Jim Jones

Jim Jones was the founder and leader of Peoples Temple, a religious-political movement that began with promises of racial equality, social justice, communal care, and protection for the vulnerable, but gradually became an authoritarian system centered on Jones's control, paranoia, loyalty demands, isolation, abuse, and apocalyptic fear, ultimately ending in the 1978 Jonestown tragedy, where more than 900 people died in one of the clearest modern examples of spiritual manipulation, coercive leadership, and catastrophic communal collapse.

James Warren Jones (1931-1978) was a charismatic religious cult leader who with his converts performed a mass suicide in Jonestown, Guyana. He started his career as a Methodist minister with a Pentecostal background, and converted fully to Pentecostalism in the early 1950's. Shortly before forming Peoples Temple, Jones was officially ordained into William Branham's Latter Rain version of the "Message" as a "faith healer" by Joseph Mattsson-Boze on behalf of the Independent Assemblies of God led by A. W. Rasmussen. Prior to his ordination, Jones preached at the "Message" affiliated Laurel Street Tabernacle dedicated by Message promoter Roy H. Wead and supporter Lester Sumrall.

I know there are things about the Message that you may not see but it is God.- Jim Jones, Peoples Temple[1]

Jones' evangelistic and "faith healing" career was launched in 1956 by William Branham and Joseph Mattsson-Boze at the Cadle Tabernacle. William Branham visited Peoples Temple multiple times between 1956 and 1957, and Jones became a leader in the movement by becoming a "Voice of Healing Evangelist." Jones quickly rose to a leadership role within the movement, organizing and hosting “healing revivals” at locations in and outside of his home state of Indiana. In the fall of 1956, Jones was the host of a revival in Chicago, IL, from Oct 1 through Oct 4. Branham recognized Jones as the primary host of the revival.

[Speaking in Chicago, Illinois] "Happy to see, today, is our host pastor, Brother James Jones, from Indianapolis, back there." Branham, William. 1956, Oct 2. Father, The Hour Has Come (in Chicago, IL)

After the 1957 Christian Fellowship Convention hosted by Jim Jones and Peoples Temple, Voice of Healing severed ties with William Branham for several months. Branham apparently angered Jones and several other Voice of Healing Evangelists, and an Open Letter to William Branham was signed by several evangelists and distributed. When a copy was sent to the editors of The Voice of Healing, Gordon Lindsay was forced to respond by launching an internal investigation. This letter and investigation were announced in an article entitled "CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP Convention Replies to 'Open Letter' to William Branham."

The fact that Evangelist William Branham was the main speaker at the Christian Fellowship Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, June 10-14, 1957, caused many brethren to be deeply concerned regarding the veracity of the statements in an open letter addressed to him and circulated widely. The convention decided upon an investigation of the matter in order to be able to give correct information to those who have been disturbed by this and other letters.[2]

The contents of the letter are not included in the article, but the article does describe several ministers who were greatly offended by whatever William Branham did or said at the convention. The last paragraph of the article, however, could give clues as to what they were offended by. Apparently, several evangelists recognized that William Branham's sermons strayed from the Gospel and stated as much in the letter. The Voice of Healing editors argued that Branham's ministry could be confirmed by his "gift" rather than his misrepresentation of the Gospel.

we are convinced that there is no truth in the insinuation that Rev. Branham has deviated from his normal, gracious, positive ministry of the Gospel, confirmed of God with signs following. Rather his supernatural ministry gift is more than fruitful of mighty miracles than ever before.[3]

After this 1957 convention, Jim Jones and Peoples Temple parted ways with William Branham. According to Jones' own account of parting ways with William Branham, several evangelists approached Jones at the Claypool hotel describing some sort of altercation. Jones also did not fully describe what happened, but clearly described being upset. According to Jones, William Branham did not want to "preach the truth of the bible", which seems to match that other ministers apparently said in the letter.

