In regard
to your questions: The degree of rapidity with which human beings are to
advance certainly depends on their own efforts; but he does not think God will
permit man to annihilate himself. Too much evolution is behind him and too much
before him for that! We should certainly not procrastinate for a moment. For
almost a hundred years now the warnings of Bahá'u'lláh have been ringing in
men's ears, and we have every reason to believe terrible things may still
befall mankind, if they do not listen to the Divine solution proposed by God's
Manifestation for this day. In this connection he is constantly pointing out to
the Bahá'ís that their direct Bahá'í work -- teaching, perfecting the
administration, propagating he Cause of God is their job and of immediate
importance because, it is, so to speak, spiritually organic. What they are
doing will release forces which will combat the terrible disintegration of
society which we witness today in every field, political, economic or otherwise
...
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual
believer, July 5, 1947; Compilation: ‘Lights of Guidance’)
