Transcript:Bob Harris/The Choice Wine

Transcript of: The Choice Wine by Bob Harris

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[0:00] Okay, dear friends. Dear friends, we are going to now focus on the next part of this session. As you know, from your program, the topic is the choice wine, and you're already intoxicated. [laughter and applause] Nevertheless, the person who is going to come about and increase your wonderment is a wonderful person himself. He is the biggest [applause and cheers] -- I just want him to be careful. He's the biggest auxiliary board member around, just figures.

I want to watch the rest of this. [laughter]

He's from New Jersey. [cheers and applause] He's a professional photographer [cheers and applause] [speaker laughs]. He travels all the world and takes the picture of people, [cheers and applause] [speaker laughs], photography that allows him to put the people's picture when they make a fool of themselves [laughter] and when they're happy. His greatest assignment came when he was the official photographer for the 1983 International Convention in Haifa [cheers and applause]. He is the auxiliary board members for New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. [cheers and applause] Mr. Bob Harris. [cheers and applause]

Alláh-u-Abhá, friends. He is the only psychiatrist I would ever kiss. If you kiss any of the others, they say, "Please come back and see me next week." [laughter] I think that you all maybe just about talked out and we are heading, friends, tonight for the last supper [awws] because tomorrow we have to go. [awws] I know. How do you like the New World Order? How do you like this? [cheers and applause] In the writings of Bahá’u’lláh, in His tablets, He tells us this wonderful vision. In this day, a great festival is taking place in the realm above for whatsoever was promised in the sacred scriptures hath been fulfilled. This is the day of great rejoicing. It beehooveth everyone to hasten toward the court of His nearness with exceeding joy, gladness, exaltation and delight. And I think, friends, that it's only fair that for us to have our festival here in Canada, that the Abhá Kingdom should be having its own festival as well. And I think that we are very much connected with them. [applause] Now friends, I'd like to give you a very long talk, but I can't because of my throat. I apologize. Really, Husayn has threatened to cut it if I go longer than thirty minutes, but I'm so excited because of the people who are here. Do you have any idea who you are? Do you have any idea that you've come from 52 countries to be here today? [cheers and applause] Every province of Canada, most of the states of the United States, friends, even I met one person this morning, I asked him, "Are you awake?" He kind of mumbled. Many of you were mumbling this morning. I said, "Where are you from?" And he didn't really say, but I figured that he was from the great state of shock. [laughter] We really do have to get a little more sleep, friends. [laughter]

Also when we talk about states, I want to talk about my favorite state, Texas. Where's Dwayne? Dwayne, where are you? Did you hear those things he said about Texas? About "y'all" and all that? Did you hear that, eh? Did you hear? I was on a plane once in Texas and the crew changed and this very big guy, this biggest Bill Hatcher got on the plane, and he was the pilot. I was very worried and he said, "I'm from Texas, son, where men are men and women are women." And I said we have very much the same arrangement in New Jersey. [applause] Dwayne, if you don't think I like Texas, where are you Dwayne? You're right, thank you very much. I live in a wonderful place near New York City, which is the city of the Covenant, which is the place where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spent so much time, and my home state New Jersey is the home of the souvenir picnic where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's souvenir of His visit is celebrated every year. It's a wonderful place to be. Come and visit us. And what I like so much about the New York area is that there is tremendous communication in the New York area. When you go from New Jersey into New York, you go through the Lincoln tunnel and it's a tunnel. You see the Statue of Liberty before you go under the river. It's wonderful, and they have these giant cliffs. They're called The Palisades, and on The Palisades people write things like "John loves Mary" or "Fred loves George" or even stranger things. And on the cliff someone had written "you must pay for your sins" and underneath, someone had run up to the side of a cliff and wrote under this "if you have already paid, please disregard this notice". [laughter and applause]

I must tell you friends that I felt as though I were in the middle of a movie this morning when I got into the elevator. There were four or five people milling around, not knowing where the elevator was going. I said, "It only goes up or down. You really can't go sideways on this." [laughter] And there was a group particularly zombie-like. I thought I was in the night of the living dead [laughter] where all the zombies walk around, and I would like to introduce to you one of the zombies [laughter] because they have very good reason to be zombies. From the Blackfoot Reserve, I would like to introduce to you, Terry Black and the zombies. Come on out here, Terry. [cheers and applause] This friends is part of our youth movement and I want Terry to explain to everyone, especially the security people, why he did not get to sleep until 5:00 am.

