25 May 194435
WELCOME SPONTANEOUS DECISION ADVISE FORMATION NINETEEN SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES SPREAD OVER ENGLAND WALES SCOTLAND NORTHERN IRELAND AND EIRE PRAYING SIGNAL VICTORY.
SHOGHI RABBÁNÍ
26 May 1944
OVERJOYED SUCCESS CELEBRATIONS. PRAYING EVER INCREASING FLOW DIVINE OUTPOURINGS.
SHOGHI RABBÁNÍ
8 July 1944
PREPARE CONDENSED REPORT NOT EXCEEDING THIRTY PAGES REGARDING ACTIVITIES ACHIEVEMENTS BAHÁ’Í FAITH DURING PAST FOUR YEARS. MAIL ONE COPY AMERICA ANOTHER HAIFA PROMPT ACTION NECESSARY.
SHOGHI RABBÁNÍ
11 August 1944
APPRECIATE GREETINGS PRAYING BLESSINGS SUMMER SCHOOL AND TEACHING PLAN LOVE.
SHOGHI RABBÁNÍ
12 August 1944
Dear Bahá’í Sister,
Your letters dated March 3rd and 25th, April 23rd, May 18th and July 6th together with their enclosures have all been received, and the beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer them on his behalf.
He was most deeply gratified over the way the Centenary was conducted in London and feels that it has adequately demonstrated the vitality of the faith which animates the British Bahá’í community. They may well look upon this as their major achievement since the visits to their shores of the beloved Master. He was also very pleased to hear of the celebrations successfully held by the Manchester and Torquay Bahá’ís in their respective communities.
“The Centenary of a World Faith” he found most excellently gotten out and not only well written but calculated to arouse the interest of the reader and impress him with the true stature of our World Faith. He has distributed copies among the friends and placed some in the library of the Mansion, at Bahjí. He was also pleased with the programme of the London Meetings—so you can see that the patient efforts and sacrifices of the members of the N.S.A. and all those who contributed to the marked success of the Centenary celebrations in England, have met not only with his approval and admiration but brought happiness to his often heavily over-burdened heart!
Regarding your question concerning minute No. 1050; this is entirely a matter of conscience; if the individual feels for some reason justified in voting for himself, he is free to do so. Regarding your question of the proper time to celebrate or hold our meetings of commemoration, the time should be fixed by counting after sunset; the Master passed away one hour after midnight, which falls a certain number of hours after sunset; so His passing should be commemorated according to the sun and regardless of daylight saving time. The same applies to the ascension of Bahá’u’lláh who passed away about 8 hours after sunset.
The Guardian has already cabled you regarding your Six Year Teaching Plan, and he hopes that events in the future will be more favourable to carrying it out than they are at present. He often thinks of and prays for the English friends during these days of ordeal they are again passing through and he feels confident Bahá’u’lláh will strengthen their work and bless their efforts for this Holy Cause....
[From the Guardian:]
Dear and valued co-workers,
The Six Year Plan which the national elected representatives of the English believers have spontaneously launched is a further evidence of their unquenchable faith and noble and unyielding determination to prosecute energetically the teaching work in the British Isles and to exploit to the full the notable advantages derived from the successful celebrations of the Bahá’í Centenary in London. Attention should be focussed in the course of the opening year of the second Bahá’í Century on the needs and requirements of this Plan. The multiplication of Bahá’í centres and the dissemination of Bahá’í literature should be regarded as the chief objectives of the prosecutors of the Plan. Every sacrifice should be made, every effort should be exerted and every avenue should be explored to ensure the success of the Plan. The English believers stand identified with this Plan. The immediate destinies of the entire community depend upon it. I will pray for its success, will watch its progress and pledge every assistance within my power for its promotion. May the Beloved bless all those who have embarked upon it and crown their enterprise with brilliant and total victory.
Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi
14 August 1944
ANXIOUS SAFETY LONDON BELIEVERS KINDLY CABLE.
SHOGHI RABBÁNÍ
5 January 1945
APPRECIATE VERBATIM REPORTS ADDRESSES DELIVERED OPENING CENTENARY EXHIBITION AND PUBLIC MEETING DENISON HOUSE.
SHOGHI RABBÁNÍ
27 January 1945
KINDLY CABLE ADDRESS TUDOR-POLE MAIL THREE COPIES EVERY PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN CENTENARY.
