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The Passing of Shoghi Effendi, Ministry of the Hands of the Cause, and Defection of Mason Remey
by Shahin Vafai
published in The Essence of the Covenant: Features, History, and ImplicationsPalabra Publications, 2005
(Excerpt from Chapter 5)1
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A. The Requirements of Succession and the Passing of Shoghi Effendi
Further to appointing Shoghi Effendi as “the Guardian of the Cause of God,”2 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament established the Guardianship as a hereditary institution: “after him [Shoghi Effendi] will succeed the first-born of his lineal descendents.”3 The Will and Testament set forth specific conditions for Shoghi Effendi's appointment of his successor:
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. He that is appointed must manifest in himself detachment from all worldly things, must be the essence of purity, must show in himself the fear of God, knowledge, wisdom and learning. Thus, should the first-born of the Guardian of the Cause of God not manifest in himself the truth of the words: - “The child is the secret essence of its sire,” that is, should he not inherit of the spiritual within him (the Guardian of the Cause of God) and his glorious lineage not be matched with a goodly character, then must he, (the Guardian of the Cause of God) choose another branch to succeed him.
The Hands of the Cause of God must elect from their own number nine persons that shall at all times be occupied in the important services in the work of the Guardian of the Cause of God. The election of these nine must be carried either unanimously or by majority from the company of the Hands of the Cause of God and these, whether unanimously or by a majority vote, must give their assent to the choice of the one whom the Guardian of the Cause of God hath chosen as his successor. This assent must be given in such wise as the assenting and dissenting voices may not be distinguished (i.e., secret ballot).4
As these provisions of the Will and Testament make clear, 'Abdu'l-Bahá specified several requirements for the Guardian's appointment of his successor:
(1) It is “incumbent upon the Guardian of the Cause of God to appoint in his own life-time him that shall become his successor . . . .”5
(2) The appointee “must manifest in himself detachment from all worldly things, must be the essence of purity, must show in himself the fear of God, knowledge, wisdom and learning.”6
(3) “[A]fter him [Shoghi Effendi] will succeed the first-born of his lineal descendents.”7 Should “the first-born of the Guardian of the Cause of God . . . not inherit of the spiritual” and not possess “a goodly character,” then must the Guardian “choose another branch” (male descendent of Bahá'u'lláh) “to succeed him.”8
(4) “The Hands of the Cause of God must elect from their own number nine persons . . . .”9
(5) And these nine elected Hands “must give their assent to the choice of the one whom the Guardian of the Cause of God hath chosen as his successor.”10
Thus, 'Abdu'l-Bahá specified who could appoint the Guardian's successor (Shoghi Effendi could); when the appointment was to be made (in Shoghi Effendi's lifetime); what spiritual qualities the successor had to possess (detachment, fear of God, knowledge, etc.); who the successor could be (Shoghi Effendi's “first-born” or another “branch”); and who had to approve the choice of the successor (nine elected members from among the Hands of the Cause of God). Each of these conditions had to be satisfied for an individual to have become Shoghi Effendi's successor.
By the time of his passing in 1957, Shoghi Effendi had not, however, appointed a successor. The appointment of a successor was made impossible because Shoghi Effendi did not have any children and, therefore, no “first-born” child; nor was another “branch” (male descendent of Bahá'u'lláh) eligible for appointment inasmuch as all had broken the Covenant. Moreover, the other conditions for the appointment of a successor had not been satisfied: Shoghi Effendi had not “in his own life-time” appointed a successor; he had not pointed to a successor who had “inherit[ed] of the spiritual”; and the Hands of the Cause had not “elect[ed] from their own number nine persons” who had given “their assent to the choice of the one whom the Guardian of the Cause of God hath chosen as his successor.” Thus, the requirements for the appointment of a successor, as delineated in the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, could not be satisfied.
