Florence, Italy
9 Sept. 1991
Dear Neal Chase:
In spite of my many "harsh" words for you--which are "forced efforts" on my part to provoke you into "open conflict"---there has always remained some "carry-over" of the initial "agreeability" of our first contact. We are, evidently, on different "TRACKS" and keep drifting farther apart. Nevertheless, my seemingly "antagonistic" efforts to arouse in you even a "faint" suspicion that you might be wrong, is, in reality, my sincere concern for your spiritual welfare. You cannot see yourself "OBJECTIVELY" as others see you because you refuse to step "outside" to get an objective view of what is going on "inside" that spiritual "MESH" you have been trapped in.
Take one simple example and without "preconceived" and "prejudicial" convictions, try to get my point. Follow me without "Reserve" or "Restraint"--try to understand FIRST what I am driving at---and then---compare what you understood from my "premiss" with what you & Mr. Jensen hold---which I consider absolutely WRONG--wrong, not because that is my opinion--but because it conforms to what has been Established by Baha'u'llah Himself. Mr. Jensen CHANGES everything to suit his purposes--and to justify those changes he must claim a special spiritual Mission, otherwise he is in ERROR.
O.K.? so far?? I have written nothing objectionable, have I, simply stated FACTS. I intend sticking to FACTS and ask you to do the same.
You & Jensen claim Mason Remey threw out everything Shoghi Effendi did and therefore has done
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away with the Baha'i Faith, to create a New Faith for himself in which he may be infallibly obeyed by all.
Here is my BASIC FACT for you to understand and accept otherwise we cannot go Further:
In any number of instances in the writings of Baha'u'llah and 'Abdu'l-Baha, "it has been declared, plainly and repeatedly, that Baha'u'llah was the long-expected Educator and Teacher of all peoples, the channel of wonderous Grace that would transcend all previous outpourings"--(Esselmont Ch. I - The Mission of Baha'u'llah)--Read the entire chapter for other concluding evidences.
If you accept Baha'u'llah in his self-proclaimed station you must accept His claim that His Message and Revelation for Mankind today SUPERCEDES ALL previous ones.,--That means OLD & New Testament Scripture and Prophecies. One may not call himself a Baha'i and go BACK to past scriptures. Baha'u'llah parted from The BAB. To proclaim himself as having a spiritual Mission Jensen must part FROM Baha'u'llah. 'Abdu'l-Baha declared clearly he was NOT a prophet, therefore could not prophesy. The ONLY prophesy Baha'u'llah made about an individual was the warning that anyone claiming Command before 1000 years is a false liar!! To claim he fulfills Baha'i prophesy, Jensen is, in effect, declaring himself a false liar. In His Aqdas (Holy Book) He makes it clear No One has a SHARE in HIs Mission--that He has taken no partner nor a counsellor, etc. etc. There are many such statements making it clear, there is no PLACE within the Baha'i Framework for anyone else. If Leland Must insist on his having
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a special Mission to fulfill and doesn't want me (or others to criticize him), he has two options:
1- Claim he fulfills Old & New Testament prophesies---BUT not that he fulfills Baha'i Prophesy---there being NONE.---And declare himself The Lamb, The Knight, The Promised One, or whatever else he wishes BUT NOT under the Aegis of Baha'u'llah's Cause wherein there is no place for anyone.
2- He will have to declare himself the Return of Baha'u'llah, Himself--Just as he has already done with Regards Jesus. In that way he would justify "Taking Command" and taking over the Message of Baha'u'llah for himself--Not as Jensen, however, but as the Return of Baha'u'llah. People may accept or reject him as the Return of Baha'u'llah but at least his claim would make more sense because he has no message of his own to offer to establish a Mission of his own as "JENSENITES".
(over)
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Under the circumstances, and in view of my argumentation you must admit that it is Mr. Jensen who has done away with everything 'Abdu'l-Baha & Shoghi Effendi have done and started a New Religion of his own, not Mason Remey.
You are absolutely WRONG to state I uphold everything Mason did. I have only been upholding his good name against your lies and false attacks against him. For all I know and care Mason may have been right or wrong in what he did. I only uphold his right to have done as he saw fit because he was functioning as a guardian and operating with the authority of that Role.
For all I know and care, too, Jensen may be right or wrong, I never questioned that. I respect his right to make whatever claims he wishes and yours to uphold him in them. Likewise I expect you to respect my right NOT to accept his claims and my Right to express my reasons for refusing people who pressure me into accepting them. You ALL have come to me. I have gone to none of you. Remember that. I am not in competition.
Pepe
[5] Extra Note:--
I notice you are now located at Deer Lodge--so it must have been you who encouraged Roger Caryl to write me after such a long silence. After a long, drawn-out series of Baha'i quotations--"carrot-dangling"---he really got down to business expressing your indoctrinated material against the recent defectors and advising me what my spiritual obligations are. He even got courageous and admonished me with "enough, enough of this fighting" etc. etc. Poor boy!
You are a strange BUNCH playing at a GAME!! You try everything to convince me that I am the GUARDIAN you all need and look to--yet you all come to me dictating what I should DO???
Please do not encourage any of the inmates to write to me otherwise I shall write to the Warden of the Censor of Mail to post a notice stating your (their) correspondence is not desired by me. I hope you will spare me and yourselves that embarrassment.
(over)
[6]
You know, Neal, if you were to get to know the REAL Pepe, you'd probably like him--Everybody does--he can't be all THAT Bad--and I know you can't be either.--
I had some interesting material (and a moving letter) from Mr. S.--one of Jensen's past staunchest defenders.
I had to stop our correspondence he was THAT perseverant. It surprises me to see so many of your "X saints turned Sinners"
I'm curious to see how the Charles Gaines affair ends-up. I wrote to him recently. "HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL"
Pepe
This is the Modest Tomb that was built with the money Jeanne Miller sent me---Hers was the "initial" inspiration for the project. Going over my records I see Opal contributed $25.00
I'll ask Mason to pray (intercede) for her too. Would you like to BUY some INDULGENCES Too--my boy?-- Pepe
Source: Dave Cornell