1 00:00:01,229 --> 00:00:03,209 [music] 2 00:00:10,029 --> 00:00:12,209 I'm Do... 3 00:00:12,230 --> 00:00:15,060 Some called our partnership 4 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:17,010 Ti and Do. 5 00:00:17,030 --> 00:00:21,010 That's not my name, but that's how I'm referred to 6 00:00:21,030 --> 00:00:24,090 on Planet Earth, at this time. 7 00:00:24,109 --> 00:00:26,029 I've been talking to my students 8 00:00:26,050 --> 00:00:28,090 that are sitting in front of me. 9 00:00:28,109 --> 00:00:32,089 Jmmody, would you want to stand up and-- 10 00:00:32,109 --> 00:00:34,229 so that we can take a look at your uniform. 11 00:00:36,109 --> 00:00:38,049 Okay. 12 00:00:38,070 --> 00:00:39,210 And maybe we can back up a little bit 13 00:00:39,229 --> 00:00:42,169 and get a little wider picture of the uniform. 14 00:00:42,189 --> 00:00:46,019 Okay, now, maybe we can zoom in on the patch 15 00:00:46,039 --> 00:00:48,079 that... great. 16 00:00:48,100 --> 00:00:51,120 See, it says "Heaven's Gate Away Team." 17 00:00:51,140 --> 00:00:54,210 We've been away, and now we're going back. 18 00:00:54,229 --> 00:00:57,019 Okay, thanks, Jmmody. 19 00:00:57,039 --> 00:00:59,029 Now let's go to Dvvody. 20 00:01:00,210 --> 00:01:02,180 Dvvody. [chuckling] 21 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:05,140 They're all camera shy. 22 00:01:05,159 --> 00:01:08,109 We-- okay, come on over, to Stlody. 23 00:01:10,170 --> 00:01:14,180 We... came from distant space, 24 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:17,200 what your religious literature 25 00:01:17,219 --> 00:01:20,019 would call the Kingdom of Heaven. 26 00:01:20,039 --> 00:01:22,229 And we're about to return. 27 00:01:23,010 --> 00:01:26,150 [music] 28 00:01:26,170 --> 00:01:28,000 JWNODY: We might see you all again, 29 00:01:28,019 --> 00:01:29,109 and then we might not. 30 00:01:29,129 --> 00:01:32,069 That's-- we hope that you remember us as we were 31 00:01:32,090 --> 00:01:34,080 and not how other people are going to try 32 00:01:34,099 --> 00:01:36,029 and tell you that we are. 33 00:01:36,049 --> 00:01:38,149 And one last thing we'd like to say is, 34 00:01:38,170 --> 00:01:41,070 39 to beam up. Thank you. 35 00:01:41,090 --> 00:01:43,200 [music] 36 00:02:05,030 --> 00:02:10,010 MAN: There is confirmed 39 deceased. 37 00:02:10,030 --> 00:02:14,100 All of the individuals were similarly clothed. 38 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:18,050 It appeared as if there were almost a uniform. 39 00:02:18,069 --> 00:02:21,089 2nd MAN: This was a voluntary situation. 40 00:02:21,110 --> 00:02:22,200 They may or may not have been influenced, 41 00:02:22,219 --> 00:02:24,059 but we'll never know that. 42 00:02:24,079 --> 00:02:26,119 But, at this point, this is considered 43 00:02:26,139 --> 00:02:28,199 a mass suicide investigation. 44 00:02:28,219 --> 00:02:31,229 [music] 45 00:02:32,009 --> 00:02:33,169 MAN: This wasn't just something that-- 46 00:02:33,189 --> 00:02:35,179 oh, there's a spacecraft, let's kill ourselves. 47 00:02:35,199 --> 00:02:37,179 These people spent 22 years 48 00:02:37,199 --> 00:02:39,199 preparing for what they did, 49 00:02:39,219 --> 00:02:42,159 and I wish people would examine that 22-year period 50 00:02:42,180 --> 00:02:45,130 instead of just examining their method of leaving. 51 00:03:12,030 --> 00:03:13,110 A score of persons 52 00:03:13,129 --> 00:03:16,009 from a small Oregon town have disappeared. 53 00:03:16,030 --> 00:03:17,170 It's a mystery whether they've been taken 54 00:03:17,189 --> 00:03:20,039 on a so-called trip to eternity 55 00:03:20,060 --> 00:03:21,210 or simply been taken. 56 00:03:21,229 --> 00:03:24,009 Terry Drinkwater takes a look at that story. 57 00:03:24,030 --> 00:03:26,090 TERRY: Here along the cloud-covered coast 58 00:03:26,110 --> 00:03:27,220 near Newport, Oregon, 59 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:30,180 a mysterious couple appeared three weeks ago, 60 00:03:30,199 --> 00:03:33,009 circulating a flyer proclaiming 61 00:03:33,030 --> 00:03:34,190 a UFO would soon be ready 62 00:03:34,210 --> 00:03:36,070 to take whomever would follow them 63 00:03:36,090 --> 00:03:38,120 to another life, another world. 64 00:03:38,139 --> 00:03:41,099 They held meetings, one at this motel, 65 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:43,040 to recruit voyagers. 66 00:03:43,060 --> 00:03:46,020 Francine Furst attended but was unconvinced. 67 00:03:46,039 --> 00:03:48,199 Those people who choose to go along will be 68 00:03:48,219 --> 00:03:51,069 picked up by a UFO, 69 00:03:51,090 --> 00:03:55,000 and they will be leaving this Earth forever. 70 00:03:55,020 --> 00:03:57,080 TERRY: Why didn't you decide to go? 71 00:03:57,099 --> 00:04:00,139 I'm too human and too normal. 72 00:04:00,159 --> 00:04:01,219 - [chuckling] - I love to travel, 73 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:04,030 but I also like to know where I'm going. 74 00:04:04,050 --> 00:04:07,020 There were 34 people that actually... 75 00:04:07,039 --> 00:04:11,189 ended up joining because of the Waldport meeting. 76 00:04:13,199 --> 00:04:16,109 All different kinds of numbers were reported, 77 00:04:16,129 --> 00:04:18,139 and I was among them. 78 00:04:20,110 --> 00:04:22,190 SAWYER: I was living in Waldport, Oregon. 79 00:04:22,209 --> 00:04:24,229 I came out of a band practice, 80 00:04:25,009 --> 00:04:26,139 like an all-nighter party kind of thing, 81 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:28,170 and I saw that poster. 82 00:04:33,170 --> 00:04:35,190 What piqued my interest about the poster 83 00:04:35,209 --> 00:04:38,189 that I remember making a comment about to my partner is, 84 00:04:38,209 --> 00:04:41,029 "I wonder what these people look like," you know, 85 00:04:41,050 --> 00:04:43,050 they were talking about them being from outer space. 86 00:04:55,189 --> 00:04:59,039 "If you ever entertained the idea 87 00:04:59,060 --> 00:05:03,210 "of a physical level above the human level, 88 00:05:03,230 --> 00:05:07,000 you will want to attend this meeting." 89 00:05:10,230 --> 00:05:13,200 Back then, I had a girlfriend, 90 00:05:13,220 --> 00:05:16,120 Erika, and we had 91 00:05:16,139 --> 00:05:19,099 been together for three years. 92 00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:24,080 We were gonna take a vacation to Oregon 93 00:05:24,100 --> 00:05:26,130 to visit my cousin. 94 00:05:38,110 --> 00:05:39,150 I was excited. 95 00:05:39,170 --> 00:05:42,080 But at that point... 96 00:05:53,149 --> 00:05:56,009 SAWYER: The place was packed. 97 00:05:56,029 --> 00:05:57,129 I would estimate there were, like, 98 00:05:57,149 --> 00:05:59,209 close to 200 people in this room. 99 00:05:59,230 --> 00:06:02,220 And Ti and Do came out onto the stage, 100 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:07,190 and they just sat there for maybe a minute or two, 101 00:06:07,209 --> 00:06:09,219 which seemed like a long time to me. 102 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:14,060 TERRY: These are "The Two." 103 00:06:14,079 --> 00:06:16,149 The two who promise to take their followers 104 00:06:16,170 --> 00:06:20,030 literally out of this world in a spaceship. 105 00:06:25,129 --> 00:06:27,219 SAWYER: They said that they had come to teach 106 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:30,030 the process of becoming 107 00:06:30,050 --> 00:06:31,190 a member of the Next Level. 108 00:06:33,019 --> 00:06:34,209 DO: When a human has overcome 109 00:06:34,230 --> 00:06:38,180 all of his human level activities, 110 00:06:38,199 --> 00:06:40,219 a chemical change takes place, 111 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:42,200 and he goes through a metamorphosis 112 00:06:42,220 --> 00:06:45,140 just exactly as a caterpillar does 113 00:06:45,159 --> 00:06:47,179 when he quits being a caterpillar. 114 00:06:47,199 --> 00:06:49,139 And he goes off into a chrysalis, 115 00:06:49,159 --> 00:06:52,139 and he becomes a butterfly. 116 00:06:52,159 --> 00:06:55,019 They said, if you followed their approach, 117 00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:59,030 that your body would chemically and biologically transform 118 00:06:59,050 --> 00:07:01,130 into a perfected space alien. 119 00:07:03,199 --> 00:07:06,109 And you would go physically on board a UFO 120 00:07:06,129 --> 00:07:10,029 and sail physically into Heaven. 121 00:07:10,050 --> 00:07:11,120 What they would call 122 00:07:11,139 --> 00:07:13,019 "The Next Level." 123 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:30,160 LESLIE LIGHT: I was impressed 124 00:07:30,180 --> 00:07:32,170 with listening to the man. 125 00:07:32,189 --> 00:07:35,069 He was kind of mesmerizing. 126 00:07:35,090 --> 00:07:37,030 I kept looking at his eyes. 127 00:07:37,050 --> 00:07:38,190 These kind of eyes 128 00:07:38,209 --> 00:07:40,079 that you would look through, 129 00:07:40,100 --> 00:07:41,160 and I just remember 130 00:07:41,180 --> 00:07:43,010 feeling like, 131 00:07:43,029 --> 00:07:44,129 could this, like-- I was trying 132 00:07:44,149 --> 00:07:47,089 to pick up on his energy, like, 133 00:07:47,110 --> 00:07:49,080 if it was really true. 134 00:07:52,220 --> 00:07:56,080 SAWYER: There was this haze floating around them, 135 00:07:56,100 --> 00:07:59,160 like a shimmering light. 136 00:07:59,180 --> 00:08:02,130 It wasn't like a smoke haze. 137 00:08:02,149 --> 00:08:04,999 It was more electrical-looking. 138 00:08:05,019 --> 00:08:07,219 And I turned to my left, 139 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:10,050 and above the crowd, the people, 140 00:08:10,069 --> 00:08:11,199 there was that same kind of haze, 141 00:08:11,220 --> 00:08:14,020 but it was less distinguishable 142 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:16,040 as electrical. 143 00:08:17,180 --> 00:08:20,020 And so I recognized that that might've been, 144 00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:22,030 like, the Holy Spirit. 145 00:08:23,110 --> 00:08:25,050 I was pretty young, I was 24, 146 00:08:25,069 --> 00:08:28,089 so I didn't maybe have a lot of concrete beliefs, 147 00:08:28,110 --> 00:08:30,080 but I believed everything he was saying. 148 00:08:30,100 --> 00:08:32,210 I felt euphoric. 149 00:08:32,230 --> 00:08:35,100 Higher than a kite in this meeting. 150 00:08:36,149 --> 00:08:39,049 Erika had felt the same thing. 151 00:08:39,070 --> 00:08:42,010 Same euphoric feeling. 152 00:08:43,159 --> 00:08:47,119 I felt like I sat in front of the equivalent of Jesus. 153 00:08:54,090 --> 00:08:56,170 By the end of the meeting, I looked at my partner, 154 00:08:56,190 --> 00:08:58,110 and she looked at me, and it was like 155 00:08:58,129 --> 00:09:00,099 we knew that we wanted to do this. 156 00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:09,020 All they wanted you to do was to make the choice to go, 157 00:09:09,039 --> 00:09:11,179 and then leave your possessions. 158 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:14,100 Leave everything that was connected to your humanness 159 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:17,020 and to go with them to begin to repair. 160 00:09:17,039 --> 00:09:20,199 People have disappeared, yes, we have roughly 161 00:09:20,220 --> 00:09:23,020 fifteen to twenty people that are no longer in the area. 162 00:09:23,039 --> 00:09:25,049 [music] 163 00:09:30,029 --> 00:09:31,179 LESLIE: You had to say goodbye to everybody 164 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:33,100 in your life and leave. 165 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:35,080 Nobody else wanted to go with me. 166 00:09:35,100 --> 00:09:37,080 They thought it was crazy. I just went. 167 00:09:38,159 --> 00:09:39,209 SAWYER: They told us to bring 168 00:09:39,230 --> 00:09:41,060 any camping gear with us. 169 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:42,180 Then we were given instructions to go 170 00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:45,190 to a campground at Boulder Canyon, 171 00:09:45,210 --> 00:09:48,220 where they would split us up into groups. 172 00:09:53,029 --> 00:09:57,049 I definitely was seeking something more than I had. 173 00:09:57,070 --> 00:09:58,190 But I didn't know what that was. 174 00:09:58,210 --> 00:10:01,090 [jingling] 175 00:10:10,139 --> 00:10:12,999 I'm allowed to do this now. 176 00:10:13,019 --> 00:10:14,999 But not federally. 177 00:10:16,159 --> 00:10:19,149 These guys. 178 00:10:19,169 --> 00:10:21,159 My children. It's mild. 179 00:10:21,179 --> 00:10:24,149 I don't like any intense stuff, you know? 180 00:10:24,169 --> 00:10:26,089 I wanna be able to function. 181 00:10:26,110 --> 00:10:29,080 I was in high school when I was experimenting 182 00:10:29,100 --> 00:10:32,090 with drugs and LSD and stuff like that. 183 00:10:32,110 --> 00:10:34,140 I started to get into spirituality. 184 00:10:34,159 --> 00:10:37,159 [Indian rhythm] 185 00:10:37,179 --> 00:10:40,999 I was experimenting with different spiritual groups. 186 00:10:41,019 --> 00:10:43,039 You know, meditations. 187 00:10:45,179 --> 00:10:47,159 I would dance with the Sufis 188 00:10:47,179 --> 00:10:50,049 and relate to the Hare Krishna people. 189 00:10:50,070 --> 00:10:52,160 I read the book "Paramahansa Yogananda," 190 00:10:52,179 --> 00:10:54,199 you know, "Autobiography of a Yogi." 191 00:10:54,220 --> 00:10:56,030 And I remember thinking, 192 00:10:56,049 --> 00:10:58,099 gosh, I wanna be enlightened like that. 193 00:10:59,149 --> 00:11:00,209 Like, I wanted that. 194 00:11:00,230 --> 00:11:03,170 I wanted to have that specialness. 195 00:11:03,190 --> 00:11:05,220 BENJAMIN: Heaven's Gate was never exactly mainstream, 196 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:09,100 but it wasn't as alternative as we think about it today. 197 00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:12,100 So, you have to imagine what it was like in the '70s. 198 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:16,010 So, this is the time when hippies and beatniks 199 00:11:16,029 --> 00:11:17,149 and-- and folks like that are 200 00:11:17,169 --> 00:11:20,169 looking outside of established religions. 201 00:11:20,190 --> 00:11:22,220 Many people who were drawn to Heaven's Gate 202 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:25,160 had tried all sorts of religious options. 203 00:11:25,179 --> 00:11:27,169 I was struggling 204 00:11:27,190 --> 00:11:29,180 with what I wanted to do with my life. 205 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:32,090 I was a young beautiful girl. 206 00:11:32,110 --> 00:11:35,050 A child model in Hollywood. 207 00:11:35,070 --> 00:11:38,130 I went out to Moran and became a hippie. 208 00:11:38,149 --> 00:11:42,099 So, when the two came along, it just resonated 209 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:45,010 with my own spiritual dilemma 210 00:11:45,029 --> 00:11:47,219 of being attached and being of this world 211 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:52,000 and what role it played in my own, you know, struggle. 212 00:11:52,019 --> 00:11:55,149 We have this simple truth, 213 00:11:55,169 --> 00:11:59,179 though the most potent truth, 214 00:11:59,200 --> 00:12:01,180 and it is the identical truth 215 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:04,150 that Jesus brought to human beings 216 00:12:04,169 --> 00:12:07,019 two thousand years ago. 217 00:12:07,039 --> 00:12:09,009 Heaven's Gate is effectively, from my reading, 218 00:12:09,029 --> 00:12:11,049 a Christian offshoot. 219 00:12:11,070 --> 00:12:13,230 Now, this is important because it's also a time 220 00:12:14,009 --> 00:12:15,139 when many Christians looked around at the world 221 00:12:15,159 --> 00:12:17,059 and thought the world was about to end. 222 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:20,140 REZA ASLAN: Groups like Heaven's Gate are 223 00:12:20,159 --> 00:12:23,099 what scholars refer to as millenarian. 