Some are listening. They won’t tell you the truth, because the black book is the easiest gravy train that they’ve ever been on. Yet Allen [A.A. Allen, Pentecostal evangelist] came to me, Oral Roberts [Pentecostal evangelist] spoke this, Billy Graham came right to us – Ijames [Archie Ijames], Jack [Jack Arnold Beam], and me – in Claypool Hotel, said I don’t believe a thing in that Bible hardly. But he said, it’s the way to make a living. Billy Graham, who I prophesied his death, Billy Branham rather, said his head would be— I said he’d lose his head. His head was cut off in Texas. [Editorial note: The reference is to William Branham, an evangelical preacher and acquaintance of Jim Jones during the Temple’s Indianapolis days. Branham died in an automobile accident on Christmas Eve 1965 in Texas, but was not decapitated.] He said you can’t preach the truth about that Bible, he said (tape cuts out about three seconds) preach reincarnation, you cannot preach the truth about the Bible, you will be in trouble. I said, I choose to treat th— preach the truth. He said, well, I’ll be around, while you will be in trouble. Well, I’m still here, and his head is cut off from his body.
Jim Jones, Q612 Transcript[4]

Towards the end of Jones' account of what happened, Jones said that he prophesied concerning Branham's death. Jones apparently prophesied that Branham would be decapitated, which he claimed to have been fulfilled by Branham's horrific automobile accident that lead to his death in 1965. This also seems to match the statements made in the "Open Letter to William Branham". Not only Jones, but several other ministers were warning Branham of death and destruction for his apparent abandonment of the Gospel.

It is hoped that other mis-statements in the letter were due to misinformation, but we are constrained to believe that one statement repeated several times was a serious breach. We refer to warnings of "death" and "destruction" forecast against Brother Branham, and we wonder whether the writer or writers would circulate such remarks if they had it to do over again?[5]

After the Jonestown Massacre of 1978, Voice of God Recordings and other Latter Rain / Voice of Healing organizations have gone to great lengths to erase their involvement with Jim Jones and Peoples Temple. By combining the advertisements of the meetings that Leaders in the "Message" held with Peoples Temple with their lists of recordings and transcripts, however, we are able to determine which recordings and transcripts were removed. Voice of God Recordings, for example, is "missing" dozens of recordings of confirmed revivals that William Branham held with Jones. Here is a list:

Meetings that William Branham Held with Jim Jones:

May, 1955

Jim Jones is introduced by Joseph Mattson Boze to William Branham, and the first meetings are scheduled.[6]

June, 1955

Before leaving for Europe, William Branham held meetings in Georgia with Jones during the first two weeks of June.[7]

October, 1955[8]

10-2 am (tape missing)
10-2 pm
10-3 am (tape missing)
10-3 pm
10-4 am (tape missing)
10-4 pm
10-5 am (tape missing)
10-5 pm
10-6 am
10-6 pm
10-7 am (tape missing)
10-7 pm
10-8 am (tape missing)
10-8 pm
10-9 am (tape missing)
10-9 pm

June, 1956[9]

6-11 am (tape missing) (source: Herald of Faith 5)
6-11 pm
6-12 am (tape missing)
6-12 pm (tape missing)
6-13 am (tape missing)
6-13 pm (tape missing)
6-14 am (tape missing)
6-14 pm
6-15 am (tape missing)
6-15 pm (tape missing)

October, 1956[10]

10-2 am (Source: Herald of Faith, 10 – we have pictures of both Branham and Jones from this meeting in Herald of Faith 11)
10-2 pm
10-2 am (tape missing)
10-2 pm (tape missing)
10-3 am (tape missing)
10-3 pm
10-4 am(tape missing)
10-4 pm
10-5 am (tape missing)
10-5 pm
10-6 am (tape missing)
10-6 pm
10-7 am (tape missing)
10-7 pm (tape missing)
10-8 am (tape missing)
10-8 pm (tape missing)
10-9 am (tape missing)
10-9 pm (tape missing)

June, 1957[11]

06-10
06-11 am (tape missing)
06-11 pm (tape missing)
06-13 am
06-13 pm
06-14 am (tape missing)
06-14 pm
06-15 am (tape missing)
06-15 pm (tape missing)