# Ridvan 1978: Baha'i Era 135

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-19 — 1 clipping.*

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> Message to the International Convention(see also Message to the National Conventions, below)
> 
> To the International Bahá'í Convention
> 
> Dearly Loved Friends,
> 
> The Universal House of Justice takes great pleasure in addressing the
> members of National Spiritual Assemblies gathered in the Holy Land, in
> the presence of Hands of the Cause of God and Counselors from all
> continents, at this fourth International Convention, pausing with you to
> review the course and needs of the Five Year Plan as we cross the
> threshold of its final year. 
> 
> Review of the Progress of the Five Year Plan
> 
> The opening of the Plan witnessed the eager response of the friends,
> careful study made by the national institutions of the Faith of its
> implications and requirements, the establishment of machinery and the
> setting up of projects to achieve its goals, and the often arduous
> struggle to fulfill the first of its three major objectives--the
> safeguarding and consolidation of all prizes won in earlier campaigns.
> This phase extended in many countries over a period of several months,
> and in others continued as far as the midway point of the Plan.
> 
> The middle year of the Plan saw the holding of the International
> Conferences and those many regional and national conferences which were
> held concurrently and diffused far and wide the inspiration flowing from
> these eight major assemblages of the believers. These gatherings
> motivated a great acceleration of the work and helped the believers
> throughout the world to arrive at a new realization of the
> responsibility entrusted to the followers of the Most Great Name for the
> spiritual regeneration of their fellowmen.
> 
> We are now in the last stage of the Plan, and this Convention provides
> us with a welcome and auspicious hour in which to assess our progress
> and to direct our thoughts to the complete achievement of the goals.
> 
> Of the 130 National Spiritual Assemblies which will be operating during
> the last year of the Plan, 50, have either achieved or nearly achieved
> their teaching goals. Of the remaining 80 National Spiritual Assemblies,
> some 40 are confidently forging ahead and are assured of victory if the
> present tempo in their teaching work is maintained. Nine National
> Assemblies are restricted by conditions which make the fulfillment of
> their homefront goals dependent upon circumstances beyond their control.
> The remaining 30 national communities are, alas, seriously lagging
> behind, and only strenuous and sacrificial effort will enable them to
> win their goals. 
> Review of the Second Objective: Vast and Widespread Expansion
> 
> The second of the three major objectives of the Plan--a vast and
> widespread expansion of the Bahá'í community--has seen great but
> geographically uneven progress. There are now more than 19,000 Local
> Spiritual Assemblies and the number of localities where Bahá'ís reside
> is over 83,000. This expansion has been accompanied by an
> intensification of proclamation efforts and by increased use of mass
> media such as radio and television.
> 
> There have been notable advances in the process of gaining wider
> recognition for the Cause of God and in fostering cordial relations with
> civil authorities, a matter of vital importance in these days when there
> is a growth of opposition to the Faith from those who, misconstruing its
> true nature and aims, take alarm at its progress.
> Review of the Third Objective: Developing the Distinctive Character of
> Bahá'í Life
> 
> Some of the most significant achievements of the Plan have been towards
> its third major objectiv--the development of the distinctive character
> of Bahá'í life--and in the consolidation and strengthening of the
> structure of the Bahá'í community. The beloved Hands of the Cause of
> God, who have been in the forefront of so many aspects of the work of
> the Faith, have rendered far-reaching services in this field.
> 
> The Local Spiritual Assemblies, focal centers for the teaching of the
> Faith and the consolidation of the community, are growing in experience,
> maturity and wisdom, are proving to be potent instruments for nurturing
> the Bahá'í life and are, in increasing numbers, carrying out plans for
> the establishment of the Faith in areas outside their own range of
> jurisdiction, under the overall guidance of their National Spiritual
> Assemblies, and with the encouragement and help of the Auxiliary Boards
> and their assistants. The work of developing Local Spiritual Assemblies
> is a task without end in the foreseeable future. As the Bahá'í
> community, which is still very thinly spread around the world, moves
> continually and with increasing rapidity into new areas, new Assemblies
> will come into being and will need patient help and training in their
> sacred duties.
