Dr. Leland Jensen / **Writings** # **Tablet of the Dichotomy** ##### Understanding the Dichotomy #### **Dr. Leland Jensen** ##### 1992 [↓ PDF](https://leland-jensen-info.netlify.app/jensen-tablet-of-the-dichotomy-1992.pdf) *** >"There is no associate for the Dawning-place of Command \[The Manifestation of God] in the Supreme Sinlessness. In truth he is the Manifestor of 'He does what He wishes' in the kingdom of creation. Verily God has reserved this station for Himself, and has not left to any one a share of this inviolable condition." \[Baha'u'llah, *Kitab-i-Aqdas*] > >Know that sinlessness \[infallibility] is of two kinds: essential sinlessness and acquired sinlessness. In like manner there is essential knowledge and acquired knowledge; and so it is with other names and attributes. Essential sinlessness is peculiar to the universal Manifestation, for it is his essential requirement, and an essential requirement cannot be separated from the thing itself. …  > >But acquired sinlessness \[infallibility] is not a natural necessity; on the contrary, it is a ray of the bounty of Sinlessness which shines from the Sun of Reality upon hearts, and grants a share and portion of itself to souls. …  > >To epitomize: essential sinlessness belongs especially to the universal Manifestations, and the acquired sinlessness is granted every holy soul. For instance, the General House of Justice \[Universal House of Justice], if it be established under the necessary conditions — with members elected from all the people — the House of Justice will be under the protection of the guardianship of God. If that House of Justice shall decide unanimously, or by a majority, upon any question not mentioned in the Book \[_Kitab-i-Aqdas_], that decision and command will be guarded from mistake. Now the members of the House of Justice have not, individually, essential sinlessness; but the **body of the House of Justice** is under the protection of God: this is **called conferred infallibility**. > >('Abdu'l-Baha, _Some Answered Questions_, 1908 ed., chap. 45, "Explanation of the Verse of the Kitabu'l-Aqdas, 'There is No Associate for the Dawning-Place of Command in the Supreme Sinlessness," 197–99; emphasis added.)\[1] As the world around us is in great confusion and divided, so also are the Baha'is. This is a result of their not understanding Baha'u'llah's Covenant. In His Covenant \[the _Kitab-i-Ahd_] He refers to the meaning of, **focus**. Then He goes on to tell us to, "Focus your gaze upon it and the direction of its unity, not upon the differences which are apparent therein."\[2] Here He is telling us that what He is giving us in His following paragraph is the **source of unity** for the whole world, but there are apparent differences therein. The whole Baha'i World has gone astray by not focusing its gaze upon the mighty power and potency, and has devised something other than what Baha'u'llah provided, replacing it with something of their own creation. What Baha'u'llah asked us to gaze upon was 'Abdu'l-Baha, the most great Branch: >"When the sea of My Presence is exhausted and the Book of Origin hath reached its end, turn you unto him ('Abdu'l-Baha) who is desired by God — he who is issued from this ancient Root." > >The purpose of this sacred verse is the **most great Branch** \['Abdu'l-Baha]. Thus have we declared the matter as a favor on our part, and we are the gracious, the beneficent! > >(Baha'u'llah, "Kitab-i-Ahd," in _Baha'i World Faith_, 209–10; emphasis added.) >There hath branched from the Sadratu'l-Muntaha this sacred and glorious Being, this **Branch of Holiness**; well is it with him that hath sought His shelter and abideth beneath His shadow. Verily the Limb of the Law of God hath sprung forth from this Root which God hath firmly implanted in the Ground of His Will, and Whose **Branch** hath been so uplifted as to encompass the whole of creation. Magnified be He, therefore, for this sublime, this blessed, this mighty, this exalted Handiwork! … A Word hath, as a token of Our grace, gone forth from the Most Great Tablet — a Word which God hath adorned with the ornament