The death of Shoghi Effendi was a great shock to Bahá'ís around the world. In addition, the community had to cope with the fact that Shoghi Effendi had been unable to appoint a successor and had not left a will or other written instructions.11 As the Universal House of Justice later observed, “appalling dangers . . . faced the infant Cause when it was suddenly deprived of . . . Shoghi Effendi.”12 Yet, the power of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant soon became evident. As discussed below, following Shoghi Effendi's passing, the Faith maintained its unity and integrity under the leadership, and through the historic services, of the Hands of the Cause of God: “The entire history of religion shows no comparable record of such strict self-discipline, such absolute loyalty and such complete self-abnegation by the leaders of a religion finding themselves suddenly deprived of their divinely inspired guide.”13
B. The Ministry of the Hands of the Cause of God
Although Shoghi Effendi had not appointed a successor, he had taken steps for the Bahá'í community to be led and protected by the institution of the Hands of the Cause of God. During His lifetime, Bahá'u'lláh created the institution of the Hands of the Cause of God14 and appointed a few believers to the position.15 Subsequently, 'Abdu'l-Bahá designated others as Hands of the Cause.16 The institution was “formally defined and established by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in His Will and Testament,”17 wherein He emphasized and clarified the responsibilities of the Hands of the Cause.18 These responsibilities included protecting and propagating the Faith.19
'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote in His Will and Testament that the “body of the Hands of the Cause of God is under the direction of the Guardian of the Cause of God.”20 The Hands were to be “nominated and appointed by the Guardian.”21 In the course of his ministry, Shoghi Effendi appointed forty-two believers as Hands of the Cause of God.22 From the early 1920's until the early 1950's, he posthumously designated ten individuals as Hands of the Cause. In the last six years of his ministry, he appointed thirty-two Bahá'ís, during their lifetimes, as Hands of the Cause. These included a contingent of twelve individuals appointed in 1951, a second contingent of seven appointed in 1952, and five others appointed between 1952 and 1957. On October 2, 1957, Shoghi Effendi appointed a final contingent of eight Hands. When he passed away in November 1957, there were twenty-seven Hands living.23
In making the appointments, Shoghi Effendi referred to the Hands of the Cause as an “august Institution” destined to assume “the dual sacred responsibility for protection and propagation of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh.”24 In June 1957, he elaborated on the responsibilities of the institution of the Hands of the Cause:
To its newly assured responsibility to assist National Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá'í world in the specific purpose of effectively prosecuting the World Spiritual Crusade, the primary obligation to watch over and insure protection to the Bahá'í world community, in close collaboration with these same National Assemblies, is now added.25
Shoghi Effendi declared that the institutions of the Hands of the Cause and the National Spiritual Assemblies occupy “with the Universal House of Justice, next to the Institution of the Guardianship, foremost rank in the divinely ordained administrative hierarchy of the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh.”26 Moreover, he explained that “[t]he security of our precious Faith, the preservation of the spiritual health of the Bahá'í communities, the vitality of the faith of its individual members, the proper functioning of its laboriously erected institutions, the fruition of its worldwide enterprises, the fulfilment of its ultimate destiny, all are directly dependent upon the befitting discharge of the weighty responsibilities now resting upon the members of these two institutions” of the Hands and National Assemblies.27 As between the Hands of the Cause and the National Spiritual Assemblies, the Hands occupied a “superior” “rank and position.”28 Just weeks before his passing, in announcing the appointment of the final contingent of the Hands of the Cause, Shoghi Effendi referred to the Hands as “one of the cardinal and pivotal institutions ordained by Bahá'u'lláh, and confirmed in the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.”29 He further entitled them “the Chief Stewards of Bahá'u'lláh's embryonic World Commonwealth” and reiterated that they were invested with “the dual function of guarding over the security, and of insuring the propagation” of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh.30
After the death of Shoghi Effendi on November 4, 1957, the Hands of the Cause assumed the international administration of the Faith. Based on the position and powers conferred upon them by Shoghi Effendi, the Hands concluded that among the then-existing institutions of the Faith, they were responsible for overseeing the worldwide affairs of the Faith. They determined that as “the Chief Stewards of Bahá'u'lláh's embryonic World Commonwealth,”31 they would exercise leadership of the Faith until such time as the Universal House of Justice would be elected.32 This was done with the “complete agreement and loyalty of the National Spiritual Assemblies and the body of the believers.”33 Shortly after assuming direction of the Faith, the Hands of the Cause announced that the election of the Universal House of Justice would take place in Ridván 1963.34
