Our History

As Uranda continued his work, he came to believe that it was necessary to purchase a property and establish a spiritual center so that his work could establish deep roots. In 1945, while working out of a headquarters office in Loveland, Colorado, he found a dryland farm on the outskirts of town.

The Board of Emissaries of Divine Light purchased the original Sunrise Ranch property for $6,000 in December 1945. Several years after the purchase of the property, the federal government built an irrigation canal through the property, bringing precious water from the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. This was an important factor in supporting a thriving agricultural system in the valley.

In April 1940, Uranda met Martin Cecil, a son of English nobility who had established a cattle ranch in the interior of British Columbia, Canada. Martin shared Uranda’s vision of spiritual transformation. The two men found in each other a deep friendship and agreement in the work they carried on together.