Federation for World Peace
Founder's Address
Third World Peace Conference
Seoul, Korea
August 22-24, 1995
Honored Chairman; distinguished former and current heads of state and government, ladies and gentlemen.
At the opening of the Third World Peace Conference today, I would like to express my deepest respect to you for coming to this historic event. It is my great pleasure that I have this opportunity to express my beliefs regarding true world peace. These are matters of greater concern than ever before to this Third World Peace Conference.
I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to you who have traveled from afar wishing to become makers of true world peace to enable this magnificent conference to be held.
As members of the Federation for World Peace, I would like to share with you my activities these past few months. Recognizing that God has a will for Latin America, I embarked on an ambitious tour of 23 nations in South America, the Andean nations, the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico. In each nation, I shared my beliefs with the key leaders, and in eight of these nations I had the unique opportunity to privately meet the heads of state to discuss matters related to world peace. The topic of my talk was "True Family and I."
While traveling around the continent -- east and west, and north and south -- I meditated and prayed about this special part of the world. I thought about what the 30 nations that make up Latin American must do to achieve true peace and establish an ideal society.
Clearly the continent has stunning and rich potential. There are seemingly unlimited resources and human energies hardly tapped. It is a rich and peaceful natural paradise of grand mountains and unspoiled nature. The mountains and jungles harken back to the original state of creation, the Garden of Eden.
I thought about the glory-filled days of Latin America that lie ahead in the 21st Century. At each opportunity, I gave a single piece of advice to the leaders. I said, "Please do not follow in the footsteps of the developed nations. Do not blindly repeat the errors committed by developed countries in their rush to harness their energies in the name of progress."
Why did I give this advice? It is because I see a grim and dark future for already developed countries. It is because the so-called developed countries do not have the happiness that mankind has wanted from the inception of mankind.
Let us talk about the United States for a moment. For the last 25 years, I have done my utmost to establish the structure for world peace. Yet despite my efforts, I am a person who has suffered America's persecution, while trying to guide America into the right direction.
In the 1960's when I first visited this land of opportunity, it seemed that the whole world wanted to be like America. We deeply admired the life depicted on such television shows as "Little House on the Prairie." The sounds of hymns were heard in all corners of the country on Sundays! Superman, as an apostle of justice, was a symbol of the righteous American spirit, and city streets were spotless, in good order and beautiful. The whole world looked at America with eyes of envy in those days.
Yet if we look at America today, 30 years later, what do we see? It is a nation in decay. Difficult and insoluble problems have piled up. Moral corruption and rising violent crime are most disturbing. Murder, drugs, divorce, child abuse, kidnapping and teenage pregnancy -- all of these emanate from the America of today. As a person who loves this nation, I am deeply hurt by what I see.
Yet this phenomenon is not limited just to one single nation. All of the developed countries at the end of the 20th century are struggling with many of the same problems.
What is the reason? It is because the developed nations of the world have fallen into a pit of materialism and national selfishness.
Since the mind and spirit are controlled by our obsession for material wealth, our true essence as human beings has become a slave of our own desires. The result is a collapse of true love. Although there is an abundance of material wealth and our cities are lined with skyscrapers, the mind of mankind has dried up like a desert and the life of mankind has become desolate because the oasis of true love cannot be found. In addition, the absence of true love is the breeding ground for selfishness and the most serious victim of this attitude is the creation and environment.
One of the themes of this peace conference is the restoration of the environment. Many of our resources have been abused and damaged like the water and air. Even the ozone layer that protects our planet has been affected by the misuse of natural resources. If this trend continues, we will reach a stage where the earth cannot avoid self- destruction because of the so-called benefits from materialistic civilization.
The most serious among all the damages, however, has been the negative effects upon and destruction of the family as a basic building block for the nation. The family is the cell of society. If each of tens of trillions of cells in our body is healthy, then the body is likewise healthy. Conversely, if the cells are weakened and destroyed, then the whole body can become weak and eventually may stop functioning. Therefore, destruction of the true family system on this earth means the destruction of all humankind may not be far off. Our society is running toward a destination directly opposite to what was originally designed and created by God.
The twenty-first century is inevitably a time to return to the original world of God's will. A civilization with the spirit and mind as master is coming soon. The 21st century is only five years from now. It is my sincere wish that the developing countries do not follow in the footsteps of the so-called developed countries, but rather they should take the developed countries' experience as a lesson, and directly move into the world where spirit and mind become master instead of falling into a pit of national-centered materialism. This is the very content that I emphasized and repeated during my speaking tour to South America.
