Booklet published by The Unified Family
1611 Upshur Street, N. W.
Washington, D. C. 20011
To restore the world
let us go forth with the Father's heart in the shoes of a servant,
shedding tears for man,
sweat for earth,
and blood for heaven
(Sun Myung Moon - from his message to the World Unification Family in the year 1964)
EXCERPTS FROM SITTING WITH ARTHUR FORD
March 18, 1965 -- Sitting in which Sun Myung Moon was present.
Fletcher: (Speaking of Sun Myung Moon) "It is not easy for me to get down to the level of Ford. Great power in the form of light. If you were to see the light that surrounds you, most of you would be blind by it. In another setting I would insist that my instrument and the rest of you should take off your shoes. But spiritually you can create the humility that will enable you to know that you are in the presence of Truth incarnate."
May 13, 1964 -- Sitting in which representatives of U. S. and Korean movement were present.
Fletcher: (Again speaking of Sun Myung Moon) "This person is a person who is going to have a great influence not only on your life, but on the lives of a great many people... He will have something to do with turning the thoughts of people away from destruction, away from war and hatred and materialism, back to a spiritual concept."
"He is a child of the new age....The Aquarian Age. He has tremendous spiritual power and also psychic power. It means the same thing, but generally when we use the words psychic power it means that he is able to bring spiritual power into such focus that it is able to affect people and even physical things, and that's what Jesus did."
"He is a prophet. He is a prophet who will bridge the gap between the east and the west and the past and the future. And it is based on revelation…"
"...Out of that comes the strength and the guidance for a cause which is destined to lift mankind out of the mud -- to materialize toward the stars…"
"It will come like a flash! I can see a vision of great light over all people to enlighten you where if you were to see with physical eyes it would seem almost as if great hydrogen bomb has suddenly exploded. But it is not that. It's a spiritual light, the kind of light that blinded Paul; the kind of light that a saint radiates; the kind of light we can see in the face of a dedicated man. And that light will break out in your own land, and it will be the beginning of a new age, a new day.
Spirit guide (Speaking of Korea):
"Out of your country will come a new spiritual urge. If will be a blending of the ancient with a new revelation, and it is not far off -- it is near.... It is no accident that out of one of the most troubled lands God should choose an instrument of peace to carry a spirit of power which will transcend or be above the materialism and selfish ambitions of people who are in the grip of a materialism and a political system that is no longer useful."
This account has been compiled from the testimony of Sun Myung Moon's earliest followers and other witnesses. Very little of it is taken from his own words. He himself has never fully revealed his life to his disciples. Most of his story is still shrouded in mystery, much of which will remain so for eternity.
About Sun Myung Moon:
How few were aware of the universal significance of the quiet Bethlehem scene 2,000 years ago when Jesus Christ, the son of God, was born. The saying, "History is made at night" was again proven true in the year 1920. On January (lunar calendar) of that year, an event of similar significance took place in the city of Jung-Ju in the providence of Pyung-buk, North Korea. On this day, unnoticed by all, a child was born who was destined to be divinely appointed to the most difficult task in history -- remaking the world. History will mark this day as the beginning a cosmic transition, a revolution that would be effected not by the sword or with bombs, but with the Truth of God.
His elder brother was the first to recognize that Sun Myung Moon was unusual and that he had a special mission. As a child Sun Myung Moon was different from all others. He would not tolerate injustice and discrimination even as a young boy. As a result, he was many times ridiculed and beaten by his older playmates. Even more outstanding was his unyielding will, against which even his parents were helpless. He immediately perceived the slightest act of injustice. If he saw adults taking advantage of innocent children, he would go into a furious rage, lie down on the ground, and cry and beat his arms and legs on the floor. Though his body were bruised and bleeding, he would show no signs of cessation until those guilty admitted that his protests were justified and rectified the mistake.
Easter morning while he was in deep prayer that a great vision came to him. Jesus appeared to him and told him that he was chosen to complete the mission Jesus had begun 2,000 years ago.
Immediately following this divine manifestation, Sun Myung Moon began an intense search for the universal truth. For the next few years he underwent the bitterest and cruelest struggle ever endured by man. He knelt for long hours on the hard rocks of the mountains. He wandered beside endless rivers and lakes. He walked miles and miles over the most rugged terrain in search of God's ultimate Truth. His prayers to the heavenly Father were not the ordinary hind. They were battles; interminable wars against the entire cosmic forces of evil that were desperately seeking to destroy him. This intense conflict was waged day in and day out for nine years. Completely alone, Sun Myung Moon faced this continuous battle. The depth of those nine years of struggle is beyond human comprehension. Sun Myung Moon once said, "If anyone know what I passed through during those years, his heart would stop in shock and sorrow. No one is capable of bearing this story."