[youth speaking]Last night, us five - me and Kaylin Anderson [ph], Shirley Mclaine [ph] , Maryland Mclaine [ph] and Sheryl Johnson [ph]- we got the munchies last night. We were hungry at two o'clock in the morning and so we decided, "Well, let's go out and eat at a pizza place somewhere downtown." And we started driving and we just went straight on and, you know, we saw this Max store go by and we said, "No, I don't want to go to Max." And so we just kept on going until we reached the other side of town. And when we reached the other side of town, the only thing left was a Max store [laughter]. And so I thought so as I was driving up, I was going, "Well, you guys want to stop at the Max store and eat there?" And they all decide, "Okay." And so we went over to the Max store a block in and bought our food, and this guy was wondering about the tags we were wearing and where it was from. And we told that we were from a Baháʼí International Youth Conference and he want to find out more information and so we gave him information for two and a half hours. [speaker laughs] [cheers and applause] And at 4:40 this morning, he declared [speaker laughs] [cheers and applause]-- our - excuse me - our teaching efforts, our teaching effort is dedicated to Mona. [applause] Thank you very much. Thank you all.

So how do you like this youth movement [cheers and applause]? Okay. And youth are growing. More and more people are either trying to look younger, but actually it's more and more people are being born, and of course, they start at a very young age. We know that. In fact, our dear Hand of the Cause the other night was talking about the statistics of the growth of youth. Friends, I came across a statistic that is so alarming. This conference must do something about this. In the world - listen to this statistic, friends - in the world, every second, a woman is giving birth to a child. We must find this woman and stop her. [laughter] In 1830, in 18 - friends, please my time is up if you're gonna laugh for a long time. Could we all just practice a short laugh? Would you all just say "ha"? [audience says "ha"] That's enough, you see. It's much shorter this way. In 1880, two wonderful things happened: [?] was born [laughter and cheers] - friends, let's try to get "ha". Thank you. And if you really like something, you can give it one clap. [audience gives one clap] That's enough. [laughter] But there was a conference held by a Methodist bishop in Indiana, and this can't [applause] - friends, please. Husayn [ph] is going to cut me off [laughter] and I'm not even past the first paragraph, here. This man was a very conservative bishop. He was trying to find clergyman who would do study, serious study on the future of the world as predicted in the bible. And there were many serious topics about the return of Christ and fulfillment of prophesies and the Jews returning to the Holy Land and many very important things. One young clergymen got up and wanted to present a paper and the title of his paper "Men Will Fly". This bishop was so incensed that it is very serious conference. This man would even think of delivering a talk on such a ridiculous and silly subject. And so he went to the man very quietly and he said, "Really sir, this is not the kind of conference for this kind of presentation." The man said, "Really, I found many references in the bible that you know, people will fly, someday." The bishop said, "Forget it. The only people who fly in the bible are angels, and we are not angels." And all this, and in fact this bishop was very upset and he closed the conference. He said, "If this is the kind of silliness we're going to have, the conference is over." He stormed out. And he went home and in order to relax, this bishop sat down and played with his two young sons, his two little boys, Orville and Wilbur Wright. [laughter] That was worth more than one. [laughter] That's enough.

