Entry by Troops, Promoting
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Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Shoghi Effendi, Entry by Troops, Promoting, bahai-library.com.
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Entry by Troops, Promoting

Shoghi Effendi

Universal House of Justice

Universal House of Justice, Research Department

, compiler

published in

Compilation of Compilations

Volume 3,  pp. 154-202

2000

The Universal House of Justice announced the publication of "Promoting Entry by Troops" in its Ridvan 1994 message (online at
bahai-library.com/uhj_ridvan_1994
) as follows:

After the glorious events of the Heroic Age of the Faith, entry by troops of the peoples of the world into the Cause of God first occurred in Africa during the ministry of Shoghi Effendi, and then spread to other areas. Gradually, the Bahá'í communities of those regions are learning through experience and are evolving methods and programmes which aim to draw these large numbers of believers together in functioning communities and to establish strong bases for continuing growth. To assist them in their endeavours, to help the Bahá'ís in other countries to initiate and maintain this process, and to dispel the misconceptions which inevitably surround so challenging a concept, a compilation on "Promoting Entry by Troops" has been issued. Study and application of the principles and approaches described therein will undoubtedly assist every Bahá'í teacher and community, whether in an area where entry by troops has been a reality for many years, or in one where no sign of it has yet appeared. In respect to the latter, it will help to convince individual believers of the reality and validity of this process and will enable Bahá'í communities to prepare themselves spiritually and materially for this surge forward, to eagerly anticipate its occurrence, to take those steps which will foster its beginning, and to ensure the measures which will perpetuate its growth.
Universal House of Justice
Ridvan 1994

Contents

Cover letter from the Universal House of Justice

Promoting Entry by Troops, Part A

1.
Some characteristics of growth

1.1
Organic growth

1.2
Dynamic of crisis and victory

1.3
Impact of social decline

1.4
Emergence from obscurity

2.
Factors contributing to growth

2.1
Commitment to spiritual transformation

2.2
Love and unity

2.3
Universal participation

2.4
Balance between expansion and consolidation

2.5
Bahá'í community as a model

3.
Promoting entry by troops

3.1
Strengthening Spiritual Assemblies

3.2
Efficient administration and prompt consolidation

3.3
Strategic, flexible teaching plans

3.4
Reaching people of capacity

3.5
Relating the Faith to contemporary social and humanitarian issues

3.6
Goal-directed behaviour

4.
Concluding remarks

References, Part A

Promoting Entry by Troops, Part B

From letters written by or on behalf of Shoghi Effendi

From letters written by or on behalf of the Universal House of Justice

Study Guide, by Robert McClelland

9 November 1993

To all National Spiritual Assemblies

Beloved Friends,

In the message sent
last Ridván
, we drew the attention of the
Bahá'í world to the critical need for a massive expansion of the
Bahá'í community in the years immediately ahead. The growing
receptivity of the peoples of the world to Bahá'u'lláh's Message
reinforces our conviction that entry by troops will soon become an established
pattern for the growth of the Faith in country after country.

To assist the National Spiritual Assemblies and all the friends to understand,
welcome, initiate and sustain this process, we are enclosing a compilation
entitled "Promoting Entry by Troops" and a covering statement prepared by the
Research Department. Whoever studies these illuminating passages will perceive
that entry by troops is not merely a stage of the progress of the Cause
destined to occur in its own good time, dependent on the receptivity of the
population as a whole--it is a phenomenon which the Bahá'í
communities, by their own activities, can prepare for and help to bring about.
It is also a process which, once started, can be sustained.

By a wise allocation of resources and the energetic pursuit of simultaneous
plans of expansion, deepening and consolidation, the process of entry by troops
should bring about a rapidly increasing supply of active believers, soundly
based local communities, and steadily evolving local and national
Bahá'í institutions.

The Bahá'í world needs to foster a united clarity of vision for
the expansion of the Cause and all its agencies, and a wide range of activities
suited to the differing conditions of both the general population and the
individual Bahá'ís. We therefore urge the friends, and
especially the Assemblies, to study this compilation, to understand the
coherence of its statements, and to use its counsels to lend a renewed impetus
to the spread of the Faith and the establishment of the institutions of the
Cause of God.

Above all, in every aspect of teaching the Message, the friends should have
confidence in the regenerative power of the Word of God, seek strength from the
hosts of divine assistance, and anticipate the bounties that will continually
be showered upon them. To build a new world is no easy task.

The road is stony and filled with obstacles, but the journey is infinitely
rewarding.

It is our ardent prayer at the Sacred Threshold that the friends throughout the
world, with their hearts filled with love for Bahá'u'lláh, will
arise to teach His Message to the thirsting multitudes, and will welcome into
His Cause all those whose spirits respond to the Divine Summons and who are
moved to throw in their lot with the builders of God's Kingdom on this
earth.

We are confident that, guided and assisted by the Counsellors and their
auxiliaries, you will be confirmed in your efforts to direct the energies of
the friends towards this momentous undertaking.

With loving Bahá'í greetings,

[The Universal House of Justice]

PROMOTING ENTRY BY TROOPS

Research Department of the Universal House of Justice October 1993

PART A

Shoghi Effendi's vision of the organic unfoldment of the Faith shapes
our perception of the glorious future possibilities in the teaching field. In
a letter addressed to the American believers in 1953 where he points to the
need for deploying pioneers, the beloved Guardian states that "a steady flow of
reinforcements" will

"... presage and hasten the advent of the day which, as prophesied by
`Abdu'l-Bahá, will witness the entry by troops of peoples of divers
nations and races into the Bahá'í world--a day which, viewed in
its proper perspective, will be the prelude to that long awaited hour when a
mass conversion on the part of these same nations and races, and as a direct
result of a chain of events, momentous and possibly catastrophic in nature ...,
will suddenly revolutionize the fortunes of the Faith, derange the equilibrium
of the world, and reinforce a thousandfold the numerical strength as well as
the material power and the spiritual authority of the Faith of
Bahá'u'lláh."

[1]

Writing in its
1990 Ridván
message, the Universal House of Justice links
the "increasing instances of entry by troops" in different parts of the world
to the developmental stages described by Shoghi Effendi. It also fixes our
place in this historical process and challenges the believers to action. The
House of Justice attests:

"We have every encouragement to believe that large-scale enrolments will
expand, involving village after village, town after town, from one country to
another. However, it is not for us to wait passively for the ultimate
fulfilment of Shoghi Effendi's vision. We few, placing our whole trust in the
providence of God and regarding as a divine privilege the challenges which face
us, must proceed to victory with the plans in hand."

[2]

To assist the friends in refining their understanding of the processes
associated with entry by troops and in responding to the challenge posed by the
House of Justice we attach a compilation of extracts from letters written by or
on behalf of Shoghi Effendi and the Universal House of Justice, and we offer
the following comments aimed at exploring and highlighting some of the themes
drawn from the compilation. In sections 1 and 2 of this statement, we describe
a number of general features of the growth process and call attention to
factors that contribute to the expansion of the Faith, while, in section 3, we
focus on specific activities that can be undertaken to
promote and
sustain
the process of entry by troops.

1. Some characteristics of growth

Before considering the subject of entry by troops we begin by examining
a number of general features associated with the processes by which the
Bahá'í Faith grows.

1.1 Organic growth

The growth of the Faith proceeds in an organic, evolutionary
manner.

[3]

Its rate of growth is, therefore, not necessarily
uniform,

[4]

rather, it advances "in vast surges, precipitated by the
alternation of crisis and victory".

[5]

Shoghi Effendi has also stated
that the spread of the Faith all over the world will be accompanied by an
acceleration of its rate of growth.

[6]

For the present, the Faith is not growing at the same rate throughout the
world. The Universal House of Justice has observed that there is an "eager
receptivity" to the Faith in many lands,

[7]

and that certain segments
of the population may, initially, tend to be more responsive than others to the
Cause.

[8]

In those areas where the receptivity is just beginning to
dawn, the House of Justice counsels the believers to have confidence that "the
time is coming when the number of their fellow-countrymen who accept the Faith
will suddenly increase".

[9]

With regard to the immediate future, the Universal House of Justice affirms
that the rate of growth is destined to accelerate. It states that "the stage
is set for universal, rapid and massive growth of the Cause",

[10]

and
it envisages that all national communities will reap the harvest of entry by
troops.

[11]

1.2 Dynamic of crisis and victory

The dynamic interplay of the processes of crisis and victory
characterizes the development of the Faith.

[12]

Shoghi Effendi
affirms that "the record of its tumultuous history" demonstrates

"... the supreme truth that with every fresh outbreak of hostility to the
Faith, whether from within or without, a corresponding measure of outpouring
grace, sustaining its defenders and confounding its adversaries, has been
providentially released, communicating a fresh impulse to the onward march of
the Faith, while this impetus, in its turn, would, through its manifestations,
provoke fresh hostility in quarters heretofore unaware of its challenging
implications ..."

[13]

The Universal House of Justice, likewise, allies the continuing emergence of
the Faith from obscurity and the maturation of the functioning of the
administrative institutions with the community's response to the recent wave of
persecutions in Írán

[14]

and it foreshadows that "the
present victories will lead to active opposition".

[15]

1.3 Impact of social decline

Shoghi Effendi calls attention to the purifying influence of suffering
and tribulation, associated with the process of social decline, on the
expansion of the Faith.

[16]

And, in a letter written on his behalf,
the Guardian notes that "after mankind has suffered ... people will enter the
Cause of God in troops".

[17]

The Universal House of Justice graphically depicts the impact of the declining
process on humanity, relates it to mankind's spiritual search

[18]

and
underlines the pressing responsibility of the Bahá'ís, both to
increase the tempo of their teaching activities,

[19]

"lest opportunity
be lost in the swiftly changing moods of a frenetic world",

[20]

and to
create the kind of community that offers such a distinctive pattern of life
that it will "rekindle hope among the increasingly disillusioned members of
society".

[21]

1.4 Emergence from obscurity

The progress of the Faith is hastened by the opportunities afforded by
its emergence from obscurity. The Universal House of Justice refers to "the
emergence of a new paradigm of opportunity for further growth and consolidation
of our world-wide community",

[22]

and it underlines the urgent
challenge facing the Bahá'í community to meet the needs of the
possibilities that arise as the Lesser Peace approaches.

[23]

2. Factors contributing to growth

By way of introduction, it is important to observe that the beloved
Guardian, in a letter dated 18 February 1932 written on his behalf, underscores
the fact that a mere increase in the number of believers does not necessarily
connote progress of the Cause. He states:

"It is not sufficient to number the souls that embrace the Cause to know the
progress that it is making. The more important consequences of your activities
are the spirit that is diffused into the life of the community, and the extent
to which the teachings we proclaim become part of the consciousness and belief
of the people that hear them. For it is only when the spirit has thoroughly
permeated the world that the people will begin to enter the Faith in large
numbers."

