Hands of the Bahá'í Faith

Has establishment of Bahá'u'lláh's World Commonwealth been canceled?

Evidently, on the occasion of the death last year of  Dr. `Alí-Muhammad Varqá, the sans-Guardian UHJ sent the following comment in its message to its adherents:

 "With grieving hearts we bid farewell to the last of that noble company, the Chief Stewards of Bahá'u'lláh's embryonic World Commonwealth..."

Such a statement immediately raises this question:  Has establishment of Bahá'u'lláh's World Commonwealth been canceled?

Nothing could possibly be clearer to comprehend for any woman or man who has even an elementary understanding of the principles of the Bahá'í Revelation and the future glorious spiritual conditions on Earth and the advanced spiritual qualities which will be displayed in the lives of the inhabitants of Earth when those Bahá'í principles will have generated the Kingdom of God on Earth, yes, nothing could possibly be clearer to those women and men, than the fact and reality that the Kingdom of God is certainly not established upon Earth at this time.  The immense gulf that still exists between the wealthy and the impoverished on Earth, the hedonistic anti-spiritual movements rampant on Earth, and wars and countless violations against property and possessions everywhere are all conditions which shout loudly the message that the World Commonwealth of Bahá'u'lláh' continues very decidedly in its embryonic form at this time.

Living Hands of the Bahá'í Faith will continue as "Chief Stewards" of that embryonic World Commonwealth of Bahá'u'lláh' until His Kingdom is fully established upon Earth.

The Institution of the Hands of the Bahá'í Faith is part of the executive "pillar" of the Administration of the New World Order, namely, the Guardianship of the Bahá'í Faith. The members of that sacred Institution stand before the living Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, in submission and obedience to him, not in submission or obedience to directives from a headless UHJ.

When the time arrives that the World Commonwealth of Bahá'u'lláh' is no longer "embryonic", then it will be accurate to state that Hands of the Bahá'í Faith are no longer "Chief Stewards" of an "embryonic" World Commonwealth.  While that World Commonwealth remains "embryonic" however, its "Chief Stewards"  continue as its "Chief Stewards."

At this time in the history of our  Bahá'í Faith, if anyone or any group of men states that a particular Hand of the Cause of God is:

"the last of... the Chief Stewards of Bahá'u'lláh's embryonic World Commonwealth...", that statement is an apostate statement from an apostate source.  Such a statement cannot emerge from the pen or from the mouth af any true and faithful Bahá'í.

The website of the living Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith:
http://www.Bahai-Guardian.com

By Hand of the Cause Ross Campbell

Awaken to the Twin Duties of Recognition and Observance

Most Bahá'ís probaby know that all of us owe inseparable twin spiritual duties to God: to recognize the Manifestation of God, and to observe or to obey His command.

"Say: O ye lovers of the One true God! Strive, that ye may truly recognize and know Him, and observe befittingly His precepts." (Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 5).

What does it mean to "truly recognize and know" Bahá'u'lláh, and observe and obey His command? To recognize and to obey does not mean to subordinate one's personal life to the Guardian or to a "UHJ." It is really an extension of the central teaching about Bahá'í worship: a Bahá'í first communes with Spirit and then goes out and lives a life of service.  This includes the expression of one's Faith in Bahá'u'lláh by rendering instant, exact, and complete obedience to the appointed Center of the Cause. 

Due to the centrality of this teaching about worship, the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár forms the center of community life, with  its own service dependencies and the Institutions of the Bahá'í Commonwealth as spokes surrounding the hub of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár.  Thus is the recognition of God expressed in action in service to the world of humanity and in obedience to the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh.

I am distressed by the de-emphasis of spirituality and prayer in the sans-Guardian organization. Its preoccupation with Administration and with the assertion of dominating authority might lead one to believe that the spirituality of the Bahá'í Revelation is very shallow. They treat the sacred symbols and terminology of our Faith as corporate trademarks and haul people into court to prevent them from calling themselves Bahá'ís. The Mashriqu'l-Adhkár does not form a hub for community worship but stands as a little-used and cold museum for tourists. Even its service dependencies have been neglected or abandoned. We all know the Writings of the Faith are deeply spiritual and inspiring.  What explains the failure to display spirituality and the spirit of service by the Baha'i Institutions of the heterodox organization? This is puzzling and disturbing.

