Cham Bumo Gyeong: Episode 159

Cham Bumo Gyeong
Book 6: The World Tours and the Global Mission
Chapter 2: True Parents’ Settlement in the United States and Their Public Speeches
Section 3: United States Speaking Tours, Speeches throughout America
Section 3: United States Speaking Tours, Paragraph 16

Speeches throughout America

The 21-city speaking tour across the United States began with a full-page advertisement in The New York Times on September 7, 1973. True Parents also personally contacted prominent figures in preparation for the speeches, and intense mobilization activities were carried out by the 51

One World Crusade teams dispatched to the 50 states and Washington, D.C.. On this foundation the Day of Hope speeches were delivered in 21 cities over four months, from October 1, 1973, to January 29, 1974, with the theme "Christianity in Crisis: New Hope." The speeches, given on three successive nights in each city, were entitled, "God's Hope for Man," "God's Hope for America," and "The Future of Christianity."

True Parents were widely supported by influential people from all walks of life during this speaking tour. Also, True Parents received keys of good fortune, letters of appreciation and encouragement, and honorary citizenships from the mayors. They held another speaking tour traveling to 32 additional cities from February 16 to April 20, 1974. The theme of this tour was "The New Future of Christianity."

9  I plan to give public speeches in 21 cities by the end of 1973. I will include the seven cities I visited previously, so I only need to choose 14 more cities. In the future, we need to build training centers in Washington, D.C., St. Louis, Denver, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Dallas on the same level as the ones in New York. If possible, we should focus on the places where we want to concentrate our membership. I will begin my speaking tour with New York City on October 1. Next year, I will reach all 50 states with these events. Then no one among the American people will be able to say they had no opportunity to hear me speak.

After that, you have to stride forward even more. To do this work, you need to lay a foundation. In other words you need to witness. You need to witness to at least 50 people in each state. It will not work unless we have core members. This is why you need to work hard until October.

10  Beginning in October 1973 I will tackle 21 US states through their representative cities. When I have done this and there is no opposition, I will expand the scope to all 50 states, and after that you will need to give public lectures every day. We will sweep across the United States by 1978 in such a way that Christian leaders will say, "Now we have no choice but to study the Unification Church. We need to find out about this church." Thus, everyone will be influenced to move toward a world with no barriers. Only this can revitalize the United States.

It is my view that in the future two issues will emerge as the most urgent on the national scene: the revival of Christianity and defending against communism. These will surely appear. I believe that the United States will most definitely be in this position one day. If we are prepared to address those critical issues, the United States will have no choice but to ask us to go to the front and take the lead. Just as Jacob met Esau after winning over the angel, you must gain victory over communism after winning over Christianity. To put it another way, after you have made a foundation with the churches, you have to empower yourselves with the worldview with which you can debunk communism and march out to the world. This is why you need to have the firm conviction that even if the democratic world, Christianity and the communist world oppose us, it is no problem. You must firmly believe that, since we stand on God's side, He will bless us.

11  We have brought people from ten nations here to the United States, including from Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and Austria. This is a solemn and electrifying moment. Focusing on God's Will, the people from these ten nations can bring about a new beginning with a heart transcending nationality and ethnicity. We share a conviction to give our lives right here and now for this one purpose.

Now only a year and a half of the three-year course remains. To enable the United States to carry out its three-year worldwide responsibility, I am gathering college graduates from the United Kingdom and Asia. The reason I met with nearly 60 senators and representatives in 1972 and 1973 was to prepare for this. I planned revival meetings in seven US cities in 1972, in 21 cities in 1973 and in 50 cities in 1974 in order to raise America's awareness. I planned these revival tours so no one can say they had no opportunity to hear my words.

We are about to set out toward the new Israel and the blessed land of Canaan, and we need to inform Americans of this during this three-year period. Just as every Israelite had to be informed when the people of Israel returned to Canaan, we need to proclaim the need for America to set out on the world-level course to restore Canaan during this three-year period. This is why I am saying we should march to Moscow. You need to have this conviction. Since the communist world is marching against the United States right now, we should turn things around and march to Moscow.

12  By 1978, the threat of communism will come to the United States. From the providential viewpoint, this is inevitable. By then, we should firmly establish in the US a foundation based on the Unification worldview, one that can serve as a functional system by which we can influence all areas of life. This is why I plan to distribute three books to 200,000 American leaders—a total of 600,000 books—in three years. The books will explain the Divine Principle, Unification Thought and Victory Over Communism.

