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My Grandfather, Great Grandfather, and on back through generations, have been Freemasons of the highest degree. There are currently SDAs who are Freemasons and in high levels of authority within the Masonic brotherhood. Too many people get paranoid about the brotherhood. It's not the Freemasonry that can be vicious or evil. It's specific people who would be so, with or without membership in the brotherhood....just like membership in *any* group. Even church groups.

There is NO NEED for every human being to have been "justified" or "saved" or "written in the Book of Life" - either before the creation, or at the moment Christ died. Every one will have the opportunity to RESPOND to the drawing - either during this "age", or during the 8th millennium. Most will resist, and will be "lost". If God were to transport little children or ignorant pagans into His eternal Kingdom, without their understanding or consent - THAT is mind control. THAT would be manipulation. It would by-pass their RIGHT to RESIST - their RIGHT to REFUSE. It would overpower their minds. My God is NOT a manipulator. That is why I believe the "rest of the dead" will be all of those who died in ignorance. They must be resurrected to HEAR, to be DRAWN, and to either respond or resist.

teresaq, I like your post. I have a slightly different viewpoint but I agree with you in what you say about the quote you gave about affliction. To me the ability to rejoice in affliction is related directly to faith. Why? Because it is faith that allows us to know without a doubt that "all things work together for good" in the lives of God's people. It is faith that allows us focus on where we are going rather than on the percieved difficulties of the path God has chosen for us. It is faith that allows us to know that the affliction of today leads directly to heaven and that whatever it is we face today God has given it to us as a blessing. It's not always easy to remember that in the here-and-now, but like Ellen White said, my paraphrase, we have nothing to fear except when we forget how God has led us in the past.

Bible reading makes liberals ..then I am in saintly company.

A teacher asked his class of 25 students to describe the school principal and by what pet name would they want him called. And he received 25 different descriptions of the same principal called with 5 different pet names. I think the fact that people describe God and call Him differently and end up with a conclusion there are many different Gods is any different from the conclusion that there are 5 different school principals.

AA