Bahá’í News/Issue 119/Text

Bahá’í News
Issue 119

BAHA’I NEWS

Published by
The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís
of the United States and Canada
General Office: 130 Evergreen Place, West Englewood, New Jersey

No. 119

OCTOBER, 1938

“DRAW NIGH UNTO BAHÁ’U’LLÁH”[edit]

Put away the cups of Paradise and all the life-giving waters they contain, for lo, the people of Bahá’í have entered the blissful abode of the Divine Presence.—Gleanings, pg. 32.

He Who is everlastingly hidden from the eyes of men can never be known except through His Manifestation, and His Manifestation can adduce no greater proof of the truth of His Mission than the proof of His own Person. Gleanings, pg. 49.

It behooves us, therefore, to make the utmost endeavor ... that we may recognize Him only by His own Self. Gleanings, pg. 27.

Meditate diligently upon the Cause of thy Lord. Strive to know Him through His own Self and not through others. For no one else besides Him can ever profit thee. Gleanings, pg. 148.

Say: The first and foremost testimony establishing His truth is His own Self. Next to this testimony is His Revelation. For whoso faileth to recognize either the one or the other He hath established the words He hath revealed as proof of His reality and truth. Gleanings, pg. 105.

This is the Day when the loved ones of God should keep their eyes directed towards His Manifestation, and fasten them upon whatsoever that Manifestation may be pleased to reveal. Gleanings, pg. 171.

“MARCHING TOWARDS THEIR GOAL”[edit]

Letter from Shoghi Effendi[edit]

Dear co-workers:

I wish to reaffirm in person my sense of joy and gratitude, as expressed in my last cable to your Assembly, at the new spirit of alertness and determination which you have so clearly demonstrated while yet on the threshold of your year of stewardship in the service of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh. I am filled with fresh hopes, and yearn to witness, ere the present year draws to a close, not only the fulfilment of an unexampled record of service but the revelation of such depths of consecration as will astonish, nay thrill, both the members of your own community and the rest of the Bahá’í world. Pregnant indeed are the years looming ahead of us all. The twin processes of internal disintegration and external chaos are being accelerated and every day are inexorably moving towards a climax. The rumblings that must precede the eruption of those forces that must cause “the limbs of humanity to quake” can already be heard. “The time of the end,” “the latter years,” as foretold in the Scriptures, are at long last upon us. The Pen of Bahá’u’lláh, the voice of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, have time and again, insistently and in terms unmistakable, warned an unheeding humanity of impending disaster. The Community of the Most Great Name, the leaven that must leaven the lump, the chosen remnant that must survive the rolling up of the old, discredited, tottering order, and assist in the unfoldment of a new one in its stead, is standing ready, alert, clear-visioned, and resolute. The American believers, standard-bearers of this world-wide community and torch-bearers of an as yet unborn civilization, have girt up their loins, unfurled their banners and stepped into the arena of service. Their Plan has been formulated. Their forces are mobilized. They are steadfastly marching towards their goal. The hosts of the Abhá Kingdom are rushing forth, as promised, to direct their steps and reinforce their power. Through their initial victories they have provided the impulse that must now surge and, with relentless force sweep over their sister-communities and eventually overpower the entire human race. The generality of mankind, blind and enslaved, is wholly unaware of the healing power with which this community has been endowed, nor can it as yet suspect the role which this same community is destined to play in its redemption. Fierce and manifold will be the assaults which governments, races, classes and religions, jealous of its rising prestige and fearful of its consolidating strength, will seek to silence its voice and sap its foundations. Unmoved by the relative obscurity that surrounds it at the present time, and undaunted by the forces that will be arrayed against it in the future, this community, I cannot but feel confident, will, no matter how afflictive the agonies of a travailing age, pursue its destiny, undeflected in its course, undimmed in its serenity, unyielding in its resolve, unshaken in its convictions.

Your true brother,

SHOGHI,

July 5, 1938.

[Page 2]

THE ANNUAL BUDGET[edit]

During the first three months of the present Bahá’í year the sum of $14,477.77 was received by the National Bahá’í fund. The budget calls for $150,000.00 per year or $37,500.00 per three month period, leaving a shortage of $23,022.23. In other words, we are getting less than 45 per cent of the requirements.

In analyzing these figures, and in consideration of the number of recognized believers, we find that the average contribution amounted to $4.80 for the three month period, or $1.60 per month, or exactly 5 cents per day, for each believer, which is no more than the cost of a cup of coffee.

If every believer will help to bring the average up to 11c or 12c per day, our obligation toward the completion of the Temple will be fulfilled, the teaching work will progress and the heart of our beloved Guardian will be gladdened.

