The Lord hath ordained that in every city a House of Justice be established, wherein shall gather counsellors to the number of Baha (9), and should this number be exceeded it shall not matter. When gathered together they should remember the Presence of God in their midst. It behooveth them to be the trusted ones of the Merciful amongst men and the ministers of God to all that dwell on earth. It is incumbent upon them to take counsel together and care for the interests of the servants of God, for His sake, even as they care for their own and to choose that which God hath chosen. (Baha’u’llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, The Baha’i Year Book 1924-1925)
