Ever since the Fall of the first human ancestors Adam and Eve, God wanted to complete the providence of salvation. He wanted to complete it through Jesus, whom He sent as the Messiah; however, the people of Israel and the religion of Judaism failed to fulfill their responsibility to receive him. Hence God again sent a Savior to humankind, this time among the Korean people. The True Parents have come with this mission.
Chapter 1
True Father's Birth
Section 1. Background
General background
The country where God sent True Father as the Returning Lord suffered from natural disasters that caused famine throughout the land during the years just prior to his birth. Internationally as well, the entire world was in the midst of great chaos, manifesting signs of the Last Days. The world was about to divide into two camps. The reason for such chaos, both within the country of Korea and internationally, was the course of God's providence to establish national and international foundations of indemnity for the birth of the Lord at his Second Advent.
1 Originally God intended that if Adam and Eve had not fallen, they would have become the True Parents of humankind. As the True Parents they would have understood God's heart and outlook, and fully accomplished God's hope and purpose. However, due to the Fall, God's plan was frustrated. In order to recover what was lost, the providence of re-creation was required.
2 Jesus died having been unable to entirely complete the Will of God. He established on earth a relationship with God only at the adopted son level. Hence, God promised to send him to earth again. God led the providence based on Christianity for 2,000 years in order to pioneer the way for the Lord to return and establish the relationship of God's direct lineage. Therefore, Christians all over the world need to engraft themselves directly onto God's beloved true Son.
3 The era of war and chaos that began with the First World War continues to this day. This course of history did not unfold simply by chance; it has been a course to pay indemnity for human history. Intellectuals everywhere in the world say that we are now living in a world of radical change. The general public thinks that these sudden changes are dangerous and could bring us to a world of despair. The number of people who think that we will arrive at a world of hope is exceedingly small. Some even assert that Western civilization, which has been leading the way in the modern world, is not only declining but has already entered a world of darkness. They assert that not only is Christianity, the spiritual anchor of Western civilization, in decline, but also that the families, societies and nations that are based upon Christianity are declining as never before.
4 The 60 or 70 years following the First World War have been an era of global turmoil. In this historical period the world was destined to go through a course of great tribulations that were unavoidable. I was born during this time and have faced severe trials to this day. In God's providence at this juncture in human history, what is the purpose of this crucial period, an era full of suffering and turmoil? All throughout history, whenever we human beings were in the midst of great hardships, we had to make a choice: do we perish or do we revive? Indeed, in this period we are destined to make this same kind of historic decision.
5 In the East, Japan emerged, inheriting the providential mission of the island culture from Britain. At the same time, Korea was linked providentially to the continental civilization that began with Rome, an empire based in the Mediterranean that was to have received Jesus as the Messiah. Because the Returning Lord was destined to come to the Adam nation of Korea, Korea had to endure a period of indemnity before I was born. That is why it came under Japanese rule for 40 years. The year I was born, 1920, was within this indemnity period. Because of that, my clan had to carry out the Will to finish all the historical conditions of providential history. As a result, the members of my clan had to go through a course of indemnity. (313-070, 1999/11/12)
6 The year 1920 when I was born was the year following the March 1st Movement for Korean independence. Before my birth, Korea suffered three years of famine. The March 1st Movement brought the nation into a time of turmoil, yet it was already suffering through a most difficult period brought on by natural calamities. Under Japanese colonial rule, Korea was being pulled in Satan's direction; hence the March Is1 revolution broke out in order to move things in a new direction.
7 Many Koreans sacrificed their lives calling for independence from Japan by carrying out the Mansei Demonstrations that began on March 1, 1919. Why did such a tragedy take place at that point in time? It was because I was meant to be conceived and born during a period of patriotic fervor.
8 Korean patriot and martyr Yu Gwan-sun died for her country at the age of 17 (by Western counting) due to her involvement in the March 1st Movement. She was in the position of unfallen Eve; she was as Eve in Adam's nation. Japan in the position of Satan decapitated her, and cut her body into 6 pieces. The number 6 represents Satan. In devoting herself for the independence movement, Yu Gwan-sun demonstrated her absolute loyalty to her nation, even at the sacrifice of her life. In 1919, when the independence movement was spreading like wildfire, I was still in my mother's womb. The Returning Lord is not supposed to be born into a nation under Satan's sovereignty; that is why this fight against Japan took place shortly before the time of my birth. Ten months passed from the time of the March 1st Movement to when I was born, in the first month of 1920. (229-033, 1992/04/09)
True Father's hometown
The Korean Peninsula is a providential land. Having the role of a bridge between the civilizations of East and West, it is where preparations were made for the birth of the Lord at the Second Advent. According to True Father, Jeongju, Father's birthplace where God's love came to earth, was the place that God had predestined to be the starting point of a new future for humankind. Also, the name "Sangsa-ri" the village of True Father's birth, denotes a land whose people yearn for and revere God. Sansa-ri will become a holy ground for the people of the world.
9 Located in northeast Asia, the Korean Peninsula is geographically positioned to connect the civilization of the Asian continent to Japan, which embraced the modern civilization of the West. To connect with a continent, a civilization will often go through a peninsula rather than going directly to the continent. That is why peninsulas always foster cultural exchange. In this sense, the Korean Peninsula has the role of a bridge to bring Eastern and Western civilizations together and bear their fruit. Thus it makes sense that God will lead His providence for the world centering on the Korean Peninsula. For this reason, Korean people must be equipped to embrace both civilizations and digest them. In the end, what enables a civilization to bear fruit is religion. (078-312, 1975/06/10)
10 To which nation will the Messiah come? From the viewpoint of the Principle of Restoration, he should not come to an independent nation. This is because originally Israel, and Judaism with its influence on the nation of Israel, should have welcomed the Messiah and become his foundation. When they were not able to do so, the foundation of the nation and of Judaism was lost, and as a result the Jewish people would later lose their nation and be scattered throughout the world. From the standpoint of Jesus, the nation and the religion that should have supported him were gone; thus Jesus had to start his ministry from a position where he had no relationship with either the nation or the Temple.
11 From the historical point of view, what nation has a people with a burning faith? Although the Korean people were not familiar with the Christian term "God," and although they did not receive prophecies from the biblical prophets, strangely enough throughout their 5,000 years of history the Korean people always deeply revered heaven even without knowing why. That such a small country in the Eastern Hemisphere survived era after era to this day, maintaining itself through 5,000 years of history is nothing short of a miracle. If you look at the history of Korea, it underwent numerous trials, including being invaded many times by neighboring countries.
12 Korea has made many sacrifices during its 5,000-year history. Koreans have had a great influence on China. Dwelling to the east of China, the Korean people took no pleasure in invading other nations. They were a peace-loving people. That is why some Chinese people left their mainland nation and moved to the Korean Peninsula. Even Confucius praised these people. He said that a holy people resided there and expressed his desire to go and visit them. If you study Korean history, you will see that the Korean people did not invade other countries. Although they were invaded numerous times, they never invaded another country. However, when they were attacked unjustly they were like fire; no one could defeat them. They are a people literally burning with righteousness. If a Korean should happen to die while traveling in regions such as Manchuria or Siberia, nothing would be found on his body except a tobacco pipe and a flint. People from other countries carried swords or other kinds of weapons, but Koreans did not possess anything like that. That is why if a Korean traveling in Russia or China knocked on the door at night, most Russians and Chinese would welcome him in. Korea is indeed a country worthy of being the place where I could appear. (179-030, 1988/06/15)
13 My hometown is Jeongju, in North Pyeongan Province, North Korea. I have many stories to share about that place, and many anecdotes from my childhood. In the future, the people of the world will regard my hometown in the same way Muslims regard Mecca and Christians regard Jerusalem. Therefore, I urge you to visit my hometown in your lifetime. If you do not, when you go to the spirit world, people there will accuse you, pointing their fingers at you and saying, "What in the world did you do while you were on earth?" (034-067, 1970/08/29)
14 You should be able to say, "I attended the True Parents from the beginning to the end." Otherwise, how can you become citizens of God's kingdom and build up the royal family in the heavenly kingdom? That is why you must return to where the True Parents were born. Originally the Garden of Eden should be your home; Eden is where the True Parents were born. Due to the Fall, humankind lost the land of that original home. However, now that the True Parents have become the owners of the Garden of Eden, the place where the True Parents were born has become humanity's hometown. Hence, the place where the True Parents were born is also your hometown. (166-255, 1987/06/07)
Birth omens and name
Auspicious signs appeared around the time of True Fathers birth. In 1919, before the March 1st Movement began, a golden bird flew to a tree in front of True Father's house and sang. After a dream in which he saw a pair of dragons ascend to heaven, his great-grandfather Moon Jeong-heul named True Father Yong Myung; yong meaning dragon and myung meaning light. However, immediately after Korea's liberation from Japan in 1945, as True Father embarked upon the course of his public ministry for the providence, heaven gave him a new name, so he changed his name to Sun Myung, in accordance with the purpose of his providential mission.
15 When my mother was pregnant with me and her delivery date was nearing, she journeyed to her hometown of Daesandong. Right beside my mother's hometown is a large mountain. From all directions, nothing obstructs the view of this mountain, which is called Mt. Jeseok. It is a mystical mountain. While my mother was waiting for the day of my delivery, she had a dream: The weather had become terribly fierce. A heavy storm blew in and dark clouds covered her village. Then from out of the clouds came a streak of light. From the top of Mt. Jeseok a golden dragon appeared. It encircled the waist of the mountain, and then flew upward. My mother in her vision followed the dragon as far as the mountaintop, then sat up there and enjoyed the sight of it as it flew about. Suddenly the mountaintop turned into an ocean. In that ocean two golden dragons appeared, twisting and gliding and splashing their tails in the water. Then with the words, "Farewell, my beloved world," they ascended into the sky.
16 I can never forget something that my mother told me one day. She said that my great-grandfather, my grandfather, and even one of my sisters-in-law had the same kind of dream about dragons. I cannot forget the words that my mother uttered, "Whatever way I think about them, I know that all those dreams are about you, the substance of the dragon." In one of her own visions, two golden dragons descended from the top of Mt. Jeseok and stood in front of her house. Each held a magic pearl as it ascended into the sky. She said that she actually saw them with her own eyes. Although the rain was pouring down that day, when she looked at the mountain she could see all of that happening. (412-064, 2003/07/15)
17 The Chinese character sun in my name is the combination of two characters, symbols of a fish and a sheep. They can also mean the ocean and the land, or the water and the earth. The character sun also means bright and cheerful. When the morning sun shines radiantly after a night of rainfall, we say in Korean, sunmyung-hada, which means "it is bright and clear."
Section 2. True Father's Lineage
Ancestral traditions
The founding ancestor of the Nampyeong Moon clan, Moon Da-seong was given the title Duke Museong. He was born in February of 472 CE at a place whose present-day address is in Punglim village, in the Nampyeong township of the city of Naju, in South Jeolla Province. It is said that he was placed in a rock cradle on top of a huge rock in the Jangjayeon neighborhood. In that rock cradle the Chinese character moon was inscribed in red. We read in the genealogy of the Nampyeong Moon clan that King Jabi of the Silla dynasty was told in a dream, "A special child has been born in this nation; go and find this child." His people searched for the child and found him crying on that rock. This, according to the records, is the origin of the family name Moon. Moon Da-seong rose to become a high government official and also was given the responsibility to pick young men of good and strong appearance and made them leaders of the Hwarang (elite youth corps). He taught them to practice filial piety, loyalty and righteousness. True Father said, "Members of the Nampyeong Moon clan uphold a tradition of being conscientious, loyal, uncompromising with unrighteousness, and fiercely stubborn."
1 The people of the world must be wondering about the connections in my bloodline. My bloodline is connected with the foundation of sacrifices made by all the ancestors of Korea over many generations.
2 I am from the Nampyeong Moon clan. Nampyeong literally means a flat land in the south. According to Oriental concept, south represents the ideal. Hence, Nampyeong means a natural, open land, a flat land where all is in balance, a southern country waiting for the people to gather.
3 If you have among your ancestors a national patriot, a saint, or a divine son or daughter who rendered distinguished service, you must attend that person as the ancestor of your ancestors.
4 My family began residing in Jeongju when my great-grandfather moved there. We had a family motto, "Let us cherish the entire land of Korea and look forward to having visitors from all parts of the land. Whenever they find their way to our home, let us attend them with all our heart. If a guest happens to stop by our home, we will attend him with our utmost sincerity. Then blessings from all parts of Korea will come to our clan."
5 One thing I am thankful to my mother and father for is that, based on our family motto, they taught me to never send anyone who came to our home away without feeding them first. They taught me never to give anyone a cold reception, not even a beggar.
6 There were always many people visiting my house. One night when I was about eight years old, I awoke from sleep to find a group of strangers in the guest room and my family giving them a feast. I asked what the gathering was for, and I was told in a whisper, "Independence fighters have come." Back then I often heard stories about those people—that they slept in tents, walked on rooftops, and could leap over a wall with just one hand. My mother served them a midnight meal of noodle soup. She caught a chicken and made noodle soup with it; it would feed more people and it was faster than cooking rice. My family motto was to feed hungry visitors, even if it meant that there was no food left for my family and we would go hungry. Such was the education I received. (300-134, 1999/03/02)
7 Our family motto urged us to uphold the historical tradition of patriots and loyal subjects. One unusual thing about the members of my family was that when anyone smoked or drank alcohol they would break out in hives or a rash. For this reason they could not drink or smoke cigarettes. Another exemplary thing about my family tradition was that no one had concubines. My grandfather practiced the highest possible life of faith based on Confucian teachings. My great-uncle was a Christian minister and could understand all the books of prophecies. My mother and others in my family had a gift that they could know the future if they prayed about it. (588-064, 2008/04/12)
True Father's family
The Nampyeong Moon clan, which originated from Jeolla Province, began putting down roots in the regions of Pyeongan Province and Hamgyeong Province from the time of Moon Jung-sil who was known by the title Duke Uian. He was the third of the five sons of Duke Chungseon (Moon Ik-jeom). Moon Dal, Duke Uian's fifth-generation descendant, was the first to settle in what is now the city of Jeongju. True Father's great-great-grandfather Moon Seong-hak was the 19th-generation descendant of Duke Uian; he had three sons: Jeong-ho, Jeong-gi, and Jeong-heul. The youngest, Moon Jeong-heul, was True Fathers great-grandfather. He was the first to reside in the village of Sangsa-ri.
8 My family was blessed by God during my great-grandfather's time but they paid indemnity during my grandfather's time. It is an absolute principle that after receiving blessings indemnity follows. Consider the history of Israel: after having received a blessing, indemnity followed without fail. If you receive ten blessings, then you must pay indemnity equal to that amount. For this reason, my family went through considerable turmoil before God called me. The family fortune was gone, and family members lost their lives. Not only that, people who were close to me also faced many troubles. Thus it was that once my family was given a special blessing from God, God left our family in the hands of Satan until we hit the lowest point. During that time Satan attacked my family and we had to suffer a course of indemnity through three generations. (029-208, 1970/02/)
9 Many years ago, in order to try to eliminate me, Satan assailed the members of my family with all kinds of incomprehensible spiritual phenomena. I was born in an environment full of such problems, and I had to deal with each of them myself. Of course I had my parents and also many relatives who were willing to help me. Among them was my grandfathers younger brother, who was a well-known minister. He was an expert in the Chinese classics and the history of China. He had graduated from Pyongyang Theological Seminary, and he spoke English well. He was knowledgeable about Western culture and became a pioneer in the independence movement.
10 I was born in a family that made a great contribution to the March Is' Movement and the struggle for independence. The member of my family who led this was my great-uncle Moon Yun-guk. When I was growing up he used to tell me, "You, great-nephew, must become greater than me." My great-uncle loved me dearly. He was behind the establishment of the Osan School. (300-134, 1999/03/02)
11 My father was the kind of person who did not need law. When my father borrowed money for some reason, he felt deeply compelled to pay the money back, including interest, no later than the due date. He kept his word no matter what happened. He was exemplary in keeping promises. (045-136, 1971/06/24)
12 My mother gave birth to 13 children. I have three older sisters, and I am the second son. Five of the children died, while six daughters and two sons survived. It was devastating to my mother that as she was raising her sons and daughters, one after another departed from this world. Whenever a younger brother or sister died, my father took responsibility for their burials. He made a simple plank coffin, carried it on his shoulder to the burial site, and buried the child himself. Even my older brother was too young to help him. While my mother was in tears due to having to send her child to the spirit world, my father, having buried the coffin alone, returned home. But he did not wash the burial ground dirt off his hands.
