Reverend Sun Myung Moon
February 7, 1984
True Parents' Birthday
World Mission Center
Translator - Bo Hi Pak
It makes me feel very good to see your happy faces today. You are young people and young people are the ones who will inherit their nations; thus you are the symbol of hope. Those in leadership positions today are mostly older people so they cannot inspire as much hope as you. You young people are the hope of today and tomorrow.
Another reason you make me feel happy this morning is that you represent all the different nations, races and cultures of the world. All five colors of skin are here; thus we are the living color family.
Who are the True Parents? Mother and I are normal looking individuals yet when we come here, all of you blossom into big smiles and welcome us with very happy hearts. That is a beautiful thing and a source of inspiration to me.
Yesterday was President Reagan's birthday; suppose that he had come here to celebrate. Undoubtedly the older generation, those people who comprise the establishment, would be here to courteously welcome the President and his wife. But the quality of that welcome would be entirely different from this welcome today. Even though President Reagan is a great man, he can only remain in office for a few years. Then he will have to relinquish it to a newcomer. Therefore all the greetings and honors which he receives as President can only be temporary.
On the other hand, you are here to celebrate something which will have an eternal impact. You welcomed Mother and me this morning knowing that what you do here has eternal meaning; it does not end today but will continue forever. You are setting the tradition for eternity now with your whole-hearted welcoming of the True Parents. That makes all of us happy.
A new day has begun; new hope is on the horizon and we are moving toward our destination. We are the ones who represent the future; in fact from now on, we are the future.
Our slogan for this year is Creation and Building of the Fatherland. Everyone can say that he has his own secular fatherland or native land but there has not yet been any eternal, God-centered fatherland for mankind. Those people in history who have walked the path of true religion have had to live like gypsies, without any true fatherland. Have you Moonies had a true fatherland in which you could settle? No, we are the gypsies of the twentieth century. Our slogan of last year, Home Church Is Our Land of Settlement, represented our hope. We gypsies are looking forward to our permanent settlement in the true fatherland.
Have you been reading a lot of criticism and attacks against our movement in the newspapers lately'.' On the contrary, there have been many supportive things printed. If this trend continues. the day will come when all the people of this nation and the whole world will apologize to Reverend Moon. Do you think such a day will come? Will there be some people at that time who will be able to say, "I never did any harm to Reverend Moon so I don't have to apologize to him."? Does any such person, nation, or government exist on the earth? Who will be able to stand with me at that time without any blame?
In that respect 1984 is truly the year of the turning point, the year of transition. Looked at externally or secularly, we suffered a tragic setback at the beginning of this year. But from the providential point of view, we are marching forward and we are winning.
In March of last year, all the members in the 50 states were mobilized to go out on IOWC. Was that a good or a bad thing? The IOWC is the foremost patriotic movement in this country. Its purpose is to secure the true homeland.
When the mobilization was called, it included everybody-husbands, wives with children, etc. Some members wondered, "How could such a thing be possible?" They thought, "This is totally alien to the Western world. This must be some Korean tradition that Father is trying to import here." However, in my mind there is no such thing as "Korean" or "Oriental" traditions. If what I have been doing were the Korean way, then it should have been accepted completely in Korea but on the contrary, Korea was the first country to revolt against me and my ways. By the same token, if I were merely promoting Oriental ways, the Japanese nation would have welcomed me wholeheartedly. Instead, they persecuted me wholeheartedly. Apparently my ways are not Korean or Oriental.
When American people met with me and my ways, did you welcome me gratefully, becoming the first nation to do that? Or did you complain against my ways? You Americans always say, "We are joyful, fun-loving people. We don't like indemnity." I am trying to do a virtually impossible thing here because it is true that Americans are people who like to have fun, but I am asking them to pay indemnity and do it with joyfulness.
When the IOWC began, there was a great deal of reluctance on your part. Many of you thought, "Oh no, what can I do? Do I have to go out?" Nick Buscovich of News World Communications is a good example. He said, "I am the vice-president of a big company. How can I become a mobile team commander?" But after four months on IOWC, his central figures tried to bring him back to his job, but he begged to stay out on the front line. That is because he was awakened to the true value of what he was doing. He came to the realization that there is no other way we can save this country.
What we are doing is writing the textbook for the salvation of this country. It will bring the restoration of American youth and the revival of morality. That is why people like Nick Buscovich want to stay out there working to become the standard for the Americans of the future.
