Another 'messiah' that wrote a book than thousands have believed in:
Posted on 01/06/2017 12:04:59 PM PST by EveningStar
I managed to avoid encounters with the Scientologists in those days but I did encounter a Christian cult (true cult) on campus (in a dining hall) and a krishna-like sect (didn’t attend either but got cornered into sales pitches from each).
Boston is a college town, people who are separated from home/friends/family, out on their own (some for the first time), some new to “the big city” (or liberalism). Lots of “easy pickings”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Churches_of_Christ
Isn’t there another big cult in that area that has laid low since the 1970s but is big in real estate investments? I think they had an almost swastika-like logo.
The Scientologists tried to find me but I’d changed my sects...
Charles Manson allegedly tested “clear”, if that is “normal”, I don’t want to be made right.
There is at least one other cult using similar practices, only they will actually put out to draw in recruits. It’s called hooking for Jesus.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flirty_Fishing
Another 'messiah' that wrote a book than thousands have believed in:
They succeeded in killing Joseph, but he had finished his work.He was a servant of God, and gave us the Book of Mormon.He said the Bible was right in the main, but, through the translators and others, many precious portions were suppressed, and several other portions were wrongly translated; and now his testimony is in force, for he has sealed it with his blood.As I have frequently told them, no man in this dispensation will enter the courts of heaven, without the approbation of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Jun.Who has made this so?Have I?Have this people?Have the world?No; but the Lord Jehovah has decreed it.If I ever pass into the heavenly courts, it will be by the consent of the Prophet Joseph.If you ever pass through the gates into the Holy City, you will do so upon his certificate that you are worthy to pass.Can you pass without his inspection?No; neither can any person in this dispensation, which is the dispensation of the fulness of times.In this generation, and in all the generations that are to come, everyone will have to undergo the scrutiny of this Prophet.They say that they killed Joseph, and they will yet come with their hats under their arms and bend to him; but what good will it do them, unless they repent?They can come in a certain way and find favor, but will they?
--JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES, vol. 8, p. 224
I don't know to what you refer; but MormonISM has LOTS of real estate holdings.
I'll tell you!
ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION
of the
CORPORATION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS
CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
STATE OF UTAH
COUNTY OF SALT LAKE
I, the undersigned, having been duly chosen and appointed President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in conformity with the rites, regulations and discipline of said Church, being desirous of forming a corporation for the purpose of acquiring, holding and disposing of Church or religious society property, for the benefit of religion, for works of charity and for public worship, under and pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 3, Title 19, of the Compiled Laws of Utah, 1917, on "Churches and Religious Societies," and all acts amendatory thereof and supplementary thereto, for that purpose do hereby make and subscribe, in duplicate, the following
First: The name of this corporation shall be the CORPORATION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS.
Second: The object of this corporation shall be to acquire, hold and dispose of such real and personal property as may be conveyed to or acquired by said corporation for the benefit of the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a religious society, for the benefit of religion, for works of charity and for public worship. Such real and personal property may be situated, either within the State of Utah, or elsewhere, and this corporation shall have power, without any authority or authorization from the members of said Church or religious society, to grant, sell, convey, rent, mortgage, exchange, or otherwise dispose of any part or all of such property.
Third: The estimated value of the property of which I hold the legal title for the purpose aforesaid, at the time of making these Articles of Incorporation, is One Million, Five Hundred Thousand Dollars.
Fourth: The title of the person making these Articles of Incorporation is "PRESIDENT OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS."
Fifth: The corporation seal shall contain the words, "Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," and an impression thereof is hereto affixed.
[Seal] [Signed] Heber J. Grant
President of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints.
STATE OF UTAH
SS:
COUNTY OF SALT LAKE
On this 26th day of November, 1923, before me, Arthur Winter, a Notary Public in and for said County, personally appeared HEBER J. GRANT, who is known to me to be the person whose name is subscribed to the foregoing instrument as President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and duly acknowledged to me that he executed the same as such President.
[Seal] [Signed] Arthur Winter
Notary Public
Residing at Salt Lake City, Utah.
My commission expires Dec. 1, 1923.
ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION
of the
CORPORATION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS
CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
STATE OF UTAH ss.
COUNTY OF SALT LAKE
HEBER J. GRANT, being first duly sworn, deposes and says:
That he is now and for more than twenty years last past has been the duly chosen and appointed President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and as such President has been since on or about the 26th day of November, 1923, and now is, the legally constituted Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter=day Saints, a corporation sole; that under and pursuant to Section 18-7-5 R.S.U. 1933 he hereby amends Article "Fourth" of said Articles of Incorporation as now of record in the proper offices of this and other states, said article as amended to read as follows:
Fourth: The title of the person making these articles of incorporation is "President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." He and his successor in office shall be deemed and are hereby created a body politic and corporation sole with perpetual succession, having all the powers and rights and authority in these articles specified or provided for by law. But in the event of death or resignation from office of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or in the event of a vacancy in that office from any cause, the President or Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of said Church, or one of the members of said Quorum thereunto designated by that Quorum, shall, pending the installation of a successor President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, be the corporation sole under these articles, and the laws pursuant to which they are made, and shall be and is authorized in his official capacity to execute in the name of the corporation all documents or other writings necessary to the carrying on of its purposes, business and objects, and to do all things in the name of the corporation which the original signer of the articles of incorporation might do; it being the purpose of these articles that there shall be no failure in succession in the office of such corporation sole.
[Signed] Heber J. Grant
President of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints,
corporation sole.
[Seal]
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 18 day of June, 1940.
[the name of Notary Public not shown on copy of amendment]
(Original in State of Utah Archives, Salt Lake City, Utah)
ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION
of the
CORPORATION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS
CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS.
A UTAH CORPORATION SOLE
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 16-7-5 of the Utah Code Annotated 1953 (as amended) relating to amendments of articles of incorporation of corporations sole, the CORPORATION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS, a Utah Corporation Sole, does hereby amend its Articles of Incorporation by adding an additional Paragraph V thereto as follows:
Upon the winding up and dissolution of this corporation, after paying or adequately providing for the debts and obligations of the corporation, the remaining assets shall be distributed to a nonprofit fund, foundation or corporation, which is organized and operated exclusively for charitable, educational, or religious and/or scientific purposes and which has established its tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned has caused these presents to be executed this 19th day of November, 1973.
CORPORATION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE
CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY
SAINTS, a Utah Corporation Sole
By: [signed] Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee, Corporation Sole
STATE OF UTAH ) ss:
County of Salt Lake )
HAROLD B. LEE, being first duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is now and ever since July 7, 1972, has been the duly chosen and appointed President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and, as such president, is now and ever since said date has been the legally constituted CORPORATION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS, a Utah Corporation Sole; that the original Articles of Incorporation of said Corporation Sole were executed by Heber J. Grant, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; that he, Harold B. Lee, is the successor in office to the said Heber J. Grant; that he, Harold B. Lee, executed the foregoing Articles of Amendment as said Corporation Sole.
[signed] Harold B. Lee
SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this 19th day of November, 1973.
[signed] Wilford W Kirton, Jr
NOTARY PUBLIC
Residing at Salt Lake City, Utah
My commission expires:
2-3-77
First: The name of this corporation shall be the CORPORATION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS.
Second: The object of this corporation shall be to acquire, hold and dispose of such real and personal property as may be conveyed to or acquired by said corporation for the benefit of the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a religious society, for the benefit of religion, for works of charity and for public worship. Such real and personal property may be situated, either within the State of Utah, or elsewhere, and this corporation shall have power, without any authority or authorization from the members of said Church or religious society, to grant, sell, convey, rent, mortgage, exchange, or otherwise dispose of any part or all of such property.
Third: The estimated value of the property of which I hold the legal title for the purpose aforesaid, at the time of making these Articles of Incorporation, is One Million, Five Hundred Thousand Dollars.
