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| Bahá’í News | February 1977 | Bahá’í Year 134 |
SELECTIONS FROM
THE WRITINGS OF THE
BÁB
Universal House of Justice[edit]
Australasian Bahá’ís “vanguard of the Army of Light”[edit]
To the Friends assembled at the International Teaching Conference in Auckland,
Dearly-loved Friends,
With hearts full of love and admiration for the followers of the Most Great Name in Australasia, we send our warmest greetings to all assembled in this historic gathering in the heart of the Antipodes.
How great is your place in Bahá’í history! How bright are the prospects for the future of the Cause so lovingly nurtured for more than half-a-century by hundreds of stalwart steadfast believers, spiritual heirs of Hyde and Clara Dunn, who in direct response to the Tablets of the Divine Plan forsook their home and went to pioneer in Australia, and whose names Shoghi Effendi wrote, were “graven in letters of gold” upon his heart. In March 1951, when in the entire Pacific area there was but one National Spiritual Assembly, the beloved Guardian predicted that “The prizes destined for the heroic warriors, battling for the Cause for Bahá’u’lláh throughout the Southern Hemisphere, and particularly Australasia, are glorious beyond compare. The assistance to be vouchsafed to them from on high in their struggle for its establishment, its recognition and triumph is ready to be poured forth in astonishing abundance.”
Now, twenty-five years later, the achievements are truly astounding. Beginning with the establishment of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of New Zealand at Riḍván 1957, the number of National Assemblies has increased elevenfold; the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of the Antipodes has been erected near Sydney; His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II of Western Samoa has become the first reigning monarch to embrace the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh; the number of Local Spiritual Assemblies now stands at over 360; and the number of localities where Bahá’ís reside in this vast oceanic area covering well-nigh one-eighth of the earth’s surface is more than 1,800. These accomplishments doubtless have been a source of great joy to the immortal soul of Shoghi Effendi, whose esteem and affection for the followers of Bahá’u’lláh laboring for His Cause in the Antipodes was frequently expressed in glowing terms in his letters to the Assemblies and friends in Australasia.
Dear friends, we have now passed the mid-point of the Five year Plan. You are met in the beautiful city of Auckland to take stock and to make plans for attaining the victories which will surely be yours.
The National Spiritual Assemblies of the New Hebrides and of the Marshall Islands are to be raised up next Riḍván; plans for the soon-to-be-erected Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of Samoa are in process; but although the goal of establishing Bahá’í centers totaling 2,188 is within easy reach, the Local Assembly Goals assigned to each national community, totally 613, need prompt and decisive attention. The divine assistance spoken of by the beloved Guardian in 1951 has ever been available, and is still “ready to be poured forth in astonishing abundance”. It is within your power during the coming year to win all assigned teaching goals, leaving the final year of the Plan for consolidation and the winning of supplementary victories.
This will be achieved, not by resting on laurels, but by manifesting those qualities of faith, judgment, vision, loyalty, courage, and self-sacrifice which earned the Guardian’s praise so frequently in past decades. Let the valiant Australasian Bahá’í communities vie once more with their sister communities throughout the world for the palm of victory and maintain their position in the vanguard of the Army of Light.
Pioneers, traveling teachers, and a fresh outpouring of funds are essential ingredients to the onward march of the Cause throughout Australia, New Zealand, and the islands of the South Pacific. Let those who can offer their valued services to the teaching work arise without delay; let those who cannot travel or pioneer deputize those who can go in their stead.
We cherish the highest hopes for the success of your endeavors, and it is our constant prayer that Bahá’u’lláh will shower His richest blessings and confirmations upon you.
The Universal House of Justice
January, 1977
Call for dedicated effort[edit]
To the Followers of Bahá’u’lláh gathered at the International Teaching Conference in Bahia, Brazil
Dearly-loved Friends,
With joyous hearts, we hail the convocation of this first of the twin Latin-American Conferences closing the series of eight International Bahá’í Conferences held during the midway period of the Five-Year Plan.
The ringing call of Bahá’u’lláh in His Most Holy Book to the Rulers of America and the Presidents of the Republics therein was followed after an interval of more than four decades by the revelation of `Abdu’l-Bahá’s Tablets of the Divine Plan in which the beloved Master stressed the importance of the Republics of the South American Continent.
The first believer to respond to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s divine call was that star-servant of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh, valiant, indomitable Martha Root, who in 1919 visited many important cities in South America. Two years later, Leonora Holsapple Armstrong, mother of the Bahá’ís of Brazil, settled in Bahia. The teaching work in the continent progressed steadily to the point where, in 1937, the beloved Guardian launched his first Seven Year Plan paving the way for the raising in subsequent Plans of the institutions of
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Bahá’u’lláh’s Administrative Order in every one of its republics and in its islands. It was in the course of that first Seven Year Plan that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s beloved handmaid, May Maxwell, in 1940 won a martyr’s crown when she laid down her life in Argentina, thereby adding further lustre to the spiritual history of South America.
