Peoples Temple Collection; Box 17, Virtual Item 7, Q588-Part 1 - Jonestown meeting (588-596) | Special Collections & University Archives

This tape of a Jonestown community meeting in mid-April 1978 shows how threatened Jones – and by extension, the whole of Jonestown – was by the absence of several of Guyana's political leaders and the unwelcome arrival of relatives in Georgetown.

The conversation begins as Jones laments the possible fascist takeover of Guyana during the absence of Guyana's top political leadership for two weeks, as they visit the Soviet Union. He adds that this doesn't mean that Jonestown would be immediately attacked (later, he points out that the deaths of 1000 people wouldn't go unnoticed, should the forces against them try something). Their numbers give them power and security, but they have to be alert. What they have to consider, he says, are two things: "our revolutionary significance [and] our survival, in that order." He soon adds that: "The temptation in a world without principle is for me to put it in reverse order."

Full summary of the recording available at Alternative Considerations of Jonestown website, along with the tape transcript.

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

Special Collections and University Archives does not hold a physical copy of this audio cassette.