1 00:00:01,250 --> 00:00:03,230 [music] 2 00:00:10,050 --> 00:00:12,231 I'm Do... 3 00:00:12,251 --> 00:00:15,081 Some called our partnership 4 00:00:15,101 --> 00:00:17,031 Ti and Do. 5 00:00:17,051 --> 00:00:21,031 That's not my name, but that's how I'm referred to 6 00:00:21,051 --> 00:00:24,110 on Planet Earth, at this time. 7 00:00:24,130 --> 00:00:26,051 I've been talking to my students 8 00:00:26,071 --> 00:00:28,110 that are sitting in front of me. 9 00:00:28,130 --> 00:00:32,111 Jmmody, would you want to stand up and-- 10 00:00:32,130 --> 00:00:34,250 so that we can take a look at your uniform. 11 00:00:36,130 --> 00:00:38,070 Okay. 12 00:00:38,091 --> 00:00:39,231 And maybe we can back up a little bit 13 00:00:39,250 --> 00:00:42,191 and get a little wider picture of the uniform. 14 00:00:42,210 --> 00:00:46,041 Okay, now, maybe we can zoom in on the patch 15 00:00:46,060 --> 00:00:48,100 that... great. 16 00:00:48,121 --> 00:00:51,140 See, it says "Heaven's Gate Away Team." 17 00:00:51,161 --> 00:00:54,231 We've been away, and now we're going back. 18 00:00:54,250 --> 00:00:57,041 Okay, thanks, Jmmody. 19 00:00:57,060 --> 00:00:59,051 Now let's go to Dvvody. 20 00:01:00,231 --> 00:01:02,200 Dvvody. [chuckling] 21 00:01:02,221 --> 00:01:05,161 They're all camera shy. 22 00:01:05,180 --> 00:01:08,130 We-- okay, come on over, to Stlody. 23 00:01:10,191 --> 00:01:14,201 We... came from distant space, 24 00:01:14,221 --> 00:01:17,221 what your religious literature 25 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:20,040 would call the Kingdom of Heaven. 26 00:01:20,060 --> 00:01:22,251 And we're about to return. 27 00:01:23,031 --> 00:01:26,171 [music] 28 00:01:26,191 --> 00:01:28,021 JWNODY: We might see you all again, 29 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:29,130 and then we might not. 30 00:01:29,150 --> 00:01:32,090 That's-- we hope that you remember us as we were 31 00:01:32,111 --> 00:01:34,100 and not how other people are going to try 32 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:36,051 and tell you that we are. 33 00:01:36,070 --> 00:01:38,171 And one last thing we'd like to say is, 34 00:01:38,191 --> 00:01:41,090 39 to beam up. Thank you. 35 00:01:41,111 --> 00:01:43,221 [music] 36 00:02:05,051 --> 00:02:10,030 MAN: There is confirmed 39 deceased. 37 00:02:10,051 --> 00:02:14,120 All of the individuals were similarly clothed. 38 00:02:14,141 --> 00:02:18,071 It appeared as if there were almost a uniform. 39 00:02:18,090 --> 00:02:21,111 2nd MAN: This was a voluntary situation. 40 00:02:21,131 --> 00:02:22,220 They may or may not have been influenced, 41 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:24,081 but we'll never know that. 42 00:02:24,100 --> 00:02:26,141 But, at this point, this is considered 43 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:28,220 a mass suicide investigation. 44 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:31,250 [music] 45 00:02:32,030 --> 00:02:33,191 MAN: This wasn't just something that-- 46 00:02:33,210 --> 00:02:35,201 oh, there's a spacecraft, let's kill ourselves. 47 00:02:35,220 --> 00:02:37,201 These people spent 22 years 48 00:02:37,220 --> 00:02:39,220 preparing for what they did, 49 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:42,180 and I wish people would examine that 22-year period 50 00:02:42,201 --> 00:02:45,150 instead of just examining their method of leaving. 51 00:03:12,051 --> 00:03:13,131 A score of persons 52 00:03:13,150 --> 00:03:16,030 from a small Oregon town have disappeared. 53 00:03:16,051 --> 00:03:17,191 It's a mystery whether they've been taken 54 00:03:17,210 --> 00:03:20,060 on a so-called trip to eternity 55 00:03:20,081 --> 00:03:21,231 or simply been taken. 56 00:03:21,250 --> 00:03:24,030 Terry Drinkwater takes a look at that story. 57 00:03:24,051 --> 00:03:26,111 TERRY: Here along the cloud-covered coast 58 00:03:26,131 --> 00:03:27,240 near Newport, Oregon, 59 00:03:28,021 --> 00:03:30,201 a mysterious couple appeared three weeks ago, 60 00:03:30,220 --> 00:03:33,030 circulating a flyer proclaiming 61 00:03:33,051 --> 00:03:34,210 a UFO would soon be ready 62 00:03:34,231 --> 00:03:36,090 to take whomever would follow them 63 00:03:36,111 --> 00:03:38,141 to another life, another world. 64 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:41,120 They held meetings, one at this motel, 65 00:03:41,141 --> 00:03:43,060 to recruit voyagers. 66 00:03:43,081 --> 00:03:46,041 Francine Furst attended but was unconvinced. 67 00:03:46,060 --> 00:03:48,220 Those people who choose to go along will be 68 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:51,090 picked up by a UFO, 69 00:03:51,111 --> 00:03:55,021 and they will be leaving this Earth forever. 70 00:03:55,041 --> 00:03:57,100 TERRY: Why didn't you decide to go? 71 00:03:57,120 --> 00:04:00,160 I'm too human and too normal. 72 00:04:00,180 --> 00:04:01,240 - [chuckling] - I love to travel, 73 00:04:02,021 --> 00:04:04,051 but I also like to know where I'm going. 74 00:04:04,071 --> 00:04:07,041 There were 34 people that actually... 75 00:04:07,060 --> 00:04:11,210 ended up joining because of the Waldport meeting. 76 00:04:13,220 --> 00:04:16,131 All different kinds of numbers were reported, 77 00:04:16,150 --> 00:04:18,160 and I was among them. 78 00:04:20,131 --> 00:04:22,210 SAWYER: I was living in Waldport, Oregon. 79 00:04:22,230 --> 00:04:24,251 I came out of a band practice, 80 00:04:25,030 --> 00:04:26,160 like an all-nighter party kind of thing, 81 00:04:26,181 --> 00:04:28,191 and I saw that poster. 82 00:04:33,191 --> 00:04:35,210 What piqued my interest about the poster 83 00:04:35,230 --> 00:04:38,210 that I remember making a comment about to my partner is, 84 00:04:38,230 --> 00:04:41,050 "I wonder what these people look like," you know, 85 00:04:41,071 --> 00:04:43,071 they were talking about them being from outer space. 86 00:04:55,210 --> 00:04:59,061 "If you ever entertained the idea 87 00:04:59,081 --> 00:05:03,230 "of a physical level above the human level, 88 00:05:03,251 --> 00:05:07,021 you will want to attend this meeting." 89 00:05:10,251 --> 00:05:13,220 Back then, I had a girlfriend, 90 00:05:13,241 --> 00:05:16,141 Erika, and we had 91 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:19,121 been together for three years. 92 00:05:19,141 --> 00:05:24,100 We were gonna take a vacation to Oregon 93 00:05:24,121 --> 00:05:26,150 to visit my cousin. 94 00:05:38,131 --> 00:05:39,170 I was excited. 95 00:05:39,191 --> 00:05:42,100 But at that point... 96 00:05:53,170 --> 00:05:56,030 SAWYER: The place was packed. 97 00:05:56,050 --> 00:05:57,150 I would estimate there were, like, 98 00:05:57,170 --> 00:05:59,230 close to 200 people in this room. 99 00:05:59,251 --> 00:06:02,241 And Ti and Do came out onto the stage, 100 00:06:03,021 --> 00:06:07,210 and they just sat there for maybe a minute or two, 101 00:06:07,230 --> 00:06:09,241 which seemed like a long time to me. 102 00:06:11,181 --> 00:06:14,081 TERRY: These are "The Two." 103 00:06:14,100 --> 00:06:16,170 The two who promise to take their followers 104 00:06:16,191 --> 00:06:20,050 literally out of this world in a spaceship. 105 00:06:25,150 --> 00:06:27,241 SAWYER: They said that they had come to teach 106 00:06:28,021 --> 00:06:30,050 the process of becoming 107 00:06:30,071 --> 00:06:31,210 a member of the Next Level. 108 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:34,230 DO: When a human has overcome 109 00:06:34,251 --> 00:06:38,201 all of his human level activities, 110 00:06:38,220 --> 00:06:40,241 a chemical change takes place, 111 00:06:41,021 --> 00:06:42,220 and he goes through a metamorphosis 112 00:06:42,241 --> 00:06:45,160 just exactly as a caterpillar does 113 00:06:45,180 --> 00:06:47,201 when he quits being a caterpillar. 