How I Became a Baha’i by David Springer
Submitted November 2022
BEGINNING MY BAHA’I JOURNEY
As I reflect back to those early days, I am amazed how fast my life has moved along and now, as if it happened suddenly, I find myself in the “fourth quarter.” Remembering what all happened so many years ago, what I did (or what I didn’t do), and what I learned (or didn’t learn) is an amazing process. This, in itself, is a natural cause for reflection. However, I will leave the reflection part for another day and try, as hard as it is for me, to not digress and “stay on point.”
What a time it was as I was leaving high school and home to try out making my own way outside the safety and comfort of my hometown environment. During those days, we all thought the 1960s was a time of social change in this country. Among other issues, the Vietnam War was well underway, the ways of segregation and open racism in were being challenged, and old social norms based on conformity were being challenged. New ideas about individualism and the right to “do our own thing,” the concepts that bigger is not always better and development is not always “real development” were gathering youthful followers and, of course, our morals were changing and being challenged. For a small-town person like myself these were exciting times.
I was ready for adventure after high school but without much direction. One of my high school teachers suggested I look at the University of South Dakota because they had a good business school. Humm… sounded like a good idea to me. It was away from home and an “18 state,” so off I went to USD at Vermillion. But by the end of my second year there, I felt like I was missing out on the main social movements affecting the country and tearing at its social fabric. And, as it turned out, I wasn’t really interested in business anyway. I had a good time there and made many friends but it was a relatively conservative place. I felt like I could watch the change from USD but I wanted to be closer to it and maybe be a part of the movement. It was time to move on so I transferred to the University of Iowa, again looking for an adventure. Student protests against the war and the “system” were gathering momentum in this relatively liberal University.
As it turns out my, second semester at Iowa I took a religion course that really interested me. It was more about role of religion (including the ones we create in our minds–substitute religions like fascism) in shaping society than about any specific religion. In my spare time, I also read a book about Edgar Cayce that opened my mind a bit more about life after death, the influence of the spiritual realms, etc. In general my studies at Iowa were great and I did well, but there was one exception. Spanish was a problem. It was not good for my grade point! Spanish was one of those courses that required a little study each day; that did not work well with my more social habits. I wasn’t failing, but 4 hours of C every semester was not the best. Fortunately for me, my teaching assistant and I became friends and he suggested that I take a Spanish course at the University of Mexico in Mexico City. The course would complete my necessary hours and he would set it up. Further, I could give his friend from Mexico, Horacio, who was visiting in Iowa City, a ride home. That sounded like another good idea, and of course, another adventure. I telephoned a couple of my friends from the University of South Dakota and told them I had found a way for all of us to get through Spanish. They hitch-hiked to the boarder where Horacio and I met them and we all went off to Mexico City! It was the summer of 1969, the same summer man first set foot on the moon.
It so happened that Horacio’s friend, Ruben, had just become a Baha’i. And as fate would have it, my 1965 fastback mustang was making a strange noise and Ruben knew a mechanic. It was through Ruben that I met a group of Baha’is in Mexico City. However, I never did get the noise fixed in Mexico. That had to wait until I got back home. But other important changes were set to happen.
With the help of our new friends, the three of us found our way to our class, found a place to live, and were set to have a good time, and we did–we really did! We went to a number of places around Mexico including Acapulco. Eventually, we finished our course and all was well. Somehow, in the process of moving around Mexico City, I managed to lose my car papers. I needed those papers to get my car out of the country, so I had to get new papers. That process took time. In the end, we put our friends from South Dakota on a bus in Mexico City and they headed for the border. They found their way, crossed the border, and hitch-hiked back South Dakota. I stayed with one of the Baha’is friends while waiting for new car papers.
One night they went to some kind of a Baha’i meeting and I was finally by myself. I decided this was the time to look seriously at this religion that sounded so good, at least on the surface. I remember walking over to the bookshelf and picking up a prayer book. I opened it and the first thing I read was “Intone, O My servant, the verses of God…” At that moment, my heart knew that whoever wrote this was a Prophet. The first thought that went through my mind was that this has to be from God–nobody can write like this. I needed to read more right away. I looked up at the book shelf and just picked up the first book I saw, a compilation called “The Realty of Man.” I read it beginning to end that night and I knew, no doubt. Later the friends returned. I didn’t really know what to say, so I didn’t say anything about it.
