“let every believer look to ‘Abdu’l-Baha… Tirelessly, He expounded the teachings in every social space… Uncompromising in defence of the truth, yet infinitely gentle in manner, He brought the universal divine principles to bear on the exigencies of the age. To all without distinction… He imparted love, wisdom, comfort, whatever the particular need. While elevating their souls, He challenged their assumptions, reoriented their perspectives, expanded their consciousness, and focused their energies. He demonstrated by word and deed such compassion and generosity that hearts were utterly transformed. No one was turned awaY…. Set His example before your eyes and fix your gaze upon it; let it be your instinctive guide in your pursuit of the aim of the Plan.”
~The Universal House of Justice

We have received such overwhelming feedback over the last several months, since the release of the 2010 Ridván Message and the December 28th Message to the Continental Boards of Counsellors, it has become clear that this guidance available in audio format is something the community thirst for. So, it is with great pleasure, that we present the 2011 Ridván Message from The Universal House of Justice.

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The Universal House of Justice welcomes in this most joyous Ridván season with this message of love. Addressing the Bahá’í world they encourage and prepare the believers to meet the challenges and opportunities present in this current and newly inaugurated Five Year Plan.

The House of Justice addresses the turmoil present in the political, social, and economic affairs of humanity. It directs the community of the Greatest Name to play its part in combatting these ills by “building capacity for effective action amongst the diverse populations of the planet”.

The beloved House of Justice offers the framework, goals and confirmations that, over the course of the next five years, will steer the community as it strives to fulfill the sacred obligation to “convey to others the spark of faith.”

I grew up in a Baha’i family in Westerville, Ohio and spent many of my formative years in the Baha’i youth workshop and attending youth conferences. It was during these teaching trips, conferences, and workshop events that I began to deepen on the writings and through service develop an understanding of my Baha’i identity. After completing high school I spent my year of service in Ohio serving the national Teaching Comittee. It gave me loads of opportunities to create deepening materials and share them with the other youth around the region. The power of the writings is something which became tangible to me. After completing my term of service I moved to New York City to pursue my passion for music production and jazz studies. During my ten years in the City of the Covenant, with its long commutes and bustling energy, I developed a love for audio books. Long subway rides gave me ample time to listen to books I would otherwise have had trouble reading in hard copy. My appetite for “reading” was voracious. I read dozens of books this way… but none of them were the sacred texts. I knew that reading the texts everyday was a mandate in the writings… but it was difficult for me to find the time to sit down and read… but the time to pop in a CD or listen to something while in transit was always there.

I was already working in the audio industry as a mildly successful recording engineer and knew that if this resource were going to come into existence that I was going to have to create it. This would be my service to the community.  With the intention of learning how to create powerful audio versions of the sacred and historical texts of the faith I began work at three of the top audio book production houses in NYC. During the year that I worked at these production houses I learned the ins and outs of the audio book industry and what it takes to create great audio books. I was fortunate to work with some of the top directors and voice over talent in the industry. I worked on projects for Random House, Harper-Collins, Penguin Audio, Highbridge, Houghton Mifflin, Renaissance Audio, and on and on. Here are a few of the titles I was privileged to work on:

I used each project as an opportunity to pick the brains of the world class talent that was in the room and build my skills. With my foundation firmly rooted in the audio book industry I began to formulate my plan to execute my vision… business plan, investor, the whole nine yards… but I couldn’t find anyone to invest… so the project sat waiting for me to find the time. With all things, change is inevitable, and I was blessed by meeting and marrying my beautiful and loving wife Auntieclare. We settled in LA and she became my greatest source of encouragement. Together we revived this project and began to pursue translating this vision into reality. Through sheer dedication we set aside the time and resources necessary to create our first audio book. The book (The Advent of Divine Justice – By Shoghi Effendi) is our first offering to the community. Many more are in the works.. it is our intention to translate all the sacred and historical texts of the Baha’i faith into audio format. With your encouragement, support and assistance we will be able to create this resource and help encourage Baha’i scholarship in our community.

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to HearTheWritings.com – Your Daily Dose of the Sacred Word. If you want to share a thought, offer a suggestion or just lend your support (as a reader, technically, financially or otherwise) please drop me a note through the form on the contact page. I look forward to hearing from each of you and how, in some small way, these audio books have aided you to draw closer to Baha’u’llah.

~ Jon Rezin

You can view my other sites here:

9StarMedia.com

jonrezin.com

Welcome to Hear The Writings.com.  This site is the beginning of the realization of a long term mission… to convert the Sacred writings of the Faith into a high quality audio format. Until now those wishing to study the Sacred writings as well as historical accounts had to find periods of time where they could sit and read from the Holy writings. In our modern society this time, unfortunately, is often sacrificed to other seemingly important pressures and time commitments such as long commutes to and from work. Now the time to immerse ourselves in the Sacred Word can be found anywhere… driving, riding the bus, taking a subway ride, on a flight. Becoming a scholar of the Sacred texts and history of the Faith begins with a first step. Hopefully the efforts we make at HearTheWritings.com to offer these materials in a common and accessable format will assist those loooking for such a step. Enjoy… please share this site with a friend… and happy listening!

~ Jon Rezin