Theos-Talk Archives (November 1997 Message tt00112)

> Is the I AM temple a new movement? Who brought forth the teachings they
>are using?
>
>Bjorn

The original "I Am" movement dates from the 1930s. Guy Ballard and his
wife Edna were the founders of this group. While hiking around Mt.
Shasta (California), Mr. Ballard claimed he meet the Ascended Master
Saint Germain. Etc. Etc.

A good 10 page overview of the movement is found in Gordon Melton's
ENCYCLOPEDIC HANDBOOK OF CULTS IN AMERICA. (2nd ed., 1992)

A later offshoot of the "I AM" group was Elizabeth Clare Prophet's Church
Universal and Triumphant. See Melton's book for a 9 page review of this
cult.

For another overview of the "I AM" group, read the chapter written by
Charles S. Braden in his 1949 book THESE ALSO BELIEVE.

For a critical look at the Ballards, see Gerald B. Bryan's PSYCHIC
DICTATORSHIP IN AMERICA (1940).

Daniel