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– 134 –

Passages in God Passes By

18 November 1944

COMFORTED STRENGTHENED ASSURANCE SYMPATHY LOYALTY AMERICAN BELIEVERS DEPLORABLE DELICATE SITUATION CREATED DISHONORABLE ALLIANCES MEMBERS FAMILY FIRST WITH COVENANT-BREAKERS NOW EXTERNAL ENEMIES FAITH. MARVELOUS RAPID SOUND EVOLUTION INSTITUTIONS FAITH FIVE CONTINENTS PARTICULARLY WESTERN HEMISPHERE CONSTITUTES BEST MONITION MOST EFFECTIVE COUNTERACTION DETRIMENTAL INFLUENCE THOSE WHOSE VERY ACTS PROCLAIM SEVERANCE FROM HOLY TREE FORFEITURE SACRED BIRTHRIGHT. OCCASION DEMANDS DIRECT SPECIAL ATTENTION PASSAGES “GOD PASSES BY” INDICATING GRAVITY PAST CRISES PRECIPITATED SINCE INCEPTION FAITH BY KINSMEN BOTH MANIFESTATION CENTER COVENANT DEMONSTRATING PITIFUL FUTILITY NEFARIOUS ACTIVITIES AND SAD FATE OVERTAKING DEFECTORS BETRAYERS. PRESENT HOUR CALLS UNRELAXING VIGILANCE CONTINUED HEROISM REDOUBLED EFFORTS RENEWED DEDICATION BY RANK FILE COMMUNITY ENJOYING PREPONDERATING SHARE ALIKE ERECTION DEFENSE CONSOLIDATION WORLDWIDE ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER FAITH BAHÁ’U’LLÁH SINCE PASSING CENTER HIS COVENANT. URGE ENTIRE BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY WESTERN HEMISPHERE FOCUS ATTENTION REMAINING MONTHS OPENING YEAR SECOND CENTURY FORMATION LOCAL ASSEMBLIES REMAINING REPUBLICS NICARAGUA PANAMA VENEZUELA BOLIVIA SAN DOMINGO GUARD AGAINST DISSOLUTION ASSEMBLIES ALREADY PAINSTAKINGLY ESTABLISHED THROUGHOUT AMERICAS EXERT EFFORT FURTHER MULTIPLICATION GROUPS WIDER DISSEMINATION LITERATURE GREATER USE RADIO CLOSER CONTACT MASSES MORE AUDACIOUS PROCLAMATION FAITH MORE EFFECTIVE COORDINATION LOCAL NATIONAL ACTIVITIES AIMING FULLER DEMONSTRATION RIGHTS CLAIMS FAITH BE REGARDED SOLE REFUGE HUMANITY HOUR BITTEREST AGONY. AMERICAN BELIEVERS MERITORIOUS ACTIVITIES INDIVIDUAL LOCAL INTERSTATE INTERCONTINENTAL OBJECT SPECIAL PRAYERS APPROACHING ANNIVERSARY ‘ABDU’L‑BAHÁ’S ASCENSION.

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The Succeeding Stage in the Evolution of Their World Mission

24 December 1944

1944, a year memorable for the sharp contrast between the rising tide of spiritual victories culminating in the Centenary celebrations of a world-embracing Faith and the swiftly ebbing fortunes of a war-ravaged, disillusioned and bankrupt society, is drawing to a close. In every continent of the globe; in the Holy Land, the Heart and Center of our Faith and Pivot of its institutions; in the land of its birth; in the adjoining territory of ‘Iráq; throughout the Western Hemisphere; in the British Isles, so severely subjected to the violence of a world tempest; throughout the length and breadth of India; in far-off Australasia and in the Nile Valley—all with the sole exception of the distant republics of the West subjected in varying degrees to the imminent danger of becoming the theater of war—the communities laboring for the promotion of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh have, throughout five tumultuous years, been providentially spared to hold aloft its banner, to preserve its integrity, to maintain the continuity of its institutions, to enrich its annals, to consolidate its structure, to further disseminate its literature and to befittingly celebrate its Centenary. Preponderant indeed has been the share of that privileged community, which has been invested by the Pen of the Center of the Covenant with a worldwide Mission, in the prosecution of a task which, ever since the onset of this world upheaval and despite its mounting horrors, the builders of the Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh have so unflaggingly pursued. Neither the participation of the Great Republic of the West in this fierce contest, nor the sorrows, burdens and restrictions which such direct association with the agonies of a travailing age has entailed have thus far been capable of dimming the splendor of the exploits that have immortalized the record of the services of this community since the ascension of ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá. Indeed, coincident with the period of America’s direct participation in this world struggle and in direct proportion to the turmoil and the tribulations which such a participation has engendered, the members of this community have evinced a heroism and proved themselves capable of a concerted effort that have eclipsed the notable achievements that have heralded the establishment of the Administrative Order of the Faith as well as the first stage in the development of the Seven Year Plan.

What the year 1945, on whose threshold we now stand, has in store for the members of this determined, this valiant, this watchful, this exemplary community only the future can reveal. That the trials and afflictions suffered by their country and its people must wax as this world upheaval moves towards a climax no one can any longer doubt. The challenge that will face this stalwart community will no doubt be severe. To allow the prizes so nobly won, over so vast a field, at so great a cost, at so critical an hour, to fall into jeopardy would be unworthy of a career so auspiciously initiated, so completely dedicated to the Cause of God, so rich in promise and so brilliant in almost every phase of its evolution. Every Local Assembly, the ordained pivot of a divinely ordained System, which has been established in the states and provinces of the North American continent, as well as in the republics of Latin America, must, through a supreme effort on the part of pioneers, visiting teachers and Regional Committees, be steadfastly maintained. Simultaneously a no less determined effort should be exerted to enable the admittedly large number of groups scattered throughout the Americas to attain Assembly status. No less urgent is the obligation to proclaim the verities enshrined in the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh by every means which individuals, Assemblies and committees can devise, through the press and radio, through an unprecedented dissemination of literature, through its systematic translation into Spanish and Portuguese and above all through active association with leaders of public thought as well as direct contact with the masses of the people. Through such means as these, and through such means only, can the members of the American Bahá’í community, who have so audaciously and successfully launched the first stage of the Divine Plan, be enabled to pave the way and usher in, soon after the cessation of hostilities, the succeeding stage in the evolution of their world Mission. My prayers and loving thoughts surround them continually in their devoted labors.