[24]

Likewise, in the
1989 Ridván
message, the Universal House of Justice
affirms:

"It is not enough to proclaim the Bahá'í message, essential as
that is. It is not enough to expand the rolls of Bahá'í
membership, vital as that is. Souls must be transformed, communities thereby
consolidated, new models of life thus attained. Transformation is the
essential purpose of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh, but it lies in the
will and effort of the individual to achieve it in obedience to the
Covenant."

[25]

From a study of the letters of Shoghi Effendi and the Universal House of
Justice it is possible to identify several factors that contribute to the
large-scale growth of the Faith. These factors interact with and reinforce
each other and, when they operate in concert, they provide the basis for the
creation of a growth-producing milieu--a Bahá'í community whose
members are dedicated to refining their understanding of the nature of teaching
and to learning how to work together in ways that will both accelerate and
sustain the processes of expansion and consolidation. Included among these
interactive factors are the following.

2.1 Commitment to spiritual transformation

The crucial link between individual spiritual transformation and the
gradual maturation of the functioning of the Bahá'í community and
the growth of the Faith is a familiar theme in the letters of Shoghi Effendi
and the Universal House of Justice. Fostering such transformation in personal
and family life, in the functioning of communities and Assemblies, is the
responsibility of individuals

[26]

and Bahá'í
institutions, alike.

[27]

As Shoghi Effendi explains:

"When the true spirit of teaching, which calls for complete dedication,
consecration to the noble mission, and living the life, is fulfilled, not only
by the individuals, but by the Assemblies also, then the Faith will grow by
leaps and bounds."

[28]

2.2 Love and unity

Love and unity among the believers

[29]

and the love of the
friends for the Faith and its institutions

[30]

are fundamental to
attracting large numbers of people to the Cause. The beloved Guardian
describes unity and love among the friends as "the spirit which must animate
their community life",

[31]

and he spells out their practical
implications in relation to the planning and implementation of the teaching
work. In a letter written on his behalf, he guides the believers as
follows:

"Let them put more effort into perfecting their purely Bahá'í
relationships, become more united, more spiritually educated, more skilled in
fulfilling their administrative tasks, as a preparation to teaching and
welcoming larger numbers of new believers."

[32]

The Universal House of Justice calls attention to another important aspect of
this subject. It cautions against the polarization of views about teaching
methods and approaches, and offers the following advice to the believers:

"In this, as in all aspects of the work of the Cause, the solution lies in the
friends being patient and forbearing towards those whose shortcomings distress
them, and in endeavouring, through the Assemblies' consultation, to draw closer
to a proper balance while maintaining the momentum of the work and canalizing
the enthusiasm of the believers."

[33]

2.3 Universal participation

Universal participation and persistent efforts by the friends to teach
the Cause, to apply its principles, and to further the development of its
institutions are not only "indispensable to developing the human resources
necessary to the progress of the Cause"

[34]

but they also enhance
success in teaching.

[35]

2.4 Balance between expansion and consolidation

The Universal House of Justice refers to expansion and consolidation as
"twin processes that must go hand in hand".

[36]

It states that they
are "inseparable processes",

[37]

and that they represent "the primary
objectives of teaching".

[38]

Stressing the relationship between
consolidation and teaching, the House of Justice in a letter written on its
behalf stated:

"Proper consolidation is essential to the preservation of the spiritual health
of the community, to the protection of its interests, to the upholding of its
good name, and ultimately to the continuation of the work of expansion
itself."

[39]

2.5 Bahá'í community as a model

The Bahá'í community and the Administrative Order must
continue to be developed and presented to the world as a viable model and an
alternative means of social organization. This is an ongoing process. Shoghi
Effendi, in a letter written on his behalf, attests that:

"Until the public sees in the Bahá'í community a true pattern, in
action, of something better than it already has, it will not respond to the
Faith in large numbers."

[40]

In like manner, the Universal House of Justice calls attention to the
distinctiveness of the Bahá'í community and states that, as the
contrast between the community and the world at large increases, it "must
eventually attract the disillusioned masses and cause them to enter the haven
of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh".

[41]

Further, the House
of Justice notes that there is increasing concern about the affairs of mankind
and the inability of the old order to solve critical social problems. Since
the Bahá'í Administrative Order is designed to be a pattern for
future society, there is a pressing need to demonstrate "the potentialities
inherent in the administrative system" and to provide, thereby, "a signal hope
to those who despair".

[42]

Given the close relationships between the elements of growth described above
and their interactive nature, it is suggested that while each factor
contributes to the expansion process, no one factor, by itself, would appear to
be sufficient to produce and sustain large-scale enrolments. To concentrate on
one to the exclusion of the others may well distort the teaching process and
retard the long-term growth and expansion of the Bahá'í
community. Further, Shoghi Effendi affirms that engagement in the teaching
work reinforces the development of the very factors that contribute to the
growth of the Faith. In a letter written on his behalf, he states:

"Action inspired by confidence in the ultimate triumph of the Faith is, indeed,
essential to the gradual and complete materialization of your hopes for the
extension and consolidation of the Movement in your country."

[43]

The Guardian also calls attention to the danger inherent in the friends'
waiting until they are "
fully
qualified to do any particular
task",

[44]

and he stresses the relationship between individual effort
and divine assistance, observing that:

"God will ... assist us if we do our share and sacrifice in the path of the
progress of His Faith. We have to feel the responsibility laid upon our
shoulders, arise to carry it out, and then expect divine grace to be showered
upon us."

[45]

3. Promoting entry by troops

From a study of the attached compilation, it is apparent that there are
a number of specific activities that contribute directly to the process of
entry by troops.

3.1 Strengthening Spiritual Assemblies

Shoghi Effendi stresses the importance of the "instrumentality" of the
Administrative Order in "vividly" and "systematically" bringing the healing
Message of Bahá'u'lláh "to the attention of the
masses".

[46]

He emphasizes the relationship between the development
of the institutions and "the acceleration in the vital process of individual
conversion", affirming that this latter is the reason for which "the entire
machinery of the Administrative Order has been primarily and so laboriously
erected".

[47]

Likewise, the Universal House of Justice directly links
the strengthening and development of the Local Spiritual Assemblies with the
capacity of the Faith to deal with entry by troops.

[48]

The nature of
this relationship is explained by the House of Justice in the
1993
Ridván
message. It refers to "the mutuality of teaching and
administration" and the fact that "each reinforces the other".

[49]

The House of Justice indicates that there is an imperative need for
Bahá'í institutions to

"... improve their performance, through a closer identification with the
fundamental verities of the Faith, through greater conformity to the spirit and
form of Bahá'í administration and through a keener reliance on
the beneficial effects of proper consultation, so that the communities they
guide will reflect a pattern of life that will offer hope to the disillusioned
members of society."

[50]

To this end, the Universal House of Justice stresses the importance of training
the friends, including those in mass teaching areas,

[51]

to increase
their understanding of and participation in the administrative work of the
Cause. It notes that the "proper functioning" of the Spiritual Assemblies

"... depends largely on the efforts of their members to familiarize themselves
with their duties and to adhere scrupulously to principle in their personal
behaviour and in the conduct of their official responsibilities."

It calls attention to the importance of the Assembly members'

"... resolve to remove all traces of estrangement and sectarian tendencies from
their midst, their ability to win the affection and support of the friends
under their care and to involve as many individuals as possible in the work of
the Cause."

And it affirms that the outcome of such dedicated effort on the part of the
members of the institutions will result in "a pattern of life" that will not
only be "a credit to the Faith" but will also serve to attract the
"increasingly disillusioned members of society".

[52]

3.2 Efficient administration and prompt consolidation

While the way in which the teaching work is organized is a matter for
each National Spiritual Assembly to determine, the Universal House of Justice
stresses the need for "an efficient teaching structure" to ensure that "the
tasks are carried out with dispatch and in accordance with the administrative
principles of our Faith".

[53]

It further states that the work of
consolidation, which is "an essential and inseparable element of
teaching",

[54]

must be "prompt, thorough and continuing".

[55]

Such an integrated approach to the expansion of the Cause not only increases
the human and financial resources of the Bahá'í
community,

[56]

it also helps to avoid such problems as the
"inoculation" of believers against the faith, resulting from a combination of
inadequate teaching and careless consolidation.

[57]

3.3 Strategic, flexible teaching plans

The Universal House of Justice calls upon each National Spiritual
Assembly to "balance its resources and harmonize its efforts" to ensure that
the Faith is taught to "all sections of society".

[58]

It advises the
Assemblies to be strategic and systematic, to tailor their teaching plans to
meet the needs of particular social and cultural groups,

[59]

since
"different cultures and types of people require different methods of
approach",

[60]

and it states that the aim of all Bahá'í
institutions and Bahá'í teachers is "to advance continually to
new areas and strata of society".

[61]

The House of Justice draws attention to the importance of flexibility and
balance in the formulation and implementation of teaching plans. The believers
are encouraged to be open to new methods,

[62]

to use a variety of
approaches,

[63]

and "not blindly insist upon doing the same thing
everywhere".

[64]

The Universal House of Justice indicates that the
Bahá'í community

"... must become more adept at accommodating a wide range of actions without
losing concentration on the primary objectives of teaching, namely, expansion
and consolidation."

And to this end, it stresses the need for

"... a unity in diversity of actions ..., a condition in which different
individuals will concentrate on different activities, appreciating the salutary
effect of the aggregate on the growth and development of the Faith, because
each person cannot do everything and all persons cannot do the same
thing."

[65]

The importance of the adoption by the believers of a strategic and flexible
approach to the work of the Cause is linked by the Universal House of Justice
both to the growing maturity of the Bahá'í community and to its
expansion.

[66]

3.4 Reaching people of capacity

Writing to the National Spiritual Assemblies, the Universal House of
Justice directed that the Faith must be carried "to every stratum of human
society and every walk of life". It further stated that "all must be brought
consciously within the teaching plans of the Bahá'í
community".

[67]

Given the need to increase and develop the human resources of the Faith, the
Universal House of Justice calls upon the believers to address special efforts
to attracting people of capacity to the Cause.

[68]

It describes the
enrolment of people of capacity as "an indispensable aspect of teaching the
masses", and cautions that failure to achieve this end will result in the
Faith's not being able "adequately to meet the challenges being thrust upon
it". Concerning the membership of the Bahá'í community and the
priorities for the teaching work, the House of justice states:

"Its membership, regardless of ethnic variety, needs now to embrace increasing
numbers of people of capacity, including persons of accomplishment and
prominence in the various fields of human endeavour. Enrolling significant
numbers of such persons is an indispensable aspect of teaching the masses, an
aspect which cannot any longer be neglected and which must be consciously and
deliberately incorporated into our teaching work, so as to broaden its base and
accelerate the process of entry by troops."

[69]

3.5 Relating the Faith to contemporary social and humanitarian
issues

In the
Ridván 1988
message, the Universal House of Justice listed
the individual believer's "constant endeavour" to relate the Teachings of the
Faith to "current issues" as one of the measures which contribute to "success
in teaching".

