Part 18
The attitude of the friends towards orientals should be one of great caution, according to the Master's own often-repeated and explicit instructions and warnings. Any believer in good standing would not leave his home community without a letter of credential, and certainly no Persians, claiming to be Baha'is, but lacking credentials, should be accepted until the Persian N.S.A. has clarified their status. They can, naturally, attend public meetings, but should not be permitted to come to the 19- Day Feasts; the friends may associate with them, but should be very cautious, bearing in mind that many orientals, who scorned or were even actively against the Cause while living in the East, now find it convenient to pose as believers or friends of the Faith in a Western community where they are strangers.
As regards your question about Baha'i procedure; the present statement can certainly be amplified to include the United Nations Organisation.
He feels that your Assembly should constantly, through its communications to the friends and its committees, and in every way possible, stir the British Baha'i community to a sense of the great urgency of their pioneer activities; and the need for more pioneers. They now have a golden opportunity to arise and fulfil their own cherished plans before it is too late. In the future we may well look back upon these present days and see that in them lay our greatest chance to build for the future and to call people to the Faith while they were still deeply impressed with the tragedy and futility of war; and before they become too engulfed in post war problems, or too bitterly disillusioned by the trend of world affairs to even seek a solution. More believers must arise, and, putting their trust in Baha'u'llah, do their duty to the Faith they believe in and love so dearly. The youth in particular should be encouraged to enter this field of service, for the spread of the Cause is their only hope for a stable world in which to live and establish families of their own.
His loving prayers are with you all in your many services to the Cause of God, and he is greatly encouraged by the way the work is going forward in England....(40)
[From the Guardian:]
Dear and valued co-workers,
The evidences of intensified activity and of notable progress on the part of the English believers in recent months have rejoiced my heart and deepened my feelings of admiration and gratitude for the manner in which they are discharging, individually and collectively, their high responsibilities. I long to hear of the steady progress of their Plan, and will continue to pray for the removal of every obstacle in their path. However considerable their recent achievements, they are still in the initial stage of their great unfolding mission, and are not even capable as yet of visualising the possibilities or of estimating the consequences of their present-day labours. The consummation of their present task will mark the opening of a new era in the development of their community and will signalise the inauguration of a great epoch in the history of the Faith in their land--an epoch that must witness the universal recognition of their Cause and the proclamation of its truths, its claims and tenets, to the masses of their countrymen throughout the British Isles. The Plan they are now prosecuting will provide the machinery and establish the basic structure that will enable them to arouse the people, among all sections of the population, and aid them, systematically and gradually, to recognise Baha'u'llah, and support the nascent institutions of this World Order. Now it is their duty to lay an unassailable foundation for the great work that is to be undertaken in the future. There is no time to lose. Theirs is a priceless opportunity and a great privilege. They must neither vacillate nor falter. They must determinedly persevere until their immediate and distant goals have been attained.
Shoghi
Letter of 15 November 1946
15 November 1946
OVERJOYED MARVEL MAGNIFICENT SUCCESS URGE AFTER ATTAINMENT THIS YEAR'S GOAL CONCENTRATION IRELAND SCOTLAND WALES LONGING FORMATION NUCLEI THESE VIRGIN TERRITORIES ARDENTLY PRAYING LOVING ADMIRATION.
SHOGHI
Letter of 21 November 1946
21 November 1946(41)
APPROVE LOVING APPRECIATION PRAYING SUCCESS.
SHOGHI
Letter of 26 December 1946
26 December 1946
National Youth Committee
Dear Baha'i Sister,
Your letter of September 19th was received, and our beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer it on his behalf, and to congratulate you and the other members of your committee on the excellent first issue of your Baha'i Youth Bulletin.
This is an important new undertaking, and must be established as a firm innovation on the part of the British Baha'i community. He hopes it will gradually become the means of interesting and attracting many new souls to the Faith.
In fact the Youth work everywhere in the Baha'i World is dear to his heart, and he attaches great importance to it. The young people, who will inevitably grow up to shoulder all the work of the Cause, are really its hope, and should be one of the most active factors in its propagation. Through their courageous adherence to the high moral and ethical standards set out by Baha'u'llah, and through gaining a mastery of His many, diversified, and profound teachings, they can shape, to a great extent, the development and aid in the rapid expansion of their beloved Faith in the various countries in which they labour. They should be made to realise their responsibility is heavy and their privilege very precious.