114 00:06:47,220 --> 00:06:49,160 And he goes off into a chrysalis, 115 00:06:49,180 --> 00:06:52,160 and he becomes a butterfly. 116 00:06:52,180 --> 00:06:55,040 They said, if you followed their approach, 117 00:06:55,061 --> 00:06:59,050 that your body would chemically and biologically transform 118 00:06:59,071 --> 00:07:01,150 into a perfected space alien. 119 00:07:03,220 --> 00:07:06,131 And you would go physically on board a UFO 120 00:07:06,150 --> 00:07:10,050 and sail physically into Heaven. 121 00:07:10,071 --> 00:07:11,141 What they would call 122 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:13,040 "The Next Level." 123 00:07:29,021 --> 00:07:30,181 LESLIE LIGHT: I was impressed 124 00:07:30,201 --> 00:07:32,191 with listening to the man. 125 00:07:32,210 --> 00:07:35,090 He was kind of mesmerizing. 126 00:07:35,111 --> 00:07:37,050 I kept looking at his eyes. 127 00:07:37,071 --> 00:07:38,210 These kind of eyes 128 00:07:38,230 --> 00:07:40,100 that you would look through, 129 00:07:40,121 --> 00:07:41,180 and I just remember 130 00:07:41,201 --> 00:07:43,030 feeling like, 131 00:07:43,050 --> 00:07:44,150 could this, like-- I was trying 132 00:07:44,170 --> 00:07:47,111 to pick up on his energy, like, 133 00:07:47,131 --> 00:07:49,100 if it was really true. 134 00:07:52,241 --> 00:07:56,100 SAWYER: There was this haze floating around them, 135 00:07:56,121 --> 00:07:59,180 like a shimmering light. 136 00:07:59,201 --> 00:08:02,150 It wasn't like a smoke haze. 137 00:08:02,170 --> 00:08:05,021 It was more electrical-looking. 138 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:07,241 And I turned to my left, 139 00:08:08,021 --> 00:08:10,071 and above the crowd, the people, 140 00:08:10,090 --> 00:08:11,220 there was that same kind of haze, 141 00:08:11,241 --> 00:08:14,040 but it was less distinguishable 142 00:08:14,061 --> 00:08:16,061 as electrical. 143 00:08:17,201 --> 00:08:20,040 And so I recognized that that might've been, 144 00:08:20,061 --> 00:08:22,050 like, the Holy Spirit. 145 00:08:23,131 --> 00:08:25,071 I was pretty young, I was 24, 146 00:08:25,090 --> 00:08:28,110 so I didn't maybe have a lot of concrete beliefs, 147 00:08:28,131 --> 00:08:30,100 but I believed everything he was saying. 148 00:08:30,121 --> 00:08:32,231 I felt euphoric. 149 00:08:32,251 --> 00:08:35,121 Higher than a kite in this meeting. 150 00:08:36,170 --> 00:08:39,070 Erika had felt the same thing. 151 00:08:39,091 --> 00:08:42,030 Same euphoric feeling. 152 00:08:43,180 --> 00:08:47,141 I felt like I sat in front of the equivalent of Jesus. 153 00:08:54,111 --> 00:08:56,190 By the end of the meeting, I looked at my partner, 154 00:08:56,211 --> 00:08:58,131 and she looked at me, and it was like 155 00:08:58,150 --> 00:09:00,121 we knew that we wanted to do this. 156 00:09:04,141 --> 00:09:09,040 All they wanted you to do was to make the choice to go, 157 00:09:09,060 --> 00:09:11,200 and then leave your possessions. 158 00:09:11,221 --> 00:09:14,121 Leave everything that was connected to your humanness 159 00:09:14,141 --> 00:09:17,040 and to go with them to begin to repair. 160 00:09:17,060 --> 00:09:20,221 People have disappeared, yes, we have roughly 161 00:09:20,241 --> 00:09:23,040 fifteen to twenty people that are no longer in the area. 162 00:09:23,060 --> 00:09:25,070 [music] 163 00:09:30,050 --> 00:09:31,200 LESLIE: You had to say goodbye to everybody 164 00:09:31,221 --> 00:09:33,121 in your life and leave. 165 00:09:33,141 --> 00:09:35,101 Nobody else wanted to go with me. 166 00:09:35,121 --> 00:09:37,101 They thought it was crazy. I just went. 167 00:09:38,180 --> 00:09:39,231 SAWYER: They told us to bring 168 00:09:39,251 --> 00:09:41,080 any camping gear with us. 169 00:09:41,101 --> 00:09:42,200 Then we were given instructions to go 170 00:09:42,221 --> 00:09:45,211 to a campground at Boulder Canyon, 171 00:09:45,231 --> 00:09:48,241 where they would split us up into groups. 172 00:09:53,050 --> 00:09:57,070 I definitely was seeking something more than I had. 173 00:09:57,091 --> 00:09:58,211 But I didn't know what that was. 174 00:09:58,231 --> 00:10:01,111 [jingling] 175 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:13,021 I'm allowed to do this now. 176 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:15,021 But not federally. 177 00:10:16,180 --> 00:10:19,170 These guys. 178 00:10:19,190 --> 00:10:21,180 My children. It's mild. 179 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:24,170 I don't like any intense stuff, you know? 180 00:10:24,190 --> 00:10:26,111 I wanna be able to function. 181 00:10:26,131 --> 00:10:29,101 I was in high school when I was experimenting 182 00:10:29,121 --> 00:10:32,111 with drugs and LSD and stuff like that. 183 00:10:32,131 --> 00:10:34,160 I started to get into spirituality. 184 00:10:34,180 --> 00:10:37,180 [Indian rhythm] 185 00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:41,021 I was experimenting with different spiritual groups. 186 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:43,060 You know, meditations. 187 00:10:45,200 --> 00:10:47,180 I would dance with the Sufis 188 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:50,070 and relate to the Hare Krishna people. 189 00:10:50,091 --> 00:10:52,180 I read the book "Paramahansa Yogananda," 190 00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:54,221 you know, "Autobiography of a Yogi." 191 00:10:54,241 --> 00:10:56,050 And I remember thinking, 192 00:10:56,070 --> 00:10:58,121 gosh, I wanna be enlightened like that. 193 00:10:59,170 --> 00:11:00,231 Like, I wanted that. 194 00:11:00,251 --> 00:11:03,190 I wanted to have that specialness. 195 00:11:03,211 --> 00:11:05,241 BENJAMIN: Heaven's Gate was never exactly mainstream, 196 00:11:06,021 --> 00:11:09,121 but it wasn't as alternative as we think about it today. 197 00:11:09,141 --> 00:11:12,121 So, you have to imagine what it was like in the '70s. 198 00:11:12,141 --> 00:11:16,030 So, this is the time when hippies and beatniks 199 00:11:16,050 --> 00:11:17,170 and-- and folks like that are 200 00:11:17,190 --> 00:11:20,190 looking outside of established religions. 201 00:11:20,211 --> 00:11:22,241 Many people who were drawn to Heaven's Gate 202 00:11:23,021 --> 00:11:25,180 had tried all sorts of religious options. 203 00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:27,190 I was struggling 204 00:11:27,211 --> 00:11:29,200 with what I wanted to do with my life. 205 00:11:29,221 --> 00:11:32,111 I was a young beautiful girl. 206 00:11:32,131 --> 00:11:35,070 A child model in Hollywood. 207 00:11:35,091 --> 00:11:38,150 I went out to Moran and became a hippie. 208 00:11:38,170 --> 00:11:42,121 So, when the two came along, it just resonated 209 00:11:42,141 --> 00:11:45,030 with my own spiritual dilemma 210 00:11:45,050 --> 00:11:47,241 of being attached and being of this world 211 00:11:48,021 --> 00:11:52,021 and what role it played in my own, you know, struggle. 212 00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:55,170 We have this simple truth, 213 00:11:55,190 --> 00:11:59,200 though the most potent truth, 214 00:11:59,221 --> 00:12:01,200 and it is the identical truth 215 00:12:01,221 --> 00:12:04,170 that Jesus brought to human beings 216 00:12:04,190 --> 00:12:07,040 two thousand years ago. 217 00:12:07,060 --> 00:12:09,030 Heaven's Gate is effectively, from my reading, 218 00:12:09,050 --> 00:12:11,070 a Christian offshoot. 219 00:12:11,091 --> 00:12:13,251 Now, this is important because it's also a time 220 00:12:14,030 --> 00:12:15,160 when many Christians looked around at the world 221 00:12:15,180 --> 00:12:17,080 and thought the world was about to end. 222 00:12:18,221 --> 00:12:20,160 REZA ASLAN: Groups like Heaven's Gate are 223 00:12:20,180 --> 00:12:23,121 what scholars refer to as millenarian. 