CANADA’S PART IN THE TEN YEAR WORLD SPIRITUAL CRUSADE. 1953–57
(Cablegrams) April 22, 1953
To the Sixth Canadian National Convention.
(Cablegrams) April 22, 1953.
Profoundly impressed magnificent victories. Love. SHOGHI.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF GOALS OF TEN YEAR CRUSADE
Overjoyed grateful triumphant conclusion Five Year Plan most momentous enterprise launched Canadian Bahá’í history initiated morrow emergence independent existence Canadian Bahá’í Community culminating centenary birth Bahá’u’lláh’s Mission constituting prelude mightier undertaking designed consolidate magnificent victories achieved homefront inaugurate community’s historic mission beyond confines Dominion. Ten Year Plan its valiant members now embarking upon enabling them push outposts faith northernmost territories Western Hemisphere associating them members seven other sister communities raising aloft banner Faith Pacific Islands involves:
FIRST opening following virgin territories eleven North America: Anticosti Island, Baranof Island, Cape Breton Island, Franklin, Grand Manan Island, Keewatin, Labrador, Magdalen Islands, Miquelon Island and St. Pierre Island, Queen Charlotte Islands, Yukon; Two Asias—Marquesas Islands, Samoa Islands.
SECOND consolidation Faith Iceland, Greenland, Mackenzie, Newfoundland.
THIRD purchase land Toronto anticipation construction first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár Canada.
FOURTH establishment national Bahá’í endowments.
FIFTH doubling number Local Spiritual Assemblies.
SIXTH raising number incorporated Assemblies nineteen.
SEVENTH formation Israel Branch Canadian National Spiritual Assembly.
EIGHTH establishment American Asian teaching committees entrusted task stimulate coordinate teaching activities initiated Plan. Appeal members entire community worthy allies chief executors ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Divine Plan dedicate themselves immediate requirements steadily unfolding mission discharge nobly sacred strenuous tasks ahead contribute memorable share prosecution decade long World Spiritual Crusade pay befitting tribute through future accomplishments memory Founder Faith occasion most great Jubilee commemorating centenary declaration His Mission city Baghdád.
SHOGHI.
Letter of May 1, 1953
May 1, 1953.
Deeply touched message fervently supplicating signal victories loving remembrance shrines.
SHOGHI.
Letter of June 20, 1953
Haifa, Israel,
June 20, 1953.
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada.
Your letters ... have been received by the beloved Guardian, and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.
He regrets very much the delay in answering your letters. Unfortunately he has had to delay in replying to all national bodies during the last year, because of the pressure of work here, which has steadily increased during this Holy Year.
ACQUISITION OF NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS AND SHRINE
The purchase of your national headquarters, he feels, was an important milestone in the history of the Faith in Canada, and he hopes that it will be put to good use, during the coming years, by your Assembly. To this institution you will soon be adding the Maxwell Home29 in Montreal, which should be viewed in the nature of a national shrine, because of its association with the beloved Master, during His visit to Montreal. He sees no objection to having one room in the house being used as a little museum associated with Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell.
He was most happy to hear that all of your goals were achieved. This augurs well for the future of your activities, especially during the Ten Year Plan just launched. He wishes through your body to thank all the pioneers, teachers and Bahá’ís who helped achieve this great victory. They have every reason to feel proud of themselves, and grateful to Bahá’u’lláh. Undoubtedly His divine assistance, combined with their determination and faith, enabled them to fulfill their objectives.
He was very happy to know that Charlottetown not only achieved Assembly status, but that the believers there are mostly self-supporting, as this is a sound basis for the expansion of the work in any place, especially in such a difficult one.
The Bahá’í Exhibit held at the Canadian National Exhibition was an excellent means of obtaining publicity. He hopes that advantage will be taken of similar opportunities in the future.
He urges your assembly to press for recognition of the Bahá’í marriage in Ontario, and, gradually, where the Cause is strong enough, in other Provinces.
Regarding the question you asked him about one of the believers who seems to be flagrantly a homosexual—although to a certain extent we must be forbearing in the matter of people’s moral conduct because of the terrible deterioration in society in general, this does not mean that we can put up indefinitely with conduct which is disgracing the Cause. This person should have it brought to his attention that such acts are condemned by Bahá’u’lláh, and that he must mend his ways, if necessary consult doctors, and make efforts to overcome this affliction, which is corruptive for him and bad for the Cause. If after a period of probation you do not see an improvement, he should have his voting rights taken away. The Guardian does not think, however, that a Bahá’í body should take it upon itself to denounce him to the Authorities unless his conduct borders on insanity.