“From the very outset of their custodianship of the Cause of God the Hands realized that since they had no certainty of divine guidance such as is incontrovertibly assured to the Guardian and to the Universal House of Justice, their one safe course was to follow with undeviating firmness the instructions and policies of Shoghi Effendi.”35 The Hands of the Cause did just that: They led the Bahá'í community in fulfilling the goals of the Ten Year Crusade, the plan that had been devised by Shoghi Effendi for the Bahá'í world. During the period of the Hands' ministry from 1957 to 1963, impressive victories were achieved in the expansion of the Faith. For example, the number of localities wherein Bahá'ís resided increased from some four thousand in 1957 to over eleven thousand in 1963, and the number of National Spiritual Assemblies more than doubled from twenty-six in 1957 to fifty-six in 1963.36
C. The Defection of Mason Remey
On November 25, 1957, all twenty-seven Hands of the Cause agreed to a resolution declaring that Shoghi Effendi “passed away in London (England) on the 4th of November, 1957, without having appointed his successor.”37 The Hands further resolved: “[I]t is now fallen upon us as Chief Stewards of the Bahá'í World Faith to preserve the unity, the security and the development of the Bahá'í World Community and all its institutions . . . .”38 In a proclamation issued on that same day to the Bahá'ís of the East and West, the Hands unanimously stated that “the beloved Guardian had left no heir. The Aghsán (branches) one and all are either dead or have been declared violators of the Covenant by the Guardian for their faithlessness to the Master's Will and Testament and their hostility to him . . . . [N]o successor to Shoghi Effendi could have been appointed by him . . . .”39
Mason Remey was one of the Hands of the Cause who signed the above-referenced resolution and proclamation. Nevertheless, in April 1960, at the age of eighty-six, he “proclaimed” that he was the “second Guardian” of the Bahá'í Faith.40 Remey asserted this claim despite the Will and Testament's clear authority to the contrary. As detailed above, the Will and Testament set forth certain objectively verifiable conditions for the appointment of Shoghi Effendi's successor. These conditions could not possibly have been fulfilled in the person of Mason Remey: (1) In no document had Remey been identified by Shoghi Effendi as his “successor”41 ; (2) such an appointment had not occurred in the “life-time” of Shoghi Effendi42; (3) Remey was not among the Aghsán - the “first-born of the Guardian” or another “branch”43 ; and (4) the Hands had not elected from among themselves nine persons who had given “their assent to the choice of the one whom the Guardian of the Cause of God hath chosen as his successor.”44
Remey claimed that he was the second Guardian because Shoghi Effendi had in 1951 appointed him as the president of the International Bahá'í Council.45 Remey's argument was as follows: Shoghi Effendi had indicated that the International Bahá'í Council was the forerunner of the Universal House of Justice.46 Further, according to 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament, the Guardian was the sacred head of the Universal House of Justice. Remey asserted that by virtue of his appointment to the position of president of the International Bahá'í Council, he was the president of the Universal House of Justice and, thus, the Guardian.47
Remey's argument was flawed for numerous reasons:
(1) It ignored the Will and Testament's explicit provisions regarding how Shoghi Effendi was to appoint his successor.
(2) There had never been a promise by Shoghi Effendi that the membership of the appointed International Bahá'í Council would carry over to the elected Universal House of Justice.48 Indeed, 'Abdu'l-Bahá had provided instructions on how the membership of the Universal House of Justice was to be composed, namely, through election.49 'Abdu'l-Bahá had not indicated that a believer could be appointed to the Universal House of Justice.
(3) If the president of the International Bahá'í Council was to be the president of the Universal House of Justice (and, therefore, the Guardian), then Shoghi Effendi would have presumably named himself the president of the International Bahá'í Council.50
(4) Whereas the appointments of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi had been explicit and in writing, Remey was incapable of offering a single written word in support of his claim. 'Abdu'l-Bahá had counseled believers that should anyone claim to be the Center of the Faith, “ask him to produce a written proof of the authority he follows.”51 Remey could not offer any written proof.
(5) 'Abdu'l-Bahá had declared that “ere the expiration of a thousand years, no one has the right to utter a single word, even to claim the station of Guardianship.”52 Yet, Remey was asserting precisely such a claim.