Shall we fail in this, our most sacred obligation? Shall we be confronted with remorse and sorrow for having missed our opportunity, which will never reoccur, the greatest privilege of our generation, and which will be remembered and revered in millenniums of Bahá’í history?

It is toward this end that our prayers and meditation must be directed, which will give us happiness in the realization that all and each have united to exercise our greatest privilege. If we do this we cannot fail.

NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY.

FAITH AND DEEDS[edit]

O Son of My Handmaid!

Guidance hath ever been in words, and now it is given in deeds. That is, every one must strive to show forth deeds that are pure and holy, for in words all partake, whereas such deeds as these are special to Our loved ones. Strive then with heart and soul to distinguish yourselves by your deeds. In this wise We counsel you in this holy and resplendent Tablet.—BAHÁ’U’LLÁH

He wishes you particularly to impress the believers with the necessity of maintaining the flow of their contributions to the Temple, and also to stress the importance of the institution of the National Bahá’í Fund which, in these early days of the administrative development of the Faith, is the indispensable medium for the growth and expansion of the Movement. Contributions to this fund constitute, in addition, a practical and effective way whereby every believer can test the measure and character of his faith, and to prove in deeds the intensity of his devotion and attachment to the Cause.—SHOGHI EFFENDI.

Each and every believer, undaunted by the uncertainties, the perils and the financial stringency afflicting the nation, must arise and insure, to the full measure of his or her capacity, that continuous and abundant flow of funds into the National Treasury on which the successful prosecution of the Plan must chiefly depend.—SHOGHI EFFENDI.

TEACHING—“Unto Every One the Duty”[edit]

Teaching the Cause of God has ever been the basis of vital existence for the followers of Bahá’u’lláh. The instructions of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on this point multiply in memory and expand in meaning as one attempts to recall them, reaching their great summation in the closing paragraphs of His Will: “Of all the gifts of God the greatest is the gift of Teaching.... Of such a gift how can we deprive ourselves?” Nor may we understand this in a narrow sense. “God hath prescribed unto every one the duty of teaching His Cause. Whoever ariseth to discharge this duty, must needs, ere he proclaimeth His Message, adorn himself with the ornament of an upright and praiseworthy character, so that his words may attract the hearts of such as are receptive to his call. Without it, he can never hope to influence his hearers.... If he be kindled with the fire of His love, if he forgoeth all created things, the words he uttereth shall set on fire them that hear him.” The Guardian re-stated it in these terms to Bahá’í youth: “They should attract people to the Cause not so much through the exposition of its principles and teachings but through the power of their individual lives.”

But penetrating as our insight may have been in the past through the aid of such instruction, and however dedicated our lives to the diffusion of His holy Faith, surely the heart of every believer must quicken with fresh joy to the opportunities of these present days, so “unutterably precious.” We have been prepared in thought and resolution for some years for this hour. We have come gradually to understand, without the shock or paralysis of fear to which an unwitting world must be subject at the climax, that “nothing short of the fire of a severe ordeal, unparalleled in its intensity, can fuse and weld the discordant entities that constitute the elements of present-day civilization, into the integral components of the world commonwealth of the future ....” These words of Shoghi Effendi date back to 1931; the continuous influence of others like them, growing imperceptibly in emphasis and scope, have brought us safely to the last enunciation, the gravity of which we know in our inmost beings cannot be overweighed. “ ‘The time of the end,’ ‘the latter years,’ as foretold in the Scriptures, are at long last upon us.”

And now at long last, too, the “gift of teaching” becomes a diviner gift, a more cherished mission, the privilege to carry the essence of life to cavernous reaches of death, to replace despair by faith, hopelessness by knowledge, and stricken terror by the strong courage of attachment to God’s unfailing Will. This is the distinction of the closing years of Bahá’u’lláh’s initial century. This is the spirit which will inform all whom the Divine Plan has claimed as instruments of its fulfillment. This consciousness is the spring of sustained, undeviating action, from its first surge to the mighty culmination.

“The American believers, standard-bearers of this world-wide community and torch-bearers of an as yet unborn civilization, have girt up their loins, unfurled their banners and stepped into the arena of service. Their Plan has been formulated. Their forces are mobilized. They are steadfastly marching towards their goal. The hosts of the Abha Kingdom are rushing forth, as promised, to direct their steps and reinforce their power. Through their initial victories they have provided the impulse that must now surge and, with relentless force sweep over their sister-communities and eventually overpower the entire human race.” “... They must not throughout these six remaining years, allow themselves to be deflected from the course they are now steadily pursuing.”

We are far today from that fecundity of effort which will “astonish, nay thrill, both the members of your own community and the rest of the Bahá’í world.” However great the achievements of the past, they are but traces, merest foreshadowings of a mature stride. Yet the news from every part of the American continent is already gathering momentum, and to every Assembly, group and individual believer, this record is sure to bring re-inforcement, stimulation, and the

[Page 3] release of energy into a host of new and varied patterns of accomplishment.

