment.  Let it go.

Daniel (Bill): Excellent.
	Jonderoch, my friend, may your birthday bring you a sense of
accomplishment, a sense of eternity, for you life is not limited to this
mortal career.  May your birthday remind you that you are a son of God,
greatly cherished, unique, for there is no one else like you in the
universe of universes.  We appreciate your love and concern, your deep
thinking, your willingness to embrace change and your contributions in the
various ways that you give of yourself to your fellows.  So be of good
cheer.  All may not be to your liking, but all is under the overcare of the
Universe Supervisors, and all will come out right in the end.  At the same
time, continue to do your part, as I know you will.  I am your friend.
Happy birthday.

Bob S/Jonderoch: Thank you, Daniel, for those kind words.  

Daniel (Bill): You're welcome.

Bob S: I don't know where I was coming from earlier.  That's not like me to
be so aggressive, is it?  I was beyond assertive.  I was aggressive.  I
suppose that reflects some concern about my advancing age, and the
depression that one falls into living in this society.

Daniel (Bill): I suspect that you're correct.  And I would only say, "Hey,
I'm a lot older than you, and it's wonderful."  [Laughter.]  So look forward.

	My friends, our time is completed.  Please stand and Minearsia will lead
us in prayer.

Minearsia (Bill): We lift our being to join the company of high and holy
Supernaphim of Paradise, to join the company of mortal souls made perfect,
to join the company of Havoners eventuated in perfection from eternity.  We
join these to worship You, oh great First Source and Center, great Second
Source and Center, great Third Source and Center.  We know and we witness
that You have given us life abundantly, and that our future is unlimited
because we have chosen to follow You.  And to you, Christ Michael of
Nebadon, and Nebadonia, we offer our allegiance and our loyalty to your
universe, to its full and complete perfection attainment, attained in us
individually and then collectively.  

	And now for these, my mortal friends who faithfully come and share their
lives together, I give you thanks; and I pledge to them my undying love and
companionship.  May we all go forth to do Your will.  Amen.