Visiting the Bahá'í World Centre

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Visiting the Bahá'í World Centre

by Ruhaniyyih Ruth Moffett

1954-09

Contents:

Scanner's note
PART 1. - Brightening Horizons of Israel
PART 2. - Our Guardian Speaks
PART 3. - After Glow of Haifa
Research notes and cautions about this document
See also another version of these notes at archive.org

Scanner's note: These non-copyrighted notes were available from the National Library Services of the NSA of the Bahá'ís of the Hawaiian Islands in 1978. Stauffer describes their original format as follows: "When I bought these notes in Hawaii, it was at a time when actually there was little in way of quality publishing there. In fact, there was no Bahá'í Publishing Trust at that time, rather it was called the "National Library Service" of the NSA of the Bahá'ís of the Hawaiian Islands. The "Moffett notes" were sold in a simple, bright yellow three-tab folder with a typewritten title on a sticky white label pressed onto the front. As one can tell from the many misspelled words, they were simply a photocopy of Ruth Moffett's original typing (or so I have come to believe).
If I recall correctly, Ruth had tried unsuccessfully to get the BPT in the US to print them; failing this she sent them to the Hawaiian Bahá'ís. The production quality was minimal, and I believe that these notes weren't sold for too long afterwards I bought a set--probably only 40 to 50 copies were ever sold." -Robert Stauffer, 1997

[front cover]

REVEALING HAIFA NOTES
AND DIRECTIVES BY OUR
GUARDIAN IN 1954 BY
RUHANIYYIH RUTH MOFFETT

[title page]

Part 1
A PILGRIMAGE TO THE HOLY LAND

by RUHANIYYIH RUTH MOFFETT

HAIFA REPORT AND INSTRUCTIONS BY OUR GUARDIAN TO RUHANIYYIH RUTH MOFFETT CHECKED DAILY BY JESSIE REVELL WITH HER STENOGRAPHIC NOTES.

[page 1]

VISITING THE BAHA'I WORLD CENTER

By Ruhaniyyih Ruth Moffett
May 17 - September 17, 1954

Part 1. BRIGHTENING HORIZONS OF ISRAEL

"Come ye unto the House of the Lord with praise and thanksgiving." The House of the Lord - the Holy Land! The land made sacred by all the Prophets of God - Enoch, Abraham, Moses, Zoroaster, Jesus Christ, Muhammad, The Bab and Bahá'u'lláh. The land where the Divine Spirit has been poured in greater abundance than on any other place on this planet! What a place to make a pilgrimage with joy and thanksgiving! How the heart yearns to go there. Such were the yearnings in the heart of one expectant pilgrim, Ruhaniyyih Ruth Moffett as she waved fare-thee-well to her faithful friends, Coranne Willis and Ann Koplin, at the United Air Lines Airport in Chicago. They were up all night with her and helped in innumerable ways in preparation for this momentous pilgrimage to Haifa. The United Air Line plane left Chicago at 7:00 a.m., May 17, 1954 flying over a lovely patch work quilt of green fields fringed by Spring orchards in bloom, arriving at Idlewild airport in New York at 10:30 a.m. In the airport Café, Ruhaniyyih had time for just a bowl of soup before being weighed in for the long Transatlantic oceanic journey. She felt lonesome to start on her first ocean flight with no one to see her off and wish her "God Speed", but she held firmly to the hand of Bahá'u'lláh with the faith that He would guide her safely throughout the journey.

The Royal Sabena Belgium Air Line plane, standing in the midst of a bevy of world planes ready to take off to far distant parts of the world, moved and "seemed to feel the stir of life along her keel"; she quivered with expectancy as her motors raced for the take off. It was exciting to follow the coastline of New England over Boston, Maine, Halifax and Nova Scotia looking down on the many cities and villages, the crooked roads and the variegated fields of many colours and the immense green forrests, lakes, and the many islands off the coasts. She did not know there were so many islands of all shapes and sizes along the East coastline, and mostly unpopulated. Newfoundland was veiled in masses of clouds as the plane flew high over it. The royal Sabena gave excellent service making all the forty-five passengers as comfortable as possible for the long non-stop flight through the dark night crossing the endless ocean far below. It was thrilling to fly 19,000 - 20,000 ft. high at a speed of from 300 - 400 miles per hour over the abysmal depths below. A great curtain of clouds veiled Glasgow, Manchester, and London. A wire broke in the heating system, but the thoughtful stewardess tucked the passengers snugly in warm woollen blankets, until, after crossing the English Channel, it became a bit warmer. Dawn with its rose-gold tints above the clouds is an experience one can never forget, symbolic of the beauty and rose-garden sheen when one rises above the tests and trials of life.

At 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 18, the Royal Sabena glided along the runway to the first stop in Brussels, Belgium, after the long transoceanic flight. There the same plane was reconditioned and flew over Europe, and Brindisi, the tip of the heel of Italy, over the Ionian and Mediterranean Seas, and arrived in Athens, where the plane was again reconditioned, and arrived at 10:30 p.m., May 18, 1954 at the airport at Jappa, Tel Aviv, Israel. This is the modern miracle, to travel thousands of miles from Chicago to Tel Aviv in only thirty nine hours!

As the Royal Sabena plane winged its way toward Israel, Ruhaniyyih wondered how it would look in comparison with when she saw it before - a desert land filled with rocks, sand, thorny bushes and confusion, and where everyone seemed to be against his neighbor. As the approaching lights of the Holy Land again came into view, her heart was filled with joyful and reverential expectancy and she thought to the words of the song, "Israel - The Land of Promise Welcomes You".

[page 2]

As she gazed meditatively at the approaching lights of the Holy Land, the panorama of history seemed to unroll before her mind: of how Palestine was peopled by cave dwellers in about 3500 B.C.; of how Abraham was led to this land, and God made a covenant with Him, "that in the seed of Abraham shall all the nations of the earth be blest"; of the Cananites, and later how Moses led the Israelites out of bondage, and for forty years in the wilderness, and Joshua led them to the Promised Land flowing with milk and honey; how the Jewish people built up the land but turned away from God to gods of their own making. Then Saul became the first king and established a civic kingdom, but he died. David became the king unifying the kingdom and calling them to return to God: and David died and was called to his fathers. Solomon, his son became King. He expanded the kingdom, and to this day, the glory and unity of his kingdom is still sung. But Solomon died and the tribes became divided. Then the Assyrians in 1722 B.C., destroyed Damascus and Israel and took the tribes into captivity, and they became scattered. After the Babylonian invasion in 586 B.C. the remaining tribes of Judah were taken into Babylonia and scattered. Alexander the Great captured Palestine in 332 B.C. The coming of Jusus, the Christ, had a profound effect on the history of this land, which became a noted center of pilgrimages.

Under the Moslem dominion from 636 A.D. for four centuries, and the long period of the Christian Crusades, one lasting 100 years, there was much destruction and a little progress. It was under the control of the Ottoman Turks from 1516 until the first World War, then it cecame a mandate of Great Britain, under the League of Nations. "The White Paper" gave the promise that the doors of Palestine would again open to her people. Many outbreaks of violence have occurred between the Jews and Arabs, which have caused this land to become on of the danger spots of the world. After World War II, the Jews began returning in large numbers, until today there are about 1,465,000 Jews, gathered from 75 countries, 125,000 Moslems, 40,000 Christians, and 16,000 Druzes in Israel.

On May 14, 1948, a most remarkable bloodless revolution occurred, when 4,000,000 Moslems fled and 1,000,000 Jews marched in and began tilling their ancestral soil, and a new nation was born. Today the blue and white flag with the star of Bethlehem flutters proudly over the world'' youngest democracy --"" nation as eternally old as yesterday, as eternally young as tomorrow". Phonex-like, from the ashes have risen again to build a new homeland, to develop the most stupendous, life-salvaging operation ever undertaken in the whole history of mankind, and to fulfil the promise of the Ages!

Early in the morning Ruhaniyyih left the queer little hotel, near the airport, where one noticed strange sounds and smells, and where scarcely anyone could speak English, and took the bus to Tel Aviv. Here she obtained a seat in a taxi to Haifa, 65 miles away. Full of eager anticipation to be on Mt. Carmel, the mountain of god, she scanned its slopes and was thrilled to see the gleaming golden dome of the Shrine of the Bab, as it stood in all its beauty and majesty. Arriving at the Bahá'í Pilgram House, she was surprised to find Allan and Mary Elston, pioneers from the United States to Uganda, Africa; also Lillian Morgan Richards from Turkey; and Clara Edge from Michigan; and others. Ruhiyyih Khanum, the wife of the Guardian of the Bahá'í World Faith, was giving a luncheon in the home of 'Abdu'l-Bahá to return many social obligations to prominent people of Israel. Ruhiyyih Khanum greet Ruhaniyyih warmly and said she had arrived just in time "to be one of the guests of honour". The Masters house was beautifully decorated with flowers, and many delicious foods were prepared and attractively arranged by Ruhiyyih Khanum and Millie Collins, Hand of the Cause, who were both charming hostesses to the thirty-five interesting and distinguished guests.

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Across the street from the master's house is the Western Pilgrim House, of unusual design, by the architect, Mason Remey. It is the present home of Mason Remey, President of the International Counsil; Leroy Ioas, Secretary for the Guardian and of the International Council; and his wife, Sylvia Ioas; Jessie Revell, Treasurer of the International Council; Ethel Revell, Secretary for Ruhiyyih Khanum. also, it is the guest house for the flow of Western pilgrims from Europ and America. The room which Ruhaniyyih occupied over-looked the colourful Bahá'í gardens across the street, and the home of our Guardian with the deep blue Mediterranean Sea in the background. She was the last pilgrim of the season. The atmosphere of the Pilgrim House is difficult to describe as it is teeming with activities and intensity of interest.

Ruhaniyyih was constantly amazed at the many changes which had taken place on Mount Carmel since she was there in 1927, when the Guardian was young, and when the Greatest Holy Leaf was living. Then there were barren rocks and thorny bushes, and only the beginnings of the nine terraced gardens, and the simple, unornamented, stone Shrine of the Bab, resting on the ninth terrace. Today, however, these gardens have been transformed into a fairyland of rare beauty. Even the city of Haifa, itself, seems to be pulsating with new life.

Haifa Calling!

The ancient town of Haifa lies on the southern horn of a magnificient bay, three miles deep and nine miles wide, just where the green promontory of Mount Carmel breaks the 200 mile inhospitable coastline and yellow sand dunes stretching northward from Port Said to Haifa and around the Bay to the ancient city of Akka, the Acre of the Crusades. A mile and a half long breakwater extrudes from Nasel-Kerim. Another breakwater one and a half miles long runs at right angles to the first one. This affords a sheltered haven for every class of vessel. The harbour does not overshadow the town but has been designed to be part of the landscape and fits with good proportion into the entire noble pattern. It is a monument to British engineering genius. It is in the heart of the world - bisecting it between east and west, north and south.

In the days of the Canaanites, Haifa was known as Shikmona, and later to the Jews as Hepha, or haven. Among the Medes, and Persians, and Phoenicians, it was found to be an important station on the highroads of nations. Nature has granted it advantages seldom found in other seaports of the world.

This same soil was hallowed by the footsteps of His Holiness, Jesus the Christ, and all the Prophets of God. It was in 1868, the Messenger of God, Bahá'u'lláh, was sent here as a life-prisoner in exile by the Persian and Turkish governments. Here He lived, suffered, and triumphed until His ascension in 1892, delivering to men His Message of World Unity and Peace, and pointing out the spiritual and practical means by which such consummation might be achieved. From the time this Exalted One arrived in Akka, the entire area began to change. The very atmosphere seemed charged with a pruer, more vibrant quality, so intimately related are the things of heaven and earth,, the temporal and the spiritual.

Today we are witnessing miraculous progress and the growing importance of Haifa, Akka, Mount Carmel, and this whole area. One of the main causes of prosperity is the gigantic pipe-line, 600 miles long, with oil from Mosul to the refineries of Akka, and Haifa, fulfilling the prophecy of Abdu'l-Bahá, that Haifa will be "The City of Lights - The City of the Future". "Ere long a railway will follow the pipe-line from Haifa to Baghdad and the great Euphrates Valley, forming a link between the Eastern and Western worlds, forged first, spiritually, by Bahá'u'lláh and His followers in exile. Haifa will become a great distribution center for the world's merchandise," Abdul-Bahá said, "and a highway of the nations.

[page 4]

We shall ere the long hear of wool from Mosul; barley and grains from Iraq and Palestine; dates from Ankara; potash and phosphates from the Dead Sea; rice, skins, hides from Iran; and oranges from Jaffa. Many precious articles from India, the Orient, all passing through Haifa to the markest of the world. It will become one of the first emporiums of the world. The entire harbour from Haifa to Akka will be one path of illumination. Carmel itself will be submerged in a sea of light. A person standing on the summit of Mount Carmel and the passengers on the nearing ships will look upon the most majestic spectacle of the whole world." It is destined, increasingly, to become THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING!

MOUNT CARMEL - THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD

'Abdu'l-Bahá said, "The day will come when this mountain will be resplendent with light - lights from top to bottom. On one side of it there will be a hotel, a universal hotel. Its doors will be open to all the people of the world. Whoever comes will be a guest. On the other side of the mountain there will be a university in which all the higher sciences will be taught. On the other part of it there will be a home for incurables. In still another part there will be a home for orphans. All these will be administered with love." -B.M. Jan. 1934, Vol.24, No. 19.

"I forsee that this harbour (Haifa) will be full of vessels. And from here to the blessed Shrine (Bahji) there will be wide avenues, on both sides of which there will be trees and gardens. On the surrounding land at Bahji, similar institutions to those on Mount Carmel will be established. And from all these places the songs of praise and exultation will be raised to the Supreme Concourse." Abdu'l-Bahá - Mt. Carmel 1/4/20.

"The air here at Mount Carmel is fragrant and the earth is sweet.... I have breathed the air of many country places," 'Abdu'l-Bahá said, "and seen much natural scenery, but the air of this mountain is most wholesome, vitalizing, and its scenery is very entrancing. Purity of air, sublimity of panorama and beauty of landscape are united on Mount Carmel, presenting to the eye a noble and inspiriting spectacle of nature; its panorama of sea and land is very unique, its sun is all-glorious, its moon all-beautiful, and its stars are all-sparkling."

One may have three pilgrimages to Mount Carmel in one. First, is Pilgrim of the Eye where one sees the Shrines and Archives, the beautiful gardens, the Bahá'í World center, The International Council and the Guardian of the Bahá'í World Faith. Everyone arriving attains this pilgrimage, if they have become a Bahá'í or not. The second is the Pilgrimage of the Mind, which gathers oceans of informative Knowledge of the developments of the Bahá'í world Faith, the Great Global Crusade, the changing conditions of the world, the answers to seemingly unanswerable problems, and upon request special instructions from the Guardian relating either to one's community, or to the individual himself. The second Pilgrimage of the Mind, in addition to the Pilgrimage of the Eye, some attain. The third is the Pilgrimage of the Soul. This is the sea that tsurges in the heart, melting its joys and sorrows, its ecstacies and failings, its resolves and its and its discouragments that storm through his being. This third pilgrimage prepares the soul by prayerfully walking along the lovely gardens and red- tiled paths leading to the majestic Shrine of the Bab, and there to kneel at the Threshold of the Shrine of the gentle loving Bab, and before the sacred Shrine of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the Servant of God; and then, the greatest of all, to prostrate in the Blessed Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh. As one enters the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh, the very air seems to throb with the majesty of His Presence.

[page 5]

One realizes, more and more, the greatness of the station of the Holy Ones, and becomes conscious of Their Sacrifices for Humanity, and Their Mission in bringing forth a new creation. The third pilgrimage begins with the first meeting with the Guardian, when discouraging weakness and failings become transformed into strength and courage, and the heart becomes aflame with the desire to serve in the Cause of God, and enter the service of his Lord. This third pilgrimage, the Pilgrimage of the Soul, only the most sincere attain. We hope that all may achieve the fulfillment of this three-fold pilgrimage and recognize the great station of our Guardian!

Shoghi Effendi occupies a unique position in religious history never before known. Since becoming the Guardian, after the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 1921, he has guided the world-wide Bahá'í Community Through the early phases of establishing the Great Bahá'í Administrative Order which is destined, ere long, to form the pattern of the New World Order of Bahá'u'lláh. The Universal House of Justice, destined to support this new World Order, as a twin pillar to the station of the Guardianship, is in the process of unfoldment. The function of Shoghi Effendi is to establish and nurse and guide, without precident, the National Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá'í world. The station of Guardianship is not a legislative institution, but he has had to guide and develop the basic principles of Bahá'í Administration for use throughout the Bahá'í World, which Bahá'u'lláh has stated is the guarantee of World peace.

The Writings of Shoghi Effendi are exceedingly important and every word is significant. They do not constitute Divine Revelation as do the writings of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá, nor are they holy in the way Their Writings are holy. However, the Bahá'í World recognizes that Shoghi Effendi received his divinely ordained, appointed and recorded station, as the Interpreter of Their Words. Thus his writings are truly inspired. Therefore, the writings of Shoghi Effendi in this Day become the clearest appointed-divinely-reflected-authority on this planet! The Guardian's writings are universal and specific, etearnal and particular. Eternal, because they expound the basic spiritual principles which will forever guide mankind; particularly, because they are applicable to the present state of the world and the progress of the individual Bahá'í, and their part in establishing the new World Order, "The Kingdom of God on Earth." The writings of Shoghi Effendi are life lines for the present, and a source of unprecedented guidance to unborn generations!" Shoghi Effendi is the Guardian, not the Revealer of the message sent by God to lead mankind to the Promised Day of the Most Great Peace. He is, today, the pure channel of god's Mercy fulfilling this mighty promise of Bahá'u'lláh. "This is the Day which shall not be followed by night."

To the Bahá'í, our Guardian is like a ray of sunshine which brings to light whatever is latent on the film of each pilgrim's heart; transforming fear into courage, discouragement into faith, weakness into strength, passivity into activity, and the way of life into servitude. To the Bahá'í world the Guardian is like an ocean - the home and refuge for all things that have life within it, but it is also a surging sea that casts out from its depths all dead things. The Guardian is like a giant comet, blazing across the sky, drawing into its orbit all matter which can receive the flame of his love and increase its brightness. Those who are not attracted by this magnetic power who are not drawn into the firey path, may see this blazing ball of fire thunder by. They may try too late to enter therein, but the moment for the junction is past, leaving them in darkness!

INTERNATIONAL RECEPTION

It was on May 20, at 4:00 o'clock, on a lovely day that Ruhiyyih Khanum and Millie Collins gave an International Reception in the Western Pilgrim house, and distinguished guests arrived from many parts of Israel, including the governor and his wife, the Mayor and his wife, two ambassadors, a number of Israeli officials, doctors, lawyers, musicians

[page 6]

and merchants. The Pilgrim House had been beautifully arranged with tea and coffee appointments, flowers, and delicious dainties of all kinds. The pilgrims, all dressed up, assisted the hostesses in this most attractive, heartwarming reception to meet the interesting, friendly peoples of Israel. The sweetness of Ruhiyyih Khanum, her tact, her grace, her ready laughter followed by her words of wisdom, her sincere unassuming manner, her purity of heart and her warm overflowing love for everyone, together make a beauty and majesty of spirit that captured all hearts. The reception was a brilliant success and long to be remembered in the annals of Israel.

THE HOLY SHRINE OF BAHA

How can one describe the ethereal, intangible, spiritual beauty that enters into the very soul of the pilgrim as he steps out of his shoes and kneels with head touching the floor and heart humbly bowing, at the Holy threshold, in the Shrine of the Blessed Beauty, and walks on the very soil, hallowed by His precious feet?

What a bounty from God to kneel in the very spot, and the Threshold in the Shrine of The Bab, where the Master went almost daily to kneel and chant.

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What a blessing to kneel in the Shrine of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the Servant of god, in fervent prayer! It was like a benediction!

In the Shrines, the human spirit reaches up and by earnest prayer, touches the Divine Spirit in supplication, in praise, in gratitude, until it becomes so purified that the supplicant is lifted in spirit to communion with God. his soul, or human spirit, makes the brief contact with the Divine Spirit. From that moment on he is reborn and his life begins to change. It changes as to methods, motives; yes, everything! The more you turn to that Divine Spirit, touching it with your humble, sincere human spirit, the greater will be the results in your life. The more you turn away, or half turn, you will find your life full of frustrations!

In Acca, in the House of Abud, where Bahá'u'lláh and his family were imprisoned for seven years, the mind is awed by the many personal things used by both Bahá'u'lláh, and 'Abdu'l-Bahá. there, Dr. Lotfallah Hakim took us into the simple wood-panelled bedroom used by Bahá'u'lláh during those years of darkness and sorrow and suffering. Lotfallah tells you that this is the room in which the Kitab-i-Aqdas was revealed, your heart and breath almost cease, and a great wave of veneration and awe floods the soul. You remove your shoes and bow your head, and kneel before the divan, for this is holy ground! God creates law, The Prophet of God reveals that law - and the corner of this blessed room is where it streamed, gushed, and poured to unite mankind in a world civilization of unity and peace! This is the book which Bahá'u'lláh said is "The Breath of Life to all created things."

The Most Great Book, the book of Laws for 500,000 years to come! The little human mind cannot grasp its significance, but the pure heart floods with reverence and awe, overpowering awe. In such a manner hath the Kitab-i-Aqdas been revealed. "The Pen can not move at the Spleandour of this Revelation." Every place blessed by the presence of Bahá'u'lláh seemed charged with a sense of majesty, greatness, power and authority in a greater degree than any other place on earth.

The Guardian has written, "The writings of Bahá'u'lláh, during the years of His confinement in the Most Great Prison, surpass the outpourings of His Pen in either Adrianople or Baghdad...This unprecedented extension of the reigns of his writings, during His exile in that prison, must rank as one of the most vitalizing and fruitful stages in the entire evolution of His Faith!"

How greatful we are that the Guardian has organized, and clarifies, and evaluated these basic points. The Guardian is a strong rope to which we not only can, but must cling. At all times you feel the motion, action, speed, power of His presence, that seems to grow more powerful the longer you are with him, with an inner peace that means both tranquility and power. He is like a hurricane. The closer you are to the center or heart, the greater the security and peace; the farther from this focal center, the more violent the reactions. We must move with the power, not against it or even indifferent to it, else we will be shattered by the impact.

It is here in Acca that the eye of the spirit could picture - "The beloved of our hearts walked here!" "The Blessed Beauty's feet pressed this soil!" "The Beloved Servant of God knelt here!" Muhammed foretold that all of them, the companions of The Bab, should be slain except One, Who would reach the plain of Acca, the Banquet Hall of God.

THE WEIZMANN SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTE -(REHOVOT ISRAEL)

Next in importance to the Bahá'í World Center and the Shrines of other Faiths for Ruhaniyyih was to visit the now famous Weizmann Scientific Institute. Started by Dr. Chaim Weizmann, the great scientist and first President of the new State of Israel, it

[page 8]

is a remarkable educational institution doing research in the fields of:

I. THE FILED OF MATHMATICS: A. The theory of helium 11; B. Problems of diffusion and separation of isotopes; C. Development of a new type of geophone; D. Gravemetric and seismic exploration of Israel

II. THE FIELD OF OPTICS: A. This includes atomic polarization of molecules.; B. Study of the glucesids of citrus fruits, and their absorption spectra.

III. THE FIELD OF ISOTOPE RESEARCH: A. The study of chemical mechanism; B. the study of physical mechanism

IV. THE FIELD OF BIOPHYSICS: A. The study of the biochemical properties of all the liquids of the body.

V. THE FIELD OF POLYMER RESEARCH: A. The study and development of plastics, etc.; B. The mutual and interaction of polyelectrolytes and the study of their action with living tissues and soils; C. Water-soluble polyelectrictrolytes

VI. THE FIELD OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY: A. the study of the chemical and medical properties of plants of Israel.; B. Survey and exploitation possibilities of local bituminous stone; research on the constituents of petrol products obtained by cracking.

VII. THE FIELD OF BIOCHEMISTRY: A. The study of acids; B. The study of cell action and reaction; C. The study of fermentation

VII. THE FIELD OF GENETICS (PLANT): A. The study of the caster bean species of industrial value for nylon production

IX. THE FIELD OF MICROANALYSIS AND EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY: A. The study of cancer, its causes and control; B. Beginnings of human life

It is a marvelous institution, remarkably well equipped. Dr. Benjamin M. Bloch, General Director, took me to his office, (the only one he selected out of fifty or more people) gave me a lovely book and literature and said as I was leaving "I beg your pardon, but I wonder if you are a Christian or a Jew, you seem so different!" I replied, "Both and more; I am a Bahá'í!" His face lighted up. "Oh, are you? I would like to talk to you. Can you remain a little longer?" Then he asked many questions with great eagerness, and urged me to come again so that we could talk further of these great basic things.

The Guardian was happy to learn of the suprisingly warm response of Dr. Bloch,

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the General Director of the Weizmann Scientific Institute, to the spirit of our Bahá'í Faith.

JERUSALEM - THE LAND OF PROMISE

Jerusalem - The Golden! A tour to the Christian Shrines in Jerusalem and in Galilee is like a pilgrimage through the New Testament. Every place where Jesus the Christ walked is Holy Ground! It is thrilling to bend the knee in the Holy Sepulchre, to enter the caves on Mount Carmel, to tread the paths of the Mount of Beatitudes, Mt. Zion, the Mount of Transfiguration, The Mount of Olives, Cana and Nazareth, and to stand by the waters of Jordan where Jesus was Baptized of John... and John said, "But I have need to be baptized of Thee!" And Christ said, "Suffer it to be so now!" Then the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove and said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

These scenes, and these hallowed by all the Prophets of God, make this truly the Holy Land.

Zechariah 8:22 foretells a great future for Jerusalem. "Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of Hosts (which means Bahá'u'lláh) in Jerusalem and to pray before the Lord."... and ... Genesis 15:18... "And in the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram saying, "Unto Thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates."

Today these prophetic statements of the Prophets of the past are being fulfilled, and Jerusalem is ... "The Land of Promise."

THE COMMEMORATION OF THE ASCENSION OF BAHA'U'LLAH IN BAHJI

Our beloved Guardian had invited Ruhaniyyih to return to Haifa to commemorate the ascension of Bahá'u'lláh with the family in Bahji. What a bounty to have two of the most important Bahá'í Feasts come during her pilgrimage - the Declaration of the Bab, May 23, and the Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh, May 28!

It was a hot, sultry day. At 5:00 P.M. the Guardian and many of the Bahá'í men from surrounding cities in Israel left by taxis for the all-night commemoration. At 9:00 p.m. the ladies of the household went to Bahji, Ruhaniyyih tucked in between Ruhiyyih Khanum and Millie Collins. As we approached Bahji, the lights of the gardens, many just completed for the occasion, were turned on. It was a fairyland of light and beauty that almost took the breath away. Thirty-five Bahá'í women, mostly dressed in black, knelt in prayer, wept and chanted in the Ascension Chamber of Bahá'u'lláh. At midnight tea was served in the Pilgrim House in Bahji, and saintly Ruhiyyih Khanum spoke about the life of Bahá'u'lláh and His passing, interspersed with readings and chanting. After midnight, circumambulating the gardens in prayer, all prayerfully entered the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh; - the thirty-five women kneeling all night in the women's alcove, and the fifty men kneeling in the garden room, in the Shrine, in prayer. The beloved Guardian chanted on his knees at the Holy Threshold the rest of the night, until first flickering gleams of rose-gold light of the rising sun began to appear, and the thrilling notes of the morning songs of the mocking-bird sympathy warbled forth heralding the dawn.

It was a never-to-be-forgotten, heavenly, soul-stirring experience to knee all night in the scared Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh, with our souls soaring on the wings of prayer as our Guardian chanted in that Hallowed Spot! Another experience for which to be greatful throughout eternity!

"Come ye unto the House of the Lord with joy and thanksgiving" has entered our souls with a new and richer meaning and we go forth to spread the glad Tidings of the new Spiritual Splendour with radiant joy.

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'Abdu'l-Bahá said, "And from all these places the songs of praise and exultation will be raised to the Supreme Concourse!"

STATE OF ISRAEL

[map of Israel]

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VISITING THE BAHA'I WORLD CENTER

by RUHANIYYIH RUTH MOFFETT

THE GUARDIAN TO RUHANIYYIH RUTH MOFFETT

May 17, to June 1, 1954

The following are notes of table conversations given by the beloved Guardian in the presence of Ruhiyyih Khanum and the members of the International Council who heard them all. Most of these notes were given when Ruth Moffett was the only remaining pilgrim. The notes are not verbatim and not given in sequence, but were verified by Ruhiyyih Khanum, and members of the International Council at the table after the departure of the Guardian, and checked each night until midnight by Jessie Revell from her stenographic notes to be sure that the intent is correct, and expressed as accurately as possible, in the words of the beloved Guardain.

Ruhiyyih Khanum wrote that if the friends could realize the selfless devotion, the justice and loving forebearance of the Guardian, "They would love him with a consuming, weeping tenderness and devotion, as indeed so many of them do. He is so golden-hearted, so pure-hearted, that sometimes when I catch a glimpse of it I am stunned." As was this Pilgrim!

Now that our beloved Guardian has gone to his great reward in the Abha Kingdom, every word of his is more important and precious than ever, and should be so soul stirring that we rise and spread the great, glad message of Bahá'u'lláh "as one soul in many bodies."

Our Guardian, Shoghi Effendi had, on her first visit, asked the Greatest Holy Leaf, the only daughter of Bahá'u'lláh, for the spiritual names of Ruth and Robert Moffett, She said "For Ruth, Ruhaniyyih, which means 'spiritual beauty', and the name of Robert is Habib, which means 'beloved'. Then the Guardian said that it is good to use these spiritual names as much as possible as it puts that spirit out into the others.

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PART II "A"
OUR GUARDIAN, SHOGHI EFFENDI SPEAKS

The Guardian greeted Ruth with unusual warmth and the first night placed her at the head of the table, which is a courtesy given to each new incoming pilgrim. As he did so, he said, "Welcome!" "It has been such a long time that we have looked for your return to Haifa. You will find things much changed from the time that you were here before. Did you see the Shrine of the Bab? I hope that you can go there tomorrow. How are the friends in America? How is the assembly in Chicago functioning now? What progress is there now? You say better. I am glad to hear that they are progressing better now. I hope that all the friends of America are progressing."

Ruth said, trying to change the subject, which the Guardian knew she was doing, "I think, Shoghi Effendi, that you would be pleased to see the signs of maturity that were at the last convention."

The Guardian said, "Signs of maturity! What signs? Everyone smiled.

Ruth replied, having to think quickly, "There seems to be less wordiness, and more of a desire for action and for pioneering."

The Guardian said, "This enthusiasm is very fine during the Convention, but it seems that afterward they forget so soon. The Americans are very enthusiastic and industrious but they do not carry things through like the British. I am not referring to Mrs. Moffett. You are very industroius and sincere, and you are very persevering, even against great obstacles. This is an excellent quality. I hope that you can instill it into others."

"Everything is declining in America. Art, music, money, manners. Everything. Especially in the great cities. You and the friends should leave the cities and disperse, that the Faith of God may grow and save mankind. Those who do not respond will loose everything. Those who do will gain everything."

"You are greatly needed in the teaching field throughout America. I hope that you will continue as you have been doing so effectively, teaching college students, groups, communities, individuals, as well as in public lectures. This is very important. Although you have been asked to assist in many countries, you are most needed in America now."

"There is too much emphasis upon Administration and not on spirit in America. Too much emphasis upon intellectual concepts and not upon spirit. Some do not know the difference. There is too much delving into mysticism and occultism, "idle fancies and vain imaginings." This is not the Word of God and leads people into the web of vain immaginings from which it is very difficult to become extricated. The only hope for mankind is to turn the word of God as revealed by Bahá'u'lláh in this Day, and obey His laws and precepts. The occultists, like the Christian Scientists, are not pure in heart as they do not recognize the station of Manifestations, and like the Quakers they are not united in the Divine Focal Point, the Manifestation, so they do not have a direct power from God. I hope that you can help them to understand this."

"Mrs. Moffett, what is your success with the Jews?"

Ruth replied, "Shoghi Effendi, many times I have been very successful for I love working with them. It seems that when a Jew truly turns to Bahá'u'lláh, he has a deeper sense of the Realities than do those of other backgrounds."

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The Guardian smiled and nodded and said, "That is good, and what you have said is true. The Jews are very devoted as are the Catholics, when they really turn to Bahá'u'lláh. I hope that you can work more with them Mrs. Moffett, and with the youth. This is very important."

One evening the Guardian began speaking about the unity of the home and the many homes that are disunited today. He said, "Nothing should be done to disrupt the unity of the home. Each should fulfill his responsibilities to the home and by the law of constant consultation and cooperation and prayer maintain that unity. The one who disrupts it will surely suffer. The family is the institution of God. Everything should be done to preserve it." Several times the Guardian spoke on this point. Later he said, "Nothing should be done to upset the family unity. Try to interest the unBahá'í husband to leave the city and go to some goal city to pioneer, where there is a new environment and a needed goal. Do everything possible to uphold the family unity and to win him to love and service in the Faith. That is the greatest success and protection for both. There will be a world civil war and after that a great unification. This must begin with the unity of the family and the friends. Mrs. Moffett, help the friends to understand this and to accept and serve the Word of God in this Day, as it is the most important thing in life."

"In America there is too much emphasis upon Administration and not enough on spirit. We should remember that progress is made from crisis to crisis. We must learn to meet the crisis in the right way. The crisises can not be avoided. The law of crisis is noted in all phases of life. We are now entering a new phase of life. Now is the time of the change of the tide of human history. It is the time of individual as well as world crisis. It can be met in the right way only by the power of Bahá'u'lláh in the Day."

The Guardian many times spoke of Africa and the remarkable progress there. One evening he ended his remarks by saying, "Africa is the country of greatest opportunities to teach the Faith and the safest of countries."

"Yes, Mrs. Moffett, move out of Chicago to a small city or village. The city people are deaf and blind and the village people are open to the Truth. Your Seminar method is very good. I hope that you continue as you have been doing as it brings results. You have been developing and perfecting this method for a long time and it is good. Concentrate on confirming souls as you have been doing. God has given you this greatest of blessings. Thank Him continually for this great bounty."

"Do not worry about pioneering and serving the Cause. You have been and are doing it. Do not worry about jobs and means. Go and you will find that means will come. Have faith and put the faith into activity." Ruth said that her money had all been going instead of coming, but she had the Faith in that great spiritual law, "According to thy faith shall thy powers and blessings be." She said that millions of things had come, more than money could possibly buy. Undreamed of things had miraculously worked out, thanks to Bahá'u'lláh. She prayed for strength to keep faith unwavering at all times.

One day Ruth received a letter from Josephine Kruka from Finland, asking her to ask the Guardian if sometime she (Ruth) could come to help in Finland. Ruth showed the Guardian the letter. He said, "Yes it is god for you to go to Finland sometime, but not right away, not on this trip, but later, and not to settle permanently. Yes, it will be good for you to go there later. Yes they would like to have you help in Australia, but you are not needed as much in Australia as elsewhere. You would be of great help in many countries but you are need most in America."

"You, Mrs. Moffett, have already rendered historic service. You not only convert, as many do, but you confirm. The most important work in the entire world is to Quicken souls and to inspire them into active service. You are one of the few people who are able to confirm souls. Many lecture, but that does not confirm. You have a long and enviable record of bringing souls to confirmation, which few others have. You lead them gently and lovingly up the necessary steps. In teaching, these steps are necessary.

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1. Favorable Attention: 2. Interest: 3. Desire to do something: 4. conviction or Conversion: 5. Confirmation: 6. Service: 7. Consecration. Too many teachers stop before the step of confirmation, the step which stirs into action, service. This is much more important that Administration. Anyone can administer, but only a true teacher can teach and confirm. You have been greatly blessed by this gift from God. I hope that you will continue as you have been doing. You are greatly needed in America to help make the goals. I am very disappointed in America. They have failed this past year. I am not referring to you, Mrs. Moffett. You have continued in spite of the difficulties, and you will be rewarded by God."

"Those who will not disperse will suffer physically, economically and most of all, spiritually because they have not listened and obeyed. They have not listened to the warnings of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá, who warned that 'the fire of materialism will devour the great cities, which are like Babylon and Ninivah and Sodom and will be destroyed,' Christ warned, "Come out of her my people that ye be not partakers of her plagues." Canada is doing fairly well but U.S.A. has failed. America must be saved and America must rise to meet her great destiny. she must become the moral and spiritual leader of all the nations of the world. You must help her to rise to her great destiny. 'Abdu'l-Bahá will help you."

Continue to "Send your reports to the N.S.A. and to the A.N.T.C. and to the Area Committees. I had asked you when you were in Haifa before to send me reports regularly. This you have done and I have greatly appreciated them, but I have become too busy to read and enjoy them. I can no longer even write to the N.S.A.'s. Can only send cablegrams. Have you made an effort to reach the Jewish people and also the youth? This important. Perhaps sometime you can work with the Jews in Israel. I hope that you will continue in just what you are doing in larger and larger fields. Bahá'u'lláh will guide and bless you in our selfless and sacrificial efforts."

"In the Bahá'í world especially, we do not want to see homes broken up, especially Bahá'í homes. Try to help the friends to live the life, and try to win the blind and resistant husband or wife to the teachings for this Day, the observance of which will bring true happiness." Then turning to Ruth he said, " You are needed in America more than any place else. You can speak in universities and colleges and clubs as few other teachers can do. You are needed in many places. I hope that nothing will interfere with your teaching work."

One evening the Guardian said, "I have written and praised and warned and spoken with great firmness, and yet the friends of America seem to pay no attention. They seem concerned only with their own interests* spiritually for being so heedless and so immature. Now they must mature more rapidly and not act like other children." Ruth must have looked downcast for the Guardian smiled and said, "I do not mean you, Mrs. Moffett, but you must warn them in no uncertain terms for their own good. The heedless ones in the big cities are already trapped."

Several times the Guardian spoke of the great destruction in the world. One evening he said, "There will be a great amount of destruction in the world, in Europe, Asia, in the U.S.A., in the Pacific, along the coasts and even in Africa, wherever bases have been established. The White race will be diminished to almost nothing and will be unimportant in the future. We can do nothing about the calamities. We can do everything about the Faith. There is a great need for the awakening of the Assemblies. The more Administration in the form of committees, etc., the less the spirit and the slower the Teaching work. We need only enough Administration to bring results and to hold things together. The hands will have charge of all the teaching work. The Auxiliary boards will be representatives, assistants, and advisors to the friends. Keep in close touch with them. The Hands will assist you."

*Insert - "and possessions. They will suffer physically as well as materially

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"Everything is declining in America. Things are so trivial and amaturish, and casual. We should express dignity, poise, and maturity for the things related to the Faith. Nothing is too good for the Faith, and it should be in good taste and appropriate. They should leave the great cities and disperse that the Faith may grow and save mankind. Those who do not respond will loose everything, London, Paris, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, will all be bombed! Yes, they will evaporate! Everything! America is stagnant! America must be saved! This is why the believers must disperse that the Faith may live and that they may not wither and die. Those who now fail to answer to the summons of the Ten Year Crusade will suffer both materially and spiritually.' Those who do not respond to the Command of God will feel the double suffering. Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá both warned of this. This is very grave challenge and those who do not meet it will deeply regret it. Help the friends understand this. It must be presented to them wisely."

Shoghi Effendi said that he had been told that some of the friends are disturbed over reports brought back by the pilgrims concerning the dangers facing America in the future whenever another world conflagration breaks out. He says that he does not feel that the Bahá'ís should waste time dwelling on the dark side of things. Any intelligent person can understand from the experiences of the past world war, and keeping abreast of what modern science has developed in the way of weapons for any future war, that big cities all over the world are going to be in tremendous danger. This is what the Guardian said to the pilgrims.

He urged the Bahá'ís, for the sake of serving the Faith, to go out from these centers of materialism... He strongly believes that the field outside of the big cities is more fertile, and that the Bahá'ís will in the end be happier. If the friends are concerned about obedience to civil government, how much more should they be concerned about obedience to the laws of Bahá'u'lláh and the directives of our Guardian.

He reminded us of the powerful words of Bahá'u'lláh in Prayers and Meditations, 208, "Armed with the power of Thy Name nothing can ever hurt me and with Thy love in my heart all the world's afflictions can in no wise alarm me." P&M p-208

It is better to use the words "Devotional Gatherings" or "Hour of Devotions," rather than "Sunday Service." Be creative, not just imitators. and a new way to chant prayers, that is more inspiring and not so monotonous.

The most Holy Places in the order of their importance are : 1-Akka, 2- Haifa, 3-Baghdad, 4-Shiraz, 5-Teheran, 6-Istanbul or Constantinople. 7- Adrianople.

The Persian Temple will be larger than the one in Germany but smaller than the one in Wilmette. The American Temple is the mother of the West. The one in Ishqubad, is the Mother Temple of the East. Bahá'u'lláh is the Divine Youth foretold by the Bab. He was only 27 when He made His declaration. He expresses youth and vitality of the Spirit.

It is a sacred duty to pay one's debts, if possible, before becoming a Bahá'í.

There will be great destruction, yes world civil war in Europe, U.S., Israel, the Islands of the Pacific, even in Africa, wherever bases are established. The White race in Africa will be almost diminished and will be unimportant in the future. The difficulty will be racial, civil, religious, all over the world. There is nothing to keep the Soviets from marching into Israel. Teheran and Baghdad are also in great danger. Oil is the goal. The Heart of the Bahá'í world, Haifa, and the Cradle of the Faith, Chicago, and the greatest strongholds of the Administrative Institutions are all in danger. The Bahá'ís must pray that God will mercifully protect the Faith, as in the past. This is all due to the decline in religion and of materialism and of spiritual decadence.

