the Master's hearers grasped--perhaps could have grasped--was the
revolutionary change in the very structure of society and the willing
submission of human nature to Divine Law that, in the final analysis, can
alone produce the necessary changes in attitude and behaviour.

* * * * *

The key to this vision of the coming transformation of the individual and
social life of humankind was 'Abdu'l-Baha's proclamation, shortly after
His arrival in North America, of Baha'u'llah's Covenant and of the central
part He Himself had been called on to play in it. In the Master's own
words:

As to the most great characteristic of the revelation of Baha'u'llah, a
specific teaching not given by any of the Prophets of the past: It is the
ordination and appointment of the Center of the Covenant. By this
appointment and provision He has safeguarded and protected the religion of
God against differences and schisms, making it impossible for anyone to
create a new sect or faction of belief.(29)

Choosing New York City for His purpose--and designating it "the City of the
Covenant"--'Abdu'l-Baha unveiled for Western believers the devolution of
authority made by the Founder of their Faith for the definitive
interpretation of His Revelation. A highly regarded believer, Lua
Getsinger, had been called on by the Master to prepare the group of
Baha'is who had gathered in the house where He was temporarily residing
for this historic announcement, following which He Himself went downstairs
and spoke in general terms about some of the implications of the Covenant.
Juliet Thompson, who, with one of the Persian translators, had been in the
upstairs room at the time this mission had been given to her friend, has
left an account of the circumstances. She quotes 'Abdu'l-Baha as saying:

..._I am the Covenant_, appointed by Baha'u'llah. And no one can refute
His Word. This is the Testament of Baha'u'llah. You will find it in the
Holy Book of Aqdas. Go forth and proclaim, "This is _the Covenant of God_
in your midst."(30)

Conceived by Baha'u'llah as the Instrument which, in the words of Shoghi
Effendi, was "to perpetuate the influence of [the] Faith, insure its
integrity, safeguard it from schism, and stimulate its world-wide
expansion,"(31) the Covenant had been violated by members of Baha'u'llah's
own family almost immediately after His ascension. Recognizing that the
authority invested in the Master by the Kitab-i-'Ahd