In the vision given me December 25, 1865, I saw that the health reform was a great enterprise, closely connected with the present truth, and that Seventh-day Adventists should have a home for the sick where they could be treated for their diseases and also learn how to take care of themselves so as to prevent sickness. I saw that our people should not remain indifferent upon this subject and leave the rich among us to go to the popular water cure institutions of the country for the recovery of health, where they would find opposition to, rather than sympathy with, their views of religious faith. Those who are reduced by disease suffer not only for want of physical but also of mental and moral strength; and afflicted, conscientious Sabbathkeepers cannot receive as much benefit where they feel that they must be constantly guarded lest they compromise their faith and dishonor their profession, as at an institution whose physicians and conductors are in sympathy with the truths connected with the third angel’s message.
(1T 553.1)
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When persons who have suffered much from disease are relieved by an intelligent system of treatment, consisting of baths, healthful diet, proper periods of rest and exercise, and the beneficial effects of pure air, they are often led to conclude that those who successfully treat them are right in matters of religious faith, or, at least, cannot greatly err from the truth. Thus if our people are left to go to those institutions whose physicians are corrupt in religious faith, they are in danger of being ensnared. The institution at -----, I then saw (in 1865), was the best in the United States. So far as the treatment of the sick is concerned, they have been doing a great and good work; but they urge upon their patients dancing and card playing, and recommend attendance at theaters and such places of worldly amusement, which is in direct opposition to the teachings of Christ and the apostles.
(1T 553.2)
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Those connected with the Health Institute now located at Battle Creek should feel that they are engaged in an important and solemn work, and in no way should they pattern after the physicians at the institution at ----- in matters of religion and amusements. Yet I saw that there would be danger of imitating them in many things and losing sight of the exalted character of this great work. And should those connected with this enterprise cease to look at their work from a high religious standpoint, and descend from the exalted principles of present truth to imitate in theory and practice those at the head of institutions where the sick are treated only for the recovery of health, the special blessing of God would not rest upon our institution more than upon those where corrupt theories are taught and practiced.
(1T 554.1)
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I saw that a very extensive work could not be accomplished in a short time, as it would not be an easy matter to find physicians whom God could approve and who would work together harmoniously, disinterestedly, and zealously for the good of suffering humanity. It should ever be kept prominent that the great object to be attained through this channel is not only health, but perfection, and the spirit of holiness, which cannot be attained with diseased bodies and minds. This object cannot be secured by working merely from the worldling’s standpoint. God will raise up men and qualify them to engage in the work, not only as physicians of the body, but of the sin-sick soul, as spiritual fathers to the young and inexperienced.
(1T 554.2)
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I was shown that the position of Dr. E in regard to amusements was wrong, and that his views of physical exercise were not all correct. The amusements which he recommends hinder the recovery of health in many cases to one that is helped by them. He has to a great degree condemned physical labor for the sick, and his teaching in many cases has proved a great injury to them. Such mental exercise as playing cards, chess, and checkers excites and wearies the brain and hinders recovery, while light and pleasant physical labor will occupy the time, improve the circulation, relieve and restore the brain, and prove a decided benefit to the health. But take from the invalid all such employment, and he becomes restless, and, with a diseased imagination, views his case as much worse than it really is, which tends to imbecility.
(1T 554.3)
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For years I have from time to time been shown that the sick should be taught that it is wrong to suspend all physical labor in order to regain health. In thus doing the will becomes dormant, the blood moves sluggishly through the system and constantly grows more impure. Where the patient is in danger of imagining his case worse than it really is, indolence will be sure to produce the most unhappy results. Well-regulated labor gives the invalid the idea that he is not totally useless in the world, that he is, at least, of some benefit. This will afford him satisfaction, give him courage, and impart to him vigor, which vain mental amusements can never do.
(1T 555.1)
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The view that those who have abused both their physical and mental powers, or who have broken down in either mind or body, must suspend activity in order to regain health, is a great error. In a very few cases entire rest for a short period may be necessary, but these instances are very rare. In most cases the change would be too great. Those who have broken down by intense mental labor should have rest from wearing thought, yet to teach them that it is wrong and even dangerous for them to exercise their mental powers to a degree leads them to view their condition as worse than it really is. They become still more nervous and are a great trouble and annoyance to those who have the care of them. In this state of mind their recovery is doubtful indeed.
