Our Pride

Everyone want to be proud of himself. You have that desire, don't you? You also want to be proud of your nation-what it has that others don't have, its virtues, and so forth.

When an American says he is proud of his country, he is probably centering his pride on America, not on the world. Other people want to be able to take pride in America, too, even though they are not from that country. In other words, we can be proud of America but not centered on America. Rather, we should be proud of something if all the world can be proud of it, too. On that basis, if you are proud of America, everyone in the world can join in.

Our pride should have a universal basis, not some limited basis. An individual men and women, what can we be proud of? You might say, "I am proud of myself, my body." Comparatively speaking, the body is not actually something that you can be take pride in. All animals have bodies, so there is nothing unique about your body to be proud of. When the body is regarded in relationship with the spirit world, realizing it is something substantial with which we can meet our eternal goals, then we have a basis for true pride.

The body, of course, exists side by side with the mind. Can the body brag about itself to the mind, or the mind brag about itself to the body? We want to be proud of something which is lasting. We don't feel so proud of something that is momentary, lasting only a short time. For both body and mind to be proud of themselves, they have to have some quality which is long lasting.

In addition to that, before you can be truly proud of something, it must be something which everyone else can be proud of. It must have a relationship with everyone so that everyone can participate in being proud.

Looking at our individual selves, it must be the mind that is our source of pride rather than the body. When individuals talk to each other or try to analyze one another, they immediately think, "Is he a conscientious person?" Whether in the Orient or in the West, this is a common trait. People look for conscientiousness in a person. They also look to see if that person is stable, unchanging and consistent, one who sets his goal and doesn't change it often.

The mind is really a wonderful thing. It always tends to put itself in the subjective position and have good give and take with the body. The mind also wants to be in an objective Position with a higher being. The mind is always eager and flexible in maintaining right relationships, whether in the subject or the object position.

Your mind automatically works in such a way that when you have something good, you want to share it with other people. When someone earns a lot of money, the mind doesn't want to stop there. The mind wants to give money away to other people so that he can be proud and joyous with them. Whether he is Oriental or Western, such a person will always be liked and welcomed in human society.

We may say that a person can be proud of the fact that he has a mind. We can each be proud of that. Then we might stop to think, "What is my mind? Where does it come from?" Then we can trace our mind back through our ancestry. Your mind wants to take pride in your ancestry. Who is the greatest ancestor of all? Eventually we cannot help but come to the very origin, which is God. We can be proud f God, who is the real ancestor of all mankind.

That means your mind is an extension of God's mind. It has all the same basic properties: it works and functions in exactly the same way that God's mind does. Then how does your mind grow? It wants to follow the same direction as God's ideal. When we adhere to just and righteous thinking, our mind is connected to God's mind. Invisible qualities like justice and truth are very close to God's mind.

We know that all minds are connected because they have the same origin and the tendency to go towards the same goal. It is like our own body, which is composed of many, many cells. Many different minds compose and form one great big body of mind which is related with God. We don't want to be proud individually and separately. Instead, we want to be proud of being a part of that great body of mind.

If our mind originated from God, what about our body? The body of every human being functions the same way. The five senses, each organ and every part of the body is in the right place. Everyone's body is the same, so we all have much in common. Where does that commonality come from? We can trace it to our own parents, then on back through our lineage, and where would we reach to? All the way back to God, just as we said about our mind.

But the body is visible, unlike the mind. Have we ever seen God with our own eyes? No, so where does something which is visible, like our body, come from? How did it develop? The answer is that we come from our ancestors, ultimately Adam and Eve.

What is the common point which every person can take pride in and be joyous about? Someone might say "I don't care about my grandmother. I only want to inherit from my grandfather." That can't work. If a man is proud of only men and he doesn't really care about woman, he is really committing a mistake. On the other hand, women might say, "Women are everything. We don't need man." Again, that's a mistake.

Where does your body actually come from? Yes, it clearly comes from your parents and grandparents, but how did you come into being? Looking back on our ancestors, we can see that they were proud of each other. In other words, for a man the most precious thing is a woman, and for a woman the most precious thing is a man. What can they be proud of together? They can be proud of the love they share.

