Paper 37 Overview: Personalities of the Local Universe

At the head of all personality in the local universe of Nebadon stands Michael, the Creator and Master Son, alongside the Divine Minister of Salvington. Together they function as the Father-Son and Spirit-Mother of all native creatures in their realm. This paper primarily examines an intermediate group called the Universe Aids, while also discussing higher spirits stationed in Nebadon and orders of permanent citizenship. These diverse beings help administer and perfect the local universe, which serves as a vital training ground for ascending mortals.

The local universe hosts an extraordinary diversity of beings, from the administrative Universe Aids to the permanent citizens who provide stability to the evolving cosmos. Special groups like the High Commissioners (Spirit-fused mortals) and numerous educational personnel help maintain the complex universal organization. Through these varied personalities, the universe operates as an enormous training school where mortals advance from physical life to spiritual achievement. The paper provides insight into how this vast organization functions through collaborative efforts of created, evolved, and volunteer beings, all working together to advance the divine plan.

At the highest level of all personality in Nebadon stands the Creator and Master Son, Michael, who functions as the universe father and sovereign ruler. Working alongside him in divine coordination and complementing his creative attributes is the local universe Mother Spirit, the Divine Minister of Salvington. Together, these creators literally serve as the Father-Son and Spirit-Mother to all native creatures within the local universe of Nebadon.

Previous papers have addressed the created orders of sonship, while subsequent narratives will describe the ministering spirits and ascending orders of sonship. This current paper primarily focuses on an intervening group designated as the Universe Aids, but will also briefly examine certain higher spirits stationed in Nebadon and various orders of permanent citizenship within the local universe.

Many unique orders generally classified in this category remain unrevealed, but as presented in these papers, the Universe Aids include seven specific orders: Bright and Morning Stars, Brilliant Evening Stars, Archangels, Most High Assistants, High Commissioners, Celestial Overseers, and Mansion World Teachers. Of the first order, the Bright and Morning Stars, there exists only one in each local universe, and this being is the first-born of all creatures native to that local universe.

The Bright and Morning Star of our universe is known as Gabriel of Salvington, who serves as the chief executive of all Nebadon. He functions as the personal representative of the Sovereign Son and acts as spokesman for his creative consort. During the earlier periods of Nebadon's development, Gabriel worked almost alone with Michael and the Creative Spirit. As the universe expanded and administrative challenges multiplied, he received a personal staff of unrevealed assistants, which eventually grew with the creation of the Nebadon corps of Evening Stars.

These magnificent beings were planned by the Melchizedeks and then brought into existence by the Creator Son and Creative Spirit. They fulfill many functions but primarily serve as liaison officers for Gabriel, the local universe chief executive. One or more of these beings operate as his representatives at the capital of every constellation and system throughout Nebadon.

As the chief executive of Nebadon, Gabriel serves ex officio as chairman or observer at most Salvington conclaves, with as many as one thousand often occurring simultaneously. The Brilliant Evening Stars represent Gabriel on these occasions since he cannot be present in multiple locations simultaneously. These superangels compensate for this limitation and perform similar services for the corps of Trinity Teacher Sons. The Nebadon corps of these superangels currently numbers 13,641, comprising both created beings (4,832) and ascendant spirits (8,809) who have attained this level of service. The head of these superangels is Gavalia, who has been assigned to ascendant mortal ministry since Christ Michael's return from his bestowal on Urantia.

Archangels are the offspring of the Creator Son and the Universe Mother Spirit, representing the highest type of high spirit beings produced in large numbers within a local universe. At the time of the last registry, there were nearly eight hundred thousand archangels in Nebadon. These beings are among the few groups of local universe personalities not normally under Gabriel's jurisdiction, as they are not involved with routine universe administration.

Instead, archangels dedicate themselves to creature survival work and furthering the ascending career of the mortals of time and space. While not ordinarily subject to the Bright and Morning Star's direction, they sometimes function under his authority and collaborate with other Universe Aids, such as the Evening Stars. The archangel corps of Nebadon operates under the direction of the first-born of their order, and in recent times, a divisional headquarters of the archangels has been maintained on Urantia. This fact draws immediate attention from extra-Nebadon visitors and eventually leads to their discovery of Michael's bestowal on our world, lending tremendous significance to his promise, "I will come again."

The Most High Assistants comprise a group of volunteering beings originating from outside the local universe who are temporarily assigned as central and superuniverse representatives to or observers of local creations. Their numbers fluctuate constantly but always remain in the millions. From time to time, Nebadon benefits from the ministry and assistance of Paradise-origin beings like Perfectors of Wisdom, Divine Counselors, Universal Censors, and various other gracious ministers who assist native personalities in bringing Nebadon into greater harmony with Orvonton's ideas and Paradise's ideals.

These beings may be voluntarily serving in Nebadon and therefore technically outside local jurisdiction, but when functioning by assignment, these personalities from super- and central universes are not entirely exempt from the regulations of the local universe during their sojourn. Their general headquarters is situated in the Salvington sector of the Union of Days, and they operate in Nebadon subject to the oversupervision of this ambassador of the Paradise Trinity. Most High Assistants serve in various capacities throughout the local universe and can be assigned to any phase of Nebadon activity – administrative, executive, educational, and others.

