July 30

The momentous happenings associated with the Báb’s incarceration in Máh-Kú and Chihríq, constituting as they did the high watermark of His Revelation, could have no other consequence than to fan to fiercer flame both the fervor of His lovers and the fury of His enemies. A persecution, grimmer, more odious, and more shrewdly calculated than any which Husayn Khán, or even Hájí Mírzá Áqásí, had kindled was soon to be unchained, to be accompanied by a corresponding manifestation of heroism unmatched by any of the earliest outbursts of enthusiasm that had greeted the birth of the Faith in either Shíráz or Isfahán. This period of ceaseless and unprecedented commotion was to rob that Faith, in quick succession, of its chief protagonists, was to attain its climax in the extinction of the life of its Author, and was to be followed by a further and this time an almost complete elimination of its eminent supporters, with the sole exception of One Who, at its darkest hour, was entrusted, through the dispensations of Providence, with the dual function of saving a sorely-stricken Faith from annihilation, and of ushering in the Dispensation destined to supersede it. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

July 28

The Will and Testament of Bahá’u’lláh and the Will and Testament of the Master clearly and explicitly indicate that the Interpreter of the Word was the Centre of the Covenant and now is the Guardian. There are no other Interpreters whatsoever and no individual may interpret. This is strictly forbidden.

….

Divine Truth is relative and that is why we are enjoined to constantly refer the seeker to the Word itself—and why any explanations we make to ease the journey of the soul of any individual must be based on the Word and the Word alone. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 30 March 1957 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the NSA of Canada; ‘Messages to Canada’)

July 26

People who have withdrawn from the Cause because they no longer feel that they can support its Teachings and Institutions sincerely are not Covenant-breakers—they are non-Bahá’ís and should just be treated as such. Only those who ally themselves actively with known enemies of the Faith who are Covenant-breakers, and who attack the Faith in the same spirit as these people, can be considered, themselves, to be Covenant-breakers. As you know, up to the present time, no one has been permitted to pronounce anybody a Covenant-breaker but the Guardian himself. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 4 June 1957 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the NSA of Canada; ‘Messages to Canada’)

July 24

There are two things which he wishes to impress upon you. The first is that depriving people of their voting rights is the heaviest sanction which can be imposed at the present time (with the exception of excommunication, which is a right the Guardian has never permitted anyone else to exercise). Therefore, the greatest care should be exerted to try and remedy a situation before depriving anybody of their voting rights, and the action itself should only be taken if absolutely necessary.

The other point is that the Guardian is very anxious that no more rules and regulations should be introduced by any National Spiritual Assemblies. He has continually impressed this upon the American, the British and other National Bodies. The spirit of the Cause will be stifled, the initiative of the friends killed, and the teaching work come to a stand-still if the friends are continually hemmed in by instructions. In view of this, he has instructed the National Bodies to deal with each case as it arises. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 22 December 1956 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the NSA of Canada; ‘Messages to Canada’)

July 22

There are the vast number of French Canadians who are of Catholic persuasion. They would make fine Bahá’ís, and if representative members could be brought into the Faith, it will add prestige to the Faith, and help solidify its institutions.

Thus, to the extent possible, the friends should do what they can to attract Catholics and then confirm them in the Faith. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 14 December 1956 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the NSA of Canada; ‘Messages to Canada’)

July 20

He advises you to, at least for a period of time, try and placate your husband by devoting yourself to him, being loving and patient. Perhaps in this way you can soften his opposition towards the Faith. However, he has no right to try and make you give it up. The relation of the individual soul towards its Creator is a purely personal and sacred one, and no one has a right to dictate in such matters.

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 17 February 1950 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; compilation: ‘Family Life’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, revised March 2008)

July 18

…whatever convulsions the waywardness of a godless and materialistic age may yet precipitate in the world, however grievous may be the effects of the rolling up of the present order on the plans and efforts of the Community of the Most Great Name, we must seize the opportunities of the hour and go forward confident that all things are within His mighty grasp and that, if we but play our part, total and unconditional victory will inevitably be ours. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (Message to the Baha'is of the world, April 1964; ‘Messages from the Universal House of justice 1963-1986’)

July 16

From the beginning of this Dispensation the most urgent summons of the Word of God, voiced successively by the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh, has been to teach the Cause. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, in His own words, "spent His days and nights in promoting the Cause and urging the peoples to service." Shoghi Effendi, discharging the sacred mission laid upon him, raised the Administrative Order of the Faith, already enshrined within the Sacred Writings, and forged it into a teaching instrument to accomplish through a succession of plans, national, international, and global, the entire Divine Plan of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and he clearly foresaw in the "tremendously long" tenth part of the process…, a series of plans to be launched by the Universal House of Justice, extending over “successive epochs of both the Formative and Golden Ages of the Faith." 

