hope is that from the bounties of Baha'u'llah, thou mayest
daily advance in the Kingdom, that thou mayest become a heavenly angel,
confirmed by the breaths of the Holy Spirit, and mayest erect a structure
that shall eternally remain firm and unshakeable....

These days are very precious; grasp the present opportunity and ignite a
candle that shall never be extinguished, and which shall pour out its
light eternally illuminating the world of mankind!

169: O YE TWO PATIENT SOULS! YOUR LETTER WAS RECEIVED. ...

O ye two patient souls! Your letter was received. The death of that
beloved youth and his separation from you have caused the utmost sorrow
and grief; for he winged his flight in the flower of his age and the bloom
of his youth to the heavenly nest. But he hath been freed from this
sorrow-stricken shelter and hath turned his face toward the everlasting
nest of the Kingdom, and, being delivered from a dark and narrow world,
hath hastened to the sanctified realm of light; therein lieth the
consolation of our hearts.

The inscrutable divine wisdom underlieth such heart-rending occurrences.
It is as if a kind gardener transferreth a fresh and tender shrub from a
confined place to a wide open area. This transfer is not the cause of the
withering, the lessening or the destruction of that shrub; nay, on the
contrary, it maketh it to grow and thrive, acquire freshness and delicacy,
become green and bear fruit. This hidden secret is well known to the
gardener, but those souls who are unaware of this bounty suppose that the
gardener, in his anger and wrath, hath uprooted the shrub. Yet to those
who are aware, this concealed fact is manifest, and this predestined
decree is considered a bounty. Do not feel grieved or disconsolate,
therefore, at the ascension of that bird of faithfulness; nay, under all
circumstances pray for that youth, supplicating for him forgiveness and
the elevation of his station.

I hope that ye will attain the utmost patience, composure and resignation,
and I entreat and implore at the Threshold of Oneness, begging for
forgiveness and pardon. My hope from the infinite bounties of God is that
He may shelter this dove of the garden of faith, and cause him to abide on
the branch of the Supreme Concourse, that he may sing in the best of
melodies the praise and glorification of the Lord of Names and Attributes.

170: O THOU SEEKER OF THE KINGDOM! THY LETTER WAS ...

O thou seeker of