Authors
The Holy Wedding and True Mother
Jesus approached Earth to bring an end to the history that had resulted from the Fall of Adam and Eve, and to restore the world to God's ideal of creation.
However, due to the disbelief of the chosen people of Israel and the Jews of that time, he was unable to fulfill the Will. He ascended to heaven, leaving behind the promise that he would come again. Following in Jesus' footsteps, the True Father took up the mission of the Messiah. He began his public ministry on August 15, 1945, the day Korea regained its independence.
True Father tried to make unity with Christianity in the early days of his course. However, when that course was frustrated due to Christians' disbelief, he had to lay the foundation for a new providential church representing Christianity. For this, he endured great tribulations as he walked the course of indemnity to restore the conditions for the Three Blessings. On May 1, 1954, and Seoul, he founded the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (HSA-UWC). Thereafter, he walked a seven-year course to restore through indemnity the entire New Testament Age.
Since True Father had surmounted a total of 40 years of indemnity, counting from the time of his birth, he succeeded in separating Satan from his course.
Then, on April 11, 1960, he and True Mother held their glorious Holy Wedding Ceremony. Thereby they became the first human ancestors, husband and wife, in front of God.
1. Jesus died on the cross 2,000 years ago, unable to fully accomplish his mission.
Today, 2,000 years later, True Parents must fulfill what Jesus wanted to fulfill. Jesus wanted to fulfill it in his time based on the Jewish people, but he could not.
Now at this second attempt, we must substantiate the union of True Father and True Mother centered on the worldwide foundation of Christianity. Without establishing this foundational point, you cannot become true sons and true daughters of God's direct lineage. The ideal of the Second Advent is to set the standard for humankind to be connected to God's lineage. The goal of the Second Advent is also to have a true family, for it is with such a family that heaven's way can begin. With it, true love and happiness can commence. (019-104, 1967/12/31)
2. When something is broken, bringing it back to its original condition requires that it be repaired. The world wants to be made new. The nation, the society, and the individual all want to be made new. People want to be made new as God's sons and daughters. Jesus came as the new Son, so there had to be a new Daughter.
However, Jesus was killed before he could find this new Daughter. That one Mother was the hope of the whole universe. Jesus' path to find her was full of hardship and persecution. His situation was miserable. He was persecuted and chased from field to field and from town to town. Jesus tried to accomplish God's Will by finding her through Joseph's family his family from David's tribe, but he could not. So he left his home and followed a course of public life for three years, still searching for her. (019-161, 1968/01/01)
3. The fact that at present you cannot see God's face makes it seem as if you are still living in the womb.
Your situation is that you have yet to be born. This means you must be born again. Because the providence of spiritual salvation has already been accomplished, people can be reborn spiritually.
However, this will not suffice. You need to be reborn in both spirit and flesh.
In the future, the Lord will return, but he will come as the True Parent. He will come to earth in the flesh as the Father of humanity. He will come in the flesh as the Bridegroom, and from among the people, he will find his Bride and establish her as the True Mother of humankind in the flesh. Then, finally, the unfallen True Parents will emerge. Because Adam and Eve fell, the True Parents were lost.
Hence, people today are descended from the fallen parents, not the unfallen True Parents.
The Lord has returned to the flesh, to the providence of restoration, to complete the mission of the True Parent. He comes up with, the truth about the history of the Human Fall. With this truth, he must fully resolve this problem: when people have only the foundation of Jesus' spiritual salvation, Jesus cannot give them birth as sons and daughters who can achieve perfection in both spirit and flesh.
(012-228, 1963/05/15)
4. Jesus came to earth as the Second Adam. The Holy Spirit, as the Second Eve, was unable to assume a body. If you were to go to the spirit world, you would see that the Holy Spirit is the Mother Spirit of God.
When Jesus returns to earth in the flesh, the woman whom he takes as the Bride must meet the qualifications, as stipulated by the Principle, to be the Bride. This requires that she knows all aspects of the heavenly way. It requires that she looks forward to the Returning Lord's coming and prepares to welcome him. These are the conditions she needs to, prepare herself to establish the one God-centered family, nation, and world. This is her responsibility as the Bride. That is also why, as we entered the 1960s, the women's movement began and is developing throughout the world.
