1118. Appointment of Auxiliary Board Members' Assistants
"…we have decided to take a further step in the development of the institution by giving to each Continental Board of Counsellors the discretion to authorize individual Auxiliary Board members to appoint assistants…
"The exact nature of the duties and the duration of the appointment of the assistants is also left to each Continental Board to decide for itself. Their aims should be to activate and encourage Local Spiritual Assemblies, to call the attention of Local Spiritual Assembly members to the importance of holding regular meetings, to encourage local communities to meet for the Nineteen Day Feasts and Holy Days, to help deepen their fellow-believers' understanding of the Teachings, and generally to assist the Auxiliary Board members in the discharge of their duties….
"… Believers can serve at the same time both as assistants to Auxiliary Board members and on administrative institutions."
- (From a letter of the Universal House of Justice to the Bahá’ís of the World, October 7, 1973)
1119. Primary Aim of Assistants is to Stimulate and Assist the Believers
"The establishment and strong growth of Local Spiritual Assemblies is one of the most fundamental requirements for the spread of the Message of Bahá’u’lláh, the development of Bahá’í community life and the emergence of a transformed society…
"Already a number of specific steps have been taken by the Universal House of Justice to assist National Spiritual Assemblies towards the attainment of these objectives. The most far-reaching of these steps is the authority given to members of the Auxiliary Boards to appoint assistants whose primary aim is to stimulate and assist the believers to bring into being and to consolidate Local Spiritual Assemblies in all localities where nine or more Bahá’ís reside, and to advise and assist these Assemblies in the performance of their God-given duties. The effects of the appointment of assistants by Auxiliary Board members are beginning to appear and will undoubtedly bear more and more fruit as the months pass."
- (From a letter of the Universal House of Justice to National Spiritual Assemblies, March 6, 1977)
1120. An Assistant May Serve Two Board Members
"As to the Assistants, it is evident that the Propagation Board members are in greater need of assistants. However, this should not inhibit the appointment and use of assistants by Protection Board members. It may be found that in many areas the appointment of only one Assistant to attend to both functions will prove sufficient for the time being, but we foresee a time when this situation may well change. Here again, the way in which relationships are worked out and coordinated must remain flexible and dependent on local conditions."
- (From a letter of the Universal House of Justice to the International Teaching Centre, October 10, 1967)
1121. The House of Justice Prefers that Assistants not Retire from Administrative Work
"As you know, when informing the Bahá’ís of the world in October 1973 of its decision to authorize the appointment of believers to assist Auxiliary Board members in the discharge of their duties, the House of Justice said that such appointees can serve at the same time both as assistants to Auxiliary Board members and on administrative institutions. As is often the case, a believer whose knowledge of the Teachings and devotion to the Faith make him or her a logical choice to serve on an Assembly becomes a suitable candidate for appointment as an assistant to an Auxiliary Board member. The House of Justice leans towards assistants not retiring from administrative work, although in consultation with their Spiritual Assembly it may be quite in order; it would be preferable, however, for the suggestion to come from the appointee and not from the Spiritual Assembly."
- (From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, January 31, 1982)
1122. Assistant Functions Individually, Does not Function in Relation to National Assembly, Should Foster Warm Relationship Between Local Assembly and Board Member
"In the relationship between assistants and the National Spiritual Assembly no problems should arise, because the functions are entirely separate. An assistant is appointed by an Auxiliary Board member to help him in a specified area of the territory and he functions as an assistant only in relation to that area. Assistants, like Auxiliary Board members, function individually, not as a consultative body. Assistants who are members of a National Assembly or a national committee do not function as assistants in relation to that body, and they have the same duty to observe the confidentiality of its consultations, and of matters considered by the Assembly to be confidential, as does any other member. An assistant can, of course, be a member of a Local Spiritual Assembly, but his task here as an Assistant is to help the Spiritual Assembly to function harmoniously and efficiently in the discharge of its duties and this will hardly succeed if he gives the Assembly the feeling that he is reporting privately everything it does to the Auxiliary Board member. He should, on the contrary, do all he can to foster an atmosphere of warm and loving collaboration between the Local Assembly and the Board member."
- (From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Virgin Islands, August 2, 1982)
1123. Principle of Confidentiality Applies to Assistant Who is Assembly Member—Most Subjects Dealt with Are not Confidential
"Every institution in the Faith has certain matters which it considers should be kept confidential, and any member who is privy to such confidential information is obliged to preserve the confidentiality within the institution where he learned it. Such matters, however, are but a small portion of the business of any Bahá’í institution. Most subjects dealt with are of common interest and can be discussed openly with anyone. Where no confidentiality is involved the institutions must strive to avoid the stifling atmosphere of secrecy; on the other hand, every believer must know that he can confide a personal problem to an institution of the Faith with the assurance that knowledge of the matter will remain confidential.
"Members of Assemblies, whether they are assistants or not, are obviously in a position to receive confidential information as individuals from several sources. It is an important principle of the Faith that one must not promise what one is not going to fulfil. Therefore, if a Bahá’í accepts confidential information either by virtue of his profession (e.g., as a doctor, a lawyer, etc.), or by permitting another person to confide in him, he is duty bound to preserve that confidentiality."
- (From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly, August 2, 1982)