224 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:24,230 And they have an understanding 225 00:12:25,009 --> 00:12:27,159 of time as coming to an end. 226 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:32,050 Planet Earth is about to be recycled. 227 00:12:32,070 --> 00:12:35,190 Your only chance to survive 228 00:12:35,210 --> 00:12:38,150 is to leave with us. 229 00:12:38,169 --> 00:12:40,229 These kinds of millenarian groups 230 00:12:41,009 --> 00:12:44,199 tend to arise in times of societal stress. 231 00:12:44,220 --> 00:12:46,180 [explosion booming] 232 00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:49,130 PROTESTORS: Out now! Out now! Out now! 233 00:12:49,149 --> 00:12:52,039 It's later than most people think. 234 00:12:52,059 --> 00:12:53,999 Whether it's five minutes to midnight, 235 00:12:54,019 --> 00:12:57,069 or whether it's ten minutes to midnight is debatable. 236 00:12:57,090 --> 00:12:59,130 BENJAMIN: And for Heaven's Gate, also, this is really 237 00:12:59,149 --> 00:13:02,119 the first generation of belief in flying saucers 238 00:13:02,139 --> 00:13:04,089 and things like that. 239 00:13:04,110 --> 00:13:06,160 What do we know of outer space? 240 00:13:06,179 --> 00:13:08,039 Is there anyone out there? 241 00:13:08,059 --> 00:13:10,079 And are they headed our way? 242 00:13:10,100 --> 00:13:11,190 BENJAMIN: One of the best-selling books 243 00:13:11,210 --> 00:13:14,000 at the time was "Chariots of the Gods" 244 00:13:14,019 --> 00:13:15,169 by Erich von Daniken, 245 00:13:15,190 --> 00:13:17,120 who claimed he had evidence 246 00:13:17,139 --> 00:13:19,999 that the world's ancient religions were 247 00:13:20,019 --> 00:13:23,069 actually founded by extraterrestrial visitors. 248 00:13:23,090 --> 00:13:26,000 I was interested in UFOs. 249 00:13:26,019 --> 00:13:28,129 Curious. 250 00:13:28,149 --> 00:13:30,109 Never saw one. 251 00:13:32,100 --> 00:13:34,000 BENJAMIN: That's why, in the '70s, 252 00:13:34,019 --> 00:13:35,159 when people encountered Heaven's Gate, 253 00:13:35,179 --> 00:13:37,199 people didn't say, "Whoa, this is weird." 254 00:13:37,220 --> 00:13:39,220 They said, "This is what I've been looking for." 255 00:13:42,149 --> 00:13:45,119 And so all these people, for one reason or another, 256 00:13:45,139 --> 00:13:47,129 accept this message that "The Two" 257 00:13:47,149 --> 00:13:49,039 are actually who they say they are, 258 00:13:49,059 --> 00:13:50,099 space aliens, effectively, 259 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:52,190 who offer them a way to get to Heaven. 260 00:13:55,110 --> 00:13:57,170 DO: In 1975, 261 00:13:57,190 --> 00:14:00,020 there were two individuals 262 00:14:00,039 --> 00:14:02,209 who came public, 263 00:14:02,230 --> 00:14:06,050 held some meetings around the country, 264 00:14:06,070 --> 00:14:08,230 and said that they were from the Kingdom of Heaven. 265 00:14:10,210 --> 00:14:13,080 And those two individuals were Ti and Do. 266 00:14:15,009 --> 00:14:16,129 BENJAMIN: They go by a variety of names, 267 00:14:16,149 --> 00:14:18,179 but they also just call themselves "The Two." 268 00:14:20,230 --> 00:14:23,030 And they went to Bo and Peep after that. 269 00:14:23,049 --> 00:14:24,149 [whir, ding] 270 00:14:26,090 --> 00:14:29,030 SAWYER: They said, I guess, "Our names are Bo and Peep, 271 00:14:29,049 --> 00:14:30,119 because we now have sheep. 272 00:14:34,070 --> 00:14:37,160 And then Bo and Peep became Do and Ti, 273 00:14:37,179 --> 00:14:41,069 in that order, relative to the names. 274 00:14:41,090 --> 00:14:44,100 I didn't know at the time why they chose those names, 275 00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:47,180 but I learned not too long after that 276 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:50,100 that it came from that musical 277 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:52,160 "The Sound of Music." 278 00:14:52,179 --> 00:14:54,209 ♪ When you read, you begin with ♪ 279 00:14:54,230 --> 00:14:56,100 ♪ A B C ♪ 280 00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:58,220 ♪ When you sing, you begin with ♪ 281 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:00,220 ♪ Do re mi ♪ 282 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:12,000 ALL: ♪ Do re mi ♪ 283 00:15:12,019 --> 00:15:15,079 ♪ Do re mi fa so la ti ♪ 284 00:15:16,190 --> 00:15:18,160 Oh, let's see if I can make it easier. 285 00:15:18,179 --> 00:15:22,029 Ti and Do were both fans of musical theater. 286 00:15:22,049 --> 00:15:24,099 Do's first love was music-- before he got into religion 287 00:15:24,120 --> 00:15:25,230 and spirituality, was music. 288 00:15:26,009 --> 00:15:29,009 [gentle major key melody] 289 00:15:41,039 --> 00:15:42,129 NEELY BRUCE: It's very disorienting 290 00:15:42,149 --> 00:15:44,099 when you call him Marshall. 291 00:15:44,120 --> 00:15:46,200 Nobody called him Marshall. Everyone called him Herff. 292 00:15:46,220 --> 00:15:49,030 So, um, when Herff Applewhite 293 00:15:49,049 --> 00:15:53,129 came to the University of Alabama, 294 00:15:53,149 --> 00:15:56,049 he didn't look at all like a professor. 295 00:15:56,070 --> 00:15:58,140 He was very casual, very laid back. 296 00:16:00,110 --> 00:16:03,060 There was no hint that all this catastrophe 297 00:16:03,080 --> 00:16:05,100 was looming in his future. 298 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:10,080 He had a fantastic voice. 299 00:16:10,100 --> 00:16:12,180 He had a lot of charisma. 300 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:15,080 He was such a natural performer. 301 00:16:15,100 --> 00:16:19,050 He would have the audience in the palm of his hand. 302 00:16:19,070 --> 00:16:22,020 But it was widely rumored that he was having an affair 303 00:16:22,039 --> 00:16:24,199 with-- with one of the male graduate students. 304 00:16:24,220 --> 00:16:28,170 And his father was a very, very hard-nosed 305 00:16:28,190 --> 00:16:31,130 Presbyterian minister who did not like the fact 306 00:16:31,149 --> 00:16:34,029 that he had a gay son. 307 00:16:34,049 --> 00:16:36,019 I'm sure, in Jesus' eyes, 308 00:16:36,039 --> 00:16:38,099 his relationship to his father 309 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:40,190 was... goodness, 310 00:16:40,210 --> 00:16:43,100 when will I ever grow to be like my father? 311 00:16:43,120 --> 00:16:45,010 I'm so ignorant! 312 00:16:45,029 --> 00:16:47,099 I do things so poor. 313 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:49,120 I can't get them right. 314 00:16:51,080 --> 00:16:52,210 And yet... 315 00:16:52,230 --> 00:16:56,000 his ability to recognize his father... 316 00:16:58,070 --> 00:17:00,010 and want to be like his father 317 00:17:00,029 --> 00:17:03,119 and realize that he is nothing but a child. 318 00:17:03,139 --> 00:17:06,029 His wife divorced him. I remember her very well. 319 00:17:06,049 --> 00:17:08,229 Very nice family. Then, that seems to put him-- 320 00:17:09,009 --> 00:17:10,149 put him in a bit of a tailspin. 321 00:17:12,069 --> 00:17:15,039 And so he left Alabama for Houston. 322 00:17:18,130 --> 00:17:20,060 I got a call 323 00:17:20,079 --> 00:17:22,139 telling me that-- that this notorious couple 324 00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:25,050 in the news was actually, you know, 325 00:17:25,069 --> 00:17:27,209 Herff Applewhite and his former nurse. 326 00:17:30,089 --> 00:17:32,099 This is the story that I heard. 327 00:17:32,119 --> 00:17:35,229 He was gonna attempt a career on the opera stage 328 00:17:36,009 --> 00:17:37,199 at Houston Grand Opera. 329 00:17:37,220 --> 00:17:41,070 He was going to do his biggest role there, 330 00:17:41,089 --> 00:17:43,099 which was the role of Olin Blitch. 