Messages to the Antipodes/1939

[Page 142]

1939

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January 1939 [Yerrinbool Summer School]

ASSURE ATTENDANTS SUMMER SCHOOL SPECIAL PRAYERS SIGNAL SUCCESS URGE INTENSELY STUDY TEACHINGS DEEPEN SPIRIT BAHAI FELLOWSHIP EXTEND SCOPE ACTIVITIES SHOGHI

9 January 1939

Dear Mother Dunn,

Your message of November 23rd addressed to our beloved Guardian was indeed most welcome, & its perusal truly refreshing and encouraging. It is always a source of deepest gratification to him indeed to hear from you and from our far-off believers in Australia & New Zealand, and to realize, that in spite of the serious handicaps under which you are labouring, your Community is steadily forging ahead, and is increasing in numbers & growing in unity & in consecration to the Service of the Cause. He cherishes the brightest hopes for the future of your activities, & though these be at present much circumscribed in view of your limited numbers and resources, you should not feel discouraged, but look at the years ahead with absolute, nay ever-deepening confidence, & indomitable courage.

Martha’s visit, the Guardian hopes, will prove once more the signal for a further intensification of your teaching activities, and he is eagerly awaiting to hear of the news of the triumphs she will be winning for the Faith in your Continent. He is confident that the friends will spare no effort to make her journey pleasant & successful, & will avail themselves of the opportunity of her presence in their midst to extend the scope & consolidate the foundations of their teaching work.

The Guardian was most deeply interested & pleased to read Miss Dawe’s letter addressed to you & Father Dunn on her way back from the Holy Land last winter. He is glad to know how much this visit to the Holy Shrines has meant to her, & trusts that the experiences she was able to gather during that memorable pilgrimage will ever sustain & guide her in her activities for the Faith in Australia. She is indeed an example of faith & devotion, & is endowed with such gifts of heart & mind as will surely prove an asset to the Cause in that Continent.

Kindly assure her of the Guardian’s continued prayers for her protection & guidance, & assuring you too of his supplications for the health & welfare of Father Dunn & your own dear self,

Yours ever in His Service,
H. Rabbani [Page 143]With the renewed assurance of my loving prayers for you and for my dearly-loved, distinguished & unforgettable co-worker and brother, who together with you, has done so much, and worked so devotedly and magnificently for the promotion of our beloved Faith,

Your true & grateful brother,
Shoghi

25 January 193948

Dear Miss Root,

Your most welcome letters of October 6th, December 16th, 19th with their enclosures have all been duly received and their contents read with close attention and profoundest appreciation by our beloved Guardian.

The latest typewritten report of your teaching travels throughout India has, at his direction, been translated and published in the Persian news letter of the Haifa Assembly for the benefit of the friends in the East who, as you certainly realise, are always eager to hear of the news of your activities, and will be thrilled to know of the splendid work you have accomplished during the longest journey you have ever undertaken to India and Burma.

Now that your India itinerary has drawn to a happy and successful close you can look with pride and a feeling of deep satisfaction over the rich record of service you have rendered the Faith during this past year. What you have accomplished is all the more remarkable, and indeed miraculous, considering your poor health, and the hardships and other trying circumstances attending your journey. The Indian believers are all unanimous in expressing their gratitude and their feelings of unbounded admiration for the services you have rendered in their midst - as a result of which, they all hope, the teaching work will now make rapid progress in both India and Burma.

The Guardian has already cabled you expressing his hope that your visit to Australia may likewise prove a great success, and serve to lend a fresh impetus to the growth and further expansion of the Faith in that continent. He has also cabled the secretary of the Australian NSA Miss Hilda Brooks, informing her of your arrival, and he is certain the friends must have accorded you a most hearty and befitting welcome.

Assuring you once more of his prayers for your health and protection, and for the confirmation of your services to the Cause,

Yours ever in His Service,
H. Rabbani

Dearest Martha,

India is astir with praise and admiration for you. What you have achieved in

48. Addressed to Miss Root in India. [Page 144]that land is truly historic and marvellous. Australia is now the field that claims your magnificent energy and high devotion. I have already cabled the friends in that continent to accord you befitting welcome. Take good care of your health, and persevere in your incomparable services,

Affectionately,
Shoghi

14 February 1939 [Martha Root]

Dear Bahá’í Sister,

Your deeply appreciated letters of the 1st and 6th January have been received, and read with keenest interest and deepest satisfaction by our beloved Guardian.

He was deeply touched and rejoiced to know of the farewell meetings which the friends had arranged on the occasion of your sailing from Bombay, and to realize the profound effect which your historic visit to India had left on the hearts of every one of the believers. This high position which you have come to occupy in their affections is certainly well deserved and rightly won. For the seeds you have so ably and devotedly planted in almost every important part of that country, during this one year of ceaseless and intense teaching work, constitute a record of service of unparalleled magnitude in the history of the Faith in that land.

The Guardian hopes you will one day be able to re-visit India, and witness the rich harvest which your untiring efforts have brought forth. For the present, he would advise that, soon after the termination of your teaching tour throughout Australia and New Zealand this coming June, you should return to the United States, and extend your stay there, and later on visit Central and South America, and assist in extending the teaching campaign in these Central and South American Republics, where the Teaching work is fast beginning to develop and advance. The opening up of these Latin American countries, as you undoubtedly know, constitute one of the chief and most difficult objectives of the Seven-Year Plan. Your invaluable co-operation in this Inter-American campaign of teaching would therefore be received with universal welcome by the believers, and will greatly encourage and stimulate them to carry this heavy task to successful completion.

Regarding your suggestion for the establishment of a Bahá’í School in Karachi, the Guardian would advise that whenever you find a favourable opportunity to approach the American believers regarding this matter you should do so, without, however, bringing any pressure to bear upon them to contribute the funds required for the erection of such an Institution.

The Guardian was deeply grieved to hear of the heavy losses inflicted on our highly esteemed and distinguished brother Siyyid Mustapha Roumie [Page 145]during the recent riots in Mandalay. He wishes you to convey to him his sympathy, as well as his approval of his wish to sell part of the shops, in view of his strained material conditions which render such step most necessary indeed.

The Guardian has noted with deep gratitude the love and assistance which Mr. F. has so kindly extended to you during your stay in Calcutta, and wishes you to convey to him his thanks and his high sense of admiration for his valuable and deeply appreciated services.

Assuring you also of his prayers for your health and protection, and for your guidance in all your undertakings.

