“BELOVED, I wish above all
things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul
prospereth.”1
On Sabbath, June 6, 1863,
Elder White and his wife attended a tent-meeting held by Elders Cornell
and Lawrence in Otsego, Mich. Mrs. White was there given a vision which
opened before her the subject of health reform. From that time, articles
on health and healthful living were published in the Review, and she began
to write what had been revealed to her on health. Some of this appeared in
Testimony No. 11, and in a work entitled, How to Live.
The subject of healthful
living and its proper relations to physical, mental, and spiritual
development, was brought prominently before the people. In the Review of
Oct. 25, 1864, Elder J. N. Andrews made the following important
suggestions on the subject:-
J.
N. Andrews on Healthful Living
“To leave off every
injurious article of food, and to lead lives of temperance under the
influence of good instruction and of conscience toward God, are among the
things most essential to good health. Our bodies are the temples of the
Holy Spirit. That we may truly glorify him in our bodies as in our
spirits, how requisite that we possess in full vigor all the powers of our
physical being! Thank God that this subject is now being especially set
before our people. Health
1 3 John 2.
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and strength are among the
things most valuable to us, and of greatest consequence to those who shall
witness the grand events of the time of trouble.”
The subject of Bible
hygiene and Christian temperance was advocated, not only through the
columns of the Review, but by our ministers.
At the General Conference,
May 20, 1866, the following instruction was given through Mrs. White (the
same is found in Testimony No. 11):-
A
Health Institution to be Provided
“I was shown that we
should provide a home for the afflicted, and those who wish to learn how
to take care of their bodies that they may prevent sickness. . . .
“As unbelievers shall
resort to an institution devoted to the successful treatment of disease,
and conducted by Sabbath-keeping physicians, they will be brought directly
under the influence of truth. By becoming acquainted with our people and
our real faith, their prejudice will be overcome, and they will be
favorably impressed. By thus being placed under the influence of truth,
some will not only obtain relief from bodily infirmities, but will find
healing balm for their sin-sick souls.
Prediction of Results
“As the health of invalids
improves under judicious treatment, and they begin to enjoy life, they
have confidence in those who have been instrumental in their restoration
to health. Their hearts are filled with gratitude, and the good seed of
truth will the more readily find a lodgment there and in some cases will
be nourished, spring up, and bear fruit to the glory of God. One such
precious soul saved will be worth more than all the means needed to
establish such an institution. . . .
“Some who go away
restored, or greatly benefited, will be the means of introducing our faith
in new places, and raising
360
the standard of truth
where it would have been impossible to gain access had not prejudice first
been removed from minds by a tarry among our people for the object of
gaining health.”
It was decided by a
unanimous vote of our people assembled, that as soon as practicable a
health institution should be opened in or near Battle Creek, and that it
should be under the medical management of Dr. H. S. Lay, who had, in
addition to his former medical education, spent over a year at an Eastern
water-cure to learn the hydropathic methods of treating disease.
Site for a Sanitarium Purchased
The establishing of such
an institution at that time looked like a great undertaking; and had it
not been for this encouraging testimony concerning the result, there would
have been some delay in taking hold of the work. Instead of delay,
however, only a few days passed after the close of the conference before
the spacious dwelling house of Judge Graves, with eight acres of land,
constituting his beautiful place of residence in West Battle Creek, was
purchased. Adjoining this building a two-story addition was at once
constructed to serve as bath-rooms. In these buildings the Health Reform
Institute was opened.
In the Review of June 19,
1866, the first general call for stock in the institution was made. In
the same number of the paper a statement was made that stock had already
been subscribed by the churches of Battle Creek, Mich., and Olcott, N.Y.,
to the amount of $2,625, or 105 shares of $25 each. As there was no law in
the State of Michigan under which a corporation for managing health
institutions could be formed, the property was held in trust for a time,
until an incorporation could be effected.
A
Health Journal Started
The first of August there
was also begun by the managers the publication of a monthly health
journal, sixteen pages with
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cover, in magazine form.
This was called the Health Reformer. This journal is still continued,
under the name Good Health, and is now the leading health magazine of the
world. This journal not only treated on health and temperance principles,
but was also a means of advertising the health institution, which was
formally opened for patients and boarders on the 5th of September, 1866.
So here was the institution, purchased, equipped, and in running order
less than four months from the time the subject was first mentioned to our
people; and the sum of $11,000 was subscribed to stock, a large proportion
of which was already paid.
A
Medical Corporation Organized
During the winter of
1866-67 a law was passed by the Michigan Legislature under which a
corporation for managing the health institution could be formed. May 17,
1867, this step was taken, by-laws were adopted, and the real estate and
other property passed over to duly elected trustees. The whole amount of
stock subscribed up to that date was $26,100, of which $18,264.87 was
paid. The institution had a competent corps of physicians and helpers, and
the buildings were nearly full of patients, several of whom had already
embraced our faith, having learned of us as a people and of the truth
after coming to the institution.
Healthful Dress
In all ages and in all
countries the natural heart is susceptible to the influence of the world,
with its pride of life, its follies and fashions. The year 1863, in our
own land, when the health and dress question was shown to Mrs. White, was
not an exception, as will be seen by the infatuation of the ladies in
following the prevailing fashion of wearing hoops, the dimensions of which
made many of them look as if walking in an inverted balloon. About the
same time two other extremes in dress were introduced which excited much
362
discussion. A brief notice of these will, perhaps, prepare the reader to
better understand a testimony given by Mrs. White on the subject of dress,
found in Testimony for the Church, No. 10.
Extremes in Dress Condemned
The first extreme was that
of wearing dresses made with a trail, or train, from ten inches to half a
yard or more in length, according to the fancy of the wearer. These were
often left to drag upon the ground, and were denominated by the gentlemen
as “street sweepers.” The second extreme was exactly the opposite, and was
in a style as nearly like that worn by the men as possible. This fashion
was adopted by those following in the wake of Miss Bloomer, and hence was
called the “bloomer dress.” Finally the name was changed to the “American
Costume.” Conventions were held from place to place by the advocates of
this costume, and many of our sisters were in favor of adopting it. Some
did wear it.
A
Testimony on the Dress Question
Concerning what was shown
Mrs. White on the dress question, I will quote a few paragraphs from
Testimony No. 11:-
“God’s loyal people are
the light of the world and the salt of the earth, and they should ever
remember their influence is of value. Were they to exchange the extreme
long dress for the extreme short one, they would, to a great extent,
destroy their influence. Unbelievers, whom it is their duty to benefit and
seek to bring to the Lamb of God, would be disgusted. Many improvements
can be made in the dress of women in reference to health without making so
great a change as to disgust the beholder.
The
Reform Dress
“The form should not be
compressed in the least with corsets and whale-bones. The dress should be
perfectly easy
363
that the lungs and heart
may have healthy action. The dress should reach somewhat below the top of
the boot, but should be short enough to clear the filth of the sidewalk
and street, without being raised by the hand. A still shorter dress than
this would be proper, convenient, and healthful for women when doing their
housework, and especially for those who are obliged to perform more or
less out-of-door labor.
The
Body to be Evenly Clothed
“Whatever may be the
length of the dress, their limbs should be clothed as thoroughly as are
the men’s. This may be done by wearing lined pants, gathered into a band
and fastened about the ankle, or made full and tapering at the bottom; and
these should come down long enough to meet the shoe. The limbs and ankles
thus clothed are protected against a current of air. If the feet and
limbs are kept comfortable with warm clothing, the circulation will be
equalized, and the blood will remain pure and healthy, because it is not
chilled or hindered in its natural passage through the system.”
The length of this dress
was presented as a commendable medium between the dress with a trail and
the American costume. It was not said that any one must put it on, but
that they must not take a course to cut off their influence, and disgust
those they should help. It was not said that they must clothe their ankles
in the manner here described, but that it might be done in that way. If
the same object is accomplished in some other manner, as with long
undersuits and knitted leggins, it would be in perfect harmony with that
testimony.
Five Points Essential to Healthful Dress
It will be noticed that in
the style of dress recommended there are five points essential to
healthful clothing, viz.:-
1. Discarding corsets and
all compression of the waist.
2. Dispensing with all
bands on arms or limbs that would hinder the free circulation of the
blood.
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3. Clothing all parts of
the body equally, especially the feet and ankles.
4. Suspending the skirts
from the shoulders, and in no case allowing them to hang upon the hips,
with bands.
5. The length of the
dress.
The first four points are
now advocated by every intelligent physician, and as to the fifth, the
trail and the extreme short dress are now both discarded.
Mrs. Jenness-Miller on Dress
During the year 1890 Mrs.
Jenness-Miller, of New York, in the most scientific hygiene dress journal
of the age, advocated that women shorten their dresses little by little,
so as not to make too abrupt a change, until they are brought up to about
the top of a lady’s boot,-just the length that Testimony No. 11 advocated.
Dr.
Trall’s Endorsement
In 1868 it was arranged
for Dr. R. T. Trall, of the Hygieotherapeutic College of Florence Heights,
N.J., to give a week’s course of lectures before our ministers in Battle
Creek, Mich., the last of May. During the course the doctor was the guest
of Elder White. Mrs. White did not attend the lectures, but as the doctor
would ride out daily in the carriage with Elder White and his wife and
Elder J. N. Andrews, it was understood that he was to listen to her ideas
of hygiene, disease and its causes, the effects of medicines, etc. She
simply talked what had been shown to her in vision, not telling, however,
the source whence she derived her knowledge. The doctor stated that
medical science was in harmony with the ideas expressed by her. Elder
Andrews told me that on concluding the conversation of the second day the
doctor asked Mrs. White where she graduated in medical science. He was
surprised on learning that she had never studied these things, but was
giving him the result of what had been shown to her in Ostego, 365
Mich., June 6, 1863. He
assured her that her ideas were all in the strictest harmony with
physiology and hygiene, and that on many of the subjects she went deeper
than he ever had. After about five days of such rides and talks the doctor
wanted to know of Elder White why he was invited to leave his college to
lecture before the ministers in Battle Creek. Said he, “Mrs. White is just
as well prepared to give them the needed instruction in hygiene as I am.”
Medical Science Approves
Her numerous writings on
the various branches of practical hygiene have been for years before the
public, and many of them are now compiled in a volume entitled “Christian
Temperance and Bible Hygiene.” Some of the best educated physicians have
declared, after a careful examination of these writings, that medical
science is in perfect accord with them. With her they are not the result
of study, but simply the writing out of what the Lord has revealed to her
in vision.
Dr.
Kellogg’s Testimony
As a testimonial of how
the researches of medical science accord with what was opened in vision
before Mrs. White in 1863, I will quote from the preface to Christian
Temperance words written by J. H. Kellogg, M.D., who stands at the head of
the world-famous sanitarium of Battle Creek, Mich. He says:-
“1. At the time the
writings referred to first appeared, the subject of health was almost
wholly ignored, not only by the people to whom they were addressed, but by
the world at large.
“2. The few advocating the
necessity of a reform in physical habits, propagated in connection with
the advocacy of genuine reformatory principles the most patent, and in
some instances, disgusting errors.
366
“3. Nowhere and by no one
was there presented a systematic and harmonious body of hygienic truths,
free from patent errors and consistent with the Bible and the principles
of the Christian religion.
“Under these circumstances
the writings referred to made their appearance. The principles taught
were not enforced by scientific authority, but were presented in a simple,
straightforward manner by one who makes no pretense to scientific
knowledge, but claims to write by the aid and authority of the divine
enlightenment.
The
Principles Have Stood the Test
“How have the principles
presented under such peculiar circumstances and with such remarkable
claims stood the test of time and experience? is a question which may
very properly be asked. Its answer is to be found in facts which are
capable of the amplest verification. . . . The principles which a quarter
of a century ago were either entirely ignored or made the butt of ridicule
have quietly won their way into public confidence and esteem, until the
world has quite forgotten that they have not always been thus accepted.
New discoveries in science and new interpretations of old facts have
continually added confirmatory evidence, until at the present time every
one of the principles advocated more than a quarter of a century ago is
fortified in the strongest possible manner by scientific evidence.
Proof of the Divine Origins of the Visions
“It certainly must be
regarded as a thing remarkable, and evincing unmistakable evidence of
divine insight and direction, that in the midst of confused and
conflicting teachings, claiming the authority of science and experience,
but warped by ultra notions and rendered impotent for good by the great
admixture of error,-it must be admitted to be something extraordinary,
that a person making no claims to scientific knowledge
367
or erudition should have
been able to organize, from the confused and error-tainted mass of ideas
advanced by a few writers and thinkers on health subjects, a body of
hygienic principles so harmonious, so consistent, and so genuine that the
discussions, the researches, the discoveries, and the experience of a
quarter of a century have not resulted in the overthrow of a single
principle, but have only served to establish the doctrines taught.” Dated,
“Battle Creek, Mich., 1890.”
The
Health Institution Enlarged
Under the management of J.
H. Kellogg, M.D., who became connected with the institution as a
physician-in-chief in 1876, it was found that the demand for treatment was
so great that in the spring of 1877 more room must be provided. The name
of the institution was in 1876 changed from Health Reform Institute to the
Medical and Surgical Sanitarium, and in 1878 a new main building was
erected.
This structure was 136 x
46 feet in size, four stories above the basement. It was heated
throughout by steam, and lighted by gas. Shortly after its opening it was
nearly filled with patients and guests.
Up to that time what had
been predicted in 1866 by the testimony of Mrs. White respecting the
institution had been most strikingly fulfilled. Scores had already
accepted the light of present truth whose attention had first been called
to this people by their coming to the institution in pursuit of health.
Rural Health Retreat
In the Signs of the Times
of Nov. 22, 1877, M. G. Kellogg, M.D., half-brother of
J. H. Kellogg, announced
that he had secured grounds on the side of Howell Mountain, two and a half
miles northeast from St. Helena, Napa County, Cal., and was about to erect
a building to be called the “Rural Health Retreat,” located by the side of
Crystal Springs. During the winter of 1877-78 a building was erected, and
was opened for the treatment of patients in the early part of 1878.
368
This health retreat, like
the parent institution, the sanitarium in Battle Creek, has not only grown
in proportions, but has also been a place where very many have been
brought to the knowledge and acceptance of the message.
The
Pacific Health Journal
The summer of 1885 was
quite an eventful period of progress in the cause of the third angel’s
message. The first of May the Rural Health Retreat at St. Helena was
placed under the medical management of a regularly graduated physician.
In the month of June was begun the bi-monthly issue of the Pacific Health
Journal and Temperance Advocate, a 24-page magazine under the editorial
supervision of Elder J. H. Waggoner. By these agencies new life came to
the health institution, which, instead of losing, as in previous years,
began to show, from year to year, a net profit in its workings of from
$2,000 to $4,000 per year, until the year which closed April, 1891, it
showed a net gain of over $12,000.
At the meeting of the
Rural Health Retreat Association, at St. Helena, 1887, the following
statement was made in reference to the finances of the institution: May
1, 1885, the net worth of the institution was only $5,322.76, or $2,547.24
less than all the stock that had been issued up to that date. In other
words, the institution had consumed all of its earnings and $2,547.24 of
its capital stock. April 1, 1887, the value of the institution above all
its debts was $21,372.64, or a gain in twenty-three months of $16,049.88.
Of this sum, stock had been taken to the amount of $5,280, and donations
had been made to the institution to the amount of $2,497.60; so on the
workings of the institution there was a net gain of $8,272.28. About this
time, the Pacific Health Journal was issued as a 32page monthly, with a
cover, and was found to be of still greater service in advancing the
interests and principles of the institution.
369
Charitable Work
In the Medical Missionary
for January, 1891, speaking of the Battle Creek Sanitarium, Dr. J. H.
Kellogg said:-
“The charity treatment
administered during the quarter of a century which the institution has
existed amounts to considerable more than $100,000, several times more
than the capital stock originally invested.
“In addition to the
charity work referred to, the institution has sent out lecturers, nurses,
instructors in cooking schools, and other persons who have been trained
for various lines of missionary work.”
A
Plea for the Orphans
At the General Conference,
March 8, 1891, Dr. Kellogg made a very earnest plea in behalf of the
orphans. He said: “I find myself appointed ‘a delegate at large,’ and I am
going to represent the unrepresented-the orphans, who have no one to care
for them.”
Mrs. Haskell’s $30,000 Gift
In the Home Missionary for
January, 1892, a strong plea was made for means with which to provide a
home for the orphan children. In that journal were the names of those
whose pledges for the home amounted to $17,716-too small an amount, the
promoters of the enterprise thought, for so large an undertaking, hence a
delay in the execution of the work was feared. But He who sees the end
from the beginning, and who owns the “cattle upon a thousand hills,” so
ordered events that a wealthy lady not of our faith, Mrs. Caroline E.
Haskell, of Chicago, widow of Mr. Frederick Haskell, on hearing of this
contemplated work of charity, at once placed at the disposal of the
building committee the sum of $30,000, with the simple stipulation that it
be wholly used in building an orphanage according to the plans previously
outlined, that it be conducted in a broad and liberal spirit,
370
and that the institution
be called the Haskell Memorial Home in memory of her deceased husband.
With means thus furnished
the Medical Missionary and Benevolent Association was enabled, during the
year, to erect and open the building as an orphans’ home. This building
was dedicated Jan. 25, 1894. For much of the time since that date the
family, consisting of orphans, helpers, and teachers, has averaged one
hundred.
The
James White Memorial Home
Besides the care and
support of these orphans, this association has the management of another
charitable institution, called the James White Memorial Home, where more
than a score of aged and homeless people are cared for and made
comfortable.
Medical Missionaries
In this line of work,
another aggressive step was taken when the training of medical
missionaries was undertaken. In commendation of this effort for the
uplifting of humanity, Mrs. White, when writing from Preston, Australia,
Sept. 16, 1892, said:-
“I could wish that there
were one hundred in training where now there is one. It ought to be thus.
Both men and women can be more useful as medical missionaries than as
missionaries without a medical education.”
The number taking a course
of instruction preparatory to entering a life service of this character
has been largely augmented since the above was written.
Growth of the Health Work
In the Medical Missionary
for January, 1894, is a brief statement setting forth interesting facts
respecting the growth of the health work. It reads as follows:
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“The Health Reform
Institute was organized in 1866. . . . A modest frame house was
purchased, a private residence in a pleasant and healthful location on the
higher grounds of Battle Creek, one of the grow-ing cities of Michigan.
Two doctors, two bath attendants, one nurse (untrained), three or four
helpers, one patient, and any amount of inconveniences, and a great deal
of faith in the future of the institution and the principles on which it
was founded this was the beginning of the present enterprise. It was
known as the Health Reform Institute.
“On the site of the
original cottage there now stands a building 312 feet long and 100 feet
deep, six stories high, which accommodates three hundred guests, furnished
with every appliance that modern science can suggest for the care and
restoration of the sick. Ten physicians, most of whom are specialists in
their respective lines, constitute the medical faculty. Nurses and other
helpers form a family of more than three hundred, and the patronage of the
institution represents every State in the Union, and many guests from
other lands. Its doors are always open to the missionary, home or
foreign, of whatever name, and the family is rarely without one or more of
these guests.
The
Sanitarium Hospital
“The hospital was erected
in 1888, a building 100 x 60 feet, five stories high. Three of the upper
floors of the building are used for the surgical department of the
sanitarium, patients rooms, and wards. Offices for the charitable work of
the institution are also found here. Twenty cottages, several of which are
heated by steam, and lighted, like the main building, with electricity,
cluster about it, and are filled with either patients or students. A
school for the training of medical missionary nurses was organized July 1,
1884. During the first six months thirty-five students were enrolled.”
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Prediction of Workers Going Forth
In speaking of the health
institution located at St. Helena, Cal., Mrs. White, in a communication
written from Tramelan, Switzerland, Feb. 6, 1887, says:-
“God has said that if the
men connected with this institution would walk humbly and obediently,
doing the will of God, it would live and prosper; and from it would be
sent forth missionaries to bless others with the light God has given
them. These will in the spirit of Jesus demolish idols in high places;
they will unveil superstition, and plant truth, purity, and holiness where
now are cherished only error, self-indulgence, intemperance, and
iniquity.”
We quote these words, as
they apply with equal force to other institutions.
Success in Health Work Promised
In a special testimony
given to the church in 1891, we read: “Gods blessing will rest upon every
effort made to awaken an interest in health reform; for it is needed
everywhere. There must be a revival in regard to this matter; for God
purposes to accomplish much through this agency.
The
American Medical Missionary College
Step by step the light
advanced on the rational mode of treating disease until in June, 1895, a
demand was created for the organization of a medical educational
institution. In compliance with this demand, the American Medical
Missionary College was organized for the special purpose of training
physicians to work under the Seventh-day Adventist Medical Missionary and
Benevolent Association, in home and foreign fields. The inauguration
exercises were held in Battle Creek, Sept. 30, 1895, and the college was
opened the following day, October 1, with a class of forty students.
In the college
announcement we read: “The college is incorporated in Chicago, under the
laws of the State of
373
Illinois. The course of
study will be as thorough as that of the best medical schools in the
United States. The instruction will be given partly in Chicago, and partly
in Battle Creek, Mich.”
Concerning those preparing
for medical missionary work we read the following in the Medical
Missionary of August, 1895: “The class of nurses now in training at the
Battle Creek Sanitarium Training-School for Nurses numbers over 250; every
one of these who is now competent to engage in medical missionary work has
a position assigned him. Nurses are wanted for the South Sea Islands,
India, the West Indies, South America, twenty-five or thirty for the
Southern States of the United States, and for our large cities.”
Growth of the Medical Missionary Work
At the graduating
exercises of the Sanitarium Missionary Nurses class, held in the
Tabernacle, Nov. 5, 1895, Dr. Kellogg said:
“A dozen years ago, at an
exercise of this kind, two nurses graduated. At the present time there is
a corps of between three and four hundred nurses. There are nineteen
physicians at the sanitarium, and twenty-two at similar institutions, more
or less connected with the sanitarium, and under the supervision of the
Medical Missionary and Benevolent Association. Fifty-three of our nurses
are in different foreign countries,in Sweden, Old Mexico, Gold Coast of
Africa, Australia, South Africa, Denmark, India, New Zealand, Samoa, and
British Guiana. There are sixty-three medical students now in training.
Forty-one of these are here, twenty-two at the University of Michigan and
other schools. Twenty-two nurses graduate here to-night who are fully
prepared to go forth as approved nurses.
In tracing the growth of
our health institutions to 1902, we find the Battle Creek Sanitarium, with
its medical college and training school for nurses, to be the largest
institution
374
of the kind in the world
owned by Seventh-day Adventists.
The
Main Buildings Burned
On the night of Feb. 18,
1902, the large main building, with its fine equipments, and the
commodious hospital, were consumed by fire. There were four hundred
invalids and guests in the buildings at the time, but through the heroic
efforts of the doctors, nurses, and helpers, and with the special
protection of the Lord, these were all gotten out of the buildings without
serious injury.