How truly fitting, then, that this auspicious Conference have its venue in the city of Bahia, singled out for special mention by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in His Tablets of the Divine Plan. And how timely it is at this crucial point in the Five Year Plan that the friends gathered in Bahia from many lands prayerfully consider, and arise to prosecute expeditiously all measures aimed at achieving glorious victory in all goals of the Plan.
Noteworthy progress has been achieved in many fields of service throughout the South American Bahá’í community, particularly in attracting to the Cause large numbers of its indigenous peoples. But myriads of pure-hearted souls have not yet heard the clarion call of Bahá’u’lláh and hungrily await the spiritual nourishment that only His followers can give them.
Steps must be taken to attract members of every stratum of society to the divine circle of the Faith through effective proclamation and teaching. Greater utilization of radio broadcasts is necessary, not only to reach all levels of society but also to deepen the believers themselves. The valuable and dynamic services of Bahá’í youth must be applied in the fields of pioneering and travel teaching. A far wider dissemination of Bahá’í literature must be accompanied by a continuous programme of translation of the Sacred Text into the major indigenous languages of the continent.
The continental goals for South America of 8,670 centers and 2,293 Local Spiritual Assemblies must be won, and may even be surpassed, for every country must achieve the goals assigned to it. This calls for the dedicated effort of every National Spiritual Assembly, every Local Spiritual Assembly and indeed every believer. All the divinely ordained instruments of the Administrative Order of Bahá’u’lláh must now unite in executing a symphony of victory in all the unfinished goals of the Five Year Plan, winning thereby the good pleasure of the Blessed Beauty.
Beloved friends, go forward with complete assurance that a continent so rich in spiritual promise, so diverse in its peoples and races, so fertile for the planting of the seeds of Bahá’u’lláh’s Faith will yield a brilliant harvest for all who labor in that Divine Vineyard.
It is our fervent loving prayer at the Sacred Threshold that Bahá’u’lláh’s bountiful confirmations and richest blessings may be showered upon you.
The Universal House of Justice
January 1977
Wholehearted support of Plan needed[edit]
To the Followers of Bahá’u’lláh gathered at the International Teaching Conference in Mérida; Mexico
With joyous hearts and eager anticipation we send warmest greetings to you, the participants in the last of the eight great International Teaching Conferences marking the halfway point of the Five Year Plan.
The convening of this Conference in the Republic of Mexico, in the capital city of a state that was once an important part of a great Indian empire, provides a unique opportunity to initiate what may well become the widespread reawakening of a people whose ancestors more than 1,200 years ago developed one of the most brilliant pre-Columbian civilizations known to modern man. These present-day descendants, many of whom have already embraced the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh and who consider the Yucatan Peninsula and the seacoast lowlands and rugged spine of mountains joining North and South America to be their homeland, are
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Bahá’í News In this issue
Bahá’í News is published monthly for circulation among Bahá’ís only by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, as a news organ reporting current activities of the Bahá’í world community. Manuscripts submitted should be typewritten and double spaced throughout; any footnotes should appear at the end. The contributor should keep a carbon copy. Send materials to: Bahá’í News Editorial Office, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, U.S.A. Change of address should be reported directly to Office of Membership and Records, National Bahá’í Center, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, U.S.A. Please attach mailing label. Subscription rates: one year, US $8; two years, US $15. Second class postage paid at Wilmette, Illinois 60091. Copyright © 1976, National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. World Rights Reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. |
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Cover photo: Selections from the Writings of the Báb, available from the Bahá’í Publishing Trusts in the United Kingdom and the United States, fulfills one of the goals of the Five Year Plan for the World Center. Story page 2.
Photographs which have appeared in Bahá’í News of the International Teaching Conference in Paris, Nairobi and Merida are by Paul Slaughter. |
Universal House of Justice[edit]
among the very people mentioned by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in His Tablets of the Divine Plan as having a great destiny once they have accepted His Father’s Cause. Here too, and throughout Middle America, are those whose forefathers came from the Iberian Peninsula, Africa, and the Far East linking the Old with the New World.
Conscious of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s impassioned plea to promulgate the oneness of mankind to a spiritually impoverished humanity, a handful of itinerant Bahá’í teachers set forth four decades ago, traversed the land bridge connecting the two continents of the Western Hemisphere, and carried the healing Message of Bahá’u’lláh to the Spanish-American Republics. Their dedicated efforts were rewarded when, in 1938, the first Local Spiritual Assembly in Latin America was formed in Mexico City. This initial triumph at the inception of the first of the teaching plans formulated by Shoghi Effendi spearheaded other victories leading to the formation of two, then of four Regional Spiritual Assemblies and ultimately to the establishment of National Spiritual Assemblies in each of the republics of Latin America and in the islands of the Caribbean.
Praiseworthy indeed were these achievements but the Bahá’í communities of Central America and the West Indies must not be content to rest on these laurels. The beloved Guardian during the last months of his precious life continually urged the friends of Latin America to pursue what he described as “the paramount task”, the teaching work. How much more does that injunction apply today! In less than thirty months, approximately 900 groups and isolated centers and over 400 Local Spiritual Assemblies must be added to those already existing in the mainland and island nations of Middle America! To accomplish this challenging task, intensive effort to attract new believers, be they black, brown, red or white, from all strata of society, must be exerted. Hand in hand with this endeavor, particularly in local communities, goes the development of the distinctive character of Bahá’í Life. Prompt attention must also be given to the acquisition of Local Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds and endowments, and the translation and publication of Bahá’í literature, especially in indigenous languages, must be accelerated.
