Paper 74 Overview: Adam and Eve

Paper 74 chronicles the arrival and early administration of Adam and Eve on Urantia, detailing their reception, adaptation, and establishment of governance in the Garden of Eden. Arriving precisely 37,848 years ago, these Material Sons of Jerusem were tasked with biologically uplifting the human races and establishing a foundation for advanced civilization. Their introduction to planetary affairs was methodical, spending their initial days learning about the aftermath of the Caligastia rebellion, inspecting their domain, and organizing their administrative structure, which notably included equal representation of women.

The narrative explores the complex challenges they faced, including thwarting an early attempt by Garden inhabitants to worship them as deities, navigating the subtle interference of the deposed but still-present Planetary Prince Caligastia, and attempting to establish governance among diverse and unprepared populations. Despite these obstacles, Adam and Eve established significant social institutions, educational systems, and a model of family life that profoundly influenced human development. The paper also examines the origins of various religious traditions connected to Adam and Eve, including the genesis of Sabbath observance and the subsequent mythologizing of their story into the creation narratives that eventually entered Hebrew and Christian scriptures, revealing how their actual experiences were transformed over millennia into symbolic religious accounts.

Adam and Eve arrived on Urantia, from the year A.D. 1934, 37,848 years ago. Their arrival occurred at midseason when the Garden was in full bloom, as their seraphic transports, accompanied by the Jerusem personnel entrusted with their transportation, settled unannounced near the temple of the Universal Father at high noon. The process of rematerializing their bodies took place within the precincts of this newly created shrine, requiring ten days before they were recreated in dual human form for their presentation as the world's new rulers.

The Material Sons and Daughters regained consciousness simultaneously, embodying their fundamental nature as paired servants. This simultaneous awakening reflects an essential characteristic of their order – they invariably serve together and are never separated in their cosmic function. Their design as partners is intrinsic to their effectiveness, as they are created to work in pairs across all times and places throughout the universe.

Adam and Eve held distinguished positions within the senior corps of Material Sons on Jerusem, jointly designated as number 14,311 and belonging to the third physical series, standing slightly over eight feet in height. Prior to their selection for Urantia, they had served for more than fifteen thousand years as directors of the experimental energy laboratories, specializing in living form modification. Before this assignment, they had been teachers in the citizenship schools for new arrivals on Jerusem, experience that would prove valuable for their Urantia mission despite the unusual conditions they would encounter.

When volunteers were solicited for the Adamic mission to Urantia, the entire senior corps of Material Sons and Daughters offered their services, demonstrating their dedication despite Urantia's troubled history. After rigorous examination, the Melchizedeks, with approval from Lanaforge and the Most Highs of Edentia, selected Adam and Eve for this demanding assignment. Their loyalty to Michael during the Lucifer rebellion recommended them for service on a rebellion-scarred world.

Before departure, they underwent a comprehensive briefing and instruction about Urantia's complex situation and the challenges awaiting them. They took formal oaths of allegiance to the Most Highs and to Michael, and received counsel to regard themselves as subject to the Melchizedek receivers until that governing body relinquished authority. Their departure from Jerusem was attended by their one hundred offspring—fifty sons and fifty daughters—who gathered to bid farewell as their parents entered the personality lapse of consciousness preceding seraphic transport.

When Adam and Eve awoke in the Father's temple on Urantia, they found themselves facing Van and Amadon, the loyal heroes of the Caligastia secession about whom they had been thoroughly briefed. Their transition was facilitated by their prior mastery of the Andonic dialect as spoken by Amadon, the result of linguistic preparation before leaving Jerusem. This foresight enabled immediate communication with the native inhabitants, a critical advantage for their mission of planetary rehabilitation.

The news of their arrival precipitated widespread celebration throughout Eden and beyond. Carrier pigeons were released from assembly points near and far, spreading the announcement: "Let loose the birds; let them carry the word that the promised Son has come." Hundreds of believer settlements had maintained these specially raised birds in anticipation of precisely such an occasion. As word spread, thousands from nearby tribes accepted the teachings of Van and Amadon, while pilgrims continued arriving for months to welcome the new planetary administrators and pay homage to their invisible Father.

