BB-29-s
[Editor’s note: This document consists of a printed sheet with 30 questions and five pages of handwritten answers. For ease of reading the questions will be placed alongside the answers.
[Mike Prokes wrote his age as 28, which meant this document was likely prepared in 1975, about the time he became a full member of Peoples Temple. Despite the notation that this questionnaire was generated by St. Joseph’s Parish, the tone of most of the questions suggests it came from Peoples Temple.]
St. Joseph’s Parish Council Questionnaire
Name: Mike Prokes Age: 28
- Who are your best friends in and out of the church?
I don’t feel like I have any best friends, in or out of the church.
- Who are you jealous of?
I no longer recognize any feelings of jealousy as I have come to feel very secure in your trust of me.
- What do you think about heaven, reincarnation?
I don’t believe in heaven, just higher states of evolution achieved through growth in many lifetimes.
- When and why have you thought about suicide?
I feel like they want very much to die but have more seriously considered taking my life without it serving S – principle. One reason why I haven’t thought seriously about committing suicide is that I’ve never believed it would solve anything for myself.
- What you think about living and working in the Mission Field?
I wouldn’t mind it in the interior though I know my skills are better utilized here.
- What fears do you think you need to overcome?
I fear having to represent the cause in a vital situation, e.g., to the media or to an official who needs to have a good image of us, particularly when I have to talk spontaneously without having prepared or memorized what needs to be conveyed, or perhaps in response to some question. After listening to your comments on torture tonight (5/21/75), this doesn’t concern me very much anymore.
- What are your greatest weaknesses?
My greatest weakness has [been] in not having the courage to push myself more than I do, in other words, to work harder and longer. I am also weak in providing father with all of the details of various information I give them. I am weak in my thinking process because I don’t force myself to look at every angle of the situation (such as when negotiating business deals.)
- What does the word God mean to you?
I think the word “God” is lost any meaning for me, because I’ve heard it used so many different ways. Since I believe there is no God, I guess I associated with nothing most of the time.
- What are your greatest strengths?
None, except a fairly strong will to do what Father has shown me to do, i.e., a willingness to apply his example, demonstrated in the countless number of situations, to my own experience. I no longer experience feelings of hostility toward him when he calls with what seems to me to be a lot of work. I feel I’ve become much stronger in this regard.
- Why are you a member of this church?
I am a member because I believe that one way or another, it’s inevitable that I evolved into a Socialist, and I want to get where I’m going as fast as possible. Also, my illusions were broken in the early going and I just didn’t want to live my life one way (i.e., in capitalism) knowing there was a better and higher way. This probably has a lot to do with competitive achievement.
- What are your greatest temptations?
I am tempted by food and by sleep, particularly when I get frustrated with my work.
- Who is Father: do you see him as Savior, Creator, or both?
Father is the kindest most courageous human being that ever was. He exists only for others and everything he does is for the purpose of meeting some unselfish need. I believe he gets nothing but pain out of life. He is here to save us from capitalism, and thus I see him as a saviour, though I don’t like the term because of its religious connotations.
- What are your sexual feelings and attractions to the pastor?
My attraction to the pastor is based on a desire to be physically close, as a son to his father, in order to feel secure. It’s his desire to be held with the warmth and compassion that only father can give.
- List your three closest relatives and give their addresses and relations to you.
Mr. & Mrs. T. E. Prokes (parents)
1701 Concord Ave.
Modesto, Calif. 95350
Jim Prokes (brother)
Howe Ave.
Oakland, Calif.
Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Dietrich (aunt & uncle)
Mrs. Thomas Prokes & son (grandmother & uncle)
1413 Lansing Dr.
Modesto, Calif.
- Are you on good terms with your natural family?
I am on very good terms with my natural family, though I don’t see them very often.
- What are your hostilities to the pastor?
I am hostile when government meetings seem to go on and on, and the subjects being discussed don’t seem worth the time. However, I have been increasingly less bothered by this, probably because I do understand the necessity of it in terms of discipline.
- What do you think about apostolic living?
Apostolic living I believe is the only way everyone’s needs can be met in any society and is, thus, the only hope for the world’s poor and destitute.
- Do you see our heavenly father as creator?
No, I don’t see him as the creator, if there is one.
- Tell about any feelings of guilt you have and what the guilt is about.
I feel guilty about not always using the cause’s time to the best advantage.
- Do you believe in life after death? If so, in what form?
I believe in life after death when I wish I did not because I think it can be a pleasurable existence and look forward to it. This must mean I’m too narcissistic in that I want to experience something that makes me feel good. However, if I had to choose between living indefinitely in my present state or going into oblivion, I would choose the latter. I don’t look forward to anything anymore and father’s love is pretty much the only thing that motivates me. I wish I could be put in some manual job and not get any personal attention from father and have to exist this way indefinitely to see if I could continue producing well without the security of his attention.
- What do you think about the church discipline?
Absolutely essential. (Church discipline)
- What criticisms do you have of the church and/or leadership?
I see little, if any, enlightened motivation on the part of leadership, excluding father, of course. I feel we all agree and him and pull on him when we know better. I feel guilty about criticizing others when I know I lack so much myself and that my only enlightenment comes from being given the privilege of close contact with the office [Jim Jones].
- What are the main teachings of the church?
The main teachings are that society must be transformed from being based on competition to being based on cooperation. This, because anytime you have competition, there’s always a loser and in this society the losers, basically, are minority people, as they are most easily identifiable due to their color, dialect, appearance, background, etc.
In order to have cooperation, the people must own the resources so the class distinction, & hence inequality, is eliminated. It is a society where wealth is distributed equally among all the people, because all the people own the wealth. Thus people are not exploitation [exploited] to gain advantage and maximize profit because it’s not a prophet-motive system – it’s a system based on sharing which means everyone works according to their ability, and everyone receives according to their needs. In capitalism, people are taught survival of the fittest, so each person looks out for himself and those who are less fit for whatever reason, wind up poor, sick and/or destitute. In Socialism each person looks out for the needs of others and when this is done, no one is left wanting or in need of food, clothing, shelter, healthcare. In Socialism, the people relate to each other as equals.
- When and why did you last think about leaving the church? What kept you from leaving?
I have never seriously entertained the thought of leaving the church
- What is your main or only purpose for living?
To hopefully be of some help in establishing a new order, though I’m not absolutely sure I would continue to go on in life if I didn’t believe I was trapped, with no real way out. I feel fairly confident that I would go one, though, even if I know there was a way out. I can’t really bear the thought of turning my back on Father and all he’s done for me to make me a better person.
- How was the world created?
I can’t begin to imagine how the world was created. But I do know I could get rid of a lot of hostilities if I found someone who is responsible.
- What are your fears of the heavenly father?
I think I’m only afraid of his disapproval.
- What do you think about immortal life?
It ultimately sounds boring. I see no use for it.
- What are your hostilities to the pastor? [Editor’s note: Question duplicates 16]
Repeat
- What are the best things about this church?
Its leader and all that he represents; the unity of the people in their opposition to the evils of capitalism; the provisions for all the people’s needs, when so many had been deprived and messed up by the system. As father put [it], this is the best place in the world because “it’s the only place with meaning and purpose, and is the only place where we are loved (by Father).