(1T 555.2)
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Those who have broken down by physical exertion must have less labor, and that which is light and pleasant. But to shut them away from all labor and exercise would in many cases prove their ruin. The will goes with the labor of their hands, and those accustomed to labor would feel that they were only machines to be acted upon by physicians and attendants, and the imagination would become diseased. Inactivity is the greatest curse that could come upon such. Their powers become so dormant that it is impossible for them to resist disease and languor, as they must do in order to regain health.
(1T 556.1)
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Dr. E has made a great mistake in regard to exercise and amusements, and a still greater in his teaching concerning religious experience and religious excitement. The religion of the Bible is not detrimental to the health of body or mind. The exalting influence of the Spirit of God is the best restorative for the sick. Heaven is all health, and the more fully the heavenly influences are felt the more sure the recovery of the believing invalid. The influence of such views as are advanced by Dr. E has reached us as a people in some degree. Sabbathkeeping health reformers must be free from all these. Every true and real reform will bring us nearer to God and heaven, closer to the side of Jesus, and increase our knowledge of spiritual things and deepen in us the holiness of Christian experience.
(1T 556.2)
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It is true that there are unbalanced minds that impose upon themselves fasting which the Scriptures do not teach, and prayers and privation of rest and sleep which God has never required. Such are not prospered and sustained in their voluntary acts of righteousness. They have a pharisaical religion which is not of Christ, but of themselves. They trust in their good works for salvation, vainly hoping to earn heaven by their meritorious works instead of relying, as every sinner should, upon the merits of a crucified, risen, and exalted Saviour. These are almost sure to become sickly. But Christ and true godliness are health to the body and strength to the soul.
(1T 556.3)
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Let invalids do something instead of occupying their minds with a simple play, which lowers them in their own estimation and leads them to think their lives useless. Keep the power of the will awake, for the will aroused and rightly directed is a potent soother of the nerves. Invalids are far happier to be employed, and their recovery is more easily effected.
(1T 557.1)
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I saw that the greatest curse that ever came upon my husband and Sister F was the instructions they received at ----- in regard to remaining inactive in order to recover. The imagination of both was diseased, and their inactivity resulted in the thought and feeling that it would be dangerous to health and life to exercise, especially if in doing so they became weary. The machinery of the system, so seldom put in motion, lost its elasticity and strength, so that when they did exercise, their joints were stiff and their muscles feeble, and every move required great effort and of course caused pain. Yet this very weariness would have proved a blessing to them had they, irrespective of feeling or unpleasant symptoms, perseveringly resisted their inclinations to inactivity.
(1T 557.2)
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I saw that it would be far better for Sister F to be with her family by herself and feel the responsibilities resting upon her. This would awaken into life her dormant energies. I was shown that the broken-up condition of this dear family while at ----- was unfavorable to the education and training of their children. For their own good these children should be learning to take responsibilities in household labor and should feel that some burdens in life rest upon them. The mother, engaged in the education and training of her children, is employed in the very work which God has assigned to her and for the sake of which He has in mercy heard the prayers offered for her recovery. While she should shun wearing labor, she should above all avoid a life of inactivity.
(1T 557.3)
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When the vision was given me at Rochester, New York, I saw that it would be far better for these parents and children to form a family by themselves. The children should each do a part of the family labor and thus obtain a valuable education which could not be obtained in any other way. Life at ----- or in any other place, surrounded by waiters and helpers, is the greatest possible injury to mothers and children. Jesus invites Sister F to find rest in Him and to let her mind receive a healthy tone by dwelling upon heavenly things and earnestly seeking to bring up her little flock in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. In this way she can best assist her husband by relieving him of the feeling that she must be the object of so much of his attention, care, and sympathy.