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Love, self-sacrifice and devotion bring results in the Faith rather than plans, ability, and any universal status.

It is very important to reach the native people whenever possible. It is more important to concentrate on Istanbul than on Ankara, even though it is the Capital, for six reasons. 1-Because Istanbul is the city where Bahá'u'lláh suffered and was imprisoned by the Sultan. 2-Because it is the key to the whole Black Sea Area. 3-Because it is the meeting point between East and West. 4-Because it was the ancient capital. 5-Because the Haziratu'l-Quds will be built there. 6-Because the N.S.A. of Turkey will be established there.

Ruth spoke of the lengthy article by a group of radio active geiger counter scientists during the geophysical year, who are opening up some knowledge of past cycles of human history. They state that all larger cycles seem to be divided into 6000 year cycles, and at the end of each great changes take place, as at the end of this 6000 years, not of building great over-crowded cities, but on a pattern of village building adapted to the new age of science. The Guardian smiled and remarked, "Yes, I am glad that the scientists are beginning to discover what Bahá'u'lláh stated almost a century ago. Science is making progress."

Our Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, stated that the United States was chosen as the Cradle of the New World Order, not because of its spiritual qualities, but because of its corruption, the same as Persia was chosen for the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh because the Persians were worse than the African savages and far more barbaric.

After the coming calamity the United States will fulfill the prophecy that the United States will suffer, then it will lead all the nations spiritually. He said that he has given up warning the friends, as they paid no heed to either the warnings of Abdu'l-Bahá nor to Shoghi Effendi. They must suffer to awaken.

It is too late to save the world. The Message of Bahá'u'lláh has been in the world over one hundred years to save mankind, but it has been rejected all over the world. The calamity will be sudden. He spoke of the American statesman from the President down, all are helpless and impotent. The United States is not now an altruistic nation. You help others to help yourselves.

The Russian submarines will paralyze Great Britain, the United States, Europe, the Atlantic, Pacific and Mediteranean seaboards. The Bahá'ís have failed with the Negros in the United States. Intermarriage is good, between races. It brings out the best in both races. Americans love money, wives, family, friends, possessions. There is a sad decline in home life, morals, art, music, money, everything.

Bahá'ís should not only leave their homes but go away as far as possible from the coasts and to where they can serve the Cause of God. Victories come only from sacrifice and self-abnegation. The greater the sacrifice the greater the victory. Bahá'ís should lower their standards of living in order to give more to the Faith.

We must be careful with governments and reckless with missionaries. More settlers should go from the United States to France and to the Scandinavien countries. Do not think that you can rest on your oars after this ten year crusade. The Guardian has 19 new teaching plans to be launched after this Ten Year plan is completed.

We should use Dr. George W. Townshends latest book, "Christ and Bahá'u'lláh" because it is the most scholarly and portrays the Kingdom of God upon the earth. (This note was added later after Ruth Moffett had visited Dr. Townshend in Dublin, at the Guardian's request, and delivered his message to him, all of which caused or enabled him to complete the book at a time when he could no longer write. This again shows the cosmic power of prayer and love and faith. It is a wonderful story.)

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The coming calamity will be worse than war! Whole cities will evaporate! Especially in those cities here it is harder to teach the teach the Faith such as New York, Chicago, San Francisco. People will loose all their possessions and homes over night. They will simply evaporate! Americans will become refugees in other countries and continents. The United States will suffer most because it is the most materialistic. Europe was the cradle of materialism but the united States is the stronghold of materialism. Russia will also suffer greatly. There is little difference between the United States and Russia in their systems because both are materialistic. Capitalism is purely materialistic, and Communism is purely materialism. both control the proletariat. Both will suffer greatly. The calamity will be retributive.

The earth will be covered mostly by dark skinned people and these of the so-called uncivilized nations, not submerged materialism, "The limbs of mankind shall quake" will apply more to the U.S.A. because of the importance of the U.S.A. and her great destiny. Many countries are over populated with people of bad blood. This must be cleansed. Science in the future will solve the food problem. The calamity will happen before the Lesser Peace. If the U.S.A. and Great Britain fail on the home fronts the Baghdad Conference may not take place. America must become the moral and spiritual leader of all the nations!!!!

Another evening, the Guardian said, "London, Paris, New York, Chicago, San Francisco are already trapped. There are Russian submarines along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts now." Some of the friends find it difficult to leave their homes and to pioneer, even to move to goals within their own country. They do not see that we are not asking them to sacrifice. We are protecting them from great difficulty and from themselves. We are not only protecting them from the calamity that is rushing toward them outwardly, but from the calamity that is rushing toward them inwardly."

One evening the Guardian spoke of certain National Committees. He said, "They did fine work in fulfilling their goals in such a short time, but like an unwise mother training her child, leaving it a little well dressed, polite nonentity. Some of these National Committees have not brought any new souls into the Faith, but are over-administered as was the N.S.A. of America."

"England went through a period also when it was too over administered, but they have a good balance now. In America they still repress some of the best teachers and build up a certain individual. Every good teacher that can teach should be encouraged and assisted. The progress of the world depends on the way we teach and the way we function today in our untied efforts. We must know the Teachings and how to best present them. We must have loving understanding, consultation, cooperation, and prayer together and for one another. Each one is important and has his part to fill. We are all bits of mosaic in the great Divine plan, and must not mar the pattern by failing to fulfill our part."

"In the Western world the people do not like to be commanded or to obey. They say, 'No one can push me around!' The Guardian does not command anyone. The Guardian wishes only to guide and protect the friends." That night Ruth wrote in her notebook: Here you loose the forever the feeling that so many in the West seem to have, of rebellion against command, and you long to have the Guardian command you to do something that you may obey. His words are always suggestions and pointing the way. You see obedience in the new light of protection, and in the joy of service, of accomplishment and of attainment.

Ruhaniyyih Khanum inquired about Ruth's husband Robert and said "I have always admired and loved him. He has the capacity to do great things for the Faith. That means power and success! Go to a goal city and build it up. As the Guardian suggested, leave Chicago and never mind about the job first. Move first and the new opportunities will open up for you as you are ready for them. As one serves the Cause and has the faith he will find that all will be well and work for the best. As you work together you efforts will be crowned with power and success. Remember, Ruth, the Guardian said that your work is outstanding. Together you can make it even more so."

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Several times the Guardian spoke to Ruth about teaching through-out the Near-East and Europe on her return from Haifa. One evening he said: "I hope Mrs. Moffett, that you will go throughout the Near East and Europe and the British Isles, meeting as many of the friends as you can and help them to understand the spirit of the Shrines, the nature of the Ten Year Crusade and the Divine plan. I hope that you can teach is as many Summer Schools as possible both in Europe and America. You have something that they very much need. Stress the points in my recent cablegrams and help them to understand the importance of the global Crusade, and that this is the most important decade in all human history. The future is dependent upon the events of this decade. The future of mankind is dependent upon what the friends do today! If they do not arise as they should today, Bahá'u'lláh has stated that he will raise up another people and our opportunity shall be lost forever. Please stress these things in no uncertain terms, but wisely."

"Help the pioneers and friends to understand all the points that I have mentioned and especially these nine points. 1-Persevere, 2-Sacrifice, 3- Remain in your post until an Assembly is well established, 4-Live the life, 5-Keep active, 6-Love all the people, 7-Teach! Teach! Teach! 8-Establish a strong Assembly, 9-Pray and meditate continually!"

"Your book, 'Do'a The Call To Prayer' is very helpful. More should use and study it, especially the Five Points of Prayer which I gave to you when you were in Haifa years ago. One cannot succeed with out prayer. Help the friends to learn more of the prayers so that they do not have to depend upon a book. also they should speak the words. Thinking the words is not sufficient. If you are where you cannot speak the words aloud, speak them without putting the voice into them. They are much more potent in that way."

"Mrs. Moffett has developed a very fine chart, The Cause of the Rise and Fall of Civilizations" [note: this is online at bahai-library.com/moffett_rise_fall_civilizations]. As the Guardian said this, Ruhiyyih Khanum rose and handed the big chart to the Guardian from a serving table. He unrolled it and pushed aside his plates and silver and anchored it down with his cup and water glass. He said; "I had advised against the use of certain charts that have been sent to me that were incorrect and misleading. I did not advise against all charts, as I use the chart method myself. Mrs. Moffett's chart is in a special class. It is based upon history. It is a graph of the cycle as one would illustrate the solar system. It is a chart which establishes relationships. It is very fine. She has permission to use it wherever she feels there is a need. It is the result of her search and not a Bahá'í chart, as it was not made by 'Abdu'l-Bahá nor the Guardian. Bahá'ís need it and it is good for use in college classes and for those of a Christian and Moslem background. It is very convincing."

"Every Bahá'í should teach according to his ability and all who teach groups and speak in public should be trained in classes for that purpose. The Bahá'í must not practice on the public. The very best presentation is never good enough. Teachers should be carefully trained and constantly strive to improve their presentation, giving more and more of the deeper realities, with the spirit that has been released in the world by Bahá'u'lláh. The time has come when the friends must study more thoughtfully and teach and travel to all parts of the world. Love and sincerity will take you anywhere. Teach with warm, loving enthusiasm and dignity. It takes concentration and purity of heart to teach. We are being called to higher standards, and to greater unity of spirit. This is our protection."

On the last evening the Guardian said: "It is good for you to go to Germany and to Vienna if you can. The German people have suffered much, and need what you have to give them. Go to as many places as you can throughout Europe and the British Isles. It would be well for you to teach in as many Summer Schools as you can, both in Europe and America. You will be of great help to them. You have something that they much need. But work in the U.S.A. where you are needed most, all over North America. I am disappointed in America. They are too much interested in administering something or somebody and in publicity rather than in reaching souls with the only healing remedy, the remedy for mankind. I hope that you can help them reach souls, with the love and spirit of Bahá'u'lláh."

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The Guardian turned directly to Ruth and said; "Mrs. Moffett, your work has been outstanding!" Then he turned to the members of the International Council and said; "There are few that have brought others into the Cause as has Mrs. Moffett. There should be a thousand like her. She is self-sacrificing, loving, understanding, well-organized, sincere and consecutive. She leads her students step by step until she firmly brings them into the Faith. Then she trains them to carry on. She is like Martha Root and Dorothy baker, and speaks in the universities and colleges. Few are equipped to do that. Her work is historic. I am proud of her. She is the Martha Root of America!

The Guardian rose, and all at the table rose. As he held out his hand and said, "Farewell," to Ruth, he said; "Be not discouraged, Mrs. Moffett, your work is historic. I am proud of you. Go on just as you have been doing. May Bahá'u'lláh lead you into even greater work and bless you! I hope that you will come again to Haifa where you will always be most welcome." Then the Guardian took both of Ruth's hands in his hand, and with the sweetest smile said, "I shall pray in the Shrines that you may become an unobstructed channel of great power reaching thousands of people." Then he pressed her hand in farewell and said with the most heart-warming smile; "I am expecting great things of you, Mrs. Moffett, and please tell the friends that I send them my love and greetings, and tell them that I am expecting great things of them also during our Global Crusade. God Speed!" Then he was gone!

Ruth stood speechless and breathless after the powerful last words of the Guardian. She felt stunned by all that he had said about her work, that he was proud of her, that her work was historic. She felt that she would strive even more to measure up to what the Guardian said of her. Ruhiyyih Khanum said; "The Guardian seldom speaks with such power and fire."

As Ruth stood stunned and speechless, her eyes drank in hungrily the last glimpse of the beloved Guardian as he disappeared in the doorway. She thought happily that he had invited her to come again to Haifa. Then a staggering thought flashed through her mind. "Bahá'u'lláh has endowed you with one of the greatest gifts - the power to confirm. Thank God for this great gift and bring Him even greater fruitage." In that moment, when her heart seemed to be torn out by the roots at parting, she dedicated her life in greater service to the beloved Guardian, even should he not be visible among us, and breathed a prayer; "O God, forgive my weakness and failings and help me to know and do Thy will!"

It was heavenly to be alone and kneel at the bed of the beloved Master and feel His loving presence. And to have the last midnight hour with dear Ruhiyyih Khanum and Millie in Millie's room in prayer, and meditating on the words of the beloved Guardian. This hour was most precious! Throughout all eternity I shall be grateful for these heavenly days in this blessed spot.... the spiritual Kaaba of the world. ALLAH'U'ABHA!

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Part II "B"
OUR GUARDIAN SPEAKS

Many people have visited the Guardian at Haifa, yet each one brings back a little different impression of the Guardian and of his statements to the pilgrims. Therefore, these notes are the personal, individual impression of this pilgrim, written down daily with the help of the secretaries of the International Council.

One night the Guardian said, "Pilgrim notes are very important. They should be eagerly received as they bring the Spirit of the Shrines, and the station of the Guardianship, and the frist-hand impressions which the cablegrams and letters cannot convey. Of course they cannot be authoritative, as they are not written by the Master or the Guardian, but they are very important, and should be so considered."

It is a joy and a privilege to share with you some of the wisdom and rich experiences and the knowledge from His Excellency, Shoghi Effendi Rabbani, our beloved Guardian.

Ruhiyyih Khanum said she had a dream one night: she dreamed that the dam had burst and that there was a great flood, She rushed down to the water's edge to try to save someone, but the current swept them past. She reached out to try to grasp and save another. She grasped one by the hair, and, with great effort, brought that one to shore. Then she tried to reach another, but the current swept him by. She looked up at the side of the mountain, and there she saw 'Abdu'l-Bahá, who looked like a Prophet of God, with his white turban and flowing beard, with his back to the flood, working very hard. She rushed up the mountain side, grasped His sleeves and said, "Oh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, come and help me save some of these people who are drowning in the flood." 'Abdu'l-Bahá went right on, working very rapidly and said nothing. She grasped his sleeve again and said, "Oh 'Abdu'l-Bahá, these people are drowning, come help me save some of these people who are drowning in the flood." 'Abdu'l-Bahá, without stopping his work turned to her with a smile and Said, "'Abdu'l-Bahá is building the machine to stop the flood." (That is what is taking place in the world today)

The Guardian said, one evening that world unity will be securely established in the twentieth century. Bahá'u'lláh does not wish the countries to be deprived of kingship, so when there are enough Bahá'í states, they will follow the injunction of Bahá'u'lláh. Then he made the surprising statement that America will one day have a king. Kingship, as known at present, will disappear, but will later be re-established. Then he stated that fourteen or fifteen kings have fallen as the result of the unawareness and the resistance to the message of Bahá'u'lláh.

Muhammad, who wrote to the kings said that if Ceasar did not respond to the Tablet that he wrote to him, that Constantinople would fall to the Moslems, and this tradition is in a tablet on the wall of St. Sophia.

Kings will not have political power in the future, but will be honorary, and they will represent the majority of the people who have turned toward God. They will be in a position that will be in harmony and cooperation with the Universal House of Justice.

After the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, we know that the Persian dynasty completely changed and the Turkish Empire Fell. The Guardian said that we must base our work on the Divine Plan and use the Divine Institutions to do it. These, only, will bring success. These Institutions were not created at the same time when our beloved Martha Root lived, and so there was not success at that time in the creating of groups.

The Guardian spoke of the evolution of the World Order; that the L.S.A. and Institutions in the days of the Master were the germ of World Order. The Administrative order, is, itself, an embryo; the World Order is the child and the offspring, World Order will gradually develop in the Golden Age and reach the stage of "the coming of age" of mankind. This stage will happen at the close of the Golden Age. World Order

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will evolve in the course of the Golden Age until it will reach its period of "coming of age"; then it will gradually mature. To illustrate - we know that a man matures at the age of forty. It is a short period from the time of boyhood to the "coming of age", but a long period from the "coming of age" to maturity, and that is the most important time in all one's life. It is important to know the Genesis of World Order. It is the result of the union of the law of Bahá'u'lláh, the positive generating factor and covenant of Bahá'u'lláh and the mind of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. The union of the two gives rise to the birth of the Administrative Order which started in the formative age and matures toward the close of the Bahá'í cycle.

Bahá'u'lláh says that there will be in every 500,000 years, only one Revelation that can be compared to his Revelation. The Master established it in the Tablet. We must make a distinction between the station of Manifestations and the Station of Bahá'u'lláh. There will be a series of Major Prophets, each with a book, added laws and truth, and each may abrogate previous ones, but they will be under the Light of Bahá'u'lláh. All will be law givers, Founders of a new Dispensation, major Prophets, and yet they will be under the Light of Bahá'u'lláh. The World Order will mature in the course of a series of dispensations.

So many times it is asked, "But why should Bahá'u'lláh have such a high station?" I will explain. Because His Revelation coincides with a stage unique in the evolution of humanity, namely, the coming of age of the human race. This has never happened before and could never happen again at any time upon this planet.

This planet was not discovered when Muhammed appeared, and America was not discovered when Christ appeared, nor much even of the Far East; so it was impossible for Christ and Muhammed, or the Prophets before them, to stress the unification of man. First the world must be discovered, then science must develop, then the world must contract. This makes the coming of age the culmination of the 6000 year process so important.

Nothing more important could happen to man than reaching the age of 21. something happens inside of him, physically, psychologically, and spiritually. Maturity is reached at the age of 40, and that is due to the change that came over him at 21. What happens at 21 is more important than what happens at 40, or any other time of life, because what happens at 40 is determined by what happened at 21. that is why the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh is so important; that is why those that recognize it and turn to Him are alive and those who turn away are as dead!

This is the answer that Bahá'ís must give when people object to the Bahá'ís saying that other Prophets will appear under the Light of Bahá'u'lláh. This is the only answer that we can give adequately just now. No Revelation after Bana'u'llah will be final. It is progressively and indefinitely so, but future Revelations will be under the light of Bahá'u'lláh and be less in spirit!

Bahá'u'lláh's claims are tremendous, challenging, but reasonable. The claims of the Moslems and Catholics are neither challenging, nor reasonable, nor tremendous. No one had made a greater claim in our history than Bahá'u'lláh, and no one has made a lesser claim than Muhammed, because he stressed the less challenging aspect of God.

In the Ighan, page 178-181, Bahá'u'lláh gives all the stations of the Manifestations of God. He quotes them. He says, "If We say We are servants, We are right. If We say We are God, We are right. Muhammed claimed only to be a Messenger of God, the least challenging. Bahá'u'lláh did the opposite, He claimed to be the Revelation of God, the Glory of God! All reflect the Divine Spirit tho' the mission of each is different.

When one claims a very high station, all lower ones are included in that statement. Previous Prophets were all preliminary Manifestations, preparing the way for the Promised One and those under His shadow, like John in the Revelations to Christ, and the Bab to Bahá'u'lláh. Because this is the Cycle of Maturity.

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The process of World Order starts only with the Bahá'í Revelation; the Administrative order, the L.S.A.'s and institutions are the embyro. We are now entering the third stage. It will gradually lead to World Order, the offspring. It will pass through seven stages. 1- Obscurity, 2- Repression, 3-Emancipation, 4- Recognition, 5-Establishment, 6-Sovereignty, 7- Emergence of the Bahá'í World Commonwealth. That means the coming of age of the human race, the establishment of the Most Great Peace. This is the Golden Age and the evolution of humanity. These processes will join and they will reach the stage of the birth of World Civilization!

This is the starting point for a succession of dispensations, culminating in the maturity of the human race. The maturity of the fruit of the Tree of Progressive Revelation, and the maturity of human society will progress all together.

The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh is purely Bahá'í now, but at the same time the world is progressing, divine revelation, also is progressing. World Order and human society can no longer be a separate process. The Bahá'í World Commonwealth will begin to mature near the end of the Bahá'í dispensation, not cycle. This leads to the birth of the fruit of the golden Age!

The coming of the Bab is totally different. This is another process. It starts with Adam; in a way it is the evolution of Divine Revelation, but this is a different simile; From Adam to the Bab is represented by the Branch, the Leaf and the Flower. The olive tree is mentioned in the Koran, not without reason. It is a different simile altogether. The Guardian spoke of it in his message to the American convention last Ridvan. He called for this message, and after considerable search it was found and he read this passage; "This is the station of the Bab. I compare it to the fruit, the olive tree sacrifices itself for oil, the oil is ignited. This is Bahá'u'lláh! The fire becomes Bahá'u'lláh." The Dispensation of The Bab is the beginning of the process of diffusion of the Light of Bahá'u'lláh throughout the planet.

The Koran refers to the tree which belongs neither to the East nor the West, whose oil is so powerful that it ignites itself. This refers to The Bab; when ignited the light becomes Bahá'u'lláh and this happened in the Siyyih Chal. Read Surih of Muhammed called the Light. Quote: "Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth, a likeness of his like is as the pillar on which is the lamp. The lamp is in a glass and the glass is, as it were, a brightly shining star, lit from a blessed olive tree, neither Eastern or Western, the oil whereof almost gives light, though the fire toucheth it not. Light upon light. Allah gives light when he pleases, and Allah sets forth parables for men, and Allah is cognizant of all things." These are the words of Muhammed.

