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at a time of psychological crisis for Applewhite, and apparently Nettles convinced him that
they were meant to be together, as platonic soul mates—and for a higher, more spiritual
purpose.
Separating themselves from family and friends and living as mystics, in 1974 and ‘75
Applewhite and Nettles went on a recruitment drive across the southwest and western
United States. Through what they described as their ―awakening‖ experience, they became
convinced that they were the two messengers talked about in the Book of Revelations in the
Bible. They believed they were here to bring word of the Second Coming. Their first real
success at recruiting came at a meeting in Los Angeles in April 1975, from which they
amassed a few dozen followers. Afterwards, with their new band of eager followers, they
staged similar meetings, finding audiences on or near college campuses or in progressive or
alternative-type locales. Their advance posters tended to draw curious individuals from
communities of seekers and people with an interest in UFOs and supernatural phenomena.
The two leaders appeared self-assured and a little mysterious, projecting a certain aura that
tended to appeal to the crowds before them. Before long, the group‘s numbers swelled.
They gained more than one hundred followers from their first four public meetings in
California, Oregon, and Colorado.
Recruits ranged in age from late teens to sixties many had at least some college education
some had completed undergraduate and graduate degrees and other specialized training.
Most of the early followers self-identified as seekers of truth who had experimented with
various religious and spiritual paths, from Scientology, Eastern religions, and Catholicism to
spiritualism and magic. Some had been engaged in social activism, such as
environmentalism and the women‘s movement. Even though some gave up seemingly
successful lives and careers, most were less situationally stable at the time they ran into the
group—for example, they were close to graduation from college, had just ended a
relationship, had just lost someone important to them, were dissatisfied with their life in
some way, or were simply on the hippie trail, as were so many others at that time.
The appeal of this group was rooted in the fact that Applewhite and Nettles were offering
something different—something unique, yet familiar. They talked of reincarnation, spirit
beings, UFOs, and cosmic consciousness—all familiar concepts in the growing New Age
movement of the 1970s. At the same time, this was not the same old trip with the best hit
of acid or the same old long-haired group spouting the same old verses out of the same old
Bible or Hindu text. What these two were offering seemed to be better, combining a little bit
of everything and it came across as really ―far out.‖ If nothing else, it was original. These
two prophets and their newly gathered disciples sounded knowledgeable enough and
mysterious enough to entice the curious and the sincere. They appeared to awaken a
dormant yearning in the hearts of those who responded. One follower, who had been in and
out of the group since 1976, remarked, ―I knew I was linked to them in a way that I
couldn‘t explain. It was such an intense experience.... After the second meeting I went
outside and cried for joy.‖ Another former member said, ―I just felt drawn to them. You
could feel the goodness.‖
Most of the time most members did not know the whereabouts of their two leaders. The
Two (as they were often called in those days) simply arrived for meetings, and on occasion,
entertained visits at their home from their Elders or Helpers. The two leaders continuously
maintained that being around others lowered their vibrational level. Ultimately, though,
their reclusive behavior was a useful pattern in keeping them apart from their followers,
while adding to their mystique and perpetuating the leader myth. Yet, the pooled money of
their followers was supporting them in that elusive behavior. The members‘ fear of losing
their leaders and/or their sense of frustration over their absences were emotions that were
handily transformed into a sense of stimulation and anticipation. ―We never knew if we
would see them again,‖ said one former follower who had been among the first batch of

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recruits. Some drifted away during those times, but those who stayed and became the core
group developed an ever-increasing dependency on their leaders.
Transcendent Belief System
Humans create symbolic models, or belief systems, from which they organize their social
and psychological processes. Without these ―symbolic templates,‖ human behavior would be
too diffuse, without boundaries or guidelines. The power of any particular belief system
inheres in its ability to formulate social realities for its adherents (Geertz 1973). A belief
system, then, serves to mediate complex realities for the individuals who are drawn to it, or
guided by it.
A transcendent belief system, as used here, is one in which the symbol system provides a
template for going beyond the ordinary everyday reality it offers grand solutions by means
of authoritative concepts and persuasive imagery. It is transcendent in the sense that it
looks to, indeed predicts, a radical change—either progressive or reactionary—in the social
order (Giddens 1984). It not only holds forth a utopian vision, but also offers the actual
means by which to get to the new world (Smelser 1962). When that aspect is present, a
belief system becomes an ideology. ―Ideologies always assume that one idea is sufficient to
explain everything,‖ wrote Hannah Arendt in her classic work on totalitarianism (1951, p.
168).
To examine and analyze this particular dimension, I looked at the appeal of the message,
the moral imperative embedded in the beliefs, the sense of urgency and freedom, and the
responses to and consequences of crises and shifts in various tenets of the beliefs. The
Heaven‘s Gate belief system tended to be both transcendent and intensely ideological in
that it was a single-tracked, insular thought system. It could also be described as totalistic.
To the extent that members were true believers, they accepted the certitude with which
their respective leaders put forth, developed—and sometimes changed—aspects of the belief
system. For the most part, devotees accepted their leaders‘ points of view and adaptations
without question. When they did not do so, when they dared to question, individual
members (or groups of members) left (or were ejected from) the group.
There are two major components to their belief system. The first is a visionary component,
which consists of the transcendent ideal. It is illustrated in this quote from a follower: ―For
the first time in my life I have a firm faith that there is something higher.‖ The second
component is organizational and consists of the methodology for achieving the goal
embedded in the vision. This is exemplified in this quote from a devotee: ―We represent the
only way that exists that can offer anyone true freedom—liberation—from what binds
them.‖ These two components were intertwined and inseparable they upheld and
reinforced each other—one might say that together they sealed the fate of the believer.
The Heaven‘s Gate belief system was an amalgam of Theosophy and spiritualism. The two
originators drew on Nettles‘s metaphysical background (as a medium and follower of New
Age thought) and added a heavy dose of fundamentalist Christianity from Applewhite‘s
background (as the son of a Baptist preacher with years of seminary training). When The
Two needed to explain or justify a particularly strict regime or code of conduct, such as
separation from families, they turned to select scriptures from the Bible or New Age
precepts to bolster their own authority.
The foundation of the belief system was built around the idea that Ti and Do would be killed
by opponents (most likely the authorities), and three and one-half days later a spaceship
would arrive to lift them off to the ―Next Level,‖ or the ―Level Above Human.‖ The Two
dubbed this event ―the Demonstration‖ in that it was to demonstrate the truth of their
message. The Next Level was portrayed by them as an actual physical place, not a spirit
world as in other belief systems. They called it ―home.‖ To be saved, one had to follow these