The Guardian attaches the greatest importance, during this opening year of the Ten Year Campaign, to settling the virgin areas with pioneers. He has informed, or is informing, the other National Assemblies that there is no reason why believers from one country should not fill the goals in other countries. In other words, Canada should receive foreign pioneers for her goals, who would operate under her jurisdiction; likewise, Canadians could go forth and pioneer in other countries’ goal territories if the way opened for them to do so. Naturally, they must feel their first responsibility should be toward the Canadian part of the Plan, as they are Canadians, but sometimes health, business openings or family connections might take people into other goal countries.
He realizes that the objectives in the far north are perhaps the hardest. On the other hand, the harder the task, the more glorious the victory.
You may be sure that he is praying for your success, and, what is more, he is confident that this young, virile Canadian Community can and will succeed in carrying out its share of the World Spiritual Crusade, so vast and challenging, upon which we are now launched.
With warmest Bahá’í love,
R.
RABBANI.
INITIAL STAGE OF GLORIOUS MISSION
Dear and Valued Co-workers:
The brilliant success achieved by the Canadian Bahá’í Community, marking the triumphant conclusion of the Plan formulated on the morrow of the emergence of the community as an independent member of the International Bahá’í Family, is to be regarded as a milestone of far-reaching importance in the evolution of the Faith not only in the Dominion of Canada but throughout the entire Western Hemisphere. The vitality displayed so strikingly by this youthful community, the exemplary fidelity demonstrated by its members to the spiritual as well as administrative principles of the Faith in the conduct of their manifold activities; the splendid cooperation with their national and local elected representatives which they have invariably shown, at every stage in the development of the Plan; the sacrifices they have repeatedly made; the vigilance and care which they have exercised while discharging their sacred and weighty responsibilities; the soundness of judgement, the enthusiasm and perseverance that have distinguished them in the pursuance of their tasks—all these have, in recent years, contributed, in no small measure, to the raising of the prestige of this community in the eyes of its sister communities in both the East and West, and in evoking feelings of profound admiration in the hearts of the followers of the Faith in every continent of the globe.
I myself am deeply touched, and feel a profound gratitude for the superb contribution made by this community, still in the early years of its development, to the world-wide progress of the Faith achieved since the inception of the successive Plans undertaken by various National Assemblies for the systematic propagation of the Faith throughout the world.
The great strides which this virile and highly promising community has made in so short a period, over so vast a continent, despite such formidable obstacles, and in the service of so glorious a Cause, fill my heart with confidence that the tasks it has now assumed, on the morrow of the successful termination of the first collective enterprise undertaken in Canadian Bahá’í history, will be consummated in a manner that will redound to the glory of the Faith to which its members are so wholly dedicated.
The Ten Year Plan which your Assembly has now launched, in its capacity as the elected representatives of the Canadian Bahá’í Community—the recognized allies of the chief executors of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Divine Plan—and which constitutes so important a phase of the global Spiritual Crusade on which the followers of the Faith have embarked, marks the inauguration of the initial stage in the unfoldment of the glorious Mission of this community, a Mission which will enable it to implant, in collaboration with its sister community in the Great Republic of the West, and with the support of the Latin American Bahá’í communities associated in the execution of the Divine Plan, the standard of the Faith in all continents of the Globe.
TWO PARAMOUNT OBJECTIVES
Of all the objectives of this momentous Ten Year Plan, with which the immediate destinies of this firmly-grounded, fully consecrated, high-minded, spiritually quickened community are so closely linked, the purchase of the site of the Mother Temple of the Dominion of Canada and the settlement of pioneers in the thirteen virgin territories and islands, eleven of which are situated in North America and two in the South Pacific Ocean, may be regarded as the most important.
