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Messages to Canada

  • Author:

  • Shoghi Effendi

  • Source:
  • Bahá’í Canada Publications
  • Pages:
  • 276
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Pages 14-16

Letter of January 1926

January 1926

To an individual believer

My dear Mr. ... :
After reading your short yet delightful letter, Shoghi Effendi passed it over to me to acknowledge its receipt. He was most pleased to hear that the Cause has lately aroused some interest among the people in Canada. This has been the case everywhere. This last world war together with the treaty of peace and its consequences have taught humanity that unless national, religious and political prejudices be abolished, unless universal brotherhood be established, unless spiritual civilization be given an equal footing with material civilization and thereby change the standard of individual, national and international morality, the world is doomed to failure and society to utter destruction. Confirming this idea, Mr. Lloyd George, in one of his late addresses, stated that one morning he had invited some church dignitaries for breakfast to Downing Street. Their talk was about the real need of England. The church dignitaries were almost unanimous in their view that the real need of England was a political revival. Mr. Lloyd George, who was the only layman present, and was at that time the British Prime Minister, stated that the real and only need of England was a religious revival, because religion changes the character of the individual, and once the individual changes the nation changes, and once the nation changes the government has to change and follow a new code of laws in its dealings towards other nations. Thus we see that even those who hold the reins of world politics believe that religion is essential for human welfare. If so what religion is more broad in its views, more liberal in its ideas, and more modern and scientific in its principles than the Bahá’í Religion?
The reason why the Cause has not spread more than it has is that the world up to the present has not really felt its critical position and the friends not done their best. It is the duty of the Bahá’ís, the world over, to study the Teachings, become versed in the principles and history of the Cause, catch the spirit of the Movement and then arise to service. This was the Master’s last word of command, this is Shoghi Effendi’s first desire.
Whenever Shoghi Effendi visits the Blessed Shrines, and kneels at those Sacred Thresholds, he earnestly prays and asks God to help the friends in this great work and pave the way for their service. Had it not been for his tremendous work, Shoghi Effendi would have written to the friends individually and nerved them to action. Yet his correspondence with the Assemblies does not permit him as yet to attend to the letters of the individual friends, so he tells us who are around him to take up that part of his work and put on paper what he communicates to us orally.
At present we are having Mrs. Maxwell1 and Mrs. Schopflocher2 with us. They tell us about your Assemblies in Canada and the wonderful success you have had in teaching and interesting the people. I really hope your group will increase from day to day and achieve great things in the path of God.

With best wishes to you as well as to your family, I beg to remain,

Yours most sincerely,

Ruhi Afnan
1.May Ellis Maxwell—spiritual mother of the Canadian Bahá’í community, became a believer in 1898, visited ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Haifa in 1899 and returned to Paris to found the first Bahá’í centre on the European continent, married Sutherland Maxwell and settled in Montreal in 1902, achieved “the priceless honour” of a “martyr’s death” in Argentina in 1940. For a review of the vast range of her contributions to the Faith in Europe and America, see The Bahá’í World Vol. VIII, 631–642, In Memoriam.  [ Back To Reference]
2.Florence Evaline (Lorol/Kitty) Schopflocher—an early Montreal believer who travelled to 86 countries on behalf of the Cause. Her life and travels are described in The Bahá’í World Vol. XV, 488–498, In Memoriam.  [ Back To Reference]