Even though some woman may be respected by everyone, unless she can be proud of her husband, then she cannot be such a happy woman. Upon what basis can a woman be really proud of her husband? Where does she get the power to be proud? An elderly man can't say, "Well, since I am the grandfather, that's enough reason for me to be proud." But he cannot take pride in himself all alone; other people have to be able to join in his pride. When the grandfather and grandmother are proud of their love, then we say that is valid. It is only love that two people can be proud o£

Our mind comes from God and our body comes from our parents and we are proud of both. But how are our ancestors and God connected? What is that relationship we can trace all the way up through our ancestors to God? It is the relationship of love. What kind of love? True love is the same inside and out. It is not different. True love is love which was true in the past, doesn't change in the present, and never will change in the future. Everybody can be proud that love: our ancestors, ourselves; our descendants, and God Himself.

Where did love originate? We say that it originated from God, but people have the tendency to think, "I wish it originated from myself because I want to be more like a subject. Even though it started from God Himself, maybe it's just one-sided. That's not fair."

Man wants to pursue any evidence that love started from himself, not any other. including God. A man wouldn't feel so good if someone said that love actually started from woman, and women would not be satisfied if they hear that all love started from man. Each person wants to claim that it started from himself or herself.

We might imagine God and Adam and Eve getting together to decide where love starts from. If love is just from God's side, Adam and Eve would not be satisfied. If it came just from Adam's side or Eve's side, it is equally unacceptable. So they have to negotiate, moving the beginning point of love in the middle, where it is equidistant to them all. God has to place love there there's no other place. No matter that God is omnipotent-He has to bring love to that point. No matter how mighty a man may be, no matter how changeable or threatening a woman may be, they can never bring love elsewhere.

What is the real origin of love? It is precisely here, in this relationship, that love must have started. This makes sense, doesn't it? When love has such a position, God Himself must obey the law of love. Even God cannot do anything outside of this law of love.

There are millions of men and women, so how can this relationship be maintained? At the time of Adam and Eve, there were only three positions. It was relatively simple. But what about all the other people in the world and their descendants? There has to be some connection with God. We must form this common point in much the same way as in the beginning, to set up the place where love should be.

The body cannot possibly accomplish such a thing, but the mind can do it. The mind can go beyond time and space. My mind just now traveled to Korea and back, faster than the speed of light. When there is a radio transmission, no matter how many radios there are, all can receive the broadcast.

The original nature of man's mind is like a radio set. The main broadcasting station is God Himself and we are able to receive His signals instantly, beyond time. We can be proud of the fact that our mind comes from God. Our body can only associate with a limited number of other people. The physical realm is limited. But our minds can unite in an unlimited fashion. The minds of everybody in this country can come together. That is more important than bodies being close.

The minds of husband and wife should always be together and not separate at any time. That is the rule. Your minds should have one past, one present, and one future. That's how the relationship between man and wife should be. Is your family like that? Are you husbands and wives always together in mind? Don't laugh. Try to answer clearly. There has to be some basis for agreement, doesn't there? You have to be able to make decisions together quickly, clearly discerning what is good and right or what is not good and should be avoided. You need to share that kind of judgment.

If we find two minds in one environment, it's the sign of Satan. It's not supposed to be that way. Within God, there is only one mind and one direction. If we see there are two minds going in different directions, no matter who is right or who is wrong, that is part of the satanic domain.

When a woman loves and respects a man, she should love him as a representative of the world. She shouldn't love him because he has a lot of money or because he has a lot of knowledge. The wife loves the husband because he represents the whole world. A woman wants to love and respect her husband in that position.

In the world of love, money, wealth and influence have no real value. When you are in love, do you think about money? Is money always uppermost in your mind? Or do you think, "If I had a lot of influence, I could love more"? No, those things have nothing to do with love. Why are they not valuable? They have only a small meaning.

Unfortunately, many women care only about their husbands making a lot of money. American women especially tend to think this way. Such an attitude is not lasting and we know it. If something is not lasting, it cannot contribute to the well-being of human society, either in the present or in the future. The kind of thinking we have described will never contribute to history.

"Our Pride." What should we be proud of? We should be proud of our relationship with God. As human beings, we can be very proud that we have a mind. But the mind alone cannot fulfill love. We must also have a body. For that reason, we can also be proud that we have a body. That's our second source of pride. A man has a masculine body, and a woman has a feminine body. The body wants to be proud of itself, too. Which one should we take pride in-the man's body or the woman's body? Man wants to be proud of his body, and woman wants to be proud of her body. This is a serious point.

