Letter of 28 September 1925

28 September 1925

[From the Guardian]

...I wish you, my dearest friend, to make once again a supreme effort to come to a full understanding with the friends outside.... Extend to them your generous and helping hand, approach them with a spirit of selflessness and cordiality and the result, I am confident will be indeed marvellous. My heart rejoices at the news of the growth of harmony among the friends and I feel paralysed in my work when I hear to the contrary. I am impressing on the friends in ... the absolute necessity of cultivating understanding and friendliness and consolidating the foundation of the National Assembly. For upon these National Assemblies will the Edifice of the Universal House of Justice be raised.

Letter of 28 October 1925

28 October 1925

Shoghi Effendi is much interested to hear of your literary work. He fully agrees with you that different people must be approached in different ways and that valuable work for the Bahá’í Cause can be done within the Christian Churches by promoting the “Christianity of Christ”. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said that when people become true Christians, they will find themselves Bahá’ís. One or two of the best Bahá’ís I know were very earnest, sincere, devoted Christians and accepted the Bahá’í teachings with very little difficulty and without any intervening period of religious scepticism, as an amplification and fulfilment of the teachings and prophesyings of Christ and the prophets.

Letter of 28 December 1925

28 December 1925

He is very sorry that such undesirable things are every now and then cropping up in ... and discouraging you in your work, keeping you from devoting all your spare time in teaching the Cause and spreading its principles. He does not wish you, however, to lose heart from such things. As the Cause grows its difficulties will increase and its problems will become more numerous. The friends, especially the older ones, should therefore try and stand unmoved by them. In fact the more their difficulties will increase the more they have to take courage and try to solve them. The Master has often said that sorrows are like furrows, the deeper they go the more productive the land becomes. If this problem of ... should be settled other problems will arise. Are the friends to become discouraged or are they to follow the footsteps of the Master and consider them more as chances to show their tenacity of belief and spirit of sacrifice? In short, Shoghi Effendi wishes you to keep on teaching the principles of the Cause no matter what problems may arise.

[From the Guardian:]

...Let not anxieties and disappointments overwhelm you or oppress your generous and sensitive heart. Turn to Him in prayer and remember that I am joining you in your supplications for guidance and strength. Be patient in tribulation and never relax in your efforts to promote the Divine Teachings.

Letter of 28 March 1926

28 March 1926

It must have been very distasteful to you to read some of the off-hand and ungrammatical translations that more out of necessity than choice won circulation and were even published. Furthermore, it was always the expressed wish and desire of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to have proper and adequate translations that would not only convey the true spirit of the original but also possess some literary merit. And for this he emphasised the necessity of a board of translators. Such a board it has unfortunately been impossible to form as yet.

Meanwhile Shoghi Effendi, realising the urgent necessity of the translation of some of the important writings, has translated some of the passages.

Letter of 16 October 1926

16 October 1926

We should, however, be careful, as you mention in your letter, not to make this system develop into a hard and fast creed or form. The Cause is pure and free from such things and it ought to be the task of the friends to keep it broad and progressive. Man is always apt to fall into the habit of doing a thing in a certain way, and thereby become captive to prescribed forms. It should therefore be the duty of the assemblies everywhere to see that, though certain temporary measures are taken to further the Cause, they do not crystallise into hard and fast creeds.

Letter of 6 April 1928

6 April 1928

[From the Guardian]

I feel that regarding such interpretations (of verses from the Scriptures) no one has the right to impose his view or opinion and require his listeners to believe in his particular interpretation of the sacred and prophetic writings. I have no objection to your interpretations and inferences so long as they are represented as your own personal observations and reflections. It would be unnecessary and confusing to state authoritatively and officially a dogmatic Bahá’í interpretation to be universally accepted and taught by believers. Such matters I feel should be left to the personal judgement and insight of individual teachers....

Letter of 12 December 1929

12 December 1929

Ever since its inception (the “Bahá’í World”) Shoghi Effendi has cherished the hope of making it a work that would prove interesting and illuminating to the reader. Destined mainly for the non-Bahá’ís, he has tried to attract through its pages the attention of educated and enlightened people and especially leaders in every country, with a view to acquaint them with the broad and fundamental principles of the Faith and to win their consideration of the Movement as a growing force for good and for peace throughout the entire world. It is therefore with lively satisfaction that he has seen the publication grow yearly in importance and this feeling has been lately enhanced very much by the words of interest or appreciation which he has received from many quarters and leading men, among which was a remarkably encouraging letter from Sir Herbert Samuel. Indeed Shoghi Effendi has made it a point to send copies to as many leading men as possible and copies of last year’s issue were presented to the Emperor of Japan, the Sháh of Persia and Queen Marie of Rumania.

