Persecution in the West

      
". . . the friends in the West will unquestionably have their share of the calamities befalling the friends in the East. It is inevitable that, walking the pathway of Baha’u’llah, they too will become targets for persecution by the oppressors.” ('AbdullBaha , Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu'l-Baha, p. 238)

"It was not mere physical torture that the friends in Persia had to endure but also moral persecution for they were cursed and vilified by all the people, especially when they ceased to defend themselves.. . the Master used to say sometimes that the western friends will be severely persecuted but theirs will be primarily moral. . .” (From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian, October 22, 1 930; Unfolding Destiny, p. 425)

". . . how often we seem to forget the clear and repeated warnings of our beloved Master, who, in particular during the concluding years of His mission on earth, laid stress on the "severe mental tests that would inevitably sweep over His loved ones of the West -- tests that would purge and prepare them for their noble mission in life." (The Guardian; Baha'i Administration, p. 50)

“ . . . the Guardian feels sure that, whatever happens, and whatever attacks are made upon the Faith and its pioneers, the net result cannot but be good for us in the long run, and can only serve to hasten the spread of the Cause. (From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian, June 4, 1 953; Unfolding Destiny, p. 301)