No matter how beautiful some woman's body may be, she cannot make a connection with God all by herself If a woman is centered on the greatness of her own body, and a man does the same, there's no way they can get close to or become one with God. Do you understand? Centering on whom - man or woman - should we be proud? You say both, yes, but which one is subject? Should the woman be subject and the man be object? Actually, this is not as simple as it may seem. No matter how great a woman may be, with the most beautiful appearance, expensive clothing, accessories, and so forth, if she does not have a subject to relate with, a spouse, then she might as well be a mannequin.

The same applies to a man. A man alone has very little value. The man who feels proud of himself is foolish until he has a woman as his substantial object. Then he really has some reason to be proud.

Once Adam and Eve come into this love relationship, then even God Himself may say, "You are greater than I." Because of that love, a man and woman come to have value for the first time. God cannot take full pride in just Adam or Eve alone. But when their minds and bodies are active in give and take and love starts blooming between them, God cannot help but pay attention to them. Then they can be admired by everything in the universe, visible and invisible. For the first time, they can be truly proud.

Then Adam really comes to feel, "Eve is mine." Eve feels, "Adam is mine." Both feel, "God is also mine. What belongs to God also belongs to me." That is the result of love.

Do you women really believe that a man is a necessary, indispensable being? Or do you still somehow feel, "Maybe I can live without them"? Let's imagine some woman with everything. Let's say she has all the money and influence in the world. Perhaps she is the queen of some country. She has acquired tremendous knowledge and she is very beautiful as well. She loves her husband and he loves her. But does he love her because of all her possessions and external accomplishments? Or doesn't that man love her for the basic reason that he is a man and she is a woman?

Imagine that woman, with all her wealth, knowledge and power, getting older and still being single. Would she think, "All of this is enough for me. I am the happiest woman in the world. I don't need anything else, certainly not a man. They are not so valuable." Or would that woman at some point realize that all of her possessions mean nothing and that she needs a man to love? Do you think she would come to that realization?

Imagine the cruelest dictator on the face of the earth taking control and forcing all men and women to separate, never allowing them to get together. You feel that America has many problems, but if that problem were created it would be worse than any difficulties now. That's a real problem. Close your eyes and imagine who would be stronger in such a situation, man or woman? When we consider such a possibility, we have reason to be deeply grateful that we are put together in relationship. Both man and woman should really be able to see each other with these eyes.

Suppose God said you could choose between several things. You could have great wealth to enjoy for the rest of your life; or you could have all the influence and power you could desire; or you could partake of the greatest store of knowledge so that millions of audiences would want to listen to you. You could have any of these, or you could enjoy the true love of a dear spouse, although you would have to live very poorly. If you could choose between these four options, which would you take? Why would you take the last one? You have to have a valid reason.

This is an important question. Why would you choose number four? It is because you know you can connect to God when you have that love. You will never be able to connect with God through money, power, or knowledge. Once we connect with love, we can connect to God and all the rest of mankind. We can connect to the past, present and future. With this love, we can connect to everything good. Love is almighty. Mansei to love!

Now we know why love is most important. Many problems with human relationship, such as homosexuality, are founded in ignorance. People don't know what love means; they are confused. But now this understanding will dispel the ignorance about love. What is the most necessary thing for a woman? A man. You mean a very handsome man or an ugly man? If you are wearing the eyeglasses of love, looking at your spouse, you will see such beauty. But you need those eyeglasses to find beauty in others and especially in your own spouse. The more homely he or she is, the greater the chances are that there is much more beauty inside.

You have the saying that beauty is skin deep, and in the Orient we have many adages attesting to the value of internal beauty. One says that beautiful women have a short life. Another typical expression is that the woman who looks like a pumpkin on the outside has incredible beauty and virtue inside. Since she is well-rounded, she can go anywhere. She may not become a movie star but she can do anything else. All the blessing comes with that kind of woman. Truly, that's the rule God created. God doesn't give two gifts to one person. One part will be beautiful and the other part is rather vacant. This is true for men as well as women. A man may not be so manly but he will have a very kind heart.

Let's talk about the perfection of an individual. No individual can achieve perfection without unity with a spouse. That's the most precious, basic truth. Both man and woman have their antenna of love. There is a love antenna within the mind and also the body has a love antenna. What is that antenna in the body? That antenna is, of course, the most holy place. Once a man relates with a woman as husband and wife, he wouldn't like that antenna to be connected with any other person.

Woman knows she would be meaningless without man and likewise man without woman, so they are bound to find each other, not only in body but also in mind and spirit. Their total focal point is that relationship. Man symbolizes height and woman symbolizes depth. One side is positive and the other is negative in the sense of yang and yin. Man grows in one direction and woman grows in another. They need each other's help to reach a certain height.

When man and woman embrace each other in love, they are bound to revolve, reflecting the spherical motion of all things. That symbolizes all directions and movement, from up to down and east to west. People talk about equality but they are thinking about it and trying to solve this problem in a very crude way.

God wants to come down to the meeting point of man and woman. Once man, woman, and God meet here and fix this point absolutely, then no matter how high you want to go, you can go. It is no problem, no matter which direction you want to go. Only after we reach this point is our ideal fulfilled. Otherwise, there is no way we can travel here or there on our own power. Do you understand?

It is important to ask the question a thousand times: do man and woman live for their own sake or for each other's sake? We see that the very basis for existence is to live for the sake of others. But it's not all giving, receiving nothing. If I have to give up everything for the sake of others, then the whole area which my love covers is actually my domain. Love is the basic rule of existence. This is what God intended from the very beginning.

If you could peer deeply inside the mind of a woman, whether beautiful or ugly, you would see that she harbors an image of ideal man. This is such a precious thing that she keeps it hidden. If you dig in still deeper to her very core, eventually you will find God there. No matter how great a woman may be, without a true husband she cannot dwell with God. God will simply not stay there. By the same token, unless a man has a righteous wife, he cannot find God.

Why is love so important? It is because we have to reach to the root of our being. This is why we take love seriously. We must find true love and a true spouse. And only after we find our spouse do we find God. That is why love is so important.

You were given the Blessing with all this meaning behind it, yet how have you blessed couples been living? Have you remembered this one law, that if you love even more in a difficult situation, God can come closer to you? If you disagree and fight constantly then God will drift away. When you live according to this rule, the power of the entire universe wants to protect you. Everything else in the material realm such as wealth and influence will tend to follow, centering on that relationship. Do you understand?

This is the truth. Get together and love one another. Then all things will flourish. This is the law of God's creation. Anything that has to do with the relationship of love is eternal. Everybody wants to be a part of that. Once everybody reaches this point, they are happy, with no complaints or dissatisfaction.

We can see clearly that only human beings have this capacity. No other creature, no animal in the world has this ideal or enjoys this kind of love. So man is clearly different from animals.

I started today by saying that everyone wants to be proud of himself. But what can we be proud of? We can be proud that we have a righteous and conscientious mind. After that, we can have pride in our body because without our body, we cannot find love. After that, what should we be proud of? The man should be proud of his wife; the wife should be proud of her husband. In that order, we should be proud.

Maybe we can summarize it like this. First, we can be proud because we are a part of God's creation. Everything you are is the result of God. Thus we can be proud of the fact that we have a mind and also a body. Then we have to be proud of love. We have named four items, but actually it comes to one focal point, which is love. All things are centered in love.

God needs the fulfillment of His love, so He loved Adam and Eve. The perfection of the individual comes through the steps which we have discussed. After that, the individual has children, as well as the ancestors which preceded him. Each individual comes from parents and has children of his own. We need parents in order to inherit their love. Then we want to pass on our love to the next generation. That is why we need children. It is all for the sake of love.

Parents are above and children below us. This is the vertical relationship. It is very necessary in order to pass along love. On the horizontal side, we need the clan to make the domain of our love wider and then we need the country, and eventually the world, universe, spirit world, and so forth. We want to relate with a larger and larger sphere. Then after you expand to the limit, you want to return to the beginning point. Then you want to expand and shrink back again, in all different directions.

What makes this motion possible? It is nothing other than the power of love. Therefore, history is formed by the power of love. Love is all important. Love fulfills the ideal.

The grandfather and grandmother must look at all aspects of the family, not just superficially but observing carefully the smallest events. They must do this in order to manage the family. Since they are in the high position of grandparents, should they just let the servants take care of small things? No, the grandfather has to pay attention to the smallest event in the family because that is part of what he is responsible for.

