June 30, 2013

The world of dream is a proof of the existence of the soul

From: Human Soul and Its Erernal Journey
… the human soul is exalted above all egress and regress. It is still, and yet it soareth; it moveth, and yet it is still. It is, in itself, a testimony that beareth witness to the existence of a world that is contingent, as well as to the reality of a world that hath neither beginning nor end. Behold how the dream thou hast dreamed is, after the lapse of many years, re-enacted before thine eyes. Consider how strange is the mystery of the world that appeareth to thee in thy dream. Ponder in thine heart upon the unsearchable wisdom of God, and meditate on its manifold revelations.... (Baha’u’llah, 'Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah'; Compilation ‘Reincarnation and the Nature and Progress of the Soul’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice)

June 29, 2013

November 1870: Baha’u’llah left the Most Great Prison

From: Baha'i Calendar -- this month in history
After Baha’u’llah left the barracks (4 November 1870), He lived in a succession of houses in various parts of the city [of Akka] (the houses of Malik, Khawwam and Rabi'a) before moving into a house belonging to ‘Udi Khammir, a Christian merchant (also the owner of the mansion of Bahji) in September 1871. It was here that ‘Abdu’l-Baha was married and the Kitab-i-Aqdas revealed. The larger adjoining house of 'Abbudd was later rented and openings made to join the two houses together, the whole complex becoming known as the House of 'Abbud. 'Abdu'l-Baha and His family remained resident until about October 1896. (Peter Smith, ‘A Concise Encyclopedia of the Baha’i Faith’)

June 28, 2013

'Abdu'l-Hamid II

From: Baha'i Biographical Notes
'Abdu'l-Hamid II: (1842-1918) Sultan of the Ottoman Turkish Empire from 1876 to 1909, known as ‘the Great Assassin’. As the result of the plotting of Mirza Muhammad-‘Ali, in 1901 he restricted ‘Abdu'l-Baha's freedom, confining Him and His family within the city walls of Akka. He later sent two commissions of inquiry to investigate false charges made against ‘Abdu'l-Baha by the Covenant-breakers. Public discontent with his despotic rule and resentment against European intervention in the Balkans led to the military revolution of the Young Turks in 1908. 'Abdu'l Hamid was subsequently deposed in 1909.

June 27, 2013

From a Talk: Learning and the Evolution of the Bahá’í Community - by Paul Lample

From: Baha'i Talks, Messages and Articles
Plenary talk given at the 32nd annual conference of the Association for Bahá’í Studies – North America, 29 August to 1 September 2008

[Before change took place in the current culture of the Bahá’í community]

“It is incumbent upon every man of insight and understanding,” Bahá’u’lláh states, “to strive to translate that which hath been written into reality and action.”1 To be a Bahá’í, to “live the life,” means to comprehend the Word of God and act on it, individually and collectively. It is to make the reality of one’s personal life and the pattern of society at large reflect the teachings. Bahá’u’lláh Himself affirms that “the object of every Revelation” is to “effect a transformation in the whole character of mankind, a transformation that shall manifest itself both outwardly and inwardly, that shall affect both its inner life and external conditions.” Otherwise, He observes, “the futility of God’s universal Manifestations would be apparent.”2

Collectively, we receive the gift of the Word of God, and through its application we are to raise the Kingdom of God on earth; that is, we are to gradually contribute to the building of a new social order that is shaped by the truths of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh. This statement appears simple, yet implicit in it is a challenge to reflect deeply about how we are to understand and behave. Achieving Bahá’u’lláh’s intended purpose for the human race requires new morals, new ways of generating knowledge, new ways of communicating, new ways of acting, and new institutions. How do we Bahá’ís, with our diverse, sometimes conflicting, understandings of Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings, collaborate to bring about the society that reflects His will? The answer will have to be found in learning, over time, to better understand the text and translate it into efficacious action consistent with its divine intent.

Read more...

June 26, 2013

We ”must manifest such attributes and ethical conduct as to embody and personify the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh.”

