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Jones: –assistant district attorney is a member of our church here. Where they’ll put you in a mass kangaroo court, a night court, and talk to people don’t know anything more about the law than that monkey knows about Christian Science. And he probably knows more about it than most of you, ’cause he’s lookin’ healthier than some of you. (Pause) (Cries out) Put those people– I’ve walked into court after court, (Claps hands once) and they say, you waive your right to a trial, you waive your right to a hearing. Yes, now, you want me to sentence you, and they’d be on the voice [verge] of sentencing somebody to several years, when I’d say, (Quiet voice) “No you don’t do that. You don’t do that.” Everybody talkin’ ’bout law and order. You listen to those fools tellin’ you about law and order. You know what they were tryin’ to do. That’s what Hitler said. Adolf Hitler cried law and order. He talked law and order until he got a dictatorship that throwed everybody he didn’t want. Killed off the Jews. Killed off the lower Southern Europeans. Anybody had any mixture of Spanish, Italian or Greek or Indian or black, he murdered them in gas ovens. You want a law and order. And some of you– heard one, one, someone mouthin’ it this weekend. (Mimicking voice) “Ought to get the law and order.” America needs some justice.
Congregation: Cries of assent
Jones: That’s what it needs. (Ministerial fervor) There wouldn’t be people in the streets pushin’ heroin, if they had been given equal education. There wouldn’t be young people milling around on the streets, if there’d been a structured society that gave them decent schools and decent places to live, where they didn’t have to face rats climbin’ up on their beds, where the termites and the cockroaches and the vermin were all around them. There would be no crime and bedlam in the streets. (Voice lowers) Time Magazine said there hadn’t been a murder in China in eight months, and only seven in all last year. We have more murders in Berkeley on Saturday night than China – 800 million people – had in all of 1971. (Ministerial fervor) When you give people a hope, when you give them life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, when you give them hope for education and housing, and a decent life, they won’t kill anybody, they won’t rob anybody, they won’t hurt anybody.
Congregation: Applause
Jones: (Voice lowers) Some of the gentlest people that helped me with animals here are murderers that’ve been in prison. (Pause) And the most redeemed that walks amongst you and hens– handles little things up to the Christmas tree, thought nothin’ of cuttin’ a man’s throat, till I called him out and told him what they were doing, and said I loved him in the name of socialism. The magazine’s got a testimony of one. (Cries out) Nothin’ he wouldn’t have done. Nothin’ about that he didn’t do. But when he found somebody that cared – he was black, and I’m too light for him really for him to accept me as a nigger – (Voice lowers) but he saw something in me that was basic principle, and it kept on digging and he heard through this extra-dimensional quality. You call it the prophetic, I call it the higher evolution of my humanity. And he saw through this paranormal, of the divine sense to whichever your level and angle of expression may be, he saw a– something that first motivated him. But there wasn’t enough to keep him. I told him the last time he took (unintelligible word), I told him things about his life, yes, that– that struck him. But he had to see something to back it up. (Pause) And that man that used to push heroin, was on a two hundred and– dollar a day habit, and pushed thousands of dollars through San Francisco to contaminate other minds, and three years had never taken a drop of it. Because he met Truth. People tell you, the old system tells you, you can’t change people, they can’t be lifted by their bootstraps, you’ve got to wait till Heaven comes, if people can’t be perfect. That’s contrary to the early Christian teaching. King James hadn’t even rubbed that out. He [Christ] said, Be ye perfect (Matthew 5:48, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”). But the church’ll tell you, every time they talk. You– you say churches are worried about you. They’re not worried about you. They take what they want and leave what they want. They don’t believe that Bible, ’cause they let the women talk, ’cause if the women didn’t talk, there wouldn’t be no churches (1 Corinthians 14:34, “Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.”).
Congregation: Cries of assent
Jones: (Confidential tone) They– they take out the verses they want– and you know, they ignore the verses they want to ignore. (Short laugh) About the bishop being the husband of one wife and so forth. I’m the only bishop I know that’s been the husband of one wife (1 Timothy 3:2, “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach.” Also, 1 Timothy 3:12). (Voice rises) They’re marrying– drop their marriages– the head of the Assemblies of God was in a, a mess with a young girl, I know him, Thomas Zimmerman, he was reared in my neighborhood, reared by– right by the church that I grew up, he was a mongrel of the mongrels. And he’s now the head of the Assemblies of God. Honey, let me tell you, the meanest devil’s ever walked on the face of this planet are some of these big time preachers.
Congregation: Cries of assent. Several Amens
Jones: (Normal tone) Thomas Zimmerman used to li– Thomas Zimmerman used to like to take little animals and throw ’em in the fire. He’s now the head of the Assemblies of God. That’s Tommy Zimmerman. I know Tommy Zimmerman. (Pause) I know a lot more about him, I’m not going to go into here. I’ll just tell what I can document, there’re still some people living that can witness to that. I’ve got his own father-in-law that could tell you things that were cruel as a grave that he did to his wife, and he did to his daughter. (Pause) Now, child, I did not mean to ramble away so much on the ra– ra– uh, rambling piano keys to give you a Truth, but Truth is hard to come by. And bondage is deep-seated. (More emphatic) Bondage tradition is deep-seated. It’s hard for you to get free from your old ingrained ideas. And the only reason you judge me here today, every time you judge me, you judge me out of that Bible. (Pause) And the Bible cannot even tell the truth from one page to the next, because it was written by the King of England, and you can’t get it straight, unless you hear a prophet sent from God. How can you hear without a preacher, how can he preach lest he be sent (Romans 10:14-15, “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent?”), faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. And what is the Word of God? (Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”) Hebrews 4:12 discerns the thoughts, knows the intents of the mind. And if it’ll be the same way it has been for 20 years, I’ll be telling people the thoughts of their mind and healing their body, and separating the bone from the marrow before this evening’s over. (Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”). I’ll show you that I am personifying the Word. And what is the Word? (Simply) God. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, the Word was God (John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”), and the Word is made flesh (John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”). So you gonna judge me by somebody that all they got in their hand going for them in a black book. Nobody come across the street, because they– they wouldn’t give them any help. They’re too busy paying on their Cadillac. The preacher’s got too nice a home. He wouldn’t let you to come in to visit him. You gotta come through the back door. Sweep do– Many of the preachers here can tell you, if you want to visit your minister, you had to go through the back door. He didn’t have you for supper and out for tea. He’s too busy gettin’ the bureaucrat downtown to come visit him, folks. (Pause) (Calls out) Wake up there, back there, darlin’. Last night we put two (stumbles over words)– we put two people that were not listenin’ head in the pool. You’re lookin’ for a baptism.
Congregation: Laughter
Jones: Now if you’re older, and tired, I understand this. (Pause) I’m lookin’ for some people to get hold of the Truth. It’s the Truth that’ll set you free (John 8:32, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”). You shouldn’t look to me ah, with disgust and as your enemy. I’m trying to help you.
Congregation: Cries of assent and applause
Jones: When they wouldn’t let a– a black come into this area, (Pause) one of our members’ husband was killed on the streets of Ukiah by the police, before I came to this city. Eight years ago. I told about it. And he was beat to death, right on the streets. Since I have come, and I’m took on the shots– there were some bad ones when I first came here– killed everything they could try to kill. Animals– They never got any of mine, but they’d think they’d get my animals, they’d get my neighbor’s. It all worked out for good, in a way, and they’d kill an animal– (Pause) Shh! Kill an animal, they killed a neighbor’s animal who’d been a Ku Klux Klanner. And I said, it looked like my cat. That’s what they were after, and we’d already– the sheriff says, yes, they threatened to kill reverend’s cat, I was sitting here alone, there wasn’t nothin’ but dust here then. There was nothin’ but a field. And they killed the cats, and after they did some of that dirt, some of the people come around and become better neighbors. Used their influence so we could buy that property right over there. ‘Cause they didn’t approve of murder. (Pause) They didn’t want us to come to this valley, they had a motto, no black person let the sun go down on them. Well now, child, you can walk in the noonday, or you can walk at midnight, and the police’ll look better after you because you’re black than if you’re white. Because the police are afraid, if you’re black, you’re a member of Peoples Temple, and we got fo– four hundred votes in Redwood Valley and several hundred down in the Second District, and they’re just afraid that if they bother you, they bothered my conscience, and my conscience gets triggered in the voting booth.
Congregation: Applause and cheers.
Jones: Many a youngster that would– they’d come into these communes and (Claps hands once) run ’em in and beat ’em up. No more. That’s stopped. An outsider came because we stood together. Not (stumbles over words) letting a book keep us down, but we stood together with a man. Black-haired nigger, and they made me the foreman of the grand jury. You’re supposed to be around here for 40 or 50 years– supposed to be around here for 200 years, to get to be the foreman of the grand jury– but they made me the foreman of the grand jury. We brought justice to these here parts. Reason some of these youngsters can have freedom in this county now, and set up their communes, is because Jim Jones and Peoples Temple came on the scene. They don’t know that, but that’s why.
Congregation: Applause
Jones: Nobody’s beat with black hoses anymore. Nobody’s beat in the jail cells. They’ve been cleaned up. There’s music going into the jail cells. Why? Because Peoples Temple put it there. Peoples Temple money put it there, that’s why.
