May 3. On this date in 1953, Shoghi Effendi launched the Ten Year Crusade, whose end was timed to coincide with 100th anniversary of Bahá'u'lláh's declaration of his perceived position to his close companions in the Najibiyyih garden. Shoghi Effendi died before seeing the end of the Ten Year Crusade, which marked the end of the Second Epoch of the Formative Age of the Divine Plan. This corresponds to the First Epoch as defined in 'Abdu’l-Bahá's Tablets of the Divine Plan.

May 3. On this date in 1953, Shoghi Effendi launched the Ten Year Crusade, whose end was timed to coincide with 100th anniversary of Bahá'u'lláh's declaration of his perceived position to his close companions in the Najibiyyih garden. Shoghi Effendi died before seeing the end of the Ten Year Crusade, which marked the end of the Second Epoch of the Formative Age of the Divine Plan. This corresponds to the First Epoch as defined in 'Abdu’l-Bahá's Tablets of the Divine Plan.

May 2. On this date in 1953, the Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette was dedicated.

May 2. On this date in 1953, the Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette was dedicated.

'Abdu'l-Bahá arrived in Wilmette in 1912 for the ground-breaking ceremony during which he laid the cornerstone.

The actual construction of the building did not begin until 1921, after Bahá'ís agreed to use a design by Louis Bourgeois.

On January 16, 1931, the dome of the Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette, which was nearing completion, caught fire. Wilmette and Evanston firefighters worked to save the structure, and damage was estimated at $50,000.

The temple was eventually dedicated on May 2, 1953.

May 2. On this date in 1916, Lua Getsinger died unexpectedly at the age of forty-three of heart failure while in Egypt.

Early Western Bahá'í pilgrims. Standing left to right: Charles Mason Remey, Sigurd Russell, Edward Getsinger and Laura Clifford Barney; Seated left to right: Ethel Jenner Rosenberg, Madam Jackson, Shoghi Effendi, Helen Ellis Cole, Lua Getsinger, Emogene Hoagg.

May 2. On this date in 1916, Lua Getsinger died unexpectedly at the age of forty-three of heart failure while in Egypt.

 A prominent Disciple of `Abdu'l-Bahá, he also titled her "Herald of the Covenant" and "Mother Teacher of the West."

Lua Getsinger became a Bahá'í in 1897.

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."

May 2. On this date in 1943, Narayenrao Rangnath Shethji, the first known Hindu convert to the Bahá'í Faith, died.

May 2. On this date in 1943, Narayenrao Rangnath Shethji, the first known Hindu convert to the Bahá'í Faith, died.

Narayenrao Rangnath Shethji, better known as Vakil, was born in a well-known Hindu family in Navsari. He learnt about the Bahá'í Faith from Mirzá Mahram. He became a Bahá'í in 1909.
He graduated from Bombay University in 1911 with a degree in Law. He was an advocate of the Bombay High Court and one of the senior lawyers of Surat.

He went on a Bahá'í pilgrimage where he met 'Abdu'l-Bahá who said to Vakil "you will be eternally confirmed." He was elected chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of India and Burma in 1923.

He died on May 2, 1943.

May 2. On this date in 1863, Bahá'u'lláh announced to his close companions in the Najibiyyih gardens his perceived mission, marking the start of the Bahá'í Faith as distinct from Bábism.

May 2. On this date in 1863, Bahá'u'lláh announced to his close companions in the Najibiyyih gardens his perceived mission, marking the start of the Bahá'í Faith as distinct from Bábism.

The twelve days Bahá'u'lláh spent in the Najibiyyih gardens is commemorated annually by Bahá’ís as the festival of Riḍván. Shoghi Effendi fixed the first day of Ridván as the day of the election of every Local Spiritual Assembly , and in normal circumstances every National Spiritual Assembly is elected within the twelve-day period. Further, the Universal House of Justice issues an annual Ridván Message, written in English, conveying items of encouragement and issues of importance to the Bahá’í world, related to the progress of the various Plans.

For example, the Ridván Message of 2016 stated...