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The Admission of Persians

18 January 1945

DESIRE REITERATE WARNING NO PERSIAN STUDENT OR OTHERWISE MUST BE ADMITTED COMMUNITY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES UNLESS PROVIDED FULL CREDENTIALS. EXCEPTION COMPROMISE DETRIMENTAL VITAL INTERESTS FAITH PRESENT JUNCTURE. UTMOST CAUTION VIGILANCE IMPERATIVE.

– 137 –

Appeal to Preserve New Assemblies and Convert Large Groups into Assemblies

22 January 1945

DEEPLY APPRECIATE ASSEMBLY’S LOVING MESSAGE. REJOICE FORMULATION NEW PLANS. DELIGHTED RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. ANTICIPATE FRESH TRIUMPHS PUBLICITY CAMPAIGNS. GRATEFUL PROVISION FUNDS “BAHÁ’Í WORLD” PUBLICATION. PRAYING REMOVAL OBSTACLES TRAVEL NINE LATIN AMERICAN PIONEERS. URGE UTMOST VIGILANCE PRESERVATION WHATEVER COST NEWLY CONSTITUTED ASSEMBLIES THROUGHOUT AMERICAS. APPEAL EXERT STRENUOUS EFFORTS CONVERT LARGE GROUPS INTO ASSEMBLIES. PRAYING INCREASING FLOW BLESSINGS SUSTAINED CONCERTED EXERTIONS INDEFATIGABLE INCORRUPTIBLE CONSISTENTLY VICTORIOUS DEARLY BELOVED AMERICAN BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY.

– 138 –

Service by Youth on Committees

26 February 1945

BAHÁ’Í YOUTH UNDER TWENTY-ONE MAY SERVE ON COMMITTEES. DESIRE REITERATE NECESSITY AVOID INTRODUCING NEW REGULATIONS RESTRICTIONS.

– 139 –

Staunch Pioneer

27 March 1945

DEEPLY GRIEVE PASSING INDEFATIGABLE STAUNCH PIONEER72 FAITH DAY COVENANT. RECORD HER SERVICES IMPERISHABLE. REWARD GREAT ABHÁ KINGDOM.

– 140 –

The One Message That Can Extricate Humanity

29 March 1945

The Divine Plan conceived by ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá for the American Bahá’í community, in the midst of one of the darkest periods in human history, and with which the destinies of the followers of Bahá’u’lláh in the North American continent must for generations to come remain inextricably interwoven, has, during the concluding years of the first Bahá’í century, triumphantly emerged from the first stage of its evolution. Its initiation, officially and on a vast scale, had, for well-nigh twenty years, been held in abeyance, while the processes of a slowly emerging Administrative Order were, under the unerring guidance of Providence, creating and perfecting the agencies for its efficient and systematic prosecution. The next stage in the evolution of the Plan cannot, however, be embarked upon, until the external causes, hampering its further unfoldment in other continents of the globe, are removed through the cessation of hostilities, and the signal victories already won through its initial development are sufficiently consolidated throughout the Western Hemisphere.

The tasks confronting those who have so valiantly and brilliantly inaugurated the first stage in the execution of the Great Design unfolded by ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá for the promulgation of the Faith of His Father, during this transitional period, are manifold, exacting, urgent and sacred. The local administrative units, so laboriously constituted throughout the Americas, must needs, as already pointed out and repeatedly stressed, be maintained, reinforced, closely integrated and their number steadily multiplied. The spirit that has inflamed the pioneers who have set the seal of triumph on the Seven Year Plan, must, under the vigilant care of the national representatives of the American Bahá’í community, be constantly watched, kept alive and nourished. The literature of the Faith, particularly in Spanish and Portuguese, must be widely disseminated in both Central and South America, as a necessary adjunct to the systematic consolidation of the work that has been undertaken. Above all, the healing Message of Bahá’u’lláh must, during the opening years of the second Bahá’í century, and through the instrumentality of an already properly functioning Administrative Order, whose ramifications have been extended to the four corners of the Western Hemisphere, be vividly, systematically brought to the attention of the masses, in their hour of grief, misery and confusion. A more audacious assertion of the challenging verities of the Faith; a more convincing presentation of its distinguishing truths; a fuller exposition of the character, the aims, and the achievements of its rising Administrative system, as the nucleus and pattern of its future world-embracing order; a more direct and intimate contact and association with the leaders of public thought whose activities and aims are akin to the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, for the purpose of demonstrating the universality, the comprehensiveness, the liberality and the dynamic power of His Divine Message; a closer scrutiny of the ways and means whereby its claims can be vindicated, its defamers and detractors silenced, and its institutions safeguarded; a more determined effort to exploit, to the fullest extent possible, the talents and abilities of the rank and file of the believers for the purpose of achieving these ends—these stand out as the paramount tasks summoning to a challenge, during these years of transition and turmoil, the entire body of the American believers. The facilities which the Radio and Press furnish must be utilized to a degree unprecedented in American Bahá’í history. The combined resources of the much-envied, exemplary American Bahá’í community must be harnessed for the effectual promotion of these meritorious purposes. Blessings, undreamt of in their scope and plenteousness, are bound to be vouchsafed to those who will, in these dark yet pregnant times, arise, to further these noble ends, and to hasten through their acts the hour at which a still more momentous stage in the evolution of a Divine and worldwide Plan can be launched.

