Jim Jones

== Peoples Temple ==
{{main|Peoples Temple}}

=== Beginnings in Indianapolis ===
[[File:Jimjonesfirstchurch.jpg|thumb|Jones's first church in [[Indianapolis, Indiana]].|alt=A white building with blue trim sits at the corner of an intersection.]]

In early 1952, Jones announced to his wife and her family that he would become a Methodist minister, believing the church was ready to "put real socialism into practice."{{sfn|Guinn|2017|p=56}} Jones was surprised when a [[Methodism|Methodist]] [[District Superintendent (Methodism)|district superintendent]] helped him get a start in the church, even though he knew Jones to be a communist.<ref name="horrock" />{{sfn|Collins|2017|p=154}}

In the summer of 1952, Jones was hired as student pastor to the children at the Sommerset Southside Methodist Church,{{sfn|Guinn|2017|p=57}} where he launched a project to create a playground that would be open to children of all races.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=44}}{{sfn|Guinn|2017|p=59}} Jones continued to visit and speak at Pentecostal churches while serving as Methodist student pastor. In early 1954 Jones was dismissed from his position in the Methodist Church, ostensibly for stealing church funds,{{sfn|Guinn|2017|p=64}} though he later claimed he left the church because its leaders forbade him from [[racial integration|integrating]] blacks into his congregation.{{sfn|Wessinger|2000|p=32}}

Around this time in 1953, Jones visited a Pentecostal [[Latter Rain (post–World War II movement)|Latter Rain]] convention in [[Columbus, Indiana]], where a woman prophesied that Jones was a prophet with a great ministry.{{sfn|Collins|2017|p=154}} Jones was surprised by the endorsement, but gladly accepted the call to preach and rose to the podium to deliver a message to the crowd.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=46}} Pentecostalism was in the midst of the [[Healing Revival]] and Latter Rain movements during the 1950s.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=44}}{{sfn|Collins|2017|p=155}}

[[File:Peoples Temple logo.svg|thumb|upright|The logo of the Peoples Temple, founded by Jones.]]

Believing that the racially integrated and rapidly growing Latter Rain movement offered him a greater opportunity to become a preacher, Jones successfully convinced his wife to leave the Methodist church and join the Pentecostals.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=44}}{{sfn|Collins|2017|p=155}} In 1953, Jones began attending and preaching at the Laurel Street Tabernacle in Indianapolis, a Pentecostal [[Assemblies of God]] church. Jones held healing revivals there until 1955 and began to travel and speak at other churches in the Latter Rain movement. He was a guest speaker at a 1953 convention in [[Detroit]].{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=46}}

The Assemblies of God was strongly opposed to the Latter Rain movement. In 1955, they assigned a new pastor to the Laurel Street Tabernacle who enforced their denominational ban on healing revivals. This led Jones to leave and establish Wings of Healing, a new church that would later be renamed Peoples Temple. Jones's new church attracted only twenty members who had come with him from the Laurel Street Tabernacle and was not able to financially support his vision. At one point, he even sold pet monkeys to raise funds for his church.<ref>Lattin, Don. [https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/jonestown-25-years-later-how-spiritual-2548493.php "How spiritual journey ended in destruction."] ''San Francisco Chronicle''. November 18, 2003.</ref> Jones saw a need for publicity, and began seeking a way to popularize his ministry and recruit members.<ref name = "fgo"/>{{sfn|Chidester|2004|pp=5–6}}{{sfn|Collins|2017|p=155}}{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|pp=48–50}}

===Latter Rain movement===

Jones began to closely associate with the [[Independent Assemblies of God, International|Independent Assemblies of God]] (IAoG), an international group of churches which embraced the [[Latter Rain (post–World War II movement)|Latter Rain movement]]. The IAoG had few requirements for ordaining ministers and they were also accepting of divine healing practices. In June 1955, Jones held his first joint meetings with [[William Branham]], a healing [[Evangelicalism|evangelist]] and Pentecostal leader in the global Healing Revival.{{sfn|Guinn|2017|p=82}}

In 1956, Jones was [[Ordination|ordained]] as an IAoG minister by [[Joseph Mattsson-Boze]], a leader in the Latter Rain movement and the IAoG. Jones quickly rose to prominence in the group and organized and hosted a healing convention to take place June 11–15, 1956, in Indianapolis's [[Cadle Tabernacle]]. Needing a well-known figure to draw crowds, he arranged to share the pulpit again with Branham.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|pp=50–52}}

