James F. Jones (minister)
Encyclopedia
Rev. Dr. James F. Jones Prophet Jones (born James Francis Marion Jones; November 24, 1907 — February 12, 1971) was an African American
religious
leader, televangelist, faith healer
, self-proclaimed prophet
and pastor
who led the Church of Universal Triumph, Dominion of God, Inc. from 1938 until his death in 1971. Jones was a contemporary of other religious leaders at that time such as Daddy Grace, Father Divine
, C.L. Franklin, Rev. James F. Lofton; and Charles Harrison Mason
. He reached his peak as a religious leader during the 40's and 50's. When he came to Detroit, he had been a missionary
for the southern based Pentecostal sect, Triumph the Church Kingdom of God in Christ. He led two of the largest Pentecostal churches in Detroit in the 40s and 50s. He broadcasted live weekly sermons over Canadian stations CKLW
reaching the Midwest. In 1955 he began hosting Sunday night programs on WXYZ-TV
, making him the first African American
preacher in Detroit to host a weekly television program. He was well known for his late night services, which were broadcasted in Detroit. He resided in a stately mansion called the "French Castle", in the fashionable Arden Park-East Boston
of Detroit. Later in his ministry he commuted from Detroit and Chicago
frequently. Prophet Jones died at 63 and was buried at Elmwood Cemetery
.
on November 24,1907.His father a railroad brakeman named James W. Jones married a schoolteacher named Catherine Lewis and he was their only child.At the early age of six Jones joined and began preaching sermons in Triumph the Church and Kingdom of God in Christ.The Triumph Church was a Black Holiness-Pentecostal church founded by Apostle Elias Dempsey Smith in 1902 that the young Jones parents,former members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, had converted to. Young Jones preached in tents,convocations and other venues of the Triumph Church as a child prodigy.The church he later founded in 1944 in Detroit called Universal Triumph the Dominion Of God,would be of a similar Black Holiness Pentecostal character as the Triumph Church. At age 11 Jones quit school to devote his life to full time preaching.He was to spend his whole life evangelizing,preaching,prophesying and pastoring in the Black Holiness cause,as he understood it.As an adult Jones said when he was a little boy God spoke to him and told him he was destined to “distil” great and good thoughts in the minds of men.
He became an ordained minister at 18 in the nationwide Triumph the Church and Kingdom of God in Christ sect.
area of Detroit. From a small frame church building his expanding following was soon headquartered at the old Oriole Theater at 8450 Linwood Ave., now New Bethel Baptist Church, once pastored by C.L. Franklin and Jones ex-friend and later rival.In a religious sub-culture of competing claims Prophet Jones declared that almighty God spoke soley to him and thus he was the world's 'one and only true prophet' and savior. Prophet Jones also taught that only he 'embodied' Jesus Christ and that as such he was God's 'Holiness' and sole 'Messenger' on earth 'in these last days' with the divine powers to forecast,heal,bless and condemn.As the Universal Dominion Ruler,Prophet Jones was a regal messianic figure to his followers and gave his inner circle royal titles such as sir, prince, princess, lord, and lady. He called his flock the “citizens”of his dominion.In return they attended his weekly all night ecstatic worship services,publicly testified to his divine healing powers,celebrated his birthday,called Philamathyu,in lieu of Christmas and lavished him with gifts,small and large,as tokens of their love & devotion.
The Dominion consisted of numerous churches called “thankful centers” around the United States and abroad.About 35 churches and six million followers eventually belonged to or 'registered into' his Dominion Jones once claimed. Detroit’s membership was about 1,500.
Jones also claimed in Hue magazine that he named his church "Universal Triumph the Dominion of God" because "God told me to take the first word from three boats that came down the river and add God."
recalled as a child loving his Detroit mansion,which the Prophet painted a different color throughout the year.He called his mansion the “French Castle”. It was also known as the “Dominion Residence”. According to Hue magazine the Dominion parsanage was previously a 54 room former gambling casino, which Prophet Jones purchased from gambler Danny Sullivan
. According to Ebony magazine the house, was purchased by his flock at reported cost at that time, $ 30,000. The house had been previously built in 1917 by General Motors Corp. executive Edmund A. Vier, at the cost $100,000. The house was styled after an 18th century French chateau.
The interior of the home was grand boasting hand-carved woodwork, gold-painted ceilings, ornate brocade drapes and wall-to-wall carpeting with pile as deep as an English lawn. The home was also furnished with various exquisite furnishings,many of which were gifts from congregants & well wishers.Some of these gifts, such as a $7,000 grand piano, $8,000 worth of silver plate, a stained glass window installed at a cost of $1,200 and other rooms of expensive furniture,were so opulent that reports stated that 'they awed visitors'. A massive double door guarded the entrance to the mansion
, and Lady Burton, the Dominion receptionist, inspected visitors carefully through a glass panel before she unlocked it. But of all of Prophet Jones' possessions, it was said that he cherished his expansive wardrobe of almost 500 suits and ensembles the most.
