BOOK 2

The Birth of True Parents

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.

Because the True Parents came to take charge of God's providence of salvation, their births were events of great significance. Accordingly, many signs accompanied their births. For instance, there was an old tree standing in front of True Father's birthplace. Shortly before he was born a golden bird flew into that tree, sang beautifully, and then left. Also before the birth of True Mother, Hong Soon-ae, True Mother's mother, received a message in a dream, "If you have a son, he will become the king of the universe; if you have a daughter, she will become the queen of the universe."

On April 17,1935, at the age of 16 (by Korean counting), True Father was tearfully praying on a mountainside when Jesus called him to complete the mission of the Messiah. After that he went through a preparation period: three years in his hometown, three years of study in Seoul, and three years of study in Japan. Most especially during the time in Seoul, when he lived alone at a rooming house, his life was one of strict self-discipline and self-cultivation as he pushed himself in his studies and to develop his faith. Also, while he studied in Japan, he expanded his experiences in various fields. In addition to his academic work, he immersed himself in activities to support the liberation of Korea from Japanese rule and devoted himself to discovering the truth of the Principle.

True Mother spent much of her childhood at the home of her maternal grandmother, Jo Won-mo, as well as with her mother, Hong Soon-ae. Both her mother and grandmother had dedicated themselves to a life of faith in order to welcome the Lord at his Second Advent. After coming to the South from the North, True Mother began studying at Hyochang Elementary School in Seoul. She moved to Daegu, Seoguipo on Jeju Island, and to Chuncheon in Gangwon Province, all the while continuing her schooling.

True Mother met True Father in 1956, when she was 13, soon after her graduation from elementary school. Mother recalled what Father had told her about their first meeting, "Closing my eyes, I spoke to God in a whisper, ‘God, thank you for sending such an extraordinary woman to this nation of Korea.'"

For a long time, God made preparations to send the Returning Lord and Heaven s Bride. Then, through the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, True Father and True Mother emerged as the True Parents of humankind.

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.

True Father was born in Korea one year after the March 1st Independence Movement, on the 6th day of the 1st lunar month (February 25) in 1920 at 2221 Sangsa village, in the Deokeon district of the Jeongju township, North Pyeongan Province. His father was Moon Gyeong-yu (jtJSlj®), to whom True Father later gave the title Chungbunim, meaning "Father of Loyalty." His mother was Kim Gyeong-gye (3iJ£i$0, to whom True Father later gave the title Chung-monim, meaning "Mother of Loyalty." True Father was the second son among their six sons and seven daughters.

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.

Adam was re-created and reestablished in the position of the True Father of humankind when God placed His hands on True Father's head and blessed him with the words, "You are Adam whom I made for the ideal of creation! You are My Son who can fathom My situation and My heart!" The Lord of the Second Advent is the person who came to earth with this responsibility. We can say that the purpose of the 6,000 years of human history was to establish that one person for whom God has sought— the perfected ancestor of humankind. (010-143, 1960/09/18)

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.

With what qualification does the Lord come in the Last Days? He comes with the qualification to become the True Parent. Although he comes again as the Messiah, he cannot come as the Lord of Glory. This is because although Jesus came to earth, he was unable to rise to the position of the True Parent and thus was unable in his lifetime to establish the foundation to comfort God by serving and attending Him in glory representing all the peoples of the world.

The Messiah at his Second Coming must inherit the Will that Jesus could not fulfill on earth and fulfill it. After completing this responsibility as a filial Son, he will be able to comfort God. On the foundation of having completed the work of Jesus, he can be chosen as God's champion to subjugate even Satan. Once he has done that, he will have built the basis to bring glory to God. In this way he will acquire the qualification to inaugurate the True Parents. This is a general overview of the providence of restoration that God has been leading to this day. (017-074, 1966/11/12)

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.

The young people of the world who are concerned about the future also cannot avoid agonizing over its bleak situation. Such is the darkness and hopelessness of the era in which we live. Yet God does exist, and He will not let them just keep running toward a final end full of despair. Rather, He confronts the issues that beset us and works to connect the world to a new dimension, a place of hope. (103-039, 1979/02/02)

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.

In this situation, our Heavenly Father will not leave humanity to go down a path to destruction. By whatever means or method, He will save us. This period is the important time when God endeavors to send to earth that special person who will be the standard-bearer of His providence. Therefore, despite all kinds of hardships God has been pushing and pulling history to arrive at this point. At the same time, it is certain that behind the scenes He has been laying the foundation for His new providence to advance and prosper. (035-194, 1970/10/14)

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.

The people who led that movement were people of faith, mainly Christians and adherents of the Cheondo-gyo faith. They presented a new direction that shifted from Japanese imperialism toward America with its Christian culture. In this way, Christianity spread widely and penetrated deeply into the culture of the Korean nation and people. This was possible because the Korean people, who chafed under the rule of imperial Japan, were inclining more toward the Christian cultural sphere, which was influenced by the United States. This is an amazing fact. Beginning from that historical uprising against Japan, Christianity in Korea developed rapidly. (142-054, 1986/03/01)

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.

I was born in the first lunar month of 1920, during the year after the March 1st Movement began. Why was this significant? The Returning Lord must be born in a nation that God can claim, even if He can claim it only conditionally. If the Returning Lord were to be born and come to a nation that had not established such a condition, it would be as if he were floating in the air, without solid ground on which to stand. That is why God led the March 1st Movement. So much blood was shed just for one person—me—to come to earth. That is why the Korean people suffered so much in 1919, both from famine due to a poor harvest and from the loss of life through this heroic but tragic movement. It is based on such indemnity conditions that God's providence has been advancing. (244-326, 1993/03/01)

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 (Sffl), 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.

Therefore, through the 2,000 years of history since Jesus' death, God worked to prepare a nation having circumstances similar to those of the nation of Israel and then connected that nation to the providence preparing for the day of the Lord at the Second Advent. Since the people of Israel began a history full of misery and separation, in order to deal with this problem God was required to find a nation enduring the same suffering. From the perspective of history, the nation in that position was Korea. Indeed, the Korean people have many striking similarities to the Jewish people in terms of where they are situated in their region and in terms of their history. (067-244, 1973/07/01)

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.

Nevertheless, the Korean people were able to overcome such obstacles because of something deep within their national spirit. With that spirit, they always looked forward to a hopeful tomorrow. Because they possessed this spirit, because this national spirit could take hold and become the prevailing spirit on the Korean Peninsula of the Far East, they were able to come out on top through all their battles. Isn't it fitting that the Messiah come to a people who have endured, always advancing with this kind of spirit? On the emotional level, no people in this region are more passionate than the Korean people.

Korea has also been called the eastern land of propriety. Buddhism, Confucianism and Christianity each claim to be the religion of faith and righteousness, but now they have reached their limit. However, just as the Korean people have upheld their spirit of hope for their nation, they are the kind of people who can be fired up with the truth for the sake of the world. When this happens, their inherent passion for truth will burst out from deep within their hearts. (007-166, 1959/08/30)

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(Sl) meaning dragon and myung (Bf|) 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.

My mother kept these things close to her heart. When I was eight she told me the story and said, "No matter how hard I think about it, I can only conclude that it is about the mission that you must undertake." Once you come to know the Will, you can understand the promises of God that are revealed in such symbolic dreams. My mother received many revelations. Whenever something special was to occur or a difficulty might arise, she knew it in advance and made conditions of devotion to prepare for it. This is how I know that by bringing heaven and earth together we can solve any problem. (401-218, 2003/01/07)

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 (ft) 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."