[70]

The House of Justice also notes that the "Order
brought by Bahá'u'lláh is intended to guide the progress and
resolve the problems of society", and that the Bahá'í community
is "clearly in the vanguard of the constructive forces at work on the planet".
It calls attention to the need to develop and perfect the Bahá'í
administrative system as a means of demonstrating the efficacy of this system
to minister to the crying needs of humanity, and to offer it as a "viable
alternative" to the defective crumbling old world order".

[71]

3.6 Goal-directed behaviour

Individual believers, Local and National Spiritual Assemblies are called
upon to collaborate and persist in their efforts to achieve the goals of the
teaching plans. The Universal House of Justice states:

"The teaching work, both that organized by institutions of the Faith and that
which is the fruit of individual initiative, must be actively carried forward
so that there will be growing numbers of believers, leading more countries to
the stage of entry by troops and ultimately to mass
conversion."

[72]

The urgency of this undertaking is emphasized by the House of Justice, as
follows:

"A massive expansion of the Bahá'í community must be achieved far
beyond all past records. The task of spreading the Message to the generality
of mankind in villages, towns and cities must be rapidly extended. The need
for this is critical ...."

[73]

In addition, the Universal House of Justice calls attention to the quality of
the teaching enterprise, advising that "the effort of the Bahá'ís
should be to teach not only as intensively as possible but also as well as
possible".

[74]

The ultimate responsibility of the individual believer for the implementation
of the teaching work is underlined by the House of Justice. It states:

"Every individual believer--man, woman, youth and child--is summoned to this
field of action; for it is on the initiative, the resolute will of the
individual to teach and to serve, that the success of the entire community
depends."

[75]

And it affirms that:

"The key to the conversion of people to the Faith is the action of the
individual Bahá'í conveying the spark of faith to individual
seekers, answering their questions and deepening their understanding of the
teachings."

[76]

4. Concluding remarks

The extracts contained in the compilation "Promoting Entry by Troops"
serve to highlight a number of general principles relating to the nature of
growth and its acceleration and to the attraction of large numbers of people to
the Bahá'í Faith. In addition, the extracts suggest specific
activities that can be undertaken, by individuals and institutions, to increase
the tempo of growth and to sustain large-scale expansion of the Cause.

It is evident that forces without and within the Cause are shaping the destiny
of humanity. The Universal House of Justice calls attention to the operation
of two great processes that are at work in the world. The first process is

"... the great Plan of God, tumultuous in its progress, working through mankind
as a whole, tearing down barriers to world unity and forging humankind into a
unified body in the fires of suffering and experience. This process will
produce, in God's due time, the Lesser Peace, the political unification of the
world. Mankind at that time can be likened to a body that is unified but
without life. The second process, the task of breathing life into this unified
body--of creating true unity and spirituality culminating in the Most Great
Peace--is that of the Bahá'ís, who are labouring consciously,
with detailed instructions and continuing divine guidance, to erect the fabric
of the Kingdom of God on earth, into which they call their fellow-men, thus
conferring upon them eternal life."

[77]

The challenge to the believers is to devote all their energies to this vital
task, spurred on by the realization that "there is no one else to do
it",

[78]

and sustained by their desire to fulfil the longing expressed
by the beloved Guardian in the earliest days of his ministry:

"And now as I look into the future, I hope to see the friends at all times, in
every land, and of every shade of thought and character, voluntarily and
joyously rallying round their local and in particular their national centres of
activity, upholding and promoting their interests with complete unanimity and
contentment, with perfect understanding, genuine enthusiasm, and sustained
vigour. This indeed is the one joy and yearning of my life, for it is the
fountain-head from which all future
blessings will flow, the broad
foundation upon which the security of the Divine Edifice must ultimately
rest
. May we not hope that now at last the dawn of a brighter day is
breaking upon our beloved Cause?"

[79]

References, Part A

Note: The numbers in brackets following each reference correspond to the
numbering of the extracts in the attached compilation.

1
. Letter dated 25 June 1953, Shoghi Effendi,
Citadel of Faith
:

Messages to America 1947-1957
. Bahá'í Publishing Trust,
Wilmette, 1980. p.
117

[18]

2
.
Ridván 1990
message, Universal House of Justice
[45]

3
. See extract
[2]

4
. See extract
[33]

5
. Letter 31 August 1987, Universal House of Justice
[39]

6
. Letter 30 June 1952, on behalf Shoghi Effendi
[17]

7
.
Naw-Rúz 1979
message, Universal House of Justice
[32]
; see also
extracts
[34]
and
[44]

8
. See extract
[41]

9
. Letter 12 September 1991, on behalf Universal House of Justice
[46]

10
.
Ridván 1987
message, Universal House of Justice
[38]

11
. See extract
[44]

12
. See extract
[21]

13
. Hand-written postscript 12 August 1941, Shoghi Effendi. Cf.
Messages to
America: Selected Letters and Cablegrams Addressed to the
Bahá'ís of North America, 1932-1946
. Bahá'í
Publishing Trust, Wilmette, 1947. p.
51

[6]

14
. See extract
[40]

15
. Message 27 December 1985, Universal House of Justice
[36]

16
. See extracts
[4]
and
[13]

17
. Letter 5 October 1953, on behalf Shoghi Effendi
[19]

18
. See extract
[24]

19
. See extract
[38]

20
.
Ridván 1988
message, Universal House of Justice
[40]

21
.
Ridván 1993
message, Universal House of Justice
[48]

22
.
Ridván 1988
message, Universal House of Justice
[40]

23
. See extracts
[35]
,
[44]
and
[47]

24
. Letter 18 February 1932, on behalf Shoghi Effendi
[2]

25
.
Ridván 1989
message, Universal House of Justice
[44]

26
. See extracts
[16]
and
[40]

27
. See extract
[25]

28
. Letter 19 March 1954, on behalf Shoghi Effendi
[20]

29
. See extract
[8]

30
. See extract
[15]

31
. Letter 13 March 1944, on behalf Shoghi Effendi
[9]
; see also extract

[11]

32
. Letter 25 March 1949, on behalf Shoghi Effendi
[14]

33
. Letter 30 June 1993, on behalf Universal House of Justice
[49]

34
.
Ridván 1993
message, Universal House of Justice
[48]

35
. See extract
[40]

36
. Letter 13 July 1964, Universal House of Justice. Cf.
Wellspring of
Guidance: Messages 1963-1968
. Bahá'í Publishing Trust,
Wilmette, 1976. pp.
31
-
3

[23]

37
. Letter 2 February 1966, Universal House of Justice
[25]

38
.
Ridván 1990
message, Universal House of Justice
[45]

39
. Letter 17 April 1981, on behalf the Universal House of Justice
[35]

40
. Letter 13 March 1944, on behalf Shoghi Effendi
[10]

41
. Message August 1968, Universal House of Justice. Cf.
Messages from
Universal House of Justice, 1968-1973
. Bahá'í Publishing
Trust, Wilmette, 1976. p.
12

[28]

42
.
Ridván 1990
message, Universal House of Justice
[45]

43
. Letter 11 May 1934, on behalf Shoghi Effendi
[5]

44
. Letter 4 May 1942, on behalf Shoghi Effendi
[7]

45
. Letter 20 December 1932, on behalf Shoghi Effendi
[3]

46
. Hand-written postscript 29 March 1945, Shoghi Effendi
[12]

47
. Hand-written postscript 12 August 1957, Shoghi Effendi
[22]

48
. See extract
[30]

49
.
Ridván 1993
message, Universal House of Justice
[48]

50
.
Ridván 1990
message, Universal House of Justice
[45]

51
. See extract
[32]

52
.
Ridván 1993
message, Universal House of Justice
[48]

53
. Letter 2 February 1966, Universal House of Justice
[25]

54
. Letter 16 April 1981, on behalf of Universal House of Justice
[34]

55
.
Naw-Rúz 1979
message, Universal House of Justice
[32]

56
. See extract
[36]

57
. See extract
[34]

58
. Letter 13 July 1964, Universal House of Justice. Cf.
Wellspring of
Guidance: Messages 1963-1968
. Bahá'í Publishing Trust,
Wilmette, 1976. pp.
31
-
33

[23]

59
. See extract
[26]

60
. Letter 11 August 1988, Universal House of Justice
[41]

61
. Letter 25 May 1975, Universal House of Justice
[31]

62
. See extract
[29]

63
. See extract
[43]

64
. Letter 13 November 1986, on behalf Universal House of Justice
[37]

65
.
Ridván 1990
message, Universal House of Justice
[45]

66
. See extract
[37]

67
. Letter 31 October 1967, Universal House of Justice. Cf.
Wellspring of
Guidance: Messages 1963-1968
. Bahá'í Publishing Trust,
Wilmette, 1976. pp.
124
-
5

[26]

68
. See extract
[48]

69
.
Ridván 1990
message, Universal House of Justice
[45]

70
.
Ridván 1988
message, Universal House of Justice
[40]

71
.
Ridván 1990
message, Universal House of Justice
[45]

72
.
Naw-Rúz 1979
message, Universal House of Justice
[32]

73
.
Ridván 1993
message, Universal House of Justice
[48]

74
. Letter 1 November 1988, on behalf Universal House of Justice
[42]

75
.
Ridván 1988
message, Universal House of Justice
[40]

76
. Letter 9 February 1989, Universal House of Justice
[43]

77
. Letter 8 December 1967, Universal House of Justice. Cf.
Wellspring of
Guidance: Messages 1963-1968
. Bahá'í Publishing Trust,
Wilmette, 1976. pp.
133
-
4

[27]

78
. Ibid., p.
134

[27]

79
. Letter 24 September 1924, Shoghi Effendi. Published in

Bahá'í Administration: Selected Messages 1922-1932
.
Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, 1974. p.
67

[1]

PART B

A compilation of extracts from letters written by or on
behalf of

Shoghi Effendi and the Universal House of Justice

Prepared by the Research Department

October 1993

From letters written by or on behalf of Shoghi Effendi

"And now as I look into the future, I hope to see the friends at all
times, in every land, and of every shade of thought and character, voluntarily
and joyously rallying round their local and in particular their national
centres of activity, upholding and promoting their interests with complete
unanimity and contentment, with perfect understanding, genuine enthusiasm, and
sustained vigour. This indeed is the one joy and yearning of my life, for it
is the fountain-head from which all future blessings will flow, the broad
foundation upon which the security of the Divine Edifice must ultimately rest.
May we not hope that now at last the dawn of a brighter day is breaking upon
our beloved Cause?" (24 September 1924, Shoghi Effendi:

Bahá'í Administration: Selected Messages 1922-1932
.
Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, 1974. p.
67
[1]