Prompt and effective measures must, no matter how great the sacrifice involved, be taken to ensure that, ere the termination of the first two years of the Plan, these two paramount objectives, which constitute the opening phase of the Plan, will have been fully attained. The entire community must arise, as it has never risen before, to meet the challenge of the present hour. The time fixed for the achievement of the initial victories of the Plan is admittedly brief. The prizes to be won in distant fields, under the most trying circumstances, by the members of a community so youthful, so circumscribed in number and resources, are so precious that none of them can as yet even dimly imagine their transcendent glory. On the homefront, as well as in the far-off islands of the Pacific Ocean, in both the teaching and administrative fields, the Canadian Bahá’í Community must labour incessantly in anticipation of the fulfilment of the inspiring prophecies made by the Centre of the Covenant Who, repeatedly and in unmistakable language, promised to this community a glorious future, and predicted both the material and spiritual advancement of the nation of which it forms a part.
FUTURE ROLE CONTINGENT ON ACHIEVEMENTS IN THIS PLAN
On the success of this initial stage in the unfoldment of its Mission in foreign fields—a stage which will witness the departure of the Canadian pioneers from their homeland, in the northern regions of the Western Hemisphere, to the South Sea Islands—must depend the degree to which they will be active in days to come in other continents of the globe and their neighbouring islands. As the chosen allies of the chief executors of the Master’s Divine Plan, they shoulder a responsibility which is at once staggering, sacred and inescapable. The greater their exertions, the more abundant will be the outpouring of celestial grace vouchsafed to them by the Author of the Plan Himself, Who in His immortal Tablets has more than once assured of His unfailing aid all who arise to serve His Father’s Cause.
Now is the hour to demonstrate to the entire Bahá’í World those qualities which the heroes of God, unfurling in the Western Hemisphere the banners of a world Crusade destined to be carried over the entire surface of the globe, must possess in order to accomplish their exalted Mission. The Canadian Bahá’í Community must stand in the vanguard of this conquering army of Bahá’u’lláh. They must prove themselves increasingly worthy of their high calling as this momentous Crusade steadily unfolds. They must put their entire trust in Him Who guides its destinies from His Station on high. They must dedicate themselves heart and soul to the fulfilment of all its objectives without delay, without any exception.
That they may acquit themselves of their task, as befits their high station in this great spiritual adventure, that they may enrich their heritage, and noise abroad the fame of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh through a whole-hearted and valiant participation in this world-girdling Spiritual Crusade, is the object of my constant prayer and one of my most cherished hopes.
SHOGHI.
Letter of May 6, 1954
Haifa, Israel,
May 6, 1954.
The beloved Guardian has been very happy indeed over the results of the teaching work in the virgin areas, in the first year of the Ten Year Crusade. He is very hopeful that all of the virgin areas outside of the Iron Curtain countries will soon be settled. He urges that your Assemblies keep after this very important matter, so that the settlements can be accomplished at the earliest possible date.
NO PIONEER SHOULD LEAVE HIS POST
The Guardian feels that you should write to all of the pioneers, informing them that he attaches the utmost importance to the services which they are rendering; in fact, he feels there is no service in the entire Bahá’í World as important as their pioneering work in the virgin areas. They have achieved a great station of service. They are the representatives of the Faith in these virgin areas. They have the inestimable privilege of bringing the light of Bahá’u’lláh to those hitherto deprived of Divine Guidance for this day. The Guardian has repeatedly pointed out that they can and should become the spiritual conquerors of these new lands.
No pioneer should leave his post unless there is some very urgent reason and then only after consultation with the appropriate committee or National Assembly. If it is found someone must leave their post because of very urgent matters, then the National Assembly should arrange to replace the pioneer before the pioneer leaves. The Guardian urges that you pay the very closest attention possible to this important matter, so that the development of the Faith in these virgin areas may move along in an orderly manner, and produce great results.
As the Guardian cabled the entire Bahá’í World at the time of the Conventions, he hopes that the dynamic spirit which was generated during the first year of the Plan will be augmented during the second year of the Plan, and all the Bahá’ís arise everywhere with renewed effort in order to spread the Glad-Tidings. This year must mark a very substantial increase in the number of Bahá’ís throughout the world—on the home fronts, in the consolidation areas, and in the virgin areas. Particular attention should be paid to the home fronts and the consolidation areas. As the Guardian indicates, he is expecting “an upsurge of activity which, in its range and intensity, will excel the exploits which have so greatly enlarged the limits, and noised abroad the fame, of the Cause of God.”
CENTRE ATTENTION ON OBLIGATIONS OF CRUSADE
The Guardian urges that all the Bahá’ís centre their complete attention on the obligations of the Ten Year Crusade. He feels that no new activities should be undertaken of any type, whether of a local or a national nature. The friends must concentrate on the goals of the Ten Year Crusade, which are principally national and universal. For instance, no local Hazírás should be considered during the Ten Year Crusade, no projects on a national scale should be considered which do not definitely relate themselves to the prosecution of the Ten Year Crusade. Funds should not be used for any purpose except the objects of the Ten Year Crusade.