Dear friends, if at the close of the Five Year Plan we are to witness the ensigns of victory lifted high, the wholehearted support of the followers of Bahá’u’lláh must be enlisted now and their energies systematically channeled into areas most in need. We cherish the hope that at this final Conference the friends will arise with enthusiasm and determination not only to win the remaining goals of the Plan but to carry out Shoghi Effendi’s injunction to win the allegiance of members of the various tribes of American Indians to the Cause, thereby hastening the period prophesied by the Master when the Indian peoples of America would become a source of spiritual illumination to the world.
Our hearts, our hopes, and our prayers will be with you during all the days of your deliberations. May Bahá’u’lláh inspire each and every one of you.
The Universal House of Justice
February 1977
New Books[edit]
Goal of World Center won[edit]
The Universal House of Justice has released a volume of Writings of the Báb fulfilling one of its goals for the Five Year Plan.
Selections from the Writings of the Báb is the first comprehensive selection from the Writings of the Báb to be published in English. Previously, Shoghi Effendi translated passages from the Writings of the Báb, which are to be found in God Passes By, The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, and the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf. Two prayers were also translated previously.
Arranged in seven sections, the new book begins with tablets and addresses to “Him Who will be made manifest”, Muḥammed Sháh, the first Letter of the Living, the Sherif of Mecca and Muslim Divines. The book includes excerpts from the Persian Bayán, the Quayyúmu’l-Asmá, the Dalá’il-Sab‘ih (The Seven Proofs), the Kitáb-i-Asmá (The Book of Names), and other Writings. The final section of the book is devoted to prayers and meditations.
Selections from the Writings of the Báb was compiled by the Research Department of The Universal House of Justice and translated by Habib Taherzadeh.
Meaning of constructing Seat of Supreme Institution[edit]
Address by Hand of the Cause Paul Haney to the Bahá’í International Teaching Conference in Mérida, Mexico, February 4-6.
The destiny of the Holy Land in relation to our Faith, as every Bahá’í knows, has been foretold in the sacred Writings of the prophets of old, in Tablets revealed by Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and in the writings of Shoghi Effendi.
The fulfillment of these prophecies and allusions began with the banishment of Bahá’u’lláh and His arrival in ‘Akká in 1868. Since that historic event the spiritual heart and the nerve center of the Bahá’í world have been located in the Holy Land, first in ‘Akká, and then in both Haifa and ‘Akká, following the transfer of the remains of the Báb to Mount Carmel and their interment in the bosom of that Holy Mountain.
From the Holy Land, the world spiritual center of the Faith since 1868, the Master, and later the Guardian, as the divinely-appointed Centers of Bahá’u’lláh’s Covenant, fostered and directed the spiritual and administrative development of the Cause throughout the Bahá’í world.
During both the early and later years of His ministry, Shoghi Effendi gradually disclosed to the believers the future evolution of the World Center and the glory of the divinely ordained Institutions which would be established there. In these successive and majestic messages the beloved Guardian described the relationship of these Institutions to the Shrines and Holy Places which had long comprised the world spiritual center of the Faith. Of these the Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel stands preeminent, surpassed only by the Tomb of Bahá’u’lláh in Bahjí. The Guardian referred to the resting-place of the Báb as “a focal center of divine illumination and power” which would, as the institutions comprising the World Administrative Center of the future Bahá’í Commonwealth became established, continue to flourish and expand “until the full measure of its splendor will have been disclosed before the eyes of all mankind.”
In referring to the International Archives building, standing in the shadow of the Shrine of the Báb, Shoghi Effendi told us that the completion of this edifice would in turn herald the construction of several
The Seat of The Universal House of Justice, as rendered by Ḥusayn Amánat, the architect.
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other structures which would serve as the administrative seats of the divinely ordained institutions of the Faith at its World Center. He stated that these edifices would be in the shape of a far-flung arc and would surround the resting-places of the Greatest Holy Leaf, the Purest Branch, and the Holy Mother, and that their completion would mark the culmination of the development of the world-wide, divinely-appointed administrative order of the Faith, and would fulfill the glad tidings and promises revealed by Bahá’u’lláh in the Tablet of Carmel.
It was the Tablet of Carmel which generated the spiritual impulse for the rise and establishment of the Bahá’í International institutions in the Holy Land, a process which Shoghi Effendi told us “may be traced as far back as the concluding years of the Heroic Age of the Faith,” and which will attain its final consummation in the Golden Age, “through the raising of the standard of the Most Great Peace and the emergence in the plenitude of its power and glory of the focal center of the agencies constituting the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh. The final establishment of this seat of the future Bahá’í World Commonwealth will,” he told us, “signalize at once the proclamation of the sovereignty of the Founder of the Faith and the advent of the Kingdom of the Father ...” Thus it was the Tablet of Carmel which is the charter for the development of the institutions of the Faith at its World Center, including the establishment of the supreme edifice of The Universal House of Justice.
