The Best Thing

Reverend Sun Myung Moon
January 4, 1981
Belvedere International Training Center,
Tarrytown, New York
Translator - Sang Kil Han

What is the best thing? That is what we keep asking, and we could make an endless list. For a factory worker, the best thing is a hammer to work with. If you are going to bore holes, the best thing is a drill. On a cold day like today, woolens are the best thing. When you are starving, food is the best thing. It doesn't have to be steak, but even some food that you don't ordinarily like will do. Usually you like sweet things, but when you get sick, the medicine you need is usually bitter. All these examples show that at some time anything can be the best thing.

All these things that we have cited are best relative to oneself; in other words, when they meet a need, then they are the best. They are good in an external way. When we hear "outside," we immediately start thinking about "inside," which is closer to "me." Centering on the self, on the inside, what is the best thing? Even things like love are relative in that they require two people, but what do you have just as an individual?

Which is more valuable-having your own eyes, or having food when you are hungry? When you are hungry would you trade your eyes for a house full of steak? You say no because your eyes are more valuable. Your nose gets in your way when you wash your face, so you wash up and down instead of sideways. If you were going to trade your nose for something, what would it be? Not for anything.

There are all kinds of shapes of noses-long, short, pointed, round. Which is longer-the white, black or Oriental nose? Usually white people have small air passages and a long nose. That long nose is an adaptation to the cold weather, having extra length so that the air can be warmed a little more before entering the body. Black people who live in warm climates don't need the air warmed up, so they have short noses; their nostrils are wide so that more air can pass through at one time. Oriental noses are in between-that's ideal!

When someone says noses of one race are not so good, while noses of another race are better, they don't know what they are talking about. If a nose serves its purpose, it doesn't matter how it looks. Do white people like their own noses, but not Oriental noses? I'm sure that some of you who were just matched are not satisfied with your fiancé's nose. But for any individual, the nose he has is the best for him. The nose I have is the best for me, for example.

The same is true of the eyes. You might say that my eyes are not big enough, but imagine big eyes in my face! No matter what other people say, what you have is the best for you. Your mouth is only necessary when you eat and speak, but it is still valuable, isn't it? Why? Imagine what you would look like without lips, with just an opening in your face! I have always been amazed at how American women can speak so fast for so long, with no sign of fatigue! The cells of their lips must differ from other parts of the body.

Would you trade your own ears for anything? Then what is the most valuable part of your body? Everything is valuable, but especially everything about the head. When you read literature, which part of the body is most talked about? Most often it is the face, but especially the eyes. An elaborate description of the face makes more sense than a description of the hands, for instance.

Then what is the best thing in your body? When two lovers kiss, do their eyes touch each other? Wouldn't kissing with the nose be more convenient than kissing with the mouth, especially for Westerners? Orientals can't help laughing at how Westerners have to tilt their heads to kiss. Why do you kiss with your mouth instead of something else? Is it because it is the worst part of your body? The mouth is the organ through which love and life can be connected.

Food is not valuable in itself, but has value in that it keeps us alive. The mouth is the organ which has the most to do with our life; it also has much to do with our love. When a man touches a woman's lips with his finger, she blushes. If he just touches her face, she doesn't respond so quickly or strongly, but she does respond when he touches her lips. That shows it is a sensitive spot of love.

Hands touching hands can express love, but the lips are the most sensitive spot for expressing love. The mouth is the connection of life because it takes food in, and the connection of love because it is sensitive to the touch. Also, it conveys your personality by what you speak. Considering all this, is your mouth or your nose or your eyes most important?

You can see something which is living, but you cannot see life, or love either. You can see an expression of love, though. Can we see personality or character? Though we cannot see life, still we feel vitality coming to us. Also, we cannot see love, but it is very much there. When you are alone, you don't know if you have love or not.

There are some things we can see and some things we cannot see. Love, life, ideals or thoughts, conscience and mind are things we cannot see. Do you really have a mind? Would more people say their visible and invisible aspects are the same, or would more people say they are different? Actually they are different.

Everyone has his own notion of what is beautiful. If you felt you were not as beautiful in your mind as other people, you would feel bad inside. But even if you and others all think you are ugly, if you think your mind is beautiful then you would not feel ugly. Can we say that everyone in prison is ugly, that only ugly people go to prison? It is possible for a beautiful woman to be the worst person. On the other hand, a woman who is ugly and doesn't have beautiful clothing may be the best person. Are we talking about her outside appearance, or her inner person?

We can see that what is outside cannot be changed, but what is inside can be changed at your will. Your mind can be big like an ocean; but it can also be so narrow that nothing can pass through freely, and such a person cannot be called good. Sometimes a beautiful woman or a handsome man may be the first to doze off here in the morning. Does the mind or the body doze off first? The body dozes off when the mind is not very interested.

My point is that people tend to say that the best thing is something they can see outside. Imagine a husband who brings his wife some beautiful gift every day, even a diamond ring. His wife may thank him a thousand times, but if his mind is not given with the present, she doesn't feel the value of the gift. Then is the mind less valuable than the diamond? How big would the mind be? The mind is so big that no matter how you toss and turn in your sleep, you would never touch the edge of that world. But at the same time how small can the mind be? It can be so small that an ant walking through would be a major irritation. The body is not bothered by something as small as an ant, however.

Does a man or a woman have a bigger mind? Does a man or woman think more about him or herself? If I say a man's mind is bigger, American women might think I am bothering them again. Man's mind is bigger! What's so good about having a big mind? What purpose does it serve? Not all big things are good. When we say the mind is big, we mean it has a capacity for tolerating things it doesn't like until the situation changes. Also, with such a mind you try to be generous and understanding about things that are foolish or even bad, and try to make something good of them.

Nowhere in religion is it taught that you must have a broad mind. Jesus never taught that one must always broaden his mind, for example. But in religion we hear terms like meek, humble and sacrificial. What do they mean? These things were not taught for God's sake; we can even express their value in pragmatic terms for Americans: if one is meek and humble and sacrificial, his mind will become bigger.

Then what is so good about a big mind? Even though God has a big mind, as long as He is alone it makes no difference whether His mind is big or small. If you have a big mind, it can contain many things. It can hold nice clothing or rags, nice things or not-so-nice things, but everything can be comfortable in a big mind.

God would like to live in some person's mind, so would He choose to live in the small mind of a woman, or the bigger mind of a man? Would you prefer a small apartment, or a palace? Would you prefer something bigger than a palace? God lives in the biggest palace there is, the king of palaces.

Would God prefer to visit the mind which is small and dirty, or a big and beautiful mind? Does religious teaching direct a person in a way that will develop a big, beautiful mind? Would you rather marry a man with a broad mind, or would you place more importance on how attractive he is?

When millions of people come against me, how can I tolerate it and embrace them all in my mind? If I were a woman, after just a fraction of that opposition I wouldn't be able to stand it. Did Jesus really know what he was talking about when he said "Love thy enemy"? What will be achieved by doing that? When one is able to do that then one has a big and beautiful mind.

What can happen when that is achieved? If God lives in the best palace but there is no one with a big enough mind for Him to live in, one wants very badly to have such a mind so that God can be invited there. I have told you many times to persevere and sacrifice; I would like very much to see what you have become by doing that, but there is no opening in your mind for me to enter. Once I crawled in a small mind, how would I get out? Why would I look for such a mind? Simply so that you and I can live together.

Your mind can be so big that a car could drive through with room to spare. Some minds are only big enough for one or two people to fit into, but others could contain a car. Which is better? Would it be better for a mind to be able to contain a car just barely moving, or going 100 miles an hour?

Looking back over my life, why did God send me into situations which were very difficult to tolerate, like prison, and allow me to be hated and persecuted? I know it was so that my mind would be broadened. When God sets foot in your mind but it is so small that His foot gets stuck, He kicks with His other leg to make the opening bigger. That's how He gets into your small mind. Your mind can expand without limit.

If a woman's womb can start out small but expand enough to accommodate even a ten pound baby, plus all the amniotic fluid and placenta, and then contract again after birth, how much more can the mind expand? Has there ever been a woman whose womb wouldn't expand and allow her to have a baby? The womb never thinks about whether it will expand. When God's seed is planted in your mind and you let it grow, like a baby in the womb, it gets to be as big as God Himself. If the womb doesn't expand then the baby will die because it cannot grow.

Do you think God knows what kind of environment your mind is before He sends His seed? If He knows that a person's mind will not expand, He will not plant the seed in the first place. How big is your mind, and how long will it continue growing? If your mind is very specific and limited in what it likes and dislikes, would God like to get in there? You may think this sounds like nonsense, but this is actually a very religious outlook. This is not just a concept, but an explanation of something invisible.

When I push you hard and you go out to fund raise and witness, you don't know how you are growing. But the person who tries hard will change greatly over the course of ten years, and people who know him will be amazed. In the past you might have reacted negatively to anything your parents told you, and argued with your brothers and sisters, but after ten years you will be totally different. No matter what they say to you, you can accept it. Brainwashing is the only explanation they can think of for this.

Certainly we have expanded our minds to be able to handle any situation. A white girl who is persecuted by white people will go later to Africa and be persecuted by Africans. If someone feels he has gone through everything in white America and black Africa, wouldn't God like to check to find out what his mind is like? Do you think this supposition is true?

We have about 100 people here. Would I choose to enter a big mind from among you, or a small mind? No one's mind is big enough, so I have to expand them all by getting in and kicking around. I have to be careful not to rupture them, however, because then they will give off smelly matter like pus from an infection.

You usually remember the person who has done the best to you, and the person who has done the worst to you. I have done the worst, right? I only pound on you instead of giving praise. If a preacher says gentle, pious things in his sermon then in twenty minutes the congregation likes him, so what am I trying to accomplish by pounding on you instead? People see that you are working hard but that you are happy and never complaining. That makes them very uncomfortable.

Yesterday the leaders of our Japanese church visited me and I spoke with them for many hours. They work incredibly hard, but I did not praise them. I scolded them instead and said they must do twice as much. They were not hurt, but understood that is the way we ought to do. Just forty years ago Japan was the enemy of America, but the money the Japanese work so hard to raise is not spent for Japan, but for America and other countries. I didn't even acknowledge that the Japanese church had done much, but said we must expand their financial effort for another four years. To you that is inconceivable.

No other Japanese could receive such a direction from me, only our older staff members. They take it in and understand and try to be thankful. They can remain when others would run away, simply because their minds have become big, even though they don't realize it themselves. Now I am also ornamenting their already big minds with other jewels by telling them to love others.

Even when a man with a big mind tells God not to come, God would insist on visiting anyway. If you tell God you will set a sentry to prevent Him from coming in, God will sneak in while you are asleep! Then when you wake up you will find a note left behind in the form of a dream or revelation. When I pound on a person so hard that he feels he cannot take any more, I appear in his dreams and make a tour to see how he has grown.

You may say, "Father, I really take all this very seriously, but why didn't you tell me this ten years ago? I could have grown so much faster!" But the door of your mind wasn't open then. Now can you receive what I am saying?

From 1981 on we have to have the best thing in the world. You might say that we have exhausted ourselves, so the best thing would be having a long sleep. No? I would like that!

You can tell by my eyes that I have a very sensitive and perceptive mind. I can be aware of the most minute things, yet can tolerate great difficulty, almost as though I didn't have any nerves at all. I can stretch to both extremes. How could anyone be bigger than that? I still remember the name of one Japanese detective years ago who was pounding on me, and I was almost ready to retaliate, even though it might have cost me my life. But I thought of how Jesus said to love our enemies, so I tried to see if I could overcome that situation. Without knowing that principle I couldn't have overcome.

Whatever your friends and relatives may be like, what they will like most about you is your mind, if it is big and beautiful. How beautiful it is when you stop to cover a person whom you dislike as he sleeps, to make sure he isn't cold. Is that a good or bad mind? A beautiful or ugly mind? Don't you want to have that kind of mind?

When your nation sends you to the front line, it is expecting you to be a patriot, but a patriot is only born on the front line, not in the non-combat areas. The mind of a patriot can encompass a country. A saint's mind can encompass the whole world. Even though you may not understand all this precisely, don't you think it is correct? Will your mind change in value next year, just as money changes in value?

Usually a white woman will never marry someone she doesn't care for. But because in the past I gave you directions and you did unbearable things, now you white women will marry black men. My whole purpose is to broaden your minds so that God can come in. Your minds have become bigger. You think you are ordinary people, but I am determined to make you better than the saints, and even better than Jesus. To do that you have to stretch yourself to the maximum, and even that is not enough.

Just think of all the years you spent obtaining your education, and now where do you end up? Now you sell flowers on the street! And even when people buy from you they give you a hard time. Here you receive only difficulty.

Do you think I'm not smart enough to know the hardship you go through? More than you realize, I know what it is like. If anything, I am smarter than any of you and think more than you do. That's why you are learning from me now. How wonderful it is to persuade a Harvard-educated person to sell flowers. A small flower is a beacon of the lighthouse for all mankind.

Recently I sent Colonel Pak to meet with presidents of seven South American nations. When he presented himself as the special assistant to Reverend Moon, he was given red carpet treatment, and he told me later that he really felt the greatness of Reverend Moon. When he came back to report to me I was at Morning Garden, sitting on the ground mending nets. Colonel Pak said it gave him great insight, how in life one person could embrace the highest extreme, and the lowest, most humble extreme. Because I have a big mind, it makes no difference to me where I am, whether high or low.

I have often eaten at McDonald's, and have eaten New York pretzels. No one thinks it could really be Reverend Moon eating at McDonald's; they think I just look like Reverend Moon! How fantastic it is if you are doing this menial thing for the public way. This is why I never felt ashamed even when I was handcuffed and on my way to prison. There is no reason to feel badly about it. By my doing that, the minds of many people can later be ignited and taught historical lessons. So what is there to be ashamed of?

Whatever I do looks natural, doesn't it? You saw how after the entertainment on God's Day I got up on stage and danced. I wasn't thinking I would show you dancing, but just felt like dancing.

I am the most-loved person at East Garden, but at the same time everyone is afraid of me. I am very particular, and want to raise the standard in even the smallest thing, even though you may not feel good when I point out your errors. But at East Garden I don't comment on mistakes very often, even though the staff makes errors, like breaking things in the kitchen. Americans think a broken dish can just be replaced, but it is not that simple; such an incident must be realized as a mistake. But I don't point out these things at East Garden.

The day after God's Day I went down to the kitchen at 8 a.m., but no one was there because they had gone to bed at 4 a.m. Usually I could not tolerate that, but I thought about it and could understand. The staff might feel it was wrong, but they are fearful because they don't know what I am really thinking. They all know I am very sensitive. Do you think it's strange that I don't speak of these things at home, but will speak of them in public? Do you think I am too particular and fussy? I cannot help being like that.

I say this so that you can broaden your mind. You must grow your mind to be so big that it can surround your body, and also so that everyone will fit in there and follow you, including spirit world. How could a person be better than that?

Religious people have only understood meekness and humility in a conceptual way, but now for us it is very realistic. Would you rather have me send you fund raising here in America, or in Africa, where it would be much harder?

Two nights ago we held an international yute match, and an African team was one of the finalists. One white brother was cheering them on, chanting, "Africa, Africa," for five hours. Later his voice was gone and he couldn't speak, but still he was chanting, "Africa, Africa." I felt that perhaps he loved Africans more than I did. If you go to work in Africa when the world is focused on that continent, how much more real love it shows than just cheering at yute. Your prize for doing that would include God, spirit world, and all mankind. Everything would be included in the reward; certainly it would be more than the prize for winning at yute.

Don't think that I picked today's topic at random. I feel that 1981 will be our best year, and since this is the first Sunday of 1981, I wanted to give you the best talk of all. By giving you these words, I feel that all of you can try to be beautiful for the rest of the year and forever.

Even those who really oppose me want to see me. Why? Even the Germans and British want to visit the Louvre in France. Why? Because it is a big and beautiful place. That is unchangeable. If the mind is big and beautiful, everyone would like to see it, whether your enemies or your friends. This is my reasoning.

The obvious conclusion is that suffering broadens one's mind, and to love others is to further embellish the mind with jewels. Now you know the deep reason why I never leave you alone but push you out to make you suffer and sacrifice-it is to make your minds big and beautiful. What better present could I offer you on the first Sunday of 1981?

The best thing is a big mind, and a beautiful one. What must you do to have one? From now on, if you are sitting comfortably and doing nothing, you must think that your mind is getting narrower. If you hate someone then you should be reminded that your mind is getting ugly.

If you are to have a broader mind, you must seek persecution and suffering. I came to the other extreme of the world here in America to broaden my mind, and as a result I feel that everyone wants to come rest and live in me. To make my mind beautiful as well as big, I will love the people of this country; this is how I have resolved in myself. I will be proud, not of what I have made or accomplished, but of how I broaden my mind. I still have further to go because there are more people to reach out to and embrace.

Will you join me in doing this?

God's Day And My Congratulations

Reverend Sun Myung Moon
January 1, 1981 (Morning)
World Mission Center
Translator - Sang Kil Han

When we have some happy occasion you say congratulations. It is easy to say God's Day, but not so easy to understand the meaning of it.

Mankind has celebrated many, many occasions, but until this time no one even thought about congratulating God. Ever since God created all things, did He or did He not anticipate the time when congratulations would be given to Him? How dull and unexciting it would be for God to congratulate Himself. Does anyone set his own celebration day and congratulate himself, or tell other people to congratulate him? How tasteless it would be for a man to tell others they should congratulate him because it is his anniversary. How bland and tasteless it would be to congratulate yourself on your own anniversary.

We can understand very easily that in order to be congratulated you must have something which stands as object to you and congratulates you. Was it God who started the idea of congratulations, or was it someone else? Why did God create the angelic world? Did He expect praise and congratulations? Yes, He created angels to help Him, to praise Him, and to consult with Him. Did God praise the angels, or did the angels praise God? Was the ultimate purpose of creating the angels for the angels themselves, or for man's world? Certainly it was for man's world, for Adam and Eve. Naturally the angels were in a position to praise and be thankful to God, but were Adam and Eve ever like that?

Angels would certainly have praised God and appreciated Him for creating the world. But were Adam and Eve, for whom the entire world was created, also in a position to congratulate and be thankful to God? How old would Adam and Eve have to be in order to be aware of these things and say something of that nature to God? At what age would they express their thanks and appreciation to God?

As the years passed they would become more mature, and their awareness of God would be more mature. If you give a piece of candy to a small child he will eagerly take it and say thank you. But it would be out of place for a millionaire, a man of responsible position, to respond in the same eager way if he is given a piece of candy. At what age would Adam and Eve extend their sincere congratulations to God, in such a way that God would indeed know that their thanks were heartfelt, and feel contented with their emotion?

Was Adam thankful to God for giving Eve to him? What is your guess? Was she more of a nuisance to him while they were growing up, or did he feel deep thankfulness for having her? Eve would have tagged along wherever Adam went. A small boy or girl will always want to do what he sees the elder ones doing. Do you think Eve followed wherever Adam went, or that Adam followed wherever Eve went?

Would they have had occasional fights while they were growing up together? There's no doubt that when they got tired of playing with each other, or got tired of being nice to each other, that they would fight. Do you think they would have jabbed each other in the side, or wasn't that possible in the garden of Eden?

When Adam and Eve were very young and were growing up, would God have spoon-fed them? Since the world was to be ideal, how nice it would have been for the fruits of the trees to fly over to them and land in their mouths. Do you think that was the case, or would they have to walk to a tree and take the fruit? Would it have been Eve who picked the fruit and then gave it to Adam? Soon it would become their custom that wherever they went Eve would tag along with Adam, and when she wanted an apple she would ask, "My brother, please go and pick up an apple for me." Occasionally Adam would pick up an apple to eat, but who would extend their hand to take the apple first? Soon it was taken for granted that Eve would work less and less, and when nice things were there, Eve extended her hand first. For the first several times Adam might not have minded, but all of a sudden he would feel that it wasn't fair. I would imagine that the fall took place while they were bothering each other like this.

These being the general circumstances, was Adam ever truly grateful to God for creating Eve for him? Eve would have tagged along everywhere because she was lonesome. When Adam went to the bathroom, she would have followed him because she didn't want to be alone. He would often chase her out of his way, and Eve would go back home, but she couldn't stay there long because it was too lonely. So she came right back and tagged along with Adam once more.

Who would get lonesome more often? Certainly Adam was not lonesome. He had all nature to explore, with all the animals roaming around the hills and the birds in the woods. There was never a dull moment. But for Eve the same animals were simply too fast. She saw the rabbit and thought it was a very pretty animal, and wished it would come close to her so she could touch it. When she saw the birds flying she wished they would land on her so she could caress them. But unless some things came to Eve, she couldn't chase them because she wasn't fast enough, and so she was lonely. But whenever Eve stayed with Adam then it was exciting because Adam would chase the animals for her. Adam was not in a position to appreciate God's creating Eve for him. By the same token, Eve took everything for granted for a long time and felt Adam didn't do enough for her.

By the time they were twelve or so, Adam would have noticed that Eve's body was developing something different. No doubt Adam would have touched her to see what it was like. He would have declared, "There is something different between us." Adam's voice was loud and hoarse, while Eve's was higher. A beard would start appearing on Adam's face, while Eve showed no sign of having a beard. Eve was curious too. She wanted to know how Adam's beard felt. Who was more curious about Adam's beard, Adam or Eve? They were each more interested in what they didn't have. Isn't that generally true? Since they wore no clothes they could see how each of them was developing differently, and each was curious about what one had that the other didn't.

Adam wasn't so interested in feeling his own beard, but somehow had a better feeling when Eve was touching it. Eve would have liked that because there was no other way she could get that sensation. When Adam touched her growing breasts it wouldn't have offended her. Do you laugh in agreement, or because it is really interesting? Both! It's true and it's interesting.

If Adam was ever thankful, it would have been when his beard started growing and he noticed these differences between himself and Eve. Naturally he was interested and pursued that interest, and that's when he started being thankful to God. Before that Eve was more of a nuisance, and wherever Adam went he had to be a provider, so he felt no appreciation.

