DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED
November 11, 1979
Belvedere
Translator - Bo Hi Pak
In the long course of a man's life there are always ups and downs. When a man feels successful and like he is conquering the hills in his life, he feels joy; but when he feels unsuccessful and overwhelmed, he feels discouraged. Our physical bodies, but most important, our spirit men, both feel that emotion. Our minds should always be dwelling on how to achieve a higher goal and hope. When the mind is strong, the body always has strength as well. If the mind has a great vision and hope, the body always reacts by wanting to live up to it.
What do you think God's situation is? God is just like man in that respect. God is not always joyful or laughing. If you recognize that God and man's relationships are one, then you know that God also experiences ups and downs when man does. If the children in a home are suffering some stress and their morale is low, it will affect their parents. Good parents like to see their children enthusiastic and with uplifted minds.
God in heaven is our Parent also. and He must react to this like human parents do. The same principle functions in a nation. People who are concerned about their nation always want to see national spirit running high. The leadership of the nation is always sensitive to the spirit of the people. When the people move forward with vitality, the leaders do the same. When the leaders see that the morale of the people is low, however, they are in a position to lift up the vision and hope of the people.
Parents try to inspire their children so that they have healthy minds and great vision. When they feel low, the parents try to devise a way to uplift them. If the parents are really a tower of strength to their children then there is peace in that home. This principle works the same on every level of the home, society, nation, world and universe.
There is a presidential campaign underway here in America. What kind of leaders does America want to have? The nation needs a President who has hope and vision, plus ideas for implementing them. The communist world has a goal and ambition, so the free world should have a greater hope and vision, as well as men of stronger will to actualize them. The leader of this nation should not be timid or fearful; he must have an iron will to implement his ideals, and the wisdom to make clear judgments.
What kind of parents would you respect as a tower of strength? People who have a vision and hope, and the guts to live them. The same thing can be said about God. He must be a source of hope and strength and will. Finally, God must have wisdom. Whom can we trust as individuals? God is a little too far away; those nearest to us are our parents, so we should trust in them. We want to have parents we can be proud of in front of the nation. Can America be proud of your parents? In many cases you are not sure and feel some discouragement over this point.
As a nation whom can we trust? Can we trust President Carter wholeheartedly? You are not even sure if you can trust your brothers and sisters either. It is discouraging to feel there is no place we can put our trust. Our mind always desires happiness at home, but in many cases people reluctantly return to their homes in the evening, and plan how to leave again quickly.
America is supposed to be a good nation. In what respect can we find goodness in America? Wherever we look in today's society, we find despair instead of pride. Can you find hope for America in your church or a school, or in a disco place? America's reputation in the world is very low today, and in many places America is a target of hatred. There is not hope but despair in this country.
What is the worst thing that could discourage us today? The home is the foundation of a society, but America's homes are breaking down. Parents should govern their family with love, but there is unrest instead because often the parents cannot communicate with each other and are in despair. When the father and mother cannot become one, how could we expect the children to be at peace with each other? Who would want to come home and look at his parents' faces in that case? It is only natural that young people try to leave such a home. Is it heaven to be wandering around the streets with your sleeping bag on your back?
Nevertheless, the original mind of each person harbors hope for the ideal family. Everyone wants a home, some cubbyhole where they can have peace, freedom and privacy. They want to build a fence around such a home so they would not be disturbed.
The second source of discouragement in America is the standard of the churches. People think that at least in church they should feel comfort and peace, even though their home is breaking down. But once you get involved with the churches you feel discouraged again because there is not much love, heavenly spirit or unselfishness there. There are usually selfish interests at work, with human elements instead of godly elements governing the church. Yet it is unrealistic to ignore this reality and try to concentrate on heaven by yourself and have only an individual life of faith.
The churches have no reasonable explanation for why anyone should have confidence enough in heaven to ignore reality on earth. After a person finds despair at home and looks for hope at church, he is discouraged again at what he finds there. The more he gets to know the church leaders, the more discouraged he feels. The longer you stay in a church, the more you see how petty things upset people there and they lack the love to overcome disagreements peacefully. Even in churches there are power politics and struggles.
We are discouraged when we look at America's situation. This nation has been called the leading nation on earth, and the people of underdeveloped nations around the world think of America as heaven. But where is America heading today? Do you think it is moving forward or backward? This nation claims that democracy is the best form of government, but today it provides a haven for communist activity. The infiltration of disciplined communists cannot be stopped by this form of government.
