January 25

You express concern that societal forces appear to be driving people apart and ask how you may accurately read your immediate reality, so that you can not only identify these negative influences but also apply the teachings of the Faith to advance the process of integration. This is not an easy task; yet, it is what the House of Justice has been encouraging the believers to do through a process of learning characterized by action, reflection, consultation, and study. This study involves constant reference to the Bahá’í writings and the guidance of the House of Justice as well as the reading of literature and other materials available in the wider community and weighing the insights gleaned from them in the light of Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings. 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated 3 December 2020, written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer; US Baha’i National Administrative website)

January 23

The arch-enemy who repudiated His [the Báb’s] claim, challenged His authority, persecuted His Cause, succeeded in almost quenching His light, and who eventually became disintegrated under the impact of His Revelation was the Shí‘ah priesthood. Fiercely fanatic, unspeakably corrupt, enjoying unlimited ascendancy over the masses, jealous of their position, and irreconcilably opposed to all liberal ideas, the members of this caste had for one thousand years invoked the name of the Hidden Imám, their breasts had glowed with the expectation of His advent, their pulpits had rung with the praises of His world-embracing dominion, their lips were still devoutly and perpetually murmuring prayers for the hastening of His coming. 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘God Passes By’)

January 21

He would not advise you to in any way force the teachings on your husband, but rather through prayer, love and example attract his heart to what he will be forced to see has not only made you a happier person but a better wife and mother than ever before. It is often most difficult to teach those nearest to us, but the Guardian will earnestly pray that your husband and children will join you in serving this wonderful Cause. 

- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; ‘High Endeavors: Letters to Alaska’)

January 19

The more one observes the conditions of the world and the terrible problems confronting humanity, the more deeply one realizes that the only remedy is that which Bahá'u'lláh has brought, and yet, alas, the masses of the people seem to not yet be aware that the way out of our problems can only be a divine way, given by something far greater than human understanding! However, many souls are seriously thinking and seeking, and the Bahá'ís must try to bring the knowledge of the teachings to all, so that those prepared to accept may not be denied the Message. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; ‘High Endeavors: Letters to Alaska’)

January 17

A complete century has now elapsed since the start of the Formative Age, which began with the Ascension of the peerless Person of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The extent of the growth of the Bahá’í community in the first century of this Age, the diffusion of the light of the Faith to the furthest corners of the world, the entry of individuals from every people and nation into its fold, the expansion of the circle of its endeavours, and the rise in the degree of vision and insight on the part of its followers with regard to their mission—all these, truly, astound the human mind. One marvels at how, after the departure of their kind Master, His followers throughout the world—that handful of feeble ones devoted to their peerless Beloved, those lovers who were burning in the fire of separation from Him, mournful and anxious in His absence—succeeded through unshakeable determination and matchless sacrifice to carry out the admonitions of their far-sighted Master contained in His Tablets of the Divine Plan, and were enabled to establish the Cause of God upon so strong a foundation. Assuredly, confirmations made the drops to become seas, and endowed the atoms with the splendour of the sun. 

- The Universal House of Justice (Naw-Ruz 2022 message to the Bahá’ís of Iran; Messages from the Universal House of Justice 2001-2022)

January 15

The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, whose supreme mission is none other but the achievement of this organic and spiritual unity of the whole body of nations, should, if we be faithful to its implications, be regarded as signalizing through its advent the coming of age of the entire human race. It should be viewed not merely as yet another spiritual revival in the ever-changing fortunes of mankind, not only as a further stage in a chain of progressive Revelations, nor even as the culmination of one of a series of recurrent prophetic cycles, but rather as marking the last and highest stage in the stupendous evolution of man’s collective life on this planet. 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Unfoldment of World Civilization’, included in ‘The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh)

January 11

The regional institutes are charged with responsibility for the implementation and management of the classes, and they require a wide degree of latitude to train the teachers, deploy resources, and collaborate with Local Spiritual Assemblies. The work of the regional institutes is being complemented by a national effort to provide curriculum and make available resource persons. However, if collaboration between the institutes and the National Children's Education and Research Center is not close, or if teachers in the clusters are directed from the national level, bypassing the institutes, the methodical expansion of classes for children, including the outreach to the wider community, will be severely impeded. 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a message dated 19 October 2005 to the NSA of the United States; US National Administrative website)

January 9

With reference to your question concerning spiritual healing: Its importance, as you surely know, has been greatly emphasized by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Who considered it, indeed, as an essential part of physical processes of healing. Physical healing cannot be complete and lasting unless it is reinforced by spiritual healing. And this last one can be best obtained through obedience to the laws and commandments of God as revealed to us through His Manifestations. Individual believers, however, can also help by imparting healing to others. But the success of their efforts depends entirely on their strict adherence to the Teachings, and also on the manner in which they impart them to others. According to Bahá'u'lláh man cannot obtain full guidance directly from God. He must rather seek it through His Prophets. Provided this principle is clearly understood and explained, the Guardian sees no harm that the friends should try to effect spiritual healing in others. Any such cure effected, however, should be done in the name of Bahá'u'lláh and in accordance with His teachings. For God, and God alone, is the Supreme and Almighty Physician, and all else are but instruments in His hands. 

- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, 23 May 1935 to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Some Aspects of Heath, Healing, Nutrition and Related Matters)

January 7

Bahá’ís must be careful not to be swept up in a spiral of fear and darkness engendered by prevailing conditions but, rather, devote their energies to building up a new world and promoting an environment of serenity and courage. An avenue for thoughtful believers who, as well-wishers of humanity, desire to offer a different perspective on the changes affecting their societies is through participation in relevant discourses in the various social spaces in which they are involved. Of course, in so doing, it is important that the friends steer away from becoming entangled in the political dimensions of any particular issue and instead strive to uplift people’s vision by calling attention to the root causes of the issues at hand and the principles of the Faith that address them. In sharing insights from the Bahá’í teachings, the friends can indeed become a beacon of hope so that those who are experiencing the inevitable breakdown of the lamentably defective old world order can at the same time gain understanding and draw inspiration from the teachings for the building of a new world order. 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a message dated 3 December 2020, written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer; US Baha’i National Administrative website)

January 5

Nor does the Bahá’í Revelation, claiming as it does to be the culmination of a prophetic cycle and the fulfillment of the promise of all ages, attempt, under any circumstances, to invalidate those first and everlasting principles that animate and underlie the religions that have preceded it. The God-given authority, vested in each one of them, it admits and establishes as its firmest and ultimate basis. It regards them in no other light except as different stages in the eternal history and constant evolution of one religion, Divine and indivisible, of which it itself forms but an integral part. It neither seeks to obscure their Divine origin, nor to dwarf the admitted magnitude of their colossal achievements. It can countenance no attempt that seeks to distort their features or to stultify the truths which they instill. Its teachings do not deviate a hairbreadth from the verities they enshrine, nor does the weight of its message detract one jot or one tittle from the influence they exert or the loyalty they inspire. Far from aiming at the overthrow of the spiritual foundation of the world’s religious systems, its avowed, its unalterable purpose is to widen their basis, to restate their fundamentals, to reconcile their aims, to reinvigorate their life, to demonstrate their oneness, to restore the pristine purity of their teachings, to coordinate their functions and to assist in the realization of their highest aspirations. These divinely-revealed religions, as a close observer has graphically expressed it, “are doomed not to die, but to be reborn… ‘Does not the child succumb in the youth and the youth in the man; yet neither child nor youth perishes?’” 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Dispensation of Baha’u’llah; included in ‘The World Order of Baha’u’llah’)

January 3

The urgency of the present hour must not obscure the special joy that comes from service. The call to service is an uplifting, all-embracing summons. It attracts every faithful soul, even those weighed down by cares and obligations. For in all the ways in which that faithful soul is occupied can be discovered deep-rooted devotion and a lifelong concern for the well-being of others. Such qualities give coherence to a life of manifold demands. And the sweetest moments of all for any enkindled heart are those spent with spiritual sisters and brothers, tending to a society in need of spiritual nourishment. 

- The Universal House of Justice (Ridvan 2024 message; online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

January 1

The people among whom He [the Báb] appeared were the most decadent race in the civilized world, grossly ignorant, savage, cruel, steeped in prejudice, servile in their submission to an almost deified hierarchy, recalling in their abjectness the Israelites of Egypt in the days of Moses, in their fanaticism the Jews in the days of Jesus, and in their perversity the idolators of Arabia in the days of Muhammad. 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘God Passes By’)

December 30

Since change is inevitable if progress is to be made by any African society, a primary challenge to Bahá'ís is to preserve and improve those wholesome aspects of tribal and family custom that are in accord with the Bahá'í Teachings and to dispense with those that are not. Such a challenge must be embraced with the understanding that the Book of God is the standard by which to weigh all forms of behaviour. While unwavering action is necessary, wisdom and tact and patience must, of course, be exercised. Let it be understood, too, that Africans are not alone in the struggle to change certain age-old practices. People everywhere have customs which must be abandoned so as to clear the path along which their societies must evolve towards that glorious, new civilization which is to be the fruit of Bahá'u'lláh's stupendous Revelation. Indeed, in no society on earth can there be found practices which adequately mirror the standards of His Cause. His own truth-bearing Words clarify the matter: "The summons and the message which We gave were never intended to reach or to benefit one land or one people only. Mankind in its entirety must firmly adhere to whatsoever hath been revealed and vouchsafed unto it. Then and only then will it attain unto true liberty. The whole earth is illuminated with the resplendent glory of God's Revelation." 