13 My mother was a virtuous person. She had a very strong personality, like a man, yet she was a good daughter-in-law. Whenever her father-in-law said he would be going somewhere early in the morning, she prepared his breakfast and served it to him no matter how early it was. She lived her whole life that way without ever complaining. I took after my mother in many ways. (300-135, 1999/03/02)
14 I resemble my mother in many ways. I have my mother's revolutionary disposition. My father, on the other hand, was more like a scholar. Once he heard something he never forgot it, like today's computers. He had a photographic memory. I inherited my creativity from my mother. My maternal grandfather was also this way; he was innovative. In his village, he was involved in ocean-related work, and he was quite creative about it. So when I was six, seven and eight years old I used to visit him at his home and follow him around catching fish. You have no idea how excited I was, and how anxiously I waited for an opportunity to go and see him. (470-126, 2004/09/24)
15 My mother bore many children, 13 in all. I still remember what my mother said, "Although there are all kinds of fun things to do in this world, nothing brought me more joy than nursing the babies I gave birth to and raising them. Now that I am too old to give birth, I find that nothing I do is nearly as much fun as that." I looked at my mother's face, haggard from hard work. Her face showed that in her life she had been through every possible difficulty, but to me she looked beautiful as she worked hard to raise her beloved children. Her true love was accompanied by difficulties and sacrifices, but she forgot about her sacrifices for the ones she loved. Indeed, sacrifice turns into the compost that fertilizes the soil, enabling it to yield life, flesh and bones, which is joy and happiness. It becomes love. (044-200, 1971/05/07)
16 My older brother absolutely supported me, his younger brother, even though he was older than me. In this way he naturally established a foundation to totally indemnify Cain's position. My older brother's life of faith was deep to the core. He knew when the Korean War would end and the day that Korea's independence from Japan would come. His level of faith was such that he could resolve all difficulties with guidance from the spirit world. He recognized that our relationship was not like the many other older-younger brother relationships throughout history. I was not an ordinary brother, but a person of historic significance.
17 My older brother could communicate with the spirit world, so he knew I was not an ordinary younger brother. He always thought, "All families have siblings, and within a clan there are vertical and horizontal relationships. However, among brothers, my younger brother is the best one in all of history." The spirit world taught him that. Therefore, my older brother did everything I asked him to do. If I asked him to sell the house, he would sell it; if I asked him to sell a cow, he would sell it. When I had no money for my tuition, he was ready to sell even his own land to help me pay it. He never once opposed me. That is how he restored the Cain-Abel relationship. (309-281, 1999/06/06)
Chapter 2
True Mother's Birth
Section 1. Background
Spiritual preparations
For God to send the Returning Lord, His begotten Son, to earth, He conducted a special providence. He did likewise to send Heaven’s Bride to be His begotten Daughter and the embodiment of the Holy Spirit. Heaven prepared many Spirit-led churches in order to send True Mother as the new Eve. Around the time of True Mother’s birth, many spiritual churches emerged on the Korean Peninsula. With her family centrally involved in them, their purpose was to prepare for True Mother.
1 When we look at the central figures of providential history, we can well understand how important the mother’s role is. Abraham, Moses, Jesus and others blossomed and made a new history based on the role of their wife or mother. However, internally their personal histories were filled with bitter sorrow, misery and suffering. Where I stand today, I can see that nothing that happened leading up to my birth was a coincidence. Rev. Lee Ho-bin, who was well-known before the liberation of Korea, received a revelation that led him to arrange my parents' marriage. (True Mother, 1988/02/24)
2 Infants typically cry, "Wahhh!" as soon as they are born, but I was told that I sang "La la la!" instead. So, Jo Won-mo, my maternal grandmother, said, "It seems she will be a singer when she grows up." After eating the first seaweed soup after my delivery, my mother (Daemonim) fell asleep holding me in her arms; then she had a dream. In that dream, a darkish Satan with horns on his head appeared to her. He said, "Because of the birth of this child, I will have to die," and then he tried to kill me. My mother yelled out, "Get away, Satan! She is such a precious daughter to me; how dare you try to kill her!" My mother screamed so loud that my grandmother said, "You must be exhausted after giving birth." My mother replied, "No, it's not that. I screamed because Satan was trying to kill the baby." My grandmother said, "That is so strange." But my mother thought to herself, "Since Satan tried to kill her as soon as she was born, I have to raise this child with my utmost sincere devotion. I am going to raise her pure, beautiful and untouched by sin, and then offer her to the Lord." (True Mother, 1977/05/03)
3 My mother, Daemonim, told me that she had a mysterious dream right after she gave birth to me. At the time Korea was under the rule of Japan, and the war in the Pacific was at its peak. People dispatched by the Japanese governor-general's office in Korea raided every house and took all the grain and metal objects they could find, to supply food for the soldiers and make arms for the war. In her dream, all those things they had seized from Korea were piled up high in the land of Japan. Then all of a sudden everything that had been confiscated returned to Korea in a ship crossing the Korea Strait, and it was all piled up high, sack upon sack, in the front yard of our house. At this point, Daemonim woke up. As I think of it now, that dream symbolically showed the path that the mother must follow, reconciling and uniting Cain and Abel to move toward our Heavenly Parent. (True Mother, 2012/12/25)
4 In Korea there were many special Spirit-led churches. These were different from conventional Christian churches whose members were comfortable with formal worship and with the blind and simple faith that, just by believing in Jesus and the Bible, they would be able to go to the kingdom of heaven. These churches received numerous revelations from God that they should make preparations to welcome the Lord at his Second Advent and find the Lord's Bride. Such was the landscape of faith in Korea following the Second World War. I was born into a family that was spiritually prepared, whose preparation included participation in those Spirit-led churches.
Heaven's Bride prophecy
True Mother's birth was significant because it was the fruit of God's providential history. Her birth transcended the birth of an individual; it was the fruit of 2,000 years of Christian history, and it was linked to the Spirit-led churches that arose in Korea to welcome the Lord at his Second Advent. These churches produced this fruit through three generations: her maternal grandmother, Jo Won-mo; her mother, Hong Soon-ae (Daemonim); and finally True Mother herself.
5 My father, Han Seung-oon, was born in Anju; he worked as a teacher all his life. Although he was a strong and robust man with a large frame, he had an eye for detail and he was always serving others. Most notably, he was a devout Christian; he also worked as a leader at the New Jesus Church led by Rev. Yi Yong-do. As a believer and educator, his life was always busy. When my mother (Daemonim) moved to Anju with my grandmother, they attended the New Jesus Church in Anju to continue their life of faith. That is where my mother and father met and came to know each other, and eventually ended up marrying.
6 When I was born, God gave revelations about his plan that the Lord at his Second Advent would be born on earth. These revelations were given to a woman named Rev. Heo Ho-bin. When I was six, Rev. Heo's mother met me and prophesied, "You will surely be Heaven's Bride." She had received that revelation about me though I was still just a young girl. In those days in North Korea there were quite a few Spirit-led churches that had been prepared and called by God. In fact, the Christian faith was so strong in Pyongyang that the city was called "the Jerusalem of the East." (True Mother, 1977/05/03)
7 In North Korea, as the power of the communist authorities grew stronger, the persecution of religion became severe. In August 1946, Rev. Heo Ho-bin was taken to the Daedong Detention Center in Pyongyang. While in jail she received a revelation that she would meet the Returning Lord. Around the same time True Father was arrested while evangelizing in Pyongyang and was taken to the same jail. While in the jail, True Father managed to send a note to Rev. Heo through her chief disciple. However, the note was discovered by a prison guard and True Father was tortured so severely that his teeth were broken.
8 Rev. Kim Seong-do's church was on the west coast of North Korea. After she died, Rev. Heo Ho-bin became its leader. True Mother's mother (Daemonim) was a devout member of that church. She first brought Mother to that church when she was four years old, and Rev. Heo's mother gave her blessing to Mother when she was six. That blessing symbolized the bequeathal to Mother, the succession of the mission to attend the Returning Lord.
True Mother's name
Shortly after True Mother was born, her father, Han Seung-oon, named her Hak Ja, choosing hak according to a dream in which he saw two cranes. Hak means "crane" and ja means "son," and is often used to mean "child" in women's names. True Father gave a different interpretation, "She will come forth as the partner of God, by becoming the greatest scholar (another meaning for "hakja") of God's bitter sorrow." He said, further, "The last character of her name, ja symbolizes that she is destined to be bonded with God's prince."
9 I was told that at the time when I was born, my father had a dream-like vision in which he saw beautiful, bright sunshine beaming down on a thick forest of pine trees. In that forest, two cranes were dancing in harmony. So he named me Hak Ja. (True Mother, 1999/10/21)
10 True Mother's name is Hak Ja. These characters mean "crane" and "son." Cranes fly over the Himalayas and then land on the plains where they hatch their eggs. This symbolizes the mission that Eve is to fulfill. The character ja, meaning "son," symbolizes that she is the woman who yearns for the Son of God. True Mother's mission is to climb over the Himalayas and give birth to sons and daughters in the world of peace. Cranes do not eat just anything; they eat only clean things. They eat things that are nutritious but light. Once a crane starts to fly, it hardly changes direction as it flies high in the sky. For this reason, people in the East love cranes. (246-285, 1993/04/20)
Section 2. True Mother's Family
God's preparation
True Mother's father, Han Seung-oon, was born January 20,1909, and died on March 18, 1978. His father was Han Byeong-geon, his mother was Choi Gi-byeong, and he was the first son among five siblings. In May 1946, while working as a schoolteacher, he fled to the South. After that he worked as a teacher in elementary schools in Seoul and in Gyeonggi Province until February 1974. He dedicated 41 years of his life to being a teacher, in both North and South Korea.
1 I was born at dawn on the 6th day of the lsl lunar month in 1943, at Anju, South Pyeongan Province. It was not a remote village, yet there was a hill, and also a stream, right behind my house. The surrounding village had a very warm and cozy feeling, like a hen embracing her chicks. In the backyard was a cornfield that my family harvested for food. I remember how big those corn cobs were. In the area between True Father's hometown of Jeongju and my hometown of Anju there is a river. (True Mother, 1999/10/21)
2 My hometown, Anju, is in a strategic military and political location. It is one of the two important cities that Pyeong-an Province was named for. The character pyeong is the first character of the city of Pyongyang, and the character an is the first character of Anju. Anju is located in a natural environment of expansive plains that are good for agriculture. Historians say that the town existed in the time before the era called Gojoseon ("Ancient Joseon," 7th-1st centuries BCE). The Cheongcheon River that flows through this area separates North Pyeongan Province from South Pyeongan Province. Anju is about 60 kilometers from True Father's hometown of Jeongju and 75 kilometers from the city of Pyongyang. During the time Daemonim was offering conditions of devotion every day and searching for new words of truth, she would travel to the Holy Lord Church in Cheolsan, which was about 120 kilometers away. (True Mother, 2013/12/06)
3 True Mother's maternal grandmother Jo Won-mo was a direct descendant of Jo Han-jun. The character jo of her family name means nation. It signifies that Daemonim s mother was in the position of a mother of the nation. That is the way the generations of her family tradition connected through history. Here is a true story: After no one had repaired or maintained the Dallae Bridge in Jeongju for many decades, it started to deteriorate. Eventually it reached the point that people could not cross the bridge, and the road was blocked. Remnants of the broken bridge created an obstruction that caused the river to overflow its banks, and it was buried under the sand and mud of the river.
4 In order for Chinese envoys to travel to the seat of Korea's government, they had to cross the Dallae River at Jeongju. However there was no bridge for them to cross, and at that time the government did not have money to build one. So the government posted a bulletin, seeking someone to build a bridge there. That is when Jo Han-jun, my maternal grandmother's ancestor, built the bridge with his personal wealth. He made it a large stone bridge under which boats could pass.
5 According to legend, when the people saw the stone Maitreya standing on the hill, they thought it had sprung up from underneath the ground. They built an open shrine for the statue so that it would not be exposed to the elements. Then the Maitreya statue began to grow. It grew bigger and bigger until it pierced the roof of the shrine, and the shrine had to be rebuilt. Then, strangely enough, the statues belly began to bulge, and when it did, so did the bellies of all the daughters in the Jo clan. This caused a big misunderstanding among the villagers, who thought that the unmarried girls had become pregnant out of wedlock.
6 True Mothers maternal grandmother’s family name is Jo. Her family lived in a wealthy village, a community of tile-roofed houses where many government officials lived. True Mother's maternal grandmother, the third generation of her ancestral line, was a direct descendant of Jo Han-jun. Coming out of such a meritorious family tradition, both her maternal grandmother and Daemonim greatly loved True Mother and devoted special attention to raising her. Since Daemonim was often traveling all over the nation looking for the Lord, it was Grandmother Jo who actually raised True Mother. This family wanted more than anyone else to know all the secrets about the spirit world. (573-262, 2007/08/24)
7 Hong Yu-il, my maternal grandfather, was tall and handsome. When I first met True Father, he felt familiar to me because he looked so much like my grandfather. In those days my grandfather was so open to modern trends that he even bought high-heeled shoes for his daughter-in-law. Jo Won-mo, my maternal grandmother, was petite and pretty. She was diligent and active. Although she was not well educated, she was very much a modern lady. She even operated her own business selling and repairing sewing machines. (True Mother, 1999/10/21)
Cultural preparation
True Mother’s ancestral home is located in South Korea, in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. According to Father's explanation, Chungcheong means "a pure heart and a clear mind" and Cheongju means "a village that is clear and pure." When river or ocean water is clear, we can see fish and other things deep in the water. Likewise, Cheongju signifies a village of people whose hearts are pure and minds are clear, who seek to become the people of the Way. True Mother's family name Han, comes from the Cheongju Han clan, and it represents Korea, the Han nation, Hanguk. In addition, it represents the universe, since Han also signifies hana, meaning the first, or number one. That is why God prepared Heaven's Bride with the name Han from the Cheongju Han clan.
8 Korea has 4,300 years of history. This history includes the era of Gojoseon. The Korean people were called the Dongyi people, a people in the East who studied astronomy and interpreted the stars to ascertain heavenly fortune. In every era of its history Korea has upheld a national religion. In the eras of Silla and Goryeo, it was Buddhism, and in the era of Joseon, it was Confucianism. When we trace back to the earliest history of Korea, we find a record that the Han clan preceded even the Gojoseon era. There we can find the origin of the Korean people, from a time even earlier than the Gojoseon era. (615-173, 2009/08/22)
9 Korean historians state that before the Gojoseon era there was a nation governed by Emperor Hwan-ung. It was he who begat Dangun, the first ancestor of Korea.
10 When we search for the root of the phrase "the Han people," we find that it originates from han. This word denotes the unique name that our people were called from ancient times. It means the first people and a great people. It also refers to the people of heaven's lineage who will fulfill God's Will and make the world one. Therefore, the Han clan is known to be a royal and prestigious lineage with a long and enduring history. That is why it was from this lineage that God sought a woman to be the True Mother. (True Mother, 2013/12/06)
11 Han also is the word for the One, God, and the oneness of all things in the universe. In addition, it means vast, which implies embracing everything in the universe, fully and abundantly. It also means divine, number one in the world, and the origin or beginning of all things. Thus, we Han people are the people who will carry out the role of fulfilling God's Will on earth by spearheading human history and guiding humankind to truth. (True Mother, 2013/12/06)
12 We Korean people are known as the Baedal people, the white-clothed people. Baedal means "the bright country," and "the country that reveres heaven." Dan-gun is also called the King of Baedal, an ancient kingdom of the Korean people thousands of years ago. From the Bible, we read that God chose Noah and Abraham, and worked with them as central figures to prepare the Israelites as the chosen people to whom He would eventually send Jesus. Likewise, heaven chose the Han people as the people of heaven's lineage and raised them as His people with the Hongik Ingan teaching—the principle to widely benefit humankind—that was given by Dangun. Thus God prepared them to lead the providence when He sends the Returning Lord to them. Therefore, we must bear in mind that the Han people have been chosen by God to stand in front and lead the way to establish the kingdom of peace in the Era After the Coming of Heaven. (True Mother, 2013/12/06)
13 The Korean alphabet was revealed during the reign of King Sejong, who promulgated it as Hunmin Jeongeum, meaning "the teaching of correct sounds for the people." The name can be interpreted to mean that those who teach and learn what is right will continue on, even if their country falls into ruin. I came to learn that the Dongyi people (another name for the Korean people) have such a history and character.
