June 20. On this date in 1953, Shoghi Effendi wrote the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada regarding "one of the believers who seems to be flagrantly homosexual...such acts are condemned by Bahá'u'lláh, and that he must mend his ways, if necessary consult doctors, and make every effort to overcome this affliction, which is corruptive for him and bad for the Cause...he should have his voting rights taken away. The Guardian does not think, however, that a Bahá'í body should take it upon itself to denounce him to the Authorities unless his conduct borders on insanity."

June 20. On this date in 1953, Shoghi Effendi wrote (also here) the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada regarding "one of the believers who seems to be flagrantly homosexual...such acts are condemned by Bahá'u'lláh, and that he must mend his ways, if necessary consult doctors, and make every effort to overcome this affliction, which is corruptive for him and bad for the Cause...he should have his voting rights taken away. The Guardian does not think, however, that a Bahá'í body should take it upon itself to denounce him to the Authorities unless his conduct borders on insanity."

Regarding the question you asked him about one of the believers who seems to be flagrantly homosexual -- although to a certain extent we must be forbearing in the matter of people's moral conduct because of the terrible deterioration in society in general, this does not mean that we can put up indefinitely with conduct which is disgracing the Cause. The person should have it brought to his attention that such acts are condemned by Bahá'u'lláh, and that he must mend his ways, if necessary consult doctors, and make every effort to overcome this affliction, which is corruptive for him and bad for the Cause. If after a period of probation you do not see an improvement, he should have his voting rights taken away. The Guardian does not think, however, that a Bahá'í body should take it upon itself to denounce him to the Authorities unless his conduct borders on insanity. (20 June 1953 to the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada, published in "Messages to Canada")

June 20. On this date in 1991, the Universal House of Justice addressed an inquiry "over the statement in its Ridván 1990 message referring to Bahá'u'lláh as 'the most precious Being ever to have drawn breath on this planet'."

June 20. On this date in 1991, the Universal House of Justice addressed an inquiry "over the statement in its Ridván 1990 message referring to Bahá'u'lláh as 'the most precious Being ever to have drawn breath on this planet'."

20 June, 1991

 

Dear Bahá'í Friend,

Further to our letter of 25 November 1990, we have been directed by the Universal House of Justice to convey the following response to your inquiry of 24 June 1990. The delay is sincerely regretted.

The House of Justice appreciates your frankness concerning your puzzlement over the statement in its Ridván 1990 message referring to Bahá'u'lláh as "the most precious Being ever to have drawn breath on this planet". You are entirely correct in drawing upon Bahá'u'lláh's statement, cited on pages 78-79 of "Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh", to point out the oneness and sameness of the "essence of all the Prophets of God". The statement of the House of Justice should not be taken to imply anything to the contrary, but rather should be seen in the historical context of His Revelation and in its nature and character relative to the Revelations that preceded it. As Bahá'u'lláh has said in the same passage in the "Gleanings" from which you quoted:

The measure of the revelation of the Prophets of God in this world, however, must differ. Each and every one of them hath been the Bearer of a distinct Message, and hath been commissioned to reveal Himself through specific acts….

Concerning His own Revelation, Bahá'u'lláh has testified to "the inconceivable greatness of this Revelation" and said:

That which hath been made manifest in this preeminent, this most exalted Revelation, stands unparalleled in the annals of the past, nor will future ages witness its like….

In the following statement written on his behalf, Shoghi Effendi offers important clarification on the question of the sameness of the essence of the Prophets and the comparative qualities of their Revelations in this world:

Bahá'u'lláh is not the intermediary between other Manifestations and God. Each has His own relation to the Primal Source. But in the sense that Bahá'u'lláh is the greatest Manifestation to yet appear, the One Who consummates the Revelation of Moses, He was the One Moses conversed with in the Burning Bush. In other words Bahá'u'lláh identifies the Glory of the Godhead on that occasion with Himself. No distinction can be made amongst the Prophets in the sense that They all proceed from one source, and are of one essence. But Their stations and functions in this world are different.

This statement calls to mind several passages from the writings of Bahá'u'lláh which Shoghi Effendi quotes in "God Passes By", page 99:

"In this most mighty Revelation," He moreover states, "all the Dispensations of the past have attained their highest, their final consummation." And again: "None among the Manifestations of old, except to a prescribed degree, hath ever completely apprehended the nature of this Revelation." Referring to His [Bahá'u'lláh's] own station He declares: "But for Him no Divine Messenger would have been invested with the Robe of Prophethood, nor would any of the sacred Scriptures have been revealed."

