It is, therefore, to the teaching requirements of the Seven
Year Plan that the community of the American believers must henceforth direct
their careful and sustained attention. The entire community must, as one man,
arise to fulfill them. To teach the Cause of God, to proclaim its truths, to
defend its interests, to demonstrate, by words as well as by deeds, its
indispensability, its potency, and universality, should at no time be regarded
as the exclusive concern or sole privilege of Bahá’í administrative institutions,
be they Assemblies, or committees. All must participate, however humble their
origin, however limited their experience, however restricted their means,
however deficient their education, however pressing their cares and
preoccupations, however unfavorable the environment in which they live. “God,”
Bahá’u’lláh, Himself, has unmistakably revealed, “hath prescribed unto everyone
the duty of teaching His Cause.” “Say,” He further has written, “Teach ye the
Cause of God, O people of Bahá, for God hath prescribed unto everyone the duty
of proclaiming His Message, and regardeth it as the most meritorious of all
deeds.”
- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)