Section 3. Spirit-led Churches
The providence of Spirit-led churches
Beginning around 1900, while God was initiating the providence to send the returning Messiah to the land of Korea, Spirit-led churches began to emerge. These were led by devout Christians who had advance knowledge about the providence of God. The work of these churches began with the New Jesus Church led by Rev. Yi Yong-do, was passed to the Holy Lord Church of Rev. Kim Seong-do, and culminated with the Inside the Womb Church of Rev. Heo Ho-bin. As these churches searched for the Returning Lord, they also created the foundation for God's providence to welcome Heavens Bride.
1 In the land of Korea, God has been conducting spiritual work focusing on Christianity. Focusing on certain spiritual Christian churches God prepared a foundation in the 1930s and 1940s before Korea's liberation from Japan. Those Christian churches had to understand God's internal circumstances and attend His internal Will, to prepare to receive the Returning Lord. God led this work through numerous families and pioneers. In Cheolsan, Pyongyang and Wonsan they did everything they could to prepare a good environment for the time of the Lord's return. Since Christianity was called to fulfill the Will to receive the Lord, God had these faithful believers prepare a spiritual environment to receive him. (028-058, 1970/01/03)
2 Among people doing this spiritual work was Rev. Kim Seong-do, who lived in Cheolsan. Another spiritual leader at that time was Rev. Baek Nam-ju from Hamheung, who was granted authorization by the Japanese governor-general's office in Korea to lead the Holy Lord Church. This was possible only because of guidance from the spirit world. The spirit world gave a message to Rev. Baek to walk barefoot from Hamheung to Cheolsan and meet Rev. Kim. Although the distance was some 240 to 280 kilometers, he walked barefoot and met Rev. Kim. In this way, east and west united.
3 When Rev. Kim Seong-do and her family failed to fulfill their responsibility for her mission, it was transferred to a woman who faithfully attended her, Rev. Heo Ho-bin. Rev. Heo's whole life was focused on the Returning Lord. Heaven taught her how sin could be removed, how to live a daily life of attendance to the Lord, and how children should be raised after the Lord's coming. Rev. Heo set up all the necessary traditions for living in attendance to the Returning Lord. Rev. Heo had to make these preparations before Korea's liberation from Japan in 1945. The Principle of Restoration is such that she needed to do this work during the seven years prior to the liberation. Then, God's plan for the Returning Lord could have been fulfilled at the time of the liberation. The Messiah could have inherited the foundation she had built and initiated a new history.
4 Two thousand years ago in Israel, God made many preparations before the birth of Jesus. He prepared the people of Israel ahead of time to welcome Jesus. He prepared so that Jesus could have his heavenly family, unite the nation and then bring salvation to the world. However, the central figures of the providence at that time cared more about their daily lives than about God's circumstances or His profound Will. As a result of their not recognizing and attending Jesus properly, Jesus was sent to the cross. During the 2,000 years since Jesus' resurrection, God has been working through Christian culture to awaken and prepare people as brides to attend the Returning Lord. He called Korea to be His chosen nation.
Nurturing True Mother
True Father said, "The Holy Lord Church led by Rev. Kim Seong-do and the Inside the Womb Church led by Rev. Heo Ho-bin were connected to True Mother through Daemonim." Throughout her life, Hong Soon-ae (Daemonim) made many conditions of devotion to meet the Returning Lord. Also, when she joined the Holy Lord Church and the Inside the Womb Church, she dedicated herself to these churches. During that time, Rev. Heo's mother gave a blessing to True Mother, "You will be Heaven's Bride." This signified that the entire foundation of the conditions of devotion made by all these Spirit-led churches was bequeathed to True Mother through Daemonim.
5 As no tree is without roots, we need to understand the people in the past who constituted the roots of True Father and True Mother before they were inaugurated as the True Parents. It is significant that they created and maintained a good environment, good family and good lineage until the end of their lives. My mother, Daemonim, was born on the 22nd day of the 2nd lunar month in 1914, at Jeongju, North Pyeongan Province. She devoted her life completely to finding the Returning Lord and then lived her whole life in attendance to him. Christians up to that time lived with the hope of welcoming the Lord, but my mother’s path was different. In order to meet the Lord she actively searched for him, rather than just hoping and waiting for him to come. (True Mother, 1989/12/02)
6 Thousands of years before Jesus came, God made many preparations for Israel to receive him that remain unknown to this day. In Korea as well, prior to the liberation He prepared many groups to receive the Lord at his return. Those groups carried out internal work for the providential history of restoration. My maternal grandmother and my mother searched everywhere for those groups. They lived their lives only for the Will, preparing for the day when they could meet the Lord. In the end, their sincere and devout life of faith led me to where I am today. Living a virtuous and pure life, they separated themselves from anything impure or evil. I learned this way of life primarily from my mother, but my maternal grandmother also greatly influenced me. (True Mother, 1999/10/21)
7 Grandmother Jo Won-mo was born in a Christian family. She had deep faith and love for her country, and was passionate about everything she did. With the explosive beginning of the March 1st Movement in 1919, she participated while carrying my mother, who was then five, on her back. I remember one time seeing a picture of her at a rally. Grandmother Jo was truly a remarkable woman, with a fervent life of faith that influenced my mother. They attended a Presbyterian Church until my mother was 19 years old. Later, they attended the Holy Lord Church founded by Rev. Kim Seong-do, even making the long journey to Cheolsan to attend a church there because it was very active. My grandmother and my mother joined that church and continued their life of faith. (True Mother, 2014/10/11)
8 In 1944, one year after I was born, my mother and grandmother Jo Won-mo joined the Inside the Womb Church, where preparations were being made to attend the Returning Lord. Rev. Heo Ho-bin told the members, "Each and every woman in the church should make at least one set of clothes for the Lord. Otherwise, when he comes you will be ashamed."
9 One day, Rev. Heo Ho-bin told my mother about a revelation that she had received. "I was told that you should go to Anju and buy new shoes for the Returning Lord and his Bride, and also a traditional Korean hat for him." My mother departed as soon as she heard this. She went to a well-known craftsman who made those items and asked him sincerely, "Please make them with your utmost devotion. I will pay you as much money as you want. Just make them to the best of your ability." She gave him the sizes for the items and left. One week later, my mother went to pick up the items. She was pleased with the shoes but not with the hat. As soon as the craftsman handed her the hat, she felt her arms starting to get numb and saw the sky turning yellow. Her entire body was paralyzed, she could not move at all, and her feet were stuck to the floor. When she said to the craftsman, "You must make it again," little by little her body returned to its normal state. My mother was very upset, and she scolded him for not making it properly. He was shaken, and he promised to try his best to make it right.
10 In August 1946, one of the Inside the Womb Church members defected to the communist authorities. Rev. Heo Ho-bin and other Inside the Womb Church leaders were arrested by the police and imprisoned at the Daedong Detention Center. During the interrogation, whenever they asked Rev. Heo, "When will the baby Jesus be born?" she kept on saying, "In a few days." That was what the messages from heaven had told her to say.
11 Sometime in June of 1946, Father left Seoul and went to Pyongyang in the North. He evangelized there and found a lecture room in Gyeongchang-ri where he could meet his followers. Around that time the communist authorities began to persecute religious groups. Rev. Heo Ho-bin and her main church leaders were incarcerated at the Daedong Detention Center, charged with operating a pseudo-religion.
12 My mother, Daemonim, and my maternal grandmother, Jo Won-mo, lived their entire lives with faith in order to receive the Returning Lord. They never compromised; they never settled into a comfortable family life. Instead, they totally immersed themselves in serving God with their utmost devotion. Since my mother walked a path of trials and tribulations in order to receive the Returning Lord, I naturally participated in doing so along with her. My grandmother, mother and I would sacrifice anything for the way of the Will. That is why God was continually with our family. (True Mother, 2014/10/11)
13 As we see from the life of my mother, Hong Soon-ae, we should live a life of which we can be proud. Out of the four persons who are parents of the True Parents, my mother is the only one who attended True Father until the end. For this reason True Father bestowed on her the title Daemonim. Before she received this title, she offered endless prayers, shedding tears of anguish. Her sincere devotion was a devotion that heaven alone could understand. Before she met True Father, she prayed that God would guide her to meet the Returning Lord. After she met True Father, she prayed even more deeply for the entire True Family, because she was well aware how hard Satan was trying to invade the True Family spiritually. She fought with Satan to protect the True Family; in fact, she kept on praying for them even during the ten years when she was suffering from failing health. (True Mother, 1989/12/02)
14 From now on none of you should accumulate wealth for yourself. It is good to be frugal, but I suggest that you be frugal so that you can make a greater offering for the Will. You should be able to invest all your savings for your clan, for your nation, and for the reunification of Korea. Do not think only of your own family. The only thing you need is a heart burning with love for God. Like Daemonim, you should live 24 hours a day thinking only of how you will fulfill the Will of God and True Parents. She had nothing else in her heart but that; she did not think of anything else. Because of this she deserves our utmost respect. That is why I bestowed on her the title Daemo, "Great Mother." (208-346, 1990/11/21)
15 After True Parents' Holy Wedding, Daemonim and True Mother had to work hard to deal with criticism from all kinds of women, ranging from the wife of the laborer to a lady from the line of the royal family. Mother could not endure this all by herself; three generations—grandmother Jo Won-mo, Daemonim and True Mother—had to face it together. Knowing Daemonim had fulfilled her responsibility in this, I gave her the title Daemo, which means "Great Mother."
which means "with a loyal heart she dedicated herself" to God and True Parents. Anyone, like her, who goes to the spirit world after a life of sacrifice lived with single-minded devotion will open the gate to receive blessings from God free from any accusation.
16 Daemonim's entire life of faith and devotion had only one objective. We must especially remember that from the beginning she was part of the new providential work that included proclaiming that the Returning Lord would be born on earth as a human being. She participated in the new churches that God created for that purpose. Rev. Kim Seong-do, founder of the Holy Lord Church, was the first generation; another line was represented by Rev. Heo Ho-bin of the Inside the Womb Church. Their work laid the foundation that was bequeathed to True Mother. They formed the mainstream history from which Daemonim inherited the tradition of faith; but she was the first of these forerunners to actually attend the Returning Lord.
Chapter 3
True Father's Childhood and Youth
Section 1. Love for Nature
Lessons from nature
True Father spent about 18 years of his life within about ten kilometers of his birthplace. That area was the stage of his activities until he graduated from primary school. This was an important time in his life, when he learned about nature and had many realizations from observing and experiencing it. As he studied nature, he showed unusual interest, inquisitiveness and passion for learning. Numerous experiences with the world of nature and his agricultural surroundings nurtured his emotional sensitivity and depth. As he observed the love of birds and insects for their young, he verified the principles of human love. All things in nature became his friends, and they also became his textbooks of heart and love.
1 As we grow up, our hometown provides us with abundant opportunities for learning and emotional growth. Just by looking at the mountains, we realize that they are enveloped by a huge net of heart—it is unforgettable. It is the same for a creek with the variety of fish and insects that live there. We can grow when we utilize all of the creation as our basic textbooks, from which we can learn and gain knowledge that we never forget. We can learn from all the animals and plants in the mountains and indeed every single thing in the natural world. What we find in our hometown provides us with abundant materials to help us learn and grow internally in heart and feeling. That is why we miss the mountains, fields and rivers of our hometown. (187-294, 1989/02/12)
2 When I was a child, I went everywhere in my village, the neighboring villages, the mountains and over the mountains, with the thought to go and see everything throughout the land. That is how I was in my childhood. I went to a reservoir and caught the different kinds of fish that lived there. I caught all kinds of birds. I caught all kinds of insects. There was nothing there that I did not catch. That is how I became knowledgeable about the things around me. I knew where the crabs lived, where the different species of fish lived, what animals lived where, and so on. Having discovered and investigated all their dens and nests, I knew very well what creatures lived in each place. That is why I knew the best fishing spots. (271-259, 1995/08/28)
3 I did not spend much time in the fields. Every day I roamed throughout the mountains. In the mountains there are all kinds of flowers, all kinds of birds and all kinds of wild animals. Everything is there; it is like a natural museum. Human beings have learned how to make many things by imitating nature. We have to love nature. On the night of a full moon, I never wanted to stay home and sleep. There is something mystical about the night of a full moon. On such nights I would go into the pine forest deep in the mountains and sleep where the wolves and tigers lived. I would lie down on a bed of pine needles underneath a huge pine tree, where weeds do not grow and where you do not get wet even when it rains. You cannot imagine what a marvelous feeling it was to sleep there. When you go to such a place and see the bright moon, even the blowing breeze will sound mystical to you. And when a tall tree shakes in the wind, it will reflect all kinds of colors, and you will be entranced by them. Mysteriously, the trees jostling with each other will sound like people talking together. The Principle can be found in the natural environment rather than in other places. (562-165, 2007/05/06)
4 I truly love nature. I used to go to the mountains and just enjoy nature while sitting on the grass. Sometimes I would fall asleep leaning against a large tree with nature all around. I picked wild vegetables and ate them. These were unforgettable experiences. I believe that nature provided me with the fundamental materials that facilitated my emotional growth. When I observed the trees in the mountains and by the streams, although they were all trees, no two looked the same. That made a deep impression on me. Nature is a museum containing all kinds of materials that each of us can find memorable. (187-295, 1989/02/12)
5 I knew all the migrating birds that came to my village. Once I saw a flock of migrating birds that I had never seen before. They were so colorful and beautiful. I wondered where these birds would hatch their eggs, since they had migrated away and returned after having their young. I also wondered why they came to my neighborhood. I thought it had to be one of two reasons, either for water or to nest. Birds drink water, but they want good water. So I looked for a good source of water and found a spring. I thought to myself that they would come there for water. So I went to that spring every day and waited for the birds to come. I waited for about two weeks. Then, indeed, they came! Birds are truly fascinating creatures. (180-245, 1988/08/22)
6 There was a brook in my hometown. I caught many kinds of freshwater fish that were living there, including mudfish and eels. I thought, if I had a large pond at my house I would bring them home and put them in it. These days it is relatively easy for people to have a pond at home and to raise fish. How wonderful it would have been if I could have done that! We simply could not do it back then. But, still young and not knowing any better, I simply dug a water hole and put some small fish in it. I thought that fish could live in any kind of water. But, after keeping them there overnight, the next morning I discovered they had all died. Without knowing that they needed certain conditions in order to live, I sadly said, "I invested all of my sincerity so you could live; why did you die?" Looking at those dead fish, I said, "Oh, your mom will cry over your death. I will cry for you too." There, alone, I cried for the fish. From this, you can tell that I am a caring person. (187-294, 1989/02/12)
7 I was a champion at catching eels. The sea was about eight kilometers from my home, and I could travel there and back faster than most people. When I was young, my nickname was Tiny Eyes. Rumors spread, "Tiny Eyes catches dozens of eels every day and steams them; then he even feeds them to the pigs and cows." Villagers who heard the rumors came to my house and talked about eels. Then, after telling my mother to prepare to cook eels, I would run out to catch them. By mealtime I was back with the eels I had caught, and my mother would serve them to the visitors either stewed or steamed, whichever way they preferred. They could eat as much as they desired, enjoying eel to their hearts' content. (615-148, 2009/08/22)
8 All of the creation exists for the sake of human beings. Therefore, once we possess the qualifications to be its owner, with the ability to truly love even the tiniest living things, we will not feel ashamed but stand with dignity to receive the love of God. That is why puppies want to receive love from us; sparrows and even spiders want the same. All creatures want to receive love from human beings. In the old days, I was a champion at catching birds. There was no kind of bird in my neighborhood that I did not catch. When migratory birds came into my area, I even caught them; I would not go to sleep until I had caught them. This is how I was when I was a little boy. When I grew older, I dug a bird-bath for the birds and left food for them. After I had invested my loving heart in digging the bird-bath, they came and drank. I brought food for them and sprinkled it on the ground; then they would not fly away when they saw me coming. When birds come to understand that you will not harm them, they will surely like you. That is because human beings are their lords. (173-027, 1988/02/01)
9 When spring comes every animal goes about searching for its mate. Birds do that, and so do insects. When the season turns to summer, try listening to the sounds of insects. There are exactly two kinds. One is the sound of crying from hunger. The other is the sound of singing, looking for a mate. The signals are simple. One is signaling to its friends, "I am hungry; lets go together and eat." The other signals, "Come with me; I am a good mate for you." These are the two kinds of signals they make. Living in the countryside, there were many insects for me to catch. Also, I caught many different kinds of animals: lynx, raccoon and rabbits. It was fun and very exciting. I thought that they were living alone, but in fact each had its own mate. All were in pairs. It is the same with the insect world and the world of birds. (140-296, 1986/02/14)
10 I love the Korean white pine tree because it bears fruit—pine nuts—that we can eat. However, these pine nuts cannot be shelled easily. You must use a stone to smash the shell. Even if you know what to do, your aim must be precise; otherwise, the shell will not open. That is why I say that not just anyone can shell them. Another thing about the white pine: when you plant it, it only germinates when the ground is frozen. Hence, its planting time is opposite that of other plants. Because it must freeze, you should not plant it in spring, but in the autumn.
