Does anyone remember Father saying that he was in competition to be the Lord of the Second Advent?

(Photo is NOT from 1973 at Belvedere – I is just nice to see Father happily telling a joke.)

In 1973 I was in the Second International 100-Day Training at Belvedere. Almost daily Father would come and speak to us.

One day, to my surprise, Father began talking about how he was in competition to be one to fulfill the mission of the messiah. I was floored. To me Father was THE ONE.

After Father’s talk I spoke about it with other attendees. No one had heard such a thing before. The idea that Father thought he was in competition with other messiahs was astounding.

Not just once, but for a week or so he spoke about the competition to be the messiah and then didn’t mention it anymore.

I recall him explaining that it is not just being chosen for a mission but fulfilling the mission that is important.

Father said that God planted a lot of messiah seeds hoping that one would bear fruit and that Father wanted to be the most successful seed.

Father said that he felt like he was in competition with Maharaj Ji, a teenage messiah from India who was holding Millennium ‘73 at the Astrodome stadium in Houston, Texas.

I remember being flabbergasted that Father thought that someone who wasn’t Korean could be the messiah.

My best guess is that this was in late May 1973. This was at the time Father spoke with his back to the garage doors at Belvedere, not facing them.

Later in the year, Father’s three days of speeches at Carnegie Hall started on October 1, 1973. Maharaj Ji’s three days at the Astrodome in early November.

Carnegie Hall filled more and more each of the three nights that Father spoke, but was never totally full. I believe that Carnegie Hall had three balconies. We filled the main floor and two balconies completely, but the third balcony was only partially filled. Father hid his disappointment.

That November Maharaj Ji’s event flopped. The Astrodome wasn’t even 1/3 full. I never heard Father speak of Maharaj Ji or messiah competition again.

Father’s talks at the 100-Day Workshop were recorded. However, the parts about Father being in competition to be the Messiah were never published.