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Applewhite and Nettles then split their followers into small groups, which they referred to as " Star Clusters ".
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Applewhite and Nettles
Applewhite and Nettles told their followers that they would be visited by extraterrestrials that would provide them with new bodies.
In 1985, Nettles died, leaving Applewhite distraught and challenging his views on physical ascension.
In 1972, Applewhite met Bonnie Nettles, a nurse with an interest in theosophy and biblical prophecy.
Applewhite soon began to live with Nettles.
Applewhite and Nettles opened a bookstore known as the Christian Arts Center, which carried books from a variety of spiritual backgrounds.
While traveling, Applewhite and Nettles pondered the life of St. Francis of Assisi and read works by authors including Helena Blavatsky, R. D. Laing, and Richard Bach.
By June 1974, Applewhite and Nettles ' beliefs had solidified into a basic outline.
Applewhite described his role as a " lab instructor " and served as the primary speaker, while Nettles occasionally interjected clarifying remarks or corrections.
Applewhite and Nettles sent advertisements to groups in California and were invited to speak to New Age devotees there in April 1975.
The coverage was negative: commentators and some former members mocked the group and leveled accusations of brainwashing against Applewhite and Nettles.
However, Balch and Taylor state that Applewhite and Nettles eschewed pressure tactics, seeking only devoted followers.
Benjamin E. Zeller, an academic who studies new religions, notes that Applewhite and Nettles ' teachings focused on salvation through individual growth and sees this as similar to currents in the era's New Age movement.
Applewhite and Nettles, however, denied connection with the New Age movement, viewing it as a human creation.
Most were well versed in New Age teachings, allowing Applewhite and Nettles to convert them easily.
By 1975, Applewhite and Nettles had taken the names " Bo " and " Peep ".
Applewhite and Nettles soon told them to adopt two-syllable names that ended in " ody " and had three letters in the first syllable, such as Rkkody, Jmmody, and Lvvody ; Applewhite stated that these names emphasized that his followers were spiritual children.
Applewhite, Nettles, and their followers lived what religious scholar James Lewis describes as a " quasi-nomadic lifestyle ".
Applewhite and Nettles ceased having public meetings in April 1975, and spent little time teaching doctrine to their converts.
Applewhite and Nettles feared that they would be assassinated, and taught their followers that their deaths would be similar to those of the two witnesses of the Book of Revelation.
Applewhite and Nettles later explained to their followers that the former's treatment by the press was a form of assassination and had fulfilled their prophecy.
By early 1976, Applewhite and Nettles had settled on the names " Do " and " Ti "; Applewhite stated that these were meaningless names.
Applewhite and Nettles began to place greater demands on their followers ' heretofore loosely structured lives, which improved membership retention.
Applewhite and then
Applewhite and Nettles had about 40 followers then and lived in two or three houses: the leaders usually had their own house.
Applewhite then explained to her his ideas about heavenly connections, thoroughly convincing Nettles of their truth.
Applewhite later passed for a then school record 473 yards as the starter in the Holiday bowl.
Applewhite and their
Marshall Herff Applewhite ( May 17, 1931 – March 1997 ; also known as Bo and Do among other names ) was an American religious leader who founded what became known as the Heaven's Gate religious group and organized their mass suicide in 1997.
Applewhite initially stated that he and his followers would physically ascend to a spaceship, where their bodies would be transformed, but later, he came to believe that their bodies were mere containers of their souls, which would be placed into new bodies.
Applewhite taught that his followers would reach a higher level of being, changing like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly ; this example was used in almost all of their early literature.
Applewhite and Nettles insisted that their followers practice what they referred to as " flexibility ": strict obedience to their often shifting requests.
Applewhite instructed his disciples to be like children or pets in their submission — their sole responsibility was to obey their leaders.
In his 2000 study of the group, Winston Davis states that Applewhite mastered the " fine art of religious entertainment ", noting that many of his disciples seemed to enjoy their service.
Applewhite and Nettles arranged their followers ' lifestyles as a boot camp that would prepare them for the Next Level.
In 1982, Applewhite and Nettles allowed their disciples to call their families.
Applewhite told their followers that she had traveled to the Next Level because she had too much energy to remain on Earth, abandoning her body to make the journey.
Applewhite and followers
Applewhite also sought to prevent close friendships among his followers, fearing that this could lead to insubordination.
Applewhite organized seemingly arbitrary rituals that were intended to instill a sense of discipline in his followers ; he referred to these tasks as " games ".
Lifton states that Applewhite wanted " quality over quantity " in his followers, although he occasionally spoke about gaining many converts.
In 1980, Applewhite and Nettles had about 80 followers, many of whom held jobs, often working with computers or as car mechanics.
Applewhite told his followers that he had been left behind by Nettles because he still had more to learn — he felt that she occupied a higher spiritual role than he did.
A relationship with Applewhite was said to be the only way to salvation ; he encouraged his followers to see him as Christ.
Although many popular commentators, including psychologist Margaret Singer, speculate that Applewhite brainwashed his followers, this idea is rejected by most academics.
Lewis argues the Applewhite effectively controlled his followers by packaging his teachings in familiar terms.
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