Devoted Jehovah's Witness Prince Kept a Swear Jar at Paisley Park: 'He Wasn't Joking,' Says Congregation Member

Prince was many things – a groundbreaking artist, a quiet philanthropist, a legendarily good basketball player – but he was not a potty mouth.

James Lundstrom, a congregation member of St. Louis Park, Minnesota, Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall revealed to reporters on Sunday that the late musician would not stand for cussing at his Paisley Park Studios compound in Chanhassen, Minnesota.

"If you swore at Paisley Park, he would charge you between 10 and 3 dollars per swear word," said Lundstrom, who belonged to the same congregation as Prince and had known the musician for years. "And he wasn't joking. You had to pay in cash in the bucket.

"In fact, one time I was carrying some luggage, and I bumped my knee and, as [a Jehovah's Witness], we're not supposed to swear – we say 'we don't swear at people, but we swear at things' – and I said 'damn.' He said, 'What did you say?' I said, 'That's spelled d-a-m.' He was like, 'Brother Jim, Brother Jim.' "



Lundstrom continued: "One time he had a backup singer come in from Los Angeles. She brought some money. Not a big name, but she's a backup singer for a whole lot of people, and she was there for a rehearsal, and she put money in the cuss bucket all the time. She was just throwing it and throwing it in the bucket. That morning – well, Prince's morning, which is 4 o'clock in the afternoon, Minnesota time – it was so funny: She went to an ATM machine and came with a fistful of hundred dollar bills and everything and said, 'Take this and put it in your cuss bucket! I'm paying in advance!' "

Lundstrom reiterated what another congregation member had told PEOPLE, that Prince was very humble when in the presence of his church and was an active member in good standing.

"He was very sweet," he said. "Going door-to-door, he did not introduce himself as Prince. He was always 'Rogers Nelson' because he didn't want to take away [from the work he was doing]."

Lundstrom also revealed that Prince would sometimes "drink a little red wine – no beers.

"Talking about Scotch, he was like, 'Are you nuts? I tried that once; it's disgusting!' [I said,] 'What kind did you get? You've got to get the right stuff, man.' We went round and round about that." (Jehovah's Witnesses do not ban the drinking of alcohol, but they do say it should be done in moderation.)

Prince converted to the Jehovah's Witness religion in 2003, and, with it, "found fulfillment," a church spokesperson said in a statement to PEOPLE.

Prince passed away at his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota, on Thursday. He was found alone and unresponsive, and declared dead by the authorities under 25 minutes later. A cause of death has yet to be revealed, but Prince's autopsy was completed on Friday. His body was cremated on Saturday and a private memorial was held for close family and friends on that same day at Paisley Park.