I’ll never forget November of 1978. That’s when we all began to hear disturbing news from Jonestown, Guyana, in South America. Acting on behalf of Jim Jones, cult leader of The People’s Temple, several congregants shot and killed Congressman Leo Ryan, three fact-finding members of Ryan’s party, and a member of the Jonestown cult. Knowing he’d be implicated in the murders, Jones coerced his congregation of over 900 to commit mass suicide not long after.

The whole world wondered how so many people could be lured into such a tragic situation. Jones convinced the congregation to drink Kool-Aid laced with poison and die. (Many willingly agreed; others were forced to do so.) Jonestown became internationally infamous for this tragedy on November 18, 1978. Today, we still use the phrase “drink the Kool-Aid” when we talk about someone buying into an idea. While Jim Jones was not a good person, he turned out to be an effective leader in at least one sense: He influenced people to follow his lead despite great cost.

At his request, Jones’ people not only took their own lives but their children’s. It started with a young woman who calmly stepped forward to the vat of........

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