1 00:00:07,169 --> 00:00:10,059 [geese honking] 2 00:00:17,230 --> 00:00:20,110 [flute playing] 3 00:00:38,170 --> 00:00:40,100 SAWYER: Since there was no music in the group, 4 00:00:40,119 --> 00:00:42,039 I sold all of my instruments. 5 00:00:42,060 --> 00:00:46,060 And so, when I left, the first thing I did, 6 00:00:46,079 --> 00:00:48,229 it was rent a flute and buy a harmonica. 7 00:00:49,009 --> 00:00:51,219 I like to, you know, mix it up. 8 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:54,060 [playing harmonica] 9 00:00:57,079 --> 00:00:59,199 [harmonica and drums playing] 10 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:10,070 Yeah, I was hitchhiking down to Texas one time. 11 00:01:10,090 --> 00:01:13,060 [continues playing] 12 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:19,220 And I saw a UFO down there. 13 00:01:25,140 --> 00:01:28,080 It was about 1976 14 00:01:28,099 --> 00:01:32,199 after I joined with what was called the UFO cult. 15 00:01:36,090 --> 00:01:38,160 But anyway, I didn't-- I didn't have any sex 16 00:01:38,180 --> 00:01:40,170 with aliens or anything like that. 17 00:01:46,140 --> 00:01:48,050 There's other parts of that 18 00:01:48,069 --> 00:01:50,219 that I could keep on talking about, but... 19 00:01:52,229 --> 00:01:55,229 I don't wanna freak people out. 20 00:01:56,009 --> 00:01:58,139 [playing continues] 21 00:02:11,030 --> 00:02:12,210 Let's see here. 22 00:02:12,229 --> 00:02:17,039 This book was written by Ti and Do. 23 00:02:17,060 --> 00:02:19,060 The cover says "How and When 24 00:02:19,079 --> 00:02:21,049 'Heaven's Gate'"-- in the biggest letters-- 25 00:02:21,069 --> 00:02:25,149 "The Door to the Physical Kingdom Level Above Human 26 00:02:25,170 --> 00:02:27,110 May Be Entered." 27 00:02:28,159 --> 00:02:31,149 [music] 28 00:02:38,020 --> 00:02:41,160 "As the two Older Members put out a 'statement' 29 00:02:41,180 --> 00:02:45,040 "and held public meetings over about a nine-month period 30 00:02:45,060 --> 00:02:49,170 "in 1975-76, to bring their crew together, 31 00:02:49,189 --> 00:02:53,069 "the media tagged them the 'UFO Cult.' 32 00:02:53,090 --> 00:02:56,230 "Because of their expectation of leaving aboard a spacecraft, 33 00:02:57,009 --> 00:02:59,139 "the two Older Members then went into seclusion 34 00:02:59,159 --> 00:03:00,189 with their crew." 35 00:03:04,110 --> 00:03:08,060 After that nine-month period of holding meetings 36 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:10,220 around the country, 37 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:12,230 Ti and I felt like we had instruction 38 00:03:13,009 --> 00:03:17,089 to call the students together and to begin 39 00:03:17,110 --> 00:03:21,220 an intensive, or in-depth classroom training program. 40 00:03:31,060 --> 00:03:33,050 The numbers started dwindling, 41 00:03:33,069 --> 00:03:37,139 cut about 50% to somewhere in the 40s or 50s. 42 00:03:37,159 --> 00:03:40,189 And then, we started 43 00:03:40,210 --> 00:03:42,220 really getting down to the nitty-gritty. 44 00:04:34,090 --> 00:04:37,150 They said it was gonna be the most difficult process 45 00:04:37,170 --> 00:04:40,190 that a human could embark upon, 46 00:04:40,209 --> 00:04:44,089 and that it's not likely that we would all make it. 47 00:04:48,009 --> 00:04:50,029 BENJAMIN: They put this together out of everything 48 00:04:50,050 --> 00:04:52,040 they thought was important. 49 00:04:52,060 --> 00:04:55,000 This is a list of their behavioral guidelines. 50 00:04:56,029 --> 00:05:00,179 These were distributed in November 1976. 51 00:05:01,139 --> 00:05:03,079 The read is very extreme if you're not a member. 52 00:05:05,139 --> 00:05:08,029 [Frank Lyford speaking] 53 00:05:13,100 --> 00:05:18,220 If you don't want to do those, then you're not welcome. 54 00:05:19,180 --> 00:05:22,200 SAWYER: The first one is, "Can you follow instructions 55 00:05:22,220 --> 00:05:25,130 without adding your own interpretation?" 56 00:05:25,149 --> 00:05:27,999 Two, "Can you deliver instructions 57 00:05:28,019 --> 00:05:30,009 "as you receive them, or do they change 58 00:05:30,029 --> 00:05:31,199 according to your programming?" 59 00:05:31,220 --> 00:05:35,070 Three, "Do you participate in inconsiderate conversation?" 60 00:05:35,090 --> 00:05:37,220 Four, "Are you physically clumsy?" 61 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:40,220 Five, "Do you halfway complete a task because..." 62 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:44,090 Six, "Do you put tasks off, procrastinate?" 63 00:05:44,110 --> 00:05:46,100 NARRATOR: Strict obedience and accuracy 64 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:48,130 were demanded for entry to the Next Level, 65 00:05:48,149 --> 00:05:50,169 so every task was regulated. 66 00:05:50,189 --> 00:05:53,049 You were not to come up with, 67 00:05:53,069 --> 00:05:55,109 "Well, I'm gonna make the pancakes this big." 68 00:05:55,129 --> 00:05:58,019 There was a mixture, 69 00:05:58,040 --> 00:06:01,120 a size, how many a person got, 70 00:06:01,139 --> 00:06:04,229 how the syrup was poured on it, everything. 71 00:06:05,009 --> 00:06:07,209 SAWYER: Nine, "Staying in my own head, 72 00:06:07,230 --> 00:06:10,060 "having private thoughts, taking any action 73 00:06:10,079 --> 00:06:12,049 without using my check partner." 74 00:06:12,069 --> 00:06:14,019 BENJAMIN: Heaven's Gate practiced a system 75 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:15,210 called the check partner system. 76 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:18,040 Your check partner would be assigned to you 77 00:06:18,060 --> 00:06:20,030 to make sure that you were following the rules. 78 00:06:20,050 --> 00:06:21,230 LESLIE LIGHT: And they'd pair you up with the person 79 00:06:22,009 --> 00:06:24,139 you'd least likely want to be with. 80 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:27,020 And I didn't have a lot of rough street edges, 81 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:30,160 so they gave me this really crazy, hyper, 82 00:06:30,180 --> 00:06:33,200 speed-freak, street person guy 83 00:06:33,220 --> 00:06:36,130 that was, like, hard to be around. 84 00:06:37,149 --> 00:06:39,089 SAWYER: "Major Offenses: 85 00:06:39,110 --> 00:06:42,080 "Lying to my teachers or any of my classmates. 86 00:06:42,100 --> 00:06:45,230 "Breaking any instruction or procedure knowingly. 87 00:06:46,009 --> 00:06:49,999 Sensuality-- permitting arousal in thought or in action." 88 00:06:51,220 --> 00:06:53,150 WOMAN: Sex, it's a tough one. 89 00:06:53,170 --> 00:06:54,230 - It's a hard one. - [laughing] 90 00:06:55,009 --> 00:06:56,219 WOMAN #2: What if you slip? 91 00:06:57,000 --> 00:07:02,030 I mean, are you forgiven once if you make a slip? 92 00:07:02,050 --> 00:07:03,210 [laughter] 93 00:07:05,089 --> 00:07:07,219 [Frank speaking] 94 00:07:22,069 --> 00:07:24,069 SAWYER: What's left, right? 95 00:07:24,089 --> 00:07:25,189 Right? 96 00:07:25,209 --> 00:07:27,069 Someone would think, 97 00:07:27,089 --> 00:07:29,199 "If I followed all these things 100%, 98 00:07:29,220 --> 00:07:31,230 then I would be a robot." 