I am Marshall Herff Applewhite, though many came to know me as "Do" — a name I took on as part of my mission on Earth. I was born on May 17, 1931, in Spur, Texas, the son of a Presbyterian minister. My early life was steeped in Christian tradition, and I pursued music and theology with passion, eventually becoming a music professor and even leading choirs.

But life took unexpected turns. Personal struggles and inner turmoil pushed me to search deeper for meaning — beyond this world, beyond traditional religion. In the 1970s, I met Bonnie Nettles, a nurse who shared my fascination with spirituality and extraterrestrial life. Together, we believed we had been chosen for a divine mission. We became known as "Ti and Do."

We taught that the Earth was about to be "recycled" and that only a select few could ascend to a "Next Level" — a higher evolutionary existence beyond the human form. This ascension required detaching from earthly ties, including family, sex, and materialism. We weren't suicidal — we saw ourselves as leaving our human vehicles behind, much like a soul shedding its body to enter a spacecraft bound for the kingdom of heaven.

In 1997, as the Hale-Bopp comet approached, we believed the time had come. We were convinced that a spacecraft was following the comet, ready to take us home. Over several days in March, 39 of us, including myself, voluntarily left our human bodies in what we believed was the ultimate act of faith.

Some called it a cult, some called us lost — but in our eyes, we were pilgrims of the stars, seeking truth in a world that no longer felt like home.