# Haifa Notes

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

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> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Gayle Woolson, Haifa Notes, bahai-library.com.
> ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
> 
> Haifa Notes
> 
> Gayle Woolson
> 
> 1956
> 
> Feb. 16, 1956
> 
> The following points are things which the Guardian said which
> concern Latin America:
> 
> When I conveyed to him the loving greetings of the Bahá'ís of
> South America, he said: "I am pleased with Latin America." Then
> he asked: "How are the friends in South America?" "Are they
> working? Are they progressing? Are they firm in the Cause of
> God?" I answered: "Yes, but we still have a long way to go before
> we can say it is satisfactory."
> 
> Then he asked: "Are they now familiar with the Institution of the
> Hands?" I said, yes and that we had received the visit of some of
> the Hands. He said: "I am looking forward to the time when there
> will be a Hand in South America and one in Central America."
> 
> I asked: "How can we create a greater sense of individual
> responsibility in South America?" He said: "They must be
> encouraged to have it. They need much encouragement. The
> Assemblies there are nascent, not even infant yet, just nascent.
> that is why we must be patient."
> 
> He said one Hazira was destroyed (referring to one in Teheran)
> but 40 were gained. He asked me about the countries that had
> their Haziras and endowments in South America. He then said:
> "It is very important that they all get these before April. The
> present Haziras are only temporary. This is just a start. They will
> be improved upon in the future."
> 
> It is essential that the Bahá'ís do not become involved in politics
> especially in Latin America where the governments are very
> unstable. The Bahá'í Faith is supra-national, supra-natural. It is
> divine. We are above politics. Becoming involved in politics is
> particularly dangerous in Latin America. We are patriotic but
> not nationalistic. We are more than patriotic. We uphold
> patriotism but maintain that it is not enough. We are above
> nations and above parties. "We are," Abdu'l-Bahá said, "the party
> of God." We are promoting God's policy. We love the world and by
> loving the world, we love our own nation. Bahá'u'lláh said: "Let
> not a man glory in that he loves his country but rather in that he
> loves his kind." By making this statement, this is what
> Bahá'u'lláh meant: A Bahá'í can be a candidate for Parliament
> providing he does not become affiliated with a party.
> 
> It is not enough to convert to the Faith. The new believer must
> develop spiritually and arise to teach others. Conversion should
> not be the goal of the teacher. The goal is that the new believer
> should arise to teach others. This is why progress in Africa is so
> extraordinary. The new believers go out and teach others.
> 
> The friends must teach with determination and patience. If the
> process is slow, they must not become discouraged, but to have
> determination is important.
> 
> As to how to attract the Indians, he said: "Attract them through
> friendliness and kindness. Give them preference in everything;
> not only equality but preference, preferential treatment.
> Teaching the Indians is very important. Not only establish
> contact but convert them. Then they must take part in the
> administrative activities of the Faith. Do you remember what the
> Master said about the American Indians? He compared them
> with the Arabs at the time of Muhammad. The Indians must be
> given preferential treatment. The Bahá'ís must treat them just
> the opposite of the way the others treat them. Amongst the
> Bahá'ís, the minorities in any country must be given
> preferential treatment. If there is a tie between two believers
> for anything, and one is of a minority group, there must not be a
> second vote. Preference must be given to the believer of the
> minority group. The Spanish and Portuguese speaking people
> must not monopolize the field (he said with humor). The
> Indians must be attracted.
> 
> [page 2]
> 
> This is very important. In north america, the minority groups
> are the Negroes and the Indians. In Latin America, the only
> minority group is the Indian.
> 
> A Bahá'í cannot practice spiritualism or be a medium. In the
> case of a Bahá'í who does this, don't expell him immediately; give
> him time and be patient. Quietly and gently point out to him that
> he must give up this practice. Spiritualism is a fancy. In most
> cases, they think they are communicating with the spirits, but
> they are not. As to the question as to how to approach the
> spiritualists, the GUARDIAN said: "Avoid them and look for the
> people that are seeking the Faith. There are many that are
> seeking that are not involved in these practices. One must
> search for the seeking ones. In looking for these, do not limit
> yourself to your own group or friends. Associate with others.