He wishes to assure you and all the other members of the National Youth Committee, of his most loving prayers for your progress, and for the success of the work you have so enthusiastically and devotedly undertaken....
[From the Guardian:]
May the Beloved bless abundantly the work which your Committee has so nobly initiated, remove all obstacles from your path, aid you to realise every hope you cherish, and carry out every plan you conceive, for the furtherance of the interests of our beloved Faith and of its God-given institutions.
Your true brother, Shoghi
Letter of 30 December 1946
30 December 1946
PRAYING FERVENTLY REMOVAL ALL OBSTACLES IMPEDING PROGRESS PLAN AND RECOVERY. SUPPLICATING RICHEST BLESSINGS TEACHING CONFERENCE DEEPEST LOVING APPRECIATION.
SHOGHI
Letter of 1 January 1947
1 January 1947(42)
REJOICE SUCCESS PRAYING RICHEST BLESSINGS.
SHOGHI
Letter of 12 January 1947 (To Teaching Conference)
12 January 1947 (To Teaching Conference)
PROFOUNDLY MOVED MESSAGE. GREATLY APPRECIATE NOBLE SENTIMENTS PRAYING DEPTHS GRATEFUL HEART CONTINUED SUCCESS MAGNIFICENT COLLECTIVE EFFORTS DEEPEST LOVE.
SHOGHI
Letter of 20 January 1947
20 January 1947
CONSULTATION BETWEEN DELEGATES COMMUNITY ADVISABLE PRESENTATION COMMUNITY VIEWS TO CONVENTION ADVISABLE MANNER CONSULTATION LEFT DISCRETION N.S.A. DOUBLING NUMBER DELEGATES CONDITIONED ACHIEVEMENT NINE GOAL TOWNS.
SHOGHI
Letter of 29 January 1947
29 January 1947
ASSURE JOAN GIDDINGS DEEPEST LOVING APPRECIATION.
SHOGHI
Letter of 8 February 1947
8 February 1947
DELIGHTED PROGRESS NOTTINGHAM BIRMINGHAM RESPONSE MCKINLEYS URGE SUPREME EFFORT AS CRUCIAL YEAR DRAWS CLOSE ENSURE ATTAINMENT OBJECTIVE LOVING ARDENT PRAYERS.
SHOGHI
Letter of 26 February 1947
26 February 1947
Dear Baha'i Friends,
Your communications dated Sept. 12, Oct. 4th and 17th, Nov. 19th, 18th and 21st and Dec. 29th 1946 have all been received together with their enclosures and our beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer you on his behalf....
He was very happy to see the marked success of your Summer School this past year and also to receive very encouraging reports of the Manchester Teaching Conference; a great change has come over the work in England during the past year and one which must certainly rejoice the hearts of the older Baha'is in particular as they compare the present state of the Cause with the decades that passed when it had two or three spiritual Assemblies and seemed to be practically standing still! It seems, indeed, as if an important corner had been turned and that the Faith in the British Isles is at last showing its true stature and casting a portentous shadow of future events before it!
He is particularly happy to see the way the Baha'i young people are arising and serving in the pioneer field with such courage, determination and success.
Regarding the question you asked him about the sentence from the "Aqdas" for the marriage certificate: he feels that the following is a suitable translation of this passage: "Enter into wedlock, O people, that ye may bring forth one who will make mention of me."
The very good news of Nottingham and Birmingham achieving Assembly status was most welcome and he hopes the friends will redouble their efforts in connection with the remaining goal towns. Likewise the establishment of pioneers in both Eire and Scotland is of historic importance and they should receive every assistance from the National Teaching Committee and from your Assembly.
Now that the British believers see tangible results of their labours and perseverance taking shape, they should feel encouraged to make new sacrifices; a little effort on our part is so richly blessed by Baha'u'llah--we can only wonder what the rewards would be for a great, concerted, truly inspired effort by all members of the community.
He assures you all of his most loving prayers for your guidance and the success of your historic enterprises....
P.S. Shoghi Effendi would like your Assembly to make every effort to help Dr. Lotfullah Hakim to come to England from Persia; he wishes to continue his study of massage etc. and he could be of great help in the teaching work as he is a devoted and fine Baha'i. Shoghi Effendi suggested he might investigate the possibility of carrying out his studies in Edinburgh or some other goal town and thus help with the Six Year Plan at the same time.
