He was very sorry to hear of the prolonged inharmony in the
... Bahá’í Community.... Some of the younger believers, from letters and reports
received here, seem to lack a firm grounding on such matters as the Will and
Testament and the deeper spiritual teachings of the Faith. Whenever the grasp
of these fundamentals is weak, the friends are almost sure to pay undue
attention to secondary procedures, to quibble over details, to lose themselves
in personalities, and to founder in a sea of unnecessary inharmony. This has
nothing to do with their devotion, their loyalty, their zeal, their eagerness
to serve. It is merely a question of not having received, perhaps through lack
of sufficient teachers to carry on the all-important work of deepening the
friends in their own faith, a strong enough education in the Covenant before
the duties and responsibilities of the Administrative Order were thrust upon
them.
He has the greatest confidence in the abilities, and the
loyalty and devotion of the Canadian friends. They have proved themselves over
and over again, and distinguished their community through acts of great
sacrifice, vision, courage and devotion. He hopes that, during the coming year,
your Assembly will be able to send out more teachers, to assist the friends in
grasping the fundamentals of the Faith, in uniting them, and stimulating their
desire to do more in the teaching field. If the supply of teachers is limited
in Canada—and the area to be covered is certainly vast! — perhaps your Sister
Assembly in the United States can help through lending visiting teachers.
- Shoghi Effendi (From
a letter dated 10 June 1956 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual
believer; ‘Messages to Canada’)
