Ep 467 - America - The Elder Son's Responsibility Part 3
America -- The Elder Son's Responsibility 102-27-12-40 - February 4, 2022
Today I’d like to talk again about “America -- the elder son's responsibility” from True Mother’s Anthology, Book 1.
True Father established America as the elder son. An elder son should be a filial son to his parents and a respected elder brother for his siblings, but has America fulfilled that responsibility? You cannot enter the kingdom of heaven based on the mere fact that you were given a responsibility. True Father has taught you and shown you what you need to do 100 percent, and if you cannot put that into practice, you will be disgraced.
True Father first thought of the Las Vegas providence because he wished to establish America in a position to carry out its responsibility. True Father called Las Vegas the "sin city,” didn't he? It means that Las Vegas is a sinful city. Why, then, did he begin the providence here? Whatever the motive may be, when you consider the position of Las Vegas today, you can see that its environment is such that everything that happens here is connected to the world.
At the time of the Roman Empire, it was said that all roads lead to Rome. At the time of the British Empire, it was said that the sun never sets on the British Empire. Las Vegas is in an environment where it can be connected to the world, and True Parents knew that. If this city can be restored to Heaven's side, ultimately the restoration of the world will become possible. Though it has casinos where people from all over the world gather, it also has a remarkable system for holding conventions and also enough hotels to house hundreds of thousands of people in one city. What an amazing environment this is!
This is the only city with such an environment. There are many travelers here, aren't there? When people visit this place, they think only of their country's interests. However, if you can form connections with such people and witness to them, it will be an opportunity to spread our movement around the world. The people who come here from other countries are people of rank, either in the financial sector or in other sectors. It could be said to be a city that Heaven has prepared for a certain time. Though it is a city that has a bad image throughout the world, it will be able to save the entire world if we can digest and resurrect it internally. In other words, in Las Vegas we can start indemnifying the responsibility that America failed to fulfill. (2013.05.02, Cheon Hwa Gung)
Our True Parents invested so much for the Las Vegas providence. There is a very clear reason why True Father and True Mother invested so much there. Let’s study more from True Father’s word about the providence of Las Vegas.
<Chambumo Gyeong, P. 1164> True Parents believe that transforming Las Vegas from a city of gambling and self-indulgence into a city of goodness in both image and substance would contribute to the restoration of the world. They toured the region from Los Angeles to the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam and Las Vegas, and set conditions in order to restore and offer the area to heaven. Although the city of Las Vegas is a famous symbol of sin, True Parents invested in this city. They did so in order to transform it into a stronghold for a healthy, God-centered hobby industry, an important location from which to restore the United States and the world.
<Chambumo Gyeong, P. 1164> We cannot achieve a world of peace unless we prevail over the pleasure industries that cover the area from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam. I have decided to embrace this city with the purpose of turning it around 180 degrees, in order to take a completely different direction.
A global campaign is possible because God is behind it. If all of you share this conviction, you can develop all our activities here. Hobby industries relate to pleasure industries. Unless we embrace all of this we cannot create the kingdom of heaven. The issue is how humankind will liberate this world. Only the Unification Church holds the answer. We must be involved in these things.
True Parents believe that transforming Las Vegas from a city of gambling and self-indulgence into a city of goodness in both image and substance would contribute to the restoration of the world and set conditions (for that).
True Father said, “Break through the bottom of hell, then God's liberation will take place there and the kingdom of heaven will begin.”
The reason True Parents put a great deal of effort and devotion into this Las Vegas city of lewdness and pleasure, called Sin City, was to make it a model for turning hell on earth into heaven on earth.
Although Las Vegas is a city of lewdness and pleasure, True Parents put their last providence in America into Las Vegas to transform it into a base for a healthy hobby industry centered on heaven and make it an important base for restoring America and the world.
What we also need to know is the words of True Parents that unless we embrace hell, we can never build the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, we also need to follow True Parents' life and restore the environment by finding the most difficult, most miserable, and most problematic places in the living environment in which we live.