From: Counsels and Explanations by 'Abdu'l-Baha -- Daily Readings
… in this cycle of Bahá'u'lláh verbal confessions and acknowledgements, literal faith and certainty and external relations are of no avail. Nay, rather, the beloved of God and the maid-servants of the Merciful must manifest such attributes and ethical conduct as to embody and personify the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh. They must promulgate the law of the Kingdom with deeds and not words. Thus may they become the quintessence of being, the signs of the Kingdom of God, standards of the Supreme Concourse. May ye be salutary water for the thirsty, an evidence of guidance for the seeker, protection and support for the helpless, a shelter and home for the wanderers, the treasury of the Kingdom for the poor; the source of hope and happiness for the disappointed; the remedy of the heart and soul for the ailing. May you manifest the utmost of kindness to the human race; to weep with him who mourneth and to laugh with him who rejoiceth; sympathizing with the helpless; in communion with the wanderer; a friend to the friend and foe. (‘Abdu'l-Baha, Star of the West, vol. 1, no. 4, May 17, 1910)

June 25, 2013

Book: Selections From The Writings of the Báb

This first authorized source of the Bab’s Writings in English became available in 1976.

In the preface to this book we read:

“The Baha'i Community has long awaited the day when a comprehensive selection from the writings of the Bab would be made available to it. Ever since Shoghi Effendi translated and published Nabil's Narrative, and set forth in his monumental works the exalted station of the Bib, the Baha'is the world over, and particularly those in the West, have, in their longing to draw nearer to the glorious spirit of Him Who was not only the Herald of their Faith but the Bearer of an independent Revelation, eagerly anticipated an authentic compilation of His revealed utterances and writings. This volume, it is hoped, will be an initial and effective step in that direction.

In view of the vastness of the writings of the Bab, a thorough review of His several works was required. The Universal House of Justice entrusted this task to its Research Department. The actual translation was made by Mr. Habib Taherzadeh, who for several years himself served in that Department. With the assistance of a committee which worked with him, this work is now completed, and it is being made available to Baha'is and the general public as a precious addition to the volume of Baha'i literature in the English language.”

The Table of Contents shows the following:Tablets and Addresses
Excerpts from the Qayyumu’l-Asma
Excerpts from the Persian Bayan
Excerpts from the Dala’il-i-Sab’ih (The Seven Proofs)
Excerpts from the Kitab-i-Asma (The Book of Names)
Excerpts from Various Writings
Prayers and Meditation
Notes

June 24, 2013

The Summons of the Lord of Hosts: The opening verse of the Suriy-i-Haykal ...

From: Reflecting on Baha'i Writings: The Summons of the Lord of Hosts
"This is the Surih of the Temple which God hath ordained to be the Mirror of His Names between the heavens and the earth, and the Sign of His Remembrance amidst the peoples of the world."

Comments:

Let’s ponder on the opening verse of the Surih of Temple:

The Reality that is represented for our age through Baha’u’llah is compared to a human “Temple”. This “Temple” is like a “Mirror” that reflects God’s “Names” “between the heavens and the earth”. This “Temple” is also “the Sign of His (God’s) Remembrance amidst the peoples of the world." What a beautiful way to remind ourselves of these points with respect to the Reality which manifests Itself in the form of all the Manifestations of God!

Question:
What does the phrase “His [God’s] Names” mean? Are they the same as His attributes?

June 23, 2013

Tablet from 'Abdu'l-Baha: O my Lord! I have drawn nigh unto Thee...

From: Insights from Baha'i Prayers
O my Lord! I have drawn nigh unto Thee, in the depths of this darksome night, confiding in Thee with the tongue of my heart, trembling with joy at the sweet scents that blow from Thy realm, the All-Glorious, calling unto Thee, saying:

O my Lord, no words do I find to glorify Thee; no way do I see for the bird of my mind to soar upward to Thy Kingdom of Holiness; for Thou, in Thy very essence, art sanctified above those tributes, and in Thy very being art beyond the reach of those praises which are offered Thee by the people that Thou hast created. In the sanctity of Thine own being hast Thou ever been exalted above the understanding of the learned among the Company on high, and forever wilt Thou remain enwrapped within the holiness of Thine own reality, unreached by the knowledge of those dwellers in Thine exalted Kingdom who glorify Thy Name.

