July 29. On this date in 1974, the Universal House of Justice admitted "It is true that Abdu'l-Bahá made statements linking the establishment of the unity of nations to the twentieth century."

 

July 29. On this date in 1974, the Universal House of Justice admitted "It is true that Abdu'l-Bahá made statements linking the establishment of the unity of nations to the twentieth century."

1425. Peace Will Come
"It is true that Abdu'l-Bahá 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-Bahá 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.'"
(From a letter of the Universal House of Justice, July 29, 1974: Ibid.)

Hooper Dunbar, retired member of the Universal House of Justice, answers questions at the Homefront Pioneer Gala held in Dallas, Texas on February 19, 2017.  At the two minute mark (2:00), he reads a question: "When is the Lesser Peace achieved?" and "Can you elaborate on the Lesser Peace which was to come before the end of the last century? How do the Pilgrims' Notes regarding the future of America play into that?"  He answers, "I can't tell you exactly. There's a lot of Pilgrims' Notes. And I think we all understand the nature of Pilgrims' Notes. There very inspiring, but we can't fully rely on them."

So, in this context, reports from dozens of individuals, including prominent Bahá’ís and independent journalists, who repeatedly quoted 'Abdu'l-Bahá in various settings clearly stating that the Lesser Peace was to come before the year 2000 are summarily dismissed because the Lesser Peace did not occur before 2000.

Hooper Dunbar continues by stating that the Lesser Peace is the "opening of a process...possibly have to go through a more calamitous period...We all need to be patient...Can you imagine the Lesser Peace being on one day. I don't think, it's not a one day affair. Those processes of disintegration and integration are going on...The chaos in the world gets worse. The vibrating influence of the New World Order of Bahá'u'lláh as announced in the Aqdas is acting and tearing down the barriers to Bahá'u'lláh's goals."  Later in the talk (at 5:33) he states, "As far as I can understand friends, the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, Shoghi Effendi says, is going to be built on the ashes of the Old World Order. So don't waste too much time trying to fix the Old World Order, because it's not going to come to anything. As this is the promises we have in the Faith."