Ariana Moon
October 6, 2011
Rev. Sun Myung Moon on the dias told the crowd the event would be the first and last of its kind.
Another historic rally of Christian ministers, various clergy, and faithful members of the Unification Church packed a ballroom of the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas on the evening of Oct. 5, 2011 to honor the call of the Founding Couple of the Unification movement. More than a thousand had assembled with little more than 24 hours’ notice to hear Rev. Sun Myung Moon speak under the banner of “Registration for God's Kingdom and the Fatherland - America Stands with True Parents for True Love, Family and Peace.” Echoing his message along similar lines at three previous rallies in Las Vegas this year, Father Moon told the crowd that a new era of peace and prosperity was imminent, yet he exhorted all to study and take to heart his legacy of teachings. He also said: "This event is the first and last of its kind."
Scores of clergy and their spouses as well as leaders of many faith communities were on hand; many had returned with Rev. Moon and Mrs. Moon, known affectionately as Father and Mother Moon, less than two weeks before after a 13-day tour of Korea to support Father Moon’s peace- message campaign. Approximately 24 ministers were awarded “registration certificates” for God’s Kingdom on earth and were honored as honorary members of Korean tribal clans.
Among these was a pastor from Brooklyn who told the enthusiastic crowd: “We have got to get back to God. And we thank Father Moon for being the pointer, pointing us in the right direction, pointing us in the one direction that will save humanity. We went to Korea and let me tell you, you have not been there to have a good worship, you owe yourself to get there to worship God. I’m talking about true worship. So I just want to thank Father and Mother Moon again for bringing us together -- the red man, the white man, the yellow man, and the black man -- coming together as one family under God. In an atmosphere like this, let me tell you, it’s hard not to preach the good news of peace to humanity. So we shout peace, and we honor again Father and Mother Moon so have a great day and we’ll see you next time, maybe in New York.”
Sonic Cult performed the songs "Personal Jesus" and "To Make You Feel My Love."
Reports from the Peace Rallies in Korea
Minister Tanya Edwards of Gates of Praise Church in Philadelphia said: “This evening, you will be fortified by the spirit and power of God as you’ve never been before. Those of us who went to Korea, we’ve never been to a place at which we’ve experienced so much love, joy and happiness. We are now part of the Korea family, and I just love the Korean family because they just poured their hearts out to us.”
Archbishop George Augustus Stallings gave this message: “Who has called us to this place? Who has brought together the diversity of race, religion, culture, political persuasion, and different walks of life to this place to where we can truly say that we are one family under God and believe what we say? None other than the True Parents of Heaven, Earth and Humankind! I love Father and Mother Moon. We are their true children, we are their modern day disciples, and I just wanted to take a few minutes to share with you why I personally, as well as my wife and children, have come to love and respect True Parents, who will restore us and make us one with God. Being in the presence of True Parents is the experience of a lifetime.
“I’ve had the opportunity, over the course of ten years to experience the heights and the depths, the length and the breadth of being in the presence of True Parents. But what has impressed me more than anything else is seeing True Parents’ singular devotion for God, and the love that they have for God. And their desire to live for God and God alone! Even at the expense of their own children, their own health, their own safety and comfort; their one desire is to live for God and for God alone. And everything that True Parents do in their prayer life, in their restful moments, is all centered on God. I have never in all of my life, seen any person who’s own complete, full immersion in life in to be centered on God. And I do not believe that anyone possesses the mind and the heart of God in the manner of True Parents. God has called them in this moment to be the savior, to be the messiah, to be that returning lord that comes with the heart of Jesus to restore all men and women back to God and to bring about Heaven right here on earth. They are the ones, and you need not look for another!”
Archbishop George A. Stallings told the assembly that Father Moon had established one family under God.
Introductory Remarks of Rev. In Jin Moon
Rev. In Jin Moon, President and CEO of HSA-UWC in the United States, introduced the Rev. Hyung Jin Moon, President of the International Unification Church: “The amazing thing about our American brothers and sisters of the American clergy is that we got a call 24 hours ago that our True Parents would like to meet all of you here in Las Vegas, and it is amazing how all of you have traveled from distant states, some of us coming all the way from the East Coast just to really be here together with our True Parents, not just in heart in spirit, but also physically, being able to attend them at this precious, glorious hour. So, True Parents, America loves you! And True Parents, the American clergy is right behind you all the way! They are here with you, every step of the way, and they love you!
