"I AM" Religious Activity












    

    I. Group Profile

    

    

      

    1. 
Name:
 "I AM" religious activity


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    2. 
Founder:
 Guy Ballard


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    3. 
Date of Birth and Death:
 Ballard was born in 1878 and died in 1939.


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    4. 
Place of Birth:
 Ballard was born in Kansas.


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    5. 
Year Founded:
 1932


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    6. 
How and Why:
 In 1930, Guy Ballard, having studied theosophical and occult teachings, traveled to
  Mt. Shasta to investigate rumors that strange occult events occurred there. While hiking
  the mountain, Ballard claims that a man, the
Ascended Master Saint Germain
, offered him a magical drink which renewed his body.


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      Saint Germain, as an Ascended Master, was once a human who had purified himself and
  ascended to become a member of the Divine Spiritual Hierarchy. This is a group of many
  Ascended Masters which controls the life of the universe. Saint Germain told Ballard
  that he was on a search for people who could act as intermediaries between the Masters
  and mankind. He chose Ballard and his family to be these messengers who would dictate
  the Masters' teachings and distribute them.


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      In the following years, as the only "Accredited Messengers," Ballard, along with his
  wife, Edna, and son, Donald, began recording the teachings and first released them in
  1932 when the church incorporated. Throughout the rest of the 1930s, Ballard and his
  "appointed followers" held workshops around the country, began "I AM" schools for
  children, and continued to publish more books. Some of the teaching seminars had
  attendances reaching into the thousands.


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      After Guy Ballard's death, Edna continued to run the organization. Donald resigned from
  the movement in 1957, leaving it without an heir after his mother's death in 1971. The
  Board of Directors, which was founded in 1932 at the time of incorporation, then assumed
  control of the movement and continued its practices.


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    7. 
Sacred or Revered Text:
 Texts dictated by the Ascended Masters through the Ballards and
The Bible



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    8. 
Cult or Sect:

Negative sentiments are typically implied when the concepts "cult" 
and "sect" are employed in popular discourse.  Since the Religious 
Movements Homepage seeks to promote religious tolerance and 
appreciation of the positive benefits of pluralism and religious 
diversity in human cultures, we encourage the use of alternative 
concepts that do not carry implicit negative stereotypes.  For a 
more detailed discussion of both scholarly and popular usage of the 
concepts "cult" and "sect," please visit our 

Conceptualizing "Cult" and "Sect" page, where you will find 
additional links to related issues. 

      

    9. 
Size of Group:
 The number of members has not been released, but as of 1984, the group claims to have
  over 300 "I AM" centers in more than 25 countries.


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    II. Beliefs of the Group

    

      

      The Great White Brotherhood, a subgroup of the Ascended Masters to which Saint Germain
  belongs, has long been referenced in occult literature. However, Guy Ballard was the
  first to have contact with them. Through Ballard, the three-pronged truths of the "I AM"
  religious activity were released. These are:

      

        

      • The knowledge of the "Mighty I AM Presence," which is the individualized presence of
  God in action

        

      • The use of the
"Violet Consuming Flame of Divine Love"


        

      • The Ascended Masters' use of  "I AM," which is God's creative name


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      The name "I AM" refers to the name that God gave Himself in Exodus 3:14.


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 The basis of the "I AM" belief rests on the idea that every person has a
  connection to an "omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent"


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 God who controls all. The energy of God, and other divine beings, such as the
  Ascended Masters, takes the form of light. This light is part of every object, reaching
  all the way down to an atomic level. Each person has a higher self that is connected, by
  light, to God. The Ascended Masters, who were once humans, were able to use this divine
  energy of light to purify themselves and then ascend to God.


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Jesus
, one of the Ascended Masters, was responsible for releasing the "Christ Light," which
  is the "Mighty I AM Presence." This made the Light available to all who wished to move
  out of darkness and into the Divine Light of Love. Because of this, "I AM" members
  consider themselves to be part of a Christian religion.


