- CORWIN SPRINGS, Mont. (AP) _ Elizabeth Clare Prophet has announced she will
retire as spiritual leader of the Church Universal and Triumphant, a New
Age sect headquartered on a sprawling ranch next to Yellowstone National
Park.
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- Prophet, diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease
in November, said she will retire sometime this summer to deal with health
concerns and to spend more time with her family, including a 4-year-old
son. The woman known as ``Mother'' to her followers said she will be 60
in April. She stepped down as church president in 1996. In the early 1980s,
the church founded by Prophet's first husband bought the 28,000-acre Royal
Teton Ranch and based its operations there.
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- A survivalist reputation developed and
was reinforced during a court case challenging the church's tax-exempt
status. In depositions, church officials acknowledged that in the early
1990s, more than 100 firearms and two armored personnel carriers were stored
near a big fallout shelter at the ranch. But Prophet insisted no church
funds were used, and said she was unaware of details of weapons purchases
by individual church members.
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- Prophet had been president of the church
for 23 years when she left the position in 1996. Her action came within
weeks of the announcement that she and second husband Ed Francis, then
the executive vice president of the church, were divorcing after 15 years
of marriage. Over the years, church followers were told Prophet was one
of two people through whom ``Ascended Masters'' relayed messages. The other
was the deceased Mark Prophet, her first husband, who founded the church
in 1958 in Washington, D.C.
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- Church Universal and Triumphant teachings
incorporate elements of Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism. Use of alcohol
and tobacco is denounced, as is gambling.
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- Prophet's retirement as spiritual leader
was announced in Miami at the church's annual New Year's conference, according
to a church news release dated Friday.
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