Some of the Heroines and Heroes of the Faith...

• 
  Adelaide Sharp – “dedicated [and] steadfast promoter [of the] Cause”; principal of Tarbiyat School for girls; the first woman to be elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran
• Agnes Baldwin Alexander (1875-1971) – Hand of the Cause; “the daughter of the Kingdom”, and “the beloved maid-servant of the Blessed Perfection” (‘Abdu’l-Baha); the only Hand of the Cause mentioned in the Tablets of the Divine Plan; The first Baha’i to set foot on Hawaiian soil; the first Baha’i to settle in Japan; and the first Baha’i to teach the Faith in Korea.
• Agnes Parsons (1861-1934) – She arranged the first “Amity Convention”, termed by the Master "the mother convention", for unity of the colored and white races in America
• Albert R. Windust (1874- 1956) – “Herald [of the] Covenant”; the first publisher of the Writings of the Faith in America; the founder of Star of the West; assisted with the publication of ‘Promulgation of Universal Peace’, and the first five volumes of 'The Baha'i World', 1926 to 1934
• Alfred Eastman Lunt – “esteemed beloved Lunt”; “a precious, ardent and capable champion of our beloved Faith”; “the living embodiment of such a rare combination of qualities as few can display and none can surpass”
• Amelia E. Collins (1873-1962) – Hand of the Cause; “lady of the Kingdom”; “indomitable spirit of faith and love"; "single-minded and wholehearted devotion"; “profound sense of devotion”; "passionate fervor”; “calm sanity”; “very generous offerings”; “prized co-worker”; her “inner deep spiritual relationship and devotion” to the Guardian; “The high rank” she occupied “which no Baha'i has ever held in his own lifetime”; “so distinguished a handmaid of Baha'u'llah and Hand of His Cause”
• Dorothy Beecher Baker (1898-1954) – “distinguished Hand (of the) Cause, eloquent exponent its teachings, indefatigable supporter its institutions, valiant defender its precepts”
• Dr. Genevieve Lenore Coy (1886-1963), second director of the Tarbiyat School for girls in Tihran; "Fortitude, patience, detachment and integrity are the qualities that best describe the life and service of this devoted, highly competent and faithful maidservant of Baha’u’llah." (Borrah Kavelin)
• Dr. John Esslemont - Hand of the Cause of God; "His tenacity of faith, his high integrity, his effacement, his industry and pains-taking labors were traits of a character the noble qualities of which will live and live forever after him. To me personally he was the warmest of friends, a trusted counsellor, an indefatigable collaborator, lovable companion." (Shoghi Effendi)
• Dr. Susan Moody, Amatu’l-A’la (The handmaid of the Most High), who “forged first link in (the) chain uniting (the) spiritual destinies” of Persia and the American Baha’i Community
• Effie Baker – the first Australian woman to become a Baha’i; one of Australia’s foremost woman photographers; her photographs were chosen by the Guardian for inclusion in Nabil’s narrative, ‘The Dawn-Breakers’
• Ella Goodall Cooper (1870-1951) – a “herald Covenant”; “dearly loved handmaid 'Abdu'l-Baha, greatly trusted by Him”; a “jewel of the spirit”; a “shining candle”; “unique and matchless”; a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States and Canada for two years; was among the first Baha’is of California
• Ethel Rosenberg - England’s Outstanding Baha’i Pioneer-Worker
• Haji Muhammad Tahir Malmiri (1852-1953) - Father of Adib & Habib Taherzadeh; first pilgrimage in 1878 for nine months; second pilgrimage in 1914 for four months; author of the book: ‘History of the Martyrs of Yazd’; very active teacher of the Cause; noble life of service; had memorized almost half of the Qur'an; extremely well-versed in the Bible and the books of other religions; received Tablets from Baha’u’llah, ‘Abdu’l-Baha, and letters from the Guardian
• Henrietta Emogene Martin Hoagg (1869-1945) – “exemplary pioneer (of the) Faith”; typed the voluminous manuscript of 'The Dawn-Breakers' at Shoghi Effedi’s request; first confirmed believer in California
• Holmfridur Arnadottir (1873-1955) -- Iceland’s first Baha’i; the translator of Dr. Esslemont’s Baha’u’llah and the New Era into the Icelandic language; the only Icelander Baha’i for 30 years until her passing
• Howard Colby Ives – The Outstanding Promoter of the Faith
• Jessie Revell (1891-1966) – “brilliant and pure”; very dear to ‘Abdu’l-Baha; managed sending and collecting all of Shoghi Effendi’s mail past 1951; appointed by the Guardian as the treasurer of the International Baha’i Council; a loyal companion of Amatu’l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum
• Jinab-i- Fadil (1880(?)-1957)- Mirza Asadu’llah Fadil Mazandarani -- 'Abdu'l-Baha's “gift to America”: “the ideal sage”; “Next to his honor, Mirza Abu’l Fazl, he is the best informed of his contemporaries”; “… is perfect in all the grades in knowledge and virtue, in sincerity of intention, in beauty of character, in severance from aught else save God and attraction with the fragrances of God.”
