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The Unification Church was formally established in 1954; however, prior to the founding of our church a most incredible series of events took place to lay the necessary foundation. I want you to understand that God had been working for this new dispensation for approximately forty years prior to World War II, fulfilling His promises to the Korean people for the forthcoming great event of the New Age.
Through the Divine Principle you know that God has been working to fulfill His will by having His vertical dispensation indemnified horizontally. This morning I would like to reveal some of the extraordinary works of God in connection with our Church's founding.
According to the Divine Principle, the history of God's providence is developed on three different levels: the dispensations centering on God Himself, centering on the angelic world, and centering on man. The Old Testament era is the period during which God Himself worked directly in the forefront; in preparing the foundation for the future dispensation God was revealing the pattern of restoration. The New Testament era is equivalent to the work of the angelic world because salvation could only be achieved spiritually. The Completed Testament era, or time of the Second Advent, is the era in which men on the earth assume the major responsibility. Therefore, in order to consummate human history one nation must be found whose history encapsulates the entire vertical history of God.
Abraham made three types of offerings to God on his altar: a dove and pigeon, a she-goat and ram, and a heifer. The intriguing part of Abraham's offering was that there were two birds representing the formation stage and two animals representing the growth stage, but only one animal representing the perfection stage; this indicated that perfection was yet to come. Korea was chosen as the stage for the fulfillment of the last chapter of human history in God's dispensation, and consequently Abraham's offering was to be physically and spiritually manifested on the horizontal level in Korea. The work of God Himself, or the equivalent of the Old Testament era, plus the work of Jesus and the Holy Spirit together in the New Testament era all had to be manifested in that land in order to fulfill the final chapter of human history. The foundation for those events had to be laid physically here on earth.
The ultimate goal of God is to find one perfected Adam, but that Adam cannot come into being unless an Eve is found through whom he can be perfected. In other words, even though Adam might be appointed by God, he could never entirely fulfill his responsibility alone. In the garden of Eden, Eve was responsible for initiating the fall of man; therefore, unless an Eve can be found who can indemnity the fall in the garden of Eden, Adam would have no way to assume the supreme position of perfection.
Eve also had no way to reach perfection without Adam. In order to reach her perfection, Eve must either create Adam, meet Adam, or give birth to Adam. Bringing Adam here on earth is not the direct responsibility of God or even the direct responsibility of Jesus, but the responsibility of Eve, since Eve destroyed Adam in the garden of Eden. Eve is the one who must give birth to Adam. At the time of Jesus Christ, the role of John the Baptist was similar to the bride's role, and through the execution of his mission the perfected Jesus was to truly become the Messiah. These events of 2,000 years ago occurred on the national level, but the coming of the Second Advent will take place on the universal level, and Eve must take the role of John the Baptist in bringing perfected Adam to the world.
The dispensation of restoration does not begin at the highest position in heaven, but must always start from the lowest possible human situation. Why is that? Ultimately Adam is solely responsible to bring God back to this world and bring mankind back to God. As the man who is responsible for all mankind, Adam should begin his journey at the very bottom of hell and pass through every kind of human life and environment on his way to the throne of God. In this way he can embrace all of mankind in the bosom of salvation. Furthermore, the Lord who is coming for that mission must ultimately serve Eve. He must come all the way up from the bottom of hell and perfect himself, then meet her and serve her almost as devotedly as he serves God.
Women have many qualifications, but the most precious title a woman can have is that of mother. Adam must serve Eve even more than he would serve his own mother. Another precious title that a woman can win is that of a bride, or wife, and apart from her family the greatest responsibility and glory that a woman can assume is that of empress or queen of the Kingdom of God. When someone asks a woman, "Can you be a true mother," and her answer is yes, then she is already speaking in universal terms. Not every woman will become a queen in God's kingdom; many more will become entitled to the roles of true mother and true wife. But you sisters here all want to become empresses also, don't you?
Who is authorized to bestow these titles upon women? God? Jesus, who represents the angelic world? You women will not assume your true rights until you meet the true Adam. That is principled, isn't it? Since all the men ever to live on earth were fallen, then in the sight of God women have actually never met a true man, and for this reason were not able to assume their rights. Women have been mistreated and miserable throughout history, cast out of their true position. They have been exploited by evil individuals, evil families, societies, nations, and by Satan himself. There have been many queens in the world, but their positions still had no value because until women meet the true man who is appointed by God they cannot assume the true rights of the woman's role. When will that day of liberation come?
Christian history reveals the culmination of God's dispensation most clearly. All the women of the world are waiting for the one moment when the Messiah will come into this world representing the universal man. Always in the past women have been exploited and abused, but in 1918 there was a liberation, and for 70 years women have been taking positions above men, even trying to control them. This change in the history of women will continue until 1988. The women's liberation movement has certainly been successful in this country, with American women seizing the role of empress.
In Biblical history women had no rights and the men assumed the major role in God's dispensation, but that was an extreme situation and in one sense American women have the right idea. According to the Bible women are supposed to wear veils, meaning that women should be humble and meek in preparation to meet the Bridegroom. But instead of just taking off their veils women have even taken off their clothes! Throughout the world women are accepted even when they are practically naked.
In this country women have a commanding voice at home. In a typical American home the wife is master of the house, while the husband is like a servant; his shoulders are hunched over and he is always checking to see what his wife's mood is. How about you women, do you agree with that? The other day in New York I saw an incredible scene. A bunch of poor, miserable men had gotten together in picket line and were carrying signs proclaiming a men's liberation movement: "We want liberation from women." Your laughing at that testifies that these problems are real. Actually all those men are wasting their time demonstrating; they should just join the Unification Church.
None of these things are happening at random. There is a reason and a Principle meaning behind them. This is a critical time, and God is consummating His entire history; 70 represents perfection, and so for 70 years women will be trying to assume their rightful, original role. This is their time of preparation to meet the true man.
I understand the reason behind taking such initiative in America, but it is also time for restored women to resume the objective aspect of their original role. All you sisters, would you like to be recognized for being feminine and charming, or would you like to be known for being very courageous and tom-boyish? All you brothers who laughed, would you like to have tom-boys as your wives or women who are feminine and charming? When I was matching couples for the blessing I asked the Western men what nationality they would like their wives to be. 99% of them asked for Oriental women. I am sure it was very embarrassing for the Western sisters to hear that all the men wanted to marry Oriental women.
It would not be easy for most of you American women to have an Oriental husband because most of them are shorter than you are. Would you sisters like to have tall men or short men as your husbands? Generally a man thinks that his wife should be at least slightly shorter than he is, which looks very normal. God gave women the privilege of always looking up to their husbands. They should not look down on men; that is the Principle. God actually made women shorter than men for the sake of women. If women were taller than men then throughout history their lives would have been even more miserable because they would have to do all the reaching for high things.
God thought a lot about how to create women. Instead of making women taller than men He made women a little shorter, but with bigger hips. Why? Because women are to assume two roles. First, in giving birth to children women need a strong foundation, and second, they will be living most of their lives in a sitting position, so God provided built-in cushions. Men have narrow hips without cushions because men are supposed to be active for the sake of women. From the very beginning God was thinking that a man is supposed to take the initiative and always be in action. A woman is to be objective, receiving grace from her husband, and always sitting home comfortably waiting for him. That is the way it should be. At the same time a man should be masculine, and that is why he has broad shoulders and strong arms. Going out into the world is the man's role.