The character myung (Bfi) is a combination of the sun (0) and the moon (0). Thus, placing the two characters sun and moon together signifies that clarity and brightness will pervade both heaven and earth. Heaven represents man and earth represents woman, so when they become as one, all will be bright, clear and cheerful.

The character moon (jfc) which is my family name, refers to truth. I am doing the work that my entire name stands for. That is why throughout my life, whenever I look at my name I think to myself, "I must act and live accordingly. I really must." (246-284, 1993/04/20)

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.

To be a sacrifice is to offer yourself for others. A living seed grows well if planted in rotting soil. Historically, if a nation has suffered great hardships and pain, its people will welcome living seeds and grow them well. A region that endures such hardships can produce a great saint. That is where a righteous person, a righteous leader, a righteous nation, and the teaching of righteousness are bound to emerge. (334-232, 2000/09/30)

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.

The character moon ) means a piece of writing. When you write the character moon (X) you place a dot on top of the character wu (X) which means "again." Then you end up with this character, moon (;£), which looks like an offering table for the ancestors with food placed on top. This signifies that the Moons must take on the responsibility of the chief priest. They must become masters of religious rites, jeju (fg ±). By repeatedly making offerings to God, they must become the masters of religious rites to dissolve God's deep sorrow. That is what I think my name means, and that is how I live. (283-157, 1997/04/12)

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.

During the Goryeo Dynasty, one ancestor in my bloodline was Moon Geuk-gyeom. He died while traveling back and forth trying to bring reconciliation between military officers and civil officials. The tradition he established served as a bridge which enabled the Goryeo dynasty to last for 500 years. Also, I am the 23rd-generation descendant of Moon Ik-jeom, who risked his life to smuggle cotton seeds into Korea from China for the poor to make clothing. (606-234, 2009/01/13)

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."

That is why I am telling you: do not be inconsiderate to anyone who visits you. You do not know what lineage each visitor or guest is from. If you offer visitors your most sincere hospitality before sending them on their way, you will bring blessings to your descendants. Since those blessings come from the entire land of Korea, the blessings that come on the foundation set by your sincerity can be conveyed back to the land of Korea. Then, when you expand this foundation to the world beyond Korea, you will be showered with blessings that you can share with the world. This is how you should think. (127-085, 1983/05/05)

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.

That is what my grandfather had practiced as our family tradition. Even if we were in the middle of our meal, if a beggar came to our house asking for food, my grandmother or my mother would immediately leave the room to serve him food. Especially in the winter, if she did not prepare it fast enough my grandfather would take his own meal on his portable table and set it in front of the beggar. Thinking of the beggar hungry in the cold, he just could not continue eating. He would give the beggar his own food, and he did not mind if he had none for himself. Based on this family tradition, I have been doing the same for the people of the world.

People from all over Korea, from the Honam region to the Yongnam region, traveled to China through the North. On their way they would look for the main state road, which ran close to our house. If those travelers happened to come to our neighborhood and wanted somewhere to stay overnight, our neighbors would tell them, "If you go over there, you will find the Moon's residence. You can sleep there." That is why in all four seasons of the year the guest room at my house was never empty. My mother had to cook for them, and I know it caused her to suffer greatly her whole life. I tell you, a household that has fed the people of the eight provinces of Korea will never go to ruin. Such a home would see the birth of a descendant who would be welcomed throughout the provinces of Korea. (147-306, 1986/10/01)

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.

Moon Jeong-heul had three sons: Chi-guk, Shin-guk and Yun-guk. The eldest, Moon Chi-guk, was True Fathers grandfather. He said about Father, "He will become a great man in the future; support him in whatever he wants to do.'

Moon Chi-guk had three sons: Gyeong-yu (who lived from the 11th day of the 7th lunar month of 1893 to the 11th day of the 10th lunar month of 1954), Gyeong-bok and Gyeong-gu, and also two daughters. Gyeong-yu, who was posthumously given the title Chungbunim, was True Father's father. He married True Father's mother, Kim Gyeong-gye (who lived from the 15th day of the 10th lunar month of 1888 to the 7th day of the 1st lunar month of 1968), who was posthumously given the title Chungmonim. She came from the Yeonan Kim clan, and her birth name was Kim Ju-gwan.

Chungmonim was from a prominent family in Jeongju. She was born as the first daughter of her father Kim Baek-hong. Her mother, who was from the Indong Jang clan bore him five children, three sons and two daughters. Her father supported independence activities and contributed to building the Osan School in Jeongju, which produced many patriots for the independence struggle.

Her family, surnamed Kim, was from a Kim clan that produced many prominent people during the Joseon dynasty who passed the national examinations to become government officials. Her family brought her up well, with purity and dignity. She was tall, and her personality was active and passionate. She lived such a sacrificial life for True Father, thus laying the foundation of perfect mother-son cooperation for his path as the Lord at the Second Advent.

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.

Even though I had such family support, I solved all the problems on my own. Even if I had consulted them, none of them could have understood what I had to do. None of them, not even my parents, knew about the path I would take in the future. Yet due to the spiritual phenomena behind the scenes, all kinds of problems arose throughout my clan, from my parents to my relatives. Indeed, many incidents occurred. Satan knew very well who I was and what I was, and he caused many evils to befall my family. (227-115, 1992/02/11)

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.

Only after three days had passed did he wash his hands and start eating. My father must have thought, "How can I wash my hands and eat right after burying my child?" When I observed this, I knew he was an honorable man who naturally went beyond the requirements of the law. His seriousness about the dying wishes of his ancestors surpassed his regard for human laws. (601-187, 2008/11/07)

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.

Therefore, he had absolute faith in me and would do whatever I asked. Once when I was in Pyongyang, something providentially significant happened and I gave him some directions to carry out. I asked him to do things that would be incomprehensible to the common sense of any ordinary person. However, because it was for me, his younger brother, he helped me by doing this and that. It did not matter if the tasks were difficult; my older brother always supported me in every possible way, without any hesitation. (029-209, 1970/02/)

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 Heavens 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 Mothers birth, many spiritual churches emerged on the Korean Peninsula. With her family centrally involved in them, their purpose was to prepare for True Mother.

True Mother was born on the 6th day of the l5' lunar month (February 10) in 1943, at her maternal grandparents' home at number 26, Shineui village in the township of Anju, South Pyeongan Province. She was the only daughter of her father, Han Seung-oon, and her mother, Hong Soon-ae, who later received the title Daemonim.

1 When we look at the central figures of providential history, we can well understand how important the mothers 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.

Today as I reflect upon the circumstances of that time, I am drenched in sorrow. It is because I recall memories of the indescribable suffering endured by the churches to which my mother (Daemonim) belonged. The members of those churches lived entirely according to the divine revelations they received. These revelations directed them to walk an indemnity course in order to prepare an easier path for the Lord. It was an unbelievable course filled with difficulties and hardships. Some of those members died in prison.

Having been called by God to prepare for the Messiah, they overcame their difficulties by carrying with them only the hope that someday they would be able to meet him. So, with devotion and attendance, they made extensive preparations to welcome the Returning Lord. Among the things they did was to prepare everything for him, from spoons for him to eat with to clothes for him to wear. The revelations they received were so detailed that they knew even the size of his clothes.

