Jonestown Audiotape
Primary Project : Summaries
Summary prepared by Fielding M. McGehee, III. If you
use this material, please credit The Jonestown Institute. Thank you.
Tape Number : Q 1059 (Part 1 of 6)
To read the Tape Transcript, click
here.
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FBI Catalogue: Jones speaking
Date cues on tape: San Francisco, Spring 1973
People named:
Public figures/National and international names:
People in attendance at Peoples Temple service
Bible verses cited:
Reference to Paul's socialist philosophy: "The ones cannot work are taken care
of by those that can. And the ones that do not work will be taught how to work,
because if you don't work when you can work, you won't eat." (Reference unknown)
"The young ruler said, I've kept the commandments from the youth up, I've obeyed
all church laws, Jesus said, one thing thou lackest. Sell everything. Some of
you are not willing to give all, you're not willing to sacrifice." (Mark 10:21:
"Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest:
go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt
have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.")
Questions Garden of Eden story, asks where Cain found his wife after he slew
Abel (Genesis 3 & 4)
"You wouldn't give stone for bread, would you? That's what the Bible says.
You wouldn't give a serpent for fish. Said, how much more God then would God
be? Uh -- good. Would you send somebody to hell to burn forever and ever?" (Matthew
7:9-10, "Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give
him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?")
"You might send them there to learn. And that's exactly what the early scripture
said. Turn them over to the judge, and the judge puts them in the prison, and
they still in prison till they what? Prison's a type of hell. Till you pay the
what? Uttermost farthing. That means you get out." (Matthew 5:25-26, "Agree
with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any
time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to
the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt
by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.")
"Jesus supposedly went down to hell, according to the epistles, and preached
to who? The spirit of the disobedient ones in the days of Noah who were so cussed
that they wouldn't get on that boat and cooperate. Stood off and laughed at
old Noah while he's building that boat... But it said Jesus went down to hell
to those 800 and preached to them, and took captivity captive, led them out
of hell, and ascended to the right hand of power. He took them out of hell."
(1Peter 3:18-20)
Reference to Acts 2:38 ("Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized
every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and
ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost") as being the favorite verse of
a minister from his boyhood
Summary:
"For some unexplained set of reasons, I happened to be selected to be God."
This sermon by Jim Jones opens with this sentence, and returns to the theme
throughout, with some of the most detailed articulation of his perceptions of
his powers as God. As examples:
o "I have to tell you, that the universe would not run without me."
o He details some of the miracles he has performed for members of the church,
and later in the sermon when some newcomers apparently tire of him and leave,
warn that people who leave the church will not have his protection. In addition,
he warns of the evil that will befall his enemies, including those he knows
are in the audience that night.
o He expands upon that theme to claim credit for other miracles they don't
know about. "[Y]ou may not believe, but I'll tell you, there was never a miracle
done in the world, 'less I did it."
o Taking his power through his personification as the "Principle [of] Divine
Socialism," he says: "Someway I am intrinsically involved with every good person's
wishes, with every hope and ambition, whether it'd be in the Irish Republic
for freedom, whether it'd be in Biafra for freedom, whether it'd be over in
Vietnam or Wounded Knee, wherever there's people struggling for justice and
righteousness, there I am, and there I am involved." Later he says he has saved
people who didn't know who did it or how it happened, including three criminals
slated for execution and the Indians at Wounded Knee; he also promises that
his power will keep Daniel Ellsberg out of jail.
o He questions the goodness of a Skygod who would let children starve and evil
prevail. "If I was out there... if I had all the power you say he's got," he says,
he would prevent all the floods, earthquakes and natural disasters that kill
poor people; he would've stopped the bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He later
criticizes a God that requires people to have faith in Him. In contrast, he
says, "I don't care whether you got any faith in me or not, I want to help you."
He returns to that point later on, as he promises that his followers will have
his powers if they think like him. As opposed to "a God that you gotta pray
to, a God that you gotta worship... [y]ou don't need to worship me. All I want
from you is to do right. Feed my children. Do something about the misery around
you."
o Even as he criticizes those who follow the Skygod, he puts his own power
in Christian terms. "I happen to know I'm the Messiah," he says. Then, to counter
those who might say he is delusional, he continues: "It's only a complex when
you're confused. It's only a complex when you have some kind of neurotic compulsions...
