Once Horace returned home, he was informed that many friends continued to be disturbed by the question left unresolved by the Hands as to whether there could ever be another Guardian. Auxiliary Board members reported to the Hands the many questions that were raised about the Guardianship during their meetings held around the country. Waiting until the Universal House of Justice was elected seemed too distant during a period fraught with potential dangers.
During the Conclave, the Hands had concluded from their study of authoritative texts that only the Universal House of Justice could make a definitive statement about the future of the Guardianship, and, as of 1957, a date had not been fixed for the establishment of the House of Justice. To Horace's mind, logic dictated that the door to a future Guardian was closed. He believed the conditions set forth in the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá could no longer be met. The Will had been widely disseminated for decades, making it possible for all Bahá'ís to study it and draw conclusions, as he had.
Concerned by various reports brought to its attention, the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States encouraged the Hands living in America to draft a statement to explain why there could not be another Guardian. Horace produced a draft in consultation with Paul Haney and the National Assembly, giving it the title 'A New Bahá'í Era'. It opened by declaring that, since the passing of Shoghi Effendi, ‘The landscape has changed; in some aspects it is unfamiliar; we pause in temporary confusion until we become accustomed to the new condition and can see its relationship to the eternal verities of the revelation we have accepted with all our hearts.'
As this statement circulated, segments of it were sent to the Custodians in the Holy Land who immediately became alarmed, because they thought it interpreted the Proclamation issued by the Conclave. They cabled the American Hands to delete several sentences, specifically the ones stating that the door to another Guardian was closed and that the Custodians had the authority to expel individuals from the Faith. Horace responded quickly, asking his colleagues in Haifa to consider the full statement, not just the excerpts. After studying the document, the Custodians firmly insisted that 'A New Bahá'í Era' be removed from circulation at once and the matter dropped. Horace was shocked, not only because he believed the statement was a necessary prophylactic, but because he felt the Custodians were censoring believers who were making determinations based upon their own reading of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament. He wrote them a frank letter, begging them to reconsider. The response he received showed that the Custodians had a broader view than the Hands serving in the field. Their concern was not the accuracy of the statement, but the wisdom of promulgating it. They wanted the crucial matter of the future of the Guardianship to be addressed with one voice taking into consideration how the message would be understood globally. The Hands in Haifa wrote,
The Custodians from East and West are aware of the wisdom of avoiding statements or points of view on basic issues which cannot be accepted equally by East and West, and indeed by all the Bahá'í world, especially in this period, so soon after the ascension of the beloved Guardian, when we are still unable to grasp the full implications of the present situation.
They also added the aside that, 'It would have been a great help if you yourself could have served here in these early and critical months, and given us the benefit of your experience and clarity of thought on the many pressing issues with which we have had to cope.' Nonetheless, it seems that there was a change of thinking, because on 12 June 1958, the Custodians issued a statement exploring the future of the Guardianship because questions persisted. It included a quotation from the 'A New Bahá'í Era' statement.
(Infinite Horizons - The Life and Times of Horace Holley by Kathryn Jewett Hogenson)
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