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From a Letter Written by Shoghi Effendi 20: “The responsibilities of the members of the Spiritual Assemblies that are…” |
They further impress upon them the virtue of trustworthiness and
godliness, of purity of motive, kindliness of heart, and detachment from the
fetters of this material world…. They urge them to make detailed inquiry
into the various branches of contemporary learning—arts and sciences
alike—and to concentrate their attention on serving the general interests
of the people; to deepen themselves by attentive study of the sacred Texts,
and to apply the divine guidance they contain to the circumstances, needs and
conditions of society today; to refrain from entering into the tangled affairs
of political parties and to have neither concern for, nor involvement in, the
controversies of politicians, the wranglings of theologians or any of the
ailing social theories current amongst men.
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They finally exhort them to be sincerely obedient, in both thought and
word, to the laws duly enacted by the government of the realm, and to distance
themselves from the methods, concepts and ill-grounded arguments of extreme
traditionalists and modernists alike; to accord honour, veneration and respect
to—and endorse the efforts of—exponents of the arts and sciences, and to
esteem and revere those who are possessed of extensive knowledge and scholarly
erudition; to uphold the right of freedom of conscience; and to abstain from
criticizing and disparaging the manners, customs and beliefs of other
individuals, peoples and nations.
(30 January 1926 to the Spiritual Assemblies in Iran, translated from the Persian) [20] |