Jones received visitors in a small paneled study
, dominated by a life-size portrait of him in a white robe. The room was stifling because a gas fire burned in the fireplace
24 hours a day. Jones told visitors that God had told him never to let it go out. Reports also state that children's toys
were aligned along the fireplace.Jones stated,when asked,that they were meant to symbolize "the lack of toys" in his own "impoverished boyhood".
The prophet also employed a personal staff of 12 domestics who were financed by the church and served as his butlers,maids,cooks,valets and the chauffeurs of his armada of 5 expensive cadillacs. His cooks went everywhere with him. “A great person preaching unadulterated gospel has to be careful.” He said.
Later he sold his "French Castle" to rival Daddy Grace. He still retained another large parsonage at 8311 La Salle Blvd,Detroit,which now serves as the current Dominion Residence.
At his home Jones hosted lavish banquets and other events in his Sky Room. He was quite a vibrant personality on the social scene in Detroit.Prominent people from the elites of politics,business and music such as Lionel Hampton
and his wife Gladys Hampton attended the high society gatherings held in his Sky Room. He became a mutual friend to Father Divine
, he visited his home Woodmont, and played golf with him. He also was friendly with C.L. Franklin for some time. He was even interviewed once by Burt Lancaster
a local Detroit TV reporter. A former aide of his Princess Ophelia Kemp was the mother of Hollywood actress Freda Rentie. He even attended Dinah Washington
's funeral, and was classified as a mourner in the Jet 1964 issue.
to place his body near his mother‘s at Elmwood Cemetery
in Detroit. Prophet Jones feared being buried and intimate once stated, that the church board would have to decide on a design, not whether it would have been built. This was according to JET
magazine at the time. Nevertheless, Jones had 15,000 people pay their last respects to him, and more than 2,000 people came to his funeral which held at the Adlai Stevenson Building Auditorium on Grand River. Which is now the Straightgate International Church, Bishop Andrew Merritt, pastor. Followers from the US, Canada, and the West Indies came. At the three hour long service over 20 ministers came from 36 states and the West Indies to take part in the services. Black community leaders of Detroit also attended. The Rev. John Smettler, once an altar boy for Jones, was a speaker at the service. He ended with Jones iconic phrase: “All is well”, “All is well”, “and All is well.” The prophet was buried at Elmwood Cemetery
in his silver embroider robe, in a bronze coffin with his distinctive white mink coat placed on it.
‘’’Rev. Lord James Schaffer’’’, 61 at the time and administrator of the local Universal Missionary Church and assistant to Jones was seemingly the logical successor. Boykins, a press representative of the church stated, “He has all the reins of power”. Some observers claimed at the time Schaffer didn’t have the charisma, showmanship or strong personality Jones had which they felt held together the strongly-independent local churches. The churches were like Baptist
churches that comprised the domain.
‘’’Rev. John Smettler’’, at the time was claimed as a candidate outside of the domain to elect for succession. He was also a flamboyant person on the Jones order who pastored a church, Wings of Truth Gospel Church. He already had his own radio show and some followers draped him in a mink coat as his former pastor Jones.After a vote of the Dominion Council and Board of Trustees Rev. Lord James Schaffer was successfully installed as 'Dominion ruler' and successor to Prophet Jones as leader of Universal Triumph the Dominion of God.
Detroit, Michigan 48206
A supporter of the Republican Party,Prophet Jones created a secular medal award, the Crispus Attucks, and presented it to Michigan's Republican senator Homes Ferguson and Secretary of Defense Charles E.Wilson.In 1951 Prophet Jones delivered the invocation at the opening session of the Michigan State Legislature in Lansing. In 1952 Prophet Jones prophesied that General
Dwight Eisenhower would win the 1952 presidential election
. After Eisenhower's election victory Prophet Jones received an invitation to the inauguration
.His attendance there was noted in the press. Many of his supporters now looked at him as a prophet to the White House
, adding to his mystique.
.
Famous Harlem politician,pastorAdam Clayton Powell, Jr.
,drew conclusions from innuendo in a 1951 Ebony article in which he told a story about an unidentified pastor's grief over the death of his young,handsome and talented personal male assistant.Powell described the funeral of the assistant as a "scene out of Arabian nights" with a lavish spread of flowers and a very expensive coffin. But what Powell found very disturbing,he reported,was the preacher’s "quavering voice,tear soaked eyes and shaking body"."The pastor even tried to leap into the casket",Rev.Powell alleged. He went on to write that the minister’s broken sobs were those of someone who had "lost his lover". "Actually",Powell continued,"the two had been sharing an unnatural relationship for a number of years" and that "the entire congregation" and "the whole community knew about it". "Today this minister is one of the most powerful and respected African American pastors in all America" exclaimed Powell writing in disapproval.'The preacher and his male lover' Powell was referring to was Detroit's Prophet Jones (James Francis Jones) and his longtime companion James Walton.
