The Jonestown Massacre: What We Must Not Forget

By Mel White

November 18, 2018: the 40th anniversary of the Jonestown massacre. On that dark day in 1978, nine hundred and nine Americans died of cyanide poison in a jungle village named after the pastor who deceived and then murdered them. Understanding how and why they were deceived could save your life or the life of someone you love.

Mel White, ordained minister, seminary professor, and professional filmmaker, relocated to Berkeley for six months following the Jonestown Massacre to interview survivors and families of the victims to try to understand how this tragedy happened. With some changes and updated understandings, White’s book has been republished in 2018 with the clear lesson: What We Must Not Forget.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mel White
• Release date: Aug 24, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463397091

Mel White

Rev. Mel White is a clergyman, author, and activist. On Pride Sunday, June 27, 1993, Mel was installed Dean of the Cathedral of Hope Metropolitan Community Church in Dallas, where he came out publicly with his own, heart-felt statement of faith: “I am gay. I am proud. And God loves me without reservation.” The Cathedral was and continues to be the nation’s largest gay-lesbian congregation serving approximately 10,000 congregants in the wider Dallas area. He is the bestselling author of five books, including Stranger at the Gate, 6 Angry Evangelicals, and The Miracle of Molokai.

Book preview

Jonestown massacre_frontcover.jpgHeadline.psd

November 18, 2018

: the 40th anniversary of the Jonestown massacre. On that dark day in 1978, nine hundred and nine Americans died of cyanide poison in a jungle village named after the pastor who deceived and then murdered them. Understanding how and why they were deceived could save your life or the life of someone you love.

That inexplicable tragedy in the Guyana jungle can’t simply be written off as an isolated aberration. Chicago Tribune

"The macabre tale of death in the jungle of Guyana defies understanding." New York Times

…an appalling demonstration of the way in which a leader can bend the minds of his followers with a devilish blend of professed altruism and psychological tyranny. Time

Perhaps the greatest horror in the scene lay in the realization that nearly anybody might be manipulated in the same way. Newsweek

Books by Mel White

Stranger at the Gate: to be Gay and Christian in America

Religion Gone Bad (aka Holy Terror)

Grace and Demion: A Fable for Victims of Biblical Abuse

Deceived: The Jonestown Tragedy

Aquino: Cory and Ninoy’s Faith Journey

A Gift of Hope (The Tony Melendez Story)

Margaret of Molokai (re-released as The Miracle of Molokai)

David (with Marie Rothenberg)

In the Presence of My Enemies

Tested by Fire

Films by Mel White

Deceived: The Jonestown Massacre (Documentary)

Deceived II: A Film Forum

Though I Walk through the Valley of Death

[Facing Death: The Tony Brower Story]

In the Presence of My Enemies

[Facing Isolation:The Howard Rutledge Story]

He Leadeth Me:

[Facing Disability: The Ken Medema Story]

He Restoreth My Soul

[Facing Tragedy: The Merrill Womach Story]

Charlie Churchman and the Youth Quake

Charlie Churchman and the Teenage Masquerade

Charlie Churchman and the Clowns

All films available at www.melwhite.org

or on YouTube

The Jonestown Massacre

What We Must Not Forget

Mel White

With Paul Scotchmer

And Marguerite Schuster

Published by Wideness Press at Smashwords.com

Copyright © 1979, 2018 by Mel White. All rights reserved.

No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, microfilm, and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.

www.melwhite.org

Note: The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the author is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized hardcopy and/or electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage piracy (electronic or otherwise) of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

ISBN-13: 978-1723141843

ISBN-10: 1723141844

Material in this book appeared previously in different form in Deceived: the Jonestown Tragedy (Spire Books, 1979).

Revised by the author and re-published as The Jonestown Massacre: What We Must Not Forget by Wideness Press, 2018.

Photographs of Jim Jones by Al Mills.

All other unidentified photographs are by Mel White Prod.

