Marion Holley

[2] While being raised by college graduates the family encountered the Baháʼí Faith circa 1917 and were part of the organized community when they elected their first local Spiritual Assembly in 1925.

By June it was announced Holley was part of the committee to put together volume 5 of the Baháʼí World series covering worldwide developments in the religion for 1932-1935.

Management of the UK publishing company George Ronald was shifted to be run by her even as the family moved to Haifa, Israel, where the Baháʼí World Centre had been established.

Though there is a lack of coverage on her sports activities up to this point, in the spring freshman semester at Stanford Holley was a named member of the women's all-star basketball team.

At 17 at her first meet of the sophomore year she won 50-yard dash, high jump and the team relay race for the Northern California Athletic Club.

[63] Though the seniors won the overall standing the news lead that Holley broke three campus records in the final inter-class meet of the year,[64] in running broad jump, basketball throw, and 100 yard dash.

Suddenly in fall of 1929 Holley was not at Stanford but had arranged to do a year of advanced work at the University of California at Berkeley in anthropology with Professor Edward Winslow Gifford.

[72] And she was not mentioned in any 1930 sports coverage or thereafter, save for contributing to a report recommending the Olympic games for women; the committee suggested better health conditions and opportunities for meeting socially with other athletes be allowed.

[79] To it she contributed an article “A new cycle of human power“ saying in part “…whether the evidence is small or great, local or universal, it indicates an attitude which has pervaded our society - an attitude minimizing the possibilities of the spiritual, or, if you prefer, disregarding those non-material values which contribute so profoundly to character" and ends underscoring the “challenge which demands investigation… For what right does any man walk abroad, and call himself a citizen of the world, if be not cognizant of its condition and enamored of its promise?”[80] In August Holley was chair of the multi-religious commission of the World Council of Youth[81][82] as a representative of the US Baháʼí National Assembly.

[85] In the December issue of World Unity Magazine, another article by Holley reviewing the meeting appeared saying in part “Unorthodox youth, international and organized, has for the first time in unremembered years rallied to religion.”[86] In answer to a letter by French about the Council meeting Shoghi Effendi, then head of the Baháʼí Faith, wrote in part “The activities, hopes and ideals (of youth) are close and dear to my heart.

[90][91] and an article she contributed to Star of the West was published in which she spoke of the chaos youth are facing: “They cannot cement a defunct family tie, outline a normal ethics, or steer bizarre night life into the channels of sane recreation” and refers to the recent dinner held at the national convention with youth speaking with a depth of heart and attachment to Shoghi Effendi.

In March Holley attended the 7th annual conference of the Los Angeles Girls' Council about coping with the changing world - her talk was entitled 'Religion'.

In February, a letter asking for names of people 15 to 21 who might be subject to being drafted and to be a means for Assemblies to approve their status as public speakers of the religion.

[99] Holley also kept up a column in the weekly Pasadena Star by Nellie S. French when she was away in Europe during the summer,[100] as well as being among the public speakers for the religion in Los Angeles during the year.

The endeavors of the youth committee were again encouraged on behalf of Shoghi Effendi saying in part to “create a new spirit of service, and of common devotion to the Cause among young and intelligent Baháʼís….

Holley received a letter from Shoghi Effendi in Feb 1936 commending the new publication Gleanings from the Writings of Baháʼu'lláh hoping it “will enable (youth) to gain a fuller consciousness of their functions and responsibilities, and to arise and set the example…”[108] The Baháʼí World volume 6 committee reported in the spring of 1936 that it felt the need to address the idea that communities didn't need keep materials in preparation for volume 7 already started and communities were bound to preserve records of activities that could be included in the reports, as well as a request contributors add transliteration marks on their own so committee members didn't have to, that two copies of printed matter be presented, to the committee and that the work of getting submissions has to be timely for the volume to be finished on time.

[111] She named the first standard Bahá'í youth had to live up to as character in order to fulfill the work asked and that it had been previously neglected or overlooked or a feeling of shyness of being visible distinct had to be set aside.

She noted distinctions of age as a source of division at first occupying the committee to define and then to later abolish while continuing to suggest to communities that they advance the young into service and responsibility.

Then she pointed out the success of teams presenting the religion specifically in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York, where non-Baháʼís played central roles of bringing events together followed by a brief discussion and then the floor was opened up.

A need she identified is that of a closer geography - that centers of activity around New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles existed as well but the densest and largest area was the Midwest from Urbana-Peoria to Milwaukee-Kenosha who met at Louhelen Baháʼí School in 1935 and other regional meetings.

[111] With the burgeoning work accelerating, the report outlined that the US was divided into three regions to better assist and understand local action came about as a follow-up of the national assembly doing this to expedite its own business following the natural concentration around the three Summer Schools.

Sixty attended the next year and their Youth Council sent a letter to Shoghi Effendi summarizing the spirit and classes offered and to which he replied August 3.

[120] Holley was mentioned working with the San Bernardino community following some public presentations resulting in the interest of setting up a Baháʼí study class.

[123] Their report mentioned the extension of work promoting the religion started out of Los Angeles and reached out to cities Riverside, Covina, La Jolla, San Diego, Long Beach, San Bernardino, Pine Knot, Chula Vista, Santa Paula, Santa Barbara, Glendale, Pasadena, and Van Nuys with some cities setting up regular classes and symposia or visiting isolated Baháʼís who can host a social gathering.

[133] In the summer Holley was at Louhelen again and also aided the Montreal community celebrate the 25th anniversary of the visit of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá with several speaking engagements[134] and a short radio address.

[136] In February Holley was part of a symposium on World Youth Day Bahaʼi Center in the Beaux Arts Building in Los Angeles.

[144] A session in how the religion was spreading in Latin-America held in Colorado Springs in June had Holley as part of a symposium on the topic of progressive revelation.

[186] In October 1945 a book review of World Order of Baháʼu'lláh was published[187] and one day she received a telegram asking for her to marry David Hofman.

[196] Hofman attended a meeting at held by Baháʼís before Ridván 1948 in Cardiff[190] and in August was noted back in the Berkeley, CA, area giving a talk.

[190] Since David Hofman's election to the Universal House of Justice in 1963[213] Marion was in charge of George Ronald Publishers by herself[214] which she ran for some 12 years from Israel[155] and she retired from the Auxiliary Board and service on the National Assembly.