More than 50 years ago, as a young American searching for meaning during a period of political and personal upheaval, I encountered the Unification movement. What first moved me was not doctrine or argument, but something more basic: a sense that my heart, which felt closed and strained during my university years, was reawakening. Like many people who discover a spiritual path — whether inside established traditions or far outside them — I chose to follow what I felt was my calling because something in me changed for the better. Over the years, I have had opportunities to observe the movement’s founders in moments when their ideals were tested, such as legal challenges. In 1982, I attended Reverend Moon Sun-myung’s court proceedings in New York on several occasions and joined the Moons for a quick lunch during court recess. In 1984, I met with the Moons at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, alongside French Ambassador Maurice Robert and Colombian Ambassador Jose Maria Chaves, during visiting hours. We sat together at a picnic table in the visitor’s