Universal House of Justice Australasian Baha'ls "vanguard of the Army of Light" To the Friends assembled at the International Teaching Confer­ was frequently expressed m glowing terms in his letters to the ence in Auckl and, Assemblies and friends in Australasia. Dear friends, we have now passed the mid-point of the Five Dearly- loved Friends, year Plan. You are met in the beautiful city of Auckland to take With hearts full of love and admiration for the followers of the stock and to make pl ans for attaining the victories which will Most Great Name in Australas ia we send our warmest greetings to surely be yours. all assembled in this histori c gathering in the heart of the An­ The National Spiritual Assemblies of the New Hebrides and of tipodes. the Marshall Islands are to be raised up next Riqvan; plans for the How great is your pl ace in Baha' i hi story! How bright are the soon-to-be-erected Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of Samoa are in process; prospects for the future of the Cause so lovingly nurtured fo r more but although the goal of establishing Baha'i centers totalling than half-a-century by hundreds of stalwart steadfast believers, 2, 188 is within easy reach, the Local Assembly Goal s assigned to spiritual he irs of Hyde and Clara Dunn, who in direct response to each nati onal community, totall y 6 13, need prompt and decisive the Tabl ets of the Di vine Pl an forsook the ir home and went to attention. The di vine assistance spoken of by the beloved Guar­ oioneer in Australia, and whose names Shoghi Effendi wrote, dian in 1951 has ever been avail able, and is still " ready to be were" graven in letters of gold " upon hi s heart. In March 195 l , poured forth in astonishing abundance''. It is within your power when in the entire Pacific area there was but one National Spiritual during the coming year to win all assigned teaching goals, leaving Assembly, the beloved Guardian predicted th at " The prizes de­ the fin al year of the Plan for consolidation and the winning of stined for the heroic warriors, battling fo r the Cause for supplementary victories. Baha'u' ll fth throughout the Southern Hemisphere, and particu­ This will be achieved, not by resting on laurels, but by man­ larly Australas ia, are glorious beyond compare. The assistance to ifesting those qualities of faith , judgment, vision, loyalty, cour­ be vouchsafed to them from on high in the ir struggle fo r its age and self-sacrifi ce which earned the Guardian's praise so establi shment, its recognition and triumph is ready to be poured frequently in past decades . Let the valiant Australasian Baha'i forth in astonishing abundance." communities vie once more w ith the ir siste r. communities Now, twenty-five years later, the achievements are trul y as­ throughout the world for the palm of victory and maintain their tounding. Beginning with the establishment of the Nati onal position in the vanguard of the Army of Light. Spiritual Assembly of the Baha' fs of New Zealand at Riqvan Pioneers, travelling teachers and a fresh outpouring of funds 1957, the number of National Assemblies has increased eleven­ are essential ingredients to the onward march of the Cause fold; the Mashriqu' l-Adhkar of the Antipodes has been erected th roughout Australi a, New Zealand and the islands of the South near Sydney; Hi s Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II of Western Pac ific. Let those who can offer their val ued services to the Samoa has become the fi rst reigning monarch to embrace the teaching work arise without delay; let those who cannot travel or Cause of Baha' u' ll fth; the number of Local Spiritual Assemblies pioneer deputize those who can go in their stead. now stands at over 360; and the number of localities where We cherish the highest hopes for the success of your en­ Baha'fs reside in this vast oceanic area covering well-nigh one­ deavours and it is our constant prayer that Baha'u'llah will eighth of the earth 's surface is more than 1,800. These accomp­ shower His richest blessings an confirmations upon you. lishments doubtless have been a source of great joy to the immor­ tal soul of Shoghi Effendi , whose esteem and affection for the The Universal House of Justice foll owers of Baha'u' ll ah labouring for Hi s Cause in the Antipodes January, 1977 Call for dedicated effort To the Followers of Baha'u' llah gathered at the Internati onal revelation of 'Abdu ' l-Baha's Tabl ets