Abdu’l-Baha, Baha’u’llah’s eldest son and Successor, had a close association with the House of Worship even before it was built.


Abdu'l-Baha on the grounds of the future Baha'i House of WorshipIn 1912, Abdu'l-Baha made His historic visit to the United States, and, after inspecting the grounds on which the temple would be built, told the audience: “The power that has gathered you here today, notwithstanding the cold and windy weather, is indeed mighty and wonderful. It is the power of God, the divine favor of Baha'u'llah that has drawn you together.

“Thousands of Mashriqu’l-Adhkars -- dawning-points of praise and mentions of God for all religionists -- will be built,” Abdu’l-Baha said, but this first one, the Baha'i House of Worship for the North American Continent, has particularly great importance.

The temple was completed more than 40 years after Abdu’l-Baha’s visit. The words of Baha’u’llah, addressed to another land and time, speak of the blessings surrounding the House of Worship by virtue of Abdu’l-Baha’s visit:

“Blessed, doubly blessed, is the ground which His footsteps have trodden, the eye that hath been cheered by the beauty of His countenance, the ear that hath been honoured by hearkening to His call, the heart that hath tasted the sweetness of His love, the breast that hath dilated through His remembrance, the pen that hath voiced His praise, the scroll that hath borne the testimony of His writings.”