During those difficult years, he shed incalculable tears. Many times his eyes were so swollen that it was difficult to recognize him. He cried the very sorrow of God Himself; he cried the tears of suffering humanity. These were the precious tears of indemnity that comforted the sorrowing and lonely heart of the Father.
The Satanic forces of the universe attacked him day after day in the cruelest manner. Many times Satan dragged him almost to the verge of abandoning his mission, but nothing could change his mind. By persevering, he exposed the secret crime of Satan. He discovered what terrible treachery had been wrought against God in the Garden of Eden. With this truth as his weapon, he could successfully retaliate against Satan. Not only did he overcome incredible spiritual assault, but during this period Satan caused him to suffer unbelievable physical torture. Without a body of iron in addition to great spiritual prowess, it would be impossible for any man to withstand what Sun Myung Moon endured during those first years of his mission.
The questions he brought to God concerned the fundamental nature of life. What is man? What is life? Who is God? What was the intended relationship between God and man? Who is Satan? How did he come into being? He further asked: If God is almighty and powerful, why has a good and perfect world not been realized? Why does God allow evil to exist? What is salvation? Who was Jesus Christ? Did Jesus complete his mission? If so, where is the kingdom of heaven he declared? When will the last day arrive? His questions continued to the point where they were beyond the conception of even the greatest minds of the earth. He searched on and on, and discovered truths which had never before been known to man.
God cannot reveal His truth unless one is qualified to receive it. The price for God's precious truth is great indeed, but by the age of twenty-five, Sun Myung Moon had paid that price. After nine years of search and struggle, the truth of God was sealed into his hands. At that moment he become the absolute victor of heaven and earth. The whole spirit world bowed down to him on that day of victory, for not only had he freed himself completely from the accusation of Satan, but he was now able to accuse Satan before God. Satan totally surrenders to him on that day, for he had elevated himself to the position of God's true Son. The weapon to subjugate Satan then become available to all mankind.
The spirit world is the world of origin or cause, and whatever occurs there is soon reflected by the physical world. The spirit world has already recognized him as the victor of the universe and lord of creation. The physical world has now only to reflect what he accomplished. Those people who have sufficient communication with the spirit world can receive direct confirmation concerning his mission. Such person is Artier Ford, a well-known Philadelphia sensitive, an excerpt of whose testimony appears on page two of this pamphlet.
The spiritual victory in which he was sealed as the Son of God and victor over Satan is only the beginning of his story. He began the second stage of his mission in 1946, shortly after the close of World War II. With the defeat of the Axis Power, his native land of Korea was liberated from a long oppression under Japan; but no sooner had the Japanese left then the Russian Communists came and occupied North Korea. The nation of Korea was divided, with the communists occupying the northern section and South Korea remaining free. Only a few months after the liberation of Korea from Japan, God directed Sun Myung Moon to begin preaching his new revelation in Pyongyang, the capital of Communist North Korea. He was called to establish the foundations for the kingdom of heaven under the most adverse conditions, by God, and it wasn't long before he had acquired a small following. His activities came to the attention of the Communist authorities, who were very disturbed that a God-centered ideology was being spread so successfully in the Communist capital.
As a result, one day without warning Sun Myung Moon was taken to the Dae Dong Communist Police Department, where he was brutally tortured. He was given what is known as a water treatment, in which water is continually poured into the nose; He was forced stand on his feet day and night without allowance for sleep; and finally, he was cruelly beaten with clubs. He was so severely beaten that he was injured internally and threw up a great amount of blood. He was thought to be dead, and the bloody mass of his body was tossed out into a cold winter night. His sorrowing disciples found his body and began funeral preparations, but within three days he miraculously revived. Although he had lost so much blood and he was badly bruised and aching, he immediately arose and began to preach out his powerful message, the Divine Principle.
