"I AM" Activity

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The "I AM" Activity is a religious movement founded in the early 1930s by Guy Ballard (1878-1939) and his wife Edna in Southern California.[1] It is an offshoot of theosophy and a major predecessor of several New Age religions, including most directly, Church Universal and Triumphant.[1] The movement had up to a million followers in 1938,[2] and is still active today on a smaller scale. According to the official website of the parent organization, Saint Germain Foundation, its worldwide headquarters is located in Schaumburg, Illinois and there are approximately 300 local groups worldwide, under several variations of the name "I AM" Sanctuary, "I AM" Temple, and other similar titles. The organization states that its purpose is "spiritual, educational and practical," and that no admission fee is charged for their activities.[3] The term "I AM" is a reference to "the name that God gave Himself in Exodus 3:14".[4]

The movement believes in the existence of a group called the Ascended Masters, a hierarchy of supernatural beings that includes Comte de Saint Germain, Jesus, El Morya, Gautama Buddha, Maitreya, and thousands more. These are believed to be humans who have lived in physical bodies, became immortal and left the cycles of "re-embodiment" and karma, and attained their "Ascension". The Ascended Masters are believed to communicate to humanity through certain humans, including Guy and Edna Ballard.[1][5] Because Jesus is believed to be one of the Ascended Masters, making the "Christ Light" available to seekers who wish to move out of darkness, many of the members of the "I AM" Activity consider it to be a Christian religion.[4] The movement has been called a cult by the Los Angeles Times,[6] and by Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson.[7] According to the Los Angeles Magazine, Ballard said he was the reincarnation of George Washington, an Egyptian priest, and a noted French musician.[8]

Ballard died in 1939. In 1942 his wife and son were convicted of fraud, later overturned, after a government audit found that they had stored up $3 million from donations and what it called a retail racket "by false statements of their religious experiences which had not in fact occurred," based on their claims of "miraculous communication with the spirit world and supernatural power to heal the sick."[7][8] A landmark Supreme Court decision overturned the conviction, ruling that the question of whether the Ballards believed their religious claims should not have been submitted to a jury.[7]

History

Founding

Guy and Edna Ballard

The "I AM" Activity was founded by Guy Ballard (pseudonym Godfre Ray King) in the early 1930s. Ballard was well-read in theosophy and its offshoots, and while hiking on Mt. Shasta looking for a supposed Esoteric Brotherhood, he said that he had encountered a man who introduced himself as Comte de Saint-Germain, a historical 18th century alchemist and a regular component of theosophical religions.[2] Saint Germain told Ballard that he belonged to a supernatural hierarchy called the Ascended Masters, and that he had been searching Europe for centuries looking for someone worthy of being told the "Great Laws of Life". Finding no one, Saint Germain looked in the United States, and found Ballard.[2]

The Ballards said they began talking to the Ascended Masters regularly. They founded a publishing house, Saint Germain Press, to publish their books and began training people to spread their messages across the United States. These training sessions and "Conclaves" were held throughout the United States and were open to the general public and free of charge. [9] A front page story in a 1938 edition of the Chicago Herald and Examiner noted that the Ballards "do not take up collections or ask for funds". [10] Meetings became limited to members only after hecklers began disrupting their open meetings.[2][1] Over their lifetimes, the Ballards recorded nearly 4,000 messages which they said were from the Ascended Masters.[5] Guy Ballard, his wife Edna, and later his son Donald became the sole "Accredited Messengers" of the Ascended Masters.[2]

Popularity

The Ballards' popularity spread, including up to a million followers in 1938.[2] They accepted donations (called "love offerings") from their followers across the country, although they did "not take up collections or ask for funds".[10] These donations allegedly left some followers deeply in debt, according to the Los Angeles Times.[6] The Ballards became wealthy.[2]

The first of many "Conclaves" held in scores of cities in their national tours was Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 10 - 19, 1934.[5] According to Los Angeles Magazine article, in August 1935, the Ballards hosted a gathering at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles that drew a crowd of 6,000.[8] Guy Ballard spoke under the pseudonym he used in authoring his books, Godfre Ray King, and his wife used the pseudonym Lotus. The meeting included teachings they described as being received directly from the Ascended Masters. They led the audience in prayers and affirmations that they called decrees, including adorations to God and invocations for abundance of every good thing, including money.[5]

Guy Ballard's death

At the height of his popularity, Guy Ballard died from arteriosclerosis at 5:00 A.M. on December 29, 1939 at 2545 Belmont Avenue in Los Angeles, in the home of his son Donald. On December 31 his body was cremated. On New Year's Day during the annual Christmas Class, Edna Ballard stated that Guy had completed his Ascension at midnight December 31, 1939 from the "Royal Teton Retreat". [5] His death was a blow to the movement; Ballard previously said he had mastery over death, leaving many members feeling cheated, according to author David Barrett. [2]

Fraud trials and Supreme Court reversals

After Guy Ballard's death, his wife and son were indicted of fraud, accused of accepting over $3 million from their followers on the basis of religious claims the Ballards knew were false. Their followers protested outside the courthouse. The court case included unusual arguments, such as claims that mysterious metaphysical intervention had helped the USA with the war effort resulting from Ballard's communications with the Ascended Masters, according to the Los Angeles Magazine, that also reported that Edna Ballard's son said as a trial witness "Whatever my mother wants, that's what St. Germain says."[8]

The jury was instructed to convict if they found that the Ballards did not have a good faith belief in their religious claims. The Ballards were convicted.[6]

The Ninth Circuit overturned the conviction and the state appealed to the Supreme Court. In United States v. Ballard, the Supreme Court in a 5-4 landmark decision, vacated the fraud conviction, ruling that the question of whether the Ballards believed their religious claims should not have been submitted to the jury. Interpreting this decision, the Ninth Circuit later found that the Court did not go so far as to hold that "the validity or veracity of a religious doctrine cannot be inquired into by a Federal Court."[11]

The Ballards were subsequently convicted of fraud in a new trial that withheld from the jury all questions as to whether the Ballards believed their religious claims. The Supreme Court vacated the second judgment also, on the grounds that women were improperly excluded from the jury panel.[12] No standing convictions resulted from the series of trials.

Relocation to Santa Fe and Edna Ballard's death

In March 1942, Edna Ballard moved the western branch of the Saint Germain Press and her residence to Santa Fe, where she recorded thousands more messages she said were from the Ascended Masters.[5]

Following the court cases, it was not until 1954 that the organization's right to use the mail was restored. The IRS revoked their tax-exempt status in 1941, stating it did not recognize the movement as "a religion". A court ruling in 1957 overturned the ruling of the IRS and re-established the group's tax-exempt status.[1][13]

As years past, the popularity of the movement dwindled.[6] Donald Ballard, Guy's son, left the movement, but later returned.[2][5] In 1971, Edna Ballard died, and a board of directors took over the leadership.[1]

Recent history and present day

As of 2007, Saint Germain Foundation maintains a reading room in Mount Shasta, California, and its headquarters in Schaumburg, Illinois. Several annual conclaves are held at their 12 story "I AM Temple" at 176 West Washington Street in downtown Chicago. Among the hundreds attending, there are usually dozens of "I AM" students from other nations.[5] Classes and conclaves are regularly held in approximately 300 locations in America, Europe, Latin America, Australia, and Africa.[14] Choirs and orchestras at the summer conclaves at Shasta Springs, as well as choir concerts at the Chicago Classes at Easter and Christmas, are comprised from their international membership. The Saint Germain Press, a subsidiary of the Saint Germain Foundation, publishes the historical books and related artwork and audio recordings of the Ballards' teachings, and a monthly magazine available by subscription, titled "The Voice of the 'I AM'".[15] It has been estimated that the Saint Germain Press has printed and put into circulation over one million books.[5]

The Saint Germain Foundation presents the "I AM" COME! Pageant every August at Mount Shasta, and has done so each year since 1950. Their website states that the performance is open to the public at no cost, and describes the Pageant as a portrayal of "the life of Beloved Jesus, focusing on His Miracles of Truth and Healing, and the example of the Ascension which He left to the world."[16]