224 00:12:23,141 --> 00:12:24,251 And they have an understanding 225 00:12:25,030 --> 00:12:27,180 of time as coming to an end. 226 00:12:28,141 --> 00:12:32,070 Planet Earth is about to be recycled. 227 00:12:32,091 --> 00:12:35,211 Your only chance to survive 228 00:12:35,231 --> 00:12:38,170 is to leave with us. 229 00:12:38,190 --> 00:12:40,251 These kinds of millenarian groups 230 00:12:41,030 --> 00:12:44,221 tend to arise in times of societal stress. 231 00:12:44,241 --> 00:12:46,200 [explosion booming] 232 00:12:46,221 --> 00:12:49,150 PROTESTORS: Out now! Out now! Out now! 233 00:12:49,170 --> 00:12:52,060 It's later than most people think. 234 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:54,021 Whether it's five minutes to midnight, 235 00:12:54,040 --> 00:12:57,091 or whether it's ten minutes to midnight is debatable. 236 00:12:57,111 --> 00:12:59,150 BENJAMIN: And for Heaven's Gate, also, this is really 237 00:12:59,170 --> 00:13:02,141 the first generation of belief in flying saucers 238 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:04,111 and things like that. 239 00:13:04,131 --> 00:13:06,180 What do we know of outer space? 240 00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:08,060 Is there anyone out there? 241 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:10,101 And are they headed our way? 242 00:13:10,121 --> 00:13:11,211 BENJAMIN: One of the best-selling books 243 00:13:11,231 --> 00:13:14,021 at the time was "Chariots of the Gods" 244 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:15,190 by Erich von Daniken, 245 00:13:15,211 --> 00:13:17,141 who claimed he had evidence 246 00:13:17,160 --> 00:13:20,021 that the world's ancient religions were 247 00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:23,091 actually founded by extraterrestrial visitors. 248 00:13:23,111 --> 00:13:26,021 I was interested in UFOs. 249 00:13:26,040 --> 00:13:28,150 Curious. 250 00:13:28,170 --> 00:13:30,131 Never saw one. 251 00:13:32,121 --> 00:13:34,021 BENJAMIN: That's why, in the '70s, 252 00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:35,180 when people encountered Heaven's Gate, 253 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:37,221 people didn't say, "Whoa, this is weird." 254 00:13:37,241 --> 00:13:39,241 They said, "This is what I've been looking for." 255 00:13:42,170 --> 00:13:45,141 And so all these people, for one reason or another, 256 00:13:45,160 --> 00:13:47,150 accept this message that "The Two" 257 00:13:47,170 --> 00:13:49,060 are actually who they say they are, 258 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:50,121 space aliens, effectively, 259 00:13:50,141 --> 00:13:52,211 who offer them a way to get to Heaven. 260 00:13:55,131 --> 00:13:57,190 DO: In 1975, 261 00:13:57,211 --> 00:14:00,040 there were two individuals 262 00:14:00,060 --> 00:14:02,231 who came public, 263 00:14:02,251 --> 00:14:06,070 held some meetings around the country, 264 00:14:06,091 --> 00:14:08,251 and said that they were from the Kingdom of Heaven. 265 00:14:10,231 --> 00:14:13,101 And those two individuals were Ti and Do. 266 00:14:15,030 --> 00:14:16,150 BENJAMIN: They go by a variety of names, 267 00:14:16,170 --> 00:14:18,200 but they also just call themselves "The Two." 268 00:14:20,251 --> 00:14:23,050 And they went to Bo and Peep after that. 269 00:14:23,070 --> 00:14:24,170 [whir, ding] 270 00:14:26,111 --> 00:14:29,050 SAWYER: They said, I guess, "Our names are Bo and Peep, 271 00:14:29,070 --> 00:14:30,141 because we now have sheep. 272 00:14:34,091 --> 00:14:37,180 And then Bo and Peep became Do and Ti, 273 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:41,091 in that order, relative to the names. 274 00:14:41,111 --> 00:14:44,121 I didn't know at the time why they chose those names, 275 00:14:44,141 --> 00:14:47,200 but I learned not too long after that 276 00:14:47,221 --> 00:14:50,121 that it came from that musical 277 00:14:50,141 --> 00:14:52,180 "The Sound of Music." 278 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:54,231 ♪ When you read, you begin with ♪ 279 00:14:54,251 --> 00:14:56,121 ♪ A B C ♪ 280 00:14:56,141 --> 00:14:58,241 ♪ When you sing, you begin with ♪ 281 00:14:59,021 --> 00:15:00,241 ♪ Do re mi ♪ 282 00:15:01,021 --> 00:15:12,021 ALL: ♪ Do re mi ♪ 283 00:15:12,040 --> 00:15:15,101 ♪ Do re mi fa so la ti ♪ 284 00:15:16,211 --> 00:15:18,180 Oh, let's see if I can make it easier. 285 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:22,050 Ti and Do were both fans of musical theater. 286 00:15:22,070 --> 00:15:24,121 Do's first love was music-- before he got into religion 287 00:15:24,141 --> 00:15:25,251 and spirituality, was music. 288 00:15:26,030 --> 00:15:29,030 [gentle major key melody] 289 00:15:41,060 --> 00:15:42,150 NEELY BRUCE: It's very disorienting 290 00:15:42,170 --> 00:15:44,121 when you call him Marshall. 291 00:15:44,141 --> 00:15:46,221 Nobody called him Marshall. Everyone called him Herff. 292 00:15:46,241 --> 00:15:49,050 So, um, when Herff Applewhite 293 00:15:49,070 --> 00:15:53,150 came to the University of Alabama, 294 00:15:53,170 --> 00:15:56,070 he didn't look at all like a professor. 295 00:15:56,091 --> 00:15:58,160 He was very casual, very laid back. 296 00:16:00,131 --> 00:16:03,080 There was no hint that all this catastrophe 297 00:16:03,101 --> 00:16:05,121 was looming in his future. 298 00:16:08,021 --> 00:16:10,101 He had a fantastic voice. 299 00:16:10,121 --> 00:16:12,200 He had a lot of charisma. 300 00:16:12,221 --> 00:16:15,101 He was such a natural performer. 301 00:16:15,121 --> 00:16:19,070 He would have the audience in the palm of his hand. 302 00:16:19,091 --> 00:16:22,040 But it was widely rumored that he was having an affair 303 00:16:22,060 --> 00:16:24,221 with-- with one of the male graduate students. 304 00:16:24,241 --> 00:16:28,190 And his father was a very, very hard-nosed 305 00:16:28,211 --> 00:16:31,150 Presbyterian minister who did not like the fact 306 00:16:31,170 --> 00:16:34,050 that he had a gay son. 307 00:16:34,070 --> 00:16:36,040 I'm sure, in Jesus' eyes, 308 00:16:36,060 --> 00:16:38,121 his relationship to his father 309 00:16:38,141 --> 00:16:40,211 was... goodness, 310 00:16:40,231 --> 00:16:43,121 when will I ever grow to be like my father? 311 00:16:43,141 --> 00:16:45,030 I'm so ignorant! 312 00:16:45,050 --> 00:16:47,121 I do things so poor. 313 00:16:47,141 --> 00:16:49,141 I can't get them right. 314 00:16:51,101 --> 00:16:52,231 And yet... 315 00:16:52,251 --> 00:16:56,021 his ability to recognize his father... 316 00:16:58,091 --> 00:17:00,030 and want to be like his father 317 00:17:00,050 --> 00:17:03,141 and realize that he is nothing but a child. 318 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:06,050 His wife divorced him. I remember her very well. 319 00:17:06,070 --> 00:17:08,251 Very nice family. Then, that seems to put him-- 320 00:17:09,030 --> 00:17:10,171 put him in a bit of a tailspin. 321 00:17:12,090 --> 00:17:15,060 And so he left Alabama for Houston. 322 00:17:18,151 --> 00:17:20,080 I got a call 323 00:17:20,100 --> 00:17:22,161 telling me that-- that this notorious couple 324 00:17:22,181 --> 00:17:25,070 in the news was actually, you know, 325 00:17:25,090 --> 00:17:27,231 Herff Applewhite and his former nurse. 326 00:17:30,110 --> 00:17:32,120 This is the story that I heard. 327 00:17:32,140 --> 00:17:35,251 He was gonna attempt a career on the opera stage 328 00:17:36,030 --> 00:17:37,221 at Houston Grand Opera. 329 00:17:37,241 --> 00:17:41,090 He was going to do his biggest role there, 330 00:17:41,110 --> 00:17:43,120 which was the role of Olin Blitch. 