General Conference Bulletin, vol. 4

MISSIONARY DECLARATION

“‘I hereby express my intention and determination to devote my life to medical missionary work, having made the matter a subject of careful consideration and earnest prayer, and believing that it is the will of God that I shall thus do. GCB April 18, 1901, page 318.2

“‘I also hereby place myself under the supervision of the International Medical Missionary and Benevolent Association for the purpose of receiving such training and other preparation for the work of the Medical Missionary as may in the judgment of the Executive Board of the Medical Missionary and Benevolent Association, be deemed proper and necessary to fit me to perform successfully such medical missionary work as may be assigned to me, and for direction and supervision in the work when I shall be prepared to enter upon it, at such time and place as providence may indicate to be duty, and the board shall advise.’” GCB April 18, 1901, page 318.3

I need no stronger argument in favor of this declaration than some of the arguments you have already listened to. These appeals you have heard, not only this afternoon but all through this Conference for workers in all lines, and especially for medical missionaries in all parts of the world. This being the case, surely we have no other business in our training schools than to train such people. I might say further that I can not see why any Seventh-day Adventist would have any business, or would care to seek training in other schools that do not require this declaration. Some may say that there is no necessity of any such declaration. Certainly there would not be if such had been the purposes of every one in the past and were the purposes of every one now. But perhaps while it is the purpose of a large number of those who seek admission to these training schools to fit themselves for medical missionaries, there are some who have not thought of the matter, who have not seriously considered what their purpose in life is going to be. If they have given it a passing thought, they have not considered it sufficiently seriously, and have not arrived at a settlement of the question for themselves, have not determined what they shall do, or what their purposes in life shall be. The main object of this declaration is to cause every one to think seriously, and decide the matter,—not that they must place themselves under the supervision of the board, and thus, as some have suggested, “sign away their individuality.” GCB April 18, 1901, page 318.4

But if any one will study the declaration carefully, and will notice, that point is very carefully guarded. They all place themselves under the supervision of the institution to work, etc., at such time and place as providence may indicate to be their duty, and the board shall advise. It seems that that clause should remove all questions of doubt, and that any one who has faith in providence, faith in God, will not hesitate on this question. GCB April 18, 1901, page 318.5

The Chair: You have heard the motion that we adopt the missionary declaration which is made by nurses when they come to enter the school. The purpose of this declaration, you will see, is not to keep people in the school. Some say it is an agreement, it is a contract. But it is not to keep people in the school for any length of time. The person signing it simply says, It is my intention. He is entering the school to be a missionary, and to work under the Medical Missionary Board. That is, he says, “I want to join you in your work. I ask you to train me for your work, so that I may take hold to help you in your work.” And what other purpose should there be in training anybody? If the person changes his mind, all he has to do is to get up and go away. But when he starts into the work, we want to know that he wants to take hold with us in training to become a missionary. And he says he wants to do it. It is the purpose of the declaration to keep people out who do not belong in. That is the whole purpose not to gather a great number of people in, but to keep unworthy people out. GCB April 18, 1901, page 318.6

Are you ready for the motion? GCB April 18, 1901, page 318.7

L. N. Lane: I would like to ask if that recommendation would affect any of the ministry who would desire to take full or partial instruction on these lines? GCB April 18, 1901, page 318.8

The Chair: Not in the slightest; because the minister can have an understanding at the start that when he finishes his course, the Medical Missionary Board will recommend him to some Conference or some field; and when these workers are recommended to some Conference, they are out of the hands of the Medical Missionary Board. It simply prevents people from going out independently at any time they please, in any place they please, without recognizing any sort of supervision. GCB April 18, 1901, page 318.9

E. J. Hibbard: I might say a few words from the standpoint of a minister. I came to the Sanitarium from the rank of the ministry, and I think I look at things something as others have done through the field. I have often thought, so far from desiring to control the lives and habits of these students when they shall leave the Sanitarium, the Medical Missionary Board, or the Sanitarium management, have not even attempted to do that while they are there. It is the only school that I know of in the world among us where the principles of truth are laid down, and every individual is absolutely free to choose or refuse. But when these persons by their own act and conduct shall show that they are out of harmony with the principles of the truth of Jesus Christ, and have been labored with, and we have done all we can for them, the same as you would in the church, and they have proved themselves to be unchristian, they are asked to separate from the school. GCB April 18, 1901, page 318.10

The Chair: They are considered as already separated. GCB April 18, 1901, page 318.11

