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(This tape was transcribed by Kristian Klippenstein. The editors gratefully acknowledge his invaluable assistance.)
Jones: (begins in mid-sentence) to be real in the hearts of men, you’ve got to give him a body. You’ve got to let him walk and talk in you. You’ve got to become a living epistle – you’ve got to become a living Bible. Otherwise, we’re finished. We’re going to go into the apocalypse, into the terrible, terrible worst days of the Tribulation. And no flesh shall be saved if it were not for the elect’s sake. Take your neighbour’s hand, please. (Pause) I wish I could stir up this within you. (Pause) They’ve taught you to look outside of yourself.
Organ music begins, grows slowly louder throughout remainder of recording
Jones: He said, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth.” In earth. Just south of us, ninety-one white people died a few days ago in a mine. Because people got their heads in the sky. (Speaks more quickly, voice rising) (Taps pulpit) The church is supposed to be– He said, “These are they that turn the world upside down.” These are the ones that make change. He said, of Jesus, when they crucified him, he said he revolutionizes the people– he stirreth up the people. They wanted no part of him. (Pause) Just down in Idaho, Sunshine Mines, ninety-one white brothers went to their death, while we’re tryin’ to get to heaven instead of making a heaven. Ninety-one brothers went to their death. Why? Why, every newspaper told you why: poor safety measures. Inadequate safety and precaution measures. There’d been no federal investigators there – in some cases – for thirty years. They violated every law in the book. There’s supposed to be a mask– a gas mask for every person in that mine.
Female Voice in Audience: That’s right.
Jones: (Calls out) Were there? (Conversational) No. There was only half enough gas masks to go around, for those poor white brothers down in that mine. And what about the half that were down there? Only one out of three of them worked. They put their mask on their face, and they suffocated. They suffocated right there in the mine, while you’re trying to (in full throat) fly away! (Voice moderates) Somebody was in prison, somebody was in hell, and you didn’t come unto them. Jesus was down there in that mine, he was down there– the laws weren’t being kept. Millionaires in this state, and all through America, the millionaires don’t pay a dime of income tax. But if you fail to pay ten cents, they’ll come after you tomorrow.
Voices in Audience: (Assent)
Jones: Because you’re the poor.
Female in Audience: Yeah, that’s true. That’s true.
Jones: Elevators– they got on the elevators and the elevator wouldn’t work. It had become a tomb for them. They were gassed and fell off, dead. They picked up the telephone, and the telephone wouldn’t work, because it had been broken for weeks. If you had done that, they’d call you guilty of murder.
Voices in Audience: (Assent)
Jones: The foreman called– when he first smelled some fumes, he called New York, to the big palatial office there, to the rich that own the mines, the Sunshine Mines. And he said, “It looks like we’d better evacuate.” He said, “we can’t”– the owner said, in his lovely plush office. (Speaks with quiet intensity) He said “we can’t afford– we can’t afford to lose the man-hours. Keep them there. Keep them there.” And they kept them there, and ninety-one people died. That rich– it’s easy for him to say. That rich man sitting in New York, who never even did a day’s work in that mine, probably stole it originally from the Indians.
Voices in Audience: (Assent)
Jones: (Voice climbs throughout) Never put a toil in it. He can tell all those ninety-one “stay there, we can’t lose a man-hour.” You know what they’ve got you doing? They’ve got you puttin’ heaven up there, and the scripture tells you plainly, the heaven is within you, and that heaven must come on earth, and so they’ve got you lookin’ to get to heaven to get away from your problems, and the only way you’ll get to heaven is to build a heaven and to make this earth a heaven and that’s the only way you’re gonna find a heaven.
Voices in Audience: (Assent) Yeah.
Jones: (Voice moderates) And they’ve lied to you, tellin’ you, pay preachers. Give them anniversaries and birthday gifts. It’s a sin. I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t take a gift. Too many people never had a gift in their life, I wouldn’t– Somebody asked me a while ago, “can I give you something, a gift, this Father’s Day?” I want to say to you, I love your thought, but until every father (claps hands once) can have a gift, I wouldn’t feel free to have one. (Pause) You understand my heart? You understand what’s there? There’s too many fathers, too many mothers that never get honored. They never get noticed, and I– I could never have my birthday honored, as long as every brother and sister in the church is not honored, until every day com– the day comes that all are free, then I’m not gonna be able to enjoy these things.
Voices in Audience: (Assent) Hallelujah.
Jones: (Voice rising) Last day, two days ago, four hundred and thirty-one blacks in a mine – the same business – died in Rhodesia. Four hundred and thirty-one, because the rich were so busy squeezing dollars, and they– You know who pays the church to preach about heaven in the sky? Why, the biggest corporate interests in this country. The biggest international bankers. They pay these preachers, they give foundations, they’ll give money to churches that’ll preach about heaven in the sky, because they don’t want you to do anything about making a heaven here on earth.
Voices in Audience: Yeah.
Jones: So they’ll point you to heaven up there. We’ve been lied to.
Voice in Audience: Yeah.
Jones: I’m not the one lying to you. (Voice rising) I’ve losing me– people they walk outta here like in droves. This is like Grant Central Terminal. They keep goin’ out, they won’t even sit to listen to me through. I can give it to ‘em black and white, I can put it to you right before your eyes, and you still won’t listen to it.
Male in Audience: That’s right.
Jones: (Voice moderates) They leave. (Pause) I can understand how whites seem to be a little more difficult for them. But look like black folk. They brought you over here on the first ship, they put you in chains.
Male in Audience: That’s right.
Jones: Was a religious ship– King James sent it.
Male in Audience: That’s right. You got it.
Jones: (Voice slowly rising to ministerial fervor) And put you in chains in the first pew. Tied you up, and told you to learn their religion, so that you wouldn’t want what you had coming to you. Said, “Slaves, obey your master.” You think God said that? It’s in the book: “Servants, obey your master.” That’s a mistranslation. God never said there was any slave. He said, There’s neither bond nor free, Greek nor Jew, Scythian or Barbarian, black or white, they’re all one in him! Out of one blood, God made all nations!
Audience: (Agreement, applause)
Jones: But King James put in there that some are slaves. And he said, If you got a good master, be thankful. If you got a (stumbles over words) bad master, be content. Whatever state you find yourself in, therewith be content. And I wanna say – one sister walkin’ out – you don’t like me talking about the dead letter. (Taps pulpit) (Pause) But then– Do you believe all the letter? No, you don’t. Do you believe that women should keep silent in the churches?
Male in Audience: No.
Jones: ‘Course you don’t.
Male in Audience: No.
Jones: And King James said, Let the women keep silence in (draws out word) all the churches. Suffer not a woman to teach. And let a woman keep silent, and if she wants to learn anything, go home and ask her husband.
Voices in Audience: (Laughter)
Jones: If you can find him. (Pause, then rises to ministerial fervor) If he isn’t dead, because somebody’s worked him to death. If– So you don’t tell me you believe it! (claps hands once) You don’t believe it. If the women would keep silent in the churches, we wouldn’t have any churches! They’re the backbone of the church! They’re what’s kept the church going! And yet the book says, Let the women keep silent in all the churches! Suffer not a woman to speak.
Voices in Audience: (Assent)
Jones: (Voice moderates) Absurdities. Atrocities. Mistranslations. And all I want you to do is to act like God, because that’s the only way the world’s gonna know that God exists, is for you to become living epistles, the manifestation of the sons of God. That’s the only way people are going to know, is if you become the living Bible, so they can read you in decent actions. (Pause) (Quiet) But it’s a hard job gettin’ it done. And when I walk down this isle, someone’ll say, “Prayto me. Pray for me. Pray this, pray that.” It says, “according to my works” – the scripture says – “command ye me.” And that’s the true scripture that you need to hear. Now if you can visualize God in me, you’ll reproduce God in you. If you can see God in that precious sister sitting down in that front row, of the third row, you’ll see God in her, you’ll reproduce God in you. It’s not a matter of praying. (Claps hands once)
Voices in Audience: No.
Jones: It’s a matter of living.
Male in Audience: That’s right.
Jones: Letting it be lived in you. (Pauses, clears throat) I– I know that there’s older person (Pause) that is on, uh, Merritt Drive that needs to ask me a question. If you want to do it publicly or privately, I don’t know which, but I don’t want you to leave here, because if you don’t get the truth today, it’s gonna affect your health. You’re so shook up. Why the truth would she uh, would shake you up is hard for me to understand. You oughta be glad to get it. Oughta free you. Eighty-eight dollar social security and give ‘em twelve dollars of it, uh (short laugh)
Audience: (laughter)
Jones: To one preacher? And thirty dollars, nearly, of it to the church you go to? Givin’ half your money? You oughta be glad to be free.
Voices in Audience: Amen. That’s right.
Jones: Say, well then, maybe I’ll quit givin’ it to you. You’re not giving me anything. I’m not taking a penny of your money.
Voices in Audience: That’s right.
Jones: All the money that comes through here is feeding the hungry. Put shoes on little babies’ feet. Gives home for older people. Takes care of needy children. We have a lovely children’s home, forty acres, that we’re buying. And what do you say to me? If you get the truth and go out and do what I’m doing, I don’t care if you don’t give me another penny. If you’ll do what I’m doing for people. (Pause) Well. (Pause) Yeah, uh, I’m giving this moment to ask the question if you wish. Anyone that wants to ask the question to get it clarified. ‘Cause I’m sure you couldn’t understand every little thing. I just want to be sure I’ve done my part.
(Tape ends)