**Hands (Chief Stewards)** # **1959 Conclave Message** ##### Published in *The Ministry of the Custodians 1957–1963*, pp. 166–170. ##### November 4, 1959 *** **Editorial Introduciton** Upon Shoghi Effendi's passing, his appointed Hands held no authority. They assumed leadership and made decisions that **directly contradicted the plans** they had promised to preserve. Here are a few notable examples: **Paragraph 10:** *After previously declaring that the guardianship had come to an end the Hands now instruct the believers not to discuss the topic in defiance of one the Faith's core beliefs — investigation of the truth. Two years following Shoghi Effendi's passing the mystery surrounding the believed end of the guardianship remained unanswered.* >At this turning-point … **the friends should not be deflected** from the vital tasks confronting them **by discussion of such subjects as … the subject of the Guardianship.** *** **Paragraph 8:** *Shoghi Effendi's plan for the Universal House of Justice* [[1951-01-09 Proclamation First IBC|clearly delineated]] *a four-stage embryonic progression: the appointed International Bahá'í Council would evolve through all four defined stages, with each stage building upon the last, until the body itself became the Universal House of Justice.* *Without stating it directly the Hands rejected this plan. **Their alternative addressed only two of his four stages, and in name only**, fundamentally altering Shoghi Effendi's design. Instead of allowing the appointed Council to evolve as he had specified, they announced its replacement by an elected body:* >We … announce … **the election of the International Baha'i Council** during Ridvan 1961. *** **Paragraph 9:** *The Hands excuse themselves from accomplishing stage two of Shoghi Effendi's plan — a Baha'i Court:* >We wish to assure the believers that every effort will be made to establish a Baha'i Court … **might not be achieved**. *The goal of a Baha'i Court had long been anticipated by Shoghi Effendi. Writing in March 1936:* >**The day may not be far distant** when in certain countries of the East, in which religious communities exercise jurisdiction in matters of personal status, Baha'i Assemblies may be called upon to assume the duties and responsibilities devolving upon officially constituted Baha'i courts. They will be empowered, **in such matters as marriage, divorce, and inheritance**, to execute and apply, within their respective jurisdictions, and with the sanction of civil authorities, such laws and ordinances as have been expressly provided in their *Most Holy Book*. > >(Shoghi Effendi, *World Order of Baha'u'llah*, 200, emphasis added.) *On July 27, 1962, the Hands followed up with a statement suggesting they had never seriously pursued this goal:* >Aside from those \[goals] which our Beloved \[Shoghi Effendi] himself felt **were doubtful of accomplishment**, such as establishment of the Baha'i courts… > >(Universal House of Justice, *Ministry of the Custodians 1957–1963*, 472, emphasis added.) *The reality contradicted the Hands' claims. Charles Mason Remey and Shoghi Effendi had already worked* "[[1951-01-09 Proclamation First IBC|to forge link with authorities of newly emerged State]]" *of Israel, and the results were documented in the official Israel Government Year-Book for 1957.* >THE DIVISION FOR THE BAHAI COMMUNITY > >The principal holy shrines of the Bahai religion and its spiritual and administrative world centre are situated in Israel. The Bahai community, numbering about 200, continued to embellish its holy places and completed the construction of the magnificent building that will house its documents and manuscripts. Bahai pilgrims from all parts of the world visited their shrines in Haifa, Acre and near Nahariya. > >… > >BAHA'I COMMUNITY > >CHARLES MASON REMEY, President of International Baha'i Council > >(*Israel Government Year-Book 5718 (1957)* [Jerusalem: Government Printer, December 1957], 376, 382.) *Charles Mason Remey was appointed president–guardian of the International Baha'i Council, "its sacred head and the distinguished member for life of that body," (W&T) with the Council evolving into an "officially recognized Baha'i Court." The listing appears in the chapter for the Ministry of Religious Affairs alongside Rabbinical Courts, Shari'a Courts, and Christian Religious Courts, with mentions of the Druze Community, the Karaites, and the Samaritans.* *After serving as Guardian of the Baha'i Faith for over 35 years, there is no mention of Shoghi Effendi in this listing. <b>This is not an error — Shoghi Effendi could not and did not sit on the body of the International Baha'i Council / Universal House of Justice.</b>* *It was clear that a Baha'i Court was attainable and was <b>anticipated</b> by the listing in the Israel Government Year-Book.* *** **Paragraph 2:** *Charles Mason Remey, having silently and patiently awaited for the Hands to come to the realization that the president of the International Baha'i Council is also the president–guardian of that body, he now breaks with them. Their final act is set for April 1963 claiming it to be true to Shoghi's plan:* >…we have fixed the **date for the election of the Universal House of Justice** as **Ridvan 1963**…. ‎ *The full text of the message follows.