MEDITATION/DEEPENING
                               MATERIALS


                         BASED ON THE RESPONSE OF
                     THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE
                          TO THE LETTER SENT BY
                   THE 85TH BAHA'I NATIONAL CONVENTION
                          OF THE UNITED STATES



                          SELECTED WRITINGS OF
                  THE BAB, BAHA'U'LLAH AND ABDU'L-BAHA




                             Compiled by
                           William G. Huitt
                           Valdosta, Georgia

                              May, 1994

       Permission to distribute these materials has been received
                     from the Baha'i National Office

                  April 22, 1994

To the Universal House of Justice

Dearly Loved and Esteemed Members,

The delegates to the 85th Baha'i National Convention gathered in the presence of
Counselors Jacqueline Delahunt, Wilma Ellis, and Arturo Serrano and retired member
of the Universal House of Justice Dr. David Ruhe and Mrs. Margaret Ruhe were
heartened to learn in your Ridvan 151 message of the progress of the Faith throughout
the world.  We were likewise touched by reports from our beloved members of the
National Spiritual Assembly about their meeting with you, accounts that reflected the
depth of love and kindness you showered upon them.  The effects of this guidance and
encouragement have had a profound influence on the atmosphere of our consultation
which has, we feel, exhibited what may well be an unprecedented level of maturity,
love, and unity.

We have also been inspired by reports from our National Spiritual Assembly regarding
successes and progress in the American Baha'i community in fulfilling the goals of the
Three Year Plan.  Specifically, we have been encouraged by achievements in the
arenas of pioneering, travel teaching, and home front pioneering, as well as important
increases in the Fund.  We have also been uplifted by reports of a steady increase in
recent enrollments.  It is our fondest hope that the years of planting seeds and
nourishing growth will at long last yield a mighty harvest.

However, as you so aptly note in your message, and we now understand more clearly,
"There is so little time and so much to do."  As you also observe, and as we have
confirmed in our own consultation, our community, however devoted, energetic, and
well intended, cannot achieve the glorious goals of the Faith without the immediate
increase in the number of believers, and this can only occur through the process of
entry by troops.  This increase in believers is also the most effective method by which
we can provide the material means for the completion of the projects on Mount
Carmel.

As you state in closing, the fulfillment of this task can only be accomplished when the
community achieves the collective realization that "it is the individual Baha'i who
holds the key to victory."  Therefore, we, the assembled delegates at this 85th
Convention, pledge to take upon our individual shoulders the task of sharing with
those in our districts this clear message.  We further pledge to help foster
communities that will exemplify the very "pattern in action," which may offer "a light
and haven for the bewildered," a pure drought for "every thirsting soul."

We humbly beseech your prayers at the Holy Threshold that each one of us may arise
and serve.

Delegates to the 85th Baha'i National Convention
From: eco  Sun Apr 24 15:35:59 1994
Date: Sun  24 Apr 94 15:35:59 IDT
From: eco (Electronic Communication Operations)
To: usnsa usbnc.org

24 April 1994

Delegates to the 85th Baha'i National Convention
  of the United States

Dearly loved Friends,

    Your message has thrilled our hearts.  We are especially grateful for the news
that notable progress is being made in expansion on the home front and that a massive
deployment of pioneers and traveling teachers has been effected during the first third
of the Three Year Plan.  May this evidence of movement by the sign of an unrelenting
momentum that will propel the American Baha'i community to new peaks of triumph. 
You should have no doubt that conditions are ripe for the realization of such a
wonderful prospect.

    We welcome your pledge as delegates to impress upon the individual friends
when you return home the awareness that they hold the key to victory in their own
hands.  Tell them to persevere in courage, patience and confidence and doors of
success will be opened to them.  You may also rest assured of our ardent supplications
at the Holy Threshold on behalf of your beloved community.

                       The Universal House of Justice