Jonestown Audiotape
Primary Project : Summaries
Summary prepared by Fielding M. McGehee, III. If you
use this material, please credit The Jonestown Institute. Thank you.
Tape Number : Q 1059 (Part 3 of 6)
To read the Tape Transcript, click
here. To listen to MP3, click here.
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FBI Catalogue: Jim Jones speaking
Date cues on tape: (Part 3) June 12, 1972 ("The Supreme Court ... upheld
that law today, that you can segregate any place you want to, as long as you
call it a fraternity. Six to three.")
(Part 4) October 20, 1973 (Watergate's "Saturday Night Massacre"). See continuation
of tape of Q 1059 (4) for specific mention
People named:
People in attendance at Peoples Temple service (Part 2)
Public figures/National and international names: (Part 2)
Other names cited by Jones (Part 2)
Public figures/National and international names: (Part 3)
Other names cited by Jones (Part 3)
People in attendance at Peoples Temple service, called out for healing (Part
3)
People in attendance at Peoples Temple service (Part 4)
Bible verses cited: (Part 2)
Christ said, Be ye perfect. (Matthew 5:48, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as
your Father which is in heaven is perfect.")
Churches don't believe that Bible, Ocause they let the women talk, Ocause if
the women didn't talk, there wouldn't be no churches." (1 Corinthians 14:34,
"Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them
to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.")
"How can you hear without a preacher, how can he preach lest he be sent, faith
cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. And what is the Word of God?
Hebrews 4:12 discerns the thoughts, knows the intents of the mind." (Romans
10:15, "And how shall they preach, except they be sent?"; Romans 10:17, "So
then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."; Hebrews 4:12,
"For the word of God is quick, and powerful... and is a discerner of the thoughts
and intents of the heart.")
I'm looking for some people to get hold of the Truth. It's the Truth that'll
set you free. (John 8:32, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall
make you free.")
Hebrews 6 says, leave the doctrines of baptisms, resurrection of the dead,
eternal judgment -- that means hell and heaven -- laying on of hands, and what
does it say? Go on to perfection. And what's perfection? A society that controls
its production (Hebrews 6:1-3, "Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine
of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of
repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms,
and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
And this will we do, if God permit.")
Kingdom of Heaven's within, you don't have to pray to get it inside you. (Luke
17:21, "Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom
of God is within you.")
He that winneth souls is wise. He becomes all things to all men, that by any
means, he might save the more. (Proverbs 11:30, "The fruit of the righteous
is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise"; 1 Corinthians 9:22, "I
am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.")
Bible verses cited: (Part 3)
Because I am the Word. I know the intents of the mind, and discern the thoughts.
(Hebrews 4:12, "For the word of God is quick, and powerful... and is a discerner
of the thoughts and intents of the heart.")
It's the spirits of Acts 2:48. From each according to their ability, to each according to his need. (Citation is in error, as there is no Act 2:48. Possible references include Acts 11:29, "Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea"; and Matthew 25:15,
"And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to
every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey."
Ends of 2 Chapter of Acts fits general teaching: Acts 2: 44-45, "And all that
believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions
and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.")
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8).
Bible verses cited: (Part 4)
God is the author of all good things. The Bible said, the devil cannot heal.
(Matt. 12:25-28)
When you say there were Scriptures said there of lying signs and wonders, well,
signs is not miracles. That doesn't have a thing to do with miracles of healing.
(2 Thessalonians 2:9-12)
Paul cussed. He said I count it all dung. (Philippians 3:8, "Yea doubtless,
and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ
Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count
them but dung, that I may win Christ.")
Solomon talked about a dunghill. (Reference unclear)
Summary:
This tapes consists of three segments, labeled Parts 2 through 4, since the
first part is a continuation of Part 2 from the previous tape, Q 1059 (2). Similarly,
Part 4 continues on to the next tape, Q 1059 (4).
There is one indicator that Part 3 was recorded soon after Part 2, and perhaps
even later in the same service, as there is a reference in each to a boy with
a heart condition that the Temple is working to help. However, it may also be
true that Part 4 may have been recorded later the same day as Part 3, since
the recording conditions are similar and Jones' voice is about the same, following
a 30-second space of dead air, but that is not certain. What cannot be true
is that they were all recorded the same day, since the two specific time references
are 16 months apart.