No matter how many people there are on earth, they are all descendants of the Fall. They were all born from the evil, fallen lineage. Therefore, a true woman must emerge who can love them as their True Mother. As the Last Days draw near, the time is approaching when such a woman will appear. This is why, to prepare the environment, women's movements are springing up worldwide.
We have now arrived at a time when many women can surpass men. The Last Days can be the time when women can restore the Fall, and these women in the realm of grace can come forward and represent the heavenly Eve. Today it is not just a matter of women's liberation; women can stand in such a position. Therefore, the True Mother must appear during this time. We must be able to attend this Mother on Earth son-and-daughter Humankind has been trying to return to God, and as we enter the era when this can happen, the Bride must be established on Earth. (016-182, 1966/03/22)
5. The Unification Church is the first parent-type religion. Religion began with the servant religion and has progressed to the adopted-child religion, the stepchild religion, the son-and-daughter, religion, and then the mother religion.
God has been ever looking for the mother. God, the masculine subject partner, has had no partner. He needs a female object partner. She is His partner, and at the same time, she is the queen of earth. She is the queen of the tribes and queen of the families. She stands as the grandmother of all ancestors, the mother of all humankind, the wife of God, and the daughter of God.
Mother is such a woman, with the value of the original True Mother. She is the queen of heaven, the queen of earth, the queen of the nation, the grandmother to her ancestors, the mother of humankind, the wife of God, and the daughter of God. Mother's value is found in all of these roles. (398-134, 2002/12/09)
6. Have you ever heard people say that they believe in salvation through the family? If you ask Christians who they believe in, they will answer, “I believe in Jesus.” Buddhists, too, would say that they believe in the Buddha, rather than in his family. However, in the future, a religion to save the family needs to appear.
This is True Parents' teaching, which is the true parent religion. The true parent religion will enable you to establish your four-position foundation and live your life as true parents. Then you as the father and mother become the saviors of your sons and daughters.
The Book of Revelation includes content concerning the work of restoration. This is one reason the Bible is great. Because of the principle of restoration, the core content of restoration was placed at the end of the Bible.
Revelation 22:17 reads, “The Holy Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.'
And let everyone who hears say, ‘Come.' And let everyone following thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.” Do you know whom the Bride and the Holy Spirit refer to? The Bride refers to the Lord's wife.
The Holy Spirit is only a spiritual being. Therefore, the Mother with both spirit and flesh needs to appear.
Jesus, the Father of humankind, is a man, so the Mother of humankind must be found among women.
When she is found, together they will save all humankind by guiding them to a new world. (021-050, 1968/09/01)
7. Mother, this woman whom I have married, is truly great. Her greatness does not come from a beautiful face but from a beautiful heart. Even her beautiful voice and her graceful manner are because of her beautiful heart. I am a teacher who teaches God's philosophy by actually living it. Because I am living according to the Principle, I praise Mother and promote her in front of the public on God's behalf. This is her the Principle. (229-224, 1992/04/12)
8. People throughout the world say that my wife is beautiful. I spent some time thinking about what makes a person truly beautiful. A beautiful woman is not someone who has a beautiful face. To be a truly beautiful woman, she must be beautiful in her heart. The beauty of such a woman will not diminish even after 1,000 years. Even after all that time, she will possess a refined and harmonious appearance. Such a woman can embrace her surroundings and bring out the best in any situation. Such a woman is the beauty of all beauties. Mother has that kind of beauty. That is why I think she is the beauty among beauties.
(220-175, 1991/10/19)
9. Mother is a woman of great wisdom. Furthermore, her eyes are magnificent.
When she smiles, I am completely mesmerized by her charming eyes. She has such beautiful eyes. I Nose like Mother's nose too. When she senses something good is coming, she laughs in such a way that her nostrils start to flutter. I am not sure if this is Mother's charm, but I tell you that, as her husband, it moves my heart.
Furthermore, if we encounter a grave or serious situation, Mother tries not to purse her lips to show that she is upset. When I see her wisely restraining herself like that, I find her lips even more beautiful. Mother also has a lovely demeanor.
Indeed, she has many great qualities. I think wives who possess these graces carry the secret keys to making all problems and making all things go well.
(127-093, 1983/05/05)
10. One of Mother's special qualities is that she is intuitive. This is an inborn quality. Further, whenever I ask her to do something, she makes a firm resolution to fulfill it. Then she never forgets that resolution until it is done. That is why she has been able to overcome every trial on her path. She has perseverance and patience for God's purpose. Another reason I am truly grateful to Mother is that she is giving.
She always wants to give away her most precious possessions, not only to our The also but so to all of you, at any time and without hesitation. I believe that this trait of her personality is a God-given gift. (092-329, 1977/05/03)
11. The two needed to give birth to at least 12 children within 20 years to completely restore Jacob's family through paying indemnity. Jesus' 12 disciples could not unite with each other.
What did they do? They abandoned Jesus, and one of them ended up selling him. Why did this happen?
One problem was that despite their brotherly ties, the disciples were from different tribes. There was a problem in Jacob's family because he had sons and daughters born to four different women. In my time, to overcome that problem, mothers gave birth to at least 12 children within 20 woman Mothers. Had she not succeeded in this, she could not have fulfilled her mission as True Mother.
From this standpoint, you can see that no one more than 20 years old could have fulfilled the position of True Mother. She had to be at most 18 or 19 years old. That is why at the age of 40 I married Mother who was just 17 years old. Just as I embarked on the path for the Will at the age of 16, a woman had to meet that standard at around the same age. Otherwise, she would have no way to bring about the liberation of women. (247-255, 1993/05/09)
12. Throughout history no woman has been willing to suffer through all kinds of miserable situations and still support her husband through even more difficulties, continually and without complaint.
If there were a woman who suffered through such hardships and then said, “Standing before the Will, I have nothing but gratitude,” that woman would be able to comfort us when we felt discouraged.
Such is the case with True Mother. At the point at which she started her life with me, she had to pay incredible indemnity for her objective. She had to avoid having any condition to be accused, whether from above or from below. It didn't matter that she was younger than 20 years old; if God permitted His objective partner to be someone of that age, that young woman had to be able to adapt to whatever difficult situation she might face.
That is why it was good that I found Mother among those who came from a solitary family background.
Mother came from a simple family. She had no father or older brother. She had only one person with her: her mother, Grandmother Hong, a woman who was willing to do anything for heaven. (121-212, 1982/10/27)
13. Mother was 17 years old at the time of the Holy Wedding. I was 40 years old. As a fully grown man, I received a young lady of 17 years as my wife and placed her in the position of True Mother. This was unacceptable according to the world, but I had to do it for the sake of my own. There was no other way.
Ever since I received her as Mother, I have been leading the providence with her. So when we were engaged, I explained everything about the path I had to follow, saying, “This is the way I must go.”
Mother respects me because whatever I do is by could not the providential program. I also gave her basic guidelines, saying, “If you are attacked in this way, you need to overcome it like this. If you are attacked in that way, you must do things that way.” Mother respects me because I do what I say I will do.
Even though the path is difficult, I overcome each obstacle and move forward. (236-109, 1992/11/03)
14. A month before the Holy Wedding, Father appeared to me in a dream and gave me a special revelation from God, “Be prepared, for that day is at hand.” More than a marriage proposal, it was a decree from heaven. When I received that decree, I was completely overwhelmed. Because at the time I could be deal with such a monumental matter, I had to empty myself. All I could do was pray. I responded while constantly keeping that revelation in mind, thinking, “O God, I have been living following Your Will. I will follow and do whatever You Will, maybe.
Whatever Your providential purpose for me, I will follow as You command.” I was 17 years old, and it was sometime in February. I would rather not analyze the situation at that time because I was making internal preparations by emptying myself. I only wanted to follow God's Will. (True Mother, 1977/05/03)
15. I know of a story from the line of my mother's family that seems like a legend. In the Jo clan of my maternal grandmother, Jo Won-mo, there is a record of a Maitreya statue from the time of our ancestor Jo Han-Jun. In 1991, when I went with Father to North Korea, I inquired whether this statue of the Maitreya was too.
I was told that it still exists to this day. According to this story, Jo Han-jun had a dream in which the Maitreya Buddha promised him that a princess from heaven would be sent to his descendants.
I was born into that loyal family in remembrance of this ancestor's devotion to the nation. My grandmother was born into that lineage, and my mother, Daemonim, was born from her. Thus, heaven began to work from the time of Jo Han-jun to prepare the environment in which I would meet the Messiah at his Second Coming and be raised as his partner.
