May 13

The Guardian feels very strongly that everywhere, throughout the entire Bahá'í world, the believers have got to master and follow the principles of their divinely laid down Administrative Order. They will never solve their problems by departing from the correct procedure.... The Bahá'ís have got to learn to live up to the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, which are infinitely higher, more exacting and more perfect than those the world is at present familiar with. Running away, fighting with each other, fostering dissension, is not going to advance the… or any other community; all it is going to do is to bring Bahá'u'lláh's plans and work to a standstill until such time as the believers unite to serve Him, or new and more dedicated souls arise to take their place. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 8 May 1948 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to a National Spiritual Assembly; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, National Spiritual Assembly)

May 11

Any Bahá'í can give to the Cause's Funds, adult or child. No statement is required on this subject; Bahá'í children have always given to the Cause, everywhere. Whatever situation may arise in a class which non- Bahá'í children attend is for the teacher of the class to solve. No ruling should be made to cover such things. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 18 August 1949 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Baha’i Education)

May 9

Attendance at Nineteen Day Feasts is not obligatory, but highly desirable, and effort should be made by the friends not to deprive themselves of this spiritual and communal rallying-point once in every Bahá'í month. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, 23 December 1948 to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, The Nineteen Day Feast)

May 7

He feels that the Local Assemblies should be encouraged to realize that National Committees are constituted to serve their needs, not to dictate arbitrarily to them, and to unify the work of the Cause which is now spreading so rapidly in the British Isles. The Committees in question should be very tactful in dealing with a young Assembly which is beginning to "feel its oats", as this spirit of independence, if properly handled, can lead it to be strong and independent rather than weak and always relying on other bodies to carry it forward! Assemblies, however, should certainly co-operate with National Committees and not refuse their assistance. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 5 November 1948 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, National Spiritual Assembly)

May 5

In regard to the questions you asked him: he feels sure that, although in some ways you may be a financial burden to your children, it is to them a privilege to look after you; you are their Mother and have given them life, and through the bounty of Bahá'u'lláh they are now attracted to His Faith. Anything they do for you is small recompense for all you have done for them. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, 20 September 1948 to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. I, Family Life)

May 3

Excommunication is a spiritual thing and up until now the Guardian has always been the one who exerted this power, and he feels for the present he must continue to be. Only actual enemies of the Cause are excommunicated. On the other hand, those who conspicuously disgrace the Faith or refuse to abide by its laws can be deprived, as a punishment, of their voting rights; this in itself is a severe action, and he therefore always urges all National Assemblies (who can take such action) to first warn and repeatedly warn the evil-doer before taking the step of depriving him of his voting rights. He feels your Assembly must act with the greatest wisdom in such matters, and only impose this sanction if a believer is seriously injuring the Faith in the eyes of the public through his conduct or flagrantly breaking the laws of God. If such a sanction were lightly used the friends would come to attach no importance to it, or to feel the N.S.A. used it every time they got angry with some individual's disobedience to them. We must always remember that, sad and often childish as it seems, some of those who make the worst nuisances of themselves to their National Bodies are often very loyal believers, who think they are protecting the true interests of their Faith by attacking N.S.A. decisions! 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 8 May 1948 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National Spiritual Assembly of India, Pakistan and Burma; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, National Spiritual Assembly)

May 1

…Bahá’ís… know well that the principles of their Faith require them to refrain from involvement in political controversies and conflicts of all kinds. “Speak thou no word of politics” was the counsel of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to one believer, adding, “Except to speak well of them, make thou no mention of the earth’s kings, and the worldly governments thereof.” Shoghi Effendi warned against allowing our vision of the Cause to be clouded “by the stain and dust of worldly happenings, which, no matter how glittering and far-reaching in their immediate effects, are but the fleeting shadows of an imperfect world” 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 1 December 2019 to all National Spiritual Assemblies; Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Centre)

April 29

The Guardian wishes me to draw the attention of the Friends through you that they should be very careful in their public addresses not to mention any political figures-either side with them or denounce them. This is the first thing to bear in mind. Otherwise they will involve the friends in political matters, which is infinitely dangerous to the Cause. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, quoted in ‘Principles of Baha'i Administration’)

April 27

One conspicuous symptom of society’s deepening malaise is the steady descent of public discourse into greater rancour and enmity, reflecting entrenched partisan points of view. A prevalent feature of such contemporary discourse is how political disagreements rapidly degenerate into invective and ridicule. However, what particularly differentiates the present age from those that preceded it is how so much of this discourse occurs in full view of the world. Social media and related communication tools tend to give the greatest exposure to all that is controversial, and the very same tools allow individuals, in an instant, to disseminate more widely whatever catches their attention and to register their support or opposition to various sentiments, whether explicitly or tacitly. The unparalleled ease with which a person can join in such public debate and the nature of the technology make momentary lapses of judgement and incautious actions more likely and their residue more enduring. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 1 December 2019 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to all National Spiritual Assemblies; Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Centre)

April 25

We must never dwell too much on the attitudes and feelings of our fellow-believers towards us. What is most important is to foster love and harmony and ignore any rebuffs we may receive; in this way the weaknesses of human nature and the peculiarity or attitude of any particular person is not magnified, but pales into insignificance in comparison with our joint service to the Faith we all love.  

