Speaker Prep

Giving a fireside, devotional, or talk? Pick a theme, get a curated brief: relevant stories, key quotes, citations, and recommended sequencing.

Pick a theme

'akka 5 steps prayer abdul baha abdul baha and children abdul baha animals abdul baha childhood abdul baha engagement abdul baha montreal abdul baha portrait abdul bahas travels administration adversity afterlife agriculture akka alaska american-faith american-tour anger animals anxiety appearances approval seeking architecture archives arrival art ascension asia atonement attachment attacks australia ayyam i ha bab bab internment bab marriage babi-period bahaullah ascension bahaullah childhood bahaullah declaration bahaullah exile bahaullah sulaymaniyyih balance beauty beauty-of-character becoming bahai before-declaration betrayal bible biography birth birthday bitterness blessing bounties breakwell broken heart bullying business calendar canada certitude chanting character charity chastity childhood children children-stories christianity christmas cleanliness clothing cold comfort commerce communication community community building companions companionship compassion complaints conduct conference badasht consideration consolation construction consultation contentment conversion corner stone correspondence country courage courtesy covenant craftsmanship creation crisis and victory discrediting bahaullah culture daily-life darkness dawn-breakers death death wanting die debts decision making declaration dedication deeds not words deliverance democracy departure depression detachment devotion dialogue diet difficult-people dignity diplomacy direction disappointment discernment divine-plan divorce dogma domestic-life doubt doubts dreams early-believers early-life early-ministry east-and-west eating disorders economics economy education efficiency ego elections eliminate eloquence emancipation empathy encounter encouragement end beginning enemies energy enough envy epistemology epistle equality equality-of-women esperanto europe exemplar exercise exhaustion exile expenses faith faithfulness family famine farewell fast fasting fault finding fear fear god feast filial-love firmness first-believers flowers forgiveness forgiveness bahai soldier forgiveness gods forgiveness others fragrance freedom freedom-of-conscience friendship future generosity gifts global-plan glow gospels government grace meals gratitude greatest-holy-leaf green acre grief growth guardianship guest guidance hands cause hands-of-cause happiness harmony healing health heart hidden-words history holiness hollow reed holy-day holy-days holy-family holy-land holy-spirit home home-life homeland homelessness homemaking hope hospitality house-of-worship household human-nature humility humor humour huqququllah identity immigrants immortality imprisonment independence india inheritance innate-knowledge inner life inner-life institutions integrity intercession interfaith interpretation intimacy introduction intuition inuit investigation investigation-of-truth joy judaism judgment justice khalil gibran kindness kindness-to-animals kings kitab-i-aqdas knighthood abdul baha knowledge language laughter law learning letters-of-the-living light lineage listening loftiness longing love love divine love god loving-kindness loyalty majesty manifestation manifestation-of-god manifestations marriage marriage interracial martyrdom martyrs martyrs attitudes master-in-london materialism memorial merchant mercy miracles mirza mihdi moderation mormons mornings mother mount-carmel mourning mulla husayn music mystical mysticism nations nature naw-ruz nearness god transforming lives new york new-day new-york nobility nourishment obedience oneness oneness-of-humanity oneness-of-religion opposition overwhelm pain parable parenting parents treatment paris-talks passing patience peace peacefulness persecution persia philosophy pilgrim-notes pilgrimage pioneering pioneers planning politics poor pope potential poverty prayer prejudice preparation presence principles prison prison akka prison bab proclamation progressive-revelation proof prophecy prophets protection psychic forces punctuality purity purpose qiblih questions quiet-days race unity race-unity radiant acquiescence receptivity reciprocity recognition reconciliation reflection reliance god religion remedy renewal renunciation repentance rest resurrection return revelation reverence ridvan ridvan first day ridvan ninth day ridvan twelvth day right god righteous ruhiyyih khanum sacred-writings sacrifice sanctification scholarship science science begins words science-and-religion scientists scripture search search-after-truth searching seeking self self conscious self hatred self pity self-knowledge selfless service servitude shoghi effendi shoghi effendi marriage shoghi effendi premonition death shoghi effendi schedule shrine shrine bab shrine-of-the-bab sick caring sick-caring sightseeing signs silence simple life simplicity sincerity siyah chal siyah chal bahaullahs declaration slaves smoking social-justice social-principles solidarity solitude soul south sovereignty speaking speech speeches spiritual life spiritual-journey spiritual-life sports springtime station steadfastness stories striving succession sudan suffering suicide sympathy tablets tablets divine plan taxes teaching temples ten-year-crusade tenderness test tests the-bab the-covenant the-feast the-greater-one the-guardian the-word the-writings thoughts tihran timing training transformation translation travel travel-teaching travels-of-abdul-baha trials trust trustworthiness truthfulness twin-birthdays twin-luminaries underground railway unity unity religion unity-in-diversity universal language universal language heart heart venting virtue vision vocation war watchman wealth wedding abdul baha weddings western-journeys wilderness will god willpower wisdom witness women work workaholism world-order worthy writing writings youth

A talk on calendar

Suggested sequencing: open with a powerful story, deepen with a reflective one, close with one of joyful resolution. Adjust to your audience.

Opening

The Twin Holy Birthdays: Two Cradles, One Dawn

The Báb was born in Shíráz, Bahá'u'lláh in Ṭihrán, two years and two cities apart — yet on the old lunar calendar Their birthdays fell on consecutive days, and Bahá'ís keep them together as a single festival of light. A reflection, drawn from Esslemont, on why the Faith remembers its two Founders as twin luminaries of one and the same Dawn.

Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era · J. E. Esslemont

Middle

A Year Named for the Names of God

Among the laws the Báb set down in His Bayán was a wholly new way of measuring time: the Badíʿ calendar, a year of nineteen months of nineteen days, each month bearing the name of an attribute of God, and nineteen years gathered into a cycle called a Váḥid. At the head of it all He placed Naw-Rúz — so that the Bahá'í year begins, every spring, upon the name of God's own splendour.

The Dawn-Breakers (Nabíl's Narrative) · Nabíl-i-Aʻzam

Closing

The Fast Crowned by the Festival

Esslemont, gathering the ordinances of the Bahá'í year, shows how Bahá'u'lláh framed Naw-Rúz with exquisite care: a handful of intercalary days given to hospitality and the poor, then the nineteen-day Fast of inward devotion, and then, at the spring equinox, the new year breaking in joy. The festival is the bright morning that the whole shape of the year is built to reach.

Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era · J. E. Esslemont

Click into any story to see the full text with extracted quotes — copy what you need for your talk.

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