A LETTER AND FIVE MESSAGES OF SHOGHI EFFENDI PROVIDING IRREFUTABLE PROOF OF THE CONTINUANCE OF THE GUARDIANSHIP

This letter to the United Nations and these five messages were inexcusably overlooked or ignored by the Hands of the Cause in their reprehensible hasty abandonment of the Guardianship on the very first day of their conclave in ‘Akká following the passing of Shoghi Effendi with the result that the momentous significance and implications of this letter and these five messages were never perceived by them at the time and have remained unperceived by the Bahá’í World to this day with tragic consequences for the Faith.

SHOGHI EFFENDI INFORMS UNITED NATIONS OF HIS ROLE AS THE "APPOINTED HEAD" OF FUTURE BAHÁ'Í "WORLD COUNCIL" PRIOR TO ITS FORMATION IN JANUARY, 1951.

In July 1947, some three and one half years prior to his appointment of the International Bahá'í Council on 9 January 1951, Shoghi Effendi prepared a statement for submission to the United Nations Special Palestine Committee that has been published in pamphlet form under the title of: "The Faith of Bahá'u'lláh." with the subtitle, "A World Religion."

On page 3 of this document one may note the following significant paragraph which incontestably proves, in Shoghi Effendi's own words, that the one who presides as President of the International Bahá'í Council — this "World Council" — can be none other than the Guardian of the Faith.

The pertinent paragraph appears under the heading of "ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER" and reads as follows:

"The passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá marked the termination of the first and Heroic Age of the Bahá'í Faith and signalized the opening of the Formative Age destined to witness the gradual emergence of its Administrative Order, whose establishment had been foretold by the Báb, whose laws were revealed by Bahá'u'lláh, whose outlines were delineated by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in His Will and Testament, and whose foundations are now being laid by national and local councils which are elected by the professed adherents of the Faith, and which are paving the way for the constitution of the World Council, to be designated as the Universal House of Justice, which in conjunction with me, as its appointed Head and the authorized interpreter of the Bahá'í teachings, must coordinate and direct the affairs of the Bahá'í community, and whose seat will be permanently established in the Holy Land, in close proximity to its world spiritual center, the resting-places of its Founders."

When Shoghi Effendi subsequently proclaimed the appointment of this "World Council" in his cablegram of 9 January 1951, he significantly and appropriately addressed this Proclamation to the "National Assemblies of East and West" for, as the supreme administrative body in the Bahá'í World, this Council would exercise administrative authority over these national bodies. He provisionally named this World Council the "International Bahá'í Council," a title that appropriately described its role and function as the supreme administrative institution in the Bahá'í Administrative Order, and he outlined the several intermediary stages through which it would necessarily evolve prior to "its efflorescence into the Universal House of Justice." However, he did not immediately activate this World Council as an administratively functioning body under his Presidency, as would have been anticipated, in the light of his statement to the United Nations Committee quoted above, but created this Council as an embryonic institution, but yet a complete organism "from the first" which, as explained by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, is true of all embryonic organisms, (BWF p.313). In creating this supreme administrative institution in its embryonic form, Shoghi Effendi appointed both its irremovable embryonic Head (who would remain that head as long as he lived) and a body of eight other members who, although initially appointed, would, as he outlined, be elected members when the Council became "an elected body," in the third stage of its development. Having thus established "this first embryonic International Institution,"–this embryonic Universal House of Justice–Shoghi Effendi then carefully retained it as an inactively functioning institution during the remaining years of his ministry, as attested by Mason Remey, its appointed President, assigning tasks only to individual members of the Council. In retaining, in this way, the International Bahá'í Council as an inactive embryonic institution, Shoghi Effendi had been able to use it as an instrument for indirectly appointing and identifying his chosen successor "in his own lifetime," as enjoined by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in His Will and Testament, for the embryonic President of this embryonic body and therefore the Guardian-to-be, are indisputably one and the same person who would be awaiting birth into active life upon Shoghi Effendi's passing. As neither the Hands of the Cause nor the believers at large had perceived the significance of this act, Shoghi Effendi had been successful in ingeniously veiling from the believers at the time the identity of his chosen successor, Mason Remey, a Hand of the Cause whose unparalleled services for the Cause had commenced at the turn of the century during the Ministry of 'Abdul-Bahá, Who had acknowledged his unique and outstanding services and his exemplary fidelity to the Covenant in his many eulogies of him that may be read in the early publication, "Star of the West." As evidence of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's esteem for him, He had addressed a Tablet to him on 2 March 1915, appearing in that publication, in which he significantly promised him that: "Ere long, Thy Lord shall make thee a sign of guidance among mankind." He was at the time of his appointment as President of the International Council (identified to the Bahá'í World as President of the Council in Shoghi Effendi's cablegram of 2 March 1951 )some twenty five years older than Shoghi Effendi. Had he been recognized at that time, by the Hands and the believers throughout the World as Shoghi Effendi's successor by reason of that appointment, this would have inevitably revealed to them, to their great consternation, the inescapable fact that for Mason Remey to outlive Shoghi Effendi and succeed him as Guardian of the Faith, Shoghi Effendi had clearly foreseen and had, in effect, predicted his own early passing (destined to take place some seven years later in November 1957).

