ORDER NUMBER
76-12-01
REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON
SPEAKS ON
SELF REFLECTION
December 1, 1976
Belvedere, New York
Translator -- Mrs. Won Pok Choi
Today is the first day of December, 1976. We have only one month or 31
days left and we will be entering a new year. This year is the culmination
of providential history, and we are crossing over the crest of the
history of providence. Back in Korea, even before coming to the United
States, I contemplated my having to cross over the crest of providential
history here in America. I feel that we are now crossing over that crest;
we are on that summit. Now the question is how to go on from this point.
When I look back at the 30 odd year history of the Unification Church,
I very much doubt that we have gone a straight course. In Korea, Japan,
and the Western world, we have had members from many nationalities and
races who have gone a zigzag path. When I reflect on those 30 years of
Unification history, I recall many people who just touched our movement
and fell away. Among them were people guided to our movement by spirit
world. They were taught by the spirit world and were meant to find the
fruit of their past here, but somehow they fell away.
When I think of them, I realize how difficult the path of our Unification
Church is because those people were determined, devoted people, who
were resolved to go this way. When I think that those unforgettable
figures fell away, I have to reflect upon them, and I also reflect upon
the whole of our movement at this time. I remember well that when they
entered this movement, they thought that it was the true way and that
they would dedicate their lives to it. I am sure that upon falling away
they searched for another movement of higher dimension, but not having
been able to find one, they are now wandering in darkness.
Those who have gone away
Among them were young people who wanted to go back to school, to go back
and restore their sweethearts, or to go back to a worldly career. Recently
I hear from those people that they long for our movement and are anxious
to return. Having gone through so many years outside our movement,
they are disillusioned more than ever, but they are too ashamed to return.
I am going to describe the most miserable of those people, both young
and old, who have fallen away. They are those who were once the most
exemplary persons in our movement. All the members envied them and made
it their goal to become like those people. Because of their ardor and
exemplary conduct they were like the light of the movement. But they
fell away and are now groping in darkness. While in the movement they
thought highly of our theology and their goal was to practice what the
Divine Principle teaches. They had left everything secular and were
wholeheartedly devoted but they fell away.
When those people who have turned their backs on our movement look back
at their past days here, their shame makes it impossible for them to
come back. That is the most miserable feeling of all. They thought that
in the outside world they would find a place of higher dimension and
greater warmth of love. Since they could not find any such place, however,
they have lost hope and think back to their days in our movement and say,
"Because of that person and because of this and that I had to leave." They
want to justify themselves. They think they have left, but somewhere in
their hearts the Principle and our way of life are so deeply implanted
that they cannot ignore them. They confess that when they think of our
movement they suffer loneliness and despair. They long for the days when
they took everything for granted in our movement.
Right now you people do not feel that. You take everything for granted
and think the day to day routine in our movement is the natural way. You
do not feel the comparison between your life here and their lives in
the outside world. But if you could put yourselves in the position you
would be able to cherish the blessedness of being here. I know there is
a group of ex-members getting together and talking about our movement
because they find themselves unable to belong to other associations or
churches. The established churches are open, waiting with outstretched
arms for them to come back, but somehow they cannot go to them.
Here too, I open my church door wide, but they cannot stand the shame of
meeting early members who are now much more advanced than they. They are
preoccupied with thinking, "The church members might think ill of me;
Father will wonder about me." These thoughts torture them. Even though
we would welcome them with warm hearts as usual, they would not receive
it that way. We would console their hearts and try to make them at ease
in our movement, but still they would feel that deep in our hearts we
resent them. Some may try to start all over again and go along the road
of our movement, but they would imagine skeptical eyes all around them.
They would find that there are already many blessed couples and that
all these dedicated members are so spiritually advanced. Compared to
them they would feel worthless and perhaps they could not quite overcome
those ordeals. Some of them think of coming here to the United States or
any country other than Korea since the members here might not know that
they had once fallen away. Even though they do this, they may find older
Korean members here, as well as Japanese and European members. When I
think of those people I urge you to feel the blessedness of being in our
movement. Put yourselves in their position, and then build a stronghold
in your own minds so that you will not fall away.
We can say that if you leave, there is no place in the whole world where
it will be easy for you to settle because not only this world but also
the spirit world will know that you have left the Unification Church. The
reason I am telling you this is because once you fail in our movement,
not only this world but the whole spirit world will recognize you. It
will be very difficult to escape that situation. You will actually feel
like you are in prison.
For instance, imagine you were a young man full of hope and desire,
but you failed at one point and were put in prison. Every moment in
the prison cell would be filled with suffering as you contemplated your
past. You could never forget your failure. You would think, "If I had not
done this, I would not be in prison." Repentance and regret would torture
you constantly. You would say, "I should have done this and this to
obtain my goal in a decent way, and then I could have been successful. But
because of my one failure I am now in prison being tortured like this." in
a self-centered way; they are always proud of their past.
Now let me talk about you who are still in our movement. You are still
here going towards the goal, but when you look back into your own past,
maybe 5 or 10 years or more in this movement, you ask yourselves, "What
have I done during those years?" You know only too well how the Divine
Principle is teaching you to do certain things, but you have not been
able to put them into practice.
If your history in the movement is longer than most members', when
you reflect on yourself the torture will be greater. You do not grow
spiritually by taking everything for granted, just repeating the same
things every day. Maybe you do not have a burning desire or ambition to
carry out your mission; maybe you are just lukewarm. If you go on like
this for 10 years or more, when you look back into your past, then you
will feel much repentance and regret.
We also see another kind of person in our movement. These people
always struggle to go ahead of others. On the road they fight hard and
take responsibility on their shoulders. Among those there are also two
types. Some are proud of themselves, and looking back they judge others
and say, "I am doing this for those people; what are they doing?" But
there is still one more kind of person. They do their utmost yet still
are ashamed of not being able to do more. They think, "What has our
Father gone through? I can't copy him; I can't follow him closely enough."
Out of all those types of people, I find that the only ones who survive
to the end are the people who always do their utmost and then still think
they are far from being dedicated. They struggle hard, always with self
reflection, always evaluating themselves.
Four types of members
If I reiterate, there are four types of people. First, there are those who
have already fallen away. Second, there are those who are in the movement,
but who are still really somewhere between the outside world and the
movement, who just go through the everyday routine, taking everything
for granted. The third kind are in the vanguard and struggle hard, but
in a self-centered way; they are always proud of themselves for having
accomplished so much. Finally there is the fourth kind, who struggle
harder than anyone else in the movement, but still feel that their lives
fall short of the standard. They repent and reflect and re-evaluate
themselves all the way through. Both God and I would choose the last type.
Let us think more about the fourth type. They are the people who really
know the path of restoration. They know that on the path of restoration
they have to go through the individual level, then the family, clan,
tribal, national and worldwide levels. Only then can they reach the
spirit world and God. They know they have to go through a more and more
difficult way all the time because the levels get broader and higher,
but they are determined.
For instance, members in Korea always have to meditate on how to go
over the worldwide level of things while still in Korea. If not in a
substantial way, they must at least think of crossing over the worldwide
level in a symbolic way. So even though they are in Korea the whole time,
whatever they do they are doing for the people of the whole world. Those
kinds of people always pray hard and go the sacrificial way for the sake
of other people.
The same thing applies to you here. You know you are dedicated to our
movement, but there are four types of people here and from now on your
way in the Principle will count. You must determine what kind of people
you are going to be. I hope you are determined not to fall away because
you are vulnerable to the temptation of the outside world if you remain
lukewarm.
The year 1976 in our movement has been an historical year. Starting from
1974 we have gone through the successes at Madison Square Garden, Yankee
Stadium and Washington Monument. We are excited and proud of ourselves,
but now when we look back to those events we must meditate on what those
successes brought us.
Do you really feel to the bone that our Washington Monument success
brought us great change for the better? There is no question that those
events have been the most successful, not only in the history of the
Unification Church but in my own history. Have you really felt that to
the bone? If you really have, then you must have been very dedicated to
making those events successful even at the risk of your lives, otherwise
you could not feel like that. Did you really feel, "Oh, if I don't work
harder, if it should be a failure, how will it affect our movement?" Were
you desperate enough to think of that as a life-and-death event?
Can you be proud before God?
Among those who say yes, I know there are also many types of
people. Several hundred people are here and perhaps several hundred
kinds of people. Perhaps you really did your best, thinking that in
the sight of God, in the sight of all humanity this historical event
could be fatal, that if you failed there would be damage to the whole
providential history. If you were that desperate, then I am proud of
you. Then you could think of it as your own success as well as God's
success and the success of the True Parents. Are you confident that you
can go before God and say, "I did my best for Washington Monument. I'm
a victor. You can be proud of me God!" Can you say that?
Think of things from the standpoint of God: He has been struggling hard
all through 6,000 Biblical years, wanting to have His people win over
the satanic world. How anxious He must have been to have His people win
over Satan, and how happy God must be over our victory. Maybe there was a
boundary line and God saw us cross over that line to occupy another sphere
of life. That kind of moment must exist in the providential history.
If that line was the Washington Monument Rally, what would have
happened? At that moment the gravest person must have been God. He was
completely serious. The True Parents also knew that this was the summit,
that we had to go over that line in order to make our success really
solid. Without your knowing it I was so totally serious. Isn't it natural
that I was far more serious than you? And I know that God was even far
more serious than I was.
When I look at you from this viewpoint, you do not seem as serious as
I was or as God was. Then, how can you be proud of yourselves? Before
whom would you want to boast-before your brothers and sisters or your
friends, before the governors and presidents and kings of countries,
before God? The point at which God can be proud of His people is so
high. If you have not reached that point, how can you be proud of
yourselves before God?
Not being as serious as I was, can you really be proud of yourselves
before God? Do you really understand what I mean? The reason I am
telling you this is that you must reflect upon what kind of people
you are now after the Washington Monument Rally. Are you lax and did
you settle down into a routine again, or are you carrying forward that
excitement, spurring yourselves to move ahead? I want you to have more
than enough power to break through any obstacles which lie ahead, but
you look lax and blank. I want you to be re-awakened to the fact that
1976 is the most difficult, most eventful and most meaningful year in
the whole history of the providence. Having gone up and up the slope,
we will soon conclude this year. If this is the summit then you cannot go
higher, and somehow you have to descend. Once you cross over the summit,
you can see many kinds of people. Some are just wandering about, but
some are dashing forward in a certain direction.
Somehow I find people lax now after Washington Monument. We must be
very alert upon entering the last month of the year, not in complete
relaxation. If you really understood that you are before God, if you
understood that you are before the True Parents, how could you be lax? Who
knows, this moment may be the only moment that you can meet with God;
would you want to let it slip past? If you doze off then the person
who is to be your mate, the love of your life, may just pass by without
noticing you.
We can see roughly three types of people here. Some have just barely
managed to come and think that their just being here is sufficient,
so they doze off easily. Others struggle hard to listen, but after a
few moments they go blank. Finally some listen with keen attention and
are ready to carry out whatever I say.
There are ups and downs and successes and failures in your life. But
when do the failures come? You must understand this. Right after some
excitement, right after a success you tend to become lax. It is at that
very moment that Satan will attack and you will fail. Let us think about
ourselves. When we first began this kind of meeting you were all excited
and enthusiastic to listen to me, and you kept your eyes wide open all
the way through. But as time went by these meetings became routine and
now you always take them for granted.
Recently I have been thinking of shipping all the members on the East
coast to the West coast and of bringing those people who have been missing
me to New York. Some 80 Japanese members left for Japan and now they
are writing to me, saying, " When I was in the United States we could
at least come to see you every Sunday morning. Now we miss your talks;
we miss seeing you, and we miss our brothers and sisters." In my mind I
ask them, "When you were here, were you like that?" If they had worked
with that zeal and enthusiasm all the way through then I would not have
sent them back. If they had been resolved to carry out whatever I told
them to do, somehow the way would have opened for them to stay here.
We can safely say that everyone needs training. Somehow suffering
is necessary and struggling hard is the way to train and discipline
yourselves. Do you think God is not particular about some things, that
He likes just anything? What kind of people do you think God will love?
People who are not dedicated, far from being perfect? I am very serious
to teach you God's message, and I want to remold you into perfect
people. Consequently I like those people who struggle harder than other
people. That is very natural isn't it?
Sometimes I see members 3 or 5 years old in the movement taking things
for granted, and then there are newcomers whose bright eyes are wide
open to see me and to absorb everything. What kind of people would I be
drawn to? Suppose only older members are in front but in the rear is one
newcomer who is here for the first time, and he is all alert, saying,
"Oh, that's Reverend Moon! Oh, how blessed I am to hear him." Which one
would God be drawn to?
You have been hearing so many precious things from me and have not
been putting them into practice. In that sense you are just thieves,
stealing something precious and never using it or multiplying it. That
is why the Bible says, "The kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and
men of violence will take it by force." That means those who struggle
hard will win it. Those who are apt to doze off should sit where it
is cold. Even though they may have come earlier than other people, if
they doze off, what good is it? If I see the same person doze off three
times or more then it is not erased from my memory, and at the time of
blessing I remember, "Oh, this is the girl who was dozing off all the
time! " Would you want to have that kind of image planted in my mind?
Dozing off is one thing, but there are many more things God would hate
to see in you; for instance, some members stay behind while others go
out witnessing. Your attitude and spirituality in witnessing is being
evaluated by God. Don't you see that what you have done here will be
recorded and you will not be able to escape it when you are in spirit
world?
Can you claim to be entitled to heaven? If you argue that you should be
able to enter the kingdom, then with one press of the button your past
history will be seen. Maybe you could not bear to look at it because
you will have nothing to say against it. You are making your own record,
your own history. You may sometimes think that what you are doing is not
being noticed, but look at nature-the sun is always shining upon you,
making you conspicuous in the sight of humanity.