We are embarked upon the greatest spiritual drama the world has ever witnessed; and it is going to require the sacrifice of every individual, every community and every Assembly, whether local or national, in order to reach the goals. The Guardian feels they can be reached if we will concentrate, and not allow our attention to be diverted for a moment for any purpose whatsoever.
The Guardian sends you his loving greetings.
Faithfully yours,
LEROY IOAS,
Assistant Secretary.
Letter of June 15, 1954
Haifa, Israel,
June 15, 1954.
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada.
The letters of your Assembly ... with enclosures, have all been safely received, and the beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.
Although a number of the matters raised in your various letters have been attended to by cable, he is sorry that he has not been able to answer the letters of your Assembly sooner. It is becoming increasingly difficult for him to get around to National Assembly letters at all.
During the past year, the Canadian Bahá’í Community has gone through a great many experiences of both a sad nature and a pleasant one.
HAND OF THE CAUSE SIEGFRIED SCHOPFLOCHER
The loss of the dear Hand of the Cause, Freddie Schopflocher30, is going to be much felt. He was so intensely loyal, so vigilant in watching over the interests of the Faith, so steadfast and tenacious in serving it, that he will be much missed in the national work. For over thirty years, he promoted, not only the interests of the Faith, but those of the Canadian Bahá’í Community, and rendered on a national and an international scale, through contributions and many teaching trips, valuable services to the Cause of God.
The Guardian was very happy that dear Fred could be buried so close to Sutherland Maxwell31. Montreal has indeed been blessed in more ways than one; and, as the Mother Community of Canada, should become increasingly active and united, and live up to the high expectations the Master cherished for her future, and prove herself worthy of the many blessings she has already received.
Another thing which your community has had to pass through this year—both a blessing and a calamity—is the departure of so many active members32 of your National Body for the pioneer fields abroad. It should be a source of great pride that one-third of the membership of your Body set sail for such distant goals, and will render services during the Ten Year Crusade, of such a nature, he feels sure, as to bestow honour upon the entire Canadian Community.
He likewise feels that you have every reason to be satisfied over the progress which has been made during the first year of the Plan in settling the goals entrusted to your care. It is very unfortunate that Anticosti should prove such a hard nut to crack. He appreciates very much the determined efforts which your Body, and particularly Mr. Rakovsky33, made to get a pioneer into it before last Ridván. No doubt eventually your efforts will be crowned with success; but you will have to be very tactful and careful in order not to arouse a permanently resistant attitude on the part of the Company that owns the Island.
JURISDICTION OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
In regard to the question you asked about jurisdiction, the area of jurisdiction is related to the National Spiritual Assembly responsible for the teaching work in the goal country in question, and has nothing to do with what nation the territory belongs to. All Canadian goals are therefore under the jurisdiction of your National Body, and their pioneers must report to you, and people, whose declarations are accepted, should be registered by your National Body, or the Committee in charge of the work, as the case may be.
Regarding the question as to whether your Assembly need do anything about its Israel Branch here; this is a matter which concerns entirely local procedures. Your Canadian Branch has now been legally established, and is entitled to hold property in this country; and he is planning at an early date to register a piece of land in its name. He will send you the title deed as soon as all formalities have been carried out.
CRITERIA FOR TEMPLE SITE
As he has already informed you by cable, he feels that the land which you proposed as a Temple and National Hazíratu’l-Quds site was altogether too large, too expensive, and above all, too far from the city limits. He has given instructions to a number of other National Bodies who were pursuing their investigations in a direction much the same as your own. He realizes that it is difficult, and much more expensive, to find a plot close to the heart of the city. On the other hand, he feels that even a small plot, near to town, is much more reasonable from every standpoint than a large plot way out in the country. The friends must remember that they have to be able to get out to their National Centre and their National Temple and use them; and, as Bahá’ís are all busy, hardworking people for the most part, the time involved must inevitably influence their attendance at Bahá’í meetings in the Hazíratu’l-Quds, and later, Bahá’í services in the Temple.
If the filling of the goals and the purchase of the Temple site can be accomplished before the lapse of two years from the inception of the Plan, he feels you will have carried out his instructions to the letter, and he will indeed be very happy.
