In Baha'’, he found the divine physician

I was born in Indianapolis into a Pentecostal Christian family. My grandmother was national and international minister and evangelist Edith Johnson, also known as Mother Johnson. I am so grateful for the blessing of her guidance and influence in the cause of religion!

She gave me high spiritual, personal and moral values to aspire toward. The first step to be taken was love, and it was love that bound our family together.

The spiritual cement for a strong foundation is the love of God. She shared this so well with our family. She taught me that the love of God will not straddle fences. Rather, it will permeate the heart and fuse together the people of God.

Her assurance to me for my spiritual progress was this: "You have no fence that you can use to separate yourself from others. Look at your own family tree!" You see, my own descent is not only African but also Asian, Cherokee and Scottish. Her words left my heart and my eyes wide open, and at the age of 15 my walk as a Pentecostal Christian was confirmed. I accepted the call to the ministry and my first church at age 16.

Just before preaching my first sermon, others saw and heard the anointing of God upon my life, signs and wonders that I didn't even understand at the time. I had a spiritual experience that showed me the oneness of humanity, and the oneness of humanity with God and with nature. God through his spirit is and always has been able to communicate with humanity, and to manifest the glory of God. And this name was impressed upon my heart: the glory of God.

After preaching, pastoring, evangelizing and being a historian of the church for 28 years, my life was changed by a simple question. A young lady by the name of Delia Ann Hammons asked me if I were earnestly expecting the return of Christ. I replied that I was indeed.

Ms. Hammons said she knew she had nothing to teach me. She knew I was a pastor and historian. She just wanted to share with me the name of God's new messenger, the founder of the Baha'’ Faith. His name is Baha'u'llah, an Arabic term which means "the glory of God."

My heart was immediately convinced when I heard that name again, the glory of God. I gladly agreed to read the writings of Baha'u'llah. What I read showed me that Baha'u'llah has fulfilled the prophecies and promises of the old and new testaments. I was confirmed to faith in him as the return of Christ. What does it say in the Book of Luke? "He opened their understanding that they might understand the Scripture."

The spirit of God is one in every age. The mission is the same, although the name of the messenger is different depending on the needs and the sickness of humanity. Oh, how we need a loving, healing, unifying physician to bring God's people back home to the worship of one almighty lord. In Baha'’, I found the Christ, the divine physician.

These are some of the best years of our lives. My wife Lynda and I travel to teach the Baha'’ Faith throughout the United States, into Canada, and recently in southern Australia. How wonderful it feels to experience this new birth and regeneration with the sharing of the revelation of Baha'’ with all humanity!

Listen to these words from the writings of Baha'u'llah:

"The fundamental purpose animating the Faith of God's Religion is to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and fellowship amongst men."

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* Robert Carpenter Sr. is a member of the Baha'’ Faith. For more information on the Baha'’ Faith, write Baha'’s of Tacoma, PO Box 11242, Tacoma, WA 98411 or call 253-474-8029.

04/28/2001