MESSAGES TO REGIONAL AND NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES
2
12 July 1950
National Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá’ís of Meso-America and the Antilles and South America
Dearly beloved friends:
1 The formation of the first National Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá’ís of Central and South America—an event hailed by the entire Bahá’í world—constitutes a landmark of the utmost significance not only in the history of the evolution of the Faith in Latin America, but in the annals of the Formative Age of the Bahá’í Dispensation as well. It signifies the termination of the first Epoch in the rise and establishment of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in Central and South America—an Epoch that was ushered in on the morrow of the revelation of the Tablets of the Divine Plan through the pioneer services rendered by individual believers, among whom ranks as foremost that immortal and heroic soul, Martha Root, and which culminated with the successful prosecution of two successive historic campaigns initiated by the North American Bahá’í Community in pursuance of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Divine Plan.
2 This second and momentous Epoch in the unfoldment of the Faith, now being entered upon, is signalized by the emergence of two newly established, independent, firmly-knit regional communities, embracing all the Republics of Central and South America, stretching from the borders of Mexico as far as the southern extremity of Chile, comprising no less than forty organized Local Assemblies, many of them already incorporated, every one of them animated by the spiritual verities of one common Faith, and all of them functioning in accordance with the principles of a vigorously operating, divinely appointed Administrative Order.
3 This new phase in the development of an irresistibly advancing Faith presages, moreover, the formal association of these twin newly-emerged communities with their parent community in the North American continent in the prosecution of the Plan, conceived by the Center of Bahá’u’lláh’s Covenant, among the Latin American races now awakening to the clarion call sounded by Him in His immortal Tablets. Though not enjoying the status and privileges conferred in that same Plan by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on the North American Bahá’í Community, yet, in view of the momentous and stirring summons issued by the Author of the Revelation in His Most Holy Book addressed to the Rulers of all the Republics of the Western Hemisphere, both of these communities may be said to have been invested with rights and duties which no community in any continent of the Eastern Hemisphere can claim to possess.
4 This association, which will be formally inaugurated with the termination of the Second Seven Year Plan, and which is destined to reveal its potentialities in the course of the unfoldment of the Formative Age of the Faith, and particularly as a consequence of the formation of separate National Spiritual Assemblies in each of the Republics of Latin America, is a distinction which every adherent of the Faith, whether a native believer or a North American pioneer laboring in Central or South America, must constantly bear in mind. Its importance cannot be overestimated, nor can its full significance be assessed at the present hour.
5 The consolidation of the existing Assemblies; the multiplication of groups; the steady development of the process of Bahá’í incorporation; the expansion of the all-important task of translating, publishing and disseminating Bahá’í literature in Spanish and Portuguese; the consolidation of the recently inaugurated national and local Funds; the strengthening of such institutions as Bahá’í National Committees, Summer Schools, Conventions and Regional Teaching Conferences; the acceleration of the highly meritorious work already commenced amongst the Indians in both Central and South America; the progressive proclamation of the verities of the Faith to all sections of the population of Latin America; above all the triple task of constantly deepening the spiritual life of the individual believer, of enriching his understanding of the spiritual and administrative principles of his Faith, and of cementing the unity of each local community—these stand out as the foremost responsibilities to be assumed during these two concluding years of the Second Seven Year Plan by the two newly formed National Spiritual Assemblies of Central and South America, in preparation for the launching of specially conceived, clearly defined plans, the initiation of which must mark the formal association of the Bahá’í Communities of Latin America with the National Bahá’í Communities in the United States and Canada, for the furtherance of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s world-embracing, master Plan, now still in the embryonic stage of its development.
6 Afire with the vision now unfolding itself before their eyes; conscious of the sacred responsibility which, as implied in the ringing words recorded in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, they must increasingly shoulder; fortified by the contemplation of the manner and rapidity with which their beloved Faith has struck its roots into the soil of their homelands; confident that the same mysterious and unconquerable Power that has watched over the operation, and ensured the consummation, of the specific Plans undertaken by various National Bahá’í Communities in recent years in both the East and the West will, as they prepare to launch their own collective enterprises in the years immediately ahead, vouchsafe to them Its sustaining grace and unfailing guidance, the members of these newly emerged Communities and, above all, their recently elected national representatives, must display, during this period of transition, a spirit of dedication, a tenacity of purpose, a willingness for self-sacrifice, that will surpass anything as yet exhibited in their past history, which will at once excite the envy and admiration of their older sister communities in all the continents of the globe, and enable them to acquire the spiritual potentialities that will assist them to take their honored place in the ranks of those same Communities which, in various regions of the world, are collectively and energetically carrying out their own national campaigns in the service and for the glory of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh.
7 That they may prove themselves worthy of the mission with which they will soon be formally invested; that they may never allow anything to interfere with the successful conclusion of this present preparatory phase of their historic task; that they may, through the quality of their devotion and the solidity of their achievements, rejoice the souls of the Concourse on high, and, above all, the Spirits of the Holy Báb, of Bahá’u’lláh, and of His beloved Son, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá; that they may contribute their share, as independent pillars, in sustaining the House, whose erection must mark the culmination of the establishment of the Administrative Order of their Faith, is the dearest wish of my heart, my constant hope and my ardent prayer.
Your true brother,
Shoghi
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11 July 1951 [Dominican Republic]
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Meso-America and the Antilles
Dear Bahá’í Friends:
1 Your letter of May 5, 1951, as well as the report of the Convention and minutes of your first Assembly meeting, and the photographs you sent, have reached our beloved Guardian, and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.
2 It gives him very great happiness to address this first letter to your Assembly, newly come into the field of international service to the Faith, and so ready and eager to embark upon its truly historic tasks.
3 The believers of Central and South America are embarking upon their services at a most important time, not only in the history of this great Cause, but also in the history of mankind. Never has the outlook in this physical world been darker—with the shadow of perhaps another devastating conflict lengthening on the horizon—never the spiritual promise greater, for we see the Message of Bahá’u’lláh at last spreading all over the globe and planting its banner in the most distant countries.
4 The opportunities for this new National Assembly to distinguish itself are therefore unique and its privilege priceless. He feels sure that the Latin American believers are going to demonstrate their readiness and capacity in such a way as to rejoice their fellow-Bahá’ís and the heart of the beloved Master.
5 Like the United States and Canada, Latin America is the New World; it has the freshness of youth, the vigor and hope that youth possesses, and far from such ancient civilizations as those of Europe and Asia, with their interminable problems and grievances, it can undertake service to Bahá’u’lláh under more auspicious circumstances.
6 He feels that your Assembly must, now at the very beginning of its work, devote its energy primarily to laying a sound and abiding foundation for the future. What does this imply? First and foremost establishing harmony, love and understanding amongst the Bahá’ís under its jurisdiction. When the friends are united in the love of God all problems can be solved and all work carried out with success. Personal problems, differences of race, nationality, origin, are dissolved in the crucible of Bahá’í brotherhood.
7 Second, the teaching work: the Local Assemblies must be maintained and strengthened and the groups encouraged and protected, so that they may attain Assembly status as soon as possible; extension teaching work must also be undertaken and news of the existence of this Faith broadcast as much as possible.
8 Third, the National Fund must be supported. The friends are, for the most part, not well-to-do, but they must realize that to give to the Fund, even in a small way, is the important thing, for it is a visible sign of their unity, their devotion, their desire to support the institutions which now represent them and belong to them.
9 Fourth, your Assembly, in conjunction with that of South America, should devote particular attention to Bahá’í literature, as in the past the publication of really adequate translations and their dissemination has been often delayed and the books inferior in style. The Spanish-speaking Bahá’ís, becoming more numerous all the time, have a right to possess the literature of the Faith, so infinitely rich and inspiring, in their own tongue and well translated.
10 The Guardian feels that during the coming few years your Assembly should not hesitate to lean on and consult the American Assembly. This in no way implies any weakness or inadequacy on your part, but is logical and organic. The American National Spiritual Assembly is one of the oldest in the Bahá’í world, it has gone through a lot, and consequently acquired an experience which cannot be obtained overnight. It also looks upon with pride, affection, and concern this beautiful daughter, so to speak, that it has brought into being. So your tie is a deep and natural one.
11 Shoghi Effendi is also most anxious for the Message to reach the aboriginal inhabitants of the Americas. These people, for the most part downtrodden and ignorant, should receive from the Bahá’ís a special measure of love, and every effort be made to teach them. Their enrollment in the Faith will enrich them and us, and demonstrate our principle of the Oneness of Man far better than words or the wide conversion of the ruling races ever can.
12 You may be sure that the Guardian will watch your work with the keenest interest, and surround you all with his loving prayers.
With warm Bahá’í love,
R. Rabbani
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11 July 1951 [Peru]
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of South America
Dear Bahá’í Friends:
1 Your letter of May 7, as well as the report of your first Convention and the minutes of your Assembly meeting, was received, and our beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.
2 His heart was filled with joy upon hearing of the success of the first Convention, and the sentiments expressed by your Assembly touched him deeply.
3 He feels sure these two new National Bahá’í Bodies will greatly enrich the Bahá’í World Community, and accomplish noble feats in the service of Bahá’u’lláh.
4 It is truly significant and inspiring to think that there are now four National Assemblies in the New World. It shows what vitality and promise these young nations have, and these characteristics will aid them in their Bahá’í service.
5 Your Assembly is called upon to direct and safeguard the activities of our Faith in a truly vast and impressive area. But the very newness of the work, the room for spiritual conquest, the great need of the people, both aboriginal and European in origin, to hear of Bahá’u’lláh, is stimulating and challenging, and must call forth the best in every believer.
6 Now that you have the privilege of building from the very beginning a new National Institution he feels special attention should be devoted to laying a deep and permanent foundation. The basis of all successful work in this Faith is that true brotherhood and unity should prevail amongst the believers. To promote unity and love amongst the friends is your first duty.
7 Your second is undoubtedly the teaching work: to maintain and increase the existing Assemblies, develop the groups into new Assemblies, carry on extension teaching work, and bring the Cause before the public.
8 Next to this comes support of the National Fund: all the believers must be encouraged to give financial help to the work; the Guardian realizes the friends are for the most part not well-to-do, but they must realize that the act of giving, however modest the sum, is a sign of unity and brings blessings to the united work all are undertaking for Bahá’u’lláh.
9 Another important matter is to provide, in conjunction with the Central American National Assembly, adequate literature in good translations. Your Assembly will, naturally, have the added responsibility of Portuguese literature.
10 The Guardian feels that special efforts must be made to enroll the primitive peoples of South America in the Cause. These souls, often so exploited and despised, deserve to hear of the Faith, and will become a great asset to it once their hearts are enlightened.
11 Shoghi Effendi, as you know, attaches particular importance to Magallanes and to maintain the Assembly there is one of your responsibilities. It constitutes one of the distant outposts of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, and represents a hard won trophy; it must be maintained at all costs.
12 Your Assembly has not entered upon its stewardship empty-handed; on the contrary, unlike most National Bodies that have begun with nothing, so to speak, you are already enriched by having two Summer School properties under your jurisdiction: Loncoche and Ezeiza. He hopes these budding institutions will grow and flourish, and rejoice the hearts of the dear friends who so generously, in the beginning of the work in Latin America, established them for the glory of Bahá’u’lláh.
13 It is truly inspiring to think that in relatively so short a time the Bahá’í Community of the United States should have given birth to these two beautiful daughter-Assemblies in the southern part of the New World. He, therefore, considers it wise and proper that for a few years your Assembly should keep in close touch with its “parent,” who, like all parents, has had the benefit of long years of experience, and passed through many trials, and is therefore in a position to help you with advice and other support.
14 For the first time in Bahá’í history we see constellations of National Bodies, so to speak, co-operating for the good of the Faith: in Africa, England is working closely with the National Spiritual Assemblies of Persia, Egypt, India and the United States. Upon the success of the close co-operation between your Assembly, that of Meso-America, and the United States during the coming years will depend, to a great extent, not only the speed of achievement in the future, but also plans to be undertaken by the National Bodies of the New World.
15 All your work will be watched by the Guardian with the keenest interest, and his loving prayers be offered for your success and guidance.
With warm Bahá’í love,
R. Rabbani
16 P. S. In answer to the question raised in your letter of June 5 as regards divorce: The Guardian says that if within a country divorce, because of affiliation of Church and State in this matter, is considered illegal, the Bahá’ís must be bound by this law. At the present time they must under no circumstances raise such matters with any Government in question. This means that it is not right for a believer to get a divorce outside of, say Colombia, and then remarry outside and return there, where his divorce would be illegal.
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15 July 1951 [National Spiritual Assembly of South America, Peru]
Dear Bahá’í Brother:
1 Enclosed please find a receipt for the loving and generous contribution forwarded by you (in your letter of May 2nd) for work on the Shrine of the Báb.
2 The Guardian was much touched by this sum gathered on the historic occasion of the first South American Bahá’í Convention. Surely contributions such as these enrich the spiritual significance of the holy Edifice being erected at the World Center of the Faith.
With Bahá’í love,
R. Rabbani
3 Assuring you of my deepfelt appreciation of the spirit animating the friends and the members of your Assembly in making their contribution, and of my ardent and loving prayers for the success of their high endeavors,
Your true brother,
Shoghi
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30 June 1952 [Panama]
Miss Elena Maria Marsella, Secretary
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Central America
Dear Bahá’í Sister:
1 Your letters of July 10 and 20, September 3, 6 and 26, signed by the treasurer, Mr. J. V. Facey, October 6 (2), November 2, December 4, 27 and 31, 1951, and January 17, March 12 and 21 and May 13, 1952 with their enclosures have been received, and the beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer you on his behalf. I am also enclosing a receipt for the sum sent by the friends for the work on the Shrine of the Báb.
2 He was particularly pleased to see that members of your Assembly have been out traveling and contacting the friends in an effort to deepen their understanding of the workings of the administration and also their knowledge of the Faith in general. He feels that particularly at present in Latin America this intimate, loving and friendly approach will do more to further the work than anything else. Indeed, he would go so far as to advise your Assembly to avoid deluging the friends with circulars and unnecessary bulletins. You must always bear in mind the genuine difference between the peoples of the south and the peoples of the north; to use the same techniques as those adopted in the United States would be disastrous because the mentality and background of life are quite different. Much as the friends need administration, it must be brought to them in a palatable form, otherwise they will not be able to assimilate it and instead of consolidating the work you will find some of the believers become estranged from it.
3 Whenever you feel at all discouraged you should remember how many years it took for the administration to get as well established as it is at present in North America. Problems repeat themselves and in the earlier stages in the U.S.A. the body of the believers was very loosely knit together, many of the friends were, as they now are in Latin America, affiliated with various more or less progressive cults from which they had come to the Faith and from which they could not be suddenly cut off; they had to be weaned and educated; the same thing you must now do. He urges you therefore to be very patient with the believers, and, through loving consultation and education, gradually insist that the old allegiances must give way to the great and all-satisfying bond they have now found with Bahá’u’lláh and His Faith.
4 Mature teachers are the greatest need of the Faith everywhere, and no doubt in your area too. One wise and dedicated soul can so often give life to an inactive community, bring in new people and inspire to greater sacrifice. He hopes that whatever else you are able to do during the coming months, you will be able to keep in circulation a few really good Bahá’í teachers.