99 00:07:35,139 --> 00:07:38,189 I didn't like what I saw, 100 00:07:38,209 --> 00:07:41,189 'cause the rigidity and the... 101 00:07:41,209 --> 00:07:44,009 was a turn-off to me. 102 00:07:44,029 --> 00:07:47,219 I would never submit to anything that was controlled. 103 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:51,060 See, I don't-- anything that controls people, 104 00:07:51,079 --> 00:07:54,159 that's why I became a hippie, I did not like control. 105 00:07:54,180 --> 00:07:57,200 And those two things, I just thought, that's-- 106 00:07:57,220 --> 00:08:01,050 you know, I don't wanna be involved anymore. 107 00:08:04,100 --> 00:08:06,090 ROBERT BALCH: As people left the group 108 00:08:06,110 --> 00:08:08,200 for one reason or another, got spun off, 109 00:08:08,220 --> 00:08:13,090 the energy inside the group would actually increase 110 00:08:13,110 --> 00:08:16,090 because everybody really wants to be there, 111 00:08:16,110 --> 00:08:18,000 and you're getting rid of the people 112 00:08:18,019 --> 00:08:20,089 that have doubts, questions, 113 00:08:20,110 --> 00:08:23,110 kind of still too much into their own personal habits. 114 00:08:23,129 --> 00:08:25,149 Those people kind of fall to the wayside. 115 00:08:25,170 --> 00:08:29,170 TI: Do you feel that you have made the progress 116 00:08:29,189 --> 00:08:31,059 that you wanted to make? 117 00:08:31,079 --> 00:08:33,229 Have you met the expectations? 118 00:08:34,009 --> 00:08:35,229 Well, the thing is, our expectations 119 00:08:36,009 --> 00:08:37,079 are constantly growing. 120 00:08:37,100 --> 00:08:42,190 It's like... I know I've changed some, 121 00:08:42,210 --> 00:08:47,030 but I haven't become nearly what I want to become. 122 00:08:48,110 --> 00:08:52,210 I don't think people know how deep their humanness goes, 123 00:08:52,230 --> 00:08:56,110 and what it involves trying to overcome it. 124 00:08:56,129 --> 00:08:58,069 It gets down to the nitty-gritty 125 00:08:58,090 --> 00:09:00,050 of your ways of looking at things, 126 00:09:00,070 --> 00:09:02,030 and your ways of responding, 127 00:09:02,049 --> 00:09:03,219 and things that have been engrained in you 128 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:09,090 for years and years in this particular body that you have. 129 00:09:09,110 --> 00:09:13,100 And there are a lot of things that I've been feeling, 130 00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:16,020 but nothing I could describe. 131 00:09:16,039 --> 00:09:18,159 [music] 132 00:09:30,139 --> 00:09:32,189 JANJA LALICH: So, this was one of their publications, 133 00:09:32,210 --> 00:09:34,010 it's called "Ruffles." 134 00:09:34,029 --> 00:09:36,099 It says here "Snacks for thinkers" 135 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:40,120 because this spaceship kind of looks like a potato chip. 136 00:09:40,139 --> 00:09:44,029 This was given to me by Dick Joslyn, 137 00:09:44,049 --> 00:09:47,129 and everyone was asked to turn in 138 00:09:47,149 --> 00:09:49,109 some kind of little saying 139 00:09:49,129 --> 00:09:52,209 that fit very much with their ideology. 140 00:09:52,230 --> 00:09:55,010 For example, "A goal is not reached 141 00:09:55,029 --> 00:09:57,029 "by just learning how to reach it. 142 00:09:57,049 --> 00:09:59,229 The goal is reached by doing what you learned." 143 00:10:00,009 --> 00:10:03,169 So, it kind of shows their sense of discipline. 144 00:10:03,190 --> 00:10:06,040 "Everyone interprets the truth 145 00:10:06,059 --> 00:10:08,109 at his own level of understanding." 146 00:10:08,129 --> 00:10:11,189 This is like alternate facts, right? 147 00:10:11,210 --> 00:10:13,170 This is very relevant to today. 148 00:10:13,190 --> 00:10:15,230 These people were very ahead of time. 149 00:10:16,009 --> 00:10:17,099 [chuckles] 150 00:10:17,120 --> 00:10:20,070 "Reality is not something you escape from. 151 00:10:20,090 --> 00:10:22,230 Reality is something you escape to." 152 00:10:24,169 --> 00:10:27,129 So, that means you're not really living in reality. 153 00:10:29,149 --> 00:10:33,139 What cults need to do is to turn you into a conformist, 154 00:10:33,159 --> 00:10:36,199 you know, to get you, hopefully, to become a true believer. 155 00:10:36,220 --> 00:10:41,050 They need to break down you and create a new you. 156 00:10:50,059 --> 00:10:54,179 DO: When you're in the process of overcoming this vehicle, 157 00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:57,050 it loses its identity. 158 00:10:57,070 --> 00:11:01,000 It loses the consciousness of who it was. 159 00:11:02,100 --> 00:11:04,220 JANJA: The deepest part of the indoctrination came 160 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:09,170 when they were convinced that they were not human beings. 161 00:11:09,190 --> 00:11:14,010 They were convinced that they were actually these beings 162 00:11:14,029 --> 00:11:16,079 from the Next Level above, 163 00:11:16,100 --> 00:11:19,140 and that they were essentially living inside 164 00:11:19,159 --> 00:11:23,049 these human shells, which they called vehicles. 165 00:11:29,029 --> 00:11:30,189 DO: We'll use the term "vehicle" 166 00:11:30,210 --> 00:11:33,170 when we speak of this body that we're wearing, 167 00:11:33,190 --> 00:11:37,190 this flesh and bones, because we don't relate to it. 168 00:11:37,210 --> 00:11:41,010 It's not me, it's just a suit of clothes that I wear. 169 00:11:41,029 --> 00:11:44,129 BENJAMIN: Any religious group has its own terminology. 170 00:11:44,149 --> 00:11:46,109 As you join the group, you have to learn the language. 171 00:11:46,129 --> 00:11:48,219 It's sort of an unofficial initiation process. 172 00:11:49,169 --> 00:11:52,139 SAWYER: The house was a craft, like a spacecraft. 173 00:11:52,159 --> 00:11:54,099 The kitchen was the Nutri-Lab. 174 00:11:54,120 --> 00:11:56,130 The laundry was the Fiber-Lab. 175 00:11:58,039 --> 00:12:01,019 The vehicle's sexual organs were plumbing. 176 00:12:01,039 --> 00:12:03,219 Sex was sensuality, 177 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:06,160 not that we talked about sex much, 178 00:12:06,179 --> 00:12:08,169 except for avoiding it. 179 00:12:10,169 --> 00:12:13,199 They didn't explain it when they changed the terminology, 180 00:12:13,220 --> 00:12:16,060 but all of these terminology changes 181 00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:18,100 also changed the way we thought about things. 182 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:20,160 So, it didn't stimulate memories. 183 00:12:22,190 --> 00:12:25,110 One of the things that helps you, and this is-- 184 00:12:25,129 --> 00:12:27,099 this was kind of adopted, in a way, 185 00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:29,120 in the Catholic church, 186 00:12:29,139 --> 00:12:33,209 when nuns and monks that isolate themselves 187 00:12:33,230 --> 00:12:37,190 in thoughtful studying conditions, 188 00:12:37,210 --> 00:12:39,100 they take another name. 189 00:12:40,210 --> 00:12:46,170 It helps disassociate them with the family tree. 190 00:12:52,090 --> 00:12:55,040 Around 1977, members of Heaven's Gate 191 00:12:55,059 --> 00:12:56,209 effectively became monks and nuns. 192 00:12:56,230 --> 00:12:58,050 They became monastics. 193 00:12:58,070 --> 00:13:00,000 Remember, they were celibates, 194 00:13:00,019 --> 00:13:02,209 they were living exclusively for trying to achieve 195 00:13:02,230 --> 00:13:06,070 sort of this entrance to heaven, to the Next Level, 196 00:13:06,090 --> 00:13:07,190 and they were given new names. 197 00:13:07,210 --> 00:13:11,230 The system that eventually was used by Ti and Do 198 00:13:12,009 --> 00:13:17,009 was to use a single-syllable, effectively, a first name, 199 00:13:17,029 --> 00:13:19,089 and then a shared last name, 200 00:13:19,110 --> 00:13:20,210 which always ended in "ODY". 201 00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:28,030 SAWYER: Ti and Do said that the Next Level 202 00:13:28,049 --> 00:13:31,039 was adopting us into their family. 203 00:13:31,059 --> 00:13:34,009 So, the family name was O-D-Y. 204 00:13:34,029 --> 00:13:37,039 If I were in the group and my name was Rob, 205 00:13:37,059 --> 00:13:39,069 I would be "RBBODY." 206 00:13:39,090 --> 00:13:42,060 Three consonants, always capitalized-- 207 00:13:42,080 --> 00:13:46,040 RBB, and then ODY. 208 00:13:46,059 --> 00:13:48,199 So, all the names were six letters. 209 00:13:48,220 --> 00:13:51,040 And so, I became SWYODY. 210 00:13:52,110 --> 00:13:54,100 DO: Hi, DVVODY. There's OLLODY. 211 00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:56,170 ALXODY. There's VRNODY. 212 00:13:56,190 --> 00:13:58,050 STMODY. DVDODY. 213 00:13:58,070 --> 00:13:59,130 ANLODY. DSTODY. 214 00:13:59,149 --> 00:14:00,169 JWNODY. GLDODY. 215 00:14:00,190 --> 00:14:01,210 We call him TLLODY 216 00:14:01,230 --> 00:14:04,060 because he's a little taller than LGGODY. 217 00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:05,210 "ODY" is a diminutive, 218 00:14:05,230 --> 00:14:07,160 so it means "a little member," 219 00:14:07,179 --> 00:14:09,179 and that TLLODY or STRODY 220 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:11,180 were little members of the Kingdom of Heaven. 221 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:15,050 It's like the diminutive for God, 222 00:14:15,070 --> 00:14:18,030 and they're all on their way to becoming gods. 223 00:14:20,049 --> 00:14:22,169 SAWYER: And that when we became adults, 224 00:14:22,190 --> 00:14:24,050 they would drop the "Y," 225 00:14:24,070 --> 00:14:27,090 so we'd be the family of Od, 226 00:14:27,110 --> 00:14:29,220 which is like a little Next Level humor, 227 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:31,120 because we were kind of odd. 228 00:14:33,039 --> 00:14:35,019 ROBERT: They began wearing uniforms, 229 00:14:35,039 --> 00:14:38,079 and they had a unisex look. 230 00:14:38,100 --> 00:14:41,180 Very short hair, the women wore no makeup. 231 00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:46,070 They had slacks, tennies, shirts that they wore, 232 00:14:46,090 --> 00:14:49,230 buttoned clear to the top, long-sleeved. 233 00:14:50,009 --> 00:14:52,019 If you had a look that you were attached to, 234 00:14:52,039 --> 00:14:55,099 if you'd worn a beard, you know, for years and years, 235 00:14:55,120 --> 00:14:57,220 you should get rid of all that and adopt a new appearance 236 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:00,020 in the same way that you took a new name, 237 00:15:00,039 --> 00:15:01,139 because those were all things 238 00:15:01,159 --> 00:15:03,149 that symbolized your identity as a human. 239 00:15:35,100 --> 00:15:38,190 BENJAMIN: Members of Heaven's Gate didn't see themselves as robotic 240 00:15:38,210 --> 00:15:40,160 or having to live within an oppressive system. 241 00:15:40,179 --> 00:15:43,139 They really saw themselves as living and enjoying it. 242 00:15:44,149 --> 00:15:46,079 I remember I talked to one ex-member 243 00:15:46,100 --> 00:15:47,190 who said, "Actually, it was-- 244 00:15:47,210 --> 00:15:49,160 "the best part of my life was when I was with the Class. 245 00:15:49,179 --> 00:15:52,189 I had the most-- I had the greatest growth." 246 00:15:52,210 --> 00:15:55,100 And I think they even used the word "fun". 247 00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:57,010 Nothing here strikes me as fun. 248 00:15:57,029 --> 00:15:58,229 But I suppose if you're in-- if you're in it 249 00:15:59,009 --> 00:16:01,179 with a group of several dozen other people, 250 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:03,170 and you're all working together, and you think you're doing it 251 00:16:03,190 --> 00:16:05,060 for a greater good, 252 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:09,060 perhaps that's what... that's what is so meaningful. 253 00:16:11,029 --> 00:16:13,069 DO: It's not that I enjoy being the instrument 254 00:16:13,090 --> 00:16:15,010 of giving out these procedures. 255 00:16:15,029 --> 00:16:18,169 But these students love it, they've seen the value. 256 00:16:18,190 --> 00:16:22,010 It does not restrict them, it frees them. 257 00:16:23,009 --> 00:16:24,999 But you have to have been there 258 00:16:25,019 --> 00:16:26,199 to know what we're talking about. 259 00:16:26,220 --> 00:16:29,160 Otherwise, you can easily doubt it. 260 00:16:29,179 --> 00:16:31,079 Well, one thing you have to consider, 261 00:16:31,100 --> 00:16:34,160 what we as individuals wanted to become. 262 00:16:34,179 --> 00:16:37,079 I think everyone in this Class wanted something 263 00:16:37,100 --> 00:16:39,120 more than the human world had to offer. 264 00:16:39,139 --> 00:16:42,179 They were seeking some type of goodness, 265 00:16:42,200 --> 00:16:45,110 some type of rightness that they did not feel in this world. 266 00:16:45,129 --> 00:16:48,089 I'm seeing people actually develop 267 00:16:48,110 --> 00:16:50,100 into what I always wanted to believe 268 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:52,020 they could develop into. 269 00:16:52,039 --> 00:16:53,219 And it's like I want to go out 270 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:55,210 and put headlines on all the newspapers 271 00:16:55,230 --> 00:16:58,170 saying it's possible to overcome your humanness, 272 00:16:58,190 --> 00:17:00,020 'cause I'm seeing it happen. 273 00:17:00,039 --> 00:17:02,169 [music] 274 00:17:07,029 --> 00:17:09,129 JANJA: Having that kind of discipline, 275 00:17:09,150 --> 00:17:11,020 and struggling through it, 276 00:17:11,039 --> 00:17:13,109 and knowing that you're all struggling through it together, 277 00:17:13,130 --> 00:17:15,050 creates this sense of family, 278 00:17:15,069 --> 00:17:18,049 which is part of what binds people to these groups. 279 00:17:18,069 --> 00:17:22,149 And when you think about years and years and years of that, 280 00:17:22,170 --> 00:17:25,060 that's what makes it so difficult for people to leave. 