331 00:17:43,119 --> 00:17:47,069 He's a traveling preacher who seduces Susannah 332 00:17:47,089 --> 00:17:49,179 in the opera "Susannah." 333 00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:52,180 The Lord, he spoke to me this afternoon. 334 00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:56,060 And he said, "Blitch, 335 00:17:56,079 --> 00:17:58,179 "there's gonna be a lot of lost souls 336 00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:00,190 "at that meeting tonight! 337 00:18:00,210 --> 00:18:02,230 "Don't take no text. 338 00:18:03,009 --> 00:18:05,159 I'll put the words in your mouth." 339 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:09,200 NEELY: He was in rehearsal, and he had 340 00:18:09,220 --> 00:18:11,160 some sort of a psychotic episode 341 00:18:11,180 --> 00:18:13,190 and was actually hospitalized. 342 00:18:13,210 --> 00:18:17,130 DO: We met... just perchance... 343 00:18:17,150 --> 00:18:21,150 while I was visiting a sick friend in a hospital. 344 00:18:21,170 --> 00:18:23,040 Where Ti was a nurse. 345 00:18:24,230 --> 00:18:27,040 JANJA LALICH: I think most people don't think of Ti 346 00:18:27,059 --> 00:18:29,129 as the real leader of the group, 347 00:18:29,150 --> 00:18:31,190 but she met Do when he was 348 00:18:31,210 --> 00:18:33,170 obviously at a vulnerable point. 349 00:18:33,190 --> 00:18:35,170 She convinced him that-- 350 00:18:35,190 --> 00:18:37,050 that he was her soulmate. 351 00:18:37,069 --> 00:18:39,089 Ti had more experience 352 00:18:39,109 --> 00:18:42,029 and was older than me. 353 00:18:42,049 --> 00:18:45,149 I could see Ti's control was better than mine. 354 00:18:45,170 --> 00:18:49,200 Ti really recruited Do, and-- and Do was her follower. 355 00:18:49,220 --> 00:18:51,120 Nettle says, "Well, I'm an astrologer. 356 00:18:51,140 --> 00:18:53,040 Uh, and I can do your chart." 357 00:18:54,170 --> 00:18:56,160 And she deduces that they're fated 358 00:18:56,180 --> 00:18:59,120 to work together on some grand project. 359 00:18:59,140 --> 00:19:02,120 They are destined to be spiritual partners. 360 00:19:02,140 --> 00:19:04,160 JANJA: After that, they became very close. 361 00:19:04,180 --> 00:19:07,070 He eventually went to live with her. 362 00:19:07,089 --> 00:19:08,189 They were never romantic. 363 00:19:10,119 --> 00:19:13,079 But she was very much the force behind the group, 364 00:19:13,099 --> 00:19:14,219 the founding of the group, 365 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:17,040 and the way the group functioned. 366 00:19:43,089 --> 00:19:46,119 - You're a sweetie, yeah. - [meowing] 367 00:19:53,109 --> 00:19:55,079 This is Mom. 368 00:19:57,029 --> 00:19:59,109 The others are similar, but... 369 00:19:59,130 --> 00:20:03,000 she looks-- for some reason, she looks sad in those pictures. 370 00:20:06,109 --> 00:20:08,179 My mom was a-- was an RN. 371 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:13,070 Her passion was working with babies. 372 00:20:13,089 --> 00:20:15,069 So, she ended up being a baby nurse 373 00:20:15,089 --> 00:20:17,179 at a hospital in Houston. 374 00:20:20,130 --> 00:20:22,190 I always wanted to be with her. 375 00:20:22,210 --> 00:20:25,180 She was my best friend. We did everything together. 376 00:20:27,039 --> 00:20:28,189 Actually, I was a candy striper 377 00:20:28,210 --> 00:20:30,180 at the hospital where she worked, 378 00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:33,180 and so we'd hang out at work. 379 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:35,160 And she'd take me to dance classes 380 00:20:35,180 --> 00:20:38,000 and acting classes and music classes, 381 00:20:38,019 --> 00:20:40,069 and all this stuff, and-- and I'd-- 382 00:20:40,089 --> 00:20:42,109 we'd talk about everything under the sun. 383 00:20:43,220 --> 00:20:45,140 We spent a lot of time talking about 384 00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:47,150 spiritualism and mediums and astrology. 385 00:20:47,170 --> 00:20:50,030 Things like that. 386 00:20:50,049 --> 00:20:53,109 Even before she met, uh, Marshall Applewhite, 387 00:20:53,130 --> 00:20:56,030 she was someone who was already very entrenched 388 00:20:56,049 --> 00:20:58,139 in New Age thinking. 389 00:21:09,180 --> 00:21:11,150 JANJA: You know, all of this kind of stuff, 390 00:21:11,170 --> 00:21:14,150 crystals and ascended beings 391 00:21:14,170 --> 00:21:18,140 and channeling dead people and seances. 392 00:21:18,160 --> 00:21:20,070 I have come. 393 00:21:20,089 --> 00:21:23,159 And I am going to work with many of you today. 394 00:21:23,180 --> 00:21:27,020 And part of that interest was in UFOs. 395 00:21:35,069 --> 00:21:37,089 TERRIE: We used to dream about a UFO picking us up 396 00:21:37,109 --> 00:21:39,109 and taking us away from this world. 397 00:21:40,220 --> 00:21:43,050 We didn't feel like we belonged here. 398 00:21:45,180 --> 00:21:47,200 I don't remember if I saw it first 399 00:21:47,220 --> 00:21:50,200 or she saw it first... 400 00:21:50,220 --> 00:21:54,020 we saw this light in the sky 401 00:21:54,039 --> 00:21:58,119 that appeared to move in different directions. 402 00:21:59,180 --> 00:22:01,180 We would talk about how neat it would be 403 00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:04,200 if... it were a UFO and it would come down 404 00:22:04,220 --> 00:22:06,170 and pick us up and take us away. 405 00:22:09,099 --> 00:22:12,099 And we would speculate about what it would be like 406 00:22:12,119 --> 00:22:14,169 in... going to different planets... 407 00:22:14,190 --> 00:22:18,000 'cause both of us wanted to leave this earth. 408 00:22:20,230 --> 00:22:24,010 DO: We were going through an awakening period. 409 00:22:24,029 --> 00:22:28,179 It's common for the person who is awakening. 410 00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:30,230 For his life to begin to fall apart 411 00:22:31,009 --> 00:22:33,049 or her life to begin to fall apart. 412 00:22:33,069 --> 00:22:36,229 It got kind of tense at home, you know, 413 00:22:37,009 --> 00:22:40,059 because now there's another man involved. 414 00:22:41,140 --> 00:22:43,030 And eventually my parents 415 00:22:43,049 --> 00:22:46,009 got a divorce when I was 19. 416 00:22:46,029 --> 00:22:48,009 My mom said that we need to find out 417 00:22:48,029 --> 00:22:50,069 what we're supposed to do. 418 00:22:51,210 --> 00:22:53,100 And as soon as they discovered 419 00:22:53,119 --> 00:22:55,019 what they were supposed to be doing, 420 00:22:55,039 --> 00:22:56,179 she'd be back. 421 00:22:56,200 --> 00:23:01,020 But that... it didn't turn out that way. 422 00:23:01,039 --> 00:23:03,169 [soft string music] 423 00:23:13,059 --> 00:23:15,119 ♪ There's a highway ♪ 424 00:23:15,140 --> 00:23:19,150 ♪ Telling me to go where I can now ♪ 425 00:23:19,170 --> 00:23:21,020 BENJAMIN: They travel around the country 426 00:23:21,039 --> 00:23:23,179 on this journey of self-exploration. 427 00:23:23,200 --> 00:23:27,060 And they visit other New Age-ers. 428 00:23:27,079 --> 00:23:29,139 Various gurus, alternative health centers. 429 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:31,140 They stop and stay in churches. 430 00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:34,100 They have no money, so they take odd jobs. 431 00:23:34,119 --> 00:23:36,019 Their car's always breaking down, 432 00:23:36,039 --> 00:23:38,159 and they're digging ditches to try and make money. 433 00:23:38,180 --> 00:23:41,130 TERRIE: Shortly after my mom and Herff left, 434 00:23:41,150 --> 00:23:43,220 and my mom sent me this picture. 435 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:46,200 It's Herff and my mom in Vegas. 436 00:23:46,220 --> 00:23:48,160 And on the back of the card, it said, 437 00:23:48,180 --> 00:23:50,090 "Herff cut my hair. How do you like it? 438 00:23:50,109 --> 00:23:52,189 Love you, Mom." 439 00:23:52,210 --> 00:23:56,010 ♪ Gonna be all right now, gonna be all right... ♪ 440 00:23:56,029 --> 00:23:58,169 In July of 1973, 441 00:23:58,190 --> 00:24:00,090 Bonnie Lou and Herff had been on the road 442 00:24:00,109 --> 00:24:02,049 for over a year at this point. 