" He again
asserts, "certain glad-tidings are recorded which are absolutely true and
free from doubt. The East hath ever been the dawning-place of the Sun of
Truth. In the East all the Prophets of God have appeared ...The West hath
acquired illumination from the East but in some respects the reflection of
the light hath been greater in the Occident. This is specially true of
Christianity. Jesus Christ appeared in Palestine and His teachings were
founded in that country. Although the doors of the Kingdom were first
opened in that land and the bestowals of God were spread broadcast from
its center, the people of the West have embraced and promulgated
Christianity more fully than the people of the East."

Little wonder that from the same unerring pen there should have flowed,
after 'Abdu'l-Baha's memorable visit to the West, these often-quoted
words, the significance of which it would be impossible for me to
overrate: "The continent of America," He announced in a Tablet unveiling
His Divine Plan to the believers residing in the North-Eastern States of
the American Republic, "is in the eyes of the one true God the land
wherein the splendors of His light shall be revealed, where the mysteries
of His Faith shall be unveiled, where the righteous will abide and the
free assemble." "May this American democracy," He Himself, while in
America, was heard to remark, "be the first nation to establish the
foundation of international agreement. May it be the first nation to
proclaim the unity of mankind. May it be the first to unfurl the standard
of the 'Most Great Peace'... The American people are indeed worthy of
being the first to build the tabernacle of the great peace and proclaim
the oneness of mankind... May America become the distributing center of
spiritual enlightenment and all the world receive this heavenly blessing.
For America has developed powers and capacities greater and more wonderful
than other nations... May the inhabitants of this country become like
angels of heaven with faces turned continually toward God. May all of them
become servants of the omnipotent One. May they rise from their present
material attainments to such a height that heavenly illumination may
stream from this center to all the peoples of the world... This American
nation is equipped and empowered to accomplish that which will adorn the
pages of history, to become the envy of the world and be blest in both the
East and the West for the triumph of