My topic this morning is "Self Reflection." Recently I have been
meditating and praying, and I found the spiritual atmosphere in our church
these days is not quite what it should be. We cannot let these New York
members go on like this. Instead of shifting all these members to the
West coast and those on the West coast to the East coast, I shifted their
leaders. I meant to have them live in a better way. Our motto should be,
"Let's struggle harder than at Washington Monument." If you are prepared
with that attitude, raise your hand.
However, the result of your work in New York is not too good I'm
afraid. After Washington Monument you are back in New York, but
is your spiritual standard ascending or descending? Before coming
here this morning I already sensed the spiritual atmosphere, among
you. Whenever I stand before you, I am drawn to you if your spiritual
standard is high, and as I walk here my legs are very light. But if the
atmosphere is the other way around, my legs are heavy, and I feel so low
spiritually. Sometimes, meditating on what to say, I become confused,
and without your knowing it I struggle hard. When I speak, you fill
the vessels which you have created of yourselves-round, crooked and of
every shape.
If a situation like we have now continues for 3 weeks in succession then
a great problem will arise. We cannot go on like this. I want Dr. Bergman
to alert you, and Mr. Kamiyama to really discipline you. If you conclude
1976 this way, we will not have brought the year into fruition. We must
restore the excitement and zeal which we poured into the Washington Rally.
We have another summit to cross
We won successes in Madison Square Garden, Yankee Stadium, Washington
Monument, and a few minutes ago David Kim said we won a great success
at the Science Conference. What is the use of it if you are lax like
this after the success? We are still traveling on the road toward the
final success. We still have another summit to cross over. Where did
you say we were going after Washington Monument? Is it any simple thing
for us to go to Moscow? It means that you will have to win over the
communists. Without your knowing it there are many communists trying
to undermine our movement; therefore we must be fiercer and stronger
than they.
You must be able to clear yourselves of all your negative feelings
and downcast spiritual atmosphere and stand again in the face of
difficulties. Without spurring yourselves forward you will be vulnerable
to temptations from the outside. You must have more hope and more zeal
for the future.
When I look at the future of America, I see dark clouds hovering over
this nation. Who will break through this stalemate? We are the ones to do
that, but with a spiritual attitude like this you cannot carry out that
mission. We must put you in training again before beginning anew. If
you see any member here whom you think cannot be challenged to this,
they can even be sent to some other center.
This is the hour of self reflection and I have named four types of people
from the past in our movement. Those who have fallen away were those who
did not have their spirits alert all the time. I know that many young
members here are thinking of getting blessed. Somewhere in the next year
there may be a blessing and you are all preoccupied with that. Which
of the two is more valuable, the whole world or your blessing? When you
think of things in a self-centered way you have nothing to do with the
whole of humanity. We are in a life and death battle against the whole
nation. The whole nation is coming against us, and only after winning
that battle can we contemplate the blessing. There is a law about being
blessed, and only after going a certain course of indemnity are you
qualified. Some of the couples have started their married life, but if
they do not meet the standard of the blessing, their descendants will
be faced with troubles. Being blessed is no simple matter.
I am having the national leaders make a list of those who were already
married when they came to the movement. If I bless them they may be
happy, but 1 have to shoulder the indemnity for them. After I bless them,
can they live a better married life than they used to in the outside
world? That is the question. But again I must tell you that there is a
more important thing than blessing.
What is our goal up to the year 1978? We must win 30,000 members. Do
you think it is an easy goal? If you fail to reach that goal by then,
I may have to leave this country. How much is 30,000 compared to the
whole population of the United States? 1/7,000th. After winning 30,000
members we will have won only I out of every 7,000 Americans! It is most
extraordinary thinking when I say that I can turn this country upside
down with 30,000 members.
Would I person be able to influence 7,000 people? We must make it
possible and it is a tremendously difficult job, I know. That is the
least possible foundation on which I can make a miracle happen here. In
the ordinary sense would that be possible at all? When you think of that,
how anxious you should be to win members! How many years do we have left
until 1978? 1 want you to be really serious.
Upon leaving Japan, I ordered the Japanese members to win a certain number
of members. Not having reached that standard, they are now going through
much, much difficulty. If they had won that number of members, somehow I
could have managed to have them turn Japan upside down. How many members
have each of you brought since coming to the movement? Those who have
brought more than 5 members, hold up your hands. How many years have you
been in the movement? If you are 4 years old in the movement and have
brought only 5 members is not acceptable; our standard is 1 person per
month. Why did we set that as our goal?
Your personal course
In the Principle the number 7 is very important. We have to go through
7 stages or 7 years. In our movement we have to go through at least a
7-year course. We talk about 3 years of public ministry, but unless I
recognize that period, you will not have finished it successfully. If
we multiply 3 by 2 it makes 6, plus I as the Sabbath Day after the whole
creation makes 7.
You must indemnity the 6,000 Biblical years, and upon entering the new
era, you will have indemnified 7,000 years of history. In our course
of indemnity we fake seriously the 7-year course on the personal
level. After 7 years, 70 years in our movement will be the goal. The
next goal is 700 years and then we will fulfill 7,000 years. Islam came
because Christianity was a failure after 7 centuries. Therefore any one
religious movement must be able to win the whole world to God in 700
years time at the longest. No one here can live to be 700 years old;
however, in your life span you will ideally go through 70 years.
Until we have restored the whole world, our path will be that of
sacrifice. In making a sacrifice should the offerings on the altar
be divided or united? Offerings are to be cut in two. That is why
Christianity and other higher religions have advocated celibacy, even
without knowing the reason why. In our movement that 70 years will be
narrowed down to a 7-year course and without going through that course
you cannot indemnity the 7,000 years.
The number 7 must be indemnified in the family, between the parents
and the children. Jesus had to go through 3 years of public ministry,
and if he had lived, he would have gone through 3 more years plus 1,
making his mission a success. He should have concluded his mission as
the Son in 3 years and then as the True Parents in 3 more years.
In your first 3-year course you can complete the mission as a son or
daughter and then in 3 more years you can build a family. In order to
indemnity that formula in the Unification Church you have to go through
at least a 3-year course in the beginning. In those three years of his
public ministry, Jesus should have been able to locate 3 very dedicated,
sacrificial sons from among the disciples. With those people dedicating
their lives to him he would not have died on the cross, and he could have
started his family. nose disciples correspond to Noah's family with 3 sons
and 3 daughters-in-law, making 8 members in the family. Those disciples
would also have been in the position of archangels ministering to his
own immediate family.
In the Principle, you must bring at least 3 spiritual children into the
movement or else you are not entitled to be blessed. That corresponds
to your being able to win 3 disciples, as Jesus should have done. Jesus'
3 chief disciples should have been willing to sacrifice their lives for
his sake.
You must be able to win and raise those spiritual children of yours. After
completing the 3 years alone you can start family life. After the blessing
you will set up another condition of 3 years. Why do I set up that period
of time? In our movement we are the central figures to go through the
indemnity course which has been unfulfilled in history. Couple by couple
you have go through 3 more years of dedicated living, and then each of
you will cross over the number 6. Then, being recognized by God, you can
start married life; it will be the start of the number 7. This is the firm
formula you have to go through, so you must understand the depth of it.
