Be not dismayed, O peoples of the world, when the day star of My beauty is set, and the heaven of My tabernacle is concealed from your eyes. Arise to further My Cause, and to exalt My Word amongst men. We are with you at all times, and shall strengthen you through the power of truth. We are truly almighty. Whoso hath recognized Me, will arise and serve Me with such determination that the powers of earth and heaven shall be unable to defeat his purpose.
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 137)
A story from Day 5. Enjoy.
“the precious gift”
Our Beloved Universal House of Justice has made a request. They have asked Baha’is “to find receptive souls and teach them.” Sounds simple, right? Well, for many of us, it isn’t. There are many reasons which I will not go into. My interest lies in the ‘receptive soul’ part. What is a receptive soul? What does this individual look like? Where do they live? How do I know? Well, I am happy to say that our last visit to Timber Ridge provided me with answers. My precious teaching team was blessed to discover the bounty that has been bestowed upon us by Baha’u’llah. This is the Day that Prophets of old have longed for. What a glorious Day!
We were about half way through our ‘scheduled teaching time’ when we met a young woman in her twenties. She and her family had just gotten home. Our fearless speaker of the team introduced each one of us and invited her to learn about the Teachings of The Baha’i Faith. There was an immediate interest. As soon as our ‘hollow reed’ spoke about The Baha’i Faith being a world religion, she was intrigued. For the next 50 minutes the ‘gift and joy of teaching’ was unfolding. As each page was turned through the presentation, the young woman would agree and confirm the information. While the consultation continued, I kept thinking, could this really be happening?
As the birds sang and the wind blew, I couldn’t help but feel so grateful for this opportunity. I was overwhelmed by the joy of listening to her learn about how we are building ‘a new world civilization’, and realizing that brought her a feeling of ‘hope’ for the world, especially the future of her son. After our spirits were ‘refreshed and gladdened’ she was informed and invited to join our Beloved Faith. There was moment of silence. It seemed as if she was embracing a precious gift. After a moment, she shared a couple of reservations including how all of this sounds too good to be true, and that she as a mother, has the responsibility to tread carefully in the decisions she makes. She also wanted to understand how ‘power’ is managed by the institutions of the Faith. We explained to her about the spiritual nature of the Baha’i electoral process. I was in awe! We were all in awe!
Everything around me felt surreal. We left her with our deeply honored selves and asked if we could visit again. The answer was, ‘yes’. As I drove home, I felt like I was in a dream. The cars around me, the trees I passed, my surroundings, felt ‘other worldly’. What a gift. To be given the opportunity to share Baha’u’llah’s Teachings and then to experience an individual who was no doubt a ‘receptive soul’ was indeed heavenly.
So, the answer to my question about receptive souls is, ‘anyone’. ‘Anyone’ can be a receptive soul. The individual looks like ‘anyone’. They live ‘everywhere’. And, you will know when you meet them. Yá-Bahá'u'l-Abhá, Dear Friends, Yá-Bahá'u'l-Abhá
“The ‘building process’, to which they are consecrated, is “the one hope of a stricken society.”
Universal House of Justice,
