“the work of universal redemption proclaimed by Bahá’u’lláh”

So sad and moving a spectacle, bewildering as it must be to every observer unaware of the purposes, the prophecies, and promises of Bahá’u’lláh, far from casting dismay into the hearts of His followers, or paralyzing their efforts, cannot but deepen their faith, and excite their enthusiastic eagerness to arise and display, in the vast field traced for them by the pen of ‘Abdu’l Bahá, their capacity to play their part in the work of universal redemption proclaimed by Bahá’u’lláh. Every instrument in the administrative machinery which, in the course of several years, they have so laboriously erected must be fully utilized, and subordinated to the end for which it was created. The Temple, that proud embodiment of so rare a spirit of self-sacrifice, must likewise be made to play its part, and contribute its share to the teaching campaign designed to embrace the entire Western Hemisphere. 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

 

The “sweeping changes” to the world brought about by that “God-borne” “revolutionizing Force”

A world,

• dimmed by the steadily dying-out light of religion,
• heaving with the explosive forces of a blind and triumphant nationalism;
• scorched with the fires of pitiless persecution, whether racial or religious;
• deluded by the false theories and doctrines that threaten to supplant the worship of God and the sanctification of His laws;
• enervated by a rampant and brutal materialism;
• disintegrating through the corrosive influence of moral and spiritual decadence;
• and enmeshed in the coils of economic anarchy and strife—

such is the spectacle presented to men’s eyes, as a result of the sweeping changes which this revolutionizing Force, as yet in the initial stage of its operation, is now producing in the life of the entire planet. 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

The desire of “the Concourse on high” “to return unto this world” and “render some service to the threshold of the Abhá Beauty”

The undreamt-of opportunities offered through the operation of this Force—the American believers must now rise, and fully and courageously exploit them. “The holy realities of the Concourse on high,” writes ‘Abdu’l Bahá, “yearn, in this day, in the Most Exalted Paradise, to return unto this world, so that they may be aided to render some service to the threshold of the Abhá Beauty, and arise to demonstrate their servitude to His sacred Threshold.” 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

The operation of “a two-edged sword” and its effect on the world

That God-born Force, irresistible in its sweeping power, incalculable in its potency, unpredictable in its course, mysterious in its workings, and awe-inspiring in its manifestations—a Force which, as the Báb has written, “vibrates within the innermost being of all created things,” and which, according to Bahá’u’lláh, has through its “vibrating influence,” “upset the equilibrium of the world and revolutionized its ordered life”—such a Force, acting even as a two-edged sword, is, under our very eyes, sundering, on the one hand, the age-old ties which for centuries have held together the fabric of civilized society, and is unloosing, on the other, the bonds that still fetter the infant and as yet unemancipated Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

No Baha’i “can afford a moment’s hesitation”

The field is indeed so immense, the period so critical, the Cause so great, the workers so few, the time so short, the privilege so priceless, that no follower of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, worthy to bear His name, can afford a moment’s hesitation. 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

The unbelievable capacity released by the Báb

“The Báb,” ‘Abdu’l Bahá, moreover, has written, “hath said: ‘Should a tiny ant desire, in this day, to be possessed of such power as to be able to unravel the abstrusest and most bewildering passages of the Qur’án, its wish will no doubt be fulfilled, inasmuch as the mystery of eternal might vibrates within the innermost being of all created things.’ If so helpless a creature can be endowed with so subtle a capacity, how much more efficacious must be the power released through the liberal effusions of the grace of Bahá’u’lláh!” 

- Shoghi Effendi (Quoting ‘Abdu’l-Baha in ‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

An example of the transformative power of the Manifestation of God: - Peter, the chief disciple of Christ

“Peter,” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has testified, “according to the history of the Church, was also incapable of keeping count of the days of the week. Whenever he decided to go fishing, he would tie up his weekly food into seven parcels, and every day he would eat one of them, and when he had reached the seventh, he would know that the Sabbath had arrived, and thereupon would observe it.” If the Son of Man was capable of infusing into apparently so crude and helpless an instrument such potency as to cause, in the words of Bahá’u’lláh, “the mysteries of wisdom and of utterance to flow out of his mouth,” and to exalt him above the rest of His disciples, and render him fit to become His successor and the founder of His Church, how much more can the Father, Who is Bahá’u’lláh, empower the most puny and insignificant among His followers to achieve, for the execution of His purpose, such wonders as would dwarf the mightiest achievements of even the first apostle of Jesus Christ! 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

A point to keep in mind for those maintaining a “high and exalted position in the ranks of the community”: - “How often…have the lowliest adherents of the Faith, …been capable of winning victories for their Cause, before which the most brilliant achievements of the learned, the wise, and the experienced have paled.”

