We urge you ever to bear in mind that the purpose of Bahá'í
administration is primarily to lend strength and directive to the teaching work
and to promote the establishment of the Faith. It should never be regarded as
an end in itself but purely as a means to canalize and make effective a
spiritual vitality generated by the Word of God in the hearts of the believers.
- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter to the National Spiritual
Assembly of Australia, November 12, 1973; Compilation: ‘Lights of Guidance’)