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By April 1978 Jones was convinced that The Peoples Temple was the target of a conspiracy that involved the CIA, the US government, the media and the Concerned Relatives (The group set up by Tim Stoen, once a close friend, and now a 'defector' from the Temple). As a political group trying to set up a utopia based on a political model of socialism fused with elements of Christianity, Jones' conspiracy paranoia had some foundation. Throughout 1978 the Concerned Relatives also exerted massive pressure on Jones.
Despite being now located in Guyana and that this perceived threat was thousands of miles away in San Francisco Jones made Jonestown into an increasingly charged zone of crisis. He called these increasing states of emergency at Jonestown White Nights. The White Nights gradually progressed from charged emotional meetings to preparations for an attack by either mercenaries employed by the Concerned Relatives or a CIA assault. Preparations also included the ultimate sacrifice, to die for their cause. Jones frequently talked of the alternative to Jonestown - in capitalist America, as a sub human existence; worse than death. He saw White Nights as a strategy for escaping such a dehumanising fate; humanity in death was better than a dehumanised life. The attackers, Jones claimed, would also massacre and torture anyone they caught, better to die before they were caught.
A White Night would begin with all of the community called to the main Pavilion building for a crisis meeting. Jones would start by talking (through the PA system) about those that had 'defected', or left Jonestown and The Peoples Temple, particularly members of the Concerned Relatives. Survivor Odell Rhodes remembers how Jones would become very sad and talk about what kind of people could exchange their friends for "a fancy car and a pocket full of credit cards". Increasingly the meetings would focus on whether life was worth living or not. Finally on April 12 1978 after the Concerned Relatives had escalated their offensive by distributing more accusations about Jonestown. Rhodes recalls that Jones sent one of the community nurses to the medical tent to get the poison. This was preceded by Jones announcements that "We can't win no matter what we do" Jones went on "We'd be better off dead than living with all this pain". The nurse returned and to demonstrate how easy it was took one sip of the bottle and immediately and unconvincingly fell over. Rhodes was confident that this was just a piece of Jim Jones' theatre. Though he thought others were convinced by the nurses performance. Jones then began a role call of residents of those he knew were afraid to die.
"A lot of them were crying and you could see how hard it was on them but eventually they'd all say they'd do it if that is what he decided to do. But, then he got to this one teenage girl, and she said she'd do it just like the rest of them, but she wanted to say goodbye to her friends first. Well, she started naming damn near everyone in Jonestown. It might not sound real funny now but it was like reading the goddamn telephone book, a mile a minute, without even breathing, and after a while you just couldn't keep a straight face. I don't remember who laughed first, but after a while even Jones was laughing, and that was about the end of it. Even the nurse got up and started laughing."
While Rhodes could see the absurdity of the situation for others it was an ominous portent of what was to come.
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