A high and exalted position in the ranks of the community, conferring as it does on its holder certain privileges and prerogatives, no doubt invests him with a responsibility that he cannot honorably shirk in his duty to teach and promote the Faith of God. It may, at times, though not invariably, create greater opportunities and furnish better facilities to spread the knowledge of that Faith, and to win supporters to its institutions. It does not, however, under any circumstances, necessarily carry with it the power of exercising greater influence on the minds and hearts of those to whom that Faith is presented. How often—and the early history of the Faith in the land of its birth offers many a striking testimony—have the lowliest adherents of the Faith, unschooled and utterly inexperienced, and with no standing whatever, and in some cases devoid of intelligence, been capable of winning victories for their Cause, before which the most brilliant achievements of the learned, the wise, and the experienced have paled.

- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

“God hath prescribed unto everyone the duty of proclaiming His Message, and regardeth it as the most meritorious of all deeds”

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’)

The Seven Year Plan: “The teaching aspect” – Temple “should be regarded…an instrument for a more effective propagation of the Cause and a wider diffusion of its teachings”

The teaching aspect of the Plan must now be pondered. Its challenge must be met, and its requirements studied, weighed, and fulfilled. Superb and irresistible as is the beauty of the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of the West, majestic as are its dimensions, unique as is its architecture, and priceless as are the ideals and the aspirations which it symbolizes, it should be regarded, at the present time, as no more than an instrument for a more effective propagation of the Cause and a wider diffusion of its teachings. In this respect it should be viewed in the same light as the administrative institutions of the Faith which are designed as vehicles for the proper dissemination of its ideals, its tenets, and its verities. 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

The Seven Year Plan: “Temple ornamentation”

The Seven Year Plan, with its twofold aspects of Temple ornamentation and extension of teaching activity, embracing both the Northern and Southern American continents, is now well advanced into its second year, and offers to anyone who has observed its progress in recent months signs that are extremely heartening and which augur well for the attainment of its objectives within the allotted time. The successive steps designed to facilitate, and covering the entire field of, the work to be achieved in connection with the exterior ornamentation of the Temple have for the most part been taken. The final phase which is to mark the triumphant conclusion of a thirty-year old enterprise has at long last been entered. The initial contract connected with the first and main story of that historic edifice has been signed. The Fund associated with the beloved name of the Greatest Holy Leaf has been launched. The uninterrupted continuation to its very end of so laudable an enterprise is now assured. The poignant memories of one whose heart so greatly rejoiced at the rearing of the superstructure of this sacred House will so energize the final exertions required to complete it as to dissipate any doubt that may yet linger in any mind as to the capacity of its builders to worthily consummate their task. 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

“the material aspect of their [American believers'] immediate task”

A word, I believe, should now be said in connection with the material aspect of their immediate task, upon the termination of which, at its appointed time, must depend not only the unfoldment of the subsequent stages in the Divine Plan envisaged by ‘Abdu’l Bahá, but also the acquisition of those capacities which will qualify them to discharge, in the fullness of time, the duties and responsibilities demanded by that greater mission which it is their privilege to perform. 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

Subjects the Guardian explained in the beginning pages of ‘The Advent of Divine Justice’

Dearly beloved friends! I have attempted, in the beginning of these pages,

• to convey an idea of the glorious opportunities as well as the tremendous responsibilities which, as a result of the persecution of the far-flung Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, now face the community of the American believers, at so critical a stage in the Formative Period of their Faith, and in so crucial an epoch in the world’s history.
• I have dwelt sufficiently upon the character of the mission which in a not too distant future that community must, through the impelling force of circumstances, arise and carry out.
• I have uttered the warning which I felt would be necessary to a clearer understanding, and a better discharge, of the tasks lying ahead of it.
• I have set forth, and stressed as far as it was in my power, those exalted and dynamic virtues, those lofty standards, which, difficult as they are to attain, constitute nonetheless the essential requirements for the success of those tasks. 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

“meet…the challenge of these times, so fraught with peril, so full of corruption, and yet so pregnant with the promise of a future so bright that no previous age in the annals of mankind can rival its glory.”