281 00:17:25,079 --> 00:17:27,049 This is the only world they know. 282 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:30,080 It's so hard not to get choked up 283 00:17:30,099 --> 00:17:31,159 when you talk about this. 284 00:17:31,180 --> 00:17:35,060 But I met the people that are here. 285 00:17:35,079 --> 00:17:36,189 I met my teachers, Ti and Do, 286 00:17:36,210 --> 00:17:38,040 and I knew that I knew all of them, 287 00:17:38,059 --> 00:17:39,199 and that they were my family. 288 00:17:39,220 --> 00:17:42,080 And I've been happy ever since. 289 00:17:42,099 --> 00:17:43,189 I mean, it's been tough. 290 00:17:43,210 --> 00:17:45,180 Anybody who's been honest, like she said, 291 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:48,020 you get hit with everything but the kitchen sink 292 00:17:48,039 --> 00:17:51,109 trying to turn you away, but it's been wonderful. 293 00:17:51,130 --> 00:17:54,060 And in making the decision that we made to do this, 294 00:17:54,079 --> 00:17:56,229 we know that we broke hearts, we know that we hurt people, 295 00:17:57,009 --> 00:17:58,119 and we don't take that lightly. 296 00:17:58,140 --> 00:18:00,230 It-- we didn't want to hurt anyone. 297 00:18:02,099 --> 00:18:04,219 Unfortunately, it's the individuals 298 00:18:05,009 --> 00:18:07,189 that these vehicles cared for the most 299 00:18:07,210 --> 00:18:10,150 that are actually the greatest threat to us. 300 00:18:20,170 --> 00:18:23,030 BENJAMIN: Ti and Do were almost paranoid, 301 00:18:23,049 --> 00:18:24,149 to the extent that they were afraid 302 00:18:24,170 --> 00:18:28,110 they were being tracked by ex-members, family members. 303 00:18:29,230 --> 00:18:32,140 One of the repercussions is they were constantly on the move 304 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:34,200 during the late '70s. 305 00:18:34,220 --> 00:18:37,190 They moved from campground, to campground, to campground. 306 00:18:39,130 --> 00:18:42,030 ROBERT: They never quit camping entirely, 307 00:18:42,049 --> 00:18:47,159 but in 1978, they finally had to move into houses. 308 00:18:47,180 --> 00:18:50,000 Apparently, some members had inherited some money, 309 00:18:50,019 --> 00:18:52,129 and one of the ex-members who was close to Bo and Peep 310 00:18:52,150 --> 00:18:57,140 estimated that it was somewhere between $300,000 and $500,000. 311 00:18:57,160 --> 00:19:00,080 And at that point, they began renting mansions. 312 00:19:03,140 --> 00:19:09,200 FRANK: My cousin, David, his dad was the president 313 00:19:09,220 --> 00:19:12,100 of the New England Phone Company. 314 00:19:12,119 --> 00:19:16,189 And for the first seven years of the cult, 315 00:19:16,210 --> 00:19:20,050 we lived off of his trust fund. 316 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:24,000 ROBERT: They liked upscale suburban neighborhoods, 317 00:19:24,019 --> 00:19:28,229 nice houses, big houses in quiet upper-middle class areas. 318 00:19:30,069 --> 00:19:32,009 They would move people in, 319 00:19:32,029 --> 00:19:34,099 and none of the neighbors would know. 320 00:19:35,130 --> 00:19:38,070 We would live 15 people in a house, 321 00:19:38,089 --> 00:19:41,139 and there was designated people that could go outside. 322 00:19:41,160 --> 00:19:44,090 And the same people were seen outside all the time, 323 00:19:44,109 --> 00:19:47,049 so it appeared as though there was just a few people 324 00:19:47,069 --> 00:19:48,129 living in a house. 325 00:19:50,099 --> 00:19:52,229 [Frank speaking] 326 00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:29,040 BENJAMIN: This is Marshall Herff Applewhite's FBI report. 327 00:20:29,059 --> 00:20:31,019 There's a letter from a concerned parent 328 00:20:31,039 --> 00:20:34,079 which was sent to a congressman, forwarded to the FBI. 329 00:20:35,180 --> 00:20:38,100 And the FBI dutifully responded 330 00:20:38,119 --> 00:20:40,019 and said "there's really not much we can do 331 00:20:40,039 --> 00:20:42,069 about this group, they're consenting adults." 332 00:20:42,089 --> 00:20:45,039 Do wasn't worried about the government 333 00:20:45,059 --> 00:20:51,019 so much as family members intervening. 334 00:20:56,029 --> 00:20:58,129 NARRATOR: The magnetism of Ti and Do 335 00:20:58,150 --> 00:21:01,210 enticed 19-year-old David, Nancie Brown's son. 336 00:21:01,230 --> 00:21:04,110 NANCIE BROWN: I couldn't believe that he was really going off 337 00:21:04,130 --> 00:21:07,150 to do this, and I had to have some knowledge of why. 338 00:21:07,170 --> 00:21:10,210 I mean, after all, you've spent 18 years raising a child. 339 00:21:10,230 --> 00:21:12,230 He was now 19, and he said, 340 00:21:13,009 --> 00:21:15,089 "You know, I can't ever picture myself 341 00:21:15,109 --> 00:21:18,109 "just living the kind of life that most people 342 00:21:18,130 --> 00:21:20,150 take to be normal." 343 00:21:22,109 --> 00:21:27,999 He left in '75, and this was now 1980. 344 00:21:28,019 --> 00:21:30,999 Apparently, some parents and people 345 00:21:31,019 --> 00:21:33,109 have tried to hire private investigators, 346 00:21:33,130 --> 00:21:35,150 and nobody's been able to find out 347 00:21:35,170 --> 00:21:37,210 anything about them. 348 00:21:37,230 --> 00:21:40,160 There was a formation of a parents network 349 00:21:40,180 --> 00:21:42,180 by the late '70s, led by a woman 350 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:44,040 named Nancie Brown. 351 00:21:44,059 --> 00:21:45,999 So, any time there was any news 352 00:21:46,019 --> 00:21:49,129 that the Heaven's Gate members, or part of Heaven's Gate 353 00:21:49,150 --> 00:21:52,180 was at a certain location, she would notify folks. 354 00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:57,110 And this is a newsletter from-- from that network. 355 00:21:57,130 --> 00:22:00,120 There were many of them. This is just one. 356 00:22:08,180 --> 00:22:12,000 NARRATOR: As the years past with no word from David, 357 00:22:12,019 --> 00:22:14,119 Nancie Brown feared for his safety. 358 00:22:14,140 --> 00:22:16,210 NANCIE: I reached the pit of despair 359 00:22:16,230 --> 00:22:21,090 when the Jonestown news broke in '79. 360 00:22:21,109 --> 00:22:25,099 And I remember sitting there watching this horrifying sight 361 00:22:25,119 --> 00:22:28,219 of bodies scattered around the compound 362 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:31,010 like crumpled leaves. 363 00:22:33,029 --> 00:22:37,999 It was just this little message in my heart all the time-- 364 00:22:38,019 --> 00:22:40,229 Where is he? Is he all right? 365 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:45,010 [sighs] Is he alive? 366 00:22:45,029 --> 00:22:47,089 Will I ever see him again? 367 00:23:41,089 --> 00:23:44,059 TERRIE NETTLES: This is '74, '75. 368 00:23:52,170 --> 00:23:54,230 My mom wrote me once a month. 369 00:24:06,009 --> 00:24:09,119 My mom did all the things that they weren't allowed to do. 370 00:24:12,019 --> 00:24:15,019 But she never talked about the group. 