{"id":85706,"date":"2019-02-14T15:19:37","date_gmt":"2019-02-14T23:19:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/?page_id=85706"},"modified":"2025-09-03T16:49:22","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T23:49:22","slug":"q568-summary","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/?page_id=85706","title":{"rendered":"Q568 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 return to the Tape Index, click here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong>
\nTo read the Tape Transcript, click here<\/a>. Listen to MP3 (Pt. 1<\/a>,\u00a0Pt. 2<\/a>).<\/p>\n

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

FBI preliminary tape identification note<\/strong>: <\/strong>One Audio Magnetics 60\u00a0marked in part \u201cSex \u2014 Rev.\u201d <\/span>(strikeout in original)\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Date cues on tape:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 1974 trip of inner circle of Planning Commission to Jonestown<\/p>\n

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

Public figures\/National and international names:<\/i><\/div>\n
Gerald Ford, U.S. President
\nVladimir Ilich Lenin, father of Russian Revolution
\nForbes Burnham, Prime Minister of Guyana
\nPtolemy Reid, Deputy Prime Minister of Guyana
\n 
\nWalter Baldwin, father of Marceline Jones (by reference)<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Temple defectors\/ adversaries:<\/em><\/div>\n
Jack Arnold
\nJim Cobb
\nJohnson (first name unknown), friend of Phillips family
\nVickie Moore
\nClara Phillips (by reference)
\nJanet Phillips
\nMickey Touchette<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jonestown residents:<\/em><\/div>\n
Ellen [likely Ellen \u201cPenny\u201d Kerns]
\nJan
\nKenny
\nRose Shelton\u2019s daughter
\n 
\nJack Beam (by reference)
\nChuck Beikman
\nArchie Ijames
\nAlice Inghram
\nMarvin Johnson
\nLynetta Jones (by reference)
\nMarceline Jones (speaks)<\/strong>
\nMaria Katsaris
\nLes Mathison, Jonestown pioneer
\nMike Prokes (speaks)<\/strong>
\nEva Pugh
\nJoyce Shaw
\nRose Shelton
\nGrace Stoen
\nJohn Victor Stoen (by reference)
\nTim Stoen
\nCharles Touchette (speaks)<\/strong><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bible verses cited:<\/strong> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 None<\/p>\n

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

(This tape was transcribed by Vicki Perry. The\u00a0<\/em>editors gratefully acknowledge her invaluable assistance.)<\/em><\/p>\n

Jim Jones presides over a meeting of his closest\u00a0 advisers held in the nascent community of Jonestown in 1974. The conversation is freewheeling and lively, covering a number of subjects \u2013 from the nature of socialism, to sex, to his own abilities as a leader of Peoples Temple \u2013 but there is no discussion about the real issues facing the pioneers in Jonestown itself, such as construction, infrastructure, housing, crops, or relations with the Guyana government.<\/p>\n

Jones begins by extolling the virtues of both socialism and communism, and sets forth several theories about their nature. In a true communistic society, he says, there is no need for government on either a national or local level. All properties \u2013 from real estate to people\u2019s personal effects \u2013 are held in common, so there is no poverty. There is no crime \u2013 no theft, no murder \u2013 so police forces can be dissolved. There is no litter on the street, because everyone takes responsibility for their upkeep. China is the closest nation to the complete communist model, although the country still has a way to go, because of its policies on the international stage, a criticism Jones continued to level throughout the balance of the Temple\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

