Daily Frameworks for 07 March 2023

Fidál, 06 ‘Alá’ (Loftiness), 179 B.E

The Nine Year Plan: 2022-2031

It is one hundred years to the day since the first public reading of the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. In that precious Document, He set out the obligations of the Hands of the Cause of God, for whose support the Auxiliary Boards for Propagation and Protection were originally created. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá summoned the Hands of the Cause “to diffuse the Divine Fragrances, to edify the souls of men, to promote learning, to improve the character of all men and to be, at all times and under all conditions, sanctified and detached from earthly things.” Reading these words at this time evokes for us the service that each of you are carrying out across the Bahá’í world. Indeed, the worldwide Bahá’í community owes a debt of gratitude to the entire institution of the Counsellors, including all those who have served as Continental Counsellors, Auxiliary Board members, and assistants in years gone by. Without such devoted service from so many, the marvellous advances made in recent decades, which are evident in the world today, could not have occurred. And an indispensable contribution to that progress has been the guidance and encouragement provided by the International Teaching Centre: an institution agile and perspicacious, and wholly indefatigable. ^{1 2}

Will And Testament of ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá

This body of the Hands of the Cause of God is under the direction of the Guardian of the Cause of God. He must continually urge them to strive and endeavor to the utmost of their ability to diffuse the sweet savors of God, and to guide all the peoples of the world, for it is the light of Divine Guidance that causeth all the universe to be illumined. To disregard, though it be for a moment, this absolute command which is binding upon everyone, is in no wise permitted, that the existent world may become even as the Abhá Paradise, that the surface of the earth may become heavenly, that contention and conflict amidst peoples, kindreds, nations and governments may disappear, that all the dwellers on earth may become one people and one race, that the world may become even as one home. Should differences arise, they shall be amicably and conclusively settled by the Supreme Tribunal, that shall include members from all the governments and peoples of the world.³

1. Universal House of Justice. The Nine Year Plan: 2022-2031. 1st ed. Wilmette, Illinois: Baha’i Publishing, 2022, 83-84. ↩
2. Universal House of Justice. “3 January 2022 – To the Auxiliary Board Members throughout the World.” Bahá’í Reference Library, January 3, 2022. https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-universal-house-of-justice/messages/20220103_001/1#458854285. ↩
3. ’Abdu’l-Bahá. Will and Testament of ’Abdu’l-Bahá. Translated by Shoghi Effendi. 1944. Reprint, Wilmette, Ill: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1971, 13. https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/abdul-baha/will-testament-abdul-baha/2#194201115. ↩