Friends what seems impossible to one generation is not impossible to the next. This conference is impossible for the generation of our Hands of the Cause. They've told me this. This is a miracle before their very eyes. It is impossible for people to fly in 1880, but two youthful people opened a bicycle shop in Dayton and for crying out loud we're flying all over the world. And there is nothing, friends, that we are going to be prouder and happier of than in 25 or 30 years, maybe we'll be together in this place or some stadium somewhere, and you'll bring your children to a youth conference and they're going to say, "Do you remember 1984? You people really did move the world, you youth? [cheers and applause] And the only way that we can move the world is if Bahá’u’lláh moves our heart, if we adorn our heart with His love, then we can do everything. Without that, we can do nothing. In June 1983, a few days after the martyrdom of the teenagers in Shiraz, including sixteen-year-old Mona, the House of Justice sent the youth of the world a message, and in that message they beseeched us to do something with our vision, to remember something and picture it. They said, "Let them recall the blessings Bahá’u’lláh promised those who will, in the prime of youth, arise to adorn their hearts with His love and remain steadfast and firm." The blessings for Mona and for her companions is eternal reunion with Bahá’u’lláh at the age of sixteen. Her heart was adorned with His love, and she was steadfast and firm. Another youth, whose name I would like to mention, whose heart was adorned with the love of Bahá’u’lláh, served Bahá’u’lláh as a youth. And as an old man, he came here to North America and he served so many of us: our dear Hand of the Cause, Mr. Samandari. His blessings for remaining steadfast and firm was that he was able to serve Bahá’u’lláh. He was able to serve ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. He was able to serve our beloved Guardian. He was able to serve our supreme Universal House of Justice. And I think perhaps his greatest blessing came in 1963 when in London, at the world congress, this wonderful gathering of the Baháʼí world coming together, celebrating so many wonderful things - the hundredth anniversary of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, in 1963, the establishment of the supreme body the Universal House of Justice, the triumphant conclusion of Shoghi Effendi's Ten Year Crusade. And with his wondrous vision of Bahá’u’lláh still in his eyes and with the love of Bahá’u’lláh still in his heart, he reminded the Baháʼís there of a promise that God made to Bahá’u’lláh, the promise that God made to Bahá’u’lláh as the Manifestation of God while chained in the Síyáh-Chál in Tehran. And in Bahá’u’lláh's words, he describes his revelation like this:One night, in a dream, these exalted words were heard on every side:

“Verily, We shall render Thee victorious by Thyself and by Thy Pen. Grieve Thou not for that which hath befallen Thee, neither be Thou afraid, for Thou art in safety. Erelong will God raise up the treasures of the earth—men who will aid Thee through Thyself and through Thy name...”

God promised Bahá’u’lláh victory through His pen, the pen of Revelation. Samandari looked out at the audience the Knights of Bahá’u’lláh, the victors of the Cause of God who had spread the Faith to more than 100 countries who had brought into being the Universal House of Justice. And he said something that is so meaningful to all of us. He said the pen of Bahá’u’lláh has conquered the world. Now, none of us have met Bahá’u’lláh. We don't have that kind of personal association that Samandari did, but we have His writings, His word. And it is the word of God that has all of the potential for recreating the human race. This is the power that creates a new world. This is the power that recreates us. It makes us new and whole and happy and fulfilled and ready to serve and even ready to sacrifice. How precious this word of God is! In His Most Holy Book, He tells us a little about the word of God, what it means and He is talking about the laws that God told Him to write down. And friends, keep this in your hearts. In His Most Holy Book, He says: "Think not that We have revealed unto you a mere code of laws. Nay, rather, We have unsealed the choice Wine with the fingers of might and power." And so after 6000 years of Revelation, mankind hungering and waiting for this day, for the teachings that will establish a New World Order, the kingdom of God on earth, Bahá’u’lláh has unsealed this choice wine for us. His laws lead the world to peace. It leads us to justice. It takes all the swords and it turns them into plowshares. It takes all the spears and it makes them into pruning hooks. Friends, Bahá’u’lláh's word will also disarm the nuclear warheads of this world and bring us peace for our children and their children and their grandchildren and so on. [cheers and applause]