The central duty of every individual Bahá'í is daily prayer and meditation, and then to transform the guidance received into action and service to humanity.  The breaths of the Holy Spirit are always available to the faithful of God.  The Holy Spirit is expressed through the Bahá'í Revelation and therefore Bahá'ís have the privilege to turn towards the Holy Spirit and to receive intuitive knowledge and guidance from the Spirit of Bahá.  All in our community must learn to avail ourselves of the hidden knowledge available in this Day to the true people of Bahá: that is, to have the Spirit of Bahá in our hearts (of course this does not mean we have are the recipients of a direct Revelation from God, but rather that we are the recipients of the Spirit from Bahá'u'lláh). This is a living religion, and so must we be alive to it. I believe this will become increasingly important as humanity faces the impending retributive calamity resulting from humanity's waywardness and faithlessness. Our spiritual preparation for this calamity, our very survival, can be found only in communion with the Holy Spirit and in obedience to His command.

As the recipients of intuitive knowledge, it must be understood that the promptings of the heart might be satanic or they might come from God.  Therefore, when we turn our inner selves to Bahá'u'lláh, and commune with the Spirit of Bahá, we receive our individual inspiration and guidance, but this cannot have application to others in the community and it must be ultimately judged against whether the Guardian ratifies that guidance.  There is no other way for a community of individuals receiving divine guidance to operate in a unified manner, unless there is a Center to whom all must turn.  Thus the Guardian remains the interpretative authority of a community of Spirit-inspired individuals. Firmness in the Covenant and obedience to the Guardian can then be understood as a byproduct of our own spiritual development. This is not a legal obedience, but one born out of love of God.

In Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation, the imagery is of a relationship between lovers: Bahá'u'lláh as the lover and the Holy Spirit, the Presence of God, the Nightingale of Paradise, as His beloved.  Our own relationship with this Spirit also is understood as a love relationship, first surrendering our hearts in ecstatic worship to our Beloved and then expressing our love in deeds of service and faithfulness.

Recognition of Bahá'u'lláh is not the activity of merely signing an enrollment card and joining an organization. Likewise, our relationship to the Guardian is not a legal one. Recognition is a spiritual experience of beholding the radiant Countenance and gaining the knowledge and love of God.  "Observe My commandments, for the love of My beauty" says Bahá'u'lláh in summing up these inseparable twin duties of recognition and obedience.  Therefore, there is no other way to understand obedience to the Covenant and to the Guardian than as a love relationship born of adoration and worship.

`Abdu'l-Bahá: "In reality, the radiant, pure hearts are the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár and from them the voice of supplication and invocation continually reacheth the Supreme Concourse. I ask God to make the heart of every one of you a temple of the Divine Temples and to let the lamp of the great guidance be lighted therein...."  Tablets of `Abdu'l-Bahá v3, p. 678. 

It is of vital importance for all Bahá'ís to come under the shadow of the living Guardian, the Center of the Cause, and observe the twin spiritual duties of recognition and obedience.  Look to our divine Exemplar, the Master,`Abdu'l-Bahá to embody perfectly a life of recognition and obedient service. Does the Master not symbolize the figure of Bahá'u'lláh receiving divine guidance from the Spirit of God? Is not the figure of the Guardian and the divine guidance he receives as the head of the Faith symbolic of the figure of `Abdu'l-Bahá's receiving divine guidance from the Spirit of Bahá? Is not the faithful believer's communion with the Spirit symbolic of the divine guidance received by the Guardian on behalf of the community of the faithful? Thus do all of us share in the spiritual bounties of the Ancient Beauty.

Firmness in the Covenant consists of our spiritual obligation of complete inner recognition and obedience to Bahá'u'lláh, and accordingly to the "the Guardian of the Cause of God, he unto whom all the Aghsán, the Afnán, the Hands of the Cause of God and His loved ones must turn." (Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá)
 
May all of you awaken. 