In the beginning I could not understand why Father focused on the Las Vegas providence. Father really wants to restore Las Vegas as the worst place. If True Father restores Las Vegas -- centering on God’s point of view it is the worst place -- then it can become the model to liberate hell. Without knowing the enemy and his environment, how can we build the kingdom of heaven? That is why Father himself chose Las Vegas. Many people complained about why a religious leader has invested in such a gambling place and why he has asked the leadership to taste gambling here and there.
Father has great vision. Without embracing and digesting hell, how can we build the kingdom of heaven? We need to deal with reality. Right? The kingdom of heaven is not just the ideal. The kingdom of heaven should build(?be real?). You need to deal with hell directly, not just centering on a comfortable place. Wow! Beautiful nature, beautiful mountains, beautiful ocean (lake?). Do you think we can build the kingdom of heaven there? Father chose the worst place. He wants to deal with reality. He wants to build God’s kingdom of heaven in the worst place. Then this can become the model for the entire world. This is the way to restore all mankind and the world. We need to understand Father’s inner heart and motivation -- why our True Parents invested so much in the Las Vegas Providence.
LIVING DIVINE PRINCIPLE: Principle of Creation 16 - The Life of 4 Position Foundation
I will speak continuously about the life of the four position foundation. Father talked a lot about this content because the life of the four position foundation is really important. It is the fundamental principle. Let’s read from the EDP content.
When the origin, the subject partner and the object partner projected from the origin, and their union all fulfill the three object purpose, the four position foundation is established.
Based on this content, let’s study Father’s word:
The Family of the Messiah Based on the Four-Position-Foundation
<40-215> The three should become one. You, your wife and I must become one. Only when these three become one can you unite your own children. Only then will that become the “messiah’s family based on the four-position-foundation.” Do you understand? If your children have completely become one, that family can finally enter the realm of an era where they can fulfill the mission of a familial messiah centering on the clan. When there are many such clans within the Unification Church, we can step into a world of free people who can open the doors and liberate the people of this nation. This is the conclusion that is reached.
Father said the blessed couple needs to establish the three position foundation, which is the trinity centering on True Parents. A blessed husband and a blessed wife need to become one completely centering on True Parents. In order to create the four position foundation, who are the center substantially? God is invisible. Who are the substantial central point? Our True Parents. That is why Father said a blessed couple needs to establish the three-position foundation, which is the trinity, and become one completely centered on True Parents.
The secret to a husband becoming one with a wife and children is that the husband needs to first become one centered on True Parents. And the secret of a wife becoming one with her husband and children is that the wife becomes one centered on True Parents.
How do we create the four position foundation? As a husband before uniting with your wife, you need to unite with True Parents. The wife, before you make harmony and unity with your husband, you need to make unity with True Parents first. This is the proper order. That is why the husband and wife need to unite centered on True Parents first. The second step is for the husband and wife to make unity.
In this way, once a blessed couple establishes the three position foundation centered on True Parents, they can make their children become one.
The reason why the Blessed Children today cannot connect with the church and also before the will is because first, the couple did not become one centered on True Parents. They did not create a beautiful trinity centered on True Parents as a husband and wife. The second (reason) is that the couple did not become one with each other. This is the main reason why children cannot connect with God’s will and why they cannot connect with the church. This is the fundamental reason.
Whenever I see my own children’s problems or issues, I always need to reflect (on myself) based on this fundamental point. As a husband, first of all, am I united with God and True Parents or not? As a wife do I really unite with Heavenly Parent and True Parents or not? Secondly, based on our True Parents as a husband and wife, how much can we unite with each other? If there is oneness among the three, True Parents, husband and wife, children will absolutely follow. No doubt at all.
When the blessed couple and their children become one centered on True Parents, they become “the family of the messiah based on the four position foundation.”
A blessed family that can fulfill the mission of the family Messiah is possible only when the blessed couple and their children become one centered on True Parents and establish the four position foundation.
It is concluded that only when this family Messiah (fulfills) the basics, can he eventually become a Heavenly Tribal Messiah and then liberate the tribe, nation, and world.
This is the formula course based on the family.
The Four-Position-Foundation Is a Foundation of a Principled Heart
<45-62> One man must form a family with one woman. Otherwise, they cannot go towards a unified world. People of faith in the past abandoned their families. However, the abandoned family must be recovered on a higher level and established as a victorious foundation on a new foundation. Otherwise, they cannot enter the Kingdom of God. Even if one family is formed, that family alone cannot enter the Kingdom of God. They can go only after having formed a four-position-foundation.
One man must form a family with one woman in order to go towards a unified world.
People of faith in the past abandoned their families. However, that was the era before they met True Parents.
(Also,) in the early days of the Unification Church, (couples) abandoned their families, abandoned their children, and went to the front line, but (now) is not the era of pioneering. Now is the era of settlement and the era of fruition. Therefore, no matter what difficulties you may have, you should go together with your family. Now, the family is the front line, not your workplace. If you go overseas(?), that is not your front line. The family is the front line. If I don't make heaven in my home, where will it be?
If you cannot create the kingdom of heaven in your family, what are you talking about? (For us to) have this kind of substantial foundation, can you imagine (what families went through)?
All our 36 couples, 72 couples, all our elder blessed couples abandoned their children, abandoned their families and left home and went overseas or went pioneering. At that time there was no choice. But Father proclaimed that now is the settlement of God’s providence. So, this is a different era and time. We need to really focus on the family, how we can invite God into our family. Then we can testify, “God is in our family. God is here between husband and wife, between parents and children, in our family.” This time has come now.
Through the ideal family on this earth, True Parents set the model for the family-centered kingdom of heaven.
Therefore, in the era of Cheon Il Guk, we cannot go to heaven without finding the abandoned family from a higher level and setting it up as a victorious family on a new foundation.
Families should also form a four-position foundation after getting blessed and have children, not just a vague family.
Where must the four-position-foundation be formed? It must be formed on this earth. When should it be formed? It must be formed before you die. Without forming this, you cannot become a citizen who can welcome the heavenly nation, or become part of humankind that can welcome the world, or become heavenly citizens who can welcome the world of God’s kingdom when God’s will is fulfilled.
Where must the four-position-foundation be formed? It must be formed on this earth, not in the spiritual world. Only on the earth. This is the issue. Why did the messiah need to come again? Because he could not form God’s kingdom of heaven on earth centering on the family. That is why the messiah needed to come again. Why did Jesus give the keys to the kingdom of heaven to his main disciple, Peter? Because he needed to establish the kingdom of heaven on earth based on the family.
“When should it be formed?” Father asked. It must be formed before you die. That is why (you should) not go to the spiritual world without forming the four position foundation. You need to have a very clear structure centered on 3 generations: grandparents, parents and children and grandchildren. This structure is a fundamental principle. This is not (just) a job. Many saints and sages don’t know that the structure of the kingdom of heaven is based on the family. One of the greatest (points in the) Divine Principle is what? The structure of the kingdom of heaven is based on the family. You cannot enter the kingdom of heaven by yourself. Husband alone, wife alone, without children, without grandchildren cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. This is the structure of the kingdom of heaven. This is God’s blueprint. We need to adjust(?) based on God’s blueprint. We are the ones who need to fit God’s structure, the structure of the kingdom of heaven.
Without forming the four position foundation, you cannot become a heavenly citizen who can welcome the world of God’s kingdom. We must form the Four Great Realms of Heart and the Three Great Kingships. That is the internal content.
The external structure is what? The four position foundation.
What is the internal content based on the family?
1. The four great realms of heart. You need to experience parental heart, conjugal heart, siblings’ heart and the children’s heart.
2. The three great kingships, three generations, grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren. This is the content of the four position foundation.
This is an absolute principle. No one can deny it. This is God’s blueprint.
TODAY’S YOUTH MINISTRY: Instinctive Love and Original Love
1. There are two types of love: instinctive love centered on the body and love centered on the original mind. Instinctive love inevitably occurs centered on the instinct of the body. Love of the original mind centers on the original nature, differentiates God's commandments of “Don’t do" and "Do" and follows responsibility according to one's free will. If you voluntarily have self-dominion well, you will gain freedom there. However, those who focus on their instincts and fail to dominate themselves cannot feel freedom in their spirit. People who live centered on their instinct are always dominated by their bodies. They are easily dominated by the surrounding environment. They cannot enjoy freedom because they cannot receive the ability of freedom. It can be seen that the person who is always dominated by instinct is still spiritually immature.