(1T 558.1)
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As to the extent of the accommodations of the Health Institute at Battle Creek, I was shown, as I have before stated, that we should have such an institution, small at its commencement, and cautiously increased, as good physicians and helpers could be procured and means raised, and as the wants of invalids should demand; and all should be conducted in strict accordance with the principles and humble spirit of the third angel’s message. And as I have seen the large calculations hastily urged by those who have taken a leading part in the work, I have felt alarmed, and in many private conversations and in letters I have warned these brethren to move cautiously. My reasons for this are that without the special blessing of God there are several ways in which this enterprise might be hindered, for a time at least, any one of which would be detrimental to the institution and an injury to the cause. Should the physicians fail, through sickness, death, or any other cause, to fill their places, the work would be hindered till others were raised up; or should means fail to come in when extensive buildings were in process of erection, and the work stop, capital would be sunk, and a general discouragement would come over all interested; also there might be a lack of patients to occupy present accommodations, consequently a lack of means to meet present expenses. With all the efforts in every department put forth in a correct and judicious manner, and with the blessing of God, the institution will prove a glorious success, while a single failure in any one direction might sooner or later prove a great injury. It should not be forgotten that out of many hygienic institutions started in the United States within the last twenty-five years but few maintain even a visible existence at the present time.
(1T 558.2)
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I have publicly appealed to our brethren in behalf of an institution to be established among us, and have spoken in the highest terms of Dr. F as the man who has in the providence of God obtained an experience to act a part as physician. This I have said upon the authority of what God has shown me. If necessary, I would unhesitatingly repeat all that I have said. I have no desire to withdraw one sentence that I have written or spoken. The work is of God and must be prosecuted with a firm yet cautious hand.
(1T 559.1)
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The health reform is closely connected with the work of the third message, yet it is not the message. Our preachers should teach the health reform, yet they should not make this the leading theme in the place of the message. Its place is among those subjects which set forth the preparatory work to meet the events brought to view by the message; among these it is prominent. We should take hold of every reform with zeal, yet should avoid giving the impression that we are vacillating and subject to fanaticism. Our people should furnish means to meet the wants of a growing Health Institute among us, as they are able to do without giving less for the other wants of the cause. Let the health reform and the Health Institute grow up among us as other worthy enterprises have grown, taking into the account our feeble strength in the past and our greater ability to do much in a short period of time now. Let the Health Institute grow, as other interests among us have grown, as fast as it can safely and not cripple other branches of the great work which are of equal or greater importance at this time. For a brother to put a large share of his property, whether he has much or little into the Institute, so as to be unable to do as much in other directions as he otherwise should, would be wrong. And for him to do nothing would be as great a wrong. With every stirring appeal to our people for means to put into the Institute there should have been a caution not to rob other branches of the work; especially should the liberal poor have been cautioned. Some feeble poor men with families, without a home of their own, and too poor to go to the Institute to be treated, have put from one fifth to one third of all they possess into the Institute. This is wrong. Some brethren and sisters have several shares when they should not have one, and should for a short time attend the Institute, having their expenses paid, wholly or in part, from the charity fund. I do not see the wisdom of making great calculations for the future and letting those suffer who need help now. Move no faster, brethren, than the unmistakable providence of God opens the way before you.
(1T 559.2)
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The health reform is a branch of the special work of God for the benefit of His people. I saw that in an institution established among us the greatest danger would be of its managers’ departing from the spirit of the present truth and from that simplicity which should ever characterize the disciples of Christ. A warning was given me against lowering the standard of truth in any way in such an institution in order to help the feelings of unbelievers and thus secure their patronage. The great object of receiving unbelievers into the institution is to lead them to embrace the truth. If the standard be lowered, they will get the impression that the truth is of little importance, and they will go away in a state of mind harder of access than before.
(1T 560.1)
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But the greatest evil resulting from such a course would be its influence upon the poor, afflicted, believing patients, which would affect the cause generally. They have been taught to trust in the prayer of faith, and many of them are bowed down in spirit because prayer is not now more fully answered. I saw that the reason why God did not hear the prayers of His servants for the sick among us more fully was that He could not be glorified in so doing while they were violating the laws of health. And I also saw that He designed the health reform and Health Institute to prepare the way for the prayer of faith to be fully answered. Faith and good works should go hand in hand in relieving the afflicted among us, and in fitting them to glorify God here and to be saved at the coming of Christ. God forbid that these afflicted ones should ever be disappointed and grieved in finding the managers of the Institute working only from a worldly standpoint instead of adding to the hygienic practice the blessings and virtues of nursing fathers and mothers in Israel.