As Moonies, you are different from ordinary young people. If we had chairs in this room, we could probably seat only about 400 people but because we are sitting on the floor we can accommodate three times more than that. When you first had to sit like this, did you welcome it or did you complain against it? If you are honest, you will admit that you did not welcome things like this at first. I'm sure all of you thought, "What kind of a church is this-no chairs or even any cushions!" Any other church would have provided you with soft seats so you could sleep very comfortably through the sermons!
Now that you have been living this way for a while, you have changed. You Americans can even go to Asian nations and become leaders there. You won't have feelings of strangeness mingling with people who have thousands of years of history of sitting on the floor!
Let's imagine that there were two different types of missionaries who went to Asia. The first one said, "I must have a chair to sit on and a desk; in the summer, I need an air conditioner. After that I can start to teach the Gospel." But the second one said, "This culture is my culture. I can live here and mingle with the people and feel perfectly comfortable." Which missionary would be welcomed? Certainly it is the second one.
We have another type of culture within our movement -the sleeping bag culture! Every Moonie has a sleeping bag on his back so he can go anywhere and make himself at home; he certainly doesn't need a comfortable bed. This is another aspect of your cultural training. If you are accustomed to it, you can go anywhere-Asia, Africa, etc. -and you won't feel strained or uncomfortable.
Many missionaries have gone to serve in underdeveloped nations in the past, but many have put themselves in a special position in those nations. They have had their own types of homes and furniture and they even insisted upon their own types of toilets. Without such comforts, they could not do their missionary work. However, the homes of Unification missionaries are very different. They do not take any special positions but instead they go to the lowest poorest areas and work.
Any missionary who insists upon maintaining his American standard of living will be permanently foreign to the people he is trying to serve. If you want to bring God's message to suffering, sad people, you must have a weeping heart yourself. Unless you have known the depths of their sadness' you cannot bring comfort to their hearts. When you want to comfort someone who is weeping, you have to weep together with him. In order to teach others. you must be able to move their hearts.
God is that kind of personality. He always weeps together with those who are weeping; He always gives His heart to those who need it. If a missionary doesn't have that same attitude, he will never become a leader in his country.
I came to America as a missionary and I knew that I would be in the position to weep together with the suffering people here. I also sought to bring tears to the eyes of the fun-loving. laughing people here. Both were necessary to teach this nation. Those people who have opposed us are no exception: we must bring them to tears and weep with them. We must inspire them with our heart.
People who are betrayers allow the true followers to stand out. Those true followers will be the ones who receive the most persecution as well. In order to lead this troubled world, you should be able to deal with and embrace the people who oppose you. I landed in America with the conviction that I would bring a new chapter to the history of modern day America, one which could never be removed. The media here painted a dark and distorted image of Reverend Moon for a long time. If what they were saying had been true, Reverend Moon would not be around today. But since I am still strong and flourishing, it is proof-to those who look-that the media's reporting was untrue.
Wait and see who overcomes whom. Will Reverend Moon bow down to this world, or will the realms of both communism and democracy bow down to the new way of life which I have been teaching? I know that I have the ability to make that happen and with that understanding I have been teaching you.
Those of you here have realized that this country is expiring and the only hope is the textbook of tradition you are writing now under the guidance of Reverend Moon. After Pledge Service this morning, I spoke to Rev. Young Sook Choi at the breakfast table. He is now head of the IFVOC in Korea, with the mission of bringing 7 million members. I said, "Go with tears, sweat and blood and teach the Korean people the way of sacrifice so they can give up their cows, their houses and everything in order to save the nation. If you do that, you will be gathering much material for the textbook of the resurrection of the world."
That is the kind of effort I am looking for; I am not interested in any sort of easy results. I want to see the creation of the tradition that cannot be bought with any amount of money. I gave stern warning to the members of the Moon family, my cousins, specifically Mr. Moon, the Vice-Chairman of the Unification Foundation in Korea. He is the second highest official of our church there and administers the church's money. I told him, "I want to visit your home and see how you are living." l would like to hear him tell me how poor he is, of even having to go around some days and borrow rice. That is what I want to hear about him and not any complaints of how he is living better than other members.
The leader of our church in Japan, Mr. Kuboki, has been the focal point of investigation by the government. They thought, "The Unification Church in Japan is supporting their worldwide movement and they are sending millions of dollars everywhere. Therefore, the Unification Church leaders in Japan must be wealthy tycoons." However, when they checked on Mr. Kuboki, they found that he was living in a very small home. They tried to find out how much he had in his bank account but they were amazed to discover that he didn't even have a bank account anywhere! Furthermore, his little home isn't even owned by him but is rented. When they went to his home, they saw that he had very little furniture.
Before I came to the United States, I didn't even have a small apartment to live in but lived in the church center. For the sake of the worldwide movement, I oversaw the expenditure of millions of dollars but when the authorities investigated what I possessed they found that I didn't even have a home of my own. Some people might ask, "Why does Reverend Moon have that big estate, East Garden, here in America?" The answer is very simple: that estate is for the sake of the dignity of the church. That property belongs to the church, not Reverend Moon. Do you think it was purchased by money earned in America? No, it was not. It was earned by our movement throughout the world.
For the size of my family. East Garden is actually a small house. It was originally intended for a family with only four or five members but we now number more than twenty. Since we have other church members living there as well, the house is bursting at the seams.
You are a very special kind of young people called Moonies. You are privileged people. having guts and a dedication to the cause of God and the freedom of mankind. I have a message now to the Korean elders who are here today: You Korean people should come to realize in educating your own children that unless you do a little better, your children will fall behind these Americans.
The Korean people were in a position to provide more material for the Heavenly textbook, but unfortunately that has not been the case. So now you have to learn how to become truly exemplary. Because you elders have the same kind of face as mine, namely a strong, Korean face, the Western members have the tendency to expect from you the same quality of heart as mine. It becomes a big problem if that is not the case. I'm sorry to say this to you on my birthday, but the truth must be told! Truth is most powerful and must be told without hesitation.
So far, I haven't even given an introduction to my talk! I started out telling you that your faces made me fell happy and haven't even begun with our topic.
Today is the birthday of True Father and Mother. I am celebrating my 64th birthday and Mother is celebrating her 41st. According to the American custom, I am just about the age of retirement! Will you allow me to retire? Let me ask you: do you really need Reverend Moon? Why do you say yes? Do you need Reverend Moon for the sake of America, or for the Unification Church, or for the sake of the world, or for the sake of God?
Both sides of the secular world-the free world as well as the communist-have come to a stone wall. I want you to understand that we have a problem. We have a mountain to climb and go over; the free world has to climb over it and the communist world does, too. All of history has to climb over that mountain and ultimately God Himself has to climb over it. What is needed now is a guide or a leader who understands the path and the way to go over. Such a leader will be the one who must be followed by the entire world, including the past world of history.
Do you think that mountain of our destiny is any lower than Mt. Everest? That mountain is so high it seems insurmountable in the eyes of the free world and the communist world. Do you think that the sacrifice of one person would be sufficient to enable the entire world to go over that mountain? Looking at it another way, if the only way to cross over that mountain was to sacrifice your own life, would you be willing to make that sacrifice? Raise your hands if you are willing to give your life for that. Moonies are wonderful! If you are not just giving me lip service but your willingness is coming truly from your heart, then I won't be disappointed.
Let's say that one person's sacrifice was needed to allow the rest of the world to cross over the mountain. Would that one person be the most obscure little Moonie or would it be the most powerful, valuable Moonie? Why would it be the second? Wouldn't it be nice, like a bargain, for the world to be able to give up just a small person and not someone very precious? Why must the price be someone who is most precious?
First of all, such a deal can only be made between God and Satan; no human beings can intervene. If Reverend Moon were made to pay only the cheapest bargain price, then Satan would immediately go to God and accuse. He would say, "Look at what Reverend Moon did. He's trying to take something very precious from me but he only paid a cheap price!" We must ask another question. Who is receiving the "money" from that sale or the value of that sacrifice? No matter how much Reverend Moon may want to buy mankind's way over that mountain, it is ultimately God who must give His approval. It is certainly not for the sake of Satan that we are making our offering.
God is universal and cosmic; both Satan and Reverend Moon know that. Thus in order to avoid the accusation of Satan, I have to offer a sacrifice with truly universal and cosmic meaning. Only with that will Satan be satisfied that a sufficient price was paid. Since God is the one who is the ultimate recipient of that sacrifice, He too will be satisfied. And Reverend Moon as well will be satisfied. That is the reason why the sacrifices throughout history and in God's providence have been the most precious things. Satan always demands the highest and best sacrifices.
Most people today do not understand the spirit world. If someone, out of ignorance, tried to offer a sacrifice to Satan in order to be protected from him, it would not really go to Satan's purpose but it would ultimately go to God. For that reason, all good religions throughout history have taught the-virtue of sacrifice-of unselfishness and sacrificial love. None of these kinds of offerings could ever become the possession of Satan; they all find their way to God.