Congregation: Applause
Jones: Now when somebody’s that poor or black gets into trouble, that phone’ll ring, many a time, right while during a service. One service not long ago, you were sitting here, phone rang, they said there’s two black strangers. You want to get ’em? And they let ’em out and sent ’em right over here.
Congregation: Applause
Jones: They’d violated some law, but they hadn’t violated a law significant enough to cause them to risk the wrath of Peoples Temple. (Cries out) Now I’m back to the point. It’s not what you know. It’s not (Pause) how many Bibles you got. It’s not how long you pray. But in this society, it’s who you know. We haven’t got a ghost of a chance on our own merit, but when we get a thousand of us together, honey, we become somebody.
Congregation: Applause
Jones: Why, they’ve change zoning procedures, they’ve let us do things that they wouldn’t let other people do. [You] Say, well, you shouldn’t let ’em. As long as the rich get by without not paying a dime of tax, all these millionaires in California that never paid a dime of income tax, I’m gone take anything I can get for you. Not for me. I don’t belong to their clubs, I won’t go to the Kiwanis, I wouldn’t go to the Masons, I wouldn’t join any of their clubs, but I will get anything I can get for you that deserve it, for the poor and the oppressed, I’ll take anything I can get from (stretches out word) anybody, to give to the people that’ve long since deserved a little bit, some freedom.
Congregation: Applause
Jones: Stickin’ together. (Stumbles over words) Some lady the other day called me, she says, I’ve got my auntie in her– in my home, and the welfare says I can’t have her. (Small laugh) And she not related uh, uh, too many– she wasn’t close enough or something, and it was some cousin. I said, Oh? I made me a telephone call. She said, well, I got a call and said it was all right.
Congregation: Laughter, followed by applause
Jones: We got people settin’ in these homes, runnin’ their own homes. The law say they can’t run their own homes. People are happier, runnin’ their own homes. Older people don’t like to be bossed around. They do a whole lot better, if you just let ’em alone.
Congregation: Stirs
Jones: Only got one, and I don’t know to quite deal with it, I’ll get her straightened out after a while.
Congregation: Laughter, then applause
Jones: If I can get that meekness to get a little meek, then I’ll be all right. But the rest of ’em just cooperate, live together, do their cooking, have to force to let us come in to do their cleaning. Ever [Rejoicing] doing her cooking at 93 and 94. Law say you can’t do that, unless you become somebody. Law say you gotta put these people in, ’cause who got the ear of the– the– the authorities? The rich. They want to put ’em in some great big old cold impersonal nursing home, where they bring in some money to the– the– the– the city fathers, the big shots of the county, and– unless you band together, the old people when they get old, you can’t even keep so many of your own relatives in your home. You can’t take care of ’em by law. But nobody’s botherin’ us. And they know they better not, ’cause if they start botherin’ us, we’ll all just get our placards and our pickets, and we’ll march all the way round downtown.
Congregation: Applause and cheers
Jones: Nobody wants to see a 93-year-old woman with her apron and her– a lemon pie in her hand, marching around the welfare office.
Congregation: Applause
Jones: In the meantime, we’ve made some friends with some of these law enforcement people. We’ve talked to them about some views. We’ve now got the chief of police, who once was a racist, loving people of other races, or respecting them at least in this group. Changing his mind. Sending people here to get their heads straight. He’s sent me more than some of these so-called churches. He sent me two young people to get their heads straight. And he knows I’m a socialist through and through.
Congregation: Applause
Jones: He rationalized gettin’ along with me– here’s his rationalization. He says, you know, Marxism’s different that Russian Communism, and so he says that’s– that’s different. So I said, that’s fine. Fine. That’s good. (Pause) And he used to think anybody that was black was a subversive. (Pause) I don’t think I wish to say more. I didn’t wish to say anything. To be frank, I’m tired of talking. (Pause) And to be candid, some of you don’t need to hear the talkin’, and some of you do need it badly. Some of us could’ve have more fun as we did last Sunday, walking down by the streams, where I caused the crickets and frogs to sing on command.
Congregation: Right. Amen.
Jones: We could’ve had much more fun down there. But as long these– some of these Aunt Janes and Uncle Toms sittin’ here don’t know they’re niggers, I’m gone have to keep on preachin’.
Congregation: Laughter and applause
Jones: (Cries out) Aren’t you glad?
Congregation: Cheers
Jones: We got whites that– that– that have long since concluded they’re niggers. They wouldna stayed. They long since concluded that. ‘Cause unless you are doing something better than what I know about, on your own, we’re just gettin’ together– it takes a lot of niggers to make one man to be heard. We who are poor have to get together, because they don’t listen to us unless we get together. But we get together, they listen to us, because there’re more niggers than there are them.
Congregation: Applause
Jones: Honey– Everybody don’t smile– I don’t care whether you believe a thing of me, but I– I– the one place I know that you haven’t been smilin’ is when I say “nigger,” and I’m gone keep sayin’ “nigger” till you have to swallow.
Congregation: Applause
Jones: I never would use that word. I don’t use that word outside. We’re talking ’bout being us niggers inside, but you call us niggers outside, and we’ll run over you.
Congregation: Cheers and applause
Jones: We’ll take it from one another. We know where it’s at, but we don’t want none of them folk that’ve been runnin’ over us and stompin’ us down callin’ us that. No, no. (Voice rises) But the point is, child, you are low-rated. You don’t know how badly low-rated you are. If it wasn’t for Jim Jones, his nursing staff, the lawyers, people in the disk– district attorney, people in the welfare, you’d have the shaft every time you turned around. That’s why I want to get you up here. There’re jobs. Some of you don’t want to move. You can’t afford to stay away from this valley. It’s this valley that’ll give you safety. It’s this valley that’ll be safe when the apocalypse comes. (Pause) It’s this valley that’s got the cave on the top of the mountain that has no end to it. It’s this valley that we gotta fill and discipline ourselves, and because we’ve worked together, because the voter registrar sets back there– and you better register if you know what’s good for you, if you haven’t been– she’s back there. We got voter registrars as members of our church. What’s gonna happen when your son gets in trouble? Minister who says you couldn’t afford to come up here from San Mateo called yesterday afternoon. Son’s in trouble. He’d never been arrested if he’da been here. He’d never been picked up. We’ve never had one of young people who is a member get in trouble. But even people who are followers of (unintelligible name), we’ve had some– we’ve had some real wild ones come in here. Courts have sent us some that– I tell you, if we weren’t a big strong organization, this town’d get up and act and tar and feather us. We sent some to this school system that’ve been so hurt – white and black – that they’d been arsonist. And they had beat their mothers, or they had stolen the thousand dollars. And we’ve got them into this system, and made them good citizens, and some of them walkin’ around here, the gentlest creatures, and they’ve never been in trouble. But some of those new ones who came, naturally, at first, why one– one of our kids who is now doing real well, tearin’ up the school? (Pause) Yeah? You know what I mean. (Pause) One not been doing so bad, we– I remember, one took a book and struck a teacher? And what happened if your kids– your kids struck a teacher? (Pause) They’d call the police and you’d– they’d run your kid in, and that’d be the last you hear of it. What’ll they do when they struck– what the kid did when he struck the teacher? Called us. And I’m saying, no one of our children ever done it. You’re lookin’ at kids that up there that grew up when they were babies in my arms. That’s how old I am, and then some. They were babies in my arms. That little girl over there was a baby when I was grown. Playing that organ. She’s a mother now. Won’t be long afore she’ll be a grandparent like me, the way she– the kids are growing up. She’s got a big– a young boy now in his teens. She was a baby. I got grandchildren (unintelligible word) hip bones. Some of these kids are babies, and they’ve never smoked, never drank, never once been in trouble, never been arrested. That’s quite a record. If I’m so bad, why is it my kids are so darn good?
Congregation: Cheers and applause
Jones: (Conversational) But I’d like to get this message– and I never preached like this before, so you won’t have to endure it– I’m just talking practical common sense tonight. Why don’t some of you move up here? The more we get up here, the more we got– better we– we’re going to be able to cooperate. Your children will be better. When you get sick, what’ll happen when you go to a hospital? Today, I’ve got a– I got an address I’ve got to– by the way, it’s on the sewing machine. Bring me the address on the sewing machine down– down in the uh, that house with all the monkeys and the parrot and the owl and the snakes and other things are. (Pause) Woman waitin’ on a child to– to have a heart transplant. (Pause) Some heart work, heart surgery done first. [They] Said we haven’t got any space. (Pause) I know a very important person that left here on two days’ notice and got [a] heart. I said, sister, you give me your address. She said, I want you to pray. I said, honey, you don’t need nobody [to] pray. [She] Said, I want you to pray. I said, no (stumbles over words of denial), you don’t pray these b– these kind of people away. You gotta put legs on your prayers, and hands on your prayers. You gotta– you gotta move. I said, you give us your name and address, and we’ll– we’ll give some letters in to the– that doctor, we’ll send the letters to you, and you go take those letters to that doctor, and I guarantee you, within the sight of two weeks, he’ll have your son scheduled for surgery. But you just happen to be poor and a black– I woulda said a nigger, but I wouldn’t– she wouldn’t have understood it. That’s a problem. She’s in a wrong part of Oakland, she’s got the wrong color, and she’s too poor, so they’re pushin’ her around. (Cries out) But when we get through, they’ll quit pushin’ her around.