of His own Self, and made it sovereign over the earth and all that is therein, and a sign of His greatness and power among its people. … Render thanks unto God, O people, for His appearance; for verily He is the most great Favor unto you, the most perfect bounty upon you; and through Him every mouldering bone is quickened. Whoso turneth towards Him hath turned towards God, and whoso turneth away from Him hath turned away from My Beauty, hath repudiated My Proof, and transgressed against Me. He is the Trust of God amongst you, His charge within you, His manifestation unto you and His appearance among His favored servants… We have sent Him down in the form of a human temple. Blest and sanctified be God Who createth whatsoever He willeth through His inviolable, His infallible decree. They who deprive themselves of the shadow of **the** **_Branch_**, are lost in the wilderness of error, are consumed by the heat of worldly desires, and are of those who will assuredly perish. > >(Baha'u'llah, "Tablet of the Branch," quoted in Shoghi Effendi, _The World Order of Baha'u'llah_, 135; emphasis added.) >And again: \[Baha'u'llah states] — " …Refer ye whatsoever ye **understand not** in the Book to Him \['Abdu'l-Baha] Who hath **branched** from this mighty Stock." 'Abdu'l-Baha Himself wrote the following: — "In accordance with the explicit text of the _Kitab-i-Aqdas_ Baha'u'llah hath made the Center of the Covenant \['Abdu'l-Baha] the Interpreter of His Word — a Covenant so firm and mighty that from the beginning of time until the present day no religious Dispensation hath produced its like." > >(J. E. Esslemont, _Baha'u'llah and the New Era_, 1970 ed., chap. 4, "'Abdu'l-Baha: The Servant of Baha," subsec. "Station of ‘Abdu’l-Baha," 79; emphasis added.) Baha’u'llah proclaimed that He was the **ancient root** and 'Abdu'l-Baha was the **Most Great Branch**. In so doing Baha'u'llah and 'Abdu'l-Baha fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah in his 11th chapter, "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse and a **Branch** shall grow out of his roots." … "And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek; and his rest shall be glorious." (Isaiah 11:1, 10) This shows that 'Abdu'l-Baha, who Baha'u'llah decreed to be His successor and the interpreter of His Revelation, is a Promised One of God, and therefore going against 'Abdu'l-Baha is going against God. In spite of the clarity of the above the entire Baha'i World has gone astray. With the passing of Shoghi Effendi in 1957 a non-authoritative group called the “_Hands”_ usurped the control of the faith by falsely decreeing that the guardianship of the faith, set up by 'Abdu'l-Baha, and was to exist forever, had come to an end. They said God had broken His Covenant. This act was done maliciously so they could get control of the faith. The Baha'i World went along with this violation because they were confused by a dichotomy that had occurred. In the text of the Covenant (_Kitab-i-Ahd_) following where Baha'u'llah had established the most great Branch ('Abdu'l-Baha): Baha'u'llah declared: "God hath, verily, decreed the station of the great Branch \[Muhammad Ali] next to that of the most great Branch \['Abdu'l-Baha]. Verily He is the wise ordainer." Here Baha'u'llah had provided for two successors upon whom He had conferred infallibility. After these two would be the Universal House of Justice that would inherit the infallibility of these two successors, as Baha'u'llah had already, as stated above, conferred infallibility upon that body. The confusion and trouble occurred after the passing of Baha'u'llah, when the Lessor Branch, Muhammad Ali, didn’t like the framework his Father, Baha'u'llah, had placed him in, the Lessor Branch. He wanted to be equal to 'Abdu'l-Baha, and not to function consecutively, but concurrently with 'Abdu'l-Baha. As the Lessor Branch he would not be able to change anything that 'Abdu'l-Baha set up and interpreted. When 'Abdu'l-Baha would not go along with Muhammad Ali's violation, he made war upon 'Abdu'l-Baha, causing 'Abdu'l-Baha to become re-incarcerated within the