Sun Myung Moon’s Life In His Own Words
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Sun Myung Moon’s Life In His Own Words |
Father
holding Ye-jin nim, True Parents' first child, as Mother looks on
About the time that Mother began to have labor pains, a ceremony for the Day of Restoration of the Four-Position Foundation was held, from 10:40 to 10:55 am. This used bowls piled high with rice, beans and chestnuts, representing the sea, the land and the mountains. Father said it was a ceremony through which God, all created things, True Parents and the restored sons and daughters formed a relationship of heart centering on the baby in True Mother's womb. It began with Won-pok Choi, Jeong-ok Lee and Jeong-hye Yoon offering full bows. True Father offered a prayer, and then Sung-jin nim, Won-pil Kim, Hyo-won Eu, Dal-ok Jeong, Dae-hwa Jeong and Dong-sook Kim offered bows in turn and the same prayer was repeated.
Next, Father indicated the four directions -- east, west, north and south -- and stated.
The mind, representing heaven, and the body, representing earth, were separated, so heaven and earth were separated. However, Father, representing heaven and Mother, representing earth, have restored what was lost and by us the child in the womb is loved, loved, loved."
Everyone then repeated his last words. Sung-jin nim also stated that the baby was loved and repeated "loved" three times. Next, True Father had three women in the mother's position, those in the position of sons and daughters, and True Mother, do the same.
Father, at the ceremony:
We, who were born with flesh and have already grown up, cannot go back to being a seed within Adam's body; therefore, we must establish a condition for rebirth by being united with True Parents and with the True Children, who are born of True Parents. Therefore, when sinless, true children are born through True Parents, you should establish the condition of having received some portion of the food and other things with the same ingredients. Doing this together, we follow a course of participating in the position of the True Children....
Through the birth of sinless, true children, the heavenly four-position foundation has been restored for the first time in history. In our Unification Church, the restoration of the heavenly four-position foundation has been achieved.
Today is New Year's Day by the lunar calendar. This day, the first of 1961, is very important to us who understand the significance of the providence of restoration. For people in the outside world, New Year's Day is a day on which they exchange heartfelt pleasantries and nice gifts and rejoice together happily. It would be nice if we could also live in such an environment, but that is not the way it is.
Not many have had an opportunity to celebrate New Year's Day in God's presence. Have you ever met anyone who claimed that God had come to him personally and said, "You have grown older by a year today, so give me greetings of the New Year. Make some rice cakes and let's enjoy the day together," and that he had joyfully spent the day with God? I'm sure you haven't.
The innumerable New Year's Days that have come and gone in the course of history have always been a source of sadness to God. Today, however, this man who has appeared in front of you will clearly state, "Today should be a day on which we return joy and comfort to God."
This morning, I am setting out on this tour with great hope in my heart, not just because I am going to meet you, but because I am thinking of this dormant Korean Peninsula's one purpose. All people should remember these thoughts, which is why God, who is also thinking about these things, is hoping that this day will become a day that He can always remember with joy.
The thirty-six couples represent all of history What are the thirty-six couples? Their blessing signifies that the two-thousand-year period, during which Adam's family, Noah's family and Jacob's family all failed, has been indemnified for the first time. They represent all providential history....
So, what is the first group of couples among the thirty-six? I brought those who had married by themselves and joined them in God's presence. What is the second group? I connecter those who were unable to fulfill their love. What about the third group? They had been single men and women. The third group of couples are the center. In this regard, as the model ancestors, who are the representatives of all types of people on earth, they need to pave the way to the kingdom of heaven an. act as guides for others.
True
Father sprinkling holy water on the thirty-three couples; the thirty-
six couples comprised three groups: virgins, those who had
experienced unfulfilled love, and married couples.
What are the thirty-six couples? They are the ancestors. In becoming those ancestors, can they consult their own parents? They have to consult God. Therefore, only after I matched you with God's authority did I send an invitation letter to your family members.
Those sons and daughters are not their parents' children. They are Heaven's children. Restoration must be done through indemnity. I loved them more than their parents did. In order to create heavenly sons and daughters, I invested all my energy day and night even while their parents were sleeping and doing secular things.
Still, their parents had to be notified.... In a letter, I wrote, "Since your son (or daughter) will take part in the Holy Blessing Ceremony, we request the honor of your presence." That's how I phrased it.
The wedding invitations were sent out a week before the wedding, but the question was how to word the invitation. The invitations gave the name of the bride and of the groom that were to be married and the wedding date. Because they were invited, they had no choice but to come. We stipulated, however, that if they wished to attend the wedding, they should do their best to find and wear the type of holy robe that Unification Church members wear. It was as if we were telling them not to come. We didn't want them to come, because they would create a commotion. Unification Church holy robes are white. Do you think they had ever seen robes of that type or even dreamt about them? Where on earth can you find a man who orders you to wear a particular kind of clothing at your own son's or daughter's wedding?
From the viewpoint of God's providence, everything began from false parents. So, from the position of being True Parents, I had to coach the children in everything. Not only did their parents oppose me, but the nation also opposed me.
