Bahá’í News/Issue 96/Text
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The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís
of the United States and Canada
General Office: Evergreen Cabin, West Englewood, New Jersey
Man is the supreme Talisman. Lack of a proper education hath, however, deprived him of that which he doth inherently possess. Through a word proceeding out of the mouth of God he was called into being; by one word more he was guided to recognize the Source of his education; by yet another word his station and destiny were safeguarded. The Great Being saith: Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures and enable mankind to benefit therefrom. If any man were to meditate on that which the Scriptures, sent down from the heaven of God’s holy Will, have revealed, he will readily recognize that their purpose is that all men shall be regarded as one soul, so that the seal bearing the words “The Kingdom shall be God’s” may be stamped on every heart, and the light of Divine bounty, of grace, and mercy may envelope all mankind.
- —BAHÁ’U’LLÁH.
LETTERS FROM SHOGHI EFFENDI[edit]
“Modern Mystics”[edit]
“I wish also to express his thanks and appreciation for other enclosures and especially for the book ‘Modern Mystics’ by Sir Francis Younghusband, a copy of which you have been most kind in sending him. The author’s account of the early days of the Movement is very thrilling, indeed, and quite authoritative, being based on Nabil’s Narrative. It is hoped that this work will have great influence in spreading the Message in many circles, and in this way will give wide and effective publicity to the Cause.” (Note: Reference was made to “Modern Mystics” in a recent issue of BAHÁ’Í NEWS).
“In this connection the Guardian wishes me to draw your attention to a recently published book on ‘Persia’ written by an English lady by the name of Merrit-Hawks, in which she makes a few, though very favorable and significant statements regarding the importance and position of the Cause in that country. The author, who has traveled extensively throughout the land, and has associated with many classes of the population, has been much impressed all through the journey by the comparatively high intellectual, moral and spiritual level which the Bahá’ís occupy among their fellow-countrymen.”
The Guardian’s Letters to Individual Believers[edit]
“With reference to the N. S. A.’s suggestion regarding the publication in BAHÁ’Í NEWS of passages from the Guardian’s letters to individual believers, he wishes me to express his approval of the plan conceived by your Assembly in this matter.” (Note: This plan is that when the National Spiritual Assembly receives a copy of a letter from the Guardian to an individual believer containing statements of general bearing and importance, the Assembly will refer these statements back to the Guardian, and when approved by him will publish them in BAHÁ’Í NEWS. This plan was brought to the Guardian’s attention in the light of his instruction, published a year or two ago, that his letters to individuals were not to be extensively published).
Stories About ‘Abdu’l-Bahá[edit]
“He would also urge you to attach no importance to the stories told about ‘Abdu’l-Bahá or to those attributed to Him by the friends. These should be regarded in the same light as the notes and impressions of visiting pilgrims. They need not be suppressed, but they should not also be given prominence or official recognition.”
“A Special Responsibility”[edit]
“Dear and valued co-workers: Now that the decoration of the dome unit of our beloved Temple has been brought to a successful termination, an unprecedented effort, on the part of both individuals and Assemblies, is required in order to promote, nay to revitalize the teaching work in all its aspects and throughout the length and breadth of the American continent. A special responsibility is thus laid on the elected representatives of the American believers, whose immediate task is to devise such means as will enable every local community and group to play its part and further by every means in its power the campaign of teaching which is to signalize the opening of a new chapter in the history of the Faith in that land.” (signed) Shoghi.
THE NEW HOUR HAS STRUCK[edit]
Three major instructions have been received by the American believers since the Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: to develop the Administrative Order, to construct the Mashriqu’l-Adhkar, and now, to engage in a “nation-wide, systematic, sustained effort in teaching field.”
These three instructions mark the fundamental points in our collective historical experience as a national community of Bahá’ís in the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh. Their sequence is significant. The friends have developed the institutions of local and National Assembly and of the Convention, thereby constituting the new organism; they have by devotion and sacrifice raised the Temple superstructure and completed the external decoration of its dome unit, thereby giving that organism strength and vigor through the accomplishment of a mighty task; now the American Bahá’í community is summoned to the supreme spiritual effort, that the organism may be penetrated by the Spirit and not remain
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merely a social body deprived of soul.
When the Guardian informs us that “the new hour has struck in history of our beloved Cause,” the teaching effort he calls for is surely far more than a mere enlargement or extension of the activities we have termed “teaching” up to now. What we require, if we would meet this surpassing opportunity, is first of all a great deepening of our consciousness, a higher sense of consecration, and a unity that is instinctive and not begrudging or occasional or otherwise incomplete. The “forces” which “progressive revelation of this mighty symbol of our Faith is fast releasing” are so overpowering that incapacity to give them a pure, clear channel may well be a catastrophe for all who fail to respond to the limit of their power. These are the forces which outwardly are transforming the life of humanity and the greatest institutions of civilization. “In appearance it is fire and vengeance: in reality it is light and mercy.” As we unitedly and sincerely try to respond, the Omnipotence moving the world will guide us safely through the “fire and vengeance” to the “light and mercy” manifested on the plane of faith. The possibilities revealed for the Bahá’í community are immeasurable, as their momentum is irresistible by all on earth.
