Bahá’í News/Inserts/Issue 258/To Teach the Cause of God/Text

Bahá’í News/Inserts/Issue 258/To Teach the Cause of God

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[Page 1]

TO TEACH THE CAUSE OF GOD

What I Can Do As an Individual Believer

1. HOME AND FAMILY

a. Be a true Bahá’í to my family.

b. Teach the Bahá’í Faith to my children. When they near the age of fifteen years, point out the privileges of declaring themselves.

c. Encourage the friends of the family to visit our home, and through Bahá’í love and fragrance make it a center of attraction.

d. As a Bahá’í youth, I can demonstrate to parents and friends that I am a product of the New Age of Bahá’u’lláh, an example of "the new race of men."

2. PEOPLE CONTACT

a. Remember the special interests of relatives, friends and associates. Take these into account when giving them special attention on birthdays and other anniversaries.

b. Demonstrate the Bahá’í spirit of service by doing helpful things for neighbors and friends. In times of adversity, present either orally or in writing Bahá’í explanations as given by Bahá’u’lláh or ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Always find opportunities for words of comfort.

3. TEACHING

a. Hold a fireside at least once in each nineteen days for even one or two people and gradually introduce them to the Faith.

b. Study the teachings on some particular subject so well that I could give a five-minute talk on it at a fireside. As I gain experience, offer my services as a speaker to the teaching committee of my community or to the Regional Teaching Committee.

4. SEEKING OPPORTUNITIES FOR TEACHING

a. Follow the suggestions made by the Guardian in The Advent of Divine Justice (page 43) and direct my efforts into some community activity that is in accord with the tenets of the Faith, thus making contacts for the Faith and for my firesides.

b. Interest the blind in using our Braille literature.

c. Organize a youth group and give them some idea of the New World Order.

d. Watch the local press for any likely opportunities for "giving the Message" or offering Bahá’í speakers.

e. Demonstrate the principle of the Oneness of Mankind in striving to contact and teach members of various races and cultural groups in my community.

5. PUBLICITY

As a member of a Bahá’í community I can remember that my every contact with others is an act of public relations for the Faith and for my community.

As an isolated believer, I can do these things:

a. Patiently cultivate the interest of the local editors and reporters in using Bahá’í news releases and special publicity on appropriate occasions. I can make an appointment with them to introduce them to any special Bahá’í visitors or speakers that come to my town.

b. Do likewise with those who direct the activities of the radio stations and perhaps, in time, get free time on the air for a Bahá’í speaker or script.

c. Arrange Bahá’í exhibits on all appropriate occasions, in the public library, in show windows, at local fairs, and at meetings for Bahá’í speakers. In order to be prepared for such opportunities I can familiarize myself with the ideas on exhibits and displays in the handbook, The Two-Year Program of Preparation, and with the materials available from the Visual Education Committee.

d. Encourage and cooperate in the local observance of such events as Brotherhood Week, United Nations Week, Human Rights Day, Religious Education Week, etc., in order to present the Bahá’í attitude toward movements such as these. On those occasions my fireside could be devoted to these subjects and I can use the prepared outlines and talks in the Bahá’í "special events kit" as a basis for the discussions.

e. Maintain a circulating library of Bahá’í books in my home and lend them to likely seekers. Place books in my home town library and encourage friends to read them.

f. Develop a mailing list in order to send out invitations or get people together quickly when a Bahá’í speaker comes to my community.

6. PIONEERING

a. Pioneer wherever I live. Even if I live in a Bahá’í community there are still many people in my town who have not heard of the Faith and among them may be many seekers.

b. Say daily the prayer revealed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the Tablets of the Divine Plan for the area in which I live and thus attract guidance and divine assistance in promoting the Faith. [Page 2] c. In pioneering at home I can ask the Regional Teaching Committee for suggestions and for someone to help me undertake a teaching campaign in a well-planned, orderly manner. In order to save time for a visiting teacher, make surveys in advance to determine available library, newspaper, radio and meeting room facilities.

d. Place myself at the disposal of a nearby Assembly or the Regional Teaching Committee to assist in extension or circuit teaching, if I have the time and funds.

7. INTER-COMMUNITY VISITS

If I live near a Bahá’í community I can ask to be kept informed of special events in which I may participate or to which I can bring contacts. I can attend an occasional Nineteen-Day Feast there in order to be informed of Bahá’í activities in the area and to enjoy the fellowship of other Bahá’ís.

8. CONFERENCES AND CONVENTIONS

a. Make every possible effort to attend teaching conferences and other special events planned by the Regional Teaching Committee.

b. Make plans well in advance to attend the State Convention where I will become better acquainted with my fellow Bahá’ís and with the delegates for whom I vote and who are elected to attend the National Bahá’í Convention.

c. Attend the National Bahá’í Convention and become acquainted with Bahá’ís throughout the country and with plans presented by the delegates for consultation, if I have the funds.

9. STUDY GROUPS

a. Form a study group in my home as an outgrowth of fireside meetings, and request the assistance of the Regional Teaching Committee to bring the inquirers to the point of becoming Bahá’ís.

b. Become informed on Bahá’í Administration and thus prepare myself to function on or under a Local Spiritual Assembly.

c. Join with other Bahá’ís for the various institutes and thus gain the inspiration that comes from studying and working in groups.

10. BAHÁ’Í WORLD NEWS

a. Study the Guardian's messages, Bahá’í News, and the special communications from the National Spiritual Assembly and the Regional Teaching Committee so as to be informed of all that is happening in the Bahá’í World Community.

b. Use the various volumes of The Bahá’í World as references and sources of interesting information for inquirers and for use in firesides.

11. TEACHING LITERATURE

a. Become familiar with all the teaching literature so that I can make intelligent use of it, both in distributing it among non-Bahá’ís and in my own study and talks on the Faith.

b. Enclose an appropriate pamphlet in my letters to my relatives and friends, and use Bahá’í postcards whenever possible.

12. OTHER SPECIAL PRIVILEGES AND OBLIGATIONS

a. Read the Regional Teaching Committee bulletins, letters and notices and answer promptly requests for information, service and cooperation.

b. Demonstrate the measure of my devotion to the Faith by contributing regularly and to the utmost of my ability to the National Bahá’í Fund.

c. Make every effort to attend a Bahá’í Summer School and other study and teacher-training programs to increase my capacity for service and to enjoy the fellowship of a greater number of Bahá’ís.

d. Memorize Bahá’í prayers and short passages from the Sacred Writings to quote when talking with seekers and receptive individuals.

e. Remind myself daily that it is my sacred obligation to teach, and that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá enjoined upon me and all other Bahá’ís the duty of leading at least one new soul to the light each year.

(Bulletin prepared by the American National Teaching Committee June 1952)

• The Two Year Program of Preparation: See Bahá’í News, July, 1952, p. 12.

"Special events kit" is available from Mrs. Barbara Sims, 933 Central Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois. See Bahá’í News, April, 1952, pp. 15-16.