[Freedom]

You have come to the right place, and your concerns are well-rooted. First off, don’t feel bad about not understanding his LC involvement. It’s not meant to be understood by anyone except fellow LC members. Even in relation to other Christians, LC members avoid contact with them and will act aloof when they must interact with outside Christians. The LC is an environment that they will introduce newcomers to gradually (so as not to freak them out). In the LC, their so-called “spirituality” is a whole different world.

I would go so far as to separate the spirituality some members possess as being anything related to the Christian faith. To some members' spirituality is shouting “Oh Lord Jesus” at the top of their lungs, the louder the better. To some members, their spirituality is legalism: not celebrating holidays like Christmas, not going to movie theaters, not having a TV in the house, etc. To other members, spirituality is spending time socializing with other members, attending meetings every night, etc. Simply put, it’s not easy to tell what the driving force is behind the spirituality of any individual LC member. It could be any number of things. Be careful until you understand what he considers to be his “spirituality”.

Regarding the FTT, it’s where LC members go when they graduate from college. FTT attendance is basically an unspoken expectation for college graduates (and a college degree is a prerequisite). It is a two year commitment at their center in Anaheim, and they now have an additional one year extension that graduates are attending on the east coast in Boston. Additionally, they highly encourage graduates of the FTT to “serve full-time”, meaning they will be sent to a city to proselytize and recruit on the college campus in that city. It is thus highly likely that FTT graduates won’t function in a normal role in society upon graduation. They would push every young LC member to attend if they could do that. Those who don't attend aren't considered to be of any value in the LC. It is worth asking the question: what kind of Christian group would need to train all members in their ways for members to be considered of any value? Why would members need a two year training to be considered “useful”?

As far as the FTTA itself is concerned, some things have been stated already. There are strict rules about contact with the opposite sex, dress code, and attendees have to adhere to a strict schedule. Basically, every aspect of their life is controlled (and these are adults in their mid to late 20’s, mind you). Internet use is highly limited (this controls the flow of information to attendees). The FTT leaders would call this ‘training’, but I would call it control, pure and simple. I don’t just say this for no reason. Many friends of mine have gone. They always came back differently, and this really helped me to see what the FTTA really was. My friends became robots who only know how to do one thing, repeat the words of Witness Lee, who has been dead for almost 20 years. I knew people who went to the FTTA as good friends of mine, who loved to hang out, and they came back as people who were distant, who would hardly talk to me.