[[File:Rev._William_M._Branham_in_Kansas_City,_1947.jpg|thumb|right|[[William Branham]] (pictured in 1947) helped launch and popularize Jim Jones's ministry in 1956.|alt=William Branham, a middle aged man holding a bible]]

Branham was known to tell attendees their name, address, and why they came for prayer, before pronouncing them healed.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|pp=9–10}} Jones was intrigued by Branham's methods and began performing the same feats. Jones and Branham's meetings were very successful and attracted an audience of 11,000 at their first joint campaign. At the convention, Branham issued a prophetic endorsement of Jones and his ministry, saying that God used the convention to send forth a new great ministry.{{sfn|Collins|2017|pp=177–179|loc="Sharing the pulpit with Rev. Jim Jones of Peoples Temple, where [Branham] "prophesied" God's "blessing" on Jones' ministry..."}}

Many attendees believed Jones's performance indicated that he possessed a [[Spiritual gift|supernatural gift]], and coupled with Branham's endorsement, it led to rapid growth of Peoples Temple. Jones was particularly effective at recruitment among the African American attendees at the conventions.<ref>{{cite web|author=Collins, John|url=https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=61481|title=The Intersection of William Branham and Jim Jones|date=October 4, 2014|publisher=San Diego State University |website=Alternative Consideration of Jonestown and Peoples Temple}}</ref><ref name = "osojj">{{cite web|url=https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=13778|title=Ordination Service of Jim Jones into Disciples of Christ|date=February 17, 2013|access-date=November 2, 2021|publisher=San Diego State University}}</ref> According to a newspaper report, regular attendance at Peoples Temple swelled to 1,000 thanks to the publicity Branham provided to Jones and Peoples Temple.<ref>{{cite news|title=Peoples Temple Full Gospel|date=January 21, 1956|publisher=Indianapolis Star|author=Staff writers|page=7}}</ref>

Following the convention, Jones renamed his church the "Peoples Temple Christian Church Full Gospel" to associate it with [[Full Gospel]] Pentecostalism; the name was later shortened to the Peoples Temple.<ref name = "fgo"/> Jones participated in a series of multi-state revival campaigns with Branham in the second half of the 1950s. Jones claimed to be a follower and promoter of Branham's "Message" during the period.{{sfn|Collins|2017|pp=179–181}}<ref name = "tmcojjwb"/> Peoples Temple hosted a second international Pentecostal convention in 1957 which was again headlined by Branham. Through the conventions and with the support of Branham and Mattsson-Boze, Jones secured connections throughout the Latter Rain movement.<ref name="Johnstown.sdsu.edu">{{cite web |publisher=San Diego State University|url=https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=81621|access-date=February 23, 2016|title=Jim Jones and the Postwar Healing Revival|author=Collins, John|website=Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple}}</ref><ref name = "fgo"/>

Jones adopted one of the Latter Rain's key doctrines which he continued to promote for the rest of his life: the [[Manifested Sons of God]].{{sfn|Collins|2017|p=182}} William Branham and the Latter Rain movement promoted the belief that individuals could become manifestations of God with supernatural gifts and superhuman abilities. They believed that such a manifestation signaled the [[second coming of Christ]], and that the people endowed with these special gifts would usher in a [[Millennialism|millennial age]] of heaven on earth.{{sfn|Collins|2017|p=182}} Jones was fascinated with the idea, and adapted it to promote his own utopian ideas and eventually the idea that he was himself a manifestation of God.{{sfn|Collins|2017|pp=182–191}} By the late 1960s, Jones came to teach he was a manifestation of "Christ the Revolution".{{sfn|Wessinger|2000|p=33}}

Branham was a major influence on Jones who subsequently adopted elements of Branham's methods, doctrines, and style. Like Branham, Jones would later claim to be a return of [[Elijah the Prophet]], the voice of God, a manifestation of Christ, and promote the belief that the end of the world was imminent.{{sfn|Collins|2017|p=182}}<ref name = "fgo">{{cite web|url=https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=92702|publisher=San Diego State University|website=Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple|author=Collins, John|date=September 19, 2019|title=The "Full Gospel" Origins of Peoples Temple}}</ref><ref name = "tmcojjwb">{{cite web|url=https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=65112|title=The Message Connection of Jim Jones and William Branham|author1=Collins, John |author2=Duyzer, Peter|date=October 31, 2015|publisher=San Diego State University |website=Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple |access-date=September 24, 2021}}</ref> Jones learned some of his most successful recruitment tactics from Branham.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=132}} Jones eventually separated from the Latter Rain movement following a bitter disagreement with Branham in which Jones prophesied Branham's death. Their disagreement was possibly related to Branham's [[serpent seed|racial teachings]] or Branham's increasingly vocal opposition to communism.{{sfn|Collins|2017|pp=186}}

===Peace Mission Movement===
[[File:Father Divine, 1938 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|[[Father Divine]] was a major influence on Jones's ministry.|alt=Father Divine, a middle-aged African-American man.]]

