Hak Ja Han
May 24, 1999
Moscow, Russia
From notes by W. Stoertz
The morning after Mother’s Moscow speech -- Sunday, May 23, 1999 -- we had Sunday pledge service and Hoon Dok Hae. At that service were more than 100 young CIS members together with True Mother. Mother was so inspired to see all those young faces (even many leaders did not attend so that their young members might have that chance -- space was limited). Mother gave speech that morning instead of reading Hoon Dok Hae. The interpreter from Korean to English was Rev. Peter Kim, his words were then repeated in Russian.
Looking at your smiling faces, you all look young, handsome and beautiful! Because of you being bright, beautiful and handsome, your country may have a good future!
Suppose you are standing at the starting line of a marathon race. Do you want to become a winner or loser? [Winner!] To become a winner among the five billion people of the world, how much prayer and preparation do you need? Midway, halfway? [No] Do you think you can make it?
I have been emphasizing two points on my speaking tour everywhere I went.
As a mother and teacher, I want all of you to become true filial sons and daughters to God and True Parents. Of course, as Mother, I wish the entire five billion people in the world to become true filial children -- to become winners. However, when I see you Russian brothers and sisters, I hope you will become winners in that race! It takes more than ordinary effort and prayer to be called filial sons and daughters among so many billions of people. For you to become filial sons and daughters, you have to know about True Parents. In order for us to play the role of filial sons and daughters, we have to know what True Parents are thinking and planning. We have to study a lot to find out more about True Parents. So I truly wish all of you to resemble -- to become -- True Parents.
Have you seen this book? Do you possess this book? [Mother holds up a book of Father's prayers] Prior to the publication of this volume, there was another book of Father's prayers published in Korean; but this book is one of the twelve volumes of Father's prayers, categorized by subject, published two years ago. Out of twelve volumes, during the speaking tour I have been encouraging people to study Volume 6, the book "On Filial Piety", to begin with. I have an earnest desire for all of you to become true filial sons and daughters in front of True Parents.
This particular book, Volume 6, "On Filial Piety", has a lot of prayers from the 1950s, the 1960s, and early 1970s. We have to think about God's providence at that time. God prepared during two thousand years of Christian history, laying the foundation, because God has a special purpose in the last days. But has Christianity done it? [No] Particularly right after World War Two, centering on Christianity, American Christianity was in a position to embrace the entire humanity. For that reason, unlike in the past, after World War Two, those countries that won the war started embracing the defeated countries. Why was that? That was because of God's providence: it showed that all countries started becoming brothers and sisters. They did not know why it developed in such a way, but the reason was because the time had come for True Parents to appear. So what was the result of those nations right after World War Two?
When we look into Father's immediate family, one of True Father's great-uncles [Yoon Kook Moon] was a well-known freedom fighter for independence. He was in the position where he could become one of the 33 national representatives of the Korean Independence Movement. Because of that, Father's great-uncle was in the position to become one of the leaders, the 33 representatives of the Korean Independence Movement. However, he decided to stay behind the scenes to raise funds, and in his stead, he sent one of his church elders to represent him.
Also, if we look at Christianity's development in Korea at that time, it was unlike any other place in the world. Korea started to experience a revival; every church was worshipping with truth and the Holy Spirit. Many Christian believers and groups prepared to receive the Second Coming. Yet even though there was so much preparation, in the end they all failed to welcome True Parents.
Suppose that Christianity, which had been prepared by God for thousands of years, had accepted True Parents, and Father's immediate family preparation was well harvested. The leaders were not to marry -- they were single. Korea could have been the champion country to establish the Kingdom of God on earth. If the people, the nations and Christianity had received True Father at that time, then it would have taken less than seven years, until 1952, to restore the world. If that had happened, then the Korean War, which broke out in 1950, would have been avoided, and worldwide communism would have ended much earlier, and the entire world would have had peace.
However, when the internal and external preparation by God was taken away, where else could True Father go? The only choice left for True Father was the course of wilderness, so Father had to start his life course from the bottom of hell, from the dungeon of hell. He had to start from scratch, and work his way up step by step. Father had to actually lay the foundation all over again up to this point.
In those early days, when Father didn't have many Church followers, Father visited Taegu (between Pusan and Seoul). Because of opposition, Father had to move his Church even several times in one day. Your Korean National Messiah, Rev. Hyun Shil Kang, is living proof: she was there in those days.
The reason that the Christian churches at that time opposed Father's public ministry and persecuted Father, was because those Christian leaders at that time, and even now, were waiting for the Lord of the Second Advent coming on the clouds. Father taught a different belief. Also, once deacons and elders heard Divine Principle, they immediately started following Father; and because of that the church leaders were scared of losing their followers.
