Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Ms 231, 1902

Remarks/City Restaurants

San Diego, California

September 25, 1902

Previously unpublished.

(Portion of a report of a council meeting held Friday morning, September 25, 1902, at 715 Tenth St., San Diego, California.) 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 1

E. G. White: We were speaking of the preparation of the food at the restaurants that we have—say, the restaurant at Los Angeles. They claim to have a thousand eaters. Who takes care of them? Who furnishes food for them? They have to have helpers corresponding to the amount of persons that they have, and unless those helpers are of a superior order, they will let down everything, instead of lifting it up. Now the question is, How long will it take those persons who are there to become demoralized with the association with worldlings, and the atmosphere that they bring in about their souls, and the evil angels that attend them—how long will it be before this atmosphere is all polluted? How long will it be before the enemy is working right through those who are on his side? Now we have questions that must come in to settle,—what these sanitariums are doing. How many have been converted by the association and by all this labor, slavery, you may say, of the workers, from the first to the last, from the highest to the lowest; how many have been brought to a knowledge of the truth? Certainly a year ought to be test enough. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 2

W. C. White: There are some, Brother Healey, are there not, in the restaurant work? 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 3

W. M. Healey: Yes, some. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 4

W. C. White: Do you know personally of any? 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 5

E. G. White: But the question is, How shall we associate ourselves? With Enoch, he had a testimony. He proclaimed the coming of the Son of God in no blanketed language at all. He came right from the retired position he was in, to give testimony to the inhabitants of the world who had a probation of 120 years. There were those to give the testimonies, and there were those who appeared to be converted, and who worked with Noah in building the ark. But the association of those that they had been with, and that they had been so wicked with, was such that after a time there were so few who took hold upon the truth, that they swayed back from the truth; they gave it up. Some died in the faith, but some gave it up. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 6

Noah, came and proclaimed to them without any reserve the judgments of God that were coming upon them. He proclaimed it from the very steps of the ark, from the very building of the first foundation of the boat. He proclaimed the message of the coming of the Lord. That was his work. That was what he did. Noah and his sons had to stand there through all the brunt. Others were dying, dying off, and being laid away saints. They were saints. There was quite a church of saints, but they were dying off, and only Noah and his sons were left to carry through the last of that message. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 7

Now Enoch went away with His God, and he walked with God, and he talked with God, and the Lord was with Enoch, and He translated him to heaven without seeing death. That is what the Lord did. And He left [Noah]. He says he was righteous in his generation. [Genesis 7:1.] So we believe he was, and his sons, with all the presentation and everything around them, they were righteous in their generation. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 8

But here, when God gives us a change to show what we will do, come out from the world, and be separate, we have got to do something for the world; we have got to give the message of warning to the world. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 9

Well, how many messages of warning are going forth from all this sanitarium business? How much is going forth here? How much is going forth there? How much is going forth in San Francisco? I talked these things to Brother Fulton; I talked some of them limited, but these things I asked him, How much had been done? Your people come with a good spirit, and now the question is up, and you have brought it to a point where some unbelievers come in, and some few, not all are admitted to take their meals. Who has to provide them? Who has to set it on the table? There is somebody that has got to do service, and they can go divided up, one go to the Sabbath one part, and another go another part of the day, one Sabbath and the next, and so on. But God says we are to keep His Sabbath, and we are not to put ourselves into any kind of relation to the world that will involve our transgressing the commandments of God. It is not to be. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 10

I tell you here straight out, so that you shall know in regard to the matter, that we have to keep ourselves, how? Unspotted from the world, unspotted. And how are we to enter the kingdom of God? Without a spot, without a wrinkle, in our character. Well, now, when we see what we have to be, and we are not half there yet; when we see the preparation that we have to make, is this preparation going to help us upward to heaven? Is it going to do it? The light that is given to me is that we should give lessons in regard to how to cook in the restaurants. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 11

Some say, “What are you going to do at our camp meetings?” We have to eat and drink at our camp meetings, and if we call out at our camp meetings, we have to do our seething and baking on the sixth day. If anyone wants a warm drink upon the Sabbath day, it is their privilege to have it, but not to feed with tea or coffee or meat on the Sabbath day, believers or unbelievers. We are to hang out our colors right straight out, what we are. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 12