Let's say that there are hundreds of steps which mankind must climb. With each step climbed, it is a victory for God and another defeat for Satan. Therefore, at each step Satan becomes more and more vituperative and violent. He tries to hurt and even assassinate the ones who are climbing the steps. However once a true sacrifice is offered, even though Satan doesn't want to, he must admit its validity.
This is the reason why so many good people, specifically the saints, suffered martyrdom throughout history. At the time of their deaths it seemed like a defeat or setback for God in the eyes of other people but because of those sacrifices God was winning the war, step by step. Those lives were never given in vain; after a time their righteous causes were always won. This is the reason the history of the saints is written in blood.
The entire history of Christianity has gone this path. Two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ was given as a sacrifice. Even though he appeared at the time to be the most defeated person in history, his sacrifice has been blossoming ever since. The history of Christianity can be summed up as being hit and then winning, of being attacked and then advancing. Satan always attacks first and demands a sacrifice. This is not Reverend Moon's story; this is truly the means by which God and Satan have been dealing with each other and battling in spirit world.
Over and over again in human history. societies have offered sacrifices and propitiation. In certain primitive cultures, virgin women were the most precious offerings. If such a thing were the custom in America today, it would be extremely difficult to find pure virgin women. Moral degradation has totally pervaded this society. This is the truth and I am saying that I do not like this about American women. Do you women want to go outside and have a demonstration against me? Why not? You know that moral degradation is the kind of thing that God abhors, while Satan promotes and protects it. There is no way you can justify it.
Knowing that we have this huge mountain to go over at this time, God looked for one cosmic, universal sacrifice. Where did He look? The most logical place was within the Unification Church. That is because Moonies are public minded people, trying to love God and serve mankind unconditionally. My desire has been to offer you American Moonie women on the altar of God since there are so few pure women in secular society. I wanted to send you out and let you work and suffer for the sake of the entire world. Therefore, I chase you out for the toughest tasks. Do you Americans welcome such treatment or do you hate it? Do you think that what I am saying is just Reverend Moon's theory?
The people who are offered for such a sacrifice are elevating their work to the national level. So it is the tradition of Reverend Moon that those people, particularly those women who are trying to be a true offering on the altar of God, should not go to their hometowns to visit very often. You must stand as representatives of the entire country as well as the free world. By devoting yourself to the country and the world more than your own family and culture, you are loving on the largest level.
Once Reverend Moon left Korea and came to America, he was no longer a "Korean" but a truly cosmic, universal man. Reverend Moon's heart cries out not only for the sake of his own homeland but for the sake of all of humanity; that is Reverend Moon's tradition. Regardless of the attacks the media may make against Reverend Moon, they can never capture him within their nets.
The time will come when I have fulfilled my responsibilities here in this country. Perhaps I will retire to a cave in some mountain but people from all over this country will seek me out to pay their respects. If this is not true, nothing else that Reverend Moon has been teaching is true either. I have been the only one who understood this principle. It is virtually impossible to convey 100 0/0 understanding of what I know.
Throughout my entire life and up till now at the age of 64, I have had one fervent ambition-to cross over and conquer the mountain. As an individual you must climb over that mountain; as a family, you must climb over it; as a clan and tribe, you must climb over it; as a nation and a world and a cosmos. you must climb over it. This mountain has even been difficult for God to climb over. But I am anointed with the destiny of climbing over it.
You cannot truly understand the secret dealings that God has had to make with Satan. Without anyone else knowing. I discovered those secrets and suffered in silence. Knowing those secrets, I declared to the world that I would walk this path unto my life. Once I made that declaration, the persecution began but I always determined to receive it, to suffer and make the necessary sacrifices.
When I suffered as an individual. it was for the sake of family restoration. When I suffered within the family, it was for the sake of the clan and tribe. When I suffered on the tribal level, it was for the sake of the nation. When I suffered on the national level, it paid the sacrifice for the sake of the world and for the cosmos and ultimately for God.
At the outset of this year, I declared that we must gain 70 million VOC members throughout the world. More than anything else, communism is the enemy of God; therefore we must defend the free world from a takeover by communism. If America retreats before it, there is no stopping its spread. Christianity has become the prey of communism in one nation after another. We must offer the world an answer, an ideological offensive that puts communism on the defensive. When we have achieved a worldwide membership of 70 million people equipped with this alternative and counter-proposal, I know we can turn back the tide.