Yet while they endured indescribable suffering to carry out these directions, unfortunately they died, one by one, unable to meet the Lord. However, their mission was passed down through three generations, and I was born at the culmination of their revelations. (True Mother, 1977/05/03)

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.

Specifically, shortly after the birth of True Mother, Rev. Kim Seong-do of the Holy Lord Church died in prison from the torture she received there. Thereupon the mission was passed down to the Inside the Womb Church led by Rev. Heo Ho-bin. As Rev. Heo was also imprisoned, her mother, taking her place, testified to True Mother, who was six years old at the time. She blessed her, saying, "You will be Heaven's Bride." Even before the birth of True Mother there were prophecies about her, such as, "She will become the queen of the universe." Through this process, the foundation of these churches' conditions of devotion to receive the Lord at his Second Advent was passed down to True Mother.

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.

One day during the time they were living a devout Christian life, my mother received a revelation, "Daughter of Hong Yu-il, rejoice! If you give birth to a son, he will be the king of the universe, and if a daughter, she will be the queen of the universe." After she received this message, my parents married. My father was 26 years old, and my mother was 21 years old. After that, my mother made continuous and strenuous efforts to find the Returning Lord. Later, she joined the Holy Lord Church in Cheolsan, which required her to travel back and forth between Anju and Cheolsan. I was conceived nine years after my parents' marriage, as the fruit of their sincere devotion and devout life of faith. (True Mother, 1977/05/03)

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.

It was during that time, before I came down to South Korea, that Rev. Heo's mother called me to go see her after receiving a revelation about me. I was then six years old. Rev. Heo's church was fulfilling the mission of the Bride of the Lord at the Second Advent, and Rev. Heo's mother gave me a benediction that I would take the position of that Bride. She said in her prayer that I was supposed to fulfill a great mission. I still vividly recall it: an elderly lady in a white Korean dress said that she had received a revelation about me from heaven and she called me to come into her room alone in order to give me that blessing. (True Mother, 1999/10/21)

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.

When I first met Mother, I already knew about this succession. Everything that God had prepared was realized in 1960; that is how True Parents were able to emerge today. Based on this, it became possible to bestow the marriage Blessing on the church members so as to make them God's children. (052-186, 1971/12/29)

True Mother's name

Shortly after True Mother was born, her father, Han Seung-oon, named her Hak Ja, choosing hak (H) according to a dream in which he saw two cranes. Hak means "crane" and ja (JJL) 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 (Tj> 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 (jg J-). 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 (T1), 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.

Hong Soon-ae (Daemonim) was born on the 22nd day of the 2nd lunar month in 1914, into a devout Christian family. Her father was Hong Yu-il. Her mother, Jo Won-mo (who lived from the 7th day of the 11th lunar month of 1889 to the 3rd day of the 9th lunar month of 1962), bore him one son and one daughter. Daemonim was their first child. Jo Won-mo, True Mother's maternal grandmother, was a diligent and active woman like contemporary women. It is known that one of her ancestors, Jo Han-jun, built a significant stone bridge across the Dallae River at Jeongju in North Pyeongan Province, investing his entire fortune to build it.

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 (i|) 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.

There was also a prophecy: If a rock carved like a totem pole that stood beside the bridge became buried, then the nation of Korea would fall, but if that rock was clearly exposed to the people, then a new heaven and earth would unfold in Korea. (455-261, 2004/06/26)

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.

When Jo Han-jun finished building the bridge, he had but three coins remaining to his name. He used those three coins to buy straw sandals to wear to the dedication ceremony the following day. Afterward he went to sleep, and that night he had a dream. An old man clothed in white appeared and said, "Han-jun, you offered distinguished service to your nation, and as a reward I wanted to send the son of heaven to your family. However, when you used those three coins for yourself, you did not completely fulfill heavens condition, so I will send you the princess of heaven instead." He woke up from that dream and ran to the Dallae River. There on a hill above the river he found that a stone statue of the Maitreya Buddha had appeared. (True Mother, 1999/10/21)

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.

Then, the Jo family cut off the stone statue's stomach to flatten it, but after that it began to bleed from its stomach. The mystical bleeding statue frightened them, so the Jo family quickly covered it with plaster to block the bleeding. Another local legend is that whenever someone passed by that statue on a horse, if the rider did not dismount and pay respect to the statue, the horse's shoes would stick to the ground and it could not move forward. Through such miracles as these, heaven raised the faithful Jo clan and sent my maternal grandmother, Jo Won-mo. God began preparing the spiritual environment starting with my ancestor Jo Han-jun and then connected that foundation to me. (True Mother, 2012/12/25)

6 True Mothers maternal grandmothers 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 Mothers 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 (jjt'J+l) 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.

The word hwan (fi) is an old pronunciation of the word that in subsequent Korean history came to be written hart ($). That is why people often refer to Hwan-ung by the name Han-ung. Of course, some people disparage this part of Korean history as mere mythology. However, hidden in the myth of Dan-gun is God's Will to choose the Han people as the people of heaven's lineage. Artifacts and related data associated with that era are being discovered, and they are proving that the mythology has a basis in fact.

Not many people know the origin of the word Han in the phrase "the Han people" or in the official name of Korea, Daehan Minguk. But in fact, the origin of this word can be found in the name "Han Clan Joseon." Thousands of years ago a vast territory that stretched from the northeastern part of China to the Korean Peninsula was ruled by members of the Han lineage; thus that nation was called Han Clan Joseon. The reason that we Korean people are often called the Han people and that our nation's name is Daehan Minguk originates from the Han Clan Joseon nation of long ago. Ultimately, what this means is that our nation was established by the ancient ancestors of the Han people. (True Mother, 2013/12/06)

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 (ilfliE#), 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.

It is generally believed that Korean history spans approximately 4,000 years, beginning with the Gojoseon era. However, the Han people already existed 3,000 years prior to the Gojoseon era, and their place of origin on the Korean Peninsula was Cheongju. I am now working to systematically organize all the material that I have compiled and publish a book about the ancient history of Korea, one that does not treat Korea in isolation but demonstrates its links with the history of other Far Eastern nations. (613-043, 2009/06/03)

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.

God prepared this foundation of unity so that the Returning Lord would not be persecuted when he arrived. That is how the Holy Lord (Seongju) Church was formed. Its name takes seong (U), meaning "holy," from Kim Seong-do, and ju (T), meaning "the Lord," from Baek Nam-ju. However, a problem arose: Kim Seong-do viewed her position as higher than that of Baek Nam-ju and others. Kim Seong-do said, "Since I am the one whom heaven taught about Eve's mission, I am the one who must attend the Lord when He comes." (223-211, 1991/11/10)

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.

Rev. Heo stood one level lower than the Returning Lord. She did not stand in the same position as the Lord; rather she stood in the position of symbolically giving birth to him. Through her, the Lord could be born symbolically, this is according to the Principle of Restoration. Thus her mission symbolized that of Mary. (008-223, 1960/01/06)

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.

Although Korea has but a short history of Christianity, God led the people of Korea to establish churches to make internal preparations to welcome the Returning Lord both before and after the country's liberation. God directly guided Rev. Heo Ho-bin and her husband, who established the Inside the Womb Church, to make internal preparations to attend the Returning Lord. This included making clothes that would fit him for every year of his life from birth to age 33.

