Salt Lake Tribune interview with Heber Jentzsch (1992)
Ron Newman
Salt Lake Tribune
Published: 09/12/92
Category: Religion
Page: A9
Keywords: Religions, Religious Leaders
Photo/Graphic: Scientology
President Heber C. Jentzsch traces his
roots to father's Utah farm.
UTAH-BORN SCIENTOLOGY
PRESIDENT SAYS THE
RELIGION SAVED HIS LIFE
Byline: By Peggy Fletcher Stack
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
Copyright 1992, THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
LOS ANGELES -- At a
French-Normandy chateau on
Hollywood Boulevard, Church of
Scientology President Heber C.
Jentzsch muses about his polygamous
roots and life in prison.
In 1988, the Rev. Jentzsch was locked
away for three months in a Spanish
prison -- surrounded by cockroaches,
drug smugglers and feces. He was
thrown in jail for proselytizing
Scientology -- less than 24 hours
after arriving in Spain.
He felt he had come full circle.
Some 30 years earlier, his father Carl
Eugene Jentzsch was imprisoned for
taking five wives in Farmington, Utah.
``My father was a man who felt his
religion could never be taken away from
him by anyone,'' said the Rev. Jentzsch.
``Polygamy was the religion he wanted
to live and he backed it up with his
life.''
With his dark suit, white shirt, practical
car, attentive gaze, easy laugh, ready
indignation, and aphorisms aplenty, this
tall, soft-spoken church leader could
pass for a Mormon bishop. Though
leaving Utah, the Rev. Jentzsch has
never lost his Mormon accent and
cadence.
Many of his friends and family remain
in Utah. From numerous interviews and
passages in a family diary, this portrait
of the Scientology leader emerges:
Young Heber -- named after his
mother's favorite Mormon apostle,
Heber C. Kimball -- was born in 1935,
the youngest child of Carl's third wife,
Pauline. He was one of 42 children in a
family that included eight wives.
Carl took his first polygamous wife
while living in Salt Lake City on
Lincoln Street near Liberty Park. As
wives and children were added, the
family moved to a large house on
Holladay Boulevard. Finally, however,
Carl's salary as an electrical engineer
was inadequate to support the growing
family so they moved to Farmington,
where they could have several homes on
the same farm.
The whole family continued to attend
the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints even after notice of
Carl Jentzsch's excommunication
appeared in the local paper. When the
bishop refused to allow Pauline's
children to be baptized, however, they
began to hold worship services at home.
``Father would read from the Mormon
scriptures but also from National
Geographic. He would talk about the
great civilizations in Utah that he had
seen as a young boy shepherding in the
desert, but also about the great
civilizations of South America.
``I never got that in the Mormon
Church. That's when I began looking
around and saying, what else is out
there?''
In 1950 L. Ron Hubbard, an American
writer and international adventurer,
wrote a book called Dianetics. Mr.
Hubbard's book became so popular that
a self-enhancement movement known
as Scientology emerged among its
adherents. Today the movement has
become a church, is proclaimed on
street corners and in television ads and
claims over 8 million members.
Scientologists believe specific mental
and physical exercises will enhance
intelligence, behavior and spiritual
well-being.
The Rev. Jentzsch joined the
movement in 1967. Four years later he
helped start a mission for the stars --
recruiting California celebrities into the
Scientology fold. Eventually, the
Hollywood faithful would include Tom
Cruise, John Travolta, Kirstie Alley,
Anne Archer, Sonny Bono, and Nancy
Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson.
When the Church of Scientology
International was incorporated in 1981,
the one-time actor and singer Jentzsch
took on the role of a lifetime: church
president.
There have been two pivotal moments
in the Rev. Jentzsch's life. One was the
day his father went to prison, the other
was a life-healing cure using
Scientology practices.
In 1955, Farmington police intended to
arrest his father for practicing
polygamy. When the elder Jentzsch got
wind of it, he calmly turned himself in.
The Rev. Jentzsch says his father would
not allow ``some crazy thing by the
police, smashing into the doors,
breaking into our homes.''
It was just before Thanksgiving. Light
snow was falling.
The judge who tried the case was the son
of a polygamist. The prosecuting
attorney was also the son of a
polygamist. They offered to let Carl go
if he would apologize to the state and
admit he had been wrong for all these
years.
The Rev. Jentzsch tells the story with
practiced pauses.
``My father said, `you see those women
and children out there? Do you want me
to tell them their lives are a lie? Well,
it's not a lie.'