For the 1800 couples I shortened the time to 21 months. But even if I
become more and more generous I cannot go any shorter than 7 months. After
the blessing the already-married couples will have to go through 7 months
of abstinence. It is not because they have met the qualification to have
that short period of time before being re-united, but I can give them
the right to do that because I have paid the indemnity.
Are we going through that formula or not? Without knowing this you have
been wondering why we have to go through 3 more years of abstinence even
after being blessed. Starting from the day You joined the movement, you
have to go through 7 years to accomplish the mission left unaccomplished
by Jesus. He should have had 12 and then 72 dedicated disciples. Added
together, those make 84 disciples. He could not have died on the cross
if his 12 disciples and 72 apostles had been united in firm oneness.
From then on the channel to the heavenly kingdom on earth would have
been open. With only 84 as the solid foundation the kingdom of God on
earth could have been erected. Do you realize that? This is not any
vague fantasy; this is a real formula. We want to meet that standard
in 7 years so that we can accomplish what was left unaccomplished by
our predecessors.
Each year has 12 months, and 7 years multiplied by 12 is 84. In those 7
years if you bring 1. person per month that will make 84. So in this
movement our goal is for each one of you to bring in 84 members in 7
year's time. Those of you who win 2 persons a month will accomplish this
in 3½ years. And perhaps you can do much, much better than that. Do you
understand now why I gave you the formula of I person per month? It is not
something I fabricated to make you work; it is the God-given formula which
you have to go through for yourselves, your descendants and all mankind.
Not having been able to accomplish that on earth, Jesus has to come
again to accomplish it through some group in the physical world. That
is God's formula, and without that being fulfilled we do not have the
foundation to erect the kingdom. Corresponding to Jesus' 12 disciples you
must be able to bring at least 12 spiritual children into the movement,
and your next goal is 72 more. Those are going to be the outer circle.
I have paved this way for you
At all cost you must be able to win 3 spiritual children. That is why
I blessed 3 couples in 1960. Before I was blessed by God, I had to win
those 3 spiritual children. Those 3 couples were engaged first, and on
that foundation I could receive Mother. That was my formula to follow.
The number 12 was the foundation of the 36 families. The 36 couples
were chosen representing 12 in the past, 12 in the present, and 12 in
the future. The first 12 couples are called Adam's family, meaning from
Adam to Noah. The next 12 are called Noah's family, from Noah to Jacob,
and the third 12 are called Jacob's family, from Jacob to Jesus. By my
setting that up, this world is connected with the spiritual world and
the past with the future. You can read in the Bible that there are 12
pearl gates in the heavenly world, and that in this world there were
12 tribes of Jacob flourishing in God's lineage. Unless those two are
linked with ourselves in between, the providence cannot move on.
Centering on the 36 couples as Abel, the next level of 72 is in the
position of Cain. The 120 couples are the outer level of the family,
representing the whole world. In the days of Jesus too, 120 apostles
were the foundation to spread the message all over the world. The
430 couples represent the whole cosmos, including the spirit world;
they also represent the liberation of the Israelites from Egypt, and
their start towards Canaan. In addition the 430 corresponds to the 4300
year history of Korea, the chosen nation. The 777 couples substantially
represent the whole cosmos. Through these significant blessings we have
improved and developed providential history step by step.
Including the 1800 couples we have gone through seven stages. Now that
I have blessed seven groups, I do not have to bless any more groups
myself. In this way we have organized tribes under God. I have paved
the way for you to go to the end of the world, but you still have to lay
the foundation for your own tribe. That is why I say the blessed couples
are the messiahs to their own tribes. You will accomplish something on
your own up to the national level and then you will be connected to the
foundation that I have laid.
These are not just empty words or some manmade, fabricated formula. If
you do not accomplish this much in your lifetime, then you must do it
with more difficulty in the spirit world. If Jesus' own relatives and
tribe had cooperated with him he could have accomplished his mission
centering on them. Because of their disbelief, however, his mission was
not fulfilled. Therefore you must be able to win that number of people
from the outside world and lay a foundation on which you can build your
own family and tribe. If Jesus had been able to win 12 disciples from
among his relatives and 72 apostles from his own tribe, things would have
been much, much easier. Instead, he had to bring his 3 and 12 disciples
from the outside world.
The same principle applied to me. I, too, could not bring anyone from
my own clan into the movement. I had to leave my own family-my parents,
my brothers and sisters-and go out into the satanic world. Without loving
those people more than my own relatives I could not have accomplished my
mission. Now that I have laid the foundation, you can be blessed and build
your own family; and you can also bring your own relatives, people from
your own blood lineage; therefore restoration will be much easier for you.
Sooner or later you can go back to your native country and town and
bring in your relatives as your 3 spiritual children, your 12 disciples
and your 72 disciples, making the total of 84. If you really understand
the importance of having at least 84 disciples, you can plead with your
relatives, "If I don't do this, my spiritual life will be ruined and
our family cannot be restored back to God." You can plead with them
with tearful eyes and a warm heart, and they will be drawn to you. I
have already paved the way, more for your sake than for mine.
Unless you do greater things than Jesus did in his lifetime, you cannot
reach the summit. That is the heart of the Principle; I cannot change it
because this is the God-given formula. If you feel that without doing
this you will be spiritually dead for eternity, you will be serious
enough. This is the reason why I am telling you to bring in at least
one person per month. To make it easier you can go back to influence
the hearts of your relatives. You will not be able to lift up your face
if you pass away without being able to restore your own relatives. You
should not want to get blessed without fulfilling all these formulas. I
could not marry until the age of 40 because of the conditions I had to
fulfill. Before that I went through many experiences in prison and with
people who rebelled against me. After untold difficulty and persecution
I barely laid that foundation by the age of 40.
Do not ever dream of getting blessed in an easy way. If you are serious,
you cannot say, "I just cannot witness to the people." If you keep writing
to your family, calling them on the phone with enthusiasm and energy, you
will have no excuse for not being able to fulfill this condition. Even
those blessed couples here, if you fail to bring in 84 members in your
lifetime, you will have violated God's law and will not be qualified for
the blessing. Because of the blessing the gate to the heavenly kingdom
is open, but if you are not qualified then you cannot go through. In the
future, I may have to drive those blessed couples out into the field to
witness again.
I must restore the world; you must restore your relatives
I must restore the whole world to go into the kingdom, and as individual
members you must restore your relatives. You have to cross the individual
level and then go through the level of the family, tribe, clan, nation,
world and cosmos. You have to begin by witnessing to three members,
and then it will increase to 12, 72, and 84. Only after you restore 84
disciples will you be connected with the foundation that I have laid. Then
you will inherit what I will have done. By following me you will be
led into the heavenly kingdom. Then you are going to be citizens of the
Kingdom of God on earth. As your spiritual children lay that foundation
our scope will be widened to cover the whole world. With this important
and serious task ahead of you how can you be relaxed? You must do your 5%.
