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Talisman Books
The Flame: The Story of Lua
Book by Sears, William, Quigley, Robert
- GenresBaha I
141 pages, Paperback
First published April 12, 1972
1 person is currently reading
37 people want to read
About the author
William Sears
13 books31 followersWilliam Sears (March 28, 1911 - March 25, 1992) was a prominent American Bahá'í teacher and writer.
Sears was appointed a Hand of the Cause by Shoghi Effendi in the last contingent of Hands prior to his death in 1957.
Sears was a United States television and radio personality. He remains an extremely popular author in the Bahá'í community.
(source: Wikipedia June 28, 2008)
Picture reproduced with permission of the Bahá’í International Community.
Sears was appointed a Hand of the Cause by Shoghi Effendi in the last contingent of Hands prior to his death in 1957.
Sears was a United States television and radio personality. He remains an extremely popular author in the Bahá'í community.
(source: Wikipedia June 28, 2008)
Picture reproduced with permission of the Bahá’í International Community.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 24, 2020
I first read this book so many years ago when I was in my early teens. It’s an easy read – a sweet story of one of the early Baha’is, Lua Getsinger.
Her short life was an incredible one. Lua was born in 1871 in a small town in upper New York. When she was a young adult, she moved to Chicago to study theater. It was there that she first heard about the Baha’i Faith. She was among the very first group of Western pilgrims to visit Abdu’l-Baha (one of the Central Figures of the Faith), in what is now Israel.
“Only future historians will be able to adequately recount and properly assess the value of that matchless first pilgrimage, and its impact upon the history of the Baha’i Faith and the fate of the world.”
Lua visited Him many times over the years. In the early 1900’s, Abdu’l-Baha asked her to deliver a message to the Shah of Persia, while he was visiting Paris. The purpose of the visit was to request him to stop the rise of persecutions of the Baha’is in Persia. She met with obstacles, but her persistence paid off, and she was able to finally deliver the message directly into his hands. The persecutions eased up for a while.
She traveled and shared the Faith with many in India. She was given the title ‘Herald of the Covenant’ and ‘Mother Teacher of the West’ by Abdu’l-Baha. When World War I began, she traveled to Egypt and helped wounded soldiers. Her health suffered, however. She died in 1916 when she was in early forties from heart failure.
I look forward to soon reading another longer and more detailed book about her.
Here are some of my favorite quotes:
“Anyone can be happy in the state of comfort, ease, success, health, pleasure and joy, but if one can be happy and contented in the time of trouble, hardship, and prevailing disease, that is the proof of nobility.”
“On one occasion it is said that the Master told Lua that Baha’u’llah had chosen her for His work when she was but a little girl on the farm. He also said that in the days to come, her home in Hume, New York, would be a place of pilgrimage. And some time in the future, thousands would one day journey to that farm in upper New York where she had once run barefoot as a child.”
Her short life was an incredible one. Lua was born in 1871 in a small town in upper New York. When she was a young adult, she moved to Chicago to study theater. It was there that she first heard about the Baha’i Faith. She was among the very first group of Western pilgrims to visit Abdu’l-Baha (one of the Central Figures of the Faith), in what is now Israel.
“Only future historians will be able to adequately recount and properly assess the value of that matchless first pilgrimage, and its impact upon the history of the Baha’i Faith and the fate of the world.”
Lua visited Him many times over the years. In the early 1900’s, Abdu’l-Baha asked her to deliver a message to the Shah of Persia, while he was visiting Paris. The purpose of the visit was to request him to stop the rise of persecutions of the Baha’is in Persia. She met with obstacles, but her persistence paid off, and she was able to finally deliver the message directly into his hands. The persecutions eased up for a while.
She traveled and shared the Faith with many in India. She was given the title ‘Herald of the Covenant’ and ‘Mother Teacher of the West’ by Abdu’l-Baha. When World War I began, she traveled to Egypt and helped wounded soldiers. Her health suffered, however. She died in 1916 when she was in early forties from heart failure.
I look forward to soon reading another longer and more detailed book about her.
Here are some of my favorite quotes:
“Anyone can be happy in the state of comfort, ease, success, health, pleasure and joy, but if one can be happy and contented in the time of trouble, hardship, and prevailing disease, that is the proof of nobility.”
“On one occasion it is said that the Master told Lua that Baha’u’llah had chosen her for His work when she was but a little girl on the farm. He also said that in the days to come, her home in Hume, New York, would be a place of pilgrimage. And some time in the future, thousands would one day journey to that farm in upper New York where she had once run barefoot as a child.”
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