Congregation: Cheers and applause
Jones: People say, ah, yeah, we’ve got it so good, we’ve got it so good. (Pause) What happens to us? (Pause) You’re black and kill a white person, you’ve had trouble. (Pause) You got real trouble. If you’re black and kill a black, they may not even pick you up.
Congregation: Murmurs
Jones: (Cries out) Don’t tell me that way, they’ve got a plan. Let us kill each other off. So they cut each other down on the streets at night, we–– we’ve been told it by judges and legal enforcement people, high police, (stumbles over words) just ignore it, said– just let ’em kill each other off. As long as they stay in their own ghetto and kill each other off. And they wonder why we carry knives. (Normal tone) I don’t carry one. One thing you can be glad, that your– your pastor’s a little lighter, ’cause they’da been– he’da long since been dead, if he hadn’t been too light. (Pause) It’s true. (Pause) And the blacks, they been taking on the risk, they got black thugs that would kill me in a minute. Black thugs that are under the influence of drugs who are Uncle Toms and don’t know what their role in society is, they’d kill me in a minute. The reason they’re afraid to kill me is because I’m too light. It’s a sad truth. I’m not happy about it, but it’s a sad truth. They’re afraid to kill me, because I’m too light, because– what’re you shakin’ your head, “No” for? It’s the truth. (Pause)
Voice too soft.
Jones: Yeah, that’s right, shake it that way. That’s better.
Congregation: Laughter
Jones: I’m not happy about it. (Pause) We’ve had thugs that we’ve si– since got converted, said, I’da killed you, I’da come up– and they still try, of course. But it’s not nearly as bad as it would be. They’re just a little bit afraid. They don’t know whether I got more people behind me than I have, and they’re afraid to venture in to this territory, because they know, if you kill a light-complected person, you’re in trouble. (Pause) That’s sad. But in one way, being that I’m the best darn freedom-fighter that I know, I’d out-freedom-fight [U.S. Rep. Ron] Dellums, I out-freedom-fight uh, [Black Panther leader] Huey Newton, I out-freedom-fight [Black Panther leader] Bobby Seale, so it’s pretty good. It’s pretty good.
Congregation: Applause
Jones: It’s pretty good that I happen to be a little light for a while. (Pause) And they’d still get me too, but we’ve made some friends with the white officials here. (Pause) Really friends, oh no, nobody’s ever your friend, not unless you get together, live together, and eat the same chitlins and put your feet– shoes under the same bed, you know what I’m talkin’ about. And they’re not always friends. But they recognize the power, they recognize the power. And so, we’ve had thugs say, we’re afraid to come up here, ’cause those police are w– liable to get us before we get back. (Pause) (Cajoling) Come on. Come on, I know where people are at. (Pause) Afraid to come up because they’re afraid the police might get ’em before they come back. If I’d been black, preachin’ like I have– ’cause I outpreach all those that’re– and I don’t mean in eloquence, no, no. No, no, not in eloquence. I just put my money where my mouth is. Instead of talkin’ about it, I help [University of California professor Angela] Davis, instead of talkin’ about it, I put my money for every political prisoner in America. I put my money there. They’da got me. (Pause) Benjamin Franklin– Don’t you think they wouldna got me. But they’re just afraid to deal with this mixed crowd. You know that some of our bad thugs woulda come in there, if it’d been all-black congregation, they’da come in there many many more times, that’s how bad off we are. (Pause) Bad off, because they’ve divided us purposively, and let the whole world know that we can kill each other off, and get by with it. But when you meet one of our meetings, you see black and white and yellow and brown, and people’re afraid to take that on, because they’re afraid there might be influence there. And we must let ’em think it. We must– we must tell them we got district attorneys in our church, we must keep on tellin’ ’em, we got sheriffs and police, we must keep on tellin’ it, until we slip in and creep in and take over all these minds.
Congregation: Applause and cheers
Jones: I’m talking strategy tonight. [You] Say, it’s late. I don’t care how late it is, honey. If you’re tired, go to sleep. But I’m gone talk to some of you folk that need to know strategy.
Congregation: Applause
Jones: [You] Say, I came here to get baptized. You– you know what you really need to be baptized. I never did– got this power by being baptized. I’m gone baptize you folk out there, I’ll baptize you if you want to stay down three minutes, I’ll keep you down three minutes and bring you up, and still you’ll be alive, it di– whatever link you want to go down, but the ordinances have all been nailed to the cross. Since God Socialism came unto the scene, he said the ordinances have all been nailed onto the cross, baptisms, communions, re– all these things, laying on of hands, baptism– he said, let’s leave the doctrines of baptism and so forth and so on, and go on onto perfection. I baptize you because you’re still ritualistic. (Pause) Did you hear that?
Congregation: Calls of assent
Jones: Water don’t save you. Water won’t give you freedom, water not gone take care of your problems. You don’t need any water, you’re already water-logged. (Pause) We had too much water. People say, you got a wonderful baptistery, some brother said, oh, you got a wonderful baptistery. What kind of idiot do you think– That’s a baptistery? That’s a swimming pool. That’s a place where we take the older people that never could get any therapy, you niggers and me. Nobody could ever get any physical therapy, unless they come up here and get it from our trained people by Sister Love. You can’t afford a physical therapist. But in the pool, they can work with your arms, work with your legs. You can swim. What kind of a club can you go to? ‘Cause you’re poor, you’re like me, niggers. I can’t get in no club. I can go, but I can’t take my black adopted son [Jim Jones Jr.]. There’re clubs all around the Bay, and the Supreme Court of this land’s upheld that law today, that you can segregate any place you want to, as long as you call it a fraternity. (Pause) (Ministerial fervor) Six to three. And you think you don’t need to get yourself together. You think you don’t need to organize. You think you don’t need to discipline yourself a little bit. Because we may have to go to the caves, we may have to use that boat, and we’re gonna have to be able to move us, one people to Jerusalem, we’re gonna have to organize ourselves. We’re gonna have to get ourselves together. We’ve gonna have to have teamwork. (Pause) (Calmer, but intense) I haven’t the time to read you the laws, but the laws are up here. The laws that can turn this country into a dictatorship overnight. And I said, you don’t need a dictatorship, ’cause we’re dumber than Spain that’s got a dictator [Francisco Franco], who still murders people in the middle of the night. There’re no courts in Spain that guarantee you freedom. But those Spanish people, with even the press being controlled, one paper controlled by the government, they knew better than to let atomic products lay on their tomato fields. (Pause) Wake up back there, darlin’. Slap her on the head a little bit there with a thu– nice gentle touch. She’s only 33, she’s too young.
Congregation: Quiet laughter
Jones: I’ll baptize some of you folk tonight. Uh– The ones I’d like to baptize are not the ones that come to get baptized.
Congregation: Scattered applause
Jones: [You] Say, what kind of a man am I? What– He says a baptism not necessary, and yet he’s gone baptize. ‘Cause it’s evolution. It’s what you need. If you need a sucker, we’ll give you a sucker. If you need a nipple, we give you a nipple. If you need the bottle, we give you the bottle. When you’re able to take beef steak, we’ll put the beef steak in front of your plate.
Congregation: Applause
Jones: Don’t feel bad about it. Because (stumbles over words) the only good thing I’ll do it for, so it won’t be hypocritical for some of you that’re doing it, is that when we go down there, I’ll uh, touch of this evolution that’s in me. An aura. And if you’re sympathetic to socialism and learn my teachings, I can teach you how to master death. Master sicknesses and disease, and being in contact with my body, but don’t think it’s anything in that water. That’s that stuff you got from that Baptist bunch down South, when they put us the chain– when they put us in the chains, put us in slaves, and put a– put a– (Pause) (Calm, then voice rises) handcuff and a leg cuff on us, and locked us up to the balcony. (Pause) No whites would sit under the balcony, ’cause the balconies fell dozens of times. Shoved us up there, and they taught us about gettin’ ourselves saved and baptized, and wait for heaven, because we could never have heaven here. And we been foolin’ around with water ever since. We been out there, foolin’ around with water, and foolin’ around with these hijacking preachers, and foolin’ around with our prayer bones when we oughta been on our feet, with our hands re– puttin’ our hands together and uniting against injustice.
Congregation: Applause
Jones: (Voice rises to ministerial fervor) Time’s come to leave the ordinances of baptism and doctrines of laying on of hands, and hell and heaven, eternal judgment. Hebrews 6 says, leave the doctrines of baptisms, resurrection of the dead, eternal judgment – that means hell and heaven – laying on of hands, and what does it say? Go on to perfection. And what’s perfection? A society that controls its production (Hebrews 6:1-3, “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit.”), a socie– a society that controls its wealth, a society that controls its means of distribution, that’s our perfection. Gettin’ together. Sharing together. That’s our perfection. And that’s how we’ll build heaven on earth. That’s how we’ll have God come out of the sky, and come down on earth. (Voice abruptly quietens) And we do it ourselves. (Pause) God not gone do it for us. Our mothers and forefathers have died in their trespasses and their judgments. They’ve bonded, they’ve died at the wheel, they’ve died at their spinning wheel, they’ve died in the cotton fields, they’ve baked in the noonday sun, they’ve prayed, you got shoes, I got shoes, but when the time come to die, they dropped in the cotton field at the average of 40 years old. (Shouts) No God heard their prayer. (Low voice, rises throughout) No God heard your prayer in your ghettoes when you were in need, no God heard you when your children were in drugs, no God heard you when your chil– child was in trouble, no God heard you when you couldn’t get enough money to keep your body and soul together from the welfare, but I came along, Jim Jones, nigger, I came along, and now there’s a change being made.
