Podcasts about although mark

In this episode of Mark My Words, Mark is interviewed by Kurt and Diane on the Back to Business Podcast!   Mark discusses his upbringing, wealth, investments and his own ethos as well as many hints, tips and ideas to be a successful entrepreneur.     KEY TAKEAWAYS   Mark's Dad was always very careful with money and this instilled the belief in Mark that you saved money to make money. This also meant he was taught ‘delayed gratification' which helps him with his future and has helped him build his wealth. Although Mark's Dad was very frugal, the older he got the more he was exposed to how the other half lived, especially when he went to boarding school. This made him want this kind of lifestyle for himself. There are many common mistakes people repeatedly make when getting into property. One of them being ‘shiny penny syndrome' this meaning that they do too many strategies not very well. It is wise to start small so that you can get experience and understand where all the risks and control points are.  We are taxed on everything in the UK  but there is no capital gains tax on owning your own property. Capital growth has got to be around 5% a year, with that being said by getting a fixed 2-3% rate on a mortgage for your home, you will essentially live in your house for free or even make money on it.  These are the times where the rubber meets the road. Residential is generally less risky and in the last recession, commercial was hit harder, however, next time it may be another industry affected. The next recession will not be like this one and different businesses get affected in different ways. You don't know what will cause the next recession so now may be the time to diversify into other tenant types.  Many people will have goals they wish to achieve but rather than cracking on with it, will procrastinate. It is important to have the ‘start now get perfect later' mentality. As you progress you will instinctively see more risks and problems. Start small and therefore the risks are going to be smaller.          BEST MOMENTS   "Champagne lifestyle for lemonade money" “My home doesn't cost me anything.” “Am I going to be out of stock with property? No.” “Everything just suddenly came together.” “These are the times where the rubber meets the road.”     VALUABLE RESOURCES https://www.youtube.com/user/progressivepropertyhttps://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/the-progressive-co-founders/   ABOUT THE GUESTS ABOUT THE HOSTS Kurt Wilson - Entrepreneur, Internet Veteran and Property Investor with multiple 7 figure businesses and property investments in UK, GI, LT, BY and GR. CEO and founder of advansys (www.advansys.com) a global ecommerce, web development and online marketing agency headquartered in the UK. Di Forster - Entrepreneur, Property Investor and Mum with exceptional grit. Expert in all areas of Online Sales and Marketing (SEO, PPC and Conversion). Quit corporate life and now enjoys working with and helping others grow and scale their businesses. CONTACT INFO INSTAGRAM.COM/KURTWILSON.UK INSTAGRAM.COM/DIFORSTER.UK WWW.ADVANSYS.COM KURT@ADVANSYS.CO.UK DIANE@ADVANSYS.CO.UK   ABOUT THE HOST Mark has bought, sold or has managed around 1,000 property units for himself, Rob, his family and his investors since 2003. He is a system and spreadsheet geek and has developed a complex, confidential deal analyser system of buying residential, commercial and multi-let properties. CONTACT METHOD   Email: Markhomer@progressiveproperty.co.uk LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhomer1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markprogressive Twitter: https://twitter.com/markprogressive See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Mark My Words, Mark is interviewed by Kurt and Diane on the Back to Business Podcast!   Mark discusses his upbringing, wealth, investments and his own ethos as well as many hints, tips and ideas to be a successful entrepreneur.     KEY TAKEAWAYS   Mark's Dad was always very careful with money and this instilled the belief in Mark that you saved money to make money. This also meant he was taught ‘delayed gratification' which helps him with his future and has helped him build his wealth. Although Mark's Dad was very frugal, the older he got the more he was exposed to how the other half lived, especially when he went to boarding school. This made him want this kind of lifestyle for himself. There are many common mistakes people repeatedly make when getting into property. One of them being ‘shiny penny syndrome' this meaning that they do too many strategies not very well. It is wise to start small so that you can get experience and understand where all the risks and control points are.  We are taxed on everything in the UK  but there is no capital gains tax on owning your own property. Capital growth has got to be around 5% a year, with that being said by getting a fixed 2-3% rate on a mortgage for your home, you will essentially live in your house for free or even make money on it.  These are the times where the rubber meets the road. Residential is generally less risky and in the last recession, commercial was hit harder, however, next time it may be another industry affected. The next recession will not be like this one and different businesses get affected in different ways. You don't know what will cause the next recession so now may be the time to diversify into other tenant types.  Many people will have goals they wish to achieve but rather than cracking on with it, will procrastinate. It is important to have the ‘start now get perfect later' mentality. As you progress you will instinctively see more risks and problems. Start small and therefore the risks are going to be smaller.          BEST MOMENTS   "Champagne lifestyle for lemonade money" “My home doesn't cost me anything.” “Am I going to be out of stock with property? No.” “Everything just suddenly came together.” “These are the times where the rubber meets the road.”     VALUABLE RESOURCES https://www.youtube.com/user/progressivepropertyhttps://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/the-progressive-co-founders/   ABOUT THE GUESTS ABOUT THE HOSTS Kurt Wilson - Entrepreneur, Internet Veteran and Property Investor with multiple 7 figure businesses and property investments in UK, GI, LT, BY and GR. CEO and founder of advansys (www.advansys.com) a global ecommerce, web development and online marketing agency headquartered in the UK. Di Forster - Entrepreneur, Property Investor and Mum with exceptional grit. Expert in all areas of Online Sales and Marketing (SEO, PPC and Conversion). Quit corporate life and now enjoys working with and helping others grow and scale their businesses. CONTACT INFO INSTAGRAM.COM/KURTWILSON.UK INSTAGRAM.COM/DIFORSTER.UK WWW.ADVANSYS.COM KURT@ADVANSYS.CO.UK DIANE@ADVANSYS.CO.UK   ABOUT THE HOST Mark has bought, sold or has managed around 1,000 property units for himself, Rob, his family and his investors since 2003. He is a system and spreadsheet geek and has developed a complex, confidential deal analyser system of buying residential, commercial and multi-let properties. CONTACT METHOD   Email: Markhomer@progressiveproperty.co.uk LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhomer1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markprogressive Twitter: https://twitter.com/markprogressive See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark Rober puts a lot of time and attention into making great videos. This effort is no longer just a hobby as Mark Rober is now a full-time YouTuber. After working as an engineer at Nasa and Apple, Mark Rober is convinced that making videos is the most challenging career he has ever had. So why is he working so hard, and how is he making money? In this interview, Mark Rober discusses how he makes money by making great videos on YouTube. Mark Talks through the sponsorships he has had over the past four years and the ad revenue he can generate from Youtube and Facebook views. Although Mark is excellent at what he does, he still doesn't see running his youtube channel as a full-time job. He has purposely not built a big team and still insists on doing much of the creative work. Mark is not obsessed with scaling every element of his channel. He is publishing one video every month or two and plans to keep it that way. Mark sees adding a team, a book deal, and more revenue-generating activities would lead to burnout. He also spends time publishing to platforms like Instagram and TikTok even though they are not revenue-generating platforms for Mark's content. (at the time of recording, Mark was not making revenue on TikTok). This video was filmed before Mark released his recent online engineering course, which has also helped him generate revenue without increasing his one video per month. Want to make better videos by changing your approach to audience engagement? Here is a massive discount for the Masters of Engagement online workshop. https://www.mastersofengagement.com/offers/dLPTNWJu Learn Video production strategy and find other podcasts here. https://www.mastersofengagement.com/welcome --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/videoproduction/message

Rev. Sean Kilgo, pastor at the Northeast Kansas Lutheran Partnership, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Mark 1:1. Although Mark’s Gospel account is shorter than the other three, the Word that the Holy Spirit inspired him to write must not be overlooked. Mark is mentioned often in the book of Acts and epistles of the New Testament as a companion and coworker of Paul and a son of Peter. It is likely this connection to Peter and the apostle’s preaching that led Mark to write the Gospel that bears his name. He probably wrote it in Romer after Matthew and Luke had written their Gospel accounts. Mark structures his Gospel account around three key confessions of Jesus as the Son of God: by himself in the very first verse, by the Father’s voice at the Transfiguration, and by the centurion upon Jesus’ death. Mark wants us to see Jesus as the Son of God as the One who was crucified for us. Mark often uses the word “immediately” to move us toward those scenes which highlight that truth, particularly in the deeds and miracles of Jesus. The first verse of this Gospel account serves to introduce all these themes, as the Evangelist plainly lays out that he is writing concerning the good news about Jesus, the God who has come to save as the One anointed for crucifixion in the place of sinners. “The Gospel in Action” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the Gospel according to St. Mark. The Evangelist hits the ground running with the very first verse of his Gospel account, and he never lets up the pace. As one deed of Jesus comes right after another, always paired with His authoritative Word, St. Mark proclaims the good news that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, revealed conclusively by His death on the cross.

Although Mark’s background is in investment banking and private equity, his career ultimately took a different trajectory into the health food space due to personal experiences he was facing while working long hours and trying to eat healthy. While working as an investment banker, Mark had trouble finding quick and healthy food options. He found it difficult to find the time to cook, and found that so-called “healthy” alternatives in the frozen food aisle were packed with preservatives. It was then that Veestro was born – healthy and delicious meals, ready to heat and eat.  Mark has always been a firm believer in the fact that eating healthy and exercising regularly can have a huge impact on the way he looks and feels.  Mark earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Bachelor of Science in Corporate Communication from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from Babson College. Free Book Dominating Your Mind Connect with Bert Martinez on YouTube. Connect with Bert Martinez on Twitter. Connect with Bert Martinez on Instagram. Click here for more episodes.   

Mark Williamson says that he came from a privileged background – not in the sense that he came from wealth, but in the sense that he came from a loving family and enjoyed a happy, carefree childhood. Initially, Mark saw himself pursuing a scientific path. He studied engineering and became interested in understanding how to fix things and how the world works. This interest led him to finish a degree in electronics and pursue a Ph.D. He also worked on developing WiFi technology. However, Mark realized that he fundamentally enjoyed making connections with other humans, and he just wasn’t getting the human contact that he wanted from science or academia. So he decided to pursue another path. He went into management consulting but found that this career didn’t make him happy either. He liked the people he worked with but didn’t enjoy the job itself.  “What I realized on that journey is that it’s not just the planet that’s broken, our culture is broken.” It was during this period of his life that Mark began to develop debilitating back pain. He would wake up in the morning unable to get out of bed. He stopped running and participating in sports activities. He was told that he had a degenerative spine disease and that he might be in a wheelchair by the time he reached his forties. During this time, his wife, who was training to be an osteopath, gave him a book introducing him to the idea that emotional stress might contribute to physical pain. This led Mark to quit the job and pursue a new path.  Although Mark was on the path that would lead to him becoming the co-founder and director of Action for Happiness, that didn’t happen right away. Mark went back to school and got an MBA, but he wanted to use his skills and knowledge to do something with a social purpose. So, he spent five years working on the problem of climate change with Carbon Trust first.  It was this work that made him realize that the problem wasn’t just the environment that was in trouble, it was the culture. So Mark set out to find a way to improve the culture, which was what led him to found Action for Happiness. In today’s interview, Mark talks about thinking of success in terms of happiness, not income, discovering the things that really matter in life, and helping others do the same. He also discusses his status as a recovering people pleaser and his decision to take a break from alcohol. Listen in to hear more about Mark and his work, as well as how you can get involved with Action for Happiness.  OYNB LINKS    OYNB Website: https://www.oneyearnobeer.com/  OYNB Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Oneyearnobeer/  OYNB Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/199505820380513/  OYNB Twitter: https://twitter.com/oynbuk/  OYNB Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oneyearnobeer/  Email: info@oneyearnobeer.com     MARK WILLIAMSON’S LINKS: Mark Williamson - Director of Action for Happiness Action for Happiness: https://www.actionforhappiness.org/

Guest and Episode Links Mark Harman https://www.linkedin.com/in/markredbook/ http://www.redbookproductions.co.uk office@redbookproductions.co.uk Books:Just Listen - Mark Goulston: https://amzn.to/2XSs8c7 Video Version of the Episode:https://youtu.be/Z0bhGdJzBC0 Enjoy the Episode - Happy Marketing! www.marketingstudylab.co.uk https://www.linkedin.com/in/petersumpton/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/marketingstudylab/ https://twitter.com/cousinp81 (@cousinp81) Intro Video is undeniably an important part of the Marketing function, with so much content being video based. In fact around 4.5 million videos are now viewed on YouTube alone – in just 60 seconds. So who better to talk us through all things video related than Mark Harman, the Video Producer for Red Books Production. Not only does Mark work from pre to post production, but, it's about working out how a videos can work for an individual and help to engage with their specific audience, on a regular basis using episodic content rather than one off pieces. And Mark has been doing this stuff since 2007 (I’m keen to understand what he used to film way back when)! Video Version of the Episode: https://youtu.be/Z0bhGdJzBC0 Takeaways - One of the main benefits for creating video content is the awareness that it brings you as an individual and subsequently your business. It makes you more approachable as people already know who you are, what you do and, if you do it right, what problems you can  help them solve. - Although Mark stated that it is a big commitment to create regular video content (his popular Video Show is now over 260 episodes) the rewards are worth it, including the exposure we just mentioned, the engagement video content can bring is impressive – especially on LinkedIn, which is kind of how we ended up chatting and recording this podcast. - And the good news, as long as you have a phone with a camera in it, you can just start! Start small and then look to improve when you start to build you confidence and engagement…. But starting is the most important step, so lets all start making videos and build our personal brands into something worth watching! Music Featured on this Podcast: Sleepy in the Garden Lobo Loco www.musikbrause.de Creative Commons License

Mark’s Gospel is the earliest record of words & actions of Jesus Christ. Although Mark’s fluency in Greek was less than others’, that didn’t stop him writing down a coherent account of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. It initiated a new type of literature—a written “Gospel.” Other Gospel-writers—Matthew & Luke—built on Mark’s pioneering work. 

After the briefest of hiatus’, the Supercutt crew sit down to answer your questions, deviate off-topic as per usual and celebrate the 2019 Money In The Bank winner. Although Mark teases Game Of Thrones spoilers, rest assured the episode is spoiler free. He certainly doesn’t...

Kymberlee Weil, Strategic Samurai, and Mark Sylvester join the show to discuss the world of High-Stakes, Short-Form talks. They discuss what really makes an idea worth spreading, the power of a story, and what they have learned running High-Stakes, Short-Form speaking events in Santa Barbara. They give advice to people who may want to give a High-Stakes, Short-Form talk, share the qualities of the best speakers, and explain the importance of a unique perspective. Key Takeaways [4:55] Mark and Kymberlee met while creating a software application for speakers and attendees to use. That turned into a business, which then turned into a partnership in all forms. [5:03] “High stakes and short form talk” might be a metaphor for tackling a challenge worth diving into headfirst . [6:37] Although Mark has produced many high stakes and short form talks, he was blown away by the amount of work it really takes to put one together. For his own talk it took: 19 drafts, 3 drafts, and 2 consultants. Even knowing the innerworkings, there was so much prep. [7:50] Mark and Kymberlee tell the guests on his show to talk in tweets. [11:57] Great leaders know they can always improve, and they are never done learning. The people that choose to find the time are the ones we never forget. [14:11] Idea first. People second is one of the main mantras when they are putting together new material. Be sure you have a unique angle and perspective. You must be willing to fight for your idea no matter what. [19:04] High stakes and short form talks talks are less about a one-way sharing, and more about connecting with the audience to show authenticity and vulnerability. [25:33] Facts and figures light up two regions of your brain, while storytelling lights up seven! This even goes back to the caveman days when we had to be both storytellers and story observers. [29:02] Tips for making a high stakes and short form talk and to be a great storyteller: Open with story, land the core idea, show why it’s important, and justify why it matters now. Make it topical and timely. There are usually three lessons within a talk. Give a call to action such as a challenge or invitation. [42:40] The original high stakes and short form talk commandments       1. Be sure it’s a story you have never told before.       2. Be vulnerable.       3. Don’t try to sell us anything. [51:50] Mark and Kymberlee challenge: don’t wait to tell your story, and everyone has a story inside of them that they need to honor. How to Contact Mark & Kymberlee Mark: Website | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn Kymberlee: Website | LinkedIn | Instagram Quotes “As a leader, we are always doing high stakes communication.” “Leaders need to have an arsenal of stories.” “Start with one story and develop it.” “If you don’t have a conflict or struggle, you don’t have a story.” Additional Links: Sir Ken Robinson Hacking the Red Circle    

NOT A MEMBER OF THE "HYPER CONSCIOUS NATION" YET? @neverquitkid and I were lucky enough to sit down with @markmetry!Although Mark is only 21, he's already founded a Virtual Reality company, interviewed some of the most successful people in the world, been called a prodigy by FORBES and evolved into the 2.0 version of himself.We chatted all about anxiety and fear, how to evolve into the next level of yourself, how Mark overcame being the "shy" kid when he was younger and the changes technology is making in the world.ENJOY!!!https://www.markmetry.com/aboutI was born in Boston, Massachusetts on July 22nd, 1997 as a first-generation immigrant from Egypt. My parents came to the United States in 1996 with a couple hundred bucks in their pocket.At the age of 7, I would go to newspapers and cut out baseball players in the sports section and glue them together with several pieces of paper to emulate real trading cards. In turn, I used the money to buy real baseball & Pokemon cards and cookies to give to his friends.Despite my craftiness and entrepreneurial tendencies, I was labeled as a shy kid and decided to choose fear and not my real potential throughout most of my life. I built up a fair bit of social anxiety, which placed boundaries and prevented me from living the life I actually wanted to live.I got my first job sweeping floors, cleaning tables, and taking orders from customers at my Dad's pizza store. I hustled my way through summers and saved enough money to buy a Laptop and iPhone. From then on I started learning online. I learned how to code, develop and build websites and mobile applications in 2009.I started my own YouTube channel around video games at the age of 13 in 2010. I had a total of 35,000 subscribers and featured games like Call of Duty & Minecraft. Little did I know my content creation marketing skills were being built at a very young age. I founded a Minecraft server at age 15 and it went on to be one of the biggest servers on the planet. I stayed as the creative operations director of PPMC, started in 2013 until 2018, the #1 Pixelmon Minecraft server in the world. As creative director, I grew the company’s website to reach over 10 million users and 10,000 registered premium members. I managed a remote staff team of over 40 talented individuals and directed company growth programs.Founded and operating VU Dream currently (started in Dec. 2016), a growing and innovative virtual and augmented reality marketing & advertising agency based in Boston. VU Dream has worked with dozens of startups, studios, arcades, and other VR/AR businesses to help customers imagine new future realities. VU Dream is responsible for advertising and marketing for many virtual reality & mixed reality companies in the industry in many major cities around the world as well as posting daily content to millions of people online.For fun, I host a Top 100 podcast called Humans 2.0. My show features an innovative and talented guest in every episode available on YouTube, iTunes, Spotify, Google, Stitcher Radio, and iHeart Radio. On the show, Mark converses with Billionaires, New York Times Bestselling authors and world-class human beings like Seth Godin, Ed Mylett, and many others to educate for change in their own lives and upgrade to the Human version 2.0 that is inside all of us.

Mark Halstensgard was given 10 days to live after being diagnosed with a severe case of Stevens-Johnson syndrome. In this episode of The Rclaimed Podcast, Ellie Herringshaw interviews Mark about his experience receiving miraculous healing after his diagnoses. Although Mark's physical healing was almost instantaneous, the emotional healing is still ongoing. Mark shares his theology of pain, sickness as well as healing.

Mark Halstensgard was given 10 days to live after being diagnosed with a severe case of Stevens-Johnson syndrome. In this episode of The Rclaimed Podcast, Ellie Herringshaw interviews Mark about his experience receiving miraculous healing after his diagnoses. Although Mark's physical healing was almost instantaneous, the emotional healing is still ongoing. Mark shares his theology of pain, sickness as well as healing.

