Manuscript Releases, vol. 12 [Nos. 921-999]

MR No. 992—Importance of Medical Missionary Work

Orlando To Be a Training Center for Medical Missionaries—I have just read your article in the Review, and also your letter of June 18 to my son, regarding a place which you have found near Orlando, where there is land and buildings that seem to be suitable for a sanitarium. 12MR 310.1

I have no hesitancy in saying that I believe the time has come for Florida to have a sanitarium, so that the light which our sanitariums are established to reflect, may shine forth to the people of Florida, and to the many health seekers who come from the northern States. 12MR 310.2

Our time is short in which to do the important work of giving the last gospel message to the world. Therefore, if there is opportunity to purchase at a moderate price, buildings suitably located and well adapted to the work we wish to do, let us improve the opportunity, and save ourselves the time, care, and anxiety that would be required in the work of erecting the buildings ourselves. 12MR 310.3

I hope that this property which you have described, and which seems to have been brought within your reach by the providence of God, will become the means of strengthening the work in Florida, and that it will become an important center of influence from which many well-trained medical missionaries shall go forth with the message of mercy to the unworked parts of the Master's great harvest field. 12MR 310.4

Not long ago I wrote a letter to our people in Indiana, regarding their effort to establish a sanitarium in LaFayette. I will send a copy to you, because I desire our people in Florida to have the same encouragement and counsel.—Letter 220, 1908. (Written from Sanitarium, California, July 23, 1908, to the president of the Florida Conference.) 12MR 311.1

Medical Missionary Work Is the Right Hand of the Gospel—I have a message for our people in Indiana, and trust that it will be read to our brethren and sisters in every church in the conference. My heart is made glad as I hear of the efforts being made by our people in Indiana to establish a sanitarium at LaFayette. The circumstances connected with the beginning of this work at LaFayette are certainly very encouraging. If the churches in Indiana will unite heartily to carry to completion this good work that has been begun, very many will be benefited thereby. 12MR 311.2

The blessing of the Lord will come to His people as they perform acts of self-denial and self-sacrifice in order to establish a place where the sick may be healed and where they may also become acquainted with the principles of health reform. The Lord would have these suffering ones have every advantage of learning the truths concerning the question of health reform. 12MR 311.3

The message given to all our people regarding the “Extent of the Work,” as published in the Testimonies for the Church 7:51-59, I here repeat to you; also a few words from page 62. [Excerpts quoted from Testimonies for the Church 7:51-59; 62.] 12MR 312.1

Erroneous opinions, arrived at because of faulty education in the home, have been handed down by children to children's children, and habits of indulgence have been fostered which have resulted in ruined health to thousands. Our sanitariums are to be places where correct education can be given to many on matters that pertain to life and health. The habits of eating should be carefully guarded, that none shall make themselves sick by indulgence of appetite. The Lord is not pleased when His people, bought by the sacrifice of His beloved Son, thoughtlessly injure themselves by wrong habits of living. As we pass through this world, we should seek to instruct all who will be taught, how to avoid and how to overcome self-indulgent practices. 12MR 312.2

If we are believers in Jesus Christ, we shall seek to become intelligent as to how to keep the brain clear and active, that not a tittle of our influence shall be lost. We should seek to become laborers together with God by keeping the system in such a condition that it can render perfect service. It is poor policy indeed, to ill-treat the digestive organs, upon which the happiness of the whole being so largely depends. When the stomach is disturbed, the mind is disturbed, and the brain-nerve power is weakened. It therefore becomes a religious duty with every soul to learn the science of healthful living, to keep the question of diet in mind, and to treat the matter conscientiously. 12MR 312.3

The apostle Paul declares to us that we are not our own, that we are bought with a price. If we truly love the One who gave His life for us, we shall feel under solemn obligation to avoid disease. There is a solemn responsibility resting upon all, and especially upon our ministers and their families, to set a right example in the matter of healthful living. If our ministers would combine physical labor with their mental efforts, they would find great improvement in health and mental clearness. 12MR 313.1

The strength of the temptation to indulge perverted appetite can be measured only by the longsuffering of Christ in His long fast in the wilderness. Christ knew that in order to carry out the plan of salvation, He must begin the work of redemption just where the ruin began. Adam fell on the point of appetite. Christ took up the work of redemption just where the ruin began. The same is true of our experience. We are to begin the work of reform just where the work of degeneracy is so keenly felt. 12MR 313.2

To teach us how to overcome the temptings of appetite, Christ has given us the record of His own experience of nearly six weeks of fasting, followed by His wonderful victory over the powers of Satan. In this experience Christ broke the power of appetite for all who will accept the aid of the divine power on which He relied. He made it impossible for Satan to destroy the human race through indulged appetite, and made it possible for men and women in His strength to live a Christian life. Those who believe in Christ must, like Him, guard the appetite. 12MR 313.3

Study again and again the counsel given in Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, regarding “God's Design in Our Sanitariums.” [Two paragraphs quoted from Testimonies for the Church 6:224, 225.]—Letter 218, 1908. (Written from Sanitarium, California, July 15, 1908, to the president of the Indiana Conference.) 12MR 314.1

White Estate

Washington, D. C.,

June 6, 1983,