Sun Myung Moon
December 25, 1980
World Mission Center, New York, NY
Translator: Sang Kil Han
This is the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. As you know, the original will of God did not include the human fall. Therefore, Christmas itself came about as a result of the fall. Originally, it should not have been necessary for a Messiah to come to bring people back to God. It is clear that even non Christians need such a person who can restore them to the realm of heaven.
God, the Creator, is the center of all things. He has always maintained that position, even after the fall. Nations rise and fall, but God's will does not fluctuate. God's ideal was for the individual to multiply into a family, society, nation, and world. In spite of the human fall, this goal of God has never changed.
America has become a great country and is following a certain direction. Is that in conformity with what God wants America to be? We know there is a difference between God's ideal for America, and what America actually is. We must understand God's plan for the Messiah and how the Messiah is going to work. We must see which way mankind wants to go.
Why did God inspire the creation of religion? Simply stated, it was to allow man to come nearer to God. How do you want to come closer to God? God wants to meet a person head on, face-to-face, so man's thinking and God's thinking must be the same. The way they look at each other must coincide and their actions must come from the same direction. We must walk in God's direction and meet Him. When God is striding along, we must stride with the same rhythm.
Since mankind is so far from God, however, there has been no way to find out what God is doing. That is why man needs one person representing all mankind who knows exactly what God wants to do. That person is the one we call the Messiah. That was the capacity in which Jesus came. Thus on the day of his birth, mankind had the possibility for the first time to become one with God.
During this season, people eat and drink a lot and say, "Merry Christmas," but that is far from the original spirit this day. Christmas is the day when people should see the hope of recovering everything lost through the fall. Mankind lost the world, the nation, the society, the family and even the individual who was one with God. Satan snatched all of that away by tempting the individual and luring him away from God. Satan brought human beings into a domain where he could do with them as he pleased. Therefore, man lost everything, even himself.
The Messiah comes to guide people to freedom from Satan so that they can return to God freely. God worked to raise up such an individual by preparing a family, a nation and a world environment. God works on the national level, not just with one individual or family. Jesus came to connect the nation of Israel with God Himself.
Once that nation knew and followed God's will, it could clear the path for the Messiah. Over a period of 4,000 years, God trained the Israelites to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. If Israel had acted faithfully on the will of God, it could have led the march against the satanic world.
In Jesus' day many Israelites believed that the Messiah would come to expel the Roman Empire, and then the Jews could live happily ever after in their country. In reality, Jesus had to educate the Romans and separate them from Satan, and then Jesus' followers could live in that country. In other words, Jesus did not come to destroy the country or government itself, but to bring every individual within it to God's side and chase Satan out. The Israelites thought only they would go into heaven, but God's idea was to deliver not only the Israelites but to save the entire world through them.
Satan was unwilling to relinquish his custody of the world to Jesus, so what was Jesus supposed to do? Would Jesus just say there was nothing he could do, or would he try to grab the people under Satan and bring them to God's side? Would God tell Jesus to fight Satan and bring the people back to Him, or just to treat everyone kindly? Even today many religious people believe that when an enemy strikes you on the left cheek you should calmly offer your right cheek for him to strike.
Of course, Jesus clearly said to love one's enemies. He asked God to forgive the people who were crucifying him, saying they didn't know what they were doing.
The Soviet Union is very aggressive toward America and is trying to corrupt its young people. Should America just sit still and ask God to forgive the Soviets, or should it stand up and confront this aggression? Since Jesus taught us to love our enemies, how can we deal with this problem? Christians today do not know how to relate to even such a simple situation as this.
When the Israelites failed to follow Jesus, he found himself in a difficult position: he came to smash Satan, but that would have meant smashing Israel as well. Jesus knew that his reason for coming was to save all people. He asked God at the very end of his life to forgive his enemies, and by so doing Jesus left open a second opportunity for the people to be separated from Satan and returned to God. Jesus asked for their forgiveness at that time so that he could recover them later.
We may know we are absolutely right, but we must have the wisdom to wait to confront the satanic side until we are stronger and able to win. Jesus said to turn the other cheek at a time when he was still strengthening the power of the godly side. If the heavenly side had grown so that Jesus could lead the Roman Empire, then would he still have told his people to allow evil people to attack them? No, he would have told them clearly to be bold and strong.
Today people think all they have to do is passively love their enemies, but if Satan is your enemy, must you love him? We must love people on the satanic side because it is our purpose to bring them to God's side with love, but Satan has no business standing where he does today. Jesus told his people to love their enemies for two reasons: First, so that he could increase God's foundation and grow stronger, and second, to separate fallen people from Satan, leaving Satan out of the godly kingdom.
We must know clearly what Jesus' situation was when he said those things. Once Jesus' dispensation had advanced sufficiently, he would not have spoken that way, but would have told people to strike out at evil. God is the same way. Can God tell people to love Him and love Satan as well? That cannot happen. But God does tell us to love people in order to separate them from Satan.
This can be seen in my situation. Until 1977 I instructed our members to persevere silently and not to take any action against our persecutors. But once the foundation was laid, I instructed the members to turn the attack against evil. By 1977 enough foundation was laid for us to fight against Congressman Fraser and his committee. I also spoke against President Carter's policies and against communist activities in America for this same reason. God is very aware of what I am doing. Does He feel I am wrong, or does He take my side?
We know Jesus was in a pitiful situation. Did he accomplish what he came for? We must really consider that question. We see that after Jesus' crucifixion Israel was dispersed, so God had to prepare another base for the Messiah to return. Christianity was raised up by God as the foundation upon which the Messiah would come again.
Two thousand years ago the dispensation was prepared on the national level, but now Christianity has encompassed the world. Israel was the chosen nation at that time, but now the dispensation has progressed to the world level and a nation oriented to the world level is needed. America fits the description because it contains more than just one race or culture. All races and nationalities are represented here. Therefore, when America does something, it should be for the world, not just for one nation. America must open the way for the Messiah and understand that it is opening the way for the world. America should tell the world, "Here is the person who can teach us how to live."
Today, however, social evils are rampant in America. As we know from the Bible, sexual wrongdoing is the worst sin, yet no one can solve that problem in America. A drug habit requires much money, so people even betray their own families to get money for drugs. When we can help people realize that drug abuse is one of Satan's ultimate weapons and cure them from addiction, then Satan's power will be greatly diminished in this country.
