ich are becoming increasingly
evident in the German Baha'i Community. Not only is your membership
steadily increasing and the number of your assemblies multiplying, but
also the fact that most of the believers are realizing the need for
breaking off their church membership and standing forth as members of an
independent Faith; all these are welcome signs of progress and maturity.
And in view of this expansion in Baha'i membership, and the consequent
rapid increase in the number of Spiritual Assemblies, he feels that from
now on you should increase the number of delegates, apportioned to the
German and Austrian Baha'i Community, from 19 to 38, (which is of course,
twice nineteen.) This will ensure a fairer representation of the numerical
strength of the Baha'is at their annual Convention, and enable the
assemblies having a large community to receive more proportioned
representation.

The Cause of God must be protected from the enemies of the Faith, and from
those who sow seeds of doubt in the hearts of the believers, and the
greatest of all protections is knowledge: there is no doubt that the
silliest of all charges ever made is that the "Will and Testament" of the
Master is a forgery! It is all in His own hand, sealed in more than one
place with His own seal, and was opened after His death by some members of
His own family, who took it from His own safe, in this house, and from
that day it has been kept in the safe under lock and key. The charges of
Mrs. White were the result of an unbalanced mind. No other enemy, even
those who were shrewd and clever, made this foolish accusation! The case
of Ahmad Sohrab is, for one who has had any experience of orientals and of
psychology, easily understandable. He was, for some years the secretary of
'Abdu'l-Baha and enjoyed, as a result of this and the fact that he
accompanied Him to America, (to be sure with a number of other Persians),
a great deal of attention from the Baha'is who looked up to him and
admired him. However, since the Master's Will was read, and the
administrative order, under the Guardianship, began to be developed, he
became cognizant of the fact that his personal ambition for leadership
would have to be subordinated to some degree of supervision; that he would
have to obey the National and local assemblies--just like every other
Baha'i, and could not be free to teach wholly independent of any advice or
supervision. This was the beginning of the defection which i