5 He was delighted to receive the documents concerning your incorporation and feels this is a great step forward. He also appreciated having the minutes sent him in English.
6 The various enclosures you forwarded were also appreciated.
7 The recent Convention, though poorly attended, will no doubt have constructive repercussions in the lives of the believers and stimulate the growth of the communities. Your task is great, but the Bahá’ís are devoted and loyal and will, he feels sure, rise to ever greater heights as time goes by and they see the first-fruits of their labors being garnered.
8 He assures you all, and through you the body of the friends, of his loving prayers on your behalf.
With warm Bahá’í love,
R. Rabbani
9 P. S. Regarding the status of the Antilles: this is a matter which has to do with the plan to be undertaken in the next ten years and nothing to do at present with your Assembly’s plan.
Dear and valued co-workers:
10 Despite my intense occupation with the complex and numerous problems and grave issues that have confronted me, and absorbed my energies during recent months at the World Center of the Faith—cares and anxieties that have unfortunately been responsible for the unavoidable delay in acknowledging your Assembly’s communications, I have nevertheless been following with unqualified admiration the progress of your activities, and have been deeply impressed by the perseverance, the fidelity, the devotion and single-mindedness which have characterized the services you have performed for the spread and consolidation of the Faith in Central America.
11 The Two Year Plan you have spontaneously initiated, the vigor with which you are prosecuting it, the noble aim that has animated you ever since its adoption, the vigilance and thoroughness with which you endeavor to safeguard the interests of the nascent institutions of the Faith, and promote their welfare and consolidate their foundations, merit the highest praise. I feel truly grateful for the manner in which you face your manifold responsibilities and discharge your sacred and pressing duties. Though the issues confronting you are complex, numerous and urgent, the spirit of consecration you have consistently displayed since the assumption of your high office augurs well for the future expansion of your activities and the consummation of your allotted task.
12 The year we have just entered, marking the closing stage of the Plan you have undertaken and the termination of the initial chapter in the life of your newly-emerged Assembly, must witness as it speeds to its end, a dedication to your collective task more compelling than any you have already demonstrated and a vigorous prosecution of the work on which you have embarked more splendid than any that has thus far distinguished your stewardship of His Faith. As the interval separating the birth of your Assembly from the assignment of a new mission that will enable you to participate in the World Crusade, destined to be launched by the followers of Bahá’u’lláh in both the East and the West, rapidly diminishes, your efforts must be correspondingly redoubled to arouse the entire community of the steadfast and devoted believers in every Republic of Central America and throughout the Greater Antilles, and enable them to appreciate the nature of their future task and the urgency of their present responsibilities, and to more completely dedicate themselves to the work in which they are now engaged—a work which should be regarded as a prelude to the enterprises they will be called upon to launch on the morrow of the world-wide celebrations of a steadily approaching Holy Year.
13 For not only in the Western Hemisphere and its neighboring Islands, but farther afield, amidst the numerous Islands and Dependencies of the South Pacific Ocean, must the community of the Most Great Name, now firmly rooted in Central America and the West Indies, demonstrate its capacity to establish, on solid foundations, the administrative structure of a world-embracing divinely conceived Order, and win its greatest victories. Nothing short of a rapid consolidation and a steady multiplication of the administrative centers so laboriously brought into being, and a fuller understanding, on the part of those who are summoned to participate in the great undertakings of the future, of the essential truths underlying their Faith, of the provisions of the Covenant that acts as its shield, and of the distinguishing features of the Order which is to be regarded as its stronghold, can empower them to launch, efficiently and confidently, the enterprises that must signalize the inauguration of their Mission beyond the confines of their native lands.
14 That they may become increasingly aware of the requirements of the present hour; that they may lend increasing support to your Assembly in the discharge of your multitudinous duties; that your own Assembly may set a sublime example to the rank and file of the believers within your jurisdiction; and may, through its able conduct of its affairs, win the admiration of its sister communities throughout the Bahá’í world; and, through its inspiring leadership, attract a bountiful measure of the blessings of the One Who in His immortal Tablets anticipated the birth and rise of your community, is the dearest wish of my heart and the object of my ardent prayers.
Your true brother,
Shoghi
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30 June 1952 [Peru]
Mr. Manuel Vera, Secretary
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of South America
Dear Bahá’í Brother:
1 The beloved Guardian has received your letters of May 17, August 3, September 3, October 29 and December 28, 1951, and January 5, January 11, February 16 and April 7, 1952, with enclosures, and has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.
2 With the rapid growth of the Cause everywhere the Guardian finds it increasingly difficult to write frequently to various National Assemblies, hence the delay in answering your letters. However, he follows with keen interest the progress of the work, and feels that notable growth is evident in your region.
3 He was particularly pleased to see the Plan you have formulated for the coming year; it seems a well-balanced one and possible of achievement—a most important point, as otherwise the friends become discouraged if they fail.
4 Your recent Convention was also an obvious success and very well attended, all things considered.
5 He was very happy to note the offer of dear Mr. and Mrs. Juan Casavelos to pioneer. They, and the dear Tormos, can no doubt add a great deal to the teaching work in their region during the coming months.
6 The news of the incorporation of so many Local Assemblies was also very welcome; he hopes the Argentina ones will soon be added, and thus complete the circle for South America.
7 The loving sympathy conveyed by your Assembly on the occasion of Mr. Maxwell’s passing was much appreciated, and he was glad to see the friends had held a meeting at the grave of dear Mrs. Maxwell.
8 He fully appreciates the fact that the believers are still somewhat attached to the different cults from which they have come; this is a problem which always faces the Faith in a new region; it existed a long time in America, and seems part of the growth of the Cause. He feels your Assembly can afford to be patient with the friends, while at the same time educating them into a deeper understanding of the Cause. As their awareness of the true significance of Bahá’u’lláh grows, they will become weaned from the old ideas and give full allegiance to His teachings.
9 The Latin American communities are still on the threshold of their international Bahá’í life; he feels sure that they will rapidly grow into it. Compared with the length of time it took the North American, the British, and the French communities to grow up and spread, their growth is like lightning. As the Cause spreads all over the world its rate of acceleration increases, too, and new centers in Africa, in some mysterious way, have spiritual repercussions which aid in forming new centers everywhere.
10 Please assure all the friends of his admiration for the progress they are making and of his loving prayers for the achievement of their new Plan.
11 He assures you, and all the members of your Assembly, of his loving prayers.
With Bahá’í love,
R. Rabbani
12 P. S. As regards the question you asked: Now is not the time to present the Words of Bahá’u’lláh to the Rulers of America; when the Cause becomes stronger in Latin America you can reconsider the advisability of doing so.
Dear and valued co-workers:
13 The multitudinous activities and enterprises which have, in recent months, required my close and immediate attention, have, to my great regret, interfered with the prompt acknowledgment of the letters which various National Assemblies have addressed me in the course of this year so crowded with developments at once historic and far reaching in their significance. I have, however, followed with keen interest and ever deepening admiration the steady growth and consolidation of the nascent institutions of the Faith now rising so hopefully under your guidance throughout the South American Republics. The reports you have enclosed in your communications, the minutes of your Assembly, the copies of the Spanish Bulletins and other publications, the description of your annual Convention, above all the One Year Plan you have so splendidly formulated—all attest the vigor, the fidelity, the constancy and the devotion that have characterized your conduct of Bahá’í affairs since the emergence of your Assembly as an independent future pillar of the Universal House of Justice destined to crown the Administrative Edifice of a world-embracing Faith.
14 The year that has just opened will be regarded by posterity as a prelude to the initiation of the large-scale enterprises destined to be launched by the Bahá’í communities throughout Latin America in foreign fields, as the rightful associates of the chief executors of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Divine Plan, and on the morrow of the inauguration of a fate-laden fast approaching Holy Year.
15 Whilst these budding, highly promising, swiftly consolidating communities brace themselves, individually as well as collectively, for active participation in the World Crusade, the launching of which will constitute the chief feature of the celebrations which are to signalize the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh’s Mission, their members must, as the present year unfolds, display an extraordinary degree of consecration and intensify to an unprecedented extent, their activities, for the multiplication of Bahá’í centers, for the enrichment of their spiritual lives, for the consolidation of their newly-born institutions, for the dissemination of the literature of their Faith, for the incorporation of their newly formed Assemblies, for the forging of fresh links binding them to their spiritual brethren overseas, and for a fuller understanding of the aims and purposes of the Order within whose Orbit they function and of the Covenant under whose sheltering shadow they labor.
16 The task awaiting them within as well as beyond the confines of the Western Hemisphere, as official participators in two of the four intercontinental conferences planned for the immediate future, is truly historic and too vast to be properly assessed at the present hour. Every day that passes must be prized and utilized to the fullest extent in preparation for the Mission which has to be undertaken, the responsibilities that are to be shouldered, and the collective contribution which is to be made towards the spread of the Cause of God by the Latin-American followers of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in various continents and islands of the globe.
17 Time is running short. The hour is critical. The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh is entering upon a new, crucial and glorious stage in its unfoldment. Though young in years, though inexperienced as compared to its sister communities in both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, though its material resources are strictly circumscribed, though the area in which it operates is vast and the obstacles standing in its way manifo1d, this community, now still standing on the threshold of its independent existence, must, in recognition of the bounties showered upon it from on high, and as a token of its gratitude for the privileges bestowed upon it, arise, and exhibit such a spirit of dedication as to astonish the entire Bahá’í world, and seek to repay, however inadequately, its debt to the spirit of an ever-vigilant Master, through the operation of Whose Will it was called into being and to Whose immortal Tablets, bequeathed in the evening of His life, it owes the impulse that has generated its very life.
18 I will, in my hours of meditation and prayer, recall the spirit which has animated this community since its birth, will gratefully acknowledge the services it has already rendered, and will supplicate with added fervor for its further illumination, its continued expansion and the ultimate fruition of its destiny.
Your true brother,
Shoghi
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11 June 1953 [Peru]
To the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of South America
Dear Bahá’í Friends:
1 Our beloved Guardian has been greatly encouraged by reports reaching him from all parts of the Bahá’í world of the victories already gained, and the plans being laid for the prosecution of the Ten Year Crusade.
2 They have evoked his awe-inspiring and soul-stirring cablegram of May 28th, calling for the immediate settlement of all the 131 virgin areas of the Plan. He is convinced that the friends will arise and translate their enthusiasm into action, because the keynote of the crusade must be action, action, action!
3 The beloved Guardian has directed me to write your Assembly to amplify some of the aspects of his dynamic message.
4 The settlement of these virgin areas is of such an emergency nature, that he feels pioneering in one of them takes precedence over every other type of Bahá’í service—whether it be in the teaching or administrative fields of the Faith.
5 In the United States some 150 people have volunteered for pioneer service, and some of them already are preparing to leave for their posts. The Guardian has informed the United States National Assembly, that because of their being the chief executor of the Divine Plan of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for teaching throughout the world, their pioneers may be sent to any virgin area in the world, regardless of which National Spiritual Assembly it may be assigned to. If any of their pioneers wish to settle in any of the areas assigned to your Assembly, they will communicate with you.
6 There are some general observations which the Guardian shares with you, and then some specific suggestions which are enumerated below:
7 1. Every individual who offers to pioneer should be encouraged and assisted in every way possible by the National Assembly.
8 2. Every application for pioneering must be expedited, and not allowed to drag in any way, either in the handling by the National Spiritual Assembly, or any committee working out the details for the National Spiritual Assembly.
9 3. The National Assembly must make the settlement of their virgin areas the first order of their business. In other words, nothing is more important at this time, than settlement in the 131 virgin areas.
10 4. More than two pioneers should not be sent to any one place, unless, of course, they are members of one family. In fact, what is wanted is to settle each area with Bahá’ís, and therefore, one Bahá’í will fulfill the initial task.
11 The specific suggestions which the Guardian makes are:
12 a. Areas close at hand and easy of settlement should be filled first. Then the areas more difficult, and finally, the difficult ones.
13 b. Whenever a pioneer enters a new territory, a cable should be sent at once to the beloved Guardian, giving the name, place and any pertinent information.
14 c. A report should be sent each month by your Assembly to the Secretary-General of the International Bahá’í Council, giving the progress of your teaching work in the virgin areas of the Plan, particularly the development of your plans for settling them. This does not mean your Assembly should correspond with the International Council concerning administrative matters, as all administrative matters should be handled in the usual manner, directly with the Guardian. It simply means that reports and data concerning the development of the Plan should be sent to the International Council for consolidation with other reports, for the Guardian.
15 d. The Guardian feels the following areas should be easily settled; and he would appreciate your arranging to send pioneers there at the earliest possible date.
Chiloé Island
Galápagos Islands
Juan Fernández Islands
Leeward Islands
Windward Islands
Cook Islands
16 As his dramatic cable indicates, the Guardian is preparing an illuminated “Roll of Honor,” on which will be inscribed the names of the “Knights of Bahá’u’lláh” who first enter these 131 virgin areas. This “Roll of Honor” will be placed inside the entrance door of the inner sanctuary of the Tomb of Bahá’u’lláh.
17 From time to time, the Guardian will announce to the Bahá’í world, the names of those holy souls who arise under the conditions outlined in his message, and settle these areas, and conquer them for God.
18 Now is the time for the Bahá’ís of the world to demonstrate the spiritual vitality of the Faith, and to arise as one soul to spread the Glory of the Lord over the face of the earth. The Guardian is sure the spiritual power released with the launching of this great Ten Year Global Crusade will carry the consecrated and devoted friends to complete victory.
19 He will pray for the members of your Assembly, whose sacrificial services he greatly values.
Faithfully yours,
Assistant Secretary
9
19 June 1953 [Panama]
Miss Elena Maria Marsella, Secretary
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Central America
Dear Bahá’í Sister:
1 The beloved Guardian has received your letters of May 24 and 30; July 5 and 18 (2); September 25; and October 29, 1952; and January 7 and 27 (2); February 5, and March 17, 1953, and has instructed me to answer you on his behalf. The enclosures have also been received.
2 Regarding the matters you have raised in your letters:
3 Such details as to whether the Local Spiritual Assemblies should ratify your Declaration of Trust or not are left to your Assembly to decide. He already, in any case, replied to you by cable.
4 The Guardian encourages the various National Spiritual Assemblies to show initiative and originality in minor matters whilst adhering to uniformity in major matters; he therefore feels your Assembly is capable of developing its own Newsletter along the lines best suited to the needs in the various countries under its jurisdiction. What you outlined as your present policy sounded quite all right to him.
5 Please express to . . . his appreciation of the help he gave you in regard to your National Incorporation. A distinguished lawyer in Canada has for many years helped the friends in similar matters at no cost to them. Such good friends are very dear to our hearts.
6 He was pleased to hear the Assembly members had been so active in traveling and stimulating the work.
7 He received the material on Panfrish sent by Mr. Fitz-Henley, and is happy to see such an energetic thinker is now active in promoting the Faith; the Cause of God needs such enterprising promoters, and he hopes this dear friend will render great services in the teaching field.