Fellow Realtor Sarah Johnston joins me today to talk about how politics are affecting our Calgary market.   Today I have the pleasure of sitting down with fellow MaxWell Realtor Sarah Johnston to talk a little bit about how politics and policy are affecting the Calgary real estate market. Sarah recently attended the NAR Annual in Boston, Massachusetts and got the chance to talk with many agents across Canada and the U.S. According to her, although markets in the states vary, they’re doing just fine as a whole. Unemployment levels are low, and they’re keeping up with the cost of inflation. While some markets might be doing better than others, she didn’t notice any areas that were outright struggling. I always like to say that if they sneeze in the states, we in Canada catch a cold, so this news bodes well for our near future. What Sarah is more concerned about right now, though, is what’s happening here in Canada. In her opinion, politics are getting in the way of what’s going on in our market. “I was in Ottawa a month ago with the Political Action Standing Committee for the Calgary Real Estate Board,” she says, “and they didn’t seem to think that housing was a big deal right now—not anything that they wanted to concentrate on.” In fact, it was her impression that they wanted to increase some of the legislative changes coming up, which means it might get more difficult for homebuyers in our market. In addition to a growing concern about Canadians’ household debt loads, we expect to see interest rates continue to increase in 2019. Regulation is essentially collapsing housing industries everywhere outside of the major cities, and our sales haven’t been this low since the late 90s. This trend affects other industries outside of real estate. The housing industry produces between $30 and $40 billion per year, and a lot of other industries make a living off of houses being built and trading hands. The inability to slow that down can have crippling and far-reaching effects. “Regulation is essentially collapsing housing industries everywhere outside of the major cities.” On a lighter note, while at the NAR Annual, Sarah also got a chance to listen to Mark Wahlberg speak. Although Mark is known as an actor, he’s diversified his portfolio and he’s heavily involved in commercial real estate. “It was inspiring, actually, to listen to him. We’ve heard about his past indiscretions. He was a bad apple. He did some terrible, terrible things, but people really like a coming-of-age, good news story, and he’s turned his life around.” There are plenty of lessons to be learned from Mark’s story and how he’s been able to build a franchise around his name by working hard. That’s advice we can use no matter what industry we’re in. I want to thank Sarah for joining me today. If you have any more questions for her, you can reach her at (403) 272-0033 or email her at sarah@sarahjohnston.ca. As always, if you have any more questions for me, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.

Mark Sosin. Icon. Legend. IGFA Hall of Famer.  What more is there to say?  Thankfully, there's A LOT more to say! Kevin and Scott had a wonderful opportunity to catch up with Mark and really dig deep into what made him into the all-time great he is.  Their conversation covered so many topics, from his time in the early '60s with "The Salty Fly Rodders" and writing the saltwater fly fishing rules in 1965 which are still employed by the IGFA today, to his 27-year run as host of the longest-running fishing television show in history, "Saltwater Journal".  They also talked about one of those episodes which featured our very own Capt. Kevin Faver...and one of the toughest fights Sosin ever encountered while producing his show (by the way - you don't want to miss Kevin's side of the story, either...it was an incredible experience that almost didn't happen at all!). Although Mark had plenty to say about a host of things, he was most eager to talk about the International Game Fish Association, including the tremendous honor of being inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2004.  He also spoke at length about his pride in seeing the organization expand its scope to embrace conservation, research initiatives, education, and the growing inclusion of freshwater fish and anglers. To round out the show, Kevin, Scott, and Chris also talked about some great things happening with the IGFA - the conclusion of their latest online auction and the continuing year-long IGFA Fishing Contest.  They also shared a little preview of their next guest, Fly Rod Chronicles host Curtis Fleming. Mark Sosin's IGFA Hall of Fame page - https://www.igfa.org/Museum/HOF-Sosin.aspx IGFA Fishing Contest - https://www.igfa.org/contests/fishing/Default.aspx  

You may not think much when you think "Twins leftfielders," but the group of players who have spent at least some time at the position is quite impressive indeed. Although Mark and Andy can't agree on who the 5 best players were (Harmon Killebrew or Larry Hisle???), we can all agree that the players who have played there are a fascinating collection of Hall of Famers, baseball pioneers, and forgotten names. We can guarantee that by the end of the episode, you'll know more about the position for this franchise than you ever could have wanted. Finish it by playing along in Roll The Stat, the preferred advanced baseball stat guessing game for 9 out of 10 sabermetricians.

You may not think much when you think "Twins leftfielders," but the group of players who have spent at least some time at the position is quite impressive indeed. Although Mark and Andy can't agree on who the 5 best players were (Harmon Killebrew or Larry Hisle???), we can all agree that the players who have played there are a fascinating collection of Hall of Famers, baseball pioneers, and forgotten names. We can guarantee that by the end of the episode, you'll know more about the position for this franchise than you ever could have wanted. Finish it by playing along in Roll The Stat, the preferred advanced baseball stat guessing game for 9 out of 10 sabermetricians.

Welcome back to episode 76 in partnership with the Grandstand Sports Network. On this week's show, Mark and Rob are without co-host Court but we pushed on with a few topics as we recorded a day later than usual. We talked about the games last week and the four upcoming this week. Although Mark mentioned the weekly prospect report he had to pass on that and will get back to it on the next show. Please follow our new partners over at Grandstand Sports Network Twitter: @Grandstand_SN grandstandsportsnetwork.com If you'd like to support the show and are an Amazon or Fanatics, shopper, we ask that you, please use our blackngoldhockeyblog.com advertising partner banner located to the right of the screen in our affiliation link area. By going through our website every time you shop we get a commission. You can also financially support our show by donating $1 and have exclusive access to our new "What Ya Bruin" Mailbag segment where paying contributors get their questions answered with the highest priority. Go to patreon.com/blackngoldhockeypodcast for another way to cut the operating costs. Follow us on Twitter at: Mark Allred @BlackAndGold277 Rob Tomlin @Rob40bruins Court Lalonde @courtlalonde Podcast Account @BlackNGoldPod Have a question or a comment for the hosts? Please send us an email at blackngoldhockeyblog@gmail.com Thanks for tuning in and all the support! We'll be back next week for another show of Bruins Hockey related material. Take Care and GO Bruins!!

In this week’s episode I interview Mark Lester of the www.thefinchleyclinic.com I first came across Mark approximately a year ago when I was trying to source some liver and gut cleansing products that I had been researching, and Mark’s website was the only place I could buy them in the UK. This led me to having a closer look through his shop and seeing what other products The Finchley Clinic had to offer. One glance through the product range and I could tell that who ever ran this website knew what they were doing as every item was of the highest quality. I later learnt that Mark comes from a family that has been involved with Naturopathy since the mid 1950's, and he started his professional practice in 1994. Mark is someone who by his own admission has to work hard at his health and much of his knowledge has come through personal experience - something that is not uncommon in the health industry - as much as it has through reading research papers, books, and attending seminars and lectures. Although Mark is not a doctor (which is something he is keen to point out) and he doesn’t wish to be one, he is a man with a wealth of knowledge when it comes to therapeutic supplements, natural health and healing. In this episode with Mark we cover: His personal journey into the natural health world How he sourced his product range Things he looks to avoid when added a supplement to his range Why some of the best supplements are no longer available on the market The reason many of the best products are no longer allowed to have their benefits included in the product text Why he voted to leave the EU for health reasons (everyone needs to hear this) The top 3 products he recommends for keeping healthy & much more When you listen to the show you’ll be able to easily recognise Mark really does know his stuff. From my perspective it’s always refreshing to talk to people who are as passionate about health and keeping our rights to be able to source the highest quality products and food as I am, and Mark is certainly someone with that passion. After the show he also let me into a little secret that will (if all goes to plan) mean some great episodes for you guys involving a project that he’s working on. You can find Mark here: www.thefinchleyclinc.com Enjoy the show and as always don’t forget to share it with your friends and family, as well as writing a review on iTunes. To Your Health & Happiness Ryan

Mark Wills is a professional notary public loan signing agent. It's something he started doing as a side hustle that eventually turned into a full-time business. While his friend Roman Rosario was between startups, Mark showed him how to do loan signings to make extra money. Note: Click here to download Mark and Roman’s online business quick-start marketing tips from this episode. Loan signing agents are the people who walk you through the final paperwork when you are buying or refinancing a home. The signing agent is required to make sure you understand all the paperwork, answer any questions you have, and sign off the documents. These appointments take around 1-2 hours and the signing agent can earn anywhere between $75 and $200. Mark's system worked and Roman had his first signing -- and his first payday -- right away. And that sparked an entirely new business idea. If Mark could teach him how to do this in just a few hours, he could probably teach others online as well. Although Mark had no online or social media presence or audience to speak of, he and Roman set out to validate, create, and sell an online course teaching other people to do what he does. That became LoanSigningSystem.com. Fast forward a year and the guys are making $4k a month selling their course. In this episode they talk you through the steps they took to validate their idea, how they built their course using content from free webinars, their marketing techniques, email responder series, and more.