This was to alleviate the bitter sorrow of Jesus, whose life of 33 years was so miserable. (True Mother, 1999/10/21)

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 mothers 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."

One afternoon, around 1:00 p.m., Rev. Heo asked my mother to make a set of clothes for the Lord and complete them before nightfall. It might be possible to make clothes for an ordinary person within several hours, but making clothes for the Lord required extra special care. Still, my mother obeyed and did her best. With trembling hands, she made the clothes with a heart of gratitude.

My mother wanted to be like Rev. Heo, who was living a spiritual life of attendance to the Returning Lord day and night. One day she thought to herself, "If only I could meet the Lord once, even in a dream, 1 could die and have no regrets." That night she had a dream. In her dream, she was wearing a white Korean dress. She was in a clean three-room house with a thatched roof. Having prepared breakfast, she was coming out of the kitchen, drying her hands on her apron, when Grandmother Jo said, "Not just anyone is allowed to come into this room." Still, she opened the door, and without saying anything, quietly entered the room and sat down. There she saw a man, physically well-built and wearing a headband, sitting at the table facing the east and studying. All of a sudden he turned around and looked at her, and said, "I have been studying hard in order to find you."

My mother later said that his remark touched her deeply and she was overwhelmed with gratitude, but at the same time she felt inadequate and could only shed tears, unable to utter even one word. She wept while holding his hand. Then she woke up. After waking up, she thought, "What an unusual dream! He must be the Returning Lord." That is how my mother had her first encounter with True Father, in a dream. (True Mother, 2014/10/11)

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.

A week later, she went back to that craftsman. This time she was well pleased with the hat. She was relieved by this and, after paying for the shoes and hat, brought them back to the church in Pyongyang. Later when she shared her experience about the incident, Rev. Heo laughed with joy.

After about a month, my mother had another dream. She used to have very vivid dreams. In this dream the same man whom she had seen in her dream the previous month appeared again and said, "I need to go to the North and study more. So prepare your favorite sleeping pad and blanket; also a suit of clothes. Put them in my backpack for me to carry with me." She answered that she would do so, and returned home. Still in the dream, she entered her house, and amazingly, a clean blanket and sleeping pad were already prepared and waiting for her. There was even a suit of clothes; it was light-colored and the fabric was of excellent quality. Thinking, "How incredible! How can I ever express my gratitude enough?" she packed them in a backpack with wholehearted devotion and offered it to the man.

As he put it on his back, he said to her, "I will be back in three years. During that time, do not change your heart. Just wait for me!" He whistled a tune as he departed on his solitary journey. As she watched his back receding into the distance, my mother cried and cried. He looked so lonely as he departed to study in the North. She thought to herself, "Of course, my heart will not change. Although I am just an ordinary woman, this distinguished man sincerely requested that I not change my heart for three years." She was so overwhelmed by his loving heart toward her that she could not stop crying. Then she woke up. In this way my mother, Daemonim, met the Returning Lord ahead of time, in her dreams. (True Mother, 2014/10/11)

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.

She had told the members of her church that the Lord of the Second Advent would be released from the prison, so every day about 20 to 30 members of her church clad in white clothes waited for the Lord outside the jail. In the meantime, internal security officers confiscated all the clothes that had been made for the Returning Lord over many years. Hence, heaven gave a message to the church members that they had to make them all again. It took them an entire year to make the clothes, yet even by then, Rev. Heo had not yet been released. (True Mother, 2014/10/11)

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.

Father was incarcerated at the same facility. He was charged with two counts: leading a pseudo-religion, similar to the charge against Rev. Heo, and being a spy for South Korean President Syngman Rhee.

The Inside the Womb Church was prepared in the position of the providential Bride, but it failed to come to True Father, who was in the position of the Bridegroom. From inside the prison Father twice sent messengers to Rev. Heo to let her know who he was, but she rejected those messages. Yet even in the prison God continued to work to bring her to Father. Father was imprisoned for 100 days, beginning on August 11. During that time he attempted to contact Rev. Heo Ho-bin several times, but she never recognized who Father was, even to the very end of her life. She rejected God's providential efforts to approach her and His loving heart to spare her life and ended up going the way of faithlessness and death.

On November 21, Father was thrown out of the prison, on the verge of death due to the severe torture he had undergone in the prison, and he survived thanks to God's grace. The other leaders of the Inside the Womb Church were also tortured at that time. All of them were later executed, some time after the Korean War began. This is a living lesson given to us from history: how severe and tragic the fate that befalls those who are called to a providential mission should they fail to fulfill the responsibility for which heaven has blessed them and showered them with grace. (True Mother, 2014/10/11)

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."

The way of love that all women have to walk has high walls to overcome. Unless True Mother could take those walls down, women would come to blame her. Daemonim appealed to God, crying out that she could take all True Mother's burdens on her behalf, and she actually did so. She also ardently prayed that she could dissolve all the worries, bitterness and sorrows of the True Family.

Now, having passed through the painful path of sacrifices, we have come to the era when we can go over the national level and even the world level and proceed toward the world of unity and liberation. Hong Soon-ae truly accomplished all her responsibilities; hence, she deserves to be attended by all. That is why I named her Daemonim.

As an example to your families and descendants, all of you should inherit Daemonim's heart of single-minded loyalty and establish a proper tradition of attending God. This grandmother lived only to attend God. In attending God in your families you should fulfill the way of a loyal heart with single-mindedness even greater than hers. On November 4, 1989, in honor of Daemonim, I created a calligraphic tribute, Chungshim Bong-shin (195-152, 1989/11/07)

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.

By giving birth to True Mother, she completed the work of these women who had labored through three generations to carry out the role of Eve. She made preparations discreetly, knowing that the Will would bear fruit in True Mothers generation. Words cannot describe all the hardships she endured. The many ordeals she had to bear throughout her life are beyond description. No one, not her siblings, her relatives or her friends, was ever able to understand her. As she walked her lonely path of faith, she even subsisted on raw pine needles. Yet her belief never changed and her faith never wavered as she established the foundation for True Mother to meet me. (265-009, 1994/11/07)

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.

Nothing can change the nature of a Korean white pine. It is not influenced by the conditions of its environment; on the contrary, it carries an attribute that causes it to burst out even if it finds itself in the most severe environment. Then with the arrival of spring, its seeds will sprout and grow into Korean white pine trees. That is the nature of a Korean white pine. The tree has five needles in each cluster: one representing the center and the others representing the east, west, north and south. That is why I love the Korean white pine tree. Also, this tree grows very well. It grows straight up. It sends its root straight down, and its trunk grows straight up. (178-119, 1988/06/01)

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.

I felt responsible to care for people who were having difficulties, whatever their situation. Every year in the autumn I would pick chestnuts for them. I would save some of the stock of corn at my house and bring it to their homes. It is the only way I could feel at peace. It is from this kind of background that I have a foundation even to think of feeding all the people of the world. (431-107, 2004/01/12)

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.

Without having this core nature within me, I could not be who I am today. It had to be my inborn nature. There is a Korean maxim, "The water at the surface must be clear for the water at the bottom to be clear." The "top water" is the leader who sets the example. Human beings are spiritual. So, when we have the quality of pure water, others will want to come and live together with us. They will lean on us for support. (056-035, 1972/05/10)

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 Fathers 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 peoples 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 Fathers 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.

