Haifa, Palestine, January 17th, 1923. Letter of February 13, 1923 To the members of the National Spiritual Assembly. Dearest friends: I have just completed the translation of a number of selections(5) from the Master’s soul-stirring Words to His loved ones in Persia, revealed some twenty-five years ago, and during the darkest days of His incarceration in the prison city of Akká. You will realize, as you read them, the unshakable confidence of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the inevitable growth of the Cause, even in the most perilous days of His life. Their perusal will enable you all to grasp more fully the significance of this Movement and its dynamic power, the urgent need for sustained unity and harmony amongst the friends, and the glory of the station that awaits in the world to come every faithful servant of Bahá’u’lláh. May they contribute their share to the unfolding of the Spirit of the Cause in that land, and may they infuse in all the friends that ardent spirit of service and fellowship that will enable them to fulfill their glorious destiny in this world! Your brother and co-worker, SHOGHI. Haifa, Palestine, February 13, 1923. Letter of March 12, 1923 To the beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout America, Great Britain, Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Japan and Australasia. Fellow-workers in the Vineyard of God! Over a year has elapsed since that calamitous Hour, when the glorious Person of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was veiled from mortal eyes and His Spirit ascended to the Kingdom of Glory; and I feel that the time is now ripe to take those fresh and momentous decisions which will enable us to fulfill, speedily and faithfully, the last wishes of our departed Master. The year has been to the outside world a year of fear and suffering, of disillusion and turmoil. To us, however, the bereaved followers of a gracious and loving Master, it has been, despite the passing cares which His sudden departure must necessarily entail, a period of hope, of wholesome activity, marked throughout with a spirit of undiminished confidence in His power and of fidelity to His Cause. From the East and from the West, from the North and from the South, the unnumbered servants of Bahá’u’lláh, disdainful of the evil machinations of the enemies of His Cause, the breakers of His behests, have rallied to His Standard, and risen with one accord to carry on the great Work He has entrusted to their charge. All-hail to that undying spirit of fidelity which burns and shall burn unceasingly, in the breasts of His loved ones! Great shall be their reward, and blissful the hour, when after a toilsome life of service, they are gathered to the glory of Bahá, and partake in their Beloved’s Presence, of the joy of eternal Reunion. Condition of the World