My life has changed since I found the Baha’i Faith…

Teaching the Baha’i Faith has much to do with listening to people, understanding their thoughts and needs, and knowing when and how to share.

Here is the story of a man who learned about the Baha’i Faith from a guest at the Caribbean island resort where he works. After years of struggle with substance abuse, he began a spiritual search that led eventually to several Baha’is. The story involves caring and generosity, and also ways to clearly and effectively present the Baha’i Teachings.

The Guardian of the Baha'i Faith, Shoghi Effendi, referred to direct teaching as “an open and bold assertion of the fundamental verities of the Cause,” with the goal of helping “in the eventual recognition by all mankind of the indispensability, the uniqueness and the supreme station of the Baha’i Revelation.”

To this guidance, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States adds in its February 20, 2008 letter: “The choice of method lies with the teacher, who must act with wisdom in all circumstances, according to his or her perception of the seeker’s receptivity.”

The seeker describes his past substance abuse and spiritual yearning, before learning about the Baha’i Faith:

For many years I had been searching for something to make me feel whole. I had always believed in God, but only called upon Him when I was deeply afraid or in bad trouble. (One day) I asked God for help. I told Him that I couldn't go on the way I was. That night I found myself in a hospital in the detox ward. (During therapy sessions) we often spoke of a Higher Power. I chose to call mine God. I attempted on a daily basis to get closer to God using prayer and meditation, but after six years I still felt something was missing. I needed something more.

In the course of his work on the island, he met a guest who is a Baha’i. Their friendship developed over time until she shared the Faith with him. Sensing his receptivity, the lady invited the seeker to her Latin American country for a visit. The seeker writes:

I'd never heard of it before. But every detail she revealed to me piqued my curiosity even further. I began to realize that this was what I'd been looking for all of this time. There was no aspect of the Baha’i Faith that I couldn't agree with. Some of their ideas I already believed in, others simply made perfect sense to me. She invited me to visit with her and some friends at her home. They are very spiritual people who made me feel so welcome. We had prayers every evening and I could feel my faith growing. My friend gave me some literature to study, one prayer book, and a meditation book.

After returning to his island, he was eager to meet more Baha’is. He searched an old phone book, and found a listing for the Baha’is on an island over 50 miles away. A Baha’i woman living there answered his telephone call.

I called and she was quite happy to hear from me. She was very interested in how I got her number. Apparently it wasn't in the newer phone books. She said it was more than a coincidence that I was able to get a hold of her. We talked for a bit, then she said a prayer over the phone. She also told me that there were two Bahai's on the island where I live. Since there are only about 150 people living here, I already knew them. We have started Ruhi together and I've been to their house for a Holy Day celebration.

The two Baha’is on the seeker’s home island also shared “Anna’s presentation” from Ruhi Book 6. In its February 20, 2008 letter, the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly writes:

Teachers in clusters around the world are finding “Anna’s presentation” from Book 6 of the Ruhi curriculum to be a helpful model for direct teaching. As teachers gain in experience, they learn to adapt the presentation according to individual circumstances. Yet the general content—comprehensive, clear, and forthright presentation, with a loving invitation to receptive souls to embrace the Faith—remains essentially the same.

This seeker gives a sincere account of the changes in his life after meeting Baha’is and investigating the Faith:

My life has changed so much for the better since I've found the Baha'i Faith. I no longer smoke cigarettes, or have anxiety problems that require medication. I have learned how damaging backbiting is and how important it is to avoid it at all costs. I understand the importance of daily prayer. I am no longer afraid of the future; I have some new-found life goals. My interest in helping my fellow man and especially those less fortunate than me has become a priority. I still have so much to learn, but I believe that is what life is about: always striving to learn more and become a better person.

Assisting Seekers of Truth – An “Amazing Experience,” Part 2

Last week the Teaching Blog shared the uplifting story of a woman who volunteered to contact seekers and accompany them on their spiritual journey. She shares:

I am an outgoing person and I cannot imagine a more exciting and rewarding service than assisting those who are seeking the Truth.

The Baha'i attempted to contact her next seeker three times—persistence—and finally left a message. She writes:

We spoke for 27 minutes and she thanked me over and over for leaving a message. It was as if she didn't know what to do next when she got the message. This seeker hesitated when I invited her to my home to learn about the Faith. So I invited her to a community center. When she understood where I live she said that she passed my neighborhood twice a week on the way to the local acupuncture school and that she lived very close to me. She was warming up!

The Baha'i then shared that her husband gives classes at the acupuncture school, and has a career with a government agency. Lo and behold, the seeker excitedly shared that her father works at that agency as well!

Suddenly, within a minute, I was no longer a stranger, the hesitation was gone and we talked about when she could come to my home. Again, it seemed that assistance from on high had unlocked the heart of the seeker.

She adds that:

One wonderful thing about the Seeker Response System is that it is local, we are neighbors with the seekers. So far it has not been difficult to find commonality and to overcome an initial lack of familiarity.

With the services that this Baha'i is giving to her community, can we not see what the Universal House of Justice speaks of in this passage? Regarding accompaniment, they write:

And in such a state souls labour together ceaselessly, delighting not so much in their own accomplishments but in the progress and services of others. So it is that their thoughts are centred at all times on helping one another scale the heights of service to His Cause and soar in the heaven of His knowledge.

The House of Justice emphasizes this growing practice by writing: “This is what we see in the present pattern of activity unfolding across the globe, propagated by young and old, by veteran and newly enrolled, working side by side.”

Thinking of the spiritual potential all around us, this Baha'i lady writes:

I am reminded that here in North America we are blessed by the footsteps of the Master and the knowledge that nowhere is the possibility for entry by troops greater than here. Please God we may achieve it!

And may we do so in that very spirit of love and sharing.

Assisting Seekers of Truth – An “Amazing Experience,” Part 1

Last year, a self-described “outgoing” woman volunteered to follow-up in her Baha'i community with a seeker that was referred to her in her community. She describes the invitation to respond to a seeker who asked to learn more about the Faith as “...an amazing experience.”

In its 2010 Ridvan message, having enumerated the main developments in the global Baha'i community, the Universal House of Justice describes “yet another advance at the level of culture,” a change with “far-reaching” implications: the importance of accompanying souls on their journey. The Supreme Institution writes about the merits of “accompaniment”:

It signals the significant strengthening of a culture in which learning is the mode of operation, a mode that fosters the informed participation of more and more people in a united effort to apply Bahá’u’lláh's teachings to the construction of a divine civilization, which the Guardian states is the primary mission of the Faith

The Baha'i reached out to the seeker, also a woman, and invited her to her home. Along with her husband, together they began a conversation like Anna (in Ruhi Book 6), sharing fundamental verities of the Baha'i Faith. After one session of looking together at the content in the “Reflections on the Life of the Spirit” (Ruhi Book 1), this Baha'i writes: “she declared.”

They met again, and this time the newly-declared Baha'i confided with her and her husband that she had a tragic, personal loss several years prior, and how the Bahai Writings provided her with comfort during a difficult time.

Later, after she had declared, she shared with us that after seven years of feeling no comfort, she felt so assisted by the Baha'i Writings and felt she was reading the Word of God. She said that in that moment she had made her decision to become a Baha'i,  it seemed as if the Concourse on High was guiding us to put what she needed into her hands.

The Baha'i writes that, “we presented her with two Writings from Abdu'l-Baha” regarding consolation.

Through accompaniment together, the journey continued for this new believer, as she later attended her first unity Feast with the Bahia community, and her own husband joined her. The Baha'i teacher shared the joy she observed about these new friends...

They were both radiant at the end and she commented that she would have a sore face tomorrow from all the smiling. They were overwhelmed with the love and the diversity of the friends.

The Universal House of Justice assures the Bahais of the transformative effect that the quality of relationships have among friends, and our communities:

In relationships among the friends, then, this development in culture finds expression in the quality of their interactions. Learning as a mode of operation requires that all assume a posture of humility, a condition in which one becomes forgetful of self, placing complete trust in God...

Through this Bahai, we can begin to see the quality of this interaction on her service to another...

I am an outgoing person and I cannot imagine a more exciting and rewarding service than assisting those who are seeking the Truth.

To be continued: Part 2 of Assisting Seekers of Truth

Junior Youth: A Community Transforming the World

In cluster after cluster around the country, the friends are learning more about the merits of the junior youth spiritual empowerment program, and its influence on the community and the household.

The Universal House of Justice in its November 14, 2012 message writes:

The merit of the junior youth spiritual empowerment program lies, first and foremost, in its effectiveness at enhancing the power of expression and the quality of spiritual perception within its participants and in assisting them to develop the capabilities necessary for a life of meaningful service to their communities. Repeated accounts from officials, parents, and young people themselves testify to the power of the program to shape character and bring forth the praiseworthy qualities latent in junior youth.