From this, we can learn a lesson: Heaven will remember whatever conditions we make. This is why when I met Father I already understood what would be essential to my mission. Since I was born and grew up in the environment that God had prepared, I knew what I had to do and the mission I needed to accomplish.
The Holy Wedding of the True Parents
After True Father traveled the path of blood, sweat, and tears to indemnify Jesus' course, he was engaged to True Mother. She was the only daughter of Mrs. Hong Soon-ae (Daemonim), who devoted her entire life with complete dedication to serving and attending the Lord at his Second Advent. The engagement took place at the original Cheongpa-dong headquarters church in Seoul, at 4:00 in the morning on March 27, 1960 (1st day of the 3rd lunar month). Four days later, on March 31, Father officially decided to hold the Holy Wedding of the True Parents and the Blessing of three of their main disciples.
On April 11, 1960 (16th day of the 3rd lunar month), at 10:00 a.m. at the former headquarters church in Seoul, the historic Holy Wedding of the True Parents was held. More than 700 members were in attendance, invited from every church in Korea. There were two ceremonies: The first was the Ceremony to Restore the Parents through Indemnity, and the second, held immediately following the first, was the Ceremony for the Parents of Glory. (True Mother, 2012/12/25)
16. Mother and I were blessed in marriage in 1960, 14 years after the liberation of Korea. Why did it take 14 years? The ancestors of humankind fell at the completion level of the growth stage. Thus, based on the principle of restoration through indemnity, it, 4 years filled with persecution for me to take root in Korea and build an altar named the Unification Church. All of this was to place True Mother in her position. I had to do it even as we fought against the opposition of Christianity and the Republic of Korea.
With the establishment of True Mother, God could finally settle on earth. To achieve this, I set conditions to indemnify and resolve the problems in providential history that occurred in the times of Adam, Noah, Abraham, pay by, and thereafter. Although the Christian cultural sphere took over and dealt with all these issues, including establishing a nation and a people representing Israel that was prepared to receive me, when Christianity turned against me, it was as if the spiritual foundation that it had restored through paying indemnity for 2,000 years crumbled.
Therefore, when I found Mother 14 years after God called me, I was providentially in the same situation as when Jesus died on the cross. In other words, the Republic of Korea stood in the same position as Israel at the time of Jesus. Likewise, Christianity was in the same position as Judaism, and I and the Unification Church were in the same position as Jesus and the early Christian church. Since Jesus carried the cross because of persecution by the nation of Israel and Judaism, we had to battle through the same situation and win. We had to restore everything and pay, indemnity. (143-178, 1986/03/18)
17. I had to fight up to the last minute. The day before going to the wedding venue, I had to go to the police station and write an affidavit. Numerous betrayers made accusations against me. Just as Jesus' disciples betrayed him, and,12 previously faithful church members banded together against me. Individuals who had been on the side of the Unification Church began to oppose me, other churches opposed me, and the nation opposed me. Just as the nation of Israel, the leaders of Judaism, and Judas Iscariot banded together and killed Jesus, I was being driven toward a similar fate.
The date of the Holy Wedding was the 16th day of the 3rd lunar month in 1960.
That time marked the highest peak of opposition. I stood on the dividing line between moving one step forward or one step back, between life and death, between making a new start and not making one. In those circumstances, I managed to bring a new historic result.
On that day, God made the greatest proclamation in human history, the proclamation that will spread heavenly fortune to the world. It was the historic day that Jesus spoke about the day of welcoming the Bride. It was the day of True Parents' Holy Wedding. From that moment on, I could go on the offensive and take the first steps forward. Finally, I could begin resolving the problems we faced and move swiftly forward centered on God. (067-250, 1973/07/01)
18. On the path of restoration through paying indemnity, we must follow a law or formula that makes certain required conditions. Around the time the Holy Wedding was going to take place, some Unification Church members left the church. Twelve persons who had once been members of the church banded together and started opposing me, just as Jesus' 12 disciples opposed him. It was inevitable that I go through the same in the restoration process. The nation opposed me, trying to knock me down.
Christianity opposed me, and members who had left the Unification Church opposed me. Those three groups united in a fight to destroy me. From Satan's standpoint, the nation represented the formation stage, Christianity represented the growth stage, and the members who had left the church represented the completion stage. This is why Satan worked through them to attack me. (086-238, 1976/04/01)
19. For seven years, beginning in 1953, I prepared for the Holy Wedding. Around that time virtually everyone opposed me: the nation, Christianity, and even some members. In 1955, I was incarcerated, but even in prison, I fought to lay the foundation for victory. Then in 1957, I began preparing for the Blessing in earnest. I fasted for 40 days and exhorted the members to evangelize too, and lay a nationwide foundation. I went on the offensive and expanded our evangelizing activities throughout the nation. I raised the Unification Church to a new level.
In this way, by 1960 I had laid a nationwide foundation and made an impact on the nation. So, although I was opposed by the nation and by Christianity on the national level, I could proceed with the Holy Wedding. I had to conduct the Holy Wedding in circumstances similar to those of Jesus when he was arrested and made to go the way of the cross. Indeed, at the time of the Holy Wedding, the nation opposed me and Christianity opposed me. They were united against me. (111-199, 1981/02/20)
20. The Holy Wedding took place 15 days after the Engagement Ceremony. It began with the Ceremony to Restore the Parents through Indemnity. It was followed by the Ceremony for the Parents of Glory.
For the first ceremony, 12 attendants stood on each side of the aisle. I wore white traditional Korean attire (Chima-jeogori) and a long wedding veil. Father and I descended the stairs from the second floor together amid the echoing sounds of the choir singing “Song of the Banquet.” We then took our places at the front of the room. Following True Father's prayer and proclamation, representative members offered a congratulatory address and recited a poem of praise.
Soon, the second ceremony commenced. Father and I were dressed in traditional Korean wedding attire (samo-gwandae for the groom; hwal-ot for the bride) and headdresses. Father offered a pledge to God, and all members bowed four times to God and True Parents. We bowed three times facing each other.
Then we exchanged gifts and offered a final bow to each other. Representative members presented a gift and read a congratulatory address. True Father offered a second pledge to God, and the historic event concluded with Father raising his hands to offer a benediction upon everyone present. (True Mother, 2013/11/30)
21. Seven hundred members from around Korea were invited to attend the Holy Wedding. Father distributed tickets stamped with his seal to everyone who attended. He told them, “In the future, with this ticket, even a person who is supposed to go to hell can enter heaven.” I believe those words were meant to emphasize the preciousness of True Parents' Holy Wedding, and that Father wanted the people who were there to treasure the value of that moment.
The ceremonial table for the Holy Wedding had been prepared according to instructions revealed by heaven. It was a large table with 40 different kinds of food. Father and I ate together and the wedding festivities took place.
We changed out of our wedding attire and put on Korean traditional clothes. I danced merrily with Father.
After Father sang, he requested a song from me. He then chose some members to sing, and we all sang together.
The Holy Wedding was the ceremony that inaugurated the True Parents of humankind for the first time in human history, but it was held in a humble setting. Considering the providential value and significance of the occasion, all people of the world should have celebrated it, offering their congratulations and praising God. (True Mother, 2013/11/30)
22. O Heaven, may your Father the flag of victory! O Earth, may you offer the gift of joy in front of Heavenly Father! Heavenly Father, I know that on this occasion heaven and earth are together in oneness offering glory, glory, and infinite glory to You. May all future generations keep and cherish this auspicious occasion. Father, let the drums roll and let us march forward on and on into Satan's world to quickly bring back all of Your children to You as brave people who are restored.
I sincerely hope and pray that You will enable us to become children who can pledge and vow to commit ourselves with all of our hearts, and even our blood and flesh. Please welcome this daughter who was anointed here today, and guide her to become Your daughter who can sever all bitter sorrow and pain, by enabling her to wear the olive laurel wreath of victory. (150-113, 1960/03/27)
23. I can never describe the heart of God, who has been preparing everything for this day, the day of the Holy Wedding. I am so overwhelmed by our Heavenly Father's love, having sent me as His daughter to this place so that we can fulfill the Will and conclude 6,000 years of providential history. I just do not know what to say. Until the day when we have fulfilled the Will, I pledge that I will advance with your members in the oneness of heart and all aspects of life. (True Mother, 1960/04/11)
Dr. Sun Myung Moon