U.S. Supplement/Issue 95/Text

[Page 1]

Auxiliary Board Members Not to Serve as Delegates to National Conventions

Since it appears that it was not generally known that members of the Auxiliary Boards of the Hands of the Cause are not to serve as delegates to conventions, several Board members were elected by their state conventions as delegates to the 1966 National Convention. In view of the instruction from the Universal House of Justice, it has been necessary to replace the Auxiliary Board members so elected by Bahá’ís who received the next highest number of votes after the election of the allotted number of delegates. The members of the Auxiliary Boards and the individual Bahá’ís involved have been notified accordingly.

The instruction from the Universal House of Justice issued in November, 1964 is as follows:

“Members of Auxiliary Boards should be freed from administrative responsibilities including serving on committees and as delegates to conventions.”

With regard to the election of the National Spiritual Assembly at the National Convention, the delegates are free to vote for any adult Bahá’í of their choice who is in good standing. However, the Universal House of Justice has ruled that “should a Board Member be elected to a National Assembly, he must choose on which body he will serve.”

-—NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY

Readings at Nineteen Day Feasts

From time to time the National Spiritual Assembly is asked to clarify the three statements made by the beloved Guardian regarding the readings at Nineteen Day Feasts. The following recent statement by the Universal House of Justice to the Hands of the Cause gives a clear explanation: “Concerning the matter of the devotions at Nineteen Day Feasts. We see no contradiction in the three statements of the beloved Guardian. In essence they all describe exactly the same procedure, namely, that the Feast is opened with devotional readings, that is to say prayers and meditations, from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb and the Master. Following this passages may be read from other Tablets, from the Holy Scriptures of previous Dispensations, and from the writings of the Guardian. It is clear, however, that the beloved Gaurdian would not wish his own words to be read as part of an arranged devotional program in which they would be interspersed among words of Holy Scriptures. In other words, at the Nineteen Day Feast, where words of the Guardian are to be read they should follow any selections from the Scriptures and not be mixed with them. This does not mean, however, that subsequently in the Feast, any of these types of writings may not be read as suitable during the consultation."

The Meaning of Deprivation of Bahá’í Administrative Rights

A person whose administrative rights have been removed is yet a Bahá’í in that he still recognizes Bahá’u’lláh and believes in His Message. Worship of God through the prayers of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, observance of the Fast, observance of the Bahá’í Holy Days and of all the personal and family occasions of the Faith can be his continuing Bahá’í experiences. He has access to the literature of the Faith in all its wealth. Under usual circumstances he may attend discussion meetings, proclamation meetings, summer schools, and children’s and youth activities. Subscriptions to CHILp’s WAY and other general Bahá’í publications are permissible. Indeed all those events and services open to inquirers who are near to the Faith are also freely available to the person deprived of his Bahá’í rights.

There are a number of crucial things which a Bahá’í deprived of membership cannot do. The Nineteen-Day Feast is a community meeting, and is confined to members only. Voting at a local or state election is a privilege and responsibility reserved for members in good standing; nor are non—members eligible for election or appointments. The Bahá’í Fund can be supported by members only, although charitable giving is fully open to all. And a non-member will not receive Bahá’í News.

In summary, a person administratively deprived of membership is presumed still to be a Bahá’í in his spirit and motivation, in his code of morality, and in his support of the Cause of God for this day. Such a person is a great challenge to himself and his own spiritual development. He is also a great responsibility of love and mercy to the Bahá’í community which sorrows over fellow Bahá’ís who are deprived of the bounties of Bahá’í citizenship through breaking the laws of God.

—NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY

October and November

Enrollments Show Gain

The enrollment of new Bahá’ís, both adult and youth, for the months of October and November 1965 is 51 per cent higher than during the corresponding months of 1964. The total number enrolled between May 1 and November 30, 1965 was 553 adults and 234 youth as compared with 432 adults and 196 youth for the same period in 1964.

It is gratifying to note that the increase is widespread throughout the entire country.

—NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY

[Page 2]JANUARY 1966

On Slander and Backbiting

One of the most important of all divine commandments, specially stressed in the Bahá’í Teachings, is: “Breathe not the sins of others so long as thou art a sinner. Shouldst thou transgress this command, accursed art thou and to this I testify.” (Hidden Words, 27.) Bahá’u’lláh further warns that: “Backbiting quencheth the light of the heart and extinquisheth the life of the soul.” (Gleanings, p. 265.) In His Will and Testament, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá adds: “According to the direct command of God, we are forbidden to utter slander.”

In August, 1913 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote an American believer as follows: “. . . the worst human quality and the most great sin is backbiting, more especially when it emanates from the tongues of the believers of God. If some means were devised so that the doors of backbiting could be shut eternally and each one of the believers of God unsealed his tongue in the praise of the other, then the teachings of His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh would be spread, the hearts illumined, the spirits glorified and the human world would attain to everlasting felicity.

“I hope that the believers of God will shun completely backbiting, each one praising the other cordially and believe that backbiting is the cause of the Divine wrath, to such an extent that if a person backbites to the extent of one word, he may become dishonored among all the people, because the most hateful characteristic of man is faultfinding. One must expose the praiseworthy qualities of the souls and not their evil attributes. The friends must overlook their shortcomings and faults and speak only of their virtues and not their defects.”

In order to distinguish between legitimate reports to a Bahá’í administrative body which may affect the welfare of a Bahá’í community or an individual member thereof and unwarranted rumors, negative and hearsay gossip, slander and backbiting, intentionally or thoughtlessly circulated, the National Spiritual Assembly offers the following rule of action for the guidance of the Bahá’í Assemblies and communities under its jurisdiction.

1. In no case should the friends speak to their fellowbelievers in the community of any matter involving personal delinquencies, alleged or actual, of another member of the community, nor permit believers to speak to them of such matters. If a complaint is warranted, it should be brought directly to the local Assembly for consideration.

2. A local Assembly should assume jurisdiction only when the acts or words of a member of the Bahá’í community are such as to threaten the integrity of the Cause itself, or to undermine the good name and reputation of a believer.

3. This rule of action also applies for the protection

of believers, from any discussion of their alleged personal shortcomings in Bahá’í communities other than that in which such believers reside.

4. All such personal matters are strictly barred from discussion at the Nineteen Day Feasts.

5. In applying the law of Bahá’u’lláh relative to the bringing of complaints and information to a local Assembly concerning the alleged or actual shortcomings of individual believers, the Assembly should not entertain or listen to any complaint based upon hearsay or rumor, but should, in all cases, insist that the complainant or witness speak only of such matters and present such evidence as he or she knows to be true, of his or her own knowledge.

6. In the event that a local Assembly is unable to stop or prevent the continued discussion or circulation of criticisms and unfounded rumors after it has taken jurisdiction of the matter, it is to report such cases immediately to the National Spiritual Assembly. The National Spiritual Assembly, after careful investigation, will take vigorous action to remove the misunderstandings and misrepresentations that have arisen and render full justice to the individual believer or believers concerned.

If any gossip or backbiting is initiated by an isolated believer, the matter should be brought immediately to the attention of the National Spiritual Assembly.

The new World Order is and must be held sacred and free from this grave defect in human relationships which not only often inflicts unmerited injury upon the individual but, more important, destroys the solidarity of the Bahá’í community. Whispering and backbiting is equivalent to separation among the friends of God, and, in the final analysis, is the will to harm and to alienate the hearts.

The National Spiritual Assembly feels assured and confident that all the friends will make every effort to realize in their individual and community lives a greater love and unity of purpose, and be ever mindful of Bahá’u’lláh’s injunction: “Attribute not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have attributed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not. This is My Command to thee, do thou observe it.” (Hidden Words, 29.)