The sermons follow many of the familiar themes of Jones' other speeches and
addresses from this period: he speaks of the miracles, wonders and healings
he has performed, even as he urges his parishioners to see the Temple's nursing
staff for additional assistance; he quotes the Bible to demonstrate the holiness
he has, even as he disputes the existence of the God of the Bible; he calls
himself God, yet he also calls everyone gods, and just as often refers to the
true God as Socialism; he preaches the social gospel of the Bible, then shows
how Peoples Temple is the only organization that practices it; he speaks of
loving his enemies, and castigates those in the audience who would question
even one aspect of his ministry.
The tape begins where Q 1059 (2) leave off, and opens with a recitation of
the people Jim Jones has saved through prophecy, and through the works of Peoples
Temple. He has turned murderers and drug pushers into decent citizens. He has
opened the Redwood Valley and its facilities to let blacks have freedom, to
allow older people stay in their own homes rather than being put in some "cold,
impersonal" nursing home, and to let young people have the communes they want.
Later, he reminds the congregation that the folks of Peoples Temple are good.
The ones that join the Temple stay out of trouble, and those born into the church
never get in trouble. "That's quite a record," he says. "If I'm so bad, why
is it my kids are so darn good?"
With their numbers, Jones adds, they have political power, and they will use
it. Even though Redwood Valley used to be a racist town, now when someone gets
in trouble, the police call Jim Jones, as happened recently when two black strangers
had been picked up. "They'd violated some law, but they hadn't violated a law
significant enough to cause them to risk the wrath of Peoples Temple." Indeed,
in the course of educating the police about race relations and civil rights,
Temple members had become friends with the police and other segments of the
power structure. The registrar of voters was part of the congregation -- and
if people weren't registered, they should be -- as were different district attorneys.
"If it wasn't for Jim Jones, his nursing staff, the lawyers, people in the district
attorney, people in the welfare, you'd have the shaft every time you turned
around. That's why I want to get you up here."
In the next breath, he adds the more political message: "You can't afford to
stay away from this valley. It's this valley that'll give you safety. It's this
valley that'll be safe when the apocalypse comes."
In the midst of Jones' listing of benefits of being part of Peoples Temple,
he drops in other claims as well: Early in the tape, he speaks of walking with
people down by the streams, "where I caused the crickets and frogs to sing on
command." Later, when speaking of the things he can teach, he says, "I've turned
water into wine. I've stopped the rain from falling. The flies leave us alone.
And I was out there, the sun was baking down on us, our last banquet, I said,
well, it's too hot for those older people, and clouds come up."
After this second set of claims, Jones observes that people are leaving the
service, and says they ought to be ashamed of themselves. He noted earlier in
the service that some people -- presumably the same ones -- are getting "uncomfortable,"
because he uses the word "nigger" a lot. But, he says, those people don't know
they're niggers too, people Jones defines as anyone who is oppressed or the
victim of social or political inequity, including whites. "The one place I know
that you haven't been smiling is when I say Onigger,' and I'm gone keep saying
Onigger' till you have to swallow." Then he adds, "I don't use that word outside.
We're talking Obout being us niggers inside, but you call us niggers outside,
and we'll run over you."
In talking about the difference between the mainline churches and Peoples Temple
-- or about people who invoke prayer to try to bring benefits to their lives
-- Jones speaks of a woman with a child who needs hospital care. The woman had
asked Jones to pray for her. No, he replied, "you gotta put legs on your prayers,
and hands on your prayers." Give us the name and address of your doctor, he
advises, and we'll get some letters into him. "I guarantee you, within the sight
of two weeks, he'll have your son scheduled for surgery."
On a more political note, he talks about the existing plans to kill blacks,
and says that the only reason he's still alive is that he's a little light-skinned,
and "if you kill a light-complected person, you're in trouble." That has rebounded
to Peoples Temple's benefit, though, because he's the best freedom fighter of
anyone he knows.
He adds that he's a better preacher, too, if not in eloquence, then certainly
in putting the church's money where his mouth is.
Jones begins to tear apart the rituals of religion, beginning with baptism.
"I baptize you because you're still ritualistic... [But] water don't save you.
Water won't give you freedom, water not gone take care of your problems." Then
why does he do it, he asks rhetorically. "He says a baptism not necessary, and
yet he's gone baptize. OCause it's evolution. It's what you need. If you need
a sucker, we'll give you a sucker. If you need a nipple, we give you a nipple...
When you're able to take beef steak, we'll put the beef steak in front of your
plate."
Baptism by water is part of white religion, he continues, to keep you waiting
for heaven in the sky, while you suffer here on earth. "We been out there, foolin'
around with water, and foolin' around with these hijacking preachers, and foolin'
around with our prayer bones when we oughta been on our feet, puttin' our hands
together and uniting against injustice."