Let us attempt to understand, through these majestic words of our beloved Guardian, the extent of the blessing conferred upon the entire world through the establishment of The Universal House of Justice, and particularly the significance of the seat of that mighty institution which the Bahá’ís of the world are now called upon to build. In explaining the significance of the Tablet of Carmel as the charter for the establishment of the Universal House of Justice, Shoghi Effendi stated that:
“In this great Tablet (of Carmel) which unveils divine mysteries and heralds the establishment of two mighty, majestic and momentous undertakings ... the Spiritual and Administrative World Centers of the Faith ... Bahá’u’lláh refers to an ‘Ark,’ whose dwellers are the men of the Supreme House of Justice, which in conformity with the exact provisions of the Will and Testament of the Center of the Mighty Covenant is the body which should legislate on laws not explicitly revealed in the Text. In this dispensation, these laws are destined to flow from this Holy Mountain, even as in the Mosaic Dispensation, the law of God was promulgated from Zion. The ‘sailing of the Ark’ of His laws is a reference to the establishment of the Universal House of Justice, ...”
In another message the Guardian referred to the Supreme Body of the House of Justice as “the dome of the Edifice” (of the Administrative Order of the Faith) that would have to be raised “on its prescribed
The completion of the excavation work on Mount Carmel for the Seat of The Universal House of Justice was announced at Riḍván, 1976
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site on the slopes of the divine Vineyard, the “Mountain of the Lord, to adorn the institutions of God’s New Order with this crown of high distinction.”
Therefore, the construction of the building which will be the seat of the House of Justice on Mount Carmel is really an instruction, a command, from our beloved Guardian, as well as from the House of Justice, to which all of us, the Bahá’ís of the world, must respond, and in so doing hasten the dawn of that glorious era so clearly foreshadowed in these majestic passages from the writings of Shoghi Effendi:
“This World Administrative Center of the Bahá’í community constitutes the pivot of the New World Order of Him Who is the Vivifier of mouldering bones and the Source of infinite grace and bounty. It stands as the emblem symbolizing the basic unity of all nations, governments, and peoples, and as the seat of sovereignty and the dawning-place of both spiritual and temporal power. It is the supreme Center to which the followers of His most sublime and glorious Faith must turn and the focal point which will mirror forth the effulgent splendors of the Kingdom of God, the Almighty, upon all regions. It is the fountainhead of divine civilization, the fairest, the noblest fruit of the Bahá’í Revelation—a civilization whose effects will, during the third, the Golden Age of the Bahá’í Dispensation and in the course of the future Dispensations, become clearly manifest, and whose bountiful outpourings will, like unto a torrential flood, burst forth upon all mankind.”
And in other messages referring to the time when the Supreme Institution of the House of Justice would be established and function from the Holy Land, Shoghi Effendi told us that:
“Through it the pillars of the Faith on this earth will be firmly established and its hidden powers be revealed, its signs shine forth, its banners be unfurled and its light be shed upon all peoples.... Then will be unveiled before our eyes the inauguration of an era the like of which has never been witnessed in past ages.... Then will the throne of Bahá’u’lláh’s sovereignty be founded in the promised land and the scales of justice be raised on high. Then will the banner of the independence of the Faith be unfurled, and His Most Great Law be unveiled and rivers of laws and ordinances stream forth from this snow-white spot with all-conquering power and awe-inspiring majesty, the like of which past ages have never seen. Then will appear the truth of what was revealed by the Tongue of Grandeur. ‘Call out to Zion, O Carmel, and announce the joyful tidings: He that was hidden from mortal eyes is come. His all-conquering sovereignty is manifest. His all-encompassing splendor is revealed ... O Carmel ... well is it with him that circleth around thee, that proclaimeth the revelation of thy glory, and recounteth that which the bounty of the Lord, thy God, hath showered upon thee.’.”
Crates of marble for The Universal House of Justice Seat arrived in Haifa in January.
International Conferences attract 16,000 believers[edit]
Nearly 4,500 people attended the last three International Teaching Conferences that were held in New Zealand, Brazil, and Mexico. There was a total attendance of more than 16,000 in the series of eight teaching conferences.
A report on the worldwide progress of the goals of the Five Year Plan was given at the last conference. Some of the achievements were: 64 percent of the assigned pioneer goals have been filled; 54 percent of the anticipated Local Spiritual Assemblies have been formed; and 73 percent of the anticipated localities have been opened.
The Southeast Asian nation of Malaysia completed all of its goals given by The Universal House of Justice. It was reported at the last conference that the National Spiritual Assembly of Malaysia has asked for an additional assignment of goals.
The island of Singapore also finished its initial plan given by The Universal House of Justice. This Assembly now wishes to teach 500,000 Chinese people before the end of the Plan.
Hawaii has completed its goals, it was reported.
In addition, it was reported that the National Spiritual Assembly of Ecuador has received a license to operate the first Bahá’í radio station in the world.
Auckland: gathering forces in the Pacific[edit]
The Sixth International Teaching Conference was held January 19-22, in Auckland, New Zealand. Twelve hundred Bahá’ís from 27 countries, including Bahá’ís of Melanesian, Micronesian, and Polynesian ancestry, attended.
