So, my wife and I were talking about how charismatics ply their wares and I was surprised she was so out of touch with the whole Jim Jones thing. I remember reading the news articles as a kid and totally freaking out that stuff like that could go on. I think there is a movie out there that would cover the grisly details pretty well.
So, if you want to know a little more about the work of an enchanting and charismatic charmer, check this paper out. Written by a high schooler - but some great information nonetheless. Look for the patterns. It is all there with many in the DoC movement (and virtually every other movement out there). In the picture of the Jonestown aftermath, note the drum set on the stage. One of the tools of these charismatic movements is to use guitars and drums to hypnotize the followers into accepting their message. Hitler used low frequency sound generators placed under the stadiums at his mass rallies to get the crowd worked into a state of mass hysteria. Of course, a potent speech, filled with key words and pulpit pounding delivery were part of the equation - and the masses loved it and carried out the twisted plan, largely unaware that they were being manipulated by some masterful people.
Trashing on Brigham Young is easy to do. He had strong opinions and did hard things successfully under very hard circumstances. He was a dude; not a usurper or murderer as some would believe. But, if one is compromised for instance in sexual abuse, the first thing they will go to is; "Joseph did not practice polygamy, but Brigham was the bad guy who brought it about. And Abraham never did", or some such an excuse so they do not have to throw a guy Jesus actually extolled, under the bus. Same with Joseph. If Joseph never did engage in such a "twisted" practice, then one can still cling to their testimony of the Book of Mormon and hold much of the rest of the value set intact, while not sullying their image of Joseph with such a low thing as plurality of wives.
Well, fact is this. Joseph was sealed to multiple women (I am just guessing here that there is only possibly one other that he may have had a physical union with, and that might have been Eliza R. Snow). Even that is based on sketchy info, so I will not back it up until I have more clear facts and data. The rest were sealings for eternity only and we now have genetic proof (thankfully), that he was not literally rolling in the hay with 14 year old girls, as some of these mentally ill would assert. I have a unique perspective because I know how the mind works that has been compromised. Whether it is date rape, molestation as a child, marital rape and sexual violence within a legal union, it all produces the same end. It compromises the ability of the victim to ever (at least in this life) be 100% reliable in their judgment. Sadly, this affects about 70% of women and about 40% of men in this twisted world. That is alot of damaged people, if you think about it! It is no surprise to me that Mary, Mother of the Son of God was purportedly secreted away in the equivalent of a convent so that she could remain pure enough that she could play her role and endure the presence of the Father.
So, when I have folks who have been victims of horrific sexual abuse who start flinging the poo, I now know to question it good and hard. I remember years ago, there was one gal who was flinging the poo about President Monson and how, in the passages under the SL Temple, he was doing all kinds of sordid things with young girls. I actually bent an ear to the story I was reading for a bit, and then realized she was part of a satanic ritual abuse cult as a young girl and then detected the pattern and ultimately dismissed her twisted version of things based on the experience I had with my wife and a bunch of other factors. I am not saying every allegation is wrong - but I can surely say that much of it is just poo flinging by mentally ill people, most of whom have been mentally compromised in one way or another. Usually, in the case of poo flinging at leaders, it can be traced back to childhood trauma that relates in some way or another to sexual deviancy of some sort. Especially with SRA, they actually re-create a temple scene (altar, etc) so that the person is triggered (sometimes when kneeling across an altar as they are sealed to their spouse) and they often snap. The devil HATES marriage and the fact that he will never have it, nor a physical union with a spouse, nor experience the joy of posterity nor any of that. He gets a big nothing burger - and he is eternally enraged over it and will do ANYTHING he can to destroy the notion of all that is sacred and holy. That destruction will also include plurality of marriage which God enjoys. This will also include flinging the poo at the temple and the ordinances found inside. Sorry, Brad - you are on the wrong side of the coin on this one.... Repent. There are many Brads out there reading this. If the shoe fits, wear it. Otherwise, fuggedaboutit.
So, when looking at a claim against Brigham Young or others, I always consider the messenger. If they are not sexually pure as one can be in this life (were or are a player, etc), are they just projecting their twisted sexual deviancy on Brigham Young (while engaged in illicit sexual unions themselves). This was one of the mocking points that BY brought up back in the 1800's. He used to make the statements about the politicians in DC that; at least he was open about his "other women", unlike the politicos that all had their secret dalliances on the side, while hypocritically railing on sins of the filthy Mormon polygamists....
I think Phil (and other DoCers) might have something to say about that. I was made aware of one critic of the Church named Eric (I rarely name names, but I guess I will go with a first name here so I do not always have to deal with the abstract here) who committed adultery and then went about tearing down leadership and fault finding. As with many others who were critical of the Lord's anointed and got their asses handed to them in Covid-Round 2 (that included me and others in my posse at the time), the most vocal and possibly those who had the greatest knowledge was taken down and he died. I could have died. I think it would have been a fitting end and would have made a great statement for those who seek to steady the ark. That is what it is - plain and simple.