Show Transcript [Section I: Introduction] Welcome to the Work Stories Project. I’m your host Carol Xu. Oh, workplace assholes. Have you ever worked with one? Have you ever wondered what’s going on in their head when they’re making other people miserable? Well, I’ve got an interesting story for you. We’ll hear the victims’ perspective first. Then, we can also get into a workplace asshole’s head and poke around a little and ask him questions like “So, were you aware that others regarded you as an asshole? And how did that feel?” So, let’s get started.  [music] [Section II: The Coworkers’ Perspective] Our story took place in a silicon valley startup named Bisnet in the early two thousands. The main product of the company was an online platform and database to help other companies manage their employee data, such as payroll, insurance, and employee benefits. Mark was the lead software engineer in the company. He was regarded as the workplace asshole by many of his co-workers, especially the implementation coordinators. The implementation coordinators, or let’s call them ICs from now on, had to interface with both Mark and the clients. They just HATED working with Mark. Here’s what Letitia, an IC at the time, recalls her experience working with Mark: Letitia: He wasn’t very popular. Some people thought he had a self-righteous attitude. And he was exhibiting more signs of “Well, I’m the most important person here.” For example, Mark once proposed in a group discussion that as the web master of BISNET’s website, he’d like his email to be God@BISNET.com Letitia: he wanted that to be his email for if you have any questions or comments about this site or whatever. That was shot down rather quickly. But that’s kind of how he saw himself, at least in my eyes and other people. I think they thought he viewed himself as God of Bisnet. Miles, the executive vice president at BISNET at the time recalls going to one of the Company’s Christmas parties. He heard Mark’s mom talking about Mark in front of the group, Miles: His mother would try to elevate his status and raise how important he was… And so, we already know what Mark’s ego was on that topic. And you got the mom. And you saw some of the dynamics going on. That’s what I remember.   Although Mark didn’t have any formal managerial power over others, he played an indispensable role in the company. Because he was in charge of developing BISNET’s sole product, the company’s business to a large extent relied on his work. Miles likened Mark to someone who holds the keys to your car. Miles: Again, the situation was challenging when you got somebody that’s hard to work with that holds the keys to the car. It’s not a place you’d like to be. He had a little bit free reign, because he could do what he wanted, because he had the keys to the car. If he walked, we would be in big trouble. In everyday work, the ICs felt like they had to beg Mark to answer technical questions or to improve the software to accommodate customer requests. Here’s Letitia again, Letitia: Oh, there were many people that just hated dealing with him at all. It’s like they would do anything to avoid having anything to do with him because there was a little bit of the “awkh, what do you want now?” kind of thing. And the conceit, you know, ‘you need to bow to me because I’m the one who’s gonna be able to fix this for you.’ That doesn’t always work very well. (laugh) I ask her whether Mark had the power to directly affect her job security, Letitia: while he may not necessarily have the power to affect my job directly, he could affect how things got done for the customers that I had to be face-to-face with. And that’s a biggie, because I had one customer that, while I was face-to-face with her, she started crying because she was spending so many hours fixing problems that the system was creating. That made me feel just awful! I wanted to fix it for her. I probably thought that I would piss him off and he wouldn’t get my customers enhancements or requirement changes taken care of. And then I’m still hanging out there having to face the customer. It became more of a personal ‘I’m gonna do this for you,’ instead of ‘my job is to improve the system for our clients.’ And that is dangerous territory for any employment situation, any professional environment. You can’t make it about a personal situation ‘I’m doing this for you.’ More than 14 years later, Letitia still vividly remembers this one time when the whole team including Mark were working on a project overnight,  Letitia: I think one of the things that he emphasized was something like ‘I can always find another job. I’m just worried about the rest of you.’ Oh wait a minute, what you were saying is that none of the rest of us is bringing any value. And we are here because we can’t get another job? (laugh) It’s a real put-down. I also get to talk to Bret, one of the few friends Mark had in the company at the time. Mark introduced Bret to work at an IT support position at BISNET. Bret recalls that Mark liked to argue with others. Bret: I saw a few times he would... He was really good at arguing. [Laugh] He should’ve been on the debate team when he was in school, because he definitely had a point of view and he defended it till the last. I’ve seen incidences where he would…He didn’t exactly yell, but he made people feel small. Like he wouldn’t out loud say ‘you are an idiot.’ But he would essentially imply that with what he would say. I did hear that a couple times. Making people feel small—I really like Bret’s way of putting it. It kind of summarizes our experience dealing with most assholes. Why would they do that? I’ve got to talk to at least one asshole to find out! [short music break] Section III: The asshole’s perspective          So I manage to have a series of long conversations with Mark over the period of 3 months. You may wonder whether it is hard to track him down and get him to talk. Well, it is easy in this case. He happens to be my husband. And in fact he has volunteered the story to me.           He worked at BISNET long before we met. I had little knowledge of his BISNET years. When he shares the story with me, I treat him just like any other story contributor to the show. I don’t try to make him look better or worse than who he is or was. My role is to provide a special space for reflection. Imagine a space where you can feel at ease and be yourself without any internal or external judgments. That’s the space I hope to co-create with all my story contributors. You may think of your work experience as monotonous and boring. To you, it may taste like bland water. But to me, every drop of your experience has a unique sound and feel. I want to be a soundboard that reflects all kinds of qualities in the human experience of work.           Mark and I start our first free-form conversation in our living room on a Saturday morning. When I ask Mark to tell the story from the beginning, he starts with his back story. Mark: Well, I think it’s important to hear a little of my back story. It kind of helps to explain things. Keep in mind that the people at the company didn’t really know much of the back story. They didn’t know what to expect from someone who had my history. In any case, the history is I grew up poor. My dad wasn’t around… His parents divorced when he was two years old. At some point in his childhood, his family relied on social welfare to survive. He taught himself computer programming in high school. BISNET was his first full-time job. He was 21 when he started. To his surprise, some big companies started to use the program he wrote.  Mark:…We eventually got some big customers, like Ebay and Etrade. These are software companies and they are using our software to manage their online employee health benefits. So, that was kind of mind-blowing. So, it was kind of a mix of humble beginnings and being in a very unfamiliar situation for which I was not prepared. And also a situation that kind of blew up my ego a little bit. I thought ‘well, I must be pretty good, if we are having so much success. And it’s just me by myself, bla bla bla. But at the same time, I’m think ‘well, the software has all these problems. The website is kind of ugly. I’m not really good at design… Anyway, the whole thing was just emotionally weird for me, not really negative or positive, just weird. It was all surreal to me. So, the kind of humor that I would engage in would be the stuff that, in retrospect, is really only funny to me, because I don’t think it was very surreal to anybody else. I was the fish out of water there. But they were used to that environment. I ask him to give me an example of his jokes. Mark: My jokes would be about how surreal the whole thing was to me. So there was this one incident that really highlights that aspect. There was an investor meeting. They had a series of A fundings, series B and series C, whatever… So we had this meeting where the investors are meeting the employees of the company in this big conference room. And everybody’s introducing themselves. And I said something along the lines of ‘I am the original programmer. Almost all the code is written by me. So I guess that makes me the God of Bisnet!’ Carol: And you actually threw your hands in the air? Mark: Something like that. I thought I was being funny. But there was this kind of silence in the room. And maybe the perception was that I actually thought of myself as the God of Bisnet? Maybe they thought of me as not being the humble nice guy that I thought I was. And I always just thought of myself as the nice guy, the nerd.” Carol: So when you said ‘I guess I’m the God of Bisnet,’ what was going on in your head? How did you feel when you said that? Mark: [pause][sigh] I don’t know. There was some pride mixed in with all of it. It was pride plus also just the feeling of absurdity. So it was both of those things. I grew up in an environment that encouraged putting all your emotions on your sleeve at all times. Just be honest and always tell the truth. I kind of have faith in that as a way to get through the world, as way to interact with the world. Everything would work out in the end, if that’s the way you live. Because it did in my house: I would do that and stuff would come up and we would talk about it. And stuff would get dealt with. Carol: So, for example, if that happened in your family, you would say ‘Oh, look I’m the God of this family!’ Mark: [Jumping in] Everybody would laugh and go ‘yeah, right!’ They wouldn’t be afraid to take me down a peg or whatever. Maybe everybody in that (conference) room thought if they laughed at me, my ego would be hurt. As far as I know, I’m not really that averse to having my ego hurt, if it means I get a laugh. I’m happy to give up my ego for a laugh. I was giving them the pitch, and nobody swung. Carol: So to you, it was a joke. Mark: Right. Carol: And you were waiting for a laugh. Mark: Right. Waiting for someone to take me down a peg. Gary [Narration: Gary was the founder of BISNET] could’ve chimed in and said, ‘Well, I don’t know if we’d be here without me, Mark?’ Somebody could have said something. I just didn’t want things to be all stodgy all the time, people holding their cards close to their chest. Just get it out there and have a discussion. If I say something absurd or stupid, just say ‘wow, Mark, that was pretty stupid and absurd!’ I’ll be like, ‘yup, sorry!’ (laugh) You know. Just have more fun. So that’s my perspective on it. Carol: And yet the investor meeting is supposed to be a serious thing. You are supposed to give a serious front and give them a good impression. Mark: Yeah. If I were any older, maybe I could’ve figured that out. But at the time, I needed somebody to tell me that. I didn’t know what an investor meeting was. I didn’t know what any of this shit was. I didn’t know what I was dealing with or who. I don’t know who these people were. They were just white men in suits. When BISNET grew bigger, they hired ICs to interact with the customers. It gave Mark more time to work on the software. Yet, two unexpected problems sneaked in. One was that Mark used to get instant satisfaction from working directly with the clients. Now with the ICs being in between Mark and the clients, he felt a little removed and isolated. Mark: I guess I missed that customer interaction, the instant gratification, the instant reward: a customer calls me and we work out a new way or feature. Then I get on it. Then the next day, it’s there. They (the customers) are like ‘oh, thank you!” I get that instant feedback. So (later) we removed that from the equation. And then the job turned into me sitting in front of a computer all day.” The second problem was that most ICs had little to none programming background. When they encountered technical problems, they often had to ask Mark for help. Mark: They had access to me all day, every day. So, if I was working on something complicated, the only time I could actually work on it was at night. I have to work late, ‘cause I felt like during the day there was always the chance that someone would come in and…[pause] Carol: interrupt your work. Mark: Right. [pondering] I just don’t know how to describe or generalize thousands of individual interactions. But just that feeling that you get when someone comes to you with a question. And it just indicates that they didn’t write down the answer that you gave them last time. That feeling that you get is the feeling that kept coming up, that I didn’t hide: my impatience. In a business setting, you go to war with the army you have not the army you want. You don’t really know this person. You don’t know what they are doing all day. Just ‘cause you pass their desk a couple of times and see them looking at wedding photos of their friends, that doesn’t mean that that’s all they do all day. But at the time, I was getting a certain impression of these people that was negative. And also, I was socially awkward. Let’s face it. I have anxiety talking to people. So that taints everything. Just the anxiety of trying to talk to people. But then on top of it, I think my face is expressive. So if somebody comes to me with what I feel is an inane question, then on my face you are going to see impatience and physical pain. You are going to see it all. [Chuckle] Besides asking technical questions, the ICs would also relay clients’ requests to Mark about adding new features to the software.  Mark: There’s feature requests. But then there should’ve been a time rather than when I’m in the middle of programming for them to come to me with a feature request. Things just weren’t organized. So I kept getting interrupted. I’m just there, programming away and getting interrupted constantly by this or that. I’m definitely not an organized person. That’s just wasn’t mine [pause]… Maybe I had more power than I thought I did? Maybe if I had sat Gary down and said ‘hey, we need to re-organize things here.’ I wasn’t a company builder. I was 21 when the whole thing started. All I knew was I had code to write and I had people interrupting me constantly with things that I thought could’ve been set aside for later or brought up in email so I can get to it when I have time, or written down in a manual so it wasn’t coming up all the time. In addition to the constant interruptions, Mark’s work was getting increasingly challenging and stressful. Mark: We kind of got to a point where the thing was so big that new features ended up being a real pain in the ass. I had already picked the low-hanging fruit. There’s a few new features. They are like ‘oh man, just a nightmare.’ Sometimes I would do it. Sometimes I’m just like ‘I don’t think I can do that.’ [chuckle] Or I’d say ‘maybe I can do that.’ And it would just sit on the back burner forever. So there was the stress of that, of having some features that I’ve promised just sitting on the backburner waiting for me to feel inspiration, enough inspiration to get it done… [sigh] Here’s what it felt like for Mark to deal with both the interruptions and burnout at BISNET: Mark: As a programmer, you load up your entire, we call it, stack space. the short term memory has to put so much of the program into your head, so you know what the interlocking parts are and what things are doing. Just to be able to work on one line of code somewhere you need to know how it’s gonna interact with all the other stuff. So I can spend an hour just looking through the code and try to figure out how something work and start in on how I’m gonna add this feature or change how this thing works. And somebody would come in and destroy the last hour’s worth of work by asking a question about something else. If that was an important question, something that I needed to pay attention to, like ‘oh the website’s down’ or something like that, that’s okay. I need to hit the reset button and go work on this other thing. That’s fine. But if it’s a question that I already answered… Carol: [interrupting] you think you already answered Mark: …a question that I think I already answered, then this person just destroyed an hour’s worth of my work to save themselves 10 minutes. That’s what I always felt like. That’s where the grimaces and the sighs came from... Maybe they are thinking that I hate them. But what’s going through my head is I finally got my burnt-out self to load on this bullshit so that I could do this thing, and you came in and destroyed that. It’s your job to know this in the first place. And could you please write this down and not ask me again? This was before Wikis. Maybe Wikis would have solved everything. I ask Mark whether he had ever suggested the idea of having an office hour to avoid the interruptions. Mark: I didn’t know how to say, ‘look, we need to organize things a little better. Eventually I did. I tried, ‘okay, this is my office hours during the day. But by the time we did that I was so burnt out. I wasn’t even getting that much done. I was kind of checked out at that point anyway. So it was too late by then. It was too late in the sense that Mark’s reputation as an asshole was already established. ICs avoided interacting with him at all cost. [music break] The unpleasant situation lasted for about 3 years, even though Mark had no real awareness of what others thought of him. One day in Mark’s 5th year at BISNET, an interesting twist happened. For Mark, it was a life-changing moment. That day, Mark approached Miles, the executive VP whom we heard earlier, to complain about something related to the ICs. Mark couldn’t quite remember what it was. Mark: I was complaining to Miles about how the ICs were bothering me, something along those lines. I think that’s when Miles shot back that if they took a vote, the ICs would vote to have me fired instead. That was the shocker. Yeah, that kind of blew my mind. It just never occurred to me that I was disliked. I want to be liked. I hate being disliked. So the idea that my self image of being a nice guy that people generally like… To have that idea destroyed like that was eye-opening and painful. It’s like a revelation, like this thought path I’d just never gone down for whatever reason. And then finally, I went down and realized ‘oh well, I’ve been ignoring this thing for so long. I ask Mark whether Miles told him why the ICs hated working with him. Mark: I don’t know if he even told me why they didn’t like me. I just thought about it and realized, ‘oh yeah, I can see why. It just kind of reframed everything. So okay, they were kind of scared to come to me because I was such an asshole when they did. So in their mind, for them to even summon the internal strength to walk up to me and ask me what they knew I would think of it as a dumb question. But they needed the answer, and they couldn’t see any other way. For them to do that was like them confronting the bully. Up to that point, I’d only see the interaction as they were being lazy and not taking it onto themselves to create some kind of permanent record of all the questions that I had answered, so I wasn’t answer the same things over and over again. In a later conversation, Mark reflects further, Mark: I don’t like drama. I’ve always been anti-drama. To find out that I’ve  been causing drama, and that it was in my hands to decrease it. That was a revelation: “Oh these things are important.” I can’t just ignore the personal. There’s no such thing as somehow freeing up the energy for the technical by ignoring the personal. It sounds good to a programmer who thinks of things as a zero-sum game: “Yeah, I can just focus on the technical and forget the personal. And I’m freeing up the energy.” But the reality is that by ignoring the personal, you are making things much less efficient than it could be and just causing more drama, wasting a lot  more energy than you could ever conserve by ignoring the personal. That was a big paradigm shift for me. Mark uses a lightening metaphor to describe how it felt like before and after the paradigm shift. Mark: It feels like a lightening. Over the years, the electrons were gathering in the clouds, building up and building up. Everything looks normal on the surface. All you see is a cloud. And there’s the Earth. But then this one day, you realize how many electrons are sitting in the cloud. And it just bolts right back into the ground. And that’s it. So yeah, that was kind of mind blowing. I just realize what an asshole I’d been. And I regretted it. I had a lot of regret. It was just horrible. So yeah, I talked to my mom about it that night. She made the suggestion that I gave everybody a flower with an apology note. So I went and bought the flowers. One flower for each IC and a little note saying, “I’m sorry I’ve been such an asshole…” Carol: [interjecting] So you put the word asshole in there? Mark: I think so. Yeah. So I got to work early and put one on each of their desks. And they all came to work and saw them. And there was like this moment… The details have faded. But there’s something of… This may not be it, but the feeling of it is right: I think they all came in to where my desk was. I think they all came in together. I think they gave me a hug or something. Carol: Everybody? Mark: Yeah. I think everybody gave me a hug. There was reconciliation. Apologies and coming together. It just turned the whole thing around. Miles, the VP, has a similar recollection of Mark’s flower gesture: he says that once Mark found out that others hated working with him, Miles: He took action and spoke very loudly. From what I can remember, people were truly touched by the fact that he was making the effort. Later in our conversation, Mark reflects on why the flower gesture made an impact, Mark: I didn’t think the flower thing would work. But it did. The fact that it worked told me so much about human nature: the other person just wants to know that you care. [laugh] That’s it. “I just want to know that you care. Then we can work together. If you care about how I feel about you, okay now I’ve got something to work with. I can tell you that what you did made me feel this way or that way. And I can trust that you’ll make adjustments trying not to do it any more.” Suddenly, people are your friend again, even after years of antagonism. Boom, “oh you actually care? Okay.” It switches up. Maybe you weren’t an asshole I thought you were. ‘cause you know assholes don’t care. That defines an asshole, right? If you prove to somebody that I’m willing to admit to having been in the wrong, I’m willing to let you win the battle, I’m willing to give up some status in order to convey to you that I care about how you feel about me. That’s what I think the flowers did. The flower incident was certainly an uplifting moment for both Mark and his coworkers. The former IC Letitia said that she felt Mark became more approachable and genuine afterwards. But warm and fuzzy feelings aside, I can’t help but wonder whether a symbolic gesture like the flower incident would really resolve years of conflicts. And also, can people’s behavior and habits be changed overnight? We’ll find out in the next episode when Mark and his coworkers continue to tell the story. What’s more, my conversation with Letitia took an unexpected turn in the next episode. Letitia: There were people that gave feedback to Mark by calling him an asshole to his face. Carol [in surprise]: Oh really? Was that before or after the flower incident? Letitia: Yes, before. Carol: So they actually told him, “Oh you are being an asshole here.” But he didn’t really respond. And he just continued his way? Letitia: Yeah. Wow, why doesn’t Mark remember any of that?? I thought he never got any feedback about his asshole status until the flower incident? Have you ever wondered what kind of feedback may actually sink in or stick around in a workplace asshole’s head? We’ll explore that question next time we meet. Meanwhile, check out our website www.workstoriesproject.org. Maybe you have your own stories to share. Maybe you want to predict on how Mark’s story may end. Feel free to leave any comments you want. You are also welcome to join me in a subReddit forum titled work stories project. And don’t forget to subscribe to our show in your podcast app. That way, you’ll be notified about new episodes automatically. All the details are listed on our website Workstoriesproject.org. Let me thank all the story contributors to this episode, Letitia, Miles, Bret, and my husband Mark. Without you, all of this would remain buried deep under the ocean of your experience. I’m your host Carol Xu. And the music is by Mark. Okay, that’s it for our show. See you next time! [music break]