(1T 560.2)
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Let no one obtain the idea that the Institute is the place for them to come to be raised up by the prayer of faith. That is the place to find relief from disease by treatment and right habits of living, and to learn how to avoid sickness. But if there is one place under the heavens more than another where soothing, sympathizing prayer should be offered by men and women of devotion and faith it is at such an institute. Those who treat the sick should move forward in their important work with strong reliance upon God for His blessing to attend the means which He has graciously provided, and to which He has in mercy called our attention as a people, such as pure air, cleanliness, healthful diet, proper periods of labor and repose, and the use of water. They should have no selfish interest outside of this important and solemn work. To care properly for the physical and spiritual interests of the afflicted people of God who have reposed almost unlimited confidence in them and have at great expense placed themselves under their care will require their undivided attention. No one has so great a mind, or is so skillful, but that the work will be imperfect after he has done his very best.
(1T 561.1)
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Let those to whom are committed the physical and also to a great extent the spiritual interests of the afflicted people of God, beware how they, through worldly policy or personal interest or a desire to be engaged in a great and popular work, call down upon themselves and this branch of the cause the frown of God. They should not depend upon their skill alone. If the blessing, instead of the frown, of God be upon the institution, angels will attend patients, helpers, and physicians to assist in the work of restoration, so that in the end the glory will be given to God and not to feeble, shortsighted man. Should these men work from a worldly policy, and should their hearts be lifted up and they feel to say, “My power, and the might of my hand hath done this,” God would leave them to work under the great disadvantages of their inferiority to other institutions in knowledge, experience, and facilities. They could not then accomplish half as much as other institutions do.
(1T 562.1)
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I saw the beneficial influence of outdoor labor upon those of feeble vitality and depressed circulation, especially upon women who have induced these conditions by too much confinement indoors. Their blood has become impure for want of fresh air and exercise. Instead of amusements to keep these persons indoors, care should be taken to provide outdoor attractions. I saw there should be connected with the Institute ample grounds, beautified with flowers and planted with vegetables and fruits. Here the feeble could find work, appropriate to their sex and condition, at suitable hours. These grounds should be under the care of an experienced gardener to direct all in a tasteful, orderly manner.
(1T 562.2)
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The relation which I sustain to this work demands of me an unfettered expression of my views. I speak freely and choose this medium to speak to all interested. What appeared in Testimony No. 11 concerning the Health Institute should not have been given until I was able to write out all I had seen in regard to it. I intended to say nothing upon the subject in No. 11, and sent all the manuscript that I designed for that Testimony from Ottawa County, where I was then laboring, to the office at Battle Creek, stating that I wished them to hasten out that little work, as it was much needed, and as soon as possible I would write No. 12, in which I designed to speak freely and fully concerning the Institute. The brethren at Battle Creek who were especially interested in the Institute knew I had seen that our people should contribute of their means to establish such an institution. They therefore wrote to me that the influence of my testimony in regard to the Institute was needed immediately to move the brethren upon the subject, and that the publication of No. 11 would be delayed till I could write.
(1T 562.3)
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This was a great trial to me, as I knew I could not write out all I had seen, for I was then speaking to the people six or eight times a week, visiting from house to house, and writing hundreds of pages of personal testimonies and private letters. This amount of labor, with unnecessary burdens and trials thrown upon me, unfitted me for labor of any kind. My health was poor, and my mental sufferings were beyond description. Under these circumstances I yielded my judgment to that of others and wrote what appeared in No. 11 in regard to the Health Institute, being unable then to give all I had seen. In this I did wrong. I must be allowed to know my own duty better than others can know it for me, especially concerning matters which God has revealed to me. I shall be blamed by some for speaking as I now speak. Others will blame me for not speaking before. The disposition manifested to crowd the matter of the Institute so fast has been one of the heaviest trials I have ever borne. If all who have used my testimony to move the brethren had been equally moved by it themselves, I should be better satisfied. Should I delay longer to speak my views and feelings, I should be blamed the more both by those who think I should have spoken sooner and by those also who may think I should not give any cautions. For the good of those at the head of the work, for the good of the cause and the brethren, and to save myself great trials, I have freely spoken.
(1T 563.1)
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[This and the following article are extracts from letters which I addressed to those at the head of the Health Institute, the first one, the first of May, 1867, and the second, in June following. E. G. W.]
(1T 564)
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God would have a health institution established which will in its influence be closely connected with the closing work for mortals fitting for immortality, one that will have no tendency to weaken the religious principles of old or young and which will not improve the health of the body to the detriment of spiritual growth. The great object of this institution should be to improve the health of the body, that the afflicted may more highly appreciate eternal things. If this object is not continually set before the mind and efforts are not made to this end, it will prove a curse instead of a blessing, spirituality will be regarded as a secondary thing, and the health of the body and diversion will be made primary.
(1T 564.1)
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I saw that the high standard should not be lowered in the least in order that the institution may be patronized by unbelievers. If unbelievers choose to come while its conductors occupy the exalted spiritual position which God designs they should, there will be a power that will affect their hearts. With God and angels on their side, His commandment-keeping people can but prosper. This institution is not to be established for the object of gain, but to aid in bringing God’s people into such a condition of physical and mental health as will enable them to rightly appreciate eternal things and to correctly value the redemption so dearly purchased by the sufferings of our Saviour. This institution is not to be made a place for diversion or amusement. Those who cannot live unless they have excitement and diversion will be of no use to the world; none are made better for their living. They might just as well be out of the world as to be in it.
(1T 564.2)
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In former numbers of Testimonies for the Church I have spoken of the importance of Seventh-day Adventists’ establishing an institution for the benefit of the sick, especially for the suffering and sick among us. I have spoken of the ability of our people, in point of means, to do this; and have urged that, in view of the importance of this branch of the great work of preparation to meet the Lord with gladness of heart, our people should feel themselves called upon, according to their ability, to put a portion of their means into such an institution. I have also pointed out, as they were shown to me, some of the dangers to which physicians, managers, and others would be exposed in the prosecution of such an enterprise; and I did hope that the dangers shown me would be avoided. In this, however, I enjoyed hope for a time, only to suffer disappointment and grief.
(1T 633.1)
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I had taken great interest in the health reform and had high hopes of the prosperity of the Health Institute. I felt, as no other one could feel, the responsibility of speaking to my brethren and sisters in the name of the Lord concerning this institution and their duty to furnish necessary means, and I watched the progress of the work with intense interest and anxiety. When I saw those who managed and directed, running into the dangers shown me, of which I had warned them in public and also in private conversation and letters, a terrible burden came upon me. That which had been shown me as a place where the suffering sick among us could be helped was one where sacrifice, hospitality, faith, and piety should be the ruling principles. But when unqualified calls were made for large sums of money, with the statement that stock taken would pay large per cent; when the brethren who occupied positions in the institution seemed more than willing to take larger wages than those were satisfied with who filled other and equally important stations in the great cause of truth and reform; when I learned, with pain, that, in order to make the institution popular with those not of our faith and to secure their patronage, a spirit of compromise was rapidly gaining ground at the Institute, manifested in the use of Mr., Miss, and Mrs., instead of Brother and Sister, and in popular amusements, in which all could engage in a sort of comparatively innocent frolic—when I saw these things, I said: This is not that which was shown me as an institution for the sick which would share the signal blessing of God. This is another thing.
(1T 633.2)
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And yet calculations for more extensive buildings were made, and calls for large sums of money were urged. As it was then managed, I could but regard the Institute, on the whole, as a curse. Although some were benefited healthwise, the influence on the church at Battle Creek and upon brethren and sisters who visited the Institute was so bad as to overbalance all the good that was done; and this influence was reaching churches in this and other states, and was terribly destructive to faith in God and in the present truth. Several who came to Battle Creek humble, devoted, confiding Christians, went away almost infidels. The general influence of these things was creating prejudice against the health reform in very many of the most humble, the most devoted, and the best of our brethren, and was destroying faith in my Testimonies and in the present truth.
(1T 634.1)
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It was this state of matters relative to the health reform and the Health Institute, with which other things were brought to bear, that made it my duty to speak as I did in Testimony No. 13. I well knew that that would produce a reaction and trial in many minds. I also knew that a reaction must come sooner or later, and, for the good of the Institute and the cause generally, the sooner the better. Had matters been moving in a wrong direction, to the injury of precious souls and the cause generally, the sooner this could be checked, and they be properly directed the better. The further the advance, the greater the ruin, the greater the reaction, and the greater the general discouragement. The misdirected work must have such a check; there must be time to correct errors and start again in the right direction.
