To the loved ones of 'Abdu'l-Baha throughout the continent of America.
Dear fellow-workers in the Holy Vineyard of Baha!
Now that my long hours of rest and meditation are happily at an end, I
turn my face with renewed hope and vigor to that vast continent the soil
of which is pregnant with those seeds that our beloved Master has so
tenderly and so profusely scattered in the past. Prolonged though this
period has been, yet I have strongly felt ever since the New Day has
dawned upon me that such a needed retirement, despite the temporary
dislocations it might entail, would far outweigh in its results any
immediate service I could have humbly tendered at the Threshold of
Baha'u'llah.
I am now confident that the energies of my beloved brethren and sisters
across the seas, far from being damped by my sudden disappearance from the
field of service, will henceforth be fully maintained, nay redoubled in
their intensity, that we may all together carry triumphantly to the
uttermost corners of the world the glorious Standard of Baha.
Bereft of all news whatsoever during my hours of restful seclusion, I now
feel the more the thrill of the various tidings, few but indeed promising,
that have been awaiting my return to the Holy Land. The work of the noble
Edifice that the mighty hands of the All-wise Master has reared in this
world can suffer no delay, nor can its foundations be made to totter,
whatever the apparent obstacles its enemies in their impotent wrath and
despair may throw in its way. We need not wait too long, for already from
various quarters there comes the news that the awful promises of
'Abdu'l-Baha regarding the Covenant-breakers have been strikingly
fulfilled!
But it behooves us not to dwell for a moment on these doomed and darkened
efforts, for the shining light of the Master's unfailing guidance is
beckoning us to more constructive service, to nobler and worthier
achievements.
We have, not a long time ago, with tearful eyes commemorated the world
over the passing hour of our beloved Master. Would to God it has marked in
our lives, which we all have consecrated to His service, a fresh, solemn
and unswerving resolution of devotion and fidelity to His Cause
Your brother and co-worker,
SHOGHI.
Haifa, Palestine,
December 16, 1922.