He thinks that it is very befitting that your Body, as representatives of the Canadian Bahá’ís, should be responsible for the erection of a tombstone over dear Fred Schopflocher’s grave.
As you no doubt are aware, he cherishes the very brightest hopes for the future of the Canadian Bahá’ís. They are a fortunate people, possessing many of the virtues and few of the faults of both the new and old worlds. He remembers them in his prayers in the holy Shrines, and prays that they may speedily advance in the service of the Cause, and accomplish the tasks outlined in the Ten Year Plan as their particular portion of the work.
CONSOLIDATION OF THE HOMEFRONT
He would like to call your attention, and indeed the attention of all the friends, to the fact that it is time for the Bahá’ís everywhere, including Canada, to devote themselves to the consolidation work. The goals on the homefront are going to be, in some ways, even harder to achieve than those abroad. They will require an increase of membership in the community, which means patient and devoted teaching, the multiplication of both Assemblies and groups, the incorporation of many Spiritual Assemblies, etc. They now have nine years in which to do it, but the sooner they get some of the work finished and behind them, the better! We can never tell what the situation may be at a later date, and whether we will not have to carry on our labours under much more difficult circumstances than those prevailing at present.
With warmest Bahá’í love,
R.
RABBANI.
P.S.—Regarding the contribution which Mrs. Nan Greenwood wishes to make to the Faith, the Guardian is deeply touched by the spirit which has motivated her; and he feels that she could spend it in no better way than to give it to the British National Spiritual Assembly for their National Hazíratu’l-Quds. They are much in need of money, and it would be of real help in purchasing this important and historic institution.
Please assure her of his admiration for her services, and his loving prayers.
I notice that I have neglected to answer your question concerning ... consent to her daughter’s marriage: this must be given in order to be a Bahá’í Marriage. Bahá’u’lláh requires this and makes no provision about a parent changing his or her mind. So they are free to do so. Once the written consent is given and the marriage takes place, the parents have no right to interfere any more.
P.P.S.—The Guardian was very pleased about the publications in Ukrainian and will place copies in the Mansion Library. Please thank the dear believer34 responsible for this work on behalf of the Guardian.
THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE: RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT
Dear and Valued Co-workers:
The Canadian Bahá’í Community, having recently entered the second phase of the World Spiritual Crusade so auspiciously launched by the followers of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, on the morrow of the hundredth anniversary of the birth of His prophetic Mission, may well pride itself on the quality as well as the number of achievements which, in both the teaching and administrative spheres of Bahá’í activity, have distinguished its stewardship to His Cause ever since its emergence as an independent national entity in the world-encompassing Bahá’í Brotherhood. Its mission in foreign lands has been befittingly inaugurated in the course of the opening phase of this world-girdling Crusade. The expansion and consolidation of its activities on the homefront have kept pace with the progress of the work initiated by its pioneers beyond the borders of its homeland in both the Western Hemisphere and the Pacific Islands. It has, moreover, launched upon its twofold historic enterprise aiming at the acquisition of its new national administrative Headquarters and the purchase of the site of its future Temple. It has, in addition, been enriched through the donation and legal transfer of a House35 uniquely associated with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s historic visit to the Dominion of Canada, and destined to be regarded as the foremost Bahá’í shrine throughout that Dominion.
The years immediately ahead must witness an intensification of effort, on the part of all of its members, as well as its elected national representatives, which will at once safeguard the prizes won in distant fields, and lend a notable impetus to the consolidation of its administrative institutions within its borders.
The selection of the site for the national Hazíratu’l-Quds and for the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in Canada must be made with the utmost care and promptitude. Measures must, without delay, be taken for the construction of the administrative Headquarters of its National Assembly. The process of multiplication of isolated centres, groups and Assemblies must gather momentum in the course of the current year. The incorporation of firmly established Local Spiritual Assemblies must simultaneously be accelerated in order to strengthen the structure of these newly established institutions, and pave the way for the establishment of local Bahá’í endowments. The one remaining virgin territory assigned to it must be speedily opened, and every precaution taken to ensure its preservation in the future. Particular attention should be directed to Iceland and Greenland, as the two foremost objectives of this community in connection with the work of consolidation assigned to its members. The meritorious effort exerted so devotedly and patiently by its national elected representatives for the purpose of obtaining official recognition by the Civil Authorities for the Bahá’í Marriage Certificate should be pursued with the utmost diligence, vigilance and caution.
NEWLY-ESTABLISHED ISRAEL BRANCH OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
While the members of this valiant, this highly gifted, forward marching and deeply consecrated community, and particularly its alert and zealous national representatives, labour to attain these immediate goals, that constitute the distinguishing features and the prime objectives of this newly opened phase of the Crusade, the measures initiated recently in the Holy Land to transfer eventually part of the international Bahá’í endowments on Mt. Carmel to the name of the newly-established Branch of the Canadian National Spiritual Assembly will be steadily and energetically pursued, as a mark of abiding appreciation of the magnificence and exemplary achievements of this community in recent years in the service of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh.
A community, whose founder36 has conferred upon it such splendid benefits and whose dust now lies on the far-off shores of the South American continent; which has been exalted by reason of the eminent services which two other members37, 38 of her family have rendered, in the Holy Land, to the World Bahá’í Community; which can, moreover boast of the enduring and historic achievements of yet another Hand of the Cause39—the third nominated from the ranks of its members; and which, in the course of the past year, has set a further example of steadfastness and devotion through the action of outstanding members40 of its National Assembly who have forsaken their homes to settle in the African continent—such a community can well assert its capacity and determination to consummate, within the allotted time, the laborious and mighty task it has risen to shoulder.
The rapidity of its expansion, its sound development, the steadiness, the single-mindedness, the tenacity, the enthusiasm, the unity and staunchness of its members, augur well for the remarkable material and spiritual progress which the nation to which it belongs must achieve in the years to come, in accordance with the explicit promise enshrined in the Tablets of the Divine Plan by the Centre of Bahá’u’lláh’s Covenant.
May this community march forward on its destined path with renewed vigour, with undimmed vision, with complete unity, with utter consecration, and be enabled to play an important part in the execution of the great tasks ahead, and worthily contribute to the prodigious efforts now being collectively exerted by the followers of the Most Great Name, in every continent of the globe, for the world-wide establishment and ultimate triumph of a long-persecuted, divinely impelled, world-redeeming Faith.
Your true brother,
SHOGHI.
Letter of September 5, 1954
Haifa, Israel,
September 5, 1954.
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada
Your loving letter of August 3rd came duly to hand, and the questions which you have raised were presented to our beloved Guardian.
VIRGIN TERRITORIES ADMINISTRATIVELY SEPARATE
About a year ago, there was some correspondence with your Assembly with regard to the Bahá’ís who are in the virgin territories of the Ten Year Crusade, etc.
The Guardian renews the advice given at that time, that all pioneers in virgin areas, or new Bahá’ís who are confirmed in those virgin areas, are not part of the National Bahá’í Community, and cannot vote in elections.
The virgin areas are separate, administratively, and under the jurisdiction of the National Spiritual Assembly responsible for their development. The same ruling applies to any Assemblies which might develop in these virgin areas. They do not become part of the National Bahá’í Community.
The Guardian was distressed to learn of the problems which arose concerning the election of the Spiritual Assembly of .... However, the ruling is quite definite, that an Assembly must be elected on the first day of Ridván, April 21st. Regretful as it is, ... must now be considered a Group, until the elections which take place April 21st, 1955.
The beloved Guardian assures you all of his prayers in your behalf. He sends you his loving greetings.
Faithfully yours,
LEROY IOAS,
Assistant Secretary.
Letter of December 4, 1954
Haifa, Israel,
December 4, 1954.
LAND TITLE TRANSFERRED TO ISRAEL BRANCH
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada.
The beloved Guardian has directed me to write you in connection with a recent communication you submitted to him, in which you stated that you were pleased to note that the Israel Branch of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada was to be established, and land on Mount Carmel registered in your name.
In the Guardian’s Ridván Message of April, 1954, you will note he has advised that the Israel Branch of the Bahá’ís of Canada was formed. The actual date of the formation was November 20, 1953.
The land of Mount Carmel, which the Guardian had instructed be registered in the name of the Israel Branch of the Canadian Assembly was transferred to the title of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada, Israel Branch, on October 1, 1954.
I am attaching hereto, for preservation in your files, the title deed covering this particular piece of land, which is Parcel No. 304, Block 10811, Mount Carmel, Haifa.
