Sun Myung Moon
April 18, 1977
God's Will and the World, Parents' Day from the Historical Point of View
(Unofficial Translation)
Photo date and location unknown
The greatest offering was the victory of the Washington Monument rally. I want you to know that September 18, 1976 was "the day of offering" at the world-wide scale in the providence of restoration. Symbolizing all humanity, all the five races of the world gathered together at the Washington Monument. All of them gathered united in their hearts; thus making the conditional offering to which God could accept.
Because of these reasons, that day was a glorious day of victory in the history of restoration. Because a pure offering was made that day, the salvation of the world is destined to be consummated. On that day the entire spirit world declared victory. All the God-loving people on earth should have united to declare victory. America too should have declared victory together with us. However, America failed to do that.
Many well-meaning people even advised me that for the sake of the church we should be a little quieter, "Why do you want to make all the commotion of a Washington rally?" Even some of our leaders came to me saying, "Father, this will be a blunder. We just did Yankee Stadium and we need more money, more men; it is really impossible to do it this year."
But I remained determined. "This is the showdown of my lifetime. I will give my sweat, my heart, and my life to do it." I decided to give everything -- myself, my family, our members, whatever economic strength our movement could mobilize -- everything that I could possibly give to successfully make that offering to God in Washington.
This was not actually my showdown; it was God's showdown. I knew that God could not afford to fail in the Washington rally, and I knew that God was the most anxious. Therefore, I was confident that God would come to our aid and I had only one conviction, "We shall succeed. We shall win."
I want you to know that September 18, 1976, was like my day of execution. I deeply felt like a criminal who had been sentenced to death and was going out to be executed. That is how serious I felt that day, utterly dead serious. Until September 18, I completely lost track of time. I mistook my breakfast for dinner and my dinner for breakfast. Time swam in my mind. Even on my way to the bathroom I would suddenly find myself in a completely different place because my mind had gone blank. You cannot imagine how serious I was during that campaign; only God knows. How can I express to you the seriousness of September 18? The showdown of God was at hand. The showdown of the entire struggle of good and evil was at hand. The entire destiny of the Unification Church was before me that day. Unless all the conditions could be established for God's power and the entire spirit world to be connected to the earth on that day, I knew that I would not succeed. I was utterly serious.
The victory of that day was a miracle. It was the work of God that we succeeded in Washington. Extraordinary numbers of people came. The whole event was totally beautiful! Without rain or accident, all was beautiful from beginning to end. Do you think that could be the work of men? No, it was God's work.
One child got lost that day, and announcements were made all over Washington. There was deep suspense as people wondered what happened to the child who had come to Reverend Moon's rally. But he was found within three days, happy and well. I felt that he symbolized the lost and wandering humanity who had been separated from God would definitely be restored to His bosom. I was convicted that the restoration of humanity is at hand.
When I came to America I was all alone. As I crossed the Pacific Ocean I prayed to God, pledging that the mission would be fulfilled. Three and a half years later, through the victory at Washington Monument, my prayer was answered; I was able to fulfill my pledge and covenant with God. Thus even in American history, it will be recorded that September 18, 1976 was a most meaningful day for the nation – brought about by Rev. Moon.