Training in self-sufficiency
In his childhood, True Father experienced all the tasks of farming, including plowing rice paddies, plowing fields, planting rice and weeding rice. He learned through experience the secrets for successfully growing rice, beans, corn, sweet potatoes and other crops. He did not mind spreading manure and raking leaves. He eagerly took part in every kind of work and learned to do the best job he could in whatever he was doing. He also learned how to mend his clothes and knit his own socks, hats and gloves. In this way, he trained himself to live alone, without needing to depend on others.
11 As soon as I came back from school, I would take off my school shirt and jump into farm work. I was always on the job ahead of my siblings, even my older brother and older sisters. I thought, "Unless I earn the title of champion farmer, I cannot become the leader of the farmers' world." So I taught myself how to become the best farmer. I became an expert on where to plant regular beans and where to plant red beans. I learned how to tell what crop would be best for the soil by looking at the ground. Without hesitation I would say, "Sweet potatoes should flourish here. Why did you plant something else?" Others responded, "How do you know that?" I learned it all through experience. Hence, when I go to a rural community, I am a farmer s farmer. It is the same when I go to a fishing village. I invented an unsinkable boat, and I developed a unique and effective system for catching tuna. (220-333, 1991/10/20)
12 1 knitted my own socks and made my own clothes. When the weather got cold, I made a hat and wore it. I am the one who taught knitting to my older sisters. In order to fulfill your mission for the Will, you must train yourself to be self-sufficient. When I needed underwear, I got a roll of cloth, cut it to a pattern and made some. When I put them on, they fit perfectly. I even made Korean socks for my mother. She said, "I thought you were making them for fun, but they fit me so well!" You should be able to do all these kinds of things based on your own study. You should know how to make your own clothes, socks and hats. If you can do that, even if you live alone you will be able to accomplish your responsibility for the Will. (222-271, 1991/11/03)
13 These days, there is one kind of food that I miss. I have tried all the famous dishes in the world. Is there a food anywhere that I have not tasted? Yet, I still miss this one food. In the olden days in the countryside, farmers had to pass through a period called the "May potato challenge." Having used up all our grains through the winter, in the month of May we had only potatoes to eat. Then finally the spring barley harvest arrived, after which we had barley to cook and eat. The barley that I am talking about is not the pearl barley that you buy at the store, but uncracked barley. The grains have to be soaked in water for some time before cooking them. When we put them in our bowls, if we pressed them down firmly with a spoon, individual grains would break loose and fly out of the bowl. I remember eating it mixed with Korean hot pepper paste. This is the dish that I miss even now. It is not tasty if you mix it with anything else; it must be hot pepper paste. Whenever I put a spoonful of that reddish barley into my mouth, the grains would constantly come out through my teeth. I closed my lips tightly in order to eat it. I had to take time because it was so difficult to chew. I miss those olden days. (212-180, 1991/01/06)
14 Living in the country, you can have a lot of fun and many wonderful experiences. That is where I learned everything I needed and collected all the necessary information to prepare myself to build the monumental house of God's Will for the future. The many experiences I had doing things in nature were how I taught myself to be an expert in whatever I did. When I go to a rural area I can become a farmer, and when I go to the sea I can become a fisherman. When I went out net fishing, I left home early in the morning and totally invested myself with the conviction that I would set a new record. I went out with the cry of the rooster at the crack of dawn and did not return home from my labors until the stars came out. All my life, my personal motto has always been to do my very best to set a new world record. That is why wherever I go, whatever I do, I think that I will never be defeated by anyone. And actually, I am never defeated. I also keep this standard when it comes to making conditions of devotion. (050-303, 1971/11/08)
Training of heart
In his childhood, True Father shed many tears. He was an extremely deep-hearted and compassionate boy. When he was raising birds or fish at home, if one of them died he was drawn by compassion to shed tears for it, thinking of its mother who would grieve for her young. He defended his friends when they were bullied by stronger boys. Whenever he heard that someone was going hungry or starving, he would take rice from the rice jar at home and bring it to him or her, without letting his parents know. When he happened upon a mother who had just given birth but had no food to eat, he brought her rice and the seaweed to make the soup that Korean women eat after having a baby. When his friends' parents could not afford to buy them the new clothes that were customarily prepared for children on traditional holidays, he gave them his own new clothes. These are some of the ways he expressed his deep heart for whoever was suffering hardship.
15 I became mature enough to feel compassion for others shortly after I turned seven, the age when I started going to the village school. I used to figure out when the pregnant women in the village were about to give birth by looking at the size of their bellies. One day I found out that one of the women who was pregnant had no rice at home. So, one month before she had the baby I gave her rice and seaweed for the seaweed soup all mothers have after delivery. This is why the poor people of my village confided in me all of their secrets.
16 When I was young, my family was quite well off. When my friends who were poor came to school with cooked millet or barley in their lunch boxes, I traded my lunch box with them. I could not just eat my own well-prepared food with rice while watching them eat such meager food. If my friends mother or father was sick but had no money to see a doctor, I would go to my mother and father and tearfully ask them for money, explaining my friend's situation. When I was about 11 years old, I told my father that I was going to sell rice to help someone out. But even before he approved, I helped myself to as much rice as I could and scooped it into a bag. I was in such a hurry that I did not even tie the mouth of the bag. Then 1 carried it over my shoulder and walked some eight kilometers to the market to sell it. I should have tied up the bag with a string. But since I did not, I had to hold on tight to keep the rice from spilling. I walked as fast as I could, fearing that my father would come after me. You have no idea how much my heart pounded and how hard I gasped for air. I cannot forget it to this day; I do not think I will forget it for the rest of my life. All those experiences enabled me to stand in the position to take the path for the Will. (058-082, 1972/06/06)
17 My nature is such that whenever I saw a shivering beggar passing by my house during the winter, I could not eat or sleep. So I would ask my mother and father to bring the beggar in to our main room and feed him well before sending him off. Don't you think that this is a basis to be loved by heaven? Whenever I heard through the grapevine that someone in my neighborhood was starving, I could not fall asleep at night wondering how I could help him. I would scoop rice out of my family's rice jar and give it to the hungry person without letting my parents know. (056-035, 1972/05/10)
18 I like rice cakes; so I used to ask my mother, "Please make some rice cakes." But she was always too busy farming, weaving or making clothes in preparation for the marriage of her children. My mother indeed had no time to rest. But I kept asking her to make me rice cakes, and finally she would make some simple ones, such as red bean rice cakes or steamed rice cakes. She made them in a large earthenware steamer. But they would not last even three days because I would share them. That is how I was. Whenever 1 had some concern for my village, I could not fall asleep. I realize that heaven has been guiding me since childhood to have such a caring heart. That is why whenever I saw someone in my village who was poor, I wanted to help that person in any way I could. When there was a problem in the village, I did everything possible to resolve it. I believed that this was my job, not someone else's.
19 When I was young we had a bee farm with hundreds of hives full of bees. When you do bee farming, you have to set up honeycomb frames; then the bees make their homes there and when they make their honey they save it there. Honeycomb frames were expensive. Normally the frames with their empty honeycombs were stacked and stored on a cabinet, but I found them and mashed the waxen honeycombs together to make candles. Many people in the country had no light at night because they could not afford to buy kerosene. So I gave them the candles that I made, thinking that since I could not give them kerosene, at least I should give them candles. I had to do it because otherwise I felt so uneasy; I could not bear doing nothing for them. That is why I mashed all the honeycombs together to make candles and distributed them to each house. At that time I was just a child, so I had no idea how expensive they were! After finding out what I did, my father scolded me severely. Yet I never admitted that I had done anything wrong; how can it be wrong to help those in need? So after scolding me for some time, my father just gave up and stopped. (163-159, 1987/05/01)
20 A disabled couple lived in my village. The husband was blind, and his wife was crippled. Even so, this couple was regarded in the village as an exemplary couple. Though the wife limped while leaning on her cane, she always guided her husband everywhere he needed to go. Her mouth was crooked and she had all sorts of physical problems, but her husband loved her very much, more than he would love a beauty queen. They had no place to live, so when the winter came they would stay in my family's mill. They had only a straw mat, so I would bring them my pad and my quilt. For that reason, they liked me very much. One day I heard they had passed away. I was so sad; I remember crying over their deaths. (420-211, 2003/10/11)
21 Like you, I too had a lively youth overflowing with hope. But even before I knew the Will, I wanted to become a friend to those in pain and suffering. I was greatly interested in people who were not doing well. I did not try to become close to the children of well-to-do and influential families. Most people did that, but I did the opposite. If I knew there was a poor person in the village who had nothing to eat, I could not sleep. I had to do everything I could to solve the situation. In this way, I wanted to follow a path to become friends, even close friends, with everyone. (117-018, 1982/01/30)
Gifts of the Spirit
From childhood, True Father’s personality was such that whenever he took a path, he would follow it to the end. His tenacious spirit helped him to succeed in whatever he did. Once he decided that something was the right thing to do, he acted on it immediately. Thus, during his childhood he cultivated the abilities and character traits he would need to fulfill God's providence of salvation as the True Parent. Furthermore, even as a child he surprised people around him with his predictions regarding people’s illnesses or problems that would occur in the future. This was one special ability he had.
22 My mother, my father and everyone in the village counted on me. I was known as the fearfully sharp and smart one in the Moon clan. I could do anything. Wrestling, boxing or any other sport—I excelled at them all. I was always one of the top three students in my class in school. As soon as I determined to become the number one student and not just one of the top three, I achieved it. Why? I would study twice, even three times harder than the number one student. That is the kind of person I am. That is why, when I probed into the fundamental issues of life and religion, I could root out what had been unknown and reveal it to the world. My personality is such that once I set my mind to do something, I forget to eat or sleep until I finish it. That is the most necessary quality for the work of restoration through indemnity. (319-112, 2000/03/17)
23 As a child, once I started crying for some reason, I did not stop even after an hour; I cried about it all day long. Hence, I was given the nickname "Allday Crier." Not only that, when I cried I did not cry quietly; I cried at the top of my lungs so that the whole village heard me crying. I wanted every elder in the village to come and see what was going on. I cried so hard that I would wake people from their sleep. I cried and cried as if something terrible had gone wrong. In the end, my throat would swell up and I could not make any more sounds. Also, when I cried I did not just sit still. I jumped up and down and bumped into things, so that I would cut myself here and there and be covered with blood. This should be enough for you to understand my personality. Reflecting on this, God is truly wise. He made me such that once I start something, I never let go of it. (050-297, 1971/11/08)
24 I was a strong and healthy youth with an active and passionate personality. The scope of my activities was three times greater than that of ordinary people. When it snowed I did not sleep, but instead I went out at night hunting for weasels. Following their tracks in the snow I would walk and walk, even forgetting that I was getting hungry. I gave my mother such a hard time. Definitely I was an unusual boy with indomitable tenacity. When I was in my teens I already had my father and mother on a string. With one wrong move my father and mother would find themselves trapped; then they had no choice but to surrender to me. I am doing what I am doing today only because I was capable of such things from an early age. My parents sometimes scolded me, but I would never give in, no matter what. All they asked of me was to admit that I did wrong, but I refused. Since I truly believed I had done nothing wrong, why would I admit to it? (136-132, 1985/12/22)
25 No one in the world can match the tenacity of my character. In my childhood I fought a boy who was stronger than me, and he beat me. From that moment on for three to four months, I could not sleep in peace until I finally bested him. That is how tenacious I am. People could say I am a person who is to be greatly feared, because I absolutely despise losing. I never let anything defeat me. When I do something, I strive for victory; the thought of defeat never crosses my mind. I already know that win or lose, once I start something I will keep striving until I achieve victory; otherwise I will die. That is the kind of personality I have. (056-284, 1972/05/18)
26 I have a very quick-tempered personality. I cannot ignore even a single swear word directed at me. If someone hits me even once I cannot stand idle. I also detest losing to anyone. I have all these extreme aspects in my character. However, because of such traits I excel at many things. I determine to win at any sport I play. My brain is not bad, either. Imagine then, how I, with this kind of personality, had to endure and swallow things that were simply unbearable. Many times, even hundreds of times, I had to accept situations that could not have been more humiliating. But I overcame them all. It is because God took a similar path. God must also have this same kind of fiery character; and, beyond that, He is capable of wiping out the whole world. But this world still remains because God holds back His anger and endures all manner of difficulties. (065-328, 1973/03/04)
27 When I was young, I never lost a wrestling match against anyone else in my age group. However, I once lost a wrestling match to a boy in my village three years older than me. So I looked for a way to beat him. Spring arrived. Anyone who has lived in a rural area knows that in springtime when acacia trees have absorbed plenty of moisture, their bark can be peeled off like white pine bark. So I went to an acacia tree and bent its trunk back and forth until its bark started peeling, and stripped it off all the way down. Its bark is tough. Then, I continually wrestled with that bare acacia tree-trunk. I wrestled it while telling myself, "I'll never rest until I beat you!" Six months after he beat me, I finally beat that boy; I sat on top of him on the ground. I focused on nothing else, forgetting to eat or sleep, until I could achieve that. (139-052, 1986/01/26)
28 Ever since I was eight years old, I was able to match people by looking at their pictures. I matched many couples from all over the village, including my own older sister and some of my more distant relatives. Also, I could see the future. When I said, "It is going to rain," it would rain without fail. When I said that a certain person in this town would die within a week, it in fact would happen. There were many instances like that. So people came to me with a picture of a person whom they were considering for marriage. They would ask me, "Look at this picture. Do you think this person is a good match or a bad one?" I would answer at one glance. If I said "Bad" but, nevertheless, they went ahead with it, it turned out to be bad. If I said "Good," it actually turned out to be a good marriage. I was that accurate, even though I did not look at the picture for very long. This is the kind of record I have. (113-236, 1981/05/08)
29 In my village I was known as the tiny-eyed boy from that Osan house. Everyone knew me by that nickname because my eyes were so small. I was told that after my mother gave birth to me, she examined my face for a long time, thinking I might be missing my eyes. Only when I blinked did she finally feel relieved. I needed such eyes. It is because I was born with eyes that can see objects in the far distance that I came to a complete understanding of not only this world, but even the heart and situation of God. The whole world will follow after me once they discover the true value of this. If they lined up across the world, the line of people who would want to come and see me would extend across the Korea Strait, all the way to the middle of the Pacific Ocean. (204-089, 1990/07/01)
30 I also had an eye for cows. I was able to tell at a glance whether or not a cow was worth buying. Whenever I said, "That cow is not a good cow to buy," my father did not buy it. Good cows have a handsome neckline, forelegs and hind legs and a good waistline. A good cow must meet these four conditions. In my boyhood, when I went to the cattle market with my father, I inspected the cows for him. When I told my father things about cows that he was not so knowledgeable about, he asked me, "How do you know all that?" In fact, I was born with this knowledge. That is why today I am able to do things that no one else in this world is capable of doing. (120-138, 1982/10/05)
31 I have always been a good judge of character. When I looked at someone on the street and got the feeling, "He must be such-and-such a person," I would follow him around to see if my intuition was correct. I would ask him, "You did so and so, right?" It was not something that the spirit world taught me; I just felt it in my heart. So I confronted him, "You did so and so, right?" He would be surprised and say, "How did you know?" My reading of that person was accurate. Even sitting in my room, I could immediately tell who was in the next room, whether that person was doing something good or bad, and whether he was living as a good person or a bad person. (040-298, 1971/02/07)
Section 2. God's Call
Family indemnity
Before True Father was called by God, his family and relatives had to pay severe indemnity. Until he reached the age of 16, his family was assaulted by all kinds of trials and tribulations. For the sake of the providence sacrifices were their inevitable lot. They made the final sacrificial condition to clear away Satan's accusation in order to secure the complete foundational point for the victory on heaven’s side. For three generations there were children who died away from home, their whereabouts unknown. Notably, out of True Father’s 12 siblings, the five brothers and sisters for whom he cared the most died at very young ages. In this way heaven completely severed him from relationships that he could depend on, and from the people he most loved. This was so he would no longer be attached to worldly things. After his call as well, True Father had to live every day of his life without any relationships with people in whom he could find shelter, or to whom he would pay special attention. This is how he lived, wherever he was in the world.