E. J. Hibbard: Yes; and then they are asked to consider themselves to be what they are. GCB April 18, 1901, page 318.12

The Chair: The matter of diplomas enters into this. A large number come there simply for the professional training, and when they get through, they want a diploma, that they may go out, and practice under physicians of the world and earn a large amount. But we can confront them with this: When you came in here, you said you wanted to be a missionary, you entered for the purpose of becoming a medical missionary, and working in the lines of Christ; and therefore a diploma such as you want is not your due. GCB April 18, 1901, page 318.13

I have been asked by ministers, Why don’t you grant diplomas to every one that goes out? I believe the time is coming when the only diploma that any Christian will want is the fact that he has been sent of God. Brother I. N. GCB April 18, 1901, page 318.14

Williams told me of two nurses that came up to one of the cities in Quebec, and were not permitted by the laws of Quebec to practice, and to take pay for their work. And so they started out to work for people as they found opportunity, and make no charges; and the money flowed in by donations a great deal more than the most of them receive when they do make charges. GCB April 18, 1901, page 319.1

L. F. Hansen: I would like to speak as one of the students. I went from the employ of a Conference to the Sanitarium to take up the missionary course. We had also heard a great deal about that medical contract, how we would sign away our liberties and lives for the rest of our time. Dr. Paulson and I had some three or four weeks of correspondence, in which he tried to explain the matter. We finally came to the Sanitarium, and when we got there, we found there was no danger at all of holding us, and the disposition of our work was left to us and the Lord. And we got out sooner than we expected, and had perfect liberty to choose as the Lord would guide us in the selection of a field. And after we got into the field, the same thing has been true. I write to Dr. Kellogg, and want some information on some things of importance that he can advise upon; and if it is something that he can give advice upon, all right; but usually he says, You have to decide that as the Lord directs. We have never found any compulsion about things, and I do not believe any one else has. GCB April 18, 1901, page 319.2

Dr. D. Paulson: I feel impressed to say that the missionary declaration is simply asking that the students recognize what all of us have said to God, and it is not anything more than just and due that they do this. I know there has been some misunderstanding in regard to this: but it seems to me it is time that we all felt that there was nothing in that. It is just as Brother Hansen has said. I have had enough correspondence with him to fill a small book. He felt that we had some peculiar, horrible things; but when he came there, he found that all that was required of him was simply to say, I am a missionary. He said, all right; I have been a missionary five years. And now he has been in the field, and doing valiant work, and he has not had any difficulty over the matter. GCB April 18, 1901, page 319.3

The question was called for. GCB April 18, 1901, page 319.4

The Chair: The Medical Missionary Board does not wish to rule anybody; but when it finds a man that God has called to do something, the Medical Missionary Association in its line simply takes hold and helps him. It considers that its province is to be a helping board, and not a ruling board. Three fourths of all the questions that the missionaries wrote in about, we tell them that they must let the Lord decide. GCB April 18, 1901, page 319.5

Are you ready for the question? GCB April 18, 1901, page 319.6

The question was called and carried unanimously. GCB April 18, 1901, page 319.7

Dr. A. W. Herr: I am more or less interested in the restaurant business, and therefore would offer this recommendation:— GCB April 18, 1901, page 319.8

“We recommend, That men of means encourage and co-operate with the International Medical Missionary Board and other like associations in the opening of missionary restaurants and dining parlors in the various large cities, especially where the field has been prepared by the circulation of Good Health and other lines of educational work.” GCB April 18, 1901, page 319.9

As my experience in this has been so brief, I would prefer that others who have had more experience discuss this resolution. GCB April 18, 1901, page 319.10

The Chair: Dr. Moran, who has had experience in that line will be able to tell you something remarkable about his work in the city of Los Angeles, Cal. GCB April 18, 1901, page 319.11

F. B. Moran: I can assure this Conference that the question of health restaurants is one that has interested me very much. There are a great many ways of disseminating the gospel of Jesus Christ, but this line of work is one that is comparatively new to us as a people. Some of us may wonder how it is that this particular line of work of serving people in restaurants could be any very great means of spreading the gospel of Christ, but from what experience I have had in this work, I am sure that it is one of the most important we have ever yet begun. It has been my privilege to open two restaurants of this kind, one in San Francisco, and another in Los Angeles. This kind of work is the very best practical demonstration to the people of the value of the principles of hygienic living that we could possibly place before the people. It at once appeals to the common sense and good judgment of the people, and they see that we have a sensible way of living. They see that the principles we have with reference to eating, and the care of the body, are sensible. Many who come into our restaurants will say, “These people seem to have such common-sense ideas with reference to eating and taking care of the body. I can not but wonder if their religious views are equally good.” Very often they say they would like to know just what we do believe. Thus the way is opened to lead them into every line of the truth. GCB April 18, 1901, page 319.12

