The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Vol. I - Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás

“Two years before the crash of world war shook the continents and upheaved oceans,” Howard MacNutt relates. “‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás visited the United States of America proclaiming the Glad-Tidings of Universal Peace and the oneness of the world of humanity. In his message he reviewed social, religious and political conditions of the nations, foretold clearly the impending clash and conflict of militarism, summoning mankind to the standard of divine guidance upraised in this cycle of the cycles by the manifestation and teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. His visit extending from April to December 1912 covered an itinerary across the continent and return, involving an extraordinary and incredible expenditure of energy on the part of one who at the threshold of three score years and ten had spent practically his whole lifetime in exile and imprisonment for the cause of God. This treasury of his words is a compilation of informal talks and extempore discourses delivered in Persian and Arabic, interpreted by proficient linguists who accompanied him, and taken stenographically in both Oriental and Occidental tongue. Upon the day of his arrival in New York City he said ‘It is my purpose to set forth in America the fundamental principles of the revelation and teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. It will then become the duty of the Bahá’ís of this country to give these principles unfoldment and application in the minds, hearts and lives of the people.’” (Summary by Howard MacNutt)