The Faith continues its penetration into Virgin States and areas. From Laramie comes the enrollment of Mrs. Ada M. Fadner, first Bahá’í of Wyoming, who learned of the Cause through the joint efforts of the Lilly-whites and Mrs. Ruth Moffett. She writes: “Christ’s Teachings were very penetrating and vital to my life and I thought I really knew Christ, but I have found out that I really did not fully understand until I became a Bahá’í.... Signing the card is the most sacred duty I have ever done in my life....” This warm attraction is already being turned by our new friend into teaching, for a study group meets weekly in her apartment.

Exceptional results have been obtained by Miss Rezsi Sunshine, during a three-months’ stay in Arkansas. Several weeks were spent in Little Rock, Eureka Springs, and Hot Springs, and in each city books were requested by the public libraries. Miss Olive Black, librarian in Eureka Springs, wrote to Miss Sunshine: “I have read the book, Security for a Failing World, ... and I think it should be in every School, College, University, and Public Library in the United States. It is the sanest exposition of the Divine purpose of life I have ever read ... I shall not miss an opportunity to recommend it to all my friends and patrons.” In addition, contacts were made with five or six presidents of Women’s Clubs, and with the Rabbi of the Reformed Temple of Little Rock, all of whom promised speaking opportunities in the Fall. Because of the summer heat, Miss Sunshine is temporarily in Massachusetts, but plans to return to Arkansas to continue her outstanding work.

A final report of the visit of Mrs. Terah Smith and Miss Marguerite Reimer to North Carolina includes some interesting episodes. In addition to contacts in Raleigh previously reported here, Miss Reimer spoke to the student body of the North Carolina State College for Negroes in Durham which, like Duke University, is endowed by the Duke fortune. Also in this city, Mrs. Smith made “an address before the personnel, numbering about eighty, of the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Co. This company is capitalized and directed entirely by Negroes. Each Saturday they hold a Forum which fosters all types of education! The previous lectures had been on the Prophets: Moses, Buddha, Confucius, and Muhammad. So the stage was properly set for the introduction of the Faith.

TEMPLE CONSTRUCTION—9
The architect’s beautiful vision emerges into more impressive outer expression as the units of the gallery section are assembled in their final position.

The enthusiastic interest was thrilling. After open discussion one of the officials gave a summation which showed a remarkable understanding of the Teachings and the inner reality of the Cause.”

Mrs. Ruth Moffett has also reported extensive teaching activities in the South. During April she and two friends travelled more than 3400 miles in eleven States and fifty cities. Lectures were given before twenty-five universities and colleges and over ten radio stations. A Bahá’í study group was organized in Montgomery, Alabama, and visits were made to twenty libraries to discuss the placement of Bahá’í literature. The cities visited by Mrs. Moffett included: New Orleans, Mobile, Fairhope, Pensacola, Montgomery, Tuskegee, Birmingham, Telladega (Alabama), Atlanta, Chattanooga, Nashville, and Camner (Kentucky).

A method which might well serve as a model for many individual believers has been adopted by Miss Mildred F. Varnum, a member of the Bahá’í community of New York City. She has returned to her “home town” in Bangor, Maine, and intends to remain until the Cause is established. The local newspaper gave her excellent publicity, featuring the Faith as the reason for her return, and a meeting is planned for August in the Town Hall or Church supported by her grandfather. She writes: “I am thrilled with this privilege of serving Bahá’u’lláh in this my beloved Maine where I was born and my forebears were among its pioneers.”

A somewhat similar plan is being followed by Miss Marion Holley in the San Joaquin Valley, California, a territory in which her mother, Grace B. Holley, did pioneer work. Two teaching circuits were arranged in April and May for Mr. Joseph Bray and Miss Beatrice Irwin, with fireside groups in Woodlake, Bakersfield, and Fresno. Miss Irwin also spoke to the High School senior class and to three hundred Grammar students in Woodlake, as well as to a study class of the Congregational Church in Bakersfield. There have since been several exchanges between this class and the Bahá’ís. The success of these circuits has grown out of the efforts of three isolated believers, Mrs. Estelle Wacaser, Mrs. Horace Tillyer, and Mrs. Sylvia Dewey.