The Times of Michael’s Bestowal (1332.1) 121:0.1 ACTING under the supervision of a commission of twelve members of the United Brotherhood of Urantia Midwayers, conjointly sponsored by the presiding head of our order and the Melchizedek of record, I am the secondary midwayer of onetime attachment to the Apostle Andrew, and I am authorized to place on record the narrative of the life transactions of Jesus of Nazareth as they were observed by my order of earth creatures, and as they were subsequently partially recorded by the human subject of my temporal guardianship. Knowing how his Master so scrupulously avoided leaving written records behind him, Andrew steadfastly refused to multiply copies of his written narrative. A similar attitude on the part of the other apostles of Jesus greatly delayed the writing of the Gospels. 1. The Occident of the First Century After Christ (1332.2) 121:1.1 Jesus did not come to this world during an age of spiritual decadence; at the time of his birth Urantia was experiencing such a revival of spiritual thinking and religious living as it had not known in all its previous post-Adamic history nor has experienced in any era since. When Michael incarnated on Urantia, the world presented the most favorable condition for the Creator Son’s bestowal that had ever previously prevailed or has since obtained. In the centuries just prior to these times Greek culture and the Greek language had spread over Occident and near Orient, and the Jews, being a Levantine race, in nature part Occidental and part Oriental, were eminently fitted to utilize such cultural and linguistic settings for the effective spread of a new religion to both East and West. These most favorable circumstances were further enhanced by the tolerant political rule of the Mediterranean world by the Romans. (1332.3) 121:1.2 This entire combination of world influences is well illustrated by the activities of Paul, who, being in religious culture a Hebrew of the Hebrews, proclaimed the gospel of a Jewish Messiah in the Greek tongue, while he himself was a Roman citizen. (1332.4) 121:1.3 Nothing like the civilization of the times of Jesus has been seen in the Occident before or since those days. European civilization was unified and co-ordinated under an extraordinary threefold influence: (1332.5) 121:1.4 1. The Roman political and social systems. (1332.6) 121:1.5 2. The Grecian language and culture — and philosophy to a certain extent. (1332.7) 121:1.6 3. The rapidly spreading influence of Jewish religious and moral teachings. (1332.8) 121:1.7 When Jesus was born, the entire Mediterranean world was a unified empire. Good roads, for the first time in the world’s history, interconnected many major centers. The seas were cleared of pirates, and a great era of trade and travel was rapidly advancing. Europe did not again enjoy another such period of travel and trade until the nineteenth century after Christ. (1333.1) 121:1.8 Notwithstanding the internal peace and superficial prosperity of the Greco-Roman world, a majority of the inhabitants of the empire languished in squalor and poverty. The small upper class was rich; a miserable and impoverished lower class embraced the rank and file of humanity. There was no happy and prosperous middle class in those days; it had just begun to make its appearance in Roman society. (1333.2) 121:1.9 The first struggles between the expanding Roman and Parthian states had been concluded in the then recent past, leaving Syria in the hands of the Romans. In the times of Jesus, Palestine and Syria were enjoying a period of prosperity, relative peace, and extensive commercial intercourse with the lands to both the East and the West. 2. The Jewish People (1333.3) 121:2.1 The Jews were a part of the older Semitic race, which also included the Babylonians, the Phoenicians, and the more recent enemies of Rome, the Carthaginians. During the fore part of the first century after Christ, the Jews were the most influential group of the Semitic peoples, and they happened to occupy a peculiarly strategic geographic position in the world as it was at that time ruled and organized for trade. (1333.4) 121:2.2 Many of the great highways joining the nations of antiquity passed through Palestine, which thus became the meeting place, or crossroads, of three continents. The travel, trade, and armies of Babylonia, Assyria, Egypt, Syria, Greece, Parthia, and Rome successively swept over Palestine. From time immemorial, many caravan routes from the Orient passed through some part of this region to the few good seaports of the eastern end of the Mediterranean, whence ships carried their cargoes to all the maritime Occident. And more than half of this caravan traffic passed through or near the little town of Nazareth in Galilee. (1333.5) 121:2.3 Although Palestine was the home of Jewish religious culture and the birthplace of Christianity, the Jews were abroad in the world, dwelling in many nations and trading in every province of the Roman and Parthian states. (1333.6) 121:2.4 Greece provided a language and a culture, Rome built the roads and unified an empire, but the dispersion of the Jews, with their more than two hundred synagogues and well-organized religious communities scattered hither and yon throughout the Roman world, provided the cultural centers in which the new gospel of the kingdom of heaven found initial reception, and from which it subsequently spread to the uttermost parts of the world. (1333.7) 121:2.5 Each Jewish synagogue tolerated a fringe of gentile believers, “devout” or “God-fearing” men, and it was among this fringe of proselytes that Paul made the bulk of his early converts to Christianity. Even the temple at Jerusalem possessed its ornate court of the gentiles. There was very close connection between the culture, commerce, and worship of Jerusalem and Antioch. In Antioch Paul’s disciples were first called “Christians.” (1333.8) 121:2.6 The centralization of the Jewish temple worship at Jerusalem constituted alike the secret of the survival of their monotheism and the promise of the nurture and sending forth to the world of a new and enlarged concept of that one God of all nations and Father of all mortals. The temple service at Jerusalem represented the survival of a religious cultural concept in the face of the downfall of a succession of gentile national overlords and racial persecutors. (1334.1) 121:2.7 The Jewish people of this time, although under Roman suzerainty, enjoyed a considerable degree of self-government and, remembering the then only recent heroic exploits of deliverance executed by Judas Maccabee and his immediate successors, were vibrant with the expectation of the immediate appearance of a still greater deliverer, the long-expected Messiah. (1334.2) 121:2.8 The secret of the survival of Palestine, the kingdom of the Jews, as a semi-independent state was wrapped up in the foreign policy of the Roman government, which desired to maintain control of the Palestinian highway of travel between Syria and Egypt as well as the western terminals of the caravan routes between the Orient and the Occident. Rome did not wish any power to arise in the Levant which might curb her future expansion in these regions. The policy of intrigue which had for its object the pitting of Seleucid Syria and Ptolemaic Egypt against each other necessitated fostering Palestine as a separate and independent state. Roman policy, the degeneration of Egypt, and the progressive weakening of the Seleucids before the rising power of Parthia, explain why it was that for several generations a small and unpowerful group of Jews was able to maintain its independence against both Seleucidae to the north and Ptolemies to the south. This fortuitous liberty and independence of the political rule of surrounding and more powerful peoples the Jews attributed to the fact that they were the “chosen people,” to the direct interposition of Yahweh. Such an attitude of racial superiority made it all the harder for them to endure Roman suzerainty when it finally fell upon their land. But even in that sad hour the Jews refused to learn that their world mission was spiritual, not political. (1334.3) 121:2.9 The Jews were unusually apprehensive and suspicious during the times of Jesus because they were then ruled by an outsider, Herod the Idumean, who had seized the overlordship of Judea by cleverly ingratiating himself with the Roman rulers. And though Herod professed loyalty to the Hebrew ceremonial observances, he proceeded to build temples for many strange gods. (1334.4) 121:2.10 The friendly relations of Herod with the Roman rulers made the world safe for Jewish travel and thus opened the way for increased Jewish penetration even of distant portions of the Roman Empire and of foreign treaty nations with the new gospel of the kingdom of heaven. Herod’s reign also contributed much toward the further blending of Hebrew and Hellenistic philosophies. (1334.5) 121:2.11 Herod built the harbor of Caesarea, which further aided in making Palestine the crossroads of the civilized world. He died in 4 B.C., and his son Herod Antipas governed Galilee and Perea during Jesus’ youth and ministry to A.D. 39. Antipas, like his father, was a great builder. He rebuilt many of the cities of Galilee, including the important trade center of Sepphoris. (1334.6) 121:2.12 The Galileans were not regarded with full favor by the Jerusalem religious leaders and rabbinical teachers. Galilee was more gentile than Jewish when Jesus was born. 3. Among the Gentiles (1334.7) 121:3.1 Although the social and economic condition of the Roman state was not of the highest order, the widespread domestic peace and prosperity was propitious for the bestowal of Michael. In the first century after Christ the society of the Mediterranean world consisted of five well-defined strata: (1335.1) 121:3.2 1. The aristocracy. The upper classes with money and official power, the privileged and ruling groups. (1335.2) 121:3.3 2. The business groups. The merchant princes and the bankers, the traders — the big importers and exporters — the international merchants. (1335.3) 121:3.4 3. The small middle class. Although this group was indeed small, it was very influential and provided the moral backbone of the early Christian church, which encouraged these groups to continue in their various crafts and trades. Among the Jews many of the Pharisees belonged to this class of tradesmen. (1335.4) 121:3.5 4. The free proletariat. This group had little or no social standing. Though proud of their freedom, they were placed at great disadvantage because they were forced to compete with slave labor. The upper classes regarded them disdainfully, allowing that they were useless except for “breeding purposes.” (1335.5) 121:3.6 5. The slaves. Half the population of the Roman state were slaves; many were superior individuals and quickly made their way up among the free proletariat and even among the tradesmen. The majority were either mediocre or very inferior. (1335.6) 121:3.7 Slavery, even of superior peoples, was a feature of Roman military conquest. The power of the master over his slave was unqualified. The early Christian church was largely composed of the lower classes and these slaves. (1335.7) 121:3.8 Superior slaves often received wages and by saving their earnings were able to purchase their freedom. Many such emancipated slaves rose to high positions in state, church, and the business world. And it was just such possibilities that made the early Christian church so tolerant of this modified form of slavery. (1335.8) 121:3.9 There was no widespread social problem in the Roman Empire in the first century after Christ. The major portion of the populace regarded themselves as belonging in that group into which they chanced to be born. There was always the open door through which talented and able individuals could ascend from the lower to the higher strata of Roman society, but the people were generally content with their social rank. They were not class conscious, neither did they look upon these class distinctions as being unjust or wrong. Christianity was in no sense an economic movement having for its purpose the amelioration of the miseries of the depressed classes. (1335.9) 121:3.10 Although woman enjoyed more freedom throughout the Roman Empire than in her restricted position in Palestine, the family devotion and natural affection of the Jews far transcended that of the gentile world. 