Bahai Story Library
Back to canonical version

Compare versions: The first person singular seldom crept into the Master’s speech

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

The first person singular seldom crept into the Master’s speech

Secondary RetellingVarious · bahaistories.com archive

The first person singular seldom crept into the Master’s speech. He once told group of New York friends that in the future the words ‘I’ and ‘Me’ and ‘Mine’ would be regarded as profane. Lua Getsinger reported that one day she and Georgie Ralston were driving with the Master. He closed His eyes and apparently fell asleep. Lua and Georgie talked on, probably about their own concerns, for suddenly the Master’s eyes sprang open and He laughed. ‘I, me, my, mine: words of the Devil!’ He said.

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

Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: humility).

Read the original

Alternate account · 94% similar

The first person singular seldom crept into the Master’s speech

Various · bahaistories.com archive

The first person singular seldom crept into the Master’s speech. He once told group of New York friends that in the future the words ‘I’ and ‘Me’ and ‘Mine’ would be regarded as profane. Lua Getsinger reported that one day she and Georgie Ralston were driving with the Master. He closed His eyes and apparently fell asleep. Lua and Georgie talked on, probably about their own concerns, for suddenly the Master’s eyes sprang open and He laughed. ‘I, me, my, mine: words of the Devil!’ He said.

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

Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: selfless).

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.