2018 Cover design: David Kerley

2018 Layout: Toby Johnson

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Contents

The Jonestown Massacre

A Warning from the Author

To Al, Jeannie and Daphne Mills

Introduction

1 Jones’s Victims were Our Neighbors

2Jones Created an Illusion of Respectability

3 Jones Killed Their Faith in the Bible and their Churches

4 Jones Kept Them in a State of Exhaustion

5 Jones Kept Them in a State of Poverty and Dependence

6 Jones Kept Them in a State of Fear

7 Jones Kept Them in a State of Sexual Bondage

8 Jones Kept Them in a State of Isolation

9 Why So Few People Escaped the Cult

10 How Defectors Made It to Freedom

The Appendices

The documentary evidence

Appendix 1

Appendix 2

Appendix 3

Temple Memorabilia

ARE YOU VULNERABLE TO DECEPTION?

MelWhite-headshot-B%26W.psd A Warning from the Author

I was just 38 years old when news of the Jonestown massacre shocked the world on November 18, 1978. How could an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) cause the death of 909 members of his congregation, 287 of them children? One day later I learned that Jonestown survivors, former cult members and friends and family of those who died were gathering in an old Victorian house in Berkeley. I was a seminary professor and a filmmaker. I had questions about this massacre that needed to be answered. So, I flew to Berkeley and spent the next six months interviewing dozens of Jones’ followers. A book and two films/videos followed—and countless public and congregational viewings and discussions.

I’m 78 years old now. Forty years have passed but those interviews changed my life. What I learned in Berkeley must not be forgotten.

They were just like you and me. The victims and the survivors were not kooks or crazies or fools. Most were raised in religious homes. They attended Sunday school and Sunday morning worship. They studied the Bible. Several even went to seminary. They did not believe they could be deceived but at an unexpected time in their lives they became vulnerable to deception. In their time of need their churches failed them. Worse their churches helped prepare them to be deceived.

People of faith were most likely to be deceived. Why is that still true? Like Jones’s victims, we sit in long rows listening in silence to sermons or lectures or political speeches. Seldom do we question or disagree. Authority figures seldom if ever give us a chance to respond. We donate without taking time to find out how our donations are actually used. We watch or read one source of news and think we know what’s going on. We seldom work at sorting out the truth from the digital smog that chokes the internet. What will we do during future elections to untangle truth from fiction? Probably we will do nothing and untrustworthy leaders can take advantage of our carelessness.

The handful of people who escaped Jonestown were constantly testing what Jones promised and what Jones delivered. He promised an oasis in the jungle with good food, adequate housing, and time to rest and recreate. Instead they found bad food, primitive housing and exhausting work with no time to rest or recreate. Jones said living in the jungle oasis would permit time for families to be together and for building friendships yet he separated parents from their children and taught friends to spy on each other. He said they were free to leave Jonestown yet he locked their passports in a safe and demanded he keep their money and other valuables.

Those who escaped were truth seekers. They asked questions. They noticed lies and refused to become victims of those lies. At this moment so many years later, we are surrounded by religious and political liars whose lies threaten the very survival of our democracy. It’s too late to ask Could I be deceived like those who died in the jungle The real question is How deceived am I already and what steps am I taking to find the truth and escape deception?

What We Must Not Forget

First, survivors convinced me that anyone, even you and I can be deceived. At first, I felt certain that only fools could be tricked into following Jones. In the first few chapters of this book you will be shocked by the quality of people Jones deceived. Vulnerability to deception changes as life changes. Maybe you can’t be deceived today but tomorrow you may find yourself with needs you can’t handle alone. That’s when a Jones moves in to help.

Second, if someone you love joins a cult (and 2,500,000 Americans are currently cult members) don’t even try to convince her that the cult is wrong. Just remind her that you love her and that she is always welcome to come home. If your son is running with the wrong crowd, don’t try to convince him that he is wrong. Just tell him over and over and that you love him and that he is always welcome to come home.

Third, preserve and protect friendships. Don’t assume that a friendship will last without working at it. Jones did everything he could to destroy friendships. He even separated husbands from their wives, children from their parents, close friends and lovers from each other. It was so much easier to be deceived when you have no one to confide in, no one to hear your fears or failures.

