Message from the Universal House of Justice to the North Pacific Oceanic Conference, Sapporo, Japan, September, 1971
To the Friends of God Assembled in the Conference of the North Pacific
Ocean. Dearly-loved Friends,
On the eve of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the opening of the Formative Age of
our Faith we call to mind the high hopes often expressed by the beloved Master
for the spread of the Cause in this region. His mention in the Tablets of the
Divine Plan of many of the territories represented in this Conference, and the
faithful and devoted services of that maid-servant of
Bahá'u'lláh, the Hand of the Cause Agnes Alexander, who brought
the Teachings to these shores in the early years of this century.
In these days we are witnessing an unprecedented acceleration of the teaching
work in almost every part of the globe. In the North Pacific Ocean area great
strides have been made in the advancement of the Cause since that historic Asia
Regional Teaching Conference in Nikko just sixteen years ago. The next two
years witnessed the formation of the National Spiritual Assembly of Alaska and
of the Regional National Spiritual Assembly of North East Asia. To the
Convention in Tokyo at Ridván 1957 the Guardian addressed these prophetic
words:
"This auspicious event, which posterity will regard as the culmination of a
process initiated, half a century ago, in the capital city of Japan ... marks
the opening of the second chapter in the history of the evolution of His Faith
in the North Pacific area. Such a consummation cannot fail to lend a tremendous
impetus to its onward march in the entire Pacific Ocean..."
Since that time National Spiritual Assemblies have also been firmly
established in Korea and Taiwan.
Hokkaido, the site of this Conference, first heard of the Teachings less than
fifteen years ago, and the first aboriginal peoples of this land accepted
Bahá'u'lláh just over a decade ago. Now you are the witnesses to
the beginnings of a rapid increase in the number of believers.
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Peoples in other islands and lands of the North Pacific, including the
Ryukyus, Guam, the Trust Territories, the western shores of Canada and Alaska
and the Aleutians are also enrolling under the banner of the Most Great Name,
and next Ridván yet another pillar of the Universal House of Justice is to
be raised in Micronesia. We are heartened at the prospect that from indigenous
peoples of this vast oceanic area, the Ainu, the Japanese, the Chinese, the
Koreans, the Okinawans, the Micronesians, the American Indians, the Eskimos,
and the Aleuts vast numbers will soon enter the Faith.
The final hours of the Nine Year Plan are fast fleeting. Praised be to God
that you have gathered to consult on ways and means of assuring complete
victory so that from these outposts the Teachings may spread to those nearby
lands where teeming millions have not as yet heard of the advent of this Most
Great Dispensation.
The sweet perfume of victory is in the air, and we must hasten to achieve it
while there is yet time. Vital goals, particularly on the homefronts of Taiwan
and Japan, remain to be won, and everywhere the roots of the faith of the
believers must sink deeper and deeper into the firm earth of the Teachings lest
tempests and trials as yet unforeseen shake or uproot the tender plants so
lovingly raised in the islands of this great Ocean and the land surrounding it.
As you and the friends in the sister Conference in Reykjavik bring this series
of eight Oceanic and Continental Conferences to a triumphant close, our prayers
for the success of your deliberations ascend at the Holy Threshold. May God
grant you the resources, the strength, and the determination to attain your
highest hopes and enable you to open a new and glorious chapter in the
evolution of His Faith in the North Pacific area.
Chapter 14 Afterword