January 4, 2021 – The “only one thing [that] will unfailingly and alone secure the undoubted triumph of this sacred Cause”

Humanity, through suffering and turmoil, is swiftly moving on towards its destiny; if we be loiterers, if we fail to play our part surely others will be called upon to take up our task as ministers to the crying needs of this afflicted world.

Not by the force of our numbers, not by the mere exposition of a set of new and noble principles, not by an organized campaign of teaching -- no matter how world-wide and elaborate in its character -- not even by the staunchness of our faith or the exaltation of our enthusiasm, can we ultimately hope to vindicate in the eyes of a critical and sceptical age the supreme claim of the Abha Revelation. One thing and only one thing will unfailingly and alone secure the undoubted triumph of this sacred Cause, namely the extent to which our own inner life and private character mirror forth in their manifold aspects the splendour of those eternal principles proclaimed by Baha'u'llah. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a message dated 24 September 1924; ‘Baha’i Administration’; quoted by the Universal House of Justice in a message dated 24 November 1972 to all National Spiritual Assemblies; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986’)