ey proved to be the mighty ones of God. Remember that
Peter was a fisherman, but through the bounty of the Kingdom he became the
great apostle. Mary Magdalene was a villager of lowly type, yet that
selfsame Mary was transformed and became the means through which the
confirmation of God descended upon the disciples. Verily, she served the
Kingdom of God with such efficiency that she became well-known and oft
mentioned by the tongues of men. Even today she is shining from the
horizon of eternal majesty. Consider how infinite is the bounty of God
that a woman such as Mary Magdalene should be selected by God to become
the channel of confirmation to the disciples and a light of nearness in
His Kingdom. Consequently, trust ye in the bounty and grace of God, and
rest assured in the bestowals of His eternal outpouring. I hope that each
one of you may become a shining light even as these electric lights are
now brilliant in their intensity. Nay, may each one of you be a luminary
like unto a sparkling star in the heaven of the divine Will. This is my
supplication at the throne of God. This is my hope through the favors of
Baha'u'llah. I offer this prayer in behalf of all of you and beg with a
contrite heart that you may be assisted and glorified with an eternal
bestowal.

10 November 1912
Talk at Home of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur J. Parsons
1700 Eighteenth Street, NW, Washington, D. C.

Notes by Joseph H. Hannen

What is the reality of Divinity, or what do we understand by God?

When we consider the world of existence, we find that the essential
reality underlying any given phenomenon is unknown. Phenomenal, or
created, things are known to us only by their attributes. Man discerns
only manifestations, or attributes, of objects, while the identity, or
reality, of them remains hidden. For example, we call this object a
flower. What do we understand by this name and title? We understand that
the qualities appertaining to this organism are perceptible to us, but the
intrinsic elemental reality, or identity, of it remains unknown. Its
external appearance and manifest attributes are knowable; but the inner
being, the underlying reality or intrinsic identity, is still beyond the
ken and perception of our human powers. Inasmuch as the realities of
material phenomena are impenetrable and unknowable and are only
apprehended through their properties or qualities, how much more this is
true concerning the reality of Divinity, that holy