Belvedere, New York
Translator - Bo Hi Pak
No one really likes to bear a burden. Animals are used for transportation and carrying burdens. Here in the West it isn't a common sight, but in the Orient farmers frequently use cows or oxen to plow their fields. Here people ride horses, but even a horse will get tired if he is ridden too long. It is a universally true statement that no one really wants to bear a heavy burden, but the burdens are there to be carried and someone has to bear them. If you don't do it yourself then animals or machines must do it.
Our lifelong journey to our ultimate destiny is also one of carrying a burden. There are three types of people. First, there is the person who carries the heavy burden all throughout his life. Next there is the kind of person who carries no burden; he just wants to walk and live very simply. Finally there is the type of person who carries the burden but who sometimes stops to lay it down. All Unification Church members fit into one of those three categories, and the United States as a nation also fits into one of those categories. Who is going to bear the heavy burden?
Perhaps a family has a certain burden to carry at home. The father of the house will carry the heaviest burden, but the mother will also carry a portion, as well as all the other members of the family. Everybody has a responsibility to share in carrying the burden; however, many different situations might arise in this. For instance, certain members of the family might refuse to carry anything. If one person out of five members refuses to carry his share then the other four will complain because they have to carry more.
In another situation, suppose the members of the family gather together and decide that one member has no power or ability to carry the burden, even though he has not complained, and that they will give him a special dispensation, taking his burden upon themselves. When they notify him that they will bear his burden, however, he refuses their offer, saying, "No, I want to do my share." Perhaps that person is exempted from carrying his burden because he is weak from illness. But if in spite of all illness he says, "I will willingly bear my burden," he is trying to do something extraordinary and beyond his capacity. Then the whole family will look at that weak member with merciful eyes, and will pay more attention to him than to themselves.
This one member who is determined to fulfill his responsibility will give great inspiration to the other members of the family. They will be deeply touched by him, and they will always remember that particular episode. The mother and father will always think of that son or daughter as very special, and the other brothers and sisters will also give special recognition to him for fulfilling something impossible. When the weakest person carries his own share, he will command deep sympathy, but what would happen if he not only carried his own burden but someone else's as well? The person whose load is carried by the weakest member will be far more indebted to him than to his own parents or other brothers and sisters.
In another situation there might be a strong, 250-pound son whom everyone feels should carry a heavier burden than the others. If he just carries a regular amount though, he won't receive any sympathy. People might look up to him and respect him but he will not evoke their heartistic sympathy because he has the ability to carry much more.
Shall we move the burden in one day?
It is inevitable reality that we all bear burdens in our lives. I have classified three kinds of load carriers. What kind of person should we become? Do you want to carry a heavy burden, no burden at all, or sometimes carry a burden? Do you really like to carry a heavy burden? Let's answer very honestly. If you have a very heavy bundle as well as smaller ones to carry to a particular place, which one would you pick up first? Normally, people don't pick up the big ones first. Also, when men and women are working together, women assume that the men will carry the bigger loads because they are stronger. It is natural for men to carry the big loads and women to carry the smaller ones. If the women are standing in front of the bit ones and when the men arrive they just go ahead and take the smaller ones, then everyone will wonder what kind of men these are. We naturally react that way.
Suppose an unusual situation occurs in which the man is disabled and simply cannot carry the heavier load. Then people understand why the woman takes the heavier burden. This is how we commonly react in our everyday life, and the heavenly way of life is just the same.
How would God react to the situation? God reacts precisely the same as men do. When you look at a person who is trying to shirk his own responsibility, you don't feel good and neither does God. There is one absolute difference between God and man, however; God is the eternal being who is always in spirit world, while men remain on earth for a given period of time. God has many different kinds of loads to carry and responsibilities to fulfill God has a definite purpose for carrying these loads to a certain destination, and not only that, He also has a deadline in which to move them. Which load would God tackle first, the biggest, smallest or the medium load? The problem is one of priority.
If God had to move some burden before a certain deadline, would He act just in time to reach it, or would He not care about meeting the deadline, or would He want to act in such a way as to have lots of time to spare? God definitely wants to reach the goal far in advance of the deadline. If the contract period is one year, God would say, "I want to do it far in advance and reserve some time at the end." With one year to work, in what amount of time do you think God would want to fulfill the entire responsibility? If possible, God would certainly like to do it in one day or even one hour. If it can be done, why not do it in one hour? You might think that God is almighty, so why doesn't He just take one hour and presto, make it happen? He is God, so He should be able to do that, no matter how difficult a task it may be. You may even think that God could do it in one split second.
When men put themselves to a task, some of them inevitably think, "We have 365 days to work. It's only February 19, so we have ten more months to go. Let's take it easy for a little while." Man commonly thinks that if he does his best today and it can't be accomplished he still has tomorrow, and if it's not done this month then maybe next month. If things are not done this year, 1979 is still coming. How would you tackle this task and how many days would you take to do it?
Is that the Unification Church way of thinking or would you think that even though there are ten more months to go, you still want to finish it today? Perhaps you still have the work mentality of American labor unions and you plan to work precisely eight hours and not a minute more. If you wake up early and it's still dark outside, would you think you still have a couple more hours to relax? When sundown comes, would you quit because it's dark? Does it bother you to get up before it's light and work after it's dark, or doesn't it matter to you?
You can carry the load in one of three ways. You can run with bubbling enthusiasm, or carry it even though you really don't want to, or finally, you might carry it while not even realizing what you're doing. Do you know you are carrying the load right now? Your faces have three expressions also; some of you are eager to hear me and your eyes are shining. Others think, "Why do I have to come here so early?" Others are happily sleeping. You laugh because you understand!
Only the extraordinary person
can conquer himself
People know what it takes to succeed and even gain the big success, so why don't they do it? To succeed, a person needs the necessary willpower and internal direction to command himself, coupled with a particular know-how. People know the method but still they can't succeed. The problem is only that people cannot handle or take command of themselves. It is a deficiency common to people throughout the world.
It's very difficult for most people to handle themselves, and only the unusual, extraordinary person can command and conquer himself. That's why most people need leadership, someone to inspire and supervise them. However, many people feel that they would rather not have a leader because they want to live in their own way and have freedom. But what happens? Soon they cannot handle themselves and their life goes downhill, becoming dull and promiscuous and without purpose.
I'm sure many of you think about Sunday being the Sabbath, the day of rest, and wonder why we have to get up so early in the morning to come here. You set your alarm clocks, but when they go off, you think you can sleep another fifteen minutes. Everyone knows it's rather difficult to get up in the morning. Would you rather have us gather together at 10 a.m. instead? Why do you say no, but laugh and smile? Your expression carries a double meaning. We have a job to do, and whether or not you have food or the proper clothing, it is our job to carry a particular load to a certain place by a prescribed time. There is no compromise.
One person carries our heavy load day and night, while another person thinks he has the day to work and the night to rest, so he only works during the day. One has all the food he needs and carries the load, while the other has no full meal but still fulfills the task. Some people wear the proper clothing in cold weather and do the task. Others carry the load although they are practically naked. Which type would command more respect, the person who does the ordinary thing or the one who does the extraordinary thing?
People are drawn to the unusual and the extraordinary. The person who tackles the task with absolute determination, whether or not he has proper meals, clothing or shelter, commands the most attention. When night comes one person carrying a heavy weight might just sit where he finds himself and rest with the mission. Another would say, "I must get back because I need a comfortable bed to rest in overnight." Which attitude commands more attention?
All of mankind has a burden to be carried. If one person comes forward and volunteers to carry that entire burden, the entire world will look at him with gratitude as the real champion. But later if that champion begins complaining that everyone just lets him do the work even when they can see he is exhausted, the world will exclaim indignantly, "We didn't ask you to do it. You volunteered, and now you are complaining. Get out of here!" People will feel more and more gratitude toward the champion who takes up the task without complaint.
Imagine that the task was finally consummated by that one hero and a big celebration is now being held. There are two types of speeches that the champion can make. He can say, "Since none of you wanted to do this work, I did it for you. It's only right that you gather together like this to praise me, so go ahead and glorify me. Why are there only this many people? The entire world should come to praise me. Didn't you bring a gift? Why are you empty-handed? What kind of celebration is this?" What would the audience say? "He's a real character, isn't he?" And they would just walk out. No matter how attractive he is, if the hero makes such an arrogant statement, people will become disgusted with him.
On the other hand, the champion might be just a shabby country boy who says, "I appreciate your coming hut I want to thank you for giving me such an opportunity to do this. I thank you for entrusting me with the mission and for the support which enabled me to complete this task. I want to give you my heartfelt gratitude." Then there will be a great response from heaven and earth.
Now we come back to our original topic. We each have a specific burden to carry in life, and there is also a burden for mankind to carry. For the individual, tribe and nation there are respective burdens to carry and definite destinies to fulfill. However, there have always been some people who say they just don't care. They stand aside and say, "If you want to carry it, go ahead and do it. If you don't want to, then don't. "God is looking at human beings and distributing the work load, having a certain burden in mind for each individual, tribe and nation. Some people fulfill their entire task at once and then try to help others. How is that reflected in the eyes of God? Will He say, "Why are you so foolish?" Or will He say, "My son, you are a great man. Go ahead and help the others as much as you can."
America has a certain weight to carry to a certain destination but she might shrug and say, "I don't care, God; I don't want that contract." But a small nation like Korea might carry her own burden and then come to the U.S. asking, "Why does this big burden still remain untouched? Let me do it," and carry that burden to its destination as well. If this situation ever arose, how would God react? Do you think God would say, "Hands off, Korea. That's America's burden. Don't touch it"? Or would God say, "Little son, go ahead and help this big guy."
Korea is a sovereign nation of 35 million people and it is too big for this example. Let's say there is a group of miserably poor black people in the U.S. who know what the national burden is, and even though they are weak, they are trying to tackle it. God's eyes will open wide and He will marvel, "You people want to do it? Are you really willing?" These people will reply, "Yes, God, even though we are weak and miserable and poor, we want to take this national burden because no one else is touching it." Then God will say, "You go right ahead, my children.'
Do we have a champion here?
One group of people which has been abused and persecuted by every kind of person is the Unification Church. It is a privilege and a great opportunity for us to volunteer because there are so many God-given responsibilities that everyone ignores and so many loads to carry that are yet untouched. Our small group of people has turned out to be the champion, the group which is saying, "God, let us carry Your entire burden upon our shoulders. Give it to us and we will do it." Will God say, "No, you can't do it, it's impossible"? Or will He exclaim, with His mouth gaping and His eyes wide open, "Do we have a champion here? Go ahead and I'll watch." In order to test you God might say, "I cannot trust you. There are black and yellow, red and brown people here, and I don't know if you can unite. You look like a refugee group and I don't like that; I can't trust you." But the reply will come back, "God, don't create one race. Aren't all these people in living color beautiful? We'll do it, God. You just watch us." Finally we'll get the contract from God and He will say, "OK, go ahead and sign on the dotted line."
What would you do once we finally have the big load? Would you just watch it, or as soon as you get the contract from God, would you carry the load and walk to your destination? Would you do that for many hours or years? It's easy to say, "Yes, Father, as long as the work needs to be done, I will go on. I'll commit my life to it." That's quite a statement. But you might say instead, "I have my own life to live first. I want to have food and clothes, get married and have children. When I have some time left over, then I will do that job." Or would you say, "Because this is the destiny of mankind, there is nothing I will not spare to commit my life to it. Whatever the sacrifices may be, I will do it." Which of these two types would you choose?
Some of our sisters are near or over the age of thirty. Ate you thinking about your marriage? Everyone knows how you feel. You might justify your feelings by protesting, "Yes, Father, I want to get married, and you yourself said the blessing is important. It's very logical and much better to work together with a husband to carry a heavier burden." A husband and wife might work together to carry the burden for God, but wouldn't it be nobler for a single sister to sacrifice even her love life and pour all her energy into the heavenly task? It's like comparing the person who carries his load with a full stomach and the person who carries it on an empty stomach. Which one is nobler? Is the person who sleeps all night nobler than the one who works day and night to tackle the task? You know the correct answer.
