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♪♪
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Jim: Come, let me tell you
of someone who heals,
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who does miracles like none other does.
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The more you see of god in me,
the more I can reproduce in you.
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[ Applause ]
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♪♪
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♪♪
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Welcome to
"very scary people."
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I'm Donnie wahlberg.
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The Jonestown massacre:
More than 900 people died there.
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The youngest victim was just 5 weeks old.
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The oldest was 97,
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and the man responsible was Jim Jones.
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Wildly charismatic, for decades
Jones was idolized by his flock,
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but he used his church as a way
to con people with phony cures
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and take their money.
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He sexually abused his followers
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and was obsessed with death,
disturbing behavior
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that traces all the way back
to his childhood.
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A man of extraordinary contradictions
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and seemingly unlimited gifts,
Jones could have done anything,
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but what he chose to do
is almost unimaginable.
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Reporter: Good evening.
We're interrupting our special
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broadcasting to bring you
this special report.
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We here at nbc news have been
trying to establish
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what happened last night.
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I remember him saying he was god.
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Jim: Let's fill this atmosphere
with warmth and love.
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Man: Bodies are strewn
all over the place.
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I was a zealot.
I believed it.
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The word on everybody's lips
was, "shades of Auschwitz."
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Jim:
Love is a healing remedy.
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Reporter: The death toll is rising
as more bodies are being found.
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Reporter: I also have to warn
you that what you're about
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to see almost defies description.
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Jim: I maintain to be and
declare to be your only savior!
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[ Cheers and applause ]
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Reporter: How do you think
history will eventually
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come to see your father?
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I don't care.
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Stephan: I'm really not sure what
the end was for my father, what...
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If there was a great, grand plan.
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What I saw my father doing is shooting
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from the hip much of the time,
and he was managing perception.
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I shall do all the miracles that you said
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your god would do and never did.
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- Yes!
- Yes!
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Jones became a master
performer as a preacher,
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and he gravitated towards
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the pentacostalist style of preaching,
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and in doing so,
he embraced faith healing.
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He didn't have the power to heal,
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and therefore we need
to fake these healings.
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Now, is the pain gone?
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Cobb: He would do this thing
where he would say,
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"lean your head back.
Close your eyes."
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Put his hands in your mouth,
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and it wasn't cancer
he was pulling out of you.
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What he was putting in your mouth
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was fermented chicken parts.
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Deceit is pernicious,
and it started back then.
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Reiterman: Jim Jones was
supposedly a good man gone bad.
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It couldn't be farther from the truth.
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Jim Jones was born
in a little town called
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crete, Indiana, in 1931.
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Crete was, [laughs] Just a dot
on the map.
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Had three or four houses,
a green elevator,
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and a railroad track, that was it.
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In 1931, Indiana is almost a century
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behind a lot of the rest of america.
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It's about the whitest area
in america you can find.
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The ku klux klan has been sort
of forced out of the south
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and has made Indiana it's new stronghold.
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It's very conservative, very religious.
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Hall: He was born to a
relatively poor couple.
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It was in the middle
of the great depression
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which was a time when poor
people certainly had trouble
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making the ends meet.
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Jim Jones' father, also named Jim Jones,
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is a world war I veteran.
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His mother, lynetta Jones,
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was the sort of spirit of the family.
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Guinn: Lynetta is bold.
She's brassy.
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She's pushy.
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His parents lost their farm
when he was a toddler,
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so he was raised in nearby Lynn, Indiana.
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He has a mother who is resentful
of her working-class place
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in life and tells him, even as a toddler,
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"you are going to be
the greatest man ever.
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You were born to be great."
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Jones stood out among others
of his peers as a child
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as someone who was precocious.
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He'd cuss up a storm.
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He was much smarter
than the rest of us kids.
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Ronan: But even at age 10 or
11, Jim Jones had a dark side.
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During world war ii,
German pows were sent to Lynn.
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I remember one occasion,
up pulls a greyhound bus,
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and the first guy out
was carrying a carbine
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followed by about 10 or 12 tall men,
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and on the back
of their coveralls was, "pow."
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And I'll never forget, this one patted
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Jimmy on the head
and he said something in German.
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These were German war prisoners.
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Jimmy turned around and said,
"heil Hitler."
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Guinn:
He's fixated on Adolf Hitler,
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how Hitler can stand
in front of huge crowds
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and just by force of personality
make them worship him
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and follow him,
and Jones actually admired
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Hitler committing suicide at the end
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rather than letting all
his enemies parade him around
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and feel triumphant in front of him.
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Cordell: And the other kids
all thought he was strange,
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so nobody wanted to be his friend.
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Stephan: I heard a lot
of stories about dad
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feeling like an outcast as a child.
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I suspect that to some he was
very attractive
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and others he was odd.
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Guinn: Jim Jones, from
childhood, is also a con artist.
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He manages, in this small town,
to convince all kinds of people
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that he's still a lost little waif,
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and he'll be invited in for meals.
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And he will tell the lady
serving him that meal
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he's never had better food,
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that he just loves her like a mama,
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that she's been so kind to him,
and they all just melt.
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Stephan: Dad knew how to
win someone over pretty quickly,
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knew how to adapt to any situation.
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Guinn: Little Jimmy is
fascinated by religion.
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He joins the nazarene church,
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and then he joins the methodists.
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Then he's over there with the baptists.
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He would organize pretend
church services with friends.
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He would be the minister.
They would be the followers.
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They would be listening
and nodding along.
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He would go out in the woods and practice
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giving his own services,
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and he would hold
funeral services for roadkill.
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By the time he's a teenager,
he's the one boy in town
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who goes to every church service
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and walks around carrying a Bible.
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With pentecostal services,
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he found this sense of belonging.
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Wise: Jimmy would go up.
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Every Sunday, he would go up
and get saved,
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and I always thought
that was a little weird, too.
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Hall: Pentecostalism, at its
origins, was racially integrated,
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and that's something that was
very important to Jones.
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He was never part
of the accepted in crowd,
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the social elite as he called it.
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He felt a tremendous resentment
towards people
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that he regarded as having
more power, more privilege,
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and more money than he had.
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Ronan: By the time Jones
was in high school,
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he was pretty set
on what he wanted to do.
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He wanted to be a preacher,
but not just a local preacher.
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He wanted to change the world.
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He would gain information
by searching garbage cans
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or talking to their neighbors.
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Guinn: It would seem like
he's reading minds.
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All he's doing is eavesdropping.
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♪♪
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By 1948, there were early shades
of who he would become,
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he was charismatic, he was confident,
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but he was somewhat rough
around the edges,
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a small-town character,
but he had a pretty big
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chip on his shoulder.