In the Siyyih Chal there was only a faint flicker of Divine light, soon enveloped by clouds. For ten years it was obscured and eclipsed by calamities. Then, in Baghdad, when Bahá'u'lláh went to Adrianople the light was lighted in a crystal globe, meaning the stage of proclamation of His Mission in Adrianople. It shone more brightly then.

The light was confined to the East all this time. When Bahá'u'lláh ascended, or passed on, through the Covenant, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the Light struck the fringes of the continents of America, Europe, and Australia. After the Master passed on, as a result of the Light, Shoghi Effendi, the Administrative Order was established. Its father is the Law of Bahá'u'lláh, and its mother, the Covenant of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. The Light spread all over the continents through Shoghi Effendi.

This is the stage that we are in now, and we are witnessing its unfolding. It is now diffusing its light over all the continents; then, later, it will envelop the whole planet; then in the course of the future, successive, generations, light beams will penetrate. when the Administrative Order is firmly established in every country, this firm establishment will cause the penetration of the Light that gave its first flicker in the year "Nine".

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In the Koran, the olive is symbolic of the Christian Dispensation, and the fig in the Mosaic Dispensation. In the Tablet of Lawh-i-Ra' to the Prime Minister of Turkey, Bahá'u'lláh said that "once We appeared as an olive tree and the Mount of Olives, or Zetah; and once We appeared as the fig." In another passage in the Koran, Muhammed swears by the fig and the olive, the Mosaic and Christian Dispensations, and by this noble city, which means Mecca. The Moslem Dispensation is not symbolized by a tree, but by a mountain...Mount Paran, near Sinai.

Missionaries have derided Muhammed for saying that He was swearing by trees, whereas, in reality He meant Dispensations.

All three mountains are mentioned in Deuteronomy... Mt. Siani, referring to Moses, Mt. Paran to Muhammed, and Mt. Sier to the Christian Dispensation and the ten thousand saints, and Mt. Carmel refers to Bahá'u'lláh.

The light of Bahá'u'lláh is now diffused through Shoghi Effendi over 268 countries and dependencies of the world; and here, in the year 1954, it is almost inconceivable that 110 have been opened, in ten months, the Great Light of Bahá'u'lláh... that means 11 countries per month this year! There is nothing like this in all religious history. The Light of Baha was not spread by the sword but by the love, sacrifice, effort, education and spirit of the followers of Bahá'u'lláh.

Palestine has undergone many changes and influences. First, it was the Land of Canaan; then King Saul made it a civic state; then David and Solomon were kings expanding its territories. For a long time it was part of Ancient Babylon; then it became a part of the Medo-Persian Empire... and when that fell, it became a part of the Greecian Empire and had the influence of that civilization. It was then taken over by the Holy Roman Empire, and it was at that time that Jesus, the Christ, came... when Palestine was under the heel of Rome. Following that, it became a Moslem country controlled by the Moslems., the Turks, and the Arabs. Then it was an English mandate, in 1918; and from 1948, after the revolution, Israel has been a free state, the Moslems holding the old city of Jerusalem, and Jordan.

It was in 1948, during the remarkable bloodless revolution, that 4,000,000 Moslems fled from the land, and less than a million Jews marched in and began developing the land. The Jews have suffered for nearly 2,000 years because they persecuted Jesus, the Christ, for three years. How long do you think the Moslems will suffer when they persecuted Bahá'u'lláh, the Glory of God, for fifty years? They will be scattered and persecuted greatly.

The borders of Israel will be extended far beyond where they are today. The Jews do not know why they have been called "The chosen people." They have been chosen to come and build the state that will become the chalice, holding the precious jewel of the Bahá'í World Center, the Capitol of the World! What a great bounty is theirs! Some day they will know and appreciate the reality of being "chosen" for such a great service!

On page 75 in S.A.Q., 'Abdu'l-Bahá said the time would come when the whole of Palestine would be returned to the Jews. The Jews are now materialistic and very nationalistic, and not at all spiritual. The fundamental reason why the Jews, after 2,000 years of dispersal, returned to Palestine is to become the supporters of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh at its World Center. This is their destiny; their immediate destiny is to build up their state which is very valuable to the faith.

The Arabs would not do this. The Jews are cousins to the British in tenacity and courage. They fought very bravely when defending their Faith. They have great thinkers and scientists among them. They have good scientists and keen business-men, and this is needed to build this state which will become the "chalice for the precious jewel of Bahá'u'lláh".

I asked the Guardian, "Which is the correct cave of Elijah on Mt. Carmel?" The larger

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is claimed by the Moslems; the smaller, higher cave, by the Christian Carmelite Monks, over which is the Carmelite Church. The Guardian said that the smaller, higher cave is the correct one... the cave in which all the Prophets, major and minor, had been. It is in this cave in which the monks have kept a candle constantly burning for over 1700 years, and a monk in constant attendance, looking for the Promised One of the day at the end of the days. It was in this cave, in 1888, that Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Tablet of Carmel in a loud voice, so that the priests and monks could hear Him.

"It is important," the Guardian said, "to memorize the Tablet of Carmel. It is on page 14 in the Gleanings." then he continues and said that Bahá'u'lláh is the Founder of the Shrines on Mt. Carmel, and much more. He is the Founder of the whole set of Institutions on Mt. Carmel. He is the Founder of all the Administrative and Spiritual centers of the World Commonwelth. The Tablet of Carmel is the Charter of the World Center of the Faith. The Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá is the Charter of the Administrative Order. We will build according to the directions of this Charter and the Divine Plan, or third division, which is the Charter for the Propagation of the Faith. All these form The Charter for World Order.

It is almost six years since the armistice between the Jews and the Arabs, but there is no peace. The Arabs have no intention of establishing peace. They are hostile and vindictive. Fortunately, they are not united. This saves the Jews and protects us as well.

There are 4,000,000 Arabs in seven states and yet they were defeated by less than a million Jews, and the Jews defeated the British also with their great armies. Then the Guardian smiles, and explained how they did it without adequate men or means.

We are assured that the Jews will occupy all of Palestine. 'Abdu'l-Bahá said this in S.A.Q. Also, the British Secretary Balfour stated it. Israel, to many, means home. Israel means "Blessing", means "God", "Israel hastening to God", or "the Blessings from God". The decline of Islam is beginning.

The Arabs suffered great defeat because they persecuted and did not respond to the call of Bahá'u'lláh, and millions of Arabs left Israel and one million Jews moved in. How will the Jews get the land? The Arabs will make trouble and the Jews will drive them out, and the country will be extended. The destiny of Israel is to become a Bahá'í state. They will support the International Institutions of the Faith. World opinion is now pro-Arab. It will later become pro-Israel. This will happen on a world scale. There will be a World Civil War and then a great unification!"

Did you ever dream that such results would come from Africa, the dark continent? Kampala has set the example for the whole Bahá'í World. America is stagnating and Africa is full of vigor and vitality! Everything is declining in America, the arts, music, the money, the manners. Fear, frustration, disillusionment are everywhere. America is a stagnant pool. There are signs of stagnation everywhere, because it is a materialistic civilization like Babylon, Ninevah, and Rome. They must become more spiritual in America, and less materialistic. Irreligion and godlessness are increasing everywhere, causing more crime. Fear is causing some to go back to church, while in Africa there is vigor and vitality. I am very grateful and proud of Africa. After 50 years in America, there are only four Indian tribes that have been touched, while in Africa 70 tribes have been influenced by the Light of Bahá'u'lláh.

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The Guardian said to Mr. & Mrs. Elston, pioneers to Africa, that he wanted a picture of all the African believers together. This can only be accomplished by a Conference, and All-African Conference. It is not yet time, as the Government might become suspicious seeing so many together, but it will be held in the future.

Mary Elston said that the neighbors were ignoring them, but the Haziratu'l-Quds was like a beehive!

You are familiar with 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Divine Plan, which is divided into three seven year divisions. The first two of these have been successfully completed. We have now recently entered into the third division of the Divine Plan, which is our Ten Year Global Crusade, which will be completed in 1963.

The Guardian gave me very specific directives for the accomplishment of this Ten Year Plan. He asked me to stress some of these objectives in this Plan and the way by which we can bring this about successfully. These are very, very important. He asked me to stress these various points throughout my travels in Europe, America, and the British Isles. 1- The first is systematic and energetic teaching, saying that teaching work is the most all-important part of the Ten Year Plan. 2- Second to that, at all cost, the prizes that have been won must be maintained, with emphasis on the "at all cost". 3- The third is that Assemblies that are now functioning must be maintained, and he emphasized, "by every available means". Then he emphasized the fact that during the next nine years 48 new N.S.A.'s should be established.

We know how long it has taken us to establish just twelve N.S.A.'s, and so today it looks utterly, completely impossible that within nine years 48 new N.S.A.'s shall be established... But we know that it will be done.

Then he emphasized the prompt purchase of the sites for the future Bahá'í Temples. He did not say the Temples would be built during the Ten Year Crusade, but the prompt purchase of the sites that are mentioned in the Divine Plan must be made.

The sixth point is that the funds must be built for the establishment of Haziratu'l-Quds in the capitol cities, and the next dependencies that are in the Plan. He does not say that they must be built, but the funds must be built during this period.

Another point is the translation of the literature mentioned in the Divine Plan by 'Abdu'l-Bahá. This is already started, and we know that it will be completed ere the nine years are finished.

The next is the acquisition of all the Holy Places in Iran. The Persian friends, as soon as the Guardian suggests something that should be done, they go and do it. Already all of the Holy Places have been purchased save one, and that is the Shrine of Assiyyih Khanum, the beautiful devoted wife of the Bab. It is a Muhammedan Mosque which they had been unable to get. Recently we learned that the Shrine has been purchased, the remains removed and placed on a new shrine erected for her.

The tenth point is the construction of a Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in Tihiran and that will be built within the Ten Year Crusade. He stressed the erection of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in Frankfort, Germany, and we know that it will be completed. Just recently, when I was there, with the N.S.A. of Germany in Nechargumund they purchased the site for the first temple. We had a beautiful celebration in commemoration of the purchase of the site. They are anxious to build as soon as possible. What an example after all they have gone through!

The next point is to build a Dependency in Wilmette, which we know is an Old People's Home. He said, "Build it, and build it promptly!" This might indicate something of the need and the emergency of the times.

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Then the Guardian stressed the need of establishing L.S.A. endowments and other needs. This we know has already started — the endowments for the L.S.A.'s and the N.S.A.'s and we have a new direct form of giving for the endowments to take care of the Institutions for the Hands of the Cause in the future.

The next point he raised was to lend a fresh impetus that L.S.A.'s become incorporated. I found in so many cities in which I travelled that the communities had no idea of the importance of having and L.S.A. incorporated. The Guardian said that when there are fifteen members, if possible, they should become incorporated; without it they are a nonentity, and with it they are an entity and can hold property. In these days it is very, very important.

The fourteenth point is to establish a Bahá'í Publishing Trust in each of the five continents. "This", he said, "is next in importance to the teaching work".

Then the Guardian spoke of the objective of the Ten Year Plan in relation to the World Center of the Faith in Israel. His first point is that the preliminary steps be taken for the construction and beautification of the Sepulcher of Bahá'u'lláh in Bahji; following that will be the purchase of land for the building of the Temple on Mt. Carmel. This has already been accomplished, and a pointed monument on a pedestal will be placed upon that site until it is time to erect the Temple. The names of Mason Remey, architect, and Millie Collins, doner, will be engraved upon it.

The next point was the importance of establishing an International Bahá'í World Court. This is most wonderful, for we know that the World Court of the League of Nations did during a brief period. It was very important and effective as far as it went, but not all nations were members and therefore it was not truly a World Court. Also, it was involved in political affairs in a way that it would not become a perfectly just court. So we can see what it will mean when we can establish an International Bahá'í Court to which any nation can go for advice and help.

"Then the next directive", he said, " is the construction of the International Bahá'í Archives. This will be built on the Tenth Terrace, over-looking the Monumental Gardens on Mt. Carmel in Israel. The drawings are already completed." "It was my privilege to watch Mr. Mason Remey make the drawings day by day while I was there. Ere long the construction of the Archives will begin. This will be a great asset to the Cause."

The next point is the extension of the International endowments. The Guardian has already mentioned it, first the extension of Bahá'í endowments, and then the extension of the service of the Hands of the Cause. It has been a year since they were appointed, and now we know that they will be a very important part in establishing forms, methods and systems by which the teaching work can go forth with much greater efficiency.

The codification of the Laws of the Kitab-i-Aqdas is very important because we can break a commandment or an injunction, but when it comes

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to a law, we must obey it to the last letter. When we have the codification of the laws of the Kitab-i-Aqdas, we can see how that will begin to establish unification in the world greater than any other single means can bring about.

Another point is to unify the ties binding the community to the United Nations. We know this is already started in the non-governmental committee, but it is not very effective yet. The ties must be strengthened and reinforced, so that through this means, also, world unity will be established.

The Guardian spoke of the establishment of the Israeli branches of the seven N.S.A.'s on Mt. Carmel. In other words, this is a very important means by which the N.S.A.'s can be linked to the hub of the whole Cause at its Center, owning property in the World Center. This committee will be established to take care of these new institutions and methods of unification.

The last of these ten points relating to Israel — He said there would be a great world convocation after several world conferences. There will be many Oceanic Conferences. These conferences will be the North Sea Conference, then the Mediterranean Sea Conference, the

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North Pacific, the South Pacific, then the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean Conference. These will all be swept into a great World Conference Congress in Baghdad in 1963.

The Guardian said that material civilization is doomed; that all the nations have become corrupt politically and that America is the most politically disturbed nation on earth. The Americans are now living in a fool's paradise, thinking they are safe in overcrowded cities that are full of noise, dirt, and crime. The Bahá'í Friends should leave the corrupt cities, get a bit of land, establish a Bahá'í Community and establish the Bahá'í spirit in preparation of the glorious World Order of Bahá'u'lláh. There will be great distruction, and the Friends should move out of the cities and see what will happen when they build Bahá'í communities in villages.

"If the Friends of America do not disperse," the Guardian said, "they will suffer materially and spiritually. After 50 years in America, there are only 500 Negro Bahá'ís and in one year there are over 700 in Africa. Those who do not respond to the call and disperse will loose everything, and those who do respond will gain everything. The former will be caught in a trap. London, Paris, New York, Chicago, San Francisco will be bombed. This he repeated several times and said that 'Abdu'l-Bahá warned the believers to solve the racial problem. Because they have not solved it, there have been two wars. The situation is very grave. The believers do not have enough trust in God and detachment. Yes, great cities will evaporate. Everything in them will evaporate!!! The standards which have been so materialistically high and superficial will be lowered and Africa and her standards will be raised.

"The Global Plan and Bahá'u'lláh will triumph in spite of the neglect of its supporters. If one country falls short, another will make up for its failure. The Friends will loose, but the Cause will go on. If I have the right tools, I can work. I cannot create. God creates. In some mysterious way the instruments are developed. An artisan cannot create the tools he works with. Give him the right tools and he will do the job."

"There is not enough dedication in the Cause. Intuitively act as soon as I find something that can be used. There is dedication of a few, but dedication must permeate the masses, not just a few. They should study their instincts, habits, environment, prejudices. In the U.S. emphasis is in such trivial things and non-essentials. The Bahá'ís must be quite different from the masses. They must have a new way of life in big as well as in small things, and remember that demonstration will speak louder than words."

The Guardian said there was too much emphasis on Administration and not enough on the Spiritual. Too miuch emphasis on intellectual concepts and not enough on the spiritual, and some do not know the difference. Delving into occultism, mysticism are idle fancies and vain imaginations. The words of Bahá'u'lláh are words of God, but occultism or mysticism is not the Word of God, and lead people into a web of imagination from which extraction is very difficult. The only hope for man is obedience to the laws and precepts of His chosen Messenger, Bahá'u'lláh!

The young people should go out on the farms and work with their hands, The new race of men will be wholly devoted to the service of Bahá'u'lláh.

America has become too mechanized; other countries not enough. The husband should have more leisure to develop his soul qualities." "Should a man do so much for religion that he should neglect his family responsibilities?" The Guardian was asked. "No, He should fulfill his family responsibilities; he should never do anything to disrupt the unity of the home."

The Guardian was asked about the Mormons. He said that Joseph Smith was a Seer, not a Prophet, neither major nor minor; that he had high standards — but we have the power that comes from the Word of God for this age, which they do not have until they turn to Bahá'u'lláh.

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The Prophets are the Mirrors reflecting the attributes of God. The Quakers do not have a Prophet, therefore they do not have the power, though they think they do.

The L.S.A.'s should not, at this time, spend money on big advertising campaigns, expansion, or on renting big centers.

The Shrines become the spiritual center of any religious Faith. The spiritual center in the Christian world was first Palestine, then moved to Greece, then Rome, and the Pope is still the spiritual Head of the Catholic world.

In Islam, the Spiritual Center was first in Mecca, Medina, then Damascus, then Turkey but for centuries the spiritual center has been in Mecca.

In the Bahá'í World Faith the Shrines will always be the center of the Bahá'í World.

One evening the Guardian said that President Wilson had taken the fourteen points out of the Bahá'í writings, with which he established the League of Nations; that President Roosevelt had done much for the world in getting foreign ministers together at the zero hour to establish the U.N. and then he said that President Truman was weak and not an efficient diplomat. England was too smart for him; they outwitted him. Today I feel very, very sorry for the President of the U.S., President Eisenhower. He is very sincere, but he is caught in a political web.

Ruhiyyih Khanum spoke to the Guardian about publishing my book, "The New Keys to the Book of Revelations." She said, "Get it finished, documented, and polished as soon as you can, but there is no money now to publish it. There are other important books that are being held back because of the need of pioneers, and because of lack of funds. That it will be a very valuable book to the Christian world as well as to the Bahá'í world, the Jewish and Moslem worlds. Make it the best you can and finish it as soon as you can. This is very important.

"The whole foundation of the Administrative Order rests upon the proper functioning of the L.S.A.'s and the Guardian said "Let the old people go to close-by villages, and the young people go pioneering in virgin areas."

"The Bahá'ís of Asia and America need shock treatment. American Bahá'ís need a shock, and it will have a shock. The American Bahá'ís must be different. They must act as though they were distinguished, above the people of other types and means."

Then he described the processes in teaching the Faith. "First, there is attraction; then there is interest, then there is conversion, then confirmation, and after that, consecration. "Many become converted but they do not become confirmed. The confirmation comes when the spirit is set on fire to arise to to serve God. The consecration may be after conversion, but more especially after confirmation."

Why do people have to suffer so much? "Because suffering cleanses and purifies. Suffering is the interior decoration of the heart. The greater the distinction, the greater the attraction. To gain detachment, one must translate the experiences of life into the lessons of the soul."

The Chrisitian Scientists are blind and they are not pure. They think they are pure, and that they are an example to the world, and that they have a plan.

The Bahá'ís use God's plan. They have no ulterior motives. They do not expect anything from other people. We do not work for reward in kind. We do not expect money for our institutions

The American Bahá'ís do not have enough detachment. They need shock treatment. They

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are in great danger. They will be trapped when they want to get out of the cities.

The Americans have made many enemies with other countries because of their thoughtlessness, their aggressiveness, and their bad manners. They are purehearted, but immature.

The Negroes have accepted the Americans because their hearts are pure, childlike, and sensitive.; that is, I am referring to the Africans. Because we are purehearted we can get over the jump. The Africans, also, are purehearted; they are sensitive, suspicious and distrustful. The luxuries will disappear in America. America is a clean country, but Israel is very dirty. Israel must be made clean, but America must have fewer luxuries. The Africans have pure souls and they are not full of nationalism as are most countries.

It is impossible to describe the Guardian in words any more than one can describe the molten rose-gold of the sunset by saying that it set. The Guardian is like a symphony, so full of music, power and rhythm. He is unique to this planet. It is a spiritual language above description which he seems to eminate. When you speak with him you begin to understand. He is like heavenly music speaking in the language of the spirit. He is not tall, but he seems to grow taller the longer you are with him. His hair is dark and greying at the sides. He has dark eyes that seem to become darker and burn with an inner fire. He has strong, fine regular features and is smooth-shaven, with a small dark mustache. He is sturdy and full of energy. Most expressive are his hands, and we were told they were much like Bahá'u'lláh's.

His gestures are very graceful and exceedingly expressive. He wore a rust-coloured top coat with a matching tie, usually — though sometimes he wore a black coat with a black tie. He wears a slender gold Bahá'í ring on the second finger of his right hand, and he wears a fez with a black button in the center of the top.

Almost every evening he brought a cable, or a drawing, or some kind of a document which he laid on the tablecloth and explained. The dinner talks are long, and the table usually seats ten people. The incoming pilgrim is seated at the head of the table the first night, and the second night directly across from the Guardian. Madame Khanum Ruhiyyih sits at his right and the other pilgrims are sitting around him at the table. Thus, the pilgrim is only three feet from him and yet at times it seems a world away.

