Gathering Members
They attempted to gather followers through public lectures mostly around Western US, relying on free will and giving free choice to follow them or leave, pressurizing and forcing people into joining was out of the question for them. Basically, they promised eternal life for their followers in opposition to the rest of humanity who would suffer the consequences of Earth supposedly being recycled by the Next Level.
Before joining, recruits were expected to shed their ties with the world outside the cult, disappearing from their families, friends, being absent from society, which gave bad publicity to Heaven’s Gate. This bad publicity was taken by Bo and Peep as Satan’s opposition. They managed to attain about 200 followers but their numbers dropped vastly through the years due to disillusionment and partial drifting back into society by some members (Balch, Taylor 213).
As Balch and Taylor writes, most members were from the counter culture, not fitting into the mainstream world, basically happy with the opportunity of escaping worldly life and immersing themselves into spirituality with the ultimate reward (213).
As explained by Reece, Bo and Peep began to see themselves as extraterrestrials, as members of the Next Level with a purpose of offering the discipline and ‘grafting’ required for the transition into membership in the Kingdom of Heaven, changing their names from then on to Do and Ti.