Through the Latter Rain movement, Jones became aware of [[Father Divine]], an African American spiritual leader of the [[International Peace Mission movement]] who was often derided by Pentecostal ministers for his claims to divinity. In 1956, Jones made his first visit to investigate [[Father Divine]]'s Peace Mission in Philadelphia.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|pp=58–59}} Jones was careful to explain that his visit to the Peace Mission was so he could "give an authentic, unbiased, and objective statement" about its activities to his fellow Pentecostal ministers.{{sfn|Guinn|2017|p=89}}

Divine served as another important influence on the development of Jones's ministry. While publicly disavowing many of Father Divine's teachings, Jones actually began to promote Divine's teachings on communal living and gradually implemented many of the outreach practices he witnessed at the Peace Mission, including setting up a soup kitchen and providing free groceries and clothing to people in need.{{sfn|Guinn|2017|pp=89, 102, 181}}

Jones made a second visit to Father Divine in 1958 to learn more about his practices.{{sfn|Guinn|2017|pp=85–89}} Jones bragged to his congregation that he would like to be the successor of Father Divine and made many comparisons between their two ministries. Jones began progressively implementing the disciplinary practices he learned from Father Divine which increasingly took control over the lives of members of Peoples Temple.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|pp=58–59}}{{sfn|Guinn|2017|p=89}}

===Disciples of Christ===

As Jones gradually separated from Pentecostalism and the Latter Rain movement, he sought an organization that would be open to all of his beliefs. In 1960, Peoples Temple joined the [[Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)|Disciples of Christ]] denomination, whose headquarters was nearby in Indianapolis.{{sfn|Chidester|2004|p=5}} [[Archie Ijames]] assured Jones that the organization would tolerate his political beliefs,{{sfn|Chidester|2004|p=39}} and Jones was finally ordained by [[Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)|Disciples of Christ]] in 1964.

Jones was ordained as a Disciples minister at a time when the requirements for ordination varied greatly and Disciples membership was open to any church. In both 1974 and 1977 the Disciples leadership received allegations of abuse at Peoples Temple. They conducted investigations at the time, but they found no evidence of wrongdoing. Disciples of Christ found Peoples Temple to be "an exemplary Christian ministry overcoming human differences and dedicated to human services."{{sfn|Chidester|2004|p=39}} Peoples Temple contributed $1.1 million (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|1100000|1977|2020}}}} in 2020) dollars to the denomination between 1966 and 1977. Jones and Peoples Temple remained part of the Disciples until the Jonestown massacre.{{sfn|Chidester|2004|p=39}}

=== Racial integration ===
[[File:Jim Jones shakes hands with Cecil Williams - January 1977.jpg|thumb|Jones receives a [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] Humanitarian Award from [[Cecil Williams (pastor)|Pastor Cecil Williams]], 1977.|alt=Jim Jones shakes hands with Cecil Williams with a large picture of Martin Luther King Jr. in the background.]]

In 1960, [[List of mayors of Indianapolis|Indianapolis Mayor]] Charles Boswell appointed Jones director of the local [[human rights commission]].{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=68}} Jones ignored Boswell's advice to keep a low profile, however, and he used the position to secure new outlets for his views on local radio and television programs.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=68}} The mayor and other commissioners asked him to curtail his public actions, but he refused. Jones was wildly cheered at a meeting of the [[NAACP]] and the [[Urban League]] when he encouraged his audience to be more [[militant]], capping his speech with, "Let my people go!".{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=69}}

During his time as commission director, Jones helped to racially integrate churches, restaurants, the telephone company, the [[Indianapolis Police Department]], a theater, and an amusement park, and the [[Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital]].{{sfn|Wessinger|2000|p=34}} When [[swastika]]s were painted on the homes of two black families, Jones walked through the neighborhood, comforted the local black community and counseled white families not to move.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=71}}

