Effendi Shoghi

“ It is precisely these weaknesses that he wishes the friends to overcome, for these do not only paralyze their efforts but actually serve to quench the flame of faith in their hearts. Not until all the friends come to realize that every one of them is able, in his own measure, to deliver the Message, can they ever hope to reach the goal that has been set before them by a loving and wise Master. It is no use waiting for some able and eloquent teacher to take all the responsibility for the spread of the Cause. ”

“ The wrath of God is in the administration of His justice, both in this world and in the world to come. A God that is only loving or only just is not a perfect God. The divinity has to possess both of these aspects as every father ought to express both in his attitude towards his children. If we ponder a while, we will see that our welfare can be insured only when both of these divine attributes are equally emphasised and practiced.
In closing may I express the Guardian’s loving greetings and best wishes for the progress of your work in serving the Cause. ”

“ As a far away outpost of the Bahá’í Faith in New Zealand, he is always delighted to hear from Auckland and especially yourself and your promising Assembly there. You own a warm spot in his heart and he is looking forward to the day when through the efforts of the Auckland Assembly, centres will be established in every town in New Zealand. A firm faith and a golden heart is yours, there still remains to turn other hearts into gold.
Miss Butler is well and often thinks of you. Assuring you of our Guardian’s prayers and the love and best wishes of the family who always remember you. ”

“ I believe Mrs Dunn is planning to come this spring for a visit to Haifa. Perhaps you will meet her before she starts, Shoghi Effendi is eagerly waiting to see this noble soul who introduced the Cause into Australia and has been so self-sacrificing in her services.
Shoghi Effendi hopes that on returning home you will start again to serve the Cause and attract new souls. The world is in great distress and its only salvation is in the spirit and teachings of the Blessed Beauty. Let us not, we who are the trustees of that divine message, fail in accomplishing our task and fulfilling our purpose. ”

“ Likewise people who join the Faith must have the courage and conviction to leave their political affiliations behind.
There is no reason why this should cause enmity as they are not joining another party, but a universal Faith striving for the advancement of the entire human race. He thinks there is very little possibility of any politician joining the Faith. The sacrifice of such individuals’ personal ambitions is too great a one for them to make. The condition of the world today is such that it is obvious no political solution to its problems is going to be found. ”

“ The primary adherents are the stars of great magnitude in every land in the firmament of the Kingdom of God. They are the chosen people. They are like candles which, through their sacrificial efforts, are weeping their lives away in order to give light to the world and establish the purpose of their Lord and Saviour, which purpose is the salvation of mankind. ”

“ Our Era is similar to that, but through the development of humanity it is greater, and through the evils of the material civilization and negligence of mankind our sacrifices must be greater. Divine light must make itself manifest in our daily life deeds.
In the early days of the appearance of our Saviour, virtue was to save ourselves. When we are once established in our faith, then virtue is to save others. ”

“ He instructed me with a heart overflowing with love to answer your letter, conveying to you his high estimation for the beauty of the faith of the New Zealand friends, and deep appreciation towards the splendid services of our dear Mr and Mrs Dunn, [+E2] who are so wonderfully blessed and assisted by the power of the Holy Ghost. He loves you all and prays for your happiness and spiritual growth.
It is true that your group is now still small, but he assures you that your group will before long grow larger and larger day by day. It has been always the case with the growth of every religion. ”

“ He fully appreciates the fact that the believers locally, in different parts of the world, often feel that their political party is in many ways striving to accomplish ideals akin to our Bahá’í aims--but the fact remains that the only way for the Bahá’ís to preserve their international character, their unity and integrity, is for them individually to sacrifice these desired political affiliations for the universal good and protection of the Faith. There is no political party in existence with whose platform we wholly agree, and we must abstain from membership in such parties. ”

“ The friends in both Australia and New Zealand seem to have developed a most outstanding soundness in their relation to the teachings. This leads Shoghi Effendi to believe that they will make great contributions to the unfoldment of the world-wide aspects of the Faith.
His prayers are always with you, and he most deeply appreciates the splendid services you are rendering the Cause, and will pray that the way will open for you to do even greater work and in an ever widening field.
Please assure all the dear friends of Auckland of his loving remembrance and his prayers for their work. ”

“ Dear Bahá’í Sister:
I am instructed by our beloved Guardian to write you on his behalf and assure you he was most happy to receive your letter dated May 4.
He rejoices with the New Zealand Bahá’ís in the formation of their historic National Assembly. They are now firmly launched on the course of their own destiny, and undoubtedly the Faith will go forward very much faster. They have an advantage not shared by many of their fellow National Assemblies, of exclusively administering the affairs of the Faith in a small area, which means that they can function much more efficiently. ”

“ He fervently hopes that these afflictive trials confronting you and your beloved daughter will all serve to quicken your spiritual energies, and that the outcome of it all will be to open before you new horizons of service, and fresh fields for teaching the Message. May Bahá’u’lláh give you patience to courageously withstand these tests, and full guidance to use them as a means to more active, concentrated and selfless service to His Cause. Do assure, therefore, your daughter not to feel disheartened, but to confidently endeavour to overcome her domestic sorrows and cares. ”

“ I wish to assure you in person of my heartfelt sympathy in the loss you have sustained, and of my loving and ardent prayers for the departed soul. The work with which her name will for ever be associated will confer upon her imperishable glory, and her example will serve to stimulate the rising generation to follow in her footsteps, and carry on the work she has so nobly initiated. ”