- The Universal House of Justice  (Message to the Baha'is of the world, April 1964; ‘Messages from the Universal House of justice 1963-1986’)

July 14

The divinely propelled process, described in such awe-inspiring words by our beloved Guardian, which began six thousand years ago at the dawn of the Adamic cycle and which is destined to culminate in "the stage at which the light of God's triumphant Faith shining in all its power and glory will have suffused and enveloped the entire planet," is now entering its tenth and last part. [1]

The Ten Year Crusade, so recently consummated in a blaze of victory and rejoicing, constituted the entire ninth part of this process.  It saw the Cause of God leap forward in one mighty decade-long effort to the point at which the foundations of its Administrative Order were laid throughout the world, thus preparing the way for that awakening of the masses which must characterize the future progress of the Faith.

- The Universal House of Justice  (Message to the Baha'is of the world, April 1964; 'Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986')

[1] See the ten-part process

July 12

The Guardian was also made very happy to know that you have been blessed with a child whose presence, he feels certain, will contribute to the greater well-being and happiness of you both, and to the further enrichment of your Bahá’í family life. He will pray that under your loving care and guidance this dear child may grow in body, as well as in spirit, and receive such a training as will enable him, later on, to whole-heartedly embrace and serve the Cause. This is indeed your most sacred obligation as Bahá’í parents, and upon the manner and degree of its fulfilment will assuredly depend the success and happiness of your family life. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 21 July 1938 to an individual believer; compilation: ‘Family Life’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, revised March 2008)

July 10

The Báb, as attested by the Kitáb-i-Íqán, has “specifically revealed an Epistle unto the divines of every city, wherein He hath fully set forth the character of the denial and repudiation of each of them.” Whilst in Isfáhán, that time-honored stronghold of Muslim ecclesiasticism, He, through the medium of its governor, Manúchihr Khán, invited in writing the divines of that city to engage in a contest with Him, in order, as He expressed it, to “establish the truth and dissipate falsehood.” Not one of the multitude of divines who thronged that great seat of learning had the courage to take up that challenge. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘The Promised Day Is Come’)

July 8

Surely Shoghi Effendi would like to see you and the other friends give their whole time and energy to the Cause, for we are in great need for competent workers, but the home is an institution that Bahá’u’lláh has come to strengthen and not to weaken. Many unfortunate things have happened in Bahá’í homes just for neglecting this point. Serve the Cause but also remember your duties towards your home. It is for you to find the balance and see that neither makes you neglect the other. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, cited in a letter dated 18 April 1994 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer; compilation: ‘Family Life’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, revised March 2008)

 

July 6

The House of Justice prays for the believers and for the peoples of the world, and states that although there is every reason to expect that the world will experience travails and testing as never before, it does not know what form these upheavals will take, when exactly they will come, how severe they will be, nor how long they will last. The important aspect for the Bahá’ís is that their attitude and actions in response to the pending catastrophe be correct. We all know that the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh is the world’s only salvation, that our duty is to actively teach receptive souls, and to do our utmost to help in the consolidation of the institutions of the Faith....

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 30 November 1981, written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer)

July 4

I was delighted by the tone of your letter, and the news it conveyed and the assurances it gave greatly heartened me in my task. The youthful and eager workers for the Cause in Montreal occupy a warm place in my heart. I will remember their hopes, their plans, their activities in my hours of prayer at the Holy Shrine. I urge them to study profoundly the revealed utterances of Bahá'u'lláh and the discourses of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and not to rely unduly on the representation and interpretation of the Teachings given by Bahá'í speakers and teachers. May the Almighty sustain you and guide you in your work. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 20 March 1929 to an individual believer; compilation: ‘Scholarship’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, 1979, sent attached to a letter dated 13 December 1999 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer)

July 2

How often have well-organized Baha'i children's classes given parents, even those who are not Baha'is, the incentive to learn more and study more deeply the Teachings of the Faith! How often have the children, through their songs and recitation of prayers during Feasts and at other gatherings of the friends, added lustre and inspiration to the programme and created a true sense of belonging to the community in the hearts of those present!  How many are the children who have grown into active and enkindled youth, and later into wholly dedicated adults, energetically supporting the work of the Cause and advancing its vital interests! 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 25 May 1975; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986)