years of the second Baha'i Century is of tremendous significance, and
will, if successful, mark not only the inception of a glorious chapter in
the history of the Faith in the British Isles, but will constitute a
landmark in the spiritual awakening of its people. The forces which such a
consummation will release none can estimate sufficiently at present. The
task is colossal, but the reinforcing power of Baha'u'llah, who is
watching over it and is ready to bless and sustain it if its prosecutors
arise to play their part, is likewise immeasurable. The recent Teaching
Conference is but the initial stage in this mighty, this collective, and
indeed historic undertaking. The goal towns which have been selected
should be regarded as the chief objectives requiring the immediate and
concentrated attention of its zealous promoters. Every consideration
should be subordinated to the paramount need of establishing at any cost
and by every means possible, vigorously functioning assemblies at these
centres. No effort should be wasted, all must arise to lend their
assistance; no sacrifice is too great to ensure the completion of the
first stage of this noble enterprise. Unity, perseverance, self-sacrifice,
will guarantee its success. Obstacles may arise, set-backs will no doubt
occur, but the unconquerable spirit animating the English believers must
ultimately triumph.
Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi
Letter of 24 April 1946
24 April 1946
ADVISE NOT PURCHASE AT PRESENT. RENT IF POSSIBLE BEFITTING ROOMS CENTRAL
POSITION.
SHOGHI
Letter of 24 April 1946
24 April 1946
KINDLY AIRMAIL TWO PHOTOGRAPHS NATIONAL ASSEMBLY FOR "BAHA'I WORLD".
SHOGHI
Letter of 26 April 1946
26 April 1946
URGE FOCUS ATTENTION SIX YEAR PLAN SUBORDINATE EVERY ACTIVITY PARAMOUNT
ISSUE TEACHING FACING ENGLISH BELIEVERS.
SHOGHI
Letter of 30 April 1946 (Convention)
30 April 1946 (Convention)
DEARLY BELOVED ENGLISH BELIEVERS REMEMBERED SHRINES PRAYING ARDENTLY
SUCCESS DELIBERATIONS CONVENTION SUPREME CONTINUOUS EFFORT REQUIRED ENSURE
SUCCESS PLAN CONCENTRATION ATTENTION RESOURCES ENTIRE COMMUNITY PROMOTION
PARAMOUNT AIM INDISPENSABLE GREATER SACRIFICES DEMANDED ENSURE ULTIMATE
VICTORY EAGERLY AWAITING NEWS PROGRESS HISTORIC ENTERPRISE.
SHOGHI
Letter of 8 May 1946
8 May 1946
WHATEVER NOT SPECIFIED ARTICLES ASSOCIATION LEFT DISCRETION NATIONAL
ASSEMBLY.(39)
SHOGHI
Letter of 10 May 1946
10 May 1946
APPRECIATE MAIL HAIFA PHOTOGRAPH ALL MEMBERS LAST YEAR'S NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
FOR BAHA'I WORLD.
SHOGHI
Letter of 22 May 1946
22 May 1946
APPROVE DROP CARDIFF SUBSTITUTE ANY TOWN DEEMED ADVISABLE PRAYING SPEEDY
SUCCESS URGE PERSEVERANCE LOVING APPRECIATION.
SHOGHI
Letter of 29 May 1946
29 May 1946
Dear Baha'i Brother,
Your letters (and those previously written by Mrs. Ferraby as secretary)
dated March 19th and 21st; April 12th and 23rd; and May 2nd and 11th, as
well as their enclosures, have all been received, and the Guardian has
instructed me to answer them on his behalf.
Regarding the various points which have been raised in these letters.
As he already informed you by cable, he sees no objection to substituting
some other town for Cardiff if that has proved too unpromising....
People who for years have ceased to either attend meetings or show the
slightest interest in the Cause can be dropped from the voting list; but
any who are unable to attend meetings, but still consider themselves to be
Baha'is and are desirous of keeping up their contact with the Faith,
should naturally be kept on the voting list.
