Local Spiritual Assembly

E218294

Bahá'í administrative institution local religious governing council

A Local Spiritual Assembly is the elected nine-member governing council that administers and guides the affairs of a Bahá'í community at the local level.

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All labels observed (2)

Label	Occurrences
Local Spiritual Assemblies	7
Local Spiritual Assembly canonical	5

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T1950328 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Local Spiritual Assembly
Context triple: [Bahá'í Faith, hasLocalInstitution, Local Spiritual Assembly]

A. Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine
Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine is a serene spiritual retreat and meditation center founded by Paramahansa Yogananda, featuring a peaceful lake, gardens, and shrines in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles.
B. Jehovah’s Witnesses congregations
Jehovah’s Witnesses congregations are local religious bodies of Jehovah’s Witnesses that organize worship, evangelizing activity, and community life under the direction of the Watch Tower Society.
C. Islamic Centre
The Islamic Centre in Malé is a prominent religious and cultural complex in the Maldives, best known for its large golden-domed mosque and role as a central venue for Islamic worship and community events.
D. Baha'i House of Worship
The Baha'i House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, is a prominent Baha'i temple known for its intricate white domed architecture and status as a major spiritual and architectural landmark.
E. Gurdwara
A Gurdwara is a Sikh religious institution that serves as a communal place for prayer, spiritual learning, and free community meals (langar).
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Local Spiritual Assembly
Target entity description: A Local Spiritual Assembly is the elected nine-member governing council that administers and guides the affairs of a Bahá'í community at the local level.

A. Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine
Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine is a serene spiritual retreat and meditation center founded by Paramahansa Yogananda, featuring a peaceful lake, gardens, and shrines in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles.
B. Jehovah’s Witnesses congregations
Jehovah’s Witnesses congregations are local religious bodies of Jehovah’s Witnesses that organize worship, evangelizing activity, and community life under the direction of the Watch Tower Society.
C. Islamic Centre
The Islamic Centre in Malé is a prominent religious and cultural complex in the Maldives, best known for its large golden-domed mosque and role as a central venue for Islamic worship and community events.
D. Baha'i House of Worship
The Baha'i House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, is a prominent Baha'i temple known for its intricate white domed architecture and status as a major spiritual and architectural landmark.
E. Gurdwara
A Gurdwara is a Sikh religious institution that serves as a communal place for prayer, spiritual learning, and free community meals (langar).
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (52)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Bahá'í administrative institution ⓘ local religious governing council ⓘ
administrativeLevel	local ⓘ
authoritySource	Bahá'u'lláh ⓘ Shoghi Effendi ⓘ Universal House of Justice ⓘ ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá ⓘ linked to: ʻAbdu'l‑Bahá
collectiveDecisionMaking	true ⓘ
electionFrequency	annually ⓘ
electionMethod	no campaigning ⓘ no nominations ⓘ secret ballot ⓘ
eligibilityRequirement	adult Bahá'í in good standing ⓘ
firstFormationYear	early 20th century ⓘ
genderEligibility	men and women ⓘ
geographicScope	single locality or civil jurisdiction ⓘ
governancePrinciple	justice ⓘ service ⓘ unity ⓘ
governs	local Bahá'í community ⓘ
hasNumberOfMembers	9 ⓘ
isElected	true ⓘ
leadershipModel	no professional clergy ⓘ non-clerical ⓘ
minimumCommunitySizeForFormation	9 adult Bahá'ís in a locality ⓘ
minimumMembersRequired	9 ⓘ
quorumRequirement	majority of members ⓘ
religiousTradition	Bahá'í Faith ⓘ linked to: Baha'i Faith
responsibility	administration of Bahá'í laws at local level ⓘ guidance of local Bahá'í community ⓘ implementation of plans from the National Spiritual Assembly ⓘ maintenance of local Bahá'í membership records ⓘ management of local Bahá'í funds ⓘ organization of Bahá'í holy day observances ⓘ oversight of local Bahá'í properties ⓘ pastoral care of community members ⓘ promotion of Bahá'í educational activities ⓘ propagation of the Bahá'í Faith locally ⓘ protection of the Bahá'í community ⓘ registration of Bahá'í marriages where legally recognized ⓘ support of children’s classes ⓘ support of core activities such as devotional meetings ⓘ support of junior youth groups ⓘ support of study circles ⓘ
scripturalBasis	Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá ⓘ linked to: Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l‑Bahá letters of Shoghi Effendi ⓘ messages of the Universal House of Justice ⓘ writings of Bahá'u'lláh ⓘ linked to: Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh
subordinateTo	National Spiritual Assembly ⓘ
termLength	1 year ⓘ
ultimateAuthorityOver	no one individual member ⓘ
usesDecisionMethod	consultation ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (12)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Bahá'í Faith → hasLocalInstitution → Local Spiritual Assembly ⓘ

subject linked to: Baha'i Faith

National Spiritual Assembly → isAbove → Local Spiritual Assembly ⓘ

Nineteen Day Feast → linkedToInstitution → Local Spiritual Assembly ⓘ

Guardian of the Cause of God → authorityOver → Local Spiritual Assemblies ⓘ