Now, we have reached a time when the world cannot avoid a great change. In religious terms, we can say that we have reached "the Last Days" of humankind. But, the last days I refer to does not mean darkness and destruction. From God, the Creator's point of view, the Last Days are the end of the wrong world -- the fallen, selfish world -- and it will be followed immediately by the founding of the correct and true world -- the original world of God's creation. Therefore, the Last Days are the wish as well as the hope for us all.
Then, with what can we achieve this historic conversion from the materialistic civilization to a spiritual civilization? Truth is called light. The rod to liberate the dark night is the dawn's morning sunlight. That sun of historic conversion is rising towards the center of the sky. We refer to this as the Unification Principle and the great principle of true love.
Upon the call of God, I came to explore the great principle of the universe. As I discovered through prayer and study, I realized that it was the great truth mankind has been seeking throughout history as well as the great principle upon which all mankind can return to true love and consummate true world peace.
As a physician needs to diagnose the precise cause of an illness in order to cure the patient, the Principle clearly identifies why today's human society fell into misery and the course of the fall of mankind that led to the unprincipled world that we struggle with everyday. Once the cause is diagnosed, the prescription can be applied. For the last 40 years, I have traveled the globe with this prescription and devoted myself to spreading it clearly to the world.
I want to highlight today to this august gathering some of these great Principles. But, in a sense, it is like licking the peel of watermelon, and it is not possible for you to grasp in depth the philosophical implications so quickly. One needs to sincerely study the Unification Principle with time and prayer. If we do indeed live for eternity, then clearly our priorities in life need to be reorganized.
The first great Principle is that God is a living God, and He is the parent of humankind. That is to say that the relationship between God and humanity is that of Father and children. This is the first truth that God revealed to me.
Secondly, God's original personality is true love, and He created all things and humankind to perfect His true love. The human race is therefore the object-being of God. God wants to unconditionally pour unlimited true love into the hearts of His children.
Thirdly, God, the invisible Parent, established True Parents as His substantial entity on the earth. He tries to save the world through the True Parents. Humankind can be eternally restored by regaining true love, true life and true lineage in perfect unity with the ideals of the True Parents.
Amazingly, we are now living in the era of True Parents. There has never been and will never be a time of this magnitude of blessing in the history of human existence. This enables us to be called the lucky generation born with heavenly fortune.
Two days from now, on August 25, Mrs. Moon and I will officiate at an international wedding ceremony for 360,000 couples here in Seoul.
I call this ceremony a "true ceremony for world peace." As I stated earlier, the reason there is no true world peace today lies in the breakdown of the family structure. A family which is not united with the true love of God may not be called a family of true love.
This holy wedding ceremony, which will be simultaneously conducted in 160 nations via satellite, is a ceremony that will vertically connect humankind into true love with the True Parents -- the substantial being of God, the invisible Parents. This is also a ceremony locking into horizontal brotherhood the participants of this ceremony as true brothers and sisters in front of True Parents, transcending territorial boundaries, races and religions.
This is a great transformation ceremony for humankind, restoring God's true love, true life and true blood lineage which were lost due to the fall of the first human ancestors, Adam and Eve.
This is accordingly a moment of great excitement that mankind, which has been suffering under the reign and domain of Satan for 6,000 biblical years, will be set free and liberated for the first time. It is a ceremony of great joy which will see the shackles break loose and humanity returned to the liberated heaven and earth of God's true love and to chant Hosanna! This ceremony is possible at this time because of the appearance and manifestation of True Parents.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is also a ceremony in which man and woman bound in marriage before God, can vow purity and fidelity to one other. The destruction of the true family means the destruction of chastity. Since immoral love was the cause of the fall of our ancestors, then we who are the descendants became the victims of the same immoral, promiscuous love. This is the world phenomenon of today manifested in free sex, homosexual love, and decadent love relationships. The promiscuity of today's world is reminiscent of the animal kingdom.
The time has come for humankind to return to the world of God's original purity and chaste love by completely liberating fallen mankind from its false ancestors. The transformers who liberate this world are the True Parents.
The Bride will pledge the love of chastity to her bridegroom as her subject, recognizing him as God's son who represents all men of the world and the substantial being of True Parents. The Bridegroom will pledge all the love of chastity to his bride, accepting her as God's daughter representing all women of the world and the feminine incarnation of the True Parents.