Are most drug users young or old? Ninety percent are young people, so Satan is attacking young people most strongly. America is the fruit of God's work in the world for the last 2,000 years. Can any nation remain if its families are destroyed through drug abuse? Clearly it is Satan's goal to destroy family and religious life, and drugs are his tool. Drugs are a cancer consuming America; the cancer must be cured for the people to become whole again. Who will do it? We can see that America's only hope lies in God and the Messiah. It is not the State Department or the Justice Department that America must listen to, but to God Himself.
Satan is unsparingly using all the tactics that God hates most to conquer this country, but people are unaware of it. What has become of Christianity in the meantime? Many Christians fear that if they uphold a strict standard, people will not come to their church. Thus they have compromised and many are nothing much more than social clubs and recreation halls. Communism has laid a broad foundation in American society and has even infiltrated the churches. Even among people who call themselves patriots, there are those who support communist causes. This is also true of some who call themselves Christians.
In fact it is not Americans but the communists who are thinking more about the world level. An American patriot might be thinking about saving America, but in God's view it is first the world which must be saved, so that is already a fundamental discrepancy. Many American young people have rejected their churches. Some even want to abandon America. Who will save America when people are all confused like this? Who is strong enough to stand up and point out the correct way to go? The main problems in America today are the degradation of morality, the drug problem, racial conflicts and the decline of Christianity.
Christmas was intended to be a merry time, but in light of these problems today it is not merry at all. What is God's will regarding Christmas? What does it mean to establish God's Kingdom on earth? Fundamentally, it means fulfilling God's original ideal. Didn't He create the world to see Adam and Eve and one perfect family dwelling within His love?
To "save" means to bring back to the original position, or to create again. Re-creation means establishing God's original four position foundation. In that original ideal, Adam could never be separated from God. If Satan attacked him, would Adam succumb? No matter what Satan did, Adam would cling strongly to God. Eve would plead with Adam not to let go of God under any circumstances.
The way of Unification requires overcoming persecution. Satan will persecute us powerfully to see if we really want to be Unificationists, so you have to be prepared for that. Satan will test whether a person is united with God by persecuting him. When a person with a Ph.D. joins the church, the first thing he must shed is his pride. He will be persecuted and pounded on and asked to do menial, humble things in order to fulfill universal requirements.
We must go through impossible situations to get the diploma acknowledging that we have nothing to do with Satan. God knows that someone who can't see the value of enduring persecution won't have any strength in the future, so He has to allow Satan to take him. God can only claim someone if Satan has no objections or accusations. Going through the process of freeing oneself from Satan is very painful in the beginning, isn't it? That pain doesn't continue eternally, however. You cannot have just the wonderful parts and not the painful ones. When a person really accepts the painful way, wonderful results will come to him eventually.
Your desire is to become one with God's will. After that, will you need a Messiah? Was there a Messiah in the Garden of Eden? Modern evils like communism and free sex were certainly not a part of the Garden of Eden. There was no chaos and confusion. Today people want many things, such as fine cars and color televisions. Were there as many things to want in the Garden of Eden? Did Adam and Eve have good shoes or fine clothing and table settings?
The most beautiful music in the Garden of Eden was God's voice, and the best perfume was God's fragrance. The nicest thing to look at was God. God is a God of love. His love is essential. In such love everything will connect to God instantly and be perfected.
The experience of first love is unforgettable. Many Americans may not feel this way because they kiss and touch so freely at an early age, but those who wait until they are older feel that experience very intensely. When a man merely touches a woman, he feels a jolt like an electric shock. Americans touch all the time so their senses are dulled, but in the Orient men and women don't even have to touch for the electricity to flow! The Oriental way is such a sensitive way. When such people feel love for one another, can they forget each other?
Imagine Adam and Eve's sensitivity to God before they fell, and how much love-voltage flowed between them. Even if they just stood outside God's house, they would feel the electricity flowing. They would find their feet walking there, all by themselves, drawn there irresistibly. How fast would their feet move? Once they were drawn into contact, would the noise of their meeting be greater or smaller than thunder? All their senses would be directed toward experiencing that love. When you experience true love, you are completely intoxicated. You don't remember all the details of such a strong experience, but only remember that it was bright and good. That is the taste of true love.
When you taste the original love of God, other stimulants like drugs and alcohol grow pale in comparison. At that point you don't worry about your material standard of living. When a person is really close to God like that, even death does not scare him. If he died, he would be with God anyway. Wouldn't you really like to feel that way? Or would you rather have the security of lots of money and beautiful jewelry? If you had true love, material things like that would not matter. For a woman, something precious like jewelry should be primarily a reminder of the love of her husband. She should wear jewelry to feel her husband's love better. Is any American woman like that?
The ultimate human discovery is finding the person who has become absolutely one with God. Are you absolutely one with God now? No, but still you want to be blessed, don't you? That is inconsistent. The first qualification for the Blessing is to be absolutely one with God; then a man and woman can love each other. Don't you sometimes compare your fiancé to other men or women? If you say yes, then you are being honest. Do you think Adam did the same thing? If Eve didn't like Adam's beard, would she have wished she had another husband without a beard? If Adam had bad table manners, would Eve have rejected him for it?
If Adam decided to dedicate one day to helping handicapped people but Eve didn't want to, wouldn't she join him anyway? Would American women join in such a situation and follow their husbands? American wives often don't just walk side-by-side with their husbands but even a few steps ahead! You should be serious to find out how much discrepancy there is between the original way and the way many of you are living today.
Is cheese more tasty than kochee chan, the Korean hot sauce'? You might prefer cheese, but what would I prefer? By the same token, do you think the taste of the original world is the same as the fallen world? There is an ocean of difference.
If a person is setting out to create a brand new internal history for himself, what is the first thing he must do? He would first have to deny everything he did in the past and start with new ties and relationships. Would he enjoy denying everything? If you were told to eat kochee chan instead of cheese, how would you feel? Even if you believed it was right to do, your tongue would rebel and your stomach would boil. After several years of eating it, however, you might become accustomed to it, and then you would appreciate its taste.
We have become accustomed to the tasteless things of the fallen world, but now we are trying to restore our ties to God and the original ideal. It is much more difficult than changing our taste preference from cheese to kochee chan. It is almost impossible. However, no one can say he should not go that way. Everyone must go.
All people in the fallen domain must make a new start. This is the desperate dilemma of people of the fallen world. Who will help them? If you diligently searched day after day, you would conclude that no one can do it except the Messiah and God. Then we need to have a clear idea about who the Messiah is and what he will do when he comes. He must digest communism, correct the drug situation, change the immorality in the world and revive the Christian churches. He must bring the American viewpoint to the world level, going beyond nationalism. He will have to be virtually a superman to succeed in everything.