The process of the Faith makes him very happy, and we reflect that happiness in our faces and hearts. The reverse makes him go into the valley of Gehenna, and we also. When word comes that we have opened up some new territory or country, and now we have 225 opened to the Faith, you can imagine how rejoiced is the Guardian.

He never says, I or Me, he always says we, or the Friends do or say such and such. No one speaks English as does our Guardian. Each word is a jewel of perfection. He spoke frequently of the Shrine of the the Bab as the Queen of Mt. Carmel, seated upon her white throne with her garments of white trimmed with ermine, and her crown of shining gold.

We all listen to his vibrant words with rapt attention mixed with awe at his vast knowledge and wisdom and with a growing conscioiusness of the meaning of the authenticated words of 'Abdu'l-Bahá — "He is the sign of God upon the earth! Hear ye him!"

The Guardian's works, each one, is like a miracle! For example, when the Israeli court awared the house in Bahji which had been occupied by the Covenant Breakers, to the Bahá'ís, that very same day that the decree was awarded, the Guardian had the house demolished and every portion of it carried away and within four and a half days had created a formal garden twelve and a half meters wide and eighty meters long! In the process of making the garden he had a row of large trees uprooted by bulldozers, raised the garden one meter, built roads, paths, planted flowers and shrubbery according to a beautiful design.

All this monumental work was accomplished in four and a half days!

The power and capacity of our beloved Guardian! "He is the sign of God upon the earth!"

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PART III
AFTERGLOW OF HAIFA

"An epoch in its sublimity, its fecundity and duration by any previous Dispensation, and characterized, except for a short interval of three years, by half a century of continuous and progressive Revelation, had terminated. The Message proclaimed by the Bab had yielded its golden fruit. The most momentous, though not the most spectacular phase of the Heroic Age had ended. The Sun of Truth, the world's greatest Luminary, and had risen in the Seya-Chal of Tihran, had broken through the clouds which enveloped it in Baghdad, had suffered a momentary eclipse whilst mounting to its zenith in Adrianople, and had set finally in Akka, never to reappear ere the lapse of a full millenium. God's newborn Faith, the cynosure of all past Dispensations, had been fully and unreservedly proclaimed." G.P.B. - 223

Our Guardian clearly, fully, and unreservedly elucidated to the eager pilgrims this excerpt from God Passes By.

It is like pulling the heart out by the roots for most of the pilgrims to leave Haifa, the Guardian and his spiritual family, and the blessed Shrines. He usually gives the departing pilgrim loving and helpful suggestions and instructions that not only prove most helpful, but again proves the great, loving understanding, and great wisdom of our Guardian.

To this departing pilgrim on that memorable evening he said, "I hope you will help the friends wherever you go to understand these important points: 1- To persevere even in the midst of difficulties; 2- To sacrifice with joy and gratitude; 3- For the pioneers to remain at their posts, and great will be their blessings; 4- Make every effort to establish an Assembly; 5- To love the people with a warm, encircling love; 6- To keep active; 7- Exceedingly important is to live the life; and 8- To Teach, teach, teach! adhered to, will bring success and blessing to one's life." One of the last statements made by the Guardian, "Tell the friends I am expecting great things of them in the Glorious Crusade."

The parting words of dear Ruhiyyih Khanum that last evening were : " 'Abdu'l-Bahá said, 'There are usually two pilgrim's visits: The first is for blessings and encouragement to go forth in God's vineyard; the second, you come with banners flying like soldiers in gladness and triumph to receive your reward. The pilgrimage is given that you may take in and then give out, to receive and then impart, to absorb and then bestow. Without these there has been no pilgrimage. It will dissolve into nothing. The Holy Land is the heart of the Faith. The heart purifies the blood stream with enriched life. The pilgrim comes laden with the impurities of the world to the heart. Here he becomes refreshed and purified to carry the life-bestowing Word of God to the world. May you be richly blessed and assisted in sharing the life-giving stream."

At the last moment of departure, one learns the supreme lesson that nothing really matters but your complete consecration to Bahá'u'lláh. From this moment on, all else seems secondary. From now on all your talents and efforts seem valueless unless devoted to His service. If you do not rise in consecrated service, Bahá'u'lláh will raise others who, however humble, untrained, or unlearned, have this greatest virtue of dedication. They will do what you, with all your gifts, have failed to do. These soul-stirring words ring in your heart. "The hour has struck'. Beware lest by turning back He may change you for another people who shall not be your like, and who shall take from you the Kingdom of God.

It was a loving but sad farewell as one left this Heaven of Heavens and Bahá'í World Center, the Kiblaat of the World! As our plane circled over Haifa, the golden dome of the Shrine of the Bab, the Queen of Mt. Carmel, shimmered in the glorious sunshine and seemed to reflect the light in the golden heart of our Guardian. Yes, that golden dome seems a harbinger of the Golden Age just ahead!

[The following pages 31-52 are a diary of Moffett's journeys after her pilgrimage from June 2 , 1954 until her return home to Chicago, September 17, 1954]

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THE ISLAND OF CYPRUS June 2, 1954

It was a beautiful trip across the deep, lovely Mediterranean Sea with the lighter blue of the sky overhead. The Holy Land with all of its precious treasures faded from view, but its spiritual treasures were stored eternally in the heart. As we flew over the great island of Cyprus, we could see it was a flat desert land. There was famous Mt. Olympus, 6,500 feet high, the home of the mythical gods and godesses who, it is claimed, were the heroes of Atlantis. We landed in Nicosia, the capitol of Cyprus, this historical old city, and spent a few hours there, but felt the need of hurrying on to —

THE ISLAND OF RHODES June 3, 1954

We passed over what seemed a series of barren islands, of submerged mountains, and arrived at the beautiful airport of the Island of Rhodes. Here we saw the place where one of the seven ancient wonders of the world stood — Colossus of Rhodes, with one foot on the mainland and the other on the island which forms the harbour. Here we met Romona Brown from California, and Elizabeth Bevan, a pioneer to the Island of Rhodes, who had become very discouraged because, after six months, she had been unable to obtain a work permit. Ruth was able to assist them and to leave some of the last words of the Guardian to "encourage the pioneers to remain at their posts."

ATHENS & KIFISSIA, GREECE * June 4, to June 7, 1954

Elizabeth Bevan, Romona Brown and Ruth Moffett went to Athens to try to help Elizabeth to obtain a work permit for the Island of Rhodes. We lived in the beautiful resort hotel in Kifissia and went daily to Athens. We saw many of the ancient monuments, with an excellent guide....the Parthenon; the Temple of Athens, ancient Grecian theater, the Museum of Athens, the Acropolis, the Temple of Baccus, the prison of Socrates, where Paul spoke to the Athenians on Mars Hill in 54 A.D., and where the Chairman of the Court, Dionecius became the first Christian in Athens. Sandwiched in between all the interesting historical sights were the eager questions as to the messages from the Guardian, the observance of the Feast of Nur — Light, with Dwight and Carol Allen, pioneers, long talks on how to spread the great, glad Message of Bahá'u'lláh.

ROME June 7 to June 12, 1954

In Rome, the Eternal City, Ruth was a guest of Dr. Ugo Giachery, Hand of the Cause, and his wife, Angeline. This was a blessed experience. Each day there were teas and firesides, and a large public meeting with very warm response, particularly to the messages from the Guardian. Some of the friends guided us through St. Peter's, the Vatican, the castle of St. Angelo, the Colliseum, the palace of Nero, the Roman Forum, the graves of Keates and Shelley and the huge building of Ministry of Propaganda for the Catholic world. It was a great privilege to again see Pope Pius X as he lay in state in his gorgeous robes, golden slippers, gloves and golden mask; the most saintly and beloved of all the popes, who was beautified in 1950. It was Ruth's privilege to have had an interview in his private audience chamber in 1927, along with four cardinals, and had some remarkable experiences. She also received the blessing of the present Pope Pius XII. Dr. Giachery and Angeline were most hospitable and helpful in making all these things possible, and great blessing comes from their sincere spirit and the rich experiences with the friends in Rome, who said they could feel the spirit of the Shrines, brought by Ruth.

THE ISLANDS OF ELBA June 12, 1954

We reluctantly left the dear friends and the fascinating city of Rome at 10 am via Swiss Air Lines, flying over the many off-shore islands straight for the mountainous, unwooded Island of Elba, the largest of the Tyrrhenian archipelago. It is 18 miles long and 3.7 miles broad and has an area of 86 square miles. It is part of a sunken mountain range extending from the Italian mainland to Corsica and Sardinia.

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the highest point of the Island is Mt. Capanne, 3,350 feet high. The climate is mild and the soil fertile and rich in mineral deposits. From ancient times, Elba has been famous for her iron and tin mines. Historically, it is noted as the residence of Napoleon after his first abdication., from May 14, 1814 to February 26, 1815, just before the birth of Bahá'u'lláh. During that time Napoleon was the Emperior of the Island, and after his departure it was restored to Tuscony and became a part of Italy in 1860. The total population is only about 32,000, made up mostly of mining and fishing villages.

It was near this historic, treeless island where our beloved Dorothy Baker, Hand of the Cause of God, and International Bahá'í teacher, when returning from New Delhi Conference was blown to bits in the fateful jet plane which exploded over Elba, shocking the entire world. The plane was piloted by the president of the company, himself, which was the cause of our plane dipping low in his honour as we flew over this destiny-laden spot. To the mind of this pilgrim, Ruth, it was in honour of this one of the Hands of the Cause of God, our beloved friend and co-worker, who had the key to our home for 25 years, and who left a trail of inspiration wherever she went — Dorothy Beecher Baker, that we dipped in tribute.

Her beautiful spirit ascended at the height of her lustre to serve in greater realms of glory in the Kingdom of Abha. Many prayers were offered in her behalf as we approached the Island of Elba and dipped low in her honour and then rose high to scale the towering Alps. Many of the words spoken just a few weeks before, to Ruth, in loving Counsel, were so clear and vivid it seemed that our Dorothy was actually standing beside her in the plane, radiant and beautiful. In the midst of such deep prayer for her, you can imagine the startling effect when the stewardess spoke, offering tea. That experience will never be forgotten, not will the experience of flying over the highest peaks of the snow-capped Alps and over Mt. Blanc, standing agelessly in her majestic splendour.

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND — June 12, 1954

Beside beautiful Lake Geneva, poetically called Lac Leman, on the two-way River Rhone in the far-stretching green valley between snow-capped mountain ranges, lies the historic, old city of Geneva, noted for her eleventh century Romanesque cathedral of St. Peter, the great University of Geneva, and where the writer took a course of study on her previous trip to Europe. Geneva was the home of Calvin, who in 1535 helped to establish the "Reformed Religion", as it was called. It was the home of the League of Nations, established by President Woodrow Wilson in 1920. The same year witnessed the founding of the International Labor Office, the International School of Studies under Dr. Zimmerman. While a Special Delegate to the League of Nations, Ruth had the privelege of attending the sessions in all of these and other International Institutions, and learned much in apprizing values and relationships. She was glad to be in this key city again during the Prickly International Conference, which was in session, and to which our Guardian had referred as unable to achieve its purpose.

There was a warm welcome by the Bahá'í friends who gathered in the appartment of Honor Kempton, eager to hear every word from our beloved Guardian. Sunday was spent with the Ashraf family and their remarkable children, 5th. generation Bahá'ís. The oldest child, 13, was with 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Sunday night, 17 were again in Honor Kempton's apartment, begging this pilgrim to remain longer saying that she had brought so much from Haifa, for which they were so hungry. After the lectures we discussed ways of making contacts, and what the Guardian said about the difference between confersion and confirmation of souls. After a fond fare-thee-well we took the Swiss Air Line to Zurich.

ZURICH, GERMANY June, 14, 1954

Anna Kunz, Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of Italy and Switzerland, a long time friend from Urbana, Illinois met Ruth, taking her to her cosy little appartment,

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then to the Swiss Technological Institute where her husband had been a professor. Zurich is the largest and the most important city, commercially, in Switzerland, situated at the northern end of beautiful cresent-shaped Lake Zurich, surrounded by rolling hills and charming scenery, and filled with many things of interest; but it has not the same kind of historical interest as Geneva. There was a tea, and a luncheon, a dinner before the lecture, and a lovely spirit among the friends. Ruth spoke on "Highlights of Haifa". Anna Kunz is doing a splendid job and sends her love to "everybody back home". Customs officers again at the airport .... but after reading the letter from the International Bahá'í counsel and breathing a Bahá'í prayer, as usual the customs officers never even opened her luggage.

STUTTGART, GERMANY June 15, 1954

The Guardian had said, "I hope that you can go to Germany and to Vienna. The German people have suffered much and need what you have to give them." Here Ruth was in Germany wondering what the Guardian has meant and what she should do. Fouruhid, the young Persian pianist met Ruth at the airport and took her to Dr. Adelbert and Erna Mulschlegal's for tea. Many came just to greet her — a pilgrim from Haifa, eager for every word from the Guardian. It seemed that they had so much more appreciation of what it means to go to Haifa, and also of the Revelation itself than they do in the States, broadly speaking. The Guardian said that this is one of the signs of maturity.

Stuttgart, the capitol of Wurttemburg is a beautiful old city dating back to 1229, a cultural center of science and literature and filled with parks, rolling hills, and great stone mansions, many of which were destroyed during the devastating and tragic bombings during both the first and second World Wars that have left their ghastly scars. Dr. Mulschlegal and his wife Erna were bombed out twice, losing everything they had. They started over again with prayers and faith and have become shining examples to all who know them. The Guardian appointed him a Hand of the Cause of God. He is both a physician and a historian. The friends have all gone through so much, they are devoted and confirmed., and cherish every treasured word of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's two visits to them in 1912. A bust of 'Abdu'l-Bahá was in the public park until the first World War. There was a marvellous spirit during Ruth's lecture of "Messages from our Guardian" that evening in the Muschlegal home, and an earnest discussion followed, with questions and great appreciation of every word until long after midnight.

KARLSRUHE, GERMANY June 15, 1954

Early this morning Ruth took the train from Stuttgart to Karlsruhe a three hour trip through fine farm land and waving fields of corn and grain. Daldtraut Weber met Ruth at the station in Karlsruhe. As usual Bahá'ís recognized each other at once, although they have never seen each other before. She took Ruth to their home in Garden City where every family has a home, a shed, and a garden bursting into bloom. There is a community house for all to use. August Weber is the head librarian of the Public Library in Karlsruhe, and very well read. In their home the Bahá'í friends came to meet the returning pilgrim, eager to hear the "Messages from Our Guardian". It is wonderful to see the eagerness of the German friends and the signs of their maturity and the purity and simplicity of their lives as they live close to their gardens, to Nature, to each other and to God.

ETTLINGEN AND THE BLACK FORREST June 16, 1954

We rose early to take a train from Karlsruhe to Ettlingen at the border of the Black Forrest for an all day picnic and the opportunity to meet many of the friends of that part of Germany who had not had a public lecturer for a long time and perhaps had never heard one from the States. It was a long dusty walk from Ettlingen station to the border of the Black Forrest, which is 1900 square miles of mountainous pine forests, with heights from 4000 to 5000 feet. It has many lakes, rivers, mineral springs and some farms. There are many legends about the Black Forest and its people. It was a rich experience for Ruth to meet these sincere people and to speak to them messages of encouragement and hope, and

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and of the love of our Guardian and members of the International Counsel.

Ruhaniyyih Ruth spoke to those dear responsive people in a lovely peaceful clearing in the Black Forest on "God Speaks again to Mankind", for almost an hour. They kept urging her to speak for another hour, until she said she simply had to go to catch the train to Karlsruhe, to catch the train for Stuttgart, where she was to speak at a big public meeting that evening. Fourty people had been sitting all this time in a little amphitheater made of bales of hay, and fifteen children sat so quietly, seeming to be afraid they would miss a single word. Someone assured Ruhaniyyih that someone would take her to Karlesruhe if she would only answer a few more questions. When Ruhaniyyih went out to the forest road, there was no auto in sight, only a small motorcycle. She asked "How do I get to Karlsruhe?" "On this," someone said in German. A man to whom she was not even introduced, put her small grip and her travelling purse under the seat and said to the translator, "Tell her to hop on, and if I go too fast she is to press my ribs three times." Imagine Ruth riding astride on the rear seat of a motor cycle on a bumpy forest road, which was full of tree roots, which would cause her to shoot suddenly in the air. But she managed each time to get safely back on the seat. Picture this American teacher, riding fifteen miles on a motor cycle; it seemed at ninety miles an hour, in a strange land with a strange man whose name she did not even know, who was not a Bahá'í, who could get speak a word of English! They moved in and out of traffic so rapidly, she could not even appreciate the strange scenes. She did not even press his ribs three times. Ruhaniyyih was laughing and really grateful for the ride, as the young man gallantly seated her in the train in Karlesruhe. The strange sequel to this strange story Ruhaniyyih did not learn until two months later.

The man's wife is a Bahá'í, but he had been violently opposed to the Faith. He had taken her to the picnic only because she wanted so much to meet the American teacher who had been so see the Guardian in Haifa. It is reported that he said later, "If an American teacher could hold me spellbound sitting on a bale of hay for two hours, and after all the beautiful things she had said, would ride on a motorcycle with me, the way I rode, and be so happy about it, there must be something to this Bahá'í after all." "He is studying!!! Bahá'u'lláh sometimes has strange ways of removing veils! It was a three hour ride back from Karlesruhe.

STUTTGART, GERMANY June 16, 1954

Ruhaniyyih had dinner with the Schmidt family who had been bombed out twice, Dr. Schmidt is on the National Spiritual Assembly of Germany, and very capable. Ruth spoke that evening in a big hall to nearly one hundred people on "Religion in the Center of Motion in the World". They listened with rapt attention. Some said, "You are like Martha Root. You have brought the real spirit of Haifa." "Such an unusual combination of knowledge and spirit." "Can't you come to Germany to live?" "We need you for the effective way you present our glorious Message." Ruth spent the rest of her time in Stuttgart with Dr. and Mrs. Muschlegal, who are far richer in spirit because of their terrible bombing experiences during the wars. Both are so intelligent, warm hearted and mature, and doing so much to build up the Spirit of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Stuttgart and all Germany as well. Frau Schwartz, eightyeight year old "Mother of Germany", who was with 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 1912, had a little tea party for Ruth, with many wonderful stories of the Master. The Fouruhid, the lovely Persian musician took her to the train for Munchen.

MUNCHEN, GERMANY June 16, 1954

Charlotte Walcker, a radiant Bahá'í, born with an imperfect hip, entertained Ruhaniyyih Ruth in her humble home, like a queen. It was a privilege just to be with her. She too had been bombed out and lives in an area where some of the ghastly ruins of the war still stand. Munchen is the capitol of the freestate of Bavaria, and founded by the Duke of Saxony in 962 on an estate previously occupied by monks, hence its name. This city of about 800,000 abounds in schools, educational institutions, and manufacturers. The noted University of Munched was founded by King Louis in 1828. Charlorre took Ruhaniyyih for luncheon to .....

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GAUTING, GERMANY JUNE 19, 1954

Where they were the guests of Annelisse Bopp, a Bahá'í who is Administrative Director of the first any only U.N.E.S.C.O. Youth Institute in the world. The buildings are beautiful and those present were so fired with the spirit of our Guardian that they decided right then to start a new fireside in Gauting.

A group of nine eager souls came to Charlotte Whalcher's tiny apartment that evening asking questions until long after midnight. They returned the next day for an all day session. Among these was a man, Werner Hasting Ausburg who has a radiant and sincere spirit who had suffered much. He was a monk in a monastary in Bulgaria with all that means. He left and wrote some articles against the practices in monasteries, for which he was terribly persecuted. Five operations resulted. He had studied almost everything, and had found the only authentic and satisfactory answers in the Bahá'í Revelation. Ruhaniyyih considered it a great privilege to clear up some of the last questions that had troubled him. An ardent group of fifteen crowded onto Charlotte's tiny apartment that evening for our last hours together. Included were Mr. Weber from Karlesruhe and Miss Annelisse from Gauting. Not many American teachers have lectured in Germany since Ruhiyyih Khanum, and her mother May Maxwell and Ruhauguis Bolles were there in 1937. These were remembered with much loving appreciation.

