limited interests. Baha'is therefore
ask to serve their countries in non-combatant ways during such fighting;
they will doubtless serve in such an international Force as Baha'u'llah
envisions, whenever it comes into being.

(11 September 1984 to an individual believer) [75]

76: Baha'u'llah's principal mission in appearing at this time in human
history

Baha'u'llah's principal mission in appearing at this time in human history
is the realization of the oneness of mankind and the establishment of
peace among the nations; therefore, all the forces which are focused on
accomplishing these ends are influenced by His Revelation. We know,
however, that peace will come in stages. First, there will come the Lesser
Peace, when the unity of nations will be achieved, then gradually the Most
Great Peace--the spiritual as well as social and political unity of
mankind, when the Baha'i World Commonwealth, operating in strict
accordance with the laws and ordinances of the Most Holy Book of the
Baha'i Revelation, will have been established through the efforts of the
Baha'is.

As to the Lesser Peace, Shoghi Effendi has explained that this will
initially be a political unity arrived at by decision of the governments
of various nations; it will not be established by direct action of the
Baha'i community. This does not mean, however, that the Baha'is are
standing aside and waiting for the Lesser Peace to come before they do
something about the peace of mankind. Indeed, by promoting the principles
of the Faith, which are indispensable to the maintenance of peace, and by
fashioning the instruments of the Baha'i Administrative Order, which we
are told by the beloved Guardian is the pattern for future society, the
Baha'is are constantly engaged in laying the groundwork for a permanent
peace, the Most Great Peace being their ultimate goal.

The Lesser Peace itself will pass through stages; at the initial stage the
governments will act entirely on their own without the conscious
involvement of the Faith; later on, in God's good time, the Faith will
have a direct influence on it in ways indicated by Shoghi Effendi in his
"The Goal of a New World Order". In connection with the steps that will
lead to this latter stage, the Universal House of Justice will certainly
determine what has to be done, in accordance with the guidance in the
Writings, such as the passage you quoted from "Tablets of Baha'u'llah",
page 89. In the meantime, the B