371 00:24:15,039 --> 00:24:16,189 All she wanted to do was talk about 372 00:24:16,210 --> 00:24:19,030 what I was doing in my life. 373 00:24:19,049 --> 00:24:22,999 And I wanted to know what was going on, 374 00:24:23,019 --> 00:24:24,119 obviously, in her life. 375 00:24:26,109 --> 00:24:29,099 And we even talked occasionally on the phone. 376 00:24:29,119 --> 00:24:31,079 But the thing that I didn't like, 377 00:24:31,099 --> 00:24:34,009 was she mentioned that any time she called me, 378 00:24:34,029 --> 00:24:36,049 Herff was on the other line. 379 00:24:41,099 --> 00:24:47,019 I received a letter on August 13th, 1982. 380 00:24:48,140 --> 00:24:51,090 She said, "Terrie, if you are with others, 381 00:24:51,109 --> 00:24:55,039 "please do not let them know who this is from, 382 00:24:55,059 --> 00:24:58,119 "especially that network woman, Nancie Brown. 383 00:24:58,140 --> 00:25:00,200 "She is not to be trusted. 384 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:05,110 "I am well and safe as of now. 385 00:25:06,130 --> 00:25:08,090 "Sorry I have to be so secretive, 386 00:25:08,109 --> 00:25:10,069 but that's the way it is at this time." 387 00:25:11,079 --> 00:25:13,229 I just didn't know what that meant. 388 00:25:14,009 --> 00:25:15,999 Are you trying to tell me something? 389 00:25:16,019 --> 00:25:18,089 Is something going on? 390 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:22,060 BENJAMIN: Ti had been sick, Bonnie Lu Nettles had been sick. 391 00:25:22,079 --> 00:25:24,019 She had been diagnosed with cancer, 392 00:25:24,039 --> 00:25:26,179 and she was exhibiting illness. 393 00:25:33,109 --> 00:25:37,129 She had cancer of the eye. 394 00:25:37,150 --> 00:25:43,010 She had her eye removed and a prosthetic put in. 395 00:25:43,029 --> 00:25:45,119 She never talked about it. 396 00:25:45,140 --> 00:25:49,130 Never mentioned it, never complained about it. 397 00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:53,230 SAWYER: They went back to the hospital, 398 00:25:54,009 --> 00:25:55,139 and she had an examination, 399 00:25:55,160 --> 00:25:59,070 and they said that the cancer was in her liver, 400 00:25:59,089 --> 00:26:02,019 and that she only had a short time to live, 401 00:26:02,039 --> 00:26:04,179 and they-- they couldn't do anything for her. 402 00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:08,020 It was only like two or three weeks 403 00:26:08,039 --> 00:26:11,999 from finding out to her passing. 404 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:16,170 We were all devastated. 405 00:26:17,170 --> 00:26:19,220 Most of all, Do. 406 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:24,030 How could this happen? It wasn't supposed to happen. 407 00:26:24,049 --> 00:26:29,129 We were all supposed to graduate together. 408 00:26:35,230 --> 00:26:38,030 TERRIE: When I didn't hear from her for a while, 409 00:26:38,049 --> 00:26:42,999 I was going every single day looking for a letter from her. 410 00:26:45,069 --> 00:26:47,149 I came home from school one day, 411 00:26:47,170 --> 00:26:51,000 and... I got this phone call 412 00:26:51,019 --> 00:26:53,069 from members in the group. 413 00:26:53,089 --> 00:26:54,099 [phone ringing] 414 00:26:54,119 --> 00:26:57,009 A couple named Liv and Dick Joslyn. 415 00:26:58,170 --> 00:27:01,150 They wanted to come talk to me about my mom. 416 00:27:03,130 --> 00:27:05,030 When they showed up, 417 00:27:05,049 --> 00:27:08,129 Liv said something about my mom 418 00:27:08,150 --> 00:27:10,010 going to the doctor. 419 00:27:10,029 --> 00:27:11,209 She talked about my mom's eye, 420 00:27:11,230 --> 00:27:14,050 and that she was having trouble with it. 421 00:27:14,069 --> 00:27:18,079 And... out of the blue, I just looked up at her, 422 00:27:18,099 --> 00:27:20,219 and I said, "Mom's dead, isn't she?" 423 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:24,180 And, um, she said yes. 424 00:27:27,109 --> 00:27:30,039 At first, I mean, for the first few seconds, 425 00:27:30,059 --> 00:27:31,149 you're in denial, you know, 426 00:27:31,170 --> 00:27:33,200 and is this one of those dreams I'm having, 427 00:27:33,220 --> 00:27:36,070 or is this a reality? 428 00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:42,040 I just felt like somebody had ripped my skeleton out of me. 429 00:27:42,059 --> 00:27:44,999 You know, I just-- I just went limp. 430 00:27:48,220 --> 00:27:50,210 I was a total basket case. 431 00:27:50,230 --> 00:27:55,170 I mean, I... I was in shock. 432 00:27:55,190 --> 00:27:58,050 And I remember going to bed that night 433 00:27:58,069 --> 00:28:01,219 and... when I woke up the next morning, 434 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:04,040 my pillow was soaked, my hair was wet, 435 00:28:04,059 --> 00:28:05,189 my face was wet. 436 00:28:05,210 --> 00:28:07,160 I had cried all night long. 437 00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:12,070 These are the death certificates. 438 00:28:12,089 --> 00:28:17,149 And this was the first time I... I ever saw 439 00:28:17,170 --> 00:28:20,110 when my mom died. 440 00:28:23,140 --> 00:28:26,170 She died June 19th, 1985. 441 00:28:26,190 --> 00:28:31,230 I found out March 22nd, 1986, 442 00:28:32,009 --> 00:28:34,099 nine months after the fact. 443 00:28:34,119 --> 00:28:39,029 Ti's last wishes were to not tell Terrie 444 00:28:39,049 --> 00:28:42,099 about... her death. 445 00:28:42,119 --> 00:28:45,069 But she was able to talk some 446 00:28:45,089 --> 00:28:48,019 during that time too, so she could have called Terrie. 447 00:28:49,079 --> 00:28:50,119 But she didn't. 448 00:28:53,039 --> 00:28:54,229 And I know Terrie has a hard time with that, 449 00:28:55,009 --> 00:28:56,219 and I understand that, I'm sorry for that. 450 00:28:57,000 --> 00:28:58,140 I'm sure that's very painful. 451 00:28:58,160 --> 00:29:02,070 But Ti was not the same person as her mother. 452 00:29:03,180 --> 00:29:05,180 It was the same vehicle, 453 00:29:05,200 --> 00:29:08,080 but none of the mind came into that vehicle. 454 00:29:15,170 --> 00:29:19,040 TERRIE: I wanted to know more about my mom. 455 00:29:19,059 --> 00:29:22,019 I tried to contact Herff Applewhite, 456 00:29:22,039 --> 00:29:25,229 and he wouldn't return any of my calls. 457 00:29:27,150 --> 00:29:29,190 He wouldn't respond to anything. 458 00:29:29,210 --> 00:29:33,090 I was constantly fighting to get answers. 459 00:29:33,109 --> 00:29:35,189 And then all of a sudden, he sent me a-- 460 00:29:35,210 --> 00:29:38,190 an audio cassette, 461 00:29:38,210 --> 00:29:42,000 and he talked about everything but what I wanted to hear. 462 00:29:47,049 --> 00:29:49,069 DO: Terrie, this is Do. 463 00:29:49,089 --> 00:29:52,229 I'm a bit embarrassed and awkward 464 00:29:53,009 --> 00:29:56,179 about the fact that I didn't contact you 465 00:29:56,200 --> 00:30:00,040 when Ti left her vehicle, or died, 466 00:30:00,059 --> 00:30:03,199 or however you want to look at it. 467 00:30:03,220 --> 00:30:09,040 I was so torn between trying to comply with her wishes. 