February 17. On this date in 1958, three months after the death of Shoghi Effendi, the "Hands of the Cause of God in the Holy Land" addressed a letter to "To the Hands of the Faith and the Members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States" expressing that they were "very distressed" at their use of the term "A New Bahá'í Era"

 

February 17. On this date in 1958, three months after the death of Shoghi Effendi, the "Hands of the Cause of God in the Holy Land" addressed a letter to "To the Hands of the Faith and the Members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States" expressing that they were "very distressed" at their use of the term "A New Bahá'í Era"

To the Hands of the Faith and the Members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States February 17, 1958

Beloved Co-workers:

The letter from the Hand of the Cause Horace Holleydated February 4th with copy of the statement you issued entitled "A New Bahá'í Era" was received, and after studying it very carefully we wish to share our views with you regarding it, and explain to you the reasons which prompted our recent cable requesting that certain points be deleted from it.

We never received any copy whatsoever of this statement in Haifa and are most anxious to know if one was ever mailed to the Custodians? If it was sent to the Hand of the Cause Leroy Ioas, he unfortunately had to go to a sanatorium in Switzerland to take care of his heart, which had not been in a good condition for some time and was becoming seriously impaired through work and strain after the passing of the beloved Guardian and the shock he received at that time.

We heard of this statement of yours through excerpts forwarded here by some of the Hands of the Cause in Europe who were very distressed over the repercussions it might have, and indeed was already having, on the believers there.

Dear friends, the nine Hands of the Faith serving here at the World Centre have been very distressed that a statement of this magnitude, interpreting as it does the Proclamation made by the twenty-seven Hands of the Faith when they gathered in Bahji after the ascension of the beloved Guardian, who are according to his own words "the Chief Stewards of the embryonic World Commonwealth of Bahá'u'lláh" should have been issued without consultation with either the Custodians or the body of the Hands of the Cause who are dispersed all over the world.

Please do not misunderstand us; we fully appreciate that your motive was to protect the Faith, that you must have been asked many questions which prompted this response, and that you acted after full consultation amongst yourselves. This does not change the fact that the only way the work of our beloved Guardian for which he was immolated for thirty-six years and which cost him his life in the end, can be protected, is by preserving the world character of the Cause of God, and this can obviously only be done from the International Centre of the Faith, the Centre which he said so many times was the heart or nerve centre, and the permanent Spiritual and Administrative Centre.

If there is at this time of crisis a continental interpretation of events, and a continental answer to questions being raised by the believers, the dangers to the Cause of God are obviously immense. There are in our World Community eastern and western believers. Their backgrounds are different, their approach to a test of this nature different-the answer however must be uniform the world over; otherwise grave differences may arise and the marvellous accomplishment of our beloved Guardian in unifying this diversified Community be lost temporarily and its efficacy impaired.

We feel sure that you will see the wisdom of this, and that in future you will assist us, veteran and much-loved Community by our beloved Guardian that you are, to protect the work from the World Centre and to ensure its smooth functioning in all continents of the globe.

We have just cabled you, asking you, without making any undue fuss or attracting attention to the fact that you are doing so, to quietly divert attention, so to speak, from this statement which has been recently issued. If no further emphasis is given to it and the believers are encouraged to concentrate their full forces on making the forthcoming Intercontinental Conference in Chicago a tremendous success, which will be in itself a worthy American memorial to our dearly beloved Shoghi Effendi we feel that no serious harm will have been done.

The spirit of the believers all over the world is truly remarkable, and their faith, although in many cases having received a severe test, is unimpaired, and their devotion boundless. They must now be led, as you yourselves are wisely seeking to do, into the path of greater service, and the grief in their hearts converted into a dynamo of energy with which to carry on the teaching work and fulfil the Guardian's cherished plans.

We send you all our Bahá'í love, and ask you to remember us in your prayers as we remember you in ours.

Yours in the service of the beloved Guardian,

HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND