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Religion Background
The religious history era, commencing with the advent of writing in 3200 BCE, brought forth the study of prehistoric religious beliefs. The standardization of religious texts through writing facilitated the memorization of prayers and divine rules, transcending both time and location.
The concept of "religion" as we know it today emerged in the 16th and 17th centuries. Despite the presence of sacred texts like the Bible and the Quran, the original languages of these texts, as well as the cultures and people who wrote them, lacked a specific term or concept for what we now call "religion." Anthropologist Daniel Dubuisson contends that the Western notion of "religion" is unique and intrinsic to its own history.
Introducing Jones
James Warren Jones, a figure who would later exploit and distort the concept of religion, was born on May 13th, 1931, in Crete, Indiana, to James Thurman Jones and Lynetta Putnam. Of Irish and Welsh descent, Jones may have also had Cherokee ancestry, though this claim lacks substantiation.
Jones' father, a disabled World War I veteran, struggled with severe breathing difficulties from injuries sustained in a chemical weapons attack. To supplement their meager military pension, he took on occasional work in neighborhood road repair projects. The family faced financial challenges, leading to marital strife and, in 1934, eviction from their home during the Great Depression. Relatives provided a shack in Lynn, lacking basic amenities. Attempts at farming proved futile as Jones's father's health deteriorated, forcing the family to rely on the generosity of relatives and the bounty of the nearby forest and fields.
Amidst these hardships, Jones's mother, lacking maternal instincts, neglected him. As Jones started school, financial assistance from extended family hinged on his mother finding employment, as his father battled recurring hospitalizations. With both parents frequently absent, Jones roamed the streets, sometimes unclothed. Female residents of Lynn provided care, inviting him into their homes to offer food, clothing, and other necessities.
Myrtle Kennedy, the wife of the pastor at the Nazarene Church, developed a unique bond with Jones. She bestowed upon him a Bible and encouraged him to study it, imparting the teachings of the Nazarene Church's holiness code. As Jones matured, he actively participated in services, frequented multiple churches each week, and underwent baptism in several of them. His childhood ambition to become a preacher manifested as he privately practiced the art of preaching.
Neighbors described Jones as an unusual child fixated on religion and death. He regularly visited a casket manufacturer in Lynn, conducting mock funerals for collected roadkill. Reports even surfaced of Jones allegedly using a knife to kill a cat for one such funeral. When unable to garner attendance for these events, he would perform the ceremonies alone. Convinced of his unique abilities, Jones once leaped off a building's roof to showcase them, resulting in a broken arm. He occasionally placed other children in life-threatening situations, claiming guidance from the Angel of Death. In his adult life, Jones claimed to have committed sacrilegious pranks in churches during his youth, such as defacing a Pentecostal minister's Bible and substituting holy water with his urine at a Catholic church.
A biographer suggested that Jones developed these eccentric interests due to difficulties in making friends. Despite his peculiar religious practices, his neighbors reported more serious misbehavior, including frequent thefts of candy, necessitating restitution by his mother. Jones habitually used offensive language and was subjected to beatings with a leather belt as punishment.
In high school, Jones, known as 'Jimmy,' continued to stand out. Carrying his Bible everywhere, he excelled academically and enjoyed debating with teachers. He had a peculiar habit of only engaging in conversations that he initiated. His distinctive mode of dress, reminiscent of Sunday church attire every day, and stringent religious views further alienated him from peers. Jones confronted fellow youth for engaging in behaviors such as drinking, smoking, and dancing, often interrupting their events to insist on reading the Bible.
Jones abstained from sports due to a distaste for losing, opting instead to coach younger children. Witnessing racial discrimination at a baseball game in Richmond, Indiana, intensified his aversion to racism. Jones's father's affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan fueled their estrangement, reaching a breaking point when Jones prevented one of his black friends from entering his father's home. Jones' involvement in organizing baseball leagues concluded when he callously killed a dog in front of players by dropping it from a window.
In 1945, Jones' parents separated and subsequently divorced, prompting Jones to relocate to Richmond, Indiana, with his mother. Despite the family's financial support dissipating, Jones graduated early and with honors from Richmond High School in December 1948. To sustain himself, he began working as an orderly at Reid Hospital in 1946, earning respect from senior management but displaying disturbing behavior towards some patients and co-workers, as recalled by staff members. During this time, Jones developed a romantic relationship with Marceline Mae Baldwin, a nurse-in-training at Reid Hospital.
In November 1948, Jones moved to Bloomington, Indiana, with intentions of pursuing a medical career at Indiana University Bloomington. However, influenced by a speech delivered by Eleanor Roosevelt on the struggles of African-Americans, Jones shifted towards communism and radical political views. Jones and Baldwin married on June 12, 1949, and settled in Bloomington, where Marceline worked at a nearby hospital while Jones attended college. Religious differences strained their relationship, with Jones opposing the racial segregationist practices of the Methodist church, leading to conflicts. Despite outward church attendance, Jones privately pressured his wife to embrace atheism.
Throughout their marriage, Jones's insecurity manifested in various tests of Marceline's love, often using sadistic methods. One recurring tactic involved falsely informing her of the sudden death of a close friend or family member, only to later admit the fabrication after offering comfort.
After two years at Indiana University, the couple moved to Indianapolis in 1951. Jones pursued further education at Butler University, obtaining a degree in secondary education in 1961. In 1951, Jones, now 20, began attending Communist Party USA gatherings in Indianapolis, leading to government harassment in 1952 due to their association with the party. Jones, frustrated with the persecution of communists in the U.S., decided to infiltrate the church to demonstrate his Marxism, reflecting on this period by stating, "How can I demonstrate my Marxism? The thought was, infiltrate the church."
In the early months of 1952, Jones announced his decision to become a Methodist minister, envisioning the church as a platform to implement "real socialism." He secured a position as a student pastor at the Sommerset Southside Methodist Church in the summer of 1952, initiating a project for a racially inclusive playground. However, by early 1954, Jones faced dismissal from the Methodist church, citing allegations of embezzlement, although he contended he left due to the leadership's resistance to integrating black congregants.
In 1953, Jones attended a Pentecostal Latter Rain convention in Columbus, Indiana, where a prophetic woman declared him a prophet with a significant ministry. Seeing potential for growth and influence within the racially integrated Latter Rain movement, Jones persuaded his wife to abandon Methodism and join the Pentecostals. In 1953, he started attending and preaching at the Laurel Street Tabernacle in Indianapolis, a Pentecostal Assemblies of God church, organizing healing revivals and speaking at other Latter Rain churches, including a 1953 convention in Detroit.
By 1955, due to denominational restrictions on healing revivals, Jones departed from the Laurel Street Tabernacle and established Wings of Healing, later renamed Peoples Temple. Struggling financially with only twenty initial members, Jones resorted to selling pet monkeys to fund his church. Recognizing the need for publicity, he sought ways to popularize his ministry and attract followers.
Aligning himself with the Independent Assemblies of God (IAoG), a global network embracing the Latter Rain movement, Jones found a favorable environment for his unorthodox practices. In June 1955, he held joint meetings with William Branham, a renowned healing evangelist, and Pentecostal leader, marking a significant collaboration in the Healing Revival.
Jones received ordination as an IAoG minister in 1956 from Joseph Mattsson-Boze, a Latter Rain movement leader. He quickly ascended within the organization, organizing a healing convention in Indianapolis in 1956, sharing the pulpit with Branham to draw crowds. Jones adopted Branham's techniques, engaging in successful joint campaigns that attracted thousands. Branham's prophetic endorsement of Jones further fueled the rapid growth of Peoples Temple.
During this period, Jones embraced the Latter Rain doctrine of the Manifested Sons of God, promoting the idea that individuals could embody God with supernatural abilities, signaling the second coming of Christ. Jones adapted this belief to foster his utopian vision, ultimately asserting he was a manifestation of God himself, teaching by the late 1960s that he was a manifestation of "Christ the Revolution."
Jones, profoundly influenced by Branham, incorporated elements of Branham's methods, doctrines, and style. Like Branham, Jones later claimed various titles, including a return of Elijah the Prophet, the voice of God, and a manifestation of Christ, all while prophesying the imminent end of the world. Jones learned key recruitment tactics from Branham but eventually distanced himself from the Latter Rain movement following a contentious dispute with Branham, possibly related to racial teachings or Branham's growing opposition to communism.
Through his involvement in the Latter Rain movement, Jones encountered Father Divine, a spiritual leader within the International Peace Mission movement, known for his assertions of divinity and often criticized by Pentecostal ministers. In 1956, Jones embarked on his inaugural visit to investigate Father Divine's Peace Mission in Philadelphia, framing his curiosity as a quest to provide an "authentic, unbiased, and objective statement" to his fellow Pentecostal ministers.
Father Divine became a pivotal influence on Jones's ministry, despite Jones publicly distancing himself from some of Divine's teachings. Intrigued by Divine's principles of communal living, Jones gradually incorporated similar outreach practices into Peoples Temple. This included the establishment of a soup kitchen and the provision of free groceries and clothing for those in need.
A second visit to Father Divine in 1958 served to deepen Jones's understanding of Divine's practices. Jones, openly expressing his desire to succeed Father Divine, drew numerous parallels between their ministries. Eager to inherit Divine's legacy, Jones progressively integrated disciplinary practices learned from Father Divine into the fabric of Peoples Temple, exerting increasing control over the lives of its members.
As Jones gradually distanced himself from Pentecostalism and the Latter Rain movement, he actively sought an organization that would embrace all his beliefs. In 1960, Peoples Temple aligned itself with the Disciples of Christ denomination, headquartered conveniently in Indianapolis. Assured by Archie Ijames that the organization would tolerate his political views, Jones finally received ordination from Disciples of Christ in 1964.
Jones's ordination as a Disciples minister occurred during a period when the requirements for such ordination varied widely, and membership in the Disciples was open to any church. Allegations of abuse at Peoples Temple surfaced in both 1974 and 1977, prompting investigations by the Disciples leadership. However, these inquiries yielded no evidence of wrongdoing, leading the Disciples of Christ to view Peoples Temple as "an exemplary Christian ministry transcending human differences and committed to human services." Between 1966 and 1977, Peoples Temple contributed $1.1 million (equivalent to $4,697,803 in 2020) to the denomination. Jones and Peoples Temple maintained their affiliation with the Disciples until the tragic events of the Jonestown massacre.
In 1960, the Mayor of Indianapolis, Charles Boswell, appointed Jones as the director of the local human rights commission. Despite advice to maintain a low profile, Jones utilized this position to amplify his views on various local radio and television programs. Despite requests from the mayor and fellow commissioners to scale back his public actions, Jones remained steadfast, earning raucous applause at an NAACP and Urban League meeting where he urged the audience to embrace militancy, concluding with the impassioned phrase, "Let my people go!"
Throughout his tenure as commission director, Jones played a pivotal role in the racial integration of numerous establishments. When swastikas appeared on the homes of two black families, Jones walked through the affected neighborhood, offering solace to the local black community and advising white families against relocation.
Employing sting operations, Jones targeted restaurants that refused service to black customers and corresponded with leaders of the American Nazi Party, publicizing their responses. In 1961, Jones experienced a collapse that led to hospitalization. Placed in the hospital's black ward by mistake, Jones adamantly refused relocation, taking it upon himself to make beds and tend to the needs of black patients. Political pressures resulting from Jones's actions prompted the hospital to desegregate its wards.
In Indiana, Jones faced criticism for his integrationist stance, making Peoples Temple a target for white supremacists. Despite incidents like the placement of a swastika on the Temple, the discovery of dynamite in a Temple coal pile, and a threatening phone call followed by a dead cat thrown at Jones's house, the publicity surrounding his activities attracted a growing congregation. By the close of 1961, Indianapolis had undergone significant racial integration, with "Jim Jones being virtually solely responsible" for the transformative changes.
In 1960, Jones and his wife embarked on an unconventional path, adopting several non-white children and proudly referring to their household as a "rainbow family." Jones passionately declared, "Integration is a more personal thing with me now. It's a question of my son's future," underscoring his commitment to fostering diversity. The Temple itself was presented as a "rainbow family." Their first adoption in 1954 welcomed Agnes, a child of Native American heritage. Subsequently, in 1959, three Korean-American children, Lew, Stephanie, and Suzanne, joined the Jones family, as part of Jones's initiative to encourage Temple members to adopt orphans from war-torn Korea. Tragically, Stephanie died in a car accident at the age of 5 in May 1959.
June 1959 marked the birth of Jones and his wife's only biological child, named Stephan Gandhi. Demonstrating a groundbreaking commitment to racial integration, in 1961, they became the first white couple in Indiana to adopt a black child, Jim Jones Jr. (also known as James W. Jones Jr.). Additionally, a white son, originally named Timothy Glen Tupper (shortened to Tim), was adopted, his birth mother being a Temple member. Jones also fathered Jim Jon (Kimo) with Carolyn Layton, another Temple member.
In 1961, Jones, fueled by visions of an imminent nuclear attack on Indianapolis, initiated plans to relocate Peoples Temple to South America. Influenced, perhaps, by William Branham's prophecy about the U.S.'s destruction in a nuclear war, Jones, alarmed by the foreseen catastrophe, sought refuge. An Esquire magazine article in January 1962 emphasized the safety of South America in the face of nuclear war, prompting Jones to explore potential sites for relocating Peoples Temple.
Making a stop in Georgetown, Guyana, on his way to Brazil, Jones held revival meetings in the British colony. The family then settled temporarily in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, studying the local economy and the receptiveness of racial minorities to his message. Language barriers posed challenges, prompting Jones to emphasize an apostolic communal lifestyle rather than Marxism, careful not to portray himself as a communist. In mid-1963, the family moved to Rio de Janeiro, engaging in charitable work in the favelas.
Failing to find a suitable location for Peoples Temple, Jones experienced guilt for leaving the civil rights struggle in Indiana. During his absence, attendance at Peoples Temple plummeted, prompting Jones to demand that all revenue be sent to him in South America. The church incurred debt to fund his mission. In late 1963, the Temple faced collapse, compelling Jones to reluctantly return to Indiana.
Upon his return, Jones discovered Peoples Temple divided and financially strained. Forced to sell the church building, the congregation relocated to a smaller nearby space. To raise funds, Jones briefly returned to the revival circuit, predicting a nuclear war on July 15, 1967, leading to a socialist utopia. He urged the Temple to move to Northern California for safety.
Jones made multiple trips to California in 1964 to identify a suitable relocation site. In July 1965, Jones and his followers moved to Redwood Valley, California, near Ukiah. The move, however, led to internal strife, with assistant pastor Russell Winberg resisting Jones's efforts, asserting that Jones was abandoning Christianity. About 140 loyal followers joined the relocation, while others remained in Indiana with Winberg.
In California, Jones secured a teaching position in Ukiah, leveraging it to recruit for Peoples Temple and impart Marxist ideologies to his students. Jones strategically placed Temple members in classes to assist in recruitment. By 1967, 50 new members had joined, and another 75 from the Indianapolis congregation relocated to California in 1967.
In 1968, the California location of Peoples Temple joined the Disciples of Christ, which Jones exploited to falsely represent the Temple as part of the 1.5 million-member denomination. By 1969, Peoples Temple's California membership had grown to 300, and Jones continued to use his denominational connections to promote his cause.
Jones meticulously concealed the communist tenets of his teachings until the late 1960s when Peoples Temple relocated to California, unveiling his comprehensive beliefs gradually to his followers. Dismissing traditional Christianity as a "fly away religion" by the early 1970s, Jones challenged the conventional view of God, branding it as a "Sky God" and asserting his own divinity, positioning himself as the sole God.
Expanding his critique, Jones authored a tract titled "The Letter Killeth," scrutinizing the King James Bible and condemning King James as a slave owner and capitalist responsible for distorting scripture. Jones claimed a divine mission to reveal the genuine gospel hidden by corrupt leaders.
Rejecting the Disciples of Christ denomination's prescribed sacraments, Jones embraced Father Divine's holy communion practices and formulated his unique baptismal rite, baptizing converts "in the holy name of Socialism."
Addressing the concept of sin, Jones asserted, "If you're born in capitalist America, racist America, fascist America, then you're born in sin. But if you're born in socialism, you're not born in sin." Relying on a prophecy from the Book of Revelation, he portrayed American capitalist culture as irredeemable "Babylon."
Jones consistently warned his followers of an impending apocalyptic nuclear race war, predicting that Nazis and white supremacists would incarcerate people of color. Casting himself as a messiah sent to save humanity, he preached that embracing his teachings was the only escape from the imminent catastrophe. Jones promised that, post-apocalypse, they would emerge to establish a utopian communist society.
Upon relocating to California, Jones delved into illicit drug use, intensifying his paranoia and paving the way for an escalating reliance on fear as a means of control and manipulation over his followers. He persistently instilled a sense of impending doom, shifting the identity of the supposed enemy from the Ku Klux Klan to Nazis, redneck vigilantes, and ultimately the American government. Jones prophesied dire consequences, such as fires, car accidents, and death or injury, for those deemed unfaithful to him and his teachings. Encouraging an aggressive promotion of his beliefs, he pressed his followers to act in accordance with his dictates.
Through the Planning Commission, Jones assumed control over every facet of his followers' lives. Individuals joining Peoples Temple surrendered all their assets in exchange for free room and board, while those employed outside the Temple relinquished their incomes for the community's benefit. Jones directed groups to undertake various projects for additional income, establishing an agricultural operation in Redwood Valley to cultivate food. Extensive community outreach initiatives were organized, with Temple members dispatched for work and community service across the region.
The initial instances of serious abuse within Peoples Temple emerged in California as the Planning Commission disciplined members diverging from Jones's vision or violating rules. Jones's control extended to their sex lives and marital choices, with some coerced into abortions. Disturbingly, he demanded sexual favors from the wives of certain members and perpetrated sexual assaults against male congregants.
Resistance to Jones's control triggered punishments ranging from reduced food rations and harsher work schedules to public ridicule, humiliations, and occasional physical violence. As the Temple's membership swelled, Jones established an armed security group to maintain order among his followers and ensure his personal safety.
By 1970, Peoples Temple expanded its presence into various cities, including San Fernando, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Jones, recognizing limited expansion opportunities in Ukiah, redirected his focus toward major cities across California. The Temple's headquarters eventually shifted to San Francisco, a hub for radical protest movements. By 1973, Peoples Temple boasted a membership of 2,570, along with 36,000 subscribers to its fundraising newsletter. Jones deliberately grew the Temple by targeting other churches, exemplified in a 1970 trip to San Francisco's Missionary Baptist Church. There, Jones orchestrated a faith healing revival meeting, claiming to cure a man of cancer—a staged "healing" later revealed by his followers. After attacking Baptist teachings, he successfully recruited around 200 new members for Peoples Temple.
In a less fruitful endeavor in 1971, Jones and numerous followers visited the tomb and shrine dedicated to Father Divine shortly after his death. Accused by Divine's wife of being the devil in disguise, Jones managed to recruit only twelve followers from the event.
Jones's negative press began in October 1971 when reporters covered one of his divine healing services in Indianapolis, triggering an investigation by the Indiana State Psychology Board in 1972. A doctor involved accused Jones of "quackery" and challenged him to provide tissue samples of alleged cancer-healing material. Fearing exposure, Jones announced the termination of his ministry in Indiana, downplaying his healing claims. The situation escalated with articles by Lester Kinsolving in the San Francisco Examiner in September 1972, revealing Jones's claims of divinity and exposing purported miracles as hoaxes.
In 1973, Ross Case, a former follower, collaborated with a Ukiah group to investigate Peoples Temple, reporting findings to local police who took no action. On December 13, 1973, Jones was arrested for lewd conduct, allegedly masturbating in front of an undercover LAPD vice officer in a Los Angeles movie theater restroom near MacArthur Park. Though the charge was dismissed on December 20, 1973, the details and reasons for dismissal remained unclear, with the court file sealed and records ordered destroyed by the judge.
In the autumn of 1973, Jones, along with the Planning Commission, devised a contingency plan for escaping the United States in case of a government raid. Simultaneously, they began formulating a more comprehensive strategy to relocate Peoples Temple, ultimately selecting Guyana as the preferred destination. The decision was influenced by Guyana's recent socialist revolution and the positive response Jones had received during his visit in 1963. In October, the group unanimously voted to establish an agricultural commune in Guyana, and in December, Jones, along with Ijames, traveled to Guyana to identify a suitable location.
By the summer of 1974, land and supplies had been acquired in Guyana, with Jones taking charge of the project. He oversaw the installation of a power generation station, the clearance of fields for farming, and the construction of dormitories in preparation for the initial settlers. In December 1974, the first group arrived in Guyana to commence operations in the commune that would later be known as Jonestown.
Upon their arrival in Jonestown, Jones implemented measures to prevent members from leaving the settlement. Although Jonestown initially had around 50 settlers in 1977, actively expanding the commune, it was not adequately prepared to accommodate a significant influx of residents. Bureaucratic requirements, post-Jones' arrival, diverted labor resources from essential needs, resulting in deteriorating buildings and encroaching weeds in fields. Despite warnings from Ijames that the facilities could only sustain 200 people, Jones, driven by the perceived urgency to relocate, insisted on an immediate move. In May 1977, Jones, accompanied by approximately 600 followers, arrived in Jonestown, with an additional 400 joining in the subsequent months. Concurrently, Jones initiated the transfer of Temple's financial assets overseas and began liquidating properties in the United States, amounting to over $10 million ($42,707,304 in 2020). Despite prior negative publicity, Jones retained external respect for establishing a racially integrated church aiding the disadvantaged, with 68% of Jonestown residents being black.
Initially, Temple members engaged in rigorous six-day workweeks, from 6:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., with a one-hour lunch break. The work schedule shifted to eight hours a day, five days a week around mid-1978, as Jones' health deteriorated and his wife assumed more management responsibilities in Jonestown. After work, members participated in several hours of activities in a pavilion, including classes on socialism.
Jones compelled every Peoples Temple member to claim they were homosexual while asserting himself as the sole heterosexual. Despite this, Jones was bisexual, engaging in intimate relationships with both male and female followers in Jonestown. Women who were involved with him praised his prowess, with Temple member Tim Cater noting that Jones "encouraged that kind of talk."
Among the individuals whom Jones brought to Guyana was John Victor Stoen, whose birth certificate identified Timothy Stoen and Grace Stoen as his parents. Jones engaged in a sexual relationship with Grace Stoen and asserted that he was John's biological father. In 1976, Grace Stoen left Peoples Temple, leaving her child behind. Jones, fearing a custody dispute with Grace, ordered John to be transported to Guyana in February 1977. After Timothy Stoen also departed from Peoples Temple in June 1977, Jones retained custody of the child in his residence in Jonestown.
In the autumn of 1977, Timothy Stoen and other Temple defectors formed a "Concerned Relatives" group as they had family members in Jonestown who were being denied the opportunity to return to the United States. In January 1978, Stoen visited Washington, D.C., to meet with State Department officials and members of Congress, presenting a white paper outlining his grievances against Jones and the Temple while seeking the recovery of his son. This effort attracted the attention of California Congressman Leo Ryan, who wrote a letter on Stoen's behalf to Guyanese Prime Minister Forbes Burnham. The Concerned Relatives initiated a legal battle with the Temple over the custody of Stoen's son.
While most of Jones's political allies distanced themselves following his departure, a few retained ties. Willie Brown, for instance, spoke in support of the Temple's alleged adversaries at a rally attended by Harvey Milk and Assemblyman Art Agnos. Mayor Moscone's office released a press statement asserting that Jones had not violated any laws. On April 11, 1978, the Concerned Relatives disseminated a packet of documents, letters, and affidavits to Peoples Temple, the press, and Congress members, titled "Accusation of Human Rights Violations by Rev. James Warren Jones."
In June 1978, Deborah Layton, a Peoples Temple member who escaped Jonestown six months before the massacre, submitted an additional affidavit detailing crimes by the Temple and substandard living conditions in Jonestown. Layton disclosed intentional undernourishment of Jonestown residents, describing their diet as predominantly rice, rice water soup, and rice and beans for meals, with minimal provisions of vegetables and occasional treats like an egg and a cookie on Sundays. Layton highlighted the contrasting diet of Jones, who consumed more substantial, meat-inclusive meals despite claiming blood sugar issues. Inner circle members also had access to better provisions, visibly exhibiting better health than other residents.
In the summer of 1978, Jones faced heightened scrutiny and enlisted JFK assassination conspiracy theorists Mark Lane and Donald Freed to build a case of a "grand conspiracy" against the Temple by U.S. intelligence agencies. Jones, aspiring to emulate Eldridge Cleaver, a Black Panthers member who successfully returned to the U.S. after rebuilding his reputation, explored the possibility of resettling his commune in the Soviet Union. In October 1978, Feodor Timofeyev, the Soviet consul to Guyana, visited Jonestown, praising its alignment with Marxist principles and expressing gratitude to Jim Jones.
In Jonestown, Jones's growing paranoia intensified as he harbored fears of a potential government raid on the commune. Apprehensive about the community's ability to fend off an attack, he initiated drills to assess their preparedness, dubbing them "White Nights." During these drills, Jones would urgently announce "Alert, Alert, Alert" over the community loudspeaker, rallying everyone to the central pavilion surrounded by armed guards wielding guns and crossbows.
