Dr. Ki Hoon Kim’s Message on the Cham Bumo Gyeong Project
Dr. Ki Hoon Kim, Continental Chair of FFWPU North America, addresses the Cham Bumo Gyeong Editors and Translators Team.
Good afternoon everyone. Once again, thank you so much for coming. This is an incredible opportunity. I know that every time Wonju McDevitt was around True Parents, even with many elder Korean brothers and sisters there, always, with no exception, True Father or True Mother asked Wonju to read. In the last five years, nobody challenged that. Whatever lectures True Parents chose for Hoon Dok Hwe (scripture reading) time, it was definitely a priority for Wonju to be there.
Wherever I go, I guarantee, one hundred percent, that these three Cheon Il Guk essential scriptures save the lives of each one of us. We have True Parents, but somehow physically and spiritually we are distant. The Cheon Seong Gyeong, Pyeong Hwa Gyeong and Cham Bumo Gyeong are our lifeline. If we have these, we are alive centering on True Parents.
I just came back from Korea and stopped by Las Vegas. I met some missionaries who had visited East Garden and Washington, D.C., and they shared some testimonies after Sunday service. One missionary dedicated five years of mission work in Las Vegas and some other country, but had never experienced East Garden. They only heard about East Garden, and about True Parents spending the last 40 years there. When they finally visited, they prayed at the Holy Ground and cried deeply. One 21-year old second generation Unificationist had a life changing experience when the East Garden staff gave their testimonies. That testimony change her life for the third time—first by her parents, second when understanding the Divine Principle, and this third time; it was a life changing experience. “These elder brothers and sisters at East Garden served and attended True Parents,” she said, “I have never had this experience yet.”
She had had a dream that, after her mission is over, she would go back to Japan, make money, receive the Holy Marriage Blessing and start a family like any other family does. However, after she came back from East Garden and had this kind of experience she determined, “I really want to be like those brothers and sisters,” so she said, “New York, East Garden, you have great hope for the sake of America as well as the sake of world and worldwide family members.” Anyone who came to East Garden could feel True Parents’ heart, True Parents’ love, with their prayers as well as these elder brothers and sisters who dedicated last 40 years for the sake of True Parents and True Parents’ family. Let’s give them big hand one more time.
This is, I really believe, a treasure. True Mother said, before she published the Cheon Il Guk scriptures, “I really want to make True Father’s speeches and messages a treasure, polish them again and publish them for the sake of humankind, as the jewel of jewels, treasure of treasures.” This was True Mother’s commitment before she initiated this Cheon Il Guk scripture project. We already have the Cheon Seong Gyeong and Pyeong Hwa Gyeong; now we are doing the Cham Bumo Gyeong, so we already had the experience once before of inputting the energy, getting a poor translation, and editing it to the correct English version.
True Mother went to Switzerland last year for two weeks, and when she was there she checked each chapter, each verse. I wondered how True Mother managed to check from the first chapter to the final chapter within two weeks.
Today, after Wonju McDevitt’s testimony, I can understand how she got from first page to the last page so quickly. In each section she checked what was right and what needed more editing. Many things came up, and the Korean translation editing team did wonderful job. They published the second and final version of the Cham Bumo Gyeong with the blessing of True Mother. Even at the last moment, in Hawaii last January, Wonju McDevitt spent every morning and afternoon checking this last chapter. For some chapters, True Mother gave her input on how to do it.
All these things we just completed two months ago, and then they published the final version of the Cham Bumo Gyeong. True Mother said, “The Cham Bumo Gyeong is the most crucial scripture among the three scriptures. Whoever reads this book, the Cham Bumo Gyeong, truly understands True Parents’ life, True Parents’ teachings, True Parents’ mission and how True Parents completed their mission. All in this one book, it leads us from the beginning of True Parents’ mission to how we relate with True Parents and live the rest of our lives.
True Mother is very clear. You know the Divine Principle, yes—this is the essential teaching of True Parents and our Heavenly Parent, a very precious book for new members and families—but the three Cheon Il Guk scriptures for Blessed Central Families, their eternal life, explains how we can understand the teachings of True Parents, how we can be together with True Parents, how we can work together to build the kingdom of heaven on earth and in heaven and how we can enter the kingdom of heaven, Cheon Il Guk. All these messages are in this book, the Cham Bumo Gyeong, so this is very essential. I’m really happy each one of you already spent time to translate this book the first time, and now we have the final Korean version with us. We really want your input again, as well as your prayer, your heart and your time. I am very happy about those who answered our call, came together and understand how precious this project is.
You are all elders, and you have been waiting for this time. True Father trained and educated you all this time. This is in our hands now: how can we save our family members, our friends, and save this struggling and suffering humankind? We have that kind of blessed and incredible foundation, centering on True Parents. True Parents spent 40 years here in this house. This place, this root, can provide spiritual power and a heart of true love of True Parents; we can inherit this house as well. From time to time, we like to come over here and discuss; however we have timeline, so let us all keep up this timeline and produce this final version of the Cham Bumo Gyeong in English in time to offer it at the upcoming third year anniversary of True Father’s Seonghwa ceremony.
I talked to Mr. Kim, Director of iPeace TV, who is managing this project. Without the English version, they cannot translate it into French, Spanish or any other language, so they are really praying for each one of us. They sent a name list of all the translators for Wonju to bring to True Mother for her blessing again. When True Mother comes to East Garden in late May, I really want you to come here and hear True Mother’s blessings and grace. Once again, thank you so much again for your support. This is an incredible effort each one of you is making, a new history of our church here and around the world.
Needlessly say, God’s message is important. John Chapter 1 said men were made by Logos (the word). So without the word, we cannot do anything. In Las Vegas, whenever True Father woke up and came to Hoon Dok Hwe at 5:00am, he always carried a message book with him. True Father and True Mother treated this message like most precious treasure, more precious than anything else. True Father was always like this; that’s how much they really took God’s message seriously. Think about it: they spoke. When you speak somewhere, not too many people read that message again and again, right? But with True Father, he spoke thousands of times and read these messages again and again. True Father and True Mother started their daily activities like this. I had the experience that, with this I can move, I can start today a good day, my day. We have that same mission to inspire people, to save peoples’ life.
This is a great opportunity to see each other face to face. We are not alone. When I go to meetings and Sunday service, I can awaken myself. I am not the only one thinking of True Parents; I have big brothers and sisters who are really dedicating themselves for the sake of God’s providence more than I do. This is our power. This is what we call family. We are True Parents’ family. Let us have True Mother’s kind of commitment, right away.
After True Father went to the Spirit World, I got many testimonies, even from ACLC pastors, asking how Mrs. Moon is doing. I got all kinds of letters over the past two years. Some widows are very sad and sorrowful, their life going down and feeling miserable, but the first thing True Mother said after True Father’s Seonghwa ceremony was over was, “I will publish True Father’s 1000-volume book for people to understand. I will re-polish this treasure.”
Now we read these scriptures every day for Hoon Dok Hwe. How precious is this? I got the answer to my every problem from this precious book. If we go to the first page of the Cheon Seong Gyeong, it’s very clear what to do. We get a very clear answer from there. We have all kind of answers from this precious message, True Parents’ message, God’s message and a revolutionary message—a revelation.
Once again, thank you so much. We are very precious brothers and sisters, and let us input our energy to polish this Korean version to English in the same spirit, same heart, and same love. Whoever reads this book can feel True Parents in this book. Thank you for your input and your effort. God bless you.