8 As regards the “Administrative Manual”: he urges you to not add to the rules and regulations, but try to cut down on these and decide cases as they arise; there is a natural tendency to codify the teachings and produce handbooks of procedure: there are not enough Bahá’ís in the whole world to justify this, and he continuously urges the various National Spiritual Assemblies to beware of this tendency. He has no time, at all, to go over such things himself; indeed, your Assembly, and all the others, will have to assume increasing responsibility for your work in order to relieve him. He is worn out with all his work and added material to read.
. . .
9 The Guardian feels confident that the believers of Central America, under the able leadership of your Assembly, will succeed in achieving all the objectives of their portion of the Ten Year Plan, and will thus add to their spiritual stature and to the glory of the Cause of God in Latin America. They must realize that their period of youth, so to speak, is now passed, and they have emerged into the responsibilities of maturity; ever increasingly upon their own efforts will depend the success of their labors. He will be following the course of their activities with eager interest, you may be sure.
With warm Bahá’í love,
R. Rabbani
Dear and valued co-workers:
10 The splendid achievements which signalized the birth and early development of the National Spiritual Assembly representing the Central American Bahá’í community—achievements that merit the highest praise and have evoked profound admiration in the hearts of the followers of Bahá’u’lláh in both East and West—have, no doubt, qualified its members to take their place, and play a distinct and notable part, in the newly launched and decade-long World Crusade destined to illumine the annals of the Formative Age of the Bahá’í Dispensation.
11 The vigilance, fidelity, single-mindedness and perseverance displayed by them, as well as by their elected national representatives, in recent years; the series of projects they have successfully carried out, in both the teaching and administrative spheres of Bahá’í activity, which have, in no small measure, contributed to the multiplication of Bahá’í centers, the consolidation of Bahá’í institutions, and the dissemination of Bahá’í literature; the endeavors they have so devotedly exerted to give publicity to the Faith, to its aims, purposes and principles—these constitute a record of achievement which augurs well for their future contribution to the progress of the world-wide enterprise initiated by their fellow-believers embracing every continent of the globe, and which bids fair to eclipse any previous collective undertaking embarked upon by the adherents of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh since the inception of the Formative Age of His Dispensation.
12 The task that now challenges their limited resources, that demands the undivided and close attention of each one of them, will, if worthily fulfilled, add imperishable luster to the mighty and brilliant record of unforgettable achievements which will for ever be associated with the stalwart followers of His Faith dwelling in the Western Hemisphere.
13 The first and foremost duty devolving upon them is the prosecution, with whatever resources they command and with all the enthusiasm, the resolution and consecration of which they are capable, of their Ten Year Plan that constitutes so vital a part of the global Crusade to which the entire Bahá’í world now stands committed.
14 Of all the objectives which the members of this valiant community must assiduously strive to attain, ere the termination of the present decade, the dispatch of pioneers to the seven territories and islands—four of which are situated in the Western Hemisphere and the rest in the South Pacific Ocean—allocated to the members of this community must be considered of paramount importance, requiring the immediate and concentrated attention of its elected national representatives. Every effort should be exerted, every sacrifice should be made, to ensure the attainment of this primary objective ere the conclusion of this current year. This supreme, immediate objective, as well as the acquisition of the site of the First Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of Central America, should be regarded as the outstanding features of the initial phase of the Plan launched so auspiciously by the Bahá’ís of Central America on the morrow of the celebrations commemorating the centenary of the birth of the Mission of the Founder of their Faith.
15 The prompt settlement of at least one pioneer in each of these virgin territories; the selection and purchase of the site of the future Temple, within the limits, or in the immediate outskirts, of the city of Panama, which need not exceed, for the present, an area of approximately one acre; the formation of an American as well as of an Asian Teaching Committee that will vigorously and speedily arise to discharge its duties—these constitute the first obligations to be assumed by the Central American National Assembly in the course of the opening year of the Plan.
16 Already its sister National Assemblies have been urged to participate, through financial contributions, in an undertaking which, in the course of years, will culminate in the erection of a Bahá’í House of Worship in the heart of the Western Hemisphere, and in a country singled out for specific mention by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in His immortal Tablets.
17 While these preliminary measures are being carried out by the members of this Assembly, the process of the steady multiplication of Bahá’í centers and the formation of Bahá’í Spiritual Assemblies must, under no circumstances, be allowed to slacken. It should, indeed, be accelerated, by every means at the disposal of your Assembly, for upon it must depend the early formation of independent National Assemblies in both Central America and the Antilles—an objective which, though not immediate, is nevertheless worthy to rank as the most vital among the aims and purposes which the prosecutors of the Plan have set themselves to achieve.
18 The field that stretches before them is so vast; the challenge that confronts them is at once severe and thrilling; the mission with which they have been entrusted is truly glorious and demands the utmost sacrifice; the reward that awaits them, if they worthily fulfill it in the allotted time, is immeasurably rich; the gratitude they will earn from their fellow Crusaders, should they attain their aim, will be profound and abiding.
19 However strenuous the task, however prolonged the effort, however circumscribed their resources, let them remember that He Who guides, animates and watches over the operations of this momentous, world-embracing Crusade will, if they but play their part, abundantly reinforce, through the outpourings of His Celestial strength, all those battling for His Cause and will assure them a victory which He alone can bestow.
20 That they may discharge nobly their task; that they may never allow, in the course of the coming years, anything to deflect them from their high purpose; that they may speedily and victoriously consummate the immediate requirements of their Plan; and befittingly terminate the first phase of their glorious Mission, in their capacity as associates in the execution of the Design conceived by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, is the object of my constant prayers and one of the dearest wishes of my heart.
Shoghi
10
19 June 1953
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of South America
Dear Bahá’í Friends:
1 Your letters of June 23, July 22 and 30, August 7 and 16, September 2 and 3, October 25, 1952, and January 2 (2), January 14 (2), February 3, March 11 and 20, April 24 and May 20, 1953 have been received by the beloved Guardian, and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf. The various enclosures you sent, as well as photographs and other material sent separately, have also been safely received.
2 The progress in the work your Assembly has made during the past year has pleased him very much, and he feels sure that a firm foundation has been laid for the great tasks that lie ahead of you during the next ten years.
3 He believes that the many trips made by members of your Assembly to different centers stimulated the work, and brought about a greater feeling of solidarity, and he hopes that this type of service can be continued during the coming year, as much as proves feasible.
4 He was also very happy that you received your legal incorporation, which is another milestone in the unfoldment of the Faith in South America.
5 The news you conveyed to him that one of the Bahá’ís had voluntarily given up attending the South American Convention this year in order to contribute the sum that he saved towards the passage of the Argentina member of your Body to the United States, to attend the Intercontinental Conference, greatly touched him. Please assure this friend that this gesture of Bahá’í love and unity immensely pleased our beloved Guardian.
6 It was indeed wonderful that so many of the Latin friends and pioneers, and members of the Central and South American Assemblies could be present for the dedication of the Temple and could attend the Intercontinental Teaching Conference. No doubt the inspiration gained will be carried back and shared with all the believers at home, and a new feeling of solidarity and oneness, a new confidence in the never-failing aid of Bahá’u’lláh and a new sense of responsibility be conveyed to the friends at home who did not have the privilege of being present.
7 He considers it at the present time premature to make territorial divisions so that groups and isolated believers can take part in the election of delegates.
. . .
8 The Bahá’ís, in spite of the conditions prevailing in their country, must make every effort to live up to the laws of Bahá’u’lláh. However, the Guardian considers that your Assembly was quite right in the reply it gave to the . . . Assembly, and that this believer should not have been deprived of his voting rights but rather should be encouraged to settle his affairs in a Bahá’í way and be given time to do so, and if he fails he should be admonished and warned, and, only as a last recourse, deprived of his voting rights.
9 He urges your Assembly to now turn its complete and undivided attention to the all-important task of getting pioneers out to your nine virgin fields; the pioneers can be drawn from the ranks of the South American believers or may be volunteers from other countries, if available, who will work for your Plan under your direction. The vital thing is to find them and send them on their historic mission.
With warm Bahá’í love,
R. Rabbani
Dear and valued co-workers:
10 The splendid record of service which has so greatly enriched the annals of the Faith in the South American continent since the formation of the South American National Assembly has truly rejoiced my heart, and has, no doubt, evoked profound admiration and gratitude in the hearts of the followers of the Faith in both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. The constancy with which the members of this Assembly have conducted their manifold and ever-expanding activities; the zeal and fidelity they displayed; the care and vigilance they have invariably shown in safeguarding the interests of the Faith, in promoting its welfare, and in consolidating its nascent institutions, deserve the highest praise. I feel truly proud of the standard of their accomplishments, and am confident that the quality and range of the work they have achieved fully qualify them to undertake the vast, the sacred and urgent responsibilities which it is their privilege to assume at this important and vital stage in the unfoldment of their historic Mission.
11 As associates of the chief executors of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Divine Plan, the members of the South American Bahá’í community have a great and splendid task to perform. They are confronted with responsibilities that are at once weighty, pressing and inescapable. They stand on the threshold of a new Era marking the inauguration of their Mission beyond the borders of their homelands. Their responsibilities, which are continually growing as they themselves mature, are twofold. They must devote their attention henceforth to both the multiplication and consolidation of the institutions they have already established throughout the South American Republics, and assiduously endeavor to implant the banner of the Faith in the nine virgin territories and islands assigned to them as their share in the prosecution of the decade-long world spiritual Crusade recently launched by their fellow-believers throughout the world.
12 The first and foremost objective claiming their immediate attention is, no doubt, the settlement, if possible ere the termination of the current year, of pioneers in the nine virgin territories allocated to their National Assembly in accordance with the provisions of their Ten Year Plan, which constitutes a landmark of the utmost significance in the evolution of the Faith in that continent. No sacrifice can be deemed too great for the attainment of so noble and glorious an objective. The resources of the community, meager though they are, must be devoted primarily to this end. The work, though arduous, and which must challenge severely the spirit of the entire community, requires, no doubt, utter consecration, extreme vigilance, devoted self-sacrifice and the utmost constancy.
13 While this supreme objective is receiving the concentrated attention of the elected representatives of this community, the no less vital task of multiplying and consolidating the newly established Assemblies and groups throughout the length and breadth of that vast continent must be pursued with undiminished care, unswerving purpose and inflexible resolve. For upon it will depend the early formation of independent National Spiritual Assemblies in the Republics of the South American continent. The prizes already won in that field must not only be safeguarded, but every effort must be exerted to increase their number through a steady multiplication of Spiritual Assemblies and a corresponding increase in the number of groups and isolated centers, which constitute the foundation of future National Assemblies to be formed in the ten Republics of that continent.
14 As the site for the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of South America has already been acquired in the capital city of Chile, the attention as well as the resources of the members of the entire community must, in the course of the present year, be focused upon the attainment of the twin above-mentioned objectives—objectives which constitute the distinctive features of the opening phase of the Ten Year Plan.
15 The field stretching before the members of this virile and promising community is immense. Their responsibilities are unique and manifold. The time at their disposal for the fulfillment of so meritorious a task is limited and will swiftly pass. The blessings which the adequate performance of such a task will bring in its wake are inestimable. Its repercussions upon the immediate destinies of the Faith throughout Latin America will be permanent and far-reaching.
16 The members of the South American Bahá’í community, who have demonstrated already, in no small measure, the quality of their faith, the degree of their devotion, the nobility of their purpose, the excellence of their accomplishments, must now arise, at this crucial hour, to ennoble the record of their unforgettable services to the Cause of God, in some of the most promising countries in the new world, constituting the southern outposts of the Faith in the Western Hemisphere, by acts of unprecedented heroism which will excite the envy and the admiration of all their fellow-laborers in the Divine Vineyard, and which in the eyes of posterity will be considered as signalizing one of the brilliant chapters in the history of the Faith in the South American continent.
17 It is my earnest prayer and fondest hope that this community will befittingly respond to the plea which I now address to them with all the fervor of my heart, and will continue to labor with undimmed vision, with unfaltering faith, with undiminished vigor and with incorruptible loyalty, until the last objective of the Plan entrusted to its care will have been fully attained.
Shoghi
11
14 June 1954 [Peru]
Miss Dorothy Campbell, Secretary
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of South America
Dear Bahá’í Sister:
1 Your Assembly’s letters dated June 8, 11, 16 (2), 25 and 27, August 15, September 7, October 1 and November 17 (3), 1953, and March 30 and May 10, 1954, with their enclosures, also packages sent separately, have all been received by the beloved Guardian, and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.
2 He is very pleased to see the remarkable progress your Assembly has made in settling its pioneer territories during the first year of the Ten Year Crusade.
3 When one realizes that the organized work in Latin America is not even two decades old, and that there are now two National Bodies in that area; twenty National Bodies in prospect of formation ere the expiry of another decade; that you have already acquired your Temple site (he regrets the error in stating this situation was Santiago);1 that so many members of your Community were able to visit the Intercontinental Conference; that two of the dear Hands of the Cause made an extended tour of the countries under your jurisdiction—when one contemplates all these facts, one sees indeed the vitality of these newly-enrolled believers in the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, and the great promise for the future that the work there holds.
4 It was a great pleasure to have one of the members of your Assembly, Mrs. Fabienne Guillon, here as a pilgrim. Indeed the visit of the first Chilean Bahá’í to Haifa was another landmark in the unfoldment of the Faith throughout that region.
5 He does not consider it necessary for you to ask his permission before enrolling any Oriental people as voting members. You should write your Assemblies, and urge them to concentrate on teaching native Latin Americans and Indians, and to ignore, as far as possible, Orientals, without antagonizing them unduly.
6 In view of the situation prevailing in Dutch Guiana, he thinks that more latitude could be allowed, but the pioneers there should be very careful with Muslims, and be absolutely sure of the purity of their motive before proceeding to teach them or to accept them.
7 He sees no objection to your pioneer teaching work for all your goals, including one Asian territory, being carried out under the supervision of the New Territories Committee. He does not think a separate committee necessary for just one Asiatic country.
8 As regards your question of languages, the Guardian made out a general list of languages for different parts of the globe, into which Bahá’í literature was to be translated during the Ten Year Plan. He does not, however, insist that every single one of these languages be used. If the friends find out, through investigations on the subject, that one of these languages is relatively insignificant, and another language much more commonly spoken in that area, he does not object to a substitution being made, though he would like, as a general principle, to have as few substitutions made as possible.
9 He therefore approves of your translating literature into Quechua, Aymará, Guaraní, and Araucano. A pamphlet is sufficient for the purpose, but he advises you to use a substantial pamphlet, similar to the one that the British National Assembly has been using throughout Africa for African languages, and not something wholly insignificant.
10 He was very touched to hear of the manner in which Mr. José Ollino embraced the Faith, assisted the Tormos in their pioneering, and passed away under tragic circumstances. Surely such a soul is richly rewarded in the world beyond. It seemed as if it was his destiny to be given this great blessing of not only hearing of Bahá’u’lláh, but rendering Him a service, before his life came to an end. The Guardian has prayed for him in the holy Shrines.
11 He feels sure that, with the staunch and enthusiastic spirit of the body of the believers throughout the Community under your jurisdiction, you will go forward and accomplish great things during the present Bahá’í year. The Bahá’ís must never be discouraged. They must look to their blessings, and, confident of the unfailing support of Bahá’u’lláh, persevere in the work of the Ten Year Crusade.