The National Spiritual Assembly, realizing the new weight of responsibility placed by the Guardian upon every Bahá’í institution and every individual believer, wishes to contribute this thought at the beginning of the new era of teaching: that the success of any and every plan is dependent upon the inner purity and devotion of Bahá’ís themselves. Each Bahá’í is a teacher, whether he speaks in public or not, because the essence of all teaching is our life and our unity with the Bahá’í body.
The source of the inspiration we all need is “Gleaning from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh,” translated by the Guardian himself—that inexhaustible treasure of love and truth.
| SHOGHI EFFENDI’S MESSAGE TO THE TEMPLE CONFERENCE
|
The Teaching Committee will next month announce definite plans and make specific suggestions enabling each Spiritual Assembly and Bahá’í community to become active in teaching. Before consideration is given to those plans and suggestions, appeal is made to the inmost heart of the friends, to ponder the Guardian’s most recent message, and pray for capacity to obey with heart and soul this stirring appeal, whose full meaning for the future none can estimate. But all of us can understand that the doors of service are flung wide in every city; the people are quickened with capacity to receive the Word; and every sincere intention to teach will be reinforced by heavenly power.
Feeling this larger personal opportunity, may we join in all plans adopted by our Spiritual Assembly with ardor and wisdom, retaining all teaching methods that have proved sound and effective but willing to replace any method which no longer corresponds to the reality of this present hour.
The Assemblies and friends who wish to remind themselves of the general advance in teaching methods and policies made during recent years can refer to a number of statements published in BAHÁ’Í NEWS, and by so doing keep abreast of the progress made in the recent past, upon which we must now build. Among the direct references to teaching the following are cited for reference: July, September, October and November, 1932, January, 1933 and September, 1934, though these by no means cover the entire ground.
From the Gleanings this passage is quoted: “Arise, O wayfarer in the path of the Love of God, and aid thou His Cause. Say: Barter not away this Youth, O people, for the vanities of this world or the delights of heaven. By the righteousness of the one true God! One hair of Him excelleth all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth. Beware, O men, lest ye be tempted to part with Him in exchange for the gold and silver ye possess. Let His love be a storehouse of treasure for your souls, on the Day when naught else but Him shall profit you, the Day when every pillar shall tremble, when the very skins of men shall creep, when all eyes shall stare up with terror. Say: O people! Fear ye God, and turn not away disdainfully from His Revelation. Fall prostrate on your faces before God, and Celebrate His praise in the daytime and in the night season. Let thy soul glow with the flame of this undying Fire that burneth in the midmost heart of the world, in such wise that the waters of the universe shall be powerless to cool down its ardor. Make, then, mention of thy Lord, that haply the heedless among our servants may be admonished through thy words, and the hearts of the righteous be gladdened.” (page 38).
- NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY.
EXPENSES OF THE NATIONAL FUND[edit]
In order that we may obtain a better understanding of the present fixed costs of maintaining the established National activities of the Cause in this country and Canada, the treasurer’s office has prepared a summary of the expense budget.
The actual running expenses of all of our activities now average approximately $1,923.34 per month. The expense of maintaining the National offices, including everything, such as stationery, postage, supplies, traveling expenses of National Assembly members, special printing, telegrams and cables, office rental, public teaching bulletins, all mimeograph service, etc., etc.. is being done at a very nominal figure, i.e., $472.18 per month.
The World Order Magazine is going to average about $305.00 per month.
International Fund, that is the American believers’ contribution to the International headquarters at Haifa amounts to $190.00 per month and the News Letter costs $110.00 per month.
The average cost per month of maintaining the Temple, including the wages of the caretakers, oil for fuel, current for power and light and all other incidental expenses, approximate $617.16 per month.
Green Acre maintenance and expenses comes to $229.00 per month.
It will be noted that this budget of
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$1,923.34 does not include any money
to wipe out the indebtedness on the
clerestory construction which amounts
to $6,518.16, the last note on a loan
from the Northern Trust Co., which
amounts to $2,500.00, nor any money
whatsoever for teaching, which the
Guardian has so urgently stressed.
A careful study of the figures shown above will, we think, convince anyone that the activities and properties are being maintained most efficiently at a ridiculously low figure. Every community of Bahá’ís in the United States and Canada, as well as every isolated believer, should not only take part in the maintenance of the budget as it is presented here, but should unitedly look forward to a very definite expansion in the immediate future. The believer who does not take part in the National activities of the Cause and assist the National Spiritual Assembly in the maintenance of the established activities is definitely depriving himself of a very sacred privilege.
If, in our Nineteen Day Feasts, this matter could be discussed, with the idea that hereafter in each Community in the United States and Canada we would seek a one hundred per cent cooperation in the Bahá’í body of our city, we feel sure that the blessing resulting would make our pleas on the part of the National Treasurer unnecessary. It must be noted that the aim is that every believer, rich or poor, should take part in the monthly contribution, even though the amount contributed may not be more than a few cents. The unifying power of such united action will nevertheless have the desired effect. Certainly no real believer doubts that the united effort of the followers of Bahá’u’lláh can fail.