Yours in El-Abhá,

Hand of the Cause Jeffrey Goldberg

Everything... will be fulfilled.

"EVERYTHING WRITTEN IN THE WILL AND TESTAMENT WILL BE FULFILLED.
THE BAHÁ'Í'S MUST NOT BE ANXIOUS ABOUT THIS." SHOGHI EFFENDI, 1956

The present station of the first Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, has been discussed at length on Talk Religion Bahá'í.  The Bahá'ís who follow the headless Universal House of Justice in Haifa contend that they are continuing to follow his instructions even though he now resides in the next world. They claim that he left enough instructions and interpretations during his 36 year ministry that the UHJ can correctly direct the Faith until such time as the next Manifestation arrives on earth. On the other hand, the Orthodox Bahá'í belief is that Shoghi Effendi left instructions ensuring that the Institution of the living Guardianship would continue by the naming of his successor and allowing the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Baha to function unchanged until the next Manifestation appears.

The trb correspondent opines: “...which instructions would these be? I'm not sure why you're saying that the heterodox Bahá'ís are ignoring Shoghi Effendi - one of the biggest complaints of the AO critics is that Shoghi Effendi is being elevated to the level where he is virtually the Manifestation. That doesn't sound to me like a group of people who are ignoring Shoghi Effendi’s instructions...”

By questioning which of his instructions were ignored and then saying that our accusation of his being elevated beyond his station actually justifies and confirms their honoring him with status in the next world? The instructions of which the Orthodox Bahá'ís speak are those in general that he wrote about the Administrative Order, and specifically those in the period 1950 to 1957 contained in the Messages to the Bahá'í World. Most notably Shoghi Effendi initiated the embryonic Universal House of Justice and outlined the specific steps to be followed leading to its eventual efflorescence into a fully mature body. The Hands in 1957 did not follow his instructions to accomplish that. The results of their ignoring his instructions include the dissolution of his defined International Bahá'í Council, the deposing of its president, and the failure to pursue the formation of a Bahá'í Court System as an essential prelude for the formation of the eventual Universal House of Justice.

As to the complaints that Shoghi Effendi is being elevated to the role of a Fourth Central Figure, (as has been validated by their UHJ) that has nothing to do with whether or not they are following his instructions. A pick and chose philosophy has allowed their becoming comfortable with taking some of what he said out of context, ignoring some of the rest, and in general forming a man-made organization that does not conform to the specifics of his instructions. Moreover, the result of that is that their present Administrative Order does not conform with the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá, and therefore is stripped of the Divinity and Confirmation residing within its Words.

The correspondent continues: “...Shoghi's instructions included the erection of the foundations of the Administrative Order, Check. The UHJ was elected in 1963, similar to the way `Abdu'l-Bahá wanted the UHJ elected speedily if he should die (during the First World War).”

But, `Abdu'l-Bahá did not die within the confines of that admonishment, and lived to provide substantive instructions to follow contained in His Will. He lived several more years, and established a firm structure for the Administrative Order and its first Guardian. The activities of the Hands begs the question of why they would be justified in conforming to some instructions He provided in a time of crisis, and ignore the firm foundation He later provided, which were clearly augmented by the writings of the first Guardian. We need to keep in mind that all of God’s Intentions came into being long before any of the glimmers of the Bahá'í Faith were revealed to humans. So there is no way that God changed His Mind about the need for the Three Institutions of the Faith. What I am saying is based upon the general basis of belief that God’s Plan existed long before any of this happened. We can see from nature that there is order in the Universe. And`Abdu'l-Bahá explained about the role of the embryo in both the physical Universe and within the spiritual. So from that, anyone may deduce that there are probably embryos galore in the Universe, and all are not at any given point manifested such that they are visible. That does not mean that they do not exist just because we cannot see them.