Hands of the Cause A. Q. Faizí, representative of The Universal House of Justice, and H. Collis Featherstone were present.
The training of children and youth was emphasized at the conference, as was the idea that South Seas Islanders should teach their own people.
The call for pioneers resulted in 49 volunteers to fill 28 posts. Fifty-one Bahá’ís volunteered to teach in countries other than their own. Over $6,000 was contributed to the Fund.
Singers and dancers from Iran, Malaysia, New Hebrides, Samoa, and Tonga performed at the conference.
In pre-conference activities, the believers met at a Unity Feast, where prayers and readings were shared in eleven languages.
Bahia: call for dedicated effort[edit]
In 1919, Martha Root visited Bahia, Brazil. She was the first Bahá’í to do so.
Fifty-eight years later, on January 28-30, 1977, thirteen hundred Bahá’ís from all over the world visited Bahia to attend the seventh Bahá’í International Teaching Conference. Some 5600 people declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh during pre-conference teaching activities. Sixty more declarations were obtained during the conference.
In the message to the conference from The Universal House of Justice, as read by its representative Hand of the Cause Enoch Olinga, the Bahá’ís of South America were called to “unite all the divinely ordained instruments of the Administrative Order of Bahá’u’lláh in executing a symphony of victory in all the unfinished goals of the Five Year Plan.” The importance of “attracting to the Cause large numbers of indigenous peoples” as well as “members of every stratum of society,” the “greater utilization of radio broadcast,” the “increase of the number of pioneers and traveling teachers,” and the “wider dissemination of Bahá’í literature” were also stressed.
Indian teaching was reviewed extensively during the program. Hundreds of
Left: Site of the International Teaching Conference in Bahia.
Top, left to right: Hand of the Cause Enoch Olinga represented The Universal House of Justice at the International Conference in Bahia; the governor of Bahia, Roberto Santos, seated right, welcomed the Bahá’ís to the conference; Continental Counsellor Leonora Holsapple Armstrong, the first pioneer to Brazil. Bottom: 111 believers volunteered to travel to teach the Faith.
New Indian believers are being enrolled in Ecuador, where regular Bahá’í broadcasts in Quechua, an Indian dialect, are heard. The Mapuche Indians of Argentina have been reached for the first time as well. During the conference, representatives of the 17 tribes present were called to the stage to tell their experiences in the Faith and sing native songs.
The first pioneer to Bahia, Leonora Holsapple Armstrong, was presented to the friends gathered at the conference by Hand of the Cause Mr. Olinga. Then a letter was read. The letter was written by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in June, 1921, and addressed to the Maidservant of God Leonora Stirling Holsapple. Under the guidance of Shoghi Effendi, Mrs. Armstrong was the first to translate Bahá’í literature into Portuguese and Spanish. The translations were used throughout South America, confirming the Guardian’s words that “Bahia will become a lighthouse which will illumine all these regions.” Mrs. Armstrong is presently a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors for South America.
An account of the accomplishments of the goals of the Five Year Plan was presented by a panel of 11 National Spiritual Assemblies and indigenous believers, coordinated by Counsellor Masu’d Khamsi. The communities in Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, and Paraguay have won their locality goals.
A call for pioneers and Bahá’ís to travel and teach the Faith resulted in 111 volunteers, some of whom would fill goals immediately after the conference.
The remarkable sum of $290,000 was contributed to the Bahá’í Fund by the believers present, and 465 contributions were made for the construction of the Seat of The Universal House of Justice.
In addition to Mr. Olinga, Hands of the
Cause Paul Haney and Raḥmatu’lláh Muhájir were present at the conference. Six Continental Counsellors and representatives of 47 National Spiritual Assemblies attended the conference.
Members of National Assemblies address public meeting[edit]
A public meeting, the subject of which was “God’s Plan for Mankind,” was held during the International Teaching Conference in Bahia and publicized via radio and newspapers.
Those who attended were addressed by representatives of the National Spiritual Assemblies of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, as well as Victor de Araujo, representative of the Bahá’í International Community at the United Nations.
Publicity and coverage for the conference included seven radio and nine television programs, and 18 newspaper interviews.
Merida: prelude to expansion[edit]
More than 2,000 Bahá’ís attended the last Bahá’í International Teaching Conference held in Merida, Mexico, February 4-6. They represented 44 countries and 32 minorities and Indian tribes, ranging from a three-year-old Mayan child who recited a prayer in front of the conference to 77-year-old Edna Ford, the pioneer who opened Merida to the Faith.
Hand of the Cause Paul Haney represented The Universal House of Justice at the conference. Hands of the Cause Raḥmatu’lláh Muhájir and Enoch Olinga were also present. Counsellor Florence Mayberry, a resident of the World Center, represented the International Teaching Center at the conference. She was a member of the first National Spiritual Assembly of Mexico, which formed in 1961. Four more Continental Counsellors were in attendance, as well as six Auxiliary Board members.