4. Gentile Philosophy (1335.10) 121:4.1 The gentiles were, from a moral standpoint, somewhat inferior to the Jews, but there was present in the hearts of the nobler gentiles abundant soil of natural goodness and potential human affection in which it was possible for the seed of Christianity to sprout and bring forth an abundant harvest of moral character and spiritual achievement. The gentile world was then dominated by four great philosophies, all more or less derived from the earlier Platonism of the Greeks. These schools of philosophy were: (1335.11) 121:4.2 1. The Epicurean. This school of thought was dedicated to the pursuit of happiness. The better Epicureans were not given to sensual excesses. At least this doctrine helped to deliver the Romans from a more deadly form of fatalism; it taught that men could do something to improve their terrestrial status. It did effectually combat ignorant superstition. (1336.1) 121:4.3 2. The Stoic. Stoicism was the superior philosophy of the better classes. The Stoics believed that a controlling Reason-Fate dominated all nature. They taught that the soul of man was divine; that it was imprisoned in the evil body of physical nature. Man’s soul achieved liberty by living in harmony with nature, with God; thus virtue came to be its own reward. Stoicism ascended to a sublime morality, ideals never since transcended by any purely human system of philosophy. While the Stoics professed to be the “offspring of God,” they failed to know him and therefore failed to find him. Stoicism remained a philosophy; it never became a religion. Its followers sought to attune their minds to the harmony of the Universal Mind, but they failed to envisage themselves as the children of a loving Father. Paul leaned heavily toward Stoicism when he wrote, “I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” (1336.2) 121:4.4 3. The Cynic. Although the Cynics traced their philosophy to Diogenes of Athens, they derived much of their doctrine from the remnants of the teachings of Machiventa Melchizedek. Cynicism had formerly been more of a religion than a philosophy. At least the Cynics made their religio-philosophy democratic. In the fields and in the market places they continually preached their doctrine that “man could save himself if he would.” They preached simplicity and virtue and urged men to meet death fearlessly. These wandering Cynic preachers did much to prepare the spiritually hungry populace for the later Christian missionaries. Their plan of popular preaching was much after the pattern, and in accordance with the style, of Paul’s Epistles. (1336.3) 121:4.5 4. The Skeptic. Skepticism asserted that knowledge was fallacious, and that conviction and assurance were impossible. It was a purely negative attitude and never became widespread. (1336.4) 121:4.6 These philosophies were semireligious; they were often invigorating, ethical, and ennobling but were usually above the common people. With the possible exception of Cynicism, they were philosophies for the strong and the wise, not religions of salvation for even the poor and the weak. 5. The Gentile Religions (1336.5) 121:5.1 Throughout preceding ages religion had chiefly been an affair of the tribe or nation; it had not often been a matter of concern to the individual. Gods were tribal or national, not personal. Such religious systems afforded little satisfaction for the individual spiritual longings of the average person. (1336.6) 121:5.2 In the times of Jesus the religions of the Occident included: (1336.7) 121:5.3 1. The pagan cults. These were a combination of Hellenic and Latin mythology, patriotism, and tradition. (1336.8) 121:5.4 2. Emperor worship. This deification of man as the symbol of the state was very seriously resented by the Jews and the early Christians and led directly to the bitter persecutions of both churches by the Roman government. (1337.1) 121:5.5 3. Astrology. This pseudo science of Babylon developed into a religion throughout the Greco-Roman Empire. Even in the twentieth century man has not been fully delivered from this superstitious belief. (1337.2) 121:5.6 4. The mystery religions. Upon such a spiritually hungry world a flood of mystery cults had broken, new and strange religions from the Levant, which had enamored the common people and had promised them individual salvation. These religions rapidly became the accepted belief of the lower classes of the Greco-Roman world. And they did much to prepare the way for the rapid spread of the vastly superior Christian teachings, which presented a majestic concept of Deity, associated with an intriguing theology for the intelligent and a profound proffer of salvation for all, including the ignorant but spiritually hungry average man of those days. (1337.3) 121:5.7 The mystery religions spelled the end of national beliefs and resulted in the birth of the numerous personal cults. The mysteries were many but were all characterized by: (1337.4) 121:5.8 1. Some mythical legend, a mystery — whence their name. As a rule this mystery pertained to the story of some god’s life and death and return to life, as illustrated by the teachings of Mithraism, which, for a time, were contemporary with, and a competitor of, Paul’s rising cult of Christianity. (1337.5) 121:5.9 2. The mysteries were nonnational and interracial. They were personal and fraternal, giving rise to religious brotherhoods and numerous sectarian societies. (1337.6) 121:5.10 3. They were, in their services, characterized by elaborate ceremonies of initiation and impressive sacraments of worship. Their secret rites and rituals were sometimes gruesome and revolting. (1337.7) 121:5.11 4. But no matter what the nature of their ceremonies or the degree of their excesses, these mysteries invariably promised their devotees salvation, “deliverance from evil, survival after death, and enduring life in blissful realms beyond this world of sorrow and slavery.” (1337.8) 121:5.12 But do not make the mistake of confusing the teachings of Jesus with the mysteries. The popularity of the mysteries reveals man’s quest for survival, thus portraying a real hunger and thirst for personal religion and individual righteousness. Although the mysteries failed adequately to satisfy this longing, they did prepare the way for the subsequent appearance of Jesus, who truly brought to this world the bread of life and the water thereof. (1337.9) 121:5.13 Paul, in an effort to utilize the widespread adherence to the better types of the mystery religions, made certain adaptations of the teachings of Jesus so as to render them more acceptable to a larger number of prospective converts. But even Paul’s compromise of Jesus’ teachings (Christianity) was superior to the best in the mysteries in that: (1337.10) 121:5.14 1. Paul taught a moral redemption, an ethical salvation. Christianity pointed to a new life and proclaimed a new ideal. Paul forsook magic rites and ceremonial enchantments. (1337.11) 121:5.15 2. Christianity presented a religion which grappled with final solutions of the human problem, for it not only offered salvation from sorrow and even from death, but it also promised deliverance from sin followed by the endowment of a righteous character of eternal survival qualities. (1338.1) 121:5.16 3. The mysteries were built upon myths. Christianity, as Paul preached it, was founded upon a historic fact: the bestowal of Michael, the Son of God, upon mankind. (1338.2) 121:5.17 Morality among the gentiles was not necessarily related to either philosophy or religion. Outside of Palestine it not always occurred to people that a priest of religion was supposed to lead a moral life. Jewish religion and subsequently the teachings of Jesus and later the evolving Christianity of Paul were the first European religions to lay one hand upon morals and the other upon ethics, insisting that religionists pay some attention to both. (1338.3) 121:5.18 Into such a generation of men, dominated by such incomplete systems of philosophy and perplexed by such complex cults of religion, Jesus was born in Palestine. And to this same generation he subsequently gave his gospel of personal religion — sonship with God. 6. The Hebrew Religion (1338.4) 121:6.1 By the close of the first century before Christ the religious thought of Jerusalem had been tremendously influenced and somewhat modified by Greek cultural teachings and even by Greek philosophy. In the long contest between the views of the Eastern and Western schools of Hebrew thought, Jerusalem and the rest of the Occident and the Levant in general adopted the Western Jewish or modified Hellenistic viewpoint. (1338.5) 121:6.2 In the days of Jesus three languages prevailed in Palestine: The common people spoke some dialect of Aramaic; the priests and rabbis spoke Hebrew; the educated classes and the better strata of Jews in general spoke Greek. The early translation of the Hebrew scriptures into Greek at Alexandria was responsible in no small measure for the subsequent predominance of the Greek wing of Jewish culture and theology. And the writings of the Christian teachers were soon to appear in the same language. The renaissance of Judaism dates from the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures. This was a vital influence which later determined the drift of Paul’s Christian cult toward the West instead of toward the East. (1338.6) 121:6.3 Though the Hellenized Jewish beliefs were very little influenced by the teachings of the Epicureans, they were very materially affected by the philosophy of Plato and the self-abnegation doctrines of the Stoics. The great inroad of Stoicism is exemplified by the Fourth Book of the Maccabees; the penetration of both Platonic philosophy and Stoic doctrines is exhibited in the Wisdom of Solomon. The Hellenized Jews brought to the Hebrew scriptures such an allegorical interpretation that they found no difficulty in conforming Hebrew theology with their revered Aristotelian philosophy. But this all led to disastrous confusion until these problems were taken in hand by Philo of Alexandria, who proceeded to harmonize and systemize Greek philosophy and Hebrew theology into a compact and fairly consistent system of religious belief and practice. And it was this later teaching of combined Greek philosophy and Hebrew theology that prevailed in Palestine when Jesus lived and taught, and which Paul utilized as the foundation on which to build his more advanced and enlightening cult of Christianity. (1338.7) 121:6.4 Philo was a great teacher; not since Moses had there lived a man who exerted such a profound influence on the ethical and religious thought of the Occidental world. In the matter of the combination of the better elements in contemporaneous systems of ethical and religious teachings, there have been seven outstanding human teachers: Sethard, Moses, Zoroaster, Lao-tse, Buddha, Philo, and Paul. (1339.1) 121:6.5 Many, but not all, of Philo’s inconsistencies resulting from an effort to combine Greek mystical philosophy and Roman Stoic doctrines with the legalistic theology of the Hebrews, Paul recognized and wisely eliminated from his pre-Christian basic theology. Philo led the way for Paul more fully to restore the concept of the Paradise Trinity, which had long been dormant in Jewish theology. In only one matter did Paul fail to keep pace with Philo or to transcend the teachings of this wealthy and educated Jew of Alexandria, and that was the doctrine of the atonement; Philo taught deliverance from the doctrine of forgiveness only by the shedding of blood. He also possibly glimpsed the reality and presence of the Thought Adjusters more clearly than did Paul. But Paul’s theory of original sin, the doctrines of hereditary guilt and innate evil and redemption therefrom, was partially Mithraic in origin, having little in common with Hebrew theology, Philo’s philosophy, or Jesus’ teachings. Some phases of Paul’s teachings regarding original sin and the atonement were original with himself. (1339.2) 121:6.6 The Gospel of John, the last of the narratives of Jesus’ earth life, was addressed to the Western peoples and presents its story much in the light of the viewpoint of the later Alexandrian Christians, who were also disciples of the teachings of Philo. (1339.3) 121:6.7 At about the time of Christ a strange reversion of feeling toward the Jews occurred in Alexandria, and from this former Jewish stronghold there went forth a virulent wave of persecution, extending even to Rome, from which many thousands were banished. But such a campaign of misrepresentation was short-lived; very soon the imperial government fully restored the curtailed liberties of the Jews throughout the empire. (1339.4) 121:6.8 Throughout the whole wide world, no matter where the Jews found themselves dispersed by commerce or oppression, all with one accord kept their hearts centered on the holy temple at Jerusalem. Jewish theology did survive as it was interpreted and practiced at Jerusalem, notwithstanding that it was several times saved from oblivion by the timely intervention of certain Babylonian teachers. (1339.5) 121:6.9 As many as two and one-half million of these dispersed Jews used to come to Jerusalem for the celebration of their national religious festivals. And no matter what the theologic or philosophic differences of the Eastern (Babylonian) and the Western (Hellenic) Jews, they were all agreed on Jerusalem as the center of their worship and in ever looking forward to the coming of the Messiah. 7. Jews and Gentiles (1339.6) 121:7.1 By the times of Jesus the Jews had arrived at a settled concept of their origin, history, and destiny. They had built up a rigid wall of separation between themselves and the gentile world; they looked upon all gentile ways with utter contempt. They worshiped the letter of the law and indulged a form of self-righteousness based upon the false pride of descent. They had formed preconceived notions regarding the promised Messiah, and most of these expectations envisaged a Messiah who would come as a part of their national and racial history. To the Hebrews of those days Jewish theology was irrevocably settled, forever fixed. (1339.7) 121:7.2 The teachings and practices of Jesus regarding tolerance and kindness ran counter to the long-standing attitude of the Jews toward other peoples whom they considered heathen. For generations the Jews had nourished an attitude toward the outside world which made it impossible for them to accept the Master’s teachings about the spiritual brotherhood of man. They were unwilling to share Yahweh on equal terms with the gentiles and were likewise unwilling to accept as the Son of God one who taught such new and strange doctrines. (1340.1) 121:7.3 The scribes, the Pharisees, and the priesthood held the Jews in a terrible bondage of ritualism and legalism, a bondage far more real than that of the Roman political rule. The Jews of Jesus’ time were not only held in subjugation to the law but were equally bound by the slavish demands of the traditions, which involved and invaded every domain of personal and social life. These minute regulations of conduct pursued and dominated every loyal Jew, and it is not strange that they promptly rejected one of their number who presumed to ignore their sacred traditions, and who dared to flout their long-honored regulations of social conduct. They could hardly regard with favor the teachings of one who did not hesitate to clash with dogmas which they regarded as having been ordained by Father Abraham himself. Moses had given them their law and they would not compromise.