Participants remained in the pavilion throughout the drill, as Jones painted a dire scenario where the community was besieged by threatening agents ready to obliterate them. Engaging them in prayers, chanting, and singing, Jones simulated an impending attack, occasionally having guards hide in the forest and discharge firearms to heighten the illusion. The terrified followers, unaware they were part of a drill, only learned the truth after the event. One notably prolonged drill in September 1977, known as the 'Six Day Siege,' became a symbol of the community's resilience according to Jones.
These White Night drills served to instill fear, preventing Jonestown members from venturing outside the commune. Following visits by U.S. Embassy personnel and an IRS investigation in early 1978, Jones became increasingly convinced that the feared attack was imminent. In a disturbing turn, during a 1978 White Night drill, Jones told his followers that he planned to distribute poison for a mass suicide. A batch of fruit punch was served, and as followers tearfully awaited their demise, Jones eventually revealed it was only a drill with no actual poison. Through these drills, Jones manipulated his followers into believing that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) sought to destroy their community, conditioning them to view suicide as a means of escape.
On at least two occasions during White Nights, after a "revolutionary suicide" vote was reached, a simulated mass suicide was rehearsed.
By 1978, Jonestown faced deteriorating conditions, with the community exhausted from overwork. Residents, mostly minors and the elderly, endured extensive manual labor, while loudspeakers blared continuous sermons by Jones. The leader, now preaching about "Translation," claimed that death would bring a blissful afterlife for him and his followers. With scarce resources and worsening situations in healthcare, education, and food rations, Jones's orders became erratic. Many in the community struggled to keep pace with the demanding workload.
Jones resorted to controlling his followers through sleep deprivation, maintaining their state of poverty and fatigue to hinder escape or resistance. Teri Buford O'Shea, one of the few Jonestown escapees, attested to the effectiveness of this method. O'Shea recalled Jones's directive: "Let's keep them poor and tired, because if they're poor they can't escape and if they're tired they can't make plans." Jones employed punishments like confining members in coffin-shaped boxes underground, with others assigned to perpetually berate and reprimand them.
Facing potential lung issues in 1978, Jones claimed to his followers that he had lung cancer, leveraging their sympathy and support. Reports indicated his abuse of substances like valium, quaaludes, stimulants, and barbiturates. Audio recordings from Jonestown meetings in 1978 revealed Jones's deteriorating health, with complaints of longstanding high blood pressure, small strokes, significant weight loss, temporary blindness, convulsions, and grotesque swelling of extremities in late October to early November 1978, during his illness in the cabin.
In November 1978, Congressman Ryan led a fact-finding mission to Jonestown to investigate allegations of human-rights abuses. Accompanying him were relatives of Temple members, an NBC camera crew, and reporters from various newspapers. Their journey began in the Guyanese capital of Georgetown on November 15.
After a two-day journey, the group reached Port Kaituma by airplane and then proceeded to Jonestown. Jones hosted a reception for the delegation at Jonestown's central pavilion, where Temple member Vernon Gosney discreetly passed a note to NBC reporter Don Harris. The note, aimed at seeking assistance, revealed Gosney's and another Temple member Monica Bagby's desire to leave the settlement. Tensions escalated as news of attempted departures circulated within the community. The delegation hastily departed on the afternoon of November 18 after narrowly avoiding an attack by Temple member Don Sly, who tried to stab Congressman Ryan. Fifteen Temple members who expressed a desire to leave were able to join the delegation, and Jones did not interfere with their departure at that time.
Marceline Jones reassured the community over the public address system, urging locals to return to their homes after Congressman Ryan left Jonestown for Port Kaituma. Meanwhile, aides prepared a large metal tub filled with grape Flavor Aid laced with diphenhydramine, promethazine, chlorpromazine, chloroquine, chloral hydrate, diazepam, and cyanide.
As members of Ryan's delegation boarded planes at the Port Kaituma airstrip, Jonestown's armed Red Brigade arrived, opening fire on them. The assailants killed Congressman Ryan and four others near a Guyana Airways Twin Otter aircraft. Simultaneously, Larry Layton, one of the supposed defectors, drew a weapon and began shooting at members inside the other plane, a Cessna, which included Gosney and Bagby. NBC cameraman Bob Brown managed to capture footage of the initial moments of the shooting at the Otter before he himself was killed by the gunmen.
