Supreme Body pours forth a stream of timely guidance
Four momentous messages were issued by the Universal House of Justice from 30 December 2021 to 4 January 2022, during the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors in the Holy Land.
The two messages with the highest priority for study are those of 4 January 2022 to the Bahá’ís of the World, and of 30 December 2021 to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors. The former (the 4 January letter) succinctly highlights why the present time, as the Nine Year Plan comes into view, is “a charged moment” because of the “the global challenges now facing humanity” while “the followers of Bahá’u’lláh are examining anew the possibilities before them to release the society-building power of the Faith”. The latter (the 30 December letter) will be the charter for the coming nine years, and as such will be a constant reference document, as well as being of monumental significance for in-depth study now.
These are quick links to pdf files of the four letters (in reverse date order):
Further details about each letter follow below, along with links to the letters on the Bahá’í Reference Library site, where the letter may be read online and other formats are also available (docx, html).
Comments by the National Spiritual Assembly on each letter are provided in the last section of this article. The most significant of the National Assembly’s communications is a letter to all the friends in Aotearoa, reproduced at the end of this article, about the Supreme Body’s message to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors, and its implications for our situation in this country. (The letter to the friends in Aotearoa was emailed to friends on the National Assembly’s mailing list on 31 December.)
THE MESSAGES
The messages are presented below in reverse date order (most recent first).
The large, coloured buttons link to pdf files. The smaller, black buttons lead to the letters on the Bahá’í Reference Library site, which offers online reading, as well as pdf, docx, and html files for download.
Message of 4 January 2022 to the Bahá’ís of the World
This was written near the conclusion of the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors in the Holy Land, and extols the rise in capacity of the Bahá’í world and our collective readiness to embark on “this immense collective enterprise” — the Nine Year Plan.
Message of 3 January 2022 to Auxiliary Board members
The beloved Supreme Institution has taken the extremely rare step of speaking directly to Auxiliary Board members, and has asked that this message be shared with all the friends.
Letter of 1 January 2022 to all National Spiritual Assemblies
This letter relates to paragraph 22 of the 30 December 2021 message of the House of Justice to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors (see below). It is shared for your information only, and there is nothing that Local Assemblies and friends need to act upon in regards to this letter.
Letter of 30 December 2021 to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors
This 14-page message delineates the key features of the coming Nine Year Plan, and in its cover message to the National Assembly, the beloved Supreme Institution stated that it is imperative that “the implementation of the new Plan begins promptly at Riḍván 2022”.
COMMENTS BY THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
The National Spiritual Assembly made these comments in communications sent out when sharing the Supreme Body’s letters with the friends, as these letters arrived,
Comments on the message to the Bahá’ís of the World
Regarding this message, the National Spiritual Assembly wrote to all Local Spiritual Assemblies and Bahá’í groups:
Please circulate to all of the friends in your respective communities the attached letter of the Universal House of Justice addressed to the Baha'is of the world. It has been written near the conclusion of the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors in the Holy Land, and extols the rise in capacity of the Bahá’í world and our collective readiness to embark on “this immense collective enterprise” — the Nine Year Plan. The letter encourages participation in “the wave of conferences soon to sweep across the globe, where Bahá’u’lláh’s universal summons to work for the betterment of the world will galvanize the assembled well-wishers of humanity” as an important way to prepare ourselves for what is to come.
Please urge the friends to read this beautiful letter, that encourages them all to be “examining anew the possibilities before them to release the society-building powers of the Faith.”
The loving encouragement that the beloved Supreme Institution gives to us all will fortify our resolve — as individuals, institutions and communities — and assist us to maintain our focus to work for the betterment of the world, despite what may be going on around us in these uncertain times. It is heartening and uplifting to read the words that reflect God’s purpose for us.
Comments on the letter to Auxiliary Board members
The National Assembly wrote to all Local Spiritual Assemblies and Baha’i groups:
The Universal House of Justice has asked that we send you a copy of the attached message, which is addressed to the Auxiliary Board members throughout the world. …The House of Justice has asked that the message be shared with the friends in each country …
The beloved Supreme Institution has taken the extremely rare step of speaking directly to Auxiliary Board members. The high regard in which the House of Justice holds these beloved servants of the Cause and their assistants is clear to see in this beautifully encouraging and loving letter, that refers to the key role they will play in the coming Nine Year Plan.
