This course is a study of Shoghi Effendi’s 1934 letter “The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh”, focusing on it as a foundational document for fundamental verities of the Bahá’í Faith, covering its place in Bahá’í literature, and the subtleties of Shoghi Effendi’s clarification of the historical, theological, and doctrinal realities of Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and the Administrative Order. 

“The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh has been referred to as Shoghi Effendi’s own confession of faith… Without deep study of this basic document, no Bahá’í can claim to be truly knowledgeable of his or her Faith.” (David Hofman, “Shoghi Effendi, Expounder of the Word of God”, quoted in The Vision of Shoghi Effendi, p. 99.) 

“The weighty treatise known as The Dispen­sation of Baha’u’llah, written in 1934, burst upon the Baha'is like a blinding white light. I remember when I first read it. I had the most extraordinary feeling as if the whole universe had suddenly ex­panded around me and I was looking out into its dazzling star-filled immensity; all the frontiers of our understanding flew outwards; the glory of this Cause and the true station of its Central Figures were revealed to us and we were never the same again. One would have thought that the stunning impact of this one communication from the Guardian would kill puniness of soul forever! However Shoghi Ef­fendi felt in his inmost heart about his other writings, I know from his remarks that he considered he had said all he had to say, in many ways, in the Dispensation.” (Ruhiyyih Rabbaní, The Priceless Pearl, p. 213)