One-third of the Bahá’ís present were indigenous believers, 150 of whom were Mayans. Some had traveled for seven or eight days to attend the conference. Others rode a bus chartered by the National Spiritual Assembly of Belize which stopped for Bahá’ís along the Corozal Road by pre-arrangement.
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For the first time at an international teaching conference, Bahá’ís were permitted to bring family members who are close to the Faith, largely because of the close family life among many indigenous peoples.
The point of emphasis at the Merida Conference was that the Indians should be taught in all countries where the Faith is represented. The native believers, when deepened, will precipitate the entry by troops, it was said.
An insistent call for 50 believers to make teaching trips to Central and South America was made. Trips lasting from three to nine months were especially requested, with concentration on Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico. At the same time, the call was raised for eight Persians to pioneer to the Antilles and Windward and Leeward Islands. An appeal was made for deputization of those who would travel abroad to teach.
More than 200 Bahá’ís volunteered to pioneer or teach abroad. Over $136,500 was contributed or pledged to the Fund.
A boat was donated for use in the 80 San Blas Islands, where 2500 Cuna Indian Bahá’ís live. Three buses were donated for use in Guatemala, Haiti, and Mexico.
[edit]
At the Mérida conference, a seven-year-old Iranian girl’s personal goals for the Five Year Plan were shared:
- I will say a prayer each morning for the success of the Five Year Plan.
- I will read my Bahá’í children’s magazine each month.
- When I finish reading my children’s magazine, I will send it to children of pioneers in other countries.
- When I receive my allowance each week, I will give it to the Fund.
Around the World[edit]
Hand of the Cause A. Q. Faizí spoke to the friends at the Assembly Hall, Bahá’í Temple grounds, Sydney, during his tour of Australia in December and January, which took him to Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane.
The work of sculptor Jason Jannu, a Bahá’í, was exhibited at the University of New South Wales. Many viewers asked questions about the Faith.
Alaska
Children host teaching events[edit]
In Petersburg, Alaska, Bahá’í children ages 10-13 are hosts at a monthly teaching event at the Bahá’í Center.
Three children prepare for the events which are usually attended by at least 25 children who are not Bahá’ís. They are responsible for inviting the non-Bahá’í guests, teaching them, and deepening their friendships with them.
The parties are supervised by an adult Bahá’í. The children have asked to have more than one party per month.
Australia
Youth Conference attracts diverse group of Bahá’ís[edit]
More than 150 Bahá’í youth from Australia, the United States, Canada, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands attended the Eighth Australian Bahá’í Youth Conference. Organized by the National Youth Committee, the conference was held at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, from January 14-17, 1977.
The youth were privileged to meet the Hand of the Cause A. Q. Faizí, who addressed the conference twice and also attended the children’s program. Counsellor Florence Mayberry, a member of the International Teaching Center in Haifa, spoke to the youth during the conference, her first visit to Australia. Counsellors Howard Harwood, Peter Khan, and Thelma Parks were present, as well as two members of the National Assembly and two Auxiliary Board members.
On Saturday, January 15, the conference was opened to the public and presentations included slides of “The Bahá’í Faith in Diverse Cultures” and talks on morals and building a new civilization.
The program on Sunday included a widely-publicized youth service at the Bahá’í House of Worship and a public lecture by Dr. Khan.
Faith taught on university campus[edit]
Three teaching events have been held recently on the campus of the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.
In the first event, the Bahá’í Society of the University displayed Bahá’í literature at the entrance of the campus library. Hundreds of pamphlets were distributed to students over a five-week period.
In a second teaching effort, a dozen Bahá’í books were presented to the university library to add to the small collection which had been there for several years.
A few weeks later, the Bahá’í Society hosted a display of 22 sculptures in the campus library. The sculptor, Jason Jannu, is a native of India who became a Bahá’í in Australia. Many people were interested in the way the sculptures reflected basic Bahá’í principles.
Chile
Proclamation results in hundreds new believers[edit]
In the Santiago, Chile metropolitan area, a program for teaching large numbers of people was launched in August and September. By October, there were 148 enrollments in Pudahuel, 100 in Los Condes, and 83 in San Miguel.
As part of the teaching program, “The Green Light Expedition” was shown at the National Library of Chile. The projector operator was so impressed by the Bahá’ís present and the content of the film that he joined the Faith when the film concluded.
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Several regional conferences were held in conjunction with the teaching program. At the final conference, held in Santiago and attended by many new Bahá’ís, 50 believers pledged to contribute a fixed monthly amount to the Fund until Riḍván to support the continuing activity of the teaching program.
Colombia
Children’s classes part of teaching project[edit]
Four members of the Bogota community, including a new Bahá’í, visited Sogamoso, a city of 60,000 in Central Colombia on November 18. Their purpose was to teach and make preparations for additional teachers who would arrive the following day.
After trying unsuccessfully to meet with the mayor of Sogamoso, the teaching team went to the teaching area where they enrolled ten new Bahá’ís.
Four more teachers arrived the next day as expected and a class was held with 34 children. Many of the mothers came to the class and talked with the Bahá’ís.
By the end of the teaching project, 23 people accepted the Faith.