It should therefore be clear why Shoghi Effendi had retained the Council as an inactively functioning body during the remaining years of his ministry which would only, upon his passing, assume its rightful active role, as the supreme administrative body in the Bahá'í World presided over by Shoghi Effendi's appointed President, Mason Remey, who could be none other than his chosen successor. This Council then, for the first time, would become an actively functioning "World Council," and commence to "coordinate and direct the affairs of the Bahá'í community" as Shoghi Effendi had projected in his letter to the United Nations Committee.

The projected active role and supreme administrative authority of the International Council was further confirmed in a message sent to the Bahá'í World on 23 November 1951 in which Shoghi Effendi stated that during the evolution of the "Master Plan designed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá," the final stage of which he titled the "Ten Year Global Crusade," would commence at Ridván 1953 and be designed to: "embrace all the continents of the earth and will bring the Central Body [i.e. the International Bahá'í Council] directing these widely ramified operations into direct contact with all the National Assemblies of the Bahá'í world which in varying degrees, will have to contribute their share to the world establishment of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh, as prophesied by 'Abdu'l-Bahá and envisioned by Daniel,–a consummation that God willing, will be befittingly celebrated on the occasion of the Most Great Jubilee commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the formal assumption by Bahá'u'lláh of His Prophetic Office."

As Shoghi Effendi labored to erect, "at long last the machinery of its highest institutions" and the "supreme organs of its unfolding Order," he followed up his appointment of the International Bahá'í Council–this "Central Body" of the Faith–with the appointment of the first contingent of twelve living Hands of the Cause in his cablegram of 24 December 1952. He made additional appointments during the concluding years of his ministry, raising the number to twenty-seven at the time of his passing. On 8 October 1957, one month before his passing, Shoghi Effendi dispatched his last cablegram to the Bahá'í World in which he referred to the Hands of the Cause as the "Chief Stewards of Bahá'u'lláh's embryonic World Comonwealth" with the clear implication that unfortunately was never perceived by the Hands, that while they were the current Chief Stewards–these Hands of the Cause–appointed by the Guardian of the Faith would, as they died, be no more, but the institution of the Hands itself as an integral and immortal organ of the embryonic Commonwealth of Bahá'u'lláh, would continue to exist as long as the Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh endured, and that future Hands would continue to be appointed by future Guardians during the course of the development of this embryonic Commonwealth and as it achieved ultimate maturity in the Golden Age of Bahá'u'lláh, similarly to the other institutions of the Bahá'í Administrative Order, delineated by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in his sacred, divinely-conceived and immortal Will and Testament.

