The feature of this edition, Minister Farrakhan�s article concerning the Power of God Within, is not designed to be read, enjoyed and cast aside, with some comment such as, "That was nice". Particularly, it is not meant, in my humble opinion, to be aimed solely at those who read the paper, but have not made a definite commitment to accept the Religion of Islam and the Leadership of The Honorable Louis Farrakhan. I rather suspect that, while his words were aimed at all our people, they are particularly applicable to those who profess to have accepted his teachings and become his followers.

I just returned from conducting my daughter�s wedding � a familiar ceremony which contains the admonition "What God has joined together, let no man cast asunder." As I was proofreading The Minister�s article I had a flashback to a day when I was one of several Ministers sitting on a platform where The Honorable Elijah Muhammad was speaking. One of my peers insisted upon repeatedly shouting, "Teach them, Dear Holy Apostle!" When I could ignore it no further, I shouted, "Teach us, Dear Holy Apostle!"

Just as we are not physically born as adults, but as infants with the capacity�but no guarantee � to grow into adulthood, so we accept the divine teaching delivered to us by Minister Farrakhan, thereby becoming candidates for the faithful practice of Islam, if we strive to be successful in this undertaking. We do not, upon acceptance of Islam, become wise and brilliant scholars of the Islamic Culture. Upon recognizing this fact, we cannot help but realize that, at all times, The Minister is not teaching "them", but "us" � all of us, in or out of The Nation!

His description of the fertilization of the egg by the sperm so aptly fits our contact with this Divine Teaching while lying in spiritual darkness, and being transformed from one simple cell to an organism that not only could exercise a certain amount of independence, but, upon reaching maturity, could produce more of our own kind.

It would be a mistake for a newborn baby to assume that because he had been produced, he was devoid of responsibility � to the one who produced him, and to those whom he was expected to produce.

Those of us who are in the process of being "Born Again" are not promised a successful transition. Many have walked this path before us � some made it and some didn�t. As it happens in physical birth, some were aborted, some were stillborn. These unhappy endings can come about as the result of eating the wrong (spiritual) food, attempting the wrong (spiritual) exercises, or having the wrong attitude.

I have a similar feeling as I write this column. If you are a Believer, try reading The Minister�s column again, and view it as if he were having a private conversation with you. That�s the way I�m reading it � over and over.