Most stimulating news has come from Mr. and Mrs. Ward Calhoon of the Milwaukee community, who turned a vacation trip to Cuba into a teaching campaign. They were assisted in every decision by the inspiration of Bahá’u’lláh, choosing in this way a steamship agency in Miami where they met the President of the Cuban Chamber of Commerce, and by him were given several valued introductions in Havana. This gentleman had published an article on the Calhoons

[Page 4] “In Memory of Her Late Majesty Queen Marie of Rumania, from the Friends of the Bahá’í Faith in America”—a floral tribute designed and contributed by Mr. Charles Mason Remey for the Memorial Service held at Washington Cathedral on July 25, 1938. “To those searching for light, the Bahá’í Teachings offer a star which will lead them to deeper understanding, to assurance, peace and good will with all men.”—Marie, 1936. (Reproduced as frontispiece to The Bahá’í World, Vol. VI).

and the principles of the Faith in the Sunday Advance, a large newspaper of Havana, and articles were also carried by the only English newspaper, the Havana Post, and by three Cuban papers. Several important contacts were made in Havana and deep interest was aroused. While passing through Florida, the Calhoons spoke to the Bahá’ís in Jacksonville, St. Augustine, and Miami, showing motion pictures of Bahá’í activities and the Temple.

Other believers have also reported the extension of Bahá’í contacts while on vacation. Mrs. John Becktel of Kansas City, accompanied by Miss Carolyn Christensen, visited relatives for three days in Billings, Montana, and was able to speak of the Cause and distribute literature to thirteen people. Mr. and Mrs. Paul Schoeny of Phoenix cooperated with the Teaching Committee by calling on isolated believers in Santa Rosa and Las Vegas, New Mexico.

Another vital phase of teaching progress is the consolidation of Bahá’í Groups throughout the continent. Perhaps the most notable work during this period was done in Duluth, Minn., when the believers cooperated with Mr. Philip Marangella and Miss Josephine Kruka for three weeks in May. A series of five public talks were arranged at the Spalding Hotel, and in addition Mr. Marangella spoke at the Y. M. C. A., the morning service of the A. M. C., and the Saturday Luncheon Club of business men and women. The Duluth Group “now numbers eight declared believers, and with the new students who were attracted we hope to have an Assembly.”

Two new enrollments have been listed for Knoxville, and with the transfer of Mrs. Louise Caswell’s membership, the Knoxville Group now has seven members. Mr. and Mrs. Walter Guy have reported the establishment of a Group in Orlando, Florida, which includes residents of Pine Castle. It is hoped that membership may be sufficiently increased in one or the other of these cities to allow the election of an Assembly by next April. Scranton, Pa., has a new Group of ten, resulting from the teaching work of Mr. and Mrs. Howard Ives and Mrs. Inderlied of Binghamton. Long Beach, California, has reorganized a Group of seven, and is receiving much help from the Los Angeles Assembly. Roseville, Michigan, now has five members and recently arranged meetings for Miss Lydia Zamenhof. Madison, Wisconsin, has reported its fifth enrollment. In Helena, Montana, a Group was organized last April with eleven believers.

Meantime a great number of devoted Bahá’ís in isolated areas are carrying forward the banner of the Divine Plan. Although it is impossible to mention them all, these few references may hearten other isolated friends. Mrs. Elizabeth Carpenter of Santa Paula, with the help of Mrs. Marzieh Carpenter, has arranged weekly meetings throughout the year in her home which reached a high point with a violin concert by Mr. Roderick White, followed by a talk on “Bahá’u’lláh, the Greatest Musician,” by Mrs. Beulah Lewis. The splendid exhibit of Bahá’í books, pictures, and Persian and Arabic texts, which is represented by a photograph in this issue, was arranged in Santa Paula at the Dean Hobbs Blanchard Memorial Library.

Mr. Kenneth Christian and two fellow Bahá’í students at Cornell University, Stuart Cody and Henry Setz, with the cooperation of friends from nearby centers, scheduled public lectures during the school year of 1937-38 for Mr. Harlan Ober, Dr. Heist, Mr. Philip Marangella, Mrs. Terah Smith, Mr. Emeric Sala, and Mr. Allen McDaniel. Accompanying Mr. McDaniel’s talk on the Temple was a three-day exhibit of the Temple Model in Willard Straight Hall lobby, and it is estimated that 3000 people saw it. Several hundred leaflets were distributed, good publicity in three papers was obtained, and the faculty has invited Mr. McDaniel to return next year.

A report from the Regional Teaching Committee of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, British Columbia, and Alaska demonstrates a splendid cooperation between this Committee and the individual friends, in carrying the Faith to new areas. Several study groups are being formed in British Columbia, in Victoria by Miss Audrey Applegate of Vancouver, in Westminster, in West Vancouver through Mrs. Monroe, and in towns of the Okanagan Valley such as Armstrong, where there are already four believers. Both Miss Doris Skinner and Mr. Rowland Estall have planned teaching visits to the Valley, where they will extend Bahá’í contacts in Vernon, Penticton, Nelson, Trail, and Kampoole. Also in this region pioneer work is being advanced in Tacoma, to which city Mr. Charles Knight of Seattle has recently moved, in Wenatchee, and through weekly visits of Dr. and Mrs. Speno, in Coeur d’Alene and Sandpoint, Idaho. Mr. and Mrs. Harry Seymour of Monroe have gone to Juneau, Alaska, for the summer.

