49 The Lord Hath Ordained That In Every City A House Of Justice Be Established #30
The institution of the House of Justice consists of elected councils which
operate at the local, national and international levels of society.
Baha'u'llah ordains both the Universal House of Justice and the Local
Houses of Justice in the Kitab-i-Aqdas. 'Abdu'l-Baha, in His Will and
Testament, provides for the Secondary (National or Regional) Houses of
Justice and outlines the method to be pursued for the election of the
Universal House of Justice.
In the verse cited above, the reference is to the Local House of Justice,
an institution which is to be elected in a locality whenever there are
nine or more resident adult Baha'is. For this purpose, the definition of
adult was temporarily fixed at the age of 21 years by the Guardian, who
indicated it was open to change by the Universal House of Justice in the
future.
Local and Secondary Houses of Justice are, for the present, known as Local
Spiritual Assemblies and National Spiritual Assemblies. Shoghi Effendi has
indicated that this is a temporary appellation which,
...as the position and aims of the Baha'i Faith are better
understood and more fully recognized, will gradually be superseded
by the permanent and more appropriate designation of House of
Justice. Not only will the present-day Spiritual Assemblies be
styled differently in future, but they will be enabled also to add
to their present functions those powers, duties, and prerogatives
necessitated by the recognition of the Faith of Baha'u'llah, not
merely as one of the recognized religious systems of the world,
but as the State Religion of an independent and Sovereign Power.
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