True Family

True Family is a term used by the members of the Unification Church to describe the family of Sun Myung Moon and his wife Hak Ja Han (or Hakja Han Moon). ["Hakja Han Moon" is a Westernized version of her name that she has used publicly for speeches and similar events. In Korea a wife does not take her husband's family name (although the children take their father's). Also, in Korean custom, as in Chinese, a person's family name comes first. So Rev. Moon's name Korean style is Moon Sun Myung ("mun son-myong", 문선명, 文鮮明), and Mrs. Moon's is Han Hak Ja. (The spellings may differ depending on the system used to transliterate the Korean language.)] Unification Church members regard Reverend Moon as the Second Coming of Christ, and he and his wife as the "True Parents" of humankind, who have realized the ideal of true love as the incarnation of God's Word. The members of the Unification Movement generally address or refer to Rev. and Mrs. Moon as "Father" and "Mother" or "True Father" and "True Mother." Their children are known as the "True Children."

Rev. and Mrs. Moon's family

The True Parents

* Rev. Sun Myung Moon ("True Father" to members; "Father Moon" to some outsiders) - founder
* Mrs. Hakja Han Moon ("True Mother" to members; "Mother Moon" to some outsiders) - founder's wife and officially-designated immediate successor. Their marriage in 1960 is referred to as the "Marriage of the Lamb." [ [http://www.unification.org/ucbooks/Mspks/2004/20040127_1.html Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon Founder's Address] : "The Messiah and True Parents." World Summit on Leadership and Governance, Congratulatory Banquet. Shilla Hotel, Seoul, Korea. January 27 2004.

"The 'Marriage of the Lamb' that the Book of Revelation in the New Testament speaks of is none other than the ceremony by which the Messiah receives a bride and forms a union of true husband and wife. If Judaism had received and attended Jesus at that time, then the world of God's earnest desire, the world of His original ideal of creation, the peaceful Kingdom of Heaven, would have been realized on the earth at that time through Jesus' kinsmen. As it was, the True Parent providence intended to be fulfilled by Jesus, the second Adam, was thwarted midway by the faithlessness of those who had been chosen. As a result, humankind was forced to wait for the Second Coming of the Messiah. Heaven though, had mercy yet again on pitiful humankind. Heaven gave its blessing for the Messiah of the Second Coming to appear on the foundation of the spiritual restoration Jesus carried out throughout the 2,000 years of Christian history. The returning Messiah comes with the incredible burden of completing the mission of True Parents."

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Rev. Moon and Mrs. Moon are regarded to have achieved the status of True Parents on January 1 1968, at the end of their "7-year course" of marriage together, representing the perfection of God's masculine and feminine aspects. Unification theology teaches that Jesus achieved this perfection only on the individual level (a lesser accomplishment than that of Sun Myung Moon and Hak Ja Han Moon, they believe that had Jesus not died on the cross he would have married, together they would have become "True Parents" and created a "True Family" and they would save humanity and perfect the world. Unfortunately Jesus was unable to complete his mission of perfecting the world and went the way of the cross, but his death was not a complete defeat because Jesus died for our sins giving us spiritual salvation).

The primary mission of True Parents is to engraft all people on earth and in the spirit world to the original sinless lineage of God, removing them from the satanic lineage established at the fall of humanity (the original sin in the Garden of Eden).

The True Children

* Yejin Moon - daughter, born 1960. Left the church. [ [http://www.tparents.org/Library/Unification/Talks/Avery/Avery-faith.htm Line of Faith] , by Scott Avery, January 3, 1999.] ["Do As I Preach, and Not As I Do", "TIME", Asian Edition, September 28, 1998, Vol. 152, NO. 12.] [Hong, Nansook. (1998). "". Little, Brown. (ISBN 0-316-34816-3) p. 203.] ["Telegraph", November 5, 1995, cited in "Fair News", Summer 1996.]
* Hyo Jin Moon - son, born 1961 (died 2008 of heart failure). Musician; long-term problems with substance abuse, infidelity, and violence.
* Hae Jin Moon - daughter, born 1964 (died in infancy).
* InJin Moon - daughter, born 1965. Toured with Mrs. Moon and Nansook Hong giving public speeches; wrote [http://www.savebohipak.org/english/contents.htm?no=13 open letter] to members regarding Bo Hi Pak.
* Heung Jin Moon - son, born 1966 (died 1984, car accident). Called "king of the spirit world" by Rev. Moon; "channeling" of him by mediums was prominent in the late 1980s, see especially the "Black Heung Jin Nim."
* Un Jin Moon - daughter, born 1967. Olympic equestrian. Left the church. Appeared on 60 Minutes with Nansook Hong to support her story.
* Hyun Jin Moon - son, born 1969. Businessman, youth leader, Olympic equestrian.
* Kook Jin Moon - son, born 1970. More commonly known as Justin Moon; businessman and firearms designer. Owns and operates Kahr Arms, a U.S. small arms manufacturer.
* Kwon Jin Moon - son, born 1975.
* Sun Jin Moon - daughter, born 1976.
* Young Jin Moon - son, born 1978 (died 1999, fell off balcony, ruled suicide by police).
* Hyung Jin Moon - son, born 1979. Author of "The Bald Head and the Strawberry" and 2 other books. Incorporated some Buddhism practices.
* Yeon Jin Moon - daughter, born 1981. Documentary film maker; was contestant on Survival of the Richest.
* Jeung Jin Moon - daughter, born 1982.

