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Compare versions: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá laid the cornerstone of the House of Worship in Wilmette,…

The same event, told by different sources. The canonical version below is what we publish; the alternate accounts are preserved for scholarly comparison and for noticing where retellings differ.

Canonical version

‘Abdu’l-Bahá laid the cornerstone of the House of Worship in Wilmette,…

Secondary RetellingVarious · bahaistories.com archive

‘Abdu’l-Bahá laid the cornerstone of the House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, on 1 May 1912. A temporary tent covered a spot of prairie overlooking Lake Michigan. People from different nationalities were on hand to ceremoniously turn over a bit of soil. An ordinary spade was used, but when the Master’s turn came He was handed a golden trowel. He handed it back and used instead the same spade as the others. He then laid the cornerstone.

Source: Honnold, Annamarie, Vignettes from the Life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: corner-stone).

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Alternate account · 91% similar

‘Abdu’l-Bahá laid the cornerstone of the House of Worship in Wilmette,…

Various · bahaistories.com archive

‘Abdu’l-Bahá laid the cornerstone of the House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, on 1 May 1912. A temporary tent covered a spot of prairie overlooking Lake Michigan. People from different nationalities were on hand to ceremoniously turn over a bit of soil. An ordinary spade was used, but when the Master’s turn came He was handed a golden trowel. He handed it back and used instead the same spade as the others. He then laid the cornerstone.

Source: Honnold, Annamarie, Vignettes from the Life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: humility).

Read the original

Why are alternate accounts kept? Different retellings of the same event often vary in emphasis, detail, and tone. Scholars and devotional readers can notice these differences and trace the trustworthiness of each retelling.