Congregation: Applause
Jones: [You] Said, you haven’t got much started. You got enough started that the heads of government come here to look at it. (Unintelligible name) Goodwin, the head of the Civil Rights Commission came all the way from Washington, say you’re the last hope of America. (Pause) He said, you’ve got it together. Well, if it’s the last hope, I’m not too optimistic about what’s going to happen to America. (Pause) But if you’ll stick with me, and get off your prayer bones– (Pause) (Demanding) Get off your prayer bones. Kingdom of Heaven’s within, you don’t have to pray to get it inside you (Luke 17:21, “Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”). All you have to do is just look. (Pause) Said, listen and somebody’ll tell you how to look. When you need to learn how to do something, you wanted to learn mechanics, you go to chief mechanic and let him teach you. Well, I’m a chief God up here, I’ve got a lot of things I can teach you. I can teach you how to turn uh, capitalism into socialism. I can tol– I’ll teach you how to turn water in wine, but we can go down and buy that at the– the dime store. (Pause) These folk’re never gone come back tonight, I’m on one of those trips, and they never come back. Some of ’em are finished. (Pause) I’ve turned water into wine. I’ve stopped the rain from falling.
Congregation: Applause and cheers
Jones: The flies leave us alone. And I was out there, the sun was baking down on us, our last banquet, I said, well, it’s too hot for those older people, and clouds come up. I can teach you– ’cause I’m a chief mechanic, I want to teach you only one thing. You folk leaving, you ought to be ashamed of yourself, you ought to get yourself settin’ down here, you need to be here. You– you– you got no re– you’ve got no business going out of there, Aunt Janes, Uncle Toms, I see you slippin’ out there. Talk to ’em folk. (Pause) Talk to ’em, tell ’em what I think of ’em, I’m gone tell you as it is tonight, every now and then– you see, I builds up. I play your racket– I play your racket, to get you saved. But now and then, I gotta get my ulcers healed, and my ulcers get healed, ’cause I could live 150 years, if I didn’t have to fool with church. See, I’m a superman. (Pause) That’s not being egotistical, I’m a superperson. I have just a certain evolution, a paranormal, a precognitive. I have just an extra-dimensional, extraterrestrial, some evolvement. I don’t know what’s responsible for it. My natural son [Stephan Jones] has the same instincts coming forth. (Pause) I’m gone teach my adopted ones [Jim Jones Jr., Lew Jones], too. (Pause)
Congregation: Light applause
Jones: Why don’t you listen to the master of freedom, a teacher who can practice it, who lives it, who’s usually in a white robe, somebody brought one of these– somebody else got converted in their blue robe tonight, and give me another robe, so I– I thought I’d change colors. Got the same ol’ red shirt, though, isn’t it. Same ol’ black tie. Same ol’ shirt hangin’ out.
Congregation: Applause
Jones: (Shouts) Same ol’ me. I haven’t come– I haven’t come to milk you, I haven’t come to get your money, I drive no new cars, have no new furniture, have no new clothes, never buy anything, never bought a pair of new shows– shoes. I come, though– That’s right, don’t go to shows either, don’t go to restaurants, don’t want to waste your money. (Pause) Good God Almighty, then two Aunt Janes walk out on me. Tell ’em to go to hell and never come back, that’s what I want to tell ’em.
Congregation: Applause
Jones: [You] Say, you always like that? (Ministerial cadence) Yes, this is the same creature that raised that woman up Sunday, took them– a sister and her sister and her mother that were dying of cancer, and one two three, (Claps hands once) took the cancers out ’em. (Pause) It’s the same one that told the woman to leave the wheelchair, same one that came up to that stiff-legged Church of God preacher and says straighten your leg and walk away from your crutches, and they were walking Sunday with their crutches in their hands, it looked like we were in a band. it looked like we were in a parade, with crutches and canes, and it’s the same ol’ cussin’ nigger that was doin’ it, because every now and then, I get a spell like this.
Congregation: Applause
Jones: I just act good. I got some uh, straight folk coming tomorrow, and I gotta behave for 30 days. (Pause) And I gotta get it all out. I got some folk that’re seeing me (stumbles over words), they’ve seen healings, they’ve seen the dead raised, and they’re coming for that. That’s where they are. So I gotta take them where they are. So I gotta get it off, because tomorrow night, when those sisters come in with their straight hair and their knots back there, and their long sleeves, I gotta be sweet, because I want to save them. He that winneth souls is wise ((Proverbs 11:30, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise”). He becomes all things to all men, that by any means, he might save the more (1 Corinthians 9:22, “I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.”). So for 30 days, I’ll act like the straightest Pentecostal preacher, then about 30 days, I’ll get on a cussin’ fit, and get them saved. (Cries out) Hey, God Almighty.
Congregation: Applause and cheers
Jones: (Normal ties) Every time I begin to preach– I don’t need your clapping, I just like to see you happy. I just like to see you happy, ’cause I don’t need your clappin’. It’s just sweet to see you smilin’, ’cause some of you are just like me. You tired of playin’ church. (Laughs)
Congregation: Laughter
Jones: Oh, you’re tired of it. (Pause) You (unintelligible word) around that pool, we’d swim in that pool on Sunday night, have a healing and go and swim. Just swim, have little water games. That’s what we did on Sunday night, while you were prayin’ on your knees someplace, and you thought Jim Jones, he’s actin’ now, he’s lost the faith. No, I’ve always been this way. You just didn’t know it. I’ve always been this way.
Congregation: Applause and cheers
Jones: (Ministerial tone) And I don’t trick you. I’ve told you. I said, to you that wish to receive me, I am a man. If you wish to believe that I am God, so I am, because I certainly do more than any God you ever saw. You prayed to your God in the sky, and he never came and fed you when you were hungry, you prayed to your–
Tape off for 30 seconds
Part 3
New sermon, organ playing throughout
Jones: (mid-sentence) –mind, energy has to be God at work. You look sho– (tape edit) –worry, ’cause what I see, dear, I take care of. ‘Cause I’m a powerful force, I’m a living dynamo. I’m a live wire. When I see something out there that’s gonna happen, I use my power to take care of it. And the more people give me faith, the more I can take care of things. There was enough faith that came here two weeks ago on Sunday morning, uh, Saturday night before that I said, we’re gonna free Angela [University of California professor Angela Davis], or we’ll all go down in front of the courthouse. Didn’t I say it?
Congregation: Calls of assent
Jones: And the people gave me their faith. And I reached out and I kept my word, just as I said I would. So have no fear. (Pause) [You] Have a daughter Shirley?
Woman: (Incredulous) Yes.
Jones: Three grand– uh, three grandchildren. (Pause) Does Shirley have some children?
Woman: Three.
Jones: Three. That’s what I say. Your daughter went to Ohio (Pause) State, didn’t she?
Woman: Yes.
Jones: She studied medicine.
Woman: Yes.
Jones: For a while. I’m interested in saving your life for a future day. Your son– architectural work?
Woman: Yes.
Jones: I just show you that I do know things about people’s lives, and yet you’re a stranger to me. He graduated from the University of California.
Woman: Yes.
Jones: And you’ve told no one here these things, or me. Correct?
Woman: Right.
Jones: Is that correct?
Woman: Correct.
Jones: Surely. (Pause) You had to re– rear your children alone.
Woman: Yes.
Jones: You were three and they– one of the three and four. I was there, all those years ago, I saw how you were a good mother, and you reared them, and you had to do things that weren’t always palatable to you, but you– you became God to your children, and you reared them alone. And it’s because of that, that I look in and find favor. In your female parts, that’s caused distress around your back, is cancer. But I’m going to stop it. Because I look into your body.
Congregation: Cheers
Jones: Hands clasped. I’m not through. I’m going to reach out and touch your loved ones, because you’ve touched them by being God to them. That’s the mystery of supply. (Foreign phrase) You were born in Arkansas.
Woman: Yes.
Jones: You were– been a Baptist, haven’t you. As a child, you were Baptist, huh? (Pause)
Woman: Yes.
Jones: Un-huh. But then what happened to you? (Unintelligible question) You were an avid Baptist when you were a child, but then you saw, in your words of expression, your thoughts, a bridge between what they taught and what they did. That’s the thoughts of your mind.
Woman: That’s right.
Jones: Because I am the Word. I know the intents of the mind, and discern the thoughts (Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful… and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”). I am God. I build it up again, because the more you see God or power or love in me, the more I can reproduce in you, and I wish to reproduce all the good that I have. Though I’m a grandfather, it won’t be long probably before I’ll be a great-grandfather, I’m living in the presence of health. I’m able to walk all night and all day, and days without sleep or rest, without food, because I have entered into that which you said was God in the suppositional sky, but never came near you. I am God Almighty. Socialism. (glossololia) Now your hands clasped. (Pause) I wish you to be protected from something else. Do you have some orange earrings? (Pause)
Woman: I had some, and I don’t know where they are.
