In October 1957 Shoghi Effendi implemented this duty to
safeguard the Faith, shortly before his passing, by creating an additional
Auxiliary Board, whose function was to be, under the direct guidance of the
Hands of the Cause, "watching over the security of the Faith". He had
already stated, only five months before he passed away, in a general
communication addressed to both the Hands and the National Spiritual
Assemblies, that the divinely appointed Institution of the Hands of the Faith
was entering a new phase in the unfoldment of "its sacred mission",
and that to their other functions was now added the "primary
obligation" to watch over and ensure the protection of the Bahá'í World
Community "in close collaboration" with the National Assemblies. (The
Ministry of the Custodians, 1957-1963, p. 6)