We know you, too, have the highest regard for these dedicated souls, who collaborate and support you in your work.
Comments on the letter to all National Spiritual Assemblies
The National Assembly wrote to all Local Spiritual Assemblies:
Attached for your information is a letter dated 1 January 2022 from the Universal House of Justice to all National Spiritual Assemblies. This letter relates to paragraph 22 of the 30 December 2021 message of the House of Justice to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors.
We are sharing it for your information only, and there is nothing that Local Assemblies and friends need to act upon in regards to this letter.
Comments on the letter to the Conference of the Counsellors
A letter to all the friends in Aotearoa, from the National Spiritual Assembly.
31 December 2021
2 Sharaf 178
To all the friends in Aotearoa
Beloved brothers and sisters,
With awe and unbounded admiration for the wisdom of the beloved Universal House of Justice, we have great pleasure in forwarding to you the 14 page message from the Supreme Body, addressed to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors currently taking place in the Holy Land. The Supreme Institution has requested that this message be conveyed to the friends without delay, as the message delineates the key features of the coming Nine Year Plan, and in its cover message to the National Assembly, the beloved Supreme Institution stated that it is imperative that “the implementation of the new Plan begins promptly at Riḍván 2022”.
The contents of the message will require deep and thoughtful study and reflection by individuals and groups of friends, as it is apparent that this message will be the charter for the coming nine years, and as such will be a constant reference document. In the few short months until the Plan begins on 21 April 2022, institutions, agencies, and friends will want to become familiar with the important guidance, and ensure that the foundations have been firmly laid for this guidance to be acted upon. The following extracts will give you a taste of what it includes:
“The series of global Plans that began at Riḍván will last a full twenty-five years. It will carry the ark of the Cause into the third century of the Bahá’í Era and conclude at Riḍván 2046. During this period, the Bahá’í world will be focused on a single aim: the release of the society building power of the Faith in ever-greater measures. The pursuit of this overall aim will require a further rise in the capacity of the individual believer, the local community, and the institutions of the Faith. These three constant protagonists of the Plan each have a part to play, and each one has capacities and qualities that must be developed. However, each is incapable of manifesting its full potential on its own. It is by strengthening their dynamic relationships with one another that their powers are combined and multiplied.”
“The essentially spiritual undertakings of diffusing the light of Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation ever more widely and extending the roots of His Faith ever more deeply into the soil of society have measurable outcomes: the number of clusters where a programme of growth has been initiated and the degree of intensity that each has reached.”
“As the friends ponder what is before them, they will readily see that for every community there is a goal in reach, and for every goal a path to reach it. Looking ahead on this path, might we not perceive Bahá’u’lláh Himself, the reins of humanity’s affairs in one hand, His other beckoning all to hasten, hasten?”
“The importance of education to a Bahá’í conception of spiritual and social transformation can hardly be overestimated.”
“The Plan that will shortly commence—the first major undertaking in a sacred twenty-five-year venture, generational in its scope and significance—will make demands of the individual believer, the community, and the institutions reminiscent of the demands that the Guardian made of the Bahá’í world at the outset of the Ten Year Crusade. If, by the grace of Almighty God, the friends should succeed in reaching the heights of heroism to which they are now summoned, history will assuredly pay tribute to their actions in terms no less glowing than those with which it honours the glorious deeds that decorate the annals of the first century of the Formative Age.”
The National Spiritual Assembly itself is eager to begin its study of the message. We are uplifted to know that in every community, friends will similarly be gathering to study and to begin to orient themselves to the requirements of preparing to enter the Nine Year Plan in the strongest and most meaningful way. The coming series of conferences will be a catalyst for ensuring this happens.
With loving greetings,
National Spiritual Assembly
Featured photo: The Counsellors visiting the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh in procession to pray for the well-being of humanity. They were attending the Conference of the Counsellors held from 30 December 2021 to 4 January 2022. Source — Bahá’í World News Service (BWNS), copyright © Bahá'í International Community.
See also these BWNS reports:
