279:
for
Applewhite. They had an almost instantaneous "spiritual" connection; Applewhite decided that Nettles was "to be the sage, he the speaker." They left together on New Year's Day of 1973. Nettles' three youngest children were left to remain with their father, while her oldest daughter, Terrie, then
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and her ashes were then spread upon a lake somewhere in Texas. Applewhite explained to the group that
Nettles had left because her work was done on this level but that he himself still had more that he had to do. Applewhite also said that Nettles would continue to help them from the Next Level.
272:. She has stated that "someone got hurt at the drama school in the theater that Herff worked at. Herff accompanied the injured person to the hospital where he met Bonnie." Joe Nettles, one of Bonnie's sons, was not entirely sure how they met or whether their first meeting was at the theater.
297:
of the group. In 1983, she had to have an eye removed due to cancer, and her doctor informed her that the disease was already spreading through the rest of her body. Nettles stated that the doctor was ignorant and believed, along with
Applewhite, that she could not die, as they had to ascend
284:
together as equals, with
Nettles running the group and Applewhite speaking for her. Nettles claimed to have communicated with aliens about the Next Level and told Applewhite to tell their followers. In 1976, Applewhite recognized Nettles as higher up on the level of command than he was.
259:
in March 1972, though where they met is uncertain. In his writings, Applewhite claimed to have been "visiting a hospitalized friend when Mrs. Nettles entered the room and their eyes locked in a shared recognition of esoteric secrets." However, Applewhite's writings were prone to
228:
who told her that she was soon to meet a mysterious man who was tall with light hair and a fair complexion, descriptions which were fairly close to
Marshall Applewhite's appearance. Nettles also studied
210:, she married businessman Joseph Segal Nettles in December 1949, with whom she had four children. Their marriage remained mostly stable until 1972, at which time, according to
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33:
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aboard a UFO to viewing the body as merely a "vehicle" for the soul which would be discarded upon entering heaven, which would culminate in the group's mass suicide in 1997.
321:
Scholars have viewed the death of
Nettles as a key turning point in the history of Heaven's Gate, as it caused the theology to shift from a belief that they would physically
461:
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Many events passed in creation of the Heaven's Gate group and the formation of its core members, with
Nettles continuing to act as the interpreter of signs and the
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268:. Terrie Nettles, Bonnie's daughter, worked at a theater where Applewhite produced weekend children's shows and taught in an in-house
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Applewhite convinced the rest of the group that
Nettles' "broken-down vehicle was left behind". He had her body
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named
Brother Francis frequently spoke with her and gave her instructions. She also visited multiple
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aged 20 and skeptical of her mother's ideas, fended for herself. Nettles and
Applewhite established
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Dalton, Red (March 29, 1977). "Tragedy Painful, Familiar to Man Who Lost Mom to Applewhite Cult".
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Applewhite and Nettles went by the collective of "The Two", as well as the singular names
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366:"On This Day: Bodies of Heaven's Gate Cult Members Discovered After Mass Suicide"
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462:"Scaling Heaven's Gate: Individualism and Salvation in a New Religious Movement"
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216:, she began attempting to contact deceased spirits by conducting regular
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family. As an adult, she moved away from the religion. After becoming a
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310:. While there as a patient, she used the pseudonym Shelly West.
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Bonnie Nettles was born on August 29, 1927, and raised in
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together. The cancer continued to worsen, moving to her
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Converts to new religious movements from Christianity
163:; August 29, 1927 – June 19, 1985), later known as
501:"Central Texas was cult's early recruiting ground"
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708:Deaths from liver cancer in the United States
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428:"Eyes on Glory: Pied Pipers of Heaven's Gate"
392:"Eyes on Glory: Pied Pipers of Heaven's Gate"
264:or relaying everything as some occurrence of
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460:Zeller, Benjamin Ethan (November 1, 2006).
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220:and came to believe that a 19th-century
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368:. findingdulcinea.com. March 26, 2011.
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448:Heaven's Gate, America's UFO Religion
415:. San Diego, California. p. A11.
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302:. Nettles died on June 19, 1985, at
182:metastatic to the liver in 1985 in
167:, was co-founder and co-leader with
713:Founders of new religious movements
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186:, twelve years before the group's
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653:Heaven's Gate: The Cult of Cults
499:Phillips, Jim (March 29, 1997).
426:Bearak, Barry (April 28, 1997).
390:Bearak, Barry (April 28, 1997).
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728:Heaven's Gate (religious group)
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773:New religious movement mystics
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507:. Austin, Texas. p. A10.
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275:Nettles agreed to perform an
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748:20th-century American people
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323:ascend to heaven while alive
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743:20th-century American women
703:Deaths from cancer in Texas
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304:Parkland Memorial Hospital
248:
245:Introduction to Applewhite
88:Ti, Peep, Pig, Shelly West
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505:Austin American-Statesman
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16:American religious leader
768:Female religious leaders
639:Chitty Chitty Death Bang
345:at some points in time.
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478:10.1525/nr.2006.10.2.75
413:San Diego Union-Tribune
337:respectively and later
176:new religious movement
698:American women nurses
753:20th-century mystics
277:astrological reading
132: 1949;
119:Joseph Segal Nettles
738:People from Houston
560:Marshall Applewhite
257:Marshall Applewhite
251:Marshall Applewhite
169:Marshall Applewhite
44:Bonnie Lu Trousdale
733:People from Dallas
433:The New York Times
397:The New York Times
343:"Guinea" and "Pig"
213:The New York Times
178:. Nettles died of
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446:Zeller, Benjamin
154:Bonnie Lu Nettles
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103:Known for
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73:(aged 57)
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58:Houston, Texas
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472:(2): 75–102.
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77:Dallas, Texas
69:June 19, 1985
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758:Cult leaders
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617:Janja Lalich
602:Robert Balch
586:UFO religion
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466:Nova Religio
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436:. p. 4.
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400:. p. 2.
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270:drama school
255:Nettles met
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188:mass suicide
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71:(1985-06-19)
18:
693:1985 deaths
688:1927 births
595:Researchers
682:Categories
667:WikiSource
574:Background
553:Leadership
349:References
249:See also:
237:, and the
194:Early life
93:Occupation
50:1927-08-29
486:1092-6690
329:Nicknames
262:hyperbole
235:Theosophy
231:astrology
202:, into a
161:Trousdale
315:cremated
180:melanoma
144:Children
218:seances
204:Baptist
171:of the
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126:
122:
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295:mystic
239:occult
114:Spouse
79:, U.S.
60:, U.S.
631:Media
300:liver
289:Death
128:(
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482:ISSN
266:fate
222:monk
134:div.
66:Died
40:Born
474:doi
306:in
158:née
684::
503:.
480:.
470:10
468:.
464:.
430:.
394:.
374:^
357:^
241:.
233:,
165:Ti
130:m.
641:"
637:"
538:e
531:t
524:v
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156:(
147:4
52:)
48:(
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