331 00:17:43,140 --> 00:17:47,090 He's a traveling preacher who seduces Susannah 332 00:17:47,110 --> 00:17:49,201 in the opera "Susannah." 333 00:17:49,221 --> 00:17:52,201 The Lord, he spoke to me this afternoon. 334 00:17:52,221 --> 00:17:56,080 And he said, "Blitch, 335 00:17:56,100 --> 00:17:58,201 "there's gonna be a lot of lost souls 336 00:17:58,221 --> 00:18:00,211 "at that meeting tonight! 337 00:18:00,231 --> 00:18:02,251 "Don't take no text. 338 00:18:03,030 --> 00:18:05,181 I'll put the words in your mouth." 339 00:18:08,021 --> 00:18:09,221 NEELY: He was in rehearsal, and he had 340 00:18:09,241 --> 00:18:11,181 some sort of a psychotic episode 341 00:18:11,201 --> 00:18:13,211 and was actually hospitalized. 342 00:18:13,231 --> 00:18:17,151 DO: We met... just perchance... 343 00:18:17,171 --> 00:18:21,171 while I was visiting a sick friend in a hospital. 344 00:18:21,191 --> 00:18:23,060 Where Ti was a nurse. 345 00:18:24,251 --> 00:18:27,060 JANJA LALICH: I think most people don't think of Ti 346 00:18:27,080 --> 00:18:29,151 as the real leader of the group, 347 00:18:29,171 --> 00:18:31,211 but she met Do when he was 348 00:18:31,231 --> 00:18:33,191 obviously at a vulnerable point. 349 00:18:33,211 --> 00:18:35,191 She convinced him that-- 350 00:18:35,211 --> 00:18:37,070 that he was her soulmate. 351 00:18:37,090 --> 00:18:39,110 Ti had more experience 352 00:18:39,130 --> 00:18:42,050 and was older than me. 353 00:18:42,070 --> 00:18:45,171 I could see Ti's control was better than mine. 354 00:18:45,191 --> 00:18:49,221 Ti really recruited Do, and-- and Do was her follower. 355 00:18:49,241 --> 00:18:51,140 Nettle says, "Well, I'm an astrologer. 356 00:18:51,161 --> 00:18:53,060 Uh, and I can do your chart." 357 00:18:54,191 --> 00:18:56,181 And she deduces that they're fated 358 00:18:56,201 --> 00:18:59,140 to work together on some grand project. 359 00:18:59,161 --> 00:19:02,140 They are destined to be spiritual partners. 360 00:19:02,161 --> 00:19:04,181 JANJA: After that, they became very close. 361 00:19:04,201 --> 00:19:07,090 He eventually went to live with her. 362 00:19:07,110 --> 00:19:08,211 They were never romantic. 363 00:19:10,140 --> 00:19:13,100 But she was very much the force behind the group, 364 00:19:13,120 --> 00:19:14,241 the founding of the group, 365 00:19:15,021 --> 00:19:17,060 and the way the group functioned. 366 00:19:43,110 --> 00:19:46,140 - You're a sweetie, yeah. - [meowing] 367 00:19:53,130 --> 00:19:55,100 This is Mom. 368 00:19:57,050 --> 00:19:59,130 The others are similar, but... 369 00:19:59,151 --> 00:20:03,021 she looks-- for some reason, she looks sad in those pictures. 370 00:20:06,130 --> 00:20:08,201 My mom was a-- was an RN. 371 00:20:10,181 --> 00:20:13,090 Her passion was working with babies. 372 00:20:13,110 --> 00:20:15,090 So, she ended up being a baby nurse 373 00:20:15,110 --> 00:20:17,201 at a hospital in Houston. 374 00:20:20,151 --> 00:20:22,211 I always wanted to be with her. 375 00:20:22,231 --> 00:20:25,201 She was my best friend. We did everything together. 376 00:20:27,060 --> 00:20:28,211 Actually, I was a candy striper 377 00:20:28,231 --> 00:20:30,201 at the hospital where she worked, 378 00:20:30,221 --> 00:20:33,201 and so we'd hang out at work. 379 00:20:33,221 --> 00:20:35,181 And she'd take me to dance classes 380 00:20:35,201 --> 00:20:38,021 and acting classes and music classes, 381 00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:40,090 and all this stuff, and-- and I'd-- 382 00:20:40,110 --> 00:20:42,130 we'd talk about everything under the sun. 383 00:20:43,241 --> 00:20:45,161 We spent a lot of time talking about 384 00:20:45,181 --> 00:20:47,171 spiritualism and mediums and astrology. 385 00:20:47,191 --> 00:20:50,050 Things like that. 386 00:20:50,070 --> 00:20:53,130 Even before she met, uh, Marshall Applewhite, 387 00:20:53,151 --> 00:20:56,050 she was someone who was already very entrenched 388 00:20:56,070 --> 00:20:58,161 in New Age thinking. 389 00:21:09,201 --> 00:21:11,171 JANJA: You know, all of this kind of stuff, 390 00:21:11,191 --> 00:21:14,171 crystals and ascended beings 391 00:21:14,191 --> 00:21:18,161 and channeling dead people and seances. 392 00:21:18,181 --> 00:21:20,090 I have come. 393 00:21:20,110 --> 00:21:23,181 And I am going to work with many of you today. 394 00:21:23,201 --> 00:21:27,040 And part of that interest was in UFOs. 395 00:21:35,090 --> 00:21:37,110 TERRIE: We used to dream about a UFO picking us up 396 00:21:37,130 --> 00:21:39,130 and taking us away from this world. 397 00:21:40,241 --> 00:21:43,070 We didn't feel like we belonged here. 398 00:21:45,201 --> 00:21:47,221 I don't remember if I saw it first 399 00:21:47,241 --> 00:21:50,221 or she saw it first... 400 00:21:50,241 --> 00:21:54,040 we saw this light in the sky 401 00:21:54,060 --> 00:21:58,140 that appeared to move in different directions. 402 00:21:59,201 --> 00:22:01,201 We would talk about how neat it would be 403 00:22:01,221 --> 00:22:04,221 if... it were a UFO and it would come down 404 00:22:04,241 --> 00:22:06,191 and pick us up and take us away. 405 00:22:09,120 --> 00:22:12,120 And we would speculate about what it would be like 406 00:22:12,140 --> 00:22:14,191 in... going to different planets... 407 00:22:14,211 --> 00:22:18,021 'cause both of us wanted to leave this earth. 408 00:22:20,251 --> 00:22:24,030 DO: We were going through an awakening period. 409 00:22:24,050 --> 00:22:28,201 It's common for the person who is awakening. 410 00:22:28,221 --> 00:22:30,251 For his life to begin to fall apart 411 00:22:31,030 --> 00:22:33,070 or her life to begin to fall apart. 412 00:22:33,090 --> 00:22:36,251 It got kind of tense at home, you know, 413 00:22:37,030 --> 00:22:40,080 because now there's another man involved. 414 00:22:41,161 --> 00:22:43,050 And eventually my parents 415 00:22:43,070 --> 00:22:46,030 got a divorce when I was 19. 416 00:22:46,050 --> 00:22:48,030 My mom said that we need to find out 417 00:22:48,050 --> 00:22:50,090 what we're supposed to do. 418 00:22:51,231 --> 00:22:53,120 And as soon as they discovered 419 00:22:53,140 --> 00:22:55,040 what they were supposed to be doing, 420 00:22:55,060 --> 00:22:56,201 she'd be back. 421 00:22:56,221 --> 00:23:01,040 But that... it didn't turn out that way. 422 00:23:01,060 --> 00:23:03,191 [soft string music] 423 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:15,140 ♪ There's a highway ♪ 424 00:23:15,161 --> 00:23:19,171 ♪ Telling me to go where I can now ♪ 425 00:23:19,191 --> 00:23:21,040 BENJAMIN: They travel around the country 426 00:23:21,060 --> 00:23:23,201 on this journey of self-exploration. 427 00:23:23,221 --> 00:23:27,080 And they visit other New Age-ers. 428 00:23:27,100 --> 00:23:29,161 Various gurus, alternative health centers. 429 00:23:29,181 --> 00:23:31,161 They stop and stay in churches. 430 00:23:31,181 --> 00:23:34,120 They have no money, so they take odd jobs. 431 00:23:34,140 --> 00:23:36,040 Their car's always breaking down, 432 00:23:36,060 --> 00:23:38,181 and they're digging ditches to try and make money. 433 00:23:38,201 --> 00:23:41,151 TERRIE: Shortly after my mom and Herff left, 434 00:23:41,171 --> 00:23:43,241 and my mom sent me this picture. 435 00:23:44,021 --> 00:23:46,221 It's Herff and my mom in Vegas. 436 00:23:46,241 --> 00:23:48,181 And on the back of the card, it said, 437 00:23:48,201 --> 00:23:50,110 "Herff cut my hair. How do you like it? 438 00:23:50,130 --> 00:23:52,211 Love you, Mom." 439 00:23:52,231 --> 00:23:56,030 ♪ Gonna be all right now, gonna be all right... ♪ 440 00:23:56,050 --> 00:23:58,191 In July of 1973, 441 00:23:58,211 --> 00:24:00,110 Bonnie Lou and Herff had been on the road 442 00:24:00,130 --> 00:24:02,070 for over a year at this point. 443 00:24:03,201 --> 00:24:06,050 And they end up on the Oregon coast. 