Sun Myung Moon
January 1, 1988
Excerpts
Seoul, Korea
On stage at the Little Angels Performing Arts Center, Father and Mother sing after the evening entertainment on God's Day 1988
After Father's tearful prayer at 12:00 midnight, Father wrote in Chinese calligraphy the motto for 1988: "The Unification of the Fatherland," the same as last year's motto. Then he spoke for three hours to the over 1,000 members gathered in the national headquarters church in Seoul. He explained that the time is now ripe for us to take responsibility for the unification of the Fatherland.
When they meet among themselves, many ministers and the members of their congregations tend to make only idle conversation. In their worship services they may call out to God, but their love for God is too often expressed only in words. What we should do is center on God wherever we are and whatever we are talking about.
Pastors like to talk about God, but every person's God seems to be different from all the others. Everybody has his own interpretation of the Bible. People tend to insist that their own pastor speaks the truth better than any other pastor. But such insistence only pits their own denomination against all the others. We must all get beyond these sectarian prejudices and come together in oneness under one God.
The Bible clearly teaches that people should unite and not create division among themselves. We are all talking about God -- which must be one and the same since there is only one God, one Holy Spirit.
Unification can happen because there is only one God, the absolute God. The desperate desire of all human beings is one: to reach the heart of the one God. This is the simple yet profound answer to the question of why we were created. Every being in the world comes from and exists for one God. The love of God is the nucleus of creation.
Father speaks on God's Day morning.
I'm Not Going to Sit Quietly
During the last 45 years, the established churches have persecuted the Unification Church in every way possible. I have been enduring all these trials. However, from this year on I will not merely endure. Lately the established churches have even started a "Boycott McCol" campaign.
It's disappointing that they can't yet recognize the value of the Principle and our movement. If I were an evil person, their campaign might be justifiable. But when I explain my intentions to them and they still go on with their campaign, I'm not going to sit quietly anymore.
Forty years ago I was a pitiful man, so pitiful that even dogs wouldn't pay attention to me, but what about now?
Now all over the world the media want to know what I am saying and what I am doing. Until today, the media could get away with all kinds of lies about me, but they can't do it now. Now people all over the world respect me as a great teacher. And you know that God likes me!
Think about what the Unification Church has done. We have put tremendous effort into promoting inter-religious dialogue. And we have done amazing things for the sake of the nation of Korea. We have spent a lot of money -- not for the Unification Church itself, but for the benefit of the nation and the world.
It's not easy to unify the whole world. We are going to start by unifying the religions. It's impossible with the first generation, but we'll do it with the second and third generations. Communism has been working to pit religions against each other. We will begin universities that teach courses on each of the major religions, with a focus on bringing them together. Our children and grandchildren will go to these universities, and many will become professors. Eventually we'll have a worldwide confederation of universities.
Not only that, but we are also going to ask representatives of Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism to put together a kind of Bible that will contain scriptures of all the different religions. Do you think that's a good idea or not?
Destiny Is With Us
Do you think I'm doing the right thing in bringing 7,000 ministers to Korea and educating them? What are my hopes for those 7,000 ministers? To unify Christianity. It's interesting to note that when ministers get together to pray or have a discussion among themselves, they frequently argue. But if there is even one Unification Church member guiding their group, their discussion proceeds harmoniously and peacefully, doesn't it? That means Heavenly Father is with us; destiny is with the Unification Church. Guess who knows the most about all the denominations? Our members. Our members have been taught by God, not just me.
We have members of all kinds of denominational back- grounds, and they are all over the world, even in the Soviet Union and China. Those brave members are alone right now, but on day they will all return with a good feeling of having been successful. Communist rulers force their people to fight with arms, but our members, even those with graduate degrees, volunteer to be foot soldiers for the liberation of mankind from Satan. These kinds of competent people are in our church. This means our church's future is' bright, does it not?
We have to unify the world. That is why we are building a worldwide peace highway. When the highway reaches the Buddhist countries, the Buddhists will build it. When it reaches the Islamic countries, the Muslims will continue building it. It will soon get to that stage.
Do you believe that our claim to unify Korea is only words? It is not. We have the predestined responsibility to save the nation of Korea. Liberating Korea is directly connected to liberating the communist world and the democratic world.
Forty years ago when I was released from prison, I promised to God that I would unify the country. What kind of person would pray to God, while fleeing across the 38th parallel, that he would come back and liberate North Korea?
