26 April 1932
To the Bahá’ís of Montreal
Dear Bahá’í brothers and sisters:
Shoghi Effendi wishes me to acknowledge the receipt of your joint letter dated March 21st, 1932. He trusts that, with the aid and blessings of the Master, you will succeed to realize your hopes and create a great impetus among the friends that will ultimately lead towards the completion of that noble and beautiful edifice. It is only through such a general sacrifice that we can bring that task to a successful completion.
Consider what a wonderful prestige we will create for the Cause in the eyes of the public! At a time when stupendous undertakings are being given up for lack of funds, when all the human institutions are crumbling down and failing to inspire hope in their followers, the world will see our Temple completed, not through the donations of wealthy people, but through the sacrifices of humble souls who have the love of God burning in their hearts.
In Persia the Cause was established through the blood of the martyrs shed in its path; in the West it seems it shall prosper as the result of constant sacrifice on the part of its handful of followers. It is only by dedicating our life to the Cause of teaching and our means to establish its Institutions that the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh will conquer the West.
In his moments of prayer at the blessed Shrines Shoghi Effendi will think of you and ask God to guide and assist you. The spirit of the Master, he trusts, will enable you to advance the cause of peace and good-will in that city and at the same time make you set an example of service for all the friends in that continent.
With best wishes and loving greetings,
Yours ever sincerely,
Ruhi Afnan
[From the Guardian:]
Dearly-beloved co-workers:
I was greatly touched by your message and wish to assure you in person of my deepest appreciation of your collective and untiring efforts for the spread of our beloved Cause. The Bahá’ís of Montreal are often in my thoughts and occupy a warm and abiding place in my heart. They are the object of my continued prayers at the Holy Shrines, and constitute the vanguard of that spiritual host which will, in the fullness of time, achieve signal victories for the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in that promising country. May they, by their high, their self-sacrificing endeavours, be enabled to contribute a notable share to the heroic efforts which the American believers are now exerting for the completion of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár,
Your true brother,
Shoghi
(Letter written by and on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the Baha'is of Montreal, dated 26 April 1932; Messages to Canada, pp. 36-38)