444 00:24:10,021 --> 00:24:11,181 And it occurs to them 445 00:24:11,201 --> 00:24:14,191 that they finally figured out the answer. 446 00:24:18,191 --> 00:24:21,181 Herff and Bonnie Lou discover 447 00:24:21,201 --> 00:24:23,140 that they are the two witnesses 448 00:24:23,161 --> 00:24:26,130 who are foretold in the Book of Revelation. 449 00:24:29,161 --> 00:24:32,060 They are destined to be martyred. 450 00:24:36,050 --> 00:24:39,110 And then to rise from the dead. 451 00:24:39,130 --> 00:24:40,251 Revelation... 452 00:24:53,161 --> 00:24:55,221 Ti and Do believe that they... 453 00:24:55,241 --> 00:24:58,100 will then lead all those who accept their message 454 00:24:58,120 --> 00:25:01,181 into outer space to the Kingdom of God. 455 00:25:01,201 --> 00:25:03,140 The Next Level. 456 00:25:03,161 --> 00:25:05,231 And they refer to this as The Demonstration. 457 00:25:05,251 --> 00:25:07,241 Initiating the end of the world. 458 00:25:09,171 --> 00:25:12,120 They say when the Book of Revelation talks about, 459 00:25:12,140 --> 00:25:14,191 "ascending up to Heaven in a cloud," 460 00:25:14,211 --> 00:25:16,040 well, they say, well, first-century, 461 00:25:16,060 --> 00:25:18,040 second-century people wouldn't've understood a UFO. 462 00:25:18,060 --> 00:25:20,080 So they say a cloud, but in fact that cloud 463 00:25:20,100 --> 00:25:22,070 is a flying saucer. 464 00:25:37,151 --> 00:25:39,231 BENJAMIN: They saw themselves not ultimately as offering 465 00:25:39,251 --> 00:25:41,231 religious or spiritual guidance 466 00:25:41,251 --> 00:25:44,221 but scientific, technological message. 467 00:25:44,241 --> 00:25:46,241 Because they taught that, 468 00:25:47,021 --> 00:25:49,171 with a powerful enough telescope, 469 00:25:49,191 --> 00:25:51,191 you can see God. 470 00:25:53,181 --> 00:25:55,161 I think they took acid. 471 00:25:55,181 --> 00:25:58,151 [laughing] 472 00:26:01,161 --> 00:26:05,171 There was a short period of time when, in isolation, 473 00:26:05,191 --> 00:26:08,251 we went through an extreme awakening period. 474 00:26:09,030 --> 00:26:10,191 This is... 475 00:26:10,211 --> 00:26:13,050 unimportant information-- the only thing that's important 476 00:26:13,070 --> 00:26:16,130 is, can you shed human-ness? 477 00:26:18,110 --> 00:26:20,161 And then hang on to your hat, 478 00:26:20,181 --> 00:26:23,181 because, from that point until the time you leave, 479 00:26:23,201 --> 00:26:28,030 will be one major growth after another 480 00:26:28,050 --> 00:26:31,161 that will change you from a human 481 00:26:31,181 --> 00:26:34,140 into a member of that Next Level. 482 00:26:34,161 --> 00:26:36,201 When they started, you know, the-- 483 00:26:36,221 --> 00:26:38,130 the leaving was imminent. 484 00:26:38,151 --> 00:26:40,090 The spaceship was gonna come and get them, 485 00:26:40,110 --> 00:26:41,231 and it was gonna happen tomorrow, 486 00:26:41,251 --> 00:26:44,021 and there was really the sense of immediacy. 487 00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:46,090 Which, if you were one of the early followers, 488 00:26:46,110 --> 00:26:48,040 you know, you really bought into that. 489 00:26:49,151 --> 00:26:51,171 Dick Joslyn was a young man 490 00:26:51,191 --> 00:26:53,110 in Los Angeles. 491 00:26:53,130 --> 00:26:55,211 He wanted to be an actor. 492 00:26:55,231 --> 00:26:58,151 And he was one of the first followers. 493 00:26:59,231 --> 00:27:02,070 A matter of some months ago, 494 00:27:02,090 --> 00:27:04,021 uh, those of us who are up here 495 00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:05,251 were sitting in a meeting similar to this, 496 00:27:06,030 --> 00:27:07,241 where you are... 497 00:27:08,021 --> 00:27:11,161 and listening to two individuals-- 498 00:27:11,181 --> 00:27:14,050 a man and a woman-- 499 00:27:14,070 --> 00:27:17,191 share some information with us. 500 00:27:17,211 --> 00:27:22,151 It's important to understand that you cannot die 501 00:27:22,171 --> 00:27:24,241 and achieve the level we're talking about. 502 00:27:25,021 --> 00:27:28,021 You cannot die and get to Heaven. 503 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:31,070 Uh... this level that we're speaking of 504 00:27:31,090 --> 00:27:33,100 is obtained only while you're alive 505 00:27:33,120 --> 00:27:35,130 and physically healthy. 506 00:27:35,151 --> 00:27:39,140 In a way that you've never been alive before. 507 00:27:39,161 --> 00:27:42,040 We're not here to convince you of anything. 508 00:27:42,060 --> 00:27:44,221 But we know that there are a lot of people, 509 00:27:44,241 --> 00:27:46,140 at least some people, 510 00:27:46,161 --> 00:27:49,120 who are waiting for this information, 511 00:27:49,140 --> 00:27:52,050 and they will recognize it when they hear it. 512 00:28:05,211 --> 00:28:08,110 ROBERT: My name is Robert W. Balch. 513 00:28:08,130 --> 00:28:10,151 I am a sociology professor, 514 00:28:10,171 --> 00:28:14,191 now retired, at the University of Montana. 515 00:28:14,211 --> 00:28:16,191 My connection with Heaven's Gate 516 00:28:16,211 --> 00:28:19,151 began in 1975 517 00:28:19,171 --> 00:28:21,231 when the story broke 518 00:28:21,251 --> 00:28:24,090 about 20 people who had disappeared 519 00:28:24,110 --> 00:28:25,231 on the Oregon coast 520 00:28:25,251 --> 00:28:29,090 after attending a meeting about UFOs. 521 00:28:29,110 --> 00:28:31,241 Initially, 1975, 522 00:28:32,021 --> 00:28:34,090 I had gone to Sedona, Arizona 523 00:28:34,110 --> 00:28:35,251 to do research 524 00:28:36,030 --> 00:28:37,100 on what was then 525 00:28:37,120 --> 00:28:40,201 this emerging New Age community. 526 00:28:40,221 --> 00:28:43,161 And so I'm walking down the sidewalk 527 00:28:43,181 --> 00:28:47,070 and saw this poster on the wall. 528 00:28:50,070 --> 00:28:52,060 It says, "Humans, do you really know 529 00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:54,021 "what Christ came to tell us? 530 00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:56,161 "Do you believe in flying saucers? 531 00:28:56,181 --> 00:28:58,211 "Are you ready to take your physical body 532 00:28:58,231 --> 00:29:01,040 to the next evolutionary kingdom?" 533 00:29:01,060 --> 00:29:03,040 I looked at it and I thought, 534 00:29:03,060 --> 00:29:05,080 boy, I wonder if these are the people 535 00:29:05,100 --> 00:29:08,021 that I've been reading about in the newspapers. 536 00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:11,030 The people from Waldport, Oregon. 537 00:29:15,090 --> 00:29:17,171 I just thought, this is so weird. 538 00:29:17,191 --> 00:29:21,030 I wanna go and see what they have to say. 539 00:29:21,050 --> 00:29:22,211 We're now in the process 540 00:29:22,231 --> 00:29:26,120 of... overcoming the world 541 00:29:26,140 --> 00:29:30,060 and converting all of our energies 542 00:29:30,080 --> 00:29:33,211 to becoming Next Level individuals. 543 00:29:33,231 --> 00:29:37,060 ROBERT: Members of the group were presenting the message. 544 00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:40,231 The leaders, the two, they were not there. 545 00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:47,130 Nine people decided that day to join the group. 546 00:29:48,231 --> 00:29:51,241 And so I am thinking, this is very bizarre. 547 00:29:52,021 --> 00:29:54,161 I've never seen anything like this before. 548 00:29:54,181 --> 00:29:57,241 And it was at that point I thought, ahh, 549 00:29:58,021 --> 00:30:00,100 maybe I should just go undercover. 550 00:30:05,241 --> 00:30:07,140 And so that night, 551 00:30:07,161 --> 00:30:10,181 I went home, and I called my friend David Taylor. 552 00:30:10,201 --> 00:30:12,221 I said, would you like to do this with me? 553 00:30:15,161 --> 00:30:18,211 He called me, and he said, "Do you think you could join me 554 00:30:18,231 --> 00:30:20,151 for a couple weeks in California?" 