The Local Spiritual Assembly
Local Spiritual Assemblies are the grassroots governing institutions of Bahá'í communities, elected annually by adult members.
Local Spiritual Assemblies — groups of nine adult Bahá'ís elected annually — govern local Bahá'í communities. They handle marriages, funerals, and other community affairs; they guide community development and resolve conflicts through consultation. These institutions are training grounds for the global institutions that will eventually govern humanity.
So great is the glory of this day that the Concourse on High are watching with breathless attention.
Local Spiritual Assemblies provide a practical laboratory for developing the consultative, democratic governance skills needed for future world institutions.
Gleanings
Written about in
- What the Bahá'í Faith says about community
Nine adults, elected annually, handling marriages, funerals, community affairs and local conflicts. With no clergy, this body carries the work that clergy would otherwise do.