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 The Saint Germain Movement is a religious organization, headquartered in Schaumburg, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, with a major facility just north of Dunsmuir, California, in the buildings and property of the Shasta Springs retreat. There is als ...

and served a co-leader of the I AM Movement with her husband,

Guy Ballard Guy Warren Ballard (July 28, 1878 – December 29, 1939) was an American mining engineer who, with his wife Edna Anne Wheeler Ballard, founded the "I AM" Activity. Ballard was born in Newton, Kansas and married his wife in Chicago in 1916. ...

. 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 or electronic mail system to defraud another, and are federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the federal government if the illegal activit ...

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 U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...

as ''

United States v. Ballard ''United States v. Ballard'', 322 U.S. 78 (1944), was a United States Supreme Court case from the October 1943 term. The case arose from the appeal of the conviction of two leaders of the new religious "I AM" Activity movement for fraudulently s ...

''. 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 which 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 Burlington is a city in, and the county seat of, Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 23,982 in the 2020 census, a decline from the 26,839 population in 2000. Burlington is the center of a micropolitan area, which includes ...

. 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 a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orc ...

in 1912. In 1916, Ballard married

Guy W. Ballard Guy Warren Ballard (July 28, 1878 – December 29, 1939) was an American mining engineer who, with his wife Edna Anne Wheeler Ballard, founded the "I AM" Activity. Ballard was born in Newton, Kansas and married his wife in Chicago in 1916. Bal ...

. Two years later, in 1918, she had a child with Guy, named Donald.

I AM Movement

The couple resided in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

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

occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...

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: ''Waka-nunee-Tuki-wuki''; Karuk: ''Úytaahkoo'') is a potentially active volcano at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California. At an elevation of , it is the second-highest peak in the Cascades ...

in California in September 1931 he met an individual who claimed to be St. 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

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 "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, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

. The Ballard's believed in

past lives Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the Philosophy, philosophical or Religion, religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or physical body, body after ...

with Ballard believing she was

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

and

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...

in her past lives. In 1939, Guy Ballard died and their son, Donald Ballard, became the leader of the I AM Movement. Prior to his father's death, Donald Ballard also served as a messenger per the wishes of St. Germain. However, both he and Ballard did not serve as primary messenger. Shortly thereafter, Ballard, Donald and other staff members were charged with

, 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, the second time after a ruling was overturned. The case went to the

and was ruled as ''

''. 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 harpists Women harpists 20th-century women musicians Founders of new religious movements Female religious leaders