The Words of Sun Myung Moon from 1985
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The Words of Sun Myung Moon from 1985 |
The slogan for 1985 is the same as last year, which shows a continuation of God's dispensation: "Creation and Building of the Fatherland.-"
I have missed you for a long time and I am very happy to see your bright, shining faces you are happy and full of vitality. Our path is a pioneering one. The pioneering path is not easy; it is stony, graveled. It is difficult and tough. Sometimes the pathway can only be opened by a dynamite explosion. That is the way we have to go. Nobody has understood history, especially the history of restoration. I have been pioneering the path of restoration. We have come this far and I say to you that we have won great victory up to this moment.
So many people in history have come to this earth and have undertaken the pioneering path. The path of the spiritual pioneer is always difficult, but the pioneering course of the Unification Church today is the most difficult; it is the path of supreme difficulty. The Unification Church path, which is also my path, has a universal meaning. It started from the bottom of hell and has been ascending into the highest part of heaven. Thus it contains the highest possible theological dimension.
I want you to understand that God would not give you a precious gift without asking you to fulfill a certain responsibility. We are about to receive the most cosmic, eternal gift from God; thus our responsibility is equal to that. We cannot expect such a blessing to come to us easily. Those who deserve the highest place here on earth and in spirit world are only those who are earning it by pursuing the most difficult and thorny path. That is the way we come to deserve God's blessing.
What is the worst kind of hell one can find here on earth? Externally speaking, we could say that prison is the bottom of hell in any society. I have known all kinds of prisons. I experienced Japanese prison; and I was in the dreadful prisons of communist North Korea. After I went to South Korea, I experienced the prisons there. From my experience in North Korea I knew what kind of prisons the Soviet Union had, so in a sense I even experienced the Soviet Union's prison hell. I knew that in order to graduate from prison, I had one more place to go, and that was the prisons of the United States.
Most people go into prison with a despairing heart. However, when I went to prison I was filled with expectation and enthusiasm, knowing that God can always bring great miracles after great indemnity. I was eager to see what sort of things God would do. Since most people enter prison in despair, there are two major aspects of daily life there. One of them is complaint -- people are always complaining about everything. "Why is that man's face so dark? Why is that man's face so pretty?" Secondly, there is often fighting, since the men there have so much time on their hands. They constantly curse each other and complain against each other.
That is the reality of prison life. But my life in prison has been different. I know the law of restoration by indemnity. I knew that I was paying a great amount of indemnity by being in prison, and after that payment there must come a blessing. I thought about how I could prepare for that blessing, how I could distribute it. I have been in and out of prisons, including this time, on six occasions. Maybe there is one more prison awaiting me, in the Soviet Union or Red China. No matter what, I am always preparing and ready to receive the incredible blessing and inheritance from God and to dispense it to the people who deserve it and who have earned it. Those who are to be the recipients of that blessing must prepare themselves to become worthy containers.
What would you do in order to receive that blessing'? There is only one way to go: You must be able to naturally subjugate the people in hell. They must come and bow down before you. You must become the men and women who deserve such a surrender from the satanic people. That is the road of restoration. Restoration cannot come without the indemnity being paid. I did not go to Danbury prison just as Reverend Moon, the leader of the Unification Church, but I entered as a representative of the universal mission, for the sake of the world -- not only this physical world but also the spiritual world. I was always standing before two entities, God and Satan, and they were the ones who were the judges of my deeds. I was always mindful of being worthy of God's blessing.
If you are trying to turn a stage, you cannot do that from the high ground. You must go down to the lowest level, to the ground floor, and then you can turn it. Thus our efforts are always from the bottom upward, not from the top down. But if you are all alone trying to make your upward movement, you can never succeed. You must be supported by your entire environment. The important question, therefore, is how to create the kind of environment that can support you.
Your problem does not have anything to do with lawyers, judges, and government. The problem is how can you gain the support of the people. That is the only way we can achieve a secure restoration and pay the indemnity. We have to turn the world around 180 degrees. By my entering into the prison, the entire world was thrown into commotion. The United States has been thrown into deep controversy. Until I went into prison, negative attitudes were predominant among the people of this country. But once I went to prison, many people's attitudes changed 180 degrees. Their eyes began to open to the truth. Now any decent, thinking Americans must find themselves in the position of supporting Reverend Moon.