Yours in His Service,
H. Rabbani

Dearest Martha,

How proud I am of your work, and how thankful for your labours! You are so precious to us and to the Cause. Take the utmost care of yourself, and be always happy and confident that you are fulfilling the will of Bahá’u’lláh and promoting in an exemplary manner, the interest of His glorious Faith,

Your true and Grateful brother,
Shoghi

15 February 1939 [National Spiritual Assembly]

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Dear Miss Brooks,

Your letter of January 17, enclosing one addressed to the Guardian by the Sydney Spiritual Assembly, have both duly arrived, & their contents read by him with deepest satisfaction & with feelings of unbounded gratitude. He is writing the Sydney Assembly separately, assuring them that Miss Davis, who is on a world tour, would be most welcome to visit the Holy Shrines in Haifa & Bahji, but he himself is exceedingly sorry not to be able to meet her, as he is at present away from the Holy Land, & may not be back to Haifa before some time. He hopes, nevertheless, Miss Davis will benefit from her close contact with the Sacred Places of the Faith, & will gain such experiences as will stimulate still further her interest in the Cause and lead her gradually to fully and unreservedly embrace its truth. Regarding the extensive preparations made by the N.S.A. in connection with the teaching travels of our indefatigable and highly-esteemed Bahá’í sister, Miss Martha Root, throughout Australia and New Zealand; the Guardian feels truly delighted & profoundly grateful to your Assembly for the befitting welcome you have extended to her, & for the arrangements you have made for her to broadcast her speeches, & to contact as many individuals & organisations as her time & health permit. You are certainly fully availing yourself of the opportunity of her presence in your midst to further intensify the campaign [Page 146]of teaching throughout Australia, & you can rest assured that Bahá’u’lláh will reinforce & bless your endeavours for the accomplishment of so vital & so sacred a task.

The draft for thirty pounds, which you had enclosed in your letter, representing the contribution of the believers of Australia and New Zealand toward the International Fund of the Cause, has been received with grateful appreciation by our beloved Guardian, & he wishes your Assembly to kindly convey to all the friends his deep sense of gratitude, as well as his profound admiration, for the exemplary devotion & loyal attachment to the Cause that has prompted them to make such generous donation.

With renewed & heartfelt thanks for your very kind letter, & reciprocating your greetings,

Yours in His service,
H. Rabbani.

Dear beloved co-workers:

I am so glad & grateful for the plans you have conceived for the reception & organisation of the work of Martha during her visit to your shores. The community of the believers in Australia & New Zealand is making remarkable progress in every phase of its activities & deserves the highest praise in its magnificent & incessant labours. I am proud of the quality of its faith & range of its achievements. May the Beloved infuse into each one of its members a greater measure of His power & of His spirit that will enable them to scale nobler heights in their historic service to His Cause!

Your true & grateful brother,
Shoghi

I gratefully acknowledge the receipt of the sum of thirty Palestine pounds from the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New Zealand as a deeply appreciated contribution made by them on behalf of the believers of Australia and New Zealand for the promotion of the international interests of the Bahá’í Faith.

Shoghi
Jan 15 1939

15 February 1939 [Sydney Spiritual Assembly]

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Dear Bahá’í Sister,

Your welcome letter of the 19th December addressed to our beloved Guardian, introducing Mrs. E.E. Davis of Sydney, who is now on a world tour & is planning to visit Palestine, has been received, & its contents read with deep appreciation by him.

He wishes you to assure Mrs. Davis that she would be most welcome to visit the Holy Shrines in Haifa & Bahji. He himself, however, will be away [Page 147]from the country, & therefore deeply regrets not to be able to meet her when she arrives.

The Guardian nevertheless hopes, & indeed will pray that Mrs. Davis’ contact with these Holy Shrines of the Faith may result in further deepening her interest in the Cause, and stimulate her, upon her return home, to extend full & increasing support to the friends in Sydney, in both their teaching & administrative activities.

Before closing I wish to take this opportunity of conveying to you, & through you to your fellow-members in the Sydney Assembly the expression of the Guardian’s profound & abiding appreciation of your devoted labours on behalf of the Cause. His prayers for the guidance & confirmation of your efforts will be ardently & humbly offered to Bahá’u’lláh. May His love ever sustain & strengthen you in your highly-meritorious services to His Faith.

Yours most sincerely,
H. Rabbani.

Assuring you of my special prayers for you in the service of our beloved Faith, & for the realization of your dearest hopes for its promotion,
Your true brother,
Shoghi

17 March 1939 [National Spiritual Assembly]

Dear Miss Brooks,

Your communication of February the 12th addressed to our beloved Guardian, informing him of Martha’s safe arrival in Australia, has been received, & he was made truly happy to know how cordially & befittingly she had been welcomed by the friends. The wide acclamation with which you have greeted her upon her arrival, and the kind solicitude & warm affection you have displayed towards her by arranging for dear Dr. Bolton to give her the necessary treatment soon after her landing in Adelaide - such spontaneous expressions of your deep set admiration & love for this valiant and indefatigable star-servant of the Cause must have surely greatly warmed and touched her heart.

Your N.S.A., no less than the Local Assemblies of Perth & Adelaide, has undoubtedly spared no effort to use her presence as an opportunity for giving the Faith every publicity possible through both the radio & the press. It is to be hoped that before long the results of this campaign of publicity will be made apparent, & a good number of sincere & intelligent inquirers will be led to investigate and seriously study the Teachings, & enrol later on in the Community.

While the Guardian wishes the friends to take full advantage of Martha’s [Page 148]presence & invite her to speak and teach as frequently as her energies permit, yet he would advise that they should also take great care lest her health be seriously impaired through overwork, specially as she is already so frail, having extensively travelled & tirelessly laboured for a whole year throughout India. He would further entreat the believers to join him in ardently supplicating Bahá’u’lláh to continue bestowing upon our well-beloved & distinguished sister all the strength & energy that she requires for the continuation and successful termination of her teaching tour throughout Australia & New Zealand.

With reference to Mr. & Mrs. Bolton’s request for permission to visit Haifa during next October or November, the Guardian wishes to assure them that they would be most welcome to undertake this pilgrimage through which, he hopes, they will get refreshed spiritually & filled with renewed vigour and added determination to labour for the further promotion of the Faith upon their return home. With the season’s best greetings to you and all the friends,

Yours ever in His Service,
H. Rabbani

Dear and valued co-worker:

How deeply I appreciate what you & your dear collaborators are achieving for the success of Martha’s work amidst you. My heart brims over with gratitude for the manner in which you approach your task, discharge your duties & extend the range of your local & national activities. With your deeds you are demonstrating in that far-off continent what the power of the Greatest Name can achieve when it operates through channels that are pure & receptive to its outpouring grace. My prayers are being continually offered for you all. Rest assured & be happy.

Your true & grateful brother,
Shoghi

17 March 1939

Dear Miss Root,

The Guardian has received and read with deepest pleasure your letters dated February 11th and 26th with the many enclosures, and feels inexpressibly happy to know of the very cordial and befitting welcome extended to you by the friends upon your arrival in Australia, and of the many opportunities you have had of contacting leading figures in the various towns you have visited. The many messages you were able to broadcast, particularly that on Tahirih, which was so warmly received and appreciated by the Director of Broadcasting of all South Australia, surely cannot fail to awaken interest in the Cause, and might even lead many listeners to seriously investigate and study the teachings, and possibly later on apply for full [Page 149]membership in the community. Anyhow, you have certainly spared no effort to sow the seeds, and time alone will prove how fertile has been the soil on which they have fallen.

