We have called upon
the Bahá’ís to see in their endeavours of community building the creation of a
new pattern of how society can be. Taken in its entirety, that pattern fosters
capacity for service—for the education of young generations, for the
empowerment of the youth, for the spiritual education of children, for the
enhancement of the capacity to draw upon the influence of the Word of God in
accompanying others into the field of service, and for the social and economic
advancement of a people in the light of the divine teachings for the age.
Essential to that pattern is the devotional meeting—a communal aspect of the
godly life and a dimension of the concept of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár—which
represents a marvellous opportunity for your community not only to worship the
Almighty and seek His benedictions in your own lives, but to extend to your
fellow citizens the spiritual energies of prayer, to restore for them the
purity of worship, to kindle in their hearts faith in the confirmations of God,
and to strengthen in them, no less than in yourselves, eagerness to serve the
nation and humanity and to show constructive resilience in the path of justice.
- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated 18 December 2014 addressed
to the Baha’is in Iran)
