To them, and indeed to the entire body of the followers of Baha'u'llah,
engaged in this global Crusade, I direct my appeal to arise and, in the
course of these fast-fleeting years, in every phase of the campaigns that
are to be fought in all the continents of the globe, prove their worth as
gallant warriors battling for the Cause of Baha'u'llah. Indeed, from this
very hour until the eve of the Most Great Jubilee, each and every one of
those enrolled in the Army of Light must seek no rest, must take no
thought of self, must sacrifice to the uttermost, must allow nothing
whatsoever to deflect him or her from meeting the pressing, the manifold,
the paramount needs of this preeminent Crusade.
"Light as the spirit," "pure as air," "blazing as fire," "unrestrained as
the wind"--for such is Baha'u'llah's own admonition to His loved ones in
His Tablets, and directed not to a select few but to the entire
congregation of the faithful--let them scatter far and wide, proclaim the
glory of God's Revelation in this Day, quicken the souls of men and ignite
in their hearts the love of the One Who alone is their omnipotent and
divinely appointed Redeemer.
Bracing the fearful cold of the Arctic regions and the enervating heat of
the torrid zone; heedless of the hazards, the loneliness and the austerity
of the deserts, the far-away islands and mountains wherein they will be
called upon to dwell; undeterred by the clamor which the exponents of
religious orthodoxy are sure to raise, or by the restrictive measures
which political leaders may impose; undismayed by the smallness of their
numbers and the multitude of their potential adversaries; armed with the
efficacious weapons their own hands have slowly and laboriously forged in
anticipation of this glorious and inevitable encounter with the organized
forces of superstition, of corruption and of unbelief; placing their whole
trust in the matchless potency of Baha'u'llah's teachings, in the
all-conquering power of His might and the infallibility of His glorious
and oft-repeated promises, let them press forward, each according to his
strength and resources, into the vast arena now lying before them, and
which, God willing, will witness, in the years immediately lying ahead,
such exhibitions of prowess and of heroic self-sacrifice as may well
recall the superb feats achieved by that immortal band of God-intoxicated
heroes who have so immeasurably enriched the annals of the Christian, the
Islamic and Babi Dispensations.
On the members of the American Baha'i Community, the envied custodians of
a Divine Plan, the principal builders and defenders of a mighty Order and
the recognized champions of an unspeakably glorious and precious Faith, a
peculiar and inescapable responsibility must necessarily rest. Through
their courage, their self-abnegation, their fortitude and their
perseverance; through the range and quality of their achievements, the
depth of their consecration, their initiative and resourcefulness, their
organizing ability, their readiness and capacity to lend their assistance
to less privileged sister communities struggling against heavy odds;
through their generous and sustained response to the enormous and
ever-increasing financial needs of a world-encompassing, decade-long and
admittedly strenuous enterprise, they must, beyond the shadow of a doubt,
vindicate their right to the leadership of this World Crusade.
Now is the time for the hope voiced by 'Abdu'l-Baha that from their
homeland "heavenly illumination" may "stream to all the peoples of the
world" to be realized. Now is the time for the truth of His remarkable
assertion that that same homeland is "equipped and empowered to accomplish
that which will adorn the pages of history, to become the envy of the
world and be blest in both the East and the West," to be strikingly and
unmistakably demonstrated. "Should success crown" their "enterprise," He,
moreover, has assured them, "the throne of the Kingdom of God will, in the
plenitude of its majesty and glory, be firmly established."
Would to God that this community, boasting already of so superb a record
of achievements both at home and overseas, and elevated to such dazzling
heights by the hopes cherished and the assurance given by the Center of
Baha'u'llah's Covenant, may prove itself capable of performing deeds of
such distinction, in the course of the opening, as well as the succeeding
phases of this World Spiritual Crusade, as will outshine the dedicated
acts which have already left their indelible mark on the Apostolic Age of
the Faith in the West; will excel the enduring, the historic achievements
associated, at a later period, with this community's memorable
contribution to the rise and establishment of the world Administrative
Order of Baha'u'llah; will surpass the magnificent accomplishments which,
subsequently, as the result of the operation of the first Seven Year Plan,
illuminated the annals of the Faith in both the North American continent
and throughout Latin America and will eclipse the even more dramatic
exploits which, during the opening years of the second epoch of the
Formative Age of the Faith, and in the course of the prosecution of the
Second Seven Year Plan, have exerted so lasting an influence on the
fortunes of the Faith of Baha'u'llah in the Antilles, throughout the
republics of Central America, in each of the ten republics of South
America, in no less than ten sovereign states in the continent of Europe,
and in various dependencies on the eastern and western shores, as well as
in the heart of the African continent.
[July 18, 1953]