Jones: Um-hmm. Yes, you had some. Four little orange drops on them.
Woman: Yes.
Jones: Umm-hmm. (Pause) I got a word to tell you. See, I know what’s your past, I know your future. You’re interested in doing things for the people, with health, something you’re educating to be in health, are you?
Woman: Yes.
Jones: It’s good. I’m gonna bless your mind abundantly, if you’ll keep trusting in me. In Socialism, and come to learn in me, and I will give you the desires of your heart, if you will walk with me. And if you will do what I say, I will bring you into immortality, because I’m using you as a sample and example. It’s your doubting that’s caused me to help you. You doubted the church. You dared to be God to your children, you dared to stand alone against all ignorance and intolerance, and because of that (Hands slap) you’re going to be in good health. (Hands slap) I lower your blood pressure. (Hands slap) I bring you back to normal. I bring your body into health. I free you of cancer. You’re gonna have the best job that you’ve ever had. You’ll believe that now, sister? Even though you’re an intellectual person, you just watch and see what I do for you. Put your hand out to me, just as a friend. That’s all. [You] Don’t have to worship me, just put it out. I’m touching it now. And I’ll flood your body, and I’ll save loved ones, and I’ll send cloths to do things for your loved ones. Because you have been God to your children, I’m gonna be God to you.
Congregation: Applause
Jones: (Unintelligible word) (Pause) Don’t have to make any noise. Just a few little tears in her eyes. Don’t have to make any noise. It’s what’s in her head that touched me. (Pause)
Tape edit
Jones: (comes in mid-sentence) – she’ll talk to you, things that I don’t want mentioned. She’s the one back there with her head bent over the table. It’s good. It’s good. Um– No. (Hums with organ playing) (Unintelligible name, repeated, sounds like “Brie”) Mills? Pittsburgh. Hands clasped. Take it on some that are out, away from me so– some distance so that I can take care of these more pressing needs. (Pause) Sister, do you use Cuticare medicated soap?
Voice too soft.
Jones: Yes.
Woman: (voice fades in) (More matter of fact)–it’s been sometime. Not recently.
Jones: All right. Do you use Anacin tablets when you need, uh–
Woman: Yes, I do.
Jones: Mmm-hmm. That’s a no-no. Nothing with caffeine, if you want to live in good shape. You’ve got a background of bladder problem, and we’ve got to stop it before– you know what I’m talking.
Woman: Mmm-hmm.
Jones: You’ve got this trouble and– I don’t know you, but it’ll finally stop your kidneys, and I saw my grandfather die that way, but not you. Not you. ‘Cause I’ve got the power I didn’t have when my grandfather died. I quit prayin’ and I started being God. Hands clasped. I suggest– (Pause) Mmm. Did you ever work in a military academy?
Woman: Yes, I have.
Jones: I just want to tell you, I know a little bit about you. You’re a stranger to me though, correct?
Woman: That’s right.
Jones: You’ve told one here anything–
Woman: No, I–
Jones: Correct.
Woman: No, I haven’t.
Jones: Did you, uh– (Pause) September to 1962, (stumbles over words) 1959 to 1962, you worked in a military academy? Round that time?
Woman: It was somewhere along there.
Jones: Mmm-hmm. You were a house-mother.
Woman: (More breathless) That’s right.
Jones: For boys.
Woman: That’s right.
Jones: You made a dollar and seventy-five cents an hour.
Woman: That’s right.
Jones: (Long pause) (Exhalation) I’m still on the throne of conscience. Notice the mystery, you follow me that are humanistic and follow me. I’m still here. Lot of people fight against me, too, so I’m putting a lot of energy out to get– ’cause they want to prove I’m not God tonight, because I tore up their Skygod. But I’m going to prove I am God. I’m going to take away all the symptoms, there’ll be no more burning, there’ll be no more back difficulty, I’ll take of it tonight, you just clasp your hands, close to the neighbor, and I’m going to give you a s– dose of good health. (Clears throat) (Pause) (Clears throat) You also worked in a– in co– in a uh, hoi– home health aide once, didn’t you?
Woman: That’s right.
Jones: (Pause) You also worked as a uh, senior citizen coordinator, didn’t you?
Woman: That’s right.
Jones: Yes. And– and that’s later on, I’m just jumpin’ down through the years. You also worked something else, a UCI office in field work?
Woman: BCI.
Jones: Yeah. Yeah. My– Well– Golopol? G-O-L-O-P-O-L?
Woman: (Impressed) Oh, yes.
Jones: Yes. Yes. That was the boss.
Woman: That’s right.
Jones: Yes. (Pause) I’m just being humorous, because some of these people were going to think I don’t know how to be God.
Congregation: Stirs
Woman: Mmm.
Jones: You’re uh– When you went to high school, you went to Sherman Junior High School years ago.
Woman: (Laughs) Yes, I did.
Jones: Yes. You went to Kansas UOC. (Pause) (Unintelligible word) Manpower. Nursi– Nurse’s basic education, you took some study in nurse’s basic education.
Woman: I did.
Jones: Now, my child, you need to have some help with prosperity. (Pause) Ah, yes. (Hums with organ) I’m going to send the nurse to you, but now we’ve gotta cure this kidney, because you wouldn’t– it’s bad or you wouldn’t be around here in October, because you wouldn’t have the priority to get on the dialysis machine. (Pause) But, you see, that’s what I’m talking about. Capitalism doesn’t give us the right to get on dialysis machine. I’m going to cure that bladder till you won’t need – your kidneys – till you won’t need to worry about a dialysis machine. You put your hand out to me right now, and take a picture of me, I’m taking a pic– It’s done. It’s done.
Congregation: Applause
Jones: Now, anybody wants to get baptized, you still want to get baptized. How many still want to be baptized? (Pause) Okay. Still want to get baptized. Go back– get back there and I shall join you. The rest of you are free, uh, after the offering has been passed, pass the hands back and forth. Hands back and forth, please.
(tape edit, sounds brief in context)
Jones: Don’t have doubts. You’re setting up here at this front table, don’t have doubts. Don’t let any doubts get in. You got nothing better than me.
Congregation: Stirs
Jones: You haven’t got anything as good as me. You haven’t got anything one-tenth as good. See, I’ve got the lip tiredness, so (unintelligible word) place your hands together, I got to protect people on highways, I got to see no accidents come. That’s going to take a lot of doing tonight. So get with me. Get with me. Put your hands together. Make a circuit. Focus in on me. Take a picture of Jim Jones, God, Socialism, take a picture of me, and see if I won’t go with you, and I won’t be with you in your sufferings, I won’t be with you on the highway. Take the magazines. By the way, someone come up here, you can get the magazines, purchase them tonight. You want to give more? They’re a dollar. If you wish to give less, you can give fifty cents. You will– don’t have it, you be sure that you don’t have it, ’cause they’ll burn your hands and become a curse to you. If you don’t have it, it’ll not be kept from you. Diets are free. Anything else pertaining to your health, if they told you to do something about your health tonight, we take care of that. That’s on the house, on the cuff. Hands clasped. Brother Mert [Elmer Mertle, aka Al Mills] will help the children with their allowances. (tape distortion) want someone standing in my stead? (Hands clap twice) Penny? I’m counting on you to stand in my stead, so that– that they will be touching God, they’ll be touching my anointing when they touch you with these magazines. These magazines you should get– some of you should– all others should be up here– Laurie Efrein, you stand with her to get some assigned out, then we should take some to Sarah, for fifty cents. Sell for what? To bring more food in. We’re educating 61 young people in dormitories, own four senior citizen homes, a convalescent home that we’re buying, where our people– not even had to be sick yet enough to go in. [That’s] Somethin’– (Pause) Children’s home. Forty acres, for needy kids. (Pause) Where can you invest in anything better? These are beautiful magazines. You want to give us any corrections, you find (unintelligible word), I think you’ll find they’re better than your Net– Methodist Union, it’s better than that Zionist Apostolic Church you go to back there, sister, and it’s better than Union Baptist. And it’s better than anything you’ve seen, if you just read it, and look at what we’re doing, it’ll help you become God, what I am. (Pause) But don’t try to (unintelligible word) on deep water until you watch me a little while longer. Don’t go out and declaring yourself God on Fifth Avenue until you’ve been around me awhile. (Pause) Hands clasped– ’cause I’m gone make some of you gods. That’s what I’m about to do. I’m going to make you gods, just like I did when I was sitting here. Healed that crippled man back there, setting right under that sign, “Pool Area.” His arm and leg was crippled. I healed him, didn’t I? Healed a woman of cancer and sent her out. What’d I do in Seattle? Used my workers there to call out the people who were sick and in pain, and they passed cancers in Seattle, I was settin’ here. I’ve begun this. After awhile, I’m gonna raise you up and put what I got in you, and were going to flood this country till they won’t know what the hell’s up.
Congregation: Applause and cheers
Jones: ‘Cause I’m going to show you what we can do, if you’ll just cooperate. In the meantime, until we get through the adversity of that Judgment Day, we’re going to stick together and discipline ourselves so that we can protect our little children from all harm. Right?