If I overcome the instinctive love centered on my body, I can enjoy true freedom.
For example, why do we ask children not to go into the ocean? Because they cannot swim. But when they become a teenager or older and can swim well, we let them enjoy the ocean. If you go into the ocean and if you cannot swim, you will die. It is very dangerous. But if you can swim very well in the ocean, it is free. You can enjoy (it).
What (?) are we talking about? If you are dominated by instinctive love all the time, freedom is not freedom. Those who can enjoy true freedom are those who dominate the physical body. If you dominate your instinctive love, then you can enjoy freedom.
Are you free from the love of your instincts? Or are you still conflicted? Are you free from eating? Are you free from sleep? Are you free from material desire? Are you free from money? Are you free from sexual desire?
If the person is free from the love of physical instinct, the person has already passed the top of the growth stage and has entered the realm of perfection.
When Adam and Eve reached the top of the growth stage, they could not control their own instinctive love. They were dominated by (their) instinctive love. That is why they fell. However, If Adam & Eve at that time had overcome their physical and instinctive love centered on their body, then they (could have) become the owners of all things and (could have) entered the realm of perfection.
If I still cannot control my body, then I am under the top of the growth stage. I am still dominated by instinctive love. That is the issue.
2. Those who are easily dominated by instinctive love cannot control themselves, so they must always be supervised by Abel. This is because they themselves cannot exercise freedom centered on original nature. When a child walks for the first time, they need a mother who can hold them so that they can't fall. However, as they grow up, they can walk freely if they have the ability to walk alone. We can say that the problem of love is the same. There is no freedom for those who live centered on their instincts. This is because it is a love that is inevitably dominated by the body. These people should find a way to solve how they sleep when they are sleepy, eat when they are hungry, and when they have sexual impulses. You cannot have freedom because you are more dominated by the power of your instincts than by the wishes of your original nature.
Those who are governed by the instincts of the flesh must always be guided by Abel. If you enjoy your freedom when you are still not mature, when you are still dominated by the instincts of your flesh, you are very dangerous. That is why parents always tell children, “Do not eat. Do not see women. Do not look at pornography.” Why are they strict with their children? Why do parents try to control their freedom? Because they are not mature yet.
Second, it takes training to master the instincts of the body. If we do not train for the exercise of domination of the instincts of the body, humans become animals.
Look (at the) outside (world). How miserable, how terrible! Everywhere is Chapter Two. (They) cannot control (themselves. They are) like animals, worse than animals. That is why in order to become the owner of all things, the first issue is how to dominate the instincts of my flesh. This is really challenging. If we cannot control it, we do not have the qualifications to dominate all things. (Then) you are the same as animals. Do you want to become better than animals? If your spiritual level is much higher than (that of) animals, then you can control animals. You can become the owner of all things. That is why God gave us responsibility. He wants to train us to become the owner of all things.
3. It was to complete humans that God told Adam and Eve “do not eat." It was to make them become qualified people who can dominate themselves and enjoy freedom on their own. Because of this wish, God told Adam and Eve not to eat. In order to protect God's commandment of “Do not”, pain comes. The desire of instinct is so strong that I want to do it, but I can't, so I suffer. I want to eat, drink, sleep, and relieve my sexual desire, but I need patience to endure the urge. It's painful to earn this freedom. However, if you endure and digest the pain, you will gain freedom.
In order to control the instincts of the body, pain must always follow. That pain is paying the price to make me a person of true love. That’s why in order to control the instinct of love, you need to accept pain. You have to be patient and overcome pain. There is no physical dominion that does not pay the price of suffering or pain. Otherwise how can you become the owner? Therefore, bear the pain and be patient. We need to have training in how to bear the pain, how to be (a?) patient. You need all kinds of training. You have to be severe with your physical body.
4. You have to be a person who is not ruled by the pain because you have to be qualified as a subject of all things even while suffering physical pain. This is like saying to qualify as the substance of the word, that is, the substance of Logos, beyond the level of a physical human being who lives centered on the instinct of the body. Those who suffer and are tormented by instinctive desires do not yet deserve freedom. If you are always violated by and taken in by your environment, you do not have the qualification to exercise freedom. This is because even though you have to live with a voluntary heart that comes from your original nature, you have attachment that is controlled by physical attachment to your instinct or environment.