Now the time has come for women to restore their original role, particularly American women. Nowadays American men just do not want to get married and become the slaves of domineering women. Sometimes women get married intending to take advantage of men by divorcing them later and getting their money in alimony. Currently in America a man who is divorced more than once can become miserably poor because the courts award everything to his ex-wives, while a woman who gets divorced more than once gets richer and richer. Again, there is a dispensational reason for this. Women are important in the sight of God since they are in a position to take more of an objective role to the Messiah when he comes. Previously Satan used women to take everything away from men, but at this time God is using women to take everything away from Satan; however, such actions will only be justified if the wealth is subsequently given to God.
Where in American society can we find the true mother, true wife, and true empress? This is the problem, and a re-creation process must take place. We should re-educate women to become true wives and mothers and then they will be eligible to become queens. Are you Unification women being reeducated? Is your thinking different from that of ordinary American women? Your answer is very spiritless. If you have to be asked to answer willingly then you have not met the standard yet.
This phenomenon of women being able to rise and entrench themselves in power is very recent, showing that the time has come when God will elevate one woman to be the physical Holy Spirit. This is the time for the birth of the true Eve. God is looking for the ideal woman who has the qualifications and potential to become a true wife and true mother, and eventually the true queen or empress of the universe. Every woman is a candidate for this position, which is why women in general have been given a chance to rise. But God is looking for one perfect woman to summon out of the satanic world who has the potential to become the true wife and mother and queen, in order to establish her as the first God-centered wife, mother and queen.
There were symbolic internal conditions that had to be fulfilled before I was eligible to begin my ministry. You now know that the appearance of the Messiah is drastically different from the conventional belief about the Lord coming in glory. The history of God's dispensation starts from the servant period of the Old Testament era, continues through the adopted son's period of the New Testament era, and culminates with the Completed Testament era as the period of true son, true father, true husband, and true king. The entire vertical history of 6,000 Biblical years has to be indemnified in the life of the Messiah before the physical dispensation even begins.
This internal dispensational history that I speak of all took place before 1947; my public ministry began after that year. The seven year period from 1947 to 1954, the year that the Unification Church was formally established, was the period in which I set physical conditions. The first place I went was North Korea. That seven year period was truly an incredible time. Having spiritually recovered the qualification for lordship before 1947, I had to set the condition of physical suffering in order to launch my own ministry, as well as the organization which carne about in 1954. Those seven years were a time of incredible suffering,
That foundation was finally laid in 1954, when the formal name of our Church was established as the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, and our Church began as a legal entity. From that year on through the seven years leading up to 1960, I built the substantial foundation of our Church in preparation for the installation of the True Parents in 1960. This was the greatest fuming point of all; God's blessing came to Adam's family with the blessing of the True Parents. The first seven years of the True Parents 21-year course took place from 1960 to 1967. This was the foundation for the heavenly family. My personal 21-year course, which paralleled Jacob's 21-year course, also ended in 1967.
I worked to lay the national foundation during the seven years from 1967 through 1974. In order to lay the national foundation, the members in Korea, particularly the blessed members, completely sacrificed their family life. In that three-year period the Korean family endured incredible suffering and tribulation. By 1972 1 had already established a victory on the national level, and had begun working on the worldwide level. Therefore, in 1972 a tremendous movement was initiated in America while in Korea a fierce battle was yet being waged, both spiritually and physically. The Korean family members had gone out and were confronting tremendous physical sacrifices. They were leading lives of physical torture during the time I came to America to build the spiritual foundation on the worldwide level. In other words, I began working on the worldwide level while the Korean family was still working on the national level. The dedicated efforts of the blessed families of Korea were symbolic of the fulfillment of Jesus' mission.
In 1972, by undertaking the Day of Hope tours, I launched the spiritual condition of my declaration of God's message throughout America. Do you think I was victorious? America had never seen such a man. For 3 1/2 years I moved like a whirlwind through every state in America, meeting this nation's leaders and receiving many proclamations from mayors and governors, including Jimmy Carter, who was then Governor of Georgia. At that time I received spiritual acceptance from America. This is one most fortunate condition that America has made. Even though many Americans have since become very negative, America at least welcomed me when I first came. In the future some Americans will beseech God, "Please forgive us. Even though people don't understand now, please remember that as a nation we gave Reverend Moon more proclamations than any other nation."
By the end of 1974 1 had successfully completed the Day of Hope crusade in Los Angeles, and on December 26, 1974, 1 returned to Korea. My return was needed to directly link to Korea the spiritual victory that we won here in America on the worldwide level. My worldwide victory must finally become a physical one, and in order to do that I had to reap spiritual victory here in America, bring it back to Korea, and then begin the physical worldwide dispensation from that land.
The worldwide dispensation on the physical level began in 1975. That was the year I substantially turned Korea upside down. On January 6, 1975, 1 invited all the prominent people in Korea to the banquet room of the Chosun Hotel in Seoul, and there made the first address of my public ministry in Korea, in my native tongue. I invited people from all walks of life-die prime minister and government ministers, clergymen representing all religions, scholars-all were in one room. That was the first time they heard me speak in public. The banquet was the beginning of the Day of Hope tour in Korea.
Before that time I had never made a public appearance or address in Korea; instead I only spoke behind the scenes to our church members. The mission of the Messiah must be manifested on a worldwide level, and for this reason I first spoke publicly in America, which represents the world. In addition, America is the Christian nation which is playing the central role in God's dispensation.
In 1975, a most important dispensational victory was won in Korea. After the Day of Hope banquet at the Chosun Hotel I went to every major city throughout the Republic of Korea, declaring God's message to tens of thousands of people; it was the most historical evangelical crusade that ever took place in Korea. It was climaxed by the Korean Rally for World Freedom on June 7, on Yoido Island, which was attended by 1. 2 million people. At that rally I publicly declared that communism is the foe of mankind and the foe of God.
It is most interesting that at that time the Korean government was in the position of supporting me instead of opposing me. The major Christian denominations were accusing the Korean government of violating civil liberties, but their opposition to the South Korean government could only benefit Kim II Sung of North Korea. However, the Unification Church took a stand representing the true spirit of Christianity, defending the South Korean government and declaring war against Kim Il Sung. The Rally on June 7 was a most tremendous dispensational victory. Why? When Jesus came 2,000 years ago, the leaders of Judaism, the central religion of God's providence, cooperated with the governments of Israel and Rome in crucifying the Messiah. But in 1975 the Korean government and the Unification Church members accepted me and raised me up in a most dramatic way instead of rejecting me. It was also significant that representatives from sixty nations participated in the Rally under my leadership.
The Christian population in Korea is said to be four million. The Christian leaders saw how the Unification Church was able to mobilize such a dramatic demonstration against communism, and to keep from being outdone by us they hastily organized a rally against Kim Il Sung that was held several weeks later. But even with 49 Christian denominations supporting it, attendance at their rally was less than 1/3 of our 1.2 million.
