Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Ms 89, 1902

Choosing a Site for a Sanitarium

June 26, 1902 [typed]

Previously unpublished. +^Note

Great care should be taken in the selection of a site for a home. Careful consideration should be given to the influence the surroundings will have on mind and body. We are to think of the influence of the surroundings on spirituality. We should not expose our children to disagreeable sights and a confusing jargon of sounds. 17LtMs, Ms 89, 1902, par. 1

The home must be chosen with a view to the aid it will be in fitting the members of the family for the home that Christ has gone to prepare for His children, the home of which He says, “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also.” [John 14:1-3.] 17LtMs, Ms 89, 1902, par. 2

These words contain a grand, holy assurance, which is to be kept prominent in the lessons given to children. In the preparation for the home, our children must be kept in physical health. They must be placed where they can breathe pure air. They must be shown how to use brain, bone, and muscle in such a way that the machinery of the body will be kept in working order. 17LtMs, Ms 89, 1902, par. 3

The care that is shown in choosing a site for a home is necessary also in choosing a site for a sanitarium. The sick need to be taken out of the congested cities into the country where in striving to regain health they will have the aid of nature’s great medical resources. There are thousands of sick people suffering for the want of the blessings of the country. 17LtMs, Ms 89, 1902, par. 4

Think of how much better it is for those who are sick to breathe the pure air of heaven than to breathe air contaminated by chimney smoke. Instead of being in a sanitarium in the city, where there is little opportunity for the cultivation of flowers and trees, where they hear continually the noise of the streets, how much better for them to be where they can see the flowers and trees, hear the songs of the birds, and enjoy the health-giving sunshine. How much better than drugs are nature’s remedies! 17LtMs, Ms 89, 1902, par. 5

In a sanitarium in the country, the sick would not require one third of the care that they require in the city. And the cost of caring for them would be much less. 17LtMs, Ms 89, 1902, par. 6

The influence of outdoor life is powerful to heal the sickness brought by fashionable life, which weakens and destroys the physical, mental, and spiritual powers. 17LtMs, Ms 89, 1902, par. 7

In nature—the Lord’s garden—there is always something to divert the minds of the sick from themselves. They are entertained, and at the same time they learn most precious, spiritual lessons. Lying in hammocks or sitting in easy chairs, surrounded by the wonderful works of God, their minds are lifted from the things that are seen to the things that are unseen. The beauty of nature leads them to think of the matchless charms of the earth made new, where there will be nothing to mar the loveliness, nothing to taint or destroy. 17LtMs, Ms 89, 1902, par. 8