And so for three days, we've been here, and like a wonderful loving party, we have passed this wine around to each other. We have shared this choice wine. We have become intoxicated by it because this is no mere code of laws. This isn't a big shelf of books with dust all over it. This is something that elevates us and gets us high and that is what choice wine is supposed to do, and that is what choice wine can do for the world. It can take you up very high. This, friends, will cure depression. This will put every psychiatrist in the world out of business. [cheers and applause] Sorry, Husayn [ph]. [laughter] You know, old psychiatrists, they don't die they just "shrink" away. [laughter and applause] Would you all please knock that off? [laughter] Look if you don't harass me, I won't harass you, okay? [groans] Friends, please don't make the groans too long, either.

You know, many times when you teach the Faith and you give the idea that Bahá’u’lláh has given laws and people have strange ideas about what the laws of Bahá’u’lláh are, you ask those knowledgeable in the Faith, "What is the most difficulty of all of Bahá’u’lláh's laws? What do you think it is? Do you think that it's drugs? Do you think that it's alcohol? Do you think that it's gambling? Do you think that it's immoral? What do you think it is?" Friends, talk to the people in this Faith who know what's going on, and they will tell you that the problem that the Baháʼís and the world has always had with religion is the most important law of Bahá’u’lláh. And that law of Bahá’u’lláh is that we love one another. That is it, friends. That is the central core of everything. [applause]. But I'll tell you this weekend has done something to me because this problem that has plagued humanity for 6000 years, how to love one another, I think we have the answer as to how this can totally be solved forever. Are you ready, friends? [singing drumroll] To the rescue, the youth movement! Okay? [cheers and applause] I have seen things this weekend that have given me hope, and from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you. You have taught me so much about loving people, loving each other, being together, passing the wine, getting intoxicated, being happy and being serious about the serious work that you have to do. This is a beautiful example for Baháʼís of all ages, and friends, I want to thank you very much. I never in my life-- don't clap for yourself. I never in my life thought that I would be in love with a bunch of soldiers, [cheers] but here you are, aren't you the soldiers of love?

[audience, loudly while cheering] Yes!

And here I am, I'm in love with you, I can't take this, this is so exciting for me! Friends, it is hard to be a soldier. It takes a lot of training, doesn't it?

[audience] Yes!

And it takes a lot of discipline?

[audience] Yes! The training, of course, comes from studying the creative word to enjoy being in the ocean of Bahá’u’lláh's writings. What does He say in His writings? He says, "Immerse yourself in the ocean of My words." And the soldiers of love do immerse themselves in the ocean of the Bahá’u’lláh's writings. There are no toe-dippers among the soldiers of love. You don't just stick your toe in and say, "Pretty good. I like that." Soldiers of love, they are swimmers! They're splashes! They're divers! They are gurgler's! They just are filled with this ocean of love! All Olympic quality! All of you get a ten because this-- [cheers and applause] because being a soldier is a tough job and you do what it is in order to be a good soldier. The soldiers of love are truthful with themselves, aren't they? They are. It's hard. To tell you, the easiest person in the world to fool is yourself. It really is. It's amazing how many people you don't fool when you're trying, and it's astonishing that when you really are in a tough jam, it's the easiest person the world to fool is you. But ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said that truthfulness is the foundation of all virtues. Soldiers are honest about this, and there is not a trace of impure motive because in the privacy of their own lives, they have taken the dreaded mirror test. This, friends, is when you go all alone with you and your mirror and you look in the mirror and the eyeballs that look back at you are honest eyeballs, and you say, "Let's talk." And the soldiers of love have answered some very serious questions. For instance, a question that a soldier of love asks himself, "How serious am I about peace? About loving people? About serving them?" That's a big question. "Do I want a Baháʼí life? Or do I want Baháʼí entertainment? These are tough questions, friends. "Do I want God's plan to fit into my life? Or do I want my life to fit into God's plan? What does martyrdom mean? What is all this business in Iran? How will my life be different and better because these Persian believers, lovers have given their lives?" These are difficult questions to answer but the soldiers must know who they are inside. And then they must begin this very first battle and that of course is the battle of themselves.

