LETTER OF 7 MAY 1935

7 May 1935

Dear Baha'i co-workers,

The Guardian has just received your warm and encouraging message of the 28th of April last, and has been deeply moved by the kind greetings and good wishes you have extended to him on the occasion of the holding of your thirteenth annual Baha'i Convention in Stuttgart. He wishes me to reciprocate the sentiments you have been moved to express to him, and to a.s.sure each and all of you of his abiding appreciation and grat.i.tude for the remarkable unity, efficiency and zeal with which you are fostering and safeguarding the manifold and vital interests of our beloved Faith throughout Germany and Austria. He feels confident that your mighty and sustained exertions will, even as a magnet, draw upon you the blessings and guidance of the Almighty, and thus pave the way for the wider penetration and firmer establishment of the Cause in your country.

The Guardian has been greatly impressed by the unusually wide attendance at this year's national Convention. His hope is that this active and close collaboration among the believers in Germany and Austria will continue to manifest itself in all your local as well as national Baha'i activities throughout the coming year. He is entreating Baha'u'llah, that His confirmations may keep, strengthen and inspire you in the fulfilment of your most urgent and sacred mission.

With the renewed expression of his heartfelt appreciations and thanks, and with his cordial and most loving greetings to you all...

[From the Guardian:]

Dearest co-workers:

Your impressive and most welcome message has revealed afresh the potency of the irresistible power of our Faith as manifested in the renewed activities, the solidarity, the consciousness and determination of the a.s.sembled representatives of the German believers. This year's convention marks a turning point in the history of the Cause in your land. It eloquently testifies to the tenacity of your faith, to your grasp of its distinguishing features and essential principles, to your firm resolve to lay an una.s.sailable basis for the rising inst.i.tutions, to your capacity to weather the fiercest storms and overcome the most formidable obstacles, to your worthiness to rank as the standard-bearers of the Faith of Baha'u'llah in the continent of Europe. May signal victories crown your high endeavours.

Shoghi

LETTER OF 5 JULY 1935

5 July 1935

Beloved Baha'i Brother,

On behalf of the Guardian I wish to acknowledge the receipt of your welcome letter of the fourteenth of June last, written in the name of the Archives-Committee of the German N.S.A., and to convey to you and to them his loving appreciation and thanks. He trusts that his gift, offered to your National Archives through the kind care of Miss Edith Horn, will serve to remind the German believers of the importance and sacred character of that inst.i.tution, and to encourage them to help in contributing their full share towards its further development and expansion. The inst.i.tution of the National Baha'i Archives which all the National a.s.semblies have already established is, indeed, highly-important, the significance of which will be increasingly realized as years go by. It is now that so many precious sacred relics are still in the possession of individual believers, that steps must be taken in order to insure their safe preservation in the National Archives. The friends must be encouraged to cooperate with their N.S.A. for the attainment of this objective.

In closing may I a.s.sure you again of Shoghi Effendi's best wishes and prayers for you and family, and to express hope that your long-cherished desire to visit the Holy Land may be realized in the near future.

With his cordial greetings...

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and prized co-worker:

I cannot refrain from adding a few words in person and a.s.sure you afresh of my deepfelt love, appreciation and grat.i.tude for the energy, the ability and loyalty with which you are promoting the vital interests of the Faith. My prayers for you and your dear and valued collaborators will be continually offered to the throne of Baha'u'llah.

Your true and grateful brother.

Shoghi

LETTER OF 10 AUGUST 1935

10 August 1935

Beloved Baha'i Friends,

On behalf of the Guardian I wish to acknowledge the receipt of your beautiful message dated July 8th, and to convey to you his loving thanks and appreciation for the kind sentiments which you have been moved to express to him on the eve of the anniversary of the Bab's martyrdom.

He is, indeed, very much pleased, and feels greatly encouraged, to learn of the beautiful meeting you have organized in order to commemorate this most sad and yet unique event in the history of the Cause, and sincerely trusts that the recollection of these early days of the heroic age of the Faith will have served to fill with fresh enthusiasm and renewed vigour your souls, and that as a result you all now feel the urge to play a more active part in establishing the Cause in Austria.

The Guardian has been also gratified at the news of the marriage of our dear and devoted co-worker Mr. Franz Pollinger to Miss Anny Modlogl. He wishes them both a most happy and successful union and is praying to Baha'u'llah that He may continue showering upon them His favours and blessings, and thus render their lives successful and of benefit to His Cause.

With cordial greetings from the Guardian and with his best wishes and prayers for you all,...

[From the Guardian:]

Dearly-beloved co-workers:

Your message filled my heart with joy and has powerfully reminded me of the firmness of your faith, the extent of your devotion, and the degree of your self-sacrifice and endeavours for the promotion of the Cause of G.o.d.

I urge you to maintain the closest contact with the believers in Germany and particularly with the National a.s.sembly, to study and digest the chapters of Nabil's narrative as they appear in "The Sun of Truth" that you may obtain a fuller grasp of the purpose, the influence and the moving episodes of the Faith of Baha'u'llah.

Your true brother, Shoghi

LETTER OF 12 OCTOBER 1935

12 October 1935

Dear Dr. Muhlschlegel,

I am directed by the Guardian to thank you for your letter dated September 7th, and to express his regret for the delay caused in answering it.

With regard to the "Kitab-i-'Ahd" and the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Baha, he wishes me to inform you that he fully approves of your suggestion that these two Tablets be printed in one single booklet.

Also regarding the advisability of printing extracts from the Master's Will, he fully recommends that your a.s.sembly should follow the method adopted by the American Baha'is in this matter, provided of course it is financially feasible. The American text of the Will contains, indeed, all the fundamental points that every newcomer who wishes to join the Movement should know regarding the basis, and various vital implications of Baha'i Administration. The extracts contained in that text are thus what is vitally required of a believer desiring to become a voting member.

Concerning the new German edition of "Baha'u'llah and the New Era" which the N.S.A. is planning to publish very soon; Shoghi Effendi trusts that this work will be completed in the near future. He would be pleased, indeed, to receive any suggestion which the German Publishing Committee may wish to offer with the view of modifying and improving certain pa.s.sages of the present text, and will inform you whether the modifications suggested are advisable, and hence whether they should be inserted in the new volume or not.

With his cordial greetings and best wishes to you and to all the friends in Stuttgart, specially to your dear family...

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-worker: