Bare-Faced Messiah (PDF) - Apologetics Index

Arthur Hubbard and Doreen Smith, one of the messengers, playing with fire in the
Californian desert. Like his father, Arthur collected guns.
Arthur was commonly described as a 'holy terror' and rampaged through the ship at will, playing
practical jokes, like throwing buckets of water into occupied toilet cubicles, without fear of
retribution. Yet there were moments when even the irrepressible Arthur experienced a sense of
loss. Doreen Smith and Arthur were the same age and the firmest of friends. 'He'd often say to me
that be wished his father had more time for him,' Doreen said. 'I suppose, at one time or another,
we all wished we had more ordinary lives.'
Arthur's special responsibility on board ship was to look after his father's motor-cycles, in particular
a huge Harley Davidson that had been given to Hubbard by the Toronto org. One afternoon, the
Commodore told Doreen to make sure Arthur had cleaned the Harley Davidson properly by wiping
a tissue over the mudguards and petrol tank and bringing it back to show him. She returned with a
black smudge on the tissue. Hubbard was incensed. 'You go and assign Arthur liability,' he roared
at Doreen, 'he's not doing his duty.'
Doreen was relieved that Arthur didn't seem to be too worried by his father's reaction, or by the need
to tie a grey rag round his arm, but it was not the end of the matter. Mary Sue, who was fiercely
protective of her children, felt it was Doreen's fault that Arthur had been assigned liability. Later that
afternoon, she grabbed her by the arm and starting shaking her. 'You little fiend,' she hissed,
sinking her nails into the girl's arm, 'you're destroying my family.'
The messengers were nothing if not loyal to each other. While Doreen was still sobbing, one of