It is upon you, therefore, my best-beloved friends, that I wish to impress not only the urgency and imperative necessity of your holy task, but also the limitless possibilities which it possesses of raising to such an exalted level not only the life and activities of your own community, but the motives and standards that govern the relationships existing among the people to which you belong. Undismayed by the formidable nature of this task, you will, I am confident, meet as befits you the challenge of these times, so fraught with peril, so full of corruption, and yet so pregnant with the promise of a future so bright that no previous age in the annals of mankind can rival its glory. 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

circa 1936, cradle of the Faith: “transformation” “of some of its most redoubtable enemies” and the need for the “chosen vehicle” to be “thoroughly cleansed from the defilements which it seeks to remove”

Already in the land where the greatest battles of the Faith have been fought, and its most rapacious enemies have lived, the march of events, the slow yet steady infiltration of its ideals, and the fulfillment of its prophecies, have resulted not only in disarming and in transforming the character of some of its most redoubtable enemies, but also in securing their firm and unreserved allegiance to its Founders. So complete a transformation, so startling a reversal of attitude, can only be effected if that chosen vehicle which is designed to carry the Message of Bahá’u’lláh to the hungry, the restless, and unshepherded multitudes is itself thoroughly cleansed from the defilements which it seeks to remove. 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

Forces of negation that the Faith will face and their resulting impact

• Let not, however, the invincible army of Bahá’u’lláh, who in the West, and at one of its potential storm centers is to fight, in His name and for His sake, one of its fiercest and most glorious battles, be afraid of any criticism that might be directed against it.
• Let it not be deterred by any condemnation with which the tongue of the slanderer may seek to debase its motives.
• Let it not recoil before the threatening advance of the forces of fanaticism, of orthodoxy, of corruption, and of prejudice that may be leagued against it.
• The voice of criticism is a voice that indirectly reinforces the proclamation of its Cause.
• Unpopularity but serves to throw into greater relief the contrast between it and its adversaries,
• while ostracism is itself the magnetic power that must eventually win over to its camp the most vociferous and inveterate amongst its foes.

(Shoghi Effendi (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

“stiff resistance, and…many a setback”: - “many a test will be visited upon you. Troubles will befall you, and suffering afflict you.” (‘Abdu’l-Baha)

In the conduct of this twofold crusade the valiant warriors struggling in the name and for the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh must, of necessity, encounter stiff resistance, and suffer many a setback. Their own instincts, no less than the fury of conservative forces, the opposition of vested interests, and the objections of a corrupt and pleasure-seeking generation, must be reckoned with, resolutely resisted, and completely overcome. As their defensive measures for the impending struggle are organized and extended, storms of abuse and ridicule, and campaigns of condemnation and misrepresentation, may be unloosed against them. Their Faith, they may soon find, has been assaulted, their motives misconstrued, their aims defamed, their aspirations derided, their institutions scorned, their influence belittled, their authority undermined, and their Cause, at times, deserted by a few who will either be incapable of appreciating the nature of their ideals, or unwilling to bear the brunt of the mounting criticisms which such a contest is sure to involve. “Because of ‘Abdu’l Bahá,” the beloved Master has prophesied, “many a test will be visited upon you. Troubles will befall you, and suffering afflict you.” 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

How American believers can “assist in creating and in bringing into operation” Bahá’u’lláh’s “World Order”

Dearly beloved friends!

• A rectitude of conduct which, in all its manifestations, offers a striking contrast to the deceitfulness and corruption that characterize the political life of the nation and of the parties and factions that compose it;
• a holiness and chastity that are diametrically opposed to the moral laxity and licentiousness which defile the character of a not inconsiderable proportion of its citizens;
• an interracial fellowship completely purged from the curse of racial prejudice which stigmatizes the vast majority of its people—

these are the weapons which the American believers can and must wield in their double crusade, first to regenerate the inward life of their own community, and next to assail the long-standing evils that have entrenched themselves in the life of their nation. The perfection of such weapons, the wise and effective utilization of every one of them, more than the furtherance of any particular plan, or the devising of any special scheme, or the accumulation of any amount of material resources, can prepare them for the time when the Hand of Destiny will have directed them to assist in creating and in bringing into operation that World Order which is now incubating within the worldwide administrative institutions of their Faith. 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

Things to avoid and virtues to incorporate in striving to bring about “the union of the white and the black” races in America

Let neither think that the solution of so vast a problem is a matter that exclusively concerns the other.

