In the years following the massacre on November 18, 1978, at Jonestown; several survivor books were published. “In My Father’s House” (copyright 1981, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 361 pages) is the first thorough account of a family of survivors who were affected by this tragedy, that I have read. The authors are Min S. Yee and Thomas N. Layton, with contributions from Deborah Layton, Laurence L. Layton and Annalisa Layton Valentine. The Layton family and their generational history were covered extensively in the first part of the book. Though it does provide some foundational background, the details of that history were difficult to follow. The historical information was a hard connection to make at first, when in my thinking; the book was to focus on the events surrounding the Layton’s family involvement in People’s Temple and with Jim Jones. The authors use family records, letters, baby books, taped interviews and other sources to provide the timeline and content for the book.

   In the “Author’s Notes”, it is admitted that the Layton family was not happy with the book. After reading it, I could see places where too much detail on subjects not related to main story, could bring some family regrets. Deborah Layton went on to publish her own book, “Seductive Poison” (copyright 1998, Anchor Books) which will be covered in another post.

     Once the authors cover the history of each parent in the Layton family, the story moves quickly into family life and the steps taken to join the People’s Temple. Mr. Layton came from an academic background. He was a professor and well respected in many academic circles. Lisa Philip Layton, the wife and mother, was of German origin and had worked as a physical therapist when she met her husband, Laurence. The author details the courtship, marriage and family struggles.

     The Layton children grew up in the 60’s in Berkley, California, which presented its own struggles for sure. Two of the four children, Larry and Debbie along with their mother become involved in the People’s Temple. Larry and Debbie would take on increasing responsibilities and the mother would eventually divorce her husband just before her move to Jonestown, Guyana. After contributing thousands of dollars to People’s Temple, Lisa Layton would die a couple of weeks before the massacre. Larry would later be convicted in the United States for his involvement in the shootings at the Port Kaituma airstrip.

    Deborah Layton would rise in rank in the Temple; favored and yet violated by Jim Jones. In 1978, she would then escape Jonestown going back to the United States, just months before the massacre. The parts of the book dealing with the everyday life and duties within the People’s Temple were intriguing, as were the details of Debbie’s escape. The Temple member’s attempting to stop Debbie from leaving reminded me of what another fellow witnessed at an airport when a Brazilian young man tried to leave Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). See post here.. http://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=157  I was also reminded of other stories told during WOFF services, of teams of folks going after the ones who had departed, to confront them and attempt to bring them back. My perspective on these stories has changed since leaving WOFF.

    Other parts of the book that reminded me of life at Word of Faith Fellowship included the fears present in the Temple members. Several fears of Temple members were documented in this book. The most intense fear seemed to be of Jim Jones and his power to carry out the consequences for disobeying him. Debbie Layton also expressed her fears of other members and what they would say about her to gain favor with Jim Jones.

    While at WOFF, you could sense the over-reactive fear present in members as revealed when ever Jane Whaley walked into the sanctuary, most everyone would turn and look at her. The question that ran through my head many times was- What kind of mood is she in today? Was I the only member who thought that? There were some services where she spent a lot of time “hitting sin”. That usually meant a lot of raised voices or downright screaming at folks. I never was able to reconcile these times as being the true love of God.

   Temple members were encouraged to “write up” each other and report to Jim Jones what was seen and done by other Temple members (page 262-263) That is another characteristic of People’s Temple that reminded me of life at WOFF.   Jane Whaley would regularly encouraged notes to be written to her. If you knew of “sin” in yourself or others, you were expected to report it verbally or in writing.

     Grace Stoen, another Jonestown survivor, stated in the PBS documentary “Jonestown- The Life and Death of People’s Temple” (copyright 2007) stated that she learned not to talk to others about anything, especially your questions or doubts. She inferred all information flowed back to Jim Jones. Debbie Layton made that clear in her book. All information about members did get back to Jim Jones.

    There were certain subjects that were off-limits at WOFF. One was any doubt or questioning about what was said or done by Jane Whaley or other leadership. I have seen Jane Whaley call folks out in the middle of a service to address “something that got back in her ears…” Either information about members flowed uphill and back to her or she had listening devices in folks homes. She at least has “human” listening devices in every WOFF home.

   The book, “In My Father’s House” is a good read. There are many insightful observations about life inside People’s Temple and how it was controlled by Jim Jones. From my perspective, there are patterns and methods documented in this book that remind me of life at Word of Faith Fellowship in Spindale, NC. Is anyone surprised? There is more to post from other sources, about these similarities.

     Please, consume the information on this site responsibly. The author is not a licensed mental health professional and encourages those that need professional help to seek it. The intent of the material is to inform and be a resource. Be sure to tell every member that you know at WOFF about this blog. There are readers at WOFF. Comments are invited from all readers, including present or former members. Polls are not scientific and no private information is gathered.

    Look on the right side of any post for the option to subscribe by email for notifications or RSS feeds notifying of new postings. It is a great feature. Also, find more posts by selecting “Categories”.

      (Please, take time to read the Terms of Use for this personal blog. As mentioned, the information about WOFF is from my memories and recollections as perfect as that may be or not be. ) This is post number 110.