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It was fortunate, met the one
woman who could really take him
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further than any place he wanted to be.
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That was marceline Baldwin.
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Guinn: Marceline Baldwin, the
daughter of a city councilman,
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was considered the most
wonderful girl in town.
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When she entered a room,
she commanded respect.
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She had panache,
but not in a pompous way.
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Stephan: I think mom enjoyed
that dad was brash.
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She was definitely giving this young
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whippersnapper
the cold shoulder for awhile
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because mom was 4 years older than dad.
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One of the ways dad made himself
more attractive to mom
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was to talk about
his religious background
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and his desire to be a minister.
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Klingman: They married in June
1949, and it was a double wedding.
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My father and mother were
married in the same ceremony.
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Guinn: She is convinced that
she has married a special man
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who will do special things,
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and as he begins an independent
ministry in Indianapolis,
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she decides she will simply
devote herself to him.
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Hall: His first church
was incorporated
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under the name wings of deliverance.
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Jim Jones was 23 years old
when he set up this church
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with mostly a poor
African-American following.
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Segregation very much was alive
and firmly
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implanted in Indianapolis,
like it was in many cities.
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There was an active ku klux klan nearby.
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There was a racial divide in the city,
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and Jones was very bothered by that.
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I think dad genuinely cared
about doing the right thing,
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but that was always snarled
with his deep need for approval.
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He began to be unorthodox in his sermons.
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He was incorporating kind of a
political stance
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on the world's situation.
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Ronan: At first, he tried to
transform himself
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into marceline's dream man,
but then differences
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began to emerge.
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Guinn: He's difficult.
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He will not tolerate any views
other than his own.
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Stephan: Mom started to see
that dad was not all he said he was.
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Mom was in conflict from early on.
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She was the first victim
to fall prey to Jim,
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his public persona,
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the first victim of Jim figuring out
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what somebody needed to see and hear.
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Klingman: My family thought
he was a little odd,
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I have to admit, a little strange,
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but he had an air of authority,
and he was very charismatic.
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By 1955, his church
is growing substantially.
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This was a church that would
reach out to people
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who were in need.
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If someone's sewer line broke,
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then other members of the church
would come over and help.
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If there were people who were hungry,
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the soup kitchen would feed them.
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But for his ministry in the early days,
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Jones needs money.
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He can't get it from his parishioners
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in inner-city Indianapolis.
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They don't have any, so he
goes out on the revival circuit.
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Pentecostal services focused
on faith healing
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and on salvation.
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Guinn: He sees quickly
that the large crowds
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and the big donations
come when people work miracles.
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He would use the age-old
practice of discernment.
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That is, being able to tell
the future or tell things
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about people's past
that nobody else knew,
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and he would gain that information
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by searching garbage cans
or talking to their neighbors.
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Then he can get up and he can
start doing mind-reading things.
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And it would seem like
he's reading minds.
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All he's doing is eavesdropping.
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Hall:
Jones began to use theatrics
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to ritually portray his success
at faith healing.
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He had people on his staff who would...
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Would feign being sick, an old lady,
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and would leap out of a chair.
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Jim: In the second row, you
have a bad spinal condition.
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Step from your wheelchair!
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Again, step from your wheelchair!
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Take that step!
[ Cheers ]
248
00:14:30,626 --> 00:14:34,996
Bless your heart.
Take that step!
249
00:14:35,083 --> 00:14:39,173
Now... now, move forward.
Move forward!
250
00:14:39,250 --> 00:14:42,250
Kilduff: He would have people who
said they were blind who could see.
251
00:14:42,334 --> 00:14:44,884
All these sort of tricks
of the trade that he had heard
252
00:14:44,959 --> 00:14:49,459
other razzle-dazzle preachers
had used, he would use.
253
00:14:49,542 --> 00:14:54,672
He's already inculcating
in his followers the idea
254
00:14:54,751 --> 00:14:56,711
that sometimes you have to do things
255
00:14:56,792 --> 00:15:02,172
that seem wrong
to achieve the greater purpose.
256
00:15:02,250 --> 00:15:04,290
Cordell:
He said the Bible was false,
257
00:15:04,375 --> 00:15:06,705
and he threw it on the floor
and stepped on it.
258
00:15:22,792 --> 00:15:26,042
Ronan: By the 1950s, Jim
Jones is out on the revival circuit,
259
00:15:26,125 --> 00:15:27,665
and he's quite successful,
260
00:15:27,751 --> 00:15:31,961
but he's using lies to drum
up donations and supporters.
261
00:15:32,042 --> 00:15:35,082
Hassan:
So the ends justify the means.
262
00:15:35,167 --> 00:15:38,787
Lying to people by doing phony,
fake healing,
263
00:15:38,876 --> 00:15:41,206
it will help people have more faith,
264
00:15:41,292 --> 00:15:45,382
so therefore it's a good thing to do.
265
00:15:45,459 --> 00:15:52,709
Guinn: The more attention Jim
Jones gets, the more influence he has.
266
00:15:52,792 --> 00:15:56,082
He's never going to be satisfied.
267
00:15:56,167 --> 00:15:57,537
He wants more.
268
00:15:57,626 --> 00:16:03,076
He was so consumed
with furthering his name
269
00:16:03,167 --> 00:16:07,207
and constantly feeding
that need for adulation.
270
00:16:07,292 --> 00:16:09,712
Ronan: But while Jim was really
focused on the church,
271
00:16:09,792 --> 00:16:11,962
marceline wanted to have a family,
272
00:16:12,042 --> 00:16:13,292
and so she had this idea
273
00:16:13,375 --> 00:16:15,455
of adopting children of different races,
274
00:16:15,542 --> 00:16:17,632
calling it a rainbow family,
275
00:16:17,709 --> 00:16:21,539
to live out the church's ideas
of racial equality.
276
00:16:21,626 --> 00:16:25,166
Guinn: They first adopt a couple
of Korean orphans.
277
00:16:25,250 --> 00:16:27,920
They adopt a black baby,
the first white couple
278
00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:31,580
in Indianapolis to adopt a black infant,
279
00:16:31,667 --> 00:16:35,497
and they name this child Jim Jones Jr.
280
00:16:35,584 --> 00:16:37,964
Marceline discovers she's pregnant.
281
00:16:38,042 --> 00:16:41,542
They had one child themselves,
a son named Stephan.
282
00:16:41,626 --> 00:16:45,416
Stephan: I love my family,
but what I've come to believe
283
00:16:45,500 --> 00:16:48,000
about the rainbow family
is that too much of it
284
00:16:48,083 --> 00:16:51,833
was about the statement
from dad's point of view.
285
00:16:51,918 --> 00:16:54,628
Too much of it was about show.