Fourth: The title of the person making these articles of incorporation is "President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." He and his successor in office shall be deemed and are hereby created a body politic and corporation sole with perpetual succession, having all the powers and rights and authority in these articles specified or provided for by law. But in the event of death or resignation from office of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or in the event of a vacancy in that office from any cause, the President or Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of said Church, or one of the members of said Quorum thereunto designated by that Quorum, shall, pending the installation of a successor President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, be the corporation sole under these articles, and the laws pursuant to which they are made, and shall be and is authorized in his official capacity to execute in the name of the corporation all documents or other writings necessary to the carrying on of its purposes, business and objects, and to do all things in the name of the corporation which the original signer of the articles of incorporation might do; it being the purpose of these articles that there shall be no failure in succession in the office of such corporation sole.
Fifth: Upon the winding up and dissolution of this corporation, after paying or adequately providing for the debts and obligations of the corporation, the remaining assets shall be distributed to a nonprofit fund, foundation or corporation, which is organized and operated exclusively for charitable, educational, or religious and/or scientific purposes and which has established its tex-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Sixth: The corporate seal shall contain the words, "Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," and an impression thereof is hereto affixed.
Because the Scientology recruiters convince "these folks" that their failure to understand and appreciate Dianetics is the very reason they need Scientology in the first place.
Here, for example, is the marketing lead for Dianetics:
"Indisputably the most widely read and influential book ever written about the mind, Dianetics has remained a bestseller for over fifty years, with over 20 million copies sold."
So when these folks tell the Scientology recruiter that the book is dribble and they couldn't get past the first 20 pages without wanting to turn the book into kitty litter, he responds that Dianetics is one of the best selling, most widely read books of all time and any person who can't understand and appreciate Dianetics is a person who needs Scientology more than ever. A weak, troubled person, with low self-esteem, who is looking for answers, and an identity, might buy that line of pant-load and after a few teaser auditing sessions, they are part of the cult.
Editor Sam Merwin, for example, recalled a meeting: “I always knew he was exceedingly anxious to hit big money—he used to say he thought the best way to do it would be to start a cult.” (December 1946)[97] Writer and publisher Lloyd Arthur Eshbach reported Hubbard saying “I'd like to start a religion. That's where the money is.” Writer Theodore Sturgeon reported that Hubbard made a similar statement at the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society. Likewise, writer Sam Moskowitz reported in an affidavit that during an Eastern Science Fiction Association meeting on November 11, 1948, Hubbard had said “You don't get rich writing science fiction. If you want to get rich, you start a religion.”[98] Milton A. Rothman also reported to his son Tony Rothman that he heard Hubbard make exactly that claim at a science fiction convention. In 1998, an A&E documentary titled “Inside Scientology” shows Lyle Stuart reporting that Hubbard stated repeatedly that to make money, “you start a religion.”[99]
According to The Visual Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, ed. Brian Ash, Harmony Books, 1977:
” . . .[Hubbard] began making statements to the effect that any writer who really wished to make money should stop writing and develop [a] religion, or devise a new psychiatric method. Harlan Ellison's version (Time Out, UK, No 332) is that Hubbard is reputed to have told [John W.] Campbell, “I'm going to invent a religion that's going to make me a fortune. I'm tired of writing for a penny a word”. Sam Moskowitz, a chronicler of science fiction, has reported that he himself heard Hubbard make a similar statement, but there is no first-hand evidence”.
The following letter, written by L. Ron Hubbard, was discovered by the FBI during its raid on Scientology headquarters. The letter shows Hubbard turned Scientology into a “religion” for financial reasons:
(1953) DEAR HELEN10 APRIL RE CLINIC, HAS The arrangements that have been made seem a good temporary measure. On a longer look, however, something more equitable will have to be organized. I am not quite sure what we would call the place - probably not a clinic - but I am sure that it ought to be a company, independent of the HAS [the Hubbard Association of Scientologists] but fed by the HAS. We don't want a clinic. We want one in operation but not in name. Perhaps we could call it a Spiritual Guidance Center. Think up its name, will you. And we could put in nice desks and our boys in neat blue with diplomas on the walls and 1. knock psychotherapy into history and 2. make enough money to shine up my operating scope and 3. keep the HAS solvent. It is a problem of practical business. I await your reaction on the religion angle. In my opinion, we couldn't get worse public opinion than we have had or have less customers with what we've got to sell. A religious charter would be necessary in Pennsylvania or NJ to make it stick. But I sure could make it stick. We're treating the present time beingness, psychotherapy treats the past and the brain. And brother, that's religion, not mental science.
Best Regards,
Ron
I too, have been catching her shows and find them very interesting if not very upsetting. You can feel the hurt, anger and disgust of the many people she has interviewed and those working with her on the series. I wrote to Mike Rinder after he’d given out his website a couple of weeks back. I thanked him for the show and for what he and Leah are doing and how much I thought it was needed in the country or even worldwide to expose this very dangerous cult.
It is not a religion by any means and I don’t care what the IRS says. They declared it a religion in 1997 I believe after several lawsuits and gave them the tax exempt status they sued for but I think that needs to be revisited. I disagree with the posters here who say it is a religion albeit a religious cult. It doesn’t matter what anyone calls it. It doesn’t make it so. They could call it a “nation” but does that make it a “nation?”
Any of the witness postings here today could give the IRS enough ammo to revisit this mess and take away their tax exempt status once and for all. Why does it matter? It’s a ripoff. There’s no other description for it and in the end having this on the state and federal records as a tax exempt religion, the taxpayers themselves are also being ripped off. Why on earth would cities agree to so many of their buildings in their cities as they probably don’t collect any real estate taxes on any of those properties either?
A poster is interjecting Mormonism into this thread and there is no comparison between Mormonism and Scientology. Mormonism has a faith and belief system which qualifies it to be called a religion. Scientology does not. The IRS can’t see that?
What does this RELIGION worship except other people’s money? It’s every bit as dangerous as anything Jim Jones ever did. There’s no mention of it causing anyone’s death so far but the death of so many family relationships is heart wrenching enough. Children not allowed to see their parents or grandparents not allowed to see their own children or grandchildren. It’s plain and simple brainwashing!
Mike responded with a profuse thank you. He asked that I write to congressional representatives and invited friends/anyone to watch the show and to ask for investigations into the abuse of members and nearly slave like conditions for anyone going to work for them. Where are the state labor laws for Pete’s sake? Just the stories of the former members who had to go to such extremes to get out of that mess should grab official’s attention.
Regarding the “growth of the church”; the largest growth of any “religion” in the world. It was explained that they base their numbers on the numbers of buildings they have built and the total acreage world wide. Some enormous buildings have been built in various cities and remain totally empty! The IRS can’t see that?
The referral to this monstrous organization as a church needs to be stopped and only the IRS can bring that about.
I checked out and read Miscavige’s dad’s book and his niece Jenna Hill’s book. Both very interesting and again, quite upsetting. I realize everyone has free will to join and be involved in whatever organization they so choose but when former members let the public know the danger posed and damage that organization does to individuals, the authorities can’t step in? Would it be allowed to continue if it was the Boy Scouts for example? Could they have stopped Jim Jones before hundreds committed suicide from his brainwashing?
Thank you so much for the thread - I have enjoyed it very much since I’ve also been watching Leah Remini’s show and knew nothing about this “cult” before except the celebrity names involved. Makes you question their IQ after learning what it’s all about. Can’t say any of them were ever on my “don’t miss movie “ list anyway. Tom Cruise in “A Few Good Men” is watchable but other than that - no thanks..
Yeah. I heard how Germany labeled them and outlawed them. They are dangerous. So dangerous!
I've never been able to find the answer to this question: it calls itself a "church" and uses a modified Christian cross as its symbol; but what is Scientology's teaching regarding Jesus of Nazareth or the Bible?
...reported Smith saying “I'd like to start a religion. That's where the women is.”
But Ma'am; we ARE Christians!
Good question...
I've never been able to find the answer to this question: it calls itself a "church" and extremely rarely uses a cross as its symbol; but what is MormonISM's teaching regarding Jesus of Nazareth or the Bible?
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705328913/Mormons-and-the-cross.html?pg=all
.. what is MormonISM’s teaching regarding Jesus of Nazareth or the Bible?
https://www.probe.org/mormon-doctrine-of-jesus/
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