I see you have right out here on the window, given them to understand that there is no meat. That is what should be; you have done the right thing, and I was pleased to see that, more than pleased, because it shows an unfurling of the banner, and that is what we must have. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 13

Now what is our message to the world today? The commandments of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ. The third angel flying through heaven is represented as giving this message. What does flying through heaven mean? Why, we have got to catch that message here on the earth. We hear no angel voices, but we have got to give it to all who believe in Christ. To them that received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God—right here in this wicked and perverted generation—the sons of God. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 14

When we establish our sanitariums, and go right into a city, with all their tobacco using—poisoning the air, so that you cannot go any place in the city without the air all poisoned, it is a problem. Speaking of Los Angeles, there is a hotel looming clear up; there are the visitors, the tourists, that go there. You tell them not to smoke around that sanitarium, and I wonder how long that sanitarium would be in favor there? You just get all that evil that will come from that tourist hotel. These things are presented to me. If they were not, I would keep my tongue still. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 15

I had the opportunity of telling Sister Moran some of these things. Her husband was not there, but she thought there were objections to her husband, something that she knew was not so. “Well now,” I said, “Sister, I know nothing about that. No one has intimated anything to me about that, except this, that God wants every one of us to be just as sweet in our disposition and just as kind as Christ was in His; that we are to do just as Christ said, I think it is in the fifth of Matthew, to love our enemies. And if we are to love our enemies, He has given us again in the 13th chapter of John, that we are to love one another as Christ has loved us; for by this shall all men know that ye are His disciples. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 16

“But,” I said, “if you speak of anything, I do not know it, but please do not speak of it to me, because I do not know anything of that thing. I only speak in general terms of how you should be toward your helpers; that I know. And that, I said, I must speak about. I must tell you that you are to guard their religious interests, just as you would guard your own soul, or your little child there, and you are to give them every encouragement to perfect a Christian character in Christ Jesus. This must be in every institution in our land, that they must give them every chance to do what? Grow up into Christ, your living head.” 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 17

When we get grown up into that living Head, we will have more level heads than we have today. We have a seeking of the Holy Ghost that He may come right into our midst, and baptize us with His power; and we will not feel that we will let it go. We won’t have any nonsense in our house; we will not have any foolishness, any trifling, or anything like this, anywhere around. It is too solemn a thing that we are doing. There may be such a thing right here where the young institution is started, and has gathered more help than is really essential. You have to pay for that help, and each one feels that they have to do just about so much. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 18

Now the Lord gave me all this when I was at Honolulu. There were some things presented to me there about their help, and about how that help is to be guarded; how carefully the words of our mouths are to be like apples of gold in pictures of silver; and all these things are to be brought out in such a way as to perfect the characters of those who are connected with a work that God wants done. No matter what that work is, if it is a part of God’s service, we have to stand, as what? Hour men? Day men? As minutemen, hour men, and day men. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 19

The Lord is coming, and we need to form characters for eternal life. Our eye needs to be taken off, and our limb is to be taken off—that is, the favorite vices we formed in our characters that we must take them away for cause of offense, for mercy’s sake, for Christ’s sake. Let us have it taken away from the Holy Spirit. We are right here where we are on test and trial for our faith. We have to be weighed in the balance, as to whether we shall be found wanting, or not, in the day of God. We are now making our preparation for eternal life, and we have not one moment to lose. We have not a moment to give to the place of the devil. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 20

Well, I want to say that the Lord wants us to employ no more help than we can possibly need, because we don’t want to accumulate those who shall be brought in connection with worldlings, as they must be. Then those that we can use, try in every power possible to keep them up on vantage ground, to keep them up where they will have courage in the Lord, and where their faith will be increased. There has got to be one in the institution that shall keep the work on these points and to do them good. I understand that they have in Los Angeles. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 21

W. C. White: You say they have one. What are you speaking of? 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 22

E. G. White: They said they had one to work with the helpers in the whole establishment—one man. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 23