“O my servants! Deprive not yourselves of the unfading and resplendent Light that shineth within the Lamp of Divine Glory. Let the flame of the love of God burn brightly within your radiant hearts. Feed it with the oil of Divine guidance, and protect it within the shelter of your constancy. Guard it within the globe of trust and detachment from all else but God, so that the whisperings of the ungodly may not extinguish its light.” (Gleanings, pp. 325-6.)

—NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY

[Page 3]U.S. SUPPLEMENT

The Advisory Committee on Education A Progress Report

The Advisory Committee on Education developed out of the Ad Hoc Committee on Education appointed by the National Spiritual Assembly in 1960 with instructions to develop and evaluate pilot programs at the summer schools. During its first year, the Ad Hoc Committee prepared a number of Resource Units on various subjects, both for adults and children. These Resource Units were used on a trial basis at the Geyserville Summer School during the summer of 1961. On the basis of this evaluation, the units were revised considerably and tried again during the summer of 1962, both at Geyserville and at other summer schools. In 1962 the Ad Hoc Committee was renamed the Advisory Committee on Education and its function broadened to include: the collection and study of references to education in all primary Bahá’í literature; the preparation of a summary on the philosophy of Bahá’í education; the making of recommendations to the NSA in connection with such issues as self-instruction, visual education, etc. The membership of the Committee was drawn from the national Bahá’í community resulting in a wide geographic distribution of members. Despite this difficulty, the first task, the collection of references to education in Bahá’í Writings was accomplished by a team coordinated by Dr. John Stroessler.

In the fall of 1964, the Advisory Committee was localized on the West Coast and began to meet bi monthly. It had become apparent by then that the

Resource Units, though educationally preferable as an aid to Bahá’í teachers, did not provide enough structure for the average Bahá’í class teacher. A decision

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was then reached to formulate a curriculm for children from kindergarten through 9th grade and to adopt a uniform Lesson Plan format, which would provide maximum support for the inexperienced teachers and provide a point of departure for the qualified ones. In order to provide continuity of subject matter for the children, considering the high mobility of the American Bahá’í Community, the Committee recommended to the NSA that the curriculum framework and Lesson Plan format be approved with a provisional ten year mandate. This request was approved by the NSA in June, 1965, with the request that an initial set of five lessons for each grade level be developed in the areas: personal teachings, social teachings, and Bahá’í history. The Committee hopes to have an initial set of lesson plans ready by the summer of 1966. These plans will be edited to make them as useful as possible to a wide variety of Bahá’í teachers.

Nor have the Resource Units been forgotten: three basic Units, now entitled “Teachers’ Handbooks” Vol. HII, have been forwarded to the NSA for final printing and distribution. Volume I is entitled “Basic Teachings,” Volume II “Study Classes” and Volume III “Administration.”

Another project ACE has embarked on is the collection of stories and anecdotes, particularly concerning the life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, from people who had personal contact with the Master.

In the coming year, ACE is looking forward to the development of the Lesson Plans, so that eventually a choice of many approaches will be available to potential teachers. This is an enterprise of considerable magnitude, and requires the assistance of many trained friends.

Iéhirih the Pure — a Wonder Among Women

The story of Táhirih, follower of the Báb and martyred heroine of the Bábi dispensation. has always attracted the attention and admiration of those who know something of her life. She was known by many names including that of Qurratu’l-’Ayn (Solace of My Eyes), given to her by her admiring teacher, Siyyid Kazim; but it was by the name Táhirih (the Pure One), given her by Bahá’u’lláh, that she became renowned. Many scholars have acclaimed her, among them Comte de Gobineau, Valentine Chirol, Lord Curzon and Prof. E. G. Browne who said: “The appearance of such a woman, . . . is, in any country and any age, a rare phenomenon, but in such a country as Persia it is a prodigy—nay, almost a miracle.”

