Jim Jones is an American preacher and leader of the Temple of the Peoples self-proclaimed religious organization. He gathered a huge community, which included his students, who later became victims of a terrible terrorist attack. When the police launched a large-scale investigation, Jones ordered his followers to commit mass suicide. As a result of the incident, 918 sect members were killed, including 304 children.
Early biography
Jim Jones was born May 13, 1931 in Crete, Indiana. His mother worked in various urban industries, and his father was a disabled veteran of World War I and was engaged in household work. Jim was largely left to his own devices, as his parents had little interest in his upbringing.
For many years, Jones, along with a neighbor boy, often attended church in the town of Lynn. As early as 10 years old, he began to form his religious preferences. Jim was friends with a local priest, often appeared in prayer houses and even preached to other children. Interestingly, from a young age, Jones criticized the lifestyle of his peers. He opposed discos, parties and other recreational activities, considering it a sinful behavior.
In the 1940s, Jim's parents broke up, and he moved to Richmond with his mother. There, the young man worked as a nurse in a local hospital. Here he met an older nurse student, Marceline Baldwin, whom he began dating. At the same time, Jones entered the University of Indiana, and after graduation he married his beloved. The couple adopted several children from the orphanage.
In 1952, Jim got the job of a student pastor at the Somerset Methodist Church, which was located in a poor area of Indianapolis. The following year, he earned a reputation as a healer and evangelist. Many terminally ill people came to him for help.
Religious Searches
In the 1960s, the official church ceased to take seriously the activities of Jones. In this regard, the man decided to secede and organize his own church authority called “Wings of Liberation”. A few months later, the organization was renamed the "Temple of the Peoples." To attract as many followers as possible, Jim turned to the local radio station and took time on air to advertise his sect. The number of his students gradually began to grow.
A little later, Jones moved his group to Northern California. More than 100 members of the church accompanied him on foot to the new territory. By the early 1970s, he had expanded the church network by hiring dozens of new preachers who attracted new followers throughout America.
According to the memoirs of contemporaries, the leader of the “Temple of the Peoples” always wore branded dark glasses and classic costumes. He loved to comb back his thick black hair. His fiery rhetoric and fictional healing stories led people to believe that their leader was endowed with powerful power. Many of Jones' students believed that he would lead them to a better life. In their opinion, everything Jim needed for the common good was in his pocket.
As part of his teaching, the preacher did not encourage romantic relationships. But at the same time, he himself violated his own rules, including with church administrator Caroline Leighton, from whom he had a son. In addition, Jones claimed that he has several more children from different wives. Jim explained his behavior by saying that he is allowed to step over religious laws, since he is the "father of all."
In 1974, Jones bought land in Guyana in northern South America. Here he built a new home for himself and his followers. By this time, he began to develop mental abnormalities. In particular, parishioners began to notice his temper and sudden syndromes of aggression. Jim ran his sect like a prison camp. The guests received little food, and they were not allowed to leave the territory. The situation was controlled by armed guards deployed around the entire perimeter of the complex.
Mass killings
Fearing conspiracy against himself, Jones began to carry out the teachings of suicides. So, for example, one night he distributed to his students bowls with a red liquid that contained poison. By order of the preacher, they all drank it and died after about 45 minutes.
In September 1977, when the police followed Jones, he began to threaten a new mass suicide. At the same time, several US citizens simultaneously sued him, as their children were held hostage by the sect. Then California congressman Leo Ryan decided to conduct a personal investigation at Temple of the Peoples. In November 1978, along with the television team, he hit the road. The rescue operation was doomed to failure, because on the same day they were attacked by militants sent by Jones. Five people died as a result of the shooting, including Congressman Ryan, cameraman Bob Brown and photographer Greg Robinson.
Meanwhile, in the “Temple of the Nations, ” Jim began conducting a company of “revolutionary suicide.” He mixed several dangerous chemical elements and made grape-flavored drinks from them. Then the cups of this punch were handed out to the camp guests. First, Jim poisoned all the children, and then began to persuade adults to death. There were those students who flatly refused to drink poison, but the guards immediately dealt with them. In total, more than 900 people died in the "Temple of the Nations", including 304 children. Jones himself was later found by police on the floor of the pavilion, along with his wife Marceline and other members of the sect. All of them committed suicide with a firearm.