SHOGHI RABBÁNÍ
27 March 1945
Dear Bahá’í Sister,
Your letters, written on behalf of the National Spiritual Assembly, and dated Aug. 2nd, 21st and 31st (airgraph) and Oct. 9th, Nov. 16th (airgraph) and Nov. 23rd (duplicate copy also received), Dec. 19th (duplicate copy also received) all of 1944, and Jan. 25th 1945 (duplicate copy also received) have arrived safely with any enclosures they contained, and the beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer them.
He fully realises the many handicaps the English Bahá’ís are labouring under, and appreciates all the more deeply their perseverance and devotion shown in such activities as the National Centenary in London and local exhibitions and meetings held elsewhere, as well as the successful Summer School, the various printing undertakings and the renewed efforts to establish new centres and strengthen older ones. In this connection he would like you to please convey to Miss Young36 and all other pioneers the expression of his loving appreciation of this historic service they have arisen to render the Faith in England.
The tasks facing the believers everywhere are great, for they see only too clearly that the only permanent remedy for the many afflictions the world is suffering from, is a change of heart and a new pattern of not only thought but personal conduct. The impetus that has been given by the Manifestation of God for this Age is the sole one that can regenerate humanity, and as we Bahá’ís are the only ones yet aware of this new force in the world, our obligation towards our fellow men is tremendous and inescapable! Therefore he hopes that many more of the friends there will arise to do pioneering work and help achieve the important goals set by the Six Year Plan. When once a few bold, self-sacrificing individuals have arisen to serve, their example will no doubt encourage other timid would-be pioneers to follow in their footsteps. The history of our Faith is full of records of the remarkable things achieved by really very simple, insignificant individuals, who became veritable beacons and towers of strength through having placed their trust in God, having arisen to proclaim His Message. The stamina and fortitude shown by the people at large during all these hard and bitter years of war should surely find a nobler example in the deeds of the Bahá’ís who are connected with the Divine Source! He urges your Assembly to do all in its power, through financial and moral assistance, to get more pioneers into the field.
Mr. Hofman has just written him about his meeting with the Paris believers, and he feels that as most of the friends there are elderly people and have suffered many privations, the British N.S.A. should keep in close touch with them and help and inspire them all it can....
Also concerning your question about the prayers and changing the pronouns: This cannot be done, even in the long Obligatory Prayer or the healing prayers. Either we must ignore this mere detail or say a prayer that applies to our sex or number....
You may be sure that you, and your fellow members of the N.S.A., are very often in his thoughts and prayers. He deeply appreciates your steadfast and persevering labours and hopes that the believers of England will arise to fulfil their high duties and discharge the debts they owe their countrymen through the privilege of being the followers of Bahá’u’lláh in these dark yet historic days....
P.S. The following is a copy of the cable the Guardian sent you in answer to your request for his advice as to the Six Year Plan the British believers resolved to undertake:
“WELCOME SPONTANEOUS DECISION. ADVISE FORMATION NINETEEN BAHÁ’Í SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES SPREAD OVER ENGLAND WALES SCOTLAND NORTHERN IRELAND AND EIRE. PRAYING SIGNAL VICTORY.”
He will, you may be sure, do everything in his power to assist the friends to achieve this objective.
[From the Guardian:]
Dear and valued co-workers,
The Six Year Plan which the English believers have conceived and are now energetically prosecuting constitutes a landmark in the history of the Faith in the British Isles. It is the first collective enterprise undertaken by them for the spread of the Faith and the consolidation of its divinely appointed institutions. The national elected representatives of the Bahá’í community in those islands must watch carefully every phase in its development, provide whatever is required for its systematic and steady extension, encourage the believers to disperse, to settle, to persevere, and to appeal more directly and effectively to the masses who are waiting for this Divine Message, and on whose ultimate response the triumph of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh must depend. Obstacles, however formidable, should be surmounted. Setbacks, however discouraging at first, must not, under any circumstances, cause them to deviate from the path they are so devotedly and determinedly pursuing. That glorious success may eventually crown their concerted and historic endeavours is my fervent and constant prayer at the Holy Shrines. May the Beloved aid them to achieve their noble end.
Shoghi
11 April 1945
BAHÁ’Í PERSIAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY EXPELLED ... FAMILY OWING REPUDIATION VITAL PROVISIONS MASTER’S WILL AND LONG-STANDING DISOBEDIENCE. POSITION ANY MEMBER THIS FAMILY IN LONDON SHOULD BE IMMEDIATELY ASCERTAINED BY YOUR ASSEMBLY. CABLE RESULTS. UTMOST FIRMNESS VIGILANCE REQUIRED OTHERWISE CONTACT BREAKERS COVENANT WILL ENDANGER FAITH.