There is no time to lose. The hour is ripe for the proclamation, without fear, without reserve, and without hesitation, and on a scale never as yet undertaken, of the One Message that can alone extricate humanity from the morass into which it is steadily sinking, and from which they who claim to be the followers of the Most Great Name can and will eventually rescue it. The sooner they who labor for the recognition and triumph of His Faith in the New World arise to carry out these inescapable duties, the sooner will the hopes, the aims and objectives of ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá as enshrined in His own Plan, be translated from the realm of vision to the plane of actuality and manifest the full force of the potentialities with which they have been endowed.

– 141 –

Faithless Brother Ḥusayn

15 April 1945

FAITHLESS BROTHER ḤUSAYN73 AFTER LONG PERIOD DISHONORABLE CONDUCT ABANDONED MASTER’S HOME TO CONSORT WITH SISTER AND OTHER COVENANT-BREAKERS.

– 142 –

My Heavy-Laden Heart

19 April 1945

HEAVY-LADEN HEART ALREADY OPPRESSED REPEATED DEFECTIONS UNWORTHY KINDRED BELOVED MASTER RELIEVED LATEST SIGNAL EVIDENCE INDOMITABLE SPIRIT MEMBERS DIVINELY CHOSEN AMERICAN BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY NOW UNFURLING BANNER FAITH ESTABLISHING STRUCTURAL BASIS ITS ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER WORLD’S SOUTHERNMOST CITY.74 HAIL STAUNCHNESS FIDELITY DISTINGUISHING WINNERS SUCH SUPERB VICTORIES. ACCLAIM THEM TRUE BROTHERS SISTERS WORTHY BEAR NAME ‘ABDU’L‑BAHÁ. URGE INTER-AMERICA COMMITTEE DEVOTE SPECIAL ATTENTION UNDERTAKE PROMPT MEASURES DESIGNED INCREASE NUMBER BELIEVERS ESTABLISH LOCAL ADMINISTRATIVE HEADQUARTERS MULTIPLY SUBSIDIARY AGENCIES INDISPENSABLE MAINTENANCE FLOURISHING COMMUNITY SOUTHERN EXTREMITY WESTERN HEMISPHERE. PRAYING EVER-INCREASING SUCCESS.

– 143 –

Nationwide, Intercontinental Plans

5 May 1945

ASSURE NEWLY ELECTED MEMBERS FERVENT PRAYERS DIVINE GUIDANCE STRENGTH ACCOMPLISH TASKS CONFRONTING AMERICAN BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY SECOND YEAR SECOND BAHÁ’Í CENTURY. APPEAL NATIONAL TEACHING REGIONAL INTER-AMERICA COMMITTEES INTENSIFY EFFORTS MULTIPLICATION GROUPS ASSEMBLIES LENGTH BREADTH WESTERN HEMISPHERE. EVER-INCREASING FLOW PIONEERS INDISPENSABLE MEET URGENT REQUIREMENTS PRESENT HOUR. RENEWED DETERMINED CONTINUED EXERTIONS BY INDIVIDUALS AIMED UNPRECEDENTED INCREASE NUMBER ENROLLED BELIEVERS VITAL CONSOLIDATION ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN BY PIONEERS. SYSTEMATIC WELL-CONCEIVED CAREFULLY COORDINATED PLANS NATIONWIDE AND INTERCONTINENTAL DEVISED BY ELECTED NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES COMMUNITY LIKEWISE NECESSARY PRELIMINARY SEED SOWING UNEXAMPLED BOTH RANGE EFFECTIVENESS AMERICAN BAHÁ’Í HISTORY. ATTAINMENT THIS THREEFOLD OBJECTIVE IN NORTH CENTRAL SOUTH AMERICA WILL SIGNALIZE INITIATION SECOND STAGE IN OTHER CONTINENTS WORLD MISSION CONSTITUTING SACRED BIRTHRIGHT AMERICAN FOLLOWERS FAITH BAHÁ’U’LLÁH.

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A Single, Organically United World Commonwealth

