Introduction

The LSM Cult: The Liites

The Liites are a pseudo-Christian, Buddhist religion headquartered in Anaheim, California, USA under the title, "Living Stream Ministry" (LSM). In order to protect the secrecy of the organization, the LSM does not take a name for its subsidiary cell-franchises and aggressively sues anyone who attempts to shine attention on its activities. Franchises of the Local Church can be located in phone books under the nondescript heading "The Church in" followed by the name of the city where the cell is incorporated for business. The organization is also known among members as "The Lord's Recovery" or simply "The Church."

Although its dogmas can be described approximately as Chinese folk-Buddhist, the Local Church of Witness Lee couches these dogmas in Christian terminology while maintaining sharp antagonism against Christianity itself. It markets its own version of the Bible which it calls the "Recovery Version," a name that explains its pseudo- and anti-Christian beliefs as "recovering" the Buddhist doctrinal roots its founder believed underlie Christianity. Its founder, Chang-Shou Li, known to his followers as "Witness Lee," denied that the organization he founded had Buddhist roots. In the United States, the Local Church continues to hold a majority of Americans in membership, with a substantial number of Mandarin-speaking Chinese transplants who dominate the leadership.