SHOGHI RABBÁNÍ
25 April 1945
APPRECIATE CABLE RECEIVED FROM.... FEEL HOWEVER OWING DEFECTION HIS ENTIRE FAMILY NECESSITY FORMAL ASSURANCE BEFORE YOUR ASSEMBLY HIS DETERMINATION CEASE COMMUNICATION WITH HIS FAMILY AWAITING ASSEMBLY’S REPLY.
SHOGHI RABBÁNÍ
1 May 1945
LOVING APPRECIATION CONVENTION MESSAGE. ENGLISH BELIEVERS LOVINGLY REMEMBERED SHRINES FERVENTLY SUPPLICATING SUCCESS SIX YEAR PLAN URGE REDOUBLED EFFORTS CABLING FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS MY CONTRIBUTION PLAN.
SHOGHI RABBÁNÍ
3 May 1945
ASSURE ... APPRECIATE RESPONSE. CONCERNING MEDIUM DO NOT ADVISE ACCEPTANCE MEMBERSHIP.
SHOGHI RABBÁNÍ
9 May 194537
FOLLOWERS BAHÁ’U’LLÁH THROUGHOUT FIVE CONTINENTS UNANIMOUSLY REJOICE PARTIAL EMERGENCE WAR TORN HUMANITY FROM TITANIC UPHEAVAL UNERRINGLY PREDICTED SEVENTY YEARS AGO BY PEN AUTHOR THEIR FAITH. CESSATION HOSTILITIES EUROPEAN CONTINENT SIGNALISES CLOSING YET ANOTHER CHAPTER TRAGIC TALE FIERY TRIALS PROVIDENTIALLY DECREED BY INSCRUTABLE WISDOM DESIGNED ULTIMATELY WELD MUTUALLY ANTAGONISTIC ELEMENTS HUMAN SOCIETY INTO SINGLE ORGANICALLY UNITED UNSHATTERABLE WORLD COMMONWEALTH. GRATEFULLY ACCLAIM SIGNAL EVIDENCE INTERPOSITION DIVINE PROVIDENCE WHICH DURING SUCH PERILOUS YEARS ENABLED WORLD CENTRE FAITH ESCAPE WHAT POSTERITY WILL RECOGNISE AS ONE OF GRAVEST DANGERS EVER CONFRONTED NERVE CENTRE ITS INSTITUTIONS. PROFOUNDLY AWARE BOUNTIFUL GRACE VOUCHSAFED BY SAME PROVIDENCE ENSURING UNLIKE PREVIOUS WORLD CONFLICT UNINTERRUPTED INTERCOURSE BETWEEN SPIRITUAL CENTRE AND VAST MAJORITY COMMUNITIES FUNCTIONING WITHIN ORBIT FAR FLUNG FAITH. IMMEASURABLY THANKFUL MIRACULOUS PRESERVATION INDIAN PERSIAN EGYPTIAN BRITISH IRÁQÍ COMMUNITIES LONG THREATENED DIRE PERILS OWING PROXIMITY THEATRE MILITARY OPERATIONS. DEEPLY CONSCIOUS PROGRESS ACHIEVED DESPITE SIX TEMPESTUOUS YEARS IN BOTH EASTERN WESTERN HEMISPHERES THROUGH COLLECTIVE ENTERPRISES LAUNCHED BY THESE COMMUNITIES OUTSHINES SUM TOTAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS SINCE INCEPTION FORMATIVE AGE FAITH. SEVEN YEAR PLAN INAUGURATED BY AMERICAN BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY UNDER LOWERING CLOUDS APPROACHING CONFLICT VICTORIOUSLY COMPLETED EXTERIOR ORNAMENTATION MOTHER TEMPLE WEST ESTABLISHED STRUCTURAL BASIS FAITH EVERY STATE PROVINCE NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENT AND HOISTED ITS BANNER EVERY REPUBLIC LATIN AMERICA. INDIAN BELIEVERS SIX YEAR PLAN LAUNCHED EVE HOSTILITIES MORE THAN QUADRUPLED CENTRES FUNCTIONING WITHIN PALE ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER. EDIFICES CONSECRATED ADMINISTRATIVE AFFAIRS EVER ADVANCING CAUSE INVOLVING EXPENDITURE OVER HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS ERECTED PURCHASED OR COMPLETED CAPITAL CITIES INDIA ‘IRÁQ EGYPT AS WELL AS SYDNEY AUSTRALIA. ACQUISITION NUMEROUS PROPERTIES BAHÁ’U’LLÁH’S NATIVE LAND MT. CARMEL AND JORDAN VALLEY AS WELL AS PURCHASE SEVERAL IMPORTANT HISTORIC SITES ASSOCIATED LIVES BOTH HERALD AUTHOR FAITH SWELLED UNPRECEDENTED DEGREE BAHÁ’Í ENDOWMENTS. PRELIMINARY STEPS COMPLETION BÁB’S SEPULCHRE AND ESTABLISHMENT WORLD ADMINISTRATIVE CENTRE THROUGH REMOVAL REMAINS BROTHER MOTHER ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ UNDERTAKEN. TERMINATION FIRST CENTURY BAHÁ’Í ERA SYNCHRONISING CLIMAX RAGING STORM PUBLICLY BEFITTINGLY CELEBRATED DESPITE MULTIPLICATION RESTRICTIONS. ABOVE ALL UNITY INTEGRITY INCORRUPTIBLE WORLD COMMUNITY CONSISTENTLY SAFEGUARDED IN FACE INSIDIOUS OPPOSITION AVOWED ENEMIES WITHOUT AND COVENANT BREAKERS WITHIN. SUCH SPLENDID VICTORIES OVER SO VAST FIELD AMIDST SUCH TRIBULATIONS DURING SO PROLONGED ORDEAL AUGUR WELL COLOSSAL TASK DESTINED BE ACCOMPLISHED COURSE PEACEFUL YEARS AHEAD BY BUILDERS EMBRYONIC WORLD ORDER BAHÁ’U’LLÁH AMIDST WRECKAGE DISTRACTED DISRUPTED DISILLUSIONED SOCIETY.
