November 18, 2013- 35 years ago today People Temple came to horrific end. The images of over 900 dead bodies bloated and rotting in the jungle were gruesome and unbelievable to say the least. Yes, lessons should have been learned in order to keep the same methods of control used by Jim Jones out of our society today. Like so many others in this country, I did not go beyond the images and learn the dangerous control dynamics used by Jones to bring that many people to a place of destruction. I had no inkling that one day my life would be turned upside down by many of the same mind control techniques used by Jim Jones. That understanding would not begin until after I left Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) in July of 2008. In this post, we will continue to explore the similarities I see between Jim Jones and Jane Whaley – leader of Word of Faith Fellowship.

As a resource text, we will use some excerpts from the work by Tim Reiterman- “Raven”. Reiterman co-authored with John Jacobs (copyright ©1982 Tim Reiterman, Introduction copyright 2008 by Tim Reiterman, ISBN 978-1-58542-678-2); the authors tell “The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and His People”. “Tim Reiterman is a prizewinning journalist who extensively covered Jonestown for the San Francisco Examiner. He was wounded in the jungle airstrip attack that killed a U.S. Congressman, plus three reporters, and a Peoples Temple defector.” (from the back cover)   We stopped at page 94 in our last post from this book. Let us pick up the drama….

Jim Jones moved many of his followers from Indiana to California in the summer of 1965. “The world conflagration would come July 15, 1967, he said, and only those in nuclear safe zones would be spared in that terrible blast and fallout.” (page 94-95) The Case family had known Jim Jones for years and had been in leadership in his church for a time. They also helped him become a part of the Disciples of Christ denomination. (page 67)  The Case family did not move into the safe zone as Jones directed. This family moved further south. There was tension between Mr. Case and Jones which Jones tried to overcome.

 “And during a drive down School Street, Jones declared pointedly, in discussing the unfortunate fate of an Indiana member who had failed to heed one of his warnings: “People must learn to obey their spiritual leaders.” … Rankled, Case criticized Jones. “You take too much control over people,” he said. “I have thought about that,” Jones responded with patronizing sincerity. And I’ve talked about it with my psychiatrist. He said I can’t release them too fast from their dependency or they’ll have psychological problems.”  (page 96 emphasis added)

Jones’ admonition that “People must learn to obey their spiritual leaders” is not unlike Jane Whaley’s main ministry emphasis. Her members “that God has called to that place” must obey God by obeying what He says through her.  That is how the dynamics work inside of WOFF. Do other former members agree?

Jones also acknowledged the dependency of his members on him and his reluctance to “release” them. Jane never says she sees a psychiatrist, but, many times she advocates destruction for those that do not obey the word of the Lord through her. She goes so far as to predict cancer, accidents and murders even untimely death on those who leave her group. So, in this example, there are similarities, right? But wait, there is more…

“On February 18, 1965, Harold Cordell, then a professional accountant, wrote Case six pages of praise for Jim Jones and criticism of the Bible. This disconcerting letter immediately confirmed Case’s suspicions about Jones’s religious plunge. It questioned the Bible’s story of creation and expressed the opinion that demons cast out by Jesus were probably germs. “Many think God spoke to these ‘prophets’ and ‘disciples’ of past history, but that he has never spoken since, Cordell wrote. I know this to be untrue. I know he has always had a man speaking his will through the ages and does have at least one that I know today, namely Jim Jones. He is a prophet of the first degree whose prophecies always come true to the minute detail…” (page 96-97)

How would this Mr. Cordell come to doubt the Bible and call Jim Jones a prophet? First, I have heard recordings of Jim Jones criticizing the Bible. That part was not a shock. I suspect that Jones also called himself a prophet and Mr. Cordell believed it.

In comparison, Jane does not question the Bible’s validity; in fact she harps on it as confirming her gift and ministry. She uses the Scriptures to confirm “what she hears from God.” And in like manner to Jane calls herself a Prophetess and in years past an Apostle. I never heard people SAY that her predictions always come true, but, she does say if a prophet’s predictions don’t come true then they are not a prophet. I have not seen a six page letter from a WOFF member praising Jane, but, I have heard people go on from the pulpit about Jane and Sam and the sacrifices they make and how much God uses them and, … and,… and. Basically, there has been Jane worship at times from WOFF members and Jane receives it very nicely. The similarity here is most obviously the adulation that Cordell gave Jones is the same type of adulation that faithful WOFF member give Jane. The EFFECT is the same.

Reading further and noting two more similarities for this post- “The Temple had become an extended family for those who had traveled west. At last, Jones had penetrated the barrier of blood relationships — and brought a sizable number through it. As a father to them all…” (page 100)  We could just as easily write- Word of Faith Fellowship had become an extended family for those who had traveled north from Greenville, SC; west form Wilmington, NC; south from New York and Connecticut; south from Indiana or east from California. At last Jane had penetrated the barrier of blood relationships— and brought a sizable number through it. As a Mother or Grandmother to them all…

Jim Jones required his members to make their family relationships with family members not in his church as last place to the Peoples Temple spiritual family. Jane does the same with members of WOFF. Family members who disagree with Jane or who do not in turn worship Jane are shunned and cut off from their family members inside of WOFF.

Next, “In sermons about the evils of competition, Jones railed about the brutality in sport. “If you got hurt, then you would be dumped. The coach doesn’t really care about you.” Jones used competitive sports as a metaphor for capitalist system and inhumanity.” (page 102) Jones preached against competition and capitalism. Jane preached messages against competition and sports also included the brutality, but, she focused her metaphors on the “competition devil.” Who could forget those sermons? And yet, we find more similarities between Jim Jones and Jane Whaley. How many more will we find? It is hard to say. This book is over 600 pages. Please, come back to this blog as we continue our series.

And with that, let us remember:

“It is never too late to wake up and leave and reclaim your life!” Steve Hassan

Thank you, for taking time to visit and read this blog. 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. Jane told me. Comments are invited from all readers, including present or former members. Polls are not scientific and no private information is gathered.

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Please, take time to read the Terms of Use for this personal blog. As mentioned, for posts written by John Huddle, any information about WOFF is from his memories and recollections as perfect as that may be or not be. Scripture references are Amplified Version unless otherwise noted. (Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation ) This is post number 447.