O God, my God! How can I glorify or describe Thee inaccessible as Thou art; immeasurably high and sanctified art Thou above every description and praise... ('Abdu'l-Baha)

Some reflections and insights …

A. The incredibly exalted station of God
  • No “words” can a human being attempt to “find” to “glorify” God;
  • No way can the “bird” of a human being’s “mind” “soar upward” to God’s “Kingdom of Holiness”;
  • God, in His “very essence” is “sanctified” above any “tributes” offered by human beings;
  • God, in His “very being” is “beyond the reach of those praises which are offered” Him “by the people” that He has created.
  • God, in “the sanctity” of His “own being” has “ever been exalted above the understanding of the learned among the Company on high”;
  • God, will “forever” “remain enwrapped within the holiness” of His “own reality, unreached by the knowledge of those dwellers” in His “exalted Kingdom who glorify” His “Name”.
  • Knowing how “inaccessible” and “sanctified” God is “above every description and praise”, how then can a human being ever “glorify” or “describe” Him?
Read more...

June 22, 2013

Keith Ransom-Kehler – First Woman Hand of the Cause, First American Baha’i Martyr

Keith Ransom-Kehler became a Bahá’í in May 1921, but her first documented encounter with the Faith occurred a decade earlier, when she met ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in London on 13 September 1911. She mentioned the meeting in passing in her diary twenty years later, but no account of the occasion has been discovered. She may have learned of the Bahá’í Faith when she lived in Paris, where the new religion gained attention in expatriate and artistic circles around the turn of the century. May Maxwell, the focal figure in the early Bahá’í community in Paris, was a friend of Ransom-Kehler’s in the 1920s and 1930s, but an earlier connection between the two women has not been established.

Shortly after becoming a Bahá’í, Keith gained recognition as a Bahá’í speaker, writer, and administrator. In 1924–25 she served as secretary of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Chicago … until ill health led her to leave for Louisiana. In July 1925 she chaired a session of the Bahá’í Congress held in conjunction with the national Bahá’í convention .. held at Green Acre, the Bahá’í school and conference center in Eliot, Maine; the topic of the evening was "The Economic Foundation of World Brotherhood." She traveled and lectured on a variety of Bahá’í topics, speaking at a series of meetings in Montreal in mid-1925 and, later that year, addressing meetings of the National Association of Teachers in Colored Schools held in Durham, North Carolina. In New York, between 1926 and 1929, her speaking commitments frequently took her to Harlem, where she assisted with a regular interracial "fireside," as presentations on the Bahá’í Faith involving questions and discussion are called.

Read more …

June 21, 2013

Government of one's soul by Divine Will

From: Human Soul and Its Eternal Journey
Moral life consists in the government of one's self. Immortality is government of a human soul by the Divine Will. (‘Abdu’l-Baha, table talks, recorded by Julia Grundy during her pilgrimage, ‘Ten Days in the Light of Acca’)

June 20, 2013

Need to Understand Meanings Behind Symbols in Christianity

From: Christian Themes in Baha'i Literature
Some Christians claim that the Holy Ghost descended after the resurrection of the Christ and that Christ is alluding to this. But as the Holy Ghost was always with …Christ, is this logical? Again he says, "He will guide you unto truth," “He will be better for you than I”, He adds, "Until I go, he cannot come." Endeavor to understand the divine words, otherwise difficulties will arise. Had the Jews understood symbology, they would have understood the Christ. The holy books are full of significance and must never be taken literally. Elijah also was expected to come from heaven, and … Christ said, "Elijah is none other than John the Baptist." The reality of John was in the supreme concourse. It is essential to have divine perception in order to see the truth, to hear the call, and obey -- liberating the hearts from all earthly attachment.  (Abdu'l-Baha, Divine Philosophy)

June 19, 2013

How a Meeting can Attract Divine Bounties

From: Gems of Insight from 'Abdu'l-Baha
… the affinity and love manifest in this meeting, the divine susceptibilities witnessed here are not of this world but of the world of the Kingdom. When the souls become separated and selfish, the divine bounties do not descend, and the lights of the Supreme Concourse are no longer reflected even though the bodies meet together. A mirror with its back turned to the sun has no power to reflect the sun's effulgence. (‘Abdu’l-Baha, ‘The Promulgation of Universal Peace’)

June 18, 2013

The Tablet of Unity (Lawh-i Ittihád) – by Baha’u’llah

From: Baha'i Tablets -- provisional translations
--- Provisional translation by Moojan Momen


He is God! Exalted be He in Wisdom and Exposition!

