To celebrate his March 13, 1911 birthday, each year Scientologists from
sixty countries gather at the religion’s spiritual nexus in Clearwater, Florida
in a weekend celebration of their founder’s life. This gathering and speeches
is videoed, then re-shown in churches around the world the following weekend.
In Nashville, the Church members came together with guests and friends
to see the many accomplishments and cast their eyes toward a limitless future,
inspired by the life and works of L. Ron Hubbard.
LRH, as his multitudinous followers know him, was a polymath—a person
of wide-ranging knowledge and education. Beginning as the youngest Eagle Scout
in American history (awarded just days after his thirteenth birthday), LRH
explored the religious landscape of Asia by the time he was fifteen. Mr.
Hubbard went on to become the Guinness Book’s most translated author, and also
holds their record for most audio books by one author.
His work toward the salvation of mankind continues to inspire millions
worldwide. This annual weekend celebration displays by turns, his research into
man as a spiritual being, his technical legacy that allows others to identify,
explore and realize their innate spiritual abilities—all this L. Ron Hubbard
left to a troubled world.
The evening presented not just a sense of L. Ron Hubbard’s influence on
the lives of individuals, but also a surge of real-life stories on how he
touched others… if only for just a little while, but ultimately changed the
outcome of their destiny.
The night’s spotlight continuously shone on the size and scope of
Scientology today, spirited by L. Ron Hubbard’s legacy. His legacy was
exquisitely personified in the unveiling of the newest Ideal Organization (Org)
in Auckland, New Zealand. The Kiwi congregation formed the second Church of Scientology
in the world in 1955. Attendees next witnessed the moving grand opening
ceremony with local luminaries heralding the moment as a sea of change for
their island nation.
The evening was a celebration of a life well lived—a life lived for the
benefit of all mankind, and a life lived to help individuals without
hesitation. Birthdays are traditionally a time to acknowledge what a person has
done and how they influence the lives of others. But as LRH is transcendent,
his birthday celebration ultimately captured what his life and work will
continue to mean for the future.
In all, it was a celebration in the name of helping people honor their
own potential—of making a world that mankind desires, that he deserves.