1 The Unification Church is walking the path for the Will. In order to inherit this Will, all members must go through a course of indemnification. I began this course when I was 16 years old. By that time, five of my parents' 13 children had died and only eight remained alive. Not only did people die, but also much livestock—dogs, cows and horses. Evil spirits stirred themselves. You may not be familiar with such things. Truly, many strange phenomena occurred that were difficult to understand. They were undoubtedly the cunning schemes of the devil to destroy my family. However I am telling you they really happened.
2 Spiritual phenomena do not happen only in the invisible world. They manifest in various forms and ways in the visible world as well. Satan plotted and mobilized every means to bring my family to ruin. One thing he did was drive my older brother and older sister insane, and this caused much havoc. When I was young I witnessed such spiritual phenomena and problems that arose from the spirit world acting behind the scenes. One day I saw that my older brother, whom I thought had gone mad, was talking. He seemed to be murmuring to himself, but when I listened to him carefully, I recognized that the substance of his words was formidable. Also, the way he spoke changed depending on the situation. Apparently, a number of spirits would come and talk with him all day long. I could see immediately that this was happening. (227-116, 1992/02/11)
3 All of my friends who were closest and dearest to me, the ones who most deserved heaven's blessing, were taken away. Anyone whom I could trust and count on was completely cut off from my life. Some of them were from North Pyeongan Province and some were from Hwanghae Province. They were my best friends, but they were all taken away. Then my younger sister, the closest in age to me and whom I adored the most, was taken away. My parents had many daughters, while my aunt's family did not have any. At the sincere request of my aunt, my sister was sent to my aunt's home and lived there. So I always prayed a lot for her. She absolutely obeyed me, her immediate older brother. I thought I would do anything to make her happy, but even that desire was cruelly crushed. Not only my little sister but also my beloved little brother were taken away. We can learn from this that there is no mercy in the course of indemnity. Still, I had to go through this course. (029-210, 1970/02/)
4 My closest friends were all taken by the spirit world. Come to think of it now, the reason the spirit world took all of them away was to prevent me from sharing my situation with them and developing personal relationships with them. Had I done so, it would have hindered my carrying out the Will of God. Thus, God took away all the people whom I cared about in the world. Knowing this very well, I could not take any other path. I am not doing what I am doing because I am a fool. Wouldn't I have thought about this over and over? (022-124, 1969/02/02)
God's call through Jesus
Around the time True Father joined the Presbyterian Church, and while he was receiving a modern education, his thinking grew wider and deeper. He began asking serious questions about the present and future realities. Even as he faced many incomprehensible calamities in his own family and clan, he witnessed the innumerable tragedies of his people under Japanese rule, and personally experienced Korea's pain and sorrow as a weak nation. At the same time, Father struggled to find the solution to the fundamental questions of human life.
5 My encounter with Jesus in the year I turned 16 was a profound spiritual experience. It was the first of many revelations. After that special encounter, I have continued conversing with the living God and with Jesus even until today. I also had conversations with the saints and sages in the spirit world. I cannot describe in words all the things we shared. God chose me in accordance with His providential timetable. (087-285, 1976/)
6 I was 16 years old when I had my first experience of actually knowing God. Before then I was merely in the position of a humble seeker of truth. Ever since I entered boyhood I had been contemplating the fundamental questions of human life: Who am I? Where did I come from? What is the purpose of life? Will our life continue after we die? Does God really exist? Is God omnipotent or is He powerless? If God is truly omnipotent, why does He not solve the problems of humanity? Why is there so much suffering on this earth?
7 I cannot describe the seriousness of the position in which I stood when I was 16 years old. It was the most difficult time for God, for Jesus, and for the churches that God had specially prepared for the Second Coming. Korea was under the rule of Japan, and those churches were driven into a corner with nowhere to run. At that moment God, heaven and earth, the five founders of the world's great religions and the religious sphere all joined together around one point: the position of the Lord at the Second Advent. They called me to take responsibility for that position, and I accepted the call. Once I accepted that position, my own family and my country of Korea were also placed in a serious position. Hence I could not sleep at night. I tried to eat, but I could not swallow. I could see everything clearly. Heaven and earth were about to collapse, and the responsibility to save them was on my shoulders. Imagine how serious I had to be! (554-257, 2007/02/04)
8 The new revelations that I received explained God's Will very clearly. That Will is aimed at bringing salvation to this world. The Unification Church is not just another denomination. The Unification Church is leading the movement for the salvation of the world. Those who join this movement study God's Word, by which they clearly understand the concept of a God-centered individual, a God-centered family, a God-centered nation and a God-centered world. (087-285, 1976/)
9 Adam and Eve fell when they were 16 years old. God was only able to raise them until the age of 16, relating with them by a bond based on their inner heart and original nature. In my case, God chose me at the age of 16 years and specially raised me so that I would be able to begin uniting the spiritual world and the physical world that had been separated as a result of the Fall. Ever since the age of 16, 1 have grown up connecting to God's original heart. That is why Satan and his world must follow me. Satan, who has been ruling human beings from the positions of older son, father and grandfather, also governs from the position of the nation, which rules over the realm of religion. Such is Satan's sovereignty. In human history to this day there has never been a time when this order could be reversed. Nations always have been in the front, leading religions. In other words, nations have been dragging religions around. However, I am now reversing this order. I have been engrafted to the work of God ever since I was 16 years old, when I began to discover the secrets of heaven, of Satan and of human history. (493-229, 2005/04/25)
10 Time after time I came up against dark obstacles. Whenever that happened, I remembered God's voice when He told me, "I am alive." You would not know that His voice remains in the marrow of my bones to this day. I have not forgotten God's sorrowful situation, which He shared with me when He called me. I cannot forget God's plea to me, "You need to focus only on your relationship with Me; you must not forsake Me." Sometimes I feel sorry for my own situation, but then I remember that God's situation is more sorrowful than mine. So, although you should feel indignation over history, you must experience even more the aching heart of our Father, who has been enduring unbearable sorrow. Don't you think you need to do that? You must, and then you can actually become His filial sons and daughters. Afterward you should stand up and boldly proclaim, "Father, because I understood Your heart, I have become a better son or daughter than any filial son or daughter in the world."
Section 3. School Days
Primary schools
From the age of seven to 13, True Father studied at the village school. There he learned Chinese characters and read the Confucian Classics. His memory was excellent, and his calligraphy was so superb that his teacher used the characters he wrote as models for other students to copy. At that time, his dream was to acquire at least three doctoral degrees, and for this he knew he needed a broader education. So he enrolled at the Won-bong Preparatory School to prepare for the entrance examination for a primary school with a modern curriculum. In 1934 he entered the third grade at Osan Primary School. In April 1935 he transferred to the 4th grade at Jeongju Public Primary School, mainly in order to study Japanese.
1 I am also talented in drawing; I am good at it. In the village school that taught Chinese characters, classics and calligraphy, there were people of many age groups—from nine and ten-year-olds to grown-ups in their twenties and thirties. To improve our skill at writing we practiced writing Chinese characters every day. The teacher used the characters I wrote as models for other students to follow and copy. This was before I was even 12. The other students would practice by copying my characters over and over, hundreds of times.
2 The village school where I went when I was young required us to finish one page a day from the book that we were studying. But it did not take me even 30 minutes to do it. Once I focused, I memorized its entire content within 30 minutes. Then I would recite it from memory in front of my teacher. So having finished the day's lesson, I would go up to the mountain while the teacher was taking his afternoon nap. Since teaching was so difficult at his age, he often took afternoon naps. On the mountain I would study where the frogs were, where the bird nests were, where the coyotes were, where the mushrooms were growing, and so on. I would explore everywhere. No wonder my mother was never able to find me. (204-249, 1990/07/11)
3 After I reached the age of ten, I was sent to a school called a geulbang, meaning "a room for learning Chinese characters," that was in my village. This was because any member of the Moon clan who studied in a distant location ended up dying far from home. Even from a providential perspective we understand that for the sake of God's Will, second sons face great difficulties in their lives. Thus it was that a notion circulated in the Moon clan that any second son who is sent to school away from home will die away from home. That is why I was not allowed to travel and go to a public school but instead had to attend a local village school.
4 The Osan Primary School did not allow students to speak Japanese. As you may have heard, it was the school founded by Lee Seung-hoon, a prominent figure in Korean society who fought hard against the Japanese and whom they regarded as their enemy. He was also one of the 33 people who led the Mansei Demonstrations for Korean independence. Due to that background, the tradition of the Osan School was that students were not allowed to speak Japanese. However, I believed that we must know our enemies. I thought that we cannot devise a proper strategy to defeat our enemies if we do not know about them in detail. That is why I took another test and transferred to the Jeongju Primary School as a 4th grader. By the time I graduated, I had learned to speak fluent Japanese. All along the way I was deeply contemplating the difficult issues in my life of faith and other fundamental questions about life. (211-133, 1990/12/30)
5 After I transferred to the Jeongju Primary School, I learned Japanese. It feels as if it were yesterday that I studied katakana and hiragana, the Japanese syllabaries. I memorized all of them in just one night. I had to, because in that school the 3rd-, 4lh- and 5lh-graders all conversed in Japanese. Even though I was a lot taller than most of the students, having entered the school at an older age, I was unable to speak even a single word of Japanese.
6 I was born with a pretty good brain. I am sure that I could have become a renowned scholar in any field I chose to pursue. But I began to question seriously: What good is it to study hard and become a world-renowned scholar? If 1 become a famous scholar, my life will inevitably take a predictable course: I will study and teach my students in front of a blackboard, breathing in chalk dust and holding a stub of chalk in my hand until my bones creak from old age and I eventually die. Living that sort of life, will I resolve the ultimate problems of the world? Absolutely not. I asked myself, "What is the most difficult path a human being can choose?" I wanted to walk the most difficult path possible, or the one that everyone thinks is the hardest. I thought of accomplishing something that no one in history—past, present or future—has been able to accomplish. (090-044, 1976/12/)
7 When I studied, I studied like lightning. In no time I finished materials that would take years for an ordinary person. My hometown is a small farming village located eight kilometers northeast of Jeongju. It seems like just yesterday that I was studying there, at night under a kerosene lamp. When I stayed up at night studying until 2:00 or 3:00 a.m., my mother and father would tell me, "Go to bed, or you will lose your strength!" This happened all the time at home. I made friends with the insects that came out at night. Especially in summer I made many such friends as I sat still and studied until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning. Nighttime in the countryside is very tranquil. The sounds of the insects on such moonlit nights are simply mesmerizing. (100-160, 1978/10/09)
Study in Seoul
After graduating from Jeongju Public Primary School, True Father went to Seoul. From April 12,1938 to March 8, 1941 he attended the Gyeongseong School of Commerce and Industry, located in Heukseok-dong. He made sure he was always the first to arrive at school in the morning, and he often took responsibility to clean his classroom by himself. Because he was so exemplary, his classmates could not treat him lightly but afforded him respect. He protected the weak and did not hesitate to confront arrogant and strong bullies in order to teach them right from wrong.
8 Those who are humble are elevated. In school, there are students who just use their fists to bully others without knowing where they stand or what their situations are. However, there are also humble students who, even though they are superior in every way, are not arrogant. When you look at such people you feel small, without knowing why. They have an air of authority and dignity, and although you feel you want to approach them, you sense a certain awe for no reason. You may have known people like that among your friends. I hardly spoke during my student years. I never engaged in idle conversations with other students. There were days I did not utter even one word. This is why my classmates treated me with respect. To them, I was more difficult to approach than the teachers. I do not mean I threatened them or used violence of any kind. Yet they did not relate to me casually. Also, whenever they had personal problems they came to me and discussed them with me. (037-130, 1970/12/23)
9 My school friends regarded me with a certain awe. Whenever my classmates got together they would do all sorts of things to have fun among themselves, but they could not do it with me. I never engaged in their idle games, yet many times I discreetly helped classmates who were in difficult situations. I was athletic. I was good at wrestling and soccer. I was also good at pull-ups. My body was big but I was very agile. When I moved to Heukseok-dong, within a week I met all the neighborhood gang leaders and found out who was the boss. But my thinking was that I should be the one to teach them what it means to be a real boss. (2010/01/28)
10 When I was going to middle school, I used to clean the school by myself. I wanted to be number one in loving my school; and with the heart to represent all the students I cleaned the school. When I first began cleaning my friends helped me, but I did not like their help; I wanted to do it alone. I wanted to make the school really clean, so I often ended up cleaning again the places my friends had already cleaned. After this happened a few times, my friends entrusted me with the entire task. So I naturally ended up doing it alone. (133-182, 1984/07/10)
11. Once I start doing something, I never just let it go. I was like that even when I was young. I never believed anything until I verified it myself, whether in the village or at the school. When a teacher taught me a mathematical formula, I pressured him by asking, "Why is the formula like this?" I investigated it, examined it and dug into it again and again. Doing something only approximately is not my way. Doing things by half measures never works. (162-277, 1987/04/17)
12 During my student days I had a way of knowing ahead of time the questions that would be asked on the examination. When the teacher lectured, I paid attention to how serious he or she was in making the points. I identified the teacher s favorite student by the way he or she looked the student straight in the eye as he sat in the corner of the classroom. I paid attention to which student the teacher was looking at, and then marked the topics with codes, "A, B, C," etc., according to how much the teacher emphasized the topic and how intently he looked at the good student while speaking of it. As long as I studied the contents that I had marked with the codes, I never failed the examination. I would correctly anticipate about 30 to 40 percent of the questions on the test, and I would study for them more than the other materials. I could do that because I was very attentive to the teachers in my classes. (2009/11/17)
Lifestyle and prayer
During the almost three years that he attended school in Seoul, True Father engaged in rigorous self-discipline. He lived independently and also at a boarding house where meals were provided. To cultivate his life of faith he engaged in near constant penance and various other activities, all the while keeping up his studies at school. In the beginning and for some time he commuted to his school from Noryangjin, in the Dongjak district. Mostly he lived in Heukseok-dong, first living independently and then for a time at a boarding house. His family sent him sufficient money for his tuition and living expenses, but he slept in a cold, unheated room. In the bitter cold of winter he cooked his food with icy cold water that he drew from a well. It was so cold that sometimes the chain on the bucket in the well stuck to his hands. He voluntarily lived this way because he wanted to personally experience the situation of those who live in hardship.
13 When I was living alone and studying at school in Seoul, one winter was particularly cold. The average temperature was around minus 17 to minus 21 degrees Celsius (about 0 to minus 5 degrees Fahrenheit). The weather was that cold. During December and January of that cold winter, I lived in a cold room and I cooked for myself with icy cold water. I had an experience that I cannot forget: I used to draw really pure and tasty water from a well on a mountain ridge. That well was more than ten feet deep; it had a bucket attached to a chain, not to a rope that could be easily cut. It was so cold that when I grasped the chain my hands stuck to it, and I had to blow my hands to warm them enough to get them free. That feels like yesterday. Those were my circumstances when I began living independently from my family. (139-050, 1986/01/26)
14 1 wanted to do everything necessary to live by myself without having to depend on women. Since I had made the fulfillment of the Will my lifetime quest, I was determined to do it even if I had to live as a single man. Therefore, I learned how to take care of myself. That is why I can do everything myself. I can handle whatever I need for my life without being indebted to others. That is why I can cook rice well on a wood or charcoal fire. When it comes to cooking, I can quickly tell if people are amateurs by observing their cutting skills. I can also tell if they are good at cooking by observing the way they prepare side dishes. That is because during the more than seven years that I lived a single life, I prepared my own food and everything else I needed.
