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Letter of 24 February 1937 |
I am directed by the Guardian to acknowledge the receipt of
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your welcome communications of the 19th January and the
enclosed latest number of the “Bahá’í Journal” issued by the
British N.S.A., and to transmit to you, and through you to your
distinguished collaborators in that body, his admiration and
gratitude for the quick action you have been prompted to take
in connection with the formation of a Publishing Company
under the direction of your National Assembly.
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The plan you have conceived is certainly bold, knowing how
limited are the number and resources of the believers in England.
But it nevertheless offers great possibilities of development and
success, provided your Assembly gives it full moral and financial
support, and succeeds in stimulating the interest and obtaining
the assistance of the believers outside Great Britain for its
immediate and effective prosecution.
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In this connection, he wishes you to assure the N.S.A. of his
whole-hearted and full approval of their suggestion to solicit
subscriptions from the Bahá’ís of those countries who normally
order literature from them. He feels it, indeed, to be the duty of
every believer who has the means, and has also the interest of the
Cause at heart, to assist in any capacity, and to any extent he can,
in carrying out the British N.S.A.’s project. Nothing can
demonstrate more effectively the spirit of solidarity and self-sacrifice
which should animate the friends than their response to
this call. Aside from the fact that London is the heart of the
British Empire, and as such commands an importance which
few other centres in the world can equal and should consequently
be raised to the status of one of the leading outposts of the Faith,
it should be stated that now that the Administrative Order has
at last been firmly established and is being increasingly
consolidated in that centre, it is the supreme obligation of all the
believers, both in Great Britain and other European countries, to
assist by every means in hastening this internal development and
growth. And it is quite evident that the formation of a Publishing
Company along the lines suggested by the British N.S.A. is the
greatest asset to such a development and expansion of the Cause
in London and throughout England as a whole.
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It is the Guardian’s hope that the response which the friends
will make to this project will be such as to mark the inauguration
of a new era of expansion of the Cause throughout the British
Isles, and the rest of the far-flung British Empire. He would
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appeal to every believer to carefully ponder upon the responsibilities
which he is called upon to shoulder in order to meet this
supreme and vital obligation.
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