An Open, Intellectual Discussion Group Meeting ONLINE to answer questions about the Bahá'í Faith;
Sponsored by the Bahá’ís of Eastern Hillsborough County
Facilitated by Bill and Lori Wilson
Dates: Every Thursday Evening at 7:00 PM.
Upon request by the discussion group participants, the Bahá'ís of Brandon, Florida, will follow up the online meetings with in-person meetings at the home of Bill and Lori Wilson in Valrico, FL. Please request a follow-up meeting during the online discussion group meeting.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84130802851?pwd=UOebQtT6tO6LXUh3MBSnWmrknObJfz.1
Meeting ID: 841 3080 2851
Passcode: 441359
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Please be prompt in joining the meeting. This is usually a very small group, with two or three organizers and one or two attendees, or in some cases, no other attendees. The organizers will wait no more than 20 minutes to see if anyone else attends. The small group gives the advantage of allowing the attendees to initiate the discussion or questions about whatever topic they want, either about spirituality in general or the Bahá'í Faith specifically.
“The endowments which distinguish the human race from all other forms of life are summed up in what is known as the human spirit; the mind is its essential quality. These endowments have enabled humanity to build civilizations and to prosper materially. But such accomplishments alone have never satisfied the human spirit, whose mysterious nature inclines it towards transcendence, a reaching towards an invisible realm, towards the ultimate reality, that unknowable essence of essences called God. The religions brought to mankind by a succession of spiritual luminaries have been the primary link between humanity and that ultimate reality, and have galvanized and refined mankind's capacity to achieve spiritual success together with social progress.”
~ Bahá’í Universal House of Justice, Bahá’í World Center, Haifa, Israel, 1985
“To be a Bahá’í simply means to love all the world, to love humanity and try to serve it, to work for universal peace and universal brotherhood.” *– ‘*Abdu’l-Bahá, as attributed in Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, by Dr. J.E. Esselmont, pg. 71.
“All men have been created to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization." ~Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, Author: Bahá’u’lláh, Source: US Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1990 pocket-size edition, Page: 215
"The Great Being saith: O ye children of men! The fundamental purpose animating the Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and fellowship amongst men. Suffer it not to become a source of dissension and discord, of hate and enmity."
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 215)
The Prophets, the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh, taught that some of the requirements for peace include: renewed spirituality, elimination of racism and prejudice of all kinds, universal education, equality of women and men, reconciliation between members of different religions, and the eradication of extremes of poverty and wealth. Principles of peace and methods of nonviolent social change promoted by the Bahá’í prophets in the 1800s inspired such authors and leaders as Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi.
The holy scriptures of all of the world religions include the message that God promised that humanity will achieve world peace, but only through spiritual means. The world leaders of the Bahá'í Faith have stated that “the imminent realization of this age-old dream of peace is now, by virtue of the transforming effects of Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation, invested with the force of divine authority." We live in an extraordinary time in the history of humanity!