Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Lt 116, 1903

Kress, Brother and Sister [D. H.]

“Elmshaven,” St. Helena, California

June 24, 1903

Portions of this letter are published in Ev 103; PC 16-17.

Dear Brother and Sister Kress,—

I have read with much interest the letters that came to me from you in the last mail. You do not seem to understand, my brother, that when I write regarding the need of practicing economy, I am not writing to you personally, but to all the workers in the Sanitarium. I certainly have never had to reprove you for a failure to economize. Please do not think that I regard you as defective in this respect. I send you cautions so that when you talk with the workers regarding these things, you will have something from me to help you in reaching right principles. 18LtMs, Lt 116, 1903, par. 1

I certainly think that at present it would not be wise to invest two or three thousand dollars in electric light baths and in machinery to operate them. The prosperity of the Sanitarium is not dependent on electric light baths. It is dependent on the prayers and faith and labors of the workers. 18LtMs, Lt 116, 1903, par. 2

In the mail that brought your letters I received a letter from Dr. Caro. I think that he would like to connect with the Sanitarium at Wahroonga. It may be right for him to do this, if he will take the position in the institution that he should take. But if he feels that he must guide the ship, he should not be encouraged to come. A more experienced commander is needed. 18LtMs, Lt 116, 1903, par. 3

I feel very sorry for Dr. Merritt Kellogg. He put his whole soul into the work on the Sanitarium building and labored unselfishly and untiringly. It was thought best for him to come to America. But it is not right for him to be left with nothing, to begin all over again; for he is old and worn and has a family to care for. His eyesight is failing, and he cannot take up the work that he thought he could take up when he came to this country. We are trying to help him. His brother John sent him six hundred dollars. He must have something to do. We are trying to find him a place where he can have a garden and keep some chickens. He has found a place in Sebastapol for sale. A house and ten acres of land are offered for sale at eight hundred dollars. There are fruit trees and a good well on the place. The property is looked upon as being very cheap, and there are others ready to take it if Dr. Kellogg does not. 18LtMs, Lt 116, 1903, par. 4

How much did Dr. Kellogg put into the Wahroonga Sanitarium? I meant to ask him this when he was here. 18LtMs, Lt 116, 1903, par. 5

I hope that Sister Kress is quite well. Dr. Margaret Evans, who has been working with her husband at the Sanitarium here, was confined a few days ago. The baby was born dead. I feel very sorry for Brother and Sister Evans, but I cannot tell what is best. We must let the Lord work out His plans for us in His own way. Our trials, severe though they may seem to us as we pass through them, are sent for our good. 18LtMs, Lt 116, 1903, par. 6

God’s blessing will rest upon all who take hold of His work intelligently. His Word is our wisdom. We need the guidance of the Spirit of God at every step. We need the keeping power of God every day. We know not how to order our lives aright. Constantly we are to pray to the Lord to lead us into all truth. 18LtMs, Lt 116, 1903, par. 7

In our association with one another, we are to remember that all have not the same talents or the same disposition. The workers differ in plans and ideas. Varied gifts, combined, are necessary for the success of the work. Let us remember that some can fill certain positions more successfully than others. The worker who has been given tact and ability that fit him for the accomplishment of some special line of work should not blame others for not being able to do that which he, perhaps, can do readily. Are there not things that his fellow workers can do far more successfully than he? 18LtMs, Lt 116, 1903, par. 8

The various talents that the Lord has entrusted to His servants are essential in His work. The different parts of the work are to be brought together, piece by piece, to make a complete whole. The parts of a building are not all the same, neither are they made by the same process. The lines of God’s work are not all the same, and neither are they to be carried forward in exactly the same way. 18LtMs, Lt 116, 1903, par. 9

In all the work that is done for the Lord, unity is to prevail. “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone; in whom the whole building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord; in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” [Ephesians 2:19-22.] 18LtMs, Lt 116, 1903, par. 10

Strike the true keynote in the Sanitarium. When Jesus sent out the twelve disciples, He said, “As ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils; freely ye have received, freely give.” [Matthew 10:7, 8.] 18LtMs, Lt 116, 1903, par. 11

Let there be in the Sanitarium much prayer for the healing of the sick. We must depend more decidedly upon the great Healer. It is the miracle-working power of God that will give efficiency to the gospel message. As believers, are we not sons and daughters of God? Is not Christ our Elder Brother? Then shall we not believe that He will reveal His power in restoring the sick to health? Tell Him your wishes and desires, and plead the promise, “Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me, and he shall make peace with Me.” [Isaiah 27:5.] Christ cannot too often be reminded of His pledged word. 18LtMs, Lt 116, 1903, par. 12

Let us not take ourselves out of the hand of God. Our medical missionary work should bear the similitude of the greatest Missionary this world has ever seen. Present the Lord Jesus, the great Healer, as the One upon whom you depend. The instruction that you give the patients in your parlor lectures will be received much more readily if you send to heaven a petition for the power that is above all human power. 18LtMs, Lt 116, 1903, par. 13

Encourage the patients to breathe the fresh air. Teach them how to breathe deeply and how to exercise their muscles. Teach them to use the abdominal muscles in breathing. Encourage them to spend much time in the open air. Make the grounds so attractive that they will want to be out of doors. Provide some pleasant, easy work for those who are able to work. Show them how agreeable and health-giving this out-of-door work is. This is an education that will be invaluable to them after they return to their homes. 18LtMs, Lt 116, 1903, par. 14

Use nature’s remedies—water, sunshine, and fresh air. Do not use drugs. Drugs never heal; they only change the features of the disease. 18LtMs, Lt 116, 1903, par. 15

Do not allow the helpers to overwork. Let the patients see nurses that are cheerful and bright, not nurses who, because they are overworked, are discouraged and downhearted. It is most inconsistent with the principles on which our sanitariums are founded for the nurses to be allowed to break down in their work. 18LtMs, Lt 116, 1903, par. 16

The workers are to practice the principles of health reform in all that they do—standing, walking, breathing, eating, and dressing. They are to surround themselves with an atmosphere of praise. They are to cultivate the voice, keeping it pleasant and sympathetic. No word of discouragement is to be heard. Let the nurses and physicians face the light. Let them open the windows of the heart heavenward, that it may be flooded with the beams of the Sun of Righteousness. 18LtMs, Lt 116, 1903, par. 17

The workers are to strive day by day to reveal a character after the divine similitude. If they give themselves to Christ, He will subdue all in their nature that is harsh or overbearing or dictatorial. They are not to think that they will have no opposing influences to meet. But Christ has promised to be with them always, even to the end. If they constantly cherish a sense of His presence, they will act politely and courteously to all with whom they are brought in contact. 18LtMs, Lt 116, 1903, par. 18

He who is a partaker of the divine nature realizes that he has been accepted by God. He walks before God in faith and humble trust. The Lord impresses his mind, because he heeds the Word. Truth is unfolded to him more and more clearly. He receives with meekness the engrafted Word, and of the things which pertain to his peace and holiness he can say, “God has revealed them unto us by His Spirit.” “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things which are freely given us of God.” [1 Corinthians 2:10, 12.] “And the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” [Galatians 5:22, 23.] 18LtMs, Lt 116, 1903, par. 19

Be of good courage, ever looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith. We are living in the last days of this earth’s history, and we must keep fast hold of the great Medical Missionary. When you are tempted, repeat over and over again, “Christ and I are one. He can deliver me.” Let Him appear as the minister of righteousness. 18LtMs, Lt 116, 1903, par. 20