Congregation: Right
Jones: Let’s keep death from our door. Want to?
Congregation: Yes.
Jones: (Unintelligible phrase) (Pause) Yes. I want two twin beds, if you’ve got them, for our older people. I want my older children not to have to be in uncomfortable surroundings. Anybody got two twin beds they want to donate?
Voice too soft
Jones: Fine. Will you see– That’ll be fine. Laura Johnston, you be up here to receive this. (Pause) In the future, I’m– I want someone to be responsible for testimonies. I would take volunteers. Some of you want to work? I want somebody to stand over their testimonies, to tell people how to build faith. Some of you people talk about negative, and that doesn’t build faith. And you talk too long. And that don’t build faith. So, I want a Testimony Steward or Stewardess. If you want to help me with that, you’ll be doing a great work to help a lot of people be healed, and to stop them from dying. As I said, is it not the truth, 24 times this year, people have died before us, and I’ve lifted them up–
Congregation: Applause
Jones: -–and that’s not outside in homes, that’s right in these public meetings. One case, they carried him in. One place, they were dead outside, they were laying on the sidewalk. I went out and brought her back, and she was laughing and dancing. (Pause) Good to be here, it is. Yes. Wait–
(Tape edit)
Archie Ijames: All choir members are to be here at nine in the morning to iron choir dresses. Please bring iron and ironing board, every one that’s available. All choir members that are available, be here in the morning at nine o’clock. Bring iron and ironing bo– board to iron choir dresses.
Jones: How many’ll be here? Choir members. (Pause) How many choir members’ll be here? This is ridiculous, I have to go through this now. How many’ll be here? How many’ll be here to help iron? Okay. (Pause) Thank you. ‘Member, there’s little– there’s one member that’s not here today, because he didn’t keep my sayings yesterday. Just as we said it would be. (Pause) So please keep this. This is an ark of safety. Stay in it. You had to be baptized, y– you can step out of the aisles now. Quiet. Quiet. One more thing, (unintelligible name)
Ijames: Now, we’re going to be– I’m going to be working on the– the home next to us, the home next door, senior citizens’ home next door. We’re gonna be– we gotta make the garage into rooms, and I need a lot of help on it. Wh–
Jones: Shh. Who– (unintelligible word)
Ijames: I have too many things to do to be left with that job alone, and just one– one other person. So if you–
Jones: How many– how many men or women know how to build a– He’s a good builder. We all put our hands with his, he– ar– architect this, and design, and lot of new work to build this, and I too, along with the rest, put everything in here.
Ijames: That’s right.
Jones: We built this. This is the people’s house. And he can build beautiful things. This is certainly built well. And he gonna build two more rooms for the lovely older people that have no place– How many’ll help him? We got to start it right away.
(Tape edit, short duration)
Ijames: –get names of the people immedia– immediately because, otherwise I won’t know where to find you until you show up.
Jones: Brother, brother– brother uh, you– Mert there’s gonna help. We’ve got to have some help these two weeks, startin’ right now. We gotta get this bed. How many will help here? (Pause) Do this– (Tape break-up)
Ijames: –come up, uh, immediately after the service and give it u– give your name before you go outta here, so we can be sure to know who to contact.
Jones: We need some men, and some uh, w– women too, some of you women know how to do things, just as uh, superior to men and even the technical skills are– your fingers are more tactile, you’ve got better dexterity. How many women? How many men? There’s Sister Murphy over there, one of our sisters in the senior citizen home, she says she wants to help you.
Ijames: And uh, Bonnie, will you (unintelligible phrase) respond and get the names of these people for us tonight, for me–
Ijames and Jones talk over each other.
Jones: Bonnie? Why don’t you stand up here? All come up to see (unintelligible) Bonnie so he’ll know you. I want to be– somebody to volunteer to me after I finish baptism, I’ll be here probably all night again, so I want someone to volunteer that will help me, as I said, supervising testimonies. This is the booklet. It’s a nice booklet. Sermon in here by Reverend Peter, who left uh, the president of the Unity Mission. Lovely sermon, telling about where to find God, in me, first. There’s the– all the miracles, showing people coming out of wheelchairs, Reverend Williams, Baptist minister, his testimony, when his heart was decomposed, and couldn’t get around. Now he’s going to be helping baptize and been runnin’ and jumpin’ for two years since I called him out. Miracles of people stepping out of wheelchairs, blind seeing, pictures. Woman healed of cystic fibrosis, that fatal disease that no one’s supposed to be able to heal. She’s free of pain at last. One that was a heroin pusher, free at last, free at last, my sermon on the Kingdom of God is within. It’s church vernacular, but it– you’ll find the truth, if you’ve got an ear to hear. (Pause) But it’s still not churchy enough for some. Maybe a lot of people’ll want it. Your sister (unintelligible word; tape edit?) her heart was wasted away. Sister Gray. He touched me and made me whole. God’s prophet ran to me. Little child who was paralyzed, and I ran to him barefooted, saved him from any crippling effect after he fell off the cliff out here. Contrary to my wishes and instructions, he was on the cliff, but he’s now made (unintelligible word) whole. (Pause) Here’s a sister that I prophesied to, to wait two minutes. She almost forgot, but she waited two minutes. Nine people were killed, just two minutes before her. (tape break-up; tape edit?) Whole highways were crushed, she and several others, it gives the whole testimony. Right after they were near Hopkin, nine people were all killed, as the highway was covered with debris, and several in this church would’ve been in it, if they hadn’t done what I told ’em, and waited two minutes, because, as it says here, they act– they got there at 7:42 A.M., because they waited the two minutes after they thought, my mind came to them, and they stopped, and they missed the accident by only two minutes. (Pause) Two minutes. Pays to let God be on the earth. Here’s Mother [Marceline] LeTourneau, precious mother who left the Assemblies of God, and she knows I’m God, she tells you a whole lot more p– privately than she would publicly. She’s 84, preaching on the sons of God. She’s in Indianapolis right now, teaching to them, in our Indianapolis Peoples Temple, about me being the personification of God. Then it tells all of our lovely works, our home, shows you pictures of them– (unintelligible word– “area”?) information. That’s sure worth at least fifty cents, and to members, it oughta be a dollar. And some of you help us to get more out. How many will do that, huh? How many will help to get it out? But I want everyone to get one that’s an adult. If you don’t have any money, we don’t let money keep you from this. Don’t worry. Please, don’t ever be hesitant– You rode the buses, some of you, without money, you know we don’t make any issue of that. We just say, ride ’em as long as you don’t have money. But if you have, and cheat us, you’re liable not to wake up in the morning.
Congregation: Stirs
Jones: Sure awful thing to rob God. But if you don’t have, that’s the spirit of Socialism. It’s the spirits of Acts 2:48. From each according to their ability, to each according to his need (Citation is in error, as there is no Acts 2:48. Possible references include Acts 11:29, “Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea”; and Matthew 25:15, “And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.” End of Acts 2 fits general teaching: Acts 2: 44-45, “And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.”). We don’t care. You’ve been deprived and have nothing, that’s not your fault. But if you do have and cheat us, it’d be better for you if you had a millstone hung around you, and you go out and jump in the lake. I can– I’m not kiddin’ you. You better hear me, child, back there sleepin’. (Pause) And I worried for you, and I don’t want you to sleep it away. Everyone gets these. How many will get these? We want you to try to sell them for fifty cents, but they’re worthy, people, you can get them out, ’cause this costs something to put that kind of thing together. Right?
Several members: Right. That’s right.
Ijames: (mike clicks on late) –whi– which reminds me, I think they need a, a crew to help work on– work on this magazine in San Francisco tomorrow night. Well, what about this? Where’s Randolph or any uh– Don’t you need a crew down there tomorrow night? You can get somebody from the Bay Area to help? Is that right, Randolph?
Voice too soft
Jones: Well, in view of what I needed, why don’t you bring it all back here? ‘Cause we’re having church here tomorrow night, and apostolic socialist class necessy. It’s a (stumbles over words)– It’s a necessadady. (Frustrated with self) Well, for goodness sake. Necessary. I’m– I was back in that– with that Portuguese sick woman, that’s why I’m back in my language, I guess. Necessity to be here tomorrow night. We usually don’t, but it’s a necessity tomorrow night. Professor [Edith] Roller, college teacher who came in here, socialist, healed of arthritis when she didn’t believe in the Skygod, and she’s been doing a beautiful job. Well, tomorrow, we’re all be– going to be here. It’s a must, if you’re in the Valley, and if you can be here from out of town, fine. We’re gonna teach the principles at 8:30, apostolic socialism. There’ll be 70, uh– 50 or 70 of our guests from Los Angeles church that’ll be here. Now here’s the woman I want you to take down quickly – the secretaries will take it, if you don’t get it – and call it around. This woman’s son (Pause) needs heart treatment, but getting put off. Wendell Armstead. (Pause) 1688 – 16th Street. Apartment B. I don’t know them at all. Oakland, California. Don’t have to know people to help them. 94607. She called here in desperation. (Pause) (Tape distortion) [You] Say, why aren’t you getting that work done, you know, here, uh, we’ve been wondering. Anything we can do? Can we talk to the hospital? If you’re district attorney like a member of the church, write that. If you’re a law– a lawyer, a doc– medical person, registered nurse, social worker, write that. If you own an apartment, write that. Why? ‘Cause this system’s still capitalistic. The only thing it appreciates is money. (Pause) And we want to change that, right?