For that reason, I initiated the drive for 7 million members of the IFVOC in Korea. The Korean people must demonstrate a sacrificial spirit in this drive. Unless they become the models in this respect, there can be no reason to expect 70 million members throughout the world. With 70 million people equipped with the ideology centered upon God, we can create the textbook for the rest of the four billion people throughout the world.
The foundation for this victory has already been laid so the communist world is on the defensive. They understand that their very existence is threatened. I know that they are going to try to use violent means to eliminate Reverend Moon. If they send an assassination squad, it will be captured at some point. Then the American intelligence agencies will realize the true nature of Reverend Moon and this movement.
The means of doing battle around the world have changed markedly. Instead of the conventional warfare of military forces, we have three major types of warfare today. First of all is ideological warfare; secondly is the warfare between intelligence forces; and thirdly, the warfare of propaganda.
America is a huge country with the largest gross national product in the world. Technologically and militarily everything is at your disposal here, yet somehow this gigantic nation has become helpless in the face of international communism. This is the tragic position of America at the moment. The government has no confidence to prevent the spread of communist ideology. During the Carter administration the free world saw one retreat after another; more refugees than ever came to America because their own countries were being taken over. People are streaming here because it is the last bastion of freedom in the world. Where will people go if this country falls? Can you plan to take a Columbia space shuttle to the moon?
I foresaw the present situation that this country is facing. We must turn the tide, beginning with an ideological offensive. Our movement has the ideology which is effective against communism-it has been proven in Japan, Latin America. and other places as well. The Unification Church has spread all over the world, even within the communist sphere. Reverend Moon has been persecuted by this powerful nation of America but smaller nations of Central and South America have perceived clearly that I am the only powerful resistance fighter against communism. For that reason anything that Reverend Moon tries to do, they want to support.
The intelligence networks of various nations have come to the conclusion that Reverend Moon is the only hope to stop the spread of communism, but one nation not yet convinced is the United States and its intelligence agencies. Furthermore, the power of Reverend Moon against communism is most clearly understood in the communist world-they have amassed more information on me than anyone else!
It's almost like God is doing some worldwide tuna fishing. When you fish for thousand-pound tunas, you only need a hook smaller than a man's finger. By the same token, God is using Reverend Moon as a hook and bait to catch the gigantic "tuna" of the religious world. At this time, groups representing 120 million Christians are supporting our position in the court case. Public opinion is rising up. Soon you will see some official hearings on this issue.
After the verdict in my trial and at the time of sentencing, people in the courtroom were stunned. The lawyers were particularly discouraged and apologetic to me for losing the battle. However, I was smiling and thinking to myself, "They put on a good show and I enjoyed it." Then I went around and comforted each lawyer, telling them not to worry. Why was I so confident at that time? I knew the final outcome; I already won the victory, no matter what. The court battle was merely part of the process. This will become an important part of our textbook for the future.
When I first began my work for God's dispensation, members of my own family tried to discourage me and they rejected my efforts. But now they have gained tremendous pride in me and they see that I have not done anything wrong. When we went to Korea in December, we virtually turned the country upside down. The government was completely surprised. I have always been standing on the side of eternal truth and nobody is strong enough to defeat that eternal truth.
Although the Korean people were shaken by their airline disaster and by the massacre in Rangoon, they were able to receive good news from Reverend Moon through the rallies. I understood God's wishes precisely. He saw that the Korean people were in the position last December to give a royal homecoming welcome to Reverend Moon. The Korean people can unite under their common goal of Victory Over Communism. Thus I told them the truth: "You had no hope and I have brought hope to you.'' My message was very clear. In the beginning, nobody trusted or believed me, including the Korean people and you people here, but now you know you must believe me.
My life has been very unusual from the beginning. As a little child, when I walked into a village something dramatic would happen without my doing anything. Either someone's cow would die or the dogs would stop barking or the well would dry up. Something always happened because everywhere I go, I carry indemnity with me.
Although I worked for a long time in Korea, I never undertook a public rally there until after I had come to America in 1971. Many other religious leaders became very popular in Korea but then their influence declined. God's strategy was for me to become a public person on the worldwide level, not just on the small national level of Korea. Therefore, only after I left Korea and came to the United States did my public ministry truly begin.
