All down the ages the prophets of God have been sent into
the world to serve the cause of truth—Moses brought the law of truth, and all
the prophets of Israel after him sought to spread it. When Jesus came He
lighted the flaming torch of truth, and carried it aloft so that the whole
world might be illumined thereby. After Him came His chosen apostles, and they
went far and wide, carrying the light of their Master’s teaching into a dark
world—and, in their turn, passed on. Then came Muhammad, who in His time and
way spread the knowledge of truth among a savage people; for this has always
been the mission of God’s elect. So, at last, when Bahá’u’lláh arose in Persia,
this was His most ardent desire, to rekindle the waning light of truth in all
lands. All the holy ones of God have tried with heart and soul to spread the
light of love and unity throughout the world, so that the darkness of
materiality might disappear and the light of spirituality might shine forth
among the children of men. Then would hate, slander and murder disappear, and
in their stead love, unity and peace would reign.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk;
‘Paris Talks: Addresses given by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Paris in 1911-1912’)
