Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)

Lt 35, 1901

Brethren and Sisters at Crystal Springs

St. Helena, California

March 7, 1901

Portions of this letter are published in 1BC 1119; 5MR 219.

Dear brethren and sisters at Crystal Springs,—

This is a beautiful location, and there is no good reason why the Health Retreat should not be filled with patients. 16LtMs, Lt 35, 1901, par. 1

I am greatly burdened. I have been instructed that the general idea of what constitutes health reform in sanitary conditions is very defective. Those connected with the Sanitarium should be men of keen executive ability. The sewerage and other unsanitary arrangements must not be longer neglected. Something must be done at once to set things right. Men who understand what should be done to make this matter perfectly safe should be employed. All the talk of the Board and of those connected with the Sanitarium seems to have amounted to nothing. 16LtMs, Lt 35, 1901, par. 2

Ever since the first of January I have been sick with malaria poisoning. All know the reason of my sickness. Before the rains, came everything that could have been done should have been done to change the condition of the sewerage; but nothing was thoroughly done; nothing was made safe beyond the danger of contagion. Through breathing the poisonous atmosphere I have suffered greatly. It is God alone who has sustained me. Every member of my family has suffered from the same cause. Brother James and his family, all well when they arrived here, have been sick from malaria poisoning. And this has been permitted close to the Sanitarium. 16LtMs, Lt 35, 1901, par. 3

Let not those who have known of this condition of things, or whose business it was to know, excuse themselves. If you have no authority to correct matters, for Christ’s sake act without authority. This is a case where it is not necessary for the members of the Board to tell you what you shall do or what you shall not do. You have orders from a higher Authority. 16LtMs, Lt 35, 1901, par. 4

Read in your Bibles the directions given to Moses for the children of Israel. The Lord has given special directions in reference to the sanitary principles which are to be preserved. In order to be acceptable in God’s sight, the leaders of the people were to give strict heed to the sanitary condition of the armies of Israel, even when they went forth to battle. Every soul, from the commander in chief to the lowest soldier in the army, was sacredly charged to preserve cleanliness in his person and surroundings; for the Israelites were chosen by God as His peculiar people. They were sacredly bound to be holy in body and spirit. They were not to be careless or neglectful of their personal duties. In every respect they were to preserve cleanliness. They were to allow nothing untidy or unwholesome in their surroundings, nothing which would taint the purity of the atmosphere. Inwardly and outwardly they were to be pure. “For the Lord thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore,” because of the presence of God, “shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.” [Deuteronomy 23:14.] 16LtMs, Lt 35, 1901, par. 5

Here we see what is expected of all Christians. They are to allow no uncleanness in word or spirit, in their persons or in their surroundings, lest the Lord should behold the unpleasant sight. He says, “Thy camp shall be holy, that he may see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.” [Verse 14.] This will be the result of all uncleanness of person or premises. The Lord desires us to understand that if we are careless and negligent in sanitary lines, He will turn away from these unwholesome, untidy conditions, and allow our enemies to triumph over us. 16LtMs, Lt 35, 1901, par. 6

Uncleanness is an abomination to the Lord, and He will not bless and honor a people who have so little comprehension of what constitutes outward and inward purity. God will accept no offerings from those who do not cleanse themselves from all impurity of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the sight of the Lord, and of angels, and of men. 16LtMs, Lt 35, 1901, par. 7

The directions given by the Lord are to be strictly followed. Particular attention should be given to them by those at the Sanitarium. A sanitarium is to be an object lesson to all who shall behold it. The sight or the knowledge of that sewer should fill the mind with disgust and abhorrence. The Lord God is walking through our churches, through our institutions, beholding their outward appearance. The atmosphere which surrounds us is making its impression, not only on the human family, but on the heavenly universe. Angels are impressed with the things which they behold in the outward surroundings of God’s people. A careless, untidy [environment] which can be improved, untidy habits which can be changed, are, if retained, an offence to God. 16LtMs, Lt 35, 1901, par. 8

Brethren at the Retreat, You are working on wrong principles. When I spoke about the unsanitary condition of things to those who had been given no authority to act, they said they would telephone to Brother Parlin. What need of this? I asked. Can he give you any increased knowledge as to your duty in this matter? In the past Bren. Knox, Parlin, and Jones have been sent for to decide matters which men right on the spot knew how to decide just as well as the Board. Our brethren may come up to the Sanitarium at the Sanitarium’s expense and go over the ground, but they will tell you that you know just as well as they what to do. Thus time and money have been wasted, which might have been saved had the men right on the ground exercised their brains and done something. What if you should take hold of this matter yourselves? 16LtMs, Lt 35, 1901, par. 9

Many of the Board meetings held are uncalled for. The Lord is not pleased with the helplessness of those who should be efficient in judgment. Let the money that is paid out for these travelling expenses be used by men right on the ground in doing that which ought to be done. Let men use their mental powers to accomplish that for which the need is self-evident, without summoning the Board to consent to the doing of things that must be done. 16LtMs, Lt 35, 1901, par. 10

For Christ’s sake, be men. Show yourselves to be men who can execute. Pull off your coats and go to work. Act as though you are living men, able to do that which must be done. 16LtMs, Lt 35, 1901, par. 11

I have much more to say on this point, but not now. 16LtMs, Lt 35, 1901, par. 12