Letter of 9 February 1930

9 February 1930

The subject you had raised with regard to the date of the publication of the writings of Bahá’u’lláh is interesting as it is important. If I remember correctly the same issue was raised as an open challenge in India by some spokesman of the Ahmadiyya sect. The earliest published writings of Bahá’u’lláh date from the nineties of the last century. Over forty years ago the Aqdas, a volume of general Tablets including Tarazát, Ishráqát, and others were published in Ishqábád (Russia) and Bombay respectively and copies of these though rare are still procurable. Simultaneously with these, if not earlier, some of the writings of Bahá’u’lláh were published by the Oriental Department of the Imperial Russian University at St. Petersburgh under the supervision of its director Baron Rosen (and more particulars about these could be found in the books of E. G. Browne) and these of course are not undated like some of those published in Bombay.

The main bulk of the writings of Bahá’u’lláh however are to be found in manuscript form written by noted scribes after the fashion of orientals. These scribes did not leave all their manuscripts undated and Jinábí Zain, a very noted Bahá’í scribe, always dated his copies of the writings of Bahá’u’lláh at the end of the volume in what E. G. Browne calls ‘colophenes’ and the description of some of these colophenes could be found in the works of the Cambridge Professor.

The son of the above-mentioned scribe is still living in Haifa and does very much the same work as his father. He claims that as early as 1868 his father used to write copies of the Íqán for the Bahá’ís in Persia as a source of livelihood, and that after 1885 when he went to Akká to join Bahá’u’lláh’s party his entire work and time was devoted to copying the sacred writings for sale among Bahá’ís. These copies are to be found all throughout the East and are almost invariably dated.

Letter of 9 June 1930

9 June 1930

Concerning the accounts of visits to Haifa, published by the friends during the Master’s life-time, Shoghi Effendi is very reluctant to attribute to them much authority. Most of these are personal impressions and are to be valued only as such. Bahá’u’lláh definitely states that only His actual writings are to be relied upon. Such reports may be interesting but not authoritative, no matter who the reporter may be...

Letter of 22 October 1930

22 October 1930

...If those heroic deeds have made such an impression upon you, would not the reading of the narrative arouse the friends to greater sacrifices and stimulate them to more intensive service? It was not mere physical torture that the friends in Persia had to endure but also moral persecution for they were cursed and vilified by all the people, especially when they ceased to defend themselves ... the Master used to say sometimes that the western friends will be severely persecuted but theirs will be primarily moral....

Letter of 30 November 1930

30 November 1930

He (the Guardian) is enclosing extracts from Lord Curzon’s “Persia and the Persian Question” giving a detailed and faithful description of the state of Persia in the middle of the 19th century. He thinks that references to the extracts ... will be of great value in showing to the reader the contrast between the decadent state of the government and the people at that time and the heroism and nobility of character displayed by the early disciples of the Báb... Shoghi Effendi is also sending you ... the Master’s words concerning the situation which led to the defensive action which the early disciples of the Báb were compelled to take in Mázindarán, Nayríz and Zanján. From these words it is evident that a systematic campaign of plunder and massacre had been initiated by the central government. Bahá’u’lláh, Who Himself was an active figure in those days and was regarded one of the leading exponents of the Faith of the Báb, states clearly His views in the Íqán that His conception of the sovereignty of the Promised Qá’im was purely a spiritual one, and not a material or political one... His view of the sovereignty of the Qá’im confirms the various evidences given in the text of the narrative itself of the views held by those who actually participated in these events such as Hujjat, Quddús, Mullá ?usayn. The very fact that these disciples were ready and willing to emerge from the fort and return to their homes after receiving the assurance that they would be no more molested is itself an evidence that they were not contemplating any action against the authorities.