Factually Prophet Jones,a life long bachelor,built a shrine
to his longtime male companion,James Walton,in the Mansion home that they had shared,along with the Prophets' mother,after Walton died in 1951 at the age of 29 of a kidney ailment.
Prophet Jones was jailed in 1956 on morals for gross indecency
, after a undercover police officer alleged Jones tried to perform fellatio
on him. He was later acquitted, since the officer's participation in the act rendered it a case of induced entrapment. The spectacle around the nature of the charges and the trail made it hard to make a successful public comeback for Prophet Jones.
Detroit, released a recorded sermon for distribution by the Dominion in which he boldly declared that "God wants a man who wont have sex with a woman at all". He further lashed out on the topic describing the ' wicked sinfulness' of women and of the men 'who have sex with women'. The sermon,released on Ston-Roc LP, entitled Strong As Turpentine was bound to stir controversy and Jones planned to record a series of such albums live in Detroit. His bout with a stroke at the time caused an impairment of his controversial speech. Doctors stated however that he would be able to return to the pulpit and continue his duties on his national broadcast.
,Jones was a pioneering rarity in the age of segregation
,a very popular African American
religious broadcaster. He was accused of making a racial slur while broadcasting over the radio and became a target of public protest by the broader African American public. It was claimed that he used the degrading word during a sermon on common law marriage. The prophet had urged women listeners to get rid of their common-law mates,referring to such African American men with a racially offensive explicative.He was flooded with phone calls over his radio broadcast and at his home after the statement. He then made an on air apology and blamed the incident on a mysterious voice.He said "It was a voice. I believe it was the voice of a woman. It came to me while I was talking on the air. I don't like the word myself, I never use it".
Also in the same year Prophet Jones was barred from appearing on the nationally televised news variety show Today
. Plans for him to appear on the show were canceled after prominent African American and Interracial organizations got wind of his scheduled TV appearance and protested.They claimed that Jones was not a "true representative" of the African American community. Announcement of Prophet Jones' appearance had been made from New York before the show's originator and star, Dave Garroway
arrived in Detroit. As result of the protest WWJ-TV station officials decided not to feature the 'controversial' Jones on the show.
Prophet Jones,angered by the negative reactions of the Detroit ministers and the subsequent cancellation in turn announced on his radio show that he had purchased time for his own TV show. His TV show aired one hour each Monday morning at 1 a.m. on WXYZ-TV
the first of its kind in Detroit.
in a performance entitled Ode to Prophet Jones in Chicago 1969.
In 1972 Jones was named "Patron Saint of Prosperity" canonized by the Open Door Church of Holiness, Rev. Jesse Irwin, Jr., minister, Detroit, Michigan
. The report claimed that the Open Door Church of Holiness burned down, and the minister called Prophet Jones name eight times-that was the prophet's number and the new location was soon found.
portraying Prophet Jones in the movie Carwash, as a flamboyant, money loving preacher in the 1970s, with The Pointer Sisters as his back up choir.
Prophet Jones had three foster children:
Joshua (1938-?), David (1943-?),and a third son whose name was not listed in the extant information available.
http://www.waltermason.com/2009/03/prophet-jones.html
WALTER ON MONDAY, 2 MARCH 2009 WALTERBLOG
WRITER, SCHOLAR, DREAMER
http://books.google.com/books?id=t7EDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA49&dq=Prophet+James+F.+Jones+1972+jet&hl=en&ei=Vp57TpGcOIqlsALEpqC2Aw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
http://books.google.com/books?id=ibIDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA14&dq=Prophet+Jones+nigger&hl=en&ei=INB7TtqaH_KGsgKs0ImgAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Prophet%20Jones%20nigger&f=false
http://books.google.com/books?id=qTcDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA14&dq=Prophet+James+F.+Jones+1970+jet&hl=en&ei=NZ57To3AD8aqsQKRv7TgAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&sqi=2&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/glq/summary/v008/8.3retzloff.html
http://utdog.org/utdoghistory.html
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
religious
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
leader, televangelist, faith healer
Faith Healer
Faith Healer is a play by Brian Friel about the life of faith healer Francis Hardy as monologued through the shifting memories of Hardy, his wife, Grace, and stage manager, Teddy.-Synopsis:...
