Part 30

The members of the Boards are to report to the Hands of the Cause in the area regarding all situations, and of course in detail concerning any problem, so that the National Assembly may take appropriate action.

The Hands of the Cause themselves will correspond with the National Spiritual Assembly involved, calling their attention to the problem, so that the National Assembly may take appropriate action.

The Guardian has instructed that the Hands of the Cause are not to correspond with the committees of the National Spiritual Assemblies, but directly with the National Spiritual Assemblies themselves.

The beloved Guardian greatly values the outstanding work which your Assembly is doing. He will pray for your continued success. He sends you his loving greetings....

Letter of 29 July 1954 (Summer School Committee)

29 July 1954 (Summer School Committee)

DELIGHTED ASSURE ATTENDANTS LOVING FERVENT PRAYERS.

SHOGHI

Letter of 29 August 1954

29 August 1954

SUBSTITUTE FON FOR POPO COMMITTEES SHOULD NOT CORRESPOND HANDS WITHOUT EXCEPTION.

SHOGHI

Letter of 16 October 1954

16 October 1954(79)

DELIGHTED HISTORIC ACHIEVEMENT.

SHOGHI

Letter of 27 October 1954

27 October 1954(80)

FOLLOW AMERICAN POLICY REGARDING ASSEMBLY STATUS. USE PROCEEDS SALE HOUSE FOR HAZIRA.

SHOGHI

Letter of 28 October 1954

28 October 1954

Dear Baha'i Brother:

The content of your letter of October 15th was given to the beloved Guardian.

He sincerely hopes the problems surrounding Mr. ... have now been solved, as you seemed to think they have.

He advises that Baha'i pioneers should not become public charges under any circumstances; and the Assemblies concerned should see that this does not occur in the case of Mr. ....

The beloved Guardian assures all the members of the National Assembly of his appreciation of their devoted services. He assures them of his prayers in their behalf, and sends them his loving greetings....

Letter of 11 November 1954

11 November 1954(81)

DISAPPROVE MEMBERSHIP FREEMASONRY.

Letter of 16 December 1954

16 December 1954

GRIEVE PASSING STAUNCH CONSECRATED PROMOTER FAITH LANGDON-DAVIES HER SERVICES UNFORGETTABLE REWARD GREAT ABHA KINGDOM.

SHOGHI

Letter of 22 December 1954

22 December 1954

PUBLISHING TRUST SHOULD NOT HAVE SEPARATE LEGAL STATUS. ANY BAHA'I DETERMINED RETAIN MEMBERSHIP FREEMASONRY LOSES VOTING RIGHTS.

SHOGHI

Letter of 17 January 1955

17 January 1955(82)

SHARE JOY FRIENDS SUPPLICATING UNPRECEDENTED BLESSINGS.

SHOGHI

Letter of 20 February 1955

20 February 1955

Dear Baha'i Co-workers:

The beloved Guardian has instructed me to inquire of your Assembly what the situation is surrounding the translation and publication of Baha'i literature into the following languages:

Erso Gaelic

These are not languages of the Ten Year Crusade, but languages which have been translated prior to the opening of the Ten Year Crusade. He is very anxious to know what the status is of these translations and publications. If no work has been done on them, he would urge that you have the work undertaken at an early date....

Letter of 8 March 1955

8 March 1955

Dear Baha'i Friends:

The beloved Guardian is very anxious to secure as quickly as possible data concerning the Haziratu'l-Quds which have been acquired in connection with the goals of the Ten Year Crusade. To this end, he would very greatly appreciate your sending me by return air mail the information concerning the Haziratu'l-Quds in London.

He would like to know the area of land involved, the size of the building, so far as number of rooms is concerned, the original purchase price of the Haziratu'l-Quds, the expenses of the transaction, and then the total cost.

The Guardian asks that this be sent to me by return airmail....

Letter of 29 March 1955

29 March 1955

Dear Baha'i Friends:

On April 21st we will enter the last year of the second phase of the Ten Year Crusade. As you know, one of the objectives of this second phase was the rapid multiplication of Assemblies, Groups and Centres throughout the world.

During the past year, a great deal has been accomplished by the friends in their efforts to disperse from the large centres of population in order to build up the goal cities and establish new centres. However, we have not accomplished a great deal in the way of increasing the number of Baha'is, nor the number of Spiritual Assemblies.

The beloved Guardian sincerely hopes you will make it a point of major study and consideration on the part of your Assembly, so that the entire community may lend itself to the accomplishment of this great goal during the coming year. Foundations must be laid for many more Assemblies. The friends must disperse from the large centres of population. Our teaching work must become so sanctified and penetrating that many, many souls will be confirmed. The friends should go forward on this great task in a very determined manner in order to establish as many new Assemblies during the coming year as are possible.

In letters which have come to the beloved Guardian, he has noted the friends feel there is no need to establish new Assemblies until 1963.

The Ten Year Crusade ends in 1963; but as many of the goals should be won as quickly as possible. It should certainly be clear to all of the friends that we cannot hold off on winning the various goals of our tasks until the last year of the Crusade. They should be won just as quickly as possible. Furthermore, there are many tasks of the Crusade which the Guardian is not launching until preliminary goals have been won. For instance, it would be impossible to establish National Assemblies in all of the areas proposed until there are more Baha'is, more Groups and more Assemblies in those countries. On the home front, further tasks are dependent upon the winning of victories now. The Guardian hopes the keynote of the teaching work on the home front during the current year will be the dispersion of the friends on an unprecedented scale, and the winning of as many Assemblies as is possible....

Letter of 9 April 1955

9 April 1955

URGENTLY APPEAL HIGH MINDED DEVOTED BELIEVERS BRITISH ISLES EXERT SUPREME EFFORT FILL GAPS ASSEMBLIES DEMONSTRATE ABILITY MAINTAIN STANDARD HISTORIC ACHIEVEMENTS FERVENTLY PRAYING SUCCESS.

SHOGHI

Letter of 20 April 1955

20 April 1955

Dear John:

In order not to keep the Assembly waiting for an answer, the beloved Guardian has instructed me to write you this letter in reply to yours of April 15th.

The principle is wherever the Baha'i laws at the present time conflict with the civil law of the country, the believers living in it must obey the civil law.

The Baha'is in England, as regards divorce will consequently have to follow British law, and in conjunction with this, as far as possible, uphold the Baha'i law of divorce as well. The way the details of this are to be worked out is left entirely to the discretion of your National Assembly....

Letter of 21 April 1955

21 April 1955(83)

DELIGHTED LOVING APPRECIATION. REGRET FORMATION NICOSIA ASSEMBLY IMPOSSIBLE.

SHOGHI

Letter of 24 April 1955

24 April 1955

Dear Baha'i Friends:

The beloved Guardian has been greatly enthused the last few days with the reports that have been received of new Assemblies established in virgin areas. Of great importance and significance is the word that Spiritual Assemblies have been established in Mogadiscio, in Italian Somaliland and Djibouti in French Somaliland. This leaves the only Somaliland without an Assembly as British Somaliland. The beloved Guardian would appreciate your Assembly giving consideration to this matter, to see if there is any way that a pioneer could go from England to British Somaliland, to firmly establish the Faith there. He understands fully the problems involved.

A copy of this letter is being sent to Mr. Banani, Hand of the Cause, so that he might give consideration to the possibility of having some native Baha'is from Uganda move to British Somaliland, and either teach or settle there.

The beloved Guardian assures your Assembly of his prayers on your behalf. He sends you his loving greetings....

Letter of 25 April 1955 (Convention)

25 April 1955 (Convention)

DEEPLY APPRECIATE CONVENTION MESSAGE. APPEAL DELEGATES URGE ALL COMMUNITIES BRITISH ISLES CONCENTRATE ATTENTION ENERGIES INTENSIFICATION TEACHING ACTIVITIES MULTIPLICATION CENTRES STRENGTHENING ALLOTTED NEWLY-OPENED TERRITORIES INCORPORATION ASSEMBLIES ESTABLISHMENT NATIONAL ENDOWMENT PRAYING FERVENTLY ATTAINMENT OBJECTIVES COURSE SECOND LAST YEAR SECOND PHASE TEN YEAR PLAN.