9 May 1945

FOLLOWERS BAHÁ’U’LLÁH THROUGHOUT FIVE CONTINENTS UNANIMOUSLY REJOICE PARTIAL EMERGENCE WAR-TORN HUMANITY FROM TITANIC UPHEAVAL UNERRINGLY PREDICTED SEVENTY YEARS AGO BY PEN AUTHOR THEIR FAITH. CESSATION HOSTILITIES EUROPEAN CONTINENT75 SIGNALIZES CLOSING YET ANOTHER CHAPTER TRAGIC TALE FIERY TRIALS PROVIDENTIALLY DECREED BY INSCRUTABLE WISDOM DESIGNED ULTIMATELY WELD MUTUALLY ANTAGONISTIC ELEMENTS HUMAN SOCIETY INTO SINGLE ORGANICALLY UNITED UNSHATTERABLE WORLD COMMONWEALTH. GRATEFULLY ACCLAIM SIGNAL EVIDENCE INTERPOSITION DIVINE PROVIDENCE WHICH DURING SUCH PERILOUS YEARS ENABLED WORLD CENTER FAITH ESCAPE WHAT POSTERITY WILL RECOGNIZE AS ONE OF GRAVEST DANGERS EVER CONFRONTED NERVE CENTER ITS INSTITUTIONS. PROFOUNDLY AWARE BOUNTIFUL GRACE VOUCHSAFED BY SAME PROVIDENCE ENSURING UNLIKE PREVIOUS WORLD CONFLICT UNINTERRUPTED INTERCOURSE BETWEEN SPIRITUAL CENTER AND VAST MAJORITY COMMUNITIES FUNCTIONING WITHIN ORBIT FAR-FLUNG FAITH. IMMEASURABLY THANKFUL MIRACULOUS PRESERVATION INDIAN PERSIAN EGYPTIAN BRITISH IRAQI COMMUNITIES LONG THREATENED DIRE PERILS OWING PROXIMITY THEATER MILITARY OPERATIONS. DEEPLY CONSCIOUS PROGRESS ACHIEVED DESPITE SIX TEMPESTUOUS YEARS IN BOTH EASTERN WESTERN HEMISPHERES THROUGH COLLECTIVE ENTERPRISES LAUNCHED BY THESE COMMUNITIES OUTSHINES SUM TOTAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS SINCE INCEPTION FORMATIVE AGE FAITH. SEVEN YEAR PLAN INAUGURATED BY AMERICAN BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY UNDER LOWERING CLOUDS APPROACHING CONFLICT VICTORIOUSLY COMPLETED EXTERIOR ORNAMENTATION MOTHER TEMPLE WEST ESTABLISHED STRUCTURAL BASIS FAITH EVERY STATE PROVINCE NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENT AND HOISTED ITS BANNER EVERY REPUBLIC LATIN AMERICA. INDIAN BELIEVERS SIX YEAR PLAN LAUNCHED EVE HOSTILITIES MORE THAN QUADRUPLED CENTERS FUNCTIONING WITHIN PALE ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER. EDIFICES CONSECRATED ADMINISTRATIVE AFFAIRS EVER-ADVANCING CAUSE INVOLVING EXPENDITURE OVER HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS ERECTED PURCHASED OR COMPLETED CAPITAL CITIES INDIA IRAQ EGYPT AS WELL AS SYDNEY AUSTRALIA. ACQUISITION NUMEROUS PROPERTIES BAHÁ’U’LLÁH’S NATIVE LAND MOUNT CARMEL AND JORDAN VALLEY AS WELL AS PURCHASE SEVERAL IMPORTANT HISTORIC SITES ASSOCIATED LIVES BOTH HERALD AUTHOR FAITH SWELLED UNPRECEDENTED DEGREE BAHÁ’Í ENDOWMENTS. PRELIMINARY STEPS COMPLETION BÁB’S SEPULCHER AND ESTABLISHMENT WORLD ADMINISTRATIVE CENTER THROUGH REMOVAL REMAINS BROTHER MOTHER ‘ABDU’L‑BAHÁ UNDERTAKEN. TERMINATION FIRST CENTURY BAHÁ’Í ERA SYNCHRONIZING CLIMAX RAGING STORM PUBLICLY BEFITTINGLY CELEBRATED DESPITE MULTIPLICATION RESTRICTIONS. ABOVE ALL UNITY INTEGRITY INCORRUPTIBLE WORLD COMMUNITY CONSISTENTLY SAFEGUARDED IN FACE INSIDIOUS OPPOSITION AVOWED ENEMIES WITHOUT AND COVENANT-BREAKERS WITHIN. SUCH SPLENDID VICTORIES OVER SO VAST FIELD AMIDST SUCH TRIBULATIONS DURING SO PROLONGED ORDEAL AUGUR WELL COLOSSAL TASKS DESTINED BE ACCOMPLISHED COURSE PEACEFUL YEARS AHEAD BY BUILDERS EMBRYONIC WORLD ORDER BAHÁ’U’LLÁH AMIDST WRECKAGE DISTRACTED DISRUPTED DISILLUSIONED SOCIETY.

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National Teaching Committee’s Remarkable Exploits

28 June 1945

FULLY SHARE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY’S ADMIRATION GRATITUDE NATIONAL TEACHING COMMITTEE’S REMARKABLE EXPLOITS RECENT YEARS. APPEAL NEW COMMITTEE FOCUS ATTENTION STEADY CONVERSION CONSIDERABLE PROPORTION EXISTING GROUPS INTO ASSEMBLIES THROUGH MULTIPLICATION SETTLERS INTENSIFICATION INDIVIDUAL TEACHING PROCLAMATION MESSAGE MASSES. URGE REGIONAL TEACHING COMMITTEES REDOUBLE EFFORTS LEND CONTINUED ASSISTANCE ATTAINMENT IMMEDIATE OBJECTIVES. REJOICE SUCCESS HIGH ENDEAVORS PEACE COMMITTEE SAN FRANCISCO DEPARTURE PIONEERS LATIN AMERICA. RENEW PLEA FOR EVER INCREASING NUMBER PIONEERS BOTH NORTHERN SOUTHERN FIELDS UNITEDLY ARISE LEND FURTHER MUCH-NEEDED IMPETUS SUPERB HISTORIC ENTERPRISES INITIATED BY AMERICAN BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY WESTERN HEMISPHERE CLOSING YEARS FIRST CENTURY AND HASTEN INAUGURATION STILL MORE SHINING PHASE WORLD MISSION OPENING YEARS SECOND CENTURY.

– 146 –

A New Phase of Human Evolution

10 August 1945

The cessation of hostilities on the continent of Europe, the prospect of an early termination of the bloody conflict raging in the Far East, invest the members of the world Bahá’í community, and particularly its standard-bearers in the great Republic of the West, with a great, a unique, and inescapable responsibility. The first stage of the mission laid upon them by ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá, the inauguration of which has been so long retarded while the processes of a slowly emerging Administrative Order were being set in motion, and which coincided with one of the darkest and most tragic periods in human history, has been brought to a triumphant conclusion, and added a golden page to the annals of the closing years of the first Bahá’í century.

As a new phase in the painful evolution of a sorely tried and wayward humanity opens, a new challenge summons the prosecutors of a Divine Plan to gird up their loins, muster their resources, and prepare themselves for the launching of the second stage of an enterprise which, as it reveals its full potentialities, must stretch to embrace the five continents of the globe. World turmoil, grave dangers, severe restrictions, the lethargy of the public engrossed in its war problems, have failed to dampen the zeal, or to undermine the resolve, or to interfere with the successful discharge of the duty assumed by those who have so determinedly embarked on the opening stage of their world-encircling, divinely appointed mission. With the return to more normal conditions, with the improvement of the means of travel and communication, with the lifting of the deadening weight of fear and care and the growing receptivity of the masses, schooled in adversity and groping for the means of ultimate salvation, opportunities without number and unprecedented in their significance present themselves to those whose privilege and obligation it is to pave the way for the launching of the succeeding stage of their historic and ever-unfolding task.

