Jim Jones was born in Indiana in 1931. As an unsupervised child, Jones became fascinated by church work at an early age. When he graduated from High School, in 1949, he married his sweetheart Marceline Baldwin, a nurse. In 1956 Jones opened up his own church called “The People’s Temple” in Indianapolis, Indi

It is true that, after attending many of the seminars and conferences, Jones’ followers developed many of their own values. However, they were quickly modified and developed into norms by Jones. Norms are established rules of behavior or standards of conduct (Kendall, 2003, 83). Sanctions, or rewards for appropriate behavior and penalties for inappropriate behavior, were indefinitely involved in Jonestown. If one of his followers decided to leave his cult, they were mysteriously involved in a freak accident or simply killed. Of course, the rest of his congregation was informed of the matter, put in a way that made it sound as of the tragedy occurred because he or she was not under the protection of the family anymore. If a member did something that went against Jones laws they were secluded in a small, underground box for hours and in serious cases, days. In contrast, if a member did something desirable or exceptional, they were rewarded by Jones, this usually did not include tangible items, merely praise by Jones himself.

Eventually the nation became suspicious. California Congressman Leo J. Ryan received permission, from Jones himself, to enter Jonestown. Ryan had received many complaints from the family members of the individuals involved in Jonestown. Ryan visited the compound and spoke with Jim Jones. On the 18th, some of the members handed notes to Ryan requesting to leave with him. He agreed to take them back. That same day, while boarding the plane, Ryan was ambushed by a gunman sent from Jonestown. Ryan was killed, but some his party escaped into the jungle.

This unfortunate display of abstract cult activity is one of many and it has been on the rise over the past few decades. From the inevitable fear associated with this activity, society has learned much about cults and what they consist of as well as the signs that can be spotted in other people. It is from this fear that society can now determine who is at risk, and what signs, specifically, to look for.

Naturally, Jones followers had a sense of what was right and what was wrong, what was good and what was bad, and what was desirable and what was undesirable. This particular sense was develop

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