Veronica Fairchild
Sun Valley, Nevada
Baha'i since 2004

I was born and raised Mormon. I attended until I was about 17,

but stopped attending because the church wasn’t treating my family

the way I thought Jesus would treat His brothers and sisters.

I also was told to break up with the guy I was seeing because he

was not Mormon. I left the church and was very angry with God

for about four years. I wanted nothing to do with religion or

spirituality. It was a very dark time in my life, because I felt that

I had been taught these principles; the same principles that everyone

else was being taught, but nobody was following them. I felt

betrayed. I wanted to be a part of something that could accept

people for who they are, no matter what their religion, race or

economic status.


Veronica Fairchild On May 11, 2004, I was at a birthday party

where some of my friends were having a religious discussion. I

was about to go to another room when my best friend at the time,

who had just become a Baha'i, started getting picked on by a couple of people.

They tried to pick apart her beliefs, but they couldn't do it. She

had a logical answer for every question they threw at her.

Instantly, I was intrigued. I wanted to know more about this

religion that I had never heard of and that made so much sense.

Throughout June, I devoured any piece of literature she could

give me about the Baha'i Faith. I asked so many questions, I

thought she would tell me to stop. She never did. I learned about

progressive revelation, which is the belief that all of the world

religions are saying the same thing to different people at different

times for the advancement of humanity. Immediately, that stuck

with me.

In July I went on a cross-country road trip. Every time I saw a

star, I found myself counting the points, to see if they totaled nine

(the nine-pointed star is commonly used by Baha'is as a symbol

of their Faith). I drove by a building in Washington D.C. that had

Arabic writing on the walls, and I wondered if it was a Baha'i

Center, since I knew that the Faith originated in Persia (now Iran).

The “final straw” was in Atlanta. I had just walked out of Turner

Field and saw people standing in the parking lots, holding up signs

with pictures of Christ on the cross and signs asking if we were

saved. One sign said, "He will return. Are you ready?" The first

thought that came to my mind was, "He already came."*

It was a huge shock to me, because I hadn't even thought about

the Baha'i Faith for a few weeks, and then all of a sudden, there

was this knowledge. It bothered me because I have never been

as sure of something as I was about this fact. And I don't make

big decisions without serious research.

So I came home and called my friend. I told her what had

happened and that I wanted to be around more Baha'is to make

sure that I had all the information.

In August, my friend and I went to Bosch Baha'i School near

Santa Cruz, Calif., for a seeker's and new believer's weekend

program. I asked them all as many questions as I could think

of. I met a youth who was doing his Year of Service (an option

for college-age Baha'is), and he recommended that I read

Preparing for Christ's New Name, a Baha'i booklet that

explains how Baha’u’llah fulfills Christ's prophecies.

I read it in two hours. Everyone I encountered at the school was

kind and polite, and patient with me and my questions. When we

got home, I told my friend, "Okay, that was a school. They have

to be nice. It's their job. I want you to take me to the most

mundane, boring thing Baha'is do. I want to see normal Baha'is

around here."

In September, my friend took me a cluster reflection meeting (a

regular gathering of Baha'is in a particular area who discuss how

to share the Baha’i Faith with others). Everyone I met was nice

and introduced themselves. They offered me tea, and I was

welcomed and accepted for who I am. I decided to become a

Baha'i then and there.

The sense of community I felt was amazing. I saw people living

up to the standards of the Baha'i Faith and a diversity of people

I had never seen before. I saw interracial couples, women

running the meeting and a relaxed atmosphere that said “no

pressure.”

I've been in love with this Faith ever since.


* Baha’is believe that Baha’u’llah is the one

promised in all the scriptures of the past, the “Desire of all nations,”

the “King of Glory.” To Judaism He is “Lord of Hosts”; to

Christianity, the Return of Christ in the glory of the Father; to Islam,

the “Great Announcement”; to Buddhism, the Maitreya Buddha; to

Hinduism, the new incarnation of Krishna; to Zoroastrianism, the

advent of “Sháh-Bahrám.”