Among us there is one very greedy man who is none other than Reverend Moon. He talks to God, saying, "I know there is a task for all mankind, but let me carry the entire world burden upon my shoulders." I don't think God hears that kind of conversation every day-maybe only once in His entire lifetime and even God will jump and say, "I heard something very strange that I never heard before! Who is speaking down there?" That greedy person here on earth is Reverend Moon.
Will God refuse my offer, or will He say, "Reverend Moon, are you really serious? If you are really serious then go right ahead. I'm going to watch over you." There is no doubt that God will tell me to go right ahead.
Even under normal conditions it's not that easy a task to fulfill, but what if you have to work under adverse conditions with everyone coming against you? Would you still go on if even the entire spirit world came down and tried to tear you apart? God would actually give you that kind of test to see how serious your promise was. The greedy champion is never daunted by adverse conditions, however, but forges ahead inch by inch to win the victory. Looking down and seeing him inching ahead, God will pay close attention, watching with wide open eyes. God tested me time after time. I was brutally tortured, but I won over it. The nation of Korea came against me, but I just pressed on ahead. All of Asia came against me but I still continued and came out ahead.
Even when all of America opposed me I never gave in, but just kept on. Seeing how this man just keeps plowing ahead even under adverse conditions, will God be more and more amazed, or just nonchalant? In the end God will say, "You are certainly a greedy man, but I like your greediness." My greediness is not for myself, but for the sake of God and the sake of humanity, and if I fulfill that unselfish greediness, it will become my victory and mankind's victory.
Would you admire a greedy champion like me and be sympathetic, or would you say, "Well, he took on this tough job on his own. He didn't have to volunteer." Some people might say that Reverend Moon volunteered for too big a task from God: "It not only makes his life miserable, it makes my life miserable, too! He is insisting that I work hard. I don't like that. Let's take it easy." Are you that type of champion or will you go right ahead with me? I don't believe you.
Are you doing your maximum best?
Be very frank and honest. After becoming a member of the Unification Church, you sometimes think, "I wish that I had not heard the Divine Principle. I wish I didn't know anything about it. I wish I had never heard of Reverend Moon but it's too late. I can't wipe the Divine Principle out of my mind; it stays there and tortures me." Haven't you thought about that at one time or another? Are you really saying that you like Reverend Moon then? I am the one who brought that misery to you. When you go out for your activities people say, "You are a Moonie, aren't you?" You always have the nickname "Moonie". When people call you a Moonie, do you say, "Yes, I'm a Moonie" or, "This guy is trying to make fun of me," and give him a dirty look?
Let's face it. It's human nature to not really want to get down to work, but there is a big load here and if you leave it alone no one will move it to its destination. Each of you is human and what you need is a leader with an iron will who will push you toward that goal. You want to take a rest, but then you see me coming and you try to look busy! You know what your ultimate goal is and you know that you are on the right track, but someone has to manage you and keep you from becoming derailed.
Would you like a manager who always invites you to a party, or a manager who says, "You must finish this mission. This is the deadline." You know which manager would make you work and fulfill your responsibility. That is the way of life and destiny of the Unification Church members. You cannot get out of it because whether you like it or not, you are already involved in that destiny.
Speak out only after you fulfill your responsibility. Before sleeping or eating or anything else, fulfill your responsibility and then you have the right to steak. Do you respond to direction with enthusiasm and a real desire to accomplish something, or do you just respond to this mandate because you have to. Do you respond and not realize what you are doing?
You are doing your best right now, but are you doing your maximum best or is there room for additional responsibility? Can you only fulfill one instruction a day, or does it matter if two or three come to you? Those who want three, raise your hands please. Those who don't want any instructions, raise your hands please. Your mind is saying, "Raise your hand!" You know nothing is hidden; you know how your mind works and how my mind works and what I will do.
Since you have already joined the Unification Church you are pledged to do the task. Even in a democratic society this is the majority rule. All of you are gathered to do a certain task, so should we do it with great vitality and alacrity, or should we not do it? Then how could there be any type of complaint? Why do people sometimes say, "I am too tired to go any farther. I have to get back to my room, pack my things and go"? At one time or another, members of the Unification Church feel that they cannot stay any longer and want to leave. I know that feeling better than anybody else. Some of you probably have even packed your things, but then thought, "Where can I go?" You realized that there was no place to go.
Perhaps you felt you wanted to go to someplace where you would never again hear of the Unification Church, but I'm sorry to say that there is no place where you will never hear of the Unification Church. One Japanese member felt precisely that way. He packed his bags and went to England, thinking he could escape from the Church and no one would bother him, but he saw our members all over England with the IOWC and all kinds of other activities. Within a year he felt that he might as well go back to the Unification Church because he could not escape any more, and he joined again in England!
I'll tell you one thing very clearly-if there is a place to escape to and hide from this life, one clever person would have already done it, and that is me. I packed many times and tried to find a place to go and hide, but I found no place to go so I unpacked again. You and I have a common destiny. Do not think you are in one group and I in another. No, we are in the same boat. However you think is precisely the way I have been thinking. I have done everything you are doing. I was once a beggar and I have tasted the misery of human life. I know the bottom line of human life, even the world of gangsters. From these experiences I can deal with people in any walk of life and converse with them; I know and understand the other side. This is why I can do things that the average person normally cannot do. No matter what type of person I meet, I know how his mind works. That's why I am in a position to lead you slippery people; American youth are like eels trying to make their way out. I know your thinking.
We must consummate completely
the burden that we carry
We have a common destiny and a common purpose, so do we want to continue to the end or get tired halfway through and rest? Sometimes I have a hard time working with the American young people because they don't feel a serious commitment to see something through. Furthermore, freedom-minded Americans don't want to be governed or dominated by anyone; you don't want any type of supervision.