Regarding Queen Marie’s Will, which is reported to contain references to the Cause, the Guardian has received no information whatever to such effect, but has, following your letter, written both Miss Jack and Mrs Lynch, and asked them to secure, by whatever means possible, copies of the Bucharest paper which is stated to contain the references in question. He has neither received any communication from the Queen, and would therefore wish you to carefully ascertain the truth of the reports, and let him know of any information you receive, as soon as possible.

Concerning your teaching itinerary; the Guardian wishes me to stress again the necessity of you avoiding excessive work and of safeguarding your health, and also of adhering to your plan, which he has already approved, to return to the United States in time for the Geyserville Summer-School, and to spend the winter in the southern states, or preferably, if possible, in Central America where the teaching work is not making steady progress, and is in need of any support it can receive from visiting Baha’is.

In view of the urgency, and increasing requirements of the teaching program set forth by the Seven-Year Plan, the Guardian would advise that on your return to the States next June you should devote all your energies to the nation-wide and unprecedented campaign of teaching activity, which is now gradually extending all over the American Continent from Alaska to the North, down to the Republic of Chile in the South, putting at the service of this Inter-American teaching campaign all those talents and qualities which you have acquired during your many years of experience in the field of pioneer teaching.

Assuring you again of his abiding gratitude for your indefatigable services, and also with the assurance of his special prayers on behalf of dear Mrs Latimer,

Yours ever sincerely,
H. Rabbani

Dearest Martha,

I am so glad to learn that you are feeling better and that your visit to Australia is proving itself to be so promising and fruitful. You are often in my thoughts and prayers in these days when you are displaying such superhuman energy in such a far-off land and are enriching so magnificently the record of your glorious services to the Cause. May the Beloved protect and guide you in your exemplary endeavours,

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi

[Page 150]20 March 1939 [Mrs Axford]

Dear Bahá’í Sister,

I am directed by our beloved Guardian to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated February 25th, informing him of the date of your departure from England, & your inability to defer your visit to Haifa till next November. He regrets indeed that you should find it impossible to extend your stay in Europe and come to Palestine in autumn, as the situation here is now so tense & dangerous that there seems very little hope of any real amelioration in security conditions to take place by next May. General conditions throughout the country are, at present, even worse than a month ago, & the tension is daily increasing.

In case, however, security is re-established by the time you reach Port Said, you would be welcome to visit the Shrines, but the Guardian would be still away.

Wishing you again a successful & happy return home, & with the renewed assurances of the Guardian’s prayers for your welfare, protection & guidance,

Yours most sincerely,

H. Rabbani

Dear & valued co-worker:

I deeply regret that the situation in Palestine has not yet improved as I realize how eager you are to visit the Holy Shrines. If however when you reach Port-Said it will at all be possible for you to visit the Shrine, you will be most welcome, I assure you. May the Almighty fulfil the dearest hope of your heart.

Your true brother,

Shoghi

22 March 1939 [Auckland Assembly]

Dear Bahá’í Brothers & Sisters,

The Guardian wishes me to gratefully acknowledge the receipt of your card conveying to him your Assembly’s greetings for Naw-Rúz, and to assure you how deeply he feels appreciative of the renewed expressions of loving devotion which you had felt prompted to transmit to him on such a happy & blessed occasion.

He immeasurably values indeed your sentiments, and wishes me to take this opportunity of assuring your Assembly, & all the members of the Auckland Bahá’í Community, of his ardent prayers for the further extension of the Faith, & its firmer consolidation in your centre, and for the spiritual advancement & welfare of each & every member of your group. May this new Bahá’í Year we have just entered witness a fresh intensification of the [Page 151]spirit of service in the heart of each one of you, & lead you to scale still nobler heights of service & sacrifice in your stewardship to the Cause.

Reciprocating your kind greetings, & with all good wishes for a happy Naw-Rúz,

Yours in His Service,
H. Rabbani

25 March 1939

Beloved Father Dunn,

Your sweet & most assuring message of the 2nd February has duly reached our beloved Guardian, and his heart was inexpressibly gladdened by its perusal, & at the joyful tidings of the slow yet steady progress of the Cause in Sydney & in the rest of Australia. How happy & grateful indeed you must feel to have lived until this day, & to have witnessed the glorious harvest which, after many years of tireless & painstaking effort, it has been your reward and your incomparable privilege to gather & offer to the Faith in such a remote yet so highly-promising Continent. Although, in view of your advanced age & its attending ailments and disabilities, you feel no longer able to take as active a share as you wish in the activities of the Cause, yet your very presence is, in itself, such a valuable asset to the Australian Bahá’í Community as will surely compensate for any particular act of service, however meritorious, which you may be able to render, whether in the teaching or the administrative fields of Bahá’í activity.

The Guardian, therefore, would urge you above all to preserve your health, & to avoid any activity that might prove too strenuous & fatiguing, even though this may necessitate a considerable curtailment in your general work for the Cause.

He keenly & lovingly appreciates the care & consideration you have been shown by the believers in this respect, & feels particularly grateful to Mr Rupert Hearne49 and other friends who have proved so helpful to you during your illness. He will surely remember them all in his prayers, entreating the Beloved to abundantly reward them for their services & to ever strengthen & guide their forces in service to His Cause.

Concerning your question regarding the identity of Abraham and Zoroaster; in the light of a statement from Abdu’l-Bahá, in which he says that Zoroaster came to Palestine & met the Hebrew prophets, one can rightly infer that Zoroaster was a different historical person than Abraham, and that the two, therefore, were not identical.

49. Rupert Hearne, a Chemist in Bathurst, N.S.W., was among Hyde Dunn’s friends and business acquaintances. He was not a Bahá’í. [Page 152]With the Guardian’s warmest love & greetings to you and to dear Mother Dunn.

Yours in His Service,
H. Rabbani

Dear & prized co-worker,

My heart rejoices whenever I hear from you. How proud & thankful I feel when I think of you & your services! Future generations will appraise your accomplishments & extol the spirit that has prompted you in your historic labours. Take the utmost care of your dear self, & be always assured that you are in my thoughts & prayers.