Before I rise up triumphantly representing all nations of the world, I need to set up a condition that Satan cannot accuse. In the course of my battle against Satan, he attacked my family. That was the price we had to pay. Likewise, I also need to present a condition upon which I can stand proudly before history, by claiming the right of victory over Satan as the representative of all peoples and nations of the world. The same condition applies to Unification Church members; the same condition is required to found a unified nation. (214-215, 1991/02/02)

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.

Father turned 16 (by Korean counting) shortly after he transferred to Jeongju Primary School. Then, during Easter week, on April 17,1935, while he was tearfully praying in the mountains at dawn, he met Jesus, who shared with him many profound and amazing truths. The two of them had more discussions over the following days. After True Father accepted his call from God, he continued studying in his hometown, in Seoul, and abroad in Tokyo. During that time he went through a period of preparation to deepen his faith and cultivate his sense of mission for his future role as a providential figure.

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?

For nine years following that first experience, I lived together with the omnipotent God and with Jesus. I visited the spirit world on numerous occasions. Little by little, God revealed amazing truths to me. It felt as if the morning sun was rising after a long night of darkness. In that truth I could see the dawning light of a new, glorious culture. These special revelations, based on the New Testament, are higher than any previous religious teachings. I felt that they had the power and ability to embrace all religions and unite them. The revelations that I received are the core of what is now called the Principle. God has commanded me to spread this Principle to the ends of the earth. (102-288, 1979/01/)

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 161 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."

I have fought for this, and I will continue doing so. I urge you to do the same. Then, from now on, it will not matter if this or that religious body opposes the Unification Church and makes false accusations against me. No matter how much they try to suppress me and the church with all their power and authority, they will not be able to destroy the foundation we have established. (028-296, 1970/02/11)

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.

On March 25, 1938, at the graduation ceremony for the school's 29th class, he volunteered to speak at the podium. Although the ceremony was nearing its end, he gave a long speech to express his views in front of all the people who were gathered there. One by one he pointed out the wrongs of Japanese colonial educational policy and its hypocrisy. He also pointed out the problems of each individual teacher. Because of this incident, the Japanese police added his name to their list as a person to be watched.

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.

When they had done it so many times that it became a habit, I could tell that they had reached a new level. I could see by glancing at the character which direction to move my calligraphy brush—where to place the top of the first stroke and where to end the last stroke. It did not matter how lengthy the phrase; I could write it with ease. My skill was at a different level than that of others.

After studying at the village school, I joined a small private school that specialized in teaching art. There for the first time in my life I learned how to draw and paint pictures. The adults drew pictures on a special drawing paper. As I stood in front of that paper, I contemplated what flowers I was going to draw. Looking at the size of the paper, I calculated their sizes and locations in my mind. With this plan in mind I made a rough sketch of the flowers, the images forming from the simple lines I drew. Next I completed the coloring, and there it was, my first picture. They hung that picture on the wall at the school. (349-056, 2001/07/14)

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.

My whole life has been about pioneering and transformation, and this is where it began. While I was attending the village school, God called me and I came to know His Will. As I began to think about the path I was destined to walk, I realized that I should not be cooped up inside a village school. I clearly understood that I was living in an age when a new scientific civilization was expanding. Airplanes were flying in the sky, trains were traveling overland, and I was supposed to prepare myself to lead humanity into a new future. I thought to myself, "I cannot just stay here in a village school." That was the point where a transformation began in my life. So I went to a preparatory school and then entered primary school. Back then, that school was called the Osan Primary School. I took the transfer test and entered the third grade. I studied there for one year. During that time, I concentrated on studying hard. (211-133, 1990/12/30)

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.

I felt ashamed, as if I were just a spectator in their midst, watching them having fun, dancing and singing, but not knowing what to do to be part of their group. You cannot understand how embarrassed and uncomfortable I was unless you have experienced it yourself. So in 15 days 1 memorized all the books that the students in first, second, third and fourth grades were studying. Then my ears were opened, and I could at least comprehend what they were talking about. (171-258, 1988/01/02)

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.

Although he had an active personality, Father rarely spoke, being serious and sincere. In order to find the way to heaven and cultivate his character, he was silent much of the time. His report card records that he was "cheerful, active, sincere and serious, strong, healthy-minded, volunteers to do things, and hard-working." It further states, "He is physically fit and strong, has a good attendance record, and likes soccer."

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.

From that time on, Father fasted during lunch every day. Morning and evening his food was always the same, a meal consisting of one bowl of rice and a side dish. He willingly went hungry because that way he could feel closer to God's heart. Also, he prayed more than 12 hours a day. His long and fervent prayers gave him calluses on his knees and elbows. Most notably he had serious, desperate showdown prayers in the pine forest near his school, at a rock on the side of Mt. Seodal behind a church, or at the foot of that mountain on the Dongjak district side. Through these prayers, he experienced God's heart and made oneness with Him in heart.

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.

I do not need to eat many side dishes. Whenever I visit local churches, they make elaborate preparations and serve many side dishes on the table. However, I do not like that. To me, a single side dish is enough if it is something I like. By nature, I am the kind of person who likes to finish whatever I start. It is the same when it comes to food. Although there may be many dishes on the table, usually I pick one that suits my taste and finish it completely, although I also taste the others. (050-296, 1971/11/08)

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.

One day I saw a sick stranger lying on that road. I had never met him before. It must have been around the end of March, since the new semester had just started, and I was carrying with me the money for my school tuition and other expenses. This pitiful man had no son, but he said he had a daughter living in Cheonan. So I gave him all my money so that he could travel to her place and get medical treatment. He must have had good ancestors, because the moment I saw him I could not just continue on my way and turn my back on him. That is why I gave him all the money in my wallet, including the money for my textbooks and the rent money for my boarding house. Moreover, I carried him on my back for about three kilometers. I still vividly remember this; it is as if it happened the day before yesterday.

When heaven leads you to meet someone, you should love that person more than heaven expects you to. Then you will never suffer damage. For example, if heaven asks you to give 10 but instead you give 100 instead, 90 will be considered your offering for the public purpose before heaven. On the other hand, you should never give 5 when heaven hopes you will give 10. When heaven hopes you will give 10, you should give more than 10. If you give less than heaven hoped you would, God's grace will be blocked from reaching your path. This is a law. It is a formula of the Principle. (056-039, 1972/05/10)

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.

I had to take the opposite way from what my mother and father expected me to do, from their point of view. That is why on the first day of the vacation, when my neighborhood and school were hustling and bustling with students preparing to return to their hometowns, I closed the door and locked myself in my room. I spent the first day of my vacation thinking, "I have many things to do before my friends come back." (187-250, 1989/02/11)

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.

When women prepared food with sincerity, God wanted them to give it to me and moved their hearts to do so. Many such spiritual events took place. That is why I can never forget God's love for me, not even for one moment. I can never forget God's love, even if my body is crushed to pieces and my bones are turned into powder thousands upon thousands of times. Throughout my life God was with me wherever I was, and He toiled so hard for me. (022-122, 1969/02/02)

22 When you pray, you need to pray to the extent that your back becomes bent and the skin of your knees becomes cal-lused. 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.

Rev. Lee Ho-bin and Rev. Pak Jae-bong from the Pyongyang New Jesus Church frequently visited the New Jesus Church in Heukseok-dong and held revivals and Bible study classes. Whenever they visited, True Father attended them and deepened his relationship with them. True Father taught the students at the Sunday school, giving them his special love. Further, whenever he went to Pyongyang during summer vacation, he spoke to the Sunday school students at the Pyongyang New Jesus Church.

