“True consolidation” - 3 November 1974

True consolidation is to ensure that the love of Bahá'u'lláh and devotion to His Faith are firmly rooted in the hearts of the believers; this is the essential foundation for the subsequent addition of increased knowledge of the teachings and the development of the Bahá'í way of life. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated November 3, 1974 to a National Spiritual Assembly, in an unpublished compilation prepared by the International Teaching Center: ‘Teaching and Commitment’; compilation: Guidelines for Local Spiritual Assemblies [Developing Distinctive Baha’i Communities], NSA of USA, 1998 edition)

Bahá'í dates and Gregorian dates - 30 October 1974

Until the Universal House of Justice decides upon the spot on which the calculations for establishing the date of Naw-Ruz each year are to be based it is not possible to state exactly the correspondence between Bahá'í dates and Gregorian dates for any year. Therefore for the present the believers in the West commemorate Bahá'í events on their traditional Gregorian anniversaries. Once the necessary legislation to determine Naw-Ruz has been made, the correspondence between Bahá'í and Gregorian dates will vary from year to year depending upon whether the Spring Equinox falls on the 20th, 21st, or 22nd March. In fact in Persia the friends have been, over the years, following the Spring Equinox as observed in Tihran, to determine Naw-Ruz, and the National Spiritual Assembly has to issue every year a Bahá'í calendar for the guidance of the friends. The Universal House of Justice feels that this is not a matter of urgency and, in the meantime, is having research conducted into such questions. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated October 30, 1974 to a National Spiritual Assembly; compilation: Developing Distinctive Baha’i Communities, NSA of USA, 1998 edition)