Dearly loved friends,
With hearts full of love and admiration for the
followers of the Most Great Name in Australasia we send our warmest greetings
to all assembled in this historic gathering in the heart of the Antipodes.
How great is your place in Bahá'í history! How bright are
the prospects for the future of the Cause so lovingly nurtured for more than
half a century by hundreds of stalwart steadfast believers, spiritual heirs of
Hyde and Clara Dunn, who in direct response to the Tablets of the Divine Plan
forsook their home and went to pioneer in Australia, and whose names, Shoghi
Effendi wrote, were "graven in letters of gold" upon his heart. In
March 1951, when in the entire Pacific area there was but one National
Spiritual Assembly, the beloved Guardian predicted that "The prizes
destined for the heroic warriors, battling for the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh
throughout the Southern Hemisphere, and particularly Australasia, are glorious
beyond compare. The assistance to be vouchsafed to them from on high in their
struggle for its establishment, its recognition and triumph is ready to be
poured forth in astonishing abundance."
Now, twenty-five years later, the achievements are truly
astounding. Beginning with the establishment of the National Spiritual Assembly
of the Bahá'ís of New Zealand at Ridvan 1957, the number of National Assemblies
has increased eleven-fold; the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the Antipodes has been
erected near Sydney; His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II of Western Samoa has
become the first reigning monarch to embrace the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh; the
number of Local Spiritual Assemblies now stands at over 360; and the number of
localities where Bahá'ís reside in this vast oceanic area covering well-nigh
one-eighth of the earth's surface is more than 1,800. These accomplishments
doubtless have been a source of great joy to the immortal soul of Shoghi
Effendi, whose esteem and affection for the followers of Bahá'u'lláh labouring
for His Cause in the Antipodes was frequently expressed in glowing terms in his
letters to the Assemblies and friends in Australasia.
Dear friends, we have now passed the midpoint of the Five Year Plan. You are met in the beautiful city of Auckland to take stock and to make plans for attaining the victories which will surely be yours.
The National Spiritual Assemblies of the New Hebrides and of
the Marshall Islands are to be raised up next Ridvan; plans for the
soon-to-be-erected Mashriqu'l- Adhkar of Samoa are in process; but although the
goal of establishing Bahá'í centres totaling 2,188 is within easy reach, the
Local Assembly goals assigned to each national community, totaling 613, need
prompt and decisive attention. The divine assistance spoken of by the beloved
Guardian in 1951 has ever been available, and is still "ready to be poured
forth in astonishing abundance." It is within your power during the coming
year to win all assigned teaching goals, leaving the final year of the Plan for
consolidation and the winning of supplementary victories.
This will be achieved, not by resting on laurels, but by
manifesting those qualities of faith, judgement, vision, loyalty, courage and
self-sacrifice which earned the Guardian's praise so frequently in past
decades. Let the valiant Australasian Bahá'í communities vie once more with
their sister communities throughout the world for the palm of victory and
maintain their position in the vanguard of the Army of Light.
Pioneers, travelling teachers and a fresh outpouring of
funds are essential ingredients to the onward march of the Cause throughout
Australia, New Zealand and the islands of the South Pacific. Let those who can
offer their valued services to the teaching work arise without delay; let those
who cannot travel or pioneer deputize those who can go in their stead.
We cherish the highest hopes for the success of your
endeavours and it is our constant prayer that Bahá'u'lláh will shower His
richest blessings and confirmations upon you.
The Universal House of Justice
(‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986’)
