Discover Jesus: Status 2024 OCT

Discover Jesus – Update

By Mike Robinson

DiscoverJesus.com Progress!

DiscoverJesus.com Progress

The Discover Jesus website continues to grow as we document Jesus' life and teachings from The Urantia Book. Our growth includes adding new articles from our volunteer writers, images from Gary Tonge, article previews for connected stories that are now viewable on mobile devices, and a compelling new addition: audio discussions about the articles to further engage our site visitors.

Audio Deep-Dive Discussions!

We're excited to introduce a new feature on the site: select audio discussions that dive deeper into the articles. These "deep-dive" conversations provide an easy, engaging way to explore the content, offering an accessible entry point for readers. Each discussion features a dynamic exchange between a man and a woman who explore the article's key points in an informal, cordial, and thought-provoking way. Typically lasting 5-10 minutes (with a few longer ones), these discussions are natural and compelling to listen to – even for those of us who wrote or edited the articles!

We're using NotebookLM to power these discussions. This innovative tool is making waves for how effortlessly it creates informal, insightful, and highly engaging conversations.

We will be focusing on Topic articles initially. Here are some of the essays that now include audio discussions:

• Accidents and Divine Intervention
• Acme of Religious Living
• After Pentecost, Peter, Paul, and Christianity
• Angels – The Daughters of God
• Art of Living
• How is Jesus Relevant Today?
• The Kingdom of Heaven
• How Did Jesus Treat Women?
• Indwelling Spirit of God
• Jesus' Miracles
• Jesus' Return – the Master's Second Coming
• Meaning of Jesus' Death on the Cross

Content Development Progress

Our content continues to grow. You can check out what's been recently added to the site by clicking on the yellow banner on the homepage of DiscoverJesus.com. This highlights the number of articles that were last added and links to a page that showcases each.

We are closing in on our goal of 500+ articles on the site. As mentioned in last month's update, we expect our final totals will be 100 People/Groups, 250 Events, 50 Locations, and 100 Topics. We may exceed these totals as we draw closer, but we continue to be on track for completion by the end of this calendar year.

Here are some of the newest essays that have been added to the site:

• Event – First Temple Talk
• Event – Jesus and the Twenty-Four Teach in Sidon
• Event – Jesus Tells the Story of the Good Samaritan
• Event – The Feast of Tabernacles
• Event – The Women's Corps Prove Their Effectiveness
• Event – Training Evangelists at Bethsaida
• Location – Antioch
• Location – Jericho
• Topic – Jesus' Early Education
• Topic – Necessity for Jesus' Departure

New Languages and Other Features

We are excited to share that we are making great progress in translating the site into Spanish and French, with plans to launch these versions in the next few months. More languages will follow soon, thanks to the incredible efforts of our writers and the support of AI-powered translation tools.

In addition to new languages, we will continue to add other site features than enhance the visitor experience during the next few months. This includes speeding up search results when using the search toolbar and adding "previous" and "next" links in the Event essays to allow for easier sequential progression through the events surrounding Jesus' life and teachings.

We are still in the early stages of introducing this Wikipedia-style version of The Urantia Book to a global audience, making the site accessible to even more readers and truth-seekers.

Your Help is Appreciated

This effort is still going strong, thanks to a dedicated group of Urantia Book readers who are determined to see it through to completion. Our software innovations are constantly adjusted based on reader feedback to improve our interface. In addition, continual marketing and fundraising activities help increase site visitors. Our extensive network of writers and volunteers continues to provide essential contributions.

We appreciate your assistance in helping our cause, and we look forward to your continued participation and engagement in this important resource. Together, let's continue to spread the discovery of Jesus' life and teachings – before Christianity!