“ These original discoverers of New Zealand are of a very fine race, and they are a people long admired for their noble qualities; and special effort should be made, not only to contact the Maoris in the cities and draw them into the Faith, but to go to their towns and live amongst them and establish Assemblies in which at least the majority of the believers will be Maoris, if not all. This would be indeed a worthy achievement.
The beloved Guardian assures you all of his prayers for the success of the historic work you are now undertaking, and he feels sure you will achieve your goals. ”

“ May I again express his sincere hope that your long-cherished desire to visit the Holy Shrines may be fulfilled very soon, and that through this pilgrimage you may attain a renewed zeal and vigour, as well as a new vision of the task you are called upon to accomplish for the Faith in New-Zealand.
In closing let me assure you and your fellow-workers in Auckland of his profound appreciation of your determination to press forward the work in the teaching field. He is ardently praying for the guidance and success of your labours. ”

“ Some pure soul or souls go to some land and sow the seeds of the heavenly teachings in the hearts of few who are most pure and so most receptive. The seeds will germinate and grow in them. The fruits of these seeds appear in the regeneration of the lives of these primary adherents. These primary adherents share the bounties they have received with other souls, who through them obtain new life and light and in turn illumine other people. ”

“ An adventurous and enquiring soul, she undertook her first pilgrimage to Haifa in 1938, arriving there shortly after the marriage of Shoghi Effendi and, after living for two years in Australia, she returned to New Zealand where she embarked on a life of service to the Cause. Towards the end of the Second World War, she willingly made available her premises (a counter lunch-shop) in Anzac Avenue as a venue for the Auckland Bahá’í community and, in the 1950’s, responded to the call by travel teaching in Mangakino and Whangarei. ”

“ The Guardian has learned with deep gratification of the news of the teaching work carried on by the Auckland believers. He wishes you to kindly assure them all of his best wishes and fervent prayers for the success of their labours. May Bahá’u’lláh bless, guide and strengthen them in every step they are taking for the spread of His Faith and the consolidation of its institutions in this far-off land. ”

“ The six brief years that now lie ahead must witness a swift expansion in the scope of Bahá’í activities throughout the length and breadth of that Dominion, as well as a steady consolidation of the foundations of the institutions that have been so painstakingly laid. The Six-Year Plan upon which the New Zealand believers have now so auspiciously embarked must be diligently prosecuted and brought to a triumphant conclusion. ”

“ May the Beloved Comforter strengthen you and sustain you in your bereavement. The memory of your visit to the Holy Land is still fresh and vivid in my mind and I pray and supplicate at the holy Shrines that your labours in the Cause may yield an abundant harvest. ”

“ We don’t believe man has always had the form of man, but rather that from the outset he was going to evolve into the human form and species and not be a haphazard branch of the ape family.
You see our whole approach to each matter is based on the belief that God sends us divinely inspired Educators; what they tell us is fundamentally true, what science tells us today is true; tomorrow may be entirely changed to better explain a new set of facts. ”

“ When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says man breaks the laws of nature, He means we shape nature to meet our own needs, as no animal does. Animals adapt themselves to better fit in with and benefit from their environment. But men both surmount and change environment. Likewise when He says nature is devoid of memory He means memory as we have it, not the strange memory of inherited habits which animals so strikingly possess.
These various statements must be taken in conjunction with all the Bahá’í teachings; we cannot get a correct picture by concentrating on just one phrase. ”

“ We have only one prayer that we have to say daily. No one in the world has the power, given to him by Bahá’u’lláh to add another to that daily prayer. If we should admit this the life of the friends will soon be spent in mere prayer, which is not the aim of the Cause. ”

“ When one remembers the many years that the New Zealand and Australian believers toiled to carry on the work in those two countries, with the sea in between, and inadequate funds to provide transportation, which necessitated so much of the National Assembly’s work being carried on by correspondence, one can appreciate the advantages you now enjoy.
The formation of a new National Body in any case is an organic thing, and a new and lively flow of life will go out into all the members of the Community from this Assembly. ”

“ Shoghi Effendi will remember in his prayers all those who are working in this noble field of service.
Shoghi Effendi desires that you should extend his loving greetings to all the friends in Auckland. He hopes that through their endeavours and the Master’s invisible guiding hand they will succeed to raise the standard of the Cause in that land to such heights that it will arouse the interest of all the seeking souls and in due time win their support. ”

“ Without that spirit, no work can be successfully achieved. With it triumph, though hardly-won, is but inevitable. You should, therefore, try all your best to carry aflame within you the torch of faith, for through it you will surely find guidance, strength and eventual success.
The Guardian is fully conscious of the difficulties that impede the progress of the Faith in your community. Chief among these, you mention the lack of courage and of initiative on the part of the believers, and a feeling of inferiority complex which prevents them from addressing the public. ”

“ I believe the Guardian has already intimated his approval of this pamphlet and the desire that the friends in Australia publish and circulate it among the Maoris.
As regards the passages in the sacred writings indicating the wrath of God; Shoghi Effendi says that the Divinity has many attributes: He is loving and merciful but also just. Just as reward and punishment, according to Bahá’u’lláh, are the pillars upon which society rests, so mercy and justice may be considered as their counterpart in the world to come. ”

“ The tasks, challenging the spirit and resources of this community, whose numerical strength is as yet so limited, whose material resources are so circumscribed, whose past experiences have, in many respects, been confined to a narrow range, are truly formidable. ”