Ways of teaching the Faith - 2009: “two developments are occurring in all parts of the globe”: (1) “the practice of discussing the principles and precepts of the Faith in a general way”; (2) “the habit of conversing with friends and acquaintances on matters of spiritual import”

2009

Dear Bahá’í Friend,

Your email letter of 14 February 2009, in which you describe some concerns felt by members of your community regarding different ways of teaching the Faith, has been received by the Universal House of Justice. We have been asked to convey the following.

In your letter, you raise various questions relating to teaching, with reference to different opinions held by members of the Bahá’í community. As mentioned in the 2008 Ridván message, the friends everywhere are learning how best to apply a range of approaches and methods in sharing Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation, in keeping with the receptivity of their listeners. In this context, the House of Justice has been pleased to see that two developments are occurring in all parts of the globe, irrespective of the nature of the society in question.

First, the practice of discussing the principles and precepts of the Faith in a general way, which has resulted in a great many admirers of the Cause but few enrolments, is being complemented by an increasingly direct approach to sharing Bahá’u’lláh’s Message. More often than not, the friends have found the presentation of the Faith outlined in Book 6 of the Ruhi Institute most useful in this respect. It is clear, however, that those making such a presentation need to avoid the trap of reducing it merely to a series of points of information that are enumerated for the listener. Results worldwide leave little doubt that the heart of the listener is touched when the teacher understands the logic underlying the presentation and is prepared to offer it in its fullness. That so many believers who have been taught the Faith in this way have, through study of the courses of the institute, become active supporters of the Cause in their communities stands as ample testimony to the validity of the method. This development represents an important milestone, indeed, in the progress of the Faith.

The “station occupied by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the significance of His position in this holy Dispensation”

The only known color photograph
of Abdu’l-Bahá

An attempt I strongly feel should now be made to clarify our minds regarding the station occupied by ‘Abdu’l Bahá and the significance of His position in this holy Dispensation. It would be indeed difficult for us, who stand so close to such a tremendous figure and are drawn by the mysterious power of so magnetic a personality, to obtain a clear and exact understanding of the role and character of One Who, not only in the Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh but in the entire field of religious history, fulfills a unique function. Though moving in a sphere of His own and holding a rank radically different from that of the Author and the Forerunner of the Bahá’í Revelation, He, by virtue of the station ordained for Him through the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh, forms together with them what may be termed the Three Central Figures of a Faith that stands unapproached in the world’s spiritual history. He towers, in conjunction with them, above the destinies of this infant Faith of God from a level to which no individual or body ministering to its needs after Him, and for no less a period than a full thousand years, can ever hope to rise. To degrade His lofty rank by identifying His station with or by regarding it as roughly equivalent to, the position of those on whom the mantle of His authority has fallen would be an act of impiety as grave as the no less heretical belief that inclines to exalt Him to a state of absolute equality with either the central Figure or Forerunner of our Faith. For wide as is the gulf that separates ‘Abdu’l-Bahá from Him Who is the Source of an independent Revelation, it can never be regarded as commensurate with the greater distance that stands between Him Who is the Center of the Covenant and His ministers who are to carry on His work, whatever be their name, their rank, their functions or their future achievements. Let those who have known ‘Abdu’l Bahá, who through their contact with His magnetic personality have come to cherish for Him so fervent an admiration, reflect, in the light of this statement, on the greatness of One Who is so far above Him in station. 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Dispensation of Baha’u’llah; included in ‘The World Order of Baha’u’llah’)

Teaching and Training Institutes – background and the evolving process as of 1995

During the Nine Year Plan, [1964-1973] the Universal House of Justice called upon National Spiritual Assemblies in countries where large-scale expansion was taking place to establish teaching institutes to meet the deepening needs of the thousands who were entering the Faith. At that time, the emphasis was on acquiring a physical facility to which group after group of newly enrolled believers would be invited to attend deepening courses. Over the years, in conjunction with these institutes, and often independent of them, a number of courses—referred to, for example, as weekend institutes, five-day institutes, and nine-day institutes—were developed for the purpose of helping the friends gain an understanding of the fundamental verities of the Faith and arise to serve it. These efforts have contributed significantly to the enriching of the spiritual life of the believers and will undoubtedly continue in the future.

With the growth in the number of enrollments, it has become apparent that such occasional courses of instruction and the informal activities of community life, though important, are not sufficient as a means of human resource development, for they have resulted in only a relatively small band of active supporters of the Cause. These believers, no matter how dedicated, no matter how willing to make sacrifices, cannot attend to the needs of hundreds, much less thousands, of fledgling local communities. Systematic attention has to be given by Bahá’í institutions to training a significant number of believers and assisting them in serving the Cause according to their God-given talents and capacities.

The development of human resources on a large scale requires that the establishment of institutes be viewed in a new light. In many regions, it has become imperative to create institutes as organizational structures dedicated to systematic training. The purpose of such training is to endow ever-growing contingents of believers with the spiritual insights, the knowledge, and the skills needed to carry out the many tasks of accelerated expansion and consolidation, including the teaching and deepening of a large number of people—adults, youth and children. This purpose can best be achieved through well-organized, formal programs consisting of courses that follow appropriately designed curricula.

“one of the greatest divine wisdoms regarding the appearance of the holy Manifestations”

The divine friends must be attracted to and enamored of each other and ever be ready and willing to sacrifice their own lives for each other. Should one soul from amongst the believers meet another, it must be as though a thirsty one with parched lips has reached to the fountain of the water of life, or a lover has met his true beloved. For one of the greatest divine wisdoms regarding the appearance of the holy Manifestations is this: The souls may come to know each other and become intimate with each other; the power of the love of God may make all of them the waves of one sea, the flowers of one rose garden, and the stars of one heaven. This is the wisdom for the appearance of the holy Manifestations! When the most great bestowal reveals itself in the hearts of the believers, the world of nature will be transformed, the darkness of the contingent being will vanish, and heavenly illumination will be obtained. Then the whole world will become the Paradise of Abhá, every one of the believers of God will become a blessed tree, producing wonderful fruits. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Tablets of the Divine Plan’)

To “become distinguished in all the virtues of the human world”

‘Abdu’l-Bahá urges the friends to “become distinguished in all the virtues of the human world—

• for faithfulness and sincerity,
• for justice and fidelity,
• for firmness and steadfastness,
• for philanthropic deeds and service to the human world,
• for love toward every human being,
• for unity and accord with all people,
• for removing prejudices and promoting international peace.”

- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dared 23 December 2008, written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 2001-2022’)

The “salient features of a code of ethical conduct” that Bahá’u’lláh’s “indefatigable pen” revealed in “books, treatises and epistles” “to broaden the outlook and transform the character” of the Bábí community in Baghdad prior to His Declaration at Ridván

The House of Baha'u'llah in Baghdad
after restoration in early 1930s

The ascendancy achieved by Bahá’u’lláh was nowhere better demonstrated than in His ability to broaden the outlook and transform the character of the community to which He belonged. Though Himself nominally a Bábí, though the provisions of the Bayán were still regarded as binding and inviolable, He was able to inculcate a standard which, while not incompatible with its tenets, was ethically superior to the loftiest principles which the Bábí Dispensation had established.

• The salutary and fundamental truths advocated by the Báb, that had either been obscured, neglected or misrepresented, were moreover elucidated by Bahá’u’lláh, reaffirmed and instilled afresh into the corporate life of the community, and into the souls of the individuals who comprised it.
• The dissociation of the Bábí Faith from every form of political activity and from all secret associations and factions;
• the emphasis placed on the principle of non-violence;
• the necessity of strict obedience to established authority;
• the ban imposed on all forms of sedition, on back-biting, retaliation, and dispute;
• the stress laid on
• godliness,
• kindliness,
• humility and piety,
• on honesty and truthfulness,
• chastity and fidelity,
• on justice, toleration, sociability, amity and concord,
• on the acquisition of arts and sciences,
• on self-sacrifice and detachment,
• on patience, steadfastness and resignation to the will of God—

all these constitute the salient features of a code of ethical conduct to which the books, treatises and epistles, revealed during those years, by the indefatigable pen of Bahá’u’lláh, unmistakably bear witness. 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘God Passes By’)