468 00:30:09,059 --> 00:30:12,099 I guess, in honesty, I was so awkward, 469 00:30:12,119 --> 00:30:14,189 that I might have been chicken 470 00:30:14,210 --> 00:30:17,160 and not just taken it into my hands 471 00:30:17,180 --> 00:30:20,140 and talking to you. 472 00:30:22,109 --> 00:30:26,039 This task and her mission for the Kingdom of Heaven 473 00:30:26,059 --> 00:30:28,149 was everything to her. 474 00:30:28,170 --> 00:30:32,060 She felt that this was the only consistent way 475 00:30:32,079 --> 00:30:35,169 to even end her part of the task. 476 00:30:35,190 --> 00:30:37,190 I think if you'll think about that, 477 00:30:37,210 --> 00:30:40,090 you can understand it, and certainly don't grieve 478 00:30:40,109 --> 00:30:43,009 in thinking that she didn't want you to know 479 00:30:43,029 --> 00:30:46,049 because of lack of love for you, or anything, 480 00:30:46,069 --> 00:30:49,009 'cause that certainly wasn't true. 481 00:30:49,029 --> 00:30:52,069 I'm going to pray for your release 482 00:30:52,089 --> 00:30:54,129 from this suffering. 483 00:30:54,150 --> 00:30:56,180 The suffering... [clears throat] 484 00:30:56,200 --> 00:30:59,100 [choking up] ...has been very great for me. 485 00:30:59,119 --> 00:31:03,079 And I want you to... 486 00:31:04,119 --> 00:31:06,169 [clears throat] ...know that I love you, 487 00:31:06,190 --> 00:31:10,150 and I wish I could do more for you. 488 00:31:13,029 --> 00:31:16,029 TERRIE: It hurt me to hear the emotion in his voice, 489 00:31:16,049 --> 00:31:18,219 because I understood it. 490 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:24,060 But at the same time, this was my mother. 491 00:31:24,079 --> 00:31:27,059 This was a friend to him, a spiritual partner, 492 00:31:27,079 --> 00:31:29,059 or whatever you want to call it. 493 00:31:29,079 --> 00:31:31,129 It-- it's just not the same thing. 494 00:31:33,079 --> 00:31:36,159 I found out later that my mom lived in Dallas 495 00:31:36,180 --> 00:31:39,040 not far from where I was staying at the time. 496 00:31:41,180 --> 00:31:44,020 I had moved to Huntsville for college. 497 00:31:45,119 --> 00:31:47,159 I was four hours away. 498 00:31:50,109 --> 00:31:52,219 I should have been there when she was sick 499 00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:56,190 to hold her hand, to tell her I loved her, 500 00:31:56,210 --> 00:31:59,070 to-- whatever I needed to say. 501 00:32:02,059 --> 00:32:05,039 You know, you took all that away from me. 502 00:32:11,160 --> 00:32:14,050 [interviewer speaking] 503 00:32:18,089 --> 00:32:21,099 No. Nobody seemed to be interested. 504 00:32:27,130 --> 00:32:30,190 Well, my doctor wanted me to see a psychiatrist 505 00:32:30,210 --> 00:32:32,170 because I was having... 506 00:32:32,190 --> 00:32:34,110 I gotta stop for a second. 507 00:32:41,140 --> 00:32:45,020 DO: I feared being left with the responsibility 508 00:32:45,039 --> 00:32:49,079 of the mission with my partner being gone. 509 00:32:50,119 --> 00:32:53,059 But I can remember in the first few weeks 510 00:32:53,079 --> 00:32:56,009 that I met Ti, that Ti said, 511 00:32:56,029 --> 00:32:58,099 "Why do I feel that this is something 512 00:32:58,119 --> 00:33:04,079 that I'm to give to you, and then I'm to go back?" 513 00:33:05,140 --> 00:33:08,190 And I didn't know what she was talking about. 514 00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:13,150 But I know now. 515 00:33:19,230 --> 00:33:24,220 Do's response was deep heartbreak. 516 00:33:27,009 --> 00:33:28,129 Grief. 517 00:33:30,190 --> 00:33:36,150 And... to the point where he questioned... 518 00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:41,120 whether he should continue the Class. 519 00:34:00,150 --> 00:34:05,060 So, since Erika and I were both visiting Calgary, 520 00:34:05,079 --> 00:34:07,159 'cause that's where our parents lived-- 521 00:34:07,180 --> 00:34:10,100 Do decided we should travel together 522 00:34:10,119 --> 00:34:12,139 as check partners. 523 00:34:12,159 --> 00:34:14,079 Of course, the understanding was 524 00:34:14,099 --> 00:34:16,179 that that's all we were. 525 00:34:18,159 --> 00:34:22,059 When we stopped for a layover, 526 00:34:22,079 --> 00:34:25,039 and we're sitting on the same bench 527 00:34:25,059 --> 00:34:28,049 in kind of a secluded area... 528 00:34:29,079 --> 00:34:35,219 I had this overpowering desire 529 00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:38,230 just to give her a hug. 530 00:34:52,210 --> 00:34:55,090 That was the first time we had touched 531 00:34:55,110 --> 00:34:58,020 in... about 10 years. 532 00:35:01,179 --> 00:35:06,199 I just felt, let's run away together. 533 00:35:13,010 --> 00:35:18,160 If she had said, "Let's stop this... 534 00:35:20,090 --> 00:35:26,020 I've had enough, let's go do something else," 535 00:35:26,039 --> 00:35:28,079 I would have said yes. 536 00:35:35,039 --> 00:35:37,079 - Oh! - You want me to do some work? 537 00:35:37,099 --> 00:35:39,039 [inaudible chatter] 538 00:35:39,059 --> 00:35:40,179 Let's continue with the tour. 539 00:35:40,199 --> 00:35:42,119 NANCIE: He looked well. 540 00:35:42,139 --> 00:35:47,049 Of course, it was absolutely marvelous seeing him. 541 00:35:47,070 --> 00:35:49,050 Phone calls are nice, letters are nice, 542 00:35:49,070 --> 00:35:50,200 but to actually... 543 00:35:53,030 --> 00:35:56,180 to see and hug him, and talk to him, 544 00:35:56,199 --> 00:35:58,999 and spend the couple of days together 545 00:35:59,019 --> 00:36:04,139 was... very-- very important to me, and to all of us. 546 00:36:04,159 --> 00:36:06,129 ROBERT: And these parents literally didn't know 547 00:36:06,150 --> 00:36:07,230 if their kids were dead or alive, 548 00:36:08,010 --> 00:36:09,200 because they had not heard anything from them 549 00:36:09,219 --> 00:36:12,009 since '75. 550 00:36:12,030 --> 00:36:14,220 NANCIE: All right! [cheers and applause] 551 00:36:15,190 --> 00:36:18,100 ROBERT: One woman I talked to described her son 552 00:36:18,119 --> 00:36:20,129 when he came back on Mother's Day, 553 00:36:20,150 --> 00:36:23,140 she said she was shocked because he was clean-cut, 554 00:36:23,159 --> 00:36:26,209 he was polite, he was really helpful around the house. 555 00:36:26,230 --> 00:36:29,170 Called up his old friends, went out with them, 556 00:36:29,190 --> 00:36:31,210 stuck around for two weeks, and then all of a sudden 557 00:36:31,230 --> 00:36:33,160 said, "Well, it's time to go. 558 00:36:33,179 --> 00:36:35,049 "I can't tell you where I'm gonna go, 559 00:36:35,070 --> 00:36:36,100 "what I'm gonna be doing, 560 00:36:36,119 --> 00:36:38,039 and I'll be back in touch again sometime." 561 00:36:38,059 --> 00:36:39,199 And then, he vanished. 562 00:37:13,010 --> 00:37:15,190 If they were really these other beings 563 00:37:15,210 --> 00:37:19,090 that weren't really in this body, 564 00:37:19,110 --> 00:37:22,140 this body had nothing to do with them, 565 00:37:22,159 --> 00:37:26,109 why then did she die a very human death of cancer? 