New Religious Movements - Heaven's Gate

  • The Start

    Marshall Applewhite, the founder of Heaven's Gate, and Bonnie Nettles, a nurse, meet at a hospital in Houston. They open a metaphysical bookstore.
  • Spirtual Mission

    The couple closes the metaphysical bookstore and set out to find their spiritual mission.
  • Traveling

    The couple travel around the country.
  • Increased Followers

    More people join Applewhite and Nettles and agree to meet in Gold Beach, Oregon. When the meeting happens, Applewhite and Nettles call themselves Bo and Peep, respectively.
  • First Recruits

    Applewhite and his wife go to Ojai, California, where they recruit a mother and her daughter.
  • Spaceship

    The group meets in Waldport, Oregon to wait for a spaceship to land but it does not show up. Around 30 people join the group. Later on, the group waits for a spaceship to show up at Colorado National Monument.
  • No Public Meetings

    Nettles exclaims that the group will not hold public meetings any more. About 80 people leave the group the following year. Applewhite then goes by Do while Nettles goes by Ti.
  • Nettles's Death

    Nettles passes away from liver cancer.
  • Advertisement

    The group puts an advertisement of them in USA Today and begins recruiting members. This is where the internet starts to be used for recruitment purposes.
  • Living Situation

    The members of the group spend months living in a compound in a New Mexico town.
  • Moving

    The members move into a mansion in Rancho Santa Fe.
  • Mass Suicide

    The group commits mass suicide and the bodies of the 39 cult members are then discovered in the mansion.