443 00:24:03,180 --> 00:24:06,030 And they end up on the Oregon coast. 444 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:11,160 And it occurs to them 445 00:24:11,180 --> 00:24:14,170 that they finally figured out the answer. 446 00:24:18,170 --> 00:24:21,160 Herff and Bonnie Lou discover 447 00:24:21,180 --> 00:24:23,120 that they are the two witnesses 448 00:24:23,140 --> 00:24:26,110 who are foretold in the Book of Revelation. 449 00:24:29,140 --> 00:24:32,040 They are destined to be martyred. 450 00:24:36,029 --> 00:24:39,089 And then to rise from the dead. 451 00:24:39,109 --> 00:24:40,229 Revelation... 452 00:24:53,140 --> 00:24:55,200 Ti and Do believe that they... 453 00:24:55,220 --> 00:24:58,080 will then lead all those who accept their message 454 00:24:58,099 --> 00:25:01,159 into outer space to the Kingdom of God. 455 00:25:01,180 --> 00:25:03,120 The Next Level. 456 00:25:03,140 --> 00:25:05,210 And they refer to this as The Demonstration. 457 00:25:05,230 --> 00:25:07,220 Initiating the end of the world. 458 00:25:09,150 --> 00:25:12,100 They say when the Book of Revelation talks about, 459 00:25:12,119 --> 00:25:14,169 "ascending up to Heaven in a cloud," 460 00:25:14,190 --> 00:25:16,020 well, they say, well, first-century, 461 00:25:16,039 --> 00:25:18,019 second-century people wouldn't've understood a UFO. 462 00:25:18,039 --> 00:25:20,059 So they say a cloud, but in fact that cloud 463 00:25:20,079 --> 00:25:22,049 is a flying saucer. 464 00:25:37,130 --> 00:25:39,210 BENJAMIN: They saw themselves not ultimately as offering 465 00:25:39,230 --> 00:25:41,210 religious or spiritual guidance 466 00:25:41,230 --> 00:25:44,200 but scientific, technological message. 467 00:25:44,220 --> 00:25:46,220 Because they taught that, 468 00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:49,150 with a powerful enough telescope, 469 00:25:49,170 --> 00:25:51,170 you can see God. 470 00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:55,140 I think they took acid. 471 00:25:55,160 --> 00:25:58,130 [laughing] 472 00:26:01,140 --> 00:26:05,150 There was a short period of time when, in isolation, 473 00:26:05,170 --> 00:26:08,230 we went through an extreme awakening period. 474 00:26:09,009 --> 00:26:10,169 This is... 475 00:26:10,190 --> 00:26:13,030 unimportant information-- the only thing that's important 476 00:26:13,049 --> 00:26:16,109 is, can you shed human-ness? 477 00:26:18,089 --> 00:26:20,139 And then hang on to your hat, 478 00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:23,160 because, from that point until the time you leave, 479 00:26:23,180 --> 00:26:28,010 will be one major growth after another 480 00:26:28,029 --> 00:26:31,139 that will change you from a human 481 00:26:31,160 --> 00:26:34,120 into a member of that Next Level. 482 00:26:34,140 --> 00:26:36,180 When they started, you know, the-- 483 00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:38,110 the leaving was imminent. 484 00:26:38,130 --> 00:26:40,070 The spaceship was gonna come and get them, 485 00:26:40,089 --> 00:26:41,209 and it was gonna happen tomorrow, 486 00:26:41,230 --> 00:26:44,000 and there was really the sense of immediacy. 487 00:26:44,019 --> 00:26:46,069 Which, if you were one of the early followers, 488 00:26:46,089 --> 00:26:48,019 you know, you really bought into that. 489 00:26:49,130 --> 00:26:51,150 Dick Joslyn was a young man 490 00:26:51,170 --> 00:26:53,090 in Los Angeles. 491 00:26:53,109 --> 00:26:55,189 He wanted to be an actor. 492 00:26:55,210 --> 00:26:58,130 And he was one of the first followers. 493 00:26:59,210 --> 00:27:02,050 A matter of some months ago, 494 00:27:02,069 --> 00:27:03,999 uh, those of us who are up here 495 00:27:04,019 --> 00:27:05,229 were sitting in a meeting similar to this, 496 00:27:06,009 --> 00:27:07,219 where you are... 497 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:11,140 and listening to two individuals-- 498 00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:14,030 a man and a woman-- 499 00:27:14,049 --> 00:27:17,169 share some information with us. 500 00:27:17,190 --> 00:27:22,130 It's important to understand that you cannot die 501 00:27:22,150 --> 00:27:24,220 and achieve the level we're talking about. 502 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:28,000 You cannot die and get to Heaven. 503 00:27:28,019 --> 00:27:31,049 Uh... this level that we're speaking of 504 00:27:31,069 --> 00:27:33,079 is obtained only while you're alive 505 00:27:33,099 --> 00:27:35,109 and physically healthy. 506 00:27:35,130 --> 00:27:39,120 In a way that you've never been alive before. 507 00:27:39,140 --> 00:27:42,020 We're not here to convince you of anything. 508 00:27:42,039 --> 00:27:44,199 But we know that there are a lot of people, 509 00:27:44,220 --> 00:27:46,120 at least some people, 510 00:27:46,140 --> 00:27:49,100 who are waiting for this information, 511 00:27:49,119 --> 00:27:52,029 and they will recognize it when they hear it. 512 00:28:05,190 --> 00:28:08,090 ROBERT: My name is Robert W. Balch. 513 00:28:08,109 --> 00:28:10,129 I am a sociology professor, 514 00:28:10,150 --> 00:28:14,170 now retired, at the University of Montana. 515 00:28:14,190 --> 00:28:16,170 My connection with Heaven's Gate 516 00:28:16,190 --> 00:28:19,130 began in 1975 517 00:28:19,150 --> 00:28:21,210 when the story broke 518 00:28:21,230 --> 00:28:24,070 about 20 people who had disappeared 519 00:28:24,089 --> 00:28:25,209 on the Oregon coast 520 00:28:25,230 --> 00:28:29,070 after attending a meeting about UFOs. 521 00:28:29,089 --> 00:28:31,219 Initially, 1975, 522 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:34,070 I had gone to Sedona, Arizona 523 00:28:34,089 --> 00:28:35,229 to do research 524 00:28:36,009 --> 00:28:37,079 on what was then 525 00:28:37,099 --> 00:28:40,179 this emerging New Age community. 526 00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:43,140 And so I'm walking down the sidewalk 527 00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:47,050 and saw this poster on the wall. 528 00:28:50,049 --> 00:28:52,039 It says, "Humans, do you really know 529 00:28:52,059 --> 00:28:53,999 "what Christ came to tell us? 530 00:28:54,019 --> 00:28:56,139 "Do you believe in flying saucers? 531 00:28:56,160 --> 00:28:58,190 "Are you ready to take your physical body 532 00:28:58,210 --> 00:29:01,020 to the next evolutionary kingdom?" 533 00:29:01,039 --> 00:29:03,019 I looked at it and I thought, 534 00:29:03,039 --> 00:29:05,059 boy, I wonder if these are the people 535 00:29:05,079 --> 00:29:07,999 that I've been reading about in the newspapers. 536 00:29:08,019 --> 00:29:11,009 The people from Waldport, Oregon. 537 00:29:15,069 --> 00:29:17,149 I just thought, this is so weird. 538 00:29:17,170 --> 00:29:21,010 I wanna go and see what they have to say. 539 00:29:21,029 --> 00:29:22,189 We're now in the process 540 00:29:22,210 --> 00:29:26,100 of... overcoming the world 541 00:29:26,119 --> 00:29:30,039 and converting all of our energies 542 00:29:30,059 --> 00:29:33,189 to becoming Next Level individuals. 543 00:29:33,210 --> 00:29:37,040 ROBERT: Members of the group were presenting the message. 544 00:29:37,059 --> 00:29:40,209 The leaders, the two, they were not there. 545 00:29:43,099 --> 00:29:47,109 Nine people decided that day to join the group. 546 00:29:48,210 --> 00:29:51,220 And so I am thinking, this is very bizarre. 547 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:54,140 I've never seen anything like this before. 548 00:29:54,160 --> 00:29:57,220 And it was at that point I thought, ahh, 549 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:00,080 maybe I should just go undercover. 550 00:30:05,220 --> 00:30:07,120 And so that night, 551 00:30:07,140 --> 00:30:10,160 I went home, and I called my friend David Taylor. 