1919: A group of Western pilgrims with some local Baha'is in the Garden of Ridvan near Akka

A group of Western pilgrims with some local Baha'is in the Garden of Ridvan, near Akka, 1919

Becoming “imbued with the spirit and truths of the Bahá'í Writings”

Your accomplishments have prepared the way for even more spectacular successes in the years immediately ahead. Now as never before should you strive mightily to free yourselves from the obstacles of apathy, attachment to worldly pursuits, and lethargy, which stand in the way of so glorious a realization. As the people around you yearn increasingly for a society in which rectitude of conduct prevails, which is animated by a nobility of moral behaviour, and in which the diverse races are firmly united, your challenge is to demonstrate the efficacy of the Message of Bahá'u'lláh in ministering to their needs and in recreating the very foundation of individual and social life. The whole of North America stands in desperate need of the inspiring vision, the dynamic sense of purpose and the idealism, which can be provided only by those who are imbued with the spirit and truths of the Bahá'í Writings. (The Universal House of Justice, Ridvan 153, 1996 - To the Followers of Bahá'u'lláh in North America: Alaska, Canada, Greenland and the United States)

To imbue: To inspire or influence thoroughly

Calligraphic arrangement of part of the opening sentence of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Baha

Calligraphic arrangement of part of the opening sentence of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Baha: 'All Praise to Him Who, by the Sheild of His Covenant, hath gaurded the Temple of His Cause'. (The Baha'i World 1976-1979)

The “human world will adapt itself to a new social form” as a result of the “manifestation of spiritual forces” brought forth by Baha’u’llah

Still today, can anyone claim to have glimpsed anything but an intimation, distant and indistinct, of the future society to which the Revelation of Baha'u'llah is destined to give rise? For let none suppose that the civilization towards which the divine teachings impel humankind will follow merely from adjustments to the present order. Far from it. In a talk delivered some days after He laid the cornerstone of the Mother Temple of the West, 'Abdu'l-Baha stated that "among the results of the manifestation of spiritual forces will be that the human world will adapt itself to a new social form," that "the justice of God will become manifest throughout human affairs". These, and countless other utterances of the Master to which the Baha'i community is turning time and again in this centennial period, raise awareness of the distance that separates society as it is now arranged from the stupendous vision His Father gifted to the world. (The Universal House of Justice, Ridvan 2012 message to the Baha’is of the world)

1989: The "Peace Chariot"

1989: The Baha'i Mobile Deepening Institute in the State of Uttar Pradesh, India, is drawn from village to village on a bullock cart. The Institute has become known as 'The Shati-Rath' (Peace Chariot). (Baha'i News, December 1989)

Baha’u’llah identifies “the highest and most laudable” virtues that each human being should strive for

• “trustworthiness,”
• “truthfulness,”
• “purity of heart while communing with God,”
• “forbearance,”
• “resignation to whatever the Almighty hath decreed,”
• “contentment with the things His Will hath provided,”
• “patience, nay, thankfulness in the midst of tribulation, and”
• “complete reliance, in all circumstances, upon Him[God]”

Evidences of “moral decadence, invading both the East and the West …”

Not only must irreligion and its monstrous offspring, the triple curse that oppresses the soul of mankind in this day, be held responsible for the ills which are so tragically besetting it, but other evils and vices, which are, for the most part, the direct consequences of the "weakening of the pillars of religion," must also be regarded as contributory factors to the manifold guilt of which individuals and nations stand convicted. The signs of moral downfall, consequent to the dethronement of religion and the enthronement of these usurping idols, are too numerous and too patent for even a superficial observer of the state of present-day society to fail to notice. The spread of lawlessness, of drunkenness, of gambling, and of crime; the inordinate love of pleasure, of riches, and other earthly vanities; the laxity in morals, revealing itself in the irresponsible attitude towards marriage, in the weakening of parental control, in the rising tide of divorce, in the deterioration in the standard of literature and of the press, and in the advocacy of theories that are the very negation of purity, of morality and chastity — these evidences of moral decadence, invading both the East and the West, permeating every stratum of society, and instilling their poison in its members of both sexes, young and old alike, blacken still further the scroll upon which are inscribed the manifold transgressions of an unrepentant humanity. (Shoghi Effendi, "The Promised Day is Come", The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Divorce)

A “dynamic coherence between the spiritual and practical requirements of life on earth” -- Mashriqu’l-Adhkar and its dependencies

The oneness of mankind, which is at once the operating principle and the ultimate goal of His Revelation, implies the achievement of a dynamic coherence between the spiritual and practical requirements of life on earth. The indispensability of this coherence is unmistakably illustrated in His ordination of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkar, the spiritual centre of every Baha’i community round which must flourish dependencies dedicated to the social, humanitarian, educational and scientific advancement of mankind. (The Universal House of Justice, ‘Letter to the Baha’is of the World,’ Haifa, Israel, October 20, 1983)

Baha’u’llah identifies “the king of all acts”

The first and foremost duty prescribed unto men, next to the recognition of Him Who is the Eternal Truth, is the duty of steadfastness in His Cause. Cleave thou unto it, and be of them whose minds are firmly fixed and grounded in God. No act, however meritorious, did or can ever compare unto it. It is the king of all acts, and to this thy Lord, the All-Highest, the Most Powerful, will testify.... (Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah)

Some praiseworthy qualities exhibited by Baha’i youth -- identified by the Universal House of Justice

• zeal,
• enthusiasm,
• steadfastness,
• devotion,
• good character,
• selfless service, and
• determined effort

