The Administrative Order, which ever since 'Abdu'l-Bahá's
ascension has evolved and is taking shape under our very eyes in no fewer than
forty countries of the world, may be considered as the framework of the Will
itself, the inviolable stronghold wherein this new-born child is being nurtured
and developed. This Administrative Order, as it expands and consolidates
itself, will no doubt manifest the potentialities and reveal the full
implications of this momentous Document -- this most remarkable expression of
the Will of One of the most remarkable Figures of the Dispensation of
Bahá'u'lláh. It will, as its component parts, its organic institutions, begin
to function with efficiency and vigor, assert its claim and demonstrate its
capacity to be regarded not only as the nucleus but the very pattern of the New
World Order destined to embrace in the fullness of time the whole of mankind.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 8 February 1934; printed as ‘The
Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh’, included in ‘The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh; also
in ‘The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, The Significance of the Formative
Age of Our Faith’)
