Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 8, No. 3, 2009, Page 49
elements of Theosophy, New Thought, and the older ―I AM‖ movement to spiritualize
everything real and imaginable.
Elizabeth kept her condition hidden from members as much as possible, especially after she
began having ―tonic-clonic‖ seizures, a.k.a. grand mal, that required hospitalizations. I
recall in 1980, while I was still peripherally involved with CUT, strong rumors of Mother‘s
―epileptic‖ condition. Later, in a 1982 interview, the estranged parents of Betty Clare, as
they called their only child, confirmed this. I understood Mother‘s affliction then as petit mal
events. Erin clears this up for us because she had access to the medical report and was
witness to some of her mother‘s worst seizures. Elizabeth used several medications to
control her affliction she also turned to a host of alternative diets and treatments, including
high colonics, mustard plasters, chiropractors, and massages. She did not like the side
effects of more effective seizure drugs such as Depakote, which can cause a sluggishness
and weight gain.
Although Erin does not use the phrase in her book, her mother referred to some dark forces
as ―malicious animal magnetism,‖ a concept taken from the Christian Science of Mary Baker
Eddy.
Christian Science was Elizabeth‘s religion when she met Mark Prophet around 1960. Keeping
the dark forces at bay with constant chanting is a core activity of CUT. This feature, called
decreeing, was carried over from CUT‘s primary foundation group, the ―I AM‖ Activity,
founded by Guy and Edna Ballard in the 1930s.
The author describes a good example of Mother‘s paranoid projections that occurred during
the ―Mull trial.‖ Erin spends considerable attention on CUT‘s lawsuit against and countersuit
by Gregory Mull, who was an architect on staff with CUT for six years. During a personal
dispute over money and the guru‘s behavior, Mother dismissed Mull from the group in 1980.
Erin reveals that Mother Prophet wanted to retrieve approximately thirty thousand dollars
―loaned‖ to Mull that he claimed was due him as wages by the group. Erin does not report
that Mull also challenged Mother‘s private ethics after he discovered that the guru kept a file
of confession letters sent by group members. These letters should have been burned after
the guru read them. Mull eventually won more than one million dollars awarded by a jury in
1986 for, among other things, ―involuntary servitude.‖ An appellate court upheld the verdict
in 1989.
On page 101, Erin reveals how this loss in court created a ―catalyst‖ for the group to shut
down most remaining church activity in the Los Angeles area and move the entire
headquarters to Montana. Mother saw Mull, her ex-husband Randall, and anyone else
involved in the litigation as aligned with ―fallen ones‖ and ―black magicians.‖ The doom
themes that attended group beliefs from the early 1970s now came into sharper focus. Erin
and CUT members decreed continually to stop the dark energies and to hurl the ―karma‖
back upon the attackers. Erin muses over what would have happened if ―mom‖ had merely
settled with Gregory for what he initially asked. We learn how that was not possible because
Mother was stubborn and entitled. The trial would have serious reverberations in more ways
than a loss of money.
The trial enabled Elizabeth‘s ex-husband Randall to testify under oath to crucial, damaging
facts about group behavior and the guru‘s character. He revealed, for example, that he had
an affair with Elizabeth before Erin‘s father died. At the time, Erin and all the Prophet
children were incensed that Randall would ―lie‖ under oath. Purity in sexual behavior was a
fundamental teaching if not an obsession in CUT.
As Erin reveals later in the book, when her mom knew she was losing her battle with
dementia, Elizabeth confessed a host of personal failures to her family. One of the more
significant was that she indeed had an affair that entailed ―mutual masturbation‖ with
elements of Theosophy, New Thought, and the older ―I AM‖ movement to spiritualize
everything real and imaginable.
Elizabeth kept her condition hidden from members as much as possible, especially after she
began having ―tonic-clonic‖ seizures, a.k.a. grand mal, that required hospitalizations. I
recall in 1980, while I was still peripherally involved with CUT, strong rumors of Mother‘s
―epileptic‖ condition. Later, in a 1982 interview, the estranged parents of Betty Clare, as
they called their only child, confirmed this. I understood Mother‘s affliction then as petit mal
events. Erin clears this up for us because she had access to the medical report and was
witness to some of her mother‘s worst seizures. Elizabeth used several medications to
control her affliction she also turned to a host of alternative diets and treatments, including
high colonics, mustard plasters, chiropractors, and massages. She did not like the side
effects of more effective seizure drugs such as Depakote, which can cause a sluggishness
and weight gain.
Although Erin does not use the phrase in her book, her mother referred to some dark forces
as ―malicious animal magnetism,‖ a concept taken from the Christian Science of Mary Baker
Eddy.
Christian Science was Elizabeth‘s religion when she met Mark Prophet around 1960. Keeping
the dark forces at bay with constant chanting is a core activity of CUT. This feature, called
decreeing, was carried over from CUT‘s primary foundation group, the ―I AM‖ Activity,
founded by Guy and Edna Ballard in the 1930s.
The author describes a good example of Mother‘s paranoid projections that occurred during
the ―Mull trial.‖ Erin spends considerable attention on CUT‘s lawsuit against and countersuit
by Gregory Mull, who was an architect on staff with CUT for six years. During a personal
dispute over money and the guru‘s behavior, Mother dismissed Mull from the group in 1980.
Erin reveals that Mother Prophet wanted to retrieve approximately thirty thousand dollars
―loaned‖ to Mull that he claimed was due him as wages by the group. Erin does not report
that Mull also challenged Mother‘s private ethics after he discovered that the guru kept a file
of confession letters sent by group members. These letters should have been burned after
the guru read them. Mull eventually won more than one million dollars awarded by a jury in
1986 for, among other things, ―involuntary servitude.‖ An appellate court upheld the verdict
in 1989.
On page 101, Erin reveals how this loss in court created a ―catalyst‖ for the group to shut
down most remaining church activity in the Los Angeles area and move the entire
headquarters to Montana. Mother saw Mull, her ex-husband Randall, and anyone else
involved in the litigation as aligned with ―fallen ones‖ and ―black magicians.‖ The doom
themes that attended group beliefs from the early 1970s now came into sharper focus. Erin
and CUT members decreed continually to stop the dark energies and to hurl the ―karma‖
back upon the attackers. Erin muses over what would have happened if ―mom‖ had merely
settled with Gregory for what he initially asked. We learn how that was not possible because
Mother was stubborn and entitled. The trial would have serious reverberations in more ways
than a loss of money.
The trial enabled Elizabeth‘s ex-husband Randall to testify under oath to crucial, damaging
facts about group behavior and the guru‘s character. He revealed, for example, that he had
an affair with Elizabeth before Erin‘s father died. At the time, Erin and all the Prophet
children were incensed that Randall would ―lie‖ under oath. Purity in sexual behavior was a
fundamental teaching if not an obsession in CUT.
As Erin reveals later in the book, when her mom knew she was losing her battle with
dementia, Elizabeth confessed a host of personal failures to her family. One of the more
significant was that she indeed had an affair that entailed ―mutual masturbation‖ with