SHOGHI
10 May 1945
Dear Bahá’í Sister,
The beloved Guardian has instructed me to forward you the enclosed copy of his message38 to the Bahá’ís of East and West on the happy occasion of the termination of the European war.
He would appreciate your sharing it not only with all the British friends but with the Paris believers too.
Please inform him of the safe receipt of this message as soon as it reaches you.
We all send you our loving greetings and are greatly relieved to know your lives will now assume a more normal course after all these years of suffering....
9 August 1945
Dear Bahá’í Sister,
Your letters dated March 8th and 12th, April 17th, May 10th and 18th and July 8th and June 9th have been received, as well as the various enclosures you mention in them, and the photographs, sent under the separate cover. The beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer them on his behalf.
He was very pleased to hear you are now in touch with the French believers and able to help them morally, and also with some physical assistance too! It is only right that England, the first country whose Bahá’í community is in a position to reach out a helping hand to its sister communities in Europe, should do so, and should have this privilege and honour.
He realises the many difficulties that stand in the way of the British Bahá’ís in regard to fulfilling the important Six Year Teaching Plan they have undertaken. But he hopes that now the European war is over, and conditions are returning to a more normal way of life, that the friends, conscious of their very great spiritual responsibility, will arise and, in spite of everything, accomplish the work they have chosen for themselves and which is of such great spiritual importance to their countrymen.
The more we study the present condition of the world, the more deeply we become convinced that there just cannot be any way out of its problems except the way of God, as given by Him, through Bahá’u’lláh. The early Persian Bahá’ís gave their lives for the Cause; the Western believers have been spared this necessity, but their comfort, to some extent, they must sacrifice if they are going to discharge their moral obligation to tortured humanity, and bring to it the message of the Father. Once the friends start out to win the goals set in their Plan, they will find the Divine confirmation sustaining them and hastening its consummation. This is what happened in the American Seven Year Plan and the Indian Six Year Plan, and the same spiritual assistance will certainly be vouchsafed the English believers, once they arise with faith and confidence, to do their work.
In regard to the question you raise in your letter of June 9th about the “Paris Talks”, the Guardian does not advise your putting the suggested footnote, as we cannot be absolutely sure, unless we see the Persian text, that what you propose is really what the Master means. The present translation cannot be considered accurate in all its details, obviously, and as at the moment the Persian text is not available, he suggests you either put no footnote at all, or one stating that the meaning is obscure and future re-translation will clear up such passages.
You may be sure that his ardent prayers will be offered on behalf of all the British Bahá’ís, that Bahá’u’lláh may aid them to fulfil His work and may open the doors of servitude and guide them on their way. He will also pray for you and your fellow N.S.A. members, for your strength, protection and guidance in fulfilling your many important tasks.