confines of Akka. With Muhammad Ali breaking the Covenant and separating himself from the Baha'i faith it was necessary for 'Abdu'l-Baha to replace him. Because Baha'u'llah, in the Kitab-i-Ahd, had disqualified the other brothers of 'Abdu'l-Baha and Muhammad Ali from being successors to Baha'u'llah, Muhammad Ali thought he had 'Abdu'l-Baha over a barrel, so-to-speak, thinking 'Abdu'l-Baha would not be able to replace him, therefore he thought 'Abdu'l-Baha would have to concede to his Covenant-breaking. So 'Abdu'l-Baha set up a dichotomy. He divided the station that Muhammad Ali was to inherit in two, giving to his son the Davidic kingship lineage, and to his grandson the conferred infallibility. He adopted Charles Mason Remey to be his son according to Palestinian Law; and also in conformity of the present day Israeli Law, and the international laws of the West such as the British mandate, to replace his only son that had passed away in infancy, thus conferring upon him the Davidic lineage that he himself had inherited from Baha'u'llah who was a direct male descendant in an unbroken chain of father-to-son ancestors seated on David's throne. But 'Abdu'l-Baha did not confer on Mason Remey the infallibility that Baha'u'llah had conferred on 'Abdu'l-Baha and then Muhammad Ali. In his _Will and Testament_ 'Abdu'l-Baha conferred this infallibility upon Shoghi Effendi, his grandson through his daughter who was Shoghi Effendi's mother. Because Shoghi Effendi was not a male line descendant of 'Abdu'l-Baha and Baha'u'llah he could not inherit the throne of David which is only passed down through the male line. That is why 'Abdu'l-Baha adopted Mason Remey. As an adopted son Mason Remey had all the rights and privileges of a natural son including the right of kingship. Whereas when 'Abdu'l-Baha named Shoghi Effendi the infallible guardian of the Baha'i faith, he conferred upon Shoghi Effendi the infallibility that would have been Muhammad Ali's had he not defected. This infallibility was to be passed down to Shoghi Effendi's lineal descendants. Baha'u'llah only provided for two infallible descendants — 'Abdu'l-Baha and Shoghi Effendi — and then the House of Justice. Thus Shoghi Effendi's lineal \[3] descendant, being he did not have a biological son, was the House of Justice that Shoghi Effendi had set up in its embryonic form as the first International Baha'i Council. Shoghi Effendi intended for this first International Baha'i Council to become a World Court in 1963, then he planned that the body would become elected and then it would blossom into the Universal House of Justice. Shoghi Effendi appointed the members of that embryonic International Baha'i Council and placed 'Abdu'l-Baha’s son, Mason Remey, a member, as its president, making him the fallible head of the infallible Universal House of Justice and thus the fallible guardian of the Baha'i faith. This was in accordance with 'Abdu'l-Baha's _Will and Testament_ which mandated that the guardians would be seated at the head of the Universal House of Justice. Thus the head of the Universal House of Justice is the guardian of the Baha'i faith. 'Abdu'l-Baha explained it this way using symbols: >The meaning is that certain personages guided the people with a staff grown out of the earth, and shepherded them with a rod, like unto the rod of Moses. Others trained and shepherded the people with a rod of iron, as in the dispensation of Muhammad. And in this present cycle, because it is the mightiest of dispensations, that _rod_ grown out of the _vegetable_ kingdom and that _rod of iron_ will be transformed into a ***rod of purest gold,*** taken from out the endless treasure houses in the Kingdom of the Lord. **By this rod will the people be trained.** > >('Abdu'l-Baha, _Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha_, 166; emphasis added.) In this case, the staff of wood that is grown out of the earth and is reproduced by its seed, is Baha'u'llah's genealogy, a father-to-son descendent of King David. The genealogy of the Bab and of Shoghi Effendi show that they were male descendants of Muhammad and were thus rods of iron. Muhammad didn't have son, so his descendants were from his daughter, Fatima (the female represents the spiritual), thus they were spiritual descendants of Muhammad or rods of iron. 