Jones set up [[sting operation]]s in order to catch restaurants which refused to serve black customers{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=71}} and wrote to [[American Nazi Party]] leaders and passed their responses to the media.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=72}} In 1961, Jones suffered a collapse and was hospitalized. The hospital accidentally placed Jones in its black ward, and he refused to be moved; he began to make the beds and empty the [[bedpan]]s of black patients. Political pressures which resulted from Jones's actions caused hospital officials to [[Desegregation in the United States|desegregate]] the wards.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=76}}

In Indiana, Jones was criticized for his integrationist views.{{sfn|Wessinger|2000|p=34}}{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=71}} Peoples Temple became a target of white supremacists. Among several incidents, a swastika was placed on the Temple, a stick of [[dynamite]] was left in a Temple coal pile, and a dead cat was thrown at Jones's house after a threatening phone call.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=72}} Nevertheless, the publicity which was generated by Jones's activities attracted a larger congregation. By the end of 1961, Indianapolis was a far more racially integrated city, and "Jim Jones was almost entirely responsible."{{sfn|Guinn|2017|p=104}}

=== "Rainbow Family" ===

Jones and his wife adopted several non-white children. Jones referred to his household as a "rainbow family",{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=65}} and stated: "Integration is a more personal thing with me now. It's a question of my son's future."<ref name="pbs.org" /> He also portrayed the Temple as a "rainbow family". In 1954, the Joneses adopted their first child, Agnes, who was part [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]].<ref name="pbs.org" />{{sfn|Wessinger|2000|p=169}} In 1959, they adopted three [[Korean-American]] children named Lew, Stephanie, and Suzanne,<ref name="will">{{cite web|url=http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=14027 |title=The Wills of Jim Jones and Marceline Jones|website=Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple|publisher=[[San Diego State University]]|date=July 15, 2019|accessdate=April 27, 2022}}</ref> and encouraged Temple members to adopt orphans from war-ravaged Korea.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=63}} Stephanie Jones died aged 5 in a car accident in May 1959.{{sfn|Wessinger|2000|p=52}}

In June 1959, Jones and his wife had their only biological child, naming him Stephan Gandhi.{{sfn|Wessinger|2000|p=52}} In 1961, they became the first white couple in Indiana to adopt a black child, naming him Jim Jones Jr. (or James W. Jones Jr.).<ref>{{cite news|publisher= [[American Experience]] [[PBS]]|year= 2007|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/jonestown-race/|title= Race and the Peoples Temple|series=[[Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple]]|location=US|access-date=June 20, 2020}}</ref> They adopted a white son, originally named Timothy Glen Tupper (shortened to Tim), whose birth mother was a member of the Temple.<ref name="pbs.org" /> Jones fathered Jim Jon (Kimo) with Temple member [[Carolyn Moore Layton|Carolyn Layton]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/WhoDied/bio.php?Id=633|title=Jim Jon (Kimo) Prokes|publisher=San Diego State University|website=Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple}}</ref>{{sfn|Wessinger|2000|p=52}}

=== Relocating Peoples Temple ===
{{Location map many
| Brazil
| label=Belo Horizonte
| label_size=80
| position=left
| lat=-19.9 | long=-43.9
| marksize=7
| label2=Rio de Janeiro
| label2_size=80
| lat2=-22.9 | long2=-43.2
| mark2size=7
| position2=bottom
| width=220
| float=right
| caption=Jones' Brazilian locations.
}}
In 1961, Jones warned his congregation that he had received visions of a nuclear attack that would devastate Indianapolis.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=76}} His wife confided to her friends that he was becoming increasingly paranoid and fearful.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=75}} Like other followers of William Branham who moved to South America during the 1960s, Jones may have been influenced by Branham's 1961 prophecy concerning the destruction of the United States in a nuclear war.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=67352 |title= Colonia Dignidad and Jonestown |author1=Collins, John |date=October 7, 2016 |publisher=San Diego State University |access-date=August 15, 2017|website=Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple}}</ref> Jones began to look for a way to escape the destruction he believed was imminent. In January 1962 he read an ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]'' magazine article that purported South America to be the safest place to reside to escape any impending nuclear war. Jones decided to travel to South America to scout for a site to relocate Peoples Temple.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=77}}

Jones made a stop in Georgetown, Guyana on his way to Brazil. Jones held revival meetings in Guyana, which was a [[British Guiana|British colony]].{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=78}} Continuing to Brazil, Jones's family rented a modest three-bedroom home in [[Belo Horizonte]].{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|pp=76–77, 79, 81}} Jones studied the local economy and receptiveness of racial minorities to his message, but found language to be a barrier.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=81}} Careful not to portray himself as a communist, he spoke of an [[Christian communism|apostolic communal lifestyle]] rather than Marxism.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|pp=82–84}} The family moved to [[Rio de Janeiro]] in mid-1963, where they worked with the poor in the ''[[favela]]s''.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=83}}

