your annual
Convention.

May I at the outset reaffirm my feelings of gratitude and keen
appreciation for the eminent share which the friends in America,
individually as well as by their collective efforts, have contributed to
ease the burden of responsibility and care that has so often oppressed my
heart. Your steadfastness, your unsparing devotion; your self-sacrifice in
upholding and fostering the institutions of the Cause; the notable advance
you have achieved in the coordination of your activities; the remarkable
solicitude you have shown, and the magnificent response you have made on
behalf of the oppressed and needy among your brethren; the measures you
have initiated, the hindrances you have removed and the means and methods
you have perfected--these and others beside have established you in the
confidence, the esteem and the admiration of all the Baha'i world. I
personally appreciate and am thankful for your unfailing supplications and
special prayers on my behalf. I am deeply touched by your expressions of
unwavering faith, of loyalty and affection, and fully reciprocate your
brotherly sentiments and your keen desire and readiness to collaborate
with me more closely and effectively than ever before.

Purpose of Convention

And now regarding this forthcoming Convention, I feel that the dominating
purpose inspiring the assembled friends, delegates and visitors alike,
should be a two-fold one. The first is a challenge to the individual, the
second a collective responsibility. The one seeks to reinforce the motive
power of our spiritual activities, the second aims at raising the standard
of administrative efficiency so vitally needed at this advanced stage of
our work. We should first and foremost endeavor by every conceivable means
to revitalize our precious Cause, rudely shaken by the constant
vicissitudes attending the outward departure of a vigilant and gracious
Master. Our next object should be to seek to approach, through more
intimate association, fuller and more frequent consultations, and a closer
familiarity with the character, the mission and the teachings of the
Cause, that standard of excellence which should characterize the
cooperative efforts of Baha'i Communities in every land.

High aims and pure motives, however laudable in themselves, will surely
not suffice if unsupported by measures that are practicable and methods
that are sound. Wealth of sentiment, abundance of good-will and effo