Shoghi Effendi is also sending you an account of the doctrines of Shí’ah Islám from which the Movement originally sprang. It will help you to connect the origin of the Movement with the tenets and beliefs held by the Shí’ahs of Persia. The Báb declared Himself at the beginning of His mission to be the “Báb” by which He meant to be the gate or forerunner of “Him Whom God will make manifest”, that is to say Bahá’u’lláh, Whose advent the Shí’ahs also expected in the person of “the return of Imám ?usayn”. The Sunnis also believe in a similar twofold manifestation, the first they call “the Mihdí”, the second “the Return of Christ”. By the term Báb, the Báb meant to be the forerunner of the second manifestation rather than, as some have maintained, the gate of the Qá’im. When He declared Himself to be the Báb, the people understood by the term that He was an intermediary between the absent Qá’im and His followers, though He Himself never meant to be such a person. All He claimed to be was that He was the Qá’im Himself and in addition to this station, that of the Báb, namely the gate or forerunner of “Him Whom God will make manifest”.

There are many authorised traditions from Mu?ammad stating clearly (as explained in the Íqán) that the promised Qá’im would bring a new Book and new Laws. In other words abrogating the law of Islám.

Shoghi Effendi feels that the Unity of the Bahá’í revelation as one complete whole embracing the Faith of the Báb should be emphasised... The Faith of the Báb should not be divorced from that of Bahá’u’lláh. Though the teachings of the Bayán have been abrogated and superseded by the laws of Aqdas, yet due to the fact that the Báb considered Himself as the forerunner of Bahá’u’lláh we should regard His dispensation together with that of Bahá’u’lláh as forming one entity, the former being an introductory to the advent of the latter. Just as the advent of John the Baptist—who according to various authorities was Himself the originator of laws which abrogated the teachings current among the Jews—forms part of the Christian revelation, the advent of the Báb likewise forms an integral part of the Bahá’í Faith. That is why Shoghi Effendi feels justified to call Nabíl’s narrative a narrative of the early days of the Bahá’í revelation.

Shoghi Effendi feels that it should be explained that forbidding self defence by Bahá’u’lláh should not be taken too literally. To put it as bluntly as this, he fears that the question might be misunderstood. Bahá’u’lláh could surely have not meant that a Bahá’í should not attempt to defend his life against any irresponsible assailant who might attack him for any purpose whatever, whether religious or not. Every reasonable person would feel under such circumstances justified in protecting his life....

Regarding Nabíl: He was born on the 18th day of the month of Safar of the year 1247 A. H. in the village of Zarand in Persia. He was thirteen years old when the Báb declared Himself. Though still young he himself was preparing to leave for Shaykh Tabarsí and join the companions of Mullá ?usayn when the news of the treachery and massacre of the besieged companions reached him. He met Bahá’u’lláh in Kirmansháh and ?ihrán before the latter’s banishment to ‘Iráq. He was a close companion of the Báb’s amanuensis Mírzá A?mad. He subsequently met Bahá’u’lláh in Baghdád, Adrianople and Akká and was commissioned by Bahá’u’lláh to journey several times to Persia in order to promote the Cause and encourage the scattered and persecuted believers. He was present in Akká when Bahá’u’lláh passed away in 1892 and soon after was so overcome with grief that he drowned himself in the sea. His body was found along the shore and was buried in the cemetery of Akká. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is reported to have been struck with deep sorrow at the manner of his death. He states in his narration that he met the maternal uncle of the Báb, ?ájí Mírzá Siyyid ‘Alí who had visited his nephew in the Castle of Chihríq and had recently returned to ?ihrán. He started writing his narrative in 1305 A.H. four years before the passing of Bahá’u’lláh. It took him about a year and half to write it. His chief informants were Mírzá A?mad the amanuensis of the Báb and Mírzá Músá the brother of Bahá’u’lláh. Parts of his narrative were read in the presence of Bahá’u’lláh and approved by Him. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá also went over sections of his narrative....

Shoghi Effendi has found in the papers of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá a complete set of the Báb’s Tablets to the 18 Letters of the Living, all written in His own hand-writing and bearing His seal. In addition to these there are two other Tablets both written by Himself in exquisite hand-writing, the one addressed to the 19th Letter who was Himself and the other to “Him whom God will make manifest”, i.e. Bahá’u’lláh. This last one has three seals and is written on blue paper....

Regarding the question raised in your letter.... The Bahá’ís in Persia avoid political posts and positions, abstain from any interference in matters pertaining to the policy of the state, but fill the more important administrative posts that have no political character. They feel that in this manner they can best serve the interest of their country and prove by their action their integrity and attachment to Persia....

