Bahá'u'lláh's "First Vision" Account

Bahá’u’lláh (1817-1892) was the founder of the Bahá’í Faith. In 1863 he announced that he was the fulfillment of a messianic prophecy given by the Báb in 1845. This prophetic call he said was made clear by a vision he had while imprisoned. The vision was of a heavenly Maiden who he said gave him his mission as a messenger of God, or Manifestation of God, as had been prophesied by the Báb.

Bryce Haymond

Bahá'u'lláh
Bahá’u’lláh in 1868

Bahá’u’lláh (1817-1892) was the founder of the Bahá’í Faith. In 1863 he announced that he was the fulfillment of a messianic prophecy given by the Báb in 1845. This prophetic call he said was made clear by a vision he had while imprisoned. The vision was of a heavenly Maiden who he said gave him his mission as a messenger of God, or Manifestation of God, as had been prophesied by the Báb.
Bahá’u’lláh described his vision:

While engulfed in tribulations I heard a most wondrous, a most sweet voice, calling above My head. Turning My face, I beheld a Maiden—the embodiment of the remembrance of the name of My Lord—suspended in the air before Me. So rejoiced was she in her very soul that her countenance shone with the ornament of the good pleasure of God, and her cheeks glowed with the brightness of the All-Merciful. Betwixt earth and heaven she was raising a call which captivated the hearts and minds of men. She was imparting to both My inward and outer being tidings which rejoiced My soul, and the souls of God’s honoured servants.
Pointing with her finger unto My head, she addressed all who are in heaven and all who are on earth, saying: By God! This is the Best-Beloved of the worlds, and yet ye comprehend not. This is the Beauty of God amongst you, and the power of His sovereignty within you, could ye but understand. This is the Mystery of God and His Treasure, the Cause of God and His glory unto all who are in the kingdoms of Revelation and of creation, if ye be of them that perceive. This is He Whose Presence is the ardent desire of the denizens of the Realm of eternity, and of them that dwell within the Tabernacle of glory, and yet from His Beauty do ye turn aside.
(Source: Bahá’u’lláh, Summons of the Lord of Hosts, pp. 5-6)

Some similarities to Joseph Smith’s First Vision seem to include:

  • Passing through severe tribulations
  • Heard a voice
  • Saw a person in the air above him, an embodiment of the Lord
  • The divine person shone/glowed with brightness
  • Was filled with joy and rejoicing
  • Received a message about humanity
  • A “Beloved” is identified (Joseph may have also originally perceived this as himself too)
  • The divine person makes known that humanity does not understand or comprehend God. They deny God’s power. They desire God’s Presence, but have “turned aside” from God.

If you would like to submit a “First Vision” account, either personal or found, for inclusion on this website, please click here. Thanks to Jaxon Washburn for submitting this account.
 

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