In memory of Hyo-yul Kim (1947-2024): Rev. Peter Hyoyul Kim ascended after a long illness on December 22, 2024, and his Seonghwa Ceremony was on Christmas Day, December 25, 2024, in Korea. Dr. Kim was born in 1947 in Jangheung, South Joella Province, Republic of Korea. He joined our movement in 1965 and began life as a public leader, first in pastoral work and then in the FFWPU HQ Department of Culture. In 1970, Dr. Kim was blessed with Mrs. Phyllis Yamato, at the 777 couples blessings officiated by True Parents. He received a Doctor of Philosophy from Sun Moon University. From 1990 Dr. Kim served as True Parents’ official English interpreter during their numerous speaking tours. Rev. Peter Kim is survived by his wife Phyllis, daughter Yeonshim, son-in-law Jin Suh, and their children.
The first calligraphy can be translated as “Congratulations as the representative of absolute and victorious dedication in the restoration of the fatherland”
The second calligraphy can be translated as: “As a blessed family who is registered as Cheonbo family, you are a perfect citizen of Cheon Il Guk”
Rev. Kim published a memoir titled “Memories of Grace,” where he shares many precious behind-the-scenes insights from a lifetime of devotion and service to True Parents. We highly recommend it. Below is an excerpt from the book:
When I toured the world with True Parents and interpreted their speeches, I realized that although True Parents emphasized slightly different topics to suit the local audience, the overall content of their speeches was always consistent. [Their talks always focused on:] We should know about God; God endowed human beings with an original mind (conscience) at the time of creation to help guide them back to Him. In particular, in the 1990s True Father spoke a lot about the original mind (conscience).
The original mind is usually translated as “conscience,” and I understand it to be a consciousness that judges one’s actions as right or wrong, good or evil.
The secular understanding of the conscience is that human beings are not born with an immutable conscience: It is shaped by social status, education, and the environment in which one grows up. However, the conscience True Father spoke about was not this relatively constructed concept. The conscience to which Father was referring is the original mind that Heavenly Parent gave us before the Human Fall.
When Father speaks of the original “conscience” [given by Heavenly Parent] at the time of creation, most people understand this to mean a relative and cultural “conscience” because they do not know what the original mind is. However, having interpreted Father’s words for decades, I have come to understand that Father refers to a much higher concept than conscience as it is commonly understood.
“How should I live if I were to be separated from you, Father?” This is the question that Rev. Won-pil Kim is said to have asked Father as they fled south during the Korean War. Fleeing from the ravages of war was a perilous journey; it was impossible to foresee what would happen next. Father and Reverend Kim marched from Pyongyang to Busan on foot while bombs were falling near them and bullets from gunfire were flying around. One day, after nearly escaping death, Father and Rev. Won-pil Kim went to bed but Reverend Kim could not sleep. He eventually stood up and went close to Father and asked him how he should live, in case something happened and they were separated.
True Father’s answer was concise: “Trust in your original mind (conscience), and live according to the dictates of your original mind (conscience).”
It can be said that the same theme runs through all the speeches True Parents gave over several decades. The word that was used is [translated] as conscience, but the essence of True Parents’ message was: “Know that the original mind given by Heavenly Parent lies within you. If you live by following the directions given by the original mind, you will neither be able to deny nor distance yourself from Heavenly Parent.”
The next thing True Parents emphasized was the value of the family. Heavenly Parent’s ideal when creating human beings was neither circumscribed entirely to Adam alone nor Eve alone. Heavenly Parent’s ideal was for Adam and Eve to grow, not commit the Human Fall, realize a family and realize an ideal world where their countless children would flourish without original sin. The place where these people live is the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, and the place where they ascend after death is the Kingdom of Heaven in Heaven.
True Parents often said that, due to the Fall of the first human ancestors, Adam and Eve and all of humanity, their descendants, must go through a course of indemnity and receive the Blessing. To receive the Blessing, both men and women must maintain purity before the Blessing; after the Blessing, husband and wife must form a family and remain faithful to one another.
True Father added that when a man and a woman become a couple, they must remain faithful to one another and “the husband’s sexual organ belongs to his wife, and the wife’s sexual organ belongs to her husband. Therefore, there can be only one key that opens the husband’s or the wife’s sexual organ. No matter the reason, there should not be any ‘spare key,’ and such an idea should never be tolerated. Misuse of the sexual organs will lead to the destruction of the family and the nation.” I thought that Father’s use of the term “spare key” was so accurate and interesting. Father repeatedly emphasized the notion that a married man should be faithful to his wife and have no “spare key.” He used various examples to help people understand the value of the family and the value of marriage. Father believed that to restore values, America’s sexual values (ethics) should be restored first.
In particular, during the 50-state speaking tour, True Father strongly and loudly warned against the phenomenon of sexual openness and the wave of free sex among young adults. Father also said that just as Sodom, Gomorrah, and Rome were destroyed by sexual licentiousness, the same fate could befall America. Father spoke with such gravity that he often was drenched in sweat. Interpreting such content next to Father was a Herculean task. It was not enough to simply convey the meaning of Father’s words. I also had to invest my heart and soul into conveying Father’s heart. This effort often meant that I also was drenched in sweat.
When interpreting, I usually stood a little behind on Father’s left and, right after Father spoke, I would interpret. When Father spoke about something not in the prepared speech in a serious and emotional way, I would take notes on a small interpreter’s notepad to avoid making a mistake while interpreting. My mantra when interpreting was that the sequence of words between Father’s speech and my subsequent interpretation should flow without interruption and the switch between speakers should be as natural as possible. Additionally, I strove every day to convey True Father’s internal heart.
After completing the 50-state speaking tour, I immediately offered a bow of gratitude, thinking, “Have I ever been filled with so much grace and gratitude [as during the tour]? These two months were the most overwhelming yet rewarding two months of my life.” I was so happy because I also felt a sense of relief at having successfully completed my mission and a sense of pride in knowing that I had made a small contribution to the providence.
In fact, my first thought was “I cannot believe I lasted two months; thank God, I survived.” Every day I interpreted an average of three hours during the evening speech and three hours during the early morning Hoondokhae session. For a normal person [like me], this was unbelievably brutal. Having to travel to a new state and interpret for six hours each day frequently tested my physical limits.
Of course, True Parents walked a much more difficult path than I did. Hadn’t True Parents already transcended the limits of human endurance when, for example, speaking for 10 to 15 hours a day? For someone like me, who had yet to transcend the limitations of reasonableness, the period of the [50-state speaking tour] felt like a challenge.
The more we progressed with the speaking tour, the more I lost myself in True Father’s words. When Father spoke with excitement, I raised my voice, and when he was serious, I lowered mine. When I finished interpreting, I could not at all remember what I had said or how I had interpreted. The only thought that remained with me was that I had conveyed True Father’s realm of heart. After spending two months this way, I felt as if for two months I had been within the love and grace of True Parents and was born again. Furthermore, I felt that the most precious teaching found within True Parents’ words had been engraved in my heart.
Note: you can purchase the book here