Shoghi Effendi is enclosing an extremely interesting account given by a certain Dr. Cormick, an English physician long resident in Tabríz of his meeting with the Báb. He is apparently the only Westerner who has met the Báb and recorded his impressions... Shoghi Effendi thinks of adding it to his notes.

Letter of 30 April 1931

30 April 1931

...You could also in a quiet way speak to persons whom you think are ready for such a message and would appreciate the light when they see it. Try to form around you a group of Bahá’ís who are well versed in the teachings and who are ready to assist you in serving the Cause. In short try to form an assembly of pure and competent souls. Meanwhile you could write, for the Cause is in great need of first class literature and you are gifted along that line.

The Cause surely needs sacrifices, in fact it is only through sacrifice that it can progress, but such determined activity should be coupled with wisdom and caution if it is not going to be a temporary flare. Intimate talk and personal contact has proven the surest and quietest way for establishing a group....

Letter of 7 November 1931

7 November 1931

The present social and economic problems that are facing the British people are surely occupying their whole attention, but they should also operate as a reminder and draw them closer to spiritual matters. The people have to be made conscious of the fact that without a complete change in our outlook and a total reform of the guiding principles of our life, such as the Cause advocates, our social and economic problems cannot be solved nor our conditions ameliorated. Nothing short of the full message of Bahá’u’lláh can end the sufferings that are befalling humanity.

Letter of 2 January 1932

2 January 1932

It is strange how much suffering man has to put up with while on this earth. Our consolation should be however that it is part of a divine plan whose worth we cannot yet fathom....

...Shoghi Effendi wishes ... to encourage those who are talented to give expression to the wonderful spirit that animates them. We need poets and writers for the Cause.... Some of the poems are written by very youthful persons yet they ring so true and give expression to such thoughts that one should halt and admire. In Persia the Cause has given birth to poets that even non-Bahá’ís consider them as great. We hope before long we will have similar persons arise in the West.

Letter of 10 January 1932

10 January 1932

In Persia the Cause gave birth to many poets of national standing. Let us hope that the west will follow suit and produce similar talents.

Letter of 23 February 1932

23 February 1932

The exact date in which the Hidden Words was written you can find on the opening page of Mrs. J. E. Stannard’s translation published in Cairo. She gives a line in the Master’s own handwriting giving the date as 1274 A.H. (1857–8 A.D.). It is generally believed that the Hidden Words was dictated by Bahá’u’lláh to His secretary as He strolled on the banks of the river in Baghdád—in sections rather than all at one time.

As to the date of the Íqán, I think it can be calculated from the actual text and I have it in my papers as 1278 A.H., i.e. 1861 A.D. You will find that in the text itself. It was written in answer to questions put by a distinguished Bábí.

Letter of 16 May 1932

16 May 1932

Even though outwardly the number of the friends has not been increasing so rapidly, yet the spirit has not remained idle. The leaven of spirituality has been working, and when the time will come it will manifest itself in a sudden awakening. All that we need is a little more courage, perseverance and patience. There are many important men that are attentively watching the progress of the Faith but are reluctant to come forward and extend a helping hand. In time they will, and then we shall see the Cause of God spread by leaps and bounds....

Letter of 10 August 1932

10 August 1932

Your touching words of condolence and sympathy in connection with the sudden removal of the Greatest Holy Leaf from our midst have greatly comforted (the Guardian’s) aching heart and relieved the burden of sorrow that lies so heavily upon him.

In this great calamity which has seized the entire body of the followers of the Faith in both East and West our Guardian’s loss is the greatest and the most cruel. His sole comfort, at this terrible hour, is to see the friends united and working together for the realisation of our departed Khánum’s dearest wishes.

Letter of 15 March 1933

15 March 1933

He deeply appreciates your sincere, well-expressed reference to the Tribute he has written to the dearly beloved Greatest Holy Leaf.

You cannot imagine to what an extent our dear Guardian has, in this loss, been deprived for ever of the sustaining influence and kindness that this Most Exalted Leaf used to shower daily upon him. In this beautiful Tribute we can trace the life of this beautiful soul, witness with anguish all the sufferings and deprivations that she has endured. Now we should, all of us, try in turn to follow her saintly path and direct all our energy to serve the Cause which has been so dear to her.

Letter of 6 May 1933

6 May 1933

What the Faith needs, even more than teachers, is books that expound the true significance of its principles in the light of modern thought and social problems.