'Abdu'l-Baha explained that the reason Shoghi Effendi was infallible, being of the lineage of the “_Twin Holy Trees,”_\[4] was because this lineage was from both the Bab, who was a descendant of Muhammad (iron), and Baha'u'llah, who was a descendant of King David (wood), making him a **_rod of purest gold_**. Therefore Shoghi Effendi could not be succeeded by just a rod of wood, Mason Remey. Thus Shoghi Effendi could only be succeeded by another **_rod of purest gold_**. This consisted of the Universal House of Justice in its embryonic state, the first International Baha'i Council. Shoghi Effendi appointed the members of the body of that Council making them his spiritual heirs or a rod of iron. He placed that fallible head of wood, Mason Remey, to be the head and member of that body making it an infallible **_rod of purest gold_**. >Now the members of the House of Justice have not, individual, essential sinlessness; but the **body** of the House of Justice is under the protection of God: this is called **conferred infallibility**. > >('Abdu'l-Baha, _Some Answered Questions_, 199; emphasis added.) When the wicked and sinful _“Hands”_ chopped off the head of that body, and then aborting it in embryo and preventing it from becoming a World Court on Mt. Carmel in 1963, they did away with the hereditary guardianship set up by 'Abdu'l-Baha in his _Will and Testament_, as well as the IBC. By going against 'Abdu'l-Baha and Shoghi Effendi they were going against God, leaving Mason Remey no other alternative but to expel them from the Baha'i faith. Had the Baha'i World been awake and had they digested the Covenant as delineated in 'Abdu'l-Baha's _Will and Testament_, as enacted by Shoghi Effendi, they would not have gone along with the Covenant-breaking, non-authoritative “_Hands”_ in their violation of the Covenant. They would have immediately, upon the passing of Shoghi Effendi, turned solely to the head of the faith, the first International Baha'i Council (the UHJ in its primary state), that was Shoghi Effendi's successor and nobody else. Now that they find they are in the great violation, they should exit it by turning to the second International Baha'i Council set up by the one promised in scriptures and in the Baha'i writings, whose mission is to lead them out of their violation and to reestablish them back into the Baha'i faith that the Covenant-breakers had thrown out. He is the great teacher prophesied in scriptures to come as the "seventh angel," as explained by 'Abdu'l-Baha in the 11th chapter of _Some Answered Questions_;\[5] and as "Blessed is he" that was prophesied to come in 1963 as explained by 'Abdu'l-Baha in the 14th chapter of _Baha'u'llah and the New Era_ under the subtitle of the **Coming of the Kingdom of God;**\[6] and in the 3rd chapter of Zechariah\[7]. *** **Endotes** **1.** Editor's notes: Details on source edition, footnotes, and bracketed text: a. The quotation from 'Abdu'l-Baha's _Some Answered Questions_ is taken from the first edition published in 1908 and is available to [read and download](https://books.google.com/books?id=_YtAAAAAIAAJ&newbks=0&source=gbs_navlinks_s) via Google Books. b. Original footnotes from the book have been moved into the body of the quotation as bracketed text for clarity and ease of reading — e.g., \[the Manifestation of God], \[Baha'u'llah, *Kitab-i-Aqdas*], \[Universal House of Justice], and \[_Kitab-i-Aqdas_]. c. The remaining instances of bracketed text — \[infallibility] — are present in the original text and were attributable to the author. d. Completed by Baha'u'llah in 1873, the _Kitab-i-Aqdas_ (Most Holy Book) was published in Arabic for circulation among Baha'is around 1890. The English material included here derives from an early partial translation, likely produced specifically for use in _Some Answered Questions_. During his lifetime, Shoghi Effendi translated only twenty-one passages of the _Kitab-i-Aqdas_ into English. Despite the circulation of multiple provisional translations since that time, no complete English translation has been reviewed or approved by an authoritative body. **2.