"The work that the members of your small family are doing in spreading the
Cause and infusing its divine spirit among the people you meet, is a fact that
no one familiar with your life can deny ... In time you will see how abundant
the fruit of your services will be. It is not sufficient to number the souls
that embrace the Cause to know the progress that it is making. The more
important consequences of your activities are the spirit that is diffused into
the life of the community, and the extent to which the teachings we proclaim
become part of the consciousness and belief of the people that hear them. For
it is only when the spirit has thoroughly permeated the world that the people
will begin to enter the Faith in large numbers. At the beginning of the spring
only the few, exceptionally favoured seeds will sprout, but when the season
gets in its full sway, and the atmosphere gets permeated with the warmth of
true springtime, then masses of flowers will begin to appear, and a whole
hillside suddenly blooms. We are still in the state when only isolated souls
are awakened, but soon we shall have the full swing of the season and the
quickening of whole groups and nations into the spiritual life breathed by
Bahá'u'lláh." (Letter 18 February 1932, on behalf of Shoghi
Effendi) [2]

"... with God's help, he trusts, you will succeed. He will surely reinforce
your efforts and assist you in the completion of that task that lies before
you. God will, however, assist us if we do our share and sacrifice in the path
of the progress of His Faith. We have to feel the responsibility laid upon our
shoulders, arise to carry it out, and then expect divine grace to be showered
upon us." (Letter 20 December 1932, on behalf Shoghi Effendi) [3]

"Must humanity, tormented as she now is, be afflicted with still severer
tribulations ere their purifying influence can prepare her to enter the
heavenly Kingdom destined to be established upon earth? Must the inauguration
of so vast, so unique, so illumined an era in human history be ushered in by so
great a catastrophe in human affairs as to recall, nay surpass, the appalling
collapse of Roman civilization in the first centuries of the Christian Era?
Must a series of profound convulsions stir and rock the human race ere
Bahá'u'lláh can be enthroned in the hearts and consciences of the
masses, ere His undisputed ascendancy is universally recognized, and the noble
edifice of His World Order is reared and established? (11 March 1936, Shoghi
Effendi:
World Order of Bahá'u'lláh: Selected Letters
.
Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, 1991, pp.
201
-
2
) [4]

"Action inspired by confidence in the ultimate triumph of the Faith is, indeed,
essential to the gradual and complete materialization of your hopes for the
extension and consolidation of the Movement in your country. May the Almighty
inspire each and every one of you with the zeal, determination, and faith to
carry out His Will, and to proclaim His Message to those living in your land
and beyond its confines." (Letter 11 May 1934, on behalf Shoghi Effendi)
[5]

"From the record of its tumultuous history, almost every page of which portrays
a fresh crisis, is laden with the description of a new calamity, recounts the
tale of a base betrayal, and is stained with the account of unspeakable
atrocities, there emerges, clear and incontrovertible, the supreme truth that
with every fresh outbreak of hostility to the Faith, whether from within or
from without, a corresponding measure of outpouring grace, sustaining its
defenders and confounding its adversaries, has been providentially released,
communicating a fresh impulse to the onward march of the Faith, while this
impetus, in its turn, would through its manifestations, provoke fresh hostility
in quarters heretofore unaware of its challenging implications--this increased
hostility being accompanied by a still more arresting revelation of Divine
Power and a more abundant effusion of celestial grace, which, by enabling the
upholders of that Faith to register still more brilliant victories, would
thereby generate issues of still more vital import and raise up still more
formidable enemies against a Cause that cannot but, in the end, resolve those
issues and crush the resistance of those enemies, through a still more glorious
unfoldment of its inherent power.

The resistless march of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, viewed in this
light, and propelled by the stimulating influences which the unwisdom of its
enemies and the force latent within itself, both engender, resolves itself into
a series of rhythmic pulsations, precipitated, on the one hand, through the
explosive outbursts of its foes, and the vibrations of Divine Power, on the
other, which speed it, with ever-increasing momentum, along that predestined
course traced for it by the Hand of the Almighty." (Hand-written postscript 12
August 1941, Shoghi Effendi:
Messages to America: Selected Letters and
Cablegrams Addressed to the Bahá'ís of North America,
1932-1946
. Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, 1947. p.
51
)
[6]

"If the friends always waited until they were fully qualified to do any
particular task, the work of the Cause would be almost at a standstill! But
the very act of striving to serve, however unworthy one may feel, attracts the
blessings of God and enables one to become more fitted for the task." (Letter
4 May 1942, on behalf Shoghi Effendi. Published in
The Power of Divine
Assistance
, page 222 [Ed. - no.
73
online]) [7]

"Too great emphasis cannot be laid on the importance of the unity of the
friends, for only by manifesting the greatness of their love for and patience
with each other can they hope to attract large numbers to their ranks."
(Letter 2 August 1942, on behalf Shoghi Effendi) [8]

"He longs to see a greater degree of unity and love among the believers, for
these are the spirit which must animate their community life. Until the people
of the world see a shining example set by us they will not embrace the Cause in
masses, because they require to see the teachings demonstrated in a pattern of
action." (Letter 13 March 1944, on behalf Shoghi Effendi) [9]

"Until the public sees in the Bahá'í community a true pattern, in
action, of something better than it already has, it will not respond to the
Faith in large numbers." (Letter 13 March 1944, on behalf Shoghi Effendi)
[10]

"Dear Mr and Mrs ___ have a great ability for kindling in the hearts the love
of God. It is for this wholesome, warming, spiritualizing love that the world
is thirsting today. The Bahá'ís will never succeed in attracting
large numbers to the Faith until they see in our individual and community life
acts, and the atmosphere, that bespeak the love of God." (Letter 17 February
1945, on behalf Shoghi Effendi) [11]

"Above all, the healing Message of Bahá'u'lláh must, during the
opening years of the second Bahá'í century, and through the
instrumentality of an already properly functioning Administrative Order, whose
ramifications have been extended to the four corners of the Western Hemisphere,
be vividly, systematically brought to the attention of the masses, in their
hour of grief, misery and confusion. A more audacious assertion of the
challenging verities of the Faith; a more convincing presentation of its
distinguishing truths; a fuller exposition of the character, the aims and the
achievements of its rising Administrative system as the nucleus and pattern of
its future world-embracing order; a more direct and intimate contact and
association with the leaders of public thought whose activities and aims are
akin to the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh, for the purpose of
demonstrating the universality, the comprehensiveness, the liberality and the
dynamic power of His Divine Message; a closer scrutiny of the ways and means
whereby its claims can be vindicated, its defamers and detractors silenced, and
its institutions safeguarded; a more determined effort to exploit, to the
fullest extent possible, the talents and abilities of the rank and file of the
believers for the purpose of achieving these ends--these stand out as the
paramount tasks summoning to a challenge, during these years of transition and
turmoil, the entire body of the American believers. The facilities which the
radio and press furnish must be utilized to a degree unprecedented in American
Bahá'í history. The combined resources of the much-envied,
exemplary American Bahá'í community must be harnessed for the
effectual promotion of these meritorious purposes. Blessings undreamt of in
their scope and plenteousness, are bound to be vouchsafed to those who will, in
these dark yet pregnant times, arise to further these noble ends, and to hasten
through their acts the hour at which a still more momentous stage in the
evolution of a Divine and world-wide Plan can be launched." (Hand-written
postscript letter 29 March 1945, Shoghi Effendi. Published in
Messages to
America
, page
79
) [12]

"There are two things which will contribute greatly to bringing more people
into the Cause more swiftly: one is the maturity of the Bahá'ís
within their communities, functioning according to Bahá'í laws
and in the proper spirit of unity, and the other is the
disintegration of
society and the suffering it will bring in its wake
. When the old forms
are seen to be hopelessly useless, the people will stir from their materialism
and spiritual lethargy, and embrace the Faith." (Letter 3 July 1948, on behalf
Shoghi Effendi) [13]

"There is nothing in the passage from the Master's Tablet on page 681, Volume
III of His Tablets

[1]

to lead us to believe the
instant the Temple is entirely completed masses of people will embrace the
Cause. They will; such a time will come; we hope it may be soon, but we cannot
set a date for it. And such a statement certainly does not justify the friends
to rest on their oars! On the contrary, they must pave the way, particularly
within their ranks, for the reception of large numbers of believers. Let them
put more effort into perfecting their purely Bahá'í
relationships, become more united, more spiritually educated, more skilled in
fulfilling their administrative tasks, as a preparation to teaching and
welcoming larger numbers of new believers." (Letter 25 March 1949, on behalf
Shoghi Effendi) [14]

"Without the spirit of real love for Bahá'u'lláh, for His Faith
and its Institutions, and the believers for each other, the Cause can never
really bring in large numbers of people. For it is not preaching and rules the
world wants, but love and action." (Letter 25 October 1949, on behalf Shoghi
Effendi. Published in Living the Life, p. 21 [Ed. no.
1324
online]) [15]

"Although tremendous progress has been made in the United States during the
last quarter of a century, he feels that the believers must ever-increasingly
become aware of the fact that only to the degree that they mirror forth in
their joint lives the exalted standards of the Faith will they attract the
masses to the Cause of God." Letter 15 September 1951, on behalf Shoghi
Effendi) [16]

"The Latin American communities are still on the threshold of their
international Bahá'í life; he feels sure that they will rapidly
grow into it. Compared with the length of time it took the North American, the
British, and the French communities to grow up and spread, their growth is like
lightning. As the Cause spreads all over the world its rate of acceleration
increases, too, and new centres in Africa, in some mysterious way, have
spiritual repercussions which aid in forming new centres everywhere." (Letter
30 June 1952, on behalf Shoghi Effendi) [17]

"Such a steady flow of reinforcements is absolutely vital and is of extreme
urgency, for nothing short of the vitalizing influx of new blood that will
reanimate the world Bahá'í community can safeguard the prizes
which, at so great a sacrifice involving the expenditure of so much time,
effort and treasure, are now being won in virgin territories by
Bahá'u'lláh's valiant Knights, whose privilege is to constitute
the spearhead of the onrushing battalions which, in diverse theatres and in
circumstances often adverse and extremely challenging, are vying with each
other for the spiritual conquest of the unsurrendered territories and islands
on the surface of the globe.