[From the Guardian:]
Dear and valued co-workers,
The present crucial year, now drawing to a close, may well be regarded as one of the most memorable in the annals of British Baha'i history. The magnificent, spontaneous and collective response of almost the entire community of the English believers to the imperative call of teaching; the support lent by individuals, groups and Assemblies to the Plan set in motion by its national elected representatives; the success attending the Teaching Conference; the multiplication of Baha'i centres in England; the initial steps taken to establish the structure of the Administrative Order of the Faith, in Ireland, Scotland and Wales--all these have combined to raise the stature of the community, and to prepare it for the still greater tasks that must be faced by its members after the successful prosecution of the present Plan.
The Baha'is of the British Isles are now, slowly, laboriously and in strict accordance with the principles of a steadily expanding, divinely appointed Administrative Order, building up the essential and primary institutions which are destined to act as the chief and most powerful instruments for the proclamation of the Faith to the masses of their countrymen, at a subsequent stage in the development of the Faith in their land. As these institutions expand and are consolidated, the community will find itself equipped, not only to carry the Message of the New Day to the multitudes throughout the length and breadth of its homeland, but prepared and fortified to initiate teaching campaigns beyond the shores of its native land, and in distant territories and various parts of the Empire of which that land is the heart and centre.
Theirs is the duty, during these coming years, to lay patiently, assiduously and unitedly the foundation on which the structure of their future international services to their beloved Faith can be firmly and unassailably established. Upon the success of the Plan they are now so diligently and devotedly prosecuting, must depend the scope and effectiveness of their two-fold task of proclaiming the verities of their Faith to their fellow countrymen at home, and of implanting its banner abroad amidst the peoples and races of a far-flung Empire.
That they may carry out, in a befitting manner and by the appointed time, the preliminary steps so essential for the fulfilment of their high destiny is my dearest wish and constant prayer.
Shoghi
Letter of 20 March 1947 (To First Regional Youth Conference)
20 March 1947 (To First Regional Youth Conference)
PROFOUNDLY APPRECIATE MESSAGE CONFERENCE URGE CONCENTRATE NEEDS PLAN PRAYING GREAT VICTORIES.
SHOGHI
Letter of 21 March 1947
21 March 1947
OVERJOYED PROSPECTS PRAYING ARDENTLY CONSUMMATION CHERISHED HOPES APPEAL ENTIRE COMMUNITY EXERT SUPREME EFFORT ENSURE TOTAL SUCCESS MIGHTY ENTERPRISE DEEPEST LOVING APPRECIATION ABIDING GRATITUDE.
SHOGHI
Letter of 28 March 1947
28 March 1947
ADVISE APPORTION DELEGATES COMING CONVENTION IN STRICT ACCORDANCE NUMBER BELIEVERS ACTUALLY RESIDING IN FOUR COMMUNITIES MENTIONED LETTER FEBRUARY 24TH.
SHOGHI
Letter of 7 April 1947
7 April 1947
National Youth Committee
Dear Baha'i Friends,
Your letters dated August 10th (from the secretary) and December 19th and March 18th (from the Business Manager of the Editorial Committee) were received, and as our beloved Guardian is greatly overburdened by his steadily expanding correspondence, he has instructed me to answer these communications all in one.
He was very pleased to receive copies of "Youth Bulletin," which he thinks is starting out in the right direction; he would like to receive this publication regularly.
The work you are doing is very important, and the British Baha'i Youth should feel very encouraged to see the way some of their members have arisen and gone forth to pioneer. He hopes others will follow this example in order to ensure the success of the Six Year Plan.
You may be sure his loving prayers are offered for you all in the Holy Shrines....
[From the Guardian:]
May the Spirit of Baha'u'llah sustain, bless and guide you in your notable, meritorious, and deeply appreciated activities, aid you to extend the range of your services, and lend a great impetus to the progress of the Plan which the English believers are so devotedly and assiduously prosecuting.
Your true and grateful brother, Shoghi
Letter of 16 April 1947
16 April 1947
OVERJOYED HISTORIC SUCCESS APPROVED MINUTE 590 PRAYING STILL GREATER VICTORIES HEARTFELT CONGRATULATIONS ABIDING GRATITUDE.
SHOGHI
Letter of 29 April 1947
29 April 1947
ACCLAIM PRIDE GRATITUDE VICTORY ACHIEVED REVITALISED TRIUMPHANT DEARLY BELOVED BRITISH BAHA'I COMMUNITY MARVELLOUS CONSUMMATION ARDUOUS TASK CRUCIAL YEAR HISTORIC PLAN UNPRECEDENTED ANNALS FIFTY YEARS BRITISH BAHA'I HISTORY SISTER COMMUNITIES EAST WEST NORTH SOUTH HAIL SIGNIFICANT VICTORY WON NOTWITHSTANDING PROLONGED STRAIN FORMIDABLE OBSTACLES SMALLNESS NUMBERS DIVERSITY TRIALS CONFIDENT ALL MEMBERS COMMUNITY YOUNG OLD TEACHERS PIONEERS ADMINISTRATORS WILL RESOLUTELY SAFEGUARD PRIZES WON FORGE AHEAD UNDIMINISHED ZEAL ATTAIN GOALS WITHIN REACH CABLING ONE THOUSAND POUNDS PROMOTION GREAT TASKS AHEAD TOKEN MY ABIDING GRATITUDE SIGNAL SERVICE RENDERED FOLLOWERS FAITH BAHA'U'LLAH BRITISH ISLES.
SHOGHI
Letter of 8 May 1947
8 May 1947
Dear Baha'i Brother,
Your letters dated Jan. 19th and 23rd; Feb. 16th, 27th and 28th; March 8th and 25th; and April 4th, 19th, 20th, 22nd and 23rd, 1947, have all been received, together with their enclosures and the material sent under separate cover, and our beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.
Regarding the various questions you have raised.
He has already informed the American N.S.A. that he feels Mr. Townshend's services to the Faith can best be rendered by his writing about it, as he obviously has an outstanding ability in this direction, combined with knowledge and zeal, and can render a very valuable service this way; he also feels that Mr. Townshend, now that his church association seems about to be broken, could be used as part of the pioneer force in Eire. It is his own land, he knows his own people, and the need for workers there is very particularly great this year....
If Mr. Townshend has not as yet been registered as a voting believer he certainly should be immediately. Everyone knows he has been a most devoted Baha'i for many years and his contributions should certainly be considered those of a voting Baha'i.
He would appreciate receiving, for the files here in Haifa, a copy of the revised Articles of Association.
Regarding the prayer translated by Dr. _Kh_an and his daughter: although he has not taken time to compare it with the original, he assumes it is a faithful translation. Unfortunately it is not a style which in our language can convey the richness and power of the original, and he would not recommend that this version of it be printed. There is no objection, however, to its circulation among the friends if they want it.
As to certain of your voting members who have long been inactive, and whose conduct you disapprove of, he suggests you make an effort to find out if they still believe in the Faith, and if they do, and wish to be members of it, then they should be helped to mend their ways. If this patient and loving method does not prove successful and they refuse to identify themselves with the Faith, they should be removed from the voting list.
Miss ... should be advised, for the sake of better serving the Cause she loves so dearly, to take care of her health; also she should be made to realise that a pessimistic and critical approach (although perhaps fully justified by the situation) produces no results. We, having the power of the Faith to draw on, must always be constructive in our efforts, as this will produce results and attract Divine blessings upon them.
Concerning the membership of ... in the synagogue: as this concerns his non-Baha'i Jewish wife and means a great deal to her--even involving the place of her burial--the Guardian does not feel it is right to request him to take a step which would deprive her of her own religious rights. On the other hand, he sees no reason why ... should not write a letter to the appropriate authority in this synagogue, explaining that he is a practising Baha'i but is keeping his synagogue membership for the benefit of his wife and children. Some similar action should be taken by ..., or he should give up his synagogue membership.
He realises the difficult position of the London community, but the goals of the Plan, and its success, justify any temporary weakening of the work in the capital, which in the end will be greatly strengthened by the national spread of the Faith. He certainly will specially pray for this work in London.
