Much as I rejoice in witnessing the abundant signs of unfaltering energy
that characterize in various fields and distant lands the mission of the
valiant warriors of the Cause, I cannot help observing that, driven by
their impetuous eagerness to establish the undisputed reign of Baha'u'llah
on this earth, they may by an undue multiplication of their activities,
and the consequent dissipation of their forces, defeat the very purpose
which animates them in the pursuit of their glorious task. Particularly do
I feel that this necessity for a careful estimation of the present
resources at our disposal and of cautious restraint in handling them
applies in a peculiar manner to the swiftly expanding activities of the
American believers, whose mission increasingly appears to be to give the
lead and set the example to their brethren across the seas in laying a
secure foundation for the permanent institutions of the Baha'i Faith. That
I feel is chiefly the reason why such stress has been laid in the past
upon the necessity for consultation on the part of individual believers
with their elected national representatives in the matter of initiating
plans of action above and beyond the plans which the deliberations of the
National Spiritual Assembly have already evolved. In the matter of
affiliation with bodies and organizations that advocate ideals and
principles that are in sympathy with the Baha'i Revelation; in
establishing magazines beyond those that already are designed to advance
openly and indirectly the interests of the Baha'i Teachings; in the
financial support we may sooner or later be called upon to extend to
philanthropic institutions and the like; in advancing the cause of any
particular activity to which we may feel sentimentally inclined;--these, as
well as all similar undertakings, we should only approach after having
definitely ascertained, through careful deliberation with those who are in
a responsible position, that the institutions representing the paramount
interests of the Cause are already assured of adequate and continuous
assistance. Nothing short of the spirit of earnest and sustained
consultation with those whom we have prayerfully and of our own accord
placed in the forefront of those who are the custodians of the priceless
heritage bequeathed by Baha'u'llah; nothing less than persistent and
strenuous warfare against our own instincts and natural inclinations, and
heroic self-sacrifice in subordinating our own likings to the imperative
requirements of the Cause of God, can insure our undivided loyalty to so
sacred a principle--a principle that will for all time safeguard our
beloved Cause from the allurements and the trivialities of the world
without, and of the pitfalls of the self within. I entreat you,
well-beloved brethren, to resolve as you never have resolved before to
pledge undying loyalty and sleepless vigilance in upholding so essential a
principle in the course of your manifold activities, that yours may be the
abiding satisfaction of having done nothing that may tend in the least to
impede the flow or obscure the radiance of the rejuvenating spirit of the
Faith of Baha'u'llah.