432. Brother and Sister -----, I wish to present for your consideration a few points that have been revealed to me since first there arose the difficulties connected with the question of discarding flesh meat from the tables of our medical institutions....
(CD 290.1)
MC
VC
I have been plainly instructed by the Lord that flesh meat should not be placed before the patients in our sanitarium dining rooms. Light was given me that the patients could have flesh meat, if, after hearing the parlor lectures, they still urged us to give it to them; but that, in such cases, it must be eaten in their own rooms. All the helpers are to discard flesh meat. But, as stated before, if, after knowing that the flesh of animals cannot be placed on the dining room tables, a few patients urge that they must have meat, cheerfully give it to them in their rooms.
(CD 290.2)
MC
VC
Accustomed, as many are, to the use of flesh meat, it is not surprising that they should expect to see it on the sanitarium table. You may find it unadvisable to publish the bill of fare, giving a list of the foods supplied at the table; for the absence of flesh meat from the dietary may seem a formidable obstacle to those who are thinking of becoming patrons of the sanitarium.
(CD 290.3)
MC
VC
Let the food be palatably prepared and nicely served. More dishes will have to be prepared than would be necessary if flesh meat were served. Other things can be provided, so that meats can be discarded. Milk and cream can be used by some.—Letter 45, 1903
(CD 290.4)
MC
VC
433. Instruction has been given me that physicians who use flesh meat and prescribe it for their patients, should not be employed in our institutions, because they fail decidedly in educating the patients to discard that which makes them sick. The physician who uses and prescribes meat does not reason from cause to effect, and instead of acting as a restorer, he leads the patient by his own example to indulge perverted appetite.
(CD 290.5)
MC
VC
The principal objection with physicians and helpers at the Health Retreat to discarding a meat diet is that they want meat, and then plead they must have meat. Therefore, they encourage its use. But God does not want those who come to the Health Retreat educated to live on a flesh diet. By parlor talks and by example, educate in the other direction. This will call for great skill in the preparation of wholesome food. More labor will be required, but nevertheless, it must gradually be done. Use less meat. Let those who do the cooking and those who bear the responsibility educate their own tastes and habits of eating in accordance with the laws of health.
(CD 408.1)
MC
VC
We have been going back to Egypt rather than on to Canaan. Shall we not reverse the order of things? Shall we not have plain, wholesome food on our tables? Shall we not dispense with hot biscuits, which only cause dyspepsia? Those who elevate the standard as nearly as they can to the order of God, according to the light God has given them through His word and the testimonies of His Spirit, will not change their course of action to meet the wishes of their friends or relatives, be they one or two or a host, who are living contrary to God’s wise arrangement. If we move from principle in these things, if we observe strict rules of diet, if as Christians we educate our tastes after God’s plan, we shall exert an influence which will meet the mind of God. The question is, “Are we willing to be true health reformers?”
(CD 408.2)
MC
VC
It is essential that continuous sameness in diet be avoided. The appetite will be much better if changes in the food are made. Be uniform. Do not have several kinds of food on the table at one meal, and no variety the next. Study economy in this line. Let people complain if they will. Let them find fault if there is not enough to suit them. The Israelites always complained of Moses and of God. It is your duty to maintain the standard of health reform. More can be accomplished for sick people by regulating their diet than by all the baths that can be given them.
(CD 408.3)
MC
VC
Let the same amount of money expended for meat be used to purchase fruit. Show the people a right way of living. Had this been done from the first at the institution at _____, the Lord would have been pleased, and would have approved the effort....
(CD 408.4)
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VC