In the face of so much difficulty and persecution 1 have paved the
way for you. Since there will no longer be so much persecution as an
obstacle, can you say you cannot go this way? After we have laid the
foundation on the national level, you will not be able to escape laying
the foundation on your own. Until now, when I have blessed couples I
shouldered the indemnity for them. With your cooperation I will lay the
foundation on the national level and then will acknowledge that what
you have done is connected to my foundation. Only then can you really
build your own kingdom.
Centered on me and my family, you will receive the heavenly heritage, but
only by winning 84 people. Now do you realize the importance of winning
at least I person per month? You do not have to spread it out over 7
years. You can finish it in 7 months time or even earlier, the earlier the
better. What about bringing 7 members a month into the movement? Then it
will only take I year to bring 84 people. The sooner the better. This is
a most serious matter. If you really knew the importance of this formula
I would not have to encourage you to witness all the time like this. If
you really understood, you would not beg me for permission to go back
to college to study or for the blessing or for anything.
May I repeat-in the Unification Church you must go through 3 years
of public ministry on the individual level, then 3 years more for the
family level foundation, and I more year as fruition, the Sabbath. The
7 year course is the primary course you must go. If you complete the 6
year course in a wholesome way, the final year will be no problem at all.
My course in America is similar. After the first 3 year course in
America the second 3 years of the 7 year course-1974, 1975, 1976-are most
important. We were successful in Madison Square Garden, Yankee Stadium and
Washington Monument in those 3 years in America. A mathematical formula is
always there in the course of restoration. To accomplish these formulas,
I had to go through great difficulties. With this serious matter ahead
of you, you can never think of building your own families. You are not
entitled to be blessed and I will tell you why.
Have you gone through the first 3 year course, and those who are blessed,
have you gone through 3 years after the blessing in a wholesome way? In
Japan the 777 couples went almost 5 years after the blessing starting from
1970. The 1800 couples had to go through only 21 months. Maybe somewhere
in the future the couples will have only 7 months. Those married couples
who came into the movement will be blessed and I will give them the least
period of 7 months of separation, but they had already experienced living
together, so in spirit world their level will be different from you who
are being blessed as single men and women.
Originally I was supposed to bless only virgin men and women, not those
who have had sexual experience. In fact, those who have held the idea
of free sex are not entitled to be blessed by me. If you are blessed
by me with all those scars and defects, you must be more dedicated and
sacrificial in our movement. Do you really understand what I mean? You
do not really understand the depth of everything. If I had not had
to accomplish this formula I would not have had to go through so much
difficulty in restoring the 6,000 years of Biblical history.
My first 7 years
Before you can say you will follow me or that you love me, I want you to
bring 84 spiritual children. Only then do you really belong to me. That
is the core of Principle. Knowing this can you ever doze off? During
the first 7 years of my ministry, I did not even take off my clothing
to go to bed. I did not use a table to eat; at best I would use a tray,
but most of the time I ate on the floor. Until I was able to accomplish
the whole of my mission I felt as though I were a sinner before God. For
those 7 years I fasted on my birthdays. With the great mission still
ahead of me, I could not express love toward my parents or my brothers
and sisters. During that period of time I could not talk about God's
message. You know Sung-Jin, my eldest son from another marriage, whose
mother opposed our movement; I felt disqualified to call him my son
and I never once held his hand. I deeply felt like a sinner; you must
understand that.
With the gravest of all missions ahead of you on the individual level,
how can you enjoy your food or rest? Before accomplishing this mission
you cannot claim yourself, or your family, clan, nation or the world;
you cannot even claim God as your own, and certainly not the True Parents.
Without being able to accomplish his whole mission, Jesus' claim over the
whole world and over God was lost. Jesus' mother failed to accomplish
her portion of the mission, so as you read in the Bible, he once said,
"Who is my mother ... ? Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is
my mother." And he said, "Woman, what have you to do with me?" I can say
the same thing to you. What have you to do with me? Can you really say
you are a member of the Unification Church without being able to carry
out your own mission? In the truest sense, no.
You have to bring in at least three spiritual children as a base, then
12, 36, 72, and 84, going through the individual level, family and tribal
levels. You are connected with me only after laying your foundation of 84
spiritual children. Starting from today you must be desperate to carry out
that formula. If you fail to do that in this world, you will have violated
God's regulation, and you will have to do that even in the spirit world.
Having failed to do that, Jesus was put on the cross. If I had failed
to do this, I would have gone to something more terrible than the
cross. If you cannot carry out that much on earth you will have to do it
in the spirit world. The whole of humanity can be saved in the future
by following my pattern. You must feel the blessedness of being taught
this principle.
For these 7 years you are something like a criminal facing capital
punishment, but by going through the prison term of 7 years and meeting
that standard you will get rid of the sin and be brought back to life
again. You must be very serious to understand the heart of this matter
and carry it out; I want you to really understand. You must not just
take everything for granted in this movement. Until now you have been
going through an everyday routine, but starting from now I want you to
become deeply serious.
Things will be much, much easier from now on. Once public opinion is
favorable then it will be easy for you to go back to your families and
bring them into the movement. You can do the job in a much easier way at
the soonest possible date. You can bring people by the hundreds. After
creating a good environment, after fuming the public opinion to our
side, then I will send you back to your relatives. That will correspond
to Jesus going back home to restore his relatives after finishing his
public ministry. Sooner or later, all across the world people will think
the Unification Church is within God's will. Then public opinion will
be turned to our side.
Since coming to the United States I have pretty much made the public
aware of us. I hear that in Europe too people everywhere know my
name. Because of the controversy they are a little confused, but deep
in their hearts they think, "This couldn't be a bad group of people.
They're all clean-cut and so enthusiastic in doing what they believe is
right." Once they find that we are the group carrying out God's will
they will turn to our side at once. In a way I welcome the notoriety
and controversial publicity. Without that, it would have taken a hundred
years for our group to become known.
Only last year, I sent out missionaries to 120 countries. Because of the
bad publicity, all over the world they are going through the same things
we are, but we will all cross over the summit at the same time. If public
opinion becomes favorable in the United States, their foundation will be
laid too. Because the United States is the leading nation of the world
what happens here will be spread all over the world. If America begins to
think that our movement is part of God's will, then public opinion all
over the world will change. I can foresee that from next year on public
opinion will be turned to our side. After that our witnessing will be
very easy. If I were you, I would bring 84 members before things get
easier. If I were you I would bring that number of people in a week's
time. Why don't you bring a hundred or more members to the workshop and
have 84% of them be fruitful?
What we are doing here is laying the foundation for you to work easily. I
told you to bring at least 30,000 into the movement by the year 1978. That
is the minimal number through which we will lay the foundation for you to
work on. If you are so serious as to risk your life to do that, 1 person
per month is not so difficult. Maybe you will accomplish that number in
3 years, and if you struggle on you can bring in tens of thousands of
members in several more years. Whoever is in the movement must be able
to bring in 1 person per month at least. Do you really understand? If
you are a forgetful person, when you go back this morning why don't you
just fasten something on your wrist so that you will remember how many
you have brought and how many you are supposed to bring in?