Thus do we see in every part of this great continent the evidences of the self-sacrificing efforts of the believers. More and more are finding in action the gift of confirmation, in teaching the light of inspiration and guidance, in concerted effort under the standard of the Divine Plan a strength and blessing which only unity confers. For the American Bahá’ís, spiritual heirs of the heroic founders of our Faith, inherit too that glorious promise of the Báb: “God will assist all those who arise to serve Him!” Our gratitude for the opportunity of service in such unequalled days can recognize no bounds.

NATIONAL TEACHING COMMITTEE.

STATUS OF ASSEMBLIES IN CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA[edit]

Regarding the Spiritual Assembly of Mexico City, the general principle is that the N. S. A. of America should strive to prepare and train all groups in Central and South America to attain the status of an Assembly, and, once formed, to endeavor to consolidate their position. These Assemblies, however, as soon as established, will

[Page 5] cease to be formally under the jurisdiction of the N. S. A. of the U. S. and Canada.—SHOGHI EFFENDI, May 25, 1938.

MEETINGS OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY[edit]

It has been found desirable to revise the schedule of meetings published in a recent issue of BAHÁ’Í NEWS. The new schedule follows, and it is pointed out that the plan calls for the formal public meeting on the evening before the business sessions of the Assembly begin, and a regional conference on the Sunday afternoon falling within the dates given, wherever local conditions make a conference feasible.

October 7, 8, 9, Knoxville, Tenn.

December 9, 10, 11, Urbana, Ill.

February 3, 4, 5, Los Angeles.

PUBLIC TEACHING BULLETIN “A NEW WORLD ORDER”[edit]

For several years the National Spiritual Assembly has issued occasional numbers of a bulletin containing only excerpts from Bahá’í literature and intended for non-believers. Copies have been mailed out to lists of interested persons compiled by the Contacts Committee and received from other sources, and copies have also been purchased by a number of local Assemblies.

The Assembly has decided to develop this bulletin in order to make it more useful for teaching work. Hereafter it will be issued as a single sheet, printed on both sides, and carrying no date but merely a serial number, which will greatly extend the period of time in which copies can be used. Moreover, the bulletins will be sold in quantity, not less than 50 copies per order, at a cost of 1c each.

Orders and payments should be sent directly to the Treasurer of the National Spiritual Assembly. This bulletin is not handled by the Publishing Committee.

Advance orders are desirable, in order to determine how many to print.

ECONOMY IN ‎TEACHNG TEACHING‎ PLANS[edit]

While the requirements of the National Fund are not being met, and the future progress of Temple construction not yet assured, the National Assembly wishes to advise National and Regional Teaching Committees, Summer Schools and local Assemblies to exercise all possible economy in teaching work, by giving preference to nearby teachers where invitations involve traveling and living expenses. The budget supporting the Seven-Year Plan is our first concern.

BAHA’I YOUTH AT GREEN ACRE, JULY, 1938

REFERENCES TO THE FUND AT NINETEEN DAY FEASTS[edit]

Questions having arisen as to propriety of mentioning the Bahá’í Fund, and receiving contributions, at Nineteen Day Feasts, the National Assembly is of the opinion that under the Guardian’s explanation of the threefold character of this Feast, the consultation period should be used as much as possible for promotion of the Seven Year Plan in all its phases. But the regularity of contributions to the Fund should not be contingent upon personal attendance at the Nineteen Day Feast.

IN MEMORIAM[edit]

Death ‎profferth proffereth‎ unto every confident believer the cup that is life indeed. It bestoweth joy, and is the bearer of gladness. It confereth the gift of everlasting life.—BAHÁ’U’LLÁH.

Charles Johnson, Mauston, Wisc.

Miss Dorothy A. Fleu, St. Paul.

Mrs. Marne Brown, New York.

Walter H. Petersen, Los Angeles.

Mrs. Rose A. Windover, Grand Rapids.

ENROLLMENTS AND TRANSFERS[edit]

New Haven, three. Lima, three. St. Paul, one. Chicago, ten. Urbana, one. Yonkers, one. Los Angeles, five and one youth. New York, three. Augusta, two. Lansing, one. Glendale, Calif., one youth. Columbus, one. San Francisco, one.

ASSEMBLY ROLL[edit]

Oakland, Calif. Change of address. New address, Lorne H. Matteson, Secretary, 217 Bank of Commerce Bldg.

Indianapolis, Ind. Change of address. New address, Mrs. G. M. Cooper, Corresponding Secretary, 2116 Central Ave.

“THE CHARTER OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER”[edit]

“The creative energies released by the Law of Bahá’u’lláh, permeating and evolving within the mind of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, have, by their very impact and close interaction, given birth to an Instrument which may be viewed as the Charter of the New World Order which is at once the glory and the promise of this most great Dispensation.”—SHOGHI EFFENDI.

In order to promote a more direct and intimate spiritual association with the provisions of the Master’s Will and Testament on the part of the American Bahá’í Community, the National Spiritual Assembly will publish a series of excerpts from the Will, together with selections from the interpretive writings of the Guardian. The friends are urged to give deep thought to this new department in BAHÁ’Í NEWS.

The House of Justice[edit]

It would .. be helpful to bear in mind certain basic principles with reference to the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, which together with the Kitab-i-Aqdas, constitutes the chief depository wherein are enshrined those priceless elements of that Divine Civilization, the establishment of which is the primary mission of the Bahá’í Faith....

[Page 6] To dissociate the administrative principles of the Cause from the purely spiritual and humanitarian teachings would be tantamount to a mutilation of the body of the Cause, a separation that can only result in the disintegration of its component parts, and the ‎extinctioin extinction‎ of the Faith itself ...¹

It hath been ordained by God that in every city a House of Justice shall be established; the members must be according to the Number of Bahá, and if the number exceed this, no matter. ... The members of the House must regard themselves as trustees and representatives of God in the created world. And when they enter the House, they must consider themselves as being in the Presence of God, the Supreme, the Most exalted, as seeing Him Who is unseen, and strive to fulfill for the good of the public the Trust placed in them for the sake of God, as though they were managing their own affairs and choosing that which is best ...²

That the Spiritual Assemblies of today will be replaced in time by the Houses of Justice, and are to all intents and purposes identical and not separate bodies, is abundantly confirmed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself.... Not only will the present-day Spiritual Assemblies be styled differently in future, but will be enabled also to add to their present functions those powers, duties and prerogatives necessitated by the recognition of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, not merely as one of the recognized religious systems of the world but as the State Religion of an independent and Sovereign Power. And as the Bahá’í Faith permeates the masses of the peoples of the East and West, and its truth is embraced by the majority of the peoples of a number of the Sovereign States of the world, will the Universal House of Justice attain the plenitude of its power, and exercise, as the supreme organ of the Bahá’í ‎Commonwalth Commonweal‎, all the rights, the duties, and the responsibilities incumbent upon the world’s future superstate ...¹

And now, concerning the House of Justice which God had ordained as the source of all good and freed from all error, its members must be elected by universal suffrage, that is, by the believers. Its members must be manifestations of the fear of God and day-springs of knowledge and understanding, must be steadfast in God’s faith and the well wishers of all mankind. By this House is meant the Universal House of Justice, that is, in all countries, a secondary House of Justice must be instituted, and these secondary Houses of Justice Must elect the members of the Universal one. Unto this body all things must be referred. It enacteth all ordinances and regulations that are not to be found in the explicit Holy text. By this body all the difficult problems are to be resolved and the guardian of the Cause of God is its sacred head and the distinguished member for life of that body. Should he not attend in person its deliberations, he must appoint one to represent him. Should any of the members commit a sin, injurious to the common weal, the guardian of the Cause of God hath at his own discretion the right to expel him, whereupon the people must elect another one in his stead. This House of Justice enacteth the laws and the government enforceth them. The legislative body must reinforce the executive, the executive must aid and assist the legislative body so that through the close union and harmony of these two forces, the foundation of fairness and justice may become firm and strong, that all regions of the world may become even as Paradise itself.... Unto the Most Holy Book every one must turn and all that is not expressly recorded therein must be referred to the Universal House of Justice. That which this body, whether unanimously or by a majority doth carry, that is verily the Truth and the Purpose of God himself....³

An attempt, I feel, should at the present juncture be made to explain the character and functions of the twin pillars that support this mighty Administrative Structure—the institutions of the Guardianship and of the Universal House of Justice....

Their common, their fundamental object is to insure the continuity of that divinely-appointed authority which flows from the Source of our Faith, to safeguard the unity of its followers and to maintain the integrity and flexibility of its teachings. Acting in conjunction with each other two inseparable institutions administer its affairs, coordinate its activities, promote its interests, execute its laws and defend its subsidiary institutions....

The interpretation of the Guardian, functioning within his own sphere is as authoritative and binding as the enactments of the International House of Justice, whose exclusive right and prerogative is to pronounce upon and deliver the final judgment on such laws and ordinances as Bahá’u’lláh has not expressly revealed. Neither can, nor will ever, infringe upon the sacred and prescribed domain of the other. Neither will seek to curtail the specific and undoubted authority with which both have been divinely invested....