The spouses of all the above are also considered part of the True Family, along with other children from Rev. Moon's previous marriages (and their spouses)

Other members of the True Family

* Soon Ae Hong - born February 22 1914 (who members know by the title "Dae Mo Nim," which means "Exalted Mother") - Mrs. Moon's mother (died Dec 1989). Medium Hyo Nam Kim is said to have been channeling her since the mid-1990s at the Cheongpyeong Heaven and Earth Training Center in Korea.
* Nansook Hong - ex-wife of eldest son Hyo Jin Moon. Left the church and retained custody of their five children; author of tell-all book, "" (ISBN 0-316-34816-3).
* Julia Moon - wife (posthumous wedding) of Heung Jin Moon. Born Hoon Sook Pak, oldest daughter of long time major leader and key aide Bo Hi Pak. Prima ballerina and General Director of Universal Ballet in South Korea.

Family environment and child raising

The family environment in which the True Children were raised has been described as "lavish" [Hong, Nansook. (1998). "". Little, Brown. (ISBN 0-316-34816-3)] and as one of "luxury and privilege." [ [http://www.portfolio.com/careers/features/2007/09/17/Unification-Church "Money, Guns, and God" by Christopher S. Stewart, "Conde Nast Portfolio", October 2007]

They are called the True Children, and they have lived their lives accordingly. “The Moon kids acted like royalty,” Graham Lester, who was a member of the Unification Church from 1979 to 1995, tells me....

Home for the True Family was a guarded 18-acre mini-castle in Irvington, New York, a tony suburb located along a sweep of the Hudson River. Named East Garden, after Eden, the estate included two smaller houses and a three-story brick mansion with 12 bedrooms, seven baths, a bowling alley, and a dining room equipped with a waterfall and pond. There were other castles and mansions too—in South Korea, Germany, Scotland, England—and few expenses were spared. The children had tutors from Japan, purebred horses, motorbikes, sports cars, and first-class vacations with blank-check spending. “The kids got whatever they wanted,” says Donna Collins, who grew up in the church. “At one point, the Moon kids were each getting $40,000 or $50,000 a month for allowance. They had wads of cash. I remember once in London where [one of Justin’s sisters] spent like $2,000 a day; I saw a drawer filled with Rolexes and diamonds.”

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In her 1998 book "", Nansook Hong (ex-wife of Sun Myung Moon and Hak Ja Han's eldest son Hyo Jin Moon), who lived with the Moon family for 15 years, reported that the True Parents and the True Children were not very close. During an interview for "60 Minutes" she explained that, for example, the younger children don't really speak Korean and Sun Myung Moon isn't really able to speak English, so they can't communicate well; Donna Collins, the first "Blessed Child" born in the West, also interviewed for 60 Minutes, said that in her observation even the relationship he had with his older children was never particularly intimate. [ [http://video.aol.com/video-detail/nan-sook-hong/1354477572 Nansook Hong on "60 Minutes"] . Includes other interviews. Donna Collins and Un Jin Moon also interviewed.]

Rev. Moon has said that his mission to save the world came first, explaining at some length. [Rev. Moon said::My sons and daughters say that their parents think only of the Unification Church members, especially the 36 Couples. I eat breakfast with the 36 Couples, even chasing my own sons and daughters away. The children naturally wonder, "Why do our parents do this? Even when our parents meet us some place, they don't really seem to care for us."

:It is undeniable that I have loved our church members more than anybody else, neglecting even my wife and children. This is something that heaven knows.

:If we live this way, following this course in spite of our children's opposition and neglecting our family, eventually the nation and the world will come to understand. Our wives and children will understand as well. This is the kind of path you have to follow.

:The family foundation must rest on the basis of the nation and church. But the foundations of the nation and church were lost. Without them it was impossible to lay the foundation for the family. Because of the opposition of the Korean government and established churches, my family was shattered. Because I knew that my family was destined to be broken, I did not do anything to help them. I did not care for my family for seven or eight years. I heard all kinds of rumors, but I didn't even write any letters to tell them what kind of activity I was involved in or how I was living.

:Why? Because I knew the heavenly principle, that if you cannot fulfill your responsibility, your sons and daughters will have to assume the burden. Until I fulfilled that responsibility, I dedicated myself to the public mission by staying away from my family until a condition was set for heaven to support them. [http://www.unification.net/gww/gww-34.html "God's Will and the World"] , Rev. Sun Myung Moon, May 1 1981, Seoul, Korea.]

References

Source for True Children's birth dates: Coman, K., [http://home.att.net/~newlineage/ "True Parents' Immediate Family"]

External links

* [http://www.geocities.com/unificationism/ An introduction to Unificationism (new religious movement led by Sun Myung Moon and Hakja Han Moon)] including both support and criticism from current and former Unificationists.
* [http://www.trueloveking.net Supportive website about Rev. and Mrs. Moon, including biographical information on some of their children.] On oldest son Hyo Jin Moon's page; however, "no mention" is made of his 9-year marriage to Nansook Hong or of their 5 children together.
* [http://video.aol.com/video-detail/nan-sook-hong/1354477572 Nansook Hong: interviews] . Local and national news shows on television. Includes "60 Minutes" segment where Hong explains experience with ex-husband Hyo Jin Moon and living with the True Family. Appearance by Un Jin Moon.