The utmost care and vigilance, however, should be exercised by this
youthful and dynamic community, so richly laden with the prizes it has so
deservedly won, lest the momentum, so painstakingly gained in recent
years, in both the teaching and administrative spheres of Baha'i activity,
be lost or reduced. The standard of dedication and of efficiency,
attained, while pursuing the goals it has pledged itself to achieve, must
never be allowed, through apathy, neglect or faint-heartedness, to be
lowered. The vision that has fired its members, on the occasion of the
centenary celebrations which witnessed the launching of the Ten Year Plan
must, no matter how prolonged or arduous the task, never grow dim. Their
unswerving fidelity to the Covenant established by the Author of their
Faith, and their attachment to the ideals and precepts enshrined in His
Revelation, should, under no circumstances, no matter how active and
subtle the machinations of its enemies, both within and without, be
weakened. The momentous and highly exacting task, initiated far beyond the
confines of their homeland,--a task which posterity will recognize as the
opening chapter of their glorious Mission overseas--must be pursued with
undiminished diligence, nay with redoubled zeal, and renewed determination
and dedication. The no less vital obligation to expand, and consolidate
the manifold activities conducted on the homefront, from the Atlantic to
the Pacific seaboard, and from the northern confines of the Great Republic
of the West to the fringes of the Arctic Ocean, must be faithfully
discharged. The setbacks and difficulties that have, unexpectedly and most
unfortunately, been recently experienced in connection with the
acquisition of both the National Haziratu'l-Quds and the site of the
future Mother Temple of Canada, must be faced with resolution and vigour,
and a definite and permanent solution be found which will ensure the full
attainment of these twofold primary objectives. The long overdue
conversion of the American Indians, the Eskimos and French Canadians, as
well as the representatives of other minorities permanently residing
within the borders of that vast Dominion, must receive, in the months
immediately ahead, such an impetus as to astonish and stimulate the
members of all Baha'i communities throughout the length and breadth of the
Western Hemisphere. The independent character of the Faith they profess
and champion must, moreover, be fully vindicated through a closer
adherence, on the part of the rank and file of the believers, to its
distinguishing tenets and precepts, as well as through a fuller
recognition by the civil authorities concerned, of the Baha'i Marriage
Certificate and of the Baha'i Holy Days. The integrity of the fundamental
teachings of the Faith, its security, the healthy and steady development,
and ultimate fruition, of its nascent institutions, must, above all, be
ensured and safeguarded, for upon these will depend the consummation of
the Mission with which the Author of the Tablets of the Divine Plan has
chosen to entrust them.