Blog 23, Amy Carlson and Love Has Won, Part II
Blog 23: Amy Carlson and Love Has Won, Genealogical Methodology
Amy Carlson’s Formative Years
When we left Amy Carlson in the previous article, we had reconstructed her family through traditional genealogical methods. Census schedules, probate records, school yearbooks, newspaper articles, vital records, and court documents painted the picture of a woman raised in rural Kansas who married young, had children, divorced, and eventually remarried. Like millions of Americans, Amy's early life left behind a fairly conventional documentary trail. Then, sometime between late 2006 and early 2007, that trail changed dramatically.
Amy Renee Carlson was born to Linda Krell and Dennis Carlson on 30 November 1975 in McPherson, Kansas. She was the eldest of three sisters, one full and one half-sibling. Both of her parents were educated, but they ended up divorcing when Amy was young.[1] Amy did well in primary and high school, earning mostly A’s according to her mother. She was a good student, participated in choir and theater while in high school. She was further described as being childlike and fun-loving. Interestingly, she was not identified as a leader at this age.[2] Her mother goes on to explain that her daughter was not raised with extreme beliefs but with standard, Christian beliefs and was raised mostly in Texas.[3]
Amy’s Early Adulthood
Amy’s early adulthood was chaotic. According to her mother, she was married three times by her early twenties and had three children with three different fathers. The first marriage record discovered had a marriage date of 10 October 1994 to Pedro G Silva at 19 years of age.[4] Pedro and Amy divorced on 23 October 1995. Amy’s oldest son, Cole Bradley Carlson was born on December 25, 1995, in Texas. No father’s name was recorded.[5] Records indicate a marriage to Matthew Stroud on 5 September 2000 in Dallas, Texas, with their child, Madison, being born of this union. [6] I found no documented record of a marriage between Amy and any other individual after her marriage to Matthew Stroud and subsequent divorce. We know Amy and Matthew divorced since a marriage record between Matthew Stroud and Trisha Gibbs is found in the 2007 collection of the Texas marriage index.[7] Further, she has a third child sometime around 2006. The third child was reportedly only two years old when Amy left.[8] According to social media, the now-adult is doing well, attending college, and working. – linked in profile.[9]
Sources vary on when Amy originally leaves her job at McDonald's as well as abandons her three children to join a man she met on the internet, but most point towards 2006 - 2007. It was during this period that Amy grew an interest in New Age Spirituality, chatting in chatrooms, specifically Lightworkers.org Forum[10] and meeting a man who went by the username “Amerith WhiteEagle.”[11] Amerith’s real name was Robert Saltsgaver. Her sister Tara believes Amerith is responsible for the split between Amy and her family. Amerith is credited with referring to Amy as “God.” The two would go on to become “Mother God” and “Father God” and created an online presence to disseminate their new age beliefs, which consisted of a cornucopia of ideas expressed throughout time, ranging from conspiracy theories, Abrahamic religious traditions, Q’Anon teachings, aliens, spaceships, historical figures, apocalyptic beliefs, all intermixed with New Age Spiritual interpretations.[12] “Mother God” or Amy was on a divine mission to save and transcend the 3-D world.[13] The group was first known as the “Galactic Federation of Light.”[14]
Prior to 2007, Amy Carlson's life can largely be reconstructed through records familiar to every family historian: birth indexes, marriage licenses, divorce proceedings, children's birth records, school records, probate files, and court documents. After 2007, however, those records become increasingly sparse. Instead, Amy's life becomes documented through an entirely different class of historical sources: websites, livestreams, internet forums, podcasts, domain registrations, nonprofit filings, discussion boards, social media posts, and archived webpages. Her documentary footprint did not disappear; It simply moved online. How, though, should genealogists approach individuals whose lives unfolded primarily on the Internet?
One of the greatest misconceptions surrounding internet research is that "everything is online forever." Anyone who has attempted to revisit a favorite website from twenty years ago quickly discovers the opposite is often true as websites disappear, domain names expire, videos are deleted, social media accounts are removed and entire online communities can conceivably vanish overnight. Ironically, twenty-first-century history may prove more fragile than nineteenth-century history. For generations, genealogists worried about courthouse fires destroying deeds or floods damaging church registers. Today, historical records are just as likely to disappear because someone failed to renew a domain name or clicked the "Delete Account" button. Fortunately, not every digital record is lost. Just like the past, all data has to be stored somewhere for it to continue to exist, and that storage is not fiscally free or fully risk free. One of the most valuable—and underutilized—tools available to genealogists researching modern individuals is the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine.
Most researchers have heard of the Wayback Machine. Far fewer appreciate its value as a genealogical source. The Internet Archive periodically captures publicly accessible webpages and preserves snapshots over time. Rather than archiving only a single version of a website, it often captures dozens—or even hundreds—of versions, allowing researchers to observe how organizations evolve. For movements that existed primarily online, these archived webpages function much like successive city directories or annual church reports.[15] Much of the larger media does not survive due to the amount of information needing to be retained.
By comparing archived versions of websites with interviews, livestreams, domain histories, and later media coverage, an approximate chronology begins to emerge. Between 2006 and 2011, Amy and Amarith became heavily involved in online New Age communities. Their messaging centered on ascension, extraterrestrial guidance, the Galactic Federation, and humanity's spiritual awakening. The Internet increasingly became both their congregation and their sanctuary.[16] These early years are particularly difficult to reconstruct because much of the original content no longer exists on the live web. Without archived webpages and secondary preservation efforts, substantial portions of this history would have been lost entirely. For centuries researchers have depended upon county clerks, churches, and historical societies to preserve records. Increasingly, however, twenty-first-century history depends upon organizations like the Internet Archive—and individuals willing to preserve digital material before it disappears. In many respects, archived websites have become the modern equivalent of newspaper microfilm as they preserve not only information, but chronology.
