Attending Baha’i meetings in his new country of the United States greatly enriched the spiritual life of the young Ahdieh from Nayriz. He even dreamed of Shoghi Effendi—the towering figure of those days in the early 60s—riding a bicycle and coming upon a sickly boy with a skin infection all over his head whom Ahdieh had known in Nayriz. This unfortunate boy was very shy and tended to stay indoors. Shoghi Effendi stopped the motorbike, reached out his hand, and touched the boy’s head, healing him instantly.
The early sixties were such an exciting time to be a Baha’i. The worldwide Ten-Year Crusade launched by Shoghi Effendi was reaching its culmination in 1963 with the long-dreamed of election of the Universal House of Justice. The Crusade had aimed to establish the Faith on a strong international footing by strengthening twelve national communities and territories where there were already Baha’is.
The most exciting goal was the opening of new regions to the Faith. Baha’is who were the first to settle in a country or territory were honored with the title of ‘Knights of Baha’u’llah,’ and their names were written on a scroll that was buried under the entrance of the Tomb of Baha’u’llah.
Before his untimely death, Shoghi Effendi had provided for the election of the Universal House of Justice once there were sufficient national assemblies to provide a solid foundation. Baha’u’llah’s vision of a Universal House of Justice came to fruition when members of fifty-six National Assemblies gathered in the house of ‘Abdu’l-Baha in Haifa in April of 1963, and cast their ballots, bringing this most important of Baha’i Institutions into existence.
This momentous act occurred six years after the death of Shoghi Effendi and a century after the public declaration of Baha’u’llah in the Garden of Ridvan. The whole Baha’i world was in awe.
In those heady days, Ahdieh decided to marry. His Aunt Mahin was keen on fixing him up with Tahereh Missaghi, a devout Baha’i from Shiraz. In Iran, the custom was for parents to arrange marriages and if this did not happen, a matchmaker such as an aunt might get involved.
Baha’is in Iran had an easier time with finding a spouse because boys and girls met and freely associated in Baha’i gatherings which gave them the opportunity to get to know one another.
Tahereh’s plan was to finish medical school and teach the Faith. She was capable, kind-hearted, and compassionate. Her family used the Baha’i network to help them decide regarding consent. Ahdieh did not feel he was much of an enticing prospect as he lived in a cheap hotel in midtown in a single room covered with posters of Marx, Freud, Einstein, and ‘Abdu’l-Baha.
Tahereh came to the United States in 1968. There was a shortage of doctors in the U.S., so the sponsoring hospital provided her with a green card, a stipend, and an apartment, into which the young couple moved.