The Master defines “the attributes of the sincere” and “the truthful”

Wherefore, O my loving friends! Consort with all the peoples, kindreds and religions of the world with the utmost truthfulness, uprightness, faithfulness, kindliness, good-will and friendliness; that all the world of being may be filled with the holy ecstasy of the grace of Bahá, that ignorance, enmity, hate and rancor may vanish from the world and the darkness of estrangement amidst the peoples and kindreds of the world may give way to the Light of Unity. Should other peoples and nations be unfaithful to you show your fidelity unto them, should they be unjust toward you show justice towards them, should they keep aloof from you attract them to yourself, should they show their enmity be friendly towards them, should they poison your lives sweeten their souls, should they inflict a wound upon you be a salve to their sores. Such are the attributes of the sincere! Such are the attributes of the truthful. 

- ‘Abdu'l-Bahá ('The Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá') 

“The darkness of this gloomy night shall pass away. Again the Sun of Reality will dawn from the horizon of the hearts.” – words attributed to ‘Abdu’l-Baha

The darkness of this gloomy night shall pass away. Again the Sun of Reality will dawn from the horizon of the hearts. Have patience—wait, but do not sit idle; work while you are waiting; smile while you are wearied with monotony; be firm while everything around you is being shaken; be joyous while the ugly face of despair grins at you; speak aloud while the malevolent forces of the nether world try to crush your mind; be valiant and courageous while men all around you are cringing with fear and cowardice. Do not yield to the overwhelming power of tyranny and despotism. Serve the cause of democracy and freedom. Continue your journey to the end. The bright day is coming. The nucleus of the new race is forming. The harbinger of the new ideals of international justice is appearing. The trees of hope will become verdant; the copper of scorn and derision will be transmuted into the gold of honor and praise; the arid desert of ignorance will be transformed into the luxuriant garden of knowledge, the threatening clouds shall be dispelled and the stars of faith and charity will again twinkle in the clear heaven of human consciousness. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (Words of 'Abdu'l-Baha recorded by Ahmad Sohrab, one of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá's secretaries and translators from 1912 to 1919; received by Alfred E. Lunt in a letter from the Holy Land; Star of the West, volume 9, no. 13, November 4, 1918)

National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Central and East Africa 1962-1963

(The Baha'i World 1954-1963)

Introducing a new site: Baha'i Holy Days: - Readings, Poems, Music, Photos, and Historical Information

A start of a gradual process of posting sample references concerning such precious days from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, as well as from the letters of Shoghi Effendi, and the House of Justice. The references will be brief, intended to be of assistance for possible inclusion in commemorating such anniversaries. Additional media from other sources  - history, poems, music, videos, excerpts from talks, etc. - may also be included as appropriate. New resources will be posted about 10 days before each anniversary.

“’the society building power’ of the Faith”

“the work of not only this generation, but of many generations to come”

Bahá’u’lláh States that “the purpose for which mortal men have, from utter nothingness, stepped into the realm of being, is that they may work for the betterment of the world and live together in concord and harmony.” He has revealed teachings that make this possible. Building a society that consciously pursues this collective purpose is the work of not only this generation, but of many generations to come, and Bahá’u’lláh’s followers welcome all who labour alongside them in this undertaking.

• It means learning how to raise up vibrant, outward-looking communities;
• it means those communities learning how to bring about spiritual and material progress;
• it means learning how to contribute to the discourses that influence the direction of that progress.
• These areas of endeavour are, naturally, familiar ones. Seen from one perspective, they are quite distinct, each having its own characteristics and imperatives.
• Yet they all represent ways of awakening the energies latent in the human soul and channelling them towards the betterment of society.
• Together, they are means of releasing what the Guardian described as “the society building power” of the Faith.
• This inherent power possessed by the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh is visible even in the fledgling efforts of a Bahá’í community learning to serve humanity and promote the Word of God.

