Re: Please do this beneficial service for yourselves.

"Jeffrey" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> Somebody told me that the Baha'i religion seems suited to lawyers because
so
> much of it
> is concerned with laws and procedures and legal arguments.

Personally I wish we had more lawyers and fewer engineers, but that's just
me.

> This is a good example.  The Will and Testament calls upon the Guardian to
> appoint a successor "in his own lifetime."  What is the meaning of this?
To
> me, it cannot mean anything EXCEPT that it precludes an appointment by a
> Will so "that differences may not arise after his passing."  Obviously,
one
> must write a Will during one's own lifetime because it is too late to
write
> a Will after you have passed away.  If the Guardian was supposed to leave
a
> Will, it would be redundant to require that the Will be written during his
> lifetime-- when else is he going to write a Will?  So "in his own
lifetime"
> must mean something.

I agree completely.

> Legally, a Will has no force or effect whatsoever during the life of the
> testator.  Nobody can make a claim against it or rely upon it.  That Will
> can be revoked or modified at any time while the testator is living.
> However, it does become irrevocable and comes into full force and effect
at
> the moment of the testator's death.  Thus, an appointment in a Will is
made
> AFTER one's lifetime, not during one's lifetime.

Right.

> An appointment made during one's lifetime must be made other than by Will.
> This is clearly intended by Abdu'l-Baha, since he has created a procedure
> whereby the Hands affirm the appointment.  Thus a public announcement
during
> the lifetime of the sitting Guardian is contemplated.

Presumably an appointment must follow the time honored requirement of being
in plain language.  Mason Remey was appointed to the IBC, an embryonic
institution which was no more effective then a mock up design of a new
aeroplane.  Thus the question revolves around the idea of a "secret"
appointment, or of secret meanings not obvious to most.  And there is really
no way of proving the intentions of Shoghi Effendi in regards to this.

> If you are investigating in good faith, then you should direct your
> investigation back onto the Hands.  What authority did they have to take
> over the affairs and claim to have succeeded to the powers of the
Guardian?
> The message you quoted from Shoghi Effendi about protecting the Faith does
> not grant the Hands administrative authority.to expel the Guardian and
take
> over the Faith, and that is exactly what they did.

Technically they were expelling a fellow Hand and I think they were
empowered to do this by the Will & Testament.  For Mason Remey to become the
Second Guardian he would have needed to be both appointed by the Guardian
and then confirmed by at least nine Hands of the Cause as stated explicitly
in the W&T.

Cheers, Randy