Sun Myung Moon
January 3, 1986
Excerpts
Seoul, Korea
Jeung Jin Nim, dressed in her finest, poses with Father and Mother after her sister Un Jin Nim's wedding.
What kind of promise do you think God made with me when I began to walk the way of His will in my youth? He told me His promise would unfold in one of two different ways: One was that I would build the Kingdom of God on the 2000-year foundation of Christianity without any suffering; the other was that I, like Jesus, would go through incredible suffering but then emerge victorious. The first promise foretold that if Christianity and America were to accept me, the Kingdom of God would be built automatically. If, as the victor of World War II, America had indeed united with Korean Christianity and accepted me, then the ideal of the unified world would have materialized in seven years. However, I foresaw early in my life that suffering was destined to follow me wherever I went. Therefore, I was well prepared internally before God ordered me to go to North Korea and, later, to America.
In North Korea I went to prison, to a place that even Satan couldn't stand. There I established a standard of love much higher than Satan's. I came out of that prison with a victorious proclamation that I would return to the North with a love that was far beyond the individual level, and win the final battle. Without such a standard of love, it is not possible to liberate humankind from Satan. Even individual liberation is not possible unless we belong to God, centering on love. After individual liberation is accomplished, we should go forward to liberate the family, the nation, and the world.
America Turned Her Face Away
When I went to America, carrying the mission to liberate humankind, no one welcomed me. America turned her face away. Try to think about what my sorrow was like at that time. White Americans especially just watched me suspiciously while I worked for the providence. Even the American members complained about my activities. I reminded myself of the persecution I had gone through in Korea and consoled myself that it was not so strange after all to be persecuted in America, since I had been persecuted even by my own parents, my wife and child, my hometown, and the government of Korea. If I had not been so bitterly persecuted in Korea, I would have gone back there as soon as I was persecuted in America. At first I thought that persecution by foreigners would be stronger than by Koreans, but I discovered that it was weaker. I told myself that I could not be angry, because I knew my way was destined to be the most rugged of all.
My suffering has been bigger and deeper than that of any patriot who ever longed for the liberation of his country. Because I never avoided suffering, but rather fought and overcame it directly, my life has been indescribably painful. I dedicated my youth to building the Kingdom of God and totally sacrificed my individual and family happiness. Right after I founded the Unification Church, the extensive persecution from Ehwa University began. From even before that time up until today, I have passed through a way of suffering more painful than treading on thorns with bare feet; it was heartbreaking.
You, who have walked together with me on this way since joining the church, should examine yourselves. If you have done anything which you feel is unforgivable, I believe you know what to do to repair it. In your minds, who am I? What do you feel about me? Please think about whom I have been dedicating my life for. I never lived for myself as an individual. Because I am in the position of a parent, I have dedicated my life for you and your children. I have been bearing the cross for all of you with joy.
I have fulfilled my responsibility towards the blessed families. The 36, 72, and 124 Couples always had at least the minimum standard of living necessary for their activities. I myself have lived in such a way that the blessed families could never accuse me. I provided homes, food, and clothes for blessed families, and they received money when they were in need.
Yet I could not even buy a handkerchief for my physical mother. I could not fulfill the dictates of filial piety toward my physical parents while they were on earth, but I have been fulfilling them for Heavenly Father. That is the more genuine, precious, sincere, and eternal filial piety. Thus I have set up conditions for my physical parents to be proud of their son in the spirit world. On earth they complained about me and were opposed to my ways; now in spirit world, knowing that I walked the way of the most dear and pious son of God, they can understand and feel gratitude.
In The Very Whirlpool of War
In the year I was born, an independence movement arose in Korea. From 1920 the Korean people suffered seven lean and hungry years and were ruthlessly exploited by the Japanese. They had a hard time both from within and from without. This difficult situation came as national indemnity for the sake of the birth of one baby sent by God, foreshadowing that his life on earth would be a miserable one. My life began in the very whirlpool of war, and I grew up experiencing the vicissitudes and painful events related to war. During the first 40 years of my life, human history faced sudden changes again and again, and in this body I have confronted and passed through many monumental events of this ever-changing age.
I was always hungry until I was over 30 years old, although this was not due to poverty. While I attended school in Seoul, I cooked for myself but I did not eat well. I strictly economized in all aspects of my life. I supported myself by pulling a hand wagon whenever I had time, and I helped my friends with the extra money I earned. During vacations many of my friends happily went back to their hometowns, but I did not go to mine. I kept working because I did not want my mother to worry about my tuition and fees.
In my school days I used to pray more than 15 times a day, even while studying. At that time I had to go outside to the well to wash. In the winter the water was very cold, and when I came back to my room, which was also terribly cold, I felt as if my whole body were freezing. Nevertheless I persevered and kept on praying. I used only a single-layer quilt for warmth. My youth and my diligent prayer life must have made it possible for me to endure those cold winters.
I also kept a diary, but I could not keep it for long. Since Korean students were often involved in independence movements, Japanese police would investigate our homes and arrest people on the slightest provocation. I could not write about many important things, so I committed them to memory instead.
I did not wear fine clothes and had no time to get dressed up or hang around on the streets. My clothes were always very simple. I could not go to the barber shop very often, so my beard would grow out. Still, I never forgot to attend church.
Father (far right) with a church group in Seoul; the minister is standing.
I Was Popular With the Children
As a Sunday school teacher I was very popular with the children. I used to tell them interesting Bible stories and fairy tales. Once I started, I wasn't likely to stop. Sometimes I spoke all day long! I loved the children very much, so they followed me happily. Whenever I visited the neighborhood churches, the parents as well as the children would surround me and listen to my stories. Some of the children I taught in Sunday school are now Unification Church members. They say that my story-telling was really interesting in those days! I worked hard because I considered that teaching in Sunday school was my preparation for establishing God's will on earth. From my school days, I was always concerned about how to realize Heavenly Father's will in this fallen world. I did not create goals for individual achievement, but I committed all my efforts to finding the original human world.
Since I have undertaken the way of God's will, there is no place I have not been. I know the customs of every corner of this country. Sometimes on my journeys I could not find any place to sleep, so I would spend the night at beggars' shelters, talking with the men until late into the night and praying for God's will to be fulfilled even through them. I worked on the mountainside together with the peasants who make charcoal, praying that God's will would one day rise just like those flames. Wherever I went my heart was given to God. I knew that I could not enter the realm of God's heart if I could not plant my own heart in the ground of God's will. I always lived single- mindedly so that I could represent God's inner situation at all times.
Later I went to Japan, where I continued to study and lead the same lifestyle. My life in Japan was miserable. I filled my days with nothing but study and manual labor. With the money from my jobs, I paid my tuition and fees and helped my friends to pay theirs, just as before. My life has been lived for God and for my neighbors in every way.
I am voluntarily walking on a rugged and sorrowful path. Do you know why I am going through such a difficult process? It is the unavoidable way of destiny. You are people who have pledged to follow me. You say that you love and respect me. If this is so, you have to consider what you have done for God, for me, and for yourselves, and how much you have really achieved in your mission to restore other people.
God tried to fulfill His will by sending the Messiah to the people of Israel, who helped prepared for his coming for 4,000 years. They should have believed in and attended Jesus as the son of God, and they should have realized the true meaning of all the historical events through which God had called them to lay the foundation of faith. They should have offered their wives, their children, and their belongings, as well as their own minds and bodies, to Jesus. They should have offered everything in obedience to God. If the family-level ownership of love centering on Jesus had been established in this way, the Kingdom of Heaven could have been built on earth automatically. Yet because Jesus was betrayed and nailed to the cross, this providence was delayed until the time of the Second Advent.
The Age of Completing God's Will
On the path of God's will I had an extremely difficult time until I was 40 years old. This was the time period in which I surmounted Jesus' individual course. When I married Mother at the age of 40, I took the next step to the family level. From there I was to build a stable worldwide foundation until I reached the age of 60. Forty years from my 60th birthday we will be in our third millennium, at which time the providence should be fulfilled completely. The original world of God's ideal should be built by that time. In this age of completing God's will, we have to pursue stable progress rather than adventure. The age of adventure has passed away.
Now nobody can exterminate the Unification Church in Korea or America with any kind of power. The communist world cannot do anything against us; we have a firm foundation for the church even in the communist bloc. Even after I go to the spirit world the Unification Church will continue to exist forever on the earth.
Now is the time when the final trial is being held. This is the most important moment for me to stand before you and give you God's message, although even if I don't speak to you, God's will is destined to be fulfilled. As parents, husbands and wives, and sons and daughters, you as well as all your belongings must be given the qualification by God to be the true owners of God's love. Without inheriting this qualification through the True Parents, there is no way you can enter the Kingdom of Heaven. You will not be able to enter if you miss the deadline. Even though you may be billionaires, or even if billions of you want to enter, no one will show you the way. Only when you inherit true ownership centering on God's love can you enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
The purpose of establishing the Day of All Things was so that men and women could be given the qualification of true ownership. Restoration through indemnity is necessary because the fallen world still owns parental love and children's love. Without liquidating the love of the fallen world, you as individuals cannot enter into the realm of true ownership under God's love. In order to be individually recognized by God, you must relate to True Parents, the unfallen ancestors, in the direct dominion of God's love. You must be free from all fallen nature according to the standard of the Principle. You should ask yourselves, "Have I become absolutely one with God's love as a son or daughter in my motivation, my actions, and my life goals? Have I been given the qualification for ownership centering on the true love of God?" How can you freely eat or sleep without having fulfilled this requirement?
Before hoping to attain dominion over the universe, you must complete dominion over yourselves. The biggest obstacle to this is your habitualiszed fallen nature. Without removing your fallen nature, you can never perfect dominion over yourselves. Everyone wants to fulfill his or her desires. The desire for eating, for sleeping, and for sex are the main desires of people in the fallen world, and we should fight and overcome them at any cost in order to stand in front of God. These three desires are the most important targets of our struggle.
My Fight against Human Desires
In my school days in Japan, I considered the fight against these three desires to be of utmost importance in becoming free of fallen nature. In order to complete dominion over myself, I had to struggle incredibly. I had to consider beautiful women as stones or wooden objects. I could never touch any woman to quell the normal hot-blooded desires every young man has, nor could I fall into that sentimental kind of love which comes so easily to young people. School girls would often visit me in my room. I tried to think of them not as women but as sisters, and I advised them in the right way of life. As a foreigner, I also had to be cautious of entering into any liaisons with people.
Among the schoolgirls who visited me was the daughter of a very well-known rich man from Hwang Hae Do. She used to come to my room when I was out and leave money there. Normally in such a situation people would think me lucky to have a rich girlfriend, but I made it my goal to fight against any seduction by rich women. I never touched that money. Only after six months did I invite her to my room. Then I told her about my ideas and my historical position. I told her what we had to do for the sake of the future of Korea, and how diligently we should study in the face of ethnic discrimination.
After listening to me she said that never in her life had she known a man like me. She said that I possessed the true soul of Korea -- a genuine Korean spirit. She bowed to me and shed tears, asking me to forgive her for not understanding my deep purpose and expressing hope that she could attend me as a sister. From that time on I took the best care of her among all the Korean schoolgirls I knew in japan.
When I was young my only desire was to see God cry with gratitude and joy. I have been living to see the day when God could shed tears of love and tell me, "You have resolved all my historical resentment toward all countries and all peoples!" If God could shed such tears because of my effort, then I could say that the purpose of my life was fulfilled.
Living with this kind of heart, I never cried for myself, even as blood spurted out of my mouth when I was beaten in prison. In the same way, I never shed a single tear for Heung Jin until his Seunghwa ceremony was over. If I had cried to see my own beloved son dead, how would God feel? I would gladly make a sacrifice of one thousand or ten thousand sons if it could relieve God's heart of pain and resentment.
Only after Heung Jin's Seunghwa ceremony was over and I had fulfilled my responsibility as a parent did I shed any tears. First I had to clear away everything that remained to be solved before he died in confrontation with Satan. If I had not set up indemnity conditions, including the Unification Ceremony and the Day of Victory of Love, Heung Jin's death would have been meaningless.