Regarding the matter of the young men you have raised in
your letter: he feels that they should be treated like any other people seeking
admittance to the Faith, and be accepted on the same basis. Our teachings, as
outlined in the Advent of Divine Justice, on the subject of living a chaste
life, should be emphasized to them just as every other applicant, but certainly
no ruling whatsoever should be laid down in this matter. The Bahá’ís have
certainly not yet reached that stage of moral perfection where they are in a
position to too harshly scrutinize the private lives of other souls, and each
individual should be accepted on the basis of his faith, and sincere
willingness to try to live up to the Divine Standards; further than this we
cannot go at present....
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 4 November 1948 written on behalf
of Shoghi Effendi to the NSA of Canada; ‘Messages to Canada’)
