Editor's Note: Some days after this interview, I called Soonja Richardson and asked her one final question, about the reason we need to make monetary offerings for the liberation and blessing of our ancestors.

I include Mrs. Richardson's points here for the benefit of all:

First, among our ancestors there are those who have abused money, either through theft or other forms of dishonesty. This leaves a serious spiritual problem (sin) to be resolved by the descendants. Some forms of dishonesty with money are so serious that spirits have attached themselves to us purely on the basis of these particular ancestral demerits, and only can be removed by financial sacrifice whereby we voluntarily (even if painfully) commit our private money to a public purpose.

Second, the money that is donated at Chung Pyung is dedicated only to projects that are in the most public of realms. Mrs. Richardson explained how strict Hoon Mo Kim is with the finances at Chung Pyung, down the last 100 won (10 cents). And the staff are the same: they know the serious consequences that have accrued for us though the use of money in our lineages, and they are so serious about not inflicting such difficulties on their own future generations.

I feel sure that as more good conditions of this sort are heaped up, releasing the debts of our ancestral lines, as our ancestors are also those of many other people, the benefits of this will help those who have, up to now, been completely unaware of the providence, or who are unable to contribute to it personally for the time being.

Dear Carl and Everyone

I think we have all wrestled with this question. I asked the Chung Pyung office senior staffer about this when doing an article for Today's World. The answer was that in all our lineages there are people trapped in very difficult situations due to their misuse of money, sometimes many generations of ancestors are restrained from progressing due to such misuses and abuses while on earth. The liberation offerings (about $70 per seven generations) are to release these debts (which are spiritual in that they have hurt others). At Chung Pyung the staff are careful with money doen to the last 10 cents, I was informed, as they are so conscious of the damage done by misappropriation of money -- which represents the time and effort of others.

Moreover, as this providence gains ground, those who make the effort to go to Chung Pyung will, I think, help set up the conditions for that work to broaden out and so other regions whose members are too poor to fly to Korea will be able to then gain the same benefits for less investment. Already this is being seen in Dae Mo nim's trips overseas and in the registration workshops being held in Brazil.

Of course life is not fair. Some like myself live in Korea -- we can go to Chung Pyung with relative ease -- though we do not always take that opportunity. (And we have other problems to contend with!) I believe just as some people received the blessing first and that gradually broadened the conditions so that a larger group could receive it later, the ancestor liberation providence will move in the same direction over time.

As we liberate ancestors back 30 or 40 generations, those liberated ancestors have hundreds of thousands of descendants around the world. It is not providence just for a single lineage, but for all humanity.

Sincerely,
Julian Gray

Footnote to the discussion:

The point that Dae Mo Nim has been making for a while is being made in True Parent's speech "God's Model Ideal Family and Nation, and the Peace Kingdom," dated as "April 28 -- Aug. 30, 2006, one of the three providential speeches for the 120 Nations tour:

"Distinguished leaders, you are now living in the most blessed and exalted time in history. I now proclaim the launch of the era of a new heaven and earth, an era after the coming of heaven, long-awaited and yearned for by billions of your ancestors in the spirit world who have come and gone in history: this is the era of the Kingdom of the Peaceful, Ideal World. Not only the four great religious founders but also billions of good ancestors have come down to earth at this point to guide you on the heavenly path. The age in which the Fallen and corrupted world plays havoc on humanity, allowing those who are evil to live better than others, is passing away."

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