National and Local Temples called for by the Universal House of Justice in 2012 Ridvan Message

National and Local Temples called for by the Universal House of Justice in 2012 Ridvan Message (The American Baha'i, May-June 2013)

'Abdu'l-Baha counsels us to ”manifest such attributes and ethical conduct as to embody and personify the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh.”

… in this cycle of Bahá'u'lláh verbal confessions and acknowledgements, literal faith and certainty and external relations are of no avail. Nay, rather, the beloved of God and the maid-servants of the Merciful must manifest such attributes and ethical conduct as to embody and personify the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh. They must promulgate the law of the Kingdom with deeds and not words. Thus may they become the quintessence of being, the signs of the Kingdom of God, standards of the Supreme Concourse. May ye be salutary water for the thirsty, an evidence of guidance for the seeker, protection and support for the helpless, a shelter and home for the wanderers, the treasury of the Kingdom for the poor; the source of hope and happiness for the disappointed; the remedy of the heart and soul for the ailing. May you manifest the utmost of kindness to the human race; to weep with him who mourneth and to laugh with him who rejoiceth; sympathizing with the helpless; in communion with the wanderer; a friend to the friend and foe. (‘Abdu'l-Baha, Star of the West, vol. 1, no. 4, May 17, 1910)

Shoghi Effendi, before his appointment as Guardian

Shoghi Effendi, before his appointment as Guardian, at his small typewriter on the balcony of the room he occupied next to that of 'Abdu'l-Baha. (The Baha’i World 1996-1997)

The condition of those who belong to the Kingdom …

A Western Baha’i lady once asked Haji Mirza Haydar-‘Ali why the Bahá'ís all looked so happy (she was thinking especially of the radiant joy in his face). He replied, "Sometimes we have surface troubles, but that cannot touch our happiness. The hearts of those who belong to the Kingdom are like the sea. When the wind is rough it troubles the surface of the water; but two meters down there is perfect calmness." (The Baha’i Magazine (Star of the West), vol. 22, no. 8, November 1931)

Hands of the Cause Paul Haney and Enoch Olinga with Baha'i friends

Hands of the Cause Paul Haney and Enoch Olinga in a gathering with Baha'is

One’s “bad morals and misconduct” would bring “calamities”!

Calamities are of two kinds. One kind results from bad morals and misconduct such as falsehood, dishonesty, treachery, cruelty and the like. Surely, misdeeds bring forth evil consequences. The other kind is the result of the exigencies of the contingent world, of consummate divine law, and of universal relationships, and is that which is bound to happen, as, for instance, changes, alterations, life and death. It is impossible that a tree should not wither or that life should not end in death. (‘Abdu’l-Baha, from a talk, New York, July 16, 1912; ‘Mahmud’s Diary’)