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{{Short description|American religious leader (1939–2009)}}
{{for|the sculptor|Nancy Elizabeth Prophet}}
{{multiple issues|
{{primary sources|date=February 2015}}
{{self-published|date=February 2015}}
}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Elizabeth Clare Prophet
| image = Elizabeth clare prophet 1984.jpg
| alt = Elizabeth Clare Prophet wearing a white t-shirt, appearing to be wrapped in a blue and black checkered blanket, grinning at camera
| caption = Prophet in 1984
| birth_name = Elizabeth Clare Wulf
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1939|04|08}}
| birth_place = [[Long Branch, New Jersey]], US
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2009|10|15|1939|04|08}}
| death_place = [[Bozeman, Montana]], US
| other_names = Guru Ma, Mother of the Flame
| occupation = Spiritual leader
| years_active = 1959–2009
| known_for = Founder of the [[Church Universal and Triumphant]]
| notable_works =
| children = 5
}}
'''Elizabeth Clare Prophet''' ({{née}} '''Wulf''', a.k.a. '''Guru Ma''';<ref>{{cite news |title=Church Blamed for Stroke |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5029388/church_universal_and_triumphant/ |newspaper=Santa Cruz Sentinel |date=February 14, 1986 |page=18 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=April 23, 2016}} {{Open access}}</ref> April 8, 1939 – October 15, 2009)<ref name="LA">{{Cite news |date=October 19, 2009 |title=Elizabeth Clare Prophet dies at 70; former leader of religious sect |url=http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-elizabeth-clare-prophet19-2009oct19-story.html |access-date=March 7, 2018 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> was an American spiritual leader, author, and founder of the [[Church Universal and Triumphant]], a [[New Age]] religious organization.<ref name="LA" /><ref name="leader">{{cite book |last= Melton |first= J. Gordon |author-link= J. Gordon Melton |date=1991 |title= Religious leaders of America |publisher= Gale |location = Detroit |edition= |pages=376 |chapter=Prophet, Elizabeth Clare |url= https://archive.org/details/religiousleaders00jgor |isbn= 0-8103-4921-3 }}</ref> At its peak, the church had an estimated 30 to 50 thousand followers.<ref name="Grimes">{{Cite news |last=Grimes |first=William |date=2009-10-17 |title=Elizabeth Prophet, 70, Church Founder, Is Dead |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/17/us/17prophet.html |access-date=2025-06-23 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Her teachings blended elements of [[mysticism]], [[Christianity]], and [[Eastern religions]], and she authored numerous books on spirituality, gaining prominence in New Age circles.<ref name="Harnett-Failed-June-2024-52-58">{{Cite magazine |last=Harnett |first=Emily |date=June 2024 |title=The Prophet Who Failed: After the Apocalypse that Wasn't |url=https://harpers.org/archive/2024/06/the-prophet-who-wasnt-after-the-apocalypse-that-failed-emily-harnett/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240520180624/https://harpers.org/archive/2024/06/the-prophet-who-wasnt-after-the-apocalypse-that-failed-emily-harnett/ |archive-date=May 20, 2024 |magazine=[[Harper's Magazine]]}}</ref>

In the late 1980s, Prophet predicted an imminent [[apocalypse]] brought on by [[Nuclear warfare|nuclear war]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Whitsel |first=Bradley C. |url=https://archive.org/details/churchuniversalt0000whit/page/42/mode/2up?q=christ |title=The Church Universal and Triumphant: Elizabeth Clare Prophet's apocalyptic movement |date=2003 |publisher=Syracuse University Press |isbn=978-0-8156-3000-5 |edition=1st |series=Religion and Politics |location=Syracuse |pages=43–5}}</ref> As they prepared for the predicted world's end, she and her followers were investigated by the [[Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives|Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms]] for stockpiling firearms and supplies in a [[fallout shelter]] being constructed at the church's {{Convert|30,000|acre|ha|adj=on}} compound near [[Gardiner, Montana]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=1989-11-09 |title=Arrests Unnerve Neighbors of Montana Sect |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/11/09/us/arrests-unnerve-neighbors-of-montana-sect.html |access-date=2025-06-23 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

When her prediction turned out to be wrong, the church lost members.<ref name="egan">{{cite news |last1=Egan |first1=Timothy |date=April 24, 1990 |title=Guru's Bomb Shelter Hits Legal Snag |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/24/us/guru-s-bomb-shelter-hits-legal-snag.html |access-date=May 31, 2017 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> Prophet stepped down from operational leadership in 1996, retaining her role as spiritual leader until retiring in 1999 due to health issues. Her recorded sermons remain influential in the church’s activities.<ref name="Harnett-Failed-June-2024-52-58" />

