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: --

A Message from Shoghi Effendi to the 1925 Convention

Issue No. 6 July-August 1925: 

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.

Foreign Baha’i News

Issue No. 6 July-August 1925: 

General letters received from the Spiritual Assembly of Haifa dated January 19th, February 7th, March 2nd and March 21st, bring a necessarily brief but most interesting survey of Baha’i activities throughout the Orient.

“The Baha’i ladies in Ishqabad have arranged a special course of study for young women, and marked progress has been achieved. The number of students is increasing and the prospect is very bright.

“As the result of the visit of one of the teachers to Cairo, a new spirit has been infused into the assembly of the friends and new committees and associations have been formed. The ignorant and fanatical element in one of the towns in lower Egypt have recently lodged a complaint against the Baha’i Movement in the Moslem Religious Court in Cairo, claiming that those who embrace this new movement have thereby deprived themselves of the privilege of the Moslem Faith. The case has been heard several times but no decision has as yet been rendered.

“From Merv, Russian Turkistan, we learn that the two local Baha’i schools are rendering excellent service. A special committee interested in the progress and advancement of women has been established and an increasing group of young women are taking advantage of these new educational facilities.

The Baha’i Magazine for July

--Issue No. 6 July-August 1925:

The Baha’i Magazine, Star of the West, in editorial reference to the recent trial of the theory of evolution in Tennessee, quotes illuminating passages from the words of Abdu’l Baha showing the true relation between science and religion. From month to month, in fact, the editors are taking advantage of current events to point out strikingly the fulness with which the Baha’i teachings satisfy the sincere seeker unable to accept either extreme of truth as commonly presented.

The contents of the July issue also include: Truth -- and Its Counterfeit Aspect, by Alfred E. Lunt; The Holy Grail of the Ages, by D.S. Cole; A Conference for World Unity at San Francisco, March 20-22, 1925, by Professor J.V. Breitwieser; Conquest of Prejudice, by Jinab-i-Fadil; In Quest of Truth, a drama given at the Third Baha’i Congress in Stuttgart, Germany, by Dr. Adelbert Muhlschlege; and A Notable Fellowship Dinner, by Mrs. Nellie S. French.

Member of Spiritual Assembly of Persia Visits American Baha’is

--Issue No. 6 July-August 1925:

During June the National Assembly received the following cablegram from Shoghi Effendi:

“Doctor Youness Kahn, distinguished member Persia’s Assembly, visiting American Baha’is. Expecting far-reaching results from consultation with him. Praying for successful Convention.”

Dr. Youness has now arrived, and will be present at the next meeting of the National Assembly. He plans to remain in the United States during August and, meanwhile, will visit as many Assemblies as possible. Our Baha’i brother was sent to Europe by the Persian government on an official mission in connection with his position as physician of the Military School of Persia, and at Shoghi Effendi’s suggestion extended his journey to include a visit to the American Baha’is. It was the privilege of the New York Assembly to have Dr. Youness present at the Nineteen-day Feast, held after the return of the delegates from Green Acre.

Dr. Youness feels profoundly the need for closer material and spiritual association between the Baha’is of Persia and the United States, and we hope to publish in the next News Letter his message to the American friends. Thoroughly familiar with the need of modern industrial developvelopments [sic] in his native land, Dr. Youness is most enthusiastic over the possibilities of new and permanent forms of cooperation between the believers of the two countries. While in America, he is studying hospital methods in modern institutions of New York and Boston.

Cablegram from Shoghi Effendi

--Issue No. 6 July-August 1925: 

On July 25 the National Spiritual Assembly received the following cabled message from Shoghi Effendi, sent through Bahiyyih Khanoum: --

“Guardian wires following: Heartily endorse Convention’s choice. May America’s National representatives fulfill our fondest expectations. Resumption Temple building operations conditioned, upon raising full sum of four hundred thousand dollars. Abundant blessings shall crown your self-sacrifice. -- Shoghi.”

(signed) Bahiyyih.

The reference to the Temple in this message is the Guardian’s answer to the following cablegram sent him by the Convention delegates: “Convention contributed sufficient pay all remaining Temple obligations including bank loans. Lovingly request your instructions next step Temple building plan.”

The Seventeenth Annual Convention and Baha’i Congress

--Issue No. 6 July-August 1925:

The time and place of the seventeenth annual convention were such as to lend a unique interest and charm. Green Acre, rustic in scenes, beautiful in location, famous for its universal spirit, was the place selected. These rural scenes were a pleasing departure from the background of a large city, hitherto inseparable from such an event. The season of summer, July 4 to 9, enabled many to use the time usually allotted to vacation, to attend. The annual banquet, usually held during the festive season of Ridvan, attracted one of the largest gatherings ever seen on such an occasion.

Alfred E. Lunt, for long years the sturdy and faithful servant of the Cause, presided with accustomed grace. William H. Randall, chairman of the Board of Green Acre Trustees, voiced hearty welcome to all visitors on the part of the Green Acre Fellowship. This event, he said, brings joy to every heart, as it is a true expression of the universal fellowship for which Green Acre stands. It is a great and glorious bounty. The journey ends where love meets! May all your wishes be fulfilled by those of us who love to serve this magnificent gathering!

The chairman referred feelingly to the time, thirteen years ago, when ‘Abdu’l-Baha walked around Green Acre, the vision he had of a greater Green Acre and the Creative Words which the Master spoke. These are precious memories. He directed the friends year by year to come to this favored spot and to show forth such love for each other that all the surrounding country would be astonished.

Members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada

--Issue No. 6 July-August 1925:

Mountfort Mills: Chairman

Roy C. Wilhelm: Vice Chairman

Horace Holley: Secretary

Florence Morton: Treasurer

Amelia Collins

Ali Kuli Khan

Carl Scheffler

Siegfried Schopflocher

Office of the Secretary

169 Christopher Street

New York City

Office of the Secretary

169 Christopher Street

New York City

Office of the Treasurer

5 Wheeler Avenue

Worcester, Mass.

Message from the National Spiritual Assembly

--Issue No. 6 July-August, 1925:

Dear Baha’i Friends:

We are all greatly indebted to Mr. Louis Gregory for the detailed report of the Convention appearing in this issue of the News Letter. For those unable to attend, Mr. Gregory’s faithful description will, in part at least, recreate a succession of truly significant days in the history of the Baha’i Cause in America. Those who were present will appreciate the fidelity with which a trained observer recorded the essential features of the sessions, enriching our personal memory and enlarging our individual observation of the moving scene.

Surely, every delegate and visitor will agree that it was not merely by what the delegates accomplished but even more by the underlying spirit not to be expressed wholly in word or deed, the Convention at Green Acre measured a distinct advance over any similar occasion held in past years.

For the first time, the delegates became a truly consultative body deliberating in turn upon every phase of the activities, with the result that the work of the incoming National Spiritual Assembly can more faithfully than ever reflect the unified wisdom and experience of all the friends. The new responsibility placed upon the delegates by Shoghi Effendi should, in fact, continue undiminished until the next Convention, contributing vital strength to the National Assembly and linking its members more closely to the hearts of the believers throughout Canada and the United States.

From the Writings

--Issue No. 6 July-August, 1925:

There is a power in this Cause, a mysterious power, far, far, far away from the ken of men and angels. That invisible power is the source of all these outward activities. It moves the hearts. It rends the mountains. It administers the complicated affairs of the Cause. It inspires the friends. It dashes into a thousand pieces all the forces of opposition. It creates new spiritual worlds. This is a mystery of the Kingdom of Abha.

- Abdu’l-Baha

Seventeenth Annual Convention of the Baha’is of the United States and Canada: Green Acre, Maine, July 6th, 7th and 8th, 1925 – Message from the National Spiritual Assembly

--Issue No. 5 May-June 1925:

“I am deeply convinced that if the annual Convention of the friends in America, as well as the National Spiritual Assembly, desire to become potent instruments for the speedy realization of the Beloved’s fondest hopes for the future of that country, they should endeavor, first and foremost, to exemplify, in an increasing degree, to all Baha’is and to the world at large the high ideals of fellowship and service which Baha’u’llah and the beloved Master repeatedly set before them.”

- Shoghi Effendi.

Dear Baha’i friends:

By a thousand avenues, visible and invisible, the reality of the heavenly kingdom is rapidly entering the arena of human action and thought. Even those who know not its manifest source have become aware of what mighty powers are striving to regenerate humanity in this day, and there is not one soul, no matter how unconscious it may be, but has become an instrument either for the destruction of the old evil or the promotion of the new, divine good.

So resolutely have liberal minds the world over taken up the task of establishing the fundamental Baha’i principles that it is possible even for the sincerest believer occasionally to ask himself what the little company of Baha’is can accomplish comparable in importance with the effort of these well-endowed and noble men and women. But no group or association of individuals anywhere in the world has our special and unique privilege of creating that complete, unbreakable unity which is born of God. Clearly before our feet we may from day to day perceive those paths of conscious faith leading upward from the darkness of earth’s sad battleground to the heavenly dwelling place of the Most Great Peace. Pass though they may dire places and grievous tests avoided as calamities by the spiritually ignorant among mankind, nevertheless, we know that these paths were marked by the feet of the True One, and none who treads them to the end will miss the cup of abundant joy.

Letter from Shoghi Effendi

--Issue No. 5 May-June 1925:

To the members of the American National Spiritual Assembly.

My Dearly-beloved Fellow-Workers:

The communications lately received from your distinguished secretary, dated January 8th, February 6th and 13th, and March 17th, together with the enclosed minutes, reports and letters, have been read with profound interest and genuine satisfaction. The methods you pursue, the new measures for publicity which you have adopted, the increasing confidence you have achieved, and the degree of support, both moral and financial, which you have deservedly earned from the body of the believers are all encouraging signs that testify to the growing solidarity of a Cause destined to confer inestimable benefits upon mankind.

Great as is the promise of the Movement for the future, it has already revealed in a remarkable manner to every unprejudiced observer its indomitable spirit of loving sacrifice and true fellowship burning with undiminished ardor in the breasts of its followers both in the land of its birth and in the great Republic of the West. The heroism and fortitude lately displayed by its sorely-tried adherents in Persia, and the prompt and generous contributions of the American believers who have spontaneously responded to the call of their needy brethren of the East have served to kindle the flame of enthusiasm in many a heart, and forged fresh bonds of fellowship which will prove of the highest value for the advancement of the Baha’i Faith. I would specially request you to convey to all the friends in the name of the oppressed Baha’is of Persia, and particularly the homeless sufferers of Nayriz, the expression of their deepest gratitude and highest appreciation. May America’s noble donations draw even as a magnet the blessings of the Almighty Giver upon the task it has set itself to achieve!

Letter from Shoghi Effendi

--Issue No. 5 May-June 1925:

To the esteemed members of the American National Spiritual Assembly, care of the secretary, Mr. H. Holley, New York City.

My Well-Beloved and Precious Fellow-Workers:

I have perused your recent communication, dated December 29th, and signed on your behalf by your vigilant and capable secretary, with an interest and attention worthy of the paramount importance of the issues it raises.

The matter of the revision of the English version of the Hidden Words, in view of the rapidity of the sale of the copies recently printed, is of urgent importance. I shall as soon as my multitudinous pre-occupations permit avail myself of the opportunity of Dr. Esslemont’s happy sojourn in the Holy Land to collaborate with him in any necessary alterations of the text. I strongly hope, except in the event of unforeseen circumstances, to undertake this task in the course of this coming month.

In connection with the fundamental questions of general policy referred to in your letter, I feel that the basic principles, laid down but briefly stated in my past letters, which must guide the administration of the affairs of the Baha’i Movement, pending the definite formation of the first authoritative Universal House of Justice, must be further affirmed, elucidated, and explained in greater detail, for the complete knowledge of all the individual members of the vast and growing community of the believers in America.

In Memoriam

--Issue No. 4 April 1925:

The Community Church at Fruitport, Michigan, was the scene of an impressive Baha’i service held on January 12th for one of the beloved members of the Fruitport Assembly, Mrs. Emmaline King, who passed away on January tenth requesting with her last breath that at her funeral the words of Baha’u’llah and ‘Abdu’l-Baha be read, and that the Baha’i teaching concerning the immortality of the soul be explained to those attending the funeral. This service was conducted by Mr. Albert Windust of the Chicago Assembly, who states that it was a most remarkable experience. Those present were deeply moved by the spirit of conscious faith which they felt in the reading of the Baha’i words.

On the morning of January 27th our beloved brother Thomas Copeland, of Duluth, ascended to the life of reality after nearly three years of suffering. He was attracted to the Cause in 1918 and was among the first to open his home for the Assembly meetings in Duluth.

Mr. Copeland was a man of loving character, with a heart that drew to him many warm friends. He was a humble and faithful servant in the Cause of ‘Abdu’l-Baha and served to the limit of his powers in the Path of Unity.

News of the Cause

--Issue No. 4 April 1925:

Writing under the instruction of Shoghi Effendi, our dear brother Mirza Azizullah informs us that Shoghi Effendi is highly pleased with the quick and generous response of the dear friends to his call for cooperation in behalf of the unfortunate Nayriz friends, for this constitutes a great example of the unification of the East and the West which is becoming realized through the influence of the Cause of God.

“We hope that through the sympathy and cooperation of all the dear Baha’i friends, those poor brothers and sisters will be soon re-established. I am sure that this reconstruction work will produce great results for the glory of the Cause among the Persians. This will open the eyes of the negligent natives to the creative power, humanitarian virtue and essential value of the principles of the Cause. This will achieve what the efforts of hundreds of teachers might fail to render the Cause.

“Our beloved Guardian is in good health and greatly encouraged by the vigorous efforts the friends are exerting to raise the banner of the Abha Kingdom.

“We have now the pleasure of having our dear sisters, Mrs. True, Miss Edna True and Mrs. Stannard with us. We are expecting five new Australian and New Zealand friends who are en route to the Holy Land.”

The total amount forwarded from America for the Nayriz sufferers through the N.S.A. up to April first, is nearly $3900.