May 15

The Universal House of Justice is fully cognizant of the difficulties encountered by National Spiritual Assemblies in administering Bahá’í law at this period in history when the world is afflicted with lawlessness, moral decadence, and confusion. The institutions of the Cause are called upon to guide and regulate the conduct of the believers so that the Bahá’í community may offer, to both seeker and skeptic, a compelling proof of the transforming power of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh. By this means will humankind be led to accept the truth of His claim, and will thereby be enabled to find that unity and harmony for which it is so desperately yearning. Upon this foundation will be constructed the future world civilization which humanity is destined to attain. 

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

May 13

… It is becoming evident that the world is not yet through with its labour, the New Age not yet fully born, real Peace not yet right around the corner. We must have no illusions about how much depends on us and our success or failure. All humanity is disturbed and suffering and confused; we cannot expect to not be disturbed and not to suffer—but we don’t have to be confused. On the contrary, confidence and assurance, hope and optimism are our prerogative. The successful carrying out of our various Plans is the greatest sign we can give of our faith and inner assurance, and the best way we can help our fellow-men out of their confusion and difficulties. 

- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 9 April 1949 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to a National Spiritual Assembly, quoted in a letter dated 24 November 2020, written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer; US Baha’i National Administrative website)

May 11

...Bahá’u’lláh and the Master in many places and very emphatically have told us to shun entirely all Covenant breakers as they are afflicted with what we might try and define as a contagious spiritual disease; they have also told us, however, to pray for them. These souls are not lost forever. In the Aqdas, Bahá’u’lláh says that God will forgive Mírzá Yaḥyá if he repents. It follows, therefore, that God will forgive any soul if he repents. Most of them don’t want to repent, unfortunately. If the leaders can be forgiven it goes without saying that their followers can also be forgiven...

Also, it has nothing to do with unity in the Cause; if a man cuts a cancer out of his body to preserve his health and very life, no one would suggest that for the sake of unity it should be reintroduced into the otherwise healthy organism. On the contrary, what was once a part of him has so radically changed as to have become a poison. 

- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi; ‘Directives from the Guardian’)

May 9

…conflict and contention among peoples and war and strife among nations are increasing day by day, and every pure heart and illumined conscience is oppressed and saddened thereby. Although many souls are immersed in the sea of hopelessness and despair, there are also many people of goodwill who are earnestly and sincerely searching for a remedy and striving for a solution. The people of Bahá, through the blessing of the divine verses and by the aid of the vision and insights obtained from the matchless interpretations of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the Guardian, know the reasons for the events happening in the world and understand their significance. They are well aware of that which the infallible Physician has diagnosed and the remedy He has prescribed. They are mindful of the direction in which the process of the maturation of the human race, despite its unavoidable ebbs and flows, is moving. They have gained valuable experience from their historic as well as recent endeavours in assisting the process of development and transformation and are ready and eager to share with everyone the practical approaches and lessons they have learned. 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a message dated Naw-Rúz 2024 to “the followers of the Greatest Name and the helpers of the Ancient Beauty in the sacred land of Iran”; online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

May 7

“I [Mullá Husayn] sat spellbound by His [the Báb’s] utterance, oblivious of time and of those who awaited me,” he himself has testified, after describing the nature of the questions he had put to his Host and the conclusive replies he had received from Him, replies which had established beyond the shadow of a doubt the validity of His claim to be the promised Qá’im. “Suddenly the call of the Mu’adhdhin, summoning the faithful to their morning prayer, awakened me from the state of ecstasy into which I seemed to have fallen. All the delights, all the ineffable glories, which the Almighty has recounted in His Book as the priceless possessions of the people of Paradise—these I seemed to be experiencing that night. Methinks I was in a place of which it could be truly said: ‘Therein no toil shall reach us, and therein no weariness shall touch us;’ ‘no vain discourse shall they hear therein, nor any falsehood, but only the cry, “Peace! Peace!”’; ‘their cry therein shall be, “Glory be to Thee, O God!” and their salutation therein, “Peace!”, and the close of their cry, “Praise be to God, Lord of all creatures!”’ Sleep had departed from me that night. I was enthralled by the music of that voice which rose and fell as He chanted; now swelling forth as He revealed verses of the Qayyúmu’l-Asmá’, again acquiring ethereal, subtle harmonies as He uttered the prayers He was revealing. At the end of each invocation, He would repeat this verse: ‘Far from the glory of thy Lord, the All-Glorious, be that which His creatures affirm of Him! And peace be upon His Messengers! And praise be to God, the Lord of all beings!’” 

