Editing Bonnie Nettles (section)

==Introduction to Applewhite==
{{see also|Marshall Applewhite}}
Nettles met [[Marshall Applewhite]] in March 1972, though where they met is uncertain. In his writings, Applewhite claimed to have been "visiting a hospitalized friend when Mrs. Nettles entered the room and their eyes locked in a shared recognition of esoteric secrets." However, Applewhite's writings were prone to [[hyperbole]] or relaying everything as some occurrence of [[fate]]. Terrie Nettles, Bonnie's daughter, worked at a theater where Applewhite produced weekend children's shows and taught in an in-house [[drama school]]. She has stated that "someone got hurt at the drama school in the theater that Herff [Applewhite] worked at. Herff accompanied the injured person to the hospital where he met Bonnie."<ref name="Glory" /> Joe Nettles, one of Bonnie's sons, was not entirely sure how they met or whether their first meeting was at the theater.<ref>{{cite news|title=Tragedy Painful, Familiar to Man Who Lost Mom to Applewhite Cult|last=Dalton|first=Red|date=March 29, 1977|work=San Diego Union-Tribune|page=A11|location=San Diego, California}}</ref>

Nettles agreed to perform an [[Astrology|astrological reading]] for Applewhite. They had an almost instantaneous "spiritual" connection; Applewhite decided that Nettles was "to be the sage, he the speaker." They left together on New Year's Day of 1973. Nettles' three youngest children were left to remain with their father, while her oldest daughter, Terrie, then aged 20 and skeptical of her mother's ideas, fended for herself.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/28/us/eyes-on-glory-pied-pipers-of-heaven-s-gate.html?sec=health&pagewanted=4|title=Eyes on Glory: Pied Pipers of Heaven's Gate|last=Bearak|first=Barry|date=April 28, 1997|page=4|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> Nettles and Applewhite established [[Heaven's Gate (religious group)|Heaven's Gate]] together as equals, with Nettles running the group and Applewhite speaking for her. Nettles claimed to have communicated with aliens about the Next Level and told Applewhite to tell their followers. In 1976, Applewhite recognized Nettles as higher up on the level of command than he was.