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Listen, if you've ever watched my murder mystery makeup, then you will know that I did an episode about Jim Jones, AKA Jonestown. Oh, yes, we did. But did you know Jim Jones got all of his inspiration, ideas and beliefs from one very mysterious cult leader in New York? Cause I sure didn't. Oh, yes. When I found this out, it led me down a rabbit hole. I had never heard of the peace mission movement or a man named Father Divine. I know. A cult I had never heard of. I was shocked. This Father Divine inspired millions of people across the world to dedicate their entire lives to his teachings. Tons of scholars believe he had just as much influence as Martin Luther King Jr. He was very influential in the civil rights movement. He opened up businesses and homes to hundreds of thousands of people in need. And it's because of him that a lot of us to this day believe in the law of attraction. So I know you're like, so what's so bad about this guy? Well, the truth is, you know, people join good things that sometimes become a cult. Father Divine commanded absolute loyalty. You had to cut off your family, give the mission all your money, and sacrifice everything to be one of his angels. Now listen, was this a cult or just a really good idea that maybe wasn't executed so well? Well, today we're going to talk about it. Welcome to the dark History of Father Divine. Hi friends. I hope you're having a wonderful day today. It's actually my birthday. And also my name is Bailey Sarian and I'd like to welcome you to my dark history. Woo. I just wanted to make a little note that it's my birthday today. And of course we're gonna talk about cult because that only makes sense if it's my birthday. I better see a comment down below saying happy birthday. I will be looking. Listen, if you're new here, this is Dark History. And here we believe. What is up with your hat? That is a t hat. That is not a birthday hat. I love how we plan everything else, but not my birthday. Here at Dark History we believe. You know, history doesn't have to be boring. It might be tragic, sometimes it's happy. But either way, it's our dark history. Before we get into it, don't forget to like and subscribe. I'm always posting new content and let me know in the comment section down below what you think. Your opinion, your thoughts, your feedback, and of course, wish me a happy birthday. Now, since today's topic is a little, you know, more serious and culty, I should probably take off the Party hat. But I just wanted my cake. Okay. Thank you so much. Now let's get into today's episode, shall we? Listen, today we're talking about Father Divine. And, you know, I did some digging, and it's kind of hard to find a lot about his upbringing, his background, because he was a very mysterious man and did not like to talk about his past. And he refused to confirm or deny, like, anything. When people asked him, like, well, where'd you grow up? When's your birthday? Whatever, He. He would be like, God has no mother. He was like, oh, okay, same. But what we do know is that Father Divine was born in the 1800s. He was a black man, and back then, black people just did not have reliable birth records. Historians believe that Father Divine's real name was George Baker Jr. So we're gonna call him George for a minute here. So George Baker Jr. Most likely, he was born in May of 1879, and he grew up in Rockville, Mary, in an extremely prejudiced place. Okay. The area, the location, not great. Even though slavery had been abolished and the Civil War ended, you know, that didn't mean everyone was treated equally all of a sudden. Both of his parents were believed to be formerly enslaved. His father, George Baker Sr. Was a farm laborer, and his mother, Nancy Baker, was a domestic servant. When George was growing up, his mother, Nancy, had some serious health struggles. It was said she gained a lot of weight to the point where she could no longer work. She was stuck in the house most of her life because she ended up getting up to about £500. Now, this was, like, rare at the time, you know, but at a young age, George had to quit going to school and find work to support his family, since his mother was not and could not like work. But the family, they were very religious, and they would go to, you know, church all the time. George went to Sunday school. He spent most weeknights at prager meetings, and he even went to Bible study a few times a week. Now, church was, like, a safe place for so many people. Plus, it was nice to escape reality because there was, like, another issue that seemed to be taking over Rockville, where he lived, and that was alcoholism. Now, booze was outlawed in his town, but Rockville was known for making and selling bootleg liquor. So, you know, George is around this. He's observing it, and he did not like watching people drink and destroy their lives by this. This thing, this. You know, it's. He just did not like it. So from a young age, George embraced the temperance movement, which essentially was the anti alcohol movement. Again, he did not like alcohol and he did not like seeing what it did to people and was just not for it. Sadly, in 1897, George's mom, Nancy, ended up passing away. Her death was highly publicized in the area. Now, because of her size, she had to have a special coffin made for her. So her death became like a spectacle. And this is my own personal opinion, but I'm sure this had a big impact on George. Not only did he lose his mom, you know, he loved her dearly, but for her death to then be treated like a spectacle and just the disrespect, you know, not long after she died, George decided, you know, it's time to get the hell out of Rockville. So he picks up and he leaves, and he's 20 years old and it's now 1899, and George ends up in Baltimore, Maryland. And when he was there, he found work pretty quickly, but he would spend most of his free time traveling to different churches within the city and just kind of seeing like what was out there. Now, George, he looked up to the preachers and he loved the idea of one day maybe preaching himself, you know, so there was this one opportunity, it was a smaller church, and he decides he wants to give it a try. So he gets up there and he starts preaching. Now people really seemed to listen to him. He was engaging, passionate. He really, like claimed the energy in the room and it just made him feel good. He loved the power he felt while he was preaching, the attention he was getting, and it was just like community, you know. Staying on top of your wellness journey is truly exhausting. Am I drinking enough water? Did I have, I don't know, the protein? 