Counsels on Health

Amid the Scenes of Nature

The Garden of Eden, the home of our first parents, was exceedingly beautiful. Graceful shrubs and delicate flowers greeted the eye at every turn. In the garden were trees of every variety, many of them laden with fragrant and delicious fruit. On their branches the birds caroled their songs of praise. Adam and Eve, in their untainted purity, delighted in the sights and sounds of Eden. And today, although sin has cast its shadow over the earth, God desires His children to find delight in the works of His hands. To locate our sanitariums amidst the scenes of nature would be to follow God's plan, and the more closely this plan is followed, the more wonderfully will He work to restore suffering humanity. For our educational and medical institutions, places should be chosen where, away from the dark clouds of sin that hang over the great cities, the Sun of Righteousness can arise, “with healing in His wings.” Malachi 4:2. CH 266.1

Let the leaders in our work instruct the people that sanitariums should be established in the midst of the most pleasant surroundings, in places not disturbed by the turmoil of the city—places where by wise instruction the thoughts of the patients can be bound up with the thoughts of God. Again and again I have described such places, but it seems that there has been no ear to hear. Recently, in a most clear and convincing manner, the advantage of establishing our institutions, especially our sanitariums and schools, outside the cities, was presented to me. CH 266.2