Scientology center open in Salt Lake's downtown

The Church of Scientology will open a new mission downtown today, with a public ribbon cutting event at 1 p.m. and remarks by Rep. Curt Oda, R-Clearfield.

The church has between 200 and 300 practitioners in the greater Salt Lake area, according to local spokeswoman Lora Mengucci, and the new mission church at 353 E. 400 South will provide newcomers with an introduction to the course work and philosophical underpinnings of Scientology.

Those who have embraced the church's teachings meet at a larger facility in Sugar House, 1931 S. 1100 East.

The center will focus on Dianetics counseling, according to Cyndy Wright, executive director of the new mission. "If a person has an unwanted attitude or emotions, we talk to them to find out where they are stemming from and help you find the source of those." Dianetics counseling helps individuals "discover the answers (to such problems) himself. It's not told to him." Scientology "helps lead people to discover those things on their own," she said.

Dianetics involves a process called "auditing" or spiritual counseling, and often includes the use of an "electropsychometer" or e-meter, which is said to examine the effect of past negative experiences on a person's current mental state. Eliminating or "clearing" such negative experiences from a person's "reactive mind" is the goal of auditing sessions, according to literature from the church's Web site.

Such sessions become a funding mechanism for the church, which stresses the need for auditing to clear one's mind and charges fees that can run into the thousands of dollars.

"With this expansion of our church, we can help more individuals find solutions to the problems they face in life. We are a practical religion, which offers practical solutions," Wright said. The church is highly critical of psychiatry and the use of psychiatric drugs and believes mental ills are best treated with spiritual counseling.

Initial courses on better communication skills will be offered through the mission, Wright said, and cost less than $100 including books and materials.

While the initial course work is relatively inexpensive, critics have long pointed to the fact that to progress to new levels of spiritual enlightenment within Scientology, candidates must pay for increasingly costly instruction that can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.