The Words of the Kim Family Before 2008
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The Words of the Kim Family Before 2008 |
Rev. Do Wan Kim is currently the regional leader of Chicago. He joined the Unification Church in Korea on May 26, 1956, at the age of 20, when he was going to Chung Nam Engineering College. He took part in the Blessing of 72 couples in 1961. In this interview he speaks about his life in the church in the early days and offers special advice to members.
I joined the movement in 1956, when I was 20 years old. I was just beginning Chung Nam Engineering College in Daechon, South Korea, when one of my friends there witnessed to me.
At that time 60 students from the college joined the church, but I was the only one who stayed. There were then only ten full-time members.
I joined simply because Father had more love than my physical father and grandfather. Whenever I bowed to Father, I always felt some heavy force pressing down on me, forcing me to bow lower. When I told this to Father, he said that only those people with great ancestors, or those for whom God has great plans, can feel this.
I did not know much about what Father's personal life was like at this time, but I can tell you that he only slept for two or three hours each day, staying up nights praying for the accomplishment of God's will.
Father is, at heart, a humble man, and he always wanted to live like an ordinary person. But this was not possible. Spirit world knew who he was and wherever he went, spiritual phenomena were always happening.
For example: There was a certain Mrs. Kim who was the wife of a university vice president. When Father met her for the first time he asked her right away how she got married. The question was an immediate shock to her, because Father had understood the secret behind her marriage. Thirty years before, she had met her husband during an outing at the beach. They had shared a motel room together and had simply lived together after that as a couple; they had even had children. She was amazed that Father had realized her secret, and she testified that he was not an ordinary person. Later she joined the church.
From this example we can learn how important it is to marry according to the law in a formal wedding ceremony. If a wedding ceremony makes so much difference, think how important the Blessing is. Due to the fall of man, God lost His children and the ability to grant the Blessing to His children. Humanity lost True Parents and God's Blessing.
When Father had just come out of prison in 1955, our church was viewed as low quality and heretical -- far removed from normal life. To visitors we seemed strange and they would look at us skeptically. But the members were very close. In the midst of the intense persecution we comforted and supported each other, and so became very united. We prayed hard and experienced deep love among ourselves.
When there is complete harmony in the church, spirit world works to bring people there. College students on their way to school would automatically stop by the church first, because of the harmony they felt there. Even guests who had stomach problems said they had no trouble digesting food when they ate at our church. The food we served didn't look very good, but it always tasted wonderful.
I was able to persevere through those difficult days of persecution for two reasons.
First of all, Father gave me a very important message in a dream. He said that a person who is to perform a great mission in the future has to go through many difficulties and sufferings. If we train ourselves to go over these difficulties God is able to give us a great blessing. If, on the other hand, we fail to overcome these sufferings, God cannot bless us. With this thought in mind I was able to persevere through many difficult times.
Secondly, my ancestors appeared to me in a memorable dream. I am descended from the Silla Dynasty. This dynasty lasted about 1,000 years, the first 600 years ruling the southeast part of the Korean peninsula, and the last 400 years ruling almost the whole of the peninsula. There were 56 kings in this dynasty, and 38 of them were my ancestors. One of my closest ancestors appeared to me and told me that I must attend Rev. Moon as my father, elder brother, and great teacher. He told me never to deny him, never to leave him. He said that if I attended and followed Rev. Moon, all of my ancestors of the Silla age would be liberated from the resentment they carried in the spirit world.
What impressed me the most about the Principle when I first heard it was the Principle of Creation lecture and the process of restoration. I was deeply moved to learn how much God has suffered in the history of restoration.
When I first joined, I did all the cleaning at the center. I did the most lowly job I could find. Later Father told us that while people in mainline churches may spend long hours kneeling in prayer, if you go to the lowliest place and do the lowliest job, that is many times better than long hours of quiet prayer. Actualization is what is most important. He advised that if we were finding it difficult to pray, we should go find the most lowly job that no one else wants to do, and do it -- this can then be a substitute for prayer. Father repeatedly told us that if you can do the lowliest job, God can work powerfully through you and will bless you.
When I was attending college I had many good experiences with God. Sometimes I would be on my way to school, but would suddenly find myself in front of the church door without any recollection of how I got there. Spirit world just guided me. You can imagine what people on the street thought of me -- they thought I was crazy.