The Universal House of Justice
Riḍván 2016
To the Bahá’ís of the World
Dearly loved Friends,
With the advent of the King of Festivals, the period of preparation for the next global Plan is over: we now summon the friends of God to a new five-year commitment of courage, resolve, and resources.
The company of Bahá’u’lláh’s faithful stands poised. Institutional gatherings convened across the world in recent months have sent out successive signals of eagerness to begin this mighty enterprise. The imperatives contained in the message addressed to the Counsellors’ Conference are already being translated into decisive plans of action. Decades of heroic endeavour have shaped the community and earned it a measure of proven ability in fostering growth, steeling it for this moment. The last two decades, in particular, have markedly accelerated this longed-for rise in proficiency.
During this period, the adoption of an evolving framework for action has enabled the friends to progressively nurture and refine essential capacities, giving rise to simple acts of service at first, leading to more elaborate patterns of action, which in turn demanded the development of capacities still more complex. In this way, a systematic process of human resource development and community building has been started in thousands of clusters—and, in many of them, become far advanced. The focus has not been solely on the individual believer, or the community, or the institutions of the Faith; all three inseparable participants in the evolution of the new World Order are being stimulated by the spiritual forces released through the unfoldment of the Divine Plan. The signs of their progress are more and more apparent: in the confidence that countless believers have acquired to share accounts of Bahá’u’lláh’s life and discuss the implications of His Revelation and peerless Covenant; in the growing contingents of souls who, as a result, have been attracted to His Cause and are contributing to the achievement of His unifying vision; in the ability of Bahá’ís and their friends, at the very grassroots of the community, to describe in eloquent terms their experience of a process capable of transforming character and shaping social existence; in the significantly larger numbers of those indigenous to a country who, as members of Bahá’í institutions and agencies, are now guiding the affairs of their communities; in the reliable, generous, and sacrificial giving to the Fund, so vital for sustaining the advancement of the Faith; in the unprecedented efflorescence of individual initiative and collective action in support of community-building activities; in the enthusiasm of so many selfless souls in the prime of youth who are bringing immense vigour to this work, notably by tending to the spiritual education of younger generations; in the enhancement of the devotional character of the community through regular gatherings for worship; in the rise in capacity at all levels of Bahá’í administration; in the readiness of institutions, agencies, and individuals to think in terms of process, to read their immediate reality and assess their resources in the places where they live, and to make plans on that basis; in the now familiar dynamic of study, consultation, action, and reflection that has cultivated an instinctive posture of learning; in the mounting appreciation for what it means to give effect to the Teachings through social action; in the multiplying opportunities being sought and seized to offer a Bahá’í perspective on discourses prevalent in society; in the awareness of a global community that, in all its endeavours, it is hastening the emergence of divine civilization by manifesting the society-building power inherent in the Cause; indeed, in the friends’ growing consciousness that their efforts to foster inner transformation, to widen the circle of unity, to collaborate with others in the field of service, to help populations take charge of their own spiritual, social, and economic development—and, through all such efforts, to bring about the betterment of the world—express the very purpose of religion itself.
While no single measure can capture the totality of the Bahá’í community’s progress, much can be inferred from the number of clusters worldwide where a programme of growth has been established, which, with gratitude for the bounties bestowed by the Abhá Beauty, we confirm has surpassed 5,000. So broad a foundation as this was a prerequisite for taking on the task that now confronts the Bahá’í world—strengthening the process of growth in every cluster where it has begun and extending further an enriching pattern of community life. The sustained effort required will be arduous. But the outcome has the potential to be profoundly significant, even epoch making. Small steps, if they are regular and rapid, add up to a great distance travelled. By concentrating on the advance that must be made in a cluster in an initial period—for instance, in the six cycles occurring before the first of the bicentennial anniversaries—the friends will do much to bring their goal for the full five years within reach. In each cycle are vested fleeting opportunities for a stride forward, precious possibilities that will not return.
In society at large, alas, the symptoms of an ever-deepening malaise of the soul multiply and worsen. How striking that, as the peoples of the world suffer for want of the true remedy and turn fitfully from one false hope to another, you are collectedly refining an instrument that connects hearts with the Word of God eternal. How striking that, amid the cacophony of fixed opinions and opposing interests that grows everywhere more fierce, you are focused on drawing people together to build communities that are havens of unity. Far from disheartening you, let the world’s prejudices and hostilities be reminders of how urgently souls all around you need the healing balm that you alone can present to them.
This is the last in a series of consecutive Five Year Plans. At its close, a new phase in the evolution of the Divine Plan will open, set to propel the community of Bahá’u’lláh towards the third century of the Bahá’í Era. May the friends of God in every country appreciate the promise of these few years ahead, which will be rigorous preparation for the even mightier tasks yet to come. The present Plan’s broad scope enables every individual to support this work, however humble one’s share. We ask you, cherished co-workers, adorers of Him Who is the Best-Beloved of the worlds, to spare no effort in applying all you have learned and every God-given ability and skill you possess to advance the Divine Plan into its next essential stage. To your own ardent supplications for heavenly assistance we add ours, offered in the Holy Shrines, on behalf of all who labour for this all-encompassing Cause.
[signed: The Universal House of Justice]

