Thus, during the ministry of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh was not only safeguarded from confusion and division, it was vastly extended into Europe, America and the Far East, and the fundamental literature of the Faith was amplified by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s public addresses and Tablets, many of which were directed to the administrative side of the Bahá’í service. By 1921, the outer form of this community had been fairly defined in many localities and impressed upon the habits as well as thoughts of the believers.

Despite this fact, it is more than doubtful, it is positively certain, that the worlwide Bahá’í community could not have survived the shock of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s passing, and perpetuated its complex unity into the future, had He not made definite provision for a point of unity acceptable to all the believers and a continuance of that administrative authority which is the body of the soul of the faith.

These provisions were made in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Will and Testament, excerpts from which form the first portion of this volume. By the appointment of a Guardian of the Bahá’í Cause, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá created an executive head and center possessing unquestioned consecration and capacity for the tremendous task of inspiring the worldwide Bahá’í community to develop along the path of human service marked out for it in the Religion of Bahá’u’lláh. The six years which have passed since 1921 have in fact been signalized by steady progress along both the spiritual and administrative lines characteristic of this Faith. At the present timeNational Spiritual Assemblies exist among the Bahá’í’s of eight countries, and the election of an International Spiritual Assembly* will follow in due time

The administrative aspect of the Bahá’í Cause is in reality no mere set of external regulations but the very fruit of its universal spirit. Bahá’í administration is nothing less than a worldwide ethics, the special characteristic of which is to transform subjective