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Bahá'í Administration
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Pages 75-78
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Letter of January 16, 1925.
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1 |
To my dearly-beloved friends, the members of the American National
Spiritual Assembly.
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My dear and precious fellow-workers:
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3 |
The three communications dated November 19, November 22
and December 22, which I have recently received from that indefatigable
servant of Bahá'u'lláh, my esteemed spiritual brother, Mr.
Holley, have given me great satisfaction and have cheered and
sustained me in my work. I have read most carefully the minutes
of your December meeting and am particularly pleased to note in
many respects the notable advance you have made in establishing
the Cause upon a wider and surer foundation.
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4 |
With reference to the need, so often expressed, for an authentic
and comprehensive history of the Cause, I am glad to inform you
of the action contemplated by the National Spiritual Assembly of
Persia in instructing and urging the local Assemblies throughout
the country to take immediate steps for the formation in every
locality of a special committee which will seek the assistance and the
testimony of the remnants of the earliest believers and pioneers of
the Cause in Persia in collecting most carefully all available evidence
and data for the compilation of a comprehensive, reliable and representative
history of the Movement from its earliest dawn to the
present day. I have communicated with the National Assembly of
Persia, regarding this urgent and vital necessity, and I feel the time
is not far distant when a free rendering into English of this stirring
narrative as well as an abridged form of it will be made available
for both the Bahá'ís and the general public in the West.
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5 |
The efforts recently displayed by the Publishing Committee so
clearly reflected in the minutes of their meeting of November 2,
1924, a copy of which I have read with the closest attention, indicate
the efficiency, the zeal and the determination with which they are
conducting this vital branch of Bahá'í activity. The scope of their
effective work is expanding rapidly, and I wish to assure them one
and all of my prayers for the fruition of their labors and the further
development and consolidation of their work.
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6 |
There have been of late no fresh developments in the situation
of the House of Baghdád. The case, which is now before the court
of First Instance, has been postponed for some time and we still
await anxiously the decision of the court. Any hope of an immediate
and final solution of this intricate problem seems for the present
remote. In the event of our success the case may still be referred
by our powerful opponents to the Court of Appeal--the highest in
the land--and should its decision be in our favor the government
may at any time--as it does not seem unlikely--decide, by retaining
the keys in its custody, to postpone indefinitely the execution of such
a verdict in order to allay the fierce hostility of the clerical element
as well as the Shi'ite population of `Iráq.
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7 |
Should a crisis occur, I will immediately inform you and endeavor
to define more clearly any measure that I feel should be
taken by the American Assemblies to insure the security of the
House of Bahá'u'lláh.
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8 |
Regarding the publication of Bahá'í periodicals in America,
there is no doubt whatsoever that every individual Bahá'í is free to
inaugurate and conduct any magazine of his own provided that
nothing is published therein which in the estimation of the National
Assembly tends in the least to become detrimental or injurious to the
highest interests of the Cause. Within these limits, and these limits
only, private initiative should in no wise be discouraged and is indeed
highly praiseworthy. It is for the National Assembly, however, to
exercise its judgment as to what extent the resources at their disposal
enable them to aid financially the individual undertakings of
the friends. Should the response of the friends and Assemblies to
the appeals made on behalf of the National Fund be prompt, sustained
and generous, the National Assembly will, I am certain,
justify its sympathy, good-will and genuine cooperation with every
individual Bahá'í enterprise. I would, however, at this early state
of our work, strongly urge, nay entreat, the friends not to dissipate
their efforts, but to seek, after frank, mature and continuous deliberation,
to arrive at a common conclusion as to the most urgent
requirements and needs of the hour, and having unified their views
to strive to uphold and enforce them with promptitude, wholeheartedness
and understanding.
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9 |
The first printed issue of the National Assembly's News Letter
prepared and signed on behalf of the Assembly by its able secretary,
stands as a bright and eloquent testimony of his thoroughness, his
industry, his conspicuous ability, his undoubted self-sacrifice. The
Cause is entering upon a new era of renewed and concerted activity.
Its method of presentation has unmistakably improved, and this general
advancement in standard is in no small measure attributable to
the distinctive capacity of your Assembly. My constant prayer is
that He who watches over and inspires your manifold activities may
bless more richly than ever before your noble endeavors.
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10 |
With reference to the matter of meeting in the Foundation Hall
of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, I feel that the Foundation Hall should
serve the purpose both of devotional gatherings where the revealed
Word of God is read and chanted, and meetings at which subjects
strictly Bahá'í in character are presented, propounded and discussed.
I have no doubt that every conscientious and thoughtful Bahá'í will
scrupulously and at all times observe the commandment of Bahá'u'lláh
and the instructions of `Abdu'l-Bahá relative to the maintenance
of the sacredness, the dignity, and the universality of an edifice that
will in time become God's universal House of Worship.
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11 |
May the blessings of our Almighty Master rest upon your deliberations.
Your true brother,
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12 |
SHOGHI.
Haifa, Palestine,
January 16, 1925.
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