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In 1972 Marshall Applewhite "Heavens Gate" cult leader, a music professor who, survived a near-death experience due to a heart blockage, was recruited into the "Heavens Gate" cult by one of his nurses, Bonnie Lu Nettles.

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In 1975, Applewhite and Nettles persuaded a group of 20 people from Oregon to leave their families and possessions to move to eastern Colorado, where they promised that spacecraft would take them to the "Kingdom of Heaven". Applewhite called himself "Do" and Nettles "Ti".

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"Ti" and "Do" explained that human bodies were merely containers that could be abandoned in favor of a higher physical existence. In the 1980's the spacecraft never arrived and the cult diminished. In 1985 Bonnie died from cancer. In the 1990's they recruited new members and told them that a new comet in 1995 (Hale-Bopp) had the spacecraft behind it hiding from human detection.

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In 1997, as part of its 4,000 year orbit of the sun, the comet (Hale-Bopp) passed near earth in one of the most impressive astronomical events of the 20th century. When Hale-Bopp arrived, Applewhite and his 38 follower ate applesauce with a lethal mixture of phenobarbital and vodka and then lay down to die, hoping to leave their bodily containers, enter the spacecraft, and pass through the Heavens Gate into higher existence.

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Currently there are two semi-active members, Marc and Sarah King, a married couple who no longer affiliate with Heaven's Gate's teachings. The two live in Phoenix, Arizona and currently manage and update the cult's website along with information and background knowledge about Heaven's Gate.

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#1 Originally the cult promised that members wouldn't have to die to ascend to a higher plane.
#2 Part of the Heavens Gate Dogma was that everything had to be precisely the same. Including the amount of food they ate, the way they shaved, clothing to wear, and even changing you personality to be the same.

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The group members had to have matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors in order to avoid looking foolish. They want to follow what the cult is doing in order to go to a higher existence.

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The group members obey what the cult leader of Heavens Gate (Do AKA Marshal Applewhite) orders them to do. They followed his command of having the mass suicide in order to go to a higher existence or else they will not be able to. Marshall Applewhite is the high authority figure (Cult leader).

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Marshal Applewhite Persuades all of his members to join him by promising them the ability to go to a higher existence no matter the cost. Whether it is committing a crime or even committing suicide.

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The idea of a cult in general is a classic example of groupthink. It involves multiple people agreeing unanimously without thinking logically. Applewhite used groupthink to his advantage in order to enlist new members for Heaven's Gate and follow his teachings to the end.

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Marshal Applewhite starts by recruiting members with Bonnie Lu Nettles promising them into a higher existence. This does not work the first time so he persuades them again by telling them behind the comet (Hale-Bopp) has spacecraft hiding from human detection which then leads them into a mass suicide.

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When Applewhite was hospitalized for his heart he met Bonnie Nettles at his bedside. Applewhite himself described their first meeting as fate and was instantly attracted to her. It was that attraction that led Nettles to introduce Applewhite to Heaven's Gate and co-found the cult with him.

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Source #1
Source #2