Also of relevance to the difference in stations between Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation and those which have preceded or will come after it is the beloved Guardian's response to an inquiry which, as conveyed, said: "There is no record in history, or in the teachings, of a Prophet similar in station to Bahá'u'lláh having lived 500,000 years ago. There will, however, be one similar to Him in greatness after the lapse of 500,000 years…."

 

The House of Justice trusts that these points will resolve your puzzlement and assures you and your family of its prayers at the Holy Threshold that the Blessed Beauty may surround you with His unfailing confirmations.

With loving Bahá'í greetings,
For Department of the Secretariat

June 20. On this date in 1991, the Universal House of Justice sent a message to the Bahá’ís of the World announcing the "Commencement of Phase Two of the Mount Carmel Projects." Some of the scenes of construction are featured in the Israeli documentary film "Bahá’ís in My Backyard."

June 20. On this date in 1991, the Universal House of Justice sent a message to the Bahá’ís of the World announcing the "Commencement of Phase Two of the Mount Carmel Projects." Some of the scenes of construction are featured in the Israeli documentary film "Bahá’ís in My Backyard."

Commencement of Phase Two of the Mount Carmel Projects
The Universal House of Justice
20 June 1991
To the Bahá’ís of the World
FOLLOWING RECEIPT BUILDING PERMITS FOR SECOND PHASE OF TERRACES OF THE BÁB’S SHRINE AND FOR EXCAVATION FOR THE FIRST TWO BUILDINGS, AND AFTER COMPLETION TENDER FORMALITIES, WE REJOICE ANNOUNCE CONTRACT SIGNED SEVENTEENTH JUNE 1991, OFFICIALLY COMMENCING PHASE TWO OF MOUNT CARMEL PROJECTS.
THIS PHASE, WHICH IS EXPECTED TO TAKE APPROXIMATELY SIXTEEN MONTHS, WILL INCLUDE EXCAVATION AND ANCHOR WORK FOR CENTER STUDY TEXTS AND ARCHIVES EXTENSION AS WELL AS EARTHWORK OF FIVE TERRACES IMMEDIATELY BELOW HOLY SHRINE AND EXTENSION OF MAIN TERRACE. TOTAL COST THIS PHASE ESTIMATED FIVE MILLION DOLLARS.
APPEAL CONTINUING FLOW FUNDS ENSURE UNINTERRUPTED PROGRESS.
SUPPLICATING SACRED THRESHOLD DIVINE CONFIRMATION HISTORIC UNDERTAKING.

June 19. On this date in 1949, Shoghi Effendi addressed a letter to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada describing them as "this vigorous, divinely sustained, resistlessly advancing community" acting "with such vigour, devotion, single-mindedness, harmony and determination, is still in the initial stage of its development."

 

June 19. On this date in 1949, Shoghi Effendi addressed a letter to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada describing them as "this vigorous, divinely sustained, resistlessly advancing community" acting "with such vigour, devotion, single-mindedness, harmony and determination, is still in the initial stage of its development."