Prophet made several media appearances, including ''[[Larry King Live]]'', ''[[The Phil Donahue Show|Donahue]]'', ''[[Nightline]]'',{{sfn|DeHaas|1994|p=31-32}} and a 1977 episode of ''[[In Search of... (TV series)|In Search of...]]'' titled "The Man Who Would Not Die".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Elizabeth Clare Prophet |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2246960/ |access-date=2025-06-23 |website=IMDb |language=en-US}}</ref> She also appeared in [[NBC]]’s ''[[Ancient Prophecies]]'' in 1994.

== Early years ==
{{Self-published|section|date=January 2021}}

Elizabeth Clare Prophet was born Elizabeth Clare Wulf at Monmouth Memorial Hospital in [[Long Branch, New Jersey]] on April 8, 1939, the only child of a German immigrant, Hans Wulf, and his Swiss wife, Fridy. She grew up with her family in [[Red Bank, New Jersey|Red Bank]], New Jersey.<ref name="Harnett-Failed-June-2024-52-58" />

Prophet describes her earliest childhood as idyllic, yet also chaotic and unpredictable. In 1942, when she was two years old, her father was [[Internment of German Americans|interned]] during [[World War II]].<ref name="Harnett-Failed-June-2024-52-58" /> In her autobiography she writes that upon his release he inspired her to help others who may also suffer because of their nationality, race, or religion,{{sfn|Prophet|2009|p=33}} and that the [[Holocaust]] convinced her of the reality of absolute [[evil]] in the world. This played a main role in her deciding to major in [[political science]] in her studies.{{sfn|Prophet|2009|p=37}}

She also writes of her father's [[addiction to alcohol]], his [[verbal abuse]] of her mother and violent temper which he directed towards them and the destruction of his beloved fish tanks.{{sfn|Prophet|2009|p=67}} Prophet came to believe that when the [[blood alcohol content]] creates a chemical imbalance in the body, [[Demonic possession|possessing demons]] take over the mind and the emotions.{{sfn|Prophet|2009|p=74}}

In her early life, she periodically [[Syncope (medicine)|blacked out]]. This happened in the third grade, when she was about to say her lines in a Christmas play, and recurred throughout her life. This was first diagnosed as petit mal epilepsy, known more commonly today as [[absence seizures]], although she believed it was a way of escaping her father’s alcoholic rages.<ref name="Harnett-Failed-June-2024-52-58" /> She did not find medication helpful, and discontinued using it.{{sfn|Prophet|2009|p=90}} Her mother later confessed that in 1938 she took some pills in an unsuccessful attempt to abort her pregnancy with Elizabeth. Prophet thought her mother was implying the medication may have contributed to her childhood blackouts. Prophet herself did some research, and believed the use of [[quinine]] sulphate could have damaged the developing nervous system and the brain.{{sfn|Prophet|2009|p=101}}

Elizabeth Wulf claimed mystical experiences while growing up. She claimed that when she was about four, she had a vision of herself playing on the sands of the [[Nile]] river in Egypt. (Her mother told her that it was a [[past life regression|past life]].){{sfn|Prophet|2009|p=48}} She claimed that as a child she felt God's light around her naturally, and heard a sound in her inner ear like that of an ocean wave or the roar of [[Niagara Falls]].{{sfn|Prophet|2009|p=106}} While water-skiing, she said she felt she was suspended in a place where other spiritual beings existed, who were joyous in the light, radiating love. This motivated her to find out more about who these "saints robed in white" (Rev. 7:9-17) were, for she had always believed in the "universality of all true religion".{{sfn|Prophet|2009|p=131}}

=== Influences ===
Wulf grew up in a home that was mainly non-religious except for major holidays; the family was [[Christian Scientist]] as a child.<ref name="Grimes" /> Her father was [[Lutheran]], her mother nominally [[Catholic]].

Her mother's interests in [[Theosophy (Blavatskian)|Theosophy]], the [[I AM Activity]], and [[Christian Science]], however, influenced Prophet.{{sfn|Prophet|2009|p=45}}

In Theosophy and the I AM Activity she heard about the [[Ascended Masters]], [[Karma]], and [[Reincarnation]]; in [[Christian Science]] she was told that matter was not the only reality and that the spirit part of us made in the image of God was our true nature.

