Wives

As to thy respected husband: it is incumbent upon thee to treat him with great kindness, to consider his wishes and be conciliatory with him at all times, till he seeth that because thou hast directed thyself toward the Kingdom of God, thy tenderness for him and thy love for God have but increased, as well as thy concern for his wishes under all conditions.

As to thy revered husband: It is expedient that thou shouldst behave toward him in the best way and persevere in his good pleasure (i.e., please him) and treat him with kindness under all aspects; until (or so that) he may find that through thy turning toward the Kingdom of God (i.e., by becoming a believer) thy affection toward him and thy love for God is increased and that thou hast regard for his good will in every condition.

I ask God to confirm thee by the breath of His Holy Spirit, the hosts of His angels and armies of His strength, so that thou arisest to serve the vineyard of God and to enlighten the insight of thy revered husband by the light of the knowledge of the Greatest Name. This is not far from the bounty of the Lord.

Miss . . . must exert herself day and night so that, like the favored maid-servant of God, Mrs. . . she may guide her husband. She must not rest until she makes him her spiritual as well as physical partner in life.

Say unto thine honored helpmate, thy dear husband: "Thousands of souls, including the great divines and Pharisees among the Jews, were awaiting the Manifestation of Christ, lamenting and weeping and supplicating that the Messiah should soon appear. But when His Holiness Christ came with a beautiful face and sweet utterance and dawned from the day-spring of the contingent world like unto the shining sun, all those souls who awaited Him rejected Him, became afflicted with the sleep of heedlessness, did not wake up by the voice of Christ nor did they gain consciousness. Now again the same is the case in the Manifestation of BAHA'O'LLAH."  I beg of God that thy dear husband be guided through the light of guidance and become a sign of the gift of the Kingdom of ABHA.

The wife is a being who wisheth to be overflowing with and seeketh after the attributes of God and His names.

Thou hast come to Acca, thou hast seen my teachings, thou hast heard my explanations and thou hast smelled the sweet odors of the Kingdom. Do not forget this, and try with thy heart and soul to diffuse this fragrance to thy respected husband also.

Surely Shoghi Effendi would like to see you and the other friends give their whole time and energy to the Cause, for we are in great need for competent workers, but the home is an institution that Bahá’u’lláh has come to strengthen and not to weaken. Many unfortunate things have happened in Bahá’í homes just for neglecting this point. Serve the Cause but also remember your duties towards your home. It is for you to find the balance and see that neither makes you neglect the other. We would have many more husbands in the Cause were the wives more thoughtful and moderate in their Bahá’í activities.