12 He will remember all the members of your Assembly in his prayers in the holy Shrines, and will supplicate that the pioneers, the teachers and the rank and file of the believers, may render ever greater services to the Cause of God.
With warmest Bahá’í greetings,
R. Rabbani
Dear and valued co-workers:
13 The South American Bahá’í Community, firmly established and steadily consolidating itself, throughout so vast an area in the Western Hemisphere, is now entering, at this crucial hour in the unfoldment of the Ten Year Plan on which it has embarked, a period which bids fair to eclipse all preceding periods since its inception more than fifteen years ago. Its responsibilities have greatly multiplied, the scope of its operations has considerably widened, and its share in the prosecution of the worldwide tasks confronting the followers of the Faith has notably increased.
14 The moment is appropriate for the members of this Community to pause and call to mind the successive stages which have marked its inception and development, and which constitute a shining episode in the evolution of the Bahá’í Faith in the western world. The opening phase of this mighty process may be said to have been ushered in by the response made by the Heralds of the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh, during the closing years of the Heroic Age of His Faith, and particularly by His exemplary and consecrated handmaiden, Martha Root, to the call raised by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and the settlement of the first Bahá’í pioneer in the city of Bahia. This initial stage in the introduction of the Faith in the South American continent was greatly accelerated, in the years following the rise and establishment of the Administrative Order of the Faith in the North American continent, through the operations of the First Seven Year Plan, set in motion by the members of the North American Bahá’í Community, for the purpose of establishing the basis of that same Order throughout the Republics of Latin America. This far-reaching and highly blessed enterprise was greatly reinforced by the initiation of yet another Plan, which culminated in the emergence of the South American Bahá’í National Assembly, an achievement that was worthily commemorated in the course of the festivities celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh’s Prophetic Mission. The formation of this National Assembly was signalized by the adoption of various measures elected by the representatives of the South American Bahá’í Community and which yielded their fruit on the eve of those same festivities. This period of internal consolidation was soon followed, on the morrow of these worldwide celebrations, by the launching of a Ten Year Plan, designed to lend a fresh impetus to the development of this Community, and constituting its share of the spiritual Crusade launched by the followers of the Faith in all continents of the globe.
15 The opening phase of this decade-long Plan inaugurated the Mission of this newly consolidated Community beyond its homelands, and was brought to a successful conclusion through the opening of every single virgin territory assigned, in accordance with that same Plan, to this Community.
16 This notable success, achieved by the South American believers—a success which posterity will regard as a milestone of great significance in the history of the Faith in those regions—must, at this hour when the second phase of this historic Plan is opening, be followed up by still greater victories within the confines of the South American Republics, enhancing thereby the prestige of this Community and hastening the formation of an independent National Spiritual Assembly in each of these Republics.
17 Whilst careful attention is being paid to the preservation of the prizes won in the newly opened nine territories in the American and Asiatic continents, a special effort must be exerted for the multiplication of Bahá’í centers and for the formation of Local Assemblies in each of the South American Republics, for the sole purpose of broadening and reinforcing the foundations on which future independent National Spiritual Assemblies must be raised. A swift increase in the number of the avowed supporters of the Faith, particularly of those belonging to the Indian race, is yet another responsibility which the prosecutors of the Plan must courageously face and nobly discharge. Prompt measures should moreover be taken for the purchase, in the city of Lima, of a building which need not be pretentious, that will serve as the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds of the present South American National Assembly, and will be regarded as the national administrative headquarters of the future National Spiritual Assembly of the Republic of Peru; and will herald the establishment of similar institutions for the remaining South American Republics. The establishment of Bahá’í endowments in that same city should likewise be speedily inaugurated. Every assistance must moreover be extended to the United States National Spiritual Assembly in hastening the translation and publication of Bahá’í Literature in the Indian languages assigned to that Assembly. The translation, publication and dissemination of Bahá’í Literature must be carried on, uninterruptedly and with ever-increasing vigor, in both the Spanish and Portuguese languages. The process of incorporating Local Spiritual Assemblies must be continually reinforced, as one of the most effective means for the consolidation of the entire Community. The establishment of a Bahá’í Publishing Trust must be undertaken in the city of Rio de Janeiro in conformity with the principles laid down by the British National Assembly for their Publishing Trust. Nor must the elected representatives of this Community neglect their supreme responsibility to safeguard the spiritual life of its members, to continually enrich that life by every means in their power, to deepen their grasp of the distinguishing features and the fundamental verities of the Bahá’í Faith, and to encourage and inspire them to reflect its spirit and precepts in their personal lives and conduct.
18 May this Community, which, ever since its inception, has shown such promise, and which, in recent years, has achieved so notable a success both at home and abroad, continue, with undiminished consecration, the task which it has so resolutely shouldered, and enhance, in the days to come, the enviable record which will ever remain associated with the opening years of its existence,
Your true brother,
Shoghi
12
24 June 1954 [Panama]
Mr. Esteban Canales, Secretary
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Central America
Dear Bahá’í Brother:
1 The letters of your National Body dated June 17, July 3 (2), 7, 8 and 19, and October 10, 1953, January 25 and May 1, 1954, with enclosures, have been received by the beloved Guardian, and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.
2 He was extremely pleased that your Assembly was able to purchase the site for the Bahá’í Temple in Panama before the expiration of the first year of the Ten Year Crusade. He advises your Assembly, while safeguarding and maintaining the property, and living up to the terms of the contract which you signed, to spend as little money on the site as possible. Your resources are too limited, and the needs in the teaching field are too urgent, for money other than for the purpose of the purchase and bare maintenance of the property to be spent on the Temple site, at the present time. The important thing was to buy it, and this has been satisfactorily accomplished.
3 He is also very proud of the fact that Central America has filled all her pioneer goals with the exception of the Marshall Islands, to which Mrs. Steward is now en route.
4 He has read with attention the consolidation plan prepared by the National Teaching Executive Committee, a copy of which you forwarded to him in your most recent letter; and, although he thinks that the general outline of activities is excellent, there are two points to which he would like to call your attention.
5 The first is that he has not decided that there will be definitely no Regional National Assemblies prior to the establishment of independent National Assemblies for each Latin American country. As the work unfolds and the centers multiply, this matter will have to be carefully considered. At present it is premature to reach any conclusions.
6 He also believes that, before any abolition of the present basis of electing delegates to the National Convention (in other words, the delegates represent Assemblies, and not Groups and isolated believers as well) is made, the Cause must grow much stronger in each of the Central American republics.
7 Perhaps your Assembly is not aware of the fact that, with the exception of the United States and Persia, the two countries where the mass of the believers is the greatest in the Bahá’í world, all other National Assemblies are elected by delegates who are elected in their turn by Local Assemblies, and not by the body of the believers residing in any particular country.
8 He considers the introduction of the latter system premature in Latin America. You must first have many more active Groups and isolated centers, before there is any point in calling a National Convention, and directly electing the national delegates for the Central American Convention by the method used in the United States at present.
9 This is one of the reasons why he is urging the Bahá’ís everywhere to, above all, concentrate on increasing the number of Spiritual Assemblies and Groups, as well as isolated believers, educating them more deeply in the administrative and spiritual fundamentals and doctrines of the Faith, and increasing their awareness of their great responsibility as Bahá’ís in both the teaching and administrative work of the Faith. He always considers that, until the foundation is securely laid, there should be no attempt at elaborating the superstructure.
10 This principle applies everywhere, and he does not yet think that the administrative foundation is secure enough in Latin America (and indeed in many other countries) to permit of any elaboration of the present methods which he has outlined for the friends to follow.
11 He hopes that the Auxiliary Board, working in conjunction with the Hands of the Cause, will be able to carry a new impetus to the teaching work, and, in collaboration with the National Assemblies, help to strengthen and revitalize weak centers.
. . .
12 Another matter to which he attaches the greatest importance is that of keeping the pioneers at their posts, and urging upon them the necessity of persevering at all costs, lest one of the so hardly-won goals of the Ten Year Crusade suffer even a momentary eclipse.
13 Your Assembly must feel very proud of the fact that a number of its members have gone into the pioneer field. The National Assembly must always show forth signs of true spiritual leadership; and he is very happy that your Body is so active, so devoted and so united.
14 He hopes that, in the unfoldment of your work throughout that region, you will pay special attention to teaching the Indians and minority groups, and converting them to the Faith. He attaches the greatest importance to this work, and is always glad to receive news of the names of any new Indian tribes represented in the Cause of God, or contacted.
15 It was a great pleasure to have the Chairman of your Assembly here as a pilgrim, after the New Delhi Conference. Indeed, who would have believed, a few years ago, that representatives from both Central and South America would attend an Intercontinental Teaching Conference in New Delhi, the other side of the world, and then come, bearing the love and devotion of their co-workers in distant parts of the New World, to the World Center, as pilgrims? He is sure that this direct contact will link your Assembly even closer to the World Center here.
16 You may be sure that, in his visits to the holy Shrines, he remembers you all most lovingly in his prayers, and supplicates that the dear Bahá’ís of Central America will become ever more active, more courageous, more self-sacrificing and more spiritually aware of their great calling.
With warmest Bahá’í greetings,
R. Rabbani
17 P. S. The Guardian considers that the National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds in each of the Latin American countries, which must be established in conformity with the provisions of the Ten Year Plan, should be a building owned by the Bahá’ís. It does not have to be erected by them especially for this purpose. It can be a piece of property either bought by them, or donated by some believer to the Faith for this purpose.
18 The same applies to a local Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds. If it is a rented room or hall, it is to be designated as the Bahá’í Center. When it is owned by the friends, it must be called the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds.
Dear and valued co-workers:
19 The Central American Bahá’í Community, occupying so pivotal a position in the heart of the Western Hemisphere, stands, at this hour, marking at once the termination of the opening phase of the Bahá’í World Spiritual Crusade and the commencement of the second period in its unfoldment, on the threshold of an epoch of glorious expansion, both within its homeland as well as in foreign fields.
20 Its members can do no better than to recall, at this juncture, with joyous gratitude, the series of historic events which have led, in the course of almost four decades, to its gradual emergence, its rapid rise and steady consolidation. The epoch-making travels of some of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s disciples, headed by the incomparable Martha Root, during the concluding years of the Heroic, and the opening decade of the Formative, Age of the Faith, in response to the Call raised by the Center of the Covenant in the Tablets of the Divine Plan, may be regarded as the prelude to the formal and definite introduction of the Faith in that vast and prominent region. These preliminary years of widespread and strenuous seed sowing paved the way, on the morrow of the establishment of the framework of the Administrative Order of the Faith in the Western Hemisphere, for the launching of the First Seven Year Plan formulated by the American Bahá’í Community, which culminated in the laying of the Administrative foundations of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in the Republics of Central America and the Antilles. This initial stage in the rise and establishment of the embryonic World Order of Bahá’u’lláh in the Heart of the Western Hemisphere was immediately followed by the initiation of yet another Plan which attained its climax, on the morrow of the centenary of the Báb’s Martyrdom, through the formation of the Central American Bahá’í National Spiritual Assembly—an auspicious event that was befittingly celebrated in the course of the festivities commemorating the centenary of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh’s Mission. This notable and unforgettable event in the annals of the Faith in the New World was destined to be succeeded by the launching of a small Plan albeit carefully devised by the newly launched National Spiritual Assembly and which culminated in those same never to be forgotten festivities.
21 The launching of this Plan was in itself a prelude to the initiation of a Ten Year Plan, formulated to meet the immediate needs of the Central American Bahá’í Community, in conjunction with a spiritual Crusade embarked upon by national Bahá’í communities throughout the entire globe.
22 The opening phase of this Ten Year Plan, which may be said to have inaugurated the Mission of this same Community beyond its homelands, has now drawn to a close, a year that has witnessed the opening, with a single exception, of all the virgin territories assigned, in accordance with that same Plan, to this Community.
23 This great victory, in which the followers of the Faith in Central America have themselves played a notable part, and which has virtually set the seal of triumph on the initial stage of this glorious Crusade, must, at this hour of the unfoldment of the second phase of this historic enterprise, prove in turn a forerunner of a period of unprecedented, rapid and systematic expansion and consolidation of the Faith in each of the Republics of Central America and of the Antilles.
24 Whilst every effort must be strenuously exerted to safeguard at any cost the prizes won in the six newly opened territories in the American and Asiatic continents, attention must, in the course of the present year, be focused on the multiplication of Bahá’í centers, and on the formation of Local Assemblies, in order to broaden the foundations on which future independent National Spiritual Assemblies must ultimately rest. A no less assiduous effort should be exerted to increase rapidly the number of the avowed supporters of the Faith, particularly among the Indians, whose spiritual potentialities ‘Abdu’l-Bahá repeatedly emphasized. Steps should moreover be taken to ensure the prompt purchase in the city of Panama of a modest property that will serve as the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds of the present Central American National Assembly and the national administrative headquarters of the future National Spiritual Assembly of the Republic of Panama, and which will set in motion the process of the purchase of similar properties designed to serve as administrative headquarters for the future independent National Assemblies in that area. A beginning must also be made in the establishment of Bahá’í endowments in that city. Simultaneously measures should be speedily undertaken to assist the United States National Assembly in expediting the translation and publication of Bahá’í Literature in the Indian languages specifically mentioned in the provisions of the Ten Year Plan. No effort should moreover be spared in assisting the South American National Spiritual Assembly in the all-important work of translating, printing and disseminating Bahá’í Literature in both the Spanish and Portuguese languages. Particular attention should likewise be devoted to the acceleration of the process of local Bahá’í Incorporation, so vital to the further consolidation of the newly emerged administrative institutions of the Faith in Central America and the Antilles.
25 As the process of internal expansion and consolidation gains momentum, the elected national representatives of this Community must not fail to consecrate themselves to the no less fundamental task of enriching continually the spiritual life of its members, of deepening their understanding of the essential verities, tenets and principles underlying their Faith, of demanding a strict adherence to its laws and statutes, and of setting an example to their fellow-believers through a fuller reflection, in their personal lives and conduct, of the ennobling truths animating the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh.
26 May this Community which, in the course of over a decade, has demonstrated so conspicuously its devotion to the ideals of the Faith it has risen to champion, furnish, as the years roll by, further proofs of its staunchness, its courage, its fidelity, its watchfulness, its single-mindedness and unswerving determination to fulfill its high destiny through the attainment of every single objective of the Plan to which it stands committed.
Your true brother,
Shoghi
13
13 July 1955 [Peru]
Miss Dorothy Campbell, Secretary
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of South America
Dear Bahá’í Sister:
1 Your letters of October 7th and December 6, 1954, May 17, June 7 and 9, 1955, as well as June 22nd, with enclosures have been received by the beloved Guardian, and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.
2 He was very happy to hear that our dear friends, Mrs. Beecher and Mr. Baker, have arrived in the British West Indies to take up their pioneer duties which were so dear to the heart of the Hand of the Cause, Dorothy Baker. He feels sure that their activities will greatly reinforce the work, and strengthen the Faith in that area.
