This compilation of messages from Shoghi Effendi to the American Bahá’í community defines the essential principles on which the local and national institutions of the Baha'i Faith are based. Written during the first ten years of the Formative Age of the Faith, the messages also offer insight into the Baha'i Faith's growth and illustrate poignantly the great burden Shoghi Effendi shouldered while guiding the fledgling Baha'i community.