NSA:United States and Canada

United States and Canada
United States and Canada
	National Spiritual Assembly
	National Spiritual Assembly of NSA:United States and Canada NSA of the United States & Canada for 1944-45.
	Membership
History:
Sister Projects	Media • Works

National Spiritual Assembly, Bahá’ís of United States and Canada.

History[edit]

In 1922 at the direction of Shoghi Effendi, the Executive Board of the Bahá'í Temple Unity began transitioning to a National Spiritual Assembly. They changed their name to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and began overseeing several major activities in the United States including the Bahá'í Temple Unity activities and the publishing of "Star of the West." The National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada was formally recognized in 1925.^[1] ^[2]

The joint Assembly was dissolved in 1948 when both the United States and Canada elected their own independent National Assemblies.

Past members[edit]

Name	Served
Mountfort Mills	1925 - 1928 1935 - 1938
Roy C. Wilhelm	1925 - 1946
Horace Holley	1925 - 1948
Siegfried Schopflocher	1925 - 1927 1929 - 1935 1938 - 1944
Florence Morton	1925 - 1927 1928 - 1929
Allen B. McDaniel	1925 - 1946
Carl Scheffler	1925 - 1938
Ali Kuli Khan	1925 - 1927
Amelia Collins	1925 - 1933 1938 - 1948
Alfred E. Lunt	1927 - 1937
Louis Gregory	1927 - 1932 1939 - 1946
May Maxwell	1927 - 1929
Nellie French	1929 - 1938
Leroy Ioas	1932 - 1946
George O. Latimer	1933 - 1940 1941 - 1948
Dorothy Baker	1937 - 1948
Harlan Ober	1938 - 1941
Philip Sprague	1944 - 1948
Elsie Austin	1946 - 1948
Edna True	1946 - 1948
Paul Haney	1946 - 1948
W. Kenneth Christian	1946 - 1948

References[edit]

↑ Note from the US National Bahá'í Archives: Shoghi Effendi sent a letter dated March 5, 1922 to the Bahá’ís, which first discussed the need for National Spiritual Assemblies and their nature. The letter was read at the 1922 National Convention and was discussed. I’ve attached a portion of the Convention transcript: the Guardian’s letter begins on page 8 and the first reference to National Spiritual Assemblies appears on page 12. In June, 1922 they continued to use the Bahá’í Temple Unity letterhead, but changed the heading “Executive Board” (followed by a list of members) to “National Spiritual Assembly” with a list of members. By 1925 the letterhead had been changed, first to “National Bahá’í Assembly” and then “National Spiritual Assembly”. The earliest letter we have found from Shoghi Effendi to the National Assembly, addressing them as such, is dated December 23, 1922.

In a letter dated March 12, 1923 to North America and seven other regions, the Guardian outlined how the delegates ought to be elected: by proportional representation by the communities with Local Spiritual Assemblies. He used the United States as the example of how to divide up the delegates. The text of this letter was published in Bahá’í Administration, beginning on page 34. This procedure required an up-to-date membership list for each Local Spiritual Assembly community. However, the National Spiritual Assembly did not have such membership lists in 1923 or 1924. It was not until 1925 that the Local Spiritual Assemblies were first asked to send their membership lists in advance of the National Convention. We don’t know the exact reason for this delay, but it might have been due partly to the fact that Alfred Lunt was a less efficient secretary than Horace Holley, who replaced him in 1924. In a March 17, 1925 letter from Horace Holley to Shoghi Effendi the last issue relating to the election of delegates was resolved for the 1925 National Convention election call. And as you pointed out, in God Passes By page 333, Shoghi Effendi gives the United States National Assembly’s date as 1925.
↑ Star of the West, Vol. 13, No. 4, May 17, 1922

[1] Note from the US National Bahá'í Archives: Shoghi Effendi sent a letter dated March 5, 1922 to the Bahá’ís, which first discussed the need for National Spiritual Assemblies and their nature. The letter was read at the 1922 National Convention and was discussed. I’ve attached a portion of the Convention transcript: the Guardian’s letter begins on page 8 and the first reference to National Spiritual Assemblies appears on page 12. In June, 1922 they continued to use the Bahá’í Temple Unity letterhead, but changed the heading “Executive Board” (followed by a list of members) to “National Spiritual Assembly” with a list of members. By 1925 the letterhead had been changed, first to “National Bahá’í Assembly” and then “National Spiritual Assembly”. The earliest letter we have found from Shoghi Effendi to the National Assembly, addressing them as such, is dated December 23, 1922.

In a letter dated March 12, 1923 to North America and seven other regions, the Guardian outlined how the delegates ought to be elected: by proportional representation by the communities with Local Spiritual Assemblies. He used the United States as the example of how to divide up the delegates. The text of this letter was published in Bahá’í Administration, beginning on page 34. This procedure required an up-to-date membership list for each Local Spiritual Assembly community. However, the National Spiritual Assembly did not have such membership lists in 1923 or 1924. It was not until 1925 that the Local Spiritual Assemblies were first asked to send their membership lists in advance of the National Convention. We don’t know the exact reason for this delay, but it might have been due partly to the fact that Alfred Lunt was a less efficient secretary than Horace Holley, who replaced him in 1924. In a March 17, 1925 letter from Horace Holley to Shoghi Effendi the last issue relating to the election of delegates was resolved for the 1925 National Convention election call. And as you pointed out, in God Passes By page 333, Shoghi Effendi gives the United States National Assembly’s date as 1925.

[2] Star of the West, Vol. 13, No. 4, May 17, 1922

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