In 1951, Shoghi Effendi, as Guardian, appointed members to the International Bahá’í Council, naming Mason Remey as the Council's President and describing it as an embryonic international House of Justice.

When Shoghi Effendi passed away in 1957 without having appointed a successor Guardian, as confirmed by a "Unanimous Proclamation of the 27 Hands of the Cause of God", the Hands of the Cause of God elected from among their own nine individuals who would serve as Custodians to help lead the transition of the International Bahá’í Council, into the Universal House of Justice.

In 1961 the International Bahá’í Council was changed to an elected body, with members of all National Spiritual Assemblies voting.

In 1963, the first Universal House of Justice was elected, and its members are elected every five years by members of each Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly in the world. In practice, the Bahá’í electoral system most closely resembles council democracy as it still exists in Cuba, wherein individuals elect Local Spiritual Assemblies, who then elect National Spiritual Assemblies, who then elect the Universal House of Justice. With no politicking or partisanship allowed, there is little turnover in leadership and Universal House of Justice members almost invariably serve until retirement or death. New members are currently generally elected from the appointed institutions of the Bahá’í administration, particularly the International Teaching Centre. In fact, all of the current members of the Universal House of Justice previously served as members of the International Teaching Centre. In council democracies, these career bureaucrats were known as the nomenklatura.

With the eventual passing of the individual Hands of the Cause of God appointed by Shoghi Effendi and without a Guardian to appoint additional Hands, the Universal House of Justice saw the need for developing an institution for the purpose of performing the Hands' function of protection and propagation of the Faith.

In 1968 the Continental Board of Counselors was formed. The Counselors appoint Auxiliaries collectively referred to as Auxiliary Boards in smaller regional areas, who in turn appoint their own Assistants to work in localities.
Auxiliary Board Members for Protection are charged with watching over the security of the Bahá’í Faith, and Auxiliary Board Members for Propagation are responsible for working with the grassroots on the global Plans established by the Universal House of Justice. Originally, members of the Auxiliary Boards were appointed by and served under the Hands of the Cause of God who directed their efforts worldwide. The first members of the Auxiliary Boards were appointed in 1954, and they were divided into five distinct geographical regions.

In 1973 the administrative branch called the Institution of the Counselors was formed. Also in 1973, the International Teaching Centre was first formed by the Universal House of Justice, and originally consisted of the 17 Hands of the Cause still living at that time, plus three Counsellor members. The number of Counsellor members was raised to four in 1979, to seven in 1983, and finally to the current nine in 1988. The Counsellor members of the International Teaching Centre are appointed by the Universal House of Justice to five-year terms that begin shortly after the International Convention and election of the Universal House of Justice.

May 1. On this date in 1936, Shoghi Effendi addressed a cablegram to the Bahá'í Annual Convention of the United States and Canada, appealing to the assembled guests to begin the systematic implementation of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's vision expressed in the Tablets of the Divine Plan.

