The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple

by Jeff Guinn

Jimmy’s two earliest and most enduring lessons from his mother were these: there was always some Them out to get you, and reality was whatever you believed.

He’d learned well from Father Divine that having enemies, real or imagined, was invaluable in recruiting and retaining followers.

In years to come, Jim Jones would frequently be compared to murderous demagogues such as Adolf Hitler and Charles Manson. These comparisons completely misinterpret, and historically misrepresent, the initial appeal of Jim Jones to members of Peoples Temple.

No one joined Peoples Temple with the intent of doing harm or achieving subjugation. Instead, they felt better about themselves by doing good things for others.

They were better than anyone else because they proved that everyone was equal.

Jones never let facts interfere with convenient promises.

An integral characteristic of paranoia is lack of perspective. To Jones, Reid’s presence in America at exactly the same time as Justice Bishop made his ruling and Haas appeared at the Jonestown gate could mean only one thing—the U.S. and Guyanese governments, neither having any more pressing concerns than the destruction of Peoples Temple, were now in active collusion against him.

families in the United States “Every

Why are so many sentences missing periods?

U.S. citizens had the right to worship as they pleased, even if that included following a lunatic and living in the jungle.

These survivors represent the same diversity of race, background, personality, education, and professional achievement that characterized Peoples Temple at its zenith. Every year there are fewer of them. But the pain and frustration persist. The only ones who understand are themselves, a rainbow family brought together by Jim Jones and bound eternally by shared loss and suffering.

Traditionally, demagogues succeed by appealing to the worst traits in others: Follow me and you’ll have more, or, follow me and I’ll protect what you already have against those who want to take it away from you. Jim Jones attracted followers by appealing to the best in their nature, a desire for everyone to share equally.

Many believed that communists orchestrated: In Los Angeles, police officers attended mandatory seminars where lecturers insisted that this was true. Jeff Guinn, Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2014), p. 114.

I hate when authors quote other books they wrote.