In the next NEWS LETTER there will appear detailed figures of the average monthly expenditures under the items mentioned this month. It is hoped that every believer in the United States and Canada will carefully study them in order that he may be acquainted with the needs of the N. S. A. and then so order his life as to be able to take his part in the activity.
Immediate Needs[edit]
For balance due on Mt. Carmel land | $2,500.00 |
Bank loan (final payment) due January 1 | 2,500.00 |
December running expenses (approx.) | 1,920.00 |
Temple construction, due on contract | 6,518.16 |
| _________ | |
| $13,438.16 |
- NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY.
IN MEMORIAM[edit]
The believers are requested to bless with prayer the spirits of these Bahá’ís who have ascended to the Kingdom.
- Mrs. Dora Smith, Seattle.
- Charles Belyea, Milwaukee.
- Mrs. Caroline Brown, Chicago.
- H. De Vogh Wright, Orange Springs, N. Y.
- Mrs. Hulda Mecher, Muskegon.
- Mrs. Evelyn Cuddeback, San Francisco.
- Marshall Humphrey, Phoenix.
- George Monroe, Vancouver.
TEMPLE CONFERENCE[edit]
The American Bahá’í community took an important forward step on the occasion of the Conference held at the House of Worship on October 26 and 27. The sessions welded together the friends and the members of the National Spiritual Assembly by the power of mutual prayer and serious consultation. They were blessed by the message sent by Shoghi Effendi, quoted elsewhere in this issue. They were distinguished also by the presence of Ruhi Effendi Afnán who, besides sharing the discussion, addressed the public meeting which overflowed Foundation Hall on Sunday afternoon, October 27.
The consultation was recorded, and excerpts from this record will be published in Bahá’í News at the earliest possible date. What may be emphasized now is the fact that the Conference appeared so fruitful that it may well become an annual event.
TEACHING SERVICES OF RUHI EFFENDI AFNAN[edit]
Bahá’ís resident in the many cities visited by Ruhi Effendi Afnán need no descriptive article to acquaint them with the fact that his teaching services have been truly effective and inspiring. His contribution to the unity and enthusiasm of the believers themselves, his grasp of the Message, and his capacity to respond to public opportunities not hitherto available to representatives of the Cause, combined to make his visit, necessarily brief though it had to be, a landmark in American Bahá’í history.
When reports are received from the different Regional Teaching Representatives and local Assemblies by the National Teaching Committee, a comprehensive record of Ruhi Afnán’s services can be published. A word of heart-felt gratitude is now expressed on behalf of all believers who had the privilege of his teaching.
A NEW TEMPLE ILLUSTRATION[edit]
The illustration sent to the friends with the letter from the National Assembly dated September 24, 1935, has been reproduced for sale to the friends who have long wished a picture showing the Temple in its present stage of completion.
Copies may be obtained from Harry Walrath, Temple Librarian and Photographs Committee, at 5c each, or three for 10c. Mr. Walrath’s address is 4639 Beacon Street, Chicago.
As it is not convenient to sell single copies by mail, it is suggested that the local Assemblies obtain a supply for the individual friends.
COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS[edit]
The following Committees have been appointed, in addition to those reported in a previous issue:
Program Committee, Central States Summer School—L. W. Eggleston, Chairman, Mrs. Bertha Hyde Kirkpatrick, Secretary, Mrs. Dorothy Baker.
Program Committee, Western States Summer School—John D. Bosch, Chairman, Leroy Ioas, Secretary, Mrs. Ella G. Cooper, Mrs. Amelia Collins, Prof. N. Forsythe Ward, Irwin Somerhalder, Siegfried Schopflocher, Charlotte Linfoot, George O. Latimer.
Youth Committee—the following new members have been added: Farruk Ioas, Margaret Kunz, Florence Mattoon.
Universal Language—to the membership previously announced, Josephine Kruka has been added.
LIBRARY COMMITTEE[edit]
Dear Bahá’í Friends:
The Library Committee wishes to take this opportunity to express its deep appreciation to all the local Assemblies and individual Bahá’ís whose continued cooperation has enabled this Committee steadily to enlarge the scope of its work.
We now wish to bring to your attention the new plans for the present year.
Every central Library in most of the major cities in the country is well supplied with a representative collection of Bahá’í literature. The circulation of the books is continuously growing. The literature is also in many University Libraries, and it is this feature of distribution that we wish to emphasize particularly at this time.
In the University departments of Philosophy or Religion, the study of “Living Religions” and “Comparative
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Religions” attracts a large number of
students. It is the wish of the National Spiritual Assembly as well as
of the Library Committee that every
College and University in the United
States and Canada have Bahá’í literature in its Library. This is one of
the most direct ways of getting the
Teachings before the thinking youth
of the country.
Kindly interview the Universities in your locality, obtain a list of the Bahá’í works they now have, and their willingness to receive the gift of additional books, “The Promise of All Ages” and “Security for a Failing World.” These are books which should be in every Library, since their titles attract immediate attention.
