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Citadel of Faith
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Pages 119-122
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AN APPEAL TO ALL ENGAGED IN THE CRUSADE
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1 |
To them, and indeed to the entire body of the followers of
Bahá'u'lláh, engaged in this global Crusade, I direct my appeal to arise
and, in the course of these fast-fleeting years, in every phase of the
campaigns that are to be fought in all the continents of the globe, prove
their worth as gallant warriors battling for the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh.
Indeed, from this very hour until the eve of the Most Great Jubilee,
each and every one of those enrolled in the Army of Light must seek no
rest, must take no thought of self, must sacrifice to the uttermost, must
allow nothing whatsoever to deflect him or her from meeting the
pressing, the manifold, the paramount needs of this preeminent Crusade.
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"Light as the spirit," "pure as air," "blazing as fire," "unrestrained as
the wind"--for such is Bahá'u'lláh's own admonition to His loved ones
in His Tablets, and directed not to a select few but to the entire
congregation of the faithful--let them scatter far and wide, proclaim
the glory of God's Revelation in this Day, quicken the souls of men and
ignite in their hearts the love of the One Who alone is their omnipotent
and divinely appointed Redeemer.
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Bracing the fearful cold of the Arctic regions and the enervating
heat of the torrid zone; heedless of the hazards, the loneliness and the
austerity of the deserts, the far-away islands and mountains wherein
they will be called upon to dwell; undeterred by the clamor which the
exponents of religious orthodoxy are sure to raise, or by the restrictive
measures which political leaders may impose; undismayed by the
smallness of their numbers and the multitude of their potential adversaries;
armed with the efficacious weapons their own hands have slowly
and laboriously forged in anticipation of this glorious and inevitable
encounter with the organized forces of superstition, of corruption and of
unbelief; placing their whole trust in the matchless potency of
Bahá'u'lláh's teachings, in the all-conquering power of His might and
the infallibility of His glorious and oft-repeated promises, let them press
forward, each according to his strength and resources, into the vast
arena now lying before them, and which, God willing, will witness, in
the years immediately lying ahead, such exhibitions of prowess and of
heroic self-sacrifice as may well recall the superb feats achieved by that
immortal band of God-intoxicated heroes who have so immeasurably
enriched the annals of the Christian, the Islamic and Bábí Dispensations.
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4 |
On the members of the American Bahá'í Community, the envied
custodians of a Divine Plan, the principal builders and defenders of a
mighty Order and the recognized champions of an unspeakably glorious
and precious Faith, a peculiar and inescapable responsibility must
necessarily rest. Through their courage, their self-abnegation, their
fortitude and their perseverance; through the range and quality of their
achievements, the depth of their consecration, their initiative and
resourcefulness, their organizing ability, their readiness and capacity to
lend their assistance to less privileged sister communities struggling
against heavy odds; through their generous and sustained response to
the enormous and ever-increasing financial needs of a world-encompassing,
decade-long and admittedly strenuous enterprise, they
must, beyond the shadow of a doubt, vindicate their right to the
leadership of this World Crusade.
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5 |
Now is the time for the hope voiced by `Abdu'l-Bahá that from their
homeland "heavenly illumination" may "stream to all the peoples of the
world" to be realized. Now is the time for the truth of His remarkable
assertion that that same homeland is "equipped and empowered to
accomplish that which will adorn the pages of history, to become the
envy of the world and be blest in both the East and the West," to be
strikingly and unmistakably demonstrated. "Should success crown"
their "enterprise," He, moreover, has assured them, "the throne of the
Kingdom of God will, in the plenitude of its majesty and glory, be
firmly established."
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6 |
Would to God that this community, boasting already of so superb a
record of achievements both at home and overseas, and elevated to such
dazzling heights by the hopes cherished and the assurance given by the
Center of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant, may prove itself capable of performing
deeds of such distinction, in the course of the opening, as well as
the succeeding phases of this World Spiritual Crusade, as will outshine
the dedicated acts which have already left their indelible mark on the
Apostolic Age of the Faith in the West; will excel the enduring, the
historic achievements associated, at a later period, with this community's
memorable contribution to the rise and establishment of the world
Administrative Order of Bahá'u'lláh; will surpass the magnificent
accomplishments which, subsequently, as the result of the operation of
the first Seven Year Plan, illuminated the annals of the Faith in both
the North American continent and throughout Latin America and will
eclipse the even more dramatic exploits which, during the opening
years of the second epoch of the Formative Age of the Faith, and in the
course of the prosecution of the Second Seven Year Plan, have exerted
so lasting an influence on the fortunes of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh in the
Antilles, throughout the republics of Central America, in each of the
ten republics of South America, in no less than ten sovereign states in
the continent of Europe, and in various dependencies on the eastern
and western shores, as well as in the heart of the African continent.
[July 18, 1953]
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