I think the current title reflects the question many Unification members might have, and the answers, such as Dr. Wilson offers, would be one of many answers to read about here. Would you agree?

Yes, of course, "decision-making should lie within each family". That is what I have been fighting for for many years. Nevertheless a real "family federation" network is still going to have some kind of structure, meaning leadership, democratically elected as respresentatives. It would be an interesting exercise, for FFWPU to refect upon, to propose such a structure and see where FFWPU falls short. It would also clarify that members of the founding family have no leadership role in it but merely advisory.

Good idea about summiting questions ahead of the Q&A time.

Submitted by Brian Sabourin

Like most Unificationists, I always assumed Father and Mother were united and loved one another. I remember many speeches where I witnessed Father praising Mother and even declaring their unity. I remember how beautiful their exchanges were when Mother was conducting the World Tour for Women's Federation. They sang songs together while we all watched and witnessed what we thought was the behavior of a True Couple. My own personal experiences with both Father and Mother over the years confirmed and reinforced my understanding of their unity with one another. That's why it has been so difficult to witness events and hear words that defy that long standing faith and understanding. The evidence of differences in their understanding of God's Word and Providence is now very clear and obvious and no amount of theological wrangling and resolve the obvious differences. To deny the existence of these differences is an act of both personal and institutional denial and obfuscation. Here is just one examples that I personally experienced:

In late 2005 (I don't remember the specific date) I attended Hoon Dok Hae in East Garden when True Parents returned to America from Korea. The room was full and since I needed to leave early to make it to work I sat in the back. When True Parents came in Father sat down in front and Mother sat next to him. As they sat down, they were talking heatedly in Korean with one another. It was obvious that they were having some kind of argument but Peter Kim was not translating. Then, all of a sudden, Mother got up and stormed out of the room. Father called her to come back, but she just left. I was shocked to see this, but then something even more shocking took place. Father told Peter Kim to translate and Father shouted to Mr. Kamiyama and told him to stand up. Mr. Kamiyama stood up and Father shouted, saying very strongly, "Kamiyama, who are you going to follow, Mother or Father?" Mr. Kamiyama then shouted back, "Of course, I will follow You Father!" Father then said the same thing two more times and Mr. Kamiyama repeated even more strongly that he would only and always follow Father and not Mother. Then Father did the same thing with another leader, I think it was Rev. Kwak, and the same response was emphatically given. Next, Father addressed the entire audience, telling us to stand up as he very strongly asked us in broken English (Peter Kim helped with translation), "Who are you going to follow, Father or Mother?" We unanimously responded with a strong shout of "We will follow you, Father!" He asked us three times and we responded three times in the same manner - "We will follow you Father!" - then he told us to sit down and instructed Peter Kim to begin Hoon Dok Hae.

Well, I am sure I was not the only person in that audience who was shocked to witness this! In fact, I felt somewhat relieved because I had some degree of guilt over my own marital conflicts. Seeing Father and Mother fighting reassured me that I was not alone! However, I could not understand at that time why Father asked us to state who we were going to follow - him or Mother. Obviously, they were not arguing over who should do the dishes. Their argument was over who members should primarily follow - Father or Mother. I had always assumed that Mother was 100% aligned with Father's teachings and providential instructions, and this exchange caused me, for the first time, to wonder if that was indeed the case.

So, when we attempt to address this issue of the unity/disunity between Father and Mother, it is a waste of time to simply state beliefs. Evidence is needed. I have seen and experienced enough evidence to know that my early assumptions as to their unity were naive. But their disunity is not over a small matter of marital challenges, it involves the Word and Providence of God. It has now become glaringly apparent that they did not share the same understanding as to God's Providence and the Principle of Restoration that Father suffered so long to reveal. The evidence speaks for itself.