** Baha'u'llah, "Kitab-i-Ahd," in _Baha'i World Faith_, 209. Editor's note: The reader should be aware that wo other English translations of the *Kitab-i-Ahd* exist: one in [_Baha'i Scriptures_](https://bahai-library.com/holley_bahai_scriptures&chapter=6), ed. Horace Holley, 259, and a later translation in [_Tablets of Baha'u'llah Revealed After the Kitab-i-Aqdas_](https://bahai.works/Tablets_of_Bah%C3%A1%E2%80%99u%E2%80%99ll%C3%A1h/Book_of_the_Covenant), 218. **3.** "lineal," meaning a straight line does not necessarily have to be a genealogical son. In this case it means what succeeds Shoghi Effendi. **4.** 'Adbu'l-Baha, *Will and Testament,* 3. **5.** Editor's note: “The seventh angel is a man qualified with heavenly attributes, who will arise with heavenly qualities and character. Voices will be raised, so that the appearance of the Divine Manifestation will be proclaimed and disffused." ('Abdu'l-Baha, _Some Answered Questions_, 1908 ed., 66.) **6.** Editor's note: From *Baha'u'llah and the New Era*: >In the last two verses of the Book of Daniel occur the cryptic words: — > >"Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand, three hundred and thirty-five days. But go thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days." > >Many have been the attempts of learned students to solve the problem of the significance of these words. In a tabletalk at which the writer was present, 'Abdu'l-Baha reckoned the fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy from the date of the beginning of the Muhammadan era. > >'Abdu'l-Baha's Tablets make it clear that this prophecy refers to the one hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of Baha'u'llah in Baghdad, or the year 1963. Asked what will be manifest after the 1,335 "days," He replied: Universal peace will be firmly established, a Universal language promoted. Misunderstandings will pass away. The Baha'i Cause will be promulgated in all parts and the oneness of mankind established. It will be glorious. > (John E. Esselmont, *Baha'u'llah and the New Era*, 1950 ed., chp. 14, "Prophecies of Baha'u'llah and 'Abdu'l-Baha," subsec. "Coming of the Kingdom of God," 299; emphasis added.) Subsequent revised editions of *Baha'u'llah and the New Era* added the following paragraph after "…the year 1963." >"Now concerning the verse in Daniel, the interpretation whereof thou didst ask, namely, 'Blessed is he who cometh unto the thousand, three hundred and thirty-five days.' These days must be reckoned as solar and not lunar years. For according to this calculation a century will have elapsed from the dawn of the Sun of Truth, then will the teachings of God be firmly established upon the earth, and the Divine Light shall flood the world from the East even unto the West. Then, on this day, will the faithful rejoice!" > > ('Abdu'l-Baha, [The Passing of 'Abdu'l-Baha](https://bahai-library.com/pdf/s/shoghi-effendi_blomfield_account_passing_1922_scan.pdf) (PDF), by Shoghi Effendi and Lady Sarah Louisa Blomfield, p. 25, 1922.) There is also an [onscreen version](https://bahai-library.com/shoghi-effendi_blomfield_passing_abdul-baha).) Also from *The Passing of 'Abdu'l-Baha*, directly following that excerpt but not included in *Baha'u'llah and the New Era*: >Confirming and explaining further the hidden meaning of the above mentioned verse he reveals the following in one of his earlier Tablets: > >"O servant of God! The afore-mentioned thousand three hundred and thirty-five years must be reckoned from the day of the flight (Hegira) of His Holiness Muhammad, the Apostle of God, salutations and blessings rest upon Him, at the close of which time the signs of the rise, the glory, the exaltation, the spread of the Word of God throughout the East and the West shall appear." **7.