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Citadel of Faith
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Pages 130-131
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CHALLENGE TO EACH INDIVIDUAL BAHÁ'Í
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In its meteoric career its fortunes have risen so swiftly, its exploits
have so greatly multiplied, its spirit in times of emergency has swelled
and risen so high, it has earned on such occasions the applause and
excited the admiration of its sister communities throughout both
hemispheres to such a degree, that it cannot, at this critical hour in its
destinies, suffer this golden opportunity to slip from its grasp, or this
priceless privilege to be irretrievably forfeited.
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This challenge, so severe and insistent, and yet so glorious, faces no
doubt primarily the individual believer on whom, in the last resort,
depends the fate of the entire community. He it is who constitutes the
warp and woof on which the quality and pattern of the whole fabric
must depend. He it is who acts as one of the countless links in the
mighty chain that now girdles the globe. He it is who serves as one of
the multitude of bricks which support the structure and insure the
stability of the administrative edifice now being raised in every part of
the world. Without his support, at once whole-hearted, continuous and
generous, every measure adopted, and every plan formulated, by the
body which acts as the national representative of the community to
which he belongs, is foredoomed to failure. The World Center of the
Faith itself is paralyzed if such a support on the part of the rank and file
of the community is denied it. The Author of the Divine Plan Himself
is impeded in His purpose if the proper instruments for the execution
of His design are lacking. The sustaining strength of Bahá'u'lláh
Himself, the Founder of the Faith, will be withheld from every and
each individual who fails in the long run to arise and play his part.
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The administrative agencies of a divinely conceived Administrative
Order at long last erected and relatively perfected stand in dire need of
the individual believer to come forward and utilize them with undeviating
purpose, serene confidence and exemplary dedication. The heart of
the Guardian cannot but leap with joy, and his mind derive fresh
inspiration, at every evidence testifying to the response of the individual
to his allotted task. The unseen legions, standing rank upon rank,
and eager to pour forth from the Kingdom on high the full measure of
their celestial strength on the individual participants of this incomparably
glorious Crusade, are powerless unless and until each potential
crusader decides for himself, and perseveres in his determination, to
rush into the arena of service ready to sacrifice his all for the Cause he is
called upon to champion.
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