Letter of 10 July 1937
10 July 1937
Dear Mr. Hofman,
I am charged by our beloved Guardian to acknowledge the receipt of your
communications of May 3rd and 29th written on behalf of the British N.S.A.
The enclosed copy of the Annual Report, as well as the minutes of the
N.S.A. meeting of the 13th May have also reached him and he has read their
contents with deepest satisfaction.
With regard to your Assembly's request for permission to publish in the
"Baha'i Journal" an extract from his letter of April 24th addressed to
Miss Baxter, he wishes you to assure your fellow members of his approval
of their request.
With his loving Baha'i greetings and with his renewed and abiding
appreciation of your labours for the Cause....
[From the Guardian:]
Dear and valued co-worker,
Your letter of June 24th has also been received. I feel the urge to add
these few words in person in order to assure you afresh of my deep
appreciation of the remarkable spirit of constancy, devotion and loyalty
which you and your fellow workers, in both the teaching and administrative
spheres of Baha'i service are ably and continually manifesting. My heart
overflows with unspeakable gratitude. I will continue to pray for all of
you from the depths of my heart.
Shoghi
Letter of 7 September 1937
7 September 1937
Dear Baha'i Brother,
On behalf of our beloved Guardian I acknowledge with thanks the receipt of
your letter of the 17th August enclosing the minutes of the meeting of the
British N.S.A. held at the Summer School on August 8th....
[From the Guardian:]
May the Beloved bless your persistent efforts and enable you to
consolidate still further the manifold interests of the Faith of God.
Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi
Letter of 16 November 1937
16 November 1937
Beloved Baha'i Brother,
I am charged by the Guardian to acknowledge the receipt of your
communications of September 26th and November 6th with enclosures, all of
which he has read with deepest interest and appreciation.
He very much regrets indeed the departure of Mrs. Bishop and Madame Orlova
from England, as the services they rendered all through their stay in that
country have been truly outstanding. The teaching force, in particular,
will feel the loss of these two of its most capable and promising
supporters. Every effort should now be exerted by the N.S.A. however, to
carry on the teaching work through every means possible, and every
believer should be made to realise that he has an added and most grave
responsibility to shoulder in this matter.
The Guardian has also learned with deep regret of ... resignation from the
membership of the N.S.A. and trusts that the new member who will be
elected to replace her will be able to contribute as much as she did to
the growth and further consolidations of the National Assembly.
He will continue to pray for the confirmation and guidance of all the
members, that they may befittingly discharge their manifold and weighty
obligations toward the Faith throughout the British Isles.
With his loving greetings and deepest appreciation of your efforts....
[From the Guardian:]
Wishing you the fullest success in the efforts which you are exerting in
conjunction with the believers for the protection, the promotion, and the
consolidation of the Cause of God.
Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi
Letter of 22 April 1938 (Convention)
22 April 1938 (Convention)
DEEPEST LOVING APPRECIATION FERVENT SUPPLICATION SUCCESS DELIBERATIONS.
SHOGHI
Letter of 24 April 1938 (Convention)
24 April 1938 (Convention)
DELIGHTED URGE INCOMING NATIONAL ASSEMBLY PERSEVERANCE SUBORDINATE ALL
ACTIVITIES TEACHING OBJECTIVE.
SHOGHI
Letter of 28 April 1938
28 April 1938
BAHA'I WORLD MOURNS LOSS HOLY MOTHER MUNIRIH _KH_ANUM STOP RIDVAN
FESTIVITIES SUSPENDED. ADVISE ALL CENTRES HOLD MEMORIAL GATHERINGS
COMMEMORATE HER OUTSTANDING SERVICES RENDERED DURING ONE OF MOST CRITICAL
STAGES IN EVOLUTION BELOVED FAITH.
SHOGHI
Letter of 17 May 1938
17 May 1938
Dear Mr. Hofman,
I am instructed to acknowledge the receipt of your communications
addressed to our beloved Guardian dated December 24th, January 10th,
February 13th and March 22nd together with the enclosed minutes of the
meetings of the British N.S.A., as well as the copies of the "Baha'i
Journal", all of which he has read with closest attention and keenest
interest.
