which Shoghi Effendi ensured the achievement of these
magnificent results, as reflected in his painstaking listing by name, in
the last general message he wrote on the Crusade, in April 1957, of each
one of sixty-three regional teaching conferences and institutes held that
year around the Baha'i world.

Such a review would be incomplete without an understanding of parallel
developments of the Administrative Order at the international level that
the Guardian undertook during these years. These steps proved crucial not
merely to winning the Crusade but to consolidating and protecting the
future of the Cause. Alongside the decision-making authority devolved on
the elective institutions of the Faith, a parallel function of the
Administrative Order is to exert a spiritual, moral and intellectual
influence on both these institutions and the lives of the individual
members of the community. Conceived by Baha'u'llah Himself, this
responsibility "to diffuse the Divine Fragrances, to edify the souls of
men, to promote learning, to improve the character of all men..." is
vested by the Master's Will and Testament particularly in the Hands of the
Cause of God.(99)

During the ministries of both Baha'u'llah and 'Abdu'l-Baha those believers
given this high station had played crucial roles in advancing the teaching
work in the Orient. As the conception of the Ten Year Crusade took shape
in his mind, Shoghi Effendi moved to mobilize the spiritual support this
institution could bring to achieving the tasks of the Plan. In a cablegram
of 24 December 1951, he announced the appointment of the first contingent
of twelve Hands of the Cause of God, allocated equally to the work in the
Holy Land, in Asia, the Americas and Europe. These distinguished servants
of the Cause were called upon to focus directly on the challenge of
mobilizing the energies of the friends and providing the elected bodies
with encouragement and counsel. Shortly thereafter the number of Hands of
the Cause was raised from twelve to nineteen.

The resources available for the discharge of this responsibility were
greatly increased by the Guardian's decision in October 1952, calling on
the Hands of the Cause to create five auxiliary boards, one for each
continent: those in the Americas, Europe and Africa consisting of nine
members each, while those in Asia and Australasia having seven and two
respectively. Subsequently, separate auxiliary boards were created to
assist with