In 1921, Shoghi Effendi was twenty-five years old. Many of you will be twenty-five soon. He was a student. Many of you are students. And ‘Abdu’l-Bahá passed away. And years later, he told the Hand of the Cause, Leroy Ioas, that he had no idea whatsoever that he would be called upon to become the head of this religion, that he would be called upon to be the head of the House of Justice, that he would be called upon to interpret the writings of Bahá’u’lláh, a twenty-five-year-old student. He was shattered by this experience and he said, "Leroy, for seven months, I stayed away and I prayed and I meditated and I conquered myself and I gave myself to God." We cannot escape conquering ourselves. My beloved Guardian had to do it first. Then, we are ready to be a soldier of love, but soldiers need bullets, right? Can't go out there with an empty rifle. What are we going to fight with? That's a tough enemy out there? They spend a hundred billion dollars a year trying to convince you that you are a commodity and that they can buy and sell you. What kind of bullets are these soldiers going to take with them? They are going to take really great bullets. They're going to take bullets of knowledge, bang! You had somebody with knowledge. There's very little of it around, friends. And then we're gonna get him with understanding, bang! Wow, this guy really understands me! Sure, we understand you. You're part of the old world order. Our writings are filled with stuff about the old world order. We understand you! Don't take too many bullets to get these people, you know? Bullets of wisdom, bang! Wisdom from somebody your age. Do you know what that means? This is incredible. Kindness, bang! That's kind of a little, [popping sound]. Not a real bang. [laughter] How about a bullet of purity? When, you know, when you're living in a cesspool, here you are, stainless pure, [popping sound]! That gets them, kind of like a gurgle. How about a bullet of enthusiasm when the world is bored to tears? How about that, you soldiers of love? Some enthusiasm, we have it. Let's shoot them? [cheers and applause]

And the biggest bullet of all, 99-caliber bullet, this, friends, is the bullet of service. Only soldiers of love have this bullet of service. Friends, what service means is to do it. One million good intentions don't equal one good thing that you do. You can dream all day but if you don't do it, it doesn't matter. Believe me, it doesn't matter. Do it [cheers and applause] because service draws to us holy confirmations. This is in our writings. service means that we mean it service means that we believe it and service means that we love. We are proving to the world that the love of Bahá’u’lláh is in our hearts and it's in our hands as we extend it to the world to help them, to save them, to rescue them, and our love has to be proven. We can talk about love all day but we have to prove it. The quality of our love has to be so high, it has to raise us to new heights, new visions. I want to tell you a story about a nine-year-old boy who had a two-year-old sister, and this two-year-old sister was very ill. She had a strange blood disease, and this disease was killing her. But through many kinds of transfusions and different kinds of chemicals, she was pretty much controlled. Finally, everything went haywire. All the blood donors were wrong. Everything just went bad in this girl's system, and the doctors came to this nine-year-old boy and they said, "We've tested everyone's blood and your blood is the only blood that can save your sister's life? Will you give your sister your blood?" The nine-year-old boy said, "Of course, I will." And this was in the old days when they used to lay the donor down next to the recipient and they would hook their arms up with a tube and they would pump the blood from one person to another. And here he was laying on a table, this nine-year-old boy, and next to him was his two-year-old sister. And the doctor came over and just kind of stroked his brow and said, "How are you doing?" And the nine-year-old boy looked up at the doctor and he said, "I'm doing fine, doc, but just tell me: when do I die?" The doctor said, "Honey, you don't die. We only need a little bit of your blood to help your sister."

