“True joy comes from the tranquility of heart, and this state comes from faith!”

Then He [‘Abdu’l-Baha] spoke at length of the "Composure of Heart," or "Tranquility of the Soul." "This", He said, "is a state of true faith which gives man such assurance and conviction of God's bounty, that all the trials and sufferings of this earth cannot affect him."

Speaking of true joy and happiness. He said in part: "If a man is not happy in his life, death is better than such a life. True joy comes from the tranquility of heart, and this state comes from faith! Praise be to God who gave us tranquility of heart! This is why we are always happy. I pray and supplicate to the Beauty of Abha to bless all the servants and maid-servants with true happiness resulting from the tranquility of heart." 

(Words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, recorded by Ali-Kuli Khan during his pilgrimage in 1906)

Interplanetary travels

One of the pilgrims asked the Guardian if he thought there would be interplanetary travel and he replied, "Yes, perhaps not the entire universe, but to the nearest planets." 

- Alice Dudley  (Notes of her pilgrimage during April 1957)

Why America is the cradle of the Administrative Order – and Persia the cradle of the Faith

The Guardian stated that the US was chosen the cradle of the World Order (Admin. Order) not because of its spiritual qualities but because of its corruption; the same as Persia was chosen for the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh because they, the Persians, were worse than the African savages - far more barbaric.

- Alice Dudley  (Notes of her pilgrimage during April 1957)

Marion Jack, Martha Root, Saintliness

Marion Jack is a great soul, a pride of the pioneers in the East and West; an example to all pioneers; she has preserved long and hard'. The Master called her "General Jack”. - She has the spirit of Martha Root -- a combination of heroism and saintliness. Some are either heroic or saintly. Persians aren’t all saints. They are pious but not all saintly. Martha Root combined three qualities: martyrdom, heroism, and saintliness – a unique distinction. Saintliness is very rare -- it comes from purity of motive. 

(Notes of the words of Shoghi Effendi, recorded by Ben Lavy during his pilgrimage in 1953)