• John Henry Hyde Dunn – Hand of the Cause of God; a “veteran warrior (of the) Faith of Baha'u'llah”
• Juliet Thompson -- “outstanding, exemplary handmaid (of) 'Abdu'l-Baha”; “so wholly consecrated (to) Faith (of) Baha'u'llah”; and “fired (with) such consuming devotion (to) Center (of) His Covenant”
• Keith Ransom-Kehler – First Woman Hand of the Cause, First American Baha’i Martyr
• Lady Sara Louisa Blomfield (1859 – 1939) - “Sitárih [star] Khánum”, named by 'Abdu'l-Bahá; “dearly beloved”; “outstanding co-worker”; author of “Chosen Highway”; compiler of "Paris Talks"
• Leroy C. Ioas (1896-1965) - The Guardian's Hercules; "vigorous spirit of determination… and of noble enthusiasm"; "energy, judgment, zeal and fidelity"; "incessant activities and prodigious labours"; "tireless vigilance, self-sacrifice, and devotion to the Cause in all its multiple fields of activity"; “Outstanding Hand of the Cause”; “First Secretary-General of the International Baha’i Council”; “Personal Representative of the Guardian of the Faith”
• Louis Gregory – First Hand of the Cause of Negro race; “noble-minded”; “golden-hearted”; “pride (and) example (to the) Negro adherents (of the) Faith”
• Margaret Stevenson - New Zealand’s first Bahá’í
• Marion Jack – an “immortal heroine”, and a “shining example (to) pioneers (of) present (and) future generations (of) East (and) West”
• May Maxwell (1870-1940) – “that candle of the love of God”; “'Abdu'l-Bahá's beloved handmaid”; “the distinguished disciple”; a “martyr’s death”; “glorious sacrifice”; her name is mentioned in the Tablets of the Divine Plan
• Mirza Abu’l-Fadl Gulpaygani (1844-1914) -- one of 19 Apostles of Baha’u’llah, a “very excellent and erudite Bahá'í teacher”, and recognized as the most outstanding scholar of the Baha’i Faith
• Mirza 'Ali-Muhammad (Ibn-i-Asdaq) – Apostle of Baha’u’llah and Hand of the Cause; in a Tablet in his honor Baha’u’llah mentions for the first time the concept of the 'Hand of the Cause'
• Mountfort Mills (d. 1949) – “that highly-talented, much loved servant of Baha'u'llah”; “that distinguished and international champion of the Faith of Baha'u'llah”; “our dearly-beloved Mountfort Mills”; first chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States and Canada when formed in 1922; prepared the final draft of the Declaration of Trust and By-Laws adopted by the National Spiritual Assembly in 1927; was brutally assaulted in Baghdad while representing the Guardian to League of Nations regarding ownership of the House of Baha’u’llah
• Roy C. Wilhelm (1875-1951) – Hand of the Cause: “greatly prized, much loved, highly admired herald (of) Baha'u'llah's Covenant”; “Sterling qualities”, “saintliness, indomitable faith”, “outstanding services”, “exemplary devotion”
• Siyyid Mustafa Rumi (c.1846-1945) -- Hand of the Cause; distinguished pioneer of the Faith; staunch high minded noble soul; his resting place is the foremost shrine in the community of Burmese believers
• The Letters of the Living - The Báb’s First Disciples
• Thomas Breakwell – ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s “dear one”; "the first English believer"
• Thornton Chase (1847–1912) – A Disciple of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, designated by the Guardian as “the first to embrace the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh in the Western world …”
• Valiyu’llah Varqa (1884-1955) – “outstanding Hand Cause God”; “exemplary trustee Huquq”; “distinguished representative most venerable community Baha'i world”; “worthy son brother twin immortal martyrs Faith”; “dearly beloved disciple Center Covenant”
• William Sutherland Maxwell – Hand of the Cause of God, Architect of the Arcade and Superstructure of the Shrine of the Bab, Father-in-Law of Shoghi Effendi (1874-1952)