 The religion entered a new phase of activity when a message of the Universal House of Justice dated 20 October 1983 was released . Bahá 'ís were urged to seek out ways , compatible with the Bahá 'í teachings , in which they could become involved in the social and economic development of the communities in which they lived . Worldwide in 1979 there were 129 officially recognized Bahá 'í socio @-@ economic development projects . By 1987 , the number of officially recognized development projects had increased to 1482 . 
