Course: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: His Life and Ministry (2020)
In learning about ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Life and Ministry, I have developed a deeper knowledge of the difficulties that Abdu’l-Bahá went through to become the “Perfect Exemplar,” Interpreter, and the Center of the Covenant. I previously didn’t understand how the whole administrative order was designed and how we are in stages that are guiding us to fulfill the mandates in the Tablets of the Divine Plan. It has also illumined my understanding of plans from the Universal House of Justice. The references provided in the course widened my scope of knowledge in terms of the volume of the writings, and the connections derived from the guidance of the institutions. I have learned to continuously verify what I hear to the sources in the Faith.
The course helped me to develop an extreme love and connection to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and to know that—after receiving the favor from God to be a Bahá’í—my responsibilities became greater and that I have to look at the examples set by the Master to help me in my path. The foundation of my values that originally attracted me to the Bahá’í Faith have become solidified, and recognizing that everyone is noble and equal in the eyes of God yet endowed with capacities that are different /unique.
I have a draft of the presentation/PowerPoint, but need more time to put together the slides to connect with each other and add lessons that I feel have emerged from the learning. I feel that I can use the knowledge learned in this course to enrich my contributions to both study circles and to secular spaces in my daily teaching work.