The formal reception ceremony took place on the great mound north of the temple, specially prepared for the installation of the world's new rulers. Amadon chaired the twelve-member reception committee, which included representatives from each of the six Sangik races, the acting chief of the midwayers, Annan (a spokesperson for the Nodites), Noah (son of the Garden's architect), and the two resident Life Carriers. The senior Melchizedek delivered the formal charge of planetary custody to Adam and Eve, who took their oath of allegiance to the Most Highs of Norlatiadek and to Michael of Nebadon. Van officially relinquished the titular authority he had held for over 150,000 years by virtue of the Melchizedek receivers' appointment. Following their investiture with kingly robes, evidence that weaving skills from Dalamatia had survived, the archangels proclaimed the second judgment roll call of Urantia and the resurrection of the sleeping survivors of the second dispensation. The age of Adam had officially begun amid scenes of simple grandeur, despite the worldwide confusion resulting from their predecessor's failure.

Upon their formal installation, Adam and Eve became acutely aware of their planetary isolation, deprived of the familiar broadcasts and communication circuits that connected their Jerusem fellows to the broader universe. Unlike other Material Sons assigned to evolutionary worlds with functional Planetary Princes and experienced staffs, they found themselves on a rebellion-marred planet with a compromised Prince who, though limited in his ability to do harm, could still complicate their mission. Their first night on Urantia was characterized by serious discussions under the moonlight as they contemplated the enormity of their task.

Their second day was devoted to learning the detailed history of the Caligastia rebellion from the Melchizedek receivers and advisory council. This extensive briefing revealed the full extent of the mismanagement of world affairs and the complete collapse of the Caligastia scheme for accelerating social evolution. By day's end, they had gained a comprehensive understanding of the folly of attempting planetary advancement outside the divine progression plan. The third day featured an aerial survey of the Garden aboard large passenger birds called fandors, allowing them to appreciate the beauty of their new domain. This inspection concluded with a banquet honoring those who had created the Garden.

On the fourth day, they addressed the Garden assembly from the inaugural mount, outlining their plans for planetary rehabilitation and selecting a council of men and women to assume responsibilities in the new administration—a revolutionary inclusion of women that had not occurred since Dalamatia. The fifth day was dedicated to organizing temporary government until the Melchizedek receivers would depart. The sixth day involved an extensive examination of the planet's diverse animal life, during which Adam displayed extraordinary anatomical knowledge, immediately identifying the nature and function of thousands of creatures and even describing organisms too small for human vision. The surprising depth of his biological expertise further endeared the new rulers to the Garden dwellers.

The night following Adam and Eve's sixth day on Urantia witnessed a significant crisis that would establish important precedents for their administration. While they slept, hundreds of enthusiastic Garden inhabitants gathered near the Father's temple, swayed by impassioned appeals from their leaders. These well-intentioned but misguided mortals, overwhelmed by the extraordinary events of the previous six days, had concluded that Adam and Eve were divine manifestations worthy of worship rather than merely superior administrators.

Van vigorously protested this plan, but his objections were dismissed by the excited crowd, who suggested that he too was close to divinity, citing his longevity as evidence. Recognizing the danger, Van utilized midwayer communication to alert Adam to the impending situation. As dawn approached on the seventh day, just as the people prepared to convey the sleeping pair to the temple for adoration, the midwayers transported Adam and Eve directly to the Father's temple. From the mount of their recent reception, Adam delivered a crucial declaration on divine sovereignty, making it unequivocally clear that only the Father and his designates may be worshiped. While accepting honor and respect, he firmly rejected worship, directing the people instead to reverence the invisible presence of the Universal Father. Following his guidance, the assembled crowd prostrated themselves around the temple in sincere worship of the divine.