To follow a person like that will not be easy. Such a follower will be so busy that he will have to go without sleep and food. Even if the Messiah doesn't know how hard he is working, such a follower will continue because he does it out of love. Only that kind of person will be able to follow the Messiah.
If Jesus' followers had had even a fraction of this understanding about the Messiah, they could have followed him unquestioningly. A person should be determined that no matter what -- come life or death -- he will follow the Messiah. The Messiah comes to do what Adam should have done-namely, to fulfill the ideal of creation. The civilization of the whole universe must start from him. When the Messiah comes to the fallen world, everyone will try to persecute him and change his mind. If he is steadfast and doesn't change, then a certain amount of area will be claimed for God. He must be confident that if he doesn't succumb to persecution, then one barrier will be cleared. But when that barrier is gone, another will be waiting for him.
If you do not surrender to the persecution which comes to you from all directions, then soon all the barriers will be cleared away. If we keep going that way, we will go beyond the national boundary of persecution. Once the national level is overcome, the world level will be waiting. If Israel had supported Jesus, barriers on the national level would have been destroyed. Then Jesus could have taken the initiative to destroy all the evil remaining in the world. He would have been on the offensive instead of the defensive.
Have you ever thought in such detail about how we must persevere through persecution? No individual in the fallen world could survive it, but there is a way to overcome all the persecution at one time. Would you rather face it step-by-step, or finish it all at one time? What are we expected to do now'? You know that God's ideal of creation is to build the four position foundation. On that foundation each person would love the larger good -- for instance, one's country more than one's family.
In the family there must be not only the filial son but also filial parents. If there are no filial parents, no filial son will come into being. You have never heard of filial parents, have you? What are they? Even though their son is smelly and mischievous, they still love him and try to give him proper guidance. If your parents hadn't done that for you, you probably would have ended up in an orphanage with no one caring about you.
When such parents get old and can't take care of themselves, what happens to them? A filial son would care for his parents the way they did for him when he was a child and couldn't go to the bathroom by himself. In that way, the beginning and the end become one. Are all American women filial daughters? Are all American men filial sons'? In this country, many senior citizens' homes are like junkyards for old cars. Should we allow that to continue, or correct that situation?
Satan wants to deprive each individual of the privilege of going to Heaven by preventing him from being a filial child. When your parents are old and require a lot of care, would you want them to die soon and not be a burden, or would you want to take care of them just as they cared for you'?
Recently I was very moved to hear about the father of one of the Korean leaders. This elderly man has been bedridden for five years with a nervous disorder and he is almost like a vegetable. His daughter and wife have had the burden of caring for him constantly. Yet his wife says that she hopes he will continue to live as long as possible, even though he is so much trouble to care for. I really feel she is a woman to be commended.
Recently a 79 year-old Korean journalist came to America to see me, and mentioned that his wife had been bedridden for almost three years. He has been caring for her devotedly all this time, but still he hopes she will live much longer. My heart was very moved to hear him. He and his wife thought that perhaps when he left to come to America it would be the last time they would see each other, so they embraced and tearfully said goodbye. Don't you think that is a beautiful kind of life? While he was here in America he became sick and had to be in the hospital for two weeks. Remembering his beautiful heart, I made calls to the people around him asking them to do everything they could to help him.
Are there husbands and wives like that here in America? I am determined to make better husbands out of American men, and better wives out of American women. I must raise my children to be filial sons and daughters according to the highest standard. Would you try to live like that also? It is the most beautiful sight you can imagine. Of course, it will not be accomplished quickly and Americans may zigzag in their commitment, but after some years they will discover that the very best place is the Unification family.
When God sees that you are making great effort to care for your parents, would He say that you are foolish to waste your energy, or would He approve? If Jesus were here now, would he approve of such people or say they were foolish? Would God approve of my molding American young men and women into such people? Do you wonder why you ended up in the Unification Church, instead of spending Christmas time going to parties, movies and restaurants? Now you don't even go to McDonald's very often. Do you hate me and the Principle for making you suffer so much?
Do you know clearly what we are supposed to do? We are striving to come closer to the original way of living, centering around the family. The family is the training ground where you prepare for living in Heaven. Only after becoming filial sons and daughters can you become royal citizens of your country and world. Only in relatively recent times have people elected their president in a democracy, and that system will not continue eternally. Democracy is a temporary part of the environment before the Messiah comes. Eventually, that right of leadership will be transferred to him.
When the Messiah comes again, would the people want him to stay on the sidelines while they continue the way of democracy, or would they want him to lead them? From another point of view, should the Messiah be elected to that position, or is he the Messiah regardless of what people think? If someone tells people they should only work for their country instead of for the world, then clearly he is not the true Messiah. In the same way, the Messiah cannot agree if Americans just want to make their nation a comfortable place to live. He would have to leave that nation if they insisted on thinking that way rather than caring about the world.
When the American government finds out what I am teaching, American leaders will think I am trying to destroy American order. The CIA will try to block our way when they hear me. Should I refrain from speaking out if my words won't be popular, or speak out anyway? The only reason I am being persecuted is that I am saying things that I know people won't like to hear. It has taken several hours for us to reach this conclusion, but what about people in the street? They won't spend the time to understand how we arrived at this idea, but will just think we are terrible.
Families must learn that the nation is more important than the family. In wartime, wives will want their husbands to go help the country, telling them not to worry. Even if the husband were the only support for his parents, wife and children, he should still leave everything behind to fight for his country. They would all be proud of him for doing his duty. A king who hears of such a family would bow down to such loyal citizens.
There is a person who is better than a loyal citizen -- he is willing to sacrifice his country to which he gave so much devotion for the sake of the world. If he is willing to take that pain on himself, we can call him a saint. We see very few of them in history. Many were persecuted by their nations but thought more of the world and of God, and they did not compromise the principles they followed. Naturally there are fewer saints than loyal citizens, or filial sons and daughters.
God must achieve the highest standard, from the individual level to the world, and the only way to do that is for the individual, family, and nation to be willing to sacrifice. Only after becoming a saint can we be called a true son or daughter of God. For that, we must love the world. Becoming filial sons and daughters is the first step in training to qualify for heavenly citizenship. Then one must also go through rigorous training on the national level.
One must love the people of his nation as he does his own family, thinking of the king or president as his own father. With that heart, a person is qualified to advance to the level of saint, to become one in heart with God, loving Him as the King and Father of the world. Basically, one must elevate his love for his family to higher levels.
