The Very First One

A retelling for children, based on God Passes By by Shoghi Effendi.

In the city of Chicago, long ago, there lived a busy man named Thornton Chase. He worked at an insurance company, where grown-ups go to make plans and sign papers. He wore proper clothes, he went to work each morning, and he was not the sort of person you would expect to begin anything new or surprising. He was just an ordinary working man.

One day, he read a few short words about the Bahá'í Faith in a newspaper. It made him curious. He had heard that a man named Ibrahim Kheiralla, who had learned about the Faith far away in Egypt, was holding little gatherings in his apartment right there in Chicago. All kinds of people came to listen. So Thornton Chase decided to go and listen too.

At first, he came only because his mind was interested. He wanted to understand. But the more he listened, the more something deeper began to grow inside him — not just curiosity in his head, but a quiet, strong belief in his heart.

And so, in the summer of 1894, Thornton Chase made up his mind. He chose to become a Bahá'í. It does not sound like much — one ordinary man, deciding something quietly in a big city. But it had never happened before. He was the very first American, and the very first person from all the Western world, to join the Bahá'í Faith.

After that, his life looked almost the same as it had before. He kept his job. He married and raised a family. From the outside, you would not have guessed that anything special had happened to him at all. But something had begun.

Because once one person goes first, others can follow. Slowly, a few more people became Bahá'ís. Then a few more, in Chicago and in cities all across the country. What started with one quiet man grew and grew into a whole community of friends.

Thornton Chase died in 1912, just before 'Abdu'l-Bahá came to visit America. When 'Abdu'l-Bahá heard the news, He did not forget this faithful man. He traveled all the way to the cemetery where Thornton Chase was buried, and there He stood and prayed for him. And He gave him a special name to be remembered by always: the first Bahá'í of the United States.

Somebody always has to go first. Going first can feel small and lonely, and you may never know how much will grow from your one brave step. But the first person opens the door for everyone who comes after — and that is never forgotten.

This is a retelling for children. For the fuller account, see "Thornton Chase: The First Westerner to Embrace the Faith".

Effendi, S.. (1944). *God Passes By*. Bahá'í Publishing Trust. https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/shoghi-effendi/god-passes-by/