lievers will get blessings and bounties. It cannot be compared with the church of the old time. You have only to begin, everything will be all right.”
When this message was brought back to America a new activity in the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár resulted throughout the country and contributions from various assemblies and individuals were received. A convention was called for November 26, 1907, to be held in Chicago. This was the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár convention, regarding which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote to Mr. Charles Sprague; “Thou hast written concerning the organization of a council for the building of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár. This news brought much spirit and fragrance, for the nine delegates sent by the various assemblies gathered in that meeting and consulted concerning the building of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár.”
Several possible tracts of land on both the south and north sides of the city had been investigated, as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had said to a pilgrim that it must be near the lake. The morning of the day of November 26, 1907, the delegates visited the south side tract, noting carefully the surroundings, returning to the home of Mrs. Grace Foster for a sumptuous (Thanksgiving day) feast, prepared in the name of the Center of the Covenant by the Chicago maid-servants. It was at first feared that such a feast of good things had incapacitated the delegates to visit the north shore tract in the afternoon but it made them stronger for the trip, both spiritually and physically. That evening a spirited meeting was held over the location and it was unanimously voted that the north shore tract was most desirable. Miss Gertrude Buikema took the minutes of this meeting. Upon closer investigation the north shore tract (now the site of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár) was found to consist of fourteen lots. The spiritual meeting of the Chicago Assembly, after bringing the matter before the assembly for approval, took title to two of the lots in the name of the treasurer of the assembly, Mr. Carl Scheffler, and arose to obey the Center of the Covenant when he said; “You have only to begin, everything will be all right.” The sum of $2,000 was paid for those two lots on April 9, 1908.
On June 19, 1908, a tablet was revealed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and translated by his daughter Moneveh Khanum, in which he wrote, “Ask every spiritual meeting in the other cities that they will each select one and send him, and from these selected ones and with those who are selected from the Chicago meetings, establish a new meeting for the provision of the means of the temple. If this is established with perfect fragrance and joy, it will produce great results. In this new meeting, especially for the establishment of the temple, women are also to be members.”
In compliance with these instructions from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the House of Spirituality of the Chicago Assembly called the second Mashriqu’l-Adhkár convention for March 22nd and 23rd, 1909, the proceedings of which were accurately recorded by Miss Gertrude Buikema and Mr. Charles Ioas, duly elected to act as secretaries, and afterwards printed. Thus the tiny mustard seed of nine delegates grew in the two intervening years to four times nine. The Bahá’í Temple Unity resulted, as an organization, with full power and authority to provide ways and means for the erection of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár. A constitution was presented and adopted and the first executive board of Bahá’í Temple Unity was elected and authorized by the convention to close and complete
the purchase of the land, recom-