Upon Shoghi Effendi's passing, the Hands convened a conclave in 'Akká less than three weeks later and, as their first act, delegated nine Hands from their number to undertake a search of the safe and files of Shoghi Effendi's office in Haifa, which had previously, upon his death, been carefully sealed and secured. This search was carried out apparently in the expectation of finding a will and testament in which Shoghi Effendi had named a successor, in spite of the clear and unambiguous provision of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá which states that: "It is incumbent upon the guardian of the Cause of God to appoint in his own life-time him that shall become his successor."

Of course, no such will and testament was found, for Shoghi Effendi, in complete fidelity to and compliance with the provisions of Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament, had not used a testamentary document to appoint a successor but had accomplished the appointment in the manner discussed above. Although a will and testament was not found, the Hands would still have been expected to retain an unwavering faith and assurance that Shoghi Effendi would not have failed to be completely faithful to the provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and to conclude that he had appointed a successor in some other way unforseen by them at the time. Assuming that to be the case, they certainly would have been expected to at least have taken the time to re-examine the provisions of the sacred and divinely-conceived Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá to discover why or if they had been wrong in looking for a testamentary document in which Shoghi Effendi had appointed a successor. For in accomplishig such a review they would have perceived that 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Will clearly makes it incumbent upon the Guardian to name his successor "in his own life-time," and that it would have been for this reason that Shoghi Effendi had not left a will and testament naming a successsor. The Hands then would certainly have realized the necessity of undertaking a careful and thorough review of the important acts taken, historic decisions announced or statements made by Shoghi Effendi during his ministry, the significance of which they had obviously overlooked at the time that had pointed to or had revealed the identity of his appointed successor. Such a review however was never undertaken by the Hands, as attested by Mason Remey in his diary titled "Daily Observations," and, in fact, in the opening few minutes of the first consultative meeting they held after searching in vain for a will and testament left by Shoghi Effendi, they came to the hasty, tragic and unwarranted conclusion, as announced by them to the Bahá'í World in the "Unanimous Proclamation" they issued on 25 November 1957., that Shoghi Effendi had passed away "without having appointed a successor."

Seizing upon the appellation that Shoghi Effendi had given them in his last message to the Bahá'í World, quoted above, the Hands interpreted this appellation to endow the institution of the Hands with a primacy over all other institutions of the Faith and an institution now invested with supreme authority in the Faith, notwithstanding the fact that such authority is clearly not theirs under the provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Deluded as they now were in this belief of their supreme authority, the Hands had the temerity to announce to the Bahá'í World in the Proclamation cited above, that they were "the supreme body of the Bahá'í World Community and yet, in the very same Proclamation, they surrendered most, if not all, of their authority in their announced appointment of an illicit body of nine Hands from their number to which they gave the appellation: "Custodians of the Bahá'í World Faith," a body completely outside the provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. This illicitly formed body then ignominiously proceeded not only to flagrantly usurp the functions that should have been rightfully exercised by an actively functioning International Council, as Shoghi Effendi had planned, but, as announced in this same Proclamation, to shamelessly assume all of the "functions, rights and powers in succession to the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith." Thus, this illicitly established bogus body disregarded Shoghi Effendi's projected plans for the International Council, made it subordinate to themselves, and blatantly usurped its functions as they took over direction of the National Assemblies in their prosecution of the remaining goals of the Ten Year Global Crusade.