- The Universal House of Justice (Ridván 1996 message to the Followers of Bahá'u'lláh in Africa; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. III, Cultural Diversity in the Age of Maturity)

December 28

...what Bahá'u'lláh has done for us all is to provide a standard by which to determine what is pleasing in God's sight, thereby freeing us to maintain those elements of diversity which are unique to our different cultures. The adoption of this divine standard enables each people to be confident in the permissibility of what it can retain from its past. 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated 23 June 1995, written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. III, Cultural Diversity in the Age of Maturity)

December 26

…social action is one means by which capacity can be built within a community to address the social and material needs of humanity, such as those related to agriculture, health, and education. In many instances across the globe, groups of like-minded individuals, having cultivated the habit of studying relevant materials together, including pertinent selections from the Bahá’í writings, come to carry out simple projects aimed at improving an aspect of their collective life. These endeavors can take place with varying degrees of complexity, from the grassroots of a community to the national and international levels, with progress in the area of social action supported by the recently established Bahá’í International Development Organization. The publication ‘For the Betterment of the World’,… describes, among other things, examples of such initiatives. 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated 3 December 2020, written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer; US Baha’i National Administrative website)

December 24

The work that the members of your small family are doing in spreading the Cause and infusing its divine spirit among the people you meet, is a fact that no one familiar with your life can deny ... In time you will see how abundant the fruit of your services will be. It is not sufficient to number the souls that embrace the Cause to know the progress that it is making. The more important consequences of your activities are the spirit that is diffused into the life of the community, and the extent to which the teachings we proclaim become part of the consciousness and belief of the people that hear them. For it is only when the spirit has thoroughly permeated the world that the people will begin to enter the Faith in large numbers. At the beginning of the spring only the few, exceptionally favoured seeds will sprout, but when the season gets in its full sway, and the atmosphere gets permeated with the warmth of true springtime, then masses of flowers will begin to appear, and a whole hillside suddenly blooms. We are still in the state when only isolated souls are awakened, but soon we shall have the full swing of the season and the quickening of whole groups and nations into the spiritual life breathed by Bahá'u'lláh. 

- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 18 February 1932, written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. III, Promoting Entry by Troops)

December 22

In the supportive environment of the family, parents offer attentive guidance to their children to learn to live a meaningful and purposeful life of devotion, virtue, and service. To this end, through their example and the pattern of their daily lives and interactions, as well as countless conversations, parents lovingly nurture in their children a host of qualities, attitudes, habits and capabilities of increasing complexity, adapting their methods and approaches across every stage of child development, from infancy to maturity. From an early age children learn to turn to God and to love Him, to pray and recite the Word of God daily, to see themselves as noble souls striving to develop spiritual qualities, to prefer others before themselves, and to express these qualities in caring and cooperative relationships. As they progress, they learn to become accustomed to hardship, to practice self-discipline and accountability, to become forgetful of self, and to acquire knowledge of the arts and sciences. And as they increasingly step into the world on their own, they learn to develop an attitude of service, to diffuse and apply the divine teachings, to resolve differences and participate in consultation, to remain steadfast in the Covenant, to work for the betterment of the world, and to direct themselves to those things that lead to everlasting honour. The Bahá’í Writings offer parents a boundless source of insight with which to cultivate these and so many other vital attitudes, skills, and abilities, and the training institute provides essential support for the family by enhancing the understanding and capabilities of all its members. There may also be other resources available to assist in the material, social, and spiritual education of young people of which the family can take advantage—schools, community life, service projects, and so on. Yet the ultimate responsibility to ensure the proper and complete education of children resides with the parents. 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated 19 March 2025; online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

December 20

The main features of the narrative [The Dawn-Breakers’]—the saintly heroic figure of the Báb, a leader so mild and so serene, yet eager, resolute, and dominant; the devotion of his followers facing oppression with unbroken courage and often with ecstasy; the rage of a jealous priesthood inflaming for its own purpose the passions of a bloodthirsty populace—these speak a language which all may understand. 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘Introduction to ‘The Dawn-Breakers’)

December 18

Referring to these Tablets addressed to the sovereigns of the earth, and which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has acclaimed as a “miracle,” Bahá’u’lláh has written: “Each one of them hath been designated by a special name. The first hath been named ‘The Rumbling,’ the second, ‘The Blow,’ the third, ‘The Inevitable,’ the fourth, ‘The Plain,’ the fifth, ‘The Catastrophe,’ and the others, ‘The Stunning Trumpet Blast,’ ‘The Near Event,’ ‘The Great Terror,’ ‘The Trumpet,’ ‘The Bugle,’ and their like, so that all the peoples of the earth may know, of a certainty, and may witness, with outward and inner eyes, that He Who is the Lord of Names hath prevailed, and will continue to prevail, under all conditions, over all men.... Never since the beginning of the world hath the Message been so openly proclaimed.... Glorified be this Power which hath shone forth and compassed the worlds! This act of the Causer of Causes hath, when revealed, produced two results. It hath at once sharpened the swords of the infidels, and unloosed the tongues of such as have turned towards Him in His remembrance and praise. This is the effect of the fertilizing winds, mention of which hath been made aforetime in the Lawh-i-Haykal.” 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Promised Day Is Come’)