Note: Some version of this tablet is often used at weddings.
The bond that unites hearts most perfectly is loyalty. True lovers once united must show forth the utmost faithfulness one to another. You must dedicate your knowledge, your talents, your fortunes, your titles, your bodies and your spirits to God…. and to each other. Let your hearts be spacious, as spacious as the universe of God!
Allow no trace of jealousy to creep between you, for jealousy, like unto poison, vitiates the very essence of love. Let not the ephemeral incidents and accidents of this changeful life cause a rift between you. When differences present themselves, take counsel together in secret, lest others magnify a speck into a mountain. Harbour not in your hearts any grievance, but rather explain its nature to each other with such frankness and understanding that it will disappear, leaving no remembrance. Choose fellowship and amity and turn away from jealousy and hypocrisy…. Let there be no secrets one from another.
No mortal can conceive the union and harmony which God has designed for man and wife. Nourish continually the tree of your union with love and affection, so that it will remain ever green and verdant throughout all seasons and bring forth luscious fruits….
Lay the foundation of your affection in the very center of your spiritual being, at the very heart of your consciousness, and let it not be shaken by adverse winds.
And, when God gives you sweet and lovely children, consecrate yourselves to their instruction and guidance, so that they may become…. servants of the world of humanity, and the fruit of the tree of your life….
Walk in the eternal rose-garden of love. Bathe in the shining rays of the sun of love. Be firm and steadfast in the path of love…. Drink deeply of the elixir of love, so that you may live continually in the reality of Divine Love.
[This is an edited version of what is often referred to as the Baha’i Marriage Tablet. It is not actually a Tablet but an unauthenticated talk usually attributed to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. It is not regarded as Baha’í scripture. Full version here.]