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 956
To read the Tape Transcript, click here. MP3 is available.
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FBI Catalogue: Jones speaking
Date cues on tape: (Fall 1973) Reference to assassination of Chilean
president Salvador Allende in September
People named:
People in attendance at Peoples Temple service
Public figures/National and international names:
Miscellaneous people mentioned:
Bible verses cited:
"Jesus said he was tempted in all points" (Hebrews 4:15, "For we have not an
high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but
was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.")
"Anything that is not of faith is sin." (Romans 14:23, "...for whatsoever is
not of faith is sin.")
"Him that knoweth to do right, and doeth it not, it is sin." (James 4:17,
"Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.")
"He said, the captain of our salvation made what? Perfect. Through what? Suffering."
(Hebrews 2:10, "For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are
all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation
perfect through sufferings.")
"Who is like unto God, our God who dwelleth on high? Who humbled himself to
behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth? He that raises up the
poor out of the dust and lifteth the needy out of the shithill." (Psalms 113:5-7,
"Who is like unto God, our God who dwelleth on high? Who humbled himself to
behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth? He that raises up the
poor out of the dust and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill.")
"When [Paul] looked out at the false churches and false religions, all of his
old formalities, and all the institutional upbringing that he had, he said,
I count it all dung." (Philippians 3:8, "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.")
"Romans 13:1 says all power that be, all powers, not power, powers, plural,
all powers that be are ordained of God. And there is no power but of God." (Romans
13:1, "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power
but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.")
"God said, let us make man in our likeness." (Gen. 1:26, "And God said, Let
us make man in our image, after our likeness")
Summary:
This service in which Jim Jones speaks to the members of Peoples Temple in
Los Angeles during the fall of 1973 includes most of the elements of a Jones
address: reflections on his healing and miracle powers, the health and social
benefits of belonging to Peoples Temple, the social gospel mixed with political
commentary, the use of the Bible to discredit the veracity of the Bible, snippets
of an autobiography, and thundering castigation of people who disagree with
him.
The tape begins in mid-sentence with the testimonial of a man, later identified
as Bishop Crane, a man the support of whom Jones will refer back to in sermons
to come in the years ahead. The man praises the works of Jim Jones and the beauties
of Redwood Valley, and thanks both God and Jim Jones for his recovery.
Jones follows the testimonial with a summary of some of his recent healings,
including three or four women of breast cancer, others of crippling diseases,
and still others raised from the dead. His tone is warm and inviting.
Jones also praises God and Jesus, calling upon "Mighty God," and reflecting
on the "goodness of our Jesus." There are also several songs during the service
in which the congregation praises both God and Jim Jones.
Jones starts his free-form address to the congregation by describing the Temple
facilities in Redwood Valley as a place where people can go and live in peace.
He points out that the Temple is self-sufficient, that it's all paid for and -- by the way -- there's not a "honky dollar" in there. Even as he describes his
own healings, he talks about the health care advice that he insists people follow,
and speaks glowingly of the nurses on the Temple staff.
The mixture of faith-healing and health care returns later in the service.
He says no one among his followers in Redwood Valley has died since 1959, but,
he adds, he wants to keep that record intact. To do so, people need to keep
their weight down and watch their diets. They also need to leave abusive relationships
that might bring them to harm.
But the ultimate protection is him, as he repeats towards the
end of the service: "Now thus far, I have not lost one person ever who's listened
to me. Never lost one." There are a few former members of the Temple who died,
but they were people who fell away. For those who truly follow, Jones says,
he can pass his healing powers to them through the revelation of his mind, to
allow them to conduct a healing, even if that person didn't know what he was
doing at the time.
Peoples Temple really offers a heaven on earth, he says, and it's better than
an imaginary heaven you might believe in. He recognizes the split allegiance
his listeners might have, and says, "There's a song we sing, when I think of
the goodness of Father, or Jesus, wherever you may be in consciousness." He
then adds where the faithful come down: "Or if it's where it really is, like
Sister Smith said, swear Jim."
It is a theme he returns to later in the service, when he says that trying
to compare Peoples Temple to the imaginary heaven is "not fair," especially
since "you've never seen the imaginary heaven." A better comparison, he says,
would be to the competition. "I just want you to compare us to other churches.
I want you to compare me to other churches." Both times that he reflects upon
his church in this way, he wonders why anyone would want to destroy them.
Jones denies the perfection of Jesus, and uses the Bible to support his case.
"[You] say, Jesus never made a mistake. Oh yes, he did. He was made perfect.
He learned obedience through the death of the cross. So he couldn't have been
perfect, if he learned... You don't make something perfect, unless it's imperfect."
He also says that Jesus lived with Mary and Martha, and so knew what "mortal
relationships" were. "I know all about temptation. And I know all about trials.
And I know that Jesus went through everything... He even went through sex... [You]
Say, how do you know? I'll give you three guesses."
He speaks about his past, as he brings up the subject of saving some Latvian
people, giving them homes, after World War II. He adds that his work in civil
rights brought him to the attention of Joseph McCarthy, who was after him. Then
he hearkens back to things he did before Truman and before Roosevelt. "I've
been around longer than some of you seem to think... I been around as far back
as you want to go, if you actually want to go back to infinite principle." Towards
the end of the service, he adds another piece of biographical information, saying,
"I'm a high school principal, I've been a school teacher."
Jones insists on preaching and teaching that night, instead of going right
to the healings. In a familiar vein, he says people have to have his sayings
in their hearts before they can be healed. As for people who don't like his
rhetoric -- including his cussing -- he asks why they are there, if their own
churches were meeting their needs.
He returns to this theme -- as he did in other sermons and addresses -- late
in the service, with similar words: "If you don't like the God that speaks about
dunghills and shit heaps and asses, then you don't like the God that healed
all those women last night of breast cancer. You can't separate one from the
other, because I'm the same today, yesterday, and forever."
As for people who look down their noses at the Temple and its members, he warns,
"Unless you get nasty again down there, and I'll get just as mean as you can
get... I'll fight for my children. If you want to be sweet, I can give you all
the love and sweetness in the life. Every dream you've ever dreamed, I can fulfill.
But if you want to meet me on the carnal level, I can whip hell out of you."
Towards the end of the service, he returns to the theme of how his followers
can save themselves. Keep the weight down and follow a sensible diet. Follow
his sayings. And make 20 calls a day on behalf of the church.
Throughout the service, he tries to balance people's beliefs in God against
their beliefs in him, but he comes closest to his own oft-repeated view in the
closing words of the tape. "I did not claim to be your stupid Skygod. I claim
to be the only God there is... So don't compare me to your myths. But you [can]
compare me to otherchurches."
FBI Summary:
Date of transcription: 7/2/79
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 22, 1979, Special Agent (name deleted) reviewed the tape numbered 1B110-7R20.
This tape was found to contain the following:
A recording of JIM JONES lecturing on his healing powers and some performances
by the people of PT.
Differences with FBI Summary:
The summary is accurate, as minimal as it is, and meets the FBI's purposes.