And as the progress and execution of spiritual activities is dependent and
conditioned upon material means, it is of absolute necessity that
immediately after the establishment of local as well as national Spiritual
Assemblies, a Baha'i Fund be established, to be placed under the exclusive
control of the Spiritual Assembly. All donations and contributions should
be offered to the Treasurer of the Assembly, for the express purpose of
promoting the interests of the Cause, throughout that locality or country.
It is the sacred obligation of every conscientious and faithful servant of
Baha'u'llah who desires to see His Cause advance, to contribute freely and
generously for the increase of that Fund. The members of the Spiritual
Assembly will at their own discretion expend it to promote the Teaching
Campaign, to help the needy, to establish educational Baha'i institutions,
to extend in every way possible their sphere of service. I cherish the
hope that all the friends, realizing the necessity of this measure, will
bestir themselves and contribute, however modestly at first, towards the
speedy establishment and the increase of that Fund.
The need for the centralization of authority in the National Spiritual
Assembly, and the concentration of power in the various local Assemblies,
is made manifest when we reflect that the Cause of Baha'u'llah is still in
its age of tender growth and in a stage of transition; when we remember
that the full implications and the exact significance of the Master's
world-wide instructions, as laid down in His Will, are as yet not fully
grasped, and the whole Movement has not sufficiently crystallized in the
eyes of the world.
It is our primary task to keep the most vigilant eye on the manner and
character of its growth, to combat effectively the forces of separation
and of sectarian tendencies, lest the Spirit of the Cause be obscured, its
unity be threatened, its Teachings suffer corruption; lest extreme
orthodoxy on one hand, and irresponsible freedom on the other, cause it to
deviate from that Straight Path which alone can lead it to success.