Since God has existed forever, He is the one in control of things. The Báb explained to us that "Whatever God hath willed hath been, and whatever God hath not willed shall not be." We may decide for ourselves what we want to do with it. I have chosen to believe that God has already developed a game plan for the Universe, provided the embryos for that to happen, and given us the good sense of awareness in order that we may worship Him accordingly. It also tells me that if God did not already will it, there is no way that it is ever going to happen. A quote from Bahá'u'lláh further substantiates that by saying essentially the same thing about God and existence. "All that hath been sent down hath and will come to pass, word for word, upon earth. No possibility is left for anyone either to turn aside or protest. As fairness, however, is disgraced and concealed, most men speak as prompted by their own idle fancies."

Our correspondent again: “Just because you believe the Institution of the Guardianship was intended by God before he set off the big bang, and Mason Remey was bound to be the new Bahá'í Leader doesn't mean I have to believe such nonsense.”

We all have free will. That is why they have a horse race and why we may have differing views on any topic. And I am not necessarily saying that Mason Remey was destined to be the second Guardian from the beginning of time, although he could have been. However, it can be confidently assured that there would be a second Guardian, and that there would be many more in the future. The reason he was chosen as second Guardian is because he had led a life in conformance for that to happen. Had he not lived his life as he did, someone else would have been available for the position. However, based upon the pronouncements of the Holy Manifestations, I do believe that the parameters of order in the Universe were a part of God's Plan from the beginning. He sends us the Manifestations periodically to keep us in check, and I believe that whatever those Manifestations tell us should be pretty closely listened to. In conformance with that, I believe that God's pre-conceived Plan included the Bahá'í Administrative Order, which has to include the three named Institutions in order to be authentic.

And further to that, if this intended Bahá'í Cycle fails to produce compliance with that pre-ordained Plan, then humanity will suffer for lack of it for another 800 or so years, then get another chance. In any case, God's Plan, as He intended, and gave us through the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá, will be accomplished. Whether it be within this era, or the next, or the next. If humans continue to screw it up, then the following group of humans will have the chance to get it right. In any case, God's Plan was willed from the beginning, and will be eventually accomplished, exactly as He intended. And no amount of the cries of Badah from mere humans will change that. A Manifestation might do that, but humans cannot.

The thought that Mason Remey caused a ripping away of the unity among the Hands can I suppose be argued, although that supposed ripping away did not cause them to abandon, nor fail to accomplish, their perceived tasks. The evidence of that is to be seen on Mount Carmel today. So, on that front, Mason had virtually no influence at all on their activities. The Hands had their unity without Mason Remey. And Bahá'ís today should have the right to a Divine Unity rather than the unity prescribed by the hands. When dealing within the matters of the Faith, which we are doing here, the only type of unity to consider is Divine Unity. Divine Unity is what Mason Remey was fighting for in his humble manner. And that is what he eventually accomplished. As a result, the Institution of the Living Guardianship is alive; the Institution of the Hands is alive; and an Institution of the Universal House of Justice with a living Guardian at its head will eventually be fully unfolded in complete conformance with the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh.

The only basis we have for determining what God thinks is the life of the Manifestations and their Writings. The Writings are delivered through the Manifestations, and we may each decide whether to comply or not, based upon personal belief.

By Hand of Cause David Maxwell

Shoghi Effendi did live up to the trust placed in him by `Abdu'l-Bahá

In The Chosen Highway by Lady Blomfield, (Bahá'í Publishing Committee, Wilmette, Illinois), in the chapter entitled, The Bride of `Abdu'l-Bahá, pg. 90, Munírih Khánum relates to Lady Blomfield:

“For fifty years my beloved and I were together. Never were we separated, save during His visits to Egypt, Europe, and America.

"O my Beloved husband and my lord! How shall I speak of Him?

"You, who have known Him, can imagine what my fifty years have been—how they fled by in an atmosphere of love and joy and perfection of the Peace which passeth all understanding, in the radiant light of which I await the day when I shall be called to join Him, in the celestial garden of transfiguration.

"Five of my children died in the poisonous climate of 'Akká.

"The bad air was, in truth, only the outside material reason. The inner spiritual reason was that no son of the Master should grow into manhood.

