The infamous American cult ,People's Temple, was founded by Jim Jones and is headquartered in northern Guyana, South America. In 1977, Jones, in order to further consolidate his power and establish his own so-called "religious empire", began to spread rumors that "the world will become more and more complex and terrifying". He then led the believers to move to South America, which eventually led to the "Jonestown Massacre"—a mass suicide of more than 900 believers.
According to Yahoo News, the "People's Temple" is also widely regarded as one of the most terrifying and terrifying of all the cults in the world.
Hundreds of People's Templars were killed in a mass suicide in Jonestown. Source: Yahoo News
North Guiana, South America, is filled with stuffy air and raging mosquitoes. The headquarters of the "People's Temple" is located here, and the atmosphere of despair is mixed in the base. The teachings of the "People's Temple" were played over and over again in loudspeakers, and what awaited these believers was endless labor and prayer.
Here, believers have nowhere to escape. Those who had escaped, without exception, were all arrested and punished, in addition to being beaten and beaten. Any private interaction without Jones' consent is not allowed, and believers are expected to worship Jim Jones infinitely, be loyal, and obey him infinitely.
Jim Jones with admirers Source: Yahoo News
It's hard to imagine how Jim Jones could have grown up to be such a demon.
As a young man, Jones was reportedly a devout preacher who once imported pearl monkeys from India for sale as pets, going door-to-door to sell money to raise money to build churches. Over the next decade, he also opened porridge houses and employment agencies for the poor, helped people quit drinking and drugs, opened homes for the elderly, actively campaigned against apartheid in Indiana, and was appointed chairman of the Human Rights Committee by the mayor of Indianapolis.
But it was at this stage that some of his actions gradually moved in another direction.
Jones began using faith therapy, the so-called "faith in Jim Jones, which heals itself without medicine." ”
Jones reportedly "randomly" selected a person at the rally, diagnosed it as a believer with a "malignant tumor," and then magically pulled the tumor out of his body on the spot and displayed it in front of everyone.
It wasn't really a tumor, of course, but the guts of his chicken hidden in the sleeve of his gorgeous robe.
Jim Jones with Devout Admirers Source: Yahoo News
Another odd remark by Jim Jones is to tell his followers that he is the only true heterosexual on earth and prove it by having sex with many women who are not his wives.
If the first two points are just deceptive tricks and bizarre remarks, then jim Jones's approach is chilling, and he likes to test the loyalty of believers with poison.
Jim Jones calls himself the only heterosexual in the world Source: Yahoo News
Journalist Tim Reitman wrote in his book The Untold Story of Jim Jones and the People's Templar that in Jonestown, Jim Jones liked to hold a drill called "White Nights."
The so-called "white night" is a simulated rehearsal of mass suicide. Everyone, including children, was asked to line up, and each person was given a glass of red liquid. Believers were told that the liquid was poisonous and would die within 45 minutes of drinking it. The believers did it one by one, but when the time came, the believers were supposed to die, and Jones would stand up and triumphantly say that there was no poison in the liquid, and that it was only to test the loyalty of the believers. However, Jones will also warn them that in the near future, they may still be able to end their lives with their own hands at any time.
According to Yahoo News, Jim Jones himself was addicted to drugs, which also caused his personality to be paranoid, and he also spread this paranoia to his followers, making them believe that he would eventually change the world.
Hundreds of people were killed in Jonestown, and their families were devastated. Source: The Associated Press
After listening to the concerns of the families of Jonestown followers, in November 1978, Democratic Rep. Ryan decided to travel to Guyana to investigate, along with his staff and a handful of journalists.
Ryan's arrival caused some Jonestown believers to shake their faith a little, and they approached Ryan and asked if they could take his plane and return to the United States together.
This, of course, infuriated the paranoid Jones, who was seemingly silent, but just as a crowd of passengers boarded the plane, his men suddenly shot at the passengers, and Ryan and several of the believers died instantly.
Subsequently, Jones, who had lost his mind, ordered all the believers to drink the poison together. And this time, the cup was indeed filled with poison.
A large vat of the mixture was dragged out, filled with tranquilizers and cyanide, mixed with grape-flavored juice. Jim Jones gave his final speech, promising everyone that if they didn't commit suicide, the Guyana government and the CIA would send large troops over and kill them.
Jim Jones eventually led to a mass suicide in Jonestown, where more than 900 people were killed. Source: Yahoo News
In fact, the Government of Guyana and the CIA are not near Jonestown at all, but believers have become accustomed to obeying Jim Jones's words and never questioning it, and almost everyone — including children, adults, and the elderly — has drunk poison.
A believer's tape recorder recorded this horrific process: Jones's desperate speech, the crazy cries of some believers, the cries of mothers pleading for their children, the songs and groans of praise that weakened as the believers became poisoned, and finally died.
More than 200 children were killed in this tragedy, and when the Guinese army arrived, more than 900 bodies lay quietly there, a real purgatory on earth.
According to Yahoo News, Jonestown, one of the worst mass killings in U.S. history, has also become synonymous with horrific events. If Jim Jones has anything to contribute to the world, it is to make people all over the world realize how terrible a cult can make an ordinary person into, and how much influence a cult has on ordinary people.
Do not join a cult, this is the exhortation of countless people to exchange their blood and lives for it.