(Extracted from a message dated 9, 1968 from the Universal House of Justice to the “Baha’i Youth in every Land”; Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986) (To read the entire message please visit Messages to the Baha'i World Community - by the Universal House of Justice)

International Deputization Fund can be used on national level

We announced at the Conference that the International Deputization Fund, so far used to aid pioneering and travel teaching on an international level, will henceforth be available to assist such projects on the national level in those areas where support is vitally important to the winning of the goals of the Nine Year Plan. (The Universal House of Justice, 8 September 1968 To the Bahá'ís of the world, Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986, pp. 140-141)

Haifa 1928 -- Looking up Carmel Ave. toward the Shrine of the Bab

Haifa 1928: looking up Carmel Ave. toward the Shrine of the Bab. (Star of the West, vol. 19, no. 3, June 1928) 

In the Bahá'í Faith “marriage, and family life, in particular”, are viewed as “a social function of highest and indeed vital importance”

He has noted the question you had asked concerning the problem of marriage, and its infrequency among the believers in general. It is indeed a matter of deep regret to him that some of our young believers do not attach due importance to the question of marriage, and seem, as you state, to be under the impression that marital life has been discouraged in the Cause. This is certainly an erroneous conception, and whosoever takes the pain to carefully and intelligently read the words of Bahá'u'lláh, and to ponder over their implications, cannot but be convinced of the truth that in the Bahá'í Faith marriage, and family life, in particular, are both not only commendable, but constitute a social function of highest and indeed vital importance, as through them alone the human race is perpetuated.

The believers should well know that whereas Bahá'u'lláh has not made marriage a binding obligation, He has nevertheless attributed to it such spiritual and social significance as no individual believer, under normal circumstances, can well be justified in disregarding it. In fact, in His Book of Laws (the "Kitáb-i-Aqdas") He emphatically stresses its importance, and defines its essential purpose, namely the procreation of children and their training in the Religion of God, that they may know and adore Him, and mention and praise His Name. (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, dated 17 February 1940; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Preserving Baha’i Marriages)

How to “derive fresh inspiration and added sustenance” as we labor for the Cause

To strive to obtain a more adequate understanding of the significance of Bahá’u’lláh’s stupendous Revelation must, it is my unalterable conviction, remain the first obligation and the object of the constant endeavor of each one of its loyal adherents. An exact and thorough comprehension of so vast a system, so sublime a revelation, so sacred a trust, is for obvious reasons beyond the reach and ken of our finite minds. We can, however, and it is our bounden duty to seek to derive fresh inspiration and added sustenance as we labor for the propagation of His Faith through a clearer apprehension of the truths it enshrines and the principles on which it is based. (Shoghi Effendi, ‘The Dispensation of Baha’u’llah)

How we can increase our “ability and capacity”

During thy supplications to God and thy reciting, “Thy Name is my healing," consider how thine heart is cheered, thy soul delighted by the spirit of the love of God, and thy mind attracted to the Kingdom of God! By these attractions one's ability and capacity increase. When the vessel is enlarged the water increases, and when the thirst grows the bounty of the cloud becomes agreeable to the taste of man. This is the mystery of supplication and the wisdom of stating one's wants. (‘Abdu’l-Baha, quoted by J.E. Esslemont in ‘Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era’; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. II, The Importance of Prayer, Meditation and the Devotional Attitude)

Fifth Continental Indegenous Council, South Dakota, USA, August 1-5, 1988

Counsellors Jacqueline Delahunt (left) and Lauretta King congratulate Lakota hoop dancer Dallas Chief Eagle, who declared his belief in Baha'u'llah shortly after performing at the fifth Continental Indegenous Council which was held in South Dakota, USA, during August 1-5, 1988. 

Lua presented a petition to the Shah of Persia in 1902

Lua Getsinger (sitting) with Mariam Haney in Paris in 1902, when Lua presented a petition to the Shah of Persia pleading the cause of the persecuted Baha'is in that country.

The “most distinctive feature of the Bahá'í Dispensation” – the “twofold station ordained for the Báb by the Almighty”

There can be no doubt that the claim to the twofold station ordained for the Báb by the Almighty, a claim which He Himself has so boldly advanced, which Bahá'u'lláh has repeatedly affirmed, and to which the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá has finally given the sanction of its testimony, constitutes the most distinctive feature of the Bahá'í Dispensation. It is a further evidence of its uniqueness, a tremendous accession to the strength, to the mysterious power and authority with which this holy cycle has been invested. Indeed the greatness of the Báb consists primarily, not in His being the divinely-appointed Forerunner of so transcendent a Revelation, but rather in His having been invested with the powers inherent in the inaugurator of a separate religious Dispensation, and in His wielding, to a degree unrivaled by the Messengers gone before Him, the scepter of independent Prophethood. (Shoghi Effendi, ‘The Dispensation of Baha'u'llah)

Becoming aware of an amazing spiritual principle: how a small number of believers could have an “influence over all the earth”

One consecrated soul is preferable to a thousand other souls. If a small number of people gather lovingly together, with absolute purity and sanctity, with their hearts free of the world, experiencing the emotions of the Kingdom and the powerful magnetic forces of the Divine, and being at one in their happy fellowship, that gathering will exert its influence over all the earth. The nature of that band of people, the words they speak, the deeds they do, will unleash the bestowals of Heaven, and provide a foretaste of eternal bliss. The hosts of the Company on high will defend them, and the angels of the Abhá Paradise, in continuous succession, will come down to their aid. (‘Abdu’l-Baha, ‘Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá’; compilation: ‘Baha’i Meetings’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice)