Editing Church Universal and Triumphant (section)

===Decline and reorganization===
The collapse of the Soviet Union and end of the Cold War also left the Church without ongoing relevance for a major component of its ideology.{{sfn|Whitsel|2003|p=5}} After the Justice Department discovered that the CUT had been hoarding weapons for several years, it urged the [[Internal Revenue Service]] (IRS) to strip the Church of its tax-exempt religious status. The IRS did so in 1992, and demanded $2.5 million in back taxes and penalty fees.{{sfnm|1a1=Whitsel|1y=2003|1pp=2-3|2a1=Starrs|2a2=Wright|2y=2005|2p=109}}{{sfn|Palmer|Abravanel|2009|p=176}} The CUT's attorneys argued against this, claiming that the Church was the victim of religious discrimination orchestrated largely by the [[anti-cult movement]]. The Church won its legal arguments and had its tax-exempt status restored in 1994.{{sfnm|1a1=Whitsel|1y=2003|1p=3|2a1=Starrs|2a2=Wright|2y=2005|2p=110}}

In 1996, several Church members split to form their own group, the Temple of the Presence, based in [[Chelsea, Vermont]]. They claimed that they were the true Messengers of the Ascended Masters.{{sfn|Whitsel|2003|p=5}}

In July 1996, Prophet announced that she was transferring chief administrative role to the Belgian-born Gilbert Cleirbaut, who was not a Church minister but had experience in management.{{sfnm|1a1=Barrett|1y=2001|1p=375|2a1=Palmer|2a2=Abravanel|2y=2009|2p=177}} In November 1996, she then announced her divorce from her fourth husband, Edward Francis, although he remained executive vice president of the Church until 1998.{{sfnm|1a1=Barrett|1y=2001|1pp=374-375|2a1=Palmer|2a2=Abravanel|2y=2009|2p=178}} In late 1997, the Church revealed that Prophet had been affected by a neurological disorder, later diagnosed as Alzheimer's disease. She subsequently limited her activities with the group.{{sfnm|1a1=Whitsel|1y=2003|1p=5|2a1=Starrs|2a2=Wright|2y=2005|2p=111|3a1=Palmer|3a2=Abravanel|3y=2009|3p=178}} In 1998 she appointed a friend to have limited guardianship over her.{{sfn|Barrett|2001|p=375}} By this point, none of her four children were associated with the Church, quashing suggestions that they might succeed her as Messenger.{{sfn|Whitsel|2003|p=5}}

The Church administration attempted to modernise the group, transforming its image into that of a New Age corporation, as part of which they loosened its authoritarian leadership and focused on developing the approximately 200 small teaching centers and study groups.{{sfn|Whitsel|2003|p=1}} Amid growing financial difficulty, in 1999, the CUT either sold or put into conservation easements approximately half of its 12,000 acres at Royal Teton Ranch; this raised $13 million for the group.{{sfnm|1a1=Whitsel|1y=2003|1p=5|2a1=Starrs|2a2=Wright|2y=2005|2p=112}}<ref>{{cite news|last=Wald|first=Matthew L.|title=Federal Land Deal Protects Yellowstone Herd and Geysers|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/22/us/federal-land-deal-protects-yellowstone-herd-and-geysers.html|work=New York Times|date=22 August 1999 |access-date=15 April 2013}}</ref> The Church also had to cut back on its ranch workforce from around 600 people to 75.{{sfn|Whitsel|2003|p=6}}

The radical changes brought resistance from many Church members, especially its hundreds of former employees.{{sfn|Palmer|Abravanel|2009|p=180}} Cleirbaut's emphasis on globalizing the Church also clashed with the belief in the United States as having a special place in the Ascended Masters' plans, generating further tension.{{sfn|Palmer|Abravanel|2009|p=182}} The Board of Directors began blocking Cleirbaut's proposals and in 1999 he was removed from office.{{sfn|Palmer|Abravanel|2009|p=180}} Regional Church leaders had been emboldened by Cleirbaut's reforms and were resistant to the new board of directors-driven leadership and its attempt to re-assert centralised control.{{sfn|Palmer|Abravanel|2009|pp=181, 184}}

Having moved to Canada in 2001, Cleirbaut began claiming that he had received messages from Mother Mary, Jesus, and St Germain, on the basis of which he launched LLL (Launching Loving Legacies).{{sfn|Palmer|Abravanel|2009|p=183}} Various groups began splintering from the Church, some led by individuals who claimed that they were now Messengers from the Ascended Masters.{{sfn|Palmer|Abravanel|2009|pp=173, 186}} In 2006, one CUT official stated that they were aware of 17 schismatic groups.{{sfn|Palmer|Abravanel|2009|p=173}} The most successful of these was the Temple of the Presence.{{sfn|Palmer|Abravanel|2009|p=186}}

Prophet retired in 1999 for health reasons. She died in 2009.<ref name="LAObit">{{Cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-elizabeth-clare-prophet19-2009oct19-story.html |title=Elizabeth Clare Prophet dies at 70; former leader of religious sect | date = October 19, 2009 | website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=February 12, 2019}}</ref>

A 2020 article in ''[[Insider Inc.|Insider]]'' stated that the group had largely disintegrated and the majority of the group's assets had been sold off. Several splinter groups exist, near Billings, Montana, and Yellowstone, with several hundred members.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Orecchio-Egresitz|first=Haven|title=The world didn't end, and this once thriving doomsday cult has faded. But some of its loyal leaders still operate near Yellowstone National Park.|url=https://www.insider.com/a-once-thriving-doomsday-cult-has-shrunk-2020-2|access-date=2021-05-05|website=Insider|language=en-US}}</ref>  As of the 2020s, Emily Harnett writes that the church still holds quarterly conferences, which involve services for veteran members as well as an introductory program, at Royal Teton Ranch, the church headquarters in Corwin Springs, Montana.<ref name="Harnett-Failed-June-2024-52,54,55">{{cite magazine | title=The Prophet Who Failed |first=Emily |last=Harnett |magazine=Harper's|date=June 2024 |pages=52, 54, 55 |url=https://harpers.org/archive/2024/06/the-prophet-who-wasnt-after-the-apocalypse-that-failed-emily-harnett/ |access-date=30 July 2024 }}</ref>