And for three years, beginning on the first day of October 1973, we will conduct a speaking tour across the United States. I will give speeches in large halls in 21 cities. I am making preparations to rent Carnegie Hall for my first lecture on the first day of October. Therefore, we need to mobilize 1,000 people.

13  On February 15, 1974, I have to resume my speaking tour across America. I selected the 40 cities before returning to Korea. I am not starting this out of greed or even for the revival of the Unification Church. I am toiling because God's Will is that I propose a new path of faith for America, a nation very much loved by God. Now, in the process of carrying out this work, a national crisis has arisen. I believe that I am now well known to Americans. Unforeseen problems have snowballed into national issues because the media mobilized against us and, what is more, my Watergate Declaration brewed a massive, historic storm.

Unification Church members, not only in the United States but also abroad, have kept pace with my instructions, and now we are receiving apologies by telephone or in writing from members of the press and social leaders in the United States for their having underestimated our movement. I have returned with a keen realization that our work has strongly influenced them.

14  I am quite sure that the manipulative hand of the communists is behind the aggressive opposition to 1974's Day of Hope campaign. I also believe that communists are interfering with our street witnessing teams. From the providential perspective, I can attribute the national opposition we've received from the time of the New York revival meeting until now to such a source. Among today's Christians, some oppose us and some support us, but in the end I think they will all lean toward the side that opposes us. If the communist forces are the formation stage, then Christianity is the mid-level or growth stage, corresponding to Judaism in Jesus' era. Since Christianity holds that position, it is bound to oppose us. In terms of the Principle, the formation and growth realms are under the dominion of Satan.

The time has now come for us to go beyond the world-level formation and growth stages to the world level completion stage. This is why, when we unite completely and strongly, transcending race and nation, Satan has to leave. This result is based on the Principle. Though Satan can do whatever he likes in the formation and growth stages, he cannot simply do things as he pleases when we enter the completion stage.

15 Since arriving in the United States, I have already done many things that you might find incredible. Though technically I arrived three years ago, the duration of my actual stay here has been only one year and eight months. In light of this, how much influence do you think we will exert in the future? Our track record has already been proven in Korea and Japan, and even in Taiwan they acknowledge that we have attained this level. I established the Day of Celebration of Victory on the first day of July 1973, and then in less than a year I declared the Day of Victory over Resentment. These are the first two days established in the western world to commemorate heaven. I recently went to Korea as part of my responsibility here in the United States in order to link this worldwide fortune to Korea. You are hearing about this for the first time, and it is something you could not even have dreamed of. It is truly amazing that we have laid such a foundation through our own actions. We can confidently say that we can see with our own eyes that the world is our stage. I came to the United States and was successful. This was not my doing. It was done by God.

Madison Square Garden

From September 17 to December 23, 1974, True Parents continued the Day of Hope speaking tour in eight United States cities. Counting the 32 cities visited prior to that in 1974, these eight speeches constituted the final stage of True Father's 40-city speaking tour across the United States. In each city there was a banquet on the first day and a public speech the following day. Of providential note was the speech that filled Madison Square Garden; it was one of the largest indoor religious rallies in US history. The banquet given on the eve of the meeting, September 17, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel was attended by more than 1,700 prominent guests. The famous psychic and prophetess Jeane Dixon spoke words of appreciation for True Fathers message and work, while the media, including six television stations, vied for the best vantage point. At the providential address given at Madison Square Garden on September 18, some 5,000 folding chairs were added to the 25,000 theater-style seats, but even so at least 20,000 people could not enter. True Father passionately spoke on the subject "The New Future of Christianity."

16  Look at today's democratic world. We can see that the United States and Korea are in the positions of the Roman Empire and Israel. At the time of Jesus, the Roman Empire and Israel united to attack Jesus, and now Koreans and Americans are uniting to attack me. By being struck in this way, I can accomplish restoration through indemnity.

Being a democratic nation, however, the United States differs from Rome. Its constitution and infrastructure cannot eliminate Christianity; as a democratic nation it cannot eliminate people simply for what they say. Communist groups also will come with banners to oppose me. This is a global phenomenon. Christianity in America and Korea, American citizens and communist groups oppose me.

This sets the condition that the entire world is opposing me. However, no matter how much they oppose me, the vigor of the people who seek me will overpower them.

The Madison Square Garden rally, held on September 18, 1974, showed this clearly. Christianity, represented by the democratic world, and the Unification Church confronted each other, and the Unification Church emerged triumphant. This took us beyond the world level. Judaism and Rome killed Jesus, but they cannot kill the Unification Church or me, who stands in Jesus' position. Hence, we have been victorious. This is the moment a new history begins.