rded to a
still persecuted sister community, struggling heroically for its
emancipation, in the cradle of the Faith; the steady progress in the vital
process of incorporating firmly grounded local spiritual assemblies in
various states of the union; the translation of Baha'i literature into the
languages listed in the Ten-Year Plan, as well as into a number of
supplementary languages, spontaneously undertaken by American Baha'i
pioneers in territories far beyond the confines of their homeland; the
completion of the landscaping of the area immediately surrounding the
Mother Temple of the West, in conformity with the expressed, often
repeated wishes of 'Abdu'l-Baha, contributing so greatly to the beauty of
an edifice, the spiritual influence of which He, repeatedly and
unequivocally, emphasized; the acquisition of the site of the first
dependency of that same edifice, designed to pave the way for the early
establishment of the first of several institutions, which, as conceived by
Him, will be grouped around every Baha'i House of Worship, complementing,
through their association with direct service to mankind, in the
educational, the humanitarian and social fields, its spiritual function as
the ordained place of communion with the Creator and the Spirit of His
appointed Messenger in this day; the establishment of the Baha'i
Publishing Trust; the generous financial assistance extended, the
administrative guidance vouchsafed and the unfailing encouragement given,
by the elected representatives of this same community to the newly fledged
assemblies, emerging into independent existence in both the Eastern and
Western Hemispheres; the substantial share which one of its members has
had in the acquisition of one of the holy sites in the capital city of
Baha'u'llah's native land; the preponderating role played by the various
agencies, acting under the direction of its national elected
representatives, in giving publicity to the Faith, through the
proclamation of the fundamental verities underlying the Baha'i Revelation,
the airing of the manifold grievances weighing so heavily on the
overwhelming majority of their coreligionists, and the appeals directed,
on their behalf, to men of eminence in various walks of life, as well as
to different departments of the United Nations, both in New York and
Geneva; and, finally, ranking as equally meritorious to anything hitherto
achieved by the members of this privileged community, the magnific