John Matteson's Silent Wish

At one point, the Master was speaking about Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation and spiritual susceptibilities. Touching a young man named Mr. Robinson, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said, ‘Because of the susceptibilities, this radiant youth is seated here, and in the utmost of love I am patting him on his shoulder.’ Ramona Allen wondered why the Master had chosen to specifically bless the youth. Later, she found out. Seated at the same table as Mr. Robinson was John Matteson, who was on a search for spiritual truth. When Mr. Matteson saw the Master put His hands on the young man’s shoulder, Mr. Matteson thought to himself, ‘If ‘Abdu’l-Bahá did that same thing to me, I would believe.’ However, the Master strolled into the other rooms. Presently He returned to the room, walked straight to Mr. Matteson, and placed His hands upon the young man’s shoulders. From that moment Mr. Matteson became one of the most faithful followers of Bahá.

Source: Earl Redman, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Their Midst, p. 231 (drawing on Ramona Allen Brown, Memories of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá).

Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: faith).

Various. *bahaistories.com archive*. https://bahaistories.com/subject/faith