Affectionately ,
Shoghi

193950

Dear Father and Mother Dunn,

It is with deepest pleasure that I am forwarding to your address by separate mail a copy of the recently-published general communication addressed by our beloved Guardian to the American believers entitled, “The Advent of Divine Justice”, which he wishes you to accept as a gift from him in token of his abiding appreciation of your long-standing and indeed historic services to the Cause in the field of pioneer teaching. In reading this epistle, which has been rightly described as the Bahá’í Charter of Teaching, you will note that the Guardian has referred, briefly but in terms of highest praise,51 to the distinguished record of your teaching accomplishments during the well-nigh two decades that have elapsed since the ascension of our beloved Master, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and it is only fitting, therefore, that in recognition of these unique services you have rendered, he should present you himself with a copy of that epistle which more than any other document so far issued from his pen, extols the teaching accomplishments of the American believers, and discloses before them a teaching vista of such dazzling splendour as should challenge their resources and guide their energies for many more years yet to come. The tribute so abundantly and yet so deservedly paid by the Guardian in this unique epistle to your magnificent teaching services is assuredly destined to transmit to the future Bahá’í generations, and in particular to the Bahá’í teachers and pioneers of succeeding centuries, such measure of inspiration and such example of true pioneer service as cannot but inspire and guide them to follow in your footsteps and emulate your noble example. With affectionate greetings to

50. Printed in Bahá’í Quarterly 13, October 1939, pp.2-3.

51. Shoghi Effendi, Advent of Divine Justice, p.7. [Page 153]you both.

Yours in His Service,
H. Rabbani

19 April 1939

Mrs. Mariette Bolton, 9 Martin Place, Sydney, South Australia.52

Dear Mrs. Bolton,

Many thanks indeed for your very kind and welcome communication of March 26th addressed to our beloved Guardian, and for the accompanying clippings from the “Sydney Morning Herald” regarding Martha’s visit, which he was truly delighted to read.

He feels so deeply thankful for the cordial welcome you have all accorded Miss Root all through her stay in Sydney, and she too, has expressed her gratitude in her last letter to the Guardian, telling him of the love and consideration she was shown by every one of the friends, and in particular by Mr. Bolton and yourself. Her very presence, her living example of selfless and tireless effort, her absolute self-effacement and resignation to the Divine will, and her whole-hearted consecration to the service of the Cause must have surely inspired and refreshed you, and filled you with added determination to labour for the extension of the Faith in Australia.

The Guardian was also inexpressibly delighted at the news of the success of the Summer-School at Yerrinbool, and fervently prays that this institution, which is still so young and so restricted in its scope and influence, may with the passing of each year gain in attendance and receive the increasing support, interest, and attention of the entire community of the Australian and New Zealand believers.

I take this opportunity of renewing to you, as well as to Dr. Mr. Bolton, the assurance of his prayers on behalf of you both, and also for the protection, guidance and confirmation of your dear children.

With the season’s warmest greetings to you and to all the Sydney believers,

Yours in His Service,
H. Rabbani.

Dear and valued co-worker:

I am so pleased and grateful to learn of the activities in which you are engaged, and of the success attending your efforts. I feel truly proud of the spirit that so marvellously animates you and your dear husband. You are both in my thoughts

52. New South Wales is intended. [Page 154]and prayers, and I will continue to pray for you from the depths of my heart,

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi.

12 July 1939 [National Spiritual Assembly]

Dear Miss Brooks,

On behalf of our beloved Guardian I acknowledge with thanks the receipt of your deeply-appreciated message written on behalf of our Australian N.S.A. and of various materials, including Assembly reports and photographs of the Yerrinbool Summer School, mailed under separate cover, all of which reached him safely, and for which kindly convey his heart’s deepest gratitude to your Assembly.

He has read with great pleasure the account of Miss Root’s last few weeks in Australia, and feels exceedingly gratified and thankful at this renewed evidence of the loving hospitality so spontaneously and generously extended to her by all the friends in each centre she visited, and wishes me in particular, to convey to you and to dear Mrs Hawthorne his special thanks for having kindly offered to accompany our precious and well-beloved sister throughout the last stages of her journey to Melbourne and Tasmania. May Bahá’u’lláh richly reward you with His choicest blessings for all the tender care and affection you lavished upon her all through her teaching itinerary, and may He sustain, strengthen and guide you in your endeavours to further enrich and consolidate the notable teaching results she was able to accomplish in your midst during all these months.

The Guardian was highly encouraged to hear of the news of the confirmation of Miss Lamprill’s53 friend, and earnestly hopes and prays that through the combined, sustained and loving exertions of these two dear believers the Cause will gradually make headway in Hobart, and a group of well-confirmed souls will soon be established in that centre. Kindly convey to these friends the expression of his warmest good wishes for the extension

53. A trained nurse, Miss Gretta Lamprill was involved in New Thought when she met Clara and Hyde Dunn in Hobart in 1924. For many years the only Tasmanian Bahá’í, she served on the National Spiritual Assembly 1942-1953, and Tasmania’s Regional Teaching Committee 1948-1953. At the commencement of the Ten Year Crusade she pioneered with Glad Parke to the Society Islands (now French Polynesia), arriving on 29 October 1953. Both were named Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. Only permitted three month tourist visas, Gretta and Glad returned to Tahiti on several occasions before resettling in Hobart. In March 1962 they moved to Devonport, and after a period spent at the Temple cottage in Sydney returned to Hobart to help maintain the Local Assembly. In September 1963 they transferred to Launceston. [Page 155]and success of their labours in service to our beloved Faith, and do urge them whole-heartedly, joyously and confidently persevere in their task of promulgating the message in Hobart.

With regard to Mrs. Routh’s54 request for permission to visit Haifa; much as the Guardian desires her to undertake such ‎ longed-for‎ visit to the Holy Shrines, he feels that owing to the continued disturbances agitating the Holy Land, and which give no sign of abating, it would be inadvisable for her to come at such a dangerous time. He hopes some day when the situation will have returned to normal in Palestine, she will have an opportunity of undertaking this pilgrimage.

Assuring you, and your newly-elected fellow-members in the N.S.A. of his continued prayers and best wishes, and with affectionate greetings to all the friends,

Yours in His Service,
H. Rabbani

Dear and valued co-workers,

The recent evidences of your marvellous activities in the service of our beloved Faith have brought infinite joy to my heart. The institutions you are so devotedly and laboriously erecting, multiplying and perfecting, notwithstanding your limited numbers, the scarcity of Bahá’í teachers and proper facilities, and despite your limited resources and the varied obstacles in your way, attest the splendid progress you have achieved and augur well for the future of your historic work in His service. The summer-school is but one of those institutions which you have established with such a rare spirit of devotion, such magnificent loyalty and such assiduous care. The foundation you have laid is broad, solid and unassailable. The rising generation who will build upon it, will extol your virtues, ennoble your task, preserve the record of your acts, and transmit to posterity the great tradition which you are now so happily and nobly establishing. My heart brims over with gratitude for all that you are achieving, and is filled with hopes for all that you will achieve in the near and distant future. Perseverance, fidelity, redoubled effort, will enable you to reap a rich harvest and attain your shining goal.

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi

54. English-born Jane Routh heard of the Bahá’í Faith when sailing from New York to London. She was a member of Sydney’s Local Assembly in the 1930s, between trips to England and Europe. Shortly before World War Two she travelled to North America, and in 1948, once more visited England. These travels equipped her for numerous public speaking engagements in Australia, at which she was able to impart the Bahá’í message of global peace from first hand experience. In later years Mrs Routh continued to correspond with friends in the British Bahá’í community. She died in September 1959. [Page 156]3 August 1939

Mr. & Mrs. S.W. Bolton, c/- Palmer School of Chiropractic, Davenport, Iowa, U.S.A.

Dear Mr. & Mrs. Bolton,

Your very cordial letters of the 18th June were received, and it made our beloved Guardian truly happy to know that you have safely reached the United States, and are availing yourselves of the opportunity of your visit to California to attend the Bahá’í Summer School at Geyserville. Your contact with the believers in such happy and pleasant surroundings, and on such an important occasion, cannot surely but vividly impress you, and deepen in you the desire to become of increasing service to the Faith upon your return home.

The Guardian was also much pleased to know of your intention to visit Canada, and trusts that this journey will give you some opportunity of teaching the Cause there, and particularly in the newly-opened provinces throughout that Dominion.

Before starting on your journey to the Holy Land, he would advise you, if at all feasible, to visit our Cairo believers, who would be indeed delighted to meet you, and hear directly of the news of the progress of the Faith in far-off Australia.

May I before closing express the hope that by the time you expect to reach Port Said during October next, the general situation throughout Palestine will have sufficiently improved to permit you enter the country, and fulfil your long and eagerly-cherished desire of visiting the Holy Shrines.

With renewed and warmest good wishes to you both, and with cordial greetings,

Yours very sincerely, H. Rabbani.

Dear and valued co-workers:

How deeply I appreciate your marvellous services to the Faith, you who are so young in faith, yet so fervent in zeal and vigorous in your determination. I do hope from all my heart that you will be able to visit the Holy Shrines though I myself will very probably be absent unavoidably and unable to meet you. You are I assure you close and dear to my heart, and I pray that you may on your return to Australia be graciously assisted to render still greater services to our beloved Faith. May the Beloved sustain and guide you always in your magnificent activities and historic services,

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi.

[Page 157]22 August 1939
Mrs M.G. Bolton c/- Mrs. Mary Bolton, ‎ Strathroy‎, Ontario, Canada

Dear Mrs. Bolton,

Your delightful message of the 12th. July reporting on your teaching visits to various centers in the States and Canada was received, and together with its enclosures, read with considerable interest and satisfaction by our beloved Guardian.

The account of your trip to Edmonton, and of the fine publicity you were able to make through the local press, as evidenced by the clippings you had enclosed, and specially your contact with Mr. & Mrs. Byrne, the technical adviser to the premier of Alberta Mr. Aberhart, was all very gratifying indeed, and the Guardian has every hope that as a result of it all the teaching work in that locality will receive a fresh and unprecedented stimulus, and that with the untiring help of our precious sister Miss Doris Skinner, who is at present working in that region, splendid results will soon be accomplished leading to the gradual formation of an Assembly in Edmonton.

Also it was a real pleasure to the Guardian to hear of your visit to ‎ Winnipeg‎ and to know of the fine work dear Mr Estall55 is doing there. He too hopes that this centre, so recently started, will steadily develop, and before long we will have an Assembly established in that locality.

With renewed and warmest appreciation of the teaching services you have been so devotedly engaged in rendering the Faith throughout your journeys in Canada and the States, and with cordial love and Bahá’í greetings to your dear self and Mr. Bolton.

Yours in His Service,
H. Rabbani

May the Beloved of our hearts guide, sustain and cheer you in your notable services rendered over so wide a field, and may He aid you to realize your dearest hopes in His service,

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi

28 October 1939
Mr. & Mrs. Stanley Bolton, 9 Martin Place, Sydney, N.S.W. Australia.

Dear Mr. & Mrs. Bolton,

55. Mr Roland Estall was later, at Ridván 1954, appointed in the first group of Auxiliary Board Members in America. [Page 452]27 June 1957 Mrs. Beryl Van der Vaart,160 Secretary, National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of New Zealand.

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

I am instructed by our beloved Guardian to write you on his behalf and to assure you he was most happy to receive your letter dated May 4.

He rejoices with the New Zealand Bahá’ís in the formation of their historic National Assembly. They are now firmly launched on the course of their own destiny, and undoubtedly the Faith will go forward very much faster. They have an advantage not shared by many of their fellow National Assemblies, of exclusively administering the affairs of the Faith in a small area, which means that they can function much more efficiently. When one remembers the many years that the New Zealand and Australian believers toiled to carry on the work in those two countries, with the sea in between, and inadequate funds to provide transportation, which necessitated so much of the National Assembly’s work being carried on by correspondence, one can appreciate the advantages you now enjoy.

The formation of a new National Body in any case is an organic thing, and a new and lively flow of life will go out into all the members of the Community from this Assembly.

As regards the question you asked him about the site for the Temple, this need not be a large piece of land at this time, - three or four acres would be sufficient for the site if you find suitable land is expensive. If the worst comes to the worst, when the time comes to build the Temple, the site can be changed. In Uganda some years ago, they purchased a Temple site, and later, a large piece of land for their endowment. With the Guardian’s permission, they exchanged the two as the Endowment’s position was better for the Temple. So you see, it need not be too rigid. The point is to get a Temple site as soon as possible. He feels it should be in the outskirts of Auckland, within easy motoring distance, so that the friends can attend services there. Naturally the closer to the city, the better.

As you formulate your plans and carry them out for the work entrusted to you during the next six years, he wishes you to particularly bear in mind

160. Beryl Harnish (Beryl van der Vaart, later Beryl Carden) heard of the Bahá’í teachings from Alvin Blum in the 1940s, and was the second youth to become a Bahá’í in New Zealand. She lived in Melbourne in the late 1940s before returning to New Zealand, where she was elected to the first National Spiritual Assembly. For several years from 1970 she pioneered in American Samoa. Mrs Carden contributed significantly to the planning of the Auckland International conference, held in January 1977. She died in October 1978. [Page 453]the need of teaching the Maoris. These original discoverers of New Zealand are of a very fine race, and they are a people long admired for their noble qualities; and special effort should be made, not only to contact the Maoris in the cities, and draw them into the Faith, but to go to their towns and live amongst them and establish Assemblies in which at least the majority of the believers will be Maoris, if not all. This would be indeed a worthy achievement.

The beloved Guardian assures you all of his prayers for the success of the historic work you are now undertaking, and he feels sure you will achieve your goals.

