ORDER NUMBER
82-11-16
REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON
SPEAKS ON
CHILDREN'S DAY - 1982
November 16, 1982
World Mission Center
Translator - Bo Hi Pak
Today we are celebrating the 23rd Children's Day. During the past
22 years the world has changed and the situation of the Unification
Church has also changed and progressed quite a bit. Historians will
testify that the period from 1960 to 1982 has been the most
fluctuating, volatile and extraordinary epoch in the entire history of
mankind. But there has been a providential reason for these historical
events. We can conclusively state that history operates according to
the providential will of God. How, then, is God's providence moving in
our realm, in the reality of our human life?
Many nations have become independent since World War II. In
contrast to previous history, the powers which gained territory during
World War II gave the conquered people the right to independence; many
colonies gained independence. These lands had been going through a
period of development, progressing like children, but after a time of
growth they became independent, autonomous nations. Providentially,
parental nations need to be raised up on earth; therefore, brother and
sister nations developed in order to usher in the parental nations and
support them, and colonies had to be elevated from the position of
slave nations to that of children nations.
As you know, the world has been developing toward two major blocs:
the communist world and the free world. According to the Principle, one
bloc is Cain-type and the other Abel-type. There is a sort of
brotherhood among nations within each bloc. Those in the free world
developed as brother nations, governed by a God-accepting, or theistic
ideology. The communist nations also became brothers and sisters, but
under a satanic ideology; they are creating another world under
Cain-type, or satanic influence. Satan has always taken the
belligerent, warmongering approach.
As you study history, you will see that whenever nations fight,
they always lose ground; as these Cain-type nations continued to fight
and lose territory, they came up with a proposal, an ideology that
claims there is no God. Since Satan is a spirit, in effect he is
denying himself by making such a statement. But even at the cost of
denying himself, he wants to repudiate God's existence. Satan's
ultimate ideology is atheism, God-denying communism.
History also indicates that Satan has always taken the initiative;
he has always waged war first, he has always launched the first
offensive. Whichever party takes the initiative in trying to knock the
other down represents Satan and is always on the evil side. That is
Satan's nature. Look at the three world wars. In World War I, the
satanic side attacked first; in World War II, the satanic side attacked
first; in World War III, the confrontation with communism, you know
exactly who is taking the initiative.
Providentially speaking, World War I was the battle to acquire
land, property and colonies; it was a territorial war. World War II
was a war for manpower. Now the communist bloc and the free world are
fighting to absorb more population under their wings, trying to gain
people to support them. Continuing the style of World War II, in a
sense, they are fighting for the people's support. The ultimate battle
of World War III is the battle to take control of God. Communism
denies God and is trying to eradicate Him from this planet; the free
world affirms God's existence. Thus, World War III is a war of minds.
The current world conflict is an ideological conflict, centering on
the existence of God: one side denies His existence and the other
affirms it. One side will win. If all the religious communities of the
world unite and affirm God's existence, we can make God manifest; we
can prove His existence. But unless religions can play that role in
these days, they will be demolished or extinguished.
As you look at today's situation, you see that the religious world
is on the defensive; not only that, it is daily losing ground -
Christianity included. Communism is gaining more territory, winning
more people all the time.
I want you to understand that World War I focused on territorial
gain, World War II on population gain, and World War III aims to gain
God, to decide His existence.
Therefore, in light of this total picture, when is the most crucial
time? It is now, because God's presence on this planet is in question.
In the history of God and man, this is the most crucial time. If we
cannot win this battle, the whole religious world will lose its reason,
purpose and ground, and eventually be extinguished. Human history is
reaching this point. This is God's perspective on human history.
Therefore, the past 20 years have witnessed tremendous change and
fluctuation. These years have seen the most crucial battles in the war
between God and Satan. World events and the changes that have taken
place reflect God's emergency situation.
Of course, God's ultimate will is to bring the entire world into
unity, but the two blocs keep fighting among themselves, weakening each
other. Therefore, God had to make a new force emerge in the world
during these past 20 years, a force that would be His champion, His
task force. This is the Unification Church, created to do God's will.
This new religious force is declaring to the world that land and
territory belong neither to one bloc nor the other - but to God.
Furthermore, all people of the world belong neither to one bloc nor the
other, but to God. They are children of God. Finally, the Unification
Church declares that God is the parent of mankind.