286
00:16:54,709 --> 00:17:00,079
Cordell: In 1956, they bought
the church at 10th and Delaware
287
00:17:00,167 --> 00:17:04,377
which was a Jewish temple.
288
00:17:04,459 --> 00:17:08,129
Hall: It became known
as peoples temple.
289
00:17:08,209 --> 00:17:11,829
Peoples was the idea that this
is not just one people,
290
00:17:11,918 --> 00:17:16,248
not just one race,
not just one ethnicity.
291
00:17:29,125 --> 00:17:32,535
A black man would not be allowed
to say that,
292
00:17:32,626 --> 00:17:34,036
and to hear a white man
293
00:17:34,125 --> 00:17:37,665
saying those things,
that definitely stood out.
294
00:17:37,751 --> 00:17:40,251
I was born into peoples temple.
295
00:17:40,334 --> 00:17:44,084
Early as a child, our mother
just coming home
296
00:17:44,167 --> 00:17:45,877
and telling us all about this church
297
00:17:45,959 --> 00:17:50,129
and this man that was different,
like no other.
298
00:17:52,417 --> 00:17:55,747
Guinn: In Indianapolis,
black people simply can't eat
299
00:17:55,834 --> 00:17:57,424
at the nice restaurants.
300
00:17:57,500 --> 00:18:01,000
Jones will show up at a restaurant
301
00:18:01,083 --> 00:18:02,793
with a couple black people.
302
00:18:02,876 --> 00:18:05,076
"We'd like to come in."
"Well, no.
303
00:18:05,167 --> 00:18:06,957
You know, we don't have
any room for you."
304
00:18:07,042 --> 00:18:08,502
And he would point out, "look, there's
305
00:18:08,584 --> 00:18:10,504
these empty seats."
306
00:18:10,584 --> 00:18:12,754
And then he'd start saying, "you know,
307
00:18:12,834 --> 00:18:15,504
it would really be a good thing
for you if you integrate.
308
00:18:15,584 --> 00:18:17,084
You'll make more money."
309
00:18:17,167 --> 00:18:18,247
And he doesn't use force.
310
00:18:18,334 --> 00:18:20,044
He's a very persuasive guy.
311
00:18:20,125 --> 00:18:22,415
Ronan: Eventually the
Indianapolis restaurants gave in,
312
00:18:22,500 --> 00:18:24,580
allowing both black and white customers
313
00:18:24,667 --> 00:18:26,327
to sit and eat together.
314
00:18:26,417 --> 00:18:27,917
Guinn:
He essentially integrates
315
00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:31,540
one of the most segregationist
big cities in america.
316
00:18:31,626 --> 00:18:34,876
If Jim Jones had been hit by a car
317
00:18:34,959 --> 00:18:38,919
and killed on his way
from Indiana to California,
318
00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:42,460
we would remember him today
as one of the leaders
319
00:18:42,542 --> 00:18:44,962
of the early civil rights movement.
320
00:18:46,709 --> 00:18:49,249
Ronan: He's drawn crowds
and developed a name for himself
321
00:18:49,334 --> 00:18:51,584
as a minister, but like all good con men,
322
00:18:51,667 --> 00:18:53,167
it was a bait and switch.
323
00:18:53,250 --> 00:18:55,210
Cordell:
He changed the message.
324
00:18:55,292 --> 00:18:57,542
He said the Bible was false
325
00:18:57,626 --> 00:19:00,416
and nobody needed
to read the Bible anymore,
326
00:19:00,500 --> 00:19:03,210
and he threw it on the floor
and stepped on it.
327
00:19:07,083 --> 00:19:11,423
Dad's number one objective
was to be number one
328
00:19:11,500 --> 00:19:13,790
to anyone in his world,
329
00:19:13,876 --> 00:19:16,916
and people's religion
got in the way of him
330
00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:18,830
being number one to them,
331
00:19:18,918 --> 00:19:21,748
so that would be a major reason dad
332
00:19:21,834 --> 00:19:24,464
would have a problem
with the Bible and christianity.
333
00:19:24,542 --> 00:19:26,832
Ronan: This is in the midst
of the cold war.
334
00:19:26,918 --> 00:19:29,538
He's talking about socialism
and communism.
335
00:19:29,626 --> 00:19:31,376
It was all pretty revolutionary.
336
00:19:31,459 --> 00:19:36,459
Hall: Jones' resentment of
elites and monied people
337
00:19:36,542 --> 00:19:42,542
was something that dovetailed
with his political communism.
338
00:19:48,042 --> 00:19:52,502
He would wear the same shoes,
same cheap slacks, cotton shirt,
339
00:19:52,584 --> 00:19:54,964
and he never owned a car.
340
00:20:02,250 --> 00:20:06,080
In the 1950s in america,
when the cold war
341
00:20:06,167 --> 00:20:09,707
is ratcheting up, all across this country
342
00:20:09,792 --> 00:20:12,462
there is the great fear of nuclear war.
343
00:20:12,542 --> 00:20:16,292
Russia has the bomb.
344
00:20:16,375 --> 00:20:20,535
And more and more Americans believe
345
00:20:20,626 --> 00:20:24,786
that nuclear war is inevitable,
including Jim Jones.
346
00:20:35,292 --> 00:20:38,082
Cobb: Back then, nuclear war
was on everyone's mind,
347
00:20:38,167 --> 00:20:40,627
and I guess he read some article
and said that the place
348
00:20:40,709 --> 00:20:42,879
that would be least likely to be bombed
349
00:20:42,959 --> 00:20:47,579
or whatnot would be
redwood valley, west coast.
350
00:20:47,667 --> 00:20:52,127
Going to California brought the
church to an entirely new level.
351
00:20:52,209 --> 00:20:54,829
Hassan: The more you
surrender to the group,
352
00:20:54,918 --> 00:20:57,328
the more the group identity takes over.
353
00:20:57,417 --> 00:21:00,327
Ronan: It really is the end
of a traditional ministry,
354
00:21:00,417 --> 00:21:03,537
and it starts to move in the
direction of becoming a cult.
355
00:21:11,459 --> 00:21:16,329
♪♪
356
00:21:16,417 --> 00:21:19,667
Welcome back to
"very scary people."
357
00:21:19,751 --> 00:21:22,921
Jim Jones has tossed the Bible
from his sermons
358
00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:25,580
and begun to call himself the savior.
359
00:21:25,667 --> 00:21:27,287
Many of his followers are convinced
360
00:21:27,375 --> 00:21:29,785
he can cure diseases and read minds.
361
00:21:29,876 --> 00:21:32,706
By the mid-1960s, there are ominous signs
362
00:21:32,792 --> 00:21:34,212
that the peoples temple
363
00:21:34,292 --> 00:21:37,172
is turning from a religious
movement into a cult.