VIENNA, AUSTRIA June 21 — 23, 1954

At 17:40 o'clock, Ruhaniyyih left Munchen by plane, flying over the beautiful country of Germany where every farm looked a carefully planted garden; where every forest is most anxiously protected, and arrived in the beautiful city of Vienna at 7:00 p.m. To her great surprise she was met at the airport by Vahilollah Vargha, Hand of the Cause, and his wife, daughter, and seven of the Bahá'ís who had a welcoming dinner for her. Almost every hour of those few days was filled with lectures, dinners, luncheons, teas, conferences with those dear people. Vienna she found a most beautiful city, full of ancient as well as modern charm. Many magnificent marble palaces, broad avenues and gorgeous rose gardens everywhere. Here the immense gothic cathedral of St. Stephen, and the palatial library of one million volumes; the magnificent University of Vienna, dating back to 1365, one of the oldest and most famous universities in the world. There is the impressive green and misty mountains in the close background. Although Ruhaniyyih had been in many countries of the world, she had seldom seen one with so much beauty, history, charm and magnificence. Matilde Maroschits, the young girl and her mother to whom Ruhaniyyih had given her seat in the packed bus through the mountains, from the airport, entertained Ruhaniyyih for lunch and tea. They became interested in the glad Message.

The Hand of the Cause, Vahilollah Vargha, arranged for Ruhaniyyih to spend as much time as possible with them where she learned the most thrilling story of her life. He was a secret agent for the Shah of Persia, and kept him informed of the message of guidance from 'Abdu'l-Bahá. As long as the Shah obeyed these inspired directives he prospered. But when in a crisis he followed his own stubborn will, he failed miserably, suffered much and died broken hearted. Vahilillah Vargha was in constant danger, but his courage and wisdom and faith in the protection of 'Abdu'l-Bahá preserved him. He accomplished so many almost impossible things for Bahá'u'lláh, it is no wonder that he was chosen as Hand of the Cause of God.

Two of the most thrilling experiecnes in Vienna were the two times Ruth lectured behind the fringe of the Iron Curtain in the Soviet Controlled Zone, in the homes of two Persian families living in that sector, Ruhaniyyih was not permitted to speak English on the street, but only inside the black curtained homes. All street and hall lights are out at 10:00 p.m., and the only transportation at night is on foot with a tiny shrouded flashlight. Though everything was dark outside, there was a radiant light in the hearts of the twenty lovely souls united in the spirit of the Blessed Beauty. Dear Mr. Poillenger acted as translator. Manucher Khan took Ruhaniyyih to the six hundred year old museum, where she has seldom seen such magnificence. Fourty- five people could stand inside the huge chandelier in the palatial Assembly Hall. It costs $15,000 just to turn the lights on for one evening. They are turned on only for special occasions, to one of which Ruhaniyyih was invited, but

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went instead to a Feast with the Friends, in the home of Madhi Vargha in the Soviet Zone. There was an unusually beautiful spirit. She visited Schonbrunn Castle where Emperor Franz Joseph was born, lived and died. Here one can see all the pomp and royal life they led. As Ruth went through the rooms, looking at the exquisite furniture, pictures, hangings etc, she could not help thinking of the tragedy of his life, especially what Emperor Franz Joseph missed when Bahá'u'lláh admonished him for not visiting Him, when he was in the Holy Land, and knew of His Great Mission. "God Passed By" when the Emperor "Passed Him By".

FRAKNFORT, GERMANY June 24 - 25, 1954

Johanna von Warthorn, a member of the N.S.A. of Germany, met Ruhaniyyih at the airport, entertained her in their home, then took Ruth to the new Bahá'í Center for public speaking. Ruth's talk there was "The New Way of Life for World Civilization", which they said brought the spirit of Haifa to them as did Ruhiyyih Khanum, and Martha Root years ago. The Bahá'í center at Frankfort had been bombed out and the friends there lost everything. They ought the ruins, cleaned it up, built a four-story building, most of which they rent out, and have it all paid for today. One cannot help but admire the courage, faith and vision of these dear German people. On June 25, Ruhaniyyih spoke again at the Bahá'í Center and was rejoiced to see the eager, responsive, mature spirit of the German Bahá'ís and their appreciation of the station of the Guardianship, which she wished was more apparent everywhere. Ben Levy, way over in Dormandorft, learned that Ruth Moffett was in Frankfort, jumped on a train and came for a few lovely hours, and arranged to meet later in Brussels.

Frankfort-am-Main is a historical city dating back to 724 when Charlemagne convoked the Council of Frankfort. It was the first free city of the German Empire, and became one of the first Protestant cities, the Ancestral home of the Rothschilds with their magnificent palaces, the home of the inspired Goethe, the city in which most of the German Emperors were elected, and today a city of about 500,000, and which has become not only the railroad and commercial center of Germany, but home of some of the strongest moneyed institutions of the world. One could feel the Godlessness in the very atmosphere, and the need of the way of Life for the New Day that Bahá'u'lláh has given to the world.

HEIDLEBERG, GERMANY June 26, 1954

Johanna took Ruhaniyyih early the next morning to Heidleberg, where they met Dr. Albert Mulschlegel, Hand of the Cause of God, an eminent Historian, Physician and Writer. He has written a large volume on the history of Europe and is a recognized authority, speaks five languages, including Russian. Though they were bombed out twice during the war, they have come back bigger than ever, and more noble. Erna, his wife, save the life and legs of a Persian girl student by having a large piece of skin from her stomach grafted on the leg of the girl, without being detached from her own body for three months! She had to lie almost motionless days and nights to save the life of the girl, who was not a Bahá'í. Although this delicate operation almost took the lives of both girls, you seldom can see more radiant Bahá'ís. The other girl became a Bahá'í while attached together! Other members of the N.S.A. of Germany met Ruhaniyyih and Johanna in Heidleberg and went on together up in the mountains, to the quaint little city of Neckargemund, to the home of Dr. Hermann Grossman, Hand of the Cause, and his wife, Anna There home is perched high in a garden on a shelf on the side of a beautiful mountain.

NECKARGEMUND, GERMANY June 27, 1954

It was such a privilege to be a guest of Dr. and Anna Grossman in their lovely home on the side of the mountain, and during the sessions of the N.S.A. of Germany, having most of their meals with them and spending the day with Dr. Hermann Grossman, Hand of the Cause! He has remarkable files and library, and loves his beautiful garden. He has done so much for the Guardian, it is no wonder that he is a Hand of the Cause. His wife Anna is secretary of the N.S.A. of Germany and is a wonder in all that she accomplishes each day in the midst of so many frustrations. During the coffee break from 4 to 6, the N.S.A. had Ruhaniyyih speak to them on the "Messages from the Guardian". There was unusual and eager

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appreciative attention to every word.

HEIDLEBERG, GERMANY, June 28, 1954

Ruhaniyyih was a guest in the home of Frau Carla Maco and daughter, and spoke almost continuously from 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. to groups as they came and went, including a public meeting at 2 p.m. and again at 7:30 p.m. Udo Schaefer was a good translator. Such tragic stories of war are told everywhere! That beautiful soul, Carla Macco was placed in prison for four months, and was saved by her son, from the concentration camp. But he was later killed in action. The Bahá'í Friends are so alive, and the rest of the German people, although fine people, seem not to have awakened spiritually as a result of their awful experiences. It was interesting to see the famous Heidleberg University, castle, gardens, city ---- one of the few places not bombed.

NECKARGEMUND, GERMANY June 28, 1954

Fritz Krause took Ruhaniyyih back to Neckargemund for the farewell to the members of the N.S.A. and for lunch again with the Grossmanns. It is wonderful these dear people accomplish so much, amid so many difficulties, and with such a radiant spirit!

FRANKFORT AND BONN, GERMANY June 29, 1954

Johanna and Ruhaniyyih rose at dawn, walked down the mountain to catch the bus for Heidleberg, and the train for Frankfort and arrived just in time to catch the train for Bonn where Doris Loshe met Ruhaniyyih with a warm welcome. She had arranged a dinner and a public meeting in a the large Community House where Ruhaniyyih spoke on the "New Way of Life for World Civilization". Dear Doris translated. Some non-Bahá'í men said, "We have never heard such a clear and intelligent presentation of such basic ideas." All Germany should have heard this lecture tonight. This is just what Germany needs!" All where so happy to have Shozo Kadota from Japan surprise us! He heard that Ruhaniyyih, whom he had met in the Louhelen Summer School, was in Bonn and arrived to meet her again and ask her more questions on the essential verities.

Bonn is a very old city, the birthplace of Beethoven, in 1770. The noted University of Bonn ranks next to the University of Berlin and was established in 1777. This old city was one of the first Roman fortresses on the Rhine and was repeatedly beseiged in the Catholic and Protestant conflicts. the imposing Munster Cathedral overshadowing the city adds to the picturesqueness, with its fine Romanesque Architecture. This fine old city was badly bombed and does not seem to be rebuilding as is Stuttgart and Frankfort.

BONN, GERMANY June 30, 1954

There was a total eclipse of the sun as Shozo Kadota, Doris Loshe and Ruhaniyyih had dinner together, and a long talk later on the train to.....

DUSSELDORF, GERMANY, June 30, 1954

There was no one to meet her and she had no address except the name of a Persian University student, that she had been asked to find, Hassan Afnan, a Bahá'í. A stranger took her and her baggage to the British Military Police. After hours of effort and walking miles, she finally located him and his bride at the edge of the city. She was exhausted after walking so far over gravel roads. She was told that Ursula Muelschlegel had phoned long distance of the arrival of Ruhaniyyih and of the importance of getting those interested to hear her.... a meeting was arranged in the home of Hans Green, the only home open in this city, where a fine group of eager young people gathered. They said they were not only inspired and quickened by the Spirit of Haifa, but that it would have been a loss if Ruhaniyyih had not persevered in her efforts to find them, and given them the message from the Guardian. So few other teachers have ever come to them.

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COLOGNE, GERMANY July 1, 1954

No one seemed to have the addresses of any of the Persian Bahá'í students in Cologne. There was no one to meet her or to whom she could turn for advice. She rented a room in the home of Mr. & Mrs. Blum, Jews. In her broken German she showed them pictures of Israel and the Shrines, and gave them the glad Message for which they were most appreciative. She went alone to see the beautiful gothic Cologne Cathedral, which she had seen on a previous trip. It is 433 feet long, 200 feet wide, with two spires 512 feet high, begun in 1245. The great bell in the south tower is cast from conquered Cannon and is one of the largest bells in the world. The cathedral contains the reputed bones of the three Magi, and is one of the objects of many pilgrimages. The many churches, the narrow, crooked streets, the massive buildings make a fascinating atmosphere for this old city. Ruhaniyyih, when she went to the Royal Sabina office, found that her plane ticket could not get her to Brussels in time for the lecture she was scheduled to give the next night. The head official said he would arrange for her to get there on time, and that she was to be at a certain address in the center of town by 10:30 that a.m. She found it was a Heliport!! there was a loud buzzing noise over-head and a helicopter came right down in front of her. She quickly popped in, strapped to her seat; the only passenger. Just then a man came running, waving his grip. He too was popped in and off they went, straight up! Ruhaniyyih smiled at the man, and shouted above the roar of the motors, "Do you speak English?" He said "Yes, and thank goodness you do too! Is this your first experience in these contraptions?" What a thrilling experience to fly straight up, down, forward or backwards at the will the pilot! The Royal Sabina Air Lines are the only International Helicopter service thus far and it is very fine.

The helicopter travels about 110 to 125 miles per hour and 800 to 1000 feet high although some have risen to 2289 feet and at speeds of 150 miles per hour. They can rise 1000 feet per minute and from the center of the city. So it seems that this will soon be the handy bus service of the air. What a thrilling experience to fly through a rainbow! The whole world looks like a rose garden!

MAASTRICHT, HOLLAND AND LEIGE, BELGIUM July 1, 1954

the Helicopter flew to these two cities, where Ruhaniyyih by Ben Levy, the Nye family and the Bahá'í friends. For three lovely days there were talks and teas, dinners and conferences. Ben Levy came way from Darmstadt, Germany to be there at this time and Ruhaniyyih helped in the selection of the garments for his approaching wedding. Etta Graff came way from Antwerp to obtain the latest words from the Guardian. The lectures in the Bahá'í Center were translated by friends into both French and German. They were received with a beautiful eager spirit, and a Feast was given in honour of this pilgrim. The Nye family and Ben Levy took Ruhaniyyih around this beautiful city, one of the finest in Europe. It has treeshaded boulevards, splendid parks and picturesque squares, and massive old churches and buildings dating back to the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Brussels is also noted for the Brussels Confrence which took place on July 27, 1874.

This Conference was called by the Russian Emperor to render more humane, the rules and usages of war. All the countries of Europe took part except Britain, and the U.S.A., who did not send representatives. Although the conference did not accomplish all for which it was called, it marked an important advance in the international law, for which the Belgium people are proud. It was a great joy for Ruhaniyyih to meet and know the beautiful spirit of these warm-hearted people of Belgium.

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LONDON, ENGLAND July 4 and 5, 1954

It was a lovely flight via Sabena from Brussels to London, early this morning, over the picturesque villages and hamlets with a cathedral spire in a little white steeple, in the center of each, pointing heavenward. The smokey towns around London indicated to me that the plane was approaching the world's largest city. Arriving at 1:30 simultaneously with planes from all around the globe, again proving the shrinking world. Mr. Anchoury Nazar and their son George met Ruhaniyyih at the airport. It was a long, interesting drive to their home in Mill Hill where she was the guest of all this family and where many friends gathered to receive the latest messages from the Guardian. It was a blessed privilege for Ruth to be a guest in this home of six lovely souls, for they had been home only one week after making the complete Pilgrimage to all the Holy Places, not only in the Holy Land, but in Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Adrianople. They were radiant with spirit and over-flowing with their marvellous experiences and wonderful stories of the Master, 'Abdu'l-Bahá. The many who came for the teas, lunches, etc., were eager to meet the American teacher with the latest message, not wanting to miss one word from the Guardian. The beaming Nazar family arranged for Ruth to make their home her headquarters while in the British Isles, for which she was most grateful. They took her about over this fascinating city covering an area of almost seven hundred square miles, with a population of about nine million people. Would that they all had the Light of the New Day! Such a mental, physical, moral and spiritual fog seems to hang over this great city, dimming the light of the spirit.

Gregarious old London is, however a most fascinating city with its background of history, royalty, music, art, philosophy, science, human welfare in their various steps of progress.

Some of the structures that we saw created atmosphere in this captivating old city are the venerable Westminster Abbey and the awsome old Tower of London, also the Parliament building, the largest Gothic building in the world. It covers eight acres, contains one thousand rooms and two miles of corridors! There is the dome of St. Pauls Cathedral, massive Buckingham and St. James Palaces, the Albert Memorial, Cleopatra's Needle, the British Museum with its more than four million books and priceless treasures, Kew Gardens and the bell tower from which Big Ben solemnly tolls out the passing hours!

Never can Ruth forget the warmth of the Persian friends and their eagerness to learn every word from the Guardian, and of her experiences. During the firesides in London, arrangements were made for her to teach in many cities in the British Isles, as many as possible, as the Guardian had requested.

NORTH HAMPTON, ENGLAND July 6, 1954

Mrs. Gladys Blackwell, Chairman of the National Teaching Committee of Southern England, arranged the first booking, way down in Southern England in the home of John Shortland, in North Hampton, the British center of the boot and shoe industry, Population about ninety five thousand. It was badly bombed during the war, John Shortland was a most gracious host, and Mrs. Betty Reed, a member of the National Teaching Committee with their eager questions, helped to add much to the spiritual feast, as both are aflame for the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh. John entertained Ruth at his restaurant for lunch before she left by train for ...

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND July 7, 1954

In Northern England, Ernest Gregory, chairman of the National Teaching Committee of Northern England, met Ruth and was host to her during her visit to this city. He is a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles. He is on the board of the Sheffield Cutlery Company, which is one of the largest cutlery companies in the world, dating as far back as Chaucer. In spite of the short notice and pouring rain, fifteen came to the meeting in Ernest's home and said repeatedly that they were so thrilled with the Message that Ruth brought from Haifa, "that no one before had ever brought them so much knowledge, power and spirit. Inasmuch as Ernest and his son had to leave early for work and left Ruth alone to do some needed writing, she cleaned the whole house for them from

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top to bottom, put fresh flowers everywhere and then took the five o'clock train for.....

LEEDS, ENGLAND, July 8 and 9, 1954

Dick Blackwell, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly, and Marcel Mickaeloff, chairman of the Local Spiritual Assembly, met Ruth, took her to dinner, for a conference and to the Bahá'í Center, where she spoke on "High Lights of Haifa". She got a warm response. Afterwards a beautiful service in "Commemoration of the Ascention of the Bab". It being a Holy Day "Mickey" took off from work to take a tape recording of Ruth's talks, and to take her about this smokey industrial city. noted for its leather works and clothing manufacturing. Ruth stayed in the Great Northern Hotel, which reminded her of Chicago. On Friday morning she spoke to a young mothers' meeting in the home of Dick and Vida Backwell, who took her to the bus for the wool manufacturing city of ......

BRADFORD, ENGLAND July 9 and 10, 1954

Mr. & Mrs. Martius Hall took Ruth to their home for the birthday party given for their little son and the meeting of their little group which was so appreciative that Ruth, this American teacher had come to them to bring them the messages from the Guardian. They said no other American had made such an effort to come to them. At midnight the doorbell rang and in walked Mickey with his little wife Bettie, who had just arrived in Leeds, from Edinburg, where she had been pioneering. Mickey put her in his car and speeded to Bradford to see Ruth before she left, early next morning for .......

ECCLES, ENGLAND July 10, 1954

Mrs. Getta Chaplin met Ruth at the bus in Manchester and took her to their big home in this lovely suburb. She had a few friends in to meet Ruth in the evening. It was the first time an American teacher ever had been to fine old residential city. It was a happy occasion, sharing the spirit of Haifa with these hungry souls. Getta's adopted son David Mumford, the next day escorted Ruth to Manchester and Blackpool.....

BLACKPOOL, ENGLAND July 11, 1954

At 4:00 p.m. they arrived at the home of Alice and Tom Curwen, sister of Prue George. There was such a warm welcome after many years of correspondence. Fifteen came, ten of whom were non- Bahá'ís, who asked questions most of the night and begged Ruth to remain to help teach in this flourishing sea side resort of 100,000. There are only four Bahá'ís there.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND July 12 and 13, 1954

Alice Curwen took Ruth to see a bit of this great seaport city, one of the greatest in the world, with its one hundred or more docks and almost as many dry docks. Ships from all over the world. The 1st important steam railroad in the world operated between Liverpool and Manchester in 1830, before the Bab made His declaration. The largest vehicular tunnel in the world, forty four feet wide and two miles long is in Liverpool. A hugh Cathedral and many massive buildings, some of which were badly bombed during the war. Gladys Prichard met Ruth at the station and took her to her home for supper and the night. There is a small community of only thirteen, some of whom were away. After the Feast of Kalimat — Words, Ruth spoke of the "Spirit of Haifa". They said: "We have never had a meeting like this before, with so much spirit and knowledge and power from our Guardian! It is heavenly! Can't you stay and help teach in England?" they said "It is the coldest summer in years, but our hearts are warmed." Ruth was happy to help the many who came to her with their problems, until 5:00 p.m. when she took the train for.....

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MANCHESTER, ENGLAND July 13, 1954

Getta Chaplin and Mr. Joseph met Ruth at the train and took her to a Jewish Kosher dinner and to the Bahá'í Center, where she received a warm welcome. After the Feast of Kalimat — Words, they invited Ruth to speak about Haifa and the Guardian. They said that seldom had they received such clear direction and so much spirit from the Guardian, and urged her to remain and teach in the British Isles were teaching is so much needed. Ruth and others who wished to interview her. The Manchester Daily Express put it in one of the best articles on the Faith that they had published for a long time, they said. Manchester, the fourth largest city in the British Isles, is connected with the Irish Sea by the famous Manchester Ship Canal. It is a great smokey, busy manufacturing city that was badly bombed during the war.

ECCLES, ENGLAND July 14, 1954

Getta Chaplin had a luncheon and Fireside for Ruth who helped her to start a fireside of her own to meet regularly. Then she took Ruth to speak in the evening in .....

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND July 14, 1954

"The Station of the Guardianship and His Message" was the topic in the Bahá'í Center. There was an enthusiastic response, for the English people, who have been called "unresponsive". They said thay had 'now a greater understanding and appreciation of Guardianship,' and that they can truly say "Thank God! The world at least has a Guardian!"

ECCLES, ENGLAND July 14, 1954

Getta took Ruth back to her home for a midnight feast, and more conferences, and questions about the Faith, and prayers together with the family. Mr. Lee called for her at 7:30 the next morning to take her to the train for London.

LONDON, ENGLAND July 15 and 16, 1954

It was a beautiful day with a fine train winding through lovely gardens, woods and fields. Everything made a charming scene in colourful paintings. Marina Nazar met Ruth at 1:15 in London and took her to the Nazar home, where a group was awaiting her return. Then in the evening to the Bahá'í Center in the heart of London, where she spoke of "From Adam to Atom". Philip Hainsworth just returned after three years in Kampala, Uganda, and remembered Ruth when she returned from Haifa on her first trip when she gave the messages from the Guardian to the N.S.A. of the British Isles. Kathleen Narnell came from Belfast, Beryl de Gruchy came from Reading, England, and Dorothy Wecktol from San Francisco. It was a most happy reunion!