Recently, a mother with three children registered her belief in the Baha'i Faith on line at www.bahai.us, along with her children. She first heard about the Baha'i Faith when she was 10 years old from her sister who has now been a Baha'i for over 30 years.

Raised as a Roman Catholic, she eventually converted to Islam, and appreciated the Faith as a way of life and the restatement of spiritual laws brought by Muhammad.

She lived overseas while practicing Islam. However, she felt that she lacked a spirit of unity and community and looked up the Baha'is when she moved back stateside to the West Coast.

The regional seeker response coordinator in touch with this family of receptive souls shares:

One child participates in a junior youth group, and another child is attending the area toddler class. The mother is [also] already well connected to her local Baha'i community—attending a devotional gathering and participating in a Ruhi Book 1 study which she hosts in her home. As she has learned about Baha'u'llah, and His Teachings on progressive Revelation, she said ‘it all made perfect sense’ and she sees that she's been taking steps towards becoming a Baha'i all her life. She is so grateful that she and her children are now part of a community that is working to transform the world!

Enduring Results: “Everything made sense”

In its 28 December 2010 letter, the Universal House of Justice exhorts the Baha’is worldwide to:

…hold fast to the conviction that a direct presentation of the Faith, when carried out at a sufficient level of depth and reinforced by a sound approach to consolidation, can bring enduring results.

A married couple living the western United States recently entered the Baha’i community along with their children. Both hail from different countries in Europe, and both benefited from a direct presentation of the Faith, along with official follow-up, which had wonderful and enduring results.

As you’ll see, the wife became attracted through online research, and the husband's interactions with his wife and the Baha’i responding to their inquiry helped him embrace the Faith.

Despite living in the U.S. since the 90s, the wife regularly watches television from her native country in Europe. Last year she saw on report on woman and an Iranian Baha’i who married. She was particularly impressed by what the groom said about the Baha’i principle of gender equality.

So impressed, in fact, that she started researching the Baha’i Faith online. The Baha’is who followed up on her inquiries reported her as saying that “what she found out was exactly what she's always believed.”

The response coordinator shared that she:

…spent the entire day researching the Faith and knew all about the covenant, administrative order, and Baha'i laws, (e.g. prayer. and abstaining from alcohol). She really found out a lot and everything made sense to her. She mentioned the Twin Manifestations and that the Faith started in 1844. She was looking into the history of the Faith as well as the Teachings.

By the end of the same month, the wife declared her faith online and registered her children as well. In addition to her husband's interest and later enrollment, the wife's mother also registered online her interest in learning more about the Baha’i Faith.

In the same letter of December 28^th, the House of Justice asks the Baha’is to “strain every nerve” to ensure that the system we are working so hard to build “does not close in on itself but progressively expands to embrace more and more people.” In light of this married couple's sincere and open attraction to the Baha’i Teachings, the next sentence that the House of Justice pens is quite poignant:

Let them not lose sight of the remarkable receptivity they found—nay, the sense of eager expectation that awaited them—as they gained confidence in their ability to interact with people of all walks of life and converse with them about the Person of Bahá’u’lláh and His Revelation.

The response coordinator did have the opportunity to speak with the husband about “the Person of Bahá’u’lláh and His Revelation,” in the form of Anna’s Presentation, from Ruhi Book 6. The coordinator noted that he agreed with everything, affirmed the Baha’i laws that they discussed, and spoke about obligatory prayer.

The husband shared that as he grew up he became more uncomfortable with his upbringing in church, and had always believed in the unity of religion and of humankind. After his wife's enrollment, he began to read several Baha’i books and speak with her about joining the Faith. After contact with the regional coordinator, they decided to confirm his enrollment!

The oneness of humankind was also key in the wife's acceptance of the Faith, as the coordinator learned. Her prior marriage was with an African American man, with whom she had several children. The elimination of prejudice, the coordinator related, is something that she has always believed in.

After his enrollment in the community, the husband shared:

My wife and kids just became members and I have decided to join the Baha'i Faith as well. Thank you very much for all the work!

