1) Who Determines the Spouse?

From the viewpoint of the Principle of Creation, God and the parents created the spouse. Therefore, in following the law of re-creation, it is essential that God and father and mother, not ourselves, select the spouse. It is our covenant, following heavenly law, to accept that our husband or wife will emerge from there. This is the Unification Church's standard of marriage. Therefore, in the Unification Church, following the Principle, God and then Father are supposed to select your spouse. Your fathers and mothers who live in the fallen world do not know the Principle. They do not know. They do not follow any rules. Do you understand?

But Rev. Moon of the Unification Church knows the standard that can establish the order centering on this Principle, and the covenant which must be followed to fulfill the law of heaven. This is the theory of the ideal of creation, and, following this standard, centering on this ideal, your Blessing will be under God's protection. In this way, Father, as the True Parent and representing your parents, can proceed correctly with your Blessing. This is Unification Church's view of marriage.

There absolutely should not be anyone who arbitrarily chooses a spouse as he or she pleases. The Lord at the Second Advent is the only person who has inherited from God the authority to determine the spouse. Therefore, when the person who has the authority to decide the ideal spouse appears, the more a person is close to his original mind, the more he will be led unconsciously and heartistically to accept that person's choice when he stands in front of him.

When receiving the Blessing, if anyone has a person to whom he wishes to be matched, and thinks in his mind, "I would like to be matched with this one," he is insulting God. That is to repeat the same action as Adam and Eve falling in the Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve fell at the top of the growth stage, they did not know with certainty that they were to become each other's spouses. They were not sure. Without knowing, they unwittingly brought about that result through Satan's temptation. You must move away from that road.

So can anyone go to the Blessing knowing his own spouse? Can he go forth having already decided beforehand his own spouse? Heaven is supposed to decide the spouse and the parents are supposed to decide. God, who is Adam's father, is supposed to decide. Seen from this viewpoint, the traditional Korean marriage ceremony corresponds to the law of heaven. In that tradition, you absolutely cannot marry without the consent of the parents. This is absolute.

Therefore, those sons and daughters who have in mind some persons they would like to marry should report right away to their parents. Before saying that they like someone, they should receive the parents' approval. When the parents approve, it is all right to make friends with that person. It is not a sin to become friendly with someone after reporting about it. But unreported relationships cannot be recognized.

The people of the world say that in the Unification Church even marriage is done by dictatorship. But so what if it is dictatorship? There cannot be two heavens. If there is only one country and not two, is that a totalitarian nation? No one besides you people can stand here.

Despite the variety of today's philosophies, the origin is only one. The shape of the society is determined by whether the guiding thought is religious or materialistic. When each claims absoluteness, that is dictatorship, because neither society can accommodate the thought of the other. But, in fact, their origin is only one. In the Unification Church's view of history in Unification Thought, the two ideologies began from one, and are destined to unite and become one.

This is true even as a consequence of the content of the dual characteristics in the Principle of Creation. So why is it dictatorship when two persons become one and are happy? This marriage is not being done for the benefit of the Unification Church's Rev. Moon. It is being done for the benefit of each other. It is absolutely not being done for the benefit of myself but for the benefit of those whom I face and join in marriage. It is being done for the benefit of all people. How, then, is it dictatorship?

If a child is born as a Korean, when feeding, you must give him or her Korean food. You would not wish to feed the child all kinds of food from different countries of the West. Since it was born as a Korean, it is natural to provide Korean food. This is certain. Until he is grown up he must eat Korean food. You who are being raised in the realm of the Principle must eat Principle food. Therefore, don't ever hold the idea that this is dictatorship. You should not have that thinking. If you have that idea, Father feels most insulted.

I have a headache over those who gossip behind my back. Those who are matched with that attitude are finished. They are going against the heavenly law. Only heaven can decide a person's spouse. Therefore, there should not be any people with that attitude.

In this matching event, which happens only once in a lifetime, what kind of relationship should each person make with God? This is the important question. This issue is between you and heaven. If you are a man, it is an issue between man and heaven, and if you are a woman, it is an issue between woman and heaven. Moreover, in the Unification Church, it is an issue of how to make relationship with Father. Between Father and a man, it is an issue between that one man and Father. Also in the case of a woman, the relationship between Father and the woman is a serious matter of personal concern.

Without solving that problem, you will not be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Why? Because the Fall was caused by Adam and Eve's deciding matters by themselves. That was the cause of what became everlasting sorrow and regret. If that was the basis of the Fall, then in order to indemnify this, you must solve the problem of your relationship with Father. But until now the solution has not come about.

That is why we are giving our pledge in this place. Standing obedient to the will of God, a question and answer process occurs. After the question and answer ceremony and the Blessing, you must work hard. But some people gather around and chat, gossip and whisper, saying things about this and that. People who whisper like that are pitiful. At this occasion there absolutely should not be any whispering. You women sitting there, sitting at the far end of the room, don't gossip in vain about others, saying this person is like this and that person is like that. I despise that the most. If there is a family who does that and steps beyond the general principles of conduct, that family will come to a bad end. God will not help such a person, for he or she is in the position of an archangel.

The place of Blessing is the most precious place. The time of Blessing comes about only once in a lifetime and its results last through eternity. In that most precious place, you must decide to go over this barrier with the most precious person by absolutely following the True Parents. Then heaven will come down in this place. In this way you must become the most valuable, substantial being who was molded by heaven and stands before heaven. To decide the most noble thing by oneself is to go against the Principle. You must know that because this was not done well, the sorrow of heaven has persisted even until now. For us, who are in the position to go forward by indemnifying this, how we come to find this precious position is the most serious issue. Until now, the Blessed couples have been vague about this concept.

What will happen in the future when there will be Blessings for the whole world? The right to give the Blessing will be passed to you. When the father transfers what he owns to his son, it is comparable to the rightful heir supervising all the yield of the harvest. No matter how young or youthful the heir is, he is the one who will supervise and control. Likewise, when the inheritance is passed on, it does not matter who is better or worse. When Father hands down this authority in the future, even if that heir is crippled, people must receive the Blessing from that person. That time will come. You must realize this, and you must know that this place of Blessing is the place where the most valuable relationship is decided and is a place which comes about only once in your lifetime.

Is the reason that young people from all around the world entrust Father with choosing their marriage partners because of their faith, or respect, or trust? Which is it?