This incident established the Sabbath-day tradition in Eden, where the seventh day was consecrated to self-culture. The practice evolved to dedicate mornings to physical improvement, the noon hour to spiritual worship, afternoons to mind cultivation, and evenings to social enjoyment and relaxation. While this pattern was never codified as law in Eden, it remained customary throughout the Adamic administration, establishing a weekly rhythm that influenced subsequent religious practices.

For nearly seven years following Adam's arrival, the Melchizedek receivers maintained their supervisory presence on Urantia before formally transferring planetary administration to Adam. Despite Adam's repeated requests for them to remain as advisors, the receivers adhered to their mandate and departed at midnight, along with Van and Amadon, who were simultaneously translated as the twelve Melchizedeks boarded seraphic transports bound for Jerusem.

Initially, Adam's administration showed promise, particularly in developing manufacturing arts to foster trade relations with surrounding tribes. However, he encountered formidable obstacles in his attempt to establish world governance among populations at vastly different stages of development. Beyond the relatively advanced inhabitants of Eden, few groups were prepared to accept Adamic cultural patterns. His efforts to implement a world government met systematic resistance, particularly from Caligastia, who, though officially deposed, remained present on the planet and actively subverted Adam's initiatives. Adam attempted to warn the races against Caligastia's influence, but this proved difficult given the former Prince's invisibility to mortal eyes.

Even within Eden, Adam contended with confused minds influenced by Caligastia's doctrine of unrestricted personal liberty, which constantly disrupted plans for orderly progression. Eventually, Adam was forced to abandon his program for immediate socialization, reverting to Van's organizational method of dividing the Edenites into companies of one hundred with captains over each and lieutenants supervising groups of ten. Adam and Eve had intended to establish representative government to replace monarchical systems, but finding no worthy existing governmental frameworks, Adam focused on establishing approximately one hundred outlying trade and social centers governed by strong individuals ruling in his name. Many of these centers had been previously organized by Van and Amadon, providing a foundation for extending Edenic influence. One lasting diplomatic innovation from this period was the establishment of an inter-tribal ambassador system, marking a significant advancement in governmental relations.

The Adamic family grounds encompassed more than five square miles, with infrastructure designed to eventually accommodate over three hundred thousand pure-line descendants. However, only the first unit of these planned structures was completed before circumstances forced their departure from Eden. Adamson, the first-born of the violet race on Urantia, was followed by his sister and then by Eveson, Adam's second son. Eve bore five children before the Melchizedeks departed and eventually had sixty-three children in total before the default. When Adam and Eve ultimately left the Garden, their family had expanded to four generations comprising 1,647 pure-line descendants.

The Adamic household demonstrated numerous physiological and cultural distinctions from the evolutionary races. After weaning at one year of age, their children did not consume animal milk but were nourished with specialized preparations from nuts and fruits, reflecting their advanced digestive capabilities. The immediate Adamic household did not cook food, consuming fruits, nuts, and cereals in their natural state. More remarkably, Adam and Eve themselves absorbed "light and energy" directly from certain space emanations in conjunction with the tree of life. Their bodies emanated a visible glow, though they consistently wore clothing in accordance with local customs. This luminescence, particularly visible around their heads when clothed, originated the traditional artistic representation of halos surrounding holy figures in subsequent religious iconography.

Adam and Eve possessed extraordinary communicative abilities, maintaining thought exchange with their immediate children over distances up to fifty miles through specialized gas chambers near their brain structures, a faculty that ceased following their default. The education of Adamic children was meticulously structured, with younger children taught by their older siblings in schools where activities changed every thirty minutes for the youngest and hourly for older students. Their recreation emphasized joyful activity for its own sake, establishing patterns of play and humor that influenced all subsequent human cultures. At eighteen, youths entered a two-year preparation for marriage, becoming eligible at twenty to wed and begin their lifework or specialized training. The marriage ceremonies for the first and second generations were personally performed by Adam and Eve, establishing traditions that would influence human matrimonial customs for millennia.