A few days later, there was another meeting of some sort. I am not sure what the purpose was (my Spanish, as you might expect, was not the best) but I went along. It was a large gathering. I remember that I was very impressed by the way rich and poor and Indigenous and Hispanic Baha’is interacted with obvious love and unity. Anyway, since I did not know any Baha’is in the United States and I was not sure how long it would be before I met any, I decided I should enroll in Mexico. I wanted to be quiet about it. I asked one of the friends, in a very nonchalant way, if I could just “take a look at one of those cards.” She gave me one and I looked at it for a few minutes. My plan was to quietly sign it and quietly find someone who would know what to do with it. So I did. Not a second after I signed it, a loud cheer went up and people were clapping their hands. I looked up to see what happened and they were all looking at me! I was shocked. I had no idea anyone was paying attention to me.
The rest of my time in Mexico was spent with the Baha’i friends and their friends. I will be forever indebted to Paul Lucas, who was then a Counsellor in Mexico. Unfortunately, I don’t remember much about what he said to me. What I remember most was his demeanor, his faith and confidence. He was probably the only one of the friends I knew at the time who was older than 25 years old. I do remember that, one time, he looked with stern disapproval when he found that some of the youth had gone to village in the mountains to buy mushrooms and came back “under the influence.” I wasn’t so much under the influence but I was the driver!
I also remember one event when a bunch of us were out in the country and decided to say the long obligatory prayer. That was probably the first time I said it. We went outside (it was night) and stood in a row. It was decided that each one of us would read one section and we just went down the line. But, before we started, someone asked what direction we should face. It seemed to be an important question. Someone else said the moon is over there. They all turned facing the moon and so did I. Looking back on it, the moon was probably rising in the east that night. But, since I knew nothing about the Qiblih, I assumed that the long obligatory prayer should be said while facing the moon. Haha! Back in Iowa City, I remember going outside my apartment complex in the winter looking for the moon so I would know which direction to face while saying the prayer! It was actually some time before I learned that we should turn toward the Qiblih, not the moon. It was years before I told anyone about the moon idea!
Okay, back to Mexico. By the time I finally had my papers in order, I was almost out of money and school in Iowa City was about to start. There was a young American Baha’i from Detroit, Sherry, who was in Mexico for the summer. Somehow, she knew a couple of American men from Chicago who were studying to be Priests. We were all in the same situation–we had little money and little time left in Mexico. So we all piled into the mustang and everyone put their money in an envelope, which was placed in the glove compartment. All of our expenses were taken from the envelope. That noise coming from the car was getting louder and louder but we had to just take our chances. We drove straight from Mexico City to Chicago, only stopping to change oil and food. The mother of one of the guys had a roast beef dinner prepared for us when we arrived in Chicago. After dinner, I took Sherry to the airport where she caught a flight to Detroit and I drove home alone. I arrived in Toledo just before dawn. I called from a truck stop (King Tower Café) just outside of town and told Mom and Dad to unlock the door as I was almost there. That was quite a ride from Mexico City, Mexico to Toledo, Iowa! Someday I will add a description of events on that amazing drive back home.
My parents probably would have been upset with me for “disappearing” in Mexico and staying there until the very last moment, if they were not so glad and relieved that I was home. When I woke up, my mother told me she was “airing out the car” and asked about the Baha’i literature she saw in the car. In what might have been a rare moment of wisdom, I just said that I was looking into this very interesting religion and went no further. I am sure by the way I answered her question, Mom knew that I was already on a new path. We took the car down to the Ford dealer that afternoon–the noise had become quiet loud. Herchel Wagner, the owner of the garage, couldn’t believe I was still driving it! Apparently there was a bearing or something that could have gone out at any moment. He wouldn’t even let me drive it off the lot that afternoon. As soon as the car was fixed I was off to Iowa City to get registered, as classes were about to start and wondering if there might be any Baha’is in Iowa City.
Photos show David at the beach with Mexico City friends; with a group of Mexico City Baha’is; at pyramids with Ruben, Sherry, and other friends; and David with Anne and Sherry, all in 1969