, self-proclaimed prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
and pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
who led the Church of Universal Triumph, Dominion of God, Inc. from 1938 until his death in 1971. Jones was a contemporary of other religious leaders at that time such as Daddy Grace, Father Divine
Father Divine
Father Divine , also known as Reverend M. J. Divine, was an African American spiritual leader from about 1907 until his death. His full self-given name was Reverend Major Jealous Divine, and he was also known as "the Messenger" early in his life...
, C.L. Franklin, Rev. James F. Lofton; and Charles Harrison Mason
Charles Harrison Mason
Bishop Charles Harrison 'C.H.' Mason was an American Pentecostal–Holiness and Charismatic, denomination leader. He was the founder, Chief Apostle and first Senior Bishop of the Church of God in Christ, Inc. He was also the grandfather of Bishop J.O...
. He reached his peak as a religious leader during the 40's and 50's. When he came to Detroit, he had been a missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
for the southern based Pentecostal sect, Triumph the Church Kingdom of God in Christ. He led two of the largest Pentecostal churches in Detroit in the 40s and 50s. He broadcasted live weekly sermons over Canadian stations CKLW
CKLW
CKLW is a 50,000 watt AM radio station broadcasting on 800 kHz and located in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and serving Windsor and Detroit. Additionally, its signal can be heard as far west as Belding, Michigan; as far east as Batavia, New York; as far south as Edgewood, Kentucky; and as far...
reaching the Midwest. In 1955 he began hosting Sunday night programs on WXYZ-TV
WXYZ-TV
WXYZ-TV, channel 7, is an ABC-affiliated television station in Detroit, Michigan, USA. WXYZ-TV is owned by the E.W. Scripps Company, and is the media company's largest-market TV station property...
, making him the first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
preacher in Detroit to host a weekly television program. He was well known for his late night services, which were broadcasted in Detroit. He resided in a stately mansion called the "French Castle", in the fashionable Arden Park-East Boston
Arden Park-East Boston Historic District
The Arden Park-East Boston Historic District is a neighborhood in the City of Detroit, Michigan, bounded on the west by Woodward Avenue, on the north by East Boston Boulevard, on the east by Oakland Avenue, and on the south by Arden Park Boulevard...
of Detroit. Later in his ministry he commuted from Detroit and Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
frequently. Prophet Jones died at 63 and was buried at Elmwood Cemetery
Elmwood Cemetery (Detroit, Michigan)
Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit is one of Michigan's most important historic cemeteries. Located at 1200 Elmwood Street in Detroit's Eastside Historic Cemetery District, Elmwood is the oldest continuously operating, non-denominational cemetery in Michigan...
.
Early life
Jones was born in Birmingham, AlabamaBirmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
on November 24,1907.His father a railroad brakeman named James W. Jones married a schoolteacher named Catherine Lewis and he was their only child.At the early age of six Jones joined and began preaching sermons in Triumph the Church and Kingdom of God in Christ.The Triumph Church was a Black Holiness-Pentecostal church founded by Apostle Elias Dempsey Smith in 1902 that the young Jones parents,former members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, had converted to. Young Jones preached in tents,convocations and other venues of the Triumph Church as a child prodigy.The church he later founded in 1944 in Detroit called Universal Triumph the Dominion Of God,would be of a similar Black Holiness Pentecostal character as the Triumph Church. At age 11 Jones quit school to devote his life to full time preaching.He was to spend his whole life evangelizing,preaching,prophesying and pastoring in the Black Holiness cause,as he understood it.As an adult Jones said when he was a little boy God spoke to him and told him he was destined to “distil” great and good thoughts in the minds of men.
He became an ordained minister at 18 in the nationwide Triumph the Church and Kingdom of God in Christ sect.
Formation of church and rise to leadership
In 1938 The Triumph sect sent the 31 year old minister evangelist Jones,accompanied by his teen aged male personal secretary James Walton,to Detroit as a missionary where enthusiastic converts soon pressed expensive gifts upon him. The gifts his ministry in Detroit received the Triumph Church overseers back in Birmingham ruled were rightfully the property of the Triumph Church in Alabama. Jones therefore broke away from Triumph to embark on forming his own group,Universal Triumph the Dominion of God. According to the Universal Triumph the Dominion of God church website the command to form the organization was revealed to him, September 24, 1944, by the God of the universe. (Rev. 11:15;18:1-4;21:1-5; Matthew 6:8,10;Amos 3:7)Leadership of the Church of Universal Triumph
Dr. James F. Jones in 1944 formed his corporation,the Universal Triumph the Dominion of God, Inc. in Detroit. After breaking with the Triumph Church and Kingdom of God in Christ the Universal Triumph the Dominion of God,Inc started very modestly in the Black BottomBlack Bottom, Detroit
Black Bottom was a predominantly black neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan, that was demolished for redevelopment in the early 1960s. It was replaced with Lafayette Park. It was located on Detroit's near East side bounded by Gratiot Avenue, Brush Street, Vernor Highway, and the Grand Trunk railroad...