3 He hopes your Assembly is doing all in its power to encourage the pioneers who have left their homes and gone out to neighboring territories and islands under your jurisdiction. At all costs, these precious goals must be kept open and the work strengthened. This is the primary duty of your Assembly. In preparation for a greater degree of administrative responsibility in the near future, the Assemblies in the far-flung area over which you have jurisdiction should exert their utmost to strengthen their own foundations, to carry on extension teaching work in nearby centers, and to encourage any surplus members they may have—by “surplus,” the Guardian means any number over fifteen—(providing the Assembly is firmly established) to go out and pioneer in new centers, or reinforce existing groups and assist in the creation of the greatly-needed future Spiritual Assemblies.
4 The literature in Portuguese, he trusts, is being speedily expanded, as well as that in Spanish; and he urges your Assembly to bear in mind that shortly National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds will be needed in each country, and that the friends should begin to look about for suitable Centers that will under no circumstances be too expensive, nor too far out from the center of the city.
5 The Central and South American National Assemblies, in conjunction with their parent Body, the American National Spiritual Assembly, must ever-increasingly assume a greater degree of responsibility for the conduct of the Bahá’í affairs in the Western Hemisphere. The Guardian’s own work is steadily increasing, due to the wonderful expansion of the Faith all over the world; and National Assemblies must shoulder their full portion of work and responsibility, and thus assist him in lifting the heavy load of the Faith, a treasured and precious load!
6 He will remember you all in his prayers in the holy Shrines, and supplicate that you may be guided and blessed in your endeavors. He deeply appreciates your services for the Faith and the spirit that animates you.
With warm Bahá’í greetings,
R. Rabbani
7 P. S. Both groups and Assemblies in virgin areas should be very careful regarding publicity lest they arouse opposition and risk losing the hard-won goals so recently and painstakingly achieved.
Dear and valued co-workers:
8 The activities which the South American believers, under the guidance and through the impetus given by your Assembly to the forward march of the Faith in the South American Republics, have achieved in recent years constitutes a notable chapter in the history of the marvelous unfoldment of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh in Latin America. These successive historic achievements, in both the teaching and administrative spheres of Bahá’í service, may well be regarded as a befitting prelude to the opening of yet another chapter in the annals of the Faith in the South American continent—a chapter that will commemorate the emergence of Regional as well as independent National Assemblies which are destined, first indirectly and later directly, to play their part in the ultimate formation of the Supreme Legislative Body in the Bahá’í world—the International House of Justice.
9 The work initiated throughout the virgin territories assigned, under the Ten Year Plan, to your Assembly has been successfully accomplished and is indeed highly meritorious in the sight of God. The first national Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds of South America has been purchased. The land on which the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in that continent is destined to be erected has already been acquired through the spontaneous and generous action of one of the South American believers long before the initiation of the Ten Year Plan. The translation and publication of Bahá’í literature in both the Spanish and Portuguese tongues has been vigorously undertaken and merits the highest praise.
10 Though much has been accomplished in these spheres of Bahá’í activity, the work that still remains to be undertaken, prior to the emergence of the Regional National Assemblies of South America, is enormous and highly challenging. Time indeed is very short. A brief span of less than two years separates the South American Bahá’í Communities from the historic and shining goals they have set themselves to attain.
11 A systematic effort of unexampled intensity, at once sustained and consecrated, must needs be exerted on the part of individuals, groups and Local and National Assemblies, in order to befittingly pave the way for the convocation of the forthcoming memorable Bahá’í Conventions and the subsequent election of the pivotal institutions that are to presage the definite establishment of the pillars of the Universal House of Justice in the South American continent.
12 A rapid increase in the number of the avowed supporters of the Faith in every Republic of South America; a marked multiplication of groups, and particularly of Local Assemblies, in each of these Republics; the maintenance, at any cost, of those already functioning; a notable acceleration in the process of the incorporation of definitely established Local Spiritual Assemblies; the speedy purchase of the nine remaining National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds throughout the South American continent; the establishment of national endowments in each of the South American Republics; a notable advancement in the process of translating and publishing Bahá’í literature into American Indian languages, particularly those specified in the Ten Year Plan; the preservation and enhancement of the rich prizes so swiftly won in distant and virgin areas of the globe; the establishment of the Bahá’í Publishing Trust in the city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil—these must be accounted as the most pressing and challenging tasks confronting the valiant South American Bahá’í Communities in these crucial years—tasks which demand, on the part of individuals, groups and Assemblies, the utmost vigilance, unrelaxing resolution, constant and utter consecration, steady co-operation and exemplary self-sacrifice.
13 The ordeal which our loved, long-suffering, steadfast brethren in the cradle of our Faith are now experiencing should spur on every would-be Bahá’í Crusader to rise to still nobler heights of heroism, to evince a still higher degree of courage, a greater self-abnegation, and a more wholehearted dedication to the ideals, principles and purposes of our precious Faith, to the objectives of the stupendous global Crusade its adherents have launched, to the institutions its Founder has ordained, and to the Plan which the authorized Interpreter of its teachings has conceived.
14 The eyes of the world are now upon those who bear the Bahá’í name. Its redoubtable foes fondly cherish the foolish hope of a decline in its fortunes and of its ultimate extinction. Our oppressed brethren cry out in their distress to the more privileged among their co-workers to arise and compensate for the loss they have sustained.
15 Now is the time to display, in a never-to-be-forgotten way, those sterling qualities that will unmistakably proclaim, to foes and sceptics alike, the incorruptible grandeur of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh, and demonstrate the enduring verities on which it has been founded, and the creative, the regenerating and irresistible power which has brought it into being, which has sustained it to the present day, and which will, no doubt, continue to impel it forward until its destiny has been fully consummated.
Your true brother,
Shoghi
14
15 July 1955
Mr. Esteban Canales, Secretary
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Central America
Dear Bahá’í Brother:
1 The beloved Guardian has received letters dated May 29, October 18, November 9 with enclosure, and December 12, 1954, and January 8 and 28, 1955, some written by you as Secretary and some by the Chairman of your Assembly.
2 He is very happy to see that your Assembly is facing, with a spirit of unity and determination, the tasks that lie ahead of it; and he feels sure that with confidence, consecration and enthusiasm, you will be able to lead the believers whom you represent, to victory in attaining the goals of their part of the Ten Year Plan.
3 He noted that you are being very vigilant in protecting the good name of the Faith from any association with political parties and the general political unrest in that area. The non-interference of the Bahá’ís in political matters cannot be too strongly emphasized. Any side-taking can jeopardize their status as members of a World Faith, seeking to bring about the unity of the entire human race, and peace on earth.
4 Recent events in that region have clearly demonstrated how unstable the affairs of men are; and that the only hope for the future lies in furthering the affairs of God, in other words, His Cause for this day. As ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said, Our party is God’s party—we don’t belong to any party.
5 The Guardian considers that at present it is premature to reconsider the basis of apportioning Bahá’í delegates. They must be elected by the Local Assemblies as heretofore. The thing for the friends to recognize is that, if they have a share in electing the National Assembly or not, the most important thing is to teach the Cause; the administrative functions are only a means to this end. Everyone can teach the Cause, and should teach it, regardless of whether he votes, or is elected or functions on a Committee.
6 As regards your question about giving the Faith publicity, in the places that pioneers have moved to in order to fill the goals of the Plan: It depends on the place. If there is absolutely no danger of publicity stirring up antagonism, or leading to the expulsion of the Bahá’í or his being deprived of his residence visa, then there is no objection to publicity. The general principle, however, is this—that the Bahá’ís should keep as quiet as possible, seek out and confirm the receptive souls, and build their future Assemblies on a solid foundation. To broadcast the news of their activities is not essential in these virgin areas at the present time, and can in most cases be dangerous, and hinder the spread of the Faith.
7 As regards your question about consolidation: He interprets this to mean that the important Centers that have already been established, at so much cost of time and sacrifice, should be maintained, and the Assemblies not allowed to fall back into Group status; the Groups increased until they can become Assemblies; and the requisite number of Spiritual Assemblies created, before the end of the Ten Year Plan. In other words, ground should not be lost, but should be maintained and steadily gained.
8 He urges your Assembly to bear in mind that shortly National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds will be needed in each country, and that the friends should begin to look about for suitable Centers that will under no circumstances be too expensive, nor too far out from the center of the city.
9 He was delighted to see that, following speedily upon the purchase of the Panama Temple site, the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds of the Bahá’ís of Central America has also been acquired.
10 He is very proud of your achievements, and of the response you have met with from the Bahá’ís. He feels sure that, with sufficient effort and determination on the part of all, great strides forward will be made during the coming year.
11 He assures you that he will remember you in his prayers in the holy Shrines; and he deeply appreciates all that you have accomplished, and the spirit that animates you.
With warm Bahá’í greetings,
R. Rabbani
12 P. S. Since commencing the above letter, the beloved Guardian has received your other letters dated April 9 (two), and April 12 and May 14.
13 He was very happy to know that you have increased the holdings of the Temple property in Panama. Please thank . . . on his behalf for this generous act on her part, an act which will be appreciated increasingly as time goes on and the Temple itself is erected.
14 As the Guardian has already sent a Message to all Conventions, he does not feel it necessary to make any exceptions and send special messages to different ones. Indeed the pressure of work here at the International Center is now so great, through the marvelous expansion of the Cause all over the world, that it is becoming increasingly impossible for him to communicate with so many Centers directly in separate messages.
Dear and valued co-workers:
15 The year which has just been concluded has witnessed a succession of achievements on the part of the members of the Central American Bahá’í Communities, and particularly of the elected body of their national rep resentatives, worthy of the highest commendation. In both the teaching and administrative spheres of Bahá’í activity, these newly-fledged Communities have demonstrated their firm attachment to the Faith they have espoused, their loyalty to its fundamental verities and principles, and their inflexible resolve to extend the range and reinforce the foundations of their collective and meritorious activities and achievements.
16 They are now, by virtue of the splendid services they have performed, the spirit they have so powerfully evinced, the noble example they have set, approaching a stage in the evolution of the Faith in that highly promising area of the globe, which bids fair to eclipse the magnificent efforts which have been exerted, and the noteworthy services which have been performed, since its inception in the Antilles and the Central American Republics. They will soon be entering a period which is destined to witness the emergence of Regional National Assemblies which are to be regarded as stepping-stones, paving the way for the ultimate establishment of independent National Spiritual Assemblies, which are destined to act as pillars, and participate directly in the formation, of the future International House of Justice, ordained by Bahá’u’lláh as the supreme Legislative Organ of His World Order.
17 Now is the time for these Communities to prepare themselves, in the course of the two fast-fleeting years separating them from the opening of the third phase of a World Spiritual Crusade, individually as well as collectively, to assume befittingly the staggering responsibilities so soon to be placed upon them.
18 They have, thus far, discharged their task with befitting courage, zeal and loyalty. The foundation they have securely laid must now be both enlarged and strengthened. The virgin areas of the globe, assigned to their elected representatives, under the Ten Year Plan, have been triumphantly and speedily opened. The translation and publication of the literature of the Faith into both the Spanish and Portuguese tongues have been vigorously undertaken. The plot whereon the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of Central America must needs be erected has been purchased in the Republic of Panama, the importance of which has been so clearly stressed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The first two of the historic National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds that are to be established in the capital cities of the Republics of Central America and the Islands of the Antilles have been acquired. A beginning has been made in the translation of Bahá’í literature into the American Indian languages spoken in those regions.
19 The tasks, now confronting them in the course of this current year and of the next, demand a still greater exertion on their part, a more complete dedication to the aims, purposes and principles of their Faith, a firmer resolve to achieve the immediate goals of their Ten Year Plan, and a still nobler self-sacrifice in the path of the Cause they have espoused and championed.
20 The two crucial years, constituting the concluding year of the second, and the opening year of the third, phase of the Ten Year Plan must be signalized, if they would prove themselves worthy of their stewardship to their Faith, by a series of achievements much more conspicuous than those that have distinguished the opening years in the annals of that Faith in Central America and the Antilles.
21 The number of the avowed adherents of the Faith must, throughout that area, be speedily and substantially increased. Simultaneously a notable multiplication of groups and Assemblies must be ensured in order to enlarge and reinforce the foundations of the forthcoming Regional National Assemblies. The incorporation of firmly established Local Spiritual Assemblies must likewise be expedited. The prizes won in distant and virgin fields must not only be preserved but continually enhanced. The translation of Bahá’í literature into the American Indian languages assigned under the Ten Year Plan must also be energetically prosecuted. The establishment of national endowments throughout that area must be, moreover, diligently undertaken and rapidly carried out. Above all, the purchase of National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds in the remaining Republics of Central America and the Antilles must, ere the conclusion of the second year of the second phase of the Ten Year Plan, be consummated.
22 Then, and only then, can the Central American Bahá’í Communities, that have won such superb victories in the past, confidently assume the sacred burden of responsibility incumbent upon them in the course of the third phase of this world-encircling Crusade. Then, and only then, can they demonstrate to the Bahá’í world their capacity to carry out in its entirety their share in ensuring the triumphant conclusion of this world-wide enterprise launched by the valiant upholders of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.
23 The tribulations now experienced by their brethren in the land of its birth should, far from crushing their spirit or dampening the zeal which animates them, infuse into them fresh courage and a more determined resolve to arise and compensate for the loss which the Cause is now sustaining. Individually as well as collectively, in their capacity as teachers and administrators, they should prove by their conduct the world-redeeming capacity of their Faith, demonstrate its incorruptible spirit, proclaim the sublimity of its teachings, and silence the criticism of its opponents.
24 Theirs is a glorious opportunity which they must not, in these days of test and trial, neglect. Theirs is a sacred duty which they must befittingly discharge. May they arise as one man, and, armed with the invincible power of Bahá’u’lláh, play their part in a manner that will bring everlasting consolation to the hearts of their persecuted brethren, and dishearten thoroughly those redoubtable adversaries who are so artfully and persistently laboring to undermine its foundations and extinguish its light.
Your true brother,
Shoghi
15
10 November 1955 [Peru]
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of South America
c/o Miss Dorothy Campbell, Secretary
Dear Bahá’í Friends:
1 Your loving letter of October 18th was duly received and presented to the beloved Guardian.
2 The Guardian feels that the instructions issued concerning membership in the Masonic lodges in the British Isles and the United States must likewise apply to membership in Freemasonry in South America. He has in mind of course his previous letter, in which he indicated that the National Assembly should have patience with Bahá’ís who have been Masons, Rosicrucians, Theosophists, etc. and they should be gradually weaned away from these former attachments.
3 The Guardian now feels that the friends must gradually give up these previous beliefs, and become firm and vigorous Bahá’ís, endeavoring to establish and spread the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. He therefore feels that your Assembly should take this matter in hand, to see that the friends gradually give up their attachment to their previous beliefs, including membership in the Masonic lodges.
4 The Guardian assures you of his prayers in your behalf, and sends you his loving greetings.
Faithfully yours,
Leroy Ioas
16
29 June 1956 [Peru]
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’í of South America
Care of Miss Dorothy Campbell, Secretary
Dear Bahá’í Friends:
1 Your letters of June 13, July 12, October 13, November 11 and November 16, 1955, and January 11, May 15 (two) and June 5th 1956, with enclosures have all been received by the beloved Guardian, and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.
