The Urantia Diaries of Harold and Martha Sherman: Volume Four: 1944-1945

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 the six 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. In this volume Harold and Martha Sherman report their Urantia-related experiences for the years 1944 and 1945. During this period the Forum hears the papers that became Part III of the Urantia Book, and the Shermans record their impressions of each paper as well as their discussions with Forum friends on these and other subjects. No longer in the forefront of controversy, the Shermans quietly maintain their criticisms of Dr. Sadlers handling of the papers. In late 1945 a frank meeting with Harry Looses close friend, Reverend Williams, causes the Shermans to reflect anew on their involvement with the Urantia project, resulting in a turning point of sorts.