I think that many who went to the other extreme and rabidly followed a picture of their leader with the needle hanging out (and totally missed the rest of the message to Hear Him! and get their own revelation since the jackboots were outside the door surveilling the every move of the "Jew harborer" who was trying to speak in code). Those lazy people who blindly followed will also die in droves from the rona juice. It is already happening with rapid and sudden and unexpected cancers, blood clots, etc. It is game on - and both sides will pay a terrible toll. I run a FB group that anecdotally gathers stories and instances of people who have died suddenly and mysteriously after getting the shiht shaht - and the stories just keep mounting up. To the point that the purveyors of the rona juice had to admit their sick serum is neither safe, nor effective. I hate that term.... I hate big pharma. They are corrupt almost completely across the board....
Anyway, enough rambling. Check out how cultists peddle their wares. See the patterns. Know how to pick them out. See how they manipulate the vulnerable and mentally ill to do their bidding (I have highlighted some salient points illustrating how he sucked in the mentally ill or compromised).
How did Jim Jones manage to gain such control over his followers?
(Author’s note: I attend Girraween High, a selective high school, in Australia, NSW. This paper was written for an assignment in Historical Investigation Work for Modern History for year 11. We were told to form a base question of an area of modern history which interests us, and to develop a response. Due to my great interest in the topic of Jonestown, I wrote this.)
On November 18, 1978 members of Peoples Temple living in Jonestown, Guyana took part in the largest mass murder/suicide in modern history. More than 900 people died after ingesting a cyanide-laced drink. All of these deaths cannot be considered as suicide – especially the children and young people under majority age[1] – but there were still hundreds of people who took the words of Jim Jones and followed them, ending their lives. So the question still remains, what factors were present which allowed the leader to have such control over these people by their leader.
Jim Jones grew up very much an exile of society, and had an understanding of the troubles minorities faced in not being accepted. “Feeling as an outcast, I’d early developed a sensitivity for the problems of blacks,”[2] he said. “As a child I was undoubtedly one of the poor in the community, never accepted, born as it were on the wrong side of the tracks”[3] These statements give an insight into the reason in which Jones was so easily connected to the disenfranchised and the alienated in society. Jones understood how black Americans and people who supported the Civil Rights Movement felt isolated by the community, and this allowed him to create a place where they felt that they belonged. “Every single person felt they had a purpose there and they were exceptionally special and that’s how he brought so many young collage kids in, so many older black women in, so many from diverse backgrounds who realised that there was something bigger then themselves they needed to be involved in and Jim Jones offered that”[4]. With such an understanding of how these people had suffered, the ordeals that they had been through and the pain within them, it is no surprise that Jones was so able to gain their trust and make them feel like he was really ready to help them. Knowing how they felt allowed him to build a foundation which would help them feel better. It gave them a place to finally feel they were accepted for who they were and would not be judged. This was a basis for the trust which these people began to instil in Jones, as he had finally made so many of them happy, even to the extent of filling something inside of them.
Jim Jones appeared to be a great person, and he convinced so many people that he was doing great things in the community. He united the races, and combated the racist attitude which may have lingered within members. He supported the poor and elderly people in the community. The people in his congregation were very well looked after, and people began to see him as a sort of role model to them. As Laura Kohl said, “He was a role model for me – adopted children of all colors, hardworker, lived in modest circumstances, didn’t have his own limo no matter how successful, never made fun of anyone, took care of business but was inclusive of the youngest to oldest, newest to oldest member ALL THE TIME. And, he was a socialist and brought my heroes into the Temple many times – Angela Davis, Dennis Banks, Chileans . and SO MANY MORE. He was a political animal – very ego-driven and very successful. That is what I saw. Things were going on behind closed doors that I never saw – or at least never tuned into.. But what I SAW was someone with power how used mostly for good. Since the good was so overpowering – I didn’t spend much time being critical or even accepting the other.”[5] Such a moving statement allows us to empathise and understand why this man, who is seen as a villain today, was so widely respected and immortalised. He provided them with so much which ultimately led to unimaginable loyalty and trust to this man, such as a child honours that of a sporting hero. These people were betrayed by the actions of their hero, their role model but they cannot be blamed for entrusting such faith in him, as he misled them to believe him to be a demigod, perfect in so many ways and what he said. What he told them to do was truly thought to be the right thing to do.
Being part of Peoples Temple meant that you were made to feel guilty if you took luxuries for yourself. These luxuries were not the common thought of luxuries, as this included sleep. The members were forced to feel bad if they had been resting too much and enjoying this luxury, “We would let each other know next day, well, how long you slept, I slept two hours, you only slept two, well I slept an hour and a half”[6]. Doing this started to make people stop thinking clearly, or even to stop thinking at all, which was most probably Jones’ main desire. When they were like this, they would not think about instructions or even fight them, they would simply go along with what he told them. Other accounts echo this:
• “We were kept VERY busy – hardly time to sleep, so the other thing was – you had to decide HOW to use your energy – even your brain power.”[7]
• “The longest I ever stayed awake was six days, and that was with no coffee, no nothing.”[8]
• “Being in an environment where you are constantly up, constantly busy and you’re made to feel guilty if you take too many luxuries like sleeping, you tend to not to think for yourself and I allowed Jones to think for me, because I figured he had the better plan. I gave my rights up to him, as many others did.”[9]
These statements show just how things were in Jonestown, and how they were treated. We are able to see that they stopped having their own thoughts, and that Jim did nearly all of their thinking for them while they became mindless zombies under his control. It is very easy to see why they trusted him and did whatever he told them when this is taken into consideration, the fact that they were acting and living on virtually no sleep that they started being on his beck and call and that they no longer opposed the actions they were instructed to perform.