June 19, 1949.
The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada.
Your letters to our beloved Guardian ... have been received, with their enclosures, as well as the material you sent under separate cover.
FIRST GOVERNMENT TO RECOGNIZE OFFICIAL STATUS
Your Assembly has much to be congratulated upon for your victories during the past Bahá'í Year have been memorable. The passing, in both Houses, of the Bill relating to the official status of your Assembly was a cause for great rejoicing, as this is the first time in Bahá'í history that any government has taken such action in relation to our Faith's status. He would like, if possible, to receive duplicates of the official Gazette and all publicity given this matter, as the copies you sent were placed in the Mansion at Bahjí, but he wishes to have these documents at hand in his personal files as well.
The increase in membership in the Canadian Bahá'í Community this past year was also most encouraging. It shows that there is, primarily, unity among the believers, for where this fundamental quality is lacking in a Bahá'í community any real growth is impossible. That is why the beloved Master so constantly admonished the friends to be as one soul in different bodies, for this love and unity constitutes their spiritual health and gives them the strength to overcome all obstacles in their path.
He fully realizes how great are the tasks facing your Assembly, but feels confident that the Canadian Bahá'ís will be able to accomplish them and will, indeed, set an example to their sister communities in different parts of the world. The people of that country, the national character, are such as to hold high promise for the future of the Cause there, and the great range covered by your Plan is stimulating in the extreme. To be the Trustees of such a Faith, in such a place, at such a time is a marvellous privilege, and he is looking forward to your next achievements with confidence and keen interest.
You may be sure his loving prayers are with you in all you do for the beloved Faith.
With warmest greetings,
R. RABBANI.
Dear and Valued Co-workers:
The progress achieved in the course of the opening year of the Five Year Plan, to which the newly emerged independent Canadian Bahá'í Community is solemnly committed, is such as to excite the admiration, and merit the gratitude, of the entire Bahá'í World. A community, so small in numbers, so restricted in resources, labouring over so extensive a field, shouldering such weighty responsibilities, has passed through the initial stage of its task and discharged its duties with such distinction as to be worthy of the glowing promises and weighty utterances recorded in `Abdu'l-Bahá's Tablets regarding the material as well as the spiritual potentialities with which that great and promising Dominion has been endowed.
OPERATION OF THE PLAN GATHERS MOMENTUM
Through the swift and marvellous increase in its membership, through its faithful and uncompromising adherence to both the spiritual and administrative principles of the Faith it so nobly serves; through the multiplication of its administrative centres from the Atlantic to the Pacific sea-board; through the steady consolidation of its local and national Funds, designed to sustain its ever-unfolding activities, through the spirit consistently manifested by the small yet eager and valiant band of its pioneers and administrators, and more recently through the official recognition providentially accorded the body of its national elected representatives by both chambers of the Legislature in that Dominion--an act wholly unprecedented in the annals of the Faith in any country, in either East or West--this vigorous, divinely sustained, resistlessly advancing community, has not only fulfilled the expectations and hopes that greeted its birth, but set a brilliant example to its sister communities in both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.
The task which it has so splendidly inaugurated and which is being now prosecuted with such vigour, devotion, single-mindedness, harmony and determination, is still in the initial stage of its development. The process that has stimulated the growth and increased the number of its administrative centres must be accelerated no matter how great the sacrifice involved. The development of the local and national Funds must be continuously maintained as a prelude to the establishment of local and national endowments and the ultimate erection of a House of Worship that will incarnate the soul of a flourishing nation-wide community. The initiation of a systematic and sustained campaign beyond the frontiers of that Dominion, and in obedience to the Mandate of the Author of the Divine Plan, to which it stands inescapably pledged, and aiming at the introduction of the Faith in Greenland and the conversion of the Eskimos still remains to be undertaken. The consolidation of the summer school, the gradual incorporation of firmly established, properly functioning Assemblies are, moreover, objectives that must under no circumstances be overlooked or neglected.
As the operation of the Plan gathers momentum the members of this community must evince a still greater measure of solidarity, rise to higher levels of heroism, demonstrate a greater capacity for collective achievement, and attract still more abundant blessings on the varied enterprises on which they have embarked.
I am following the unfoldment of their Plan with eager and sustained interest. My ardent prayers will surround and accompany its prosecutors at every stage of their historic undertaking. My confidence in their ultimate success is not only unshaken, but has been immensely reinforced. May He Who watches over them guide every step they take, bless every measure they adopt, remove every obstacle that impedes their onward march and fulfil every desire they cherish for the future glory, honour and greatness of their beloved Faith in that vast and richly blessed Dominion.
SHOGHI.

June 19. On this date in 1955, a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi stated "By dispersal the Guardian means the friends should get away entirely from the large centres of population and, leaving a nucleus of about 15 Bahá'ís to maintain the Local Assembly, go settle, live and teach in new towns, cities and even villages."

June 19. On this date in 1955, a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi stated "By dispersal the Guardian means the friends should get away entirely from the large centres of population and, leaving a nucleus of about 15 Bahá'ís to maintain the Local Assembly, go settle, live and teach in new towns, cities and even villages."

