they should be placed immediately before the Universal House of Justice.

In matters related to the Covenant, the friends must be firm and steadfast; they should be wary, lest the arguments put forward by those who sow seeds of doubt become the cause for confusion or lead to disputation and disunity. Should questions arise that cannot be resolved, they should be placed immediately before the Universal House of Justice. The friends must be especially careful to avoid being enticed by the whisperings of the remnants of the Covenant-breakers and their supporters, who seek to shake the believers’ faith. Whereas in the past the violators of the Covenant sought to undermine the authority of Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi, today they challenge the Universal House of Justice. Of particular concern are those who, as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá warns, “assert their firmness and steadfastness in the Covenant but when they come across responsive ears they secretly sow the seeds of suspicion.”

(THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE, 18 February 2008)

https://www.payamha-iran.org/sites/payamha-iran.org/files/sites/adefault/files/2008-02-18%20-%20English.pdf

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The station of The Universal House of Justice

The Universal House of Justice, which the Guardian said would be regarded by posterity as "the last refuge of a tottering civilization," is now, in the absence of the Guardian, the sole infallibly guided institution in the world to which all must turn, and on it rests the responsibility for ensuring the unity and progress of the Cause of God in accordance with the revealed Word. There are statements from the Master and the Guardian indicating that the Universal House of Justice, in addition to being the highest legislative body of the Faith, is also the body to which all must tum, and is the "apex" of the Baha'i Administrative Order, as well as the "supreme organ of the Baha'i Commonwealth." The Guardian has in his writings specified for the House of Justice such fundamental functions as the formulation of future worldwide teaching plans, the conduct of the administrative affairs of the Faith, and the guidance, organization, and unification of the affairs of the Cause throughout the world. Furthermore in God Passes By the Guardian makes the following statement. "The Kitab-i Aqdas...not only preserves for posterity the basic laws and ordinances on which the fabric of His future World Order must rest, but ordains, in addition to the function of interpretation which it confers upon His successor, the necessary institutions through which the integrity and unity of His Faith can alone be safe-guarded." He has also, in "The Dispensation of Baha'u'llah," written that the members of the Universal House of Justice "and not the body of those who either directly or indirectly elect them, have thus been made the recipients of the Divine guidance which is at once the lifeblood and ultimate safeguard of this Revelation."

(THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE, Compiled by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice Baha’i World Centre Published by The Baha’i Publishing Trust, 6 Mount Pleasant, Oakham, England.)

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Stockman acknowledges, 30 years later just 4,500 of the 17,500 members in the state...have good addresses.

June 26. On this date in 2014, an article titled "Maybe there ARE more Baha'is than Jews in South Carolina!" stated "By the mid-1980s, there were over 20,000 on the rolls in South Carolina...Stockman acknowledges, 30 years later just 4,500 of the 17,500 members in the state...have good addresses."

https://religionnews.com/2014/06/26/maybe-bahais-jews-south-carolina/

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the friends should do their best to make as many converts among the Hindus as they possibly can.

The origins of this and many other religions that abound in India are not quite known to us, and even the Orientalists and the students of religion are not in complete accord about the results of their investigations in that field. The Bahá’í writings also do not refer specifically to any of these forms of religion current in India. So, the Guardian feels it impossible to give you any definite and detailed information on that subject. He would urge you, however, to carry on your studies in that field, although its immensity is wellnigh bewildering, with the view of bringing the Message to the Hindus. The task of converting this section of the Indian population is a most vital obligation, although the Guardian is fully aware of the many difficulties that it presents. Nevertheless the friends should do their best to make as many converts among the Hindus as they possibly can.

-Shoghi Effendi, The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, p. 19

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