> 
> The devotion and self-sacrifice of the friends, which have drawn to them
> the confirmations of Bahá'u'lláh, have resulted in the very great
> advances made so far. Evidences of this striving are apparent in the
> growing number of national communities which, under the wise stewardship
> and challenging leadership of their National Spiritual Assemblies, are
> becoming financially self-supporting; in the fact that ever more
> individual believers are adopting for themselves specific goals and
> plans of service for the advancement of the Faith; in the settlement of
> more than 2,000 pioneers during the course of the Plan; in the upsurge
> of travel teaching individually and in teams; in a greater awareness of
> the power of prayer; and in many other ways. Three vital aspects of
> Bahá'í community life which have seen marked progress during the past
> four years are the development of the services of women and of youth,
> and the Bahá'í education of children. The youth have long been in the
> forefront of the teaching work, and now our hearts rejoice to see the
> women, in so many lands where previously their capacities were largely
> left unused, devoting their capable services to the life of the Bahá'í
> community. The education of Bahá'í children is also receiving much
> attention, which bodes well for the future generations of Bahá'í's.
> The Continental Boards of Counselors
> 
> Experience has shown that active and loving collaboration between the
> Continental Boards of Counselors and National Spiritual Assemblies has
> been a particularly invigorating and strengthening factor in the
> progress of the Cause in all aspects of the work. Reflecting the growth
> of the community the number of Continental Counselors has been raised to
> 64 during the Plan, and the number of Auxiliary Boards to 675. Under the
> authorization given to them, the members of the Auxiliary Boards have
> till now appointed 3,358 assistants, who are already playing a
> significant role in the formation and consolidation of Local Spiritual
> Assemblies and the fostering of the Bahá'í way of life in local
> communities. Coordinating and directing the work of these Continental
> Boards from the Holy Land, the International Teaching Center is now well
> established in the conduct of its responsibilities, foreshadowing the
> mighty role that it is destined to play in the functioning of the
> Administrative Order of Bahá'u'lláh.
> Seizing Opportunities to Steer the Course of History
> 
> The Faith is passing through a time of tremendous opportunity and
> development, as well as of increasing opposition and of growing
> complexity in the problems confronting it. These opportunities must be
> seized and these problems overcome, for so crucial are these times that
> the future course of human history is daily in the balance. During this
> year the Universal House of Justice will be consulting on the nature,
> duration and goals of the next stage in the implementation of the Divine
> Plan. The firm base of the achievement of the Five Year Plan goals, both
> those of quality and those of quantity, is therefore the burning
> necessity of the months now before us. Let us go forward in a spirit of
> optimism, with confidence, determination, courage and unity. The greater
> the love and unity among the friends, the more speedily will the work
> advance.
> 
> May the Almighty bless the endeavors of His servants and inspire their
> hearts to arise in His Cause with that degree of radiant faith and
> self-sacrifice which will draw to their aid the conquering hosts of the
> Supreme Concourse.
> 
> THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE
> 
> 
> Message to the National Conventions
> 
> To the Friends gathered at National Bahá'í Conventions
> 
> Beloved Friends,
> 
> We joyfully hail the formation of seven more National Spiritual
> Assemblies, those of Burundi, Mauritania, the Bahamas, Oman, Qatar, the
> Mariana Islands and Cyprus; two in Africa, one in the Americas, two in
> Asia, one in the Pacific and one in Europe, raising to one hundred and
> thirty the number of pillars of the Universal House of Justice.
> 
> Your National Spiritual Assemblies will be sharing with you the message
> addressed to the International Bahá'í Convention and the news of the
> progress of the Five Year Plan that was released on that occasion. As
> you will see, many national communities have already completed, or
> virtually completed, their Five Year Plan goals. These communities must
> now ensure that the pace of expansion and consolidation which brought
> them victory is maintained so that they will advance strongly into the
> next plan. They can also, by pioneering and travel teaching, rally to
> the assistance of their sister communities which still have months of
> intensive work before them in order to win their goals. It is to these
> latter communities that we now address our call to redoubled, united and
> sacrificial effort. We are fervently supplicating at the Sacred
> Threshold that the followers of the Blessed Beauty will arise with
> enthusiasm, confidence and consecration to ensure that every goal is
> attained.
>
> — *Ridvan 1978: Baha'i Era 135 (Used by permission of the curator)*