With warmest Bahá’í greetings,
Rúhíyyíh

Dear & valued co-workers:

The emergence of the New Zealand National Spiritual Assembly, as a result of the convocation of the first Bahá’í historic Convention held in that far-away & promising Dominion, will be hailed by posterity as an event of the greatest significance, marking the erection of another pillar designed to support in the South Pacific area, the future Universal House of Justice. My heart overflows with happiness & is filled with gratitude as I contemplate the splendid progress achieved, in recent years, in that far-off island, & note the loyalty & devotion with which the members of this valiant community, now standing on the threshold of unprecedented achievements, have discharged their manifold & sacred responsibilities.

The six brief years that now lie ahead must witness a swift expansion in the scope of Bahá’í activities throughout the length & breadth of that Dominion, as well as a steady consolidation of the foundations of the institutions that have been so painstakingly laid. The Six-Year Plan upon which the New Zealand believers have now so auspiciously embarked must be diligently prosecuted & brought to a triumphant conclusion. All must participate, whether young or old, veterans as well as newly enrolled believers, all must contribute their share to the ultimate success of this mighty collective enterprise, however limited their means, however modest their abilities, however restricted the range of their previous experiences.

The increase in the number of the avowed adherents of the Faith; the multiplication of isolated centres, groups, & Local Assemblies; the incorporation of the newly formed National Spiritual Assembly as well as all firmly grounded Local Assemblies; the recognition of the Bahá’í marriage certificate by the civil authorities, & of the Bahá’í Holy Days by the superintendent of schools in that island; the rapid conversion of the Maoris & their close association with the white believers in the administration of the affairs of the community; the consolidation of the work energetically initiated in the South Island; the selection & purchase of the site for the Mother Temple of New Zealand - these stand out as the foremost [Page 454]objectives of the Plan now demanding of its high minded determined prosecutors, the utmost consecration, unrelaxing vigilance & the noblest self-sacrifice.

The tasks challenging the spirit and resources of this community, whose numerical strength is as yet so limited, whose material resources are so circumscribed, whose past experiences have in many respects been confined to a narrow range, are truly formidable. The allotted time, during which so stupendous an undertaking is to be consummated, is short. The obstacles confronting its members are varied and manifold. Yet the sustaining grace promised to all those who will arise, with high-mindedness, courage, dedication & high resolve, to aid in the attainment of these noble objectives, is of such potency that no earthly power can resist the ultimate fulfilment of so glorious a task, or even delay its eventual fruition.

I appeal most earnestly to all those who, in both the teaching & administrative fields, are committed to carry out so magnificent an enterprise, as well as to those who, in an unofficial capacity, are called upon to further, by every means in their power, the interests of this epoch-making Plan, to dedicate themselves, at this hour, to the arduous, yet infinitely precious task they have shouldered, & to devote, in the days and years that lie ahead, every ounce of their energy, to the systematic prosecution of a Plan, on which the immediate destinies of the entire New Zealand Bahá’í community directly depend, & which can alone provide the stepping-stone to the still more brilliant achievements destined to ennoble the annals of the Faith in that remote island of the globe.

Shoghi

12 July 1957 [National Spiritual Assembly]

Natbahai Sydney

INSTRUCT PERSIAN PIONEERS SOLOMONS RETURN PERSIA STOP

18 July 1957 [Australian National Assembly]

GUARDIAN CABLES THAT PERSIAN FRIENDS WERE PROVIDENTIALLY PROTECTED IN EARTHQUAKE AREA PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT THIS INFORMATION TO GUARDIAN - HOLLEY

19 July 1957 [Australian National Assembly]

Dear Bahá’í Brother:

Your Assembly’s communications with their enclosures and material sent under separate cover have all been safely received by the beloved Guardian; and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf, and to [Page 455]acknowledge receipt of your letters dated: August 14, September 6, October 14 and 29, and December 3, 1956, and February 17 and March 24, May 9, June 12 and 19, 1957.

In connection with various matters raised in your letters:

The photograph of the Shrine on Mt. Carmel was sent to Dr. Brasch,161 and we hope that he received it safely.

As regards the “Herald of the South” magazine, in view of the important work lying ahead of your Assembly, and the fact that this magazine is a drain on the limited resources of the Community, he thinks it would be quite all right to suspend publication until a future date when the financial situation permits such expenditures to be made with relative ease. He leaves, however, the final decision to your Assembly.

The Committee responsible for the publication of this magazine has certainly laboured valiantly throughout the years, and the publication will be missed by its readers. However, it is some years since the American Bahá’í Magazine was abandoned for similar reasons, and the Guardian feels that you can do so in Australia, and the funds be used to better advantage, at this time. However, now that you have found a printer in Sydney and appointed a new committee, he thinks you should continue it and give the new Plan a try.

The progress your Assembly has been making on the plans for the Temple, in conjunction with the evidently very able and cooperative architect whom you have found in Sydney, greatly pleases and encourages the beloved Guardian. He is particularly happy to know that Mr. Brogan is pliable in his ideas, and enthusiastic about getting the Temple constructed, even though the original design is not his own. Unfortunately, owing to the age of Mr. Remey and his duties at the International Centre, it is impossible for him to carry out, himself, the execution in detail of his plans or to supervise the construction; and consequently both the Kampala Temple and the Sydney Temple have been entrusted to reliable firms.

The influence that this Mother Temple of the whole Pacific area will exert when constructed, is incalculable and mysterious. The beloved Master told the American friends that their Temple would be the greatest silent teacher, and there is no doubt that this one building has exerted a profound influence on the spread of the Faith, not only in the United States and the Western Hemisphere, but throughout the world. We can therefore expect that the construction of another “Mother Temple” in the heart of Australasia, and one in the center of Africa, as well as one in the heart of Europe, will exert a tremendous influence, both locally and internationally.

He is eagerly waiting to receive pictures of the inauguration of the

161. Prominent Rabbi in the Australian Jewish community. [Page 456]work on the Temple site, and has recently mailed your Assembly under separate cover a piece of the plaster from the Room in the Fortress at Máh-Kú where the Báb was confined, as well as a letter requesting that dear Mother Dunn place this, as his representative, in the foundations of the Temple. He would like very much to have a good photograph of this ceremony for reproduction; and he also urges your Assembly to give as much publicity to this occasion, and to the Temple work in general, as possible.

The teaching work carried on by the Australian friends throughout the region of the Pacific under their jurisdiction, has been very satisfactory, and he is proud of the truly immense progress which has been made. The publication of literature in so many additional languages, the School opened by Mrs. Dobbins in the New Hebrides, the increase in the number of native believers throughout the islands, are all indications, not only of the great power of this Faith to touch the hearts of those who are spiritually receptive, but also of the consecration and devotion of the Australian believers.

As regards various questions you asked in your letter of February 17th:

It is of the utmost importance to keep the pioneers in their goals. If, for reasons over which you have no control, they are forced to leave a certain pioneer area, then he would strongly recommend that, instead of returning all the way to their home base, they be routed to another base in the Pacific where they can serve the Faith. This is both economical, and hastens the attainment of our goals. Matters of detail as to how these plans are best worked out, are naturally left to the discretion of the National Body responsible for the area in question.

