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Informal Talks by Notable Figures

(see also talks and conference presentations by scholars)

Talks and presentations given by notable personnages, such as Hands of the Cause of God and members of the Universal House of Justice. For academic talks, see Conference Papers.

Arranged by presenter's last name. Readers must keep in mind that talks such as these are not necessarily formal presentations and that the contributor of the talk might have made transcription errors; hence, the content of all these talks must be considered "provisional" only and, if quoted, mention should be made of this fact.
New transcripts of talks are always accepted, but since it's easier to ask at the time of the talk than making contact later, the contributor is responsible for securing permission from the presenter. Permission for posting any new talks submitted will be presumed.

    Arbab, Farzam

  1. Seminar for Youth on the Five Year Plan, delivered 28 April 2001.

    Brown, Lee

  2. Brown's talk on "North American Indian Prophecies" was delivered to the 1986 Continental Indigenous Council, in Fairbanks, Alaska.

    Collins, Amelia

  3. This Tribute to Shoghi Effendi was delivered by Hand of the Cause of God Amelia Collins at the International Baha'i Conference in Frankfurt, Germany July 25 1958.

    Danesh, Hossain

  4. Dr. Danesh, a prominent Baha'i psychiatrist, spoke on Marriage and Sexuality at a home in Virginia in April, 1991.

    Faizi, Abu'l-Qasim

  5. From Adrianople to Akka is a transcription of a talk given in Sicily, 1968, on the exile journeys of Baha'u'llah. Originally published as a booklet by the UK Baha'i Publishing Trust, 1969.

  6. Talk on The Hidden Words, delivered in Wilmette, Illinois, December 9 1967.

  7. Talk on the Kitab-i-Aqdas, delivered in the United States (place not specified) in 1973.

  8. Talks delivered in Australia, November 1969.

  9. Teaching seminar in Hawaii, 1967.

    Gushikan, Luiz

  10. Luiz Gushiken, the Honorable Federal Deputy of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies, delivered the speech Challenges of the Construction of a New Morality on the topic of Baha'i contributions to morality and ethics.

    Ioas, Leroy

  11. Notes to a talk given by Hand of the Cause Leroy Ioas in Pasadena, California, June 1960.

    Khan, Peter

    Universal House of Justice member Peter Khan spoke one two occasions of the nature of tests facing Baha'is:
  12.     the talk on Mental Tests, delivered September 17 1995, in Sydney, Australia, and
  13.     the talk on The Nature of Tests, delivered September 23, 1995, at the Baha'i House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois.

  14. A talk on The Four Year Plan, address given at the University of Maryland Conference Centre on Sunday, 29 September 1996.

  15. A talk on The Five Year Plan, address given at Langenhein, June 3, 2001.

  16. Queen's Birthday Weekend Conference, delivered in Aukland, June 2000, addresses a variety of issues facing the Baha'i community, especially as pertains to New Zealand Baha'is.

  17. Notes on a talk entitled "The World's Equilibrium," delivered August 22, 1998 at Baruch College, New York.

    Martin, Douglas

  18. Humanity's Coming Encounter with Baha'u'llah, delivered April 1992, looks retrospectively at the previous 100 years of Baha'i history, current shifts of focus and teaching plans, and the prospects for the future which the new Message can bring.

  19. Notes on the Twentieth Century compiled by Greg Watson from multiple transcriptions of talks Atlanta, New York City and in Massachusetts, Sept. and Oct. 2001.

    Mazandarani, Jinab-i-Fadl

  20. "Seven Cities in the Spiritual Journey to God," a talk on the tablet Jawahiru'l-Asrar ("Gems of the Mysteries"), was printed in Star of the West XIII:11 (February 1923), pp. 301-303.

    Mitchell, Glenford

    "Remembering Shoghi Effendi as Interpreter" is a transcript of a talk given by Universal House of Justice member Glenford Mitchell in July, 1997 (from a cassette tape © 1997 National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the U.S.):
  21.     Part One
  22.     Part Two

  23. Time of Peril, Prospects for Peace, delivered at the Atlanta Baha'i Center, October 2001.

  24. Whatever happened to the Double Crusade? delivered in Wilmette on October 5 1996, addresses issues relating to the Four Year Plan.

    Ali, Nakhjavani,

  25. Talks in Africa, 2001, compiled and edited by Greg Watson, discuss (1) personal reminiscences of Ruhiyyih Khanum; (2) some history of the Faith in Africa; and (3) stages of spiritual growth and teaching.

    Ruhe, David S.

  26. "Baha'i Horizons in the 21st Century," a few notes transcribed from a talk closing a 1993 Conference on Social and Economic Development in Orlando, offers an overview of Baha'i activities at the turn of the millennium.

    Semple, Ian

  27. Universal House of Justice member Ian Semple's talk Interpretation and the Guardianship, delivered in Haifa in Feb. 1984, discusses the differences between personal interpretation, authoritative interpretation, divinely guided legislation, and the role of the Guardian as interpreter.

  28. A talk on Obedience, given at the Universal House of Justice in July, 1991, discusses "obedience in relation to freedom of thought" and "the importance of obedience both to the individual's spiritual development and to society as a whole."

    Sorabjee, Zena

  29. Address given by Counsellor Zena Sorabjee to the inter-religious gathering in New Delhi was delivered to a conference organised by the Roman Catholic Church, with Pope John Paul II, on 7 November 1999.

    Tehrani, Abdu'l-Karim Effendi

  30. Addresses Delivered before the New York and Chicago Assemblies (Chicago, 1900), speeches delivered at Abdu'l-Baha's request to deepen the believers following the covenant-breaking of Ibrahim Kheiralla.

Talks
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