But when was the moment when Adam and Eve would feel really, really grateful to God? Only when they could not think of getting along without each other would they really feel thankful for each other. When would they have laughed heartily and openly in happiness and gratitude? It would have been when they were deeply and truly in love with each other; that would also be the moment when both of them would have been thankful to God. At the same instant God would have congratulated Adam and Eve and thanked them for returning the joy to Him.

When will their congratulations have meaning for God? Even having a nugget of gold as big as a rock is not a source of congratulations for God. A big diamond wouldn't have excited God because He knew that He had made it. A room full of treasures and rare gems would not have interested Him, but when His own son and daughter appreciated the treasures, He would find happiness in them. Even though his children were initially childish and felt hardly any appreciation, how would God have felt as they grew up and became more responsive, and the same as God Himself?

We can imagine that Adam and Eve would immediately know why God was raising His hand, for instance, and they would respond accordingly. By holding their hands out in return, the love frequency would go back and forth very intensely. God would forget raising His hand because He would be so fascinated with the love wave coming back and forth from Adam and Eve. Of course, we are just speculating, but don't you think this was the reality?

Certainly if God had a beard, it would be very becoming if it were white. His children would like to come and play with His beard; when the children wanted His beard to be long it would have grown long instantly and if they preferred a short beard, it would have shrunk instantly too. Since God is omnipotent, this is entirely possible. Since God is masculine, when talking with men He would have all the charms and interests of a man, whereas if He was talking to a woman, He would have the best qualities of a woman too. I could go on and on like this all morning, but I wouldn't finish this morning's topic that way.

We can conclude that the time when Adam and Eve were in love would be when they realized their thankfulness toward God and wanted to congratulate Him. Do you think that would have been the case?

Many of you are sitting side by side as engaged and married couples. Do you feel good sitting next to each other? Do all the women here feel thankful for their fiancés? And do men feel the same way about the women? If you watch a man you will notice that his eyes wander around, but eventually they come back to gaze at the woman sideways. All his senses eventually focus again on what she says and does.

The cleaner love is, the more valuable it is. Am I right? Can it also be said that being in love in the best-decorated room in the house is more valuable? Since toilet smells are considered to be dirty, maybe it is less valuable to feel love in that situation; is that right? I wonder why toilets don't come in pairs so husband and wife can sit side by side. The toilets would thank God for receiving their bowel movements at the same time. Even the bowel movements would be thankful If you are serious about love, there is nothing funny about this. Do you agree with that? Would God blame them for kissing each other at that time? No, He would be happy. In fact, His beard and His whiskers would roll in His joy!

Was there any time at all when there was appreciation and thankfulness flowing from Adam to Eve, Adam to God, from Eve to God and God to Adam and Eve? Because of the fall there was never such a time. Man fell from higher to lower, and the original standard was almost obliterated on earth. God had to pick it up again and over thousands of years raise it up, trying to get His own sons and daughters back and turn their minds toward Him to feel this love for each other. All these thousands of years mankind hasn't thought about these things because they have never reached the point of thanking God. However, God never forgot for one day that sometime they would feel thankfulness for Him and for each other. You must understand that the more difficult it was for God to do this task of restoration, the greater would be His expectation of future joy. Once God had achieved that, He would never have let them out of His sight.

You have never seen my mother. Do you think she would have been tall or short? Was she really a feminine woman or a masculine woman? I grew up among many brothers and sisters, but of them all my mother loved me the most. But the son she loved most would never stay put, and was always asking questions.

If we had something nice to eat I would just naturally ask her, "Mother, when we have plenty to eat is it good or not good to bring food to people in need?" I never waited for the answer because we both knew what the right answer was, and later I would bring food to such people.

Whatever I found in the house I would give away to whoever I felt needed it more. I would even give my own clothes to other people. That was one thing my mother didn't appreciate because it was so difficult to make those clothes, but I would give them away regardless. You can understand how she felt when her most beloved son was away for a long time doing some work, or later when he found himself in jail.

Often I would play in the neighborhood and might see a big, bad boy give a hard time to a smaller boy. In a sense it was none of my business, but I immediately took the side of the smaller boy against the bad one, and fought on his behalf. The bigger boy would be dumbfounded and wonder why I did that. I did that almost every day. My mother would hope I was growing out of it and think I would never do it again, so she would cry when I persisted. Finally, she determined that the next time I came back home she would not let me go out again.

I can understand my mother's feelings. Whenever I had something interesting I would talk to my mother about it, and no matter how tired she was or how much work she had to do, she would listen. That is a vivid memory for me. Even though I would speak to her for hours, her eyes glowed and she would ask, "Then what? Then what?" That was our relationship.

Would God's feeling toward men be less than my mother's feeling toward her son? It could not have been less. Since God's feelings toward His own children go beyond any physical boundary and beyond time, His love is always there. Would it be good for God to keep some distance from you?

Never forget that no matter how difficult it was, God's feeling was always close. We can understand how much God wanted to embrace Noah when he was working so hard, obeying God's commands for hundreds of years. Even so, however, Noah was not quite in a position where God could be with him directly. There was no way God could interfere with Abraham's suffering course while he was wandering in the wilderness. God would have liked to console and encourage him, but He could not do that.

How heartbroken God was because these central figures were not at the level of original heart. They would make some advance, only to plunge down again, and God had to persevere whenever they failed. In Jacob's case too, it was not possible for God to be near and speak to him when he went to get his bride in difficult times. Even after Jacob worked hard for seven years, Laban gave him Leah as a bride, instead of Rachel. Since there was nothing God could do about it, how would God have felt?

Until this time we did not know God could not interfere with Jacob's course; now we know that God's interference would have lessened the meaning of what Jacob could accomplish. Therefore, God had to let him persevere and let him achieve everything by himself. Restoration by indemnity is that difficult.

When you joined the Unification Church you began to understand the meaning of indemnity and how restoration becomes possible. Jacob's hard work in Haran was necessary to indemnify any basis for Satan to accuse him. He worked very hard and managed to work this out, but even as he was about to return to Canaan an angel tried to stop him at the ford of Jabbok. The angel claimed that Jacob had to wrestle with him and win before he could leave there. Knowing Jacob's determination in the previous years, you can understand how Jacob would have felt. He immediately jumped at the angel and continued wrestling all night. Chances are that he would have been beaten again and again, but one thing Jacob wouldn't do is give up. The angel didn't know what to do. He wasn't prepared to cope with such zeal, so he said, "Let's call it a draw." But Jacob wouldn't listen to that and just clung on, insisting, "No, I'm winning." Finally the angel said, "I have won, but let's say you won."

Ordinary people would have believed the angel was sincere, and stopped fighting, but Jacob knew that if he did that then Satan would spring forward and knock Jacob out. So instead of trusting what the angel said, Jacob kept fighting. The angel dislocated Jacob's thigh, and Satan couldn't do anything to Jacob after that. When Satan felt that Jacob was quite different from anyone in the fallen dominion, God moved in and gave Jacob blessing. How did God feel when the fighting came to a climax? Knowing the consequences,

God couldn't do a thing except watch and hope Jacob would be victorious. When Jacob won, in deep relief and approval God gave him the name Israel. From that moment on, God could lift Jacob up.

For nearly 2,000 years God has been bringing mankind up and raising his standards ever higher. During this time how often did the people fail who were charged with historical responsibility in the dispensation? There were ups and downs, but mostly downs, yet all during this time God never ceased anticipating the day of celebration and congratulations to come. His only desire was to keep up the work and wait for the day when He could send the Messiah. Finally Jesus came, and God expected to meet the true family and to see success. But even Jesus was not able to succeed. Instead of entering into the kingdom of heaven, Jesus died on the cross.

Did God feel good about Jesus being crucified? Wouldn't God feel even greater bitterness toward Satan, thinking, "You have already taken a son and a daughter, yet now you are trying to take love and life away from me too." Satan did not take a life in the garden of Eden, but in Jesus' time Satan took life itself from God's son. Then God would have determined, "I will take life and love away from you too, and I will send the Messiah again." Christianity has continued for 2,000 years, for that one day when God could send the Messiah again.

The only thing I can be proud of is having persevered even when I was chased out and persecuted. Did that happen because I was incapable of doing anything? Was I constantly being chased and not taking any initiative, or could I persevere because I really was capable? For whose sake did I persevere?

There are many unpredictable things about people. Since I know very well about all the people who have betrayed God's expectations, I will be the last one to repeat the same historical mistake. I will be the first one who does not betray God. Therefore, I am desperately trying to make this a success. I retreated when I thought it was wise, and charged when I thought it was necessary. I even went sideways when the situation demanded it. In weaving together all these complicated situations, I have finally gotten to the destination.

What is my ultimate goal? The only thing I desire is to untangle what is tangled in God's heart. and to console Him. I will indemnify all that needs to be indemnified and restore everything. This is what I keep pledging to God in prayer, always carrying on His mission. There were many instances when I kept telling myself, "In this one battle you must not die. You must be victorious and live. You cannot afford to falter in Korea. This is what heaven has been sending me and so many other hundreds of people for." I kept on and pledged to live to see the victorious day to dedicate it to God. It wasn't for my personal salvation, but to fulfill God's will and the ultimate purpose of God's creation. For this purpose Children's Day, Day of All Things, Parents' Day and God's Day were established.

It was a desperate fight and I wasn't always confident of the outcome, but just did my absolute best. When I managed to establish Parents' Day after an intense fight, I really shouted out, "Oh God!" Do you think the joy God felt or the joy I felt was greater? God's joy was greater because God worked hundreds of times harder than I did and waited much longer. I was happier to see God's joy than I was happy about my victory. At seeing God so happy about that accomplishment I forgot my hard work over all those years.

Although there is still satanic dominion in the world, the four heavenly days are the foundation on which to work in the satanic world. After restoring Parents' Day, Children's Day, Day of All Things, then God's Day could be set up, realizing the four position foundation centering around God, parents and children. With Parents' Day the foundation was made on which parents can come into being. When Children's Day became possible, true children could come into being. Only after securing the surroundings centering around the four position foundation could the ideal of God's creation be realized. Thus, the satanic boundary was pushed out, and an area created where God can reside and dominate.

Since God is without a body, He could not do anything by Himself. Since Adam is His hyung sang, through Adam God can work directly in a horizontal way. Then heaven can be realized, even though it is surrounded by the satanic world. Internally God is Father, and externally Adam is father, so together they are like mind and body. On this foundation God can live and work in Adam's body, as He intended.

Sometimes you see me in a dream or vision; that is God appearing to you by using my image. In spirit world you cannot see God directly, but see Him using my image instead. God would speak to you by using my image.

Today's topic is God's Day and My Congratulations. You say simply, "Congratulations on God's Day." What difference is there between God's congratulations on this day, my congratulations, and your congratulations?

Those people who were recently matched a few days ago are tired because they have hardly slept, and to them maybe God's Day just means they have to gather again in the morning to hear me speak for a long time! Maybe the couples wish they could spend time together and not have to listen to me, or wish they could sleep a few more hours. Have you felt that you would rather come hear me and offer your congratulations on God's Day more than you want to sleep? I think some of you slept till the last minute and some of you didn't even wash your face. Your laughter tells me I am right! This is why I chose the topic as "My Congratulations," not just "Congratulations."