552 00:30:10,180 --> 00:30:12,200 I said, would you like to do this with me? 553 00:30:15,140 --> 00:30:18,190 He called me, and he said, "Do you think you could join me 554 00:30:18,210 --> 00:30:20,130 for a couple weeks in California?" 555 00:30:20,150 --> 00:30:23,010 ROBERT: David was at the time this kind of 556 00:30:23,029 --> 00:30:26,169 hippie-trippy graduate student here in our department. 557 00:30:26,190 --> 00:30:30,050 And he was the only person I knew who would drop everything 558 00:30:30,069 --> 00:30:33,179 spur of the moment to do something like this. 559 00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:36,070 And, sure enough, he did. 560 00:30:38,130 --> 00:30:40,020 At that point, we knew that 561 00:30:40,039 --> 00:30:42,059 the members were all on their way 562 00:30:42,079 --> 00:30:45,049 to be reunited with The Two, 563 00:30:45,069 --> 00:30:49,039 who they hadn't seen for a few weeks at this point. 564 00:30:52,190 --> 00:30:56,010 I told them I wanted to join the group. 565 00:30:56,029 --> 00:30:59,009 And so, how are we gonna rendezvous with you? 566 00:30:59,029 --> 00:31:02,029 And they-- "Well, we don't know where we're gonna be yet. 567 00:31:02,049 --> 00:31:04,209 "So, here's what we'll do. 568 00:31:04,230 --> 00:31:06,230 "Go to the town of Varinda, 569 00:31:07,009 --> 00:31:09,199 "which is outside of Oakland. 570 00:31:09,220 --> 00:31:11,160 "Find the post office, 571 00:31:11,180 --> 00:31:13,210 "and we will leave you an address 572 00:31:13,230 --> 00:31:17,070 on page 100 of the zip code book." 573 00:31:17,089 --> 00:31:21,039 DAVID: Rob said this group is very secretive, 574 00:31:21,059 --> 00:31:22,209 not just about publicity 575 00:31:22,230 --> 00:31:26,050 but scrutiny from the media and the police. 576 00:31:28,130 --> 00:31:30,190 We get to the post office 577 00:31:30,210 --> 00:31:33,080 and find the zip code book. 578 00:31:33,099 --> 00:31:35,109 There's no address. 579 00:31:35,130 --> 00:31:39,010 They just say, "Meet us at the top of Mt. Diablo." 580 00:31:43,180 --> 00:31:45,040 We had to hitch a ride 581 00:31:45,059 --> 00:31:47,079 to get to the top of this damn mountain, 582 00:31:47,099 --> 00:31:49,069 and there's nobody else there. 583 00:31:49,089 --> 00:31:51,219 And I look through the garbage can, and, 584 00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:54,110 sure enough, I find some of the group's literature. 585 00:31:54,130 --> 00:31:56,110 And so I know that they have been there, 586 00:31:56,130 --> 00:31:59,070 and I think, oh, my God, we've come all this way, 587 00:31:59,089 --> 00:32:01,209 and we just freakin' missed 'em. 588 00:32:05,180 --> 00:32:08,070 And just then, two cars pull up 589 00:32:08,089 --> 00:32:09,209 full of members of the group. 590 00:32:13,130 --> 00:32:16,200 They're like, "Hop in!" And off we go. 591 00:32:24,009 --> 00:32:27,109 It was really important for me to be able to keep a record 592 00:32:27,130 --> 00:32:29,110 of everything that I saw. 593 00:32:29,130 --> 00:32:31,110 Everything that I heard going on. 594 00:32:31,130 --> 00:32:34,000 And, of course, that had to be done secretly, 595 00:32:34,019 --> 00:32:37,189 because I was an infiltrator in this situation. 596 00:32:37,210 --> 00:32:41,180 Initially, I was writing on just scraps of paper. 597 00:32:41,200 --> 00:32:44,000 This I found somewhere, 598 00:32:44,019 --> 00:32:47,129 and so I was recording all of my notes. 599 00:32:47,150 --> 00:32:49,160 One of the interesting things that I discovered 600 00:32:49,180 --> 00:32:51,040 was that there was 601 00:32:51,059 --> 00:32:54,119 no authority structure whatsoever. 602 00:32:54,140 --> 00:32:57,200 The name of their process was 603 00:32:57,220 --> 00:33:01,040 Human Individual Metamorphosis. 604 00:33:02,150 --> 00:33:06,080 Because this was such an individual process, 605 00:33:06,099 --> 00:33:10,999 nobody felt like they had any authority over anybody else. 606 00:33:11,019 --> 00:33:13,229 You need to be focused on your own overcoming. 607 00:33:16,029 --> 00:33:18,129 The Kingdom of Heaven can't be entered 608 00:33:18,150 --> 00:33:20,140 as long as I still have 609 00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:23,010 attachments and addictions 610 00:33:23,029 --> 00:33:25,129 to the human kingdom. 611 00:33:25,150 --> 00:33:28,180 Whether it be people, things, 612 00:33:28,200 --> 00:33:31,070 careers. 613 00:33:31,089 --> 00:33:33,169 WOMAN: Is there some special place 614 00:33:33,190 --> 00:33:35,090 that you have people go 615 00:33:35,109 --> 00:33:38,009 to learn about... how to do this? 616 00:33:38,029 --> 00:33:40,129 Camps or something like that? 617 00:33:40,150 --> 00:33:45,020 You mean, here on... here on this planet? 618 00:33:45,039 --> 00:33:48,019 WOMAN: There was something about going to Colorado. 619 00:33:48,039 --> 00:33:50,099 Uh... there... 620 00:33:50,119 --> 00:33:53,129 we have no training camp. [chuckling] 621 00:33:53,150 --> 00:33:57,010 BENJAMIN: Ti and Do didn't give a lot of formal instruction. 622 00:33:57,029 --> 00:34:00,129 So, the group lives a nomadic existence 623 00:34:00,150 --> 00:34:02,150 but also one characterized by what I would call 624 00:34:02,170 --> 00:34:04,150 social chaos. 625 00:34:04,170 --> 00:34:06,070 For a while, there are several hundred people 626 00:34:06,089 --> 00:34:08,059 traveling around the country, going to campgrounds. 627 00:34:08,079 --> 00:34:10,149 Thinking that their leaders are gonna teach them 628 00:34:10,170 --> 00:34:12,070 the way off planet Earth. 629 00:34:12,090 --> 00:34:15,060 Sometimes, we're together in groups of ten or 20, 630 00:34:15,079 --> 00:34:16,219 Sometimes we're together in... 631 00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:18,080 just two or three of us. 632 00:34:29,199 --> 00:34:31,059 We would have meetings 633 00:34:31,079 --> 00:34:33,219 twice a day, morning and evening. 634 00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:36,060 Most of those meeting times were spent 635 00:34:36,079 --> 00:34:38,209 tuning in to The Next Level. 636 00:34:40,130 --> 00:34:42,030 They gave us tuning forks 637 00:34:42,050 --> 00:34:44,000 for each group-- had a tuning fork. 638 00:34:44,019 --> 00:34:46,039 [tuning fork rings] 639 00:34:46,059 --> 00:34:48,169 The note A, 440 hz. 640 00:34:48,190 --> 00:34:52,130 They said that we should tune our mind to that frequency. 641 00:34:52,150 --> 00:34:55,070 [tuning fork rings] 642 00:34:55,090 --> 00:34:58,030 So, you take it and hit it and stick it on your head. 643 00:34:58,050 --> 00:34:59,150 And then, kind of like, hum it to yourself. 644 00:34:59,170 --> 00:35:01,010 You know, they didn't give us instructions 645 00:35:01,030 --> 00:35:02,110 on how to do any of that. 646 00:35:02,130 --> 00:35:05,050 And we were living on donations at that point, 647 00:35:05,070 --> 00:35:07,020 that we asked the churches for. 648 00:35:07,039 --> 00:35:09,109 So, you'd have to go knock on doors 649 00:35:09,130 --> 00:35:11,050 and-- and spread the message, 650 00:35:11,070 --> 00:35:13,190 and then you-- maybe if you needed money for gas, 651 00:35:13,210 --> 00:35:15,110 do something for them. 652 00:35:15,130 --> 00:35:18,080 The things that we need to literally live 653 00:35:18,099 --> 00:35:21,069 on this human planet until we get off 654 00:35:21,090 --> 00:35:24,230 are provided by situations that come up. 655 00:35:25,010 --> 00:35:28,000 Help will come in the strangest ways. 656 00:35:28,019 --> 00:35:30,079 [soft music] 657 00:35:30,099 --> 00:35:32,209 In early days, there was a lot of this... 658 00:35:32,230 --> 00:35:36,090 "we've got this message that we may be picked up," 659 00:35:36,110 --> 00:35:38,060 and they would go out in the desert and wait. 660 00:35:40,059 --> 00:35:44,089 We'd look up at the sky a lot. Were the UFOs coming for us? 661 00:35:47,179 --> 00:35:49,159 SAWYER: We had an assigned task. 662 00:35:49,179 --> 00:35:52,159 Somebody would get up and watch the heavens for an hour 663 00:35:52,179 --> 00:35:54,139 and then go back to sleep. 