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"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."
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"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."
Chicago, Illinois, USA
36 stories took place here — most often featuring 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Corinne True and Bahá'u'lláh.
Chicago (today: Chicago, Illinois, USA)
Riding to a hotel in Chicago, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explained that He bore the hardships of His travels in America because He feared that, after Him, self-seeking persons might disturb the love and unity of the friends.
The Spiritual Meeting of men and the Spiritual Meeting of women in Chicago are indeed endeavoring to serve.
Ye have written regarding the erection of the Temple and the purchase of the ground, or the finding of a place to be as a home for the gathering of the believers.
Bahá’u’lláh left instructions that temples of worship should be built by His followers in every country and city.
Corinne True's son Davis was critically ill when 'Abdu'l-Bahá visited him in Chicago on 30 April. Davis died while the Master kept Corinne busy; yet she was at the Temple site the next day, and the Master later prayed at the cemetery.
When some of His Persian companions remarked that there was better tea than the one Corinne True served in Chicago, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá drank it and said it was very good because it had been prepared with love.
Thornton Chase became a Bahá'í in Chicago in 1894. 'Abdu'l-Bahá named him Thábit, the Steadfast, and in 1912 made a special journey to his grave in Inglewood, California.
In Chicago, as John Bosch was paying his hotel bill before leaving for the West Coast, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá took his hand, brought him up to His room, and sent him off with a big cake and armfuls of fruit.
In Chicago in 1912 young Leroy Ioas bought white carnations for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá but asked his father to present them. After the talk, the Master turned to the boy and gave him the red rose from His own coat.
Maria Ioas longed for a flower from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. On His first day in Chicago she waited all afternoon at His hotel, and He invited her in and gave her a rose.
In March 1909 thirty-nine delegates from thirty-six cities met in Chicago and formed Bahá'í Temple Unity, the national body that would hold the land and raise the funds for the first House of Worship in the West.
Thornton Chase, the first American believer, served the young Chicago community for years through its House of Spirituality and its publishing work. When he died in 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá travelled to Los Angeles to visit his grave.
On 5 May 1912 in Chicago, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá called each of some 35 children to Him with great tenderness, told them they were His spiritual children, and invited them all to Lincoln Park for a photograph.
At the Masonic Temple in Chicago in 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told Mrs. Dealy, who was going blind, that she must choose between spiritual and physical sight. She chose spiritual sight, as Leroy Ioas, seated beside her, witnessed.
Writing in Chicago in 1912, Mírzá Maḥmúd recorded that Dr. Zia Bagdadi was told to leave his home for inviting Louis Gregory, and that black and white Bahá’ís still associated as brothers and sisters.
In September 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá missed a connecting train on the way to Kenosha, telling His friends there was wisdom in it. The train they missed was later damaged in a collision.
At the Hotel Plaza in Chicago on 3 May 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá said that philosophers can educate only a few, while the Prophets of God bestow universal education, and He commended Bahá'u'lláh's Hidden Words.
On April 30, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke at Hull House, the Chicago settlement house founded by Jane Addams in 1889. With Miss Addams presiding, He spoke to a crowded hall of white and Black listeners on the unity of the races, whose differences of color He likened to the flowers of one garden.
Addressing the NAACP's Fourth Annual Conference in Chicago on April 30, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá said that color is accidental, that the true measure of a person is spirit and intelligence, and that the purity of the heart is what matters.
At the Hotel Plaza in Chicago on May 2, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá contrasted true consultation with parliamentary quarrelling, and described the disciples of Christ taking counsel together on the mount after His ascension.
O thou ignited candle! Thy letter was received.
He is God! O ye heavenly Assemblage! Your letter was received and its contents became known. Ye have written concerning the printing and publication of the Tablets.
O thou candle shining by the light of the Love of God! That which thou hast inscribed and conceived of in thy mind was manifest and clear.
O thou favored maid-servant of God! Thy letter was received. Thou hast expressed joy on account of thy visit to the friends of Chicago.
O Thou Pure God! Gaze providently at the beloved ones and the dear maid-servants in Chicago. Confer upon them Thy bounty and grace.
O thou who in truth art attracted through the Breaths of the Holy Spirit!
O ye firm ones in the Covenant! The report of [your meeting] was noted. All the arrangements of the meeting are suitable and acceptable.
O ye spiritual friends of Abdul-Baha! Your long letter was considered and its contents were a source of happiness.
In Chicago in April 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke to the Bahá’í Temple Unity Convention on the purpose of houses of worship, and Corinne True realized the Temple was meant to unite all humankind.
On April 30, 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told an NAACP conference in Chicago that color is of no importance. That evening, across the road, a tied Bahá’í election ended with Louis Gregory joining the governing board of Bahá’í Temple Unity.
When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá stayed at Mrs True's home in Chicago in September 1912, visitors filled its rooms, hallways and stairs; when He grew tired, He would take a walk outside and then return.
In Chicago in 1912, under trees near Lake Michigan, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told His friends He had not called attention to their shortcomings, and asked them to be as considerate with one another.
Sent by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to Chicago in 1901, Mírzá Abu’l-Faḍl and ‘Alí-Kuli Khán found believers confused by dream-reading and the occult, and taught them to weigh every inner prompting against the revealed Teachings.
In spring ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wanted to visit the Chicago zoo. Though warned that mother animals hide their young from strangers, He went ahead alone, and each mother brought out her babies to show Him.
In the Chicago area, 'Abdu'l-Bahá visited the grave of Davis True at Oak Woods Cemetery with Corinne True and others, reciting the Prayer for the Dead and praying for all who were buried there.