Which was stronger for you-the enhanced expectation while you were being matched, or coming and congratulating God personally on God's Day? Many were focused so intensely on who their match would be that when I called their names, or pointed to them, they would look all around, and when no one else stood up, then they would step forward. I looked closely and saw that all these people were serious, and had a high standard of expectation.

Those who didn't get matched are very somber and perhaps are thinking, "What's so exciting about God's Day anyway?" Those who were matched want to spend their time getting to know each other better instead of being busy on God's Day. I understand what you had to go through in the last few days because I kept you almost 24 hours. I may have had a little rest, but those who waited here had only a little time to go wash and eat and come back here.

Yesterday the wine ceremony lasted until very late. Even some of the strongest men and women fainted at that time because they were so tired. I spoke till 3:30 in the morning and soon you had to get up again, and now it is God's Day.

How intensely had God waited for this day of His to come? Do you think God waited less expectantly for God's Day than you waited for your own matching day? Have any of you waited for God's Day that intensely, anticipating that day more than you anticipated being with your fiancé?

This God's Day of 1981 is the most significant of all those we have celebrated so far, but look at you, all tired out and wilted. When I walked in I had the heavy feeling that I had to lift you up. You must understand that this is the first God's Day in the second three seven-year courses, which are your years. This is the most significant of any God's Day, and so far as you are concerned it ought to be the best, even though we have celebrated many God's Days until now.

The second three seven-year courses were only announced in 1980. You must tune in and keep the standard I am expecting of you; when I am so aware that this is your God's Day then you must respond in resonance with my feelings.

Our Heavenly Father lost His family, children, country, almost everything, yet He was clinging to this one day, God's Day. That was the standard of expectation of God's Day as far as I was concerned. Now look at you: I brought God's Day into being, but you are thinking more about your fiancé than about God's Day. How great a difference there is between us! You have to raise yourselves up. Isn't this right?

Haven't you thought about why I waited till the last days of 1980 to conduct a matching, to be followed by God's Day? Maybe you just came in expectation of finding your fiancé. I remember very well your enthusiastic applause three days ago when I walked in to match you. You were beside yourself when you welcomed me that day, but today, which is a more significant day, you know clearly that your spirit is dwindling. What is the explanation? But I am very hopeful here; now that you know how far and high your spirit can get, it will serve as a lesson. Perhaps on this God's Day you have displayed the least spirit, but you can carry the memory of three days ago on to the next God's Day, and the God's Day after that. To teach you that important lesson, I selected these days for matching you.

When you really understand your shortcomings, you can bring your standards up. You could be indignant toward your own fiancé, thinking that because of him or her your spirit wasn't very high on God's Day; if there hadn't been a matching, certainly there would have been a higher spirit. With that feeling you can use your fiancé to raise up your God's Day spirit. The God's Day spirit has really sagged down because of someone you thought was equally important who is sitting beside you. But you know which is more important, and why. This is why I spoke on this topic this morning.

Are you qualified to congratulate God at this moment today? You know you have flunked according to my standards, so you have to be serious about that. You must realize that your fiancé overshadowed a day that otherwise would have been the brightest day of your life. That is the point you have to learn from what has taken place three days ago. You realize that your fault is in not maintaining your standard today, don't you? When you say yes with genuine repentance, perhaps God will forgive you, and I can forget that too.

The whole thing can bring a good result if you remember your feeling of highest expectation when your fiancé was about to be matched to you, and carry that high spirit and gratitude over exactly to the next God's Day. That's your best chance for survival and success in all of the work you do in the future.

Bring your standard up higher and keep it that way for the rest of your life and for generations hereafter. This is what I am urging you to do. Can you do it? Amen.

Home Church Is My Kingdom Of Heaven

Reverend Sun Myung Moon
January 1, 1981 (Midnight)
World Mission Center
Translator - Sang Kil Han

Now we have met the new year 1981. By meeting 1981, all of the seventies are now gone. Now we have crossed the threshold of 1980-81, leaving the 1970s behind. I am heading towards my seventies as well. Forty four years have passed since I learned the dispensation and started it. It was 44 years ago when I was 16 years of age.

The numbers six and four have traditionally been the numbers which were held by Satan. But after the time of victory they will be received as the number seven, which is the godly number. We are entering the era when the number four along with six will be the basic numbers of heaven.

This also means that starting from this year, as we go into the eighties, the Unification Church is entering a new era as well. We expect the 1980's to be fast progressing years for the Unification Church. God's close help is with us. We will be offering our lives during these ten years. After this decade we will enter the 1990's, when I will be in my seventies, so we must understand the importance of our meeting at this time.

As you are aware, we are now in the second of three seven-year courses, which is your time. What does that mean? So far I have been working the dispensation, but now I am transferring it into your hands. This means it is possible for you to do the work successfully without me.

Then on what ground can you do it? Home church. The motto for 1979 introduced home church: "Home Church and the Completion of the Kingdom of Heaven," and the motto for the following year was "Home Church is the Base of the Kingdom of Heaven." Now for the third year in succession the motto is focused on home church: "Home Church is My Kingdom of Heaven." That "my" is more yours than it is mine. The concept of home church during the past two years was related more to the whole, but this year it is more personal: Home church is "my" responsibility, "my" heaven.

Then where is that heaven? Heaven is where Satan has no place he can work. In Jesus' time, even the entire mind was not of God; in the mind there was a boundary where the Kingdom of Heaven met the satanic domain. Now that borderline can be pushed further and further away-even out of our bodies. Unless we chase Satan not only out of our minds, but further and further out of our bodies as well, we will be unable to enjoy heaven in our surroundings. "Home church" means heaven on earth in our daily surroundings.

Then what is this foundation of heaven on earth? Home church. Now this foundation of home church is given to you as your own Kingdom of Heaven. Through home church you have a direct connection to the nation and to the world. Thus, we can connect the mind kingdom to the body kingdom, to the home church kingdom, to the country kingdom, all the way to the world. Now we can look back clearly and see that Jesus was intended to do exactly that, pushing Satan completely away and making heaven possible in the environment. He wanted to extend the border even beyond that, making the entire country and the world into heaven as well.

We know that Satan is occupying the entire world, that there is no place Satan cannot claim as his. A certain part is God's, but Satan also occupies the individual's body and sometimes even his whole mind, and especially the environment. Even in the spirit world, all the evil spirits have divided up the territories and exercise jurisdiction over each area.

Satan is the power or influence which exercises satanic dominion. Someone must appear on earth and dispel that power. Who can drive that power out of the environment? The Messiah is to do it. Jesus was supposed to do it, but he could not. When he comes again, the Messiah is to expel all the Satans from this world. When Jesus failed to complete that mission, the foundation was lost from this earth, and became like a drifting cloud which never settled down in any one place. Even though it encompassed the entire world, it was only on a spiritual level; there was no solid foundation on earth.

Because Jesus was crucified and had to give his body to Satan, there was no such thing as a Kingdom of Heaven on earth. This is precisely why he must come back on earth in the flesh, to accomplish what was left undone.

What is the Unification Church supposed to do? It must pass on to the world the spiritual Kingdom of Heaven which Jesus accomplished. In order to do that, someone had to go to the spirit world-standing in the presence of Jesus, God and Satan-and win the victory, with Satan recognizing that this person won the inheritance from Jesus himself. For this reason, I went to the spirit world and got the inheritance; it was approved by God and Jesus, and even Satan had to endorse it.

Upon that foundation I had to fulfill the same thing on earth. In order to do that, I had to cut off all the claims Satan has had on the physical body and the earth for the past 6,000 years. Through the Unification Church, I had to disconnect all the ties and claims of Satan on the world over the past 6,000 years.

If traditional Christianity had welcomed me instead of opposing me, its spiritual foundation for the realization of God's ideal could have been used as a starting point and been connected directly to the physical foundation. If Christianity had united with this responsibility of the Unification Church, then 6,000 years of indemnity would have been completed. The resultant new body would not have been solely Christian or solely Unification Church.

If Christianity had united with Unification Church, Christian churches would have found themselves on a much higher level than they are today. Of course, communism could not have made even a small foundation in the United States in that case. But the Christian churches failed to unite with the Unification Church, so it has had to hastily organize and reindemnify the 2,000 year history of Christianity in a period of twenty years.

The timing was exact; all the highlights of indemnity were fulfilled in this country by 1976, which happened to be the bicentennial year. The major conditions of indemnity were accomplished through the great events including Yankee Stadium and Washington Monument. This stood on the foundation of the 200 years that have passed since America's independence.

There was tremendous persecution and opposition, as every kind of organization opposed us during 1976. Because we were successful although we were opposed, we gained a physical victory which qualified us to represent Christianity and the country itself. That was the foundation of victory which established a condition by which the physical victory could be won; it only became a matter of time after that.

At the same time we inherited the spiritual accomplishments, we could begin the new foundation to establish the physical heaven on earth. In other words, from that time on, Satan no longer had any justification for separating the spiritual entity from the physical entity. That also means not only that the spiritual heaven was accomplished, but also that the inner work could begin on the physical foundation of heaven on earth. Both were secured, internal and external.

After securing the mind and the body, we can go one step further, to the environment in which we live. Once the foundation was formed, spiritually and physically, Satan had no justification for accusing me or dividing the foundation I had laid. The next thing we had to do was to push this foundation further out to include our environment.

Whenever there was a deficiency, or whenever members did not fulfill the necessary conditions, all the blame came right back to me. Satan would turn all the accusation against me while I was still in the process of building the physical heaven on earth.

When we confront Satan he will oppose everything we do in order to knock out this threat. But when we win over the opposition, Satan has to withdraw. Because of my victory, Satan withdrew and had to acknowledge that I won not only the keys to the spiritual heaven, but to the physical heaven as well. This is the reason I can now say that the Kingdom of Heaven is in both the mind and the body.

Then where is Satan now? He has been pushed out to the country, tribe, clan and family levels-outside the perimeter of mind and body. Even that opposition is not full scale; now that Satan has suffered defeat, resistance is sporadic and no longer all out.

But here we can observe that even while I am being persecuted, our Unification family has spread around the world. Though I was persecuted, I was not wiped out, and in addition my family, the blessed couples, and Unification members around the world are well. Because I overcame persecution completely, we all overcame opposition together. When our opponents set out to strike me and my body, those who were connected to me also received the blows. But at the same time, all have shared the victory.

This means that opposition was directed towards me not only on the personal level, but also on the family level, and even all the way up to the world level. When the opposition ended, the result was not only my personal victory, but the victory of those connected to me-the family, the clan (blessed couples), the nation (the church can be considered as the nation), all the way up to the world level. It was a successful completion of the indemnity condition. Satan attacked on every level, and his retreat automatically means that I have won the victory over the world level. In other words, the condition was prepared upon which the world level-not just the country or clan levels-could be restored.

Jesus came to indemnify the world level, but he achieved indemnity only up to the clan or tribe level. John the Baptist's family and Joseph's family should have been united; then Jesus would not have had to die.

