Letter of 16 December 1922

Dear fellow-workers in the Holy Vineyard of &Baha!

Now that my long hours of rest and meditation are happily at an end, I turn my face with renewed hope and vigor to that vast continent the soil of which is pregnant with those seeds that our beloved Master has so tenderly and so profusely scattered in the past. Prolonged though this period has been, yet I have strongly felt ever since the New Day has dawned upon me that such a needed retirement, despite the temporary dislocations it might entail, would far outweigh in its results any immediate service I could have humbly tendered at the Threshold of &Baha'u'llah.

I am now confident that the energies of my beloved brethren and sisters across the seas, far from being damped by my sudden disappearance from the field of service, will henceforth be fully maintained, nay redoubled in their intensity, that we may all together carry triumphantly to the uttermost corners of the world the glorious Standard of &Baha.

Bereft of all news whatsoever during my hours of restful seclusion, I now feel the more the thrill of the various tidings, few but indeed promising, that have been awaiting my return to the Holy Land. The work of the noble Edifice that the mighty hands of the All-wise Master has reared in this world can suffer no delay, nor can its foundations be made to totter, whatever the apparent obstacles its enemies in their impotent wrath and despair may throw in its way. We need not wait too long, for already from various quarters there comes the news that the awful promises of &Abdu'l-Baha regarding the Covenant-breakers have been strikingly fulfilled!

But it behooves us not to dwell for a moment on these doomed and darkened efforts, for the shining light of the Master's unfailing guidance is beckoning us to more constructive service, to nobler and worthier achievements.

We have, not a long time ago, with tearful eyes commemorated the world over the passing hour of our beloved Master. Would to God it has marked in our lives, which we all have consecrated to

+P27 His service, a fresh, solemn and unswerving resolution of devotion and fidelity to His Cause

Your brother and co-worker,

SHOGHI. Haifa, Palestine, December 16, 1922.

To the members of the National Spiritual Assembly, the elected representatives of all believers throughout the continent of

America.