"This flow, moreover, will presage and hasten the advent of the day which, as
prophesied by `Abdu'l-Bahá, will witness the entry by troops of peoples
of divers nations and races into the Bahá'í world--a day which,
viewed in its proper perspective, will be the prelude to that long-awaited hour
when a mass conversion on the part of these same nations and races, and as a
direct result of a chain of events, momentous and possibly catastrophic in
nature, and which cannot as yet be even dimly visualized, will suddenly
revolutionize the fortunes of the Faith, derange the equilibrium of the world,
and reinforce a thousandfold the numerical strength as well as the material
power and the spiritual authority of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh.
(Letter 25 June 1953

[2]

, Shoghi Effendi.
Published in
Citadel of Faith: Messages to America 1947-1957
.
Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, 1980. p.
117
) [18]

"This is the ebb of the tide. The Bahá'ís know that the tide
will turn and come in, after mankind has suffered, with mighty waves of faith
and devotion. The people will enter the Cause of God in troops, and the whole
condition will change. The Bahá'ís see this new condition which
will take place, as one on the mountain-top sees the first glimpse of the dawn,
before others are aware of it; and it is toward that that the
Bahá'ís must work." (Letter 5 October 1953, on behalf Shoghi
Effendi. Published in
Japan Will Turn Ablaze
, page
102
) [19]

"When the true spirit of teaching, which calls for complete dedication,
consecration to the noble mission, and living the life, is fulfilled, not only
by the individuals, but by the Assemblies also, then the Faith will grow by
leaps and bounds." (Letter 19 March 1954, on behalf Shoghi Effendi) [20]

"The Crusade, on which the army of the Lord of Hosts has so joyously and
confidently embarked, now stands at a major turning point in the history of its
marvellous unfoldment. Three years of magnificent exploits, achieved for the
propagation of the light of an immortal and infinitely precious Faith and for
the strengthening of the fabric of its Administrative Order, now lie behind it.
A spirit of abnegation and self-sacrifice, so rare that only the spirit of the
Dawn-breakers of a former age can be said to have surpassed it, has
consistently animated, singly as well as collectively, its participants in
every clime, of all classes, of either sex, and of every age. A treasure,
immense in its range has been willingly and lovingly expended to ensure its
systematic and successful prosecution. Already a few heroic souls have either
quaffed the cup of martyrdom, or laid down their lives, or been subjected to
divers ordeals while combating for its Cause. Its repercussions have spread so
far as to alarm a not inconsiderable element among the traditional and
redoubtable adversaries of its courageous and consecrated prosecutors. Indeed
as it has forged ahead, it has raised up new enemies intent on obstructing its
forward march and on defeating its purpose. Premonitory signs can already be
discerned in far-off regions heralding the approach of the day when troops will
flock to its standard, fulfilling the predictions uttered long ago by the
Supreme Captain of its forces." (Letter April 1956, Shoghi Effendi. Published
in
Messages to the Bahá'í World
, page
101
) [21]

"The steady progress achieved in recent years by both the Swiss and Italian
Bahá'í communities, unitedly labouring with exemplary fidelity
and devotion for the propagation of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, has
greatly encouraged me and brought much happiness to my heart, and has, no
doubt, heightened the admiration of their sister communities for the manner in
which they are acquitting themselves of their arduous and sacred tasks....

"Less substantial, however, has been the progress achieved in the all-important
teaching field, and far inferior the acceleration in the vital process of
individual conversion for which the entire machinery of the Administrative
Order has been primarily and so laboriously erected." (Hand-written postscript
12 August 1957, Shoghi Effendi) [22]

From letters written by or on behalf of the Universal House of
Justice

"When the masses of mankind are awakened and enter the Faith of God, a
new process is set in motion and the growth of a new civilization begins.
Witness the emergence of Christianity and of Islam. These masses are the rank
and file, steeped in traditions of their own, but receptive to the new Word of
God, by which, when they truly respond to it, they become so influenced as to
transform those who come in contact with them.

"... In countries where teaching the masses has succeeded, the
Bahá'ís have poured out their time and effort in village areas to
the same extent as they had formerly done in cities and towns. The results
indicate how unwise it is to solely concentrate on one section of the
population. Each National Assembly therefore should so balance its resources
and harmonize its efforts that the Faith of God is taught not only to those who
are readily accessible but to all sections of society, however remote they may
be.

"... When teaching among the masses, the friends should be careful not to
emphasize the charitable and humanitarian aspects of the Faith as a means to
win recruits. Experience has shown that when facilities such as schools,
dispensaries, hospitals, or even clothes and food are offered to the people
being taught, many complications arise. The prime motive should always be the
response of man to God's message, and the recognition of His Messenger ...

"Expansion and consolidation are twin processes that must go hand in hand. The
friends must not stop expansion in the name of consolidation. Deepening the
newly-enrolled believers generates tremendous stimulus which results in further
expansion. The enrolment of new believers, on the other hand, creates a new
spirit in the community and provides additional potential man-power that will
reinforce the consolidation work." (13 July 1964, Universal House of Justice.
Cf.
Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986
.
Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, 1996. pp.
38
-
40
;

Wellspring of Guidance: Messages 1963-1968
. Bahá'í
Publishing Trust, Wilmette, 1976. pp.
31
-
3
; and Nine Year Plan, pp. 33-34)
[23]

"The second challenge facing us is to raise the intensity of teaching to a
pitch never before attained, in order to realize that "vast increase" called
for in the Plan. Universal participation and constant action will win this
goal. Every believer has a part to play, and is capable of playing it, for
every soul meets others, and, as promised by Bahá'u'lláh,
"Whosoever ariseth to aid Our Cause God will render him victorious ..." The
confusion of the world is not diminishing, rather does it increase with each
passing day, and men and women are losing faith in human remedies. Realization
is at last dawning that "There is no place to flee to" save God. Now is the
golden opportunity; people are willing, in many places eager, to listen to the
divine remedy." (
Ridván 1965
message, Universal House of Justice. Cf.

Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986
, p.
62
; and Nine
Year Plan, pp. 56-7) [24]

"It has been due to the splendid victories in large-scale conversion that the
Faith of Bahá'u'lláh has entered a new phase in its development
and establishment throughout the world. It is imperative, therefore, that the
process of teaching the masses be not only maintained but accelerated. The
teaching committee structure that each National Assembly may adopt to ensure
best results in the extension of its teaching work is a matter left entirely to
its discretion, but an efficient teaching structure there must be, so that the
tasks are carried out with dispatch and in accordance with the administrative
principles of our Faith. From among the believers native to each country,
competent travelling teachers must be selected and teaching projects worked out
...

"While this vital teaching work is progressing each National Assembly must ever
bear in mind that expansion and consolidation are inseparable processes that
must go hand in hand ...

... To ensure that the spiritual life of the individual believer is
continuously enriched, that local communities are becoming increasingly
conscious of their collective duties, and that the institutions of an evolving
administration are operating efficiently, is, therefore, as important as
expanding into new fields and bringing in the multitudes under the shadow of
the Cause. (2 February 1966, Universal House of Justice. Cf.
Messages from
the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986
, pp.
70
-
71
; and Nine Year Plan,
page 68) [25]

"The paramount goal of the teaching work at the present time is to carry the
message of Bahá'u'lláh to every stratum of human society and
every walk of life. An eager response to the teachings will often be found in
the most unexpected quarters, and any such response should be quickly followed
up, for success in a fertile area awakens a response in those who were at first
uninterested.

"The same presentation of the teachings will not appeal to everybody; the
method of expression and the approach must be varied in accordance with the
outlook and interests of the hearer. An approach which is designed to appeal
to everybody will usually result in attracting the middle section, leaving both
extremes untouched. No effort must be spared to ensure that the healing Word
of God reaches the rich and the poor, the learned and the illiterate, the old
and the young, the devout and the atheist, the dweller in the remote hills and
islands, the inhabitant of the teeming cities, the suburban businessman, the
labourer in the slums, the nomadic tribesman, the farmer, the university
student; all must be brought consciously within the teaching plans of the
Bahá'í Community.

"Whereas plans must be carefully made, and every useful means adopted in the
furtherance of this work, your Assemblies must never let such plans eclipse the
shining truth expounded in the enclosed quotations: that it is the purity of
heart, detachment, uprightness, devotion and love of the teacher that attracts
the divine confirmations and enables him, however ignorant he be in this
world's learning, to win the hearts of his fellowmen to the Cause of God. (31
October 1967, Universal House of Justice. Cf.
Messages from the Universal
House of Justice 1963-1986
, pp.
118
-
119
; and
Wellspring of Guidance
,
pp.
124
-
5
and Nine Year Plan, p. 117) [26]

"We are told by Shoghi Effendi that two great processes are at work in the
world: the great Plan of God, tumultuous in its progress, working through
mankind as a whole, tearing down barriers to world unity and forging humankind
into a unified body in the fires of suffering and experience. This process
will produce, in God's due time, the Lesser Peace, the political unification of
the world. Mankind at that time can be likened to a body that is unified but
without life. The second process, the task of breathing life into this unified
body--of creating true unity and spirituality culminating in the Most Great
Peace--is that of the Bahá'ís, who are labouring consciously,
with detailed instructions and continuing divine guidance, to erect the fabric
of the Kingdom of God on earth, into which they call their fellow-men, thus
conferring upon them eternal life.

"The working out of God's Major Plan proceeds mysteriously in ways directed by
Him alone, but the Minor Plan that He has given us to execute, as our part in
His grand design for the redemption of mankind, is clearly delineated. It is
to this work that we must devote all our energies, for there is no one else to
do it (8 December 1967, Universal House of Justice. Cf.
Messages from the
Universal House of Justice 1963-1986
, pp.
126
-
127
;
Wellspring of
Guidance
, pp.
133
-
4
; and Five Year Plan, p. 96) [27]

"... Wherever a Bahá'í community exists, whether large or small,
let it be distinguished for its abiding sense of security and faith, its high
standard of rectitude, its complete freedom from all forms of prejudice, the
spirit of love among its members and for the closely knit fabric of its social
life. The acute distinction between this and present-day society will
inevitably arouse the interest of the more enlightened, and as the world's
gloom deepens the light of Bahá'í life will shine brighter and
brighter until its brilliance must eventually attract the disillusioned masses
and cause them to enter the haven of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh,
Who alone can bring them peace and justice and an ordered life. (August 1968,
Universal House of Justice. Cf.
Messages from the Universal House of
Justice 1963-1986
, p.
136
;
Messages from the Universal House of Justice,
1968-1973
. Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, 1976, p.
12
;
and Nine Year Plan, p. 133) [28]

"We note that the new teaching methods you have developed, in reaching the
waiting masses, have substantially influenced the winning of your goals, and we
urge the American Bahá'ís, one and all, newly enrolled and
believers of long standing, to arise, put their reliance in
Bahá'u'lláh and, armed with that supreme power, continue unabated
their efforts to reach the waiting souls, while simultaneously consolidating
the hard-won victories. New methods inevitably bring with them criticism and
challenges no matter how successful they may ultimately prove to be. The
influx of so many new believers is, in itself, a call to the veteran believers
to join the ranks of those in this field of service and to give wholeheartedly
of their knowledge and experience. Far from standing aloof, the American
believers are called upon now, as never before, to grasp this golden
opportunity which has been presented to them, to consult together prayerfully
and widen the scope of their endeavours.