This formula applies to everyone. How can you say, "I am fund raising,
so how can I witness to the people?" Sooner or later you have to meet
the quota. You can witness by writing or phoning your family. Sooner or
later you will be shifted and the MFT members may be witnessing later.
As long as you are on MFT, why don't you write and call the people you
knew and lay a foundation so that you can witness to them?
How old you are in the movement will not count, only how many members you
have brought to the movement. If you are old in the movement but have not
been able to bring many members, you are a failure. You lecturers must
have had to lecture on this kind of central matter, but it looks as though
you yourselves have not been hearing it. After building your own family,
you must be responsible for your 84 children and have them connected with
you as your family. What will you do if you are not qualified to enter the
heavenly kingdom? Jesus is spiritually working in this world because his
mission was left unfinished. Without being able to do greater things than
Jesus did, how can you get blessed? It is no easy matter to get blessed.
During the first 3 years you must lay the foundation on the individual
level; in the second 3 years you will lay the foundation for the
family level, and with 1 final year you will complete the 7 years. In
his lifetime Jesus had only 3 years of public ministry. If he had not
died on the cross he could have laid the foundation on the family level,
and by setting up his family he could have completed his mission. With I
more Sabbath year added he would have accomplished the 7 year course in a
wholesome way, representing all the years of Biblical history. But after 3
years didn't Jesus lose all of his disciples? Even his 3 chief disciples
left him. While Jesus was on the cross being tortured all the disciples
ran away. Therefore, in the course of indemnity you must be able to raise
your 3 spiritual children so that they will be ready to die with you. At
least 3 very dedicated spiritual children is your minimal responsibility.
If Jesus' disciples had not left him...
If Jesus' 3 chief disciples had banded together and offered to die in
place of him, he should not have gone to the cross. Even if Jesus had not
been released, if his 3 chief disciples had died on the cross with him,
then all 4 could have been resurrected, and at that very moment Jesus
could have ascended into heaven. Through those 4 being resurrected on
earth, all the spirit world could have descended from that moment on,
working through the hearts of the people and making it easy to restore
the whole world.
Because that foundation was not laid at the time of Jesus there has been a
great gap between this world and the spirit world. Up to the present only
those who excelled the 3 disciples of Jesus and were ready to be martyred
for the sake of God's will could be contacted by the spirit world. Because
of the failure of Jesus' disciples, those people had to be martyred,
shedding blood to indemnity what the disciples failed to accomplish.
After you bring 3 chief disciples or spiritual children, you will have
laid the foundation to be blessed and to have your own family. But
you must multiply those 3 into 12 in the course of time, and most
importantly, you must be united. One of the 12 disciples betrayed Jesus,
but your 12 disciples must be so dedicated that they would die with you,
and in complete unity with them you must multiply the 12 into 72. The
3 spiritual children will be the first, or formation stage; the 12 will
be the growth stage, and the 72 the perfection stage. That is the course
you have to go at all costs in 7 year's time.
Each of your fingers has 3 joints, so these 4 fingers have 12
joints. The thumb denotes God, with the 2 joints representing God's
dual characteristics. One hand represents the 12 surrounding the entity
of God, with His dual essentialities. The 12 months of 4 seasons each
encompass the whole law of nature. The right hand represents heaven and
the left hand represents earth, so with 2 hands united, the whole world
will be encompassed. In Christianity up to 12 denominations are allowed,
but no more, and out of the 12 possible denominations, 3 should be the
core ones. But now how many denominations are there? Because of rupture
and division there are far too many. In the final days we must be able
to organize 12 tribes, and through their cooperation bring the whole of
Christianity into strong, harmonious oneness. All nationalities and all
5 races must be brought together.
Do you really understand what I have taught you this morning? Until you
have accomplished your responsibility, you are not in a position to eat
on a table or change into your pajamas to go to bed, or even to eat 3
meals. You must feel like sinners until you accomplish that much. You
should not celebrate your birthday if you have not accomplished that
much. I have willingly gone through the same course on my own. For 7
years I fasted on my birthday; for those 7 years I would go with 2 or 3
hours sleep at the most. That is the formula in the Unification Church.
If you mean to follow me then you have to go through the same thing,
not for my sake, but for you own sake.
I have accomplished my mission. Having won the victory at Washington
Monument, even if I die now I will be a victor, not a failure. If
you carry out the instructions I give you, you are sure to win the
victory. I have done my part, so if you are really able to shoulder the
cross on your own, I can take my Sabbath. I am thinking of resting for
awhile, but then some of you may think that since I am resting, you
should rest for a few days too. However, my position now is similar
to having received my doctorate, and you are still in kindergarten;
then how can you act like 1 do? Can you say, "Wherever Father goes I
will go, and whenever Father rests I will rest with him." Can you do
that? I brought my eldest daughter, Ye-Jin, to Washington last weekend
for the Science Conference. She was there for the first day and heard
me speak, and then she hurried back home because she had to study for
an examination on Monday. That is the attitude you must have. With your
own task unfulfilled, you must not act like I do.
Now you have different missions-fund raising, security, and so forth-but
you must fulfill this condition sooner or later. In the future there
will be many members just flooding into our movement even without our
witnessing to them. We will witness to the people through television and
radio programs, and many, many young people will come from that to join
our movement. Who will be their spiritual parents? They will belong to
me. I will be their spiritual father, but if you are really dedicated and
sacrificial in your public ministry then I will be more than willing to
distribute them to you. If you love them more than yourself then I can
give them to you as spiritual children, and I will be responsible for
them in the spirit world.
Members who win more than 84 children will want to give them to other
brothers and sisters. In the position of Abel, you want to give everything
extra to others. Up to the present the disputes between Cain and Abel
have been caused by being greedy, but by giving to each other you will be
united very easily. If the children are united, then you can be received
by your parents. The same thing applies between you and God.
I want you to be ready to give out the members you bring in. Then we can
create our own heavenly kingdom in this nation, and with 3 such nations
restored, other nations will be easily won to the heavenly side. Japan,
Germany and the United States were once enemy nations, but if they can be
united under God's will then the rest of the world will be easily united.
Together those 3 nations can easily feed the rest of the world. That is
why I sent teams of 3 missionaries, one from each of those nations. if
Korea were included there could have been 4, but the situation in Korea
was too difficult to allow that.
After starting in Korea I went to Japan, creating our movement there,
and now I am in the United States. The European nations are the old
world nations, in Cain's position, the elder brother's position. Of the
European countries, Germany represents Adam on Satan's side, while on
the worldwide level Korea is in the position of Adam on God's side. If
those two nations plus Japan and America cooperate with each other, then
it will be easy to restore the whole world. From Korea, the Adam nation,
we carne through Japan, the Eve nation, and now we are in America, the
archangel nation. Next we are going through the old world, restoring
Germany as the most important nation in Europe. Having restored the
Adam nation on the satanic side, we will connect it to Korea. Those four
nations are crucial in God's will.