In your letter of August 14th, you mention a small translation of a Timorese language has been secured from Dili. The Guardian would like to know what the specific name of this language is, and, if it has been printed, he would like to ‎ receive‎ a copy.

He was very sorry to hear that dear Mother Dunn’s son had died.162 This, no doubt, in spite of her devotion and fortitude, must have been a severe blow to her at her age; and he hopes the friends will do all they can to comfort and take care of this precious soul - the mother of their Community. Please assure her that he prays for the progress of the soul of her son in the Holy Shrines.

The successful culmination of the long standing partnership of the Australian and New Zealand believers thru the emergence of the New Zealand N.S.A. is a source of great satisfaction to the Guardian, and no doubt to all the members of both communities. He feels sure this will mark a turning point in the work in the Antipodes and the neighbouring islands and give a new lease of life to the teaching work throughout that area. Both

162. Allan Davis. [Page 457]your Assembly and that of New Zealand have now emerged into your permanent form as pillars of the future International House of Justice. The bones of the skeleton of the World Order are growing strong, but only the teaching work can clothe them with flesh.

You may be sure that he will ardently pray for the success of your work, and that you may be strengthened and guided to discharge your important duties and to fulfil your goals under the Ten Year Plan.

With warm Bahá’í love,
R. Rabbani.

Dear and valued co-workers:

The progress achieved in recent years, rapid and extraordinary as it has been, by the Bahá’í Communities labouring so patiently, so methodically, and so faithfully, for the consolidation and expansion of the institutions of the embryonic World Order of Bahá’u’lláh in the Antipodes, has been highly gratifying and has served to deepen my confidence in their ability to achieve their high destiny, and to evoke sentiments of ever-increasing admiration for the manner in which they have acquitted themselves of their task in the face of varied and almost insurmountable obstacles.

Particularly commendable, and indeed exemplary, has been the share of the Australian believers in enabling the New Zealand Bahá’í Community to make such rapid strides, in recent years, strides that have prepared it for the assumption of its sacred and vital function as an independent community, and which culminated in the formation of a body qualified to take its place, and assume the weighty responsibilities incumbent on it, as a distinct and separate member of the world-wide family of Bahá’í National and Regional Spiritual Assemblies. The great and signal honour, conferred upon their homeland through the selection of one of the most highly advanced, the most populous, and one of the most progressive of its cities - enjoying already the distinction of being the first among them to be opened to the Message of Bahá’u’lláh and to be warmed by the rising Sun of His Revelation - as the site of the Mother Temple of the Antipodes, and indeed of the whole Pacific area, moreover, proclaims their right to be considered the vanguard of His hosts, and the defenders of the stronghold of the Administrative Order of His Faith, in that vast area of the globe, an area endowed with unimaginable potentialities, and which, owing to its strategic position, is bound to feel the impact of world shaking forces, and to shape to a marked degree through the experience gained by its peoples in the school of adversity, the destinies of mankind.

The emergence of a new Regional Spiritual Assembly in the North Pacific Area, with its seat fixed in the capital city of a country which by reason of its innate capacity and the spiritual receptivity it has acquired, in consequence of the severe and prolonged ordeal its entire population has providentially experienced, is destined to have a preponderating share in awakening the peoples and races inhabiting the entire Pacific area, to the Message of Bahá’u’lláh, and to act as the [Page 458]Vanguard of His hosts in their future spiritual conquest of the main body of the yellow race on the Chinese mainland - the emergence of such an Assembly may be said to have, at long last, established a spiritual axis, extending from the Antipodes to the northern islands of the Pacific Ocean - an axis whose northern and southern poles will act as powerful magnets, endowed with exceptional spiritual potency, and towards which other younger and less experienced communities will tend for some time to gravitate.

A responsibility, at once weighty and inescapable, must rest on the communities which occupy so privileged a position in so vast and turbulent an area of the globe. However great the distance that separates them; however much they differ in race, language, custom, and religion; however active the political forces which tend to keep them apart and foster racial and political antagonisms, the close and continued association of these communities in their common, their peculiar and paramount task of raising up and of consolidating the embryonic World Order of Bahá’u’lláh in those regions of the globe, is a matter of vital and urgent importance, which should receive on the part of the elected representatives of their communities, a most earnest and prayerful consideration.

The Plan, which it is the privilege of the Australian Bahá’í community to energetically prosecute must, simultaneously, be assured of the unqualified, the systematic and whole-hearted support of its members.

Theirs indeed is a twofold task which must under no circumstances be either neglected or underrated. The one aims at the consolidation, the multiplication and expansion of the institutions so laboriously erected throughout the length and breadth of the Australian commonwealth and in the islands beyond its confines, in strict accordance with the provisions of the Ten-Year Plan, while the other is designed to forge fresh links with its sister communities, and particularly those situated in the North, in anticipation of the Mission which the newly fledged Bahá’í communities, now rapidly multiplying throughout the length and breadth of that area, are destined and are collectively called upon to discharge.

Whilst addressing itself to the meritorious twofold task with which it is now confronted, this wide-awake, swiftly expanding, steadily consolidating, highly promising community must lend whatever assistance is possible to its newly emerged sister community in the South, and enable her, as her institutions develop and become firmly grounded, to share in a befitting manner, in the collective enterprises that must, sooner or later, be launched and carried to a successful conclusion by the island communities situated in the Northern and Southern regions as well as in the heart of the Pacific Ocean.

May this community which, with its sister community in the North, has had the inestimable privilege of being called into being in the lifetime of, and through the operation of the dynamic forces released by the Centre of Bahá’u’lláh’s Covenant, continue, with undimmed vision, with redoubled vigour, and unwavering fidelity and constancy, to discharge its manifold and ever increasing [Page 460]Dear Bahá’í Friends:

This is just a brief note, on behalf of the beloved Guardian, to acknowledge your letter of July 5th (8th Rahmat, 114), and tell you he appreciates your action in sending the cable to Iran, and assures you of his loving prayers for the rapid progress of the Faith in Auckland.

With warm Bahá’í greetings,
R. Rabbani

May the Almighty sustain you in your constant & meritorious endeavours, guide every step you take, & bless every effort you exert, for the promotion of the interests of His Faith,

Your true brother,
Shoghi

30 August 1957 [Australia]

Auxiliary Board Members

Mr. H. Collis Featherstone
Miss Thelma Perks

Dear Bahá’í Friends:

The beloved Guardian has received your letter of July 6th, and has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.

He approves of and appreciates what you are doing and the way you are doing it, in view of Mother Dunn’s condition. You should continue to carry forward this work as you have been doing.

He values the judgement you have exercised in this matter, as well as your constant and devoted labours for the Faith.

With warm Bahá’í greetings,
R. Rabbani

May the Almighty guide your steps & sustain you in discharging these added & sacred responsibilities that you are now assuming, & enable you to enrich, in the days to come, the record of your splendid services to His Faith,

Your true brother,
Shoghi

9 September 1957

National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia.

