Momtazi

Is there anything in the Writings that says whether we do or not?

arthra

Baha'u'llah has revealed:

Know thou of a truth that the soul, after its separation from the body, will continue to progress until it attaineth the presence of God, in a state and condition which neither the revolution of ages and centuries, nor the changes and chances of this world, can alter. It will endure as long as the Kingdom of God, His sovereignty, His dominion and power will endure. It will manifest the signs of God and His attributes, and will reveal His loving kindness and bounty.

The movement of My Pen is stilled when it attempteth to befittingly describe the loftiness and glory of so exalted a station. The honor with which the Hand of Mercy will invest the soul is such as no tongue can adequately reveal, nor any other earthly agency describe. Blessed is the soul which, at the hour of its separation from the body, is sanctified from the vain imaginings of the peoples of the world. Such a soul liveth and moveth in accordance with the Will of its Creator, and entereth the all-highest Paradise.


~ Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 153



From my own reading on the subject we are at the mercy of God when we have passed from this world..It appears the Writings affirm

"Through their own prayers and supplications they can also progress;"

And see:

For example, Peter cannot become Christ. All that he can do is, in the condition of servitude, to attain endless perfections; for every existing reality is capable of making progress.

As the spirit of man after putting off this material form has an everlasting life, certainly any existing being is capable of making progress; therefore it is permitted to ask for advancement, forgiveness, mercy, beneficence, and blessings for a man after his death, because existence is capable of progression.

That is why in the prayers of Bahá'u'lláh forgiveness and remission of sins are asked for those who have died. Moreover, as people in this world are in need of God, they will also need Him in the other world. The creatures are always in need, and God is absolutely independent, whether in this world or in the world to come.

The wealth of the other world is nearness to God. Consequently it is certain that those who are near the Divine Court are allowed to intercede, and this intercession is approved by God. But intercession in the other world is not like intercession in this world: it is another thing, another reality, which cannot be expressed in words.

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith p. 328

It is even possible that the condition of those who have died in sin and unbelief may become changed; that is to say, they may become the object of pardon through the bounty of God, not through His justice; for bounty is giving without desert, and justice is giving what is deserved.

As we have power to pray for these souls here, so likewise we shall possess the same power in the other world, which is the Kingdom of God. Are not all the people in that world the creatures of God? Therefore in that world also they can make progress.

As here they can receive light by their supplication, there also they can plead for forgiveness, and receive light through entreaties and supplications.

Thus as souls in this world, through the help of the supplications, the entreaties, and the prayers of the holy ones, can acquire development, so is it the same after death. Through their own prayers and supplications they can also progress; more especially when they are the object of the intercession of the Holy Manifestations.

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - p. 328

Momtazi

This has helped me a lot in my understanding.....a speaker at a gathering recently stated that ''because in the next world we HAVE NO ChOICE we need to serve the Cause in this world''.
That statement does not sit well with me. A fellow Baha'i at the gathering told me that the speaker meant ''we do not have the choice to teach in the next world''.
That does not sit well with me either.
From some of the writings you have sited, I see that we(as souls) have a choice in the next world by trying to progress and also to what degree of effort.
Am I letting my intellect run away with me ?