364
00:21:37,250 --> 00:21:39,420
The congregation believes they're working
365
00:21:39,500 --> 00:21:41,290
toward a utopian paradise,
366
00:21:41,375 --> 00:21:46,285
but in reality, it's
the beginning of a nightmare.
367
00:22:01,959 --> 00:22:05,919
In the summer of 1965 around 70 families
368
00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:09,420
made the trip out to mendocino county
369
00:22:09,500 --> 00:22:11,080
and ultimately settling
370
00:22:11,167 --> 00:22:15,327
in the little Hamlet of redwood valley.
371
00:22:15,417 --> 00:22:18,207
The first thing that I recognized
372
00:22:18,292 --> 00:22:24,252
was that some guy arrived
with three busloads of people.
373
00:22:24,334 --> 00:22:27,964
There were mixed families,
and we hadn't had that.
374
00:22:28,042 --> 00:22:31,042
Shell shock, totally different
because it was all white people.
375
00:22:31,125 --> 00:22:33,665
Guinn:
What Jones never factored in
376
00:22:33,751 --> 00:22:36,081
was it's pretty much
redneck-white country,
377
00:22:36,167 --> 00:22:39,747
and they will not welcome
peoples temple with open arms,
378
00:22:39,834 --> 00:22:41,384
and he gets there and essentially
379
00:22:41,459 --> 00:22:43,709
has to start rebuilding again.
380
00:22:43,792 --> 00:22:45,582
Poulos:
They went out and got good jobs.
381
00:22:45,667 --> 00:22:48,077
They contributed to the community.
382
00:22:48,167 --> 00:22:50,167
They seemed to care about the people
383
00:22:50,250 --> 00:22:53,420
that were having problems.
384
00:22:53,500 --> 00:22:57,290
Jones does in redwood valley
what he did in Indianapolis.
385
00:22:57,375 --> 00:22:59,375
He begins to meet with local officials
386
00:22:59,459 --> 00:23:01,129
and to make a name for himself.
387
00:23:01,209 --> 00:23:06,789
He came to my office when I was
running for local schoolboard.
388
00:23:06,876 --> 00:23:10,706
He told me that I wasn't going
to have any problem
389
00:23:10,792 --> 00:23:15,382
getting elected to the position,
because I was being supported
390
00:23:15,459 --> 00:23:20,039
by the peoples temple
and would I like to join?
391
00:23:20,125 --> 00:23:23,915
Hall: Peoples temple began
to attract a new middle
392
00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:28,630
and upper-middle-class
contingent of whites.
393
00:23:28,709 --> 00:23:30,169
There were real estate brokers.
394
00:23:30,250 --> 00:23:32,670
There were lawyers.
There were social workers.
395
00:23:32,751 --> 00:23:34,001
There were accountants.
396
00:23:34,083 --> 00:23:38,833
♪ Arise ye christians
of salvation ♪
397
00:23:38,918 --> 00:23:40,628
Stephan:
Boy, when he got up on...
398
00:23:40,709 --> 00:23:46,039
He could just off the cuff
preach and light you up.
399
00:23:46,125 --> 00:23:48,205
He really could.
400
00:23:59,959 --> 00:24:03,709
Klingman: California at that
time in the mid-'60s,
401
00:24:03,792 --> 00:24:07,632
the culture was ripe for disenfranchised
402
00:24:07,709 --> 00:24:09,539
and a disillusioned people,
403
00:24:09,626 --> 00:24:13,786
anti-war, Vietnam, anti-government.
404
00:24:13,876 --> 00:24:16,576
Kohl:
I came out in march of 1970.
405
00:24:16,667 --> 00:24:21,247
People thought that Jim Jones
had kind of a socialist group.
406
00:24:21,334 --> 00:24:23,544
He was a minister, but he would
talk from the pulpit
407
00:24:23,626 --> 00:24:27,826
about how he had spoken
to Angela Davis or Cesar Chavez.
408
00:24:27,918 --> 00:24:30,208
He was one of the first ones to say,
409
00:24:30,292 --> 00:24:32,002
you know, you could be gay or straight,
410
00:24:32,083 --> 00:24:34,673
and so in many ways he was out front
411
00:24:34,751 --> 00:24:38,791
in being vocal about human rights.
412
00:24:38,876 --> 00:24:41,666
Gosney: I first met Jones
in Seattle, Washington.
413
00:24:41,751 --> 00:24:44,921
I was living there with my wife, Cheryl.
414
00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:46,920
We were an interracial couple,
415
00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:50,750
estranged from our families,
and we were embraced.
416
00:24:50,834 --> 00:24:52,254
It was warm.
It was welcoming.
417
00:24:52,334 --> 00:24:53,674
It was interracial.
418
00:24:53,751 --> 00:24:56,381
There was all different kinds
of people there.
419
00:24:56,459 --> 00:24:57,709
I moved in with nothing.
420
00:24:57,792 --> 00:25:00,132
I had no money, so Jim took me in,
421
00:25:00,209 --> 00:25:02,789
gave me housing and everything,
and I lived communally.
422
00:25:02,876 --> 00:25:04,956
I turned in my paycheck.
423
00:25:06,959 --> 00:25:09,749
Ronan: As his membership
grows, Jones begins to demand more
424
00:25:09,834 --> 00:25:12,964
when it comes to tithing,
10 percent, then 20 percent.
425
00:25:13,042 --> 00:25:15,922
It really is the end
of a traditional ministry,
426
00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:18,790
and it starts to move in the
direction of becoming a cult.
427
00:25:18,876 --> 00:25:23,166
Cults will often ask members
to give over their money,
428
00:25:23,250 --> 00:25:27,920
their paychecks, their houses,
the cars to the cause,
429
00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:31,460
and, of course, the more
you surrender to the group,
430
00:25:31,542 --> 00:25:34,042
the more the group identity takes over.
431
00:25:34,125 --> 00:25:36,875
There was definitely a call
for conformity
432
00:25:36,959 --> 00:25:39,169
immediately upon coming to the temple.
433
00:25:39,250 --> 00:25:40,710
You got your hair cut.
434
00:25:40,792 --> 00:25:43,172
You were supposed to dress a certain way.
435
00:25:43,250 --> 00:25:47,040
You're... basically,
whatever persona you had
436
00:25:47,125 --> 00:25:49,705
before you came to the temple was molded
437
00:25:49,792 --> 00:25:53,252
into a kind
of a cookie-cutter appearance.
438
00:25:53,334 --> 00:25:57,964
It's really about separating
people from their past lives
439
00:25:58,042 --> 00:26:02,632
to this control of their
thoughts and their feelings.
440
00:26:02,709 --> 00:26:06,039
Ronan: Jones began to
warn his group about outsiders.
