Dearly-loved Friends,
On the eve of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the opening of the
Formative Age of our Faith we call to mind the high hopes often expressed by
the beloved Master for the spread of the Cause in this region. His mention in
the Tablets of the Divine Plan of many of the territories represented in this
Conference, and the faithful and devoted services of that maid-servant of
Bahá'u'lláh, the Hand of the Cause Agnes Alexander, who brought the Teachings
to these shores in the early years of this century.
In these days we are witnessing an unprecedented
acceleration of the teaching work in almost every part of the globe. In the
North Pacific Ocean area great strides have been made in the advancement of the
Cause since that historic Asia Regional Teaching Conference in Nikko just
sixteen years ago. The next two years witnessed the formation of the National
Spiritual Assembly of Alaska and of the Regional National Spiritual Assembly of
North East Asia. To the Convention in Tokyo at Ridvan 1957 the Guardian
addressed these prophetic words:
"This auspicious event, which posterity will regard as
the culmination of a process initiated, half a century ago, in the capital city
of Japan ... marks the opening of the second chapter in the history of the
evolution of His Faith in the North Pacific area. Such a consummation cannot
fail to lend a tremendous impetus to its onward march in the entire Pacific
Ocean..."
Since that time National Spiritual Assemblies have also been firmly established in Korea and Taiwan.
Hokkaido, the site of this Conference, first heard of the
Teachings less than fifteen years ago, and the first aboriginal peoples of this
land accepted Bahá'u'lláh just over a decade ago. Now you are the witnesses to
the beginnings of a rapid increase in the number of believers.
Peoples in other islands and lands of the North Pacific,
including the Ryukyus, Guam, the Trust Territories, the western shores of
Canada and Alaska and the Aleutians are also enrolling under the banner of the
Most Great Name, and next Ridvan yet another pillar of the Universal House of
Justice is to be raised in Micronesia. We are heartened at the prospect that
from indigenous peoples of this vast oceanic area, the Ainu, the Japanese, the
Chinese, the Koreans, the Okinawans, the Micronesians, the American Indians,
the Eskimos, and the Aleuts vast numbers will soon enter the Faith.
The final hours of the Nine Year Plan are fast fleeting.
Praised be to God that you have gathered to consult on ways and means of
assuring complete victory so that from these outposts the Teachings may spread
to those nearby lands where teeming millions have not as yet heard of the
advent of this Most Great Dispensation.
The sweet perfume of victory is in the air, and we must
hasten to achieve it while there is yet time. Vital goals, particularly on the
homefronts of Taiwan and Japan, remain to be won, and everywhere the roots of
the faith of the believers must sink deeper and deeper into the firm earth of
the Teachings lest tempests and trials as yet unforeseen shake or uproot the
tender plants so lovingly raised in the islands of this great Ocean and the
land surrounding it.
As you and the friends in the sister Conference in Reykjavik
bring this series of eight Oceanic and Continental Conferences to a triumphant
close, our prayers for the success of your deliberations ascend at the Holy
Threshold. May God grant you the resources, the strength, and the determination
to attain your highest hopes and enable you to open a new and glorious chapter
in the evolution of His Faith in the North Pacific area.
With loving Bahá'í greetings,
The Universal House of Justice
(Messages from the
Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986)