The situation at that time was like a showdown between the Unification Church and all the Christian churches, with the government looking on. The Unification Church had won such an obvious landslide victory, however, that the whole nation had to acknowledge what I had accomplished. Shortly afterward the government decided to compete with me and they also held a big rally against Kim II Sung, but even under government auspices less than 1.2 million people came. The Korean people just couldn't imagine how I could have been so successful that year; it was almost as though some ghost had appeared and overnight done incredible things.
By attracting world attention and gathering the representatives of sixty nations, the June 7 rally accomplished a physical victory on the worldwide level. On the foundation of all our successes I could expand that substantial victory, and so I returned again to America, this time with a different, heightened mission. My previous mission in America had been on a spiritual level, but in 1975 1 came back to America to fulfill a physical mission. You know what we have done in this country since then.
The first three years of the third seven year course are 1975, 1976, and 1977. You are the eyewitnesses of the Yankee Stadium and Washington Monument campaigns which culminated in physical victory on a worldwide scale. Initially I had planned to have the Washington Monument Rally in 1977, but we were even ahead of God's schedule. The purpose of the Yankee Stadium Crusade was to completely win American public opinion in support of us, and to demonstrate our strength. However, God was wiser, and He gave us rain that day, thinking, "Instead of being deterred by the rain, I know Reverend Moon will be spurred on to do more. I will give the rally a little sprinkle of water so that he will even be inspired to work ahead of my schedule." That was God's plan.
Within 100 days God's prediction came true. I was determined to schedule the Washington Monument Rally ahead of time. However, the total time devoted to the Washington Monument campaign only amounted to forty days. We had to make plans and get all the permits, and that took so much time that we didn't even know whether we could legally have the Rally that year. By the time all the permits were secured there were only forty days left, but I said, "The die is cast. Go ahead."
The Washington Monument Rally will remain in American history, but not just as a record-breaking religious crusade; its tremendous impact will be felt even more in the days to come. Scholars in all the social sciences and in all religions will research it very deeply, trying to find out how one man from Korea could accomplish a rally that not even the American government or any churches had thought about attempting. Whether they like it or not, and whether they accept me or not, people everywhere have to recognize my tremendous impact. This is one decisive result of the Washington Monument Rally.
I have explained before what Washington Monument means in light of the dispensation. No matter what difficulty or opposition comes to the Unification Church, it will not disrupt our advance and prosperity. I am the only one who can build the superhighway that will enable mankind to reach God. God has three major headaches: the greatest problem of mankind is communism, and we are the only group with a solution to communism. Second is the decline of Christianity, and third is the immorality of today's young people. Only under my leadership can we bring new life to the young people of America. Does President Carter have solutions to these problems? Are the Christian churches posing solutions?
In reality the decline of Christianity is like the rushing waters of Niagara Falls. Even the famous evangelists and religious leaders cannot reverse the tide. However, suppose today's Christians and the media were open-minded enough to assist us in what we are doing. The Unification Church has the conviction and philosophy that can reverse the tide of decline in the churches within three years. There is a way back to true life and we have a God-given solution. But because most people have closed their minds and become negative they are unfortunately missing this great opportunity to be revived. The entire free world has become helpless, crumbling before the threat of communism, yet the solution to communism is resting in our hands. There is a solution for the present dilemmas of the world; there is a way to liberate American young people from being victimized by drugs and immorality. We have the solution, yet most people refuse to look.
Because you know the solution you are responsible for America. You are going to save this nation and give the young people a new vision and sense of morality. Through the victory of World War II, God gave America the chance to influence a vast portion of the world; if America had truly been God-centered then significant groundwork would already have been achieved for the Kingdom of God. But what happened after World War II? America retreated constantly from her worldwide responsibilities, becoming dangerously isolated.
God has given America a most extraordinary chance to work for Him by literally bringing the free world into a God-centered kingdom. America was in a position to take the initiative for good in Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America, but look at the world situation now. One by one America has closed its door to those continents; already America has almost entirely retreated from Asia. Unless this nation advances in a new direction America will soon be trembling alone. Soviet Russia had been demolished during World War II and was struggling to survive against great odds, but even under those circumstances the communist leaders expanded their power and influence in the world. If Russia could advance in such a way in thirty years under adverse conditions, then what can Russia do in the next five years, when world conditions are much more favorable?
In the next five years this nation is going to face a very difficult time of danger and crisis. America is like a locomotive racing toward a cliff. I am the one man who is single-mindedly trying to brake that locomotive. I am trying to turn this nation around by mobilizing you handful of people. It may seem to be an impossible task, but you will see that what we are doing is God's mandate. If I had never known God then I could be America's worst adversary, even worse than the communists. But the only reason that I have the capabilities I do is because I know the dispensation of God. In looking at what America has done to me, my personal reaction is sometimes an intense desire to get revenge; I even sometimes feel that this nation cannot be forgiven. But by knowing God's feelings I can suppress these emotions.
I have a dual position regarding America. I love this nation and I want to be America's guardian, a real champion for this nation's survival. At the same time my mission has a most fearful aspect because if God were to say, "All fight my son, you have done your job. Leave that country alone," then there would be no mercy given to this nation. If God ever cut Himself off from America you would see for yourselves how quickly this nation would decline.
I did not come here to take direction from the State Department or to win the little green card that permits me to live in this country. I have absolutely no inclination to stay in this country; I am only here because of the mandate of God. Put yourself in my position; look at what the media has done in the last 3-1/2 years, portraying me as a monster. How would you feel toward this country on a personal level? From that point of view this nation has committed unforgivable acts, yet if I were to leave, this country would be miserable.
You should not just know these things, but take up the responsibility for them. Even more than 1, you have got to go and awaken these people and turn this nation back to God. I am determined to train young people to become responsible for this country. For example, I am now training the seminarians; they are making up a new fishing net now, and I have had them fishing in the icy water of the Hudson River to see what kind of young men they are. They are not making nets and fishing for the sake of making money, but to build their own iron will and to become determined young leaders who cannot be stopped by anything.
I do not only deliver sermons to you. When I get down to action I can do anything, and do it better than anyone. Those seminarians are really rediscovering me, finding out that I do not just have theories, but that I have the kind of knowledge which can only come from experience. I have studied fishing and designed several patented tools for fishing. For instance, sometimes the hook gets caught in the fish's mouth, and the fishermen have an awful time getting the hook out. I have invented a small tool to push the barb through and get the hook out easily.
One member saw me cutting the metal to make this tool myself, and he said, "Father why do you work so hard? Why don't you just go to a tackle shop and buy one?" I told him, "America doesn't have such a tool; if I could buy this kind of tool then why should I make it?" I invented a new net at Barrytown, one you have never seen. It is a one-way-street net and once the fish goes into the net there is no way it can turn around. Yesterday I had an appointment with the Belvedere people but I had a new inspiration for the net and got caught up in directing the seminarians about how to make it. We worked very hard all night, and I could not come here on time.
Do you want to come fishing with me? I do not want you to come because you just do not know anything about fishing; I would have to yell at you and give you a hard time. How can I train you dumb people? Do you still want to join me? We will have a national conference today with all the state leaders and IOWC commanders. Today's conference will be in Barrytown and they will represent all of you there.
Through this dispensational history that I have partially described this morning I have come to the position where all the debts in history have been paid; we are now beginning to erect a new history and I have declared the opening of the New Age. Based on the victories which I have described, I was able to proclaim the Day of the Victory of Heaven on October 4 last year. On February 23, the first day of the Year One could be declared. Tens of thousands of spirit men have been assigned to each one of you and if you reach out you will feel them around you. If you feel you are accompanied wherever you go then you shall be successful. You can fight hundreds of battles and reap hundreds of victories. If you have gained confidence by knowing what age we are living in and who I am, and you also know what victory has already been won and what kind of foundation has been laid, then wherever you go you can bring victory.
The foundation and cornerstone of the worldwide victory have been laid. This year and next year we will expand our substantial strength, aiming to raise up 30,000 dedicated young men and women in this country. By mobilizing this force the three major headaches of God can all be solved. The time will come when this nation and government will say, "Reverend Moon, won't you stay longer? Don't go; we need you." That is the time that I will go.
Many kings and queens and heads of state will urge me to come to their countries and I will accept many of their invitations. Even now I have many invitations but I decline them, saying, "I am more needed here in America. I have a challenge and mission in this country. The fact that I still receive opposition here shows that my mission is not yet completed, so I want to stay. Are you Americans or Koreans? As Americans you should love your country more than a Korean like me. If you fail to do that then do not call me Father because you and I have nothing in common with each other. I did not come here to serve Korea, but to serve America. Are you Americans going to do more than I? Are you ahead of me now or will you be in the future? I want you to be greater than I am.
The past that I described this morning was a lonely path that I walked all by myself; it is a lonely battle that I have been waging my entire life, having no friend to understand me. For thirty years I gave this message to the elder members of the Korean family and they nodded but they never understood. Now, thirty years later they come to me saying, "Father, now we understand what you said thirty years ago." That is their honest confession. You may not understand what I am saying this morning until thirty years later. This is always my situation.
I have always been a lonely man because no one has ever truly understood me. No one wanted to volunteer to go this lonely path, and the only reason that I would accept this responsibility was because I knew that God also was deeply lonely and sorrowful . Without this understanding I would never have accepted it. The true road of restoration is not an easy one. Following me also is not an easy path but a most difficult one. Many people, even yourselves, may not be able to consummate this path in their lives. It is probably far better for those who have no confidence to pack up and go live as they wish.
Along with everything else, much of my hard time here in America is because of you. Without you no one would criticize me. I am so well-known that when I go to New York I have absolutely no freedom. I cannot even buy clothes or go to a cubbyhole of a restaurant without people asking, "Aren't you Reverend Moon? Would you please sign this?" I never have preferred this way of life, but since I did not want it God gave this role to me. What can I do? I have become famous and I want you Americans to also become famous; the American people love to be proud f themselves. Please go ahead and make yourself famous for doing the work of God, and after doing so you can become a shield around Mother and me and we can relax a little bit.
Can you become famous in the name of God? If you cannot do that by yourselves then I can make you famous. Do you prefer to become famous on your own in the name of God, or do you want me to make you famous? If you do not go ahead of me and really give yourself totally for the sake of this nation, then when you go into the spirit world all the Americans there will be pointing accusing fingers, jeering, "What a poor American you are! You knew the dispensation and met Father but how little you did!" You do not want to be ashamed do you?
When I put some American women into the Hudson River the other day some of them became stiff and numb. I have a mammoth task to make you into real women and then bless you. It might take ten years for you to pass the test, but do you want to pass before you get married, or after? It took God 6,000 years to restore one Adam, but that is using Biblical terminology. Counting by our years it took many thousands or even millions of years for God to recreate one Adam. Is ten years very long for me to re-create a perfect Eve?
At the recent blessing here everybody's appetite was whetted, with even young brothers and sisters asking, "Father, what about me?" At East Garden one of the staff, who is only 23 years old, said, "Father, can I be included?" I had to laugh at him, "You are hardly even born yet!" On the other hand, in America you have every freedom to get married, even five or ten times. Why don't you go ahead and exercise your freedom? If you all go away I will have fewer problems.
This is the 23rd anniversary of the founding of the Unification Church. These 23 years are just the external history of our church, but the true history, prior to the founding of the Unification Church, is known only to a few people whom I can trust. I was destined to suffer-as a servant, an adopted son, a son, husband, father, and king-more than anyone in those positions ever suffered in history. This was my destiny, and by doing this I could totally restore those who suffered on every level. This period of indemnity and suffering shall be over by 1981 at the latest.
If white America fails to respond then God will raise up another people or another nation that will come against the white people of America. I do not have to defend my actions; I can just be silent, waiting and knowing that God's timetable is ticking by. On the other hand, however, since primarily white people are denouncing me, God can send more young white people to us and in the future, more white people will rise up in my defense. That is the way God will work.
Before I came the universe was engulfed in darkness. All the many philosophers and religious people knew nothing of the heart of God and the meaning of the Bible, and when I revealed many things for the first time it was like the sun rising. Now everyone can see the true picture of God and history. I have not only discovered the truth, but I have lived it, and through experience I know how this universal truth will work.
The Unification Church is a school far greater than Harvard or Yale or Princeton, and is a place where only the elite of the universe can enroll. Harvard University can graduate a Ph.D. but that person can only turn around and teach theories at a blackboard. Even a thousand Harvards together could not create one son of God, but our school turns out sons of God every day. Millions of dollars could not pay the tuition at this school, and only a special kind of people can come here. To make sure that only God's elite come to the Unification Church God is purposely letting opposition and negativity be stiffed up. In the face of negativity from society, those who can come to the Unification Church have to be special. Under such adverse conditions you could not join unless you have received special revelation from God, or have a brilliant conscience and heart. That is why I say that this is really a gathering of the elite.
Only those who are given direct revelation from God are actually eligible to join this group, but all of you are like by-standers who all of a sudden had some good luck. Why? The Divine Principle is bringing people faster than the revelations are coming from God. This is where the blessing of receiving God's revelation can be seen. Since you joined the Unification Church by using your logic, then you analyze and evaluate everything too much; when I give some direction you stop and think about whether you will obey or not. However, the person who has received revelation from God directly knows who I am and does not even have to debate about following any direction I may give. God has told them who I am and they can instantly respond.
You are not actually qualified to be in this school, but God has made a special dispensation. You are like freshmen and sophomores in this great school, just eager to soak up the truth like a sponge. How could you ever say, "God, You must make me famous"? Just to be here is such a privilege that you cannot presume to expect that you will automatically receive the blessing. From God's standpoint it is laughable for a person who is not even crawling to think about being married. After 2,000 years even Jesus does not yet have his bride with him. How could you assume that you deserve the blessing? You older sisters may be thinking, "Father, I am thirty years old. It is getting late! " But think of Jesus who is 2,000 years old.
You think you know me well, but you hardly know anything about me; only God knows me completely. Actually you have met a most unusual person. How are you different after meeting me? Those who say, "I am an absolutely different person since meeting you," raise your hands. What is the difference? You have been fund raising and witnessing and getting all kinds of persecution and scornful treatment, is that what is different? Have you just done all of those things passively and reluctantly, or because a gigantic change has come about in you so you can tackle those things willingly?
How do you know I really sacrifice myself for humanity? After a long trip in the car my back aches very much, so would you buy me a giant plane? When? You may answer, "When you need the plane we will buy you one," but don't you know that I needed a plane the first day I landed here in America? America is a huge country to travel around. The time will come when contributions will come from all over the world from people wanting me to buy a plane that I can fly to their countries. But if I do get a plane the American State Department will say, "He just sent his young people out and exploited them to buy his gigantic plane." My buying a plane will bring even more criticism.
I have already done many things, creating factories to manufacture many varied products and certainly before you buy me a plane I can create one. These things are easy compared to the work of restoration. The process of restoration is such a complex labyrinth that even for me it is never easy. I am glad that you were not given direct responsibility for restoration by God. You are lucky not to have received that mandate.
You will never know me fully. No matter what you think, even though you call me Father or Master, you will never really know my true value until you die. In spirit world you will all of a sudden discover how much each one of you is indebted to me. In all of Biblical history, starting from Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel, every mission ended in failure. Noah, Abraham, Moses, all of the Old Testament prophets, John the Baptist and even Jesus' mission all ended in failure. The record of Biblical history is a record of failure. In my own lifetime I have to mend everything and replace all those past failures with success. Do you think that is easy?
The foundation you stand on in the Unification Church is truly miraculous; all the historical failures have been mended properly and put into one unified work of God. I have successfully laid the foundation on the family level and expanded it onto the worldwide level. Now I am ready to rest and welcome my Sabbath. Now that I have done my job I can stand before the throne of God without shame and say, "Father, I have done what You asked." Can you grasp the significance of this? All the events in the history of God are not some blind sequence of human behavior; there is a definite pattern and formula behind them all. I not only unlocked all the hidden formulas behind history, but I have put all of history together into one victorious harvest.
I am a complex and difficult person to meet. If you meet me in the wrong way you could be ruined. I have witnessed the destruction of people who met me incorrectly. America and the world shall not be an exception to this. I think it is impossible for you to understand this, but I say it anyway.
I came to stop the destruction of the individual, family, tribe, nation, and world, to brake this rushing locomotive that is racing toward its doom. You also have the power to do that once you make up your minds. Once you are firm in your commitment to serve God then God will be with you; there is no exception to this. Once your mind is completely set, then I know God will be with you.
God's work has been that of taking serious, drastic action to reverse the rush of human history toward its doom. I am sure you have a certain reservation in your commitment because this is so vast to grasp and digest. You are in awe of what it means to have the weight of history on your shoulders. Can you seriously say, "All right, I'm going to lift up history. I can be the moving force to turn history around." Have you ever thought about it and can you realistically feel that weight upon your shoulders?
Equivalent to the Old and New Testament eras, many spiritual groups appeared as the forerunners to raise up this one religious movement, They all came to serve a certain purpose, but they are all gone and the Unification Church is thriving now. From its very birth in Korea the Unification Church has been controversial, really upsetting the nation and world. Do You think this is a movement that will eventually decline and disappear, or will we not only become prosperous ourselves, but bring new life to the rest of the world? We shall either be destroyed or enable the world to live. Either we will be victorious or our opponents will be victorious. If down in our guts we have the hidden potential power to transform our enemies into our friends then nobody can doubt us. Restoration is very difficult, and in living the Principle you have to follow the formula. There can be no jump and each step must be taken with your entire life at stake. If you are holding anything of yourself in reserve then you cannot ever progress.
The 7,000 years of Biblical history extend from the original creation of man to his re-creation or perfection. The indemnity for this 7,000 years must be encompassed in one man's seven year course. In one seven year period of my life I paid the debt of 7,000 years of history. Would God recognize that I had done that if I simply made an announcement of it? Do you think Satan would acknowledge that? I waged an absolute battle to go each step of that course. I had to literally pay, so that even Satan could not find fault.
You are now riding piggyback upon that victorious foundation. You are like a hitchhiker. I have acquired a car, and put gas in the tank and become an experienced driver. You just happened to be nearby and I said, "Come along." You shall be eternally grateful just to have had the privilege of riding in this car, but do you as a passenger have the privilege of telling the driver to get you food and give you heavenly marriage? That is exactly your situation.
Outside of the will of God there is no connection between you and me; I do not need you. I only give 100% of my attention to you because I know God's desire. Do you understand? Actually you can contribute very little to the fulfillment of the dispensation since it is already done. Do I still need you when you are only a burden?
God cannot abandon this country upon which His will is so directly resting; you at least have a chance to do something to help God's providence here so that you can receive eternal credit in spirit world for your accomplishment. If you have no strong desire to dedicate yourself for the salvation of this country, then do not even mention that you are a Unification Church member. If your goal is not parallel with mine then you are no longer a member of the Unification Church. Are you fully aware of what you are expected to do? You have no fight to call me Father unless your purpose is parallel with mine. Before you call me Father you must become worthy to be my child. Before I speak about anything I live through the situation and fulfill it. Will you do that too?
April is over and one-third of 1977 is gone. If America does not change, if you make no remarkable headway in 1977 and 1978, then I will have no further interest in this country and will go elsewhere. You may rest and relax, but I will never do that. I will always reserve the right to say before God, "There is nothing I have left undone for the sake of America's dispensation. The American people never responded to me, but Father, You know that I have done every single thing I needed to do." Are you serious about the salvation of this country?
To find the path for restoration you have to search diligently and you have to go every step. The secrets found in my search for restoration have been revealed. I have completed that search and put the Divine Principle together so that all can find it. All you have to do is live it. I organized the 7,000 year history of mankind's failure into a seven year course, and I have showed you how to walk that course. You must do that, but you must be deeply serious about it, like Jesus was while walking toward the Mount of Calgary. You must adopt the seriousness of that moment.
Are you looking forward to the day of fulfillment and hope? You are now burdened by the responsibilities of yourself, your family, tribe, nation and world, and you must go individually, just as I have gone. I have laid the superhighway of the Principle so that everybody can go, but each one of you must actually do the traveling. In this seven year period of time you will start by going the servant's path as obediently as a lamb, then going through the period of adopted son, the period of the son, husband and wife, father and mother, and finally the emperor and empress of the universe. You have to precisely cover this in seven years' time.
When you are triumphant in this seven year course then the past emperors and empresses will bow down to you when you are elevated to the spirit world. This is a very precious time because we can live through this while on earth. I have been walking this path for forty years here on earth and now I am asking you to successfully go this course for only seven years. If you say, "Father, please give me an easier task," then you have the mind of a thief.
When I began the Unification Church in Korea our headquarters was a small shabby house. On May 1, 1954, 1 set up a small plaque in front of that shabby house, probably the smallest sign you could find in history, but the biggest words ever spoken: "Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity." The biggest words, but the smallest sign and smallest house-that is the way the Unification Church began!
The room was so small that when I lay down my head hit one wall and my feet hit another wall. I was utterly penniless at that time, and that shabby house was not even owned by the Church but was rented. But now here in America, there is a concrete foundation laid in all fifty states in terms of having physical centers. You are going to do precisely what I did 23 years ago. You live in a small cubbyhole, but every person who comes to you is treated like a king and queen while you serve them like a servant.
If any of you state leaders wants to be served because you hold some position, then you will never be successful. You have to start out as a servant of servants, and go through each step. Unless you demonstrate the true spirit of service you will never be successful because the Unification Church was not built that way. You must go the path that I went.