The Dawn-Breakers, Nabil’s narrative, provides us with a stirring account of her deeds as a courageous disciple of the Báb which led to her martyrdom, an event that she herself clearly foresaw. In God Passes By, Shoghi Effendi gives us further glimpses of her life as it related to the new Revelation of God and the heroic age of the Bahá’í Faith. Release the Sun, by Wm. Sears devotes a chapter to Táhirih entitled “A Wonder Among Women”. All of the above books are published by and available from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust in

Wilmette. Children’s Stories from the Dawn-Breakers by Zoe Meyer (illustrated by Carl Scheffier) devotes a chapter to her life, as does The Kingdoms of God by Janet Lindstrom. Another book, Tdhirih, by Clara Edge, gives an account of her life that has special appeal to teen-agers as well as adults. The Publishing Trust in Wilmette can furnish copies of this latter book at the publisher’s (Edgeway) price of $4.00. (Please send all orders to the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 110 Linden Ave., Wilmette, 111., through your local literature representative.)

Drive Safely in the Bahá’í Spirit

Most Bahá’ís, both young and old, think nothing these days of driving hundreds of miles, perhaps in a single weekend, to reach a Bahá’í gathering. This is one of the bounties of this great age in which we live, provided we survive to accomplish what all of us want to do most —spread the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh.

Our Teachings must be in accord with science and reason, and science tells us that there are limitations both to machines and to the people operating them. For our guidance, here are a few of the reasonable cautions issued by the American Automobile Association:

[Page 4]“Put your car in good condition, with safety and control devices correctly operating.

“Learn the stopping distances for expressway speeds — so you will know at what distances to follow other cars.

“Be in good physical and mental condition and not fatigued.

“Avoid long driving periods, especially at night.

“To maintain alertness avoid heavy, sleep-inducing meals. Converse with others, or sing. Be interested in road markings, traffic signs, colors, other traffic and other things outside the car.”

Following the above pointers will insure our safety and help us fulfill our responsibility to our fellowmen in keeping with the Bahá’í spirit.

BAHA'l DIRECTORY CHANGES

ASSEMBLY SECRETARIES

Indiana Warsaw: Mrs. Murletta Riegel, 505 S. Washington St. Iowa

Cedar Falls: Mr. Richard C. Snyder, P.0. Box 222, 50613 (now permanent secretary)

Tennessee

Memphis: Miss Johanna Zimmermann, 115 Stonewall, Apt.

1. 4, 38104

NATIONAL BAHA'l FUND Monthly Income: 1965-1966

Thousand

160 140 l20 100 80 60 Monthly 59.5 Budget

“>'(5'E-5 OZ .4 ‘£1 E2351” ‘Eli

NOV. FEB. MAR. APR

O

E I Regular contributions

Special contributions & Miscellaneous Estates

JAN UARY 1966

Eastern Texas Austin: Mrs. Catherine Gent, 2802 Rae Dell Ave., 78704 (now permanent secretary) Fort Worth: Mrs. Carolyn Galinkin, 2700 - 5th Ave., 76110 Utah Salt Lake City: Mr. Lynn E. Barker, 1077 S. 7th East, (now permanent secretary) Salt Lake County: Miss Carolyn Ingram, 3365 S. 900 East, Apt. 1. Salt Lake City Washington Seattle: Mrs. Melba M. King, pro-tem, P.O. Box 396, Main Office Station, 98111

RESIGNATION FROM COMMITTEE

Temple Ushers Mr. Frank Pumilia

ADDITION TO COMMITTEE

Temple Ushers Mr. Carl Hannen

NSA-STATE SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES

Tennessee Miss Johanna Zimmermann, 115 Stonewall, Apt. No. 4, Memphis, Tenn. 38104 (new address) East Texas Mr. and Mrs. George Galinkin, 2700 - 5th Ave., Fort Worth, Texas 76110 (new address) Louisiana Add name of: Miss Iris N. Reaves, 834% Wilkinson, Shreveport

Local Assemblies Contributing Each Month

E

250

200

MAY JUNE JULY

AUG SEPT

OCT.

NOV

DEC

JAN

FEB MAR

APR