During those days there was a lot of spirit world intervention. Spirit world was very active in dealing with the followers of True Father. When, because of the persecution and opposition of Christian churches, True Father had to move his Church three or even five times in one day, Father didn't even have time to inform his followers; spirit world helped them find the prayer meeting. They received revelations. Can you imagine that?
At that time, True Father had to face incredible, unimaginable persecution. That was the situation at that time. Father had to walk through a pitch dark tunnel without any light. Put yourself in that kind of situation: you can't see any light. You don't know what will happen. In such a situation, usually people only think of their own lives. But Father still constantly offered his comfort to God. Father prayed to embrace and forgive the entire humanity because of their ignorance. Father offered hope for the future of humanity. You must have heard from Father. Until the Holy Wedding of True Parents in 1960 there was a continuous battle and confrontation. At this point, you sitting here have no way to imagine the miserable situation. There was so much misunderstanding, persecution, bigotry -- you name it.
To make the situation even worse, the communist countries such as North Korea and Russia came to know about Father's existence before even the democratic world, and they came up with plots to stop Father's ministry.
In that kind of miserable situation, up until the first God's Day in 1968, True Father's teaching was focused on the life course of Jesus Christ. Also in his prayers he prayed about Jesus Christ's life and ended his prayers "In the name of the Lord".
Therefore I strongly recommend you to read True Father's prayer every day as you begin Hoon Dok Hae. That way your heart can be engrafted into True Parents' heart, and you can mobilize spirit world to come down to help you in your daily life and mission.
As you know, "Father's Prayer" book was published in Korean two years ago, and has been translated into Japanese. [Mother holds up a photo for everyone to see] Can you identify True Father's picture in this photo? This is the same one which appears on the cover of the "Prayer" book. This is the scene of an outside bookstore in Japan, displaying "Father's Prayer" for public sale. Not only this book, but also other True Parents' Hoon Dok Hae books are being sold there. In Korea and Japan, "True Father's Prayer" books are becoming bestsellers.
It's nice to see you clapping and cheering, but more than that, if you want to understand True Father's teaching, how long should I wait? This book has been translated into English but it is not yet complete. Yeoreobun ch'ampumonim-eul sarang-haeyo? Do you all love True Parents?
Until now we have been translating other books, but when it comes to translating Father's prayers, it is almost impossible because of the difference in languages. The book appeared two years ago -- how long do you have to wait until the book will be translated into your language? Yeoreobun ch'ampumonim-eul sarang-haeyo? Do you love True Parents? [Yes!] How can I believe you?
In Korean we have a saying, "To kill two birds with one stone." If you learn and master the Korean language, you will find the most simple and effective way to accomplish a double goal:
- By learning Korean you can study and learn True Parents' words directly; and,
- That is a shortcut to becoming a filial son and daughter to True Parents.
Raise your hands if you agree. Since you are bright and young, I feel able to have hope in you.
Unfortunately, we have one problem: our time is limited. If you have a plan to achieve your lifelong goal in ten years, this is the time that you have to shorten the time period and achieve your goal in one year.
Actually, we have less than one year until the year 2000 -- only seven months in fact. In the year 2000, how old will our True Father be? [80] Is the physical age of eighty old or young? [Old] When you say "old", is old age closer to birth or closer to spirit world? [Spirit world] It is closer to spirit world. You are all young and enthusiastic, but when you achieve your goal, achieve victory, with whom do you want to share the victory? [With True Parents] That is the problem.
Therefore, understanding your desire and hope in order for us to be able to prepare to welcome the new millennium, we have to do our absolute best in the remaining months to share our victory with True Parents in 2000. We have to learn Korean and master it. That is the secret. Would you like to do that? [Yes!]
Do you feel this is a different time period we are living in now? [Yes] In the past, when we had invested ten units of effort in our mission, we could only harvest one. That is a ratio of 10:1. But now if we put in ten units of effort in our daily work, we can harvest one hundred! Or, at any rate, double or triple. This is not because of our own effort, but because of True Parents' sacrifice and effort. As you know, True Parents stand upon the foundation that they have laid following the principle of indemnity, coming up from the bottom of hell. This is the way they have lived. In the last few years True Parents have been liberating, blessing and forgiving all the people in the spiritual world, even in hell.
Because of that victorious effort by True Parents we are now living in this providential victorious time. Now we should feel that victory in our daily life. The deeper we feel that, the more we can bring victory ourselves in this time of great harvest; so if we do not bring substantial fruit, it is our problem.
Therefore I can conclude that, if we make new determination, make a new start in our life course, make a perfect ninety degree vertical relationship with True Parents, and invest ourselves completely in our daily life and mission, then we should certainly receive abundant blessing every day!
I truly pray and hope that you will all go out and bring the greatest result in your entire life. This is probably the last chance in our life to do that. I wish you all to become filial sons and daughters to True Parents.