Plenty of Choices: Deepenings, Firesides, Preparing for Elevated Conversations, History, and Deep Reflection on the Creative Words

Personal Deepening? Community Deepening? Firesides? Preparing for Elevated Conversations? History? Deep Reflection on the Creative Word? The Wilmette Institute’s Web Talks on its YouTube site has you covered. Here are some categories that will help you make a choice: Web Talks that will inspire you and your friends to “realize how society” around you “can be refashioned” (The Universal House of Justice, December 29, 2015, par. 24)

• Marriage as a service to humanity by Susanne Alexander (2015).
• The transition to sustainability by Arthur Lyon Dahl (2015).
• World federation, solving global crises by Sovaida Maani Ewing (2015)
• Science and religion by Steve Friberg (2015)
• Consultation, a revolutionary model of democratic governance by Brian Aull (2016)
• Six revolutionary Bahá’í teachings about gender equality by Vasu Mohan (2016)
• Creative consultation by Trip Barthel (2016).
• Imagining Bahá’í law by Roshan Danesh (2016)

History

• Religious Myths and Visions of American by Christopher Buck (2015)
• Shoghi Effendi and Bahá’í history (a look at why the Guardian translated The Dawn-Breakers) by Moojan Moman (2015)
• The leaves of the Twin Divine trees by Baharieh Routhani Maani (2015)
• The beginning of the Bahá’í Faith on the European Continent by Julio Savi (2016)
• The history of the South Carolina Bahá’í community and why it is important today by Lois Venters (2016)

Cultivating “the habit of study and deep reflection upon the Creative Words” to effect “transformation” in yourself and to gain the “ability to express” your “understanding of profound concepts and to explore spirituality in conversations of significance” (The Universal House of Justice, December 29, 2015, letter, par. 14)

• The face of God among us by John Hatcher (2015)
• Bahá’í proofs for God by Ian Kluge (2015)
• The intersection of art and spirit by Anne Perry on (2015)
• One method of studying the Bahá’í writings by Sandra Lynn Hutchison (2015)
• Bahá’u’lláh’s revelation in the Siyah Chal by Shahrokh Monjazeb (2016)
• The nature of the Manifestation in the Bahá’í writings by Stephen Phelps (2016)
• Bahá’u’lláh, the return of Joseph by Todd Lawson (2016)
• Bahá’ulláh’ s first epistle to the kings and rulers of His time by Shahrokh Monjazeb (2016)

Of course, categories are fluid. The Web Talks on history and on preparing yourself to participate in elevated conversations are grounded in the Bahá’í writings. Each Web Talk has links to: (1) a short description of the talk and biographical information about the speaker; (2) the Web Talk itself; and (3) a longer review article about the talk. In reverse chronological order, here are the Wilmette Institute’s 2015 and 2016 Web Talks: December 4, 2016 Louis Venters “No Jim Crow Church: The History of the South Carolina Bahá’í Community” November 27, 2016 Shahrokh Monjazeb “A Divine Proclamation Like No Other! Bahá’u’lláh’s Súratu’l-Mulúk (The Epistle of King)—Part 1: Historical Contextualization & Essential Features of the Tablet” October 16, 2016 Roshan Danesh “Imagining Baha’i Law” September 25, 2016 Todd Lawson “Baha’u’llah, The Return of Joseph” August 28, 2016 Julio Savi “The Dawning of the Bahá’í Faith on the European Continent” June 6, 2016 Trip Barthel “Creativity in Consultation” May 8, 2016 Stephen Phelps “‘I Am the Mystic Fane’: The Nature of the Manifestation in the Baha’i Writings” March 26, 2016 Vasu Mohan “Six Revolutionary Teachings about Gender Equality in the Bahá’í Faith” February 14, 2016 Brian Aull “Consultation: A Revolutionary Model of Democratic Governance” January 17, 2016 Shahrokh Monjazeb “Veiled and Concealed in the Hidden Habitation of His Inner Being: Revelation in the Síyah Chal” November 15, 2015 Steve Friberg “Science and Religion: Religion: Reconciliation, Cooperation, and Harmonious Development” October 25, 2015 Sovaida Maani Ewing “Building a World Federation: The Key to Solving Our Global Crises” September 27, 2015 Baharieh Rouhani Maani “The Leaves of the Twin Divine Trees” September 6, 2015 Arthur Lyon Dahl “Navigating the Storm: The Transition to Sustainability” August 30, 2015 Susanne Alexander “Healthy, Unified Marriages as Service to Humanity” June 7, 2015 Sandra Lynn Hutchison “Windows on Divine Wisdom: Accessing the Meaning of the Bahá’í Revelation” May 9, 2015 Moojan Momen “The Re‑Creation and Utilization of a Community’s Memories: Shoghi Effendi and Baha’i History” May 3, 2015 Christopher Buck “God and Apple Pie: Religious Myths and Visions of America” March 1, 2015 Anne Perry “Where Spirit Intersects Art” February 1, 2015 Ian Kluge “The Baha’i Proofs for God” January 18, 2015 John Hatcher “The Face of God Among Us”