The Bab was executed in 1850, and he named Mirza Yahya as his successor. But in 1863 Baha'u'llah named himself as the Bab's successor, leading to a continued violent struggle between his followers and those of his half-brother. That this was a dispute involving both a religious group and a family emphasizes the conflicts. Thereupon, at the passing of each leading figure, the Faith fell into discord and division. One may reasonably ask, how does the Faith improve the nature of individuals, if there as continual discord? So, the group is not unified, and the individual members fail to unify? How is this a benefit to mankind?

On the community level, my own experience has been that some individuals became more dominant, and over time, influenced the groups to determine their character. Persians, in my personal view, acted as the adults of the group, and treated American Baha'is as their children. I never found my communities to be sanctuaries; instead, I saw them as unhealthy family structures.

Finally, it's fair to assess the positive influence of the Faith on the world at large. For the claimed infallibility of the Universal House of Justice, it has had no impact on world events. No world figure seems to ever made an attempt to seek advice. Their powers, as described by Shoghi Effendi, are "universal". But they make no effort to involve themselves, their deliberations, or the Faith in the crises around the world. One may ask, what exactly do they do in Haifa?

In summary, the Faith has failed to deliver on its own grandiose promises. Baha’u’llah’s own family typifies the competition and divisions that mankind seeks to leave behind. Successions have been causes of dispute and rancor. The American Baha’i community is no more unified or thriving than the general society around it. And the global influence of the Faith has been absent, either by outsiders seeking advice or the UHJ asserting its wisdom.

By the fruits, ye shall know the tree. The Baha’i Faith is a pleasant set of ethical teachings, which may have been adopted from previous religious leaders, which has two profoundly different experiences: the first, the Babi/Azali/Baha’i history in Persia, which may not be fully recognized or acknowledged by the second phase, the American community, which may have appreciated the liberal, feminist, globalist character of the teachings.

http://www.bahaism.blogspot.com/