Unable to find a location he deemed suitable for Peoples Temple, Jones became plagued by guilt for abandoning the civil rights struggle in Indiana.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=83}} During the year of his absence, regular attendance at Peoples Temple declined to less than 100.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=85}} Jones demanded the Peoples Temple send all its revenue to him in South America to support his efforts and the church went into debt to support his mission.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=91}} In late 1963, Archie Ijames sent word that the Temple was about to collapse, and threatened to resign if Jones did not soon return. Jones reluctantly returned to Indiana.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|pp=83–86}}

{{Location map many
| California
| label=Los Angeles
| label_size=100
| lat=34.045 | long=-118.281
| marksize=9
| label2=San Francisco
| label2_size=110
| lat2=37.778 | long2=-122.421
| mark2size=11
| mark2=Blue_pog.svg
| label3=Ukiah
| label3_size=100
| pos3=top
| lat3=39.152 | long3=-123.207
| mark3size=9
| label4=Bakersfield
| label4_size=80
| pos4=right
| lat4=35.368 | long4=-119.018
| mark4size=7
| label5=Fresno
| label5_size=80
| pos5=right
| lat5=36.740 | long5=-119.786
| mark5size=7
| label6=Sacramento
| label6_size=80
| pos6=right
| lat6=38.580 | long6=-121.491
| mark6size=7
| label7=Santa Rosa
| label7_size=60
| pos7=top
| lat7=38.438 | long7=-122.712
| mark7size=7
| width=220
| float=right
| caption=Peoples Temple's California locations.
}}
Jones arrived in December 1963 to find Peoples Temple bitterly divided. Financial issues and low attendance forced Jones to sell the Peoples Temple church building and relocate to a smaller building nearby.{{sfn|Guinn|2017|p=122}} To raise money, Jones briefly returned to the revival circuit, traveling and holding healing campaigns with Latter Rain groups.{{sfn|Guinn|2017|p=122}} Possibly to distract Peoples Temple members from the issues facing their group, he told his Indiana congregation that the world would be engulfed by nuclear war on July 15, 1967, leading to a new socialist [[Garden of Eden|Eden]] on Earth, and that the Temple must move to [[Northern California]] for safety.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=94}}<ref name="NYT1126">{{cite news|author=Lindsey, Robert|date= November 26, 1978|title=Jim Jones-From Poverty to Power of Life and Death|work=[[New York Times]]|pages= 1, 20}}</ref>

During 1964, Jones made multiple trips to California to find a suitable location to relocate. In July 1965, Jones and his followers began moving to their new location in [[Redwood Valley, California]], near the city of [[Ukiah, California|Ukiah]].{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=96}} Russell Winberg, Peoples Temple's assistant pastor, strongly resisted Jones's efforts to move the congregation and warned members that Jones was abandoning Christianity.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=96}} Winberg took over leadership of the Indianapolis church when Jones departed. About 140 of Jones's most loyal followers made the move to California, while the rest remained behind with Winberg.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=96}}

In California, Jones took a job as a history and government teacher at an adult education school in Ukiah.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=98}} Jones used his position to recruit for Peoples Temple, teaching his students the benefits of Marxism and lecturing on religion.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=99}} Jones planted loyal members of Peoples Temple in the classes to help him with recruitment. Jones recruited 50 new members to Peoples Temple in the first few months.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=99}} In 1967, Jones's followers coaxed another 75 members of the Indianapolis congregation to move to California.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=101}}

In 1968, the Peoples Temple's California location was admitted to the Disciples of Christ. Jones began to use the denominational connection to promote Peoples Temple as part of the 1.5 million member denomination. He played up famous members of the Disciples, including [[Lyndon Johnson]] and [[J. Edgar Hoover]], and misrepresented the nature of his position in the denomination. By 1969, Jones increased the membership in Peoples Temple in California to 300.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=126}}

