…‘The Dispensation of Baha'u'llah’, a letter which the
Guardian himself described as a statement of “certain fundamental verities”, “certain
truths which lie at the basis of our Faith”. It has been referred to as Shoghi
Effendi's own confession of faith. It is the appointed Expounder's presentation
of the stations of Baha'u'llah, the Bab and 'Abdu'l‑Baha, of the transition
from 'the Heroic and Apostolic Age' of the Faith to its Formative Age through the
'indissoluble link' of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l‑Baha, a summation of
the spirit and chief provisions of that historic document and a marvellous
presentation of the unique and distinguishing features of this Supreme
Revelation, which make it 'unlike the dispensations of the past'. He emphasizes
the twin institutions of the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice
'permanently and fundamentally united in their aims'. Without deep study of
this basic document, no Baha'i can claim to be truly knowledgeable of his
Faith.
(David Hofman, the late member of the Universal House of Justice, from
an essay: ‘Shoghi Effendi, Expounder of the Word of God’; published in
‘Studying the Writings of Shoghi Effendi’, by George Ronald)