Prophet stayed with Christian Science until she met [[Mark Prophet]] at the age of 22.{{sfn|Prophet|2009|p=52}}

=== Education ===
Wulf spent her junior year studying French in Switzerland in 1956, and a year later graduated from [[Red Bank Regional High School]] ranked second in her class. She attended [[Antioch College]] in Ohio from September 1957 to March 1959 majoring in political science and economics. She transferred to [[Boston University]] in September 1959, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in [[political science]] in August 1961.{{sfn|Prophet|2009|p=238}}

== Career ==

In the summer of 1958, Wulf took a co-op job as a camp counselor in a French immersion school in Vermont. She was in charge of a number of high school girls between 15 and 16 years old and her role was to discipline them. She described the experience as frustrating and said she ended up praying to God she might never be put in a position of authority over others.{{sfn|Prophet|2009|p=131}}

[[Image:Ecp-croagh-patrick-1980.jpg|left|thumb|150px|Elizabeth Clare Prophet in front of the chapel at the summit of [[Croagh Patrick]], Ireland, 1980]]

In late 1958 she served an internship at the [[United Nations]] as secretary for [[Leo Rosenthal]], a UN photographer. She claimed that her experience at the UN showed her that many of the ambassadors were not there to solve the world's problems and rather were engaged in power politics and manipulation of the world's economies. When she left after three months, she was depressed, and held the opinion that, to solve the world's problems people would need to change their concept of themselves and God.{{sfn|Prophet|2009|p=131}}

After moving to Boston in 1959, she worked as a secretary for the Christian Science church and ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]''. According to Prophet that is where she learned much about the publishing operations, organization, and administration of a church on a worldwide scale. This would help her later in running her own church.{{sfn|Prophet|2009|p=18}}

Wulf claimed she had realized she was intended to be a messenger while meditating with Mark L. Prophet at a public meeting in Boston on April 22, 1961. He had come to teach what he called "the Ascended Masters". She later claimed to have received a vision, while meditating with him, that her role in life was to pass on a higher teaching to further humanity's spiritual evolution.{{sfn|Prophet|2009|p=188}} She confided to Mark the next day she was also to be a messenger like him. He accepted her as a student at his mystical school, The Summit Lighthouse. She said she received another vision in June of that year by way of a visitation by the Ascended Master, El Morya, who told her to go to Washington, D.C. to be trained as messenger.{{sfn|Prophet|2009|p=188}}

After she attended her first conference in Washington in July, Mark Prophet returned to Boston in August to help her move to Washington to begin her training under him.{{sfn|Prophet|2009|p=211}} After her first marriage ended in divorce,<ref name="Grimes" /> they married in 1963 and, upon his death on February 26, 1973, Prophet assumed leadership of the organization.{{sfn|Lewis|2009|p=171}} In 1981 the Church Universal and Triumphant purchased the {{convert|12000|acre|km2|adj=on}} Forbes Ranch just outside [[Yellowstone Park]], near [[Gardiner, Montana]].<ref name="ecp2">{{cite web|title=125 Montana Newsmakers: Elizabeth Clare Prophet|url=http://www.greatfallstribune.com/multimedia/125newsmakers3/prophet.html|work=Great Falls Tribune|author=Tribune Staff|access-date=August 26, 2011}}</ref> In 1986, Prophet relocated her headquarters to that property.<ref name="legacy">{{cite news |last1=Flandro |first1=Carly |date=August 28, 2011 |title=The legacy of Elizabeth Clare Prophet |url=http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/100/newsmakers/the-legacy-of-elizabeth-clare-prophet/article_03a800bc-d139-11e0-ab6a-001cc4c03286.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150826013408/http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/100/newsmakers/the-legacy-of-elizabeth-clare-prophet/article_03a800bc-d139-11e0-ab6a-001cc4c03286.html |archive-date=August 26, 2015 |access-date=May 31, 2017 |work=[[Bozeman Daily Chronicle]]}}</ref><ref name="leader" />

The beliefs of The Summit Lighthouse included a doctrine called the "Path of Personal Christhood" described as soul's one-on-one relationship with God through Christ consciousness. Prophet believed she shared the gift of the word, both written and spoken. She claimed to be in constant communion with God.

The book ''The Science of the Spoken Word'', as Elizabeth and Mark taught it, was thought to be a gift of sound combined with meditation, prayer and visualization.{{sfn|Prophet|1972|p=1}} They believed that a divine gift (the assertion) of union with God was possible.{{sfn|Prophet|1991|p=9}}

=== Operation Christ Command ===
In 1987, Prophet predicted a first strike by the [[Soviet Union]] if America did not implement a [[missile defense]] program. She established "Operation Christ Command", instructing her followers to move to Montana and build nuclear fallout shelters for the impending nuclear holocaust.<ref name="legacy" /> Adherents started construction of what was called the largest bomb shelter in the United States<ref name="Harnett-Failed-June-2024-52-58" /> at the compound near [[Yellowstone National Park]], on land purchased from magazine publisher [[Malcolm Forbes]].<ref name="LA" /> Non-staff church members built private shelters nearby.<ref name=":0" />

Beginning on March 15, 1990, over three days, hundreds of followers waited for a nuclear attack in various bomb shelters,<ref name="Harnett-Failed-June-2024-52-58" /> communicating with each other by radio. Insiders, however, spread the word that the event might be the real thing. No one knew for sure, and many children believed this could be the end of life as they knew it.<ref name="egan" /> When no nuclear bombs exploded the event was compared to another unsuccessful prediction of the end of the world, the [[Great Disappointment]] of 1844.<ref name="Harnett-Failed-June-2024-52-58" />

=== Post-disappointment ===
Many left the church following this disappointment, but many stayed.<ref name="Harnett-Failed-June-2024-52-58" /> The Prophet's focus took a gradual turn away from nuclear prepping and toward community outreach. Around this same time, the nearly-completed construction was halted by court order when large amounts of stored diesel fuel leaked and contaminated the area.<ref name="egan" />

Along with concerns from neighbors, this drew the attention of [[United States House of Representatives|United States Representative]] [[Pat Williams (Montana politician)|Pat Williams]], who called for federal [[law enforcement]] to investigate. As a result of the ensuing investigation, in November 1989 the [[Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives|Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms]] seized $100,000 worth of firearms and around 120,000 rounds of ammunition among other weapons from the church's compound. ATF agents also arrested two church leaders in connection with the cache of weapons taken.<ref name=":1" />

{{As of|2024}}, the church is headquartered in Montana and has "teaching centers" around the world.<ref name="Harnett-Failed-June-2024-52-58" />

== Final years and death ==

Prophet was diagnosed with [[Alzheimer's disease]] in November 1998 and she died on October 15, 2009, in Bozeman, Montana. She was survived by her five adult children.<ref name="LA" />

One of her daughters, Erin Prophet, published a book in 2009 about growing up with her mother and is an academic in [[religious studies]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/28248 |title=The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements |date=2008-07-22 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-536964-9 |editor-last=Lewis |editor-first=James R. |edition=1 |language=en |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195369649.001.0001}}</ref><ref name="Prophet2008">{{cite book|last=Prophet|first=Erin|title=Prophet's Daughter: My Life with Elizabeth Clare Prophet Inside the Church Universal and Triumphant|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zl9w8lElUUAC |location = New York|date=September 24, 2008|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-59921-718-5}}</ref>

== Legacy ==

For many years, around 15,000 hours of recordings of Prophet's sermons have been kept in a concrete bunker in Montana for safe keeping. Video footage played on monitors of her sermons are part of the church's religious service and are said to have "composed the bulk of her ministry".<ref name="Harnett-Failed-June-2024-52-58" />

=== Ascended Lady Master Clare ===

Church members do not acknowledge her death, believing instead that she "ascended". Adherents refer to Prophet now as ''Ascended Lady Master Clare'' or ''Ascended Lady Master Clare de Lis''.<ref name="Harnett-Failed-June-2024-52-58" />

Prophet and her followers have claimed she was reincarnated previously, including as:<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Prophet |first1=Erin |last2=Palmer |first2=Susan |date=n.d. |title=Church Universal & Triumphant / Summit Lighthouse |url=https://wrldrels.org/2018/04/08/church-universal-triumphant-summit-lighthouse/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528165646/https://wrldrels.org/2018/04/08/church-universal-triumphant-summit-lighthouse/ |archive-date=May 28, 2019 |website=World Religions and Spirituality Project |publisher=[[Virginia Commonwealth University]]}}</ref>

* [[Martha|Martha of Bethany]]
* [[Hypatia]]
* [[Clare of Assisi]]
* [[Catherine of Siena]]
* [[Empress Elisabeth of Austria]]
* One of the daughters of [[Nicholas II of Russia|Tsar Nicholas II]], the last sovereign of Imperial Russia