A letter has been received by this Wronged One from one of the Sayyids [1] who have turned towards God, have listened and responded to their Lord, the Compassionate, the All-Bountiful. All [of them] have been remembered in the presence of this Resplendent Beauty and I ask God ( Haqq) to confirm[them] all in that which will cause them to be remembered for ever.

Thou hast asked about unity (ittihád). The first kind of unity is unity in religion. This unity has always been the cause of the victory of the Faith of God in every age and century. Togetherness is the mystic sword of God.

For example, should a government see that most of the people of the country have rent asunder the veils and are turning towards the horizon of Divine revelation, it should remain silent and should listen to what is said. Each person who is attentive attains to the knowledge of God, except those who are utterly distant from the Mercy of God. They indeed are fully deserving of anger and vehement opposition. Such persons are, in any case, forbidden and barred.

Read more »

June 17, 2013

The Mystery of God

From: Portraits of 'Abdu'l-Baha
He is ... the "Mystery of God" -- an expression by which Bahá'u'lláh Himself has chosen to designate Him, and which, while it does not by any means justify us to assign to Him the station of Prophethood, indicates how in the person of 'Abdu'l-Bahá the incompatible characteristics of a human nature and superhuman knowledge and perfection have been blended and are completely harmonized. (Shoghi Effendi, from a letter of 8 February 1934, published in ‘The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh’ - Selected Letters")
'Abdu'l-Baha, the "Mystery of God"
Portrait taken in Paris 1911

June 16, 2013

Quiz 3

From: Baha'i Knowledge Hunt
• We know that during the Babi Dispensation the believers were allowed to defend themselves. What were the circumstances under which Mulla Husayn and seventy of his companions were attacked by a mob near a northern Persian city?   Answer


• For the Baha’i religion, which woman was elevated by Baha’u’llah to “a ‘station such as none other woman hath surpassed’” Could you name such similar women in previous religions?   Answer

• This preeminent Persian Baha’i was sent to America in 1901 to deepen the Baha’is. He is also named by Shoghi Effendi as one of the 19 Apostles of Baha’u’lllah.    Answer

• In what year did the Baha’i world community receive the first authorized English translation of some of the Writings of the Bab?   Answer

• What was the five- year-old Syyid Ali-Muhammad’s (the Bab) response when during His first day at school His teacher asked Him to recite this verse from the Qur’an: “He is the Deliverer, the All-Knowing.”   Answer

June 15, 2013

Jesus Fulfilled Jewish Prophecies

From: Baha'i Scriptures concerning Jesus & Chrsitianity
… Israel refused to apprehend the meaning of such words as have been revealed in the Bible concerning the signs of the coming Revelation. As she never grasped their true significance, and, to outward seeming, such events never came to pass, she, therefore, remained deprived of recognizing the beauty of Jesus and of beholding the face of God. And they still await His coming! From time immemorial even unto this day, all the kindreds and peoples of the earth have clung to such fanciful and unseemly thoughts, and thus have deprived themselves of the clear waters streaming from the springs of purity and holiness. (Baha’u’llah, Book of Certitude)

June 14, 2013

Qualities of North American believers that ‘Abdu’l-Baha admired …

From: Insights from Messages to the Baha'i World Community - by Shoghi Effendi
“… the untiring activity of the friends, the complete subordination of their material interests to those of the Cause, the remarkable spread of the Movement in their midst and their staunch firmness in the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh. It is these encouraging reflections of the Master about His loved ones in America and the tests intellectual rather than physical which He said He would send to them to purify them and make ever brighter than before -- it is these comments and promises of His that make of the Movement in that land such a potential force in the world today. The Beloved Master's cable to the friends in that region is a clear indication of the presence of those counteracting forces that may usher in those storms of tests that the Master Himself has said will ultimately be for the good of the Cause in that land. (Shoghi Effendi, excerpt from a message dated January 21st, 1922 in ‘Baha'i Administration’, p. 12) (To read the entire message please visit Messages to the Baha'i World)

June 13, 2013

The Bab's letter to His wife

The first letter of the Bab to His wife, sent from Bushihr before His departure as a pilgrim to Mecca

June 12, 2013

Praise be unto Thee, O my God! ...