2 The news received at Convention time of the marked progress of the Faith throughout South America, and the encouraging increase in centers, as well as the formation of new Assemblies, greatly cheered his heart, and exceeded his fond expectations of the nature of the report he might be getting from your Assembly, on the occasion of the beginning of the new Bahá’í administrative year.
3 He is indeed proud of the labors of the friends; and feels confident that, with such a spirit, and with this ever-increasing zeal and devotion which they are manifesting, they will be able to attain all their objectives, and, by the end of the Ten Year Crusade, have laid a truly firm and lasting foundation for the new national bodies which must be elected to represent the Bahá’ís of each Republic of South America.
4 No force is as important in spreading the Faith and carrying forward the teaching work as unity amongst the friends. When they co-operate with each other to achieve their objectives, they receive divine inspiration and assistance, which otherwise would be denied them. Unity is like a mirror, which attracts the rays of the sun of God’s bounty.
5 The very generous gift which . . . has made of some land constituting the national endowment for Chile was deeply appreciated, as well as the correspondingly generous and loving gift of . . . made for the same purpose in Brazil. He would like your Assembly to please thank these dear friends on his behalf for their constant devotion to the Faith and their generosity in helping to create its institutions.
6 The news of the arrival of so many Persian immigrants in Brazil augurs well for the development of new centers in that country. He feels that your Assembly should urge these Bahá’ís to settle as families or groups in new cities, where they form a nucleus of new Spiritual Assemblies, and not to congregate in the centers where there are already Assemblies.
7 It was a great pleasure to him to receive a member of the South American National Assembly as his guest here in Haifa, and to feel this renewed contact through the pilgrims with the believers of Latin America.
8 The remarkable progress which has been made in the purchase of the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds for the different South American Republics, as well as the commencement in obtaining the endowments for each of these Republics, has encouraged him greatly; and he feels sure that these buildings will be a rallying-point for the Bahá’ís, and inspire them and help them in their teaching work, as well as attracting the attention of the public to the Faith.
9 As regards the question you asked him about whether Nengre, which has already been translated, may be substituted for Arawak, he approves of this in view of the fact that there is no written language for Arawak. If the believers find that there are any other languages in common use amongst the indigenous population in South America, they could choose one of these as a substitute for Arawak, and thereby add an additional language to those chosen under the Ten Year Plan. He leaves this matter to the discretion of your Assembly.
10 He hopes that, during the coming year, the Bahá’ís laboring in South America will, encouraged by the sight of the feats they have accomplished already, forge ahead on the teaching front and establish many new centers and Assemblies.
11 His loving prayers and thoughts will be offered on their behalf and for all of you on the National Body who are so arduously and conscientiously toiling to lay the foundations of Bahá’u’lláh’s World Order in that important continent of the globe.
12 As regards the question about spiritualism, the Guardian does not feel that this is the time for him to make any special statement on this subject. Visiting teachers and the National Body must make every effort to wean the friends away from these practices, but we must not make too much of an issue of it at the moment. There are more important things for the friends to concentrate their attention upon, namely, the establishment of new Assemblies and groups.
13 Your letter of June 5th has also been received and the Guardian wishes me to acknowledge it on his behalf.
14 He assures you all of his most loving prayers for your success.
With warm Bahá’í greetings,
R. Rabbani
Dear and valued co-workers:
15 The remarkable expansion of the activities of the South American Bahá’í Community, both at home, and in the territories assigned to it, in accordance with the provisions of the Ten Year Plan, particularly during the last twelve months, has been highly encouraging, and has served to deepen my admiration for the devotion of its members to the Faith and my confidence in their ultimate success. The Community now stands on the threshold of a new era in the evolution of the Faith in Latin America. The rapidity with which the nascent institutions of a divinely appointed Order have developed, first under the direct supervision of the United States National Assembly, and, in later years, under the guidance of your Assembly, has paved the way for the opening of such a glorious Chapter in the history of the Faith in Latin America. The loyalty of the members of this Community, their high and persistent endeavors, their inflexible resolve, their vigilance, perseverance, and self-sacrifice have, no doubt, hastened the attainment of such a landmark in the evolution of the Cause of God in that continent. I truly marvel at the vastness of the work accomplished, the multiplicity of the activities which have been initiated, the steady consolidation of the institutions that have been created, the increasing maturity of the rank and file of the believers, their unity and solidarity, and the growing evidences of their ability to conduct, independently and efficiently, the affairs of the Faith, and to carry it a stage further along the road leading to its eventual triumph and the fulfillment of its high destiny.
16 Particularly gratifying has been the success that has attended, in the course of the past year, the exertions of your Assembly to multiply the institutions of the Faith, to establish its administrative centers, to purchase its endowments, to swell the number of its supporters, to enlarge both the local and national Funds designed to support its institutions, to expand its literature, and consolidate the foundations laid by its pioneers. The Concourse on high cannot but applaud such vigorous action, such concerted effort, such selfless devotion, such dogged perseverance, such fidelity to the wishes of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and such unwavering determination to achieve their part of the global task entrusted to His loved ones under the Ten Year Plan.
17 Though much has been achieved, in divers fields of Bahá’í activity, the year destined to usher in this highly promising era, which is to witness the erection of the pillars of the Universal House of Justice in that vast continent, must needs witness a still greater consecration on the part of the South American believers, young and old of both sexes, whether veterans or newly enrolled, at home as well as in the newly opened territories, in both the teaching and administrative fields, and in spite of any obstacles, however formidable, that may stand in their way.
18 As the day approaches when the long-awaited provisional Regional Assemblies will have emerged, an effort, on the part of each and all members of this valiant, this firmly established, great-hearted, high-minded Community, more determined and consecrated than ever before; a spirit of heroism nobler than any that has thus far been displayed; a courage more inspiring than that which has animated them thus far; and a self-abnegation unsurpassed since the inception of the Faith in Latin America, must needs be displayed, in order to adequately meet the challenge of the mountainous tasks that are to be faced in the future, and to discharge befittingly the responsibilities which are soon to confront them.
19 The multiplication of isolated centers, groups and Assemblies must, meanwhile, continue unabated. The process of the incorporation of Local Assemblies must not be allowed to lag. The establishment of Bahá’í endowments must be speeded up. The efforts exerted to enroll a great number of American Indians under the banner of the Faith must be redoubled. The translation of Bahá’í literature into the Spanish, the Portuguese and the Indian languages must be given a tremendous impetus. The newly opened territories, won over at the cost of so much sacrifice, must, under no circumstances, be jeopardized, but rather should be closely watched and consolidated. The number of the adherents of the Faith must be considerably increased and given first priority by your Assembly. Above all, the spirit animating its avowed supporters must, through every possible means, be fortified, and enriched.
20 The South American Bahá’í Community, through the qualities it exhibits, the acts it has performed, the strides it has made, the fame it has won, ranks high amongst its sister communities both in the Western Hemisphere and throughout the Bahá’í world.
21 The Author of the Cause it serves so diligently and devotedly is well pleased with the range of the exertions of this Community, the victories it has successively won, the bright prospects now opening before it. His manifold blessings will, no doubt, be fully and unreservedly vouchsafed to its members, without exception, if they but persevere along the path they have chosen to tread.
22 I will, in my admiration for their high endeavors, for their extraordinary progress, and their enduring achievements, continue to pray for them all, with redoubled ardor, that they may, in the days to come, march to victory, and enrich immeasurably the annals of God’s Cause in that highly promising continent.
Shoghi
17
30 June 1956 [Panama]
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Central America
Care of Mr. Esteban Canales L., Secretary
Dear Bahá’í Friends:
1 Your letters of October 28, 1955 and January 5, 1956, with enclosures, have been received by the beloved Guardian; and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.
2 He has been made very happy over the news of the progress of the Faith throughout Latin America during the past year. Especially the purchase of all of the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds and the commencement in obtaining the national endowments have been very encouraging, and show that the believers are full of vitality and determination. He feels sure that these buildings will be a rallying-point for the local communities, and a marked asset in teaching the Faith to the public. He hopes that, during the coming year, every Central American Republic will have its Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds and its national endowment; and that there will be a tremendous increase in the number of Bahá’ís, groups and Assemblies, throughout the area under the jurisdiction of your Assembly.
3 The friends must be made to realize that the increase of Assemblies, in other words, teaching work, is the most important of their activities, because on the achievements in this field must rest the foundations of the future independent National Assemblies throughout that area—National Assemblies which will supersede in not very many years’ time the Regional Assemblies to be elected next April. Therefore, too much attention cannot be given to the teaching work.
4 Far from feeling discouraged, the Bahá’ís must look upon the tremendous advantages they possess. They not only have the vision of the future, but Bahá’u’lláh has placed in their hands the means of attaining it; namely, His Administrative Order and its institutions.
5 To the degree to which the friends learn to function lovingly and harmoniously, in full consultation and co-operation, will be the degree of their success in attracting new souls, and creating new Assemblies.
6 It was a great pleasure to him to receive here one of the Central American Community members as a pilgrim. The news which the pilgrims can bring of the activities in their region is always most welcome; and the fact that they have been able to visit the holy Shrines, and can carry back to their Community fresh inspiration, is indeed a great privilege and bounty. He hopes the day will come when many of the friends from Latin America can make the pilgrimage.
7 The pioneers which the Central American friends have been able to send out to different parts of the globe should indeed be a great source of comfort and inspiration to them. When they realize what the young couple, Mr. and Mrs. Fernie, have achieved in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, they must feel truly awestruck and proud, as well as challenged to follow in their footsteps.
8 He hopes that, during the coming year, many more of the Latin friends will arise to reinforce the weak points, go out into the virgin territories, and become more active in every way they can in the teaching work on the home front.
9 He assures you all and, through you, the believers whom you represent, that he will remember you all in the holy Shrines, and pray for your success in every field of Bahá’í activity.
With warm Bahá’í love,
R. Rabbani
Dear and valued co-workers:
10 I have, in recent years, and particularly during the year just concluded, noted, with increasing admiration and hope, the remarkable progress achieved by the Central American Bahá’í community in the discharge of their manifold responsibilities under the Ten Year Plan. The task entrusted to them is admittedly vast, complex and highly challenging. Thus far, though their resources are still inadequate, their numbers small, and their experience limited, they have through their response to the call that has been sounded, and the demonstration of the quality of their devotion and the character of their faith, as well as through the range of their accomplishments, amply justified the hopes which I, as well as their parent community, have cherished for them. No less is the admiration felt by their sister communities the world over for their notable share in the prosecution of the world spiritual Crusade, now engaging the attention of the entire Bahá’í world.
11 The purchase of the administrative headquarters of the elected representatives of all the national communities in Central America; the establishment of Bahá’í endowments; the opening of the virgin territories assigned to them; the consolidation of the home front through the multiplication of isolated centers, and groups and Assemblies; the steady increase in the number of the newly enrolled believers; the splendid work initiated among the Central American Indians; the incorporation of Local Assemblies, the purchase of the Temple site in Panama—these stand out as the most significant among the collective achievements of this valiant, forward-marching, steadily consolidating, much loved community.
12 The work, so auspiciously inaugurated, and now so vigorously pursued, is, however, still in the early stages of its development. The forthcoming formation of two Regional Assemblies, marking yet another milestone along the road leading that community towards the achievement of its high destiny, must lend an unprecedented impetus to the advancement of the Faith, in all spheres of activity, both at home and abroad, thus paving the way for, and hastening the fulfillment of, the final and most glorious objective of the Plan—the emergence of an independent National Spiritual Assembly in each of the Republics of Central America and the Antilles.
13 Particular emphasis should be placed upon the twin immediate objectives, calling for the sustained and undivided attention of the Central American Bahá’í community, namely the further consolidation of the home front through a still more rapid multiplication of the avowed supporters of the Faith, of isolated centers, groups, and Assemblies, as well as through the preservation of the newly opened territories.
14 A more universal participation on the part of the rank and file of the believers in these meritorious and urgent tasks, a greater degree of heroic self-sacrifice, a fuller measure of consecration, and a more dogged perseverance, are the pressing needs of the present hour.
15 Every obstacle barring the way must be speedily surmounted. Every other consideration must be subordinated to the inescapable demands of this world-encompassing, majestically advancing Crusade. The confidence of those brave warriors crusading for Bahá’u’lláh must, above all, remain unshaken. Setbacks, if any, should, far from dampening their zeal, spur them on to more strenuous efforts, and impel them to achieve still nobler victories.
16 The Author of the Tablets of the Divine Plan, as recorded by His own infallible Pen, watches over their historic labors, and will unfailingly sustain, bless and crown their high endeavors. The Author of the Faith Himself has unmistakably promised to vouchsafe His aid to whomsoever will arise to aid His Cause.
17 Nothing short of active and continued participation in the manifold activities of this mighty and divinely propelled Plan can ensure the flow of that divine grace that can alone bring about its final consummation.
18 May this community, so youthful, so virile, that can well boast, among its exploits, so stirring a victory as that recently achieved by two of its former members in a distant island of the South Pacific, add fresh laurels to the crown it has already won, and contribute still more notably, through still more brilliant achievements, in its homeland as well as in distant fields, to the enrichment of the annals of the Faith in Latin America.
Shoghi
18
30 July 1956 [Panama]
Mr. Esteban Canales, Secretary
Central American National Spiritual Assembly
Dear Bahá’í Brother:
1 Please consider this as a postscript added to the letter of the beloved Guardian recently mailed you; since writing it he has received your letter of June 15th.
2 As regards questions raised in this letter: Local Assemblies established in the virgin American areas cannot participate in the election of the Regional National Spiritual Assemblies. As Jamaica has already participated in the establishment of the Central American National Spiritual Assembly it may participate in the elections for the Regional National Spiritual Assembly. Bermuda likewise, as it is not a virgin area.
3 The islands around Nassau should be on the isolated list, and, as the number of believers increases, form their own Local Assemblies.
4 The Guardian has instructed the Bahá’ís everywhere that they should withdraw from Masonic lodges. What Mr. Ioas wrote applies to Central America.
5 Another pioneer should by all means be sent to the Gilbert and Ellice Islands as the situation there has improved. The Guardian attaches the greatest importance to this.
6 It is quite correct to appoint National Teaching Committees for the virgin areas to promote the work there.
7 The Guardian sends you all his loving greetings,
With Bahá’í love,
R. Rabbani
8 P. S. He will specially pray for the success of the activities of the two National Teaching Committees.
19
24 October 1956 [Panama]
Mr. Esteban Canales, Secretary
Central American National Spiritual Assembly
Dear Bahá’í Brother:
1 As regards the questions you raised in your recent letter, concerning provision of funds for pioneers, the beloved Guardian feels that, as the new Latin American National Spiritual Assemblies will be elected in about six months’ time, there is no use going into these matters now. No doubt, many adjustments will have to be made to meet the new phase the Faith in Latin America is entering, and the time to consider these matters will be when the new regional bodies are formed.