He has noted with gratification that the Teaching Conference held in
Manchester during last December was successful, and that the meetings were
all pervaded with a spirit of unity and of fellowship. He has read with
deep satisfaction the report of the above Conference which you had sent,
and indeed trusts that the decision and plans that have been adopted will,
through their faithful application in the course of this year, serve to
greatly accelerate the expansion of the teaching work throughout the
British Isles....
P.S. Shoghi Effendi has just received your letter of May 16th and wishes
your Assembly to make strenuous efforts in connection with the
incorporation of the N.S.A. He would advise you to approach Lady
Blomfield, Major Tudor-Pole and Lord Lamington.
The Guardian wishes me to inform you that you have been appointed by him a
member of the International staff of editors of the "Baha'i World". He
wishes you to start from now collecting the necessary material for the
next edition and to send them gradually and directly to Mrs. French.
[From the Guardian:]
Dear and valued co-worker,
I greatly welcome the determination of the English believers to
concentrate their energies on the teaching work, and I pray from all my
heart for the success of their high endeavours in this all-important field
of Baha'i service. Individuals as well as local Assemblies must arise and
co-operate and persevere and refuse to allow any obstacle, however
formidable, to dim their hopes or to deflect them from the course they
have so spontaneously chosen to pursue. Kindly assure them of my constant
prayers for their success.
Shoghi
Letter of 30 June 1938
30 June 1938
Dear Baha'i Brother,
I am instructed by the Guardian to acknowledge the receipt of your
communication dated May 31st, enclosing two copies of the newly published
booklet prepared by the British N.S.A. for teaching purposes, and also the
latest issue of the "Baha'i Journal", and the report of the Convention
proceedings for this year.
He has read with keenest interest and with deep gratification the Annual
Report of your Assembly and has been very much impressed indeed by its
comprehensiveness, and by your ability in presenting the facts in such a
lucid and effective language. He has sent the text to Mr. Holley for
reproduction in the next "Baha'i World", as an appendix to the
International Survey of activities.
Although the range of Baha'i activities throughout Great Britain during
this past year has been considerably restricted as a result of the
departure of many travelling and visiting Baha'i teachers, yet the fact
that the friends were, in spite of that and other handicaps, able to
maintain the course of their activities constitutes a clear evidence that
the English Baha'i Community is at last able to stand on its own feet, and
has sufficient resources, both moral and material, to enable it to carry
on, without any external help, the heavy task that has been committed to
its charge.
The Guardian wishes you to assure your fellow members on the N.S.A. and
through them the friends throughout Great Britain, of his fervent prayers
that throughout the course of this new year they may evince such a unity,
zeal and renewed consecration to their task as to further demonstrate the
strength of their position as a self-supporting and ever-growing national
Baha'i community....
[From the Guardian:]
Wishing you and your dear co-workers the utmost success in your high and
meritorious endeavours,
Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi October 1938 (Third Summer School) ASSURE YOU PRAYERS HEARTILY
RECIPROCATE GREETINGS.
SHOGHI
Letter of 24 October 1938
24 October 1938
Dear Baha'i Brother,
Your communications written on behalf of the British N.S.A. and dated June
23rd, July 8th and September 15th with their enclosures have all been duly
received and their contents noted with interest and satisfaction by our
beloved Guardian.
Regarding the papers you had enclosed in your last letter relating to the
N.S.A.'s application for incorporation, he has read these with the closest
attention, and has already communicated to you his approval by cable, and
wishes me now to urge your Assembly to proceed with this matter without
delay and to make every effort to have the whole thing completed in the
course of the next few months, preferably before the termination of your
Assembly's term of office next April....
The Guardian has read with considerable interest Mr. Balyuzi's booklet on
"Baha'u'llah", and hopes that the two companion essays on the Bab and the
Master on which he is working will be soon completed and ready for
distribution, as he feels they can be of a valuable help to the friends in
their teaching work.
With the renewed assurances of his prayers for the confirmation of your
services, and reciprocating your greetings....
[From the Guardian:]
Dear co-worker,
The energy, loyalty and resourcefulness with which your Assembly is
conducting and extending the manifold activities of the Faith in these
days of stress and trial deserve the highest praise. Your achievements
constitute indeed a landmark in the history of the Faith in that land. I
urge you, with all earnestness and with feelings of abounding gratitude,
to redouble your efforts and to persevere until your highest hopes and
plans in both the spiritual and administrative spheres are realised and
fulfilled. My prayers are always with you.
Shoghi
Letter of 27 November 1938
27 November 1938
Dear Baha'i Brother,
I am directed by our beloved Guardian to express his thanks for your
letter of the 2nd inst. written on behalf of the N.S.A.
He has noted your Assembly's request for his advice as to what forms of
national service friends may volunteer for in times of emergency. While
the believers, he feels, should exert every effort to obtain from the
authorities a permit exempting them from active military service in a
combatant capacity, it is their duty at the same time, as loyal and
devoted citizens, to offer their services to their country in any field of
national service which is not specifically aggressive or directly
military. Such forms of national work as air raid precaution service,
ambulance corps, and other humanitarian work or activity of a
non-combatant nature, are the most suitable types of service the friends
can render, and which they should gladly volunteer for, since in addition
to the fact that they do not involve any violation of the spirit or
principle of the Teachings, they constitute a form of social and
humanitarian service which the Cause holds sacred and emphatically
enjoins.
The Guardian has noted with genuine satisfaction what you had written
about your recent visit to ... and his earnest desire to become of
increasing service to the Faith. We will certainly pray that he may fully
avail himself of the manifold opportunities that now lie before him of
spreading the knowledge of the Cause in hitherto closed and conservative
circles, and of thus drawing to it the attention of thoughtful and
responsible people throughout Britain.
With the renewed assurances of his prayers for you and for your dear
fellow members of the N.S.A....
[From the Guardian:]
Dear and trusted co-worker,
The marvellous zeal, unity, understanding and devotion exemplified by the
English believers in recent months, individually as well as through their
concentrated efforts, constitute a landmark in the progressive development
of the Faith in that land. They who have risen to the height of their
present opportunities stand at the threshold of unprecedented
achievements. They must labour continually, exercise the utmost vigilance,
proclaim courageously, and cling tenaciously to the principles of their
Faith, spiritual as well as administrative, and resolve to endure every
sacrifice and hardship, however severe, for the vindication, the
consolidation and recognition of the Faith they profess and are now so
admirably serving.
With a heart filled with pride and gratitude I pray continually for their
triumph.
Shoghi
Letter of 29 November 1938
29 November 1938
RAHMATU'LLAH 'ALA'I OUTSTANDING PROMOTER FAITH IRAN SOON ARRIVING LONDON
FOR TREATMENT EXTEND CORDIAL WELCOME EVERY POSSIBLE ASSISTANCE.
SHOGHI
Letter of 15 January 1939
15 January 1939
URGE 'ALA'I FOLLOW WHATEVER TREATMENT PRESCRIBED DOCTOR PRAYING.
SHOGHI
Letter of 10 February 1939
10 February 1939
Dear Baha'i Brother,
At the direction of our beloved Guardian I acknowledge with thanks the
receipt of your communications dated November 28th, December 5th, January
5th and 14th written on behalf of the British N.S.A., all of which he has
read, together with their enclosures, with earnest and fullest attention.
Regarding the matter of the N.S.A.'s incorporation, he has noted with real
satisfaction that in spite of the difficulties raised by the officials in
the Board of Trade in connection with your application, the contacts you
have formed with these officials have been of such a friendly nature as to
give your Assembly an opportunity to further press your case, and also to
impress the authorities concerned with the true nature and significance of
the Faith.
The Guardian would urge your Assembly to strain every nerve to bring this
task to speedy completion, and wishes me to reassure you and your
fellow-members that he will continually and most fervently pray that your
renewed efforts in this connection may be crowned with full success.
He also wishes me to express his feelings of deep satisfaction at the
efforts of your Assembly in connection with the publication of "New World
Order", which paper, he hopes, will prove of increasing value as a medium
for the spread of the Cause throughout England.