The
New Sanitarium
Another building, larger
and more substantial than the former, has been erected on the site of old
buildings. The corner-stone of the present structure was laid May 12,
1902, and the building was dedicated May 31, 1903. The managers of the
institution say of the new edifice that “it is as solid and enduring as a
building can be made with iron, stone, brick, and cement.
“The equipment of the
institution is in all particulars the most modern, complete, sanitary,
convenient, and substantial to be obtained; and it is believed that, as it
now stands, completed, the Battle Creek Sanitarium offers facilities and
conveniences for invalids which are certainly not surpassed.
“The aim of the managers
of the institution has been to gather together in one place and under
favorable conditions, all the new methods and appliances for the treatment
of the sick which are recognized in rational medicine, and to utilize
those methods in a conscientious and intelligent manner.
Many Sanitariums to be Established
The light
communicated to this people is that the Lord would have many sanitariums,
moderate in size, distributed over the world, rather than to have a few
mammoth institutions
375
. We are glad to note that
a beginning has been made in opening small sanitariums in various parts of
the world, especially during the last decade. In the General Conference
Year Book for 1904 is a list of over half a hundred of these smaller
institutions.
List of Sanitariums
While it might be a matter
of interest to relate the circumstances which have led to the
establishment of these, we must, in our limited space, content ourselves
with a list of the countries where they are located, and the number in
each country. We find in the United States, 35; Great Britain, 3:
Germany, 1; Switzerland, 1; Denmark, 1; Norway, 1; Sweden, 1; South
Africa, 1; Australia, 2; New Zealand, 1; Island of Samoa, 1; Old Mexico,
1; India, 1; Japan, 1.
List of Treatment Rooms
Besides these sanitariums
there are twenty-two treatment rooms, seventeen of which are in the United
States; one in Jaffa, one in Jerusalem, Palestine; one in Guadalajara, Old
Mexico; one in Kimberley, South Africa; and one in Rock-ampton, Australia.
In addition to these there are twenty-six vegetarian restaurants where
people can obtain pure hygienic food, and also receive more or less
instruction respecting the proper mode of living.
These statistics
respecting the progress of health reform principles show how the Lord can
“accomplish a great work through this agency,” as divinely predicted in
1866; and they also show, as foretold in 1863, how “the principles of
health reform” may act a part in “fitting up a people for translation at
the coming of the Lord.” So may these health institutions increase to a
hundred-fold, and soon accomplish that for which they were appointed and
designed.
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“CONSIDER now from this
day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even
from the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid, consider
it. Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig-tree,
and the pomegranate, and the olive-tree, hath not brought forth: from this
day will I bless you.”1
The sure and steady
advancement of the third angel’s message from its first inception may well
be compared with the prosperity that attended Zerubbabel from the day he
laid the foundation stone of the temple.
A
Forbidding Prospect
When the Jewish people,
with empty purse and granaries, were called to build the Lord’s temple, it
looked to all human appearance as a forbidding pros-pect. When by faith
they obeyed the call, and took hold of the work willingly, God’s
prospering hand was manifest to them. As we trace the experiences in the
rise of this third message, we discern the guiding hand with those who
choose his way. Although affliction be their lot, still God’s care for
his people and his work is always made clear to those who trust in him.
Testimony Delineating Character
On Nov. 24, 1862, two
meetings were held at the same hour in the house of William Wilson, of
Greenville, Mich.,
1 Haggai
2:18, 19.
377
for the purpose of
organizing two churches for those who had accepted the Sabbath truth in
that vicinity. The meeting for the Greenville church was conducted by
Elder White and his wife in one room, while Elder Byington and myself had
charge of a meeting in another room for the West Plains church. While we
were engaged in the preliminary work in one room, we could hear the voice
of Mrs. White as she bore her testimony in the other room. We were
meeting with some difficulties in our work, when just at the opportune
time Mrs. White opened the door, and said, “Brother Loughborough, I see by
looking over this company that I have testimonies for some of the persons
present. When you are ready, I will come in and speak.” That being just
the time we needed help, she came in. Aside from Elder Byington and
myself, she knew the names of only three persons in the room. The others
were strangers, whom she had never seen, only as they had been presented
to her in vision.
Mr.
Pratt’s Life Described
As she arose to speak, she
said: “You will have to excuse me in relating what I have to say, if I
describe your persons, as I do not know your names. As I see your
countenances, there comes before me what the Lord has been pleased to show
me concerning you. That man in the corner with one eye [some one spoke,
saying, “His name is Pratt”] makes high professions, and great pretensions
to religion, but he has never yet been converted. Do not take him into the
church in his present condition, for he is not a Christian. He spends much
of his time idling about the shops and stores, arguing the theory of the
truth, while his wife at home has to cut the fire-wood, look after the
garden, etc. He makes promises in his bargains that he does not fulfill.
His neighbors have no confidence in his profession of religion. It would
be better for the cause of religion, for him, in his present condition, to
say nothing about it.”
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Brother Barr Made Glad
She continued, saying,
“This aged brother [as she pointed to him, some one said, “Brother Barr”]
was shown me in direct, contrast with the other man. He is very exemplary
in his life, careful to keep all his promises, and provides well for his
family. He hardly ventures to speak of the truth to his neighbors, for
fear he will mar the work and do harm. He does not see how the Lord can
be so merciful as to forgive his sins, and thinks himself unfit even to
belong to the church.” She then said to him, “Brother Barr, the Lord bade
me say to you that you have confessed all the sins you knew of, and that
he forgave your sins long ago, if you would only believe it.” The look of
sadness on the brother’s countenance quickly fled. He looked up with a
smile, and said, in his simplicity, “Has he?” “Yes,” responded Mrs. White,
“and I was told to say to you, ‘Come along, and unite with the church; and
as you have opportunity, speak a word in favor of the truth; it will have
a good effect, as your neighbors have confidence in you.’ “ He responded,
“I will.”