Jim Jones often conducted what they called “white nights” in Jonestown, nights where they were practicing in the event they were under attack. On these occasions, they would often practice mass suicide. The members after a while often stopped taking these seriously, although on the first occasion people reminisced “this punch is going to be passed out to everyone here. We all drank our punch, and then he said “you just drank poison and we will all die right her in the church together. The women were screaming oh no my baby my baby, and others just sat there. And then Jim said you didn’t drink poison”[10] and also the comment “”Jim said this was a test of loyalty. He just wanted to see if we were truly committed, and that is how we would show it.”[11] Through these staged mass suicides, the “loyalty tests”, Peoples Temple members would have become desensitised to the event, and may have no longer taken the threat seriously or thought that they were really doing it for real. This may not have been trust in him, just a false sense of security. Or maybe they just did trust Jones way too much, to believe that if he really wanted to give them poison to drink, that it was the best thing for them, that he ultimately knew the very best for them and they were happy to comply with this. However, it is sure that Jones had a role in making these people do something drastic that they would not normally have done in the right sense of mind. Even survivors will admit that had they been in Jonestown at the time, they would have shown their loyalty to Jones and committed revolutionary suicide. As Laura Kohl readily admits, “At that time – without the wisdom and insight I now have about the whole picture – I would likely have drank the drink.”
Another issue involved with Jim Jones’ control over these people that many of them came from broken homes and off the streets, from horrible lives which frequently included drug use and abuse, alcoholism and sometimes prostitution, alongside other criminal activities and abuse. When he developed Peoples Temple, it provided not only a home and place of refuge for these people, it was also symbolic of the improvements in their lives: they finally had something to live for, something to be a part of. It inspired them to try harder at their jobs, younger students to pursue college and forget the errors of their ways. They saw this as the change in their lives which made the improvement. You could even say they were oblivious that it was their own hard work and determination which brought about the better lifestyles; they believed it was this organization. “When I joined the Temple, I was cycling down into the abyss. I had flunked out of.college, had a brief marriage. had a man shot in my living room, had been hospitalized with a STD, dated a married man whose wife was a drug-addicted nurse, moved on to a cocaine-addicted attorney and endured other less dramatic but equally near-fatal experiences. And then I walked into the Redwood Valley Peoples Temple. What would have happened if I had not gone there at that time?… I am not the only one who found life in PT. Here in the US, many former drug addicts, prostitutes, disabled and disillusioned people were given their lives back.[12] Showing how one Temple member believed, and still does believe, how beneficial the group was to her life, could largely explain why she and so many others showed such faith and loyalty to Jones.
Jim Jones was a very desirable man to many women, and a role model to the men. He was extremely charismatic and always came across as a good person who was always trying to help others out. He was a man who understood the troubles of minorities and just generally of others, always ready to empathise with others. If you put your trust and faith in him, you were rewarded and looked after. “If I had to go the dentist it was taken care of, if I had to go doctors it was taken care of, if I needed clothes it was taken care of”[13]. These reasons all combined together to make the members of Peoples Temple trust and love Jim Jones. It also led them to take whatever he said seriously and in good faith, even though it ended up in such a downfall. His intentions may have begun as good, yet one thing is for sure; one man should not have such power over anyone, especially not such a mass of people.
The Jonestown Institute, http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/
The Religious Movements Homepage Project: Peoiples Temple
Email correspondence with Don Beck
Email correspondence with Fielding McGehee
Email correspondence with Laura Kohl
Jonestown: Life and Death of Peoples Temple (motion picture / documentary)
Jonestown: Paradise Lost (motion picture / documentary)
[1] “Murder or Suicide: What I Saw” by Tim Carter featured on Was it Murder or Suicide?: A Forum. Also mentioned by Laura Kohl: “Children can not make that decision for themselves. They are children. Parents have to make the choice for their child.”
[2] Jim Jones quoted in the video Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (0:09:54 minutes)
[3] Ibid. (0:08:11 minutes)
[4] Deborah Layton, Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (0:07:09 minutes)
[5] Quote from Laura Kohl, former Peoples Temple member.
[6] Hue Fortson Jr, Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple, (0:21:36 minutes)
[7] Quotation from Laura Kohl
[8] Unidentified former Peoples Temple Member quote in Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (0:21:55 minutes)
[9] Unidentified former Peoples Temple Member quote in Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (0:21:58 minutes)
[10] Ibid. (0:32:45 minutes)
[11] Ibid (0:33:14 minutes)
[12] “Was It Murder Or Was It Suicide?” by Laura Kohl accessed at http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=31982.
[13] Tim Carter on Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple
(Tim Brooks may be contacted through this website.)
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