To Whom It May Concern:
March 17, 2004
A couple of days ago I was forwarded copies of recent letters from
Neal Chase with Leland Jensen's and his allegations that Pepe had
abandoned me as his successor in 1991. Neal quotes a statement Leland
Jensen made in June 1991, which was based on a report by Carlotta
Geesen of a conversation she had with me. Leland's statement is at
the bottom of this text. Please refer to Neal's letters for further
details. Here is part of my response.
I don't honestly recall the all the details of the two or more
conversations with Carlotta circa 1990-1991 that prompted Leland's
statement that Neal quotes. I may have some journal entries on it.
What I recall is that one night circa 1989 - early 1990, while
visiting Carlotta in Bozeman, I experienced what I describe as a
mystic vision, a premonition or fore-knowing. I would need to check
my journal to ascertain the date. It was a knowingness of my future
life service, a sense of destiny. I woke in the middle of the night,
alone, and in communion with Spirit. It was a moment of ecstatic peace
and certainty that has faded from my consciousness with the passing of
time. At the time, because of my Baha'i perspective and my
involvement with Leland, I had the impression that the premonition
meant that I would be one of the guardians of the Baha'i faith.
I remember confiding this experience to Carlotta indirectly. I told
her something of the experience, without directly stating that I
believed it to mean I would be the Guardian, and she perceived that I
was alluding to being a future Guardian. She shared this perception
with Leland quite soon thereafter. I assume this information led to
Leland writing his letter to Pepe about certain "dreamers" imagining
themselves to become the Guardian. Leland and I spoke by phone about
this in the spring of 1990. Pepe's acknowledgement of this was:
13 May, 1990
Page 2....Ltr to L. Jensen
"In reading over what you wrote on Page 20 of your letter referring to
certain dreamers desiring to become Guardian of the Faith…."
Pepe and I corresponded about my experience, and Carlotta's informing
Leland of it as a basis for Leland's statements. I'd have to review
our letters of that time period for certainty. Pepe assured me then,
as he did before and after that anyone can function as a "guardian" of
the Baha'I Faith.
Subsequently in August 1990, Pepe wrote me a letter in which he
adopted and appointed me as his Aghsan successor, contingent on my
belief in him as an Aghsan. He even sent me a "token", (Pepe's word)
of my inheritance in the form of a letter written to Mason Remey in
the early 1900s by a Baha'I on exquisite Baha'I stationary. I recall
some statement by Pepe explaining he made this appointment and
adoption, for one reason, because of my visionary experience and the
conviction it gave me about being a future guardian. Upon reading his
August 4 1990 letter, I came to realize that I did not believe Pepe to
be the Guardian, so I declined the appointment and returned his
statement to him.
He had other reasons for making that appointment as well indicated by
later letters. One being his desire to pass to me the task of
preserving the Guardianship and rehabilitating Mason Remey with the
mainstream Baha'is. In a March, 1991 letter, that I received on Naw
Ruz, Pepe sent me a letter with a copy of a letter he had mailed to
Donald Harvey, wherein he proposed that Donald appoint me as his
successor, instead of Jacques Soghomonian. That letter is available
to be scanned and released. Donald and I were in correspondence then
also. Donald chose not to change his appointment of Jacques
Soghomonian, and I accepted this with relief.
As for Neal's recent statement about Leland's June 1991 statement
about Carlotta's report that I had told her that Pepe had written me
that I would not be the Guardian, first, please realize that it is all
hearsay and rumor. Second, I don't recall what was said between
Carlotta and me. My journals may have entries. I recall Carlotta and
John Geesen last visited me at my home outside Laurel MT sometime
around 1991. I showed them a number of Pepe's letters, but they did
not receive copies. I don't recall showing them Pepe's letters
referring to his appointment and adoption of me. I may have said some
words to the effect that since I did not recognize Pepe as the
successor of Mason Remey, and had accepted Donald Harvey as the
Guardian, that Pepe could not appoint me, or any one, to succeed him.
That was my belief then, and now. Because of my renouncing my belief
in Leland Jensen as a Promised One, and my attempt to prove to them
that his claims were false, my friendship with the Geesens ended at
that time. The Jensen community of believers shunned me.
As for Pepe abandoning me as his choice because of my challenging and
opposing Leland, that is utter nonsense and a complete 180 degrees
from the truth as I experienced. Pepe in late 1990, after his
appointment of me insisted that I assure him that I no longer believed
in Leland as a Promised One. In the letters I've shared, such as his
Oct 22 1990 statements, Pepe regarded Leland as a liar and a fraud,
not as a Promised One. Pepe's letters to me in 1990-1992 expressed
his approval for my challenging and exposing Leland's erroneous
claims. That is why he referred to me as a "Knight Courageous", when
he referred to Leland as a "Devil", and Neal Chase as a "Devil's
Disciple". Pepe's Oct 1991 letter to Neal Chase demonstrates Pepe
regarded both Neal and Leland as "Disciples of the Devil".
In the spring and summer of 1992, Pepe and I did have a disagreement
that led to the end of our correspondence until our final congenial
exchange in the summer of 1993. The disagreement was over my
criticism of Pepe's proposal to transfer the infallibility of the
Guardianship to the sans Guardian UHJ in exchange for their
rehabilitating Mason Remey's name among the Baha'is, and my challenges
to Pepe personally over what I considered his unfair treatment of
individuals including myself. Pepe had expressed his hope that I
could carry on his efforts to rehabilitate Mason Remey memory with the
sansGuardian Baha'is. When he became disappointed with me, we did
cease correspondence. It is this situation, as well as Pepe's
disappointment with other correspondents such as Daniel Scherr that
likely resulted in Pepe's March 1993 letter that Neal quoted:
"At one time in the past – several years ago – when I was carrying
on an active correspondence with Daniel Scherr, yourself [name
omitted for privacy] and Brent Mathieu I thought seriously that
should the time come when the mainstream Baha'is might want to
correct their errors regarding Mason's claims to the guardianship
and ask me to succeed, I would have had the three of you as sub-
guardians – one to dedicate himself only to the WORD – one to the
Administrative Order of Abdu'l-Baha and one to the Teaching
Efforts…. I was enthralled with the three of you and should have
been proud to have you as my "sons." A pity it all fell apart."
(Pepe, 29, March, 1993)
The falling apart between Pepe and me was in the spring and summer of
1992, not 1991 as Neal alleges. And not because I was unloyal to
Leland, but because I asserted my values and convictions independent
of those of Pepe.
To my knowledge, I have never received from Pepe, or any one else any
statement that could be construed that Pepe cut me off from the Aghsan
lineage. Rather we agreed to part ways.
I affirm the validity of the lineage from Mason Remey, via Donald
Harvey's appointment, to Jacques Soghomonian.
More can be told of this story. You are welcome to circulate this
email as you wish.
A word of caution to anyone reading this, remember these are my
recollections and perspective, written without editing and careful
research to assure accuracy of all statements. It is certainly
biased. Take the above with a grain of salt. This was what Pepe often
advised me in his letters. Investigate and know of your own knowledge.
Blessings,
Brent Mathieu
"Here Pepe states that he never "opposed [me] personally or took
objection to [my] spiritual claims." So it shows that Brent by
attacking me [Dr. Jensen] personally and going against my claims was
the wrong thing for him to do, and because of it he cannot succeed
Pepe in the guardianship."
(Dr. Leland Jensen, Letter to Charles, p. 47, June 1991- July 30,
1991).
Source: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeartoftheBahaiFaith/message/2326