It is good for the Bahá'ís to learn that being a Bahá'í is
essentially an inner thing, or way of life, and not dependent on fixed
patterns. Important as our organized institutions are, they are not the Faith
itself. The strength of the Cause grows no matter how much disrupted its
activities may temporarily be. This we see over and over again, in lands where
the Faith has been temporarily banned; at times when the believers are
persecuted and even killed; where they are serving all along or scattered and
isolated...
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the Program
Committee of Geyserville, November 11, 1951: Bahá'í News, No.257, p.4, July
1952; compilation: ‘Lights of Guidance’)
