Speaker Prep

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

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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 renunciation

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

Opening

The Month of the Fast: Severance from All Save God

The nineteenth and final month of the Bahá'í year, 'Alá' — Loftiness — is the month of the Fast. From sunrise to sunset for nineteen days the believer abstains from food and drink, but the heart of the Fast lies elsewhere: in abstinence from the desires of self, and in severance from all save God. This is what gives the month its name.

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

Middle

A Candle Burned to the Wick: Nabíl-i-Zarandí

In the flower of his youth Nabíl-i-Zarandí bade farewell to his family in Zarand and set out to find the One his soul was seeking. From that day he never turned back. Poet, traveller, herald, recluse — he spent his whole life pouring himself out in service to Bahá'u'lláh, holding nothing of the world in reserve, until at the end he could endure separation no longer.

Memorials of the Faithful · 'Abdu'l-Bahá

Closing

That Which Eternally Endureth: The Master on Detachment

In a tender letter preserved among His Writings, 'Abdu'l-Bahá set the fading things of this world beside the one Beauty that never fades. Mortal charm passes, He wrote, roses give way to thorns, youth lives its day and is no more — but the Beauty of the True One endureth for ever. His counsel is the very lesson the month of the Fast was given to teach: where to fix the heart.

Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá · 'Abdu'l-Bahá

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

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