Amelia Collins was appointed as a Hand of the Cause in 1947
but the appointment was not made public until December 1951. In a letter dated
14 January 1947 written on behalf of the Guardian to Mrs. Collins, his
secretary states:
He wants to make clear to you that when he said, in his
recent cable,4 that your example might well be emulated by the nine Hands of
the Cause, who will in the future be especially chosen to serve the Guardian,
he meant that the very services you have been recently rendering the Cause,
because of their nature and their intimate association with him, are of the
kind which one of these nine might well be called upon to render. So you see
you are not only worthy to be a Hand of the Cause, but have rendered a service which
ordinarily would be performed by this select body of nine.
Shoghi Effendi appended the following message in his own
handwriting to this letter:
With a heart overflowing with profound gratitude I am now
writing you these few lines to reaffirm the sentiments, expressed lately on
several occasions and in a number of telegrams, of heartfelt and unqualified
admiration for your magnificent services, rendered in circumstances so
exceptional and difficult as to make them doubly meritorious in the sight of God.
You have acquitted yourself of the task I felt prompted to impose upon you in a
manner that deserves the praise of the Concourse on High. The high rank you now
occupy and which no Bahá'í since the Master's passing has ever held in his own
lifetime has been conferred solely in recognition of the manifold services you
have already rendered, and is, by no means, intended to be a stimulus or
encouragement in the path of service. Indeed the character of this latest and
highly significant service you have rendered places you in the category of the
Chosen Nine who, unlike the other Hands of the Cause, are to be associated
directly and intimately with the cares and responsibilities of the Guardian of
the Faith. I feel truly proud of you, am drawn closer to you, and admire more
deeply than ever before the spirit that animates you. May the Beloved reward
you, both in this world and the next, for your truly exemplary
achievements.
(Memorandum from the
Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, dated 11 August 1998)