Each of them represents either faith, love or hope. Germany represents
faith. They are a strong people; the physical stature of the German
people and their industrial prosperity, show that they are a people of
strong faith, will, and clarity of mind. At the Olympic Games in Canada,
West Germany and East Germany together set a world record excelling
Russia. When you visit Germany you will find that even the women look
strong. They are very industrious and diligent.
The Koreans, Japanese, Americans and Germans all have different
characteristics. It is very interesting that God chose those four nations
as the champions for His will. Therefore we are concentrating our efforts
on those four nations-Korea, Japan, America and Germany. We will see
that the restoration of the world is not too far ahead.
We must be desperate in working for the rest of 1976, 1977 and 1978. By
the conclusion of the third 7 year course in 1981 the communist world
should decline rapidly, but the outcome lies in our hands. If we fail to
lay the necessary foundation by the year 1981, you will see the communists
still ascending. Then the whole democratic world will be endangered. In
the coming 2 year's time we must bring 30,000 members at least, and I
urge you to bring in more than that.
The Jews have an important role
Jewish people have played a major role in the American
government. Kissinger is Jewish and their are several more Jews in very
important positions. President Carter, however, might replace them with
others in the major roles of government. There is a kind of invisible
tension between the Jewish people and other groups.
Recently at the United Nations Zionism is an issue. If the Jewish people
insist only on Zionism and try to carry it through, sooner or later a
great tragedy will come. If the communists take over the whole world,
a greater tragedy than that of Germany under Hitler will occur. There
would be more purges and more death. Without taking a worldwide view
beyond national and racial barriers, the Jews will be endangered by the
communist power.
But we can see that Christian society is crumbling. I can already see a
battle emerging between the Jews and the Christians. If the communists
decide to support one of the two parties then that group will be the
stronger, and destruction will spread in the near future. Before that
happens I have to smooth away racial and national boundaries here in the
United States. I am working for the sake of the Jews and the Christians,
but they are the ones who oppose our movement.
Recently the Jews feel threatened by the fast growth of our movement,
thinking that if they leave us alone, we will over-run the whole country,
endangering their prosperity. Therefore, it is possible that the Jewish
people will sooner or later band together to oppose our movement. If we
cannot prevent fighting between Judaism, Christianity and the Unification
Church and bring those two into oneness with us then the whole world
will crumble, beginning with the United States.
Judaism cannot bring unity between the three, nor can Christianity as
it now stands. Only the Unification Church can unite the three, but we
must first be prepared for opposition, because the communists will be
infiltrating behind the scenes. To oppose the other two, the Jews or
Christians may be willing to utilize the communists, who are desperate
to destroy the Unification Church. If the Jews and Christians ever band
together with communists to fight against us, the situation will be so
serious. We are on the verge of life or death during the coming 2 years,
so we must be wise enough to make a real breakthrough in those years. At
the soonest possible time we must spread the ideology through which you
young people have transcended religious, racial and national barriers. The
Jews should play a central role in this.
If we do not win 30,000 members in 2 year's time, we cannot do the
job. Without me here you cannot dream of doing the job. What we are going
to do in these coming 2 years is very urgent; we all have to be working
dynamically and almost explosively, with all our energies invested.
With just I more month left in the year 1976 1 really urge you to
understand this formula and to be ready to accomplish your mission of
bringing at least 30,000 members in these coming 2 years. This is why
I am talking to you like this morning.
Now we will lay the internal foundation
My topic this morning is "Self Reflection." When we look back over
this year we see that all our energy was used in those 3 great events
culminating with Washington Monument. In the meantime we have not been
able to witness to people too much. For these past months we concentrated
our efforts on creating a favorable environment externally, but from
this moment on we will concentrate our effort on the internal work of
witnessing to the people.
You young people in the movement must be sympathetic with the youth
outside who have become decadent, who are ruined by drugs and immoral
life. During the time of my work in the United States young people seem to
be increasingly influenced by religious ideas. I can clearly see that. I
have learned from statistics that bookstores have sold more religious
books in the last 3 years than any other kind. Heaven knows that we have
created that good tendency. Several more years in that direction and we
can change the whole nation. If we continue like this, doing explosive
and dynamic things, then the world will be different by the year 1981.
You must understand that these coming few years are going to be more
important than Washington Monument or anything else that we have been
proud of. The success or failure of our movement and the whole restoration
of the world will depend upon what we do in these 3 years ahead.
So far we have harvested external successes, but from now on we have
to lay the internal foundation. The external is in the Cain position to
the internal. We have gone through the external level as the indemnity
course, but what we set on the internal level will be for our sake,
and it will be our foundation to work on. The external things will
flow away, but the internal things will accumulate to accomplish the
goal. That is why I am telling you that we must struggle harder than we
did for Washington Monument. From this moment on, wherever you are and
whatever you are doing-eating, praying, sleeping-before you do anything
you must think of one person per month, and try to fulfill it.
These years concluding the third 7 year course are most important. Being
prepared like this, we will do explosive work in witnessing on a
large scale. Self reflection is most important, but if you fall into
despair thinking of what you have done in the past, you miss the point.
Through self reflection you must be encouraged to do more than you did
in the past. We were successful at Washington Monument, but have we been
successful in the whole nation of America? Not as yet. Only after doing
that can we think of going to Moscow.
From now on I will travel a lot from center to center. Actually,
your position is to do that for me, but since you are not capable of
doing that I will take up the job. In fact; after Washington Monument I
thought I should study English so that I would not need an interpreter.
But the situation demands that I visit and encourage you. Since that is
more important than studying English, I have to do it. Even if I would try
to study I would not be able to concentrate. If any one of you could take
up my job so that I can be reassured then I could concentrate on studying.
I am so serious that I must tell you again and again about the importance
of your mission, about having to fulfill God's formula. For the year
1976 we have harvested three great successes-Yankee .Stadium, Washington
Monument, and finally the Science Conference. But as I said before,
after those victorious events, a more important task is at hand and if
you are lax and proud of yourselves, contented and satisfied, we will
not be able to go higher.
We are creating a newspaper. We have to make it greater than the New
York Times as soon as possible. That will take time, but I want to do it
quickly. Are you anxious to bring The News World to that standard? If I
had 10,000 capable members then I could certainly do it within one year. I
hear that the New York Times is using 4,000 people. If we had twice as
many people for our newspaper we could reach that standard in a year,
but now we have only 130 members working on the paper. Did you know that
we bought the Tiffany Building for the newspaper? It is on Fifth Avenue,
two minute's walk from the Empire State Building. It is a big, beautiful
building, but too big for 130 people.
Even though I want to pick more members, there are not enough available
who are capable of doing the work. We can bring money somehow, but if our
people cannot do newspaper work then even though we put them on the staff
they would have to leave because of their lack of ability, and we cannot
use outsiders. For the fishery, too, we need several thousand people.
Where can we get that number of people? We must use people according to
their aptitude, not just anyone. I am ready to establish a university,
but without having 10,000 members on the MFT we cannot do that. We need
that many people to raise the necessary money, but where can we get that
number of people?
If we mobilized 10,000 IOWA members then we could influence the whole
world. If we have 30 jumbo planes arriving would Kennedy Airport be
able to handle them? All the other planes would have to hover in the
air while our planes land one after another. Wouldn't the big newspapers
carry our story? Without being able to do that, we cannot turn the world
upside down.