How many of us are ready to ascend to those kinds of heights of service, to be the aggressive lovers of humanity, to take whatever our situation is and go into the world like the House of Justice called for in their message on social and economic development and show the world that Bahá’u’lláh is more than just words. It is words that touch hearts that make people go and serve. In Germany, the House of Justice has praised a project, a social and economic development project that is so simple friends it will bring tears to your eyes. In Germany there are many Iranian women who are refugees who do not speak German. They volunteer to visit orphanages and what they do when they visit orphanages is they hold babies. Babies need to be held. They need to be talked to. The babies don't speak German either so they're just fine. This is social and economic development that the House of Justice has praised. We don't have to dry up the Amazon River friends to think that we're involved in social and economic development. [applause] The kind of love we're talking about is real happy love, right? And it's real exuberant love and it's love with lots of hugs and holding hands and saying prayers together and investigating the writings and passing this wonderful wine back and forth between your friends, but it is serious business, too. It is serious business, too. The world is in such bad shape that the cure is definitely serious. In a part of India, there is a leper colony and in this leper colony are the most unfortunate people probably in the world. These people go there and literally they just disintegrate. And there are sisters, Roman Catholic nuns who volunteer to go to these leper colonies and they work with these people day in and day out just weeping away their lives for these people. And I heard a story of an American journalist who went to visit one of these leper colonies and saw the work that these people had done and were doing day after day. And after being there about three days, she just couldn't take it anymore and she was sitting in a chair watching this old nun who had done this for maybe thirty years, washing the body of a leper. And this journalist just shook her head and she said to this nun, she said, "You know, Sister, I wouldn't do what you're doing for a million dollars." And the sister looked up at her and said, "You know something? Neither would I." Where is this kind of love that the world needs? We can't hide it in leper colonies. We can't hide it in our own little teeny Baháʼí communities. We have to let it out and save this continent.

North America is not very serious about this kind of love. You have to realize that. North America is not that serious. A very wise person - friends, remember this - a very wise person analyzed America. They said that in America, we worship our work. That's for sure. We work at our play. You've ever seen anybody play golf or jog or say, you know you work at your play, right? And the third one is we play at our worship. Fool around, it's something we do because that's what our name is. I'm a methodist. I'm a Jew, whatever it is. The soldiers of love are out to change all that. How can we Baháʼís play at our worship when we know that the history books of our faith are filled with stories of grandfathers and great grandfathers and great uncles who have given their lives for this faith? And now the new martyrs of Iran, they're not someone's great grandmother or someone's great great uncle. They are our brothers and sisters. They are our generation. We don't read about them in history books. We read about them in the New York Times. Friends, their blood is in our veins. We are them, and they are us. And we must do our best to help them because these youth martyrs especially, do you think that they are soldiers of love, too? Do you think that they have this in their hearts to give to this generation? And we're sad because our fellow soldiers of love in Iran have fallen. They're martyrs. Does this make us retreat?

[audience] No.

Okay. Does this frighten us?

[audience] No!

Do we give up?

[audience] No!

What do we do? The soldiers of love are tough. They are disciplined. Do you think you can be a soldier and not pay any price for it? This youth movement is too important for that. The soldiers of love, they turn to the supreme Universal House of Justice when their comrades fall, and with their eyes filled with tears, they read the words of the House of Justice. Surely you will see that the heroic deeds of sacrifice on the part of your Iranian brethren are matched in corresponding efforts on your part in the vast fields of teaching and service. And then, when our eyes are cleared, we move, we take this choice wine, and we pass it on to someone else. No martyr in the history of the Faith ever died for a newspaper article. No one ever gave her life, so that there would be a tv show about it. The reason these people give their lives is so that we will take this wine and pass it to millions of people around this world, and save the planet and save the people who live on it. And if we do not take our jobs seriously, if we do not pass this choice wine, then the whole thing will be in vain. And sometimes I know, friends, that it's hard. It's really hard to pass this wine all the time. The pressures get to us. It is hard. I don't think that any of us should think that it's easy, and because their blood is in our veins, we shouldn't want it to be easy. We should want it to be hard because we're tough, because we're soldiers and soldiers don't want it to be easy. If you want it to be easy, you go live on a mountain. Don't go to the [?] islands. If you want it to be easy, you escape into drugs. If you want it to be easy, you escape into whatever this society has to offer and there's plenty out there, friends, to escape into. But because we are involved in this movement, the vast movement of people in the world, closer to Bahá’u’lláh, we are willing to accept the hardship, because when we go to the Abhá kingdom, none of us want to say to Mona or her friends, "Geez, I'm really sorry you had it so difficult in Iran. We had it pretty easy in North America." We don't want to say that. We want to be able to cry on their shoulders and say, "Here's what we suffered. Here's what we gave up. Here's what we did in spite of an incredible civilization that Bahá’u’lláh said would devour us. And while it was devouring so many millions of people, we were part of the Baháʼí youth movement, and we turned it around and we struggled." [applause]