Beliefs

The doctrine of the "I AM" Activity has its roots in theosophy. It's teachings were not new, but the publicity the Ballards achieved spread their teachings into the developing New Age movements in the United States. Many New Age movements now involve the "Ascended Master Teachings".[2]

The Ascended Masters are believed to be individuals who have left the cycle of reincarnation and now benevolently guide mankind through their human spokespeople, of whom Guy, Edna, and Donald Ballard are the Accredited Messengers. The "I AM" Activity calls itself Christian, because Jesus is considered to be one of the more important Ascended Masters.

The movement teaches that the omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent creator God ('I AM' – Exodus 3:14) is in all of us as a spark from the Divine Flame, and that we can experience this presence, love, power and light – the power of the Violet Consuming Flame of Divine Love – through quiet contemplation and by repeating 'affirmations' and 'decrees'. By 'affirming' something one desires, one can cause it to happen.[2]

These "positive thinking" beliefs overlap with several other New Age movements, such as Religious Science and the Human Potential Movement.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Partride, Christopher, ed. (2004). New Religions: A Guide: New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. pp. 330–332. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barrett, David (1996). Sects, 'Cults', and Alternative Religions: A World Survey and Sourcebook. London: Blandford. ISBN 0-7137-2567-2.
  3. ^ "Saint Germain Foundation official website". Saint Germain Foundation. The "I AM" Activity is spiritual, educational and practical. There are no financial schemes behind it; no admission is ever charged. It takes no political stance in any nation. The parent organization is Saint Germain Foundation, with worldwide headquarters located in Schaumburg, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. It is represented throughout the world by 300 local groups termed "I AM" Sanctuary®, "I AM" Temple®, "I AM" Study Groups®, or "I AM" Reading Room®. Saint Germain Foundation and its local activities are not affiliated with any other organization or persons. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ a b Hadden, Jeffrey K., Ph.D. ""I AM" Religious Activity". Religious Movements Homepage at the University of Virginia. University of Virginia. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Saint Germain Foundation. The History of the "I AM" Activity and Saint Germain Foundation. Saint Germain Press 2003 ISBN 1-878891-99-5
  6. ^ a b c d Rasmussen, Cecilia (1998-01-25). "L.A. Then and Now". Los Angeles Times. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ a b c United States v. Ballard, 322 U.S. 78 (1944)
  8. ^ a b c d Thompkins, Joshua (1997-04-01). "The mighty I Am: Cult led by Guy Ballard". Los Angeles Magazine. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ The Voice of the "I AM" Number 1, March 1936. Chicago, Illinois: Saint Germain Press. page 27
  10. ^ a b Chicago Herald and Examiner October 8, 1938
  11. ^ Cohen v. United States, 297 F.2d 760 (1962)
  12. ^ Ballard v. United States, 329 U.S. 187 (1946)
  13. ^ Catherine L. Albanese (2007). A Republic of Mind and Spirit: A Cultural History of American Mind and Spirit. Yale University Press. pp. p 470. ISBN 0300110898. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  14. ^ "Saint Germain "I AM" Group Activities". Saint Germain Foundation. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ "Saint Germain Press official home page". Saint Germain Foundation. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ "Saint Germain Foundation "I AM" COME! Pageant webpage". Saint Germain Foundation. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  • Saint Germain Foundation. The History of the "I AM" Activity and Saint Germain Foundation. Saint Germain Press 2003 ISBN 1-878891-99-5
  • King, Godfre Ray. Unveiled Mysteries. Saint Germain Press. ISBN 1-878891-00-6
  • King, Godfre Ray. The Magic Presence. Saint Germain Press. ISBN 1-878891-06-5
  • Saint Germain. I AM Discourses. Saint Germain Press. ISBN 1-878891-48-0
  • J. Gordon Melton, An Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America (1992)
  • Charles S. Braden, These Also Believe (1949)
  • Robert S. Ellwood, "Making New Religions: The Story of the Mighty 'I AM,' " History Today 38 (June, 1988)

External links

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