Newspapers reported on the wedding ceremony and made a ruckus about it, but we held it three times -- one for each group of twelve couples. Some of their parents, relatives and friends came and created a commotion. There was a lot of fuss.
The blessing of the thirty-six Unification Church couples had to be conducted in the dark of night, behind locked doors. During the ceremony, we heard all kinds of shouting: "Let my son go!" "Let my husband go!" "What do you think you are doing with other people's children?"
People were outraged because traditionally parents arrange their children's marriages; yet here was the founder of the Unification Church marrying them off on his own. The families protested so vehemently because they were fathers and mothers from the satanic world. Since God's children had been snatched away by Satan, I snatched them back from his clutches. It was through the blessing that I had to regain the children lost throughout history. Hence, I concluded the Blessing Ceremony hurriedly. I had no choice, because I was trying to accomplish restoration through indemnity.
I told policemen at the Yongsan Borough Police Station, "People opposed to us will come. Please protect the place." Because the police would then be held responsible if somebody were to be killed, what else could they do but protect us? They sent some policemen. I also posted two burly brothers as guards. What was this for? It was to protect a wedding ceremony!
I thought that the parents of the children whose wedding I conducted and who at the time insulted me and protested would all become enemies of the Unification Church. Now, however, they all tell me I did well. "Oh my!" they say "There are no daughters-in-law like Unification Church daughters-in-law. They are the best." or "You can't find sons-in-law like Unification Church sons-in-law."
One mother, an elderly lady, came to the ceremony with some of her family. Her husband was a teacher at a teachers' college. He came and entered the place, saying, "My daughter is going to get married. Is someone against my being here?"
We said that since he was not wearing a holy robe we could not allow him in. We had to be strict. So, he went out and borrowed a robe, and put it on. His black suit was visible beneath the robe. He came in and sat down. At the wedding ceremony, I offered a benediction. How much he must have disliked me! He wanted to say something bad to me, but as the head teacher of a school he would not have been able to do that and still maintain his dignity.
When he saw me, he was thinking to say something rude, he told me later.
Afterward, he joined the Unification Church and became a dedicated member. When I asked him whether I had selected a good son-in-law for him after all, he said, "Oh, I'm sorry for what I was thinking."
Ceremonies necessary for the restoration process The engagement ceremony is intended to reverse the Fall, which Adam and Eve, the ancestors of humankind, committed while they were engaged. The Holy Wine Ceremony is intended to completely remove Satan's blood, which stained human blood through the Fall. In other words, it is the ceremony to fully remove the original sin.
Holy wine is not something produced easily. It was produced in the presence of Satan, God and many angels in the spirit world. It contains twenty-one things you don't know about. It contains all the elements of the created world and of human beings formed in the process of the history of restoration. It is ordinary wine, but it is the same as the original core of life. After you have attended this ceremony you must not betray this. When I give you the blessing, I ask, "In case you fail, will you take responsibility?" It is a conditional blessing.
You have heard of the Indemnity Stick Ceremony haven't you? In the past married men and women betrayed one another and did many other bad things. Those mistakes must be corrected once and for all. Since the mistakes were made with that general area of the body, you have to be struck on your buttocks. This is not a game. It is the condition by which to overcome resentment that arose within the stained lineage through three ages.
After you go through this ceremony a forty-day separation is necessary. Why? It corresponds to a forty-year period. Because the returning Lord came four thousand years after Jacob, it has to be a period that represents four thousand years.
These forty days are a time for setting an indemnity condition. During that time, you should think of God's will for the whole, and while longing for the kingdom of heaven, you should not think of your wife or husband. You should offer your sincere effort for the sake of the nation and for God's will.
From
left: Young-hwi Kim, True Father, Ki-sook Yoon, her husband Bo-hi
Pak; Won-pok Choi, Hyo-won Eu, his wife Gil-ja Sa; and Won-pil Kim at
the U.S. embassy, in Seoul, on February 25, 1961, a few days before
Major Pak left for the U.S.
God has placed us here because He believes in us, not because we are worthy. Therefore, whether we take this path or not will determine our destiny. Our members living in all parts of South Korea are going hungry, even as we speak. Therefore, you too must overcome all obstacles in your path. The good spirits in the spirit world are observing our situation with sorrow....
You can become the owners only when you have the heart of a parent and the body of a servant. Ownership is what God is bequeathing to you. You can attain it only when you shed warm tears, sweat and blood with the Father's heart.
To become true leaders, you first need to learn from a true teacher. Don't cry for yourselves. You should shed many tears in different parts of the country. Whether you can have good children or not will be determined by the extent to which you offer your loyalty for the sake of God's will.
I dare to cause the families in Adam's position to experience difficulties in order to enable the families in Noah's position and in Jacob's position to overcome difficulties unconsciously, so that other families also might be able to do so by following suit. That's why I am sending you out to different parts of Korea. I need families willing to fight, to sweat blood.
You will now begin giving birth to your own children. You need to pray to have children who can be connected in heart with Heavenly Father. You must pray so that you can give birth to children that can become chief priests of heart. I hope you will give birth to children with a standard of heart that represents heaven and earth.