P.S. Regarding Mr. ... financial affairs; there is naturally no objection to his receiving his own money, but he should have no communication with his family, and should arrange for your N.S.A. to receive his money and deliver it to him. The Guardian is very pleased that he has taken the right, courageous, Bahá’í course of action in his life, and will certainly pray for his happiness and protection.
There is no ambiguity about the Master’s attitude towards psychic forces; He very strongly warned the believers against using them.
[From the Guardian:]
Dear and valued co-workers,
I grieve to learn of the slow progress of the Six Year Plan which the English believers have so nobly conceived, and which, I pray and hope, will be triumphantly consummated. The Plan constitutes a direct and grave challenge to the English Bahá’í community in its entirety. It should be regarded as the greatest collective enterprise ever launched by the followers of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in the British Isles. It is thus far one of the most significant undertakings embarked upon by the members of Bahá’í National Assemblies during the opening years of the second Bahá’í century. To it, as already observed, the immediate destinies of the community of the English believers are linked, and on it must depend the future orientation and evolution of the institutions which the members of that community are labouring to erect for the diffusion of the principles and the establishment of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in their country. It must not, it cannot, fail. The attention of the entire body of the believers must be continually focussed upon it. No sacrifice can be deemed too great for its successful prosecution. All must arise harmoniously, co-operate and lend their share of assistance. May the spirit of Bahá’u’lláh enable them to achieve signal success.
Shoghi
18 December 1945
Dear Bahá’í Sister,
The beloved Guardian has instructed me to acknowledge the receipt of your two letters dated Aug. 11th and Nov. 9th and to answer them on his behalf. Their enclosures were also received....
He was very pleased to hear that you have had eight new Bahá’ís since Convention and hopes that this is only a foretaste of the conversion of souls in far greater numbers in the years lying ahead of us.
The Six Year Plan is of the utmost importance, and he urges your Assembly to continually keep reminding the friends of the necessity for sustaining their efforts through arising personally to serve and through giving generously that others may serve in their place.
In this connection he hopes you will use the services of Marion Holley, now Mrs. David Hofman, to the full. She is a gifted speaker and writer, and has had invaluable experience in America as a member of the National Teaching Committee, during the Seven Year Plan. Both she and Mr. Hofman are wholly dedicated to the service of the Cause, and eager to do all in their power to help accomplish the goals of your Six Year Plan.
He was happy to hear that the Summer School was held successfully. Now that the war is over, and conditions gradually returning to normal, he hopes that the British believers will exert their utmost in serving the Cause and spreading its message. Although from time to time they will receive the help of outside Bahá’ís, the major responsibility is theirs, and the lion’s share of the work will naturally fall to them as both their privilege and their duty.
He assures you one and all that his ardent prayers sustain you in your labours for the Faith and he feels sure that with sufficient effort on the part of all, and the Power of God which inevitably sustains self-sacrificing service in His Path, the goals can be gloriously achieved....
P.S. He was delighted to hear of the welfare of the German believers. Reports of a similar nature had already reached him, but no figures had been given.
[From the Guardian:]
Dearly beloved co-workers,
I am anxiously waiting for the news of the progress of the Six Year Plan, upon which the future orientation of the collective activities of the English believers depends, and with which the immediate destinies of their Faith are interwoven. No sacrifice is too great to ensure its success. The utmost effort, vigilance, perseverance and self-sacrifice are required to carry it to a successful conclusion. If the friends, individually and collectively, play their part and exert their utmost, the abundant blessings of Bahá’u’lláh will be fully vouchsafed, and the strength of the Plan will mark a glorious chapter in the history of the Faith. I appeal to the entire community to dedicate itself to this sacred and urgent task, the greatest collective enterprise ever undertaken by the followers of Bahá’u’lláh in the British Isles.
Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi
21 February 1946
ASSEMBLY SHOULD EXPLAIN TO ... OWING HIS BROTHER’S SECESSION FAITH ADHERENCE ISLÁM PARTICIPATION POLITICS AND ASSOCIATION WITH HIS OTHER BROTHERS AND MOTHER WHO HAVE FLAGRANTLY DISOBEYED MASTER’S WILL COMMUNICATION WITH HIM AND THEM FORBIDDEN. ASSEMBLY SHOULD EXERCISE UTMOST VIGILANCE THIS VITAL MATTER OTHERWISE AS MASTER REPEATEDLY WARNED CONTAMINATING INFLUENCE WILL SPREAD AND IMPERIL STRUCTURE FAITH. CABLE HIS RESPONSE SHOW UTMOST FIRMNESS.