== Bibliography ==

* {{Cite book |title = Climb the Highest Mountain: The Everlasting Gospel |publisher = Summit Lighthouse |location = Gardiner, MT |date = 1972|ref={{sfnref|Prophet|1972}}}} with Mark Prophet
* {{Cite book |title = The Science of the Spoken Word |publisher = Summit University Press |location = Gardiner, MT |date = 1991 |url = https://archive.org/details/scienceofspokenw00prop |isbn = 9780916766078 |ref={{sfnref|Prophet|1991}}}} with Mark Prophet
*{{Cite book|title=Soul Mates and Twin Flames: The Spiritual Dimension of Love and Relationships|date=1999|publisher=Summit University Press|isbn=0922729484|location=Corwin Springs, MT|oclc=48715081}}
*{{Cite book|title=The Lost Years of Jesus: Documentary Evidence of Jesus' 17-Year Journey to the East|year=1987|isbn=091676687X|location=Livingston, MT|oclc=19548026}}
*{{Cite book|title=Violet Flame: Alchemy for Personal Change|date=2017|publisher=Summit University Press|isbn=9781609882754|location=Gardiner, MT|lccn=2016950421|oclc=1153992865}}
* {{Cite book|title=How to Work With Angels (Pocket Guides to Practical Spirituality Book 4)|date=1998|publisher=Summit University Press|isbn=0922729417|location=Corwin Springs, MT|oclc=41851600}}
*{{Cite book|title=Access the Power of Your Higher Self (Pocket Guides to Practical Spirituality Book 3)|date=1997|publisher=Summit University Press|isbn=0922729360|location=Corwin Springs, MT|oclc=52630538}}
*{{Cite book|title=The Great White Brotherhood: In the Culture, History and Religion of America|date=1976|publisher=Summit University Press|isbn=0916766160|location=Colorado Springs|oclc=3017927}}
*{{Cite book|title=The Masters and Their Retreats|date=2003|publisher=Summit University Press|isbn=0972040242|location=Corwin Springs, MT|oclc=53117044}} With Mark Prophet and Annice Booth
*{{Cite book|title=The Story of Your Soul: Recovering the Pearl of Your True Identity|date=2007|publisher=Summit University Press|edition=1st|isbn=9781932890112|location=Gardiner, MT|oclc=148873543}}
*{{cite book |title = In My Own Words | publisher = Summit University Press | date = 2009 | location = Gardiner, MT | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=TJOMnoNOxJMC&q=In+My+Own+Words+Elizabeth+Clare+Prophet&pg=PA179 | isbn = 978-1-932890-19-8 |ref={{sfnref|Prophet|2009}}}}

== Notes ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==References==
* {{cite book | last = DeHaas | first = Jocelyn H. | title = "The Mediation of Ideology and Public Image in the Church Universal and Triumphant", in Lewis, James R., and J. Gordon Melton, eds. (1994). ''Church Universal and Triumphant in Scholarly Perspective''|url= https://archive.org/details/churchuniversalt0000unse | publisher = Center for Academic Publication |location = Stanford | date = 1994 | isbn = 978-0-8191-9634-7}}
* {{cite book | last = Lewis | first = James R and Sarah M | title = Sacred Schisms: How Religions Divide | year = 2009 | publisher = Cambridge University Press | isbn = 978-0521881470}}

==External links==

* [https://www.summitlighthouse.org/elizabeth-clare-prophet/ Official Church Universal and Triumphant biography and information about Elizabeth Clare Prophet]
* [http://www.elizabethclareprophet.org Official Church Universal and Triumphant site of information about Mark and Elizabeth Prophet]

{{Ascended Master Teachings}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prophet, Elizabeth Clare}}
[[Category:1939 births]]
[[Category:2009 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century apocalypticists]]
[[Category:21st-century apocalypticists]]
[[Category:American Christian Scientists]]
[[Category:American spiritual writers]]
[[Category:American writers with disabilities]]
[[Category:Antioch College alumni]]
[[Category:Boston University College of Arts and Sciences alumni]]
[[Category:Converts to Christian Science from Roman Catholicism]]
[[Category:Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in the United States]]
[[Category:Former Christian Scientists]]
[[Category:Founders of new religious movements]]
[[Category:Ig Nobel laureates]]
[[Category:Neurological disease deaths in Montana]]
[[Category:New Age spiritual leaders]]
[[Category:New Age writers]]
[[Category:People from Red Bank, New Jersey]]
[[Category:People with epilepsy]]
[[Category:Red Bank Regional High School alumni]]
[[Category:Writers from Bozeman, Montana]]
[[Category:Writers from Long Branch, New Jersey]]
[[Category:American women religious leaders]]
[[Category:American women founders]]
[[Category:American founders]]
[[Category:American women writers]]

Elizabeth Clare Prophet - Revision history

~2026-78132-6: add "|adj=on" to {{convert}}