The Light of Divine Guidance (Volume 1)

Your letter to our beloved Guardian, dated Sept. 25th, 1946, was received, as well as the minutes of your meeting of Nov. 2nd and 3rd., and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.

Regarding the question of Herr Jörn: Smoking is not forbidden by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá; He advises against it for reasons of health, but we have no right to prevent anyone from smoking. But drinking and the use of drugs are strictly forbidden and the Bahá’ís should obey this command.

The Guardian has received a number of letters from the Bahá’ís of …, and in the interest of promoting unity among the friends in Germany he is going to write them instructing them to cooperate with and obey your Assembly; he feels that you should send capable Bahá’ís there to teach them and strengthen them in the Faith, and to make sure no political elements are allowed to enter into their discussions or be a part of their group.

He has recently had fifteen hundred dollars sent from the Relief Fund in Ṭihrán to America for the immediate 118 purchase of food parcels for the German and Austrian Bahá’ís, and hopes these will soon reach them. It is very distressing that so much money over ten thousand pounds (£10.000) should be held in the name of the German friends, and yet no way of sending it be found. He hopes your Assembly will make every effort to arrange for this money to be received in Germany.

He is also very anxious to receive news of exactly what is happening about the National Bahá’í Headquarters in Frankfurt; he gathers from your minutes that negotiations are in progress for a building in that city? He attaches great importance to this undertaking, and urges you to press the matter constantly.

The reports he received of the young peoples’ Summer School and the Summer School at Esslingen were most encouraging, and he is delighted to see that in spite of so many handicaps the friends are so devoted and active! He was also very happy to note that new spiritual assemblies are in the process of formation, and hopes you will concentrate on their establishment and the formation of many new groups. In spite of the conditions in Germany it is of the utmost importance to teach the Cause as widely as possible, especially to the youth, now that through suffering and disillusionment the hearts of the people are more receptive.

You may be sure that his ardent and loving prayers are offered for each and every one of you, and for the success of your devoted labours for the Cause of God….

[From the Guardian:]

The revival and rapid consolidation of the German Bahá’í community after the prolonged and terrible ordeals to which it has been subjected is a striking evidence of the 119 irresistible power of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, as well as a magnificent testimony to the vitality of the faith of the German believers. I feel proud and profoundly thankful for the loyalty, the perseverance, the resolution, the unity, the zeal and the devotion which characterize their collective efforts and corporate life in the service of this glorious Cause. The prompt establishment of the national Hazíratu’l-Quds in the city of Frankfurt; the rapid translation, publication and dissemination of Bahá’í literature; the multiplication of Bahá’í centers, whether groups or assemblies; the consolidation of the institution of the Summer School; the initiation of effective measures aimed at a close collaboration with the American European Teaching committee; the proclamation of the teachings of the Faith to the spiritually famished, the disillusioned and longsuffering masses—these stand out as the primary and urgent tasks that demand the immediate, the earnest and undivided attention of your assembly. I will pray for your success from the depths of my heart and feel confident that the dearly-beloved heroic German believers will arise, as one man and despite the obstacles confronting them, to achieve these immediate tasks that constitute only a prelude to the tremendous enterprises which it is their destiny to accomplish in the years to come.