Unification Church women have to think, "God, don't worry about me. I am not even worthy to look at any man as my husband. I am not quite ready, and I would only be a burden to the man who would marry me. I am perfectly content in what I am doing, and I will give every ounce of energy for Your purpose." Is that how you think, or are you proud women instead, thinking, "I am capable, and I certainly deserve the respect and admiration of men?" Are you that confident?
Have you ever imagined having a beggar from the street as your husband? Internally that beggar might be a godly man. Have you ever thought, "I am not even worthy to receive this man as my husband"? I started out as a servant of servants and you also must start out as a servant of servants.
For the sake of God, and for the restoration of mankind there is nothing that I cannot do. After you are successful in the servant position you will be elevated to be an adopted son. But remember that such a recommendation does not come easily. Does a master lightly say, "You are even too good to be my adopted son. I will make you my son and my heir?" That kind of recognition is not given freely. You are starting as a servant. Will God soon pronounce His blessing upon you, saying, "You are truly my son, and I am going to give you my blessing to become husband and wife."
Unless you as parents have the firm conviction that you have been totally liberated from Satan and from sin, how can you ever give birth to a sinless child? Do you have the confidence to say, "My children are born of God and no longer have anything to do with original sin. They are not born of Satan and are eligible directly for the Kingdom of God." That is not easy is it? Furthermore, can you raise yourself up to be an emperor or empress so that when you go to spirit world the highest possible saints will bow down to you? You are going to be the ancestors of your restored family tree and those who carry your family name shall be your descendants. I have covered that entire territory and consummated it victoriously. The Unification Church is the school where you can be taught, and I am now in the position to show you the way.
My forty years experience and fulfillment can be organized so that you can go that entire path in seven years. I am 57 years of age; 40 years have lapsed since I started the dispensation at the age of 16. Ever since I was 16, I have encountered intense experiences and walked the thorny path. I am the pioneer who cleared away every obstacle and made the broad, smooth highway ready for anyone to find and follow. I not only laid the highway, but I created an automobile for you. All you have to do is get a license to become a driver and then go to the gas station to get gas. At least that much is your responsibility. If you deny and reject even this small responsibility, then forget about driving quickly to heaven; you will have to walk and nobody will sympathize with your foolishness.
Will you drive on that highway? It is necessary that you complete your seven-year course and establish your own qualification to be blessed. You are not working for anyone else--the Unification Church, Reverend Moon, or God--you are working for yourself. First you must become victorious on every level, starting as the servant of mankind. I will give you more and more detailed truth, expounding on everything so precisely that you will realize, "I thought I had been a good member of the Unification Church, but now that I understand Father's criteria, I see how phony I am!"
Do not worry about anything else for these seven years, but become literally crazy for God and crazy to serve mankind, forgetting about yourself. All of a sudden I will say, "You are my child. The time for blessing has come; I want you to get blessed." Then you might respond, "Have three years passed already? Oh no, Father, I still have more to do and I must become more mature." That is the natural response. In the garden of Eden Adam and Eve were not to tell God that it was time for them to get married. Instead God was to call Adam.
When a News World staff member wrote to me asking, "Father, I want to get blessed. Can't you bless me," I wondered, "Does that brother really know the Principle?" This brother here was extraordinarily lucky; he was not even a candidate for blessing, but was just driving the candidates up for the matching when he happened to be selected. He never expected to be blessed at that time. That should be the natural situation; if you really know the Principle you will know that this is the way the blessing comes, just all of a sudden.
The True Parent's wedding in 1960 was not done on my own initiative. God gave me revelation after revelation, insisting, "The time has come My son. You shall prepare the altar to receive holy matrimony, and I shall bless you." This is the Principle way. Even Mother never considered herself to be Mother. She was just living as a member of the Church when all of a sudden her name was called to be married. Some members are thinking that they need the blessing or that they deserve the blessing, but that is closer to satanic thinking. All you have to do actually, is to find your path in the Principle and just keep busy, running and running. Then all of a sudden you will find yourself kidnapped by God for the marriage ceremony.
In the strictest sense, when I observe the American family members, there is not even a single one who passes the test. If you die in the state you are in then you cannot be fully elevated into the Kingdom of Heaven, but will only end up in a middle level like a waiting room. You need to be re-educated before you can enter Heaven. You cannot avoid this Principle; you have to walk and live this Principle and there is no room for complaint. Could I complain to God about having so much hardship? Could I cajole God to come up with some kind of easy path or solution for me? If I ever complained, God would say, "Reverend Moon, you are not worthy to be my son. I will have to wait for another man to come."
Dispensational history was only necessitated by the fall of man. I founded the Unification Church 23 years ago, and I am giving you the feeling that I had at that time. You must inherit that spirit and make it your own path. This is the meaning of this day. You must feel my heart of 23 years ago, and you too must be a pioneer of that day. My situation was just impossible at that time; under those circumstances could anybody even imagine that 23 years later I would lead events like the Washington Monument Rally?
At that time I was always being investigated by the Korean government, which was constantly trying to find some reason to put me in jail. Under those circumstances could you have thought that someday I would come to America and gather together all these young people and speak at such fantastic rallies? At that time nobody else believed it, but I know who I am and where I am going, and how successful I will be. The basic determination I had then has never changed. Many people who were following me have since become tired and left the movement, but the movement still continues. Those who were self-centered just could not stay but had to leave sooner or later. Only those people who can give up their lives for the sake of the mission will remain. Compared to my forty years, your seven years will pass very quickly.
Shall we go or not? Without any question, we absolutely must go. In those seven years you must experience heartbreak and tears for the sake of the family, society, and nation. You must spend anguished, sleepless nights for the sake of others and the sake of the dispensation. Do not try to get by in some easy way. In the same way that I have struggled from the most lowly place all the way to the point where I could receive God's greatest blessing, you must also progress through every step. You have to realize that you are reaching higher levels as you progress with the movement. Do you sometimes experience uplifting feelings? These are not just your feelings, but spirit world actually inspiring you. Spirit world has to be one with you for every inch of your path. From this time on my teaching will be more precise and analytical, and you will know the truth word for word. You cannot avoid your seven year course.
You came to our movement at the most opportune time; in the shortest possible time you can cover tremendous ground and be given full credit for helping in the overall dispensation of God. You shall become a person who can help pioneer the final chapter of God's dispensational history. You are participating in the nick of time, and all you have to do is get down to work. You have the great privilege Of working together with the True Parents, which millions and billions of people have been in anguish to do. They will not have that opportunity; instead you -e the ones with me in person.
Even the people who come to join our movement now are one step behind you because they did not help to bring the great victory in Washington. You fought that battle together with me, and there will not be any more opportunities like that in history. Now our task is to win America and win the free world. The more you realize this the greater will be the burden you feel, but that is the way it has to be. With that realization you will know precisely what responsibility you carry.
You have heard before about your seven year course, but you did not feel it to the bone. Those who can say they are already committed to it, please raise your hands. Have you prayed, "God, at this moment I pledge to You that I will begin my seven year course. I shall no longer follow the course of Adam and Eve who failed, but within the seven year's time I shall finish the path of perfected Adam and Eve. God, trust me." Have you had that showdown prayer with God? Then how can you begin your seven years? The Bible predicts that in the Last Days there will be seven years of chaos, suffering and hardship. All of world history will be condensed into that seven year period of time that the Bible describes. The Bible says that very few will survive this period of suffering, and that is very true, because the only ones who will remain within God's will will be those who are truly determined and who truly know God, committing themselves deeply to that seven year course.