T. S. Whitelock: I was there last winter, while he was employed. I spent three months in Los Angeles; had charge of the medical work there. When I went there, we had only about two or three of the helpers that would come to the meetings. But we went to work, and when I left there, there were about ten or twelve, maybe a fourth of the number, that we could get to the meetings, that we could do anything with at all. He tells me that the work is going fairly well, but not so well as then. Very discouraging, some features of it. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 24

E. G. White: The particular point is the giving out so much from these helpers connected with the sanitarium as believers. You know the talent of every single soul is of value with God, and Christ looks upon every single soul in our world as purchased by His agony and blood. Well, now, here are all these souls brought together to treat a thousand that shall come in here, as it has been stated to me. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 25

W. C. White: They do not treat but a few, a dozen or so; but they feed about 800. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 26

E. G. White: Yes, I understand. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 27

T. S. Whitelock: Probably you do not understand that, Sister White, about the number. There are not a thousand different individuals that come in there. There are about 350 regular people that come in there, somewhere about that, and they come there about three times day. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 28

E. G. White: The keep changing, changing all the time. Now I want to know why it is not just as well for the worldings to take that sanitarium and carry it on, that have not go any Sabbath or have not got any particular religion, as for our people to carry it on and bring no souls to the knowledge of the truth. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 29

W. M. Healey: That’s truth. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 30

E. G. White: That is what I want to know. What good is it doing? You have a changing company all the time, it is changing. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 31

W. C. White: We have thought it was making a favorable impression that would open up the way for the truth. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 32

E. G. White: Yes, but there is devising. That mind that could devise all those things that are being done there could have devised something to have made this effort stand on vantage ground before God. They could have devised some way of having the truth brought before the people. They could have devised that just as well as all the other things that are taking place there. Some means that they could get, so they could hear the message of truth. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 33

Now, there are some precious souls come in there. It is presented to me as coming in. Now, I am sorry that I have to speak of those things to men who have had a knowledge of the truth. I am very sorry I have to do it. They ought to know what Christ demands of them. “Ye are the light of the world, A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.” [Matthew 5:14.] And so now let your light so shine before men that they, by seeing your good works, shall glorify our Father which is in heaven. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 34

They see the helpers. They see them, and they take knowledge of them. If they carry themselves consistently, how long will they carry themselves so? How long will it be? That is the question. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 35

Sister Moran told me herself about those that came there as believers, wanting to help. They thought they were helping the cause of God. They got tired and wearied out; and they don’t seem to have that zeal and heartiness that they did in something for God’s cause. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 36

And how can they have? She Sister Moran told me herself that there were a few that they fed on the Sabbath, and those few have got to take servants to help them. Their servants they have got to be on the Sabbath. The Bible says that your ox, your ass, nor all these things, your servants, none of these are to be tempted in this labor line. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 37

Now here are facts in the case, and Willie—the fact that this restaurant is being opened, as it has been presented to me should be done all through San Francisco, but it is not. But it is not that they should open them to make no effort in connection with them, but rather to bring them under the influence of the sacred Word, the influence to understand Bible truth. That is how it is. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 38

W. C. White: Have you had any light as to the comparative value of several small places, or a few big places? 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 39

E. G. White: Yes; the light that I have of the small places is to set them in different localities, and let that tell in the different localities. Let them come into these restaurants, and then have some changes, so that they can reach them. They can institute something. They have brain nerve power if they want to do anything to carry out their own ideas, and to promote their own special interests; they have got brain nerve power enough. Now let them give that brain nerve power to the One who created it, and let them see what they can do for the advancement of the truth, and for the love of God in the connection that they have with these. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 40

Publications; I have seen that one should be on Daniel and Revelation, published right together, making scarcely any remarks or explanations, or but very few. That has been shown me for years. And they should be sold to those whom you can sell them to, and give them away to those whom you cannot sell them to. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 41

And little leaflets; they should be on the lessons that Christ has given, and make some application of these lessons. These little leaflets, whether they buy them or not, should be distributed. There should be a fund created by our people, so that the publishing house shall not have to lose on it, but make their donation, just the same as the rest make their donation. Put something into the hands of those that come, and you may touch one who has that light. One, if he studies, will give it to somebody else, and somebody else will give it to still somebody else. So the work can go on. There are ways and means; but God wants us to use our brains to some purpose. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 42