"Efforts to reach the minorities should be increased and broadened to include
all minority groups such as the Indians, Spanish-speaking people, Japanese and
Chinese. Indeed, every stratum of American society must be reached with the
healing Message, if the believers will but arise and go forth with the spirit
which is conquering the citadels of the southern states. Such a programme,
coupled as it must be with continuous consolidation, can be effectively carried
out by universal participation on the part of every lover of
Bahá'u'lláh." (14 February 1972, Universal House of Justice.
Published in
Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1968-1973
,
pp.
85
-
6
) [29]

"Strengthening and development of Local Spiritual Assemblies is a vital
objective of the Five Year Plan. Success in this one goal will greatly enrich
the quality of Bahá'í life, will heighten the capacity of the
Faith to deal with entry by troops which is even now taking place and, above
all, will demonstrate the solidarity and ever-growing distinctiveness of the
Bahá'í community, thereby attracting more and more thoughtful
souls to the Faith and offering a refuge to the leaderless and hapless millions
of the spiritually bankrupt, moribund present order. (
Naw-Rúz 1974

message, Universal House of Justice. In
Messages from the Universal House
of Justice 1963-1986
, p.
264
; and Five Year Plan, p. 21) [30]

"Teaching the Faith embraces many diverse activities, all of which are vital to
success, and each of which reinforces the other ...

"The aim, therefore, of all Bahá'í institutions and
Bahá'í teachers is to advance continually to new areas and strata
of society, with such thoroughness that, as the spark of faith kindles the
hearts of the hearers, the teaching of the believers continues until, and even
after, they shoulder their responsibilities as Bahá'ís and
participate in both the teaching and administrative work of the Faith.

There are now many areas in the world where thousands of people have accepted
the Faith so quickly that it has been beyond the capacity of the existing
Bahá'í communities to consolidate adequately these advances. The
people in these areas must be progressively deepened in their understanding of
the Faith, in accordance with well-laid plans, so that their communities may,
as soon as possible, become sources of great strength to the work of the Faith
and begin to manifest the pattern of Bahá'í life." (25 May 1975,
Universal House of Justice. In Five Year Plan, p. 63) [31]

"In many lands, however, there is an eager receptivity for the teachings of the
Faith. The challenge for the Bahá'ís is to provide these
thousands of seeking souls, as swiftly as possible, with the spiritual food
that they crave, to enlist them under the banner of Bahá'u'lláh,
to nurture them in the way of life He has revealed, and to guide them to elect
Local Spiritual Assemblies which, as they begin to function strongly, will
unite the friends in firmly consolidated Bahá'í communities and
become beacons of guidance and havens of refuge to mankind ...

Throughout the world the Seven Year Plan must witness the attainment of the
following objectives:

The teaching work, both that organized by institutions of the Faith and
that which is the fruit of individual initiative, must be actively carried
forward so that there will be growing numbers of believers, leading more
countries to the stage of entry by troops and ultimately to mass conversion.

This teaching work must include prompt, thorough and continuing
consolidation so that all victories will be safeguarded, the number of Local
Spiritual Assemblies will be increased and the foundations of the Cause
reinforced." (
Naw-Rúz 1979
, Universal House of Justice. Extracts from

Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986
, pp.
403
-
405
; and
Seven Year Plan, pp. 71-3) [32]

"The Faith of God does not advance at one uniform pace. Sometimes it is like
the advance of the sea when the tide is rising. Meeting a sandbank the water
seems to be held back, but, with a new wave, it surges forward, flooding past
the barrier which checked it for a little while. If the friends will but
persist in their efforts, the cumulative effect of years of work will suddenly
appear." (27 July 1980, Universal House of Justice) [33]

"The ... problem occurs most frequently in countries such as those in Africa,
where there is entry by troops. In such countries it is comparatively easy to
bring large numbers of new believers into the Faith, and this is such a
thrilling experience that visiting teachers often tend to prefer to do this
rather than help with the consolidation work ... It should be pointed out
that, especially if they [the travelling teachers] are assigned to expansion
work, they must remember that consolidation is an essential and inseparable
element of teaching, and if they go to a remote area and enrol believers whom
no one is going to be able to visit again in the near future, they may well be
doing a disservice to those people and to the Faith. To give people this
glorious Message and then leave them in the lurch, produces disappointment and
disillusionment, so that, when it does become possible to carry out properly
planned teaching in that area, the teachers may well find the people resistant
to the Message. The first teacher who was careless of consolidation, instead
of planting and nourishing the seeds of faith has, in fact, "inoculated" the
people against the Divine Message and made subsequent teaching very much
harder." (16 April 1981, Universal House of Justice. In
Messages from the
Universal House of Justice 1963-1986
, p.
483
; and Seven Year Plan, p. 165)
[34]

"Consolidation is as vital a part of teaching work as expansion. It is that
aspect of teaching which assists the believers to deepen their knowledge and
understanding of the Teachings, and fans the flame of their devotion to
Bahá'u'lláh and His Cause, so that they will, of their own
volition, continue the process of their spiritual development, promote the
teaching work, and strengthen the functioning of their administrative
institutions. Proper consolidation is essential to the preservation of the
spiritual health of the community, to the protection of its interests, to the
upholding of its good name, and ultimately to the continuation of the work of
expansion itself." (17 April 1981, on behalf Universal House of Justice. In

Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986
, p.
485
; and)
[35]

"Who can doubt that we are now entering a period of unprecedented and
unimaginable developments in the onward march of the Faith? ... We know that
the present victories will lead to active opposition, for which the
Bahá'í world community must be prepared. We know the prime needs
of the Cause at the moment: a vast expansion of its numbers and financial
resources; a greater consolidation of its community life and the authority of
its institutions; an observable increase in those characteristics of loving
unity, stability of family life, freedom from prejudice and rectitude of
conduct which must distinguish the Bahá'ís from the spiritually
lost and wayward multitudes around them. Surely the time cannot be long
delayed when we must deal universally with that entry by troops foretold by the
Master as a prelude to mass conversion. (27 December 1985, Universal House of
Justice. In
Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986
, p.

703
; and Seven Year Plan, p. 444) [36]

The House of Justice read with much interest the circumstances which inspired
the new impetus being experienced in your teaching activities and was happy to
learn that the ... believers are themselves taking a more active part in the
teaching work. This trend should by all means be encouraged by your Assembly,
which should do everything in its power to ensure that increasing numbers of
native believers are deepened in the verities of the Faith and encouraged to
teach not only through the means recently opened to them, but through the
variety of approaches which are possible in different parts of the country and
among different strata of ... society. While taking the fullest advantage of a
workable method in one area, the friends should be open to other methods and
not blindly insist upon doing the same thing everywhere. If such flexibility
is understood, your community will surely grow in numbers and strength." (13
November 1986, on behalf Universal House of Justice [37]

"The stage is set for universal, rapid and massive growth of the Cause of God
... The all-important teaching work must be imaginatively, persistently and
sacrificially continued, ensuring the enrolment of ever larger numbers who will
provide the energy, the resources and spiritual force to enable the beloved
Cause to worthily play its part in the redemption of mankind." (
Ridván 1987
message, Universal House of Justice) [38]

"The Faith advances, not at a uniform rate of growth, but in vast surges,
precipitated by the alternation of crisis and victory. In a passage written on
18 July 1953, in the early months of the Ten Year Crusade, Shoghi Effendi,
referring to the vital need to ensure through the teaching work a `steady flow'
of `fresh recruits to the slowly yet steadily advancing army of the Lord of
Hosts,' stated that this flow would `presage and hasten the advent of the day
which, as prophesied by `Abdu'l-Bahá, will witness the entry by troops
of peoples of divers nations and races into the Bahá'í world.'
This day the Bahá'í world has already seen in Africa, the
Pacific, in Asia and in Latin America, and this process of entry by troops
must, in the present plan, be augmented and spread to other countries for, as
the Guardian stated in this same letter, it `will be the prelude to that
long-awaited hour when a mass conversion on the part of these same nations and
races, and as a direct result of a chain of events, momentous and possibly
catastrophic in nature, and which cannot as yet be even dimly visualized, will
suddenly revolutionize the fortunes off the Faith, derange the equilibrium of
the world, and reinforce a thousandfold the numerical strength as well as the
material power and the spiritual authority of the Faith of
Bahá'u'lláh.' This is the time for which we must now prepare
ourselves; this is the hour whose coming it is our task to hasten." (31 August
1987, Universal House of Justice) [39]

"A silver lining to the dark picture which has overshadowed most of this
century now brightens the horizon. It is discernible in the new tendencies
impelling the social processes at work throughout the world, in the evidences
of an accelerated trend towards peace. In the Faith of God, it is the growing
strength of the Order of Bahá'u'lláh as its banner rises to more
stately heights. It is a strength that attracts. The media are giving
increasing attention to the Bahá'í world community; authors are
acknowledging its existence in a growing number of articles, books and
reference works, one of the most highly respected of which recently listed the
Faith as the most widely spread religion after Christianity. A remarkable
display of interest in this community by governments, civil authorities,
prominent personalities and humanitarian organizations is increasingly
apparent. Not only are the community's laws and principles, organization and
way of life are being investigated, but its advice and active help are also
being sought for the alleviation of social problems and the carrying out of
humanitarian activities.

"A thrilling consequence of these favourably conjoined developments is the
emergence of a new paradigm of opportunity for further growth and consolidation
of our world-wide community. New prospects for teaching the Cause at all
levels of society have unfolded. These are confirmed in the early results
flowing from the new teaching initiatives being fostered in a number of places
as more and more national communities witness the beginnings of that entry by
troops promised by the beloved Master and which Shoghi Effendi said would lead
on to mass conversion. The immediate possibilities presented by this
providential situation compel us to expect that an expansion of the Community
of the Most Great Name, such as has not yet been experienced, is, indeed, at
hand.

"The spark which ignited the mounting interest in the Cause of
Bahá'u'lláh was the heroic fortitude and patience of the beloved
friends in Írán, which moved the Bahá'í world
community to conduct a persistent, carefully orchestrated programme of appeal
to the conscience of the world. This vast undertaking, involving the entire
community acting unitedly through its Administrative Order, was accompanied by
equally vigorous and visible activities of that community in other spheres
which have been detailed separately. Nonetheless, we are impelled to mention
that an important outcome of this extensive exertion is our recognition of a
new stage in the external affairs of the Cause, characterized by a marked
maturation of National Spiritual Assemblies in their growing relations with
governmental and non-governmental organizations and with the public in general
...

"But the paramount purpose of all Bahá'í activity is teaching.
All that has been done or will be done revolves around this central activity,
the `head cornerstone of the foundation itself,' to which all progress in the
Cause is due. The present challenge calls for teaching on a scale and of a
quality, a variety, and intensity outstripping all current efforts. The time
is now, lest opportunity be lost in the swiftly changing moods of a frenetic
world. Let it not be imagined the expedience is the essential motive arousing
this sense of urgency. There is an overarching reason: it is the pitiful
plight of masses of humanity, suffering and in turmoil, hungering after
righteousness, but `bereft of discernment to see God with their own eyes, or
hear His melody with their own ears.' They must be fed. Vision must be
restored where hope is lost, confidence built where doubt and confusion are
rife. In these and other respects, `The Promise of World Peace' is designed to
open the way. Its delivery to national governmental leaders having been
virtually completed, its contents must now be conveyed, by all possible means,
to peoples everywhere from all walks of life. This is a necessary part of the
teaching work in our time and must be pursued with unabated vigour.