"When my darling little son Husayn passed away, Bahá'u'lláh wrote the following: 'The knowledge of the reason why your sweet baby has been called back is in the mind of God, and will be manifested in His own good time. To the prophets of God the present and the future are as one.'

"Therefore, I understand how that wisdom has ordained the uniting of the two families, that of Bahá'u'lláh and of the Báb, in the person of Shoghi Effendi, eldest son of our daughter, Diyayyih Khanum, by her marriage with Aqa Mirza Hadi Afnan.”

Here you see the woman, Munírih Khánum, who endured so much over the fifty years she shared with `Abdu'l-Bahá, the loss of five children including her only son, and who still understood the reason for that loss, that the family of the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh should be united and, from that union, produce the first Guardian, Shoghi Effendi.

Does it seem at all reasonable to suppose that Shoghi Effendi, knowing the circumstances of his position, should fail to fulfill that trust placed in him by `Abdu'l-Bahá? Would he not know of the sacrifice that had been made for his birth? When he was chosen by `Abdu'l-Bahá as the first in a line of future Guardians, very explicitly outlined in the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá, would he then have chosen to pass to that same celestial garden NOT having chosen his successor, and NOT having fulfilled the duty placed on him by `Abdu'l-Bahá?

I don’t think so!

Shoghi Effendi did live up to the trust placed in him by `Abdu'l-Bahá and chose his successor in accordance with the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá. That successor was Charles Mason Remey, the second Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, who, in turn chose as his successor the current Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, Joel B Marangella.

And thus the sacrifice of both `Abdu'l-Bahá and his beloved wife, Munírih, was not in vain, but part of God’s eternal plan.

In the preface to the book, Lady Blomfield quotes `Abdu'l-Bahá: “I am walking my chosen highway. I know the destination.”

By Hand of Cause Marilyn Meyer

THE ORTHODOX BAHA'IS OF INDIA THANK ALL “THE LOVERS OF JUSTICE”

The Orthodox Bahá'ís of India residing in every nook and corner of this country, give thanks to all the lovers of justice across the globe for praying and assisting us against the imposed court case by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States (Wilmette NSA).

In a decision handed down by the United States District Court in Chicago, the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith was found not guilty of contempt charges levied against it by the Wilmette NSA. The injunction that the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith was accused of violating, would have prohibited it from using the name Bahá'í, meaning a follower of Bahá'u'lláh (as the name Christian refers to one who follows Christ.)

As a result of the judge's finding, the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith may continue to use the name Bahá'í in identifying itself and may continue to teach its belief in the continuing Guardianship of the Faith of Baha'u'llah, a teaching in direct opposition to that taught by the NSA group. The Orthodox Bahá'í Faith recognizes Joel B. Marangella as the rightful living Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith.

The original injunction was issued over forty years ago to a now extinct rival body to the NSA. In her judgment, the Honorable Amy J. St Eve wrote: “[T]he chain of successorship lacks a link” ruling on April 23, 2008 after holding an evidentiary hearing last January 7, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois on the contempt motion brought by the NSA.

Every Indian in general and Orthodox Bahá'ís in particular are overjoyed with this Judgment. We are indeed thankful to the AMERCIAN JUDICIAL SYSTEM in putting restriction on sans-Guardian organization in following its policy of imposition, intimidation and harassment against the true Bahá'í Faith.

The complete opinion of the Court can be found on the Internet:
http://trueseeker.typepad.com/true_seeker/court_case.html

Hand of Cause Y.H. Taylor
Chairman, National Bahai Council of the Orthodox Bahá'ís of India
http://www.bahaisorthodox.com/

It is mandatory for the Guardian to appoint his successor

I have been thinking back to the evidentiary hearing held last January 7th in federal court in Chicago in which I represented the Orthodox Bahá'í respondents against the Wilmette NSA's unsuccessful attempt to bind the Orthodox Bahá'ís to an Injunction entered in 1966 against the long defunct NSA that had been loyal to Charles Mason Remey. For more information on that legal action, click here.