No wonder that He Who through the operation of His Will has inaugurated so vast and unique an Order and Who is the Center of so mighty a Covenant should have written these words: “So firm and mighty is this Covenant that from the beginning of time until the present day no religious Dispensation hath produced its like.” “Whatsoever is latent in the innermost of this holy cycle,” He wrote during the darkest and most dangerous days of His ministry, “shall gradually appear and be made manifest, for now is but the beginning of its growth and the day-spring of the revelation of its signs.”⁴

_____

¹ Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh.

² Bahá’u’lláh, Aqdas.

³ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Will and Testament.

⁴ Shoghi Effendi, The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh

COMMITTEES OF THE NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY[edit]

1938-1939[edit]

Revisions and Further Appointments[edit]

Contacts[edit]

Additional members:

Mrs. Vera Eisenhart

Mrs. Ethel Furbush

Regional Teaching[edit]

For Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. Mr. Stanley Kemp unable to serve.

Additional members:

Mrs. Louis Speno

Mrs. Alta Kruger

Mrs. Mae McKenna

For Ohio, Indiana, Western Pennsylvania. Mrs. Myron Potter unable to serve. One or two new members to be added.

For Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin. Mrs. Dudley Blakeley unable to serve. Additional member:

Mrs. Bertha Hyde Kirkpatrick

For New York, New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania.

Additional member:

Archie G. Tichenor

The Bahá’í World—Volume VIII[edit]

Additional members:

Mrs. Mariam Haney

Miss Florence Mattoon

Mrs. Victoria Bedikian

[Page 7]

Study Outline[edit]

Mrs. Alice Cox, Chairman

Miss Imogene Talbott

Mrs. Marion Rhodes

Mrs. H. Emogene Hoagg

Teaching and Training Children[edit]

Additional member:

Miss June Miller

Green Acre Summer School—1939[edit]

Mrs. Amelia Bowman, Chairman

Miss Marjory Wheeler

Mrs. Mary Francis Baral

Mrs. Beula Proctor

Harlan Ober

Harold Bowman

Miss Lorna Tasker

Green Acre Youth Week—1939[edit]

Mrs. Evelyn Loveday, Chairman, Eliot, Maine

Duncan McAlear

Miss Betty Shook

Miss Hazel Bowman

Rinaldo Quigley

Geyserville Summer School—1939[edit]

John D. Bosch, Chairman

Leroy Ioas, Vice-Chairman

N. F. Ward, Secretary

George O. Latimer

Mrs. Amelia Collins

Mrs. Ella G. Cooper

Siegfried Schopflocher

Irwin Somerhalder

Miss Joy Allen

Mrs. Sara Kenny

Rowland Estall

Clarence Iverson

Louhelen Summer School—1939[edit]

L. W. Eggleston, Chairman

Mrs. Bertha Hyde Kirkpatrick, Secretary

Mrs. Dorothy Baker

Miss Gareta Busey

Bishop Brown

Edmund Miesler

Mrs. L. W. Eggleston

Carl Scheffler

Clarence C. Niss

Kenneth Christian

Mrs. Dorothy Graf

Temple Librarian[edit]

Harry E. Walrath

PUBLISHING ANNOUNCEMENTS[edit]

The Committee is pleased to report a new title added to the series of Teaching Literature pamphlets:—

Religion and The New Age, by A. G. B. Sold only in lots of 100 copies. Per hundred, $1.50 net.

Editions have also been obtained of

THE NEWLY ESTABLISHED COMMUNITY OF MEXICO CITY

two pamphlets in wide demand :—

Tests: Their Spiritual Value, by Mamie L. Seto. Per hundred, $1.50 net. Radiant Acquiescence, by Orcella Rexford. Per hundred, $1.50 net.

Since the Guardian has recommended Sale’s translation of the Qur’an as most suitable for study by believers, the Publishing Committee informs the friends that they can order a copy at any local bookstore. Ask for “The Koran,” translated into English from the original Arabic by George Sale. The Publisher is Frederick Warne and Co., Ltd., London, with an American office at 381 Fourth Avenue, New York. This New York office does not sell single copies retail, but sells only to bookstores. The work can be obtained for $1.00 per copy, but including illustrations and Preliminary Discourse the cost is $4.00.

ARCHIVES ANNOUNCEMENTS[edit]

In 1936 the National Spiritual Assembly requested the Archives and History Committee to make an effort to obtain a history of each local Bahá’í Community, prepared under the auspices of the Local Assembly.

Following this, a request was made through BAHÁ’Í NEWS for local histories to be prepared and forwarded to the Committee, and some suggestions were given as to the particular subjects to be emphasized in the historical write-up. To date fifteen Assemblies have responded. Some of the local histories received have been quite detailed and complete, particularly the one prepared by the Philadelphia Assembly.

