August 20. On this date in 1915, the Evening Star newspaper reported that Edward Getsinger filed for divorce from his wife Lua Getsinger (who 'Abdu'l-Bahá named the "Herald of the Covenant"), "on the ground of adultery with the co-respondents, Clifford H. Stearns and Ameen U Fareed."
Lua Getsinger was born on November 1, 1871 to a farm family near the village of Hume in upstate New York.
She became a Bahá'í in Chicago in 1897 after attending lessons taught by Ibrahim George Kheiralla about the Bahá’í Faith.
In 1898, Lua Getsinger undertook a Bahá'í pilgrimage to Palestine to meet 'Abdu'l-Bahá with other American pilgrims, including Ibrahim George Kheiralla, Phoebe Hearst, and May Boles.
It was during this trip, in Akka, that Kheiralla witnessed firsthand the conflict between 'Abdu'l-Bahá and his brothers, leading him, upon his return to America in 1899, to form the "Society of Behaists" which would later be led by Shua Ullah Behai and to author a book, Beha'u'llah, wherein he states his belief that 'Abdu'l-Bahá was equal in rank to his brothers Mírzá Muhammad 'Alí, Díyá'u'lláh, and Badi'u'lláh.
Ultimately, in the conflict between 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Mírzá Muhammad 'Alí, Kheiralla sided with the latter for which he was declared a Covenant-breaker.
Phoebe Hearst was an early Bahá'í, a wealthy philanthropist, the wife of Senator George Hearst, and the mother of publisher William Randolph Hearst. She later became estranged from the Bahá'í Faith due to being extorted for money by other Bahá'ís.
May Boles would wed William Sutherland Maxwell on May 8, 1902, in London. They met while William was studying architecture in Paris and May was the sister of one of his classmates. The couple were the parents of Mary Sutherland Maxwell, the future Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum, wife of Shoghi Effendi, who was born to them on August 8, 1910. They also hosted 'Abdu'l-Bahá in their Montreal on September 2, 1912.
On June 19, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá gave a talk in New York about Bahá'u'lláh's Tablet of the Branch, declaring himself the "Centre of the Covenant," New York the "City of the Covenant," and Lua Getsinger the "Herald of the Covenant."
Dr. Amínu'lláh Faríd (Ameen U. Fareed) was the son of Mirza Assad Ullah Fareed (who authored The School of the Prophets) and the nephew of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's wife, Munírih Khánum. He had served as 'Abdu'l-Bahá's interpreter and had been active in promoting the Bahá'í Faith. He had also received a number of Tablets from 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
On December 16, 1953, Shoghi Effendi sent a cablegram stating "Following the successive blows which fell with dramatic swiftness two years ago upon the ring-leaders of the fast dwindling band of old Covenant-breakers at the World Center of the Faith, God's avenging hand struck down in the last two months, Avarih, Fareed and Falah."
The following Tablet, sent by Abdul-Baha for this Convention was then read by Mrs. Eva Webster Russell:
HE IS GOD!
Through his honour Dr. Fareed,
To the beloved of God in America.
Upon them be BAHA'O'LLAH-el-ABHA!
O ye sons and daughters of the Kingdom!
Praise be to God! The infinite bounty of God hath resuscitated the whole world, and the East and the West have come united with the bond of the summons of God.
Today the call of the Kingdom of God hath reached the hearing of the far and near of all the continents of the world and the standard of the solidarity of Mankind is held aloft by the grasp of Divine Power.
The melody of the East has made joyous and happy the Western world, and the song of the West has penetrated the ears of the Eastern people.