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Zocdoc makes it fast, easy and totally stress free. Stop putting off those doctor's appointments and go to Zocdoc.com dark history to find and instantly book a top rated doctor today. That's Zocdoc. Z o c d o c dot com dark history zocdoc.com/dark history. Now, George, he didn't really follow any like, religions rules by the book. He really liked to cherry pick what he liked from each different, you know, belief. Okay. And then he would kind of like make it his own thing. At the time, a lot of preachers and stuff really followed the book. Okay, this is how it is, this is how it goes. He's kind of like, I'm gonna take some of this, I'm gonna take some of that. I'm gonna make his own thing. He also did something that a lot of preachers were not doing at this time. He brings like new philosophies and thoughts into the church, ones that people had never heard of. George, he became obsessed with something called New Thought. What's New thought? Well, let me tell you. New thought believed that your mind had the ability to control your reality and it had the power to physically heal you. So it's essentially the law of attraction what you think you become. New Thought followers also believe that God existed within all people and that if you could just channel God's spirit within you, all your problems would melt away. Anything from physical ailments to mental issues, to whatever it was. All you had to do was think it away. Now, I don't know about you, but whenever I struggle with migraines and there's times when I'm like, maybe if I just think it away, it'll go, like, it'll go away. It doesn't work. Doesn't work. So, you know, people are liking it. He's like, I should go on tour. I should like, maybe preach across like different, different cities and stuff. So he does. In 1902, George does a little tour across the United States to like test out his sermons to different audiences. But I don't think people were ready for it because it was a, it was a flop. Now, one thing George was preaching that people really did not receive well was called race mind. And this was like part of new thought. So to a lot of people it's like, okay, you're already presenting a lot of new weird stuff. Like, what is, what's race mind? Essentially, he Believed that people being defined by their race was a product of negative thinking. He thought, you know, all people, at the end of the day, they're all the same. He literally was like, I don't see color. There's no color. Now listen, at the time, this was kind of low key, offensive to a lot of people, because the people he's talking to, mainly a black audience, they were experiencing racism every single day. At this point, a lot of them weren't allowed in. Like most parts of the city, black people were still getting lynched in the street without consequences. So, you know, for a black preacher to come up and tell a mostly black audience that race doesn't really exist, people were like, you know, no, f this guy. Like, no. To them. It was like, you don't really care about, like, what we go through on a daily basis. You're dismissing us. Like, no, you're part. You're part of the problem. So, you know, George is a little bummed that his message just, it wasn't being received well. So he decides to go back to Baltimore. And when he's there, he ends up joining a small Baptist church named Eden Street Church. So while he's there preaching in 1907, a man named Samuel Morris shows up to the church. So during worship, it was said at one point, Samuel kind of like gets up. He turns to the congregation and he starts addressing the crowd. I guess he gets up and he declares in front of the whole Baptist church, I and the Father Eternal, in other words, telling people, like, I'm God. People are like, what? Like what? So people are like, start kind of going crazy. They're like, get this guy out of here. He is sick in the head. This is blasphemy. So the people in the church, they actually physically remove Samuel from the church. You know, so everyone is like shaking their heads, like, can you believe that guy? Can you believe that guy? He's like claiming to be God. What? How dare he? But George is like, hmm, hmm. Interesting. Very interesting. He's kind of inspired by the balls that this guy had. So George ends up finding Samuel outside of the church. And he starts talking to him. It's like, hey, what was up with that? What was going on? What are you about? And I guess the two of them actually hit it off. Samuel tells George a little secret. He's like, hey, listen, my name actually isn't Samuel. It's Father Jehovah. I'd be like, uh huh. And Samuel goes on to say that he renamed himself after he read a Bible verse that convinced Him. He was God. The Bible verse he was referencing was 1 Corinthians 3:16. And it said, know ye, not the ye. Okay. Wow. Know ye, not that ye are the temple of God, and that the spirit of God dwelleth in you. Yeah. I guess Samuel took that and was like, oh, yeah, so I'm God. I'm God. Yeah. George is not weirded out by this guy. He actually ends up really liking Samuel because I guess to him, Samuel was kind of like the perfect example of that new thought. If you think it, you become it. So George is kind of thinking, like, maybe Samuel is exactly that. He's. He manifested God within him because he. He believes it so much. Now, technically, Samuel and George, they were pretty aligned when it came down to what their beliefs were. They decided to work together and preach in the Baltimore area. Yeah, together. So they end up attracting a following of about 20 people. At some point, George decides, like, he needs a new name, too. I don't want to be George anymore. I needed, like, a new. A new God name, you know? So he goes by the name the messenger. At first, Samuel, AKA Father Jehovah, was like, I'm fine with this because, you know, I'm God and you're just my messenger. So fine. But over time, more people started to join their movement. And George, he wasn't really happy to kind of be like this, just this messenger, like, the second guy, you know? So I don't know. George got, like, kind of resentful and decided to kind of expose Samuel. He declared that Father Jehovah was not the true human expression of Christ. Yeah. And then he tells everyone that he was done with Samuel, and, in fact, he was breaking off and starting his own thing. So he announces this, and he's like. He tells everyone, look, you can either you can stay here or you can go with me. So he ends up taking Father Jehovah's followers with him. It's that time of the year again, time for holiday shopping. But we all have that parent who's like, oh, I don't need anything. You know, just get me a card. 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So don't wait. Go win the holidays now with Aura frames. For a limited time, visit auraframes.com and get $45 off Aura's best selling Carver Matte frames named number one by Wirecutter by using promo code Dark history at checkout. That's auraframes a u r a frames.com promo code dark History. This exclusive Black Friday Cyber Monday deal is their best of the year. So order now before it ends, support the show by mentioning us at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. So at this point, it's 1912 and George decides to, like, try to travel again. So he, he travels all across the south. He's preaching his beliefs that there is no heaven and hell, that race only exists if you're a negative thinker, that your mind has the, the power to heal your physical body. But this time, George was preaching that he was God in human form. So he kind of like stole Samuel's thing. Now, not everyone liked his preaching. Obviously it wasn't for everyone, but it did hit with some people and he's just gaining followers now. By this point, George was given a new name by his followers, Reverend Major Jealous. They ended up calling him Father Divine for short. I know you're like me. You're like jealous. Why do I want a jealous? What do you mean? There's many Bible verses that say God is a jealous God. For example, Exodus 34:14, for the Lord, whose name is jealous is a jealous God. End quote. So that's where the jealous is coming from. Now, the more Father Divine preached, the more followers he got. And there were a lot of reasons for this. So now with his new name, you know, he's preaching more and more and he's getting more followers and his beliefs and his rules are kind of starting to come out. For example, Father Divine didn't believe in sexual. You should not be having sex, like at all. No finger blasting. It didn't matter if he were single or married. He thought nobody should be bumping, grinding nothing, including himself. Okay? But something people really responded to was that he believed women should not be pressured to have children. Now, to you and I, we're like, yeah, okay, but this is in the early 1900s, when pretty much all working class women were expected to get married, serve their husband, and have kids. Like, that's all you were supposed to do. And this was especially true for black mothers in the South. So when they hear Father Divine saying, like, hey, you don't have to do this. Oh, mothers. Women would hear this and literally pack up their life and just follow Father Divine wherever he was going. They love this forward thinking of his. Now, these women became like, the core foundation of Father Divine's followers. They were almost like his spiritual groupies, and they would become known as his angels. So by 1917, after a few years in the South, Father Divine realized there wasn't much more he could do to, like, grow his base out there. So he decides to relocate and go to New York City, mainly in Harlem and Brooklyn. Now, of course, his true believers and his followers were happy to pack up and go with him. And at this time in Harlem and in Brooklyn, a lot of people were living in poverty and. Or just, like, on the streets. It was a safe place. You got community housing, food, a job. So while he's there, Father Divine meets someone named Penaina. Now, she suffered from a medical condition called rheumatism, which is like, extreme arthritis, Right. So she meets Father Divine, and he kind of helps her. Okay. She claims that he was able to immediately heal her condition, and for the first time in years, she was pain free. It's like, see, look what I can do. I can heal you. You know? And then it's a bit of a jump here, but, you know, next thing you know, Peninnah and Father Divine decide to get married. Yeah. So a couple questions. I was like, why would he get married if, like, technically, like, you can't have sex, you don't want to have kids? Like, why. Why would he. Why would he. Why would he get married? Well, the two of them decide to get married so they can become, quote, unquote, a representation of God's love. There was allegedly no sex, and they got married. And the whole goal was that the two of them could now lead Father Divine's mission together. If you see a picture of him and Peninnah, I'm not trying to be mean, but I believe him when he says they weren't having sex. That's Mean, but, like, listen, Peninnah was much older than Father Divine. And in my personal opinion, she's giving a very motherly vibe. And it kind of seemed like maybe Father Divine like that. You know, he lost his mother when he was kind of young. And Peninnah was like that motherly figure he was missing. So kind of it was giving. Like, I wonder if it's that. Like, there's something there. But that's just my personal opinion. I don't know. But they get married. So after their marriage, Peninnah becomes known to all of the members as Mother, and he will only call her Mother. And all of their followers were called their children. No matter what their age, whatever, you were their children. Now, this is kind of the beginning of the golden age of Father Divine. His teachings become known as the Peace Mission movement. His followers start being called peace missioners now, while in New York. This is where they lay down some important roots. So if you wanted to join the movement, one of the first things you needed to do was change your mindset from I to us. I feel like to me, that's always red flag number one. I don't like that. I don't know. It's a good mindset to be like us, but sometimes you gotta be I, you know, okay. But okay. Almost every single dollar you made, whether it was from work or a lot of his followers were receiving, like, government assistance. All of that had to be given to Father Divine so he could put it in one giant fund that would go towards the movement. So any and all money you got from anywhere, it had to be given to Father Divine. So it's a red flag number two. So with this money, Father Divine, he would buy apartment buildings, like, across New York. And this is where he would house all of his follow. So again, besides the no sex rule, there was no drinking, no gambling, no drugs, no bad language, no smoking, nothing. And women and men, they were not supposed to talk to each other at all unless it was about business. And even then, keep it short. So in the apartments, women and men, they would be separated on different floors. So, like, men would be on one floor, women on another. And they would be, like, in a large room with beds, kind of crowded, all next to each other. There was no personal space, and there was, like, no exceptions. And let's say you joined the movement as husband and wife. You would have to convert to a sexless, like, friendship marriage. That way you can stay focused and devoted to the teachings in their mind. If you were having sex, if you were focusing on your Marriage or your relationship. It was a distraction, and therefore, you could not become a better, more holy person. Some people who joined had kids, and if you did join with children, they would be sent away to be raised by other members of the movement. It's giving Scientology, huh? I know. I feel like a lot of cults we know are, like, based off of kind of this outline anyway. I just want to be comfortable. I can't get there. My knees are really hurting. Think the pain away. They wanted to remove the children from their real parents. That way, the only mother and father they knew were the leaders, Father Divine and his wife. So like many cults do, Father Divine encouraged members to cut off their families. No communication at all. So the members could focus on dedicating their lives to the movement. So once you're in, you're in. There's no outside world. It's just about the movement. So once you were, like, in, you were a member, you were given a new name by Father or Mother Divine. So I was like, ooh, what kind of names? Looking them up. So I came across a couple. Name, please? Heavenly Bouquet. Heavenly Bouquet. Another was Peace Determination. And then a Gracious Lamb. Yeah. Could you imagine the pressure of, like, having that type of name? Peace, Determination. It kind of adds pressure too. Like, oh, crap. You kind of gotta live up to it. Gracious Lamb. You're like, damn, I gotta be gracious all the time and be a lamb. Ah, Heavenly Bouquet. Oh, do I have to smell good all the time? Like, that's really hard. What if I stink one day? I don't know. I just feel like it was another way to kind of add pressure to the members. But listen, when you got a new name, it was like a sign that you had totally committed to this and you had left your old being behind. You were no longer Tom DeLonge. You are gracious lamb. Poor Tom DeLong. He was right about the aliens the entire time. You know, as we name this off, you're always like, why do people. Why would people even want to do this? But here's the thing. A lot of people did not mind all these changes. It was better than living on the streets. The movement was a welcoming, safe place for a lot of people. Now, one thing the movement was, like, really known for was their Holy Communion banquet. So these banquets were huge feasts meant to symbolize Jesus Last Supper, but they took place every single week. But Father Divine is chiefly celebrated for the unfailing regularity with which he feeds his flock. Twice a day. For the past 15 years, he has provided his co workers with sumptuous free meals. The banquets were filled with friendship, food, worship. And thousands of people would come. Because it wasn't just for his followers. They were open to anyone in the area in need. It just looks like such a good time. Everybody looks so happy to be there. Everyone is just happy. So this is the part where I'm like, oh, he can't be. I'm not mad. I'm not mad at the guy. Because, listen, Father divine, he would take the money that, you know, he got from the movement and he would buy up entire blocks in Harlem. So he built and opened small businesses, and under his direction, followers opened barbershops, restaurants, grocery stores, dry cleaners. And they were told to charge the people as little as possible. And I was like, oh, I love that. Like, that's so great. Now, all these businesses, like, on their cash registers, had little signs that said, thank you, father Divine. You know, his name was everywhere. And it was, like, kind of a reminder, like, yeah, thank you, father Divine. Without you, I wouldn't be able to, like, get this. Now, these. These spots, these restaurants, these businesses, whatever, they weren't just affordable. They were a lifeline. They gave jobs to black workers at a time when most places would not even consider hiring them. Now, because of this, to the people in Harlem and even later in Brooklyn, Father divine was a. He was a hero. He offered food, shelter, and affordable services to people in a way that wasn't charity. You know what I'm saying? Like, everyone was treated with dignity, but he wasn't a hero to everyone. At this point in the 1920s, Father Divine, like, really avoided getting involved with politics. Instead, he focused 100% on the movement because he himself did not identify as a black man. In fact, people in the peace mission movement were not even. You weren't allowed to identify anyone by their race. But listen, at this time in New York, many leaders in the black community were encouraging black people to embrace their racial identity instead of trying to whitewash and, like, blend in with everyone else. So when father divine, someone who had a lot of influence and power, like, didn't agree with this, it was kind of seen as a slap in the face again to the black community. Father divine eventually decided to get involved with politics because he wanted the world to know what the peace mission movement was about. So he saw it as, like, getting involved with politics, Almost guaranteed that you'd get media attention. And he was considered, like, a huge part of the civil rights movement. In 1940, the Peace Mission Movement gathered 250,000 citizens signatures to help pass an anti lynching bill. The bill ended up failing, but it did help future anti lynching bills pass through. So people were questioning, you know, you have a lot of, a lot of followers, a lot of influence, like why aren't you using it for good when it comes to politics? He was instead 100% focused on making the movement even bigger. It's the holidays, which means I'm about to be going nonstop. Bus, bus, another bus club, another bus presents. This year though, instead of doom scrolling, I wanted to learn something new. And that's when I found Masterclass. Masterclass offers over 200 online classes taught by the world's best writers, business leaders, chefs and experts across 13 categories. You can listen in audio mode on your commute, watch on your phone, your laptop, or even your tv. And you can download classes to watch offline if you're traveling at all. You know, personally, I want to break some of my unhealthy habits before the holidays. So I took the class from James Clear. He is, he wrote the book Atomic Habits. So I was like, let me watch, let me see. And it gave some great tools. I learned something new. I love learning something new. That's why I'm here. I'm always learning something new. I use Masterclass and you should too. 88% say masterclass has made a positive impact on their life. So if you're heading into the new year feeling overwhelmed, Masterclass can help you feel like a functioning adult. It helps me escape the chaos, learn from the best, and actually do something good for my brain. Masterclass always has great offers during the holidays, sometimes up to as much as 50% off. Head over to masterclass.com darkhistory for the current offer. That's up to 50% off at masterclass.com dark history masterclass.com dark history Father Divine decides to move to Sayville, Long island to grow the movement. But listen, this was like a wealthy white area. So the residents who lived there did not like this man coming in. They were upset and offended by this black man who appeared to be rich and who had lots of power and like hundreds of people. And he just moved right in and like people are coming and going. They didn't like this guy. The residents, they really tried to kick him out of the neighborhood for years. Now eventually they were able to get him arrested because the movement's banquets caused like such a scene in town and so many people were coming to his place to attend the banquet that it actually like caused a lot of traffic and you know how people are, the traffic. So on May 9, 1931, authorities, you know, they busted into the Peace Mission Movement's house and they arrested Father Divine for being a public nuisance. This was in Seville. So he gets arrested, he is put in jail. He pled not guilty and was able to post bail and get out. But right away, when the trial happened, it was like a hot mess. The judge did not like Father Divine, did not like this guy, didn't like what he said, stood for, just did not like him. The judge, like, really kind of let the jury know how he felt about Father Divine, and it was kind of influencing the jury to lean a certain way, you know what I'm saying? And as a result, Father Divine was found guilty and sentenced to jail. It was a whole, like, media circus, okay? It got a ton of attention because again, Father Divine, he was a. He was a wealthy black man with, like, a very large. A large following. And it just seemed to really bother people. It was very dramatic, all of it, right? And it was like this media circus. And I was like, oh, my God, he's found guilty. Like, I wonder what he's going to be sentenced. Because it sounded like he was going to get, like, life in prison, but he was sentenced to one year in prison. And I was like, oh, okay. Like, you know, okay. Not that it's as good, but whatever. Anyways, it doesn't matter because listen. So just a couple of days after sentencing, the judge drops dead from a sudden heart attack. Now, this was surprising to a lot of people because the judge was barely 50 years old and reportedly healthy. So now when word got out about this, the press, they wanted to talk to Father Divine and, like, see what. What he thought about it. So they go to Father Divine and they're like, hey, what do you think about, like, the judge? The judge who died? Isn't that kind of wild? And he replied, I hated to do it. And he was like, what? What? So a few weeks go by, Father Divine's appeal was approved, and he ends up being released from jail. The second he got out of jail, Father Divine wanted to, like, make it known that the judge's death wasn't an accident. Now, just to be clear, Father Divine was not involved in his death. It's just more. So he was kind of, like, milking it a little bit. And he would tell his followers that, like, you know, see, I did that, and this is further proof that I'm God, because I did that. So after all this, it was a lot. Say, Ville had gotten, like, Way too intense for him and the movement. So they decided to go back to New York. But all of this media attention that he was receiving from the. The trial and all that, it put a spotlight on him, and it was kind of like the best thing that could have happened, honestly. Before the arrest, Father Divine had a couple thousand followers. But not long after, he had over 3.5 million followers across the world. I know you're like, what? Yes, yes. Because people were reading in the newspapers about this guy and, like, his thoughts, and they're like, oh, this actually sounds kind of interesting. And they were, like, going to, like, check it out or, like, looking into him, and I kind of like what he stands for. So he got a lot. He went viral before going viral. So this really led to the movement growing. So there were over 134 peace mission movements across the United States and more like in other countries as well. Again, it's giving science Scientology, am I right? It is. So listen, this was great. This was great because all these new followers meant more and more money was being put into the movement, which meant that, you know, Father Divine could purchase more properties for the followers. Historian Mina A. Vaughn said, quote, by the mid-1930s, the peace mission was the largest real estate holder in Harlem, owning markets, apartment houses, dry cleaning stores, and a coal business. Father Divine even opened up farms in upstate New York called the Promised Land. Oh, he was getting properties and land everywhere. So people really wanted to join this movement. I mean, it seemed very promising. And there was just, like, opportunities and jobs and place different locations. Plus, on top of all of that, it was the 1930s. So this was right in the middle of the Great Depression. Father Divine always told his followers from day one to keep their money away from banks, and instead, they needed to give it to his movement. So if you're not familiar with the Great Depression, what happened was, like, all the banks went under and people lost everything. So when this happened, the followers were like, oh, my God. Like, Father Divine knows what he's talking about. He kept us safe. We didn't put our money in the banks. And, like, yeah, like, he knows what he's talking about. I mean, if you were one of these people, you'd be like, oh, my. Yeah, I believe him. I believe him. So Father Divine never accepted money from outsiders, only from people who joined the movement. Now, he did have a couple of high profile followers, and one of them was a man named John Hunt. So John came from a very wealthy white family in Los Angeles. Now, at the time, he was an alcoholic. He Slept with a lot of women and he was married, like, numerous times. He said he found Father Divine's teachings and it genuinely, like, helped turn his life around. He took the vow of celibacy, stopped drinking, and dedicated his life to the movement. John. He ended up funding millions of dollars worth of business businesses and properties for the movement's California location. But then he was, like, doing work for the movement in Denver, Colorado. So while he's there, he meets a 17 year old named Delight. John and Delight build a little bit of a relationship and she's really following his lead. So he's able to kind of get her away from her parents and into the movement. And he renames her and he gives her the name Mary Dove. I know, I was like, I thought Delight was her new name, but Delight was her original name. So he names her Mary Dove. So he convinces her that she was the new Virgin Mary and that she was going to get pregnant with his seed and she would give birth to like a new Jesus. Now this sounds wonky donkey to us, but you know, to her, she's like, oh, my gosh. Like this high up spiritual man is telling me, like, I'm the new Virgin Mary. I'm gonna like, give birth to Jesus. Like, she's really believing this reminder. She's 17, he's, I don't know, a lot older. Unfortunately, he ends up having sexual relations with her. She's 17 years old. YouTube and the Internet does not like the word rape, but I'm going to call it what it is. It was rape. And yeah, so it's not great. And first of all, you're not supposed to be having sex under the if you're part of the movement. So this John guy is really just not following the rules. Okay? So I guess he must have been feeling kind of guilty about it because he ends up going to Father Divine and he tells him about the relationship he was having with the 17 year old. So Father Divine and he finds this out. He's pissed. He's pissed off. Father Divine, instead of sending her home and like reporting John to the police, he instead sends her to like, a different location where the movement is at. And he sends John also somewhere else. Meanwhile, Delight's parents, they're kind of like, hey, where's our daughter? You know, like, they can't really figure out where she's at. So they contact Father Divine and eventually get answers as to, like, where her location's at. So they contact her and Delight is like, I'm Mary Dove now. Like, I'm Different. I'm gonna give birth to the new Jesus. And as an outsider or as a parent, they're like, huh? She is just. She's completely lost her mind. Okay. And they're like, what is their. What? What? So at first they're telling themselves, like, okay, well, at least, like, we kind of align with Father Divine's teachings. It's a good message. We. It seems fine. But it got to a point where things were not fine. Their daughter was, like, gone, and they wanted her back, and they weren't getting her back. So how are they going to do it now? As some time went on, eventually Delight kind of came back around and confessed to her parents that she was having sexual relations with this John guy. And she kind of thinks it was more so rape. So this is when Delight's parents kind of saw an opportunity to take advantage of the situation. They blackmailed Father Divine, saying that they would go to the press with the story unless he paid them off. You know, they're thinking, of course, like, John, the guy who actually did this is a rich white man from Beverly Hills. So the movement, they knew that John wouldn't take the heat for the mistake. Instead, it was going to be Father Divine. It was going to make him look bad. But Father Divine didn't care. He refused to pay the family, and he was like, I will not be blackmailed. So Delight's family decide to take their complaints to the head honcho of the media at the time. Oh, we've talked about him on Dark History a couple of times, many times. Can you guess who it is? No. William Randolph Hearst. Have you been to Hearst Castle yet? Let me know. So, listen, they should have just went to the police. When Delight's family showed up at, you know, his front door, he was salivating at the thought of exposing Father divine. You see, Mr. Hearst, he hated Father Divine's teachings. He did not like this man, and he wanted to take him down. So he was like, thank you so much. I am going to run this story. So he printed very salacious headlines that would destroy Father Divine's reputation. But most of all, sell papers. Eventually, the FBI, they get involved. They ended up charging John with transportation of a minor across state lines. So, you know, luckily, John was found guilty and sent to jail. Now, even though Father Divine wasn't charged with anything, Hearst made people think that the peace mission movement was really just a front for sexual offenders. The damage was already done. And Father Divine really didn't have time to kind of like, do, I don't know, do some good pr because he got hit with like, another bad story in the press. A follower named Faithful Mary came forward with her story. Faithful Mary said she joined the movement years before after ending up homeless as a result of her drug and alcohol addiction. She said the movement helped her get off her feet, just like it had for thousands of others. So over, over time, she had become like a poster girl for Father Divine. Her recovery was evidence of his divine power. So she even opened up her own mission branch in New Jersey. And things were kind of like, looking good, but you know how it goes. Once money gets involved, that's when things really went south. Okay, I guess. Her mission's location was offered a $10,000 donation. So Ms. Faithful Mary, she was like, oh, my gosh, yes, I will take this donation because we could really use it to like, pay rent. Pay to fund things. Okay, you get it. But Father Divine rejected the donation, said no, he would never accept donations from outsiders because he wanted the public to know that the mission was to self sustaining. And anytime he did something like this, he made it a point of telling the press that he did not accept donations. See, I said, no, we don't need anyone else's money. We don't take bribes. We don't take checks. We are fine. We don't need anyone. Well, Ms. Mary was like, look, I could really use that money. So she went behind his back and took the donation. So she invested half of it in the mission and she put the other half in her own bank account. I don't know how he was on it, but Father Divine was on it and he found out she did this. Now, at first, he told her to give the money back and he would forgive her, but Mary refused. So he kicked her out of the movement and out of her businesses. Now, of course, she was livid because she had just dedicated over a decade of her life to Father Divine. Like, how are you just going to kick me out? So what did she do? She ran to Mr. Hearst and was like, oh, I have a juicy story for you. You won't believe it. So Mary wrote an expose essentially saying Father Divine was just an ordinary man who was using the movement to steal people's money. Lately, I've been dreading online shopping. I just don't like shopping in general. I end up opening 47 tabs. I zoom in, I add things to my. To my basket, basket. Then I abort mission. I don't know. I don't want to eat. It's like, I don't know. But listen, that's where Stitch Fix comes in to save the day. Stitch Fix is an online styling service. You start with a quick style quiz. Your size, your budget, your vibe, and then you get matched with a real human stylist. They handpick pieces that fit your style, your body, and your price range. Shipping and returns are always free, and there's no subscription required. You get a personalized Fix box delivered right to your door. Try everything on at home. Keep what you love, and then if you don't like something, you can send it back again. There's no shipping costs. That's great. The first time my stylist sent me a box, I was like, okay, you know, all right. I was impressed. So listen, stress free shopping. Well, that's why you need Stitch Fix. Stitch Fix makes it easy. Get started today@stitch fix.com darkhistory to get 20 off your first order, and they'll waive your styling fee. That's stitchbakes.com darkhistory Faithful Mary exposed that every week, Father Divine would secretly accept cash from his followers. She said this money didn't just fund the missions, building and like the Holy Communion banquets, it actually funded his lavish lifestyle. I guess he had plenty of designer suits, he had custom Rolls Royces, and he went on exotic vacations all the time. With whose money? Now, again, this was shocking because Father Divine was known as this selfless, humble leader. But that wasn't all the biggest scandal. She said the peace mission movement was not a celibate environment. She said, listen, in those buildings, there are homosexual orgies going on. I saw it. She said that Father Divine, he wasn't celibate either. In fact, he was known to have sex with many women close to him, including her. She said, quote, divine himself is nothing but a religious gigolo masquerading as God, having sexual cohabitation with some of his female angels and consoling these stupid victims by telling them that they have received God's personal blessing. I have known of these angels leaving the boudoir of Divine shouting that they had been blessed. In actuality, they meant that they had had their sexual desires satisfied. End quote. That was a long quote. So from my understanding, he was planting his seed in many. Oh. Oh, yeah, Mary. Mary also called him the Rasputin of America. I was like, dang, I could see that. I could see that. So Mary, she ended up selling stories to the press about Father Divine for years. She made a lot of money off of it, and she paved the way for other women to come forward and talk about their experience, experiences with Father Divine. Meanwhile, you know, Father Divine is just trying to move forward. And it is what it is, you know, there's nothing he can do about it. But something tragic happens. His wife Panina, remember her? She ended up dying. It must have been so tragic. But the weird thing was Father Divine didn't even acknowledge her death for years. Now this was because he always told his followers that if they followed him, his rules, they would live forever. So it was like kind of a bad look that Peninnah died on him. He's like, God damn, it kind of ruins things. But also he himself, it was said that he was really freaked out himself because he truly believed he was not going to die. And this was like, it was, you know, he's being faced with reality. I know my personal opinion was like, he must have had like some kind of deep rooted fear about death, you know, at a young age. His mom died and maybe he never worked through that or something. He just didn't want to accept it. I don't know. There's probably something there. So he's kind of having a little midlife crisis. Oh, no, you can die. No. You know, so it's fine though. He's like, I have to move forward. Father Divine. He ended up meeting someone else, a 21 year old Canadian woman named Edna Rose Richings. And they met in. Well, first she was like his assistant and then they ended up getting married in 1946. So I guess their meet cute is that she approached him and told him that they were meant to be together. So at this point, Father divine was like 60 something years old. And he was like, all right, it's kind of a good idea. You know, Enna, she was young, she was pure. She believed so much in the movement. And he saw her as like the perfect person to carry on the mission if, if or when he died. So, okay, let's do it. For the next decade. Throughout the 50s, the movement battled one bad PR story after another. Usually it was like a sex scandal involving Father Divine or something about how he was stealing people's money. But the movement was so strong and unique from other religious movements that they really still managed to stay afloat. But time is going on and Father Divine is getting older. And by the 1960s, he kind of stopped making public appearances. Now behind closed doors, everyone knew he had some serious health issues going on, but no one talked about it, no one acknowledged it, nothing like that. You know, his whole life he had preached how the power of positive thought would heal disease, illness, whatever, better than any doctor. So if you acknowledge it, then it becomes real. And you don't do that. Father Divine was struggling with diabetes. Yeah. And I guess it progressively got worse and worse and worse. There was a couple of times where Edna brought him to, like, public gatherings, I think, just to kind of show people, like, look, he's here. Look. But it was clear he was out of it and he couldn't actually speak. And there's, like, actual footage of this. This poor man just looks like he is not there. Father Divine is alive and well, Father. Would you like to say something to the television audience. Now, Edna? She still encouraged the followers to use the power of positive thinking to heal him. You are a healthy young man, Father Divine. So healthy. But it didn't work. Yeah. Father Divine is dead. On September 10, 1965, at the age of 86, Father Divine passed away. Now, I was thinking, dang, he made it all the way to 86 without seeing a doctor or anything. That's pretty good. But then I was like, wait a minute. He had diabetes and he made it to 86? Now, let's be real here. To live that long with diabetes. Come on. He had to secretly be taking insulin, right? There's no way. There's no way. If you know someone with diabetes or you have diabetes, there's no way. Right? Listen, he died. Oh, no. His followers obviously were shocked because they genuinely, really, truly believed that this day was never gonna come. Yeah. Edna, at this point, was going by Mother Divine, and she took over the movement. Even though there was a big decline in membership, they managed to keep a solid base of followers, enough to keep the movement's headquarters, at least. People continued to worship at the Peace Mission Movement because they really believed that Father Divine, he was gonna, like, return one day. Yeah, he was gonna show up reincarnated, like he was going to come back. So they kept their eyes open. Again, very Scientology, right? With L. Ron Hubbard. Like, they. They do the same thing with Father Divine. Like, they keep his bedroom all nice. They keep his laundry folded and constantly wash it just in case he returns. Okay. It's okay. I mean, they're not hurting anyone. They're just washing some laundry. That's fine. So listen, you won't believe this. You will not believe this. It's the 70s, okay? 1970 something. There was a man who showed up to a Holy Communion banquet. He came walking in, and he was like, I'm the reincarnation of Father Divine. Yes, Me. It's me, Father Divine. Like, he's claiming it's him. And guess who that man was Jim Jones. Yes, yes, yes, yes. That Jim Jones. Jonestown. Jim Jones. For years, Jim, Mr. Jones admired father Divine's work from afar. He observed. He watched. He kind of was paying attention to how he was doing things. Buying buildings, running businesses, keeping the people together. He was taking notes. And Jim decided, you know, to start his own religious group. He thought to himself, you know, they now don't have, like, a leader. Maybe I could be their leader. So he waltz right in there and he declares that he is Father Divine. But it wasn't received well. Mother Divine, she was there and she shut it down. She's like, you are not him. No, no. She just knew it wasn't him. So she asked Jim to leave the property, but he ended up returning not long after with some empty buses, offering peace missioners a new start within his move. Some went with him, most stayed back. But can you believe that little crossover? Now, if you. Again, I mentioned earlier, but I did a murder mystery makeup about Jim Jones in, like, Jonestown, and if you watch that after this, or if you watch or, you know, Jonestown, you can see the similarities here between Father Divine and Jim Jones. Like, Jim Jones did a lot of the same thing that Father Divine did. Opened up businesses, took care of the people, was humble, gave back, blah, blah, blah. And then it went very, very wrong. But it was. It's. It just kind of blew my mind. It really did. It's like Father Divine really gave Jim Jones this outline of what to do, and then he went off the fricking rails, obviously. So, listen, Mother Divine, she ran the movement up until 2017. Crazy, huh? Yeah. She ended up passing away at the age of 91. Wow. And honestly, we could do a whole episode on Mother Divine and how she carried on the movement. I mean, there are so many layers to this story. Now, apparently to this day, the peace mission movement still exists. Now they're known as the International Peace Mission Movement. For decades after Father Divine's death, followers would clean his room, wash his sheets, and dry clean his suits. They still believe that one day the power of positive thinking will bring back Father Divine. Now, listen, the story of Father Divine is complicated. On one hand, he offered safety, homes, work, promise, and just community at a time when people had nothing. And then on the other hand, it's like kind of a textbook cult. Like, it checks all the boxes. A guy declares himself God, he renames you, he gives you rules to follow, or else you get kicked out. He tells you to cut off your family in order to prove your loyalty. He controls your money. He breaks his own rules about celibacy, has sex with his followers. Check, check, check, check, check. Like everything that is, you know, this is a cult. It's like he also did that, you know, but you're at the same time you're like, but he also kind of did good. All I know is like, honestly, I couldn't believe I had never heard of this guy. To this day, memoirs about the peace mission movement are being published and coming out. People are sharing their stories and their experiences. So I'm looking forward to that. I think there's a couple coming out soon. I'm not sure. Anyways, look, I think it's easy for us to write off stories like Father Divine because you would think to yourself, we all do. I'd never join. Why do people join that? Why? Why don't they see what they're in? But listen, people don't join cults. They join good things that sometimes become a cult. And I think this is a perfect example of that because you're like, again, he did good. He was helping people. He was taking care of them. And some or a lot of people argue that, you know, they were better off because of his teachings. Yeah, I mean, he didn't sacrifice anyone, so. Well, I don't know, actually. Anyways, let me know your guys thoughts down below. I am. I'm looking forward to reading in the comments section. It's time to dust off your best dress and dig around your drawer for some spanx. Because next week it's officially time for the annual Dark History Awards show, the Joanies. Oh, every season we learn so much, don't we? What about this season? Oh, we sure have. From the season. From the secret sex lives of eunuchs to the government bailing out Domino's Pizza so they had a place to put their old government cheese to the horny history of exorcisms. I feel like a new person. We also had a lot of interesting moments along the way. So the Joanies is going to be dedicated to dark history's funniest moments. Honestly, it's like a big old bucket of fun filled with blooper. I'm looking forward to it. It's gonna be a lot of fun. And I'm also looking forward to see what everyone's gonna wear. It's an award show. You better dress up. Listen, I'd love to hear your reactions to today's episode, so make sure to leave a comment down below so I can see what you guys are saying. And your comment might be featured in a future episode. Now let's read a couple of comments. You guys have left me. Rosanna Mahoney6960 left me a comment saying, quote, really random bailey, but my 14 year old son refers to you as the genie because he thinks you look like a genie. Magician, fortune teller, love from the uk, X. End quote. I'm not sure if I'm offended or this is a good thing because I don't want to look like a genie. A genie. I want to look like, I don't know, a genie. I guess I'm just thinking of like David Cobb Copperfield or something and like Chris angel and oh God, I cringe when I think of them. They're just so corny. But I know people love them. So sorry, it's not a personal attack, but okay. I mean, how old is your kid? Four? Oh, 14. Oh, okay. Well, thank you. Now watch me disappear. Anyway, thank you for watching. I'm sure it's a compliment. Compliment. I think I'm gonna receive it that way. Thank you. I'm a magician. All the hard work I do and I'm a magician. God. German. Okay, Ruby4751 left me a comment saying, quote, I'm going through a breakup and your videos have helped me forget about my heartbreak. Lol. End quote. Aw, Ruby, I'm so sorry you're going through a breakup. Listen, I know it's hard. It's never easy, it hurts, but it will pass, I promise. When you're feeling down. Okay? Yep. You just got to watch things to help you get out of the funk. But what's going to help you get out of the funk is to actually put yourself out there. You need to, like, go do something. Go on a walk, change up your routine so you start looking out for yourself. Don't get stuck in bed and don't get stuck in this breakup cycle. Okay? I'm saying this because I care about you. Give yourself some time to grieve. Yes. But don't get stuck there. You gotta move forward. You're gonna be okay. I promise. And it's probably for the better. One day you're gonna look back and you're gonna be like, that was a joke. Why was I with that person? Oh my God, that's so embarrassing. And when you get there, which you will, you will be like, I'm so glad that happened. I know it's easier to say that now, but you're gonna be okay. Sending you all the love. Mikey Spiritu1433 left a comment saying, I just wanted to share that Bailey helped me get an A on one of my classes when I was doing my master's when we were told to do a report on unethical businesses. And her Dark History episode on bananas was a huge help. Lucky I was a straight F student. Your Masters? Really? Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Can I get a master's? I dedicate that A to you, Bailey. You deserve the world. Mike. Yay. I'm so happy to hear that. Congratulations. There's nothing better than getting an A on something. I never got that I was a straight D minus. I hate to say it. F student. Yeah. So I'm living through you. I wish I could A masters. What I. But I'm so glad I can help. I love that. Yeah, we've covered so much on this show that sometimes it's easy to forget. Like I forgot about the banana episode, but I love that it helps you out. Congratulations on that A. I'm kind of jealous. Thank you guys so much for hanging out with me today and, you know, engaging. Keep on commenting because maybe you your comment will be featured. And hey, did you know? You can join me on my YouTube where you can actually watch these episodes on Thursday after the podcast airs. And while you're there, you can catch my murder mystery and makeup. So don't forget to subscribe. And if you don't know, Dark History is an audioboom original. A special thank you to our expert, Palomi Saha, professor at UC Berkeley, who writes and teaches about our cultural obsession with cults. And I'm your host, Bailey Smith. Aryan. I hope you have a good day. You make good choices, okay? Stay curious out there and I'll be talking to you guys later. Goodbye.