Editing William R. Ferguson (section)

== Claims of Martian encounters ==
[[File:My_Trip_to_Mars,_1954_cover.png|thumb|Cover of the first edition of ''My Trip to Mars''|upright=.8|alt=The cover is pink, with a stylized line graphic. "Mars" is encircled]]
Ferguson, a [[contactee]] (someone who claims direct encounters with extraterrestrials), reported several alien encounters, all of which occurred during meditation sessions.{{sfn|Clark|2001|p=357}}{{sfn|Bartholomew|Basterfield|Howard|1991|p=218}} In 1954, he published a narrative of his claimed contact with [[Martians]] in a book, ''My Trip to Mars''.{{sfn|Melton|2009|p=783}}{{sfn|Clark|2000|p=143}} On January 12, 1947, Ferguson claimed that in a trance state he was visited by a being named Khauga, who was identified as the angel who had given the [[Book of Revelation]] to [[John of Patmos]], the Spirit of Truth, and a "perfected being from the Holy Triune". Khauga then took him on a trip to the planet [[Mars]], which he traveled to at the "speed of consciousness".{{sfn|Clark|2000|p=143}}{{sfn|Clark|2001|p=358}} Ferguson said that he had been bodily transported there, but then after arrival he had been remade "along Martian lines".<ref name="TheKingstonWhig-Standard1954">{{Cite news |date=1954-11-11 |title=A Sad Come-down |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kingston-whig-standard-a-sad-come-do/172409482/ |access-date=2024-11-10 |newspaper=[[The Kingston Whig-Standard]] |page=4 |language=en-CA |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |issue=228 |issn=1197-4397}}</ref> Ferguson described the Martians as being a foot shorter than the average Earth person, being red haired, red complexioned, broad featured, and with the ability to levitate.{{sfn|Clark|2000|p=143}} 

Martians were said to be "twenty thousand years ahead of earthlings in spiritual evolution and scientific development".{{sfn|Clark|2000|p=143}} He claimed that on Mars, one could swim in the water without getting wet, breathing was unnecessary, and that the food was simply absorbed and did not need to be excreted.<ref name="TheKingstonWhig-Standard1954" /><ref name="TheSun-Herald1954" /> According to his description, Mars had a large network of canals that covered it, with electromagnetic fields shielding its cities.{{sfn|Clark|2000|p=143}} 

Ferguson said Khauga asked him to give messages to "other earthlings", assuring them that the world would soon improve, and said he was incredulous that humans could kill one another.{{sfn|Clark|2000|p=143}} He said the Martians were concerned with the state of the Earth, having decided to "release positive energy particles into the earth's atmosphere [...] to counteract the negative energy particles that man himself has released".{{sfn|Clark|2000|p=143}} According to Ferguson, when he returned he was again incorporeal, before he re-materialized; upon his return, he said that the Martians were sending an expedition to the planet Earth. This was a period of many other claimed UFO sightings and contactee events.{{sfn|Melton|2009|p=783}}{{sfn|Clark|2001|p=358}} He believed that these UFO experiences raised his consciousness and provided insight into his life.{{sfn|Bartholomew|Basterfield|Howard|1991|p=218}} Later, Ferguson also claimed he had traveled to Venus.{{sfn|Hogan|2016|p=296}}