Then she said, “If Mr.
Pratt could, for a time, take a position similar to that which Brother
Barr has been occupying, it would do him good.”
Thus was one cause of our
difficulty in organizing removed. Before her testimony was borne, we
could not get Mr. Barr to consent to unite with the church; while on the
other hand, we found about every one was opposed to receiving Mr. Pratt;
still no one felt free to tell why he opposed.
A
Family Jealousy Healed
She next addressed a man
having a sandy complexion, who sat on one side of the room; and then
pointed to a thin-featured woman on the extreme opposite side, addressing
them as husband and wife. She delineated some things that
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transpired in their former
lives, before either of them had made any profession of the truth. She
said these things had been magnified by Satan before the mind of the woman
until she was driven to insanity. “I saw,” said Mrs. White, “that this
woman had been one year in the insane asylum; but since recovering her
reason, she has permitted these same jealous feelings to trouble her mind,
greatly to the grief of her husband, who has done everything in his power
to show his wife that he was true to her, and that she had no reason to
hold him off in the manner she does.”
In a moment the wife
rushed across the room, and on her knees begged her husband to forgive
her. The individuals were almost strangers in that part of the country,
and their former history was unknown. Those best acquainted with them,
however, were aware that an estrangement existed between them, but the
cause they knew not.
Similar to Elisha and Hazael
After Mrs. White had borne
her testimony, the work of organizing the church was soon completed. Mr.
Barr came heartily into the organization, while Mr. Pratt was left out.
The moment the meeting closed, the latter said, with considerable
vehemence, “I tell you what, there is no use trying to go with this people
and act the hypocrite; you can’t do it.”
The delineation of
character, as in the above instance, forcibly reminds us of a similar case
recorded in the days of Elisha the prophet:2 Benhadad,
King of Syria, had sent his servant Hazael to Elisha to inquire whether he
should recover of his sickness. Elisha had had a view of Hazael’s case,
and as the man came before him, and he looked on his countenance, all came
vividly to his mind.
Elder White Stricken with Paralysis
On Wednesday, August 16,
1865, Elder White, as a result of excessive labor and loss of sleep, had a
stroke of paralysis. As health institutions among our people had not yet
been
2 2 Kings
8:7-15
380
established, he was taken
to Dansville, N.Y., to a health institution called, “Our Home on the
Hillside.” His wife and the writer were with him there from September 14
to December 7. As he received but little relief from the treatments given
in the institution,
we went to the hospitable
home of Bradly Lamson, Lake View, Rochester, N.Y., where
we remained about three
weeks. Here we were glad to meet Elder J. N. Andrews, who
had just returned to that
city, after having spent several months in Maine.
2 2 Kings 8:7-15.
Prayer for Elder White
The families of Elder
Andrews and Mr. Orton joined with us every afternoon in a praying season
with and for Elder White. This continued until December 25. While the
outside world was full of gaiety and feasting on that Christmas day, it
was observed by the Rochester church as a day of fasting and prayer for
Elder White. We had meetings in both the forenoon and afternoon, at the
house of Elder Andrews, New Main St., and in the evening those who had
been previously praying with Elder White, met with him again at the house
of Mr. Lamson.
The
Vision Given Christmas Night
The meeting that evening
was a powerful one. Elder White was greatly blessed, and Mrs. White was
given a wonderful vision, in which many things were shown her. Among these
were instructions to Elder White how to proceed that he might carry out
his faith in God, who had so evidently reached down his hand to work for
him that he might regain his health.
Satan’s Attack Predicted
To those who had been
praying for Elder White, Mrs. White said: “Satan’s purpose was to destroy
my husband, and bring him down to the grave. Through these earnest
prayers his power has been broken. I have been shown that
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Satan is angry with this
company who have continued for three weeks praying earnestly in behalf of
this servant of God, and he is now determined to make a powerful attack
upon them. I was told to say to you, ‘Live very near to God, that you may
be prepared for what may come upon you.’ “
J.
T. Orton’s Premonitions
On the first day of
January, 1866, Elder White and his family started by train for Battle
Creek, Mich. I remained in western New York the rest of the winter. From
the very evening that the vision was given, Mr. J. T. Orton was impressed
that his life was in danger, and yet he knew not from what source. This
impression he expressed to several. On Sunday evening, March 4, he
returned to Rochester from Parma, where he had been attending a two days’
meeting, in company with Mr. E. B. Sanders (now, 1905, residing in San
Jose, Cal.), whom he requested to keep on the lightest street as they
walked through the city, “for,” he said, “I feel all the while as though
some one is going to try to kill me.” And yet he did not seem to have any
idea who it was that wanted to take his life.
I returned to Rochester
from Parma, March 7, and stopped with Mr. Lamson, son-in-law of Mr. Orton.
On the 8th he and Mrs. Orton visited with us, when we made arrangements to
go the next morning by train to Lancaster, Erie Co., where I was to
perform the marriage ceremony for his only son. The day was spent
pleasantly by us, yet it was a solemn day.
Murder of J. T. Orton
They left Mr. Lamson’s at
5 P.M., and at 7:30 P.M. a messenger came, informing us of a brutal attack
that had been made on Mr. Orton by some unknown person, in his own barn,
while caring for his horses. We hastened to the place, and found that he
had been cruelly beaten over
382
the head with an
iron-bound cartstake, and was unconscious. He died at 12:35 that night.
To this day it is unknown who committed the cruel deed. It certainly was
not done for money, as his pocket was untouched, as was also his purse,
which contained $45. This was a heavy shock to Mrs. Orton, from the
effects of which she never recovered. Her bodily health rapidly failed,
and she did not long survive her husband.
Prediction Made that Christmas Fulfilled
In a few months from that
memorable Christmas evening, six out of the nine who engaged in that three
weeks of prayer were in their graves. And thus was another prediction
most strikingly fulfilled.
