Sons of God, Annalee Skarin and The Great White Brotherhood

Sons of God is a book that was published by DeVorss & Co in 1954, six years after it released Annalee Skarin’s first book, Ye Are Gods. Although the work was supposedly authored by Christine Mercie, many believe this work which contained a personal account of a major spiritual experience was actually written by Annalee Skarin using this as a pen name. It should come as no surprise, since humility has long been a prized and guarded virtue among saints of all religions.

The choice of the “author’s” name itself might be obvious to many readers of the Skarin material: “Christine,” based on the great light of Christ, and “Mercie,” representing the great mercy of God in giving us our existence, both ideas which she often mentions in her works. Not surprisingly, I can find no record of any other books by someone named Christine Mercie or any other information about an author with that name.

Sons of God tells the narrator's first-person account of suddenly noticing she was in a spiritual amphitheater-like place where she was greeted by numerous radiant men and women who commended her for finally breaking through the veil between physical and spiritual existence. She calls these beings the “Sons of God” and the “White Brotherhood.” The latter expression was used by several other mystics during the decades Skarin wrote to describe those individuals who had put on the white light of the Christ by mastering physical life through divine love, thereby no longer needing to return to another incarnation on earth. (It is obvious from both terms that gender equality had not yet reached the point in which we find it today. Some current authors attempt to use more inclusive words, such as Patricia Cota Robles who uses the term “Company of Heaven.”)

From that point forward, the author of Sons of God says she was able to come and go between the spiritual and physical worlds, and even between various parts of the physical world without transportation, an idea which Annalee Skarin often describes as a possibility in her other works. As an example, in several cases the author mentions Annalee Skarin (herself), who in one instance simply “appears” to her in a secluded wood in order to help a man who was being ostracized by his church for having said he believed in Skarin’s works. At this point the use of a pen name becomes very thin indeed.

Another argument suggesting Skarin’s authorship lies in the very sparse actual story of “Christine Mercie,” which after the first few chapters lapses into teachings very similar to those of Annalee Skarin, such as allusions to those who have been become divine before us.

Lastly, as an editor I noted several signature grammatical techniques often used by Annalee in her other books. The use of frequent ALL CAPITALIZATIONS to make a point is one such example. There are also words spelled in a certain way such “fibre,” and distinctive terms and phrases such as “grubby” and “dingy” which are used in all her works to describe the earthly realm.

“Why is all this important?” you might ask. I believe it is crucial for us to know about the example of men and women who have fulfilled their mission on earth, risen above their spiritual challenges, and no longer need to embody on this dark planet. The incident of Jesus’ Transfiguration on the Mount where he spoke with his Jewish predecessors, Moses and Elijah, highlights two of these who had fulfilled their mission. What one can do, all can do. As a group, these overcomers have been known by many names, such as the Communion of Saints in Catholicism, Mahayana Buddhism’s Buddhas of the Pure Land, certain high sadhus and rishis of the Hindus, Zoroaster’s Holy Immortals, the Greek Plutarch’s Daemons, Plotinus’ Celestials and Intelligibles, and Swedenborg’s celestial men.

In her last work published in 1972, The Book of Books, Annalee describes these overcomers as: “Patriarchs, ones advancing beyond all mortal laws. One begins to emerge into the status of the divine as he fulfills the promise of his own potential covenants of Promise. Because their holy mission is in essence the same as our own, we have much to learn from these Elder Brothers and Sisters.” I believe Annalee Skarin was one of the truly great saints of our overwhelmingly materialistic twenty-first century. She understood well the challenges of our modern world and could speak to us in our own words, terms, and perceptions, making her a prime source of study for those wishing to follow in her footsteps.