are to share with you the following excerpt
from a letter dated 30 November 1932 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi
to an individual who had asked a question about the skills of story
writing and whether such occupation would be classed as those sciences
that begin and end in words".

What Baha'u'llah meant primarily with "sciences that begin and end in
words" are those theological treatises and commentaries that encumber the
human mind rather than help it to attain the truth. The students would
devote their life to their study but still attain no where.

Baha'u'llah surely never meant to include story-writing under such a
category; and shorthand and typewriting are both most useful talents, very
necessary in our present social and economic life.

What you could do, and should do, is to use your stories to become a
source of inspiration and guidance for those who read them. With such a
means at your disposal you can spread the spirit and teachings of the
Cause; you can show the evils that exist in society, as well as the way
they can be remedied. If you possess a real talent in writing you should
consider it as given by God and exert your efforts to use it for the
betterment of society.

The House of Justice hopes that you will be able to satisfy your friends
on these matters and encourage them to prepare for their Baha'i service
and be able to contribute to the welfare of humanity.

(24 May 1988 to an individual believer) [55]

3.3 Attitudes of the Scholar

From the Writings of Baha'u'llah

56: "Amongst the people is he whose learning hath made him proud, and who
hath..."

Amongst the people is he whose learning hath made him proud, and who hath
been debarred thereby from recognizing My Name, the Self-Subsisting; who,
when he heareth the tread of sandals following behind him, waxeth greater
in his own esteem than Nimrod. Say: O rejected one! Where now is his
abode? By God, it is the nethermost fire. Say: O concourse of divines!
Hear ye not the shrill voice of My Most Exalted Pen? See ye not this Sun
that shineth in refulgent splendour above the All-Glorious Horizon? For
how long will ye worship the idols of your evil passions? Forsake your
vain imaginings, and turn yourselves unto God, your Everlasting Lord.

(The Kitab-i-Aqdas, paragraph 41) [56]

57: "Show forbearance and benevolence and love to one another. Should
any..."

Show forbearance and benevolence and love to one another. Sho