In their further plans, the Hands announced that the body of the Custodians in which they had invested such great authority would cease to exist after its brief reign of some six years with the election of the Universal House of Justice during Ridván in 1963. Although it would be a body minus its "sacred head"–the Guardian of the Faith–and therefore a headless, fallible and illegitimate body, they nevertheless would pretend that it was nothiing less than "that Supreme body" unmindful of the further fact that its election at this stage in the evolution of the Faith was far too premature, as Shoghi Effendi's plans, embodied in the goals of the Ten Year Global Crusade had not envisaged the evolution of the International Bahá'í Council beyond its second essential stage as an International Bahá'í Court by Ridván 1963 and even then it's establishment as an International Court would be contingent upon the establishment of six national Bahá'í Courts "in the chief cities of the Islamic East" which he had named. Although, the demise of the ill-named body of the "Custodians of the Bahá'í World Faith" would, according to their plans, take place coincident with the election of their headless Universal House of Justice at Ridván 1963, they made no mention about the assumption by that illegitimate body of the "functions rights and powers in succession to the Guardian" previously usurped by these Custodians. It may have been inferred that the Hands intended that these function, rights and powers be assumed by their so-called Universal House of Justice, even though interpretation of the sacred Writings is a right reserved solely to the Guardian of the Faith according to the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.

It should be clear to any unbiased observer from the foregoing discussion that, in the Hands' unseemly haste to end the Guardianship of the Cause of God and in their usurpation of the "functions, rights and powers" of the Guardian of the Cause of God as well as the role and functions of the International Bahá'í Council–the embryonic Universal House of Justice–they had been guilty of an inexcusable lack of faith in the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh, a repudiation of the most important provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abu'l-Bahá, and a shameful betrayal of both 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi in their complete corruption of the Bahá'í Administrative Order whose Institutions he had so laboriously labored to erect during his 36 year ministry in complete conformity with the divinely-conceived, sacred and immutable provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.

The Hands of the Cause were equally guilty of ignoring other historic and equally highly significant statements made by Shoghi Effendi in his writings and cablegrams that undeniably proved the continuation of the Guardianship and the essentiality of this Institution to the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh. These failures have been discussed at length in other writings of the undersigned as well as by many of the believers who have remained steadfast in their faith in the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh and may be found in the respective web pages where this documentation has been posted.

 

FIVE MESSAGES OF SHOGHI EFFENDI

In the first conclave held by the Hands of the Cause in 'Akká, following the passing of Shoghi Effendi, upon finding that Shoghi Effendi had not left a will and testament and ignoring the fact that the Guardian is enjoined under the terms of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá to appoint his successor "in his own life-time," took no time to review, much less consider, the importance and significance of several "epoch-making" and "historic" decisions that he had acclaimed and in one case proclaimed, in messages he had dispatched to the Bahá'í World during the closing years of his ministry, hastily and tragically reached the erroneous conclusion that the Guardianship had come to a premature end.

Having overlooked, inexcusably ignored and obviously forgotten these decisions, one of which was of such momentous import that it was announced in a Proclamation sent via cablegram to the then National Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá'í World. This message, opening with the word: "Proclaim," pertained to his decision to establish "at long last" the "first International Institution" of the Faith at the World Center. This decision was followed by a message of unsurpassed significance that projected his early passing and identified, indirectly his appointed successor.

The messages in which these decisions were acclaimed and, in one instance proclaimed, are published, with one notable exception, in the book entitled: MESSAGES TO THE BAHÁ'Í WORLD, 1950-1957.

Any faithful Bahá'í or unbiased scholar who spends any time at all reviewing comments on the Internet made by believers who have embraced the Faith, subsequent to the passing of Shoghi Effendi, soon perceives that these believers have no knowledge whatsoever of the highly important and significant decisions to be found in these messages as it was obviously not in the interest of the illegitimate sans-Guardian organization, initially created by the erring Hands of the Cause, immediately following the passing of Shoghi Effendi, and since perpetuated by their sans-Guardian organization, to make any reference to them, or bring them to the attention of new believers. It is not surprising therefore, that these new believers have revealed the fact that they are unaware and ignorant of these epoch-making and historic messages.* There is less excuse, however, for their obvious blatant lack of knowledge of the pertinent writings of Shoghi Effendi pertaining to the divinely-revealed genesis, character and principles of the Administrative Order such as he has discussed comprehensively in "The Dispensation of Baha'u'llah." Moreover, they have displayed an equally shocking ignorance of the provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, not to mention those Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá which have eulogized Mason Remey in unprecedented terms and which have clearly attested to his exemplary fidelity to the Covenant, his exalted character, the sincerity of his motives and, most importantly and significantly, included his remarkable prophecy of the unique destiny that awaited him.