555 00:30:20,171 --> 00:30:23,030 ROBERT: David was at the time this kind of 556 00:30:23,050 --> 00:30:26,191 hippie-trippy graduate student here in our department. 557 00:30:26,211 --> 00:30:30,070 And he was the only person I knew who would drop everything 558 00:30:30,090 --> 00:30:33,201 spur of the moment to do something like this. 559 00:30:33,221 --> 00:30:36,090 And, sure enough, he did. 560 00:30:38,151 --> 00:30:40,040 At that point, we knew that 561 00:30:40,060 --> 00:30:42,080 the members were all on their way 562 00:30:42,100 --> 00:30:45,070 to be reunited with The Two, 563 00:30:45,090 --> 00:30:49,060 who they hadn't seen for a few weeks at this point. 564 00:30:52,211 --> 00:30:56,030 I told them I wanted to join the group. 565 00:30:56,050 --> 00:30:59,030 And so, how are we gonna rendezvous with you? 566 00:30:59,050 --> 00:31:02,050 And they-- "Well, we don't know where we're gonna be yet. 567 00:31:02,070 --> 00:31:04,231 "So, here's what we'll do. 568 00:31:04,251 --> 00:31:06,251 "Go to the town of Varinda, 569 00:31:07,030 --> 00:31:09,221 "which is outside of Oakland. 570 00:31:09,241 --> 00:31:11,181 "Find the post office, 571 00:31:11,201 --> 00:31:13,231 "and we will leave you an address 572 00:31:13,251 --> 00:31:17,090 on page 100 of the zip code book." 573 00:31:17,110 --> 00:31:21,060 DAVID: Rob said this group is very secretive, 574 00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:22,231 not just about publicity 575 00:31:22,251 --> 00:31:26,070 but scrutiny from the media and the police. 576 00:31:28,151 --> 00:31:30,211 We get to the post office 577 00:31:30,231 --> 00:31:33,100 and find the zip code book. 578 00:31:33,120 --> 00:31:35,130 There's no address. 579 00:31:35,151 --> 00:31:39,030 They just say, "Meet us at the top of Mt. Diablo." 580 00:31:43,201 --> 00:31:45,060 We had to hitch a ride 581 00:31:45,080 --> 00:31:47,100 to get to the top of this damn mountain, 582 00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:49,090 and there's nobody else there. 583 00:31:49,110 --> 00:31:51,241 And I look through the garbage can, and, 584 00:31:52,021 --> 00:31:54,130 sure enough, I find some of the group's literature. 585 00:31:54,151 --> 00:31:56,130 And so I know that they have been there, 586 00:31:56,151 --> 00:31:59,090 and I think, oh, my God, we've come all this way, 587 00:31:59,110 --> 00:32:01,231 and we just freakin' missed 'em. 588 00:32:05,201 --> 00:32:08,090 And just then, two cars pull up 589 00:32:08,110 --> 00:32:09,231 full of members of the group. 590 00:32:13,151 --> 00:32:16,221 They're like, "Hop in!" And off we go. 591 00:32:24,030 --> 00:32:27,130 It was really important for me to be able to keep a record 592 00:32:27,151 --> 00:32:29,130 of everything that I saw. 593 00:32:29,151 --> 00:32:31,130 Everything that I heard going on. 594 00:32:31,151 --> 00:32:34,021 And, of course, that had to be done secretly, 595 00:32:34,040 --> 00:32:37,211 because I was an infiltrator in this situation. 596 00:32:37,231 --> 00:32:41,201 Initially, I was writing on just scraps of paper. 597 00:32:41,221 --> 00:32:44,021 This I found somewhere, 598 00:32:44,040 --> 00:32:47,151 and so I was recording all of my notes. 599 00:32:47,171 --> 00:32:49,181 One of the interesting things that I discovered 600 00:32:49,201 --> 00:32:51,060 was that there was 601 00:32:51,080 --> 00:32:54,140 no authority structure whatsoever. 602 00:32:54,161 --> 00:32:57,221 The name of their process was 603 00:32:57,241 --> 00:33:01,060 Human Individual Metamorphosis. 604 00:33:02,171 --> 00:33:06,100 Because this was such an individual process, 605 00:33:06,120 --> 00:33:11,021 nobody felt like they had any authority over anybody else. 606 00:33:11,040 --> 00:33:13,251 You need to be focused on your own overcoming. 607 00:33:16,050 --> 00:33:18,151 The Kingdom of Heaven can't be entered 608 00:33:18,171 --> 00:33:20,161 as long as I still have 609 00:33:20,181 --> 00:33:23,030 attachments and addictions 610 00:33:23,050 --> 00:33:25,151 to the human kingdom. 611 00:33:25,171 --> 00:33:28,201 Whether it be people, things, 612 00:33:28,221 --> 00:33:31,090 careers. 613 00:33:31,110 --> 00:33:33,191 WOMAN: Is there some special place 614 00:33:33,211 --> 00:33:35,110 that you have people go 615 00:33:35,130 --> 00:33:38,030 to learn about... how to do this? 616 00:33:38,050 --> 00:33:40,151 Camps or something like that? 617 00:33:40,171 --> 00:33:45,040 You mean, here on... here on this planet? 618 00:33:45,060 --> 00:33:48,040 WOMAN: There was something about going to Colorado. 619 00:33:48,060 --> 00:33:50,120 Uh... there... 620 00:33:50,140 --> 00:33:53,151 we have no training camp. [chuckling] 621 00:33:53,171 --> 00:33:57,030 BENJAMIN: Ti and Do didn't give a lot of formal instruction. 622 00:33:57,050 --> 00:34:00,151 So, the group lives a nomadic existence 623 00:34:00,171 --> 00:34:02,171 but also one characterized by what I would call 624 00:34:02,191 --> 00:34:04,171 social chaos. 625 00:34:04,191 --> 00:34:06,090 For a while, there are several hundred people 626 00:34:06,110 --> 00:34:08,080 traveling around the country, going to campgrounds. 627 00:34:08,100 --> 00:34:10,171 Thinking that their leaders are gonna teach them 628 00:34:10,191 --> 00:34:12,091 the way off planet Earth. 629 00:34:12,111 --> 00:34:15,080 Sometimes, we're together in groups of ten or 20, 630 00:34:15,100 --> 00:34:16,240 Sometimes we're together in... 631 00:34:17,021 --> 00:34:18,100 just two or three of us. 632 00:34:29,220 --> 00:34:31,080 We would have meetings 633 00:34:31,100 --> 00:34:33,240 twice a day, morning and evening. 634 00:34:34,021 --> 00:34:36,080 Most of those meeting times were spent 635 00:34:36,100 --> 00:34:38,231 tuning in to The Next Level. 636 00:34:40,151 --> 00:34:42,051 They gave us tuning forks 637 00:34:42,071 --> 00:34:44,021 for each group-- had a tuning fork. 638 00:34:44,040 --> 00:34:46,060 [tuning fork rings] 639 00:34:46,080 --> 00:34:48,191 The note A, 440 hz. 640 00:34:48,211 --> 00:34:52,151 They said that we should tune our mind to that frequency. 641 00:34:52,171 --> 00:34:55,091 [tuning fork rings] 642 00:34:55,111 --> 00:34:58,051 So, you take it and hit it and stick it on your head. 643 00:34:58,071 --> 00:34:59,171 And then, kind of like, hum it to yourself. 644 00:34:59,191 --> 00:35:01,031 You know, they didn't give us instructions 645 00:35:01,051 --> 00:35:02,131 on how to do any of that. 646 00:35:02,151 --> 00:35:05,071 And we were living on donations at that point, 647 00:35:05,091 --> 00:35:07,040 that we asked the churches for. 648 00:35:07,060 --> 00:35:09,131 So, you'd have to go knock on doors 649 00:35:09,151 --> 00:35:11,071 and-- and spread the message, 650 00:35:11,091 --> 00:35:13,211 and then you-- maybe if you needed money for gas, 651 00:35:13,231 --> 00:35:15,131 do something for them. 652 00:35:15,151 --> 00:35:18,100 The things that we need to literally live 653 00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:21,091 on this human planet until we get off 654 00:35:21,111 --> 00:35:24,251 are provided by situations that come up. 655 00:35:25,031 --> 00:35:28,021 Help will come in the strangest ways. 656 00:35:28,040 --> 00:35:30,100 [soft music] 657 00:35:30,120 --> 00:35:32,231 In early days, there was a lot of this... 658 00:35:32,251 --> 00:35:36,111 "we've got this message that we may be picked up," 659 00:35:36,131 --> 00:35:38,080 and they would go out in the desert and wait. 660 00:35:40,080 --> 00:35:44,111 We'd look up at the sky a lot. Were the UFOs coming for us? 661 00:35:47,200 --> 00:35:49,180 SAWYER: We had an assigned task. 662 00:35:49,200 --> 00:35:52,180 Somebody would get up and watch the heavens for an hour 663 00:35:52,200 --> 00:35:54,160 and then go back to sleep. 