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 19 September 1948 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Living the Life)

April 23

…he does not believe any radiations of thought or healing, from any group, are going to bring peace. Prayer, no doubt, will help the world, but what it needs is to accept Bahá'u'lláh's system so as to build up the World Order on a new foundation, a divine foundation! 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 8 June 1948 to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. II, The Importance of Prayer, Meditation and the Devotional Attitude)

April 21

The plenitude of His [Baha’u’llah] glory the Apostle of God had, moreover, as attested by Bahá’u’lláh Himself, compared to the “full moon on its fourteenth night.” His station the Imám ‘Alí, the Commander of the Faithful, had, according to the same testimony, identified with “Him Who conversed with Moses from the Burning Bush on Sinai.” To the transcendent character of His mission the Imám Husayn had, again according to Bahá’u’lláh, borne witness as a “Revelation whose Revealer will be He Who revealed” the Apostle of God Himself. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

April 19

What, we may well inquire at this juncture, were the nature and implications of that Revelation [Baha’u’llah’s] which, manifesting itself so soon after the Declaration of the Báb, abolished, at one stroke, the Dispensation which that Faith had so newly proclaimed, and upheld, with such vehemence and force, the Divine authority of its Author? What, we may well pause to consider, were the claims of Him Who, Himself a disciple of the Báb, had, at such an early stage, regarded Himself as empowered to abrogate the Law identified with His beloved Master? What, we may further reflect, could be the relationship between the religious Systems established before Him and His own Revelation—a Revelation which, flowing out, in that extremely perilous hour, from His travailing soul, pierced the gloom that had settled upon that pestilential pit, and, bursting through its walls, and propagating itself as far as the ends of the earth, infused into the entire body of mankind its boundless potentialities, and is now under our very eyes, shaping the course of human society? 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

April 17

The number nine, which in itself is the number of perfection, is considered by the Bahá'ís as sacred because it is symbolic of the perfection of the Bahá'í Revelation, which constitutes the ninth in the line of existing religions, the latest and fullest Revelation which mankind has ever known. The eighth is the Religion of the Báb, and the remaining seven are: Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the religion of the Sabaeans. These religions are not the only true religions that have appeared in the world, but are the only ones which are still existing. There have always been divine prophets and messengers, to many of whom the Qur'án refers. But the only ones existing are those mentioned above.

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, dated 28 July 1936; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Extracts from the Baha’i Writings on Buddha, Krishna, Zoroaster, and related subjects)

April 15

In regard to the main question which you have posed, the requirement of Baha'is refraining from political involvement should not be construed merely as a comment on one's integrity; rather, it is a matter of the general state of society and confusion in the realm of politics. To have Baha'is involved in the regular machinery of campaign politics would be to undermine the Faith's essential position of non-partisanship. Therefore, the House of Justice feels that a Baha'i should neither campaign on his own behalf nor do anything to promote his candidacy. Partisan politics, it should be borne in mind, includes not only party affiliation but also campaigning, whether in the context of a political party or not, by setting oneself up against another in a political contest. There is a clear distinction which separates those elections which take place in the public arena from those which take place in the Baha'i community, where there is neither campaigning nor nominations. At the same time, in view of the different circumstances involving election to office, it is advisable for the friends to consult their Local Spiritual Assembly or National Spiritual Assembly concerning any specific instance in which a Baha'i would be involved in a public election. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated July 6, 1995; The American Baha’i, vo. 51, no. 2, March/April 2020)

April 13

...it is spirit, determination, faith and devotion which bring victories into being, one after another, in Britain, and not luxury and leisure.... 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 29 April 1948 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Guidelines for Teaching)

April 11

There is no objection to leaving Bahá'í Literature in a public place as long as it is not overdone and does not savour of proselytizing. 

-Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 22 December 1947 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Guidelines for Teaching)

April 9

A Baha'i may not vote in a primary election if in order to do so he or she must declare membership or affiliation with, or support for, a particular political party. But if the ballot is secret, a Baha'i is free to vote in any political election provided that he does not, by doing so, identify himself with any political party and bears in mind that he is voting on the merits of the individual rather than because he belongs to one party or another. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated Feb. 4, 2008 to an individual; The American Baha’i, vol. 51, no. 2, March/April 2020)

April 7

Regarding your questions: the Devotional part of the Nineteen Day Feast means the reading of prayers by Bahá'u'lláh and the Master. If, after this, there is a period of reading of the teachings, his [the Guardian's] writings may be included, but this does not form part of the devotional aspect of the meeting.  

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, 15 December 1947 to an individual believer) The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Nineteen Day Feast)