> Association is different from affiliation. Live and associate with
> the natives of the country in which one is pioneering. Attract
> the local element.
> 
> If the believers are firm in the Faith, they will leave other
> organizations. A person cannot belong to something that has
> principles and teachings that are in conflict with the Faith.
> Otherwise, he is not faithful to either the Faith or the other
> organization. Firmness in the Faith is what is needed. The more
> attracted the Bahá'í becomes to Bahá'u'lláh, the more dedicated
> he will become. Increased attachment to Bahá'u'lláh is what is
> needed and this will draw them away from other things.
> 
> [From another Woolson Pilgrim Note manuscript,
> this passage appears here:
> Enkindle the heart; touch the heart. If the approach is the
> intellect they will not detach themselves from other
> organizations. If the heart is touched they will make the
> sacrifice. Much tact, much patience is needed. Do not tell them
> from the beginning that they have to leave their organizations.
> They can be taken in while still belonging to them but
> eventually and finally they will have to detach themselves from
> them. Much tact, much wisdom and patience must be
> used.]
> 
> In the case of Masons who want to become Bahá'ís, tell them that
> there are things in Freemasonry that are not in accordance with
> the Bahá'í Faith, for example, secrecy, and see what their
> reaction is. Don't be rigid. Don't make it hard for people to come
> into the Faith. Let them come in and then continue deepening
> them and touching the heart until they are firm. Give them a
> chance. First: Touch the heart by creating love for God and for
> Bahá'u'lláh, attachment to Bahá'u'lláh. Second: be creating love
> for their fellow-men. Then they will become re-created. They
> are moving too slowly in South America.
> 
> The National Assembly of South America must encourage the
> believer, it must stimulate them. They must become re-created,
> become aflame. It is easy for the Latin Americans to be set
> aflame, They must not lean on the North American. We must
> have unity in essentials, but in non-essentials we must stimulate
> diversity so that each country will have its own spirit in the work
> and not the North American spirit.
> 
> Latin America has a great future. The Latin Americans are
> "associates" of the North Americans. The North Americans are
> the "champion builders". The Canadians are the "Allies". The
> Latin Americans are the "Associates". All the rest are
> "auxiliaries".
> 
> Work with the weak places, not the strong ones. Give special
> attention to the weak ones until their roots are firmly planted.
> 
> More sacrifice is needed. The more sacrifice is involved, the
> more effective the Bahá'í work will be. Of course, all work is
> effective, but the degree of effectiveness is greater when
> sacrifice is involved. In Latin America, they do not exert enough
> effort.
> 
> The Guardian spoke of four steps in the progress of the Faith:
> 
> 1) Consolidation (building the Administrative Order)
> 
> 2) Extension (of the teaching)
> 
> 3) Publicity
> 
> 4) Proclamation
> 
> [page 3]
> 
> Publicity has been given to the Faith all over the world due to
> persecutions in one country. The persecutions have given the
> Faith more publicity than the consolidation work and more than
> the teaching work. Publicity and proclamation are associated
> with the enemies of the Cause. If there has been world publicity
> through persecution in one country, what will it be like when all
> the countries persecute us; not only the ecclesiastics but the civil
> authorities as well. The Master has prophecies that both the
> ecclesiastics and the civil authorities would persecute us. The
> Bahá'ís of Latin America must be prepared to face this
> persecution and accept that it must come. The enemies will be the
> ones to give publicity and to proclaim the Cause. We will handle
> the consolidation and the propagation, and the enemies will
> handle the publicity and the proclamation." "Proclamation" of
> the Faith is different from "publicity." "Proclamation" will come
> only after persecution of the churches and the governments. In
> America, Australia, Africa, Europe, all except in Persia, we have
> not been persecution. Proclamation can only come after
> persecution.