Congregation: Right.
Jones: We want to make it so the people will not be a dollar sign, but become a human being. Not be judged by what money they have, but because they’re just a human being. But in the meantime, we have to stick together to do that. (Pause) (Voice too soft for short sentence). The books’ll be up here, the allowances which I normally give from my own hand to the children, and love to do that, I will be baptizing. If you want to wait, I’ll do it when I get through, but I am busy. We leave here Thursday night, uh, some of us leave tomorrow night, don’t they, for Seattle? Pictures are very important. If you want pictures taken of you being baptized, they’ll do that back there. Talk to them back there about it. They’ll make pictures. You’ve got some lovely ones available, now, that he’s already taken of some of you, so please uh, get your picture that you ordered. (Pause) They make several pictures. You’ll get three or something for ten dollars, I think. (Pause) I’m going to let people go, period. I’m not going to– (stumbles over words) Everyone that’s sitting at a table must go uh, and stand up around that uh, pool, and the ones that are back there must come here to eat, because a lot of you haven’t eaten tonight. (Pause) It’s late, you can sleep on the bus. Hold it. Stand up quickly, just stand up, but don’t move till I say so. (Pause) Be sure you see Bonnie (Pause) here to help with the building. (Forcefully) Peace. (Pause) She’s a former Assembly of God missionary. She gave it up. (Pause) She knows the error of the old ways. She’s up here standing for these older people. We need recruits to come up to help Brother Archie [Ijames], who was once a minister too, and gave that ego trip up, to’ve helped build. He’s built and built and built, but he’s got to have helpers to build these two rooms over here, for older people. And if you don’t help us when you can, nobody’ll be there to help you, probably. How many are gonna come up here to see her, to help him? We gotta get this started right away. We need more space. (Pause) And those also that have those beds, come up and see Bonnie abut that. Anyone’s got beds, anyone’s got fans, I want more fans for my older people. Anyone’s got colored, beautiful wo– woven-like rugs. You don’t need it. I don’t have anything nice in my house. I don’t want it. I’d rather see these older people enjoy it. I was over there moving furniture yesterday, putting dressers in and so forth, and there’s one thing I’d like to see, a lovely, nice colored rug, a throw rug in the middle of my senior citizen home over there. Would you come up and– Thank you, dear. Not a– Well, not a full, but something colorful. Older people need to see some beauty. (Pause) I get happiness by seeing them happy, don’t you.
Congregation: Yes.
Jones: I get happiness by seeing the children happy. (Pause) (Off mike) What’s that? (On mike) I don’t want– I don’t want any slip uh, li– type rugs, you know. Little ol’ things that slip around. I’m talkin’ about something matlike, a wo– a woven thing that are– that will stick or something. Well– We can make it stick. We know how to make it stick. If it’s colorful or something, we can put on so children, they won’t slip on them. (Pause) I know– I know what you’re talkin’ about, we– we– we can handle that. That’s what we need. Thank you very much. Come up and talk to Sister Burton. (Pause) And Penny for your magazine. And get your magazines, and get assignments to take some. How many’ll take some out, and give them to others, sell them to others, if you can, for fifty cents? Do that, but we– we’re not going to bind you to that, but it will help us to get the truth out. The truth’s in there. Tells all about our projects, tells all about apostolic socialism, how it is in practice. So come and get it. Take your hand to your neighbor, please. The key of my song been, that all these years I’ve had no dying, and this is my theme. (Organs plays) (Sings) “There’ll be no dying,/ There shall be no dying,/ With socialism our leader,/ There shall be no dying.” (Speaks) Let’s make it so. Take your neighbor’s hand and lift it high. (Sings) “There shall be no dying,/ There shall be no dying,/ Oh, socialism is our leader,/ And there’ll be–”
Congregation: (singing) no dying.
Jones: See, socialism is love. Love is God. God is socialism. Draw close and hug your neighbor close to you. (Pause) Get my pictures, particularly blessed for the highways. I’ve got particular pictures blessed for special places– Shh! Get them. Talk to a secretary. Money won’t stand in your way. Have them for special purposes. Tyrone, no play. I don’t wanna– I don’t wanna– I want to be able to help you. Draw close. Get these things that can keep you a visual image of the God that is made flesh, the Word that is here amongst you, that told people the thoughts of their minds. That’s the only Word you can help– help you. So help me. Get on board, little children. Get on board. Be good socialists, and we’ll cause the kingdoms of this capitalist world to be no more, and become the kingdoms of God and socialism. Rita Tupper, I want you to– Is Rita Tupper in here someplace? Right next to Gonzalez. Will you see that a secretary is appointed to her, to call her of her messages? (Pause) She’s not gettin’ ’em, here and there. I want that taken care of. Close to your neighbor. See, as you love the God in them, I can help you better. Don’t be afraid somebody’s gonna call you a little strange.
Congregation: Gentle laughter.
Jones: Come on, love each other. Sisters and sisters, brothers and brothers, there’s no– there’s no need to be separated. (Pause) Pure hearts shall see God. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”). I’ve talked in parables, to cause you to grow up, but I still say – deeply and sincerely – I found myself to be combusted as God back there in that poor shanty on the railroad tracks, and I shall remain God. And in this seat, I promise you, my supra-natural spirit – my supernatural gift – will always be. I will never leave you. Right here. Or whatever my form or shape, it’ll always be (Emphatic) right here. I will never leave you leaderless, like so many places have left you. Follow me, and you shall not regret it, because I know the way to Life, and Life more abundantly. I thank you. Little children, come up for your allowances now. And let me get through to the baptismal service. (Pause) Be (Bea?)– If you go outside– You’ll have to get directly to buses– Don’t– don’t talk outside loudly. Yes, Sister Block.
Voice too soft.
Jones: What is it?
Voice too soft.
Jones: Yes, he gets an allowance. We don’t take any allowance (unintelligible) Shh! Now you move around the pool, those that are going to help us– that’d be your best blessing, to help me help others– but if you do go out, you must not smoke on these premises. You must not drink. You will remember what happened to the last person that did. You must be quiet and respect our neighbors. (Pause) And be careful when you drive your vehicles, I’ve got a lot of little animals that I’ve given homes to. Every kind of animal imaginable’s here running free and happy. And get the seats. (Pause) Oh, thank you. Thank you. Now, will you clear the tables and– Shh! You who’ve not eaten, you’ll have time before the buses leave, you fill these tables over towards this side first. First tables on my right, under the clock, first. Don’t set down over here. Sit down over to my right, towards the road. Fill these tables first. Clear out– Come up–
(Tape edit for unknown period)
Part 4 (could be later same night as Part 3)
Jones: (off mike) Take the Bible out of (unintelligible) (Hums)
Congregation: Applause
Jones: (Pause) I was just about prepared to call out someone, and the spirit of Truth within me checked, and said no, they cannot be healed, even though I had deep flashes about their condition, (pause) and the reason was that they’re critical of me raising money. Now, that’s an awful reason to die.
Congregation: Stirs
Jones: (Pause) And that’s just what you’re doing. (Pause) I can do nothing for you, because it’s said that your channel is stopped. I have to make contact with you, and if you criticize me– it’s perfectly all right, we can be friends, that can function very well – but you will never be saved, like the woman last night in the Los Angeles meeting, that– down in the hospital, down in Emergency Room, dying, gastric pain, such abdominal pain, she couldn’t bend, uh,- couldn’t bend– straighten up. And I said, very strongly – because it was a test of all the people that were there – I said, tell that woman to get off her ass. She cannot die. Come up stairs, now.
Congregation: Cheers and applause
Jones: And she did immediately and danced and rejoiced all up and down the aisles, never had another sick moment, and all the rest of the nurses were terrified. They were ready to take her to Morningstar Hospital. If she had been critical of what I said to her – because I said, it has to be done just that way, and to use my picture in a certain way at the same time – and if they had been critical, she would’ve died.
Congregation: Scattered shouts and applause
Jones: Now, if I– I don’t want any clapping, I’m looking at someone that (Pause) should re-evaluate themselves. (Pause) First place, you see, you would use anything that works. That’s only sensible. All good things have been recorded by even your Bible, as coming down from above. God is the author of all good things. [The Bible] Said, the devil cannot heal (Matthew 12:25-28). No Scripture ever said he could. Said, they claim to heal, but he said the (unintelligible phrase, sounds like “partners of me, you”) works of iniquity, I never knew you. So they didn’t do any healing whatsoever, if they were of the devil, or if they were a negative force, as you describe it of the devil. When you say there were Scriptures said there of lying signs and wonders, well, signs is not miracles. That doesn’t have a thing to do with miracles of healing (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12). Four hundred and sixty-four times this year, people have been raised from the dead in our public meetings alone. Four hundred and sixty-four times.
