h a calling, let him arise and
promote it. Whoso is unable, it is his duty to appoint him who will, in
his stead, proclaim this Revelation..." "They that have forsaken their
country," is His own promise, "for the purpose of teaching Our Cause--these
shall the Faithful Spirit strengthen through its power... Such a service
is indeed the prince of all goodly deeds, and the ornament of every goodly
act." "In these days," 'Abdu'l-Baha had written in His Will, "the most
important of all things is the guidance of the nations and peoples of the
world. Teaching the Cause is of the utmost importance, for it is the head
corner-stone of the foundation itself." "The disciples of Christ," He had
declared in that same Document, "forgot themselves and all earthly things,
forsook all their cares and belongings, purged themselves of self and
passion, and, with absolute detachment, scattered far and wide, and
engaged in guiding aright the peoples of the world, till at last they made
the world another world, illumined the earth, and to their last hour
proved self-sacrificing in the path of that Beloved One of God. Finally,
in various lands they suffered martyrdom. Let men of action follow in
their footsteps." "When the hour cometh," He had solemnly stated in that
same Will, "that this wronged and broken-winged bird will have taken its
flight unto the celestial concourse ... it is incumbent upon ... the
friends and loved ones, one and all, to bestir themselves and arise, with
heart and soul, and in one accord ... to teach His Cause and promote His
Faith. It behoveth them not to rest for a moment... They must disperse
themselves in every land ... and travel throughout all regions. Bestirred,
without rest, and steadfast to the end, they must raise in every land the
cry of Ya Baha'u'l-Abha (O Thou the Glory of Glories) ... that throughout
the East and the West a vast concourse may gather under the shadow of the
Word of God, that the sweet savors of holiness may be wafted, that men's
faces may be illumined, that their hearts may be filled with the Divine
Spirit and their souls become heavenly."

Obedient to these repeated injunctions, mindful of these glowing promises,
conscious of the sublimity of their calling, spurred on by the example
which 'Abdu'l-Baha Himself had set, undismayed by His sudden removal from
their midst, undaunted by the attacks launched by their adversaries from
within and from without, His followers in both the East and in t