15 In the future, anyone who wants to know the history of the Unification Church will have to visit Heukseok-dong, this place where I lived as a young man. One day Heukseok-dong, which means blackstone neighborhood, will be transformed into Baekseok-dong, whitestone neighborhood. This pitch-dark valley where I lived long ago must become the base of a tradition that shines like sunlight to all the people of the world. Nodeul Riverside Park used to be there too, but I cannot find any traces of it now. Although today I cannot meet the people whom I knew when I lived in Heukseok-dong, they must have produced many descendants who still live there. I would be so overwhelmed to meet those people, whose parents or grandparents knew me in those days! I imagine what it would be like if that happened; we could resurrect the history of that time. We would talk about that history and recall those past relationships, and they would blossom anew in this era. (187-255, 1989/02/11)
16 When I was living in Heukseok-dong I had an experience that I still cannot forget. On the road to Sangdo-dong there was a Japanese-style house with flowers growing next to a forest of pine trees. Behind that house was a rice field, and beyond that there was a village. In that village was a home that I used to visit when I was doing pioneer evangelizing.
17 In those days I was hungry every day. It was not from lack of money. Early in April my parents would send me money for my tuition, but by May it was gone. I would give it all to people who were poor and destitute. I have many stories about this. How, then, did I cover my tuition? I delivered newspapers, sold things and did various odd jobs. I needed to take the path of indemnity. When I first moved to Seoul from my hometown in Pyeongan Province, I was not used to the language and customs there. I missed my hometown very much, particularly during my first school vacation. You cannot imagine how much my mother loved me. But after I came to know God's Will, I had to separate from her. I also had to distance myself from my sisters who loved me dearly.
18 All people desire to have mastery over the universe, but they cannot even master themselves. That is why I declare, "Before you desire to rule over the universe, you must first rule over yourself." Self-control begins with the desire for food. You can master the desire to eat by fasting. A one-week fast should be no problem. You must go through training that would bring an ordinary person to the brink of death. You must overcome hunger. When I was living independently as a student, Korea was under Japanese occupation, and rice was scarce. My friends fought over who would take the largest portion of rice from the pot, but not I. The person who puts down his spoon first is the master of those who put it down later. That is a rule and a principle. My life is renewed every day. Tomorrow must be better than today. I believe heaven wants something new from me, and that is what I put into practice. Because I did this, I could reach the worldwide level, something no one has ever been able to do. (249-204, 1993/10/10)
19 During the years I was growing up in Seoul, I did not eat lunch. I thought, "As long as we don't have an independent nation, how can I be worthy to eat three meals a day?" I missed meals many times in my life, but I missed my people more than food. This is the path I chose. I continually resolved, "I will love my people and my country more than food." So after I left my hometown and moved to Seoul I did not eat lunch. Such was the life I led. It was not because I could not afford to buy lunch. It was because whenever I had money I gave it to the poor. (049-074, 1971/10/03)
20 I do not sleep more than four hours a day. I trained myself until it became my habit. When I am busy, I can go with only one hour of sleep daily. I think I am the person who has slept the fewest hours of anyone in history. I lived my whole life that way. Also, there is no one who has been hungrier than me. I had food to eat, but I could hear the cries of hungry people wishing to be fed. That is why I could not eat three meals a day. Until I became 30 years old I practiced a discipline of having only two meals a day, skipping lunch. I spent my youth eating less than two bowls a day, even though I was healthy and big enough to digest five bowls a day. I trained myself to love people more than I loved food, and I strove to make my life a tower of loving God and loving my nation. (197-163, 1990/01/13)
21 Wherever I was, I always prayed in tears. People who happened to see me in tears felt sympathy for me without knowing why. Wherever I went, many people treated me as well as you do. For example, my landlady would bring me some of the food she had prepared for her husband or for a holiday celebration, food she had prepared all through the night without sleeping. She could not go into her room otherwise. She told me that whenever she went into her room without first bringing me food, suddenly everything turned to darkness and she could not see anything. She did not know why that happened.
22 When you pray, you need to pray to the extent that your back becomes bent and the skin of your knees becomes calused. My knees are still callused from my prayers in the olden days. You should pray on a wooden floor. And you should shed tears when you pray. I experienced several occasions when I prayed so tearfully and for such a long time that the floor became soaked with tears and still had not dried out by the next prayer time. I am not a man who will just drift away. (025-334, 1969/10/12)
23 The path of restoration is never easy. Do you think I could ever feel at ease if I ate and slept as you do? The Principle itself is so serious. My knees are callused from countless prayers. I do not know how many tears I shed. I knew people were dying every day with the fundamental problems of their lives unresolved. Therefore, my eyes were always swollen and red with tears as I tried to find solutions for them. Sometimes I shed so many tears in prayer that when I opened my eyes I could not see the sunlight. Yet this was how I had to seek for the path. (143-331, 1986/03/21)
24 You should pray every day. Even your prayer life should be a tithe. That means you should pray two hours and 24 minutes every day—one tenth of each day. When my prayer life was at its peak, I prayed 17 to 18 hours per day. I usually prayed for 12 hours straight, bending down on my hands and knees. I never ate lunch. In my prayers I wept bitterly. Without such prayers, I could not live. Every direction was blocked, and there was no hole through which to escape. Only when I prayed could 1 see a pinhole of light. Passing through these ordeals I discovered the Principle. Did you ever weep while holding the Divine Principle book? Have you ever been that serious? Your lifetime is precious. Once your life is gone, it will never return. Usually people marry and give birth to children; then they end up finishing their life while struggling with all kinds of burdens. It is a serious problem. If this pattern continues, we can never bring about the world of goodness. (199-190, 1990/02/16)
The Myeongsudae church
During the time True Father was living in Heukseok-dong, Seoul, he stood against the self-righteous churches that were administered under the system of Japanese rule. He opposed their way of doctrine-based faith. Instead he connected to the Pentecostal church that was leading the movement of the Holy Spirit in Korea. After attending that church in Seobinggo, he played a pivotal role in founding the Myeongsudae New Jesus Church in Heukseok-dong in the autumn of 1939.
25 While attending school, I taught the students who went to the Myeongsudae Church in Heukseok-dong; I also did the same at the Seobinggo Church. At that time it was very cold, and at night as we crossed the frozen Han River we could hear the plates of ice cracking. It was a frightening sound to hear when I was on the river all alone. Nevertheless, I would cross the Han River in order to teach the Sunday School students of Seobinggo Church. I taught them about the Bible with much animation, so that it would be interesting. I even shed tears. I thought that the students might not like to see me crying, and that they might ask me to stop teaching them. Yet they did not want me to stop; instead, they followed me around and begged me to teach them more. (187-307, 1989/02/12)
26 When I was a student, three of my friends and I started the Myeongsudae New Jesus Church in Heukseok-dong. I invested every penny of my tuition. There is still a trace of that church even now. I remember my evangelizing activities to bring many people to that church, before a new church opened in Seobinggo. At the peak of winter the Han River was frozen over, and the cracking sound of its ice was loud and terrifying. I have many memories about what 1 did during that period of Korean history, so filled with bitter sorrows. (543-331, 2006/11/07)
27 I am someone who has offered bows even to very small children. I have attended three-year-old children with utmost sincerity, as if they were princes and princesses of heaven. I speak to you now only after having made internally and externally a victorious foundation that will be attested to throughout history. Part of that foundation was to win the hearts of children. I had to win the hearts of people from three generations, representing the past, present and future. I had to establish that tradition. I taught the Sunday school students who came to the Myeongsudae New Jesus Church, loving them sincerely and regarding them as the hope of my life. Some of them wanted to skip school and follow me around; this is because my mission was to pioneer the work of loving Cain. (060-200, 1972/08/17)
28 The key leaders at the New Jesus Church in Pyongyang were Rev. Lee Ho-bin, Rev. Pak Jae-bong, and Rev. Han Jun-myeong. That church had a large membership, including several thousand students. It was a beautiful building and was well known. Whenever I came up to Pyongyang and visited that church, I was always welcome to take charge of teaching the students there. I was recognized as a good Sunday School teacher. I knew all the pastors and was popular among the students, so everyone wanted to invite me to their home. (441-271, 2004/03/06)
29 I am well aware of the secrets of Rev. Lee Ho-bin, Rev. Han Jun-myeong and Rev. Pak Jae-bong of the New Jesus Church in Pyongyang. When I admonished them about their calling and their responsibility for God's Will, they could not answer me. I advised them not to do certain things that they were involved with. Hence, they feared me more than anyone. I knew all the hidden truths of the Old and New Testaments even as a high school student. In my visits to the church I became such a famous student leader that its thousands of Sunday school students asked me to give sermons. They were mesmerized by my words. When I left, they made such a crowd at the railroad station that the pastors arrived and formed a line in order to protect me. Therefore, the three pastors always listened to my advice. (463-059, 2004/07/31)
Section 4. Study in Japan
First days in Japan
To broaden and deepen himself in preparation for his mission, True Father went to study in Japan. On March 31, 1941, he departed from Seoul Station and took the Hikari line train to Busan. On April 1, he sailed to Japan on the Shokei Maru, a liner operating between the port of Busan and Shimonoseki. At the beginning of April, Father enrolled in the Waseda Technical High School, which was attached to Waseda University, and began his studies in electrical engineering.
1 From childhood I held the thought, "If my country (Korea) were stronger than Japan, its fate would have been different." This was its problem. I felt deeply that my country's weakness, especially the weakness of its external foundation, was the reason it could not avoid a miserable fate. Studying the countries of the world, I learned that the most powerful country in the world at the time was the United States. As a child I already knew that. I further thought, "The United States is a much larger and more powerful country than Japan, but it's just the same there. Doesn't it also try to take advantage of weak nations for its own benefit? Is there any righteous country anywhere which, as the representative nation of the world, protects and lifts up weak countries? If there were such a country, what would it look like?"
2 As I began my journey to Japan and was crossing the Han River Bridge, I shed many tears. I felt as if I were leaving the Korean people behind, like orphans. It seems it was only the day before yesterday when those tears poured down my face. On the train to Busan I wept bitterly all the way while covering my head with my coat. A Japanese woman saw me crying and said, "Young man, did your father or mother die? Everyone goes through that kind of sorrow." She tried to comfort me, but my sorrow was something that sprang from a heart completely filled with love for my country. I tell you, people who cannot love their country cannot truly love heaven. (039-062, 1971/01/09)
3 On my way to Japan I traveled from Seoul to Busan on the Hikari line train. While riding that train I asked myself, "What is it that I should learn in Japan?" Then I resolved, "I will liberate my country, and I will pave the way for the next generation to have hope and to prosper in an independent nation." I still remember shedding tears as I held on to a handrail while crossing the Han River. At that moment I resolved, "By the time I return, I will no longer be shedding tears." (199-185, 1990/02/16)
4 In Busan I boarded a ship bound for Japan. I still remember vividly how I continuously shed tears on the way. As Korea was under Japanese rule, I thought, "Who will liberate this poor nation from its shackles?" I gazed at the stars throughout the night and longed for the day of my country's and my people's liberation. I tearfully prayed to God, "Now I am departing my country. 0 God! Please protect my country until I return." That time is still fresh in my memory, as if it happened yesterday. (039-062, 1971/01/09)
5 I attended evening classes at the technical school at Waseda University so that during the daytime I could work as a laborer to help other Korean students pay their tuition. You do not know all the difficulties I went through in Japan. Japanese people who are now alive must appeal with tears for their nation to be forgiven. Otherwise Japan cannot stand. Japanese people need to apologize for the shameful way they treated Korea and the other nations of Asia. (590-145, 2008/05/20)
6 I had many Japanese friends when I was living in Japan. I treated them with utmost respect. Whenever they were in difficult situations, they came to see me to discuss their problems. Sometimes they asked out of concern, "How is Korea doing?" I did not want to be outdone by any of my Japanese friends. So when they spoke one word, I spoke two words. I generally speak very fast, but when I spoke with Japanese people I spoke even faster. I studied how to speak fast and trained myself to do so. I resolved I would someday lead Japanese youth and mobilize them for the sake of the world. So I practiced to gain the ability to discuss issues better than Japanese people could, by gaining deeper and broader knowledge in all fields. (205-069, 1990/07/07)
7 In my childhood I used to speak slowly. However, after coming to Japan, as I was learning to speak better Japanese every day, I competed with Japanese people to see who could say more in one minute. If I was ever defeated I could not fall asleep, so I trained myself to speak even more rapidly. If in 30 minutes I could say 1,000 words speaking normally, by speaking faster I could say more than 2,000 words. When learning a language it is important to train yourself through practice. (055-056, 1972/04/23)
Mind-body discipline
During the time he studied in Japan, True Father immersed himself in the task of researching and systematizing the Principle. He repeatedly pored over the Bible and compared it with the Principle that he had newly discovered, in order to verify it with the Scripture. Bibles in Korean, Japanese and English were always on his desk at the boarding house. The Korean and Japanese Bibles, especially, were so full of underlining in different colors that people could barely read the words on the pages. The process of finding and systematizing the vast and fundamental truth was a lonely path; there was no one to guide him through it.
8 I did not reveal my thoughts about my mission to others. Even my friends did not know. I studied the Bible and read books on religion and philosophy, which ordinary people usually did not do. One of my friends majored in politics and economics at Waseda University. He was studying communism, and this led to a fierce debate between us. I once delivered a loud, impassioned speech on the side of the road. I did this where many people had gathered to view the cherry blossoms. I spoke strongly on the issues of the time, and urged the youth to act this way and that for the sake of the future. The predictions I made then are now coming true. Some of my friends happened to join the crowd; they were quite astonished when they saw it was I who was giving the speech. (015-182, 1965/10/08)
9 After receiving a recommendation from my school in Seoul, I entered Waseda Technical High School. But I studied books about religion more than school-related subjects. I studied the Bible carefully to uncover its hidden truths. There was one particular Bible page I could not understand even after struggling for five years. That one page contained the root problem of human history. I had to completely and clearly solve the most difficult and complex issues in the Bible. This is how the Principle came to emerge into the world. Since, together with heaven, I unraveled the truth, heaven cannot ignore this. Heaven knows all about it. (571-190, 2007/08/10)
10 Before I turned 20 years of age, I went through a course of bloody tears. I knew I could not enter God's realm of heart unless I had the heart to be friends with beggars and love them as if they were my own older brother or my own mother. So I lived with the heart to love everyone. I trained myself the same way in Japan, but this time with a heart to go beyond the nation. I helped my friends pay their tuition by making money as a laborer at a construction site. You too should walk such a path. Why did I do it? I volunteered to travel the most difficult path because I knew God's path has been even more difficult. (137-286, 1986/01/03)
11 On days when it snowed or when typhoon winds raged, I went to work at a construction site rather than going to school. It felt good to challenge such harsh weather. Rain from the typhoon would wash the dirt and soot from my hands. Amid the storm I worked hard and sweated copiously. I felt so refreshed from it. When I saw a person behaving badly, I scolded him. Sometimes I had to deal with people who were bigger than me, but I defeated them. When a foreman exploited the laborers by taking 30 percent of their wages, I strongly protested. Most people feared the man, but I was not submissive; I admonished him to stop. In the end he surrendered to me. (015-181, 1965/10/08)
12 When I was in Tokyo I worked pulling a cart as a deliveryman, making deliveries in 27 different districts. I decided to do the job not because I needed the money but because I wanted the training. If you find yourself working in a transportation company, you should become more knowledgeable about the work than the company veterans. If not, how can you persuade them to take you seriously? During the summer I transported telephone poles on a cart. Once there was an incident: As I came to an intersection, a pole shifted to one side, causing my cart to spin around. Sensing danger, all the passersby, men and women, scattered. I can still picture it in my mind. I have another unforgettable memory, about when I lived in a slum. I covered myself with a ragged blanket, and my clothes became infested with lice. I am God's Son, but I volunteered to become a frontline soldier, a guerrilla of sorts, in order to conquer Satan's world. (199-174, 1990/02/16)
13 The times in Japan when I worked at a construction site and pulled a cart in Ginza remain vivid memories. I did not do that work just to make a living. I did it to set the example of how young people should go through difficulties. I had friends who had stopped going to school. I wanted to help them graduate, so I withdrew from school for several months and took on the role of their parents. I had no time to sleep at night. I woke up as early as two in the morning and went out to work to make money for their tuition. Why did I do that? It was not because I was not as smart as them. It was to serve them. For this I did all kinds of work, including working for a company, selling my calligraphy and working as a foreman. (026-069, 1969/10/18)
14 I am very knowledgeable about the world. When I was young I traveled to every corner of Korea. I visited many places in Japan when I was studying there. I also did all sorts of work. I was an errand-boy for a large company. No matter how I was mistreated, I did not complain. People regarded me as nothing but a student from abroad, but they did not know what was in my mind. I did not even mind living in a slum. After all, we must train ourselves to have real ability to deal with any situation and bring good results in whatever we do. (189-299, 1989/06/17)
The path of true love
During his time of study in Japan, True Father practiced his own motto, "Before you desire dominion over the universe, first have dominion over yourself." He trained himself repeatedly in order to control his five senses. Among other things, he trained himself not to be ticklish and to look away from temptation. In order to live for heaven's heart rather than follow a selfish human heart, he constantly reminded himself, "I must love the Japanese people more than I love my own people." He trained himself to sincerely love the people of what was then an enemy nation as if they were his own parents or his own older brother.