When I give the blessing, I take responsibility. The forty days corresponds to a four-thousand-year indemnity condition. In fact, your married life starts from today. It has been a time of indemnity until now.
From today, when the forty days comes to an end, you need to make a new start. Glory is not something to be sought for yourselves. Shed tears for three or four years.
Following Adam's era and Jesus' era, we are living in the returning Lord's era. Therefore, I am telling you not to defile Heaven's lineage. The greatest of all sins is the act of staining the heavenly lineage.
On
chairs, left to right: Su-won Chung, Hyo-won Eu, True Father, True
Mother and Chang-seong Ahn at the fourth graduation ceremony of a
workshop for witnessing leaders on December 20, 1960; five more such
forty-day workshops were held in 1961.
I have returned from a five-day visit to every part of South Korea. I passed through Daejeon, Jeonju, and Gwangju. Making my way through Masan to Daegu, I visited Samcheok, after which I visited Chuncheon, passing through Jecheon on the way.
What I came to feel during the tour is that now is the moment for us to fight. I saw that our young brothers and sisters in the provinces are strongly determined, which tells me that during this time we will emerge as victors in this great fight. What really pained me, though, was that our members walked hundreds of li to come to see me when they heard of my coming to visit them.
People of the world have so much money that they can afford to travel anywhere, yet they don't come to see me; whereas our Unification Church young people walked hundreds of li to do so. When I went to Gwangju, I heard that our members came from as far away as Mokpo or Mu-an, and that they had had to walk for two or three days, night and day. In light of this, I thought to myself, Whatever goals we may set, our church will surely achieve them.
These people, who have thrown themselves into this work for the extraordinary will of God without a moment's hesitation, with total disregard for their own difficulties, and who have overcome all their suffering and made progress, have no worldly experience. Moreover, they are not tied down by their own individual circumstances, and they don't have any self- centered consciousness or views. When I see young people of about twenty working hard, determined to devote their lives to the providence, without really knowing themselves yet, I cannot help feeling proud of them. I saw many such members among us.
On the whole, they have more spirit than the young members in the headquarters. If I compare them with the members in Seoul and Gyeong-gi Province, which the headquarters oversees -- that is, with those of you here -- I can even say that they have more spirit than you when it comes to their earnest yearning for God and their loyalty in following His will. If you were to fail in fulfilling your responsibilities, I feel they could step over you and fulfill them in your place.
At the end of the tour, I found that my voice had become hoarse, because I gave lectures for three or four hours or even more wherever I visited, and I talked all night with members I was meeting for the first time.
There was a problem on one of those visits. I was scheduled to arrive at Samcheok at 9 pm, but the car broke down on the way and we finally arrived at 4:40 the next morning. You can imagine how long the Samcheok members had waited for me. They were very tired by the time I arrived. We held our meeting in the early morning, and because the place was on the East Sea, there were patrols in the area, and we couldn't even talk for long. After about an hour, I left for Chuncheon by way of Wonju and came back to meet you here this morning.
What do you think I thought and prayed about while I was doing this? This year, our young members have gone out to witness, as I instructed. They have made God's will their common mission and are striving to fulfill it. In fact, they have had many difficulties. I worried about them and prayed, "I offer this prayer to transfer the burden of their difficulties on to me, so please take that into consideration." I also slept outdoors for a night.
You are brothers and sisters to the members in the provinces. You have the same bloodline. If any one of us weren't here, it would not be good. Even when you meet a member for the first time, you feel you have the same heart. That is what Unification Church members wish for. We call ourselves "family members," which could easily be misunderstood by the outside world. We are, in fact, family members, in every sense of the word.
I am thinking about sending Seoul members to the districts where they would encounter the most hardship. I want you to be proud, not of how much you enlighten people, but over how you cried, trembled, went hungry, were pushed against the rocks, and prayed. Go out witnessing now and experience material deprivation, suffering caused by other people and suffering of the heart.
You should return having been trained in feeling sympathy even for bad people. Don't take much money with you when you go this summer. Unificationists must raise walls coated with their blood, sweat and tears. It is the process of building a house. You have to march ahead, searching for the different places where blessings can be given. I would like to bless the simple house that you build. Don't look for support for building a church.
Itinerant missionaries, 102 in number, are mobilized during these forty-days of witnessing, including regional leaders, district leaders, general itinerant workers and special itinerant workers. Each of these 102 people touring for forty days would amount to 4,080 days.
"With a parental heart and a servant's body, let's become a bleeding, sweating, crying offering that goes out to the place of the high priest and takes responsibility for sins and that goes to the place of the son or daughter who judges Satan in the place of the Father." This is our motto, our basic approach.
1961 is the first of three years during which we have to make an all out effort to advance. We must establish a base in every local district. I am planning to expand this to every small village next year.
I want to walk through the mountains and rivers of this land in my bare feet, wearing my only suit of clothes. The revival group is sent out to show that kind of heart, the heart of parents looking for their children.