I Cannot Retreat Even One Step

Sun Myung Moon
July 6, 1967
Excerpt
Speech at the Second Workshop in Japan
Unofficial Translation

One of the highest peaks of Korea is Baekdu Mountain. On the top of this mountain, there is a lake called Cheonji. This is a big lake -- its perimeter is 16 kilometers. The lake is always full of water. The water that comes out of this lake will become two major rivers in Korea -- Dumangang river the east and the Amnokgang river to the west.

I was hunted down and chased, and at last escaped to the top of this highest mountain, Baekdu. I cultivated and planted near Cheonji Lake and fed my followers. I cultivated sandy ocher, and planted peach trees. In such a miserable atmosphere of doom, there was one female follower who pledged to be absolutely loyal to me to the end, no matter what -- telling me she would never leave me. I thought that she had the faith and determination that backed up her pledge.

Then, one day, while we were on a boat, we experienced a heavy storm. The boat was damaged by the winds and started sinking. The captain of the boat told us, "This is the end. Let's make the final effort. But, be ready for the last moment." He said this as his last warning. At that moment this young lady thought of only her own situation, saving her own life. When a larger boat came near our boat, she begged to be saved, totally ignoring me. She was saved, but, I had to remain in the boat all by myself, desperately keeping the boat float. This was how she left me. However, compared to her, your determination to follow me seems weak and shallow. Can you make an even stronger commitment than her? Even with such a great commitment, she left me at this critical moment. I have witnessed similar events with my own eyes over and over again. I heard such grandiose promises to never leave me with my own ears, countless times. Yet, so many wonderful men and women walked away from me.

Imagine a wife waiting for her husband to come home, after several years have passed since he left to go to his mission. Can you imagine how desperate is her longing for her husband? When it rains, her heart will long for her husband who may be in the rain. You should experience such a heart of longing for God at least two or three times in every three days. In other words, you must experience such a yearning every day. When you are walking a city street, you are overwhelmed and overcome by your emotion, longing for God. Then you have to stop walking, but are unable to stand by your own power so you embrace a telephone pole and cry out to God. Have you ever experienced such a longing and loving heart? Even if there are many lovers in this world, none has ever experienced such a compelling and over-powering feeling towards their lover. Have you ever experienced such an intense hunger for God? Have you longed for Jesus, the Lord? You must have this kind of faith -- not faith that can be exchanged for a piece of bread.

I wept and cried continuously for over one week. My eyes were so soaked with tears, that I felt that my eyes had turned into the inside of a ripened pumpkin. I could no longer look at the sun for it was too bright. So, I spent hours without being able to open my eyes. Through such an extreme experience, I pioneered the way to discover the Divine Principle. You cannot even imagine what I went through. Yearning to recover the true life value that is hidden deep inside of human beings, I pioneered this path. This, after I had wandered the vast spirit world, trod a bloody path of suffering and passed through indescribable tribulations.

If you are able to connect to the spirit world, you will realize that the value of Father is immeasurable. God will order you to give your utmost sincere devotion to me tens of thousands of times over. Do you know all spiritual mediums throughout the world are now my disciples? Why is this possible? I realize that in order to walk this path I found, through shedding countless tears, you must go forward even risking your own life. You should be ready to risk your life over and over again, thousands and tens of thousands of times. I will never retreat from walking this path.