As soon as you undertake that seven year course of your own you will automatically draw opposition. Nothing will occur according to your desire. If you want to go this way then Satan will be trying to block every inch of your way and inevitably circumstances will drag you down to the lowest possible level. You will be deprived of all honor and left with nothing, feeling completely naked. God will use Satan to push you down, but you must welcome it, swallow it and digest it.
What is the method to be elevated to the position of adopted son or son? You must become a person who is ready to sacrifice yourself for the sake of a servant. When you are willing to give up your life for the sake of a servant then you will begin to find your life. At every step of the dispensation you have to be willing to give up your life. That is the quickest way to meet the heavenly requirement.
You must come to think of your own life as a trivial matter, like the morning dew. When I discovered the entire meaning and secret of the dispensation, then I felt the teachings of Jesus all the way to my bone. I felt so deeply such teachings as, "He who loses his life for My sake will gain it." Not just once but many times you must totally give up your own life. That is the only way you can cover this ground. When you give up your life and go beyond the seven year course, then all of a sudden the universe will change and you will find your life protected. I was ready to die for the sake of the mission during the Yankee Stadium and Washington Monument campaigns. On the way to Yankee Stadium and on the way to Washington Monument I prayed, "I am willing to die for You. Whatever is required of me, God, Your will be done." There were many assassination plots and threats but I never hesitated to risk my life.
Those were truly extraordinary emergencies. Unless you can be in a position of committing yourself to that degree you shall never understand God's mission or know the heart of Jesus or become one with me. Whenever you encounter hardship, you can see how miserable and inadequate you are; at that time you can rediscover yourself and spur yourself on to higher levels. This is my everyday life.
The best way for you to safely journey through this period is to put yourself down on the lowest possible level, where you can even envy the beggars, where even sitting down at a table to eat becomes a luxury. Servants do not have the luxury of sitting down to eat at a big table with napkins and wines and so forth. We must put ourselves in the position of servant of servants.
With that attitude you can leap forward, and then you can understand humanity. Until I was 30 1 never bought even one suit for myself, and for the clothes I did get I always went to a second-hand store. I never wore ties or used hair tonic or body care items. During those years I put myself in a sinner's position; I never had the courage to lift my face up but was always looking down.
Nature is asking to be seen by the true man, but unless I could fulfill my dispensational role, I did not feel privileged to even look at nature. I was so humble in my thinking that I wanted to hide in the presence of nature. Now I go to movies, but at that time I never even walked in front of a movie theater. Now I have graduated from that path, and nothing can affect what I have accomplished. I have perfected that course and transcended it.
I am like a rock and no one can entice me away from God's will. There were many women who actually wrote love letters to me with their own blood, showing their genuine devotion to me. The religious path is not easy because of the many temptations around, and you have no idea what it takes to lay the foundation. But I have done it and I am freely sharing the fruits of it with you. No one has the right to complain; rather, continually be grateful and put yourself in a meek position. Even now that is my basic attitude toward God. After all the dispensational success so far I still put myself in a humble position before God.
For seven years in the Unification Church you will be crazy about fulfilling your mission, forgetting about eating, sleeping, and everything else. Even after your blessing I will give the couples separate missions and for three years they will go their own respective ways to fulfill another significant time period. Through all of that you must be absolutely obedient.
You must have a true picture of yourself. Some members look very substantial externally and seem to be doing a great job, but inside they are empty people, who are not worthy in the sight of God. In this period you will be given the opportunity to experience everything, being cursed, or struck, feeling great hunger, and even envying a beggar's situation. It will be a precious period, and then you will be able to say, "I know the heart of God; I know Jesus Christ and I know Reverend Moon." My hands are not so big but they have gone through much. The Unification Church was built upon my foundation of pioneering this hidden spiritual task. This foundation is not the product of easy living, but of the most incredible suffering and spiritual endurance.
When fund raising have you ever been kicked, hit, or spit upon by others? When you taste these experiences then you must think, "This is the path that was walked by all the saints and men of God in history." Being spit at or hit is not that painful to bear, but being spit at or hit by someone who was previously a member and who has now betrayed the church is very painful. It is heartbreaking and you have to taste even that. You will finally know Jesus when you experience these things. Jesus had not only external enemies-the people who physically nailed him down on the cross-but he had internal enemies who betrayed him.
I have tasted prison life, not only under the communist regime but also in free Korea. I can never forget one former member who came up to me when I was being taken to the West Gate prison in Seoul. He looked at me and laughed scornfully, "You fool! Are you still doing this stupid thing?" I can never forget that man. At that moment I did not say anything to him, but in my heart I prayed, "God, give me a chance to testify to how righteous You are, and how I was obedient to You." This is just one instance of personal betrayal; there are too many to count. When I close my eyes and start to pray, tears always come forth. I have experienced so much agony and pain and heartbreak that I know God, and I am in a position to comfort Him.
No one understands me. My parents never understood, even my wife and children can never really understand. My understanding of God is a lonely understanding. You also can be a companion to that lonely God. I always feel how vulnerable and weak I am, but I know that God trusts and is depending on me to fulfill. When I see God's expectation I just have no way to sit still. I feel, "God, You are Almighty. You can do anything You want, but because of Your own precious children's failure You put Yourself in a position of such suffering. You don't need to suffer, but You have been helpless, waiting so long for some man You could depend on. God, I really sympathize with You; I understand You."
If anyone truly knew me internally then he just could not help but be crushed by sorrow. Spiritually enlightened people who can receive revelations and instructions in their prayers are the people who stay. When they pray about me God's response is always the same; He responds to their prayer in tears because when God thinks about His lonely champion here on earth God just weeps. The vast entanglement of human history seems utterly impossible to ever reorganize, and even God hardly knew where to begin the dispensation. But one lonely man found the secret and lived through everything to bring the movement this far. Even for God that was something to behold.
Day after day I continuously wept. My eyes became swollen and painful because the tears poured out in gallons. I could not even open my eyes to the sunlight. So many tears were shed in laying the foundation of this Church. I will not explain this to you completely; you will never know because I will not tell you. If I were to tell you then you would be responsible to also go that way and I do not want that. I would rather leave an easier way for you.
That is why I do not want every one of you to repeat my entire 40 years' experience; I want to have sons and daughters who can inherit from me instead. However, if in your prayer you receive a glimpse of my path and agony here on earth then you will certainly be blessed. If you can understand this then in a short time you can do on earth what would take many millions of years of experiences in the spirit world. You will eventually know anyway in spirit world, but actualizing it would take a millennium of effort. Here on earth you can cover that same ground in the shortest possible time.
I am very sympathetic with Moses' position. When Moses went to the mountain to fast and pray for 40 days and nights he could receive the Ten Commandments, but when he came back down his own people had created a golden calf and were worshipping their idol. Moses was overcome with wrath, "How could you betray God in this way?" He flung the stones to the ground and they shattered. I have felt that same furious impulse many times. Moses went to the mountain and worked so hard to win the truth for his people, but their hearts were so small.