"Teaching is the food of the spirit; it brings life to unawakened souls and
raises the new heaven and the new earth; it uplifts the banner of a unified
world; it ensures the victory of the Covenant and brings those who give their
lives to it the supernal happiness of attainment to the good pleasure of their
Lord.

"Every individual believer--man, woman, youth and child--is summoned to this
field of action; for it is on the initiative, the resolute will of the
individual to teach and to serve, that the success of the entire community
depends. Well-grounded in the mighty Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh,
sustained by daily prayer and reading of the Holy Word, strengthened by a
continual striving to obtain a deeper understanding of the divine Teachings,
illumined by a constant endeavour to relate these Teachings to current issues,
nourished by observance of the laws and principles of His wondrous World Order,
every individual can attain increasing measures of success in teaching. In
sum, the ultimate triumph of the Cause is assured by that `one thing and only
one thing' so poignantly emphasized by Shoghi Effendi, namely, `the extent to
which our inner life and private character mirror forth in their manifold
aspects the splendour of those eternal principles proclaimed by
Bahá'u'lláh.'" (
Ridván 1988
message, Universal House of
Justice) [40]

"Your concern about consolidation and `mass teaching' is noted. The concept of
mass teaching may be better understood if put in the context of `teaching the
masses'. This implies reaching every level of society in every continent and
island in the world. In developing countries large segments of the population
have become Bahá'ís, usually among the less educated. More
recently, particularly in Asia, we see that the youth in high schools and
colleges have been attracted to the Faith in large numbers. This does not
mean, however, that there is any particular system of teaching which individual
Bahá'ís should pursue. Different cultures and types of people
require different methods of approach. While taking the fullest advantage of a
workable method in one area, the friends should be open to other methods and
not blindly insist upon doing the same thing everywhere. If such flexibility
is understood, the ... community will surely grow in numbers and strength."
(11 August 1988, on behalf Universal House of Justice) [41]

"What is required is a sense of urgency in teaching and this means to ignite
the spark of faith and devotion in the hearts of the people and fan it so that
those who accept the Faith become its firm and ardent supporters. Inevitably
some of those who are attracted to the Message and declare their acceptance of
it will later drift away from the Cause--this is in the nature of the human
response to all teachings--but the effort of the Bahá'ís should
be to teach not only as intensively as possible but also as well as possible."
(1 November 1988, on behalf Universal House of Justice) [42]

"The International Teaching Centre has concluded that the Bahá'í
institutions in ... seem to have been placing too much reliance on large,
expensive projects, involving a great deal of successful public relations and
proclamation. These are, in their own way, very useful activities, but it must
be realized that they cannot be expected to produce large numbers of new
believers. The key to the conversion of people to the Faith is the action of
the individual Bahá'í conveying the spark of faith to individual
seekers, answering their questions and deepening their understanding of the
teachings." 9 February 1989, on behalf Universal House of Justice) [43]

"The spiritual current which exerted such galvanic effects at the International
Bahá'í Convention last Ridván has swept through the entire
world community, arousing its members in both the East and the West to feats of
activity and achievement in teaching never before experienced in any one year.
The high level of enrolments alone bears this out, as nearly half a million new
believers have already been reported. The names of such far-flung places as
India and Liberia, Bolivia and Bangladesh, Taiwan and Peru, the Philippines and
Haiti leap to the fore as we contemplate the accumulating evidences of the
entry by troops called for in our message of a year ago. These evidences are
hopeful signs of the greater acceleration yet to come and in which all national
communities, whatever the current status of their teaching effort, will
ultimately be involved ...

"All these requirements must and will surely be met through reconsecrated
service on the part of every conscientious member of the community of
Bahá, and particularly through personal commitment to the teaching work.
So fundamentally important is this work to ensuring the foundation for success
in all Bahá'í undertakings and to furthering the process of entry
by troops that we are moved to add a word of emphasis for your consideration.
It is not enough to proclaim the Bahá'í message, essential as
that is. It is not enough to expand the rolls of Bahá'í
membership, vital as that is. Souls must be transformed, communities thereby
consolidated, new models of life thus attained. Transformation is the
essential purpose of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh, but it lies in the
will and effort of the individual to achieve it in obedience to the Covenant.
Necessary to the progress of this life-fulfilling transformation is knowledge
of the will and purpose of God through regular reading and study of the Holy
Word.

"Beloved Friends: The momentum generated by this past year's achievements is
reflected not only in the opportunities for marked expansion of the Cause but
also in a broad range of challenges--momentous, insistent and varied--which
have combined in ways that place demands beyond any previous measure upon our
spiritual and material resources. We must be prepared to meet them. At this
mid-point of the Six Year Plan, we have reached a historic moment pregnant with
hopes and possibilities--a moment at which significant trends in the world are
becoming more closely aligned with principles and objectives of the Cause of
God. The urgency upon our community to press onward in fulfilment of its
world-embracing mission is therefore tremendous.

"Our primary response must be to teach--to teach ourselves and to teach
others--at all levels of society, by all possible means, and without further
delay." (
Ridván 1989
message, Universal House of Justice) [44]

"Over the last two years, almost one million souls entered the Cause. The
increasing instances of entry by troops in different places contributed to that
growth, drawing attention to Shoghi Effendi's vision which shapes our
perception of glorious future possibilities in the teaching field. For he has
asserted that the process of `entry by troops by peoples of divers nations and
races into the Bahá'í world ... will be the prelude to that
long-awaited hour when a mass conversion on the part of these same nations and
races, and as a direct result of a chain of events, momentous and possibly
catastrophic in nature, and which cannot as yet be even dimly visualized, will
suddenly revolutionalize the fortunes of the Faith, derange the equilibrium of
the world, and reinforce a thousandfold the numerical strength as well as the
material power and the spiritual authority of the Faith of
Bahá'u'lláh.' We have every encouragement to believe that
large-scale enrolments will expand, involving village after village, town after
town, from one country to another. However, it is not for us to wait passively
for the ultimate fulfilment of Shoghi Effendi's vision. We few, placing our
whole trust in the providence of God and regarding as a divine privilege the
challenges which face us, must proceed to victory with the plans in hand.

"An expansion of thought and action in certain aspects of our work would
enhance our possibilities for success in meeting our aforementioned
commitments. Since change, ever more rapid change, is a constant
characteristic of life at this time, and since our growth, size and external
relations demand much of us, our community must be ready to adapt. In a sense
this means that the community must become more adept at accommodating a wide
range of actions without losing concentration on the primary objectives of
teaching, namely, expansion and consolidation. A unity in diversity of actions
is called for, a condition in which different individuals will concentrate on
different activities, appreciating the salutary effect of the aggregate on the
growth and development of the Faith, because each person cannot do everything
and all persons cannot do the same thing. This understanding is important to
the maturity which, by the many demands being made upon it, the community is
being forced to attain.

"The Order brought by Bahá'u'lláh is intended to guide the
progress and resolve the problems of society. Our numbers are as yet too small
to effect an adequate demonstration of the potentialities inherent in the
administrative system we are building, and the efficacy of this system will not
be fully appreciated without a vast expansion of our membership. With the
prevailing situation in the world the necessity to effect such a demonstration
becomes more compelling. It is all too obvious that even those who rail
against the defects of the old order, and would even tear it down, are
themselves bereft of any viable alternative to put in its place. Since the
Administrative Order is designed to be a pattern for future society, the
visibility of such a pattern will be a signal hope to those who despair.

"Thus far, we have achieved a marvellous diversity in the large numbers of
ethnic groups represented in the Faith, and everything should be done to
fortify it through larger enrolments from among groups already represented and
the attraction of members from groups not yet reached. However, there is
another category of diversity which must be built up and without which the
Cause will not be able to adequately to meet the challenges being thrust upon
it. Its membership, regardless of ethnic variety, needs now to embrace
increasing numbers of people of capacity, including persons of accomplishment
and prominence in the various fields of human endeavour. Enrolling significant
numbers of such persons is an indispensable aspect of teaching the masses, an
aspect which cannot any longer be neglected and which must be consciously and
deliberately incorporated into our teaching work, so as to broaden its base and
accelerate the process of entry by troops. So important and timely is the need
for action on this matter that we are impelled to call upon Continental
Counsellors and National Spiritual Assemblies to devote serious attention to it
in their consultations and plans.

"The affairs of mankind have reached a stage at which increasing calls will be
made upon our community to assist, through advice and practical measures, in
solving critical social problems. It is a service that we will gladly render,
but this means that our Local and National Spiritual Assemblies must adhere
more scrupulously to principle. With increasing public attention being focused
on the Cause of God, it becomes imperative for Bahá'í
institutions to improve their performance, through a closer identification with
the fundamental verities of the Faith, through greater conformity to the spirit
and form of Bahá'í administration, and through a keener reliance
on the beneficial effects of proper consultation, so that the communities they
guide will reflect a pattern of life that will offer hope to the disillusioned
members of society.

"That there are indications that the Lesser Peace cannot be too far distant,
that the local and national institutions of the Administrative Order are
growing steadily in experience and influence, that the plans for the
construction of the remaining administrative edifices on the arc are in an
advanced stage--that these hopeful conditions make more discernible the shaping
of the dynamic synchronization envisaged by Shoghi Effendi, no honest observer
can deny.

"As a community clearly in the vanguard of the constructive forces at work on
the planet, and as one which has access to proven knowledge, let us be about
our Father's business. He will, from His glorious retreats on high, release
liberal effusions of His grace upon our humble efforts, astonishing us with the
incalculable victories of His conquering power. It is for the unceasing
blessings of such a Father that we shall continue to supplicate on behalf of
each and every one of you at the Sacred Threshold." (
Ridván 1990
,
Universal House of Justice) [45]

"Above all, it is essential for the friends to have the confidence that a new
receptivity is dawning in the hearts of Europeans, and to have faith that the
seeds they sow will germinate. They must know that the time is coming when the
number of their fellow-countrymen who accept the Faith will suddenly increase,
and they must be ready and eager to welcome these new believers." (12
September 1991, on behalf Universal House of Justice) [46]

"All these developments have made it evident that the accumulated potential for
further progress of the Bahá'í community is incalculable. The
changed situation within and among nations and the many problems afflicting
society amplify this potential. The impression produced by such change is of
the near approach of the Lesser Peace. But there has been a simultaneous
recrudescence of countervailing forces. With the fresh tide of political
freedom resulting from the collapse of the strongholds of communism has come an
explosion of nationalism. The concomitant rise of racism in many regions has
become a matter of serious global concern. These are compounded by an upsurge
in religious fundamentalism which is poisoning the wells of tolerance.
Terrorism is rife. Widespread uncertainty about the condition of the economy
indicates a deep disorder in the management of the material affairs of the
planet, a condition which can only exacerbate the sense of frustration and
futility affecting the political realm. The worsening state of the environment
and of the health of huge populations is a source of alarm. And yet an element
of this change is the amazing advances in communication technology making
possible the rapid transmission of information and ideas from one part of the
world to the other. It is against such `simultaneous processes of rise and
fall, of integration and disintegration, of order and chaos, with their
continuous and reciprocal reactions to each other,' that a myriad new
opportunities for the next stage in the unfoldment of the beloved Master's
Divine Plan present themselves.