W. C. White: You have several times spoken to me as though the difficulty of doing this work would be greater in a large place than a smaller one (in speaking of this in Los Angeles). 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 43

E. G. White: Yes, of doing too many things. In a small place they can take care of what they have there. Congested San Francisco, Oakland; it has been presented to me for years, and I have tried to present it and talk it. The first thing that I had to say was about the ministers hovering right over the churches, and there is a world to be saved. It is just like looking to see a person standing on a brink of a precipice. You are standing to see them fall over and never putting your hand out to help them so that they shall not fall over. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 44

W. C. White: Is it your expectation that the time will come when we can close that Los Angeles restaurant on the Sabbath? 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 45

E. G. White: Why, it never ought to have been begun, Willie, and I understood that they were not going to begin it. That was the light that I had. Now, here, the first that I thought that that was not being carried out was when I was standing right in the restaurant there, where they have their foods, and I saw it was Friday. I saw several little baskets that persons brought in and laid in a certain place. I saw the girls on Friday doing the work, wrapping up some simple foods that they could use that way, and putting them in this basket; and I asked them what they were doing. “Well,” they said, “some, insisted that they could not live on the food that they got on the week days, and they could not live on it on Sabbath without it making them sick. And then they begged so hard that we concluded that we would not break the Sabbath ourselves, but all that we would do, we would do on Friday. We would have these little packages, with a little note saying how much they would cost, and if they wanted to take them away, They could. And if they did not, we have done our duty.” They were perfectly clear. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 46

W. C. White: Putting up Sabbath lunches to carry to their apartments to live on till the restaurant was opened again. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 47

E. G. White: Yes. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 48

A. Boeker: That can be done nicely. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 49

E. G. White: It can, with the food that we have. There are plenty that we have. The bread here is far ahead of what we can get, with the flour. Can you get the flour that they have here? 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 50

A. Boeker: I presume so. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 51

E. G. White: There is a choice flour here. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 52

A. Boeker: Is that so? 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 53

E. G. White: Oh yes. I knew it as soon as I put it in my mouth. You know, there is not a particle of excuse. You make good bread there, and these crackers, you know; they could live on that, if they were so jealous of their stomachs for fear that they would get hurt. They could do that. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 54

A. Boeker: I am sure that a basket can be made with compartments, with it. I don’t think that it will take very long to experiment on that. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 55

W. C. White: After he read Clarence’s report of what you said about this at home, Fulton said to me, “I will tell you what we were doing. We were not putting up lunches for the customers, but we were putting up lunches for our own helpers to carry them over the Sabbath.” “Well,” I said, “dear boy, you don’t understand this matter. When a thing is presented to Mother in a way like that, it may not necessarily mean what you have been doing, but what you ought to be doing.” 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 56

E. G. White: Yes, these figures represent something. I have seen it all carried out, point upon point, and different parties—not what they had been doing, but what they could do. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 57

A. Boeker: You were speaking of getting out tracts, literature, you know, in the restaurants and food stores. It has come to my mind, since you have been speaking that it might be well if they had a regular rack on the wall, with all kinds of literature; these tracts that you speak of, and also a little notice on there, “Free Reading Matter.” I believe there will be a good many people who will go to these restaurants and stores that will go to that rack and pick out some reading matter and take it along. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 58

E. G. White: Yes, they will; and there are personal efforts. They are to keep their eyes open, and see the persons that come to the table; and the conviction of the Spirit of God will come to the mind, that such and such a person it would be well to see and have a private interview with them, giving them personal labor. That will come to the mind. And then it would be well to invite persons, saying that “we are going to have a little social meeting, and we would like to have any one of you come in.” 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 59

W. C. White: You know, in Germany it is quite customary to have a public lecturer and restaurant together—that is, they have a lecture as well, and they are serving beer and lunches around at the same time. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 60

E. G. White: Well, now, that is a good thing. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 61

W. C. White: Well, now, in Sydney Brother Burden has used his room for lectures on health foods and healthful living. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 62

