Edna Anne Wheeler Ballard, also known as Lotus Ray King (June 25, 1886 - February 10, 1971), was an American theosopher who co-founded the Saint Germain Foundation and served a co-leader of the I AM Movement with her husband Guy Ballard. In 1944, Ballard and her son Donald Ballard were charged with

mail fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical (e.g., the U.S. Postal Service) or electronic (e.g., a phone, a telegram, a fax, or the Internet) mail system to defraud another, and are U.S. fede ...

and their court case would eventually be ruled by the

US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

as '' United States v. Ballard'' where the charges were ultimately dismissed, on the basis of the court system incorrectly attempting to consider validity of their religious beliefs. Ballard's work with the I AM Movement is considered a predecessor to the current

new age movement New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consid ...

Early life and education

Edna Anne Wheeler was born in 1886 in Burlington,

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. Her mother was Anna Hewitt Pearce and her father was Edward G. Wheeler, a railway clerk. Ballard became a concert

harpist The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual string (music), strings running at an angle to its sound board (music), soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing ...

in 1912. In 1916, Ballard married Guy W. Ballard. Two years later in 1918, she had a child with Guy named Donald.

I AM Movement

The couple resided in

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. Ballard began working at the Philosopher's Nook, an

occult The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...

bookstore. She also served as an editor of ''American Occultists.'' Guy was also interested in the occult, and while hiking at

Mount Shasta Mount Shasta ( ; Shasta people, Shasta: ''Waka-nunee-Tuki-wuki''; Karuk language, Karuk: ''Úytaahkoo'') is a Volcano#Volcanic activity, potentially active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California. A ...

in California in September 1931, he met an individual who claimed to be Saint Germain. Ballard called Saint Germain an "ascended master." Guy wrote back to Ballard, telling her about his interaction(s) with St. Germain. In 1931, the couple founded the Saint Germain Foundation and Saint Germain Press in Chicago. The called the umbrella over the two organizations the I AM Movement. Ballard's role within the Movement was as an "accredited messenger of the ascended masters," alongside Guy. However, Ballard eventually took a step back as Guy led the organizations, serving as the primary messenger for St. Germain and other masters, including

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. The Ballards believed in past lives, with Elizabeth believing she was

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

and

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in her past lives. In 1939, Guy Ballard died and their son Donald became the leader of the I AM Movement. Prior to his father's death, Donald also served as a messenger per the wishes of St. Germain. However, both he and Elizabeth did not serve as primary messenger. Shortly thereafter, Elizabeth, Donald and other staff members were charged with mail fraud, with the charge being that the Movement was attempting to defraud mail recipients into joining a religion that was known to be false. Ballard was convicted twice, and the second time after a ruling was overturned. The case went to the US Supreme Court and was ruled as ''United States v. Ballard''. Ballard, 322 U.S. 78 (1944) "Whether a religious belief is true or false is irrelevant to a judicial determination, as long as the belief is sincerely held." In other words, Ballard was found not guilty. Ballard eventually began serving as a messenger for St. Germain and other masters in the fifties and in the sixties she hosted a radio show.

Later life and legacy

Ballard died in February 1971 in Chicago. After her death, the Saint Germain Foundation and press were operated by the board of directors and select "appointed messengers". Additionally, no other movement members, including appointment messengers, have served as direct messengers of the masters, including St. Germain. During her role as messenger, Ballard left over 2,000 recordings of messages from St. Germain and the masters.

References

External links

Publications of the FBI Case BALLARD, EDNA ANNE processed and released pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
a Document with all published pages of this case. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler Ballard, Edna Anne 1886 births 1971 deaths People from Burlington, Iowa People from Chicago American occultists New Age spiritual leaders Ascended Master Teachings American women harpists 20th-century American women musicians Founders of new religious movements American women religious leaders American women founders American founders