And, indeed, our work entails creating a community large enough to answer the needs of society and accepting more new members like this family. The Universal House of Justice writes:

…let them not forget the lessons of the past which left no doubt that a relatively small band of active supporters of the Cause, no matter how resourceful, no matter how consecrated, cannot attend to the needs of communities comprising hundreds, much less thousands, of men, women and children.

Keetra's Prayer Party: the "potential is huge"

When Brad and Katy’s five-year-old daughter Keetra announced one day that she wanted to start a “prayer party,” they weren’t quite sure how to handle it. As you’ll see in the video linked below, they had never hosted a devotional gathering before.

Keetra’s father Brad even told her that she would have to make her own phone calls, with the hope (at that time) that he and Katy wouldn’t be embarrassed!

Two years later, Keetra still makes the calls, and her family continues to host the first Baha’i-inspired devotional gathering in their Arizona community.

In its 28 December 2010 letter, the Universal House of Justice writes that the Baha’i world’s “capacity to shape a pattern of life distinguished for its devotional character has risen perceptibly,” adding that:

In diverse settings, on every continent, groups of believers are uniting with others in prayer, turning their hearts in supplication to their Maker, and calling to their aid those spiritual forces upon which the efficacy of their individual and collective efforts depends.

As you’ll see in the video, one of the participants, Wendy, says that:

Everyone, I think, has a desire to be spiritual. And when I was a child, I felt as if I was questing for something. And maybe I still am, but I thinks it’s really good for the kids to have some outlet for that.

About the benefits of holding devotionals, Wendy adds:

I think the potential is huge. I think that pulling together in a spiritual manner really strengthens those bonds that we form with each other.

Here is the delightful video named “Keetra’s Prayer Party”:

Summing up what Keetra and her family have done, Wendy remarks:

Look at all of us who came together today because of Keetra. That’s an amazing thing for a kid to be able to do, for anyone to be able to do.

“I have become connected with my spiritual side”

In its Ridvan message of April 2012, the Universal House of Justice writes: “To observe the Baha'i world at work is to behold a vista bright indeed.”

Here is the heartwarming story of Angela, a woman who recently declared her belief in Baha’u’llah after researching the Baha’i Faith online. Living in the south-central region of the United States, Angela realized that she had reached a new stage in her spiritual journey when she discovered that the worldwide Baha’i community shared her own, deeply-held convictions.

In its Ridvan 2012 message, the House of Justice describes the significance of our efforts to share the message of Baha’u’llah:

In the life of the individual believer who desires, above all, to invite others into communion with the Creator and to render service to humanity can be found signs of the spiritual transformation intended for every soul by the Lord of the Age.

The House of Justice caps the same passage with a vision of the unfoldment of divine civilization:

In the spirit animating the activities of any Baha'i community… can be perceived an indication of how a society founded upon divine teachings might develop.

It is thus a wonderful confirmation of our efforts as Baha’is, both online and in person, to witness both the clarity and depth of Angela’s acceptance of Baha’u’llah’s Teachings.

Sharing her story, Angela writes that she first heard the word Baha’i from a friend who had joined the community. Roughly one year ago, while engaged in her own spiritual search, Angela once more heard about the Baha’i Faith. She writes:

When I saw the term (Baha’i) again, I began to research it and find out more about the Faith. The more I read and learned about the Faith, the more I realized that my beliefs go hand in hand with the teaching of the Baha’i Writings.

She also describes the disconnect between her personal belief in oneness and the views espoused in church:

Although I believed in God, I felt like something was seriously missing. I had gone to church many times but the thought that two thirds of the world would go to hell if they did not accept Jesus as their personal savior bothered me. I love Jesus but I also love and respect Mohammed and Buddha. I always felt like an outcast because I believed in all religions and one God.

In addition to the teachings on spiritual unity, Angela found meaning in sharing her new faith with our worldwide community:

Becoming a Baha’i and knowing that there is a community of six million people who share the same belief is very comforting to me and I couldn’t believe that there is in fact a religion that believes what I believe in. I am excited to have joined such a wonderful community and I am looking forward to studying the Baha’i Writings.

She completes her story with this affirmation:

Life is a beautiful, mysterious experience with many lessons to be learned. I feel like I have become connected with my spiritual side and I am looking forward to feeding it every day. God bless.

Angela declared her faith in Baha’u’llah online. The Baha’is in her area contacted her to confirm her enrollment and were thrilled to receive this lovely description of her spiritual search. They report that Angela hopes within the month to start Ruhi Book 1 with a study circle tutor in her community!