Elizabeth Clare Prophet

Elizabeth Clare Prophet
Elizabeth Clare Prophet wearing a white t-shirt, appearing to be wrapped in a blue and black checkered blanket, grinning at camera
Prophet in 1984
Born
Elizabeth Clare Wulf

(1939-04-08)April 8, 1939
Long Branch, New Jersey, US
DiedOctober 15, 2009(2009-10-15) (aged 70)
Bozeman, Montana, US
Other namesGuru Ma, Mother of the Flame
OccupationSpiritual leader
Years active1959–2009
Known forFounder of the Church Universal and Triumphant
Children5

Elizabeth Clare Prophet (née: Wulf, a.k.a. Guru Ma[1]) (April 8, 1939 – October 15, 2009)[2] was an American spiritual leader, author, orator, and writer.[3] In 1963 she married Mark L. Prophet (after ending her first marriage), who had founded The Summit Lighthouse in 1958. Mark and Elizabeth had four children. Elizabeth, after her second husband's death on February 26, 1973, assumed control of The Summit Lighthouse.[4][5][6]

In 1975, Prophet founded Church Universal and Triumphant (CUT), which became the umbrella organization for the movement, which she expanded worldwide, and which has been described, including by Prophet, as "New Age".[7] She also founded Summit University and Summit University Press.[2] In the late 1980s Prophet controversially called on her members to prepare for the possibility of nuclear war at the turn of the decade, encouraging them to construct fallout shelters.[8] The failure of prediction was a setback for the church, resulting in a loss of membership.[9] In 1996, Prophet handed day-to-day operational control of her organization to a president and board of directors. She maintained her role as spiritual leader until her retirement for health reasons in 1999.[10] As of the 2020s, videos of her sermons play an important part of the church's religious work.[7]

During the 1980s and 1990s, Prophet appeared on Larry King Live, Donahue and Nightline, among other television programs.[11] Earlier media appearances included a feature in 1977 in "The Man Who Would Not Die". an episode of In Search of...[12] She was also featured in 1994 on NBC's Ancient Prophecies.[13]

  1. ^ "Church Blamed for Stroke". Santa Cruz Sentinel. February 14, 1986. p. 18. Retrieved April 23, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference LA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Melton, J. Gordon (1991). "Prophet, Elizabeth Clare". Religious leaders of America. Gale Research Inc. p. 376. ISBN 0-8103-4921-3.
  4. ^ Jones, Lindsay (2005). "Prophet, Mark and Elizabeth Clare". Encyclopedia of religion (volume 11) (second ed.). Detroit : Macmillan Reference USA. pp. 7445–7446. ISBN 0-02-865980-5.
  5. ^ DeHaas 1994, p. 21-37.
  6. ^ "Obituaries – Elizabeth Prophet". Telegraph. October 23, 2009. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
  7. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Harnett-Failed-June-2024-51 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference egan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Harnett-Failed-June-2024-52-58 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference legacy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ DeHaas 1994, p. 31-32.
  12. ^ Nimoy, Leonard (host) (December 31, 1977). "The Man Who Would Not Die". In Search of... [Television series]. NBC.
  13. ^ McCallum, David (host) (1994). Ancient Prophecies. Coast to Coast Productions. ASIN B0027PIA6M.