- Mullá Husayn (Quoted by Shoghi Effendi in ‘God Passes By’)

May 5

Attention to financial affairs is an essential aspect of a coherent and flourishing family life and of the involvement of the family in a burgeoning community. Consultation between the wife and husband, and with children as appropriate, will determine how this material concern is to be balanced with the many other features and obligations of family life. Wise and attentive stewardship of family finances must take into account many considerations, including how money is earned, spent, and saved; how the education and well-being of the children are maintained; how much is to be allocated for the Funds of the Faith or to support community affairs; and how to discharge the obligation of Ḥuqúqu’lláh. In responding to these and other such questions, the family provides a space to learn in practice about generosity, responsibility, the difference between needs and wants, and the management of material means. 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a message dated 19 March 2025 to the Baha’is of the World; online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

May 3

“…a high sense of moral rectitude in their social and administrative activities…is specially, though not exclusively, directed to their elected representatives, whether local, regional, or national, who, in their capacity as the custodians and members of the nascent institutions of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, are shouldering the chief responsibility in laying an unassailable foundation for that Universal House of Justice which, as its title implies, is to be the exponent and guardian of that Divine Justice which can alone insure the security of, and establish the reign of law and order in, a strangely disordered world. 

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

May 1

... the Bahá'ís, particularly prominent Bahá'ís, should avoid doing anything which might create a wrong impression and give rise to accusations by uninformed Bahá'ís of electioneering. 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated 15 April 1986 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly; The Compilation of Compilation, Vol. III, Sanctity and Nature of Baha’i Elections) (From a letter dated 15 April 1986, written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly; The Compilation of Compilation, Vol. III, Sanctity and Nature of Baha’i Elections’)

April 29

The Faith of Bahá’u’lláh constitutes, indeed, the stage of maturity in the development of mankind. His appearance has released such spiritual forces which will continue to animate, for many long years to come, the world in its development. Whatever progress may be achieved in later ages—after the unification of the whole human race is achieved— will be but improvements in the machinery of the world. For the machinery itself has been already created by Bahá’u’lláh. The task of continually improving and perfecting this machinery is one which later Prophets will be called upon to achieve. They will thus move and work within the orbit of the Bahá'í Cycle. 

- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated August 1936, written on behalf of the Shoghi Effendi; quoted in a letter dated 6 January 1998 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice; Baha’i Library Online)

April 27

Even an unlettered person is capable of responding to the exalted language of the Holy Scriptures, as it is the inner spirit of the divine Texts that touches the heart. Bahá’u’lláh states in a well-known Tablet that, “The Word of God is the king of words and its pervasive influence is incalculable.… The Word is the master key for the whole world, inasmuch as through its potency the doors of the hearts of men, which in reality are the doors of heaven, are unlocked.” Hearts become attracted and souls confirmed through the mysterious effects of exposure to the living Word—that Word which has demonstrated the power to stimulate intellectual development. You yourself have mentioned that a mystical experience enabled you to persevere in learning to understand the divine Texts. 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated 12 August 1998, written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer; Baha’i Library Online)

April 25

One of the most important functions of the Head of the Cause is to guide the faithful to the tasks which need to be performed at each stage in its progress. It must allocate the resources of the Faith and point out those areas on which attention should be focused. Naturally, each individual tends to see the importance of his or her special interests or to focus on needs which are immediately apparent. All these have their own validity, but it is the Universal House of Justice which sees the whole picture and can guide the process. The friends must have faith in this, otherwise their efforts will be dissipated and even mutually conflicting. 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated 11 May 1999, written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer; Baha’i Library Online)

April 23

Of all the monarchs of the earth, at the time when Bahá’u’lláh, proclaiming His Message to them, revealed the Súriy-i-Mulúk in Adrianople, the most august and influential were the French Emperor and the Supreme Pontiff. In the political and religious spheres they respectively held the foremost rank, and the humiliation both suffered was alike immediate and complete. 

