Abuse - Falsely Accused

. . . show to alien souls this same loving kindness ye bestow upon your faithful friends. Should any come to blows with you, seek to be friends with him; should any heap his blame upon you, be ye a healing salve unto his sores; should any taunt and mock at you, meet him with love. Should any heap his blame upon you, praise ye him; should he offer you a deadly poison, give him the choicest honey in exchange; and should he threaten your life, grant him a remedy that will heal him evermore. Should he be pain itself, be ye his medicine; should he be thorns, be ye his roses and sweet herbs.

Consequently, it has become evident that the four criteria standards of judgment by which the human mind reaches its conclusions (senses, intellect, traditional or scriptural and inspiration) are faulty and inaccurate. All of them are liable to mistake and error in conclusions. But a statement presented to the mind, accompanied by proofs which the senses can perceive to be correct, which the faculty of reason can accept, which is in accord with traditional authority and sanctioned by the promptings of the heart, can be adjudged and relied upon as perfectly correct, for it has been proved and tested by all the standards of judgment and found to be complete. When we apply but one test, there are possibilities of mistake. This is self-evident and manifest.

If the friends and relatives are keeping themselves at a distance from thee, be thou not sad, for God is near to thee. Associate thou, as much as thou canst, with the relatives and strangers; display thou loving kindness; show thou forth the utmost patience and resignation. The more they oppose thee, shower thou upon them the greater justice and equity; the more they show hatred and opposition toward thee, challenge thou them with great truthfulness, friendship and reconciliation. Praise be to God, thou art near to the Kingdom of Abhá! Rest thou assured. With all my soul and spirit, I am thy companion at all moments. Know thou this of a certainty!

Know then: that which is in the hands of people, that which they believe, is liable to error. For, in proving or disproving a thing, if a proof is brought forward which is taken from the evidence of our senses, this method, as has become evident, is not perfect; if the proofs are intellectual, the same is true; or if they are traditional, such proofs are also not perfect. Therefore, there is no standard in the hands of people upon which we can rely. But the bounty of the Holy Spirit gives the true method of comprehension which is infallible and indubitable. This is through the help of the Holy Spirit which comes to man, and this is the condition in which certainty can alone be attained.

You must consider your evil-wishers as your well-wishers. Those who are not agreeable toward you must be regarded as those who are congenial and pleasant . . .

The responsible manner in which you responded at the time of being informed of the alarming allegation that your daughter had been sexually abused by her grandfather, and thereafter, is highly commended by the House of Justice. In immediately having your daughter examined and an assessment made by a physician specializing in the field of child sexual abuse, and in cooperating fully with civil authorities and Bahá’í institutions, you contributed greatly to limiting the harm done by the error which had occurred. While it is understandable that this experience has caused you grief, you are urged now, for your own spiritual well-being, to attempt to put it behind you, and to not allow it to shake your confidence in the Administrative Order or Institutions of the Cause of God. You are encouraged to move forward, drawing strength and succor from the Word of God, relying on the power of prayer, and placing your confidence and trust in the abiding love of the Blessed Beauty.