And it all comes down to this, friends, that Bahá’u’lláh has chosen us. We think we've chosen Him, but I think that He has chosen us. And what can we do about it? It gets lonely out there teaching. Sure, it's lonely. The dreaded note. Thirty minutes. Very good, thank you. But He chose us. He really did chose us. And you know, if we look at each other, we might look pretty good on the outside, right? But we know inside we need help. Oh, help. I mean, it's great when you got two thousand people already saying, "Oh yeah, we're going to do great." But when you're alone, you need help. If God is so powerful, why doesn't He give us a little more help? You might ask. If god is so powerful like Bill Hatcher says, if God is that powerful, why doesn't He get all the stars in the universe and have the stars spell out Bahá’u’lláh. He could do it. So you think He has the power to do that? Okay. Why doesn't He send rank upon rank of angels in designers' wings or something? [laughter] All of them just floating around the ionosphere and zooming down to earth and singing "God is one". People would really be impressed with that, wouldn't they? They would really like that. I would. How about if He opens up the heavens and like the clouds opened up and a big voice comes, says, "Go to a fireside." Really, it'd be great. I would love that. But as we study the writings, we see that He has given us what we need. It is not what we want. What we want is we want [?] or some famous person to become a Baháʼí and get on tv and say, "Alláh-u-Abhá, friends. Here are now the news." [cheers and applause] We do. We want [?] to end the news broadcast and say, "Well, that's the way it is. Don't forget to go to feast tonight, friends." Everybody would go to feast. It'll be great, but it is so clear, friends, that we have all the power we need and what we need to do is use it.

And I am convinced that the reason that this generation is called upon to establish the lesser piece to bring millions of people into the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh is precisely because we are not able to do it. He says do it because we're not able to do it, because it is only through His power, when we use it, that this power is enabling people to become Baháʼís. When we stand up and move and go somewhere and teach the Faith, we are shaking in our boots. We are so afraid. Oh God, what are you going to do if they ask us a question? "I wish Bill Hatcher was with me. He'd answer it. [laughter] He'd show this guy." I mean, really. We really think that. But friends, don't think that it's totally unjust because you know what happens when you go, when you do it and it works? You're so surprised that you give Bahá’u’lláh the credit. And you know what that does? That keeps us humble, and this is extraordinarily important. We are humble when we go to teach the Faith. But you know we go there and the people who we teach, they see such confidence. They see such happiness. They see us loving all the people of the world, and they look at us, really and you think of the person who taught you the Baháʼí Faith, you think of this person as a giant. We will look to them like we are giants, but friends the only reason that we look so tall is because we are standing on the shoulders of the martyrs of Shiraz. That is why we look so tall to them. And let us not forget who's helping us every step of the way.