``The judge said Mr. Jentzsch, `are you
trying to make yourself a martyr?'
``He said, `no your honor. The state
makes martyrs. There are no self-made
martyrs.' ''
Carl Jentzsch was sentenced to 1-5
years. As he left the courtroom, he
scuffled with a Salt Lake Tribune
photographer. He was freed after
serving 15 months and moved the entire
clan to Oregon, away from the prying
eyes of a state once obsessed with
polygamy prosecutions.
The senior Jentzsch died at 90 in 1991,
believing to the end in polygamy as
``the Lord's way.''
The Rev. Jentzsch's second formative
experience was his own.
At 15, he believed he was dying from
radiation burns caused by the nuclear
testing in Yucca Flats, Nev. He says he
was exposed while turning hay in a farm
near Farmington. Although experts say
there has never been a recorded case of
skin burn in Utah from the tests, the
Rev. Jentzsch says it changed his life.
``I had blisters all over my body,'' he
said. ``The doctors said, `We'll save your
life and then we'll work on your face.' ''
The Rev. Jentzsch says he put cocoa
butter and boric acid packs on his face
for three days every half-hour. He says
many children downwind of the Nevada
Test Site died from cancer, including
several friends from Farmington.
The pollutants and chemicals from the
radiation were in his body for years,
until he was cleansed by the
``purification process'' of
Scientology.
``The fatty tissues of the body tend to
retain chemicals and drugs,'' says the
Rev. Jentzsch. L. Ron Hubbard's
teachings called for a cure of combined
vitamins, exercise and saunas.
For the Rev. Jentzsch, the process took
five hours a day for 39 days. After that,
he felt free from the radiation that had
plagued his body for decades.
``Scientology literally saved my
life,'' he says.
The Rev. Jentzsch attended Weber
College, then a two-year school. He
graduated from the University of Utah in
1959 with a degree in communications.
Shortly after graduation he was drafted.
In the Army he served primarily as an
entertainer, singing in the Army chorus
at Fort Meade in Maryland.
After he was discharged, the Rev.
Jentzsch -- full of youthful ambition
-- headed for Hollywood to embark on
a singing career.
He wound up in Las Vegas instead,
singing, acting, doing stage work. It was
there he found Scientology.
``I came into Scientology because I
wanted something that was predictable,
a technology,'' he underscored the word.
He wanted a way to heal people with
``psychosomatic illnesses.''
By studying intensively ``the specific
technical counseling'' for about four
months in 1974, the Rev. Jentzsch
qualified as a church minister.
By 1981, the group decided to
incorporate as an international church.
One of the new minister's first ideas was
to cater the church's missionary efforts
toward the artistic community. The
church bought the mansion on
Hollywood Boulevard, spent millions
restoring it to splendor, and dubbed it
``the Celebrity Centre.'' They began
publishing Celebrity magazine, which
profiles well-known Scientologists.
For his innovation of the celebrity
mission, the Rev. Jentzsch was
rewarded with the position of first
president of the Church of Scientology
International. Ironically, he never
met the founder, L. Ron Hubbard, who
died in 1986.
As president, the Rev. Jenztsch travels
the globe representing the church. He
meets with leaders of other churches --
including the LDS Church -- on issues
of mutual concern such as religious
freedom. He also gives speeches and
holds conferences for believers.
It was at such a conference that Spanish
authorities threw him in prison. The
Scientologists paid $780,000 to get him
out, and the 90-day experience was his
crucible of faith. The Rev. Jentzsch
expects to preach the Scientology
way to self-understanding till he dies.
The invisible 1
[Note: snipped in various places for clarity and brevity.]
I have to respond...Huh? for instance:
> With his dark suit, white shirt, practical
> car, attentive gaze, easy laugh, ready
> indignation, and aphorisms aplenty, this
> tall, soft-spoken church leader could
> pass for a Mormon bishop. Though
> leaving Utah, the Rev. Jentzsch has
> never lost his Mormon accent and
> cadence.
What is a Mormon accent? I have spoken to many Mormons, and they each
had a different accent. Some of them were my mother's family in Utah,
others were in other states.
Is this when he took on the 'Reverend' title?
>
> There have been two pivotal moments
> in the Rev. Jentzsch's life. One was the
> day his father went to prison, the other
> was a life-healing cure using
> Scientology practices.