566 00:37:26,130 --> 00:37:29,160 So, this was one of the snafus that-- 567 00:37:29,179 --> 00:37:32,059 that Do had to deal with. 568 00:37:32,079 --> 00:37:36,189 That was a very tough one for me, 569 00:37:36,210 --> 00:37:39,190 because Ti and I thought that-- 570 00:37:39,210 --> 00:37:44,100 we just knew, it seemed, that we would both be here 571 00:37:44,119 --> 00:37:46,139 for the full duration of the task, 572 00:37:46,159 --> 00:37:50,029 and it didn't occur to us that one might leave 573 00:37:50,050 --> 00:37:53,040 prior to the other one leaving. 574 00:37:53,059 --> 00:37:57,179 One of the most powerful forces in religion 575 00:37:57,199 --> 00:38:00,229 suddenly reared its head there. 576 00:38:01,010 --> 00:38:03,070 It's what we call cognitive dissonance-- 577 00:38:03,090 --> 00:38:07,040 the moment in which an event occurs 578 00:38:07,059 --> 00:38:10,229 that seems to undermine your very theology, 579 00:38:11,010 --> 00:38:12,090 your very doctrine. 580 00:38:18,179 --> 00:38:20,019 BENJAMIN: The basic idea 581 00:38:20,039 --> 00:38:21,159 of Heaven's Gate up to that moment 582 00:38:21,179 --> 00:38:24,079 was that you would chemically and biologically 583 00:38:24,099 --> 00:38:26,219 transform your body from being a human being 584 00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:29,060 into becoming a Next Level alien, 585 00:38:29,079 --> 00:38:31,179 and then you would physically get on board the UFO, 586 00:38:31,199 --> 00:38:33,129 which would sail off into Heaven. 587 00:38:33,150 --> 00:38:36,040 What happens when Bonnie Lu Nettles, 588 00:38:36,059 --> 00:38:37,999 when Ti dies? 589 00:38:38,019 --> 00:38:39,209 The vehicle broke down, 590 00:38:39,230 --> 00:38:43,040 and humans would say, well, the vehicle died. 591 00:38:43,059 --> 00:38:45,219 And so, how can you say she left her vehicle? 592 00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:48,060 The explanation which was given to members 593 00:38:48,079 --> 00:38:50,159 is that it looked to us 594 00:38:50,179 --> 00:38:52,119 like she was suffering from cancer, 595 00:38:52,139 --> 00:38:55,159 but in fact, her Next Level consciousness 596 00:38:55,179 --> 00:38:57,049 burned up her human body. 597 00:38:57,070 --> 00:39:00,090 Cognitive dissonance comes in. 598 00:39:00,110 --> 00:39:06,050 Your faith system shifts to make room for the event. 599 00:39:06,070 --> 00:39:09,030 It tested me, it tested the Class, 600 00:39:09,050 --> 00:39:12,210 and we're all 10 feet taller because of it. 601 00:39:15,170 --> 00:39:17,110 REZA: There is a parallel here 602 00:39:17,130 --> 00:39:19,170 with Jesus and the Jesus movement. 603 00:39:24,110 --> 00:39:28,090 Jesus' followers believed that Jesus was the Messiah, 604 00:39:28,110 --> 00:39:32,150 according to the Jewish definition of the Messiah. 605 00:39:33,199 --> 00:39:36,129 But there was a huge problem. 606 00:39:36,150 --> 00:39:40,020 A dead Messiah is, by definition, 607 00:39:40,039 --> 00:39:42,069 no longer the Messiah. 608 00:39:42,090 --> 00:39:45,180 And so, Christianity didn't just go away. 609 00:39:45,199 --> 00:39:52,129 They fundamentally redefined what "Messiah" means. 610 00:39:54,219 --> 00:39:56,179 Messiah is not an earthly King, 611 00:39:56,199 --> 00:39:58,109 it's a heavenly King. 612 00:39:58,130 --> 00:40:00,130 The Kingdom that the Messiah creates 613 00:40:00,150 --> 00:40:03,190 isn't on this world, it's on the next world. 614 00:40:03,210 --> 00:40:08,040 Understand that no one had ever said these things before. 615 00:40:08,059 --> 00:40:09,229 And for Heaven's Gate, that big shift 616 00:40:10,010 --> 00:40:13,100 would be the idea that if it happened to her, 617 00:40:13,119 --> 00:40:15,199 it might happen to others as well. 618 00:40:15,219 --> 00:40:20,089 Ti's thinking was, if that's what you have in mind for me, 619 00:40:20,110 --> 00:40:23,040 and if that's what you have in mind for Do, 620 00:40:23,059 --> 00:40:27,029 and for the Class, then that's-- that's what we want. 621 00:40:27,050 --> 00:40:32,110 When Nettles dies, it undermines the entire point 622 00:40:32,130 --> 00:40:34,190 of the bodily transformation. 623 00:40:34,210 --> 00:40:39,010 And now, it's a spiritual transformation. 624 00:40:39,030 --> 00:40:42,160 We're going to leave our bodies behind. 625 00:40:46,190 --> 00:40:50,120 So, in a strange way, the tragedy of Heaven's Gate, 626 00:40:50,139 --> 00:40:53,029 the suicide of all those people, 627 00:40:53,050 --> 00:40:59,070 is a direct result of the unexpected death 628 00:40:59,090 --> 00:41:01,110 of one of the co-founders. 629 00:41:01,130 --> 00:41:04,000 What it meant to me... 630 00:41:06,099 --> 00:41:09,049 even though it still breaks my heart... 631 00:41:10,219 --> 00:41:13,129 to recall the experience... 632 00:41:15,199 --> 00:41:19,219 it very swiftly 633 00:41:20,000 --> 00:41:23,060 and very solidly 634 00:41:23,079 --> 00:41:26,059 put me on firmer ground 635 00:41:26,079 --> 00:41:30,049 in relationship to my Heavenly Father. 636 00:41:30,070 --> 00:41:34,120 It put me in a better relationship with Ti 637 00:41:34,139 --> 00:41:38,059 than I had before she left her vehicle. 638 00:41:38,079 --> 00:41:42,079 I know that Ti is still, to this day, 639 00:41:42,099 --> 00:41:47,039 my primary, if not my total link 640 00:41:47,059 --> 00:41:49,129 with our Heavenly Father. 641 00:41:51,150 --> 00:41:54,090 BENJAMIN: During her lifetime, she's called the Older Member. 642 00:41:54,110 --> 00:41:57,030 He deferred to her, and Do also said 643 00:41:57,050 --> 00:41:59,020 that his connection to the Next Level 644 00:41:59,039 --> 00:42:00,159 went through Ti. 645 00:42:00,179 --> 00:42:04,029 After her death, Do looked to her 646 00:42:04,050 --> 00:42:08,000 as still guiding him, but now from outer space. 647 00:42:08,019 --> 00:42:11,069 Ti is my Older Member. 648 00:42:12,130 --> 00:42:15,150 Ti is my Heavenly Father. 649 00:42:18,190 --> 00:42:22,100 And in fact, it's no more than a decade after her death 650 00:42:22,119 --> 00:42:24,049 that Do publicly declares himself 651 00:42:24,070 --> 00:42:26,230 Jesus returned to Earth, and declares that Ti 652 00:42:27,010 --> 00:42:28,130 was the one known as God the Father. 653 00:42:30,050 --> 00:42:32,120 ROBERT: Even though she was raised as a Baptist, 654 00:42:32,139 --> 00:42:35,139 Bonnie was involved in metaphysical teaching. 655 00:42:35,159 --> 00:42:38,219 She's involved in New Age ideas, 656 00:42:39,000 --> 00:42:40,140 all of this stuff 657 00:42:40,159 --> 00:42:43,029 that must have just driven Do crazy, 658 00:42:43,050 --> 00:42:46,180 because Marshall Herff Applewhite, Senior, 659 00:42:46,199 --> 00:42:50,099 was a very prominent Presbyterian minister, 660 00:42:50,119 --> 00:42:52,029 and by all accounts, 661 00:42:52,050 --> 00:42:54,050 Herff really wanted to emulate him 662 00:42:54,070 --> 00:42:57,100 and become a minister just like he had done. 663 00:42:57,119 --> 00:43:00,049 And if you read the Heaven's Gate book 664 00:43:00,070 --> 00:43:01,230 that came out much later, 665 00:43:02,010 --> 00:43:05,020 Do is, like, really harsh on the New Age. 666 00:43:05,039 --> 00:43:07,999 And New Age is, like, that's one of the big ways 667 00:43:08,019 --> 00:43:12,159 that Lucifer is trying to get his hooks in humans. 