It is almost like Reverend Moon has taken off one layer of his skin, like a snake shedding his old skin. Amazingly enough, I don't have to move. People come and take off that old skin, trying to see for themselves what is really inside. When the external world is doing that, those people who are inside the prison with me are also seeing the true nature of Reverend Moon. When this is done I will become a truly free man. Then the path of the Unification Church and Reverend Moon will no longer require persecution. The gates of persecution will have to be closed. Actually this particular process was supposed to have been done in Jesus' time so that he could enter the Roman Empire and go through the same steps that I have gone through. If that had happened, Christianity would never have had to suffer the way it did. The time will inevitably come when the United States ambassadors all over the world will be in a position to recognize and welcome me. Can you understand this?
We have the mission to save America and to save the world. Where do you go to save America? You go to the worst possible place there. When you suffer together with the people there, willingly going there, the blessing will come to you afterwards. I am sure that among you Moonies there are those who have a complaining and discouraged attitude. "I have been here too long and I can't see any changes. I'm getting old and my duties are getting more and more difficult. You have even more burdens after receiving the blessing. What happens? You have a baby and then you have to worry about him. You worry about when you can get together with your spouse, or how can you support your children. All kinds of worries such as that plague your mind.
For me, whenever I am pushed into a hellish place I determine to turn it into heaven. I know that these words I am giving you today are not satisfying your curiosity. I can look into your eyes and I can see that you are wondering what things are like at Danbury, what kind of a life I am living, and so forth.
You know I have been in prison and you know the tradition I am laying. When you inherit that kind of tradition, you will never decline or perish. I always volunteer for the work chores, even at my age, in the prison. That is because my goal is to transform that hellish prison into the Kingdom of Heaven. When I first entered the prison, everybody was looking at me funny, wondering, "What kind of a man is he?" But when I walked out a few days ago many people waved goodbye to me.
You call yourselves Moonies because you follow Reverend Moon, but I am not a Moonie myself! I originate from God, so therefore I might be called a "Goddie." Why? It is because Rev. Moon is one man who is totally devoted, completely crazy about God, and his resemblance to God is that he is the absolute image. That is the way people see him.
Even now I know that many of you do not know the real history of the Unification Church, particularly my own history. Not very many truly know me. It is very difficult for American young people to understand me, since this is such a free, individualistic society. As you know, if I had wanted to I could have avoided going into prison. People of the world are wondering why Reverend Moon went willingly into prison although he could has e avoided it. They wonder for whom he is doing it.
I entered into prison to save America and those who are going to work to save America. It was for your sake that I did it. Among all the young people of America, you Moonies are the ones who are ardently burning with the desire to save this country. Isn't that true? I would like to bequeath to you the tradition and the spirit that will never be removed from you -- the true spirit. This particular spirit of Danbury is not needed by me -- I already have it -- but it is needed by you. I want to demonstrate it to you -- to be the example for you. I want to see the birth of young people who will say, "For the sake of America and the world. I will not avoid even prison itself. I can go to prison any time for the sake of this country and for the salvation of mankind." I want to see that kind of young people blossoming in this country.
I know that every one of you walked a very difficult path up to and including 1984. I know that you only have one prime time in your life, and you gave up the best part of your lives for the sake of your mission. But then, I know that God has been waiting for such young people, those who were willing to give the prime of their lives for the sake of the world. History has been waiting for the birth of such young people. You know I was very handsome when I was young! But I was willing to give up my youth, my prime. I would like to become the foundation, the launching pad, for many people to take off. I want to see many people use me as their stepping stone to get into heaven. Actually, I was never ambitious for fame. But inevitably God pushed me into places of prominence.
The year 1984 was truly a painful and sad year for the Unification Church. It started with the sacrifice of Heung Jin. I went to Korea for the crusade, even though I knew that a time of turbulence and even sacrifice was coming to my own family. I wanted to create seven million IFVOC members in Korea and the same number in Japan. I want to see 45 million in the United States and 70 million around the world. Since Satan knew all these plans, he certainly could not just stand still. Satan has always been trying desperately to stop me or discourage me in any way possible.
This was the year of my going into prison, and it was a historic event. Many people thought that the Unification Church would be finished once Reverend Moon was incarcerated. But how wrong they were! While I have been in prison during these past months. I have continued to work and make great achievements. I have met very important people, knowing that those people did not come to see me while I was on the outside. There have been visits by some very distinguished scholars, ministers, and diplomats. When those people came to see me, I would speak to them about my ideal; I taught them with a lot of power and they were very positively impressed. They could not reject what I was giving them.