664 00:35:54,180 --> 00:35:57,111 And we burned the fire the whole time too. 665 00:35:57,131 --> 00:35:59,021 That's where I got the name Sawyer. 666 00:35:59,040 --> 00:36:00,200 I was the woodcutter. 667 00:36:00,220 --> 00:36:03,021 Do you regret at all 668 00:36:03,040 --> 00:36:05,140 giving up what you had to give up? 669 00:36:05,160 --> 00:36:08,040 No regrets, it's been such an accelerated 670 00:36:08,060 --> 00:36:10,171 growth experience that... 671 00:36:10,191 --> 00:36:12,240 no matter what happens, I could never regret 672 00:36:13,021 --> 00:36:14,231 taking this move. 673 00:36:14,251 --> 00:36:18,031 It's difficult for our friends and our relatives who really 674 00:36:18,051 --> 00:36:22,031 do love us to understand it's us who really want to do this. 675 00:36:22,051 --> 00:36:24,211 And they might think that it's... 676 00:36:24,231 --> 00:36:28,200 better for us not to do this endeavor. 677 00:36:28,220 --> 00:36:31,100 So, I get asked this question all the time about, 678 00:36:31,120 --> 00:36:34,031 you know, is there a certain personality type 679 00:36:34,051 --> 00:36:36,131 who gets into a cult? And the answer is "no." 680 00:36:38,220 --> 00:36:40,240 People who join cults 681 00:36:41,021 --> 00:36:43,200 are typically well-educated. 682 00:36:43,220 --> 00:36:46,120 Often from very good families. 683 00:36:46,140 --> 00:36:51,080 They don't have prior psychological problems. 684 00:36:51,100 --> 00:36:53,160 Because, in reality, cults don't want 685 00:36:53,180 --> 00:36:55,171 lonely, strange, weird people, you know, 686 00:36:55,191 --> 00:36:58,171 cults want highly-functioning individuals who can help 687 00:36:58,191 --> 00:37:00,151 run the cult. 688 00:37:04,151 --> 00:37:08,200 Right now, Joyce is going through the process 689 00:37:08,220 --> 00:37:10,131 of leaving. 690 00:37:10,151 --> 00:37:13,080 Uhh, I did have to decide what to do with my job. 691 00:37:13,100 --> 00:37:16,071 I was in a job that I was very satisfied with. 692 00:37:16,091 --> 00:37:17,200 But I think the biggest thing was 693 00:37:17,220 --> 00:37:20,240 working with my children and talking to them. 694 00:37:21,021 --> 00:37:24,060 Uhh, one of-- I do have twin girls that are 13. 695 00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:27,040 - They will go with their father. - Mm-hmm. 696 00:37:27,060 --> 00:37:30,091 If an individual finds themselves 697 00:37:30,111 --> 00:37:32,200 with children... 698 00:37:32,220 --> 00:37:35,060 and they know... 699 00:37:35,080 --> 00:37:37,151 that it is time for them to move up 700 00:37:37,171 --> 00:37:39,211 into the kingdom of God, 701 00:37:39,231 --> 00:37:43,151 they must weigh where their responsibility is. 702 00:37:43,171 --> 00:37:47,220 To their heavenly Father? Or to those children? 703 00:37:51,240 --> 00:37:54,080 This is a rare photo. 704 00:37:54,100 --> 00:37:58,040 It's my mom, me, and my dad. 705 00:38:01,180 --> 00:38:04,220 Looks about three-ish. Two- or three-ish, yeah. 706 00:38:09,051 --> 00:38:12,180 My mom had a real affinity with nature. 707 00:38:12,200 --> 00:38:15,251 Definitely really into astrology. 708 00:38:16,031 --> 00:38:18,220 She looked a lot like me. 709 00:38:18,240 --> 00:38:22,021 My dad was an inventor. 710 00:38:23,200 --> 00:38:26,071 Here's one of my father's inventions. 711 00:38:26,091 --> 00:38:30,021 It's an ergonomic workstation. 712 00:38:30,040 --> 00:38:33,160 They both were very, very, very smart. 713 00:38:33,180 --> 00:38:37,080 That was probably one of the biggest challenges. 714 00:38:37,100 --> 00:38:39,021 They weren't very simple 715 00:38:39,040 --> 00:38:40,200 in how they thought about anything. 716 00:38:43,060 --> 00:38:45,060 Well, I attended a... a meeting 717 00:38:45,080 --> 00:38:48,040 at La... La Cañada College 718 00:38:48,060 --> 00:38:51,151 in... which is north of San Francisco, 719 00:38:51,171 --> 00:38:56,080 uh, in late August of 1975. 720 00:38:56,100 --> 00:39:00,160 And, uh, recognized at that time 721 00:39:00,180 --> 00:39:03,111 that it was the... the truth, 722 00:39:03,131 --> 00:39:06,131 that-- it was what I'd been looking for. 723 00:39:06,151 --> 00:39:09,211 They both sat me down 724 00:39:09,231 --> 00:39:13,240 and... said that they were going to... 725 00:39:14,021 --> 00:39:15,211 go with this cult. 726 00:39:18,060 --> 00:39:22,111 I remember trying to discourage my mother about it. 727 00:39:22,131 --> 00:39:26,080 "Oh, it's nonsense, UFOs, come on." 728 00:39:28,180 --> 00:39:30,200 I don't know how they ever believed that. 729 00:39:30,220 --> 00:39:32,120 Really don't, you know. 730 00:39:32,140 --> 00:39:35,151 I mean, me, a ten-year-old, I didn't believe that. 731 00:39:35,171 --> 00:39:40,120 How did they... it just never made any sense, you know? 732 00:39:43,021 --> 00:39:45,080 They really explained it 733 00:39:45,100 --> 00:39:48,040 as though they may not even be here much longer 734 00:39:48,060 --> 00:39:49,120 than a month or two. 735 00:39:49,140 --> 00:39:52,171 I mean, it was really an immediate state of mind 736 00:39:52,191 --> 00:39:54,120 that everything was gonna change. 737 00:39:54,140 --> 00:39:57,060 The UFOs are coming to pick us up any day now. 738 00:39:59,071 --> 00:40:03,080 I went to live with my mother's parents, 739 00:40:03,100 --> 00:40:04,211 my grandparents. 740 00:40:09,021 --> 00:40:11,140 It was very hard. Very hard. 741 00:40:13,060 --> 00:40:16,080 It's easier for those who are left in the world 742 00:40:16,100 --> 00:40:19,051 to go ahead and move on with their lives. 743 00:40:19,071 --> 00:40:21,021 So in a way, I think, well, 744 00:40:21,040 --> 00:40:23,131 that's been the pattern for most of us. 745 00:40:23,151 --> 00:40:27,091 To, uh, let that-- the past go-- 746 00:40:27,111 --> 00:40:31,051 you know, the... the people that have been our past 747 00:40:31,071 --> 00:40:33,180 to go on with their lives. 748 00:40:42,100 --> 00:40:45,151 KELLY: It was trying to talk sense, 749 00:40:45,171 --> 00:40:48,131 like, to your parents. 750 00:40:48,151 --> 00:40:50,060 How... 751 00:40:50,080 --> 00:40:53,180 them telling you that... 752 00:40:53,200 --> 00:40:57,091 the likelihood that they were gonna go off in UFOs 753 00:40:57,111 --> 00:41:02,231 and I would never, ever, ever speak to them again, never. 754 00:41:02,251 --> 00:41:05,100 Even-- Even if they didn't-- 755 00:41:05,120 --> 00:41:07,100 as soon as they were gone, I was just-- 756 00:41:07,120 --> 00:41:10,180 it was absolutely no contact with me ever again. 757 00:41:10,200 --> 00:41:13,060 And... 758 00:41:15,251 --> 00:41:19,060 I just couldn't imagine what... 759 00:41:22,240 --> 00:41:25,060 it was like trying to compete with God. 760 00:41:25,080 --> 00:41:28,031 That's really what it felt like. 761 00:41:29,120 --> 00:41:31,040 And... 762 00:41:31,060 --> 00:41:34,031 made me feel rather meaningless, to be honest. 763 00:41:37,100 --> 00:41:40,151 I mean, I felt bad on a personal level that 764 00:41:40,171 --> 00:41:44,071 my parents were freaked out. 765 00:41:44,091 --> 00:41:47,151 And some of my relatives thought how horribly mean it was 766 00:41:47,171 --> 00:41:49,080 for me to be so, like, they thought I was 767 00:41:49,100 --> 00:41:52,251 a spoiled person who just did reckless and didn't care. 768 00:41:53,031 --> 00:41:55,120 But that was not the case. 769 00:41:55,140 --> 00:41:59,031 You have to realize that, when Jesus met his disciples, 770 00:41:59,051 --> 00:42:02,160 he said, "You have to leave your family behind 771 00:42:02,180 --> 00:42:07,120 if you want to... surrender to a higher principle." 772 00:42:07,140 --> 00:42:09,031 You can't have it both ways. 773 00:42:09,051 --> 00:42:11,191 If you do adhere to that belief. 