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 ser-mons. 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?"

As a child, I thought that what had been historically impossible for human beings would be possible for the Creator. I thought that if He truly existed, He could do it. Therefore I resolved, "If the Creator, the Absolute Being, exists, I will partner with Him to do the work of saving my country and liberating its oppressed people." But first I needed an answer regarding the existence of God. For this I searched within religions. I thought that if God really exists, then I must find a way to meet Him. As I was passing through my teens and approaching my twenties, I agonized over many issues on my journey of faith. I thought, "I have to go to Japan and then to the United States. I need to experience sorrow and persecution there as a representative of a people whose power is smaller and weaker." (199-213, 1990/02/17)

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.

Besides his academic studies, True Father pushed himself hard to have many different life experiences, among the working class, the middle class and the upper class. In order to prepare himself for his revolutionary mission, he tried to break through every limitation and accumulate abilities to deal with any circumstance that might arise on his way to the final destination. When he received money from home for his school and living expenses, he used it to help those in need; then he went out to do the work of a laborer. Among many other things, he carried an A-frame on his back and pulled a delivery cart. Shedding blood and sweat, he became a friend and brother to his fellow laborers, sharing their pain and their joy. Through training himself in this way, he personally experienced the teaching, "The one who would become a glorious king must be victorious over all kinds of pain."

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.

I gave myself that experience. However, you would be seriously mistaken if you think I did it all the time. In fact, I was always hungry. Why do you think I made myself go hungry? If I only cared about keeping my stomach full, how could I keep people with me and keep God with me? So although I was hungry and wanted to eat, I resolved that I must love my people and God more than food. This was truth to me; it was my creed. (015-183, 1965/10/08)

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."

You must understand that upholding and living up to the name of True Parents throughout my entire life has been extremely difficult. I had to cultivate such qualities in myself that people of every status, high or low, could relate to me as their subject partner. (117-019, 1982/01/30)

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.

The ship that departed that day, the one for which True Father had purchased a ticket, was called the Gonnon Maru. On October 5 at 1:15 a.m., about ten nautical miles northeast of Oki-noshima, the ship was sunk by an American torpedo. True Fathers family was in total shock when they heard the news of the sinking. They had not heard that Father had changed his departure date. As True Father was journeying back home in the middle of October, he made a solemn resolution: This time I am coming home without having been able to dissolve the bitter sorrow of my people. Yet in the near future the time will come when I will be able to teach Japanese youth and guide them to do God's Will. Then we will meet again.

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.

In the meantime, since I did not come home, my family in my hometown, to whom I had sent the telegram, thought 1 had died. My mother went nearly insane. She dropped everything and hurriedly traveled to Busan to find me. It is 230 kilometers from Jeongju to Seoul; the journey took ten hours by train. Then she took another train from Seoul to Busan. You can hardly imagine her mental and emotional state during that journey. She did not even put on a dress; she ran out of the house only in her house clothes, which are like pajamas. Her shoes came off as she ran to the train station nearest Jeongju, but she did not notice; she did not even feel that an acacia tree thorn had embedded itself in the sole of her foot. A callous hardened over it, and 1 heard that she did not pull it out until after I returned home. I then realized, "Ah, this is the greatness of a parents love!" (125-310, 1983/03/29)

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 mothers 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.

True Father once said that my grandmother and my mother dedicated everything to bequeath the way of heaven's heart to me. They did not mind even if their flesh was torn or their bones were broken; they kept on walking the path of absolute obedience with unchanging, loyal hearts. Father also said that in order that I would not be in contact with circumstances full of worldly temptations, God led me to a life that was separated from the world. (True Mother, 2014/10/11)

The Korean War

In 1948, when True Mothers 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.

Around that time, heaven gave Daemonim a revelation that they should move to the South. The South was foreign to the three of them, but since they heard that the first son of Rev. Kim Seong-do of the Holy Lord Church in Cheolsan had already gone to the South, they decided to join him there. Also, Daemonim wanted to see her younger brother, Hong Soon-jeong. He had returned to Korea in the middle of his studies in Japan due to the war situation, joined the South Korean army, studied pharmacy at the Korean Military Academy and, at that time, held the rank of first lieutenant. So they departed in the middle of the night and traveled to South Korea at the risk of their lives. After surmounting many difficulties, they safely arrived in 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 mothers 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.

It was when we had just crossed the 38th parallel that we ran into difficulties. The noise we made as we walked attracted the attention of South Korean soldiers. They were pointing their guns toward us, but at that moment I started singing a song. At the sound of my singing they put down their guns. Then they greeted us warmly, saying, "You must have had a hard time traveling with such a beautiful daughter," and let us go southward. (True Mother, 2004/11/23)

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.

My grandmother very much missed her son while he was serving in the military. One of the reasons my grandmother, my mother and I came to the South was to see him. We went to Seoul and settled there. When we first arrived in Seoul we lived at Hyochang-dong, and that is where I entered elementary school. I was popular wherever I went and grew up receiving much love from the many people around me. This is why I later thought, "If I had not married young, I could have been lost to the secular world. Maybe this is the reason God brought me to the Holy Wedding early in life and embraced me in His arms." (True Mother, 1999/10/21)

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.

Although we were safe because of my uncle's help, even now whenever I cross the Han River Bridge I feel great pain from the memory of that incident. Indeed, most Koreans in my age group suffered hardships from the war; however, I was always protected by God's grace. I remember the time once when I caught a cold while we were fleeing south and my mother put a piece of taffy in my mouth to keep me from coughing. I also remember when she placed a mixture of rice and cactus on my wounds to heal them. (True Mother, 1999/10/21)

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.

The Korean army moved its headquarters to Daegu as well, and we lived near my maternal uncle's home. I always realized how God was with us, even in the midst of our chaotic journey as refugees. As God had protected us when we left the North to journey to the South, He was also with us when we fled from the battles of the Korean War. (True Mother, 2014/10/11)

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.

True Mother then attended Seong-jeong Girls Middle School from April 1956 to March 1959. This school was purchased by True Parents in April 1987, at which time it changed its name to Seonjeong Middle School. In March 1959, True Mother entered Saint Joseph s Nursing School in Seoul, which today is the Catholic University Nursing School.

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.

We rented a room in Yaksa-dong near my uncles house in Hyoja-dong, and I transferred to Bongeui Elementary School in Chuncheon. I soon became a 6th grader, and I graduated the following year, on March 2,1956, in the schools 11th class.

Afterward, with the help of my uncle, on April 10, 1956 I entered Seongjeong Girls Middle School, located in Sajik-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. I graduated as a member of the school's third class, on March 25, 1959. During that time I lived with my uncle's family at Donam-dong and Shindang-dong and commuted to school in Sajik-dong. (True Mother, 2014/10/11)

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.

Under my mother s strict education, I spent my time immersed in reading books of various kinds. For a time I thought that I wanted to lead a country life with a couple of my close friends and plant fruit trees. My friends said, "Although you are very prim and proper, you will actually be the first of us to marry." I have not thought much about my student days since the Holy Wedding, so 1 cannot remember much about that time. Besides, I really have not had time to think back. Recently some old friends visited me, and that brought back some of these old memories. (True Mother, 1999/10/21)

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 Fathers 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."