When his recovery became known to the communist authorities, he was re-arrested and this time sent to a labor camp, a fertilizer factory at Hungnam, a coastal town in North Korea. The inmates of Hungnam were deliberately overworked and under-fed, so that few survived more than three months. Prisoners dropped dead every day from fatigue and starvation. Many died in their sleep. Some died as they ate their meals. If one died with even a few grains of barley in his mouth, the other prisoners would quickly snatch these grains and eat them. Their daily meal was just a handful of barley in salted water. The conditions in the camp were miserably crowded and vile with filth. The prisoners of Hungnam were driven to bag and load huge sacks of lime and other chemical compounds every day: Their daily work quota was purposely set at a level impossible to achieve under such dreadful conditions.
Sun Myung Moon had been sent to a living hell. The moment he entered the prison camp, he knew that the Communists had sent him there to die, and that under ordinary circumstances, no man could endure such an existence for any length of time. He determined to subsist in spite of all these privations. But his method of survival was entirely different from what one would imagine. From the very first day that he entered Hungnam, he set aside one-half of each meal and divided it among his fellow prisoners. The total portions alone were not adequate to feed even a small child, yet for three months Sun Myung Moon lived on half of the meal that was served.
Though many of his devout followers walked more than a hundred miles to bring him food and clothes, he never kept any of their gift for himself, but always distributed them among his fellow prisoners. So concerned was he for the suffering of his companions that he forgot his own suffering and hunger. In prison his number was 596. This number was not a coincidence. In Korean it is pronounced "oh goo ryuk," which also means innocent. He was indeed innocent, a man "smitten and afflicted "for the transgressions of humanity.
Throughout his imprisonment, on one saw Sun Myung Moon sleep. After a long, arduous day, the tired prisoners would fall down to sleep immediately upon finishing their scanty meal. As each one dropped off to sleep, he could see the dim figure of Sun Myung Moon sitting in the prayer position, praying to his heavenly Father. When the prison guards aroused the prisoners from their sleep early in the morning, Sun Myung Moon was already in the same prayer position they had seen him in the evening before.
His prayers midst those futile conditions were very different from most. They were not at all centered upon himself, but upon the suffering of humanity and the Father's heart. One time Sun Myung Moon mentioned those moments of prayer at Hungnam: "I never prayed from weakness; I never complained; I was never angry at my situation; I never even asked His help, but was always busy comforting Him and telling Him not to worry about me. The Father knows me so well. He already knew my suffering. How could I tell Him about my suffering and cause His heart to grieve still more. I could only tell Him that I would never be defeated by my suffering."
There were no bathing facilities for the prisoners in the labor camp, yet Sun Myung Moon bathed every morning by saving his ration of drinking water, in which he dipped his small towel before retiring. He arose in the morning while it was still dark and everyone was asleep and washed his body with this wet towel. After purifying himself he then greeted the heavenly Father. There was not enough space to properly exercise in his prison compartment, so he devised a special exercise routine whereby he would grasp his arms and legs and tighten the muscles back and forth. In this way he was able to keep healthy and strong despite the crowded and unsanitary conditions.
Though the work quotas set by the prison authorities were impossible for the tired and hungry prisoners to attain, Sun Myung Moon shocked even the Communist authorities by surpassing the daily work quota. It is ironic that the one who will eventually exterminate Communism should be awarded a certificate of achievement from the Communist government for his outstanding work record. Every day he filled 130 86-pound bags with lime, bound them, and carried them to the loading platforms. The white of the bones of his hands was visible There the burning lime and rough rope had torn away at his kin.
At the most, a prisoner at Hungnam lived for six months, put Sun Myung Moon endured nearly three years of unbearable hardship, and, in the process, even gained a small amount of weight.
Many episodes occurred while he was in prison that touched those about him. Though he never revealed a single word concerning the Divine Principle or his mission, every prisoner soon recognized him as a man of God, because of his extraordinary life and love for God. Some had dreams or visions in which God showed them that prisoner 596 was His Son. Several prisoners saw him on a great and glorious throne of God with his face shining like a sun, looking down on the entire world. Thus, in the midst of his hardships, God sent him followers. Through these men, the story of his life in the Communist labor camp has been revealed.
On June 25 of 1950, the Korean War broke out, and UN forces began to march into North Korea in their drive toward the Yalu River. US B29 strategic bombers proceeded to bomb all the industrial areas of North Korea, of which Hungnam was one of the prime targets. As the air raid signals began to sound, a strange phenomenon occurred. Wherever Sun Myung Moon took shelter, the shelling would miraculously miss him. When the prisoners in his compartment noted this, they began to gather around him as chicks gather around a mother hen. Wherever he moved, they followed after him like a flock of sheep.
