Here is Early Days’ Internal Guidance on repentance and forgiveness, based on True Father’s words. This collection includes selected teachings dated from 1972 to 1986.
What is repentance? The best way to repent is to be scolded by Father. I give you a hard time, and tears trickle from your eyes; you want to cry out in prayer, asking God to forgive you. Isn’t that the best? I am sorry I have to speak to you like this, but the historical reality must be exposed. What a blessing it is that your shortcomings, your misbehavior, and your irresponsibilities are all forgiven.
What have you been doing? Have you been doing exactly the same as me? Have you been kicked and persecuted by people? Have you been so hardened in the work of servanthood? Have you been serving people?
Look back at your own life and accomplishments. What do you think of your own past? Those of you who have been hungry know that all the members of your church are hungry. When there is no place to lie down and sleep and everybody is suffering, you may still want to be in a big room and lie down comfortably. If at that moment you don’t care about the rest of the members, woe to you, you hypocrite.
If you committed such a crime, then you need to repent. Go ahead and repent from the bottom of your heart. If you don’t, you cannot receive the inheritance from the Messiah. You cannot inherit the Kingdom of God from the True Parents. That kind of noble tradition of sacrifice is beautiful. In following such a tradition, we can swallow the satanic world. World Conference (2/25/80)
Most of you have been a part of the life of the Unification Church for many years, and most of you have received the Blessing. But you have been living according to something less than the real Unification Church direction. There is far more distance to be covered. We have to be shedding tears―kneeling on the floor and repenting. Repentance must be the first thing on our agenda. True Parents and I (6/15/86)
Nobody really understands God’s will. But the American people must return to God. It is like Jesus’ time, when John the Baptist stood out in the desert and shouted, “Repent, and return to God!” Otherwise, America has no hope. Someone is standing out in the wilderness now, just as in the time of the Israelites, proclaiming loudly, “Repent!” That person is Rev. Moon. I am telling you Moonies first of all, “Repent!” You have to repent! The Future of the Religious Person (9/1/86)
Please realize we must always keep repenting and trying to understand our errors. This is our way of removing ourselves from the midway position, and this is our way of survival.
We must show the existence of God and the spirit world to all people, down to the last man, before they can be converted. It is not enough merely to understand. What you are trying to explain to your members, you must show to them.
The directions Father gives to the Japanese leaders are so high that the Japanese have never heard the like of them before. But Japanese members, even if they think the directions are difficult, always try to repent. And they complain, but not to God. They complain to themselves that they have so little ability and goodness.
They search themselves to discover why they are not so Abelistic. They torment themselves and try to repent for their fallen condition. They pray sincerely to God, “I am so weak, and I should do so much more, so please, God, help me.” They do that before they go into action. This is not a concept but is a practical technique that works.
In spite of having worked so hard and prayed so much, and in spite of knowing that God must accomplish everything through you, you may have wondered why nothing happens in your church. You may have wondered, “Why didn’t God help me? Why didn’t spirit world help me?’ Now you know the secret. Learning Tradition-Europeans in America (6/13/83)
In order to subjugate Satan, you cannot be forgiven by just asking, “Heavenly Father, please forgive me.” You have to shed tears in order to return to God. You have to feel the pain of your face swollen from crying. You have to shed tears in repentance for your sins. That is very important for each one of you. We have to go this way not just for the sake of ourselves but for the sake of our country and for the sake of the world.
You have committed your sins in the past and the present and you might weep because of that, but you haven’t felt repentance deeply enough. After repentance you should cry tears of deepest gratitude because you are going back to God to be restored. Without such tears, you cannot enter the Kingdom of God. True Parents and Ourselves (5/7/72)
Repent and then forget about the past. Don’t let it drag you down, but pray to heaven to help you do away with it. Then look for the difficult thing and tackle it. That will be your best and fastest training. Myself (1/13/80)
There is always room for mercy in a righteous legal system, but in order to be entitled to receive it, a person must show his sincere repentance. Repentance is the key word. This is why Jesus’ pronouncement was, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” What should we repent for? Very simply, we must repent for all those actions which violated the rule that says we should live in sacrifice and service for others. This was Jesus’ first teaching.
The essence of Christianity is to seek repentance for the sin of greediness and selfishness. Sin can be defined as violation of the universal law of service to others. Stealing a dress from even a big department store chain is wrong. That dress has value which comes from the person who prepared it. If it is stolen, its public value is nullified by the thief. That is the sin. Another person might realize that he tells lies all the time, but his conscience doesn’t hurt him. The motivation for lying always involves hiding something to take advantage of others; otherwise, there would be no reason to lie. Let Us Know Ourselves (9/30/79)
I am desperate to the utmost degree. I have been waiting for you to spur yourselves onward. Have you changed? No! So, are you going to just wipe your hands and give up? We have to climb all the way up, because we have already come this far. How little you know about me! So many complaints, so much ungodly criticism!
If you fail this time, your generation will be put in the category of failed mission.
Fortunately, time remains. First, we must repent. This alone can bring us hope. We must develop absolute conviction. We can make a lastminute commitment now. We are the frontline soldiers indemnifying the failure of those who did not accept Father in 1945. We, 40 years later, are giving America a second chance.
You should just go and bear the cross willingly and eagerly. You should not say or even think, “Please let this cup pass from me.” Just bear the cross with no questions asked. Leaders Conference (6/6/86)
Do you embrace good and bad together? When you have the spark of true love, it melts and purifies all evil things. Jesus told us to love our enemies. He forgave the Roman soldiers who hung him on the cross, but would you do the same? If you were treated so evilly by someone, could you forgive him? This is the secret. When evil is forgiven and embraced, it is eventually melted and purified.
When you embrace your enemy, the spark of the love of God will melt away evil. Even Satan cannot help but surrender in front of the true love of God. When you are giving the true love of God, the smallest woman should feel, “My love can melt even the biggest man.” That is the kind of confidence you should have. That is the way I live my life. I want to embrace the entire world and every kind of person, even the most disagreeable one. Textbook of Love (2/5/84)
How many of you have really walked down the street in the heart of God, and how many tears did you shed on behalf of God? Someone might mistreat you, but forgive them and come back with hope. Next time you visit him you can have hope that he will be a new man and treat you differently. You are always being deceived by people, but always be their friend anyway.
Even though you are always being deceived, people will become different with time. Know that the power of God is there, that God is not leaving you alone; if you have that much forgiveness and generosity and prayer but still the other person doesn’t repent then don’t worry about him. Spirit world will come down and chastise him.
When God sees how much you truly represent Him and He is moved by your heart, then God will feel anger and want revenge, exclaiming, “I cannot leave this situation alone! I must come down to help.” That kind of togetherness with God cannot be found when you are sitting idle, waiting for God’s blessing. You must be out there in the forefront in order to meet God. The Tradition of the Unification Church (12/11/77)
The only way to get back to the original state we were in before committing some crime or making some mistake is to pay back or indemnify what we did wrong. We cannot erase the past, but we can restore it or pay back the debt, and the sooner we do it the better. For instance, the way for America to be forgiven for what AngloSaxons did to the Chinese and other Orientals, including the American Indians, is to have the Asians and American Indians embrace them in forgiveness. The criminal cannot declare, “I must be forgiven.” It doesn’t work that way. The victim has to come and say, “I forgive you.”