Mr. Jeong went down to the South with his older sister Jeong Seok-on. They carried with them the belief that the Will of God that was not fulfilled in their mothers generation would definitely be accomplished in the next generation or a future generation. They continued worship services in their own home and looked around for where that was being realized.

One day, they read a newspaper article about an incident at Ewha University in which many students were expelled from the school. That is how Jeong Seok-on and her daughter came to visit the Unification Church, thinking it might be the church their mother, Rev. Kim Seong-do, had spoken of. At that time it was located in Jangchung-dong in Seoul. On October 4, 1955, True Father was released from Seodaemun Prison with the verdict that he was innocent of all charges. After True Father heard what Rev. Kim had told Jeong Seok-cheon, Father visited Mr. Jeong's home on Dongseong Street in Daegu. Jeong Seok-cheon then wrote a letter to Hong Soon-ae about his encounter with True Father and encouraged her to meet him. That is how True Mother and her mother Hong Soon-ae came to meet True Father.

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."

He told her that Father had returned to Seoul. He also said that Fathers teaching was the same as the teaching of the Inside the Womb Church. My mother was happy with the thought that when she went to Seoul she would finally meet the person whom she had yearned to see for so long. Yet for some reason she also felt unworthy to see him. That is why she invested her efforts to prepare her heart. Then that night she had a dream. In the dream she saw a pair of golden dragons; they were hunched over and looking in the direction of Seoul. My mother thought to herself, "When I was preparing to come here to Daegu, I had a dream in which I saw one white dragon. Now, as I am about to leave Daegu, in my dream I see a pair of golden dragons. How strange!"

Immediately she set out for Seoul. There she visited the former headquarters church, which was located in Cheongpa-dong, where she met Father for the first time and paid her respects. She was surprised, for he was the very man whom she had seen in the two dreams she had while attending the Inside the Womb Church. There he was, the Lord whom she had yearned to see and whom she had dreamed about. My mother told me she was so overwhelmed that she did not know how to behave in his presence. (True Mother, 2014/10/11)

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.

Likewise, from my childhood I intuitively sensed that I must fulfill something important in the future. I would say that subconsciously I understood that I was being prepared to become the Bride of the Returning Lord. My path was already decided, and I was born with the destiny to go that way. Other women could not have borne the weight of my position, but I could because of all that I had faced previously and overcome. (True Mother, 1999/10/21)

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.

During the Korean War, when we moved to Daegu, we had a reunion with Jeong Seok-cheon. We were gathered with his family at his house and talking about this and that, when they said, "When we were in the North attending the Holy Lord Church, we received much grace from the New Lord (Kim Seong-do). We also experienced great works of the Spirit when we attended the Inside the Womb Church of Rev. Heo. They were preparing for the Lord at the Second Advent to come to Korea. Let us pray continually and earnestly to find him." Mr. Jeong called his older sister Jeong Seok-on to come up from Busan. She also joined their family gatherings, which were filled with intense prayer. In this way we continued our life of faith. (True Mother, 2014/10/11)

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.

That is why she took me to Jeju Island. There she cultivated her spiritual life and subjected herself to harsh rigors, including eating nothing but uncooked food. Later, when she met True Father, she thought about how she could raise me to be an important worker in the Unification Church. Such are the extreme and tearful stories hidden within the providence before I was brought to God as a pure offering for God's Will. (True Mother, 2013/12/06)

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.

However, my mother did not feel comfortable that I had become a focal point, because there were revelations about me saying I would become the Lord's Bride, the Lord's daughter, and other similar testimonies. As a result, in 1954 my mother and I moved to Jeju Island. She wanted to protect me for the day when she hoped we would meet the Lord at the Second Advent. I remember suffering from seasickness during the trip to Jeju Island. (True Mother, 2013/12/06)

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 Fathers 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.

First, she had to possess an internal bond of lineage that could overcome the accusation of Satan's world. The woman chosen to represent all womankind and be elevated to the position of True Mother had to be from a family that had been prepared behind the scenes for three generations with only one daughter in each generation. True Mother's lineage met this requirement through her maternal grandmother, Jo Won-mo, her mother, Daemonim, and Hak Ja Han herself.

These women were their families' only daughters, and they were separated from the world so that they could be on God's side. Their families were not large, and they did not have many relatives. Hence, they could five a simple life and make conditions to purify themselves in order to prepare the foundation for Heaven's Bride.

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.

These three women were of three generations, representing the formation, growth and completion stages. The unity of grandmother, mother and daughter was like connecting the Old Testament Age, New Testament Age and Completed Testament Age. On that basis, it was possible for heaven to inaugurate the era for establishing the True Parents. Among those women, True Mother is the center. The person representing the formation stage is not the center; nor is the person representing the growth stage. In the ages of history, all must pass through three stages. In the horizontal ages, all can stand on the level of perfection only with the fulfillment of the third stage—the completion stage. (212-076, 1991/01/02)

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.

It is an original requirement that True Mother must be an only Daughter. Adam was the original only Son; Jesus was the only Son. The Lord at the Second Advent is also the only Son from the perspective of God's Will. Since the man through whom God accomplishes the Will is His only Son, the woman must be His only Daughter. From the viewpoint of the providence of restoration, that man and that woman must be joined as a couple and become one. Then they must win over Satan's world and inaugurate the heavenly kingdom. (223-241, 1991/11/10)

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.

When you look at Mothers family tree, her maternal grandmother, Jo Won-mo, her mother, Hong Soon-ae, and Mother herself were each only daughters in their families. Furthermore, Mrs. Hong was trained as a leader in the Inside the Womb Church, one of the Spirit-led churches that had the mission to prepare to receive the Lord at the Second Advent. That is why around the time they fled the North and went to the South, the mother of that church's leader, Rev. Heo Ho-bin, blessed Mother to become Heaven's Bride. Mother received this blessing because heaven had prepared her for that position. (220-337, 1991/10/20)

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.

Preparation as Heaven's Bride God, who sent the Returning Lord as His only begotten Son, also prepared Hak Ja Han to be Heavens Bride and His only begotten Daughter. Even when she was very young, there were occasions when people testified about her, that she would become Heaven's Bride. As the day for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb drew near, a number of church members had dreams that Hak Ja Han would become Heaven's Bride.

Her mother, Daemonim, also had such a dream. In her dream she was entering True Father's room, and she looked back and saw women in white holy robes holding bouquets of pink flowers. Then Daemonim thought, "Ever since God lost Eve, for 6,000 years He has been looking for a woman."

True Father was seated; then she saw her daughter walking toward him. As she approached him, there were peals of thunder, and lightning lit up the sky as if to announce their joyous union. She saw numerous people looking at the scene with admiration but also with envy. Daemonim did not really understand the meaning of her dream. Still, as she raised her daughter, she continued making conditions of devotion for a long time so that her dream could come true. (403-239, 2003/01/23)

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.

I needed a woman who would, as a wife, follow with all of her heart and mind a husband who was totally committed to the Will. I also needed her to be from a prepared family and lineage. Thinking in this way, I chose True Mother. (121-213, 1982/10/27)

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.

Before Daemonim gave birth to True Mother, she based her life on commands she had received from heaven. There were spiritual works like this going on in the background. I could not choose just anyone to be in the position of True Mother. (539-060, 2006/09/17)

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.