441
00:26:06,125 --> 00:26:08,495
It became sort of an us versus them.
442
00:26:08,584 --> 00:26:11,754
Stephan: Us against them would
create fear in us,
443
00:26:11,834 --> 00:26:15,214
and that's the way a raging ego thinks.
444
00:26:15,292 --> 00:26:17,422
"If you don't agree with me,
you're against me.
445
00:26:17,500 --> 00:26:20,130
If you're against me,
you're the enemy."
446
00:26:20,209 --> 00:26:22,919
This community became tighter,
more suspicious,
447
00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:25,330
more dedicated to the cause.
448
00:26:25,417 --> 00:26:26,877
Kohl:
There were 60 or 70 of us
449
00:26:26,959 --> 00:26:28,959
who were on the planning commission,
450
00:26:29,042 --> 00:26:32,002
and we'd stay up all night,
like, every Wednesday night.
451
00:26:32,083 --> 00:26:35,503
Gosney: There were services
on Wednesday nights,
452
00:26:35,584 --> 00:26:38,584
Friday nights, Saturday, Sunday.
453
00:26:38,667 --> 00:26:41,957
You, as an adult, were not to
fall asleep during the service.
454
00:26:42,042 --> 00:26:43,382
Kohl: Then it got to be status.
455
00:26:43,459 --> 00:26:44,919
"Well, how much sleep did you
have last night?"
456
00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:46,000
"Two hours."
457
00:26:46,083 --> 00:26:47,633
"Well, I only had
an hour and 45."
458
00:26:47,709 --> 00:26:51,329
So, it got so that, to show
how dedicated you were,
459
00:26:51,417 --> 00:26:53,787
you got less and less and less sleep,
460
00:26:53,876 --> 00:26:56,456
which really fit right into Jim's plan.
461
00:26:56,542 --> 00:27:00,172
Another universal manipulation
by cult leaders
462
00:27:00,250 --> 00:27:03,250
to do mind control is sleep deprivation.
463
00:27:03,334 --> 00:27:06,634
Their critical faculties
are not going to be functioning.
464
00:27:06,709 --> 00:27:08,999
Their memory is going to be impaired.
465
00:27:09,083 --> 00:27:11,503
Their immune systems will break down.
466
00:27:11,584 --> 00:27:12,834
Kohl:
One of Jim's secretaries,
467
00:27:12,918 --> 00:27:15,498
he told her that if you keep people tired
468
00:27:15,584 --> 00:27:18,964
and you keep them poor,
nobody will ever leave.
469
00:27:19,042 --> 00:27:20,712
Ronan: Jim Jones' rules
became stricter.
470
00:27:20,792 --> 00:27:24,632
He began to monitor everything
from a person's romantic lives
471
00:27:24,709 --> 00:27:26,789
to the type of food they were eating.
472
00:27:32,959 --> 00:27:34,329
And when anyone broke a rule,
473
00:27:34,417 --> 00:27:36,957
there was a public
accounting of their sins.
474
00:27:37,042 --> 00:27:39,752
Kohl: One woman wrote him
a love letter saying,
475
00:27:39,834 --> 00:27:41,174
"I love you.
476
00:27:41,250 --> 00:27:43,790
I want to be with you.
I will always follow you."
477
00:27:43,876 --> 00:27:46,576
Guinn: She was very enamored
of Jim Jones
478
00:27:46,667 --> 00:27:49,207
and was bothering him about it,
479
00:27:49,292 --> 00:27:51,252
so at one of the planning
commission meetings,
480
00:27:51,334 --> 00:27:53,544
he ordered her to strip naked.
481
00:27:55,459 --> 00:27:56,829
Kohl:
He said, "look at you.
482
00:27:56,918 --> 00:27:59,668
Why would I ever be attracted
to you anyway?"
483
00:27:59,751 --> 00:28:03,381
Guinn: He led the group
in mocking her body
484
00:28:03,459 --> 00:28:06,419
and then made her sit naked even longer
485
00:28:06,500 --> 00:28:09,080
before he finally allowed her
to dress herself.
486
00:28:09,167 --> 00:28:10,827
He just completely demeaned her.
487
00:28:10,918 --> 00:28:13,128
Guinn: And then the next day,
she wrote him a note
488
00:28:13,209 --> 00:28:16,459
apologizing for having done
the terrible things
489
00:28:16,542 --> 00:28:18,502
that made him do that.
490
00:28:18,584 --> 00:28:21,504
Hassan: It's sending a message
to everyone else.
491
00:28:21,584 --> 00:28:24,294
"You better tow the line
and do what we tell you.
492
00:28:24,375 --> 00:28:27,495
Otherwise it could be you next."
493
00:28:27,584 --> 00:28:30,834
I thought, "this man who's
supposed to be so loving,
494
00:28:30,918 --> 00:28:36,878
how could he look at her and say
the things that he said,"
495
00:28:36,959 --> 00:28:38,539
you know, "about her?"
496
00:28:38,626 --> 00:28:41,286
I mean, it was so cruel.
497
00:28:41,375 --> 00:28:43,575
It's like being in a relationship
498
00:28:43,667 --> 00:28:46,417
and being in love
and everything's wonderful
499
00:28:46,500 --> 00:28:48,880
and it's good, and then you notice,
500
00:28:48,959 --> 00:28:50,999
"well, there's something
that's not quite right,"
501
00:28:51,083 --> 00:28:53,463
but you ignore it because you're in love
502
00:28:53,542 --> 00:28:55,632
and you want the dream.
503
00:28:58,292 --> 00:29:00,422
There were a couple of times,
and more than once,
504
00:29:00,500 --> 00:29:04,830
me walking in on him with a man
or a woman, you know, in bed.
505
00:29:04,918 --> 00:29:09,208
He is, in a sense, now a sexual predator.
506
00:29:16,959 --> 00:29:20,999
Now... now with each of you
507
00:29:21,083 --> 00:29:23,083
giving a fond embrace,
508
00:29:23,167 --> 00:29:26,957
let's fill this atmosphere
with warmth and love.
509
00:29:27,042 --> 00:29:31,422
Ronan: By 1972, Jones' ministry
had expanded into Los Angeles
510
00:29:31,500 --> 00:29:32,710
and San Francisco,
511
00:29:32,792 --> 00:29:35,462
and it had really become the poster boy
512
00:29:35,542 --> 00:29:37,542
for community engagement.
513
00:29:37,626 --> 00:29:41,076
The church was bringing in more
educated and affluent members,
514
00:29:41,167 --> 00:29:43,377
people who were really looking
for the equal life
515
00:29:43,459 --> 00:29:45,289
that he had promised.