As our resources for the distribution of free literature is limited, we wish to request each local Assembly to make one more Library donation, the new volume recently published, ”Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh.” We trust that your donation of this unique addition to Bahá’í literature in English will eventually have important results.
As a matter of interest, the Committee reports that its records show that at present Bahá’í literature is obtainable in 143 Public and 31 University Libraries.
Will each local Assembly consider these plans and notify the Committee of its intention to assist in this branch of the teaching work.
- MARTHA WOODSUM, Chairman
- Library Division, Bahá’í Publishing Committee,
- P. O. Box 348, Grand Central Annex, New York, N. Y.
YOUTH COMMITTEE[edit]
To the Bahá’í Youth of the United States and Canada.
Dear fellow youth:
The Guardian has placed upon the National Youth Committee a great and unique responsibility. It is his wish that the Bahá’í youth of the United States and Canada bring into the closest possible cooperation all the Bahá’í youth of the world. He further wishes that we may enter as fully as possible into the study of the World Order and the work of public teaching.
This is a great responsibility, a challenge to all that is fine in us. The affairs of youth are close to the Guardian’s heart. So let us, in this third year of the National Youth Committee, enter more fully than ever into the work of constructing the New World Order.
The National Youth Committee wishes to be a medium of guidance and expression for all the Bahá’í Youth of the world. This cannot be done without cooperation—that keynote to successful living in this new age. Write your group problems to the National Youth Committee, that they may help you. Offer plans and suggestions to them. Only by wholeheartedly working together can we bring into being what Shoghi Effendi desires—an international Bahá’í Youth Movement that will challenge the young people of the world with the dynamic and constructive principles of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.
This autumn marks the launching of an intensive teaching campaign on the part of all the communities in the United States and Canada. Let us enter into this campaign determined to attract many youth to the Cause! The recent decision of the N. S. A. to allow young people between the ages of fifteen and twenty-one to declare their faith and attend Feast meetings opens a wide and new field of teaching effort for the Bahá’í youth of America. Let us begin this year, in America, the Youth Movement which the Guardian anticipates.
This message of the Guardian, written in August, 1933, to the first Committee, shows the constant interdependence of Bahá’í activity and the relation of Youth activities to the whole Bahá’í community—“he would strongly urge you to cooperate, heart and soul, with all the various Assemblies, groups, and committees throughout the Bahá’í world, to ask for their assistance and help for the successful discharge of your duties and obligations, and in this way to try to build up an active and ready mind among the Bahá’í youth throughout the world.”
The obligation is clear and definite. The National Youth Committee sees its work as in a specialized teaching field, to attract youth under twenty-one to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh and to encourage by all possible means the entrance of Bahá’í Youth into the active life of the local and National communities.
To accomplish these things, the National Committee would like “to cooperate, heart and soul, with all the various Assemblies, groups, and committees.” If each community which has no youth group as yet would immediately consider the problem, the Committee will give all possible aid in the formation of such a group. If each youth group already formed would call on the National Committee for help and advice, and keep it regularly informed of its progress, the goal of our Guardian would be sooner achieved.
In the face of the present great teaching opportunities, and in full consideration of the great and majestic task before the Bahá’í Youth of the world, the National Youth Committee issues this call for cooperation and renewed dedication.
- Sincerely In His Service,
- KENNETH CHRISTIAN,
- Sincerely In His Service,
- Chairman, National Youth Committee.
INDEX COMMITTEE[edit]
The Bahá’í Index Committee desires to know if anyone among the Bahá’ís has an Index to any of the following volumes:
- Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh*.
- Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh.
- Kitab-i-Iqán.
- Three Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh.
- Epistle to the Son of the Wolf.
- Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Vols. I, II and III.
- Some Answered Questions.
- Wisdom of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
- Mysterious Forces of Civilization.
- Promulgation of Universal Peace,* Vols. I and II.
- The World Order letters of the Guardian.**
- The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh, Shoghi Effendi.
Any believer having an Index which he is willing to lend to the Index Committee is requested to communicate with the Committee Secretary.
The Index Committee is also very desirous of receiving letters from Bahá’ís who have had experience in indexing or cataloging.
- BERTHA HYDE KIRKPATRICK, Secretary,
- 209 North Ingalls Street, Ann Arbor, Mich.
- BERTHA HYDE KIRKPATRICK, Secretary,
_____
*These books already have an Index, but some of the friends may have worked out additional subject references which will be useful.
**The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh: The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh; Further Considerations; The Goal of a New World Order; The Golden Age of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh; America and the Most Great Peace.
PUBLICITY COMMITTEE[edit]
During the past month the National Publicity Committee has received clippings from the following cities: Albany, N. Y.; Rochester, N. Y.; Racine, Wisc.; Miami, Florida; Bergen, Norway; Lima, Ohio; Columbus, Ohio; and Chicago, Illinois.
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In several cases the publicity resulted from a release sent to the newspapers of the cities by the National
Publicity Committee at the time of the
completion of the Clerestory section of
the Bahá’í House of Worship. This
release included two beautiful pictures
of the dome and a short paragraph. If
your papers used this material and you
have not sent clippings to the National
Publicity Committee we would appreciate three clippings of each release.
