29 July 1974: The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States

Dear Baha'i friends,

We have received your letter of 19 June 1974 describing the preoccupation of some American believers with the date of the Lesser Peace, and with their feeling that "the calamity," as a prelude to that peace, is imminent.

It is true that 'Abdu'l-Baha made statements linking the establishment of the unity of nations to the twentieth century. For example: "The fifth candle is the unity of nations -- a unity which, in this century, will be securely established, causing all the peoples of the world to regard themselves as citizens of one common fatherland." And, in The Promised Day is Come, following a similar statement quoted from Some Answered Questions, Shoghi Effendi makes this comment: "This is the stage which the world is now approaching, the stage of world unity, which, as 'Abdu'l-Baha assures us, will, in this century, be securely established."

There is also this statement from a letter written in 1946 to an individual believer on behalf of the beloved Guardian by his secretary: All we know is that the Lesser and the Most Great Peace will come -- their exact dates we do not know. The same is true as regards the possibility of a future war; we cannot state dogmatically it will or will not take place -- all we know is that mankind must suffer and be punished sufficiently to make it turn to God.

It is apparent that the disintegration of the old order is accelerating, but the friends should not permit this inevitable process to deter them from giving their undivided attention to the tasks lying immediately before them. Let them take heart from the reassuring words of Shoghi Effendi contained in the closing paragraphs of his momentous message of 5 June 1947, and concentrate on the challenging tasks of this hour.

With loving Baha'i greetings,

The Universal House of Justice

(Messages from the Universal House of Justice, ‘1963-1986’)

22 July 1974: To all National Spiritual Assemblies

Dear Baha'i friends,

In view of the ever-increasing number of pioneers and travelling teachers now arising from various countries to serve the Cause of God in widely scattered lands throughout all continents the Universal House of Justice has considered ways of deriving maximum benefit from the services of these devoted believers, coordinating their efforts and anticipating the needs of the future.

The Continental Boards of Counsellors will soon be approaching you about the need for pioneers and travelling teachers for the period ending Ridvan 1976.

The functions of the Continental Pioneer Committees have been reviewed and developed in a way that will enable them to operate in closer collaboration with the Continental Boards of Counsellors and the National Spiritual Assemblies of their areas. A copy of the statement outlining the functions of the Continental Pioneer Committees as now revised is attached for your information. As you will note, the members of these Committees will henceforth be appointed by the Universal House of Justice. Nothing in the functions now assigned to the Continental Pioneer Committees in any way detracts from the primary responsibility of National Spiritual Assemblies to foster and promote pioneering and travelling teaching.

It is our hope and prayer that as the Five Year Plan unfolds evidences of closer ties of co-operation among the various institutions of the Faith will be increasingly witnessed in every land.

With loving Baha'i greetings,

The Universal House of Justice

(Messages from the Universal House of Justice, ‘1963-1986’)

9 June 1974: The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Iceland

Dear Baha'i friends,

Thank you for your letter of 4 March 1974 enclosing the inquiry from the Baha'i Group of Isafjoerdur. It has become apparent from a number of questions we have received that many believers are not clear which are those laws already binding upon the Baha'is in the West. We therefore feel it is timely to clarify the situation, and the simplest way is to state those laws listed in the Synopsis and Codification of the Kitab-i-Aqdas which are not at present binding upon the friends in the western world. For ease of reference we give the numbers of the sections listed.

IV.A.(4)(c)           The law regarding the exemption from obligatory prayer granted to women in their courses.

IV.A.(10)              The law concerning ablutions, with the exception of the ablutions required for the Medium Obligatory Prayer which are described in Section CLXXXII of Prayers and Meditations and are required for the recitation of that prayer.

IV.A.(12)              The law concerning actions to be taken in place of an Obligatory Prayer missed on account of insecure conditions.

IV.B.(5)(a)           The definition of travellers for the purpose of exemption from fasting.  Instead of these definitions the believers in the West should observe the following guidance given by the beloved Guardian's <p278> secretary on his behalf:  "travellers are exempt from fasting, but if they want to fast while they are travelling, they are free to do so. You are exempt the whole period of your travel, not just the hours you are in a train or car, etc. ..."

IV.B.(5)(f)            The law regarding the exemption from fasting granted to women in their courses.

IV.C.(1)(i)            The laws governing betrothal.

IV.C.(1)(j)            The law concerning the payment of a dowry by the groom to the bride on marriage.

IV.C.(1)(1) and (in) The laws concerning the travelling of a husband away from his wife

13 May 1974: The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States

Dear Baha'i friends,

The goal of the Five Year Plan to establish six new Publishing Trusts is by now known to you; these new publishing agencies are to be established in Australia, the Fiji Islands, Japan, Korea, the Philippines and Malaysia.

We have just sent to these six National Spiritual Assemblies the attached Memorandum on Establishing and Operating a Baha'i Publishing Trust, together with our Memorandum of 28 March 1971.  We now enclose both these memoranda solely for your information. It is possible that some of the six National Spiritual Assemblies charged with this goal may apply to any one of you for information about the structure and operation of your own publishing agency and we feel sure you will answer any questions they may ask.

With loving Baha'i greetings,

The Universal House of Justice

 Memorandum on Establishing and Operating a Baha'i Publishing Trust

May 1974

The name "Baha'i Publishing Trust" does not require the establishment of a Trust in the legal sense, and, in fact, more than one Baha'i publishing agency is not called a Trust.

By whatever name it is called the objective is to establish a publishing agency, under the complete control and direction of the National Spiritual Assembly.

The difference between a Baha'i Publishing Trust and any other Committee of the National Spiritual Assembly lies chiefly in the fact that the publishing agency does not operate on a budget from the National Spiritual Assembly but is established as a business with its own capital (whose sources are listed at 6 below), trading in the publishing and sale of Baha'i literature and allied items, and the results of this trading remain within its own financial structure. It is a business, owned by the National Spiritual Assembly, to carry out its publishing requirements.

While it may first be set up as a Committee the aim should be to form some association, legally established, by which the National Spiritual Assembly may act as a publisher. This may be achieved either through the National Spiritual Assembly's own incorporation or by the establishment of a separate legal entity with the National Spiritual Assembly having full control. But in any case legal advice must be sought.

The Company or Trust must be a non-profit-making organization, that is to say all proceeds from its transactions must be used for such things as paying salaries and other operational expenses, royalties and interests on loans and augmenting its own capital. It is not operated for individual profit