Webinar

Stories of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

Jun 6, 2021
Stories of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá_Sharon O’Toole & Earl Redman

‘Abdu’l-Bahá was the son of the founder of the Bahá’í Faith, Bahá’u’lláh. Before His passing, Bahá’u’lláh wrote a document telling the Bahá’ís to turn to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and that He would inspire His son with whatever He needed to know.

Today we can’t meet ’Abdu’l-Bahá, but we can get to know more about Him  through the words of those who did meet Him. These stories are about the interactions of the pilgrims and visitors who met ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, both in America and the Holy land, and the emotions of those encounters. They illustrate dramatically the spiritual powers and prescience of ’Abdu’l-Bahá. He would answer questions before they were asked, convert atheists into believers, know the thoughts of His visitors and read the reality of their hearts. For those with receptive hearts, He would guide and educate with profound and uplifting talks. The stories attempt to show a little of what it had been like to be in His Presence.

Contributors

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Sharon O’Toole & Earl Redman

Sharon was born in Sitka, raised in Tenakee Springs, Alaska, went to high-school in Juneau, lived in Fairbanks, became a Bahá'í in 1969 in Douglas. She pioneered to Hoonah, an Alaskan Native village, in 1970 and lived in Anchorage before returning to Tenakee in 1975 to manage her parent’s store, Snyder Mercantile. Earl was born in Colorado, raised in Las Cruces, New Mexico, lived in the Marshall Islands and moved to Fairbanks to further his education in 1972. He also lived in Anchorage. He married Sharon in 1980 and became a Bahá'í on the same day. Earl and Sharon pioneered to the Mapuche Indian region of southern Chile in 1989, returning to Alaska in 1995. In 1999, they pioneered to Ireland where they live in the Alaska House. Sharon worked with women’s groups on both sides of the Irish-Northern Irish border, trying to get them to realize that people are people, and helping them eliminate religious intolerance. She has also given workshops on learning to be your creative self through the arts in both Ireland and Northern Ireland. She has a reputation for making great cakes. Earl has tutored many study circles and writes books, including 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Their Midst, which documents 'Abdu'l-Bahá’s travels to the West; Shoghi Effendi Through the Pilgrim’s Eye, volumes 1 and 2, which describes what it was like to meet the Guardian; The Knights of Bahá'u'lláh, which contains short biographies of all 255 Knights; and Visiting 'Abdu'l-Bahá volumes 1 and 2, which contains stories about those who went to visit 'Abdu'l-Bahá in the Holy Land from 1897 to 1921. Earl and Sharon have been traveling and telling stories from their books. They have done their story-telling in the United Kingdom, Israel, Ireland, Iceland, Poland, Germany, Finland, Tunisia, Hawaii, Fiji, Samoa, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the US and Alaska.

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