Consequently, they continue to present their spurious and often inane arguments accusing him of being self-seeking (completely contrary to the Words of 'Abdu'l-Bahá about the nobility of his character and a view that would be shared by anyone who knew him well) or they contended that he was ineligible to be the Guardian as he was not an Aghsán, or descended from the blood line of Bahá'u'lláh, or not conversant in the Farsi language (although these eligibility requirements are not stated in the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá) or that his Guardianship had not been approved by the entire body of the former Hands, (further evidence of their ignorance of the provisions of the Will and Testament and Shoghi Effendi's statement on this matter) which further reflects the fact that those making these arguments have either never read, or have chosen to ignore the counter-arguments and clarifying explanations that are to be found on these subjects in our several web pages and which have been posted from time to time on the Bahá'í newsgroups and chat forums, which have provided conclusive proof of the falsity of their baseless arguments and contentions, and which have been consistently substantiated, as applicable, with passages quoted from the Will and Testament, the Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and the writings of Shoghi Effendi.

1. Message of 9 January 1951

Shoghi Effendi’s one and only Proclamation, issued during his ministry, opened with the words: "Proclaim National Assemblies (of) East and West weighty epoch-making decision (of) formation (of) first International Bahá’í Council" and referred to it significantly as "this first embryonic International Institution." He further acclaimed this "historic decision" as the "most significant milestone in the evolution of the Administrative Order" and hailed (with) "thankful joyous heart at long last the constitution (of the) International Council which history will acclaim as the greatest event shedding lustre upon (the) second epoch of (the) Formative Age of the Bahá'í Dispensation potentially unsurpassed by any enterprise undertaken since (the) inception of (the) Administrative Order of (the) Faith on (the) morrow of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Ascension..."

He explained that he had been induced to make this "weighty epoch-making decision," for the following significant reasons:

The "Fulfillment of prophecies uttered by (the) Founder of (the) Faith and Center of His Covenant culminating in (the) establishment (of) Jewish State signalizing birth after lapse (of) two thousand years (of an) independent nation in the Holy Land..."

"...(the) construction (of) superstructure of the Báb’s Sepulcher on Mount Carmel..."

"...the present adequate maturity of nine vigorously functioning national administrative institutions throughout (the) Bahá’í World..."

It should be understood that "the present adequate maturity" of the nine vigorously functioning National Assemblies mentioned above was vitally important and significant for they would be subordinate national bodies to the International Bahá’í Council, which had been appointed some eleven months earlier, and would be receiving and responding to directions issued by the International Council in the prosecution of the goals of the Ten Year Global Crusade scheduled to commence in 1953, as projected in Shoghi Effendi’s message of 23 November 1951, discussed below.

2. Message of 2 March 1951

This message identified Mason Remey as the one whom Shoghi Effendi had appointed as President of the International Bahá’í Council. Significantly, however, and for good reason, Shoghi Effendi did not direct Mason Remey to convene the Council under his Presidency, as a fully functioning administrative body, during the remaining seven years of his ministry and even appointed Rúhíyyih Khánum in his message of 8 March 1952 as the "chosen liaison" between himself and the Council to preclude thereby any semblance of the assumption of the Presidency himself of this "first embryonic International Institution" – the embryonic Universal House of Justice – identified initially and provisionally as the International Council, which, once it became a functioning administrative body, would necessarily be presided over by the Guardian of the Faith.

