It is clear that Dave Fiedler purposefully titled this book "Hindsight" because he was aware of the human temptation to look back at history and judge those who made wrong decisions in history. I had a number of times when I was close to tears and I wished I could get a time machine to take me back to those days and shout and tell some of these individuals in our history that "Ladies and Gentlemen stop being arrogant, prideful or divisive. Come on! The lives of millions on this earth depend on you making the right decisions." But then again, I'm looking with "hindsight." I hope I (and anyone else today) can take Dave Fiedler's advice that we need to learn from the mistakes of those who lived before us.
This book gives a very clear picture of the history of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, its successes and even its terrible failures. I must say that the greatest lesson I got from learning the history of this church is that of the truthfulness of Ellen G. White's inspired prophetic gift. Some of her friends became her enemies and some doubted her. But it is clear that the path she promoted ended out to be the correct path. Said in another way, individuals and the church experienced terrible consequences for taking a different path than she told the church to follow. The pain and lost victories of opposing or ignoring her can still be seen today. I will be as bold as to say that the promises of Deuteronomy 28:1-14 would have been given to this church but unfortunately we refused to listen, or 'innocently' ignored her, or simply were negligent to find from her writings the best course to take.
It is said that:
- Daniel was ten times wiser than any of the wisest and was given top positions in both Babylon and Persia,
- Solomon was the wisest person in the world,
- Pharaoh could not think of a wiser person to take charge of governing the greatest kingdom of that day than Joseph
God promised that those who obey him will achieve great heights in life. When one considers:
- the worldwide impact of Dr. John H. Kellogg's career and his sanitarium which became a world-known health center at which even nobility from Europe came,
- how Ellen G. White's health principles led to the creation of the Kellogg Company (a $12 billion company) and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation (a $9 billion foundation) (both launched by W. K. Kellogg an Adventist and Dr. John H. Kellogg's brother). Click here (wikipedia.com), here (www.kelloggcompany.com), or here (www.kelloggcompany.com) to read a short description of how W. K. Kellogg launched both the company and the foundation.
- the impact of Ellen G. White's health principles. Even though she didn't finish elementary school her writings have caused scientists to recognize Seventh-Day Adventists as among three of the longest living groups in the world. Watch the following CNN video for more information.
Maybe one day Adventists will recognize that they are sitting on gold! Come on friends! It's now time to read those Ellen G. White books.
Click here to buy a copy of the book Hindsight: Seventh-Day Adventist History in Essays and Extracts by Dave Fiedler
