Hail with glad, grateful heart the historic Assembly of the elected
representatives of the followers of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh throughout the
Western Hemisphere participating in the first All-America Convention
gathered in the vicinity of the first Bahá'í Center of the Western World
beneath the dome of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of the West to commemorate
alike the Anniversary of the founding of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh and
the Birth of `Abdu'l-Bahá, the Anniversary of its establishment in the
Occident and to celebrate the completion of the exterior ornamentation of
the most hallowed House of Worship in the entire Bahá'í world. I recall
with profound emotion on this solemn, auspicious occasion the milestones
in the progress of the community whose rise constitutes one of the noblest
episodes in the history of the First Bahá'í Century. Called into being
through the operation of the will of the Center of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant,
energized at the hour of its birth by dynamic spirit communicated to it by the
band of first returning pilgrims, purged in its infancy by fiery tests
involving the defection of its acknowledged founder, nursed through the
dispatch of unnumbered Tablets by the vigilant Master, as well as by the
successive messengers designed to support its infant strength, launched upon
its rapid career through series of institutional acts and missionary journeys
signalizing the first stirrings of its community life, infinitely enriched by
priceless benefits conferred upon its members in the course of `Abdu'l-Bahá's
sojourn in their midst, invested with a unique mission through the revelation
of the Tablets of the Divine Plan, firmly knit through processes proclaiming
the emergence of the Divinely appointed Administrative Order, immortalized
through the signal acts of its illustrious member who succeeded in winning
the allegiance of royalty to its cause, consummating its record of achievements
through total victory of the Seven Year Plan thereby sealing the
triumph of the first stage in the Mission bestowed by `Abdu'l-Bahá, this
repeatedly blessed, much envied community deserves to be acclaimed the
Torchbearer of the civilization, the foundations of which the Faith of
Bahá'u'lláh is destined unassailably to establish in the course of the Second
Bahá'í Century. I am moved to pay a well deserved tribute at this great
turning point in the career of so privileged a community to the gallant band of
its apostolic founders whose deeds heralded the dawn of the Day of the
Covenant in the West, to its intrepid pioneers who labored to enlarge the
bounds of the Faith in the five continents, to its indefatigable administrators
whose hands reared the fabric of the Administrative Order, to its
heroic martyrs who followed in the footsteps of the Dawn-Breakers of the
heroic age, to its itinerant teachers who with written and spoken word
pleaded its cause and repulsed the attacks of its adversaries, to its
munificent supporters whose liberality accelerated the expansion of its
manifold activities, and last but not least to the mass of its stout-hearted,
self-denying members whose strenuous, ceaseless, concerted efforts so
decisively contributed to the consolidation and broadening of its foundations.
I desire to direct a particular appeal to the Latin American representatives
participating in the Centennial Convention to deliberate on measures to
reinforce the ties binding them to their Sister Community, unitedly devise
means for the inauguration of teaching campaigns in their respective Republics,
the dissemination of Bahá'í literature, the multiplication of Bahá'í
administrative centers as preliminary steps in the formation of Bahá'í
National Assemblies, and lend impetus to the prosecution of any enterprise
launched to carry still further the Plan conceived by `Abdu'l-Bahá for the
American Bahá'í Community.
May 15, 1944