“Brothers and sisters, every time we get a chance to come together as a family here in Las Vegas, together with our True Parents, I am reminded once again what an incredibly blessed crowd of people we are. We are indeed the lottery winners, are we not? You know, when I got a call from our True Father to prepare 172 Christian ministers to come to Korea, 43 from the north, 43 from the east, 43 from the west, 43 from the south, I thought, 'My goodness. Our True Parents must indeed be the messiah, the Lord of the Second Advent, because North, East, West, South spells news! It spells the breaking news!'
“Jesus brought us the good news, but our True Parents bring the breaking news! And the message they bring is one of hope, one of love, and one of peace, and truly as the living paradigm of this beautiful husband and wife team – we have a big, strong, masculine father, but also us women are so lucky to finally have for the first time in history a beautiful, elegant woman of compassion and strength right next to our True Father!
“So brothers and sisters, you lucky brothers and sisters, it is truly my privilege not only to talk about what a glorious and lucky bunch we are today, but I’m also here to introduce a very, very special person. I as one of the older sisters in a family of 14 children – can you imagine my mother, giving birth to 14 children? Seven sons and seven daughters! But see, our True Father and our True Mother as the True Parents are not just here giving us the breaking news, the message of love, hope, and peace, but as the parents, they truly want to guide us into this millennium, they truly want to see a smooth transition from the first-generation course of being in the wilderness to the second- and third generation which can truly partake in this settlement era.
“True Father, in his wisdom, has anointed the youngest son, Dr. Hyung Jin Moon, as the spiritual heir and the center of our family and our movement. And I truly feel that this is a young man prepared by God and truly prepared by our True Parents to lead the next generation into this millennium. Not only has he graduated from Harvard and finished his Master’s Degree at Harvard Divinity School and gone on to be a fantastic minister and pastor of his own congregation in Korea, but the most incredibly thing about this young man is that he really lives a life of true attendance, true devotion, true loyalty that we can all learn from, in his daily attendance of our True Parents. And for those of you who have had a taste of our True Father’s fiery sermons and hoondokhwe’s – a recent hoondokhwe was 22 hours long, from 5 a.m. to 3 a.m. the next day – you realize that it is not an easy course. But to have this young man representing the youth of our movement, and as the spiritual head of our movement, to really dedicate each day and night in attendance of his parents, of our True Parents, it’s such a wonderful thing, for me as an older sister, to see.
“And I know that our True Father and Mother must be incredibly proud of the incredible work and the continued life of devotion that he [Hyung Jin Nim] is showing all of us. He is known as ‘Lovey’ in the family because he truly encompasses what it means to love, and what is means to live a life living for the sake of others. He is always the first one to give you a smile, always the first one to remember your birthday and anniversary, and always to have a kind word. He is truly somebody who represents the true compassionate nature of Buddha and of all great religious leaders. So I would like all of us to rise up and give a round of applause to this extraordinary young man that I call my younger brother.”
Rev. Hyung Jin Moon introduces the founder of the Unification Movement.
Remarks of Rev. Hyung Jin Moon
Rev. Hyung Jin Moon introduced Father Moon: “I want to congratulate all of you for attending True Parents today. This ceremony was organized within 24 hours, and I want to thank all the organizers for all the efforts that have been put into creating this event in such a short amount of time. I’m here to introduce True Parents, so I prepared some brief words. As my sister so kindly introduced me, I’m not near her introduction, but we’re just very grateful to be with True Parents.
“True Parents lead a life that is beyond day and night, that transcends time, literally, Father pushes the boundaries of human limits, waking early in the morning and giving words all the way into the night. Just as my sister alluded to it, we had a 22-hour hoondokhwe, which was one of the most challenging experiences of my life, but absolutely unforgettable.
“Your Excellency’s, distinguished clergy, leaders, friends, brothers and sisters, I thank you so much for your attendance to this great and noble occasion. Welcome to tonight’s Registration for God’s Kingdom and the Fatherland event -- the first in America -- following the 172 who were anointed in the fatherland of Korea. It is my distinct honor to introduce my father, the Reverend Dr. Sun Myung Moon, our next speaker, who will deliver the Founder’s Address. I have a profound love and respect for my parents, and I try to love and honor them as all our brothers and sisters do – with our lives.
“However, I’ve come to realize very deeply that my own understanding of them in the past has been quite limited. I once thought that my parents were simply my physical parents, the parents of their 14 biological children, and as many of you know, we recognize True Parents as a Second Coming of Christ, the Lord of the Second Advent, the True Parents, and in this position, they stand as the spiritual parents of all God’s children, as Jesus would have been had he not been crucified. True Parents’ life course has not always been happy and all smiles. It has been one of inheriting the true love of God, the most difficult path, perfecting that true love and bequeathing it to humankind. In this way, True Parents had led the way to the liberation of God, and each one of us is called to do our best to follow that example.
