Edith Roller – August 17, 1975 – Sunday

Transcript | Annotation | Source: 89-4286-HH-2-50-51 (PDF) | Month Index


Beulah’s daughter drove the children and me to the Temple service. We arrived in the auditorium about 11.40.

Carlotta Caldwell gave one of the testimonials. She had left the Temple but returned. Jim had mentioned her this week.

When Jim came on the podium he started speaking on finks and then on “your lousy Jesus,” very harshly. He said there were some finks present for which the first remarks were intended. There would be no limit to his vengeance. Jim mentioned the Pearsons who have left the Temple and were talking about us. The only way to leave this church is to move five hundred miles away and do us no harm.

His statements on Jesus were in line with those he had made recently, though even stronger: Jesus was cowardly or he would have fought back; he let a woman waste a year’s wages on perfume to wash his feet as compensation for not being able to perform sexually.

More boxing matches were scheduled. Among them were little Hugh Doswell again for calling names, Jim’s grandson, Jimbo, again for continuing bad behavior, and two or three young men for various offenses. In several of these matches girls boxed the boys and creditably. One young man had to wrestle Larry Swinney, who made short work of him.

One of the young men was wrongly accused of striking Janet Tupper. She said it had been Chris Cordell instead. Maryann Casanova had reported incorrectly. Jim severely reprimanded her for not having her facts straight with reference to a child. He had Linda Mertle box Mary.

Teddy Pearson, who is being cared for by Temple members, was reported for calling a girl a “nigger bitch.” Jim’s decision, concurred in by Council, was to send him back to his parents. We can’t do anything for him unless the parents allow us legal adoption.

Jim performed healings.

Jim, at the podium, touched everyone except the children, whom the adults were instructed to touch in his name. More than two hours were required for the huge audience to pass in front of him, and the service was not out until 6.00.

I ate the communal dinner.

The buses left at 7.00.

I read To the Finland Station by Edmund Wilson, then slept.

At 10.00 we had about a half hour’s rest stop at Buttonwillow, during which I ran and talked to several people. For some reason there was a delay after the buses were loaded and we didn’t leave until 11.00.

I read for an hour. I had a little trouble getting to sleep. I got up for the rest stop at 2.00.

We arrived at San Francisco at 5.00. I took home Valor and Lela Murphy and dropped Kaye Gibbs off at Enlis Robinson’s. She is going to be in San Francisco for a few days.