However evil the communists may be, they at least have a plan of action for conquering the world and they have some energy to keep going. But what is America's goal? What is democracy headed for? While communism is systematically taking over the world, what should democracy do? As things are, there is only ruin ahead for democratic nations. During the Carter administration America's world influence has shrunk, and this nation has been acting ideally for communist purposes.
Do Americans have hope that the next president will be any different, that he will be able to stand up with a goal and program to stop the expansion of communism? Even if a president might wish to do so, where could he get the conviction and power to do so? We don't see much hope for the present or the future, so Americans face despair on every front.
If God has a certain direction, will and discipline, and democracy is on God's side, why are the families, churches and the whole nation crumbling like this? Why did God allow this to happen? We can conclude that things happened this way simply because the family is living contrary to God's will. The churches are declining because they are not moving in God's direction. The nation is in despair because it is not fulfilling God's will. If they could flourish under these circumstances then you would have to conclude that God did not exist. Let's talk about God then.
It God desires the ideal family, church and nation, there must be some formula to accomplish them. If we can find it and live up to it, then God has to jump on our backs! If we can create families and churches that do God's will then they would have to flourish If we could turn everything around like that then there would be hope and excitement instead of despair and discouragement.
How can we turn families into God-centered families? That kind of family must be focused on God's morals. Churches must be rebuilt to be governed by a God-centered spirit. National policy should be intently focused on a victory over communism because it is God's worst enemy. What are we here for in the Unification Church? To build the ideal family, church and nation. The key word is unification. There are a lot of other churches out there already, so does unification mean that our church becomes the most important one, or that it builds reciprocal relationships with everyone? The Korean word tong il, which means unification, has the meaning of governing or leading. Thus, Unification Church means we will lead people into one, into unity.
The church is like a bridge between the family and the nation, representing both. It is in the tribal position, linking the two. Thus, the church is a workshop for future ideal family members and future ideal citizens of the nation. It brings all kinds of people and molds them into ideal family members and ideal citizens.
The church gives direction to the family, and also gives guidance to the nation. This is why you see the prophets of history, who stood in the position of churches, telling their kings or queens what God wanted them to do. The church is God's agent, through which He instructs the family and nation.
What kind of citizens does God desire? He wants ideal citizens who are centered on Himself. God already has His ideal for the family and nation, and the church should create the citizens who can live up to those ideals. No one has ever seen this citizenship, however. The ideal has not existed yet. The families and churches and nations of the past have failed, so God is giving a mandate to one group of people to create the ideal family and nation; that group is known today as the Unification Church.
Maybe you think I am saying this just because I founded the Church. How could you prove I am not Lying? The best way is to see whether you can find the ideal family by living this way. If you can create an ideal home, tribe, nation and world this way, then you know it is true. Whatever level you are on, God is always behind you, holding on. He cannot separate Himself from you. The key question is whether our direction and teaching is designed to make you such a person.
Should God's ideal kingdom be better than anything existing here on earth? If God is prejudiced in favor of only whites living with whites, or blacks with blacks, then He is either a white or black God. If He favors only Judaism then He is a Jewish God. But to the Unification Church He is a universal God. The Unification God looks at blacks and whites with the same eyes, wanting to bring them together in one love. God wants to see white, black and yellow live in one home, eating, sleeping, working and having fun together. He wants to create three brothers out of white, black and yellow.
I don't know what kind of God other churches worship, but that is the God I know. Therefore, the Unification Church is here to do unusual, extraordinary things. We marry differently because we emphasize mingling all the races. We do things like marriage and mission from the historical point of view. We sit on the floor, not on chairs like other Western churchgoers. We are not fixed in our habits; we can sleep standing up, walking and sitting as well as Icing down on a bed. You are used to bread and butter, but now you like rice and kimchi as well. Who says we have to do things a certain way? If you can't find a bedroom you might sleep in a barn with the animals. Who says you can't have a dog for a roommate?
Normally you don't pay much attention to cats, but what if they were your creation? You love the cat and hold it close to you. If the cow in the smelly barn was your creation, her smell would be perfume, and you would pat her and want to be near her. When you imagine that you are God who created the world then everything would be lovely to you, even if other people criticized it. What a dramatic life that is! You will never be ruined by thinking like that; because you are on God's side you are bound to prosper.
