Howard Colby Ives struggled for several months to understand the
bahaistories.com archive · Read original
When in Bahá'í history
Howard Colby Ives struggled for several months to understand the reality of ‘Abdu’l- Bahá's message. He was the pastor of the Brotherhood Unitarian church in Jersey City. He had organized the church in mid-1911, but by late 1912, the church was in financial trouble and he was forced to close it. Ives wrote to ‘Abdu’l- Bahá about this and about his growing interest in the Faith. The Master turned Ives anxiousness about the failure of his church into opportunity: "In brief: be thou not unhappy. This event has happened so that thou mayest become freed of all other at occupations, day and night thou mayest call the people to the Kingdom; spread the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh; inaugurate the Era of the New Life; promulgate the reality, and be sanctified and purified from all save God. It is my hope that thou mayest become as such.
Source: Earl Redman, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Their Midst, p. 67
Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: tests).
Cite this story
Various. *bahaistories.com archive*. https://bahaistories.com/subject/tests
Record yourself reading this story
Recording stays on this device only. Nothing is uploaded.
Related stories
On the evening of the same day ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke briefly again to a
On the evening of the same day ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke briefly again to a group of Bahá’í friends of the subject which, on these last days seemed very close to His heart and lips - the station to which those who had accepted the teachings of…
This is part of the account Howard Colby Ives wrote of that first
This is part of the account Howard Colby Ives wrote of that first memorable meeting with the Master: I could not speak. We both sat perfectly silent for what seemed a long while, and gradually a great peace came to me. Then ‘Abdu’l-Bahá…
Again I [Howard Colby Ives] was alone with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Again I [Howard Colby Ives] was alone with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá . . . The room was very still. No sound came from the street nor from the lower rooms. The silence deepened as He regarded me with that loving, all-embracing, all-understanding look…
Another characteristic always apparent was His silence
Another characteristic always apparent was His silence. In the world of social and intellectual intercourse to which I was accustomed silence was almost unforgivable. From the collegiate with his, or her, "line," to the lawyer, doctor,…