The idea of ​​a utopia dates back to when the Pilgrims boarded the Mayflower. They dreamed of creating “an imaginary place where government, laws, and social conditions were perfect” (Merriam-Webster). Since then there have been many attempts to create a utopia. Some have failed and some have succeeded. Examples of two well-known attempts at utopia are Jonestown and the community of Oneida. Both had convincing and powerful leaders. The leaders of these utopias, John Noyes and Jim Jones, used their influencing skills wisely and managed to gain many followers. In the beginning they both had great successes, in the end one faded away and the other had a tragic and disturbing ending. Jim Jones Utopia was created with the Peoples Temple Church. Jim Jones, the leader of Peoples Temple, has an interesting background. Jim Jones was born in Crete, Indiana. Neighbors said they always thought he was a little strange. Childhood friends remember Jim having church services where he held memorial services for dead animals. Some of the animals he had tortured and killed. When he was a teenager, Jones met Marceline Baldwin. They married and had a child together. Then they adopted several children of different ethnicities. Jones was proud of his family and told many other people about adopting children of different races. The second attempt at Utopia was created by John Noyes. Noyes was born in Brattleboro, Vermont. He was 21 years old when he began expressing his views on theology. It was during his second year at Yale that he truly expressed his ideas. He was trying to find the date when Christ would return and discovered that it had already happened. He then became more and more concerned about salvation from sin and with be......middle of paper......considered that the beginning of Jims Jones' suspicious actions was when he made his followers practice revolutionary suicide. He told them to drink water, and then told them they had just drunk poison. Soon after, he told the people it was a test of loyalty, and they passed it. This shows how people truly followed Jim Jones and were willing to do whatever he said. Daily life in Jonestown continued to worsen. An example of how Jim Jones brainwashed people was an event that occurred every night. He would go on the loudspeaker and say, “I'm going to send someone out tonight. Someone you know. Someone you trust. And they'll act like they want to leave. But this is a test of loyalty and you have to hand them over. "(Layton) Families would betray each other for Jim Jones and that shows how influential he was. Works quoted Merriam-Webster