In closing I feel I must also convey his loving thanks to your Assembly
for the very cordial welcome and warm hospitality which you have, in
response to his telegram, kindly extended to our well beloved and highly
esteemed brother Mr. 'Ala'i. The love and consideration he has been shown
by the friends, and by the members of your Assembly in particular, will,
he feels certain, help to a marked degree in counter-acting the painful
effects of the insidious disease from which he is so severely, yet so
uncomplainingly suffering. The spirit of courage and fortitude which he is
displaying surely cannot but create a profound impression upon all those
friends, doctors and patients who come in contact with him. May his
presence in your midst, however temporary, serve as an opportunity of
further spreading the knowledge of the Faith, and also be the means of
encouragement and inspiration to the believers....
[From the Guardian:]
Dear and valued co-workers,
I am delighted with the work which is being so energetically conducted,
and so faithfully extended and consolidated by the English believers, and
particularly by their national elected representatives whose magnificent
efforts, courage and perseverance deserve the highest praise. A splendid
beginning has been made. A firm foundation has been established.
Perseverance is now required to bring these devoted, painstaking and
concerted efforts to full and speedy fruition. The path you are treading
is beset with formidable obstacles, but the invincible power of the Faith
will, if you remain faithful and steadfast, enable you to surmount them.
My prayers will continue to be offered on your behalf. May Baha'u'llah
fulfil every hope you cherish in the service of His Faith.
Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi
Letter of 22 March 1939
22 March 1939
LOVING APPRECIATION PRAYING UNPRECEDENTED TRIUMPHS.
SHOGHI
Letter of March 1939
March 1939
"...Under no circumstances should any local Assembly be given the right to
criticise and much less oppose, the policy duly adopted and approved by
the N.S.A."
(Baha'i Journal 17--cited in an article).
Letter of 30 April 1939 (Convention)
30 April 1939 (Convention)
DELIGHTED NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS,(27) GRATEFUL PRAYING RICHEST BLESSINGS
DELIBERATIONS DEEPEST LOVE.
SHOGHI
Letter of 31 May 1939
31 May 1939
Dear Baha'i Brother,
At our beloved Guardian's direction I gratefully acknowledge the receipt
of your communications dated February 19th, March 7th and 27th, May 3rd
with enclosures, written on behalf of the British N.S.A.
He has noted with considerable satisfaction the report of the progress
recently achieved in Bradford and Torquay where, he is most delighted to
know, the friends, and particularly the newly enrolled young believers,
are displaying great enthusiasm in their activities and have obtained many
openings of presenting the Cause.
The news of the confirmation of Mr. Frank Hurst is specially gratifying
and should prove of deep encouragement to all the friends who should
indeed avail themselves of the opportunity of his presence in the
community to give intensive publicity to the Faith.
Regarding the new prayer book which the N.S.A. is proposing to publish;
the manuscript has already been returned to your address and the
suggestions and recommendations of the Guardian on the matter duly
conveyed to your Assembly in a recent letter. He would advise that on the
inside cover mention should be made only of the British Reviewing
Committee's approval, as it is invariably done in the case of all official
Baha'i publications.
In connection with the problem of Baha'i refugees, the Guardian feels this
is a matter which concerns the N.S.A., who would be justified in taking
any action they deem appropriate, provided the state of the National Fund
permits it, and only after the particular case of each individual
applicant has been thoroughly investigated, and his status as a believer
duly ascertained.
With reference to your suggestion as to the advisability of your
approaching Mr. Eden, and through him possibly Lord Halifax, with the view
to obtaining from them statements for the "Baha'i World", Shoghi Effendi
would approve of your seeing Mr. Eden only, and would leave it to the
N.S.A.'s discretion whether you should approach him as his representative
or as the representative of the British National Assembly.
Concerning Mrs. Basil Hall's paper which she had prepared for last year's
Summer School; the N.S.A.'s approval sanctioning its publication would be
sufficient. You need not, therefore, send the manuscript to Haifa. But as
to the passages she had quoted from Myron Phelps' book, the Guardian does
not advise that these quotations be included in the pamphlet, as Phelps'
book is full of inaccuracies that are misleading, and for this reason
should be ignored by the believers.