Dear Bahá’í Friends:

The Guardian has been giving serious consideration to the question of widespread publicity in connection with the erection of the Bahá’í House of Worship in Sydney.

It would seem that we should not release publicity in any countries [Page 462]With loving Bahá’í greetings,
R. Rabbani

May the Almighty reward you abundantly for your truly exemplary and historic services, and enable you to enhance the splendid record of your highly meritorious accomplishments,
 Your true brother,
Shoghi

23 September 1957 [Australia]

Clara Dunn

LOVING FERVENT PRAYERS SURROUNDING YOU - SHOGHI

29 September 1957

The Secretary, National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia.

Dear Bahá’í Brother:

In answer to your recent letter to our beloved Guardian in which you asked a question regarding the marriage of Miss ........, he has instructed me to say that it would be best for her to have a civil marriage followed the same day by the Bahá’í marriage. However, if her future husband insists on having for himself the Catholic ceremony, this is permissible, providing it is understood by all parties concerned that she is a Bahá’í and not a Catholic. Under these circumstances she can go to church, if he insists on it, but it would be better not to do so.

With warm Bahá’í greetings,
R. Rabbani

3 October 1957 [Australia]

Collis Featherstone

ANNOUNCE YOUR ELEVATION RANK HAND CAUSE CONFIDENT NEW HONOUR WILL ENABLE YOU RISE GREATER HEIGHTS SERVICE BELOVED FAITH STOP

11 October 1957

Featherstone care Natbahai Sydney

CONFIDENT NEW HONOUR ENABLE YOU ATTAIN GREATER HEIGHTS SERVICE [Page 464]Dear Bahá’í Brother:

In reply to the question in your recent letter to the beloved Guardian, the Red Epistle is the Book of the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh - called also “Kitáb-i-’Ahd”.

With warm Bahá’í greetings, R. Rabbani

27 October 1957

Mr. Collis Featherstone, 24 Hargrave St., Semaphore, S. Australia.

Dear Bahá’í Brother:

Your loving letter of October 6th was duly received and its contents have been presented to the Beloved Guardian.

He has been very happy indeed to learn of the intensive manner in which you and the members of your family have been serving the Cause of God.

He sincerely hopes that all of your efforts will be both guided and confirmed, so that many seeking souls may find eternal life through your sacrificial and consecrated services.

The situation in Samoa is distressing and the Guardian hopes that there will be no complications develop so far as the Faith is concerned. If the Friends all remain firm and continue their active teaching service it will demonstrate the strength of the Cause of God and its ability to overcome the problems of life which arise from time to time.

The Guardian wishes me to assure you of his prayers in your behalf. He sends you his loving Greetings.

Faithfully yours, Leroy Ioas.

4 November 9.40PM (from Haifa)

WITH DEEP SADNESS ADVISE BELOVED GUARDIAN DESPERATELY ILL ASIATIC FLU PLEASE IMMEDIATELY INFORM ALL FRIENDS SUPPLICATE PRAYERS DIVINE PROTECTION FAITH LEROY IOAS

5 November 11.55AM (from Haifa)

SHOGHI EFFENDI BELOVED OF ALL HEARTS SACRED TRUST GIVEN BELIEVERS BY MASTER PASSED AWAY SUDDEN HEART ATTACK IN SLEEP FOLLOWING ASIATIC FLU STOP URGE BELIEVERS REMAIN STEADFAST CLING INSTITUTION HANDS LOVINGLY REARED RECENTLY REINFORCED EMPHASISED BY [Page 466]SUFFERING BLESSED COUNTENANCE BORE IMPRESSION INFINITE BEAUTY PEACE MAJESTY STOP 18 HANDS ASSEMBLED FUNERAL URGE NATIONAL BODIES REQUEST ALL BELIEVERS HOLD MEMORIAL MEETINGS 18TH NOVEMBER COMMEMORATING DAYSPRING DIVINE GUIDANCE WHO HAS LEFT US AFTER 36 YEARS UTTER SELF SACRIFICE CEASELESS LABOURS CONSTANT VIGILANCE RUHIYYIH

ASSURE FRIENDS BELOVED SACRED GUARDIAN BEFITTINGLY LAID REST SURROUNDED BY LARGE REPRESENTATIVES GATHERING BELIEVERS EAST WEST LIGHT OUR LIVES DEPARTED WE MUST NOW STAND FIRM REMEMBERING PEERLESS EXAMPLE HIS DEDICATION WORK BLESSED PERFECTION GLORIOUS VICTORIES BE WON PLANS HE LONGED SEE COMPLETED ONLY REDEDICATION GREATER UNITY STEADFAST SERVICE CAN BEFITTINGLY SHOW OUR GRIEF MAKE US ACCEPTABLE HOLY THRESHOLD RUHIYYIH

IMPORTANT URGENT MEETING ALL HANDS CALLED HAIFA SUNDAY NOVEMBER SEVENTEENTH PLEASE CABLE WHEN YOU ARRIVE LOVING GREETINGS IOAS HANDS CAUSE HOLY LAND

[Page 158]Your loving messages of the 30th September have safely arrived, and their contents noted with feelings of deepest gratitude by our beloved Guardian. He too, indeed, profoundly regrets that circumstances should have prevented you from carrying out your hearts’ earnest and long-cherished desire of visiting the Holy Shrines, and can profoundly realize how utterly disappointed you both feel over such a privation. But it is assuredly a comfort to know that your extensive trip throughout the United States and Canada has been of such deep spiritual experience to you, and has also proved to be of such inspiration and encouragement to the friends in these countries as cannot but compensate, in however small a measure, for the sorrows and disappointment you now feel at having been unable to visit the Holy Land.

The Guardian nevertheless hopes and indeed will fervently pray that you may one day be given the opportunity of undertaking this pilgrimage, and thus fulfil this dear wish of your hearts.

With the renewed expression of his best wishes, and the assurances of his prayers for your welfare and protection, and the steady extension of the field of your services to the Faith in Australia.

Yours very Sincerely,
H. Rabbani

Dear and valued co-workers:

I deeply regret your inability to visit the Holy Shrines on your return to Australia after such a splendid and fruitful association and contact with the American believers. I will specially pray for you both when I lay, on your behalf, my head on the Sacred Threshold, and, will supplicate for you the richest blessings and the unfailing protection and guidance of Bahá’u’lláh in your incessant, your valued and devoted labours for His Cause. Rest assured and persevere in your task,

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi

5 December 1939 [National Spiritual Assembly]

Hilda Brooks, Post Box 447, Adelaide.

REMAINS PUREST BRANCH AND ABDULBAHAS MOTHER MOVED PROXIMITY RESTING PLACE GREATEST HOLY LEAF INFORM BELIEVERS


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