Prophet's Daughter: My Life with Elizabeth Clare Prophet Inside the Church Universal and Triumphant

by Erin Prophet

Book Overview

In early 1990, in response to apocalyptic prophecies given by her mother, Elizabeth Clare Prophet, Erin Prophet entered a network of underground bunkers in Montana along with members of her mother's... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1599214253
• ISBN13: 9781599214252
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Lyons Press
• Length: 286 Pages
• Weight: 1.36 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.2" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Honest, Informative and Well Written

This book deals with matters of belief and as such it tends to evoke strong emotions. Read the rest of the book reviews if you want to know what I mean. By and large they are 1 star or 5 stars depending upon whether or not the reviewer believes in the ascended masters. Since the opinions of the book are so subjective, I think it's only fair to offer some information about myself. I was born and raised in the Church Universal and Triumphant. I was named by Elizabeth Prophet. I attended Montessori International. My family was on permanent staff during the shelter cycle and I was a child at that time. I was in the the large shelter complex in the Heart during the 'drills' in the spring of 1990. This book is goldmine of first-hand information about the Church Universal and Triumphant and the shelter cycle. For anyone looking to answer the questions 'what actually happened?' and 'how did it come about?' this book is a great place to start. For those of us that were present during the shelter cycle, it confirms many things that we suspected but were unable to prove. For instance, it was rumored around the cafeteria that we had acquired an armored personnel carrier. Erin confirms the presence of not one, but two APC's on church property. We believed that the church members responsible for security had acquired a stockpile of assault rifles. Erin confirms the existence of a hidden cache of AR-15's. As far as the scandal of Vernon Hamilton, Edward Francis and the weapons purchase: everyone on staff knew that permanent staff members were essentially paupers and that there was no way Vernon Hamilton was walking around with $150,000 of his own money. We believed (without proof) that the upper echelons of the church hierarchy knew of the weapons purchase, approved it and backed it monetarily. Erin confirms all of this. (I might add that no-one on staff that I talked to at that time disapproved of stockpiling weapons; we thought it was a prudent precaution for the post-apocalyptic fantasies that we indulged. Vernon and Edward had our full moral support.) (** Amended at the request of the author based on additional information and clarification that she supplied about the purchase of the APC's.) As a member of permanent staff and a participant in many of the events in this book, I though I knew the whole story of the shelter cycle. I was mistaken. Secrets were kept and information was withheld even from the 'inner circle' of the permanent staff. For instance, none of us had any idea that Elizabeth had been diagnosed with epilepsy, or that she had suffered a tonic-clonic seizure during the shelter cycle. None of us understood the role that Erin played as seer to Elizabeth during that critical time. And, as I mentioned earlier, none of us were privy to knowledge that the leadership had of the weapons purchases. In expectation of the apocalypse, and in the grip of paranoia, the church had become very compartmentalized. At each level of

An essential acquisition for any spirituality or new age library

In early 1990 in response to the apocalyptic prophecies of her mother Elizabeth Clare Prophet, daughter Erin Prophet went to live underground in Montana along with members of her mother's New Age sect, anticipating the end of the world. When she emerged to find it whole, Erin was forced to reassess everything she had been taught about church and family. PROPHET'S DAUGHTER provides an insider's view of the cult, its beliefs, and its values, and is an essential acquisition for any spirituality or new age library as well as many a general-interest lending library. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch

Riviting and Profound, Answers so Many Questions for Me...

I have been a Keeper-of-the-Flame since the mid-70's, always on the periphery of the teachings, living in Indiana when I first discovered the "teachings." I have never been on staff, nor have I been ever been to the Montana HQs. But I have listened to perhaps every tape (back to the days when I purchased the cassette albums of conferences and seminars.) I've purchase and read most of the books from the church. In the late 80's, I was distracted by the beginning years of my nursing career, and never really knew about the shelter construction until after the fact. When I discovered this whole episode, it seemed almost inconsequential in the scheme of things. As I became aware of the changes occuring in the structure of the church--the relaxing of the Code of Conduct, the deep downsizing, the leaving of the church of long-time staff (Edward, Murray, etc.), I realized that something had occurred to bring on this reworking of the structure. At the time, I thought it was a good thing, as many corporations were thightening up, getting rid of bloat from top to bottom. Gilbert was at the helm, Mother was free to lead spiritually, it seemed right. I attended the New Year's conference in San Antonio, during which Mother's illness was made public, at that time described as an "undiagnosed neurological" problem. Of course, within months it was revealed as Alzheimer's. Shortly thereafter, I began reading online accounts of the abuse, the paranoia, which had characterized many people's associations with Mother. I found these rumors disturbing, but having never been in close physical proximity to the church or to Mother, I considered there may be some truth to these rumors. Afterall, I only witnessed the public personna of the messenger and the church. I can only say that I purchased and read Erin's book with a slight reluctance, but finding myself in a period of self soul-seaching and openess, I am very glad I did! The book is breathtakingly riviting, written with an obviously painful honesty. But for me, it has answered so many questions and put to bed many of the rumors about Mother. I feel that I now have a very well-rounded sense of the church and the people staffing it, and an understanding of the profound effect of the "shelter cycle" both on the church and on the lives of the dear people closely involved. I am gratified to read of Mother's tireless work on publishing and lecturing and bringing the "teachings" to so many. I am heart-broken to read of her misuse of her own charisma. I am so sad to read of the pain she caused many who loved her and served her. And I am relieved and grateful to read of the great care she in receiving in her final years. I can only pray that Erin and her siblings can continue to work through the issues of their upbringing and early adulthoods, as it seems they are from the book. Thank you, Erin, thank you. For sharing your life with all of us so intimately. Indeed, I do feel a sense of closure. I trust t

Well written, honest, couldn't put it down.

I finished this book in pretty much one sitting. It is very well written, Erin Prophet is a great writer. Even when she wrote letters and other things for the organization, her style was sober and to the point. It's an easy (juicy) read, especially for someone familiar with the story from the outside. I'm an ex member, fairly active in local study groups and teaching centers of the organization (as board member and volunteer). It's clear the book was written without malice, and with complete honesty. It was confusing to me, a few times, when it doesn't follow the time line from the first to the last page, but rather by segment. I did get used to that though, and it does help understand the different segments of the author's experience. A great book, highly recommended.

A Gripping Cautionary Tale

This outstanding document accomplished two extremely difficult tasks: Providing a history and human context for our mother's life, and demonstrating Erin's difficulty coming of age while faced with the expectations of following in her mother's footsteps. The story is told against a backdrop of constant crisis, "divine revelation," fame and the idolatry of followers. It is to Erin's credit that she did a decade of research, and consulted a wide range of sources both within our family and outside of it. Her book is factually unimpeachable when it comes to its representation of the lives of our parents and the church they founded. Erin went way beyond due-diligence as an author in having her manuscript vetted and triple-checked by every member of our family. As someone who was right by Erin's side through most of the events that make up her narrative, I can say that she made every attempt at laser-accuracy. In my view, she has also been gracious and erred on the side of protecting her parents and the feelings of church members at almost every level. As I read through the book, I was often astounded by her dispassionate and unbiased tone even when describing very painful situations. There were many less charitable ways she could have presented the information, and some earlier drafts reflected that. I speak here specifically to those in CUT who may be disturbed by her revelations, which some have called "salacious." I ask: What better way is there to evaluate a person's ethics than how they lived? I would argue that like running for public office, the very act of raising oneself up as a "guru" invites and even demands just such scrutiny. For it is in the nuance of personal life decisions that character is revealed. I applaud Erin's discussion of mom's meddling in her marriage. For Erin's marriage was by no means the only one to suffer. I saw countless people humiliated and broken up. Whenever mom used to chastise married staff members, she insisted that their spouse be present--often demanding the spouse take her side and reinforce her position. People were told on a whim that their husband or wife was a "fallen one" or "betrayer"--if that person became inconvenient to mom's agenda. Friendships, relationships and marriages were all expendable. This kind of spiritual hubris only survived as long as it did through the shame of followers to acknowledge it--a code of silence to protect the "sanctity" of the messengership on which they based their lives. I agree with Erin that it must be exposed if it is not to be repeated. This is reinforced by the example of my own experience. I made the decision in 1985 at the age of 21 to marry Kathleen Mattson, who was then pregnant with my eldest son. Mom was violently opposed to it. She summoned me to her house in Malibu and arranged to have my best friend (a staff member) present at an all-night session where she spiritually threatened and browbeat me and convinced me to send Kathleen away to a CUT center in