(1T 634.2)
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The good work wrought for the church at Battle Creek last fall, the thorough reform and turning to the Lord by physicians, helpers, and managers at the Health Institute, and the general agreement of our brethren and sisters in all parts of the field relative to the great object of the Health Institute and the manner it should be conducted, to which is added the varied experience of more than one year, not only in the wrong course, but also in a right direction, give me more confidence that the health reform and the Health Institute will prove a success than I ever had before. I still fondly hope to see the Health Institute at Battle Creek prospering and in every respect the institute shown me. But it will take time to fully correct and outgrow the errors of the past. With the blessing of God this can and will be done.
(1T 635.1)
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The brethren who have stood at the head of this work have appealed to our people for means, on the ground that the health reform is a part of the great work connected with the third angel’s message. In this they have been right. It is a branch of the great, charitable, liberal, sacrificing, benevolent work of God. Then why should these brethren say: “Stock in the Health Institute will pay a large per cent,”“it is a good investment,”“a paying thing”? Why not as well talk of stock in the Publishing Association paying a large per cent? If these are two branches of the same great, closing work of preparation for the coming of the Son of man, why not? Or why not make them both matters of liberality? The pen and the voice that appealed to the friends of the cause in behalf of the publishing fund held out no such inducements. Why, then, represent to wealthy, covetous Sabbathkeepers that they may do great good by investing their means in the Health Institute, and at the same time retain the principal, and also receive large per cent for the simple use of it? The brethren were called upon to donate for the Publishing Association, and they nobly and cheerfully sacrificed unto the Lord, following the example of the one who made the call, and the blessing of God has been upon that branch of the great work. But it is to be feared that His displeasure is upon the manner in which funds have been raised for the Health Institute, and that His blessing will not be upon that institution to the full, till this wrong shall be corrected. In my appeal to the brethren in behalf of such an institution, in Testimony for the church, vol 1, No. 11, page 492, I said:
(1T 635.2)
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“I was shown that there is no lack of means among Sabbathkeeping Adventists. At present their greatest danger is in their accumulations of property. Some are continually increasing their cares and labors; they are overcharged. The result is, God and the wants of His cause are nearly forgotten by them; they are spiritually dead. They are required to make a sacrifice to God, an offering. A sacrifice does not increase, but decreases and consumes.”
(1T 636.1)
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My view of this matter of means was that there should be “a sacrifice to God, an offering;” and I never received any other idea. But if the principal is to be held good by stockholders, and they are to draw a certain per cent, where is the decrease, or the consuming sacrifice? And how are the dangers of those Sabbathkeepers who are accumulating property decreased by the present plan of holding stock in the Institute? Their dangers are only increased. And here is an additional excuse for their covetousness. In investing in stock in the Institute, held as a matter of sale and purchase like any other property, they do not sacrifice. As a large per cent is held out as an inducement, the spirit of gain, not sacrifice, leads them to invest so largely in the stock of the Institute that they have but little if anything to give to sustain other and still more important branches of the work. God requires of these close, covetous, worldly persons a sacrifice for suffering humanity. He calls on them to let their worldly possessions decrease for the sake of the afflicted ones who believe in Jesus and the present truth. They should have a chance to act in full view of the decisions of the final judgment, as described in the following burning words of the King of kings:
(1T 636.2)
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Matthew 25:34-46: “Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was an hungered, and ye gave Me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me in: naked, and ye clothed Me: I was sick, and ye visited Me: I was in prison, and ye came unto Me. Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungered, and fed Thee? or thirsty, and gave Thee drink? When saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in? or naked, and clothed Thee? Or when saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.”Matthew 25:34-46.
(1T 637.1)
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“Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was an hungered, and ye gave Me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in: naked, and ye clothed Me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited Me not. Then shall they also answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee anhungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee? Then shall He answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal.”Matthew 25:34-46.
(1T 637.2)
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Again on page 494 of Testimony for the church vol. 1, No. 11, page 494, I said: “There is a liberal supply of means among our people, and if all felt the importance of the work, this great enterprise could be carried forward without embarrassment. All should feel a special interest in sustaining it. Especially should those who have means invest in this enterprise. A suitable home should be fitted up for the reception of invalids that they may, by the use of proper means and the blessing of God, be relieved of their infirmities and learn how to take care of themselves and thus prevent sickness.”
