2011
Biography: Juliet Thompson
Juliet Thompson numbers among the first handmaids of God in the early years of the Faith in the West. Both honest and even rebellious in nature, she possessed a magnetic personality that drew people to her. After a serious illness, she received a life-changing visit from Laura Barney. Juliet describes it in this way:
I had been almost fatally ill and was slowly recovering in Washington when I said one day to my brother, “Coming so close to death makes you think. And I have been thinking lately that it is time for another Messenger of God.” The very next day Laura burst in on me, taking me by complete surprise, for I had not heard of her return from Paris. “Yesterday, Juliet,” she said, “I was in Bar Harbor. Tomorrow I sail from New York for Palestine. But I couldn’t sail without first seeing you to tell you why I am making this pilgrimage. Juliet, the Christ-Spirit is again on earth, and-as before-He is in Palestine.” (The Dairy of Juliet Thompson p. 159)
Juliet continued to study the Faith in Paris, and after reading a stirring description of the execution of the Báb, she became a Bahá’í in 1901. Within her life she was blessed with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s presence on three occasions; first during her pilgrimage to the Holy land in 1909, again in Switzerland in 1911, and finally in New York during His tour in the United States. Her love for Him was both tender and constant.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá prophesied of her that: “In the time to come, queens will wish they had been the maid of Juliet.” Certainly she received priceless opportunities, and proved adequate to her good fortune.
Love is not blind, it is “quick-eyed,” George Herbert said. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá likened Juliet to Mary Magdalene because she loved, and saw, so much. She had that same storied love that Mary had–that love which after all is the only thing that holds the Bahá’ís together, or for that matter holds the Lord to His creatures, or keeps the stars in their courses. (The Diary of Juliet Thompson p.xv )
Juliet Thompson and May Maxwell
Juliet had such radiant beauty, and it shines through her face and her words.
Dear friends, thanks for establishing this beautiful site. I enjoyed looking at it. I have have finished the translation of the memorials of Juliet Thompson into Persian just some days ago and I need some photos of Juliet beside this one of course. Can you help me in this regard?
[…] the former to Baha’is and the latter to followers of his existential poetry. They met through Juliet Thompson, an early American Baha’i, when Abdu’l-Baha was almost 68 and Gibran 29 years old. Of The […]