…Bahá'ís recognize that individuals do not become wholly
virtuous on accepting the Faith. It takes time for them to grow spiritually out
of their personal imperfections and out of the structural and behavioral
assumptions of the societies in which they have been raised, which color their
view of the world. The institutions of the Cause, which the believers have been
raising in obedience to the law of Bahá'u'lláh, in accordance with the pattern
set forth by 'Abdu'l-Bahá and the expositions of Shoghi Effendi, and under the
guidance of the Universal House of Justice, are still in their embryonic stage
and not infrequently fall short of the ideal for which they are striving. There
is also the possibility of certain individuals' misusing the positions of
authority to which they are elected or appointed within the structure of the
Administrative Order. Again and again Shoghi Effendi, in his letters, called
upon the Bahá'ís to be patient and forbearing, both with one another and with
their Assemblies, but in serious cases of malfunctioning by either institutions
or individuals, neither the Guardian nor the Universal House of Justice has
hesitated to take remedial action. Bahá'í administration has provisions to cope
with such human frailties and is designed to enable the believers to build
Bahá'u'lláh's new World Order in the midst of their imperfections, but without
conflicts which would destroy the entire edifice.
(From a letter dated 2 July 1996 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer)
(From a letter dated 2 July 1996 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer)
