Jim Jones was born on May 13, 1931 in Crete, Indiana. As a child into his young adult years, Jones attended church regularly. He graduated from high school early at age 17 in 1948 with honors and later attended Butler University in Indiana, graduating in 1961. Jones married his wife Marceline at the age of 18 in Indiana. Together, they had a son of their own and adopted 6 children from Korean-American, African-American and Native-American descent, creating a multi-racial "rainbow" family. Jones had one more biological son, Jim Jon Prokes, who's mother, Carolyn Moore, was a member of the Peoples Temple. A few survivors of the massacre claim that Jones was living a superficial life and adopting children of other races and supporting his community promoted his heroic image. Specifically, his son Jim Jones Jr. was a survivor of the events and recalls Jones referring to him as "his African-American son," not just his son.
Peoples Temple BackgroundBetween the end of his high school career and graduating from college, Jones joined the ministry, establishing a church in 1955 which eventually became known as the People's Temple. The church gained followers in Indiana and then, when Jones relocated to California, the temple's followers grew by thousands. In California, Jones was noted for his selflessness and concern to support his community. He set up senior citizen homes, daycare centers, housing for the homeless, provided meals for those that couldn't afford food, set up a rehabilitation center for drug addicts, started a medical clinic, and most importantly, strongly encouraged racial integration- which was rare for the time period. His followers knew Jones to be a "charismatic churchman" that made everyone feel as though they had a place in life, according to a few past members. However, as time went on, Jones became obsessed with the exercise of power. He began facing serious allegations, the biggest one being that he was illegally diverting the income of cult members to his house.
In 1977, Jones convinced around 1,000 people to come with him to Guyana, promising them "a utopia in the jungles of South America." When Jones and his followers arrived to the agricultural commune in Guyana, Jones confiscated passports and million of dollars from his followers. He then began manipulating the same people into doing exactly what he wanted through "threats of blackmail, beatings, and probable death." Within about a year of arriving in South America, the promised "utopia" ended with the infamous death of hundreds of innocent people. |