(1T 638.1)
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“Many who profess the truth are growing close and covetous. They need to be alarmed for themselves. They have so much of their treasure upon the earth that their hearts are on their treasure. Much the larger share of their treasure is in this world, and but little in heaven; therefore their affections are placed on earthly possessions instead of on the heavenly inheritance. There is now a good opportunity for them to use their means for the benefit of suffering humanity and also for the advancement of the truth. This enterprise should never be left to struggle in poverty. These stewards to whom God has entrusted means should now come up to the work and use their means to His glory. To those who through covetousness withhold their means, it will prove a curse rather than a blessing.”
(1T 638.2)
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In what I have been shown and what I have said, I received no other idea, and designed to give no other, than that the raising of funds for this branch of the work was to be a matter of liberality, the same as for the support of other branches of the great work. And although the change from the present plan to one that can be fully approved of the Lord may be attended with difficulties and require time and labor, yet I think that it can be made with little loss of stock already taken, and that it will result in a decided increase of capital donated to be used in a proper manner to relieve suffering humanity.
(1T 638.3)
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Many who have taken stock are not able to donate it. Some of these persons are suffering for the very money which they have invested in stock. As I travel from state to state, I find afflicted ones standing on the very verge of the grave, who should go to the Institute for a while, but cannot for want of the means they have in Institute stock. These should not have a dollar invested there. One case in Vermont I will mention. As early as 1850 this brother became a Sabbathkeeper, and from that date he contributed liberally to the several enterprises that have been undertaken to advance the cause, till he became reduced in property. Yet when the urgent, unqualified call came for the Institute, he took stock to the amount of one hundred dollars. At the meeting at ----- he introduced the case of his wife, who is very feeble, and who can be helped, but must be helped soon, if ever. He also stated his circumstances, and said that if he could command the one hundred dollars then in the Institute, he could send his wife there to be treated; but as it was, he could not. We replied that he should never have invested a dollar in the Institute, that there was a wrong in the matter which we could not help, and there the matter dropped. I do not hesitate to say that this sister should be treated, a few weeks at least, at the Institute free of charge. Her husband is able to do but little more than to pay her fare to and from Battle Creek.
(1T 639.1)
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VC
The friends of humanity, of truth and holiness, should act in reference to the Institute on the plan of sacrifice and liberality. I have five hundred dollars in stock in the Institute, which I wish to donate, and if my husband succeeds with his anticipated book, he will give five hundred dollars more. Will those who approve this plan please address us at Greenville, Montcalm County, Michigan, and state the sums they wish to donate, or to invest in stock to be held as the stock in the Publishing Association is held. When this is done, then let the donations come in as needed; let the sums, small and large, come in. Let means be expended judiciously. Let charges for patients be as reasonable as possible. Let brethren donate to partly pay the expenses at the Institute of the suffering, worthy poor among them. Let the feeble ones be led out, as they can bear it, to cultivate the beautifully situated acres owned by the Institute. Let them not do this with the narrow idea of pay, but with the liberal idea that the expense of the purchase of them was a matter of benevolence for their good. Let their labor be a part of their prescription, as much as the taking of baths. Let benevolence, charity, humanity, sacrifice for others’ good, be the ruling idea with physicians, managers, helpers, patients, and with all the friends of Jesus, far and near, instead of wages, good investment, a paying thing, stock that will pay. Let the love of Christ, love for souls, sympathy for suffering humanity, govern all we say and do relative to the Health Institute.
(1T 639.2)
MC
VC
Why should the Christian physician, who is believing, expecting, looking, waiting, and longing for the coming and kingdom of Christ, when sickness and death will no longer have power over the saints, expect more pay for his services than the Christian editor or the Christian minister? He may say that his work is more wearing. That is yet to be proved. Let him work as he can endure it, and not violate the laws of life which he teaches to his patients. There are no good reasons why he should overwork and receive large pay for it, more than the minister or the editor. Let all who act a part in the Institute and receive pay for their services, act on the same liberal principle. No one should be suffered to remain as helper in the Institute who does it simply for pay. There are those of ability who, for the love of Christ, His cause, and the suffering followers of their Master, will fill stations in that Institute faithfully and cheerfully, and with a spirit of sacrifice. Those who have not this spirit should remove and give place to those who have it.