664 00:35:54,159 --> 00:35:57,089 And we burned the fire the whole time too. 665 00:35:57,110 --> 00:35:59,000 That's where I got the name Sawyer. 666 00:35:59,019 --> 00:36:00,179 I was the woodcutter. 667 00:36:00,199 --> 00:36:02,999 Do you regret at all 668 00:36:03,019 --> 00:36:05,119 giving up what you had to give up? 669 00:36:05,139 --> 00:36:08,019 No regrets, it's been such an accelerated 670 00:36:08,039 --> 00:36:10,149 growth experience that... 671 00:36:10,170 --> 00:36:12,220 no matter what happens, I could never regret 672 00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:14,210 taking this move. 673 00:36:14,230 --> 00:36:18,010 It's difficult for our friends and our relatives who really 674 00:36:18,030 --> 00:36:22,010 do love us to understand it's us who really want to do this. 675 00:36:22,030 --> 00:36:24,190 And they might think that it's... 676 00:36:24,210 --> 00:36:28,180 better for us not to do this endeavor. 677 00:36:28,199 --> 00:36:31,079 So, I get asked this question all the time about, 678 00:36:31,099 --> 00:36:34,009 you know, is there a certain personality type 679 00:36:34,030 --> 00:36:36,110 who gets into a cult? And the answer is "no." 680 00:36:38,199 --> 00:36:40,219 People who join cults 681 00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:43,180 are typically well-educated. 682 00:36:43,199 --> 00:36:46,099 Often from very good families. 683 00:36:46,119 --> 00:36:51,059 They don't have prior psychological problems. 684 00:36:51,079 --> 00:36:53,139 Because, in reality, cults don't want 685 00:36:53,159 --> 00:36:55,149 lonely, strange, weird people, you know, 686 00:36:55,170 --> 00:36:58,150 cults want highly-functioning individuals who can help 687 00:36:58,170 --> 00:37:00,130 run the cult. 688 00:37:04,130 --> 00:37:08,180 Right now, Joyce is going through the process 689 00:37:08,199 --> 00:37:10,109 of leaving. 690 00:37:10,130 --> 00:37:13,060 Uhh, I did have to decide what to do with my job. 691 00:37:13,079 --> 00:37:16,049 I was in a job that I was very satisfied with. 692 00:37:16,070 --> 00:37:17,180 But I think the biggest thing was 693 00:37:17,199 --> 00:37:20,219 working with my children and talking to them. 694 00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:24,040 Uhh, one of-- I do have twin girls that are 13. 695 00:37:24,059 --> 00:37:27,019 - They will go with their father. - Mm-hmm. 696 00:37:27,039 --> 00:37:30,069 If an individual finds themselves 697 00:37:30,090 --> 00:37:32,180 with children... 698 00:37:32,199 --> 00:37:35,039 and they know... 699 00:37:35,059 --> 00:37:37,129 that it is time for them to move up 700 00:37:37,150 --> 00:37:39,190 into the kingdom of God, 701 00:37:39,210 --> 00:37:43,130 they must weigh where their responsibility is. 702 00:37:43,150 --> 00:37:47,200 To their heavenly Father? Or to those children? 703 00:37:51,219 --> 00:37:54,059 This is a rare photo. 704 00:37:54,079 --> 00:37:58,019 It's my mom, me, and my dad. 705 00:38:01,159 --> 00:38:04,199 Looks about three-ish. Two- or three-ish, yeah. 706 00:38:09,030 --> 00:38:12,160 My mom had a real affinity with nature. 707 00:38:12,179 --> 00:38:15,229 Definitely really into astrology. 708 00:38:16,010 --> 00:38:18,200 She looked a lot like me. 709 00:38:18,219 --> 00:38:21,999 My dad was an inventor. 710 00:38:23,179 --> 00:38:26,049 Here's one of my father's inventions. 711 00:38:26,070 --> 00:38:30,000 It's an ergonomic workstation. 712 00:38:30,019 --> 00:38:33,139 They both were very, very, very smart. 713 00:38:33,159 --> 00:38:37,059 That was probably one of the biggest challenges. 714 00:38:37,079 --> 00:38:38,999 They weren't very simple 715 00:38:39,019 --> 00:38:40,179 in how they thought about anything. 716 00:38:43,039 --> 00:38:45,039 Well, I attended a... a meeting 717 00:38:45,059 --> 00:38:48,019 at La... La Cañada College 718 00:38:48,039 --> 00:38:51,129 in... which is north of San Francisco, 719 00:38:51,150 --> 00:38:56,060 uh, in late August of 1975. 720 00:38:56,079 --> 00:39:00,139 And, uh, recognized at that time 721 00:39:00,159 --> 00:39:03,089 that it was the... the truth, 722 00:39:03,110 --> 00:39:06,110 that-- it was what I'd been looking for. 723 00:39:06,130 --> 00:39:09,190 They both sat me down 724 00:39:09,210 --> 00:39:13,220 and... said that they were going to... 725 00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:15,190 go with this cult. 726 00:39:18,039 --> 00:39:22,089 I remember trying to discourage my mother about it. 727 00:39:22,110 --> 00:39:26,060 "Oh, it's nonsense, UFOs, come on." 728 00:39:28,159 --> 00:39:30,179 I don't know how they ever believed that. 729 00:39:30,199 --> 00:39:32,099 Really don't, you know. 730 00:39:32,119 --> 00:39:35,129 I mean, me, a ten-year-old, I didn't believe that. 731 00:39:35,150 --> 00:39:40,100 How did they... it just never made any sense, you know? 732 00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:45,060 They really explained it 733 00:39:45,079 --> 00:39:48,019 as though they may not even be here much longer 734 00:39:48,039 --> 00:39:49,099 than a month or two. 735 00:39:49,119 --> 00:39:52,149 I mean, it was really an immediate state of mind 736 00:39:52,170 --> 00:39:54,100 that everything was gonna change. 737 00:39:54,119 --> 00:39:57,039 The UFOs are coming to pick us up any day now. 738 00:39:59,050 --> 00:40:03,060 I went to live with my mother's parents, 739 00:40:03,079 --> 00:40:04,189 my grandparents. 740 00:40:09,000 --> 00:40:11,120 It was very hard. Very hard. 741 00:40:13,039 --> 00:40:16,059 It's easier for those who are left in the world 742 00:40:16,079 --> 00:40:19,029 to go ahead and move on with their lives. 743 00:40:19,050 --> 00:40:21,000 So in a way, I think, well, 744 00:40:21,019 --> 00:40:23,109 that's been the pattern for most of us. 745 00:40:23,130 --> 00:40:27,070 To, uh, let that-- the past go-- 746 00:40:27,090 --> 00:40:31,030 you know, the... the people that have been our past 747 00:40:31,050 --> 00:40:33,160 to go on with their lives. 748 00:40:42,079 --> 00:40:45,129 KELLY: It was trying to talk sense, 749 00:40:45,150 --> 00:40:48,110 like, to your parents. 750 00:40:48,130 --> 00:40:50,040 How... 751 00:40:50,059 --> 00:40:53,159 them telling you that... 752 00:40:53,179 --> 00:40:57,069 the likelihood that they were gonna go off in UFOs 753 00:40:57,090 --> 00:41:02,210 and I would never, ever, ever speak to them again, never. 754 00:41:02,230 --> 00:41:05,080 Even-- Even if they didn't-- 755 00:41:05,099 --> 00:41:07,079 as soon as they were gone, I was just-- 756 00:41:07,099 --> 00:41:10,159 it was absolutely no contact with me ever again. 757 00:41:10,179 --> 00:41:13,039 And... 758 00:41:15,230 --> 00:41:19,040 I just couldn't imagine what... 759 00:41:22,219 --> 00:41:25,039 it was like trying to compete with God. 760 00:41:25,059 --> 00:41:28,009 That's really what it felt like. 761 00:41:29,099 --> 00:41:31,019 And... 762 00:41:31,039 --> 00:41:34,009 made me feel rather meaningless, to be honest. 763 00:41:37,079 --> 00:41:40,129 I mean, I felt bad on a personal level that 764 00:41:40,150 --> 00:41:44,050 my parents were freaked out. 765 00:41:44,070 --> 00:41:47,130 And some of my relatives thought how horribly mean it was 766 00:41:47,150 --> 00:41:49,060 for me to be so, like, they thought I was 767 00:41:49,079 --> 00:41:52,229 a spoiled person who just did reckless and didn't care. 768 00:41:53,010 --> 00:41:55,100 But that was not the case. 769 00:41:55,119 --> 00:41:59,009 You have to realize that, when Jesus met his disciples, 770 00:41:59,030 --> 00:42:02,140 he said, "You have to leave your family behind 771 00:42:02,159 --> 00:42:07,099 if you want to... surrender to a higher principle." 