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

April 21

The plenitude of His [Baha’u’llah] glory the Apostle of God [Muhammad] 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

In one of the most characteristic passages He Himself has revealed, He testifies in a language that none can mistake to the truth of this distinguishing principle of Bahá’í belief: “It hath been decreed by Us that the Word of God and all the potentialities thereof shall be manifested unto men in strict conformity with such conditions as have been foreordained by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise… Should the Word be allowed to release suddenly all the energies latent within it, no man could sustain the weight of so mighty a revelation…

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

April 17

…the evolution of the World Order of Baha’u’llah is an organic process proceeding in accordance with the Divine Will and animated by a spiritual reality. In response to a question, ‘Abdu'l-Bahâ wrote: "The kingdom of peace, salvation, uprightness, and reconciliation is founded in the invisible world, and it will by degrees become manifest and apparent through the power of the Word of God!" As a result of consecrated human endeavour over decades, and indeed centuries, this spiritual reality is gradually expressed in physical form. 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated 19 April 2001, written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer; US Baha’i National Administrative website)

April 15

…when an individual hears the Message of Bahá’u’lláh and is moved to declare his faith, there should be no obstacle placed in his way. Great care must be taken that when the heart of the individual is touched by the power of Bahá’u’lláh’s Message and the declarant has expressed his desire to embrace the Faith, the process of deepening be followed almost immediately. Deepening the knowledge of the new believer in the verities of the Faith is the most vital part of teaching; but deepening is not merely the imparting of knowledge—it requires also to imbue the soul of the person with the love of Bahá’u’lláh so that his faith may grow day by day and he becomes a steadfast believer. 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated 30 June 1993 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001’)

April 13

In the Súriy-i-Sabr, revealed as far back as the year 1863, on the very first day of His arrival in the garden of Ridván, He [Bahá’u’lláh] thus affirms: “God hath sent down His Messengers to succeed to Moses and Jesus, and He will continue to do so till ‘the end that hath no end’; so that His grace may, from the heaven of Divine bounty, be continually vouchsafed to mankind.”

“I am not apprehensive for My own self,” Bahá’u’lláh still more explicitly declares, “My fears are for Him Who will be sent down unto you after Me—Him Who will be invested with great sovereignty and mighty dominion.” And again He writes in the Súratu’l-Haykal: “By those words which I have revealed, Myself is not intended, but rather He Who will come after Me. To it is witness God, the All-Knowing.” “Deal not with Him,” He adds, “as ye have dealt with Me.” 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Dispensation of Baha’u’llah; included in ‘The World Order of Baha’u’llah’)

April 11

…fostering the capacity for the investigation of truth, for appreciation of the harmony of science and religion, for resolving differences of opinion and making decisions through consultation and cooperation rather than contention and contest empowers family members as effective protagonists in a process of social transformation. And developing qualities such as justice and compassion among family members prepares the children to establish sound and balanced relationships with others in society. Thus, the effort to learn to apply the Teachings within the family both generates within children a vision that transcends the family itself and raises consciousness about the conditions and needs of the peoples of the world. 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a message dated 19 March 2025 to the Bahá’ís of the World; online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

April 9

In the western world in recent decades, Bahá'ís have grown used to thinking that the process by which a person accepts the Faith takes a long time, and that it is unthinkable for someone to intelligently accept Bahá'u'lláh within minutes of hearing of Him. This may be the pattern to which they have become accustomed, but it is far from being a universal one. When people accepted the Faith quickly in Africa and other parts of the Third World, western Bahá’ís sometimes explained it away by saying that such people were less educated and had fewer ideas to work their way through. Now the same process is happening in the countries of the former Eastern Bloc, and highly educated people are accepting the Faith as soon as they hear of it, embracing it enthusiastically, and rapidly deepening their understanding of its teachings by reading every Bahá’í book they can lay their hands on. So it is clear that receptivity to spiritual truth is, as Bahá’u’lláh indicated, a matter of purity of heart, not of education or lack of it. 

- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated 30 June 1993 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001’)