BahÃĄâ•Žuâ•ŽllÃĄh and the New Era - Knowledge Rush

EpilogueUnder the inspired guidance of Shoghi Effendi the Bahá’í Causegrew steadily in size and in the establishment of its AdministrativeOrder, so that by 1951 there were eleven functioningNational Spiritual Assemblies. At that point the Guardian turnedto the development of the institutions of the Faith at its internationallevel, appointing the International Bahá’í Council,the forerunner of the Universal House of Justice, and, shortlythereafter, the first contingent of the Hands of the Cause of God.Hitherto Shoghi Effendi has raised certain eminent Bahá’ís to therank of Hands of the Cause posthumously, one of them being Dr.John E. Esslemont, but it was only in 1951 that he adjudged thetime ripe to begin the full development of this important institution.In rapid succession between 1951 and 1957 he appointedthirty-two Hands and extended the range of their activities, institutingin each continent Auxiliary Boards consisting of believersand appointed by the Hands to be their deputies, assistants andadvisors. Twenty-seven of these Hands were living at the timeof his passing.Through a series of letters, some addressed to Bahá’ís throughoutthe world, and others to those in specific countries, theGuardian deepened their understanding of the teachings, builtup the administrative institutions of the Faith, trained the believersin their correct and effective use, and in 1937 launchedthe American Bahá’í Community on its implementation of theDivine Plan for the diffusion of Bahá’u’lláh’s Message. ThisDivine Plan had been revealed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in a numberof Tablets written during the years of the First World War andconstitutes the charter for the propagation of the Faith.Within the framework of this charter a number of teachingplans were carried out, first in the Western Hemisphere, thenalso in Europe, Asia, Australasia and Africa until in 1953 theGuardian called for a “decade-long, world-embracing, spiritual