The children of Adam lived and worked in "the east of Eden," except during their four years of attendance at the western schools. Until age sixteen, they received intellectual education based on Jerusem methodologies, followed by instruction at Urantia schools at the opposite end of the Garden, where they also served as teachers for younger students. The western educational system emphasized socialization, with mornings devoted to practical horticulture and agriculture, afternoons to competitive recreation, and evenings to social interaction and friendship cultivation.

The curriculum encompassed seven key areas: physical health and care, the golden rule as a social standard, balancing individual rights with community obligations, racial history and culture, world trade advancement, coordination of conflicting duties and emotions, and the development of play and humor as substitutes for physical aggression. Access to the Garden was permitted to unarmed observers for short visits, but permanent residence required formal "adoption," involving instruction about the Adamic mission and a declaration of loyalty to Adam's social rule and the Universal Father's spiritual sovereignty.

Garden laws were derived from the earlier codes of Dalamatia and organized under seven comprehensive categories: health and sanitation, social regulations, trade and commerce, fair play and competition, home life, civil codes of the golden rule, and supreme moral commandments. While similar to the seven commandments of Dalamatia, the Adamic moral code introduced additional justifications, including the concept that murder warranted capital punishment because it destroyed the indwelling of the Thought Adjuster. Adam attempted to discourage formulaic prayers in favor of personalized devotion, though many Edenites continued using traditional invocations from Dalamatian times. He also sought to replace blood sacrifices with offerings of fruits and vegetables, though this reform made limited progress before the disruption of the Garden.

Adam introduced revolutionary concepts regarding gender equality, demonstrating through Eve's partnership in administration that women deserved equal standing with men. He explicitly taught that women contribute equally to the life factors that form a new being, challenging the prevailing assumption that procreation resided solely in the "loins of the father" with mothers merely providing nurture. While the races of Urantia eagerly anticipated intermarriage with the superior violet race progeny, Adam's default ultimately limited this genetic contribution. Nevertheless, the limited infusion of Adamic bloodlines significantly advanced human development, demonstrating the profound potential of his original mission had it been fully realized.

The narrative of Urantia's creation in six days originated from the tradition that Adam and Eve spent precisely six days conducting their initial survey of the Garden. This circumstance incidentally sanctified the seven-day week, previously introduced by the Dalamatians. Adam's selection of the seventh day for worship was entirely unplanned, emerging naturally from the events of those early days rather than from divine prescription.

The creation legend as commonly understood developed more than thirty thousand years after these events, incorporating various elements that became progressively distorted through generations of oral transmission. The account of the sudden appearance of the sun and moon likely derived from traditions about Urantia's emergence from a dense space cloud of minute matter that had previously obscured these celestial bodies. The narrative of Eve's creation from Adam's rib represents a confused condensation of the Adamic arrival combined with much earlier events involving celestial surgery and substance exchange connected with the Planetary Prince's staff over 450,000 years previously.

The majority of world peoples came to believe that Adam and Eve were created with physical forms upon their arrival, with the widespread belief in humanity's clay origins supplanting earlier evolutionary understandings throughout the Eastern Hemisphere. Away from the influence of Dalamatia and Eden, humanity generally understood human development as a gradual evolutionary process, with various tribes claiming descent from different animals as represented in totemic practices. The Babylonians, influenced by proximity to Adamic civilization, promoted an aristocratic origin for humanity incompatible with creation from clay.

The Old Testament account of creation emerged long after Moses, who never taught such a narrative to the Hebrews. Moses presented a simple, condensed creation account designed to enhance worship of the Universal Father, tracing Abraham's lineage to Adam as the presumed first human. Jewish tradition crystallized around Moses, and almost a thousand years after his death, the creation narrative was written and attributed to him. When Jewish priests returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity, they completed their account of creation, which gained prominence when translated into Greek for Ptolemy's Alexandrian library. This document eventually became incorporated into the sacred scriptures of Hebrew and Christian religions, profoundly influencing Western philosophy with its concepts of a golden age followed by humanity's fall—a perspective that produced a discouraging outlook predicated on retrogression rather than the progressive development that actually characterizes universe reality.