Many Christian churches have talked of God as Father, but without
truly knowing what kind of Father He is. The various denominations -
Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, etc. - call God Father, but what kind
of God is He, and of which denomination is He the Father? Are there
dozens, or millions of fathers? No. Just one Father. There is one God
and one Father, but so many different denominations each claim Him as
their Father. What a difficult time God has had! He doesn't know how to
respond.
At the same time, each of the world's religions has been claiming,
"God is our God" Is there a Muslim God, a Christian God, a Catholic
God, a Buddhist God, etc.? Will God ration Himself out and decide,
"Today I'll be a Muslim God, tomorrow a Buddhist God, and the following
day return to Christianity"? No, that is not the way God wants to
work. God wants us to join under one name. His contention is, "Unless
you are united, unless you become one, you are not worthy of coming to
Me and calling Me Father"
As you know, God's providential scheme is always focused on some
central religion. You know that Christianity is that central religion.
So God is saying, "You Christians have too many divisions, too many
denominations. Because you are the central religion, you should be the
first to become one" That is God's mandate for Christianity.
Just as the nations of the world became brother and sister nations
after World War II, God wanted all religions to become brother
religions. But selfishness was always the governing factor, even as
history was moving toward brother nations. The United States accepted
other nations as brother nations, for example, but always with the
attitude, "I am the master; you come to me and listen to me" It should
have said, "You are my brother; let me share with you,' but that spirit
has been missing.
The victory of World War II brought virtually the entire world
under the wings of the United States. If the United States had behaved
truly unselfishly, it could have exercised its influence to help other
nations around the world. It could have said, "I want to play the role
of elder brother. This is the tradition or philosophy of the elder
brother, so let's unite around it and become one family of God"
If the United States had done so, the world would never have
reached the state it is in today. Other nations would have ceased
struggling among themselves. Religious people would have said, "There
is one God and one Father; therefore, beyond the distinctions of
denomination or religion we are all one, and we should live in one true
brotherhood" If that had been the concept of religious leaders, the
religious community would never have fallen into its present
condition.
When the United Nations was born after World War II, it was a
family of nations trying to unite the world. Its hope was to live up to
its name. At the same time, a world religious organization should have
formed, with unity and unselfishness as its theme. Then when the
Unification Church came forward with a new ideology, it would have
encountered no opposition.
Thus when the political United Nations was formed, a religious
United Nations should also have taken shape. Then the two forces should
have worked together in pursuit of the one fatherhood of God and one
brotherhood of man. When the new ideology emerged through the
Unification Church it would have been accepted, because it would have
been the very thing they had been seeking. The world's political and
religious leaders did not know that God's ultimate will we. to unite
the world and bring about one family of man; the, did not realize that
God's ultimate plan was to bring al] nations and religions together
under the one fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man. Still, they
would have con eluded that the world needed a new ideology, and they
would have recognized the Unification Church and its ideology as the
answer.
The United Nations was to have done the will of God from its
formation. Atheistic, communist countries should have been barred from
membership. They should have been told, "You are not entitled to be
here; this is not your house" If the United Nations had taken this
direction, centered upon the United States, a new providential history
would have begun to unfold. But since the free world and the United
States in particular failed to do this, the satanic countries took the
offensive. Day after day, they tried to shatter the already-divided
free world into pieces. Whenever you fail to live up to your
responsibility, Satan inevitably comes and attacks you. This is an iron
rule.
The satanic side first attacked religion, then the young people,
trying to draw them away from the church, and finally the institution
of the family. Communism and Satan know very clearly that if you remove
young people and families from the churches, religion can only
collapse. Satan has been bombarding the United States and it is about
to succumb. The United States has been a key victim in Satan's
strategy, and he has been very successful here. Since the United States
did not succeed in winning over its brother nations throughout the
world, internally it has become morally weakened. As a result, no one
sympathizes with it or pays attention to it. "You deserve it," people
say.
In the midst of all this, the Unification Church arose. It was
supposed to have been accepted by the free world and by the world's
religions, but that did not happen. Because the United States failed to
fulfill its role, world religions have not been united. Therefore, the
Unification Church has existed in a lonely situation, opposed by both
world religions and the United States.
The United States, world religions and communism have Joined
together to attack me, since I am a focal power. A central nation on
God's side, the United States, is now working with the communists to
destroy me. Satan knows the situation very clearly; the only real
problem he faces in the whole world today is Reverend Moon and the
Unification Church. So he is amassing all the help he can to destroy
us. He knows that the rest of the world will then become his.