(6) Finally, Remey's contentions contradicted his signed declarations that the “Guardian had left no heir,” that the “Aghsán (branches) one and all are either dead or have been declared violators of the Covenant,” and that “no successor to Shoghi Effendi could have been appointed by him . . . .”53
The other Hands of the Cause gave Remey every opportunity to abandon his claim, exposing the fallacies of his arguments and repeatedly warning him about the consequences of his actions.54 When he persisted, the Hands were forced to declare him and the few who were misled by him as violators of the Covenant.55
Remey's subsequent actions showed the lengths to which he would go in attacking the Covenant and challenging the actions of Shoghi Effendi. For example, Remey announced that Shoghi Effendi had mistakenly formed the Administration upon the Bábí Faith, rather than the Bahá'í Faith. Therefore, the “only thing” for Remey to do as the second Guardian was to “set matters aright” and “discard all which Shoghi Effendi did and to institute a New Faith” that would lead to the establishment of the “TRUE Bahá'í Faith,” which had “not yet been established in the world.”56 Remey also referred to the “violations of the Faith that were made unwittingly by Shoghi Effendi.”57 Such statements further evidenced Remey's disregard of the Bahá'í Teachings. In a letter on his behalf, Shoghi Effendi had stated: “Future Guardians . . . cannot 'abrogate' the interpretations of former Guardians.”58
The Hands of the Cause had the authority to expel Remey and others who followed in his path. The Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá had given the Hands the authority to excommunicate those who would oppose the Guardian: “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 Bahá and in no wise accept any excuse from him.”59 'Abdu'l-Bahá had even envisioned the possibility that one from “within” the company of the Hands could seek to create division in the Faith: “Should any, within or without the company of the Hands of the Cause of God disobey and seek division, the wrath of God and His vengeance will be upon him, for he will have caused a breach in the true Faith of God.”60
The Hands of the Cause concluded that Remey's unfounded claim to the Guardianship was in conflict with the spirit and letter of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and a repudiation of that sacred document, the Charter on which the institution of the Guardianship rested. Remey had, in effect, opposed and protested against the Guardian and had sought to create division - a fact confirmed by Remey's own subsequent statement that he wished to “discard all which Shoghi Effendi did and to institute a New Faith.”61 In light of Remey's actions, he could, according to the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, be “cast . . . out” by the Hands of the Cause “from the congregation of the people of Bahá.”62 In a cable dated July 26, 1960, the Hands announced Remey's excommunication.63
For the fourteen years following his excommunication, Remey continued to press his claim, but failed to attract any appreciable following or to create a division within the Faith. In 1974, in the one hundredth year of his life, he died and was buried without religious rites, having been abandoned by his one-time followers.64 Since Remey's death, those who originally accepted his claims have become hopelessly divided and their groups have essentially disintegrated.65 Remey's arrogant attempt to usurp the Guardianship and his utter failure to create division within the Faith provided yet another example of the futility of all efforts to undermine the impregnable Covenant of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh.66
D. The Significance of the Services of the Hands of the Cause of God
The Hands of the Cause thus protected the Faith of God during the critical years following the passing of Shoghi Effendi. With absolute faith in the Writings and in accordance with the instructions in the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the Hands called for the election of the Universal House of Justice. They “even went so far as to ask that they themselves be not voted for.”67 On April 21, 1963, on the occasion of the one hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh, the Universal House of Justice was elected.68 Just days after its formation, the House of Justice described the significance of the services the Hands of the Cause had rendered in the preceding six years:
The paeans of joy and gratitude, of love and adoration which we now raise to the throne of Bahá'u'lláh would be inadequate, and the celebrations of this Most Great Jubilee in which, as promised by our beloved Guardian, we are now engaged, would be marred were no tribute paid at this time to the Hands of the Cause of God. For they share the victory with their beloved commander, he who raised them up and appointed them. They kept the ship on its course and brought it safe to port. The Universal House of Justice, with pride and love, recalls on this supreme occasion its profound admiration for the heroic work which they have accomplished. We do not wish to dwell on the appalling dangers which faced the infant Cause when it was suddenly deprived of our beloved Shoghi Effendi, but rather to acknowledge with all the love and gratitude of our hearts the reality of the sacrifice, the labor, the self-discipline, the superb stewardship of the Hands of the Cause of God. We can think of no more fitting words to express our tribute to these dearly loved and valiant souls than to recall the Words of Bahá'u'lláh Himself: “Light and glory, greeting and praise be upon the Hands of His Cause, through whom the light of fortitude hath shone forth and the truth hath been established that the authority to choose rests with God, the Powerful, the Mighty, the Unconstrained, through whom the ocean of bounty hath surged and the fragrance of the gracious favors of God, the Lord of mankind, hath been diffused.”69
ENDNOTES:
1. Shahin Vafai, The Essence of the Covenant: Features, History, and Implications (Palabra Publications 2005) (www.palabrapublications.com).
2. Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 11.
3. Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 11.
4. Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 12.
5. Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 12.
6. Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 12.
7. Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 11.
8. Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 12.
9. Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 12.
10. Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 12.
11. The Ministry of the Custodians: 1957-1963, pp. 27-29.
12. The Universal House of Justice, Messages from the Universal House of Justice: 1963-1986, p. 6.
13. The Universal House of Justice, Messages from the Universal House of Justice: 1963-1986, p. 51.
14. The Universal House of Justice, The Institution of the Counsellors, p. 5; Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 147.
15. See The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Note # 183; Barron Harper, Lights of Fortitude, pp. 1-18.
16. See The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Note # 183.
17. The Universal House of Justice, The Institution of the Counsellors, p. 5.
18. See Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, pp. 12-13; Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 328.
19. See The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Note # 183.
20. Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 13.
21. Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 12.
22. See The Ministry of the Custodians: 1957-1963, pp. xxii-xxiv.
23. See The Ministry of the Custodians: 1957-1963, pp. xxii-xxiv.
24. Shoghi Effendi, Messages to the Bahá'í World, p. 58.
25. Shoghi Effendi, Messages to the Bahá'í World, p. 122.
26. Shoghi Effendi, Messages to the Bahá'í World, p. 123.
27. Shoghi Effendi, Messages to the Bahá'í World, p. 123.
28. On behalf of Shoghi Effendi, Directives from the Guardian, p. 31 (“The rank and position of the Hands of the Cause are superior to the position of the National Assemblies. In writing concerning the Hands, therefore, when there is reference to the Institutions of the Faith, after the Guardian should be mentioned the Hands, and then the National Bodies. . .”).
29. Shoghi Effendi, Messages to the Bahá'í World, p. 127.
30. Shoghi Effendi, Messages to the Bahá'í World, p. 127.
31. Shoghi Effendi, Messages to the Bahá'í World, p. 127.
32. See The Ministry of the Custodians: 1957-1963, p. 30.
33. The Universal House of Justice, Messages from the Universal House of Justice: 1963-1986, p. 51; see The Ministry of the Custodians: 1957-1963, pp. 41-50.
34. See The Ministry of the Custodians: 1957-1963, pp. 122, 166.
35. The Universal House of Justice, Messages from the Universal House of Justice: 1963-1986, p. 51.
36. The Ministry of the Custodians: 1957-1963, p. 13.
37. The Ministry of the Custodians: 1957-1963, pp. 28-30.
38. The Ministry of the Custodians: 1957-1963, p. 29.
39. The Ministry of the Custodians: 1957-1963, pp. 35-36.
40. The Ministry of the Custodians: 1957-1963, pp. 16, 196-97; Barron Harper, Lights of Fortitude, p. 303.
41. See Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 12.
42. See Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 12.
43. See Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 12. As for the Will and Testament's requirement that Shoghi Effendi appoint his “first-born” or another “branch,” Remey argued that any believer can be a “branch.” However, this argument overlooked the fact that in the Will and Testament (and in other Writings of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá), the Arabic term translated as “branch” (“Ghusn”; plural is “Aghsán”) was used to refer exclusively to Bahá'u'lláh's male descendants; the term did not apply to any other category of people. See Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, memorandum dated July 5, 2000 (“There are three words used in the Writings, which have been translated as 'branch' in English. They are Shákhih, Ghusn, and Far'. The first, Shákhih, is Persian and it has been used by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in connection with believers and their relationship to the Tree of the Cause. . . . The second word, Ghusn, is Arabic and has been used in the Bahá'í Writings exclusively to denote the male descendants of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá. . . . As to the third word, Far', this word has been used by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 'Some Answered Questions' in relation to 'Alí and Joshua. This is an Arabic word and it is used in a broad sense to indicate the relationship of members of both the Aghsán and the Afnán families.”).