Honey, I don't have any conflict about it whatsoever. I'm not in conflict at
all. I know ... that I am God the Messiah." At another point, his discussion of
Jesus switches in mid-sentences from the third person to the first person.
Jones says there is no logical explanation for his powers -- it is a matter of
faith -- and chastises those who would try to define him in intellectual terms.
"You can't explain Father Jones, so there's no way an intellectual can deal
with me." Although he chastises intellectuals several times, he also praises
those who are "not afraid to get up and lose [their] intellectualism."
The commitment Jones gives to his followers, though, he demands in return.
He saved a woman who gave a quarter of her income to the church -- her generosity
was what led to the miracle, he implies -- and says those who give all they have
will rid themselves of the sin of capitalism. "You've got to work out your salvation
with your money." He later offers a warning to those who do not make a full
commitment to him. "[T]hose that have followed me and those that have embraced
my teachings, they have had perfect success, perfect prosperity and perfect
deliverance." Later in the service, he asks people to fill out forms detailing
what volunteer work they will do and what money they have. It's important, he
says, because "[w]hen the day comes ... to be saved, I'm sending only the buses
to those that are sincere and conscientious, and when you tell me it's none
of my business, you must change this, or leave the church." At still another
point, he cites the biblical imperative -- Mark 10:21 -- to "sell everything"
to become part of the church.
Jones says that he does not run the country yet, but that he eventually will.
His is the way of the Constitution, and he realizes that no one can have "life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness" unless everyone has an opportunity to
enjoy them. That means breaking the power of the handful of families who control
the country, and that he will do it. This political vision yields to a utopian
one of a society without welfare, with work for all, with child care centers
and true universal education.
This vision is based on the principle of love, he says, and love means people
hold everything in common. If you follow him, he says later, "[if] you give
me your strength, and I will make a heaven out of your hell. If you believe
in me, and cooperate with me, I will cause the kingdoms of this racist society
to become the kingdoms of socialistic freedom. I will cause your desert to blossom
as a rose, if you start believing in me."
He speaks of the strength of the Temple, giving opportunities to those who
would be derided elsewhere. The church has counseled a child molester, he says,
and the man has turned his ambition towards becoming a doctor. He goes on to
say that the Temple doesn't turn anyone away, and has done everything for its
members. "I've never turned anyone away from food, I've never turned away one
that wanted education, or ... turned one away that wanted a healing." Elsewhere
he speaks of the provisions they have in case they ever need it: food, medical
supplies and people trained to administer them, and transportation.
Halfway through the tape, Jones throws the Bible on the floor, an action he
acknowledges for its gimmickry, one he has done countless times before. He talks
of those who spit on it and jumped on it, and they're still alive. He uses the
theater as a means to launch into the inconsistencies of the Bible. He also
speaks extensively of his childhood in the context of abandoning the Bible.
He knew the Bible would keep him as a prisoner. When he stopped praying, he
says, his abilities to conduct healings started.
He tears apart several Bible stories -- including two attacks on the creation
story of Adam and Eve -- and blasts ministers of churches he's known in his past
and in the present. As he speaks of turning away from Pentecostalism, he reminisces
about some of the each church members who have been with him.
The tape concludes as it began, with a description his miracles and healings,
of the differences between himself and the Skygod, and of the punishments in
store for the people who leave him after hearing the truth.
FBI Summary:
Date of transcription: 6/21/79
In connection with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's investigation into
the assassination of U.S. Congressman LEO J. RYAN at Port Kaituma, Guyana, South
America, on November 18, 1978, a tape recording was obtained. This tape recording
was located in Jonestown, Guyana, South America, and was turned over to U.S.
Officials in Guyana and subsequently transported to the United States.
On June 16, 1979, Special Agent (name deleted) reviewed the tape numbered 1B108-36.
This tape was found to contain the following:
Reverend JIM JONES begins with "For some unexplained set of reasons, I happened
to be selected to be God." He then goes on to preach and recount his many miracles.
He continues to praise himself and the good works of his church, the People's
Temple.
Differences with FBI Summary:
The summary is accurate and meets the FBI's purposes.