He became acquainted with Lorenzo Dow, the itinerant preacher, and John Humphrey Noyes, the future founder of the Oneida Community.
[1] In 1837, Gates began to develop and publicize his religious philosophy by publishing and selling the broadside "Battle-Axe and Weapons of War".
While Gates was married, he described marriage as "man and wife, so called, living in strife and disagreement" and believed this institution would fade away.
[6] Along with Hannah Williamson, a self-declared prophet, Gates established a small community for himself and his followers in East Coventry Township, Pennsylvania.
The area became known as Free Love Valley due to two of the more controversial tenets of his sect: nudism and polyamory.