Some very thoughtful work has been done by the publicity chairmen of Local Assemblies and the National Publicity Committee believes their work will be an inspiration to others. In Chicago, last spring, the Local publicity chairman sent a typewritten letter to the Women’s Clubs of Chicago and vicinity offering to have speakers appear on their programs this fall and winter. The letter emphasized the fact that there is no charge for Bahá’í speakers. A tour of the Bahá’í House of Worship was also suggested with the service of a guide. This letter resulted in a frontispiece of the Bahá’í House of Worship with a fine description of the building appearing in the mid-summer number of “Women,” the official magazine for the Chicago and Cook County women’s organizations.
In another large city one of the friends wrote to a “Religious Question Box”, which is a column appearing in one of the newspapers, asking “If there was in the Bible any basis for the many Christian sects and what prospects there were for a world religion?” This reply was received from the newspaper, “There is no authority in the teachings of Christ for so many Christian sects and denominations. Regarding the prospects of a world religion, write to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the U. S. and Canada, Evergreen Cabin. W. Englewood, N. J.”
As we enter upon the intensive teaching campaign following the instructions of the Guardian we must always keep in mind the assistance which thoughtful publicity can bring. From several of the larger cities clippings are received each week concerning publicity given visiting speakers and local meetings.
It should be remembered that the Bahá’í population in any city is relatively small and your publicity must contain something in which the editor feels that the general public will be interested.
Bahá’í publicity should never be spectacular. It should be dignified, absolutely accurate and place before the reading public the fundamental teachings which Bahá’ís are endeavoring to place before the listening public.
The National Publicity Committee has received the following suggestion: “We suggest that each Local Spiritual Assembly appoint a radio committee (ideal work for Bahá’ís who are shut-ins or tied to their homes for one reason or another); this committee to appoint certain people who will be given definite radio programs which they will tune in on each day, such as philosophic programs, etc., so that when an opportunity presents itself to send in a favorite saying, something from the teachings can be sent in under the supervision of the local committee. There is a wide field for activity of this kind. We have a program locally that sings the songs of all churches and religions every morning. One of these days I shall send them some Bahá’í songs.”
We suggest that a magazine reader be appointed in each Community whose responsibility will be to read the weekly and monthly magazines searching for references to the Cause. Such references should be sent to the National Publicity Committee.
The annual scrap book will be kept
this year and the pages for your Community are waiting to be filled. The,
National Publicity Committee would
appreciate the name and address of
each Local Publicity Chairman. Send
all communications to
RUTH RANDALL BROWN, Chairman.
- Box 9, Ingomar, Pa.
WORLD ORDER MAGAZINE[edit]
Recent issues of the Magazine have contained compilations of Words of Bahá’u’lláh selected from the new volume, announced last month, entitled “Gleanings From Writings of Bahá’u’lláh.” These compilations have been deeply appreciated.
A series of articles under the title of “A World Religion” was begun in the September number. Under this heading, successive articles, each by a different author, will be published as follows: The Source of Religion, The Continuity of Religion, The Oneness of the Prophets, Cycles of Civilization, The Spiritual Nature of Man, The Oneness of Mankind, The Historic Crisis, The Fulfilment of Religion, and A World Community.
In addition, the Magazine has been privileged to publish a number of important articles by believers, and some informative and helpful articles by non-believers.
The Editors have written a large number of letters to Bahá’ís in America and also in Europe and the East, appealing for contributions on Bahá’í subjects which will deepen and enlarge the scope of this monthly teaching organ. The response received has been thoroughly appreciated, but a general appeal is now issued to individual believers, to Assemblies and to Committees for more continuous cooperation.
The three Summer Schools maintained programs full of possibilities for a series of articles or for one or two articles bearing upon the fundamental subjects discussed. Mrs. Mayme Seto has prepared her program at Central States Summer School as a series to be published in coming months, and other teachers are urged to follow this example.
The Editors likewise urge all believers who give public addresses on Bahá’í subjects to appreciate the larger audience they can reach through the medium of a magazine article. Moreover, it is helpful to a speaker to try at least occasionally to write out a talk before it is delivered, because the practice of writing makes for clarity, order and appeal to reason as well as to feeling.
The Business Manager of the magazine reminds the friends of the value of this publication in spreading the Cause and also in affording each Bahá’í an opportunity to extend his own knowledge and capacity by sharing the results of other believers’ careful and conscientious study.
World Order can be obtained as follows: Introductory subscription (seven months), $1.00; Annual subscription, $2.00; Library subscription, $1.75; Gift subscriptions, five or more annual subscriptions on one order, $1.50 each; Extra copies—ten copies of any issue sent to one or more addresses, $1.50.
Editorial correspondence should be addressed to World Order, 119 Waverly Place, New York, N. Y.
Subscriptions and business correspondence should be sent to World Order, 135 East 50th Street, New York, N. Y.
ARCHIVES COMMITTEE[edit]
The local Assemblies and individual believers are requested to give thought to the extreme importance of preserving the Master’s Tablets in the Archives. By sending the original Tablet, accompanied by translation, to the Archives Committee not only is the precious physical document kept safe from destruction or loss, but its con-
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tents are made available to all other
Bahá’ís.