3. Message of 23 November 1951

In this message Shoghi Effendi clearly projects the future active role of the "Central Body" — the International Bahá’í Council — appointed by him some eleven months earlier in his Proclamation of 9 January, a role in which the Council would be, as he stated: "directing these widely ramified operations" of the "National Assemblies of the Bahá’í world" at some period during the prosecution of the Ten Year Global Crusade scheduled to commence at Ridván 1953. In order to assume direction of the operations of the National Assemblies, the International Council would, of necessity, no longer remain an inactive Institution and would emerge from this state in which it had been carefully retained by Shoghi Effendi following its appointment during the remaining years of his ministry. Its President, appointed by Shoghi Effendi, would then no longer remain in waiting as the unborn embryonic Guardian-to-be. In order for this event to take place, the clear implication was that Shoghi Effendi had foreseen that his passing would occur during the Ten Year Global Crusade (1953-1963) at which time Mason Remey would then preside as the active President of an actively functioning Council which was none other than the embryonic Universal House of Justice whose "sacred head" could be none other than the Guardian of the Faith under the terms of the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, keeping in mind the Words of 'Abdu'l-Bahá (found on page 313 of BWF) wherein He states: "the embryo possesses from the first all perfections... in one word, all the powers — but they are not visible, and become so only by degrees," and the significant fact that the composition of the Universal House of Justice, as an embryonic body, comprises, at its very inception, an appointed irremovable head – the Guardian – and an elected body).

It is evident therefore that, for Shoghi Effendi to state in this message that the "Central Body" – the International Bahá’í Council – would be directing the National Spiritual Assemblies in their achievement of the goals of the Ten Year Global Crusade, he had to have foreseen that his own ministry would be coming to an end before, or during that Crusade, and he had therefore, in fact, predicted his own passing, in this open but indirect manner and in anticipation that his appointed successor would then assume the Presidency of a fully functioning Council coincident with his passing, and thereby succeed to the Guardianship of the Faith. Unfortunately, neither the Hands of the Cause nor any of the believers in the Bahá’í World perceived at the time of Shoghi Effendi’s passing, or at any time prior or subsequent thereto, the tremendous implications attached to the active role that Shoghi Effendi had projected for the International Bahá'í Council in this message, a role that indirectly further confirmed the identity of his successor and portended his own unexpected and sudden passing which actually took place at the mid-point of that Crusade in November 1957.

As a result, upon Shoghi Effendi’s passing, the Hands of the Cause immediately and illegitimately seized and usurped supreme authority over the affairs of the Faith and never permitted the International Council, to perform its rightful role as the embryonic Universal House of Justice and one which had been clearly projected by Shoghi Effendi. Instead, they relegated the International Council to a minor role, subordinate to a body of nine Hands appointed from their own body whom they titled: "Custodians of the Bahá'í World Faith," an undeniably illegitimate body outside of the provisions of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament, and restricted the Council's functions to the originally assigned and admittedly temporary limited functions that had been defined by Shoghi Effendi, as enumerated above, involving activities solely in the Holy Land. In so doing, they completely disregarded the fact that Shoghi Effendi had stated, in his Proclamation, concerning the initial functions assigned the Council that: "To these will be added further functions (in) course (of) evolution (of) this first embryonic International Institution..." and incredulously assigned to the illegitimate body of the Custodian Hands, not only the functions of the Guardianship, as they proclaimed that this body would assume "all such functions, rights and powers in succession to the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith," but those that should have been rightfully exercised by the International Bahá'í Council. Yet, notwithstanding its alleged supremacy, its reign, would endure for only some five years when according to their announced plans it would be replaced with an equally illegitimate body at Ridván 1963 with an elected sans-Guardian Universal House of Justice.

4. Message of 30 June 1952

If the Hands had taken the time to review the messages of Shoghi Effendi issued during the last seven years of his ministry, as he erected "at long last" the international institutions of the Faith at the World Center, they would have read this significant message which included the following phrase: "At the World Center of the Faith, where, at long last the machinery of its highest institutions has been erected, and around whose most holy shrines the supreme organs of its unfolding Order, are in their embryonic form, unfolding..." If the Hands had read this message, there could have been no doubt, whatsoever, in their minds, that the International Council was not a temporary or provisional body destined to be replaced by a Universal House of Justice, but that this Council was already undeniably that body, although in its embryonic form and initially established by Shoghi Effendi under the title of the International Bahá'í Council. Perhaps they then would have permitted this body to exercise its functions, once it became active, as the supreme administrative body in the Bahá'í World and realized that it had been, in the light of its future enlarged functions that Shoghi Effendi, in his message of 8 March 1952, had identified his further appointments of the Secretary General of the Council, (Hand of the Cause, Leroy Ioas) and Secretaries for the East and West. With such a realization they certainly would not have usurped the functions of that body as they actually did, not to mention the role, functions and rights of the Guardian of the Cause of God.

