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The Collected Sermons of Jim Jones - Volume V The 1972 Sermons: Recovered Tapes - The Missing Archive This volume presents some of the most revealing documents in the history of Peoples Temple: the recovered sermons of 1972 that complete the archival record of Jim Jones at the height of his power. Drawn from previously uncollected recordings, Volume V fills critical gaps in the historical and theological development of Jones's movement. These sermons capture a moment when the Temple was expanding rapidly across California-establishing major centers in Redwood Valley, San Francisco, and Los Angeles-while Jones refined the ideological system that bound his followers together. What emerges is not simply preaching, but a fully operational system of control. Jones moves seamlessly between theology, political rhetoric, healing performance, and administrative command. In these transcripts, the boundary between religion and institution disappears. The sermon becomes governance. The pulpit becomes power. Included in this volume are six recovered recordings-sermons on dedication, doctrine, race, stewardship, and incarnation-each illuminating how Jones constructed a worldview that fused divine authority with total communal obligation. These are not marginal texts. They are central to understanding how Peoples Temple functioned at its peak. Editor Jeff Hood frames the collection with a theological and moral reflection that refuses both sensationalism and dismissal. Instead, he confronts the enduring questions raised by Jonestown: How does the language of justice become a tool of domination? How does faith become control? And how can such a movement grow in plain sight?

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The Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood is a Catholic Priest (Old Catholic) and nationally recognized theologian and spiritual advisor to death row inmates nationwide. He has accompanied eleven men to their executions, including the first and eighth nitrogen hypoxia executions. Widely regarded as the leading spiritual voice on the death penalty, his work has been profiled in outlets ranging from the New York Times to a Rolling Stone documentary, The Spiritual Advisor. For his service and scholarship, he was nominated for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. Dr. Hood holds degrees from Auburn University (BA), Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (MDiv), Emory University's Candler School of Theology (ThM), the University of Alabama (MA), Creighton University (MS), Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University (DMin), and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from the American Institute of Metaphysics. His primary interest has always been the power of spirituality to bring about liberation. Ordained to ministry in 2006, Dr. Hood was incardinated into the priesthood of the Old Catholic Church in 2022. The author of over 100 books - including The Courage to Be Queer, named one of the best religion books of 2016 at the Independent Publishers Book Awards - he regularly partners with men on death row to co-produce original works of theology. On July 7, 2016, Dr. Hood organized and led a Dallas rally against police brutality that ended in the shooting deaths of five police officers. He saved lives by using the cross he was carrying to force people away from the gunfire. The Dallas Public Library honored his role in that event and his wider work by opening the Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood Collection in its archives. In January 2024, Dr. Hood became the first spiritual advisor present in an execution chamber for a nitrogen hypoxia execution. Amid the international media attention that followed, he kept the memory of Kenneth Smith at the center of the story while demanding that such an execution never be repeated. No other spiritual advisor in the country has been present in the execution chamber for as many executions. Believing that traditional theological education is increasingly inadequate, Dr. Hood founded The New Theology School, where he serves as Dean and as the Rev. Charles Moore Professor of Prophetic Theology. With many arrests and assaults, he is not afraid to give his body to the struggle for justice.

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