Entry by troops

Entry by troops is a term that developed in the Baháʼí Faith to describe a process of expansion when the Baha'i Faith would emerge from relative obscurity as a "steady flow of reinforcements" of "troops of peoples of divers nations and races" would embrace it (Letter dated 25 June 1953, Shoghi Effendi, Citadel of Faith: Messages to America 1947-1957. Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, 1980. p. 117 [18] The term first appeared in Baháʼu'lláh's Suriy-i-Haykal.[1]

The Baháʼí Faith currently claims more than five million members, in almost every country of the world.

Steady Flow of New Believers

Entry by troops is seen as a process, not a singular event. It is seen as foreshadowing of a large-scale embracing of the Baha'i Faith, when a majority of the world will recognize and accept the teachings of Baha'u'llah. As Shoghi Effendi says,

"This flow, moreover, will presage and hasten the advent of the day which, as prophesied by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, will witness the entry by troops of peoples of divers nations and races into the Baháʼí world — a day which, viewed in its proper perspective, will be the prelude to that long-awaited hour when a mass conversion on the part of these same nations and races, and as a direct result of a chain of events, momentous and possibly catastrophic in nature and which cannot as yet be even dimly visualized, will suddenly revolutionize the fortunes of the Faith, derange the equilibrium of the world, and reinforce a thousandfold the numerical strength as well as the material power and the spiritual authority of the Faith of Baháʼu'lláh."

(1953, Shoghi Effendi, “Citadel of Faith: Messages to America 1947-1957”, p. 117)

Teaching

Ten Year Crusade

This effort was launched in order to raise up Local Assemblies and National Assemblies all over the world so that a Universal House of Justice could be elected that would be representative of a worldwide Baha'i membership. The efforts of worldwide expansion that characterized the Ten Year Crusade from 1953 to 1963 were followed by massive enrollments in some parts of the world. Because there is no Baha'i clergy, Baha'u'llah has enjoined every believer to share and explain His teachings to the best of their ability. In some cases, individuals settled and lived out their lives in other countries. Almost every country in the world which had no Baháʼís was at least visited by a travelling teacher.

Consolidation

In 2000, the Universal House of Justice published Century of Light, which reviewed the accomplishments and setbacks of the previous century. A major conclusion of the book was the need to focus on long-term teaching goals. For example, a 1975 letter from the Universal House of Justice said the following:

"Teaching the Faith embraces many diverse activities, all of which are vital to success, and each of which reinforce the other. Time and again the beloved Guardian emphasized that expansion and consolidation are twin and inseparable aspects to teaching that must proceed simultaneously yet one still hears believers discussing the virtues of one as against the other. The purpose of teaching is not complete when a person declares that he has accepted Baháʼu'lláh as the Manifestation of God for this age; the purpose of teaching is to attract human beings to the Divine Message and so imbue them with its spirit that they will dedicate themselves to its service, and this world will become another world and its people another people. Viewed in this light a declaration of Faith is merely a milestone along the way—albeit a very important one."

(To all National Spiritual Assemblies, May 25, 1975, Lights of Guidance, p. 594)

Subsequent Plans

The Universal House of Justice has announced consecutive multi-year plans. From 1996 to 2000, the Four Year Plan focused on strengthening "communities, institutions, and believers." From 2000 to 2001, the Twelve Month Plan focused on creating activities and further building an administrative structure. In this time the Regional Baháʼí Council (RBC) was created in very large countries, where an intermediary was necessary between the National and Local to help National Assemblies communicate and interact with local communities. From 2001 to 2006, the Five Year Plan has focused on three so-called core activities, which comprise devotional gatherings, children's classes, and study circles. An additional aspect newly created was the categorizing of areas into "clusters" that comprise groupings of communities, such as a metropolitan area or county. From 2006 to 2011 the Five Year Plan introduced Junior Youth Activities recognizing the pre-adolescent years as crucial in a person's spiritual growth.

The practice of study circles has helped introduce large numbers of individuals to the teachings of Baha'u'llah by training tutors to lead discussions using books containing excerpts from the Writings. In India, which has the largest population of Baháʼís in the world, a single cluster had two thousand individuals become Baháʼís within a six-month period. Within the following year, one thousand of them had finished Ruhi book 2. Similar trends have been observed in Mongolia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Bangladesh among others (all in relatively large numbers); and in Eastern Europe and even Britain (all in somewhat smaller numbers). Many other communities around the world have experienced increased growth and activity since 2000. It should be noted, however, that numbers alone don't indicate depth of devotion to carry out Baha'u'llah's teachings or commitment to helping to fortify Baha'i communities.

Large-scale Teaching

A letter written to a Baháʼí on behalf of Shoghi Effendi has a section that gives a clear perspective of the Baháʼí attitude toward mass conversion.

It is not sufficient to number the souls that embrace the Cause to know the progress that it is making. The more important consequences of your activities are the spirit that is diffused into the life of the community, and the extent to which the teachings we proclaim become part of the consciousness and belief of the people that hear them. For it is only when the spirit has thoroughly permeated the world that the people will begin to enter the Faith in large numbers. At the beginning of the spring only the few, exceptionally favoured seeds will sprout, but when the season gets in its full sway, and the atmosphere gets permeated with the warmth of true springtime, then masses of flowers will begin to appear, and a whole hillside suddenly blooms. We are still in the state when only isolated souls are awakened, but soon we shall have the full swing of the season and the quickening of whole groups and nations into the spiritual life breathed by Baháʼu'lláh."

(Letter 18 February 1932, on behalf of Shoghi Effendi)

References

1. "Bahá'í Reference Library - The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, Pages 96-138". reference.bahai.org. Retrieved 2020-05-19.