I am aware of how effective Satan's tactics are. However, instead
of retreating or taking refuge somewhere, I walk right into the heat of
battle. I head straight for the trouble spots and the war zones. First
I dedicated myself to knocking down atheism, restoring the churches,
restoring young people, and restoring families. Wherever Satan is
trying to destroy something, I head there and try to make it whole.
My concept is completely different from that of the United States.
This nation is focused primarily on itself and perhaps its neighbors,
and principally on the white race. My focus is upon all people; I
consider all races to be one family. My vision is global, and even
beyond that. I can see the national situation, but at the same time I
see the whole globe as one unit. So my standpoint is entirely
different.
Because of its restricted viewpoint and narrow way of thinking, the
United States feels uncomfortable about my presence here. That is why
this court battle came about. They are trying every method to get me
out of this country. They see that I am an Oriental, a Korean, but my
actions are not just for the benefit of Korea or Oriental countries.
They see that I focus on the well-being of this country and the entire
world. I am trying to rescue the United States from its present
position and lift it up to a higher plateau, a higher standard. I know
that is the only way we can bring God back home, the only way we can
welcome Him back to the United States.
The Unification Church has such a great name. Here all five colors
can become one, all world religions can become one, and the entire
world culture can become one. Our quest is the unification of heart and
the unification of mankind. Don't you think the Unification Church has
the right name?
After World War II, God gave the United States a great opportunity,
but it did not seize it. Instead, it failed and lost territories,
people and nations. What the United States lost, I have come to
recover. The nations it lost, we want to restore; the people it lost,
we want to restore. In order to revive America and bring this nation
back to God, we need the spirit of General MacArthur. Therefore, we
launched the "Inchon" movie project. The spirit of General MacArthur
needs to come alive again in America, especially among its young
people.
Because America failed its mission, first it lost God, then
religions were divided, people were divided, and world unity never came
about. This country has a great motto: "One nation under God" Do you
think the motto should be: "Ignore the rest of the world and don't help
it out; just eat well, sleep well and live well"? Is that what God is
saying to the United States? Never. God wanted the United States to be
one nation under Him and bring about one world under Him. That was
God's mandate. When the United States failed to do it, God allowed
satanic attack to come upon this country.
But we Unification Church members will never retreat even one iota,
no matter if the United States or even the entire world comes against
us. We shall move forward. We shall accomplish God's mandate. Can you
join me in saying, "America has already failed, but we shall restore
its failure"?
I knew that this critical emergency was coming up. The end of the
fallen world is coming. To prepare for that time, I had to build up
internal strength and lay an internal, spiritual foundation. Therefore,
I established God's Day, Parents' Day and Children's Day, in order to
give a new understanding about God. We must clearly know God. Your
skin may be brown, white, yellow or black - it makes no difference.
Whoever listens to this truth arrives at the same conclusion: "God is
my living Father and the Father of all mankind" This is Unification
ideology.
You are assembled here in this room because you have a historical
responsibility. You came here to fulfill a historical task. Otherwise,
you are unworthy to sit here. God automatically has to work with
whatever church or movement proclaims to the world the unity of all
races, religions, and nations - and not only proclaims it but seriously
strives to accomplish it. This unity is the central theme of the new
age, and those who labor to bring it about are the central players.
When we have this ideology of one race, one religion and one nation
under God, we can say to God, "You are our Father" Then for the first
time, God will respond, "Yes, you are my sons and daughters; you are my
children" This is the only time God can call people His children.
Furthermore, He will say, "Not only are you My children, but your race
is My race, your culture is My culture, your religion is My religion,
your country is My country, and your world is My world." Don't you think
God will say that?
This is our starting point. No matter what people may say about
God, we want to restore and protect the true God. This is our task -
regardless of what communism, other religions, or other philosophies
say. We stand for the true, righteous God, and we want to uphold and
protect Him.
God hears all kinds of prayers every day. But among them all, He is
listening for one prayer: "God, I have brought the entire universe into
unity" When God hears that prayer, He will wake up and say, "Is that
true?" He will question you about that statement. Such a prayer will
arouse God more than anything else. Think about it.
All this time God has been listening to prayers from people of
various denominations. He hears, for instance, "God, I am
Presbyterian. You know how that Methodist church next door gives us a
hard time. That black church across the street and the Mormon church
down the road are not following Your will; they are satanic. Please
give Your blessing to our church!" For 2,000 years God has been
listening to such divisive prayers. How do you think He responds to
them?
If someone at least prays, "God, I haven't quite united the world
yet, but I have been working at it. Look, God, I brought this person
in, this religion in, and this nation in, but I need a little more
help" - God will quickly reply, "Oh, what do you need?"