He who is governed by the love of his instincts can always misuse freedom and become indulgent. Therefore, you must be strict with your own body very seriously. You must not give freedom to your body recklessly.
If you give your body too much freedom, it will become lazy. This is a big problem. You must not give freedom to your body recklessly. Your mind needs to thoroughly control your body. Your body likes freedom. It wants to go everywhere, wants to eat as much as it can, wants to drink, wants to sleep. Without severe training we cannot dominate our own physical instincts.
5. You have to know yourself well. I have to live checking whether I am an instinctive person who lives mainly on physical desire or a person of original nature who voluntarily induces heart by my original nature. I need to know what level of person I am if I am dominated by my instinct. You have to deal with it and act well. If you are still a person of instinct, you should never give yourself freedom. You must always discuss and get approval from your Abel first. This is because I should not judge recklessly and live like an animal just because I am given freedom. Therefore I need to know well what degree I am dominated by instinct. People who live centered on instinct have to suffer a lot and sacrifice their bodies a lot.
A person who is governed by instinctual love must sacrifice his body a lot and suffer a lot. That is why many people choose the penance of fasting. Many people have (had) the experience of three-day fasting, one-day fasting, seven-day fasting, 40-day fasting, all kinds of fasting. Why do we need to go through that kind of hardship and pain in order to train myself? Of course, when we fast, there is a lot of pain. It is not easy to do that. Why do we do it? In order to train, iIn order to control our physical desires.
6. I also have to live checking how I change through physical hardship. We shouldn't just live a life that flows as water flows. Rather, you should go back like the waves. You have to reverse through adversity and suffering. Fish are not governed by the power of water, so they move freely regardless of the flow of water. Those ruled by the forces of water and drift away cannot be seen as exercising freedom. Because I am dominated by the environment of reality, I always have to train myself through Abel.
7. What are you like? Do you just flow down with the flow of water? Or do you go against the direction of water flow? Are you running against it? Or are you following the flow of water? Difficulties come to you when you choose and live a good life. In fact, we claim suffering in order to be liberated from that suffering and become a happy person. It is to be freed from the instinct of the body and to become a qualified person who can enjoy the freedom of original nature. If you want to be a person who can enjoy freedom of love, you have to be a person who can dominate yourself. Therefore, if I can own peace and love in my heart, I am qualified to enjoy freedom. On the contrary, those who have lost love, those who have lost peace, and those who are dominated by instinct do not yet qualify to enjoy freedom.
8. The desire of our human mind goes beyond instinctive love and wants to possess unchanging love. You want to fully enjoy freedom by mastering the higher value of enjoying that eternal love. Then, how do you master that higher value beyond the level of instinct? You need to have your own skills to attain it. That skill is overcoming adversity to own noble love. Therefore, those who are dominated by instinct and those who are dominated by the environment have no freedom. Those without freedom are like animals. Being unable to enjoy freedom can kill one's eternal soul at any time. You can never be relaxed.
That’s why we need to really distinguish very well our physical love and spiritual love. Of course we love freedom, but we need to know how we can properly use our freedom. If we cannot control our physical body, (then) just giving freedom to our physical body is really dangerous. That is why Father always tells us, in order to control our physical desires we need to have more spiritual power. We need to borrow power from heaven. We need to always get God’s word. Our original mind plus God’s word will really be stimulated and develop big energy to control our instinctive love. Then our spiritual body can have freedom and joy. That is our challenge every day.♦
NOTE: This lightly edited transcription may contain errors and omissions. Indecipherable or uncertain words and guesses are tagged with a “(?)” and indecipherable phrases, with an ellipsis “ ...”. First, second and third person pronouns have been left as spoken if the meaning is clear, and other apparently Korean English expressions have been preserved. Some repeated phrases have been eliminated. This text and the powerpoint slides from this speech are available as pdf files at the top of this text and at text.morndev.com & yong.hoondok.com. Audio only is available at anchor.morndev.com, spotify.morndev.com & audio.morndev.com.♦