We can now understand why I have come from the Orient and worked so hard here in America. I had to find a valid way to plead before God, “Because of what I have done here, please forgive this country.” America cannot simply say, “Oh God, please forgive us.” America has to build up a valid indemnity, and I have been trying desperately to discover the means through which this country can come to deserve forgiveness. The Future of the Religious Person (9/1/86)
Jesus was crucified on the cross; however, he dramatically demonstrated his love for humanity by forgiving and loving his own enemies. That deed made him a victor of love. Love conquers all and nothing can displace or overthrow it. Once you occupy this highest pinnacle of love no one can topple you. The Ones Who Can Receive God’s Love (10/1/77)
When people argue about something you have to embrace them with this power of love. You have to face your opponents and forgive them so that your own repentance will be actualized and you can bring these people to God. Let Us March Forward to One Heavenly Father (11/13/77)
Patience can be the motivation of recreation and restart. When you are patient, you can forgive your enemy. By forgiving your enemy, you can occupy him. Satan or your enemy will draw a line between you and him. If you keep standing on the other side, there will always be a gap there. But if you step to his side, to embrace him, then he will either retreat or be embraced by you. By your forgiving him and embracing him, you can occupy him. Opportunity For Happiness or Unhappiness (3/2/75)
If your friend or even your spouse commits any mistakes, you must feel like forgiving him, saying to yourself that “It is my responsibility to have let her or him do that.” Every sin, every mistake of theirs is nothing if you take the responsibility for that. On the other hand, those who sinned or committed mistakes must be frank in confessing their sins and mistakes. Do you understand what I mean? (Yes!) From this viewpoint, you must criticize and analyze yourselves. Are you like that? (Yes!) This is a great thing, and this is the knack of how to become a godlike man. Human Relationships (3/9/75)
You can claim to be a good person but once you commit some kind of mistake you must beg forgiveness from the person you have wronged or from those associated with him. Otherwise, you will not be forgiven. The Responsibility of Cain and Abel (11/1/76)
You single people must keep your purity and give your heart to God first. You who have committed earthly sins such as lustful acts need to repent and work out the entanglements of your life. You will be forgiven if you repent and forever leave behind those ideas; only as a purified person can you be admitted to the Kingdom of God. Without purification you are incapable of receiving God’s pure love. The Spirit World and the Physical World (2/6/77)
You must believe that persecution is a beautiful way of going through many things. We each are filled with our own individual sin, but when you are persecuted unjustly by other people and can persevere instead of fighting back, then you have discovered the quickest way to have your sinfulness forgiven by God. In the midst of the worst persecution, not only your own sins are forgiven, but also the sins of the person who persecutes you may be forgiven in a certain way, and you can receive further blessing for that. This principle is universal and brings all manner of result everywhere. How to Witness: To State Leaders (4/1/77)
You cannot just ignore some mistake without apologizing to the other person. The Responsibility of Cain and Abel (11/1/76)
If you just bury some anger in your heart without apologizing or speaking out to resolve it, then it will multiply as resentment and remain within you forever. In every area of human relationships you must not try to cover everything over and persevere with resentment still growing in your heart. You must take it out and analyze it and one of the two must apologize to the other or make some compensation. The Responsibility of Cain and Abel (11/1/76)
If someone has prayed tears for a person, then it might be excusable for him to offhandedly say that a person deserves some retribution, but if he has never shed tears, then he must never denounce even an evil person. Otherwise, he will be racing straight down to the lowest realm of spirit world. Do not condemn anyone. Man’s fallen history has been prolonged because of that attitude. When we have a good and loving mind toward even an evil man, God will certainly bring a positive result. You are distributing God’s blessing to everyone, and if an evil man makes even a small condition of goodness, you want to give him much blessing as well. The Age of Repentance (9/1/78)
My attitude is to forgive and forget. Where Do We Go? (9/17/78)
The gratitude felt by unforgivable people when they are forgiven is much greater than that felt by those who are forgivable. In my heart I want to forgive even Satan after everything is restored. Way of God’s Will p.170
Jesus prayed for his enemies: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) Even at the moment of death on the cross, Jesus was so earnest in forgiving. His very last act was motivated by his love for his enemies. He was the supreme form of giving―a paragon of love. The example of Jesus Christ is the absolute standard for all mankind. God’s Hope for Man (10/20/73)