The Unification Church is linked with me, so since my victory was recognized even by Satan, the Unification Church will no longer receive any persecution on the level of mind and body. Still, when we go out to the environment and home church, then we will in fact meet opposition. Satan's limit is now set. He is allowed to go only to the home church level. On the foundation of home church, I have given this entire inheritance to the members. From this time on you are personally working in the home church area representing me.

The Israelites went the same course as Moses; all Christians had to follow what Jesus did. Likewise, whatever I have gone through must be experienced by Unification Church members. It is your five percent, and connects you to the 95 percent which I did, and which Moses and Jesus each did. Even without this spiritual reason, when you go out to witness and do other things would you expect to meet opposition similar to what I faced here? If I were to go out into the street and witness today, many things would happen; but now when you do it people are not as concerned about opposing the Unification Church any more.

Again, you will not go through exactly the same things I did in going from the individual to the family level, and finally to the world level during the past twenty years. That is not feasible for each of you; instead you will set up a 360 home area which encapsulates all the elements found throughout the world. The 360 homes will represent all the different nations and races on this earth. This has been endorsed by both God and Satan.

If you do not do well in home church, it will not matter how well you have done in the past, or whatever else you accomplish in the future. Without actually doing home church. there is no way for you to go to the Kingdom of Heaven.

There is a mind heaven and there is a physical heaven. Mind heaven is the mind which contains nothing that Satan can accuse. By the same token, in physical heaven Satan cannot claim any part of our bodies. Thus, if we are completely out of Satan's claim, we are in heaven.

Then beyond that, we need the environmental heaven, in which we can step out of our home and walk through a neighborhood which Satan has no claim over. That is what Jesus set out to achieve.

If all people knew of my victory, everyone would come to the Unification Church and cling tightly to me, and to this ideal and heart; then instantly the accusation of Satan inside that person's mind and body would be void; Satan would have no way to accuse him. When such a person goes out to witness in the environment, however, Satan's opposition will meet him there. The battle is now being fought outside the home.

The fall could take place because Adam and Eve did not yet have this environment set up. When this environment is established, then heaven is secured up to the clan level. That is the essence of heaven. Heaven is formed primarily in the family. Doesn't it make sense that you would have almost instant family level heaven once you secure the environment? That environment has to be created by winning over persecution. Without winning victory in home church, or victory over the environment, you cannot be filial sons and daughters of the True Parents, because you have no base to stand on. The environment gives you that base.

God will recognize home church as the foundation through which you serve as filial children, as patriots and even as saints. God will recognize as a saint the person who accomplishes this. A saint is a person who lives on the world level, but God can recognize you as such on the foundation of home church.

Home church was announced in America rather than in Korea. How was that possible? In New York and in this country as a whole, you can find different races living in 360 homes. There is no other country like this. If all the 360 homes oppose you, it means that not just an individual or a family, or even a nation is opposing you, but many nations and races. In America, therefore, it is possible to go through the worldwide level of indemnity. After winning in New York, we will concentrate our efforts in Washington, Philadelphia, Boston, etc., and it will become easier and easier. For this reason, we cannot go to heaven without having home church.

This year's motto is "Home Church is My Kingdom of Heaven." As I already said, in the past two years home church was not that very near or personal to you. So far, you may have thought of home church as a kind of witnessing technique, or an innovation of the Unification Church. But it is the heavenly way. The home church is your personal affair; it doesn't belong to anyone else. It is your personal matter on earth and in heaven, not the Unification Church's.

After Jesus gave the keys to heaven to Peter, did Peter ascend to heaven, or did he go to the cross? What should Peter have done? We know that he should have gone to heaven by opening the door of home church on the dispensational level of that time, which was the tribal level. Then the foundation of the Kingdom of Heaven could have been laid. But now we are starting home church on the world level, which is much more difficult. Peter would have secured the environment through home church, and thereafter organized twelve tribes. Jesus had indicated that whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven; likewise, unless we realize the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, the Kingdom of Heaven in spirit world will not come about either.

When I do come back, will I return to the Unification Church boundary, or to the home church? The Church is like an office for the families and the society, but the home church is where the parents and children can live, and where God can dwell.

There are 365 days a year, and if I visit one home church per day for 100 years I could visit only 365,O00 home churches. But I will not live 100 years more because I am already over sixty years old. If I spent five years visiting one home church per day, I could visit only about 1800 homes. Do you think I will visit your home church because you invite me? NO, I will go if I feel like going; it is not up to you, but up to me.

Now you have a better idea of what home church is like. Would you like to inherit the spiritual Kingdom of Heaven? Even though Jesus died, he could not receive that. You can now inherit something which Jesus did not enjoy, but what condition have you made to inherit it?

In my part of Korea there was one boy so mischievous that his parents could no longer control him. They told him, "You are out of our hands, so go ahead and die." The child took it seriously, so he went out and started to hang himself. When he was ready, he shouted out, "Now I am ready to hang myself." When the parents came and saw he was really ready to do it, what could they say? They embraced him and said, "Don't do it; now we tell you not to do it."

This is a favorite Korean expression, "When someone tells you to die, at least pretend to die." Oriental children know that even if their parents are so upset that they say, "Go ahead and die," that they don't mean it literally. In the same way, if I say you should be willing to die, you must realize that I am trying to find some minimum condition by which you can inherit the physical Kingdom of Heaven. Just as Isaac was willing to let Abraham offer him on the altar, that willingness to die is the minimum condition; but death itself is not the requirement.

Maybe you think, "Father talks too much about witnessing and 360 homes; I will do it sitting in my living room." There are some things which happen if you set the right condition, and some things you have to do with your hands. How nice it would be if home church would work by setting the condition; for instance, if you could write down names of 360 homes on a big piece of paper and every day make some drawing, and say, "This will serve as a condition of having visited my actual home church every day." But it doesn't work that way.

Just as I worked hard, you also have to work hard and do everything as I did. That kind of effort is needed to make home church successful. Heaven on earth is where your ideal and your love dwell. Home church belongs to you, and when you really work at it, all your surroundings-including your ancestry and your supporting spiritual world-will come down and help you accomplish it. You will find that the spiritual world actually helps you very much, but you will never know until you really do it.

While you are doing home church, you will come to realize that this was precisely the destination of Jesus' work. Why did Jesus work so hard gathering disciples and giving sermons? It was so he could eventually send his disciples to home church. When you do home church successfully, won't the restored tribe and nation come into being automatically? By doing home church, everything will be restored at one time.

If we have 150,000 members each taking care of 360 homes, that will cover all the homes in America. Some universities have 40,000 students. If you win only four such schools, that would be enough to yield 150,000 people. If you do not raise that number by witnessing, then CARP can do it.

What I have done can be compared to compiling an encyclopedia. In comparison, what you are going to compile is just a small dictionary. You do not have to be elaborate or give a detailed explanation of each item; just give a minimum explanation in a few words. The necessary basic words will be found in your dictionary; for instance, regarding tears; in my encyclopedia you will find the chemical components of tears, how they are produced, on what occasions, and all that. But in your dictionary, under tears you may have just "weep."

Do you know how many papers you have to write before you can graduate with a Ph.D.? What you are going to graduate with is worth 100 times more than a Ph.D., so can't you write at least a small dictionary? You have to be persecuted and kicked around, literally. I don't mind being kicked around. If by being kicked I could indemnify something which I could not do in 100 years, how fantastic that would be!

Do you want to go to the Kingdom of Heaven on earth? But you want to go to heaven only in the daytime, not the nighttime, right? Do you want to go to heaven after you eat, or before you eat? Do you want to go to heaven after wearing nice clothes? You will say, "I don't mind going to home church as long as people don't persecute me." But without being persecuted, you are not going to get the blessing. If you are persecuted and are hit, but you receive it with gratitude, the blessing is yours. It will take a while before people realize, "They only smiled when I persecuted them, but now I understand that they have been stealing my blessings!"

The Bible says that Christ will come again as a thief. I came to this foreign country and was persecuted to an incredible degree. But I knew that not just bags full but truckloads of blessings would roll in. In that view, am I a smart person to do something which induces persecution?

A big fish is caught by a small hook. Likewise, the persecution is small compared to what you will be gaining in blessings. So even thinking in terms of economics or business, you come out ahead; you are earning something.

Each home church is a fuel tank. Since you have 360 homes, you have 360 fuel tanks. You have to connect all of them and ignite the fuel, and then you will shoot up like a rocket. If you are going to fly up to heaven, will you need only ten fuel tanks? Even though you ignite them, ten tanks of fuel will not carry you to heaven. If you line up 360 fuel tanks and ignite them, then you will have enough fuel to reach heaven.

Instead of loving just your own family or children, or even doing service to your own country, you will do home church. If a husband spends all his time in home church and he doesn't even come home at the regular time, and his wife begins to say, "My husband is making me wait," she is the worst wife one could ever find.

Now you know the most valuable thing. Now you know why I was so persecuted and went through such incredible difficulty. This is what I was up to, and this is what Jesus was up to. Now you know home church was the destination. This time is precisely analogous to the time when Jesus appeared to the disciples after the resurrection; now Pentecost is happening all around the world.

Amazing things will take place. Your ancestors will come and assist you because they themselves are one with you in your position. Just as Jesus' ancestors worked with him, thousands of yours can work horizontally. Even if they were not very religious, as long as they were good people they can share this privilege. This is because the blessing that has been given to you is extended to the realm all around you, to your ancestral community.

Jesus' disciples worked for the country and the mission, but they did not have home church, so they could only reach a certain level. However, all your good ancestors over the past 2,000 years can come down and work with you, and through working with you in home church they can have instant credit. This is an incredible privilege. This is the only time the liberation of your ancestors can take place. At the same time, the path of perfection for your own descendants will be laid. Because of this condition, you can go to the real heaven, not just the conceptual heaven. If you do not do home church well, those people will blame you, and your ancestors will blame you for not doing more. They know very well what is important in spirit world. All your family, your clan and your descendants-even your country and the world-will connect to this heaven. Don't you want to have that kind of heaven? Now do you know clearly about home church?

Now when someone asks you where heaven is, you will say, "Heaven exists in the environment of home church." Jesus said only that heaven exists in your mind; that is true, but now it exists in the body and in the home church as well.

What comes after that? There will be the national church, and after that the world church, and the cosmic church. Then this will truly be the universal Unification Church. After home church, other things will become more and more easy. You actually don't have to think about other levels, just home church. As the days go by, there will be more and more of this church activity and heaven will be realized in a more complete way.

From 1981 it is all yours. I have been preparing and focusing only on this point. I may take off one day, just like that, but don't even try to follow me. When I go to a resort or hotel, everyone would want to come, but I don't like that. If my hotel is right beside our Church and you know I am there, don't even think of trying to visit me. You have your work to do, and you are too busy even to pay attention to what I do.

We have to do restoration by going the way of indemnity. You say, "I have been fund raising and working incredibly hard for seven years." But compared to what needs to be done, that is nothing. So for the sake of building the kingdom on earth we have to be eager to hear the next impossible direction. As soon as a command is given, at that moment we have to be ready to go and carry it out. Would you respond just like that? If you are with your husband, but I tell you to go somewhere else, will you listen?

