The Covenant and the Mission

How is the Baha'i community organized — and what is it supposed to *do*? This course covers the foundational documents of Baha'i administration and the divine mandate of teaching. *The Will and Testament of Abdu'l-Baha* established the twin institutions of the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice, creating the administrative framework that governs the worldwide Baha'i community. *Tablets of the Divine Plan* — Abdu'l-Baha's letters to the Baha'is of North America — laid out a global teaching campaign that shaped the entire trajectory of the Faith's expansion. *The Advent of Divine Justice* — Shoghi Effendi's letter to the American Baha'i community — defines the spiritual prerequisites for teaching and the moral challenges (racial prejudice, political corruption, moral laxity) that must be overcome before the community can fulfill its mission. Together these three texts answer the practical questions: who leads, how decisions are made, and what the community is called to accomplish.