With reference to our work in Los Angeles, we have been there about sixteen months, and it might be of interest to give you a few items with reference to this work in particular. We went to Los Angeles at the request of the California Medical Missionary Board, to see what could be done there by way of establishing a sanitarium, or opening up a health restaurant. The way did not seem to open for a sanitarium, but there was an opening to begin a hygienic restaurant; and although we had no means with which to open the work, we set to work to prepare the place, trusting that God would open the way with the means. After we had been working for two or three days, a gentleman came in, and expressed his interest in this kind of work in the city, and said he would like to help us. We told him we were very much in need of help, and he sat down and wrote us a check for two hundred dollars, and told us we could have the same as long as we wanted it, without interest. Of course this put us into a position where we could prosecute the work vigorously. A week or two after that, another person came in who had come three thousand miles to spend the winter in California. He said he had been looking for us for some time. He had heard that we were going to open up a restaurant, and he was very anxious to patronize the place; and he said, “By the way, I have a hundred dollars in my pocket that I don’t care to carry around with me, and I would like to leave it with you, if you could use it to good advantage.” I told him that we needed the money, and we would be glad to have him leave it with us. A little later on, the same man left two hundred dollars more, and told us we could have it until the following May. That was in November. In a short time another person came in from the central part of the State, and he said he had some money in his pocket, and he would like to leave it with us. He left us one hundred and twenty dollars. GCB April 18, 1901, page 319.13

A few days later another person from the same part of the State left one hundred dollars with us. A little later on, another person left two hundred dollars, and a little while after that another person left us two hundred and fifty dollars; and still later on another person left one hundred dollars. All this came without any solicitation, and was loaned without interest as long as we needed it. GCB April 18, 1901, page 319.14

I am glad to say that we were successful enough to be able to pay back the money without any difficulty. I simply mention this as an illustration of how the Lord will open the way in these matters; and we felt all the way through that the providence of God had been with us, and had greatly blessed us in the work. GCB April 18, 1901, page 320.1

In Los Angeles at the present time we are serving about seven hundred people a day, and have only been running about sixteen months. So you can see that the work has grown very rapidly there. Our constituency comes from every part of the United States. We have people boarding there from almost every State in the Union, and, in fact, from almost all parts of the world. I would say, further, that if every individual connected with this line of work stands in the position in which he ought to stand, if he is really in earnest and consecrated to God and the work, the influence which is brought to bear upon those who patronize a place like this can not help but uplift. I want to say that I am intensely interested in this work, and would be very glad to see it started in every large city in the United States. GCB April 18, 1901, page 320.2

Voice: On what plan do you serve your meals? and what do you charge a meal? GCB April 18, 1901, page 320.3

Dr. F. B. Moran: The plan has been the European plan entirely. We charge so much a dish, and every one orders what he desires, and pays accordingly. The average cost per meal has been about twenty cents. We have tried to make the price just as low as consistent, for the reason that there are a great many people who need the benefit of that kind of diet, and yet are not in a position to pay a high price. There are a great many clerks there, and others who do not receive a very high salary, and can not afford to pay very high prices for their meals, and hence we have made the price just as reasonable as consistent. I think this is the best plan, because by so doing we have been able to reach a great many more than we possibly could otherwise. GCB April 18, 1901, page 320.4

Voice in Congregation: Do you have persons who patronize you by the week? GCB April 18, 1901, page 320.5

Dr. F. B. Moran: Yes; in fact, we have a large number of regular patrons, to whom we issue meal tickets, and we can tell by the number who purchase tickets regularly, that the larger part of our patronage consists of regular boarders. GCB April 18, 1901, page 320.6

O. A. Olsen: I move we adjourn. GCB April 18, 1901, page 320.7

F. M. Wilcox: I support the motion. GCB April 18, 1901, page 320.8

J. H. Kellogg: We have just two and one-half minutes left. In that time we have to adjourn and call another meeting, in-order that it shall be a legal meeting. It is moved and seconded that we do now adjourn until three o’clock to-morrow afternoon. GCB April 18, 1901, page 320.9

The motion was put and carried. GCB April 18, 1901, page 320.10

J. H. KELLOGG, President.
A. J. READ, Secretary.