The Day That Shall Not Be Followed By Night

A critical statement regarding the continuing Guardianship of Shoghi Effendi's appeared in Bahá'í News, June, 1950, p. 8, under "Divine Guidance". On the basis of this statement alone, it should be clear to those who have accepted Shoghi Effendi as the first appointed interpreter of the writings of the Faith after 'Abdu'l-Bahí that, if they do not recognize that the first Guardian appointed his successor, they can no longer maintain that the Faith which they follow has the promise contained in the words "the day which will not be followed by night." Shoghi Effendi's statement reads as follows:

        "Once the mind and heart have grasped the fact that God guides men through a Mouthpiece, a human being, a Prophet, infallible and unerring, it is only a logical projection of this acceptance to also accept the station of 'Abdu'l-Bahí and the Guardians. The Guardians are the evidence of the maturity of mankind in the sense that at long last men have progressed to the point of having one world, and of needing one world management for human affairs. In the spiritual realm they have also reached the point where God could leave, in human hands (i.e. the Guardians'), guided directly by the Bab and Bahí'u'llíh, as the Master states in His Will, the affairs of His Faith for this Dispensation. This is what is meant by 'this is the day which will not be followed by night'. In this Dispensation, divine guidance flows on to us in this world after the Prophet's ascension, through, first the Master, and then the Guardians. If a person can accept Bahí'u'llíh's function, it should not present any difficulty to them to also accept what He has ordained in a divinely guided individual in matters pertaining to the Faith." More