Learning from the Hands of the Cause of God
The Hands of the Cause of God occupy a unique and cherished place in Bahá’í history. Appointed for their outstanding service, devotion, and capacity to protect and propagate the Faith, their lives demonstrate what can be achieved through steadfast faith, sacrifice and humility.
During this vital half-way mark of the Nine Year Plan, reading the stories of these remarkable individuals may help to provide practical examples of courage, perseverance, and service in action. Their experiences, whether teaching the Faith across continents, supporting emerging communities, or responding to challenges with wisdom and love, continue to encourage and inspire.
This week we feature titles that explore the lives and services of three beloved Hands of the Cause of God: Corinne True, Abu’l-Qásim Faizi, and Agnes Baldwin Alexander.
All titles are available at the Bahá’í Bookshop.
Corinne True: Faithful companion of 'Abdu'l-Bahá
Many well-loved passages from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá were originally written to Corinne True. Here is the opportunity to find out how and why.
Few realise that the Hand of the Cause of God, Corinne True, long honoured for her major role in the erection of the first Bahá'í House of Worship in the Western Hemisphere, was not only 'Mother of the Temple' but, before all else, a mother, devoted to the care of husband and four daughters and four sons. Between 1892 and 1912 this close-knit, affectionate family was reduced in number, as death claimed its first-born child, then every son and their father too, leaving three daughters to support their mother in the remarkable services of the True family to the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh.
It was in 1899, soon after the death of three-year-old Nathanael, that Corinne True encountered and accepted the Bahá'í Faith. Her first letter from 'Abdu'l-Bahá brought understanding, resolve and hope, as did the fifty subsequent messages. For her He envisaged a continuous activity in rearing the Temple, and many a time hers was the creative and guiding voice. But there were other fields to which He called her: active defence of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh, public teaching, the participation of women in the administration of the Faith. And thus her steadfast response contributed significantly to the evolution of the American Bahá'í Community.
Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Faith, praised Corinne True as 'truly a tower of strength in these days of stress and trial, worthy of the unquestioning confidence reposed in you by 'Abdu'l-Bahá.'
Faizi
An intimate glimpse into the life of Hand of the Cause of God Abu’l-Qásim Faizi, whose wisdom, candour, service, vision, humour and charisma caused Bahá’ís everywhere to love him.
Hand of the Cause Abu’l-Qásim Faizi was much loved by Bahá’ís around the world for his wisdom, candour and humour, for the quiet, unobtrusive ways in which he helped the needy, and for the courage and fortitude he instilled in believers, particularly in pioneers living in arduous conditions. His service to the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh, his life as a pioneer in a challenging part of the world, his commitment to assisting young people attain their potential, his inimitable charisma, his extraordinary capacity to love his fellow man, his unwavering, clear and totally focused aim in life are recalled in this personal account of his life, envisioned by his wife, Gloria Faizi, and completed by his daughter. Through his letters, stories, diaries and accounts, we receive an intimate glimpse into the challenges and triumphs of this spiritual giant as he served first Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, and then the Universal House of Justice.
Mr Faizi made three trips to New Zealand, the first being in the early 1950s, before he was appointed as a Hand, travelling to accompany Hand of the Cause Mr Furutan on his visit to our shores; the second in 1969 en route to be the keynote speaker at a Pacific Bahá’í Youth Conference in Apia, Samoa held during the 1969-70 summer period, to which a contingent of about a dozen Bahá’í youth from New Zealand travelled; the third and final trip to New Zealand was to represent the Universal House of Justice and be keynote speaker at an International Conference held at the Auckland Town Hall in January 1977.
Agnes Baldwin Alexander - Hand of the Cause of God
Agnes Alexander was the only Hand of the Cause of God to be mentioned in the Tablets of the Divine Plan. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote of her: ‘Consider ye, that Miss Agnes Alexander, the daughter of the Kingdom, the beloved maidservant of the Blessed Perfection, traveled alone to the Hawaiian Islands, to the Island of Honolulu, and now she is gaining spiritual victories in Japan! Reflect ye how this daughter was confirmed in the Hawaiian Islands. She became the cause of the guidance of a gathering of people….At this time, in the Hawaiian Islands, through the efforts of Miss Alexander, a number of souls have reached the shore of the sea of faith! Consider ye, what happiness, what joy is this! I declare by the Lord of Hosts that had this respected daughter founded an empire, that empire would not have been so great! For this sovereignty is eternal sovereignty and this glory is everlasting glory.’
Her life spanned the closing epoch of the Apostolic Age of the Faith and the earliest epoch of the Formative Age, saw the erection of National Spiritual Assemblies in lands where she was once the lone Bahá’í, and also witnessed the birth of the long-promised era of the Universal House of Justice.
This book is based on Agnes Alexander’s own accounts of the establishment of the Bahá’í Faith in Hawaii and Japan, but more especially on the 40 years of research by Duane Troxel into her life – over 12,000 files of letters, photographs, audio and video interviews and a host of other previously unpublished materials. It was the task of author Earl Redman to distill these into this fascinating and readable story of an exceptional life.