Not until, however, normal conditions are fully restored and the world situation is stabilized, and, above all, the prizes won through the operation of the Seven Year Plan are adequately safeguarded and the basis of the newly established Administrative Order sufficiently consolidated throughout the Western Hemisphere, can the ambassadors of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, carrying aloft the banner of His Name in the American continent, be called upon to undertake, unitedly and systematically, collective responsibility for the diffusion of His Message, and for the erection of the fabric of His Administrative Order, amidst the sorrow-stricken, war-lacerated, sorely bewildered nations and peoples of the European continent.

The sooner the home tasks are fully discharged, and the newly fledged Assemblies in Central and South America enabled to function adequately and vigorously, the sooner will the stalwart members of the American Bahá’í community, who, during so brief a period, and despite the prevailing darkness, achieved such wonders throughout the Americas, extend the healing influence of their Faith, on a scale as yet unprecedented, to the waiting masses of that agitated continent.

As already observed, an intensification of effort is imperatively required, aiming at a bolder proclamation of the verities of a God-given Faith, at a systematic and continent-wide dissemination of its authentic literature, at a closer contact with the masses as well as the leaders of public thought, at a further consolidation and multiplication of the administrative centers scattered throughout the New World, and constituting the nuclei of its future World Order and above all at a more convincing revelation of Bahá’í love, unity, solidarity and self-sacrifice, which alone can hasten the consummation of the preliminary undertakings required to terminate the period of transition intervening between the first and second stages of the greatest crusade ever launched in the history of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.

Time is pressing, the work that still remains to be accomplished in the New World is vast and urgent, the need of the suffering masses the world over, and particularly in Europe, is pitiable, the sustaining grace destined to be vouchsafed from on high to those who will arise to achieve that task and fulfill this need is boundless and assured. Its potency has been already fully experienced and abundantly demonstrated in the years that have witnessed the most prodigious efforts exerted by the American believers. A still more powerful display of its miraculous force can be confidently anticipated, if those who have felt its impact in the past arise to carry out, in the years that lie immediately ahead, the sublime and twofold task of the redemption of mankind and the establishment of the world sovereignty of Bahá’u’lláh.

– 147 –

Hearts Uplifted in Thanksgiving

[17 August 1945]

HEARTS UPLIFTED THANKSGIVING COMPLETE CESSATION PROLONGED UNPRECEDENTED WORLD CONFLICT.76 HAIL PROSPECT REMOVAL RESTRICTIONS ENABLING AMERICAN BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY EXPEDITE PRELIMINARY MEASURES REQUIRED LAUNCH SECOND STAGE DIVINE PLAN. APPEAL FOCUS ATTENTION REQUIREMENTS ALL-IMPORTANT VITAL LATIN AMERICAN WORK. ADEQUATE FULFILLMENT THIS VITAL TASK PRELUDE ASSUMPTION COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY BY TRIUMPHANT COMMUNITY SPIRITUAL ENLIGHTENMENT ULTIMATE REDEMPTION SORELY TRIED WAR-RAVAGED EUROPEAN CONTINENT DESTINED BE ASSOCIATED WITH EXPLOITS WHICH MUST IMMORTALIZE SECOND STAGE WORLD MISSION ENTRUSTED BY ‘ABDU’L‑BAHÁ APOSTLES HIS FATHER’S FAITH WESTERN WORLD. OPPORTUNITIES PRESENT HOUR INFINITELY PRECIOUS TIME PRESSING CALL DISTRESSED GROPING PEOPLES EUROPE PITIFUL INSISTENT. WORK STILL TO BE ACCOMPLISHED TO CONSUMMATE MIGHTY ENTERPRISES UNDERTAKEN LATIN AMERICA CONSIDERABLE. ALMIGHTY’S SUSTAINING GRACE ASSURED UNFAILING. PRAYING DEPTHS JOYFUL THANKFUL HEART OUTPOURING BLESSINGS NO LESS REMARKABLE DIVINE BOUNTIES VOUCHSAFED VALIANT PROSECUTORS PLAN COURSE OPENING PHASE WORLD MISSION.

– 148 –

The Work of Rehabilitation

21 December 1945

The reports recently received from various sources, regarding the sad conditions prevailing among the members of the sorely stricken, long-suffering Bahá’í communities in Germany and Burma, are of such a distressing nature as to merit the energetic, the immediate, and collective intervention of their fellow workers in lands which have providentially been spared the horrors of invasion and all the evils and miseries attendant upon it.77 Upon the American Bahá’í community, in particular, which throughout this prolonged and bloody conflict has, of all its sister communities in East and West, enjoyed the greatest immunity and been privileged not only to maintain and preserve its institutions, but to prosecute so successfully a Plan of such magnitude and significance, a special responsibility now rests—a responsibility which, despite its manifold and pressing duties in the Western Hemisphere, it can afford neither to neglect nor ignore.

Particularly in the heart of the European continent, where the present turmoil, suffering and destitution are mysteriously paving the way for the revival of a Faith which the Beloved Himself has unequivocally prophesied, where a once flourishing community is struggling to fulfill the high hopes entertained for it by Him, and where the prosecutors of the Divine Plan are to lend their direct and systematic assistance when launching the second stage of their world mission, must the American believers contribute the major share in the work of rehabilitation which the followers of Bahá’u’lláh must arise to perform.

Through the extension of whatever financial assistance is feasible, through the provision and distribution of adequate literature, through the initiation of any measures, official or otherwise, which they can undertake for the protection, reinstatement, and revival of a greatly tested, highly promising and much loved community, the American believers have the golden opportunity of adding a fresh chapter to the brilliant record of their past international services to the Cause of God.

Nor should the urgency of the task in faraway Burma, where a flourishing community had furnished so shining an example of Bahá’í fellowship and solidarity, be underestimated. The spirit which its remnant has displayed after so many years of persecution, dispersion and danger, merits the widest measure of encouragement and support, both moral and financial. Pressed as the American Bahá’í community must be by the twofold obligation of proclaiming the verities of their Faith to the American public and of consolidating the vast enterprises initiated throughout Latin America, the stalwart and privileged followers of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in North America cannot allow so great an opportunity to advance the vital international interests of His Cause to slip from their grasp. I feel confident that in the discharge of this additional task they will exhibit those same traits that have distinguished their stewardship for so many years to so glorious a Cause.