1952. The Purpose of Dispersal
"By dispersal the Guardian means the friends should get away entirely from the large centres of population and, leaving a nucleus of about 15 Bahá'ís to maintain the Local Assembly, go settle, live and teach in new towns, cities and even villages. Naturally, it is no service to the Cause to disperse if it breaks up an existing Assembly. The purpose of dispersal is to create more Assemblies over a wider area. Until a given assembly can spare some of its local Community to go out and settle, they should by all means at least do extension teaching.
"In the instance you cited about the friend who with independent means was willing to go out and sell her home and move to a new area, he feels she would have done better to go. You had more than 9 members in your Community; you could have found another place to meet. This is just the type of pioneering the Guardian is urging. Those who can go should go. Others will arise locally to take their places."
(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, June 19, 1955)

Juan Cole includes the following paragraph in his article titled "Race, Immorality and Money in the American Baha'i Community: Impeaching the Los Angeles Spiritual Assembly" which was published in the journal Religion...

The exclusion of a fair number of Iranian Baha'is, moreover, was the fault of the international and national Baha'i authorities, who adopted policies signaling that the Iranian refugees were not supposed to be in Los Angeles. Around 1981, Ruhiyyih Khanum (née Mary Maxwell) Rabbani, a Hand of the Cause or lay bishop, spoke to the community harshly, upbraiding them for settling in a such a decadent urban center, implying they should never have left Iran, and that if they had insisted on doing so should at least have had the decency to settle as missionaries in some remote village of the global South. Many traditionalist Baha'is believe that cities are in imminent danger of evaporation. When someone from the audience asked where they should have settled instead, she replied in Persian that it was self-evident: Khar kih nistid (you are not asses). Many Iranian Baha'is came away from the meeting angry. One Iranian-American observer pointed out that most Iranian Baha'is who settled in Los Angeles did so to be close to family members, or for economic opportunities. Nevertheless, he noted, repeated admonitions from Baha'i leaders and institutions about the dire consequences of living in Los Angeles has led to considerable confusion, thus making assimilation seem even less desirable to them, and added that their choice of domicile has become a religious question which led to a strong sense of guilt associated with their settling in Los Angeles.

"Race, Immorality and Money in the American Baha'i Community: Impeaching the Los Angeles Spiritual Assembly" "analyses the dissolution of the Baha'i local assembly of Los Angeles in 1986–88 by the National Assembly. Official explanations for this move focused on lapses in morality and administrative discipline, but local interviewees, as well as some official pronouncements, suggest that the conflict had two roots: the globalisation of the community and resultant ethnic conflict among whites, African–Americans and newly immigrant Iranians; and national/local conflicts over power and money. Low-information elections, the unaccountability of elected officials, censorship and difficulties in acknowledging social conflict were the causes of these episodes in the Baha'i religion."

June 19. On this date in 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá gave a talk in New York about Bahá'u'lláh's Tablet of the Branch, declaring himself the "Centre of the Covenant," New York the "City of the Covenant," and Lua Getsinger the "Herald of the Covenant."

June 19. On this date in 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá gave a talk in New York about Bahá'u'lláh's Tablet of the Branch, declaring himself the "Centre of the Covenant," New York the "City of the Covenant," and Lua Getsinger the "Herald of the Covenant."

June 18. On this date in 1991, Canadian Hand of the Cause of God John Robarts died in Rawdon, Quebec.

June 18. On this date in 1991, Canadian Hand of the Cause of God John Robarts died in Rawdon, Quebec.

John Robarts was born on November 2, 1901 in Waterloo, Ontario, to Aldham Wilson Robarts and Rachel Mary Montgomery-Campbell. His sister was Marjorie Campbell Robarts, who survived the sinking of the Allan liner RMS Hesperian in September of 1915.

In 1957, Shoghi Effendi appointed Robarts a Hand of the Cause of God. His travels as a Hand included Southern Rhodesia, Morocco, Liberia, Cameroon, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Hawaii, Jamaica, Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Fiji, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, New Hebrides, and Western Samoa.

On May 3, 1980, John Robarts addressed the Canadian Bahá'í National Convention, stating, "..the only hope, the only light in the world is the light of Bahá'u'lláh...the pioneers have been telling us for years that masses are waiting to receive the news of the love of God and the coming of Bahá'u'lláh. We have it, and the only way that they're going to get it is for us to go and give it to them ...."

221. "..the only hope, the only light in the world is the light of Bahá'u'lláh...the pioneers have been telling us for years that masses are waiting to receive the news of the love of God and the coming of Bahá'u'lláh. We have it, and the only way that they're going to get it is for us to go and give it to them ...."
— Hand of the Cause of God John Robarts, from an address at the Bahá'í National Convention, Vancouver, Canada, May 3, 1980

He died in Rawdon, Quebec, on June 18, 1991.