Issue no. 7, September 1925: Temple Committee

The detailed report presented by the Temple Committee to the recent Convention is now being published and copies will very shortly be placed in the hands of every recognized believer in the United States and Canada and also of Baha’i Assemblies in other countries.

This report contains a complete financial statement of all receipts and expenditures made in connection with the Mashriqu’l-Adhkar at Wilmette. It contains a complete summary of the Temple activities since their inception in 1909, including the matter of the architect’s contract, statements by the engineer, and photographs of the Foundation Hall and Mr. Bourgeois’ studio on the Temple grounds.

From the remarkable effects produced by this report upon the delegates, it is certain that its publication will effectively stimulate a new and deeper spirit of devotion for the continuance of this edifice dedicated to the Glory of God.

Issue no. 7, September 1925: Teaching Committee

The following statement has been prepared by Mr. Albert Vail, secretary of the National Teaching Committee, and outlines the plans of the five regional chairmen for the coming year:

“At the recent National Convention at Green Acre it was resolved that we make an effort to build the Temple such as has not yet been known and that we teach the Cause with a universality, a wisdom, a spiritual radiance and power which will ignite all America. Shoghi Effendi has told us in many letters that now is the time to make a superhuman effort to teach the Cause and to live a life pure and severed and radiant and divine ‘so that the power of God in us may fill the world with all its glory.’

“The new National Teaching Committee at its first meeting, after the Convention at Green Acre, worked out a series of plans to make this, if possible, the greatest teaching year in all Baha’i history. First of all, it was realized that we need many more teachers. As ‘Abdu’l-Baha wrote some years ago, ‘There is need of a thousand teachers, each one severed from the world, attracted by the Holy Spirit in the Celestial Concourse and joyful through the Kingdom of God and in perfect sanctity, holiness and sufficiency (independence of spirit.)’

Issue no. 7, September 1925: Announcement

Since the establishment of the National Spiritual Assembly by the Guardian of the Cause, the activities of the believers throughout the United States and Canada have centered around that body more and more. The responsibility placed upon the members, already considerable, will increase steadily, with the growth of the Cause itself.

For some time it has been apparent to those in touch with this phase of the work that there is urgent need for a central office with a secretary able to devote all of his time to the correspondence and other duties incumbent upon the National Spiritual Assembly.

The difficulty of finding a person with the necessary qualifications and at the same time so situated that he could enter upon this service with the compensation which could be voted at the present time, has been a serious obstacle to the establishment of this necessary office.

The National Spiritual Assembly is happy to announce that arrangements have been made whereby, early in October, a central office will be opened at Green Acre, South Eliot, Maine.

Issue no. 6, July-August 1925: A Message from Shoghi Effendi to the 1925 Convention

To the beloved of God and the handmaids of the Merciful, the delegates and visitors to the Baha’i Convention, Green Acre, Maine, U.S.A.

Fellow-Laborers in the Vineyard of God:

Once again the hand of divine power has gathered together the chosen representatives of the American believers, assembled this time amid the pleasant surroundings of a blest and beloved spot, to deliberate upon the most effective measures that will ensure the advancement of the Cause of Baha’u’llah. I feel it a pleasure and privilege to offer you these few thoughts as my humble contribution to the proceedings of your annual Convention.

May I at the outset reaffirm my feelings of gratitude and keen appreciation for the eminent share which the friends in America, individually as well as by their collective efforts, have contributed to ease the burden of responsibility and care that has so often oppressed my heart. Your steadfastness, your unsparing devotion; your self-sacrifice in upholding and fostering the institutions of the Cause; the notable advance you have achieved in the coordination of your activities; the remarkable solicitude you have shown, and the magnificent response you have made on behalf of the oppressed and needy among your brethren; the measures you have initiated, the hindrances you have removed and the means and methods you have perfected -- these and others beside have established you in the confidence, the esteem and the admiration of all the Baha’i world. I personally appreciate and am thankful for your unfailing supplications and special prayers on my behalf. I am deeply touched by your expressions of unwavering faith, of loyalty and affection, and fully reciprocate your brotherly sentiments and your keen desire and readiness to collaborate with me more closely and effectively than ever before.

Issue no. 6, July-August 1925: Letter from Shoghi Effendi

To the beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout the West.

My dear friends: --

From various reliable reports, recently received from Persia, it is becoming increasingly evident that this most unhappy country is passing through yet another crisis of extreme violence and far-reaching results. The growing instability of its affairs, the unceasing turmoil caused by conflicting personalities and factions, the economic stagnation of the country, are all signs that are highly disquieting to every well-wisher of Persia. These evidences of discontent may conceivably lead to an upheaval that might react most unfavorably on the fortunes of the Movement in Persia.

Already the exigencies of the present political life of the country have brought about a gradual recrudescence of religious fanaticism which, in its stubbornness and ferocity, can hardly find a parallel even in the semi-civilized countries of the world. I have just received a communication addressed by the secretary of the Qaghan Spiritual Assembly to the National Assembly of Persia, dated January 7th, and recording the following facts: --