Everhart 1

Rachael Everhart
Ms. Blandford
UWRT 1103-008
1 November 2015
Annotated Bibliography
"Chapter 4: DOOMSDAY CULTS." Prophecies & End-Time Speculations: The Shape of
Things to Come. 44. n.p.: Mason Crest Publishers, 2005. Points of View Reference
Center. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.
This article outlines three of the most massive Doomsday Cults of all time, the Peoples
Temple, Heavens Gate, and the Branch Davidians. Ultimately, the author sets out to outline the
three mass suicide events, give background to the cults themselves, and draw educated, accurate
conclusions as to how a religious movement gradually advances into a dangerous cult. Jim Jones
started off with beliefs in the Christian faith and socialism. As time progressed, he began to take
advantage of his members loyalty by taking money from them, falsifying himself as a healer and
prophet, moving more into the prophecies of the Bible rather than its Christian teachings. He
ended up using the fulfillment of prophecies and predictions of such to control and abuse his
followers, and the cult ended in mass suicide. The Branch Davidians leader, David Koresh, had
a troubled upbringing, but found solace in churches that unfortunately did not accept him. He
used his religious talents to lead the cult of Branch Davidians, and claimed he was a prophet.
The mishaps in the cult, including several FBI raids, were explained as prophetic occurrences.
Eventually, Koresh got his cult to fulfill a final prophecy, in which they burned themselves alive
to destroy the enemies of Christ. Heavens Gate, the final mass suicide cult, focused on
prophecies within the Bible, along with science fiction. Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie

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Nettles, the leaders, renamed themselves as Ti and Do and explained that aliens who had
possessed Jesus Christ would eventually come and take their cult members to The Evolutionary
Level Above Human (TELAH). When a comet came to Earth, they believed it to be the aliens,
and their members drank vodka laced with phenobarbital to commit themselves to TELAH. In
essence, all of these cults played on the prophetic, revelation aspects of the Bible, rather than the
spiritual teachings, so that the radical occurrences within the cult can be explained and made to
seem legitimate, as such prophecies are defined in the eye of the beholder, and can be twisted
and explained in a way that makes somewhat sense.
This article delved deeper into the cult mentality and the way the leaders draw in their
followers, which helps to answer my essential questions. The author focused on the prophetic
aspect of the Christian religion, which is something I have very little knowledge of. They
compared the various mass suicide cults and were able to distinguish the commonality of
prophetic teachings, and made analogies between prophecies and psychological inkblots, which
allowed me to understand the subjectivity of them. Such subjectivity makes leading a cult much
easier, as the leader can interpret prophecies in any way he/she would like, and the followers
cannot really question it, as there is no clear cut explanation of the prophecies. In addition to the
conclusions the author drew, the brief summaries of each cult helped provide me with a more
concise understanding of each ones beliefs and fate. Overall, it was a very strong source that
will contribute greatly to my paper.
This source is credible because it was obtained from the Points of View Reference Center
database within the Atkins Library.
Levy, Steven, and Katie Hafner. "Blaming The Web. (Cover Story)." Newsweek 129.14
(1997): 46. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 1 Nov. 2015.

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This article took an informative approach not about the mass suicide cults themselves, but
about how mediums of communication, like the internet, played a role in their recruitment
process. Heavens Gate, which was the most modern of the cults I am focusing on, used various
types of media to gain followers. They started off buying ads in widely read newspapers, like
USA Today, and then moved into radio and television appearances. In addition to their
multimedia presence, they also made sure to travel across the globe, holding lectures, meetings,
and seminars about their ideology. Eventually, people in the cult developed the ability of
creating and publishing their own high quality websites. Essentially, they were web-masters
with a solid business, who in their free-time, operated a website for their own cult. Although
most people capable of surfing the web didnt give the Heavens Gate website any attention,
some people inevitably did, like Yvonne McCurdy-Hill, who read the site and let her children
join the movement.
One of the questions I wanted to gather a little research on was what role media played in
cults, and this source did a good job of covering the basics of that with Heavens Gate. Since
Jonestown took place in earlier times, things like the internet and the radio werent very widely
used. Essentially, the leaders of Heavens Gate had great skills of persuasion that made their live
appearances and seminars effective in recruiting followers. When it came to their website, they
used very similar techniques, and also wrote things as headings to appeal to the weaknesses
within people. For example, putting a subtitle on the site referring to Do as the father you
never had would appeal to a large mass of the fatherless public who have wanted nothing more
than a dependable father figure. The creators of Heavens Gate were obviously very with the
times and wanted to use every possible resource they had, as they literally had some of their
devoted members trained as web-masters to create a legitimate-looking webpage.

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This source is credible because it is from the Points of View Reference Center database in
the Atkins Library.
Russell, George. "The Left's Great Crime." Commentary 133.1 (2012): 38. Points of View
Reference Center. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.
Essentially, The Lefts Great Crime outlined the events of the mass suicide committed
by the Peoples Temple cult in Jonestown, Guyana. The pastor of this cult, Jim Jones, drove his
followers to drink cyanide-laced Kool-Aid to ignite a revolution against the world which he
deemed inhumane. Despite the unanimous declaration of the Jonestown event as a mass
suicide, it was found that many victims were either too young to have poisoned themselves or
their corpses were covered in puncture wounds, indicating an involuntary death in both cases.
Whether the members of the Peoples Temple wanted to join Jones in his supposed revolution or
not, they didnt really have a choice. Jones led his cult with a communist mentality, and valued
his idea of some kind of cosmic revolution against mankind over the teachings of the Bible.
Despite his snubbing of biblical text, he claimed that he was chosen to be God. Although Jones
was a sexual predator, drug addict, and somewhat of an outcast, his charismatic preaching
abilities expanded his temples across the globe. His charisma stemmed from his ability to
provide people with social justice, social services, and a healing sense of purpose and in turn,
they would devote themselves to him entirely. He preyed on the unfortunate, ranging from those
in poverty to those that were depressed, because they desperately needed what he had to offer.
Those who broke Jones strict cult rules or showed questionable loyalty were publicly ostracized,
and members felt like they were trapped. As time progressed, however, Jones was backed into a
corner because leaked information would get out and consequently, things would turn sour for