You used to look down as you walked, but now you hold your head up and look around. We even walk differently. You are used to thinking of 10 p.m. as bedtime, but to us midnight is the middle of the day. Who said you have to eat breakfast at seven in the morning? Why not eat lunch in the morning and breakfast at night? We actually have complete freedom.
What are we trying to accomplish by being this way? Usually if people are mistreated they are in despair and think about suicide, but we don't care. If someone knocks us down, we just get up again and keep going in the right direction, even if there are tears rolling down. Who has more hope-the person who is crying in despair, or the person who is crying in pain yet still has a direction to go in? You are the bunch who aren't disturbed by anything. You just keep going.
It doesn't matter what the Justice Department or the New York Times, or even the Congress does; I just keep going in one direction and never stop. Nothing disturbs me, so certainly nothing could stop me. Even if I received persecution at the family level I would still move on to the tribal level, knowing that if I succeed on the tribal level the family will automatically come. When they find me ahead of them they will bow down and wonder how I managed to get there. Even if the tribe opposes me, I go on to the national level and wait for the tribe to find me ahead of them. Then they will bow down.
Now the entire democratic and communist worlds are coming against me, but I will be ahead of them on the level of the unified world, waiting for them. If God denied me then you might be stopped in despair, but that would never disturb me. I would keep on going inside the heart of God's love, and wait until God came in to find me. The unification ideal is truly dramatic!
If we have God's love, we can control Him and make Him helpless. And if we have the power to make God helpless and melt His heart, how much more could you melt the five races into one heart? With that love you could govern all people. As soon as people touch the net of God's love they are activated, like being jolted by an electric current. Once a person is intoxicated by the love of God, he thinks of nothing else. That love has an absolute, unique and unchanging direction, not many, and so everyone coming in that one direction has to be united.
No matter how people try to upset you and turn you around, you would turn them around to go in your direction instead. Would you have much agony in your heart as a result? No, by practicing this you will feel the entire universe breathing with you. You feel that you breathe in the air of God, and when you exhale it, it is distributed to the American people. Some people might be disgusted at the thought of breathing the air you gave them, but since you have already inhaled all the universal air, it must be the case.
I am just one small man compared to the physical universe, but as soon as I step forward, the entire universe is marching with me. I know that in my bones. Not only you but the entire spirit world is trying to march to my rhythm. How could you be a son of God if the entire universe didn't respond? Even without food you would feel the entire universe was marching with you. Even if you had no clothes you would not feel shame. In reality, compared to the beauty of the universe, whatever you wear is shabby. Isn't this a dramatic life?
It is our pride that we get up at 3 a. m. to be here for 6 a.m. service on Sunday. You come without breakfast in order to worship God first. Other people sleep late and eat a big breakfast and then go to church, but we are different. It is normal that you feel pain from sitting on a concrete floor, but that is your pride as well. Later on we may not even sit, but stand and worship. Later on we may hang on to ropes from the ceiling-that would be even more dramatic!
We can go to any extreme, but at the same time we can make it as good as possible. We have that much room to maneuver. On the other hand, instead of sitting to worship, we might lie down on the ground. Then you would be looking at God directly, and you could tell God you are His little baby, with diapers that get wet, who has to worship Iying down.
Would any parent complain that his child has wet diapers all the time? The love of God liberates everything. When you look at something with a loving eye and heart, nothing will bother you. When you get up in the morning you take a deep breath and exhale, and you feel good. Give and take of air makes you feel good. Our way of life is inhaling all the way to one extreme, and exhaling to the other extreme.
Do you think I am a very unfortunate or a happy person? Do you know how much suffering 1 have been through? If I told you my whole story, none of you could sit still because you would be shaking with tears. No one understands-not one parent or teacher understood me. I am one lonely man. You are lucky because you can rely on my guidance and I help take care of you. But I have no one like that. I had to shed blood, sweat and tears to produce everything, step by step.
I have never cared what anyone else thought nor asked their sympathy. 1 only cared how God would see me. If God loves me and wants to bless me, why didn't He give me an easy way? If He had done that then I would have had no special distinction. God wanted some special person which only He could claim, so He pushed me down the worst kind of road. Even if a million candidates started down that road, the suffering along the way would be so great that they would all drop out. I would be the only person still going strong, so what would God say?
