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Marshall Applewhite Research Paper

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Who is Marshall Applewhite? Applewhite was an American cult leader who founded what became known as heaven's gate religious group and organized his mass suicide in 1997. In 1972, applewhite met a woman who's name was Bonnie Lu Nettles, later they would decide that they were “the two” mentioned in the book of revelation, and they were on special spiritual mission. Wanting to show their knowledge with others, so they began to travel in a quest. After a while people began to notice them and they began to win a reputation as a good leaders, with Applewhite being the main speaker in the session they held. Uncomfortable, without wanting to talk to many people Applewhite, and his accomplice eventually began to send out their followers to travel and speak to people about their beliefs. …show more content…

They began to create rules that should not be broken at any costs or else the punishment was severe. They also began to force their followers to wear baggy clothes and hair had to be short in order to not be able to distinguish between the different sexes. The cult also began to many unusual experiments having to do with diets, sex, at some point Applewhite and few other members got castrated. In the 1980’s Applewhite began to spread the word that the earth was nearing to its end. In 1995 the discovery of the comet Hale-Bopp caught the attention of Applewhite. As Hale-Bopp became close to earth Applewhite and his followers began to get ready for their exit of the earth. On March 21, they ate a last supper at restaurant, they all ordered the exact same thing. A day or two days later, when the comet was its closest to the planet, Applewhite and his followers took their own lives by drinking a mixture of vodka and barbiturates. On March 26, the bodies were found all wearing the same thing, people were horrified at the mass number that committed

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