15 When I was young and preparing for my mission, I would not even go near a movie theater. Until I could achieve total self-control, I did not walk in front of a bar. Unless we gain total control over ourselves, we are bound to fail in whatever we do. What is the most difficult obstacle to achieving self-control? It is sleep. Hunger is next. After that is sexual desire. These are the three enemies. Therefore, as a course of training I purposely did not sleep, I did not eat, and I lived a life of purity. Until we have dominion over ourselves, we cannot have dominion over the universe. Only after we govern ourselves can we govern the universe. We are not entitled to call on God for help or hope to enter the realm of God's dominion unless we first achieve mastery over ourselves. This is the view of the Principle. Adam fell because he did not have self-control. (131-322, 1984/05/19)
16 When I was in wartime Japan, I walked around the back alleys in the red light district of Shinjuku, Tokyo. I observed people and listened to them wherever I went in order to gain something helpful for my mission. If we are ready to deal with even the most evil places, we can digest anything. This is my philosophy. I am not the kind of person who goes around looking for an easy or comfortable environment. The idea that in order to cultivate the mind you must go to the deep mountains or to a quiet and magnificent place makes no sense to me. Studying only in tranquil places does not work for me. I could study well even in noisy factories where high-powered engines and motors were running. I trained myself in many different ways. Once, when a group of strong men were harassing a weaker man, I fought and defeated them singlehandedly. I did not do it for recognition. It was a matter of my philosophy, of what is necessary in life. (015-131, 1965/10/03)
17 My hope is greater than yours; it is as high as a great mountain. However, because I knew that the time was coming when I would have to push many people to travel the road of a servant, I first pushed myself to take the position of a servant. Had I not lived the life of a servant myself, I would not be qualified to call others to do it. If I wanted others to live the life of a servant, I needed to live the life of a servant first. I had to become a servant for the sake of my country of Korea. This is why I once became a servant of three-year-old children and served them faithfully morning and evening. I attended those children as if each were God. Also, when I was studying in Japan, I lived in a slum swarming with lice. I carried loads of coal and loads of salt. I welcomed all kinds of experiences that others would shrink from. This is my personal story, and some bitter sorrow remains. You should alleviate my bitter sorrow. What then should be your starting point? What is it that you need to grab onto as the basis of your own emotional resolve? It should be to represent me. When you go to those places, you should go on my behalf. Although you may receive persecution, when you shed tears for the people there, you will feel my blood throbbing in your veins. (025-212, 1969/10/04)
18 I studied the subject of what people will not do. For instance, people do not want to skip meals. So I pondered, "Can I endure not eating?" And I said to myself, "Yes, I can." So I started training myself not to eat. I was then so hungry that if anyone served me a meal I could have quickly devoured three or four bowls of rice. One day I thought to myself, "Let me see how much I can eat." As it was the middle of a war, we received ration coupons. Taking all my ration coupons, I took my friends to a restaurant and said, "Let's eat as much as we can and see what our limit is." We wolfed down more and more. I ate seven servings of rice covered with fried eggs and chicken. After seven servings I was so full I could not even turn my neck around. It was more painful than being hungry.
19 When I was a student in Tokyo, on rainy days while still wearing my student uniform I would purposely mix with laborers who smelled from their dirty, wet clothes. I went to the places that smelled the worst. Standing next to them, I thought, "What if these people were my older brother or my father? If they were enduring these miserable conditions for me, what must I do for them?" When I rode the trolley to school, I would look around at the students all well dressed in their uniforms and compare them to those laborers. And I would think, "You are in the springtime of your life, all smiles and laughter, but in time this will all disappear. However, my way of thinking leads to a life that will shine and rise up like the sun to a hopeful future. My future is more or less assured, but your future is less certain."
20 During my time of studying in Japan, I would occasionally visit my home in Jeongju. I generally did not send telegrams to my parents to tell them when I was coming. My home was about eight kilometers from the train station, and I wanted to walk home. I enjoyed walking on cold, windy, snowy or rainy days. As I prayed while walking down the road, I realized even more what a magnificent world we live in, and I could not help but be amazed at the Maker who created it. I have unforgettable memories of nights when I walked home after sunset, or nights when white snow was falling. Carrying small gifts for my parents in both hands, I delighted in imagining the expressions they would have on their faces. Whenever I think of it, I become nostalgic. I realize how blessed I was at that time in my life. (018-243, 1967/06/11)
Graduation and return to Korea
Due to a change of circumstances in Japan caused by the war, True Fathers study in Japan was cut short by one semester. Hence he graduated earlier than expected, on September 30,1943, in the 25th graduating class of Waseda Technical School. After graduation True Father purchased a ticket for an October 4 departure on the ship from Shimonoseki to Busan and sent his family a telegram giving the date and time of his arrival in Busan. On the departure day, as he entered the train station in Tokyo with his friends who were sending him off, he suddenly felt uneasy. He did not know why, but it was as if his feet were weighed down and he could hardly drag himself onto the train. So he decided to postpone his journey home.
21 When I graduated from my school in Japan, it was the middle of the Second World War. For military reasons they graduated my class in September, six months earlier than normal. I sent a telegram to my hometown informing my family of my arrival time on the ship from Shimonoseki to Busan. But in the midst of the war that ship was sunk. Back in my hometown, my family checked the passenger list of that ill-fated ship, but they could not find my name. Everyone thought I had died, which caused a great commotion throughout my village. (015-147, 1965/10/03)
22 The sinking of the Gonnon Maru was in 1943. I was scheduled to board that ship in order to return to Korea from Japan. My graduation had been advanced by six months, and I bought a ticket from Tokyo to Seoul that included passage on the ship, which was to depart from Shimonoseki. But as soon as I entered the Tokyo train station to catch the train to Shimonoseki, I felt uneasy. So although I had already purchased the ticket, I did not take that train. Shortly after purchasing my train ticket, I sent a telegram to my family giving them the scheduled date and time of my arrival. Based on that schedule, my family in my hometown expected that I would come home on a certain day and time. However, after I had my premonition I left the Tokyo station and instead went with my friends who had come to send me off. I believe we went to a place called Atami. Consequently, I did not board the ship that ended up sinking.
Chapter 4
True Mother's Childhood and Youth
Section 1. An Atmosphere of Faith
Devotion, faith and blessings
True Mother spent most of her childhood at the house of her maternal grandmother, Jo Won-mo, because her mother, Hong Soon-ae (Daemonim), was leading a life of faith devoted to receiving the Lord at the Second Advent. Both her mother and her grandmother raised her to inherit the core of this life of faith. Daemonim strove to raise Mother well. While they were living in the North, Daemonim often had dreams in which she saw Satan trying to harm her daughter. These dreams continued until Mother was six years old. In another dream, Rev. Kim Seong-do appeared to her and told her to raise True Mother well because she was not her own child but God's. Hence, Daemonim devoted herself to raising her as well as she could in the position of her daughter's nanny. Since Daemonim walked such a path of trials, True Mother also had to walk that path alongside her until she could stand as Heaven's Bride.
1 About one month after my birth, my mother had a dream. Rev. Kim Seong-do of the New Jesus Church appeared to her in white clothes on a white cloud, and said, "Soon-ae, you must have worried a lot about your baby. But don't you worry. She is the daughter of the Lord, and you are like her nursemaid. Make sure to nurse her and raise her well." My mother engraved those words deep in her heart. When I was growing up, I was very different from other children. I could speak and walk before I was a year old. When I spoke, my pronunciation was very clear. This is why my grandmother said, "This child is different." I had a good mind, and I was never the slightest bit untidy. (True Mother, 2014/10/11)
2 Throughout their lives my grandmother and my mother lived their lives of faith preparing to receive the Returning Lord. They did not compromise with the world. They were totally dedicated to heaven 24 hours a day. They offered their utmost devotion to make preparations to receive the Lord. Their life of faith was not like the ordinary faith of those who stay comfortably in their homes. Since my mother’s investment in her life of faith caused her to be rarely at home, I lived mostly with my grandmother. So I naturally inherited my faith from my grandmother. (True Mother, 1999/10/21)
3 My grandmother knew God's Will for me, so she cared for me with sincerity. She raised me in purity, untainted by the world, so that I might become the precious daughter whom heaven could use. My grandmother repeatedly told me, "Your father is Heavenly Father." Thus, when we talked about my father I always thought about Heavenly Father rather than my physical father. Whenever I thought of God I always had a warm feeling. Anyone who looked at my family from an external perspective would have found it incomprehensible. Yet, growing up in it, I never felt anything lacking; nor did I have anything to complain about. I lived with a feeling that something or someone was embracing me, and I felt free in my heart. I never asked my mother or my grandmother anything about my physical father, such as why my mother and father lived the way they did. Throughout my life I never had any hard feelings or complaints whatsoever about my physical parents. (True Mother, 1999/10/21)
4 Until I was six, I lived at Anju, South Pyeongan Province. During those years Satan would appear in my mother's dreams trying to kill me. For six long years, she had to fight Satan. However, my mother did not yet understand the deep meaning of this. She only wondered, "Why is Satan continually trying to kill my baby?" (True Mother, 1977/05/03)
5 My mother first followed the New Jesus Church, then the Holy Lord Church and finally the Inside the Womb Church. In that church she fervently prayed with longing for the Lord to return. When I was about four years old, 1 began to make conditions of devotion with her, by offering bows at her side. At the church everyone observed the official times for offering bows, which were twice a day, in the morning and the evening. Some people also offered bowing conditions at other times, such as in the middle of meditation. This lifestyle did not change until I was six years old, when we moved down to the South. (True Mother, 2013/12/06)
6 I believe that my childhood was a period for me to keep separate from the evils of the world, so I could become the Bride of the Lord. My original personality was not extroverted; I was inclined to enjoy my inner world, away from the secular world.
The Korean War
In 1948, when True Mother’s maternal grandmother, Jo Won-mo, her mother, Hong Soon-ae (Daemonim), and True Mother herself were attending the Inside the Womb Church in the North, that church came under religious persecution by the communist authorities. There was an incident in which Jo Won-mo and Daemonim were detained for 11 days. As the persecution became more severe, Grandmother Jo suggested that they go to the South.
7 When I lived at Anju, my mother was rarely home, because she was investing herself in an ardent life of faith. Given that situation, I grew up under the care of my mother’s family. My father was also a devout Christian. In 1946, he was the first of my family to move down to South Korea to evade threats from the communist authorities. I vaguely remember that my father visited my mother and me at our home and asked us to leave with him. (True Mother, 2004/11/23)
8 It was very hard to live a life of faith under the communist government. So my grandmother, my mother and I journeyed to the South. We were to join Hong Soon-jeong, my maternal uncle who was living there. As we journeyed south, we three women of three generations continued our bowing condition for the Returning Lord. My maternal grandfather, Hong Yu-il, wanted to stay in Pyongyang to protect that city, because he had received a revelation that Pyongyang was the Palace of Eden. We never saw him again. (True Mother, 2013/12/06)
9 The journey to South Korea was not easy. We had to walk on the uneven ground of the plowed and furrowed rice paddies, and the mud stuck to our feet. We shivered in the cold weather as we continued walking toward the South. When at last we arrived at the 38th parallel, we were captured by soldiers of the North Korean People's Army, which was tightly guarding the area. They locked us up in an empty barn along with others whom they had arrested. The soldiers were rough with the men but treated the women and children better. The grown-ups told me to give food to the soldiers who had to guard us despite the cold weather. I was nervous with fear, but keeping myself poised I brought food to the soldiers with a smile. After I did that a few times, the soldiers' hearts softened. One night they released us and told us to return home. The power of love brought us from the brink of death to life. (True Mother, 2013/12/06)
10 My grandmother was with me all the time. Whenever we walked on the street, people treated me affectionately, saying I was very cute. So at a time when people were not free to travel as they desired, I could freely go about and do errands for others. For this I was greatly appreciated and loved. It was the same when we were journeying to the South. Because I, a little girl, was accompanying the women, the North Korean soldiers who captured us were more lenient with us. They even released us on the way, and hence we could safely continue our journey and cross the 38lh parallel.
11 While my mother was attending the Inside the Womb Church, her brother, my uncle Hong Soon-jeong, returned home from studying abroad in Japan. He then went to South Korea and joined the army there. My uncle was a dignified and charming person. In those days many intelligent people agreed with the ideology of communism, and he too thought that communism was good. But he was disappointed with the communist system, as its reality was so different from its teaching. This is why he went to South Korea and joined the military instead of returning to North Korea where his parents were. He realized that the reality of communism contradicted its theory.
12 Heaven led and protected us even in Seoul when we were searching for my uncle. We suffered tremendously to cross the 38th parallel and come to the South, but we had no idea how to find my uncle once we arrived in Seoul. My grandmother and mother asked around for him without really knowing how to locate him. It was not an easy task. But miraculously, we met a friend of his. It was indeed due to heaven's help and guidance. At that time my uncle was living in an army tent near Seoul, and he was very happy to see us when we visited him. He said he was glad we came, because he had been worrying about his family back home. My uncle quickly found a house where the three of us could live. Later I discovered that our house was very close to our church headquarters in Cheongpa-dong. (True Mother, 2013/12/06)
13 I was eight years old (by Korean reckoning) when the Korean War broke out. We were living in Seoul so we had to flee from there, and my uncle helped us tremendously. As a medical officer in the army, he knew in advance that the Han River Bridge was going to be blown up. He had a pass to cross the bridge, and he drove my grandmother and me across it in a military vehicle so we could flee further south. Daemonim did not come with us; she thought only about meeting the Lord, for whom she continued offering her sincere devotion. As soon as we crossed the bridge, my uncle told us to get out of the vehicle and take cover. We did as he said. At that moment the bridge was blown up, and many soldiers who were also crossing the bridge fell into the river and lost their lives.
14 After the Han River Bridge blew up at 3:00 in the morning on June 28,1950, my family continued fleeing south to escape the advancing North Korean troops. We stayed in a refugee camp for military families in Jeolla Province. We returned to Seoul after it was retaken on September 28 and lodged in a vacant house where a Japanese family had lived. Then China entered the war and Seoul fell again, this time into the hands of the Chinese army. Hence, on January 4, 1951, as the South Korean army retreated from Seoul, we again had to leave our home and flee. We were able to board a special train for military families that left Seoul ahead of the civilian populace; we went down to Daegu.
Section 2. Education and Encounter with Father
Heaven's guidance
After coming to the South, True Mother attended Hyochang Elementary School in Seoul. After she left Seoul she continued her schooling, even though she moved several times—to Daegu, to Seoguipo on Jeju Island, and to Chun-cheon in Gangwon Province. Her report card from Bongeui Elementary School in Chuncheon records that she was "very pure, kind and polite, shows a noble attitude, the most feminine among the students in the class." When she graduated from that school, she was given an award as an honor student.
1 After coming to the South, we rented a room in Hyochang-dong in Seoul, and I entered Hyochang Elementary School. I continued in school when we moved to Daegu and then to Jeju Island. My mother moved us to Jeju Island in 1954 with the intention of raising me in a pure environment. There I attended Shinhyo Elementary School in Seoguipo, which is Hyodon Elementary School today. I transferred into the 5th grade. Then we received a letter from my maternal uncle. He had been transferred to Chuncheon and was posted as chief of the supply depot there. He asked us to move to Chuncheon, and we did.