When I came to America in 1971, I immediately began my public ministry. I went to every state and my activities began to create controversy and turmoil everywhere. People were asking, "Who are those Moonies and what are they trying to do?" People were also complaining, "Why does Reverend Moon come to this country and disturb our peace?" Not only was I doing my public ministry here, but I also sent missionaries to 127 countries in 1975. By 1976 the fever of opposition reached its peak.
The Unification movement has encountered rejection everywhere-from all the Christian denominations, the Jewish world, and the Moslem world as well. The ultimate enemy of our movement is communism and the Christian world was supposed to be the allies of our movement. But they opposed us and the result of that opposition was the indictment and court trial.
I knew that everywhere I moved I would have to fight against government opposition in the form of court trials. It happened when I went to North Korea and when I left there and returned to South Korea. It was the same in Japan and I expected it in America. By 1976, American public opinion was like boiling water against Reverend Moon, but after the Washington Monument rally I declared that we would hold a rally in Moscow. People were shocked and incredulous. I'm sure that those who laughed the loudest were the KGB. When I was in prison in North Korea, Kim II Sung laughed at me, too, but now Kim II Sung pounds his table in regret that he didn't stop me when he had me in his pocket!
All this is not because Reverend Moon is such a powerful and intelligent man. It is because of God's protection of me. Ask God what kind of people He most likes and He will tell you, "I like a man like Reverend Moon." I am walking over the hill. I have walked the most thorny path as an individual and within the family. I received the most intense persecution from my first wife, but I went over that hill and moved on to the tribal level. Now I am coming to the national and worldwide level. During all this time there was no moment when I was not receiving some type of persecution.
I tell you, I am a most short-tempered person and I cannot tolerate even the smallest injustice. However, after knowing God I learned the virtues of patience, endurance and perseverance. That is the only reason I could endure up to this point.
After I came to America, I studied the social ills here including the Mafia, drug abuse, sexual immorality, and so on. I studied such places as Hollywood and the movie industry in order to discern their problems. I also visited gambling centers such as Las Vegas and Atlantic City, in order to understand them better. Gambling has become a nationwide problem here.
After all these steps, what is Reverend Moon's situation now? Reverend Moon has come to the top of the hill. The free world, particularly the United States, will not survive without being helped by Reverend Moon. The Unification movement in the future will not have to suffer the amount of martyrdom that Christianity did. Why is that? It is because Reverend Moon suffered at every step and paid indemnity for the sake of humanity. Today's battle could be compared with Jesus having gone up against the Roman Senate. When we win this battle and also stop the spread of communism through Unificationism, there will be no more suffering to endure.
In today's warfare of ideology, intelligence and propaganda, nobody can compete with Reverend Moon. The communists cannot keep up with Reverend Moon and that is why they feel threatened. We have even sponsored tours of the Soviet Union by Western media people. I have reached the pinnacle from every direction. That is the reason why the rest of the world must follow my lead.
I have climbed over the hill successfully on every level-from the individual all the way up to the present world level. According to the Divine Principle, the second sons or daughters are in the position to be sacrificed. This was true even for the second son of the True Parents.
Heung Jin Nim. Heung Jin Nim was truly a handsome, attractive young man. He was most loved by his brothers and sisters; they all wanted to spend time with him. Heavenly Father has never had a chance throughout human history to really love a true child, particularly within His own bosom in spirit world. But now Heung Jin Nim is in that position with God, representing the true, unstained child of True Parents and God.
If the sacrifice of Heung Jin Nim had not been made, either of two great calamities could have happened. Either the Korean nation could have suffered a catastrophic setback, such as an invasion from the North; or I myself could have been assassinated. Since special indemnity was paid that protected me in Korea at the Kwangju rally, Satan's specific target day, he hit Heung Jin Nim instead, at the same exact hour.
As a child, I was hand-picked by God to carry out a dispensational mission. As that chosen champion for God, I have not faltered. Even though Jesus' life was finished at the age of 33, Reverend Moon has moved forward all the way to the age of 64. All this time I have been fighting an uphill battle against all kinds of dangers. Not only have I survived, but I have also been victorious.
The year of 1945 was a golden opportunity for the fulfillment of God's dispensation. If Korean Christianity had united with me completely, the beginning of a new era, the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, would have dawned. Christianity paid 2,000 years of indemnity so if they had united with God's dispensation in 1945 there would have been no more need for suffering. But since they did not, I had to start over again from scratch and take upon myself all the suffering in order to lay a new foundation, step by -step. Finally I have come to the worldwide level.