Once you've been touched by him, Jones says, you'll become sympathetic to socialism,
and that will allow you to master death. Indeed, socialism is what the Bible
means when it speaks of perfection. The perfect society, God's society, is a
socialist society.
Even though Jones describes himself as a superman, he goes into a familiar
recitation about his lifestyle as being without new cars, new furniture, even
new shoes. Equally familiar to the congregation, he then lets them know that
this uncommon preacher who cusses and talks about niggers is the same man who
cures cancers and raises people from the dead.
Part 3 begins in the midst of a healing service, as Jones tells of details
in a woman's life that he has discerned. "Because I am the Word. I know the
intents of the mind, and discern the thoughts. I am God." By showing that he
knows her life, he can assure her he knows about her illness, which gives her
faith in his cure. Afterwards, he sends her to the nurses for further instructions.
Finally, he invites her to join the church. "I'm gonna bless your mind abundantly,
if you'll keep trusting in me... I will give you the desires of your heart, if
you will walk with me. And if you will do what I say, I will bring you into
immortality."
During another healing, he talks about the things he can do now that he couldn't
do -- and that he wished he had been able to do -- when his grandfather was alive."I
quit praying and I started being God."
He is meeting resistance during the service, he says, from people who want
to prove he's not God, and the extra energy he needs to overcome their resistance
is getting in the way of his discernments and cures. But, he says, he has to
do the cures, because they won't get them in a capitalist society. They're poor,
so they won't have any kind of priority for a dialysis machine.
He asks people to pick up the Temple's magazine, and to pay what they can for
them. If they can't pay anything, the magazines are free. But if they do have
the ability to pay, and don't, then the magazines will "burn your hands and
become a curse to you." Jones repeats the warning about paying for services
that they can afford, when he speaks of the buses getting people back and forth
to church meetings. "We just say, ride [the buses] as long as you don't have
money. But if you have, and cheat us, you're liable not to wake up in the morning."
In speaking about where the money from Temple offerings go, Jones asks members
of the congregation for other, more material things. He needs two twin beds,
plus rugs, for some of the seniors. Some rooms are undergoing remodeling or
additions, and they need some volunteer labor. Plus, he reminds them, a young
boy needs a heart transplant, so they need to get some letters in to the doctor.
At the end of the segment, Jones speaks about the church's business while other
people mill around, heading for dinner or for the buses. He reminds people not
to drink or smoke on the Temple premises, even when they're outside, and to
be respectful of their neighbors. He cautions people to be careful when they
drive. Then he follows with a dire warnings of what will happen to them if they
don't follow his instructions.
Part 4 opens with a lengthy, sometimes angry attack against an unnamed
person in attendance that night who voiced criticism in his or her own mind
about the way Jim Jones raised money for the church. "That's an awful reason
to die," he says. By that, he means that he can't heal that person. "I can do
nothing for you, because it's said that your channel is stopped," he says. "We
can be friends, that can function very well, but you will never be saved." He
compares the plight of the unnamed person to two women who had miraculous healings,
because they didn't criticize their leader.
Jones returns to the subject later in the address, when he says that the person
came a great distance to get healed, "but you think you know more about taking
up money than I do." As he reprimands the unnamed party, he notices others who
aren't applauding. "It's good that some of you don't clap, Ocause you know you're
guilty as hell." He attacks other hypocrites in the audience as well, saying
that one woman who disapproves of his cussing had that very morning "called
your husband a son-of-a-bitch... I said, you have a lot of nerve, woman."
On the subject of cussing, Jones goes back to familiar territory on the use
of bad words -- especially "dung" -- in the Bible.
He speaks of the sacrifices his members have made for his church, and he includes
himself in that number. He talks about holding on to few earthly possessions,
and the minimal amount of clothing that he has. The church has saved only a
few articles of clothing to be "cut up for healing purposes."
This tape continues on Q 1059 (Part 4).
FBI Summary:
#Q 1059-3 -- Jones Speaking
Date of transcription: 6/21/79
In connection with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's 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.
On June 16, 1979, Special Agent (name deleted) reviewed the tape numbered 1B108-38.
This tape was found to contain the following:
JIM JONES delivering a talk on social injustice in the United States. This
tape was recorded in 1972 in Redwood Valley.
This is followed by JONES calling people out and performing healing "miracles."
Differences with FBI Summary:
The summary is accurate -- in the minimal information it gives -- and meets the
FBI's purposes.