Jonestown and the Mind Control Cult of Jim Jones: A Survivor’s Story

With Vernon Gosney

Forty Years Later

November 18th, 1978 will be a day I will never forget. I was glued to the television as images came over the screen about a horrible mass suicide. I had never heard of the People’s Temple before but I was about to learn. Ultimately, it changed the course of my life as it summoned me to be involved in a much higher level of activity than ever before. This November marks the 40th anniversary of the Jonestown massacre where over 900 people were killed and the 10th anniversary of the publication of my first book, Combatting Cult Mind Control (two “t”s, unlike the current edition which has one “t” in Combating).

Most of the people who died were members of the People’s Temple, led by cult leader Jim Jones.  Congressman Leo J. Ryan, Don Harris of NBC and over 300 children died because of the delusionally narcissistic Rev. Jim Jones. The congressman and media folks went down because they had heard stories of suicide drills and how people who wanted to leave were being held against their will. This was, in fact, the case, and Vernon Gosney was one of the people who wanted to leave the group with the Congressman. When Jones realized that his control was not total and the authorities were likely to come back after him, he ordered everyone to their deaths.