O thou who art steadfast in the Covenant! Thy letter of 9 September 1909
hath been received. Be thou neither grieved nor despondent over what hath
come to pass. This trouble overtook thee as thou didst walk the path of
God, wherefore it should bring thee joy. We addressed the friends in
writing ere this, and made a verbal statement as well, to the effect that
the friends in the West will unquestionably have their share of the
calamities befalling the friends in the East. It is inevitable that,
walking the pathway of Baha'u'llah, they too will become targets for
persecution by the oppressors.
Consider how at the beginning of the Christian era the Apostles were
afflicted, and what torments they endured in the pathway of Christ. Every
day of their lives they were targets for the Pharisees' darts of mockery,
vilification and abuse. They bore great hardship; they saw prison; and
most of them carried to their lips the sweet cup of martyrdom.
Now ye, as well, must certainly become my partners to some slight degree,
and accept your share of tests and sorrows. But these episodes shall pass
away, while that abiding glory and eternal life shall remain unchanged
forever. Moreover, these afflictions shall be the cause of great
advancement.
I ask of God that thou, His husbandman, shalt plough the hard and stony
ground, and water it, and scatter seeds therein--for this will show how
skilful is the farmer, while any man can sow and till where the ground is
soft, and clear of brambles and thorns.