You come to Belvedere to hear me on Sunday mornings and by the time you leave here you're bursting with great energy, saying, "Yes, Father, we'll do it." But by the time you get to the World Mission center and eat, you have forgotten everything! I know your weaknesses. As you arrive at the World Mission Center you are already weakening. Maybe I will put someone at the World Mission Center da or to grab you as soon as you arrive and say, "AII right, you said yes to Father. Now deliver." It's not easy to come under such discipline, but you know you need it. Since you've already joined the Unification Church, you might as well see it through all the way, right?
My critics say all kinds of things about me; for instance, that I am a hypnotist creating a new Nazi party in America. It doesn't matter what the people outside our Church say; people who don't ever really do anything productive will always gossip, but we have a job to do and a load to carry. We don't have time to gossip because our job is waiting to be done. We have a contract from God and we must get His job done first. Then when we lay down on a big bed and sleep, the entire universe will move up and down as we breathe. When our job is done and the Kingdom of God is finally on the earth, when we sleep at the World Mission Center the entire hotel will shake with our snoring.
After that long sleep we will want to get up and celebrate, and once that celebration begins the entire city of New York will wonder what's happening because the entire World Mission Center will be throbbing. We will march down Broadway and down Fifth Avenue and everyone will look out of their windows, unable to do their work. Yes, we will really celebrate. I know how to celebrate.
Before anything else, however, the job must be done. We must consummate completely the responsibility given us. The manner in which we tackle the task must evoke the sympathy of the people of the world and command their respect. Naturally, the heavier the burden and the greater the difficulty and pain, the more the people will respect and admire us. We want to set the new record and not just do things halfway or even in a normal way. Would you rather go up or down? Would you like to go in a straight line or zig-zag? You can say you want to go in a straight line, but you ask, "Father, how can anyone do that? We need a meal time and we need to relax a little bit and go to bed, so how can we go straight? It's impossible." When you are eating, however, you are eating for God. Your body needs to rest for a few hours, but you do it for the mission, only in order to get up and go all the way to the end. Then you will not go down. Do you daydream sometimes, empty dreams? Daydream about the mission instead. There's no room for nostalgic thinking about your past romances and vague memories. There's no room for that type of thing.
Because of God's will, your eyesight becomes straight and you look at the goal, nothing else. Your ears, nose, arms and mind all become straight because you cannot direct them anywhere except toward the one common goal. Do you ever think, "I wish I could fly. Then I could just shoot myself straight to the goal"? Whether consciously or unconsciously, keep moving toward that goal.
When you go the bathroom, do it for the mission. Sometimes it takes time to go to the bathroom; then you can say to your body, "Hurry up body. I need to get going." Yell at your own system. Are you that eager? When God hears you yelling at yourself in the bathroom, will He say, "Boy, aren't you unreasonable!" or will He say, "You are even complaining at the system I created, but I'll take the blame and hurry things up."
Sometimes a person has to go to the bathroom every two hours. "Why do I have to go to the bathroom all the time? I'm going to wait four hours or six hours instead." It is very painful to hold things inside yourself, but it will make God think, and He will say, "You are really crazy about the mission, crazy about me. I admire you; I'm for you 100%."
Personally I don't care about praise or recognition; my appetite is for doing the mission and nothing else. When you are crazy about the mission and you pursue the goal in that fashion, you will automatically end up a success and be showered with praise and recognition. Seeking success will not bring it to you, but when you go after the mission as a crazy person, you will definitely end up as a success.
Would you women like having a person like me as a husband? If you have a husband like me, he will really drive you crazy and you might not be too happy. Would you mind? I am always in the forefront. In the morning I get up and say, "Come on! Why are you wasting time in the bathroom? Why are you wasting time in front of the mirror? Come out here." Ask Mother whether I am a good husband or not! Sometimes I don't give Mother enough time to dress, so she is pulling on her blouse with one hand and her coat with another hand, running out of the room to follow me. The American husband usually holds hid wife's coat for her, but I'm so busy doing the mission that I don't do that. When Mother gets slow, I say, "Hurry up! We've got to go."
Our children don't know so much about the mission, but they know that Mother and I are always busy, and always on the run. Do you imagine they are unhappy children, however? They think they have the most wonderful mother and most wonderful father in the world.
When you are really crazy and enthused about the mission in that fashion, will you become the trash of mankind or become the savior and champion of mankind? The more you do and the crazier you are about the mission, the more attention people will pay to you and the more praise and recognition you will receive.
It is our common destiny to carry
this historical burden for mankind and God
The burden we carry is very heavy. It is the same burden that Judaism could not fulfill in four thousand years. It is the burden which Christianity could not consummate in 2,000 years. Even beyond mankind, it is the burden God wanted to fulfill for millions of years, yet still that burden has not been consummated. Could that burden ever be easy for us to carry? Knowing its magnitude and size, the people who really tackle this enormous burden must be crazy because normally everyone runs away from it. People would rather volunteer to die for the mission than confront the mission and try to fulfill it because it's an impossible job. That's the scope of the burden you are looking at.
We come to the conclusion that the only people who can carry out this mission are the ones who are willing to attempt an all-consuming struggle on earth. We now accept it as the common destiny of the Unification Church to carry this historical burden for the sake of mankind and God. This is an enormous burden, but are you ready to tackle it?
Some people will look at this burden and say, "I just can't do it. It is too overwhelming. Let me leave the Unification Church and come back in ten years." Those who want to come back in ten years, raise your hands. I'm trying to give you a special dispensation; you want to have some kind of discount, don't you? I know that inside your heart is saying yes, yes, yes, but if you really don't like this idea of a discount you are very wise and clever people, because right now your investment of one year is like a thousand year investment in history.
Your journey is taking you across a plain and over the pinnacle of the hill. This crossing over the hilltop takes only a short time compared to the entire journey, and by successfully passing over the hilltop you can set the standard at a new height. Just one critical leap over the top of the hill is necessary for you to be regarded as the champion at a new level.
Did you see the heavyweight championship recently where Leon Spinks knocked Mohammed Ali down? Leon Spinks didn't look so special or gigantic before the fight began, but during those fifteen rounds in the ring he was passing over this high hill, and when he knocked Mohammed Ali down the entire world thought of him as the new champion. With one jump he brought himself up to an entirely new level, and wherever he goes now, people will want to get his autograph and be near him because he is the world champion.
What I am doing in the religious arena is like boxing with the champions of the world. I was unknown, but I boxed with the giant figures of history. I kept pushing myself to be ready for that one most momentous battle. At one time in Korea I was looked upon as an outcast, but now Koreans, including many government people, look at me as a hero and a giant in history. Here in America I will also emerge as the hero. Even in colleges and universities a kind of fad has begun, with young people collecting my pictures.
Why? Because they recognize that I am a fighter. I have been the target of government and religious harassment from all sides, but I am winning one victory after another.
I am a champion in the arena of suffering
People who don't like me think that the answer is to put me in prison, but their idea is all wrong. I have been in prison many times, including the worst communist prison in North Korea, but I never lost; I always gained something out of those experiences. If I am put in prison here then that place will become a church and finally the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. If I am ever sent to prison, the entire spins world will be mobilized and will bombard that prison. The inmates will receive revelations, dreams and visions telling them that they must follow me. That phenomenon has already happened once. I will have people organized and ready to undertake any task I might start.
You are looking at a very mysterious person, someone upon whom the entire spirit world and God are concentrated. The entire spirit world and God are also concentrated on the Unification Church so that we can go into the ring and win the biggest historical victory. What all the religious saints in history did in their own times has no comparison with what I am doing in my life and time. I am determined to fulfill everything in my own lifetime. There is no comparison in the magnitude and strategy of the work, or in the accomplishment; no other religious leader can compete with what I have already done. Compared to all the religious founders in history, I am a much more versatile personality, a man for all seasons and all arenas. I am interested in all areas and I can lead young people and inspire and organize them; I can earn money in business, deal with scholars and theologians, and organize science conferences and endeavors in all cultural areas.
Most of all, I am the champion in the area of suffering. I can take more pain and suffering than anybody. I have suffered more than anyone else in history, but I don't look beaten or miserable. Instead I look dignified, with shining eyes and enthusiasm for the future. Sometimes young members think I am some kind of man of iron because of my tremendous energy; they can't keep up with me.
Are you looking at a great leader? You may not like our Church's way of doing things and the burden you are carrying every day, but at least you must recognize that I have a God-given capacity to lead this movement. When I tell you to go out and do this or do that, you must accept my word at its full value because I have a foundation and a purpose for saying each thing.
If you recognize my ability as a leader then when I try to translate my will into reality, will you support and follow me? You don't like that particular part, do you? You are probably thinking, "Father, I praise you as a great leader, but don't bother me. Leave me alone." You and I, however, are the same, because we know our goal and we share a common destiny. It's not "your" job and "my" job, it's our job. You might feel that I live a different life because East Garden is my home and I have someone to drive me around. You might think that this is the only difference, but I have a greater burden than yours. When I look at you, I think how I can some day have each of you live in a home like East Garden and ride in the best car in the world. That is part of the burden which I carry everyday. If I lived in a log cabin, I would want to have everyone live in a log cabin. If I rode in a buggy, I would want to someday give everyone a buggy.
I bought the New Yorker Hotel because it's probably 1,000 time bigger than East Garden and I want you to stay in a big house. Members in the Unification Church movement usually lack two things-sleeping space and bathrooms. But now since we have the New Yorker Hotel you have too many rooms and too many bathrooms. East Garden is overcrowded and has very little extra room, but in the World Mission Center there are too many rooms. If I moved to the World Mission Center then people would write articles saying that I didn't think East Garden was big enough so I made the entire World Mission Center my mansion. Because I want the World Mission Center to be better than East Garden in every respect, I asked you to remodel it with your own hands. Even if you only clean up one corner of one room, you can say that you yourself refurbished the world Mission Center.
We have a job to do
The other day I had a conference with accountants in New York and I said that on Saturdays anyone living in the World Mission Center should fund raise. Some of the leaders said they were overburdened with the jobs I have already given and didn't have time. I understand your burden but still I push you even further. The Unification Church must handle hundreds of different areas. If you just wait for someone to come and do our job, it would never get done so you must start doing it. If later someone comes who can do a better job then he can take over, but in the meantime you must at least begin. God will recognize that you are doing your absolute best, not wasting a moment but really tackling all areas. That's what I want to see. When instructions are given, just get down to work.
Some people are totally overwhelmed with the mission. I give instructions to a gathering of people in the morning to do something, then in the afternoon to do something entirely different. Then in the evening I have the same people gather and tell them to do something else. Those people think I am completely unreasonable, but in that situation what you should do is in the morning do the mission you are given to do, then in the afternoon do the mission you are given and then in the evening do that mission. It is truly a battle to do everything but you are bound to win the victory, and then I feel good for God.
You know that recently my interest is in shipbuilding and that much land in Alabama was purchased. When people there came against me and said I couldn't start a business in their town, I responded by buying another big shipyard instead. There are a dozen of our own ships already being built there, and our first boat is about ready to be launched. We have encountered incredible prejudice and religious persecution in Alabama, so we hired a lawyer and brought the matter to court. Yesterday the court announced that the city of Bayou La Batre was wrong and that it must give Reverend Moon the right to build a shipyard. When people say no, I go double time, and if they still say no, I go triple time. Even when people think we have already been defeated, I simply keep moving.
Yesterday I went to Philadelphia to look at three big buildings and consider buying one of them for our Church. What do we need to buy a church? Would people accept a handful of sand or the hearing of a sermon? We want to earn money because we have a job to do.
Jews have a reputation for being frugal and stingy, but I admire them. I heard a story about a man who had three friends-one American, one British and one Jewish. He told his three friends that even when he died he would need money and told them not to bring flowers but money, and put it in the coffin at his funeral. When he died his friends came to the ceremony, and the Briton wrote a bank check for $10 and put it in the coffin. The American took a $10 bill out of his wallet and put it in the coffin, saying, "My friend, I'm sorry you are dead. Here's my gift." The Jew wrote a personal check for $30 and put it in the coffin, but he thought, "I need to have some cash too," so he took out the bank check and the $10 bill and left. The Jew was very smart; he knew that his personal check could never be cashed, but he certainly could spend the other $20!
On Fifth Avenue you can see many people proudly displaying their wealth, but that pride will not last. With the money we earn we are going to produce something that will last for a long time. You may not wear makeup, and sometimes you have very rough lips because you work hard, but that is your pride and your nobility. Now people treat us scornfully because we are Moonies, but ten years from now we will have a showdown. Have you thought how we will have changed in ten years from now and how much we can accomplish?
God will give to us material blessing
We have made God our prisoner and He has to come with us because no one else can volunteer to carry His burden as we do. At the same time, we are not asking God to give us anything; we are creating ourselves instead. Ultimately God will have to bless the Unification Church, but it is not our way of life to just wait for some blessing to come. When God's blessing comes, we will add our own sweat and fortune to make it bigger for the sake of the world. When you put money in the bank it earns interest, and in the game way, once God gives the blessing to us we will at lead add to it and pay interest.
I am like a big landlord who has given out contracts add premiums. Some recipients have wasted the entire premium by decreasing it, while others leave the premium there and add interest to enlarge it. Which would God favor? We are not going to decrease God's blessing by taking from it; we are going to enrich the premium by adding interest to it. In Japan our members sometimes sell handkerchiefs and there is a big controversy about it because when we sell handkerchiefs in the street, no department store has any handkerchiefs left; we have bought them all. The same thing happens when we sell flowers. When locusts pass through an area they eat every leaf in sight and they leave disaster behind. We will not create disaster but we will be like heavenly locusts when we take on a project..
In Korea I am known as a heretic in business. We own two titanium factories in Korea, which our movement bought ten years ago when no one else could make a profit from them. When we started in that business people thought I was completely crazy to try and enter the chemical industry, but now those factories are the most advanced of their kind in the nation. Not only did I revive those two bankrupt factories, I even created a more efficient way to manufacture titanium. Because we succeeded, this business is now a leading industry in Korea, and yesterday I sent a special telegram to congratulate all our factory workers.
The world has not yet discovered our kind of manufacturing process, and if we duplicate that process here in America, it will become a "heretic" in the chemical industry and companies like DuPont and Union Carbide will criticize me. You are already called heretics by the religious world; do you want to be heretics in the business world as well? I sometimes feel sorry that you are always being called Moonies, but whom do you resemble? You resemble God. God will give much material blessing to us because He knows we need it and will use it in the right way.
I am indebted to none
As a member of the Unification Church, you shouldn't be indebted to the Church but should make the Church indebted to you, becoming a productive person rather than a burden. I feel that desire myself. As an individual I don't want to be indebted to the Church at all. All the Korean leaders know very well that I am never indebted to the Church, but that the Church is indebted to me. I am not indebted to the United States at all. As a world citizen I am not going to be indebted either. Even to heaven I am not indebted. I will never pray to God for His assistance; instead, I pray, "Father I do not want to be indebted to You. I want to be productive for You instead. Go ahead and invest in me and You will receive a return. Other than this I'm not asking You to come down and help me."
That's the way I live and work, and that is the reason I have survived and prospered in this adverse and hostile world. I am now nearing the age of 60, but what would have happened if I had not been able to continue and had collapsed at the age of 30? Could we have seen this day of truth and had hope for the Kingdom of Heaven now? I was at the center of a really crucial situation, for the entire destiny of the world was hinged upon one man. What if I had given up at the age of 40 and sighed, "I have done my best, but it didn't work out too well. I give up"?
The world is truly crumbling and has lost hope, but at least the Unification Church can offer hope to the world. Suppose America comes against me so viciously that I decide to forget about America and relocate all our Church work somewhere else. What would happen to the future of America? Are you grateful that I am very patient and withstand all types of persecution?
As far as our destiny is concerned, I have been far more serious than you and have suffered more pain than you. You can't imagine the painful and thorny road I have walked, but the world thinks that I take advantage of young people and that they suffer for my selfish benefit, while I live in ease and luxury. Because you know that what they say is unfair, it makes you stronger and in the end it is a stimulus to draw us more tightly together as the Unification Church. Because I have taken the suffering path, you also follow that course and are willing to take pain. Because of this the Unification Church will never be weakened or perish.
Now government leaders are harassing me, but the day will come when the truth will be known once and for ill. Those who have called me a heretic and have mistreated me will have to bow down. We will create our own heavenly society and eventually our influence on the world will be such that these people have to come to us. That is my goal, but at the same time it is the common destiny of all of us together.
You are creating history
Shall we leap forward? I sometimes look at your behavior and activities and feel that this is not the kind of tradition I want to set. People think that Unification Church members are really live wires, but I don't see you that way because my standard is different. Each person has to straighten up while he is young, because once he is settled in a certain way of life it's difficult to change. Because you are young, your bones are flexible and can be straightened. Clod knows very well that it's difficult to change the ways of older people, and that's why God is sending many, many young people to the Unification Church. Can you imagine people 55 or 60 years old all sitting here listening to me? They would grumble. God is clever and knows our situation, and so He sends young people rather than old people.
Young people like the adventurous way of life and are eager to do the unusual; that's why you come. You want to do something revolutionary, like eating with chopsticks or with your fingers. American cooking is usually seasoned with sugar, but you want to have hot pepper and soy sauce. I am sometimes amazed to see you eating hot kimchi with chopsticks! Once you learn the real taste of kimchi, you miss not having it at meals. The literal translation of kimchi is "golden value." Kimchi has a mysterious taste because it is a mixture of many things-spiciness, hotness, saltiness and some bitterness. Once you acquire a taste for it, you will become a kimchi addict.
You think you are Americans, but you are not.
You look like Americans but you act differently and think differently, and therefore, you must work differently. What you are trying to do is actually what America has been dreaming of for a long time, but America gave up and decided that fulfillment was impossible. Americans have been searching for the ideal but haven't been able to find it. When they look at the Moonies, however, they find that Moonies are actually living it. Right now they don't know the value of the Moonies, but after they search all over the world for a better solution and can't find it, they will really see our value. They will be like ants or flies who are drawn to honey.