But I do not intend to discuss that legal action in this posting, except to discuss the testimony of NSA member and former Secretary, Dr. Robert Henderson, speaking on behalf of the Wilmette NSA concerning the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh.  In his direct testimony under friendly questioning by the NSA's attorney, Dr. Henderson spoke about the Bahá'í Faith, its teachings and his study of it.  I am here questioning Dr. Henderson on cross-examination about the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá and whether it was a teaching of the Bahá'í Faith that the Will and Testament anticipated a succession of Guardians:

 

Q. And did -- did not the Will & Testament anticipate a

succession or line of Guardians from one to another?

A. It didn't anticipate it. What it said was that the --

that Shoghi Effendi could appoint a Guardian within -- in his lifetime.

Q. Did it say could or did it say he should?

A. Could.

 

That was not the time or place to argue with the witness, but he got it wrong. `Abdu'l-Bahá states in the Will and Testament:

"O ye beloved of the Lord! It is incumbent upon the Guardian of the Cause of God to appoint in his own life-time him that shall become his successor, that differences may not arise after his passing."

Dr. Henderson's reading of that passage is that the Guardian "could" appoint a successor. My reading of it, and of the Guardians, is that the word "incumbent" is mandatory. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the word "incumbent" means "obligatory." I think the Guardian should appoint his successor, not could.

Here is a Bahá'í who has a distinguished career as a member of the NSA, who testified about his extensive study of the Bahá'í teachings, and on a fundamental teaching of the Covenant, he was woefully ignorant. He did not know that Shoghi Effendi had an obligation to appoint his successor during his lifetime.

This ignorance of the fundamentals is widespread amongst the Bahá'ís under the jurisdiction of the Wilmette NSA. It is so embarrassing how ignorant the Bahá'ís remain about these fundamental verities of the Cause, that I would think the Wilmette NSA would want to embark on a massive education campaign to teach itself and its followers about the truth of the Bahá'í Faith.

The Orthodox Bahá'ís have recently begun participating on You Tube by posting videos, and the comments and inquiries coming in again display this appalling ignorance, in that they repeatedly say that Shoghi Effendi did not leave a Will and Testament and therefore he did not appoint his successor.

First of all, it is appalling that so many Bahá'ís have the audacity to assert and believe that Shoghi Effendi failed to abide by and to fulfill the wishes of his grandfather, who made it incumbent upon the Guardian to appoint his successor. In fact, Shoghi Effendi fulfilled all of his duties and obligations as Guardian, and all of you who suggest otherwise should be ashamed.

It is also appalling that Bahá'ís continue to insist that Shoghi Effendi should have left a Will when `Abdu'l-Bahá's instructions are clearly otherwise so that differences would not arise, as is typically the case with controversial Wills. The Guardian must appoint during his lifetime. That means, not by a Will. If `Abdu'l-Bahá intended that the Guardian should leave a Will, it would be redundant to say that he should write his Will during his lifetime since one cannot write a Will after one is dead. A Will has no effect and its provisions are unknown until death. Therefore, it is obvious that an appointment made during one's lifetime must be by means other than a Will. If it is so differences may not arise, then it is obviously supposed to be made while the Guardian is still alive so that he might resolve those differences.

Since the Orthodox Bahá'ís are going to have this conversation, like it or not as there is no lawful way for you to prevent this conversation from occurring, you would think the Bahá'ís who follow and support the Wilmette NSA would want to fully understand and to study this subject before engaging us in debate. The problem for the Wilmette NSA if they do that is, of course, they run the risk of having their members awaken to the truth of the Orthodox Bahá'ís' teachings.

By Hand of Cause Jeffrey Goldberg

An Administration whose authority is based upon writing in the air

According to the written explanations by Heterodox Bahá'ís, they deprived Charles Mason Remey of his Guardian-appointed authority as head of the embryonic Universal House of Justice, the International Bahá'í Council, based upon their alleged obedience to these Instructions of 'Abdu'l-Baha' found in paragraph #17 of His Will and Testament:

"My object is to show that the Hands of the Cause of God must be ever watchful, and so soon as they find anyone beginning to oppose and protest against the guardian of the Cause of God cast him out from the congregation of the people of Baha' and in no wise accept any excuse from him."

