A Book of Answers

This story of personal growth and spiritual exploration, Jett’s debut, is part memoir and part exploration of The Urantia Book, a large religious text that explains a variety of subjects such as the origins of Earth, the nature of evolution and the life of Jesus Christ.
Jett’s book begins with Urantia views on the background of intelligent life on Earth: “500,000 years ago…Lucifer, the System Sovereign of Satania, gave orders to his first lieutenant, Satan, to assign a Planetary Prince to be dispatched to the primitive peoples of Earth.” From there, the book goes on to explain complex topics such as evolution and the afterlife, with a particular focus on the life of Jesus Christ. Following Jesus’ life from his childhood through his Crucifixion and Resurrection, the story is largely a familiar one, though several distinctions are made, including references to Jesus’ contact with other beings: “Before traveling to the city, Jesus was contacted by the Planetary Overseers to ascend the mountain to attend a celestial conference regarding universe matters as they pertained to his bestowal on earth.” Turning from Jesus’ life to the author’s, the book details Jett’s life of constant change, as she lived mostly in Hawaii in the 1970s and experienced a variety of relationships and life paths while consistently exploring The Urantia Book. Dense and surprising at times for readers unfamiliar with The Urantia Book, the concepts here become more grounded when the author explains her own life. Detailing many of the real-world struggles of the Urantia community—many involving copyrights and the complications arising from a text that is purported to come from celestial beings—this book ultimately succeeds in explaining the human side of what may seem to many to be a strange, obscure belief system. Some of the Urantia community’s struggles and Jett’s world travels are less than invigorating—e.g., the author’s impression of Sydney, Australia: “To me it seemed a blend of the best of New Zealand and the best of the U.S., at the same time truly Australian.” Nevertheless, the book offers an accessible introduction to any reader interested in The Urantia Book.
Dense at times but a worthwhile primer for a lesser-known belief system.