Civilizing mission

“ Her mission in this world is not to hold her own in the sense of resisting all reform, of resisting all concession, but her duty and her mission is to go to the lost people of our country, and of every country where she is established or where she exists, and to draw those together into her fold who cannot get into that of other religious bodies, which have such limits as I have been speaking of to bar the gates of admission. Her great mission is to seek and save those which are lost in every community. ”

“ To these immediate tasks, so vital, so sacred, a community, purged in the fires of suffering, revitalized and functioning with unity, zeal, fidelity and enthusiasm, must address itself without delay, with complete dedication and renewed and undefected resolve, as a prelude to the future unfoldment of its mission, beyond the confines of its homeland. ”

“ Missionary effort in the largest sense, as to the development of popular education and of other civilizing agencies, as well as abundant charity in case of need, will on our part not be wanting, and all this will help to mitigate their disorderly tendencies and to steady their governments. ”

“ The sterner the task, the graver the responsibilities, the wider the field of exertion, the more persistently must the privileged members of this enviable community strive, and the loftier must be the height to which they should aspire, in the course of their God-given mission, and throughout every stage in the irresistible and divinely guided evolution of their community life.
Setbacks may well surprise them; trials and disappointments may tax their patience and resourcefulness ”

“ I do not want influence or power over any nation, people, family, or individual on the face of the earth to do them an injury or lead them astray, to promote strife or corruption in their hearts, or direct them in the way that leads to death. But I would like to have power with the people to induce them to accept those principles which would put them in possession of life, liberty, peace, joy, and all the blessings that can be enjoyed by the children of men, and that are promised in the gospel of life and salvation. ”

“ That this community will never relax in its high endeavours, that the vision of its glorious mission will not be suffered to be dimmed, that obstacles, however formidable, will neither dampen its zeal or deflect it from its purpose, is my confident hope and earnest prayer. ”

“ Your mission was, to be a model for all other governments and for all other less favored nations, to adhere to the most elevated principles of political morality, to apply all your faculties to the gradual improvement of your own institutions and social state, and, by your example, to exert a moral influence most beneficial to mankind at large. ”

“ Every little piece of mission work ought to be directed on principles capable of bearing the weight of the whole. We ought to be able to say, "The whole world can be converted by these means and on these principles which we are here employing in this little village". If the methods and the principles are so narrow that we can build no great world-wide structure on them, we can take little more interest in them than we do in the petty politics of some little parish at home. ”

“ How would a nation that has been for some time a contributor to the world's culture and civilisation try to maintain its dignity and prestige? What are the means by which an infant or a degenerate community can hope to rise to the standing of advanced nations? Is there any good in the efforts and energies of agitators, martyrs, and missionaries? What is the value of the work and perseverance of religious preachers, and social reformers, patriots, and philanthropists? ”

“ We have a multitude of people chastened by losses, ennobled by a common effort, needing support in that effort, perplexed by the reality of evil and cruelty, questioning and seeking after God. What does the National Mission offer? ”

“ Along with the social objectives of the effort must go an appreciation of the longing of millions of equally sincere people, as yet unaware of Bahá’u’lláh’s mission but inspired by many of its ideals, for an opportunity to find lives of service that will have enduring meaning. ”

“ While I believe that a certain amount of endeavour, by a mission, for the temporal good and social betterment of its people is legitimate and desirable, extreme care should be taken, in the present early stage of progress, lest this form of activity become prominent or dominant; and, above all, lest it, in any way, interfere with the conviction concerning the supreme importance and prime urgency of the spiritual training and growth of the people. This class of work can very easily, by changing the people's ideas of a mission's aim and purpose, demoralize them. ”

“ And when each man is at liberty to follow his own inclination and to direct his work according to his own sweet will, mission work will have lost its homogeneity. Each section and department of the mission will be changed in direction and method of work upon the arrival of every new missionary; and thus every blessing of continuity in work and of a wholesome mission policy will be lost. ”

“ In every country, out of every class, they gather: men and women vowed to simplicity of life and to social service; possessed by a force mightier than themselves, over which they have no control; aware of the lack of social harmony in our civilization, restless with pain, perplexity, distress, yet filled with deep inward peace as they obey the imperative claim of a widened consciousness. By active ministry, and yet more by prayer and fast and vigil, they seek to prepare the way for the spiritual democracy on which their souls are set. ”

“ A great mission surely that is to be called wherein all the safety and hope of many poor people is comprehended—their sole hope lying in the chance that they shall be able, by all their loyalty, obedience, and most humble prayers, to mollify and appease the minds of your Royal Highnesses, now irritated against them. ”

“ But in exchange for her advantages, she has great duties to accomplish; she has to contribute a large share to the development of universal progress in every shape. That is the mission which seems to superficial persons to keep her in a state of perpetual agitation. ”

“ Comparison with the United States.—There are some respects in which the condition of the Inner Mission in our country at this time, resembles that of the German institutions in 1848. Thousands of Christian associations are active to relieve distress and promote social welfare. They are moved by a common spirit, and travel on converging lines. ”

“ Let us organize ourselves into a powerful and extensive organization and then we shall be in a position to make a systematic and aggressive, as well as harmonious, struggle for our rights. If we do this, we shall command the respect of all men, even if we fail in obtaining what we struggled for. But we shall not fail. Truth and justice sooner or later triumph, if those who champion them are only true to themselves. ”