Relief to the Despairing
In the early morning of
Dec. 12, 1866, Elias Stiles, of North Liberty, Ind., came to my home,
requesting me to go with him to that place to administer relief, if
possible, to James Harvey, who was in despair, and feeling that there was
no hope in his case. Knowing that Mrs. White had had a very extensive view
in the last vision given, and that many cases were shown to her
prophetically, I said to him, “It may be that Sister White has seen
something about his case, and if so, and if she will write it out, it will
be more forcible than anything I could say to him.”
We at once called upon
her, and without a word being spoken to her of Mr. Harvey’s condition, I
asked, “Sister White, have you had any light in any of the visions given
you concerning the case of Brother James Harvey?” “Yes,” said she, “I
have, and I have felt for a few days as though I ought to write it out,
and send it to him.” She then began to tell us what she had seen. I said,
“I am going to see him in the morning, and if you will write out what has
been shown to you, I will take it to him.” With this understanding,
383
we left her, and in the
evening we called again. She had completed the writing, and favored us by
reading it aloud.
Testimony for James Harvey in Despair
The testimony stated
clearly that Mr. Harvey would be brought into a feeble condition of
health, and that Satan would seek to crowd him into despair, and try to
make him think there was no mercy for him, and no hope in his case; but
she saw he had done all in his power to rectify the mistakes of his past
life, and that God had forgiven him; and furthermore, when he should be
tempted to destroy himself, she was shown that angels of God were hovering
around him and pointing him to hope in God and heaven. There were many
like words of comfort and encouragement in the testimony.
With this document in my
possession, we went the next morning to North Liberty. On the way, Mr.
Stiles told me that Mr. Harvey wanted to see me, but he said that I would
have no word of hope for him; that, when I should meet him, I would agree
with him that his case was hopeless, that he was a lost man; and then,
like Eli of old, when he was told that the ark of God was taken, he should
fall over backward and die.
We arrived at Mr. Harvey’s
about 3 P.M. When I met him, I said, “Brother Harvey, how are you?” In a
most lamentable strain he replied, “Lost! lost!! LOST!!!” “No you are not
lost. There is hope in your case!” said I. When he saw that I thus
answered him, he said, in a modulated tone, “I have thought for three
weeks that there was no hope for me, and that I was lost; and to-day, as I
was coming into town from the farm, and passing over the bridge at the
mill-pond, something seemed to say to me, ‘You are lost! There is no hope
for you! Jump into the mill-pond and drown yourself!’ I thought to do
such a thing would
384
bring reproach on the
cause of Christ, and so I was restrained from destroying myself.”
Deliverance Came Quickly
“Well, Brother Harvey, you
are not lost!” I said. “I have a testimony here direct from heaven,
saying that you are not lost!” He replied, “Then I will hear it.” I then
read the testimony to him, after first stating that not one word had been
placed in my hands. As I completed the reading, his face lighted up with a
smile as he said, “Then there is hope in my case. I do believe in the
Lord.”
Following the reading, we
had a praying season, from which he arose a changed and happy man. He
told us that that writing described the workings of his mind for the last
three weeks more accurately than he could possibly have done it. Thus the
love of God was shown in lifting this brother, by this means, out of
despair.
Field of Labor Enlarged
Up to the year 1868, the
Seventh-day Adventists’ field of labor had been confined to the United
States, and to that portion of it north of the southern boundary of
Missouri and east of the Missouri River. At a meeting to consider the
fields and the distribution of labor, during a session of the General
Conference which was held in Battle Creek, Mich., May 28, it was decided
to send two laborers and a sixty-foot tent to California. Elder D.
T. Bourdeau and the writer
arrived in San Francisco July 18 of that year.
Opening of the California Mission
One thing I wish to notice
in connection with the opening of the California mission, which well
illustrates the practical utility of the gift of prophecy. Paul, in
speaking of spiritual gifts, including the gift of prophecy, says they are
“for the perfecting
385
of the saints, for the
work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”3
Surely the most feasible way to perfect saints is to point out to them
their errors, so that they may put them away, and be washed from their
sins in the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. To this end, aid
through the gift of prophecy in the work of the ministry has all the way
along been manifested in connection with the cause of present truth,
pointing out to the servants of the Lord the defects in their manner of
labor, and how, by a different mode, they could be more efficient in the
conversion of souls.
Testimony on How to Labor in California
Shortly after our arrival
in California we received a letter from Mrs. White, in which she related a
vision given her in Battle Creek on the Friday evening of June 12,-a day
that we had spent at Lancaster, N. Y., before starting for California.
She had never been in California, and had no personal knowledge of the
habits of the people. In fact, at that time she had never been west of
the Missouri River. Any knowledge she possessed concerning things there
was derived from what the Lord was pleased to reveal to her.
In the instruction in her
letter, she delineated the liberal ways of the people of California, and
what would be the effect of labor among them on a close, “pennywise” plan.
In preaching to the people of California, they must be approached in
something of the liberal spirit in which they work, and yet not in a
spendthrift manner.
The
Predicted Success Game
As I now look back over
the last thirty-seven years since the work was first started in
California, and take in the situation then, with the condition of the
people, and the manner in which we would have conducted our work but for
the testimony
3 Eph. 4:12.
386
received, and as I witness
the results of following the instruction given, I can say that our cause
advanced more in three months than it would have done in one year had we
not been helped “in the work of the ministry” by the instruction received
through the gift of prophecy. Up to the spring of 1871, as the result of
the efforts in Sonoma County, five churches of Sabbath-keepers had been
raised up.
The
First Tent-Meeting in San Francisco
In June the same year, we
erected our tent for the first time, in San Francisco, As Elder Bourdeau
had returned to the East, another laborer from Michigan was sent to take
his place. He arrived on June 17, and at once united with me in labor in
the city. After a few weeks’ effort in the tent, we continued our
meetings to Dec. 1, 1871, in hired halls. As the result of this labor over
fifty accepted the message in San Francisco.
