Qualities of North American believers that ‘Abdu’l-Baha admired …

“… the untiring activity of the friends, the complete subordination of their material interests to those of the Cause, the remarkable spread of the Movement in their midst and their staunch firmness in the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh. It is these encouraging reflections of the Master about His loved ones in America and the tests intellectual rather than physical which He said He would send to them to purify them and make ever brighter than before -- it is these comments and promises of His that make of the Movement in that land such a potential force in the world today. The Beloved Master's cable to the friends in that region is a clear indication of the presence of those counteracting forces that may usher in those storms of tests that the Master Himself has said will ultimately be for the good of the Cause in that land. (Shoghi Effendi, excerpt from a message dated January 21st, 1922 in ‘Baha'i Administration’, p. 12) (To read the entire message please visit Messages to the Baha'i World)