HI David
To address what you mentioned on the Universal House of Justice possibly
being "wrong" in its interpretation - the following makes clear the House's
role when giving guidance:
In a letter dated 9 March 1965, the Universal House of Justice stresses the
"profound difference" that exists between the "interpretations of the
Guardian and the elucidations of the House of Justice in exercise of its
function to 'deliberate upon all problems which have caused difference,
questions that are obscure, and matters that are not expressly recorded in
the Book."' (Wellspring of Guidance, p. 52) Among these is the outlining of
such steps as are necessary to establish the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh on
this earth. The elucidations of the Universal House of Justice stem from its
legislative function, while the interpretations of the Guardian represent
the true intent inherent in the Sacred Texts. The major distinction between
the two functions is that legislation with its resultant outcome of
elucidation is susceptible of amendment by the House of Justice itself,
whereas the Guardian's interpretation is a statement of truth which cannot
be varied.
Shoghi Effendi has given categorical assurances that neither the Guardian
nor the Universal House of Justice "can, nor will ever, infringe upon the
sacred and prescribed domain of the other." Therefore, the friends can be
sure that the Universal House of Justice will not engage in interpreting the
Holy Writings.
(The Universal House of Justice, 1984 Oct 25, Universal House of Justice
- Power of Elucidation)
That makes it clear to me that whatever guidance that was given to us in
this letter was certainly not the result of any interpretation (of the Holy
Writings). If anything, it is a summary and reminder on what we should focus
during the Ridwan elections.
As Don mentioned earlier, factors such as age, gender or diversity should
only come into consideration if there is a pool of people one finds
qualified (with all those properties and characteristics Shoghi Effendi
enumerates).
Basically, to decided between two people one feels is equally qualified, one
should pick the one who would be able to contribute from a perspective that
would be different/distinguishable from the majority. Shoghi Effendi himself
gives similar guidance:
83. Minority Accorded Priority Without Question[1]
[1 Bahá'ís Should Never Deviate from this Noble Standard]
"Since the Guardian's instruction on this point is unequivocal where it is
obvious that one of the persons involved represents a minority, that person
should be accorded the priority without question. Where there is doubt
further balloting will allow every voter present to participate.
"With reference to the provision in article V of the National By - Laws
governing the situation where two or more members have received the same
highest number of votes, if one of those members represents a minority that
individual should be given priority as if selected by lot."
(From a letter of the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual
Assembly of the United States, January 25, 1967) quoted in
(Compilations, Lights of Guidance, p. 24)
Further to that, the definition of what a minority or majority may be is at
the discretion of the NSA, as elucidated by the Universal House of Justice.
Shoghi Effendi speaks about the importance (in fact the _extreme
desirability_) of having minorities represented in communities, and
particularly that they are qualified minorities:
Representation of Minorities
Bearing in mind the extreme desirability of having the minority elements
participate and share responsibility in the conduct of Bahá'í activity, it
should be the duty of every Bahá'í community so to arrange its affairs that
in cases where individuals belonging to the diverse minority elements within
it are already qualified and fulfill the necessary requirements, Bahá'í
representative institutions, be they Assemblies, conventions, conferences,
or committees, may have represented on them as many of these diverse
elements, racial or otherwise, as possible.
Shoghi Effendi, The Advent of Divine Justice, pp. 35-36
There are several other quotations all of which support the guidance from
the Universal House of Justice in its recent letter. If you have Ocean, look
up the sections in Lights of Guidance and Developing Distinctive Baha'i
Communities on elections and formations of assembly, as well as diversity.
I personally feel that if we have any doubts as to the advice or the
sentiment in letters or publications from the World Center, we should
probably explore the truth of it directly with those who have produced it -
in this case, the Universal House of Justice. A short letter to them or even
an Auxiliary Board Member/NSA can easily provide you with a complete answer
explaining why and how that guidance was provided, and the supporting
writings.
Regards
Prema
On 4/9/07, David Friedman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> I have now read the letter. Surprisingly I still can't see how it is in
> accord with what Shoghi Effendi said. If I understand correctly, since
> this
> relates to interpretation the House could be wrong. I would not expect
> that. There are two things I don't get from the letter. Firstly, the
> House
> says the necessary qualities mentioned by Shoghi Effendi are "among" them,
> implying those qualities he mentioned aren't all of them. Shoghi Effendi
> said:
>
> the names of only those who can best combine the necessary qualities of
> unquestioned loyalty, of selfless devotion, of a well-trained mind, of
> recognized ability and mature experience.
>
> Doesn't the word "only" imply that only what is mentioned here can be
> considered? The House makes various appeals to Shoghi Effendi in the
> relevant paragraph, but a quotation is noticeably absent when they say:
> "From among the pool of those whom the elector believes to be qualified to
> serve, selection should be made with due consideration given to such other
> factors as age distribution, diversity, and gender." Where did they get
> that from? Where did Shoghi Effendi talk about those factors?
>
> Regards,
> David
>
>
>
>
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