Susan: <> The one exception I see is that passage from the Iqan and I don't think that is referring to the members of the House of Justice at all. That strikes me rather as a reference to the Manifestation and the authorized interpreters. <>
Dear Susan,
In reference to my initial post on the 29th, brief excerpts:
In The thirteenth Glad-Tidings and The eighth Ishraq, Baha'u'llah refers to The MEN of God's House of Justice as the Trustees of God.
In the Aqdas, referencing previous "epistles" Baha'u'llah enjoins upon the "Trustees of the House of Justice either to choose one language from among those now existing or to adopt a new one ...
In Tablets of Baha'u'llah, while reiterating earlier passages in the Aqdas and other Tablets; Baha'u'llah said: "...all affairs are committed to the care of just kings and presidents and of the Trustees of the House of Justice." As kings and presidents are equated with the Trustees, it leaves little doubt in my mind that He intends the *Universal* House of Justice and not any of the Local Spiritual Assemblies or future Local Houses of Justice.
And, again from Tablets of Baha'u'llah, He said: "...the Trustees are then to take from him that which is required for their instruction, if he be wealthy, and if not the matter devolveth upon the House of Justice." [for the education of children] Again, the education of children may well have roots in the local community - however, this statement speaks to taxation.
Also, in Tablets, the Trustees of God's House of Justice are again paired with the "chiefs" and "rulers of the world"... not likely Baha'u'llah is referring to Local Houses of Justice there.
In God Passes By, Shoghi Effendi states that in the Aqdas, Baha'u'llah: "ordains the institution of the "House of Justice", defines its functions, fixes its revenues, and designates its members as the "Men of Justice", the "Deputies of God", the "Trustees of the All-Merciful" ... And indeed He does! [page 26]
With regard to the Iqan quote: Ultimately, the Local and National Assemblies must rely on the Universal House of Justice *expound meanings*, and *unravel mystery* and, it's been established that Baha'u'llah designated "...the men of God's House of Justice as the Trustees of God."
"Those words uttered by the Luminaries of Truth must needs be pondered, and should their significance be not grasped, enlightenment should be sought from the *Trustees* of the *depositories of Knowledge*, that these may *expound their meaning*, and *unravel their mystery*.
(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 181)
<> In any case, my point, is that you are ascribing a meaning to those texts which doesn't follow either from the rules of English grammar or from the Guardian's own usage.<>
I believe in most if not all the quotes I gave, the words *Trustees* or *House of Justice* or *Universal House of Justice* are all in combination with a personal pronoun - making the title or designation - *specific* to one/singular institution. It's been a long time since I've had any formal education in English. I'm open to correction if I'm wrong.
<> I don't see him adopting a convention of capitalizing references to the Universal House of Justice. <>
Can you provide a sentence from any of the Guardian's writings or translations where he did NOT capitalize Universal House of Justice ? I'm still looking for one...
Being a huge fan of the Guardian's expertise and his attention to detail in the English translations, I feel reassured by this statement in the Preface to the Kitab-i-Aqdas:
"Since some one third of the text had already been translated by Shoghi Effendi, it was necessary to strive for three qualities in the translation of the remaining passages: accuracy of meaning, beauty of English, and conformity of style with that used by Shoghi Effendi. (The Universal House of Justice, 1992 Preface to the Aqdas, p. 2)
Lovingly, Sandra
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