The conversation about sharing of everything extends to sex as well. \u201cPerfection of understanding and love. Perfect sharing. No more jealousy,\u201d Jones says. \u201cMy wife wants you? You want my wife? And I love you both. Happy, happy. When you love somebody, you don\u2019t want to hold\u00a0<\/em>them. You want to free\u00a0<\/em>them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Until the world gets there, though, sex will be superficial. For the time being, sex goes to the best looking people, and the lovers with the best abilities. The latter would include him, he acknowledges. He has a strong appetite, and he has strong endurance (\u201cI\u2019ve fucked for hours\u2026 Let me tell about one woman I screwed for seven hours\u201d). But most of all, even though he says several times that sex is counter-revolutionary, he recognizes its value in his work for Peoples Temple, whether it\u2019s bringing people in, keeping people from betraying the cause \u2013 he specifically references Grace Stoen \u2013 and even to stop an outsider from damaging the church. He has fucked ugly women, he has fucked older women \u2013 \u201c60, nearly 70\u201d \u2013 although, as one person points out, he hasn\u2019t fucked any women who are black or Native American.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s a good reason for that, he says. Sex is inherently an act of aggression, an act of violence. \u201cThe black ones have had enough pain,\u201d he explains. \u201c[I]f it\u2019s discriminatory, if it\u2019s anything, I\u2019m prejudiced against white.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, he doesn\u2019t mind that criticism of him. \u201cAny criticism you want to give me, I\u2019ve got an answer for, because I\u2019m pure<\/em>, I\u2019m honest.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones continues for a number of minutes cataloguing his sexual conquests \u2013 if not by name, then by type \u2013 even though his wife Marceline is in the room throughout the conversation. She seems to endorse what he says about sex \u2013 that it is aggressive, that it is \u201chostile,\u201d that it is a sign of insecurity \u2013 and declares that the exploitation in the Temple comes from the women who want to sleep with her husband. Moreover, the only insult she truly suffers is that these women use her to get next to her husband. \u201c[T]he thing that I had to really deal with, and probably it\u2019s the hardest thing, I mean, like\u00a0<\/em>the fact that all you women were screwing my husband, but the fact that you\u00a0<\/em>use me\u00a0<\/em>to get near him, \u2026 that most women didn\u2019t give a damn\u00a0<\/em>about being a friend to me, but used\u00a0<\/em>me to get to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, though, sex is unfulfilling and not really very important.\u00a0 Women know how to perform during the sexual act to keep their spouses happy, but it ranks low in their priorities \u2013 Jones says it\u2019s about number seven \u2013 in what they are looking for in a relationship. That\u2019s one reason men go to prostitutes, he says \u2013 for the performance as much as the release \u2013 and also explains why \u201call prostitutes \u2026 are lesbians who hate men.\u201d<\/p>\n

The conversation turns to leadership within the Temple on several occasions, even as Jones intimates that he hasn\u2019t found anyone yet who could succeed him. He makes an effort to nurture leadership, even among people who have betrayed him, although he thinks those efforts are most often wasted. \u201cI don\u2019t hold anything against him,\u201d he says about one unnamed person whom he has placed in a position of authority, although with \u00a0\u201cas much cynicism as I have, \u2026 I don\u2019t have any illusion\u201d that the promotion will succeed.<\/p>\n

Jones sprinkles the conversation with several references to death. During the discussion on the demands of leadership, for example, he expresses his hope that after he\u2019s dead and no longer around, people will remember his own example, his own life as a lesson. \u201cWhen you lose something that is good, then you should make it easier for the second leader.\u201d<\/p>\n

The subject arises elsewhere as well. Members of the Temple often bragged about how little sleep they got, and Jones provided their template. \u201cWhat\u2019s the use of sleeping? You can sleep much longer when you die. I think you get a long rest when you die, so why don\u2019t you just keep on pushing, you know? Why work so hard for an eight-hour sleep when you can get a permanent sleep?\u201d<\/p>\n

The last of the references reflects another of his driving forces or \u2013 as he would argue \u2013 lack of driving forces in demanding that people live a socialist. He is unmotivated, he says several times, and despite how he might seem to want to push folks, the fact is, he just doesn\u2019t care, and doesn\u2019t have hope. \u201cI have died. I\u2019m crucified.\u201d<\/p>\n

FBI Summary:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Date of transcription: 3\/14\/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 9, 1979, Special Agent (name deleted) reviewed the tape numbered 1B47 #9. This tape was found to contain the following: JIM JONES discussing the difference between communism and socialism. JONES appears to be very upset at JANET PHILIPS and states that he should place her on his list.<\/p>\n

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

While the tape does include Jim Jones\u2019 criticism of Janet Philips, the remarks comprise only the first 20 seconds of a 60-minute tape, and represent a minor sidebar to the main topics under discussion.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tape originally posted February 2019.<\/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 return to the Tape Index, click here.\u00a0 To read the Tape Transcript, click here. Listen to MP3 (Pt. 1,\u00a0Pt. 2). FBI Catalogue\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jones Speaking\u00a0 FBI preliminary tape identification note: One Audio Magnetics 60\u00a0marked in part […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":27996,"menu_order":358,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-85706","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/85706","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\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=85706"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/85706\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":131742,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/85706\/revisions\/131742"}],"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=85706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}