It [the Lesser Covenant] is a Covenant of this kind that
Baha’u’llah made with His followers regarding 'Abdu’l-Baha, and that
'Abdu’l-Baha perpetuates through the Administrative Order that Baha’u’llah had
already created. The Covenant of Baha’u’llah, however is unique in religious
history because it was made clearly and explicitly in writing. Therefore,
although individuals have broken the Covenant and thus excluded themselves from
the community of the Faithful, they have never succeeded in destroying the
Covenant itself: it remains inviolable and is the fulfilment of the prophecy
that this is the Day that shall not be followed by Night.
- The Universal House
of Justice (From a letter dated March 23, 1975 to an individual believer;
printed in ‘The Power of Covenant, Part Two’, by the NSA of Canada)