Suppose God were looking at various eyeglasses to decide which to
use. He might try on Presbyterian eyeglasses, Catholic eyeglasses,
Muslim eyeglasses, Buddhist eyeglasses, etc., and not find any of them
appropriate. But the moment He puts on Unification Church eyeglasses
and sees the entire world through them, He will exclaim, "This is it!"
You resemble God. You bear His image, so can't you understand the
way He feels? How many of you members of the Unification Church really
feel that we are destined to fulfill this mission of unification? Will
the task be easy or difficult? Even if people of all five races come
together, united as solidly as a rock, resolved to live or die
together, and if all the world's religions unite in devotion to this
one cause, it still may not be enough. Our task is not easy.
Do you sometimes complain about your mission? Perhaps you say, "I
don't like fundraising (or whatever it may be); let someone else do it,
Father. I'd rather go some other way" Can you achieve the ultimate task
that way? Suppose the entire mission were placed upon you, could you
follow joyfully, willingly, voluntarily - even if the results were not
guaranteed?
What an important mission we have! Did you enter this room
thinking, "If I fail my mission, heaven and earth will be shattered,'
or did you think, "Well, we might fail; but one way or another I shall
endure. The Unification Church might be broken, but not me. I shall
survive" Which attitude do you have?
On my part, even if I am shattered into a million pieces, I shall
preserve the Unification Church and our tradition. Even if the church
is smashed, its spirit of Unificationism must march forward. It must
fulfill its goal on the worldwide level. That should be our pledge.
There is a new phenomenon in the Unification Church. After the July
I Blessing and the Korean Blessing, members are saying, "Oh, my husband
(or wife), my darling, we have to create something here" Before your
marriage, you looked straight forward, without deviation, but now you
are looking around in many directions. Is this new trend a good one?
It could destroy our movement, the free world, and the entire tradition
that God has been building! God married you so you could support each
other and push each other toward the same goal. The mission has not
changed even one iota.
In giving you the Blessing, did I want you to march forward more
hesitantly or more strongly? Our goal is the world. It is still in
trouble; its people dwell in darkness. We have to reach out to that
world to save it and restore it. When we reach the end of the world, I
will look at each of you and ask where your spouse is. If he or she has
been away, I will tell you to join each other and stay together. Then I
might not allow husband and wife to be separated for even five minutes!
The important thing is what you are going to concentrate on now: being
with your spouse or saving the' world. What is your decision? You say
you want to save the' world, but I think your answer sounds a little
reluctant! You didn't even want to say it!
The same thing happens all the time between Mother and me. God gave
us each other for mutual support. I keep pulling Mother and she keeps
pulling me - but in the same direction and towards the same goal. If
Mother deviates from this principle, the heavenly dispensation will not
work. If I say, "Let's go to South America ' she will reply, "Yes,
Father" If the destination is Africa, she will say, "Yes, Father" If it
is Korea, she will say, "Yes, Father; wherever you go" She deserves
your applause.
Maybe a hundred years from now we will hold another gathering like
this in the spirit world. I will announce a special banquet and invite
those couples who devoted their heart and soul while on earth to the
fulfillment of God's will. In the invitation, I will tell them, "I want
to give a banquet for you couples alone" When you receive that
invitation and accept it, you may wear anything you wish - any amount
of rings, earrings, necklaces, etc., made of diamonds or whatever you
like. You can have a diamond car, for instance! You will arrive at the
banquet as a proud couple. Would you like to attend that banquet?
In order to be entitled to attend it, you should run to do your
mission every day. Don't ask for personal favors. If your wife becomes
too slow, urge her forward. You women can shout out to your husband to
keep on running, even though you cannot keep up with him. As long as
you encourage your husband, even though you collapse in his wake, I
will give you credit for fulfilling the mission - because your mind and
your spirit have gone all the way. What do you think? If your husband
runs to fulfill the mission and you lag farther and farther behind,
will you be sorry for yourself or feel victorious? Will you want your
husband to push on and fulfill God's will even though you may falter
behind him? Or will you call out to him, "Darling, I'm tired; come
back and pick me up"? Actually, I have told you that individuals cannot
go to Heaven by themselves, but only as couples, so you would have a
good excuse to ask him to come back for you! But which kind of woman do
you want to become? I am very grateful for those of you who raised your
hands as the first type. You are great women!
You men, if your wife calls you to stay behind with her, how many
of you would reply, "I have to go forward for the mission"? Thank you
for raising your hands.