He feels at the present stage of the Cause's development in England it is
perhaps wiser not to make any hard and fast rules about the boundaries of
towns for assembly purposes. However, you should bear in mind that in the
future some proper delineation will be necessary.
As to the question of the Publishing Trust about quoting excerpts from
some of the Meditations; there is no objection to this at all.
He hopes you will be able to find some suitable quarters in London for
your Baha'i Centre; he considers that at the present time, with the heavy
and essential teaching programme you have undertaken, it is out of the
question to purchase headquarters.
The Guardian takes the keenest interest in your Six Year Plan, and he
wishes me to point out to you certain things in this connection: if the
important goals of new Assemblies are to be achieved, he feels you will
have to organise the work on a new basis. England now stands, one might
say, on the brink of a new phase of its Baha'i life; the long years of war
are over, the friends are not only awakened to a sense of their
responsibilities, but have increased in numbers, in zeal, and in unity;
there is a growing number of people who are anxious to do pioneer work.
What is needed is a planned and consistent form of teaching and
administrative support of the activities your Assembly is inaugurating.
He feels the time has come when the British Baha'is' resources are
sufficient to enable them to embark on their teaching campaign in a manner
similar to that already followed by the American and Indian Baha'is. In
other words pioneers who volunteer for work, if they are not able to
support themselves, should be supported by the National Fund until they
either find work or their task is completed.
Likewise travelling teachers should be assisted financially to carry out
the "projects" assigned to them. The friends should not for a moment
confuse this type of support with the creation of a paid clergy. Any
Baha'i can, at the discretion of the N.S.A., receive this necessary
assistance and it is clearly understood it is temporary and only to carry
out a specific plan. Baha'u'llah Himself has not only enjoined on everyone
the duty of teaching His Faith, but stated if you cannot go yourself, to
send someone in your stead. The National Assembly, through and with its
Teaching Committee, should take immediate steps to get pioneers out into
the goal towns and teachers circulating about, to not only support and
inaugurate the new work, but to stimulate the existing Assemblies and
groups, and help them to expand.
He hopes that your Assembly, unitedly and with complete dedication to the
great work that lies ahead of you, will concentrate all your forces on the
teaching work. You may be sure he will pray for your success in the Holy
Shrines, and that all the British Baha'is may realise to the full their
historic responsibilities and arise to discharge them....
P.S. Your letter of May 29th has since been received and the extra photos
of N.S.A. members will be forwarded to America.
[From the Guardian:]
Dear and valued co-workers,
The activities of the English Baha'i community in pursuance of the Plan,
which in its scope and potentialities is wholly unprecedented in the
history of the Faith in the British Isles, are now approaching a critical
stage, and will, if not relentlessly expanded and consolidated, fall far
short of their ultimate objective. They have now entered the third year of
their Plan, and the work that still remains unaccomplished is
considerable, but not beyond what their united and sustained endeavours
can accomplish. The utmost support, if the Plan is to yield its promise,
should be continually and increasingly extended to every pioneer, both
moral and financial, who will arise to contribute his or her share to its
success. All the institutions of the Faith so laboriously erected since
the inception of the Formative Age, most of the financial resources of the
community that have been accumulated, the deliberations of the elected
representatives of the entire body of the believers, both local and
national, should henceforth be dedicated to the vital requirements and
noble aims of an enterprise which, if successful, will pave the way, and
provide the necessary agencies, for the proclamation of the Faith to the
masses throughout the British Isles.
The Faith is too circumscribed at present, its resources too limited, its
range too restricted, and the number of its active supporters too few, to
allow a systematic and nation-wide campaign designed to awaken the masses,
to be effectively inaugurated. The present Plan is but a stepping stone
that must lead eventually the English believers to execute so tremendous
and meritorious an undertaking. The duties and responsibilities now facing
them must, however, be fully discharged. No time or effort should be
wasted. All, young and old, must be aroused to a new consciousness of
their collective responsibilities. A greater measure of self-sacrifice, a
greater audacity, a greater reliance on the sustaining grace of
Baha'u'llah, are required to lend the necessary impetus to the progressive
unfoldment and ultimate fruition of this dynamic process which the
followers of Baha'u'llah, labouring in the heart of a world encircling
empire, have set in motion. May signal success crown their historic
labours.
Shoghi
Letter of 7 June 1946
7 June 1946
National Youth Committee
Dear Baha'i Sister,
Your letter dated May 16th and written on behalf of the National Youth
Committee, was received, and the beloved Guardian has instructed me to
answer it on his behalf.
He is very happy to see that the Baha'i Youth of the British Isles are now
organised and working with enthusiasm for the spread of the Faith there.
He feels that they have a great and important role to play during the next
few years in fulfilling the objectives of the Six Year Plan.
Young people, being, for the most part, freer than the older believers,
are in a position to arise as pioneers and move to new towns as settlers.
A great number of the pioneers in America, who left their native cities,
and often their native land, in order to fulfil the Seven Year Plan, were
young people--some of them so young that the Spiritual Assemblies they
helped to establish they were themselves not yet old enough to be elected
to!
The Guardian has enjoyed very much meeting Capt. Philip Hainsworth, who
had the unique privilege of being in Haifa for over a month, and he feels
sure that upon his return to England he will lend great impetus to both
the Youth and teaching work.
He heartily approves of your "Youth Bulletin" project and urges you to
place special emphasis on articles that are of pertinent interest to young
people, such as those dealing with the economic, social and moral aspects
of society.
Assuring you, and all the members of your Committee, of his loving prayers
for the success of your labours....
[From the Guardian:]
May the Beloved bless your meritorious endeavours, guide every step you
take in the path of service, aid you to extend the range of your
activities, and enable you to promote, by every means in your power, and
in a most effective manner, the vital interests of a Plan with which the
immediate destinies of the members of the English Baha'i Community, both
young and old, are so inextricably interwoven.
Your true brother,
Shoghi
Letter of 18 June 1946
18 June 1946
Dear Baha'i Brother,
The beloved Guardian has instructed me to send you the following copy of a
cable he sent the N.S.A. on the 7th of this month: "DELIGHTED LATEST
REPORT TEACHING ACTIVITIES. PRESENT YEAR CRUCIAL FORTUNES PLAN.
CONCENTRATE 5 MOST PROMISING GOAL TOWNS, ALSO EXERT UTMOST RE-ESTABLISH
TORQUAY, BOURNEMOUTH ASSEMBLIES. SUCCESS IMMEDIATE PLAN WILL NECESSITATE
INCREASE CONVENTION DELEGATES BRITISH ISLES TO TWICE 19. UPON CONSUMMATION
ENTIRE PLAN FURTHER INCREASE TO THREE TIMES 19 WILL BECOME ESSENTIAL.
CABLING FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS FOR TRAVEL SETTLEMENT PIONEERS. PROSPECTS
BRIGHT, REDOUBLED EFFORTS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL, EXERTION YOUTH VITAL.
FORTHCOMING GATHERING SUMMER SCHOOL SHOULD DEVOTE SPECIAL ATTENTION
REQUIREMENTS PLAN. ARDENTLY PRAYING TRIUMPHANT SUCCESS FIRST STAGE
COLLECTIVE EFFORT DEARLY BELOVED ENGLISH BELIEVERS".
In the first draft of this cable sent you a word was left out, namely
"twice" before the "19" in reference to the first increase of the number
of convention delegates. This was corrected the same day by cable.
The Guardian has so far received no acknowledgment of the receipt of this
long cable and he is anxious to know if it reached you safely? Also the
five hundred pounds which was forwarded by cable, through Barclays Bank,
to your name?
Assuring you of his loving prayers on your behalf....
P.S. He was very happy to hear that the N.S.A. is now united, and that
sources of misunderstanding and uneasiness have been entirely cleared up.