High Commissioners are Spirit-fused ascendant mortals rather than Adjuster-fused beings. While Urantia mortals are familiar with the universe-ascension career path leading to Adjuster fusion—the destiny available to all human beings since Christ Michael's bestowal—this was not always the case. On certain worlds during pre-bestowal ages, some mortals were never permanently indwelt by Thought Adjusters, though these mysterious monitors did temporarily dwell within them, serving as guides and patterns during physical life.

These Spirit-fused mortals achieve immortality through eternal fusion with an individualized fragment of the local universe Mother Spirit's spirit. They represent a relatively small group, at least in Nebadon. On the mansion worlds, ascending mortals will meet and fraternize with these Spirit-fused beings as they progress together on the Paradise path as far as Salvington, where the Spirit-fused mortals stop. Some may subsequently ascend to higher universe levels, but the majority remain in service to the local universe.

Not being Adjuster fused, these beings never become finaliters, but they eventually become enrolled in the local universe Corps of Perfection. After attaining this status, Spirit-fused ascenders may accept assignment as Universe Aids, becoming candidates for commissions to high service interpreting the viewpoints of evolving material world creatures to celestial authorities. High Commissioners begin their service on planets as race commissioners, interpreting viewpoints and portraying needs of various human races, always seeking mercy, justice, and fair treatment in all relationships with other peoples. After long experience in problem-solving on inhabited worlds, these commissioners advance to higher functions, eventually attaining the status of High Commissioners in and of the local universe.

The Nebadon educational system is jointly administered by the Trinity Teacher Sons and the Melchizedek teaching corps, but much of the maintenance and development work is carried out by the Celestial Overseers. These beings comprise a recruited corps that includes all types of individuals connected with the education and training of ascending mortals. There are more than three million of them in Nebadon, all volunteers who have qualified through experience to serve as educational advisers throughout the realm.

From their headquarters on the Salvington worlds of the Melchizedeks, these overseers travel throughout the local universe as inspectors of the Nebadon educational techniques designed for mind training and spirit education of ascending creatures. This training spans from the worlds of human origin through the system mansion worlds and other spheres of progress, on through the constellation worlds and up to Salvington itself. The methods employed in many higher schools go beyond human comprehension, but the keynote of the entire educational system is character acquisition through enlightened experience.

The Mansion World Teachers are recruited and glorified cherubim. Like most other instructors in Nebadon, they are commissioned by the Melchizedeks and function in most of the educational enterprises of the morontia life. Their numbers far exceed human comprehension. As an attainment level for cherubim and sanobim, the Mansion World Teachers will receive further consideration in the next paper, while their role as teachers playing an important part in morontia life will be more extensively discussed in the paper dedicated to that subject.

Besides the power centers and physical controllers, certain higher-origin spirit beings of the Infinite Spirit family are permanently assigned to the local universe. Of these higher spirit orders, various types serve in Nebadon, including Solitary Messengers, Universe Circuit Supervisors, Census Directors, Associate Inspectors, Universal Conciliators, Technical Advisers, and Celestial Recorders.

Solitary Messengers provide invaluable service in overcoming the handicaps of time and space. Andovontia, a tertiary Universe Circuit Supervisor, is stationed in Nebadon and concerned only with spirit and morontia circuits. Salsatia, the Nebadon Census Director, automatically registers the birth and death of will creatures, keeping exact records of the number of will creatures functioning in the local universe. Other beings include Associate Inspectors representing the Supreme Executive of Orvonton, Universal Conciliators serving as traveling courts, and Technical Advisers functioning as experiential law libraries of all space.

As with the super- and central universes, the local universe has its orders of permanent citizenship. These include created types such as: Susatia, Univitatia, Material Sons, and Midway Creatures. Together with Spirit-fused ascenders and spironga (classified elsewhere), these beings constitute a relatively permanent citizenship, being generally neither ascending nor descending entities, but providing stability to the evolving cosmos.

The Susatia are marvelous beings who reside and function as permanent citizens on Salvington, the local universe headquarters. The Univitatia constitute the permanent population inhabiting the constellation headquarters worlds. The Material Sons of God (including Adam and Eve) are a reproducing order of sonship created by the Creator Son himself. Midway Creatures appear on most inhabited worlds and serve as long-term planetary citizens, providing continuity of administration amid the ever-changing celestial ministries and transient mortal populations.

Besides the seraphic and mortal orders to be discussed in later papers, numerous additional beings are involved in maintaining and perfecting the vast organization of Nebadon, which currently has more than three million inhabited worlds with ten million more in prospect. Two unusual orders deserve mention: the Spironga (spirit offspring of the Bright and Morning Star and the Father Melchizedek) and the Spornagia (physical creatures devoted to maintaining the material aspects of the headquarters worlds).

The various courtesy colonies are domiciled on Salvington and elsewhere, and a corps of ascending mortals, after attaining Salvington, is used in an almost endless variety of activities in the conduct of universe affairs. From each level of achievement, these advancing mortals reach back to help their fellows who follow them in the upward climb. There are still other types of intelligent life concerned with the administration of a local universe, but the plan of this narrative does not provide for the further revelation of these orders of creation.