area of Detroit. From a small frame church building his expanding following was soon headquartered at the old Oriole Theater at 8450 Linwood Ave., now New Bethel Baptist Church, once pastored by C.L. Franklin and Jones ex-friend and later rival.In a religious sub-culture of competing claims Prophet Jones declared that almighty God spoke soley to him and thus he was the world's 'one and only true prophet' and savior. Prophet Jones also taught that only he 'embodied' Jesus Christ and that as such he was God's 'Holiness' and sole 'Messenger' on earth 'in these last days' with the divine powers to forecast,heal,bless and condemn.As the Universal Dominion Ruler,Prophet Jones was a regal messianic figure to his followers and gave his inner circle royal titles such as sir, prince, princess, lord, and lady. He called his flock the “citizens”of his dominion.In return they attended his weekly all night ecstatic worship services,publicly testified to his divine healing powers,celebrated his birthday,called Philamathyu,in lieu of Christmas and lavished him with gifts,small and large,as tokens of their love & devotion.
The Dominion consisted of numerous churches called “thankful centers” around the United States and abroad.About 35 churches and six million followers eventually belonged to or 'registered into' his Dominion Jones once claimed. Detroit’s membership was about 1,500.
Jones also claimed in Hue magazine that he named his church "Universal Triumph the Dominion of God" because "God told me to take the first word from three boats that came down the river and add God."
His residence
Jones home was claimed to be opulent, Aretha FranklinAretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
recalled as a child loving his Detroit mansion,which the Prophet painted a different color throughout the year.He called his mansion the “French Castle”. It was also known as the “Dominion Residence”. According to Hue magazine the Dominion parsanage was previously a 54 room former gambling casino, which Prophet Jones purchased from gambler Danny Sullivan
Danny Sullivan
Daniel John "Danny" Sullivan III is a former racing driver from the United States. He is best known for winning the 1985 Indianapolis 500.-Before racing:...
. According to Ebony magazine the house, was purchased by his flock at reported cost at that time, $ 30,000. The house had been previously built in 1917 by General Motors Corp. executive Edmund A. Vier, at the cost $100,000. The house was styled after an 18th century French chateau.
The interior of the home was grand boasting hand-carved woodwork, gold-painted ceilings, ornate brocade drapes and wall-to-wall carpeting with pile as deep as an English lawn. The home was also furnished with various exquisite furnishings,many of which were gifts from congregants & well wishers.Some of these gifts, such as a $7,000 grand piano, $8,000 worth of silver plate, a stained glass window installed at a cost of $1,200 and other rooms of expensive furniture,were so opulent that reports stated that 'they awed visitors'. A massive double door guarded the entrance to the mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
, and Lady Burton, the Dominion receptionist, inspected visitors carefully through a glass panel before she unlocked it. But of all of Prophet Jones' possessions, it was said that he cherished his expansive wardrobe of almost 500 suits and ensembles the most.
Jones received visitors in a small paneled study
Study (room)
A study is a room in a house which is used for paperwork, computer work, or reading. Historically, the study of a house was reserved for use as the private office and reading room of a family father as the formal head of a household, but today studies are generally either used to operate a home...
, dominated by a life-size portrait of him in a white robe. The room was stifling because a gas fire burned in the fireplace
Fireplace
A fireplace is an architectural structure to contain a fire for heating and, especially historically, for cooking. A fire is contained in a firebox or firepit; a chimney or other flue allows gas and particulate exhaust to escape...
24 hours a day. Jones told visitors that God had told him never to let it go out. Reports also state that children's toys
Toys
Toys is a 1992 comedy film directed by Barry Levinson and starring Robin Williams, Michael Gambon, Joan Cusack, Robin Wright, LL Cool J, and introducing Jamie Foxx as Baker. The film failed at the box office at the time of its release, despite its impressive cast and lavish filmmaking. Levinson was...
were aligned along the fireplace.Jones stated,when asked,that they were meant to symbolize "the lack of toys" in his own "impoverished boyhood".
The prophet also employed a personal staff of 12 domestics who were financed by the church and served as his butlers,maids,cooks,valets and the chauffeurs of his armada of 5 expensive cadillacs. His cooks went everywhere with him. “A great person preaching unadulterated gospel has to be careful.” He said.
Later he sold his "French Castle" to rival Daddy Grace. He still retained another large parsonage at 8311 La Salle Blvd,Detroit,which now serves as the current Dominion Residence.
At his home Jones hosted lavish banquets and other events in his Sky Room. He was quite a vibrant personality on the social scene in Detroit.Prominent people from the elites of politics,business and music such as Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...
and his wife Gladys Hampton attended the high society gatherings held in his Sky Room. He became a mutual friend to Father Divine
Father Divine
Father Divine , also known as Reverend M. J. Divine, was an African American spiritual leader from about 1907 until his death. His full self-given name was Reverend Major Jealous Divine, and he was also known as "the Messenger" early in his life...