And though the world society foreshadowed in His Revelation is of course far distant, communities that are earnestly learning to apply His teachings to their social reality abound. How immensely blessed are those souls who, alive to the greatness of this Day and the significance of their actions, strive for the emergence of a society shaped by the divine teachings. 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a message dated 31 December, 2021; online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

Happening as of 2021: “places within a cluster where the society-building power of the Faith is at its most visible”

One’s growth and development in the world of the womb is a metaphoric reminder of the acquisition of virtues to be gained in this life for the next: - ‘Abdu’l-Baha explains

Although a human being acquireth the faculties of sight, hearing, smell, and other human powers, feelings, and perfections in the world of the womb, in that world the means and capacity do not exist for these gifts to be manifested. Indeed, it is in no wise possible for sight or hearing to become evident in the womb. But when the child passeth from the narrow confines of the mother’s womb into this vast and bright world, its eyes will see, its ears will hear, its tongue will speak, and its perfections will become apparent and manifest. It will then know of a certainty—nay, clearly witness—that all these gifts were acquired and obtained in the dark world of the womb, but that world lacked the capacity to disclose these secrets. Indeed, the unborn child itself was utterly unaware of these gifts. Even if Gabriel had descended upon it and informed it that it had been favoured with such grace and bounty in that dark and confined place, the child would have rejected and denied it. Now, in like manner, with regard to the bounties, blessings, gifts, and favours that have been bestowed upon holy souls in this world and the perfections which they have acquired, this world doth not possess the capacity to disclose them. But when those souls pass to the other worlds of God, that supreme bounty will be unveiled and that great mercy will reveal its beauty. Likewise, if a fetus is deprived of these gifts, its deprivation becometh apparent and manifest after its birth. Similarly, the deprivation and deficiencies of wayward souls will also become clear and evident after they have passed away from this world. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a Tablet; Additional Tablets, Extracts and Talks; online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

What humanity will witness during the Formative and Golden Ages of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh

 During this Formative Age of the Faith, and in the course of present and succeeding epochs,

• the last and crowning stage in the erection of the framework of the Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh -- the election of the Universal House of Justice -- will have been completed,
• the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the Mother-Book of His Revelation, will have been codified and its laws promulgated,
• the Lesser Peace will have been established,
• the unity of mankind will have been achieved and its maturity attained,
• the Plan conceived by 'Abdu'l-Bahá will have been executed,
• the emancipation of the Faith from the fetters of religious orthodoxy will have been effected, and its independent religious status will have been universally recognized,

whilst in the course of the Golden Age, destined to consummate the Dispensation itself,

• the banner of the Most Great Peace, promised by its Author, will have been unfurled,
• the World Bahá'í Commonwealth will have emerged in the plenitude of its power and splendor,
• and the birth and efflorescence of a world civilization, the child of that Peace, will have conferred its inestimable blessings upon all mankind. 

- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 5 June 1947’, ‘Citadel of Faith: Messages to America 1947-1957’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, The Significance of the Formative Age of Our Faith)

1995: Release of The Prosperity of Humankind

23 January 1995

To the National spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá ís throughout the world

Dear Friends,

As the twentieth century rapidly approaches its end, there is a marked acceleration in the efforts of governments and peoples to reach common understandings on issues affecting the future of humankind. The 1992 Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro, the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, the forthcoming March 1995 World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen, to be followed in September by the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, are conspicuous indications of this acceleration. These events are as capstones to the myriad activities taking place in different parts of the world involving a wide range of nongovernmental organizations and networks in an urgent search for values, ideas and practical measures that can advance prospects for the peaceful development of all peoples. In this endeavor can be discerned the gathering momentum of an emerging unity of thought in world undertakings, the realization of which our sacred scriptures describe as one of the lights of unity that will illumine the path to peace. The Bahá’ís around the world are, of course, heartened by such hopeful trends and will continue increasingly to lend moral and practical support to them as opportunities allow.

In view of the intensive attention being given to the issues of social and economic development since the Earth Summit in Brazil, we requested the Bahá’í International Community’s Office of Public Information to prepare a statement on the concept of global prosperity in the context of the Bahá'í Teachings. This statement is now ready for distribution. We are therefore very pleased to send each of you herewith a copy of The Prosperity of Humankind and to commend it to your use as you pursue activities that enable you to interact with governments, organizations, and people everywhere.