SHOGHI

Letter of 28 April 1955

28 April 1955

REJOICE SPLENDID INITIATIVE ASSEMBLED REPRESENTATIVES VALIANT BRITISH BAHA'I COMMUNITY ARDENTLY PRAYING FULFILMENT FONDEST HOPES.

SHOGHI

Letter of 22 May 1955

22 May 1955

CONSIDER CARDIFF MAINTAINED.

SHOGHI

Letter of 2 June 1955

2 June 1955

APPROVE PUBLICISING WORLD PROTEST DO NOT ATTACK GOVERNMENT APPROVE APPEAL AFRICAN COMMUNITIES.

SHOGHI

Letter of 10 July 1955

10 July 1955

The beloved Guardian has instructed me to inform you that he feels the time has come for the British N.S.A. to follow the procedure laid down by him as a general rule, namely that Spiritual Assemblies should adhere to the civil limits of their respective towns. All other National Assemblies are following this procedure and he feels yours should too.

The events in Persia have, naturally, distressed him greatly, particularly anxiety for the safety of the Holy House in _Sh_iraz. However, the publicity will do the Faith a great deal of good....

Letter of 26 July 1955

26 July 1955

Dear John:

Just a line to inform you, and naturally through you the National Assembly, that the Beloved Guardian has instructed Varga to send you five hundred pounds for your National Fund, to be expended as the Assembly thinks best.

Regarding ... legacy he wishes your Assembly to hold this sum in trust for him until he gives directions for its use.

The beloved Guardian is most anxious that the representations to be made to UNO regarding the bitter and cruel persecutions in Persia at present should meet with success. I do hope all goes well....

Letter of 5 August 1955

5 August 1955

Dear Baha'i Brother,

Your letters of July 7, 13 and 15, August 19, 20 (three) and 31, September 17 (two) and 27, October 13, 16 (two) and 26, November 4, 15, 16 and 20, and December 8 (four) and 18, 1954, and January 6 (two), 10 and 25, February 7, 11, 14, 21 and 28, March 11 (two), 16 and 23, April 4, 7, 15, 19, 22 and 27, May 9, 12 and 27, June 8 and 9, July 5 (four), 11 and 14, 1955, with enclosures, also the material sent separately, have been received by the beloved Guardian, and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.

The matters taken up by cable I will not go into again here in detail.

It has been a great source of satisfaction to him to receive here last winter two members of the National Body, Mr. and Mrs. John Ferraby, as well as more than one believer from England. The contact with the British Baha'is always pleases him greatly. As you know, he admires many of the staunch British qualities very much, and is proud of the accomplishments of this community during recent years.

He has been pleased over the progress made in the teaching field abroad and at home; in the publication of Baha'i literature in African languages; and, above all, by the purchase of the National Headquarters in London, and the formal dedication of the building, recently held. He feels sure that, now that the National Assembly has a befitting seat for its national affairs--a building which at the same time will solve the problem of the London Spiritual Assembly, through giving them a meeting-place--the work in both London and throughout the country will receive a new impetus. With every important step forward there is a new release of spiritual energy; and the founding of the National Haziratu'l-Quds is certainly a most important milestone in the progress of the Cause in the British Isles.

As regards various questions raised in your correspondence with him, he sees no reason why the Publishing Trust should have a separate legal status, as long as it is not essential for it to do so.

He approves of returning to Ronga as one of the languages into which Baha'i literature should be translated, according to the provisions of the Ten Year Plan, and giving up Shangaan.

He would like very much to receive photostats of the actual Certificates of Incorporation issued to the London and Manchester and Liverpool Assemblies, to be placed in the Mansion of Baha'u'llah.

