Ellen G. White: The Later Elmshaven Years: 1905-1915 (vol. 6)

The May 6 Meeting At Loma Linda

On Friday, May 6, 1910, the men from the various fields appointed to the task of opening a medical school at Loma Linda met there in the newly finished meetinghouse. The first item of business was to review the history of the work and the development of the medical school idea. This was done so “that the brethren from the East might have an intelligent understanding of the present status of the movement, and thus be prepared to consider the question from the standpoint of the light that had been received, which caused the brethren connected with the work at Loma Linda to pursue the course which they had” (G. A. Irwin, in Pacific Union Recorder, June 9, 1910). In reporting the meeting in the Review and Herald, Elder Irwin wrote: 6BIO 300.1

The latest [Ellen G. White] communications in regard to this enterprise were so clear and explicit that all doubt as to their intent was removed from the minds of the members of the council; and hence, from the very beginning, the meeting was characterized by a spirit of earnestness and determination.—June 9, 1910. 6BIO 300.2

Ellen White spoke only once during the council, and that was near the close. She was on the grounds, and her advice was sought from time to time. In the main, however, matters had been laid out so clearly that steps were taken on the basis of her accumulated statements, which were studied and restudied. Early in the meeting consideration was given to the organizational structure. Should the Sanitarium and the medical school be represented by separate corporations or only one? Here again, counsel already had been given. Irwin reports that concerning the corporation, “The testimonies clearly implied [they] should be one.”— Ibid. A resolution was passed “to consolidate the Sanitarium corporation and the college corporation into one, to be known as the College of Medical Evangelists” (Ibid.). 6BIO 300.3

Here, too, in the matter of the selection of a name, Ellen White had had some insight. Some months before this meeting, while visiting Loma Linda, she had been pondering the matter of a name. It was not uncommon for her to wrestle with words, attempting to find a way to put them together effectively. One morning as she came to breakfast at Loma Linda, she declared triumphantly, “I've got it! I've got it! Medical Missionary Evangelists.” This phrase of her coining, which she felt embodied the true objective of the institution, contributed to the choice of a name for the school, “The College of Medical Evangelists.”—As told to the author by W. C. White. 6BIO 300.4

Through the week of the spring meeting at Loma Linda steps were taken carefully and firmly, and the medical school—that is, plans for it—became a reality. On Wednesday, the day before the council closed, Ellen White addressed the group. Following her address, accompanied by Sara McEnterfer and Helen Graham, she left for St. Helena and home. She was much worn, the weather was very hot, and she laid aside her burdens for the remainder of the month. During this time she enjoyed a visit from her friend Mrs. Nellie Druillard. 6BIO 301.1