Pilgrims' Notes, Status of
Exported from Holy-Writings.com on 2026-07-04 - 1 clipping

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

Jonah Winters

1998

"Pilgrims' Notes"
are records of individuals' meetings with the Central Figures of the
Bahá'í Faith and usually the recorded speech of the Central Figures. These Pilgrims' Notes are
unofficial records of what visitors to the Holy Land recall was said and
done by 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi, but cannot be considered as their
authentic words: the authors might have misheard or miswritten a
statement; they might not have been knowledgeable about the Bahá'í Faith
and might have introduced their own misunderstandings into the notes; and
these online notes are taken from widely circulated second-, third-, and
sometimes fourth-generation hand-typed copies. These need to be checked
against originals where they may exist and when they are found, for every
copyist can and usually does introduce new errors.

As explained
by the Universal House of Justice, no policy other than the exercise
of wisdom currently governs the appearance of such notes on the
internet. A brief
Compilation on Pilgrims' Notes can also be
consulted. Other pilgrims' notes can also be found in some of the older
Notable Talks and some historical documents.

As
these records can rarely be authenticated, they are considered to be
less reliable than the carefully-transcribed and preserved writings of the Central Figures, and are to be used
with caution. An example of how manuscripts can differ can be seen in the parallel edition of Alice Dudey's notes. Only the Sacred Writings of the Bahá'í Faith thus far published in
English, most of which are
online, represent the authentic teachings of the Faith.
At the same time, these notes do contain much interesting information
which, when properly weighed against authentic teachings, can be quite
useful. The motive for presenting these notes online is perhaps best
summarized in the following quotation from a letter written on behalf of
Shoghi Effendi: "While these notes taken down by the pilgrims do not
constitute as official pronouncements made by the Guardian, and therefore
should not be imposed on the friends, those who wish to share them with
the members of the Community should, under no circumstances, be prevented
from doing so. Though not strictly official, and in some instances
inaccurate and misleading, these notes, as experience has shown, can be of
tremendous help, guidance and inspiration to many individual believers,
and their value as such should therefore be readily admitted."
(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, April 28, 1939. See also the
full online compilation.)

Many of the earlier Pilgrims' Notes posted here 1997-2005 were typed and proofread largely through the collaborative
efforts of Robert Stauffer, Thellie Lovejoy, Vaughn Sheline, and John B. Cornell. ( - J. Winters)

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-- Pilgrims' Notes, Status of (Used by permission of the curator)