piritual assemblies, as well as those of Persia and 'Iraq.

Eighth, the establishment by these above-mentioned eleven national
spiritual assemblies of national Baha'i endowments.

Ninth, the establishment of a national Haziratu'l-Quds in the capital
cities of each of the countries where national spiritual assemblies are to
be established, as well as one in Suva, one in Jakarta, one in Bahrein and
one in Beirut.

Tenth, the establishment of a national Baha'i Court in the capital cities
of Persia, of 'Iraq, of Pakistan and of Af_gh_anistan--the leading Muslim
centers in the Asiatic continent.

Eleventh, the establishment of two national Baha'i Publishing Trusts, one
in Tihran and one in New Delhi.

Twelfth, the formation of Israel branches of the National Spiritual
Assemblies of the Baha'is of Persia, of 'Iraq, and of Australia,
authorized to hold on behalf of their parent institutions property
dedicated to the holy shrines at the World Center of the Faith in the
state of Israel.

Thirteenth, the appointment, during Ridvan 1954, by the Hands of the Cause
in Asia and in Australia of an Auxiliary Board of nine members who will,
in conjunction with the eight national spiritual assemblies participating
in the Asiatic and Australian campaigns, assist, through periodic and
systematic visits to Baha'i centers, in the efficient and prompt execution
of the plans formulated for the prosecution of the teaching campaigns in
the continent of Asia and in the Antipodes.

ON THE THRESHOLD OF A NEW SPIRITUAL ERA

The Asiatic continent, the cradle of the principal religions of mankind;
the home of so many of the oldest and mightiest civilizations which have
flourished on this planet; the crossways of so many kindreds and races;
the battleground of so many peoples and nations; above whose horizons, in
modern times, the suns of two independent revelations--the promise and
consummation of a six thousand year old religious cycle--have successively
arisen; where the Authors of both of these revelations suffered banishment
and died; within whose confines the Center of a divinely appointed
Covenant was born, endured a forty-year incarceration and passed away; on
whose western extremity the Qiblih of the Baha'i world has been definitely
established; in whose heart the city proclaimed by Baha'u'llah as the
"Mother of the World" is enshrined; within whose borders another city
regarded as the "cynosure of an adoring world" and the scene