From inception of the world until now there has been no uniting bond between Persia and America, and communication and correspondence never transpired between these two countries. Now consider what a joy and bliss have united these two regions in the shortest space of time! What a real and ideal tie hath bound these together! What spiritual communications have been revealed! And now is only the beginning of this early morn and this is only the result of the twilight preceding the dawn. Soon will the star of this unity shine forth and flood all the horizons with its light and perfect connection and real oneness be obtained in all the regions of the earth. But the speedy realization of these hopes is dependent upon this: That the beloved of God in the West shall arise in unison with perfect strength, girding the loins of endeavor in service and putting forth their greatest effort in the way of unity and love. They must not rest a moment nor take a breath of ease. Nay, rather, night and day must they be striving, working and serving! And with perfect severance, spirituality and the best intent and effort must they hasten to promulgate the Divine Teaching, and above all they must act according to the precepts and exhortations of His Holiness BAHA'O'LLAH, for in this cycle of BAHA'O'LLAH verbal confessions and acknowledgments, literal faith and certainty and external relations are of no avail. Nay, rather, the beloved of God and the maid-servants of the Merciful must manifest such attributes and ethical conduct as to embody and personify the teachings of BAHA'O'LLAH. They must promulgate the law of the Kingdom with deeds and not words. Thus may they become the quintessence of being, the signs of the Kingdom of God, standards of the Supreme Concourse. May ye be salutary water for the thirsty, an evidence of guidance for the seeker, protection and support for the helpless, a shelter and home for the wanderers, the treasury of the Kingdom for the poor; the source of hope and happiness for the disappointed; the remedy of the heart and soul for the ailing. May you manifest the utmost of kindness to the human race; to weep with him who mourneth and to laugh with him who rejoiceth; sympathizing with the helpless; in communion with the wanderer; a friend to the friend and foe.
O ye beloved of Abdul-Baha! The beloved of God and the maid- servants of the Merciful intend to found a Mashrak-el-Azkar in Chicago. They have sent to us numerous plans, that one may be accepted and the edifice be built accordingly. Now the funds must be accumulated, the land entirely paid for and the necessary preparations for building made and then the accessory matters considered. Therefore, make ye an effort and show ye zeal that the price of the land be fully discharged and the means for the edifice procured.
The beloved in the East are striving with heart and soul to contribute to the best of their ability, although the internal conditions of Persia have, during the last few years, been exceedingly disturbed. This revolution affected all conditions and walks of life. There has been no agriculture, no trade and no commerce; nay, rather, in all the provinces there have been political disputes and quarrels between the two parties, namely, the nationalists and the constitutionalists. Thus, they have been wholly occupied with their own affairs. Notwithstanding this, they have striven to contribute to the Mashrak-el-Azkar in Chicago according to their best ability, and they will never be found wanting! If Persia should obtain order, the beloved there will make a worthy contribution.
And I supplicate the Kingdom of God to aid and confirm you.
Upon ye be BAHA'O'LLAH-el-ABHA!
(Signed) ABDUL-BAHA ABBAS.
(Translated by Dr. Ameen U, Fareed, March 18, 1910.)
On December 16, 1953, Shoghi Effendi sent a cablegram stating "Following the successive blows which fell with dramatic swiftness two years ago upon the ring-leaders of the fast dwindling band of old Covenant-breakers at the World Center of the Faith, God's avenging hand struck down in the last two months, Avarih, Fareed and Falah."
Following the successive blows which fell with dramatic swiftness two years ago upon the ring-leaders of the fast dwindling band of old Covenant-breakers at the World Center of the Faith, God's avenging hand struck down in the last two months, Avarih, Fareed and Falah, within the cradle of the Faith, North America and Turkey, who demonstrated varying degrees, in the course of over thirty years, of faithlessness to 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
The first of the above named will be condemned by posterity as being the most shameless, vicious, relentless apostate in the annals of the Faith, who, through ceaseless vitriolic attacks in recorded voluminous writings and close alliance with its traditional enemies, assiduously schemed to blacken its name and subvert the foundations of its institutions.
The second, history will recognize as one of the most perfidious among the kinsmen of the interpreters of the Center of the Covenant, who, driven by ungovernable cupidity, committed acts causing agonies of grief and distress to the beloved Master and culminating in open association with breakers of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant in the Holy Land.
The third will be chiefly remembered by the pride, obstinacy and insatiable ambition impelling him to violate the spiritual and administrative precepts of the Faith.
All three, however blinded by perversity, could not have failed to perceive, as their infamous careers approached their end, the futility of their opposition and measure their own loss by the degree of progress and consolidation of the triumphant administrative order so magnificently celebrated in the course of the festivities of the recently concluded Holy Year.
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