668 00:43:12,179 --> 00:43:15,149 After Ti dies, 669 00:43:15,170 --> 00:43:18,230 the message becomes much more biblical, 670 00:43:19,010 --> 00:43:24,160 moving away from Ti's ideas to more Do's thinking. 671 00:43:24,179 --> 00:43:27,029 DO: We see the world. 672 00:43:27,050 --> 00:43:32,070 We see the world as the anti-truth, 673 00:43:32,090 --> 00:43:33,230 the Antichrist. 674 00:43:34,010 --> 00:43:40,090 The world will see us as anti-truth, Antichrist. 675 00:43:40,110 --> 00:43:43,180 We know that that is inevitable. 676 00:43:50,119 --> 00:43:54,049 SAWYER: Ti gave us instructions before she died, of course, 677 00:43:54,070 --> 00:43:56,160 to make our commitment to Do. 678 00:43:56,179 --> 00:43:59,089 Ti trusted Do 100%. 679 00:43:59,110 --> 00:44:00,170 Do came to a meeting, 680 00:44:00,190 --> 00:44:03,080 maybe the second, or third, or fourth meeting 681 00:44:03,099 --> 00:44:07,159 after Ti left, and... he said, 682 00:44:07,179 --> 00:44:09,009 "There's something different about me. 683 00:44:09,030 --> 00:44:10,100 I want to play a little game." 684 00:44:10,119 --> 00:44:12,179 [people chattering] That's right. 685 00:44:14,000 --> 00:44:15,190 That's right. 686 00:44:15,210 --> 00:44:18,040 [chattering continues] 687 00:44:18,059 --> 00:44:20,169 ROBERT: Do called everybody together one day and says, 688 00:44:20,190 --> 00:44:22,100 "Well, I've got a little test for you. 689 00:44:22,119 --> 00:44:27,079 If you had $100 that you could spend 690 00:44:27,099 --> 00:44:31,199 for something for yourself, what would you buy? 691 00:44:37,110 --> 00:44:41,020 Apparently, it just drove everybody absolutely bonkers. 692 00:44:41,039 --> 00:44:43,009 Here, they've been in the process 693 00:44:43,030 --> 00:44:44,110 of giving everything up, 694 00:44:44,130 --> 00:44:48,090 they have no personal possessions at all. 695 00:44:48,110 --> 00:44:51,140 And all of a sudden, $100 to buy something 696 00:44:51,159 --> 00:44:54,149 only for yourself, what would it be? 697 00:45:02,070 --> 00:45:04,080 DO: Now, when you become a candidate 698 00:45:04,099 --> 00:45:05,999 for our Father's Kingdom, 699 00:45:06,019 --> 00:45:09,019 our Father then says, "I'm a jealous god. 700 00:45:09,039 --> 00:45:11,139 "For a period of time, you might have thought 701 00:45:11,159 --> 00:45:14,209 "you loved me more than you loved those other things. 702 00:45:14,230 --> 00:45:17,220 "But if you're gonna get into my house, 703 00:45:18,000 --> 00:45:21,010 you have to love only me." 704 00:45:22,050 --> 00:45:23,140 ROBERT: What it was, the answer, 705 00:45:23,159 --> 00:45:28,019 was a very simple gold band, a cheap $100 gold band. 706 00:45:28,039 --> 00:45:29,189 A wedding ring. 707 00:45:29,210 --> 00:45:32,100 ["He Needs Me" playing] 708 00:45:41,079 --> 00:45:44,229 ♪ And all at once I knew, I knew at once ♪ 709 00:45:45,010 --> 00:45:48,030 ♪ I knew he needed me ♪ 710 00:45:48,050 --> 00:45:49,190 ROBERT: Herff doesn't have Bonnie 711 00:45:49,210 --> 00:45:52,060 as his support system anymore, 712 00:45:52,079 --> 00:45:56,109 so the Class itself becomes his support system. 713 00:45:56,130 --> 00:45:59,180 ♪ I knew he needed me ♪ 714 00:46:00,210 --> 00:46:04,200 FRANK: Do became even more obsessed 715 00:46:04,219 --> 00:46:09,149 with control after she passed on. 716 00:46:09,170 --> 00:46:11,200 And so, he had a little ceremony 717 00:46:11,219 --> 00:46:14,079 to where we were marrying him. 718 00:46:14,099 --> 00:46:18,209 ♪ He needs me, he needs me, he needs me, he needs me ♪ 719 00:46:18,230 --> 00:46:23,040 ♪ He needs me, he needs me ♪ 720 00:46:23,059 --> 00:46:26,069 The instruction was to come up one by one. 721 00:46:26,090 --> 00:46:29,230 When I got to be the one to go up to him, 722 00:46:30,010 --> 00:46:31,160 he was sweating profusely. 723 00:46:31,179 --> 00:46:33,129 I could see the sweat on his brow, 724 00:46:33,150 --> 00:46:35,040 and he kissed me on the forehead, 725 00:46:35,059 --> 00:46:37,089 and he was weeping. 726 00:46:37,110 --> 00:46:41,160 ♪ It's like a dime a dance, I'll take a chance ♪ 727 00:46:41,179 --> 00:46:46,119 ♪ I will because he needs me ♪ 728 00:46:46,139 --> 00:46:48,089 SAWYER: He was giving birth. 729 00:46:48,110 --> 00:46:52,160 ♪ Maybe it's because he's so alone ♪ 730 00:46:52,179 --> 00:46:56,219 He was birthing students into the Next Level. 731 00:46:57,000 --> 00:46:59,050 ♪ ...had a home ♪ 732 00:46:59,070 --> 00:47:03,160 ♪ He needs me, he needs me, he needs me, he needs me ♪ 733 00:47:03,179 --> 00:47:07,159 ♪ He needs me, he needs me ♪ 734 00:47:07,179 --> 00:47:10,999 ROBERT: Up until this point, the focus was on the message 735 00:47:11,019 --> 00:47:13,169 or the process of overcoming. 736 00:47:13,190 --> 00:47:16,160 But what happens with this marriage ceremony 737 00:47:16,179 --> 00:47:20,209 is now the loyalty is shifting from the message 738 00:47:20,230 --> 00:47:22,100 to the messenger. 739 00:47:28,119 --> 00:47:30,079 That is why ever after that, 740 00:47:30,099 --> 00:47:31,209 when you see people in the group, 741 00:47:31,230 --> 00:47:34,020 if there's a picture that shows their hands, 742 00:47:34,039 --> 00:47:35,169 they'll have wedding rings on. 743 00:47:46,190 --> 00:47:49,080 [music ends] 744 00:47:53,150 --> 00:47:55,180 BENJAMIN: It is a question that will not go away. 745 00:47:55,199 --> 00:47:58,119 What kind of messenger could convince 38 followers 746 00:47:58,139 --> 00:48:00,179 to commit suicide alongside of him? 747 00:48:02,170 --> 00:48:04,110 RIO DIANGELO: Do was a wonderful person. 748 00:48:04,130 --> 00:48:07,120 He was very helpful, a very good teacher, 749 00:48:07,139 --> 00:48:09,219 and we had a lot of reverence for him. 750 00:48:10,000 --> 00:48:11,130 Here's the problem-- 751 00:48:11,150 --> 00:48:14,080 once people's lives are conformed 752 00:48:14,099 --> 00:48:16,119 to predictable patterns through peer pressure-- 753 00:48:16,139 --> 00:48:18,179 and you saw the people, they were dressed the same way, 754 00:48:18,199 --> 00:48:20,109 they sported the same kinds of haircuts-- 755 00:48:20,130 --> 00:48:22,100 virtually anything is possible. 756 00:48:22,119 --> 00:48:26,069 Ti and Do never... 757 00:48:26,090 --> 00:48:28,230 were out to con anybody. 758 00:48:29,010 --> 00:48:32,080 If they conned anybody, they conned themselves first. 759 00:48:32,099 --> 00:48:33,189 REPORTER: Miss Lalich, let me start with you. 760 00:48:33,210 --> 00:48:37,180 Do you believe this was suicide or murder? 761 00:48:37,199 --> 00:48:39,149 I believe it was murder. 762 00:48:44,070 --> 00:48:47,200 ♪ You don't own me ♪ 763 00:48:47,219 --> 00:48:51,229 ♪ I'm not just one of your many toys ♪ 764 00:48:52,010 --> 00:48:55,080 ♪ You don't own me ♪ 765 00:48:55,099 --> 00:49:01,149 ♪ Don't say I can't go with other boys ♪ 766 00:49:01,170 --> 00:49:05,190 ♪ And don't tell me what to do ♪ 767 00:49:05,210 --> 00:49:09,030 ♪ Don't tell me what to say ♪ 768 00:49:09,050 --> 00:49:13,050 ♪ And please, when I go out with you... ♪♪