We need the nation, and we need the world. There is no clear way to find these. When we look at this fact, you professors must also establish the ideal of the sphere of love, centering on the vertical love and connecting with the horizontal realm of love at 90 degrees. There’s no way to escape such a pursuit of the original universal history. That means you must listen to what I say. If you don’t, you won’t be on the right track. If you are on the right track, where will you be heading? You will go to the family. That’s why, when we say tong ban break-through activities, we’re talking about returning to the family and realigning yourself to the right track. Because all of you are the sons and daughters of Rev. Moon, I have unconditionally given you everything that I’ve prepared on the world level, from the realm of heart, the realm of participation and inheritance, to the realm of equal rank. Therefore, you must return to your hometowns and lay down your roots. If you just lay down your roots and stand up vertically aligned, then, through me, you will rise to the glorious position of victory in which you can inherit the worldwide domain and participate with me. This is logical. True Parents are absolute. That’s why all religions have come to the conclusion that the messiah absolutely must come. (176-124, 1988.5.3)
Cheon Seong Gyeong 1212
The great contribution I made lies in the fact that I clarified the relationship between God and human beings centered on love, and clarified the portion of responsibility and the course of indemnity, as well as the problem of Cain and Abel, and the issue of the lineage. Unless Cain and Abel unite, the Messiah cannot come. Only when Cain and Abel become one is the foundation of substance formed, and only then can the Messiah come. Only when people are united with the Messiah can the restoration of the lineage take place. This is the gist of the Principle. You must understand such a program fully and pray accordingly. That is the way you should be thinking. (161-149, 1987.1.18)
Preparation and Making a Good Beginning
2. Taking the First Step
A big tree was once a small seed; a nine-story building started with a basket of earth; a journey of a thousand miles begins with a first step.
Tao Te Ching 64
The way of the superior man may be compared to traveling to a distant place: one must start from the nearest stage. It may also be likened to ascending a height: one must begin with the lowest step.
Doctrine of the Mean 15
Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon
After receiving the command of God which foretold that He would judge the earth after 120 years, Noah did not wait around, thinking, “So what if a year has passed; there are still 119 years left.” God commands only once; it is up to each individual to commit to its great purpose. (19:237)
To achieve victory for the year, set your goals on New Year’s Day. Then equip yourself with a fighting spirit and a driving power to pursue your goals and overcome the challenges for 365 days or more. If you do not do this, you are bound to be defeated before the year is over. If you live one year like this, and then continue in this manner, it will eventually add up to 10 years, then 20 years, 30 years—and this becomes the path of a victorious life. (31:30, April 12, 1970)
Eternity does not start when we die. It begins at the moment we come to know God’s will. Once we know it, if there is a gap of even one moment, eternity will be stopped.
Therefore, in pursuit of our life of faith, if we think, “I cannot make it this year, but I will do it next year” or “I cannot go in my adolescence, but I will go in my 20s,” or “I cannot do it in my 20s, but surely I will in my 30s” or “I cannot in my 30s but I will in my 40s” or “I cannot in my 40s but I will in my 50s”… If we lived our whole life like this, we would never have lived even one day in accordance with God’s Will. A person who lives like that cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven when he dies. (37:219, December 27, 1970)
Every object in the world came to belong to Satan through the fallen parents. In order for all families to restore this situation centering on the True Parents, in the future they should have nothing in their possession. Nothing in this world should belong to them. Their own bodies do not belong to them, their sons and daughters do not belong to them, and their husbands do not belong to them. Everything must be regarded as the possession of unfallen Adam. Nothing should belong to Eve. She should not have anything established as belonging to her. The era of the right of ownership is coming, where objects can belong to her only after they have been determined as belonging to Adam, restored to God and acknowledged as His, and then returned to Adam to be finally handed back to her as her permanent possession. Such phenomena can take place only after you have entered the Kingdom of God and have been registered. Only then can you be restored to the position of unfallen owners in the Garden of Eden and hold possession of all things of the world. In such a manner, you can enter the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. (165-284, 1987.5.27)
Cheon Seong Gyeong 1187
Based on this ceremony, I declared “The ideology centered on the Heavenly Father” on September 1, 1989. Until the Ceremony of the Settlement of the Eight Stages was completed, it was still the age of the restoration of the right of the eldest son. Restoring the right of the eldest son! Finally, the right of the eldest son has been completely restored. Now, that the right of the eldest son has been completely restored to God’s side, we ascend and stand in the highest global realm, where Satan cannot oppose us. The time has now come when, if we push forward strongly and boldly, America, the communist world, Korea and Japan will all yield. That is why we should be strong and bold. (193-204, 1989.10.4)
Richard: We all have to realize that we are living in a blessed era, where God’s Kingdom is being substantially established. It is our collective responsibility to make this happen, based on the extant foundation created by the the work of Rev. Sun Myung Moon and those working with him.