E. G. White: Yes. Begin on that. On healthful eating. You can introduce the formation of the human system, and how fearfully and wonderfully we are made; and the temperance question; you can just bring in the temperance question. And from the light that I have, you can do a large work even in Los Angeles. This could be done. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 63

W. C. White: They have plenty of room there; they have a good big room there. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 64

E. G. White: Yes, they can have someone appointed to give lectures, not the very same person all the time, but different ones, to give a little talk, not enough to weary them, but just begin, give a little talk of ten, fifteen, or twenty minutes. You will find that ideas will go out; it will sow the seed. That is the very thing that ought to be done. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 65

When we were in California, we pitched a tent right around where the people were, and then we would call them out. We would have a good many, and quite a number embraced the truth as the result of the tent meetings. We would go clear over, my husband and I, and hold meetings at night; and then go clear back from San Francisco to Oakland. That is the way we used to do; we used to act as if souls were worth something. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 66

My husband is in the grave. I have never shed a tear over the grave since he died, but I tell you I have shed a good many tears at the loss of his company. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 67

God is in earnest with us, and He has given us the truth (which has strength), if we will have it. There is no mistake about that. All this alienation and fussing—He has told you from the very beginning what to do. He has told us not to let the sun go down upon our wrath. And when the Sabbath comes, every soul ought to see what has taken place during the week and take it away. If it is your eye, or your foot, to take out, just get self dead. Self has struggled so hard for existence. But let self die, and let Jesus Christ be formed within, the hope of glory. And then, let me tell you, there is a demonstration, right in our words and actions and spirit, that we believe the truth. There is a demonstration that the Lord is with us, and that is the Holy Spirit striving through us to reach others. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 68

It would be a terrible thing to go half converted and suppose that we were going to enter right into heaven, but we have not made any preparation. We are not ready to sing the song of triumph; we are not ready to sing the conqueror’s song. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 69

“Overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.” [Revelation 12:11.] 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 70

We have not applied the blood of the Lamb. We have not had the cleansing. God wants us to come to our senses. Where we are trying to help, as in this place, or trying to help as in Los Angeles, to get up a sanitarium, I will tell you that we must have, we must everything clean around us, and make that building clean and a perfect thing. Our workers must be just like that, clean, pure, white. That building is to be thoroughly made, and we are God’s building. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 71

Well, now, that is what I have to present. Are we going to allow our girls, who are capable of standing in such a restaurant, to have scarcely any privileges of a breath of life; no place to go, except a little bit of a room? I ask if we will expect that they will have a healthful, wholesome religion. Do we expect the influence that will be created by this association to leave them on vantage ground, or will it leave them careless and indifferent and hardhearted? God forbid. Here we do not have helpers enough to do our canvassing work, and to do our work that has to be done. Unless our restaurants shall be conducted in a wise way to keep up the religious tone for what they go in there for, to demonstrate religion, I say, let the restaurants go out. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 72

W. C. White: Just before you came in, we were discussing the necessity of making an earnest effort to get our helpers grouped together. Now they are rooming about in a number of places, and they are going to make an effort to get them together, to bring some of them into this house, and to bring them together where there will be more of a family influence. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 73

E. G. White: That is the advantage of having the small restaurants. They can get them where they can handle them, and that is the very thing that has been presented to me—that they are to be conducted just like a family. They are not to be treated as servants. They are God’s helping hands, and they are to be treated just as preciously as the little ones, as Christ says. I was writing it out this morning, as it was brought out to me yesterday morning. They were asking who should be the highest in the kingdom of God, you know, the kingdom of heaven. Well, He took a little child, and He set him down, and said, “He that will be as this little child, he will be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” [Matthew 18:4.] Well now, that is the way we want to treat everyone that loves God and serves Him, that there will be an impress in that heart to see that we care for them and we consider them with every act of kindness, and of tenderness springing up, and with love and affection. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 74

