Some Basic Ground Rules

All praise be to God Who hath, through the power of Truth, sent down this Book unto His servant, that it may serve as a shining light for all mankind... Verily this is none other than the sovereign Truth; it is the Path which God hath laid out for all that are in heaven and on earth. Let him then who will, take for himself the right path unto his Lord. Verily this is the true Faith of God, and sufficient witness are God and such as are endowed with the knowledge of the Book. This is indeed the eternal Truth which God, the Ancient of Days, hath revealed unto His omnipotent Word—He Who hath been raised up from the midst of the Burning Bush. This is the Mystery which hath been hidden from all that are in heaven and on earth, and in this wondrous Revelation it hath, in very truth, been set forth in the Mother Book by the hand of God, the Exalted... - The Bab

Messengers bring about Judgment Day. When Christ gave his message, that was the Day of the Jews. When Muhammad brought his Qur'an to the Arabs that was their Day. The Bab brought a Day to the Muslims. Baha'u'llah brought a Day to the world.

Short Obligatory Prayer

To Be Recited Once In Twenty-Four Hours, At Noon

I bear witness, O my God, that Thou hast created me to know Thee and to worship Thee. I testify, at this moment, to my powerlessness and to Thy might, to my poverty and to Thy wealth. There is none other God but Thee, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.

This is one of the three obligatory prayers that Baha'is can choose between to say daily. The words "to know Thee and to worship Thee" The purpose of a man is first: to know God.

I usually speak about the investigation of reality as being a primary duty for Baha'is.
Of course there is also obedience to the covenant which includes the instructions of the Universal House of Justice.

This investigation is similar to the search for truth. Our physical reality involves both scientific and instinctual approaches. I believe that the physical world is a reflection or a shadow of the kingdom of God. The building of the Baha'i administration is like the polishing of the physical mirror.

A.G.W.