Dear Jeannne,
You write,
"... more interested in any Writing which might suggest that some humans might
have a higher station than others."
Perhaps these quotes might relate to your question:
* He whose eyes the Lord hath opened will see the souls of men in the stations
they will occupy after their release from the body. He will find the living
ones thriving within 190 the precincts of their Lord, and the dead sunk down in
the lowest abyss of perdition.
(Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 189
*It behoveth you to observe truthfulness, whereby your temples shall be
adorned, your names uplifted, your stations exalted amidst men, and a mighty
recompense assured for you before God.
(Baha'u'llah, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 78)
*Thou hast indeed created men to know Thee and to serve Thy Cause, whereby
their stations may be exalted in Thy earth and their souls be uplifted through
that which Thou hast revealed in Thy epistles, books and tablets.
(Compilations, Baha'i Scriptures, p. 243)
*"The House of Justice hopes that all the friends will remember that the
ultimate aim in life of every soul should be to attain spiritual excellence-to
win the good pleasure of God. The true spiritual station of any soul is known
only to God. It is quite a different thing from the ranks and stations that men
and women occupy in the various sectors of society. Whoever has his eyes fixed
on the goal of attaining the good pleasure of God will accept with joy and
radiant acquiescence whatever work or station is assigned to him in the Cause
of God, and will rejoice to serve Him under all conditions.
"There are many passages on this theme in the Holy Writing, and the Universal
House of Justice hopes that these remarks will help the friends to turn to them
and understand their purport."
(Compilations, Lights of Guidance, p. 326)
*I gathered from Shoghi Effendi that the reason he had not designated as Hands
these distinguished men and women during their lifetime was because he
considered that, for the most part, the Bah's were still too immature to
accept, without jealousy and criticism, that a fellow-believer should stand
forth from the rank and file in such a high station, bathed in such a bright
light of distinction.
(Custodians, Ministry of the Custodians, p. 2)
*Man's highest station, however, is attained through faith in God in every
Dispensation and by acceptance of what hath been revealed by Him, and not
through learning; inasmuch as in every nation there are learned men who are
versed in divers sciences.
(The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 88)
*It has become, however, increasingly apparent to me as
the years have passed, that to the Writer these words expressed
the station in which He constantly lived, and
that the great objective of His life work was to summon
men to as close an approximation of that station as their
capacity would permit.
(Howard Colby Ives, Portals to Freedom, p. 131)
Regards,
Larry
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