516
00:29:45,375 --> 00:29:50,285
Guinn: Jim Jones becomes
the darling of the glitterati.
517
00:29:50,375 --> 00:29:53,415
Jane Fonda writes him fan letters,
518
00:29:53,500 --> 00:29:56,460
and then all the popular
revolutionaries at the time,
519
00:29:56,542 --> 00:30:00,752
like Angela Davis, now they're
coming to the meetings.
520
00:30:00,834 --> 00:30:05,084
He's building what he couldn't
build in Indianapolis,
521
00:30:05,167 --> 00:30:08,827
which is not just a religious
empire but political clout.
522
00:30:08,918 --> 00:30:12,828
During a close election, our
votes could make a difference.
523
00:30:12,918 --> 00:30:18,128
We had met rosalynn Carter,
the mayor, city council,
524
00:30:18,209 --> 00:30:21,169
legislators, lieutenant governor.
525
00:30:21,250 --> 00:30:26,540
They all came through our doors
and to court our vote.
526
00:30:26,626 --> 00:30:30,746
And it was amazing that this man
could get
527
00:30:30,834 --> 00:30:37,424
into a community and influence
intelligent people.
528
00:30:37,500 --> 00:30:39,670
That's really scary.
529
00:30:39,751 --> 00:30:43,581
Kilduff: He was appointed by the
mayor to be on the housing authority,
530
00:30:43,667 --> 00:30:46,167
which runs public housing in the city.
531
00:30:46,250 --> 00:30:47,750
He was made president.
532
00:30:47,834 --> 00:30:51,254
I was the city hall reporter for
the "San Francisco chronicle."
533
00:30:51,334 --> 00:30:52,754
I went to the meetings.
534
00:30:52,834 --> 00:30:56,424
He would show up and fill
this fairly small meeting room
535
00:30:56,500 --> 00:30:58,540
with all of his folks.
536
00:30:58,626 --> 00:31:02,036
Anything he would do would
get this thunderous ovation.
537
00:31:03,792 --> 00:31:06,422
Ronan: Jones understands
that power comes from numbers,
538
00:31:06,500 --> 00:31:08,790
and he's really trying to
bring in new people
539
00:31:08,876 --> 00:31:11,036
from all walks of life.
540
00:31:11,125 --> 00:31:13,325
I was in Los Angeles at the time,
541
00:31:13,417 --> 00:31:15,247
and Jim was at an auditorium
542
00:31:15,334 --> 00:31:17,084
where he was holding his meetings,
543
00:31:17,167 --> 00:31:19,377
and I went up there with my daughter,
544
00:31:19,459 --> 00:31:21,709
and I thought, "okay, I'll
sit here for a few minutes."
545
00:31:21,792 --> 00:31:25,462
Jim was talking about people
in bad relationships,
546
00:31:25,542 --> 00:31:27,792
and what he said was that women
547
00:31:27,876 --> 00:31:31,576
shouldn't have to put up with that.
548
00:31:39,709 --> 00:31:40,999
And that kind of hooked me.
549
00:31:41,083 --> 00:31:43,633
I thought, "oh, okay,
a man's saying this."
550
00:31:43,709 --> 00:31:45,129
Man: He's a chameleon.
551
00:31:45,209 --> 00:31:48,919
He can see what he needs to be
and he becomes that.
552
00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:51,210
Ronan: He said that all women
should be treated equally,
553
00:31:51,292 --> 00:31:54,082
but he really didn't
practice what he preached.
554
00:31:54,167 --> 00:31:55,667
Guinn:
Marceline has her back give out.
555
00:31:55,751 --> 00:31:59,961
She's completely unable
to satisfy Jim sexually.
556
00:32:00,042 --> 00:32:02,042
He announces to their children that,
557
00:32:02,125 --> 00:32:04,205
since mom can't do this for him anymore,
558
00:32:04,292 --> 00:32:06,132
he's going to have to have someone else.
559
00:32:06,209 --> 00:32:11,709
He began engaging in sexual
relations with other people.
560
00:32:11,792 --> 00:32:17,172
The most famous instance
of that is Carolyn Moore Layton.
561
00:32:17,250 --> 00:32:19,170
Stephan: When I was
still a boy, maybe 10,
562
00:32:19,250 --> 00:32:22,250
I met a woman that was strange to me.
563
00:32:22,334 --> 00:32:24,174
Her name was Carolyn Layton,
564
00:32:24,250 --> 00:32:28,250
and we spent the evening with them.
565
00:32:28,334 --> 00:32:29,634
We had dinner.
566
00:32:29,709 --> 00:32:33,959
It was clear to me dad
was just lit up by her.
567
00:32:34,042 --> 00:32:35,582
I was put on a sofa that night,
568
00:32:35,667 --> 00:32:37,497
and they were in the very next room,
569
00:32:37,584 --> 00:32:40,044
and I heard, you know,
what was going on in there.
570
00:32:40,125 --> 00:32:41,325
I had no idea what it was.
571
00:32:41,417 --> 00:32:42,997
At first, I thought it was animals,
572
00:32:43,083 --> 00:32:47,423
the sounds I was hearing,
and then I realized it was them.
573
00:33:03,709 --> 00:33:06,999
Smart: Those with the faith
really loved marceline,
574
00:33:07,083 --> 00:33:09,963
and she was...
She was really a sweet person.
575
00:33:10,042 --> 00:33:13,172
Guinn: If it turns out that Jim
is being unfaithful to her,
576
00:33:13,250 --> 00:33:15,420
that's going to hurt him
with some of his followers,
577
00:33:15,500 --> 00:33:20,000
and he knows it, so you've got
to keep up this charade
578
00:33:20,083 --> 00:33:22,543
that marceline is a coequal partner.
579
00:33:22,626 --> 00:33:26,576
Mom never lost her grace,
but life in the temple
580
00:33:26,667 --> 00:33:29,917
as the wife of Jim Jones
certainly wore her down.
581
00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:32,330
Marceline is a tragic figure.
582
00:33:32,417 --> 00:33:36,327
We ask ourselves, was she
also his great enabler?
583
00:33:36,417 --> 00:33:38,537
In some ways she was.
584
00:33:38,626 --> 00:33:43,286
That was a time where you stand
by and slightly behind your man.
585
00:33:43,375 --> 00:33:45,535
Kohl: He wasn't going to
let her off the hook
586
00:33:45,626 --> 00:33:48,536
because you couldn't leave Jim Jones.
587
00:33:48,626 --> 00:33:51,826
Ronan: Most members were
unaware of Jim Jones' infidelity,
588
00:33:51,918 --> 00:33:54,498
but he had bigger problems to worry about
589
00:33:54,584 --> 00:33:57,254
that were very difficult to hide.
