The use of LRH quotations
As every Scientologist knows, when referring to an LRH datum or quote, one must always provide its source. To do otherwise is to open the door to alterations of the technology:
“The prime cause of alter-is is just not knowing or understanding the material.”
HCO P/L 10 March 1972
Esto Series 4, Exec Esto Hatting Duties
(OEC Management Vol. 2, p. 21)
“A policy not known or altered is death.”
HCO P/L 17 November 1964, Issue I
Off-Line and Off-Policy, Your Full In-Basket
(OEC Vol. 0, p. 404)
Beginning in the late 1980s, however, there has been an increasing tendency by the current leader of the Church to “quote” LRH without providing the title of the actual source reference.
This is most evident at Scientology events. Here, COB often flashes a quote across a large screen to support whatever new project he is promoting. In the majority of these instances, unfortunately, the quote is not followed by the title of an HCOB, HCO P/L, or tape, but simply by “LRH.”
This practice has become so commonplace that, of the last 27 LRH quotes put forth by COB at various international events, only eleven provided the source references from which the quotes ostensibly came.
This is, as every Student Hat graduate and above knows, verbal tech:
“A junior should beware of being TOLD it is ‘on-policy’ or ‘an LRH order’ or ‘in bulletins’ or ‘on LRH tapes.’ The trick is very common. It is often used to get agreement to do an order or plan. The answer to this is require to see it in writing. IF IT ISN’T WRITTEN IT ISN’T TRUE. That is the safe maxim.”
HCO P/L 13 January 1979
Orders, Illegal and Cross — How to Keep Out of Trouble
(OEC Vol. 0, p. 145)
“Not only does an auditor have the right to be told what was wrong but he must be given the exact HCOB, date and title, that he violated.”
HCOB 23 August 1971
C/S Series 1, Auditor’s Rights
(Tech Vol. IX, p. 480)
Following COB’s lead, org magazines and Internet mailings now regularly feature LRH quotes without furnishing any source for them. Of the last 14 such quotes we’ve analyzed, barely half (8 of the 14) listed an actual source for the quote.
The group set up by LRH to preserve and safeguard standard tech and policy against all assaults is, of course, the Sea Org. Ironically, the promo pieces written and distributed by S.O. management and service bodies were found to contain the highest incidence of verbal tech of all. In the past month alone (August, 2009), these mailings have included at least three quotes attributed to LRH, with no references given for any of them.
Even the Sea Org recruitment piece itself falls into this category. It features three quotes ascribed to LRH, none of which provide any source.
Just as troubling, efforts to track down these quotes in order to verify them as legitimate often come up empty, or worse. Friends of LRH personally knows of four Scientologists who have written this situation up to RTC. Two received no answer; one was told the source of one of the quotes used is “confidential;” the fourth was ordered to Ethics for “investigating the Sea Org.”
As can be expected with verbal tech, some of the quotes which were tracked down proved to be intentionally inaccurate or grossly out of context. A prime example was the following LRH quote read by COB (minus the reference) at the LRH Birthday Event in March, 2005:
“A chronological study of materials is necessary for the complete training of a truly top-grade expert in these lines. He can see how the subject progressed and so is able to see which are the highest levels of development.”
HCOB 30 July 1973
Scientology, Current State of the Subject and Materials
(Tech Vol. X, p. 506)
This quote was given as the rationale for the release of the Congresses and the blanket order that all Scientologists listen to and complete them by a certain date.
If COB had simply provided the name of this bulletin (as required per the above references), Scientologists could have looked it up and seen for themselves, in the very same paragraph, LRH’s concept of how this chronological study is to be undertaken:
“It is for this reason that the Saint Hill Briefing Course checksheet should consist only of the chronological materials, studied in chronological order …”
HCOB 30 July 1973
Scientology, Current State of the Subject and Materials
(Tech Vol. X, p. 506)
The net result of this one piece of verbal tech was thousands of Scientologists being ordered to listen to tapes at home (and often routing off course to do it), rather than being routed onto the Briefing Course.
A second example of deliberately misleading the public by omitting references is the promo piece for the International Association of Scientologists (IAS). It utilizes the following LRH quote:
By omitting the source of the quote, the public is fooled into believing that LRH wrote these lines in regard to, and as an endorsement of, membership in the IAS.
In truth, LRH had nothing to do with the founding of the IAS, and this organization is not mentioned by him in any HCOB, P/L, tape, or anywhere else. It was begun by others — a fact acknowledged by their own writings:
What LRH was promoting in the Source reference of this quote was the status of “Associate Membership” in Scientology, circa 1956 — 28 years before the formation of the IAS:
“Associate memberships are now available for sale by auditors to their groups.
“… An associate membership costs five shillings in the United Kingdom and areas under the London office, and one dollar in the United States.
“… The reason we want this membership to be widespread in existence is that the power of an organization is counted by the number of members it has. We must have a membership class which includes everybody and which permits people to be in no doubt as to whether they are with us or not.”
