08.27.08

How I heard about the Baha’i Faith

Posted in History in Progress at 12:13 pm by admin

I have really been feeling the urge to open up about this because I feel that it is one of the three most defining moments of my life. As such, I have been holding off from bringing it to this blog because it is so personal and the internet is so open. But, I feel that you as the reader might be interested in getting to know me better and I can handle the scrutiny of the masses for you.

My life has been about Search. For as long as I can remember, I have been concerned with the questions philosophical minds have been debating for years, “What is the meaning of Life?”, “What seperates Man from the animals?”, “Is there a God, and how can we know?”, “Can there be rational belief in something that is beyond the senses?” and many more. My parents did a spectacular job in teaching my brother and I the value of searching for personal answers instead of relying upon “wiser minds” to tell us what to think.

When I was 15 I came to believe that there was a Power Greater than myself. I had tried to live without a God as an agnostic for two years but I found that I couldn’t help myself from acting as if people, ideas or institutions were that God and nothing lived up to my expectations. After much “searching”, I found a group of people that believed that a Power greater then themselves could help them lead a happy life. I wasn’t doing any better on my own so I tested the waters and it worked. For the next few years, I experimented with Religion. I learned about Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism, and Mormanism. I found great hope and joy in the Mercy Street community . I found people whom I could talk with about those questions I had held in my heart.

When I moved to Austin from Houston, I couldn’t find that same community life and I drifted. After two years a friend of mine from one of my classes invited me to her house for a “multi-faith devotional”, food being provided. I couldn’t resist. We went around in a circle readings writings from many different Religions including one I had never heard of, the Baha’i Faith. I don’t remember what the topic was, but everyone seemed interested in sharing their thoughts. I felt completely at home.

Over the following months I was invited to more Baha’i activities where I was introduced to the principles of the Faith and its central figures. I found a religion that gave me hope for the world; not only were the writings so beautiful, but the Baha’i Community was systematically growing into a reflection of those writings. After being around the Baha’is for a few months I was convinced that if I couldn’t come up with a more effective way to help the world become a better place and signed my enrollment card.

Since that day, I have enjoyed deepening myself in the writings, being part of a loving community and sharing that love with the greater Austin community. The four core activities that Baha’is participate in are devotionals, study circles, children’s classes and junior youth groups. All of the activities are open to Baha’is and non-Baha’is. For more information on these and other activities going on check out http://www.bahai.org/ for those inside the U.S. http://www.bahai.us/ and for those right here in Austin, TX http://www.austinbahai.org/.

If you have any questions or comments feel free to shoot me an email at John.Leavitt@gmail.com.

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