** Editor's note: Refer to Leland's writings and commentaries for his proofs found in Zachariah: >… Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. … behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes. > >(Zechariah 3:3, 9 KJV) *** **Document Details** - **Type:** Tablet — A *tablet*, or lawh (Arabic/Persian: لوح) in a Baha'i context, is a recognized designation for a religious writing. Baha'u'llah authored many tablets such as the *Tablet of Carmel* (Lawh-i-Karmil), and 'Abdu'l-Baha, the *Tablets of the Divine Plan*. The term is self-designated by the author and has precedents in Islamic (Qur'an 7:145), Jewish (Exodus 32:16), and Christian faiths. (See [_Encyclopedia Iranica_, "Lawh."](https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/lawh/)) - **Date:** 1992 - **Author:** Dr. Leland Jensen - **Length:** 6 pages (original pagination) - **Summary Note:** In this Baha'i exegesis, Dr. Jensen builds on 'Abdu'l-Baha's explanation of a quote from Baha'u'llah to further clarify several key topics: the line of Baha'i succession after Shoghi Effendi, the nature of infallibility and conferred infallibility, the violation of the Hands, and the establishment of the Second International Baha'i Council. - **Editorial Note:** This document has been lightly edited for accuracy, clarity, consistency, and clear attribution of voice. **Archivist Notes:** - Leland Jensen's only writing designated as a Tablet. - Prior to its formal designation as a Tablet (see below), the work circulated under the title *Understanding the Dichotomy*. - In most circulated versions a subtitle is made from the opening line of the *Some Answered Questions* quote that begins the tablet where 'Abdu’l-Baha is quoting and commenting on Baha'u'llah from the *Kitab-i-Aqdas* — "There is no associate for the Dawning-place of Command \[The Manifestation of God] in the Supreme Sinlessness." - _Understanding the Dichotomy_ was approved by the Second International Baha'i Council as a Tablet and formally designated as Chapter Three of Part One in their _Book of Order_. - In a January 9, 2001 letter, the Second International Baha'i Council presented _Understanding the Dichotomy_ as the core Tablet of Dr. Leland Jensen's mission and urged believers to memorize it. A four-page copy on sIBC letterhead was enclosed. Jensen's Tablet ends by directing Baha'is who consider themselves “in the great violation” to the Second International Baha'i Council and deliberately refrains from identifying the “one promised in scriptures and in the Baha'i writings” leaving the question open for investigation. To aid in that investigation the enclosed copy included contact information for the sIBC. **Archivist Classification** - **Collection:** Dr. Leland Jensen → Writings - **Period:** 1992, following the 1991 establishment of the Second International Baha'i Council **Related Documents** - ***A Better View of the Second International Baha'i Council***, Wind Jensen, Neal Chase, Approved by Dr. Leland Jensen, December 21, 1992 - ***Book of Order of the Second International Baha'i Council***, Second International Baha'i Council, 1994 - ***Commentary on the Book of Revelation, Chapter 10***, Dr. Leland Jensen, 1994 **Reference Information** - **Permanent Link:** https://leland-jensen.info/writings/tablet-of-the-dichotomy-1992/ - **Download PDF:** [jensen-tablet-of-the-dichotomy-1992.pdf](https://leland-jensen-info.netlify.app/jensen-tablet-of-the-dichotomy-1992.pdf) - **Citation (Chicago Style):** Leland Jensen, "Tablet of the Dichotomy", Unpublished manuscript, Missoula, MT, 1992. Circulated by the author during his lifetime; posthumously distributed to believers via letter attachment; subsequently circulated among students. Leland Jensen Archive. Accessed \[Month Day, Year]. https://leland-jensen.info/writings/tablet-of-the-dichotomy-1992/ - **Archive Home:** https://leland-jensen.info - **Last Updated:** 21 February 2026 - **Revision Notes:** Expanded Document Details. ‎ *** [Site Guide](site%20guide.md)  |   [Sitemap](sitemap.md)  |   [Downloads](downloads.md)  |  [Contact Us](contact%20us.md) **Dr. Leland Jensen**: Teachings and Commentaries Archive © 2026 Baha'i Council of Dane County, all rights reserved.  [Copyright & Usage Policy](copyright.md) ***