SHOGHI
5 March 1946
OVERJOYED RECENT DECISIONS TEACHING CONFERENCE ARDENTLY PRAYING SPEEDY REALISATION CHERISHED HOPES URGE SUPREME UNITED CONTINUOUS EFFORT CABLING ONE THOUSAND POUNDS FURTHERANCE NOBLE AIMS SIX YEAR PLAN DEEPEST LOVE.
SHOGHI
12 March 1946
INFORM ... APPRECIATE HIS ASSURANCE PRAYING STEADFASTNESS BLESSINGS.
SHOGHI
22 March 1946
Dear Bahá’í Sister,
Your letters dated Sep. 6th and Nov. 6th 1945 and Jan. 2nd, Feb. 8th and 19th 1946, have been received together with their enclosures, and the beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer them on his behalf.
He has been delighted to see, through your letter and reports sent by other Bahá’ís, that the Teaching Conference in Manchester was such a success, and he feels this marks a turning point in your Six Year Plan. Now that goal towns have been chosen, the friends must concentrate all their forces and resources on establishing Assemblies in them as soon as possible. He feels sure that once the signs of success become evident all the believers, tired and depressed after so many years of war and privation, will become vitalised with optimism and enthusiasm and drive forward unitedly towards the complete victory of their plans.
He was delighted to hear that Miss Townshend and Mr. Lee have arisen as pioneers, and he wishes you to please assure them of his special prayers for the success of their devoted labours.
He was also very happy to hear you have found a place to hold your Summer School; this is such an important Bahá’í activity that even if the expenses are such as to necessitate its being subsidised by the National Fund it does not matter.
He advises you to send half of the Russian books in your possession to the Bahá’í Bureau in Geneva. Mrs. Lynch can distribute them from there, as required, to other centres.
He feels it would be an excellent means of serving the Cause and enhancing the prestige of the British Bahá’ís if you can send a delegate to the Spiritual World Congress to be held in Brussels.
We are sending ... the Haifa News Letter direct from here; thank you for sending his address. The Guardian suggests if you have not already done so, that you send the address of the Dutch Bahá’í to Mrs. Lynch, so that travelling believers can be put in touch with him.
He is eagerly awaiting more good news of the progress of your Six Year Plan, and assures you all that he will ardently pray for its speedy and complete success in the Holy Shrines.
Your Assembly’s labours are very deeply appreciated....
[From the Guardian:]
Dear and valued co-workers,
The enterprise launched by the English Bahá’í community in the opening years of the second Bahá’í 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 Bahá’u’lláh, 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
24 April 1946
ADVISE NOT PURCHASE AT PRESENT. RENT IF POSSIBLE BEFITTING ROOMS CENTRAL POSITION.
SHOGHI
24 April 1946
KINDLY AIRMAIL TWO PHOTOGRAPHS NATIONAL ASSEMBLY FOR “BAHÁ’Í WORLD”.
SHOGHI
26 April 1946
URGE FOCUS ATTENTION SIX YEAR PLAN SUBORDINATE EVERY ACTIVITY PARAMOUNT ISSUE TEACHING FACING ENGLISH BELIEVERS.
SHOGHI
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
8 May 1946
WHATEVER NOT SPECIFIED ARTICLES ASSOCIATION LEFT DISCRETION NATIONAL ASSEMBLY.39
SHOGHI
10 May 1946
APPRECIATE MAIL HAIFA PHOTOGRAPH ALL MEMBERS LAST YEAR’S NATIONAL ASSEMBLY FOR BAHÁ’Í WORLD.
SHOGHI
22 May 1946
APPROVE DROP CARDIFF SUBSTITUTE ANY TOWN DEEMED ADVISABLE PRAYING SPEEDY SUCCESS URGE PERSEVERANCE LOVING APPRECIATION.
SHOGHI
29 May 1946
Dear Bahá’í 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 Bahá’ís 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 Bahá’í 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 Bahá’í 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 Bahá’ís’ 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 Bahá’ís. 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 Bahá’í 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. Bahá’u’lláh 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 Bahá’ís 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 Bahá’í 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 Bahá’u’lláh, are required to lend the necessary impetus to the progressive unfoldment and ultimate fruition of this dynamic process which the followers of Bahá’u’lláh, labouring in the heart of a world encircling empire, have set in motion. May signal success crown their historic labours.
Shoghi