In the Cradle of the Faith, the site of the Síyáh-Chál, the scene of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh’s Mission and the second holiest spot in His native land, purchased in the course of the first year of the Ten-Year Plan, has been transferred by the donor of this holy and historic place, Habíb Sábet, to the name of one of the Hands of the Cause acting as my official representative in that country.
A five-year Plan has been inaugurated for the purpose of raising twelve million túmans for the construction of the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in that land. The design of this historic Edifice has been finally selected from among a number of designs submitted by Bahá’í Architects in both the East and the West, the choice falling upon the plan conceived by the Hand of the Cause and President of the International Bahá’í Council, Mason Remey—a design which incorporates a dome reminiscent of that of the Báb’s Holy Sepulcher.
A contract has moreover been signed as a preliminary step for the eventual purchase of the Fortress of Chihríq and its surroundings, for a sum of over two hundred thousand túmans.
GOALS ATTAINED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
In the United States of America a plot has been acquired in the precincts of the Mother Temple of the West to serve as the site for the construction of a Home for the Aged, and which will constitute the first of the Dependencies to be erected around that holiest Bahá’í House of Worship. Measures have been adopted, and the design authorized, for the completion of the landscaping of the area surrounding that same building. The National Bahá’í Publishing Committee has been converted into a Bahá’í Publishing Trust, functioning under the jurisdiction of the American National Spiritual Assembly. The total number of American Indian tribes with which contact has been established has now reached twenty-two, whilst members of the Apache, the Cherokee, the Omaha, the Oneida, and the Sioux tribes have been enrolled in the American Bahá’í Community. The number of territories, federal districts and states of the United States of America where official authorization for the conduct of Bahá’í marriages has been granted is now twenty-one, whilst the number of localities in that same country where the Bahá’í Holy Days are officially recognized is over twenty-five.