Right now your families aren't proud of you, but the time will come when all your relatives and even your hometowns will be proud to have one Moonie who grew up in their city. They will put up the flag of the Unification Church and towns everywhere will want to have one too. It will be an honor instead of a shame. I will see to it that this happens.
Most people think that the Moonies will go away in a short time, but we have all kinds of permanent dreams and hopes and we are still excited. There is the difference of heaven and earth between their point of view and ours. You are creating history and you are the controversy. Even though you got on the bandwagon of the Unification Church only a few months or a few years ago, the Unification Church itself has been forming for millions of years. God has developed all of history to come up with the Unification Church, but at the right time you happened to find this bandwagon and join it.
If you really know the value of the Unification Church then even losing a leg would be a small price to pay. Even if you lost an arm, you would still not regret having joined. This is the type of movement you are in. Of course, no one asks you to pay such a price, but why not use your two arms and two legs productively from early in the morning until late into the night? If you really understand the Unification Church, you can't help but be jubilant 24 hours a day.
There are many Japanese members here who have been here for a few years. Are you all tired or just beginning to work? Everything so far has been preparation. How will you get ahead of the Americans if your legs are so short? How about you Americans would you fall behind the Japanese? You are already quite a bit behind the Japanese. Are you Americans running. when the Japanese are sleeping? Are you Americans being influenced by the Japanese who are here, or are you giving them something?
I brought the Japanese here to increase our productivity, and in the future I would like to send Western members to Asia for pioneering. When you go to Asia, you will probably say, "You Asians must live like we Americans," but that won't work. You will be worse than the Japanese or Koreans in your commitment and productivity. Do you know how to kneel on the floor for hours and hours? When you go to Asia as a missionary you will probably insist that everyone sit on chairs Western-style so you can be comfortable' When I tell Americans to sit down, they end up practically lying down! There are many ways to sit down.
Without realizing it you have been well-trained by sitting and listening for hours and hours here at Belvedere. You have one arm for Western civilization and the other arm for Eastern civilization. You have to grab both and then make a turn. Will America make a turn and be the moving force to unite East and West? The Unification Church will make the world move and bring it together. That's why we are doing this. Do not ever think that your way of life is what everyone should follow. That kind of concept should be given up and we must all think how we can unite together in some new place entirely. In that respect, the Japanese are most suited for adaptability; they are very good at moving into another culture and adapting to it. Americans have a very difficult time, and Koreans are very stubborn and difficult too, so God needs a bridge and He has chosen the Japanese. God needs them very much and He loves them very much for that reason.
As you know, Japan is an island country which has a very small amount of territory. The Japanese government is always thinking about how to export about 50 million Japanese abroad to make more room. Imagine 130 million people in a small country like Japan! From the far north of Japan, to the southern tip, houses are all lined up together. No wonder the Japanese are so small! Who will educate the Japanese and make them worthy to go away from their country to the world? The Unification Church will educate them. The Japanese government recognizes that the Unification Church ideology perfectly fits the need of Japanese national policy.
Would you like to see me kicked out of America and welcomed by Japan? If that ever happened you would say, "Father, now I will go to Japan." You know that our Japanese members are essential here in America. They are all working very hard to learn English, but why aren't you learning Japanese?
We carry a common destiny
and burden of the world
We are all concerned with one thing: the fulfillment of our mission. We carry the common destiny and burden of the world and for this reason we need everyone. I sent out missionaries to over 100 nations, assigning one Japanese, one American and one German to each country. These three countries are really arrogant and have stiff national pride and different cultural backgrounds. Furthermore, thirty years ago they were enemies to each other. This is why I put the three representatives together and told them, "I will give you three years time to unite into one." It is an incredibly difficult thing I am asking of them.
Is it easy to make your mind and body unite into one? That alone is very difficult, and uniting a Japanese, German and American into one is incredibly difficult. The Japanese, American and German members fight, but then they get together in tears; then they fight again and then repent. I put them in an impossible situation, but no one can walk out because they want to stay in the Church. There is a hostile world pushing against all of them and in order to survive they have to stick together. I asked them to do this impossible task because if it is fulfilled well, then they can offer a model or prototype for the unity of all of mankind.
Witnessing is important, but more important is the training and discipline and especially the unity of the three missionaries. One college professor heard about my strategy and wondered why I sent out the three nationalities as one team to each nation. When he understood he was really inspired by my idea. When your brothers and sisters can unite, there's no excuse for you not to unite into one. Japan was America's enemy until 1945, but now Japanese have come to America and are giving of themselves in a sacrificial way to save this country. The reality of what we are actually doing here has far-reaching impact.
I want to ask the Japanese one question. Did you come here to wait and see the United States decline and be destroyed? The Japanese members don't cling to their concept of Japanese citizenship; they have forgotten they are Japanese and just think of themselves as heavenly citizens. They don't feel any different from United States' citizens. They feel at home in this country. They are not acting like the Soviet KGB agents who are looking for every opportunity to crush America. The significant thing is that the American government allows the KGB to carry on all kinds of activities freely while it scrutinizes every move of the Unification Church. It doesn't matter whether they understand or misunderstand, though, we will concentrate all our efforts on the fulfillment of our common destiny.
When you die and are elevated into the spirit world, the first question you will be asked is, "As a member of the Unification Church, have you done your task well? Have you fulfilled your mission and reached that common goal?" How much we each strive and toil over our goal while here on earth shall determine what kind of answer we can give in the spirit world.
Have you ever thought of yourself as a locomotive, pulling many people's lives which are dependent upon your success? When the load is heavy and you are struggling to pull it, you may sometimes slip on the rails. In that case you put sand on the rails to increase the friction, but even then you have to pull. After you pull the train up the hill it will start down, and if it goes too fast brakes will be needed. Do you have both pulling power and braking power as well? It's not easy. In order to become the kind of person who can respond quickly, you need to be disciplined and trained.