Initially Satan was my companion because he was trying to knock me down, but I was so tough that he finally had to say good-bye. God was the only one left who was still following me. When He declared I was the winner, He told me to start building the family, nation and world, and He would be with me. In that process I came to America, and even if the entire world comes against me it doesn't matter.
There were many people who were intoxicated initially by the Divine Principle, but who then felt they did not want to live this way of life. I'm sure many of you think of retreating because this is so difficult. I am the remnant who is still going strong, and God knows I will go all the way. No other religious leader has received more suffering, or gone a more incredible path. Do you believe that? What are we trying to accomplish by doing this? We will be entitled to God's love, which no one else ever came close to deserving. Once we possess God's love there is nothing else for us to envy or desire.
I can do anything I want to, have anything I want. If it were necessary to build one hundred East Gardens, that is possible. People gossip about where I live, but I do not envy even the richest or most powerful person in the world. I have a better kingdom. We have a heavenly kingdom made of all five colors of skin as one family of man. Does any king or queen have this?
If you are determined to unite with me. I am determined to give you incredible hard work and suffering. I would like to see you make a new history and record for your lineage of doing the most hard work. By doing so you would be entitled to receive the love your ancestors never knew. If you win the race, you are entitled to some reward. I want each of you to be kings and queens of God's love in your family line, so that no one else can compete with you. When you go to spirit world, all the people in your lineage will proudly line up behind you as their commander. That's how I think about you.
You might shiver at the thought of what you will have to go through! I can see there are some new members here this morning, and maybe they are getting a shock treatment, but they can pack up and go any time. If they are able to be real Moonies. however, they will realize what a wonderful faith they have found.
The entire spirit world is united, so it unanimously supports what I do. Can you take that? Go ahead and find out if I am telling you the truth. There are many mediums and spiritual people, so ask them about me. I am the only person who can make unreserved statements like this. If Senator Kennedy became President, could he say, "Go ahead and ask spirit world. They will testify to me and tell you to follow my leadership"? Does spirit world follow the American President? But when the seemingly insignificant Reverend Moon, who has no title on earth, speaks out, the spirit world jumps. If it is the truth, then some amazing thing is happening now.
Do you think this happened by chance? Not at all; I made it so. The spirit world has no other choice. How much do you understand what kind of father you have? You have hardly scratched the surface. I am the subject of much research, but even before you look very far you sit down with weariness.
I returned to Korea recently. The first people to greet me there were some Buddhist monks who had received spiritually exactly what time I would arrive. They prepared some gift and came to greet me. Are you on the same level as these people who communicate with spirit world? The founders of the major religions are focused on me and I am an important topic of discussion among them. I don't think you have ever heard anyone speaking like this. How much of an honor it is for you to meet such a person. when you never even thought he would exist. And even more than just knowing such a person, it is your pride to receive commands from him.
We have a multi-color church, and each race feels good here. If all of you were unmarried, the best way to find your mate would be to put on blindfolds and take the first person you touch. If I said that was true, would you want to do it? Because you say yes, people say you are brainwashed!
American families, churches and the nation are in despair. The communist world is in despair. But when you come to the Unification Church are you in despair? If you say "no" then you "know" the answer. When you remember your past life and compare it to what you are now, you see that now you have purpose and discipline in your life, and you strive to live up to God's morals. Are you proud in front of all America? Wherever you go you have no shame, but can present yourself with pride.
America today is practically an animal house, but now you young people who were living in that house have become proud sons and daughters of God who are striving to live up to His ideal. How proud you can be! Your mouths, which have kissed strangers for physical pleasure, are speaking the truth now. You women have used your bosoms to entice men, but now they are God's temples and shall be used only for His purpose. Your bodies are preparing to bear a prince or princess of God.
You are divine men and women and there is no way you will allow yourself to be cheapened. Do you men have that kind of body? Your body is being prepared to welcome God's daughter. Are you really living up to this? Are you ready to take off straight up in the air, or are you wishy-washy and ambling about?
If I have nothing else of accomplishment, yet the young people of America are here responding to me, is it good or bad? It is so good that the wealth of the world is nothing in comparison. I have no shame in front of the world or God.
