Whether a Bahá'í is in a place because he pioneered there or
has settled there for some other reason, does not affect the duty of teaching
and serving the Cause laid upon him by Bahá'u'lláh. Generally, a person who
goes to a country expressly as a pioneer should be counted as such. There are
also many who, although they go primarily for some other purpose, nevertheless
fill a goal or are very active in the service of the Faith, and there is no
reason not to record them as pioneers in your files. The decision whether to
consider a person as a pioneer for the purposes of your records must be made in
each individual case.
- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter from the Universal House of Justice to a
Continental Pioneer Committee, September 22, 1974; compilation: ‘Lights of
Guidance’)