“ All honor to the men and women of character and ability who, as Home Missionaries, are devoting their lives to such fields—the most difficult in the world—where no picturesqueness of scenes or people relieves the strain—where sordid sin, monotony, crudity, and newness prevail, but where the returns in character-building contribute to the life of a nation whose mission is the world. ”

“ I am charged to open—and keep open, if possible—all such districts and countries as I may explore for the commercial world. The mission is supported by a philanthropic society which numbers noble-minded men of several nations. ”

“ Munificent contributions of Christians and philanthropists, for missionary work abroad, are greatly in evidence, given with a self-complacency of duty done; but, however, fail to vivify the declining pulse-beat for equality before the law and justice at home. ”

“ Our successes in transportation, in architecture, and in material well-being in general; our achievement of the welfare of the whole people over that of section or class, of equality of opportunity for each and of benevolence toward all, have already taught the whole world new lessons of peace, tolerance, and faith in the average man. ”

“ How much will it enlarge their knowledge, to place before them the publications of a Missionary Society! How much will it ennoble the heart of the poorest and youngest among them, to teach them to live to benefit all mankind! ”

“ For too long our culture has said, "If it feels good, do it." Now America is embracing a new ethic and a new creed: "Let's roll." (Applause.) In the sacrifice of soldiers, the fierce brotherhood of firefighters, and the bravery and generosity of ordinary citizens, we have glimpsed what a new culture of responsibility could look like. We want to be a nation that serves goals larger than self. ”

“ What has been more remarkable to the welfare of this nation than the character of the men, who, standing upon foreign shores looked forward to it as a land of grand opportunities, were the men, the early patriots who gave to its government the highest wisdom of the age, and to social institution a broad foundation upon which all classes could securely rest their hopes, their ambitions, and their religious convictions. ”

“ These initiatives enable us to keep faith with the covenant of citizenship. This week, we celebrate the tens of millions of volunteers who give their time, their energy, and their hearts to making our world a better place. ”

“ At each step it rises in some new aspect, assuming every shape of interest and of duty,—now with voice of command, and then with voice of persuasion. The national security, the national faith, the good of the freedman, the concerns of business, agriculture, justice, peace, reconciliation, obedience to God,—these are among the forms it takes. ”

“ I shall have accomplished my purpose if I can in some degree be humbly instrumental in serving my country and my generation, by promoting the well-being of my fellow-men, and advancing the declarative glory of Almighty God. ”

“ Respecting the laws and submissive to the civil authorities, they bring with them, wherever they come, civilization and peace; their only ambition is to enlighten the less fortu- nate people to whom they devote themselves, and to lead them to Christian morality, and to a knowledge of their dignity as men. ”

“ The government seeks to establish national unity of action, by the sacrifice of individual variety of action, personal freedom: every man must be a soldier and a Christian, wearing the livery of the government on the body and in the soul, and going through the spiritual exercises of the church, as through the manual exercise of the camp. ”

“ They can print and publish books, endow schools and teaching, organize the distribution of literature, insist upon the proper instruction of children in world wide charity and fellowship, fight against every sort of suppression or restrictive control of right education, bring pressure through political and social channels upon every teaching organization to teach history aright, sustain missions and a new sort of missionary, the missionaries to all mankind of knowledge and the idea of one world civilization and one world community ”

“ May the members of these valiant communities, whose interests you so conscientiously serve and whom you so ably represent, continue to prosper under your wise and loving leadership, scale loftier heights in their collective enterprise, and win a still greater measure of fame in the service of a Cause to which they have so nobly dedicated their resources, and which they have served, in the past thirty years, with so rare a spirit of consecration and self-sacrifice. ”

“ Today, the great epic of national development is working itself out in terms of a thousand acts of courage and faith day after day among our countrymen, and the whole society is the theater of action. Everyone sustains this great effort with his own acts of initiative and courage, which convert latent resources into opportunities for development. ”

“ These commands will enable the throng and the elite to acquire moral and intellectual qualities, each according to his ability. Thus the godly community becomes pre-eminent, reaching a two-fold perfection. ”

“ The primary purpose, the basic objective, in laying down powerful laws and setting up great principles and institutions dealing with every aspect of civilization, is human happiness; and human happiness consists only in drawing closer to the Threshold of Almighty God, and in securing the peace and well-being of every individual member, high and low alike, of the human race; and the supreme agencies for accomplishing these two objectives are the excellent qualities with which humanity has been endowed. ”

“ Fully realizing that the standard of conduct that should be established for them must have a permanent influence in their lives and on the character of their future citizenship, the Red Cross, the Young Men's Christian Association, Knights of Columbus, the Salvation Army, and the Jewish Welfare Board, as auxiliaries in this work, were encouraged in every possible way. ”

“ It is the example of the single most diverse institution in our country – soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and coastguardsmen who represent every corner of our country, every shade of humanity, immigrant and native-born, Christian, Muslim, Jew, and nonbeliever alike, all forged into common service. ”

“ It recognizes the fact that the Kingdom cannot come to our land, or to the world unless all social conditions are drawn within its scope; it emphasizes the desire of Home Missions and the church to work toward this great end, and the recognition of their responsibility for its accomplishment. But unless the nations of the world are trending toward the day when peace shall reign and hatred and strife cease among men, these desires cannot be realized. ”