Pilgrim's Notes
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Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Nellie French, Pilgrim's Notes, bahai-library.com.
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Pilgrim's Notes

Nellie French

1952-04-21

[page 1]

Pilgrim Notes — Mrs. N. French 4/21/52

The spirit of the Cause is not enough. We need the institutions. The
institutions are the embodiment of the spirit of the Cause, the channel
thru which the spirit flows. Any idea, any work .... of education,
religion, social life .... will never be effective in the world unless it
is translated into an institution: For example, education.... it will
never have its influence felt upon society unless the idea of education is
incarnated in an institution or college. So with everything else. An
ideal must be translated into an institution; and the Bahá'í Faith, which
is primarily a powerful spirit in the world, must be embodied in an
institution, incorporate itself in an institution ... if it is to exert
its power in the world. We must recognize the station of Bahá'u'lláh , the Bab, and the Master,
and at the same time recognize the necessity of institutions thru which the
spirit of these three central figures is flowing .... guiding, preserving
and promoting.

These institutions have not been established by us. They have been
established by the Founder of the Faith Himself. That is why we are
essentually different from the Christian Church. Because we have
institutions and they have institutions ... we call it assembly, they call
it church. If they say, "you are doing the same thing we are doing," we
say, "yours was man-made, ours is divinely appointed." Not established by
the Master in the Will, nor announced by the Bab; but provided for and
established by Bahá'u'lláh in the Most Holy Book....the Book of Laws.
This is the fundamental difference between our institutions and the
institutions belonging to all other religions. They are essentially
man-made. Ours are divinely appointed. But always remember these are a
means to an end. We have to utilize these institutions for a purpose.
Our purpose is the carry out the Divine Plan of the Master.

We had to wait ever since the Master revealed these tablets. 1915, 1916, 1917 .....
twenty years, until the administrative order was sufficiently established and beginning
to function in order to utilize them for this purpose. The Master gave instructions to the
American Believers to establish the Cause throughout the world.... the Divine Plan ... a
few years before He passed away. In those days we didn't have the means. A few
individuals were working. Martha Root started on her travels, Mr. and Mrs. Dunn went
from Calif. to Australia; you and Imogene went to Italy, but all on an individual basis....
not organized, not systematic, not continuous; more or less spasmodic, purely on an
individual basis. It was not directed twoards an definite plan .. so unlike the present plans
the Bahá'ís have formulated throughout the world.... different plans... National
Assemblies have each their own plan.

When the Master passed away, the first thing we did was establsih the Administrative
Order, establish local assemblies, national assemblies. He saw the House of Justice
would be established eventually.

Then we started along and laborious task of raising the structure of the
Administrative Order. It took us two decades ... twenty years to do that.
As the work progressed some of the Bahá'ís began to wonder whether that
was going to be the sole concern of the Bahá'ís... to establish these
institutions. Some began to doubt, some to citicize. Ahmad Sohrab
entirely misunderstood our purpose, for the simple reason that I asked the
Bahá'ís to think of nothing else but building these institutions that were
to be the means in our hands to achieve a purpose later on. It took us
twenty years to establish two stages of this administrative order
....local and national assemblies. When the local and national assemblies
were established and were beginning to finction, then I directed the
attention of the Bahá'ís to the purpose for which these institutions had
been created and were being perfected. For two decades ... and then the
Divine Plan of the Master. The first part in the plan, the Amercas...
Latin Americ, So. America, Canada. The second stage in Europe (then I
think he said... both Latin America to achieve what was established, and
then in Europe). Now we have started in Africa. That is why the Cause is
progressing so rapidly. In Switzerland, as you know, Mrs. Lynch worked,
and labored for years.... not on a sound basis, not organized. It could
not be,

[page 2]

the time was not ripe. The same thing in Denmark (?) Worked fifty years
in England, but as soon as local assemblies were formed, National
assemblies were formed ... then they began to formulate their own plans.
All the attention of the British believers was concentrated on their plan.
Then it began to progress. It took 50 years to establish two assemblies..
but in five years they established 19 assemblies... not only in England,
but in Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

Representatives from France will attend the Stockholm Conference. At that
conference they will consider ways of spreading the Cause in the remaining
countries of Europe and the Islands. (then, I think he said.... Germany,
Persia and ten goal countries will collabrate in arranging a campaing in
Russia.)

Two fundamental reasons why the Cause is progressing: 1. establishment of
institutions being used for that purpose. We have fashioned the
instrument, we have erected the instrument. 2. We are utilizing these
instruments for a definite purpose which is the Divine Plan revealed by
the Master. It is the power behind that plan, the potency of that plan and
the instrument we are using.

In the early days the Cause did not progress rapidly, because we had no
instruments, nor had we any definite plan to carry out the instructions of
the Master, Lsa's. Nat'l. Assemblies, schools....Ahmad Sohrab made a great
mistake. He saw us fashioning instruments and he thought we considered
that a means in itself. He misunderstood our purpose. Now he is beginning
to realize our purpose was to perfect the instrument, in order to use it
for a definite purpose.

Love of the Master is not enough. We must have deep FAITH. Three things
we must remember ...Faith, the Covenant, the Administration. The Covenant
is the child of the Faith. The Administrative order is the child of the
covenant.

We have to explain the Center of the Faith is a mystery. We must admit
the Master is a mystery... Bahá'u'lláh called him "The Mystery of God", we
must never hope to unravel that mystery. We admit he is a mystery. The
mystery is that he is not a Prophet, we cannot claim for him the station
of a Prophet. (Then I think he said, "The Prophet is pre-existent"). The
Master has the quality of perfection, but he is not a prophet of God. The
Master's station is between Prophet and Guardians. God, Holy Spirit,
Prophet and Successor. God (Father), Prophet (Son), Apostles and Holy
Spirit. Allah (Prophet) Messenger of God, Imams. God, Bahá'u'lláh,
Guardians. but in addition we have something which other relgions do not
possess... Institutions of Center of Covenant. He stands between Prophet
and Guardians. Mystery because he shares not in nature of the
Manifestation — perfect but not divine... that is why... a
MYSTERY....Abdu'l-Bahá all knowing, but not a Prophet of God.

What is really new in the Bahá'í Faith is its teachings. These are
unique. If they ask us which, we say, "The Unity of Mankine"...Absolutely
NEW. Nothing like it in the teachings of previous religions. We must
explain the unity of Mankind. There is a passage in the writings of
'Abdu'l-Bahá. In previous religions it was not possible to teach such a
thing because the world was not ready on a world scale. The Prophets of
God in the past stressed amity, concord, but They did not stress the idea
of the unity of mankind. They never said the world was ripe to be
organized and unifies.... but the world has reached that stage now. God
has sent, because of the condition of mankind, Bahá'u'lláh, with this
particular teaching.

The Pope of Buddhism is in the capitol of Tibet. Daniel speaks of
something to happen in 100 years after the Flight of MuHammad....he could
have based his calculations on the Jewish calendar. Three years
difference every century, 112 days every year, between solar and lunar
time. 1963 is the year for the spread of the Faith all over the world ...
not the Most Great Peace. One hundred years from the Declaration of
Bahá'u'lláh in Ridvan. One hundred lunar years will have elapsed, etc.
regarding date 1335 mentioned in the Bible.

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-- Pilgrim's Notes (Used by permission of the curator)