===Apostolic Socialism===
Jones developed a theology influenced by the teachings of William Branham and the Latter Rain movement, Father Divine's "divine economic socialism" teachings, and infused with Jones's personal communist worldview.{{sfn|Chidester|2004|p=52}}{{sfn|Collins|2017|p=182}} Jones referred to his views as "[[Apostolic succession|Apostolic]] Socialism".{{sfn|Chidester|2004|p=60}} Jones concealed the communist aspects of his teachings until the late 1960s, following the relocation of Peoples Temple to California, where he began to gradually introduce his full beliefs to his followers.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|pp=i,97}}{{sfn|Chidester|2004|p=60}}{{sfn|Wessinger|2000|pp=32–37}}

Jones taught that "those who remained drugged with the opiate of religion had to be brought to enlightenment", which he defined as socialism.{{sfn|Layton|1998|p=53}} Jones asserted that traditional Christianity had an incorrect view of God. By the early 1970s, Jones began deriding traditional [[Christianity]] as "fly away religion", rejecting the [[Bible]] as being a tool to oppress women and non-whites.{{sfn|Wessinger|2000|p=37}} Jones referred to traditional Christianity's view of God as a "[[Sky deity|Sky God]]" who was "no God at all".{{sfn|Wessinger|2000|p=37}} Instead, Jones claimed to be God, and no God beside him.{{sfn|Chidester|2004|pp=56–57}}

Jones increasingly promoted the idea of his own divinity, going so far as to tell his congregation that "I am come as God Socialist."{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|pp=i,97}}{{sfn|Chidester|2004|p=60}} Jones carefully avoided claiming divinity outside of Peoples Temple, but he expected to be acknowledged as god-like among his followers. Former Temple member Hue Fortson Jr. quoted him as saying:

<blockquote>What you need to believe in is what you can see.... If you see me as your friend, I'll be your friend. As you see me as your father, I'll be your father, for those of you that don't have a father.... If you see me as your savior, I'll be your savior. If you see me as your God, I'll be your God.<ref name="pbs.org" /></blockquote>

Further attacking traditional Christianity, Jones authored and circulated a tract entitled "The Letter Killeth", criticizing the [[King James Version|King James Bible]], and dismissing [[James VI and I|King James]] as a slave owner and a [[capitalism|capitalist]] who was responsible for the corrupt translation of scripture. Jones claimed he was sent to share the true meaning of the gospel which had been hidden by corrupt leaders.{{sfn|Chidester|2004|pp=65–67}}<ref>{{cite web|author=Jones, Jim|url=http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=14110|title= The Letter Killeth (original material reprint)|website=Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple|publisher= San Diego State University|year=2018}}</ref>

Jones rejected even the few required tenets of the Disciples of Christ denomination. Instead of implementing the [[sacraments]] as prescribed by the Disciples, Jones followed Father Divine's [[holy communion]] practices. Jones created his own [[baptism]]al formula, baptizing his converts "in the holy name of Socialism".{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=126}}

Explaining the nature of sin, Jones stated, "If you're born in capitalist America, [[Racism in the United States|racist]] America, fascist America, then you're born in sin. But if you're born in socialism, you're not born in sin."<ref name="q1053">{{cite web|author=Jones, Jim|year= 1999|url=http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=27318|title= Q1053-4 Transcript|website=Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple|location=US|publisher=San Diego State University}}</ref> Drawing on a prophecy in the [[Book of Revelation]], he taught that American capitalist culture was irredeemable "[[Whore of Babylon|Babylon]]".{{sfn|Wessinger|2000|p=33}}{{sfn|Chidester|2004|p=59}}

Jones frequently warned his followers of an imminent apocalyptic nuclear race war. He claimed that Nazis and white supremacists would put people of color into concentration camps. Jones said he was a messiah sent to save people.{{sfn|Wessinger|2000|p=33}}{{sfn|Chidester|2004|p=59}} He taught his followers the only way to escape the supposed imminent catastrophe was to accept his teachings, and that after the apocalypse was over, they would emerge to establish a perfect communist society.{{sfn|Wessinger|2000|p=33}}{{sfn|Chidester|2004|p=59}}

Publicly, Jones took care to always couch his socialist views in religious terms, such as "apostolic social justice".{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=132}} "Living the Acts of the Apostles" was his euphemism for living a communal lifestyle.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=133}} While in the United States, Jones feared the public discovering the full extent of his communist views, which he worried would cost him the support of political leaders and risk Peoples Temple being ejected from the Disciples of Christ.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=132}} Jones feared losing the church's tax-exempt status and having to report his financial dealings to the [[Internal Revenue Service]].{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=132}}