* (1340.2) 121:7.4 By the time of the first century after Christ the spoken interpretation of the law by the recognized teachers, the scribes, had become a higher authority than the written law itself. And all this made it easier for certain religious leaders of the Jews to array the people against the acceptance of a new gospel. (1340.3) 121:7.5 These circumstances rendered it impossible for the Jews to fulfill their divine destiny as messengers of the new gospel of religious freedom and spiritual liberty. They could not break the fetters of tradition. Jeremiah had told of the “law to be written in men’s hearts,” Ezekiel had spoken of a “new spirit to live in man’s soul,” and the Psalmist had prayed that God would “create a clean heart within and renew a right spirit.” But when the Jewish religion of good works and slavery to law fell victim to the stagnation of traditionalistic inertia, the motion of religious evolution passed westward to the European peoples. (1340.4) 121:7.6 And so a different people were called upon to carry an advancing theology to the world, a system of teaching embodying the philosophy of the Greeks, the law of the Romans, the morality of the Hebrews, and the gospel of personality sanctity and spiritual liberty formulated by Paul and based on the teachings of Jesus. (1340.5) 121:7.7 Paul’s cult of Christianity exhibited its morality as a Jewish birthmark. The Jews viewed history as the providence of God — Yahweh at work. The Greeks brought to the new teaching clearer concepts of the eternal life. Paul’s doctrines were influenced in theology and philosophy not only by Jesus’ teachings but also by Plato and Philo. In ethics he was inspired not only by Christ but also by the Stoics. (1340.6) 121:7.8 The gospel of Jesus, as it was embodied in Paul’s cult of Antioch Christianity, became blended with the following teachings: (1340.7) 121:7.9 1. The philosophic reasoning of the Greek proselytes to Judaism, including some of their concepts of the eternal life. (1340.8) 121:7.10 2. The appealing teachings of the prevailing mystery cults, especially the Mithraic doctrines of redemption, atonement, and salvation by the sacrifice made by some god. (1340.9) 121:7.11 3. The sturdy morality of the established Jewish religion. (1341.1) 121:7.12 The Mediterranean Roman Empire, the Parthian kingdom, and the adjacent peoples of Jesus’ time all held crude and primitive ideas regarding the geography of the world, astronomy, health, and disease; and naturally they were amazed by the new and startling pronouncements of the carpenter of Nazareth. The ideas of spirit possession, good and bad, applied not merely to human beings, but every rock and tree was viewed by many as being spirit possessed. This was an enchanted age, and everybody believed in miracles as commonplace occurrences. 8. Previous Written Records (1341.2) 121:8.1 As far as possible, consistent with our mandate, we have endeavored to utilize and to some extent co-ordinate the existing records having to do with the life of Jesus on Urantia. Although we have enjoyed access to the lost record of the Apostle Andrew and have benefited from the collaboration of a vast host of celestial beings who were on earth during the times of Michael’s bestowal (notably his now Personalized Adjuster), it has been our purpose also to make use of the so-called Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. (1341.3) 121:8.2 These New Testament records had their origin in the following circumstances: (1341.4) 121:8.3 1. The Gospel by Mark. John Mark wrote the earliest (excepting the notes of Andrew), briefest, and most simple record of Jesus’ life. He presented the Master as a minister, as man among men. Although Mark was a lad lingering about many of the scenes which he depicts, his record is in reality the Gospel according to Simon Peter. He was early associated with Peter; later with Paul. Mark wrote this record at the instigation of Peter and on the earnest petition of the church at Rome. Knowing how consistently the Master refused to write out his teachings when on earth and in the flesh, Mark, like the apostles and other leading disciples, was hesitant to put them in writing. But Peter felt the church at Rome required the assistance of such a written narrative, and Mark consented to undertake its preparation. He made many notes before Peter died in A.D. 67, and in accordance with the outline approved by Peter and for the church at Rome, he began his writing soon after Peter’s death. The Gospel was completed near the end of A.D. 68. Mark wrote entirely from his own memory and Peter’s memory. The record has since been considerably changed, numerous passages having been taken out and some later matter added at the end to replace the latter one fifth of the original Gospel, which was lost from the first manuscript before it was ever copied. This record by Mark, in conjunction with Andrew’s and Matthew’s notes, was the written basis of all subsequent Gospel narratives which sought to portray the life and teachings of Jesus. (1341.5) 121:8.4 2. The Gospel of Matthew. The so-called Gospel according to Matthew is the record of the Master’s life which was written for the edification of Jewish Christians. The author of this record constantly seeks to show in Jesus’ life that much which he did was that “it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet.” Matthew’s Gospel portrays Jesus as a son of David, picturing him as showing great respect for the law and the prophets. (1341.6) 121:8.5 The Apostle Matthew did not write this Gospel. It was written by Isador, one of his disciples, who had as a help in his work not only Matthew’s personal remembrance of these events but also a certain record which the latter had made of the sayings of Jesus directly after the crucifixion. This record by Matthew was written in Aramaic; Isador wrote in Greek. There was no intent to deceive in accrediting the production to Matthew. It was the custom in those days for pupils thus to honor their teachers. (1342.1) 121:8.6 Matthew’s original record was edited and added to in A.D. 40 just before he left Jerusalem to engage in evangelistic preaching. It was a private record, the last copy having been destroyed in the burning of a Syrian monastery in A.D. 416. (1342.2) 121:8.7 Isador escaped from Jerusalem in A.D. 70 after the investment of the city by the armies of Titus, taking with him to Pella a copy of Matthew’s notes. In the year 71, while living at Pella, Isador wrote the Gospel according to Matthew. He also had with him the first four fifths of Mark’s narrative. (1342.3) 121:8.8 3. The Gospel by Luke. Luke, the physician of Antioch in Pisidia, was a gentile convert of Paul, and he wrote quite a different story of the Master’s life. He began to follow Paul and learn of the life and teachings of Jesus in A.D. 47. Luke preserves much of the “grace of the Lord Jesus Christ” in his record as he gathered up these facts from Paul and others. Luke presents the Master as “the friend of publicans and sinners.” He did not formulate his many notes into the Gospel until after Paul’s death. Luke wrote in the year 82 in Achaia. He planned three books dealing with the history of Christ and Christianity but died in A.D. 90 just before he finished the second of these works, the “Acts of the Apostles.” (1342.4) 121:8.9 As material for the compilation of his Gospel, Luke first depended upon the story of Jesus’ life as Paul had related it to him. Luke’s Gospel is, therefore, in some ways the Gospel according to Paul. But Luke had other sources of information. He not only interviewed scores of eyewitnesses to the numerous episodes of Jesus’ life which he records, but he also had with him a copy of Mark’s Gospel, that is, the first four fifths, Isador’s narrative, and a brief record made in the year A.D. 78 at Antioch by a believer named Cedes. Luke also had a mutilated and much-edited copy of some notes purported to have been made by the Apostle Andrew. (1342.5) 121:8.10 4. The Gospel of John. The Gospel according to John relates much of Jesus’ work in Judea and around Jerusalem which is not contained in the other records. This is the so-called Gospel according to John the son of Zebedee, and though John did not write it, he did inspire it. Since its first writing it has several times been edited to make it appear to have been written by John himself. When this record was made, John had the other Gospels, and he saw that much had been omitted; accordingly, in the year A.D. 101 he encouraged his associate, Nathan, a Greek Jew from Caesarea, to begin the writing. John supplied his material from memory and by reference to the three records already in existence. He had no written records of his own. The Epistle known as “First John” was written by John himself as a covering letter for the work which Nathan executed under his direction. (1342.6) 121:8.11 All these writers presented honest pictures of Jesus as they saw, remembered, or had learned of him, and as their concepts of these distant events were affected by their subsequent espousal of Paul’s theology of Christianity. And these records, imperfect as they are, have been sufficient to change the course of the history of Urantia for almost two thousand years. (1343.1) 121:8.12 [Acknowledgment: In carrying out my commission to restate the teachings and retell the doings of Jesus of Nazareth, I have drawn freely upon all sources of record and planetary information. My ruling motive has been to prepare a record which will not only be enlightening to the generation of men now living, but which may also be helpful to all future generations. From the vast store of information made available to me, I have chosen that which is best suited to the accomplishment of this purpose. As far as possible I have derived my information from purely human sources. Only when such sources failed, have I resorted to those records which are superhuman. When ideas and concepts of Jesus’ life and teachings have been acceptably expressed by a human mind, I invariably gave preference to such apparently human thought patterns. Although I have sought to adjust the verbal expression the better to conform to our concept of the real meaning and the true import of the Master’s life and teachings, as far as possible, I have adhered to the actual human concept and thought pattern in all my narratives. I well know that those concepts which have had origin in the human mind will prove more acceptable and helpful to all other human minds. When unable to find the necessary concepts in the human records or in human expressions, I have next resorted to the memory resources of my own order of earth creatures, the midwayers. And when that secondary source of information proved inadequate, I have unhesitatingly resorted to the superplanetary sources of information. (1343.2) 121:8.13 The memoranda which I have collected, and from which I have prepared this narrative of the life and teachings of Jesus — aside from the memory of the record of the Apostle Andrew — embrace thought gems and superior concepts of Jesus’ teachings assembled from more than two thousand human beings who have lived on earth from the days of Jesus down to the time of the inditing of these revelations, more correctly restatements. The revelatory permission has been utilized only when the human record and human concepts failed to supply an adequate thought pattern. My revelatory commission forbade me to resort to extrahuman sources of either information or expression until such a time as I could testify that I had failed in my efforts to find the required conceptual expression in purely human sources. (1343.3) 121:8.14 While I, with the collaboration of my eleven associate fellow midwayers and under the supervision of the Melchizedek of record, have portrayed this narrative in accordance with my concept of its effective arrangement and in response to my choice of immediate expression, nevertheless, the majority of the ideas and even some of the effective expressions which I have thus utilized had their origin in the minds of the men of many races who have lived on earth during the intervening generations, right on down to those who are still alive at the time of this undertaking. In many ways I have served more as a collector and editor than as an original narrator. I have unhesitatingly appropriated those ideas and concepts, preferably human, which would enable me to create the most effective portraiture of Jesus’ life, and which would qualify me to restate his matchless teachings in the most strikingly helpful and universally uplifting phraseology. In behalf of the Brotherhood of the United Midwayers of Urantia, I most gratefully acknowledge our indebtedness to all sources of record and concept which have been hereinafter utilized in the further elaboration of our restatement of Jesus’ life on earth.]

Many consumers wrestle with the question of what to do with leftover wine. What’s the best way to preserve it overnight, so that it remains as fresh as it was when the bottle was opened? Although Mark admits to some bafflement over this dilemma (the problem of leftover wine doesn’t exist at his house), he reviews the various wine preservation … Read more about this episode...