r, the urgent
need for sustained unity and harmony amongst the friends, and the glory of
the station that awaits in the world to come every faithful servant of
Baha'u'llah.

May they contribute their share to the unfolding of the Spirit of the
Cause in that land, and may they infuse in all the friends that ardent
spirit of service and fellowship that will enable them to fulfill their
glorious destiny in this world!

Your brother and co-worker,
SHOGHI.

Haifa, Palestine,
February 13, 1923.

Letter of March 12, 1923

To the beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout
America, Great Britain, Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Japan and
Australasia.

Fellow-workers in the Vineyard of God!

Over a year has elapsed since that calamitous Hour, when the glorious
Person of 'Abdu'l-Baha was veiled from mortal eyes and His Spirit ascended
to the Kingdom of Glory; and I feel that the time is now ripe to take
those fresh and momentous decisions which will enable us to fulfill,
speedily and faithfully, the last wishes of our departed Master.

The year has been to the outside world a year of fear and suffering, of
disillusion and turmoil. To us, however, the bereaved followers of a
gracious and loving Master, it has been, despite the passing cares which
His sudden departure must necessarily entail, a period of hope, of
wholesome activity, marked throughout with a spirit of undiminished
confidence in His power and of fidelity to His Cause.

From the East and from the West, from the North and from the South, the
unnumbered servants of Baha'u'llah, disdainful of the evil machinations of
the enemies of His Cause, the breakers of His behests, have rallied to His
Standard, and risen with one accord to carry on the great Work He has
entrusted to their charge. All-hail to that undying spirit of fidelity
which burns and shall burn unceasingly, in the breasts of His loved ones!
Great shall be their reward, and blissful the hour, when after a toilsome
life of service, they are gathered to the glory of Baha, and partake in
their Beloved's Presence, of the joy of eternal Reunion.

Condition of the World

But great achievements still await us in this world, and we feel confident
that, by His grace and never-failing guidance, we shall now and ever prove
ourselves worthy to fulfill His great Purpose for mankind. And who can
fail to realize the sore need of bleeding humanity, in its present state