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The Light of Divine Guidance [First of Two Volumes]
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Pages 99-104
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Letter of 30 December 1945
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Beloved Bahá'í Friends:
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Your letter of April 4th has just been received by our
beloved Guardian, and he has instructed me to answer it at
once on his behalf.
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It was with feelings of great pride and deep sorrow that he
read of the sufferings of the German believers for their Faith
and the persecutions they underwent so heroically, and with
such unflinching loyalty, for our Holy Cause.
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All during these long and tragic years of war his thoughts
have been with the Community of the German believers,
and his prayers have constantly been offered for their
protection and the lightening of their heavy burden. Other
Bahá'í Communities, like France and England, have also
suffered, but not to the extent of the German and Burmese
friends who have been in lands ravaged by war and
invasion, and in the hands, at the same time, of political
parties who persecuted them.
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The loss of all the records of the National and Local
Assemblies is indeed very great, and he hopes that your
family, Dr. Mühlschlegel, Dr. Schmidt, Herr Jörn, Anna
Köstlin, Frau Schweizer, Frau Schwarz--, in fact, all the
old believers, will try and reconstruct from memory, and
write down, as much of the history of the Cause in Germany
as they can remember, so that some accurate records for the
future will remain. He would also like you to write a
comprehensive account of what the Bahá'ís have endured in
Germany since 1937 for the "Bahá'í World", vol. X, and
send it to him as soon as possible. The news of the German
believers' activities has been sadly missed in the last two
volumes, and he is anxious to have them take their place
again as soon as possible.
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He has just written to N.S.A. of America urging them to
help, and do all they can to protect the German Bahá'ís; he
has also urged them to make every effort to get German
Bahá'í books published, and sent to Germany as soon as
possible.
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You all have a tremendous task before you. He knows
how great is the suffering for just ordinary German citizens
at present as an aftermath of the war--but in spite of these
physical hardships the German believers are called upon to
establish again the institutions of their Faith, teach its life-giving
message to the masses, and help their country to
obtain the spiritual destiny `Abdu'l-Bahá foresaw for it. You
may be sure the Guardian and the Bahá'ís everywhere will
do all in their power to help the German believers
accomplish their tasks.
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Please assure all the friends--especially those who have
lost dear ones in the war--of his most loving and ardent
prayers on their behalf, and of his feelings of pride and
gratitude for their devotion and loyalty to the Faith.
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To you all he sends his loving greetings, his deep
appreciation of your spirit, and the assurance of his
constant prayers....
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[From the Guardian:]
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Dearly-beloved friends:
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My heart is filled with joy, pride and gratitude as I
witness, thru the receipt of your most welcome letter, the
evidences of the protection of the Almighty and of the
vitality of the faith of the long-suffering German believers,
who have laboured so devotedly and valiantly during so
long and crucial a period and who as a community have
survived the greatest ordeal in the history of their Faith in
that land. My prayers during these years of danger, of
stress, of suspense and anxiety have ever surrounded them,
and I rejoice to learn of their safety, their unity, their zeal,
and their determination to arise and resume the great and
historic work they are destined to carry to a triumphant
conclusion in the years that lie ahead. The organization of
spiritual assemblies, the reestablishment of the national
assembly, the formation of national committees are the
immediate objectives, and should, if possible be carried out
with the utmost speed and vigour, for upon them will rest
the expansion and consolidation of the activities of a sorely-tried
Faith. I am appealing to various Bahá'í communities in
East and West to lend their assistance in whatever manner
possible to the arduous task of reconstruction that now
faces the German believers. I long to hear of the news of the
friends in other parts of that land and will do my utmost to
aid them to resume their activity and services to our beloved
Faith. Please assure them all of my great love, of my
profound admiration, of my bright hopes for their future, of
my heartfelt gratitude for their perseverance and of my
fervent prayers for their future success.
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Your true brother,
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Shoghi
Dec. 30th, 1945
Dear Bahá'í Friends:
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It was with great joy that the beloved Guardian received
your letter of Aug. 1st, and he has instructed me to answer it
on his behalf.
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During these long, sad, years of separation his thoughts
have constantly been with the well-loved German Bahá'ís,
and his ardent prayers have been offered in the Holy Shrines
for their protection and the protection of the Faith there.
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Now that the friends are once again free to profess their
beliefs, hold their meetings, teach the Cause, and uphold its
institutions, he hopes they will exert their utmost to
reestablish, as speedily as possible, the Bahá'í Communities
of Germany. The Faith in that land had, before it was
suppressed and banned, just began to enjoy the fruits of many
long years of labour to promulgate it, and create its
administrative bodies; he hopes that all the German Bahá'ís
will unite to bring it to the former level of prosperity it
enjoyed.
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He wishes to assure you all, and through you, all your
Bahá'í brothers and sisters in Germany, that he will do all in
his power to assist you in your labours, and that your
fellow-Bahá'ís the world over will likewise aid you as much
as they can.
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The beloved Master cherished very bright hopes for the
future of the German Bahá'ís. His promises and prophecies
will surely be fulfilled, and the Holy Faith not only be
reestablished in Germany but grow and expand as never
before.
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The Guardian has urged the American N.S.A. to supply
the German Bahá'ís with literature as soon as possible; this
will enable you to bring the teachings to your sore-stricken
countrymen, and enlist them under the banner of
Bahá'u'lláh.
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You may be sure the Guardian's loving prayers surround
you all and sustain you in your labours for the Cause....
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[From the Guardian:]
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Dearly-beloved Friends:
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Your joint and most welcome letter brought indescribable
joy to my heart. I am thrilled by this latest and indeed most
significant evidence of the unfailing protection of the
Almighty, and of His manifold blessings vouchsafed to His
dearly-beloved and worthy servants labouring so heroically
for His Faith in that land. Though I am greatly saddened by
the fate that has overtaken a few of them during this
prolonged ordeal they have experienced, I rejoice and am
filled with gratitude, pride and happiness to realize that the
Faith itself has survived this fiery test, and has demonstrated
its resilience, its vitality and incorruptibility after so crucial
a period of stress, of suffering and danger. The duty facing
the triumphant community in your land is to reconstruct,
with the utmost speed and vigour its administrative
institutions, and above all, its national assembly. I will
appeal to our brethren in East and West to offer every
assistance in their power for the rehabilitation of a
community which is destined to play, in accordance with
`Abdu'l-Bahá's prophecy, so vital a role in the future
orientation and expansion of the world-wide Faith of
Bahá'u'lláh. I will do everything I possibly can to help it in
its task and assist it in the achievement of its high destiny. I
will pray and supplicate on its behalf the abundant blessings
of the Almighty, that its influence may revive, its number
increase, its activities multiply, its resource develop, and its
mission be fulfilled.
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Your true and grateful brother,
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Shoghi
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