You see, what is most important is not the husband or wife, but the
mission. At this one time in history, God has given us this special,
extraordinary mission. The mission is everything. If you fulfill it,
you gain everything: your spouse and your eternal future. If you lose
the mission, you lose everything else as well.
We live on earth only once, and God has sent us at an incredible
time of destiny. What a joy and what a privilege! What a great honor to
live with this mission! Nothing greater is conceivable.
Since I know that mission, nothing else bothers me, including the
United States, the free world and even communism. Not only that, but as
I charge bravely forward into the enemy camp, they will ultimately
surrender. The tougher the situation I face, the stronger, more
powerful and more determined I become. I can do this because I clearly
know the mission, the end result, and the extraordinary opportunity
that is at hand. I do not want to lose that opportunity.
People sometimes receive special missions from the owner of their
company or even from the president of their country. But this is not a
presidential or a company order. It is an order from Heaven. Our
eternal Father in Heaven is telling us, "You are chosen to do this
mission" If it were just the president of a nation, you could leave the
country; if it were the owner of a company, you could quit your job.
But when God gives a mandate, since He is the Father of the entire
world, where could you go to evade the mission? You might think you
could escape it by dying, but not so. You will be picked up when you
enter spirit world! If you succeed, you will be glorified.
This Children's Day is the day to make your pledge to God. There
are three kinds of pledges you can make:
- Well, Father, I will try to do it.
- I'm doing it now.
- Yes, Father, I have done it.
Which of these three pledges can you give this Children's Day?
This is a very serious point. It applies to everyone, me included.
Even I have not completely fulfilled the mission. I can say, "Yes,
Father, I have done some portions of it, but others still remain
incomplete" What about you?
This morning you may have suddenly awakened to your mission. But I
would hope that all this time you have been living with a sense of
mission and dedication. So far, you have been doing all kinds of things
your way, complaining about why the church operates a certain way,
protesting about being asked to do something. "I'm not born for that,'
you complain.
Think about it. Has the Unification Church been walking your way,
or have we been trying to go God's way? Ask your heart which way you
have been walking. What proportion has been your way, and what
proportion God's way? Half and half Can you answer that you are living
100 percent for God's will? Perhaps you came here expecting to
celebrate a good holiday and enjoy the festivities, and now you feel
like you have been hit by a sledgehammer! "I was knocked out again!"
you exclaim. When I talk this way, do you feel discouraged, or do you
resolve to do it with tears flowing down your cheeks? Are you holding
your head up or down?
I always feel this intensity in my mission. I feel that I am in a
tug-of-war with all the various groups that are trying to pull me their
way. I feel one thumb hooked to the United States, another thumb to
Russia and her satellite countries, and my fingers hooked to various
religions and groups. I am trying to pull them all in my direction. The
spirit world is like a cheering section, calling out, "Reverend Moon,
go on!" Sometimes I feel like a fire engine sent to quench an emergency
fire.
When I am deadly serious about this tug-of-war with the entire
world, other things don't enter my mind. I ignore sleepiness, hunger,
family affairs and secular matters. You should do the same.
For this reason I am unique and extraordinary. When God looks down
on the earth, He cannot help coming to protect me. He has to, because
He has no alternative. You too can motivate God to come to assist,
protect and support you.
What direction are you taking? Suppose I disappear for a while -
like Moses, who climbed the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments,
leaving the children of Israel down below in the desert for 40 days?
Maybe you will do whatever you want. Maybe you will think that finally
you have a vacation. Or would you determine to march across the desert
to Canaan? The Israelites looked around for Moses, but he was gone.
They must have said something like, "Oh, too bad. Darn it!" But suppose
they had resolved instead: "Well, Moses has disappeared. He must be
somewhere doing God's will. Let's become like Moses and go to Canaan"?
Those of you who resolve to become like Moses raise your hands.
If that is your reply, I can leave the United States with deep
confidence. If I am away, you will become additional Reverend Moons,
able to march forward even faster, won't you? Theoretically, you
younger ones should be able to go faster than me!
If you really made this pledge to me, I feel I have been a
success. I have nothing to fear. Now there are many Reverend Moons who
can restore the world! God knows very well that I have no rest. Day and
night, morning and evening, I am always working and pushing you
people. If God looks down and sees so many other Reverend Moons doing
the same thing, think how comforted He will be! He will feel true joy
for the first time.
