November 1902 -- Laying the foundation stone of the Baha'i Temple in Ishqabad, RussiaHaji Mirza Muhammad-Taqi, a cousin of the Bab, is standing next to General Krupatkin in the first row.=================================نوفمبر 1902 -- وضع حجر الاساس لمشرق الأذكار في عشق آباد بروسيا ويظهر فى الصورة الحاج ميرزا محمد تقي ، وهو ابن عم حضرة الباب
The Remarkable Faith of Thornton Chase
One of the remarkable people in the history of our Faith is the First American Believer -- Thornton Chase. His very moving letter to the Master – so early! -- Written in 1898 -- is very instructive:
To the Greatest Branch! I beg from Almighty God, the Single One, for Knowledge, Faith and Love; and that He in His Great Mercy, will so reveal to me His acknowledgement and acceptance of me that I may be made strong for service to Him, and that His Will may be my only desire. I desire greatly that I may be of service to GOD, the All-Powerful One My Creator; and I humbly beg for the privilege of teaching His Truth, and that I may be chosen as a means whereby many shall learn of Him and come to acceptance of Him. I beg earnestly for the Power of Perception, that I may perceive the truth from the false, the real from the apparent; for the power of Logic, that I may reason correctly, and be able to detect and overthrow erroneous reasoning; for the Power of Expression, that I may teach with such power and clearness that I may convince the hearts of the people, and that they may be led to desire and seek for the Truth and for the Real God. I humbly beg that I may be given from Thy generosity, a tablet for myself to use in prayer for spiritual help and strength. I also ask the favor of some little material token from Thy Hand, Oh Greatest Branch, my Master! Accept me, I beg of Thee, as Thy humble and loving servant.
(“Thornton Chase,” p. 143)
The Master favored Mr. Chase with a number of prayers and tablets, including this one revealed in 1900:
My God, My God!
I am a servant, miserable, humbled, submissive and low at the door of Thy Oneness, supplicating Thee with a heart full of Thy love and a face rejoiced at Thy glad-tidings!
O God! Make me of those who are drawn unto light and who detest darkness; with a heart overflowing with the lights of Thy love among mankind; a tongue fluent in mentioning Thee in the assemblies of worship; a breast, cheered and widened with Thy knowledge when uttering explanations; an eye consoled with seeing Thy traces in all directions; a foot firm in Thy Covenant, which I have received from the traces of the Supreme Pen; a spreader of mysteries to those who are heedless of them, who have veiled themselves with doubts and suspicions.
Verily Thou art the Almighty, the Powerful, the Generous!
(“Thornton Chase,” p. 156)
Mr. Chase received unparalleled praise and honor from the Master. The Master wrote to him in 1909:
“Praise thou God that thou art an assured believer, firm and established, a servant of the Kingdom and a speaker of Truth. Under all circumstances thou art near to me: In spirit thou art my intimate and in the servitude of the Beauty of Abha [Baha’u’llah] thou art my associate and companion. I beg for thee an inexhaustible share from the Bounty of the Day of Manifestation.”
(“Thornton Chase,” p. 227)
Mr. Chase received the remarkable honor of the Master journeying a great distance to pray at his grave. He is one of the few Western believers to have had a tablet of visitation revealed in his honor. But there is, to me, a far more astonishing honor: At Mr. Chase’s grave, the Master stood, turned towards Akka, and recited the Tablet of Visitation for the Manifestation of God. Abdu'l-Baha, standing at the head of the grave and raising his hands toward heaven, also recited the following prayer:
O my God! 0 my God! Verily, this is a servant of Thine, who did believe on Thee and in Thy signs; verily he hearkened to Thy summons, turned to Thy Kingdom, humbled himself at Thy holy threshold, was possessed of a contrite heart, arose to serve Thy cause, to spread Thy fragrances, to promote Thy word, and to expound Thy wisdom.
Verily he guided the people to Thine ancient pathway, and led them to Thy way of rectitude. Verily he held the chalice of guidance in his right hand and gave unto those athirst to drink of the cup of favor. He presented himself at Thy lofty threshold, where he laid his brow on the fragrant soil of Thy garden and circumambulated Thy all-glorious and sublime abode, the traces of which are widespread and the fragrances of whose loyalty are sensed everywhere. Later he returned to these vast and extensive countries and proclaimed Thy Name amongst the people, until his respiration ceased and his outward sensation was suspended, returning to Thee with a heart throbbing with Thy love and with an eye opened to Thy direction.
O Lord! O Lord! Submerge him in the ocean of Thy glory. 0 Lord! O Lord! Usher him into Thy delectable garden. O Lord! O Lord! Usher him into Thy lofty paradise and cause him to be present in Thy meeting of transfiguration. O Lord! Submerge him in the ocean of Thy lights.
Verily, Thou art the Clement! Verily, Thou art the Merciful, the Precious, the Omnipotent!
("Thornton Chase," p. 261)
The Master said of Thornton Chase:
"This revered personage was the first Baha'i in America. He served the Cause faithfully and his services will ever be remembered throughout future ages and cycles. He has written many books in this Cause and they will be studied carefully by the coming generations. He traveled once to Acca and there we associated with each other for several days. Indeed he became free from the troubles of this world. No matter how long he might have remained here, he would have met nothing else but trouble. The purpose of life is to get certain results; that is, the life of man must bring forth certain fruitage. It does not depend upon the length of the life. As soon as the life is crowned with fruition then it is completed, although that person may have had a short life . . . . Praise be to God! the tree of Mr. Chase's life brought forth fruit. It gave complete fruit, therefore he is free. He attained to eternal rest. He is now in the Presence of Baha'u'llah."
("Thornton Chase," p. 260)
