O army of God! Through the protection and help vouchsafed by
the Blessed Beauty -- may my life be a sacrifice to His loved ones -- ye must
conduct yourselves in such a manner that ye may stand out distinguished and
brilliant as the sun among other souls. Should any one of you enter a city, he
should become a centre of attraction by reason of his sincerity, his
faithfulness and love, his honesty and fidelity, his truthfulness and
loving-kindness towards all the peoples of the world, so that the people of
that city may cry out and say: 'This man is unquestionably a Bahá'í, for his
manners, his behaviour, his conduct, his morals, his nature, and disposition
reflect the attributes of the Bahá'ís.' Not until ye attain this station can ye
be said to have been faithful to the Covenant and Testament of God. For He
hath, through irrefutable Texts, entered into a binding Covenant with us all,
requiring us to act in accordance with His sacred instructions and counsels.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Selections from the
Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I,
Trustworthiness: A Cardinal Bahá'í Virtue)
