Compiled by Taekon Lee (August 13, 2018)
January 13, 2009
Members are standing at the graves of True Father's family
The year 1920 when I was born was the year following the March 1st Movement for Korean independence. Before my birth, Korea suffered three years of famine. The March 1st Movement brought the nation into a time of turmoil, yet it was already suffering through a most difficult period brought on by natural calamities. Under Japanese colonial rule, Korea was being pulled in Satan's direction; hence, the March 1st revolution broke out in order to move things in a new direction.
The people who led that movement were people of faith, mainly Christians and adherents of the Cheondogyo faith. They presented a new direction that shifted from Japanese imperialism toward America with its Christian culture. In this way, Christianity spread widely and penetrated deeply into the culture of the Korean nation and people. This was possible because the Korean people, who chafed under the rule of imperial Japan, were inclining more toward the Christian cultural sphere, which was influenced by the United States. This is an amazing fact. Beginning from that historical uprising against Japan, Christianity in Korea developed rapidly. (142-054, 1986/03/01)
Many Koreans sacrificed their lives calling for independence from Japan by carrying out the Mansei Demonstrations that began on March 1, 1919. Why did such a tragedy take place at that point in time? It was because I was meant to be conceived and born during a period of patriotic fervor.
I was born in the first lunar month of 1920, during the year after the March 1st Movement began. Why was this significant? The Returning Lord must be born in a nation that God can claim, even if He can claim it only conditionally. If the Returning Lord were to be born and come to a nation that had not established such a condition, it would be as if he were floating in the air, without solid ground on which to stand. That is why God led the March 1st Movement. So much blood was shed just for one person --me -- to come to earth. That is why the Korean people suffered so much in 1919, both from famine due to a poor harvest and from the loss of life through this heroic but tragic movement. It is based on such indemnity conditions that God's providence has been advancing. (244-326, 1993/03/01)
Korean patriot and martyr Yu Gwan-sun died for her country at the age of 17 (by Western counting) due to her involvement in the March 1st Movement. She was in the position of unfallen Eve; she was as Eve in Adam's nation. Japan in the position of Satan decapitated her, and cut her body into 6 pieces. The number 6 represents Satan. In devoting herself for the independence movement, Yu Gwan-sun demonstrated her absolute loyalty to her nation, even at the sacrifice of her life. In 1919, when the independence movement was spreading like wildfire, I was still in my mother's womb. The Returning Lord is not supposed to be born into a nation under Satan's sovereignty; that is why this fight against Japan took place shortly before the time of my birth. Ten months passed from the time of the March 1st Movement to when I was born, in the first month of 1920. (229-033, 1992/04/09)
To which nation will the Messiah come? From the viewpoint of the Principle of Restoration, he should not come to an independent nation. This is because originally Israel, and Judaism with its influence on the nation of Israel, should have welcomed the Messiah and become his foundation. When they were not able to do so, the foundation of the nation and of Judaism was lost, and as a result, the Jewish people would later lose their nation and be scattered throughout the world. From the standpoint of Jesus, the nation and the religion that should have supported him were gone; thus, Jesus had to start his ministry from a position where he had no relationship with either the nation or the Temple.
Members are touring the house where True Father was born and raised
Therefore, through the 2,000 years of history since Jesus' death, God worked to prepare a nation having circumstances similar to those of the nation of Israel and then connected that nation to the providence preparing for the day of the Lord at the Second Advent. Since the people of Israel began a history full of misery and separation, in order to deal with this problem, God was required to find a nation enduring the same suffering. From the perspective of history, the nation in that position was Korea. Indeed, the Korean people have many striking similarities to the Jewish people in terms of where they are situated in their region and in terms of their history. (067-244, 1973/07/01)
My hometown is Jeongju, in North Pyeongan Province, North Korea. I have many stories to share about that place, and many anecdotes from my childhood. In the future, the people of the world will regard my hometown in the same way Muslims regard Mecca and Christians regard Jerusalem. Therefore, I urge you to visit my hometown in your lifetime. If you do not, when you go to the spirit world, people there will accuse you, pointing their fingers at you and saying, "What in the world did you do while you were on earth?" (034-067, 1970/08/29)
When my mother was pregnant with me and her delivery date was nearing, she journeyed to her hometown of Daesandong. Right beside my mother's hometown is a large mountain. From all directions, nothing obstructs the view of this mountain, which is called Mt. Jeseok. It is a mystical mountain. While my mother was waiting for the day of my delivery, she had a dream: The weather had become terribly fierce. A heavy storm blew in and dark clouds covered her village. Then from out of the clouds came a streak of light. From the top of Mt. Jeseok a golden dragon appeared. It encircled the waist of the mountain, and then flew upward. My mother in her vision followed the dragon as far as the mountaintop, then sat up there and enjoyed the sight of it as it flew about. Suddenly the mountaintop turned into an ocean. In that ocean two golden dragons appeared, twisting and gliding and splashing their tails in the water. Then with the words, "Farewell, my beloved world," they ascended into the sky.
My mother kept these things close to her heart. When I was eight, she told me the story and said, "No matter how hard I think about it, I can only conclude that it is about the mission that you must undertake." Once you come to know the Will, you can understand the promises of God that are revealed in such symbolic dreams. My mother received many revelations. Whenever something special was to occur or a difficulty might arise, she knew it in advance and made conditions of devotion to prepare for it. This is how I know that by bringing heaven and earth together we can solve any problem. (401-218, 2003/01/07)
The Chinese character sun in my name is the combination of two characters, symbols of a fish and a sheep. They can also mean the ocean and the land, or the water and the earth. The character sun also means bright and cheerful. When the morning sun shines radiantly after a night of rainfall, we say in Korean, sunmyung-hada, which means "it is bright and clear."
The character myung is a combination of the sun and the moon. Thus, placing the two characters sun and moon together signifies that clarity and brightness will pervade both heaven and earth. Heaven represents man and earth represents woman, so when they become as one, all will be bright, clear and cheerful.
The character moon which is my family name, refers to truth. I am doing the work that my entire name stands for. That is why throughout my life, whenever I look at my name I think to myself, "I must act and live accordingly. I really must." (246-284, 1993/04/20)
I am from the Nampyeong Moon clan. Nampyeong literally means a flat land in the south. According to Oriental concept, south represents the ideal. Hence, Nampyeong means a natural, open land, a flat land where all is in balance, a southern country waiting for the people to gather.
The character moon means a piece of writing. When you write the character moon you place a dot on top of the character wu which means "again." Then you end up with this character, moon, which looks like an offering table for the ancestors with food placed on top. This signifies that the Moons must take on the responsibility of the chief priest. They must become masters of religious rites, jeju. By repeatedly making
offerings to God, they must become the masters of religious rites to dissolve God's deep sorrow. That is what I think my name means, and that is how I live. (283-157, 1997/04/12)
If you have among your ancestors a national patriot, a saint, or a divine son or daughter who rendered distinguished service, you must attend that person as the ancestor of your ancestors.
During the Goryeo Dynasty, one ancestor in my bloodline was Moon Geuk-gyeom. He died while traveling back and forth trying to bring reconciliation between military officers and civil officials. The tradition he established served as a bridge which enabled the Goryeo dynasty to last for 500 years. Also, I am the 23rd-generation descendant of Moon Ik-jeom, who risked his life to smuggle cotton seeds into Korea from China for the poor to make clothing. (606-234, 2009/01/13)
My family began residing in Jeongju when my great-grandfather moved there. We had a family motto, "Let us cherish the entire land of Korea and look forward to having visitors from all parts of the land. Whenever they find their way to our home, let us attend them with all our heart. If a guest happens to stop by our home, we will attend him with our utmost sincerity. Then blessings from all parts of Korea will come to our clan."
That is why I am telling you: do not be inconsiderate to anyone who visits you. You do not know what lineage each visitor or guest is from. If you offer visitors your most sincere hospitality before sending them on their way, you will bring blessings to your descendants. Since those blessings come from the entire land of Korea, the blessings that come on the foundation set by your sincerity can be conveyed back to the land of Korea. Then, when you expand this foundation to the world beyond Korea, you will be showered with blessings that you can share with the world. This is how you should think. (127-085, 1983/05/05)