Concerning the matter of the devotions at Nineteen Day
Feasts. We see no contradiction in the three statements of the beloved Guardian.
In essence they all describe exactly the same procedure, namely, that the Feast
is opened with devotional readings, that is to say prayers and meditations,
from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, the Báb and the Master. Following this
passages may be read from other Tablets, from the Holy Scriptures of previous
Dispensations, and from the writings of the Guardian. It is clear, however,
that the beloved Guardian would not wish his own words to be read as part of an
arranged devotional programme in which they would be interspersed among words
of Holy Scripture. In other words, at the Nineteen Day Feast, where words of
the Guardian are to be read they should follow any selections from the
Scriptures and not be mixed with them. This does not mean, however, that
subsequently in the Feast, any of these types of writings may not be read as
suitable during the consultation.
- The Universal House of Justice (From letter of the Universal House of
Justice to the Hands of the Cause of God, August 25, 1965: cited in a letter
from the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer, October 15,
1972; compilation: ‘Lights of Guidance’)