but hard to stand firm and
staunch within it, for the tests are rigorous, and heavy to bear. But the
English remain steadfast under all conditions, neither at the first sign
of trouble do their footsteps slip. They are not changeable, playing fast
and loose with some project and soon giving it up. They do not, for some
trivial reason, fail in enthusiasm and zeal, their interest gone. No, in
all they do, they are stable, rock-solid and staunch.

Although ye dwell in western lands, still, praise be to God, ye did hear
His call from out the east and, even as Moses, did warm your hands at the
fire kindled in the Asian Tree. Ye did find the true path, were lit like
unto lamps, and have come into the Kingdom of God. And now have ye arisen,
out of gratitude for these blessings, and ye are asking God's help for all
the peoples of the earth, that their eyes as well may behold the
splendours of the Abha Realm, and their hearts, even as mirrors, reflect
the bright rays of the Sun of Truth.

It is my hope that the breaths of the Holy Spirit will so be breathed into
your hearts that your tongues will disclose the mysteries, and set forth
and expound the inner meanings of the Holy Books; that the friends will
become physicians, and will, through the potent medicine of the heavenly
Teachings, heal the long-standing diseases that afflict the body of this
world; that they will make the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the dead to
come alive; that they will awaken those who are sound asleep.

Rest ye assured that the confirmations of the Holy Spirit will descend
upon you, and that the armies of the Abha Kingdom will grant you the
victory.

220: THE LORD OF ALL MANKIND HATH FASHIONED THIS ...

The Lord of all mankind hath fashioned this human realm to be a Garden of
Eden, an earthly paradise. If, as it must, it findeth the way to harmony
and peace, to love and mutual trust, it will become a true abode of bliss,
a place of manifold blessings and unending delights. Therein shall be
revealed the excellence of humankind, therein shall the rays of the Sun of
Truth shine forth on every hand.

Remember how Adam and the others once dwelt together in Eden. No sooner,
however, did a quarrel break out between Adam and Satan than they were,
one and all, banished from the Garden, and this was meant as a warning to
the human race, a means of telling humankind that dissension--even with the
Devil--is the way to bitter loss. This is why, i