When was this written?

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Richard Stamats
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When was this written?

Postby Richard Stamats » Thu Jun 15, 2006 10:45 am

I would like a date for the NSA of the US for the following communication.

Thank you,
Richard Stamats

Your Blessings As a Bahá'í

EVERY soul who has accepted the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh lives in the heaven of Divine Grace. The infinite bestowals of the Eternal surround him. He is immersed in the sea of bounty. No act of man surpasses in vital importance this recognition of the Manifestation of God in the Promised Day.
Who are these who have of their own volition resisted the false glamor of worldliness and claimed the supreme privilege of enrollment in the Community of the Greatest Name? Bahá'u'lláh Himself answered this question when, in The Dawn-Breakers, He is quoted as having declared that those who recognize the Manifestation have done some deed which, whether they know it or not, was pleasing to God. Bahá'í membership, therefore, is an expression of destiny and no mere personal opinion reflected in joining a certain religious body. "Verily, verily the new heaven and the new earth are come. The holy city, new Jerusalem, hath come from on high in the form of a maid of heaven, veiled, beauteous, and unique, and prepared for reunion with her lovers on earth ... Death shall no more overtake them, neither shall sorrow, crying and tribulation afflict them ... He whom such grace aideth is verily he that receiveth the most glorious heritage from the prophets of God and His holy ones ... Rejoice, then, O ye beloved of the Lord ..." (1)
Again, the Master has written: "Lay your confidence in the everlasting bounty, turn to the presence of the generous God;, ask assistance from the Kingdom of Abhá; seek confirmation from the Supreme World; turn thy vision to the horizon of eternal wealth; and pray for help from the Sources of Mercy!"(2)
The world with all its material devices cannot confer these everlasting bounties upon the soul. They have been created by God alone, and they are freely proffered to the human spirit which has awakened from the sleep of nature and recognized its Lord.
It is the Bahá'í who has access to such blessings and therefore should rejoice with a gratitude not comprehended by the people of tradition and superstition. In these days of tension and uncertainty every Bahá'í can stand apart in spirit, perceiving the victory of peace where for others all is violence and confusion.
But the blessings only surround and do not enter the soul until the Bahá'í expresses his gratitude in active service. Let us draw near to the Master's compassionate wisdom:
"Be ye not seated and silent! Diffuse the glad-tidings of the Kingdom far and near to the ears, promulgate the Word of God, and put into practice the advice and covenants of God; that is, arise ye with such qualities and attributes that ye may continually bestow life to the body of the world ... Enkindle with all your might in every meeting the light of the love of God, gladden and cheer every heart with the utmost loving kindness, show forth your love to the stranger just as you show to your relations."(3)
"All the signs have appeared, all the prophetic references have become clear, all that was revealed in the Books and Scriptures hath become fully manifest, and there is no ground for anyone to hesitate in regard thereto."(4)
Beloved friends! Naught but the qualities of the sincere believer can achieve the many great tasks laid upon us in the World Crusade. May we not, once more, aware of our infinite blessings, enter the arena of action? What is the World Crusade? It is nothing less than the establishment of the basis of the new Faith and Order of Bahá'u'lláh so firmly throughout the earth that when the destined catastrophe comes the peoples of East and West will find the means of salvation and security clearly revealed above the wreckage of the old cultures and the old civilizations which have come to the end of their allotted span. In all humility we address this appeal to the beloved of God.

NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHÁ'ÍS OF THE UNITED STATES

(1) BWF, p. 350-351.
(2) p.351.
(3) p. 353
(4) p. 354

________________________________________________
I changed the title of this thread
from: "Putting a date on National Spiritual Assembly communication"
to: "When was this written?"

-british_bahai, 1st Sep 2007.

British_Bahai
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Postby British_Bahai » Wed Aug 08, 2007 9:11 am

no such thing exists.

Anyone can write a load of mumbo-jumbo, and at the bottom of it put
"NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHÁ'ÍS OF THE UNITED STATES".

Besides, thats not the style in which an NSA write things.

BruceDLimber
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Location: Rockville, Maryland, USA

Postby BruceDLimber » Wed Aug 29, 2007 7:09 am

I agree this doesn't appear to be in the standard format used by the US NSA.

But in any case you can ask directly simply by emailing:

secretariat@usbnc.org

and asking whether this is their document and if so, its date.

Peace,

Bruce

Dorumerosaer
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Postby Dorumerosaer » Sat Sep 08, 2007 9:17 pm

Since it twice mentions the World Crusade at the end, it may have been written in the period 1953-1963.
Brent

British_Bahai
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Postby British_Bahai » Sat Sep 08, 2007 9:51 pm

pilgrimbrent wrote:Since it twice mentions the World Crusade at the end, it may have been written in the period 1953-1963.
Brent

Well i'll be damned if it really is an authentic document! :eek:
Here are my reasons as to why it may be fake:

1 - as far as im aware, the NSA's role is to convey news to the bahais within that country. I have never come across a letter from the NSA saying something along the lines of "your blessings as a bahai" - thats something you'd find in a book.
2 - I have never seen references at the bottom of a letter from the NSA.
3 - Ive searched for sentences which appear in the above letter but nothings come up.
4 - the letter just seems odd...!
5 - ive searched for the sentences that are apparently references to that book, but i cant seem to find anything
6 - where did this guy get this from? very peculiar how ONE person is asking about this, but several other people cant locate such a thing...

lets have a race - who can be the first person to identify if it really *is* an official document


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