With loving Bahá’í greetings, I am
Faithfully yours,
LEROY IOAS,
Assistant Secretary.
Letter of March 3, 1955
Haifa, Israel,
March 3, 1955.
DEPRIVATION OF VOTING RIGHTS
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada.
Our beloved Guardian has instructed me to write you on his behalf and bring to your attention a certain matter.
He has heard from a number of sources that some of the Canadian believers have been deprived of their voting rights; and he feels that all National Spiritual Assemblies should bear in mind that this is the heaviest sanction we possess at present in the Faith, short of excommunication, which lies within the powers of the Guardian alone; and is consequently a very weighty weapon to wield.
He considers that under no circumstances should any Bahá’í ever be suspended from the voting list and deprived of his administrative privileges for a matter which is not of the utmost gravity. By that he means breaking of laws, such as the consent of parents to marriage etc., or acts of such an immoral character as to damage the good name of the Faith.
He has informed, some years ago, the American National Spiritual Assembly that, before anyone is deprived of their voting rights, they should be consulted with and lovingly admonished at first, given repeated warnings if they do not mend their immoral ways, or whatever other extremely serious misdemeanor they are committing, and finally, after these repeated warnings, be deprived of their voting rights.
He feels that a great many problems within the communities would be solved if the believers would more constructively devote their attention to the teaching work and carrying out the provisions of the Ten Year Plan as they affect Canada. The leadership of your Assembly in these matters will no doubt be of great help and inspiration to the friends; and he on his part will reinforce you with his prayers.
With warm Bahá’í love,
R.
RABBANI.
Letter of July 16, 1955
Haifa, Israel,
July 16, 1955.
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada.
Your letters ... have been received by the beloved Guardian, and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.
He considers the revised criteria you sent him for the Temple and Hazíratu’l-Quds land, as outlined in your letter of December 15, satisfactory.
DIFFICULTIES IN PURCHASE OF TEMPLE SITE
He is extremely anxious to have these properties purchased, either together in one place, or if this is not feasible, then in two separate places, as he has already informed you. Eight of the eleven Temple sites have been purchased, and many of them in very difficult places; and he feels very strongly that it is a great pity that Canada should be behind-hand in this matter, in view of the fact that she is one of the oldest Bahá’í Communities in the western world. No doubt the problem is more difficult for you to solve, owing to special conditions in Toronto and vicinity; but we know that all problems are solvable for the Bahá’ís, with the power of God to help them; and he is eagerly awaiting news of your success.
As regards your question about the nature of the endowment, which is one of the objectives of your part of the Ten Year Crusade: although the Maxwell house41 in Montreal is really a national endowment he feels in conformity to the policy being pursued in other countries, Canada should acquire one also at this time. This may be a small piece of land purchased for Two Thousand Dollars or even less, or for that matter, given to the National Assembly as a gift. The important point is that Canada should have its own National Endowment, as distinguished from the school property.
The Guardian does not feel that it is possible or right to change Anticosti and to substitute another goal in its place. He fully realizes the difficulties involved; but feels convinced that sooner or later, through perseverance and prayer, a way will open and a believer will be able to get into the Island on a more-or-less permanent basis.
As regards the money you have received on account of the estate of dear Fred Schopflocher42 : this your Body is free to use for the purposes of the Faith, at its discretion.
He hopes that the National Assembly, through its love, wisdom, patience and leadership, will carry the members of the Canadian Community forward during the coming year on the difficult road leading to the achievement of their goals. The spirit of enthusiasm and consecration which animates the Canadian Bahá’ís will, he feels sure, bring forth a warm and generous response to all the plans made by your Assembly for obtaining your objectives.
He assures you, and through you all the members of the Canadian Community that the work in Canada is very dear to his heart, and that he will remember you all in his loving prayers in the holy Shrines.
With warm Bahá’í love,
R.
RABBANI.
P.S.—He is very happy to see you are expediting building Mr. Schopflocher’s grave. The details he leaves to the discretion of your Assembly, as he is too busy to go into such matters. The most suitable passages should be chosen from his cable regarding Freddie at the time of his death, and engraved on the tombstone of this distinguished Hand of the Cause.
As regards building the grave of Mr. Maxwell43, this has already been taken care of by his family. However, he thanks you for the loving offer.
He approves of your taking steps right away to erect a worthy monument on the grave of dear and heroic Marion Jack44.