When you enter your own home you are welcomed by your wife and children and have no shame. In that family there is no night, but only bright sunshine. If you have that kind of proud, honest, God-centered family, would you swap it for the entire nation, no matter how rich?
If America is one giant apple, but worms are eating their way in from all sides so it is honeycombed with their tunnels, would you rather have that apple or a small one that is whole and perfect'! That apple may be small now, but it is growing. Even when it is small you cannot swap the value of that little apple for the entire universe. One man, Reverend Moon, started as a small apple, but has grown into a big one. Do you think it will keep growing? Even if you insist you shouldn't grow, you will anyway. We are destined to grow.
I know precisely how that apple will grow. That is the reason why we have hope and know this is the only way. When you become a parent your children call you father, but when you lead a church, the people call you father also. At East Garden Mother and I are Mommy and Daddy, and in the Unification Church we are Mother and Father. Later on when the world comes under God we will still be known as Mother and Father. That is only natural because parents are the closest people to their children.
Is God only the God of the family? He is also the Church God, and God of the nation, plus the world. Would you rather see your father become head of the nation instead of your uncle? Of course. God is your Father in your home, your nation and the world, and He cannot be happy without you. God is the representative of the home, tribe, nation and world. Since your Father represents them all, you as His son represent them all as well. If I am a father, I must educate sons and daughters who can represent the family, tribe, nation and world.
You should not look at your family as only a family, but as the center of the world. You belong to a tribe, and it should be the center of the world. Your nation should be the center of the world. Until now, to be universal you had to give up your family, tribe and nation to serve the world, but unification does not teach that. We teach that you can win the world by serving the world, by carrying out everything you do as service to the world and thus becoming the center of the world. It doesn't matter what culture or nation you belong to-anyone can live up to this ideal.
When you serve your parents you are serving the world because all people are extensions of your parents or brothers and sisters. Our family is a microcosm of the world, and when it is expanded it becomes the world. Everything you do is linked to the family; what your family does is linked to the tribe; what the tribe does is linked to the nation, the nation to the world, and in God it all becomes one. Just as each grade in school forms a foundation for subsequent grades, you make a foundation as an individual to serve the family, as a family to serve the tribe, and so forth.
So far there has been no linkage between the segments of the world and individualism has separated everyone. Because everything is broken into pieces, bridges need to be built, but you cannot do that yourself. I have created one continuous line linking everything for the first time, and now it is far easier for everyone else to go. Would you go with tears or laughter? With discouragement or hope? Voluntarily, or only when pushed" The important thing is whether you have courage.
Don't you get sick and tired of fund raising and witnessing and feel you have had enough? Don't you think it is too much to sell the News World? We have totally revolutionized our lives in every way; even your eyes, ears, nose and mouth are revolutionized, and every part of you is new. You are not a tiny, insignificant person, but a man or woman who can command the universe.
There are no fixed habits in the Unification Church. Whether you have a Ph.D. does not make you important automatically. Some of you joined because your girlfriend or boyfriend joined and you couldn't bear to be separated, but once you knew the greater reality, those things became very cheap. You feel that you have become royalty of God now. Every bus or train posts its destination; what kind of destination do you have? We are bound to a different destination. You have your own label-"Heaven-bound husband" or "Heaven-bound wife". Behind you is the "Heavenbound tribe," Heaven-bound nation" and "Heavenbound universe." Our everyday activities don't look very different from what the rest of the world does, yet our destination is different. Our goal and our label is different. Are you heaven-bound?
You always say yes, but you have lied to me a lot in the past! I know it is not a lie. When you say yes you intend to do it, but sometimes you keep postponing it!
If I passed away would you pack and leave the next day? Nothing would be different; you would still have the mission to save America and change the world so you should keep marching on. Whether I live here on earth or not would not change the direction one iota.
I know that when I speak at Belvedere everyone comes, but if you know I will be away then not as many come. Why is that? How can I trust you? I would prefer that the opposite was the case. When I am away, more people should be here because you have to take charge. If you practice this while I am on earth, then when I go to spirit world there will be no problem. If I die, would you not come to Belvedere any more? Isn't it true that you feel more energy to come when you know I am going to speak? Even if I pass away I will never disappear. Spiritually I will be here many times more strongly than I was here physically.
You should discipline yourselves to be able to do both. Of course you want to come see me, but when I am not here you should want to live up to my expectations. That is how you will become different men and women who can be trusted by God. Next time you will be different, right?
