Stephen and Megan Morris
Albuquerque
Bahá’ís since summer 2006

Having moved away from the southern Baptist church, the religion of his youth, Stephen Morris thought he was doing fine with his self-created belief system.


Stephen and Megan MorrisThen a few years ago he encountered the Bahá’í Faith. He had never heard of it before and out of curiosity decided to see what it was about. Miraculously, it contained everything in his system: a single God. The harmony of science and religion (he’s a computer engineer in the Air Force). The legitimacy of other world religions. Eliminating the gap between the rich and the poor, the equality of women and men . . .

Capt. Morris investigated further. He took his daughter, Megan, now 16, with him to gatherings where they learned the basics of the Bahá’í Faith. Eventually he decided he liked it more than his own system.

“I was skeptical, but all the pieces were there,” he says. “I loved that one of the core beliefs is progressive revelation”—a belief that the world's major religions are part of a single, progressive process through which God reveals His will to humanity.

After a year, Capt. Morris became a Bahá’í. Two months later, Megan joined the Faith. She had been raised without religion—something her father regretted—and had been looking for one she liked.

“Being a Bahá’í has made me a more optimistic person,” she says. “It’s changed me internally. I’m more aware of what I’m doing and saying. And it’s exciting, because there’s always something to learn about.”

Megan’s brother Matthew, 15, has also benefited from contact with the Faith. He isn’t a Bahá’í, but attends a Bahá’í youth group. His dad says he’s noticed an “incredible improvement” in his son’s behavior.

As for Capt. Morris: Well, his lifestyle has changed a tad. “I gave away hundreds of dollars of alcohol when I became a Bahá’í,” he says. And he still finds it a challenge being in the military, where he says drinking and hanging out at clubs and bars is commonplace.

His old drinking buddies tease him about his reformed ways. “But those who tease me the most,” he’s noticed, “are the ones asking the most questions about being a Bahá’í.”