“In carrying out their providential mission, they have, like Christ, suffered, been tortured, imprisoned, scorned, mocked, hated for our sake. Like Christ, they have taken on the burden of our sins and made a way for us to be forgiven by God. Like Christ, they have suffered the torment and damnation that we would deserve for our sins, and have paid the price for us to once again, come before God justified as sons and daughters. Who amongst us is without sin? This is a path of Christ, the path that our True Parents have walked. Please be advised that, like Jesus, Father Moon does not speak to please our ears or to please the world. As we know, Jesus and John, Matthew and Luke, vehemently challenged their contemporaries, even scandalously calling them “sons of your father the Devil, and a brood of vipers.” These words are certainly not politically correct, but Jesus said these shocking words in love.
“Father Moon also speaks with the same love and total commitment to God’s word. He speaks with the burning sense of the absolute urgency of his holy mission to build God’s kingdom, where all can return to God’s embrace forgiven and redeemed. He does not speak to stroke our egos, but to liberate us from our egos. He continues at the age of 92 to proclaim the word of God around the world, literally at the risk of his life. In the process of his candid speaking, he will no doubt challenge some of our most firmly held beliefs, but if we can open our spiritual eyes to see and ours ears to hear, we will catch a glimpse of a loving God crying out and calling out to his children who are in need of his forgiveness, his grace and his love.
“In order to usher in a new era of the registration of the Kingdom of Heaven that brings an end to war and conflict and suffering and injustice, we must receive God’s word, and God’s guidance, and we must know God’s providence. This is why we have gathered here today."
Left to Right: Ariana Moon, Rev. In Jin Moon, Yeon Ah Moon, Rev. Hyung Jin Moon, unidentified minister and Dr. Chan Shik Yang.
Father Moon’s Message
Father Moon gave the following concluding remarks:
“Distinguished guests, at this serious and important time, a revolutionary and cosmic change must now take place in your lives. In light of this, let us summarize the message Heaven has given to us today. “First, all blessed families should attend God at the center of their families and every day carry out Hoondok [scripture reading] education, which can completely unite parents and children. In other words, you should thoroughly teach the Divine Principle, the textbooks and teaching materials True Parents have bequeathed, True Father’s autobiography, and absolute marital fidelity taught through the original Divine Principle.
“Second, Heaven has permitted the grace of the authority of Seonghwa [funeral ritual] for rebirth and resurrection to be bestowed on the family unit. Here, a requisite condition is the complete unity between parents and children. In other words, you must establish the standard for absolute parents and absolute children, and establish an absolute family.
“Third, humankind has moved out of the authority of the era of restoration through indemnity, thanks to the grace of True Parents who have suffered hardships through which they sweat blood. Therefore, do not forget the fact that during True Parents’ lifetimes we all have the responsibility to liberate families, tribes, peoples, nations and the world from the authority of hell. Now that the era of restoration through indemnity has ended, what kind of era is dawning? The reign of tranquility and prosperity in the victorious authority centered on God and True Parents shall be eternal.
“Fourth, we are now entering the era of the authority of God’s direct dominion. Ladies and gentlemen, I have said that less than three years remain until the “D-day” proclaimed by Heaven. I beg that you inscribe in your hearts the fact that we have entered the era of the authority of the cosmic Sabbath in which your family members in the spirit world shall return to the earth to receive the Original Divine Principle education, and where eight generations will live together in a single family.”
An overflow crowd filled a ballroom of the Rio Hotel.
The program for the event included the following:
Testimonies from clergy
Video Presentation: Song of Peace
Musical performance by Sonic Cult: "Personal Jesus" and "To Make You Feel My Love"
Welcome from the Master of Ceremonies - Rev. Joshua Cotter
Entrance of True Parents onto the stage
Entrance of Clan Leaders, with the Korean- and American Surname Representatives
Cheon Il Guk Anthem
Opening Prayer by Bishop Jesse Edwards and Minister Tanya Edwards, Co-Presidents, ACLC
Welcoming remarks by Rev. In Jin Moon
Congratulatory remarks by Rev. Hyung Jin Moon
Clan Sisterhood Ceremony
Bestowal of Family-Register Certificates
Family Register Pledge, read by Archbishop Stallings
Keynote Address by True Father
Contributed by Ariana Moon in Las Vegas