Early Beliefs and Writings, Digital Spiritual Growth
Early Years, 2007 - 2011
The Wayback Machine, part of the Internet Archive (Archive.org), traces its origins to 1996 when a San Francisco-based nonprofit began capturing snapshots of the rapidly changing World Wide Web in an effort to preserve websites that might otherwise disappear. The service was made publicly available in 2001.[17] While its founders likely could not have anticipated how vast, complex, and central the Internet would become, the project has evolved into one of the most valuable digital repositories available to historians and genealogists. Throughout this investigation, I relied heavily on the Wayback Machine to reconstruct the evolution of both Love Has Won and Amy Carlson herself.
The earliest writings I located that could be attributed to Amy came through archived captures of Lightworkers.org, a New Age spiritual community and discussion forum. According to the Wayback Machine, the site's homepage, http://www.lightworkers.org/, was captured 706 times between 19 April 2001 and 21 June 2026.[18] One surviving document from during this period is a frequently asked questions page titled "What is a Lightworker?", posted by the user Lightworker on 2 June 2007. The document explains the community's foundational beliefs, describing humanity as undergoing a global spiritual awakening connected through a universal Light Energy. Followers were encouraged to recognize their "I AM Presence," release the ego, practice meditation and awareness, cultivate unconditional love and forgiveness, live in the present moment, and ultimately progress toward enlightenment or ascension. The FAQ further emphasizes that Lightworkers are not bound to any single religion but instead view all spiritual traditions as tools that may assist an individual in discovering higher consciousness.[19]
The archived forum provides valuable insight into Amy Carlson's early online activities and her relationship with the man who would become the first Father God, Robert Saltsgaver, better known by the spiritual name Amerith WhiteEagle. Early on Amy referred to herself as Lia and participated on the Lightworkers forum under the username Amilia. An Archived post from Amerith WhiteEagle captured on 29 October 2007 states that he is currently living in Crestone, Colorado and lists his astrological profile, which describes him as unique, natural leader, creative and very much an individual. According to the profile information captured the same day, Amerith had been a member of Lightworkers for 2 weeks and 1 day, his registration day would have been Oct 14, 2007. Amerith’s profile Information:[20]
An archived capture of Amy’s profile dated 15 September 2008 includes a photograph of Amy holding a young toddler. The profile indicates she had been a member for one year and eight weeks, placing her registration on the site to the 21 July 2007, which correlates with later representations made by her family.[21]
Comparing two early captures of Amy’s blog from lighthouse.org below, we can see one of her major spiritual evolutions. The first captured instance of her profile/blog entry by the WayBack Machine on 3 May 2008, shows an Amy who did not come out as or allude to being “Mother God.”[22] By the capture on the 15th September 2008, under the section “Creating,” Amy added, “We are part of the Galactic Federation of Light as well as a part of the 24 Group of Elders of Elohim, who will assist in Establishing the New Earth. We have already Assumed our Roles within the Divine Plan as Co-Creators with all awakened beings on the planet!”[23]
Another archived capture, dated 15 October 2008, preserves a listing of blog titles authored by Amilia, along with publication dates, timestamps, and the number of comments each post received. Although the individual blog entries themselves were generally not archived, the index alone provides a remarkable glimpse into Amy's developing worldview. Because Lightworkers.org was operated from Australia, I cannot yet determine whether the displayed timestamps reflect Australian time, the user's local time, or server time. Additional research into the site's software and hosting environment may eventually clarify this point. We can see that Amy was closely associated with the Galactic Federation of Light at this time and is already referring to herself as Mother God.[24] While these early writings represent only fragments of a much larger body of work, they document the formative stages of beliefs that would eventually develop into the theological foundation of Love Has Won.
By analyzing the full capture of blog entry titles by Amy Carlson taken on 15 Oct 2008, we can begin to see what she cared most about. She mentions the word love 24 times and refers to the Galactic Federation of Light 23 times. Most of her blogs are focused on the Galactic Federation of Light, which makes sense as Amy and Amerith were building their online presence. The Galactic Federation of Light was posting consistently about the “return of a Messiah” and return of the alien races. They were pushing the disclosure project, which would urge world leaders to disclose the true nature of alien life and technologies.[25]
Early Teachings 2011 – 2012
The next stage of Amy Carlson’s story demonstrates exactly why establishing a clear timeline matters. Amy and Amerith gradually expanded their following through an increasingly broad digital presence, using Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube, livestreams, and traditional websites containing blogs, spiritual teachings, organizational information, and merchandising. Through these platforms, they slowly constructed the beliefs, audience, and online infrastructure that would eventually develop into Love Has Won. During these early years, Amy appeared online under names including Leah Amil and Amilia, while Amerith became a public voice for their developing theology, discussing the Galactic Federation of Light through YouTube videos and Facebook livestreams. Unfortunately for researchers, much of this early digital material no longer exists, making the surviving archived webpages and recordings particularly valuable for reconstructing how the movement developed.
The November 2011 response to the White House Disclosure Petition represents a pivotal moment in the development of the early Galactic Federation of Light theology that would later evolve into Love Has Won. Rather than accepting the Obama administration's denial of extraterrestrial contact, movement leaders interpreted it as evidence that a hidden "Cabal" continued to suppress disclosure, advanced technologies, and humanity's spiritual awakening. Messages attributed to Commander Ashtar Sheran and Sekhmet reframed the denial as part of a divine plan, teaching that Disclosure would occur only after humanity reached a higher level of consciousness through love, patience, and ascension. During this period, the doctrine expanded to incorporate NESARA, a conspiracy theory that alleged a secret U.S. law that would cancel personal debt, abolish taxes; thus, resetting the global economy as a necessary precursor to Disclosure. Very Marx\Engels. Further concepts introduced were timeline shifting, frequency anchoring, and joy as a spiritual vibration, and encouraged followers to actively promote public awareness of NESARA while preparing themselves for first contact with extraterrestrial beings.[26] These contemporaneous messages demonstrate that by late 2011 the movement had already established many of the foundational themes- Galactic Federation, the Cabal, Disclosure, Ascension, and divine timing- that would later become central pillars of Love Has Won theology, although later doctrines surrounding Mother God, multiple Father Gods, and Amy Carlson's role as the creator of the multiverse had not yet fully developed.
The teachings included, but were certainly not limited to, an expanding concept of an evil “Cabal” operating behind the scenes. The Cabal was blamed for government secrecy, financial corruption, taxation, technological suppression, delayed extraterrestrial Disclosure, fear, and manipulation. Followers were taught that governments had been in contact with extraterrestrials since the 1940s and were deliberately withholding alien technology and knowledge from humanity. Conveniently, the Cabal also provided an explanation whenever predicted events failed to occur: Disclosure remained inevitable and divinely timed, but could be delayed by the Cabal or by humanity’s failure to reach the necessary level of spiritual development. In this framework, an unfulfilled prediction did not necessarily challenge the underlying belief; there was always another explanation for why the promised event had not yet happened. Followers were instead encouraged to remain patient, continue preparing themselves for Ascension, spread “Light,” and promote Disclosure. In effect, both the Cabal and humanity’s spiritual readiness created explanations that allowed the anticipated Disclosure to remain perpetually just beyond the horizon.
Shifting Leadership and Ideas, 2012 - 2016
Between 2012 and 2016, the movement underwent rapid transformation. New organizational names appeared as existing doctrines expanded. Leadership changed repeatedly. Websites were rewritten. Public messaging shifted. What began as a relatively small online spiritual community gradually evolved into the organization that would eventually become known as Love Has Won. Amy and Amerith became closely associated with the Galactic Free Press, an online publication dedicated to messages concerning ascension, extraterrestrial civilizations, spiritual awakening, and what followers believed was humanity's transition into a higher state of consciousness.[27] One of the first observations that struck me was not what the website contained—but what it lacked. Readers familiar only with the later years of Love Has Won might expect to find the darker themes that eventually came to define the movement. Instead, the archived pages were remarkably optimistic. Themes consisted of peace, love, unity, healing and service to humanity. The language resembled countless other New Age websites that flourished during the years surrounding the widely publicized 2012 Mayan calendar phenomenon. At first glance, nothing about these pages suggested the movement would later become nationally known for far different reasons. Too often, history is written backwards. Once we know how a story ends, we subconsciously assume the ending was inevitable. Contemporary records remind us otherwise. In 2012, visitors were not reading history. They were experiencing the movement as it existed at that moment.
In a video posted on 21 April 2013, Amy Carlson introduces the First Contact Ground Crew.[28] The Galactic Free Press Website, associated with this video, is still available and has the transcript for this video available. Dated a day earlier, Amy Carlson writes about the current state of the world. She teaches that the Galactic Federation, Ashtar Command, and other celestial beings have representatives on Earth, with Mother and Father God presented as specially trained spiritual leaders sent to help humanity awaken to its divine nature and return to a state of unconditional love. Humanity’s awakening is described as a collective transformation in which people recognize the divine presence within themselves, open their hearts, and ultimately join a universal, multidimensional consciousness united through love. She then summarizes Sheldan Nidles who wrote about first contact previously and was responsible for founding the Ground Crew Project, a UFO religion, in the 1980s, going digital in 1996.
The First Contact Ground Crew grew in 2014, a transformational year for Love Has Won.[29] Archived webpages from this period reveal increasing emphasis on preparing humanity for "First Contact" and the transition into what followers described as a fifth-dimensional reality. The websites also became more organized, easier to navigate, graphics became more sophisticated, and public outreach increased. Most importantly, Amy's identity as Mother God became increasingly central. While earlier materials often emphasized broader spiritual concepts, later webpages increasingly emphasized Amy herself as the source of those teachings. Again, the transition was gradual, with a series of incremental changes that, when viewed together, reveal organizational transformation.
Unlike nineteenth-century religious movements, which often leave behind church minutes, annual reports, and denominational newspapers, Love Has Won developed almost entirely on the Internet. As a result, reconstructing its history requires an entirely different methodology. Rather than paging through bound church records, I found myself comparing archived websites captured days, months, and years apart by the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, searching through blog and forum posts, and looking at the changing imagery of the websites. The experience felt surprisingly familiar. Instead of comparing census schedules every ten years, I was comparing websites every few months. As I compared captures from different months and years, I noticed subtle yet important shifts. Entire paragraphs disappeared. New terminology emerged. Leadership titles changed. Donation requests became more prominent. The movement slowly developed an organizational structure that had not previously existed. Such changes represented the gradual evolution of an online community into something far more organized.
The next stage of Amy Carlson's story demonstrates exactly why that chronology matters. One of the most revealing discoveries came not from what appeared on the websites, but from what disappeared. During the earliest years, Amerith occupied a prominent role alongside Amy. Without archived websites, this transition becomes difficult to appreciate. Later interviews naturally reflect later beliefs. The archived webpages preserve earlier beliefs before they were revised. Genealogists encounter this phenomenon regularly when an obituary omits an estranged child, a family Bible only records select marriages, and memoirs often reinterpret childhood decades later. The Wayback Machine allows researchers to compare those perspectives across time rather than relying solely on retrospective accounts.
New organizational names appeared while existing doctrines expanded. Leadership changed repeatedly, mainly that of “Father God.” Websites were rewritten and public messaging shifted. What began as a relatively small online spiritual community gradually evolved into the organization that would eventually become known as Love Has Won. The first “Father God,” Amerith, who was once a co-creator of the Love Has Won Movement was publicly demonized as the reincarnation of Aleister Crowley after questioning whether Amy was, in fact, God. She turned against him and was “rescued” by Miguel/Michael.[30] Such a theme would dominate Love Has Won’s leadership. The image above shows the Father Gods as well as some brief relationships Amy had. These are taken from both news sources as well as Andrew-Ryan Pofaci’s website.[31]
The first capture of lovehaswon.org by Wayback Machine takes place on 18 November 2015.[32] Note, the website states that “FirstContactGroundCrewTeam.com and 5dspiritualhealing.com is solely owned and affiliated with LoveHasWon.org.” Interestingly, if you hover over the Instagram link at the bottom, it goes to Michael Silver7777 instead of simply motherandfathergod.
Miguel Silva became an important figure to help spearhead the organization. He became one of the most visible public representatives of the organization. According to former members, archived websites, and later documentary interviews, Michael served as spokesperson, administrator, and organizer during the First Contact Ground Crew years and the earliest stages of Love Has Won.[33] This distinction is important because many of the movement's practical functions appear to have rested with Michael rather than Amy. He owned the domain, managed the website, and owned organizational assets. He had control of the financials. Michael was placed on a pedestal when followers claimed that Michael had been cured of Stage IV cancer through Amy's spiritual intervention, a testimony that became an important element of the group's public messaging.[34] Whether or not such claims were medically substantiated is beyond the scope of genealogical inquiry, not to mention HIPAA, but the claims had no known solid, scientific evidence.
The first archived website under the name “Love Has Won” was archived by the Wayback Machine on 18 November 2015.[35] From a historical perspective, this represents far more than simple rebranding. Names carry meaning. Businesses change names following mergers, churches change names after denominational realignments, families adopt surnames after immigration; name changes generally occur when there is a substantial shift in circumstance. Love Has Won appears to represent precisely such a transition as the websites became more polished, livestreaming expanded, online stores appeared, and donation systems became more sophisticated. Amy Carlson increasingly occupied the unquestioned center of the movement's theology. The transformation had taken nearly a decade. Viewed through archived webpages, however, the progression becomes much clearer. What appeared sudden in later documentaries was, in reality, the product of years of gradual evolution.
On 18 November 2015, the Wayback Machine captured the main page of Love Has Won. By this point, Amy Carlson was prominently featured on the website, while one of its major offerings was “5D Spiritual Healing.”Spiritual Healing.”[36] Following the link preserved in the same Wayback Machine capture leads to a page advertising what the group called “Awakening Sessions.” These sessions were promoted as a means of overcoming past trauma, healing physically, mentally, and spiritually, and bringing an individual's vibrational frequencies back into balance. The concept of maintaining the correct “vibration” would become increasingly important. A person's behavior, emotions, and disagreements could later be interpreted through the language of energetic imbalance or improper frequency. The recommended donation per session was a “$77.77 love donation.” [37] The website reinforced the perceived effectiveness of these sessions through a separate testimonials page containing statements from individuals describing their experiences with the group's spiritual healing practices.[38] Amy was becoming the central public figure, spiritual healing was being packaged into defined services, and those services were being connected directly to financial contributions.
Health claims also occupied a growing portion of the Love Has Won website. A section titled “5D Medicine” included a list of ten foods purported to “expand consciousness,” many of which were otherwise ordinary foods commonly associated with healthy eating. [39] A separate “Natural Healing” section functioned more like a collection of blog posts, reproducing material from outside contributors and websites promoting alternative approaches to health. One article attributed to risearth.com claimed that chamomile and other teas possessed almost “superpowers,” including the ability to fight or cure cancer, while invoking scientific terminology involving RNA and DNA to lend credibility to the claims. Another promoted turmeric tea as a liver cleanser and attributed an extensive range of benefits to it, from reducing inflammation and improving the skin to stimulating bile secretion. [40] These pages are important because they demonstrate that alternative health claims were already being incorporated into Love Has Won's spiritual worldview by 2015. “5D Medicine” increasingly blurred the line between spiritual awakening, nutrition, and treatment of physical illness, a distinction that becomes particularly significant when examining the group's later attitudes toward conventional medical care and what happens to Amy.
By late 2015 and continuing into 2016, archived livestreams reveal another notable development. Amy Carlson's health had begun visibly deteriorating. On 15 October 2015, two female followers explained during a livestream that Amy would never seek medical treatment because conventional physicians could not understand what they believed to be the spiritual process of ascension. One follower stated that even when Amy reportedly requested to be taken to a hospital, they refused because they believed outside intervention represented a spiritual "hijacking."[41] From a historical standpoint, this livestream is extraordinarily important. It documents members' attitudes toward medical care years before Amy's ultimate death and functions much like a diary entry. Unlike retrospective interviews, it captures contemporary beliefs expressed while events were unfolding. Extremely important to context. Later, people will point to these clips when claiming medical neglect on the part of the members and public servants.
The next phase of this investigation examines how Love Has Won grew from an online spiritual community into a tightly controlled organization. Between 2016 and Amy Carlson's death in 2021, leadership became increasingly centralized, fundraising expanded, doctrinal claims intensified, and the movement entered the period for which it is now best known.
2016 – 2021, Love Has Won
By November 2015, the archived websites had adopted a new identity: Love Has Won. What had spent nearly a decade evolving through various online communities, including the Galactic Federation, Galactic Free Press, and First Contact Ground Crew, now possessed a recognizable name, increasingly sophisticated web infrastructure, and a growing online audience.[42] For historians and genealogists alike, this period presents a remarkable opportunity. Unlike many nineteenth-century religious movements that survive only through newspaper accounts or scattered correspondence, Love Has Won documented much of its own evolution in real time. Livestreams, archived websites, online stores, and donation pages collectively preserve an unusually detailed record of an organization developing almost entirely on the Internet. It is a twenty-first-century archive.
One aspect of Love Has Won deserves special attention from genealogists. The movement embraced livestreaming long before most organizations considered it a primary means of communication. Today, livestreaming seems ordinary, with Churches broadcasting services, universities streaming lectures, zoom meetings being used for businesses, and families using streaming services to talk to relatives who live far away. Unlike polished documentaries produced years later, livestreams preserve events as they unfolded. While this does not mean it is necessarily free from drama and/or scripted takes, it is less likely to fall prey to editing. Raw livestreaming footage can capture everyday conversations, video of the area around the streamer, celebrations, fights, and everything in between. People and media outlets often gravitate toward dramatic moments, but historians know that everyday life frequently reveals more than extraordinary events. A quiet conversation captured during a livestream may reveal interpersonal relationships, leadership structure, and organizational culture more effectively than hours of retrospective interviews. Future genealogists may come to view archived livestreams much as we view home movies today; not simply as entertainment, but as primary historical evidence documenting ordinary life.
By this point, another organizational pattern emerged. While Amy Carlson remained permanently identified as Mother God, the role of Father God continued to rotate among various men who entered—and many times later exited—the movement. When they exited, they were demonized. Past Father Gods were rumored to have stolent money from mother God, further discrediting past Father Gods.³
Follow the Money
As genealogists, we are not tasked with determining whether these accusations were true, but it is our responsibility to document such claims, identify who made them, and understand how they functioned within the organization's developing narrative. Financial appeals had become part of the public history of Love Has Won. One of the advantages of researching modern organizations is the availability of business records, hard records. Spiritual claims are safely placed on the side of faith with no tangible proof. Nonprofits must incorporate in order to gain 501 (c) 3 status and the tax benefits thereof. Properties had to be purchased under a name that could then be traced. Tax documents and filings became public.
Former members and documentary interviews consistently indicate that much of the movement's internet infrastructure and organizational assets were associated with Michael (Miguel) Silva during the early years.[43] Domain registrations, archived webpages, and organizational records collectively suggest that Michael played a central administrative role while Amy remained the movement's spiritual figurehead. This distinction reminds us that leadership and administration are not always synonymous. Remember, we saw back in 2015 that the Instagram link on the Love Has Won website was linked to “MichaelSilva7777.” Many organizations exhibit similar divisions of responsibility.
Organizations often revise their public image over time and religious organizations, specifically, Love Has Won was no exception. The archived webpages by the Wayback Machine, effectively, revealed these transitions. Sure, we would still have the interviews and remembrances, but memory is tricky and not always accurate. Imagine researching a church that destroyed every previous bulletin each Sunday before printing next week's edition. The most recent bulletin would be your historical proof and context, but that piece of proof would be quite limiting. The Wayback Machine effectively preserves those discarded bulletins and for genealogists, that preservation is invaluable.
By late 2018, Love Has Won experienced another milestone. According to property records and reporting by The Denver Post, follower John Robertson Lamboy, also known within the movement as Archangel Michael, purchased property in rural Colorado for approximately $63,000, providing the organization with what became its first relatively permanent residence.[44] The acquisition of property marked the movement's transition from a largely itinerant online ministry to a community occupying a fixed geographic location. The land they purchased was located near Moffat, Colorado, in Saguache County. The land here is known to be a mecca for new age spiritualists as it is known for its ancient spiritual connections to the Hopi ancestral migrations and creation narratives.[45]
By approximately 2018, another figure entered the movement who would fundamentally shape its final years. Jason Castillo assumed the title of Father God and remained associated with Amy until her death in 2021.[46] Former members consistently describe Jason's arrival as marking a significant change in organizational culture. Jason was emotional and volatile. He demanded greater isolation from outsiders, including a lack of medical care, and he aggressively enforced doctrine and verbally attacked anyone who questioned his leadership.[47] Former members describe only being allowed 5 hours of sleep per night, standing for long hours, and being berated anytime they rested. [48] The available reporting supports those as Love Has Won practices/allegations, while the surviving footage more directly supports describing Jason himself as verbally aggressive. CBS, for example, separately reported former-member allegations of limited sleep and requirements to remain standing.[49] As with earlier testimony, these accounts represent retrospective interviews and should be understood as such. Nevertheless, when viewed alongside archived livestreams documenting Amy's increasingly fragile condition, they provide important context for understanding the movement's final years.
According to the charitable organization summary on the Colorado Secretary of State Website, Love Has Won was originally established as a charitable organization in Colorado was on 11 March 2020.[50] Interestingly, Love Has Won was describing itself as a nonprofit before I can document its tax-exempt status. On 27 September 2016, an archived version of the group's website stated that it was in the process of acquiring “Non-Profit Charity Status.” [51] Less than a month later, a Wayback Machine capture from 26 October 2016 described LoveHasWon.org as a “Non Profit Spiritual Institution.” [52] The chronology becomes even more interesting when compared with the group's later Colorado charitable registration. That record reports that the organization had been established as a nonprofit/church in California on 11 November 2016. [53] I have not, however, located a corresponding California nonprofit registration. This does not prove that one never existed, only that I have not yet been able to independently substantiate the California origin reported in the later Colorado record. For now, the discrepancy remains an open research question.
The paper trail becomes considerably clearer several years later. At least two Colorado limited liability companies can be connected to individuals associated with Love Has Won. On 1 October 2019, Articles of Organization were filed for Galactic Central Café, LLC, with Ashley Peluso identified in the filing. [54] The company's subsequent filing history shows it becoming noncompliant on 1 January 2021, delinquent on 1 March 2021, and eventually being formally dissolved on 9 October 2024. [55] These records are particularly valuable because they preserve an administrative history independent of the group's spiritual claims, livestreams, and later recollections.
A second company, Gaia's Whole Healing Essentials, LLC, was organized in Colorado on 11 December 2019, with Ryan James Kramer identified as the individual forming the LLC. [56] Its subsequent filings provide another chronological trail through the final months of Amy Carlson's life and the period immediately following her death. The company's records document changes involving Ryan Kramer and Lauryn Suarez,[vii] [57] followed by a particularly interesting development on 11 May 2021, only weeks after Amy's death: the LLC changed its name to Mother Nature Natural Essentials LLC, with Ryan Kramer filing the document. On 10 February 2022, Miguel Lamboy became the registered agent.[58] The entity subsequently became delinquent in May 2022.[59]
For a genealogist, these seemingly mundane corporate filings are extraordinarily useful. A livestream can disappear. A Facebook page can be deleted. A website can be rewritten overnight. State business records, however, preserve names, dates, organizational changes, registered agents, and filing histories within a governmental record system. When combined with archived websites, they allow us to watch Love Has Won develop not merely as a spiritual movement, but as a collection of legal and commercial entities operating alongside the religious organization. This is precisely where traditional genealogical methodology becomes useful in researching an online movement: follow the people, follow the names, follow the addresses—and, when possible, follow the paperwork.
Toward the End
By early April 2021, family members had become increasingly concerned. Amy was looking more and more sickly, having begun turning blue due to colloidal silver use, another cure-all. According to reporting by The Denver Post, Amy's mother Linda Haythorne and former follower Ashley Pelshaw Ray repeatedly contacted authorities, requesting welfare checks after receiving reports that Amy appeared gravely ill. Linda later recalled contacting police departments, sheriff's offices, ambulance services, and prosecutors in an unsuccessful effort to secure intervention.[60] Amy Carlson died sometime in April 2021, with her body ultimately being discovered in Colorado on 28 April 2021. The members reportedly drove Amy around California, Oregon, and Colorado, dressed her up in Christmas lights and made what appeared to be a shrine of her upon her death.
Organizations often become easier to study after they cease to exist as records become publicly available, participants speak publicly, court filings emerge, and newspapers reconstruct timelines. Why no members of Love Have Won have been prosecuted for, at the very least, desecration of a corpse; I don’t understand why there has not been charges of medical neglect or a thorough investigation into how so many people, professionals included, could see a person dying in front of them and be content.
Genealogy in the Digital Age
Let's take a step back from Amy Carlson herself and examine what this case teaches us about genealogy in the digital age. More importantly, we will consider why tools like the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine may become just as indispensable to future genealogists as census schedules, probate files, and county deed books have been to generations before us. When I began this project, my objective seemed fairly straight forward.I wanted to reconstruct the genealogy of Amy Carlson within the context of Love Has Won. Amy Carlson became a case study. Genealogists and researchers have depended on a consistent foundation of records over the course of the last 200 or so years: birth records, marriage records, death records, burial records, church registries, land deeds, probate files, military records, and census schedules. These are still the backbone of genealogical investigations to date and probably always will be as these records give you the vital and “official” historical information to fill in your who, what, when, and where. The “Why” is always the most complicated component and as genealogists, we know that we do not always get to answer the why.
This investigation proved that nontraditional records helped answer the “Why’s,” which when I think back, makes sense. Government records are concerned with demographic information. They want to know the who, what, when and where. They generally want to know someone’s age, sex, and location and this mostly stems back to collecting revenue from citizens. Also, in a time of war, being able to quickly locate all males fit for service is of utmost importance to security. In this instance, my research depended heavily upon digital records: archived websites, livestreams, YouTube videos, Facebook discussions, podcasts, domain registrations, online newspaper articles, LinkedIn profiles, and digital photographs.
If there is one tool I hope every genealogist takes away from this case, it is the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine as it has become an archive. The Wayback Machine has accomplished archiving millions of websites and each archived capture becomes a historical document. Genealogists can see gradual changes and shifts in doctrine, attitude, and logistics of a person or persons or groups. Throughout this project I repeatedly compared archived captures of Love Has Won from different years, each snapshot preserving a moment in time. Those changes became visible only because someone had preserved earlier versions before they vanished.
Interestingly, the methodology never changed. The records did. I asked myself the same questions I would ask about a document found on any other repository, written or digital. I asked:
Who created this information?
Who supplied this information?
How has this information been stored?
Is it a primary, secondary, or tertiary source?
Why was it created?
Any known revisions?
How does the information fit in with other information collected?
The same questions apply to websites:
Who published this webpage?
Who controlled the organization?
When was it archived?
Had the website already been revised before the archive captured it?
Can another independent source corroborate the information?
The Genealogical Proof Standard applies just as comfortably to websites as it does to probate files. One lesson repeated itself throughout this investigation is the need for multiple independent sources to prove corroborate evidence. Facebook suggested Linda's maiden name while Kansas census records confirmed Linda Krell existed. Marriage announcements connected the Krell family and Probate records identified Amy among Dennis Carlson's heirs. Yearbooks documented Linda's school activities. The HBO documentary identified family members. The Wayback Machine documented organizational changes. No single record solved the mystery. Modern research simply expands the kinds of records available for comparison.
In the digital age, genealogy without archived sources may become impossible. Many jobs and agencies are paperless, leaving everything to be stored in the digital ether. The Internet is not seen as one giant repository; though, there is much information on the internet. The need to validate, corroborate, and substantiate digital records is not a new genealogical concept, it is the genealogical proof standard in action in a digital age.
[1] VICE, “Meet 'Mother God:' The Leader of Love Has Won | False Gods,” video, uploaded 09 March 2021; YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRxD3eH19hE : accessed 22 May 2026).
[2] Dr. Phil, “Part 1 Playing God: Amy Carlson and the Love Has Won Cult | Mystery and Murder: Analysis By Dr. Phil,” video, uploaded 22 May 2025; YouTube: The Dr. Phil Podcast (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKEgxqxCLH4 : accessed 12 May 2026).
[3] Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God. Directed by Hannah Olson. HBO Documentary Films, 2023.
[4] Ancestry.com. Texas, U.S., Marriage Index, 1824-2021 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Texas Department of State Health Services; Austin, Texas; Texas Marriage Index, 1966-2021
[5] "Texas, Birth Index, 1903-1997." Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 15 November 2025. From "Texas, Birth Index, 1903-1997." Database and images. Ancestry. http://www.ancestry.com : 2005. Citing Texas Department of State Health Services.
[6] “Texas, U.S., Marriage Index, 1824-2021,” database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/54584741?mark=7b22746f6b656e223a226d4166423464665a4b686678306f737958477a55616676514e6e715933556c33572f6a475273464b4f36773d222c22746f6b656e5f76657273696f6e223a225632227d : accessed 6 February 2026), marriage index, Amy Carlson and Matthew Stroud, 5 September 2000, Dallas, TX, certificate no. 25532000127973. & “Texas Marriage/Divorce Indexes by Year,” database, Texas Health and Human Services (https://www.dshs.texas.gov/vital-statistics/marriage-divorce-records/marriage-divorce-indexes : accessed 13 May 2026), marriage index, Matthew A Stroud and Amy Carlson, 5 September 2000, Dallas, TX, certificate no. 127973; citing Texas Department of State Health Services, marriage year 2000.
[7] “Texas Marriage/Divorce Indexes by Year,” database, Texas Health and Human Services (https://www.dshs.texas.gov/vital-statistics/marriage-divorce-records/marriage-divorce-indexes : accessed 13 May 2026), marriage index, Matthew A Stroud and Trisha Gibbs, 9 June 2007, Dallas, TX, certificate no. 0832209; citing Texas Department of State Health Services, marriage year 2007.
[8] Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God. Directed by Hannah Olson. HBO Documentary Films, 2023.
[9] LinkedIn profile on Linkedin.com. Redacted information for privacy.
[10] Profaci, Andrew-Ryan. (2023) The War on Love ‘Online’. Available at: https://thewaronlove.com/father-gods-of-love-has-won/ (Accessed: 20 May 2026).
[11] McGraw, Phil. “How She Got Here | Playing God: Amy Carlson and the Love Has Won Cult.” YouTube. Accessed January 26, 2026. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRlk1CjyfmU.
[12] Christopher Moyer, “From ‘Mother God’ to Mummified Corpse: Inside the Fringe Spiritual Sect ‘Love Has Won’,” Rolling Stone, Digital (November 2021), online edition, Rolling Stone (https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/love-has-won-amy-carlson-mother-god-1254916/ : 14 May 2026).
[13] Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God, directed by Hannah Olson (HBO Documentary Films, 2023), citing episode 1.
[14] Ibid.,
[15] Internet Archive, Wayback Machine, https://web.archive.org (accessed July 2026).
[16] Internet Archive, archived captures of First Contact Ground Crew, 2014–2015.
[17] Internet Archive, Wayback Machine, (https://archive.org/details/wayback-machine-1996 : accessed 7 August 7, 2026).
[18] “Lightworkers.org main page,” Lightworkers.org, HTML reprint, Lightworkers.org (http://www.lightworkers.org/) : originally archived 19 August 2006, no longer posted); archived at WayBack Machine (https://web.archive.org/web/20060819195933/http://www.lightworkers.org/ : accessed 6 August 2026).
[19] “Lightworkers.org main page,” Lightworkers.org, HTML reprint, Lightworkers.org (http://www.lightworkers.org/) : originally archived 4 Nov 2008, no longer posted); archived at WayBack Machine (https://web.archive.org/web/20060819195933/http://www.lightworkers.org/ : accessed 6 August 2026).
[20] “Lightworkers.org Amerith Blog,” Lightworkers.org, HTML reprint, Lightworkers.org (http://www.lightworkers.org/) : originally archived 29 October 2007, no longer posted); archived at WayBack Machine (https://web.archive.org/web/20080915052221/http://lightworkers.org/user/3113 : accessed 6 August 2026).
[21] “Lightworkers.org Amilia Blog,” Lightworkers.org, HTML reprint, Lightworkers.org (http://www.lightworkers.org/) : originally archived 15 Sep 2008, no longer posted); archived at WayBack Machine (https://web.archive.org/web/20080915052221/http://lightworkers.org/amilia : accessed 6 August 2026).
[22] “Lightworkers.org Amilia Blog,” Lightworkers.org, HTML reprint, Lightworkers.org (http://www.lightworkers.org/) : originally archived 3 May 2008, no longer posted); archived at WayBack Machine (https://web.archive.org/web/20080503062158/http://www.lightworkers.org/amilia : accessed 6 August 2026).
[23] “Lightworkers.org Amilia Blog,” Lightworkers.org, HTML reprint, Lightworkers.org (http://www.lightworkers.org/) : originally archived 3 May 2008, no longer posted); archived at WayBack Machine (https://web.archive.org/web/20080503062158/http://www.lightworkers.org/amilia : accessed 6 August 2026).
[24] “Lightworkers.org Amilia Blog,” Lightworkers.org, HTML reprint, Lightworkers.org (http://www.lightworkers.org/) : originally archived 15 October 2008, no longer posted); archived at WayBack Machine (https://web.archive.org/web/20081015201022/http://www.lightworkers.org/taxonomy/termb/blog/361/2272: accessed 6 August 2026).
[25] "Galactic Federation of Light Homepage," Galactic Federation of Light, HTML reprint, Homepage(https://http://galacticfederationoflight.info/) : originally archived 11 October 2008, no longer posted); archived at WayBack Machine (https://web.archive.org/web/20120206100732/http://galacticfederationoflight.info/ : accessed 22 May 2026).
[26] "Ashtar Galactic Command Worldwide Disclosure 2012," Galactic Federation of Light, HTML reprint, Worldwide Disclosure 2012(https://http://galacticfederationoflight.info/) : originally archived 3 February 2012, no longer posted); archived at WayBack Machine (https://web.archive.org/web/20120206100732/http://galacticfederationoflight.info/ : accessed 22 May 2026).
[27] Internet Archive, Wayback Machine, archived captures of Galactic Free Press, 2012–2013, https://web.archive.org.
[28] Amy Carlson, “First Contact and Introduction to First Contact Ground Crew Team,” video, uploaded 21 April 2013; YouTube: LoveHasWon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTuYk-bvVho : accessed 19 August 2026), Amy Carlson, First Contact Ground Crew.
[29] "First Contact Ground Team,"Love Has Won, HTML reprint, (http://firstcontactgroundcrewteam.tumblr.com/) : originally archived 19 December 2015, no longer posted); archived at WayBack Machine ( https://web.archive.org/web/20151219215845/http://firstcontactgroundcrewteam.tumblr.com/) : accessed 4 August 2026).
[30] Profaci, Andrew-Ryan. (2023) The War on Love ‘Online’. Available at: https://thewaronlove.com/father-gods-of-love-has-won/ (Accessed: 20 May 2026).
[31] Ibid.
[32] "Love Has Won mainpage,"Love Has Won, , HTML reprint, (http://lovehaswon.org/) : originally archived 18 November 2015, no longer posted); archived at WayBack Machine (https://web.archive.org/web/20151118011605/http://lovehaswon.org/) : accessed 22 May 2026).
[33] Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God. Directed by Hannah Olson. HBO Documentary Films, 2023, episode 1.
[34] Sam Tabachnik, "Inside Love Has Won: How an Internet Cult Became a Colorado Death Investigation," The Denver Post, May 16, 2021.
[35] "Love Has Won main page,"Love Has Won, , HTML reprint, (http://lovehaswon.org/) : originally archived 18 November 2015, no longer posted); archived at WayBack Machine (https://web.archive.org/web/20151118011605/http://lovehaswon.org/) : accesed 22 May 2026).
[36] "Love Has Won mainpage,"Love Has Won, HTML reprint, (http://www.lovehaswon.org/) : originally archived 18 November 2015, no longer posted); archived at WayBack Machine (https://web.archive.org/web/20151118011605/http://www.lovehaswon.org/ : accessed 4 August 2026).
[37] "5D Spiritual Healing,"Love Has Won, HTML reprint, (http://www.lovehaswon.org/awaken-to-5d/) : originally archived 18 November 2015, no longer posted); archived at WayBack Machine (https://web.archive.org/web/20151118052939/http://www.lovehaswon.org/awaken-to-5d/: accessed 4 August 2026).
[38] "Testimonials,"Love Has Won, HTML reprint, (http://www.lovehaswon.org/testimonials/) : originally archived 18 November 2015, no longer posted); archived at WayBack Machine (https://web.archive.org/web/20151118011605/http://www.lovehaswon.org/testimonials : accessed 21 August 2026)
[39] "5D Medicine,"Love Has Won, HTML reprint, (http://www.lovehaswon.org/5d-medicine/) : originally archived 18 November 2015, no longer posted); archived at WayBack Machine (https://web.archive.org/web/20151118022846/http://www.lovehaswon.org/5d-medicine/: accessed 21 August 2026).
[40] "Natural Healing,"Love Has Won, HTML reprint, (http://www.lovehaswon.org/ natural-healing/) : originally archived 18 November 2015, no longer posted); archived at WayBack Machine https://web.archive.org/web/20151118223047/http://www.lovehaswon.org/natural-healing/ accessed 21 August 2026).
[41] Sam Tabachnik, "Inside Love Has Won: How an Internet Cult Became a Colorado Death Investigation," The Denver Post, May 16, 2021.
[42] Ibid.
[43] Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God. Directed by Hannah Olson. HBO Documentary Films, 2023, episode 2.
[44] Ibid.
[45] hopi
[46] Profaci, Andrew-Ryan. (2023) The War on Love ‘Online’. Available at: https://thewaronlove.com/father-gods-of-love-has-won/ (Accessed: 20 May 2026).
[47] Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God. Directed by Hannah Olson. HBO Documentary Films, 2023, episodes 2-3.
[48] Sarles, Jesse, “Who Is Amy Carlson? Cult Leader Whose Death in Colorado Made Headlines Is Now the Subject of an HBO Documentary,” CBS News, 14 November 2023, (https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/amy-carlson-hbo-love-has-won-cult-colorado-documentary/ : accessed 3 December 2025).
[49] “Local News,” database, CBS News (https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/what-is-love-has-won-cult-founder-amy-carlson-mummified-followers/?utm_source=chatgpt.com : accessed 22 August 2026), Love Has Won; citing database with images online.
[50] Crestone County, Colorado, image of Tax Registry, Irs.gov (https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/ : accessed 6 August 2026), EIN: 83-3069157, name: LOVEHASWON.
[51] Ibid.,
[52] "Homepage,"Love Has Won, HTML reprint, (http://www.lovehaswon.org/) : originally archived 27 October 2016, no longer posted); archived at WayBack Machine (https://web.archive.org/web/20161027065323/http://www.lovehaswon.org/: accessed 21 August 2026)
[53] Crestone County, Colorado, image of Tax Registry, Irs.gov (https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/ : accessed 6 August 2026), EIN: 83-3069157, name: LOVEHASWON.
[54] "Articles of Organization," Colorado Secretary of State Business Entity Search, database with images, Coloradosos.gov (https://www.sos.state.co.us/biz/ViewImage.do?masterFileId=20191795487&fileId=20191795487: accessed 6 August 2026), business name searched: Galactic
[55] "History and Documents," Colorado Secretary of State Business Entity Search, database with images, Coloradosos.gov (https://www.sos.state.co.us/biz/BusinessEntityDetail.do?quitButtonDestination=BusinessEntityResults&nameTyp=ENT&masterFileId=20191795487&entityId2=20191795487&fileId=20191795487&srchTyp=ENTITY: accessed 6 August 2026), business name searched: Galactic.
[56] "Summary," Colorado Secretary of State Business Entity Search, database with images, Coloradosos.gov (https://www.coloradosos.gov/biz/BusinessEntityHistory.do?quitButtonDestination=BusinessEntityDetail&pi1=1&nameTyp=ENT&masterFileId=20198004506&entityId2=&srchTyp= : accessed 6 August 2026), ID: 20198004506, name searched: Miguel Lamboy.
[57] "Statement of Change," Colorado Secretary of State Business Entity Search, database with images, Coloradosos.gov (https://www.sos.state.co.us/biz/ViewImage.do?masterFileId=20198004506&fileId=20211308234: accessed 6 August 2026), ID: 20198004506, business name searched: Gaia’s.
[58] “Summary," Colorado Secretary of State Business Entity Search, database with images, Coloradosos.gov (https://www.sos.state.co.us/biz/ViewImage.do?masterFileId=20198004506&fileId=20221149813: accessed 6 August 2026), ID: 20198004506, name searched: Miguel Lamboy.
[59] “History and Documents," Colorado Secretary of State Business Entity Search, database with images, Coloradosos.gov (https://www.sos.state.co.us/biz/BusinessEntityHistory.do?quitButtonDestination=BusinessEntityDetail&pi1=1&nameTyp=ENT&masterFileId=20198004506&entityId2=&srchTyp= : accessed 6 August 2026), ID: 20198004506, business name searched: Mother Nature.
[60] Sam Tabachnik, "Inside Love Has Won: How an Internet Cult Became a Colorado Death Investigation," The Denver Post, May 16, 2021.
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