Meanwhile a UN landing operation was underway in the vicinity of Hungnam. As the UN landing troops advanced, the Communist soldiers began the process of annihilating all the prisoners, beginning with those who had the longest sentences. The day before it was Sun Myung Moon's turn to be shot, a naval gun bombardment by the UN fleet artillery began at Hungnam. The Communists became frightened, abandoned their plan of exterminating the prisoners and fled. If the landing operation had been scheduled at any other time, or if in some way it had been delayed, Sun Myung Moon would not have been spared; but it was not in the plan of God for him to die. Though historians may attribute the UN intervention in the Korea War to a variety of external causes, the providential purpose was to free that one man of God so that he could continue with his divine mission. His time of suffering was now full. On October 14, 1950 he was liberated from Hungnam prison by the UN forces.
As the UN forces swept through North Korea, many refugees fled to freedom in the south. Sun Myung Moon refused to flee, however, until he had first returned to Pyongyang, more than a hundred miles away, together his followers.
He knocked at the door of each one to tell them to join him at the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula in Pusan. Many of his followers had turned away from him in his absence, but a few still remained. One of his fellow prisoners had followed him to Pyung-yang, but his leg was broken. The man beggared his master to flee to safety without him, since he could not move his leg to walk the many miles to freedom, But Sun Myung Moon refused to leave him behind and hoisted the 200-pound man upon his back and proceeded on bicycle the six hundred miles to Pusan. They could travel only the roughest roads and mountain trails, since the main highways were reserved for military purposes.
After reaching in Pusan, Sun Myung Moon set up a tent on the hillside. In this miserable refugee shelter he began to teach the Principle. The few members that gathered in that shelter to discuss questions of the universe have today multiplied to tens of thousands.
In the year 1954, the Divine Principle movement began its public ministry. Despite much persecution and many enemies, Sun Myung Moon laid a nationwide foundation for the restoration of Korea in the years following. Through his untiring labor and suffering, he manifested the true life and brought one Korean after another to redirect himself. In 1958 a missionary was sent to Japan, the long-standing enemy of Korea. The message has been rapidly moving Japan, and today many thousands of dedicated Japanese youth have undertaken the mission of establishing the kingdom of heaven in their country, As a result of the Divine Principle work, the two enemy nation, Korea and Japan, are becoming close brothers.
At the beginning of 1959, the Divine Principle was brought to America, where it has spread to 20 states. Missionaries were sent out from America to Europe, Australia and Canada. After fourteen years, a worldwide foundation of teaching centers has been established.
Reports from both Korean and Japanese government officials say that the movement is making remarkable progress in converting Communists to a faith in God. This is an answer to the prayers of Korean and Japanese patriots, since in both of these countries the Communist threat is great. This same means of overcoming Communism will undoubtedly be effective throughout the world. The Divine Principle tactics against Communism are simple: "We don't have to preach against Communism; we just preach God. If God becomes a reality in one's life, there is no room for Communism."
The governor of the Kang-won Province in South Korea recently directed all of his staff members and civil employees to take instruction in the Principle, not because he wants to help the movement, but because he knows that the study of the Principle will fortify his employees against the influence of the Communist ideology. Not only he, but various other government leaders recognize the Principle as the most effective teaching to counteract and supersede Communism. In several provinces, members are invited to teach for this purpose.
Another marked phenomenon of this movement is the great challenge it poses to the youth of the world. Young people, who have recently been losing interest in organized religion are finding a new sense of direction in their lives in giving themselves completely to serving God and man. They have established study groups on most of the major college campuses of both Korea and Japan. College students are responding to the call of God to remake the world and humanity into what He originally intended. Their challenge is to become a co-creator with God. Sun Myung Moon's teaching can be summed up into the following few words: With the Father's heart, in the shoes of a servant, shed all your tears for humanity, all your sweat for the earth, and your blood for heaven." In one word, the goal of all Divine Principle members is to perfect themselves in loving God and in loving men.
Indeed, those who come to know him and his teaching deeply enough can only conclude that they have discovered the very center of the power of God in action, a power that is a billion times mightier than the atomic bomb -- the power of His infinite and all-conquering Love! Whether mankind realizes it or not, the first chapter of a new cosmic history is now being compiled. Blessed are those whose names appear within its covers.
