The name of the African has not been revealed, but he has toured throughout
the world lecturing in the guise of Heung Jin Nim. According to Kwak, "Heung
Jin Nim can (now) literaly live, speak, and work with members twenty-four
hours a day, following a schedual like that of Father (Rev. Moon), sleeping
very little, and always meeting with members."
Heung Jin Nim organized a series of special conferences in Africa. They
consisted of singing, prayers, confessions, and repentance. John Raineri,
a photographer with the "World And I", a sister publication of "The Washington
Times", a Unification Church-owned newspaper, said,
"(Heung Jin Nim) talks non-stop. I've seen him speak for three days straight;
he doesn't rest the whole time."
Four conferences were held in Africa, and others were planned in Greece,
Thailand, Columbia, England, France, the Far East, and America.
In November, 1987, the re-embodied Heung Jin Nim first met Rev. and Mrs.
Moon. Rev. Takaru Kamiyama, a Church leader, observed that he practically
jumped into his father's arms and embraced his mother. Several members had
been channeling messages from him, including students rom the Church's seminary
in Barrytown, New York. Four students were guided by Heung Jin Nim to pray
throughout the month of October (1987) "to prepare a foundation upon which
he could work at the Seminary." Other prayer groups were started and some
students reported receiving letters from Heung Jin Nim. The messages were
largely personal, but they also encouraged the spiritual vitality and commitment
of the students.
A Church elder asked Heung Jin Nim, "How can I tell which one (of the channelers)
is really speaking the truth?" He answered, "In the same of True Parents
(Rev. and Mrs. Moon), ask the person who is channeling, 'Do you come from
the realm of shimyung, the realm of the heart of True Parents?' If the person
says 'yes' three times, then he is for real."
At the conferences with Heung Jin Nim, members had individual meetings with
him. They reported that though these conferences were excruciating, they
were, none-the-less, cleansing. Heung Jin Nim often became violent with lapsed
members and even physically struck them. "The Chicago Tribune" (March 24,
1988) stated that a member was slapped repeatedly by Heung Jin Nim. Member
Kate Taubata, a friend of the person who was slapped, stated that, "He described
them as stinging slaps to the face causing him to see stars, (but) afterwards,
he felt good."
Member Victoria Clevenger said that "The standard was so strict that I know
Heung Jin Nim was absolutely serious about building a pure foundation for
heaven--no compromise. I felt overwhelming hope that my yearning for genuine
purity really could be fulfilled."
Some members were skeptical of Heung Jin Nim, of whether this African really
was, indeed, him. Even Heung Jin Nim's brother, Hyo Jin Nim, was initially
skeptical, yet he eventually accepted him. Rev. Kamiyama, too, was skeptical.
However, he, too, came to accept the African as Heung Jin Nim. He admitted
that by doubting, he was failing to unite in spirit with Rev. and Mrs. Moon
and with Hueng Jin Nim, and that he "had been completely disloyal to the
True Family, comitting the sin of rebellion." Kamiyama concluded that by
accepting Heung Jin Nim he could establish a spiritual foundation to accept
the Messiah.
Channeling within the Unification Church has largely subsided, but Heung
Jin Nim is still active. He plans further tours to America, Moscow, Pyong
Yang, and other places.
The case of Heung Jin Nim has brought to public attention the teachings
of the Unification Church about The Spirit World, and, especially, the influence
of spirit beings upon people on earth. Young Ooon Kim, professor emeritus
of theology at Unification Theological Seminary, has written that "Unification
theology does recognize astonishing new findings in the parapsychological
field." She acknowledges the contributions of J.B. Rhine, William James,
Arthur Conan Doyle, and the Society of Psychical Research to the field of
physical investigation. Kim wrote
"The Spirit World...is not a world of illusion which man cannot perceive.
This world can be clearly experienced for the objective and substantial reality
that it is; through spiritual senses we can perceive the spirit world."
The Unification teachings assert that a spirit world exists, and that we
go there at death. In that world, we grow todard the fullness and the completeness
of life. Through Heung Jin Nim, as well as in the history of spiritualism,
physical research, and in contemporary channeling, that truth has again come
to light.