The process of publishing the new Cheon Seong Gyeong, Pyeong Hwa Gyeong and Cham Bumo Gyeong

We have just completed the translation and publishing of two new scriptural works in English. They were dedicated to God at the second anniversary of True Father’s ascension, and they will now be available to members around the world.

True Parents ordained that three volumes be created for this era when Cheon Il Guk has been announced and must be completed. The first is Cheon Seong Gyeong, which could be translated as “the holy scriptures of heaven.” As this work is composed on many short extracts from the range of True Father’s teachings, it might be compared to an impressionist painting, where many small dots of paint make up the image. Yet the overall effect is a complete picture. The second is Pyeong Hwa Gyeong, which could be translated as “scriptures of peace.” It is a selection of 178 of Father’s and Mother’s complete speeches. A third volume, Cham Bumo Gyeong, “True Parents’ scripture,” which will feature True Parents’ own story, is still undergoing final preparations in the original Korean.

During the ceremony to mark the publication of the new Cheon Seong Gyeong and Pyeong Hwa Gyeong in Korean, on June 10 last year, Mother said of Father’s teachings, “I am immensely happy to see that True Father’s teachings are no longer scattered, but are like beautiful gems that have all been threaded together.” The volume has been created as a reference for the enlightenment of anyone wishing to study Father’s teachings in his own words.

Unique Qualities

The new book is not a reedit of the original Cheon Seong Gyeong, therefore; it is really a new book. Even though the underlying themes are largely similar, many new extracts were selected with great care by the compilation committee under 36-couple elder rev. Young Hwi Kim. For those reading translated texts, it is content never seen before. The aim is to convey the full range of True Father’s teaching. The work therefore includes content not only from the early years of Father’s ministry but right through to the final crucial decade of Father’s earthly life — during which many providential milestones were reached.

The work is enhanced by the inclusion of a selection of True Father’s prayers from the earliest recordings of Father’s words (1956) to Father’s final redemptive prayer just weeks before he ascended. These are the words Father spoke not to us as his followers, but to God, as a son to his father, his Heavenly Parent. From that point of view alone, these are remarkable to have in writing, but they also reveal many new aspects of the mission Father has striven to fulfill and they explore aspects of his teachings unexpressed elsewhere.

Notably, a section is also devoted to extracts from talks given by True Mother during the months following Father’s ascension. This is a record of her earliest guidance and expression of resolve as the sole True Parent on earth.

How the Work Was Done

Around Foundation Day, in February last year, when the Korean versions of Cheon Seong Gyeong and Pyeong Hwa Gyeong were offered to God, True Mother requested that work on an English translation begin.

Finding exemplary translators is more difficult than you might suppose. Ideally English-speaking native Koreans with much experience listening to Father and reading his words would work together with native speakers of English, and do the initial translations together.

Father uses many unique terms, so translators have to develop specialized vocabulary and familiarity with Father’s speaking style. We constantly discussed the best way to render certain concepts and sought help from experts both in Korea and overseas. We developed a translation glossary that we hope will become a guide to translating Father’s words. And we aim to incorporate all this in translation memory software that will reduce the time and effort required for such tasks.

The translators worked very hard to complete the initial translation. Then the task became to both recheck the translation and edit for excellent English. We are using American English as the standard for these translations. Each nation needs to develop its expertise in translating, and writing beautifully, what True Father said and taught.

Ownership of the project needed to be taken by the American church for the sake of the future. Our U.S. members have worked for our professional media, at publications such as the Washington Times, so there is a foundation of editing expertise. Some thirty part-time editors assisted with this task, headed up by Dr. Tyler Hendricks.

There is always the need to write the text in a way that expresses Father’s passion, while remaining true to the meaning of his words. That is no easy task, and many hours were offered by devoted editors, and by those who worked to check the accuracy of the finished text. One expert team, consisting of a translator and a UTS professor devoted many months to check and improve the most challenging parts of Cheon Seong Gyeong.

It took seventeen months to translate and edit the two scriptural works with a total of 3,300 pages. This work is like translating the bible because of the depth of the teaching, and because of the linguistic challenges. We have tried our best. God certainly guided us along the way. For example, we had the benefit of special assistance from the Cheongshim Graduate School of Theology, whose president, Dr. Jin Choon Kim, and professors gave their time to discuss challenging theological and linguistic issues.

With just a few months remaining, True Mother placed the project under the church publications and media offices director Seog Byung Kim. I felt God was clarifying his priorities. This was the end game. Everything accelerated, and every step from that point was under strict micro-deadline, down to the day. I had to understand that time in God’s providence is of the essence, maybe the most important factor.

We were instructed to send the text of both Cheon Seong Gyeong and Pyeong Hwa Gyeong, divided into chapters, out to the district headquarters of the church in the United States and Great Britain. These booklets were read by members all over America (and the UK), and they sent them back with suggested improvements. Everyone who participated made improvements that are now in the finished text. It was like a spiritual condition for the English speaking members to participate in this historic work.

The course concluded with teams of two or three people (each) reading the entire text of the two scriptural works aloud. God shone his light on this work: as if by coincidence, an exceptionally capable group of linguists and editors happened to be here in Korea at precisely that time — and amazingly, they had time and unique, perfectly complementary talents to offer.

Deadlines are a feature of God’s providence and they allow us to experience God’s guiding presence. The experience also made clear to us the need to continuously develop our expertise, as a movement, in the field of translating and expressing True Parents’ teachings in languages other than Korean. The future looks bright. As these works are gradually translated into the many languages of the world, they will open the way for Father’s revelation and thought to be studied by individuals, and in the universities, in nations throughout the world.