GOLDERS GREEN, ENGLAND July 16, 1954

Ashier and Mariana Nazar took Ruth to meet the friends and their neighbors and to speak in the Fireside of Mr. & Mrs. Roddie and Debbie Leedham. Brigetta Hanelblatt came way from the Shetland Isles where Ruth was planning to go at the request of the Guardian, although it seemed impossible. "The Mountain came to Muhammed" Phillip Hainsworth had just bought a new car and said that he would drive Brigetta, Dorothy Becktol and Ruth to the British summer School if they could meet him in Whimbottom in South London. He said "You have something to give that they need very much."

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STONEHENGE AND EXETER, ENGLAND July 17, 1954

It was an all day drive past picturesque frams and gardens and huge flowering hedges and quaint villages. Phillip drove John Ferraby, Brigette and Ruth to Stonehenge, which is most interesting, although little is known of these mysterious ancient ruins. After a twelve hour ride they arrived at Exeter in time for the "United Feast" in the lounge of the Women's University of Oxford University in this quaint old city.

BRITISH BAHA'I SUMMER SCHOOL IN LOPES HALL IN
EXETER WOMEN'S UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
EXETER, ENGLAND July 18, 1954

The Guardian had said "I hope you can teach in many Summer Schools whenever possible. You have something to give them that they need." The British Bahá'í Summer School Committee has asked Ruth to teach during the two weeks sessions. Room and board were arranged for all registered in the University buildings as it was the holiday time for the University. The daily schedule was: 7:00 a.m. rising bell; 8:00 prayer service; 8:30 breakfast. First morning class 9:30 to 11:00; 11:30 coffee break; 11:30 to 12:30 Course on Islam. 1:00 p.m. dinner with different partners each day; 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. rest and recreation; 4:00 p.m. afternoon tea; 5:30 to 6:30 "Relief in Action" course. 7:00 p.m. supper; 8:00 to 9:00 "The Global Crusade Course." 10:00 p.m. tea in the lounge; 11:00 prayers in Ruth's room. More and more came each night until twenty four crowded into her little room for prayer and said "It is a bit of heaven, room 19 on the second floor."

EXETER, ENGLAND July 19, 1954

There were fine arrangements for the Summer School, in the spacious lounges, with fine furniture, excellent meals, beautiful gardens and lawns, and lovely people with happy unified hearts. The location is ten miles from the sea. At 8:00 p.m. Ruth gave her first talk on "Messages from the Guardian" which was warmly received.

TORQUAY, ENGLAND July 20, 1954

Ruth had been invited to speak in Torquay on the sea shore, Phillip drove her with Lady Hornell and Joan Campbell through the most charming country, the Riberia of England, one of the choice garden spots of the world. The rambling cities, the hamlets, and her fuscia hedges, rose trees, rock and cliff gardens and flowering vines climbing gracefully everywhere! Ruth spoke in the Bahá'í Center and in a Fireside and at a fish dinner, Phillip drove them up and down an almost perpendicular road with deep ravines, to a quaint place on the shore. Only the prayers enabled them to arrive back safely.

EXETER SUMMER SCHOOL, July 21, 1954

The main lectures were given by Betty Reed today on, "The Center of the Convent", and Ruth Moffett on "Civilization's Path of Progress." They also taught the classes for the day. New friends arrived form various cities and countries, with a warm welcome.

July 23 & 24: Dick blackwell gave an excellent synthesis on "The Formative Age." Dr. Grossman, Hand of the Cause, spoke with much spiritual power on "The Station of the Guardianship." Phillip Hainsworth on "Progress in Africa", and Ruth Moffett on "The Global Crusade", the Greatest Drama of Human History". There was a beautiful spirit.

July 24: This was an unusual Summer School with a Hand of the Cause present, most of the members of the N.S.A., and two members of the Auxiliary Board. Ruth's lecture, by request was "Giving — The Channel of the Spirit".

July 25: A car load of the friends went with Ruth again to Torquay to the struggling group where they were warmly received. During Ruth's lecture Dorothy Whittington said, "For

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the first time I am convinced. I see now the great historic plan of God. Of course it would have to include Bahá'u'lláh and His Message to mankind. I shall help to spread this great truth, as out beloved Guardian instructed me."

EXETER, ENGLAND July 26, 1954

Today Ruth spoke twice on "The Greatness, The Incomparable Greatness of This Revelation", and at 12:30 on "The New Spirit in the Holy Land." There was an eager response. The poetry evening by David Hoffman was beautiful!

BRITISH BAHA'I SUMMER SCHOOL IN EXETER WOMAN'S UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE. LOPES HALL, EXETER, ENGLAND July 26, 1954

Such a beautiful day! Sunshine, roses, happy spirits everywhere! Wonderful classes and discussions on the subject of 'The Greatness, the Incomparable Greatness of This Revelation". Ruth had a long conference with Dr. Grossman, Hand, who arrived to-day and who wished to continue some of the subjects he had discussed with Ruth, when she was a guest in their home in Nechergemund. He has much knowledge and such a warm, understanding spirit. St. Barbe Baker showed films of his remarkable trip through the Sahara Desert and Phillip Hainsworth his films of South Africa. There was a reception for all of the out- of-the-country guests. The friends took turns asking Ruth questions, and she had a long conference with St. Barbe Baker and he remembered when Ruth and her husband had entertained him in Chicago and wrote the letter of introduction for him to meet the Guardian.

EXETER, ENGLAND July 27, 1954

Dr. Ernest Miller, Dr. Grossman, Adib Taherzadeh, and Ruth Moffett were the teachers for the day with classes and discussions and conferences. Ruth was asked to speak on the latest Message from our Guardian. Two Bahá'ís arrived way from Tasmania. The N.S.A. of the British Isles spoke in the evening on "The Rise of the Bahá'í World Center", and "New World Institutions." It was very good. It is a great privilege to work with a Hand of the Cause, most of the members of the N.S.A., two members of the Board and six pilgrims who had been in Haifa recently, and a number of non-Bahá'í distinguished guests.

EXETER, ENGLAND July 28, 1954

Between classes there was a tour through this 'quaint old English town of culture'. Exeter is a Parliamentary borough on the Exe River, one hundred, seventy two miles from London. In 800 A.D. it was an important trade center with the Greeks and Phonicians. The city has a history of many wars and turbulent times. The great cathedral, built in 1100 A.D. is famed for its beauty of design and the richness of its decorations. The architectural symetry and the decorative harmony of the building are perhaps sunsurpassed in England. There are interesting old ruins from the time of William The Conqueror, the rock- hewn wine vaults, lovely old-fashioned gardens and the fine Exeter Woman's University College which is a branch of Oxford University. The class of John Ferraby on "The Will and Testament" was very fine. The drama by Ruhiyyih Khanum "How to be and How not to be!" was presented in the evening with much fun. Phillip was Mr. Boom and Ruth was chairman of the correct Assembly. After the drama there was a dress ball with prizes. Ruth dressed as Ruth the Gleaner. There were prayers each night at midnight in her room and they said "It is a bit of heaven".

EXETER ENGLAND July 29, 1954

"A New Race of Men" was an unusually fine talk given by Louis Ross Infield. St. Barbe Baker and Ruth had the classes for the day. The class said that Ruth had brought to them some so the Spirit of Haifa and it permeats the whole school". This evening the Bahá'í wedding service of a young Bahá'í couple took place and it was very impressive. Everyone beginning to feel sad, for the next day would be the last of this wonderful Summer School.

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"The Earth is the Lord's" brought tears to the eyes as dear Hasan Balyuzi gave one of the last talks. He remembered seeing Ruth in Bejrut College in 1927, on the way from the Guardian then also. Ruth made arrangements with Cooks Travel Bureau to go to fourteen other cities by urgent request. Phillip and Ruth helped five lovely souls to become convinced and to make their declaration before leaving! The Feast of Perfection was the crowning event before closing the school, especially when the five announced their declaration! Ruth having taught in all of the Summer Schools in the U.S. and Canada said that in some ways the British Summer School seems most mature. The classes were thought- provoking, expansive, and very inspiring, full of knowledge. The teachers were able, with fine backgrounds and beautiful spirit.

EXETER, ENGLAND July 31, 1954

Ruth completed arrangements to go to fourteen other cities in the British Isles. There were many sad farewells in parting with the friends who had studied, worked and prayed together during this wonderful Summer School. It was a great privilege to teach in this school and to also receive the inspiration, when among those present and assisting were, all the members of the N.S.A., a Hand of the Cause, two members of the Board, six of the friends who had also been in Haifa, several national teachers and friends from many countries. All of these made a wonderful spirit of eternal value, which will always be remembered.

Aileen Beals and Ruth were driven to Bournemouth by Bill Conkling, a beautiful drive, and were guests in the home of Aileen's friend. They were glad to retire after the very intensive two weeks in Exeter and the long drive to....

BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND August 1 & 2, 1954

It was Sunday and the famous Bank Holliday Week End, when everyone all over England goes away from home for a joyous time somewhere. Roads were full, restaurants and beaches crowded in spite of the rain. Bournemouth is a large resort city, situated one hundred sixteen miles west of London on Poole Bay, and has about one hundred thousand inhabitants and seems to be a favorite health resort that is becoming industrialized. Aileen spent the day with her sons, and Bill Conkling and Blanche Powles took care of Ruth for the day, she answered hundreds of their questions. In the evening Ruth spoke in the Bahá'í Center on Messages from the Guardian and helped in the observance of the Feast of Kamam — Perfection. The next day, she and Aileen made calls on a number of her friends who could not attend a lecture. It was too bad it was such a rainy weekend for the Holliday as they do not have many hollidays of sunny days in the British Isles.

BRISTOL, ENGLAND August 3, 1954

Bill drove Aileen and Ruth to Bristol where they had dinner and Ruth spoke on "The New Spirit in the Holy Land" twice in the Gregory

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home, and "From Adam to Atom", for which there was a fine response, and urgent request to come again. Ruth spent the night in Aileen's boarding house and gave the glad Message to several of the boarders. Called on Vicar Davis of the United Church, some of Aileen's friends and talked with one who became convinced and said she would make her declaration! Then we took the train for Cardiff, Wales....

CARDIFF, WALES August 3 & 4, 1954

They had dinner and Ruth gave a lecture in the home of Joan Giddings who is pioneering from England in Cardiff. She has a lovely enthusiastic, sincere spirit and is eager to form an Assembly in this difficult spot. Cardiff is one of the most important ports in the United Kingdom with about ten miles of docks and quays, and outlet for the vast mineral wealth of that region. Cardiff has a population of well over two hundred thousand, with much smoke and heavy fog. The University College of South Wales is located here. Aileen and Ruth did what they could to help Joan in the two days that they could be there, then took the train back to Bristol, Where Aileen left Ruth, who went alone to.....

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BRIGHTON, ENGLAND August 4 & 5, 1954

Shamoa Sedaghat and Doreen Geary met Ruth and took her to the latter's home, and although the grandfather had died in the home a few hours before they wanted Ruth as their guest, and did all they could for her, even though they were of a different faith; Catholic. She had prayers for the grandfather, and of course would take no renumeration for the prayer, which surprised them and for which they were greatful. Ruth gave a public lecture in Memorial Hall in the evening. Phil Hainsworth from Africa, brought seven in his little car from London, acted as chairman and helped Ruth answer questions until after midnight. Brighton is fifty one miles straight south of South London, and is called 'London by the Sea'. It is one of the most popular resorts, a city of one hundred fifty thousand population with a sea-wall four miles long which forms a fine promenade called "The Front". The museums, art galleries and acquarium are world famous. We pray that a strong Community may be established here. On August 5, every half hour and hour there were interviews all day until Ruth had to leave without time for lunch or supper. One lovely soul made her declaration and another who had left the Cause said she would write her letter for reinstatement, as Ruth had made everything so clear and convincing! Then Ruth hurriedly caught the train for London.

LONDON, ENGLAND, August 5, 1954

Dorothy Becktol and Phillip Hainsworth met Ruth and took her to dinner and to the Bahá'í Center where she and Hasan Balyuzi were the speakers. However, there were so many strangers, she was asked to reserve her talk of Haifa and the Guardian until next Monday and to speak on a more general subject this evening. It was such a surprise when Nancy Campbell of Hamilton Ontario walked in, and later Lady Hornell from Belfast Ireland! It was an inspiration to be with and hear dear Hasan Balyuzi who has so much light of the Spirit.

GOLDEN GREEN, ENGLAND August 6, 1954

Phillip and Ruth spoke in Bobbie Needham's home to an interested group who asked many questions and there was a fine discussion. Mr. Nazar, always so willing to help, drove us there and back to his home after midenight. One lady said "This is that for which I have been looking all my life. At last I found it. I am so greatful."

LONDON, ENGLAND August 7 & 8, 1954

Lady Hornell came to the Nazar home to spend the day helping serve the afternoon tea to the many who dropped in to have interviews with Ruth, and to help Ruth put the rose and Jasamine petals from the Holy Shrines in little envelopes to give to the friends. These are especially precious because they were on the Threshold of the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh during the entire night of the Commemoration of His Ascension when the beloved Guardian chanted much of the night. Mr. Nazar's brother arrived from Iran and there was another party for him. The two brothers told many beautiful Persian stories of the Faith in the early days.

Sunday it poured all day, a regular English downpour, but the light shone brightly in the ?Nazar home! A number braved the storm to learn more of the Messages from our Guardian.

LONDON, ENGLAND August 9 & 10, 1954

Hasan Balyuzi was chairman for Ruth as she spoke in the Bahá'í Center about Guardianship, his words and the spirit of Haifa. She spoke for two hours with a breif break between, when she had finished the friends sat silent for almost ten minutes, then said, "You have brought the real spirit of Haifa!" "We could sit all night as that spirit lifts us out of this world." "How can we thank you enough?"

At the Royal Sabena Air Lines Office, the officers triend to get Ruth to pay $120.00 more on her return ticket back to New York. She asked to see the general manager of the air lines, Mr. Watrin and presented the letter written by Dr. George Stirn of the Global

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Air Lines of Haifa, in which he stated that Mrs. Moffett was traveling through Europe at the request of the International Bahá'í Council, and asked that every courtesy possible be extended to her. He asked many questions about Bahá'í and the International Councel, and arranged her ticket to return to America from Manchester without having to go back to Brussels, without added cost, and wrote a letter to use in every city she visited, asking for extended kindness. He was most gracious. He arranged for Flight 545 leaving Manchester England at 11:00 p.m., August 30, arriving in New York, Idlewild Airport, Tuesday, 9:20 a.m. August 31.

OXFORD AND WHEATLY, ENGLAND August 11 & 12, 1954

Marina Nazar helped Ruth breathlessly to the Marlesborouth Station to take the train to the home of David and Marian Hoffman. It was a beautiful ride through the picturesque English villages to the farm home of David and Marian, where Ruth had dinner with them and their two lovely children, and a fine visit. David then took Ruth to Oxford, to Derbeyshire House and to meet all the Bahá'ís in that region and to speak on "Our Guardian Speaks". There was a warm spirit and many questions. Jean Campbell and the other English friends were most gracious and eager for every word from our beloved Guardian.

Mariann Hoffman took Ruth, the next day, all over Oxford University, made up of about twenty colleges, Baliol College where our Guardian studied was one. We saw the room where he had studied over a tiny court. We went to the Unitarian Church Building on the campus, where 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke in 1912, and had heavenly prayers together there. Few cities have been blessed by the presence of both 'Abdu'l-Bahá and the Guardian as has Oxford and London. Ruth felt the radiance of Their Spirit there. Ruth spoken on Jean Campbell's sun porch in the eve. Susanne Christoflow of Paris, St. Barbe Baker's secretary, came to stay with Ruth and became confirmed.

BLACKBURN, ENGLAND August 13, 14, 15, and 16, 1954

Susanne Christoflow, the brilliant girl from Paris, in the publishing business there, while staying with Ruth in Oxford, became aflame with the Bahá'í Spirit, said "Nothing has ever moved me so into desire to serve! What can I do?" She said she would go back to Paris and serve where the need is so great. She put Ruth on the train for Blackburn. ruth had to change trains four times carrying her own luggage over and under tracks in the rain, and arrived in Manchester instead of Blackburn, all due to inefficiency in the transportation system and its handling. Trudi Scott had to go to Manchester to meet Ruth and take her to her tiny room in blackburn where thay had four precios days together. She had pioneered there for years with little results and was quite discouraged. The two girls prayed much and went to work. She borrowed a typewriter from an office downstairs and helped Ruth write twenty letter and material to help. They made several important contacts, inviting them to the last evening lecture "From Adam to Atom", to which fifteen came to Trudi's little workshop for a heavenly experience. Mrs. Warring made her declaration! and one daughter just returned from South Africa, and the other daughter married to a Chinese, became very interested. They said "These are the most mind-expanding and soul stirring talks I have ever heard May you bless others as you have blessed us!"

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND August 17, 1954

Trudi and Ruth went to Liverpool together, typing on a rented typewriter enroute, in the crowded, smelly coach, in a typical English downpour, glad to be out of smoky, blackened Balckburn for a time. It is one of the largest manufacturing cities of England with a population of about one hundred thirty thousand, with a large cotton machinery output.

Gladys Prichard, chairman of the L.S.A. of Liverpool met the girls at 2:40 p.m. taking them to the noted Tibet exhibition in the Museum, and then to the Parliament building to see the beautiful mosaic floor which is uncovered only once in twenty years. Very beautiful! In Gladys' home, the girls typed until time for the potluck dinner and the evening lecture by Ruth with all that she could pack in about the station and mission of the Guardian.

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Again and again they said, "She has brought the real spirit of the Shrines to us!" They urged her to remain in Liverpool, which is one of the greatest trading centers of the world and on one of the largest Atlantic seaports. It has over one hundred fifty docks and more than fifty dry docks, and one of the largest vehicular tunnels in the world; fourty four feet in diameter and two miles long. It has one of the largest merchant fleets in the world. The first important steam railroad in the world was opened between Liverpool and Manchester in 1830, before the time of the Declaration of the Bab. It is an interesting and important city, in which to spread the glad Message. The two who made their declaration during the Summer School came and added their spirit of happiness. Dr. Miller took Ruth and the whole bunch to the ship to speed her on her way to Dublin, but urged her to return and to remain longer, saying "Bless you!"

DUBLIN, ERIN, August 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22, 1954

At 11:00 p.m. the ship across the Irish Sea went through three locks as the tide went out. Ruth sat on the deck until long after midnight watching the strange proceddings. She gave the message to a young man going to Dublin who asked the urpose of her visit. At dawn a cabin boy brought her a cup of tea and another as the ship made ready to dock in Dublin. There was Adib Taberzadeh to meet her. He took her to their home for breakfat, then phoned Brian Townshend that Mrs. Ruth Moffett had arrived. He came at once to welcome her mosr warmly. Dr. George Townshend hearing the name of Ruth Moffett over the phone, jumped up out of bed, upseting a pot of tea amid the protests of his wife, for he had been under doctor's care for six weeks, and in bed a month, and insisted that he speak with Mrs. Moffett personally. He invited her to tea with him that afternoon, that he and his daughter, Una, would call for her at 2:00 p.m. Ruth protested because of his illness, but he would not take 'no". At 2:00 p.m. Una drove up with her father and took Ruth to the Singing Kettle, where he ordered the table, the tea, the cinnamon-toast and orange marmelade, and himself served the tea as an English gentleman, even though he was very weak and his hands trembled. His face was thin and drawn, but his eyes were beautiful and soulful. His spirit had an amazing eagerness and poise, and light, and a keen desire for every word about the Guardian. Ruth gave him the message the Guardian asked her to give him, part of which was to finish his book and get it published as soon as possible, that it is very important for the Christian world, especially at this time. He was delighted to receive the message and said that he had not been able to write for a long time and had hdad little inspiration, as he had been so ill. At the Summer School Brian had insisted that Ruth give him the Guardian's message herself, as that might be the spark to set him aflame again. Therefore Ruth made the extra effort and expense to go there. At the tea table they were soon telling stories and he chuckled more and more until he suddenly broke out in a hearty laugh. Una whispered to Ruth "I have not seen father laugh like that in five years." Words cannot describe the joy to all three on that memorable tea!

Ruth spoke each evening and some afternoons in the home of Adib and Zarina Taberzadeh. They said that Ruth was the only one that they had heard give the Message in Dublin in the four years that they had lived there. Dr. Townshend was present every time but one, drinking in every word. Ruth repeatedly said she should be sitting at his feet. He looked very frail and feeble, but each time she spoke about the Guardian he sat bolt upright, fearing he might miss a single word. none of the family had ever been in Haifa. Bahá'í teahers had not worked, he said, in Dublin.

The work and spirit of Dr. Townshend is historic. He is the first distinguished ecclesiastic to step out of a great ecclesiastical position of wealth and influence, into a little-known Faith. He stepped out of a twenty-four room house in an eleven acre estate, with many servants into a small house which the N.S.A. of the british Isles rented for him, where Mrs. Townshend has to do all the cooking, baking, washing, ironing, shopping etc., never having done it before in her life. He stepped out of a life of great power and affluence, into a life of poverty and persecution. He wrote a masterly letter of resignation to the ecclesiastics, explaining the faith and the cause of his resignation. Not one responded. He wrote his regrets about their dearness to Shoghi Effendi, who replied "How can

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you expect tombs to respond to your letter?" Una, Brian and Adib took Ruth to St. Patricks Cathedral, founded in 1890, and they sat in the very pew in which brian sat spell-bound when his father gave the Message of Bahá'u'lláh for the first time in that immense Cathedral. Only the elder dean said "That sermon is a masterpiece". He did not understand why.

Dublin was surely blessed by the spirit of this great soul. It is the capital of the Irish Free State and has numerous huge cathedrals, churches, castles, monuments, and monasteries. The National museum contains the finest collection of ancient gold ornaments in the world. Ruth went to Trinity College, not for four years, but for a day! It is really the University of Dublin. If Ruth could have remained long enough for the necessary arrangements, she could have had the opportunity to speak there in the class of Religious History. Dublin became an ecclesiastical bishopric in 1038 and an archi-episcopal city in 1152. In 1689, William III returned thanks in St. Patrick's Cathedral for the victory of Boyne. It was in an historic background such as this that Dr. George Townshend lived and caught a gleam of the Light of God through the Glory of baha'u'llah and rose to reflect that light.

Brian and Una were so happy to see the change that had come to their father saying that they had not seen him laugh and joke like this for years. He told Ruth his favorite poem was: "Adam had-um-fleas!" Then he laughed heartily. The words from our Guardian set him aflame to finish his book and get it published as soon as possible. They all begged Ruth and her husband to come and settle in Dublin, which she would gladly do, however the Guardian said at present she needed to work thoroughout America. Early the last morning Adib took her in a taxi to the quaint Irish train for Belfast, her heart filled with gratitude.

BELFAST, IRELAND August 22 & 23, 1954

One cannot realize the beauty of this land until they go through it and see the little Irish villages, the quaint homes, gardens, lovely trees and hedges of flowers. Lady Hornell of London, mother-in-law of Hasan Balyuzi, Hand of the Cause, who gave up everything to pioneer in belfast, met Ruth and entertained her in her tiny apartment. She is so pure-hearted, they had a heavenly time together and talked almost continually for the two days and nights with her contacts, who became eager for the Spirit of Haifa. Belfast is an interesting, though difficult post, very nationalistic for the crown, and very Lutheran and conservative, with Queen's University, beautiful gardens and many monuments, and the largest linen industries of the world. Lady Hornell and the whole group took Ruth to the ship to gross the Irish See to Glasgow....

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND August 24, 1954

It is an interesting sight to watch the ship dock at six a.m. in one of the largest ship building ports of the world. Glasgow is next to

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London the largest city in the United Kingdom, one of the greatest manufacturing and sea ports of the world. It traces its beginning to the little wooden church which St. Kentigern, apostle to the Scots, built on the banks of the Molendivar about 560 A.D. Much of its prosperity is due to the fine harbour and its position in the midst of a region abounding in rich deposits of coal, iron and other minerals.

It was here that Ada Williams came to pioneer and to spread the glad Message of Baha'u'lah. She was working in the suburb of Motherwell. A dinner and lecture in the evening in the Grand Hotel brought much inspiration and the spirit of Haifa, they said, and wish Ruth to return before going back to America. Mr. Robertson brought four from Edinburg and to drive Ruth back with them. There are only three pioneers in Glasgow, but they are winning the confidence of the people. Dear Ada Williams took care of a woman with smallpox in the Grand Hotel who had fainted in the lobby. Now the Grand Hotel cannot do enough to express their gratitude and welcome a Bahá'í meeting.

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND August 25, 26 and 27, 1954

James Robertson drove Nora and Marian Michaloff and Ruth 50 miles through the Scotland Highlands to the Longmine Private Hotel in Edinburgh where they found Margaret Lloud and sister recently returned from South Africa. House so full, Ruth slept on the couch in the living room, in the wee small hours. The International Music Festival is on for three weeks and people are here from all over the world, and everything focuses on that. Edinburgh is one of the great educational centers of the world, with many educational institutions, built on the seven hills, and is called the "Modern Athens." The Castle, which is three hundred feet high and accessible only onits Eastrn side, was the residence of many of the Scottish monarchs and the scene of many tragic events. It is now the gorgeous scene of the International Music Festival. One

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finds historic monuments everywhere and Princess Street with its lovely gardens and flower clock that keeps time, attract people from all over the world. In 1843, one year before the Bab made His declaration, Edinburg as the religious center of Scotland, was the scene of the famous secession from the Established Church of England which ended in the formation of the Free Church of Scotland, to which today almost everyone in Scotland belongs. Mr. Robertson took Ruth to the cathedral where 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke and to the home of Mr. & Mrs. White where he stayed four days and where they had prayers.

Devoted Bahá'í pioneers have come and stayed for a year at a time and still there is not an Assembly, showing how difficult it is to break through the established shell. Breakfasts, luncheons, and teas were arranged for Ruth and the public lecture in Memorial Hall. During the questions period one man said, "I have no questions for I do not believe a word she said." It was as though a ton of cold water was dashed over everyone. Ruth had to say something to rescue the situation, so she began praising the beautiful munoument of Sir Walter Scott on Princess Street, which is one of the most beautiful ones in the world, built for an individual who was not a general or a monarch. She said that she too is very prouud of it, as "Sir Walter Scott was the first cousin of my mother's mother." The cold-water-dashing man popped up and said, "You are! then I am prepared to believe every word you said!" Then he invited them all to have tea with him the next evening in the North Britain Hotel where Sir Walter Scott and the Bahá'í Faith were discussed at length.

They learned how Sir Walter Scott, born in 1771 and passed on in 1823 became one of the great literary geniuses of the world, his years as an attorney, his remarkable writing and story telling ability, and his beautiful poetic soul, produced a mass of literary works unequaled by any other British writer. He discovered the historical novel. He gave to literature that encyclopedic character since exemplified later by Balsac, Dickens, Tackery, and revolutionized history as a body of dry facts. He is perhaps most loved by the Scottish people for having discovered the lost Royal stone of Scotland and returning it to them. In 1813 he was offered the poet laureateship of the British Isles, but declined because he did not wish to be limited in his ideals to write. In 1818 a baronetry was conferred upon him and King George IV knighted him for his services. It is said that he was related to King George and those gathered for tea, said that Ruth was then the 'steenth cousin of the King also?!!!

The interesting story of Sir Walter Scott by those who loved him, led to the marvelous writings of Bahá'u'lláh and their influence upon civilization, and the soul of man.

Throughout the years the friends could get little or no publicity in the papers, so they consulted Ruth, who said, "Abdu'l-Bahá visited Edinburg and God is all powerful." She wants to know His Will. A reporter came to interview a descendent of Sir Walter Scott, and the best articles the Bahá'í ever had, appeared in the Conservative Scotman. They all begged Ruth and her husband to come and settle in Scotland, to help attain the goal to which our beloved Guardian has called us. It was with regret that they all parted and Ruth took the train for Manchester.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND August 27, 28, 29, 30 & 31, 1954

Ruth arrived at 4:30, was taken to the Sheperd home for dinner and to speak in the Publi meeting at the Queen Hotel in the evening. friends and contacts came from many cities in Northern England, including our dear Louis Gregory from Sheffield, and Trudi Scott from Blackburn, who came to help Ruth type and do a million things before preparing to return to America. There were streams of callers and telephone calls expressing gratitude for all of her help in the british Isles, and begging her to remain longer or to return soon. Ben Scheribman just arrived from America, and learned that Ruth was leaving for America, phoned from London that he was coming to Manchester to see her, but did not say what train nor what station, and there are six stations! But the process of prayer and elimination they decided on one and were much concerned as Ben did not know anyone in England having just arrived. Crowds came from the train, but no Ben. As they turned away they heard

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a "WHOA! WHOA!" and Ben came running saying "I asked 'Abdu'l-Bahá to show you where to meet me and I knew that you would." The power of prayer is very convining for Ben. He helped Ruth with piles of manuscripts and letters in the Center. He said that he came all this way from London to Manchester to see Ruth for three reasons. 1: To get her wisdom and prayers for his next step, and how could he get into Russia to teach the Cause, and how he could teach there. 2: To beg her to leave Chicago as soon as possible and move to Wisconsin, Nebraska or Iowa, 3: To try and help her in return for all of the spiritual help she had been to him throughout the years. Bahá'u'lláh will bless him for his services.

Mr. Davis, the director of the Royal Sabena Air Lines for Northern England, invited Ruth for lunch and himself made all the arrangements for her departure. Everyone was most kind and did all that they could for her. The last lecture in the Bahá'í Center was sad but heartwarming as she gave them "Pearls of Wisdom from the Guardian and the Greatest Holy Leaf." They said that it was one of the most stirring they had ever had. Although it was pouring rain, most of those present went to the air port for a last fare-thee-well. It was a never to be forgotten sight as Ruth expressed her gratitude, kissed them all and told them that she loved them with all her heart, and that high above the clouds she would pray that they may all become shinging stars in the Kingdom of Bahá'u'lláh! Mr. Davis himself escorted her onto the plane for the thrilling overseas flight. God bless them each one!

SHANNON, ERIN August 30, 1954

Royal Sabena Flight 545 Transatlantic was on its way! There was a sumptuous dinner at midnight in the dining room at the airport in Shannon, Erin, then sixty passengers strapped in their seat belts, in the big plane, soared high in the air for the oceanic flight. The plane rose to tewnty thousand feet high. It was full moon and the moonlight reflected on the white clouds below, made it look like a fairyland and seem like a world celestial that is if one did not think of Davie Jones Locker far below! "The heavens declare the Glory of God (Bahá'u'lláh). The firmament showeth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech. Night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no place where their voice is not heard." Bahá'u'lláh wrote "The cause of the creation of all contingent beings has been love.. I was a hidden treasure and lived to be known." These are some of the thoughts upon which Ruth meditated during that memorable flight. In the midst of the etheric moonlight beauty, there was an ominous feeling and Ruth prayed all of that night.

GANDER, NEWFOUNDLAND August 31, 1954

It was dawn. After the beautiful, impressive, successful flight, the big plane landed in the bleak, windy airport of Gander, Newfoundland. The wind was so strong, it was difficult to get the plane on its way again. It flew over vast areas of grass and trees partly submerged, and barren islands. The plane, tipped, dipped, and rolled.

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK August 31, 1954

The Royal Sabena Transatlantic plane, flight 545 enroute from Gander, Newfoundland, was buffeted about like a feather. It pitched, rolled, swayed and dropped into airpockets as though the bottom had dropped out of the world. Everyone was sick, even the stewards. Although Ruth had flown a great deal and had had experiences, never had there been one as frightening as this. She had prayed all night long for the guidance of the two pilots, now she prayed most earnestly and continuouosly for them, with the great responsibility of all these passengers and crew, that all could land safely, God willing. After six hours of this sickening, terrifying experience, the plane arrived at Idlewild airport in New York and learned that it had been one of the most destructive along the coast of New England. It was the only transatlantic plane to arrive. A number of ships and planes were lost at sea in that dreadful hurricane. The pilots received special honours for their courage and skill. Ruth breathed a prayer of gratitude, and wishes she could tell them that it was the powerful prayers of Bahá'u'lláh that saved them.

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You can imagine the joy with which she greeted Ludmila Von Sombeck who was waiting for her at the airport, as everything had been grounded because of the hurricane, there were no taxis, limosines, and the great airport was almost deserted. She had invited Ruth and Robert to be guests in their home. It was a happy occaison for them all! "Praise be to God the Lord of all the worlds!"

BROOKLYN AND NEW YORK CITY, September 1, 2, 3, 4, 1954

There were luncheons and Firesides and a lecture each evening during the following busy days. The friends were eager for the message from our beloved Guardian, but not as eager as the friends in Europe, nor was there the same spirit, of sacrifice and dedication, broadly speaking. Ruth spoke in a large Youth Meeting in New York City which was enthusiastically received and discussed. She also spoke in the Bahá'í Center in New York, and in the home of Carrie Kinney. Many enjoyed Ruth's husband's humor and stories until he returned to Washington, D.C. There was a conference with some officers of the U.N. and an interesting tour through the buildings. Ruth was one of the U.N. fields lecturers, having witnessed the birth of the U.N. Charter and attended several U.N. Conferences.

NEW YORK CITY, WEST ENGLEWOOD, RIVER EDGE, HARRINGTON
PARK, BLOOMFIELD, GLOSTES, NEW JERSEY, September 5-11, 1954

These days were filled with Firesides, luncheons, teas, and many conferences. Ruth lectured in The Cabin, West Englewood on Sunday evening September 5th. Many said "You have brought the true spirit of the Shrines, and are so grateful." "You have brought so much more than most pilgrims!" "You have made us long to go there as never before." Bill de Froge kidnapped Ruth to take her to their home for Labor Day Weekend, to meet their contacts and to talk science with their youn son, in Harrington Park. In New York City, Ruth had lunch with Norman Cousins, who was much interested in her trip to Haifa and asked many questions about the Guardian. He is writing a new book on "Immortality" and asked Ruth some of the Bahá'í answers on the subject, after which Bill de Forge took her to the Adler Planetarium for the lecture and to get certain data. She was a guest in Curtis and Harriet Kelsey's home, she gave several lectures and tape recordings of her Pilgrimage. Ruth was guest of Alice Morse in Bloomfield, spoke in the Arthur and Joiec Block home in Gloster, and in the home of Vaffa Kinney in River Edge. All were eager to hear the latest messages from our Guardian.

WEST HAVEN AND WASHINGTON, CONNECTICUT, September 12, 13, 1954

Curtiss Kelsey and Ruth Moffett were the speakers at the New England Area Conference held on the big lawn of Agnes Eades home in Weat Haven. She told the Conference that it was the talk and the spirit that she heard Ruth Moffett give years ago in the Emma Rice home that confirmed her. She was surprised to find another of her "children" there, Joshua Green of Port Antonio, Jamaica, and the Stones from Vermont., and Jean Silver from Cuba etc. Ruhanguiz Bolles kidnapped Ruth, taking her home to Washington, Conn. for two days, which were filled with calls on her close friends and contacts. Her son Randolph took them to have a fine fish dinner and to call on several of their friends to tell them about Haifa and the Guardian. Ruth helped them save their home from a bush fire, then went to Danbury to have dinner with the friends and to take the train for.....

NEW YORK, WEST ENGLEWOOD, CHICAGO, September 14, 15, 16, 17, 1954

Left home, Chicago, May 17, returned home September 17. The greatest four months of ruth's life. Every minute full. All praise and glory be to Bahá'u'lláh! Ya-Baha'ol-Abha!

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THE BLESSINGS OF AKKA IN THE HOLY LAND

[On this last page of Ruth's pilgrim's notes, she quotes Bahá'u'lláh from The Epistle to the Son of the Wolf , pp. 176-179 regarding Akka; followed by a quote of Bahá'u'lláh fromThe Advent of Divine Justice p. 19. and then ends with the following:]

May we all become bigger, more radiant lumps to leaven the peoples of the world so that the reality of these pure souls may exercise their influence upon all created things!

ALLAH'U'ABHA!

Research notes and cautions about the Moffett pilgrims notes

Thellie Lovejoy, who helped type and proofread many pilgrims notes for Bahá'í Library Online, has found evidence that parts of these notes may be plagiarized. Lovejoy's findings were shared with myself and others via a series of emails. With her permission, I have edited and compiled her emails, below. -J.W.

The May 1954 Moffet notes that were made ready to distribute in the early 1970's when Ruth was in her 90's are the work of plagiarism. As you do not know me, let me insert here that I can back up everything I claim with written proof within the note's own self. Ruth was apparently trying to get the notes published in a book form. She lengthened her notes by adding the pilgrim notes of Alice Dudley's 1957 pilgrimage and William Sears' March 1954 pilgrimage. And a travel portion for and aft. She cut and pasted her own notes--it's questionable how much of her own notes are her own notes---with Duddley's and Sears's. She rearranged their words, to make it appear that she was the heard of these words. She altered the words of William Sears in at least one place where, he was expressing his own thoughts regarding the Guardian and turned these thoughts of Mr. Sears into the words of the Guardian, himself that she heard him say. If she had only attributed the others' notes to herself, this would be an embarrassment. But she alters them to change the meaning. She also has written into the notes at least two excuses that are attempts to cover what she had done. This, of course, throws into doubt any statement she makes that she says she heard from the lips of Shoghi Effendi. And there is at least one statement I have very strong feelings that she invented to suit her idea. I myself have a book of information--in my head--of provable, different things she has done--even in her published books, so it is obvious, I cannot put everything I know in an e-mail.

[Question via email: I don't know about the evidence that Moffett's notes are somehow falsified; what is it? Is it not possible that she was there at the same time as some of the others, or heard similar things?]

[Lovejoy's response:] She took notes from others who were not there at the same time as herself. She took notes from William Sears who was there 2 months before herself and she took notes from Alice Duddley who was there three years after herself. It is likely she took notes from some who were there while she was there, but I do not count those notes as provable plagiarism. Duddley's notes were in circulation immediately after Duddley's pilgrimage in 1957. Moffet's notes did not appear until the early 70's.

Very numerous are the direct copies Moffet took from these two individuals, but even more telling are these two examples, below, where she alters and adds. In the Example with Alice Duddley's notes you need to know that Moffet refers to herself through out the notes in the third person. Also, that the book mentioned by Duddley, "Christ & Bahá'u'lláh" was not in print in 1954 during Moffet's pilgrimage, but came out the very month of Dudley's visit 3 years later. The parentheses of the Moffett excerpt are included by Moffett, referring to herself.

Examples are;

"We should use Dr. George W. Townshend's latest book, "Christ and Bahá'u'lláh" because it is the most scholarly and portrays the Kingdom of God upon the earth. (This note was added later after Ruth Moffett had visited Dr. Townshend in Dublin, at the Guardian's request, and delivered his message to him, all of which caused or enabled him to complete the book at a time when he could no longer write. This again shows the cosmic power of prayer and love and faith. It is a wonderful story.)"

The Guardian said Dr. Esslemont and Dr. Townsend were the two greatest Bahá'í writers in the west, and that Abdu'l-Fazl was the greatest Bahá'í writer in the East. He thought that Townsend's latest book "Christ and Bahá'u'lláh" exceeded Dr. Esslemont's book in greatness. Said the English should be very proud of both of them, that we must use Dr. Townsend's latest book because it portrays the Kingdom of God upon Earth.

The Guardian said that the friends feel that it is difficult to leave their homes and pioneer, even to move to the goals inside their own countries. They do not see that he is not asking them to sacrifice. He is protecting them from themselves. He is protecting them not only from the calamity that is rushing toward them outwardly, but he is protecting them from the calamity that is rushing toward them inwardly.

"Another evening the Guardian said. . .. They do not see that we are not asking them to sacrifice. We are protecting them from great difficulty and from themselves. We are not only protecting them from the calamity that is rushing toward them outwardly, but from the calamity that is rushing toward them inwardly."

[On another topic:] Following are some comparative notes taken from pilgrim notes regarding the timing of the Most Great Peace and Golden Age.

From 1953 Ben Levy:

"When asked when will be the beginning of the Golden Age - Guardian said the Golden Age may be in 70 to 100 years. Leroy Ioas commented that the establishment of the Universal House of Justice does not mean the beginning of the Golden age."

From 1954 Ramona Brown (an overlap pilgrim with Moffet):

"It is essential that the youth of today study deeply the Faith as they will usher in the Most Great Peace. The Lesser Peace will be established within this century. The Most Great Peace in the next century."

From 1954 Moffet notes, (these are 3 excerpts from different places within her notes):

"World Order will gradually develop in the Golden Age and reach the stage of 'the coming of age' of mankind. This stage will happen at the close of the Golden Age. World Order will evolve in the course of the Golden Age until it will reach its period of 'coming of age'; then it will gradually mature.. . . The union of the two [Law & Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh & mind of 'Abdu'l-Bahá] gives rise to the birth of the administrative Order which started in the formative age and matures toward the close of the Bahá'í cycle."
". . .Emergence of the Bahá'í World Commonwealth. That means the coming of age of the human race, the establishment of the Most Great Peace. This is the Golden Age, and the evolution of humanity."
"The Bahá'í World Commonwealth will begin to mature near the end of the Bahá'í dispensation, not cycle.. . .This is the fruit of the fruit of the golden Age!"

Abstracting from her notes; In the Golden age, near its end is the coming of Age of the human race which is the same as the Most Great Peace. I personally find exception with this timing as I believe it invites complacency among Bahá'ís. I also believe it is highly inaccurate from my very careful study of Bahá'í prophecy of this subject. I also believe the complacency enjoined by many Bahá'ís will (is) create(ing) a set up for a more traumatic transaction, rather a slower one.
[-Thellie Lovejoy, 1998]

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