s your national and local representatives--with that
purity of spirit that can alone obtain our Beloved's most cherished
desire. Let us recall His explicit and often-repeated assurances that
every Assembly elected in that rarefied atmosphere of selflessness and
detachment is, in truth, appointed of God, that its verdict is truly
inspired, that one and all should submit to its decision unreservedly and
with cheerfulness.

Let us first strive to fulfill these conditions, difficult yet essential,
in our lives, so that, contented and assured, we may make of this new year
of activity a year of abundant blessings, of unprecedented achievements.

May this dearest wish be fulfilled!

SHOGHI.

Haifa, Palestine,
February 23, 1924.

Letter of September 24, 1924.

The beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout the
Continent of America:

Dear friends:

I return to the Holy Land with an overpowering sense of the gravity of the
spiritual state of the Cause in the world. Much as I deplore the
disturbing effect of my forced and repeated withdrawals from the field of
service, I can unhesitatingly assure you that my last and momentous step
was taken with extreme reluctance and only after mature and anxious
reflection as to the best way to safeguard the interests of a precious
Cause.

My prolonged absence, my utter inaction should not, however, be solely
attributed to certain external manifestations of unharmony, of discontent
and disloyalty--however paralysing their effect has been upon the
continuance of my work--but also to my own unworthiness and to my
imperfections and frailties.

I venture to request you to join me in yet another prayer, this time more
ardent and universal than before, supplicating with one voice the gracious
Master to overlook our weaknesses and failings, to make us worthier and
braver children of His own.

Our Inner Life

Humanity, through suffering and turmoil, is swiftly moving on towards its
destiny; if we be loiterers, if we fail to play our part surely others
will be called upon to take up our task as ministers to the crying needs
of this afflicted world.

Not by the force of numbers, not by the mere exposition of a set of new
and noble principles, not by an organized campaign of teaching--no matter
how worldwide and elaborate in its character--not even by the staunchness
of our faith or the exaltation of our enthusiasm, can we ultimately hope
to vindica