With loving greetings,
R. Rabbani
20
26 April 1957 [National Spiritual Assembly of Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia]
1 ASSURE NEWLY ELECTED ASSEMBLY BUENOS AIRES FERVENT LOVING PRAYERS PROMOTION INTERESTS FAITH ATTAINMENT GOALS PLAN.
21
July 1, 1957
Mrs. Dee Worth, Secretary
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Greater Antilles
Dear Bahá’í Sister:
1 Your communications, together with enclosures, have arrived safely, and the beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer you on his behalf, and to acknowledge receipt of your letters dated May 5 and 17.
2 He was very happy to see the photographs of your convention and the new Assembly, and has placed the latter in the mansion, where the visiting friends can enjoy seeing the members of this new national body.
3 It was a great disappointment, he knows, to the Haitian believers to be deprived at the last moment of acting as host to this historic convention, also of not being able to send their delegates to Jamaica. However, whenever the situation improves in that part of the world and circumstances permit, they have the assurance of knowing that the seat of the national body will be in Port-au-Prince, so they can afford to be patient.
4 Your Assembly was certainly born in a very auspicious atmosphere, and he hopes that the love, unity and enthusiasm which pervaded the convention will animate you all during the coming year, and, through you, stream out to the communities it is your privilege to serve and guide. More important than any material consideration is the spirit which animates the believers and their administrative bodies. When the spirit is right, the blessings will be far greater, because they can flow unhindered through a pure channel. The degree to which all over the world the Bahá’í community is becoming representative of the vast majority of the human race, in other words, non-whites, is very salutary. As the majority of the people in at least three countries under your Assembly’s jurisdiction are negro, they will, he hopes, become the predominating element in the communities. However, the minorities, Spanish, Americans etc. should receive attention also, in order to demonstrate the representative character of our Faith and the extreme kindness we always show to those who are minorities, in order to compensate them for what is a disability in political circles, but not in our Faith.
5 The most important work of all is the teaching work, and he hopes you will encourage the friends all the time to go forth and teach. You must help the believers to realize that ultimately it is upon each individual that the progress of the Faith depends. The Bahá’ís are prone to attaching too much emphasis to their being on Assemblies and committees. This kind of work is essential, because somebody has to do it, but it is not the most important. The individual responsibility to teach the Faith is the most important thing of all, and this has been clearly pointed out by Bahá’u’lláh, Himself.
6 There is a tendency, a very natural one, of administrative bodies to want to administer, and consequently to build up rules and regulations, and deluge the friends with admonitions. The Guardian has seen this take place so many times in his own experience in watching over the interests of our Faith, that he feels it wise to warn you against allowing this tendency to creep upon you unawares, so to speak. There must be a free flow of strength, stimulation and energy going out to all the centers, and not a flow of detailed instructions. To the degree to which your Assembly is able to accomplish this, will it demonstrate its maturity. To complicate matters is invariably a sign of immaturity; true wisdom is to simplify them.
7 He feels sure this is going to be a wonderful year of achievement in that area. The fact that what were previously the Central American and South American National Spiritual Assemblies have split up into four new regional bodies cannot but of itself strengthen the work, and stimulate and challenge the friends. It also, through making it more wieldy, by compromising a smaller unit, enables your Assembly to carry on its affairs in a much more efficient manner. Naturally this applies equally to your three sister Latin American Assemblies.
8 You may be sure that, as you carry forward your activities, formulate the details of your Six Year Plan, aid the friends to spread the Faith, increase your Assemblies, groups and isolated centers—in short, in all that you do—you will be surrounded by his most loving prayers, and he will be eagerly anticipating a row of sizeable and concrete victories presented to your second convention next Riḍván.
With warm Bahá’í greetings,
R. Rabbani
Dear and valued co-workers:
9 The emergence of an independent Bahá’í community in the Greater Antilles, attested by the formation of a separate Regional Spiritual Assembly for that area, situated between the North and South American continents, is a clear and convincing indication of the remarkable progress achieved, in recent years, by the followers of the Faith both in Central America and the neighboring islands. The work already achieved by the members of this valiant community, both in its quality and range, and despite formidable obstacles, is indeed worthy of the highest praise, and augurs well for the eventual formation of a separate National Assembly in each of the islands and republics included in that area.
10 A task of unprecedented significance and highly challenging in its nature now confronts the members of this steadfast, consecrated and virile community. The obstacles standing in their path are varied and numerous. The field in which their elected representatives are called upon to operate is admittedly vast, and its pitfalls are many and far from negligible. Nothing short of a continuous and systematic effort, and an unyielding determination to tear down every barrier obstructing their path, and a wholehearted consecration to the collective enterprise they have embarked upon, can ensure, during the fast fleeting years which lie immediately ahead, the attainment of their goals and the opening of a still more glorious chapter in the annals of their Faith in that highly-promising region.
11 The Six Year Plan, launched on the morrow of their first historic convention, should be regarded as the primary and effectual instrument for the achievement of the goals they are now summoned to attain. Its most vital objective—the rapid and unprecedented increase of the number of the avowed supporters of the Faith throughout that area—must receive the earnest and immediate consideration of all those who share in the prosecution of this Plan. Simultaneously, a concerted effort on the part of the members of this community and their elected representatives must be made to ensure the multiplication of isolated centers, of groups and of Local Assemblies, for the purpose of broadening and reinforcing the foundations of a steadily rising Administrative Order. All firmly grounded Assemblies must, moreover, be incorporated in order to strengthen still further the basis of these newly fledged administrative institutions. Equally important is the obligation to secure from the authorities concerned recognition of the Bahá’í marriage certificates as well as of the Bahá’í holy days. Particular attention should be directed to the work initiated in the newly opened territories allocated to the former National Assembly of Central America and of the Greater Antilles, for the purpose of enlarging the scope, and of contributing to the stability, of the institutions so laboriously erected in those regions. The establishment of Bahá’í summer schools and the dissemination of Bahá’í literature, are, furthermore, objectives of vital importance which should, under no circumstances, be either forgotten or neglected. And, last but not least, the selection and purchase of a site in each of the republics and islands included in that area for the future construction of a Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, is a task which should be carefully considered and energetically carried out.
12 A collective enterprise, at once so vast and so arduous, to be accomplished during so brief a period, by a community so limited in the number of its members, and so restricted in its material resources, and whose field embraces so wide an area, merits, from the very hour of its inception, the highest degree of consecration, and calls for the utmost vigilance and self-sacrifice, as well as an inflexible resolve on the part of its participants to crown it with speedy and unqualified success.
13 Now is the time for the followers of the Most Great Name throughout the Greater Antilles to display these very qualities so essential for the consummation of their epoch-making task. Now is the time for them to rise to such heights as to astonish their brethren, not only in Latin America and throughout the Western Hemisphere, but in every continent of the globe.
14 That they may discharge their weighty responsibilities in a manner that befits their high calling, and to a degree that will draw forth from the Source on High a still fuller measure of celestial grace and divine assistance that will enable them to advance still more rapidly on the high road of their destiny, is a hope that I greatly cherish—and the object of my ardent prayers.
Shoghi
22
3 July 1957
Miss Dorothy Campbell, Secretary
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela
Dear Bahá’í Sister:
1 Your communications with their enclosures and material sent under separate cover have all arrived safely, and the beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer you on his behalf, and to acknowledge receipt of your letters dated: May 5, 6 (two), 8 (two), 12, 29 and June 10.
2 Before the division of the South American National Assembly into two new Regional Bodies, the Guardian received many letters from the old Assembly, which he is not acknowledging according to date, but they arrived safely. As many matters in the correspondence with the old Assembly were attended to by separate letter to the Secretary, I will not go into them again here.
3 As regards the question you asked him about purchasing Temple sites, these should be in the neighborhood of the capital city of the country in question, and within reasonable driving distance, so that they can be reached by bus or by train without too much difficulty. Naturally if it were closer to the city, it would be preferable, but often land close to capital cities is very expensive.
. . .
4 He was happy to see the progress made during the past year in establishing new Spiritual Assemblies. He feels sure that the division of the Spiritual Assembly into two areas will make it much easier for the new National Bodies to function—even though the distances encompassed under their jurisdiction are so vast, it is nevertheless an improvement over the past.
5 He hopes there will be a great deal more teaching activity during the present year, and that the Latin American Bahá’ís will increasingly feel that this is their Faith, and consequently their obligation, primarily, to spread it amongst their own people. Great as are the services rendered by pioneers, and unforgettable as are the deeds they accomplish, they cannot take the place of the indigenous element, which must constitute the bedrock of the Community, carry on its own affairs, build its own institutions, support its own funds, publish its own literature, etc. A mother gives birth to a child, but the child then has to grow for itself. The older it gets, the more responsible it is for its own acts. The Latin American friends are rapidly coming of age, and they are showing this by the manner in which they are arising to serve the Faith, to demonstrate it, to sacrifice for it, to protect it and consolidate it.
6 He hopes there will be a marked increase in centers throughout the area under your jurisdiction during the coming months, and that, by next Riḍván, your Assembly will rest on a much wider foundation of Local Assemblies than at the time of its election.
7 Your Assembly should devote particular attention to getting the Bahá’í Publishing Trust established in Brazil, as per the requirements of the Ten Year Plan. You cannot very well have a Branch under your jurisdiction in Buenos Aires, which is located in a territory under the jurisdiction of your sister Assembly.
8 You should keep in close touch with your sister National Assemblies as regards all publications in Spanish. The responsible com mittees should concentrate on having literature available in good readable Spanish, and accurate as to subject matter—particularly the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá should be translated from the books already available in English, and these should be published as soon as feasible.
9 He was surprised to hear, in a recent letter from one of the friends in Venezuela, that the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds has not yet been purchased there, and feels that your Assembly, in collaboration with the American National Spiritual Assembly, should make a concerted effort to resolve this problem, as it is the last remaining National Headquarters which, according to the Ten Year Plan’s provisions, needs to be acquired in Latin America.
With warm Bahá’í greetings,
R. Rabbani
Dear and valued co-workers:
10 I welcome, with feelings of exultation and pride, the formation of the Regional Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís residing in the Northern Republics of the South American continent—an event of enduring and far-reaching significance in the annals of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in Latin America. The emergence of this interim Regional Spiritual Assembly should be hailed as the forerunner of the independent National Spiritual Assemblies which, in the course of the evolution of the Ten Year Plan, are to be firmly established in these Republics, and which will signalize the triumphant termination of yet another epoch in the history of the evolution of the Administrative Order of that Faith in the South American continent.
11 That the Bahá’í communities, laboring so devotedly and so assiduously in these five Republics, should have, as a result of their steadfast exertions and wholehearted response to the Message of the New Day, reached so swiftly so important a milestone on the high road of their glorious destiny proclaims, in no uncertain terms, the high quality of the faith which animates their members, and evokes in the hearts of all those who have, in recent years, watched the development of the institutions committed to their charge, feelings of unqualified admiration, and reinforces their confidence in the capacity of these rapidly advancing, steadily consolidating communities to achieve their ultimate objectives.
12 The selfsame diligence, fidelity and perseverance which have so markedly characterized their stewardship of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh in the past, must henceforth distinguish their collective endeavors. Nothing short of the highest degree of dedication, of complete unity and harmony, and of an inflexible resolve to attain their goals, can guarantee such a consummation and set the seal of triumph on the historic undertaking upon which they have embarked.
13 The Six Year Plan, on which the attention of the members of these communities must be focused, should be regarded by them as the chief and unfailing instrument for the execution of their high purpose. All, both young and old, veterans as well as newly-enrolled, must participate with unflagging energy, with complete consecration and undeviating loyalty.
14 A supreme effort must be made to swell, as rapidly as possible, the number of the avowed supporters of the Faith in each of these Republics, and to multiply the isolated centers, groups and Local Assemblies constituting the foundations of the rising Bahá’í Administrative Order in these extensive territories. All firmly established Assemblies must, moreover, be incorporated in order to consolidate the foundations of this Administrative Structure. Recognition must, likewise, be secured from the authorities concerned for the Bahá’í Marriage Certificate as well as the Bahá’í Holy Days. The historic work initiated, so laboriously and so auspiciously, in the newly opened territories, allocated to the Bahá’í communities of South America, must be zealously pursued, extended and reinforced. The translation, publication and dissemination of Bahá’í literature in the Spanish, Portuguese and American Indian languages is yet another task which must be carried out with the utmost care, efficiency, vigor and vigilance. The increase in the number of summer schools, and the lending of a fresh impetus to the conversion of the American Indians and of other Minorities must henceforth receive the close and uninterrupted attention of all those who are primarily responsible for the prosecution of this Plan. The Publishing Trust to be established in the capital city of Brazil, and constituting one of the foremost objectives of the Ten Year Plan, should be speedily and firmly established. And, last but not least, a site should be selected and purchased, in each of the four remaining Republics, for the purpose of the construction, at a future date, of a Mother Temple in each of these countries.
15 Upon the complete and befitting discharge of the admittedly weighty responsibilities now resting upon the privileged, elected representatives of these five communities, in this crucial, transitional period of their evolution within the orbit of the embryonic World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, must, to a marked degree, depend their entering a new and still more significant stage in the unfoldment of the potentialities of the Mission which, as decreed by the Almighty, they are called upon to bring to a successful conclusion.
16 The opportunities now given them by the Supreme Author of their destiny must be seized with eagerness, confidence and promptitude. Theirs is the golden chance to approach and discharge their tasks, which are at once sacred and inescapable, in a spirit and in a manner that will win the unqualified esteem and unbounded admiration of their sister as well as parent communities throughout the Western Hemisphere.
17 My fervent and constant prayer for the members of this newly emerged Assembly, as well as for all those whom they represent within the confines of these Republics, is that they may never falter, fail or flinch in the task they shoulder, that they may rather go on from strength to strength until they hold the palm of total victory in their hands, and merit thereby the applause of the Concourse on high and a still fuller measure of the blessings promised by the Divine Author of their Faith to all who will arise to glorify His Name and contribute to the ultimate triumph of His divinely appointed Order.
Shoghi
23
28 July 1957
Mrs. Amy McAllister, Secretary
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Central America and Mexico
Dear Bahá’í Sister:
1 The beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer on his behalf your letters (two) dated May 30, (two) June 26, and July 16, and acknowledge receipt of the enclosures.
2 He was delighted to hear that the Convention was such a success, and that the Hand of the Cause, Mr. Khadem, was able to visit so many centers throughout that region. He feels sure that the spirit he imparted to the friends, as well as the stirring events of the Convention and the election of your Assembly, will all mark a turning point in the work in that area and give the forward march of the Faith a new impetus.
3 Now that the new Regional Assemblies in Latin America have been formed, and that each one embraces a more limited area than the previous Central and South American Assemblies, the work should be much easier to handle, and therefore go ahead much faster. He anticipates great things from your Assembly and is eagerly awaiting news of fresh victories.
4 The paramount task is, of course, the teaching work; at every session your Assembly should give it close attention, considering everything else of secondary importance. Not only must many new Assemblies be developed, as well as groups and isolated centers, but special attention must be focused on the work of converting the Indians to the Faith. The goal should be all-Indian Assemblies, so that these much exploited and suppressed original inhabitants of the land may realize that they are equals, and partners in the affairs of the Cause of God, and that Bahá’u’lláh is the Manifestation of God for them.
