New publication of Bahá’í Sacred Writings
The National Spiritual Assembly shared with the friends in Aotearoa the announcement of the Universal House of Justice of an important new publication of Bahá’í Sacred Writings.
To all believers in Aotearoa
Dear friends throughout Aotearoa,
A letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice dated 8 July 2025 was accompanied by the gift of an important new publication. The timing of this release, coinciding as it did with the Holy Day commemorating the Martyrdom of the Blessed Báb on 9 July, adds to its significance. We have great pleasure in passing this work to you all. May it enrich and inspire your efforts to contribute to building communities that serve as a refuge for every soul.
Below are the words expressed in the letter:
“Dear Bahá’í Friends,
The Universal House of Justice is pleased to announce the publication of Bahá’í Sacred Writings, a volume comprising 257 selections from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh and 241 from the Writings and utterances of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Designed to serve as a resource that will support and reinforce the process of growth that is currently under way in neighbourhoods, clusters, and villages worldwide, this collection will vastly increase access to the Sacred Writings for many of those whose initial encounter with the Creative Word has been through participation in the courses of the training institute. Among the passages included in the volume will be found many excerpts that are quoted in the materials of the training institute, here frequently set within the original sources from which the quotations were drawn, along with a number of newly translated excerpts which are published here in English for the first time. The book gathers together in a single volume a comprehensive collection of selections representing the range of the Bahá’í teachings. The text of some published passages translated by Shoghi Effendi has been compared to the typescripts and early printer’s errors corrected.
“The translation of Bahá’í Sacred Writings into all the languages into which the institute materials have been translated will significantly expand the availability of the Sacred Texts of the Faith worldwide and enrich the home of every conscientious soul working shoulder to shoulder with those around them in the processes of community building, social action, and participation in the discourses of society. You are asked to arrange to make this volume available to the members of your national community as expeditiously as possible. Translations of the book into French, Persian, Russian, and Spanish will be undertaken by the respective Translation Panels and will be released as they are completed.”
The English text is now available on the Bahá’í Reference Library at the following address: Bahá’í Sacred Writings | Bahá’í Reference Library. [Please use this version rather than the version sent in the general mailout to believers, which was the “working document” for translation purposes.]
As soon as the volume is available for friends to purchase in published form, it will be promoted for sale through the New Zealand Bahá'í Bookshop. In the meantime, it will be a most valuable resource to assist all who delve into its riches.
Loving greetings,
National Spiritual Assembly
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