, he visited his home Woodmont, and played golf with him. He also was friendly with C.L. Franklin for some time. He was even interviewed once by Burt Lancaster
Burt Lancaster
Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
a local Detroit TV reporter. A former aide of his Princess Ophelia Kemp was the mother of Hollywood actress Freda Rentie. He even attended Dinah Washington
Dinah Washington
Dinah Washington, born Ruth Lee Jones , was an American blues, R&B and jazz singer. She has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the '50s", and called "The Queen of the Blues"...
's funeral, and was classified as a mourner in the Jet 1964 issue.
Death
Right Rev. Dr. James F. Jones died of a heart attack at age 63 on August 12, 1971, at the Dominion parsonage on LaSalle Blvd in Detroit; under the care of a church “prince”, “Lord” Claude Haley. At the time of his death church leaders where trying to design a cryptCrypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
to place his body near his mother‘s at Elmwood Cemetery
Elmwood Cemetery (Detroit, Michigan)
Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit is one of Michigan's most important historic cemeteries. Located at 1200 Elmwood Street in Detroit's Eastside Historic Cemetery District, Elmwood is the oldest continuously operating, non-denominational cemetery in Michigan...
in Detroit. Prophet Jones feared being buried and intimate once stated, that the church board would have to decide on a design, not whether it would have been built. This was according to JET
Jet (magazine)
Jet is an American weekly marketed toward African-American readers, founded in 1951 by John H. Johnson of Johnson Publishing Company in Chicago, Illinois...
magazine at the time. Nevertheless, Jones had 15,000 people pay their last respects to him, and more than 2,000 people came to his funeral which held at the Adlai Stevenson Building Auditorium on Grand River. Which is now the Straightgate International Church, Bishop Andrew Merritt, pastor. Followers from the US, Canada, and the West Indies came. At the three hour long service over 20 ministers came from 36 states and the West Indies to take part in the services. Black community leaders of Detroit also attended. The Rev. John Smettler, once an altar boy for Jones, was a speaker at the service. He ended with Jones iconic phrase: “All is well”, “All is well”, “and All is well.” The prophet was buried at Elmwood Cemetery
Elmwood Cemetery (Detroit, Michigan)
Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit is one of Michigan's most important historic cemeteries. Located at 1200 Elmwood Street in Detroit's Eastside Historic Cemetery District, Elmwood is the oldest continuously operating, non-denominational cemetery in Michigan...
in his silver embroider robe, in a bronze coffin with his distinctive white mink coat placed on it.
A successor
Following Jones death the church was contemplative if everything would be okay in the domain of 36 churches with a following of about 100,000 to 200,000 members. They wondered who would succeed Jones.‘’’Rev. Lord James Schaffer’’’, 61 at the time and administrator of the local Universal Missionary Church and assistant to Jones was seemingly the logical successor. Boykins, a press representative of the church stated, “He has all the reins of power”. Some observers claimed at the time Schaffer didn’t have the charisma, showmanship or strong personality Jones had which they felt held together the strongly-independent local churches. The churches were like Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
churches that comprised the domain.
‘’’Rev. John Smettler’’, at the time was claimed as a candidate outside of the domain to elect for succession. He was also a flamboyant person on the Jones order who pastored a church, Wings of Truth Gospel Church. He already had his own radio show and some followers draped him in a mink coat as his former pastor Jones.After a vote of the Dominion Council and Board of Trustees Rev. Lord James Schaffer was successfully installed as 'Dominion ruler' and successor to Prophet Jones as leader of Universal Triumph the Dominion of God.
Legacy
- Watch This!Johnathan Walton explained, "Whether Jones was a healer or not his place in popular culture in the 1950s was indisputable. This self-proclaimed seer and radio evangelist was favorably featured in such publications as Ebony magazineEbony (magazine)Ebony, a monthly magazine for the African-American market, was founded by John H. Johnson and has published continuously since the autumn of 1945...
, Time (magazine)Time (magazine)Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, Life (magazine)Life (magazine)Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
, NewsweekNewsweekNewsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
, and the Saturday Evening Post. - Jones had mass acclaim, affluence, and influence in the African American religious landscape in cities.
- Images of Prophet Jones in 1955 sitting on his throne, with gold handled cane in one hand, and goblet in other in other may have aesthetically impacted Rev. Ike 20 years old at the time.