The Heterodox leaders have continuously claimed that the above Instruction of the Master applied to Charles Mason Remey because he was opposing the decision of Shoghi Effendi not to appoint his successor Guardian.

Shoghi Effendi neither wrote nor hinted in his writings nor spoke not ever hinted by his spoken words that he would decide or had decided not to appoint his successor Guardian.

There is no such expression anywhere in the first Guardian's writings nor even in the notes of any pilgrim, nor even did any of the Hands of the Cause appointed by Shoghi Effendi ever report his having said any such comment to her or him.

Nothing.

Nothing whatsoever.

The Heterodox Bahá'í authority to claim that Shoghi Effendi made such a decision is authority written in the air with Heterodox fingers. It does not exist on paper anywhere on Earth.

Charles Mason Remey retained his officially appointed position as head of the sacred embryonic Universal House of Justice, which station is synonymous with the station of Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith as delineated by the Master in His Will and Testament in paragraph #25 where he stated:

"...the guardian of the Cause of God is its sacred head..."

As soon as the embryonic Universal House of Justice would have become
operational,  its head, Charles Mason Remey would have been making the
decisions belonging to that station. And he did do that.  His decisions were ignored and disobeyed. We have the written record of his decisions. We also have his written record of the denials of his instructions by those to whom he delivered them.

No instruction issued by the head of the activated first International Bahá'í Council was ever obeyed by any members of that Council or by any Hands of the Cause of God.

Is it logical to believe that such was the intention of the first Guardian, Shoghi Effendi?

The "Custodians" dissolved that sacred Institution, established and appointed by the first Guardian and replaced it with one not appointed by Shoghi Effendi, and not sacred, and even if t had a head, it was a head totally deprived of the benefit and authority of the hereditary principle of the Bahá'í Faith.  Shoghi Effendi's appointment of Charles Mason Remey as head of the embryonic Universal House of Justice carried with it the full force and authority of that hereditary principle.

The Heterodox Bahá'í organization remains totally deprived of that hereditary principle and the legal right and power of interpretation of Bahá'í Holy Writ and Holy Text which accompanies that hereditary principle.

For that reason, any Heterodox Bahá'í accusation against Orthodox Bahá'ís that  Orthodox Bahá'ís are opposing the interpretative authority of Shoghi Effendi as manifested in his translation of the Master's Will and Testament, is an illegal accusation on their part, because they have no power of translation by which to make such an accusation.  Their dispute over the Master's use of the word "branch" related to a Guardian's choosing of his successor is an example of a situation where the Heterodox organization accuses Orthodox Bahá'ís.

The Heterodox insistence that the Guardians' successor must be a genetic/biological branch rather than a "spiritual within him"/goodly character branch is an illegal insistence because it requires interpretation of Bahá'í Holy Text which is exclusively the right of a living Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith.

The Heterodox Bahá'í administration on Mt. Carmel and in Wilmette is founded upon authority written in the air and sustained by illegal accusations against Orthodox Bahá'ís.

The website of the living Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith:
http://www.Bahai-Guardian.com

By Hand of Cause Ross Campbell

You Have to Ask Yourself: Why?

Jeffrey Goldberg recalls when he first purchased the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá, back in 1980, at the Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois.  He had to show his Bahá'í identification card before the clerk at the book shop would pull a copy of the Will and Testament from underneath the counter and sell it to him.  He says that you have to ask yourself: why would the Bahá'ís in Wilmette want to de-emphasize the Will and Testament?

To see more videos, visit Jeffrey's YouTube channel.  Also, to see his writings, visit Jeffrey's True Seeker blog.

Why does the sans-Guardian UHJ admit that the Guardian is the "Head and supreme protector" of the Cause of God?

The sans-Guardian UHJ on Mt. Carmel wrote:

"While the specific responsibility of the Guardian is the interpretation of the Word, he is also invested with all the powers and prerogatives necessary to discharge his function as Guardian of the Cause, its Head and supreme protector. He is, furthermore, made the irremovable head and member for life of the supreme legislative body of the Faith. It is as the head of the Universal House of Justice, and as a member of that body, that the Guardian takes part in the process of legislation." (The Bahá'í World 1968-1973, page 570)

Why does the sans-Guardian do that, that is, sometimes, briefly, as in the quote above, make themselves indistinguishable from Orthodox Bahá'ís?

