The Urantia Diaries of Harold and Martha Sherman: Volume Five: 1946-1955

The years from approximately 1924 to 1955, in which the evolving manuscript of the Urantia Book was shared with a small group in Chicago called the Forum, is an intriguing period in the history of the Urantia Book and its readership. Only one source of extensive and detailed information about this period has come to light: the diaries and letters of Forumites Harold and Martha Sherman. During their stay in Chicago, from 1942 to 1947, the Shermans recorded what was said and done at every Forum meeting they attended. They also recorded their conversations with their Forumite friends and acquaintances outside Forum meetings. Their diligent documenting resulted in close to two thousand pages of eyewitness accounts which portray Forum life with unmatched vividness and immediacy. What makes their story especially piquant is that Harold was a controversial figure. Outspokenly critical of some of the plans of Forum leaders Dr. William S. Sadler and his son Bill, Harold was accused by Dr. Sadler of disrupting the superhumanly authorized running of the Forum. Sadler allowed the Shermans to continue to attend Forum meetings, but they became estranged from the Sadlers and kept aloof from most of the Forumites. Feeling unjustly blamed, the Shermans wrote sharp, critical reports of the ensuing Forum activities, which contrast with the vague, rosy accounts of the Forum given decades later by non-Forumites. In this and succeeding volumes of The Urantia Diaries of Harold and Martha Sherman, we present the Shermans’ Urantia-related experiences, as reported by themselves in their letters and diaries. This volume documents the years 1946 to 1955, spanning Harold and Martha Shermans last year and a half as Forumites and the period leading up to the long-awaited publication of the Urantia Book. In the summer of 1947, their younger daughter having graduated high school, the Shermans decided to move to their cottage in the Arkansas Ozarks. Finding little inspiration in the Jesus papers and frustrated by the stalemate in their relationship with the Forum leaders, the Shermans made their last appearance at 533 Diversey Parkway in December of 1947. With Arkansas as his home base, Harold continued a busy career as a writer and traveling lecturer. After gaining entree into the New Thought movement as a speaker and teacher in the early 1950s, he became nationally known, but he continually sought to reach the wider public through film, television and radio. During his respites in Arkansas, he was active in community development projects, campaigning for paved roads, electrification and tourist attractions. But, as the Cold War developed and the threat of atomic war loomed, and as UFO sightings were gaining international attention, Harold was most concerned with trying to help people realize their higher powers of mind so as to forestall disaster and steer the world in a better direction. During these years the Shermans kept in regular contact with a few Forumites, including Elsie Baumgartner, Rachel Gusler, and Sir Hubert Wilkins. Their letterstouching on matters personal, political, philosophical, and spiritualprovide a glimpse into the concerns and perspectives of members of the first generation of serious students of the Urantia papers. In their travels Harold and/or Martha met or renewed their acquaintance with a number of other Forumites and former Forumites, recording their experiences in letters and diary entries. Further, Harold was instrumental in sparking San Diego businessman Webster Staffords enthusiasm for the Urantia papers and other purported revelations. Staffords documents, reproduced in this volume and on our website ((http://www.squarecircles.com) www.squarecircles.com ), represent the first known attempt to appreciate the Urantia papers in the broader context of comparative analysis.