And now regarding this forthcoming Convention, I feel that the dominating
purpose inspiring the assembled friends, delegates and visitors alike,
should be a two-fold one. The first is a challenge to the individual, the
second a collective responsibility. The one seeks to reinforce the motive
power of our spiritual activities, the second aims at raising the standard
of administrative efficiency so vitally needed at this advanced stage of
our work. We should first and foremost endeavor by every conceivable means
to revitalize our precious Cause, rudely shaken by the constant
vicissitudes attending the outward departure of a vigilant and gracious
Master. Our next object should be to seek to approach, through more
intimate association, fuller and more frequent consultations, and a closer
familiarity with the character, the mission and the teachings of the
Cause, that standard of excellence which should characterize the
cooperative efforts of Baha'i Communities in every land.
High aims and pure motives, however laudable in themselves, will surely
not suffice if unsupported by measures that are practicable and methods
that are sound. Wealth of sentiment, abundance of good-will and effort,
will prove of little avail if we should fail to exercise discrimination
and restraint and neglect to direct their flow along the most profitable
channels. The unfettered freedom of the individual should be tempered with
mutual consultation and sacrifice, and the spirit of initiative and
enterprise should be reinforced by a deeper realization of the supreme
necessity for concerted action and a fuller devotion to the common weal.