Tiffany Walters felt the thrill of voting in her first government election in 1995. But it didn't compare to the thrill of voting on April 28 for the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States, which governs in lieu of clergy.

Tiffany WaltersMs. Walters, a first-time delegate at the recent 98th United States Baha'i National Convention, joined 170 other delegates in silence and prayer at the Baha'i House of Worship for the North American Continent in Wilmette, Ill. They re-elected the nine incumbent members who govern the approximately 150,000 Baha'is in the United States.

National Spiritual Assembly members are: Kenneth E. Bowers, Juana C. Conrad, William E. Davis, Robert C. Henderson, Jacqueline Left Hand Bull, Dorothy W. Nelson, William L.H. Roberts, Erica Toussaint and David F. Young.

Ms. Left Hand bull is the third woman, and the first American Indian, to be elected chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly.

I took my voting privileges to heart when I voted in U.S. government elections," Ms. Walters says. "But voting for the U.S. Baha'i National Spiritual Assembly made me feel I was contributing to world justice and unity, which is the purpose of the Baha'i Faith and Baha'u'llah's divine mission."

Approximately five million Baha'is worldwide are spiritually governed by a network of elected lay councils at the international, national and local levels. They are, respectively, the Universal House of Justice, National Spiritual Assemblies and Local Spiritual Assemblies.

Baha'is in a geographic area elect members to their Local Spiritual Assembly. They also elect delegates to the national convention. National Spiritual Assemblies elect the nine members of the Universal House of Justice every five years. The next election is in 2008.

Ms. Walters says she didn't realize how spiritual the National Spiritual Assembly election would be.

"Voting involves an intense process and prompting of the spirit, on praying to God for guidance," she says. "It was sacred. We were all contributing to something far greater than ourselves. I felt myself spiritually going through changes. I want to carry this experience, and my heightened spirituality, back to my Baha'i community."