Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 23 (1908)

Ms 63, 1908

Instruction to Sanitarium Workers

June 3, 1908 [typed]

This manuscript is published in entirety in LLM 379-382.

I am very anxious that all those connected with our sanitariums shall be men whose lives are wholly devoted to God, free from all evil works. There are some who seem to have lost all sense of the sacred character of our institutions and the purpose for which they were established. A great dread has been upon my mind as to what the results will be of this lack of spirituality and clear discernment. There is great need of loyalty to principle. The Lord calls for young men to work in our sanitariums who will not yield to temptation. The lives of the young people connected with our sanitariums should be such as to exert a convicting and converting power upon those who have not received the message for this time. 23LtMs, Ms 63, 1908, par. 1

Our sanitariums are to be conducted in such a way that God will be honored and glorified. They are not to become a snare. But unless the human instrumentalities are under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the enemy will use them to carry out his devisings for the hindrance of God’s cause and for the destruction of their own souls. Many have already lost their first love for the great, grand Bible truths concerning Christ’s second coming. 23LtMs, Ms 63, 1908, par. 2

It is only the Lord’s working, believing people who are full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, who will honor the truth they profess to believe. Their faith speaks out through their earnest belief of the truth. They render loyal obedience to their Leader. They rest upon the efficacy of His sacrifice for the race, knowing that it speaketh better things than the blood of Abel. They believe that to those who look for Him He will appear the second time without sin unto salvation. 23LtMs, Ms 63, 1908, par. 3

In our sanitariums a pure religious influence should be paramount. Solemn impressions are to be made on the minds of those who come for treatment. The very highest interests are to be given the first attention. The accumulated light of the past, which has made us what we are—Seventh-day Adventists—is to shine forth through us to the world. The light of truth is to illuminate and irradiate all our sanitariums. The helpers are to be light-bearers to the world. 23LtMs, Ms 63, 1908, par. 4

The truth is to be cherished, not banished or hidden from sight. The light is to shine forth in clear, distinct rays. These institutions are the Lord’s facilities for the revival of pure, elevated morality. We do not establish them as a speculative business, but to help men and women to follow right methods of living. Christ, the great Medical Missionary, is no longer in our world in person. But He has not left the world in darkness. To His subjects He has given the commission, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,” “teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” [Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:20.] The great questions of Bible truth are to enter into the very heart of society, to reform and convert men and women, bringing them to see the great necessity of preparing for the mansions that Christ told His disciples He would prepare for them that love Him. “If I go away,” He declared, “I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” [John 14:3.] 23LtMs, Ms 63, 1908, par. 5

Satan will introduce every form of error in an effort to lead souls away from the work to be accomplished in these last days. There needs to be a decided awakening, in accordance with the importance of the subjects we are presenting. The conversion of souls is now to be our one object. Every facility for the advancement of God’s cause is to be put into use, that His will may be done on earth as it is in heaven. We cannot afford to be irreligious and indifferent now. We must take advantage of the means that the Lord has placed in our hands for the carrying forward of medical missionary work. Through this work infidels will be converted. Through the wonderful restorations taking place in our sanitariums, souls will be led to look to Christ as the great Healer of soul and body. 23LtMs, Ms 63, 1908, par. 6

God wants every one to stand with the whole armor on, ready for the great review. He wants us to do the work that He has given us. “In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” [Proverbs 3:6.] “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him.” [Psalm 25:14.] 23LtMs, Ms 63, 1908, par. 7

The Lord will manifest Himself to all who seek Him with humble hearts. The end of all things is at hand. Let your eyes be fixed upon Christ. As the called and chosen of God, we must represent truth in its purity. Our lives are to be such that the world will take knowledge that we have been with Christ, and that truth may seem more desirable to them than error. 23LtMs, Ms 63, 1908, par. 8

If rightly conducted, our sanitariums may exert a refining, ennobling influence and lead many souls to Christ. The religious principles maintained in these institutions will demonstrate that there is relief for the soul, weary and sick with sin. Many are weak and sick because of the disease of the soul. Let Christ be held up before them as the great Healer who invites them to come to Him and find rest. Tell them that the heart of Christ is drawn out in compassion and love for His blood-bought heritage. He will heal the troubled heart that looks to Him in faith. 23LtMs, Ms 63, 1908, par. 9

Great care should be exercised in regard to the influences that prevail in the institution. The influences under which the nurses are placed will mold their characters for eternity. 23LtMs, Ms 63, 1908, par. 10

The influence of the sanitarium family should be a united influence, each member seeking to become a power for good in that department in which he labors. If this result is obtained, there must first be a weeding out of every lame principle; then the workers can hope to succeed in perfecting themselves as Christian workers. It is only as they place themselves under the discipline of God, conforming their daily lives to the pattern that they have in the Saviour’s earthly life, that they can become partakers of the divine nature, and escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. As long as we are here in this world, we are on test and trial. We will be held accountable, not only for the working out of our own salvation, but for the influence for good or evil that we exert on other souls. 23LtMs, Ms 63, 1908, par. 11

He who is meek in spirit, who is purest and most childlike, will be made strong for the battle. He will be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man. He who feels his weakness, and wrestles with God as did Jacob, and like this servant of old, cries, “I will not let Thee go except Thou bless me” [Genesis 32:26], will go forth with the fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit. The atmosphere of heaven will surround him. His influence will be a positive force in favor of the religion of Christ. 23LtMs, Ms 63, 1908, par. 12

These words point out what the workers in the sanitarium may be. I am so glad that we can come to God in faith and humility, and plead with Him until our souls are brought into such close relationship with Jesus, that we can lay our burdens at His feet, saying, “I know in whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him against that day.” [2 Timothy 1:12.] The Lord is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think. Our cold, faithless hearts may be quickened into sensibility and life, until we can say in faith, “The life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God.” [Galatians 2:20.] Let us seek for the fulness of the salvation of Christ. Let us follow in the footsteps of the Son of God, for the promise is, “He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” [John 8:12.] 23LtMs, Ms 63, 1908, par. 13