[net.religion] Radical Sect of Ba'hai

jefff@cadovax.UUCP (Jeff Fields) (12/07/84)

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     Recently there has been  some  activity  on  the  net  about  the
Ba'hais.  I would like to mention that what one says about Ba'hai does
not necessarily apply to all sects of the Ba'hai.  I know  of  a  sect
that is headquartered in Missoula, Montana (home of my Alma Mater, the
University of Montana) which is led by a radical leader  named  Lelend
Jensen.    Jensen  claims  prophetic  superiority  over  all  religous
leaders.   He  has  even  made  the  tacit  claim  that  he   is   the
reincarnation of the Bab, who is the major prophet of Ba'hai.
     Back in 1978 he predicted that the "End of the World",  aka.  the
Apocalypse,  aka. Armageddon was to occur on April 29, 1979 at 5:00 pm
MST.  He based these predictions on measurements of the Great  Pyramid
of  Giseh  and  other more arcane sources.  Needless to say we are all
still here (I think :-)).
     The local newspaper "The Missoulian" of April 30 had a front page
picture  of  Lelend  standing  in  his  living  room at 5:00 PM of the
fateful day.  The floor of the room was covered with stones and  earth
that  was  to  have  acted  as a protective roof for his basement bomb
shelter.  Everyone got a big laugh and held "End of the World" parties
to celebrate the "final hours".
     Unfortunately this guy should be taken seriously as perhaps being
more  dangerous  than the crack-pot image he projects.  He has a large
following in western Montana.  Some of my friends were caught up  with
it.   They  seemed  brain-washed  after getting involved.  Jensen lost
some credibility amongst his followers after his  prediction  did  not
come  true,  but there is a hard-core group that surrounds the guy and
thinks that he is indeed the Bab.
     The official national leaders of the Ba'hai have censured  Jensen
for  his radically insane ideas.  Most of his philosophy and teachings
center around survival in a  post-Apocalypse  world.   If  this  isn't
ludicrous  enough,  another more sordid aspect of Jensen's personality
is the fact that he served seven years in the Montana State Prison for
child molestation.
     I am not disputing the legitimacy of the world-wide Ba'hai faith.
I  know  little  enough  about it to begin to criticize the Ba'hai.  I
just want to point out that  there  is  always  the  danger  of  false
prophets  rising  up in any faith or creed.  We must stay alert to the
more dangerous cults so as to prevent another tragedy  like  Jonestown
from happening again.

-- 

				Jeff Fields
				{ucbvax,ihnp4,decvax}!trwrb!cadovax!jefff

Your navel is a bowl well rounded
with no lack of wine,
your belly a heap of wheat
surrounded with lilies.
Your two breasts are two fawns
twins of a gazelle.
			-"The Song of Songs" 7:3-4