– 149 –

Exemplary Pioneer

26 December 1945

DEEPLY GRIEVE PASSING STAUNCH EXEMPLARY PIONEER FAITH EMOGENE HOAGG LONG RECORD NATIONAL INTERNATIONAL SERVICES UNFORGETTABLE REWARD ABHÁ KINGDOM ASSURED ABUNDANT.

– 150 –

The German Bahá’í Community

7 January 1946

GERMAN BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY DEARLY BELOVED HIGHLY HONORED BY ‘ABDU’L‑BAHÁ DESTINED PLAY OUTSTANDING ROLE SPIRITUAL REVIVAL OPPRESSED CONTINENT ABUNDANTLY DEMONSTRATED, COURSE TEN YEARS SEVEREST TRIBULATIONS DIRE PERIL COMPLETE SUPPRESSION, HIGH CHARACTER ITS INDOMITABLE FAITH. APPEAL ENTIRE COMMUNITY GREATLY BLESSED HIGHLY PRIVILEGED AMERICAN BELIEVERS ARISE UNITEDLY CONTRIBUTE GENEROUSLY THROUGH DESPATCH FUNDS LITERATURE DESIGNED ALLEVIATE DISTRESS REHABILITATE INSTITUTIONS WITH WHICH FUTURE PROSECUTORS SECOND STAGE DIVINE PLAN MUST BE CLOSELY ASSOCIATED.

– 151 –

Lidia Zamenhof

[circa 23 January 1946]

HEARTILY APPROVE NATIONWIDE OBSERVANCE FOR DAUNTLESS LIDIA ZAMENHOF.78 HER NOTABLE SERVICES TENACITY MODESTY UNWAVERING DEVOTION FULLY MERIT HIGH TRIBUTE AMERICAN BELIEVERS. DO NOT ADVISE HOWEVER DESIGNATE HER MARTYR.

– 152 –

Historic Decisions

24 February 1946

OVERJOYED PROFOUNDLY THANKFUL MUNIFICENT DONATION AMERICAN BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY INTERNATIONAL RELIEF.79 URGE ESTABLISHMENT COMMUNICATION GERMAN BELIEVERS CAREFUL CONSULTATION THEIR REPRESENTATIVES COLLABORATE PUBLICATION EXPANSION MUCH NEEDED GERMAN BAHÁ’Í LITERATURE. DELIGHTED NEWS CONSOLIDATION ACTIVITIES CENTRAL AMERICA PROGRESS PUBLIC CAMPAIGNS DEVELOPMENT YOUTH ACTIVITIES. ADVISE ADDRESS SPECIAL IMMEDIATE APPEAL AMERICAN BELIEVERS ENSURE LARGE REPRESENTATIVE ATTENDANCE APPROACHING CONVENTION OWING MOMENTOUS HISTORIC DECISIONS TO BE DISCLOSED TO ASSEMBLED REPRESENTATIVES EVER-VICTORIOUS INCREASINGLY BLESSED SPIRITUALLY MATURING AMERICAN BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY.

– 153 –

Momentous Responsibilities

20 March 1946

The assistance extended by the American Bahá’í Community to the long-suffering German believers is a further evidence of their readiness, so abundantly demonstrated in the past, to champion the interests, and to rehabilitate the institutions, of their sister communities throughout the Bahá’í world. This support, so generously extended, so consistently and faithfully offered by the rank and file of the American believers, and particularly by their elected national representatives, is but a subsidiary aspect of the tremendous undertakings which, in both the North and South American continents, the standard-bearers of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh have initiated and developed, for the promotion of its interests, during the concluding decades of the first Bahá’í century.

The twofold task which they have so nobly undertaken—the proclamation of the Faith in the North American continent and the consolidation of its nascent institutions in Latin America—must, whatever plan is devised in the coming years for the furtherance of their worldwide mission, be relentlessly prosecuted. That further responsibilities, of a momentous character, will have to be superimposed on the stalwart prosecutors of ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá’s Divine Plan, as they gird up their loins to carry a stage further their historic labors in obedience to His Wishes, no one can for a moment doubt. As the field of their activities, ranging over entire continents, grows in scope and in importance, the aims and purposes associated with the first stage of their glorious mission must, in no wise, be either neglected or forgotten. The steady multiplication of groups and of Spiritual Assemblies throughout the states of the Great American Republic, the continual broadcasting of the Divine Message to the leaders of public opinion and the masses, as well as the establishment of the newly fledged Local Assemblies throughout Latin America on an unassailable basis, and the dissemination of Bahá’í literature among its people, demand, whatever the nature of the supplementary responsibilities that will have to be assumed in the years to come, the closest attention on the part of the entire body of the American believers, and must continue to be regarded as the fundamental issues facing their national representatives. The exploits immortalizing the first stage of the Divine Plan, however glorious their record, have yet to yield their noblest fruits. Efforts, unremitting, systematic, and continent-wide in their scope, can alone garner a harvest worthy of the high confidence placed in them by ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá. May they prove themselves increasingly worthy of so high a privilege, so glorious a task.

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Inauguration of Second Seven Year Plan

Message to 1946 Convention

23 April 1946

HAIL WITH JOYOUS HEART DELEGATES AMERICAN BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY ASSEMBLED BENEATH DOME MOTHER TEMPLE WEST MOMENTOUS CONVENTION FIRST YEAR PEACE. SOULS UPLIFTED THANKSGIVING PROTECTION VOUCHSAFED PROVIDENCE PREEMINENT COMMUNITY BAHÁ’Í WORLD ENABLING ITS MEMBERS CONSUMMATE DESPITE TRIBULATIONS WORLD-CONVULSING CONFLICT FIRST STAGE ‘ABDU’L‑BAHÁ’S PLAN. CAMPAIGN CULMINATING CENTENARY INAUGURATION BAHÁ’Í ERA COMPLETED SIXTEEN MONTHS ERE APPOINTED TIME EXTERIOR ORNAMENTATION MASHRIQU’L-ADHKÁR LAID BASIS ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER EVERY VIRGIN STATE PROVINCE NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENT ALMOST DOUBLED ASSEMBLIES ESTABLISHED SINCE INCEPTION FAITH AUGMENTED BY THOUSAND LOCALITIES WHERE BAHÁ’ÍS RESIDE ESTABLISHED ASSEMBLIES FOURTEEN REPUBLICS LATIN AMERICA CONSTITUTED ACTIVE GROUPS REMAINING REPUBLICS SWELLED TO SIXTY SOVEREIGN STATES WITHIN PALE FAITH. TWO-YEAR RESPITE WELL EARNED AFTER EXPENDITURE SUCH COLOSSAL EFFORT COVERING SUCH TREMENDOUS RANGE DURING SO DARK PERIOD NOW ENDED.80 PROSECUTORS PLAN WHO COURSE SIX WAR-RIDDEN YEARS ACHIEVED SUCH PRODIGIES SERVICE WESTERN HEMISPHERE FROM ALASKA TO MAGALLANES NOW COLLECTIVELY SUMMONED ASSUME COURSE PEACEFUL YEARS AHEAD STILL WEIGHTIER RESPONSIBILITIES OPENING DECADE SECOND CENTURY. TIME RIPE EVENTS PRESSING HOSTS ON HIGH SOUNDING SIGNAL INAUGURATION SECOND SEVEN YEAR PLAN DESIGNED CULMINATE FIRST CENTENNIAL YEAR NINE MARKING MYSTIC BIRTH BAHÁ’U’LLÁH’S PROPHETIC MISSION SÍYÁH-CHÁL TIHRÁN. TWOFOLD RESPONSIBILITY URGENTLY CALLS VANGUARD DAWN-BREAKERS WEST CHAMPION-BUILDERS BAHÁ’U’LLÁH’S ORDER TORCHBEARERS WORLD CIVILIZATION EXECUTORS ‘ABDU’L‑BAHÁ’S MANDATE ARISE SIMULTANEOUSLY BRING FRUITION TASKS ALREADY UNDERTAKEN LAUNCH FRESH ENTERPRISES BEYOND BORDERS WESTERN HEMISPHERE. FIRST OBJECTIVE NEW PLAN CONSOLIDATION VICTORIES WON THROUGHOUT AMERICAS INVOLVING MULTIPLICATION BAHÁ’Í CENTERS BOLDER PROCLAMATION FAITH MASSES. SECOND OBJECTIVE COMPLETION INTERIOR ORNAMENTATION HOLIEST HOUSE WORSHIP BAHÁ’Í WORLD DESIGNED COINCIDE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY INCEPTION HISTORIC ENTERPRISE. THIRD OBJECTIVE FORMATION THREE NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES PILLARS UNIVERSAL HOUSE JUSTICE DOMINION CANADA CENTRAL SOUTH AMERICA. FOURTH OBJECTIVE INITIATION SYSTEMATIC TEACHING ACTIVITY WAR-TORN SPIRITUALLY FAMISHED EUROPEAN CONTINENT CRADLE WORLD-FAMED CIVILIZATIONS TWICE BLESSED ‘ABDU’L‑BAHÁ’S VISITS WHOSE RULERS BAHÁ’U’LLÁH SPECIFICALLY COLLECTIVELY ADDRESSED AIMING ESTABLISHMENT ASSEMBLIES IBERIAN PENINSULA LOW COUNTRIES SCANDINAVIAN STATES ITALY. NO EFFORT TOO GREAT FOR COMMUNITY BELONGING CONTINENT WHOSE RULERS BAHÁ’U’LLÁH ADDRESSED IN MOST HOLY BOOK WHOSE MEMBERS INVESTED SPIRITUAL PRIMACY BY ‘ABDU’L‑BAHÁ AND NAMED BY HIM APOSTLES HIS FATHER WHOSE COUNTRY WAS FIRST WESTERN NATION RESPOND DIVINE MESSAGE AND DEEMED WORTHY BE FIRST BUILD TABERNACLE MOST GREAT PEACE WHOSE ADMINISTRATORS EVOLVED PATTERN EMBRYONIC WORLD ORDER CONSUMMATED FIRST STAGE DIVINE PLAN AND WHOSE ELEVATION THRONE EVERLASTING DOMINION CENTER COVENANT CONFIDENTLY ANTICIPATED. AS RESISTLESS IMPULSE PROPELLING PLAN ACCELERATES AMERICAN BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY MUST RISE NEW LEVELS POTENCY IN RESPONSE DIVINE MANDATE SCALE LOFTIER HEIGHTS HEROISM ENSURE FULLER PARTICIPATION RANK FILE MEMBERS DEMONSTRATE CLOSER COLLABORATION AGENCIES DESIGNED ENSURE ATTAINMENT FOURFOLD OBJECTIVES EVINCE GREATER AUDACITY TEARING DOWN BARRIERS ITS PATH. UPON SUCCESS SECOND SEVEN YEAR PLAN DEPENDS LAUNCHING AFTER RESPITE THREE BRIEF YEARS YET MORE MOMENTOUS THIRD SEVEN YEAR PLAN WHICH WHEN CONSUMMATED THROUGH ESTABLISHMENT STRUCTURE ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER REMAINING SOVEREIGN STATES AND CHIEF DEPENDENCIES ENTIRE GLOBE MUST CULMINATE IN AND BE BEFITTINGLY COMMEMORATED THROUGH WORLDWIDE CELEBRATIONS MARKING CENTENNIAL FORMAL ASSUMPTION BY BAHÁ’U’LLÁH PROPHETIC OFFICE ASSOCIATED BY ‘ABDU’L‑BAHÁ DANIEL’S PROPHECY AND WORLD TRIUMPH BAHÁ’Í REVELATION SIGNALIZING TERMINATION INITIAL EPOCH EVOLUTION PLAN WHOSE MYSTERIOUS RESISTLESS PROCESSES MUST CONTINUE SHED EVER-INCREASING LUSTER ON SUCCESSIVE GENERATIONS BOTH FORMATIVE GOLDEN AGES FAITH BAHÁ’U’LLÁH. PLEDGING TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS MY INITIAL CONTRIBUTION FURTHERANCE MANIFOLD PURPOSES GLORIOUS CRUSADE SURPASSING EVERY ENTERPRISE UNDERTAKEN BY FOLLOWERS FAITH BAHÁ’U’LLÁH COURSE FIRST BAHÁ’Í CENTURY.