At present there are approximately 1200 Tablets in the Archives, and it was from those on hand at the time that the three volumes of Tablets were compiled many years ago. In the future, additional volumes will be published, thus giving the world more of that illumination which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá cast upon the problems and conditions brought to Him by the friends.
On August 20, 1929, the Guardian laid an obligation upon this generation in the following words: “The work of collecting and publishing the Tablets is one of the most important tasks that this generation has to undertake, for upon it depends our true understanding of the Cause and its principles. The more we put it off, the more apt we are to lose some of the original writings.” Referring to the publication of Tablets, the same letter stated: “Only Tablets with the Master’s signature and in the original tongue should be recognized. Any translation or copies of them fail having real authority. This shows the importance of collecting the original Tablets that bear the Master’s signature.”
The Word of the Manifestation, and the utterance of His Interpreter, descend to this darkened earth from a higher realm utterly beyond human control. Nevertheless, human beings are responsible for the degree to which they assure its preservation and spread among the people. How many prior Revelations left no authoritative guidance because the Word was lost or corrupted by those who called themselves the friends of God!
Since the Archives Committee can provide photostatic copies of every Tablet at very low cost, there really appears to be no just reason why any individual believer should any longer privately cherish Tablets which spiritually belong to this universal Revelation. All material for the Archives should be sent to the Committee Secretary.
- MRS. MAY SCHEFFLER, Secretary,
- 1821 Lincoln Street,
- Evanston, Ill.
- 1821 Lincoln Street,
LETTER FROM CLARA AND ADELAIDE SHARP[edit]
Through the courtesy of Mrs. Orol Platt, we are able to share with the friends these descriptions of the passing of Dr. Moody and the closing of the Tarbiat School.
“Our beloved Dr. Moody ascended to the Abhá Kingdom, October 23, 1934, at 6:30 P. M. She had been ill twelve days due to a heart stroke.... Some of the children of the school led the hearse while the teachers followed with her Bahá’í sisters and then came her Bahá’í brothers. The Bahá’í cemetary is not a cemetary in comparison to the Muslim’s but is a garden. Ours here is called the Everlasting Rose Garden. So Dr. Moody was taken to the Everlasting Rose Garden, where a most impressive ceremony was held. Jinabe Fadil read the burial prayers.
“Much can be said to commemorate Dr. Moody’s passing, for twenty-five years of service means so much to our Bahá’í friends. Dr. Moody wrote a short biography but she did not mention her work among the women. Perhaps she was too modest and left that to others....
“The closing of the school was a great shock although we had expected that it might happen. The Báb’s Martyrdom in this country is kept by the Arabic calendar and came this year on December 6.... Saturday afternoon a policeman came with an order from the Board of Education to close the schools. They said Tarbiat had been closed for no reason Thursday and the license for Tarbiat School existed no longer. The order came after school had been dismissed and there was no time to tell all the children, so Adelaide and her assistant went to school the next morning at 6:30 A. M., before the policeman could get there, and as the children came to enter the school they had to be turned back. This was very hard as many of the little ones did not understand and called to Adelaide to tell the policeman to let them in, and many cried.... The Bahá’í children have not gone to other schools.
... The Muhammadan children of course went to other schools but they are not satisfied and happy. Tarbiat School was far ahead of the other Persian schools, in their text books, character training and everything else. All the schools say this. The educated Muhammadans are with the Bahá’ís. One important Muhammadan said he knew it was a Bahá’í School when he sent his children there and said that was no reason for closing the school. ... We had many of the best families in town sending their children and they are feeling very badly about it. There were nearly 1500 pupils in both schools and about 50 teachers.... This has advertised the school and called attention to the Cause and what they are working for more than anything else that could have happened.... Shoghi Effendi has written for us to be patient and not make any disturbance but persevere and keep trying to gain religious liberty, that the school will again open and things will be better than ever.”
REPORT FROM N. S. A. OF IRAN (PERSIA)[edit]
The Members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada:
Some time ago, just after the opening session of the newly elected National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Iran we sent you a telegram concerning the election of the Assembly and immediately after that we dispatched to you a circular containing matters of interest and importance about the conditions of the Bahá’ís here. We are not yet sure that you have received any of the two as we have not been advised of their receipts.
We again try to send you the following news about the conditions of the Cause here in Tihran and other cities of the country, hoping that you will receive this one in due time.
Tihran. The Bahá’ís are not yet allowed to meet in a large crowd in the Halls of Haziratu’l-Quds. It was only on the occasion of the Eve of Bahá’u’lláh’s Ascension that about four hundred persons were united together in Haziratu’l-Quds to commemorate that night in chanting prayers till about morning. Anyhow, the friends are not absolutely forbidden to have some sort of gathering. The Assembly has arranged that they should meet in about nine places in town. They meet every Thursday evening in these different houses of the friends and in every session they follow a special pre-arranged program.
Up till now there has been no objection on behalf of the Police Department to this system of gatherings and there is hope that the system can go on without any interruption.