> 
> The question was asked: If all the Prophets teach the same
> spiritual teachings, why does Buddha teach the existence of
> reincarnation and Bahá'u'lláh not? The Guardian answered: "Not
> Buddha - the Buddhist priests. We do not have the original
> writings of Buddha, nor of Krishna, nor even of Zoroaster. We
> have the Gathas of Zoroaster which are authentic but these are
> only prayers. That is why Bahá'u'lláh and the Master do not
> quote these Prophets as we do not have their original writings.
> There are many books in these religions but they are not the
> original works. Bahá'u'lláh and Abdu'l-Bahá quote the Quran
> which is authentic, and authentic verses of the New Testament,
> but do not quote these other Prophets for this reason. The Bahá'ís
> must be very appreciative of the fact that we have the original
> authentic works of the Bab, Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
> 
> He again said: The believers must become recreated, must be set
> afire, then they will leave these beliefs. They must become
> enkindled, they will accept all Bahá'u'lláh's sayings just because
> just because He says it. If they are afire, they will accept all that
> we say, and they will become detached from these beliefs. The
> important thing is to set them afire.
> 
> Then he said, it should be easy for the Latins to become enkindled
> because of their temperment. I said, yes, but they don't always
> stay lit. He siad, The NSA must encourage them.
> 
> He turned to me and said, referring to South America: do the
> friends realize that the Haziras are the seats of the future Houses
> of Justice? They are a combination of Washington Pentagon and
> the Supreme Court. The Hazira is one building which is the seat
> of either national or local Assemblies. In Haifa, the series of
> Administration buildings would constitute the World Hazira. He
> then referred to the four world Administrative buildings that
> would be constructed in Haifa, saying, the Archives Building is
> for preservation; the Guardianship building is for Interpretation;
> the Building of the Hands is for Propagation and the Building of
> the Universal House of Justice is for Legislation.
> 
> The Institution of the Hands is superior to the Universal House of
> Justice and the NSAs, just as the cabinet is superior to Parliament.
> The Hands are like the Ministers of the cabinet. The Institution
> of Hands constitutes the eyes. The Auxiliary Boards will have
> their Auxiliary Board under them. These institutions will
> evolve.
> 
> [page 4]
> 
> The A R K (he spelled this out) will be built around the Arc. We
> are building the seat of the Ark of Safety. The only Ark of Safety
> is the Administrative Order. Noah's Ark was built and the deluge
> came. This Ark is being built and the deluge will come. A Persian
> pilgrim, pioneering in Arabia, told me this afternoon (the
> Guardian was relating to us) that he had found a Muhammaden
> tradition which says that two-thirds of the world's population will
> be destroyed. How exactly this coincides with the prophecy of the
> New Testament regarding the destruction of two-thirds of the
> people. I wouldn't be surprised if this literally happens. There
> are too many people in the world anyway, and many of them are
> corrupt. But there will be enough left to build the world Order of
> Bahá'u'lláh. Latin America is relatively safe because it is far
> away from the danger zone. The U.S. is in danger, Tehran is in
> great danger, also North Africa.
> 
> The Towers of Babel today of today are the sky-scrapers. These
> will be destroyed. the people of the tower of Babel were haughty,
> proud, filled with vain-glory; they had turned away from God
> and were arrogant and God punished them. This will happen
> again for the same reason. The world is in the same condition
> today. The protection for the Bahá'ís is in dispersing. This is
> good for the Cause and for themselves. (Then he repeated
> Protection for the Bahá'ís is in dispersal.
> 
> The lesser peace will come will come not through a Federation of
> Nations, but through a world federal government.
> 
> In three years, the 2500 centers we had in the world were raised
> to 3700. One-hundred of these were in Latin America. The Faith
> is now established in 243 territories. There are four islands left
> that do not have pioneers and it is because they are privately
> owned. We are now entering into the third phase of the world
> Crusade which will be the most brilliant phase as its objective
> will be to create 50 NSAs to amplify the basis for the Universal
> House of Justice. We have 12 NSAs now, we will have three more
> in Africa this year, and 13 next year, four of which will be in
> Latin America and one in Alaska.
> 
> The first phase of the world crusade lasted one year and consisted
> of the opening of the virgin territories. One-hundred were
> opened. The second phase lasted two years, during which time
> forty Haziras were purchased. the third phase will have as its
> main objective the widening of the basis for the Universal House
> of Justice. by establishing more NSAs.