Preparation and Making a Good Beginning
1. Prepare Yourself for Life’s Challenges
Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung
To overcome a crisis you must have deep faith, plans made in detail, and the conviction to carry them out. (Way of God’s Will 3.4)
Too many people today lack any sense of responsibility. They do not set goals or plan what they will do each day, they do not plan out the year, nor do they have a plan for their life. They just live moment by moment, doing whatever they please and grasping at whatever benefit comes their way. What will be the end result? Someday they will hit a stone wall and be shattered into pieces. (105:11, July 8, 1979)
You should have a definite sense of what kind of work you will do by the time you reach your twenties. You should be able to say with certainty, “This is what I will do,” and fight to achieve it throughout your lifetime. That is the only way you can become an historic person, a person who contributes something to the world. If you only try to accommodate to circumstances and simply go with the flow, you will be carried away by the current and disappear.
After determining exactly what you will do, you will need a heart bold enough to continue fighting for your goal no matter what difficulties may arise. Instead of saying you don’t like this or that, you must have the guts to digest whatever comes. (120:229, October 20, 1982)
Even if Heaven has prepared everything, it will not work unless we have prepared a corresponding foundation in our minds and bodies. (7:287, October 11, 1959)
Each morning when you go out into the fallen world, prepare your eyes, nose, ears, and every cell, even your mind, like armament ready for battle. (122:266, November 21, 1982)
To live is to compete. We cannot develop without competition. Losing a competition makes us miserable, but it can spur us to strive for the capability we need in order to win. To gain that capability, we need time to prepare and train…
A student studies to prepare. Especially adolescents should prepare, while carrying big dreams… By preparing intellectually, you can conquer the mental world. Then you are ready to act and utilize your well-honed capabilities to win in the competition. (Blessing and Ideal Family 7.5.5)
All of you want to be successful. How do you gain success? You have to prepare well. You should prepare, with enough material that you are able to digest the existing world, for upon it you are to erect your own new foundation. Your new foundation should exceed the old foundation; otherwise, you will not succeed in establishing it. This is a lesson of history. It is true in the path of our individual lives and in the life of our nation.
Look at the Unification Church: We face difficulties and persecution, yet in the midst of it all we are preparing for the future. Today I am fighting alone against America, a superpower with a population of 240 million that is feared the world over. Yet none of its leaders know of my work; none of them help me; none is my friend. In this situation, I cannot fight blindly. I prepare myself. I must prepare thoroughly and completely.
What preparation do I need? First, I must prepare mentally, to have an indomitable spirit that will never be defeated. Second, I must make more effort than anyone else in history to contribute to America’s well being. Third, I must make concrete preparations for specific actions.
I must have a thoroughgoing and complete teaching, and then I need to strive. I cannot sit and rest with only a teaching. Having equipped myself with the truth, I must make limitless effort. Moreover, my effort cannot be self-centered. To generate the subjectivity required to surpass the existing system will require unending struggle. The guardians of the old order are not about to welcome a new system. Every new movement in history is tested in the crucible of conflict, where it either flourishes or perishes.
I try to find a way to overcome every difficulty. I proceed regardless of the price I must pay. It is an effort not to be absorbed by others, but to absorb them. Furthermore, I need a consistent praxis. As a religious leader, my method cannot involve violence. I work quietly. If others work eight hours a day, then I work twenty-four hours…
I cannot afford to lose! I must prepare myself, even with blood and tears. In the midst of tears, I must prepare! Though I am starving, I must prepare! Though I weep bitter tears, I must move forward! Though I may have to sleep on the streets, I must move forward! I do not believe that Heaven’s victory is possible without making such a commitment. (133:217-226, July 19, 1984)
