Marshall Herff Applewhite

Born:	May 17, 1931 Texas, United States
Died:	March 26, 1997 Rancho Santa Fe, California, United States
Occupation:	Leader of Heaven's Gate

Do (Marshall Herff Applewhite) (May 17, 1931 - c. March 26, 1997) was the leader of the Heaven's Gate cult. He died in the cult's suicide in 1997. Image File history File links 199982. ... May 17 is the 137th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (138th in leap years). ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ... Official language(s) English (de facto) See also languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 268,581 sq mi (695,622 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... March 26 is the 85th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (86th in leap years). ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Rancho Santa Fe is an unincorporated census-designated place in San Diego County, California, United States. ... The logo used by the Heavens Gate group Heavens Gate was the name of a UFO religion co-led by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles. ... May 17 is the 137th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (138th in leap years). ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ... March 26 is the 85th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (86th in leap years). ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The logo used by the Heavens Gate group Heavens Gate was the name of a UFO religion co-led by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles. ... This article is becoming very long. ... Cult suicide is that phenomenon by which some religious groups, in this context often referred to as cults, have led to their membership committing suicide. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Applewhite was born in 1931, the son of a Presbyterian minister who started new churches and moved from place to place in Texas about every three years. As a child, Applewhite wanted to preach like his father did. He was also very dedicated to music and at his father's urging he pursued a degree in music and pre-theology at Austin College. Though he did not complete his theological studies, Applewhite did complete his study of music. From 1948 to 1952, he was a philosophy major at the college, with minors in English and music. He graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in 1952.^[1] 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ... Presbyterianism is part of the Reformed churches family of denominations of Christian Protestantism based on the teachings of John Calvin which traces its institutional roots to the Scottish Reformation, especially as led by John Knox. ... Official language(s) English (de facto) See also languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 268,581 sq mi (695,622 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church USA located in Sherman, Texas, an hour north of Dallas. ...

Later, in his thirties, in the 1960s, Applewhite led a musical career. He played starring roles in stage musicals in Colorado and Texas, was the choir director at St. Marks Episcopal Church in Houston, sang 15 roles with the Houston Grand Opera, and taught music at the University of St. Thomas in Houston. Although he married during this time and had two children, he was fired from his job as a teacher for having a homosexual affair with a student. The official reason given by St. Thomas, a private college, for his termination, was "health problems of an emotional nature." [1] The 1960s Ashley Rocks! decadeHI refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... Official language(s) English Capital Denver Largest city Denver Area  Ranked 8th  - Total 104,185 sq mi (269,837 km²)  - Width 280 miles (451 km)  - Length 380 miles (612 km)  - % water 0. ... Official language(s) English (de facto) See also languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 268,581 sq mi (695,622 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... Houston redirects here. ... The Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is a Houston, Texas-based opera company. ... Motto Educating Leaders of Faith and Character Founded 1947 School type Private University President Dr. Robert Ivany Location Houston, Texas, USA Enrollment 4875 (Fall 2004) Faculty 242 (Fall 2004) Degree Programs Bachelors degree, Masters degree, Ph. ... Houston redirects here. ... Since its coinage, the word homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings. ...

In 1972, Applewhite's life took a marked turn, when he left his family and met a 44-year-old nurse named Bonnie Nettles. While living in Houston, Applewhite had some trouble with his heart and ended up in the hospital and, according to the nurses, had a near-death experience. While at the hospital, he met Bonnie who convinced him that the experience was for a very special reason and that he could be used mightily in a group about which she knew. The two, never lovers, gave one another playful names such as "bo" and "peep." Applewhite saw Nettles as his superior, and there is evidence that their mental illnesses rebounded on one another within the cult fabric. Later on, "Bo" and "Peep" became "Ti" and "Do", or "the UFO two". Nettles died of cancer in 1985, at which point Applewhite took over the leadership until the cult's suicide. 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Bonnie Nettles was co-leader of a group with Herff Applewhite, (Herff never went by the name Marshall according to friends and family) and became the leader of what turned into Heavens Gate cult after Nettles death. ... The heart and lungs, from an older edition of Grays Anatomy. ... Ascent in the Empyrean (Hieronymous Bosch) A near-death experience (NDE) is a type of experience reported by a person who nearly died, or who experienced clinical death and then revived. ... Mental Illness. ... This article is becoming very long. ...

Amongst Applewhite's radical beliefs was the belief that the surgical emasculation of males was a prerequisite for the particular type of salvation that he believed in, which he and many of his male followers were found to have undergone prior to their mass suicide in 1997. Emasculation is the removal of the genitalia of a male, notably the penis and/or the testicles, by surgery, violence, or accident (see castration). ... In theology, salvation can mean three related things: freed forever from the punishment of sin Revelation 1:5-6 NRSV - also called deliverance;[1] being saved for something, such as an afterlife or participating in the Reign of God Revelation 1:6 NRSV - also called redemption;[2]) and a process...

See also

• Cult (religion)
• Eschatology
• Armageddon
• Kali Yuga
• Cathars
• Gnosticism

In traditional usage, the cult of a religion, quite apart from its sacred writings (scriptures), its theology or myths, or the personal faith of its believers, is the totality of external religious practice and observance, the neglect of which is the definition of impiety. ... Look up eschatology in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The evangelist John of Patmos writes the Book of Revelation. ... Kali Yuga is also the title of a book by Roland Charles Wagner. ... Cathars being expelled from Carcassonne in 1209. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

External links

• Heavens Gate Website, still as it was in 1997

References

1. ^ "Cult leader a dim memory to former college classmates", Associated Press, 1997-04-01. Retrieved on 2006-11-21.