I am not dreaming impossible dreams; sooner or later I will be doing this
in reality. I want those who left their universities to join our movement
to be able to go back to school, but first I must win so many members that
you will not have to work by that time. I must educate and train you to
be world leaders in the future. After establishing our own universities,
I will hire top level professors from all over the world, perhaps some
who attended our International Conferences on the Unity of the Sciences.
I cannot live on this earth forever. I am now 57 and in 13 more years
I will be 70. Without me on this earth, who will take up the job? If
you fail to meet the standard needed by 1981 then the restoration of
the whole world will be delayed or damaged. Some unknown hands brought
you to this movement and now you are with me. You must be a coworker in
our movement. We are already a controversial group, but we must fulfill
our responsibility. You have been accused by many people; have you felt
challenged to fight back and win? We have some resentment because we
are persecuted and opposed while we are doing God's will, but we must
be determined to carry out our mission and show people that we are on
the side of God.
Since you gather here every Sunday I will reeducate you, or if that is
impossible, I will shift you from East to West and from West to East. I
am very serious. I am encouraging the Japanese members to work harder;
I have instructed Mr. Kamiyama to reorganize them in such a way that
they will work as hard as before Madison Square Garden, all ignited and
fervent in their witnessing.
They must recreate the atmosphere they had before Madison Square Garden,
and lay the foundation for the Japanese who will follow. The Japanese who
are not doing a good job will be sent back to Japan. I am encouraging
you American members to work harder than the Japanese members from now
on. You must be ready to take up the job they have been doing. Following
their tradition, you must be responsible for this nation. About 150
Japanese members must be mobilized to sell our newspapers. There are so
many things to be done that you may have to get up at 4 o'clock instead
of 6 o'clock. Will you Americans be defeated by the Japanese?
We must excel the New York Times in every possible way. In the coming two
years, 1977 and 1978, we must have branches of the newspaper in the eight
major cities from my last tour-Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, Los Angeles,
San Francisco, New York, Washington, Philadelphia. You must expand
our newspaper all over the nation and up to 50 or more people must be
stationed for that purpose in each of the 50 states. With a handful
of people like this, how can you carry out all those things? We need
at least 200 people for one branch. For 8 such branches we would need
some 1600 members. Without bringing in more members we cannot carry out
these important missions. What I have declared, however, I will bring
to pass. If you fail to do the job, I will pay people to do the job. At
all cost I must move forward.
Family witnessing
From this day on, the first of December, you must have a new
resolve. First, you must be able to witness and bring in one member per
month. Mr. Kamiyama is going to make a chart for every month, and the
statistics will be put up starting from today. Day and night you will be
praying hard, striving hard. Each day each one of you should have a list
of 12 names or households that you are determined to visit. You must
plan to bring 36 people a year, and then you can win at least 12. Why
don't you include your brothers and sisters? Don't choose elder brothers
or sisters first, but younger ones who admire you. After you have won
one of your elder brothers or sisters, too, then together you can work
better to win more members of your family. With a well-organized strategy
you can do that.
With 3 of you united, there is nothing you cannot do. Three brothers and
sisters can work together and make money to invite your parents, say from
North Dakota or Chicago during the winter months, to some warm place like
Phoenix or Nevada. Then you can arrange for a very capable lecturer to
drop by. After quite a bit of talking, you can invite him to lecture to
your parents. Then your parents will be easily attracted to our movement.
Why don't you raise some money and have a big birthday celebration for
one of your family members and invite your whole neighborhood and all your
relatives? Then during the toast or after-dinner speeches you can invite
our lecturer to introduce the Principle. If you invite a very capable
lecturer then people might really be interested in listening to him.
Mr. Kamiyama will provide good lecturers if you can gather some 10 to
50 people. With three members working together, you can invite a camp
full of people for the workshop from every level of society. There
are several hundred people here and if you carry out the quota of one
person per month, we will have to expand this place to accommodate them
all. Shall we do that?
Without your being able to save yourselves, you cannot dream of being
able to save America; our lifetime goal is 84 members. Are you going
to fulfill that number in I year's time, 7 year's time, your lifetime,
or what? In a while I will bless those who have fulfilled 84 members,
even if they have been in the movement only one year or less.
My topic this morning has been "Self Reflection." You must look back
into your past and restore the failures into successes. If you go out
with determination to win victory in the years ahead then our movement
will be a great success. I urge you to fulfill the goal.
Some years ago, I instructed Mr. Kamiyama to lend our books to
neighborhood people. They will read the books and then we can hear their
comments, witnessing to them in that way. I gave this instruction after
my long years of experience, so I want him to continue that project.
One person will be responsible for 120 households, lending books for
them to read.
Every 3 to 6 months you will move to another neighborhood and have
those people read the books. After awhile, out of 120 households you can
select 40 'A' class, 40 'B' class, and 40 'C' class households. After
the classification, you will concentrate your efforts on the 'A' class
people. You can win quite a few members out of the 'A' class people,
and then with those people you can re-visit the 'B' class households. If
you can win members out of the 'B' class, you can bring them when you
witness to the 'C' class people again.
You can have a close association with those 120 households, closer than
with your own relatives. Through your coming in and out and having the
members of other households visiting each other, your people will get
well-acquainted. By having those people influence each other you can
win them.
List the names of the major figures in those households on a card. In
the other column write the date and how many people were brought into
the movement. Under the date record how many hours you worked with that
family. Everyone, including staff members at national headquarters,
should be doing the same. Whenever you find time, you will be witnessing
to people. If you are responsible for a certain area, maybe you should
rent a room in one of the households and just come to work in your office
at headquarters every day. You must always carry the card with you. In the
New York area there are 180 witnessers and altogether 500 members. Having
120 households for each person means some 60,000 households will be
contacted. We will start doing that right away. Suppose you win one
member out of those people. If you have him or her do the same thing,
then the membership will multiply many times.
Male or female, young or old, before eating, before going to bed, you
always have to look at the card. If your whole day's work was a failure,
then even in sleeping you must be calling their names at least. Why do
you think the cards are necessary? As a reminder or encouragement? Before
saving other people, you are being saved. After that, you are saving
other people, and America as a whole.
One person will have 10 Divine Principle books to lend out. If you are not
a good lecturer you can read the Divine Principle to them and your zeal
can influence them. Suppose there are 3 members living in one household;
3 multiplied by 120 makes 360, so there is one person's birthday every
day, all through the year. You will have feast after feast in every
household and you can invite other families. At those events you can give
them some talks. Sometimes for a change, you can invite them out to a
beautiful place in the country. Maybe you can rent a whole church and
invite them there. Then you can have a workshop and invite lecturers,
and it will be easy for you to bring in members. After one full year,
all those people will be good friends of yours and you will have a
foundation laid to sell newspapers. We will start doing this right away.
If we carry these projects out, we will meet the membership goal in the
next 2 years. If you are resolved to do that, hold up your hands. Let
us pray.
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