You might ask then, "How can an individual make these sacrifices and still exist?" If the individual sacrifices his family for the sake of the nation, then the people of the nation will love and reward his family. If he gives up his country to serve the world, people of other nations will love the citizens of his nation. I left my country of Korea and gave everything for the sake of the world, so I couldn't do much for Korea. But eventually the people of the world will give generously to Korea in my place. The people of the world will ultimately respect you for leaving your own families and communities to work for the world.
If my parents were still alive, how much the people around the world would cherish them. I left them behind and never cared for them because I was working for the world. My country will be cherished by the world because I left it behind. Adam and Eve originally should have represented the world. If the Unification Church today is living for the world, it doesn't have to worry. That way of life alone is the Principled way.
This is the way of God's original ideal of creation. Now we can logically and truthfully say that the Principle is the only ideal which can save the world. The established Christian churches and Jewish organizations, my own country, the communists everyone has opposed me. But without this ideology where could the world turn? If one person comes to restore all of history, then everyone will oppose him, level by level. But if he does not surrender, his enemies will have to give up and a new world can be born.
The Unification Church has set out to do nothing less than this. Beginning from the individual and family levels, our scope has become wider and wider. We have to separate Satan from mankind, but we can't do that through normal worldly methods. Can we do this in any way except the original, uncompromising way? This is not just man's work, but God's as well. Therefore, we see that those people who oppose the Unification Church are declining, but the Unification Church is growing stronger and bigger. This will happen faster and faster in the future. There is nothing ambiguous about our direction.
If the secular world says a person has done wrong, it is up to a judge to decide who is right. Can the judge be guided by which side the majority takes? Does God think the Unification Church, which is a small group of people, should follow the majority in the fallen world, or would He say that everyone else should follow the Unification Church way? For the judge, the opinions of people involved don't matter in making his decision.
Though many people disagree with me, what is right is right. No matter how few people believe in it, God has a standard through which He works to achieve His ideal of creation. Although you are few in number, will you be uncompromising and unafraid of persecution? Do you have confidence that the opposition will break down instead of you? When you collide with the opposition, you will find that they will break first. Can you fight like that? Even if America does not go in God's direction, will you keep going forward to God's will and make the nation follow you? Will you make the world turn and follow God's will?
The weather today is brisk and cold, but you feel good, don't you? Would you like me to make just a short speech and then chase you out to fundraise? Some people might think, "I can fundraise any time," but others might think, "Sitting here is using up time and I want to go out." Which answer do you like better?
My conclusion is simple: It is best to work the hardest way you can for the sake of the world, moving like the fastest jet plane. A jet fighter has a sharply pointed nose. When you are absolutely focused on your work, nothing you encounter will impede you. When two things collide, the one which is moving fastest will break through.
Once you understand this simple conclusion, you really don't have to see me again. Can you say, "Now I understand what you are saying, Father. Let me go and do what I must do and I will see you later in spirit world"? When I unexpectedly visit such a person, he will say, "Father, you don't really have to speak to me. I know your conclusion." That is more of a compliment than asking me to speak. Only if you have that kind of determination can you say you do not need to come to hear me every Sunday.
Now you know what God's will is, what the Messiah came to do, and what mankind should do. You also know that all three should go in the same direction. Did you leave behind your drug problems and immorality when you came to the Unification Church? You know now what America's problems are. Do you also know what we must do against communism? Are you ready to guide America to help the world? Many people have tried unsuccessfully to solve racial problems, but do we have the energy to do that in the future?
These problems will not be solved quickly, but will be our cross. You are free from drugs, free sex, and family problems, but did you give these up just for your own sake? You have to eat up the problems of the world and digest them. They must be your staple diet every day, so you need to have a strong stomach. When you listen to the miserable stories of the prostitutes on the street, you should feel you want to correct the situation yourself. Perhaps you have corrected your own way of life, but when the country is declining, you cannot be complacent.
I could have stayed comfortably in Korea, but if I had, you could not have been trained as you are today. I didn't come here to live easily. You know how I have been treated. I have encountered obstacles everywhere I turned. Since people could not find a legal reason to put me in prison, they tried to create their own reasons and stop me in other ways. If you are suffering, you can compare that with my suffering and see how small your difficulty really is.
You know what I have done in America, but few of you know what I did before coming here. You have to study this. I cannot tell you because my time is limited, but those who were with me in Korea can tell you.
If Korea were more advanced than America, you would have to make great effort to climb the hill and digest the difference. But since Korea is only a small hill, it is easy to come down from America and take care of that simple country. You have reason now to be grateful that I come from such a country. Just like on a roller coaster, it is easy to zoom down from a high point and zip along over a small hill. That is what is happening to us now. We are on the highest peak, looking down from America, and our roller coaster will start zooming down into the world.
Perhaps Dr. Durst felt he could adjust to me and go along with me, but now he sees he has to work under Reverend Kim. He may wonder how many others he will have to adapt to and work under and think it is too difficult. He says he has no problem with that. The only way Is to hang onto me and ask me to go faster and get it all over with.
We are riding the dispensational locomotive. Along our route there is water covering the tracks and we can't see the rail on either side. If you know there is a rail underneath then you will hang on and hold your breath. I am doing everything to speed up the dispensation. You may hate the water, but don't let go of me. You may think the locomotive pulling you is not good enough because it is made in Korea, not America. The best locomotive made in the world is Reverend Moon. Even God is fascinated and wants to get behind the throttle Himself.
Everything the Unification Church does is different, and you have to have guts to ride on this roller coaster. Once you are on board, don't let go. Have confidence that it will not derail. What kind of ride would you have on the roller coaster that dives from heaven in spirit world down to hell? If heaven can be reached only by riding this roller coaster, how will you go? We go to heaven by flying down from the highest heaven to the bottom of hell and back again. Don't be afraid to die. The person who doesn't mind dying will live, but those who want to live will die.
Satan doesn't want to ride the roller coaster, so he won't follow you there. If someone starts thinking that this life is too difficult for him and cannot renew his determination, eventually he will drop away. When you first join the Unification Church, everything looks agreeable, but soon you find that life here is also extremely difficult. In looking at you I evaluate how long you will survive.
When Dr. Durst came to see me in Boston this summer, I gave him a real scolding that left him almost in tears. He never knew I could be so harsh. It was such a shock that he must have felt that he didn't want to see me again for a while. I know that kind of situation. That goes for all the rest of you. I know that you are the same American people. This is a serious matter.
Instead of being selective and thinking in the conventional way, just swallow everything and see what happens. Don't you think there are times when I feel so much disappointment in America that I just want to throw everything away and leave? When I hear bitter things, I pretend that I didn't hear them. That is the only way I can pass over them safely. Do you really thank me for that? It is difficult for me to do. How could God do it when He had no faithful people or nation on earth? How about Jesus?
If you have nice clothes and your stomach is full, your mind begins to wander. We never allow ourselves a moment of idle time, however, and we are so busy that by the time we realize Christmas is here, it is already gone That is the best way to recondition yourselves. You may think you will do better work if you take several days off but it doesn't work that way. When I was in Hawaii recently, the members asked me to stay a couple more days for vacation over Christmas. It doesn't matter to me where I am, but I felt that if I weren't at Belvedere you would think in the old way about having a regular Christmas.
Whether you are willing to listen to me and whether you understand me or not, I talk and talk to you, some times for four hours or more. When I make the five-hour flight to the West Coast it is very tedious. I feel it must be as tedious for you to listen to me. Are you thinking that when I die, you finally won't have to listen to me any more?
Mother is always concerned about you, and sometime suggests that I make my sermons shorter so they won't be so tedious. If I give a long sermon today, maybe the next one can be 10 minutes. I usually give a seven-minute talk at the science conferences, for instance. But you need this. When I start to speak in the morning, I saw some people who just looked dead, but after five or six hours they have a little life in their faces. That is very exciting for me.
As we have said, God's will, the Messiah's will, and mankind's will must come into unity. For that reason Christmas has not been merry at all for God and Jesus. Now in the Unification Church we can celebrate a hopeful Christmas for the first time. Although we observe it differently, it is actually a merrier Christmas than in the rest of the world. I want this Christmas of 1980 to be a day of meditation for you so that you can gain stronger conviction about what we must do.
We have been moving briskly up to this point. Would you like us to speed up now or slow down? Beginning with God's Day 1981 we will start each day briskly, so you can jog from the World Mission Center to Headquarters and back again. If you think that is good, then you can do it on your own without anyone instructing you.
If Jesus were here on earth, how many times would he be willing to run around Manhattan to help revive it? You might feel that since Jesus and God can't do this, you will do it in their place. From this moment on, we must be serious about bringing people into God's domain. If today's Christmas celebration has made you resolve to do that, then there is no more significant celebration of Christmas in all history.
God's will does not end with your perfection. You are merely the beginning. The will of God leads you further to perfect your country and world. When you are witnessing and teaching, you are sowing seeds which will grow in the future.
Who among you has not been to 21-day workshop? Why not? Everyone must have a total of 70 days of training. Headquarters personnel must go through the 21-day course first, no matter how indispensable they may be in their mission. How many of you have not had 2 1/2 years of fundraising? Why not? It is a requirement that everyone must do 2 1/2 to 3 years of fundraising. Who decided that you would not go? How many of you have not done three years of witnessing? How many have not done a seven-day fast? How many did not participate in the 40 day pioneering recently? None of these things are avoidable. Everyone must do them.
News World people may not be able to go pioneering for 40 days straight, but they can work four or five days at a time. Blessed couples living with your families, raise your hands. Almost two years ago, mothers went out to work with CARP, leaving behind their husbands and children. Tiger Park really pushed them hard, but now they are grateful that they went out. In Korea many wives go out while the husbands stay home to take care of the children. The husbands also make money to support their wives who are witnessing in the countryside. When the wife comes home from her mission, then the husband goes out. To indemnify fallen Eve's position, the wives must sustain the home so the husbands can work in a public way.
We just started the 40-days' witnessing this year in America, although I wanted to start it as soon as I arrived here. There has been that much difference between the standard in Korea and here. There is no such thing as a Korean way, Japanese way, or American way in the Unification Church. It is the same everywhere, and if Americans are behind then they are below standard.
Long-time members especially must finish at least the 21-day training by April. You must go through this in the process of being re-created by the Word. You have to take care of your own economic affairs, but you must also help advance the dispensation economically in your country and the world. You will witness not only to your countrymen, but also to people in other nations so that you are connected to at least three countries besides your own.
This year is practically over. During the days to come, you must think about these things and refresh yourself for 1981.
According to the Principle, a person is only qualified after he returns victoriously from witnessing. You should not be indebted to the church, but should make the church indebted to you. The husband may go to the north and the woman to the south to witness and, though they are separated, their hearts will be tied together. You should feel that you do this because your husband or wife expects it.
We cannot abandon the dispensation. We must become strong and bring a victorious result as a foundation for our families. My family and your families will be in the subject-object position, and there is no national boundary or racial difference between us. We go beyond all this but it does not happen automatically. To have a perfect family is not an easy thing. We must work hard and live a hard life so that when difficulty comes we won't disperse and lose everything. The more difficulty there is in doing this, the more brilliant our families will be and the more result we will see. Only after training in this way will we have the strong family ties, strong patriotism and love for the nation, and a strong desire to save the world in spite of the cost to ourselves.
I chased out our members for that reason, telling the wives to leave their husbands and children at home to go witness. Is it more difficult for a man or a woman to leave their family? I sent the women out because the separation is harder for them. We see a difference in the quality of the families who have done that and those who haven't. That's a basic course all Unification Church members must go.
My life was no exception and I gained the victory in all phases. Under persecution, I pioneered the path on which you can go fundraising now. I have been paving the road for the economic foundation of this country, to create enough resources to save America. I went to Hawaii to investigate fishing there, but storms prevented anyone from going out, so I came back after five days. If it had not been Christmas, I probably would have stayed through the end of the year. Why did I do this? For the world. I am not indebted to others, instead I want others to depend on me.
Beginning next year, the starting point of the next three seven year courses, responsibility will lie primarily with you. For the first three seven-year courses, the main responsibility was mine. Now God's Day will be your God's Day; Parents' Day will be your Parents' Day, and so forth.
The beginning of the second 21-year course is the beginning of your time. If you really work diligently, you can do in seven years what it took me 21 years to do. That is really shortening the dispensation. In those seven years not only can the country be stabilized and brought substantially closer to God, but the foundation for the world dispensation, including the communist countries, must be made.
Before you can truly celebrate the Day of All Things, you must be able to restore all things. The money you make fundraising is given to the church to be spent for the sake of the world. The money you dedicate can be a condition for restoring all things, and then you can celebrate the Day of All Things.
After all things are restored, the lost sons and daughters must be found. This was the original order of creation, so you must restore them in the same sequence. Three sets of sons and daughters plus Adam and Eve make a family of eight members, as in Noah's family. When you go witnessing for three years you need restore that minimum number of three men and three women. Then, together with your wife or husband, you will form a family of eight people. Then you can truly celebrate Children's Day.
Your spiritual sons and daughters will work the same way you do for the sake of the country and the world. When they have become one with you, that will be a spiritual foundation upon which God can bless your family in a physical way. In the same way that you follow me, spiritual children must love you so much that even if you mistreat them they will hang onto you. You should love and educate them to that extent. Only after bringing that number of people and restoring all things are you qualified to celebrate Parents' Day.
On that foundation God can first dominate parents, then children, then all things, and Satan cannot accuse any of them. Then you are qualified to celebrate God's Day. This point of the Principle must be clear in your mind. So far you have been doing these things but without knowing clearly why. Only by following this pattern are you qualified to celebrate the heavenly holidays. Because True Parents set up these days, everyone else can take advantage. In my case it was done in the reverse sequence, setting Parents' Day first, then Children's Day and Day of All Things. But you will do this in the original sequence of All Things, Children, then Parents, and finally God's Day.
Nowadays, once Koreans learn about our movement, they either welcome or oppose us -- there are no in between people as in the past. If Korea had welcomed us, all the holy days could have been established at one time. There would also have been a country day and world day as well. Then everything could have been fulfilled in only one seven-year course, and you wouldn't have to do all these things yourself. But because I was opposed in Korea, the 21-year course of indemnity had to occur, and I had to establish the heavenly days separately. Without opposition I could have made all six days at once but because of opposition, the foundation of the 2,000 previous years had to be re-indemnified.
The 21-year course became necessary also to re-indemnify the 200 years of American history. The year 1976 saw the harshest persecution against us, not just from this nation but from even the remotest nations around the world. However, three years after that, opposition began to decline.
After four presidents -- Nixon, Ford, Carter and now Reagan -- a foundation is finally laid to indemnify Nixon's errors. The record will show that I did not fail but succeeded in America. The Reagan victory is a symbol of that victory. The pollsters and professional politicians were all undecided about who would win but we predicted a landslide victory. We took a risk in doing so, for if the election result had been different then all the foundation of indemnity would have been jeopardized. How would Carter have reacted if he had won?
My mission in this country is now concluded. After winning this victory on the world level, my work back in Korea becomes much easier. The nation and the churches will welcome me, like restored Cain and Abet welcoming each other. During my recent 40-day visit to Korea, two important things took place which I had been striving for during these past 21 years. The representatives of various Korean societies came to hear me and wanted me to become their leader. I spoke to them about God's dispensation, and they understood what I said to them. Secondly, many ministers came to hear me speak about God's dispensation. This had never happened before because ministers were afraid their denominations would ostracize them if they listened to me. Such people rejected me in the past, but after the 21-year course was completed, they embraced me. That situation quickly spread horizontally around the country.
Although opposition will decrease because of these accomplishments in Korea, you will still meet some persecution for three or four years because you have to indemnify what I went through in Korea. As soon as it is indemnified, you will be connected directly with the world and you will no longer meet persecution.
This means that your course will proceed normally, whereas I had to work backward in restoration. If mankind hadn't fallen, a course of working backward in restoration would not have been necessary. My backward course met a strong forward-moving wave, as the satanic world poured out persecution during the 21 years. The second three seven-year courses differ from the first because now you are returning to the normal course of development, restoring all things, children, parents and God's position, in that order. This is the inevitable course for all mankind, whether it is difficult or easy.
When you know all this very clearly then you will know, clearer than any theologian, what Jesus set out to do and what his real situation was. We see that Jesus was not welcomed by his people. Thus he had to re-indemnify that foundation which God had laid through the Israelites. In other words, he was supposed to go to the Roman Empire, which at that time represented the whole world, and after making a victorious condition there he could have returned to Israel. Then he would have been welcomed there.
There is a striking resemblance between Rome and Israel 2,000 years ago and America and Korea now. But the significant difference is that America is a largely Christian nation, like Korea, whereas Rome was not Jewish. However, the fact that Korea and America opposed the messianic movement means they are no different from non-Christian nations. It is the equivalent of the non-religious Romans opposing Jesus. Christians really worked hard in the past to oppose me, pressuring the governments in America and Korea to stop and even kill me. I not only had to survive but win a victory over the power of evil, and the peak of that battle came in 1976.
You should know that your three seven-year courses start on my victorious foundation on the world level. You are not starting all over again where I did. Thus you are working on an elevated level compared to my initial position. From this time on, it is definite that the Soviet Union will decline, particularly when the three key nations of Korea, Japan and America really become one. This unity will not happen automatically, so who must bring it about? No ordinary Christians have this vision, so the Unification Church must do it.
During the onset of this new era, President Park of Korea and Premier Ohira of Japan died unexpectedly, and President Carter lost his political power. If these three countries can unite centered on God, then the free world will advance and the communist world will start disappearing. I predict that as soon as Reagan is inaugurated, communists will start staging demonstrations against him on college campuses. But our young people in CARP are prepared and will confront them face-to-face, something even the government cannot do.
The Reagan government will come to respect this movement. No one else has the vision necessary to stand and fight. They will watch what happens when the communists ruthlessly attack and yet we steadfastly fight back. Finally, people will have to take the righteous side, even if they do not join the fight themselves.
An environment conducive to Mr. Reagan's candidacy began to emerge only after Congressman Fraser was defeated in his battle with the Unification Church. Fraser was a symbol for the liberals, and once he was out of office many other liberals were washed away as well. Then the conservatives could begin to rise.
During the next four years we must be determined never to yield an inch in the fight against communism. Then miracles can happen. The communists will fight with everything they have, but we are prepared for this historical challenge. This is your responsibility. We are not fighting individually but will be supported by our families. Churches around the country will also support us in our fight.
I had to overcome opposition from the nation, Christianity, and the free world, but now the war against government and church opposition is won, and you will fight directly against communism. That is what your next four years will be focused upon. During that time the communists will lose power more and more. You will see whether my prediction is true.
Until the Unification Church appeared, the communists were considered the strongest fighters, but now they are no match for us. This was proven in Japan. The communist youth movement was strong everywhere in Japan and everyone feared them, but we fought them and won by challenging them about communist doctrine. They had to surrender when we clearly explained the fallacies of their doctrine. After that the communist leadership issued a directive that their members should not debate Unification Church members about doctrine.
The past year marked the end of the period when established Christianity came against us. The second 21-year course marks the time when nations will be inspired to fight communism and form one free world. Right now only the Moonies are willing and able to fight communism. Because we are effective, people will have to come to our side even though they don't like us. The fight against communism will automatically unite the free nations. South Americans are more keenly aware of this need than North Americans. They more clearly know the value of my thought and our work here in America, and they have asked us to send people to teach them how to defeat communism.
Now you know what has happened before, and what you must do from now on. You can forge ahead knowing that the communists will break when we collide with them. Now you know the plan we are implementing to educate South Americans, North Americans, and Europeans about communism. If you faithfully persevere during the next seven years, everything will fall precisely. We are liberating Jesus, God, and the entire world. Who will lead the world after communism is eradicated? Unificationism is the hope for the future world. From 1981, communism will begin to decline and eventually be eliminated from the face of the earth. Everything has a time when its fortune is rising or declining. When the fortunes of communism were rising, it was more difficult to resist, but now that its fortunes are declining it will easily tumble down.
The Puritans were pioneers but at that time no one imagined what kind of nation they were establishing. You are the pioneers of the world centered upon God. I personally guarantee your position as the world's eternal pioneers.
Here in the Unification Church we make no distinction between races. You are each following me directly. At some point in the future, one person, perhaps one of you, will be the last person on earth who actually followed me directly. Even though that person will be old, whenever America has a celebration, he or she will be invited to speak about the pioneering days. It won't matter how ugly that pioneer may be. He will be the only one who can tell firsthand how I worked and taught Americans.
Future scholars will study my life and seek to become authorities on Reverend Moon. But that old pioneer will be more of an authority than those scholars. When there are fewer and fewer direct followers left, people will seek out the last Oriental, the last white person, the last black person alive who followed me, and the last person in each nation who actually was with me physically, and so forth. Don't you think this will happen, even sooner than anyone imagines?
When there is only one man left in the world who knew me, he will be invited to all the world events. When people attend a memorial service at my tomb, will they follow this last person or the president of the country who will also be attending the memorial service? Can you imagine this? You will remember hearing me speak on Christmas in 1980. If I drop a slightly soiled handkerchief and you pick it up and keep it from that time on, people in the future will be fascinated with that handkerchief. It will be so valuable that you wouldn't exchange it for anything. Would people rather hear me tell of my life directly or listen to an elderly follower? No doubt that person will be cherished in the future, but being here now is thousands of times more precious. Do you feel that value today?
Billions of marriages will take place in the future, but only a few people will be blessed directly by the True Parents. When the last such couple is alive on earth, will they be valuable or worthless? They will be more valuable than any couple brought together by a king or queen. Do you feel that? Such thinking is realistic, not just dreaming.
How valuable will be the first black and white couple who were matched and blessed by me? Have you ever stopped to think how significant that matching is to the entire universe? No matter how ugly your husband may be, he represents all men of the past, present, and future. There will be no one else like him who lived at the same time as the True Parents. Perhaps he will be honored by the grandest statue in the world.
Do you ever think of your husband or fiancé in that way? Perhaps you have been comparing him to other men you have known, and wishing he were as handsome or educated, or whatever. But if your husband is inferior to those men, so much the better. When you isolate a person's eyes, they are not so different from anyone else's. If you compare noses, they are all practically the same, as are ears. It is just the slight difference in combinations that creates a difference in appearance; certainly the material is the same.
If you look closely at an unattractive person, you will probably see that his glance or look has more strength or life. A person may be very attractive, but that will be offset by some weak point. If the vegetation on the ocean floor is attractive but not full and substantial, few fish will swim and play there. But even though the vegetation may be ugly, if it is full and bushy many fish will come. Don't look at just one generation or one example. If you consider the various generations in a lineage, you see the great variety of appearances given by God.
Recently a Korean man told me that he felt it was so great that God did not create people to live forever on earth. It is much better for the old to die and new people to be born. When someone reaches the age of 100, he is full of wrinkles, but imagine how wrinkled someone would be if he lived to be 1,000 years old!
If your thinking is correct then no one seems ugly to you. God's dispensation goes in cycles, so if you have an ugly wife you can remember that you are just at one point of the cycle, and that your children or grandchildren will be very beautiful. This is the way God distributes things. So far white people have dominated sports, but now black people are becoming much more prominent. Almost half the best football players now are black, for instance. But in the Unification Church, white and black all have the same standard.
There is one small black brother who always comes to sit here in front and responds to each word, while the white members are always scattered around, and I have to look to see who is paying attention. CARP is in good hands with Tiger Park, who is here now. A tiger is a night prowler, not a day prowler. When I picked him as leader of CARP he fought very strongly. No one can remove that fact from history. If you receive my direction and work hard for it, imagine the value it will bring you in years to come. Dr. Durst was a professor, a job many scholars compete for, but when I appointed him president of HSA he threw away his professorship like old shoes.
What are you pioneering? Are you pioneers in wearing nice clothes and makeup? You are all pioneers in marriage, but do you men need beautiful wives for that? Are you a pioneer in avoiding fundraising until the last possible moment? Or in sleeping whenever you are tired? Maybe you think, "You have spoken so many hours, Father, so I will be a leg-stretching pioneer." Two years ago I spoke for 16 hours, so we are just at the halfway point now. You should start thinking about what kind of pioneer you are going to be. Would you be the pioneer to save America, to save the world, to liberate Jesus, or to liberate God?
Do people say "Jesus Christ," or "Oh, my God" in a good way in America? Why don't people say that when everything is wonderful? Probably it was first said in despair when God was leaving. You must remember that the time when God leaves is the time we say, "Oh, God!" It's best when we say it to welcome Him, however. When someone is in prison for a long time and then suddenly is liberated, is it necessarily bad if he cries out in happiness, "Oh, God!"? It all depends on the feeling behind the words.
Sometimes I wonder whether I would be able to tolerate the discomforts of pregnancy like Mother does, or whether I would flunk that test. I sometimes think that the skin of men and women must be different, that there must be some force compensating for the downward pull in later pregnancy, enabling women to hold the baby up. If scientists check and find that what I am saying is true, then maybe I will be given a Ph.D.! Mother is embarrassed to be praised while she is present, but I don't want to miss the chance to give her credit.
In some ways I am not very considerate of Mother, asking her to come or bring me things like all husbands do. But she always does what I ask and I forget she is heavy with child. When it takes her a long time to do something I remember she is not as slim as she was three months ago. Sometimes I get aggravated, but Mother might say one small thing like, "Father, have you forgotten my situation?" and then my aggravation is washed away. Then I say, "You're right. I almost forgot." But even if she doesn't say anything, later I remember.
God is the same way. We don't have to remind God about how hard we are working. I just do whatever God asks without complaining, even if He may ask me to do the same thing over and over. God sometimes realizes how much I do, and creeps up behind when I am not busy to sneak blessings into my rear pocket. That's what God has been doing to me. When a person works hard but doesn't come forward for recognition after everything is finished, I have the urge to bless him more.
No one is prouder of themselves than American women, right? I think so! Fifty American women at a banquet make as much noise as 50 men, but in Korea 300 women attended one of our banquets, sitting together at one side, and yet hardly made any noise. That many American women would have been much more noisy. Americans do too much talking, wasting too much energy that way. It would be all right if they were talking about God instead of themselves and what they are doing; then I would definitely be on their side. But in terms of heaven, what use is it to talk about their clothing, shopping, children and husbands all the time?
Let us return to today's topic. We are the liberation force for Jesus and God. Will you fight on the front line, or in the rear area? I may give direction to a church leader and then he passes it on to you. If he comes to report proudly to me about how successful a banquet was, and what good things people said about him, I wonder why he paid attention to that. He may be doing these things because of my direction, but when he reports to me, it may sound as if he did it all on his own. Instead, he should say first, "Father, in following your words I got this favorable response, and this famous person came and said such supportive things." Then there is balance in the whole picture. Do you see?
I have given direction to many Americans, but none of them strongly responded face-to-face, "Yes, sir," and then made sure the directions were carried out. Often I am not even sure if they heard what I said. Sometimes I initiate three different projects on the same day, but they can't decide how to go about them. God often does that to me, so I have to figure out the priorities and decide which must be done first. You must quickly decide, and then begin. If there is just too much for you to do, then call your staff and give instructions for them to represent you in some way in order to carry out all the orders. It seems to be characteristic of Americans that if I give one direction, they carry it out well, but if I give two or three, they cannot do anything at all.
In the frontline of battle the situation is constantly changing, and often leaders have to make the best decision they can at a given moment. Dozens of things need to be done at the same time to combat the enemy, so it is up to the commander to give orders about what gets done first. If a commander feels he has to know every minute detail in order to take action and give orders, then he is not qualified to command. We are in a spiritual war and this is the kind of leadership needed.
I have talked to you about the first and second 21 -year courses and what the similarities and differences are. Now I expect you to determine what America must do, and what we must do to help America fulfill its responsibility. You must carry out everything I tell you; otherwise I won't give you more directions.
I have invested everything for America and the world, so you too must invest everything you have for the sake of your responsibility, whatever it is. On this significant Christmas Day I have told you about the past in order to teach you what we must do and what lies ahead of us. Now you can prepare yourselves to begin anew for the year of 1981. You know the conclusion and as long as you carry it out faithfully, you don't need to see me so much. I have told you many times that I may travel without giving an explanation.
There is always a distance between the frontline and the rear area. Am I always on the frontline, or am I in the rear? If I am in America, then that country is the frontline. Because Korea welcomed me, we may now have to start spending for Korea the same amount of money, effort and heart we have been investing in America. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent here while America opposed me.
President Carter wanted to withdraw American troops from Korea, but the time has come when America must help Korea. Then America will begin to prosper.
We already have members working in communist satellite countries. It may happen that while witnessing in America some of our members could be attacked or even killed by a communist assassin. That is possible. This is a very serious reminder to you of what we may encounter in the future. Have you heard about the movie Inchon? We need such a weapon. I have been thinking about it for seven years, not only preparing the idea, but also preparing the necessary resources. When President Reagan finds it necessary to guide the nation in confronting the communist enemy, he must have some means besides just his own words. If President Truman and the rest of America had listened to General MacArthur 20 years ago, this country would not find itself in its present international difficulties.
If President Nixon had followed my advice and America had supported him, this country would not have gone through the turmoil of recent years. Even a professor who is friendly toward us asked why we were confronting Fraser in Congress and criticizing the President, instead of using some other measures. I told him that we cannot bend but must go straight. Now he is beginning to understand that I was right. You may not understand specifically why we do certain things, but you can understand the broad picture. With time you can understand more, and you will grow in power.
If the Unification Church grows strong in a big country like America, it will have the financial strength needed to help the nations around the world and many problems can be solved. If we can help one country each year, then heaven on earth will be near. In doing that we can save each country and the world.
We recently set up a special fundraising period in Japan, which was initially for 40 days, but on January 10 it will be extended to 100 days, and it may even be extended to 150 days. You are working under a different standard than our members in Japan. If you went to work there you would know what I am talking about. They are on the road 24 hours, sleeping while they travel from place to place. I am directing this condition personally, not for Japan's sake but for the world. When the Japanese do that, they will find that the world will help them in the future. If the Japanese do that, do you think you can be an exception?
I have not spent as much time with the Japanese members that I have spent with you. They are outdoing you now, but are you always going to be defeated by them? It's up to you. I am thinking about beginning a great rotation of our members in the future, when there is not so much opposition. Maybe the Japanese team captains will come under American commanders, just as Americans are now under Japanese.
You are not aware of the heartbreaking reports I hear of our members' suffering in communist countries. The Unification Church's history of martyrdom has already begun. You may not be so serious, but how can I help being serious when part of the body of our church is killed? In some countries the government is imprisoning our members. Though you must sleep, you must always be aware of this and not just sleep complacently.
You can imagine that our members in such countries cry and yearn to hear me speak as you do. Here in America you eat and sleep more than they do, and you take it for granted that you can hear me speak any time. If you do not think about such brothers or sisters-in-arms, then you are not worthy. In Tanzania recently a Japanese member was killed. You must be aware of how serious I am and how serious your individual situation is. All the time I am thinking about how to do the maximum in the most effective way, using the resources we have.
When you see what I am doing now, you can copy it in your 21-year course. Prepare yourself to begin a new year in 1981, this time seriously making a new start. When you don't see me for a long time, you don't have to question what I am doing. There are many things I must do. Now that the major battle is over, I think about the traditions that must be set.
Particularly, I must leave a correct legacy of words. If something is printed incorrectly, I must correct it. If someone else did the correcting, there would be dispute and confusion in the future, but if I do it, no one will question it. I must do that on top of all the other major projects of our church.
You will have to take responsibility for the frontline in America and the free world in my place. I will have to visit Europe and South America. Even if I give you no further encouragement and direction, I expect you to do the work because you know what is needed. I want you to fight well and keep your position. Will you do it? Let us pray.