He does not think your Assembly need take any action about removing archives or other material from London. If, at a future date, the world situation reaches the point where it is obvious that things in London are in great danger, then your Assembly should consider the matter. Fortunately, that is not the case at present.

Any monies received from the sale of the property bequeathed by Mrs. B ... can be used by your Assembly as it sees fit.

As he already pointed out to the Secretary, when he was in Haifa, a National Endowment is at the present time to be considered more in the nature of a token endowment. It need not be in the capital, and can represent a very small investment; indeed as little as one thousand dollars, if a suitable piece of property for that price should be found, would be acceptable.

He was very sorry to hear of the tragic death of Mrs. Langdon-Davies. She was a capable, staunch and devoted member of the community and of the National Assembly as well; and her services will be missed by her co-workers, and particularly the friends in Oxford. He prays for the progress of her soul in the Abha kingdom, and that she may be rewarded for her labours in this world, performed with so much zeal and steadfastness.

He hopes that Mr. John Mitchell's condition has improved. He was very sorry indeed to hear that he had been forced to leave Malta. Please assure him of the Guardian's loving and fervent prayers on his behalf.

As regards the question of Baha'is belonging to churches, synagogues, Freemasonry, etc., the friends must realise that now that the Faith is over a hundred years old, and its own institutions arising, so to speak, rapidly above-ground, the distinctions are becoming ever sharper, and the necessity for them to support whole-heartedly their own institutions and cut themselves off entirely from those of the past, is now clearer than ever before. The eyes of the people of the world are beginning to be focussed on us; and, as humanity's plight goes from bad to worse, we will be watched ever more intently by non-Baha'is, to see whether we do uphold our own institutions whole-heartedly; whether we are the people of the new creation or not; whether we live up to our beliefs, principles and laws in deed as well as word. We cannot be too careful. We cannot be too exemplary.

There is another aspect to this question which the friends should seriously ponder, and that is that, whereas organisations such as Freemasonry may have been in the past entirely free from any political taint, in the state of flux the world is in at present, and the extraordinary way in which things become corrupted and tainted by political thought and influences, there is no guarantee that such an association might not gradually or suddenly become a political instrument. The less Baha'is have to do, therefore, with such things, the better.

He wishes you to thank ... on his behalf for the spirit of devotion to the Faith which he has shown in connection with this matter. He feels sure that he will see the necessity to sever himself from his previous association with Freemasonry. The older Baha'is, through their example in such matters, form rallying points around which the younger Baha'is, not so steady yet on their spiritual legs, so to speak, can cluster.

If you send him five copies of everything published in the British Isles, it will be sufficient for the libraries here at the World Centre....

The Africa Committee should carefully consider such problems as that of the Negro pioneers being too long apart from their wives; and, if no other solution is feasible, the pioneer will have to return to his family. In the case of some of the very distinguished servants of the Faith who have arisen and gone forth from Uganda to pioneer, this would indeed be a loss to the work. If their wives could go and join them, it would naturally be preferable. This is a matter for the committee in consultation with your Assembly and the Hand of the Cause, Musa Banani, to decide.

Undoubtedly the most important task facing the British community at the present time, is to increase its membership. It has performed miracles during the past ten years, through shifting around devoted volunteers from one centre to another, in order to maintain or to create Spiritual Assemblies; but, efficacious as this has been in the past, it is certainly not a permanent solution to the problem. The only solution is to bring in more Baha'is. This requires patient, prayerful, ceaseless efforts on the part of, not only the Baha'i teachers and pioneers, but every single member of the community. The British people are traditionally slow to move. Fortunately, once they do move, it's almost impossible to stop them; but to overcome the inertia requires great effort. In bringing new people into the Faith, the friends always come up against this problem. He urges all the Baha'is, however, not to become discouraged, but to persevere and redouble their efforts, knowing that they can and must succeed in the end. He, on his part, will reinforce their efforts with his prayers in the Holy Shrines....

As regards your question about depleted Assemblies, as there is nothing in the constitution of the National Spiritual Assembly covering these matters, every National Body is free to make its own decision as to what the status of an Assembly is from one annual election to the next, if they fall below nine for any reason.

As regards certain matters raised in your recent letters:

Your Assembly is free to choose the place for the endowment for the East and Central N.S.A. if you feel Uganda inadvisable.

The delegates reaching the Conventions in Africa is a matter for each N.S.A., from whose area of jurisdiction they are elected, to arrange and provide financial help if needed.

A prisoner, showing sincere faith in the Cause, may be accepted as a Baha'i on the same basis of investigating his qualifications as to belief as any other individual outside prison. Each case should be carefully considered on its own merits. Naturally, a person in confinement cannot be active in any community and administrative work. When he gets out, he becomes part of the community in which he resides. No new ruling is required in this matter. All other details in relation to prisoners can be decided by the N.S.A. concerned as they arise.

The Guardian feels that, though it is naturally preferable, it is not essential for consolidation territories to have a group by Ridvan, 1956....

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-workers,

The contribution made, since the inception of the world-wide Baha'i Crusade, severally as well as collectively, by the assiduously striving, clear-visioned, inflexibly resolved, and unswervingly faithful members of the British Baha'i community to the progress and development of the Ten Year Plan, inaugurated on the morrow of the centenary celebration of the birth of Baha'u'llah's Mission, has been such as to excite the heartfelt admiration of their fellow-workers in every continent of the globe. The prestige of this valiant community has soared rapidly, its annals have been notably enriched, the foundations on which its fortunes now rest have been considerably reinforced, whilst the variety and solidity of its administrative achievements have won the unstinted praise of its sister communities in both the East and the West. My own feelings of unqualified admiration for the tenacity of the faith of its members, for their unrelaxing vigilance, their unfailing sense of responsibility and their willingness to sacrifice in order to meet any challenges that confront them, have deepened with every advance they have made, and every victory they have won along the path leading them towards the fulfilment of their destiny.

The historic triumph achieved as a result of the successful prosecution of the Six Year Plan, spontaneously embarked upon by this numerically small yet richly endowed, spiritually resourceful community, on the morrow of the hundredth anniversary of the founding of the Faith of Baha'u'llah, followed immediately by the initiation of a Two Year Plan which marked the inauguration of this community's Mission beyond the confines of its homeland, culminated in the formal association of its members with their brethren in every continent of the globe for the launching and prosecution of a decade-long world-embracing crusade, destined to carry that same community through yet another stage, of the utmost significance, in the fulfilment of its world-wide and glorious mission among the widely scattered territories of the British Crown in no less than three continents of the globe.

The extension and consolidation, in the course of more than a decade, of the administrative base established so painstakingly for the prosecution of this community's far-flung mission, through the formation and multiplication of isolated centres, groups and local assemblies throughout the length and breadth of England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Eire; the opening of the virgin islands lying in the neighbourhood of these territories and forming a part of the British Isles, constituting a most welcome and much needed reinforcement of the Administrative Structure raised so valiantly and patiently by its members in their island home; the magnificent success surpassing, in its quality and scope, the fondest expectations of the elected representatives of this community, which attended the spiritual conquest of a number of African territories, situated along the Western and Eastern shores of that continent and its very heart; the settlement of pioneers in two Mediterranean islands; the selection and purchase of a befitting national administrative headquarters situated close to the heart of the capital city of the British Empire; the acquisition of a plot in the outskirts of the capital city of Uganda, situated in the heart of the African continent, to serve as the site for a future Baha'i House of Worship; the rapid advancement in the translation and publication of Baha'i literature in the thirty-one African languages, allotted, under the Ten Year Plan to the elected national representatives of this same community; the steady progress made more recently in the incorporation of firmly established local assemblies; the formation of the Israel Branch of the British National Assembly at the world centre of the Faith in Israel--these stand out as the most prominent and significant evidences of the uninterrupted development of the Faith of Baha'u'llah under the wise leadership, and through the assiduous and incessant exertions, of the elected national representatives of this virile community.