"The burgeoning influence of Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation seemed,
with the imminence of the Holy Year, to have assumed the character of an
onrushing wind blowing through the archaic structures of the old order, felling
mighty pillars and clearing the ground for a new conceptions of social
organization. The call for unity, for a new world order, is audible from many
directions. The change in world society is characterized by a phenomenal
speed. A feature of this change is suddenness, or precipitateness, which
appears to be the consequence of some mysterious, rampant force. The positive
aspects of this change reveal an unaccustomed openness to global concepts,
movement toward international and regional collaboration, an inclination of
warring parties to opt for peaceful solutions, a search for spiritual values.
Even the Community of the Most Great Name itself is experiencing the rigorous
effects of this quickening wind as it ventilates the modes of thought of us
all, renewing, clarifying and amplifying our perspectives as to the purpose of
the Order of Bahá'u'lláh in the wake of humanity's suffering and
turmoil.

"The situation in the world, while presenting us with an acute challenge of the
utmost urgency, calls to mind the encouraging global vision of Shoghi Effendi
for the prospects of the Administrative Order during the second century of the
Bahá'í Era, whose midpoint we are rapidly approaching. In 1946,
he wrote: `The second century is destined to witness a tremendous deployment
and a notable consolidation of the forces working towards the world-wide
development of that Order, as well as the first stirrings of that World Order,
of which the present Administrative System is at once the precursor, the
nucleus and pattern--an Order which, as it slowly crystallizes and radiates its
benign influence over the entire planet, will proclaim at once the coming of
age of the whole human race, as well as the maturity of the Faith itself, the
progenitor of that Order.'" (
Ridván 1992
message, Universal House of
Justice) [47]

"The centennial year was also a period in which the situation in the world at
large became more confused and paradoxical: there were simultaneous signs of
order and chaos, promise and frustration. Amid the convulsions of the current
global state of affairs, but with such feelings of wonder and joy, courage and
faith as the Holy Year has induced in our hearts, we, at this Ridván, in
the one hundred and fiftieth year of our Faith, are embarked upon a Three Year
Plan. Its brevity is compelled by the swiftly changing tides of the times.
But the Plan's primary purpose is indispensable to the future of the Cause and
of humankind. It is the next stage in the unfoldment of the divine charter of
teaching penned by the Centre of the Covenant. The Plan will be a measure of
our determination to respond to the immense opportunities at this critical
moment in the social evolution of the planet. Through resolute pursuit of its
stated objectives and full realization of its goals, as suited to the
circumstances of each national community, the way will be made clear for a fit
projection of the role of the Faith in relation to the inevitable challenges
facing all humanity toward the end of the fast-fleeting, fate-laden twentieth
century.

"A massive expansion of the Bahá'í community must be achieved far
beyond all past records. The task of spreading the Message to the generality
of mankind in villages, towns and cities must be rapidly extended. The need
for this is critical, for without it the laboriously erected agencies of the
Administrative Order will not be provided the scope to be able to develop and
adequately demonstrate their inherent capacity to minister to the crying needs
of humanity in its hour of deepening despair. In this regard the mutuality of
teaching and administration must be fully understood and widely emphasized, for
each reinforces the other. The problems of society which affect our community
and those problems which naturally arise from within the community itself,
whether social, spiritual, economic or administrative, will be solved as our
numbers and resources multiply, and as at all levels of the community the
friends develop the ability, willingness, courage and determination to obey the
laws, apply the principles and administer the affairs of the Faith in
accordance with divine precepts.

"The new Plan revolves around a triple theme: enhancing the vitality of the
faith of individual believers, greatly developing the human resources of the
Cause, and fostering the proper functioning of local and national
Bahá'í institutions. This is to lend focus to requisites of
success as the Plan's manifold goals are pursued in these turbulent times
...

"Training of the friends and their striving, through serious individual study,
to acquire knowledge of the Faith, to apply its principles and administer its
affairs, are indispensable to developing the human resources necessary to the
progress of the Cause. But knowledge alone is not adequate; it is vital that
training be given in a manner that inspires love and devotion, fosters firmness
in the Covenant, prompts the individual to active participation in the work of
the Cause and to taking sound initiatives in the promotion of its interests.
Special efforts to attract people of capacity to the Faith will also go far
toward providing the human resources so greatly needed at this time. Moreover,
these endeavours will stimulate and strengthen the ability of Spiritual
Assemblies to meet their weighty responsibilities.

"The proper functioning of these institutions depends largely on the efforts of
their members to familiarize themselves with their duties and to adhere
scrupulously to principle in their personal behaviour and in the conduct of
their official responsibilities. Of relevant importance, too, are their
resolve to remove all traces of estrangement and sectarian tendencies from
their midst, their ability to win the affection and support of the friends
under their care and to involve as many individuals as possible in the work of
the Cause. By their constantly aiming at improving their performance, the
communities they guide will reflect a pattern of life that will be a credit to
the Faith and will, as a welcome consequence, rekindle hope among the
increasingly disillusioned members of society." (
Ridván 1993
message,
Universal House of Justice) [48]

It is understandable that you feel concern about methods of teaching which
apply pressure to people to declare their faith in Bahá'u'lláh,
or which register as believers those who apparently have no real knowledge of
the Faith or its Message ...

"The teaching of the Cause has always called for wisdom, devotion, enthusiasm,
purity of intention and eloquence of speech. Like other human beings,
Bahá'ís tend to go to extremes, and too few people bring the
proper balance to the way they act. This is particularly true in the teaching
of the Faith. At one extreme are those who are so on fire with love for the
Faith and with awareness of the desperate need of the people for its healing
Message, that they overstep the bounds of wisdom and discretion and stray into
the area of proselytizing. At the other extreme are those who are so gentle in
their approach and so concerned never to arouse an adverse reaction that they
fail to convey the enormous importance of the Cause or to convince their
hearers; for if the messenger is not enthusiastic, how can he convey enthusiasm
to others? The first extreme leads to misrepresentation of the Teachings and
causes disillusionment; the second results in the stagnation of the community
and its failure to fulfil its fundamental duty of conveying this life-giving
Message to the world.

`In this, as in all aspects of the work of the Cause, the solution lies in the
friends' being patient and forbearing towards those whose shortcomings distress
them, and in endeavouring, through the Assemblies' consultation, to draw closer
to a proper balance while maintaining the momentum of the work and canalizing
the enthusiasm of the believers.

"In one of its messages, published on page
32
of
Wellspring of Guidance
,
the Universal House of Justice gave the following advice: `Those who declare
themselves as Bahá'ís should become enchanted with the beauty of
the Teachings; and touched by the love of Bahá'u'lláh. The
declarants need not know all the proofs, history, laws, and principles of the
Faith, but in the process of declaring themselves they must, in addition to
catching the spark of faith, become basically informed about the Central
Figures of the Faith, as well as the existence of laws they must follow and an
administration they must obey.'

"In the western world in recent decades, Bahá'ís have grown used
to thinking that the process by which a person accepts the Faith takes a long
time, and that it is unthinkable for someone to intelligently accept
Bahá'u'lláh within minutes of hearing of Him. This may be the
pattern to which they have become accustomed, but it is far from being a
universal one. When people accepted the Faith quickly in Africa and other
parts of the Third World, western Bahá'ís sometimes explained it
away by saying that such people were less educated and had fewer ideas to work
their way through. Now the same process is happening in the countries of the
former Eastern Bloc, and highly educated people are accepting the Faith as soon
as they hear of it, embracing it enthusiastically, and rapidly deepening their
understanding of its Teachings by reading every Bahá'í book they
can lay their hands on. So it is clear that receptivity to spiritual truth is,
as Bahá'u'lláh indicated, a matter of purity of heart, not of
education or lack of it.

"In the west of Europe, too, there are signs of greater receptivity towards the
Faith among the people, and some are ready to join the community of the Most
Great Name if approached in the proper manner. In such cases when an
individual hears the Message of Bahá'u'lláh and is moved to
declare his faith, there should be no obstacle placed in his way. Great care
must be taken that when the heart of the individual is touched by the power of
Bahá'u'lláh's Message and the declarant has expressed his desire
to embrace the Faith, the process of deepening be followed almost immediately.
Deepening the knowledge of the new believer in the verities of the Faith is the
most vital part of teaching; but deepening is not merely the imparting of
knowledge--it requires also to imbue the soul of the person with the love of
Bahá'u'lláh so that his faith may grow day by day and he becomes
a steadfast believer.

"In the following statement, Shoghi Effendi advises the Bahá'í
teacher to advance the process of deepening for a person who is attracted to
the Faith: `Let him [the Bahá'í teacher] consider the degree of
his hearer's receptivity, and decide for himself the suitability of either the
direct or indirect method of teaching, whereby he can impress upon the seeker
the vital importance of the Divine Message, and persuade him to throw in his
lot with those who have already embraced it. Let him remember the example set
by `Abdu'l-Bahá, and His constant admonition to shower such kindness
upon the seeker, and exemplify to such a degree the spirit of the teachings he
hopes to instil into him, that the recipient will be spontaneously impelled to
identify himself with the Cause embodying such teachings. Let him refrain, at
the outset, from insisting on such laws and observances as might impose too
severe a strain on the seeker's newly awakened faith, and endeavour to nurse
him, patiently, tactfully, and yet determinedly, into full maturity, and aid
him to proclaim his unqualified acceptance of whatever has been ordained by
Bahá'u'lláh. Let him, as soon as that stage has been attained,
introduce him to the body of his fellow-believers, and seek, through constant
fellowship and active participation in the local activities of his community,
to enable him to contribute his share to the enrichment of its life, the
furtherance of its tasks, the consolidations of its interests, and the
co-ordination of its activities with those of its sister communities. Let him
not be content until he has infused into his spiritual child so deep a longing
as to impel him to arise independently, in his turn, and devote his energies to
the quickening of other souls, and the upholding of the laws and principles
laid down by his newly adopted Faith.' (Shoghi Effendi:
The Advent of
Divine Justice
. Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, 1990, pp.

51
-
2
)

"From these words of the Guardian we can see that wisdom, encouragement,
persuasion, and patience, all are called for, and that these must be attuned to
the response shown by the hearer. We also see that the process of deepening
continues long after the new believer has enrolled in the Bahá'í
community." (30 June 1993, on behalf Universal House of Justice) [49]

Notes:

[1]

Tablets of Abdu'l-Bahá Abbas

.

[2]
Published version gives date as 18 July 1953.

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