> ::snip::
>
> At 15, he believed he was dying from
> radiation burns caused by the nuclear
> testing in Yucca Flats, Nev. He says he
> was exposed while turning hay in a farm
> near Farmington. Although experts say
> there has never been a recorded case of
> skin burn in Utah from the tests, the
> Rev. Jentzsch says it changed his life.
Just a question--Could this *possibly* be a 3rd degree sunburn? Had he
been out in the sun often before this incident?
>
> ``I had blisters all over my body,'' he
> said. ``The doctors said, `We'll save your
> life and then we'll work on your face.' ''
> The Rev. Jentzsch says he put cocoa
> butter and boric acid packs on his face
> for three days every half-hour. He says
> many children downwind of the Nevada
> Test Site died from cancer, including
> several friends from Farmington.
>
> The pollutants and chemicals from the
> radiation were in his body for years,
According to which medically proven tests?
> until he was cleansed by the
> ``purification process'' of
> Scientology.
>
> ``The fatty tissues of the body tend to
> retain chemicals and drugs,'' says the
> Rev. Jentzsch. L. Ron Hubbard's
> teachings called for a cure of combined
> vitamins, exercise and saunas.
>
> For the Rev. Jentzsch, the process took
> five hours a day for 39 days. After that,
> he felt free from the radiation that had
> plagued his body for decades.
>
> ``Scientology literally saved my
> life,'' he says.
>
::snip::
>
> ``I came into Scientology because I
> wanted something that was predictable,
> a technology,'' he underscored the word.
> He wanted a way to heal people with
> ``psychosomatic illnesses.''
From my understanding of the LRH beliefs, *most* illnesses are
psychosomatic.
That must be interesting to watch.
>He also gives speeches and
> holds conferences for believers.
believers of which faith/organization?
>
> It was at such a conference that Spanish
> authorities threw him in prison. The
> Scientologists paid $780,000 to get him
> out, and the 90-day experience was his
> crucible of faith. The Rev. Jentzsch
> expects to preach the Scientology
> way to self-understanding till he dies.
I have to wonder...how long 'til that gets paid off?
Just my $0.02 again,
--The invis.
JimDBB
>>Subject: Salt Lake Tribune interview with Heber Jentzsch (1992)
>From: rne...@thecia.net (Ron Newman)
>Date: Wed, May 27, 1998 08:37 EDT
>Salt Lake Tribune
>Published: 09/12/92
>Category: Religion
>Page: A9
> Scientology
>President Heber C. Jentzsch traces his
>roots to father's Utah farm.
>
>UTAH-BORN SCIENTOLOGY
>PRESIDENT SAYS THE
>RELIGION SAVED HIS LIFE
Ron Newman, you are a fountain of valuable information. Here is Heber
Jetnzsch, a babbling bag of scientology lies, as usual. I expecially like the
'radiation burns' story.
Well, know we know that the church of Scientology paid $780,000 of tax-exempt
money to get Heber out of prison. Now we have to find out if the IRS
tax-exemption rules permit the expenditure of tax money to get criminals out
of prison.
JImDBB
Mark Thorson
In article <356C55...@nowhere.com>,
The invisible 1 <nob...@nowhere.com> wrote:
>
>> With his dark suit, white shirt, practical
>> car, attentive gaze, easy laugh, ready
>> indignation, and aphorisms aplenty, this
>> tall, soft-spoken church leader could
>> pass for a Mormon bishop. Though
>> leaving Utah, the Rev. Jentzsch has
>> never lost his Mormon accent and
>> cadence.
>
>What is a Mormon accent? I have spoken to many Mormons, and they each
>had a different accent. Some of them were my mother's family in Utah,
>others were in other states.
Certain phrases are used more by saints than
gentiles. E.g. where a gentile might say
"you are responsible for washing the dog"
a saint might say "you will be held accountable
for washing the dog." It's much more subtle
than the parlance of the Scientologists, but
recognizable to the trained ear.
Jour0
jim...@aol.com (JimDBB) wrote:
> Well, know we know that the church of Scientology paid $780,000 of
tax-exempt
> money to get Heber out of prison. Now we have to find out if the IRS
> tax-exemption rules permit the expenditure of tax money to get criminals out
> of prison.
I've seen this stated before, but is it really true? $cn didn't get tax-exempt
status until AFTER this was paid, right?
Jour
J.M. Ivler
Nyet. They were forgiven over ONE BILLION DOLLARS (their own words) in
back taxes. They didn't pay taxes for a heck of a lot longer then their
"tax-free" status.