The Hands of the Cause appointed by Bahá'u'lláh were instructed by `Abdu'l-Bahá to gather to begin the consultations regarding the future organization of the Bahá'í community in Tihrán.
• This gathering led to the formation of the Central Spiritual Assembly of Tihrán in 1899. [BBD98, 114, 115; EB268; BAHAISM v. The Bahai Community in Iran by V. Rafati]

A council board of seven officers, a forerunner of the Local Spiritual Assembly, was established in Kenosha. [BFA1:112; GPB260]
• Those elected were not so much members of a council but rather "community officers" who carried out the decisions made at a community meeting. [BFA1p112] iiiii

One of the men, William Hoar, had been present at the reading of the paper by Henry Jessop at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1892. Shortly after he began study of the Faith with Ibrahim Khayru'llah. Later Hoar moved to New York where he continued study with Anton Haddad. Haddad had learned of the Faith in Egypt from Haji 'Abdu'l-Karim-i-Tihrani. [WMSH59]

Only days after the election of the Chicago House of Justice, a Ladies' Auxilliary Board was organized at the suggestion of Mrs. Ella Nash and Mrs. Corinne True. This Board was later to be known as the Women's Assembly of Teaching. It appears that the Ladies' Auxilliary was able to maintain control of the funds of the Chicago Bahá'í community despite the election of the House of Justice.[The Service of Women on the Institutions of the Baha'i Faith]

The name of the Chicago Board of Council was changed to the House of Justice. [BFA2:48]
• `Abdu'l-Bahá requested that this name be changed a year later. [BFA2:49]

The Chicago `Bahai Assembly' filed an affidavit of incorporation, the first Bahá'í community to acquire legal status. [BFA2:278]
• The incorporation is in the name of the community rather than the governing body. [BFA2:278–9]

The first national Bahá'í conference was held in America. [BFA2:XVI; BW10:179]
• At the invitation of the House of Spirituality of Chicago, nine Bahá'ís from various communities joined some ten from the Chicago area at a one-day conference to foster national cooperation on the Temple project and to choose a suitable site for the Temple. [BFA2:280; CT78; GPB262, 349]
• M. Momen posits that this was probably the first Bahá'í convention. [BAHAISM xi. Bahai Conventions]

`Abdu'l-Bahá took up residence at Thonon-les-Bains on Lake Leman (Lake Geneva). [AB140; GPB280; SBR219]
• While there He encountered Zillu's-Sultán, the eldest son of the Sháh of the time, Násirid-Dín Sháh. It was he who had ratified the execution of the King of Martyrs and the Beloved of Martyrs and at least 100 others. The whole family was in exile in Geneva at this time. 'Abdu'l-Bahá was very courteous to this man who had been such an inveterate enemy of the Cause. [DJT172, AY19, GPB201] .
• The Master sent for Juliet Thompson who had been waiting in London for His permission to join Him.
• During His stay he had a visit from Annie Boylan, a member of the New York community that was experiencing disharmony. Unaware of Bahá'í election procedures, a group that was unhappy with the disunity and ineffectiveness of the Council had organized a vote to be rid of several of its Council members. 'Abdu'l-Bahá had written to the community a short time before recommending that the Council be expanded from 9 to 27 members so that all factions could be represented. He also recommended that women be included on the Council and that the name be changed to "the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of New York". This apparently addressed the problem of disunity because the New York community went on to contribute significantly to the progress of the Faith on a national level. [DJT181, BFA2p338]
• Horace Holley, who lived at Quattro Torri, Siena, Italy at the time, along with his wife Bertha Herbert and baby daughter Hertha, visited 'Abdu'l-Bahá on the 29th and 30th of August. Please see his Religion for Mankind p 232-237 for a pen portrait of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
• He met with Elizabeth Stewart and Lillian Kappes who were on their way to Tehran. [find reference]
• It would appear that He returned to Marseilles and travelled to London by sea. [SCU22-23]

MacNutt arrived in Chicago on August 8th. At ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s instructions, a feast was held on August 10, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. George Lesch, where the entire Chicago Bahá'í community was invited to be the guests of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. MacNutt delivered to the community ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s message of unity and love. The election was held the following day the 11th of August.

On Sunday evening, the 1rth of August, the Chicago Assembly selected a "Spiritual Meeling'' of nine, composed of men and women. whose service-according to the wish of Abdul-Ilahá -is, first, to propagate the teachings of the Revelation, and, second, to attend to other matters necessary lo the welfare of the assembly. [SoW Vol 3 No 9 20 August 1912 p16]

To the United States and Canada Shoghi Effendi sent a message to transform the 'Executive Board' into a legislative institution. [CB293; CT160; ER211-12; PP56]
• It had been functioning since 1909 concerned mostly with the construction of the Bahá'í House of Worship.
• This year the elected members of the Executive Board Bahá'í Temple Unity were: Mountfort Mills. Annie L. Parmerton. Bernard M. Jacobsen. Arthur S. Agnew. Corinne True. William H. Hoar. Joseph H. Hannen. Roy C. Wilhelm.
• He addressed his first letter to this body as the "National Spiritual Assembly of the United States" on December 23rd however in God Passes By pg333 he stated that the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States was not formed until 1925. [SETPE1p107, CT160, CoB293]

A National Spiritual Assembly was elected in the United States to replace the Executive Board of the Bahá'í Temple Unity. [SBR94]
• The difference between this body and its forerunner was little more than a change in name. [DP122]
• The conversion of the Bahá'í Temple Unity into the National Spiritual Assembly took four years; it was not until 1925 that Shoghi Effendi recognized the American national body as a National Spiritual Assembly. [CT161; DP121-2; GPB333]
• The election procedures followed that were used this period were not the current Bahá'í procedure: there was electioneering and candidates were nominated with a straw poll taken to trim the number of eligible candidates. [CT160; DP122]

The communities of London, Manchester and Bournemouth elected a Bahá'í Spiritual Assembly for England. [EJR213; SBR28, 67]
• This was also known as the Spiritual Assembly for London and the All-England Bahá'í Council. [EJR2 13; SBR67]
• See EJR213 and SBR28 for membership.
• The social centre of the London group was Ethel Rosenburg with Mrs Thornburgh-Cropper and later Lady Blomfield also playing significant roles. The group in Manchester came from the working- or lower middle-class background with Edward Hall and other men in leadership positions. The group in Bournemouth developed around Dr. Esslemont. In addition to these centres there were a few scattered isolated believers. [SBBH5p220]

Shoghi Effendi made plans to hold an international conference to consider, among other things, how to establish national spiritual assemblies as a prelude to the Universal House of Justice. [PP250]
• He cancelled the conference when he perceived that the Bahá'ís would find it a source of confusion and misunderstanding. [BBRSM126; PP250]