The title of this memoir could well be "How Rev. Sun Myung Moon Has Influenced the Course of World History." From his unique position as special assistant and intimate of the Rev. Moon, Dr. Bo Hi Pak provides readers with a never-before-heard, behind-the-scenes running account of a variety of projects launched over the years by the famed Korean evangelist. These initiatives, Dr. Pak shows, profoundly altered the course of global events in the twentieth century. Rev. Moon's works were crucial if little-known contributions to Ronald Reagan's presidential victory, the demise of Soviet communism, and the beginnings of a thaw in the relations between North and South Korea, a thaw that he intends to carry through to an eventual peaceful reunification of the divided peninsula nation.

"This book does not aim to be nor can it be described as a history of the Unification Church or of the work of Reverend Moon," says Dr. Pak. "Rather, this book seeks to be a testimony to 'taste and touch' Reverend Moon -- his character, his thought, his true love -- as experienced by someone who had the unique opportunity to be so close to him, perhaps as close as anyone else in history."

This second and final volume of his memoirs is fascinating reading and covers the period from the 1980 U.S. presidential election to the present. Volume I dealt with the author's humble birth on a farm, his time during the Korean War, his personal conversion experience, and his various high-profile missions in the Unification Church through 1978. Both volumes are suitable for morning or evening devotions. Volume II, in particular, illuminates the God-centered brilliance and spiritual profundity of the man who is emerging today to the acclaim of a growing body of Christian clergymen as the One to whom Jesus has passed his providential torch, the Lord of the Second Advent.

The memoir's political content may strike the reader as unusual for a devotional text, but Dr. Pak succeeds in powerfully utilizing it as a backdrop for a variety of stories that illuminate Rev. Moon's God-centered heart, passion, and intuitive capacities. The writer shows that, just as God often works His Providence through the political affairs of men, so men of God who want to help His Providence must work through these same affairs. (It's not surprising that Dr. Pak focuses on the political dimension. For most of his life, he has been involved in world affairs, first as a diplomat in the Republic of Korea's embassy in Washington, D.C., and later as president of The Washington Times Corporation, leader of the CAUSA International anticommunism movement, Rev. Moon's envoy to presidents and politicians the world over, and organizer of the American Freedom Coalition, a 50-state government-interface organization that promotes values relating to family, faith, and freedom.)

One of Dr. Pak's stories, which deals with the election of Ronald Reagan as president in 1980, shows Rev. Moon's boldness, serene confidence in his relationship with God, and strategic brilliance -- as least as interpreted by the world after the fact. Rev. Moon, Dr. Pak writes, had been appalled for years by President Jimmy Carter's "naive" human rights policy. The evangelist had criticized it loudly and frequently for penalizing America's friends while turning almost a blind eye to the far worse abuses of communist regimes.

Rev. Moon prayed earnestly over who could effectively replace Carter. Finally, the Korean evangelist called Dr. Pak to a meeting and told him God had given him the answer. "If President Carter runs for office and is elected again," Rev. Moon said, "the communizaton of the world is inevitable. The next president of the United States will hold the fate of the world in his hands, and Heaven has chosen Ronald Reagan. It is up to us to make sure that he is elected in the next election. I'm going to invest all our resources and manpower, all my fame, and even my life for this effort. Do you get the picture?"

So Rev. Moon ordered Dr. Pak to arrange a meeting with Reagan and convey to him the message that he, Ronald Reagan, was God's very own candidate and that his election was assured -- provided he was determined to "bring an end to world communism, which is the enemy of God and humankind." Dr. Pak followed through with a meeting with the candidate in Toledo, Ohio.

Then, on November 3, the day before the election, Rev. Moon summoned Dr. Pak to his home to alert him to a miracle that the evangelist's assistant would help bring about. The miracle would be overcoming Carter's apparently huge lead in the polls and assuring instead that Reagan would be the winner -- by a landslide. At the time, Dr. Pak was publisher of The News World, a daily newspaper in New York City founded by Rev. Moon. The evangelist asked Dr. Pak to run a big headline predicting a landslide victory for the former California governor.

"It will be an earth-shaking victory [for Reagan]," Rev. Moon said. "Write it up so that all of America jumps with surprise tomorrow morning!"

After a half-hearted initial effort by the News World editorial staff, Rev. Moon sat Dr. Pak down and asked him, "Bo Hi, if the third world war erupted, what kind of headline would you write?" Dr. Pak replied that a mammoth banner headline would be in order.

"That's it!" Rev. Moon cried out. "That's the way you've got to write this prediction! This prediction is [figuratively] my declaration of a third world war!"

So it was that a Reagan-victory prediction story was crafted beneath the now-famous banner headline "Reagan landslide" in huge black letters that could be seen from far across a large room. Dr. Pak sent a bundle of newspapers to Reagan's campaign office in California on that morning of Election Day, November 4, 1980. When the former governor saw the paper, he immediately brought a copy into the press room and displayed it to the amazement of all the newspaper and wire-service photographers and TV network cameramen. The image of "Reagan landslide" was broadcast all around the country, hitting most Americans before they voted with the subtle message, "Reagan is a winner!" Certainly it had an influence on how the election turned out, and political pundits were astounded by the genius of the "gambit." What they glossed over, though, even though Dr. Pak plainly told the media, was that it had been hatched by the Holy Spirit.

There are also chapters devoted to Reverend Moon's historic meetings with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and North Korean President Kim Il Sung from Dr. Pak's unique perspective. They all contribute to a portrait of the Korean evangelist's extraordinary character, spirit, and godliness and the powerful influence he has had on world affairs.

In the last chapter of his book, Dr. Pak provides a broad analysis of both the progress and sins of the twentieth century. He contrasts the darkness of the past century with the light the Lord of the Second Advent is bringing. Running through the predictions of the Second Coming of Christ from Eastern and Western sources, especially the Book of Revelation, Dr. Pak declares that Rev. Moon is their fulfillment. He cites exactly what it will take to build the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth -- and what it will take for each person to become a citizen thereof.

He gives an eloquent testimony to the power of Rev. and Mrs. Moon's marriage Blessing, calling it "the ark of salvation." And he concludes by saying, "From these crossroads, where will humanity go? Will it be the new Kingdom, the ideal world? Or will it be destruction, the great cataclysm? The thing that decides it will be whether we board the True Parents' ark or not. We are on the threshold of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Now is the dawning of heavenly fortune."

Copies of Volumes I and II are available from HSA Publications.

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