Chapter 14
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Conflicting writings on the timing of the Lesser Peace.

In passage 1, the House states in 1983 (over 40 years ago), "The Bahá'í Youth of Today have the Distinction of Seeing the Establishment of the Lesser Peace..", an implied near-term timing of the Lesser Peace which conflicts with passages 3 - 5. Specifically, in passage 3 it states that the dates of the Lesser Peace and Most Great Peace are not known, and therefore it cannot be said that the Baha'i Youth (in 1983) will see the establishment of the Lesser Peace and play a role. In passage 2 it states, "Let it not be imagined that the House of Justice will take any decision according to its own concepts and opinions", which appears to be what happened in passage 1.. Passages 6 - 9 are some references on the Lesser Peace from the Holy Writings.

1)
2144. The Bahá'í Youth of Today have the Distinction of Seeing the Establishment of the Lesser Peace and the Reconciliation of Society
"This generation of Bahá'í youth enjoys a unique distinction. You will live your lives in a period when the forces of history are moving to a climax, when mankind will see the establishment of the Lesser Peace, and during which the Cause of God will play an increasingly prominent role in the reconstruction of human society. It is you who will be called upon in the years to come to stand at the helm of the Cause in face of conditions and developments which can, as yet, scarcely be imagined."
(From a letter of the Universal House of Justice to the European Youth Conference in Innsbruck, July 4, 1983)
-- Compilations, Lights of Guidance, p. 633


2)
Let it not be imagined that the House of Justice will take any decision according to its own concepts and opinions. God forbid! The Supreme House of Justice will take decisions and establish laws through the inspiration and confirmation of the Holy Spirit, because it is in the safekeeping and under the shelter and protection of the Ancient Beauty, ...
-- The Universal House of Justice, 1966 May 27, Guardianship and the UHJ


3)
However, attainment of the unity of nations should not be regarded as being synonymous with the establishment of the Lesser Peace. In answer to a question about the timing of the Lesser Peace, Shoghi Effendi stated, in a letter written on his behalf in 1946, that: "All we know is that the Lesser Peace and the Most Great Peace will come -- their exact dates we do not know."
Nevertheless, the unity of nations can quite properly be regarded as one stage -- and indeed a highly significant step -- in the lengthy process of the establishment of the Lesser Peace...
-- The Universal House of Justice, 2001 Apr 19, Unity of Nations and the Lesser Peace, p. 3


4)
The principal issue raised in your letter is that of the timing for the occurrence of the Lesser Peace, in light of your impression that the Bahá'í Writings anticipate its coming before the conclusion of the twentieth century; i.e., the end of December 2000.
Enclosed for your information is a copy of a memorandum prepared by the Research Department, at the request of the House of Justice, on the subject of the attainment of the unity of nations and the Lesser Peace. Assembled in this document are a number of pertinent passages from authoritative texts of the Faith.
In reviewing this material it becomes apparent that there is nothing in the authoritative Bahá'í Writings to indicate that the Lesser Peace would be established before the end of the twentieth century. However, there are clear statements affirming that the unity of nations would be, in the words of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, "securely established" during the twentieth century.
-- The Universal House of Justice, 2001 Apr 19, Unity of Nations and the Lesser Peace


5)
... The fifth candle is the unity of nations -- a unity which in this century will be securely established, causing all the peoples of the world to regard themselves as citizens of one common fatherland.
-- Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 31


6)
O kings of the earth! We see you increasing every year your expenditures, and laying the burden thereof on your subjects. This, verily, is wholly and grossly unjust. Fear the sighs and tears of this wronged One, and lay not excessive burdens on your peoples. Do not rob them to rear palaces for yourselves; nay rather choose for them that which ye choose for yourselves. Thus We unfold to your eyes that which profiteth you, if ye but perceive. Your people are your treasures. Beware lest your rule violate the commandments of God, and ye deliver your wards to the hands of the robber. By them ye rule, by their means ye subsist, by their aid ye conquer. Yet, how disdainfully ye look upon them! How strange, how very strange!

Now that ye have refused the Most Great Peace, hold ye fast unto this, the Lesser Peace, that haply ye may in some degree better your own condition and that of your dependents.

O rulers of the earth! Be reconciled among yourselves, that ye may need no more armaments save in a measure to safeguard your territories and dominions. Beware lest ye disregard the counsel of the All-Knowing, the Faithful.

Be united, O kings of the earth, for thereby will the tempest of discord be stilled amongst you, and your peoples find rest, if ye be of them that comprehend. Should any one among you take up arms against another, rise ye all against him, for this is naught but manifest justice.
-- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 253


7)
We cherish the hope that through the earnest endeavours of such as are the exponents of the power of God -- exalted be His glory -- the weapons of war throughout the world may be converted into instruments of reconstruction and that strife and conflict may be removed from the midst of men.

The sixth Glad-Tidings is the establishment of the Lesser Peace, details of which have formerly been revealed from Our Most Exalted Pen. Great is the blessedness of him who upholdeth it and observeth whatsoever hath been ordained by God, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
-- Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 22


8)
The word of God which the Supreme Pen hath recorded on the ninth leaf of the Most Exalted Paradise is this: In all matters moderation is desirable. If a thing is carried to excess, it will prove a source of evil. Consider the civilization of the West, how it hath agitated and alarmed the peoples of the world. An infernal engine hath been devised, and hath proved so cruel a weapon of destruction that its like none hath ever witnessed or heard. The purging of such deeply-rooted and overwhelming corruptions cannot be effected unless the peoples of the world unite in pursuit of one common aim and embrace one universal faith. Incline your ears unto the Call of this Wronged One and adhere firmly to the Lesser Peace.
-- Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 68


9)
First: It is incumbent upon the ministers of the House of Justice to promote the Lesser Peace so that the people of the earth may be relieved from the burden of exorbitant expenditures. This matter is imperative and absolutely essential, inasmuch as hostilities and conflict lie at the root of affliction and calamity.
-- Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 89


10)
For example, the question of universal peace, about which Bahá'u'lláh says that the Supreme Tribunal must be established: although the League of Nations has been brought into existence, yet it is incapable of establishing universal peace. But the Supreme Tribunal which Bahá'u'lláh has described will fulfil this sacred task with the utmost might and power. And His plan is this: that the national assemblies of each country and nation -- that is to say parliaments -- should elect two or three persons who are the choicest men of that nation, and are well informed concerning international laws and the relations between governments and aware of the essential needs of the world of humanity in this day. The number of these representatives should be in proportion to the number of inhabitants of that country. The election of these souls who are chosen by the national assembly, that is, the parliament, must be confirmed by the upper house, the congress and the cabinet and also by the president or monarch so these persons may be the elected ones of all the nation and the government. From among these people the members of the Supreme Tribunal will be elected, and all mankind will thus have a share therein, for every one of these delegates is fully representative of his nation. When the Supreme Tribunal gives a ruling on any international question, either unanimously or by majority rule, there will no longer be any pretext for the plaintiff or ground of objection for the defendant. In case any of the governments or nations, in the execution of the irrefutable decision of the Supreme Tribunal, be negligent or dilatory, the rest of the nations will rise up against it, because all the governments and nations of the world are the supporters of this Supreme Tribunal. Consider what a firm foundation this is! But by a limited and restricted League the purpose will not be realized as it ought and should. This is the truth about the situation, which has been stated....
-- Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 305



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