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him. His inability to control the information output within the cult led to its demise, the forced
suicide.
I found this article to be a very strong source for my paper, as it provided a lot of insight
into Jones life and how he became such a powerful and persuasive leader. Additionally, it
provided a lot of cause and effect, outlining the events the cult underwent leading to the mass
murder, and explaining how it contributed to that murder. A main question I plan to address is
why cult members are so dangerously devout, and this article had a lot of answers to that
question. It explained why the members joined, what beliefs they had as part of the cult, and
why they remained in it, despite the corruption. As foreign as the concept of joining such a
radical cult seemed to me, I was able to identify with the members. Jones would find them when
they were at rock bottom and offer them what they needed most, they continue to toy with their
allegiance until they ultimately gave themselves to him. Much of the information I obtained in
this article will be useful in my paper, as it corresponds directly to my main questions.
This article is a reputable source because it was obtained from the Points of View
Reference Center database in the Atkins Library.
Steiger, Brad, and Sherry Steiger. "Heaven's Gate." Conspiracies & Secret Societies (2006):
176. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.
This article, although shorter than the previous two, focused on the infamous Heavens
Gate cult and mass suicide incident. This article had noted Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie
Nettles referring to themselves as Bo and Peep, rather than Ti and Do. These two leaders began
to draw in followers using teachings about UFOs, which drew UFO enthusiast and researchers
into their cult. Both of these individuals were very well educated people with strong resumes,
but they teamed up through spiritual guidance and began to develop a religion that combined

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UFOlogy and apocalyptic Christianity, which was much like the prophetic teachings of other
mass suicide cults. In relation to the prophecies and revelations of the Bible, Bo and Peep said
that they were mentioned in the book of Revelation, and had come to help their followers reach
their full human potential. In order to achieve such potential, Bo and Peep and their followers
set out on a nomadic journey, and were only allowed a few specific possessions. Many wealthy
and educated people dropped everything to partake in this radical journey. Since Bo and Peep
failed to reincarnate themselves on several occasions, they lost many followers along the
journey. Towards the end of it, however, the Hale-Bopp comet approached, and Bo and Peep
encouraged their followers to die in its presence to move on to the next level of human existence.
Consequently, all 38 remaining members committed suicide, as did Applewhite and Nettles.
In brief, this article provided a more detailed summary of the Heavens Gate cult, which
was what I needed, as it is one of the main cults I am focusing my paper on. Applewhite and
Nettles were very vividly described with great detail, as the article listed their upbringings,
education, prior careers, and religious backgrounds. Also, a lot of very wealthy, successful
people left their whole lives behind to join Bo and Peep on their religious journey, which was
different from the poor, damaged people that Jones recruited into the Peoples Temple. To me,
this meant that the beliefs Bo and Peep had were very believable and communicated
persuasively, and the article did a good job of explaining their scientific and futuristic ideals that
probably led people to believe that they were making advances beyond their time. I believe that
this piece will also be crucial to composing my final paper.
This source is credible because it was found in the Points of View Reference Center
database in the Atkins Library.

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Stoen, Tim. "'The Most Horrible Night Of My Life.' (Cover Story)." Newsweek 129.14
(1997): 44. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 1 Nov. 2015.
The Most Horrible Night Of My Life by Tim Stoen was a first-hand account of why
people join cults, what cults are like, and mass suicide from a Jonestown survivor. Stoen, along
with his wife and child, became a part of the Peoples Temple cult in February 1977. As a
lawyer, Stoen had done some work with Jim Jones many years before, which consisted of them
giving pro-bono legal advice to people from poor backgrounds. When Stoen heard of the
Peoples Temple, he brought his family to Guyana with him, to start a new Utopia-style life, free
of the prejudice and cruelty of the outside world. Stoen became Jones lawyer, and he worked in
a sawmill, did diplomatic work, and taught reading and writing to children on the compound. As
time progressed, he became more and more blind to Jones growing insanity and insatiable desire
for power. Eventually, Stoens wife pointed out Jones change in behavior while they were both
in the US; however, their child was still in Guyana. They tried many times unsuccessfully to
rescue their child, but they were banned from the compound, and he ended up dying in the mass
suicide.
This piece was written by a Jonestown survivor, which is something I was hoping to have
read before I wrote my final paper. Stoen gives answers to questions I had about why people
join cults, saying one often seeks a family-style, Utopian society in moments of weakness. He
also said that when things get tough for an individual, they want answers, and a cult provides
them for you instantly, as it is such a simplistic, pre-planned way of life. Clearly, as one
becomes part of the cult and receives those much needed answers they were seeking, they
become oblivious to the corrupt aspects of it. When Jones was giving signs that his people were
going to end up having to kill themselves, no one escaped, partly because they werent allowed

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to leave, but mostly because they didnt see the wrong in what Jones was asking them to do. As
soon as Stoen became aware of what was really going on in Guyana, it was too late, and Jones
wouldnt allow that kind of attitude back into his group. Keeping people like that out and the
believers in maintains and ensures loyalty, which is what a cult is all about: being loyal to your
family.
This source is credible because it is from the Points of View Reference Center database in
the Atkins Library.