The largest mass suicide in the United States

Sunkist said:
I remember hearing about that on the news (before I ever saw/used a computer)..
those cults are stark-raving nuts..
Click to expand...
I should have added: it's not difficult for people- normal, stable, intelligent people- to get sucked into cults.. just be in the wrong place at the wrong time..
 
That whole thing was tragic and alarming.

Of course I think they were dillusional and misguided.

But here is something really frightening to think about, what if they were right?
 
He killed himself. He was demon posessed. He must have really believed it himself.

Here are the key details about his beliefs:
"The Two" and Alien Origins: Applewhite and his co-founder, Bonnie Nettles ("Ti"), came to believe they were the "Two Witnesses" mentioned in Revelation 11 and that they had been sent from space.


Alien Walk-in Concept: As their theology developed, particularly after Nettles passed away in 1985, Applewhite began to adopt the New Age concept of "walk-ins"—higher-level beings who take over the bodies of humans. He taught that he was a "walk-in" who had taken over his human body to deliver a message from the "Next Level".


The "Meat Vehicle" Concept: Applewhite taught that their physical bodies were merely "containers" or "vehicles" that they were using for their time on Earth. He believed that to "graduate" to the next level of existence, they had to discard these "vehicles" to allow their alien souls to return to a spaceship.


Jesus and Alien Connection: He believed his own body was inhabited by the same consciousness that had previously inhabited the body of Jesus 2,000 years prior, which he also viewed as a "Next Level" being inhabiting a human, according to Britannica.
 
Marshall Applewhite’s ex-wife, Ann Pearce (later Anne Nickerson), described him as a personable music teacher and loving husband during their marriage in the 1950s, stating the person who led the Heaven's Gate cult was completely different from the man she knew. She separated from him in the 1960s before his radical religious shift.

Key Details from the Ex-Wife and her Family:
A Different Person: Her new husband, Mr. Nickerson, indicated that she did not recognize the Applewhite who died in the 1997 California mass suicide as the same person she was married to.

No Interest in Occult: She noted that during their decade-long marriage, Applewhite never displayed interest in the occult or UFOs.
Personality: Those who knew him during his marriage to Ann described him as a talented, personable music director with a "beautiful voice".

Separation: They separated in the mid-1960s, divorced in 1968, and he lost contact with her and their two children, according to Britannica.
 
I feel sorry for him. He's not like the standard domineering lying cult leader.

I agree with this topic starter.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Heavensgate/comments/oyoi27

Bonnie Nettles was the true founder of this cult.
Someone else here might have made this connection, but i believe that Bonnie Nettles or Ti was the true founder of a large portion of the cult, and Applewhite was more of her first devoted follower. He seems like a true believer in a way that most cult leaders don't, and i feel he was more of a victim to this ideaology. He isn't blameless, but i see more of a sympathetic figure here.

Yes, she was his Older Member and he acknowledged that all the time. She read his star chart to him and said their paths were connected.

I feel like this too, it's pretty apparent that Applewhite truly believed in the cult's doctrine, even going as far as to get castrated and obviously commit suicide in the same way as everyone else. Bonnie wrote letters to her daughter essentially going against what she was preaching, and she was the one to recruit him technically. Applewhite was the leader after she died and i understand why he's depicted as the perpetrator of a crime but i honestly think he was a victim and probably the most indoctrinated member in a sense.
 
Bonnie Nettles’ daughter, Terrie, lived a relatively normal life before her mother abandoned the family in 1972 to follow Marshall Applewhite. Terrie worked at a theater where Applewhite produced children's shows. She later lived near White Rock Lake in Texas, where she has been interviewed about her mother's life and legacy.

Life Before the Abandonment
Family Structure: Bonnie Nettles was married to a businessman and was a mother of four children.

Lifestyle: Before 1972, the family was described as having a "relatively stable" life, though Bonnie became deeply involved in the occult, hosting seances and conducting astrological readings.

Connection to Applewhite: Terrie worked at a theater where Applewhite taught, interacting with him in a professional capacity before he and Bonnie became close.
Aftermath: When Bonnie left, she abandoned her husband and all four children.

https://abc7.com/post/cult-next-door-diane-sawyer-special-heavens-gate-2020/11642749/
 
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