Editing Marshall Applewhite (section)

==Obscurity and evangelism==
In the late 1980s, the group kept a low profile; few people knew it still existed.{{sfn|Balch|Taylor|2002|p=218}} In 1988, they mailed a document that detailed their beliefs to a variety of New Age organizations.{{sfn|Balch|Taylor|2002|p=219}} The mailing contained information about their history and advised people to read several books, which primarily focused on Christian history and UFOs.{{sfn|Zeller, ''Prophets and Protons''|2010|p=143}}{{sfn|Lalich, ''Bounded Choice''|2004|p=102}} With the exception of the 1988 document, Applewhite's group remained inconspicuous until 1992,{{sfnm|Zeller, "Extraterrestrial Biblical Hermeneutics"|2010|1p=41|Chryssides|2004|2p=358}} when they recorded a 12-part video series which was broadcast via satellite.{{sfnm|1a1=Zeller|1y=2006|1p=89|2a1=Balch|2a2=Taylor|2y=2002|2p=219}}{{sfn|Zeller, ''Prophets and Protons''|2010|p=149}} This series echoed many of the teachings of the 1988 update, although it introduced a "universal mind" of which its hearers could partake.{{sfn|Zeller, ''Prophets and Protons''|2010|p=150}}{{sfn|Peters|2003|p=247}}

Over the course of the group's existence, several hundred people joined and left.{{sfn|Lalich, ''Bounded Choice''|2004|p=42}} In the early 1990s, their membership dwindled, numbering as few as 26;{{sfn|Balch|Taylor|2002|p=220}} these defections gave Applewhite a sense of urgency.{{sfn|Balch|Taylor|2002|p=219}} In May 1993, the group took the name "Total Overcomers Anonymous". They then spent $30,000 to publish a full-page advertisement in ''[[USA Today]]'' that warned of catastrophic judgment to befall the Earth.{{sfn|''The San Diego Union-Tribune'', "Heaven's Gate: A Timeline"|1997}}{{sfnm|Chryssides|2004|1p=358|2a1=Balch|2a2=Taylor|2y=2002|2p=219}} Its publication led about 20&nbsp;former members to rejoin the group.{{sfn|Chryssides|2004|p=358}} This, along with a series of public lectures in 1994, caused membership to double from its nadir at the beginning of the decade.{{sfn|Balch|Taylor|2002|p=220}} By this time, Applewhite did not regiment his disciples' lives as strictly as he had and spent less time with them.{{sfn|Miller|1997}}{{sfn|Lalich, ''Bounded Choice''|2004|p=95}}

In the early 1990s, Applewhite posted some of his teachings on the Internet, but he was stung by the resulting criticism.{{sfn|Davis|2000|p=260}} That year, he first spoke of the possibility of suicide as a way to reach the Next Level.{{sfn|Wessinger|2000|p=238}} He explained that everything "human" had to be forsaken, including the human body, before one could ascend.{{sfn|Zeller|2006|p=87}} The organization was then renamed Heaven's Gate.{{sfn|Raine|2005|p=113}} Davis speculates that this rejection may have encouraged him to attempt to leave Earth.{{sfn|Davis|2000|p=260}}

From June to October 1995, the group lived in a rural part of New Mexico.{{sfn|''The San Diego Union-Tribune'', "Heaven's Gate: A Timeline"|1997}}{{sfn|Raine|2005|p=113}} They purchased {{convert|40|acre|ha|abbr=off}} and built a compound—which they referred to as the "Earth ship"—using tires and lumber;{{sfnm|Urban|2000|1p=276|Raine|2005|2p=113}} Applewhite hoped to establish a monastery.{{sfn|Balch|Taylor|2002|p=220}} This proved to be a difficult endeavor, particularly for the aging Applewhite:{{sfn|Raine|2005|p=113}} he was in poor health and, at one point, feared that he had cancer.{{sfn|Balch|Taylor|2002|p=221}} Lifton notes that Applewhite's active leadership of the group probably led to severe fatigue in his last years.{{sfn|Lifton|2000|p=311}} The winter was very cold, and they abandoned the plan.{{sfn|Balch|Taylor|2002|p=220}} Afterwards, they lived in several houses in the [[San Diego]] area.{{sfn|''The San Diego Union-Tribune'', "Heaven's Gate: A Timeline"|1997}}

The group increasingly focused on the suppression of sexual desire; Applewhite and seven others opted for [[surgical castration]].{{sfn|Chryssides|2004|p=358}} They initially had difficulty finding a willing surgeon, but eventually found one in [[Mexico]].{{sfnm|Lifton|2000|p=305|Jones|2007}} In Applewhite's view, sexuality was one of the most powerful forces that bound humans to their bodies and thus hindered their efforts to evolve to the Next Level; he taught that Next Level beings had no [[reproductive organs]], but that Luciferian beings had [[gender]]s.{{sfnm|Urban|2000|1p=286|Grünschloß|2003|2p=26}}{{sfn|Zeller, ''Prophets and Protons''|2010|p=145}} He also cited a verse in the New Testament that said there would not be marriage in heaven.{{sfn|Wessinger|2000|p=239}}{{efn|name=angels}} In addition, he required members to adopt similar clothing and haircuts, possibly to reinforce that they were a nonsexual family.{{sfn|Raine|2005|pp=109–10}}