Letter of 6 July 1946
6 July 1946
DELIGHTED BRIGHT PROSPECTS ACHIEVEMENT THIS YEAR'S GOAL WILL CONSTITUTE
TURNING POINT FORTUNES PLAN LANDMARK BRITISH BAHA'I HISTORY SUSTAINED
CONCENTRATION ESSENTIAL CONVEY PIONEERS TRAVELLING TEACHERS ASSURANCE
LOVING APPRECIATION ABIDING GRATITUDE NOBLE RESPONSE URGE EXERT
SIMULTANEOUSLY EFFORTS ESTABLISH THIS PIVOTAL YEAR NUCLEUS FUTURE ASSEMBLY
BOTH SCOTLAND IRELAND PRAYING CONTINUALLY INCREASING EVIDENCES NATION-WIDE
EXPANSION PROGRESSIVE CONSOLIDATION DEARLY BELOVED ENGLISH BAHA'I
COMMUNITY.
SHOGHI
Letter of 2 August 1946 (Summer School)
2 August 1946 (Summer School)
OVERJOYED PRAYING EVER INCREASING SUCCESS DEEPEST APPRECIATION HIGH
ENDEAVOURS.
SHOGHI
Letter of 25 August 1946
25 August 1946
DELIGHTED URGE UTMOST SACRIFICE PROVIDE REQUIREMENTS GOAL TOWNS PRAYING
SUCCESS.
SHOGHI
Letter of 12 October 1946
12 October 1946
Dear Baha'i Brother,
Your letters dated June 1st and 26th and July 20th and 25th, together with
their enclosures, have been received, and our beloved Guardian has
instructed me to answer you on his behalf.
Regarding the various points you raised.
Unless the Russian "New Era" is hopelessly bad, the Guardian advises it
nevertheless be made use of, as it will be some time before the funds of
the Cause can be used for a new edition. If the mistakes are mostly in the
nature of mistranslations of certain important terms it might be possible
for you, in conjunction with Mrs. Lynch, to have printed or mimeographed a
list of errata, and stick it in the book, in this way Russian-speaking
people will not be denied some literature on the Faith, however
inadequate.
The attitude of the friends towards orientals should be one of great
caution, according to the Master's own often-repeated and explicit
instructions and warnings. Any believer in good standing would not leave
his home community without a letter of credential, and certainly no
Persians, claiming to be Baha'is, but lacking credentials, should be
accepted until the Persian N.S.A. has clarified their status. They can,
naturally, attend public meetings, but should not be permitted to come to
the 19- Day Feasts; the friends may associate with them, but should be
very cautious, bearing in mind that many orientals, who scorned or were
even actively against the Cause while living in the East, now find it
convenient to pose as believers or friends of the Faith in a Western
community where they are strangers.
As regards your question about Baha'i procedure; the present statement can
certainly be amplified to include the United Nations Organisation.
He feels that your Assembly should constantly, through its communications
to the friends and its committees, and in every way possible, stir the
British Baha'i community to a sense of the great urgency of their pioneer
activities; and the need for more pioneers. They now have a golden
opportunity to arise and fulfil their own cherished plans before it is too
late. In the future we may well look back upon these present days and see
that in them lay our greatest chance to build for the future and to call
people to the Faith while they were still deeply impressed with the
tragedy and futility of war; and before they become too engulfed in post
war problems, or too bitterly disillusioned by the trend of world affairs
to even seek a solution. More believers must arise, and, putting their
trust in Baha'u'llah, do their duty to the Faith they believe in and love
so dearly. The youth in particular should be encouraged to enter this
field of service, for the spread of the Cause is their only hope for a
stable world in which to live and establish families of their own.
His loving prayers are with you all in your many services to the Cause of
God, and he is greatly encouraged by the way the work is going forward in
England....(40)
[From the Guardian:]
Dear and valued co-workers,
The evidences of intensified activity and of notable progress on the part
of the English believers in recent months have rejoiced my heart and
deepened my feelings of admiration and gratitude for the manner in which
they are discharging, individually and collectively, their high
responsibilities. I long to hear of the steady progress of their Plan, and
will continue to pray for the removal of every obstacle in their path.
However considerable their recent achievements, they are still in the
initial stage of their great unfolding mission, and are not even capable
as yet of visualising the possibilities or of estimating the consequences
of their present-day labours. The consummation of their present task will
mark the opening of a new era in the development of their community and
will signalise the inauguration of a great epoch in the history of the
Faith in their land--an epoch that must witness the universal recognition
of their Cause and the proclamation of its truths, its claims and tenets,
to the masses of their countrymen throughout the British Isles. The Plan
they are now prosecuting will provide the machinery and establish the
basic structure that will enable them to arouse the people, among all
sections of the population, and aid them, systematically and gradually, to
recognise Baha'u'llah, and support the nascent institutions of this World
Order. Now it is their duty to lay an unassailable foundation for the
great work that is to be undertaken in the future. There is no time to
lose. Theirs is a priceless opportunity and a great privilege. They must
neither vacillate nor falter. They must determinedly persevere until their
immediate and distant goals have been attained.
Shoghi
Letter of 15 November 1946
15 November 1946
OVERJOYED MARVEL MAGNIFICENT SUCCESS URGE AFTER ATTAINMENT THIS YEAR'S
GOAL CONCENTRATION IRELAND SCOTLAND WALES LONGING FORMATION NUCLEI THESE
VIRGIN TERRITORIES ARDENTLY PRAYING LOVING ADMIRATION.
SHOGHI
Letter of 21 November 1946
21 November 1946(41)
APPROVE LOVING APPRECIATION PRAYING SUCCESS.
SHOGHI
Letter of 26 December 1946
26 December 1946
National Youth Committee
Dear Baha'i Sister,
Your letter of September 19th was received, and our beloved Guardian has
instructed me to answer it on his behalf, and to congratulate you and the
other members of your committee on the excellent first issue of your
Baha'i Youth Bulletin.
This is an important new undertaking, and must be established as a firm
innovation on the part of the British Baha'i community. He hopes it will
gradually become the means of interesting and attracting many new souls to
the Faith.
In fact the Youth work everywhere in the Baha'i World is dear to his
heart, and he attaches great importance to it. The young people, who will
inevitably grow up to shoulder all the work of the Cause, are really its
hope, and should be one of the most active factors in its propagation.
Through their courageous adherence to the high moral and ethical standards
set out by Baha'u'llah, and through gaining a mastery of His many,
diversified, and profound teachings, they can shape, to a great extent,
the development and aid in the rapid expansion of their beloved Faith in
the various countries in which they labour. They should be made to realise
their responsibility is heavy and their privilege very precious.
He wishes to assure you and all the other members of the National Youth
Committee, of his most loving prayers for your progress, and for the
success of the work you have so enthusiastically and devotedly
undertaken....
[From the Guardian:]
May the Beloved bless abundantly the work which your Committee has so
nobly initiated, remove all obstacles from your path, aid you to realise
every hope you cherish, and carry out every plan you conceive, for the
furtherance of the interests of our beloved Faith and of its God-given
institutions.
Your true brother,
Shoghi
Letter of 30 December 1946
30 December 1946
PRAYING FERVENTLY REMOVAL ALL OBSTACLES IMPEDING PROGRESS PLAN AND
RECOVERY. SUPPLICATING RICHEST BLESSINGS TEACHING CONFERENCE DEEPEST
LOVING APPRECIATION.
SHOGHI
Letter of 1 January 1947
1 January 1947(42)
REJOICE SUCCESS PRAYING RICHEST BLESSINGS.
SHOGHI
Letter of 12 January 1947 (To Teaching Conference)
12 January 1947 (To Teaching Conference)
PROFOUNDLY MOVED MESSAGE. GREATLY APPRECIATE NOBLE SENTIMENTS PRAYING
DEPTHS GRATEFUL HEART CONTINUED SUCCESS MAGNIFICENT COLLECTIVE EFFORTS
DEEPEST LOVE.
