continents of the globe, this noble, this mighty, this magnificent
enterprise deserves to rank among the immortal epics that have adorned the
annals of the Apostolic Age of the Faith of Baha'u'llah.

The debt of gratitude owed by the entire Baha'i world to its
champion-builders is indeed immeasurable. The admiration which this
brilliant exploit has evoked in the breasts of countless followers of the
Faith in East and West knows no bounds. The creative energies its
completion must unleash are incalculable. The role it is destined to play
in hastening the emergence of the world order of Baha'u'llah, now stirring
in the womb of this travailing age, cannot as yet be fathomed. We stand
too close to so majestic, so lofty, so radiant, so symbolic a monument
raised so heroically to the glory of the Most Great Name, at so critical a
stage in human history, and at so significant a spot in a continent so
richly endowed, to be able to visualize the future glories which the
consummation of this institution, this harbinger of an as yet unborn
civilization, must in the fulness of time disclose to the eyes of all
mankind.

That so laborious, so meritorious an undertaking has been completed a year
before its appointed time is a further cause for rejoicing and gratitude,
and an added testimony to the vision, the resourcefulness, and
enterprising spirit of the American believers.

No need, however, to dwell at length on their past achievements,
remarkable and exemplary though they have been, nor is this the time to
expatiate on the superb spirit that has characterized their stewardship in
the service of the Faith of Baha'u'llah. Tasks of extreme urgency, of
great magnitude, of the utmost significance await them in this concluding
year of the first Baha'i century, and at this hour of great peril, of
stress and trial for all mankind. The sacred--the pressing, the inescapable
teaching responsibilities assumed under the Seven Year Plan must be
resolutely faced as befits those whose record has shed so brilliant a
light on the annals of the first Baha'i century. The consolidation of each
and every nucleus, formed so painstakingly in every republic of Central
and South America, the formation of a Baha'i Assembly in every virgin
State and Province in the North American Continent, call for undivided
attention, for further heroism, for a concerted, a persistent, a herculean
effort on the part of the stalwart builders of that bounteous Edifice
wh