Internal Trials in California
Until this date our trials
in California had been more from outside opposition, but now arose an
unlooked-for test of faith for our people of a different character. An
associate laborer persisted in a course of action which I was confident
would subject himself and the cause to reproach. We had some bitter
enemies in the city, who were watching our every movement, and were ready
to use any unwise action to our injury. It became, therefore, extremely
necessary to heed the apostle’s admonition to “shun every appearance of
evil.”
Dangerous Independence
I did not claim that the
brother had committed actual sin in his course of action, but I reasoned
that our enemies would make capital of what he claimed to be innocent. He
took the position that he had a right to “do as he pleased” in the matter,
especially when it was admitted there was no sin in
387
what he was doing. Thus
things went on until Jan. 23, 1872, when I went from Sonoma County to San
Francisco to see what could be done to check matters there.
By this time our enemies
were making use of his course as I had feared, and he was taking the
position that it was “none of their business,” that he would show them
that he had a mind of his own, and could walk the streets as he pleased,
and with whom he pleased, without being subject to their remarks. I
tried, by private labor, to show him that such a course of action would
not answer, and that such an independent spirit would end in evil. He had
his friends, who strongly sympathized with him, some of whom began to take
a position which would subject him to still greater censure. A large
portion of the church saw the evil of his waywardness, and were ready to
second the efforts I was making to save the cause from dishonor.
Investigation Meeting Appointed
Thus matters stood on
Sabbath, January 27, when it was decided that there must be an
investigation of the case, and some decisive action taken by the church,
to save them from the stigma that this defiant spirit was likely to
produce. A meeting was appointed, to begin Sunday, January 28, at 9 A.M.,
for the consideration of the situation, and our duty as a church in
reference to the same. To all appearances a division of that church was
inevitable. I spent much of that night in prayer to God, that he would
work in our behalf.
A
Written Confession
On the morning of the
28th, as I started for the meeting, I met the fellow-laborer on the
sidewalk, near my boarding place, weeping. Said he, “Brother
Loughborough, I am not going to the meeting to-day.”
“Not going to the
meeting?” said I; “the meeting relates to your case.”
388
“I know that,” said he,
“but I am all wrong. You are right in the position you have taken in
reference to me. Here is a letter of confession I have written to the
church; you take it and read it to them. It will be better for you, and
better for those who might be inclined to sympathize with me, if I am not
there.”
“What has occasioned this
great change in you since yesterday?” I inquired.
A
Wonderful Vision Received
He replied, “I went to the
post-office last night, after the Sabbath, and received a letter from
Sister White, from Battle Creek, Mich. It is a testimony she has written
out for me.” Handing it to me, he said, “Read that, and you will see how
the Lord sees my case.”
He requested me to say to
the church that he had received a testimony from Sister White, reproving
him for his conduct, and that he accepted it, as it was the truth.
Convincing Nature of the Vision
This was part of a view
given to Mrs. White at Bordoville, Vt., Dec. 10, 1871. She began to write
the part relating to this brother’s case Dec. 27, 1871, but for some
reason the completion of the document was delayed until Jan. 18, 1872, at
which time it was finished and mailed from Battle Creek. It then required
about nine days to get letters overland from Michigan to California.
In vision many things are
shown her prophetically. It was so in this instance. At the time of the
vision there was but a shadow of what was actually developed when the
testimony arrived in San Francisco. It will be seen, from a comparison of
dates, that the culmination of the case in San Francisco came after the
written testimony left the former place. Our brethren in San Francisco saw
at once that no person could have written to Battle Creek and communicated
the
389
intelligence to Mrs. White
in time for her to write this letter, for the state of things did not then
exist.
This fact was of great
weight with the brethren there, convincing them that there was divine
power with that vision. I had not written a line to Elder White or his
wife concerning the state of things in San Francisco, and the
fellow-laborer declared that he had written nothing; and the brethren
said, “If he had written, he would not have told the things that were
brought out concerning himself.”
How
Vision was Written
When we afterward learned,
from the other end of the line, concerning the writing out and mailing of
the testimony, it was still further evident that the Lord who gave the
vision had a care over the time of its being written and forwarded to its
destination, so that it would reach there just at the right time.
At a very early hour on
the morning of Jan. 18, 1872, Mrs. White was awakened with the above
testimony vividly impressed upon her mind. The impression was as distinct
to her as though audibly spoken, “Write out immediately that testimony for
California, and get it into the very next mail; it is needed.” This being
repeated the second time, she arose, hastily dressed, and completed the
writing. Just before breakfast she handed it to her son Willie, saying,
“Take this letter to the post-office, but don’t put it into the drop. Hand
it to the post-master, and have him be sure to put it into the mail bag
that goes out this morning.” He afterward said that he thought her
instructions a little peculiar, but he asked no questions, and did as he
was bidden, and “saw the letter go into the mail bag.”
Proof of Divine Guidance
Knowing our situation in
San Francisco at that time, you will readily see the importance of getting
that letter into
390
that very mail. In those
days we had only one overland mail per day. Had the letter come Sunday
night, the 28th, instead of Saturday night, the 27th, there would
doubtless have been a sad rupture in the church. Had it come several
weeks earlier, even just after the vision was given, the church would not
so readily have seen its force.
Here was a testimony which
bore evident marks of the Lord’s hand, not only in that it arrived at
proper time to effectually correct the existing errors, but, being humbly
accepted and acted upon by the brother, it exerted a mighty influence to
bring unity and stability into that young church.
Manner of Writing out the Visions
This instance serves also
as an illustration of her own statement respecting the manner of writing
out what she has seen. Of this she says: “I have been aroused from my
sleep with a vivid sense of subjects previously presented to my mind; and
I have written, at midnight, letters that have gone across the continent,
and arriving at a crisis, have saved a great disaster to the cause.”4
4
Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, No. 33, page 671.
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