Everything I have been doing in the United States has happened
since December 18, 1971. That was the day I landed in this country to
expand the providence in America. When I started the science
conferences, many members - and even the leaders - complained about
throwing money away to the scientists. Now after ten years of
conferences, eminent scholars from around the world are begging to have
an appointment to talk with me. But I don't have enough time. If I
were to grant one request, it wouldn't be fair to deny the privilege to
others. So I will see no one.
The academic community trusts and admires me, as does the
theological community, because of the deep foundation which has been
laid. Modern theology has hit a stone wall; theologians cannot break
through it by themselves. I have pioneered opening up the wall and
giving them new horizons.
My work has not ended there. I moved on to the news media. The
fifth World Media Conference in Seoul, Korea, is another example.
Representatives came from around the world and rallied around me,
because they see me as the only hope for the world.
Somebody had to do it in order to bring all aspects of life into
unity, in order to fulfill God's providence. No one else was doing it.
We are uniting the academic community under absolute values. The
Unification Church is uniting the theological community under one God
as the rallying point.
This year we launched the World Youth for God crusade. Young people
from many different religions - Christians, Jews, Hindus, Muslims,
Confucianists, Buddhists, etc. - would never have found a common ground
otherwise. Only we could unite them under a common theme, "World Youth
for God" People have urged me not to abandon the effort. "Reverend
Moon," they say, "you cannot give up because you are the only one who
can do this" This is how I am bringing unity.
I knew that the ultimate satanic work of communism would be
directed towards fomenting racial and religious wars. The only way to
prevent such wars is to create one family of man, transcending race and
color. The means of achieving this is the Holy Weddings. The power of
the president of the United States could not accomplish true unity;
certainly the power of totalitarian communism could not. Only God
could bring the hearts of people together in unity, as a love race.
What is the purpose? To bring all mankind together.
This group is still only a capsule, but it is a capsule that can be
expanded to ten million, a hundred million, a billion people. What if
a third of the population of the United States were Moonies? Would
anybody dare persecute you or me? The Unification Church is bound to
grow, because our vision is world salvation, beyond race and color.
There shall be no limit.
I am not speaking of these gigantic things in a joking tone. This
is absolute truth. There is absolute commitment behind these words.
When I talked about such things 20 years ago, it sounded crazy. But
impossible dreams have become a reality. In the next 10 years, our
movement can accomplish 10 or 20 times as much as what we did in the
past 20 years.
During the past 20 years, the news media around the world have come
out and called me a bad person. But in spite of such persecution, the
Unification Church has grown to its present worldwide scale. Once the
news media and the world in general start to admit that I am right,
that I am a good and just person, our rate of accomplishments will be
multiplied a hundred or a thousand times.
In a long fence, when one post starts to fall down, it sets off a
kind of chain reaction, and the whole fence may collapse. This is a
shining truth, and a nation will inevitably come to recognize it.
North American newspapers describe me as "the controversial Korean
evangelist," or as an "industrialist" But in South America the
newspapers describe me as "the most famous international spiritual
leader, Reverend Sun Myung Moon" I always expected it to happen this
way. If one side of the globe is in shadow, the other receives the
sunshine. If it is dark in North America, something may dawn in South
America. Moreover, the Western world is entering darkness and the sun
is rising in the Eastern world. In the beginning, Korea and Japan both
persecuted me, but now even the Japanese newspapers no longer describe
me as a Korean but as the "world-famous spiritual leader coming from
Asia"
This is fair play. Things balance out. Whoever wants to live well
in the secular life, eating abundantly, sleeping like a king, shall
have the most miserable life in the spirit world. Those who devote
themselves for the sake of mankind, for the sake of God's will - though
they may look miserable here and suffer hunger - shall be welcomed to
the most glorious heaven.
In a way, I have been the most wretchedly persecuted figure on
earth. The world has given me all kinds of dirty titles; I have been
imprisoned and tortured under the Japanese imperial government,
communist North Korea, and even South Korea. I was virtually put to
death. Nobody on earth has suffered like me. But in the spiritual world
you will find me occupying an entirely different position.
Just like me, Moonies are persecuted all over the world. We are not
on the sunny side of the globe yet. Do not regret it, however, because
this will result in a glorious future. The most radiant heaven is
reserved for you. I took up this way of life, regardless of what may
entail, because it is right and just. There is no better way of life on
earth. This was my decision. Is it also your decision?
As children, the best way to commemorate this Children's Day is to
promise your absolute loyalty, devoting your whole life. Those who want
to make this pledge before me, raise your hands. Thank you very much.