The Gambia
Goals won among Jola tribe[edit]
Twelve villages have been opened to the Faith in The Gambia in the last ten months due to village believers teaching neighboring villagers.
The villages opened have been in the Foni District, where the Jola people reside. The Jola were visited by Ruḥíyyih Khánum in 1971 during the Green Light Expedition.
At the recent National Teaching Conference, 20 villages were represented and pledges were made to open at least 20 new villages before Riḍván.
The National Spiritual Assembly has issued an appeal for Bahá’ís from other countries and pioneers to assist in consolidating the goals won among the Jola people.
At the Family Life Conference in Siguatepeque, Honduras, in December, the men prepared the food, washed the dishes, and cared for the children.
Guyana
National Assembly incorporated[edit]
Another goal of the Five Year Plan was achieved last December when the National Spiritual Assembly of Guyana was incorporated by an act of Parliament.
Nearly 60 people attended an evening celebration of the incorporation. Henry Dolphin, Chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly, welcomed the guests and read a cable from The Universal House of Justice which congratulated the National Assembly. A brief history of the Bahá’í Faith in Guyana was presented.
Edward Widmer, Auxiliary Board member, was among the guests.
Honduras
Family education focus of conference[edit]
A conference dedicated to women, where the men prepared the food, washed the dishes, and cared for the children, was held December 24-26 in Siguatepeque, Honduras.
The conference, sponsored by the National Spiritual Assembly, focused on the role and experience of women in the Bahá’í Faith, education of children, and the development of children’s classes and women’s clubs. Twenty adults, thirteen youth and eight children attended, as did Auxiliary Board member Edith McLaren of Nicaragua.
India
Villagers unexpectedly respond to Bahá’í teachers[edit]
One of the villages visited by Bahá’ís during a village teaching project in Northern India recently was Tababoi. Here they went from house to house inviting the women to attend a Bahá’í meeting. They were doubtful that the meeting would be well-attended, however, because the women of Tababoi seldom venture from their homes.
A few minutes after the meeting was scheduled to begin, as the Bahá’ís were discussing their plans, a young boy excitedly approached them: “Aren’t you going to the women’s meeting? Everyone is waiting.”
The Bahá’í teachers were surprised to find a crowd of women waiting for them. They listened intently to the talk about the Faith, and asked many questions. Each
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person was given a copy of The New Garden and a prayer book. They promised to meet each week to discuss The New Garden.
Ireland
Winter school attended by 36 Bahá’ís[edit]
Thirty-six Bahá’ís from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland attended a Bahá’í Winter School December 24-28, held in the Londonderry District of Northern Ireland.
As a part of the program, the friends studied The Seven Valleys and visited the District of Strabane, a goal area, to say prayers for teaching.
Members of the National Spiritual Assemblies of the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom were present at the school.
Leeward and Virgin Islands
Bahá’í Center acquired[edit]
The National Spiritual Assembly of the Leeward and Virgin Islands, with the assistance of the National Assembly of the United States, recently acquired a three-story building to serve as the Bahá’í Center for Martinique in accordance with the Five Year Plan.
The building, located at 18 Rue Pierre and Marie Curie in the center of town, is a cement structure. The Bahá’ís hope to renovate the top floor to serve as an apartment for the caretaker. The middle floor will contain offices and conference rooms, and the ground floor is to serve as an area for receiving the public.
Malawi
Prayer book translated[edit]
An introductory pamphlet to the Faith and a prayer book have been translated into Chitonga, reported the National Spiritual Assembly of Malawi. The Chitonga language is spoken by tribes in Malawi, Rhodesia, and Zambia.
Pakistan
Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds under construction[edit]
In a report on the progress of the Faith in Baluchistan Province, Pakistan, the Continental Board of Counsellors said the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds of Siryab is under construction. The building is located near several colleges and the business district of Siryab.
The report said the goals of the Five Year Plan have been achieved in Baluchistan Province as far as the formation of Local Spiritual Assemblies and the establishment of Bahá’í Centers.
India
Bahá’í visits Dalai Lama[edit]
Jamshed Fozdar, a Bahá’í who traveled to India to teach the Faith, presented his latest book, Buddha Maitrya-Amitabha Has Appeared, to His Eminence the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India, on January 22. The meeting was arranged by the National Spiritual Assembly of India. Mr. Fozdar was accompanied by R. N. Shah, Secretary of the National Assembly.
Philippines
Rotarians hear talk on Faith[edit]
Three Bahá’ís from Quezon City, Philippines, were invited to speak at an
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International Rotary Club luncheon in celebration of World Understanding Week September 12-18.
Scott McNear, Jim Sloan, and Sue Sloan attended seven different meetings and spoke about the Faith at each one. They were able to teach Rotarians as well.
The club members were so curious and interested in the Faith that Bahá’ís have been asked to speak at future club meetings.
Puerto Rico
14 declare during proclamation project[edit]
Ten adults and four youth have become Bahá’ís on the island of Culebra, off the east coast of Puerto Rico.
They were taught the Faith during a proclamation project on November 6 and 7, in which 34 Bahá’ís participated.
As part of the proclamation project, the Bahá’ís presented three children’s books to the school library, accepted by the Mayor of Culebra.
