Dear friend,

I have been an Orthodox Bahá'í for a couple of years now. I was a member of the Haifa/Wilmette organization (abbreviated "H/W") for well over ten years. Because I was quite studious about the Faith in the beginning, I was very familiar with the Dispensation and Will and Testament, and the issues of the Guardianship were very much on my mind. However, I had come to accept that the Guardianship had ended because, it seemed to me, that there was no longer a Guardian and if one could not be appointed, then it must be God's Will. What I did not know at that time was that there was a Guardian. Had I known that there was a choice available that would fulfill every word of the Will and Testament, I would have become an Orthodox Bahá'í much sooner.

The reason why the H/W is somewhat fearful of the Orthodox Bahá'ís is the internet. For the past several years, it is possible for all Bahá'ís to now read the information that has been withheld from them. When I came across the Orthodox web site, I was a little fearful myself because of this idea of catching a spiritual disease. I decided that if anything seemed wrong, I would stop reading. As I read the material, it became clear that their statements were rational and well-reasoned views. However, because H/W created an organization that was so outside of the Covenant, it became quite clear to me that the injunctions against reading the so-called "covenant-breaking" material was not made for our spiritual health, but instead it was part of a cover-up so that the Bahá'ís would not realize that the Hands seized control over the Faith and established the current power structure (which is not legitimate under the clear statements in the Holy Text).

It is mind-boggling to think that the actual covenant breakers were the Hands. Any unbiased investigation would reveal the obvious problem with the position of the H/W. The organization is nothing more than a distorted image of the Institutions of the Covenant which had been erected by Shoghi Effendi (and later destroyed by the Hands).

It is understandable that the Hands lost faith in the covenant under the trying conditions of Shoghi Effendi's sudden death. What I cannot understand is what the Bahá'ís fear about now examining the situation anew and trying to figure out whether the Hands had made a mistake. If only the Bahá'ís would examine this objectively, it would be a simple matter to correct this mistake (by submitting to the Guardian) and end the Great Violation of the Covenant. I think they must be more interested in the power and prestige of their positions than complying with the wishes of the Founding Figures.

As for how you might handle this situation, I really cannot give you advice because everybody's situation is unique. I can tell you to first make certain in your mind of the truth of the Orthodox Faith, because you will experience a great spiritual battle, test and ordeal. I can really only tell you what I did and why I did it.

There are several basic ways of responding to the truth of the Orthodox Faith.

One is to remain silent and stay within the H/W organization. The hope here is that you will be able to slowly study these issues with your fellow Bahá'ís with the expectation that others will be exposed to the truth and perhaps eventually this error might be corrected. I was uncomfortable with this position because it seems a bit deceptive. In addition, most Bahá'ís do not realize how paranoid the reactions will be of the H/W auxiliary board. They are on a heightened state of alert. The slightest question or comment on your part will no doubt lead to an investigation by an Auxiliary Board Member.

Another way is to declare your belief in the Orthodox Faith, make a big announcement and try to tell as many people as possible before the H/W Institutions have time to react and get your fellow Bahá'ís to shun you. This can be very effective. I didn't like this approach because I was uncomfortable about upsetting the faith of my fellow believers. I felt it was unfair for me to foist this new understanding upon them and perhaps precipitate a spiritual battle that they were not ready to take on.

The third way, which I ultimately chose, proved to be the most effective way in terms of communicating my new understanding to my fellow believers. I simply withdrew from the H/W Faith without comment. I refused to speak with the Auxiliary Board Members or Counselors.

Interestingly, the Bahá'ís who knew me were positive that I had not lost my belief in Bahá'u'lláh and therefore my silent withdrawal was very disturbing to them. I refused to explain to them unless they acknowledged first that what I had to say was something they might not want to hear. Only one member of the community came to me and said tell me what you know, no matter what it is. Janice Franco (who is now an Orthodox believer) studied all of the materials that I had reviewed from the web site. In the meantime, the Auxiliary Board had called a meeting of my entire community to "deepen" on the fundamental verities of the Covenant. Since Janice was not yet under suspicion, she was invited to attend. With Janice's participation, this thing really did become a deepening. She shared all of the information with the community in the presence of the Auxiliary Board. This got the community studying and thinking about these subjects but ultimately the Auxiliary Board managed to scare them from taking it any farther. Shortly thereafter, they declared both of us as "covenant breakers"

There is no good way to respond. Once you have accepted the truth, you must be prepared to lose all of your Bahá'í friends. It is likely that all of your friends will shun you.

As for the numbers of believers in the Orthodox Faith, I used to have that mentality of the H/W organization that seems to believe that the number of believers lends more credibility to their organization. In fact, as Shoghi Effendi has stated, the number of believers is not what is important. The question is whether we are abiding by the Will of God. If only one person stood up for Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant, that would be sufficient. In fact, the Bahá'ís always have been few in number. I think it is better to have a small group of Bahá'ís following the Covenant, than a much larger group of Bahá'ís who have chosen not to accept the Covenant in its entirety. ‘Abdu'l-Bahá tells us that the Covenant will prevail.

Good luck with your decision. Whether or not you ultimately declare your allegiance to the Guardianship, I respect the fact that you have investigated the truth for yourself