- His church is still operating in Detroit, Universal Triumphant the Dominion of God, 1651 Ferry Park
Detroit, Michigan 48206
Political Power
Noted for his ardent USA patriotism, Prophet Jones opened his religious radio broadcast with the national anthem and the pledge of allegiance to the flag.A supporter of the Republican Party,Prophet Jones created a secular medal award, the Crispus Attucks, and presented it to Michigan's Republican senator Homes Ferguson and Secretary of Defense Charles E.Wilson.In 1951 Prophet Jones delivered the invocation at the opening session of the Michigan State Legislature in Lansing. In 1952 Prophet Jones prophesied that General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Dwight Eisenhower would win the 1952 presidential election
United States presidential election, 1952
The United States presidential election of 1952 took place in an era when Cold War tension between the United States and the Soviet Union was escalating rapidly. In the United States Senate, Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin had become a national figure after chairing congressional...
. After Eisenhower's election victory Prophet Jones received an invitation to the inauguration
Inauguration
An inauguration is a formal ceremony to mark the beginning of a leader's term of office. An example is the ceremony in which the President of the United States officially takes the oath of office....
.His attendance there was noted in the press. Many of his supporters now looked at him as a prophet to the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, adding to his mystique.
Personal Life, Homosexuality and Scandal
Prophet Jones in an issue of Hue claimed that he lived a rather peculiar life. He said that he never slept more than one hour and thirty minutes a day and only ate one meal a day. Which would be partaken after 9:30 p.m. He also rigidly keep his promise not to 'ever have a romance with a woman'. He also stated that he would often pray near the Detroit RiverDetroit River
The Detroit River is a strait in the Great Lakes system. The name comes from the French Rivière du Détroit, which translates literally as "River of the Strait". The Detroit River has served an important role in the history of Detroit and is one of the busiest waterways in the world. The river...
.
Famous Harlem politician,pastorAdam Clayton Powell, Jr.
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., was an American politician and pastor who represented Harlem, New York City, in the United States House of Representatives . He was the first person of African-American descent elected to Congress from New York and became a powerful national politician...
,drew conclusions from innuendo in a 1951 Ebony article in which he told a story about an unidentified pastor's grief over the death of his young,handsome and talented personal male assistant.Powell described the funeral of the assistant as a "scene out of Arabian nights" with a lavish spread of flowers and a very expensive coffin. But what Powell found very disturbing,he reported,was the preacher’s "quavering voice,tear soaked eyes and shaking body"."The pastor even tried to leap into the casket",Rev.Powell alleged. He went on to write that the minister’s broken sobs were those of someone who had "lost his lover". "Actually",Powell continued,"the two had been sharing an unnatural relationship for a number of years" and that "the entire congregation" and "the whole community knew about it". "Today this minister is one of the most powerful and respected African American pastors in all America" exclaimed Powell writing in disapproval.'The preacher and his male lover' Powell was referring to was Detroit's Prophet Jones (James Francis Jones) and his longtime companion James Walton.
Factually Prophet Jones,a life long bachelor,built a shrine
Shrine
A shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated....
to his longtime male companion,James Walton,in the Mansion home that they had shared,along with the Prophets' mother,after Walton died in 1951 at the age of 29 of a kidney ailment.
Prophet Jones was jailed in 1956 on morals for gross indecency
Gross indecency
Gross indecency is a UK and Canadian legal term of art which was used in the definition of the following criminal offences:*Gross indecency between men, contrary to section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 and later contrary to section 13 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956.*Indecency with a...
, after a undercover police officer alleged Jones tried to perform fellatio
Fellatio
Fellatio is an act of oral stimulation of a male's penis by a sexual partner. It involves the stimulation of the penis by the use of the mouth, tongue, or throat. The person who performs fellatio can be referred to as the giving partner, and the other person is the receiving partner...
on him. He was later acquitted, since the officer's participation in the act rendered it a case of induced entrapment. The spectacle around the nature of the charges and the trail made it hard to make a successful public comeback for Prophet Jones.
Recording Artist
In the 1950's Prophet Jones embarked on being a recording artist.He cut at lest 3 records of song "He Helps His People","Can't Stay Here No More" and "All Is Well". During the early 1970s, Prophet Jones,while recuperating in Henry Ford Health SystemHenry Ford Hospital
Henry Ford Hospital, the flagship facility for , is an 805-bed tertiary care hospital, education and research complex located in Detroit ....
Detroit, released a recorded sermon for distribution by the Dominion in which he boldly declared that "God wants a man who wont have sex with a woman at all". He further lashed out on the topic describing the ' wicked sinfulness' of women and of the men 'who have sex with women'. The sermon,released on Ston-Roc LP, entitled Strong As Turpentine was bound to stir controversy and Jones planned to record a series of such albums live in Detroit. His bout with a stroke at the time caused an impairment of his controversial speech. Doctors stated however that he would be able to return to the pulpit and continue his duties on his national broadcast.