• Let neither think that such a problem can either easily or immediately be resolved.
• Let neither think that they can wait confidently for the solution of this problem until the initiative has been taken, and the favorable circumstances created, by agencies that stand outside the orbit of their Faith.
• Let neither think that anything short of
• genuine love,
• extreme patience,
• true humility,
• consummate tact,
• sound initiative,
• mature wisdom, and
• deliberate, persistent, and prayerful effort,

can succeed in blotting out the stain which this patent evil has left on the fair name of their common country.

Let them rather believe, and be firmly convinced, that on their mutual understanding, their amity, and sustained cooperation, must depend, more than on any other force or organization operating outside the circle of their Faith, the deflection of that dangerous course so greatly feared by ‘Abdu’l Bahá, and the materialization of the hopes He cherished for their joint contribution to the fulfillment of that country’s glorious destiny.

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

Efforts needed by the black race to “contribute their share” to “the union of the white and the black”

Let the Negroes, through a corresponding effort on their part, show by every means in their power the warmth of their response, their readiness to forget the past, and their ability to wipe out every trace of suspicion that may still linger in their hearts and minds. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

The “supreme effort” needed by the white race to “contribute their share” to “the union of the white and the black”

Let the white make a supreme effort in their resolve to contribute their share to the solution of this problem,

• to abandon once for all their usually inherent and at times subconscious sense of superiority,
• to correct their tendency towards revealing a patronizing attitude towards the members of the other race,
• to persuade them through their intimate, spontaneous and informal association with them of the genuineness of their friendship and the sincerity of their intentions, and
• to master their impatience of any lack of responsiveness on the part of a people who have received, for so long a period, such grievous and slow-healing wounds.

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

“A tremendous effort is required by both races if their outlook, their manners, and conduct are to reflect, in this darkened age, the spirit and teachings of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.”

A tremendous effort is required by both races if their outlook, their manners, and conduct are to reflect, in this darkened age, the spirit and teachings of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. Casting away once and for all the fallacious doctrine of racial superiority, with all its attendant evils, confusion, and miseries, and welcoming and encouraging the intermixture of races, and tearing down the barriers that now divide them, they should each endeavor, day and night, to fulfill their particular responsibilities in the common task which so urgently faces them. Let them, while each is attempting to contribute its share to the solution of this perplexing problem, call to mind the warnings of ‘Abdu’l Bahá, and visualize, while there is yet time, the dire consequences that must follow if this challenging and unhappy situation that faces the entire American nation is not definitely remedied. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

Warning from ‘Abdu’l-Baha if “the union of the white and the black” “is not realized”

“This question of the union of the white and the black is very important,” He warns, “for if it is not realized, erelong great difficulties will arise, and harmful results will follow.” “If this matter remaineth without change,” is yet another warning, “enmity will be increased day by day, and the final result will be hardship and may end in bloodshed.” 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Quoting ‘Abdu’l-Baha in ‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

‘Abdu’l-Baha’s hope for “members of the white race”

“I hope,” He [‘Abdu’l-Baha] thus addresses members of the white race, “that ye may cause that downtrodden race to become glorious, and to be joined with the white race, to serve the world of man with the utmost sincerity, faithfulness, love, and purity. This opposition, enmity, and prejudice among the white race and the colored cannot be effaced except through faith, assurance, and the teachings of the Blessed Beauty.” 

Shoghi Effendi  (Quoting ‘Abdu’l-Baha in ‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

“the accomplishment of unity between the colored and white will be an assurance of the world’s peace”

“Strive earnestly,” He [‘Abdu’l-Baha] again exhorts both races, “and put forth your greatest endeavor toward the accomplishment of this fellowship and the cementing of this bond of brotherhood between you. Such an attainment is not possible without will and effort on the part of each; from one, expressions of gratitude and appreciation; from the other, kindliness and recognition of equality. Each one should endeavor to develop and assist the other toward mutual advancement.… Love and unity will be fostered between you, thereby bringing about the oneness of mankind. For the accomplishment of unity between the colored and white will be an assurance of the world’s peace.” 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Quoting ‘Abdu’l-Baha in ‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)