Excerpt from Father’s words given on October 1 and October 5, 1980
God has reserved one activity for us; everyone else has run away from it. Now all conditions are ready for our organization.
Business on land has been dominated by people who hurt and even kill each other in order to survive. But the ocean is one area where God has not allowed that to happen. He has waited patiently for the Unification Church to appear, reserving that area for us.
The world is one third land and two thirds ocean. The ocean has whatever the land has and even more. Man can eat everything that lives in the ocean. In addition, America has three of the four best fishing grounds of the world, but has not been using them because there is no substantial market for fish here. The fishing industry has markedly declined in the past 30 to 40 years. Why the decline?
First, ocean-going life is harder than life on land, and young people do not want a hard life. Second, the market for fish has been unstable, with wholesalers paying as little as 5¢ per pound, a ridiculous price; sometimes fishermen dump their catch in the ocean because nobody will buy it. Third, when husbands are away at sea for so long, their families start to break up and their wives leave. With no incentives, many older fishermen become discouraged and quit, and few young people want to take the risks. We are the only group which can overcome these three obstacles, through our ocean church program.
The current situation in America favors the rebirth of fishing. Americans are now learning that fish is a better protein than red meat and also that it is less likely to be contaminated than red meat. Also, with the hunger problems in the world today, if America does not catch the fish within her territorial waters, other nations will accuse her and demand to be allowed to enter her fishing grounds. However, if Americans do catch the fish, then they can sell it to hungry people.
When Father began tuna fishing several years ago, for 22 days he did not catch a single tuna. There were some strikes, but nothing was pulled in. It was very difficult; still, he worked hard and raised the standard. Eventually, he devised a new system for catching tuna and has developed a perfect pattern that never fails.
Now you do not even need experience to catch tuna, because if a newcomer follows Father·s directions exactly, he can catch a fish the first day. That happened this summer. Professional fishermen might catch two, three or maybe four tuna in one season. But our members who never fished before pulled in five, six and even seven in a single season. People were quite impressed and came to ask questions.
Last year our members caught 165 tunas. I believe that next year we can get 500-600. If Father would offer a tuna seminar, he knows many people who would be interested in coming to hear him. He has ten hours of information to share. Even the tuna, if they had ears to hear him, would be very interested in listening!
Some people are born in such a way that fish will follow them. Just as some people are bound to make money in business, others are bound to catch fish. (Many Barrytown Seminary graduates volunteered for ocean church, and 24 were assigned as leaders in as many port cities on the East, West and Gulf coasts of the United States. Eventually, there will be 30 ocean church centers in all. Each of them is to build up a foundation for 60 members. They will lead a religious life while fishing, and use this environment to teach people about God and raise them spiritually.)
First, those of you who will be going out will have to familiarize yourselves with the ocean. Many of you haven’t been out to sea in a long time, perhaps never. So even if you are enthusiastic, you have to know what it is like. You have to become friendly with the sea.
Without knowing what you were getting into, you first became involved in fishing when you caught fish with Father at Barrytown, and worked with him to make nets. This was part of your initiation.
This year’s summer tuna fishing was another part of the preparation. After fishing for tuna, everybody came to like the sea and like fishing. And once people get a knack for it, they never want to give up.
There are not enough Good Go fiberglass boats ready for all of you right now. So half of you should go to your assigned city and start to lay the foundation there until your boat comes. Those of you who have not had experience fishing this summer can talk to those who did and learn from them. When you go to your assigned port, visit people and ask them questions. Invite them to lunch or dinner and learn from them. Buy a book about the local fishing industry and study it.
The towns around fishing ports in America are declining because young people do not want to fish. Thus, the citizens are anxious to see their towns revived. They know that there is a good future in the oceans. You must visit the Coast Guard chief, police chief and mayor, introducing yourself and your goals. Tell them that your sole concern is to revive the fishing industry in America. Soon many young people will come to work with you at the seaport; and boats, trailers and vans will follow. Tell them you will do your best to lead young people and to reverse the trend of decadence to constructive creativity. When these leaders understand our purpose, they will eventually organize support groups.
For witnessing, you can look for people who want to learn how to fish. Take enthusiastic volunteers, for instance those who want to go out on a charter boat, and teach them how to fish. You can teach them Divine Principle as well, while you are fishing. You will not charge them a fee and they can keep whatever they catch. In this way, you can develop a friendship with them.
We will offer a program to explain our objectives and ideals to any young men who are interested in working at sea. Organize material into lectures, and assemble groups to speak to. Eventually, there will be even 600 people applying for the 60 places on your fleet, and we will screen them through three, seven and 21-day workshops, accepting the best candidates.
When you have 50 members, you can order a trawler. Eventually, you should gather about 60 members, who will work in the fleet of ten Good Go boats and the trawler, plus selling fish. All will have to work together smoothly; then we will expand and grow, fulfilling the purpose of the church.
When you have that many people, you will have to supervise them all and train them well. You will have to embrace everyone; don’t let them isolate themselves. Live with them and work hard to train them. Don’t think so much about yourself. Rather, you should care most about the other members. Spend time with them on board.
As you finish educating somebody, send him fishing and continue with another person. Become like a mother hen. If you establish yourself in this way, then you can do anything.
You are not regular fishermen-you are the fishermen who will educate other fishermen. You have to teach Divine Principle, VOC and Unification Thought. You will have to educate new members and let them join the new heavenly activity. You have to be capable of teaching them.
The captain or leader has to know about everything. If you do not understand something, you cannot teach it to the others. You even have to be a first-class mechanic. If you do not understand much about engines, buy a manual and learn to fix them. Save money as much as possible.
On one of our commercial boats for instance, the fishermen receive a food allowance, in addition to a salary. They buy rice, kimchee, hot bean paste and one other staple. For the rest of their meal, they catch fresh fish. They say that the fish is so good they need nothing more. Then their unused food allowance is added to their salary. You can eat fish, too. If you spend much money, you will end up saving nothing.
You will be like a state leader, in a way. Don’t try to settle down, however: be constantly on the move, along the coastline. If you do well, you can grow faster than the inland churches.
If you really move around and become creative, Father feels that a real foundation can be made. The whole town will notice your existence and will welcome you. Father feels that substantial numbers of high quality people will come to you for guidance. Then you can educate them and inspire them to work for the sake of the country. Furthermore, when other sailors and fishermen respect you, you will have established yourself.
Although you are leaders and directors of ocean-going people and not just administrators, you also have to learn how to sell fish. You have a visible objective now, catching fish. You have a tangible goal, not an abstract one. What do you do with the fish you catch? Sell it on the American market. If you do not have enough fish with what you catch, you can buy from other fishermen. If you have too much, you can sell it overseas.
Within a year, you will receive 11 boats: ten 28-foot Good Go’s and one large stern trawler. You will have three years to pay for them. The fiberglass boats will last and last, unlike wooden or metal ones. If you take reasonable care of them, they will serve you for 30 to 50 years and will be a source of pride for the entire town as well as your household. The boats are beautiful. People who know something about boats are struck by their stability and special design.
Mayors and Coast Guard personnel will all want these boats, as well as those who patrol the ports. Every household would like to buy one also. Some day living on the boat will be a greater source of pride than living in a mansion.
These boats will be your churches, and in the future, when people visit your port, they will ask where the boat church is. The members will have a regular spiritual life, but their mission will be on the ocean. The crews will rise before the sun and pray, and then head out to sea at sunrise. They will fish all day and return as the sun sets. They will catch more fish than anyone else in the area, even more than people who have been fishing for many years. Those who complain and say, “Moonie, go home!” will be those who go out at 10:00 and return at 3:00. When the authorities investigate to see what is wrong with the Moonies, they will find no reason to criticize us, because they will see that we catch more fish because we work harder.
Next year, all 300 Good Go boats will gather in Gloucester for the tuna tournament. What a sight that will be!
Father can come out on a helicopter and visit all the different boats. He would like to eat a lunch of freshly caught fish with you. If you really implement this plan and make it a success, don’t you think the members of the Unification Church will grow?
Daikon Ohnuki will be the advisor of the ocean churches. In addition, Rev. Kwak will visit you and give lectures and Mr. Sang Ik Choi will be available to help with public relations.
Father is planning that each Unification Church leader be on the ocean for at least a year and a half. We have a saying in Korean, “The one who gets the first punishment gets away easier.” If you get punished last, it is more difficult. So you might as well volunteer now and get on the boat earlier than anyone! If the idea doesn’t excite you, even if you try, you will not bring success.
Actually, once you get accustomed to it, there is no reason to stick to the land. The sea has more opportunity. More people are interested in leaving the fishing business, but you have all kinds of reasons to enter it.
Would you unmatched members like to be matched with people from the land church or from the ocean church? It’s up to you, because you, not I, will have to live with them.
When this ocean church is really under way, people will cherish it as a monument to the revival of their town.
When there is a famine in some part of the world, there are many resources that can be transported to that place. American companies sometimes have a surplus of products which become a burden to them because they must be stored. We have now created a foundation which can receive surplus commodities, plus a fleet to transport them.
Cold storage is the big problem in the fishing industry. Therefore, we are investigating advanced techniques of making dry fish powder that doesn’t need cold storage. We will develop powders from different fish and combine
them like multiple vitamins. This powder can be used in daily cooking, to supplement the overuse of flour and starch. You will be able to create a new cuisine for using fish powder in nutritious cooking. We will invite children to taste fish powder bread and wheat flour bread. Children are very honest. I am sure that they will all take the fish bread. Fish powder contains most of the nutrition you need. With a bag of fish powder, you can travel anywhere in the world, and eat wherever you are.
I always thought that if people didn’t like me, then I could build the kingdom of heaven on the ocean first, and then bring it to the land. I seldom eat a tuna I have caught, because I see it as a sacrifice for the sake of mankind. For me, tuna fishing certainly is not a vacation, it is a war and a battle.
When I see the enthusiasm American sport fishermen have for tuna fishing, I think that if they loved America the way they do fishing, it would have become the kingdom of heaven a long time ago. I always think that if Americans have that kind of heart and soul, why not harness it for kingdom building?
During the tedious hours of waiting for a tuna to strike, people complain and fight. But once a tuna bites, they are instantly united as one team. This is the unification spirit I am trying to promote. I want Unification members to come from all over the world to experience this.
As we come together to celebrate this memorable day, let us reflect on how much we thank Heavenly Father for His efforts and His heart in helping us achieve this tremendous victory.
We want to give our gratitude to our True Parents also, who worked so diligently to create the foundation for us to be able to inherit the victory of Washington Monument. Even now, although I am sure they desire to be here with us, our True Parents are in Gloucester, still sacrificing and working hard on the front line. Let us not forget that they have done and will continue to do this out of love for us.
We should be grateful, too, for the hard work of all brothers and sisters who participated in this historical rally four years ago. I also want to thank our elder brothers who gave so much of themselves in assisting our True Parents in the responsibility for successful completion of the Washington Monument campaign-Col. Pak, Mr. Kamiyama and Mr. Salonen.
God’s dispensation is to restore the purpose of creation and fulfill the three blessings. Because of the fall, Heavenly Father lost man, who was His object of love and His child. Therefore, since that time, His purpose has been to recreate all people and the whole world back to His original ideal.
All fallen men became the enemies of God. Fallen man denies God and goes against Him and His will, yet God continued striving to find those who could go through the restorational course of becoming a servant of servants, a servant, an adopted son or daughter and eventually His own true son or daughter, finally accepting the role of a true parent.
At the time of the Second Coming, the Messiah must first restore and perfect himself as an individual. For example, all vertical conditions which in the past were never fulfilled must absolutely be restore horizontally within his own lifetime. Therefore, he needs to be victorious in passing through the course of being a servant of servants, servant, adopted son, true son and then true parent.
Actually, the position of the Messiah is that of a true parent, because he comes as the second or third Adam. We cannot see the actual path of his ancestry, which is as “invisible” to us as our own physical lineage. Neither can we see the condition of the True Parents’ spiritual course. But we can imagine how his body was tortured; we can imagine the tremendous persecution which is so much a part of his history; we can imagine his tears and his prayers and how much he connected with the heart of God. He did all of this to lay the indemnity for restoration of the individual.
We can imagine, too, that the True Parents’ foundation, which finally became visible in 1960, was the culmination of the Messiah’s personal unchanging foundation which overcomes Satan’s accusations.
The time from 1960 to January 1, 1968 comprised the first seven year course. During this time the True Parents laid indemnity conditions for the family level. The dedication of God’s Day in 1968 actually meant that God found His true son and true daughter, in other words, perfected man and woman.
Before the True Parents made and fulfilled indemnity conditions on the individual level, they could not begin the family level dispensation. This is also true for the national level. After restoration of the individual and family, the central mission of restoring society, nation and world could begin. However, half way through any of these courses, Father can begin to lay the foundation for the next level.
For example, about three and a half years after his individual seven-year course began, he started to prepare for the family level course. Furthermore, in 1960 the central dispensation for the family level began, but soon afterwards he sent members to pioneer each city of Korea, thus beginning to lay the foundation for the national level restoration. Following the same principle, during the restoration of the nation, in December of 1972 he arrived in America, which was the nation representing the world, and he began to lay conditions for worldwide restoration.
Father went back to Korea in December of 1974, and on January 16, 1975 he invited 550 representatives of the entire Korean society-including the leaders of Congress, cabinet members, top religious’ leaders, scholars, businessmen, etc.-to attend a gathering at which he spoke. At that meeting True Father shared with them his hope and vision for the country and the method of insuring Korea’s salvation. It was an extremely significant meeting because they welcomed him so warmly and genuinely.
The June 1975 rally on Yoido Island was held with the support of the Korean government. It was a tremendous victory.
The rally was a worldwide event, attended by 1.2 million people, including representatives from 60 nations. The people of Korea listened to Father speak and deeply desired to find the true path for their nation.
Before the meeting in 1975, Father never stood in front of the Korean people in any type of public meeting. There is a special reason for this. If he had given speeches to the Korean public before this time and the people had accused him, it would have made the process and timing of God’s dispensation much more difficult. Of course it is true that our movement has received a lot of persecution and much negativity, not only from Koreans but from every nation: yet from Heavenly Father’s viewpoint, it has not been directed at Reverend Moon. Instead, ill’\… his disciples and followers ,…….. actually received it in Reverend Moon’s place.
Yet when Father did stand in front of the Korean people publicly, he did it with such seriousness-he represented God. He knew that Heavenly Father needed to wait for the time when the people would obey and welcome True Father, before Father would be able to give such a speech. Without a condition of victory on the national level, God’s dispensation could not start on the worldwide level. However, because of this foundation of the victory in Korea, God could begin activities for the restoration of the world.
From 1975 until 1981 is the period of the third seven-year course. In this time, we must lay indemnity conditions for restoration on the worldwide level. True Father started to prepare a certain foundation, based on the victory of the national level condition, when he conducted the Madison Square Garden, Yankee Stadium and the Washington Monument rallies.
How could the Washington Monument rally connect to the world wide level indemnity condition? First of all, from the viewpoint of God’s dispensation.
America has been prepared by God as the country which represents the entire world at the time of the Second Coming. Secondly, the Bicentennial movement in America forgot to mention God’s ideal and true purpose.
However, in the midst of such circumstances. our True Parents were able to organize and hold a meeting of worldwide representatives. Centering on God. our meeting had the theme “God Bless America”: therefore, it had special significance among all the bicentennial meetings. In 1976, America celebrated her 200th anniversary as a nation. These 200 years came symbolically at the end of the 2,000 years of Christian history.
The year 1976 is symbolically important in God’s dispensation not only because it was a culminating point of the 2,000 years of Christian history and the 200 years of American history. but also because True Father was able to shorten his first 21 year course that same year. As we remember, True Father proclaimed Year One beginning in February of 1977 and was able to shorten the last seven-year course. This is the meaning of this moment in God’s providential history.
Such a huge gathering of 300,000 people in Washington, D.C. represented America and the world. In his speech. “God’s Will for America,” Father mentioned that America’s mission is not only to save the nation of America but also to accept her responsibility to save the world.
As you know, Jacob was victorious in overcoming Esau with love. The detailed Biblical account tells us that Jacob kneeled and bowed before his brother and gave him many gifts. But the important thing is that with the agreement of God and Satan, Jacob had already received the blessing. Because Esau did not deny Jacob, a blessing was given him and restoration was accomplished.
Esau received God’s blessing through Jacob. The external situation did not matter. Actually, it did not make that much difference if Esau completely and totally obeyed or even if Jacob kneeled. The important thing is God’s blessing. In the same way, True Father told America and the world about salvation, about God’s blessing: and all those in attendance, representing the entire world, listened, accepted and received his message. This has real significance because it is God’s message to America and the world.
Yet even before either of these rallies were held, he sent foreign missionaries throughout the world: he needed to make a condition to announce God’s message of truth to all nations throughout the world. Therefore, the Washington Monument rally actually connected America to all the nations. If True Father would not have sent out the missionaries before holding such an historical meeting, it could only have been an American rally. But it did have worldwide significance.
After such a condition of victory on the national and worldwide levels had been accomplished, members sometimes still have doubts, because, for example, some Korean Christians still oppose us. Even after the great success at Washington Monument there are still many Americans who are negative towards our movement. Why is this? Think about what happened after Esau met Jacob and welcomed him. Did Esau completely obey and follow Jacob in everything? Did Esau discuss every decision with Jacob? No! The important thing, however, is that he conditionally obeyed and accepted God’s blessing through Jacob. From then on, it did not make any difference what kind of attitude Esau had, God’s dispensation would be able to move forward centering on Jacob. This is what has meaning. The country of Korea has already conditionally accepted us through the representation at Yoido. Because of the Washington Monument rally, America and this world are in the same situation. By such a large representation coming, America and Americans accepted and received God’s blessing: and this eternal foundation of victory is now going forward and developing for America and for the world, centering on the Unification Church.
What is the result of this victory? First, the True Parents have established a foundation of victory which Satan can never attack. Its importance lies in its being not only an individual, family, or national level foundation, but in that it is a foundation of victory for the whole
world. After Jesus· resurrection, anyone who believed in him could begin to stand on his spiritual foundation and receive spiritual salvation. Likewise, after the victory of Washington Monument, anyone who believes in True Parents-no matter what his nationality-is able to stand on the eternal foundation of victory.
Secondly, from that point, Satan’s destiny declined and Heavenly Father’s destiny increased. There is one thing I want to remind you of concerning Heavenly Father’s destiny. In the viewpoint of the dispensation, God’s power and influence may be increasing while Satan’s may be decreasing, but don’t wait and hope for miracles to happen at once, simply because we recognize that Heavenly Father’s destiny is now on the increase. These kinds of miracles will not come quickly or easily. Even after such a victory, I want to impress upon you how important it is not to have false hopes. The point of change is not a small hill or a simple mountain. Think about the historical course. The important thing is that we have passed beyond the crossroads.
Since this change has happened, Satan’s persecution and accusation may increase. Can you imagine how he feels? He feels as if something is being stolen from him. It is easy to understand that he would naturally try to desperately wield his power even more strongly than before. That is his determination, even though he knows he is declining.
Thirdly, True Parents want us to be able to inherit the foundation of victory. Actually, our destiny of home church is one of the most important results of the victory achieved at Washington Monument. Each of us as a leader of our home church is in the tribal messiah’s position. Therefore, we need to recognize how fortunate it is to be able to stand on this victorious foundation.
Sons and daughters want to be like their parents when they are proud of them. I have recently been feeling strongly that each of us must think more deeply about Father’s daily schedule and lifestyle. For several years now. I have had the opportunity and privilege of going ocean fishing with Father. Until last year, his normal schedule was to rise and leave the house around 4:00 a.m. every day. This year, however, almost every day he rose and left the house by 3:00 a.m. Even though he would get up·in the middle of the night to go fishing, he would never sleep before midnight. We must realize that he is no longer a young man: this year he turned 60. Still. because he keeps on living at such a desperate pace, we can realize that Heavenly Father must feel so sympathetic and yet so tortured in His heart that He wants to give Father more and more blessings. Another thing we should keep in mind is that he was severely tortured for years. Surely, it must have had a terrible effect on his health, but it does not stop him or even slow him down. I have been feeling so strongly that we need to learn so many lessons from him and how he conducts his life.
One scholar who attended the Acapulco conference and listened to my speech about Father’s lifestyle came up to me later and sincerely expressed his concern about Father’s health. He asked me to tell Reverend Moon not to work so hard because the world needs him so desperately. I told Father this scholar’s response. Father smiled and was thankful for the concern he showed. but still does not feel he can lessen his own work or change his lifestyle. I believe that this is because we do not do enough: for that reason he feels that he must still work on the front line.
Reflecting on this point, I remind myself and want to remind you that actually there is nothing we can try to give as an excuse when we think of what he is doing and the kind of life he is living for God. No circumstance really merits our excuse. Each of us should compare his own daily lifestyle with Father’s. Remember that it is not only in the area of fishing that he works so hard. Everything he does is done with tremendous force and energy in his desperation to fulfill all he can every single day.
Because of Satan’s persecution and attack, especially in this period of the crossroads of good and evil. each of us stands in a dangerous position. However, as Father has told us, the crossing point has come, and Satan’s power and destiny is declining while Heavenly Father’s is increasing. However, this is not the most important point. What is important is that because of all the historical victories at each level, there is potential for the destiny of any man to change. Therefore, we should remember the great importance of our attitude toward God and the True Parents.
If a person feels that he can never accomplish enough every day, begins to feel resentful and sorry for it and follows the way of the Principle-his feeling could lead him to a good direction which would have a positive effect on his personal offering to God’s will. However, when people dwell too much on how sorry they are or how they did not accomplish enough. damage can often be done. Each of us needs to be careful which direction such a feeling might take. Whenever we feel this way. it is like God sending us a message which we can learn from. To be sorry that we did not do more is basically a good feeling: but when it turns to extreme guilt and builds up resentment, it is destructive. It is then impossible for us to achieve any result which would please God. His desire and hope for us is to always remember that even though we do not do enough. we are still in the position to receive God’s grace. This is the important thing to dwell on. We should be grateful for God’s unchanging love and for all the blessings we receive from Him.
Many of us witnessed for ourselves the actual Washington Monument rally four years ago. Of course it is wonderful to remember the hard work we invested in the campaign. but I feel that we must do more than just remember it. I feel that we must reflect on the True Parents· victorious foundation-a foundation which we can not only connect with but also inherit for our own future.
The True Parents want us to inherit this worldwide foundation, which we should each bring to the smaller unit of our own home church work. Using this broad foundation, we can make a microcosm in our home church area. Although our True Parents could not receive all the necessary support, we are still able to inherit the foundation. Therefore, we only need to conditionally go through the course of true son or daughter, before we reach the eventual position of parent. In going this path, we need to lay indemnity conditions and overcome many things, but it is still God’s tremendous blessing to us that we can inherit this foundation.
Actually, we fulfill the roles of servant of servants and servant in the home church mission. In our position of servant of servants or servant, we should not expect or seek love from people. Rather, we should concentrate on our duty by sacrificing and working hard in serving them. Even though it is difficult to only follow rules or laws, we have to follow the heavenly law. As a servant, we cannot expect to receive love. When we have the attitude of serving or attending, two kinds of results will come: First, we ourselves can lay indemnity conditions for our individual internal growth and accomplishments. Secondly, we are able to give life and energy externally to the people.
So many people don’t understand God’s love and have never experienced a relationship or friendship based on true love. Through serving the people in our home church mission, we can give the very essence of life itself. They will be able to feel that the members of the Unification Church are the hope for America and for the world.
Once again, we celebrate this day not only by simply remembering it. We should once more feel gratitude to God and the True Parents that we are able to inherit the foundation they worked so hard to accomplish. Let us now work to strengthen this worldwide foundation through our own mission and through the providence of home church.