{"id":108385,"date":"2021-02-08T15:35:27","date_gmt":"2021-02-08T23:35:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/?page_id=108385"},"modified":"2022-03-06T10:35:53","modified_gmt":"2022-03-06T18:35:53","slug":"q583-summary","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/?page_id=108385","title":{"rendered":"Q583 Summary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary prepared by Fielding M. McGehee III. If you use this material, please credit The Jonestown Institute. Thank you.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

To read the Tape Transcript,\u00a0click here<\/a>. Listen to MP3 (Pt. 1<\/a>,\u00a0Pt. 2<\/a>).
\nTo return to the Tape Index, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

FBI Catalogue<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jones Speaking<\/p>\n

FBI preliminary tape identification note: <\/strong>One BASF C-60\/JJ Reflections Jan 75<\/p>\n

Date cues on tape:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Tape contents consistent with identification label<\/p>\n

People named:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Temple members:<\/em>
\nPaula Adams
\nJoe Beam
\nSandy Bradshaw
\nAva Brown
\nJean Brown
\nJohn Brown
\nJeff Carey
\nPatty Cartmell
\nEugene Chaikin
\nJune Crym
\nArchie Ijames
\nA. J. Johnson
\nWanda Johnson
\nStephan Jones
\nMaria Katsaris
\nCarolyn Layton
\nKaren Layton
\nChristine Lucientes
\nMike Prokes (speaks<\/strong>)
\nJim Randolph
\nTim Stoen<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Temple members, full name unknown:<\/em>
\nJeannie<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Public figures\/National and international names:<\/em>
\nForbes Burnham, Prime Minister of Guyana
\nGavin Kennard, Guyana Minister of Agriculture
\nPtolemy Reid, Deputy Prime Minister of Guyana<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bible verses cited: <\/strong> None<\/p>\n

Summary:<\/strong><\/p>\n

(This tape was transcribed by Nicole Bissett. The editors gratefully acknowledge her invaluable assistance.)<\/em><\/p>\n

Recorded in January 1975, this recording of a telephone conversation between Jim Jones and Mike Prokes, his public relations advisor, is a discussion on damage control following a disastrous service<\/a> which Jones led at the Sacred Heart Catholic in Georgetown the previous month.<\/p>\n

A small contingent of Temple leaders had made arrangements with Father Andrew Morrison, the priest for the cathedral and the editor of The Catholic Standard<\/em>, a small weekly newspaper, for Jones to conduct the service to introduce himself to Guyana\u2019s Christian community. Whatever representations the Temple made to the priest about the program, they did not include the faith healings which Jones had used to bring new members into his church in the States. The performance proved to be a major embarrassment for the priest and \u2013 by extension \u2013 a potential liability for Peoples Temple\u2019s campaign to solidify bonds with the Guyana government.<\/p>\n

In this phone call, then, Jones and Prokes discuss several avenues to repair the damage, including a paid ad in The Guyana Chronicle<\/em>, the country\u2019s daily newspaper, in which the Temple had previously heralded the service; and a press release over which the two Temple leaders would have less control. They also consider how they should address the subject of the faith healings themselves, and whether the Temple should promise not to have any more, or whether its pledge should be less ironclad. \u201c[W]e anticipate having no further healing services,\u201d Jones dictates, \u201cwe\u2019re not thinking about healing services. We are interested in building an agricultural mission.\u201d Then he adds, \u201cSomething that leaves a loophole.\u201d<\/p>\n

How much will the press actually want to know about faith healings, they wonder, and how little can the Temple get away with in its explanation. The Temple has already offered something of an apology, so whatever they say now can\u2019t contradict it, but at the same time, they can\u2019t acknowledge that they\u2019ve made an error, \u201c[b]ecause once you start eating crow, and admitting you\u2019re wrong, there\u2019ll be no end to this.\u201d<\/p>\n

The campaign has to do more than mollify Father Morrison, though. The ministers of all faiths in Guyana\u2019s capital city have to know that the only thing the Temple wants to do is to build its agricultural project in the country\u2019s Northwest District. \u201cThose ministers had to be assured that we won\u2019t start a church.\u201d Beyond that, the Temple needs to reiterate its support of Guyana itself, but even that language requires negotiation. \u201cWe wanted to work with the people and give the fullest support to the country,\u201d Jones says. \u201cI\u2019m avoiding the word \u2018government,\u2019 as you can see.\u201d After all, Prime Minister Forbes Burnham doesn\u2019t need their help, although he might appreciate how the Temple will \u201cbring Guyanese into our program \u2026 and also give them the benefit of the love.\u201d Besides, he acknowledges at one point, there may be another government in charge sometimes in the future, so they don\u2019t want to be associated with one political party or administration.<\/p>\n

(Jones intersperses those sentiments with a warning about the \u201cdumb Christian writers in the government,\u201d so they have to be careful. \u201cThey may be a bunch of narcissistic fools that don\u2019t realize how shaky their popular support is,\u201d he adds a moment later. \u201cI don\u2019t know. Obviously, they are not as wise as we are.\u201d)<\/p>\n

They also need to declare that their fealty to Burnham is unyielding. \u201cOur loyalty never changes. We don\u2019t expect you to bow to every one of our little needs, our loyalty\u2019s not based on you bowing to every one of our needs.\u201d Whether this statement made it into the final version of the press release or advertisement is unknown, but it would be eventually countered, when Jones threatened the embarrassment of mass suicide several times in 1977 and 1978 over disagreements and delays in government acquiescence to their demands.<\/p>\n

The incident with Sacred Heart has taught Jones a few other important lessons, though. Regarding phone calls, Jones demands that someone monitor and record them, that that someone should be a person other than the caller to make sure everything is covered in the notes of the conversations, and that the calls be kept short. (Even as he makes these demands, he recognizes their danger: \u201cThese tapes are gonna haunt us one day.\u201d) In addition, everything that goes out of the Temple in Guyana should be cleared by either Tim Stoen or Eugene Chaikin, the Temple\u2019s two in-house lawyers.<\/p>\n

Later in the conversation, Jones laments that not everyone can see his character. Anyone will follow charisma, he says, but not character. That\u2019s \u201cthe greatest pain in my life or my death. The greatest glory of my release will be that.\u201d Similar references infuse the entire second half of the tape.<\/p>\n

FBI Summary:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Date of transcription: 3\/6\/79<\/p>\n

In connection with the Federal Bureau of Investigation\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

On March 1, 1979, Special Agent (name deleted) reviewed the tape numbered 1 B 47 \u2013 #24. This tape was found to contain the following:<\/p>\n

A telephone conversation between JIM JONES and an unknown male People\u2019s Temple member. Topics discussed included JONES\u2019 alledged [alleged] healing of invalids, integrity verses [versus] charisma, loyalty to the family, and general philosophical concerns.<\/p>\n

This tape was reviewed, and nothing was contained thereon which was considered to be of evidentiary nature or beneficial to the investigation of Congressman RYAN.<\/p>\n

Differences with FBI Summary:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The summary is accurate and meets the FBI\u2019s purposes.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Tape originally posted February 2021.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary prepared by Fielding M. McGehee III. If you use this material, please credit The Jonestown Institute. Thank you. To read the Tape Transcript,\u00a0click here. Listen to MP3 (Pt. 1,\u00a0Pt. 2). To return to the Tape Index, click here. FBI Catalogue\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jones Speaking FBI preliminary tape identification note: One BASF C-60\/JJ Reflections Jan 75 Date […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"parent":27996,"menu_order":368,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-108385","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/108385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=108385"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/108385\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":113762,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/108385\/revisions\/113762"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/27996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=108385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}