Bahá'í

The Bahá'í Faith arose from Islam in the 1800s based on the teachings of Baha'u'llah and is now a distinct worldwide faith. The faith's followers believe that God has sent nine great prophets to mankind through whom the Holy Spirit has revealed the "Word of God." This has given rise to the major world religions. Although these religions arose from the teachings of the prophets of one God, Bahá'í's do not believe they are all the same. The differences in the teachings of each prophet are due to the needs of the society they came to help and what mankind was ready to have revealed to it. Bahá'í beliefs promote gender and race equality, freedom of expression and assembly, world peace and world government. They believe that a single world government led by Bahá'ís will be established at some point in the future. The faith does not attempt to preserve the past but does embrace the findings of science. Bahá'ís believe that every person has an immortal soul which can not die but is freed to travel through the spirit world after death.

A Bahá'í group exists wherever two or more Bahá'ís reside and where the Bahá'í community has not formed a Local Spiritual Assembly. The main focus of a Bahá'í group should be fellowship, community building, and teaching in order to strengthen the community so that it may eventually form a Local Spiritual Assembly. While it is suggested that Bahá'í groups register with the National Spiritual Assembly, a group is not an administrative institution of the Faith and, therefore, does not have the same duties and responsibilities as a Local Spiritual Assembly. Registered Bahá'í groups have certain privileges that unregistered groups do not, which are referred to in the section titled Group Formation and Officer Election. The following guidance is intended to assist individuals and members of Bahá'í groups in understanding their responsibilities and in knowing what matters should be referred to a nearby Local Spiritual Assembly or to the National Spiritual Assembly.

Development of Bahá'í groups well-grounded in Bahá'í principles and patterns of community life is essential to the establishment of new Local Spiritual Assemblies that are strong and vital, capable of serving the interests and needs of their communities from the outset. Therefore, the energies of Bahá'í groups should be centered in cultivating a spirit of loving fellowship, teaching unceasingly, and becoming trained and adept in the art of Bahá'í consultation, which is the primary skill for Bahá'í community life. Creation of communities that are loving, unified, and diverse will attract and hold the hearts of seekers, as such communities embody the qualities of the divinely promised refuge for which all humanity is seeking.

source: bahai-library.com/nsa_guidance_bahai_groups