He was very sorry to hear that you have had so many tests in
your Bahá'í life. There is no doubt that many of them are due to our own
nature. In other words, if we are very sensitive, or if we are in some way
brought up in a different environment from the Bahá'ís amongst whom we live, we
naturally see things differently and may feel them more acutely; and the other
side of it is that the imperfections of our fellow-Bahá'ís can be a great trial
to us.
We must always remember that in the cesspool of materialism,
Bahá'ís - that is some of them - are still to a certain extent affected by the
society from which they have sprung. In other words, they have recognized the
Manifestation of God, but they have not been believers long enough, or perhaps
tried hard enough, to become 'a new creation'.
All we can do in such cases is to do our duty; and the
Guardian feels very strongly that your duty is towards Bahá'u'lláh and the
Faith you love so dearly; and certainly is not to take the weaker course and
sever yourself from the Bahá'í Community.
He feels that, if you close your eyes to the failings of
others, and fix your love and prayers upon Bahá'u'lláh, you will have the
strength to weather this storm, and will be much better for it in the end,
spiritually. Although you suffer, you will gain a maturity that will enable you
to be of greater help to both your fellow-Bahá'ís and your children.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a
letter dated 5 April 1956 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual
believer; quoted by the universal House of Justice in a letter dated 22 July
1981 written on it behalf to an individual believer; compilation: ‘Removal of
Administrative Rights’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal
House of Justice, 1993)