Letter of 29 May 1933

29 May 1933

He was deeply touched by the strong attachment of the friends to one who, besides being the beloved daughter of Bahá’u’lláh, exemplified perhaps more than any one the true spirit that animates His Teachings. His (the Guardian’s) sincere hope is that your love for our departed Greatest Holy Leaf will attain such depth and intensity as to enable you to follow in her footsteps and to carry out with increasing devotion and vigour all that she cherished so much during the entire course of her earthly life. The memory of her saintly life will undoubtedly sustain and feed your energies and will provide you with that spiritual potency of which we are all in such a great need.

Letter of 17 October 1933

17 October 1933

How much the Faith is in need of able and devoted souls like you who are ready to suffer every possible deprivation for its sake. If every believer was ready to contribute his share, however humble and small, and through any means, whether intellectual or material, the Faith would have undoubtedly made a tremendous progress in the world....

Letter of 12 November 1933

12 November 1933

You use the expression “till time ends”. This is misleading, for there is no end to time. The Guardian suggests that you should either use the term used in the Íqán “till the end that has no end”, or express it in such a manner that would give the idea that time has no end....

Jehovah is a title of God, whereas Bahá’u’lláh is the title of the Manifestation of God.

... you count the period of the Christian Dispensation as having lasted for 1844 years. As in the Bahá’í teachings Mu?ammad is considered as an independent prophet of God, you have to consider His Dispensation as having begun in 622 A.D. The Christian Dispensation must, therefore, end in 622 A.D. and from that date till 1844 is the era of Mu?ammad. 1260 is the calculation based on the lunar system. In other words, it is the Hegira year or A.H. You should either specify this fact, or base your calculation on the solar year, in which case it will be less than 1260, as there is a difference of one year in every 33 years.

... you should point out that, only so far as it is recorded in the Gospel, Jesus gave two material ordinances only. Our knowledge of Jesus’ life and teachings is rather fragmentary and so it would be more correct if you specify that these ordinances are only those recorded in the Gospel, and they may not be the only ones. There may be other teachings and ordinances too, of which no record is left.

...Muhammadanism is not only the last of the world religions, but a fuller Revelation than any one preceding it. The Qur’án is not only more authoritative than any previous religious gospel, but it contains also much more; ordinances, teachings and precepts, which taken together constitute a fuller Revelation of God’s purpose and law to mankind than Christianity, Judaism or any other previous Dispensation. This view is in complete accord with the Bahá’í philosophy of progressive revelation, and should be thoroughly accepted and taught by every loyal ... Bahá’í.

Letter of 1 December 1933

1 December 1933

One more European is reported to have seen Bahá’u’lláh from a distance, but Professor Browne was the only Westerner who actually met Him.

Letter of 4 June 1934

4 June 1934

You should, nevertheless, persevere in your efforts until your immediate objective has been fully attained. God cannot, indeed, withdraw from so devoted and so capable a Bahá’í like you all the guidance and assistance you need for the effective discharge of your responsibilities and obligations to the Cause. Be, therefore, confident in Bahá’u’lláh’s help. His Spirit will lead you, and will feed your soul with that spiritual sustenance whereby you will be able to overcome the obstacles which seem to so hopelessly beset your path.

Letter of 10 November 1934

10 November 1934

When you quote the Báb, or anyone of His disciples you should make it clear that the words attributed to them are by no means their exact words. They constitute the substance of their message, and thus are not as definite as the quoted words of Bahá’u’lláh or the Master. So, the Guardian suggests that you should either omit the quotation marks, or to specify that the passages quoted are not the exact words used by the Báb and His disciples. In the future edition of Nabíl’s Narrative a similar explanation will have to be inserted in the “Dawn Breakers”.

You state that the Christian Dispensation “was six hundred and twenty-two years old at the time of the Hegira”. The Guardian suggests that the words “at the time of the Hegira” be omitted as they may give the impression that the Revelation of Christ extended beyond the date of the Hegira.

Letter of 8 February 1935

8 February 1935

Religious conservatism, particularly in England, constitutes indeed a serious obstacle which the friends have to meet when spreading the Message, and not until such an obstacle has been completely removed can the Cause effectively spread and establish itself in the West. This religious conservatism is in many respects far more dangerous and more difficult to wipe out than the religious apathy which is so rapidly invading all classes of society.

In view of that, it is, at least for the present, more advantageous to teach the Message in an indirect way, so as to gradually attract and confirm those who have the spiritual capacity of appreciating the Cause in its fullness.

Letter of 29 May 1935

29 May 1935

As to your question concerning the meaning of physical suffering and its relation to mental and spiritual healing. Physical pain is a necessary accompaniment of all human existence, and as such is unavoidable. As long as there will be life on earth, there will be also suffering, in various forms and degrees. But suffering, although an inescapable reality, can nevertheless be utilised as a means for the attainment of happiness. This is the interpretation given to it by all the prophets and saints who, in the midst of severe tests and trials, felt happy and joyous and experienced what is best and holiest in life. Suffering is both a reminder and a guide. It stimulates us better to adapt ourselves to our environmental conditions, and thus leads the way to self improvement. In every suffering one can find a meaning and a wisdom. But it is not always easy to find the secret of that wisdom. It is sometimes only when all our suffering has passed that we become aware of its usefulness. What man considers to be evil turns often to be a cause of infinite blessings. And this is due to his desire to know more than he can. God’s wisdom is, indeed, inscrutable to us all, and it is no use pushing too far trying to discover that which shall always remain a mystery to our mind.

In connection with your question relative to the Bahá’í solution of sex problems. On the question of sex the Bahá’ís are, in most of their fundamental views, in full agreement with the upholders of traditional morality. Bahá’u’lláh, like all the other Prophets and Messengers of God, preaches abstinence, and condemns, in vehement language, all forms of sexual laxity, unbridled licence and lust. The Bahá’í standard of sex morality is thus very high, but it is by no means unreasonably rigid. While free love is condemned, yet marriage is considered as a holy act which every human being should be encouraged, though not forced, to perform. Sex instinct, like all other human instincts, is not necessarily evil. It is a power which, if properly directed, can bring joy and satisfaction to the individual. If misused or abused it brings, of course, incalculable harm not only to the individual but also to the society in which he lives. While the Bahá’ís condemn asceticism and all extreme forms of self-mortification they at the same time view with disfavour the current theories of sex ethics which cannot but bring ruin to human society. In the Bahá’í Cause marriage has been encouraged, but made somewhat difficult, conditioned as it is upon the consent of the four parents. Divorce, on the other hand, has been made relatively easy, and the sociologists are just beginning to realise the importance of this law....

Letter of 6 April 1936

6 April 1936

He (the Guardian) is of the opinion, however, that while the secondary aspects of Bahá’í Administration should be left out, a comprehensive statement as to its origin and significance in the Bahá’í Dispensation is of vital importance in any work of the Cause, especially if it is written by a believer. The main thing is to properly present the subject so that the reader may be able to grasp it.

Letter of 21 November 1936

21 November 1936

With reference to the absolute pacifists, or conscientious objectors to war; their attitude, judged from the Bahá’í standpoint, is quite anti-social and due to its exaltation of the individual conscience leads inevitably to disorder and chaos in society. Extreme pacifists are thus very close to the anarchists, in the sense that both these groups lay an undue emphasis on the rights and merits of the individual. The Bahá’í conception of social life is essentially based on the principle of the subordination of the individual will to that of society. It neither suppresses the individual nor does it exalt him to the point of making him an anti-social creature, a menace to society. As in everything it follows the ‘golden mean’. The only way that society can function is for the minority to follow the will of the majority.

The other main objection to the conscientious objectors is that their method of establishing peace is too negative. Non-co-operation is too passive a philosophy to become an effective way for social reconstruction. Their refusal to bear arms can never establish peace. There should be first a spiritual revitalisation which nothing, except the Cause of God, can effectively bring to every man’s heart.

Letter of 3 February 1937

3 February 1937

Do not feel discouraged if your labours do not always yield an abundant fruitage. For a quick and rapidly-won success is not always the best and the most lasting. The harder you strive to attain your goal, the greater will be the confirmations of Bahá’u’lláh, and the more certain you can feel to attain success. Be cheerful, therefore, and exert yourself with full faith and confidence. For Bahá’u’lláh has promised His Divine assistance to every one who arises with a pure and detached heart to spread His Holy Word, even though he may be bereft of every human knowledge and capacity, and notwithstanding the forces of darkness and of opposition which may be arrayed against him. The goal is clear, the path safe and certain, and the assurances of Bahá’u’lláh as to the eventual success of our efforts quite emphatic. Let us keep firm, and whole-heartedly carry on the great work which He has entrusted into our hands.