2 In middle school, I was the head of the Student Activities Council. I remember the time when I had to stand on stage and explain the council's decisions to all the students of the school. I later heard that after my speech, my Korean teacher and other teachers remarked, "Wow! Hak Ja, you were great!" People around me always had the impression that I was a quiet and well-mannered student, someone whom it was difficult to be close to. I guess they were surprised that a person such as me could give a public speech, although it was only a simple presentation. This was my first experience speaking in front of many people. (True Mother, 1991/11/10)
3 Recently, one of my old friends visited me. She and I once lived in the same town and attended the same middle school. Her father loved me very much. Another of my friends was my senior by one year. She cared deeply for me and used to say, "You are dignified and pretty." She later moved to Canada and often sent me letters. When she had opportunities to visit Korea, we would meet each other. One day I visited my old school and found that the teacher of my Korean class was still there. I can still recall his face. Also, I remember that my mathematics teacher cared for me very much. (True Mother, 1999/10/21)
4 When I started high school, it was not very long after the Korean War had ended. I remembered how all the streets had been filled with people injured because of the war. Children orphaned by the war, and even children with parents, suffered greatly from hunger and disease. People were unable to get any treatment when they fell sick. 1 felt so sorry for them. I wanted to heal their pain; that is why I decided to attend nursing school. I wanted to find a way to help them. (True Mother, 2013/12/06)
5 My teachers loved and protected me at every school I attended. I am not sure whether it was because I gave them the impression I was reliable and modest, but for some reason my teachers cared for me. Some teachers said, "You are not like most children these days. Go out and get involved." It was not that I had a lot of worries on my mind. I just liked to sit and stay quiet. Even during adolescence, when I was growing into womanhood, I never worried about my life because my grandmother and mother, who were always attending heaven, taught me to live in faith.
6 I was known as a student who liked reading and music in a comfortable and quiet atmosphere. Also, people had the impression that I was quite intellectual. I was not extremely emotional or excitable. Come to think of it, I might have given a first impression of being a little cold. In the dormitory I lived like a nun. My life was sheltered from the secular environment, like a flower blooming in a greenhouse. Only later did I realize that my life was that way to separate me from the fallen world. It was heaven s preparation, so that one day I could meet the Lord at the Second Advent and become his Bride. (True Mother, 1977/05/03)
7 Until 1960,1 lived mostly in seclusion, as if I were buried inside my clothes. God led me to lead a simple life that did not require me to compromise with the secular world. God set up circumstances that thoroughly protected me, as if He did not want me even to breathe the air of Satan's world. In such surroundings, I eliminated my own thoughts and just led my life by letting God alone guide me. I used to write a diary. Amazingly enough, although I did not write with much thought, it was something like "Urie sowon-eun tongil',' meaning, "Our cherished hope is for North and South Korea to be reunited." Later, when I heard Father’s words on the subject, I recalled what I had written in my diary and found it very meaningful. (True Mother, 1999/10/21)
8 Mother is so natural on stage. The first time she sang a song in front of an audience was in her second year of high school. She was famous for her singing. Regardless of the audience, she stood tall onstage like a champion. (227-022, 1992/02/10)
9 To me, Mother is flawless. I see nothing but goodness in her. This did not happen just overnight. Whenever she meets people, if they are men, she compares each one with me and thinks, "This man has a quality just like True Father." By thinking that way, she can be open-hearted toward them. It is so beautiful. Look at her eyes and hands. They show how observant and sensitive she is. When she hears me speak a sentence, she analyzes its structure—what the subject is, what the object is, what the clauses are, and so forth. What I am saying is that she is smart and analyzes things well. In her teens, her friends said she was an impressive and unforgettable girl, and I think it is because of her powers of observation. When she went places, she was prudent about the route she chose. She would travel only on the route that she felt comfortable with. (435-020, 2004/01/31)
Encounter with Father
Rev. Kim Seong-do, the founder of the Holy Lord Church, gave these last words to her first son, Jeong Seok-cheon, "If I cannot fulfill the mission that God gave me, it will be fulfilled through someone else. That representative of God will also be misunderstood, like me. The church he leads will be misunderstood and persecuted as a church of fornication, and he will suffer imprisonment. If you find such a church, know that it is a true church, and go to that church."
10 After True Father was released from Seodaemun Prison he traveled to Daegu, where he held revival meetings to inspire the members. Around that time my mother, who was then living in Chuncheon, received a letter from Jeong Seok-cheon. His letter said, "I found a church that is just like the Holy Lord Church. The founder of that church is speaking here in Daegu. Come as soon as you can and listen to him." However, my mother's circumstances were such that we could not immediately go to Daegu. A month later, in December, she went there and visited Jeong Seok-cheon. He told her, "I finally found the one we have been looking for, the Lord at the Second Advent. He came to Daegu, and I heard him speak."
11 I did not meet True Father in North Korea. The first time I met him was in Seoul, after I came down to South Korea. At that time I was 13 years old and had recently graduated from elementary school. The meeting happened shortly after my mother and I joined the church. I was then living in Chuncheon, far from where True Father lived in Seoul. My mother held me by the hand and brought me to the Cheongpa-dong church in March, 1956. That was when I met True Father for the first time. After that first encounter at the church, my mother and I continued attending that church on Sundays. During that time I graduated from middle school and went on to high school. (True Mother, 1977/05/03)
12 I can still vividly recall the moment True Father saw me in my student uniform and closed his eyes in gratitude to God for guiding me to him. I always had the feeling that God prepares everything that He deems necessary, especially when I think of how He shaped my character and guided the way I had been living my life. When Isaac went up the mountain with Abraham to make an offering to God, he asked his father where the offering was. Abraham simply replied that God would provide. Yet, although Isaac was just a young boy, he had already figured out his situation.
13 I guess you are curious about the conversation that True Father and I had at our first meeting after he decided to accept me as his Bride. In those days our church members loved Father, but they were scared of him as well. Yet I had no fear of him. I felt that True Father was exactly like my maternal grandfather and would not get upset with anything I said. I suppose some people around me might have thought, "For such a young lady, she is incredibly bold." Yet at that moment I felt as if True Father were my grandfather, father, groom, brother, and even my son. (True Mother, 2004/09/16)
14 Adam and Eve fell when they went against God's Word. Yet I thought of it this way: Even if God had not warned them, they should have had the thought, based on the working of their original minds, to observe God's Word, since they were living at a time when they could directly converse with God. I grew up already thinking about God's providential history. So when I met with True Father at the age of 17, 1 had already made this resolution, "I will end, within my lifetime, the history of restoration through indemnity that God has walked in suffering; I will do this myself" I did not think this way because someone taught me to; I made this resolution on my own. The reason I could do so was because I knew God. (True Mother, 2012/01/07)
15 When I met True Father, I already knew providential history. I had not studied the Principle, but I knew about the history of the providence of restoration through indemnity. That is why I thought to myself, "In order for True Father to be able to proclaim that he has completed and concluded his mission as the Messiah, I must offer him my effort in support. I will not shift that responsibility to any other person. As for myself, I will accomplish that responsibility. I will advance the Will for as long as I live and bring it to pass. Without a doubt I will defeat Satan." It is for this purpose that I have dedicated my mind and body and sacrificed my entire life. (True Mother, 2013/08/24)
Life of faith
True Mother came down to the South with her maternal grandmother, Jo Won-mo, and her mother, Hong Soon-ae, in 1948. They moved several times— from Seoul to Daegu, then to Jeju Island and then to Chuncheon, where they continued their life of faith. When they were staying temporarily at the home of her mother’s friend in Daegu, right after arriving in the South, a stranger who saw True Mother described her, "She is the most divine young lady in heaven and on earth." It was this way wherever True Mother went: She caught people’s eye, and people received spiritual messages testifying to her.
16 Rev. Kim Seong-do, founder of the Holy Lord Church, passed away after she was released from prison. Although the remaining members of her family continued in that church, the providential mission to prepare for the Returning Lord passed to the Inside the Womb Church led by Rev. Heo Ho-bin. The Holy Lord Church could not take root under the communist regime in North Korea. Rev. Kim's first son, Jeong Seokcheon, went to the South and became involved in a mining business. Later he purchased a house on Dongseong Street in Daegu and started a business that sold rice and fuel.
17 When I was very young and my mother was running a small store in Daegu, one day an enlightened Buddhist wearing a bamboo hat passed by and saw me. He gave the remarkable testimony, "This daughter is so precious that not even ten sons can match her. So please raise her well. When she reaches 17, she will marry a man who is much older than she is. She will live in great wealth, with fortune from the land, sea and sky." My mother was amazed at his testimony and asked him what it meant. He answered that I was born with that destiny. Hearing this, my mother resolved even more strongly to live a diligent life of faith as she searched for the truth. In addition, she resolved to raise me in purity until we could meet the Returning Lord.
18 My grandmother Jo Won-mo led us in daily family worship. She made a point of staying away from evil influences in her daily life. She told me many Bible stories. She read the Bible seriously, and led a sincere life of faith with her utmost devotion, always keeping the Bible within her reach. Naturally, I read the Bible with her and lived a life of faith guided by our Heavenly Parent. We continued this life while we lived as refugees in Daegu, when I transferred to the school on Jeju Island, and later in Chuncheon, after the Korean War. When I was attending Sunday school at a church in Daegu, I often sang for the congregation as a representative of the students at the Sunday school. (True Mother, 2013/12/06)
19 While living in Daegu as a refugee during the Korean War, my mother met Jeong Seok-cheon, the first son of the founder of the Holy Lord Church, Rev. Kim Seong-do. After speaking with him, she came to believe that the New Lord would come to South Korea. She prayed hard to meet the Returning Lord, while keeping to an ascetic diet of raw pine needles. I was an elementary school student at that time. I was a good student and was very popular with the other students.
20 Because I had been given the blessing to be Heaven's Bride, Daemonim's main concern was to raise me pure and untainted by the world. So the year after the Korean War ended, when Korea was in chaos, my mother and I departed from the Korean mainland and went to live on Jeju Island. We lived there for about nine months. Jeong Pyeong-hwa, the second son of Rev. Kim Seong-do, the founder of the Holy Lord Church, was a man of such fervent faith that he wanted to experience the pain of Jesus. He even re-enacted the crucifixion and wore a crown of thorns. Daemonim joined him and led a more arduous life of faith than ever before. Every day she worked in the fields, eating nothing but raw food, and every night she exerted herself to the utmost in prayer. (True Mother, 2013/12/06)
Section 3. Chosen by Heaven
Three generations of preparation
According to True Father’s words, appropriate providential conditions had to be met for a woman representing the entire foundation for the Bride to be chosen to become the True Mother of humankind.
1 Not anyone could become True Mother. The conditions to advance the providence to raise a woman to become True Mother were connected with predestined relationships in the providence that focused on the work to restore Eve. This required three women to meet internal and external conditions. After all the conditions were met, True Mother could appear before the Lord and be joined with him in marriage.
2 True Mother represents all the women of the world. Only one woman representing all the women of humankind could be chosen for the position of True Mother. Three generations had to be connected behind the scenes to prepare True Mother.
3 For True Mother to be born into this world, there had to be three generations of women born as only daughters in their families, and they were required to build a meritorious foundation for the Returning Lord.
4 Three generations of True Mother's family attended the Spirit-led churches that were preparing to receive the Returning Lord. Her history extends that far back. Do you know how much those churches were opposed by the Protestant churches and the Catholic Church? Do you know how much Rev. Yi Yongdo was persecuted for founding the New Jesus Church? All of this led to Mother receiving the blessing on the foundation of her connection to all those spiritual works and to the core essence of the Korean people. It was also important that she come from a clan consisting of not more than 12 people. (210-301, 1990/12/25)
5 The Inside the Womb Church believed that the Returning Lord would come in the flesh, and that he would select his Bride and 12 disciples. Hence, it trained its members in how to attend the Lord. True Mother was trained in that special spiritual group. The mother of the founder of that church called Mother when she was six and gave her a special blessing. When I met Mother, I realized that she had already received all the blessings necessary to become the Bride. Also, it was fitting that no men were involved in her spiritual preparation, and that in her family she was the only daughter. (191-254, 1989/06/25)
6 Rev. Yi Yong-do was one of the representatives of Christianity who had been prepared to welcome the Returning Lord. When the existing Christian churches expelled him, he founded the New Jesus Church. He connected to Rev. Kim Seong-do in Cheolsan, when Rev. Baek Nam-ju connected the spiritual churches on the eastern and western coasts of Korea. That is how, in Daemonim's family, her husband attended the New Jesus Church founded by a man, while Daemonim attended the Inside the Womb Church founded by a woman. Daemonim was a leading figure in that church. While Daemonim was attending the Inside the Womb Church, she even left her home to search all over for the Lord. She received blessings from the pastors of the New Jesus Church and also from the Inside the Womb Church. This is what I discovered when I looked into True Mother's family. It had to be that way.
7 True Mother's mother (Daemonim) walked a historic path of suffering to receive the Returning Lord. During that time Mother, as her daughter, also received such training.
8 Daemonim had gone a course in which she attended three persecuted churches. She attended the New Jesus Church, then the Holy Lord Church, and the Inside the Womb Church, before finally coming to the Unification Church. Her history of attending these three churches before meeting me qualified her lineage to be the lineage from which True Mother could come.
9 In order to produce True Mother, a family of three generations had to offer themselves representing the three ages: the Old Testament, New Testament and Completed Testament Ages. The family had to have a line of only daughters. After True Mother was conceived, Daemonim set out on the path by herself. Through history, three ages had sought for the pure Bridegroom. These three women representing the three ages had to raise up the pure Bride by carrying the cross over many hills. Not just anyone can be chosen as the True Mother.
10 Everyone cannot help but respect True Mother. She emerged after passing through three spiritual churches. Over and over, she heard from her mother that the Lord will come in the future, and that when she meets him, she must attend him this way and that. Daemonim repeatedly taught her so many times that her teaching infused into Mother’s bone marrow. This is how she was educated to become True Mother.
Section 4. Trials and Victory
Silent suffering
True Mother walked the path to victory by overcoming all manner of difficulties, both before and after the Holy Wedding at which she became Heaven’s Bride. She was the absolute object partner before God, the Absolute Subject Partner. She walked the model course of absolute faith, absolute love and absolute obedience. For the sake of the providence she demonstrated a strength of spirit that allowed her to break through all obstacles. She recalled, "The path I walked was a succession of ordeals, each one so difficult that it is painful to think about."
1 Since you understand who Father is, all of you may think I am very happy. You may simply think I am perfect in every respect. You may think, "Because God created you to be like that, and since from the beginning you were born perfect, you were chosen for the position of True Mother without needing to make any effort of your own." Your general view of me might be that since I am married to Father and am the True Mother of the entire cosmos, I must have a happy family and be enjoying my life.
2 It is unbearable even to think about the path I walked. It was a succession of trials that caused suffering difficult to endure. Just as God tested Father after He chose him, God did the same to me, again and again. And just as Satan tested Father and Jesus, he also tested me. Women may be weak compared to men, yet still I had to pass through severe and intense trials, comparable to what the Messiah passed through.
3 Through many experiences with God, I came to learn a great deal about how He accomplishes the Will. In my life I truly have traveled to both heaven and hell. I came to realize that both kinds of experiences, not just one or the other, were necessary to completely mature my character and make me the person God expects me to be. If I had experienced only the joys of heaven, I would not be able to deeply appreciate the taste of life in the kingdom of heaven, and therefore I would not be grateful for it.
True Mother's victory
True Mother is a loving and caring woman. Sometimes she weeps with her motherly heart, thinking of other people's suffering, and sometimes she enjoys the world with the pure smile of a young girl. When she has something serious to say, people find themselves drawn to listen.
4 As the rightful True Mother, Mother is the mother of her family, the mother of the church and the mother of the cosmos. As such, she carries a greater responsibility than any woman in history has ever carried. Given her heavy burden, Mother has special strengths and abilities, compared to other people. First, she was born with keen spiritual intuition. She is extremely insightful and observant about people and things, and her judgment is very accurate and clear. So what comes to her mind is always true.
5 As the True Father, I am deeply grateful that Mother possesses a special disposition toward the Will. She is never selfish. She always wants to give something not only to her own children but also to you, the members of her church family. Whatever precious things she has, she finds joy in giving them to others.
6 Mother fought for seven years in pursuit of the standard of perfection. That seven-year period was filled with all kinds of accusations, slanders, false rumors and misunderstandings that swirled around her, attacking her position in the True Family. All that she endured during that time caused her heart to bleed. Yet in fact, all of it was necessary. The issue was whether she could overcome everything and be victorious.
7 Some unbelievable things happened back then. In the end, those people who had accused Mother fell away one by one. But back when those situations were occurring, I was well aware of how to deal with them because I knew the Principle. I knew how to fulfill my mission as the leader of the Unification Church in order to bring the final victory. If Mother had not known the Principle, she would have been at a loss, not knowing what to do.
8 I can testify to Mother; I can testify that she truly brought victory through faith. She has absolute faith in me. Her mother also achieved victory; both are victorious.
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