Dear and Valued Co-workers:
The steady progress of the manifold activities in which the Canadian Bahá’í Community is now so devotedly and unflaggingly engaged is a source of great joy and satisfaction to all who have, in recent years, observed its growth and noted its consolidation throughout that vast and promising Dominion.
Though some of its most capable and active members have, urged by a compelling force to forsake their homes and settle in distant fields, ceased to lend to the members of this brave and greatly consecrated community their valued support, and though a few others to be reckoned among its oldest and most distinguished supporters have passed to the Abhá Kingdom, leaving a gap difficult indeed to fill, yet the body of the Canadian believers, far from flinching or relaxing in its noble endeavours, has amply demonstrated its capacity to assume and discharge its heavy and multiple responsibilities, has steadily enlarged the scope of its achievements, has preserved its unity, and coherence, and set an inspiring example to Bahá’í communities, both young and old, throughout all the continents of the globe.
The superb feats achieved by this community’s indomitable pioneers far beyond the Arctic circle, in neighbouring islands of both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as well as in far off isolated territories; the incorporation of the elected body of its national representatives; the notable increase in the number of its members; its response to the urgent needs of the National Fund, and the rapid enlargement in the scope of its teaching and administrative activities, are all evidences of the intense vitality of the faith which animates it, and of the firm attachment of its members to the Cause which it has espoused.
TASKS STILL UNACCOMPLISHED
Though much has been achieved in various fields, the work that still remains unaccomplished is so vital and urgent that none of its members can afford to relax for a moment, or to lose sight of the significance and sacredness of the immediate tasks now confronting it.
The virgin areas, so laboriously opened, must, under no circumstances, be neglected; nay rather constant attention must be focused upon them in order to consolidate the glorious historic work initiated in those areas. The Island of Anticosti, the one remaining goal as yet unattained, and the only island in the Atlantic Ocean as yet unopened in pursuance of the Ten Year Plan, should continue to be the object of the special solicitude of the national elected representatives of this community. The purchase of the site of the Mother Temple of the Dominion of Canada and the establishment of the national Hazíratu’l-Quds constitute a double task that can brook no further delay, as the entire Bahá’í World, having hailed the erection of such an indispensable institution in no less than eighteen countries scattered throughout the continents and oceans of the Globe, is now intently fixing its eye on this community, so richly blessed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, eager to witness this twofold consummation destined to considerably enrich the record of the services rendered by its members. The acceleration in the process of incorporating firmly established Local Assemblies is yet another objective to which the closest attention must be paid—a task which will, to a very great extent, contribute, from a legal standpoint, to the consolidation of these Assemblies. No less important and vital is the multiplication of isolated centres and groups, the rapid increase in the number of Local Assemblies, and the steady numerical growth of the community—the one enduring foundation on which the security and future prosperity of the community must ultimately rest.
ÍRÁNIAN PERSECUTIONS MUST ACT AS STIMULUS
The sudden and indeed tragic turn of events in the land of the birth of our Faith45 must act as an unprecedented and powerful stimulus to the spirit which animates the members of the Canadian Bahá’í Community. It must not, indeed it cannot for a moment, dampen their ardour, deflect them from their purpose, or weaken their resolve to accomplish the tasks assigned to them under the Ten Year Plan.
Conscious of their inescapable, their sacred and multiple responsibilities; spurred on by the realization of the great and varied sacrifices being made, and the vicissitudes experienced, by the great mass of their long-suffering brethren in Bahá’u’lláh’s native land; mindful of the prophecies made by the Centre of the Covenant regarding the spiritual and material destiny of their country; following the noble and immortal example set by the founder46 of their community and by the two Hands of the Cause47 ranking among its foremost members; encouraged by their own splendid achievements in recent years; thankful for the unrestricted freedom enabling them to proclaim, unreservedly and far and wide, the fundamental verities of their Faith; and fully aware of the shortness of the time allotted to them for the performance of their arduous and mighty task, the members of the Canadian Bahá’í Community must arise, at this very hour, and evince such a whole-hearted dedication to the mission they have pledged themselves to carry out as to astonish the entire Bahá’í World, and bring everlasting consolation to the hearts of the persecuted followers of the Faith in the land of its birth.
That this community may rise to this occasion, and may befittingly fulfil this glorious mission, and enrich immeasurably the record of its splendid and unforgettable achievements is the object of my constant prayer and the dearest wish of my heart.
Your true brother,
SHOGHI.