The conclusion is very simple: we must love. Once we live in love, understanding love and taking pride in it, all things are fulfilled. God has most wisely arranged things in the right way. This is the way the universe works and this is how creation was made. God has given the most precious element for man to woman. Likewise, the most precious element which woman needs is not given to woman but to man. He told each person "This precious thing does not belong to you, but to the other. You must give it away."

Sexual organs of a woman are for the sake of man. Do you follow? Certainly a woman has these organs but they do not exist for her; she doesn't really own them. The owner is actually the man. The same is true for the man and his sexual organ. It does not belong to you so you cannot just use it as you will. It belongs to your spouse. But today, see what a common mistake people make. They think this aspect belongs to them alone. Each person merely has the custody of his sexual capacity. The manager is not the owner. You are not the owner of that part of your body. Your spouse is the owner.

What is marriage? Marriage is finding the rightful master of your most holy place of love. It's like positive and negative charges finding one another. At the opportune time they form a circuit and thunder and lightning result. That is the moment when the master finds his own property. You see how much more important that part is, rather than someone's face or degree of education, money, or whatever.

So we know how wrong and impossible it is for a man to have sexual relationship with another man. Is marriage a must? Marriage is at the top of the list of important activities. For women in the Unification Church, who is the most ideal husband? He is the husband who is able to fulfill everything a woman needs, according to God's law. Likewise, the most ideal woman is that wife who can fulfill the needs of the man.

Once you are married in the Unification Church, you should cherish each other. If the woman starts going in the wrong direction, then the man must stop her, even at the cost of his life, whatever sacrifice it takes. He must not be indifferent, saying, "Well, I don't care. Father might match me to someone else." That kind of thinking has no place. Once this original connection is broken, the damage cannot easily be restored. There is great damage to the mind and spirit, psychological as well as bodily, which cannot so easily be made up. That union, or Blessing, is so important.

When a woman is walking to her wedding, she has should feel, "Now I have my man." Also she has to say, "From this point on, I am living for him, not for myself. I will do everything that my husband needs of me." She should not think, "I will ask my husband to do many things for me." She should ask herself, "What are my husband's needs? How can I fulfill my basic mission as a woman?"

Women really have to think that way, and the same is true of men. A man must put his spouse foremost in his thinking, not himself

The beginning point is the individual. Then we expand to the largest extreme. Then what happens? We have to come back to the beginning point. Without God, we can only form a hemisphere, half a sphere. But with the help of God, we can have the entire sphere, which is the whole.

Generation after generation, this will become larger and larger until the whole world is connected. Do you follow? It is good to have a large number of descendants because this good result will take place sooner. You should not think, "How can I possibly support a big family?" We have to expand to the end of the world.

As an individual, we are very limited. But with a family, we can go all the way to the universal level. The family is therefore the unit for the Kingdom of God. Within the Unification Church we are becoming such individuals. You will be welcomed by the whole world, regardless of what country you are from. Whether you are black, white, or yellow, all people will love you.

All the Unification Church blessed couples and families should follow the original pattern which God created. We go to all different parts of the world, disseminating this pattern. Everywhere we go, we will eventually be welcomed and accepted and then we can come back to meet God. This is what we are supposed to do.

This is the hope of all of history. A thousand years ago, such a family was the hope of mankind. Today, even though other people do not fully realize, we represent the central hope. We have the confidence of individuals within a family, clan, nation and world centered on God. We've got everything when we are individuals centering on love. Because of these elements, we can be proud. Each person can be proud of the fact that he represents his clan on this foundation. He represents his country and the world and therefore he can say, "I am proud of myself."

All of these levels are connected through love. Therefore, in the Unification Church we have initiated mass weddings, in accordance with God's dispensation at this time. God is making history in such a way. Someone might ask, "Why shouldn't an individual woman find a husband that she likes? Why shouldn't a man find his own spouse?" If they do, in accordance with the pattern of the rest of the world. those spouses can connect only

horizontally. In the dispensational view the vertical connection i8 eternal and therefore more important than the horizontal, which is temporal. That is why the parents must be a part of the choosing of the mate. This doesn't mean that parents should arbitrarily choose partners for their children but rather the parents should intervene, representing heaven, in order to ensure the harmony of the vertical and the horizontal relationship. This is the meaning of the Blessing.

