th of Baha'u'llah, and to vindicate on the other its
broad, its humanitarian, its all-embracing principles!

True, we cannot fail to realize at the present stage of our work the
extremely limited number of contributors qualified to lend financial
support to such a vast, such an elaborate and costly enterprise. We are
fully aware of the many issues and varied Baha'i activities that are
unavoidably held in abeyance pending the successful conclusion of the Plan
of Unified Action. We are only too conscious of the pressing need of some
sort of befitting and concrete embodiment of the spirit animating the
Cause that would stand in the heart of the American Continent both as a
witness and as a rallying center to the manifold activities of a fast
growing Faith. But spurred by those reflections may we not bestir
ourselves and resolve as we have never resolved before to hasten by every
means in our power the consummation of this all-absorbing yet so
meritorious a task? I beseech you, dear friends, not to allow
considerations of numbers, or the consciousness of the limitations of our
resources, or even the experience of inevitable setbacks which every
mighty undertaking is bound to encounter, to blur your vision, to dim your
hopes, or to paralyze your efforts in the prosecution of your divinely
appointed task. Neither, do I entreat you, to suffer the least deviation
into the paths of expediency and compromise to obstruct those channels of
vivifying grace that can alone provide the inspiration and strength vital
not only to the successful conduct of its material construction, but to
the fulfilment of its high destiny.

And while we bend our efforts and strain our nerves in a feverish pursuit
to provide the necessary means for the speedy construction of the
Ma_sh_riqu'l-A_dh_kar, may we not pause for a moment to examine those
statements which set forth the purpose as well as the functions of this
symbolical yet so spiritually potent Edifice? It will be readily admitted
that at a time when the tenets of a Faith, not yet fully emerged from the
fires of repression, are as yet improperly defined and imperfectly
understood, the utmost caution should be exercised in revealing the true
nature of those institutions which are indissolubly associated with its
name.

Purpose of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar

Without attempting an exhaustive survey of the distinguishing features and
purpose of the Ma_sh_riqu'l-A_dh_kar, I should feel content