772 00:42:07,119 --> 00:42:09,009 You can't have it both ways. 773 00:42:09,030 --> 00:42:11,170 If you do adhere to that belief. 774 00:42:11,190 --> 00:42:13,090 So, the point is-- is even though 775 00:42:13,110 --> 00:42:15,210 it seems extreme and drastic, 776 00:42:15,230 --> 00:42:17,090 I was put in a position 777 00:42:17,110 --> 00:42:21,010 if I wanted to be 100% faithful to this belief, 778 00:42:21,030 --> 00:42:23,200 that I still love my mother, 779 00:42:23,219 --> 00:42:25,189 but I needed to follow 780 00:42:25,210 --> 00:42:29,030 this higher... calling. 781 00:42:34,159 --> 00:42:37,039 ROBERT: The whole time that I was with the group, 782 00:42:37,059 --> 00:42:39,059 you're not supposed to be forming 783 00:42:39,079 --> 00:42:41,139 human-level relationships. 784 00:42:41,159 --> 00:42:45,019 So, all I had to do was keep my mouth shut 785 00:42:45,039 --> 00:42:48,219 and just go through the motions and play the role. 786 00:42:49,000 --> 00:42:52,190 [cawing] 787 00:42:52,210 --> 00:42:55,020 At this point, it's been three months 788 00:42:55,039 --> 00:42:57,039 since I've joined the group, 789 00:42:57,059 --> 00:43:00,149 and I had no idea what had become of David. 790 00:43:00,170 --> 00:43:02,190 We had separated, and it was like, 791 00:43:02,210 --> 00:43:05,140 well, I'll see you back in Montana. 792 00:43:05,159 --> 00:43:07,109 It's also in December now, 793 00:43:07,130 --> 00:43:10,160 and my deadline for having to leave the group 794 00:43:10,179 --> 00:43:12,999 was before Christmas. 795 00:43:13,019 --> 00:43:14,209 I've gotta be home for Christmas 796 00:43:14,230 --> 00:43:17,040 with my family. 797 00:43:17,059 --> 00:43:20,029 DAVID: So, the decision was 798 00:43:20,050 --> 00:43:24,110 to write a series of academic papers 799 00:43:24,130 --> 00:43:27,150 beginning with Psychology Today. 800 00:43:29,150 --> 00:43:31,090 ROBERT: We were the only people 801 00:43:31,110 --> 00:43:33,170 who had been behind the scenes, really, 802 00:43:33,190 --> 00:43:36,150 in that group, and Psychology Today 803 00:43:36,170 --> 00:43:38,120 jumped at the opportunity. 804 00:43:38,139 --> 00:43:40,999 And so we ended up being the cover story. 805 00:43:43,030 --> 00:43:45,140 There we are. Me and David. 806 00:43:49,139 --> 00:43:52,049 One of the big issues then was, 807 00:43:52,070 --> 00:43:53,200 why are people joining, 808 00:43:53,219 --> 00:43:56,079 and what happens to them after they join? 809 00:43:56,099 --> 00:44:00,089 Are they being manipulated? Are they being coerced? 810 00:44:00,110 --> 00:44:04,010 Is there brainwashing going on? What does that really mean? 811 00:44:04,030 --> 00:44:08,110 DAVID: What we concluded was, this group was really unique. 812 00:44:08,130 --> 00:44:12,010 The two leaders didn't assert their authority 813 00:44:12,030 --> 00:44:16,020 near as much as your typical New Age leader. 814 00:44:16,039 --> 00:44:19,169 We found no evidence of manipulation. 815 00:44:19,190 --> 00:44:21,180 No evidence of coercion. 816 00:44:21,199 --> 00:44:24,119 No evidence of brainwashing. 817 00:44:24,139 --> 00:44:28,199 Everything about it just was all about free choice. 818 00:44:28,219 --> 00:44:31,089 Now, it'd still be another 20-some years 819 00:44:31,110 --> 00:44:34,020 before this mass suicide was gonna happen, 820 00:44:34,039 --> 00:44:38,109 and I don't think I grasped in my own mind 821 00:44:38,130 --> 00:44:41,120 the gravity of the situation here. 822 00:44:44,110 --> 00:44:47,140 Recently, we had the story of a small town in Oregon that 823 00:44:47,159 --> 00:44:49,229 was visited by a man and a woman who said 824 00:44:50,010 --> 00:44:53,210 they were millions of years old, from outer space. 825 00:44:53,230 --> 00:44:56,210 Nobody knows if they are earthly hoaxers 826 00:44:56,230 --> 00:44:59,010 or Pied Pipers from outer space, 827 00:44:59,030 --> 00:45:01,200 but apparently some people believe their story. 828 00:45:04,130 --> 00:45:07,130 DO: Unfortunately, very little of the human element 829 00:45:07,150 --> 00:45:11,100 across the globe is even interested in this information. 830 00:45:11,119 --> 00:45:15,179 You would not believe what we go through 831 00:45:15,199 --> 00:45:19,059 to even try to get it... to people, 832 00:45:19,079 --> 00:45:21,169 and the harassment that we go through. 833 00:45:21,190 --> 00:45:23,190 How difficult it is to find anyone 834 00:45:23,210 --> 00:45:26,010 who even cares to hear. 835 00:45:29,139 --> 00:45:31,019 SAWYER: Ti and Do felt like 836 00:45:31,039 --> 00:45:34,039 the demonstration of dying and resurrecting, 837 00:45:34,059 --> 00:45:36,059 like the two witnesses were depicted as doing, 838 00:45:36,079 --> 00:45:40,139 was Ti and Do being shot down by the press. 839 00:45:40,159 --> 00:45:43,079 They say, "Well, actually, the media has killed us. 840 00:45:43,099 --> 00:45:45,199 It's a metaphoric martyrdom and resurrection." 841 00:45:49,079 --> 00:45:52,029 No one knows how many others are following the couple, 842 00:45:52,050 --> 00:45:55,190 known up to now only as "he and she" or "The Two." 843 00:45:55,210 --> 00:45:59,070 Well, that mystery at least appears to be solved. 844 00:46:11,170 --> 00:46:13,150 BENJAMIN: Most of the treatments were not serious. 845 00:46:13,170 --> 00:46:15,100 Most people looked at the group 846 00:46:15,119 --> 00:46:17,109 and thought it sounded ridiculous. 847 00:46:19,039 --> 00:46:21,149 There's lots of rumors that there's a connection 848 00:46:21,170 --> 00:46:24,130 with the Charles Manson family, that these people are 849 00:46:24,150 --> 00:46:27,160 gonna commit suicide by starving themselves to death. 850 00:46:27,179 --> 00:46:30,999 They're being connected with cattle mutilations. 851 00:46:31,019 --> 00:46:33,159 This is the biggest cult story in the country. 852 00:46:37,099 --> 00:46:38,229 SAWYER: The meetings at that point were 853 00:46:39,010 --> 00:46:40,090 very poorly-attended. 854 00:46:40,110 --> 00:46:44,060 And Ti stood up and said, "The harvest is closed." 855 00:46:44,079 --> 00:46:46,189 And that was the end of the meeting. 856 00:46:52,039 --> 00:46:54,139 They told the remaining students, 857 00:46:54,159 --> 00:46:56,029 "You made the first cut." 858 00:46:57,179 --> 00:46:59,189 That's the way they put it. That's the way Ti said it. 859 00:47:02,119 --> 00:47:05,199 DO: The fact that Ti and I expressed 860 00:47:05,219 --> 00:47:09,019 that caused us to retreat and take our little classroom 861 00:47:09,039 --> 00:47:10,199 and go hide with them 862 00:47:10,219 --> 00:47:13,079 is because the last thing we could stand was 863 00:47:13,099 --> 00:47:16,139 to have people say, "Blasphemy. 864 00:47:16,159 --> 00:47:18,179 "You say you're from the Kingdom of God. 865 00:47:18,199 --> 00:47:21,189 "Who do you think you are? Jesus? 866 00:47:21,210 --> 00:47:24,140 Who do you think you are? God?" 867 00:47:24,159 --> 00:47:27,129 Because they didn't understand. 868 00:47:30,000 --> 00:47:33,210 So, our hope and our prayer for your sake 869 00:47:33,230 --> 00:47:36,010 is... 870 00:47:36,030 --> 00:47:38,170 you will start warding off 871 00:47:38,190 --> 00:47:41,130 all the bombardment that you will begin to hear. 872 00:47:41,150 --> 00:47:44,230 They say, "Boy, is this guy crazy!" 873 00:47:45,010 --> 00:47:46,210 "Is this a cult if I ever heard one?" 874 00:47:46,230 --> 00:47:50,050 Yes, it is! It's the cult. I mean, it's the cult of cults. 875 00:47:50,070 --> 00:47:52,030 It's the cult of truth! 876 00:47:53,110 --> 00:47:56,210 And I see that we're down to five seconds. 877 00:47:56,230 --> 00:48:00,130 We'll see you in our next session. 878 00:48:02,139 --> 00:48:05,229 ♪ When I die and they lay me to rest ♪ 879 00:48:06,010 --> 00:48:09,160 ♪ Gonna go to the place that's the best ♪ 880 00:48:09,179 --> 00:48:12,149 ♪ When I lay me down to die ♪ 881 00:48:12,170 --> 00:48:17,110 ♪ Goin' up to the spirit in the sky ♪ 882 00:48:17,130 --> 00:48:20,120 [instrumental continues]