I come from a Confucianist family, but I had converted to the Methodist Church before I joined the Unification movement. I was the first Unification Church member to fast for 21 days. I was blessed in the 72 Couples Blessing. My first wife died in 1982 and I was re- blessed in October 1982 before the 6,000 Couples Blessing in Korea. I was then in America and I was blessed by a picture to my wife, who was in Korea at the time. She had been blessed in the 430 Couples Blessing, but her husband had also died. I now have six children, three by my first marriage, and three from my second wife's previous marriage.
In such a Blessing, when we go to spirit world we each go to our eternal mates -- the spouses from our original Blessing. The purpose of the second Blessing is to comfort each other and is called the comforting Blessing. If a child should be born in this second relationship, he or she would be the child of the husband. If, however, the second wife did not have any children by her first marriage, the child would be the child of the mother and her husband in the spirit world.
I really want to say to members that only those who endure to the end and bring victory will gain the blessing. I know that at times everyone feels that he or she wants to give up. Members work hard and pile up many merits and then sometimes feel discouraged or get angry because they feel they are not recognized. But we do not work to be recognized by man. We work to be recognized by God. If you get angry because you are not recognized, you risk nullifying the merit you have gained through your hard work.
Let us not be arrogant. Sometimes we say to ourselves, "This could not have been done without me." But we must remember that it is Heavenly Father, not man, who does the work and gives us our position. Once we become arrogant, that is the end. God cannot work with us. So let us be humble.
It is good for blessed members to remember that, externally speaking, there is no difference between us and people who are not members of the Unification movement. The only difference is that we have the Blessing -- and that has been given to us by God. God waited for 6,000 years to bless us. If we deny the Blessing we have no place to go before Father in the spirit world. We must protect its value.
We are to establish the heart of filial piety through three generations. Our children and grandchildren are to attend Father's children and grandchildren. Also, our children should not marry without Father's blessing. So for the sake of our children we must endure within the church.
During the times we feel like giving up and leaving, we can remember an example that Father gave one time. In the Oriental culture, when a woman marries she becomes part of the husband's family. She often undergoes many trials from her husband's parents and relatives. Many times the daughter-in-law feels like leaving and packs her belongings. Father said it is all right to do this, but once she actually goes out the gate, she is no longer part of that family. So even though you might be discouraged, please remember not to step out of the gate of the church, because as long as we are struggling within the church there is hope of gaining victory.
If we feel disheartened or run-down spiritually, there are ways to deal with it and not leave. It's something Ilk e a car that is having engine trouble on the highway. One way to still keep going is to first pull over to the side of the road, repair the car, and then move on.
According to my experience, there are two main reasons why members get "tired" -- so exhausted spiritually, and perhaps also physically, that they feel they cannot endure this lifestyle and want to quit. The first reason is that the member may have personal problems. Often when we make a personal mistake of some kind or fail to do what was best, we comfort ourselves from the worldly point of view, or justify ourselves according to fallen values. We lose God's point of view. An example of this might be a member who joined full-time when he was going to college. He feels his present work is not valuable and that he is getting nowhere. He compares his situation to that of his friends who graduated: they have good jobs, nice homes, families. Meanwhile here he is still fundraising on the street. He is judging his situation from man's point of view, not God's. When you do this you lose heart and, eventually, you lose faith.
The other reason why a person may feel spiritually exhausted is that God may be giving an extra-heavy burden to that person to bring him or her to a higher level. That person is being tested because God wants to give that person greater blessing -- therefore some offering and time period of indemnity are required.
When a person feels this run-down spiritually he may not know at first which of these two causes has brought about his suffering. One is from man, the other is from God. But if the person prays about it, his original mind will reveal the reason. He can pray something like this: "Heavenly Father, if this has come because of my own mistake, I repent. Please forgive me. But if it comes from you, I want you to know I will endure and follow you faithfully." When the member prays like this the source of his sin suffering will become clear, and he can deal with the problem constructively.
A great leader is one who understands his life of faith and who can experience God through his life, not just through his mind. Leaders must pray a lot. Good results can only come if God is the center of a leader's motivation and direction. If the motivation is "me," then only bad results can come.
If a leader creates a debt with public money, then spirit world cannot work through that person. Even if such a leader is a good worker and brings good results, it is painful for Father.
Leaders must also maintain a clear relationship with the opposite sex. If a leader gravitates toward one member of the opposite sex, it may cause a problem. We must remember to be careful about this point.