Many people in the North compare the communist plan for unification with our idea of unification and find that our concept is superior. No other religion has ever tried to establish the unification of the world. Only the Unification Church. The task of unification is the desire of God. After we restore America, China, and Japan, we can liberate Korea.
I want to unify the nation of Korea so much that I am willing to forget all the bad times I experienced in Korea. I created the Citizen's Federation for the Unification of the Fatherland for this reason. Don't you think it's right that I created this group? Then are you going to just agree and watch, or are you going to participate?
God is always watching over this country, because if Korea goes down, the whole world will go down. I want all Koreans, not just myself, to be patriots for Korea. I know that Korea is depending on me. When I recently took a trip to the east coast of Korea with Mother and the children, I got a feeling for the general mood of the country. We have to educate the people in this nation and crush communism; that is my duty and the duty of all Unification Church members.
A spirited yute game with the True Family on January 2, the Day of Victory of Love.
Are You Going Ahead of Me?
Truth is greater than the bomb. Why? The bomb is master only during wartime, but the truth is always master -- in the past, the present, and the future. Our priority is to educate the people in this nation. If one Moonie can visit 100 houses in a day, 20,000 members can visit 200,000 houses a day. Then it won't take long to visit every house in Seoul. We have that kind of power. Do you understand? Are you going to fulfill or not? All of you men, lift your heads up. One of these days if I ask you to go to North Korea, will you go?
You all said that you will go to North Korea, so you can't say you won't, right? When you do, are you going to go alone or are you going to go with all the 40 million people of this country? Are you going to follow me or go ahead of me? Are you going to take me with you or shall I take you all with me? The 600,000 first-generation Israelites didn't make it to Canaan because they only followed Moses instead of taking Moses with them. Those who only want to follow Rev. Moon will not make it. You all have to go ahead of me. You all know that well succeed and you'll receive glory in the end. That is why you are going to go with me, right? What are you living for? For your husband, for your children? Even if you lose your wife, husband, or children, you still have to unify Korea. This is the path I have walked. Living for the sake of God's will is the only way.
All of your ancestors in the spirit world also want to unify the country. Whatever sacrifice you have to pay, you should be willing to pay. I want to do it too. There's no one else in the world who could unify Korea -- not in America, not in Japan, and of course, not in any communist country. Korea is indebted to the world, and should be ashamed. You all should be in the front line against communism so you can maintain Korea's dignity. Do not let your destiny slip by.
I went through suffering, and I have established a foundation. It is easy for you now to stay on that foundation. Are you women going to freely offer your husbands for this purpose? Are you husbands going to offer your wives? One or the other of you must devote yourself to the cause of God. I'll explain to you the reason if you don't know: We must complete the unification. To do that we must be absolutely dedicated. That is why I have been to prison so many times, even in America.
God Asked Me to Be Steadfast
I am a serious person. At the age of eight, I was whipped by a bully, but I fought until that boy succumbed to me. I have a very determined nature. Don't you see that from my eyes? In Korea when I was young I was a wrestling champion. Likewise, our church can stand up to any attack! God has asked me to be steadfast in adhering to him and working on His behalf; that is why I am here. God wants me to represent Him. All my life I have been hit with jail sentences and accusations wherever I went. If God were not working with me, how could I have endured until now? When I was imprisoned in an American penitentiary, what happened to the Unification Church? Did we go up or down? The more times I am imprisoned, the higher up we go, even all the way to heaven!
So what am I? Am I a winner or a loser? I'm a winner, right? My command is very strong and powerful. My direction is very powerful -- not because I'm a dictator but because I know God and I'm with God.
I know the North Korean situation very well. The people are hungry. They need food and clothes. Therefore, to free North Korea we don't need to kill people but feed them. Do you see? There is a way to free and save the North Koreans through such peaceful ways.
Pretty soon after the Olympics, Kim Il Sung will come up with the idea of holding a general election to decide one president for both North and South Korea. If the Soviet Union agrees with North Korea to hold general elections, America, Japan, and China can't disagree. It's a very serious matter. Do you understand the implications? If we hold South/North general elections, North Korea will have one candidate, but South Korea will have many. If the South Koreans are divided in their votes, it would make it much more likely for the North Korean candidate to win.
Do you know how many soldiers there are in North Korea? Practically everybody is a soldier in North Korea. How about South Korea? We can't compare with the North, and we can't protect ourselves under such circumstances. You must know that we are in this kind of situation.
