Jim Jones is an American preacher and leader of the self-proclaimed religious organization Temple of the Nations. He gathered a huge community, which included his students, who later became victims of a terrible terrorist attack. When the police launched a massive investigation, Jones ordered his followers to commit mass suicide. As a result of the incident, 918 members of the sect died, including 304 children.
Early biography
Jim Jones was born on May 13, 1931 in Crete, Indiana. His mother worked in various urban industries, and his father was a disabled veteran of the First World War and was engaged in housekeeping. Jim was largely on his own, as his parents had little interest in raising him.
Over the years, Jones often attended church in Lynn with a neighbor boy. Already at the age of 10, he began to form his religious preferences. Jim was friends with a local priest, made frequent visits to houses of worship, 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 sinful behavior.
In the 1940s, Jim's parents separated, and he and his mother moved to Richmond. There the young man worked as an orderly at a local hospital. Here he met a senior nursing student, Marceline Baldwin, with whom he began to meet. At the same time, Jones entered Indiana University, and after graduation he married his chosen one. The couple adopted several children from the orphanage.
In 1952, Jim got a job as a student pastor at the Somerset Methodist Church in a poor area of Indianapolis. The following year, he earned himself a reputation as a healer and evangelist. Many terminally ill people came to him for help.
Religious quest
In the 1960s, the official church stopped taking Jones' activities seriously. In this regard, the man decided to secede and organize his own church body 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 a local radio station and took airtime to advertise his sect. The number of his students gradually began to grow.
Jones later moved his group to Northern California. More than 100 church members accompanied him on a hike into the new territory. By the early 1970s, he had expanded the church network, recruiting several dozen new preachers, who attracted more and more followers throughout America.
According to the recollections of contemporaries, the leader of the "Temple of the Peoples" always wore branded dark glasses and classic suits. He liked to comb back his thick black hair. His fiery rhetoric and fictional healing stories made people believe that their leader was powerful. Many of Jones' students believed he would lead them to a better life. In their opinion, everything necessary for the common good was in Jim's pocket.
As part of his teaching, the preacher did not encourage romantic relationships. But at the same time, he himself broke his own rules, including with the 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 the fact that it is permissible for him 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 disorders. In particular, parishioners began to notice his irascibility and sudden aggression syndromes. 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 kept under control by armed guards stationed around the entire perimeter of the complex.
Mass killings
Fearing conspiracies against himself, Jones began to conduct suicide drills. For example, one night he distributed bowls of red liquid containing poison to his disciples. By order of the preacher, they all drank it and died about 45 minutes later.
In September 1977, when the police got on the trail of Jones, he began to threaten another mass suicide. At the same time, several US citizens simultaneously sued him, as their children were held hostage by the sect. Then the Congressman from California Leo Ryan decided to conduct a personal investigation in the "Temple of the Peoples". In November 1978, he hit the road with the television crew. The rescue operation was doomed to failure, because on the same day they were attacked by militants sent by Jones. The shooting killed five people, including Congressman Ryan, cameraman Bob Brown and photographer Greg Robinson.
Meanwhile, in the "Temple of the Nations" Jim began to conduct a campaign of "revolutionary suicide". He mixed several dangerous chemical elements and made from them grape-flavored drinks. Then cups of this punch were distributed to the campers. First, Jim poisoned all the children, and then began to persuade adults to die. There were also 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 Peoples", of which 304 were 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. They all committed suicide with firearms.
Personal life
Jim Jones married Marceline Baldwin in 1949. Until the end of her days, the woman was faithful to the leader of a religious sect. However, Jones had many mistresses in the 1970s. The famous preacher was also romantically involved with some of the men who served in his temple. However, Marceline knew about the unusual predilections of her husband and, fearing punishment, never criticized him.
The life of a killer has formed the basis of many feature films, including The Story of Jim Jones, The Sacrament, and The Veil. In addition, his image was used by documentary filmmakers in the films "Johnstown: Paradise Lost", "Seconds Before Natural Disaster" and "Escape from Johnstown".