SHOGHI
Letter of 20 January 1947
20 January 1947
CONSULTATION BETWEEN DELEGATES COMMUNITY ADVISABLE PRESENTATION COMMUNITY
VIEWS TO CONVENTION ADVISABLE MANNER CONSULTATION LEFT DISCRETION N.S.A.
DOUBLING NUMBER DELEGATES CONDITIONED ACHIEVEMENT NINE GOAL TOWNS.
SHOGHI
Letter of 29 January 1947
29 January 1947
ASSURE JOAN GIDDINGS DEEPEST LOVING APPRECIATION.
SHOGHI
Letter of 8 February 1947
8 February 1947
DELIGHTED PROGRESS NOTTINGHAM BIRMINGHAM RESPONSE MCKINLEYS URGE SUPREME
EFFORT AS CRUCIAL YEAR DRAWS CLOSE ENSURE ATTAINMENT OBJECTIVE LOVING
ARDENT PRAYERS.
SHOGHI
Letter of 26 February 1947
26 February 1947
Dear Baha'i Friends,
Your communications dated Sept. 12, Oct. 4th and 17th, Nov. 19th, 18th and
21st and Dec. 29th 1946 have all been received together with their
enclosures and our beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer you on his
behalf....
He was very happy to see the marked success of your Summer School this
past year and also to receive very encouraging reports of the Manchester
Teaching Conference; a great change has come over the work in England
during the past year and one which must certainly rejoice the hearts of
the older Baha'is in particular as they compare the present state of the
Cause with the decades that passed when it had two or three spiritual
Assemblies and seemed to be practically standing still! It seems, indeed,
as if an important corner had been turned and that the Faith in the
British Isles is at last showing its true stature and casting a portentous
shadow of future events before it!
He is particularly happy to see the way the Baha'i young people are
arising and serving in the pioneer field with such courage, determination
and success.
Regarding the question you asked him about the sentence from the "Aqdas"
for the marriage certificate: he feels that the following is a suitable
translation of this passage: "Enter into wedlock, O people, that ye may
bring forth one who will make mention of me."
The very good news of Nottingham and Birmingham achieving Assembly status
was most welcome and he hopes the friends will redouble their efforts in
connection with the remaining goal towns. Likewise the establishment of
pioneers in both Eire and Scotland is of historic importance and they
should receive every assistance from the National Teaching Committee and
from your Assembly.
Now that the British believers see tangible results of their labours and
perseverance taking shape, they should feel encouraged to make new
sacrifices; a little effort on our part is so richly blessed by
Baha'u'llah--we can only wonder what the rewards would be for a great,
concerted, truly inspired effort by all members of the community.
He assures you all of his most loving prayers for your guidance and the
success of your historic enterprises....
P.S. Shoghi Effendi would like your Assembly to make every effort to help
Dr. Lotfullah Hakim to come to England from Persia; he wishes to continue
his study of massage etc. and he could be of great help in the teaching
work as he is a devoted and fine Baha'i. Shoghi Effendi suggested he might
investigate the possibility of carrying out his studies in Edinburgh or
some other goal town and thus help with the Six Year Plan at the same
time.
[From the Guardian:]
Dear and valued co-workers,
The present crucial year, now drawing to a close, may well be regarded as
one of the most memorable in the annals of British Baha'i history. The
magnificent, spontaneous and collective response of almost the entire
community of the English believers to the imperative call of teaching; the
support lent by individuals, groups and Assemblies to the Plan set in
motion by its national elected representatives; the success attending the
Teaching Conference; the multiplication of Baha'i centres in England; the
initial steps taken to establish the structure of the Administrative Order
of the Faith, in Ireland, Scotland and Wales--all these have combined to
raise the stature of the community, and to prepare it for the still
greater tasks that must be faced by its members after the successful
prosecution of the present Plan.