Mindful of the magnificent services rendered during over half a century by
the chief executors of 'Abdu'l-Baha's Divine Plan, within a territory that
posterity will regard as the cradle of the embryonic World Order of
Baha'u'llah and the stronghold of its nascent institutions, and confident
that this vast and historic assemblage, over which the national elected
representatives of this privileged community are presiding, will prove to
be the harbinger of still greater victories, I have been impelled to
transmit, through my special representative, who will participate on my
behalf in the proceedings of this conference and act as my deputy at the
official dedication of the Ma_sh_riqu'l-A_dh_kar, a reproduction of the
portrait of Baha'u'llah Himself, made in the prime of His life, whilst an
exile in Ba_gh_dad, as a token of my admiration for this community's
unflagging and herculean labors, and as a benediction and inspiration for
those who, whether officially or unofficially, are participating in the
proceedings of a conference that will go down in history as the most
momentous gathering held since the close of the Heroic Age of the Faith
and will be regarded as the most potent agency in paving the way for the
launching of one of the most brilliant phases of the grandest crusade ever
undertaken by the followers of Baha'u'llah since the inception of His
Faith more than a hundred years ago.
[May 3, 1953]