5 Another of the important tasks facing your body is that of purchasing sites for future Temples in the outskirts of the capital cities of all the Republics under your jurisdiction, with the exception of Panama, which has its Temple site already. The land need not be large, two or three acres being quite sufficient for our purposes at this time; it need not be in the city but anywhere within a radius of fifteen kilometers; and economy should be borne in mind. If, when the time comes to build a House of Worship, the site is not suitable, it can be exchanged or sold and another one acquired.
6 Wherever the laws permit, firmly established Local Assemblies should be incorporated, thus laying a foundation on which the future independent National Spiritual Assemblies can build when they come into being.
7 Every step forward in the expansion of our glorious Faith releases new spiritual energies. The believers, as well as your Assembly, must seize upon this opportunity they now have with both hands, and arise to new levels of self-sacrifice, service and dedication, confident that Bahá’u’lláh is only waiting for the instruments to be put in His hands in order to fulfill His Divine purpose.
8 The Guardian assures you he will support you, one and all, with his prayers, and supplicate that you may be guided in carrying out your great work, strengthened and protected.
With warm Bahá’í greetings,
R. Rabbani
Dear and valued co-workers:
9 The formation of a Regional Spiritual Assembly representing the Bahá’í Communities of Central America and Mexico, with its seat fixed in the capital city of a Republic the future of which the pen of the Center of Bahá’u’lláh’s Covenant has extolled, is, indeed, an auspicious event of far-reaching significance, to be acclaimed as the forerunner of no less than seven National Spiritual Assemblies, designed to support, each as a separate pillar, the noble and divinely-conceived structure of the Universal House of Justice.
10 There can be no doubt that the remarkable progress achieved, singly and collectively, in both the teaching and administrative fields, by the followers of the Most Great Name, laboring, in the course of two decades, so diligently, for the propagation of His Faith, throughout the length and breadth of an area linking the northern and southern continents of the Western Hemisphere, has been responsible for this great step forward that has been taken towards the consummation of so historic a task.
11 The various and urgent enterprises, now challenging both their spirit and resources, demand a consecration as complete, a resolve as firm, and a zeal as ardent as any they have hitherto evinced.
12 The Six Year Plan formulated to enable them to meet the immediate requirements of their Mission should be prosecuted with the utmost diligence. Attention, on the part of all the members of the seven Bahá’í communities participating in this World Crusade, as well as their elected representatives, should be continually focused on its objectives.
13 A systematic effort must be made by the rank and file of these communities to increase rapidly the number of the avowed supporters of the Faith, of isolated centers, of groups and of Local Spiritual Assemblies. Every firmly grounded Assembly should, at the earliest opportunity, be incorporated for the purpose of reinforcing the foundations of the rising structure of a divinely conceived Administrative Order. Every avenue should, moreover, be explored in order to obtain recognition from the civil authorities concerned of the Bahá’í Marriage Certificate and of the Bahá’í Holy Days. Nor must the meritorious work, so zealously undertaken in the newly opened virgin territories, be, under any circumstances, neglected. The translation of Bahá’í literature into the Spanish and Indian American languages, its publication and dissemination, should, likewise, be carried out with efficiency and vigor. The all-important enterprise, aimed at winning the wholehearted allegiance of the members of various tribes of American Indians to the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh, and at ensuring their active and sustained participation in the conduct of its administrative affairs, must likewise be seriously considered and strenuously pursued. And, last but not least, a site of modest dimensions should, in the neighborhood of the capital cities of each of these seven Republics, with the exemption of Panama, be chosen and promptly purchased, designed to pave the way for the ultimate erection of a Mother Temple in each of these Republics.
14 Marvelous opportunities, which if not seized at once may not recur, have been vouchsafed, at this auspicious hour, to the prosecutors of this historic and momentous Plan, on which the immediate destinies of these communities, now gathered under the shadow of Bahá’u’lláh, depend. Theirs is the privilege and sacred duty to exploit them to the full, ere it is too late, and to play their part, befittingly as the co-executors of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Divine Plan and members of that band of Crusaders now battling for the triumph of His Father’s Cause, in building up the institutions, and in broadening and reinforcing the foundations, of the embryonic World Order of His Faith in the heart of the Western Hemisphere.
15 No matter how severe the tests and trials they may encounter, however arduous the task that confronts them, they must, one and all, pursue steadily the path they now tread, with undimmed vision, undeviating loyalty, unstinted devotion and unyielding determination, until the Plan they are pledged to execute will have been carried out in its entirety, and the fondest expectations entertained for their success by their watchful brethren throughout the Western Hemisphere, and, indeed, in every continent of the globe, are triumphantly fulfilled.
16 May the Spirit of Bahá’u’lláh bountifully sustain them while discharging their manifold and pressing responsibilities, and may the Author of the Divine Plan, Whose design they are painstakingly laboring to create, and Whose mandate they have willingly arisen to obey, guide every step they take, remove every obstacle obstructing their path, fulfill every hope they cherish, and enable them, through a still greater measure of His abounding grace, promised unequivocally to all those who will respond to His call, to write an unforgettable chapter in Latin American Bahá’í history, and contribute a share to its enrichment which posterity will never cease to extol.
Shoghi
24
29 July 1957
Mr. Athos Costas, Secretary
National Spiritual Assembly of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay
Dear Bahá’í Brother:
1 Your letters dated May 25 and June 1, with enclosures and photographs, have been received by the beloved Guardian, and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.
2 The formation of four Regional Spiritual Assemblies in Latin America marks a great step forward in the progress of the work being carried out in the Western hemisphere. He feels sure that all those responsible for the administrative work will find that, through this division into smaller units, the teaching work will now go forward much faster and the problems that inevitably arise can be dealt with more efficiently and with greater firsthand knowledge of the reasons that caused them.
3 He was sorry that he felt it necessary to insist that the secretary of your Assembly must be located in Buenos Aires, so that the Secretariat can be located in the Headquarters of this region; this is a general principle which he has insisted the friends adhere to everywhere. A situation similar to yours arose in Scandinavia, where the secretary was in Oslo instead of Stockholm, and a change was necessary there also. As the Ten Year Crusade unfolds it is increasingly important for the work to go forward in a uniform manner and according to general principles applicable to all.
4 The reports he has received of your first Convention were most encouraging, and he has great hopes for the future of your work in that area of South America under your jurisdiction. The Hand of the Cause, Mr. Varqá, was deeply impressed by the spirit of devotion he found amongst the friends there, and submitted a most enthusiastic report to the Guardian.
5 As you formulate the goals which must receive your undivided attention during the coming years he urges you to bear in mind the most important one of all, namely the multiplication of the Spiritual Assemblies, the Groups and the isolated centers; this will ensure both breadth and depth in the foundations you are laying for the future independent National Bodies. The believers should be urged to consider individually the needs in their immediate region, and to go forth to pioneer in near and distant cities and towns. They must be encouraged by your Assembly to remember that small people, often poor and obscure people, have changed the course of human destiny more than people who started out with wealth, fame and security. It was the Sifter of Wheat who, in the early days of our Faith, arose and became a hero and martyr, not the learned priests of his city!
6 The news that one of the objectives of the next six years had already been achieved before the Guardian had announced it—namely the acquisition of a Temple site in Buenos Aires—pleased him greatly. This donation, coupled with that of the land so generously given many years ago by . . . , means that you have only three Temple sites to acquire, one in Bolivia, one in Uruguay and one in Paraguay. The area need not exceed three acres, and should be anywhere within fifteen kilometres of the capital cities of these countries. Economy should be carefully considered, and you should remember that, if at this time an ideal site is not within your reach, the plot you buy may, when the time comes to actually build the Temple, be exchanged or sold, and a more desirable site acquired.
7 Now that your Assembly has been formed and its seat is in Buenos Aires, he wishes you to consider the grave of the first martyr to be laid to rest in the southern part of the Western hemisphere as your special trust; it should be properly kept up, so that Bahá’ís, and the ever-watchful non-Bahá’ís, may see that it is befittingly maintained. The only comparable spot, within thousands of miles, is the resting place of the unique and glorious teacher, Martha Root, who is buried in Hawaii.
8 He was particularly happy to see that some of the Indian believers were present at the Convention. He attaches the greatest importance to teaching the original inhabitants of the Americas the Faith. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself has stated how great are their potentialities, and it is their right, and the duty of the non-Indian Bahá’ís, to see that they receive the Message of God for this day. One of the most worthy objectives of your Assembly must be the establishment of all-Indian Spiritual Assemblies. Other minorities should likewise be especially sought out and taught. The friends should bear in mind that in our Faith, unlike every other society, the minority, to compensate for what might be treated as an inferior status, receives special attention, love and consideration.
9 He urges your Assembly, as it embarks upon its great work, to refrain from introducing rules and regulations which serve no useful purpose at this time when the communities are small and undeveloped, and will only stifle the spirit of the friends and confuse them. Like a wise and loving parent the Assembly should conduct the affairs of the Bahá’ís, constantly and patiently, encouraging them and instilling enthusiasm for the work to be done.
10 He looks forward to receiving the news of many victories from your Assembly, and assures you, one and all, of his most loving prayers for your success, and that you may be strengthened and guided to carry out your manifold tasks with distinction.
With warm Bahá’í greetings,
R. Rabbani
Dear and valued co-workers:
11 The formation of the Regional Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís residing in the southern part of the vast South American continent may well be regarded by them, as well as by posterity, as an event of major importance, constituting a significant landmark in the history of the Faith in Latin America, which, by its very nature, must pave the way for the emergence, in the years immediately ahead, of no less than five independent National Spiritual Assemblies, each of which will act as a pillar of the mighty and divinely appointed institution of the Universal House of Justice.
12 The emergence of this transitional vitally important Assembly, whose seat has been fixed in the capital city of the largest and most outstanding of these Republics, in the neighborhood of which reposes the dust of one of the star-servants of Bahá’u’lláh and dearly-loved handmaid of the Center of His Covenant, for ever distinguished as the mother of two of the oldest communities in Europe and in the North American continent—the emergence of such an Assembly owes much to the ability, the devotion, the single-mindedness and perseverance with which the promoters of the Faith of God have labored so unitedly in that faraway section of the globe.
13 The opportunity which this momentous development in the progress and consolidation of Bahá’í institutions offers them, at this auspicious hour, is immense and infinitely precious. The responsibilities which such a progress confronts them with are manifold, sacred, pressing and inescapable. The reward which will undoubtedly crown their combined and consecrated efforts will be inestimable and enduring.
14 The most effective and speediest method, which can guarantee at once the befitting discharge of such weighty responsibilities, and the winning of so rich a reward is, no doubt, the wholehearted and systematic prosecution, on the part of all concerned, of the newly formulated Six Year Plan, on which the immediate destinies of each of these five communities now depend.
15 An effort, unsurpassed in its range and intensity in Latin American Bahá’í history, must be exerted by the members of these communities to increase the number of the avowed adherents of the Faith, to multiply the groups, and the isolated centers, as well as the Local Spiritual Assemblies. Whilst this strenuous and challenging task is being carried out every avenue should be explored in order to obtain the necessary recognition, from the civil authorities concerned, of the Bahá’í Marriage Certificate as well as of the Bahá’í Holy Days. Each and every firmly established Assembly throughout these Republics must, moreover, be incorporated for the purpose of reinforcing the legal basis of the rising Administrative Order now being so laboriously erected. The no less essential task of establishing the foundations of this Order in the newly opened virgin territories should simultaneously receive the close attention of the members of all Bahá’í communities, and particularly of their elected representatives. The translation, publication and dissemination of Bahá’í literature in both the Spanish and American Indian languages; the multiplication of summer schools; the acceleration of the process of converting the Negroes as well as the American Indians, and of encouraging them to take an active part in teaching the Faith to the members of their respective races, and to participate effectively in the administration of its affairs—these constitute additional and vital obligations which should, under no circumstances, be lost sight of nor be, for a moment, underrated. And, last but not least, a site of modest dimensions, in the neighborhood of the capital cities of the Republics of Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia, should be carefully selected and expeditiously purchased, as a prelude to the eventual erection of a Mother Temple in each of these Republics.
16 The field stretching before the members of these newly fledged communities, occupying so important a position in the South American continent, is extremely extensive, and the objectives to be attained, throughout its length and breadth, varied and highly challenging. The resources at the disposal of these communities are admittedly meager. The period of time assigned for the consummation of so tremendous and arduous a task is short and swiftly passing. The potentialities of that mysterious and propelling force which the Faith, with which these communities stand identified, inherently possesses are, however, such as to carry forward irresistibly their members towards the attainment of their goals, if they but arise to diligently accomplish, and persevere in the carrying out of, their sacred Mission.
17 That these communities, which have, since their inception, contributed so markedly to the rise and establishment of the embryonic World Order of Bahá’u’lláh throughout Latin America, may in the years immediately ahead, through the exertion of a concerted, a systematic and prodigious effort, unsurpassed in the annals of the Faith in the South American continent, promote, in both the teaching and administrative fields, its vital interests, and, whilst ensuring its protection, proclaim far and wide its fundamental verities, and noise abroad its fame, is a prayer that I will never cease to offer to the throne of Bahá’u’lláh in the course of my ardent supplications at the threshold of His Holy Shrine.
Shoghi
25
26 August 1957 [National Spiritual Assembly of Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela]
1 . . . ADVISE FILE BAHA’I MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE GOVERNMENT IN ADDITION CIVIL CEREMONY . . .
26
30 August 1957
Mr. Athos Costas, Secretary
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay
Dear Bahá’í Brother:
1 In answer to questions raised in your recent letter, the beloved Guardian feels that in view of the distances involved in Latin America, and the advantages Buenos Aires seems to offer as a place to publish Spanish literature, there can be two Publishing Trusts established, the one in Rio and the other in Buenos Aires.
2 The literature of the Faith can be gotten out by other Regional Assemblies than those which have the two Trusts in their area, but a practical basis should be the first consideration in making decisions, and the four Regional Assemblies should consult and do all they can within reason to support the two Trusts.
3 All details as regards which books to publish, how many, etc. are matters for consultation between the Regional Assemblies concerned, if there is a difference of opinion. If the Publishing Trust gets a straight order for a book, say in an Indian language, there is no reason to consult, except with the one Regional Assembly which is ordering it.
4 The Guardian has already said that questions arising from the apportioning of the virgin territories among the four National Spiritual Assemblies are matters for them to decide, and not for him.
5 He would be delighted if they added new territories, as this would increase the rapidly swelling number of countries and territories opened to our beloved Faith.
6 The devoted services of your Assembly are deeply appreciated, you may be sure.
With warm Bahá’í greetings,
R. Rabbani
27
26 September 1957
Mr. Athos Costas, Secretary
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay
Dear Bahá’í Brother:
1 In answer to the questions raised in your recent letter:
2 The Guardian has instructed me to say that companionate marriage, where there is no legal or religious marriage, is an immoral relationship, and we cannot accept as believers those who are openly behaving in this way.
3 Your Assembly should not remove the names of Bahá’ís from the voting list just because they do not attend meetings, or just because their addresses are unknown. It is hard to make Bahá’ís; and you must try and help them and reactivate them, and find those whose addresses are unknown if you can.
With warm Bahá’í greetings,
R. Rabbani
______________
1. The original endowment land was located at Loncoche. Land near Santiago was acquired later.