If I were personally guiding you in home church I'm sure each of you would succeed, but even without that personal attention will you be successful? Your yes sounds very funny, not very willing.
We have many stages to go through, like traveling on a local train with many stops. Wouldn't you rather take an express or fly to the destination? You may not have done too well on the lower levels, but if you bring great success on the world level then everything is automatically taken care of. You may not win the 100-meter race, but if you win the marathon you are a great hero. You may not have done too well on the family level, but you should think you will be a champion on the nation and world levels.
You can think that working in America is all right, but working in another nation is better. Working in the free world is fine, but working underground in a communist country is better. We make it our habit never to be discouraged. Sometimes our physical body needs rest, but instead of getting discouraged and thinking you are no good, get some rest with the attitude that you rest today so that tomorrow you can do better. If because you rested you can go even higher than before, then your rest is justified.
Sometimes a small thing might not go well and you get discouraged. But look at it as preparation to take off even higher. You know that you have betrayed God at times, but God will never betray you. For that reason you cannot be discouraged. You may kick yourself away from God, but God will never kick you away Himself. Sometimes you disappoint Him; it is true that many people have disappointed Him. But then take off and do something greater. God dwells on your success, not your failure.
You may think you are not good in individual witnessing because you don't have many spiritual children, and feel you are worthless. But instead, think that you may perhaps do better in group witnessing. If your record as a fund raiser is not good, you may be good in a business and earn a great deal of money for God's kingdom that way. That can be your hope. Always have hope and persevere.
You may have only small hope and no energy, and that's why you need prayer. You have to plug into God's power. You have to pray with the same intensity and urgency that you look for food when you are hungry. Have you prayed seriously like that? If you do then God will always come to your aid. I want you to know that I will never give you up or betray you. I have been betrayed over and over by my followers. Even after my long prison term in North Korea, most of the members had run away, but I knocked on the door of each one to embrace them again.
will never betray you. I will never betray you. How can you betray God then? The Unification Church ideology is based on the four position foundation, which is built on three generations: God, True Parents, and you. You are included in the three generations of God. You are an insignificant person, a sinner, yet you are brought back to God in these three generations. As the second generation, I am forming a link with God for you and you are like God's grandchildren. Since we cannot see God, He gave an object for mankind to serve and love: the True Parents you can relate to physically. This is the tradition of the heavenly family which God set up. You inherit the tradition from me. You love the world and God as I did.
Do you think God is discouraged, or I am discouraged? Never. That is another tradition you must inherit. Whenever you are really, God and True Parents are ready to respond. Therefore, today's topic is "Never Be Discouraged." If you are discouraged, harbor new hope, add new vitality and take off again. You must have boldness and courage, but also wisdom and the ability to judge clearly what is right and wrong.
You will be a husband or wife some day and have children. Instead of needing advice from your spouse, you should be a person he or she can praise. What can a wife praise about her husband, or a husband praise about his wife? The fact that you are loyally living up to God's tradition is the most praiseworthy attribute you can have. Then you will not be shamed in front of your children because you will have something for them to inherit. You must be a living example, or else you have nothing to be proud of which you can leave them. These things are your task, not the Unification Church task, and they are for your benefit.
Be a proud husband, proud wife, proud family, proud tribe, proud nation. But you have to earn that pride, and that is your job, not the Church's. God and True Parents are your supporters, and whenever you are in need they will supply energy, experience, and a new spiritual dimension. For whom are you working then? You serve God, the world, and the nation, but it all boils down to the fact that you are working for yourself, for your own perfection. Who would you complain against then? You can only complaint about yourself. Everything is all ready to go, but you must act upon it.
are always trying to blame others-the Church, your leader, me. But there is no way you can be discouraged. I don't have to come here on Sunday morning to push you. 1 have already fulfilled, and no one can take away my position in heaven and earth Why do I keep coming on Sunday to push you again and again? Is it for my benefit? No, it is for your benefit.
A teacher puts his heart and soul into giving a profound lecture for the sake of the students. Is it good that he gives homework? Students certainly don't like it, but do they have an obligation to do it? Does anyone like tests" The teacher hates tests because they are a tedious chore to grade, but testing helps the students improve.
I know there are certain things you hate to do, but I keep asking you to do them because 1 know that by doing so you can make yourself better. ln ten years you will harvest the fruits of it and you will be grateful that I spanked you this way every Sunday morning.
I have already done my share. Now I want you to do your share so that you can be proud of yourself and your family, and be a proud citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven. Because you are persecuted to a great degree, you will receive great blessing later on, but then no one can accuse that you don't deserve it. Everyone will recognize that you have gone through suffering and persecution. Thus, you will have no enemies. No one will oppose you when you are elevated to a glorious position; instead they will assist you, including your former enemies. God has picked this route. I have taken that route, and you must also. You want to do this, don't you?
If you follow my teaching 100% and still don't reach the goal, you can chop off my head because that will be proof that there is no God. 1 would be the worst swindler on earth in that case. You must not be discouraged.
Even if you don't have energy to act at the moment, don't be discouraged. Tomorrow is waiting, calling you. After Washington Monument I proclaimed the grand rally we must hold in Moscow. You don't know what preparations I am already making.
There are many things happening in the communist nations. If I called you suddenly to give you a command, would you accept it? Working in Moscow would be entirely different than the witnessing and fund raising you do here. All you could do would be to hide there, but that wouldn't be any fun, would it? Would God ask why you didn't speak out openly? Maybe those people who don't do well witnessing and fund raising here would do better in Moscow!
There are all kinds of missions to be done. When you pursue a mission of greater scope, even though you don't entirely accomplish it, it will be regarded as having greater value in God's sight. If you make long-range plans and have confidence and enthusiasm that you can do them, even though people bother you now you just keep reaching, and in ten years you have a big victory. That is better than the person who does a little bit here and there and never amounts to very much.
Some members work hard fund raising, but at the same time I give other members money to study for a Ph.D. Why? Because I am preparing for a greater victory in the years ahead. If I work in Korea, I work just as hard as I do here. Wherever I go I work as hard as I do here.
Would it be better for me to stay in Korea, or to come out to the world? Always think of your smallerscale mission as training, but always think ahead to a gigantic mission. The normal way is to improve yourself step by step.
There are fifty to eighty million young people out of a total of 220 million altogether in America. If we have a tug of war with the young people, who would win? In the short term you would lose, but in the long term you would win. Our advantage is that there is no limit to how far we can expand, so in the long run we are bound to win. Because they have greater numbers, initially they will pull us to their side. If they pull for one week without food they will think they are winning and then drop out. But we can go without food for another week and month after that, and by that time we can easily pull them to our side.
I am very tough. I may look defeated, but in the end I will bring everything to my side. What range is your strategy-ten years, twenty years? I plan ahead for three generations, not even just one lifetime. If there are forty years in one generation, that makes a tug-of-war lasting 120 years. So far I have fought for one generation, forty years. Have I lost or won? My children, the second generation, will have an easier time. You are also the second generation, and your forty years will be easier than mine.
Those forty years' worth can be done in seven years. Three times seven is 21, so we can do 120 years' worth in 21 years, and each seven years will become serious as time goes on. In time Americans will come to repent the hardship they gave me when I came to save this nation for God. If I have gathered this many people even under opposition, how many will come when conditions are favorable? Seven will be too long.
If I had the opportunity to give Americans a seven-day workshop, all day long on television, would the nation change? It wouldn't be that difficult to do. There is no way you can be discouraged. The New York Times and Washington Post think they are very formidable, but they can be changed. The other day our eight members who are studying at Harvard were interviewed by the New York Times, and the article was very positive. Even the News World couldn't have done as well. Would the world believe that they are brainwashed? One article would dispel that myth of brainwashing.
The fundamentalist denominations are afraid that if they send their students to Harvard Divinity School those students will be brainwashed by Harvard and leave their faith. But I push our students to Harvard, and they will brainwash Harvard instead! How different I am.
Did you do well to come to the Unification Church? God and upright things never come cheaply; you have to earn them. Go ahead and overcome. You have come to a school that is better than Harvard, and when you live up to my expectation you shall each receive a heavenly Ph.D. and become princes and princesses of God. This is the way of life of hope. It has come to you and you are here to live up to that hope every day.
In American football the ball-carrier is tackled and pummeled. Sometimes his leg or arm is broken, but he keeps on going. That is the kind of spirit I love. Would you be discouraged? Will you be marching on with hope? Those who say yes, raise your hands.