(1T 640.1)
MC
VC
As nearly as I am able to judge, one half of the afflicted among our people who should spend weeks or months at the Institute are not able to pay the entire expense of the journey and a tarry there. Shall poverty keep these friends of our Lord from the blessings which He has so bountifully provided? Shall they be left to struggle on with the double burden of feebleness and poverty? The wealthy feeble ones, who have all the comforts and conveniences of life, and are able to hire their hard work done, may, with care and rest, by informing themselves and taking home treatment, enjoy a very comfortable state of health without going to the Institute. But what can our poor, feeble brethren or sisters do to recover health? They may do something, but poverty drives them to labor beyond what they are really able. They have not even all the comforts of life; and as for conveniences in houseroom, furniture, means of taking baths, and arrangements for good ventilation, they do not have them. Perhaps their only room is occupied by a cookstove, winter and summer; and it may be that all the books they have in the house, excepting the Bible, could be held between the thumb and finger. They have no money to buy books that they may read and learn how to live. These dear brethren are the very ones who need help. Many of them are humble Christians. They may have faults, and some of these may reach far back and be the cause of their present poverty and misery. And yet they may be living up to duty better than we who have the means to improve our own condition and that of others. These must be patiently taught and cheerfully helped.
(1T 641.1)
MC
VC
But they must be willing and anxious to be taught. They must cherish a spirit of gratitude to God and their brethren for the help they receive. Such persons generally have no just ideas of the real expense of treatment, board, room, fuel, etc., at a Health Institute. They do not realize the magnitude of the great work of present truth and reform, and the many calls for the liberalities of our people. They may not be aware that the numbers of our poor are many times larger than the numbers of our rich. And they may not also feel the force of the frightful fact that a majority of these wealthy ones are holding on to their riches and are in the sure road to perdition.
(1T 641.2)
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VC
These poor afflicted persons should be taught that when they murmur at their lot and against the wealthy on account of their covetousness, they commit a great sin in the sight of heaven. They should first understand that their sickness and poverty are misfortunes most generally caused by their own sins, follies, and wrongs; and if the Lord puts it into the hearts and minds of His people to help them, it should inspire in them feelings of humble gratitude to God and His people. They should do all in their power to help themselves. If they have relatives who can and will defray their expenses at the Institute, these should have the privilege.
(1T 642.1)
MC
VC
And in view of the many poor and afflicted ones who must, to a greater or less extent, be objects of the charity of the Institute, and because of the lack of funds and the want of accommodations at the present time, the stay of such at the Institute must be brief. They should go there with the idea of obtaining, as fast and as far as possible, a practical knowledge of what they must do, and what they must not do, to recover health and to live healthfully. The lectures which they hear while at the Institute, and good books from which to learn how to live at home, must be the main reliance of such. They may find some relief during a few weeks spent at the Institute, but will realize more at home in carrying out the same principles. They must not rely on the physicians to cure them in a few weeks, but must learn so to live as to give nature a chance to work the cure. This may commence during a few weeks’ stay at the Institute, and yet it may require years to complete the work by correct habits at home.
(1T 642.2)
MC
VC
A man may spend all that he has in this world at a Health Institute, and find great relief, and may then return to his family and to his old habits of life, and in a few weeks or months be in a worse condition of health than ever before. He has gained nothing; he has spent his limited means for nothing. The object of the health reform and the Health Institute is not, like a dose of “Painkiller” or “Instant Relief,” to quiet the pains of today. No, indeed! Its great object is to teach the people how to live so as to give nature a chance to remove and resist disease.
(1T 643.1)
MC
VC
To the afflicted among our people I wish to say, Be not discouraged. God has not forsaken His people and His cause. Make known your state of health and your ability to meet the expenses of a stay at the Institute to the physicians, addressing Health Institute, Battle Creek, Michigan. Are you diseased, running down, feeble, then do not delay till your case is hopeless. Write immediately. But I must say again to the poor: At present but little can be done to help you, on account of capital already raised being invested in material and buildings. Do all you possibly can for yourselves, and others will help you some.
(1T 643.2)
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From October 21, 1867 to December 22, 1867
(1T 643)
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Our labor with the Battle Creek church had just closed, and, notwithstanding we were much worn, we had been so refreshed in spirit as we witnessed the good result that we cheerfully joined Brother J. N. Andrews in the long journey to Maine. On the way we held a meeting at Roosevelt, New York. Testimony No. 13 was doing its work, and those brethren who had taken part in the general disaffection were beginning to see things in their true light. This meeting was one of hard labor, in which pointed testimonies were given. Confessions were made, followed by a general turning to the Lord on the part of backsliders and sinners.
(1T 643.3)
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VC