The achievement of all goals during this crucial year has been very great, and brought him a conviction that the Cause in the British Isles is now operating on an entirely new footing, and that the community of believers there has thrown off once and for all time a certain lethargy which seemed to have retarded its progress in the past. Although so much still remains to be accomplished, the combination of the new zest for work and the determination of the friends to succeed, and the unfailing assistance of Baha'u'llah, promised to all who arise and put their faith in Him, will surely mow down all obstacles and carry the British believers through to victory.
He feels that the way your assembly is working, with its many and active committees, and the plans you have outlined in your report, are excellent. Any suggestions he has to make, as the work unfolds, he will communicate to you.
The Summer School, he feels, is of great importance, and he hopes gradually believers from the continent will visit it and be helped and inspired by their contact with the now active and flourishing British Baha'i community!
You may be sure in the prayers he offers in the Holy Shrines you and your assembly's work are often remembered....
[From the Guardian:]
Dear and valued co-workers,
The success that has crowned the strenuous efforts exerted by the entire British Baha'i community in the course of this crucial year, has raised immensely its prestige in the estimation of its sister communities in East and West, and has demonstrated in a very striking manner, the vitality, resourcefulness and determination of its members, and merits the praise and blessings of the concourse on high, and particularly of our beloved Master, who in the course of two successive visits showered His loving kindness on the English believers, and chose the capital city of their country as the scene of His first public appearance before a western audience. This remarkable exploit, unparelleled since the inception of the administrative order in that land, and unsurpassed by any achievement associated with the followers of Baha'u'llah in the British Isles since the introduction of His Faith into their country, augurs well for the successful termination of the Initial Phase of the Plan, and fills me with hope that total victory will ultimately be achieved, at the appointed time, by the prosecutors of this bold, this historic and far-reaching enterprise.
The Plan itself when consummated will signalise the opening of a new epoch in British Baha'i history, an epoch which must witness, simultaneously with the vigorous initiation of subsequent Plans designed to broaden the basis, and multiply the institutions, of a steadily evolving administrative order, the inauguration of systematic undertakings, jointly launched by the English, the Scottish, the Irish and Welsh believers, and aiming, on the one hand, at the proclamation of the Divine Message to the masses of their respective countrymen, and, on the other, at the establishment of the structural basis of a divinely appointed Administrative Order throughout the far-flung dependencies of the British Crown.
For the present, however, and as an essential preliminary to the vast and challenging tasks that await them beyond the shores of their homeland, the eyes of the prosecutors of the present Plan must be focused on the vital and urgent requirements in England, and particularly Scotland, Wales and Ireland, wherein the nuclei that have been recently formed, should, ere the expiry of the present year, be converted into full-fledged assemblies. The erection of the administrative institutions of the Faith of Baha'u'llah in these virgin territories will no doubt befittingly mark the termination of the initial phase of the Plan, and proclaim to the entire Baha'i world the resolution, as well as the ability, of its valiant promoters to create the indispensable agencies required for an intensive propagation of the Faith at home, and the planting of its banner overseas.
Theirs is an unspeakably thrilling task, an awe-inspiring obligation, a priceless opportunity. Their recent victories inspire a confident hope that a no less outstanding success will mark their future endeavours.
Your true and grateful brother, Shoghi
Letter of 14 May 1947
14 May 1947
DEEPLY APPRECIATIVE PLEDGE PRAYING ABUNDANT BLESSINGS DELIBERATIONS.
SHOGHI
Letter of 24 May 1947
24 May 1947
TOWNSHEND'S RESIGNATION IMPERATIVE. ALLOCATION FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS FROM NATIONAL FUND EXCESSIVE. ADVISE USE PART RELIEF FUND THIS PURPOSE PRAYING SOLUTION PROBLEM.
SHOGHI
Letter of 18 June 1947
18 June 1947
OVERJOYED TOWNSHEND'S MEMORABLE DECISION NOBLE EXAMPLE COMMENDABLE DETERMINATION SETTLE DUBLIN ARDENTLY PRAYING SUCCESS PROTECTION REMOVAL DIFFICULTIES DELIGHTED STAHLER'S PIONEERING SUPPLICATING ABUNDANT BLESSINGS CHERISH BRIGHT HOPES FRUITION ASSEMBLY'S HISTORIC TASK DEEPEST LOVE APPRECIATION.
SHOGHI
Letter of 28 June 1947
28 June 1947
National Youth committee
Dear Baha'i Sister,