October 11. On this date in 1987, the Universal House of Justice sent all National Spiritual Assemblies a compilation entitled Crisis and Victory in order "to orient the believers to the processes, within and without the Faith, that will accompany its progressive emergence on the world stage."

 

October 11. On this date in 1987, the Universal House of Justice sent all National Spiritual Assemblies a compilation entitled Crisis and Victory in order "to orient the believers to the processes, within and without the Faith, that will accompany its progressive emergence on the world stage."

Release of a Compilation on Crisis and Victory

11 OCTOBER 1987

To all National Spiritual Assemblies

Dear Bahá’í Friends,

We enclose a copy of a new compilation entitled Crisis and Victory, which was prepared by the Research Department at our instruction.[1] The purpose of this compilation is to orient the believers to the processes, within and without the Faith, that will accompany its progressive emergence on the world stage.

Tribulations attend and fuel the unfoldment of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. In describing the sweep of Bahá’í history, the beloved Guardian identified a pattern of growth which is characterized by "a series of pulsations, of alternating crises and triumphs, leading it [the Faith] ever nearer to its divinely appointed destiny."[2]

As the stature of the Cause of God increases in the eyes of the world, the process of its emergence into the limelight of public attention, resulting, in large part, from the indescribable sacrifices of the beloved friends in Iran, is accelerated, and the Faith, gradually and inevitably, is projected into the next stage of its divinely propelled development.

The shelter of its relatively imperceptible expansion enabled the foundations of the Faith to be established and consolidated, and the community to attain a level of stability. Now, with the entrance of the Faith on the world scene, we call upon the believers everywhere not to allow themselves, even for one moment, to be perturbed by any increase in opposition to the Cause. Rather let them deepen their understanding of the creative interaction between crisis and victory in the evolution of the Faith, and increase their awareness of the power inherent in the Cause to surmount all obstacles that threaten its progress. Armed with this knowledge, let them seize the opportunities that arise and embrace the God-given challenges, confident in the invincibility of the Faith and the steady onward march of its Institutions.

With loving Bahá’í greetings,

THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE

Notes

            1. The compilation is too lengthy to include here; see CC 1:131-85.

  2. GPB, p. 409.