590
00:33:57,334 --> 00:34:02,714
He turns to drugs, and Jones
becomes a habitual user
591
00:34:02,792 --> 00:34:06,252
and, frankly, addicted to drugs.
592
00:34:06,334 --> 00:34:07,714
Man: Trouble sleeping,
you take some pills.
593
00:34:07,792 --> 00:34:09,422
Trouble waking up, you take some more.
594
00:34:09,500 --> 00:34:11,670
Dark glasses all the time;
Indoors, outdoors,
595
00:34:11,751 --> 00:34:13,291
night or day.
596
00:34:13,375 --> 00:34:15,535
With the increase in use in drugs
597
00:34:15,626 --> 00:34:17,376
comes something else.
598
00:34:17,459 --> 00:34:22,579
He is less circumspect about
some of his own moral behavior.
599
00:34:22,667 --> 00:34:27,707
He begins having sex with
members of his congregation,
600
00:34:27,792 --> 00:34:30,132
mostly young women who feel honored
601
00:34:30,209 --> 00:34:34,169
that father is sharing this with
them, and sometimes with men.
602
00:34:34,250 --> 00:34:37,000
It turns out he's bisexual
and has been all his life,
603
00:34:37,083 --> 00:34:39,793
but he is, in a sense,
now a sexual predator.
604
00:34:39,876 --> 00:34:41,576
Dad's message to anybody
he was sexual with
605
00:34:41,667 --> 00:34:45,497
was because they needed it
or they coerced him to do it,
606
00:34:45,584 --> 00:34:47,584
but it was always a great burden for him
607
00:34:47,667 --> 00:34:51,417
to be sexual with someone,
and I knew that was a lie.
608
00:34:51,500 --> 00:34:56,130
He was basically just really
exploiting people sexually.
609
00:34:56,209 --> 00:35:00,249
Power, money, and sex
seems to be the universal
610
00:35:00,334 --> 00:35:03,504
of what cult leaders are going after.
611
00:35:03,584 --> 00:35:04,794
Like all drug addicts,
612
00:35:04,876 --> 00:35:07,576
particularly the ones who use speed,
613
00:35:07,667 --> 00:35:11,327
that just increases
his personal paranoia.
614
00:35:11,417 --> 00:35:14,247
Jones' paranoia will prove
to be very dangerous
615
00:35:14,334 --> 00:35:15,924
to members of the peoples temple.
616
00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:20,460
There was a shot,
and he fell to the ground.
617
00:35:20,542 --> 00:35:22,922
Everybody was screaming and running.
618
00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:26,080
Man: "Father's been shot!
Father's been shot!"
619
00:35:43,083 --> 00:35:46,213
♪♪
620
00:35:46,292 --> 00:35:51,082
In 1972, when Jim was doing
a service up in redwood valley,
621
00:35:51,167 --> 00:35:53,247
he was out walking on the grounds.
622
00:35:53,334 --> 00:35:57,714
And so at the lunch break,
Jim Jones is out mingling,
623
00:35:57,792 --> 00:36:00,542
as he likes to do,
and everyone else is eating.
624
00:36:00,626 --> 00:36:05,576
There was a shot,
and he fell to the ground.
625
00:36:05,667 --> 00:36:07,577
Everybody was screaming and running.
626
00:36:07,667 --> 00:36:09,917
Guinn: His chief lieutenants,
who were screaming,
627
00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:13,420
"father's been shot!
Father's been shot!"
628
00:36:13,500 --> 00:36:15,420
And everyone jumps up and is looking.
629
00:36:15,500 --> 00:36:18,250
"Where did the shot come from?"
630
00:36:18,334 --> 00:36:22,004
Jim Jones is gently
picked up by his followers
631
00:36:22,083 --> 00:36:23,253
and taken into his house,
632
00:36:23,334 --> 00:36:26,044
which is right by the church, to die.
633
00:36:26,125 --> 00:36:27,915
Kohl:
Everybody else went back inside.
634
00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:29,670
It felt like we were kind of sheltered.
635
00:36:29,751 --> 00:36:32,711
And everyone waits.
636
00:36:32,792 --> 00:36:34,082
"Father is going to be dead."
637
00:36:34,167 --> 00:36:37,787
They're waiting for this terrible word,
638
00:36:37,876 --> 00:36:42,876
and instead, in walks
Jim Jones just fine,
639
00:36:42,959 --> 00:36:44,629
wearing a different shirt.
640
00:36:44,709 --> 00:36:46,459
He showed his shirt.
641
00:36:46,542 --> 00:36:51,042
It had blood and a bullet hole
where he said he had been shot,
642
00:36:51,125 --> 00:36:54,455
and he said he had healed himself.
643
00:36:58,542 --> 00:37:00,462
- That's right!
- That's right!
644
00:37:00,542 --> 00:37:03,462
And he opens his shirt
so you can look at his chest
645
00:37:03,542 --> 00:37:08,502
and see that there's no wound,
just some little sort of dent.
646
00:37:08,584 --> 00:37:10,634
Stephan: But the minute
I saw that, I knew,
647
00:37:10,709 --> 00:37:12,249
"okay, something's up here."
648
00:37:12,334 --> 00:37:13,964
Because I no longer believed
he had the power
649
00:37:14,042 --> 00:37:17,252
to completely make
a bullet wound go away.
650
00:37:17,334 --> 00:37:19,254
You're just totally full of it
at this point.
651
00:37:19,334 --> 00:37:22,384
He created this myth that you
didn't have to believe
652
00:37:22,459 --> 00:37:25,289
everything he did because
part of it was for drama.
653
00:37:32,250 --> 00:37:33,580
- Yes!
- Yeah!
654
00:37:33,667 --> 00:37:36,037
Stephan: As to why they faked
that shooting,
655
00:37:36,125 --> 00:37:39,325
he was now supremely
the center of attention.
656
00:37:39,417 --> 00:37:44,247
He was elated because he saw
how distraught everyone was
657
00:37:44,334 --> 00:37:47,134
when they thought they had lost him.
658
00:37:47,209 --> 00:37:49,539
Ronan: Even if the danger to him
had been faked,
659
00:37:49,626 --> 00:37:53,666
it began to feel very real to
the people who had crossed him.
660
00:37:53,751 --> 00:37:55,671
Kohl:
And it was 1 in the morning,
661
00:37:55,751 --> 00:37:57,171
and I was in planning commission,
662
00:37:57,250 --> 00:37:59,210
and I kept nodding off.
663
00:37:59,292 --> 00:38:02,332
Finally, somebody shook me
and said, "Laura," woke me up,
664
00:38:02,417 --> 00:38:05,497
and Jim was pointing a gun at me,
665
00:38:05,584 --> 00:38:11,384
and he said, "Laura,
if you nod off one more time,
666
00:38:11,459 --> 00:38:14,129
I'm going to shoot you."
