John David Bosch (1855-1946)

At the gate of the garden some stand and look within, but do not care to enter. Others step inside, behold its beauty, but do not penetrate far. Still others encircle this garden, inhaling the fragrance of the flowers, but having enjoyed its full beauty, pass out again by the same gate. But there are always some who enter, and becoming intoxicated with the splendor of what they behold, remain for life to tend the garden. (‘Abdu'l-Baha)

Such a gardener was John David Bosch. And the flowers he tended were the men, women and children in whose hearts he had, at one time or another, planted the seeds of spiritual truth. When he spoke of spiritual things and of Baha'u'llah, there was a light in his clear blue eyes that seemed to be a reflection of a splendor that few others have had the joy of beholding, and when he looked into the eyes of a fellow human being a glow of friendliness lighted up his face, crinkled his eyes at the corners and brought a quick smile to his lips.

Although there are many friends who remember him as a young man and possibly somewhat different in appearance, most of us who knew him only in his later years were sure that he must always have been a distinctive individual. He was tall and straight. His hair was white and he wore a well-trimmed white beard. In the summertime, when he dressed in his spotless white serge and Panama hat, he had the look of a man of noble rank.

Mrs. Esther Tobin (1863-1944)

Mrs. Esther (“Nettie") Tobin, who will ever be remembered as the one inspired to find the dedication stone of the first Baha'I House of Worship in the Western World, ascended to the Abha Kingdom April twenty-eighth, 1944. On October ninth of the year previous she commemorated her eightieth birthday.

Mrs. Tobin was born in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until shortly after the death of her husband in 1892. She then moved to Chicago with her two small sons, John, and Harold, and her half-sister and brother. At first she had a difficult time supporting herself and family by means of dressmaking. Although extremely busy, her spirit of determination and faith in prayer became a silver lining to the clouds of worry and despair. Daily she prayed for spiritual guidance in meeting her many problems with her little ones.

Mrs. Tobin felt that her prayers had been answered when she met Paul K. Dealy, one of the early believers in the Baha'i Faith in America. She recognized his great faith and spiritual power as a teacher. After attending his classes she was convinced that Baha'u'llah was the “Son of Man" and the “Lord of the Vineyard" promised by Jesus Christ, and the “Everlasting Father," the Prince of Peace" promised by Isaiah to come in the “latter days." She not only accepted the Baha'i Message, but wanted others to hear the glad tidings of the fulfillment of that great Event.

Regarding the finding and delivery of the dedication stone: according to her nurse [1] for three and a half years before her departure, Mrs. Tobin mentioned the following:

John Henry Hyde Dunn

John Henry Hyde Dunn was born in London, England, the son of a consulting chemist. In early childhood he was dandled upon the knee of Charles Dickens, and was amused and entertained by Cruikshank, the famous illustrator of Dickens' works. As a young man, after engaging in business in Great Britain and on the continent, he emigrated to the United States.

While waiting in a tinsmith's shop in Seattle, Washington, he overheard two men speaking. One man quoted these words of Baha'u'llah, "Let not a man glory in this, that he loves his country, but let him glory in this, that he loves his kind." Mr. Dunn interrupted the conversation by saying, “Surely these words are a message from God." The speaker turned, and, including Mr. Dunn in the conversation, gave the message of the Baha'i Revelations.

Mr. Dunn accepted the truth of the Baha'i Revelation immediately and it was not long before he and Mr. Ward Fitzgerald, the one who had brought him the Message, were traveling together, doing business and spreading the Faith. At one time they took advantage of a brief period of unemployment to journey to Walla Walla, Washington, where they held meetings for this purpose. This journey necessitated extreme economy on the part of the teachers so that they were often obliged to go hungry. A certain lady, who remained after one of the meetings to learn more about the great Message, soon learned, as she talked with the two teachers, that they were as hungry physically as she was spiritually. She tactfully insisted on offering them hospitality and spread a bountiful meal for them.

Shaykh Salmán – "From the dawn of history until the present day, there has never been a messenger so worthy of trust; there has never been a courier to compare with Salmán" - by 'Abdu'l-Baha

In 1266 A.H. [1849-1850] the trusted messenger, Shaykh Salmán, first heard the summons of God, and his heart leapt for joy. He was then in Hindíyán. Irresistibly attracted, he walked all the way to Tihrán, where with ardent love he secretly joined the believers. On a certain day he was passing through the bázár with Áqá Muhammad Taqíy-i-Káshání, and the farráshes followed him and discovered where he lived. The next day, police and farráshes came looking for him and took him to the chief of police.

“Who are you?” the chief asked.

“I am from Hindíyán,” replied Salmán. “I have come to Tihrán and am on my way to Khurásán, for a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Imám Ridá.”

“What were you doing yesterday,” the chief asked, “with that man in the white robe?”

Salmán answered, “I had sold him an ‘abá the day before, and yesterday he was to pay me.”

“You are a stranger here,” the chief said. “How could you trust him?”

“A money-changer guaranteed the payment,” Salmán replied. He had in mind the respected believer, Áqá Muhammad-i-Sarraf (money-changer).

The chief turned to one of his farráshes and said, “Take him to the money-changer’s and look into it.”