Hello Fellow Truth Students,
“Our Purpose”
In the interest of offering greater understanding of Unity and what Unity’s founders were thinking in the beginning I looked for ways that Unity’s purpose is stated. I found a couple of statements that put it rather well. I have concluded this article with Unity’s statement for peace.
This is the purpose of Unity:
Founded in 1889, Unity is a Christian organization whose primary mission is the practical application of spiritual principles. Unity believes that it is the divine birthright of each individual to experience health, prosperity, and harmony in all aspects of life; and that God’s will for each of us is absolute good. It is from this point of view that Unity carries out its educational purpose. Unity is not an offshoot of any other Christian denomination and is therefore under no obligation to perpetuate the rituals and dogmas common in traditional Christianity. Unity presents the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Bible, and works of other inspired thinkers in a simple, practical, and contemporary way. Unity’s sole purpose is to teach people how to experience greater freedom, health, happiness, and success through a practical understanding of spiritual principles taught and demonstrated by Jesus Christ. About a thousand churches and study groups have been established throughout the world to serve an ever-growing community of Unity adherents. They are designed to teach spiritual principles and to assist those who attend them in applying these transformative principles in their daily lives.
Another way of putting it:
Unity’s purpose according to its founders
Prior to the Fillmores’ starting the Unity movement, Charles Fillmore began to study, without prejudice, the available literature on metaphysical movements and the world’s religions. He found many differences and conflicting teachings. However, he was convinced there was a great power behind all of them.
Finally, he made a decision. He said, “In this babble I will go to headquarters. If I am Spirit and this God they talk about so much is Spirit, we can somehow communicate, or the whole thing is a fraud.” He sat aside an hour each evening to be still and commune with God. After several months he felt that he still had not contacted God but he felt so much better that he continued.
Eventually, he did experience communication with the Holy Spirit. He continued communicating with the Holy Spirit until his death. He died at 94 years of age. It was not unusual for him to be in prayer and meditation for several hours each day. In his later years during his daily activities, even while in conversation with another person, the Holy Spirit would call him into communication. He would stop the conversation with the person for the few minutes of communing with the Holy Spirit.
Charles became a sincere, devout student of the Bible. He became such a student and follower of Jesus and Jesus’ teachings that one could say that Mr. Fillmore was a current day disciple of Jesus.
Charles Fillmore went to headquarters (the Holy Spirit) in his mind. He did not stop there. He taught his students to go to headquarters. Teachers and books can take us only part way on our overcoming journey. The Holy Spirit must take us the remainder of the journey.
From the Fillmorian view, Unity’s primary purpose is for us to help ourselves and to help others to go to headquarters. This is seeking the kingdom of God and God’s righteousness. Then God supplies us with abundance as a by-product of our seeking.
Specifically, Unity’s purpose is to help us to contact the Holy Spirit within our minds. We surrender our personalities to the Holy Spirit. In turn, the Holy Spirit instructs and guides us moment by moment. The Holy Spirit also begins to transform our false sense beliefs to spiritual knowing. Eventually, our sense consciousness is completely transformed to spiritual consciousness. Then we will have returned to the kingdom of God (the Garden of Eden). This is salvation.
Here is Unity’s joint statement for peace:
The Association of Unity Churches International and Unity®
Unity stands for peace in the presence of conflict; for love in the presence of hatred; for forgiveness in the presence of injury. Unity honors the many names for God, the many paths to God, the many ways to worship God; for there is only one power and presence of God and that God loves each one of us equally. It is therefore the position of the Association of Unity Churches International and Unity to urge all nations, their leaders and their people to turn to God by whatever the name for guidance during these challenging times and pursue peace, not war, for this is what honors the God of all our faith traditions. Unity stands for peace in our lifetime.
Blessings,
Shawn