* ‎ *** **Beloved Friends:** The Hands of the Cause gathered in the precincts of the holiest spot on the entire planet have, after long and prayerful deliberations, made plans embracing those final steps which they feel must be taken by all the followers of Baha'u'llah in East and West in order to bring to a successful conclusion the World Crusade of our beloved Guardian. (1) Alarmingly little time is now left to us in which to accomplish his design. Well aware of the fact that this great Faith of Baha'u'llah stands in sore need of the erection of that infallible and supreme legislative Body which in the words of the Centre of the Covenant Himself "God hath ordained as the source of all good and freed from all error", and which the Guardian said "posterity will regard as the last refuge of a tottering civilization", we have fixed the date for the election of the Universal House of Justice as Ridvan 1963, coinciding with the termination of our glorious World Crusade and the celebration of the Most Great Jubilee commemorating the one hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of Baha'u'llah. (2) As we look back over the past two years which have elapsed since that unforgettable and heart-breaking moment when we realized our beloved Guardian had been taken from us, we cannot but marvel at the protection which has been vouchsafed this Holy Cause. As one man the believers have rallied to the support of their Faith, closed their ranks, stood firm in the hour of supreme test and arisen to carry forward the World Crusade. The enemies of the Cause have been powerless to harm it, so complete has been the unity between the Baha'is of the world, so strong the confidence and support with which they have surrounded the Hands of the Cause. The numerous properties and resources of the Faith have been completely protected; the Government authorities of the State in which the World Centre is situated have acknowledged the stewardship of the Faith as represented by the Hands of the Cause serving in the Holy Land on behalf of the Chief Stewards; the National and Regional Assemblies have supported, assisted and worked in the closest cooperation with this nucleus of Hands resident at the World Centre; a great wave of pioneers unprecedented since the inception of the Crusade, has arisen and is even now beginning to pour out to those goals most urgently in need of settlers and teachers; the Temples, so dear to the heart of the beloved Guardian, are in two continents rapidly reaching completion, and in a third, plans for its erection are now at long last being implemented. Profoundly thankful and encouraged as we are for these manifold blessings showered on us from on High in our hour of greatest darkness and need, we are nevertheless aware that from this instant until the end of the World Crusade there can be no rest for any of us if we are to achieve the goals of the Crusade. (3) We have therefore formulated the following plan of action which will enable the Baha'i world to establish the Universal House of Justice in 1963, and which we now share with our fellow-believers. (4) We call for the election in Ridvan 1961 of the twenty-one National Spiritual Assemblies of Latin America which will constitute some of the pillars of the Universal House of Justice in that region. This historic decision is based on the fact that we have every reason to hope and believe that the devoted band of the followers of Baha'u'llah in those countries will succeed during the Ridvan period of 1960 in forming those Spiritual Assemblies required of them by our beloved Guardian in the specific provisions he laid down for them in the World Crusade. Reports we have received from the Hands of the Cause who have visited those countries during the past year, as well as from the four Regional Assemblies responsible for the work in that area, have convinced us the time is ripe to make this joyous announcement to the Baha'i world. We therefore urge the two Regional Assemblies of South America and the Regional Assembly of Central America as well as that of the Greater Antilles, in collaboration with the Hands of the Cause in the Western Hemisphere and the National Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States, to concentrate their attention, during the remaining months of this Baha'i year, on ensuring that those Local Assemblies which form the bedrock of these future national bodies may be formed next April. (5) In studying the world-wide state of the Ten Year Plan, we have been forced to realize that the election of the eleven independent National Assemblies which must, in accordance with the Plan of the Guardian, be established in the European continent before the end of the Crusade, is much more difficult and presents a greater challenge than is the case in Latin America as the Local Assemblies must be quadrupled rather than doubled. We have therefore set the date for the election of these European national bodies for Ridvan 1962. It is our conviction that with constant and concentrated effort and sacrifice, our objectives can be accomplished there and the requisite number of Local Assemblies be brought into being by Ridvan 1961. The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Ceylon will likewise be elected in 1962. (6) With the formation of these national bodies, and we trust, circumstances permitting, of the two others specified in the provisions of the Ten Year Plan, a wide and representative foundation for the Universal House of Justice will have been laid. (7) We are also happy to announce that another milestone in Baha'i history will be reached with the election of the International Baha'i Council during Ridvan 1961. The embryonic institution established and so highly extolled by the beloved Guardian will thus enter its final stage preceding the election of the Universal House of Justice. The members of all the National and Regional Spiritual Assemblies of the Baha'i world, duly constituted in Ridvan 1960, will take part in a postal ballot to elect nine members to the International Council. This International Baha'i Council is to work under the direction and supervision of the Hands of the Cause residing in the Holy Land, serve a two year term of office, and cease to exist upon the occasion of the election of the Universal House of Justice. All the Baha'is of the world, men and women alike, are eligible for election. As the Chief Stewards of the Faith are wholly occupied with specific tasks assigned them by the beloved Guardian and perforce assumed since his passing, they should not be considered for election to this Council. Two of the functions originally allotted to the Council by the beloved Guardian, namely, to forge links with authorities of the State in which the World Centre is situated, and to conduct negotiations related to matters of personal status with civil authorities will still be discharged, and to them are added the following: To assist the Hands of the Cause in the care of the properties at the World Centre, and in the establishment of the Universal House of Justice; and in any other functions which the Hands may assign from time to time. (8) We wish to assure the believers that every effort will be made to establish a Baha'i Court in the Holy Land prior to the date set for this election. We should however bear in mind that the Guardian himself clearly indicated this goal, due to the strong trend towards the secularization of Religious Courts in this part of the world, might not be achieved. (9) At this turning-point in the Crusade when all our forces must be unitedly concentrated on winning its goals, the friends should not be deflected from the vital tasks confronting them by discussion of such subjects as can only be considered when the Universal House of Justice is established. Therefore we feel it is necessary to recall the words in the Proclamation we sent out after the passing of the beloved Guardian: "When that divinely-ordained Body comes into existence, all the conditions of the Faith can be examined anew and the measures necessary for its future operation determined in consultation with the Hands of the Cause." This includes the subject of the Guardianship. (10) Aside from the pressing demands of the world-wide work of the Faith which must be met and administered from the Holy Land, and which require so much attention on the part of the Chief Stewards, plans are being formulated for the Hands to travel to various countries and lend the National Spiritual Assemblies their personal assistance during the months immediately ahead and indeed until the end of the Crusade. These plans include visits to the Cradle of the Faith, where the vast majority of the followers of Baha'u'llah reside, to the Baha'i communities in the United States and Canada, who constitute the chief prosecutors of the Divine Plan, to the Latin American countries where by 1961 so many National Assemblies must be formed, and to Europe, where another eleven of the future pillars of the Universal House of Justice must be erected by 1962. (11) In addition to these plans, the Hands, pursuant to the wishes of our beloved Guardian, are contemplating a much more intensive and wider use of the Auxiliary Board members in carrying out the work of the World Crusade, and a much closer cooperation between the Institution of the Hands and the National Spiritual Assemblies. (12) The importance of the plans made for the election of these National Assemblies as well as that of the International Baha'i Council cannot be overestimated, because the above plans constitute the end of a forty-two-year-long prelude to that glorious consummation which will take place with the election of the Universal House of Justice in Ridvan 1963. Through the creation of this mighty Institution, the Formative Age of the Dispensation of Baha'u'llah, will have entered a now stage in its development; the thirty-six years of Shoghi Effendi's heart-breaking, self-sacrificing ministry will bear one of its fairest fruits, and that wondrous prophecy of Baha'u'llah be fulfilled: "Verily this is the Day in which both land and sea rejoice at this announcement, the Day for which have been laid up those things which God, through a bounty beyond the ken of mortal mind or heart, hath destined for revelation. 'Erelong will God sail His Ark upon thee, and will manifest the people of Baha) who have been mentioned in the Book of Names." (13) On the eve of the great victories which lie ahead and which we will befittingly celebrate on the occasion of the "Most Great Festival", the "King of Festivals", the "Festival of God" Himself, let us recall the glorious appeal and promise in these words of our Guardian: "Dearly beloved friends! ... Ours is the duty to fix our gaze with undeviating attention on the duties and responsibilities confronting us at this present hour, to concentrate our resources, both material and spiritual, on the tasks that lie immediately ahead, to ensure that no time is wasted, that no opportunity is missed, that no obligation is evaded, that no task is halfheartedly performed, that no decision is procrastinated. The task summoning us to a challenge, unprecedented in its gravity and force, is too vast and sacred, the time too short, the hour too perilous, the workers too few, the call too insistent, the resources too inadequate, for us to allow these precious and fleeting hours to slip from our grasp, and to suffer the prizes within our reach to be endangered or forfeited. So much depends upon us, so pregnant with possibilities is the present stage in the evolution of the Plan, that great and small, individuals, groups and Assemblies, white and coloured, young and old, neophytes and veterans, settlers, pioneers, itinerant teachers and administrators, as isolated believers, as organizers of groups, and as contributors to the formation of Local or National Assemblies, as builders of the Temple, as labourers on the home teaching front ... all, without exception and in every sphere of activity, however modest, restricted, or inconspicuous, must participate and labour, assiduously and continually, until every ounce of our energy is spent, until, tired but blissful, our promised harvest is brought in, and our pledge to our Beloved fully redeemed." (14) ‎ *\[Signed as follows]* **Rúhíyyih** **A. Furutan** **Amelia Collins** **Zikrullah Khadem** **Leroy Ioas** **William Sears** **Horace Holley** **John Robarts** **Sh. Alai** **John Ferraby** **Ugo Giachery** **Jalal Khazeh** **Adelbert Muhlschlegel** **Enoch Olinga** **H. Collis Featherstone** **Agnes B. Alexander** **Paul E. Haney** **Tarazu'llah Samandari** **A. Q. Faizi** **M. B. \[Musa Banani]** **Hermann Grossmann** **Hasan M. Balyuzi** ‎ *** [Site Guide](site%20guide.md)&nbsp; | &nbsp; [Sitemap](sitemap.md)&nbsp; | &nbsp; [Downloads](downloads.md)&nbsp; | &nbsp;[Contact Us](contact%20us.md) **Dr. Leland Jensen**: Teachings and Commentaries Archive © 2026 Baha'i Council of Dane County, all rights reserved. &nbsp;[Copyright & Usage Policy](copyright.md) ***