The Words of the Marianov Family
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The Words of the Marianov Family |
With a heart to love the people and show them our best side, Jack went house-to-house in a nearby neighborhood for about an hour, Monday through Friday. The reason was to deliver Rev. Moon's autobiography, which recently published soon became a bestseller in his native country of Korea.
It involved a lot of walking and waiting -- one in three houses was vacant, and many people were not home. But as you will see in this story, it was an interesting experience; Partly because Rev. Moon is so controversial, partly because we know more rumors than facts about him, the responses where, softly said, various.
"I would like to give you this book", Jack will approach them. "It's an important book. It's about a modern-day prophet, still living, and this is his autobiography." He spoke slowly and clearly.
He felt that the less he said, the more spirit world had a chance to inspire the person and the less chance that something he said would get in the way. After his intro, Jack placed the book in the person's hands so they could see Rev. Moon's picture. Internally he was thinking, "A prophet in our own time!! How blessed are we to know that!!!" While the person looked at the cover, Jack said one or more of the lines below:
"His name is Rev. Moon";
"Towards the end of the book, he shares ideas for solutions to some of the problems we face today, such as solving world hunger";
"He is dedicated to creating world peace through ideal families";
"He believes religious people must unite and work together as one family under God to solve the problems facing the world today." If they asked why the book was important or why he was giving it out, Jack said: "It's been said that his teaching is the best kept secret in America. That's why I'm giving a copy to you and your neighbors today." Here are the links to Rev. Moon's teaching: If people accepted Rev. Moon's autobiography, Jack said, "I left my name and phone number in the book if you have any questions." If they didn't accept the book, Jack took it back and said, "Thank you for your time."
Christians were often told in their churches that Rev. Moon is the devil, so what would they care to hear what Jesus thinks of him. In 2001 Jesus and his disciples sent messages from the spirit world confirming Rev. Moon's mission.
Jack modified his introduction as he learned what worked and what didn't. He found that people responded better when he spoke in more general terms. For example, during the first week, he said, "A Buddhist monk who heads a major monastery stated that Rev. Moon fulfills the prophecy of the return of Buddha." The person didn't want the book because it wasn't Christian.
A few Christians argued that the Bible says there can't be any more prophets. Jack replied: "Before the time of Jesus, God sent many prophets in order to prepare the people to receive Christ. It's been said that we're in a parallel time today." Some took the book; some didn't.
Some Christians brought out their Bibles and tried to engage in theological debate. Jack said, "I can see you love your Bible. I do too. No problem if you're not interested. Good bye."
Several people asked if the person pictured on the cover was Jack. This was perplexing since there is little resemblance between Jack and True Father. We talked about this and felt it was an indication that we represent God and True Father when we go out, and the people sense something. When you connect to the divine, people feel it!One man said, "I can't read the book. I'm Catholic, I believe in Jesus." Jack asked, "Can't you read a book by another religious man?" The man seemed slightly annoyed by this question and didn't take the book. Jack learned not to question their "No." Respect it and leave.
One person started saying a lot of negative stuff and Jack said, "It's okay. I like you. I have to be on my way now, good bye." It's very draining to get into long debates and they aren't fruitful.
Another person said, "This is free? I've never been given anything free in my life." Jack said, "Ding ding ding! You're a winner!!!!! You get a free book!!!" Jack enjoyed laughing with people and making the experience fun and light-hearted when he could.
Quite a few people said they really liked the title of the book; A Muslim family asked if this was Muslim. Jack said, "Rev. Moon is trying to harmonize religions through interfaith work." They really liked this answer and asked for three copies;
A Jehovah's Witness lady said tentatively, "I already belong to a church and don't really have time to read a book." Jack doesn't believe in trying to change people's minds, but he felt this was more a case of indecision, so he said, "It's okay to just hold onto it for a while and decide later if you'd like to read it. You might want to look at it a year from now." She took it and complimented Jack for being so sincere;
Another Jehovah's Witness said, "I'm Jehovah's Witness." Jack said with excitement, "Wonderful. Here's your free book." She took it; A young man with rather gothic-style clothing and two lip piercings answered the door. Jack did not react to his appearance. He said his line as usual, and the young man was extremely courteous and very interested in receiving the book. He seemed genuinely impressed that Jack was not treating him strangely because of his attire. At the conclusion of their conversation, the young man shook Jack's hand and said, "God bless you!";
Jack met one man who had met our church 30 years ago along with a friend of his. The friend joined and this man did not. He lost touch with his friend and happy to receive a book so that he could learn more about the fork in the road he had not taken;
The last 12 books were difficult to give out. After a few rejections, a very nice middle-eastern lady answered the door and took a book. About ten minutes later, her husband came to find Jack. He said, "I am from Pakistan, but I am Christian and the pastor of a church." He asked for five more books. He gave Jack his business card and, pointing to his name, explained again, "I am a Christian! See? My name is Masih which means "messiah"