Professional Auditor’s Bulletin 74
Office in Ireland
6 March 1956
(Tech Vol. III, pp. 334-35)
This token fee of one dollar, as well as the simplicity of its structure, bears absolutely no relationship to the thousands, even millions, of dollars demanded by COB and his multi-statused IAS:
|
Annual: $450
Lifetime: $3,000
Crusader: $10,000
Honor Roll: $20,000 |
|
Senior Honor Roll
Patron: $40,000
Patron with Honors: $100,000 |
Still another example of manipulating the public through misleading LRH quotes is the Super Power Expansion Project.
In 1978, LRH wrote about a series of rundowns he’d recently developed for all Scientologists:
“Super Power. A superfantastic, but confidential series of rundowns that can be done on anyone whether Dianetic Clear or not that puts the person into fantastic shape unleashing the super power of a thetan … It puts world clearing within reach in the future … It consists of 12 separate high-powered rundowns which are brand-new and enter realms of the tech never before approached.”
Ron’s Journal 30 1978 — The Year of Lightening Fast New Tech
LRH 301 INT 17 December 1978
(Tech Vol. XI, p. 383)
The Super Power promo piece does quote from this Executive Directive accurately:
By omitting the reference, however, the public is denied seeing what comes two sentences later:
"Super Power will be delivered at Saint Hills within the next 6 weeks …”
Ron’s Journal 30 1978 — The Year of Lightening Fast New Tech
LRH ED 301 INT 17 December 1978
(Tech Vol. XI, p. 383)
In the 30 years since LRH’s 6-week deadline, Scientology Management has continued to extort millions of dollars from the public for Super Power’s release. This has been accomplished by means of a multi-layered status system similar to that of the IAS, but escalating toward even higher price tags:
COB’s never-ending insistence on more money and a special building before Super Power can be delivered is in direct opposition to the two very simple steps originally laid out by LRH — that it would be delivered within 6 weeks, and available at all Saint Hill organizations.
January 1979
Finally, a new variation of verbal tech has shown up in Church promo over the past few months (August-October, 2009). In these, not only is the source of the quote omitted, but so are quotation marks. In fact, the statements appear to have been written by others (since they are not from any HCOB, HCO P/L, or tape, and have never been seen before), yet end with a superimposed LRH signature.
This technique is most commonly used in donation drives, as in this Super Power piece:
The ramifications of verbal tech are so dire that LRH deemed even one instance of it a Court of Ethics offense:
“ANY PERSON FOUND TO BE USING VERBAL TECH SHALL BE SUBJECT TO A COURT OF ETHICS.
“THE CHARGES ARE GIVING OUT DATA WHICH IS CONTRARY TO HCO BULLETINS OR POLICY LETTERS, OR OBSTRUCTING THEIR USE OF APPLICATION, CORRUPTING THEIR INTENT, ALTERING THEIR CONTENT IN ANY WAY, INTERPRETING THEM VERBALLY OR OTHERWISE FOR ANOTHER, OR PRETENDING TO QUOTE THEM WITHOUT SHOWING THE ACTUAL ISSUE.
“ANY ONE OF THESE CATEGORIES CONSTITUTES VERBAL TECH AND IS ACTIONABLE PER THE ABOVE.”
HCO P/L 15 February 1979
KSW Series 24, Verbal Tech: Penalties
(OEC Vol. 0, p. 24)
“One CAN be disciplined or given a court or Comm Ev for following an order he was TOLD was valid as above only to find out it is NOT in policy or bulletins or actual. By taking somebody’s word for it and doing it, he is guilty of following off-policy orders.
“… Now, if any one of those otherwise innocent people had simply said … “Let’s see the policy letter” or “Let’s see the bulletin” or “Let’s see it in writing first,” the SP never could have carried decent people down with him.”
HCO P/L 13 January 1979
Orders, Illegal and Cross — How to Keep Out of Trouble
(OEC Vol. 0, p. 145)
It is the hat of every Scientologist to write up all such outnesses:
“Anyone who knew of a loafing or destructive or off-policy or out-ethics action and WHO DID NOT FILE A KNOWLEDGE REPORT becomes an ACCESSORY in any justice action taken thereafter.
“… Any person who knew of an outness or crime and failed to report it and thus became an accessory receives the same penalty as the person disciplined as the actual offender.”
HCO P/L 22 July 1982
Knowledge Reports
(OEC Vol. 0, p. 555)
Yet there is no indication that Mrs. Paquette, her seniors at Moxon and Kobrin, or their clients at the Church of Scientology International have written up any of these multiple instances of verbal tech, or are even vaguely concerned about it.
Instead, they attack a website for presenting exact LRH quotes, complete with the name of the HCOB, HCO P/L, or tape from which each quote is taken. Our site even provides the Tech or OEC Volume and page number for all quotes so the reader can easily find and study the full references for himself.
