Bahá’u’lláh’s mission is not limited to the building of the Bahá’í community. The Revelation of God has come for the whole of humanity, and it will win the support of the institutions of society to the extent that they find in its example encouragement and inspiration for their efforts to lay the foundations of a just society. To appreciate the importance of this parallel concern, one has only to recall the time and care that Bahá’u’lláh Himself devoted to cultivating relationships with government officials, leaders of thought, prominent figures in various minority groups, and the diplomatic representatives of foreign governments assigned to service in the Ottoman empire. The spiritual effect of this effort is apparent in the tributes paid to His character and principles by even such bitter enemies as ‘Álí Pá_sh_á and the Persian ambassador to Constantinople, Mírzá Ḥusayn _Kh_án. The former, who condemned his Prisoner to banishment in the penal colony at ‘Akká, was nevertheless moved to describe Him as “a man of great distinction, exemplary conduct, great moderation, and a most dignified figure”, whose teachings were, in the minister’s opinion “worthy of high esteem”.(131) The latter, whose machinations had been principally responsible for poisoning the minds of ‘Álí Pá_sh_á and his colleagues, frankly admitted, in later years, the great contrast between the moral and intellectual stature of his Enemy and the harm done to Persian-Turkish relations by the reputation for greed and dishonesty that characterized most of his other countrymen resident in Constantinople. From the beginning, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá took keen interest in efforts to bring into existence a new international order. It is significant, for example, that His early public references in North America to the purpose of His visit there placed particular emphasis on the invitation of the organizing committee of the Lake Mohonk Peace Conference for Him to address this international gathering. He had also been generous in His encouragement of the Central Organization for a Durable Peace at The Hague. He was, however, entirely candid in the counsel He provided. Letters which the Executive Committee of The Hague organization had written to Him during the course of the war provided the opportunity for a response that drew the organizers’ attention to Bahá’u’lláh’s enunciation of spiritual truths which alone can provide a foundation for the realization of their aims: