TASKS STILL UNACCOMPLISHED
Though much has been achieved in various fields, the work that still remains unaccomplished is so vital and urgent that none of its members can afford to relax for a moment, or to lose sight of the significance and sacredness of the immediate tasks now confronting it.
The virgin areas, so laboriously opened, must, under no circumstances, be neglected; nay rather constant attention must be focused upon them in order to consolidate the glorious historic work initiated in those areas. The Island of Anticosti, the one remaining goal as yet unattained, and the only island in the Atlantic Ocean as yet unopened in pursuance of the Ten Year Plan, should continue to be the object of the special solicitude of the national elected representatives of this community. The purchase of the site of the Mother Temple of the Dominion of Canada and the establishment of the national Hazíratu’l-Quds constitute a double task that can brook no further delay, as the entire Bahá’í World, having hailed the erection of such an indispensable institution in no less than eighteen countries scattered throughout the continents and oceans of the Globe, is now intently fixing its eye on this community, so richly blessed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, eager to witness this twofold consummation destined to considerably enrich the record of the services rendered by its members. The acceleration in the process of incorporating firmly established Local Assemblies is yet another objective to which the closest attention must be paid—a task which will, to a very great extent, contribute, from a legal standpoint, to the consolidation of these Assemblies. No less important and vital is the multiplication of isolated centres and groups, the rapid increase in the number of Local Assemblies, and the steady numerical growth of the community—the one enduring foundation on which the security and future prosperity of the community must ultimately rest.
ÍRÁNIAN PERSECUTIONS MUST ACT AS STIMULUS
The sudden and indeed tragic turn of events in the land of the birth of our Faith[45] must act as an unprecedented and powerful stimulus to the spirit which animates the members of the Canadian Bahá’í Community. It must not, indeed it cannot for a moment, dampen their ardour, deflect them from their purpose, or weaken their resolve to accomplish the tasks assigned to them under the Ten Year Plan.
Conscious of their inescapable, their sacred and multiple responsibilities; spurred on by the realization of the great and varied sacrifices being made, and the vicissitudes experienced, by the great mass of their long-suffering brethren in Bahá’u’lláh’s native land; mindful of the prophecies made by the Centre of the Covenant regarding the spiritual and material destiny of their country; following the noble and immortal example set by the founder[46] of their community and by the two Hands of the Cause[47] ranking among its foremost members; encouraged by their own splendid achievements in recent years; thankful for the unrestricted freedom enabling them to proclaim, unreservedly and far and wide, the fundamental verities of their Faith; and fully aware of the shortness of the time allotted to them for the performance of their arduous and mighty task, the members of the Canadian Bahá’í Community must arise, at this very hour, and evince such a whole-hearted dedication to the mission they have pledged themselves to carry out as to astonish the entire Bahá’í World, and bring everlasting consolation to the hearts of the persecuted followers of the Faith in the land of its birth.
That this community may rise to this occasion, and may befittingly fulfil this glorious mission, and enrich immeasurably the record of its splendid and unforgettable achievements is the object of my constant prayer and the dearest wish of my heart.