Well now, Christ gave it to the sick. He gave it to the depressed; He gave it to whoever He would meet, where He went out from His place to rest. He gave attention to all these kind words. He took children in His arms and blessed them. All of these things are our lessons, and if we have not learned them yet, it is high time that we did learn them. There are words full of eloquence in their simplicity, and we can give this simplicity and this cherished feeling. It says, “their angels (the angels that watch over these) beholdeth My Father which is in heaven.” [Verse 10.] Now, the angels go right into the presence of the Father, to tend to these poor souls that the big men—those in big positions feel they cannot deal with them as if they were precious in the sight of God, as those His blood has purchased. Now, God wants us to come to our senses on all of these things. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 75

T. S. Whitelock: I am glad that you spoke about the small restaurant, Sister White. When I was in Los Angeles, I was greatly burdened over that one thought, to know what in the world we were going to do there. That is, the helpers there are shut in. They have no privileges at all; cannot get outdoors; shut in that little dark hole all the time. I have seen good, earnest workers, lots of them, and in just a few weeks they were cold and did not go to meeting. They would go to the parks and resorts in Los Angeles, and would not go to prayer meetings, and they would slowly get cold and drift away. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 76

E. G. White: Degenerating, and the devil came right in and took possession of them. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 77

T. S. Whitelock: But having the small restaurants, they could plan it so we could have them together. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 78

E. G. White: It could be so, ought to be so. And then those who take care of these restaurants should get them a place, not in the city but where they can have a little breath of air, without the tobacco and without these evils, and without having the railroad track. Oh, it demoralizes the senses to have those railroad tracks bellowing out their noise all the time; it hurts the brain. The light that I have, it hurts the nerve brain [power], and when this nerve brain [power] is hurt, there is an immorality that comes in, that you cannot prevent. God does not want us to hear such things if we can possibly get rid of them; and we can. We take wonderful pains upon some things, but we seem to be devoid of real good sense on other things; and I want that we should take them. I hope I don’t sound like scolding, because I do not mean to. I speak in earnest but I want all to understand I feel the worth of the soul. That is how it is. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 79

T. S. Whitelock: You would not think it is right for our workers to go into an institution, and then drift away and be lost? If they go into the institution, they ought to make good, solid characters; they ought to be educated. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 80

E. G. White: That is what Sister Moran was speaking to me about. She was afraid, you know, that they were drifting away, that they would lose their hold of the truth. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 81

T. S. Whitelock: Dr. Moran told me that there have been over 500 helpers that have gone in that institution. They had that number in there, that have come and done. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 82

E. G. White: Now what have they carried with them, that is the question. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 83

T. S. Whitelock: Well, that is the sorry part of it. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 84

E. G. White: And the Lord wants us to size up all of these things. If the loss of souls is more than the gain, He wants us to close up that kind of work and go to work for souls. But I believe it can be carried so that we can have religious privileges, and it will be a soul-saving instead of a soul-losing. I know, by the way it is presented to me, that that is what it is doing. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 85

W. M. Healey: Do you mean, Doctor, that there have been 500, just helpers alone, in that institution? 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 86

T. S. Whitelock: Yes, since they have been there. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 87

W. M. Healey: I cannot comprehend that at all. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 88

T. S. Whitelock: If you could have been up there when I left there last winter, you would know that they have had three changes that have been made since that time. When I went there last week, there were only two or three of the waiters that were there when I was there last winter. That is the way it was when I was there. There was a constant stream going and coming all the time. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 89

W. M. Healey: That is nearly one-half of the membership of our conference. I cannot comprehend or understand that statement. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 90

T. S. Whitelock: They have not all come from our conference. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 91

W. C. White: There may be 500 employments, without reaching quite 500 persons. The same person may have been employed twice or more, at different times. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 92

T. W. Whitelock: There has been a vast amount of people employed there, a large number. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 93

E. G. White: Before I go away—I thought I would not bring it in, I thought perhaps we might have more present—I want to read that which I have written. I got up at half past ten the night before last. I wrote from 10:30 to 3:30, and then I got a little nap, about half an hour, and then I went all day, you know, yesterday. I did not know how I should stand it, but I came out all right. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 94

W. C. White: I guess we have taxed your strength enough now, Mother, for one day. 17LtMs, Ms 231, 1902, par. 95