It was a Canadian(14), of French extraction, who through his vision and
skill was instrumental in conceiving the design, and delineating the
features, of the first Ma_sh_riqu'l-A_dh_kar of the West, marking the
first attempt, however rudimentary, to express the beauty which Baha'i art
will, in its plenitude, unfold to the eyes of the world. It was a Canadian
woman(15), one of the noblest in the ranks of Baha'i pioneers, who alone
and single-handed, forsook her home, settled among an alien people, braved
with a leonine spirit the risks and dangers of the world conflict that
raged around her, and who now, at an advanced age and suffering from
infirmities, is still holding the Fort and is setting an example, worthy
of emulation by all her fellow pioneers of both the East and the West. It
was a member(16) of that same community who won the immortal distinction
of being called upon to be my helpmate, my shield in warding off the darts
of Covenant-breakers and my tireless collaborator in the arduous tasks I
shoulder. It was a Canadian subject(17), the spiritual mother of that same
community, who, though fully aware of the risks of the voyage she was
undertaking, journeyed as far as the capital of Argentina to serve a Cause
that had honoured her so uniquely, and there laid down her life and won
the everlasting crown of martyrdom. It was, moreover, a Canadian(18) who
more recently achieved the immortal renown of designing the exquisite
shell destined to envelop, preserve and embellish the holy and priceless
structure enshrining the dust of the Beloved Founder of our Faith.
A community which, in the course of less than fifty years, has to its
credit such an imperishable record of international service, and standing
now on the threshold of a new epoch in its evolution, recognized as a
self-governing member of the family of Baha'i national communities,
functioning according to a Plan of its own conceived for its orderly and
efficient development, must, if it is to maintain the standard of
excellence it has already attained, display on a still wider front, and
continue to demonstrate, a no less profound spirit of dedication, as it
forges ahead, in the years to come, along the road laid down for it by the
Centre of the Covenant Himself in His historic Tablets.