To True Mother, I, True Father, stood as her grandfather and father as well as her husband, and also as her older brother. So when she related to me, she regarded me as her older brother, as her father, as her grandfather and even as her king. Knowing this, I had to raise her starting from the position of a younger sister. I had to elevate her to the position of my fiancee, then to the position of my wife, and then to the positions of mother and grandmother, all the way to the position of queen. (484-085, 2005/01/20)

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 Mothers bone marrow. This is how she was educated to become True Mother.

This daughter, who was 17 years old when she was blessed to me, must become the queen. She must advance to the position of the queen of the heavenly kingdom. Therefore, after our Holy Wedding she had to pass through the positions of wife, mother and grandmother, and rise up to the position of queen.

When I refer to her as True Mother, it is because she is the mother who represents the heavenly nation. When I say she is my wife, it means that she represents the king and therefore must be attended as if attending the king. (593-216, 2008/06/16)

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.

This is far from the reality. Father walked the path of the cross and suffered immensely in order to stand in his position. Therefore, I in my own way also had to carry a difficult cross. No one, in fact, can understand my course and the unbearable suffering it entailed. I was not a perfect person from the outset; rather, I had to walk a path toward perfection. The standard I had to attain was very high. Sometimes I even thought it was impossible to continue on my path and reach the goal. I had to suffer through very difficult trials and maintain absolute faith in order to complete my mission and meet God's expectations. Such was my position.

When I look back and think about my circumstances in those days and the course I walked, I cannot hold back my tears. My weeping becomes uncontrollable. To talk about my past life is very painful, because the memories of my trials and tribulations vividly reappear. (True Mother, 1977/05/03)

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.

Sometimes I felt like a small boat tossed about on the raging ocean. Yet these were also the times when God came to visit me and I felt His grace most deeply. It was when I was in the midst of suffering that God personally came to me and gave me revelations and guidance. When He did not give me direct guidance, He continually guided me through people around me who loved me and strove to protect me. So, although in such times I had to persevere through the harshest suffering and the bitterest ordeals, they were also truly the most beautiful times, completely filled with the grace of God, times when I was able to actually feel that God was with me.

Now I have finally arrived at the standard that God desires. I have finished my time in the growth period, a time filled with constant struggles as I headed for perfection. Now when I look back, all the memories of that time, so filled with suffering, are changed into joy.

Since then I am always able to converse deeply with Father. Father and I have conversations on endless topics. The understanding between us is vast, and our sharing overflows with limitless trust. Even when Father and I do not exchange words, we can deeply understand each other's situations. The reason is because what I went through so resembles the circumstances Father faced and the path he walked. It is a mystery how my course and Father's are so much alike.

Both Father and I deeply understand the one common goal and purpose that we share. Because of that, I endured all my suffering and fought through it with faith to finally arrive at the level of perfection. Now I feel victorious, because I have climbed up to the standard where Satan can no longer invade me. When Father and I exchange glances based on this victory that we mutually feel and share, I am able to receive unlimited comfort and peace. (True Mother, 1977/05/03)

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.

I had to travel even to the very bottom of hell and experience its bitter taste. Countless times I said, "I do not have the strength to continue on this difficult path any more. I absolutely cannot take another step. It's impossible. God! Why are You telling me to go this path?" I was required to have endurance and determination. I needed to have truly unwavering faith that would never fray. These qualities, I believe, are what made me who I am today.

I am telling you that when you are on your way to the kingdom of heaven, you should not expect to experience only the aspects of heaven. In fact, you must anticipate experiencing aspects of hell. You must absolutely anticipate that you will also travel to the rock bottom of hell, to the dungeons of hell. But I can assure you that these experiences are truly the most precious, for they will guide you to feel God's grace.

When you go through such a course, you will be able to stand more firmly and be a more mature person. Your character and your spirituality will become well-rounded. And you will be able to feel the kingdom of heaven deep down in your bone marrow. Such personal experiences will always be your pride. Truly the record of your victory and endurance in those situations will become your pride. (True Mother, 1977/05/03)

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.

True Father said that it was only through True Mother's victory that he could complete, conclude and consummate the providence of restoration. He also emphasized that "her selflessness was truly the key to her victory."

True Father gave an award to True Mother on June 14, 1999. The text of the Award to Congratulate the True Parents and Proclaim Their Cosmic Victory states that True Mother came with the mission to be "God's original daughter and the True Mother of humankind." She came to earth "according to God's command, bearing the fruit of the providential history of restoration." Moreover, she "fulfilled her missions to be a true daughter before heaven, a true wife to her husband, and the True Parent to all humankind as her children." True Mother's difficult course of restoration through indemnity is something that God alone truly understands and remembers. Yet she gained victory and thereby established the eternal tradition as a True Parent.

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.

Second, Mother's heart is absolutely loyal toward me, True Father. No matter what others say, she is deeply determined to do whatever I need done for the sake of the Will. This is Mother's faith; it is also Mother's conviction. With this kind of faith and conviction, even in the most trying times she demonstrated remarkable endurance in order to fulfill the goal. And with that she gained victory. (1977/02/23)

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.

Many people in the world may think that True Mother takes pleasure in possessing many clothes and jewels, but in fact this is quite untrue. Whatever good things she has she wants to give to others, to make them happy.

There were even times when she could not find suitable clothes in her closet because she had given away so many of them to others. One day when the weather had suddenly changed, I wanted her to go out with me, but she could not find appropriate clothes for the weather. Of course, she would not be able to follow my tradition unless she lived that way. But I tell you, Mother lives even more frugally than I do. (1977/02/23)

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.

Mother was victorious over all of it. She had to remain silent and patiently endure. Amid those circumstances Mother just waited for those days to pass. No matter what happened, Mother kept silent and endured with faith. Persevering, she made herself an offering with indomitable faith, a faith she maintains to this day. Eventually the circumstances turned around, and instead of criticizing her, all the members bowed their heads before Mother, thinking, "She is truly the Mother of the cosmos." In this way they came to attend her with respect. (1977/02/23)

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.

Ultimately, love is the issue. Love is the center of everything, and everything is related to the problem of love. However, this issue of love can drive people to take the wrong direction and even go to extremes. I came to subjugate fallen love and rectify it. This is also to restore the hearts of human beings toward God.

Truly for Mother as well, it has been the cross of love. However, even while enduring all manner of ordeals due to the issue of love, Mother did not utter even one word of excuse. Mother underod on her own the significance of these challenges, and just endured. This is why she could be victorious in the end. (1977/02/23)

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.

After this victory was achieved on the cosmic level, I as True Father decided to give Mother the honor that was her due. Further, her mother, is also entitled to receive the respect and honor appropriate to her merit for the rest of her life. If she dies without receiving it, her merit will pass to her descendants.

The fact that I am now relating to Mother differently than in the past is in accordance with the Principle. The process of restoration she completed was that difficult, and her victory was that spectacular. So was the victory of her mother (Daemonim). You have no idea how difficult it was. These two women were chosen for the greatest honor and to be in positions of the greatest responsibility. Yet they joined the Unification Church in the lowest position and started out on their paths from the lowest place.

From this, we can learn a lesson: We must not expect to receive God's blessings in the most glorious and exalted place; we receive them only after we overcome the lowest and most miserable situations that human beings can ever know. Only then can His blessings stay with us eternally and expand to embrace all humanity. (1977/02/23)