I have a fiery temperament and when I see such utterly impossible betrayal I just want to cut off that person and turn away. I have to impose the strictest discipline on myself in this area; I have my own credo and judge myself, saying, "Before you want to conquer the world or be the lord of all creation you must attain lordship over yourself." I want to conquer the weaknesses of my own temperament.
If you truly want to become sons and daughters, you have to inherit the spirit of the True Parents-my spirit and my way of thinking. If you would be a leader you must inherit my spirit. In whatever mission you are doing, if all of a sudden you just burst into tears, feeling such a sense of urgency and sorrow for God, then your mission will definitely prosper.
We are talking about the universal salvation of mankind. We are going out fund raising to earn pennies and dollars, almost begging. How pitiful God's situation is! But you must put deep meaning into the money you earn. Compared to the wealth of the world one penny is nothing, but when your heart is resting in each penny you earn then it shall become a gift of extraordinary value to God. The face value of a bill may be one dollar, but no millions of dollars can purchase your heart; when you have invested your heart in that dollar it becomes priceless. When you receive the people's money and offer it to God for the sake of their blessing, every deed of yours becomes holy and divine. Then you feel such an urgency and sense of closeness with God that sometimes you just embrace a stranger and in your heart you cry out for the people. There have been many times like that in my own life.
Once I wanted to rescue a prostitute, a young girl who came to be in that pitiful situation. I loved her as my own sister, and wept with her and truly uplifted her. At first she thought that I had an entirely different purpose, but instead she found a big brother, someone who really cared in the truest sense. That memory is as vivid as if it were yesterday. That kind of deed is greater and more precious than prayer.
When you are fund raising and working hard all day you may sit alone by the roadside, feeling lonely as you eat whatever humble food you have. In the middle of eating you may break out in tears. When you put yourself in such a miserable position then you will feel God so strongly. When you are selling newspapers you meet all kinds of people. Do not curse them or yell at them if they do not want to buy. They are busy people and sometimes they do not want to be bothered, so when you stop them and they complain to you, you must accept them.
Your personal relationships are the key to everything. You do not understand how much I am training and disciplining you, molding your character according to the path that I have gone. I am taking you along that same path. When I was in school I wanted to give my friend a chance to be educated so I worked extra time at night in order to earn his tuition. Earning money was very difficult at that time, and it had to be saved penny by penny. Why was I able to do that? Because I knew the true God.
If I had developed my skills in a secular way then I would have been the president of many corporations by now. I would have been successful and respected in an entirely different manner, but I never undertook that direction. There is no one who has shed more tears than I have, and God knows they were shed for His sake. I willingly chose the route of suffering for God's sake.
I have been unreasonably treated by the people and persecuted. There was no personal reason for going through that suffering. I never had to put myself in that position. But I know God's position, and instead of trying to be respected and admired by other people I wanted to side with that lonely God. Do you think that I actually did not have personal ambitions? As a young man I certainly had ambitions and dreams but I cut them off and closed all those doors. That is the only way I could have come this far. Even now many people think I have a great deal of money but actually I am still penniless, even though I can influence the spending of millions of dollars. Whenever I spend money I always think of you. I never like just to spend money on myself, eating out or buying clothes.
One time I took about twenty young members out to get them seafood in New York City. The restaurant manager saw me but did not recognize me and since I was not wearing a tie he said I could not be seated in the restaurant. I said, "Thank you very much," and left. All of a sudden he discovered that the twenty young people were following me out, and he realized who I was. He tried to fix his mistake, but I simply said, "No thank you." I am sure he knew that he missed a great opportunity, but I will not go to that place any more. Is human value decided by wearing a tie? If they treat me like that how will they treat black people? They may kick them out. You are all suffering people and I want to stand up for you. I do not want you to be mistreated.
Every penny you earn shall go for the restoration of this country, not for personal things. The MFT members are working very hard from morning to late at night, but they have no word of complaint toward me. If it were not for Mother I would only change my underwear once a week; it is only out of courtesy to her that I change every three days. Why? I know your position, and sometimes you never have a chance to change your underwear, and sometimes you have no time to do laundry.
In the past I have gone through precisely what you are doing now; you are truly inheriting my path. You and I are comrades with one thing in common: We put ourselves in a position of suffering only because we know God. If we have ever committed any crime, it is that of knowing God. We willingly chose this route; nobody has imposed it on us, so how can we complain?
Are we pursuing the wrong way and bringing destruction to the world? Is knowing God a crime? The whole world is in chaos and communism is expanding because people do not know God. The churches are breaking down. No matter how miserable such a life might look, knowing God is a privilege, and it is the one thing we cannot ever relinquish.
A wise person will go all the way once he has made a commitment. Do not go only half way or be mediocre because you will only end up as a loser. If you want to become victorious then you have to persevere all the way. In doing God's will I want to go the fastest way, never being mediocre or half-hearted. For the sake of my followers I took every precaution and checked everything about the Divine Principle two and three times. I wanted to be absolutely sure that this is the true way of God. A true researcher tests and re-tests to make sure of his results before he announces anything to the world. I have tested this out in every way possible. You can see then what an incredible discovery I have brought to the world.
Since we are committed, we cannot afford to go just halfway. Is this month of May a new beginning, far different from April? Let's go forward with tremendous excitement. I am waiting for the kind of champion who can defeat me. Many times I am sad, feeling that I cannot afford to die because I know that even at this stage no one is competent enough to inherit my mission. No one has given me that comfort yet. I have given my life to God, but now who will love Him as much as I do? This is my only concern. When I die, who will take care of my God here on earth? I want to see someone emerge who can do that.
Is there anyone who could truly say, "Father, let me take care of your God and my God. You can go"? The person who could live up to that statement would be the center of the mainstream of history and would never perish, but become prosperous.
Counting in the Korean way I am now 58, and in 12 more years I will be 70 years old; in 22 more years I will be 80 years old. Recently I had a serious conversation with Hyo Jin, "As my son, do you know what road you should take and what preparation you should make?" When I was so serious even that most energetic Hyo Jin became very serious. I feel that I can give myself totally for 15 more years, and in that time I must find someone to succeed me.
I cannot afford to leave the world as it is, destined to more suffering. I must leave behind a world that is being resurrected. People think that after I die the Unification Church will die. Is it true? Would you prefer the movement with me or without me? Indirectly what you are saying is that after I am gone the movement will suffer. As long as I live I want to bear the burden of persecution so that after I leave the persecution will be finished; in my lifetime I want to bring this movement to success.
As your generation reaches its maturity, our movement will soar into prosperity. In my own lifetime I want to take care of all the bitter experiences, suffering and turmoil of restoration. I have already made up my mind to take the burden with me. How about you? Will you join me in taking care of these, or are you going to wait for the easy time? Do you wish this persecution would go away, or do you welcome greater challenge and persecution? Have you made up your mind already? That is the way you should be. Starting this month of May let us have a new day so that a new history can be erected.
If you feel just like I did when I initiated our Church 23 years ago then you are initiating your own movement in your own area of responsibility, saying, "Today I too, am erecting a new church; I shall be like Reverend Moon in my own area." Are you going to do that? Those who are determined to go that way, raise your hands. Let us pray.