In closing? I promise not to tell any more psychiatrist jokes, except maybe one if Husayn [ph] comes over again. Six things, very quick things to remind you of, maybe you haven't thought about them recently. Jews, Christians, Muslims, all people all over the world, they are praying all the time for peace. They are praying for the establishment of the new World Order. Friends, they don't know it. They don't know it but they are praying for us to become better soldiers of love because that's how it's gonna happen. [applause] Number two, Baháʼís are always looking for better methods. You know, "What kind of teaching do you want to do? Let's do a skyscraper teaching. We'll teach everybody who's on top of a skyscraper." Or "let's do subway teaching" or "Let's do pumpkin teaching. Anybody who has a pumpkin, we'll teach him the Faith." We always look for these great methods, you know. And friends it is so clear from our writings that Baháʼís are always looking for better methods but God is just looking for better Baháʼís, and I hope that that's us. [applause] Number three, very important for youth. Don't think that you should be like someone else. Don't say: "Oh, I wish I was smart like this."; "Oh, I wish I could talk."; or "Oh, I wish I was so spiritual." Don't wish that you could be someone else, because the world needs a Baháʼí teacher just like you or you would not have been given the gift of faith. Bahá’u’lláh wants you to teach just the way you are and reach the people who you can reach just the way you are. [applause] Number four, don't ever think, "How do I want to serve the Faith?" We think this all the time: "How do I want to serve the Faith? How do I want?" Don't think that, friends. You are soldiers of love. Think rather: how should the faith be served? And do that. [applause] Number five, always remember the words of Mr. Samandari, that wonderful and radiant youth, when he said there are many Baháʼís but the lovers, they are so few. Number six, our minds are only capable friends of underestimating the power of God. Don't ever think that we have got figured out. Let's get up and do His will, and I think that we will realize that we have underestimated our Creator. It's a very human thing to do.

Now in closing, I have one question for you, and the one question is this: do you remember the quotation that I read that Bahá’u’lláh was promised by God people who would help Him? God called them the treasures of the earth. The question that I want to know is: am I looking here at the fulfillment of that prophecy? Are you the treasures of the earth? Are you the helpers of Bahá’u’lláh? [cheers and applause] I hope so, because the world really needs you right now. Forget the, friends, the Seven Year Plan. This is not the issue. The issue is the world, and the world really needs you right now. And the old people, Husayn [laughter], all of us very old people, do you know why we work so hard in these conferences? Do you know why? Do you know why?

[audience] No.

Really? Do you think it's fun, Husayn? [laughter and applause] Did you hear about the automechanic who came to a psychiatrist and then he laid down under the couch? One minute, okay. This is the end. The reason that this wonderful National Assembly has given you this conference, this gift, friends, this is the most serious thing I have to tell you. The reason that this conference has been given to you is that we pray that you will do what we have not done, that you will bring the victory that we have not brought, that you will be the treasures that we have not been. And I want to read a prayer. Husayn [ph], please, have a seat. This is a wonderful prayer because it's a prayer about your life and it's a prayer about the future and it's a prayer about deciding what you want to do with your life because you only get one. Dag Hammarskjöld was the Secretary-General of the United Nations, flew all over the world on peace missions, really a man dedicated totally to peace. And he died in a plane crash 1959, the world was plunged in unbelievable sorrow. This man seemed to have a wonderful idea about what would bring peace. And his mother had written a prayer for him in his bible when he was born, a beautiful prayer which is a dream that we can all have for ourselves and you, even you youth, for your children. Listen to this prayer:

The day you were born, everyone was happy. You cried alone. Make your life such that in your last hour, all others will weep and you alone are without a tear to shed.

Friends, this festival in the Abhá kingdom, this Abhá kingdom today is filled, I'm convinced with green buttons. I know it is. And they're also filled with the love of those youth who have gone before you in the Abhá kingdom and who are helping you today. And so I'm going to do something that I've never done in my life, and Husayn [ph] is going to do it with me. We [laughter]-- I promise you he will. Because we have such love and respect for you soldiers of love, we are going to give you a greeting that soldiers get. And this is not only for you, but it is for your fallen comrades, [list of fallen comrades], and so many more will give you a salute to the soldiers of love because you are going to move the world. Husayn, salute these soldiers. Thank you. [cheers and applause]