February 16

The Universal House of Justice ... has instructed us to say that it knows of nothing in the writings of the Faith to indicate that the establishment of the Lesser Peace depends on the completion of the Arc on Mount Carmel.

The passage which may have given rise to this conception may well be the statement made by the beloved Guardian which is published on pages 74-75 of Messages to the Baha’i World.... You will note that in this passage the Guardian describes three things which will synchronize. It is important to note that he is describing, not events, but processes or developments and, although he says they will synchronize—a statement which in itself provides important guidance for the institutions of the Cause—he does not state that they are dependent one upon the other. 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated 14 December 1987, written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer; included in a memorandum from the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice dated 19 April 2001; US Baha’i National Administrative website)

February 14

Clearly, the emergence of the Lesser Peace will be a gradual process and its various stages will no doubt witness tests and setbacks, as well as great advances. It will certainly include, however, a development of historic importance: that point at which the majority of the world's nation-states formally commit themselves to a global order comprising institutions and laws, and equipped with the means by which collective decisions can be enforced. While we cannot at present foresee the precise form that this development will take, much less the point at which it will occur, we recognize that it is a feature of the process of the Lesser Peace. 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated 29 July 1996 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer; included in a memorandum from the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice dated 19 April 2001; US Baha’i National Administrative website)

February 12

Of these spiritual prerequisites of success, which constitute the bedrock on which the security of all teaching plans, Temple projects, and financial schemes, must ultimately rest, the following stand out as preeminent and vital, which the members of the American Bahá’í community will do well to ponder. Upon the extent to which these basic requirements are met, and the manner in which the American believers fulfill them in their individual lives, administrative activities, and social relationships, must depend the measure of the manifold blessings which the All-Bountiful Possessor can vouchsafe to them all. These requirements are none other than a high sense of moral rectitude in their social and administrative activities, absolute chastity in their individual lives, and complete freedom from prejudice in their dealings with peoples of a different race, class, creed, or color. 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

February 10

At the heart of the divisions in society today is a crisis of identity. The way people think about who they are and how they see their place in the world determine how they relate to others and what they regard as their individual and collective purpose. For Bahá’ís, it is the Manifestation of God, the Voice of God to the world, who defines human nature and purpose. Bahá’u’lláh describes the purpose of human life as essentially spiritual in nature. An individual’s true self is to be found in the powers of the soul, which has the capacity to know God and to reflect His attributes. The soul has no gender, no ethnicity, no race. God sees no differences among human beings except in relation to the conscious effort of each individual to purify his or her soul and to express its full powers. In God’s sight, all human beings are as one and have the common duty of knowing and worshiping Him and contributing to advancing civilization. This truth is directly related to another—that humanity is one family. A loving Lord has “created all humanity from the same stock”. He has “decreed that all shall belong to the same household”. “Since We have created you all from one same substance”, Bahá’u’lláh has stated, “it is incumbent on you to be even as one soul, to walk with the same feet, eat with the same mouth and dwell in the same land, that from your inmost being, by your deeds and actions, the signs of oneness and the essence of detachment may be made manifest.” 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a message dated 1 November 2022 to the Followers of Bahá’u’lláh in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

February 8

The emergence of a world community, the consciousness of world citizenship, the founding of a world civilization and culture—all of which must synchronize with the initial stages in the unfoldment of the Golden Age of the Bahá’í Era—should, by their very nature, be regarded, as far as this planetary life is concerned, as the furthermost limits in the organization of human society, though man, as an individual, will, nay must indeed as a result of such a consummation, continue indefinitely to progress and develop. 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Unfoldment of World Civilization’, included in ‘The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh)

February 6

The aim of any Spiritual Assembly should be to develop a warm and loving relationship with the believers in its community, so that it can most effectively nurture and encourage them in the acquisition of a deeper understanding of the teachings, and can assist them to follow the Bahá'í principles in their personal conduct. The Assembly should aspire to being regarded by the members of the community as a loving parent, wise in its understanding of the varying degrees of maturity of those entrusted to its care, compassionate in dealing with the problems which arise as a result of any shortcomings, ever prepared to guide them to the correct path, and very patient as they strive to effect the necessary changes in their behavior. Such an approach is far removed from the harshly judgmental and punitive approach which so often characterizes the administration of law in the wider society. The Bahá'í application of justice, firmly rooted in spiritual principle and animated by the desire to foster the spiritual development of the members of the community, will increasingly be seen as a distinctive and highly attractive feature of the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh. 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated 9 December 1991, written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to the NSA of Australia ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001’)