Could a dreadful disease like AIDS penetrate into the husband and wife relationship united in this way? Not likely. AIDS is a test of the Last Days examining the purity and fidelity of humankind. Yet modern society tries to prevent AIDS through the use of condoms and to cure it through the development of new medicines, but without any relation to the will of God. AIDS is not a problem that can be solved in that manner. Its solution lies only in the restoration of morality as well as the restoration of true love. A Harvard University institute recently issued a research report that by the year 2010, AIDS will have affected about one billion people worldwide. This is staggering number threatens the very existence of the human race.
AIDS can be solved only when we return to the True Love desired by God. That is love of purity and fidelity between man and woman. When I speak of fidelity, I do not mean the traditional fidelity enforced only upon women. I refer to the simultaneous purity and fidelity of men and women together based on the principle of God, which is the ideal of one man for one woman, that provides that man and woman protect the sanctity and holiness of the act of love, not engage in pre-marital relations, and, after being blessed with their ideal counterparts, husband and wife love one another infinitely and eternally as subject and object.
Today, I want to stress purity and fidelity more for men than women. It is not an overstatement to say that the damage caused by men who indulge in uncontrolled animal-like love become the very cause of the destruction of humankind's chance for happiness.
It is not possible in today's decadent world for the power of mankind by himself to return to the original order of True Love as desired by God. What enables this is the power of God, and this power of God is manifested by the advent of the True Parents on earth.
The True Parents of mankind came to the earth to ignite the fire for the revolution of true love. This order of true love cannot be established without a revolutionary procedure. This revolutionary bonfire of True Love is now bursting into flames.
The international holy wedding is indeed the celebration raising the flames of a revolution of True Love and opens the opportunity for the re-creation of a restored world.
The event on August 25th comprises 360,000 couples, but when this spreads to 3,600,000 couples, to 36 million couples, to 360 million couples, and to 3.6 billion couples, AIDS will be eradicated from human society and the world of pure love where God and man become one will be realized. This is not just a dream. The implementation of God's Providence for the Heavenly Kingdom on the Earth is an inevitable future because it is not man's work, but God's.
Respected leaders, would you like to receive God's blessing? In order to receive it, you should first of all establish a personality of united mind and body centered on God's True Love. Then, as husband and wife, you should be absolutely united centered on God's True Love. When the number of families where children become totally one with their parents, centered on God, and cover the world, then our Father who art in Heaven can come down to live on this earth.
Man wants to join his loved one even if she is living on an isolated rural land or poverty-stricken area. That is the nature of a subject. It wants to live together with its beloved object. As we want to live in a place with our loved ones, likewise God wants to live in the place where His sons and daughters reside. That is where He can love them most. In that sense, even a slum will change into a heaven.
This international holy wedding is a ceremony to completely wash away all the corrupted things that began from false parents -- false love, false life, false blood lineage -- because of false love. It is also a ceremony by which Mrs. Moon and I, as the True Parents of humankind centered on God, have each couple grafted into the seed of true love, the seed of true life, and the seed of true blood lineage, that has perfected the unity of God and man.
In order to restore the family that bases its relationship on false love, false life, and false blood lineage caused by the fall, we need a Blessed wedding for all the international families to participate, and through which the great blessing of heaven may be passed on to them.
In this way, we will establish the blood lineage passed through God and True Parents at the levels transcending nations, races and religions. We can then proclaim true principles of parents -- husband and wife -- and others by establishing the great heavenly families centered on God, initiate the heartistic civilization, and then complete the liberated Heavenly Kingdom on earth. This is the central focus of my work, and the purpose of the Unification Movement.
Being born of true love, living in true love, and entering into the Heavenly Kingdom with complete true love is the original ideal of humankind as created by God. And now that we can make it ours and fully implement it at this time, how can we not call it the day of great hope for all humanity?
Today, 20th century science has reduced the world to a small global village. Humankind is the global family living in this global village. There should never have existed borders, different races and religions, but only the ideal world of true love united between God and man. I want you to be reminded that true world peace is to return to the original world of God's creation.
Respected ladies and gentlemen, and participants in the Third World Peace Conference, I sincerely wish that you become the true apostles of peace. I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to you, precious colleagues and contributors to world peace.
May God bless you and our family.
Thank you.
