…the friends in
the West will unquestionably have their share of the calamities befalling the
friends in the East. It is inevitable that, walking the pathway of Baha’u’llah,
they too will become targets for persecution by the oppressors. ('Abdu’l-Baha,
‘Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu'l-Baha’)
It was not mere physical torture that the friends in Persia
had to endure but also moral persecution for they were cursed and vilified by
all the people, especially when they ceased to defend themselves… the Master
used to say sometimes that the western friends will be severely persecuted but
theirs will be primarily moral… (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, October 22, 1930; ‘Unfolding Destiny’)
…how often we seem to forget the clear and repeated warnings
of our beloved Master, who, in particular during the concluding years of His
mission on earth, laid stress on the "severe mental tests that would
inevitably sweep over His loved ones of the West -- tests that would purge and
prepare them for their noble mission in life. (Shoghi Effendi, ‘Baha'i
Administration’)
…the Guardian feels sure that, whatever happens, and
whatever attacks are made upon the Faith and its pioneers, the net result
cannot but be good for us in the long run, and can only serve to hasten the
spread of the Cause. (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, June
4, 1953; ‘Unfolding Destiny’)