Historians are divided over whether Jones actually believed his own teachings, or was just using them to manipulate people.{{sfn|Guinn|2017|pp=123–124}} Jeff Guinn said, "It is impossible to know whether Jones gradually came to think he was God's earthly vessel, or whether he came to that convenient conclusion to enhance his authority over his followers."{{sfn|Guinn|2017|pp=123–124}} In a 1976 interview, Jones claimed to be an [[Agnosticism|agnostic]] and/or an [[Atheism|atheist]].<ref name="jonestown.sdsu.edu">{{cite web|author=Jones, Jim|url=http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=27498|title=Transcript of Recovered FBI tape Q 622|website=Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple|publisher=San Diego State University}}</ref> Marceline stated in a 1977 ''New York Times'' interview that Jones was trying to promote Marxism in the U.S. by mobilizing people through religion. She said Jones called the Bible a "paper idol" that he wanted to destroy.<ref name="NYT1126" />

Jones taught his followers that the ends justify the means and authorized them to achieve his vision by any means necessary.{{sfn|Chidester|2004|p=61}} Outsiders would later point to this aspect of Jones's teachings to allege that he did not genuinely believe in his own teachings, but was "morally bankrupt" and only manipulating religion and other elements of society "to achieve his own selfish ends".{{sfn|Chidester|2004|p=56}}

===Early reports of abuse===
Jones began using illicit drugs after moving to California, which further heightened his paranoia.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=132}} He increasingly used fear to control and manipulate his followers. Jones frequently warned his followers that there was an enemy seeking to destroy them. The identity of that enemy changed over time from the Ku Klux Klan, to Nazis, to redneck vigilantes, and finally the American government.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=132}} He frequently prophesied that fires, car accidents, and death or injury would come upon anyone unfaithful to him and his teachings. He constantly pressed his followers to be aggressive in promoting and fulfilling his beliefs.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=132}}

Jones established a Planning Commission made up of his lieutenants to direct the Peoples Temples' communal lifestyle.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=133}} Jones, through the Planning Commission, began controlling all aspects of the lives of his followers. Members who joined Peoples Temple turned over all their assets to the church in exchange for free room and board. Members who worked outside of the Temple turned over their income to be used for the benefit of the community. Jones directed groups of his followers to work on various projects for additional income and set up an agricultural operation in [[Redwood Valley]] to grow food. Large community outreach projects were organized, and Temple members were bussed to perform work and community service across the region.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=167}}

The first known cases of serious abuse in Peoples Temple arose in California as the Planning Commission carried out discipline against members who were not fulfilling Jones's vision or following the rules.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=172}} Jones's control over the members of Peoples Temple extended to their sex lives and who could be married. Some members were coerced to get [[abortion]]s.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|pp=156–163}} Jones began to require sexual favors from the wives of some members of the church,{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=172}} and raped several male members of his congregation.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=176}}

Members who rebelled against Jones's control were punished with reduced food rations, harsher work schedules, public ridicule and humiliations, and sometimes with physical violence. As the Temple's membership grew, Jones created an armed security group to ensure order among his followers and to guarantee his own personal safety.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|pp=203–204}}

=== Focus on San Francisco ===
{{Main|Peoples Temple in San Francisco}}
[[File:Members of Peoples Temple attend an anti-eviction rally at the International Hotel, San Francisco - January 1977.jpg|thumb|Peoples Temple members attend an anti-[[eviction]] rally at the [[International Hotel (San Francisco)|International Hotel, San Francisco]], in January 1977.|alt=A smiling group of mostly African-American standing in the street in front of a building clapping their hands.]]

By the end of 1969, Peoples Temple was growing rapidly. Jones's message of economic socialism and racial equality, along with the integrated nature of Peoples Temple, proved attractive, especially to students and racial minorities.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|pp=111–114}} By 1970, the Temple opened branches in several cities including [[San Fernando, California|San Fernando]], [[San Francisco]], and [[Los Angeles]] as Jones began shifting his focus to major cities across California because of limited expansion opportunities in Ukiah. He eventually moved the Temple's headquarters to San Francisco, which was a major center for radical protest movements. By 1973, Peoples Temple reached 2,570 members,{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=126}} with 36,000 subscribers to its fundraising newsletter.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=133}}

Jones grew the Temple by purposefully targeting other churches. In 1970, Jones and 150 of his followers took a trip to San Francisco's Missionary Baptist Church. Jones held a faith healing revival meeting wherein he impressed the crowd by claiming to heal a man of cancer; his followers later admitted to helping him stage the "healing". At the end of the event, he began attacking and condemning Baptist teachings and encouraging the members to abandon their church and join him.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|pp=138–139}}

