Pioneers: “Let these words of ‘Abdu’l Bahá…ring… in their ears”

Let these words of ‘Abdu’l Bahá, gleaned from the Tablets of the Divine Plan, ring likewise in their ears, as they go forth, assured and unafraid, on His mission: “O ye apostles of Bahá’u’lláh! May my life be sacrificed for you!… Behold the portals which Bahá’u’lláh hath opened before you! Consider how exalted and lofty is the station you are destined to attain; how unique the favors with which you have been endowed.” “My thoughts are turned towards you, and my heart leaps within me at your mention. Could ye know how my soul gloweth with your love, so great a happiness would flood your hearts as to cause you to become enamored with each other.” “The full measure of your success is as yet unrevealed, its significance still unapprehended. Erelong ye will, with your own eyes, witness how brilliantly every one of you, even as a shining star, will radiate in the firmament of your country the light of Divine Guidance, and will bestow upon its people the glory of an everlasting life.” “I fervently hope that in the near future the whole earth may be stirred and shaken by the results of your achievements.” “The Almighty will no doubt grant you the help of His grace, will invest you with the tokens of His might, and will endue your souls with the sustaining power of His holy Spirit.” “Be not concerned with the smallness of your numbers, neither be oppressed by the multitude of an unbelieving world.… Exert yourselves; your mission is unspeakably glorious. Should success crown your enterprise, America will assuredly evolve into a center from which waves of spiritual power will emanate, and the throne of the Kingdom of God will, in the plenitude of its majesty and glory, be firmly established.” 

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

Pioneers: - “let these soul-stirring words of Bahá’u’lláh… be ever ready on their lips, a solace to their hearts, a light on their path, a companion in their loneliness, and a daily sustenance in their journeys”

And, finally, let these soul-stirring words of Bahá’u’lláh, as they pursue their course throughout the length and breadth of the southern American continent, be ever ready on their lips, a solace to their hearts, a light on their path, a companion in their loneliness, and a daily sustenance in their journeys: 

“O wayfarer in the path of God! Take thou thy portion of the ocean of His grace, and deprive not thyself of the things that lie hidden in its depths.… A dewdrop out of this ocean would, if shed upon all that are in the heavens and on earth, suffice to enrich them with the bounty of God, the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. With the hands of renunciation draw forth from its life-giving waters, and sprinkle therewith all created things, that they may be cleansed from all man-made limitations, and may approach the mighty seat of God, this hallowed and resplendent Spot. Be not grieved if thou performest it thyself alone. Let God be all-sufficient for thee.… Proclaim the Cause of thy Lord unto all who are in the heavens and on the earth. Should any man respond to thy call, lay bare before him the pearls of the wisdom of the Lord, thy God, which His Spirit hath sent down upon thee, and be thou of them that truly believe. And should anyone reject thy offer, turn thou away from him, and put thy trust and confidence in the Lord of all worlds. By the righteousness of God! Whoso openeth his lips in this day, and maketh mention of the name of his Lord, the hosts of Divine inspiration shall descend upon him from the heaven of my name, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. On him shall also descend the Concourse on high, each bearing aloft a chalice of pure light. Thus hath it been foreordained in the realm of God’s Revelation, by the behest of Him Who is the All-Glorious, the Most Powerful.” 

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

Pioneers: - virtues to be cognizant of and strive for

Let some, at this very moment, gird up the loins of their endeavor, flee their native towns, cities, and states, forsake their country, and, “putting their whole trust in God as the best provision for their journey,” set their faces, and direct their steps towards those distant climes, those virgin fields, those unsurrendered cities, and bend their energies to capture the citadels of men’s hearts—hearts, which, as Bahá’u’lláh has written, “the hosts of Revelation and of utterance can subdue.” Let them not tarry until such time as their fellow-laborers will have passed the first stage in their campaign of teaching, but let them rather, from this very hour, arise to usher in the opening phase of what will come to be regarded as one of the most glorious chapters in the international history of their Faith.

• Let them, at the very outset, “teach their own selves, that their speech may attract the hearts of their hearers.”
• Let them regard the triumph of their Faith as their “supreme objective.”
• Let them not “consider the largeness or smallness of the receptacle” that carries the measure of grace that God poureth forth in this age.
• Let them “disencumber themselves of all attachment to this world and the vanities thereof,” and, with that spirit of detachment which ‘Abdu’l Bahá exemplified and wished them to emulate, bring these diversified peoples and countries to the remembrance of God and His supreme Manifestation.
• Let His love be a “storehouse of treasure for their souls,” on the day when “every pillar shall tremble, when the very skins of men shall creep, when all eyes shall stare up with terror.”
• Let their “souls be aglow with the flame of the undying Fire that burneth in the midmost heart of the world, in such wise that the waters of the universe shall be powerless to cool down its ardor.”
• Let them be “unrestrained as the wind” which “neither the sight of desolation nor the evidences of prosperity can either pain or please.”
• Let them “unloose their tongues and proclaim unceasingly His Cause.”
• Let them “proclaim that which the Most Great Spirit will inspire them to utter in the service of the Cause of their Lord.”
• Let them “beware lest they contend with anyone, nay strive to make him aware of the truth with kindly manner and most convincing exhortation.”
• Let them “wholly for the sake of God proclaim His Message, and with that same spirit accept whatever response their words may evoke in their hearers.”
• Let them not, for one moment, forget that the “Faithful Spirit shall strengthen them through its power,” and that “a company of His chosen angels shall go forth with them, as bidden by Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Wise.”
• Let them ever bear in mind “how great is the blessedness that awaiteth them that have attained the honor of serving the Almighty,” and remember that “such a service is indeed the prince of all goodly deeds, and the ornament of every goodly act.”

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

“the American believers, the stout-hearted pioneers” “launch an offensive against the powers of darkness, of corruption, and of ignorance”

When this second stage in the progressive unfoldment of teaching activities and enterprises, under the Seven Year Plan, is reached, and the machinery required for its prosecution begins to operate, the American believers, the stout-hearted pioneers of this mighty movement, must, guided by the unfailing light of Bahá’u’lláh, and in strict accordance with the Plan laid out by ‘Abdu’l Bahá, and acting under the direction of their National Spiritual Assembly, and assured of the aid of the Inter-America Committee, launch an offensive against the powers of darkness, of corruption, and of ignorance, an offensive that must extend to the uttermost end of the Southern continent, and embrace within its scope each of the twenty nations that compose it. 

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