Assessment of Six Year Plan Pioneer Goals

7 September 1989

To all National Spiritual Assemblies

 Dear Bahá’í Friends,

 On 14 May 1987 we wrote to all National Spiritual Assemblies on behalf of the Universal House of Justice conveying the call for the minimum number of pioneers who were to settle in their goals by Ridván 1989, together with a call for pioneers to settle in a number of Eastern Bloc countries by the end of the Six Year Plan. This call was supplemented by a letter issued on 5 June 1987, listing the Inter-Assembly Collaboration Projects which had been included in the individual National Plans and which were, for the most part, intended to be pursued throughout the six years of the plan.

The Bahá’í world has now grown so large, and the flow of pioneers and traveling teachers so constant that it is virtually impossible to keep a detailed up-to-date record of the vast number of projects being undertaken in every country. However, the most recent information that the Department of Statistics has been able to collect presents the following highly encouraging picture of the pioneering goals so far achieved during the Plan.

During the first year of the Six Year Plan, before the pioneer call of May 1987 was sent out, a large number of believers pioneered, of whom 523 are still at their posts. During the subsequent two years, in answer to the call, 943 believers have settled in goals specified in the Plan or in posts not originally assigned. The total number of international pioneers since April 1986 is thus 1,466. The details of the response to the pioneer call, by continent receiving pioneers, are as follows.

Timing of Feast Observances

28 August 1989

To all National Spiritual Assemblies

Dear Bahá’í Friends,

In addition to the accompanying letter addressed by the Universal House of Justice to the Followers of Bahá’u’lláh concerning the Nineteen Day Feast, we have been asked to convey its comments on the following points with which you will have to deal in assisting the community in its observance of this important festival.

First, the House of Justice is aware that in many areas only a limited time can be devoted to the Feast by the friends, because the Feast day may come during the week when most people have to work, and the evening hours do not allow much time for its observance. While the House of Justice does not wish to deemphasize the preference expressed by Shoghi Effendi that the Feast be held on the first day of the Bahá’í month, it feels that in instances of difficulty, where the friends would otherwise be unable to attend, the National Spiritual Assembly may point out to Local Assemblies that it is permissible to hold the Feast at another time within the Bahá’í month, such as on a weekend.

Second, the administrative portion of the Feast should not be laborious or burdensome. It can become so because too many reports by too many local Bahá’í committees are presented at one Feast. Such reports could perhaps be conveyed in bulletins. Also, there can be too many messages from agencies of the national administration. While it lies within the discretion of the National Spiritual Assembly to send a message or items of information to be shared at the Feast, care must be taken not to overburden these events with a multiplicity of items from the National Assembly and its auxiliary agencies. Some National Assemblies have developed the practice of sending a message to every Feast; this is, of course, not wrong in principle, but they may need to examine their methods of communicating with the believers and see whether occasional messages might not be sufficient. The idea is that the local Bahá’í communities should exercise control over the Feast and not be made to feel that they are being overrun by messages, instructions and assignments from the national administration of the Faith. This whole matter needs to be studied by the National Spiritual Assembly with a balanced perspective, so that while important national issues are not ignored, the potentialities of the Feast for development of the local community are fully realized.

The Importance of Literacy

10 July 1989

To all National Spiritual Assemblies

Dear Bahá’í Friends,

The Holy Word has been extolled by the Prophets of God as the medium of celestial power and the wellspring of all spiritual, social and material progress. Access to it, constant study of it and daily use of it in our individual lives are vital to the inner personal transformation towards which we strive and whose ultimate outer manifestation will be the emergence of that divine civilization which is the promise of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh.

The blessings which flow from the Word of God are implicit in this instruction of Bahá’u’lláh in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the Mother Book of His Revelation: "Immerse yourselves in the ocean of My words, that ye may unravel its secrets, and discover all the pearls of wisdom that lie hid in its depths." Again in the same book. He bids us recite the "verses of God every morning and evening.” An astonishing insight as to the sublime influence of the revealed Word is conveyed in this further instruction gleaned from one of His Tablets: "Intone, O My servant, the verses of God that have been received by thee, as intoned by them who have drawn nigh unto Him, that the sweetness of thy melody may kindle thine own soul, and attract the hearts of all men. Whoso reciteth, in the privacy of his chamber, the verses revealed by God, the scattering angels of the Almighty shall scatter abroad the fragrance of the words uttered by his mouth, and shall cause the heart of every righteous man to throb. Though he may, at first, remain unaware of its effect, yet the virtue of the grace vouchsafed unto him must needs sooner or later exercise its influence upon his soul."

Responsibilities of Individual Believers in the Administrative Order

22 June 1989

To a National Spiritual Assembly

Dear Bahá’í Friends,

The Universal House of Justice wrote to you on 21 September 1988 expressing its concern about the conditions existing within your Assembly and asking for views and recommendations to be sent to it by members of the National Spiritual Assembly individually. A number of responses have been received, along with additional information requested by the House of Justice from other sources. We have been directed to convey to you the following.

One of the distinctive features of the Bahá’í Administrative Order, which stands in striking contrast to the administrative systems associated with past Dispensations, is the responsibility it places upon the individual believer to participate in its activities. In contrast to the members of congregations of many other religions whose role is principally that of being the recipients of instruction and advice from their ecclesiastical leaders, the followers of Bahá’u’lláh are called upon, in their relationships within the community, to engage in consultation, to follow closely the affairs of the Faith in their region, to offer their views and recommendations on all matters which pertain to the interests of the Faith and its community, and to elect the Spiritual Assemblies and cooperate wholeheartedly with them. This active involvement by every Bahá’í in the life of the community provides it with access to each individual’s insight and wisdom and is a source of great strength to the organic unit.

Commencement of Preliminary Phase of Mount Carmel Projects

28 April 1989

To all National Spiritual Assemblies

REJOICE ANNOUNCE COMMENCEMENT GEOLOGICAL SURVEY ESSENTIAL PRELIMINARY STEP IMPLEMENTATION PROJECTS MOUNT CARMEL THIS STEP SHARPENS NEED SPEEDY ACCUMULATION FIFTY MILLION DOLLAR RESERVE CALLED FOR PERMIT INITIATION MAJOR WORKS OF WHICH ONE THIRD SO FAR CONTRIBUTED. URGE SHARE INFORMATION FRIENDS.

THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE

(Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001)

Education in the Law of Huqúqu’lláh

23 March 1989

To all National Spiritual Assemblies

Dear Bahá’í Friends,

One of the vital goals of the Six Year Plan is the education of the believers in the Law of Huqúqu’lláh, observance of which has a profound spiritual effect beyond the practical benefits for the work of the Cause.

The Trustee of Huqúqu’ lláh, the Hand of the Cause of God Dr. ‘Alí Muhammad Varqá, has, at the request of the Universal House of Justice, been developing the structure of his Deputies and Representatives around the world. In addition to their function of receiving Huqúqu’lláh from the friends, these Deputies and Representatives share with the National Spiritual Assemblies the responsibility for educating all the believers in this Law. To achieve the best results there should be close and wholehearted collaboration between the National Spiritual Assemblies and the Deputies and Representatives of Huqúqu’lláh in their countries. The House of Justice is confident that these newly forged links will be greatly strengthened as the Bahá’í world enters the second half of the Six Year Plan, and assures you all of its prayers for your confirmation in your efforts to achieve this goal.

With loving Bahá’í greetings,

Department of the Secretariat

(Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001)