It would have then been clear to the Hands why Shoghi Effendi had carefully retained the International Council in an inactive state during his ministry and why he had never directed its President to convene the Council as a functioning administrative body during the remaining seven years of his ministry. For this had precluded its embryonic head — his successor — from emerging into active life. And it would also have been equally be clear why he had assigned tasks only to individual members of the Council during his ministry, as recounted by Mason Remey.

5. Message of October 1957

In this last message of Shoghi Effendi to the Bahá’í World, a month before his passing, he appointed a final contingent of the Hands of the Cause of God and referred to the Hands, for the first time, as the "Chief Stewards of Bahá’u’lláh’s embryonic World Commonwealth." Having reached their hasty and unwarranted conclusion that the Guardianship had come to an end with his passing, they interpreted Shoghi Effendi’s reference to them in this message as "Chief Stewards" to mean, as they stated in their "unanimous proclamation" of 25 November 1957, that they had become "the supreme body of the Bahá’í World Community" while failing to see the irrationality and inconsistency to be found in this claim as, under their own plans in their sans-Guardian Faith, the "Chief Stewards," — this self-proclaimed "supreme body of the Bahá’í World Community,"— would soon be no more, as its members successively died, much less exist at all in the future Commonwealth of Bahá’u’lláh. For, fallaciously convinced as they were that the Guardianship had forever ended, there would be no future Guardians in their sans-Guardian Faith to appoint Hands of the Cause and therefore there would be no future "Chief Stewards." On the contrary, what these Hands of the Cause tragically failed to realize and most importantly failed to perceive in this last message penned by Shoghi Effendi was the undeniable implication and paramount significance to be found in Shoghi Effendi's statement that they were "Chief Stewards of Bahá’u’lláh’s embryonic World Commonwealth" a Commonwealth that would only evolve over time from its initially embryonic state into a mature Commonwealth in the far future. As there would have to be future Guardians to appoint future Hands of the Cause — future "Chief Stewards" — Shoghi Effendi had, in this way and again in an indirect manner, promised the continuation of the Guardianship as well as the other Institutions of our Faith as delineated in the divinely-conceived sacred and immutable provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abdul-Bahá.

 





Joel Bray Marangella
Third Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith

Australia, 2003

NOTE: A faithful believer recently queried one of the heterodox believers considered to be one of the learned Bahá’ís and therefore supposedly thoroughly conversant, not only with the Teachings but the writings and messages of Shoghi Effendi as well, including particularly those contained in the book titled: "Messages of Shoghi Effendi to the Bahá’í World 1950-1957." It is understood that this believer surprisingly admitted unfamiliarity with that book and ignorance of the significant messages discussed above. It would have been even more unlikely that this believer would have been aware of Shoghi Effendi’s message of 23 November 1951, which inexplicably was not included in the book cited above, and appears only in a pamphlet published by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, in 1952 titled: "World Order Unfolds." Little wonder therefore that most of the present-day believers remain similarly ignorant of these historic and significant messages that prove so conclusively and irrefutably that Shoghi Effendi, ever faithful to the sacred provisions of the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, had unquestionably provided for the continuance of the Guardianship and that these believers have, as a tragic result, so readily fallen prey to the fallacious and deceptive arguments of those who, having lost their faith in the indestructibility of the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh and in the immortality of its divinely-conceived "Child" — the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá — have abandoned forever the Guardianship of the Faith.

JBM