The original of "Some Answered Questions" in
Persian is preserved in the Holy Land; its text was read in full and corrected
by Abdu'l-Bahá Himself. Unfortunately, Abdu'l-Bahá did not read and authenticate
all transcripts of His other talks, some of which have been translated into
various languages and published. For many of His addresses included in
"The Promulgation of Universal Peace" and "Paris Talks",
for example, no original authenticated text has yet been found. However, the
Guardian allowed such compilations to continue to be used by the friends. In
the future each talk will have to be identified and those which are
unauthenticated will have to be clearly distinguished from those which form a
part of Bahá'í Scripture. This does not mean that the unauthenticated talks
will have to cease to be used -- merely that the degree of authenticity of
every document will have to be known and understood.
(From a letter dated 23
March 1987 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice, included in a
memorandum from the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice,
dated 28 March 1996)
