RED IN NEW YORK AND FANWOOD

26 May 1912
Talk at Mount Morris Baptist Church
Fifth Avenue and 126th Street, New York

Notes by Esther Foster

As I entered the church this evening, I heard the hymn "Nearer my God, to
Thee." The greatest attainment in the world of humanity is nearness to
God. Every lasting glory, honor, grace and beauty which comes to man comes
through nearness to God. All the Prophets and apostles longed and prayed
for nearness to the Creator. How many nights they passed in sleepless
yearning for this station; how many days they devoted to supplication for
this attainment, seeking ever to draw nigh unto Him! But nearness to God
is not an easy accomplishment. During the time Jesus Christ was upon the
earth mankind sought nearness to God, but in that day no one attained it
save a very few--His disciples. Those blessed souls were confirmed with
divine nearness through the love of God. Divine nearness is dependent upon
attainment to the knowledge of God, upon severance from all else save God.
It is contingent upon self-sacrifice and to be found only through
forfeiting wealth and worldly possessions. It is made possible through the
baptism of water and fire revealed in the Gospels. Water symbolizes the
water of life, which is knowledge, and fire is the fire of the love of
God; therefore, man must be baptized with the water of life, the Holy
Spirit and the fire of the love of the Kingdom. Until he attains these
three degrees, nearness to God is not possible. This is the process by
which the Baha'is of Persia have attained it. They gave their lives for
this station, sacrificed honor, comfort and possessions, hastened with the
utmost joy to the place of martyrdom; their blood was spilled, their
bodies were tortured and destroyed, their homes pillaged, their children
carried into captivity. They endured all these conditions joyfully and
willingly. Through such sacrifice nearness to God is made possible. And be
it known that this nearness is not dependent upon time or place. Nearness
to God is dependent upon purity of the heart and exhilaration of the
spirit through the glad tidings of the Kingdom. Consider how a pure,
well-polished mirror fully reflects the effulgence of the sun, no matter
how distant the sun may be. As soon as the mirror is cleaned and purified,
the sun will manifest itself. The more pure and sanctified the heart of
man becomes, the nearer it draws to God, and the light of the Sun of