…Bahá'ís recognize that individuals do not become wholly
virtuous on accepting the Faith. It takes time for them to grow spiritually out
of their personal imperfections and out of the structural and behavioral
assumptions of the societies in which they have been raised, which color their
view of the world. The institutions of the Cause, which the believers have been
raising in obedience to the law of Bahá'u'lláh, in accordance with the pattern
set forth by 'Abdu'l-Bahá and the expositions of Shoghi Effendi, and under the
guidance of the Universal House of Justice, are still in their embryonic stage
and not infrequently fall short of the ideal for which they are striving.
- The Universal House of Justice (From
a letter dated 2 July 1996 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice
to an individual believer)
