Editing "I AM" Activity (section)

=== Guy Ballard's death and splintering ===
At the height of his popularity, Guy Ballard died from [[arteriosclerosis]] at 5:00 A.M. on December 29, 1939, 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".<ref name="history" />

Ballard's death deeply affected the movement, which saw several splinter groups emerge.
*I AM former member [[Geraldine Innocente]] (whom the Ascended Master El Morya, who wrote under the pseudonym of Thomas Printz, had asked to form a new activity for the dissemination of the spiritual teaching) quickly founded an offshoot of the movement, targeting the Spanish-speaking community.
*Francis Ekey, another member, founded Lighthouse of Freedom to offer classes allegedly disseminating the teachings of ancient masters.<ref name=CCAA/>
*One of Ekey's collaborators, Mark Prophet, founded the Keepers of the Summit Lighthouse in 1958. To I AM's teachings, Prophet added a proclivity for conspiracy thinking, [[Unidentified flying object|UFOs]] and a staunch opposition to [[communism]]. His wife [[Elizabeth Clare Prophet|Elizabeth Clare Wulf]] would eventually share leadership and succeed him, rebranding the organization as the [[Church Universal and Triumphant]].<ref name=CCAA/>
*Important elements of Ballard's theology, symbolism and nationalism can also be found in [[Romana Didulo]]'s movement in the 2020s. These include the use of decrees, the purple flame and the mythological ascended masters.<ref name=CCAA/>