The transmission
Guy Warren Ballard (1878–1939) was an American mining engineer who, in 1934, published Unveiled Mysteries under the pen name Godfré Ray King, recounting an alleged 1930 encounter with the “Ascended Master” Saint Germain on Mount Shasta, California.
From these claimed contacts he and his wife Edna founded the “I AM” Activity, one of the most influential American expressions of the ascended-master current that had grown out of Theosophy. The movement taught that a hierarchy of Ascended Masters (Saint Germain, Jesus, El Morya, and others) guides humanity, and that individuals can access the “Mighty I AM Presence” — the divine spark within — through decrees and visualization, often invoking the “Violet Flame” for purification.
At its peak in the 1930s the I AM Activity drew large followings; Ballard’s death in 1939 (despite teachings emphasizing physical immortality) triggered controversy and legal scrutiny, but the movement and its core symbols endured.
What they gave
The “Mighty I AM Presence”: A doctrine that the divine creative power dwells within each person and can be consciously invoked.
- Decrees and affirmations: Spoken, often rhythmic affirmations used to direct spiritual energy and reshape conditions.
- The Violet Flame: A visualization for transmuting negativity, later inherited by the Summit Lighthouse.
- Mass ascended-master devotion: Translated Theosophical hierarchy into an accessible, practice-oriented American movement.
In their words
The continual outpouring of a feeling of Peace and Divine Love to every person and everything unconditionally, no matter whether you think it be deserved or not, is The Magic Key that unlocks the door and releases instantly this tremendous ‘Inner God-Power’.
The line they stand in
Influenced by: Theosophy (Blavatsky, the Masters); New Thought affirmation; the Saint Germain mythos.
- Influenced: Edna Ballard; the Bridge to Freedom; Mark and Elizabeth Clare Prophet’s Summit Lighthouse.
Revelations they taught
Orders & Societies
Essential Works
- Unveiled Mysteries1934
- The Magic Presence1935