From The Back Pew:

Last week, I was privileged to join the La Crescenta branch of Bahá’ís at the home of Lily and Shahrom Moghbel.

The Bahá’í religion is considered to be the youngest of the world’s independent religions. Its founder, Bahá’u’lláh, is considered to be the most recent in the line of “Messengers of God”; they include Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Christ and Muhammad. In other words, religious history throughout the centuries has manifested itself through a series of divine messengers. These messengers established a religion that was suited to the “needs of the time and capacity of the people,” according to a book by Peter Smith titled “An Introduction to the Bahá’í Faith.”

Humanity itself is said to be in a state of “collective evolution.” The end result will be a human family, united as a peaceful, global society. To achieve this end result, Bahá’ís believe in the abandonment of prejudice, equality among the sexes, religious truth, elimination of extreme poverty and wealth, and education for all.

The devotional part of the gathering began with prayer, which led to music, followed by a round table of sorts, where each person was free to offer their own prayer, no matter if it was Jewish, Bahá’í, Christian or Hindu.

The purpose of the fireside was so that I could learn more about the faith and be free to ask questions. Each person addressed me, looking at me right in the eye. While unexpected, and a little weird, given that I’ve never experienced a prayer circle where I was addressed directly, I got the feeling that these people really wanted to make me understand the faith, something that even in my own faith, I am sorry to say, is severely lacking.

I also received a book published by Interfaith Resources titled “The Interfaith Prayer Book,” containing prayers from the Buddhist, Hindu and Jewish faiths, among others. One prayer that caught my eye was a prayer from the Dhammapada, or Buddhist text, titled “Detachment” which begins: “It is good to control the mind, which is difficult to restrain, fickle and wandering?.?.?.” This is a great little book with prayers that I’ll use at my next young adult gathering.

Thank you, Bahá’ís, for making me feel welcome at your devotional. I may attend again.

Get in touch MICHAEL J. ARVIZU is a reporter for the Burbank Leader, Glendale News-Press and La Cañada Valley Sun newspapers. He may be reached at (818) 637-3263 or by e-mail at michael.arvizu@latimes.com.