> 
> Then Shoghi Effendi asked me, "which country of South America
> do you think would be most envied if it branched off with its own
> NSA. I said, I did not know. He said, "Chile has the most centers,
> hasn't it?" And I said yes. Then he said, "a country that would
> branch off with its own NSA would be a great stimulus to the
> others to do the same thing.
> 
> Bahá'ís from northern countries of South America should
> reinforce the islands near them, like the Galapagos Islands, Juan
> Ferandez, Margarita and Trinidad. These are near the coast. I'm
> not asking them to go somewhere in the middle of the sea.
> 
> Just as Africa excelled Latin America, the Islands of the Pacific
> will excell Africa.
> 
> The last day I was in Haifa, the Guardian said to me, "I want you to
> emphasize wherever you go, that the friends must not make an
> effort to teach the Syrians, especially in Brazil, particularly in
> Sao Paulo. Many have migrated there from Palestine and they
> are envious of the Faith. They will cause trouble later. Latin
> America is not mature enough yet to face the difficulties that
> these people would create. Latin American must develop
> normally and healthily. It would be unhealthy for the Latin
> American communities to have these troubles at this time. Later,
> when the communities are stronger, they can take the risk, but
> not to antagonize them. If one meets up with them, treat them
> kindly. They will create much trouble in the future so it is better
> to make no effort to attract them.
> 
> [This appeared here from another Woolson Pilgrim
> Note manuscript:
> (Personal note: The Syrians of Palestine hate Israel as that land
> was taken away from them to be given to the Jews. Now they see
> how the Bahá'í Faith is beautifying Israel with its World Center
> building gardens and it has made them envious. in their effort to
> attack Israel, the Bahá'í Faith will also be a
> target.)]
> 
> [page 5]
> 
> In reference to Ahmad Sohrab, the Guardian said, "He is trying to
> copy our organization. At first he attacked organization, now he
> sees it is more effective. We have Assemblies, he has chapters.
> We have a fund, he established a fund. We have conferences, he
> has conferences." The Guardian asked me if he has spread his
> organization to South America. I answered, a little literature, but
> not much. He said when you meet a member of this group (the
> New History Society or Caravan) ignore them. Do not try to
> convert them, it is no use now. When he dies, they will all
> become Bahá'ís. Our enemy is doing us a favor. Ignore them and
> be confident. Do not be afraid.
> 
> The Guardian asked me, "Do the believers in Latin America keep
> the Fast?" I said, some do and some don't. He said, "They must be
> encouraged to observe the Bahá'í Laws."
> 
> The more we dominate our instincts, the more successful our
> work is.
> 
> It is more meritorious in the sight of God to go as a settler than as
> a visiting teacher. It is more effective.
> 
> The enemies are vigilant for anything to attack.
> 
> He gave Leroy Ioas some instructions concerning the arc and the
> spiral garden connected to it which is being developed now, then
> he said, "The arc is very important as the administrative
> buildings are around it."
> 
> Another day, after talking about a new star in the new garden
> (an eight pointed star outlined by the short shrubs) he said,
> "There are many stars going up on Mount Carmel. The stars of
> heaven have fallen on mount Carmel (Smilingly), This fulfills
> the prophecy that the stars shall fall from heaven. The eight
> pointed star in the gardens at Bahji surrounding the Shrine of
> Bahá'u'lláh, represents the submission of the Bab to
> Bahá'u'lláh.
> 
> One of the Persian pilgrims at Haifa when I was, told me that one
> of the Persian men in their group had asked the Guardian about
> his descendants, about a son, and the Guardian answered,
> "Everything that is written in the Will and Testament will be
> fulfilled. The Bahá'ís must not be anxious about this."
> 
> METADATA
> 
> Views15984 views since posted 1998; last edit 2025-09-30 13:00 UTC;
> 
> previous at archive.org.../woolson_haifa_notes;
> URLs changed in 2010, see archive.org.../bahai-library.org
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> — *Haifa Notes (Used by permission of the curator)*