She took over the leadership in 1973 on the death of her husband, Mark Prophet, who had founded the Summit Lighthouse in 1958 to spread a message which combined elements of Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and Theosophy.
In 1975 she established the Church Universal and Triumphant, a formal religion with ceremonies and sacraments, extending the work of the Lighthouse. The teachings were derived from divine messages supposedly transmitted by the Ascended Masters, a pantheon of heavenly beings ranging from Buddha and Jesus Christ to the "head of the Cosmic Secret Service". Worldwide membership was once estimated at between 30,000 and 50,000 people, who revered Elizabeth Prophet as a spiritual leader with a direct link to God....