On 9/29/03 11:08 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > -even those who are the most 'deepened' are never sure of their own > ability to be constant; firmness in the Covenant does not seem to be > based on deepening; there is some metaphysical grace of God which seems > to be part of the equation, which precedent would indicate >
David Hoffman said that Mr. Samandari asked for prayers for firmness in the covenant to be said for him during his last days. > -the 'fireside' method is being somewhat ignored in the recent emphasis > on Ruhi, IMO. It is still a valid way of teaching (how can something > recommended so highly by the Guardian become invalid?) and I suspect if > we had all opened our homes as regularly as was suggested (each 19 days) > then that obedience alone would have seen differences in the numbers > In my opinion it has been being 'somewhat ignored' since the 60's, At least the personal fireside, which is what Shoghi Effendi was talkiing about. What is now commonly referred to as a fireside, community firesides or public firesides, was developed by the California Victory Committees at the beginning of the 9 Year Plan. It was recommended to the entire country in about '67 as I remember. I think they should, in general, be downplayed in favor of the personal fireside. Public firesides have a place. That is why they were so wildly successful in CA in the mid-60's. In the large towns there, we had a large number of people who had heard of the Faith and yet did not actually know a Baha'i. Actually, it began in Greenwich Village in the late 50's and then followed the migration of Ferlinghetti et al to CA. If you talk to 'beats' who were in the Village in the mid to late 50's, you'll find that a lot of them were aware of the Faith thru' astrologers and the like, and the remnants of the art society from the 30's. So when the California Victory Committees began publicizing informational meetings in 65/66, they got an immediate response. There were few other parts of the US where they worked as well. But they were easier than having personal firesides. > -if we are ourselves fulfilling our own responsibilities re teaching, > through whatever method, I am still confident that God will take care of > the numbers, and the calibre of those numbers; however, the part about > fulfilling our own responsibilities seems to be the most challenging > component; I think we also need to remember a couple of ideas attributed to Shoghi Effendi and Ruhiyyih Khanum. Shoghi Effendi is reported to have said that what we need is not numbers but people committed to Baha'u'llah. Ruhiyyih Khanum is reported to have said that it takes a lot of milk to get enough cream. Don C - - - - - He who believes himself spiritual proves he is not. ---------- You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Baha'i Studies is available through the following: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://list.jccc.net/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=bahai-st news://list.jccc.net/bahai-st http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist (public) http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] (public)