Our confident hope is that the statement will assist you to foster understanding of this important topic among the members of your communities and thus vitalize their contribution to the constructive social processes at work throughout the planet.

With loving Bahá’í greetings,

The Universal House of Justice

(‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001’)

2002: Emergence of a New Culture

The culture now emerging is one in which groups of Bahá'u'lláh's followers explore together the truths in His Teachings, freely open their study circles, devotional gatherings and children's classes to their friends and neighbours, and invest their efforts confidently in plans of action designed at the level of the cluster, that makes growth a manageable goal. The enthusiasm with which Bahá'í communities in most parts of the world are responding to this challenge, and the results their efforts are beginning to garner have been a source of great joy to the House of Justice.

…Where Bahá'í communities are unable to free themselves from an orientation to Bahá'í life that has long outlived whatever value it once possessed, the teaching work will lack both the systematic character it requires, and the spirit that must animate all effective service to the Cause. To mistakenly identify Bahá'í community life with the mode of religious activity that characterizes the general society--in which the believer is a member of a congregation, leadership comes from an individual or individuals presumed to be qualified for the purpose, and personal participation is fitted into a schedule dominated by concerns of a very different nature--can only have the effect of marginalizing the Faith and robbing the community of the spiritual vitality available to it.

As you are certainly aware, the Four Year Plan, the Twelve Month Plan and the current Five Year Plan have been designed as progressive steps in achieving this change of Bahá'í culture. 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated 22 August 2002, written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer; Messages from the Universal House of Justice 2001-2022)

Introducing a site: Messages from the Universal House of Justice to Individual Believers in Response to Questions

138 messages with descriptive headings have been posted as of 17 March 2026.

See a list of descriptive headings for 51 of those messages between 1966 to 1988.

Additional lists and more messages will continue to be added to the site.

What happens when “the light of religion is quenched in men’s hearts and the divinely appointed Robe, designed to adorn the human temple, is deliberately discarded”

 No wonder, therefore, that when, as a result of human perversity, the light of religion is quenched in men’s hearts, and the divinely appointed Robe, designed to adorn the human temple, is deliberately discarded,

• a deplorable decline in the fortunes of humanity immediately sets in,
• bringing in its wake all the evils which a wayward soul is capable of revealing.
• The perversion of human nature,
• the degradation of human conduct,
• the corruption and dissolution of human institutions, reveal themselves, under such circumstances, in their worst and most revolting aspects.
• Human character is debased,
• confidence is shaken,
• the nerves of discipline are relaxed,
• the voice of human conscience is stilled,
• the sense of decency and shame is obscured,
• conceptions of duty, of solidarity, of reciprocity and loyalty are distorted, and
• the very feeling of peacefulness, of joy and of hope is gradually extinguished. 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Unfoldment of World Civilization’)

Development and Role of Local Spiritual Assembly During the Nine Year Plan - Guidance from the Universal House of Justice

A compilation of excerpts from messages dated December 31,2025, December 30, 2021, and December 28, 2010

pdf downloadable

‘Abdu’l-Baha lived in deed and truth the kind of life that Jesus of Nazareth led and bade His followers to lead

To live today in deed and truth the kind of life that Jesus of Nazareth led and bade His followers lead; to love God wholeheartedly, and for God’s sake to love all mankind, even one’s slanderers and enemies; to give consistently good for evil, blessings for curses, kindness for cruelty and, through a career darkened along its entire length by tragic misrepresentation and persecution, to preserve one’s courage, one’s sweetness and calm faith in God - to do all this and yet to play the man in a world of men, sharing at home and in business the common life of humanity, administering when occasion arose affairs large and small and handling complex situations with foresight and firmness — to live in such a manner throughout a long and arduous life, and when, in the fullness of time, death came, to leave to multitudes of mourners a sense of desolation and to be remembered and loved by them all as the servant of God - to how many men is such an achievement given as it has been given in this age of ours to ‘Abdu’l-Baha? 

- George Townshend (Hand of the Cause of God [Sometime Cannon of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland]; World Order magazine, October 1936)