Now you know the explanation for what we have to do. If we are to go to hell, we might as well go straight forward, not trying to evade it and getting caught in hell anyway at the end. We might as well go right toward it.

In 1981 I am hereby giving you home church as your ground. Even the News World staff members should work hard at home church in addition to their newspaper work, and then they can in no way be blamed by Satan. If I call Dr. Durst and he is nowhere to be found because he is in home church, he can be excused. That is our most important priority. If one of the East Garden guards is missing all night, but in the morning he appears and says, "I was at home church," instantly everything will be forgiven.

Nowhere else in all of history was anyone else given this kind of priority and privilege. So long as you go to home church, all else is secondary. If in doing home church you don't take care of yourself and your clothing becomes very ragged-like what St. Francis must have worn-you will be 100 times greater than he. If you are running down the street, unaware of what you look like, and someone starts pulling and pulling on you, when you look around you will see me. Then I will buy you the best suit, and not only that but a top coat, shoes, etc. Mother will not complain, "You are spending money too fast." God cannot say I am spending too much money as long as I am spending it to support home church workers. This is the unprecedented privilege I am giving you.

You want to take care of your family, but if you take care of your home church instead, someone else will help take care of your family. Sometimes I will also help your family. But that does not mean you should think that if you are doing home church work you do not have to do anything to take care of them. If you think like that, it is not right.

Now you can say, "Father, you do not need to talk to us any longer. We will just go right ahead and do what we are supposed to do." After turning over everything to you, I may leave America for other places.

Now you must truly know that my responsibility is ended at this point. Can you pledge from this time on to really understand more deeply than ever that your purpose of working is nothing but home church?

God bless you.

Midnight Prayer God's Day, 1981

Sun Myung Moon
January 1, 1981

Loving Heavenly Father,

By passing through 1980, we have come to the opening of the New Year 1981. Throughout the many different historical courses, so many tragic days have passed in succession. In Korea, in the meantime, during the period from 1920 to 1960, you sent me as an "innocent and carefree" child to this earth and raised and educated me; I was under your protection and guidance until I became mature, and when I came to know God and Jesus, I discovered the historical view and mission. Afterwards, even though you have experienced triumphant and glorious days, I have reminisced about the sad results of history, due to American Christianity and Korea, which did not fulfill their responsibility. But I am sincerely grateful to you, Father, for your painful efforts in walking again the path of sacrificial struggle, in order to guarantee the victorious day.

Furthermore, in 1960 the three seven-year courses began, in order to indemnify the new mission which Christianity did not fulfill and the mission which the nation did not fulfill; when I think of the day that these three seven-year courses were established, it seems like just yesterday. I think back once again to the time when nobody even imagined that today we would be in such a victorious realm of history. Now these three seven-year courses have already passed by, and this year the second set of three seven-year courses begins. I am so grateful for these days that I cannot express my appreciation in words. I am so thankful for this historical period during which I was able, with your presence, to proclaim the second set of three seven-year courses in my own lifetime.

Now we have definitely crossed into the national level and the world level; we have also opened the new door to 1981, and in this moment we are newly determining to march forward into the new decade beginning in 1981, leaving the 1970's behind. In this moment, we are going to determine the motto for this year: "Home Church Is My Kingdom of Heaven." So, Father, please accept this motto. Also, please be close to all those of the Unification assembly everywhere who are praying for this motto. In this place in particular, here are 843 couples who were matched last night as one family. So many of the children you remember so well are assembled here, gathered from all over the world. I am grateful that you are present here with us in this enthusiastic place, filled with new hope for 1981. Now, upon this occasion of beginning 1981, we can newly lift up the banner of the 1980's.

I am thankful that we are heading toward the new period of Home Church, and that we have to stand on the front line as representative families of the whole. We determine to be faithful and devoted for these ten years. I hope and I pray desperately that all can become children of yours, ones who are internally looking up at heaven, full of hope for great things ahead and determined to march forward -- even though these are such confusing days and hope seems to be disappearing from this satanic world.

I also pray you will bless those who are far away in Korea and Japan and scattered throughout 127 different countries; even though they are in many various circumstances, still they are looking toward this place and thinking of True Parents and heaven. They are young children scattered everywhere; therefore, bless them. I know and believe, Father, that you will also protect them and that you are with them in lonely places and various circumstances, just as you protected my family and church, and this child as he was walking in Father's love. Therefore, those who are in such hard circumstances or pioneer situations firmly feel that God is with them. I pray so desperately, hoping and praying that they will become children without any shortcomings, ones who can fulfill their responsibility under any hard circumstances, by feeling firmly that God is in their place.

Please bless them in this time of history, so we can have a good decade of the 1980's; we want to make sure of your protection during these busy days of starting anew in the hope of 1981. Please open the new path in this country; I pray that the leaders you found can fulfill their historical responsibility for the world, beginning from the day you found them. Also, I pray that Korea can connect with Asia and Western Europe, so that a glorious world of new dimensions can develop.

I pray that you will accept all this new morning era with joy. I pray gratefully and desire this in the name of the True Parents. Amen. 

Absolute Value Perspective

Sun Myung Moon
November 25, 1982
Franklin Plaza Hotel, Philadelphia, USA
Eleventh International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences

Photo date and location unknown

Distinguished chairman, eminent scholars, ladies and gentlemen:

We have now come to meet for our eleventh International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences in the historic city of Philadelphia. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to our chairman, Dr. Morton Kaplan, to the committee chairmen and group chairmen, to the International Cultural Foundation secretariat, and to all you distinguished professors and other ladies and gentlemen who bring your insights to this conference.

The world in chaos and the need for an absolute truth

If we are to characterize today's world in one phrase, we can say that it is a world of enormous confusion. Whether we look to the Orient or the Occident, the North or the South, the advanced world or the developing world, all societies are filled with contradiction, injustice and corruption. There is endless repetition of conflict, collision and rebellion. While people in advanced nations enjoy material affluence, many in the Third World, especially Africa, are suffering from hunger and even dying from starvation. If this state of confusion worsens and accelerates, humanity will face the danger of perishing, a danger from which it will be difficult to escape.

What could be the reason behind such worldwide confusion? The cause could be attributed to many factors, but the ultimate reason lies in the conflict of value perspectives. Confusion arises because standards of truth, goodness and beauty differ from person to person, nation to nation, race to race, and one thought system to another.

If, in the opinion of person A, an action is good, but person B considers it to be bad, A may persist with the action at any cost, but B would oppose it strenuously. In such a situation, we see confrontation and disharmony, and conflict will certainly arise. I cannot help but conclude that today's confusion stems from conflict and disagreement between value perspectives.

What, then, is the basis for differences in value perspectives? It stems, first of all, from egoism. Almost without exception, each individual is a prisoner of egoism, and each nation and each race is selfishly pursuing its own interests.

Secondly, the differences in value perspectives stem from differences in thought systems. The world abounds with various thought systems, and each keeps many adherents captive. Most significantly, communism and democracy have, through their ideologies, now divided humankind into two major blocs.

Accordingly, we cannot help but state that the way to save humankind from certain destruction is, first, to eliminate egoism and, second, to solve the problem of differences between thought systems. To liquidate egoism, we first need to know why people fell into self-centeredness. Before we hope to resolve the differences between thought systems, we have to discover how and why humanity came to have these differences.

The origin of our differing thought systems is that humankind, because of the Fall, lost God, thereby losing both God's love and God's words. God's love is the source of values -- truth, goodness and beauty. Accordingly, God's love is the basis of absolute values, and absolute values form the basis of all religious virtues. They are the unifying values. God's truth is the basis of all truths and therefore of absolute truth, which is the unifying truth. As a consequence of the Fall, humanity lost God and lost absolute values, including absolute truth, thereby losing unifying values and unifying truth.

Absolute values, including absolute truth, are the foundation for an absolute value perspective, where "perspective" refers to viewpoint and theory. Accordingly, we arrive at the conclusion that the way to resolve worldwide confusion is to find the absolute value perspective.

God established religion to convey His love and truth to humanity, in order to save humanity. He established various religions, each in its own time and place. For example, He founded Buddhism in India and Confucianism in China about twenty-five hundred years ago, and Christianity in Judea about two thousand years ago.

We can confidently affirm that the absolute value perspective can be established only through religions, which revere God. In other words, it would be valid to claim that no solution to today's confusion is possible through those thoughts and philosophies that are not founded on God. It follows logically that only through God-centered religion is it possible for humanity to be saved from confusion. In history, we have such examples as Confucianism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam. Each one, in its own time and place, dissipated social insecurity and confusion and, on the foundation of peace and security, brought forth a flourishing of culture. This was true of the role of Confucian culture in the Han Dynasty of China, Christian culture in medieval Europe, and Islamic culture in the Saracen civilization of the Middle East.

Today, unfortunately, religion is no longer able to dissipate confusion and lead the human spirit. Religions today are gradually losing life, and faith is progressively becoming a mere form or habit. With few exceptions, people are increasingly losing interest in religion, and their original enthusiasm in faith is waning. This is a grave situation, because if religion, which is supposed to lead the human spirit, eventually loses its function, the world will turn to complete lawlessness, and humanity will sink into an abyss of violence and murder. Today, indeed, such phenomena are increasingly evident.

All this can be readily termed a phenomenon of the collapse of the religious value perspective. What then is the cause of this collapse?

First, with the development of science and technology and growth of the economy, the human spirit is drifting into a materialistic value perspective. Second, various atheistic and materialistic ideas are spreading rapidly and widely. Third, under national policies separating education and religion, religion is being excluded from school curricula, resulting in the rise of atheistic thought. Fourth, communists are using a strategy of intentionally destroying even the fraction of the religious value perspective that remains, to promote their own goal of communizing the world. Fifth, there is a woeful lack of ontological theory adequate for supporting the religious value perspective.

The lack of an ontology regarding the Absolute Being

Of these five causes, the last one, the lack of adequate ontology, is the most significant. By ontology, I mean the theory of Absolute Being. Each religion has an Absolute Being as a basis for its theory. The Absolute Being of Judaism is Jehovah; that of Christianity, God; and of Islam, Allah. Generally, no Absolute Being is specified in Confucianism or Buddhism. However, "benevolence," which is the basis of teaching in Confucianism, is linked directly with heaven; therefore, "heaven" may be seen as taking the place of the Absolute Being in Confucianism. In Buddhism, phenomena are transient; truth, however, can be discovered from jinyo, which lies behind all phenomena. Thus, jinyo may Junction as an Absolute Being in Buddhism.

However, the explanations of all these Absolute Beings have been consistently deficient on such issues as the characteristics of the Absolute Being, the manner of creation of things, and the motivation for creation -- or whether God or an Absolute Being exists at all. Each religion has been uniquely unclear on these points, and therefore unclear about the basis for all religious virtues. Thus, religion today has little persuasive power.

In order for the virtues, precepts, commandments and teachings of all religions to be appropriately honored, we need to have enough knowledge about the existence of the Absolute Being, the characteristics of this Being, the purpose for which this Being created things, and so on. In early times, people were not so analytical or theoretical, and thus were willing to blindly obey such commandments as, "Love your neighbor as yourself" or, "Be loyal to the king and filial to your parents." Today, however, such maxims are questioned. The unfailing response to a "Thou shalt" is, "Why?" Unless and until these questions are answered, the teachings remain unconvincing.

Such fundamental questions as, "Does God really exist?" are raised. There are challenges to descriptions of God as "almighty," "omnipotent," "omnipresent" and "Father of humankind," and to such ideas as utmost goodness, utmost beauty, utmost love or absolute justice. Other fundamental questions include: Is there any way of knowing or proving any of these claims? Why did God create a universe when He does not have to do anything? What is His purpose for creating? By what method did He create all things? If God is of utmost goodness, why do strong-eat-weak phenomena prevail in His creation? It is being taught that the world became sinful because of the Fall, but how did the creation of a perfect God become capable of falling?"

These are but a few examples of the numerous questions that are raised. Unless reasonable and consistent answers are available and given, today's intellectuals are not willing to accept religions such as Christianity. Thus, most religious commandments remain unpracticed, and much of the Christian teaching of universal love, the Confucian code of family morals, the Buddhist code of conduct, and the Islamic teachings of the Qur'an are generally ignored or even rejected. The basic reason for the ambiguity of ontology is that in recent years Europe, which has historically been the cradle of Christianity, has given rise to materialism and atheism. We can cite the examples of Karl Marx, Lenin, Stalin and Nietzsche, who were all raised in Christian families but turned atheist and anti-Christian.

Even more lamentable is the fact that the very religions that were supposed to serve as the leading element of the human spirit and as the leading mediators between conflicts are themselves becoming the reasons for conflict, further diminishing religious dignity and authority. For example, there are clashes between Judaism and Islam, conflicts between Catholicism and Protestantism, and contradictions between Christianity and Buddhism. Even within a single religion, there are disputes among different denominations.

The fundamental reason for these religious antagonisms is ambiguity in the area of ontology. There is only one Absolute Being, not two, but when each religion advocates its own concept of the Absolute Being as the true one, it may seem that there could be many different Absolute Beings. This leads to the view that the god of each religion is only a god of relative status, and that there is really no such thing as an Absolute Being.

Here we can see that, although the absolute value perspective related to God's love and truth was to be enhanced through religions, it has not been developed. It has remained relative instead of absolute. In other words, we can conclude that religion until today has been incapable of establishing the absolute value perspective that can dispel the prevailing confusion. This is the inevitable result of all religions having been unable to explain the Absolute Being clearly.

We can logically say that, under these circumstances, if an absolute value perspective is to be established, a new religion needs to emerge, with an ontology that can clearly and accurately explain the unique, absolute God.

We have said that because all religions are founded by God, their purpose has been to realize absolute value. However, when we observe that so much religious conflict prevails, we can confidently state that the god of each of the existing religions cannot be understood as the absolute God, and therefore the absolute value perspective cannot be established by these religions. Therefore, we conclude that a new religion needs to emerge for the sake of establishing the absolute value perspective.

A new religion and a new ontology

The ontology of the new religion needs to make it clear that the Absolute Beings of the various religions are not separate gods but are one and the same God. Since each religion has revealed only a part of God, making that part its religious perspective, the new ontology should make it clear that a complete revelation of God will show that all religions originated from the same God and pursue the same purposes, being like brothers. Furthermore, by explaining God's characteristics, His motivation for creating, and the purpose and rules of creation, the new ontology needs to explain that purpose and law control the motion of all things in the universe. In addition, it has to show that the norms by which we humans should live spring from that same purpose and law, namely, the heavenly way.

The relationships between the sun, moon, planets and stars involve heavenly patterns of vertical and horizontal interactions. Likewise, in the family there are vertical relationships, such as between grandparents, parents and children, and there are horizontal relationships, such as between brothers and sisters. There are value perspectives corresponding to each of these relationships.

In explaining things, this new ontology should not contradict the knowledge that has become available through the natural sciences. At the same time, it needs to be in accord with the human conscience, and it needs to be in resonance with historical maxims such as, "Those who follow the heavenly way prosper, and those who go against it perish."

The value perspective established through the new ontology is in the truest sense the absolute value perspective. By establishing, understanding and practicing absolute love, absolute truth, absolute goodness and absolute beauty, a new reformation of the human spirit will be accomplished and the confusion of the world will be dispelled.

After the new ontology clarifies our understanding of God, and after it is shown that there is one unique God common to all religions, each religion can retain its own name. In effect, however, the unity of all religions will have been accomplished, and all will be able to move forward together for the realization of heaven on earth, which is God's ideal of creation.

The new ontology will remedy all the deficiencies and unresolved issues in religious doctrines, and that will eventually lead to the unity of all doctrines. In this manner, all religions will perfectly attain God's very goal or purpose for establishing religions on earth.

The Unification Church has emerged to solve various problems by presenting the absolute value perspective. This value perspective can resolve the great confusion in the world. The Unification Church offers a comprehensive, logical and reasonable system of thought. Its teachings, known as the Unification Principle and Unification Thought, have the power to engender complete spiritual awakening in all people of conscience and intellect.

May your continued efforts and studies during your participation in this conference deepen your understanding of the absolute value perspective, and may God's protection remain with you always.

Prayer: Please enable us to race forward with a heart of love

Sun Myung Moon
October 27, 1982

Photo date and location unknown

Beloved Father, we did not know that the path desired by the Will leads to such a high and precipitous mountain, with many ascents and descents. This son standing here set out on this path in silence. I dedicated my life to it, living through boyhood and manhood by passing through a complicated environment and an age in which I held onto the church as I struggled. However, as I walked this path, whenever I stumbled under the persecution of this nation and its people, You took hold of me, and therefore I did not collapse or fall to ruin. When I look back on how You protected me in the past, I am truly grateful to You.

I am now in the position of the spearhead of the democratic world, the position of the son of God, where all eyes are turned toward me. From this position, I am going forth, disregarding everything, to give proof of the appearance of Your exemplary son. I would like to thank You, Father, for protecting me and guiding me.

There were several times when we thought we would perish. However, we did not perish but survived. When we think about this fact, we should become members of the Unification Church family who firmly pledge that, since we now truly know how terrible the Fall is, in our generation we will never walk that sorrowful path of the Fall again.

Now that we understand how the sickness began, we have the responsibility to love Heaven with a strong conviction, more than we love anyone else. We now know what fallen nature is like. It began with a selfcentered desire to possess. Then it proceeded to lies, to the path of defiling chastity, to the path of forcibly plundering everything that belonged to Heaven, and then, in the age of the sons, to the path of murder.

When we think about the fact that all dictators in history were people who lied, followed the path of illicit love, seized everything and killed good people, we cry out that we will never walk this path of historical stains. We hope to become sons and daughters who can inherit the tradition of Heaven, which absorbs all such things with love. We want to be people who fight to be victors and not victims, even if we have to go unaccompanied to fight battles that are more strenuous and intense than any ever fought in history, and thereby raise high the banner of the love of Heaven.

Bless us to become Your sons and daughters who, as principled parents, can build good fences that rebuff Satan's accusations. Let us have the conviction that such men and women should come together in union at the position where the ownership of love is decided according to Heaven's desire, so that their children will be born as the sons and daughters of Heaven. The matter of deciding ownership is a really serious one.

As for ownership centering on love, we make the family the basis. After that, the right of ownership of all things passes through the original course of inheritance centering on the family of the new True Parents. The historical resentment over what decides our authority of ownership remains. You have come to understand all this.

As the time in which we can go beyond the levels of the people and nation and measure up to this task draws near, we arrive at this solemn hour when we stand on this stage. Father, we earnestly hope and pray that You will bless and guide us so that, even if we are in circumstances comparable to those of historical orphans who have appeared before this altar, we can become sons and daughters who can cling to Heaven and struggle with all our intellect and heart and cross this summit without sustaining any injuries.

We have pledged before You, our Father, to dedicate mind and body entirely to You. We sincerely hope that You will allow us to become people who do not hesitate to race forward with a mind burning with a heart of love on the path of devotion to Heaven. In retrospect, we can see that there have been many sorrows and sad incidents in history, but we are grateful that there has also been a path of solace we could walk for the sake of Your love.

Please allow us to look back on history with gratitude, to engage in self-evaluation with gratitude, and to welcome with gratitude the day of victory that is approaching right before our eyes. We sincerely hope and pray that You will permit us to become the sacred people of Heaven and the royal family that can begin with gratitude, go through the process with gratitude, and arrive at our destination with gratitude. There, allow us to shed tears of gratitude, hold on to one another's hands, dedicate our spouse, children, and everything before Heaven, and be registered as victorious families before You, Father.

We sincerely hope and pray that even if there are many remaining issues, You will allow us to become bold and brave sons and daughters who can digest everything and race forward devotedly, focusing only on the purpose of the day of victory based on love. We may harbor resentment for having to walk a dimly lit path. Yet, if we resolve to take steps that leave behind traces of our tears of love, we know that the path will lead not to ruin but to a warm welcome.

We earnestly hope and pray that You will permit us to become a group of people who can unite completely as one flock and one body representing all families. We pray to become a group of families, a group of tribes and a church centered on love that can save this nation, go out into the world, and inherit the privilege of the blessed chosen people.

I sincerely request that You allow us to become husbands, wives, parents, and heads of tribes and peoples who have nothing to be ashamed of in the remaining days. I pray this in the name of True Parents. Aju!

Prayer: Please watch over us until we become Your beloved sons and daughters

Sun Myung Moon
October 17, 1982

Photo date and location unknown

Beloved Father! Up to now we did not know that if there is a traveler headed toward a faraway country, that wayfarer is You, our original Heavenly Father, the eternal subject being of the cosmos and the original substance of the ideal of love. Father, You have cherished the relational bond toward the earth in Your heart without forgetting this for even a single day. No one could know of Your loneliness, not having anyone to share the stories of millions of people that were tangled and snarled within Your heart.

I myself, who have the name of True Parents, am really ashamed to stand before You, Father. In spite of the fact that there have been billions of times in the deep night when I could have comforted You, whose heart was being pierced with such stories, I instead passed or lost those times because I was overcome by my own tiredness, seized by sleep. When I think of the many times that happened, I cannot but think once again how extremely unfilial I have been.

We are so extremely unfilial. The more we come to know, the more we cannot hold up our faces, and the more time passes, the more we cannot but feel ashamed of ourselves. We are so extremely unfilial that we cannot escape from having the name of the successor burdened with the sins of our ancestors. We know only too well how accursed and scorned we are by the grievous fact that we cannot escape from the position of the successor burdened with the sins of our ancestors. If we are in such a situation, and still are often called close to the position of our Father's heart, how can the suffering people, who are living in this world as wanderers who do not know anything, possibly understand Your heart?

I had intended not to speak seriously to the Unification Church members gathered here, but I did in the end. Please let them engrave those words in their heart, and do not let them forget those words. Today is the first Sunday after the cosmic event. For this son of Yours, October 14, 1982 is the day on which I met liberation and cast off the day of sadness thirty two years ago. We know that, on that day, the one moment was found in which heaven and earth could offer praises in joy.

We knew that there needs to be the day of heaven that You, our Father, have desired to see on the earth, and we know the wish of all people who pool their hearts together as they wait for the hopeful, explosive opening. If there is one place where the mind of Heaven, the minds of the good ancestors in the spirit world, and the minds of those who follow the way of righteousness and heavenly law while living on earth, can be brought together in one focal point and be celebrated and praised for the first time in history, we know that that place is where the historical foundation of victory has been prepared by bringing together the youths of some eighty nations at this time, through which the sorrow of Christ and the sorrow of Adam can be appeased before Your prominent Will.

Breaking away from the deplorable environment of the spirit world, where You could not communicate freely with human beings in Your incorporeal form, we have prepared an environment on the horizontal plane of earth on which we can have the name of True Parents in Your stead, our Heavenly Father. In such an environment, where they can eat the same food and live in the same situation on the horizontal plane, the world humanity, that is, the many peoples divided as Cain and Abel, can come together through this period on the standard of the heart of the sons and daughters and stand in the position wherein they can inherit the foundation of resurrection. Thus, they can form a relationship of the heart with Heaven, and with a value greater than that of the environment of the marriage of the Lamb centered on the bridegroom and bride anticipated for six thousand years, they can form a connection of heart in the land of Korea and go out into the world. It is truly amazing that this historical beginning has been brought about Father, please forget the grief of the Old Testament Age. Please forget the tragic cross of Jesus of the New Testament Age, and please forget all atrocious scenes from the history of Christianity, when believers were killed, vomiting blood, boiled in oil, or tom to pieces.

At this time in which we were born, after all such background circumstances had been put behind us, do not let us have anything to be ashamed of in the path of pilgrimage we are destined to follow before the heavenly law. I am in a position where I need to give out the command of full mobilization so that we can fulfill the responsibilities of individuals, the responsibilities of families, the responsibilities of the church and the responsibilities of this nation, in order to set right and fix the connection of tradition that could not be established, and then link it to a new tradition before all people in the world. Therefore, please look upon us with joy, and since we have pledged to become the members of the Unification Church who have resolved to march forward without resting and with cherished hope, we earnestly hope and pray that You will receive us with a joyful heart.

Please let the grace of all generations be with us, and allow us to keep true to what we have pledged and resolved of our own accord. Please watch over us until we become not only Your sons and daughters who felt Your heart, but also Your sons and daughters whom You can raise, be proud of, and love. Father, we request again and again that You will spur us on and guide us to walk that path. We offer all these words in the name of True Parents. Aju!

Problems Confronting Society and the Responsibility of the Media

Sun Myung Moon
October 4, 1982
Fifth World Media Conference
Lotte Hotel, Seoul, Korea

Photo date and location unknown

Honorable chairman, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:

I am very pleased and deeply grateful that you have come to Korea to attend this fifth World Media Conference.

This conference brings together prominent communications professionals from all parts of the world to seek a greater understanding of the responsibility of the media in today's society.

The Korean Peninsula is the microcosm of the world

The scope of the conference is global, and the understanding we seek is international. It is, therefore, particularly appropriate to hold this event in the nation of Korea, for it was here, thirty-two years ago, that twenty-one nations of the free world joined forces to turn back the unprovoked North Korean communist invasion of the South. This is certainly one of the noblest examples in history of unselfish international cooperation. The people of Korea will never forget the tremendous service the United Nations rendered in the face of such a serious violation of international peace.

It is also particularly appropriate for this gathering to take place in Korea, because it is here that the great cultures of the world are coming together today. Korea is unique among Asian nations. Here the ancient culture and ways of life have been preserved largely unchanged for five thousand years. The purest Asian culture in the modern world is to be found here. At the same time, many of the major religions of the world came to Korea and flourished here. Christianity, the spiritual core of western culture, took deep root and thrives in Korea. While Christian churches stand empty in many parts of the world, Korean Christian churches are alive with prayer and worship at all hours of the day and night.

Korean Christianity bears the fruit of the western tradition of Hebraism. Hebraism consists of the tradition of spirituality and faith in God, passed down from the Hebrew prophets through the Christian saints and into the world of today. This Hebraic tradition confronts the external, Hellenic tradition in its most extreme form, materialistic and God-denying communism, across the thirty-eighth parallel of Korea. A world that denies God is opposing a world that accepts God, and Korea is the place where these two worlds collide.

The Korean War was the embodiment of the clash between these two worlds. It was not merely a local conflict; it was global war involving the forces of world communism and the forces of the United Nations. Thus the Korean Peninsula is a microcosm of the world. It could be said that the problems of the world are encapsulated in the Korean Peninsula. This being the case, the solutions developed and successfully applied in Korea are not merely local solutions; they become solutions for the world.

What type of solution is necessary? The struggle between communism and the free world is a struggle of ideas -- a struggle of belief, philosophy and ultimately of ideology. If God exists, then atheism must be wrong; if there is no God, then materialism must be correct. Since two contradictory beliefs cannot both be true, there must be a showdown in which the truth will prevail. We believe God exists. It is therefore our most important duty to make that God real in our lives and make that God indispensable in our world. By doing so, we bring the ultimate solution to the problem of communism. I established the Unification movement for this task. Korea is the logical place for this movement to have begun.

Solutions to social problems and the responsibility of the media

I would like to take this opportunity to share with you some of the experiences that led me to establish the Unification movement. When I was sixteen years old, living in the northern part of Korea, I began to have a series of extremely significant experiences. It is difficult for me to describe these experiences to you in words. I can say that the spirit world was opened to me, and I was able to freely communicate with the saints of that world. In the solitude of the mountains of northern Korea, I communicated many times with Jesus and with God Himself. The truths revealed to me at that time now constitute the core of the Unification teaching.

Recently, in a United States courtroom, I testified that I met with Jesus, Moses and Buddha. The media of the world were shocked, and found it difficult to believe, but I must tell you that these were my true experiences. I want to proclaim that the spirit world does exist and that human life is eternal.

After having these experiences, I established the Unification Church, the inspiration for the Unification movement. This movement will bring solutions to the gravest problems facing humanity today.

1. The Unification movement will bring about a positive solution to the problem of communism. To solve communism, a spiritual awakening must occur. This spiritual awakening will provide the necessary foundation for the solution to the physical problems that people face worldwide.

2. The Unification movement will bring about cooperation among the religions of the world, and the unification of all religions into one God-accepting family. The original mind of humanity recognizes the common Creator and Father. Under this common Father, we can and must unite into one human family.

3. The Unification movement will bring about a moral world. This is especially important for today's young people. In the absence of an absolute moral standard, immorality is becoming rampant. A greedy, self-centered way of life, now approved and even encouraged, sees others merely as something used for personal gain. If this continues, it will certainly lead to the destruction of society.

To bring about the establishment of a good world, an absolute standard of universal value must be recognized and understood. Such a standard can only be based upon the eternal and unchanging Creator, God. God must become a daily reality in human life. When men and women live in daily communion with God, there can be no immorality.

This is the truth, and I am sure that no matter what, the truth shall ultimately prevail. Truth's destiny shatters all lies, even if there is great economic, political or social power behind them. Lies cannot overcome truth.

In my bringing the unique message of Unificationism to the world, I realize that the media has often misunderstood me. If anyone could justifiably feel unkindly toward the media, it would certainly be me. I feel, however, that rather than be offended by the attacks of the media, I ought to be flattered that you have given me so much attention. Of course, I have consistently provided the media a most valuable service: I have given you a lot to write about. Keeping track of Rev. Moon, the media never has never had time to become bored.

In fact, I bear no ill will toward the media, for I have great faith that the tremendously good potential of the media will ultimately be fulfilled. Up until this time, I have not been properly understood. Ignorance invites misunderstanding, and misunderstanding invites distortion. The reason why I am speaking to you today is to improve understanding between us. I don't avoid speaking to you because it is my duty to communicate the truth, no matter how impossible this task may seem.

Purpose for making the film Inchon

Most recently, there has been a great surge of interest regarding me and the movie Inchon. The film cost almost $50 million to make and features a cast of famous Hollywood stars. Many people ask why Rev. Moon, a religious leader, would focus on producing a Hollywood movie. I would like to give you my own personal explanation.

I had two reasons, and neither one of them involved making money. The first was that I wanted to document the historical fact that the North invaded the South in the Korean War. Over the course of the past thirty years, communists have persistently worked to cover up this historical fact. Their deception effectively convinced many young people to believe that the United States and South Korea were the aggressors in the war. Yet in fact, the North Korean communist aggressors, backed by Soviet Russia and communist China, attacked millions of innocent victims. This must be clearly portrayed, and the true nature of the communist aggression must be documented. Inchon does this.

The second reason is that I wanted to pay tribute to Douglas MacArthur. Gen. MacArthur loved God and loved humanity, and he understood and hated atheistic communism precisely because it is the cruel enemy of God and all people everywhere. In the desperate moments following the North Korean invasion of 1950, the very existence of Korea and of the Korean people remained in great jeopardy. Gen. MacArthur fought, motivated by a deep desire to do God's Will and to stop the communist aggression.

Through remarkable faith in God, he planned and executed the Inchon landing, a masterpiece of military strategy, and an impossible mission became a great victory.

Gen. MacArthur was not just a military genius; he was a great humanitarian as well. Following Japan's surrender, Gen. MacArthur was in the position of supreme commander of the conquered empire. He could have been a tyrant, but instead he ruled postwar Japan with benevolent, fatherly care.

Gen. MacArthur had a clear vision of how to gain victory in the Korean War, and how the problem of communism in Asia could be completely solved. If the free world had followed his advice, there would not be a divided Korea today, and communism would not have caused the suffering that it has caused throughout Asia. There need not have been a defeat in Vietnam, a defeat that brought complete disgrace to the free world.

I want the young people of today to understand the greatness of Gen. MacArthur. I would like to see them take him as a hero and give themselves as he did, for the sake of God and the world.

There is also a very personal side to my involvement in making this film. When the Korean War broke out, I was being held in a communist prison camp in North Korea. I cannot begin to describe the horrible conditions of that camp. Most prisoners died within six months, but with the help of God I endured the life in that camp for almost three years. Following the Inchon landing, as the United Nations' forces were fighting northward up the peninsula, the communists began to execute all the prisoners in the camp. Just hours before I was to be taken out and executed, I was liberated by the U.N. forces. Inchon is my way of expressing gratitude to Gen. MacArthur.

I never had the opportunity to meet Gen. MacArthur, but this morning we have the good fortune to have his nephew, Ambassador Douglas MacArthur II, with us as our keynote speaker. I feel the general's presence in the person of Ambassador MacArthur, and I am very happy to have him here.

The participation of Ambassador MacArthur, Chairman William Rusher, and the others here at the head table, as well as that of all of you, gives me the highest hopes for this meeting. Please work hard these next few days, and when the conference is over, I want you to have a chance to relax as my guests. I would like to show you my country and have you feel, when it is time to leave, that what you want to do most is come back for another visit.

Thank you for coming and may God bless you.