There must be a reason for their writing truth, such as the truth quoted above where they speak of the true station of the Guardians of the Bahá'í Faith as if those sans-Guardian UHJ members were Orthodox Bahá'ís. When that sans-Guardian UHJ wrote about the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith and his station in the above quote, they were not writing about the first of our Guardians, Shoghi Effendi, because many, many years earlier Shoghi Effendi had already passed into the next world, and was not on earth to exercise the functions of a Guardian of the Faith concerning which the sans-Guardian UHJ was writing in that quote, written in December of 1969. So why did they write that, saying things that only Orthodox Bahá'ís say?

They have no Guardian. They do not accept or support a Guardian as the "supreme protector" of the Bahá'í Faith.  So why did they write that a Guardian is the "supreme protector" of the Cause of God?

Why did they speak of a Guardian as "head of the Universal House of Justice, and as a member of that body"?   They do not accept a Guardian as "head" of their UHJ.  So why did they write as if they do?

Why did they write that a Guardian, as a member of the Universal House of Justice, "the Guardian takes part in the process of legislation." Why in the world did they write such a thing?  Their sans-Guardian UHJ has never allowed a Guardian to participate in their "process of legislation". Never. Not for a moment. Not for an instant during the 44+ years of the existence of their sans Guardian UHJ.

Why are they writing like Orthodox Bahá'ís who do, in fact, have a living Guardian and do support him and obey him?

Why is the sans-Guardian UHJ writing as if they do obey a Guardian of our Faith while they do not obey one?

Let's look at another quote from the writing of the sans-Guardian UHJ on that same page, page 570 of  The Bahá'í World 1968-1973:

"Although the Guardian, in relation to his fellow-members within the Universal House of Justice, cannot override the decision of the majority, it is inconceivable that the other members would ignore any objection he raised in the course of consultation or pass legislation contrary to what he expressed as being in harmony with the spirit of the Cause. It is, after all, the final act of judgment delivered by the Universal House of Justice that is vouchsafed infallibility, not any views expressed in the course of the process of enactment"

Look at this !! "it is inconceivable that the other members would ignore any objection he raised in the course of consultation or pass legislation contrary to what he expressed as being in harmony with the spirit of the Cause."

They are writing, many years after the death of Shoghi Effendi, as if it were "inconceivable" that they would ignore "any objection" raised by a Guardian during their legislative process, even though they do not permit a Guardian even to be present during their sessions, not to mention permitting him to "raise" an objection". They are saying that it is "inconceivable" for the "other" members to ignore the Guardian's "objection", all they same while they are ignoring/rejecting the living Guardian altogether, and his objections, which he publishes from Australia, far removed from their legislative sessions.

In their written words, quoted above, the sans-Guardian UHJ cannot pretend to be speaking about the writings left behind by Shoghi Effendi when he passed into the next world, when they speak of it being "inconceivable that the other members would ignore any objection he raised in the course of consultation", because they are speaking of "the other members" not ignoring the Guardian's objection, as a member, and paper manuscripts written by the first Guardian do not qualify as a member of a Universal House of Justice.  Paper writings cannot be 'chosen' and 'appointed'. A Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith must be 'chosen' and 'appointed'. Nobody can "choose" the writings left behind by Shoghi Effendi. The sans-Guardian UHJ members wrote the above words in 1969, and they were writing as if they were in the process of legislating in company with and close association with a living Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, and they were not doing that.

The deceit is glaring and unmistakable. They are pretending to honor the Bahá'í  Writings while disobeying those Writings. That is why they write the way that they do. Any intelligent high school level Bahá'í could readily discern that deceit.  And for a certainty many will do so just as soon as they become aware of that deceit.

The website of the living Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith: http://www.Bahai-Guardian.com

By Hand of the Cause Ross Campbell