Cry Not for Me but for the World

Good is often followed by the bad. Some people drew mustaches
on my picture, trying to associate me with Hitler.
They called me “anti-Semitic” and claimed I taught against
Jews. Trouble also happened with Christians. As the number of
young people following me and the number of ministers who wanted
to learn the Principle increased, America’s established churches also
began to persecute me. Lastly, leftists in America reacted against
my position that it was America’s responsibility to stop the spread of
communism in the world. They, too, began to look for ways to stop
my activities.
As our popularity grew, all kinds of misgivings and doubts began
to be raised about me. Young people, inspired to spread my teachings,
had left college or quit their jobs to travel around the country to teach
and raise funds for our work. Their parents understandably became
concerned about their well-being.
Furthermore, the United States had become embroiled in the
Watergate crisis. I met with President Richard Nixon to urge him to
seek God’s will in leading the nation. I issued an appeal to the American
people to “forgive, love, and unite” around the position of the
president. This sparked opposition from the leftist news media. Things
that previously had not been an issue suddenly came pressing down
upon me. At the same time, conservatives said I was too liberal and that
my teachings would break down traditional values.
Many Christians were unhappy about the new understanding of
the cross that I was teaching: Jesus came as the Messiah, and it was
not God’s predestined will that he be crucified. With the execution
of Jesus, God’s plan for the kingdom of peace went awry. If Israel had
received Jesus as the Messiah, he could have brought about a world
of peace, uniting cultures and religions of the East and West. Jesus,
however, died on the cross, and God’s work of complete salvation
was delayed until the Second Coming. This understanding of the
cross brought a great deal of opposition. Established churches and
the Jewish community both came to regard me as their enemy. They
tried any number of ways to have me removed from America,
each for their own different reasons.
Ultimately, I was imprisoned once again. All I did was work to
reestablish the morality of America and restore it to be a country in
line with God’s will, but I was accused of not paying my taxes. I was
well past my sixtieth birthday by this time.
During the first year I was in America, money received as donations
from around the world was placed in a bank account in New
York in my name, held in trust for the church, a practice common in
some denominations. The funds that were in this account for three
years produced interest income, and I was indicted on the charge of
not paying taxes on about $7,500. Normally a fine would be charged,
but I was imprisoned in the federal correctional institution in Danbury,
Connecticut, on July 20, 1984.
On the day before reporting to the Danbury prison, I held my final
gathering of members at the Belvedere training center in Tarrytown,
New York. Members filled the property and shed tears as they prayed
for me. Thousands of people who had followed me gathered at Belvedere
that day. I raised my voice and told them not to lose heart.
“I am innocent,” I said. “I have done nothing wrong.”
“I can see the bright light of hope rising from beyond Danbury,” I
told them. “Don’t cry for me, but cry for America. Love America, and
pray for America.”
I stood before the young people immersed in sadness and held up
my fists as a sign of hope.
The statement I made prior to entering the prison caused a great
stir among religious people. A “Common Suffering Fellowship” was
initiated, and there was a wave of prayers to support me. The Common
Suffering Fellowship was a groundswell of support of clergy from all
denominations and from other religions concerned about the attack on
religious freedom in America.
On the day that I went to prison, I had nothing to fear. I know life
in jail. This was not the case with the people around me, however. They
were concerned that some people strongly opposed to me would do
something to end my life. I headed to prison with my head held high.