The most vital duty, in this day is to purify your
characters, to correct your manners, and improve your conduct. The beloved of
the Merciful must show forth such character and conduct among His creatures,
that the fragrance of their holiness may be shed upon the whole world, and may
quicken the dead, inasmuch as the purpose of the Manifestation of God and the
dawning of the limitless lights of the Invisible is to educate the souls of
men, and refine the character of every living man....
(‘Abdu’l-Baha, quoted by
Shoghi Effendi in a letter dated December 25, 1938; ‘The Advent of Divine
Justice’)
