Mr. Morris Taylor
Presentations by Mr. Morris Taylor
Mr. Morris Taylor talked about the Love and how it related to the faith and sacrifice. Baha'u'llah said that "The first sign of faith is love". Because of greatness of this day the sufferings of Baha'u'llah was unlike that any of previous Manifestation of God. Blessed beauty sacrificed his prestige, home, comfort, wealth, honor and health for the sake of the humanity. Love for Manifestation is the greatest love. Mr. Morris an impressive story of Abdu'l-Baha about how much He loved Baha'u'llah and He suffered for his love.
Mr. Taylor frames the title of his talk, “Journey Out of Darkness” by comparing it to a game he played in his youth. In his game the children turned off all the lights and in that total darkness they would try to get out of the door without getting caught. Humanity is now in that kind of total darkness and it is the task of the Bahá’í Community to lead the people out the darkness of this age. Says 80% of the world’s diseases are waterborne. Just the income from three days of military spending could provide fresh water for the people who need it.
Mr. Morris Taylor, who is the owner of Talisman Enterprises, recalls a devoted pioneer who had a wonderful sense of humor and who intended to write a book whose title would be “Foibles of the Formative Age”. That lady died of cancer at the early age of 29. So Mr. Taylor dedicates this talk to her under the same title. He outlines seven categories of Bahá’í foibles he covers in this talk. They are 1. First Contact; 2. Great Expectations; 3. How We Are Perceived; 4. Adventures in Teaching; 5. Traditions; 6. Baha’I Humor; and 7. Consultation.
Mr. Taylor speaks to the importance of the role of the individual in developing our Baha'i communities. He quotes The Guardian, who writes about the importance of bringing new believers to the Faith, which will lead to entry by troops. The foundation of the community has to be the individual. Mr Taylor gives examples of how one or two "crazy for Baha'u'llah" Baha'is can create innovations that have brought positive change to communities He also points out that we must learn to love each community member for his or her love of Baha'u'llah.
Mr. Morris Taylor talked about the value of virtues within the Bahá’í community. The essential elements of unity in the community are love, forgiveness and courtesy. He quotes Bahá'u'lláh “O people of God! I exhort you to courtesy.” “Courtesy is indeed … the lord of all virtues. Blessed is he who is adorned with the mantle of Uprightness and illumined with the light of Courtesy. He who is endowed with Courtesy is endowed with a great station.” We underestimate the value of courtesy. Courtesy is a station of God.