ship. They only will appreciate the significance of the vigorous
language employed by 'Abdu'l-Baha with reference to the band of
Covenant-breakers that has opposed Him in His days. To them alone will be
revealed the suitability of the institutions initiated by 'Abdu'l-Baha to
the character of the future society which is to emerge out of the chaos
and confusion of the present age. In this connection, I cannot but feel
amused at the preposterous and fantastic idea that Muhammad-'Ali, the
prime mover and the focal center of unyielding hostility to the person of
'Abdu'l-Baha, should have freely associated himself with the members of
the family of 'Abdu'l-Baha in the forging of a will which in the words of
the writer herself, is but a "recital of the plottings" in which for
thirty years Muhammad-'Ali has been busily engaged. To such a hopeless
victim of confused ideas, I feel I can best reply by a genuine expression
of compassion and pity, mingled with my hopes for her deliverance from so
profound a delusion. It was in view of the aforesaid observations, that I
have, after the unfortunate and unavoidable delay occasioned by my ill
health and absence from the Holy Land during the Master's passing,
hesitated to resort to the indiscriminate circulation of the Will,
realizing full well that it was primarily directed to the recognized
believers, and only indirectly concerned the larger body of the friends
and sympathizers of the Cause.

The Animating Purpose of Baha'i Institutions

And now, it behooves us to reflect on the animating purpose and the
primary functions of these divinely-established institutions, the sacred
character and the universal efficacy of which can be demonstrated only by
the spirit they diffuse and the work they actually achieve. I need not
dwell upon what I have already reiterated and emphasized that the
administration of the Cause is to be conceived as an instrument and not a
substitute for the Faith of Baha'u'llah, that it should be regarded as a
channel through which His promised blessings may flow, that it should
guard against such rigidity as would clog and fetter the liberating forces
released by His Revelation. I need not enlarge at the present moment upon
what I have stated in the past, that contributions to the local and
national Funds are of a purely voluntary character; that no coercion or
solicitation of funds is to be tolerated in the Cause; that general
appeals addressed to the communi