Life is like a marathon or an Olympic game. Until you have won the contest, you are not taken very seriously by others; but once you have won the marathon, others look up to you automatically.
The year 1985 is a brand new year and we are all going to be busy. I want to push you out. In order to jump up high, you have to bend down very low first. I operate according to that principle -- I am simply preparing to jump and when the right moment comes, I will move up to higher ground. But you too must be prepared to jump forward, so we can take leaps and bounds together. In a way, I was looking forward to going to prison because I knew that while I was in there, great and incredible things would be happening to the Unification Church. What has happened? Since I have been in prison, great numbers of formerly negative Christians have turned around.
When I was in Hungnam prison in North Korea, I could not preach to the other prisoners directly. However, I gained many disciples from among them, without ever preaching directly to them. By the same token, when I come out of Danbury prison I will have a long line of disciples who will be asking me to take them with me.
Where would you like to go for your pioneering? Would you like to go to prison or would you prefer a nice, open, free place with lots of opportunity? Well, we don't need you in prison. I am there and I will pay all the indemnity for prison. You say "Moscow"? That is good -- we must go to Moscow. How about Africa? That would be a great place to make an extraordinary record for history.
When I was in prison in Korea, many people thought I must have been finished, but I was filled with hope for the future, specifically for America. At this time also, many people think I am finished but I am filled with hope for the next step. All of spirit world is filled with hope for the future. What about you? Can you have any complaint in front of me? Do you want to follow your dispensational path, just thinking, "How many more years do I have to go?" Or will you say, "God, I am destined to go. I was born for this mission"?
I wrote the motto today, which is creation of the fatherland. Why is that slogan so important? It is because we have not yet gained our country. I want you to understand that God has not yet had His own land and country here on earth. That is why Satan is so strong and can always accuse -- he has power over all the principalities of the world. This is why God is still suffering -- He does not have His own country.
My desire is always the same -- how can I restore that one country for God? How can I restore the fatherland for God? But the fatherland must be a place in which people go beyond races, creeds, and cultures. This is the reason I mingled all the races together in the mass weddings. There has been great controversy because of them, but in the meantime there is one race of God being created. It is not easy; in fact, it is very difficult. I knew that it would be. It is even more difficult for God, because He does not have any physical form. God is spirit, so how very difficult it is for Him to move this physical world. In that sense, I am in a better position than God since I have a physical body. Therefore, I decided to undertake that mission on behalf of God -- to do it for Him.
This year is the fortieth year since I began to walk the dispensational path. So you see that we have every reason to believe that 1985 is going to be the year of decision, the year of showdown. In order to show the true position, I wanted to begin the year in prison. I was sent to prison in 1984 and I wanted to start off dramatically in 1985, in these circumstances, and then go on to win the greater victory. What about you? Are you going to follow my footsteps? You must grab the helm of the United States and fight. You are not going to retreat, are you?
You came here today and welcomed me, since I just came back from Danbury. This is not an ordinary occasion; this is a very serious, monumental moment in history. So we will not let this moment pass in a mediocre or half-hearted way. I am now going the road of resurrection. You are too.
Let's say that this circle represents the solution to the salvation of America. This X represents the destruction of America. Let's say there is a decisive moment of showdown between the two, and there is only one way to win. You would become desperate because you want to save America. In that case, you would not hesitate to grab any person and show them the truth. But you don't want to become that kind of person, do you? "In that kind of game, I just want to be an observer." Is that what you say? I would like to have every Moonie be dramatic. Those who say, "Yes, Father, I want to become that kind of Moonie," raise your hands, please.
Even though I have been in prison, when I look at your hands going up like that, I would go to prison ten times. I will still thank you. I am grateful. You know, I am different now. Why is that? Before, I was just "Father" to you. But now that I have come back to you from the prison, you know that I have been through suffering. You used to say things without much sincerity, even sometimes lying or making up excuses. But now you will be different and you will be honest with me, won't you? Do you want me to trust your word this time? Those who will say, "Father this time it's real. You can trust me," raise your hands please. Thank you.
(Rev. Won Pil Kim led everyone in the first cheers of Mansei for 1985.)