The N. S. Assembly and all the committees working under its supervision meet in Haziratu’l-Quds. The Friday moral teachings, especially for children are regularly working and the friends are getting more and more conscious of its value and its importance.
Other Cities: 1. Bandar Shah. The Police Department in Bandar Shah has been ill-treating the friends and always seeks all the means to cause them trouble and discomfort. They have arrested and even imprisoned some of the believers.
2. Aragh. The Bahá’ís of Aragh are passing the narrow escapes of every
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kind of hardship and difficulty. They
are under worse circumstances than
other cities. The police office as well
as the Census Department treated the
friends in the worst possible manners. Mr. Zargarzadi, the secretary
of the Spiritual Assembly of that city
has been arrested. They have been
so hard and cruel to him that for a
long time nobody knew anything about
him. Even his children were forbidden
to see him. It seems that they intend to
exile him from that spot. The cause of
all these troubles lies in the fact that
he did not consent to sign the official
census papers unless on the column
where religion has to be mentioned the
word “Bahá’í” was inscribed. The
officers insisted that he should sign the
paper without having the word
“Bahá’í”; he refused and went under
so many troubles.
Jenabi Fadil Mazandarani went there especially to meet the friends and keep them warm at their work and prevent any sense of dismay which naturally in these cases may prevail throughout the friends everywhere. Dr. Yunis Barafroukhti visited Colonel Rokneddin Khan, the chief of the Police Office in Tihran and talked the matter over with him. The latter, quite rude and nervous, has said: “The Bahá’ís refuse to sign the census papers sent to them from the government and they take pictures holding ‘The Greatest Name’ in their front. These are some sorts of ‘Manifestation’ or ‘strikes’ which should be prevented by Government officers everywhere.”
Even now the Bahá’í are ill-treated and no change in the behavior of the officers in charge has ever appeared.
Kasvin: The Police Department of this city has too been very hard on the friends. One of the believers, Nosrat Rahmani, has gathered together a crowd of the Bahá’í friends in his house to commemorate the eve of Bahá’u’lláh’s ascension. Next morning, he has been forbidden to hold any kind of meetings in his house any more. Two other friends, Rouhani and Hazasi were taken to the police station and were questioned about the newly printed calendar which they received from Tihran. They answered to every question quite frankly, openly and truly. When they said the truth about the matter, they were forced to go around the city and take back all the copies that they had sold to the friends. The Chief of the Police has been very harsh to them. He even cursed and injured them and did not consider any form of respect towards them. As a result of that, the three young Bahá’ís, Messers. F. Moghbel, A. Anvar and H. Behrooze who were responsible for the publishing of that calendar were arrested in Tihran. They were in prison for forty-eight hours after which they signed a paper declaring: “We will never pretend anything.”
Rasht: According to the explicit order of the Minister of Post and Telegraph, two members of the Spiritual Assembly of Rasht: Mr. Hossein Atai, the chief accountant of Post Office and the secretary of the Spiritual Assembly, and Mr. Abdul Hassan Moaran Zade, the cashier of the same office, are strongly forbidden to attend the sessions of the Assembly. This being told to them through a confidential letter.
Azerbayejan: The Police Department of Azerbayejan does not sanction the application papers of any Bahá’í addressed to the administrative offices. This happened in the case of Ayadollah Seyssani, when he asked the above department to sanction his application letter to one of the offices. The Police Department refused to do so for the simple reason that the person concerned has openly declared to be a Bahá’í.
Zahedan: The following two telegrams were received from Zahedan: (A) Parsian, Rouhani, Tihran, my husband and several others are arrested due to religious facts. We expect the results. (Signed) Banoo Soheili. (B) Rouhani, Tihran, with reference to the telegram of yesterday. They are harder on us than ever before. Be quick to do something for us. Banoo Soheili. The following letter of the Spiritual Assembly of Zahedan was received some days after the receipt of those two telegraphic messages. “The enemies of the Cause are more cruel than ever and are plotting against us. The individual members of this Assembly have often been told that the Bahá’ís should not meet in big crowds. They should not gather together in any place, especially in the house bought for the purpose. Today three members of the Spiritual Assembly, Messers. Soheili, Ardekani and Azade were officially called on by the governor of the city. This man and the head of the Police Department addressed the friends in saying that the Bahá’ís should not have any sort of gathering. They should no more be seen together in an assembly where they are more than three. The house which they have for the purpose of their gathering ought to be leased to a man who should not be a Bahá’í. If they do not obey, the government will take the house by force and evacuate it. These facts were discussed in the Assembly and it was decided that the house which belongs to the Bahá’í Community should never be let to anyone.
It was due to the kindness and care shown by the central officers here in Tihran that those who were arrested were relieved and the officers in Zahedan make no more trouble.
The news is very briefly and concisely told in this letter and we hope that you will receive them in due time. Try to keep us always in contact with the news of that country and send our love and greetings throughout the friends of the United States and Canada.