Italy
Bahá’ís sponsor public conference on civilization[edit]
Sixty-eight non-Bahá’ís heard a talk on the renewal of civilization, given by Alessandro Bausani on December 11 in Rome, Italy, at the hall of the Italian Society for International Organizations.
Laos
Bahá’í youth of Laos active for Faith[edit]
Bahá’í youth in Laos have adopted Each One Bring One as their motto. Here they study an album used in the teaching work.
Rhodesia
Thirty attend Women’s Conference[edit]
Thirty women from 15 localities met at the National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds in Salisbury, Rhodesia, December 26-29 for a Bahá’í International Women’s Conference.
The conference stressed the need for Bahá’í women to set an example by living the Bahá’í life.
The program, introduced by Amos Zauyamakando, Chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly, touched on several
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topics. Included were health, hygiene, and family planning; teaching children; famous Bahá’í women in both the East and the West; the role of Bahá’í women in the local community; the emancipation of women; and basic moral laws.
Through demonstrations, the participants learned how to bake a cake, cut a dress pattern, make a turban-style hat, and sew a long wrap-around skirt.
The International Women’s Conference Committee expects that the women will return to their homes and with their new knowledge begin Bahá’í women’s activities, helping to fulfill one of the goals of the Five Year Plan.
Sierra Leone
Bahá’í teachings broadcast in five languages[edit]
The National Spiritual Assembly of Sierra Leone reported that media coverage of the Faith has increased during the past year.
During the National Teaching Conference in October, six Bahá’ís taped radio interviews in five languages: English, Krio, Limba, Mende, and Tenne. The interviews were broadcast at least twice within the period of a month.
Another set of interviews were conducted with members of the American Bahá’í singing group “Sounds of Light” during their visit to Sierra Leone after the International Teaching Conference in Nairobi in October. The interviews were broadcast on both radio and television.
Solomon Islands
Women’s conferences held[edit]
Three conferences for Bahá’í women were held recently in the Solomon Islands. Each conference was hosted by a community with a strong Local Spiritual Assembly, and Bahá’ís from surrounding communities attended. The host Local Assemblies received guidelines for the conferences from the National Assembly; the women in each community organized the conferences.
A number of women traveled for as long as 12 hours to reach the conferences, where discussion centered around historical women in the Bahá’í Faith, the equality of men and women, the contribution Bahá’í women can make in teaching and living the life, and the Nineteen Day Feast.
Attendance at the three conferences ranged from 12 to 86.
Tonga
Faith proclaimed at agricultural show[edit]
An opportunity for proclamation of the Faith in Tonga which occurs annually is the Agricultural Show each October. Last October the National Spiritual Assembly and the Local Spiritual Assembly of Kolomotu’a worked together to build a booth to display Bahá’í posters and materials at the show.
The Agricultural Show is a popular event in the islands and is always attended by the King of Tonga and other dignitaries, the National Assembly reported.
Trinidad and Tobago
Increase in Local Assemblies[edit]
In Trinidad and Tobago, three new Local Spiritual Assemblies were formed in November and December, bringing to 91 the total number of Local Assemblies under the jurisdiction of the National Assembly. The goal for the Five Year Plan is 120 Local Assemblies.
Four Carib Indian believers have been enrolled recently as well. The Continental Board of Counsellors reports that these believers are thought to be the first Carib Indians to become Bahá’ís in Trinidad.
United Kingdom
Renowned baritone recognized by Queen[edit]
Internationally renowned baritone Norman Bailey has recently been honored by being named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
Mr. Bailey has won particular acclaim for his interpretation of Wagnerian roles and was the subject of an interview published in the September 1976 issue of the British magazine Hi-Fi News and Record Review. The full-page article, accompanied by photographs, stated in part that through his work in the United Kingdom, in Europe, and particularly in Germany, Mr. Bailey has laid “secure foundations for what has become a brilliant international career.” The article added that he is a “religious man; both he and his wife have been members of the Bahá’í Faith for over 20 years and for him music is essentially a spiritual experience.”
United States
Chinese taught in New York[edit]
Efforts to reach the Chinese in New York City are being moderately successful.
A number of believers there are actively engaged in teaching the Faith in Chinese neighborhoods, and regular weekly firesides are underway. Three Chinese youth have declared since April.
Particularly active in the teaching efforts has been Ahmad Sobhani, a Persian youth studying in the United States.
In the fall of 1975 he went to a park in a Chinese neighborhood of the city and struck up a conversation with a Chinese youth. In time he invited him to his home for a Persian meal. The young man came with three friends, which began a regular Tuesday fireside in the Sobhani home.
Recently, when the Local Spiritual Assembly learned that a certain Chinese couple planned to marry, they offered the Bahá’í Center as a location for the engagement party. Seventy-five Chinese attended and Bahá’í prayers were read.
Approximately 90 Chinese attended a farewell party at the Bahá’í Center in March for a departing teacher from a local Chinese school. On that occasion, the visitors presented a banner to the Bahá’ís, which read: “Presented to the Bahá’í Center in recognition of their loving service to the community and to our school.”