The event was successful, and Jones recruited about 200 new members for Peoples Temple.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|pp=138–139}} In a less successful attempt in 1971, Jones and a large number of his followers visited the tomb and shrine erected for Father Divine shortly after his death. Jones confronted Divine's wife and claimed to be the reincarnation of Father Divine.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=138}} At a banquet that evening, Jones's followers seized control of the event and Jones addressed Divine's followers, again claiming that he was Father Divine's successor. Divine's wife rose up and accused Jones of being the devil in disguise and demanded he leave. Jones managed to recruit only twelve followers through the event.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=140}}

Jones became active in San Francisco politics and was able to gain contact with prominent local and state politicians.<ref name=oxy>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-11 |title=The Jonestown Massacre: Everything to Know About the Deadly Cult and Its Leader |url=https://www.oxygen.com/crime-news/jonestown-massacre-date-survivors-cult-guyana-jim-jones |access-date=2024-02-20 |website=Oxygen Official Site |language=en-US}}</ref> Thanks to their growing numbers, Jones and Peoples Temple played an instrumental role in [[George Moscone]]'s election as [[Mayor of San Francisco|mayor]] in 1975. Moscone subsequently appointed Jones as the chairman of the San Francisco Housing Authority Commission.<ref name="pbs.org" />{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|pp=302–304}}<ref name = mondale>{{cite news|url= https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/650870272.html?dids=650870272:650870272&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Nov+21%2C+1978&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(1886-Current+File)&edition=&startpage=B17&desc=MONDALE%2C+CALIFANO+ALSO+LISTED|title= First Lady Among Cult's References|location= Mondale, California|newspaper= [[Los Angeles Times]]|date= November 21, 1978|access-date= July 6, 2017|archive-date= November 7, 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121107042254/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/650870272.html?dids=650870272:650870272&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Nov+21,+1978&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(1886-Current+File)&edition=&startpage=B17&desc=MONDALE,+CALIFANO+ALSO+LISTED|url-status= dead}}</ref>

Jones hosted local political figures at his San Francisco apartment for discussions.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=369}} In September 1976, [[California State Assembly|Assemblyman]] [[Willie Brown (politician)|Willie Brown]] served as [[master of ceremonies]] at a large testimonial dinner for Jones attended by [[Governor of California|Governor]] [[Jerry Brown]] and [[Lieutenant Governor of California|Lieutenant Governor]] [[Mervyn Dymally]].{{sfn|Layton|1998|p=105}} At that dinner, Willie Brown touted Jones as "what you should see every day when you look in the mirror" and said he was a combination of [[Martin Luther King Jr.]], [[Angela Davis]], [[Albert Einstein]], and Mao.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=308}} [[Harvey Milk]] spoke to audiences during political rallies held at the Temple,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,919893-1,00.html|title= Another Day of Death|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date= December 11, 1978|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080603115639/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,919893-1,00.html|access-date=June 30, 2008|archive-date= June 3, 2008}}</ref> and he wrote to Jones after one such visit:

<blockquote>Rev Jim, It may take me many a day to come back down from the high that I reach today. I found something dear today. I found a sense of being that makes up for all the hours and energy placed in a fight. I found what you wanted me to find. I shall be back. For I can never leave.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=369}}</blockquote>

Through his connections with California politicians, Jones was able to establish contacts with key national political figures.<ref name=oxy /> Jones and Moscone met privately with vice presidential candidate [[Walter Mondale]] on his campaign plane days before the [[United States presidential election, 1976|1976 election]], leading Mondale to publicly praise the Temple.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|pp=302–304}}<ref name = mondale/>
[[First Lady of the United States|First Lady]] [[Rosalynn Carter]] met with Jones on multiple occasions, corresponded with him about Cuba, and spoke with him at the grand opening of the San Francisco headquarters—where he received louder applause than she did.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|pp=302–304}}<ref>{{cite web|author=Jones, Jim. |url=http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=27588| title=Transcript of Recovered FBI tape Q 799|website=Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple|publisher= San Diego State University}}</ref><ref name="kilduff">{{cite web|author1-link=Marshall Kilduff |author1=Kilduff, Marshall |author2=Phil Tracy|date= August 1, 1977|url=https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/newWestart.pdf|title= Inside Peoples Temple|work=New West magazine|access-date=November 12, 2021}}</ref> Jones forged alliances with key columnists and others at the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' and other press outlets that gave Jones favorable press during his early years in California.{{sfn|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|pp=285, 306, 587}}