Bahji, Israel
“I yield Thee thanks, O my Lord, that Thou hast wakened me from my sleep, and stirred me up, and created in me the desire to perceive what most of Thy servants have failed to apprehend. Make me able, therefore, O my Lord, to behold, for love of Thee and for the sake of Thy pleasure, whatsoever Thou hast desired. Thou art He to the power of Whose might and sovereignty all things testify.”
-Baha’u’llah, Prayers and Meditations
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Chicago, USA
“Of particular and historic importance has been the application made by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Chicago—the first center established in the North American continent, the first to be incorporated among its sister-Assemblies and the first to take the initiative in paving the way for the erection of a Bahá’í Temple in the West—to the civil authorities in the state of Illinois for civil recognition of the right to conduct legal marriages in accordance with the ordinances of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, and to file marriage certificates that have previously received the official sanction of that Assembly.”
-Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By
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Adelaide, Australia
“There is no power or might save in God, the Protector, the Self-Subsistent.”
-Baha’u’llah, The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys
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Hoi An, Vietnam
“Create in me a pure heart, O my God, and renew a tranquil conscience within me, O my Hope! … Through the power of Thy transcendent might lift me up unto the heaven of Thy holiness, O Source of my being, and by the breezes of Thine eternity gladden me, O Thou Who art my God!”
-Baha’u’llah, Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah
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Rosebank, Australia
Just recently went to a creative Baha’i wedding. The Bride had a pizza and paper cranes night where her friends made lots of paper cranes for an installation for her wedding.
Here is just a portion of it. It was a wonderful backdrop to the whole wedding, a sign of how marriage can bring family and friends together to build community. The light threaded in and around the cranes.
“Make Thou this marriage to be as threading lights of Thine abounding grace, O my Lord, the All-Merciful, and luminous rays of Thy bestowals…”
-‘Abdu’l-Baha, Selections From the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha
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Waterville Valley, USA
“These sanctified Mirrors, these Day Springs of ancient glory, are, one and all, the Exponents on earth of Him Who is the central Orb of the universe, its Essence and ultimate Purpose. From Him proceed their knowledge and power; from Him is derived their sovereignty. The beauty of their countenance is but a reflection of His image, and their revelation a sign of His deathless glory.”
-Baha’u’llah, Gleanings From the Writings of Baha’u’llah
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Haifa, Israel
“The glory of Thy might, O my God, beareth me witness! Every time I attempt to remember Thee, I find myself overpowered by the sublimity of Thy station and the immensity of Thy might; and every time I hold my peace, lo, I am impelled by my love for Thee and by the potency of Thy will, to unloose my tongue and mention Thee. He who is poor and needy, O my God, is calling for his Lord, the All-Possessing; and he who is destitute of all strength remembereth his Master, the All-Powerful.”
-Baha’u’allah, Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah
Gorgeous