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Overwhelming Responsibility

2 May 1946

OVERWHELMING RESPONSIBILITY RESTS NEWLY ELECTED ASSEMBLY URGE IMMEDIATE MEASURES SET PLAN MOTION ADVISE MORE FREQUENT MEETINGS ASSEMBLY PROMPT FORMATION COMMITTEES CHARGED FURTHERANCE EACH ASPECT PLAN. EXERCISE UTMOST CARE SELECTION MEMBERS COMMITTEES. FEEL NECESSITY ELIMINATE UNNECESSARY ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS ENABLING ASSEMBLY MEMBERS FOCUS ATTENTION SESSION DIVERS IMPERATIVE REQUIREMENTS PLAN. PROSPECTIVE PIONEERS EUROPE LATIN AMERICA THOUGH NOT FULLY QUALIFIED SHOULD BE CONSTANTLY ENCOURAGED. PRELIMINARY MEASURES PLACING CONTRACT ORNAMENTATION DEPARTURE SETTLEMENT PIONEERS SHOULD BE EXPEDITED. OBSTACLES HOWEVER FORMIDABLE SHOULD BE DETERMINEDLY SURMOUNTED EVERY OPPORTUNITY SEIZED RANK FILE BELIEVERS CONTINUALLY STIMULATED REMINDED RESPONSIBILITIES DIRECTED CHANNELS ACTIVE SERVICE. NO TIME TO LOSE GREAT SACRIFICES DEMANDED UNITY AUDACITY STERN RESOLUTION ESSENTIAL. DEVOUT PRAYERS OFFERED SHRINES.

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Spiritual Conquest of the Old World

5 June 1946

ADVISE DEVOTE SPECIAL ATTENTION JUNE MEETING URGENT VITAL REQUIREMENTS PLAN EUROPEAN CONTINENT. OPENING PHASE SPIRITUAL CONQUEST OLD WORLD UNDER DIVINELY CONCEIVED PLAN MUST BE SPEEDILY BEFITTINGLY INAUGURATED. FEEL NECESSITY PROMPT DESPATCH NINE COMPETENT PIONEERS AS MANY COUNTRIES FEASIBLE CHARGED INITIATE SYSTEMATIC TEACHING WORK COMMENCE SETTLEMENT PROMOTE DISSEMINATION LITERATURE. URGE ESTABLISH AUXILIARY OFFICE IN GENEVA ADJUNCT INTERNATIONAL BUREAU EQUIPPED FACILITIES FOSTER DEVELOPMENT ASSEMBLIES COUNTRIES FALLING SCOPE PLAN. RECOMMEND EUROPEAN TEACHING COMMITTEE UNDERTAKE WITHOUT DELAY MEASURES AIMING CLOSE COLLABORATION BRITISH PUBLISHING TRUST AND PUBLISHING COMMITTEE GERMAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY. ADVISE INCLUDE DUCHY LUXEMBOURG LOW COUNTRIES ENLARGE RANGE PLAN THROUGH ADDITION SWITZERLAND. OWING CONSIDERABLE SUM ALREADY ACCUMULATED TIHRÁN PREFER DIVERT SUM FOR INTERNATIONAL RELIEF NOT YET FORWARDED PERSIA AS WELL AS ASSEMBLY’S ANNUAL CONTRIBUTION WORLD CENTER TO FUNDS EARMARKED ALL-IMPORTANT FAR-FLUNG EUROPEAN TEACHING PUBLICATION ACTIVITIES. CHALLENGE OFFERED VIRGIN FIELDS EUROPE OUTWEIGHS MOMENTOUS CHARACTER TASKS ALREADY CONFRONTING AMERICAN BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY AMERICAS. VAST DISTANCES SUNDERING OLD NEW WORLDS VISIBLY PROVIDENTIALLY CONTRACTING ENABLING AMBASSADORS BAHÁ’U’LLÁH’S NEW WORLD ORDER SWIFTLY DISCHARGE APOSTOLIC MISSION THROUGHOUT CONTINENT DESIGNED STEPPING-STONE STILL VASTER ENTERPRISES ASSOCIATED FUTURE STAGES DIVINELY IMPELLED EVER-UNFOLDING WORLD-ENCIRCLING PLAN.

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Thirty New Assemblies

12 June 1946

APPEAL NATIONAL TEACHING AND REGIONAL COMMITTEES UNITEDLY ARISE PLAY NOTABLE PART STUPENDOUS EXERTIONS NOW BEING MADE BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT AMERICAS FURTHERANCE SECOND SEVEN YEAR PLAN. PLEAD FOCUS ATTENTION ENABLE OVER THIRTY GROUPS HAVING SIX OR MORE MEMBERS SPEEDILY ATTAIN ASSEMBLY STATUS. DEVOUTLY HOPING FERVENTLY PRAYING NUMBER ASSEMBLIES FUNCTIONING NORTH AMERICA REACH HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE ERE EXPIRY SECOND YEAR SECOND STAGE DIVINE PLAN. ATTAINMENT THIS IMMEDIATE OBJECTIVE WILL CHALLENGE GALVANIZE ALL OTHER AGENCIES FUNCTIONING LATIN AMERICA, EUROPEAN CONTINENT, FOLLOW SUPERB EXAMPLE SET SISTER COMMITTEES LABORING HEART MOTHER COMMUNITY WESTERN HEMISPHERE.

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