Ti and Do went out of their way not to be worshipped and are the reason the group has no devotional literature. They named themselves after notes, described themselves as staff, and told members explicitly not to make a religion of them. Nettles' death from cancer in 1985 was the crisis of the group's history: if an Older Member could lose a body and continue, then the craft was not the only route out, and the teaching adjusted. Applewhite led alone for twelve years afterwards, referring to her constantly, and the final statements treat her as the crew he was taking the class to meet.