The Road Of The Saint And The Righteous Man

Sun Myung Moon
May 2, 1982
Belvedere

We must consider for what destiny we were born. First we consider how you were born -- you were a baby first. When you look at the innocent face of a newborn baby, would you see him as an evil creature, looking very evil? No. Every baby without exception is like a precious jewel. You want to stay with him, embrace him; that means he was born for goodness.

Our beginning of human existence started off pure and innocent, no doubt about that. As he grows he should become nicer, becoming a young boy, an adolescent, and becoming a completely mature adult then a senior citizen. At every level of these classifications there are good people and evil people. All kinds of influences affect one's life, and can change his life, eventually every single innocent baby arrives in one of these two camps. No one can escape this destiny.

Above us is one Eternal Parent watching over us from beginning to end without ever forsaking us. God is almighty so always He knows how you are doing. From the eyes of this Eternal Good Parent, and parents who recognize that you were born a good baby, you are expected to grow up and get better and better through all eternity. Instead of this, these Parents saw mankind going down the road of the Fall, down through degradation. Those who are evil are forgotten, and goodness becomes gathered together; so automatically if you are good, you gravitate toward the central position. What is that center? It means you become a model, a prototype for everyone to follow.

When one becomes that center, he must not isolate himself from the rest of the world; he will become deeply involved and embrace the entire world, to take dominion, to protect it, bringing it to perfection.

The True Leader

A true leader is the one who has a bold and fearless mind, and is the one who heads right toward obstacles and breaks down the obstacles for the rest of the followers!

Even when such a fearful and painful situation, like danger of death, is facing you, the leader will lead, and shudder and break through. The true leader does not think of his own situation at that moment; he thinks of the greatness of the goal and the future. Looking down the long range of the future, the true leader knows his action will benefit the overall public purpose, and the purpose of God. That is the motivation of the true leader.

The leader who is selflessly motivated and goes without any deviation toward that life is truly an optimally good man; and the definition for that kind of person is "Righteous Man."

For his entire life that man lives for the wellbeing of other people.

Wherever he goes, if he lives in the family, he lives for the sake of the family. When he lives among his friends, he lives for their sake. He goes to serve the nation and he lives for the sake of the nation. So far, history has produced a great many righteous men, but always their greatness or their righteousness only goes up to the level of the nation. There are great many patriots who give their life for the sake of the country but not too many go beyond, to the level of the world and the universe.

Those who live for the sake of mankind and the world beyond the boundaries of their nation are call "Saint."

The definition of saint is the one who lives for the sake of God, His will and dominion, which involves living for the sake of the highest level, therefore, a saint, must come from the religious leaders. No other profession goes that far, linking their work to God, except religion.

So is Jesus in the category of saint? Is Buddha or Confucius? The only way to go beyond themselves, linking to God, is through religious philosophy and conviction.

Since saints' goals and standards are so high above the earthly standard, then they oftentimes were misunderstood by the world, because they are acting in the standard of heaven, not the standard of earth. For that reason, they were mostly rejected. Everybody is elevated from this world according to the laws and order of the spirit world. People who live according to heavenly law and principle while here on earth shall be the leaders in that world.

When you organize your thoughts then it is the most logical conclusion. Among the religious leaders we have to evaluate what quality should be the greatest quality for leadership. We can readily assume that we need a kind of revolutionary leadership that leads the people toward more far-reaching, higher goals because the purpose of religion has not yet been fulfilled here on the earth. We cannot even find that purpose of religion yet.

Religion Of Sparrows And Cranes

There are all kinds of varieties of religions here, almost as many as in a department store. The first one is the religion of sparrows. It's a small bird that talks too much, and he's so small that his vision is very limited. They sit there, huddling together saying, "Don't go there, don't go there... you might die! Don't do that, you will go to hell! Stay right here!" This is the sparrow religion.

But let's consider the crane religion. Look at the crane -- he has long wings and a very slim body so it doesn't have to move quickly. But when he does fly, he's almost flying like an airplane over the ocean of air, having almost limitless boundary.

Maybe those from the sparrow religion look at the cranes and say, "You guys are crazy. You don't have to fly that high, you know. Why do you fly so high and go too far? You don't have to go to more than one house, just over to the neighbors is enough, having a little time eating together and talking here and there, back and forth. That's a good enough religion."

The sparrow religion is busy all day, looking for something to eat, some worm to catch, some insect to eat, every day they are busy.

Meanwhile, the religion of the crane is going up to the highest possible goal, so they must get the direction right. For the crane, the most important thing is to get the directional goal, not what is next to eat.

So, what are we in the Unification Church? We are the crane religion. Since we are flying so high and long-distance then we have no time to rest. You have to fly even at night, continuing on.

Since we are flying so very high then the sunrise comes very quickly. But also sundown is coming so late. Because you are flying so high, you stay up long hours because we work so hard. Night is so short but shall we complain? No, because you have joined the crane religion; we have goals and because we have our destination.

In the oriental philosophy the crane is a noble and sacred bird. By the way, Mother's name, Han, means "crane," so the crane becomes the symbol for Mother.

Chinese Character For Saint

When you look at the Chinese character for saint or sainthood you see ears, mouth and king. These three characters combined into oneness mean "saint."

So, we can combine these meanings to mean that the saint is the king of the mouth and the king of the ears; what does it mean? That means, the king of ears, he will hear every bit of information in the world, but he is aloof from it. He will not be swayed by it. He digests it. He understands it.

But although he hears every part of it, he will digest it and speak only the truth, not just repeating it. And the truth shall become classical, principled and become the law of the land.

The greatness of a king is that you hear all kinds of things, but you are laconic; you speak little because you have to have time to digest it. So the elements of goodness is that you wait.

Let's consider this, say there was a king here on earth, very sagacious, very saintly, and he listened to all information. He was very laconic, he spoke with authority. Then he dies and goes up, not very boastfully. He doesn't show himself off; that person is accepted by the spirit world and is welcomed by everybody.

Since that person did not speak too much, he keeps many secrets within himself, so he is a man of depth. People cannot easily figure him out.

In a phonetic language like English, you have king. K -- I -- N -- G. Your spelling doesn't have any meaning... K doesn't mean anything. ING doesn't mean anything. But Oriental language has a profound meaning already before you read it. The Western mind is therefore very analytical mind.

Two Directions

Why did you come this morning to sit in this room? Even though the action of sitting in this room is all the same, the purposes are different. Some of you may say, "Well, I come here to hear Father's good message. I want to become spiritually elevated; I want to be perfect soon." That may be someone's goal.

Someone else may say, "Well, I want to hear Father, then I will work harder and serve this country better. I want to serve mankind better."

Two different directions. Two different purposes here. Which one are you here for?

When you first came here you came for first motivation; when you heard Father you converted to the second one! You proved this because you are laughing! One position is internal; one position is external. Which position do you want to be?

One purpose or goal of Satan is to separate Inside and Outside permanently. God's purpose is to bring Inside and Outside into harmonized relationship, combined into one. Not necessarily is "outside" bad or evil; not at all. It is merely a different role, so God wants to harmonize and bring them together.

New Era Of Harmony: East And West

We have come far, and we Unification Church members are coming to realize that we are at the forefront of human history. We are the pioneers of this new era, the dispensational history of God. Some of you only joined the Unification Church a few months, or few years ago and you don't think you have changed too much. "I look in the mirror and my face is just the same," you may say. Maybe you think Reverend Moon is only saying those things to make you feel good? You have changed! It doesn't matter if your face has changed or not. And that is why those outside people are trying to attack Rev. Moon. What they say does not stop the Providence. Father will apply himself toward the original goal no matter what the people say.

Whatever standard they apply, Reverend Moon is measured as a success in this country; is that true? Yes.

The problem is that America is rejecting me. They are trying to say Reverend Moon is evil, but Moonies are saying that Rev. Moon is ultimately good, and that we support him. Our group is growing; and for them, that is the problem As long as they cannot stop our growth, we keep on growing. The time will come when we will fill the entire United States, entire world and universe.

Continuing With The Original Topic

Traditionally, when we are talking about a righteous man, the standards were different. A righteous man we talk about here in America is not necessarily the righteous man in Germany. So throughout history fighting was going on even among the righteous men from one country to another. From the sainthood point of view, those fighting righteous men, contradicting each other, weren't helping the overall world at all.

God is the King of Wisdom more than anything else. He is always thinking, "How can I solve this problem of contradiction?" We need a universal standard for the definition of "righteous man" so that every family, whether they come from Germany, Japan, Korea, United States, knows the meaning. This universal standard must be adapted to all religions, all societies, all cultures.

God is thinking there has to be one standard criterion that can apply to all! Unless we have some common criteria, even though people may all be righteous, they will fight among themselves. They are fighting at all five levels: individual, family, society level, national and world level right now.

When you say "righteous man," the definition must include that it is his duty to fight this kind of division. There is a common understanding in history that struggle is justified, and that only by struggle is the position of power, of rightness, obtained. That definition must be shattered because it is not true! It is what they call Dialectical Materialism, which says that struggle will make a new culture. That is what Marxism is teaching, and that is absolutely wrong. True righteousness and struggling among themselves cannot go together.

German righteousness should be the same as Japanese righteousness; Japanese should be the same as American righteousness. And righteousness within one religion should be the same as another. One criterion, one universal standard must be working. We need that new kind of ideology, or new religion. Otherwise, the ideal for unity and harmony could never become true. That means we start out in different positions, and we declare to the world, "I was born for the universal prosperity, for the universal well-being, not just for one local area. I was born as a Son of God." That is the starting point.

Then, when you look around you and see Germans you can feel "Germany is within the world, so Germans are my brothers!" or "Japan is within the world, so Japan is part of my family." and "Americans, also are the children of God, so they're my family." Africans, Hispanic people, everywhere you go, you can embrace all mankind as a true brother because you are God's children.

How about religion; has it been doing that? From this standpoint, are we passing this standard of judgment? Have we ourselves gone beyond this description?

So Unification Church way of life is where we are actually doing that. Countries which had been enemies are now coming together. This is the fastest way: When enemies become true brothers. Korea was the enemy to Japan, so I should look at them as the enemy; instead I'm pulling them, as children of God, to come together with me to America to save America.

And actually Japan once declared war against the United States. So Reverend Moon is bringing the three enemy countries together.

No power of politics, no power of economics would bring this kind of harmony and unity. Only the power of new universal religion could do it.

So, why do we do this? Not because of the President of the United States, not because of the Prime Minister of Japan. We do this because of absolute God.

This ideology has become a reality here on earth for the first time in history, to bring entire mankind under one fatherhood of God. this is truly the movement of Reverend Moon. This is the first time in history that unity at this extraordinary level has become a reality, and this is the Unification Church.

Righteousness Key

So what is the difference? In Unification Church you get the certificate as a righteous man in the family, in the society, and in the nation. Whatever level you attain this certificate on, you will get a free pass on that level in the spirit world.

Suppose a man lives his entire life for the sake of the country, and he thinks he has won the title of righteousness. But when he goes to spirit world all kinds of people are shouting "go to hell!" Why? Because he did not break the barriers of the nation. So the patriot of Great Britain could be an enemy to the patriot of France, enemy to Germany and Spain. However, once you become a Reverend Moon-style patriot, then that patriot will be welcomed by those other nations everywhere, even in the spirit world.

No matter how many good things conventional patriots did, his key does not fit any door in spirit world. Do you follow? Once you obtain the universal criterion of this righteous level, no matter what country you are from, in the Unification Church, that righteousness key will fit into any society, anywhere on the earth and in spirit world. If this is true, then there is nothing else which can satisfy you, isn't that true?

We are individuals, we make relationships as individuals now, here on earth, but our goal is way up there, in God's Kingdom. In other words, God is the center of our relationships. And when we marry, man and woman coming together, the purpose of our coming together is to achieve that goal: God's Kingdom. We do very many things, and all our actions are for that very same purpose.

So our way is very clear -- we start out as righteous men, as the individual righteous man in the family, become a righteous man in the society. righteous man in the nation, the world, universe, and cosmos. We become righteous under one principle, no criterion has changed.

What method will we follow?

The most dramatic part is that we are not going this path by staying idle, we are going this path with the worst burden upon our shoulders. We go this way with the sacrificial mind, with the service mind.

When we adopt this method, everybody will have to admire you. American people will have to admire you. Japanese and German people will admire you. As soon as they do, that means that they too break down the barrier of national boundary. That means there's no enemies anywhere.

In order to close the gap between each level of righteousness, we have to pay the price, we have to pay indemnity. Would you like to do it? Or do something else? As soon as something else knocks on your door will you change your mind?

The Road Beyond Righteousness

So, do you think righteousness should be your goal? Or sainthood?

Let's start out with being righteous. The important thing is that you become a patriotic man, a righteous man, for your own country. But you are different from other patriotic people because you do it for the sake of God, so for the sake of the world. Think that you should go on to the next higher level. So what is the ultimate goal? Spirit world? God? God's heart?

This is a dramatic life, no question about that.

What about you, maybe you are thinking that you will work until the Blessing. Next day you will retire. Some blessed couples are saying "already I have two children, still I cannot retire. Still I am given a mission. Oh, what shall I do."

You don't want to stop at the family level, do you? You want to become a righteous man on a world level. On the way to that goal you might drop dead. It might happen. Don't worry. Instantly God will give you a special dispensation that you filled all the levels. That means that you have indemnified everything.

I have fulfilled all the levels, walking that course myself already. Only then, can I ask you to follow. For example, there's the trial. These things are very trivial things trying to torment me. And I didn't have to come back (from overseas) and face this. I'm not a U.S. citizen, so I can stay in Korea. But I walked in voluntarily, because I thought "I want to pay more indemnity. Let me suffer the court trial." Meanwhile there's more benefit, as I pay more intentional indemnity.

Mothers should bless the children who are following my way, dying for that cause, sacrificing his life for it. Those mothers shouldn't feel it is sad and tragic, saying, "why should this happen to my children?" Instead, they should say, "You did it, my son, you fulfilled God's will! Bravo! I'm proud of you. You are the spearhead. I will follow after you."

Once you know the core truth about my teaching, then you know why Jesus said, that the one who loses his life will find it.

So the Unification Church is going the road beyond righteousness. The road to sainthood!

The Road of the Saint and the Righteous Man

Sun Myung Moon
May 2, 1982
Belvedere
Translator - Bo Hi Pak

There are two major categories of people, men and women. If one part were missing, there would be no more mankind. This division holds true in the realm of children, the realm of young people, and the realm of old people.

We must consider what destiny we were born to fulfill. When you look at the innocent face of a newborn child, do you see any evil there? No. All babies, without exception, am like precious jewels. You want to cuddle and hug them. That means they were born for goodness. Without doubt, human existence started off pure and innocent.

As babies grow, they should become fine, virtuous children, adolescents, young people, mature adults, and finally senior citizens. But on each of these levels there is a division between good people and evil people. Why do innocent babies head for one of these two camps? As people grow, all kinds of influences affect us and change our lives. Eventually we end up in one camp or the other. No one can escape this destiny.

Above us, the eternal Parent -- God-is watching from the beginning to the end, of our life, never forsaking us. God is omniscient so He always knows our situation. He can see the spirit world, so when He looks at us spiritually, what do you think He finds? The eternal Parent of goodness recognizes that we were born good and expects us to grow up and become better and better through all eternity But instead of this, our Parent has seen mankind going down the road of the fall, descending further and further into degradation.

What is the definition of a good person? A good person is one who turns away from evil and builds up goodness. If you are good, you automatically gravitate toward the central position and there you become a model or prototype for others to follow. If someone is in that central position, he will not isolate himself from the rest of the world. Instead, he will become deeply involved in the world, embracing it and taking dominion over it, trying to guide it toward goodness. The role of the center is to become a standard that others will want to emulate and follow.

Let's look at honey bees. The colony includes a queen bee, the worker bees, and the male bees. The worker bees start working very early in the morning. They rise before dawn and go out visiting flowers to collect pollen and nectar. They have a special tank for nectar, a "honey stomach," which they fill up, and when they return home at the end of the day, they empty it.

The worker bees come back and see the male bees lounging around lazily and the queen bee doing nothing but eating the honey they brought in. Suppose they thought, "Why should I work so hard for these guys? I refuse to give them my honey." What do you think would happen then? It would be disastrous for the worker bees not to regurgitate their honey because their bodies would swell up-they would be in big trouble! However, if you ask the worker bees whether they would rather take the queen bee's position, do you think they would want to switch? They would all run away!

There has to be some channel of command so everybody can have a vision of their job and be faithful to it. The world of the honey bees is highly organized, with the queen bee at the center. The other bees surround the queen and protect her. A colony of bees is like a sphere; when the queen bee flies out, hundreds and thousands of bees follow her. When the queen halts, the other bees stop and remain with her. They don't make judgments or ask, "Why should we stay here?"

Worker bees don't simply wander around. They unite with the queen and form one large swarm. Some bee inside the swarm might complain that the rest are pressuring him. The queen bee might also say that! But actually, she would not really complain. She faces her destiny and faithfully executes her role of queen bee.

Is the queen bee small or large? Which is larger: male or female? The queen bee is dominant and she is much bigger than the others. This means that a leader or governor should be bigger, even in size! If the leader is too small, he might be crushed! Why is the queen bee so powerful? Why did God make bees like that? Because God wanted to create a balanced world. In other parts of creation, males are leaders so in the bee world, the female is the center. It's a balanced world, so women cannot complain!

Why have I spend so much time describing the bee world? Because it provides an example of a central figure who physically occupies the center while everybody else surrounds it, trying to follow its pattern.

If everyone is in a stationary position, it is easy to determine the center. But what if everything is in motion and heading toward a certain goal? Where should the center be located then? As long as there is movement, the leader should be at the forefront.

Let's talk about ourselves, assembled here early on Sunday morning at Belvedere. Is the Unification Church a movement of action? Then how should the central person function: should he stay in the middle or come to the front? The central person should be in front of the others, leading them forward. Should the leader run on ahead by himself and forget the group? No, he shouldn't.

Take Canadian geese as another example. They are such a grand sight as they fly in formation swiftly through the air. We can see how orderly they fly, each one spaced a. certain distance from the other, beating their wings in rhythm. None of them moves its wings prematurely or randomly. The leader is out in front, making special honking sounds. Each honk is a code: "Now we am turning left;" "Now we are turning right;" "Now listen." The leader is always signaling the followers and telling them what is ahead and all the gem respond, "Yes sir, I win follow."

Who directs the movement of the Canadian geese? It is the leader. The ocean is vast so the birds cannot fly at random. They need a goal and direction. They don't all have to worry about where they are going. They need only to follow the leader who decides their course. Think about how much knowledge the leader must acquire. He has to know the geographical area thoroughly. An airline pilot has a much easier job, doesn't be? Since he's assisted by instruments and a computer. But do geese have a compass? They must search out the directions in their own brain. Those birds are much more clever than we me!

The leader must be out in front. Should he say, "Today the weather is bad and the ocean waves are too high so why don't you all go out while I stay home?" Is that being a good leader? No. Speaking of geese, if they run into a hurricane while flying across the ocean, the leader needs to have great strength and honk even louder so no one will miss the directions.

How about President Reagan? His "honeymoon" is already over and a storm is coming; a hurricane is brewing. His critics are pressing in from all directions. Should Reagan say, "Oh, boy, why is them so much opposition to me? I just want to retreat. The Washington Post and The New York Times are making me miserable." Should he try to hide from his opposition? His best tactic would be to run far in the forefront, so fast that The Washington Post and New York Times couldn't keep up with him! If he gives the right direction, the American people will follow him. The last thing a follower wants to see is hesitation in his leader. Indecision is the worst quality in a leader.

The Unification Church is no exception to this. I give you the direction and tell you what to do. Are the leaders of the Unification Church willing to run out in front? Do you want to go first in order to see things first, so you will get the goodies first and be treated like a VIP? Would you like to reach the destination first and be the first to rest? Do you want to be the leader so you can wear the best clothes or because you expect a diamond ring to be your reward?

The true leader has a bold and fearless mind; he heads directly toward obstacles and breaks them down for those following him. In fearful and painful situations, even in the face of death, the leader continues to lead, to shatter all barriers and break through them. In difficult times, the true leader does not think of his own situation. He concentrates on the greatness of the goal and the promise of the future. With a perspective of the future, the true leader knows that his actions will benefit the public purpose and the purpose of God. That is what motivates a true leader.

An unselfish leader whose focus remains fixed on the goal is a superior and righteous person. A righteous person is defined as one who devotes his entire life for the well-being of others. He acts righteously wherever he goes. Among his family, he lives for the family; when he is with his friends, he lives for their sake; he goes to serve the nation and lives for its sake.

So far, history has produced many righteous people, but their greatness or virtue has reached only to the national level. Great patriots have given their life for their country, but few people have lived for the sake of the world and the universe. It is the rare person who transcends the boundaries of his nation and lives for the sake of mankind and the world.

Someone who lives for the sake of the greatest whole is called a saint. A saint is defined as one who devotes his life to God and His will and dominion. This means living for the sake of the highest level. A saint belongs to the realm of religion because no other profession links its work all the way up to God. Is Jesus in this category of a saint? How about Buddha and Confucius? The only way for people to transcend themselves and connect with God is through religious philosophy and conviction.

Since the goals and standards of saints are so far above the earthly standard, the world often misunderstands diem. Because they act according to the standard of heaven and not earth, saints arc generally rejected on earth. Their standard and goal is God's kingdom. The law and order of that world are far higher than this world. Those who live according to the heavenly law and principle while on earth arc at the leadership level. If you reflect on this, you will realize it is the most logical conclusion.

There should be some means of evaluating the quality of true religious leaders. We can assume that they exercise revolutionary leadership in order to guide people toward higher, more far-reaching goals because the purpose of religion has not yet been fulfilled here on earth. People haven't even been aware of the real purpose of religion.

There are all varieties of religion-almost like in a department store. One type we might call the sparrow religion. A sparrow is a small, talkative bird. Its vision is limited since it is so small. Sparrows sit huddled together and chatter among themselves: "Don't go there, and certainly don't go over there! You might die. Don't do that or you will go to hell; stay right here." This is the nature of the sparrow religion.

Another distinct kind of religion is the dove religion. Doves are very chunky birds, heavily built and a little stuffy They we quite charming, but since they are so chunky, they can't By a very long distance. Quakers, for instance, are like doves.

Let's consider the crane religion. Cranes have long wings and a very shin body, so they don't have to beat their wings so rapidly. Cranes move almost like airplanes through the air and their horizons are almost limitless.

The sparrow might look at the crane and say, "You are crazy. You don't have to soar so high, you know. Why do you fly so high and go so far? You don't need to visit more than one house; going to see the neighbors is far enough! You can eat together and talk a little and then return. That is good enough."

The sparrow religion is busy all day long looking for something to eat: some worm to snatch, some insect to devour Every day they are busy Meanwhile, the crane religion soars up to the highest possible goal. The primary concern of the crane is to head toward the goal, not what it will eat next.

What kind of religion is the Unification Church? We are the crane religion. Since we fly so high and travel such long distances, we have no time to rest. Too bad you joined the crane religion! We don't give you any time to rest. You must fly even at night. You have to continue on and on!

Since we fly so high, sunrise comes very quickly and sunset comes very late. We stay up long hours and work very hard. Since we in the crane religion get up so early and By even at night, should we complain? No. Should we gripe because the night is so short? Why not? Because we have a goal, a destination.

If winter snowstorms hit us while we are in the air, we will all die. We must cross a certain distance now, during the summertime. That is why we push ourselves to fly unceasingly, even at night. We can't give up; we can't drop down, even if tears fill our eyes. Some people quit whatever they are doing when they cry, but even with tears we must fly.

In Oriental philosophy, the crane is a noble, sacred bird. By the way, Mother's name, Han, means crane. So the crane is a symbol for Mother.

There are other great birds, too, such as the American eagle. An eagle is a powerful bird and looks very fierce. Why is the eagle considered ruthless rather than noble? The eagle is a greedy, ferocious, and almost warmongering bird. It surely has the greatest fighting spirit, but that very nature keeps it from representing a great and noble religion. That is why I picked the crane, a symbol of peace and purity.

A crane can travel very long distances. It flies so high and reaches upward toward a high, noble, and purpose. Resting on the ground, the crane stands on its slender legs and lifts its head in the air. Even there it keeps looking toward the far-distant goal. It always stands on one foot-a symbol of independence. Its attitude is, "No matter what, even if nobody helps me, I shall go on by myself." Because the crane has such an independent spirit, I really like it. Those who fly like the crane toward the most lofty goals are saints on earth.

The Chinese character for saint has three parts, representing ears, mouth, and king. The combination of these three elements signifies a saint. If you link these meanings, a saint is the "king of the mouth" and "king of the ears." As the king of the ears, he can hear every bit of information in the world but remain aloof from it. He will not be swayed by what he hears. He can comprehend and digest everything. Even though he hears everything, however, he doesn't simply repeat it. He digests it and speaks only the truth. The truth that he speaks becomes the definitive, principled law of the land.

Even a single word uttered by a saint can become the law of the land. Think about what it means to be able to speak even one word and have it become a decree. This isn't just yakety-yakking! This is one reason why women don't usually make great rulers. Women have good ears and hear everything, but then you just shoot it right out again, like a machine gun! The real greatness of a king lies in the ability to hear a great many things but speak little. A king is a man of few words, because he takes time to digest everything. One element of goodness is patience.

When earthly rulers are elevated to the spirit world, can they boast of the position they had on earth? One person may say, I was President of the United States." Another might say, I was the Secretary of State." Still another might say, I was the Queen of England." They assume that in spirit world as well they will be at the top of society. But others point their fingers at these former leaders and say, "He doesn't know anything about this world."

On the other hand, consider a wise, saintly king on earth, one who listened to all information but remained a man of few words. When he did speak, it was with authority. After he died and went up to spirit world, he didn't boast or try to show off. Such a person would be accepted and welcomed by everybody in spirit world. Since he didn't speak very much, keeping many secrets within himself, he would be a person of depth, and others would have a hard time figuring him out.

Take wrestling as another example of this idea. A large audience gathers to watch two champions compete. The wrestler who comes out jubilantly, seeking the praise of the audience, will usually be defeated while the one who enters the ring without revealing much about himself or his tactics usually wins.

The Chinese character for saint has such an incredible meaning. A saint is the king of ears and mouth, one who hears all information and digests it. In comparison, the spelling of a phonetic language like English has no meaning. You write K I N G, but the K by itself doesn't mean anything; ING doesn't mean anything. Oriental characters have profound meaning even before you read them.

The Western mind is very analytical. Your analysis is good, but you also need a synthesizing perspective. You should combine things in order to find the one greater purpose. For that, you need to rely on the Oriental mind. This is the difference in cultural backgrounds between the East and West.

The Chinese character for person has two strokes, one vertical and the other horizontal. Man is the only creature that God created who stands on two feet. A human being is a vertical creature, but there is also a horizontal line. God hasn't forgotten people's horizontal aspect. Now you can see the deep meaning behind Oriental languages.

The top portion of the character for righteousness signifies a lamb. The lower portion means "I." Together they mean, "I am the sacrificial lamb." The lamb exists for a higher purpose than itself. It exists for others and is always ready to sacrifice itself for the benefit of others. This is the internal meaning of lamb.

I already taught you the definition of a righteous person: it is one who lives for his own sake, right? No? Why did you come and sit in this room this morning? The action of sitting in this room is the same for each of you, but your purposes differ. Some of you may reply: "I came to hear a good message from Father. I want to be spiritually elevated and reach individual perfection quickly." That may be the goal of some of you. Others may answer: "I want to listen to Father. I want to work harder and focus on a high direction; I want to serve this country and mankind better."

These are two different directions and two different purposes. Which prompted you to come? After listening to me now, those who came with the first motivation have converted to the second. You prove that by your laughter!

One position is internal, the other external. Which position do you want? Suppose two women are walking along the sidewalk, one talking and the other listening. Which is the internal position and which is the external position? The listening one is the internal, or inner, one.

The American approach seeks to make life light and humorous. Everywhere you go, you start out with a joke. Even Dr. Durst wants to entertain people so he shoots out jokes! But there is another kind of person who speaks without joking and the audience listens thoughtfully to him. Of these two styles, which is internal and which is external? Why?

As long as you stay inside, you are guaranteed security and safety. But when you take the outside position, you are leaving the center of gravity. The farther out you go, the more you expose yourself and the more danger you face. There is no question about that. In some cultures parents always tell their children not to go outside. "Stay inside," they say. Why do the parents teach their children like that? It is in order to guarantee their safety.

Oriental philosophy is directed toward "nothingness" or "void." Western philosophy is basically oriented toward benefits, looking for profit. Look at your facial features. Your eyes are big, searching for profits. You are tall, too, so you look toward the far distance. Oriental people don't have to look for the goal, so they are shorter. They don't look for profits, so their eyes get smaller and sharper and their noses get flatter. In this respect, Oriental represents the internal and Occidental represents the external.

One of Satan's goals is to permanently separate the internal from the external. God's purpose is to link the internal and external in a harmonious relationship. The external is not necessarily bad or evil; it is merely different from the internal. God wants to harmonize the two roles and bring them together. God's goal is to combine East and West. From this standpoint, we can see a great blending of East and West into harmony. Such a movement indicates that God's day of fulfillment is truly near.

I declared 1978 to be the dividing line of the new era. From that point on, people's attention has been more and more directed toward the Orient. Look at Japan. Whoever thought that small island country could become a world giant? But by 1978, it had. When Western people look at Japan, they realize that it is aggressively seeking greater productivity. Japanese people are striving to be superior in every way, reaching out in all four directions as well as vertically.

Western culture, on the other hand, is based on specialization and division of labor. People pursue only one direction. Western nations are almost raising their hands in surrender to Japan. People are going to Japan to try to learn new methods of management. The auto industry has practically surrendered to Japanese methods of management. The Japanese have also taken the lead in television and other electronic technology.

The Oriental mind seeks harmony with all four directions and with the vertical dimension as well. In the United States, you have been digging for so long in one direction, working for one goal, but in these sophisticated modem days, that approach no longer works.

 The Western world is interested in climbing higher and higher, gaining more and more, but people don't want to go down. Look at your economy today You climbed up so desperately but you did not prepare at all for going down. You can go up only so far and no higher. When you reach the limit you are shattered. In contrast, the Oriental, holistic way of thinking seeks growth but expects to make circular turns, going in cycles like the seasons, rising and falling, spiraling upward as they advance. Such a rhythm allows one to reach higher levels.

Western culture is sort of ruthless and dry, with little depth. Western society is severe, based on law. So many lawsuits have been filed here, even between husband and wife. God's goal is to achieve harmony and the Orient has been more in tune with that goal. Therefore, I have come from the Orient and am trying to harmonize East and West. My message is centered on God. For a long, long time, God has been seeking this goal and our movement is working to accomplish it.

What do your parents object to? They shout out that they don't want Reverend Moon. Actually, what they are opposing is the harmony between us. That means they are opposing harmony between East and West. When I match Orientals and Westerners, they become the most beautiful symbols of harmony. But your parents say, "No! We are white people. We will not have a small Korean or Japanese daughter-in-law." Your eagerness to be blessed with an Oriental spouse indicates that there already are drastic cultural differences between you and your parents! That is why they say you are enslaved by me and that's why they call you crazy. The established world is telling you such things because they are in culture shock. I have come here to harmonize and they are opposing that harmony.

In 1978 a new era of harmony began. Since the end of World War II in 1945, God has been preparing for this era. U.S. troops have been stationed in Korea and people from the United States have been coming to the Orient more and more, striving to become one with those cultures. On the other hand, however, the United States has been running away from responsibilities in the East. It tends to run away from Japan, Korea, and especially Southeast Asia. Heavenly Father told me, "Go to the United States and bring them back."

I came to this country and have been laying the foundation for ten years. That foundation is you. Enough of a base has already been laid; my job has been done. This work will continue even after I am no longer here, without question. The time has come, and I am now packing my luggage.

I came and exploded an incredible bomb of controversy in this country. The seeds of the word have been sowed and now scholars have started digging into this word. They are sampling it and finding that it tastes good. Owe they touch it, they begin to apply it. When they realize that following their one specialized direction too far has brought them to a roadblock, they will begin to Study Reverend Moon. Then all four directions will open up. They will like this new dimension, this new era. American scholars have begun to realize this.

What I am saying is that I don't have to stay here any more. The job has been done. The Sun Myung Moon Institute has been founded already. The target of its study is Reverend Moon.

Having come this far, we Unification members are beginning to realize that we are the vanguard of human history, the pioneers of the new era. We are running at the forefront of God's dispensational history. Maybe you joined the Unification Church only a few months or a few years ago and you don't think you have changed much. "I look in the mirror and my face is just the same," you say. Maybe you think I am only telling you these things to make you feel good.

But you have changed, whether or not your face looks different, and that is why outside people are trying to attack me. What they say does not stop the providence, however. I will keep devoting my efforts to the original goal, no matter what people may say. Even if I have to fight in the courthouse, they cannot stop my progress. By whatever standard people apply, I am measured as a success in this country.

The United States may reject me now and is tying to say I am evil. Moonies reply, "Reverend Moon is good. We support him. We are united with him-" Our group is growing. As long as they cannot stop the growth, we will keep on growing, right? The time will come when we will fill the entire United States, the whole world, and even the universe! The Unification Church has the capacity to embrace all religions, not only Christianity but Buddhism and Islam as well. Not only that, but we have an ideological alternative to communism. We know how to overcome it. Therefore, we have the greatest depth and breadth.

When the U.S. State Department looks at us from their narrow-minded viewpoint of foreign policy, they consider us a threat. When they see somebody doing things better than they, they say, "They are growing too big. We will distract them!" That is what the government persecution is all about. They are trying to turn our attention somewhere else-what we call in Korean "turning your head around." But no matter what, a magnetic power will pull people back in the right direction! We are in the midst of that battle now.

I started talking about the road of the saint and the righteous man, and digressed into talking about East and West. Let's go back to the saint now.

People say that Moonies are a kind of monster. Well, I say the description is correct, but the question is, what kind of monster! Traditionally, people have had different standards for defining a righteous person. The concept in the United States is not necessarily the same concept of a righteous person in Germany. Throughout history, there have been fights even among righteous people, from one country to another. But from the point of view of sainthood, such righteous people who fight each other are adversaries. They don't contribute anything to the overall, worldwide purpose.

God, the king of wisdom, is watching from above. He is always thinking, "How can I solve this problem of contradiction? We need a universal definition of righteousness which can apply to people in Germany, Japan, Korea, the United States, or whatever country. There should be a universal standard that all religions, all societies, and all cultures can adopt." God thinks there should be one criterion that can apply to all. Unless we have some common criterion, righteous people will continue fighting among themselves. Right now, they are fighting on all five levels: individual, family, societal, national, and worldwide levels.

The definition of a righteous person must include the duty to overcome such divisions. Throughout history, people have commonly assumed that struggle is justified and that only by struggle can one obtain a position of power or virtue. However, that definition must be eliminated because it is not true. The theory of dialectical materialism states that struggle will produce a new culture, but that is absolutely wrong. True righteousness and struggle are not compatible.

German righteousness should be the same as Japanese righteousness; Japanese righteousness should correspond to American righteousness. And the standard of righteousness should hold true for one religion as well as all others. One criterion, one universal standard should apply. Therefore, we need a new ideology or new religion. Otherwise, the ideal of unity and harmony can never be realized.

Righteous people may start out from different positions, but they will declare to the world: "I was born for universal prosperity and well-being, not just for one locality. I was born as a child of God." That is the focal point. Then when you look around you and see Germans, you can call them your brothers. Japan is part of the world, so Japanese people are part of your family. Americans are also children of God, so they are your relatives. Whether you go to Africa, Latin America, or anywhere, it is the same. You can embrace all mankind as true brothers and sisters because you all are God's children.

Has religion been doing that? For that matter, do we ourselves pass this standard of judgment? Do we fit this description? The way of life which the Unification Church is creating does produce this result. Countries which were enemies are now coming together. The fastest way to accomplish this is for enemies to become true brothers.

Korea and Japan, were historical enemies, so I might look at Japanese people as my enemy. Instead, I love them as God's children and am pulling them to America with me to save this country. Since Japan and the United States were once at war, my efforts are bringing three enemy countries together. No political or economic power could produce this kind of unity and harmony, but only the power of the new universal religion. Why do we do it? It is not because of the President of the United States, not because of the Prime Minister of Japan. We do this because of the absolute God.

For the first time in history, such an ideology has become the reality here on earth. We are bringing all mankind together under the one parenthood of God. This is Reverend Moon's movement. For the first time in history, unity at an extraordinary level has become a reality. This is the Unification Church.

In the Unification Church you can become certified as a righteous person in your family, in society, and in the nation. This certificate, entities you to a free pass in the spirit world. No other certificate you can receive would guarantee your passage in the spirit world.

Suppose a man lived his entire fife for the sake of his country and assumed that by doing so he has earned the rank of righteous man. But when he goes to the spirit world, all kinds of people will shout out and tell him to go to hell. Why? It is because he did not transcend national barriers or boundaries. A patriot of Great Britain could be an enemy of France, Germany, and Spain.- Someone may think he has accomplished the greatest good for the United States, but after becoming a Reverend-Moon-style patriot, he will be welcomed by all nations everywhere.

Until now, there was a gap between the individual and family levels. No bridge had been laid between them. There were also gaps between societies, nations, and between the national and worldwide levels. One central highway or bridge was needed to connect them all.

If you follow this key formula here on earth, when you arrive in the spirit world, you will be able to open the doors there and everything will open wide before you. No matter how many good deeds conventional patriots may have done, their key doesn't fit every door in the spirit world. Do you follow me? Regardless of what country you come from, once you fulfill the criterion of universal righteousness in the Unification Church, your key of righteousness will fit into any society here on earth and in the spirit world. If this is but, nothing less will satisfy you, will it?

Let's analyze whether or not this is true. First of all, are we centered on God? Yes. Are we controlled only by the love of God and do we live only in his dominion? Yes. This is our way of life, isn't it? Nobody in the universe can escape this principle. Everybody should abide by it. Do you follow me? If our life is centered on God, we will never be rejected.

We make relationships as individuals now here on earth, but our goal is far beyond in God's kingdom. In other words, God is the center of our relationships. When we marry and come together as husband and wife, the purpose of our unity is to achieve God's goal. We do many different things, but all our actions have the same purpose Our way is very clear. We begin as righteous individuals, become righteous family members, righteous members of society, righteous citizens of the nation, righteous inhabitants of the world, righteous people of the universe, and righteous people of the cosmos. One principle governs this righteousness. The criterion never changes.

What method will we use? The most dramatic aspect of our course is that we do not go this road passively, but take the worst burdens upon our shoulders. We go this way with a sacrificial and serving mind. When you adopt this method, everybody will have to admire you, whether they are Americans, Japanese, or Germans. As soon as they do that, national barriers dissolve and you will have no enemies anywhere.

In order to close the gaps between each level of righteousness, we have to pay a price, which we call indemnity. Would you rather do this or something else? If something else knocks on your door and beckons to you, will you change your mind?

Should your ultimate goal be righteousness or should you go beyond to sainthood? You start out wanting to become a patriot, a righteous citizen of your country. But you are different from other patriotic people because you are acting for the sake of God and the world, so you keep aiming for the next highest level. What is your ultimate goal? It is God's heart. We are living a dramatic life, no question about it.

It is like we are building a huge tank and working to fill it up by constructing a pipeline which extends everywhere. We can be accepted everywhere because all Unification conduits share their contents, so all the world's resources can travel through that pipeline to Africa and Asia. The wealth of the United States will go through it to other countries of the world. If the American people don't complain even when the U.S. tank becomes empty, they will demonstrate true righteousness!

1 created an extra big tank in Japan and asked the members to fill it and they are fulfilling this mission. The pipeline is moving resources to other parts of the world, including the United States, South America, Europe and Korea. Our motto is: "We are sacrificial servants." Japanese people are feeding the entire world now. If they see a boom coming to South America, they rejoice over it. Soon those people will return to offer homage and gratitude to me and to Japan. So it is not just individuals, but even nations who are changing.

What about you? Maybe you are planning to work until you receive the Blessing and then retire the day after. Some blessed members are saying, "I already have two children, but I'm not allowed to retire yet. I'm still being sent out on a mission. What shall I do?"

You don't want to stop at the family level, do you? You want to become righteous people on the worldwide level even if you might drop dead along the way to that goal. If such a thing happened, you wouldn't have to worry because God would grant a special dispensation and declare that you fulfilled all levels and indemnified everything. That's the quickest way to reach the goal!

I have completed all levels and have already walked the course. Only after doing so am I asking you to follow me. Take the court trial for example. I didn't have to come back to face this. Since I am not a U.S. citizen, I could have remained in Korea. But I returned voluntarily because I thought: "I want to pay more indemnity; let me suffer the court trial." If you intentionally pay indemnity, there is more benefit.

Mothers should give their blessing to the children who are following my way, devoting their life for this cause. These mothers shouldn't feel sad and ask why such a tragic thing should happen to their child. Instead they should applaud: "You did it, my child! You fulfilled God's will. Bravo! I'm proud of you. You are the spearhead, and I will follow you." Once you know the core truth of my teaching you realize why Jesus said that whoever loses his life will find it.

I assigned the Japanese a "mission impossible." I asked them to sell 700 Tong Il lathes in Japan. That's almost like selling ice to Eskimos -- virtually impossible. The Japanese already have better machines of this type. The annual market for these machines in Japan is 2,010, and already 100 manufacturers are working to supply these 2,010 machines.

The pragmatic American way of thinking would be to say: "Oh, Father, we won't make it." But they reported: "Father, we knew it was virtually impossible to sell these lathes to Japanese machine shops, so we decided to sell them to everybody -- even to customers in bars and showgirls in dance halls!" In other words, they were telling me, "We will do it, no matter what!" Like the Americans say, "By hook or by crook!"

I am very smart, as you realize. I knew that if I called upon you Americans to do such a mission, you would all run away, so I gave it to the Japanese. They never run away!

We have been living by Jesus' words in the Bible: "He who loses his life for my sake will find it." We are willing to die and we are sacrificing ourselves throughout the world. But when we look up, we realize that our time to die never came. In the meantime, the rest of the world is coming into unity! The next time we look up, we will see the space shuttle Columbia II waiting with an empty seat for us in first class. Columbia II will lift off into space with you as a VIP guest. It will travel out beyond the moon and go all the way to God's land, reaching His throne in the spirit world.

There, God will come to meet us and say: "You are my child, my dear child." However, He will add, "You must go back now; you have come here prematurely." So you will return to America and head out for Africa to demonstrate your love for the world. When you go to Africa, God will ask you to exceed the level of what you have done in the United States. Then you will reply, "I shall do everything for the sake of Africa; I shall do more than I did for America."

When your African mission is over, you can ride on Columbia III. That spaceship will be decorated with diamonds, and you will sit there like a king or queen. The rocket will lift off and take you to God's kingdom and to the eternal glorious life as a child of God. Wouldn't you like that? Every day I dream about these things. So you can imagine there are no easy days for me.

Is the Unification Church going the road of righteousness or the road of sainthood? We are pursuing sainthood, so you really are bold, aren't you?

A saint aims to become a child of God. But even a saint has not quite fulfilled the role of son and daughter of God. That is why I am telling you to go beyond the level of a saint and become a king of saints. By listening to me, obeying me, and following my teaching, do you think you can achieve that goal? The true love of God starts from the position of saint.

Do you feel good this morning? Shall we go this route, or not? Are you now in the, position of a righteous person? Your righteousness is centered on God, not just the nation, right? What level are you at: family, tribal, national, or worldwide?

To be husband and wife in the Unification Church is tough because sometimes you have to kick each other along the road! If the husband doesn't want to go, the wife should pull him. If the wife holds back, the husband pulls her! Because of your wife, or your husband, you are launched for the family level to the trial level. If your spouse lifts you one step higher, then you should be grateful to him or her.

You men have masculine dignity and you tell your wife: "You woman, follow me. I am the conductor; I am the leader." The woman may protest, "No, no." But she should say, "Yes, wherever you go I will follow." How dramatic!

In one kind of couple, the husband and wife are very friendly and affectionate to each other but they may also be selfish-minded, wanting to retreat from responsibilities. "Oh no, not in this direction; not in that direction," they say. They hide form one mission after another. It is possible that some couples are like this. What kind of couple would you like to become?

Now you know the definition of a righteous person and the definition of a saint. On a lower level there are average people and finally at the bottom there is human trash. Thus you can choose among these four categories, in descending order: saint, righteous person, average person, and human trash. Which alternative do you vote for?

The higher you goal, the heavier will be your tribulation or workload. You people in the Unification Church like my foundation but you don't want to be like me! All the bad boys and girls in the Unification Church have created burdens for me. If some member doesn't do well, the burden falls on my shoulders and the blame is laid on me. I have been accused of every fault, but have I made any excuses for it? No.

Good credit, however, never comes to me; it stays with you. If you produce some good result, people say, "The white American people did very well." They want to keep all the good things and load up all the bad things on my shoulders. Society may honor some outstanding white man or woman because my teaching was motivating them, but they don't want to give any credit to me. They just say, "You are a white man, and an American; indeed you are great."

When you hear people accusing me and blaming me for all kinds of incredible things, what do you think? Do you feel righteous anger and indignation on my behalf, or do you think: "Well, there must be some reason for people to say that. There must be some grounds to it"? Those who didn't answer one way or another, your lack of response implies something.

Many Americans have thought: "Reverend Moon took a lot of money out of America, using Mr. Kamiyama as his surrogate. They sucked the money out and shipped it somewhere else." Even some American leaders thought this. This has been the viewpoint of the U.S. government, the FBI and the CIA. They have accused me of draining wealth out of America. Finally they brought me into court and completely investigated the evidence. They accuse me of conspiracy and say, "American boys and girls are becoming robots. Moon has strings attached to each member, and the Unification Church is like a gigantic puppet slim. 99

However, if the collection of more taxes is the goal, there is little more than $10,000 in taxes in question. In order to investigate a $10,000 tax evasion, they spent $2 million! Does that make sense? This has become the most expensive tax investigation ever undertaken by the U.S. government. So tax money was not the goal but merely a facade.

If I were a white man and someone offered the government $1 million to investigate me -- or even $2 or $3 million-would they do it? No, they would not. The government is doing this only because I come from the Orient and am not a U.S. citizen and because I have been so successful.

I could really explode in wrath. Look at the courtroom. When you look on the defense side, there are two Orientals: Mr. Kamiyama and me. There are two Orientals as defendants and two other Orientals as interpreters, since, the court proceedings were interpreted for me and Mr. Kamiyama. How ironic it is for the whole white society and the American government, to try to knock down two Orientals! If we had murdered someone it would have been a different story, but the government has just been fabricating charges.

If it were merely for my own sake, I wouldn't be able to stand it. You know my temper! I would never tolerate it. However, I decided to endure it for the sake of America and for your future. I did not want to see judgment come upon you. Because you follow me, I decided -to forgive diem. I do it because of you. In this case, you are the condition of indemnity. "All right, prosecution, government, Justice Department," I say, "we forgive you." So you are the hope of America, the hope of this nation, the hope of this government. I forgive them so you can be fire and so you can prosper.

The United States will repent in the future. Americans will come to apologize for this. Out of repentance for this court trial, millions and millions of young people will join and follow my teachings and they will work to promote the wellbeing of the world.

Today's message is almost my plea to you to become saints and righteous people because you are the hope of this nation, the hope of this world, and the hope of God. Even if I depart from the United States, my ideology, my tradition and my spirit will remain in this country and continue to prosper. I look at this as my most precious gift to you and to the young people of America. If you live up to this, my goal and dream will be fulfilled. On the other hand, if you fail to follow my tradition, all of this would have been in vain. If that ever happens, the destiny of white people would be very dismal.

When Jesus came, the chosen people did not accept him. You know the consequences and the incredible suffering that has been going on for 2,000 years. The United States is now in the position to accept or reject me. If total rejection takes place at this time, you know what would happen consequences. It wouldn't even compare to the case of Jesus. I feel, therefore, the heart of Jesus on the Mount of Calvary as he was hanging on the cross. He asked forgiveness for those enemies who were conducting murderous action against him. Jesus forgave them. I am doing the same thing today for America

Of course, in these 2,000 years one thing has changed: no court will ever terminate my life. Two thousand years ago, if Jesus could have entered Rome, confronted the Roman Senate and declared the victory there, 400 years of persecution, bloodshed and martyrdom would not have been necessary. Only because Jesus couldn't fulfill that in his lifetime did such incredible bloodshed follow.

By the same token, I came to America, the Rome of the 20th century, from Korea, which is like the chosen nation of Israel. I have confronted the American authorities and declared the victory. This will prevent incredible in the future. The history of the Unification Church will not be one of bloodshed; our missionaries will not become martyrs

Therefore, let us muster every ounce of our energy and every drop of our sweat and blood to march forward and gain certification as righteous people and saints. This is my plea to you today. This is what I am asking you to become. You are my hope and God's hope.

When the United States comes against me, when the communists, the entire world and even Satan himself comes against me, that will signify the end and the pinnacle of persecution will be scaled. Judaism and Christianity have attacked me, but nothing has been able to prevail against me. I have been victorious in every battle I have fought. 'Me benefit of all these victories comes to the Unification Church and becomes your asset and your foundation. With this qualification, no matter how many difficulties you might experience or how disheartened you might be, if you take courage and follow my tradition and way of life, you will win the total victory. Amen! Can you make this resolution?

Those who will say, "Because I have seen Father's example, I can overcome even ten times the persecution he has received and win the victory as a righteous person and saint," raise your hands, please. God bless you.

Let Us Protect Ourselves

Reverend Sun Myung Moon
May 1, 1982
Belvedere
Translator - Sang Kil Han

All people want to be healthy, happy and successful. It is easy to say such a thing, but when you think deeply there are enormous implications behind it. For instance, in order to be healthy we must overcome all the influences which would make us unhealthy. In order to assure our happiness, we must combat all those things which would make us unhappy. Success, likewise, requires overcoming many obstacles.

The person whose life is basically healthy, happy and successful must have the power to overcome all the obstacles to those desirable goals. Each person's life span could be represented by a curving line which goes up and down. We must always be aware of where we are, either above the zero point or below; either up or down in terms of our goals.

We cannot deny the link each of us has with larger entities such as the society and the nation. Whenever a Unification Church member says "I" he is including himself within the larger entity of the Unification Church. By the same token, each individual is automatically a part of his family. The student is a part of his school besides being just an individual. It is natural for each person to want to belong to a larger entity; but unfortunately individuals easily tend to think of themselves as separate from those larger entities.

We could represent the universe as a big circle with smaller circles within. In the center is a tiny dot representing the individual. It is natural for each individual to want to be at the center of his universe. No other being besides man has such a desire. Neither monkeys. dogs nor cats ever think of being the center of the universe. What is it that makes humans the "supreme beings" of the animal kingdom? It is simply this point-only man finds himself at the central point of the universe, linked with all the larger levels.

The circles surrounding the individual are those of the family, society, nation, world and cosmos. One could also consider himself at the top of a pyramid which rests upon the foundation of all those larger entities. Each person wants to be "on top" or above everything else. This is human nature.

When someone wants to follow his whims, regardless of his environment and surroundings, what are the implications? Such a person will isolate himself from all the larger entities of life. America is one country where the word "I" is spoken very often, but that American "I" is frequently detached and private, isolated from all the larger realms of existence.

Suppose the human eye decided it wanted to go somewhere else in the body besides the head. for instance on the arm. That would be very strange, but it is actually similar in principle to Western young people trying to cut themselves off from their proper position within all larger levels of existence. Can a person find happiness in such a way? The person who steps outside of his relationship with the family, society, nation and world and tries to set himself up in some private, isolated realm has actually lost everything! No matter how hard he may work, he cannot connect the results with anything other than himself.

However, when a person stands within his proper position at the central point of the universe, all his work and accomplishments are extended and connected with the largest levels. Such a person simultaneously possesses everything of value within the universe because he is connected with the entire universe.

Most people move back and forth, into and out of their proper positions. When a person remains somewhere other than his proper position within the universe, the universe will strive to expel him. That position is similar to a tumor within the body, an alien substance in the wrong place. Many people find a solitary, purely individualistic attitude in life very attractive; they believe they have freedom because they are able to direct everything according to their own will. However, all their efforts to succeed and be happy will be repelled by the force of the universe. They will eventually be pushed into a very unhappy position. But when a person stands in his proper position, all his efforts are aided by the force of the universe and his life is naturally smoother and easier.

If you are in the center and turning with a certain velocity, the next layer of existence, the family, will turn too. Their movement will not automatically be as great however. The further out the layers of existence, the less they will be affected by your own movement as an individual. It requires tremendous movement on the part of one individual to affect the entire universe. Normally no one wants to make such effort.

Consider what is required to be an important leader with many responsibilities. Certainly the most important leader in the United States is the President. Being the most important person, can he get up every morning and follow whatever whims strike him during the day? Does an important person normally go to bed whenever he feels like it? No, the truth is that every minute of an important person's day has to be accounted for. When he is simply eating dinner, someone will want to know where he is and what he is doing.

Can the President tell everyone to just leave him alone and quit following him around? Can the President discriminate among his many responsibilities and choose only the ones he enjoys taking care of? Can he control the time and place where his various responsibilities will demand his attentions? Certainly he cannot off any of those things. When something happens in the middle of the night, the President must be willing to respond to the situation. If he is not, he cannot be the leader of the nation. In this sense, he doesn't have any freedom. Therefore, most of the time he simply has no freedom to do as he pleases.

A typical individual in this country has an extraordinary amount of freedom. Many housewives are free to spend their days entirely according to their desires. A housewife is an individual but she also represents her husband and children within the home. If she detaches herself from those other responsibilities, she detaches herself from her true value. Sometimes a crisis might arise in the house just when the mother is ready to go out and do something she enjoys. Is she free at that moment to ignore the needs of her children and go ahead? She may have the freedom, but she would not be right in doing it. She would not be a good person according to universal principles if she indulged her own desires at the expense of the larger entity, her family.

Of course, such a self-centered person will probably believe she is good, but she will find herself suffering from the criticism of her husband, her children and other people in the society. They will all convey the message to her that she is bad. What is "bad" in this sense? A bad person, simply speaking, is one who has abandoned his position within the larger scheme of things and thus has lost his connection with everything else. He is someone who once had something which he lost. The housewife in our example would be rejected eventually by her husband and children if she lived by her selfish standard all the time and she would deserve the label of "bad person."

When someone is praised as being good he will invariably be a person who brings goodness and benefit to other people. When a good person owns or controls many things, other people welcome it because they realize something good will result. However, a bad person is avoided by others and even when he has a small amount of wealth, other people are not happy to see it. A good person can even own the universe, while a bad person is not encouraged to own anything.

Goodness can go anywhere within the frame of God's universe and be well received, while evil cannot pass or be acceptable anywhere. Are you a good or a bad person? If you are both good and bad, that is actually bad! Why does a parent urge his child to become good? By doing that the parent is wishing the ultimate benefit for the child. By being good the child will be entitled to own everything in the universe. Goodness is unchanging and universal, so a person who is recognized as good in Korea will also be known as good in America. Even in Moscow. people will recognize goodness in someone.

Normally a good person is not able to follow his whims. One aspect generally attributed to a bad person is his habit of indulging himself and living only for his own desires. Therefore within the current popular concept of freedom there is more evil than goodness. Many young people are confused about the true nature of freedom. They think simply following one's impulses is freedom and it is good.

Someone might be a great lover of music so he might feel that whenever the inspiration strikes him, he should be able to sing at the top of his voice. If he indulges his inspiration at four o'clock in the morning, how would that be greeted by others? His neighbors would not be very enthusiastic about such "artistic freedom."

Directly connected with the level of personal freedom is the family level of freedom; next are the higher levels of society, national and world freedom. It sometimes happens that these different levels of freedom are in conflict. The individual's freedom may not coincide with the nation's freedom. The national freedom may not coincide with the world's freedom. If the greatest value is placed upon the freedom of the individual, the family will have to suffer. If the nation's freedom is given highest priority, the order and harmony of the world can be shattered. When the world itself focuses only upon its own freedom, the freedom and harmony of the universe can be destroyed. Did you ever think that there was a larger level of freedom than even the world's? The freedom of a smaller level can easily damage the freedom of the larger level if the smaller one takes priority at the wrong time.

Now that you have come to understand this principle. you can examine your past experiences. You have probably asserted your right to individual freedom but without an understanding of Principle.

If you want to be a good student you must go along with the direction of the school and do what the rules require. If you do that you can enjoy the greatest freedom within that school. Some student may constantly break the rules by being tardy every day and think he is exercising his freedom to the maximum, but he is not really entitled to that kind of freedom within the school system. He does not have the freedom to follow whatever whims strike him at the moment. By stressing his own "freedom" he damages the freedom and harmony of the entire school, and thus he is a bad student.

The current war over the Falkland Islands is an example of the national level of interest dominating the world level. If Britain and Argentina could understand the Principle they would understand the mistake they are making. In such a dispute, the world should be the arbiter. Since both countries have a claim, there must be some way to settle the conflict. If a world-level of order is established, war can be avoided and peace in the world can be maintained; each country could be controlled and cared for.

We know that the American system allows for disputes between states to be resolved by the federal government. Certainly the overall freedom and benefit of the United States is far more important than that of one of its individual states, should they come into conflict. Suppose there was someone who looked upon a certain law with the attitude, "That's a bad law. I know some crooked Congressman introduced the bill and got it passed, so I'm not going to obey that law." He will not be supported by the nation, regardless of why he holds such an opinion. The law must be followed by everyone, regardless of each individual's opinions; otherwise he must pay the consequences.

Why must the laws of the nation be followed by all the individuals within that nation? The laws are created for the sake of the benefit and stability of the nation as a whole; they are not necessarily designed to accommodate every individual's preferences. In this way the freedom of the nation is protected and the freedom of the individual is subordinated to that larger good.

By the same token all living beings within the universe must respect and follow the highest laws of the universe. The law of the universe is the law of God.

Which should the individual value more, his own or his family's freedom? Certainly he should cherish his family's freedom above his own. However, an individual may be willing to sacrifice his family's benefit for his own sake, as when a young man goes out dancing and stays out all night while his family is worried and cannot sleep. What kind of freedom is that? Such "freedom" has no right to exist when it violates the peace and well-being of the family.

Likewise the family's freedom must serve the nation's freedom. In order for a family to be protected within the country, it must respect and serve that country. This applies all the way up to the universe-level of freedom. which must be subordinated to God's freedom. At what point does God's freedom become established and secure? God himself has been suffering because of the blindness and ignorance of human beings.

If an individual does not conform to the expectations of his family, the whole family is disturbed. If a certain family follows a decadent way, the entire society will suffer because of it. If one country pits its own benefit against that of the world. the entire world will suffer and be forced to change the direction of that country.

When God looks at His created universe, He sees it trying to enjoy its own freedom without thinking about Him and He suffers because of that. How do you think God will treat an individual who consistently destroys other levels of freedom'.' Will He pat him on the head and say, "Fine." No, God will try to set that person straight. He cannot take any joy in that individual's freedom when it ruins larger levels of happiness.

Many individuals and families pray very earnestly for their own benefit. Do you think God is inspired to bless self-oriented individuals and families? God will have the inclination to cause hardship for such people so that they might realize their error. God is not a bad God; whatever He does is always for a good reason, so if He gives hardship to someone it is to ultimately help that person.

What if someone prayed, "God, if you don't give me what I want, I'll just cut off my leg!" God would look at him and feel. "Go ahead and do it, you self-centered child." Consider the white supremacist who prays. "Oh God, bless this world and bring peace to it-by getting rid of all the black people." Will God grant such a prayer? Absolutely not' God would want to punish and correct such a terrible way of thinking.

Can a saint be the kind of person who goes wherever he feels like going and doing whatever he feels like doing? No, the saint is just the opposite. He can rarely do what he feels like doing.

Some people in the secular world think that because Reverend Moon is at the top of the Unification Church, he must have the greatest amount of freedom and flexibility to indulge himself! People believe such things because they have no Principled understanding of what a leader is or should be.

The truth is that wherever I go, I feel I must be able to answer to my family, my church members and everything around me. Even if I want to go and sit on the grass, I have to wonder, "Am I taking the spot where a dog wants to sit? Am I possibly destroying an anthill if I sit here?" I can never stop feeling responsible for every motion I make, even the movement of my foot. This is how I have lived my entire life.

Why must I live the way I have? What kind of joy and meaning do you think I have found in life? I live like this because I have a clear goal: I am living for the sake of the freedom of the universe and the freedom of God. That is why I have come into conflict with all the other levels of freedom and benefit.

A bad person will not like a good person because their realms of interest and benefit always collide. A good person always pushes for the benefit of the largest level, ultimately God's benefit, and this always conflicts with a bad person's willingness to sacrifice the larger purpose for his own.

Many American young people have a habit of not listening to the guidance and direction of others. I have been teaching you and guiding you with all of my energy and you have only slightly moved from your former ways, but that slight change happens to contradict the way the vast majority of Americans want to go. For many Americans, the individual and the family level of benefit are the only things of value. Now you members of the Unification Church are sacrificing those smaller benefits temporarily for the sake of God and the benefit of the universe. Therefore your society has complained loudly and has strongly opposed your changing.

The fact is that in order to establish God's dominion and God's freedom, all the lower levels of freedom which come into conflict with that must be sacrificed. Persecution is an automatic reality whenever someone tries to advance toward God's level of freedom. You may ask. "Why don't you exalt individual, family and every other kind of freedom at the same time you are honoring God's freedom?" However, such a thing is not possible; when all the other levels of freedom are violating God's freedom, one must be subordinated to the other. If the world is going against the direction of God and His freedom, someone must push it toward the proper direction. That is why we are living the way we do and why we receive the kind of persecution we receive. People call you "Moonies" with great scorn now, but at the same time, you are being elevated in the eyes of God and the universe.

Why do we choose to go a difficult way? Some people ask, "Why can't we just live the way we have always lived?" Actually, we have no other alternative than the way we have been going because the ideal can only be realized in this way. Universal freedom and happiness can only be found when we ensure God's happiness and freedom. That is the Principle. Only when the benefit and freedom of the highest Being is assured can all the lower levels of being have their lasting happiness and freedom. Once God's level of freedom and happiness has been achieved, He can bring about true universal peace and happiness for everyone on every level of existence.

This is the conviction that has guided my entire life In the beginning, no one understood me, but gradually more and more people could appreciate what I was teaching. Even now the majority of the world does not understand; only God can understand the meaning of my life and actions. It has been like God's ambassador coming into Satan's territory; all the forces of "authority" have investigated me, since I am different from others. Having been reviled and rejected by satanic forces, I am only truly appreciated and understood by God in Heaven.

Although many countries have tried to stop me and even now the US government is trying me as an accused criminal, another realm is very happy and excited. All of good spirit world and the realm of God is very eager to assist me because they understand that I am working to establish and maintain God's freedom, the highest level of goodness. If God Himself were here on earth, He would certainly have been arrested. put on trial and jailed but once He was able to gain freedom, He would be able to create the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. At that point God could live happily with His people within a truly happy, free world.

What, then, is the meaning of Home Church? Home Church is the way to give God an area in which He can dwell according to the way He wishes. It is a place where there is no antagonism against God but where everybody wants Him to come and live with them. This was the original plan of God; but because of the fall, all the doors of the world have been closed against Him. Barriers and blockades have been erected.

The original plan was for all people to travel freely within the world and to enjoy total freedom on all levels- individual, family, etc. Once he left the physical world, each individual was supposed to enter the Kingdom of Heaven in spirit world. This was the original plan but because of the fall, nothing remained except the individual level of freedom. Ultimately the purpose of Home Church is to shatter the walls which obstruct all the other levels of freedom.

Each individual, as the center of the universe, occupies the position which can liberate God. You are in the center of your family, your society, your nation, and ultimately the entire universe, and you can create the freedom of all those other levels. How can you do that? By doing Home Church.

If this is the truth, then Satan is really in trouble; he can no longer dominate any part of this world. Therefore Satan is exercising his fullest power now. Since the first level of freedom is individual, kidnapping was the first attempt against our movement. However, kidnapping of our members because of their religious preferences has now been ruled illegal. In one state the government tried to block us from fund raising by passing a law against it, but the Supreme Court ruled against that law. Satan is thinking, "If Rev. Moon stays in America any longer, the entire nation will turn to God. I must get him out of here!" At this time, the fight is reaching its peak.

Why have I gone this way throughout my entire life? It has been only for the sake of God. You may have wondered, "Why doesn't Rev. Moon stay in Korea and help the people there, since they are suffering and miserable? Americans are well-off." You must understand that my objective is to liberate God; once America puts God in the central point, the entire world will open up to God. Once the foundation is laid in America, God will have access to any other place in the world. That is why I came here.

The foundation of America was good and the people of America are potentially very good, but there has been much corrupting influence upon the young people. Each of you has had thoughts of complaint, such as "I don't like Korean leaders!" Your faces show the truth!

Are you going to listen absolutely to what I say? Usually Americans don't like the word "absolute", but why is the concept of absolute so necessary? In order to make a connection with the absolute God, you must reflect Him in His absoluteness. You must work absolutely if you want to reach the absolute God. It is up to you, however; you can choose to listen to me or not.

For four years I have been telling you that you must work hard in Home Church, but how much actual work have you done for the sake of Home Church? Our whole objective is to invite God to dwell with us. Are you making a base for Him in Home Church? Within your own minds, how much do you want to go out and do Home Church? Your words alone do not prove anything. Too often American young people say something but cannot carry it out. How can such a standard be trusted? Will the people of South America or Africa be able to make a better result?

I have done what God has directed me to do in this country. If you do not respond to my direction, I cannot do anything about it. I have taught you deeply, explaining everything to you. Are you actively involved in Home Church? You say, "I have been too busy to do Home Church," but you must realize that I am far busier than you and I have been doing what is necessary for God's providence continuously. How can you think you are busier than 1?

The church leaders have offered to take responsibility for Sunday sermons during this court trial, but I refused. It is a basic church requirement to meet together every Sunday morning and first of the month, and then we must do our other missions. Once we make a promise to God, it must be carried out. If we die we will have an excuse for not accomplishing our promise, but as long as we are alive and capable of moving, we must do our basic mission. This is the way I have lived my entire life, without any compromise.

Do you really feel Home Church is the most important thing in your life? Do you consider how important it is to liberate God through Home Church? For the sake of God, there must be nothing we cannot do. We can even go into a desert and turn it into a garden; once God is dwelling in that desert it will literally be a Heavenly palace.

Whatever happens in the present moment must be viewed as the preparation for future achievement. I know this is true. I have dedicated all my energy and resources for the sake of this country. Even if I must go to some other nation with no resources now, I know God will ask me to repeat all over again what I have done here in this country. I know it will be accomplished, too.

My path has been a difficult and painful way but everything I have done has been blessed and prepared for by God. I am never lonesome; God himself is supporting me. I know very clearly that doing everything for the sake of God is the best and only way to protect and defend myself. I know that wherever I may go, the universe will support me. If I go to the remote countries of Africa or South America, those places will become the focus of God and spirit world.

Have you ever heard of anyone before in history who has made such statements as you have heard me make? I am saying and doing things that are unparalleled. Whatever I accomplish on earth will remain forever; as long as God is defending something, it will not perish. You, too, are a participant in my path. As the numbers of people increase who are following the Principle, the world will increase in hope.

You are truly the only hope for the world to return to God. If no one was doing anything about the conditions of America today do you think the vitality of the country could continue? No, America would certainly perish. But if Americans become more and more in line with the Principle, they will begin to prosper spiritually. Are you going to be people who can just sit on the sidelines and watch your country perishing?

We all say we want to be righteous persons, but what is a righteous person? The righteous person is one who will go against any odds, any difficulties, as long as the right path is clear. For example, Abraham's prayer in the Bible was for God to spare Sodom if there were only ten righteous people in it. God answered that He would. This is the very same position of Moonies today. When you follow my direction and work diligently in your Home Church area, you will be the righteous persons before God in America. Because you are righteous, some day all your Home Church members will also be righteous. By observing the way you sweat and shed tears for them, those people will find their hearts reviving; they will eventually have the strength and life to behave as you do.

If you are only focusing on when your wedding will occur, you are certainly not serious enough. America is literally in a last-minute position, so how can you be concentrating on your marriage? The country has to be alive first before your individual and family situation can be secured. How can you worry about how you look, whether or not you have nice clothing and makeup and so forth, when the country is in such spiritual danger?

Whenever Mother asks me, ' How much do you love me?" I always tell her that I cannot love her any more than what we can accomplish in building the Kingdom of God on earth; that is our mission. My response is always the same, even towards Mother. That is the Principled way and I will abide by Principle.

I know that all normal young women want to wear make up and nice clothing. I promise to you that once the mission is done, I will bring to you all the cosmetics you could ever desire. But now we are engaged in a spiritual war and nothing else is more important than winning that war. Do you understand that?

Some people say, "I need to study more and then maybe I will be able to do Home Church," but they have not realized the urgency of the situation. Your shoes should wear out from walking in your area. The number of pairs of shoes you wear out will be your pride and your record of accomplishment in the future. Spirit world is always eager to help you, but you must create the conditions that enable them to do so.

Our topic today is "Let Us Protect Ourselves." It is only when you are properly situated within that central position of your family, society, nation, world and cosmos that you can be properly protected by them. What is your ultimate mission? It is to fulfill your responsibility of liberating God. No responsibility is more important than that and no human being can do anything greater than that.

I know that wherever I go in spirit world, all the saints will come and inquire of me what I accomplished on the earth. I will say to them, "I worked during my entire life to liberate God and it was my whole effort. However, I had to leave some of the work undone so I have that much regret in my mind." That is the best answer anyone could expect in spirit world and no one could question the quality of my life on the earth. Satan will be unable to say anything against me. You too will be asked how you lived your life. When your honest answer is, "I worked my hardest throughout my life to liberate God," God will be fully satisfied. You can bring no greater glory to God than that.

Suppose you went to spirit world and said to God, "I worked my entire life for the sake of America. I gave myself to more charitable activities than anyone else in the country." God could not feel that was of the greatest value. God has the power to make people happy and healthy, once His power is unbound; but as long as He is not liberated He can do very little. The only thing that matters to God is to be able to freely express His love to His children. Whatever assists Him in that is most precious to Him because until He is freed, He cannot do anything for His children.

Certainly every person here wants to gain the love of God. What should you do then to receive that love? It is very simple-work for the sake of God's freedom and then He will be able to give all of His love to us. We won't have to ask for His love but it will be given automatically. All problems and barriers will be broken through when God's love can flow freely to this earth.

We must win the freedom of God and we must maintain it. How do we actually penetrate all the barriers and the levels between ourselves and God? Is it really possible?

How can you penetrate the barriers in spirit world? By doing Home Church successfully you can create the condition to achieve the breakthrough on all those levels. Home Church is incredibly valuable.

If you accomplish only the level of messiah to your Home Church clan, you can still go to spirit world with the highest level of accomplishment. You will receive credit for having secured and maintained God's freedom. In other words, you will receive the highest level of credit for a much lower level of accomplishment. This is because once that basic level of God's freedom has been established, Satan will have no right to remain in your area. Who moves into your area when Satan moves out? God.

Only in the late 1970s did Home Church become possible; this is the first time in history. We can go beyond the national boundaries by doing Home Church, not only here in America but also in every other part of the world. Before just a few years ago, Europe was rigidly divided between nations with strict border regulations everywhere, but such a way of life was not comfortable. Now people can receive a simple piece of paper that permits them to travel easily between France and Germany, for example, or anywhere in the European Economic Community. America may be isolated from the rest of the world by the fact that she is a continent unto herself, but Americans are finally realizing that they must be a part of the whole world in order to survive.

If something happens within your Home Church area it is not just an isolated, local incident. It is literally a world affair and even a universal affair. If someone sprains his ankle in your area it is as significant as if some prime minister sprained his ankle. The time has come when God's attention is focused upon the small Home Church areas; those areas are the most important to Him. Just like with the Falklands, which is such a tiny place with more sheep than people-why are the leaders of the world so excited about it? If the United States President loses sleep over the Falkland Islands, certainly it is not strange that God would be very excited and interested in Home Church.

How is achievement made in Home Church? On one side, God is putting all His focus on your Home Church work and on the other, Satan is trying to thwart you. However, Satan cannot stop you from achieving results. Never before in history has there been the chance for Satan to be completely eradicated from the clan-level. Home Church is your clan-level of messiah. As the messiah of your area. what is your qualification? Your qualification is that you represent God and His providence and dispensation in history.

In the position of clan-messiah, you stand upon all the indemnity of history and the True Parents. The clan messiah is the branch of the big tree, which is the True Parents. As long as you are a part of the True Parents, resembling their nature and living within a give and take relationship with them, that small branch will grow.

Within your Home Church area your roots will appear. Each house in the 360 homes will be one root. Perhaps the people living in each of the 360 houses will try to uproot you from their homes. Even if they all get together and try to remove you, if you do not budge it will be because you have secured the ground and your roots are firm. Even if the trunk of the tree breaks in half, as long as the roots remain in the ground the tree will stay alive.

Once the True Parents plant something in your area, no power can root it out. No power of Satan can damage that root. Someone can follow you and continue your work if you have to leave. God will automatically protect that root.

Your own roots are your ancestry in spirit world and even if Satan tries to pull up those roots, he can never do it. Your branch is your physical clan on the earth. The roots of both the physical and spiritual worlds are in Home Church. Jesus was in the position of clan messiah when he first came and he was meant to go beyond that to the national, world and cosmos level.

The level of clan messiah is your starting point. Why is that level of messiah necessary? The clans around Jesus should not have separated from him but should have united with him. They were also supposed to be united with the family that Jesus would have established himself. If John the Baptist had been united with Jesus, that level of clan unity would have been established.

Joseph's family was in the Abel position, while Zechariah's family was in the Cain position. Their unity was the essential key that would have enabled Jesus to be received. One essential point of Principle is that the position of parent can only be secure upon the unity of the children, Cain and Abel. That unity is what allows the restoration of Adam. The messiah's position is that of parent so through Home Church, unity can be established between the Cain and Abel clans.

Once the Home Church foundation is established on the clan level, the nation will be automatically protected. How does it work? Satan must go away once Cain humbles himself to Abel; he has no place to dwell when that happens. All over the free world, Home Church will become successful.

As soon as Abel becomes one with the parents, on the foundation of his unity with Cain, Satan will have to be expelled. Right now we are in the process of achieving that Abel-parental unity. This is why we are working so hard to do Home Church and unite the Cain and Abel clans. Once unity is achieved in your Home Church area. the whole free world will quickly be united with the Parents. The free world will be entirely different at that time. Once the Home Church foundation is successful, the rest of the world will have to follow and success in the communist world will be simple.

As you know, we are dwelling in a new era which was proclaimed on February 23, 1977. Since then the Abel world and the parents have come to the verge of unity; it will happen very soon. Such unity will transcend all national borders. Communism will be throttled with the appearance of Home Church unity. They have been unable to expand very much at all since 1977; also they have been experiencing more and more corruption and breakdown within their societies. On the contrary, we will be experiencing more and more of a revival.

Although the secular free world is also becoming corrupted and is declining at this time, there are some elements within the free world the are reviving and prospering. The element which is reviving is that of Home Church; it will become more and more prosperous while every other aspect of the secular world will decline more and more. Do you understand?

Until now, God and the Abel world have been on the defensive and the world of Cain, or the communist world, has been on the offensive. However, from this time forward it will be the other way around. For the first time in history on the world level, the Abel groups will become united with the parents' position, that is, True Parents and God.

After the Abel forces and the parents become one Cain's world will have no power. Jesus couldn't win the unity of his Cain and Abel tribes. However, you are inheriting the ability to bring Cain and Abel unity on the tribal level; this is not because of anything you have done, but because of the accomplishments of the True Parents. Nonetheless, it is still legitimately yours.

At this time, the Home Church area is in the position of Adam and the spirit world is in the position of archangel. You must connect the two and bring unity. The fall occurred because of a conflict between those two positions, but now we must bring them into harmony for the purpose of restoration. Your Home Church is directly connected, of course, with the spirit world because of all the ancestors of the people living there. Since the fall, spirit world and physical world have continually been in conflict but it is our duty to unite them.

Once you make the foundation in your area, you make it easy for the good spirit world to come freely to the earthly realm. Satan has had a claim on your area, but when you enter it spirit world wants very much to make unity with you, their Abel. The people in your areas are under the impression at this time that Moonies are bad; but they will totally change their attitude toward you once they see how good you really are. In turn, those Home Church people will pass the word to their own relatives.

Only by creating the beginning of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth can we go to the Kingdom of Heaven in spirit world. God will be able to dwell on the earth when you bring unity in your area between Cain and Abel. between the people and yourself and ultimately the True Parents. That is what we mean when we say, "Home Church is the base of the Kingdom of Heaven." The Kingdom of Heaven is waiting to begin in your area. Your base for the Kingdom is your area; likewise, the people in spirit world must use Home Church as their base.

On February 22, 1982, I declared the ceremony of unity between spirit world and physical world. The Unification Church is now moving into the world dispensation level, beyond the level of nation. As soon as this court case is over, the world will not have the power to oppose us further.

You have been persecuted in the past and have said nothing, but now you will have greater power than your persecutors. When someone criticizes you. don't just meekly tolerate it but demand to know why he opposes you. If he doesn't have a good reason, you can give him a hard time! Times have changed; the day of martyrdom for the Unification Church is coming to an end.

I have built our strong foundation thus far under seemingly impossible circumstances. Now that the opposition is dwindling, imagine how much you can accomplish if you continue to work just as hard. You can accomplish enormous victories within ten years; that is the literal truth. From the base of Home Church, you can bring down the good spirit world and drive out the satanic elements. The satanic realms will become liberated and the Heavenly realms will grow wider and wider.

These points are completely consistent with the Principle. How can you make Satan retreat? If you try harder than anybody ever tried in history to liberate God, any spirit man regardless of his stature can come and help you. Also the leaders of the major religions can come to assist you. Any of your ancestors can help, too. Religious leaders in spirit world are in the Abel position; your own ancestors are in the Cain position. With this unity between Cain and Abel, the progress of Heaven will be automatic; it is the way of Principle and no one can stop it.

You must have confidence because each of you stands at that central position. Once you are truly confident in the Principle, all the good people in spirit world and your ancestors can help you. You can direct them how to help you. Your position is the same as Adam. who was supposed to be subject over the spirit world, the world of the archangel.

The indemnity of the archangel is achieved when good spirit world, at your command, chases out the bat spirit world from your area and enables you to restore God's ideal. In that way you reverse the fall by exercising your proper dominion over the archangelic world. Such is the meaning of Home Church. Unless you actually do it you cannot understand it and you cannot actually accomplish God's will.

Times change and the focus and advantages of the times change as well. This is the time when spirit men. especially your ancestors in spirit world, can influence your physical relatives to support you. Once it becomes clear to the general public that the Unification Church is truly a good group, most of your relatives will come to you and apologize for not understanding what you were doing. When that happens, your task will be much easier. You will have achieved unity between the Cain and Abel elements in your family and can stand together on God's side. Therefore shouldn't you work even harder to do Home Church? Be confident that you are indeed the tribal messiah, standing on a great foundation.

What is our basic purpose? It is first to gain God's freedom and then to protect it and maintain it. At that point, God's original love will be able to pour out on the horizontal level. God's love has certainly always been here but the world has had no physical connection with it. Home Church now can serve as that connection. Very quickly the world will be nourished by that love from God; the mood toward peace will grow and the past days of war will disappear.

This is what I have been working for throughout my life-the ability for God to freely give His love to the world. Once the court battle is over, this country will realize that their judgment of me was wrong. My purpose of coming here will be accomplished at that time. That doesn't mean everything will be ideal, but our movement will be able to pick up great momentum then. You will be able to teach the people very effectively and turn this country back to God.

Each individual must preserve his central position within the family, society, and so forth. Where is that central position? It is in Home Church. By defending the realm of God's freedom within your Home Church, you are defending all other realms of freedom under Him. Your 360 homes represent the entire world so when your area is living within the Principle, God will have a condition to move into the entire world. You will see sharp changes of direction within this world toward the side of goodness; a very effective time for God's providence will be happening.

The Columbia space shuttle is very symbolic. It takes off from the earth, goes into space and returns, repeating the cycle over and over. In exactly the same way, spirit world will be able to come back and forth to the earth; passage between the heavenly realms and earthly realms will be opened up. How wonderful this is for the sake of the world!

Today is the first day of May. The springtime is now upon us; all the things of nature are beginning to revive. Likewise, the spirit of the Unification Church will begin to revive; that is my wish for you. Let us all say Amen!

God and My Home

Sun Myung Moon
April 25, 1982
Belvedere, America
Translator - Bo Hi Pak

People have always wondered about the fundamental questions of the universe, and whether or not God exists. In addition, when people recognize that there must be a Creator of all things, this always brings up the problem of who created the Creator. This is a great historical question that no thinker or philosopher has been able to answer.

God's existence is an eternal truth. Then what has God been doing? We must assume that He is a living God and therefore is constantly in action. When we think about movement, we wonder what kind of movement God makes. There are fundamental pulling and pushing motions in the universe, centrifugal and centripetal forces. When these two coexist, how do they harmonize? Do they neutralize each other, or contradict each other? We come to the conclusion that these dual forces exist for give and take action; rather than clashing head-on and shattering each other, they turn and harmonize.

To recognize this natural truth of the universe helps us understand God's movement. In order for something to move, it must have two aspects engaged in give and take. Inside the person of God there are also two complementary forces of give and take action. In other words, God's give and take action does not shatter anything but works instead towards complementing and making oneness.

Plus and minus energies, such as centrifugal and centripetal forces, have different effects on movement. When something is thrown it always moves in a curved line. Why doesn't it just shoot out straight? Because a curved line represents the natural, turning action of the universe.

When the Apollo 11 spaceship went into orbit, its flight path was curved. We must realize that everything in the universe is involved in some sort of revolving, circular motion. Every form of creation turns in some fashion. No individual stands still; each person makes a circular motion in relation to the rest of the universe. You are independent beings, yet you must harmonize with the universe.

From this universal principle we can derive God's essence. God is the core of the universe that initiates action, the first cause of all the movement of the universe. From that core, movement spreads out. Rotation needs two elements, a subject and an object. The universal turning action begins from the core, from a small circle, and spreads to larger and larger circles, creating a gigantic plus and minus.

For plus and minus to be created horizontally, both must exist in the vertical plane. As you know, plus repels plus and minus repels minus, but plus and minus attract each other; this is the basic principle of a motor. In a motor the motion of plus and minus initiates the turning. Everything that is created from the core's essence should complement or duplicate the characteristics or action of the core. God being the center of the combined forces of subject and object, He is like the generator of the universal give and take of plus and minus.

Let men represent plus and women minus. There is a core motivation of men, and everything men possess reflects that core or essence. Likewise for women. So even when a man moves his eyeball, it does not act on its own but rather in conjunction with the rest of his body, which reflects his essence. So the movement of a man's eyeball is distinct from that of a woman; it differs because the essence is different.

Have you ever compared how laughter and weeping are expressed? They are extremely different emotional responses and may seem totally unrelated. Laughter and weeping represent two opposite emotional poles, one plus and the other minus, so how could they harmonize? The most dramatic kind of emotional change is intense weeping that suddenly turns into laughter. Crying and laughter are two opposite poles, so the more rapid the movement circling between them the more dramatic the effect. Swift transformations produce more striking results than slow changes. Thus, the faster the shift, the more dramatic its results.

In the Unification Church we are taught that God exists in dual essentialities. To make it short, God is subject and object, two extremes harmonized into one. This is the basic explanation of God's dual essentialities.

Many difficult questions have been raised about the origin and essence of the universe. A classic question is which came first, the chicken or the egg. Scientists say that the universe is an assemblage of energy, that it is nothing more than energy in motion. Is that correct? In a universal sense, which came first, energy or motion? Or, from another perspective, which came first, energy or mind and spirit?

Let's consider the source of energy. Do you think that energy suddenly popped out somewhere, coming down from heaven? In order for energy to be created, there is a prerequisite: the relationship between the poles of subject and object, or plus and minus; energy depends on subject and object, or plus and minus. Thus we can conclude that before action there must be energy, and before energy there must be subject and object, or plus and minus.

Let's look at the reasons why people do things. Generally speaking, when you sing, you do so for the sake of others, not just for yourself. When you talk, it is to someone else. Your nose generally functions not to smell yourself but something else. Your ears listen to sounds from outside yourself Your hands exist to serve someone or something else. None of these organs or capabilities exists for its own sake; every action you make has an objective related to somebody else. Isn't that true?

If you are laughing very hard with nobody or nothing nearby, people will look your way and think you must be crazy. However, to laugh at a little piece of chalk is justified because that laughter has an object. This is an extreme example of the principle that no action occurs without purpose or objective; there must be an object to justify every action. To wander around with no goal or purpose is just a waste of energy; each of your actions should have some objective or goal.

Why are you the person you are, with the appearance you have? Do you just exist for yourself? No. For whom do you exist? Existence is never just for its own sake but always for somebody else, for a subject or object. Since this holds true throughout the universe how can you ever say you want to do something just for your own sake? Such an attitude is contrary to the universal truth and will surely bring destructive consequences.

So you men acknowledge that you live for others, but for whom? You say you five for God, but He is too far away; you need to five for somebody nearby! Men live for women; somebody has dominion over man, and that happens to be woman.

On the other hand, who has control over women? Men. What is the essence of the control which men and women have over each other? You say love, but are you sure it isn't power? All right, since you insist, I surrender to you! It is love. Love is the only important element in controlling others.

Today is the beginning of Daylight Saving Time, so you lost one hour's sleep this morning, didn't you? Well, even the birds have to get up earlier when the sun starts coming up earlier! The female birds chirp to their mates, and they chirp back. They answer each other immediately. Why? Male and female respond to each other for some reason, and that reason is love.

The East Garden birds are in love, sending out signals to one another saying, "Here I am; come and control me with love." This is the essence of the universe, that all living creatures want to be controlled by the love of their subject or object.

God also exists in dual essentialities; therefore, even within God there is the need to be controlled by love. Love and joy complement each other. When birds search after love, they express the heart of the universe. That means the core essence of the universe, which is God, is motivated by absolute love. Do you agree? Absolute love is the essence of the universe, the essence of God Himself, and the motivation of all creation. In the realm of absolute love there is no destruction or disharmony.

Why do people long for love? Why do we search after love? To be happy. I understand that scientists say that the human body consists of at least 40 billion cells. When do these myriad components of your body reach their peak of action? When you are in love. Love ignites all 40 billion cells into full action.

When a man comes near a woman all his cells wake up and become fully activated. When man and woman touch there is an explosion. That is why our church has a rule that men and women shouldn't get too close, don't shake hands very much, and certainly don't kiss each other. Why? Because such actions can make sparks fly prematurely. Scars caused by premature love have no cure. This is why God gave mankind one strict rule in the beginning: you are absolutely free to do anything except touch the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This was a warning not to misuse love, to wait until the correct time for its expression.

Love fully activates every cell, and without wasting a moment the cells harmonize and seek a higher level. Once your cells are energized by love they want to take off. The power of love is much like the thrust of an Apollo rocket, lifting you off the ground and propelling you into the orbit of God's love. You are meant to find eternal harmony in love with God, but God's love doesn't just stand still. As soon as your love takes off God's love starts to come down toward you, and you meet each other in the middle. So God's love and human love are meant to come together and create a spark, make a dramatic crash. That spark does not cause eternal destruction; it results in a new, harmonized creation. The fusion of human and divine love generates something new.

Once such a love core is created, the entire universe is meant to sing along in its harmony and rhythm. Your every action is meant to harmonize with the universal core. Every hair, every cell in your body is meant to dance together with the universal core. Once you reach that plateau, you will discover the original ideal world, the absolute and true ideal world. Thus we can conclude that God created the universe, including human beings and all things, in order to consummate love.

Let's imagine that I could ask the grass on the lawn why it was created. Would it answer, "I just like the color green and wanted to see a lot of it"?

I might ask it how it could be tough enough to survive the harsh winter cold and grow anew every spring.

Then the grass would say, "Daddy, you don't know why? We know why! You must know!" The answer of even the little blade of grass is, "I am living in order to consummate love and receive the love of the universal parents. I am waiting for the spirit of love."

If anybody can come up with a better answer, please give it to me. How about Dr. Yoon, the physicist: do you have a better answer? No one can give a better answer.

What is the ultimate reason for doing anything? Why does a person go to school, for example? Scholars ultimately seek the fastest route to the consummation of love. If somebody asks you why you live, you wouldn't say your purpose is to eat three meals a day; that is not the purpose of living. The best and most dramatic answer is that we live to consummate the ideal love of God.

So far, I have spoken about the composition of creation. Action or motion is preceded by energy, which is preceded by subject and object, or the give and take between plus and minus. The motivation behind all this is to consummate love. Therefore, action does not take place unless there is a plus and minus, or subject and object. Is that true?

Think about it a little more. Someone working an a laboratory tries to force certain elements to combine harmoniously, but unless they are meant to come together they won't. When the proper relationship of plus and minus or subject and object is formed, union will happen.

Each element has either a basic plus or a basic minus characteristic and can relate in different combinations and form various subject/object unions. These are the results of different forms of give and take. All relationships must follow universal law; if they go against that law there can be no give and take. For example, men and women naturally relate with each other, but a human being and an animal cannot interact in the same way. Animals must relate within their own realm.

The major problem in America today could be called the distortion of the universal rule governing the action of love. There are many kinds of perversions in the realm of love, such as homosexuality, which are destructive because they go against the universal principle.

People think of men and women together in merely physical terms. Many couples live together for a while and then split up, but to do so is to deny the four directions of a relationship: north, south, east and west. You cannot shake off those four directions, because your position is always related to these axes. For example, in order to determine the location of an airplane or boat, you cannot refer only to the east and disregard the west; furthermore, there is always a due north, no matter what. Unless you take into account all four directions you won't be able to determine your own position.

The sun rises from the east and goes down in the west. If you refuse to recognize the west, what will you do when the sun sets? After sunset it gets dark; when night comes you have to adjust to it. In other words, you cannot deny the process of the universe. Ask your eyes whether they like only north and south, or east and west. Your eyes recognize all four directions; you wouldn't want it to be otherwise.

In spring everything looks beautiful and green, with lots of flowers blooming. In winter, however, you can experience another kind of beauty; to ski down the snow-covered mountains is another kind of dramatic activity. Can you say you love summer but hate autumn? You cannot skip autumn. If you like only the springtime, how will you manage to survive during the other three seasons? You cannot avoid them. The person who appreciates only the spring will eventually alienate all the other seasons; summer, autumn and winter will want nothing to do with such a limited person. In order to harmonize with the whole universe you have to experience and love all four seasons, spring, summer, autumn and winter. Do you follow? Death means the loss of one's subject of give and take.

When I match you, it is important to bring together complementary elements. For example, if a very small, cute woman were matched with a small, cute man it would not produce harmony; the man should be opposite to the woman - bigger and more masculine, with lots of muscles. Also, a spring-type person should be joined with an autumn-type person, because in order to make unity the spring-type person must travel through the summer and the autumn-type person travel through the winter; thus between them they encompass all four seasons. Don't you agree that this is ideal? A very dramatic combination is a tall man and a very short woman, or a fat woman and a man who looks as thin as a chopstick. Do you think I am just explaining my own concepts, or is this universal truth? The important thing is to harmonize the extremes. That kind of harmony is the ideal.

Most of you have a fiancée, but some of you have your own preferences and think that your fiancée does not match your ideal. A woman with large eyes might prefer a man with eyes like hers. To think like that is to forget the most important element in the universe: harmony. Parents with big eyes might produce children with monstrous eyes! Would that be the ideal? Sometimes a person with small, narrow eyes is able to penetrate issues and see things very deeply, while a person with big, wide eyes notices only the surface of things. So I always try to bring together differing elements. The key word is universal harmony.

Wherever you travel, you encounter subject/ object relationships and the four directions. Because you are always in an environment where these principles operate, you can never deny the subject object relationship or the four directions.

The Unification Church also operates according to these principles at all times. Subject and object generate energy, which creates motion and action. Who is the subject of the Unification Church? It is the very controversial Reverend Moon. Perhaps you consider me so controversial that you don't want to have give and take with me, but to do so is to reject your environment, and it will eventually drive you out; you will be unable to remain. In the Unification Church, I set the policy and spiritual direction for certain activities, such as witnessing and fund raising. You might say you like the Unification Church but not those activities. If you hate to do fund raising, the activity of the Unification Church will eventually expel you. Someone with such an attitude is like a stranger or foreigner in the church.

In school, you experienced a certain environment with which you had to harmonize. Schools have a principal, teachers and students, and the various relationships among them. You can be comfortable in that academic atmosphere as long as you follow the rules. Schools exist to provide for learning. Therefore, if a girl says she goes to school not to learn but to look at the boys, her attitude is contrary to the school's purpose and eventually she will be driven away. These processes are a product of universal law.

We are living in the gigantic environment called the universe, and those who want to be comfortable within the universe must follow the rules of the game, the laws of the universe. If not, they will be rejected by the universe. The universal law is the law of love, and violators of that law will be expelled by the universe. The most important thing to know and understand is the nature of the law of love and why and how we practice it. Why should we be good people and do good deeds instead of evil? Essentially, because by doing good we harmonize with the universal essence; thus the universe will recognize that we are not strangers and will protect us.

I am teaching you universal principles because I want you to become a comfortable member of this universe by following the law of love. I have always taught you to live for the sake of others and not just for yourself, because selfishness is your own worst enemy. When you are living for others you will be embraced and accepted by the universe; thus the unselfish way of life is the most dramatic and most inspiring.

Let's test whether this principle is correct. Good deeds are always welcomed wherever you go. You good deeds will be appreciated here in the United States and even in Moscow. Those who practice true love will be welcomed in Washington, DC, and also in Moscow. Those who live for others will be appreciated in Washington, DC, and also in Alaska. Since good deeds are so highly regarded here on this earth, how are they received in the spirit world? The same. They play by the same rules in the spirit world.

The teaching of the Unification Church is simple: live for the sake of others and practice love. Devote yourself to a sacrificial way of life because it is the one way of life which is totally acceptable, anywhere in the universe. When you practice this way of life, you will be universally welcomed here on earth and ultimately in the spirit world as well.

In the American way of life you have been accustomed to eating bread and butter, but imagine that you were elevated to the spirit world and could only eat rice and hot pepper paste. How would you feel? You would feel you were living in a foreign place. In a similar way, if you lived on earth according to a set of rules which did not apply in the spirit world, you would not be able to enjoy life in the spirit world. My endeavor here on earth is to transmit to you the reality of the spiritual atmosphere so that you can learn to live with it comfortably. Then when you enter the spirit world you will feel totally at home. Instead of getting a stomach ache because the food is strange, you can have your usual bread and butter to eat all the time! Since you have already been accustomed to the spiritual way of life, you will have lots of energy in the spirit world and feel like doing all sorts of things.

You see what a simple truth the Unification Church is teaching. I am guiding you how to live according to the spiritual rhythms while we are here on earth. Having become thoroughly accustomed here to the environment of the spirit world, you will feel very much at home there. I can teach you these things because I know the spirit world very well.

Mastering the spiritual environment can be compared to mastering other disciplines. Let's say you are studying law, working toward a bachelor's degree, then a master's degree, and finally a doctorate degree in order to master your field. By the same token I know about the environment where we will dwell for eternity and I am teaching it to you. When I transmit that environment to you and you become accustomed to it through self-discipline, you are ready for eternity.

Let's suppose this young man has been pursuing a strange and wild way of life. If he were to enter spirit world in such a condition he would find himself completely isolated, without any object for give and take. The spiritual environment would be completely foreign to him since he did not live that way while on earth. Do you follow? Then do you welcome my discipline?

Fundraising is one important aspect of our training. Through it you learn how to handle persecution and how to care for material things.

I have learned how to adapt to whatever environment I enter. For example, if I go someplace where everybody is drinking and having fun, I can harmonize with them even without drinking just by showing lively interest in the people. I can even speak about God to them. With just a glass of Coca-Cola, I can feel more intoxicated than the others, and they will comment, "How strange! You are only drinking Coke, but you are enjoying it more than we are enjoying our wine. What is your secret?" I could tell them, "Your taste buds get numbed by wine so you can't appreciate how good Coca Cola tastes. But I really enjoy the taste, so it has made me intoxicated."

If I go to a construction site, I know exactly how to deal with the laborers and how to do the things that they do. When you go into the laborers' environment, you must play by their rules. Do you understand? In other words, wherever you are you can always represent good. The universe protects a harmonizing person; it is even responsible to protect such a person.

Many religious people feel bound by innumerable laws and restrictions, but the fact is that once we come to the core truth of the universe and follow it we can be free. Therefore, in a way, the Unification Church offers a freer way of life than any other religion.

Consider how free we are to examine other ideas. Established Christian churches often view us as heretics, and they are even afraid to deal with us. However, each of you feels comfortable to enter any church and pray and fellowship with its members. You can be absolutely natural and unafraid wherever you go, because you are in touch with the core truth of the universe.

When I came to the United States I behaved in a very natural manner and never got upset by any hostile atmosphere. When I go to Japan I never consider the past enemy relationship between Korea and Japan; instead, I transcend those feelings and make myself completely at home in Japan and love the Japanese people. When I go to Germany, it is the same. Any new place I visit I always think, "I am coming into a different season, like going from spring to autumn. I must adapt myself to the changes. No problem." In other words, I do not feel like a stranger anywhere in this universe. Everybody everywhere is a part of God's family and creation, and I can always embrace people wherever I go because I know the universe is protecting me. My distinguishing characteristic the ability to adjust immediately to any circumstance.

One extreme example of this adaptability was my response to being imprisoned in North and South Korea. I didn't tell myself I shouldn't be in such a place; instead, I became a leader of people no matter where I was. There are always people to talk to and teach about God, even in jail.

This harmonizing way of life doesn't spring from a shallow perspective; this ability to make myself at home wherever I go is anchored to the core truth of the universe. I have walked through life as an absolute subject, so wherever I have gone, an object has automatically appeared. Don't you think this is a wonderful way of life?

I know that the core or essence of the universe is God, and He functions in exactly this fashion. To recognize God is to recognize the spirit world as well. The spirit world is subject realm and we are living in the object realm. I know the rules of that subject world.

Everybody needs a home, so don't you think God does too? Why does God need a home? The answer is simple but true: since we as God's objects need a home, our subject needs a home too. God needs an object just as we do. In the Bible Jesus said that when two or three are gathered together in his name he will be there. Why didn't he say he would be present when one person prays? Why does God come to two or more people? When a man prays by himself he might forget about the needs of women and ask just for his own concerns. God abhors a self-centered prayer, but when a man prays for God to forget about him and give a blessing to a woman instead, such a prayer sparks God's interest.

Suppose a devout man and a devout woman pray continuously, each claiming to need only God. Such a life of faith creates a simple, straight line between a person and God, but it doesn't allow for circular motion and harmony; linear motion without harmony does not produce laughter and joy. Universal truth requires that the ideal always contain at least three points. Therefore, a woman needs another point, in addition to herself and God. When a devout woman reaches God, will she turn back toward herself, or head in man's direction? She is more likely to turn toward the man.

Those who ignore other people will eventually collapse from lack of energy. In contrast, circular movement is like refueling, because in so doing you pick up energy. Husband and wife in interaction with God have increased energy. Joined with your spouse in a circuit of love with God, your batteries are recharged. You are snappy and bounding with enough energy to launch you into orbit! The woman is always moving toward her husband's territory in order to occupy it, and the man is moving toward his wife's territory - all in order to consummate love. Such a couple inscribes a gigantic circle in the universe and draws God into the center. In other words, when a man and woman swap positions in love, God can come down and dwell in their midst. Such a united couple goes up, and God comes down, creating all kinds of circular motion.

After establishing a dynamic relationship as three individuals, God, husband and wife, you are always looking for a fourth point. With such love, you can consummate your ideal and give meaning to everything. But without such love, your life is as dry as an autumn leaf, lacking energy and vitality.

God is the universal plus and universal minus. Plus and minus always seek their complement. The universal minus comes down to earth searching for a physical plus, and the universal plus comes down to earth searching for a physical minus. Since minus repels minus and plus repels plus, the meeting place for give and take between the spirit world and the physical world is always a crossing point. When the universal minus comes down in search of plus energy on earth, it crosses the universal plus coming down in search of minus energy on earth, creating a beautiful cosmic interaction.

Plus and minus keep pulling on each other. There are two basic kinds of give and take movement between them, vertical and horizontal, and both kinds are essential. Vertical and horizontal are brought into focus at the crossing point where heavenly plus and minus meet earthly plus and minus.

From a universal viewpoint, solitary individuals, no matter how great they may be, are like cripples, unable to truly move forward. Men and women must t search for each other, because alone they cannot experience true joy and laughter. A man and woman joined together is the center of the universe.

Your mind is the vertical element and your body the horizontal element. Within your mind you should establish the vertical subject object relationship and within your body the horizontal subject / object relationship. Your mind is always searching after something higher and nobler; that is vertical give and take. To recognize your mind means to recognize your mind's object, since without an object for give and take the mind cannot function. To recognize your mind is to recognize the existence of subject and object in the invisible world. Then who is the subject of your mind? It is the universal mind, or God, the center or essence of love. Your mind longs for absolute love; it constantly searches for a higher perfection of love. It is amazing the strange internal excitement people feel upon joining the Unification Church! Your mind just wants to pursue the church. School no longer seems appealing; your job no longer is interesting; you just want to go this direction and hear more about the church and see True Parents. Why? It is the magnetic pull of universal love.

However, you cannot experience fulfillment just through a vertical relationship with God. God also created the horizontal world in which you must have loving give and take as men and women, subject and object. Your vertical give and take, combined with the horizontal give and take, forms a universal circle, a gigantic sphere. Why do you want to make a gigantic circle? Because it thrusts you into the realm of eternal life, eternal love, and eternal perfection, in which you are totally embraced by God.

Think of it: if God is truly almighty, surely He has designed some kind of eternal life, eternal love, and eternal perfection. To state it another way, even the almighty God couldn't find a better topic than ours this morning! God is listening to what I am saying and He is responding, "Amen!"

When you live in this manner, inscribing such a gigantic circle, every creature you encounter win respond "Amen!" to you. The grass will say "Amen" when you step on it. You can touch a tree and it will respond, "Amen." You can pick a flower and it will say, "Amen."

This morning we have covered a great deal of material. I have spoken about the essence of the universal and the core of existence. There is a gigantic universe, and each human being is a small universe; we are the microcosm of the macrocosm. The microcosm corresponds to the macrocosm; the core of each is love.

Let's say this side of the blackboard represents woman, the minus element, and the other side represents man, the plus element. If the man and woman each have perfect vertical relationships, by what power can the two be united? What will bring the two together, from bottom to top? What kind of glue can you use? Diamonds? Power? Knowledge? You say love, true love, and you are right: the glue is love. But does this love-glue work only in the twentieth century and not in the first or thirtieth century? No, love-glue holds throughout eternity.

Let's consider why men and women need to be united in the first place. Men and women joined together form a gigantic plus and minus. Vertically, they create an enormous spiritual plus and minus, and horizontally, a physical plus and minus, together forming one gigantic revolving circle. Perfected men and women who are united vertically and horizontally create a vast revolving circle, and their perfected plus and minus has give and take with the plus and minus of God.

When you establish your give and take with God's universal love, He comes down to live within you. When God dwells within you, you experience perfection. The man draws the woman towards him and the woman draws the man towards her, each inviting the other to move closer. As plus and minus approach, does each thrust itself forward in a straight line, or move in a circular way? Once men and women or plus and minus meet, do they touch on one side or meet at the center? They join at the center, because that is where the vertical axis is. You and your spouse should link up at the midpoint because that is how you become the center of the ideal.

Considering all this, a woman cannot demand that her husband move over to her position and enter her way of life in order to love her. American woman tend to sit and wait for the man to open the door for them, like a chauffeur. Should the Unification Church do things in reverse and have the women open doors for the men? That would be nice for a change - although not all the time! When a woman goes to the bathroom and sees that it is out of toilet paper, does she call out, "Man, come and bring me some tissue"? For a change, why not have the man sit on the toilet and cry out to the woman, "Bring me the tissue"? If you are concerned only about your dignity, you might tell your spouse, "Come and get your own tissue." But if you are thinking from the perspective of love, you Will be willing to go and say, "Here is a tissue for you, my dear." Love should be the motivation for all your actions; then you will experience no complaints but only joy.

Sometimes you might give your spouse a massage. When the one who asks for the massage does so out of love, and the one who offers it does so out of love, that is give and take in love. In extending yourself to your spouse out of love, the two of you meet in the center. When husband and wife have give and take of such universal love, all the birds will come and want. to listen to the songs of love pouring out if their house, even if there are no trees nearby for them to perch upon. I think there are more birds dwelling in our trees at Belvedere and East Garden than any other place in Tarrytown because they can see true love being shared. This morning the birds are out there singing. When you hear them, you should think, "The birds are calling me; I want to respond to them."

The sun wants to hit Belvedere and East Garden first in the morning because there is so much love here. Even the spring breezes want to blow here because all existence heads for the place of greatest love.

People can go about life in two different ways: one person constantly whistling out of love for God and another living from day to day, just eating, working and sleeping, existing in animalistic darkness. How different the two extremes are! What kind of life would you prefer: the life of divine love or an animalistic existence?

People may say various things about the Moonies, but what do we care, as long as we are living in a God-centered way and the universe recognizes us? Who are truly the happiest people? Moonies, right?

Do you like Moonies? Even if I said I didn't like Moonies, as long as God says He does, you can be proud of your identity, right? You know that is true.

Actually, today's sermon turned out to be a Principle lecture focusing on chapter one, the Principle of the Creation. Until I explain to you these deep truths about the universe, you cannot comprehend them. Would you like me to write a book on Principle myself? If I did, chapter one alone would be too thick for you to carry!

There is a most natural conclusion to this principle. The vertical dimension is the spirit world, and the horizontal dimension is the physical world. On the horizontal level, there is the Oriental world and the Occidental world, which engage in give and take through their crossing point. What power under the sun do you think can unite the Western world and the Eastern world? Knowledge? Culture? Love? You answer love, but what kind of love? True and absolute love. Absolute means always present, never missing for a moment. Absolute means night or morning, any time, any place. Even when you are alone, you are still living in absolute love. Whether at school, at home, or out in society, you dwell in absolute love.

When you peel off the skin of a seed, you find two parts inside. The outer part, or the wrapping, represents God and the universe; inside it you find plus and minus. The potential of life lies in that seed, but that potential is not activated until some vertical power operates from the outside. The horizontal atmosphere also must add some elements for growth. So the seed itself is a small universe. When it is buried inside the soil, with the proper moisture and temperature, its function can begin. A new life commences, and inside the seed give and take action takes place in a circular motion. The essence of life, the embryo, remains dormant and waiting until the right horizontal conditions are added, when that sleeping embryo can wake up and start to emerge. Then people see the bud, the sprout. Thus, in compliance with universal law, harmony is necessary between the vertical and horizontal dimensions for even the seed to grow.

The little sprout becomes a sapling, which grows into a big tree, which will blossom, produce flowers, and create more seeds. Thus the new seeds become another essence of life, completing the cycle of circular motion, and history goes on. The circle of life which starts from the seed moves up, blossoms and produces more seeds. Every seed is formed through such a cycle. This is how life is multiplied. Whoever wants to take a shortcut instead of following that circle cannot become a good seed.

It may take three years for a tree to create a new seed, but after a hundred years there are hundreds of seeds. Two centuries later, there are even more seeds. Are each of these seeds the same or are they totally different? They are identical because they have all been formed through the same disciplined cycle and have not deviated one iota.

There is an analogous process in human beings. A person is born, grows through a certain cycle to maturity, then marries and gives birth to new life. This is the way human life has continued and multiplied. This cycle has a certain length which no one can shorten. Within this cycle men and women meet, unite horizontally as husband and wife, and give birth to children, completing the cycle. So people are supposed to have children. Without children a couple feels lonely and unfulfilled, since they are not completing that cycle. Without completing that cycle you do not feel like you are fully part of the universe.

Even a bird lays eggs, incubates and hatches them, and brings food to the hungry chicks' mouths. It is amazing the way they know how to feed their young. Watching a sparrow feeding its chicks you can feel the close relationship between people and birds. Children are conceived and carried by their mother, who nurses them at her breast.

When a Western couple goes to the Orient they are almost always fascinated by the children. They may not be so interested in the adults they meet, but the little children with black hair and dark eyes are so cute the visitors want to squeeze them. Even a negatively-inclined person looks upon his children with affection. A hungry lion will refrain from killing another animal if it is a mother nursing its young. Until you have a baby of your own you cannot know this kind of feeling.

You women here, would you like to have your own children? What about you men? I thought that Western young people felt they didn't need children; they just seek the fun life between men and women! That's not true?

The ultimate goal of men and women is to have great children. Even people who are far from perfect long to have good children, both physically and spiritually. What are good children? Those who embrace and represent the universal essence, which is absolute love. I have one big ambition: to see such good children coming from all the Unification Church men and women.

To have good children, you need to be able to parent them. To be a capable parent, you have to know how to love nature, the universe, and your fellow man, as well as how to love God. That is the fundamental principle behind our fund raising activities in the Unification Church. The last reason for fund raising is because we need money. The money gained on MIT is not for yourself but for the sake of the world. You try to gain as much money as possible for the purpose of world salvation. Like watering seeds in the soil so they can grow into plants, you earn money and it gets sprinkled all over the world. When you get married, you can go out and harvest the results of those seeds you sprinkled all over the world.

Another key to raising your children is the ability to love unselfishly. For that purpose you go out to the world before marriage, during your three-year engagement period, and practice loving the world and learning how to care for other people. Ultimately, you will love your husband and children more than anybody else, but first you demonstrate your love for your fellow man-including the strangers on the street and even the people who oppose you. When you can taste all the persecution and pour out even more love than before, that is a beautiful thing to behold.

Unification Church members practice loving others not only in preparation for marriage but after marriage as well in order to create the most exemplary families before heaven and earth. Once you have been disciplined through undergoing persecution and still loving your persecutors, you and your spouse and children will be able to endure any adversity. Even though your spouse may be unkind to you at times, there is nothing you cannot endure; compared to the challenges you have overcome in the past, marital problems will be easier to resolve.

Without such training under adversity, you may be too touchy when you get together with your spouse. Your spouse may say something just slightly harsh and you may respond like a firecracker immediately and violently. Without the above foundation you would have no ability to endure.

The core of love binds the universe together. Marriage is very important, but you need preparation. In a way, marriage is the bond between the heavenly kingdom and the earthly kingdom. Marriage is the meeting point between eternal life and physical life. Husband and wife may start out at quite a distance from each other, but as they build a marriage the gap between them gradually narrows until eventually they meet at this one crossing point. Once you create this loving core, you can expand from it, your love spiraling out in one direction and then another, becoming wider and wider, until it covers the entire earth.

According to this principle, you could say that love alone can encompass the entire universe. Any action centered upon this love is welcomed in the universe. Nothing centered on this love can be rejected or expelled. The training ground for this kind of personality is the topic of my message today, "God and My Home."

Who was Adam? The visible, horizontal God. God in heaven is the vertical God, but Adam was the horizontal God. The creating originator is God and the created originator was Adam. How wonderful that is! In other words, human beings are co-creators with God.

Vertically, there is the subject God, but He needs an object God. The horizontal God needs a mate, and Eve is that mate or partner. Another way of expressing this is that God is the Father and Mother of mankind, the dual essentialities, and Eve represents the motherliness of God on the horizontal level while Adam represents the fatherliness of God on the horizontal level. Through marriage men and women are united, linking the horizontal father and mother God with the vertical God, creating a home in which every essence of the universe dwells. This is truly home, sweet home where every creature can be harmonized. Such a family and such a home is the kernel of God's ideal for the universe. Such a home is the love-seed for creating all other creatures. Do you agree with me?

Man is to live with the dignity of God, and woman is to live with the dignity of the wife of God. Such dignity should characterize your married life.

When men and women come together it is like two universes joining. The Western way of life is concerned primarily about the horizontal universe, eliminating the possibility of the vertical universe entering it. However, the vertical and horizontal universes must come together, and it is important to put the proper one first, the vertical. Therefore, you must find the vertical love first.

I am sure that many of you feel you have gone through much hardship in the Unification Church, doing so much fund raising, being engaged for such a long time with no wedding in sight. But such experiences give you the opportunity to mature and perfect your vertical love. I have been telling you almost to ignore your fiancée because once you find your vertical love with God your relationship with your fiancée will automatically develop.

Since the human fall was the failure of human beings to consummate their vertical love, the first priority of restoration is vertical love. Therefore, you must learn first to consummate your vertical love and transform fallen love into something holy. Until you gain that perfected vertical love, you must not engage in horizontal love; the restoration of vertical love is the prerequisite for the expression of horizontal love.

Am I speaking the truth? Raise your hands, those who are engaged. How many of you can say with confidence you have perfected your vertical love? Whoever dares to get married before perfecting vertical love is like a heretic before God.

The key point of this morning's sermon is to develop the attitude that God's house is your house, and your house is God's house. This is the right topic for the right day. Today is a beautiful spring morning. In weather like this, surrounded by beautiful flowers and green plants, your mind tends to be dreamy and your thoughts naturally float toward your fiancée, wondering how many more days you must wait before I give you the real marriage!

We have touched on some very important points this morning. Our goal is to create a world in which God and all the creatures of the universe can smile for the first time. We are like a baseball player hitting a home run into that world. The sensation of love can be compared to hitting the ball is hit with your love bat, hearing it spin through the beautiful sky with the sound of love through the beautiful sky, making a home run. The echoes of our accomplishments reverberate throughout the world.

One final question: are God's home and our home two different dwellings, or one and the same? They must be the same. The ultimate goal is for the seed of divine love to germinate and grow. God's love-seed and human love-seed must be the same; therefore, our home must be the dwelling place of God. The love-seed is the God-centered family, the building block of heaven, and when it is planted it creates the ideal society, nation and world. Once that love-seed germinates and grows to completion and every flower has bloomed, that will be the Kingdom of Heaven on earth and thereafter, in heaven. Amen.

Please concentrate your energies and your thoughts on nurturing the love-seed within you. The preciousness of this love-seed is greater than any diamond or even a mountain of diamonds; even the marvels of springtime cannot compare with its beauty. Just to contemplate the prospects of developing this love-seed can bring more happiness than the free expression of fallen love. The ultimate goal is for the embryo within the love-seed to germinate and transform you into a new creature.

Once you consummate this vertical love and once society has been perfected, it will be all right for couples to kiss in public, and God will be able to rejoice in such expression of affection. But people in this fallen world understand nothing about the vertical dimension of love and they just seek to satisfy their physical drives and desires. Animal-type behavior is abhorred by God. Some time ago, I visited Miami Beach, Florida, and observed the young people, those so-called hippies, who live in such a shameless manner. They kiss and embrace with total abandon on the beach. I counted one couple's kisses and how long each kiss lasted; one kiss lasted more than 30 minutes. I almost went and kicked them! To live just for physical sensations is a virtually unforgivable affront to the universe.

In contrast, we are seeking the eternal spiritual sensations. How different is the way of life I am teaching you! We are Moonies, and our pride is the Moonie way of life.

Those of you who can say, "Father, now I understand the truth more deeply. I am proud to be a Moonie, and I am determined to become a love-seed and the center of the universe," raise your hand. God bless you.

In the Presence of God

Sun Myung Moon
April 11, 1982
Belvedere
Translator: Sang Kil Han

Nobody was born by his own choice; none of us planned to be born. This is true not only for us but also for people of the past and future. A great mixture of people are born. Some boast of their superiority, others lament their inferiority. Some are good, others we bad. History will continue with such a mixture of people.

Do people know their destiny or fate? People's lives take many different courses; there is no single pattern. Each of us is born as a man or woman with our own life to live. What direction are men and women going in? Where is our nation going? Where is the world going? The most important question for each person to ask is, "Where am I going?"

Those of you who are engaged may answer that you are going toward your fiancée. But is your fiancée going forward or backward? Is he or she moving with confidence? Is he or she about to go up, or down? You may say that you never thought about the question and frankly don't care. You may suppose that when you are with your fiancée you will be satisfied. But what good does it do for two uncertain people to meet? If one confused person joins another, what will result? They will become even more puzzled.

Two confused people will collide with each other. Your eyes will clash, your ears, mouths and minds will clash. Them is a good chance that all aspects of you will conflict. You might reason that since everyone else lives that way, you should, too. Perhaps you think that you have no other choice. But what about your family? Once you are living together, children will be born to you, that's virtually automatic! But will your baby be able to see straight, hear straight, think straight? Perhaps your baby's eyes will be crossed or only able to look in a certain direction. If you truly realize the position you are standing in, you feel some awe or dread. Once you are aware of it, you cannot just casually enjoy life.

Let's look at how we were born biologically. Out of millions of sperm, only one reaches the egg cell. Still, each sperm has to head in the proper general direction in order for at least one to reach the goal. If their direction is off, will they ever reach their destination? So even before you were conceived, something must have been heading in the right direction. After fertilization, the egg travels down to the baby's home, the mother's womb. There it settles and starts growing. But what if the egg doesn't find its proper lodging to settle down? In such a case, could you have grown to become the person you are? If the fertilized egg settles outside the womb, the embryo cannot continue growing there.

Suppose while the baby is in the mother's womb he refuses to get oxygen from her. He has a nose, so he wants to breathe air through it. He has a mouth, so he wants to use it to cat. If an unborn baby tried to do that, it would choke with the first drink of fluid, The unborn baby has perfectly formed mouth, ears and nose, but every opening is closed. Where does it get its oxygen and nourishment from? Through the navel, of course. However, after birth that nourishment ceases.

The umbilical cord needs to be protected because it is the baby's lifeline and source of nourishment. Inside the mother, the baby does not have unlimited freedom of activity; to a certain extent it can move around, but it has to stay within bounds and maintain order.

The environment of the mother's womb is liquid, not air. Does the baby feel good in there? How can you say that the baby likes being in water? During that stage of life, water is the most comfortable environment. Does the baby remain there by its own choice? What keeps it there? Natural law. When we live within natural law, we are protected. Even the time of birth is not the baby's own choice.

You sisters, was it your choice to become a woman? Did you plan to be a woman and have a big bosom and shapely hips so people would admire you for your physical beauty? Did any of you think like that? Who decided you would be a woman? You may say that your father and mother determined it, but actually no one knows how such a decision is made. It is definitely decided, even though we cannot comprehend it or explain how.

At the time of birth, is the baby aware that it is about to come out of the protected, watery environment and down the narrow birth canal? Does it know what it has to do? Does it realize that somehow it has to dilate the cervix and expand the mother's bones enough to pass through the birth canal? Its head is larger than the passages it has to go through. If the baby were aware of all that, it would probably conclude that it couldn't make it, and give up.

Were any of you aware of your situation at birth? Still, when the time was at hand, you came out. Do you think that a baby can be born without making effort of its own? The baby has to put forth all its energy. Of course, the mother in labor gives all her strength to deliver, but the baby has to cooperate with her for a safe delivery, too. Something kicks the baby on the bottom and tells it, "Go out now, or else!" It tries really hard to get out.

People don't understand why the baby cries at birth. It had such a difficult time coming out that it bursts into tears. If the baby started crying while in the womb, it would be in trouble. But don't you think the baby wants to cry out even before birth? Certainly it does, but it cannot; it has to wait. To cry inside the womb is against the law of nature. When the baby is born, the change in pressure in its lungs makes it start breathing and it cries.

Even at this stage, the baby doesn't have much awareness. Before, it couldn't survive five minutes without the umbilical cord, but now the cord is severed, and the baby's existence no longer depends completely upon the mother. It is more or less independent. Now the baby has a choice in eating. What doesn't taste good gets spit out, what tastes good gets swallowed. What is the best tasting food for a baby? It is mother's milk, of course.

When you really think about it, isn't it mysterious and miraculous how the mother's body produces such perfectly nutritious milk? Why does the nipple protrude rather than indent? Who designed the nipple to protrude for nursing? Will the breast answer that it designed its own nipple? No, a higher order designed it.

We have observed that until birth, the baby's life is very orderly; it can do nothing other than fellow the steps planned for it. A sperm projected itself toward an egg; that fertilized egg developed as a male or a female destined to walk on this earth as a living, growing being.

Each person on earth needs a direction in life. The general direction in life is for men to go toward women, and women toward men. That is the truth. There is no woman who can claim she doesn't need a man; no woman can expect to remain just as she is and be perfectly well. Just as we observed order in each stage of prenatal development, there is order in our lives now: men must head toward women, and women toward men. There is no exception. This is an unchangeable, irreversible order.

Once a man and a woman become one, they need direction as a couple. When husband and wife meet, they go to a home. When the sperm and egg unite, they go to a home: the womb. Life before birth is a microcosm, or concentrated form of life in this world. This is the second stage of life, and the equivalent to our mother's body here is parental love. We need parental love to make a home; this is what parents provide for their children.

Before birth, the baby relies on the umbilical cord as a source of life. In this world, parental love is the umbilical cord for growth and nourishment. Can you imagine a baby denying his need for parental love? What about people who claim that they are totally independent and that they don't need any parental support either?

The parental heart yearns to give full and eternal support to the children. Parents love their children, even when those children become grandparents and beyond. While the unborn baby is growing bigger and bigger, will the mother ever tell it to stop? The baby kicks inside its mother, giving her jolts and sometimes even pain. It bothers the mother, but she feels more joy than annoyance because it shows that the baby is healthy. That is her primary thought.

People should be aware that in our life on earth, we receive perpetual nourishment from the universe; without that, we could not survive.

To go to the next stage of life in the spiritual world is the same kind of transition as emerging from our mother's womb into this world. The only difference is the duration of that stage. This life on earth, during which we breathe air and eat food, lasts perhaps a hundred years. Our physical parents' protection extends perhaps 50 or 60 years. But once we are born again into the other world, we will live with our eternal Parent for millions and billions of years.

Dwelling in the eternal love of that world, we will become the very incarnations of love. There the invisible, but still very real, umbilical cord win be attached not to our belly but to our head, and we will keep growing and improving, becoming the image of God Himself. We will become the incarnations of love to become subjects of love, like our own invisible Parent.

There we will be freer than ever before, enjoying the greatest conceivable liberty. Nothing will limit or fetter us. In that world we won't have to walk with our head up and feet down; we could reverse it and still move freely in any position. We can walk any way we wish and it will be perfectly normal. Whatever we want to do, we can.

But until that time, we have to go step by step, according to proper order. When we die, our body will be buried. People regard death with tremendous uncertainty, and even fear, wondering where they will go afterwards. But you don't have to worry about such things. What you should be concerned about is how to live better on earth until the time comes to move on. You need to gain the proper nourishment while on earth, not just physical food, but spiritual elements as well. That is what you should focus on.

So what are the other types of nourishment we need while on earth? Simply stated, it is the ability to harmonize with the order of the universe. It is obedience. A child may not want to eat something, but when his mother serves it and tells him to eat it, he will eat it. When the child follows that order, he gets a nod of approval from his parents as well as from the universe, which is the greater parent.

On the other hand, if the child tells his parents, "I don't want to eat what you ask me to," he is not justified because it goes against the order of the universe. With such a rebellious attitude, even the food he eats will disagree with him once it reaches the stomach; it won't even be digested. If he keeps eating that way, his muscles and cells will become rebellious, and the order of the universe will exclude him instead of loving him.

Someone who opposes the order of the universe will feel fear. His conscience will bother him and he can never be comfortable. Even if no one else is afraid, he will still feel fear creeping up on him. There is a reason why people experience this. If you rob somebody's food, wear nice clothes that you stole, or hurt other people, your conscience will bother you, won't it? What makes you feel that way? You may try to justify your actions, but you cannot steal without feeling something painful. What is that something? It is the universal force at work.

Everything fits into a pattern. We know that people live in three orderly stages: first, inside the mother's womb; second, on earth; and third, in the spirit world. Compare life in your mother's womb to life on this earth. There is a very clear conection between the two. Now consider that even your present existence is like living in a womb and one more step awaits you.

You had very little range of movement inside your mother's womb, and even now you are not completely free; a freer state is still to come. In your mother's womb you wiggled a little and you thought it was a lot. Here we can move around and travel pretty fast in airplanes. But in the spirit world, you can move a hundred times faster than here, just by thinking! Should people follow the rays of the sun, or should the sun rays follow us? It must be possible to travel faster than light. Don't you want to become that kind of person and go into such a realm?

You are limited in what you can hear now. But wouldn't you like to hear things whispered hundreds of thousands, or even millions of miles away?

You always want the best. If the order of the universe had been ideal, we could experience such things without having to learn about them. But even in the present state of confusion and conflict, people want to go up rather than come down. It is natural to want to go up. How high can we go? The ideal realm is one of freedom through love. You could ride around on God, like children riding on a horse, or riding piggyback on their parents.

Have you thought about how life's transitions always involve weeping? When a baby is born, it cries, not laughs. When people die, those around them weep, not laugh. But in the final stage, we can be reborn laughing, not crying like a newborn baby.

We live in dim stages: as a baby in the mother's womb, then here in this world, and ultimately in the spirit world. After we become the incarnation of love and experience the fullest dimension of life on earth, then we can feel really joyful about being born into the spiritual world.

People always seek freedom. Actually, people are so limited; people's thinking is so narrow. One direction is bad but another is good. Where is true freedom? Where am human rights? Human life exists within the realm of the order of the universe. If a person does not live in accordance with the universal force, he doesn't have true human rights.

What is the banner or standard of human life? What kind of flag best symbolizes human life? Love. Love is life. People may seek power, freedom or some other value, but the basis of all life is love.

Freedom which is not based on love is not freedom at all. If it denies, destroys or rebels, it is not freedom. Ultimate freedom means to follow the course best suited to us under the protection of universal law. Only then can we make the right choices and exercise true freedom. We should realize that our liberty is guaranteed only as long as we are protected by universal law, only as long as we develop in the direction of our original state. Anything that does not contribute to this is not freedom.

Just because you do something doesn't mean you are exercising your freedom. Here is one brother constantly dozing off. He thinks he is free to listen or not, but that is not true. Not listening denies freedom for the brother, the others in the audience, and the teacher himself. It drags down the atmosphere. He knows that, more or less, so when he becomes aware, he wakes up in surprise. Why should he jump in surprise? Do you understand?

American young people need to clearly understand this concept. Does anyone disagree? Does anyone have a better idea? "It's my life," people in this country claim. "I'm free to marry whomever I wish." Is that true or not? You ask why you should care about your parents, why you should listen to True Parents, why you should pay attention to those who teach you. "It's my life; it's my freedom," you assert.

Some Moonies are engaged for five years before they marry. Many of you think it is wonderful, but other people call it crazy. What do you think? Is this truly wonderful? You say yes, but not very convincingly. Something is holding you back. But when you analyze it further, it really is wonderful. Why? Because this is the only way the universe can have hope. This is the proper way for you to go. It is not just these few years that matter, but hundreds of thousands of generations to come will learn solid lessons from the patterns we establish right now. So think about how wonderful this is. You are laughing now and proclaiming with confidence how wonderful it is; but when you are not so sure, it is like clouds being drawn across a clear blue sky.

Perhaps you say you wish you could wait five mom years. so you could do something more meaningful for the world and for history. Would you choose to wait ten years rather than five? When you think how wonderful it is, am you ready to wait that long? Some of you laugh, but I would like to find out why you laugh. Is it because you think it is wonderful or for some other mason?

Do I take pleasure in making Americans suffer? Out of all the pain and frustration you go through, I hope to see a new America reborn. I want to see a new standard Of marriage in America. Waiting five years is not easy, but we have to conquer it. I have been observing young American men and women for many years now, and I am not at all satisfied. For some odd reason, people think they have the freedom and right to get divorced. But I know that the universe does not work that way. Once you choose love, it should last forever and ever. That is the value of love. All human value rests on that.

This world is not an isolated realm; it is part of the continuous universe. You are trying to isolate it, and I am teaching you that it is a continuous one. What makes this world perpetual? What sustains its physical existence and causes it to endure? It is the consistent flow of love: the love that parents feel toward their children, and vice versa; the love of teachers for their students, investing themselves to make sure that they learn; the love a president has for his country, its cities and its people; the love saints feel for mankind, present and future; the love God feels for the human race and all things. In all these, the pattern of love is consistent; love alone endures.

Suppose a husband and wife are both perfectionists and they give birth to a child with a deformity. Can they end its existence and say, "Well, we can try again"? Is that true love? No, of course not. By the same token, once a person chooses to marry another, he or she should try to make up for any shortcomings and compensate for whatever faults may show up in their spouse. That is the proper course here, and such love will endure in the spirit world, where love is more visibly dominant than it is here. Such a person is a true husband or wife. True love means that when it is easy to love, you love, and when it is difficult, you still love. This distinguishes true love from false love.

That criterion also distinguishes the true teacher. When a student listens well, learns easily and shows respect, the teacher can easily love the student. But when a student doesn't appreciate the teacher and rebels against him, the teacher almost wants to disown him. Yet a true teacher continues to make effort.

In much the same way, when everything goes well in a country, its president can really appreciate the citizens. But when the citizens don't act properly, the president may feel like cursing them. But a true president still takes responsibility for his country.

The only thing which makes the relationship between God and man eternal is love. God, the king of the whole universe, offers people His love, but His love needs some channel to reach us. When His love is blocked, it is like a bridge being destroyed along that route.

Electricity, for example, needs a conductor. Gold and copper are the best conductors because they offer the least resistance, and the power can flow through them without losing strength. We all want God's love to flow through us, don't we? In order to avail ourselves of God's love, we have to become spiritual gold or copper. It's very simple and easy to understand.

Which color of skin is the purest? Which race is the best conductor of God's love? Let's say this white woman is the most beautiful -- not only the most beautiful white women but the most beautiful woman in the entire world. But if she becomes arrogant, God's love cannot possibly flow through her. Purity is mom important than outward beauty. The things you see in your fiancée are most likely the external things. You notice, first of all, whether he or she is white, black, or yellow. You may not believe that a black person can be gold; only white people qualify. But you could think of your fiancée as black gold.

My title this morning is "In the Presence of God." Why am I discussing so many things? It is because you have a lot of extraneous matter in your thinking. I wanted to trim you a little bit!

When I state that there is no such thing as freedom in our present world, does it please you or disturb you? What I mean is that to act for a selfish purpose is not freedom. True freedom preserves the order of the universe. In this sense, there is no true freedom on this earth. The universe will protect true freedom, but it will ignore or oppose what is untrue. Them is no way to reach the realm of true freedom without following the universal order.

Them is order in the mother's womb and a different order in the spirit world. But we must abide by the order we dwell in. We need parental love throughout our fife on earth, unceasing, undying parental love.

A pregnant woman eats good food in order to nourish her baby. Suppose she orders a $10.00 steak. Will she pay $9.00 and charge her baby the remaining $1.00? That's not rational.

When you plant vegetables, does nature send you a bill for their growth? Nature is completely free. As long as you do everything with love, you will meet with no resistance from nature. Suppose you cut the most beautiful flower in the world and put it in a vase. As long as you deeply love that flower, it won't mind. But suppose you give that marvelous flower to some girl in order to entice her and take advantage of her. In that case, the flower will do its utmost to rebel against you. However, if the flower knows it is in good hands and is being carried to your eternal love, it will sing out with every step you take. That's true! Flowers have feelings about people. Flowers best fulfill their purpose of existence when they am used by the person with the greatest love.

Poetry dealing with themes of love is the most beautiful. The most enduring literature deals with love. The greatest science is also done out of love. When political affairs am conducted out of love, certainly that is marvelous to behold. In a tournament of love, no competitor will ever feel resentment because the winner always raises the degree of love. Any country will welcome an increase in its number of loving citizens. And the president of a country should run the government by love.

Suppose you have a handkerchief steeped with the greatest love. It may have cost just a few cents, but you would never exchange it for a million dollars, would you? If you misuse it, the handkerchief would feel sorrowful; but if your heart is filled with love, the handkerchief won't mind if you are too busy to wash up or too busy to clean and press it. Whatever truly loving eyes behold will always reflect that love.

You may Re opera, but if someone sings of love in squeaky tones, it should please your ears more than a highly-trained voice. You may have unsightly ears, as long as a rabbit's, but if those ears can discern the notes of true love, you should be proud of them.

Not all sleeping is bad. If you became tired in the cause of love, an afternoon nap is a beautiful sleep. A good painter would want to portray such sleeping beauty on canvas.

Any activity related to love will be welcomed; people won't mind it. Suppose someone gets whacked on the head. It's painful, whether done with love or not. But as long as the motive was love, when the pain subsides you will exclaim, "Oh, I love that!"

With your bag full of true love, you can go anywhere, day or night, and be welcomed by all.

If a stunningly beautiful woman enters a man's bedroom, and he realizes she has something other than true love on her mind, the man should throw her out in an instant. That is love. In such a case, to kick someone out, rather than to welcome and embrace her, is love. If the woman is an American, she will be hurt because she doesn't know what love is and what it is not!

The happy person is one who makes his goal to follow love and embrace loving things throughout his lifetime.

I can take care of myself, but I like to lean on Mother and be protected by her; I want to follow her wherever she goes. That's beautiful. Likewise, Mother always wants to lean on me. Even though she wants to be independent, she says she is better off leaning on me, since I have more security than I need. That is so beautiful.

Children want to be included in the love between their father and mother. They want to lean on them, talking things over with them, and just be in the same neighborhood of love.

A lot of people are pursuing their Ph.D. degree. They may reason that they have reached the pinnacle of life and that there is no one better than they. They consider themselves independent and able to take cam of themselves. But without love, what good is all the knowledge in the world? They will be counted among the most miserable of all people. This is even more true of kings or others who exercise earthly sovereignty.

Even God wants to rest in the embrace of love. He wants to lean on the arm of love, just as everyone else. I feel I am such a small part of the entire universe, but God really wants to come and rest on me. In such a position, I want to offer everything to God because I am so awed by the opportunity to protect and comfort Him. No matter how great God is, He wants to make Himself small enough to be completely embraced in the arms of a loving person. He, too, wants to feel protected. That is the pure love of God. Knowing that, I will do anything to fulfill it. Can you imagine any greater value for human beings?

In such a relationship with God, whether your skin is black or white has no bearing whatsoever. The only thing important is to have a responsive nature.

Now you know what kind of life you should be living. You need a banner announcing to the world who you are. What do you want inscribed on that banner? "True Love." Wouldn't you like that?

I want to remind you that the world is full of eyes; the eyes of nature and the universe are constantly watching over you, observing everything you do. You must also realize that there are invisible ears, waiting for you to speak words of true love. All the noses of the universe are waiting for you to emit some fragrance of love. The mouths of the universe are speaking to you; they will call out to you over and over, until you hear them. The universe is waiting to feel your touch.

What are these sense organs of the universe concerned about? Are they interested in some of the great studies being done in this world? No? Perhaps money, because people say there is nothing that money cannot buy. No? Authority? Power? What is unanimously cherished by all these sense organs as the greatest value and source of the greatest enjoyment? It is true love.

Have you seen true love? Where? Suppose a parent is carrying a bag with a very yummy and tasty treat for his child. Wherever he goes, he carries it in his pocket and won't let go of it, even in the bathroom. Now suppose the bathroom isn't one of the toilets here, but like those in the less-developed countries: just a bucket and natural smells, nothing artificial! If he stays long enough among those natural smells, some of them will be absorbed through the bag. Later, the father gives the bag to his child and says, "This is the most delicious thing I have ever eaten; have some."

If the child is an American, he will probably refuse to taste it. He will protest, "Oh, Father, why do you think this is the best thing in the world?" But the true child will really appreciate it because he knows his father will bring him nothing but the best. There may be finer things, but in his mind they cannot be better than what his father brings him, so he will eat it. How about that!

True love transcends everything. It goes beyond all visible barriers. Where true love exists, nothing else matters. Do you understand?

True love must be something really good for everybody, all the time. I am usually very dignified; I am careful about what I do, and I don't smile or laugh easily. But once I sense true love, I grin from ear to ear; I can't help it. What does that signify? All my cells jump into peak activity, even without my knowledge. Although they aren't told to do so, they focus upon love, and I become totally excited and jump up and down without reservation. Once true love is activated and its engines get rolling, it will continue forever and ever, without fading away.

If you fight in true love, it should. be a good love fight. Then nobody would mind. Do you understand? That is the kind of law which is ruling over you.

You have a limited time period in which to pass this course. The most you will live is about a hundred years, but within that life span, you should pass the grade. Then you can make the transition properly. The transition is what people call death. Once we die and go to the other side, being reborn over there, we will be in the presence of God.

Compared to the life we now experience, an unborn baby is almost the same as being dead. It doesn't speak; it doesn't express itself, it hardly does anything. But once it is born, that baby begins a life of greater freedom; it stands in the presence of its parents. Likewise, after so-called death, we are reborn and stand in the presence of God -- not the parents of this world, but God. God is our eternal Parent. The parents of this world are our limited parents.

Recently "Tiger" Park went to the spirit world. You may feel some grief about his situation, but I completely disagree with you. In one way, I feel, "Lucky guy; he must be doing well now." Remember what I spoke about earlier. With your physical body, could you keep up with God when He travels so fast? When you shake off your body, you become invisible and can follow God. In that respect, a body is something of a nuisance. Also, the universe is so immense that even by the fastest known method it would take a billion years to go from one end to another, but God can cross that vast universe at will. Don't you want to follow Him wherever He goes? The only way to do that is by becoming like God and existing without a body. speak of love at breakfast, lunch, dinner, or bedtime, but is it easy to attain? Yet you speak about it as if it were not difficult. Who says so? God. God is watching over us.

These are not just concepts. This is the reality which we will experience when we stand in the presence of God. We need to devote our time on earth to fulfilling this.

How does God view us? What does He look for in us? God looks for order. There are eight kinds of order: the central order; the order of love; ethical order; family order; social, national, worldwide, and universal order. All mankind is encompassed within this array. God looks at us within these various realms of order.

It is not easy to stay in the mainstream in these eight stages. Without the Principle, very creative or smart people can be successful in only one or two levels. Something unjust or unloving cannot be elevated; only what is genuine and principled can be carried from one level to another. By living a good and principled life, you can successfully penetrate and cross all barriers.

Who can freely pass these checkpoints? It is the person who embodies Principle: the person who can respect his parents, who can love the president of his company as he loves his parents, and love the head of his nation in the same way. Only those who have this principled nature can advance.

These qualities start in the family, in the vertical relationship between parents and children and in the horizontal relationship of husband and wife and brothers and sisters. If you can apply these three relationships on a worldwide level, you can deal with any situation. Once you master this art, you will not find it difficult to take command anywhere. The teacher is like a parent at school; the company president the parent of a business; the head of state the parent of a nation; and God the universal parent. If you can develop this basic heart and expand it to each successive level, you will have freedom on each level. In fact, this is the only way you can go around freely.

You may go to Africa, but still you will develop subject/object relationships there. All other relationships are encompassed within the concept of True Parents. With True Parents, we can transcend differences of history, culture, or geographical location. In the East and the West, True Parents are the same.

We cannot jump directly to heaven from the family level. First we must go through the levels of society, nation, world and universe. Therefore, we must cherish society more than our family and our nation more than our society. The smaller is subjugated by the greater, the individual is the smallest entity. Those who remain on this course, the A students, will land in the very center of love. The less successful ones will be outside the center. Since we are trying to connect with the universe, we have to remain on the central road. After landing in the center of the universe, we link up all the other parts; we become the center of love. God operates through this central axis of love. God is in the center.

This can be explained simply in terms of subject/object relationships. For whom do you live? You answer God, but in reality, often you are thinking of no one but yourself. Before you can establish a subject/object relationship, you have to think of someone else. If you focus your mind on that person, you can begin to create an ideal subject/object relationship.

There is a central order in the universe with which everything has to conform or harmonize. In that order, God is the subject and human beings the object. Also, human beings are the subject over all things of creation, as object. All things are further subdivided into the animal, vegetable and mineral kingdoms; all of these need to be connected through love. So all things direct themselves towards mankind as the center of love, connected with God.

Who is the subject and who is the object in the Unification Church? You might ask why you can't be the subject for a change. You might want to do things as you wish, instead of listening to me. Or you might want me to listen to you once in a while. But them is an order governing subject/object relations. You might start collecting reasons to support your desires. For instance, you might say you are a white person and I am yellow, and since the white race has been dominant throughout history, there is no reason to change it now. But our relationship has nothing to do with race. This tradition is centered on love; through love we find our parents.

I thoroughly understand this principle, and therefore I can adapt to situations more quickly than other people can. I can go from one extreme situation to another and adjust with ease. When I enter any place or social gathering, I immediately look for its center. I also examine the subject/object relationships.

How do you distinguish between good and evil in a particular situation? Goodness is long-lasting and applies to all circumstances. Evil is relatively short-lived and applies better to some situations than others. Cheating, for example, works for a while, but not for long; the more you cheat, the less your chances of success in the future. Justice, on the other hand, may not be clearly understood; but as time goes by, it becomes more apparent and gains strength.

The same rule applies in my court case. Certain forces think they have something against me. But we have been devoting our lives to this cause, and we will continue doing so for the rest of our lives and even beyond. Our actions have continuity; wherever we go, we maintain the core subject/object relationship, and any horizontal relationships are formed around that center.

The fall of man denied this central order. God is subject, but as a result of the fall, people became ignorant of God and either knowingly or unknowingly submitted to the control of evil. However, we am being taught to have absolute faith in God. Do you suppose that anything less than absolute faith can bring us back to the original, central order from which we deviated through the fall? Absolute faith is a prerequisite for returning to God.

You have learned a great deal about God by now. Do you have complete confidence in Him? Is your faith absolute? If you do not regard God as the absolute subject, that means you are not absolute objects. You can drift away at any time. Your direction varies; sometimes you are closer to the center, sometimes farther away.

When you came to the Unification Church, you were convinced it was right and good. But now after many years, perhaps you are more inclined to think your old life was better. Christmas, birthdays, and family occasions were important to you, but after joining our church, you don't even go back home for those events.

Well, there is a reason. You can explain to yourself that you need an absolute relationship with God, and since you do not have that yet, you do not qualify for these other things. Therefore, you have to deny yourself completely. Then, after rejecting all these things and after becoming an absolute object to God, you can own everything. In order to attain the goal, we have to deny everything else. We even fast on our birthday to deny it, don't we?

We deny everything in order to re-establish our relationship with God. Denying the fallen world is not bad after all, right? Unless we deny things temporarily, we cannot re-establish our relationship with the ideal being.

This applies not only to Unification Church members. I myself do it. I tried both ways. I tried not denying everything, but it didn't work out. But through denial, I have been able to establish something permanent for God.

Since you call us True Parents, your physical parents must wonder what they are: untrue parents? Bad parents? They aren't happy with that thought, so some try to kidnap their own children. When you find something true, you have to jump for it, isn't that right? If existing families had been true families already, you wouldn't have wanted to change. But when you met the true family, you jumped for it. To jump for something is to deny something else.

People want to stop me from teaching and propagating this message, but if it is the way of truth, how can I stop sharing it? This is what God has been striving to create all throughout history, and I want to follow His way. It is so simple and clew. We have to be victorious in God's sight, whether other people approve or not. Do you understand?

Through the fall, the order of love was reversed and human relations and human ethics were turned upside down. Man was supposed to be the subject but now women have more or less become the subjects. That is a result of the fall.

The center of the home is no longer God, but someone else, namely Satan. How can I say such a thing? It is very easy to see. If God is the center of a family, people will live for each other, serving and sacrificing themselves for one another. But in families today, everybody wants to work for personal benefit, even at the sacrifice of their relatives. Therefore, it is clear that someone other than God is at the center.

Look at society. Nobody is concerned first for society and second for his family. People should focus first on the benefit of society, second on the family, and finally on themselves as individuals. But that original order has been completely reversed. Instead, each individual looks first after himself. Someone who is a little mom loving will work for the sake of his family, and, if he has mom time, will serve society as a third priority. People think about the individual first and then the family. Even at work, employees put things into their pockets and bring them home. Anybody can see that the original order has been reversed in such a case.

Furthermore, people should love their country first. But do people think about their nation and work first for its well-being, and later think about their society and family? It is the other way around.

Do Americans think about the world and cherish it more than their own country? Do they think in an orderly way? They frankly do not care about the world; at best, they are concerned about their country. But the way the world is going, Americans must focus on the world first and their country second. In fact, the United States would have an easier course if there were another country which could live up to this standard, but there is no other country. Americans assume that there is nothing else they can do, since all the other countries act the same way. The world needs the Unification Church's ideal; without it, it could never survive.

In order to be confident about all these things, you need to understand the eternal spiritual world. This present world exists for the sake of the spirit world, which is closer to God, but many of you are not sure about the spirit world. You are not absolutely convinced that it exists. We are right next to the big city of New York, for example; you can step out and go there. You are certain that it exists, but not as sure that the spirit world exists. It does, though.

Perhaps I know more about the spirit world than anyone else on earth. Some people ask me, "How do you know? Have you been there?" They may not really want to listen, but I am convinced of these things and I base my actions on them.

The spirit world is where God personally resides; anybody can feel Him in the spirit world. Then for whom and for what does God exist? For the sake of true love. Only through love can we be sure of connecting with God.

What is Satan's operating principle? It is easy to explain: Satan's way is anything that reverses or goes against God's desire. God doesn't even want to look at what Satan does.

Knowing this, whose side are you on: the side of God or Satan? Since you say you are on God's side, the next question is whether you cherish the spirit world more than this world. If you die young, you will go there early. So to die is not altogether bad; in fact, under these circumstances, it is good news. Long ago, Jesus said loud and clear that whoever is willing to die shall live. What he said is true, isn't it? Now we understand why.

When Jesus talked of dying, he meant dying for the sake of God. You may say, "But Father, you taught us the principled order. I'm not even married. I should experience family life and have children. How can I die now?" Well, if God approves, you can transcend that order. Dying for the sake of God is more precious than living for the sake of something else. When you go to the spirit world, how wonderful it would be if your eyes, ears, nose and mouth could all claim that they died for God's sake! How wonderful, in the spirit world, to be able to say that you also sacrificed love for God's sake!

Do you actually love the world more than your own country? Do you love your country more than your society? Do you love your society more than your family? And do you love your family more than yourself? We cannot live by just following our impulses or seeking what is nice and comfortable. We are supposed to live for this higher order

The United States has no equal among the nations of the world. But what can it be proud of today? What achievements can it boast of before God? Is its predominant way of thinking true or false? It's false, isn't it? There is no central stream of thought hem. Is there any order to love in America? When you answer no, you have to be sure of what you are saying. If you say human ethics are missing, that means only animal ethics apply Does it sound good to say that Americans we living like animals?

You cannot deny it. There is sex even among close relatives. Well, at least you still have a sense of shame. We have to change this situation.

Is there original order in society? Do people cherish society more than their family? No, the reverse is true. What about devotion to their country? Do they have a world view? A universal view? You may not know precisely, but you can assume that if something is missing at a lower level, the situation will be worse at higher levels.

But the United States is not just any country. Whether Americans like it or not, other nations look up to you as an example. Other people copy the morals of Americans. If the world is washed away, the first country to be punished will be the United States. I came here to prevent this from happening. If Korea collapses, the world could still be saved; but if America goes under, it will be so much more difficult to save the rest of the world.

All these deviations of society have to end. Do you think the gay movement is in accordance with God's central thought? So many things in this country go against God's order. An alarming number of American young people use drugs. After prolonged use, people can no longer function as normal human beings; they become ill and cannot think straight. The number of drug users is increasing, not decreasing. Society is drifting farther and farther from God's order.

God will be the judge, Jesus the defense attorney, and Satan the prosecutor. Satan will accuse people of all these crimes and claim them as his offspring. Jesus will try to defend them, but he knows more clearly than anybody the original law by which mankind must abide. Do you think he can effectively defend the whole of mankind when it is measured against that original standard?

Communism denies God. It does not believe in any need for order in the family; it places no special importance on parents. Communism wants to eliminate the need for nuclear families and for the parental role in families. They call these lofty ideas hallucinations and tell people not to worry about something that isn't there. Communism claims that history advances through struggle and revolution and that the victory belongs to the strongest. Communism denies any central guiding thought in this universe. It denies any order of love, claiming that everything is random. This is a perfect description of the satanic world. South America is becoming more and more inclined toward the satanic side.

Our task is to propagate the truth and restore what has been lost. Tins court case is based on what we have proclaimed. We will never compromise our message. That is why people halt and accuse us. Which step could we compromise on? There can be no compromise

Them are two types of Americans today. One group knows the truth and will defend it with their life; they will not mind dying to preserve it. Another group says they know this, but they don't really care; their personal liberty, safety, comfort and satisfaction take priority. They aren't concerned about God. They don't even know whether He exists. In God's court, the first type will be the true witnesses for righteousness, and the second type will be witnesses for unrighteousness. A judge who understands both sides will rule in favor of the righteous. He will strike out the unrighteous and preserve the righteous, no matter how small their number may be.

You should remember that it is not just one individual who goes to court; it is everybody. At some time in our life, we must stand before the court of the universe.

This court case deals with events that happened not this year or last year, but ten years ago: 1972, 1973, 1974. In the spirit world, it is very much the same. You will face everything that happened ten, twenty, thirty or more years ago. And it is a very serious matter. You shouldn't worry about whether people prosecute you but whether you have done anything wrong. If you have developed a character pleasing to God and have not done anything wrong, then it doesn't matter who tries to blame you. If you are willing to take on tasks nobody else wants to do, if you sacrifice yourself for greater and greater causes, when you stand before the court of justice in the spirit world one day, the judge will favor you Those of you who are studying for a doctorate degree, are you studying for the sake of God, for your fellow human beings, for your fellow Americans, or for yourself? If you study for God, His greatest mandate is that you use your influence to save this nation and its people -- not to focus on your future and so-called career.

You may object that since you have spent so much time studying, you should be entitled to lead an easy life. That is wrong. 'Me more you study, the mom indebted you are to society and the universe.

nose who are going to school should feel more indebted than the average church member. The average members go fundraising and witnessing; some may even lose their life in an accident. You have security and prestige, and you are enjoying the pursuit of so much knowledge. But why are you continuing your studies? When you master Principle, you should be able to witness better than your less-learned brothers and sisters. With your higher education, you should be able to raise mom funds than those who had to work all the time without the chance to further their education.

After you graduate, you could become the most respected scholar in your field, correct what is wrong, and steer its development in the proper course. If that is your ambition, your studies are justified. But if you think the challenge is too difficult and you don't want to devote yourself to that task after graduation, there is no purpose to your studying.

For this reason, I send the Seminary graduates to CARP and Ocean Church. They are the most difficult missions in our movement. Those of you who are pursuing a doctorate degree, do you expect to keep going up after graduation, or are you willing to go down first and rise later? You have to know what course lies ahead of you. Your mission is to make a confrontation. You were sent to school to proclaim clearly what is right and wrong. Your task is to challenge the wrong and effectively deny it. That means you have to work harder than anybody else. Don't dream of just being a white-collar worker and having a nice career; that will give you no position in history.

People must prepare themselves for their appearance before the court of the universe. You should be concerned about how you can be acquitted, how you can leave no room for Satan to accuse you. The judge knows everything; he sees who is right and who is wrong. The prosecutor knows more about the bad side than anybody else, and the defense attorney should know everything about the good side. He has to repel every argument the prosecutor may raise.

As I said, all Unification Church members will one day have to stand before God's court of the universe and face Satan as your accuser. I will be your defense attorney. If you don't listen to me and follow everything I direct you to do, can you survive before the court of the universe? Those who don't listen will have to go through an ordeal. The ideal would be for you to get my signature testifying that you have passed the course. Then you wouldn't have to stand in court at all. If you had your choice, would you prefer to stand trial, no matter what? Certainly, you would rather avoid it. How wonderful it would be to have a pass entitling you to enter the spirit world freely, without having to face the court of the universe.

What is the pass? True love, on all levels. Wherever I go I carry this banner of true love. If you can take this banner to Africa, to Korea, or to whatever land, and live up to its standard, you won't have to stand trial. Without it, however, you will be stopped and questioned.

You all know that. If you live a different way, you realize that the court will eventually call you to account for it. If you don't satisfy the law of God, you cannot enter His realm; bad people cannot trespass there.

I have lived by this principle while in the United States. I don't feel indebted to America; rather, America is indebted to me. People may judge me, but I know clearly the ultimate judgment. Nothing that happens to me will cause me to waver. Even if I am condemned, there will be a day of resurrection.

If your hands work against God, their deeds will testify in court. The same holds true for your eyes. Can you pull out your eyes to indemnify their wrong doings on earth? Certainly not. Especially if you misuse love on earth, how can you avoid embarrassment and shame in the spirit world? If you don't do something about it here, how can you escape the misery to come? Your shame will not be confined to yourself and your generation alone, but to your entire lineage. All the hundreds of generations connected to you will endure the same situation as you.

Unless you pass every detail of the course here, such a trial surely awaits you. We must prepare for the time when we will stand in the presence of God. If you need proof, when you die you will see whether my teaching was wrong.

Every day you should improve yourself, always building up your qualifications for the day when God can commend you and give you His approval. The prosecutor will still bring out the bad things in your life, but you should devote every day to the task of winning the title. It is difficult to persevere, without enough food or sleep, but you should overcome all those challenges for the sake of your country and for the love of God. Once you build up credit, the universe will need you and protect you, no matter how viciously Satan attacks.

People think they are free to do anything they wish, but it is not true. Our only real choice is to do good, in accordance with God's order. We need to choose the best way to do that and continue on that course so that we can stand blameless in front of God. Do you understand?

The law of the universe governs us, whether we are aware of it or not. That law demands that we go a certain way. Don't imagine that you can take just any course and be successful. The best way to transcend this law and be free of its restrictions is by love. If you live with love, even though you may be ignorant of the law, you can never violate it. You can freely pass through any place, even hell. If you have absolute love, hell will open up its gates for you.

Actually, Unification Church members don't live with as much a sense of guilt and fear of hell as other people. While others may fear it greatly, we don't. But we should realize that hell definitely exists. We are not in it now, so we don't know too much about it. Our task is to march forward with the banner of love and put that love into practice. If we don't do that, a truly formidable future awaits us.

So I want each of you to be victorious in the trial which you will face. If you are guided by love, you don't really need any leader's recognition or approval, do you? You can be your own leader, you know best how to go the way of love Whether people take notice or not, whether people approve or not, I will do what I have to do, and I will not do what I know I shouldn't. Likewise, you don't need an MFT leader, a witnessing captain, or a home church director. You know the purpose of home church; you know the goal. Whether people are watching you or not, you should continue your course.

Actually, love develops better when you do things without other people being aware. Sometimes you see a man and woman embracing and kissing in the street and wonder what kind of special privilege from the court of the universe they think they have. I told you not to kiss or even hold hands while you are engaged because it could lead to something more. But if you are truly grounded in Principle, it is hypothetically possible for you to kiss without it being bad. But until the proper time, don't do it.

Our entire purpose is to elevate the value of love. Something may not be wrong, and we may want very much to do it, but we will hold back because if we can overcome it, our level of love will be greater. Do you understand? In front of True Parents, yes is the only proper answer.

Even bad parents don't want to teach their children bad things. Even bad teachers want their students to learn good things.

When you follow the proper direction, you will always rise because the universe will protect you. If you object to what I say and refuse to do it, you are taking the opposite course. It's impossible for you to reach the goal by merely doing whatever you wish. Doctoral students may know a lot, but they cannot receive their degree without the approval of their examiners. No matter how good you are, somebody still has to approve of you. So it is natural to conclude that, if you want to go to the same spirit world as I do, you will have to follow my way of thinking and acting. You will have to value the things I value and live by the same law I live by.

My desire is for you always to focus on this one goal and think of nothing else. I want each one of you to become a victor and be free from any accusation by the court of heaven. Will you put this into practice and five each day for this goal? If you will commit yourself, please raise your hands. God bless you.

In the Presence of God [Part 2]

Sun Myung Moon
April 11, 1982
Belvedere
Translator - Sang Kil Han

True love must be something really good for everybody, all the time. I am usually very dignified; I am careful about what I do, and I don't smile or laugh easily. But once I sense true love, I grin from ear to ear; I can't help it. What does that signify? All my cells jump into peak activity, even without my knowledge. Although they aren't told to do so, they focus upon love, and I become totally excited and jump up and down without reservation. Once true love is activated and its engines get rolling, it will continue forever and ever, without fading away.

If you fight in true love, it should be a good love fight. Then nobody would mind. Do you understand? That is the kind of law which is ruling over you.

You have a limited time period in which to pass this course. The most you will live is about a hundred years, but within that life span, you should pass the grade. Then you can make the transition properly. The transition is what people call death. Once we die and go to the other side, being reborn over there, we will be in the presence of God.

Compared to the life we now experience, an unborn baby is almost the same as being dead. It doesn't speak, it doesn't express itself, it hardly does anything. But once it is born, that baby begins a life of greater freedom; it stands in the presence of its parents. Likewise, after so-called death, we are reborn and stand in the presence of God-not the parents of this world, but God. God is our eternal Parent. The parents of this world are our limited parents.

Chong Goo "Tiger" Park and CARP members

Recently "Tiger" Park went to the spirit world. You may feel some grief about his situation, but I completely disagree with you. In one way, I feel, "Lucky guy; he must be doing well now." Remember what I spoke about earlier. With your physical body, could you keep up with God when He travels so fast? When you shake off your body, you become invisible and can follow God. In that respect, a body is something of a nuisance. Also, the universe is so immense that even by the fastest known method it would take a billion years to go from one end to another, but God can cross that vast universe at will. Don't you want to follow Him wherever He goes? The only way to do that is by becoming like God and existing without a body. speak of love at breakfast, lunch, dinner, or bedtime, but is it easy to attain? Yet you speak about it as if it were not difficult. Who says so? God. God is watching over us.

These are not just concepts. This is the reality which we will experience when we stand in the presence of God. We need to devote our time on earth to fulfilling this.

How does God view us? What does He look for in us? God looks for order. There are eight kinds of order: the central order; the order of love; ethical order; family order; social, national, worldwide, and universal order. All mankind is encompassed within this array. God looks at us within these various realms of order.

It is not easy to stay in the mainstream in these eight stages. Without the Principle, very creative or smart people can be successful in only one or two levels. Something unjust or unloving cannot be elevated; only what is genuine and principled can be carried from one level to another. By living a good and principled life, you can successfully penetrate and cross all barriers.

Who can freely pass these checkpoints? It is the person who embodies Principle: the person who can respect his parents, who can love the president of his company as he loves his parents, and love the head of his nation in the same way. Only those who have this principled nature can advance.

These qualities start in the family, in the vertical relationship between parents and children and in the horizontal relationship of husband and wife and brothers and sisters. If you can apply these three relationships on a worldwide level, you can deal with any situation. Once you master this art, you will not find it difficult to take command anywhere. The teacher is like a parent at school; the company president the parent of a business; the head of state the parent of a nation; and God the universal parent. If you can develop this basic heart and expand it to each successive level, you will have freedom on each level. In fact, this is the only way you can go around freely.

You may go to Africa, but still you will develop subject/object relationships there. All other relationships are encompassed within the concept of True Parents. With True Parents, we can transcend differences of history, culture, or geographical location. In the East and the West, True Parents are the same.

We cannot jump directly to heaven from the family level. First we must go through the levels of society, nation, world and universe. Therefore, we must cherish society more than our family and our nation more than our society. The smaller is subjugated by the greater, the individual is the smallest entity. Those who remain on this course, the A students, will land in the very center of love. The less successful ones will be outside the center. Since we are trying to connect with the universe, we have to remain on the central road. After landing in the center of the universe, we link up all the other parts; we become the center of love. God operates through this central axis of love. God is in the center.

This can be explained simply in terms of subject/object relationships. For whom do you live? You answer God, but in reality, often you are thinking of no one but yourself. Before you can establish a subject/object relationship, you have to think of someone else. If you focus your mind on that person, you can begin to create an ideal subject/object relationship.

There is a central order in the universe with which everything has to conform or harmonize. In that order, God is the subject and human beings the object. Also, human beings are the subject over all things of creation, as object. All things are further subdivided into the animal, vegetable and mineral kingdoms; all of these need to be connected through love. So all things direct themselves towards mankind as the center of love, connected with God.

Who is the subject and who is the object in the Unification Church? You might ask why you can't be the subject for a change. You might want to do things as you wish, instead of listening to me. Or you might want me to listen to you once in a while. But them is an order governing subject/object relations. You might start collecting reasons to support your desires. For instance, you might say you are a white person and I am yellow, and since the white race has been dominant throughout history, there is no reason to change it now. But our relationship has nothing to do with race. This tradition is centered on love; through love we find our parents.

I thoroughly understand this principle, and therefore I can adapt to situations more quickly than other people can. I can go from one extreme situation to another and adjust with ease. When I enter any place or social gathering, I immediately look for its center. I also examine the subject/object relationships.

How do you distinguish between good and evil in a particular situation? Goodness is long-lasting and applies to all circumstances. Evil is relatively short-lived and applies better to some situations than others. Cheating, for example, works for a while, but not for long; the more you cheat, the less your chances of success in the future. Justice, on the other hand, may not be clearly understood; but as time goes by, it becomes more apparent and gains strength.

The same rule applies in my court case. Certain forces think they have something against me. But we have been devoting our lives to this cause, and we will continue doing so for the rest of our lives and even beyond. Our actions have continuity; wherever we go, we maintain the core subject/object relationship, and any horizontal relationships are formed around that center.

The fall of man denied this central order. God is subject, but as a result of the fall, people became ignorant of God and either knowingly or unknowingly submitted to the control of evil. However, we am being taught to have absolute faith in God. Do you suppose that anything less than absolute faith can bring us back to the original, central order from which we deviated through the fall? Absolute faith is a prerequisite for returning to God.

You have learned a great deal about God by now. Do you have complete confidence in Him? Is your faith absolute? If you do not regard God as the absolute subject that means you are not absolute objects. You can drift away at any time. Your direction varies; sometimes you are closer to the center, sometimes farther away.

When you came to the Unification Church, you were convinced it was right and good. But now after many years, perhaps you are more inclined to think your old life was better. Christmas, birthdays, and family occasions were important to you, but after joining our church, you don't even go back home for those events.

Well, there is a reason. You can explain to yourself that you need an absolute relationship with God, and since you do not have that yet, you do not qualify for these other things. Therefore, you have to deny yourself completely. Then, after rejecting all these things and after becoming an absolute object to God, you can own everything. In order to attain the goal, we have to deny everything else. We even fast on our birthday to deny it, don't we?

We deny everything in order to re-establish our relationship with God. Denying the fallen world is not bad after all, right? Unless we deny things temporarily, we cannot re-establish our relationship with the ideal being.

This applies not only to Unification Church members. I myself do it. I tried both ways. I tried not denying everything, but it didn't work out. But through denial, I have been able to establish something permanent for God.

Since you call us True Parents, your physical parents must wonder what they are untrue parents? Bad parents? They aren't happy with that thought, so some try to kidnap their own children. When you find something true, you have to jump for it, isn't that right? If existing families had been true families already, you wouldn't have wanted to change. But when you met the true family, you jumped for it. To jump for something is to deny something else.

People want to stop me from teaching and propagating this message, but if it is the way of truth, how can I stop sharing it? This is what God has been striving to create all throughout history, and I want to follow His way. It is so simple and clew. We have to be victorious in God's sight, whether other people approve or not. Do you understand?

Through the fall, the order of love was reversed and human relations and human ethics were turned upside down. Man was supposed to be the subject but now women have more or less become the subjects. That is a result of the fall.

The center of the home is no longer God, but someone else, namely Satan. How can I say such a thing? It is very easy to see. If God is the center of a family, people will live for each other, serving and sacrificing themselves for one another. But in families today, everybody wants to work for personal benefit, even at the sacrifice of their relatives. Therefore, it is clear that someone other than God is at the center.

Look at society. Nobody is concerned first for society and second for his family. People should focus first on the benefit of society, second on the family, and finally on themselves as individuals. But that original order has been completely reversed. Instead, each individual looks first after himself. Someone who is a little more loving will work for the sake of his family, and, if he has mom time, will serve society as a third priority. People think about the individual first and then the family. Even at work, employees put things into their pockets and bring them home. Anybody can see that the original order has been reversed in such a case.

Furthermore, people should love their country first. But do people think about their nation and work first for its wellbeing, and later think about their society and family? It is the other way around.

Do Americans think about the world and cherish it more than their own country? Do they think in an orderly way? They frankly do not care about the world; at best, they are concerned about their country. But the way the world is going, Americans must focus on the world first and their country second. In fact, the United States would have an easier course if there were another country which could live up to this standard, but there is no other country. Americans assume that there is nothing else they can do, since all the other countries act the same way. The world needs the Unification Church's ideal; without it, it could never survive.

In order to be confident about all these things, you need to understand the eternal spiritual world. This present world exists for the sake of the spirit world, which is closer to God, but many of you are not sure about the spirit world. You are not absolutely convinced that it exists. We are right next to the big city of New York, for example; you can step out and go there. You are certain that it exists, but not as sure that the spirit world exists. It does, though.

Perhaps I know more about the spirit world than anyone else on earth. Some people ask me, "How do you know? Have you been there?" They may not really want to listen, but I am convinced of these things and I base my actions on them.

The spirit world is where God personally resides; anybody can feel Him in the spirit world. Then for whom and for what does God exist? For the sake of true love. Only through love can we be sure of connecting with God.

What is Satan's operating principle? It is easy to explain: Satan's way is anything that reverses or goes against God's desire. God doesn't even want to look at what Satan does.

Knowing this, whose side are you on: the side of God or Satan? Since you say you are on God's side, the next question is whether you cherish the spirit world more than this world. If you die young, you will go there early. So to die is not altogether bad; in fact, under these circumstances, it is good news. Long ago, Jesus said loud and clear that whoever is willing to die shall live. What he said is true, isn't it? Now we understand why.

When Jesus talked of dying, he meant dying for the sake of God. You may say, "But Father, you taught us the principled order. I'm not even married. I should experience family life and have children. How can I die now?" Well, if God approves, you can transcend that order. Dying for the sake of God is more precious than living for the sake of something else. When you go to the spirit world, how wonderful it would be if your eyes, ears, nose and mouth could all claim that they died for God's sake! How wonderful, in the spirit world, to be able to say that you also sacrificed love for God's sake!

Do you actually love the world more than your own country? Do you love your country more than your society? Do you love your society more than your family? And do you love your family more than yourself? We cannot live by just following our impulses or seeking what is nice and comfortable. We are supposed to live for this higher order

The United States has no equal among the nations of the world. But what can it be proud of today? What achievements can it boast of before God? Is its predominant way of thinking true or false? It's false, isn't it? There is no central stream of thought hem. Is there any order to love in America? When you answer no, you have to be sure of what you are saying. If you say human ethics are missing, that means only animal ethics apply Does it sound good to say that Americans we living like animals?

You cannot deny it. There is sex even among close relatives. Well, at least you still have a sense of shame. We have to change this situation.

Is there original order in society? Do people cherish society more than their family? No, the reverse is true. What about devotion to their country? Do they have a world view? A universal view? You may not know precisely, but you can assume that if something is missing at a lower level, the situation will be worse at higher levels.

But the United States is not just any country. Whether Americans like it or not, other nations look up to you as an example. Other people copy the morals of Americans. If the world is washed away, the first country to be punished will be the United States. I came here to prevent this from happening. If Korea collapses, the world could still be saved; but if America goes under, it will be so much more difficult to save the rest of the world.

All these deviations of society have to end. Do you think the gay movement is in accordance with God's central thought? So many things in this country go against God's order. An alarming number of American young people use drugs. After prolonged use, people can no longer function as normal human beings; they become ill and cannot think straight. The number of drug users is increasing, not decreasing. Society is drifting farther and farther from God's order.

God will be the judge, Jesus the defense attorney, and Satan the prosecutor. Satan will accuse people of all these crimes and claim them as his offspring. Jesus will try to defend them, but he knows more clearly than anybody the original law by which mankind must abide. Do you think he can effectively defend the whole of mankind when it is measured against that original standard?

Communism denies God. It does not believe in any need for order in the family; it places no special importance on parents. Communism wants to eliminate the need for nuclear families and for the parental role in families. They call these lofty ideas hallucinations and tell people not to worry about something that isn't there. Communism claims that history advances through struggle and revolution and that the victory belongs to the strongest. Communism denies any central guiding thought in this universe. It denies any order of love, claiming that everything is random. This is a perfect description of the satanic world. South America is becoming more and more inclined toward the satanic side.

Our task is to propagate the truth and restore what has been lost. Tins court case is based on what we have proclaimed. We will never compromise our message. That is why people halt and accuse us. Which step could we compromise on? There can be no compromise

Them are two types of Americans today. One group knows the truth and will defend it with their life; they will not mind dying to preserve it. Another group says they know this, but they don't really care; their personal liberty, safety, comfort and satisfaction take priority. They aren't concerned about God. They don't even know whether He exists. In God's court, the first type will be the true witnesses for righteousness, and the second type will be witnesses for unrighteousness. A judge who understands both sides will rule in favor of the righteous. He will strike out the unrighteous and preserve the righteous, no matter how small their number may be.

You should remember that it is not just one individual who goes to court; it is everybody. At some time in our life, we must stand before the court of the universe.

This court case deals with events that happened not this year or last year, but ten years ago: 1972, 1973, 1974. In the spirit world, it is very much the same. You will face everything that happened ten, twenty, thirty or more years ago. And it is a very serious matter. You shouldn't worry about whether people prosecute you but whether you have done anything wrong. If you have developed a character pleasing to God and have not done anything wrong, then it doesn't matter who tries to blame you. If you are willing to take on tasks nobody else wants to do, if you sacrifice yourself for greater and greater causes, when you stand before the court of justice in the spirit world one day, the judge will favor you. Those of you who are studying for a doctorate degree, are you studying for the sake of God, for your fellow human beings, for your fellow Americans, or for yourself? If you study for God, His greatest mandate is that you use your influence to save this nation and its people-not to focus on your future and so-called career.

You may object that since you have spent so much time studying, you should be entitled to lead an easy life. That is wrong. 'Me more you study, the mom indebted you are to society and the universe.

Those who are going to school should feel more indebted than the average church member. The average members go fundraising and witnessing; some may even lose their life in an accident. You have security and prestige, and you are enjoying the pursuit of so much knowledge. But why are you continuing your studies? When you master Principle, you should be able to witness better than your less-learned brothers and sisters. With your higher education, you should be able to raise mom funds than those who had to work all the time without the chance to further their education.

After you graduate, you could become the most respected scholar in your field, correct what is wrong, and steer its development in the proper course . If that is your ambition, your studies are justified. But if you think the challenge is too difficult and you don't want to devote yourself to that task after graduation, there is no purpose to your studying.

For this reason, I send the Seminary graduates to CARP and Ocean Church. They are the most difficult missions in our movement. Those of you who are pursuing a doctorate degree, do you expect to keep going up after graduation, or are you willing to go down first and rise later? You have to know what course lies ahead of you. Your mission is to make a confrontation. You were sent to school to proclaim clearly what is right and wrong. Your task is to challenge the wrong and effectively deny it. That means you have to work harder than anybody else. Don't dream of just being a white-collar worker and having a nice career; that will give you no position in history.

People must prepare themselves for their appearance before the court of the universe. You should be concerned about how you can be acquitted, how you can leave no room for Satan to accuse you. The judge knows everything; he sees who is right and who is wrong. The prosecutor knows more about the bad side than anybody else, and the defense attorney should know everything about the good side. He has to repel every argument the prosecutor may raise.

As I said, all Unification Church members will one day have to stand before God's court of the universe and face Satan as your accuser. I will be your defense attorney. If you don't listen to me and follow everything I direct you to do, can you survive before the court of the universe? Those who don't listen will have to go through an ordeal. The ideal would be for you to get my signature testifying that you have passed the course. Then you wouldn't have to stand in court at all. If you had your choice, would you prefer to stand trial, no matter what? Certainly, you would rather avoid it. How wonderful it would be to have a pass entitling you to enter the spirit world freely, without having to face the court of the universe.

What is the pass? True love, on all levels. Wherever I go I carry this banner of true love. If you can take this banner to Africa, to Korea, or to whatever land, and live up to its standard, you won't have to stand trial. Without it, however, you will be stopped and questioned.

You all know that. If you live a different way, you realize that the court will eventually call you to account for it. If you don't satisfy the law of God, you cannot enter His realm; bad people cannot trespass there.

I have lived by this principle while in the United States. I don't feel indebted to America; rather, America is indebted to me. People may judge me, but I know clearly the ultimate judgment. Nothing that happens to me will cause me to waver. Even if I am condemned, there will be a day of resurrection.

If your hands work against God, their deeds will testify in court. The same holds true for your eyes. Can you pull out your eyes to indemnify their wrong doings on earth? Certainly not. Especially if you misuse love on earth, how can you avoid embarrassment and shame in the spirit world? If you don't do something about it here, how can you escape the misery to come? Your shame will not be confined to yourself and your generation alone, but to your entire lineage. All the hundreds of generations connected to you will endure the same situation as you.

Unless you pass every detail of the course here, such a trial surely awaits you. We must prepare for the time when we will stand in the presence of God. If you need proof, when you die you will see whether my teaching was wrong.

Every day you should improve yourself, always building up your qualifications for the day when God can commend you and give you His approval. The prosecutor will still bring out the bad things in your life, but you should devote every day to the task of winning the title. It is difficult to persevere, without enough food or sleep, but you should overcome all those challenges for the sake of your country and for the love of God. Once you build up credit, the universe will need you and protect you, no matter how viciously Satan attacks.

People think they are free to do anything they wish, but it is not true. Our only real choice is to do good, in accordance with God's order. We need to choose the best way to do that and continue on that course so that we can stand blameless in front of God. Do you understand?

The law of the universe governs us, whether we are aware of it or not. That law demands that we go a certain way. Don't imagine that you can take just any course and be successful. The best way to transcend this law and be free of its restrictions is by love. If you live with love, even though you may be ignorant of the law, you can never violate it. You can freely pass through any place, even hell. If you have absolute love, hell will open up its gates for you.

Actually, Unification Church members don't live with as much a sense of guilt and fear of hell as other people. While others may fear it greatly, we don't. But we should realize that hell definitely exists. We are not in it now, so we don't know too much about it. Our task is to march forward with the banner of love and put that love into practice. If we don't do that, a truly formidable future awaits us.

So I want each of you to be victorious in the trial which you will face. If you are guided by love, you don't really need any leader's recognition or approval, do you? You can be your own leader, you know best how to go the way of love Whether people take notice or not, whether people approve or not, I will do what I have to do, and I will not do what I know I shouldn't. Likewise, you don't need an MFT leader, a witnessing captain, or a home church director. You know the purpose of home church; you know the goal. Whether people are watching you or not, you should continue your course.

Actually, love develops better when you do things without other people being aware. Sometimes you see a man and woman embracing and kissing in the street and wonder what kind of special privilege from the court of the universe they think they have. I told you not to kiss or even hold hands while you are engaged because it could lead to something more. But if you are truly grounded in Principle, it is hypothetically possible for you to kiss without it being bad. But until the proper time, don't do it.

Our entire purpose is to elevate the value of love. Something may not be wrong, and we may want very much to do it, but we will hold back because if we can overcome it, our level of love will be greater. Do you understand? In front of True Parents, yes is the only proper answer.

Even bad parents don't want to teach their children bad things. Even bad teachers want their students to learn good things.

When you follow the proper direction, you will always rise because the universe will protect you. If you object to what I say and refuse to do it, you are taking the opposite course. It's impossible for you to reach the goal by merely doing whatever you wish. Doctoral students may know a lot, but they cannot receive their degree without the approval of their examiners. No matter how good you are, somebody still has to approve of you. So it is natural to conclude that, if you want to go to the same spirit world as I do, you will have to follow my way of thinking and acting. You will have to value the things I value and live by the same law I live by.

My desire is for you always to focus on this one goal and think of nothing else. I want each one of you to become a victor and be free from any accusation by the court of heaven. Will you put this into practice and five each day for this goal? If you will commit yourself, please raise your hands. God bless you.

In the Presence of God [Part 1]

Sun Myung Moon
April 11, 1982
Belvedere
Translator - Sang Kil Han

Nobody was born by his own choice; none of us planned to be born. This is true not only for us but also for people of the past and future. A great mixture of people are born. Some boast of their superiority, others lament their inferiority. Some are good, others we bad. History will continue with such a mixture of people.

Do people know their destiny or fate? People's lives take many different courses; there is no single pattern. Each of us is born as a man or woman with our own life to live. What direction are men and women going in? Where is our nation going? Where is the world going? The most important question for each person to ask is, "Where am I going?"

Those of you who are engaged may answer that you are going toward your fiancée. But is your fiancee going forward or backward? Is he or she moving with confidence? Is he or she about to go up, or down? You may say that you never thought about the question and frankly don't care. You may suppose that when you are with your fiancee you will be satisfied. But what good does it do for two uncertain people to meet? If one confused person joins another, what will result? They will become even more puzzled.

Two confused people will collide with each other. Your eyes will clash, your ears, mouths and minds will clash. Them is a good chance that all aspects of you will conflict. You might reason that since everyone else lives that way, you should, too. Perhaps you think that you have no other choice. But what about your family? Once you are living together, children will be born to you-that's virtually automatic! But will your baby be able to see straight, hear straight, think straight? Perhaps your baby's eyes will be crossed or only able to look in a certain direction. If you truly realize the position you are standing in, you feel some awe or dread. Once you are aware of it, you cannot just casually enjoy life.

Let's look at how we were born biologically. Out of millions of sperm, only one reaches the egg cell. Still, each sperm has to head in the proper general direction in order for at least one to reach the goal. If their direction is off, will they ever reach their destination? So even before you were conceived, something must have been heading in the right direction. After fertilization, the egg travels down to the baby's home, the mother's womb. There it settles and starts growing. But what if the egg doesn't find its proper lodging to settle down? In such a case, could you have grown to become the person you are? If the fertilized egg settles outside the womb, the embryo cannot continue growing there.

Suppose while the baby is in the mother's womb he refuses to get oxygen from her. He has a nose, so he wants to breathe air through it. He has a mouth, so he wants to use it to cat. If an unborn baby tried to do that, it would choke with the first drink of fluid, The unborn baby has perfectly formed mouth, ears and nose, but every opening is closed. Where does it get its oxygen and nourishment from? Through the navel, of course. However, after birth that nourishment ceases.

The umbilical cord needs to be protected because it is the baby's lifeline and source of nourishment. Inside the mother, the baby does not have unlimited freedom of activity; to a certain extent it can move around, but it has to stay within bounds and maintain order.

The environment of the mother's womb is liquid, not air. Does the baby feel good in there? How can you say that the baby likes being in water? During that stage of life, water is the most comfortable environment. Does the baby remain there by its own choice? What keeps it there? Natural law. When we live within natural law, we are protected. Even the time of birth is not the baby's own choice.

You sisters, was it your choice to become a woman? Did you plan to be a woman and have a big bosom and shapely hips so people would admire you for your physical beauty? Did any of you think like that? Who decided you would be a woman? You may say that your father and mother determined it, but actually no one knows how such a decision is made. It is definitely decided, even though we cannot comprehend it or explain how.

At the time of birth, is the baby aware that it is about to come out of the protected, watery environment and down the narrow birth canal? Does it know what it has to do? Does it realize that somehow it has to dilate the cervix and expand the mother's bones enough to pass through the birth canal? Its head is larger than the passages it has to go through . If the baby were aware of all that, it would probably conclude that it couldn't make it, and give up.

Were any of you aware of your situation at birth? Still, when the time was at hand, you came out. Do you think that a baby can be born without making effort of its own? The baby has to put forth all its energy. Of course, the mother in labor gives all her strength to deliver, but the baby has to cooperate with her for a safe delivery, too. Something kicks the baby on the bottom and tells it, "Go out now, or else!" It tries really hard to get out.

People don't understand why the baby cries at birth. It had such a difficult time coming out that it bursts into tears. If the baby started crying while in the womb, it would be in trouble. But don't you think the baby wants to cry out even before birth? Certainly it does, but it cannot; it has to wait. To cry inside the womb is against the law of nature. When the baby is born, the change in pressure in its lungs makes it start breathing and it cries.

Even at this stage, the baby doesn't have much awareness. Before, it couldn't survive five minutes without the umbilical cord, but now the cord is severed, and the baby's existence no longer depends completely upon the mother. It is more or less independent. Now the baby has a choice in eating. What doesn't taste good gets spit out, what tastes good gets swallowed. What is the best tasting food for a baby? It is mother's milk, of course.

When you really think about it, isn't it mysterious and miraculous how the mother's body produces such perfectly nutritious milk? Why does the nipple protrude rather than indent? Who designed the nipple to protrude for nursing? Will the breast answer that it designed its own nipple? No, a higher order designed it.

We have observed that until birth, the baby's life is very orderly; it can do nothing other than fellow the steps planned for it. A sperm projected itself toward an egg; that fertilized egg developed as a male or a female destined to walk on this earth as a living, growing being.

Each person on earth needs a direction in life. The general direction in life is for men to go toward women, and women toward men. That is the truth. There is no woman who can claim she doesn't need a man; no woman can expect to remain just as she is and be perfectly well. Just as we observed order in each stage of prenatal development, there is order in our lives now: men must head toward women, and women toward men. There is no exception. This is an unchangeable, irreversible order.

Once a man and a woman become one, they need direction as a couple. When husband and wife meet, they go to a home. When the sperm and egg unite, they go to a home: the womb. Life before birth is a microcosm, or concentrated form of life in this world. This is the second stage of life, and the equivalent to our mother's body here is parental love. We need parental love to make a home; this is what parents provide for their children.

Before birth, the baby relies on the umbilical cord as a source of life. In this world, parental love is the umbilical cord for growth and nourishment. Can you imagine a baby denying his need for parental love? What about people who claim that they are totally independent and that they don't need any parental support either?

The parental heart yearns to give full and eternal support to the children. Parents love their children, even when those children become grandparents and beyond. While the unborn baby is growing bigger and bigger, will the mother ever tell it to stop? The baby kicks inside its mother, giving her jolts and sometimes even pain. It bothers the mother, but she feels more joy than annoyance because it shows that the baby is healthy. That is her primary thought.

People should be aware that in our life on earth, we receive perpetual nourishment from the universe; without that, we could not survive.

To go to the next stage of life in the spiritual world is the same kind of transition as emerging from our mother's womb into this world. The only difference is the duration of that stage. This life on earth, during which we breathe air and eat food, lasts perhaps a hundred years. Our physical parents' protection extends perhaps 50 or 60 years. But once we are born again into the other world, we will live with our eternal Parent for millions and billions of years.

Dwelling in the eternal love of that world, we will become the very incarnations of love. There the invisible, but still very real, umbilical cord win be attached not to our belly but to our head, and we will keep growing and improving, becoming the image of God Himself. We will become the incarnations of love to become subjects of love, like our own invisible Parent.

There we will be freer than ever before, enjoying the greatest conceivable liberty. Nothing will limit or fetter us. In that world we won't have to walk with our head up and feet down; we could reverse it and still move freely in any position. We can walk any way we wish and it will be perfectly normal. Whatever we want to do, we can.

But until that time, we have to go step by step, according to proper order. When we die, our body will be buried. People regard death with tremendous uncertainty, and even fear, wondering where they will go afterwards. But you don't have to worry about such things. What you should be concerned about is how to live better on earth until the time comes to move on. You need to gain the proper nourishment while on earth-not just physical food, but spiritual elements as well. That is what you should focus on.

So what are the other types of nourishment we need while on earth? Simply stated, it is the ability to harmonize with the order of the universe. It is obedience. A child may not want to eat something, but when his mother serves it and tells him to eat it, he will eat it. When the child follows that order, he gets a nod of approval from his parents as well as from the universe, which is the greater parent.

On the other hand, if the child tells his parents, "I don't want to eat what you ask me to," he is not justified because it goes against the order of the universe. With such a rebellious attitude, even the food he eats will disagree with him once it reaches the stomach; it won't even be digested. If he keeps eating that way, his muscles and cells will become rebellious, and the order of the universe will exclude him instead of loving him.

Someone who opposes the order of the universe will feel fear. His conscience will bother him and he can never be comfortable. Even if no one else is afraid, he will still feel fear creeping up on him. There is a reason why people experience this. If you rob somebody's food, wear nice clothes that you stole, or hurt other people, your conscience will bother you, won't it? What makes you feel that way? You may try to justify your actions, but you cannot steal without feeling something painful. What is that something? It is the universal force at work.

Everything fits into a pattern. We know that people live in three orderly stages: first, inside the mother's womb; second, on earth; and third, in the spirit world. Compare life in your mother's womb to life on this earth. There is a very clear con-elation between the two. Now consider that even your present existence is like living in a womb and one more step awaits you.

You had very little range of movement inside your mother's womb, and even now you are not completely free; a freer state is still to come. In your mother's womb you wiggled a little and you thought it was a lot. Here we can move around and travel pretty fast in airplanes. But in the spirit world, you can move a hundred times faster than here, just by thinking! Should people follow the rays of the sun, or should the sun rays follow us? It must be possible to travel faster than light. Don't you want to become that kind of person and go into such a realm?

You are limited in what you can hear now. But wouldn't you like to hear things whispered hundreds of thousands, or even millions of miles away?

You always want the best. If the order of the universe had been ideal, we could experience such things without having to learn about them. But even in the present state of confusion and conflict, people want to go up rather than come down. It is natural to want to go up. How high can we go? The ideal realm is one of freedom through love. You could ride around on God, like children riding on a horse, or riding piggyback on their parents.

Have you thought about how life's transitions always involve weeping? When a baby is born, it cries, not laughs. When people die, those around them weep, not laugh. But in the final stage, we can be reborn laughing, not crying like a newborn baby.

We live in dim stages: as a baby in the mother's womb, then here in this world, and ultimately in the spirit world. After we become the incarnation of love and experience the fullest dimension of life on earth, then we can feel really joyful about being born into the spiritual world.

People always seek freedom. Actually, people are so limited; people's thinking is so narrow. One direction is bad but another is good. Where is true freedom? Where am human rights? Human life exists within the realm of the order of the universe. If a person does not live in accordance with the universal force, he doesn't have true human rights.

What is the banner or standard of human life? What kind of flag best symbolizes human life? Love. Love is life. People may seek power, freedom or some other value, but the basis of all life is love.

Freedom which is not based on love is not freedom at all. If it denies, destroys or rebels, it is not freedom. Ultimate freedom means to follow the course best suited to us under the protection of universal law. Only then can we make the right choices and exercise true freedom. We should realize that our liberty is guaranteed only as long as we are protected by universal law, only as long as we develop in the direction of our original state. Anything that does not contribute to this is not freedom.

Just because you do something doesn't mean you are exercising your freedom. Here is one brother constantly dozing off. He thinks he is free to listen or not, but that is not true. Not listening denies freedom for the brother, the others in the audience, and the teacher himself. It drags down the atmosphere. He knows that, more or less, so when he becomes aware, he wakes up in surprise. Why should he jump in surprise? Do you understand?

American young people need to clearly understand this concept. Does anyone disagree? Does anyone have a better idea? "It's my life," people in this country claim. "I'm free to marry whomever I wish." Is that true or not? You ask why you should care about your parents, why you should listen to True Parents, why you should pay attention to those who teach you. "It's my life; it's my freedom," you assert.

Some Moonies are engaged for five years before they marry. Many of you think it is wonderful, but other people call it crazy. What do you think? Is this truly wonderful? You say yes, but not very convincingly. Something is holding you back. But when you analyze it further, it really is wonderful. Why? Because this is the only way the universe can have hope. This is the proper way for you to go. It is not just these few years that matter, but hundreds of thousands of generations to come will learn solid lessons from the patterns we establish right now. So think about how wonderful this is. You are laughing now and proclaiming with confidence how wonderful it is; but when you are not so sure, it is like clouds being drawn across a clear blue sky.

Perhaps you say you wish you could wait five mom years so you could do something more meaningful for the world and for history. Would you choose to wait ten years rather than five? When you think how wonderful it is, are you ready to wait that long? Some of you laugh, but I would like to find out why you laugh. Is it because you think it is wonderful or for some other mason?

Do I take pleasure in making Americans suffer? Out of all the pain and frustration you go through, I hope to see a new America reborn. I want to see a new standard of marriage in America. Waiting five years is not easy, but we have to conquer it. I have been observing young American men and women for many years now, and I am not at all satisfied. For some odd reason, people think they have the freedom and right to get divorced. But I know that the universe does not work that way. Once you choose love, it should last forever and ever. That is the value of love. All human value rests on that.

This world is not an isolated realm; it is part of the continuous universe. You are trying to isolate it, and I am teaching you that it is a continuous one. What makes this world perpetual? What sustains its physical existence and causes it to endure? It is the consistent flow of love, the love that parents feel toward their children and vice versa. The love of teachers for their students, investing themselves to make sure that they learn; the love a president has for his country, its cities and its people; the love saints feel for mankind, present and future; the love God feels for the human race and all things. In all these, the pattern of love is consistent; love alone endures.

Suppose a husband and wife are both perfectionists and they give birth to a child with a deformity. Can they end its existence and say, "Well, we can try again"? Is that true love? No, of course not. By the same token, once a person chooses to marry another, he or she should try to make up for any shortcomings and compensate for whatever faults may show up in their spouse. That is the proper course here, and such love will endure in the spirit world, where love is more visibly dominant than it is here. Such a person is a true husband or wife. True love means that when it is easy to love, you love, and when it is difficult, you still love. This distinguishes true love from false love.

That criterion also distinguishes the true teacher. When a student listens well, learns easily and shows respect, the teacher can easily love the student. But when a student doesn't appreciate the teacher and rebels against him, the teacher almost wants to disown him. Yet a true teacher continues to make effort.

In much the same way, when everything goes well in a country, its president can really appreciate the citizens. But when the citizens don't act properly, the president may feel like cursing them. But a true president still takes responsibility for his country.

The only thing which makes the relationship between God and man eternal is love. God, the king of the whole universe, offers people His love, but His love needs some channel to reach us. When His love is blocked, it is like a bridge being destroyed along that route.

Electricity, for example, needs a conductor. Gold and copper are the best conductors because they offer the least resistance, and the power can flow through them without losing strength. We all want God's love to flow through us, don't we? In order to avail ourselves of God's love, we have to become spiritual gold or copper. It's very simple and easy to understand.

Which color of skin is the purest? Which race is the best conductor of God's love? Let's say this white woman is the most beautiful-not only the most beautiful white women but the most beautiful woman in the entire world. But if she becomes arrogant, God's love cannot possibly flow through her. Purity is mom important than outward beauty. The things you see in your fiancée are most likely the external things. You notice, first of all, whether he or she is white, black, or yellow. You may not believe that a black person can be gold; only white people qualify. But you could think of your fiancée as black gold.

My title this morning is "In the Presence of God." Why am I discussing so many things? It is because you have a lot of extraneous matter in your thinking. I wanted to trim you a little bit!

When I state that there is no such thing as freedom in our present world, does it please you or disturb you? What I mean is that to act for a selfish purpose is not freedom. True freedom preserves the order of the universe. In this sense, there is no true freedom on this earth. The universe will protect true freedom, but it will ignore or oppose what is untrue. There is no way to reach the realm of true freedom without following the universal order.

There is order in the mother's womb and a different order in the spirit world. But we must abide by the order we dwell in. We need parental love throughout our fife on earth, unceasing, undying parental love.

A pregnant woman eats good food in order to nourish her baby. Suppose she orders a $10.00 steak. Will she pay $9.00 and charge her baby the remaining $1.00? That's not rational.

When you plant vegetables, does nature send you a bill for their growth? Nature is completely free. As long as you do everything with love, you will meet with no resistance from nature. Suppose you cut the most beautiful flower in the world and put it in a vase. As long as you deeply love that flower, it won't mind. But suppose you give that marvelous flower to some girl in order to entice her and take advantage of her. In that case, the flower will do its utmost to rebel against you. However, if the flower knows it is in good hands and is being carried to your eternal love, it will sing out with every step you take. That's true! Flowers have feelings about people. Flowers best fulfill their purpose of existence when they am used by the person with the greatest love.

Poetry dealing with themes of love is the most beautiful. The most enduring literature deals with love. The greatest science is also done out of love. When political affairs am conducted out of love, certainly that is marvelous to behold. In a tournament of love, no competitor will ever feel resentment because the winner always raises the degree of love. Any country will welcome an increase in its number of loving citizens. And the president of a country should run the government by love.

Suppose you have a handkerchief steeped with the greatest love. It may have cost just a few cents, but you would never exchange it for a million dollars, would you? If you misuse it, the handkerchief would feel sorrowful; but if your heart is filled with love, the handkerchief won't mind if you are too busy to wash up or too busy to clean and press it. Whatever truly loving eyes behold will always reflect that love.

You may love opera, but if someone sings of love in squeaky tones, it should please your ears more than a highly trained voice. You may have unsightly ears-as long as a rabbit's-but if those ears can discern the notes of true love, you should be proud of them.

Not all sleeping is bad. If you became tired in the cause of love, an afternoon nap is a beautiful sleep. A good painter would want to portray such sleeping beauty on canvas.

Any activity related to love will be welcomed; people won't mind it. Suppose someone gets whacked on the head. It's painful, whether done with love or not. But as long as the motive was love, when the pain subsides you will exclaim, "Oh, I love that!"

With your bag full of true love, you can go anywhere, day or night, and be welcomed by all.

If a stunningly beautiful woman enters a man's bedroom, and he realizes she has something other than true love on her mind, the man should throw her out in an instant. That is love. In such a case, to kick someone out, rather than to welcome and embrace her, is love. If the woman is an American, she will be hurt because she doesn't know what love is and what it is not!

The happy person is one who makes his goal to follow love and embrace loving things throughout his lifetime.

I can take care of myself, but I like to lean on Mother and be protected by her; I want to follow her wherever she goes. That's beautiful. Likewise, Mother always wants to lean on me. Even though she wants to be independent, she says she is better off leaning on me, since I have more security than I need. That is so beautiful.

Children want to be included in the love between their father and mother. They want to lean on them, talking things over with them, and just be in the same neighborhood of love.

A lot of people are pursuing their Ph.D. degree. They may reason that they have reached the pinnacle of life and that there is no one better than they. They consider themselves independent and able to take care of themselves. But without love, what good is all the knowledge in the world? They will be counted among the most miserable of all people. This is even more true of kings or others who exercise earthly sovereignty.

Even God wants to rest in the embrace of love. He wants to lean on the arm of love, just as everyone else. I feel I am such a small part of the entire universe, but God really wants to come and rest on me. In such a position, I want to offer everything to God because I am so awed by the opportunity to protect and comfort Him. No matter how great God is, He wants to make Himself small enough to be completely embraced in the arms of a loving person. He, too, wants to feel protected. That is the pure love of God. Knowing that, I will do anything to fulfill it. Can you imagine any greater value for human beings?

In such a relationship with God, whether your skin is black or white has no bearing whatsoever. The only thing important is to have a responsive nature.

Now you know what kind of life you should be living. You need a banner announcing to the world who you are. What do you want inscribed on that banner? "True Love." Wouldn't you like that?

I want to remind you that the world is full of eyes; the eyes of nature and the universe are constantly watching over you, observing everything you do. You must also realize that there are invisible ears, waiting for you to speak words of true love. All the noses of the universe an waiting for you to emit some fragrance of love. The mouths of the universe are speaking to you; they will call out to you over and over, until you hear them. The universe is waiting to feel your touch.

What are these sense organs of the universe concerned about? Are they interested in some of the great studies being done in this world? No? Perhaps money, because people say there is nothing that money cannot buy. No? Authority? Power? What is unanimously cherished by all these sense organs as the greatest value and source of the greatest enjoyment? It is true love.

Have you seen true love? Where? Suppose a parent is carrying a bag with a very yummy and tasty treat for his child. Wherever he goes, he carries it in his pocket and won't let go of it -- even in the bathroom. Now suppose the bathroom isn't one with toilets, but is like those in the less-developed countries: just a bucket and natural smells -- nothing artificial! If he stays long enough among those natural smells, some of them will be absorbed through the bag. Later, the father gives the bag to his child and says, "This is the most delicious thing I have ever eaten; have some."

If the child is an American, he will probably refuse to taste it. He will protest, "Oh, Father, why do you think this is the best thing in the world?" But the true child will really appreciate it because he knows his father will bring him nothing but the best. There may be finer things, but in his mind they cannot be better than what his father brings him, so he will eat it. How about that!

True love transcends everything. It goes beyond all visible barriers. Where true love exists, nothing else matters. Do you understand?

Public Life

Sun Myung Moon
April 1, 1982
Excerpts
Belvedere

True Parents, with their younger children (left to right):
Sun Jin Nim, Yeon Jin Nim, Hyung Jin Nim,
Young Jin Nim, and Kwon Jin Nim.

When we think deeply, we ask ourselves, "How can I fit into this world, nation and society, and still be able to fulfill my own personal ideals and desires?" Everyone wants to see events occur exactly as he wishes, but that seldom happens. Living in a free country doesn't mean people can do whatever feels good. Only upon the public foundation can freedom truly flourish. When you became a member of the Unification Church, you joined a new kind of disciplined environment, which has certain rules and regulations. To enjoy true freedom, you have to see your personal desires and ambitions in a new light; you must direct yourself according to a certain discipline.

The court asked me to appear. I stand up to all these experiences, conquering them in order to acquire true freedom, true joy and true fulfillment. Today, April 1, I am going to court. Many Unification Church members are very solemn and gloomy, but don't feel that way. You should feel that this is a confrontation in which the more public standard will overcome. I have never been afraid of court battles. I have endured incredible injustices, but each time I have been confronted in public arenas, I have prevailed. This will be no exception.

If you are really convinced that our public stand is the highest possible one, then hold on to your commitment and persevere. If you are truly moving forward unselfishly towards the goal of public well-being, God will always be following you. As soon as you have won the battle, He will step forward and plant the victory flag in front of you.

Our goal in the Unification Church is to reach the heart of God and to create the world of God's heart. I am the coach in our marathon race to that goal. Should I give the runners an easy training schedule, or should I push them every minute of the day, so they can accomplish this goal? The Unification Church is under a tough coach, that's for sure! After two or three years' discipline from this coach, you cannot help but change. People see that under my coaching, you have become very charming and attractive. People say all kinds of bad things about Moonies until they actually meet one! If those around you are attracted to you and if God likes you, what other goal can.se have? We can become the hope of the world, as well as the hope of God.

True victory can be attained only by a person with a public heart doing public deeds. The word "public" is synonymous with "unselfish." Can you determine to follow my example, living your entire life for the sake of righteousness and the public value, overcoming all obstacles and attacks? You might want to put off trying to achieve the ultimate goal and do whatever you wish for now. A long time ago I came to the conclusion that there is no easy way out. We must each think, "I was born for the public purpose, so I am going to walk the public path every inch of the way."

You were born not by your will but someone else's. Some mysterious power is working in your lives. The air you breathe, the sunlight that warms you, the food you eat -- nothing really belongs to you; you are only a custodian of these things while they are on loan to you. As you grow, you become indebted to your parents, to nature, your society, nation and so forth. I have been teaching you to seek a greater and more public way of life. Even if your parents and your society oppose you, you have the strength to continue this public way of life.

From the public point of view, no one can deny that I have given my heart, soul and resources for the sake of this country, which is so central to God's providence at this time. My true victory will be won in the judgment of history. Eventually a more public-minded group of Americans will praise and honor me for what I have been doing. We must be strong and bold, because we have nothing to be ashamed of.

Your family is a higher public level than you as an individual; the society is higher than your family, the nation higher still and the world beyond that. God is more public minded than the world, and God's heart is the ultimate realm of public- mindedness. You can't just leap to God's heart, that highest standard of public life. That giant oak tree behind you started many years ago as an acorn, grew into a small shoot, then a little sapling. When the tree was young, it was vulnerable to drought; when it became big, it was exposed to winds and lightning. It had to follow the rules of nature in order to become fully grown.

In the same way, in the Unification Church, there are certain rules: the individual must live for his family, the family for society, the society for the nation, the nation for the world, the world for the universe, including the spirit world -- and all of these for God and God's heart. Once the individual has reached that highest possible level, he can return to himself in the greatest fulfillment and become the center of the universe.

You do all kinds of hard work in the Unification Church, yet you feel peace and joy and fulfillment here. I never pat you on the back or comfort you, and there are thousands of members who have never even seen me in person. Why do you stay? Because you found the greatest public life through my teaching and standard of heart. Your motivation is the most important factor of your life, for your value is not determined by what kind of work you do. When your thoughts are one hundred percent for the public purpose, then no door will be closed to you.

Most people think that courts are found only on earth, but I know that there is another supreme court in heaven, where God Himself presides. There, based on the standard by which I have lived, God and history have judged me to be not only innocent, but honorable. That is the ultimate victory, and it has already been won.

Everyone on earth must eventually face that supreme court. Most people pass through that judgment when they die, but for those who pass through it while they are living physically on earth, there is no death. Don't you want to be judged "not guilty" by God's supreme court while you are living on earth? Because I want to see you pass that judgment, I am sending you to Africa and South America, to primitive jungles, to suffer for the public purpose with the most public minds.

I have no fear. My mind and heart never wavered when I came to this country, and I spoke out fearlessly for righteousness. My desire is to allow true justice to prevail; therefore, I confronted these charges face to face. Throughout history, righteous persons have gone the same way. l never feel lonely, for all the righteous men in history who have suffered and been persecuted are with me today and every day.

The road of righteousness is always a road for the bold and strong. Walk the path of righteousness with your chin held high. Even if I should no longer be among you, today's sermon should be a guide for the rest of your life. The spirit of this teaching will live forever. My spirit will remain in America, no matter what, to guide this nation in the path of righteousness. The time will come when righteous people of America will take this path and follow the example of my teaching. Then America will once again be moving in the right direction. My prayer today is for my accusers, that their lives may not become miserable because of me. I am asking God to forgive them.

You may forget many things, but never forget this one point: we are destined to live a public way of life. God will be the judge, and His verdict alone will stand throughout history. Satan will be your prosecutor, and Jesus and I your defense lawyers. Every deed you do, in every moment of the day, is recorded and will be judged in that final courtroom. The public way of life is your preparation for that final judgment, the basis of being found not guilty, being declared an honorable citizen of the universe.

Every one of you who follow my teachings will be judged not guilty. Your public way of life will be a beacon of hope for all generations to come.