照顾团体内的少数

The Assembly should be representative of the choicest and most varied and capable elements in every Baha’i community. ——Shoghi Effendi.

任何地方的巴哈伊社区灵理会，必需由社群之中最优秀、最干练和最多样的分子所组成。——守基‧阿芬第。

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Unlike the nations and peoples of the earth, be thy of the East or of the West, democratic or authoritarian, communist or capitalist, whether belonging to the Old World or the New, who either ignore, trample upon, or extirpate, the racial, religious or political minorities within the sphere of their jurisdiction, every organized community, enlisted under the banner of Baha’u’llah should feel it to be its first and inescapable obligation to nurture, encourage, and safeguard every minority belonging to any faith, race, class or nation within it. ——Shoghi Effendi. 

世界国家和民族，不管东方还是西方，民主还是独裁，共产党还是资本家，来自旧社会还是新社会，总是在他们的权力范围内忽略、镇压，甚至灭绝种族、宗教和政治少数分子。每一个标榜着巴哈欧拉的名号、有组织的社群，则应培养、鼓励和保护每一个宗教、阶级、种族或国籍的少数社群，视之为一个最优先的、不可推卸的责任。——守基‧阿芬第。

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So great and vital is this principle that in such circumstances, as when an equal number of ballots have been cast in an election, or where the qualifications for any office are balanced as between the various races, faiths or nationalities within the community, priority should unhesitatingly be accorded the party representing the minority. ——Shoghi Effendi.

这项原则是如此的伟大和重要，以致当选举出现同样的票数，而不同人选资格相等的情况下，要毫不犹豫地把优先权让给社区中属于少数种族、宗教或国籍的一位。——守基‧阿芬第。

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……Under special circumstances, such as illness, one may do so (resign), but only after, and never before he has been elected to the membership of the Assembly. Personal differences and disagreements among Assembly members surely afford no sufficient ground for such resignation, and certainly  cannot justify absence from assembly meetings. Through the clash of personal opinions, as Abdu’l-Baha.. has stated, the spark of truth is often ignited, and divine guidance revealed. ——Shoghi Effendi.

中选为灵理会成员的巴哈伊，若有特殊情况，如患病，可以呈辞。未中选前则不能这样做。灵理会成员之间的差别和异议不可成为辞职的理由，也不能作为缺席会议的藉口。正如阿博都-巴哈指出，不同意见之间的交锋碰击出真理的火花，揭晓了神圣的指引。——守基‧阿芬第。

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