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      Because God, is present in everyone's higher being through the "Mighty I AM Presence,"
  it is simply a matter of tapping into one's higher self in order to use the power. An "I
  AM" student, in conjunction with the teachings of the Ascended Masters, can use the
  Presence to eliminate evil and bring justice to the world. To aid them in this,
  believers may also call on the Violet Flame, which is a light, generated by the "I AM
  Presence," that surrounds individuals. When the Violet Flame is invoked, it obliterates
  evil and discord around the believer. The ultimate goal is to purify oneself, with the
  guidance of the Ascended Masters and the aid of the Violet Flame, so as to leave the
  human body and become an Ascended Master.


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      However, before ascension can occur, individuals must align themselves with the "I AM
  Presence" through meditation and the statement of affirmations and decrees. Members
  believe that by making positive statements while invoking the name of God, "I AM," they
  will come true. These affirmations are commonly used to activate the Violet Flame to
  clear away discord and give freedom in their lives. This idea of freedom manifests
  itself in patriotic themes throughout the "I AM" movement. American flags are common in
  "I AM" sanctuaries.


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    III. Issues and Conflicts

    

      

      Like many new religious movements, the "I AM" religious activity received little
  attention at first, but as its popularity increased, many newspapers criticized it
  because of its unconventional teachings. Some complains against it even progressed to
  the courtroom. Negative reaction drove many away and the movement shrunk into obscurity.
  Therefore, due to this and the "I AM" policy of not promoting itself, little research
  has been done on it.


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      In more recent times it has been drawn back into the spotlight not because of its own
  doings, but because of those drawing on its beliefs. Most prominent, the
Church Universal and
  Triumphant
 bases its teachings on dictations from the Ascended Masters, also. However, their
  leader,
Elizabeth Clare Prophet
, claims to be an official Messenger. The "I AM" movement, nevertheless, maintains
  that the Ballards were the only Accredited Masters and that others are not legitimate.


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    IV. Links to "I AM" Religious Activity Web Sites

    

    

      
Teachings of the Ascended Masters on Your Divine
  Self


      This site explains the "I AM" presence and its complex relationship between beings.
  This site is maintained by the Church Universal and Triumphant. However, this page
  states beliefs that are common to both the "I AM" movement and the Church Universal and
  Triumphant.

      
http://www.tsl.org/presence.html


      
The "I AM" Activity of Saint Germain Foundation


      This modest site was created by Saint Germain Press, a subsidary of the Saint Germain
  Foundation.  It provides a brief history of the founding of the movement by Guy Ballard
  in the 1930s and a few pages of inspirational material.  Its main purpose seems to be
  the promotion of Press publications, and a point of contact with the organization.

      
http://www.saintgermainpress.com


      
 ISAR on The "I AM" Religious
  Activity


      This overview essay on "I AM" was written by J. Gordon Melton, a leading
  authority on religious movements and Director of the Institute for the Study of
  American Religion.

      
http://www.americanreligion.org/cultwtch/iam.html


      
Divine Invocation of the Names of God and
  the Ascended Hosts


      This site contains a list of the names of the Ascended Masters. There are multiple
  links relating to both the "I AM" religious activity as a whole and specific Ascended
  Masters.

      
http://www.all-natural.com/am-names.html


      

    

    

    

    V. Bibliography

    

    

    

    Lewis, James R., and J. Gordon Melton.
Church Universal and Triumphant in Scholarly Perspective.


    Stanford: Center for Academic Publication, 1994.


    

    Melton, J. Gordon.
Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America.


    New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1986.

    

    

    

    

    VI. References

    

    


      


    1. 
J. Gordon Melton,
Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America
 (New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1986) 45.


    2. 
Melton 45.


    3. 
Melton 45.


    4. 
Melton 45.


    5. 
Melton 46.


    6. 
Melton 45-46.


    7. 
Melton 46.


    8. 
Melton 46-47.


    9. 
Melton 47-48.


    10. 
Melton 49.


    11. 
Melton 51.


    12. 
Melton 48.


    13. 
James R. Lewis and J. Gordon Melton,
Church Universal and Triumphant in Scholarly Perspective.
 (Stanford: Center for Academic Publication, 1994) 6.


    14. 
Melton 48.


    15. 
Melton 48-49.


    16. 
Melton 49.


    17. 
Melton 49-50.


    18. 
Melton 49-50.


    19. 
Melton 50.


    20. 
Melton 50-51.

    


    

    

    
Created by Donny Wyatt

    For sociology 257, Spring 1997

    Last modified: 04/17/01