The request is renewed that each Local Assembly which has not already done so, appoint a committee or an historian to prepare a history of the Cause in its own Community. Perhaps the most valuable sources of information will be files of Assembly minutes and correspondence or memories of the early believers. The committee would greatly appreciate receiving many more of these records during the current Bahá’í year.

Thirty-two of the seventy-eight local Spiritual Assemblies have filled out and returned the Questionnaire which was mailed by the National Spiritual Assembly last year and to the Secretaries of the newly formed Communities after April 21st of this year. While the information entered in the Questionnaire supplies only a brief summary of local history, the cumulative information which would be available should all Assemblies respond would be considerable.

Approximately half of the communities that have returned the Questionnaire indicate that a local archives committee is included among the standing committees of the ‎Commuity Community‎. Such a committee or a local archivist in each Assembly, would, in time, prove very useful, not only in organizing and preserving local records but in assisting the National Committee in the collection and preservation of the Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the letters of the Guardian and sacred relics brought back by American believers who have visited the Holy Shrines.

Recent Gifts to the Archives[edit]

The most precious Bahá’í possessions of the National Bahá’í Archives

[Page 8] consist of the following gifts of the Guardian, coming from the International Archives:—Three original illuminated Tablets in the Hand-Writing of Bahá’u’lláh, one a prayer, and two Tablets to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá from His Father. The last gift received was the Locks of the Hair of Bahá’u’lláh, which were arranged and preserved by the hands of the Greatest Holy Leaf. These gifts have come from Haifa within the last four years.

Within that time the number of the Master’s original Tablets which have been given to the National Archives has increased from approximately 1,000 to 1,600. Four years ago, aside from the Guardian’s letters to the National Spiritual Assembly, there were few letters from the Guardian in the National Archives. Now there are several hundred.

Since the Convention a gift from Mr. Ernest Harrison of Montreal has been received, consisting of what he believes to be a complete Bahá’í library in English. Also the original negative and positive copy of the motion picture film of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá taken in New York City has been sent to the archives by the National Spiritual Assembly. This was formerly in the possession of Mr. Roy Wilhelm.

ARCHIVES AND HISTORY COMMITTEE

YOUTH ACTIVITIES[edit]

The National Youth Committee urges each local Youth Group to participate in the activities planned for the current year.

Study Days. In development of the plan adopted last year, the following Study Days have been arranged:

September—The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh. First half.

October—The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh. Second half.

(Use the Study Outline on this subject published by the Publishing Committee. )

November—Some Answered Questions. Part I.

January—Some Answered Questions. Part II.

March—Some Answered Questions. Part III.

April—Some Answered Questions. Part IV

May—Some Answered Questions. Part V.

BOOK EXHIBIT
An exhibit of Bahá’í books placed on view at the Dean Hobbs Blanchard Memorial Library in Santa Paula, California. The librarian, Mrs. Gladys Kennedy, cooperated in making this display possible, which included recent Bahá’í books published in the U. S., pictures of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the Temple, some texts in Persian and Arabic, enhanced in attractiveness by flowers and Persian art objects. The exhibit attracted much attention.

(Study Outlines and questions are being prepared for use in connection with the five parts of Some Answered Questions, and will be made available by the Youth Committee.)

Youth Bulletin. This will be continued, and young people are requested to assist by obtaining subscriptions and manuscripts.

Mid-winter Conference. Sub-secretaries have been requested to arrange at least one conference on a regional basis this winter.

Sub-secretaries are also requested to arrange a meeting of area members, submit Study Day reports obtained from all groups and report all youth activities.

Two meetings. These are to be held locally as Feast or public meetings, based on The Dawn-Breakers, with about three talks. Possible subjects: 1, on the Fore-runners of the Bab; 2, on Tahirih, Vahid, Quddus. This is an international effort.

Fourth Annual International Bahá’í Youth Day. The date is to be February 26, 1939, the subject “The Unfoldment of World Civilization.” Complete outlines will be published in Bahá’í Youth for December.

ESPERANTO CONGRESS[edit]

The Congress held at Cleveland, July 1, 2 and 3 was of exceptional interest to Bahá’ís as well as to Esperantists on account of the presence of Miss Lidia Zamenhof. Miss Zamenhof was listed in the program as Bahá’í speaker, and found many opportunities to promote the Faith. A letter from the National Spiritual Assembly was presented to the delegates.

The following two resolutions were unanimously adopted:

“To Miss Lidia Zamenhof, talented daughter of the beloved founder of our language, we wish to express our deepest gratitude for the inspiration of her presence and for her unselfish cooperation in the various Congress activities.

“To the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada, we convey our feeling of appreciation for the great part they have played in making it possible to have Miss Zamenhof in America to spread the Cause of Esperanto throughout this country.”