February 4

The willing tools who prostituted their high office for the accomplishment of the enemy’s designs were no less than the sovereigns of the Qájár dynasty, first, the bigoted, the sickly, the vacillating Muhammad Sháh, who at the last moment cancelled the Báb’s imminent visit to the capital, and, second, the youthful and inexperienced Násiri’d-Dín Sháh, who gave his ready assent to the sentence of his Captive’s death. The arch villains who joined hands with the prime movers of so wicked a conspiracy were the two grand vizirs, Hájí Mírzá Áqásí, the idolized tutor of Muhammad Sháh, a vulgar, false-hearted and fickle-minded schemer, and the arbitrary, bloodthirsty, reckless Amír-Niẓám, Mírzá Taqí Khán, the first of whom exiled the Báb to the mountain fastnesses of Ádhirbáyján, and the latter decreed His death in Tabríz. Their accomplice in these and other heinous crimes was a government bolstered up by a flock of idle, parasitical princelings and governors, corrupt, incompetent, tenaciously holding to their ill-gotten privileges, and utterly subservient to a notoriously degraded clerical order. 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘God Passes By’)

February 2

If a Bahá’i were to insist on his right to support a certain political party, he could not deny the same degree of freedom to other believers. This would mean that within the ranks of the Faith, whose primary mission is to unite all men as one great family under God, there would be Bahá’is opposed to each other. Where, then, would be the example of unity and harmony which the world is seeking? 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated 8 February 1970 written by the Universal House of Justice to National Spiritual Assemblies in Africa; US Baha’i National Administrative website)

January 31

The Faith is moving at a tremendous rate, and with tremendous force at the present time. Certainly if it is suppressed in one place, the power of the Cause is such that it must rise with greater strength in another place; and thus the persecutions of the Persian Bahá’ís have caused the Faith to surge ahead in Africa. This certainly must be a solace to the suffering of the Bahá’ís of Persia. 

- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 26 September 1955 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; compilation: Crisis and Victory prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, October 1987; Baha’i Reference Library)

January 29

In studying the Bible Bahá'ís must bear two principles in mind. The first is that many passages in Scared Scripture are intended to be taken metaphorically, not literally, and some of the paradoxes and apparent contradictions which appear are intended to indicate this. The second is the fact that the text of the early Scriptures, such as the Bible, is not wholly authentic... 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated 28 May 1984, quoted by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice in a Memorandum dated 14 September 1987; Baha’i Library Online)

January 27

Concerning the Resurrection of Christ you quote the twenty-fourth chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke, where the account stresses the reality of the appearance of Jesus to His disciples who, the Gospel states, at first took Him to be a ghost. From a Bahá'í point of view the belief that the Resurrection was the return to life of a body of flesh and blood, which later rose from the earth into the sky is not reasonable, nor is it necessary to the essential truth of the disciples' experience, which is that Jesus did not cease to exist when He was crucified (as would have been the belief of many Jews of that period), but that His Spirit, released from the body, ascended to the presence of God and continued to inspire and guide His followers and preside over the destinies of His dispensation. 

- The Universal House of Justice (Quoted in a Memorandum by the Research Department of the Baha’i World Center dated September 14, 1987; Baha’i Library Online)

January 25

You express concern that societal forces appear to be driving people apart and ask how you may accurately read your immediate reality, so that you can not only identify these negative influences but also apply the teachings of the Faith to advance the process of integration. This is not an easy task; yet, it is what the House of Justice has been encouraging the believers to do through a process of learning characterized by action, reflection, consultation, and study. This study involves constant reference to the Bahá’í writings and the guidance of the House of Justice as well as the reading of literature and other materials available in the wider community and weighing the insights gleaned from them in the light of Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings. 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated 3 December 2020, written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer; US Baha’i National Administrative website)

January 23

The arch-enemy who repudiated His [the Báb’s] claim, challenged His authority, persecuted His Cause, succeeded in almost quenching His light, and who eventually became disintegrated under the impact of His Revelation was the Shí‘ah priesthood. Fiercely fanatic, unspeakably corrupt, enjoying unlimited ascendancy over the masses, jealous of their position, and irreconcilably opposed to all liberal ideas, the members of this caste had for one thousand years invoked the name of the Hidden Imám, their breasts had glowed with the expectation of His advent, their pulpits had rung with the praises of His world-embracing dominion, their lips were still devoutly and perpetually murmuring prayers for the hastening of His coming. 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘God Passes By’)

January 21

He would not advise you to in any way force the teachings on your husband, but rather through prayer, love and example attract his heart to what he will be forced to see has not only made you a happier person but a better wife and mother than ever before. It is often most difficult to teach those nearest to us, but the Guardian will earnestly pray that your husband and children will join you in serving this wonderful Cause. 

- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; ‘High Endeavors: Letters to Alaska’)

January 19

The more one observes the conditions of the world and the terrible problems confronting humanity, the more deeply one realizes that the only remedy is that which Bahá'u'lláh has brought, and yet, alas, the masses of the people seem to not yet be aware that the way out of our problems can only be a divine way, given by something far greater than human understanding! However, many souls are seriously thinking and seeking, and the Bahá'ís must try to bring the knowledge of the teachings to all, so that those prepared to accept may not be denied the Message. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; ‘High Endeavors: Letters to Alaska’)

January 17

A complete century has now elapsed since the start of the Formative Age, which began with the Ascension of the peerless Person of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The extent of the growth of the Bahá’í community in the first century of this Age, the diffusion of the light of the Faith to the furthest corners of the world, the entry of individuals from every people and nation into its fold, the expansion of the circle of its endeavours, and the rise in the degree of vision and insight on the part of its followers with regard to their mission—all these, truly, astound the human mind. One marvels at how, after the departure of their kind Master, His followers throughout the world—that handful of feeble ones devoted to their peerless Beloved, those lovers who were burning in the fire of separation from Him, mournful and anxious in His absence—succeeded through unshakeable determination and matchless sacrifice to carry out the admonitions of their far-sighted Master contained in His Tablets of the Divine Plan, and were enabled to establish the Cause of God upon so strong a foundation. Assuredly, confirmations made the drops to become seas, and endowed the atoms with the splendour of the sun. 

- The Universal House of Justice (Naw-Ruz 2022 message to the Bahá’ís of Iran; Messages from the Universal House of Justice 2001-2022)

January 15

The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, whose supreme mission is none other but the achievement of this organic and spiritual unity of the whole body of nations, should, if we be faithful to its implications, be regarded as signalizing through its advent the coming of age of the entire human race. It should be viewed not merely as yet another spiritual revival in the ever-changing fortunes of mankind, not only as a further stage in a chain of progressive Revelations, nor even as the culmination of one of a series of recurrent prophetic cycles, but rather as marking the last and highest stage in the stupendous evolution of man’s collective life on this planet. 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Unfoldment of World Civilization’, included in ‘The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh)

January 11

The regional institutes are charged with responsibility for the implementation and management of the classes, and they require a wide degree of latitude to train the teachers, deploy resources, and collaborate with Local Spiritual Assemblies. The work of the regional institutes is being complemented by a national effort to provide curriculum and make available resource persons. However, if collaboration between the institutes and the National Children's Education and Research Center is not close, or if teachers in the clusters are directed from the national level, bypassing the institutes, the methodical expansion of classes for children, including the outreach to the wider community, will be severely impeded. 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a message dated 19 October 2005 to the NSA of the United States; US National Administrative website)

January 9

With reference to your question concerning spiritual healing: Its importance, as you surely know, has been greatly emphasized by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Who considered it, indeed, as an essential part of physical processes of healing. Physical healing cannot be complete and lasting unless it is reinforced by spiritual healing. And this last one can be best obtained through obedience to the laws and commandments of God as revealed to us through His Manifestations. Individual believers, however, can also help by imparting healing to others. But the success of their efforts depends entirely on their strict adherence to the Teachings, and also on the manner in which they impart them to others. According to Bahá'u'lláh man cannot obtain full guidance directly from God. He must rather seek it through His Prophets. Provided this principle is clearly understood and explained, the Guardian sees no harm that the friends should try to effect spiritual healing in others. Any such cure effected, however, should be done in the name of Bahá'u'lláh and in accordance with His teachings. For God, and God alone, is the Supreme and Almighty Physician, and all else are but instruments in His hands. 

- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, 23 May 1935 to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Some Aspects of Heath, Healing, Nutrition and Related Matters)