Yesterday, the day of the celebration of the Birth of Baha’u’llah, I devoted mostly to reading from Volume II of "The Maxwells of Montreal" -- and most of that reading centered around the spiritual relationship of four glorious souls -- the three Maxwells, and Shoghi Effendi. In 1937 Shoghi Effendi had married Mary Maxwell, and drew into an intimate spiritual connection with her and with both of her parents, Sutherland and May Maxwell. Sutherland and May Maxwell with Frank Ashton, on the steps of the house of Sarah Farmer, at Green Acre Baha'i School in Maine, 1919. Photograph courtesy Bah ..read more

Shoghi Effendi describes the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh as “a Covenant unique in the spiritual annals of mankind.” (Citadel of Faith, p. 4) He also describes it as: (a) “Bahá'u'lláh’s peerless Covenant” (b) “Bahá'u'lláh's peerless and all-enfolding Covenant” (c)“Bahá'u'lláh's incomparable Covenant” (d) “so mighty a Covenant” (e) “a Covenant of world importance, pre-existent, peerless and unique in the history of all religions” (f) “a Covenant generated through the direct authority of the Promised One Himself” (g) “a Covenant on which not only His own [`Abdu'l-Bahá’s] authority but the in ..read more

    THE "PUNY ADVERSARIES” OF THE BAHA'I FAITH THEIR ACTIVITIES ARE CHARACTERIZED AS: the onslaught of the ungodly     (WTAB 9) the bold onslaught     (GPB 360) dire contests     (MBW 123) manifold, various, and at times extremely perilous     (MTA 50) afflictive trials    (WOB 91) turmoil that had convulsed [the Faith]    (GPB 170) severe winds     (BWF 433) storm of mischief     (WOB 15) violent storm     (WOB 91) violent its outbu ..read more

Abdu'l-Baha ascended in the early morning hours of November 28, 1921, and His funeral was on Tuesday the 29th. "As they slowly wended their way up Mount Carmel, the Vineyard of God, the casket appeared in the distance to be borne aloft by invisible hands, so high above the heads of the people was it carried. After two hours walking, they reached the garden of the Tomb of the Báb. Tenderly was the sacred coffin placed upon a plain table covered with a fair white linen cloth. As the vast concourse pressed round the Tabernacle of his body, waiting to be laid in its resting place, within the vaul ..read more

Mr. ‘Alí Nakhjávání, a retired member of the Universal House of Justice, has written a number of highly illuminating articles and books on the Covenant and other important topics: 1. "Towards World Order" found at La Fede Bahai in Italia 2. "Some thoughts on the Ministry of the Universal House of Justice" found at ‘Irfán Colloquia, Bahai-library.com, and Bahaistudies.net. 3. "The Power of the Covenant" used to be available at Bahaibooks.com and Bahaibookstore.com, but is not longer available there, please comment below if you find it somewhere. 4. "Shoghi Effendi: The Range and Power of h ..read more

Summary Each of the great divine Revelators has come to the earth to unify the hearts of humankind.  Each has come to unify a greater segment of society; and each has promised that a Promised One would come to earth to permanently establish the unity of all humanity.  Bahá'ís believe that Day has come--that Bahá'u'lláh is that Promised One, and that He has endowed the Bahá'í community with the tools to establish the unity of all of humanity.  In order to establish the unity of all humanity, the Bahá'í community must protect its own internal unity. Just as Jesus said "Ye are ..read more

And now, one of the greatest and most fundamental principles of the Cause of God is to shun and avoid entirely the Covenant-breakers, for they will utterly destroy the Cause of God, exterminate His Law and render of no account all efforts exerted in the past.  (The Will and Testament of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 20) A unique feature of the Baha'i Faith is that the successorship--the leadership following the passing of the Founder of the Faith--is written, clear, and unmistakable.  Since the whole function of the Baha'i Faith is to unite the human race, the instrument of unity cannot itself ..read more

The Hand of the Cause of God Leroy Ioas Photograph Courtesy Baha'i National Archives, Wilmette One of the most important figures in the history of the Baha'i Faith is Leroy Ioas.  A wonderful book about him and his wife Sylvia has been written by his daughter, Anita Ioas Chapman, available from George Ronald Publishers.  A substantial book, it is thorough, inspiring, and enjoyable to read. Even an outline of Mr. Ioas' services to the Baha'i Faith would go for several pages. I will mention only a few here.  When Mr. Ioas was a boy in his teen years, Abdu'l-Baha came to Ame ..read more

A ..read more

A ..read more