May 1. On this date in 1936, Shoghi Effendi addressed a cablegram to the Bahá'í Annual Convention of the United States and Canada, appealing to the assembled guests to begin the systematic implementation of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's vision expressed in the Tablets of the Divine Plan.

The Tablets of the Divine Plan collectively refers to 14 letters (tablets) written between March 1916 and March 1917 by 'Abdu'l-Bahá to Bahá'ís in the United States and Canada.

These collective letters, along with Bahá'u'lláh’s Tablet of Carmel and 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament were described by Shoghi Effendi as three of the "Charters" of the Bahá'í Faith.

‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ’S HISTORIC APPEAL
Message to 1936 Convention
Convey to American believers abiding gratitude efforts unitedly exerted in teaching field. Inaugurated campaigns should be vigorously pursued, systematically extended. Appeal to assembled delegates ponder historic appeal voiced by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Tablets of the Divine Plan. Urge earnest deliberation with incoming National Assembly to insure its complete fulfilment. First Century of Bahá’í era drawing to a close. Humanity entering outer fringes most perilous stage its existence. Opportunities of present hour unimaginably precious. Would to God every State within American Republic and every Republic in American continent might ere termination of this glorious century embrace the light of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh and establish structural basis of His World Order.
Cablegram May 1, 1936

May 1. On this date in 1961, Kanichi Yamamoto, the first Japanese Bahá’í, died in Berkeley, California.

May 1. On this date in 1961, Kanichi Yamamoto, the first Japanese Bahá’í, died in Berkeley, California.

Kanichi Yamamoto was born in 1879 in the Yamaguchi Prefecture of Japan. He moved to Hawaii in the early 1900s and in 1902 started working at the home of Mr. and Mrs. William Smith in Honolulu. The Smiths' son, Clarence was already a Bahá’í and a Bahá’í woman by the name of Elizabeth Muther also lived at the Smith's home. As was required of new converts at the time, Kanichi Yamamoto wrote to 'Abdu’l-Bahá. 'Abdu’l-Bahá, in turn, addressed four Tablets to him.

In March, 1903, Yamamoto moved to Oakland, California, where for years he served in the home of Helen S. Goodall, a prominent and active Bahá’í. In 1908, a young woman by the name of Ima immigrated from Japan to Oakland, California for the express purpose of marrying Yamamoto. There is no record of Ima ever becoming a Bahá’í but the couple played a major role in taking care of guests at the Goodall's home which had become a hub of Bahá’í orientated activities in the Oakland area at that time.

On October 22, 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá arrived in San Francisco where he met Kanichi Yamamoto in person. While there, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá also gave the three son's of Mr. Yamamoto Persian names: “To Hirose, the eldest, he gave the name of Hassan; to Hinju, Hossein, and to Masao, Farouk.”
During ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's stay in San Francisco, Mr. Yamamoto actually arranged a meeting for him at the Japanese Independent Church. The Yamamotos later decided to move to Berkeley, California where their children attended Bahá’í childrens classes. The childrens' teacher was Kathryn Frankland who also happened to teach the Bahá’í Faith to Saichiro Fujita, the second Japanese to accept the Bahá’í Faith.

The Yamamotos had six children, five boys and one girl named Fumiko. In 1919, while pregnant with Fumiko, Ima decided to visit her family in Japan and took their five boys with her. Fumiko was born in Japan. Shortly after the delivery, Ima died from influenza. Ima's sister, Tame, agreed to take care of all the six children until Kanichi Yamamoto arrived from the U.S. He and Tame decided that he would take the four oldest sons back to California and leave the two youngest ones with Tame. After Mr. Yamamoto arrived in the U.S., it proved difficult for him to attend to the four sons alone. News of this hardship eventually reached Tame who decided to immigrate to the U.S. and marry Kanichi Yamamoto.

During World War II, the Yamamotos were forced to relocate to an internment camp at the Gila River Indian Reservation where they had to work in the fields. Ironically, one son, Masao, served in the U.S. armed forces during that time and avoided internment. After the war, Kanichi and his family returned to Berkeley, where he lived until his death on May 1, 1961.