f two building lots, situated near the shore
of Lake Michigan. In March 1909, a convention representative of various
Baha'i centers was called, in pursuance of instructions received from
'Abdu'l-Baha. The thirty-nine delegates, representing thirty-six cities,
who had assembled in Chicago, on the very day the remains of the Bab were
laid to rest by 'Abdu'l-Baha in the specially erected mausoleum on Mt.
Carmel, established a permanent national organization, known as the Baha'i
Temple Unity, which was incorporated as a religious corporation,
functioning under the laws of the State of Illinois, and invested with
full authority to hold title to the property of the Temple and to provide
ways and means for its construction. At this same convention a
constitution was framed, the Executive Board of the Baha'i Temple Unity
was elected, and was authorized by the delegates to complete the purchase
of the land recommended by the previous Convention. Contributions for this
historic enterprise, from India, Persia, Turkey, Syria, Palestine, Russia,
Egypt, Germany, France, England, Canada, Mexico, the Hawaiian Islands, and
even Mauritius, and from no less than sixty American cities, amounted by
1910, two years previous to 'Abdu'l-Baha's arrival in America, to no less
than twenty thousand dollars, a remarkable testimony alike to the
solidarity of the followers of Baha'u'llah in both the East and the West,
and to the self-sacrificing efforts exerted by the American believers who,
as the work progressed, assumed a preponderating share in providing the
sum of over a million dollars required for the erection of the structure
of the Temple and its external ornamentation.

Chapter XVII: Renewal of 'Abdu'l-Baha's Incarceration

The outstanding accomplishments of a valiant and sorely-tested community,
the first fruits of Baha'u'llah's newly established Covenant in the
Western world, had laid a foundation sufficiently imposing to invite the
presence of the appointed Center of that Covenant, Who had called that
Community into being and watched, with such infinite care and foresight,
over its budding destinies. Not until, however, 'Abdu'l-Baha had emerged
from the severe crisis which had already for several years been holding
Him in its toils could He undertake His memorable voyage to the shores of
a continent where the rise and establishment of His Father's Faith had
been signalized by such magnificent and enduring achievements.

This sec