The Local Spiritual Assembly/Believers–Relation to Assembly

[Page 24]

VI. BELIEVERS—RELATION TO ASSEMBLY

“It is incumbent upon every one not to take any step without consulting the Spiritual Assembly, and they must assuredly obey with heart and soul its bidding and be submissive unto it, that things may be properly ordered and well arranged. Otherwise every person will act independently and after his own judgment, will follow his own desire, and do harm to the Cause.’— ‘“Abdu’l-Baha

(Quoted in Bahai Administration, p. 21)

“, . . all matters without any exception whatsoever, regarding the interests of the Cause in... (a) locality, individually or collectively, should be referred exclusively to the Spiritual Assembly in that locality, which shall decide upon it, unless it be a matter of national interest, in which case it shall be referred to the national body.” —Shoghi Effendi

(Baha’t Administration, p. 23)

“In order to avoid division and disruption, that the Cause may not fall a prey to conflicting interpretations, and lose thereby its purity and pristine vigor, that its affairs may be conducted with efficiency and promptness, it is necessary that every one should conscientiously take an active part in the election of these Assemblies, abide by their decision, enforce their decree, and co-operate with them whole-heartedly in their task of stimulating the growth of the Movement throughout all regions.”— Shoghi Effendi

(Bahai Administration, p. 41)

“I fully approve and whole-heartedly and unreservedly uphold the principle . . . that personalities should not be made centers around which the community may revolve but that they should be subordinated under all conditions and however great their merits to the proper 24 [Page 25]ly constituted Assemblies. You and your co-workers can never Overestimate or overemphasize this cardinal principle of Baha’i Administration.” —Shoghi Effendi

(Published in Principles of Bahá’í Administration, p. 57)

“Regarding the principle that the Cause must not be allowed to center around any Baha'i personality, the Guardian wishes to make it clear that it was never intended that well-qualified individual teachers should not receive from local Assemblies every encouragement and facilities to address the public. What the Guardian meant was that the personality and popularity of such a speaker should never be allowed to eclipse the authority or detract from the influence of the body of the elected representatives in every local community. Such an individual should not only seek the approval, advice and assistance of the body that represents the Cause in his locality, but should strive to attribute any credit he may obtain to the collective wisdom and capacity of the Assembly under whose jurisdiction he performs his services. Assemblies and not individuals constitute the bedrock on which the Administration is built. Everything else must be subordinated to, and be made to serve and advance the best interests of these elected custodians and promoters of the Laws of Baha’u lah.”

(From letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, published in Principles of Baha’t Administration, pp. 19-20)

“Regarding consultation: Any person can refer a matter to the Assembly for consultation whether the other person wishes to or not. In matters which affect the Cause the Assembly should, if it deems it necessary, intervene even if both sides do not want it to, because the whole purpose of the Assemblies is to protect the Faith, the Communities, and the individual Baha’i as well.”

(Letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, published in Principles of Bahai Administration, p. 57)

25 [Page 26]“The believers should learn to turn more often to their assemblies for advice and help and at an earlier date, and the Assemblies, on the other hand, should act with more vigilance and a greater sense of community responsibility towards every situation that may damage the prestige of the Faith in the eyes of the public. When decisions have been reached by the Assembly, they must be carried out loyally and willingly, by all concerned.”

(From letter dated March 13, 1944 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer)

“One of the fundamentals involved in our Administrative Order, which we must remember will become the pattern for our World Order, is that even if an assembly makes an ill-advised decision it must be upheld in order to preserve the unity of the community. Appeal can be made from the Local Assembly’s decision to the National Assembly . . . But the principle of authority invested in our elected bodies must be upheld. This is not something which can be learned without trial and teste!)

(From letter dated June 30, 1949 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National Spiritual Assembly of Germany and Austria)

“The believers should have confidence in the directions and orders of their assembly, even though they may not be convinced of their justice or right. Once the assembly, through a majority vote of its members, comes to a decision the friends should readily obey it. Specially those dissenting members within the assembly whose opinion is contrary to that of the majority of their fellow-members should set a good example before the community by sacrificing their personal views for the sake of obeying the principle of majority vote that underlies the functioning of all Baha’i assemblies.”

(From letter dated October 28, 1935 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer)

26 [Page 27]“The Assembly may make a mistake, but, as the Master pointed out, if the Community does not abide by its decisions, or the individual Baha’i, the result is worse, as it undermines the very institution which must be strengthened in order to uphold the principles and laws of the Faith. He tells us God will right the wrongs done. We must have confidence in this and obey our Assemblies. He therefore strongly urges you to work directly under your Baha’i Assembly, to accept your responsibilities as a voting member, and do your utmost to create harmony within the community.”

(From letter dated 1949 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer)

“What the Master desired to protect the friends against was continual bickering and opinionatedness. A believer can ask the Assembly why they made a certain decision and politely request them to reconsider. But then he must leave it at that, and not go on disrupting local affairs through insisting on his own views. This applies to an Assembly member as well. We all have a right to our opinions, we are bound to think differently; but a Baha'i must accept the majority decision of his Assembly, realizing that acceptance and harmony—even if a mistake has been made—are the really important things, and when we serve the Cause properly, in the Baha’i way, God will right any wrongs done in the end.”

(From letter dated October 19, 1947 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer— “Baha'i News” no. 202, December 1947)

“Just as the individual believers are bound to support and sustain their spiritual assembly, for the preservation of the unity of the Faith and the strengthening of its as yet embryonic World Order, so must the local assemblies obey and sustain their national representatives. ‘The closer the co-operation between the local and national assemblies, the greater will be the power and radiance

27 [Page 28]which can and must stream forth from these institutions

to the suffering ranks of humanity.” (From letter dated July 29, 1942 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual beliver)