667
00:38:14,209 --> 00:38:15,709
For some members, the theatrics,
668
00:38:15,792 --> 00:38:18,752
the erratic behavior had worn thin.
669
00:38:18,834 --> 00:38:21,634
I thought, "no, I... this is not for me.
670
00:38:21,709 --> 00:38:23,329
This is just not for me."
671
00:38:23,417 --> 00:38:28,327
I left April of '76, so I was out.
672
00:38:28,417 --> 00:38:29,627
I was done.
673
00:38:29,709 --> 00:38:34,289
Any defection to Jim Jones
was a big loss.
674
00:38:34,375 --> 00:38:37,325
Stephan: Dad was obsessed
with loyalty, for sure.
675
00:38:37,417 --> 00:38:40,537
There was a part of dad always
that knew he was running a game.
676
00:38:40,626 --> 00:38:42,576
Perhaps the biggest loss for Jones
677
00:38:42,667 --> 00:38:45,827
were the defections
of grace and Tim stoen.
678
00:38:45,918 --> 00:38:50,248
Tim stoen was the attorney
for peoples temple.
679
00:38:50,334 --> 00:38:52,464
Ronan:
Grace was Tim's estranged wife,
680
00:38:52,542 --> 00:38:56,292
but she had become one of Jones'
high-profile lovers
681
00:38:56,375 --> 00:38:57,625
within the church.
682
00:38:57,709 --> 00:39:00,419
Stephan:
Grace stoen had had a child.
683
00:39:00,500 --> 00:39:01,750
Somewhere along the way,
684
00:39:01,834 --> 00:39:05,294
it was corroborated that
that child, John stoen,
685
00:39:05,375 --> 00:39:09,875
was sired by my father.
686
00:39:09,959 --> 00:39:12,039
Ronan: Jones insisted
the child stay with him.
687
00:39:12,125 --> 00:39:13,825
It was a way to stay in control,
688
00:39:13,918 --> 00:39:17,418
even as things were
deteriorating around him.
689
00:39:17,500 --> 00:39:20,710
Grace and other defectors began
talking to members of the media
690
00:39:20,792 --> 00:39:23,212
about what was taking place
at the temple.
691
00:39:23,292 --> 00:39:25,462
Found some folks who had left the church
692
00:39:25,542 --> 00:39:27,792
because they were unhappy,
693
00:39:27,876 --> 00:39:30,376
and they said that the church
takes everybody's money,
694
00:39:30,459 --> 00:39:32,999
that the church overworks its people,
695
00:39:33,083 --> 00:39:35,923
that the church beats up
or humiliates people
696
00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:37,790
who get out of line, like us.
697
00:39:37,876 --> 00:39:39,246
It's really kind of a snake pit.
698
00:39:39,334 --> 00:39:43,504
It's not this warm and fuzzy
social-action group
699
00:39:43,584 --> 00:39:45,674
that it purports to be.
700
00:39:47,792 --> 00:39:50,252
Congregation: Yes!
701
00:39:50,334 --> 00:39:54,004
Jones wanted to test the loyalty
of his planning commission.
702
00:39:54,083 --> 00:39:56,083
These are the people
that are really supposed
703
00:39:56,167 --> 00:40:00,077
to be most with him,
and one night in San Francisco,
704
00:40:00,167 --> 00:40:01,827
at a planning commission meeting,
705
00:40:01,918 --> 00:40:04,248
Jones announces there's a treat.
706
00:40:04,334 --> 00:40:06,794
"Everyone have a cup of wine."
707
00:40:06,876 --> 00:40:09,326
We never had any refreshments
at planning commission.
708
00:40:09,417 --> 00:40:13,497
We usually just go there and sit
and listen, so we all drank it.
709
00:40:19,500 --> 00:40:22,380
Guinn: And when everyone's
done, he announces it's poison.
710
00:40:22,459 --> 00:40:27,039
It's lethal, and they're all
going to die within 45 minutes.
711
00:40:27,125 --> 00:40:30,625
He said, "we're going to commit
revolutionary suicide."
712
00:40:30,709 --> 00:40:32,249
Guinn:
And some of them are crying.
713
00:40:32,334 --> 00:40:34,044
You know, "I don't want to die.
I don't want to die."
714
00:40:34,125 --> 00:40:38,325
At exactly 45 minutes, Jim Jones
announces there was no poison.
715
00:40:38,417 --> 00:40:39,957
Everybody's fine.
716
00:40:40,042 --> 00:40:43,382
Kohl: He was testing us to
see how that was going to play.
717
00:40:43,459 --> 00:40:46,129
If he had handed out poison to people,
718
00:40:46,209 --> 00:40:49,289
were people going to
just trust and drink it?
719
00:40:49,375 --> 00:40:52,035
Stephan: I never believed dad
would go through with it.
720
00:40:52,125 --> 00:40:54,205
I thought it was a big game for him
721
00:40:54,292 --> 00:40:55,582
and he was testing loyalty
722
00:40:55,667 --> 00:40:59,787
and just creating drama,
which fed him in a way.
723
00:40:59,876 --> 00:41:04,206
Of course, looking back,
you see it was grooming us
724
00:41:04,292 --> 00:41:07,082
for what was going to happen
on November 18th.
725
00:41:12,167 --> 00:41:14,127
That was the call of death.
726
00:41:14,209 --> 00:41:16,289
[ Clamoring ]
727
00:41:27,292 --> 00:41:29,502
Jim Jones was at a crossroads.
728
00:41:29,584 --> 00:41:32,634
By the mid-1970s, California politicians
729
00:41:32,709 --> 00:41:34,669
knew him as an influential minister
730
00:41:34,751 --> 00:41:36,791
capable of swinging an election.
731
00:41:36,876 --> 00:41:39,576
To most of his followers,
he was a godlike presence
732
00:41:39,667 --> 00:41:42,917
that controlled nearly
every aspect of their lives,
733
00:41:43,042 --> 00:41:45,382
but Jones was now addicted to drugs,
734
00:41:45,459 --> 00:41:47,459
sexually abusing church members,
735
00:41:47,542 --> 00:41:50,382
and defectors were starting
to talk to the press.
736
00:41:50,459 --> 00:41:52,919
Jim Jones was losing control of himself,
737
00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:56,960
his family and his followers,
but Jones had a plan,
738
00:41:57,042 --> 00:41:59,252
one that would horrify the world.
739
00:41:59,334 --> 00:42:01,584
Next time on "very scary people,"
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the final terrifying days
of the peoples temple.
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I'm Donnie wahlberg.
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Thanks for watching.