Editing Mason Remey (section)

===Proclamation===
In April 1960, Remey wrote an announcement that he was the successor to Shoghi Effendi, and requested that it be read at the upcoming national convention. In his cover letter to Charles Wolcott, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, he wrote,{{sfn|Schlatter|2005|pp=54–55}}
{{blockquote
|text=Enclosed I send you my Proclamation of my Guardianship of the Baha'i Faith.
...
If it be the wish of the convention that I go to the Wilmette at this time to meet the Baha'is of America and further proclaim, declare and explain my status for life as commander in chief of Baha'i affairs of the world as I was appointed to do by our late Beloved Guardian as the Second Guardian of the Baha'i Faith, I will be very pleased indeed to meet the convention.
Should the convention wish this, let them send three believers of their choice to Washington bringing me their invitation to come to them – these three representatives of the convention to usher me to the convention in waiting for me...
}}

Remey believed his appointment as president of the international council represented an appointment by Shoghi Effendi as Guardian, because the appointed council was a precursor to the elected Universal House of Justice.{{sfn|Warburg|2006|p=206}} In his intended announcement at the convention, he wrote,{{sfn|Schlatter|2005|pp=56–63}}
{{blockquote
|text=The Beloved Guardian singled me, Mason Remey, out from amongst all of the Believers upon earth to occupy the position of President of the Baha'i International Council. This is the only position suggestive of authority that Shoghi Effendi ever bestowed upon anyone, the only special and specific appointment of authority to any man ever made by him.
The Beloved Guardian declared the Baha'i International Council to be the forerunner of and the first step toward the establishment of the Universal House of Justice...
...
Therefore, inasmuch as The Beloved Guardian in His Infallibility has thus placed me in command of the Faith... I can do nothing but assume my place that he has given me with all of the responsibilities, the prerequisites and emoluments that go with this position...
}}

Remey wrote that his delay in announcing his status was to give others "ample time to discover for themselves", but "until now no one, other than I have discovered that such authority was vested in me".{{sfn|Schlatter|2005|p=61}} He claimed in the proclamation that he made the declaration as Guardian to the Hands previously (which they claimed was false{{sfn|Johnson|2020|p=29}}), and that he had "definitely known for the past twelve years more or less".{{sfn|Schlatter|2005|p=61}} He said that,{{sfn|Schlatter|2005|p=61}} 
{{blockquote
|text=All these plans of the Hands of the Faith for 1963 that are so absorbing and confusing to the people of the Faith must be dropped and stopped immediately. I am the only one who can command this situation so I have arisen to do so for I alone in all this world have been given the authority and the power to accomplish this.
...
I now command the Hands of the Faith to stop all of their preparations for 1963 and furthermore I command all believers... to immediately cease cooperating with and giving support to this fallacious program for 1963.
}}