Public Interview and Radio Broadcasting
In 1955,at the dawn of the civil rights movementCivil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
,Jones was a pioneering rarity in the age of segregation
Segregation
Segregation or segregate refers to setting apart or separating things or people and may refer to:* Particle segregation* Segregation in materials* Magnetic-activated cell sorting* Segregate * Mendel's law of segregation...
,a very popular African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
religious broadcaster. He was accused of making a racial slur while broadcasting over the radio and became a target of public protest by the broader African American public. It was claimed that he used the degrading word during a sermon on common law marriage. The prophet had urged women listeners to get rid of their common-law mates,referring to such African American men with a racially offensive explicative.He was flooded with phone calls over his radio broadcast and at his home after the statement. He then made an on air apology and blamed the incident on a mysterious voice.He said "It was a voice. I believe it was the voice of a woman. It came to me while I was talking on the air. I don't like the word myself, I never use it".
Also in the same year Prophet Jones was barred from appearing on the nationally televised news variety show Today
Today
Today may refer to:* Current events; see Portal:Current events* Present, the time that is perceived directly, often called now-Broadcast:* Today , a U.S...
. Plans for him to appear on the show were canceled after prominent African American and Interracial organizations got wind of his scheduled TV appearance and protested.They claimed that Jones was not a "true representative" of the African American community. Announcement of Prophet Jones' appearance had been made from New York before the show's originator and star, Dave Garroway
Dave Garroway
David Cunningham "Dave" Garroway was the founding host of NBC's Today from 1952 to 1961. His easygoing, relaxed, and relaxing style belied a battle with depression that may have contributed to the end of his days as a leading television personality—and, eventually, his life...
arrived in Detroit. As result of the protest WWJ-TV station officials decided not to feature the 'controversial' Jones on the show.
Prophet Jones,angered by the negative reactions of the Detroit ministers and the subsequent cancellation in turn announced on his radio show that he had purchased time for his own TV show. His TV show aired one hour each Monday morning at 1 a.m. on WXYZ-TV
WXYZ-TV
WXYZ-TV, channel 7, is an ABC-affiliated television station in Detroit, Michigan, USA. WXYZ-TV is owned by the E.W. Scripps Company, and is the media company's largest-market TV station property...
the first of its kind in Detroit.
Honors
Prophet Jones was characterized by ‘’’dancer’’’ Eleo PomareEleo Pomare
Eleo Pomare was a Colombian-American modern dance choreographer known for his politically-charged productions depicting the black experience....
in a performance entitled Ode to Prophet Jones in Chicago 1969.
In 1972 Jones was named "Patron Saint of Prosperity" canonized by the Open Door Church of Holiness, Rev. Jesse Irwin, Jr., minister, Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
. The report claimed that the Open Door Church of Holiness burned down, and the minister called Prophet Jones name eight times-that was the prophet's number and the new location was soon found.
Portrayals in film
It is also claimed that an attempt was made by Richard PryorRichard Pryor
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, writer and MC. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets...
portraying Prophet Jones in the movie Carwash, as a flamboyant, money loving preacher in the 1970s, with The Pointer Sisters as his back up choir.
Family and Children
Jones parents were early converts to the Triumph Church and Kingdom of God in Christ.His father was the Rev. James W. Jones,a Triumph minister (?-1944) His mother was Catherine Lewis (?-1953)Catherine L. Jones eventually separated from her husband,moved to Detroit to live with her Triumph Church missionary son and his companion,James Walton.When Universal Triumph the Dominion of God was formed she became 'Her Grace,Rev Lady C.L.Jones',the 'First Dominion Lady'. She remained an ardent advocate & supporter of her sons Universal Dominion ministry until her death.Prophet Jones had three foster children:
Joshua (1938-?), David (1943-?),and a third son whose name was not listed in the extant information available.
http://www.waltermason.com/2009/03/prophet-jones.html
WALTER ON MONDAY, 2 MARCH 2009 WALTERBLOG
WRITER, SCHOLAR, DREAMER
http://books.google.com/books?id=t7EDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA49&dq=Prophet+James+F.+Jones+1972+jet&hl=en&ei=Vp57TpGcOIqlsALEpqC2Aw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
http://books.google.com/books?id=ibIDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA14&dq=Prophet+Jones+nigger&hl=en&ei=INB7TtqaH_KGsgKs0ImgAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Prophet%20Jones%20nigger&f=false
http://books.google.com/books?id=qTcDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA14&dq=Prophet+James+F.+Jones+1970+jet&hl=en&ei=NZ57To3AD8aqsQKRv7TgAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&sqi=2&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/glq/summary/v008/8.3retzloff.html
http://utdog.org/utdoghistory.html
- List of American televangelists
- List of Christian evangelist scandals
External links
- http://utdog.org/utdoghistory.html
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y-gDpJ2FvU
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMsb5rFZ4cc