Fourth, don’t trust television preachers who speak of miracles and then ask for a donation. It is easy to create a miracle. Jones did it in almost every service and people who needed a miracle believed him and were deceived.

Fifth, don’t donate to anyone who says, You can’t out-give God and then tells you about a donor who sent her last $10 and awakened the next morning with $100 in her mailbox. It’s a lie. You can out-give God when your donation is sent to Pat Robertson, Joel Osteen and all the others who preach the prosperity gospel or that prayer can make you rich.

Sixth, don’t trust politicians or preachers who are endorsed by celebrities. Jones managed to be surrounded by famous and influential people. They had no idea that he was using them to deceive thousands of innocent Americans.

Seventh, don’t get so tired and run down that you can’t deal with reality. When you are exhausted you are so much more vulnerable to deception than when you are rested.

Eighth, don’t trust a preacher or a politician who seems to have all the answers. Avoid the authority figures in your life who aren’t willing to say, I may be wrong or to apologize for a mistake or to admit it when caught in an exaggeration or even a lie.

Ninth, question the authority figures in your life. Going to church prepares us to be deceived. We listen to the sermon. We are given no opportunity to respond. We give our tithes and offerings without paying attention to how our donations are being spent. Jones took advantage of the bad habits we learn in church.

What you are about to read are the true stories of those who were deceived and died in the jungle and the true stories of those who discovered the truth in time. Jones’s victims followed the liar into the jungle. I often wonder where the liars in our lives are leading us. 909 people died and from their lives and deaths we learn that it could happen to us but also how we need to change our lives to keep it from happening to us.

In my film Deceived II: A Film Forum I discuss with a live audience a larger list of what we must not forget from the Massacre at Jonestown.

See it free on YouTube and www.melwhite.org.

Mel White

Long Beach, CA

July, 2018

To Al, Jeannie and Daphne Mills

Image result for al and jeannie mills

On February 26, 1980, Al (52), Jeannie (41) and their daughter Daphne (15) were shot and killed execution style in their home in Berkeley, California. Jeannie had warned me that one of Jones’s death squads would probably kill them for telling me the truth about Jonestown and the Temple. I didn’t believe them. Then just over a year later after our book Deceived had been published, these three beautiful people paid the ultimate price for their courageous stand. That crime remains unsolved.

During my last interview with the Mills family I noticed that Jeannie was troubled. When I asked her what she was feeling Jeannie said, I’ve been thinking about little Sissy who had begged to come and live with us, DEAD; and little Julie who tried to spit out the poison and hide the syringe, DEAD; and the other more than 200 children just beginning life, DEAD all dead. She winced at the thought of Jones distributing small cups of cyanide to those innocent children and then watching them die. She paused, almost overcome with emotion, and then added these words: Mel, don’t forget the children. Their deaths must count for something.

I will not forget the children, Jeannie, and I will not forget you and your family for telling the story those children will never tell.

I hope your kids can be saved by our kids being slaughtered.

Mrs. Clare Bouquet

Mother of Bryan Bouquet, killed at Jonestown

ThoseWhoDoNot.psd

THOSE WHO DO NOT

REMEMBER THE PAST

ARE CONDEMNED

TO REPEAT IT.

Jim Jones’s chair in the Temple in Guyana

with bodies of the dead

Introduction

The House on Regent Street

November 18, 2018 is the 40 th anniversary of the Jonestown massacre however this is not a book about Jonestown, the place. A tangle of dense green forest has reclaimed that grim blood-stained page of history. There is nothing left in the jungle to help us understand what happened there. But we have learned important life-saving lessons from this unspeakable tragedy, lessons we must not forget, lessons taught us by the 909 people who drank their pastor’s poison, by the lucky ones who escaped and by Pastor Jim Jones who deceived them all.

I had no interest in the cults before that night in November when my regular evening news was interrupted by this urgent news release: An ordained Christian pastor affiliated with a mainline Christian denomination has murdered more than 600 members of his congregation in the jungles of Guyana. As the bloated bodies were untangled, the number of victims increased on a daily basis. When you add in the others who were murdered in Georgetown and weeks later in the United States it became all too clear that Pastor Jones was responsible for the deception and death of