Mother Ann Lee

Personal Statement : Hello, my name is ‘Mother’ Ann Lee and I was born on February 29, 1736 in Manchester, United Kingdom. I didn’t get a formal education and never learned how to read or write because I was sent to work early in a cotton factory along with my brothers and sisters. In 1758 I joined a society called the Shaking Quakers, or Shakers. We worshipped an open confession of sin, and the second appearance of Christ. I had a revelation that I was the second coming of Christ or the female counterpart of Christ. After marrying a Shaker, Abraham Standerin, I became obsessed with a morbid repugnance toward marriage and a conviction of the sin of sexual relations which caused my great mental suffering. In 1770, I was acknowledged by the society of Shakers as their leader and thereafter called Ann the Word, and Mother Ann. I began to "speak with tongues" and to preach openly against marriage and sexual intercourse. 
Issues : An obstacle that I faced was that my  group (the Shakers) were persecuted because our beliefs were different from mainstream Christian ideology. Because we preached against war and would not bear arms or take oaths, we were accused of pro-British sympathies and secret correspondence. My group were pacifists,and we did not side with either the British or the colonists ; I was neutral during the American Revolution. In July 1780, me and my followers were arrested by the Albany County Commissioners for Detecting Conspiracy and imprisoned on charges of high treason, but I was released. However, to the mainstream, I was still thought of as too radical and as a result of that I encountered violent mobs.
Solutions: To escape the persecution and to find a place where our religion could take root, me and a small group of eight others, including my brother, niece, and husband, sailed to America in 1774. We established a communal farm in Watervliet, New York. In the summer of 1776 I joined the Shaker group near Albany. Here for three and a half years we lived together and held our religious meetings. I continued to have visions and revelations concerning the conduct of the "Church." My followers called themselves "the first witnesses of the Gospel of Christ's Second Appearing". I was regarded as the second appearance of Christ, Jesus having been the first, and we were both necessary for the complete revelation of the Father-Mother God. In May 1781 me and some of my followers started on a tour through New England where there were scattered groups of Shakers. I gave practical messages and encouraged simple honesty, frugality, and industry; urging people to "put your hands to work, and give your hearts to God." I returned to Watervliet in July 1783 and died there in September of 1784. My followers believed that I embodied all the perfections of God in female form ; that I was Christ’s female counterpart. I preached that sinfulness could be avoided by not treating men and women equally, and by keeping them separated in order to prevent any sort of temptation leading to impure acts. I preached that celibacy and confession of sin were essential for salvation. My mission throughout New England was especially successful in converting groups who were already outside of the mainstream of New England Protestantism, including followers of Shadrack Ireland.
Relationships to Others: I would feel uncomfortable sitting next to Lucretia Mott and Angelina Grimke, and I would feel comfortable sitting next to Charles Grandison Finney and Lyman Beecher.