Marriages in this world have occurred without vertical connection. Now that the True Parents have come to the earth, it is their mission to restore the marriage relationship. By matching and establishing a harmonious vertical relationship, the Parents will restore the horizontal relationship that was intended by God. That is what my mission is all about.

We said that we are proud of love-number four in our list. We can go on to say number five: we are proud of our marriage and our family. Actually, there are no other things which are worthy of being put on this list. Without exception, no matter how great a person may be, he must go this way. We must follow this law. Then we can expand in numbers. If we come to number 10,000 it signifies a clan, and if the number is a hundred thousand, it will be a country, and so on.

There is nothing more precious than these elements, all of which we have in our possession. Now we know why the family is so important. Perhaps your understanding of the family's importance was not clear before. The vertical and horizontal relationship are there in the family, thus it is a small cosmos. Therefore, as individuals, we must have parents, a spouse, and children. Without those, we cannot have a stable existence. This is the Principle. We never say, "All I need is myself." This thinking has no place in the universe.

If we have these correct vertical and horizontal relationships, then we will be totally free once we enter the spirit world. Where does your family stand in relation to this ideal we are discussing? If you have a mark of 100%, your family will be the happiest, and nothing can stop you. But if you fall short, say fulfilling only 75%, then the remaining 25% satisfaction will be denied you.

If you lose your husband or wife before reaching this 100% point, you feel great sorrow. Why is that? It is because you are handicapped before you can reach your goal. Likewise, why do we feel so sad and weep when we lose our children? It's because we are losing such an important element we need to become perfect. We take on a great handicap.

Everything is clearly explained in this way, so you don't really need to know anything more about how to live in the future. This is the very reason we should be living for the sake of others-because of love. The spouses live for each other so they can establish this love and find God. After that, everything is theirs. The very reason that parents live for the sake of their children is that we must have children before we can be perfected. The children must live for the sake of their parents for the same reason.

Let us compare this ideal with the typical American families. In many ways, the typical American family is a failure. I am not just saying this, but it is according to God's law. In general, are the American families happy or unhappy? Because of their lack of this standard, they are bound to be unhappy. So it is our duty as the persons who understand this truth to propagate it. We must help the families with the failing grade to make a passing grade. We cannot feel, "As long as our family can become perfect, I don't care about other families." Everything is going in the wrong direction for them, but they don't even know it. We must go and teach them. It takes much time and effort and love, but it is our duty, our mission.

What can society be proud of? We can be proud of the very fact that we have this understanding, this truth. This thinking begins with the individual, goes on to become the thought of the family, clan and so on. They all have to be connected. Connected in what way? We go in one direction connected by love, from the individual all the way up to the world. It is one consistent direction of love.

This is the one direction that we want to follow throughout our lives and beyond. We don't want to do this just for a short time. We don't want to do anything else because nothing is more valuable and important. We can see that so clearly. Day in and day out, we want to go consistently in one direction. This philosophy is not just for an individual but also contains the necessary elements for the family and any nation, not only in the present but also in the past and the future, as well.

We can be proud of the fact that we have this system of thought based on the truth. There are other systems of thought, such as communism and democracy, which are partial systems and far from perfect. Communism is a completely wrong system of thought. It is out of the question. But we have the system of thought which will lead us to the liberation of God. We will liberate the agony and fetters of God with this thought. The world has seen various philosophies and theologies, but what was their ultimate goal? The philosophers and theologians have dreamed of reaching the point of this system of thought. This is what they are looking for.

Secondly, we have tradition. That tradition is also consistent. It doesn't go one way under one circumstance and then change and go in another direction another time. It is consistent with one direct line. The result will always meet with the cause. They will form one great big circle. Thus our tradition is following our system of thought. We are actually carrying out that thought within our tradition. We are not satisfied with just thinking about it, but we also must do it. So we can be proud.

Everybody wakes up in the morning, but as Unification Church members you must wake up in a different way. You have a different consciousness as soon as your eyes are open. You have to think and see everything according to this direction. We must fulfill this love, this way of life. We have to propagate it among other people. We have a mission to educate them. So for 24 hours a day our thoughts are going toward that goal. No matter how helpless you may appear in the eyes of the world-without money, without power-you are directly fulfilling God's mission, God's ideal. Even in the midst of a hostile environment, what you do is in fact God's work. Therefore, you can be very confident. God cannot leave you because you are His direct agents.