The Guardian is inexpressibly delighted at the news of the completion of
the N.S.A.'s incorporation certificate, and would appreciate your sending
him three photostat reproductions of the original, one of which he will
arrange to be placed in the Mansion at Bahji, and the second he will
include in the next issue of "Baha'i World", and the third he will keep in
his own files.
The Guardian wishes me in closing to urge your Assembly to make a special
effort during this year to concentrate on furthering the teaching work in
Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle, Brighton, Sheffield and Bournemouth, in view
of the teaching opportunities that these centres, as indicated in your
letter, seem to offer at present. He welcomes the recommendation made to
this effect at the last Annual Convention and would urge the newly elected
N.S.A. to give this task its continued and fullest attention. However
stupendous the plan now confronting your Assembly may be, you should
resolutely and relentlessly endeavour to carry it through, ever confident
in the promised assistance and unfailing guidance of Baha'u'llah.
To you and your distinguished fellow-members I beg to convey the
assurances of his profound and loving appreciation of your loyal and
affectionate greetings....
[From the Guardian:]
Dear and valued co-workers,
The extension, along sound lines and with such memorable swiftness and
harmony, of the activities in which the believers of the United Kingdom
are so earnestly and devotedly engaged, merits the highest praise and is a
source of constant encouragement and satisfaction to me in my arduous
work. They are taking a momentous step forward and are launching
enterprises that will no doubt shed fresh lustre on their beloved Faith
and leave a distinct mark on Baha'i history. I will continue to pray on
their behalf, and feel certain that if they persevere the Beloved will
richly bless their concentrated and highly meritorious efforts.
Shoghi
Letter of 4 June 1939
4 June 1939
Dear Baha'i Brother,
I am charged by our beloved Guardian to inform you of the receipt of your
letter of May 9th written on behalf of the British N.S.A. on the subject
of the Baha'i attitude towards war.
His instructions on this matter, conveyed in a letter addressed to your
Assembly during last November, were not intended for that particular
occasion, but were meant for present conditions, and for any such
emergency as may arise in the immediate future.
It is still his firm conviction that the believers, while expressing their
readiness to unreservedly obey any directions that the authorities may
issue concerning national service in time of war, should also, and while
there is yet no outbreak of hostilities, appeal to the government for
exemption from active military service in a combatant capacity, stressing
the fact that in doing so they are not prompted by any selfish
considerations but by the sole and supreme motive of upholding the
Teachings of their Faith, which make it a moral obligation for them to
desist from any act that would involve them in direct warfare with their
fellow-humans of any other race or nation. The Baha'i Teachings, indeed,
condemn, emphatically and unequivocally, any form of physical violence,
and warfare in the battlefield is obviously a form, and perhaps the worst
form which such violence can assume.
There are many other avenues through which the believers can assist in
times of war by enlisting in services of a non-combatant nature--services
that do not involve the direct shedding of blood--such as ambulance work,
anti-air raid precaution service, office and administrative works, and it
is for such types of national service that they should volunteer.
It is immaterial whether such activities would still expose them to
dangers, either at home or in the front, since their desire is not to
protect their lives, but to desist from any acts of wilful murder.
The friends should consider it their conscientious duty, as loyal members
of the Faith, to apply for such exemption, even though there may be slight
prospect of their obtaining the consent and approval of the authorities to
their petition. It is most essential that in times of such national
excitement and emergency as those through which so many countries in the
world are now passing that the believers should not allow themselves to be
carried away by the passions agitating the masses, and act in a manner
that would make them deviate from the path of wisdom and moderation, and
lead them to violate, however reluctantly and indirectly, the spirit as
well as the letter of the Teachings.
The N.S.A., in this and similar issues that may arise in future, should
act with firmness and vigilance and with such wisdom and tact as would
make them an example worthy of the confidence and admiration of all the
believers....
[From the Guardian:]
May the beloved bless and guide you in collaboration with your fellow
members, to uphold the integrity, vindicate the truth, demonstrate the
power, and promote the spirit of the exalted teachings of Baha'u'llah.