The Heart and Spirit of Fishing

Sun Myung Moon
July 3, 1986
Morning Garden

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Is there anyone here who is seeing me for the first time tonight? Are you new members? If you are a new member here, I am sure you have not experienced tuna fishing before. What did you do before you joined the church? Are you at least eighteen years old? Even though you are all in your early twenties, you are too young. Those who are here for tuna fishing for the first time, please raise your hands. Don't worry about your result this season. I understand that most of you are inexperienced. You have learned much during these ten days of education and training. However, when you look at the difference between these few days of classes and actual fishing itself, this training is nothing. It is like a speck of dust compared to the reality. The most difficult kind of fishing, amongst all the various kinds which you can learn, is tuna fishing.

Giant tuna are such difficult fish to catch. They can be found all over the world, in five different seas. Because they travel such great distances, they need speed. When you finally see an actual tuna, you will see that the side and back fins fold in so that the tuna moves just like a torpedo. Their top speed is around 100 knots and they average about thirty knots. Think about the life of the giant tuna. They have lived in the ocean for ten to fifteen, some of them more than twenty years. They have gone through so many risks, dangers and difficulties and are still alive. In that sense, some of their brains may work better than ours. For example, when the tuna seiner comes, the tuna don't just pass by the boat casually. They turn sideways and look very carefully. We are here to catch that very smart kind of fish.

Some of the largest tuna weigh over 1,000 pounds. They are larger than a big bull, but they don't have bones like the bull. In this sense, God has prepared the tuna as a gift for mankind and we are here to receive that gift. However, in general, American people have been ignorant of how good tuna taste, but the Japanese people have known about it for a long time. The tuna is extremely tasty. A professor in Japan who has been developing and managing a tuna farm expressed concern that if Americans acquired a taste for tuna there would be none left for the Japanese. Fortunately, Americans don't know so much about tuna yet. However, when they find out the Japanese people are in trouble.

Let's compare something. If we say that whales are the kings and queens of the ocean, then tunas are the most handsome princes and beautiful princesses. We are here to catch this handsome and beautiful prince and princess of a fish. How beautiful and handsome are they? Let us suppose you have been on the ocean for days and days and then you catch one. You look at it and then immediately you go and kiss that tuna. Many people have been inspired like that.

You can think like this, "I'm here to catch this tuna, but my skinny and rough Japanese hands are too ugly to even touch such a beautiful and handsome fish." You can certainly think like that. You must have lots of curiosity about catching tuna. I myself started fishing fourteen years ago. When I brought the New Hope here for the first time, the entire country knew about it. When I first came here, I didn't know anything about tuna fishing. I didn't know what kind of hook to use or how to make the lines or anything at all about it. However, I had more confidence than anyone else that within three years I would be the master of tuna fishing.

Father's Foundation in Tuna Fishing

When I first came here there were lots of tuna, maybe more than there are now. On the average day, it was not unusual for a boat to go out and catch at least one fish a day, and many times they would catch two fish. Thinking about those early days, I want to share a deep experience with you. In the beginning, I went out time after time and hooked up a fish, but then I would lose it. All the fishermen who had caught their fish would come back and say, "Another day where Reverend Moon hooked up a fish, but lost it."

I was not able to catch the fish and bring it up to the boat. This happened almost every day. And so, this became their daily gossip, whether I could actually bring home a fish or not. You will see that there are many large and luxurious boats which go out tuna fishing. Some of them bring their children and wives. I experienced them telling their families day after day, "Oh, Reverend Moon lost another fish today."

How many times in a row did I hook up but fail to catch? Not once, not twice, not even three times. Not until the sixteenth fish did I finally succeed. That was the first time in twenty-one days that I was finally able to bring one up to the boat. Mr. Ohnuki is a living witness to this history and he should stand up tonight so that you can see who he is. Think about those twenty days that we went out and the fifteen fish which we couldn't bring up to the boat. When we got that sixteenth fish, Mr. Ohnuki was in tears at that moment. Think about the conviction that we had to have to get that first fish.

In my mind was the thought, "I must train the youth of America to be able to catch at least one fish a day." Think about having that thought during those twenty days. My focus was on the way to hook the fish and not lose it. I was constantly studying this point. Another way of looking at it is to consider the money that is spent tuna fishing. Think about spending so much money day after day and not being able to catch even one tuna. I became a desperate person.

You must understand why I started fishing for tuna in the first place. You must know why I designed this type of training. There are four major fishing areas in the world. One is in Norway and the other three are around the American shoreline. There are other fishing areas of course, but the major ones are right here. In other words, no matter what kind of fish you are looking for, you can find it in the waters around America and you can find it usually in great quantity.

The tragedy is that in general Americans don't appreciate fish and don't eat them. The fish go through a cycle, they are born and then die. In a way, it is a real waste to just die. Those fish are there to be eaten, either by a larger fish or by man. Fish are a high source of protein and nutrition. If we don't eat them, if we just let them die and go to the bottom, it is a real waste.

Furthermore, about six or seven years ago, America declared their fishing borders and foreign boats cannot cross over them. This declaration has become a political issue. Nations which really depend on fishing as part of their economy such as Japan, Italy or Germany have been protesting this boundary. At the same time, the American people do not care much for fish, so there is no one to initiate anything new in the fishing industry. Out of concern for the future, I began many of our educational projects and business ventures centered on the ocean. On the land, if you farm, it takes about twenty years to establish your foundation. However, if you begin an enterprise on the ocean, you can begin to see results after just five or six years. Better than gold, the ocean is waiting to be used by man. The problem is that people do not know or care so much about it. One of the reasons that Americans do not care for the fishing industry is the nature of fishing itself. When the large fishing vessels go out, they stay out fishing for three to six months. Many of the fishermen's wives stay at home with nothing to do and often they finally just leave with someone else.

Therefore, young people who are growing up in ocean towns don't think about getting involved in fishing at all. Instead they run to the larger cities where they can get a nice job in an office. For example, this city of Gloucester used to be very busy, before the 200 mile limit was set. Many foreign ships were coming in and out, buying supplies, loading and unloading, so the young people of this town could find jobs and work here. Gloucester was very busy indeed and at that time it was growing. However, after the declaration, many young people ran away and Gloucester became somewhat of a ghost town.

Without the boats coming in and out, without the young people staying to work here, who is the master of this town? Well, the Moonies appeared just a few years ago. When we first came here, people thought, "Moonies are the worst of the worst people." They looked at Reverend Moon as some kind of scary spirit and tried to kick him and all the Moonies out. Actually, Moonies are trying to be the best of the best people. Now their attitude has begun to change from being so nasty to more warm and welcoming.

Many people brought their luxury boats here. They sat on the deck with their big bellies showing from beneath their shirts and shouted at us, "Hey! Who are you? What are you doing here?" They said things with a very nasty feeling behind it. At first, none of us knew anything about tuna fishing. We had to go around buying different kinds of hooks and things. Some of the members went with me, but they didn't know anything either. Then, people would whisper in the stores, "Oh, that must be Reverend Moon." In some cases, a store would close its door when I came and they would say, "You cannot come in." Then, I said right back, "Open the door."

In the beginning, I would ask for some kind of fishing gear which I knew the store owner had, but they didn't want to show it to me. They would show me some equipment which was not as good as what I had asked for. I had to keep going on with endurance and patience, facing all these things. I didn't do it because I wanted to make my own profit; I kept going because I wanted to make these ocean cities alive again.

The Vision Behind Tuna Fishing

My goal is to develop once again the ocean cities in America so that fish and fish products can be exported to feed people all over the world. Some of you may be wondering why you have been called to Gloucester, such a small and insignificant town. You must inherit my spirit which overcomes persecution and difficult situations, because I have a vision of how to save the world and even provide food for the entire world.

The boats you are riding on were designed by me and built by the members. After nine years of experience, I developed the Good Go boat. When I first started building these boats, no one had any expertise. Mr. Kamiyama was at a total loss when he first heard my plan for the boats. He looked completely shocked and said, "What, we are going to build fishing boats?" He truly hoped that I wouldn't tell him to build those boats, but I said, "Build 150 boats in the first year."

Think about it. With so much money invested in such an expensive boat, each one was given to completely inexperienced members who didn't know anything about its value. With these boats, they were trained how to fish for tuna. With each boat that we produced, there was a tremendous amount of tears and sweat and prayer involved. You may not be able to see that, but that kind of spirit is built into each boat. If you truly understand this, you must shed tears when you ride on that boat. When I took my first ride on a Good Go, did I cry or did I just laugh without much serious thought? What do you think? Therefore, you must pray to have the proper attitude and inherit the spiritual and international connection to these boats. Each country around the world sent their members to help build these boats, and they put their tears and sweat into these boats. No one understood anything. We started virtually from scratch. No one knew what kind of material to buy or how to begin the first step. I know the value of each boat will be worth more than 100 thousand or a million dollars in the future. Why?

Because people will say, "This is a boat built by Reverend Moon." For this reason, I instructed the members to buy the best quality of materials that they could find; they had to build the boat with the highest standards, not just so-so.

I know that in the future sometime, in each of the fifty states, even if they have to sell their capitol building in order to buy one of these boats, they will do that. But now, some Unification members feel like they don't even want to look at those boats, that they want to run away from their boat. I see that kind of thing. My goal and desire and hope is built into this boat, but the young American members don't understand this and sometimes, they try to run away from this boat.

If you read the speech from when I began Ocean Church, you will see how serious and how important that message was. However, even after I gave that kind of explanation, many of them since that time went away from this Ocean Church activity. It's a shame, but I cannot give up. Even though I wanted to give this to American young people, they didn't catch their opportunity, so I had to bring young Japanese members to do the job. In order for you to find the most valuable and precious treasure, you have to go the most difficult path. That's true.

American members who are here this summer, did you come voluntarily or did you come because you were sent? Do you really want to be here? I don't believe you, yet. You will have to show me. I have watched so many American members leave and run away from this Ocean Church activity, even though there might have been good reason for some to go. I stood by and just watched their coming and going. In the meantime, I never changed my goal and my spirit for this Ocean Church endeavor. Why? Simply because I know the value of it.

If you American young men go out fishing, who will point a finger at you? No one. However, everyone pointed at me because I was a Korean man. You must understand that with everything you go through, every difficult situation and every persecution, I have already gone through this course before you. Do you understand? I never retreat, but always move forward. People might have said this year, "Well, Reverend Moon was in Danbury prison last year and now he is out. His movement must have declined a little since he was there. Well, they had twenty or so boats last year, so maybe this year we will see only ten or so boats." Instead I went right ahead and ordered seventy boats to go out this year! Do you have the same spirit?

I think you are just like any other young American out there. You are the same type. You are shouting "No!", but I think you are the same type. What do you think? Is this true or not? I cannot trust you. You have to show me! When you bring result, then I can see you are different. From now, we are going the difficult way. Can you do it? Raise your hands. Can you do it? Those Japanese members who didn't understand my talk missed the chance to raise your hands. Please do not forget that the boats you are riding in are the best of the best fishing boats in the world and they are made by Reverend Moon. We built this boat, Moonie spirit built this boat. Not because we wanted to make money, but because we wanted to make the spirit of America alive again.

Until this city of Gloucester itself disappears, we will come here every year. We will take care of this town; we will take care of this ocean. We have about 200 people here tonight. Everyone has a similar situation don't they? You have two hands and two eyes and all your limbs intact. I may indeed have the same features as you, but when it comes to the ability to lead people, to having a fighting spirit, to being able to go on, I have more ability than all 200 of you together. The difference is in my determination and dedication, in my spirit.

The Kind of Men and Women We Must Become

Even when I went to Danbury, I was not defeated by this country, but fought against the injustice. When I came out, I was acknowledged for my fight. We need guts. We must stand tall and say, "No matter how fierce the wind blows, no matter how much the storm comes, I will stand here and never stop." Several years ago, there was a storm warning in Gloucester and the radio announcer told everyone to stay at home. Then, at 1:00 a.m., I said, "Let's go." The wind was blowing so hard that everyone knew the danger involved. In spite of that, I said, "March." And out into that storm we went.

I like that kind of man. Any kind of woman likes that kind of man. How about you? Do you like that kind of man? Or, do you just like a disco dancing man? What kind of man are you? Are you a Reverend Moon style of man? I am a very tough man. At the same time, I must follow the spiritual direction. Do you know what I mean? This is the kind of spirit we must have, saying, "Until I have finally closed my eyes, no one will open my fist. I will grab this way as strong as I can and never let go."

In general, the American people do not have a strong tradition, only 200 years of history. A small country like Korea has almost 5,000 years of history. This means you only have 1/25 of the time on earth as Korea. In comparison, you have very little tradition. Americans tend to follow the wind. If it blows east, you go east. If it blows west, you go west. For example, because you lack tradition here, men are saying, "Well, I don't need women. I will just live with other men." The women are saying, "We don't need men either, we will just love each other." If this kind of phenomena continues for another century, the American people will simply disappear.

Think about it. Maybe the Black people and the native Indian people are saying, "Well, you White people just keep on going like that. In another hundred years, we can have our country back; we can take care of this nation without you." It's really a shameful thing. Young people in this nation do not have the concept of shame. They think that free sex is just natural, but Moonies must' be different from these kind of people, not just in quantity, but in quality. Your quality must be such that even if someone wanted to trade the entire population of America, 240 million people, for your spiritual life, you would not be swayed by that.

If there are two types of people living together, the stronger of the two will survive. Whoever puts more effort into something will become the subject and whoever works less will become the object. For example, Japanese people work almost twenty-four hours a day and they work seven days a week. On the other hand, American people work only a few hours a day and just part of the week. Who will be the owner in the future? Who comes out ahead? The hard worker or the easy going worker? Yes, the hard worker.

That's why, when I came to America, I looked around and found who was working hard. I said, "If you are working ten hours a day, I will work twenty hours. If you take twenty years to lay the foundation, I will take only ten years." That was my determination and it remains my determination. Those who don't want to inherit that spirit from me can raise your hands. It's easy to hear and understand these words, but if you try to practice this and apply it in your daily life, you will turn your head from it and say, "I can't go on."

Here you are getting up at four o'clock in the morning and there is no light. I can hear you saying, "Oh, this Moonie tradition, I don't like it at all. There's too much to do all the time. This is a problem for me." No! This is a problem for ME! For me, that kind of person presents a problem. Our situation is that we are in a difficult world. As we progress, it gets more difficult. You think about our ideology. We can unify the world. That is our concept; that is our possibility. How will we do it? How difficult has it been for you? From now on it becomes even more difficult. This is our conclusion.

Early in the morning you think, "Oh, this is crazy to live like this. This is Oriental tradition, this is a Korean system. I don't like this!" I know this point. Do you think I am just a Korean guy? For forty years, since the end of World War II, I always took the different way. Even in Korea they said, "This is a crazy guy, something is wrong with his brain." I did everything the difficult way. Not even in Korea did they want to do it this way. This is not the Korean way, not the oriental way! Why were they against Reverend Moon in Korea? Why were they against me in Japan? Why were they against me in this country? Because this way of life is God's way. God knows what I have done. I have done everything the way that God instructed. God doesn't go the way of the handsome guy, the easy way. No! God's way is the most difficult way. I have always compared two ways and gone the more difficult one, no matter what.

Why? Because I am so concerned how to make the shortest course possible. I want to go the distance in the quickest way. No one wants to go that kind of way. However, God insisted I go that way, so I have always gone that way. Now, the spiritual world and the Unification world has to go that way. This way is different from America's way of doing things. That is why the young Moonie doesn't like the Unification way of doing things. Your concepts make it difficult for you, not the way itself. Do you understand this point?

Who can represent the Unification way? You? Or you? I have always thought about the future, about the entire world. You never thought about that so much. Why do you cling to doing things the American way? You say, "Oh, America is the number one country, the leading nation of the world, the champion of the free world. We are the first in everything." And you wonder, "Why should we follow this Oriental system from Reverend Moon?" Either go this way or don't. The Bible says, "Be cold or hot." God doesn't like someone in between. Even Satan doesn't like that kind of person. How about you? You are hot to go this way? Hot water or hot Moonie? What are you? Those who consider yourselves different from the people I just described, raise your hands. What do you think of my response? Am I giving you a good smile or a suspicious smile? Make a new determination in yourself. With your stomach, with your guts make a new determination. This is why I came to speak to you today. It is my sole reason. Let me ask you one more time. Do you want to follow this way?

Father's Heart for Fishing

Okay then, let's return to my story. Sometimes, when you are speaking, you have to clean out the room before you set the table. Isn't that true? That's the meaning of leadership. Now I am sure that you have the kind of spirit that says, "NO matter how much the storm comes, I will go out." Do you have that spirit? Good. That's the difference. Now you feel confident and I feel happy to talk to you as well.

You've been given responsibility for these new and clean boats. After seventy days of tuna fishing you must be able to return these boats just as clean. This is how you not only love your boats, but you also love the country. Once you are out in the ocean, which is more important, your body or your boat? NO, no, no! Your body is more important! Okay, you insist that the boat is more important. This time, I will agree with you because it is true when you go out on the water. On the water, your boat is how you survive.

Therefore, you must love your boat more than you love your body. No matter how famous you might be, no matter how many people are on the boat, the boat is of more value than they are when you are on the water. Without the boat, you cannot exist. Think about the people who clean their hands when they have grease on them, but don't bother to clean the boat when- it has some dirt on the side. That is not the spirit that I have been talking about today.

If we have such an attitude out on the ocean, the boat will hate you and even the ocean will hate you. However, if you love the boat with all your heart, even the ocean will embrace you. Only when the boat returns love to you and the ocean embraces you can you stand and be truly happy. How wonderful it is if you can ask your boat, "Are you proud to be with me?" and your boat replies, "Yes, that's true." If you feel that from your boat, if you feel that from the ocean, how wonderful it is.

Furthermore, you have to love and take care of the equipment on the boat. The engine and the boat are protecting your life. Your lines and hooks, you must love more than your own clothes. When you love someone or something, you never hurt them. And it comes back in the same way. If you love your boat and all the things on that boat, they will not hurt you. They will even protect you.

This is the kind of attitude you must have. If you have such an attitude, there will be no accidents. On the boat, the most important thing is the engine. Without the engine you cannot move, so it is like the heart of the boat. No matter how good your boat may be, if there is a storm and your engine is not operating properly, you will not be able to move. Also, you must learn how to steer the boat correctly. You shouldn't make sudden movements which are dangerous. Don't play on the boats. In the first nine years of fishing, I never went down to the bottom deck and slept. After that period of time, I had a terrible headache one day and had to take a rest. The owner or master of the boat must keep a high spirit and take care of the boat. That is the spirit we must have.

I have seen so many members who just go to sleep all day. They lean over the side of the boat and show their backside to me. It's quite a view. Well, do you know how old I am now? I am almost sixty-seven years old. At my age some men depend on their canes. However, here I am at this age standing straight and I am the one who has to push you, you young American people. I look at you now and see your spirit. Tonight, you have the spirit of a general who wants to take over the entire world. I really wonder how long you will keep that spirit. Forever? I've heard that before! At least for the tuna season? Who said that? That's a good answer. It is the first step.

Please remember the main point. Love your boat. In Gloucester, we have people who have been tuna fishing seriously for many, many years. They are studying my method and trying to copy it. I came up with the system myself. One aspect of it is that you don't ever have to cut any of the lines. You can untie and re-tie the lines. One tuna line costs about $1,500. Whatever you do, don't lose the line by having to cut it. I have used a line for more than five years without ever losing or cutting it. If you lose a line, even if you catch a tuna, already one fourth of the price is gone.

My method is very organized and economical, therefore, it's superior to any other. The training session you have just gone through is not adopted from somewhere else; it is from my tradition. The original training session is from my heart. You must understand what kind of difficulty and agony others went through until I could come up with this method. With this method and training, you can go out and on your first day on the ocean, you can hook a fish and bring it up. There is a fisherman out there who has tried for three years to catch a tuna and in those years he only caught one. That is how hard it is to catch them, but if you use this method that you have learned, as soon as you go out, you can catch a tuna.

New Hope has a record of thirty-five fish in one season. I am giving you the direction for each boat. You should each catch at least five fish this season. You might think, "Why should I have to catch five fish? I don't like that." You are big and strong American men and you are thinking to yourselves, "Father, you just said that New Hope caught thirty-five fish and I just have to catch only five." You may want to catch more, but I am saying to you that it will take hard prayer and work to reach the goal of five fish. You may have to overcome many obstacles and difficulties on the boat. You may feel so discouraged that you will even want to cry on the boat. There may be times when you don't catch a tuna for so long that you will return to the land almost in tears thinking, "Oh, God doesn't love me." It takes that kind of effort, heart and desire. Even when you are tired, when you are ready to drop over, you will see the tuna going by your boat, not biting. Then, you have to wake up and shout with full force, "Hey, you have to come back here and take this line!" You have to have that kind of spirit.

Even in your dreams, or your nightmares, you have to see this happening and make the same effort. Suppose you go in the mountain and try to catch a tiger. How dangerous and difficult that task would be. Catching a tuna is much the same. When you catch a 1,000 pound tuna we are talking about something worth $7,000 or maybe even $10,000. Can you catch a bull or an ox which is worth that kind of money? There is no comparison.

We are going after that kind of treasure. The reality is such that if you catch one tuna like that, you and your family, even three families, could at least eat for one year without using any other source of money. How precious one fish is. If you just go out and sit on the boat, swaying back and forth and say, "Tuna, come to me," you are simply a thief or robber from the other fishermen. You've got to be serious.

I have spiritual sense. Sometimes, I know that within five minutes the tuna will come and strike. And many times, at that exact moment, the tuna does indeed take the line. I have experienced being extremely tired, but when the tuna strikes I am suddenly refreshed -- fresh like a cucumber! Think about the excitement of that moment. Sometimes a battle is going on, sometimes it lasts for more than an hour, but I am working and sweating so hard that it seems like just one or two minutes. One time, I was waiting with such anticipation all day long. I couldn't think of anything at all because I knew the tuna was coming. I waited and waited so anxiously that I didn't even think of going to the bathroom. Then, just as I thought of doing that, the tuna struck the line. There was so much excitement at that moment that I completely forgot about going to the bathroom; the fight was the only thing on my mind. Only after the fight did I realize that my pants were wet. However, because we had caught the tuna, I didn't even mind about that. That's the first time I've ever shared this experience. Now, can you imagine the kind of excitement that I felt? You should also have a significant memory such as this one for yourself. Don't just wait for the tuna. You have to spiritually call the tuna to you. They have to feel your anxious heart.

Therefore, the number one rule on the boat is no fighting, no shouting. If you have to give a direction on the boat, give it firmly, but calmly. Many people don't like to chum. Those of you with experience know about this. The smell is bad and it looks so bad that no one can describe it. You just try to pass the job around, don't you? However, when you cut the chum, you have to have my heart. Just say to the others, "It's okay, you rest. I will take care of this job." When you start your boat, don't just push the gears and take off. First, look around and make sure everything is in order. When you are coming back, don't just pack up and leave. Really be thankful for the day.

Serious Points About Tuna Fishing

Up to this point, we have learned what kind of significance there is in tuna fishing. We know there is a great future in the ocean and in ocean businesses. We have learned what kind of position and attitude we should have on the boat when we go out. We know there is a great providence behind tuna fishing. You know now how to take care of your boat and your equipment. Now you know how to really concentrate and attract the tuna to your boat, how to cut the chum and offer it.

When the spiritual world looks down on you, which one will they want to help? The one who puts all his sweat and prayer into whatever he is doing, or the one who just takes it easy? So now, let us look at the time when the tuna strikes and is pulling out the line. This is the time when you must be extremely careful. For the beginners especially, remember this: when the tuna strikes and pulls your line out, put the buoy on it and throw the line in the ocean so the tuna can take it away. That way, you can save your other lines from getting tangled and you save yourself from the risk of getting caught in the line as well. Once the tuna has taken out the line and you have pulled in your other lines, you should call in someone from your trinity who has experience. Then, you can go and pick up the ball and fight the fish. That's the safest way.

We will have a competition between the trinity groups. Please remember, when you have the tuna on your line, you have to pull the line in and put it in the basket. You must never step on that-line. Don't ever stand on it. If you get that line wrapped around you and the tuna suddenly pulls, you will go into the ocean and you cannot get out. At that point, there is no escape for you. Please be serious about these points.

Whenever you are pulling the line, someone else has to stand close by and put it neatly away. And never wrap that line around your hand. Just hold on to it, plainly and openly with you hand. Don't twist it. Never bend it 90 degrees. Just let it go through your hand naturally. The quota is usually one fish a day, so once you have the fish on your line, don't panic, don't hurry. Just hold it firmly on the line and let the next person put the extra line neatly away.

You can fight as long as you need to, for two or three hours if you need to. I have one idea about giving some prize money for the fish caught which took the longest and safest amount of time. Maybe you can get $5,000. Whoever takes the longest time and does it the safest way can receive that money. You can share it with everyone on your boat, or in your trinity. This doesn't mean that you hook the fish early in the morning and play with it all day. Some people might pull the fish up to the boat and let it hang there all day long, almost dead, going round and round and they will just sleep. Don't do that. You must live with your conscience. When your tuna comes close enough, you have to harpoon it. If you don't do that, the tuna will say to you, "You swindler, you are not trying to catch me!" And, that would be true. I would really like to give this prize money. I'm also thinking it should go to a sister's boat. How about that? Is that the right way? Let's see what happens.

This is a historical year for catching tuna. Here amongst you are some of the second generation of blessed children. They were recently blessed in marriage and the tuna will come out of curiosity just to look at their face. You may not understand the significance of fishing with these blessed children, but I want you to understand this. You should think, "I must do better than these blessed children and catch more tuna." On the other hand, those blessed children might think, "Heavenly Father, you've got to help us."

They have made the determination to become the expert tuna fishermen this summer, but I don't want you to get behind them. I already told them to have the goal of catching a minimum of five fish per person, not per boat. I want to know what your goal is. Have you made a serious determination as of yet? If you haven't, that is no good. Don't speak out loud, just put it into your stomach and say, "At least I will catch more than five, that is for sure."

Have you made up your mind? I want to conclude by saying that we have to be really careful this year. This summer is especially dangerous. If we follow everything that I have said tonight, there should be no accidents. However, if we don't unite and do well, someone might get hurt. It might not even be one of us, but someone who just comes out to tuna fish without knowing the significance of it. Please be very, very careful. Please pray hard and put all of your effort into it.

Conclusion

Don't worry if I am here or not. These are dangerous and difficult times. There are people in the world who are very serious and they know who I am and they are aiming at me. For this reason, the boat is not the best place for me to be. I am fully aware of the tactics that Communists and terrorists use. I have already experienced them before. Don't be concerned about my schedule. Actually, it is not easy to meet with me like this. You may just take it for granted, but many people ask to see me, especially in these times. Presidential candidates and former prime ministers, people like this are requesting to see me, but I don't answer all their requests. Now is not the time. You should consider yourself like a buffer zone surrounding me.

There is a providential war going on. Who is the commander of that war? I am the one who really understands the details of what is going on. No one in America may think so, but America needs me. In order to unite this world and begin a new world, I must be here. No one else knows how it has to be done. I am aware of this because I recognize where we are in history. The time is that serious. My hope for you tonight is that you can inherit my spirit and the purpose and goal which I have told you about. Then, you must apply that in your daily life. At the end of ten, twenty years you must become successful. Then, in thirty, forty years from now, after I've gone to spirit world, you can say, "I remember that day forty years ago in Morning Garden when Father spoke to me and that is why I have become so successful today." I am hoping and praying that many of you will become the person I've just described. Those who are more than determined to become that successful man or woman who inherits my spirit, please raise your hand.

You have given your determination in front of me tonight, so don't think about complaining this summer. If you have complaints, there can be one day when you bring all your complaints to me and I will take them. Do you want to have such a day? No? Well, then, that is even better. Is it true? You really don't want such a day? Really true? Your answer is strong and clear. Then, I trust you. I am counting on you. May God bless you. 

How I Got To Know Father in Danbury Prison Part II

Interview with Bill Sheppard
July 1986
As told to Laura Reinig
Danbury Federal Prison

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I don't have instant recall about many things I did with Father, but I can give you my feelings. Many things I won't go into because they were highly personal. Not that it would embarrass him. That is an absolutely amazing thing. After living with him for a year, there isn't a thing I could tell you about anything Father said or did that would embarrass him or would be contradictory to any of his speeches or to the Principle. If nothing else, that's a quality I could testify to. No question about it.

He did his time admirably. He never complained, and I mean never. And it wasn't an act. If I could describe only one thing about him to people in the outside world, I'd tell them, "This guy is for real. He is not what the media keep saying. He isn't a facade. No way.

Father wasn't pompous. He wasn't what you'd think a person of his standing would be like. How can I convey this? I think all too often we who were close to him don't do the job right -- we're just not conveying what he stands for or what he is really like. You have to realize that he had a family while he was in here too. He had a lot of responsibilities. He went through a lot of suffering while he was in here. If members put him on too high a level they might think it was simple for him: "Oh, it's easy for Father to go through suffering" But let me tell you, being here was just as difficult for him as it would be for anyone else. It wasn't any easier.

Once Father and I developed a relationship he knew how to talk to me. He knew how to get my attention, what would make me laugh, and what wouldn't. He wouldn't be opposed to saying something really out of character just to make me do a double take. One time Father referred to Moonies as snakes. I said, "Huh? What in the world are you talking about?" He said he was giving me an analogy about how snakes shed their skin, how they change. Father said a lot of things for dramatic effect, probably specifically for me to get my character changed. He speaks differently when he talks to a group, of course, but his meanings were always personally directed at me in some way. That was our give- and-take relationship; he adapted his words to our unique situation.

I saw Father in the TV room one day with a bunch of guys. Father was watching some weird movie. I thought, "Wow, what's going on here?" It was unlike him. He very rarely did that. Father didn't become westernized, but he became familiar with Western things and I became familiar with Oriental things. That type of exchange took place. That wasn't the main emphasis, of course, but that's what happened.

Not Afraid To Be Bold

There is an aloofness among many religious groups, organizations, and people; they often try to stay removed from the outside world. But Father showed me something different. One of the major things Father taught me was how it's okay to do very bold things even though they may be drastic and shocking. I remember watching the mass wedding on television. I mean, that was a big shock, a slap in the face. You really wake up when you see something like that. "Look, honey! Watch the TV! There's a guy from Korea marrying all these people at once!" If someone had told you years ago that that was going to happen, would you have believed it? It was an amazing thing to see.

I remember Father talking to me about effective action. He felt it was very important. To him effective action means you decide to accomplish something and then you act upon your plan. Even if you don't accomplish what you were trying to do but you gave it your 110 percent, there's nothing wrong with that. However, if you try to do something to gain credit in someone else's eyes, you're praying to the wind. It means nothing.

Father said that even the Moonies who didn't make it become better people. Absolutely no question about it. Even if they weren't strong enough to go the entire way, being in the movement helped them become better.

There are some people who work harder than most and have a great drive and energy to accomplish things, but once you get to their heart you find out that their outlook or motivation isn't really so good.

Since I've known Father I find myself going to people and trying to find out who they are right away, so I can get to their heart instead of waiting.

Father would give out a lot of advice even to people who were being blatantly ridiculous. There was a lot of that type of interaction between Father and the inmates. He made the atmosphere a lot better. It's different here in Danbury now that he's gone -- much different. All of the people that knew him here have left. Father told me, "You'll be the last one." As a matter of fact, he said I'll be coming back. He said, "You'll be a tour guide." I said, "Please! Wrong! No way! I don't want any part of it!" [Laughter]

Love For All To See

On visiting days what an entourage would follow Father! He had as many visitors as he could. As they left in the afternoon, his youngest daughter would be calling out to him the whole time. Then everybody would get into the car. Sometimes they had a car with a sunroof on it, and Mother would wave to Father out of it. Their love was there for anybody to see. It wasn't a pretentious type of attitude; it wasn't a show. You just got a very close, warm feeling -- what you'd expect to see in a very close-knit family.

A very real concern for him as a father was his own children. He is a very compassionate man. Some of the things he told me broke my heart. Also Kami has his daughter in Korea now. He doesn't let on, but I'm sure he misses her a lot. They are very close. She's only 13 or 14.

Father told me that he was going to make a concentrated effort to be with his wife and family when he got out and give them the private time they didn't have together while he was here. He talked a lot about the importance of your family, about making up to your family the time that you lose. I made a promise that I would do that with my wife and daughter.

When Carol and I were first married we were always looking for things to get involved in. We were always doing things for other people. We enjoyed ourselves. Something interesting was always happening. Then my daughter was born and we never had much time to do things together after that. When I left for Danbury I made promises to my wife and daughter that have been hard to keep. Father's expectations for me were that he wanted me to survive, that he wanted my family to survive. You know, I thought he would have said, "Go out and work 24 hours a day!" But he told me that I have an obligation to keep my promise to them.

Beyond that, I don't know. I'm apprehensive about what the future brings. Right now, my wife's been working part-time and she's also been working on my case. What a job she has! She's living on welfare, but she's been able to keep our house, which is in mortgage. Still, people would never know how much pain and suffering she's going through. She doesn't wear it on her shirt- sleeve. I say that proudly. She's a fighter and she's doing very well; I see that by looking at my daughter. My daughter has kept her innocence.

She has a fantastic attitude; and physically she looks like she's doing very well.

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When Father Left

Father left Danbury on July 4 and that was hard for me. I remember that day very well. I was standing outside, but they made us go in. They didn't want the media to see that there was a number of people here who wanted to wave goodbye to Father. As soon as the cameras turned around they told us to go inside. None of us saw what happened when Father walked out.

Right after Father left was a very difficult time for me. I went through an emotional period, and I kept thinking, "This is not going to happen anymore. We're not going to have any more of these walks and these talks and the good times and the bad times. We're not going to have these. This is gone." But it didn't last too long.

A very interesting phenomenon happened here concerning the grounds. As I mentioned, I was working on the landscaping just before Father came. I was determined to accomplish the mission of getting this place finished. Little did I know what I was doing it for! Getting everything finished gave me a great sense of accomplishment. While Father was here the grounds were very nice, but then after Father left, everything started to deteriorate and the trees began to die. As a matter of fact, one of the pine trees died almost within a week after he left!

Father always said that everything's symbolic. Father made many analogies -- the idea of leaves falling on the ground, rotting away, and becoming the fertilizer for new life to grow. Well, that's what has happened here. We did the initial landscaping, but someone else is taking care of it now. It's a shame. By those things dying, about 50 bushes and trees, another man has had to come in and rejuvenate them and re-do it all.

Father and I spent the greater part of a year together. That's a long period of time. Being with Father for a year is like being with somebody else for 10 years. I mean, he's so full of information and discussion! He concentrates his time, his efforts, his relationships with people. Father and I talked about the fact that there were very few people in his lifetime that have spent such a concentrated period of time with him as I did. It gives me a headache! Really! That's a heavy responsibility and it's very difficult to live up to. Now I know the importance of Danbury to Father and to the church. So that's why I take it very seriously.

One thing bothers me. I haven't spent years fundraising, I haven't read the Divine Principle over and over and over. I happen to be a little guy from New Jersey who's sitting in a prison. There are church members who have gone through all kinds of difficulties. What I feel uncomfortable with is, it's too bad it wasn't a Moonie here in my place. Or even somebody who was a good writer or a good artist. Not that I would give it up, don't get me wrong. But it's a shame. What did I do to deserve to be here? I mean, I didn't go through a Blessing with my wife. We got married in a conventional way. I knew absolutely nothing about the Unification Church. That's how far removed I was.

I personally went through a lot in my life, but look at what Moonies go through! I just read about the wedding of the 36 Couples of the second generation, June 1986. There was some severe suffering that those parents and children went through. The parents had to work very hard to bring their children up in the right tradition. How can children live in this society without having a girlfriend or boyfriend? I can't imagine it. It's difficult to understand for those of us who have not been prepared throughout our lives to receive the Blessing. That's a hard thing for people. How did they ever get through it? Talk about fear! Being matched with someone? Oh my gosh! But they're so faithful, it's amazing.

"This is right!"

Father has reconfirmed beliefs that I've always had, beliefs that I solidified after going through suffering in my life, starting from the belief that there is a God, that you do have responsibility, and that there are changes you must make.

There's been a dramatic change in me, that I know. Its like, "Wait a minute! This is right! Things that I thought were right have been right all along!" For example, now I know that the things that happened to me do have some sort of a meaning. Also, a person must know what his responsibility is. And I realize that there is a certain amount of value in suffering. I certainly can attest to that factor.

I went through some terrible tragedies in my past that I don't want to share right now. Then my wife and I prayed and prayed for seven years to have children, and all of a sudden we had a child. Then we suffered with our daughter and went through all of those medical complications, and then I went through a trial. Now I find myself in prison for some reason and I don't know why I've been given such a long sentence. And then I meet this guy! And I say that with respect.

One of the most important things I learned from Father was a seemingly simple concept of indemnity, which is hardly a simple concept. I mean, first I read about it and then we talked about it, and then I thought, "Yeah, okay, indemnity. It sounds good. Isn't it like life insurance?" But I realized that it's not just a term; it's a very important understanding.

Father told me it was significant that I had to wait exactly seven years to have a child. A number of other things happened in my life that Father found meaning in. I said to myself, "Hey, something's happened. You went through those things for a reason I found that there was a common denominator of suffering that I shared with Father, and that's one of the reasons I felt I was meant to be here. I know that meeting Father was important to my life.

I have found, after having many relationships with people, that there is a common "something" between two people who have both experienced suffering. I find that I can communicate well with such people, whether they believe in God or not -- that is, if they've risen above it, if they haven't become bitter. I don't walk around saying, "I'm okay, everything's finer' I know bitterness very well. I know it on first-name basis. But I'm talking about facing fear or death or whatever and rising above it in some way. I think it may be easier to go through suffering and find your own heart than it is to go through life never having to suffer.

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My Connection to Father

This, I believe, is the essence of where my connection to Father lies. Going through the same kind of suffering -- that's what bypassed years of discussion between Father and me. It was as if we had known each other for a long, long time. We started at the point where most people are only after many years.

Knowing I went through that suffering eases somewhat the bothesome effect of my being here instead of another Moonie. In other words, to a certain degree, I feel I did pay some dues. Still, I wish there were others who could have been here. I know many other people wanted to be here with Father if they could have.

One thing has changed in me: Now I look upon these abrupt changes and sufferings in my life as a challenge, whereas before I could wallow in self- pity as well as the next guy.

I've fought the judicial system more than anybody on specific issues, and I will do it again; I think they know that. But believe it or not, I don't have an adversary relationship with them. That probably has a lot to do with the fact that I've been able to forgive everybody. I don't mean blanketly, because I don't think you can do that. You have to do it individually; you have to forgive the judge, your co-defendants, whomever. I don't like being here, but I think I'm making the best of the situation. That has a lot to do with Father's influence.

Since I've been incarcerated I have received hundreds of letters of support from my community. Lots of people have written letters to the warden or to the parole board to try to support me. I don't want to talk about my own case, but I only mention it just to give you an idea. These are people that I've known for as long as 30 years, people that I may have done something for never expecting anything in return. They also suffered things in their lives and we suffered through things together. Now those people have tried to support me and my family in the problems we have now. I tell you, it comes back, it all comes back.

Someone else could explain all this much more eloquently. I could talk about many things specifically, but when it comes to this whole situation I have such a deep feeling I find it hard to put it into words. My wife, myself, and my daughter are as close as any family could be, but it's difficult for me to explain to my wife about my relationship with Kami and Father and for her to really understand. That's one of the things I wish I could do better -- to put it into words.

So how do I keep my momentum? Well, do I keep it? No. I wish I could say that I did. I fail just as much as anyone else; maybe I stumble more so. Do I have a direction? I guess I do. There are old clichés, like: Your word is your bond. But those are not just clichés -- those are very important things. It's a very high standard Father set, which I believe in, but I didn't realize that perfection was obtainable before. Now I believe it is. And that's what Father epitomizes for me. 

How I Got To Know Father in Danbury Prison

Bill Sheppard
July 1986
As told to Laura Reinig

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This interview took place in the small, office-sized chapel where Father, Mr. Kamiyama, Bill, and Larry Evola, another friend of Father, used to pray early Sunday mornings. Bill explained that Father would sit in one chair, and Mr. Kamiyama, Larry, and Bill would sit facing him, and then they would pray. Bill still says pledge every Sunday morning on his own.

The interview lasted four hours, and Bill talked freely on a wide range of topics -- what he had gone through prior to his term in Danbury, how he got acquainted with Mr. Kamiyama and then with Father, how his view of life changed upon knowing Father, and how he maintains hope for the future.

When I first came to Danbury in April 1984 they asked me what I wanted to do. They try to classify you, find out where they can best use your skill. So as it turned out I was taken immediately outside. One fellow and I did the landscaping. This camp was nothing but mud at the time -- everything was mud; the interior was completed but the exterior had no trees, no shrubs. It turned into a major project. I worked a lot to pass my time. It wasn't fashionable to do a lot of work -- not weekends and nights and the hours we were putting in.

It was about the beginning of July 1984 at the time we were finishing. Just in time for somebody to come! Rather strange! After I completed the main landscaping work they asked me to keep working outside on the grounds, which I was very glad about.

When Father and Kami [Mr. Kamiyama] first came it was such a big thing. I mean it was, "Who is this fellow?" Many people surrounded him in hopes of getting close to him. He was a curiosity. They both were. I remember people saying, "Which one is Moon? Is he the tall fellow?" That's literally how it was.

They put Father in the end cube, the smallest cube there was, where there were no windows and no access to him. I believe it was for security reasons. His cube happened to be very small and it was right next to a closet where they kept the mops and junk, so it wasn't the nicest place in the world, that's for sure.

I was living in A dorm, the same dorm where Father and Kami were living. I lived right near a doorway, which gave me a panoramic view that looked on all the top bunks. I couldn't help but observe Father and Kami.

Close to God

At that point, I believed very deeply in God. I definitely had respect for religion -- but not organized religion. Because of the medical situation with my daughter and the tragedies that happened in my family in the past, I felt I had a very close relationship with God.

My wife and I had been married in 1968 and we had tried for seven years to have children, and we were just about to give up. Then all of a sudden we had a daughter. Of course we were very, very happy. It was an emotional experience and it made us very close. I here were a few complications. Externally my daughter looked beautiful, but my wife had an inner feeling that something was wrong.

She was in an incubator, and we constantly talked to her. I would give her massages and do different things with her. But the baby was not getting enough nourishment; she could not suck correctly. They told my wife that she would have to breastfeed using a pump and they'd have to freeze the milk. The problem with that is, any type of stress will stop the milk production. My wife was going through a tremendous amount of stress -- tremendous. I can remember she was connected up to a machine, It was like being in a closet. The pump would be going, and I was wondering if my daughter was going to live or die.

We finally found out that she had congenital heart disease. She was given last rites; they didn't expect her to make it. She went through an operation, and it was a long and scary process. But she recovered, and then she came home with us. That would have been a moving experience enough, but a week later the symptoms came back. She had to go to the hospital again and have another operation. And then after that, my daughter had a stroke. So things kept building and building. Finally, we were able to take her home.

It was an unbelievably stressful situation -- just unbelievable. Our main thing in handling this situation was to draw whatever strength we could from God. But how do you handle it for yourself mentally and emotionally and spiritually?

That whole experience made us become very close parents. In today's society you tend to go in your different directions, that's very easy to happen. That's why this experience, I think, turned us around.

When I was incarcerated here we had a terrible problem in that my daughter, who's six now, wouldn't leave my wife's side. My problem was that I was so very close to her. It was like she had two mothers, if you will, because of the situation.

My Mindset

After I was in here I had been going through recounting that situation in my own mind. "You've gone through the situation with your daughter -- now what? Now you're incarcerated. How do you get the strength to go through this?" Talk about indemnity, you're looking at a long period of suffering.

And that was my mindset, if you will, when I met these two Oriental people. Here I was in Danbury and I was working outside and I had a 10- year sentence and it just didn't make any sense. It was like I was being plucked out and put in this situation.

At that time I had started going to Bible classes. They have volunteers that come up here, basically fundamentalists, who go over the Bible. I got involved out of curiosity. I was a Catholic, and had gone through as an altar boy. So this was a good opportunity. I was reading the Bible constantly -- things that I'd missed. So I found myself reading the Bible, going to Bible classes -- and watching Rev. Moon! It was a strange situation; especially for someone who is not ultra-religious.

In Bible class I would ask questions and I would argue. I shouldn't say I'm a skeptic, but I'm not afraid to ask if I don't understand. A lot of times I had to say, "I don't know what you're talking about:' At the time, just before I sat down to talk with Father and Kami seriously, I was having a problem with the fundamentalist Christian point of view that the only way to heaven is through faith alone, irrespective of any good works. In other words, you have no responsibility. It just went against my nature; it just didn't seem right.

Just about that time, I would see Father and Kami periodically sitting out in the back, and I'd be working out there on the grounds. And I remember Father would pass by. I didn't even know whether either of them spoke English. We'd just smile and say hello.

I was well aware of the media and what the media had said about him -- monster, brainwashing, whatever. Whether or not that was true I didn't know. Not even a week before he came, I had had a discussion with another inmate about the Moonies. The first thing I said was, "Well, they'd better not try that on my daughter [brainwash her]." I vividly remember that discussion.

Father Took A Backseat

There was one fellow here, a Quaker who speaks Japanese, whom I knew. I grabbed this guy and brought him over to where Kami and Father were. We tried translation. I don't know what I said; I just remember wanting to ask a few things. The communication was difficult because I felt the man was communicating differently from what Father was saying. It just didn't make any sense.

Through a number of experiences at the camp, Kami and I started talking. During that period of time we had a few discussions -- three-way discussions; Father took a backseat. He was very, very quiet. We'd talk about different things; but not at any length. We really didn't know each other that well.

Over time Kami and I developed a very close brotherly relationship, and I asked him if he would come with me to Bible class. He said, "Okay, as long as we sit together." He didn't want to be put into an awkward situation. He didn't want to create an atomic bomb if he said something controversial. He trusted me. I understood and said okay. He entered into a number of conversations in Bible class. When someone said something outrageous he just had to speak up. And then there would be a banter back and forth, in good spirits. It's a dangerous thing in prison and in religion if you're not coming from a good heart. Most people took it right, but some other people couldn't understand what was going on.

Kami and I began sitting down and going over the Bible and his interpretation -- at my request. He was very reluctant to preach about the Unification Church. Certainly Father did not preach. Father had promised he was not going to be "converting" people. As far as the wardens were concerned, they didn't have to worry about him brainwashing anybody. I was very much aware of Father's promise.

At that time my relationship with Father was not a very deep relationship, quite honestly. To me he was a very nice Oriental old man. At times we had sat in the visiting room -- my wife, my daughter, and myself -- near Father and Mother, just giving them respect and privacy, but we didn't really talk.

Kami would keep telling me about Father. Many things I couldn't relate to; many things I couldn't understand. I knew that this guy, this old Oriental man, was very important to one person here that I knew. His complete importance I didn't know -- to the world, let's say. We were only dealing on an individual and a family level.

Our Relationship Grew

Father and I got to be very close a few months before Kami left. Father would take any free time that he had and he'd play pool for hours. It wasn't one of my favorite things, but I'd wind up playing pool with him.

But most of my time with Father, both before Kami left and after he left, was spent talking, communicating with him. It wasn't playing pool. The time Father and I spent together was very serious. It was difficult because there were always people around.

A few months prior to Kami's leaving, little did I know that everything Kami and I had shared Kami had reported to Father -- every detail about me! He had told Father about my own personal background and a number of things in my case. Father knew everything by this time. He knew more than I did! I was at a disadvantage, not realizing it.

I questioned Father. I learned what he believed and how he thought. And I saw how he treated people. He was tremendously respectful to everyone and their opinion. He wasn't liked by everybody, but he was respected by everybody, no question about that. He gained respect, and people's image of him and the general atmosphere of the prison began to change -- slowly.

We talked about everything imaginable. We laughed an awful lot. We talked about our families, we talked about the history of the church. I knew certain things about his life. I knew he had been in prison before. I asked him about that, about the death camp. He did not wear it as a badge; you had to coax certain things out of him. He didn't go into too much detail about it, but he did explain what he had to go through in that camp in order to talk to people. You could only talk to people when you were getting food or going to the latrine or something.

One of the strange things was the analogies Father made. I told him my birthday was August 13, 1945, and he said that I was born right at the time the church started. He found that to be very interesting. There were a lot of other coincidences. He would ask me questions about my life and when I told him he would look stunned as if to say, "Well, that's very odd!" We used to laugh. He talked sometimes about the brainwashing thing, abol.t being zapped, that type of thing. Hilarious. A number of times we talked about the bad publicity, but that was something he never dwelled on -- how bad things were.

Father/Son Talks

At times Father would reprimand me for not being serious, and at other times for not understanding his humor. He was very serious about his humor! And I would try to understand. I'd see him looking at me once in a while or vice versa. You do that as you develop a relationship until the point that you have some deep trust.

We discussed my relationship with my wife and my daughter. He'd talk about my daughter as if she were part of the world -- not just as mine. We talked about some other tragedies in my past that I had gone through, and he was very concerned. We had a lot of father-son talks, that type of relationship.

Kami and Father talked about going to pledge service. Of course that was a big thing. I thought to myself, "Pledge service?" I asked, very openly, "What is this that you're doing? What is this three o'clock in the morning for?"

Respectfully, I mean. I could talk this way to Father and he would respond this way, knowing where my heart was coming from.

Sometimes Father and I would miss dinner. I would mess up. We would be walking outside talking and then I'd realize, "Oh, gee, it's dinnertime." and then we'd have to run. I would get so involved in the conversation that I would forget. There was always one more page Father wanted to read or one more point he wanted to make to me personally about something. Father would say, "Wait a minute! Forget about dinner. This is more important. This is the rest of your life."

We talked an awful lot about business -- about ethics in business. I learned about things that were happening with the church, with Ocean Church, with CAUSA, or whatever it might be. I remember Father telling Kami about the speeches and videotapes that were going to be sent out. He let me know about everything. I wouldn't talk about these things with anyone else.

I met Mother a couple of times, and I met Father's children, Peter Kim, Rev. Kwak, and a number of people who came up. Most of the time we didn't have the same visiting day. It was an odd/even system, so only on occasion did we have visits together. And it was good because I didn't want to intrude.

My Belief In Father

I don't really know how our relationship developed. I know it developed over time. My belief in him just grew. Father and I connected very quickly in how we felt about some things -- very quickly. I had many of the beliefs that he had, and I believed in him. I was called a hard-nosed skeptic by some, that's very true, but I knew I wasn't being given a sales pitch by Father.

Kami had shown me the papers from his case and there was something strange here; I realized he was being punished for who he was and not because of what the case made out. It was amazing, because my case was very, very similar. I thought, "They're burying these people!" It was because of all the propaganda about brainwashing, taking away the young children, that type of accusation. "Well, how did that happen and where are these people?" I thought. "Where are all these young kids who were selling flowers and were hurt so bad? Where are the complaints?" If it was true then there must be millions of testimonies about it, but nobody came forward to say. Something was wrong somewhere. I knew not to trust the media. I knew that I could trust my own judgment about Father.

Father expressed himself very physically to me. When he made a point he'd poke me in the chest, hard. Boy, physically he's strong! He's in good health. We'd be sitting on his bed and we'd be talking about something and he'd poke me and almost knock me over. That's exactly how it was; that was the type of close relationship that we had developed.

Sometimes I read different things in magazines about Father and he comes across as not being real. But he is very real -- physically and spiritually very real. He makes a conscious effort to be very close. I was fortunate enough over the period of time he spent in prison to get close enough to him to know that he's not an act. He is who he is. He certainly didn't put on any show for me. Because we didn't expect anything to develop.

Many of the things I read about him are amazing to me. People ask me, "How could you be involved with this man?" Oh, because I know him. Had I not known him you could forget me. The only way I could have believed the things I believe now is because I met him.

As time went on, Larry [Evola] and I would both spend time with Father. People didn't understand that. We're not the same type; we're completely different people. People would say about me, "What is going on with this man?" I mean, I took a lot of heat, which was okay. We had a couple of arguments. "You're making a fool of yourself:' some people would say. I had attended Catholic services, Protestant services, Jewish services, all different kinds of services, and people were wondering, "Who the hell are you?" That would bother people.

It didn't make any sense to them -- how I could be into these different religions and also spend time with Rev. Moon and still be the same person. Especially when it became a lasting thing. It wasn't a fad. No profit was going to come out of this; I mean, I knew he would be leaving.

Certain inmates were upset that I had developed a relationship with Father. Father had to tell me just to stay away from them; let them be. But I had no problem talking to them about him. It just made them so upset. Most of the time I had to turn the other cheek. I explained in the simplest terms that I had become closer to Father than I had to my own father. I'm sure this kind of thing happens to many people. That's the type of relationship we had developed. "Yes, he's my friend. That's where it's at. I'm not afraid to stand up for a friend. That's our relationship." To me it was very easy. 

Commencement Address of the Unification Theological Seminary

Sun Myung Moon
June 28, 1986
Barrytown, New York

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Distinguished faculty, members of the graduating class, ladies and gentlemen:

I am truly grateful that once again I have come to this sacred institution of higher learning to give this commencement address. I would like to give my heartfelt congratulations to the 41 members of the graduating class, out of which 18 have completed the three-year divinity course, for your outstanding accomplishment and achievement during your years of study here.

I would also like to congratulate the parents and families of the graduating students for bringing up such wonderful sons and daughters. They have been through a very unique course of study and have attained a difficult standard in order to receive this recognition today. I would like to congratulate the faculty members for their meritorious work and dedicated teaching which has produced such outstanding young leaders.

I am especially grateful to God Almighty that this institution could celebrate its Tenth Commencement. During this time, tremendous blessing has been bestowed, and we have witnessed the steady development of the Unification Theological Seminary into one of the most extraordinary institutions of higher learning in our world today.

In the first decade, we have built the tradition and laid the foundation. We are now embarked upon the second decade, and we are reaching for the stars.

God Created One Family of Man

In the beginning, God had an ideal. That ideal was the creation of one world inhabited by one family of man. If our human ancestors had been truly obedient to God, this would have come about. We would be living in a perfect world -- a world of one family of man, sharing one language and culture, in which every member of the human race would be knit together as brothers and sisters. This family of man would have been united, achieving a perfect harmony and peace centered upon the true love of God.

The world we find today is far from that world of God's ideal. Instead, we have at hand a world of division. One brother is turned against another, one nation is turned against another. Human history has been stained by unspeakable bloodshed; and the tragedy of struggle has been the human reality.

The Unification Church, however, is based on the knowledge that the will of God is to bring about the ultimate restoration of His original ideal. That is also, therefore, the only hope of humanity. Furthermore, Unification teaching clearly states that we are living in the Last Days. This does not mean that we will all perish, however; but rather that human history has come to the end of its long, tortuous journey. The nightmare of fallen history will soon come to an end. The new day of fulfillment of the ideal of God looms large on the horizon.

The Unification Church is heralding to the world the message of hope. We are the harbingers, and also the pioneers. We are the advance party of history. Out of chaos, a new world order is on the horizon. The day of the dwelling of God among men is here, and every man and woman can share in this transformation We are here to ignite a spiritual revolution -- the remaking of the individual, the community, the nation, and the world in accordance with the original ideal of God.

For this, we need leadership. Without leaders very little can be achieved, even with the highest ideal. We need an institution where we can train the leadership for the new age. That is the purpose of the Unification Theological Seminary. For that purpose I founded this institution. We have graduated a large number of excellent individuals who are presently in the field, working tirelessly to meet the standard of new-age leadership.

Today we are adding to that cadre of leadership a distinguished group of 41 upright men and women. They will join the crusade of Kingdom-building. I am deeply satisfied on this occasion.

The 1986 graduating class with True Parents and UTS President David Kim. Graduates of the 3-year Divinity program have red collars. Graduates of the 2-year program have blue collars.

The 1986 graduating class with True Parents and UTS President David Kim. Graduates of the 3-year Divinity program have red collars. Graduates of the 2-year program have blue collars.

The Mission of America

I believe that the history of America is closely intertwined with Divine providence. This nation has a destiny in God's will. The Pilgrim Fathers of America came to this new land seeking religious freedom. They acknowledged God as the central authority of their lives.

These founding fathers made a covenant with God that America would truly become "One nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all" I believe that God heard their prayers, accepted their commitment, and gave His abundant blessings to this country.

America's blessings, however, are not for the sake of America alone; they are for the sake of the world. America is playing a great role in the dispensation of God's providence today to make possible one world under God. Knowing that this is the will of God, I came to America, even though I knew I would be persecuted and suffer, and even possibly go to prison. This is what has come to pass.

Today America is facing two Goliaths. One is certainly communism. Communism is the enemy of God and humankind. The evil of communism stems out of its militant denial of God and its persecution of religion. Communism has set its sights on world conquest by any means possible, and has spread totalitarianism and terrorism to every corner of the globe, even on this very continent. In this century, the human cost of communism has already been 150 million lives, and the spread of this God-denying ideology has deprived countless millions more of spiritual life.

Who shall stop this enemy if not America, the nation which God has raised up as He raised up David? America is the hope of freedom-loving people everywhere. What shall be our strength? Our strength shall be that of David; we must confront the enemy fearlessly with faith in God. I fervently ask you to take the role of David in America and the world.

America at the same time faces another Goliath. The second Goliath is even more difficult to fight against. That second Goliath is the internal decay which has afflicted this nation and our Western society.

America is under spiritual attack today. I have heard that soon over half of the children in this country will be raised in single-parent families. Drug use and crime are at record levels. Material success has become much more important than spiritual principles. All this is happening because God has been forgotten. He is no longer the central authority in American life.

Let me ask you: Who is God counting on to turn the tide of evil to good? Is it the President? The Congress? The courts? It is you, God's shepherds, who must bravely and faithfully stand up to this awesome challenge of two Goliaths.

America Is At the Brink

America is at the very brink. Her future as God's champion for goodness, righteousness, and freedom are at stake. America must repent. As God told the Israelites, "If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land" (2 Chr. 7:14). America has broken its covenant with God. Who shall renew that covenant? It must be you, the Unification Theological Seminary graduates. You must go down on your knees before our Heavenly Father and once again renew the covenant which America has made with God.

This is the very message God told me to take to the shores of America. As you know from the story of Jonah, it is very difficult to take the message of God to a foreign land. For the last 15 years I have given everything I have for the sake of the salvation of this country. As a result, thousands of young people's lives have been turned toward God. Millions of dollars have been spent on ecumenical, educational, and service projects. The entire Unification movement exists in this country not for itself but to help America fulfill her mission in front of God.

What greater challenge to America than the call to sacrifice, unity, and hard work? When has the world embraced the message of sacrifice, and when has religion prospered without sacrifice? But which shall we heed, the world or God?

The people of Nineveh listened to the word of God and humbled themselves. Let America be a modern-day Nineveh rather than a modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah. Let a great, new, and powerful spiritual awakening sweep this nation so that it can be a model of true Christian love and service to the world. Let us stand strong against the destructive forces of totalitarianism and terrorism. Let us begin together, and let us begin now.

This is my message to you today, when you are about to undertake a great challenge in the world. You are my hope; you are my champions. Our world will be brighter because of you. I want each one of you to become a leader who will bring joy and comfort to God and be counted as a citizen of heaven.

May God bless you and your work.

Thank you very much.

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Commencement day at the Unification Theological Seminary
Robert Selle
June 28, 1986
Barrytown, New York

One summer day in 1977, Father sent out the members of the first Unification Theological Seminary graduating class to MFT. Although many of them puzzled over why Father was seemingly ignoring their newly acquired learning in order to reteach them the basic MFT lessons of humility, faith, and perseverance, they followed his direction, by and large, with hope for the future and eagerness to do the will of God.

Ten graduating classes later, the pattern remains unchanged. Forty-one students from 11 nations participated in commencement exercises on June 28, 1986, in the high-vaulted UTS chapel. They expressed hope for the future and eagerness to apply their studies in whatever way Father chose for them.

Three days later, on July 1, Father assigned them all to a mission as humble as MFT, but with just as much potential for acquisition of skills, spiritual growth, and inspiration: fishing for Bluefin Tuna with Ocean Church in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Father and Mother Attend

Father attended the graduation ceremony as well, along with Mother, who brought her exquisite grace and beauty to the halls of UTS. Standing at a podium beneath the huge, bronze-anodized steel ring that symbolizes the unity of God, Father addressed a chapel packed with students, alumni, faculty, recent graduates, and their relatives and friends.

"The Unification Church is...the advance party of history:' Father said in English, reading from a prepared text. "Out of chaos, a new world order is on the horizon"

He told his listeners that the function of UTS is to train leaders for the new age, leaders who will fearlessly battle the "two Goliaths" of communism and moral decay as they proceed on the way to God's ultimate goal.

With deep emotion in his voice, Father called on America to become "a modern-day Nineveh rather than a modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah:' and asked each graduate to be "a leader who will bring joy and comfort to God and be counted as a citizen of heaven:'

At the conclusion of the exercises, the new graduates, smiling broadly, filed out of the chapel, its wooden- beamed ceiling and spectacular stained-glass windows echoing with the strains of an organ postlude.

Outside the chapel, the president of the graduating class, Peter Ross, explained what he felt lies ahead for him and his classmates. "Father has always expressed the importance of thought," he said. "This education at UTS teaches us about Christian and philosophical thought, and then afterwards we can take on the challenge of getting back into mission work and applying the knowledge we've acquired"

In addition to his UTS diploma, Peter, a native of Ireland, says he'll be taking the New York State Bar examination this summer, presumably on a brief break from his fishing in Massachusetts Bay. (There are enough similarities between Irish and American law to make it possible for him to practice as an attorney in America, he says.)

Christine Hempowicz, one of this year's 18 graduates from the three-year Divinity program (the other 23 graduates participated in the two-year Religious Education program), echoed Peter's sentiment that the UTS education has prepared her and the others to bring the power of knowledge to bear on a world that can be strongly influenced by ideas. "After a while, every class at UTS begins to mesh with every other class, and integrates with Divine Principle, toe

Additionally, she said, UTS, where she lived in daily contact with the same people for three years, taught her that unity of religions begins with unity of people, and that emotional, cultural, and personality barriers need to be overcome before doctrinal barriers can be addressed. "It begins in your heart, with other brothers and sisters',' said Christine, who is an American.

Speeches and Presentations

Following the graduation ceremony, a sumptuous luncheon began. Father and Mother were there, along with several of their children. After dining on roast beef with mustard sauce, the participants were treated to a musical revue and a number of entertaining speeches. Among the speakers was new graduate Tag Hamad, from the Sudan in northern Africa, who presented a professional video camera to UTS President David S.C. Kim.

Tag said the graduating class is also presenting two plaques to the Seminary to be affixed to large rocks at two landmark sites on the UTS grounds: a clearing by the Hudson River where Father has given many "fireside talks" to students, and near a bench by the UTS pond where True Parents have often enjoyed sitting.

With a sincerity quite compatible with his easygoing manner, Tag addressed Father and Mother, who were sitting at a table just in front of the stage: "We are immensely grateful for the spiritual and intellectual nourishment of the past two years. We want to leave here with the determination to bring the heavenly tradition to the whole world. We'd really like to be your hope and your chaplains!"

Asked for his evaluation of the new graduates, Dr. Thomas Boslooper, a UTS professor of biblical studies who hails from the Reformed tradition, beamed and said: "It's a wonderful class! It has in it some of the finest scholars in a decade. And its tops spiritually, too!

"Of course," he continued, "The same was true for every class, but that standard is certainly being maintained!" 

Highest Ownership

Reverend Sun Myung Moon
June 22, 1986
Belvedere
Translator - Bo Hi Pak

Whether from the East or the West, whether in the past or the present, all people want to possess or own things. Has anyone ever acquired ownership of the highest, ultimate things? The first man and woman-the original ancestors of mankind-must have had a very strong desire to gain that highest ownership, but they could not. We must understand why they did not achieve that goal.

Had the first ancestors achieved ownership of the highest things, their descendants would have inherited it and enjoyed it throughout history. The question is, why could they not achieve such ownership and through what process did they lose it? It was because of the fall of man.

Few people nowadays have a clear concept of the fall of man. If there had been no fall, and no such concept had come into being, then there would have been no evil, so we would have no need for a standard to distinguish between good and evil. If history had progressed according to the theory of evolution, as many people today believe, then there actually should be no such thing as the difference between good and evil. Whatever is a reality in our present time would have to be justified because it is the result of the evolutionary process.

It is only when we establish the existence of a purposeful Creator that we can establish a standard for good and evil. The minds of all men and women are always aspiring to achieve something higher. That is basic human nature. When you achieve a higher plateau you are elevated into a higher position, and your sphere of influence becomes larger and greater. The ultimate human aspiration throughout history has been to achieve one united world community. Is this present world the one for which all forty-four billion people who have ever lived have aspired, or is there something else we have to think about?

Religious teachings have indicated that there are both a physical world and a spiritual world which together comprise the cosmos. It is universally true that whatever is sown will be reaped. Division and discord have come into the world because of the fall; likewise, each person suffers from division between mind and body. When we say that we are destined to return to ultimate fruitfulness, what does it mean? It means that we are destined to be restored to the state where the fall had not taken place, or the position in which original man and woman would have dwelled.

God created the cosmos first, and then Adam, and then Eve. The fourth and fifth entities were the children- Cain and Abel-but they were engendered after the fall. The fallen Cain and Abel were never a part of the original scheme of creation.

The cosmos, Adam, and Eve-numbers one, two and three-were the initial, Principled creations of God. He created them centered upon the fulfillment of love, but then what happened? That love was infiltrated by evil and division came about. Cain and Abel became a symbol of division, because of the fall. That is the way history was sown and that is the way history is being reaped. The restoration had to begin, therefore, from the fallen Adam and Eve.

Division occurred in the first family; from the beginning, the mind and body were divided. Since then, the family became divided; the community became divided; the tribe and clan were divided; the nation was divided; ultimately what we see today is a world divided. Instead of one world we have, basically, two worlds. This is the worldwide manifestation of that original seed of division which was sown. Now we are reaping those seeds on the worldwide scale.

Each person has a mind and a body which are divided. The world of the mind could be called the theistic world, while the world of the body is the materialistic world. There is division and struggle between these two worlds, instead of harmony and unity. That struggle began from day one, from the day of the fall of Adam and Eve-the first ancestors of mankind.

When do we expect to see all these divisions healed and unity to occur? If Satan's invasion was the cause of the division, when do we have unity? It is when we chase out Satan and invite God in. Satan's weapon was satanic love, or self centered love. We have to invite God in, therefore, and use God's love as our weapon to chase out Satan.

The love of God, which involves concern for the whole, is entirely opposite to satanic love. Although we observe the problems of mankind on a large, worldwide scale, the root of the problem lies within individual men and women. The United States of America is a gigantic nation with a Christian heritage. Thus the love of God, which is selfless love, should be the binding center of this nation. But what we have now is the opposite: self centered love is prevailing in this country. Instead of God's love binding people together into one, selfish love is dividing people. That is why all kinds of perversions of love have occurred.

Do you think that most people in the United States today feel a relationship between themselves and the world? Do they have a poignant feeling of patriotism toward America? What about children-do they have strong feelings of filial piety toward their parents? Is there a commitment between husbands and wives to permanent, eternal and sacred love? All of these levels of relationship have become divided and secularized, almost like matters of business, or contracts.

Although the desire of each individual is to enjoy the highest ownership, the power of selfish love is always bringing division, rather than unity and harmony. Under those circumstances, can we ever obtain the highest ownership? The whole problem of the world can be boiled down to each individual-the self. That one self is the battleground where each of us must obtain the victory.

The Unification Church is looking forward today to achieving a worldwide victory. We have to transform and change the fallen world from the bottom up. Satan is the master of the fallen world. He got hold of each individual; not only every individual is divided, but so is the entire world. Therefore, the solution has to start with the individual. The individual was originally conceived in the love of God, according to His original concept of creation, which was total goodness.

There are two types of individuals: man and woman. That means one is a representative of Adam and the other is a representative of Eve. Unless we transform the satanic world and all the satanic elements within it into something entirely new, we certainly cannot hope to become the original, Heavenly Adam and Eve. No matter how much you may struggle to rid yourself of the shackles of Satan, you cannot do it; you are always swimming in the same pool of water. Thus nothing short of an ejection is needed; we have to eject ourselves from this old world, but we need incredible momentum to do that.

Although the self wants to eject from the fallen world, it does not exist in isolation; it is connected to the family, clan, tribe, nation and world. The most important credo by which to eject is to achieve victory over yourself; then you have to prevail over the family and then the clan, the nation and the world. This is the way to restoration.

When we look at human history, we see that there have been all kinds of philosophies and ways of thinking, but the most important of all these has been religious thought. Philosophy has changed and evolved at different times in history, striving toward modernity in each era. Religious thought, however, has always stayed with certain fundamental, unchanging principles and concepts. Philosophy changes because it is a product of human thinking and it exists on the horizontal level; it always changes along with the changes of human society. But religious thought is based on God, who is eternal and unchanging; for that reason, it has a fundamentally unchanging quality.

There is one common principle which has guided religious thought throughout history and that is self denial. Humanist philosophy has not had this thread running through it. Through religion, people are taught to set themselves apart from this world. That is why religious teaching has always engendered struggle and even bloodshed. The power of the nation, or the government, in every age has been the major obstacle in this self denial process. Therefore, we have to go beyond the nation in order to achieve the level of the world.

The ultimate religion must recognize no national boundaries; it must go beyond nations, skin colors, and cultural idiosyncrasies and work on a global basis. A religion such as that must ultimately arise. Many national governments and sovereignties throughout history have persecuted religion, but behind all these was Satan. Satan has used whatever tool he could, particularly government power Satan is always opposing your improvement, your self denial process, but God's force is propelling you forward, giving you strength to do it.

We call this time the end of the world. What is the meaning of the end of the world? What is going to happen? When the autumn comes, the harvest begins. The farmer goes out and harvests the fruits. What kind of fruits-good or rotten? World history has come to its own autumn harvest. What is the good fruit of the world today and what is the bad fruit? This world has produced predominantly bad fruit, but individuals within that world are looking for something good; they don't want to accept the world's evil.

The owner of evil is Satan and the owner of goodness is God. The forces of Satan have to be shrunk, so they must go from the world level to the nation, then to the clan, family, individual and finally disappear. How about goodness? It must start from the original, tiny seed and go up; the process is exactly the opposite. Good must go up and evil must go down. God has been looking for the good fruit which can prevail in history-in other words, the individual who can gain victory over the evil history.

What kind of individual are you? Do you first think, "I am an American,,? Or do you say, "I am a white woman"? Or "I am a black man"? Do you define yourself in such a way? Your skin color, your nationality and so forth are all part of your satanic baggage-they don't matter. The important thing is the contents, what is inside the bags.

Every seed contains two pieces, covered by a thin skin. Nestled between those two pieces is the tiny embryo, the beginning point of new life. The world itself is divided into two pieces, like a seed. But no matter how big the pieces are, this world has no embryo. Who shall be in the position to bring that embryo to the world, to provide the source of new life? God is the first cause of life, the one who provides the embryo. No matter how big and powerful the world which was initiated by Satan may become, it doesn't have the source of true life; it has no embryo.

Today in the fallen world the two pieces are the communists and the democratic blocs. Searching both of these worlds, can we find an embryo there? The true embryo is a genuinely good one; it will ultimately transform the whole world. The two Darts of the seed provide the nourishment for the embryo, enabling it to grow. By the same token, the world will provide the nourishment for the embryo and enable it to spread through the entire world.

For a seed to grow, it must be planted in soil and given a certain amount of moisture and heat; it needs a favorable environment. The environment must provide warmth. The embryo cannot germinate unless the heat of its surroundings is greater than its own temperature. The heat we are talking about is love. Human life germinates in love; without its warmth there can be no growth.

We could say that one side of the seed represents the father and the other represents the mother; between the two, the new individual is formed. Can we just rip out one of the sides and replace it with another part at whim? But that is what is happening in American homes today; the father and mother do not remain intact.

What about the democratic world and the communist world-are they achieving harmony and unity and giving nourishment to the embryo on the world level? Centering on humanity, are they one? No, absolutely not. For that reason, we cannot put any hope in that world.

Therefore, we have to eject ourselves from that world and land within a new world. That new world has to begin from a new germination, which springs from a new embryo. We must become that new embryo. That is what our job is-to eject from the old world and its shackles and become a new embryo.

The embryo is in the plus position, while the rest of the seed is in the minus position. The minus part must sacrifice itself for the growth of the embryo and nourish it. Adam and Eve, for example, were created as the embryo of the world and the universe itself provided their nourishment. The embryo doesn't grow only to the size of the seed; it is meant to burst out and become much greater and larger than the seed. Self perfection of the whole seed comes when the embryo grows; even though part of the seed must sacrifice itself for the embryo, it will become something far greater than the seed itself. Thus every component of the seed feels its own fulfillment when that happens.

We are living in the time of harvest, and we have gone beyond the level of the nations. The entire world has opposed the Unification Church, including the United States, Korea, Japan, and Europe. Every power has tried to stop us. Satan does not want to see us move to the world level, so he has tried to hold us down to the national level. That is because the highest authority of Satan is the nation, or national power.

Once the world becomes united, the significance of the nation will be diminished. God's original plan was for men and women to possess the world, not just the nation. Each individual's ownership goes from one level to an other higher one-from individual all the way to the world-in his struggle for goodness. Suppose there had been no religion throughout history. Without religion, there is no power by which people can break their shackles on the levels of clan, society, and nation. Without the religious concept, which is based on love, there is no way the barriers between White and Black can be broken down. East and West cannot come together; neither can North and South-nor can those differences between wealth and social standard find common ground. These barriers can only be broken down through religious principles and the power of love.

Satan does not like any attempt to bring the world together; he truly hates to see such a thing. That is because a united world is God's original ideal. It is the satanic desire to have many sovereignties, many divided nations-Satan loves that because he loves division. The divided situation is always on Satan's side.

Our goal is to see ultimate unity, but today we see two worlds-one of democracy and one of communism. They will never become one on their own. Satan would never allow that because he knows it would mean his end. Thus we have to be powerful and apply pressure and energy in order to unify these two worlds.

Reverend Moon is Satan's worst enemy because I am the one who can break through all his barriers. Satan has become defensive toward me. He says, "Reverend Moon, you can be nice and comfortable. Why should you always try to struggle between mind and body? That's baloney. Enjoy the world. I will give you power." What do you think-should Reverend Moon have division within his own mind and fight within himself?

A struggle within an individual signifies the worldwide struggle because once the battle is won on the individual level, it will ultimately be won on the worldwide level. Once unity is achieved, it will penetrate like a bullet, going through all the walls, all the way to the worldwide level, and Satan knows it.

Anyone who tries to follow Reverend Moon will meet all the forces Satan can mobilize to stop him. Some of Satan's best allies in that effort are the parents who say, "Hey, you are my child! Don't go near that Reverend Moon." This is the front line of struggle. The battle begins with the individual. When Reverend Moon won the individual victory, he moved right on to the family level. If Reverend Moon's mind and body are divided, that would reflect in the division of the family as well. In order to engender the battle on the worldwide level, Reverend Moon came to America because this is the center of the world.

How far has Reverend Moon come, really? Today I have the reputation of being the one man in the world who has the solution to communism. As we have said, the two opposing camps in the world are the democratic world, the basically theistic camp which accepts the existence of God, and the communist world, the atheistic camp. In the theistic world, however, there is a prevailing trend toward secularism and humanism, which is basically atheistic. So the two worlds together have put up a barricade to Reverend Moon's forces, saying, "You cannot go any further." Reverend Moon has penetrated, however, making a spiritual beachhead.

Reverend Moon has not only brought a solution to communism; he has also solved the problems of secular democratic society. Within Reverend Moon there is something you cannot find in the communist or the democratic world-there is an embryo, a new beginning. Neither America nor the communist world knows what Reverend Moon knows. There is something completely new, and special; something brand new and priceless.

We are about to break through with that brand new force, that embryo. It's almost like a rocket launching. You've got to have great power for the initial thrust. That initial thrust of the rocket engine will blow the two worlds away! The rocket will take off and the two worlds will be left behind. The Unification Church has the solution to the divisions between East and West and North and South. Can the United States solve these divisions? What about communism? Can it digest this theistic, democratic world? No, it cannot. But then, once they accept Reverend Moon, they will find the power, the solution, the embryo that can truly liberate the agony of communism and the free world.

North and South, East and West-it's a gigantic world, but here in the center is the core, the nucleus of genuine pure love. That is what will grow into the family, and then into the clan, tribe, and nation. We have already encompassed the national level. We have grown into, and must go beyond, the national level.

Do you have a simple concept of the United States? Why not? We do not have a simple teaching but a providential one. When we even speak of America, we also mean there are other nations. Thus since there is more than one nation, they are under the satanic domain. God never wanted to see more than one nation. Two nations always come under Satan because it means division occurred. When the division occurred between North and South, that was a manifestation of the satanic nature. East and West divided and that was the same.

Any movement that does not bring East and West and North and South into one is satanic because that division must be conquered. There are people who claim the supremacy of their group over other peoples. For instance, some claim the supremacy of the Anglo Saxons; others claim Jewish supremacy. But they are automatically put tiny themselves in the satanic camp because they are promoting division. The Unification Church is one, promoting one nation under God. That is the overriding principle and teaching of the Unification Church. Only one nation-is that clear?

Do you Americans think, "Reverend Moon comes from the Oriental culture? If so, you are allying yourself with the satanic camp because you are thinking in divided terms. I am not Oriental, not at all. How can I prove it? Because Korea, an Oriental nation, gave me the most persecution of all. After forty years of struggle, the Korean people are finally coming to the realization that Revere end Moon is a most important man for them. They have asked me to stay there. But today in America, people are still looking askance at me. So far, only the American Moonies have given a true welcome to Reverend Moon. The rest of the nation hasn't. But will that embryo grow, or stay the same?

Are you growing? What about you blessed couples? Now that you have your spouse and children and so many more responsibilities, have you forgotten about everything else? If so, you are bringing yourself down to the satanic side. That is because you are saying, "The church is one thing and I am different." Thus there are already two entities and such division is satanic. No matter how difficult it may be, you should say, "I will go this way, crossing into Canaan, even if I must carry my family and tribe on my back. The church and I are united into one." God gave Moses that one mandate: one nation under one God. But the Israeli people thought differently and therefore Satan invaded.

We must give everything we have for the sake of others. How can we prove that within our way of life? Well, our marriages prove that. We recognize no boundaries between nations, cultures or languages. "Fallen" means fallen love, which is Satan's love. On the other hand is God's side and God's love.

The love of God brings total give and take and exchange between people. Those who have international marriages have sometimes complained, "Oh, Father, we have found this so very difficult!" But I wanted them to be difficult! If they were easy, what would be accomplished? Nothing. What would be your credit? Nothing. With the international family, you can kick the international Satan-with one kick. I want to give you that kind of weapon, so you will have that capacity. In a way, those international marriages have been a greater burden and more responsibility, but also greater credit and prestige. With no common language, different cultures, food and customs, how can you expect such a marriage to be easy?

As I have said, there is only one subject and that is true love. Any other element can be absorbed under that love, no matter how difficult or huge it might be. Unless you are united, you remain as two separate entities and you are inviting satanic separation. If you take your Blessing lightly, it means it is a fake-the fake International Wedding. If you come to the Unification Church and try to exploit God, taking advantage of Him for your selfish benefit, it is just no good! Is that clear?

America will change its attitude toward Reverend Moon and will come to welcome me. Most recently, the special documentary film called "Nicaragua Was Our Home" was shown across the country on the public television stations. The program says, "This program was sponsored by Reverend Moon and CAUSA International. CAUSA is bringing a critique and counter proposal to the ideology of Marxism­Leninism.," This is the most authentic proclamation of what Reverend Moon is doing for the sake of this country and particularly for the sake of Nicaragua. Therefore, who is taking the truly subjective role in solving the problem of Nicaragua? Is it the United States government, or Reverend Moon?

What do the American people say about this activity by Reverend Moon? Do they welcome it? What about the U.S. Congress-are they ashamed or not? The American people will say, "We cannot let Reverend Moon take responsibility for Nicaragua like that. We cannot be shamed in such a way." The U.S. Congress is opposing the Nicaraguan aid bill, while the President is trying to get it passed. That means the President and Reverend Moon are both working for the same goal-to get the Congress to capitulate to this bill.

I know that when I announce certain things in conferences the American members say, "That's just Father's Oriental thinking. We Americans will get together and digest Father's words in our own way." You have your own separate meetings, but that is satanic because it means you are separated from me. There is one big difference between the Japanese and American people. When I give a mandate to the Japanese, they don't think about it. They just plunge in, like diving into the water. Then they come back and say, "Father, it worked." Sometimes they say, "Father, it didn't work," but they always jump into the water first. When the mandate is given to the American people, they say, "Hmm. ... well, let me consider it." Some Americans think, "The Japanese way is savage and uncultivated. We are more cultured and sophisticated and we don't do things like that." Which one is satanic in that case-the American side or the Japanese side?

When I first came to America and New York and walked down Fifth Avenue, do you think I was overwhelmed and awed by the American culture? No, I was thinking, "I am ready to launch the struggle." Looking at Fifth Avenue, the Empire State Building and so forth, I was standing there and thinking, "All by myself, I am fighting against this power." That was eventually manifested in the court battle. Who actually won that battle in the sight of God? American people have come to realize, "Reverend Moon is needed here." That was the victory. New, fresh air is blowing over this country and people are thinking, "We made a mistake. We need Reverend Moon here."

Suppose there is a couple in which the husband is following my directions absolutely, and the wife is following him. Or vice versa: the wife is following me and the husband follows her. Whoever follows me in that situation is the subject. Anything else is satanic. So ask yourself which side you are standing on, God's side or the satanic side. You can evaluate yourself. Unless I had this clear, absolute concept, with not one iota of haziness, I would not have survived this far. There have always been temptations coming toward me-temptations of money, love, knowledge, prestige-all kinds.

Because of this attitude, I could even visit the house of a prostitute and, instead of that place prevailing over me, I could help to clean it up. That is the way I work. Wherever I go, I try to think how I can cleanse the surroundings, leaving more goodness there than I found.

Even if I became drunk on alcohol, I would only do it if that could be victorious in some way for the sake of God. Suppose I collapsed at some point; I would not want to fall backward but instead my dead body would fall forward, in order to advance. That principle applies to my children as well. Do you understand?

In a sense, you are entering the home of Adam and Eve in this restoration process, but you are in Cain and Abel's position. It is there that you come under True Parents. The Cain people say, "Oh, I don't need True Parents. I can manage on my own." That attitude of separation is satanic. It is even more hellish if Cain says, "I don't need my brother.,, We must become one horizontally and then vertically. Abel is the subject and Cain is the object. East and West, North and South-all become one within this horizontal concept of unity. Then the vertical unity is established with the Parents, centered upon the love of God. When this horizontal unity is consummated, vertical unity is possible and can be consummated. Then you become a true Adam and Eve; you consummate the ideal of Adam and Eve within yourself.

You can inherit from the True Parents the virtue of the true Adam and Eve and you become one. Thus you become like the second generation of True Parents. Who shall prevail over the world? You? Who did it for you? Only the True Parents have the power to prevail over the world, simply because they alone are in the position of original, restored Adam and Eve. The false parenthood brought the evil society and the fallen world; goodness can never come through that. Only when the world finds the True Parents can there be victory over the satanic forces. Is this concept very clear to you?

Are you primarily a U.S. citizen or a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth? That Heavenly citizenship is your pride. No amount of money can buy it for you. Heavenly Kingdom citizens must go first through the gate of the Blessing. That is why the Blessing is so precious- it gives you that qualification. Without your spouse, you cannot become citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven because pairs together must be given citizenship. This is absolutely, logically correct.

What is our title today? "The Highest Ownership.,, What is the highest ownership? We own the entire cosmos because it belongs to our Father. What belongs to the Father belongs to the children. Thus we own the True Parents; ultimately, we possess God centered upon true love. Your own individual problems can never be solved without true love. The same is true for your family problems, as well as the problems of the nation and the world.

The highest ownership can be put into three categories. First of all, you own the God created cosmos, which is spirit world and physical world together. Then you possess the original Adam and Eve's position, which is the True Parents, position. Then ultimately, you own God Himself. The dwelling of God is with you. That is the highest ownership.

True love never changes; that original heart of the love of God remains for eternity. The True Parents inherited that true love of God. The heart of the True Parents, no matter what happens in the world, will not change, not even one iota. For the past forty years, I have encountered one incredible situation after another, but I have always overcome them, one by one, and prevailed over them all. I went to communist labor camp, where death was everywhere, but that never stopped me from pursuing my goal. My mind was not changed even one little bit.

When you are sitting thinking, "I am so tired today. I just don't feel like doing anything," that is Satan whispering in your ear. That is when you must jump up and say, "What am I saying? God is with me; True Parents are with me." God is waiting for you, one step ahead of you. Therefore, when you reach out to take just one step forward, you meet God. Immediately, energy will come; bubbling enthusiasm will return. That most crucial moment is when you have the choice to turn around or go forward. If you think, "I want to lie down," and you just do that, you are not moving forward to the place of God, but backward to the place of Satan.

Your marriage does not belong just to you or exist for your own self indulgence. You must marry because you want to advance the one, united world. You have your spouse because together you can get there first; you have children because you want that one world to flourish. That is the reason. Marriage is ultimately for the sake of God. We evangelize the world in order to accomplish that one world quicker. There are four billion people on the earth. How many people die every year without meeting the True Parents, without knowing God?

When you engage in business, you need some capital. In this great and glorious undertaking of the providential will, you also have to have some capital. What is your capital? What do you have that you can invest? One life-that is what you have. Since the love of God is at the center of your life, that capital can be accepted. As long as that love is there, you will be unchanging; that means you can join the club, in a way. It is an absolute necessity.

This pioneering task is not just for here on earth. If you don't do it here, you shall continue in the spirit world. But there the road is completely arduous because there is no place where you can be taught like this-no Belvedere. Once I am elevated to spirit world, I won't have to do anything further here on earth. True Parent's ideal is to see God's ideal realized. Once the True Parents, ideal becomes true and returns to the bosom of God, then God's work is done. For that reason, the satanic population growth does not bring joy to God.

Do you think the blessed couples should be using birth control or abortion? How many children can you multiply without birth control? Until they fill the earth. That is the way God wants the earth to be filled. The fallen population is meant to decrease while the Heavenly population should grow. That is what God wants and what I want to see. Mother is an excellent example of this. You know how many children she has given birth to.

You know now where we are going and where we are. No matter how difficult it may be, you must single mindedly set out for the providential goal, striving toward the highest ownership of cosmic True Parents and God Himself. No matter how much suffering you endure, how much poverty you may go through, I know one thing: you will end up in the highest place in the Kingdom of Heaven. That is because you have the highest ownership. You will be the richest people in Heaven. Actually you don't have to suffer that much, because God did not design that all of you would have to go through the way that I went. I was able to prevail over the world and I set the pattern for you. Now you know where to go, how to go and what the goal is, right? One united concept, one victory, one world.

When you walk down the street, think, "I am walking toward that providential goal." Sometimes you may go into a bar, but you absolutely must not go there in order to assist the satanic world; you must do that only if in some way you are able to increase the Kingdom of God, such as by fund raising.

One concept, one mind-no matter what you do or where you go, there should be no deviation in your mind. You must be one person, with one mind dwelling with true love. When you have one mind, it needs to dwell only on true love.

The world is quickly changing in favor of God. Very soon the climate of society will become more favorable toward the Unification Church and Reverend Moon. In Korea, even the congressmen come to my talks about Unificationism; likewise in Japan. Among the primary providential nations, Korea has about 270 members of its legislative body; Japan has 511; the United States has 535. Suppose all the lawmakers of those three countries moved toward the Heavenly side. In any nation, the existence of two or more parties has been used by Satan as a means of keeping the country divided, but imagine if those two parties worked to unite the country. At the fall of man, two "parties" came into existence, and we can see that sort of system existing now within our society. That could not change until the True Parents came. Nobody else could change it.

What we need is both vertical and horizontal harmony. In the United States, the leader of the Democrats and the leader of the Republicans engage in all sorts of fighting; they practically curse each other. That is not harmony; it is more like the dialectical. When there is constant confrontation, there is no way the one world can be realized. Only when there is vertical and horizontal harmony between all parties can one world come to be.

How can this be applied to your life? Firstly there must be unity between husband and wife-that is horizontal unity. Then you must be vertically united with the True Parents. Should there be division and fighting between the vertical and horizontal planes? No, there should be one love uniting the husband and wife and uniting the True Parents and the children. Do you follow?

Anything that tries to contradict this way of true love will be pushed out by the environment and the spirit world. In other words, in time they will be regarded as foreign elements by the environment. In secular America today, there is division between parents and children; they are in contradiction. Also, men and women- husbands and wives-are in contradiction, struggle, and confrontation. God cannot dwell in such a situation. The family system is breaking down. It is a very unhappy situation-the family feeling is ice cold. There is a cold, chilly feeling between the parents and children, husband and wife.

In the Unification Church we are trying to come to the center, both vertically and horizontally. In one point, unity is formed. That is because true love is at the center. Everybody comes and unites in that center. You can go out from that center but you don't feel alienated; you can always come back and recoup, like returning to the "filling station" of love again and again. True love alone can make this possible. It's not only the little child who is lovable and cute. In this concept, the elderly grandmother is also beautiful. A grandpa may have very rugged skin with a long beard, but the little child will go up to him and kiss and hug him. That is a beautiful sight. Can we see such a thing frequently in the average American home? Not very often.

Does anybody like a contradictory system? Raise your hands if you do. Within the Unification Church, we have learned how to come together. We have many meeting and gatherings. In that way our intensity grows. When you feel lonely, then meet together. When you feel a lack of energy, meet. The more meetings in the fallen realm, the more destruction occurs, whereas on the heavenly side the more energy and harmony is created.

I was told that you were very lonely when I was in Korea for the past six months. You wanted to go to Belvedere, but because the True Parents weren't there, you weren't so inspired. Why is that? Reverend Moon is an Oriental man so why should you miss me so much? You can't explain it precisely in words, but your mind is pulled toward me. Even x­Moonies say to me, "Reverend Moon, I love you very much, but it's those guys around you that I hate." But that is an evil viewpoint; it is having two minds. You cannot survive like that. That is why they became x­Moonies; they had two minds, so they dropped out. Basically, however, they still feel pulled by the magnet of the True Parents.

The ultimate ambition for the human heart is that of true love. Therefore, women definitely need men; men definitely need women. All human beings together are born for the sake of reaching out and acquiring the love of God. That is the very reason for our existence.

No matter how great a religion you might proclaim, unless you reach out to gain the true love of God, you can never acquire true happiness. It doesn't matter if you are a renowned philosopher or a religious thinker, unless you reach that particular destination, you cannot be happy. A loving husband and wife gain possession of the entire world. We shall transform the world so that it welcomes and embraces that concept. That is the mission of the Unification Church.

If you can say, "The mandate given this morning is going to be my life's goal," raise your hands and pledge. God bless you. Let us pray.

True Parents and I

Sun Myung Moon
June 15, 1986
Excerpts
Belvedere
Translator: Bo Hi Pak

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Eventually the world will be divided into two major camps -- one that accepts the theistic or religious point of view, the other the atheistic, materialistic point of view. But there is a problem with religion -- there is not just one but great numbers of them. How can we deal with this? There is one simple rule: Whichever religion demonstrates the greatest love of God should be at the center and then absorb the others, bringing everyone into unity at the center.

What is the essence of religion? It is God and love, these two elements. Centered upon God, love will win and prevail over the world. In speaking of the love of God, there is only one religion that calls God "Father" -- and that is Christianity. This must be made very clear. What is the difference between a true father and a stepfather? The difference is in the bloodstream, the lineage. Christians don't say, "God is our stepfather" No, we say, "God is our Father." That means we say we are in the same bloodstream, the same lineage as God. But do all those who call themselves Christians really feel they are connected into one bloodstream, centered upon God and part of one lineage?

What is the Kingdom of Heaven? Whether we speak of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth or in heaven, we mean the same thing. We speak of the Kingdom of Heaven as God's house. God is our Father; the parents and children dwell in the same house. The children are entitled to live in that house -- one bloodstream, one family.

The Power of God's Lineage

Another aspect of Christianity is that Jesus is described as the "only begotten son" Jesus was the only person at that time who had inherited the total love and the total lineage of God. For that reason, he had the power of God's lineage flowing through him; that is why he became the savior. He could multiply himself into others. Christianity has taught that God is the Father of mankind; furthermore, Jesus taught that he was the only begotten son of that God.

Therefore, only through him can we be connected to the lineage of God. Otherwise, the lineage of God cannot flow through mankind. This is the message of Christianity.

From the point of view of the Principle of Creation, "only begotten son" means that Jesus was in the position of unfallen, perfected Adam. At the fall, Satan approached Eve and took her away; he took the bride away from Adam. Of course Adam also fell in the Garden of Eden. When Jesus came as the perfected Adam, he was to enter into the fallen world and restore his bride. That was his commission, his mission -- to restore a woman to the level above the fall, without the fall.

Who was Eve? Eve was in the position of true mother of all mankind, just as Adam was supposed to be the true father. Jesus came on the level of the chosen nation; at that time there was one sovereign nation. Jesus was the perfected Adam who came to restore Eve. If this had been done on that national foundation, they would have become not only the true father and mother of mankind, but the king and queen of Israel.

When was the appearance of the True Parents possible? First of all, in the Garden of Eden. If there had been no fall, Adam and Eve would have become the True Parents at that time. In the Garden of Eden, once Adam and Eve were completely perfected, centered upon true love, they could not fall. You could push them out of the garden and they would come right back. There was no way they could have deviated from their original position because no power could separate them from true love.

True love should have been at the center of Adam and Eve, binding them. It should have been supreme. But what happened? Within Eve, self became supreme, rather than true love. That was the enemy. Selfishness crept into the Garden of Eden by being planted in the heart of the woman; this selfishness has grown to encompass all of humanity. What do we see today? The entire world is riddled with selfishness. America today is a most self-centered nation. I understand there is a popular concept of the Me Generation. How can such a thing be -- the Me Generation? This is satanic material; it belongs in hell.

The center of a family must be God; as all the members of the family come toward God, they cling together and become united with one another. That is the way it was supposed to be. Your heart, your mind, your soul -- that is the very deepest part of your being. Your soul is connected to the mind of God. That was the way the model was supposed to be created.

But instead of everyone coming to the center and uniting around God, each person is trying to become the center, trying to pull everything toward him. That is how we can call this the Me Generation.

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Victims of Pragmatism

The United States is a Christian nation, so why has it become like this? It is because of so-called pragmatism; Americans are very pragmatic people. What is pragmatism? Basically, a pragmatic person is not bound by any principles; whatever benefits him, he goes in that direction. He pursues his self-interest in all directions; it doesn't matter what it is or where, as soon as he sees something of self-benefit, he tries to grab it. The result is that pragmatic people don't care about what happens to the rest of the world; the world can even become a sacrifice if it benefits them. That is pragmatism.

Therefore, the pragmatic way of life repels religion, scorns it for its principles and rules, and wants to disregard it totally. Actually, pursuing self-interest is not fundamentally bad, but instead of pursuing external self-interest first, one must put internal, spiritual interests first. Ironically, Satan has divided the internal world from the external world, and he has been holding the external world under his wing. This situation is the greatest problem. In order to pursue your internal interests, you have to go against your external interests. That is what makes things so difficult. You have to fight and make sacrifices in order to pursue your internal interests.

The pragmatic person is one who focuses on accumulating material desires; that is what the Me Generation is all about. But what is really important is for a person to gain internal, spiritual benefit. In order to gain those benefits, you have to sacrifice external things. This beautiful truth is very far away from the American way of life. Even if Americans gain everything -- amass great material wealth -- they will have lost everything, because they will have gained nothing internal. In one moment, they can lose everything. That is because "me" is at the center. That is a sure sign that we are children of Satan.

The irony is this: The United States, which is supposed to be the central Christian nation, has become the worst example of the satanic domain. Therefore, the universe is attacking it. No matter how much the nation and the American people may try to advance, there is an even greater power pounding on them; so this nation continues to decline more and more.

What about the Unification Church members, particularly in America today? Are you going to be digested by the Me Generation, or are you going to digest it? Do you have confidence? You do not even have unity between your own mind and body, so how can you go out and say you are going to conquer the Me Generation? That is a contradiction, isn't it? Present-day reality is a real problem. One way or another, we must bring a solution to America; otherwise, it will be gone.

This Me Generation thinks it has conquered the world. However, God is not part of the Me Generation; God's center is the whole. The benefit of the whole comes first.

God's Second Option

If no fall of man had occurred, the True Parents would have been established in the Garden of Eden. After the fall of man, God had the option to destroy every single human being. He could have said, "They are all evil and I don't want to deal with them anymore" But as you know through the Principle, there was a reason He did not and could not do that. His second option was to restore. In order to do that, He had to send a savior. That savior was the second opportunity for the installation of the True Parents. This, of course, was the time of Jesus; but it was not completed, as you know. For this reason, the third opportunity was given.

The principle of salvation is quite simple: Because mankind was supposed to be born under the True Parents and that was not done, false parenthood came into being; therefore, we have to get rid of that and be restored into the True Parents' lineage, the true lineage of God.

What is today's topic? "True Parents and I" Why are True Parents absolutely necessary? Without them, the world has no hope for salvation; there is no way to turn, and no salvation can come. We have to bring the world back from the false parenthood to the true parenthood. Through the True Parents, the true lineage of God can be installed and expanded substantially.

Did your birth take place under the true parenthood or the false parenthood? The root is the cause of the problem. In the Bible we read about the wild olive trees and the true olive tree. What is the true olive tree? The true olive tree means the tree whose root comes from God. God's lineage is symbolically, expressed as the true olive tree. All mankind comes from the false root, which is expressed as the wild olive tree; therefore, mankind needs to go through an engrafting process. New life must be given. That is the destiny of all men and women.

In order for the engrafting process to take place, we have to cut off all the branches of the wild olive tree. On that tree there may be many branches, leaves, and buds, but they are all part of the evil root. Let's say the true olive tree is very young, with very few branches. Even though the wild olive tree has been growing for thousands of years and has 44 billion leaves and buds, the branches of the wild olive tree still have to be cut off.

Externally, a bud on the false olive tree looks just the same as one on the true olive tree; in fact, it might even look a little better, since it receives so much nourishment. So those leaves and buds might ask, "Why should we be cut?"

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We Cannot Seek Our Own Freedom

All the 44 billion leaves and buds out there are looking at the Moonies, thinking, "How pitiful they look, so pale and miserable! We are much better off than they are" If we are true members of the Unification Church we know we cannot indulge ourselves in the lifestyle of the outside world.

Until we gain the restoration of the entire world's freedom, we cannot go after our own freedom.

When God's decides to restore the wild olive tree into the true olive tree, will He say, "Let's just do a little bit now and a little bit tomorrow and a little bit next year"? Would He want to take 10,000 years to do it? Wouldn't He want to do it all at once if He could? What about me? Do you think I would like to do it piecemeal? I am more short-tempered than God.

This true olive tree is small, but the important thing is that the root rests on God. The root of the wild olive tree rests on Satan. You must remember all the time that, although you are restored members of the Unification Church, your original roots from your ancestors are from the satanic side. We were not born of the True Parents but of the fallen lineage, and we are only in the process of being restored. We must not forget that.

Look at the trees. They all want to reach straight up to the sun; that is their natural instinct. So do the flowers and grasses. All plants grow to face the sun. Even if a branch is growing in the opposite direction from the sun, the leaves will reach out toward the sun, growing up.

The sun represents the source of life, so all the leaves and buds face toward it. The energy of life passes up through the trunk and to the branches in one straight line. That is the Tree of Life -- one straight vertical line. When the tree gets taller, the branches become wider. There is a vertical line, but at the same time the roots go out horizontally and take hold of wider and wider territory.

At the deepest bottom of yourself is your original mind. Right below that is the fertile ground of God. Put your original mind into the fertile ground of God. The engrafting process means that you cut off all the branches but leave the root. Then true branches are engrafted onto the old root. When the true branches are brought in, it becomes a new tree; that is the engrafting process. When this process takes place, even though the root is the same, the satanic root will be transformed into a new root.

Can we penetrate all the thousands of years of customs in the satanic world and bring a revolution? Do we have that kind of energy and vitality? When the satanic root persistently remains, the fruit will not be good; you won't get good fruit even though the engrafting was done. The tree will not develop properly. In other words, perhaps its shape will be the same as the true olive tree, but the olives won't have any taste. How can God enjoy a poor-tasting olive?

After the engrafting process takes place, how do we transform the root into a new one? No matter how much effort is made by all the 44 billion people in the cosmos, it will not come into fruition. Only by the power of the love of God and the True Parents will that root be transformed.

The Original Pure Ingredient

You have to plunge into the boiling pot of the True Parents and God so that all your fallen, foreign elements will be melted away and only the pure elements will remain. The only things remaining will be what is centered upon God and the True Parents' love. True love will be the original, pure ingredient that remains after all the foreign elements are burned up.

Do you have possession of that true love that can burn up the iniquities and the ugliness of the satanic world? You are the engrafted product -- you turned your lineage over to the True Parents and God. But in order to consume the evil elements of the world, to burn up all its iniquities, your power alone is not going to be enough. Your children -- the blessed children -- are purer than you, more powerful than you.

Let us reflect upon our life in the Unification Church. After you joined the church what kind of life did you lead? God and the True Parent created a true love pond. Have you become like a child, taking off all your clothes and plunging headfirst into that pond? Or are you just standing on the edge and dipping your toes into it? When you jump into that love pond, is your body so filthy that you will make the whole pond dirty? Is that the kind of men and women you are? Most of you have been a part of the life of the Unification Church for many years, and most of you have received the Blessing. But you have been living according to something less than the real Unification Church direction. There is far more distance to be covered. We have to be shedding tears -- kneeling on the floor and repenting. Repentance must be the first thing on our agenda.

You call me "True Father," and Mother "True Mother;" correct? Who are the True Parents? What do the True Father and the True Mother do? The True Parents provide you with the root of God upon which you can prosper, so that true love can spring out from that root and all of humanity can dip themselves into the true love pond and be saved. True Parents transform the old roots into the true root, so the true lineage can be created.

There has been a gap, a break, so that even though the root of God and true love always existed, true love has not been flowing outward to humanity and the world. The True Parents came to mend the bridge so that true love can flow. Without the appearance of the True Parents there could be no way for the love of God to flow into mankind. This is the absolutely logical conclusion: The appearance of the True Parents is the hope of humanity.

Do you have anything to do with the True Parents? How much are you related to them? You know through this morning's sermon. It has become very clear to you. The Bible says that you should not worry about what to eat or drink or where to dwell. Those things are what the Gentiles worry about. You have to worry about only one thing -- whether you are becoming a prisoner of the true love of God and the True Parents, and whether you are totally intoxicated by it. If that is the case, nothing can bother you -- not your family, not your living circumstances, not your children -- nothing. You will be totally immersed in the central theme of the true love of God.

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Be Ready To Spring into Action

What about you? Are your branches imparting true love everywhere? I hear some of the older members saying, "I am working for the sake of the whole;' but actually they are the most tired-out, dispirited people. I don't want that kind of old-timer. We are going to face the most difficult times from now on. So if you Unification Church members today are virtually exhausted, how can you face it when even greater waves of difficulties hit you? Will you find the power and energy to break through them and overcome them? You have to be more serious. Think: "I am ready for the greater difficulties ahead of me. Nothing can deter or shrink me." You must think that way and be ready to spring into action at any time.

My life is exactly this way. I have been in and out of prison not just one time but six different times. But each time I was never deterred. My spirit was only strengthened. When I came to America my destiny was, in a way, to march toward prison. I knew that and I welcomed it: "If that is my destiny, I will not shrink from it." I have not deviated from that destiny.

In our march toward Moscow, I know another prison is there waiting for me. Are you letting me do all the things necessary to get to Moscow? Or do you want to go ahead of me, preparing the way for me there? I want you to know that there are brothers and sisters working behind the Iron Curtain in all the satellite countries, desperately laying the foundation.

This is the time of the crossroads. Not tomorrow, but today. When I am at East Garden I am always busy, always active. I have no relaxing moments. I went to Korea for six months, and during that time almost 40 million Korean people were awakened by my presence. That included educating the national assemblymen, the equivalent of U.S. congressmen. What am I trying to do? I am not seeking political power. I have only one thing in mind: to do the will of God and create a nation and world where the love of God can prevail, to insert that love into America, Korea, and all other nations.

You are the fruit of my stay here in America. In order to gain this fruit, I sacrificed my own family, clan, and personal affairs and loved all of you. I would like to take such accomplished fruit to Korea and Japan. I want to let them see you and be proud of you. That is my ambition.

The Japanese members are helping you here in America. One day American members will go out to the rest of the world. As much as I am proud of the Japanese members here, I would like to be even more proud of the American members in the world circle.

America is the Abel nation. God guided and nurtured this country for 200 years, bringing Abel-type people from around the world into this microcosm and making one small world within the United States. In order to become the new forefathers of America, you must do more than the Puritan fathers did who came over on the Mayflower. You must go beyond the strengths and sufferings of your ancestors in order to live up to your mission. Maybe in the future there will be less persecution, but there is still an incredible uphill battle to wage. There are so many barriers out there -- such as the barriers of language and culture. Each country has its own idiosyncrasies. How can we harmonize all these?

God Has To Borrow the Instrument of Human Beings

Think about yourself, how difficult it is to keep your own faith. The management of your own self is not easy. Even with 10, 20 years of background in the church some people are still struggling. How can you make the people of the world into one? It is not easy. But who shall do it? God does not have His own hands or feet. He has to borrow the instrument, human beings. You art God's instruments. God can rely only on the True Parents and you -- that is all God has for assets. Each one of you should be such a vibrant dynamo that I could pick you up and plant you in any foreign country and a Unification Church would germinate there. That is what God wants to see.

What shall we do then? First of all, we have to combat the self. Be victorious in that battle. You must have a sense of gratitude, thinking, "God picked me up and restored me. I came to know the True Parents, and I am in a position to attend them. Therefore, I am deeply grateful to God and True Parents" Unless your life rests upon such gratitude, sooner or later you will drift away. For me, that is the basic, fundamental attitude of my life -- gratitude.

When I listen to reports from the different regions around the world, I hear more discouraging news than good news. There is more suffering than accomplishment. In many cases, according to what we are doing, the destiny of a nation is hanging in the balance; a nation can rise or fall. Each day I make decisions that directly influence the destiny of the nations of the future -- millions of people's lives. When one decision is wrongly made, I am responsible. The burden falls upon me.

I am sure some of you have experienced the loss of a parent or a spouse through death, or even the loss of a child, and that has been heartbreaking. When people lose things or children, they feel tremendous heartbreak. How much more pain must God feel when He sees not the satanic element but His most genuine, lovely creation being killed and destroyed. Can you imagine the broken-heartedness of God? Do you think I should suffer more here in America? Can you be responsible for my tradition? Do you have the energy and power to do it?

I will tell you about one incident I experienced a couple of years ago. I visited a center where there was one member who had decided that very day to leave the church. It happened that I left on the same airplane as that particular member. Up to that day he had felt I was his Father, but on that day he decided I was nobody. He happened to pass through the plane by my seat, and he didn't even look at me or have the common decency to greet me and say hello. Maybe there was no relationship at all anymore in terms of our faith, but at least in terms of human decency, is that any way to treat someone you know? Is that the product of individualism here in America? How can someone turn around so completely in one day and create such a wall? I really thought about that. This is not only one situation -- there have been many such instances in my life. This shows the potential ugliness of the human heart.

I have another example, one of our members was managing a business where other members worked. This person started treating the members under him like slaves, giving them incredibly bad treatment, simply because they were blacks and Hispanics. Think of this from a parental point of view. It's unimaginable! Yet I had to swallow it, digest it, and move on. I didn't express any wrathful anger. But those things are prevalent.

Now It Is Up To You

I have been in America 14 years and I have poured out my heart, soul, mind, body, spirit, and material for the wellbeing of this nation. No one can deny that. Who will be responsible if I were to leave America permanently? In order to have my heart remain in America, it is basically up to you. How will you act? What will your own attitude be toward me and the movement, toward the Principle, toward your mission?

If the determination is there, you should make up your mind to go forward without one bit of deviation, whatever difficulties you may have to face. I did that in my life. Look at my own children. They came to America simply because their Daddy came here -- for no other reason. They grew up here and endured incredible ridicule from this society. When their Father went to prison, imagine the situation of my children! They became an even greater target of ridicule from society and their own peers. As their father I felt, "What have I given to my own children? Am I giving honor to them?" Also Mother, through no fault of her own, suffered because of my imprisonment.

What is prison like? You can't trust anyone in prison. It is almost as if you are in the wilderness, without any protection. Mother came to the prison every visiting day, almost like clockwork, rain or shine. The average woman would say, "Why should I do this? I am disgusted with this situation;' and she would give up. If Mother had not known True Parents' ideal and the dispensation, she would have had an entirely different attitude. Don't you think she shed a great deal of secret tears? At five o'clock Pledge service each Sunday, Mother and the family had to conduct the service alone while I was in prison. I'm sure they shed a lot of tears.

This is my first Sunday morning speech at Belvedere after my six months' stay in Korea. I want you to know that I have done everything possible for the sake of the United States, and the mission has been done. Probably in another six months I will again consider the destiny of this country. There is one more important thing I need to undertake. Who shall succeed me and go on in this mission? Do you have full confidence to be the ones?

I can't forget my first flight over the Pacific to the United States -- what I was thinking on that plane is still so vivid it my mind. I have not forgotten anything. After I landed in America, I visited 48 states within 43 days. On the road I was thinking about America, planning for the future. I always comforted God, saying, "God, You have Your will for this nation and I shall accomplish it for You. I will bring glory to You." I have spent every day and night for the past 14 years in this country fulfilling that pledge. Of course I have done mostly church-centered missions, but I have done many other things beyond the church. I have succeeded in bringing about many national and global accomplishments.

Can you do this job? If God's side is defeated, there is no hope. During my 14 years here, I didn't take any rest. You have to invest yourselves just like that. This is a serious time.

God's Helping Power

Do you have confidence? I know you don't have that kind of confidence by yourselves. That means we need help from God. How can we receive God's helping power? Through deep prayer, dedication, and sacrifice. Many American young people do not like this kind of life, I know; but someone in America has to do this mission. Creating a victorious way is the only hope for America.

The final battle is ahead of us. It is waiting for us. With determination and a sense of sacrifice, we shall win the glorious victory. For these 14 years, you have been like children. I have accepted your complaints and your criticisms. But now we are in a kind of a big championship fight. Before you get into the ring, you can say all kinds of things -- "I'm tired',' "My legs hurt" But once you are in that ring you have no time to worry about such things. You have to just fight and knock out your opponent. Once you get in the ring, that is your only goal.

What you should do is bring liberation to me. Liberate me from all this pressure and burden. Once we know the truth and our mission and are determined to unite by plunging into the mission, we know we can win. Our victory is assured. God has prepared everything. Therefore, we can be bold and strong! From now until 1988 we are going to bring about the turning point of human history. This is a moment of crisis for the United States and international communism. It is a time of emergency. In these three years we must unite and plunge into our victorious battle.

Those who pledge victory to God, please stand up. Those who are marching toward that final battlefield and will win the victory God promised us, say, "Amen!" and raise your hands! Thank you, and God bless you. 

True Parents And I

Reverend Sun Myung Moon
June 15, 1986
Belvedere
Translator - Bo Hi Pak

There are many people living in our world today, but most of them are standing in the fallen realm rather than in the realm of God. There are different divisions within this satanic domain, such as community, nation and world. The people are divided not only into north, south, east and west, but also into five different colors of skin. There is also the major division between Oriental and Occidental. The principal thing that everybody is doing is fighting among themselves. Furthermore, they do not know where they are heading; they do not know their exact goal or purpose. Our world is not heading toward hopefulness and the ideal, therefore, but rather toward decline and disaster.

That phenomenon persists not only in the Orient but also in the West. Because of such problems, people cannot feel hope for this world. Who can be responsible for the world? America-and you are primarily American people gathered here today-is part of that declining world. It makes no difference whether someone is educated or ignorant; all are heading toward the same destiny.

The original hope and ideal for mankind was lost because of the fall of man. Now each individual has to deal with the most complex and confused way of life. Many people are in agony; they recognize that they could be in better shape-morally, spiritually and physically-but they are not. They ask themselves, "Why can't I be more healthy?" Many individuals are suffering because of this struggle between their mind and body.

The problem of discord between mind and body is more difficult to solve than all the problems of history. No individual can be totally happy unless he enjoys balance and harmony in his life. The greatest human suffering is caused by the conflict and discord in our society. We have to deal with such a complex and chaotic world, but at the same time, there is an even greater problem within each individual-the discord between one's mind and body.

When can we become truly happy people with harmony between mind and body? There are not two ways to become perfect, but only one. Thus we have to come up with one solution. This is the greatest of all problems. Each individual is the subject over his environment, and this is centered upon his own world view. You perceive the colors in your environment, and you feel certain things; you are the subject of those feelings.

We want to be happy and joyful, but that is not possible unless there is truly one harmony. Many people have made great accomplishments through history, and there are many such people living now. However, history has yet to see one person who could say, "I am totally at one within my mind and body." Even such a great man as St. Paul, the one person besides Jesus who could properly be called the founder of Christianity, said that he was waging an internal battle between the laws of his mind and the laws of his body. "Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?" (Romans 7:24 NAS) The Bible records that confession of St. Paul's.

What about Jesus? Although Jesus had a single, clear cut purpose and direction, there was a great deal of conflict between his will and his actions. Let's look at this and how Jesus was united between his mind and body. How could he become totally one, within perfection?

First of all, we have to recognize that Jesus was not the cause of the universe. He is the true object of God, a God sent individual. In the Unification Church, we make this Christological question very clear: Who is Jesus? We commonly describe Jesus in many terms: Messiah, Savior, and so forth, but the most important description is that he was the son of God, as well as the potential True Parent, the True Father of all mankind. What is the definition of the True Parent? The True Parent is the person who reflects perfectly the image of God and who can disseminate the power of true love.

Do you find your own mind and body always divided and in conflict? Ask them, "Although you are always fighting with each other, don't you want to unite? What would you like to be united upon? " The answer would not be money, power or knowledge, but only true love. What, then, is true love? Nobody likes to be told, "Your love is false." But on the other hand, is anyone a true man, a perfected person? You shrug at that, knowing that you are not. When you speak about true things, you have to be true according to God. He is the center, the truth, the subject of the universe. You have to be one with Him.

We commonly say that there are many bad people in the world. What do you base such a statement upon? What is the dividing line between a good person and a bad one? What is the definition of goodness? When you say, "This is a good deed," what is that centered upon? You may make a lot of money-you may hit the jackpot- and say, "That is good!,, On what basis is that good? Or suppose you are elected to some important political office, gaining a lot of power. You would say, "That is good!" But what is that good centered upon? Or perhaps you have acquired a great deal of knowledge and you feel that is good.

There must be a center, some reason that defines whether something is good or not. That center is true love. Any deed or thought that contributes to true love is a good deed or thought. But if it does not do that, it is on the side of evil. All five senses of our bodies are mobilized to find and concentrate upon true love, nothing else. Ask your eye what it wants to see and it would say, "The only thing I want to look at is true love; I don't want to see anything else." The eyes are not interested in lots of bright colors, for example, without true love. Not only our five physical senses but also our five spiritual senses have this motivation.

Do you think the mind is equipped to know and detect true love, or not? What do you think? Is that an inborn virtue of the mind-to be able to detect true love? You have an original mind, so why doesn't that original mind become bold and strong and take initiative to demolish all the ungodly things around it? Why doesn't it move forward to take dominion over the universe? The original mind has become weak and has failed to take the subjective role; it is always being pushed into the corner. Why has the original mind been in such a miserable shape?

Since we have an original mind, it should be in constant communication with God, receiving power from Him and taking the subjective role over everything else. Why hasn't it been like that? The reason is that evil history began before each person was born; it was there already. Before your original mind ever came into being, there was already an evil dominion over everything. Your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents were like that-all the way back to Adam and Eve. Before Adam's and Eve's original minds took hold, before they were able to take dominion over the universe, evil came into being. The fall occurred and the true lineage was turned around.

Men and women are supposed to be perfected, united upon one love, in communion with God. With one woman and one man, centered upon God's love, unity would be complete. We would be born of God, in that case, because everything originated from Him; no foreign element would have come in. All generations would have come directly from God, therefore, and there would have been only one God centered lineage.

We are supposed to be united under one true love, centered upon God; total unity and harmony were supposed to mark the beginning of human history. But that was not the case; the force of Satan invaded. God would like to have dominion over all things-not by force or violence-but by love. That was the original principle of creation. Because of the forceful and violent invasion of evil, however, there was no chance for true love to reign over all things. Furthermore, every individual was born under the satanic lineage; thus it is the same fallen bloodstream.

The fall of man was the putting aside of goodness and truth. Even though we know such things are there, we have been pulled to the side of evil and fallen into bondage. The original mind is within each person; people are aware of goodness, true love and beautiful ideals, but the body has become the slave of evil, pulled into evil activities. A prisoner or slave has no freedom.

In the center of fallen man there are two minds: one is the original mind and the other is the instinctual, body centered mind. We are supposed to have only one mind, but man became divided into those two minds which fight between themselves. The body became the battlefield for those two minds. Surrounding the body is the family, which is also a battlefield; likewise the community, nation and world all became the battlefields for those two minds.

We must have a true self in which the original mind dwells. So we must go back to the very beginning point- the state of mind where there is no division or discord and only harmony and cooperation. Then the body will cooperate with that one mind; then you can find your true self.

How could such harmony come into being? Only by the touch of true love. Human beings have departed from true love; true love is always with God, of course. There are millions and millions of spiritual miles between God and man. How can God take this evil world back to Himself? What is God's method and strategy? How can He go into the very core of that struggle between the mind and body and resurrect man's original self?

God has to establish a beachhead by which to enter the satanic world; that beachhead is true love. Initially, it will be small, but as soon as God gains a foothold He can move forward and go deeper to expand His foundation. In a way, God's true love force is invading the satanic world from all four directions. Throughout history, religious people always encountered persecution; no religion has grown without persecution. Those people who opposed religion have been in control of the principalities, those within the established power structure.

There is a certain axis at the center of every individual, and the body is meant to turn around that axis. That axis is your original mind; your body is trying to turn on that axis. There should be no resistance. When the original mind-the mind before the fall-takes the center, the body automatically centers upon the power of true love. That should occur without trouble or difficulty. Such turning action by the body should be natural and easy.

The original mind and original body, unstained by satanic elements, have the goal of unity centered upon true love. That was the original design of creation-an unstained, good mind and body united upon true love. Let us compare this with the two prongs of a tuning fork. When you hit one prong, its vibration will send sound waves to the other prong, which will make a sound of the same exact pitch. The initial sound or vibration within people should be that of true love; true love should hit the mind first, causing it to reverberate at a certain frequency and convey true love to the body. That is how it was supposed to be. But what happened? Because of the fall of man, the initial impact was not true love but fallen love.

God has to make a new impact upon the original mind of man. This has been the work of God in history-to make an impact so that the mind could also give powerful treatment to the body. Thus filial piety has been upheld as a virtue in the home, centered upon the parents. When the homes exemplify filial piety, loyalty is also stressed in the country, centered upon the king or leader. This is the way the individual self revolves and, at the same time, turns around in a bigger circle. As you know, the earth turns on its axis and, at the same time, it revolves around the sun-human internal life follows the same principle.

The solar system does not stand still; as an entity, it turns in a great, cosmic circle. What is its most central theme, its center? It is love, true love. Therefore, love has been taught in the home. Centered upon the parent, the expression of that love is called filial piety. In the nation, when love has been stressed, we call it patriotism or loyalty. On the world level, the love of mankind has been stressed and that is called saintliness. That quality of love, of course, is true love and that should be at the center. When true love takes the center seat, everything else will fall into its proper place. Right order shall be created around that eternal and unchanging axis.

What will bind a man and woman together into one? What force could do that? What is the force to unite them? It is only the force of true love. That is what we call a couple-the husband and wife. They begin to orbit, circling around, and they create a family. A family is no longer centered upon an individual; the family has a larger purpose and goal, so each individual must harmonize with that goal. But then the family is circling around the nation, which is an even greater entity. Then the nation should be circling in orbit around the world; the world should be its center. Then the world should be orbiting around the universe, centered upon the love of God.

You can see here the complete illustration. Once the individual, with his original mind and body, has become united upon the axis of true love, he will revolve around the family; then the family revolves around the nation, the nation around the world, and the world around the universe. Finally, the universe will revolve around God. The central axis is always the same-true love.

God has been working through religion, trying to regain the world and restore it to its original shape. Since the body has been dominant and the mind has been weakened, religion has always chastised the body in order to strengthen the mind. This is why physical chastisement has always played a role in religion. Anything which is not parallel with the goal of true love had to be pushed down, eliminated. In that way, the true love centered mind could prosper.

In a way, God has been farming, planting the seed of true love within the barren soil of man's mind. He has been fertilizing it, watering it, planting the true love seeds. God has chastised and tried to eliminate anything that hurts true love. In this process, He has allowed religious people to make a great number of sacrifices. Many people suffered in order to safeguard the growth of true love. They then inspired and spurred many others on to greater heights. Seeing such righteousness and sacrifice gave them energy to go up to even greater heights.

Eventually, the world came to be divided into two major camps-one which accepts the theistic, or religious, point of view; the other embraces the atheistic, materialistic viewpoint.

What about the problem of religion? There are great numbers of religions. How can we evaluate them? There is one simple rule: the religion which demonstrates the greatest love of God should be at the center and then absorb the others, bringing everyone into unity. What is the essence of religion? It is God and love, those two elements. Centered upon God, love will win and prevail over the world.

In speaking of God, only one religion calls God "Father," and that is Christianity. This must be made very clear: Christianity alone proclaims to the world that God is our Father. What is the definition of a father? What is the difference between a true father and a stepfather? The difference is in the bloodstream, the lineage. Nobody says, "God is our stepfather." We say, "God is our Father." That means we claim to be in the bloodstream or lineage of God.

Do all those who call themselves Christians really feel they are connected into one bloodstream, centered upon God and part of one lineage? What is the Kingdom of Heaven? It is the same whether we speak of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth or in heaven. We speak of the Kingdom of Heaven as God's house. God is our Father; the parents and the children dwell in the same house. The children are entitled to live in that house because they are one bloodstream, one family.

In the Bible, Jesus is described as the "only begotten son." What does this mean? He was the only person who had inherited the total love and total lineage of God, and the only person who could represent it. For that reason, he had the power of God's lineage flowing through him. That is why he became the Savior. Christianity has taught that God is the Father of mankind; furthermore, Jesus taught that he was the only begotten son of that God. Christianity's message, therefore, is that it is only through Jesus that we can be connected to the lineage of God; otherwise, God's lineage cannot flow through mankind.

From the point of view of the Principle of Creation, "only begotten son,, means that Jesus was in the position of the unfallen, perfected Adam. Adam fell in the Garden of Eden, so Jesus was meant to be the perfected Adam who entered into the fallen world and restored his bride. It was his mission to restore a woman to the level before the fall.

Eve was in the position to be the true mother of all mankind, just as Adam was supposed to be the true father. Jesus came on the level of the chosen nation, and he came as the perfected Adam to restore Eve. If that had been done on the national foundation, they would have become not only the true father and mother of mankind, but also they would have become the king and queen of Israel.

If they had not fallen, Adam and Eve would have become the True Parents in the Garden of Eden. Once Adam and Eve were perfected and completely centered upon true love, they could not have fallen. There was no way they could have deviated from their original position because no power could separate them from true love.

True love should have been the central binding point between Adam and Eve. But what happened? Within Eve, her own self, and not true love, became supreme. The evil of selfishness crept into the Garden of Eden, planted in the heart of the woman, and it has now grown to encompass all of humanity. What do we see today? The entire world is riddled with selfishness. Contemporary America is the most self centered nation. Youth today are even labeled the "Me Generation." How can such a thing be? This is the satanic attitude; it belongs to hell.

What is the center of America? Is it the Pentagon? Is it wealth or knowledge? Certainly America today has lots of power, money and knowledge, but these things cannot become the heart and soul of America. If they did, America would certainly perish. America must be centered upon true love; only true love will bring unity between mind and body, and then the family, society and nation. When that happens, this nation will flourish.

Let's say there are eight individuals within one family. The center of that family must be God and, as everybody comes toward God, they can cling together and be united. That is the way it was supposed to be. Your heart or original mind is the very deepest part of your being, and that heart is connected to the mind of God. That was the model. Your original mind is in a direct vertical line with Heaven. Everybody else has an original mind, too, which is part of the same line.

The vertical line with God and the horizontal line of human relationships must cross at a 90­degree angle. Wherever you go or whoever you meet, you should always have a 90­degree angle. The love between men and women, for example, is real; your experience of that love is very real. That is the horizontal line. The problem is that people have lost the vertical line; they don't experience it. They don't even recognize the existence of any vertical line. Instead of coming to the center and uniting around God, each individual is trying to become the center, to pull everything toward himself.

The United States is supposed to be a Christian nation. Why has it become like this? It can be attributed to what is called American pragmatism. This basically means that one doesn't have to be bound by any principles; whatever benefits you, you just go in that direction. People pursue self interest in all directions; it doesn't matter what it is or where-as soon as they see something of self benefit, they try to grab it. The result is that people don't care about what happens to the rest of the world; the world can even become a sacrifice if it benefits them. That is pragmatism.

The pragmatic way of life repels religion and scorns its principles and rules. The truth is that pursuing self interest is not fundamentally bad, but one must put internal, spiritual interests first before external self interest. Ironically, however, Satan has divided the internal and the external world; he has been holding the external world under his wing. For that reason, in order to pursue your internal interests, you have to go against your external interests. That is what makes things very difficult. You have to fight and make sacrifices in order to pursue your internal benefit.

The pragmatic person is one who focuses on accumulating all his material wants; that is what the "Me Generation" is all about. What is really important for a person, however, is to gain internal, spiritual benefit. In order to gain those benefits, you have to sacrifice the external things. This beautiful truth is far from the American way of life. Even if American people gain every sort of material wealth, if they have gained nothing internally, they will have lost everything.

The irony is this: the United States, which is supposed to be the one central Christian nation, has become the worst example of the satanic domain. Because of this, then, the laws of the universe are opposing this nation. No matter how much the government and the American people may make effort, there is an even greater power pounding on them so that the nation continues to decline more and more.

What about the Unification Church in America today? What are we? Do you think you are going to be digested by the "Me Generation,,, or are you going to digest them? You don't have unity between your own mind and body, so how can you go out and say, "I'm going to conquer the 'Me Generation"? That is a contradiction, isn't it? The present day reality is a real problem. We must bring a solution.

God is not part of the "Me Generation." God's interest is the benefit of the whole. The benefit of the whole comes first. It is not money, power or knowledge which encompasses and embraces all the things of creation and the whole universe; it is true love. If the fall had not occurred, True Parents would have been established in the Garden of Eden.

After the fall of man, God had the option to destroy every single human being. He could have said, "They are bad and I don't want to see them." But as you know through the Divine Principle, there was a reason He did not and could not do that. His second option was to restore the world, and in order to do that, He had to send a savior. That savior was the second opportunity for the installation of the True Parents. Jesus was that savior and, as you know, that was not completed. Thus God has given the third opportunity.

The principle of salvation is quite simple. Because mankind was supposed to begin with True Parents and that did not happen, false parenthood came into being. We have to be rid of that false lineage and be restored into the family of the True Parents, the true lineage of God. The mission of the Unification Church is to reorganize the families of the world.

Today's topic is "True Parents and I." Are True Parents absolutely necessary? Without them, the world has no hope for salvation, no way to turn. We have to bring the world back from the false to the true parenthood. Beginning with True Parents, direct oneness and union with God can come about. In this way, the true lineage of God can be installed and expanded.

Where were you born-under the true parenthood or the false parenthood? The Bible talks about the wild olive tree and the true olive tree. The true olive tree's root is straight from God; so God's lineage is symbolically expressed in the true olive tree. Everybody comes from the false root, however, which is expressed as the wild olive tree. New life can only be given through engrafting with the true tree. That is the destiny of all men and women.

It doesn't matter whether the wild olive tree is a thousand years old; in order for the engrafting process to take place, we have to cut off that wild tree. Let's say the wild olive tree's root is very large and it has many different branches. On the other hand, let's say the true olive tree is just tiny, with only a few little branches. Even though the old olive tree has been growing for thousands of years and has 44 billion leaves and buds, it doesn't change the fact that it has to be cut down.

Do you think the United States portion of the tree should be left alone? Shall we think, "The United States is the number one country on the earth; we have a great culture to preserve, so don't cut the U.S. portion," Or should we say, "There have been great people in the United States, like George Washington, and we have had important ministers who have done so much to advance Christianity. We have had great numbers of true leaders in this country; this nation doesn't need salvation, so leave it alone"? No, we just cannot say that.

Is it correct to say that America should be an exception because of its great Constitution or its freedom? When God decides to cut the wild olive tree, He will do it. He does not allow exceptions. Outwardly, the bud on the satanic, wild olive tree looks just the same as that on the true olive tree; in fact, it might look a little better, since it receives better nourishment. So those buds might ask, "Why should we be cut?" All the four billion wild olive buds out there are looking at the Moonies, thinking, "How pitiful they are, so pale and miserable. We are much better off than they are." As members of the Unification Church we cannot indulge ourselves in the lifestyle of the outside world until we have gained real freedom for everybody. What do you think about my conclusion? Is it right or wrong?

When God decides to restore the wild olive into the true olive tree, would He say, "Let's just do a little bit now and a little bit tomorrow, and a little bit next year"? What do you think? Would He like to take ten thousand years to do it, or wouldn't He want to do it all at once? What about Reverend Moon? Would I like to do it piecemeal?

Even though the root of the true olive tree is small, the important thing is that it is resting on God. The root of the wild tree is resting on Satan. Always remember that, even though you are restored members of the Unification Church, your original roots from your ancestors are from the wrong, satanic side. We have not been born of the True Parents but of the fallen lineage, and we are in the process of being restored.

When you look at trees you can see that their natural instinct is to reach up to the sun. It is the same with the flowers and grasses. Even if a branch is growing downwards, the leaves will reach upwards. The sun represents the source of life, so all the leaves and buds face toward that. The branches, the root and the stems all come under one direct line and that is the Tree of Life. When the tree grows taller, the branches become wider. The trunk goes up in a straight line, and at the same time, the roots reach out and take hold of wider and wider territory. The energy of life passes through that straight line, up through the trunk to the branches in a direct line.

Your original mind is the deepest part of yourself. Right below that is God, so your original mind rests in the fertile soil of God. In the engrafting process, the branches are cut off but the root remains. Then the true branches can begin to grow. When that process begins, even though that root is the original satanic one, it will be transformed into a new root.

Can we penetrate all the thousands of years old customs of the satanic world and bring about a revolutionary change? Do we have that kind of energy and vitality? If that satanic root maintains itself, then the fruit will not be good, even though engrafting was done. The true tree will not develop properly. In other words, maybe the shape will be just like the true olive tree, but the olives won't have a good taste. How can God enjoy that poor tasting olive?

After the engrafting process takes place, how do we transform the root into a new one? No matter how much effort is made by all 44 billion people in the cosmos, it would not come into fruition. Only by the power of the love of God and the True Parents will that root be transformed. Therefore, you will be plunged into the melting pot of the True Parents and God so that all your fallen, foreign elements can be burned away. All that will remain of you is what is centered upon God and the True Parents' love.

Do you already possess the true love that can burn up the iniquities and ugliness of the satanic world? Even though you are engrafted-you turned your lineage over to the True Parents and God-your power alone will not be enough to burn up the iniquities of this world. Your children, the blessed children, will be more powerful than you; they are purer than you.

Do you think the True Parents should listen to and follow the advice of the fallen generations? No one can advise the True Parents because there is no one with sufficient purity to advise them. The True Parents act from the genuine, true thought which flows from God and true love.

Let us reflect upon ourselves in the Unification Church. Since we joined this church, what kind of life have we lived? God and the True Parents created a new, true love pond. Have you become like a child, taking off all your clothing and plunging headfirst into that pond? Or are you just standing on the edge and dipping your toes in? When you jump into that love pond, is your body so filthy that you will make the whole pond dirty? Is that the kind of men and women you are?

Most of you have been a part of the life of the Unification Church for many years, and most of you have received the Blessing. What kind of members are you? Have you been living according to something less than the real Unification Church direction? There is much more distance to be covered, so we have to be shedding tears. We must be kneeling on the floor and repenting. Repentance must be the first thing on our agenda.

Your mouth is still so imperfect, so dirty and fallen, yet that mouth is saying, "We don't want those Korean and Japanese leaders. All we need is the American way." But you must correctly understand one thing: I am not promoting the Korean way or the Oriental way. I have been opposed by the Korean and Japanese people for forty years. Why have I been opposed if I am promoting the Oriental way?

I even went to Danbury. A prison is the lowest place in any society, but that is where I went because this country opposed me. I did that to save America. Do you think we can save this country with the power of our fists? No, it can only be saved by true love. This principle has not changed one iota.

When I was in Korea these past six months, I was given the constant message, "American members want you to come back." Why should I have come back to America, really? Because it's comfortable, or for money or fame? No. If I wanted to, I could certainly acquire more of those kinds of things in some other country. I came back here in order to wage the final battle for this nation's sake.

"True Parents and I" is the title of today's sermon. You call me and Mother your True Father and Mother, correct? What do the True Father and the True Mother do? The True Parents provide you with the root of God, upon which you can grow and prosper. True love can spring forth like water from that root, and all of humanity can dip themselves into it and be saved.

Before this time, even though the root of God and true love was there, it was not flowing to humanity and the world. Thus the True Parents came to bridge the gap so that true love can flow. Logically speaking, without the appearance of the True Parents, there could be no way the true love of God could flow into mankind. This is the absolutely logical conclusion-the appearance of True Parents is the hope of humanity.

In the Unification Church the most peculiar, extraordinary phenomenon is occurring. Young people do not want to arrange their own marriages; they place this most important decision in the hands of the True Parents. The young people who are joining the Unification Church are some of the best people in the United States. They are highly motivated and sincere and they dedicate their lives to the True Parents. Those most brilliant young people are giving up their own country, in a way, as well as their own parents and families. They give up their social status and their studies when they decide to follow Reverend Moon, a man who has gone to prison. Why is that?

We have great numbers of Japanese members in this country. Have they come to America because they are so eager to live with white people? NO, their only reason is that the True Parents are here. They have left their home and crossed the Pacific Ocean, coming to this foreign land, unable to speak the language or understand the culture. They came here to work for the sake of saving this country, working harder than the American people That is truly extraordinary and amazing.

What about you first class American citizens? Are you proud of that? There are many city and regional leaders who have really overworked the Japanese members, letting them go out and do all the fundraising. Then the leaders sit down and spend that money. Actually, if I were just a secular businessman and I brought those Japanese people here to suffer so much, they would all turn against me, saying, "What are you doing to us?" Would probably be clubbed to death by them. Instead, they never complain. The American people are the ones doing the most complaining, behind the scenes.

In this situation, who shall be responsible for the future of America? Those Japanese people, or me? Who shall be ultimately responsible for America? Yes, it is you Americans. I will go back to Korea and the Japanese will return to their country. After that, what will you do? Can you say, "No problem. We can take care of all America"? It is a shame that among Americans, the black and Hispanic people are following the True Parents more faithfully than the white people. That is the reality. While this continues, the white centered culture will decline; more animosity will arise toward the white people on the part of minorities. The black people will resent more and more the self centered and arrogant white people's traditions.

Your relationship to the True Parents should be very clear to you through this morning's sermon. The Bible says that you should not worry about what to eat or drink or where to dwell. Those things are what the Gentiles worry about. You only have to worry about one thing- seeking God's Kingdom. By the same token, in the Unification Church you should only worry about becoming a partaker of the true love of God and the True Parents. Plunge into it and become intoxicated by that love. When that is the case, nothing can bother you-not your family, not the way of life, nothing. Are you totally immersed in the true love of God? That is the question.

When I observe many of the long time members of the Unification Church, I see them saying, "I am working for the sake of the whole." But they are actually the most tired out, dispirited people. I don't want people to be like that. We are going to face the most difficult times from now on. If you Unification Church members today are virtually exhausted, can you face it when even greater waves of difficulties hit you? Will you find the power and energy to break through and overcome it? You must be thinking this way. You have to be more serious. Think, "I am ready for the greater difficulties ahead of us. Nothing can deter me." You must think that way, being ready to spring into action at any time, bubbling with enthusiasm. Otherwise, you will be distracted, left out from the ranks and left behind in the march. I have been in and out of prison, not just one time but six different times, but I was never deterred. My spirit was only strengthened. When I came to America, my destiny was, in a way, to march toward the prison. I knew that and I welcomed it; if that was my destiny, I would not shrink from it. I have never deviated from my path.

Today I declare that in the march toward Moscow, I expect another prison to be waiting for me there. Will you let Reverend Moon do all the things necessary to get to Moscow? Or do you want to go ahead of me and prepare things for me? I want you to know that there are members, brothers and sisters, working behind the Iron Curtain in all those satellite countries who are desperately laying the foundation.

When I was in Danbury, I did not rest even one day. I had many plans and strategies, new organizations to create. Those things are blossoming today. Even yesterday at the breakfast table, Dr. Pak reported some event to me and I asked him to give that information to Dr. Durst. If even Dr. Durst doesn't know about some of the things we are doing, how much do you not know?

This is the time of the showdown; we are now at the crossroads. We are not talking about tomorrow; it is today. When I am at East Garden, I am always busy, always active. I don't have any leisure time. When I was in Korea for the past six months, almost 40 million Korean people were completely awakened by my presence. That includes national assemblymen, who are the equivalent of U.S. congressmen. What am I trying to do? I am not seeking political power. I have only one thing on my mind: to do the will of God and create the nation and world where God's love can prevail. I want to plant God's love in America, Korea and all other nations.

Are you becoming the arms and legs of Reverend Moon? Do my arms and legs reach toward their own selfish interests, or toward the interests of God and true love and truth? You are the fruit of Reverend Moon in America. I have sacrificed my own family, clan and personal affairs in the process of loving you. I would like you to be such accomplished people that I could take you to Korea and Japan and let them see you and be proud of you. That is my ambition.

What does that come out of-love or hatred for you? Do you know I love you? I would like you to become people I can be most proud of. That is my deepest, inmost thought. I am waiting for that. Dr. Durst sometimes tells me, "American members are working very hard and suffering a great deal." But what about those Japanese brothers and sisters? They are working day in and day out, ten or even a hundred times harder than you. I would like to send the American leadership to Japan to join the fundraising crews for several months.

I brought the Japanese members here so they could help you to grow in membership in America. Then I will send American members to the rest of the world. As much as I am proud of the Japanese members here, I would like to be even more proud of the American members around the world.

Do you think that in this world restoration the Japanese or the Americans would be faster front line soldiers? What does your common sense say? The American people would be faster because the United States is the most important and respected country in the world. I want you to know that America is the Abel nation. God guided and nurtured this country for 200 years, bringing Abel­type people from around the world into this microcosm.

In order to become the new forefathers of America, you must do more than those Puritans who came on the Mayflower. You must go beyond the strengths and sufferings of your ancestors in order to live up to your mission. In the future there will be less persecution but there is still an incredible uphill battle to wage. There are so many barriers, so many languages and cultures. Each country has its own idiosyncrasies. How can we harmonize all these?

What will digest the discord among the people in the United States-the Anglo­Saxons, the Jews, the Hispanics, the Blacks, the Asians, the German descendants, and all the rest? Inside this country there is incredible corruption, discord, and struggle, but America just puts on more makeup, like a beautiful woman on the street. But that is not the answer. That does not bring peace to America. I want you to know that the external element is not the primary factor.

Think how difficult it is to keep your own standard in the Unification Church. Self­management is not easy, so even after ten or twenty years in the church, people are still struggling. How can you bring the people of the world into one? Should we expect God, who does not even have His own hands and legs, to do it? He has to work through His instruments, human beings. You are God's instruments. Actually, all that God can rely on fully is the True Parents and you. Each one of you should be such a vibrant dynamo that I could pick you up and plant you in some foreign place and see a Unification Church germinate there. That is what God wants.

What shall we do, then? First of all, we have to combat the self and be victorious in that battle. You must have a deep sense of gratitude, saying, "God picked me up and restored me. Knowing that I have found the True Parents and I am in the position to serve them, I am deeply grateful." Unless your life is based upon such gratitude, sooner or later you will drift away. Gratitude is the basic, fundamental attitude of my own life. When I listen to the worldwide reports of church leaders, I hear more discouraging ones than good ones. There is more suffering than accomplishment.

In many cases, the destiny of a nation is hanging by a thread. Each day, I make decisions that directly influence the destiny of the nations in the future. Your own decisions do not have impact upon the destiny of whole nations, but I am in a different position. When one decision is wrongly made, then I am responsible and the burden falls upon me. I know clearly where I want everyone to go and I give the direction, but everybody is reluctant. They don't want to be directed; they don't want to go.

I am sure some of you have experienced the loss of parents or spouses through death; some of you parents have even experienced the loss of children. In such cases you experienced tremendous heartbreak. How much more pain must God feel when He loses His most genuine, lovely creations. Can you imagine the broken heartedness of God?

Do you think I should continue to suffer here in America? Can you be responsible for my tradition, for what I have been doing? Do you have the energy and power to do it? All right, let's do it then. Let's give ourselves totally and sincerely to it.

I will tell you something that I experienced a couple of years ago. I visited one place where there was a member who had decided to leave the Church that very day. It happened that I was on the same airplane with that person. Up to that day, that member had felt that I was his Father, but on that day, he decided that I was nobody. He walked past my seat on the plane, and he didn't even look at me or have the common decency to greet me and say hello. I thought that, even supposing we had not shared a religion or teaching, at least in terms of human decency, is that any way to treat someone you know? Is that the product of individualism here in America? How can someone turn around so completely in one day and create such a wall? I was really wondering about that. This is not only one instance-there have been many in my life. These show the potential ugliness of the human heart.

Here is another example. There have been businesses and enterprises which our movement initiated. I assigned a leader to one of these, but I found out that he was treating the members there like slaves, giving them incredible treatment, simply because they were black and Hispanic. That person didn't even like them. Think of that from the parental point of view. It's unimaginable. I have had to swallow things like this more than once, digest them and move on. I didn't express anger. I want you to know one thing: I have been in America for fourteen years, during which I have poured my heart, soul, body and material for the well being of this nation. No one can deny that.

I have spoken to you frankly at times. I have scolded you, yelled at you, sometimes even pounded on your heads. Is that because I hate you? No, it is the expression of my love; I want to see you grow as rapidly as possible so that you can reach a certain level of accomplishment in the shortest possible time. For fourteen years I have left Korea behind; I have abandoned my country, in a way. When I went back this time, the Korean people did not want me to return to America, saying, "Why should you go back there?" They strongly expressed their desire for me to stay. But I persuaded them that I had to return, and then they wept behind the scenes without saying anything, knowing I had to go.

You don't have to remember all of this. But one point is very important: who will be responsible if I do leave America permanently? During these past six months, have you been assembled at Belvedere service like this every Sunday morning? Think about Belvedere without True Parents. Imagine if I left America forever, never to return. Think about that.

If you want my heart to continue to dwell in America, it is basically up to you. It will be determined by your own attitude toward me and the movement, toward the Principle and toward your mission. That will determine how long I will continue to dwell here and give my love here. Have you ever imagined me spending these past fourteen years in some country like Brazil or some other Latin American country?

The American church has not yet become self sustaining, either spiritually or materially. Does this mean you should just give up? Is that what you will do? We have a very serious decision to make. I have one important mission remaining in this country, one more thing to do and I am tackling that now. Regardless of whether you listen to me and follow me, what I have spoken on this platform shall become a part of the history of the United States. This is the central point of the future of this country. With these words, you in America shall be judged. So it is a most serious moment when you are listening to me at Belvedere. The key question to ask yourself is, "Can I do what Father has done and succeed in his mission in this country?"

If your determination is firm, you can go forward without one iota of deviation no matter what difficulties you may have to face. I have done that in my life. Look at my own children. They came to America simply because their Daddy and Mommy came here; there was no other reason. They have grown up here, enduring a lot of ridicule from this society. Imagine the children's position when their father went to prison. Think of it from a father's point of view: "What did I give to my own children? Am I bringing honor to them?,, Now they have become an even greater target of ridicule from society and their peers.

Mother, through no fault of her own, has suffered because of me. What about prison? Nobody can be trusted there. It is like the wilderness, without any protection. Mother went to the prison virtually every other day, like clockwork, rain or shine. The average woman would give up, saying, "Why should I do this? I am disgusted by my destiny." Without knowing the True Parent's ideal and the dispensation, she would have had an entirely different experience. Do you think that she shed a great deal of secret tears? Mother and the family had to go on and conduct five o'clock Pledge service each Sunday, painfully aware that I was in prison. I'm sure they shed a lot of tears.

Why did I come here to America? Why have I become such a controversial man, going through so much pain and persecution? It is only for the fulfillment of God's will. You have to remember this point.

This is my first speech at Belvedere since the six months in Korea. I want you to know that I have done everything possible for the sake of the United States. Probably in another six months, I will review the events in this country. As I said, there is one more important thing I am undertaking. Then my mission is truly finished in America. The other day, we held a leader's conference after my return. There I told them, "My mission in America is consummated."

Who shall succeed me in this mission? Do you have full confidence to be the ones? I have never forgotten my first flight over the Pacific to the United States-my thoughts on that plane are still vivid in my mind. After I landed in America, I visited forty­eight states within forty-three days. While driving on the road, I was thinking about America, planning for the future. I always comforted God, saying, "Father, You have Your will for this nation and I shall fulfill that for You. I will bring the glory to You." To fulfill that pledge, I have worked every day and night for the past fourteen years in this country. Of course, I have done a lot of activities centered on the church, but I have done things beyond that, too. I have initiated many national and global projects. In a way, there was a declaration of competition between the U.S. government and the Reverend Sun Myung Moon.

Do you have confidence? I know you do not have enough of the right kind of confidence. That means we need help from God. We can obtain this through deep prayer, dedication and sacrifice. Many American young people do not like that kind of life. I know that well, but someone in America has to do this mission.

The final battle is ahead of us. With determination and a willingness to sacrifice, we shall tackle and win the glorious victory. For fourteen years, you have been like children. I have accepted your complaints and your criticisms. Before you get up in the ring for the big championship fight, you can say all kinds of things: "I'm tired, My legs hurt." But once you are in that ring, you have no time to worry about such things. You have to just fight and knock out your opponent. That is the only goal once you get in the ring.

What you should do is liberate me from all the pressure and burdens I am carrying. I do not have the freedom to go anywhere freely. Once you know the truth and you are determined to unite, plunging into the mission, we know we can win. Victory is assured. God has prepared everything. Therefore, we can be bold and strong! We are going to bring the turning point of human history. From now until 1988 is the time of emergency and crisis for the United States, as well as for international communism. So we are going to have three exciting years, plunging into our victorious battle.

Let us pledge that victory to God. Those who are marching toward that final battlefield to win the victory which God promised us, let us say, "Amen!" and raise our hands . Thank you. God bless you.

The Globe Is Our Home

Sun Myung Moon
June 8, 1986
Excerpted and edited speech
World Mission Center
Translator: Bo Hi Pak

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Nowadays many people speak about our world as a "global village." The word village denotes a small, simple, cohesive area where one clan lives together.

When we describe the globe as a village, an entirely new meaning emerges. If the fall had never taken place, one pure, undivided family would have grown into a tribe, a nation, and finally a world. The globe would have been inhabited by people centered on one master, not two, and they all would be part of one unified organic structure. Everyone would have the same essential nature and speak the same language; there would be one culture, one inherited tradition. That is how the world was meant to be. Yet as we know, because of the fall, Satan realized his own imitation of God's plan first.

In the original world there would have been no boundaries between nations or peoples. All people would indeed have felt they were part of one village, living under one chief. Just as God can travel freely anywhere, those who belong to God as inhabitants of His world should also have the privilege of traveling without any limitation. Ideally, the globe belongs to God and at the same time it belongs to God's people.

The Fall Brought Total Bondage

However, through the fall, ownership of the land fell into Satan's hands. The people who inhabited the land also fell under the dominion of Satan. If the earth had been populated by people totally centered on God, then as history proceeded, more and more unity and harmony would have come into being. However, because of Satan's dominion, division increasingly manifested as time went by. Satan's dominion caused the tragic loss of our freedom; we have been held captive in Satan's chains ever since. The fall brought total bondage rather than total freedom.

It is not easy even for God to proceed with the dispensation to restore this world back to its original design. The history of God's providence has been the history of the struggle between the forces of good and evil. That is why so many struggles are recorded in the Old Testament. There are always two realms -- one headed by Cain as the elder son on Satan's side, and the other headed by Abel as the elder son on God's side. Their forces have been engaged in confrontation and bitter struggle since history began. Thus history has been a process of separating Cain and Abel. God wanted to see the force of good prevail on the individual level and move on to the family, clan, tribal, and national levels.

Jacob was the first victorious ancestor in Old Testament history, and it was God's plan to have Jacob's family grow into a victorious nation. God needed the foundation of such a nation in order to send the Messiah. When Jacob was victorious against the angel, who represented the forces of evil, he was given the name Israel, meaning victor. The name Israel was a declaration that God had success- fully separated Abel from the satanic camp and had carved out a realm for His future total dominion. That is the meaning of the name Israel.

Satan has held the principality of this world since the beginning. He has divided people into different nations in order to block heavenly forces from gaining influence and to secure his own power. However, the ultimate goal of those who have been sent by God has always been to reclaim the world for Him. God's instrument for this dispensation is religion. God initiated one central religion, Judeo-Christianity, as well as many secondary religions, and in the Last Days His strategy is to combine all of them into one great force to win the world.

The Essential Pattern for Victory

Centering on religion God has proceeded with a plan of reorganization that can encompass the whole world. Such a movement is essential for God's victory. After World War II Christianity had a worldwide base, with the United States at its center. That was exactly the pattern God had been craving to see all throughout history. At that moment, if America had fulfilled her God-given responsibility, a whole new dispensation could have unfolded.

Why did America fail to grasp this opportunity? That is the big question. Essentially, America did not know what God's expectation was -- what God was asking of this country. The American people did not realize that they were His chosen champions, representing the mainstream of His will.

It is very significant that America was founded for the sake of religious freedom. The first Americans left the suffocating atmosphere of religious persecution in Europe. They gave up all their worldly goods, their honor, and even their families in some cases. They risked their very lives sailing across the sea to find a new world of freedom. On a far shore they created a new nation where, under Protestantism, they could enjoy religious freedom. The Puritans saw each other as brothers and sisters, and in that spirit they envisioned a global nation. Only the idea of the brotherhood of man under God could make the establishment of such a nation possible.

Thus the United States became a melting pot, where everyone from around the world could come and harmonize with everyone else. From God's point of view there should be no limit to the kinds and numbers of people who can come and be melted together. It was His desire that all the nations of the world should be connected to this Christian nation. Yet people here have wanted to preserve their own position and prevent others from coming to join them. That is not a God-centered point of view, so America has not truly moved in God's direction. America must be opened up.

After World War II the United States and the Allied powers did not take over the conquered nations but instead granted them their independence. They set up a brotherly relationship instead of a winner-loser relationship. However, America should have been even more sacrificial. America should have shared its wealth and power so that everyone in those nations could inherit and enjoy the same opportunities. Then all those nations would truly have become equal. That would have created an incredible worldwide foundation of unity on which the Messiah could come and usher in the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. That was God's paramount hope.

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A Hazy Concept of Christ's Return

Another reason for America's failure was many Christians' lack of understanding about the Second Advent. They took the Bible literally and expected Jesus to return in a miraculous way. Their concept of what would take place was very hazy. Sometimes it seemed to them that the Second Advent was imminent, but they didn't see it happen; so many Christians became discouraged over several "false alarms

After World War II the United Nations was born. Every nation was a member, with America more or less as the central figure. The United Nations was an important step toward the realization of a world government. God's dispensation was to make America, with its Christian culture, the center of the United Nations and the world, and to have America work aggressively for the realization of one world under God. However, America was confused and did not have a clear understanding that the purpose of the United Nations was to build a unified world.

It was at this critical time that the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (HSA-UWC) came into being. The name itself signifies the tremendously difficult task we were undertaking. I was fully aware of the difficulties of that task, so why did I initiate it? I did so because the "Unification of World Christianity" was God's desire for that time in history. Our movement was parallel to God's thinking. I knew that unification could never come through human endeavor alone, but only together with spiritual endeavor. That is why I included "Holy Spirit Association" in the name of our group.

While Korea was under Japanese occupation, Korean Christianity was divided into two camps -- those who yielded to the Japanese and bowed down to the Shinto gods, and those who rejected Shintoism as a form of idol worship and refused to compromise their faith. The first group was in the mainstream. The second group formed a loosely structured and sacrificial underground community. These underground Christians experienced many spiritual phenomena and received profound revelations. They were the only ones who knew that the Lord was coming soon, and that he would be born on earth as a man.

The Failure to Unite

This network of underground spiritual groups was supposed to unite and work for the independence of Korea together with the Christians who accepted Shinto worship. After Korea's liberation the spiritual groups were to take the central position. Unfortunately, however, the Christians who compromised took the subject position, and uniting with the United Nations forces they focused on restoring economic prosperity and the political machinery of Korea instead of restoring the desolate Christian churches. The spiritual groups should have risen up strongly and asked the Shinto shrine worshipers to join them for a period of national repentance. If they had been able to resurrect and energize the Christian churches, Christianity would have been ignited with the flame of messianic expectation.

The most fervent Christian work had been going on in the North, which should have played the central role in this revival. If it had, the North and South could have been harmonized centering on Christianity. But before the revival of the churches could occur, the satanic forces of communism overran the North, and the South was separated and had to secure a separate independence in 1948.

The spiritual groups were blocked by three elements. The communist North Korean government opposed them viciously. The mainstream Christian hierarchy felt threatened by them and the Korean government, influenced by established Christianity, also rejected them. Thus, when HSA-UWC was born (out of the spiritual underground), it was like an orphan, with no allies and no place to turn. Instead of being in the central position, we were opposed by communism, by established Christianity, and by the secular government. We have had to move forward under tremendously adverse conditions to build the global foundation step by step.

Now, 40 years later, we have once again come to an opportune moment for the fulfillment of God's plan. After establishing the foundation of victory in America, I achieved victory in Korea, and I must link these victories together. The final chapter of the immediate dispensation will come when both the Christian and the secular leader- ship of America recognize God's ideal.

The Democratic Party in America tends to be rather liberal and left-leaning. On the other hand, the Republican Party is beset by the problem of materialism. Today American political leaders in general are thinking selfishly -- on the level of the national interest at best. They are not thinking about the prosperity of all humankind. They still do not understand that America belongs not to white people but to God. God wants to use America to increase brotherhood throughout the world.

Your Mission Is a Messianic One

In the history of Israel, David was born as the eighth son of his family. No one imagined that this simple shepherd boy would ever become the king. Yet in God's sight he was qualified because of his concern for the well-being of the Israelites. When he fought Goliath at the risk of his life, he demonstrated how much he was willing to give himself for the sake of his people. God chose David because he had that kind of spirit.

Today, even though no one understands us, the Unification Church is in the position of David. We are also in the position of Joseph, the eleventh son of Jacob. As you re- member, Joseph was miserably mistreated by his brothers, who sold him into slavery in Egypt. Later on, however, God placed the destiny of his family in Joseph's hands and put him in the position to bring about their salvation. The Unification Church will come to be in exactly the same position.

You must know clearly that your mission is a messianic one. Two thousand years ago, Jesus came with that mission; today it has been given to you. You must proclaim the messianic ideal and fulfill it. The democratic world is losing stability and the communist world is crumbling. There will be a new ideology that will rise up -- and that is Godism. Under Godism this country will move forward with dignity and power. Then God will prosper and win back His ideal.

We are now at the crossroads, the time of transformation. God has hope and a clear plan for this country. We must educate Christian leaders of all denominations as well as secular leaders at all levels. Without the infusion of a new vision, Christianity will not understand the need for global unity, and political leaders will be unable to transcend self-centered nationalism. They must be freed to see the reality of the world situation, the times they are living in, and what they must do.

I am intoxicated with this mission. I am not even aware of day or night. I have borne the sins of the entire world on my own shoulders, especially through Danbury. I have toiled and sweat and shed blood and tears for many years. Today, you must inherit my mission. I have commissioned you as my partners and as God's champions. You are the only group of people I can trust here. For that reason, you are in the position to indemnify the failure of America and the Christian community. Now is your time. Face your own Danbury! Pick up the nation's failure -- pay the indemnity -- and win the victory! You can bring the nation and the world into resurrection. Represent God's ideal, move forward with it, and herald it to others. Plant my tradition in the soil of this global community -- which is your world.

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7,000 Hidden Champions

During the time of Elijah, God was working with the two southern tribes of Israel, striving to liberate the 10 northern tribes and bring them to His side. Elijah won many heroic battles in which he demolished all the evil gods of Baal. Yet afterwards, tremendous obstacles remained and Elijah became very disillusioned. He actually gave up on his mission! He sat down under the shade of a tree and wanted to die there. He cried out, "Everything has failed, and I am all alone [See I Kings, Chapter 19.] At that point God broke in and said, "Look, Elijah, what are you talking about? There are still 7,000 warriors who never surrendered to Baal. Don't give up!" Likewise, at the time of Jesus, there were 7,000 hidden champions available to Jesus, and if they had been mobilized he would not have been crucified.

Today we see a parallel. When I went to Danbury I looked just as Elijah did in the eyes of the world -- alone, discredited, and confined. I could have been totally disheartened, but I wasn't. I knew that there were 7,000 warriors prepared by God. That is why I encouraged for the CAUSA movement to educate 7,000 ministers and equip them with our ideology during the time of my imprisonment. I directed the mailing of a personal letter and the Principle videotapes to 350,000 ministers so that they could feel more connected to me. I sent all, of you as my representatives to go and reach out to them as well. Many of them were truly moved when they realized that I was not giving up my mission, even in prison. Now that they can warmly support me, I have encouraged them to reach out to the secular leaders. This is where we are now.

America has lost everything: It lost the world, it lost its mission as a nation, it lost its small town spirit, and now it is losing even the tradition of home and family. The fall of man sickened the family like a virus, and the fallen family that began in the Garden of Eden has re-manifested itself in the American family. In this country members of families don't come together as a unit but act like enemies; spouses fight, siblings quarrel, and parents and children can't even understand each other. Men, women, and children are considered separate entities. This is a sign that America is crumbling to the ultimate degree. Satan's goal is to destroy the family unit so that there will be no cohesive structure for people to hold on to. Because Americans have pursued self-centered love, they are now reaping the destructive consequences.

We Must Secure the American Home

The fact that America is so deeply ill means that the entire global community is at risk. America is in a position to spread its contagion all over the world. We cannot let this happen! Somebody has to come and quell the fires of this sickening fever. To do this we must secure the American home. God's hope for the American home is in the Unification Church, where we have the concept and ideal of True Parents who can be the head of the family centering on true, unselfish love. Only by practicing this ideal and multiplying it through home church can we thwart Satan's strategy.

When the principles of home church are applied everywhere, we can wipe out Satan entirely. Communist and secular humanist forces will be unable to operate anywhere in society. The concept of parents with true unconditional love must prevail everywhere -- not only in the churches, but among businesses and all the branches of government. This is because everyone belongs to a family, and the family can be stable and eternal only when it is centered on the ideal of True Parents, which is indeed the ultimate ideal for everyone. The application and realization of this ideal will install the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. We are going to transform our globe into a village -- our common home -- headed by Parents centered on God. This is God's ultimate ideal.

All families have inherited satanic roots. All the systems of the world that are powerful in the world today, like nationalism and personal ownership, grew from that false root. They did not begin in God's root and have nothing to do with His tradition, therefore, the spirit world is being mobilized by God at this time to attack and destabilize them. Individuals will come to the point where they lose all hope in existing systems and recognize their errors. Then they can listen to Rev. Moon. They can engraft to the new root and become centered on the True Parents and God.

The world is our home, and the home is our spiritual base. After returning to America this time I declare to you that your mission is to tell the world that the home must come under the ideal of True Parents and God. True Parents must be restored into every home in the entire world. That will be the day of true and ultimate victory. When this movement has penetrated every village and every continent, the world will surely be transformed into the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.

Recreating Our Own Planet

God must be able to say, "This is a home where I can dwell." That is the beginning. Our ultimate goal is to establish the God-centered way of life beginning with the family, and progressing through the churches, the village communities, the nations, and finally the world. This is the transformation that we foresee. The blessed couples, who are in the position of restored Adam and Eve, should spearhead this crusade and bring it to fruition. The next three years until 1988 Ire the most crucial three years in human history. All blessed couples, as well as every member of the Unification Church, should move forward aggressively for national and world salvation under the banner of the True Parents' ideal. When we educate ministers and secular leaders, they will be able to carry this new gospel forward with us.

I have erected this new foundation through 40 years of unrelenting persecution. Now the era of persecution is ended. We can recreate our own planet; the earth shall be one village where everyone can freely move about. You will be able to travel to any country at any moment. To mark the beginning of the restoration of this freedom of movement I have already initiated the International High- way project.

The new foundation I have erected penetrates religion, politics, business, culture -- all areas of life. I am ready to bequeath it to you as your inheritance. That is what you are to receive today. Take over my mission, and move for- ward to the ultimate completion of the True Parents' ideal.

Especially those of you who are American must not forget that I came to this country as a foreigner, where I have been despised and even imprisoned. Still I never gave up; I focused continually on saving the people who persecuted me. You must remember the path I have walked. During these next three years, no matter what happens, you must not complain. It is time for total commitment.

This is the conclusion of my sermon today. Please don't forsake the job that is ahead of us in the next three years. As much as I have won my victory, each one of you, at every level in the Unification Church, must win your own victory.