Any Unification Church blessed couple, no matter how humble, can be transplanted anywhere in the world and they will expand and multiply the seed of goodness. You are a new breed. No matter how many people are misunderstanding us now, the universe recognizes us. God really for the first time has hope to restore mankind. When we work with that attitude, 24 hours a day, couldn't this be called a happy and meaningful life?

I have spoken in depth about why we must live for the sake of others. One simple reason is that unless we take up this way of life, we cannot gain the love of a spouse. How fantastic the Unification Church is. It seems to have sprung up all of a sudden on the face of the earth. Gold is so precious,

yet gold itself doesn't realize it. The other metals know it. But no matter how precious you may be, you don't usually know it. But if we are really true, even though we don't know our own worth, others will recognize our good points.

We have often heard people make this paradoxical statement: "I don't like Reverend Moon, but I love those Moonies!" How can this happen? I am a Moonie, too, so how can they say that? Perhaps if I were an American they would include me in that category.

Love knows no color. God looks at all people with the same eyes of love, so He doesn't notice their color. How about you? Do you notice skin color first, or are you able to go beyond that? Let's face it, you are probably lacking in this area, so you have to push yourself. Think, "I must push myself to go beyond differences like color." That's what you are learning to do. The moment you become conscious of color, then you must realize, "Satan is trying to influence me."

Why are we worthy of being proud of ourselves? It is because we are directly connected with God's ideal. This is how Reverend Moon has always lived. People opposed me because they didn't understand. But adhering to this one consistent direction, did Reverend Moon decline or prosper? I am following this lawful way so I am expanding and succeeding. But people of today don't understand what history is bringing about. In other words, we are the forerunner of history.

This world has become the territory of fallen man, who is exercising unjust control over it. As history unfolds, people will come to know the truth. It is according to the Principle that whatever we do, we are bound to meet opposition because we are ahead of our time. But when this time passes and the world catches up with history, then people will look back and ask, "Why did I ever oppose the Unification Church?" They will come to feel they had no grounds for their opposition.

Until now, the United States has fiercely opposed us. The world just followed in the wake of this country, according to custom. But now many Americans are realizing they were wrong. Clearly this is the onset of morning. The darkness is departing for the Unification Church. This is the time for Moonies to be proud of what they are. No matter how difficult our path may be, you must not say, "Oh, Father, this is too difficult. You don't understand America." I do understand America, and that's why I do things this way. You must realize that I am not leading you according to the Korean way. This happens to be God's way and the universal way. Do you understand that?

(Speaks in English:) You have to understand this truth and then take action. Now that you know the truth, you have to do it. You must not make excuses. This standard remains the same, whether for the past, present or future.

For the individual, family, tribe, nation and God Himself, there is only a one-way course. This is the way which will unify everything centering on true love. With that one central point of true love, everything can be brought into perfection. Everybody and everything welcomes that point. The universe has longed for this one single point. God, too, has wanted that since the beginning of creation. As He has been fulfilling the way of restoration, He has been seeking that one central point. Only one, not two. For the sake of true love, the universe is following that standard way.

The universe is going that way and so must you. No matter what sort of excuse you may make, you cannot escape that way.

Every human being wants that ideal point. This is an absolute way, based upon the absolute truth. If you live this way, you will be welcomed everywhere. Of course, in the spiritual world you will be welcomed, and also everywhere in this world, both present and future. Everyone must follow that formula way.

Now that you know the truth, what shall we do? This is our lifetime duty. We have inherited this precious foundation. Going through our lifetime, we have to build on this foundation, making a plus, a positive contribution, not having any negative influence. How can we make that plus?

How much are you separated from Satan's world? How much are you returning to God's world? Are you claiming an individual, family, even a nation? How can we save this nation of America? At this time, there are more than 450 American leaders attending an educational conference, gaining some basic direction and guidance. There is only one way for America to be saved, one direction, and more and more leaders are realizing it. We are educating many people and they are receiving it freely. How exciting we are!

Those who pledge to go this way of action, raise your hands. Let us pray.