True Parents celebrate Un Jin Nim's 20th birthday
We Should Be Flying Proudly
When we fight with the communists, we'll have to shed blood. There is no such passage written in our Principle, but the communists will attack us. Until now, our members didn't have to go the bloody path, but it may be a bloody one from now on. I have many scars on my body from when I was tortured. Can you give your own life?
Raise your hand. Let me see.
We have to know the significant meaning of 1988 and work together with perfect unity. This year, we should be flying proudly. I want all of you to be proud of yourself and our church. Don't be discouraged. Keep on moving forward!
The most important goals to concentrate on this year are these: Love others, respect the human rights of ideal men and women, and correctly use public money. You must keep your blood lineage clean. You cannot necessarily live the way you want. You also have to respect your ancestors, the righteous patriots and saints, and respect God's Shim Jung. It used to be women who needed to keep their fidelity, but now it is men who have to keep their fidelity also.
None of you really know me. You've been following me for 30 years, but you still don't know me. We have to be careful and continue to build up our ability to develop and improve, for the sake of tomorrow.
If you want to truly know me and inherit all my accomplishments, you have to walk my path by your own free will. So think of all this and start 1988 with a strong mind to unify the religions, unify Korea, and unify Heaven and earth.
Let's pray.
Over a thousand guests listen to Father's 10:00 am speech on God's Day at the church headquarters in Seoul.
My Beloved Father,
The ambition and passion of my youth, my 30s, had to be sacrificed. I saw the turmoil of a disunited Korea that lost its sense of being one people, the North separated from the South, with no clear future for the country. I willingly went to North Korea. I can't forget the time that was lost in that miserable situation. Helpless and wretched, I was tortured by the North Korean communists day and night, suspected of being a South Korean spy. I can't forget how my hair was cut off and how cruelly I was treated.
Father, I remember the days after I came down to the Republic of Korea. I was imprisoned again because of the Ehwa University scandal. I recall the keen persecution by the judge at the court, piercing me like a knife. All those events flash through my mind like a movie, and I can still feel the anger and pain I felt then. It's the same for the anguish I experienced in Japan and in the United States. But still I have struggled to keep a heavenly heart and attitude, and I have determined not to break my relationship with Heaven. I can never forget my past even when I try hard. In those days, going to the spirit world often seemed a welcome alternative.
Still, when I see the many problems the world faces, I know that I have to go beyond what happened in the past and work for solutions. I have to thank You that You enabled me to know Your heart. You have been in even more miserable situations, mistreated by people throughout thousands of years of history, and yet You continue to love us and work for us.
In order to have this group of Unificationists here on this first morning of 1988, there have been so many sad stories over the last 43 years. Many people have run away from us, for they couldn't take the tearful hardships. I've seen many different kinds of people come and go. Many times I had to make a determination not to run away myself.
This is all history now. Today, knowing we have thousands of members when I used to think no one would remain, I thank You that You have always been at my side. I know You've listened to us pray, thousands of times, that we would not have a miserable end, even though we started this movement from such a miserable situation.
This year please let us always remember that we have a responsibility to build the foundation for unity on the local level at the borough and city levels. We know that we can't free and save North Korea unless we do it through South Korea. Before we put South Korea on the front line, we have to put Japan and America on the front line in order to free North Korea.
I feel blessed that I can speak about this to the people in this nation today. As I have shared with Your children here, I know the heavy responsibility I have. Please allow them to take these words in deeply, and to understand that this is not my personal wish but Your fervent desire and the desire of the most righteous saints and martyrs in the spirit world. Please allow us to have many members who can determine themselves to fulfill their life destiny and responsibility.
Father, now that I'm almost in my 70s, I see the limitation of my life, and I feel my weakness. If I were younger, I could be much more aggressive. I would be able to reach the world and affect them more. Father, please make these young children share Your burning heart of love, so that it overflows like a fountain and becomes a spring of love. Help them love North Korea no matter how difficult a situation they may face. We need many such righteous youth. Therefore, Father, I humbly wish that You can bless their way and guide them. We have done many, many things in 1987. Now, in 1988, please let us be the ones who, with confidence and strong determination, can commit ourselves to be the pioneers for the future and accomplish the task of unification.
I humbly wish and ask Your hand of love to guide the members and protect them in every way so that they can be the victors of the good. I pray that we may have the same heart as we do now for all the coming 365 days, and that this heart can be connected to heaven. Let this be the central foundation point for the spirit world to work actively.
I pray this in the name of True Parents. Amen.