Going To the Won Jeon

Larry Moffitt
September 1987

Heung Jin Nim's Won Jeon, created in the style of the ancient resting places of Korean royalty, is always surrounded by flowers.

When I heard that Heung Jin Nim had referred to his Won Jeon ("Original House") as a "filling station," a place to gas up when your spiritual tanks are empty, the idea struck me as odd and maybe even slightly irreverent -- until I had a chance to visit the site recently and experience what for me, and many others, is the most spiritual place on earth. The feeling is like that of standing in the gateway where the physical world and the spiritual world connect. And as Heung Jin Nim said, it is every bit the feeling of being filled up and recharged with a power greater than any you have ever experienced.

The staff of the World Media Association and CAUSA went by bus to the site, located in an area of small mountains and hills north of Seoul on the way to the DMZ. The Ninth World Media Conference and subsequent CAUSA seminar had just finished, with everyone feeling that both had been great successes.

On the way, we stopped at a farmhouse where one of our members and his family live. Their responsibility is to care for the Won Jeon site and to receive visitors and assist them in the proper way of attendance. The bus stopped at the farmhouse, and their daughter, a bright-spirited girl about nine years old, hopped on the bus and rode the rest of the way with us. She was introduced by our Korean host, Mr. Noh, who said she visits Heung Jin Nim every day with her father. She led us from the bus and up the long marble steps to the Original House.

Larry Moffitt at the top of the marble stairs leading to Heung Jin Nim's Won Jeon.

I Burst Into Tears

Once there, we removed our shoes and stood on a grassy place in front of an area created in the style of the tombs of Korean royalty in ancient days. A tall, grass-covered mound contains Heung Jin Nim's body, which lies above ground. A short marble altar stands in front, surrounded by freshly cut flowers that are replaced each day. Behind the mound is a stone-and-tile wall built into the hillside.

Representing the U.S., Japan, and Korea, representative prayers were offered by myself, Tomiko Duggan, and Mr. Noh. During Mr. Noh's prayer in Korean, I suddenly felt as if heaven had turned on a waterfall a thousand feet above me and a million gallons per second of spiritual energy were pouring over my head and into my body, surrounding my heart with a feeling that was at once loving and crushing. I burst into tears almost like a convulsion and began to repent deeply for my life and for not living the standard of purity and love set down by Father. For the rest of his prayer and during unison prayer, I cried with an ache that had nothing to do with physical pain and yet hurt more than anything I have ever felt.

In the end, I felt cleansed and more free than I have in a long time. I asked Heung Jin Nim for the ability to use his power to bring world leaders to God and to help people understand that Heavenly Father is truly alive today in more ways than He has ever been since man was created.

The nine-year-old daughter of the caretaker of the Won Jeon visits Heung Jin Nim every day.

The air was warm, the skies were crystal clear, and the late afternoon sun gave everything the kind of glow that makes the trees and grass seem a more vibrant green and gives your skin a warm orange glow. The time of day and the weather enhanced the spirit, or maybe it was the other way around. I felt the Won Jeon would be just as embracing in rain or deepest snow.

I knew then why it is improper to refer to this site as a "tomb" or "grave Nothing there has even the remotest connection with death. In fact, the opposite is true. There is no other place on earth where the flame of life and renewal burns as bright.

Our precious brother Heung Jin Nim was born into the spirit world on this spot as the heir to True Parents' foundation. Likewise, though we still understand so little, all of our members and all our hopes were born there as well.