You have complained of the unsatisfactory conditions
prevailing in the ... Bahá'í Community; the Guardian is well aware of the
situation of the Cause there, but is confident that whatever the nature of the
obstacles that confront the Faith they will be eventually overcome. You should,
under no circumstances, feel discouraged, and allow such difficulties, even
though they may have resulted from the misconduct, or the lack of capacity and
vision of certain members of the Community, to make you waver in your faith and
basic loyalty to the Cause. Surely, the believers, no matter how qualified they
may be, whether as teachers or administrators, and however high their
intellectual and spiritual merits, should never be looked upon as a standard
whereby to evaluate and measure the divine authority and mission of the Faith.
It is to the Teachings themselves, and to the lives of the Founders of the
Cause that the believers should look for their guidance and inspiration, and
only by keeping strictly to such [a] true attitude can they hope to establish
their loyalty to Bahá'u'lláh upon an enduring and unassailable basis. You
should take heart, therefore, and with unrelaxing vigilance and unremitting
effort endeavour to play your full share in the gradual unfoldment of this
Divine World Order.
(From a letter dated 23 August 1939 written on behalf of
Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, vol.
II, Living the Life)