of the Di vine Plan in which Teaching Conference in Bahi a, Brazil the beloved Mas ter stressed the importance of the Republics of the South Ameri can Continent. Dearly-l oved Friends, The first believer to respond to 'A bdu ' l-Baha's di vine call was W ith joyous hearts we hail the convocati on of this first of the that star- servant of the Cause of Baha ' u ' ll ah, valiant, indomitable twin Latin -Ameri can Confe rences cl os ing the series of eight Martha Root, who in 19 19 visited many important cities in South Intern ational Baha'i Conferences held during the midway peri od Ameri ca. Two years later Leonora Holsapple Armstrong, mother of the Five Year Plan. of the Baha'is of Brazil , settled in Bahia. The teaching work in the The ringing call of Baha' u' llfth in His Most Holy Book to the continent progressed steadily to the point where, in 1937, the Rul ers of Ameri ca and the Presidents of the Republics therein was beloved Guardian launched his fi rst Seven Year Pl an paving the followed after an interval of more than four decades by the way for the rai sing in subsequent Pl ans of the institutions of Baha' u' llah's Administrati ve Order in every one of its republics Baha'i youth must be applied in the fi elds of pioneering and travel and in its islands. It was in the course of that firs t Seven Year Plan teaching. A far wider disseminati on of Baha'i li terature must be that 'Abdu' l-Baha's beloved handmaid, May Maxwell , in 1940 accompanied by a conti nuous programme of translation of the won a martyr's crown when she laid down her life in Argentina, Sacred Text into the major indigenous languages of the continent. thereby adding fu rther lustre to the spiritual history of South T he continental goals for South America of 8,670 centers and America. 2,293 Local Spiritual Assemblies must be won, and may even be How truly fitt ing, then, that this auspicious Conference have its surpassed, for every country must achieve the goals assigned to it. venue in the city of Bahi a, singled out for special mention by T hi s call s fo r the dedicated effort of every Nati onal Spiritual 'Abdu ' l-Baha in His Tablets of the Di vine Pl an. And how timely it Assembly, every Local Spiri tual Assembl y and indeed every is at this crucial point in the Five Year Plan that the friends believer. All the di vinely ordained instruments of the Admini stra­ gathered in Bahia from many lands prayerfull y consider, and ti ve Order of Baha'u' ll ah must now unite in executing a sym­ ari se to prosecute expeditiously all measures ai med at achieving phony of victory in all the un fi nished goals of the Five Year Plan, glorious victory in all goals of the Plan . winning thereby the good pleasure of the Bl essed Beauty. Noteworthy progress has been achieved in many fie lds of Beloved friends, go forward with complete assurance that a se rvice throughout the South Ameri can Baha'i community, par­ continent so ri ch in spiritual promi se, so di verse in its peoples and ticul arly in attracting to the Cause large numbers of its indigenous races, so ferti le for the planting of the seeds of Baha' u ' ll ah 's Faith peoples. But myriads of pure-hearted soul s have not yet heard the will yield a bri lliant harvest fo r all who labor in that Divine cl arion call of Baha' u' ll ah and hungril y await the sp iritual Vineyard. nourishment that onl y His foll owers can give t hem. It is our fervent loving prayer at the Sacred Threshold that Steps must be taken to attract members of every stratum of Baha' u' ll ah's bountifu l confi rmati ons and ri chest blessings may society to the di vi ne circle of the Faith th rough effecti ve procla­ be showered upon you. mati on and teaching . Greater utili zati on of radio broadcasts is necessary, not onl y to reach all levels of society but also to deepen The Unive rsal House of Justi ce the believers themselves. The valu able and dynamic services of January 1977 Wholehearted support of Plan needed To the Followers of Baha' u' llah gathered at the In te rn ati onal in the capital ci ty of a state that was once an importa nt part of a Teaching Conference in Merida; Mexico great Indian empire, provides a unique opportunity to initiate what may well become the widespread reawakening of a people whose ancestors more than l ,200 years ago developed one of the W ith joyous hearts and eager anticipati on we send warmest most brilliant pre-Columbian civilizations known to modem man.