He is God
Praise be unto Thee, O my God! Thanks be unto Thee O my Beloved! Glory be unto Thee, O my Lord! for that which Thou hast bestowed, favored, conferred and granted. For Thou hast chosen sincere servants from among Thy people to serve Thy Religion. Thou hast elected them to draw inspiration from Thy Manifest Light, attraction from Thy Luminous Beauty and to walk in Thy straight path. O my Lord! Verily the souls are heedless of Thy mentioning and hearts deprived of Thy love, the eyes veiled from beholding the Kingdom of Thy Beauty and the intellects wandering away from the Centre of Thy Glory, except those who are firm in Thy Covenant, free from dissension, attracting the rays of the Sun of Truth, detaching themselves from inharmony, arising in the service of Thy Cause amongst Thy people and exhilarated from the pure wine of Thy Kingdom. Bestow upon them unlimited blessing and creative good from the never-ending Bounty, and pour upon them with great abundance, from the Cloud of Thy Majesty, the rain of Thy Grace, the water of Thy Generosity and the Universal Favor.

June 11, 2013

Baha'i International Community

From: Baha'i Glossary
A name used generally in reference to the worldwide Baha’i community and officially in that country’s external relations. In the latter context, the Baha'i International Community is an association of the National Spiritual Assemblies throughout the world and functions as an international nongovernmental organization. Its offices include its Secretariat at the Baha'i World Centre, a United Nations Office in New York with a branch in Geneva, an Office of Public Information, an Office of the Environment, and an Office for the Advancement of Women.

June 10, 2013

consultation and compassion: two “luminaries” in the “heaven of divine wisdom”

From: Daily Verses of God

The Great Being saith: The heaven of divine wisdom is illumined with the two luminaries of consultation and compassion. Take ye counsel together in all matters, inasmuch as consultation is the lamp of guidance which leadeth the way, and is the bestower of understanding. (Baha’u’llah, ‘Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Consultation)

June 9, 2013

Holy Land: ‘Ali-Kuli Khan and Florence meet ‘Abdu'l-Bahá


He embraced me and kissed me on the cheeks. He also most warmly welcomed my wife, and took Rahim [our one year old son] from my arms. He then sat on the sofa holding Rahim on His lap, and while He gave the Baby His rosary to play with, He lovingly inquired after our health, and asked if we had had a good journey. Then looking at me, my wife and the Baby, He said to me while smiling, "O Khan! This is the sign of blessing and increase; you went to America one and returned three." These words we took to mean that He blessed our conjugal family life with unity and harmony, and that He bespoke for us Divine bounty and increase. He asked for the Baby's age and I answered that he was one year and four days old. Turning to my wife He said in part, while showing her great kindness and favor: "Welcome! Welcome! Marhaba! Praise be to God, that as a result of the Revelation of Al-Abha, the East and the West have embraced each other like unto two beloved ones. You are the first American bride to be united to a Baha'i from Persia. Praise God, for this great favor."

Before being seated, and while I had the Baby in my arms, 'Abdu'l-Baha looked at Rahim with His glorious face illuminated with joy, and He said in part: "This is the fruit of the union between the East and the West." Turning to my wife, He said: "I see that you love Rahim Khan very much." Upon other occasions during our visit 'Abdu'l-Baha often said: "As Rahim Khan is the first fruit of the union of the East and West, whoever looks upon his face loves him." (‘Ali-Kuli Khan, 1906 Pilgrim Notes)

June 7, 2013

Reciting prayers in unison vs. congregational prayer

From: Daily Spiritual Food for Thought
You have asked whether it is permissible for the friends to chant a prayer collectively. There is a difference between chanting a prayer collectively and congregational prayer. The latter is a formal prayer usually led by an individual using a prescribed ritual. Congregational prayer in this form is forbidden in the Faith except in the case of the Prayer for the Dead. While reciting prayers in unison and spontaneously joining in the recitation of the Words of God is not forbidden, the friends should bear in mind the advice of the beloved Guardian on this subject when he stated that:

“although the friends are thus left free to follow their own inclination, ... they should take the utmost care that any manner they practice should not acquire too rigid a character, and thus develop into an institution. This is a point which the friends should always bear in mind, lest they deviate from the clear path indicated in the Teachings." [Synopsis and Codification of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas] (From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer, dated 6 February 1975; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Extracts on Baha’i Burial)

June 6, 2013

Love is the First Principle of Divine Teaching

From: Talks of 'Abdu'l-Baha
12 April 1912
Talk at Studio of Miss Phillips
39 West Sixty-seventh Street, New York
(Notes by John G. Grundy)

I give you greeting in love and unity. The affairs of this world are to be accounted as nothing compared to the joy and heavenly happiness of meeting the friends of God. It is to experience this great joy and blessing that I have come here although weary from my long voyage upon the sea. Tonight I am in the greatest happiness, looking upon this concourse of God. Your meeting here is surely an evidence that you are upholding the Cause of God, that you are aiding and assisting in establishing the Kingdom of God. Therefore, the culmination of my happiness is to look upon your faces and realize that you have been brought together by the power of the Blessed Perfection, Bahá'u'lláh. In this meeting you are upholding His standard and assisting His Cause. Therefore, I behold in you the making of a goodly tree upon which divine fruits will appear to give sustenance to the world of humanity.

June 5, 2013

To say a special prayer, known as Obligatory Prayer, everyday

From: Teachings of the Baha'i Faith
We have enjoined obligatory prayer upon you, ... to be offered at noon and in the morning and the evening unto God, the Revealer of Verses ... When ye desire to perform this prayer, turn ye towards the Court of My Most Holy Presence, this Hallowed Spot that God hath made the Centre round which circle the Concourse on High, and which He hath decreed to be the Point of Adoration for the denizens of the Cities of Eternity, and the Source of Command unto all that are in heaven and on earth; and when the Sun of Truth and Utterance shall set, turn your faces towards the Spot that We have ordained for you. He, verily, is Almighty and Omniscient. (Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas)

June 3, 2013

Mulla Husayn's Sword

From: Baha'i Historical Facts
In October 1848 Mulla Husayn and about seventy one of his companions arrive near the town of Barfurush in northern Persia. One of the lead clergy in that town felt threatened by their presence. He instructs the townspeople to go outside the gates of the town and attack them. Seven of Mulla Husayn’s companions were subsequently killed. In the resulting battle the townspeople were defeated and they beg for truce, to which Mulla Husayn agreed. It was during this battle that Mulla Husayn, in one blow from his sword, cut in half an attacker, his musket and the tree behind which the man was hiding. (Adapted from the ‘The Dawn Breakers’)(To see a picture of this sword please visit Baha'i Sacred Relics)

June 2, 2013

October 1920: ‘Abdu’l-Baha with some pilgrims from California


October 1920, outside the Tomb of the Bab: 'Abdu'l-Baha with some reident believers and pilgrims from California. Front row, seated, left to right: Mirza Ighbal, Emogene Hoagg, Georgia Ralston, Helen Goodall, 'Abdu'l-Baha, Elizabeth Stewart, Ella Cooper, Kathryn Frankland, and Haji Muhammad Yazdani. Saichiro Fujita is standing behind Ella Cooper

June 1, 2013

The “soul of man is a ray of light emanating from the Sun of the Word of God”

From: Human Soul and Its Eternal Journey
Therefore, since the reality or soul of man is a ray of light emanating from the Sun of the Word of God, it is capable of manifesting all the perfections of Being. It is then worthy to be the throne upon which may be established the manifestation of the Names, the Qualities and the Attributes of the Ancient Entity. Inasmuch as this entity is capable of expressing the great virtues of Being, and is the greatest and purest of all existing beings on earth, from its earliest rise in the human temple to its resurrection from the grave of the body, it can be likened to a mirror which reveals the seen and the unseen, which possesses the virtues of the world and of the Kingdom. ('Abdu'l-Baha, from a talk, quoted by Lua Getsinger in her talk in San Francisco on December 17, 1911)(To see the transcript of the entire talk please visit Baha’i Talks, Messages and Articles)