‘Abdu’l-Bahá laid the cornerstone of the House of Worship in Wilmette,…
bahaistories.com archive · Read original
Studio narration for this story is coming — it’ll be generated by the cloud-TTS pipeline (voice: auto-selected from the source author).
When in Bahá'í history
Wilmette (today: Wilmette, Illinois, USA)
‘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).
Discuss this story
For adults
- Where do you see devotion appearing — visibly or quietly — in this passage?
- How does this story illustrate the practice of devotion?
- Read the closing lines once more. What single phrase stays with you?
For teens
- If you were in 'Abdu'l-Bahá's place, what might you have done?
- What does this story teach about devotion?
Reflection
- Take one line from this story and let it stay with you today.
- What single image from this story will stay with you?
- How does devotion show up in your life right now — and where is it being asked of you?
Comprehension quiz
Which source is "‘Abdu’l-Bahá laid the cornerstone of the House of Worship in Wilmette,…" drawn from?
Where does this story take place?
What period of Bahá'í history does this story belong to?
Which historical figure is featured most prominently in this story?
Cite this story
Various. *bahaistories.com archive*. https://bahaistories.com/subject/corner-stone
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