That the term “branches” or “Aghsán” is distinct from references to believers generally is evident from the uses of the term in the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and in other authoritative Writings. See Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 11 (“O my loving friends! After the passing away of this wronged one, it is incumbent upon the Aghsán (Branches), the Afnán (Twigs) of the Sacred Lote-Tree, the Hands (pillars) of the Cause of God and the loved ones of the Abhá Beauty to turn unto Shoghi Effendi . . . as he is the sign of God, the chosen branch, 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.”); Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 221 (“The Will of the divine Testator is this: It is incumbent upon the Aghsán, the Afnán and My Kindred to turn, one and all, their faces towards the Most Mighty Branch.”); id., p. 222 (“It is enjoined upon everyone to manifest love towards the Aghsán, but God hath not granted them any right to the property of others. [¶] O ye My Aghsán, My Afnán and My Kindred! We exhort you to fear God, to perform praiseworthy deeds and to do that which is meet and seemly and serveth to exalt your station. . . . It is incumbent upon everyone to show courtesy to, and have regard for the Aghsán, that thereby the Cause of God may be glorified and His Word exalted.”); Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 214 (“And in the Book of the Covenant He explicitly saith that the object of this verse 'Who hath branched from this Ancient Root' is the Most Mighty Branch. And He commandeth all the Aghsán, the Afnán, the kindred and the Bahá'ís to turn toward Him.”).
The specialized meaning of the term “branch” is even revealed by Shoghi Effendi's translation into English of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament, which declared that the Guardian must choose as his successor either his “first-born” or “another branch.” Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 12. The word “another” implies that the “first-born” is a “branch” and that the term has a particularized meaning.
44. See Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 12.
45. The Ministry of the Custodians: 1957-1963, pp. 205, 232; Mason Remey and Those Who Followed Him, November 29, 2001; cf. Shoghi Effendi, Messages to the Bahá'í World, pp. 7-8.
46. See Shoghi Effendi, Messages to the Bahá'í World, pp. 7-8.
47. The Ministry of the Custodians: 1957-1963, p. 232; The Power of the Covenant, Part Two, p. 25.
48. E.g., on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, Directives from the Guardian, p. 72 (“At present there are women on the International Council, and this will continue as long as it exists, but when the International House of Justice is elected, there will only be men on it, as this is the law of the Aqdas.”).
49. Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 14 (“[T]hese secondary Houses of Justice must elect the members of the Universal one.”).
50. See The Ministry of the Custodians: 1957-1963, pp. 234-35.
51. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 456.
52. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, quoted in the Universal House of Justice, Messages from the Universal House of Justice: 1963-1986, p. 52.
53. See The Ministry of the Custodians: 1957-1963, pp. 35-36.
54. See The Ministry of the Custodians: 1957-1963, p. 16.
55. The Ministry of the Custodians: 1957-1963, p. 223 (“ENTIRE BODY HANDS OBEDIENT PROVISIONS WILL TESTAMENT CENTRE COVENANT COMMUNICATIONS BELOVED GUARDIAN ENJOINING THEM PROTECT HOLY CAUSE ATTACKS ENEMIES WITHIN WITHOUT ANNOUNCE BAHA'I WORLD MASON REMEY COVENANT BREAKER EXPELLED FAITH . . . .”); see id., pp. 208, 223-24.
56. See Mason Remey, quoted in on behalf of the Universal House of Justice, to an individual believer, June 4, 1997.
57. See Mason Remey, quoted in on behalf of the Universal House of Justice, to an individual believer, June 4, 1997.
58. On behalf of Shoghi Effendi, quoted in Udo Schaefer et al., Making the Crooked Straight, p. 185 n.218.
59. Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 12.
60. Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 13.
61. See Mason Remey, quoted in on behalf of the Universal House of Justice, to an individual believer, June 4, 1997.
62. Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 12.
63. See The Ministry of the Custodians: 1957-1963, p. 223.
64. See the Universal House of Justice, Messages from the Universal House of Justice: 1963-1986, p. 271.
65. See Mason Remey and Those Who Followed Him, November 29, 2001.
66. See the Universal House of Justice, Messages from the Universal House of Justice: 1963-1986, p. 271.
67. The Universal House of Justice, Messages from the Universal House of Justice: 1963-1986, p. 52.
68. See Charlotte M. Linfoot, “First International Convention,” The Bahá'í World, vol. XIV, p. 427.
69. The Universal House of Justice, Messages from the Universal House of Justice: 1963-1986, p. 6.
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