Functioning of an Executive Committee of a National Spiritual Assembly

15 July 1987 

To a National Spiritual Assembly

Dear Bahá’í Friends,

The Universal House of Justice has studied carefully the information conveyed in your minutes about the functioning of your Executive Committee. It has asked us to convey the following on its behalf.

It is entirely appropriate for your Assembly to appoint an Executive Committee and to authorize it to take action between National Spiritual Assembly meetings. While a committee of this type can be of considerable value to your Assembly, great care and close monitoring is required to guard against its becoming a source of difficulties which could ultimately weaken the authority of the Assembly.

Such a committee may be authorized to handle emergency matters which legitimately cannot await consultation by the full membership of the National Assembly, or matters which are of a routine nature and which can be dealt with through straightforward application of existing policy. Care is needed to ensure that the Executive Committee does not stray inadvertently beyond these bounds, and the functioning of the Committee should be a matter of careful review by the Assembly periodically.

The National Assembly has the responsibility to select the Assembly members who are to comprise the Committee. Valid meetings of the Executive Committee can take place only when all of its appointed members are duly notified. All members of the Assembly who have taken no part in the Executive Committee meeting should be informed of the decisions and actions taken, as soon after the meeting as practicable. This will afford them the opportunity to express the view as to whether the matter considered by the Committee should properly await a full meeting of the National Assembly. There may, of course, be instances when the urgency of a matter is such that a Committee decision has to be implemented before the other Assembly members can be informed; such instances are likely to be rare, and the Committee should be prepared to explain to the next meeting of the Assembly why it felt it necessary to proceed with such speed.

Furthermore, the matters considered by the Executive Committee should be placed on the agenda for the next full meeting of the National Assembly for ratification or otherwise. The House of Justice does not feel that it is sufficient to regard Executive Committee minutes as being "approved in principle" in the course of subsequent National Assembly consultation, nor does it feel that it is correct to delay submission of a full report of Executive Committee decisions to other than the next Assembly meeting.

Requirements for Membership in the Bahá’í Community

28 June 1987

The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of New Zealand 

Dear Bahá’í Friends,

Your letter of 25 May 1987 concerning Mr. ... has been received by the Universal House of Justice, which has directed us to reply as follows.

In considering the status of believers such as Mr…, it is necessary to review the requirements for membership in the Bahá’í community. The basic considerations are set out by the Guardian in his statement:

“...I would only venture to state very briefly and as adequately as present circumstances permit the principal factors that must be taken into consideration before deciding whether a person may be regarded a true believer or not. Full recognition of the station of the Forerunner, the Author, and the True Exemplar of the Bahá’í Cause, as set forth in Abdu’l-Bahá’s Testament; unreserved acceptance of, and submission to, whatsoever has been revealed by their Pen; loyal and steadfast adherence to every clause of our Beloved’s sacred Will; and close association with the spirit as well as the form of the present day Bahá’í administration throughout the world—these I conceive to be the fundamental and primary considerations that must be fairly, discreetly and thoughtfully ascertained before reaching such a vital decision. ... (Bahá'i Administration, p. 90, October 24, 1925)

This specification was restated by the Universal House of Justice in addressing the issue of acceptance of new believers, when it wrote:

Those who declare themselves as Bahá’ís should become enchanted with the beauty of the teachings, and touched by the love of Bahá’u’lláh. The declarants need not know all the proofs, history, laws, and principles of the Faith, but in the process of declaring themselves they must, in addition to catching the spark of faith, become basically informed about the Central Figures of the Faith, as well as the existence of laws they must follow and an administration they must obey. (From a letter to all National Spiritual Assemblies, 13 July 1964)

The Bahá’í Role in Promoting World Peace

21 June 1987

The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Finland

Dear Bahá’í Friends,

. . . The outstanding success of the peace conference in Finlandia Hall which your community sponsored last autumn remains one of the high-lights among the various Bahá’í peace events held throughout the world since the issuance of The Promise of World Peace. The House of Justice is happy to know of your continuing effort to keep the subject of world peace before the Finnish people; however, it advises you to be careful in choosing what such follow-up efforts should be and offers the following comments on your specific question about promoting the idea of a world conference of government leaders.

It is not advisable for Bahá’í institutions or individuals to initiate actions designed to prod government leaders to urge their governments or the leaders of other governments to convene the world conference called for by Bahá’u’lláh and echoed in The Promise of World Peace. Two points should be borne in mind in this regard: (1) Because of the political gravity of the decisions implied by this call and the differing political attitudes which it evokes, such actions on the part of the Bahá’í community would embroil the friends in partisan politics. There is quite a difference between identifying, as does the Peace Statement, the need for a convocation of world leaders and initiating the political processes towards its realization. (2) In the writings of the Faith (e.g., the closing passages of The Promised Day Is Come), it is clear that the establishment of the Lesser Peace, of which the conference of leaders will be a related event, will come about independently of any direct Bahá’í plan or action.

The following reply was written on behalf of the beloved Guardian in a letter dated 14 March 1939 to an individual believer:

Conduct of a National Convention

19 June 1987

The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Germany 

Dear Bahá’í Friends,

The Universal House of Justice has considered your letter of 10 June 1987 and has instructed us to send you the following reply.

The House of Justice was very pleased to know how fruitful you have found the consultation at your recent National Conventions to have been.

The Convention is, of course, free to decide that every suggestion made by a delegate be recorded and conveyed to the National Spiritual Assembly. Beyond this, the National Assembly members who are present are always free to note down for their own interest and further discussion any points that are made. It is by no means necessary to have a formal consultation and vote on every recommendation. It is important to remember, however, that the National Convention is not a conference, it is a consultative institution of the Faith; therefore, consultation and formal voting on recommendations should not be ruled out altogether. There may, for example, be disagreement among the delegates on certain proposals put forward, and it would be fruitful for the matter to be discussed and voted upon so that the National Spiritual Assembly will know the recommendation of the Convention as a whole on those issues.

Detailed aspects of Convention procedure which are not defined in the National Bahá’í Constitution, being secondary in nature, are within the discretion of each National Spiritual Assembly to decide. The House of Justice feels that it is generally advisable not to be rigid and to leave it to the discretion of the Convention officers, or the Convention itself, to decide which recommendations need to be discussed and voted upon and which may be recorded without more ado. A distinction should be made in the record between recommendations of the entire Convention and those which are merely the proposals of individual delegates.

With loving Bahá’í greetings,

Department of the Secretariat

(Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001)

Bahá’í Education of Children

6 June 1987

To all National Spiritual Assemblies

Dear Bahá’í Friends,

Among the Six Year Plan goals for collaboration between national communities, are those concerned with the Bahá’í education of our children. The goals set out in the attached statement are of three kinds: goals for systematic teacher training, for the preparation of lesson plans for all age groups, and for the creation of teaching materials to support the educational process.

The group of national communities summoned to this vital and long overdue program of collaboration are those who are already known to be advanced in providing systematic child education, but also include some few now asked to make a positive contribution to this cooperative venture.

The Universal House of Justice will offer fervent prayers for the success of your labors in carrying out this collaborative project of utmost importance.

With loving Bahá’í greetings,

Department of the Secretariat

(Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001)