BOSCH PROPERTY TRANSFERRED TO BAHA’I TRUSTEES[edit]
Mr. and Mrs. John Bosch, whose property at Geyserville, Calif., has been placed at the disposition of the Western States Summer School since its inception—making possible this important Bahá’í educational institution—have now consummated this generous contribution by transferring title of the property to nine Trustees under an Indenture of Trust similar to that by which the Temple is held for the Cause.
By this historic gift, the Western States Summer School is assured of permanence and given opportunity for future development. As the Master said, the full significance of such actions will not be realized until later, but all American believers can now appreciate some of the possibilities of the gift, and feel gratitude to the donors whose devotion to the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh has been so munificently attested.
BAHA’I DAY AT CALIFORNIA PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION[edit]
After consultation with the Teaching Committee, the Spiritual Assembly of Los Angeles sponsored a Bahá’í Day at the Exposition in San Diego on October 27. Publicity was arranged by the Exposition in some 250 newspapers in advance of the date, radio announcements were made at the Exposition, a headquarters was provided for the distribution and sale of literature and for displaying illustrations of the Temple, and a program of public lectures was arranged for one of the large auditoriums.
It is reported that an audience of about 1,500 attended the meeting, the
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program of which included Official
Exposition Greetings, Introduction of
Directress of Ceremonies, Marion Holley, and the following addresses under
the general title of the New World
Order—Its Relation to the Youth of
the World, Marion Holley; Its Relation to Science and Religion, Prof. N.
Forsythe Ward; Its Relation to Spiritual Progress, Beulah Storrs Lewis.
A BAHA’I “WINTER SCHOOL”[edit]
The New York Assembly has held the first of a series of annual public teaching meetings planned on the model of the sessions held at the Summer Schools.
Under the general title of “Elements of a World Faith” four successive Wednesday evening meetings were held beginning September 25, with a program arranged to include successively the “fundamental principles revealed by Bahá’u’lláh to unify mankind and establish a world order upon earth.”
Among the topics discussed were: The Divine Covenant, The Mission Of the Prophets, The Continuity of Revelation, The Historic Cycles, Spiritual Knowledge is Progressive, Bahá’u’lláh and the New Age of World Peace, Soul, Mind and Spirit, Man’s Place in Nature, Human Character Threefold, Man’s Relation to God, Proofs of Immortality, The Spiritual Basis of Society, Decay of Civilization, The Nature of the Bahá’í Community, National and International Institutions of the Faith, The Future World Community, The Purpose of Existence, Faith is Conscious Knowledge, The Sun of Truth, The Holy Spirit, Prayer and Meditation, The Sacred Obligation to Teach the Cause of God.
THE BAHA’I WORLD[edit]
Volume V[edit]
The publishing date on this work has been set as approximately December 14.
In order to assure immediate shipment, the Publishing Committee urges all local Assemblies to place advance orders by December 10.
The Bahá’í World, the biennial international record of Bahá’í activities, has become an important instrument for developing the world view upon the affairs of the Bahá’í Cause. To the believers it affords intimate knowledge of achievements outside their own national Bahá’í community, while to non-believers it is proof and evidence that the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh has spread throughout the world, forming one community out of peoples who had been diverse and hostile in race, nation, class and creed.
Among the contents of Volume V are: The Passing of Bahiyyih Khanum, the Most Exalted Leaf; Excerpts from Bahá’í Sacred Writings; The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh; Geneology of the Báb; Geneology of Bahá’u’lláh; Excerpts from the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá; National and Local By-Laws; Articles and Illustrations of the Temple; Survey of Current Activities; References to the Faith by non-Bahá’ís; Bahá’í Calendar and Festivals; Youth Activities; The Case of Bahá’u’lláh’s House at Baghdad; Bahá’í Directory; Bahá’í Bibliography; twenty-nine articles about the Cause, including The Administrative Order, by Shoghi Effendi; and Poems and Songs.
The illustrations, too numerous to mention, include most precious scenes of Bahá’í historical value, Bahá’í Assemblies and gatherings, and two exquisitely colored Frontispieces.
Orders are to be sent to the Publishing Committee, either the New York or San Francisco divisions, in the usual way. Price per copy, $2.50.
ENROLLMENTS AND TRANSFERS[edit]
During recent months a large number of local Spiritual Assemblies have reported the enrollment of new believers, and of already declared believers by transfer from some other Bahá’í community.
These reports include: Chicago, 11; New York, 10; Washington, 5; Milwaukee, 4; New Haven, 4; Colorado Springs, 3; San Francisco, 3; Eliot, 3; Muskegon, 2; Park Ridge, 2; Portland, 2, and one each from Vancouver, Montreal, Berkeley, Phoenix and Toledo.
FIRST BAHA’I INCORPORATION IN CANADA[edit]
The Spiritual Assembly of Montreal has been granted a Charter by the Province of Quebec constituting it a Corporation under Canadian law. This important action represents the successful outcome of long and patient work on the part of the Assembly and its legal counsel.
Since this incorporation means the recognition of the Faith by one more Government, and places Bahá’í affairs in North America under Canadian as well as United States protection, the matter has evident international importance for the Cause.
The gratitude of the believers is due to the friends of Montreal for their great achievement.