I want you to understand that the Unification Church is a kind of substitute for the Christianity that failed to unite with me. The Unification Church was built up by my own hands and it is the new foundation upon which I can be accepted. Satan has been infiltrating the Christian community and the free world. Even though both those worlds opposed me, I have been working to restore them and have established many programs, such as the Interfaith activity, to win them. We have spent ten times more on the Christian world than on the Unification Church itself.
Now I am bearing the cross of the court battle. This is a crucifixion in the form of a character assassination. However, all of Christianity is uniting to save me from that crucifixion. This is a new phenomenon occurring in the world. When Jesus was dying on the cross, there was a thief on his left and one on his right. The one on the left accused Jesus while the one on the right sympathized with him. Today we can say that the communist world represents the thief on the left while the free world represents the one on the right. Even the terms left-wing and right wing have their root at the time of Jesus' crucifixion. The communist world accuses their enemies, including Reverend Moon; they assault God Himself by claiming that He does not exist. The free world acknowledges God, so what they need to do now is to support and unite with me.
Among those people on the right side of the world are the Moonies who are saying, "Reverend Moon is our hope and he is the only one who has the solution to communism." By doing so, you are totally uniting with me. Because of this unity, God can challenge Satan. The communist world finds itself powerless in the face of this unity. This is a sign of victory and it is happening now.
This is the time of the crucifixion of Reverend Moon here in America. Jesus' twelve disciples ran away in fear when they saw their master being taken away. Would you like to follow their example or would you unite with me and defend me with your own life? The final hill for the Moonies will be Moscow. We are going to climb over that mountain for our final mission. I'm sure that some people listening here today are spies and they must be shivering to hear these things.
We have one more big hill to go over. Would you like me to stay in the forefront as we cross over that hill, or would you prefer to take the front-line position? Would you American young people take that position? Would you go on an espionage mission to the Soviet Union? The Moonies are those people who do not fear death itself. This is not simply because of a blind belief but because of our understanding, based upon logic.
Muslim extremists in Lebanon have killed themselves in the process of bombing Americans, as you know. These people are motivated out of blind faith; they believe that when they die on those suicide missions they will enter immediately into Heaven. However, they have no logical foundation for their beliefs. Would you want to live according to such blind faith or wouldn't you prefer to have an intelligent, logical reason for your beliefs?
Reverend Moon is a fearful man, in a way. It is a very good thing that he is a man of God; if he had been a satanic man, the world would have had a lot of trouble!
Perhaps I will let you learn Korean by sending you to Korea for a couple of years. How about that? Your training might be to start out as a street beggar. Would that be OK? Maybe after that you could become a dock worker and a road builder. When you 8° to Korea, particularly on Cheju Island, your best friends would be the pigs. That is because every time you go to the toilet, those pigs are there waiting for their meal. The only country where you will find such a thing is Korea. Do you feel fearful about going there now?
In the Korean farming village, the best fertilizer is human waste. When the farmers distribute that waste, they have to touch it with their hands, even kneading it and making it smooth. What's wrong with that? Everybody has the same materials inside-if you don't think the insides of your body are dirty, why should the things that come out of your body be dirty? It all depends upon how you think about it.
As a farmer, I used to touch and spread human waste. When lunch time came around, we had no place to go to wash our hands so we would spit on two fingers and wipe them. Then we used those two fingers as our chopsticks. We thoroughly enjoyed our meals and we ate everything except the last, tiniest portion which our fingers had touched; we threw that away. Thus we maintained sanitary conditions and everyone in the farming village was very healthy and strong.
Suppose I brought all you Moonies to Korea to do the same kind of farming. Would you mind? In such a situation, it wouldn't matter how beautiful a woman you were or how charming a man. The only important criterion for your spouse would be that he or she was a good person. Those of you who would like to have your own family linked with the True Parents' family by marriage, please raise your hands. In order to get closer to the realm of the True Parents, you have to learn Korean customs. You must begin from the very bottom, even the village life as I have described.
I would like to have sons- and daughters-in-law among all the different races and colors of skin, particularly among those who have gone to Korea and have suffered the most. Whenever I decide upon such a thing, I do not judge people by any external quality such as physical appearance. The important criteria are your deeds, your heart, and your loyalty. I know that out of such persons, good and beautiful offspring will come. So if you really feel that Korea is your fatherland of faith, you will want to go there and experience the most historically difficult life there. That is another hill for you to climb. It would be a difficult hill for you to go over.
Even if people are cursing us, it doesn't matter. We are a group of people with hope and a promise for the future. No matter how strong the opposition, it should only make you stronger and a better patriot. There will be no one in history who can stop you. If you need a model to look at in order to trust what I am saying, just look at me. I am invincible under persecution and opposition and I have gained success under the worst circumstances. When I left the North Korean prison, I was penniless. I was on the level of the lowest, poorest beggar. owning nothing but my own two hands. However. what have I done? I have laid this international foundation single-handedly.
Do you think I have a lot of money now? I may have enough money to get all of you married, but I don't have enough to feed all of you. So once you are married you have to be able to support yourselves. Since I gave each of you the best husbands and wives, you are all indebted to me. That debt should be paid back-not to me but to all of humanity. You must go out and work hard, earning money now for the sake of the world, doing your mission for the sake of mankind's salvation.
If I came to your home to visit you, would you want to give me your master bedroom to stay in? Would you demand that I call up and make an appointment before I came or could I come over at any time? Suppose I were sitting in your home and asked you for a certain meal or sent you to do something for me. Would you complain against me? You Moonies are like Reverend Moon. You have your two bare hands and with that, you fear nothing. With my two hands, I built this worldwide movement and you can do the same kind of thing. You have learned how to sell flowers and raise funds. You have gained many valuable skills.
If I went to the West Coast and asked all the Moonies to come join me in three days, would you come? If you only had three days to raise the money to pay for the airline ticket, could you do it? What if I asked all of you to assemble in Korea in one week? Could you raise the money to pay for that ticket? I was able to conduct a wedding of 6,000 couples, giving everybody only two weeks to get there; people came to Korea from all over the world.
We have a far better disciplined Heavenly army than any military group in the world. All the young people of America will pass through the gate of the Unification Church, at one time or another. Those of you who have a picture of me in your possession right now, please raise your hand. From now on, we are going to stress the value of carrying my picture. Members of the IFVOC will be given their identification card which contains my picture on the back. I selected a nice, handsome, young-looking picture of myself!
Without the protection of God, I could never have survived the untold hardships and difficulties I have faced, so anybody who carries my picture from now on will receive similar protection. At the time of the Jewish Exodus, God sent a plague upon the houses of Egypt which killed all the first-born sons. All the houses which had the blood of the lamb on their doorway were spared that tragedy. Because they had been warned, the Israelites were spared. By the same token. isn't it possible that during some modern-day calamity. those who are carrying my picture would be spared? That's the way spirit world looks at it.
Now that Heung Jin Nim has passed into Heaven, the spirit world is interceding more and more with worldly affairs. Those who are carrying the True Parents? picture will unquestionably be given protection by angels and good spirit world. If you could open your spiritual eyes, you would see the same kind of phenomenon occurring even now, here in this room. Many of you have probably already experienced that if you were carrying around a picture of me and you committed a sin, within three days you lost that picture. That picture would not want to stay with you under those circumstances.
The time has come for the clouds and multitudes of people in spirit world to come down and assist this world's affairs. Behind every Moonie there are tens of thousands of people in spirit world. You will find yourself being guided away from dangerous circumstances. Even though you might be planning to walk in a certain direction, your feet will not want to budge. You will sense that something is funny. Such a thing is very real.
Those who do not understand the spirit world and how it works will be lost in the future. You can never fully trust guidance from secular, earthly sources-the government, your teachers, your family. They can't predict what kinds of calamities might strike.
The secret of the success of the Unification Church missionaries depended upon the spirit world. I never sent them letters or even gave them comforting words but when they went out to their countries, persevering in their work, they could feel the intervention of spirit world. Because they were receiving special protection and guidance, they never felt alone.
By carrying around the True Parents' picture, you are putting up a special antenna for the spirit world to guide you. Since you are God's front line soldiers, that kind of extra protection is vital. You are destined to follow in the footsteps of the True Parents so you need special protection from God. The time has come to use this weapon of True Parents' picture.
Our ultimate destination and the reason why we need this extra protection is that we want to cross over the mountain successfully. We must go beyond the free world and beyond the communist world. We can never predict what kinds of tragedies might hit us or even the True Parents. It is most important that all of you stand up at this moment and make your pledge to God and True Parents that you will uphold the Divine Principle, that you will never let God down, and that you will be absolutely loyal champions for the True Parents.
No matter how many difficulties you might encounter as a front line soldier moving toward Moscow and the entire communist world, you shall not stop but shall continue marching forward. Everybody repeat after me, "We shall go over the hill." This time raise your hands and say it once again. Amen! Thank you very much. God bless you!