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Peoples Temple Collection; Box 27, Virtual item 31, Q1027- San Francisco sermon (1973)

 Digital Record
Identifier: ms-0183_27.31b

Dates

  • Digitized: 1973

Creator

Summary Note

Recorded in January 1973, this address by Jim Jones to his Peoples Temple congregation in San Francisco contains few overt references to God – either as the traditional Judeo-Christian God whom Jones often disparages, or to himself as being the new Christ or the new God – few interpretations of the news that characterize many of his sermons from this period, and only a limited number of reminders of what Peoples Temple has done for its followers. Instead, it is a more focused talk, dwelling principally on a couple of subjects: Angela Davis, the Communist Party and radical political groups in the US; recent publicity about the Temple and what that means for the group; and the role of nonviolence in political struggle. The recording includes several familiar characteristics, including tape edits at the times that Jones asks the congregation for money. The sermon also cuts off in mid-sentence at the end. What is relatively rare is that the tape begins with the beginning of the address, rather than picking it up after it has begun. Full summary of the recording available at Alternative Considerations of Jonestown website, along with the tape transcript.

Rights Statement Note

The copyright interests in these materials have not been transferred to San Diego State University. Copyright resides with the creators of materials contained in the collection or their heirs. The nature of historical archival and manuscript collections is such that copyright status may be difficult or even impossible to determine.  Requests for permission to publish must be submitted to the Head of Special Collections, San Diego State University, Library and Information Access. When granted, permission is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder(s), which must also be obtained in order to publish. Materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials.

Physical Description Note

Original audio cassette tape recording digitized and made available as .mp3 audio file.

Publisher Note

Publisher: The Jonestown Institute

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections & University Archives Repository

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