774 00:42:11,211 --> 00:42:13,111 So, the point is-- is even though 775 00:42:13,131 --> 00:42:15,231 it seems extreme and drastic, 776 00:42:15,251 --> 00:42:17,111 I was put in a position 777 00:42:17,131 --> 00:42:21,031 if I wanted to be 100% faithful to this belief, 778 00:42:21,051 --> 00:42:23,220 that I still love my mother, 779 00:42:23,240 --> 00:42:25,211 but I needed to follow 780 00:42:25,231 --> 00:42:29,051 this higher... calling. 781 00:42:34,180 --> 00:42:37,060 ROBERT: The whole time that I was with the group, 782 00:42:37,080 --> 00:42:39,080 you're not supposed to be forming 783 00:42:39,100 --> 00:42:41,160 human-level relationships. 784 00:42:41,180 --> 00:42:45,040 So, all I had to do was keep my mouth shut 785 00:42:45,060 --> 00:42:48,240 and just go through the motions and play the role. 786 00:42:49,021 --> 00:42:52,211 [cawing] 787 00:42:52,231 --> 00:42:55,040 At this point, it's been three months 788 00:42:55,060 --> 00:42:57,060 since I've joined the group, 789 00:42:57,080 --> 00:43:00,171 and I had no idea what had become of David. 790 00:43:00,191 --> 00:43:02,211 We had separated, and it was like, 791 00:43:02,231 --> 00:43:05,160 well, I'll see you back in Montana. 792 00:43:05,180 --> 00:43:07,131 It's also in December now, 793 00:43:07,151 --> 00:43:10,180 and my deadline for having to leave the group 794 00:43:10,200 --> 00:43:13,021 was before Christmas. 795 00:43:13,040 --> 00:43:14,231 I've gotta be home for Christmas 796 00:43:14,251 --> 00:43:17,060 with my family. 797 00:43:17,080 --> 00:43:20,051 DAVID: So, the decision was 798 00:43:20,071 --> 00:43:24,131 to write a series of academic papers 799 00:43:24,151 --> 00:43:27,171 beginning with Psychology Today. 800 00:43:29,171 --> 00:43:31,111 ROBERT: We were the only people 801 00:43:31,131 --> 00:43:33,191 who had been behind the scenes, really, 802 00:43:33,211 --> 00:43:36,171 in that group, and Psychology Today 803 00:43:36,191 --> 00:43:38,140 jumped at the opportunity. 804 00:43:38,160 --> 00:43:41,021 And so we ended up being the cover story. 805 00:43:43,051 --> 00:43:45,160 There we are. Me and David. 806 00:43:49,160 --> 00:43:52,071 One of the big issues then was, 807 00:43:52,091 --> 00:43:53,220 why are people joining, 808 00:43:53,240 --> 00:43:56,100 and what happens to them after they join? 809 00:43:56,120 --> 00:44:00,111 Are they being manipulated? Are they being coerced? 810 00:44:00,131 --> 00:44:04,031 Is there brainwashing going on? What does that really mean? 811 00:44:04,051 --> 00:44:08,131 DAVID: What we concluded was, this group was really unique. 812 00:44:08,151 --> 00:44:12,031 The two leaders didn't assert their authority 813 00:44:12,051 --> 00:44:16,040 near as much as your typical New Age leader. 814 00:44:16,060 --> 00:44:19,191 We found no evidence of manipulation. 815 00:44:19,211 --> 00:44:21,200 No evidence of coercion. 816 00:44:21,220 --> 00:44:24,140 No evidence of brainwashing. 817 00:44:24,160 --> 00:44:28,220 Everything about it just was all about free choice. 818 00:44:28,240 --> 00:44:31,111 Now, it'd still be another 20-some years 819 00:44:31,131 --> 00:44:34,040 before this mass suicide was gonna happen, 820 00:44:34,060 --> 00:44:38,131 and I don't think I grasped in my own mind 821 00:44:38,151 --> 00:44:41,140 the gravity of the situation here. 822 00:44:44,131 --> 00:44:47,160 Recently, we had the story of a small town in Oregon that 823 00:44:47,180 --> 00:44:49,251 was visited by a man and a woman who said 824 00:44:50,031 --> 00:44:53,231 they were millions of years old, from outer space. 825 00:44:53,251 --> 00:44:56,231 Nobody knows if they are earthly hoaxers 826 00:44:56,251 --> 00:44:59,031 or Pied Pipers from outer space, 827 00:44:59,051 --> 00:45:01,220 but apparently some people believe their story. 828 00:45:04,151 --> 00:45:07,151 DO: Unfortunately, very little of the human element 829 00:45:07,171 --> 00:45:11,120 across the globe is even interested in this information. 830 00:45:11,140 --> 00:45:15,200 You would not believe what we go through 831 00:45:15,220 --> 00:45:19,080 to even try to get it... to people, 832 00:45:19,100 --> 00:45:21,191 and the harassment that we go through. 833 00:45:21,211 --> 00:45:23,211 How difficult it is to find anyone 834 00:45:23,231 --> 00:45:26,031 who even cares to hear. 835 00:45:29,160 --> 00:45:31,040 SAWYER: Ti and Do felt like 836 00:45:31,060 --> 00:45:34,060 the demonstration of dying and resurrecting, 837 00:45:34,080 --> 00:45:36,080 like the two witnesses were depicted as doing, 838 00:45:36,100 --> 00:45:40,160 was Ti and Do being shot down by the press. 839 00:45:40,180 --> 00:45:43,100 They say, "Well, actually, the media has killed us. 840 00:45:43,120 --> 00:45:45,220 It's a metaphoric martyrdom and resurrection." 841 00:45:49,100 --> 00:45:52,051 No one knows how many others are following the couple, 842 00:45:52,071 --> 00:45:55,211 known up to now only as "he and she" or "The Two." 843 00:45:55,231 --> 00:45:59,091 Well, that mystery at least appears to be solved. 844 00:46:11,191 --> 00:46:13,171 BENJAMIN: Most of the treatments were not serious. 845 00:46:13,191 --> 00:46:15,120 Most people looked at the group 846 00:46:15,140 --> 00:46:17,131 and thought it sounded ridiculous. 847 00:46:19,060 --> 00:46:21,171 There's lots of rumors that there's a connection 848 00:46:21,191 --> 00:46:24,151 with the Charles Manson family, that these people are 849 00:46:24,171 --> 00:46:27,180 gonna commit suicide by starving themselves to death. 850 00:46:27,200 --> 00:46:31,021 They're being connected with cattle mutilations. 851 00:46:31,040 --> 00:46:33,180 This is the biggest cult story in the country. 852 00:46:37,120 --> 00:46:38,251 SAWYER: The meetings at that point were 853 00:46:39,031 --> 00:46:40,111 very poorly-attended. 854 00:46:40,131 --> 00:46:44,080 And Ti stood up and said, "The harvest is closed." 855 00:46:44,100 --> 00:46:46,211 And that was the end of the meeting. 856 00:46:52,060 --> 00:46:54,160 They told the remaining students, 857 00:46:54,180 --> 00:46:56,051 "You made the first cut." 858 00:46:57,200 --> 00:46:59,211 That's the way they put it. That's the way Ti said it. 859 00:47:02,140 --> 00:47:05,220 DO: The fact that Ti and I expressed 860 00:47:05,240 --> 00:47:09,040 that caused us to retreat and take our little classroom 861 00:47:09,060 --> 00:47:10,220 and go hide with them 862 00:47:10,240 --> 00:47:13,100 is because the last thing we could stand was 863 00:47:13,120 --> 00:47:16,160 to have people say, "Blasphemy. 864 00:47:16,180 --> 00:47:18,200 "You say you're from the Kingdom of God. 865 00:47:18,220 --> 00:47:21,211 "Who do you think you are? Jesus? 866 00:47:21,231 --> 00:47:24,160 Who do you think you are? God?" 867 00:47:24,180 --> 00:47:27,151 Because they didn't understand. 868 00:47:30,021 --> 00:47:33,231 So, our hope and our prayer for your sake 869 00:47:33,251 --> 00:47:36,031 is... 870 00:47:36,051 --> 00:47:38,191 you will start warding off 871 00:47:38,211 --> 00:47:41,151 all the bombardment that you will begin to hear. 872 00:47:41,171 --> 00:47:44,251 They say, "Boy, is this guy crazy!" 873 00:47:45,031 --> 00:47:46,231 "Is this a cult if I ever heard one?" 874 00:47:46,251 --> 00:47:50,071 Yes, it is! It's the cult. I mean, it's the cult of cults. 875 00:47:50,091 --> 00:47:52,051 It's the cult of truth! 876 00:47:53,131 --> 00:47:56,231 And I see that we're down to five seconds. 877 00:47:56,251 --> 00:48:00,151 We'll see you in our next session. 878 00:48:02,160 --> 00:48:05,251 ♪ When I die and they lay me to rest ♪ 879 00:48:06,031 --> 00:48:09,180 ♪ Gonna go to the place that's the best ♪ 880 00:48:09,200 --> 00:48:12,171 ♪ When I lay me down to die ♪ 881 00:48:12,191 --> 00:48:17,131 ♪ Goin' up to the spirit in the sky ♪ 882 00:48:17,151 --> 00:48:20,140 [instrumental continues]