We need lots of money to invest and much manpower to invest, but above all, you have to invest all your effort and heart and soul. Money and man power alone will not do. This load is heavy and our burden is great and we have to give everything for the task. This group will expand to include a million people here in America, and when someday the entire American population has become Moonies like you, do you think that then communism will be a problem? You will be able to blow it away. There is nothing we cannot solve in our world, and that gigantic revolution is spreading out from here.
Sometimes I will test you, but will you ever release the handle you are clinging to? Sometimes the handle might crack, but that's OK. You never know; sometime when you are sleeping at night and have let go of the handle, I will grab it. In order to safeguard yourself you have to chain the handle onto yourself so that no one can pull you away. Are you that cautious and serious? Or are you just wishy-washy and halfway committed?
Sometimes I see a freight train with three or even five locomotives pulling more than 100 freight cars. I worry about the connection in the middle because even though the engines have enough power, a connection might be loose somewhere. Each one of you is like an engine, with hundreds of thousands of people lined up behind you, and each link has to be strong so that you can pull everybody. You have to take care that in the middle of the line no link will break. Have you thought about it? As the engine, you should take care of the whole train. Can you take care of yourself as well as the whole train?
You don't necessarily have to have a giant body to have a concentration of power. Even if you have a small body, your total concentration is what can make you strong. One strong man can change 1,000 people, but it is very difficult to get 1,000 people behind you so that you can pull them. The best thing you can do is to make each one of them a separate engine and once each one of them is vibrating, you won't have to pull them because they will do it themselves. You know I am already a locomotive, but are each one of you engines, at least halfway? You are engines under construction, right? I want to make you into engines, but there is much trimming to be done and corners to be straightened out.
The ultimate goal is liberation of the world and of God. From that point the love of God will begin flowing to mankind. God is perspiring heavily, working so hard day and night in His concentration on the mission, that He has no time to give out love. Under those circumstances, God cannot relax. God's mission has to be consummated; He has to be liberated so that He can freely give out love. When God can say that His mission is finally done, with whom would He like to share His love? Would God chase you Unification Church members away because you are a mixture of all different colors and languages? If God invites the Unification Church to His celebration, we will say, "No. Let everyone else have a good time. We just want to sit down." God will exclaim, what are you talking about? You are the masters of the celebration!" That's our goal.
The ultimate goal is the love of God. We are forging ahead toward the world of the love of God, but first we have to liberate the world and liberate God's sorrow. This is not just theory or logic; this is reality and we are doing it now, but it's not going to be easy. Since you are already here and the die is cast, would you want to finish it? Don't ever think that you just happened to join the Unification Church. You were born for this destiny and ultimately you have no other choice. Your parents were the instruments God used to give you birth, while He was anticipating the time when you could join this destiny. Since you were born to be Unification Church members to begin with, what is there to complain about? Being born in the white race was this person's destiny, and this black brother was destined to be born black. You cannot change these things. In exactly the same way, all of you were born to be Moonies. It's your destiny.
Once you can accept that destiny, nothing else matters. You don't have to worry or think about changing it because you know it won't work. You are already here so all you have to do is go forward. You have a burden to carry; are you willing and happy to carry it? If you cannot fulfill that burden while living then you must bear it even after your death because it is your destiny and you cannot evade it. But fulfilling the same amount of work after death takes thousands of times more energy than while in the flesh.
While you are young I want you to be proud of being a member of the Unification Church. You can be glad to have more time to invest in fulfilling this mission and creating the tradition for the future rather than if you were to join at the age of 50 or 60. You are laying the foundation of tradition for the young people to come. At the age of thirty, in the prime of life, you are burning with zeal for the mission. In the Unification Church we normally start our family life after the age of thirty because young people must lay the cornerstone and tradition.
No matter what the people say or how hard the nation comes against us, we will never stop. We know what direction to take and what tradition we are going to lay. We will create a national tradition and a world tradition. Our champion for the tradition on the individual, tribal, national, worldwide, universal and cosmic levels is you, and no one can change your position. In order to lay a firm foundation you have to pour concrete deep and solid. For the same reason, we work under adverse conditions and suffer pain. Under those conditions you can lay a foundation which no one can alter. That will be the best tradition and you are born for that.
When I look back at my entire life, one word describes it very well: tragic. I lived a tragic, miserable life. Yet because of that, I laid the best possible tradition for God. That suffering made me strive forward harder and dig a deeper foundation. Because of that background, I have a lot to say; there is a lot to weep over and talk about and it has all become an asset for me. When I die, no matter how small or vague their connection, people will be proud to say they are connected to me because I gave my entire life to build the tradition for the resurrection of the future. Man's hope rests completely upon my tradition, and all mankind will have to acknowledge my tradition in the future.
You say "True Parents," but you must do it with a true heart and with a sense of high honor. When I give my burden to you, I want you to tackle it with greater stamina than I, making greater effort than I did. That's the kind of men and women I want to create now. If I cannot achieve this task, the whole foundation will be shaken. The important thing is how we can transform all you young people into such champions in the shortest possible time.
Whether you like it or not we have to do it because this is our destiny. If you have the capacity to take it, I will do anything, even force you to do it. The most important thing is the end result. I have a feeling of urgency and emergency which people have no way to understand. In order to make them understand, the entire spirit world must be mobilized. If I really push you out ruthlessly then all kinds of opposition will come. I am not yet pressing you so hard, but still people are saying all kinds of things to me. If I push you harder then what kind of criticism will come.
God knows this situation and He mobilized the entire spirit world to come down and make the world ready. The spirit world will come in contact with you through your dreams and prayers because those in spirit world want to help you. It is a precious thing that the entire spirit world is supporting you in your three-year campaign. This is a most critical three years. If you mobilize the entire spirit world for your earthly task but you fail, it will have far greater consequences than just trouble on earth. That is the serious position in which you are standing.
For seven years don't look any place else, but just be crazy about your mission, giving single-minded devotion. Do you want to do it? If you go, you will become victorious, but if you just give up, you will become a miserable failure. Those who want to pledge to follow this destiny and succeed in the task, no matter how difficult, raise your hands please. Thank you. God bless you.
