he Faith eagerly insists on a monetary contribution for
the promotion of the Faith, such gifts should be accepted and duly
acknowledged by the elected representatives of the believers with the
express understanding that they would be utilized by them only to
reinforce that section of the Baha'i Fund exclusively devoted to
philanthropic or charitable purposes. For, as the Faith of Baha'u'llah
extends in scope and in influence, and the resources of Baha'i communities
correspondingly multiply, it will become increasingly desirable to
differentiate between such departments of the Baha'i treasury as minister
to the needs of the world at large, and those that are specifically
designed to promote the direct interests of the Faith itself. From this
apparent divorce between Baha'i and humanitarian activities it must not,
however, be inferred that the animating purpose of the Faith of
Baha'u'llah stands at variance with the aims and objects of the
humanitarian and philanthropic institutions of the day. Nay, it should be
realized by every judicious promoter of the Faith that at such an early
stage in the evolution and crystallization of the Cause such
discriminating and precautionary measures are inevitable and even
necessary if the nascent institutions of the Faith are to emerge
triumphant and unimpaired from the present welter of confused and often
conflicting interests with which they are surrounded. This note of warning
may not be thought inappropriate at a time when, inflamed by a consuming
passion to witness the early completion of the Ma_sh_riqu'l-A_dh_kar, we
may not only be apt to acquiesce in the desire of those who, as yet
uninitiated into the Cause, are willing to lend financial assistance to
its institutions, but may even feel inclined to solicit from them such aid
as it is in their power to render. Ours surely is the paramount duty so to
acquit ourselves in the discharge of our most sacred task that in the days
to come neither the tongue of the slanderer nor the pen of the malevolent
may dare to insinuate that so beauteous, so significant an Edifice has
been reared by anything short of the unanimous, the exclusive, and the
self-sacrificing strivings of the small yet determined body of the
convinced supporters of the Faith of Baha'u'llah. How delicate our task,
how pressing the responsibility that weighs upon us, who are called upon
on one hand to preserve inviolate the integrity and the identity of the
regenerating Fai