Shining Lamp: Howard Colby Ives (1867-1941)
Quiet anticipation filled the room as a crowd of people packed tightly into a New York City home in April 1912. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the head of the Bahá’í Faith, had just arrived in America, and many were anxious to see him. Among them was a Unitarian minister named Howard Colby Ives.
Ives used his skills and love as a minister to share Bahá’í teachings.
Born in New York in 1867, Howard felt curious about spirituality from a young age. As a teen, he spent many hours alone. He wrote poetry and tended sheep while recovering from a lung illness in the mountains of Wyoming. He later returned to the Northeast, and he became a minister at age 38. As he preached, his search for spiritual truth continued.
Howard learned of the Bahá’í Faith a few months before ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s arrival. When he saw ‘Abdu’l-Bahá through the crowd on that spring day in April, he was struck by a sense of majesty. He said, “Such gentleness, such love emanated from Him as I had never seen.”
A Meeting of Hearts
Howard hurried to see ‘Abdu’l-Bahá again the next morning. The sunlit reception room was already filled with visitors. When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá entered, he saw Howard, smiled, and motioned for him—a complete stranger—to come forward.
Surprised, Howard soon found himself sitting alone with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. In a tender voice, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá called Howard his “very dear son.” Howard felt such “overwhelming love” that “the heart within me melted and the tears flowed.” They sat together silently, but Howard later said, “It seemed as though never before had anyone really seen me. I felt a sense of gladness that I at last was at home ...”
A New Life
Meeting ‘Abdu’l-Bahá transformed Howard’s life. Over frequent visits, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá answered his spiritual questions. He told Howard, “This is a Day for very great things.” Howard soon became a Bahá’í. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá called him a “minister of the Temple of the Kingdom.”
Howard was eager to teach people about the Bahá’í Faith. In 1921, he and his wife, Mabel, sold or gave away most of their belongings. With only their trunk and suitcases, they spent the next 16 years traveling throughout the U.S. and Canada. They worked as salespeople during the day and often shared the Faith with people in the evenings. They didn’t have a permanent home. Although Howard and Mabel struggled financially, they were happy in their work. They helped many people to embrace the Bahá’í Faith.
Later in life, Howard wrote a book about his life-changing visits with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. He said, “All this life has taught me, or could ever possibly teach me, is but a sign, a token, a symbol, of what the future worlds of God shall surely teach ...”
In 1937, with Howard’s health declining, he and Mabel settled in Arkansas. They lived there until his passing in 1941. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s grandson, Shoghi Effendi, praised him as an “OUTSTANDING PROMOTER” of the Faith and declared “HIS MAGNIFICENT LABORS IMPERISHABLE.”
Bahá’ís in History201 Service288 Bahá’í Faith515 Shining Lamps113 Master57 ‘Abdu’l–Bahá136 Communication145 Openness39