Congregation: Scattered shouts
Jones: Jesus cursed. Paul cussed. He said I count it all dung (Philippians 3:8, “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.”). The church system. The governmental system. The government, said Jesus Christ, was not to be followed, but he said, I count it all dung. In the Gr– the Greek and the Hebrew, that’s the mo– mo– most miserable word you can use for a bowel movement. It’s a very ugly cuss word. But it’s in your Bible. Paul said, I count it all dung. Solomon talked about a dung hill (Reference unclear). That would be S-H-I-T hill. Only a worse word than that. Now on Sunday, there a Holiness woman in our Temple who died. Fell right out before our eyes. I told her also – this is a week of cussing, as it has been a week of Passover, a week of Pentecost, a week of various things – I cursed her from the floor. I said, you cannot die here and did the same thing– and she immediately got up, and the brace was taken off of her, her back was crippled, her neck was crippled, and the brace was taken off. Right then, the healing was instantaneous.
Congregation: Cheers
Jones: If she had criticized, she would never have been healed. So you came all these miles to get healed, but you think you know more about taking up money than I do. Then I can be your friend, but I cannot be your healer. I can be a nice person to you, ’cause I’m nice to enemies even. People have stabbed me in the back, I’m nice to them. But I cannot save you when you’re sick, can’t get you out of an accident, won’t be able to get you out of jail, like I have thousands, won’t be able to stop death like I have thousands, won’t be able to stop crippling conditions, like I have hundreds in wheelchairs, won’t be able to stop blindness, like I did last night, a woman was way back in the middle of our great Los Angeles Temple, that’s yards and yards away from me, and I cured her to the degree that she was able to see print on our little envelope like this.
Congregation: Cheers and applause
Jones: Now you make up your mind. A friend I’ll be. But you’re going to come here and gripe, you say (stumbles over words)– And I wonder why I feel so bad. This person isn’t in mind– I– though I feel bad when I come to service. (Reprimanding) Because you come critically. You come judging. Naturally, you aren’t going to get anything, if you think you know more about it. Get your own church, and start your own meeting.
Congregation: Cheers and applause
Jones: You feel bad when you come home, you feel bad when you’re here. That’s because you’ve got a nasty spirit. There’s nothing bad but you. That’s all the trouble.
Congregation: Cheers and applause
Jones: It’s good that some of you don’t clap, ’cause you know you’re guilty as hell.
Congregation: Cheers and applause
Jones: (Calls out) Spiritual wickedness is reigning tonight in high places. Last Friday, I showed you a film that only we possess now, because it is not on the markets. (Pause) We had to buy it to get it. The fall of Greece, and the agents, the provocateurs that brought about the destruction of Greece are now in Washington. [Former Vice President Spiro T.]Agnew’s out of the picture, but you see, those that got Agnew, what’s happened today. (Reprimanding) You think you know more about raising money. You think we shouldn’t raise money. We ought to do nothing but raise money.
Congregation: Cheers and applause
Jones: (Quiet) Peace. (Cries out) Get out of my face. I don’t like your nasty spirit.
Congregation: Cheers and applause
Jones: (Quiet) Peace. Peace. (Cries out) You’ve got a lot of nerve. (Pause) I’ll still be your friend, but you’ve got an awful lot of nerve. Here I sit without raise or buying jewels or watches or clothes, traveling 1400 miles every week to get to Los Angeles church and back, and sometimes 2800 miles, made a call to an outlying district in San Diego one day, 135 miles one way, while I was down there this weekend. You’ve got a lot of damn nerve.
Congregation: Cheers and applause
Jones: [You] Say, why are you cussing? Because I choose to cuss. And the last time I looked at my heart, Jim Jones was free.
Congregation: Cheers and applause
Jones: I’m one of the few damn things left in this country that’s free, and I’ll be free as long as I breathe.
Congregation: Cheers and applause
Jones: (Quiet) Peace. (Pause) (Stumbles over words) (Normal tone) I haven’t been ah– cursing for months, but I had a reason. I’m separating hypocrites.
Congregation: Stirs
Jones: Last night I was saying just a little word like “damn”, wouldn’t have said no more, but looked down in the third row, and a woman was sitting there, not saying anything, but I knew, and I discerned her thoughts, and I said, you have a lot of nerve, woman. This morning, you called your husband a son-of-a-bitch.
Congregation: Cheers and applause
Jones: Didn’t I do it? Didn’t I do it?
Congregation: Cheers and applause
Jones: (Ministerial tone) You hypocrites– I don’t call my wife cuss words. I don’t hit my wife. I don’t ever use cuss words at her. I don’t cuss at home. I cuss at church, because at home, I find things going nice. But in church, I find a pile of shit, and I call it what it is.
Congregation: Cheers and applause
Jones: (Quiet) Peace. (Pause) (Reprimanding) Before you leave, remember last night, all the women that were healed of breast cancer. One had been operated three times, and I just touched her, and all the pain– cancer spread there into her arm, and I– it all went away. But I first had to cuss for about an hour. And so, if you don’t want to get healed, then you just might as well– (Pause) If you don’t want to pay the price, the price is, for me to speak the truth. And this week, I’m speaking the truth using some four-letter words that you understand.
Congregation: Cheers and applause
Jones: Rest of you– you people– you want the people like Mr. Nixon [President Richard Nixon]. Mr. Nixon says he’s never said a cuss word. Well, that’s a lie, but that’s what he said. He said he was always– He said he’d always been clean-mouthed. But he’s a criminal.
Congregation: Cheers and applause
Jones: I’m watching mighty close tonight, who claps and who doesn’t.
Congregation: Hesitation, then cheers and applause
Jones: I don’t ordinarily care, and sometimes I’d just prefer that we listen. And I’m watching (draws out word) ordinarily, just the Spirit of Truth, but tonight I’m watching in you as well as in me. I’m always sure it comes out in me, but I want to be sure that it registers in you. Or make you a hypocrite. Whichever. Doesn’t matter. At least I’ll differentiate, ’cause I can tell by the way you clap whether you mean it or not.
Congregation: Stirs
Jones: Peace. Now, let’s get on to the subject. So you don’t like us to raise money. (Pause) I gave all my clothes away on Wednesday night.
Congregation: Stirs
Jones: Just called for my wardrobe, though our housekeeper who I’ve took out of a mental institution, healed her of blindness, removed cataracts in both eyes, healed her throat cancer when they gave her no hope, healed her crippling conditions that were ah, arthritic, that were ho– hopeless. And she injured her leg, and had a gapping [gaping] sore, and I touched it, and in 15 minutes – the doctor couldn’t treat it, but I’d been gone for several weeks – and 15 minutes it cured up. What looked like rot–
Congregation: Cheers and applause
Jones: So she’s protective of me. Too much so. She’s grateful she has her health, she’s getting up towards 80 years of age. And she can work 15 hours, 14 hours, 12 hours a day, won’t be satisfied unless she is. No matter what you do to get her to rest, first thing you know, she’s out doing something. She canned I don’t know how many pears, gave pears away to needy people, had pears for home, canned I don’t know how many grapes. She does everything. Fixes I don’t know how many pies, and gives them to people, and serves and washes them clothes and irons– she does everything. And we try to get her to stop, and that’s the way she wants to do it, because she said, “I couldn’t work until you came into my life.”
Congregation: Cheers and applause
Jones: So on Wednesday night, she wished to stop. Now this is the right place to have that microphone tonight. If you do, I won’t use my voice so much. Now if you people could record where it is now, you’ve got it. (Pause) On Wednesday night, I said, I don’t like this business of having clothes. I never bought any of them. In Hawaii, when I healed a woman that was crippled, she gave me a whole lot of Hawaiian clothes. I was preaching barefoot, you remember, through the islands several years ago. In Brazil, when I healed people, raised the dead, and established an orphan– orphanage and saved 200 babies from starvation, put shoes on their little feet, they’d never had them, people came as a result of that and gave me clothes. People were started prospering. They would give me clothes. Give them to– at my home, leave them there, and not even put their name on it, ’cause I wouldn’t take them, personally. But I had nice clothes. And I keep things forever. I gave a sweater away I think to Sister Grace, she can tell you, last night, it’s 20 years old, but it was some 40 years– 40– 40 dollars then, and it’s as good a condition now as it was then. I just gave them all around, I said, there’s no need to have these things, I only use a blue shirt. (Pause) And I got two pair of pants now. While these are getting cleaned, I’ve got the other one to get clean. And I gave everything (unintelligible phrase). She said, oh, don’t let them do this. When they started down to get it, she said no, sent me a note. I said, I know what I’m doing. I wanted to catch them wi– without her knowing, because she tried to stop them from getting my wardrobe, but they– I just sent them all down, people out of the church, to get my wardrobe, and gave my clothes away. Everything, sweaters, clothes, everything, you name it, just a few articles I want to cut up for healing purposes, and for one other reason, I gave everything away. Just passed them all out.
Congregation: Applause
Jones: (Reprimanding) Now, why would you sit here, criticizing me, when I don’t have any more of this earthly goods (Pause) than when I started in that garage? I had money before I came to this church. I was in business. And I gave a good section of it away. I would’ve given it all away, except the board would not permit me, they thought I ought to have money for a defense, and the defense of my adopted children, in case the church money was ever attacked [attached]. (Emphatic) I don’t want a penny, and I sure haven’t got any of your money.
Congregation: Cheers and applause
End of tape
Tape originally posted April 2001