The casualties at the airstrip included Ryan, Harris, Brown, San Francisco Examiner photographer Greg Robinson, and Temple member Patricia Parks. Those who survived the attack included future Congresswoman Jackie Speier, a Ryan staff member, Richard Dwyer, Deputy Chief of Mission from the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown, Bob Flick, an NBC producer, Steve Sung, an NBC sound engineer, Tim Reiterman, an Examiner reporter, Ron Javers, a Chronicle reporter, Charles Krause, a Washington Post reporter, and several defecting Temple members who managed to escape into the jungle to evade the assailants.
Later on the same day, November 18, 1978, Jones received information that his security guards had failed to eliminate all of Ryan's party. Fearing that the escapees would disclose the attack to the United States, Jones believed the military would be sent to seize Jonestown. Urgently summoning the entire community to the central pavilion, he declared Ryan's death and asserted that military commandos would soon descend on their commune to kill them all.
Jones conveyed to Temple members that the Soviet Union would likely deny them passage after the airstrip shooting, stating, "We can check with Russia to see if they'll take us in immediately; otherwise, we die," and questioning, "You think Russia's gonna want us with all this stigma?"
Using this rationale, Jones and several members advocated for a "revolutionary suicide." Jones recorded the entire death ritual on audio tape. Dissent arose at the beginning of the tape, notably from Temple member Christine Miller. The recording captured cries and screams of both children and adults. Since 1976, the Temple had been receiving monthly half-pound shipments of cyanide, ostensibly for gold cleaning. In May 1978, a Temple doctor sought permission to test cyanide on Jonestown's pigs, claiming their metabolism was akin to humans. A lethal concoction of Flavor Aid and cyanide was distributed to the community members, and those refusing to drink were injected with cyanide via syringe. Armed guards surrounded the crowd, presenting the grim choice of death by poison or death by a guard's hand.
Ruletta Paul and her one-year-old child were the first to ingest the poison, administered with a syringe without a needle. As parents witnessed their children succumb to the poison, chaos and panic ensued. According to escaped Temple member Odell Rhodes, the majority of the assembled Temple members "walked around like they were in a trance," quietly awaiting their own turn to die. Over time, as more perished, the guards themselves succumbed to poison.
It remains unclear if some initially perceived the exercise as another White Night rehearsal. Jones admonished tearful and dissenting members, stating, "Stop these hysterics. This is not the way for people who are socialists or communists to die. No way for us to die. We must die with some dignity." Jones reassured them, "Don't be afraid to die," emphasizing death as "just stepping over into another plane" and referring to it as "a friend." Jones directed that children be killed first, followed by the other adults after the children's demise. Concluding the tape, Jones stated, "We didn't commit suicide; we committed an act of revolutionary suicide protesting the conditions of an inhumane world."
In the early evening of November 18, Temple member Sharon Amos in Georgetown received a radio message from Jonestown instructing members there to seek vengeance on the Temple's adversaries before carrying out revolutionary suicide. Subsequently, after police arrived at the headquarters, Sharon took her children, Liane, Christa, and Martin, into a bathroom. Armed with a kitchen knife, she killed Christa and then Martin. Liane assisted Sharon in cutting her own throat, after which Liane took her own life.
Eighty-five community members survived the tragic event. Some slipped into the jungle as the death ritual unfolded, and one man hid in a ditch. An elderly woman remained hidden in her dormitory, sleeping through the event and waking to find everyone dead. Three high-ranking Temple members, tasked with transferring the Peoples Temple's funds to the Soviet Embassy, escaped death. The Jonestown basketball team was away at a game and survived. Others hid in dormitories or were away on business when the mass murder-suicide unfolded. Survivor Tim Carter suggested that, akin to a previous practice, the day's lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches may have been laced with sedatives to subdue cult members. In a 2007 interview, Carter shared his belief that Jones had his guards arrange the dead bodies of Jonestown residents to create the appearance that more people had willingly committed suicide.
The mass murder-suicide led to the deaths of 909 Jonestown inhabitants, including 276 children, predominantly in and around the central pavilion. This tragic incident marked the largest single loss of American civilian life in a deliberate act until the attacks of September 11, 2001, in New York and Washington. Four additional members residing in Georgetown also lost their lives. The FBI later recovered a 45-minute audio recording of the mass poisoning in progress, known as the "Death Tape."
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