Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Lt 46, 1902

Santee, C.; Moran, F. B.

“Elmshaven,” St. Helena, California

March 22, 1902

Previously unpublished. +^Note

Dear brother Santee and brother Moran,—

I send you copies of manuscripts containing the instruction I have received in regard to establishing sanitariums in the cities. I am so sorry our brethren do not discern all things clearly. It is not a small matter to establish a sanitarium, and it is not a small matter to conduct a sanitarium properly. It is hard to find the right men to act as managers and directors, men who can stand in their lot and place, managing the work as it ought to be managed. To deal aright with the patients and with the helpers, and to keep the work of the institution on the high spiritual level it ought always to occupy, is something that requires tact and skill and much of the grace of God. 17LtMs, Lt 46, 1902, par. 1

Enlightened by the Holy Spirit, we can move forward safely and intelligently. We need a zeal that is combined with prudence, a zeal that will lead us to work earnestly and intelligently. Ministers, physicians, and teachers need to be melted over again, as it were, that the dross that has been accumulating for years may be cleansed from heart and brain, and that the character may be transformed into Christ’s likeness. Humanity is altogether too confident of what it can accomplish in the strength of its own capabilities. 17LtMs, Lt 46, 1902, par. 2

If there were no possibility of a change, I should not write these words to you. I am anxious and troubled in regard to the lack of foresight, the failure to reason from cause to effect. There seems to be a lack of keen discernment. Since returning from my long, taxing journey, I have been given many representations showing that God’s people are not meeting the necessities of the present time. And when I know that my brethren, after all I have said, would plan to locate a sanitarium in the city of Los Angeles, I ask myself why they so strangely fail to reason from cause to effect, why they do not show clearer discernment. I am deeply pained as I see that at such a time as this, when the work requires so much of you, when you need, as never before, to stand in your lot and place, you are not wide-awake. 17LtMs, Lt 46, 1902, par. 3

My brethren, at this time you need the help of businessmen who have sharp, clear eyesight, else you will do bungling work. We cannot afford to make a mistake now. We need to ask God to give us spiritual enlightenment. 17LtMs, Lt 46, 1902, par. 4

I think of our experience in carrying forward the work in Australia. We had to look constantly to our Saviour Jesus Christ, else we should have been led astray by supposedly wise men. And in spite of all our efforts to advance, we were hindered by a variety of phantoms. For two years, unbelief blocked the wheels and kept us back. We had to move in faith, looking to Jesus, and paying no heed to those who declared, “This is the way.” We had to keep our eyes fixed on our Leader, looking neither to the right hand nor to the left. 17LtMs, Lt 46, 1902, par. 5

Now, I want you to have a clear, definite understanding of the object for which the sanitarium is to be established. Ask yourselves, “What do we expect to accomplish by the establishment of this institution?” Is the institution to be merely a hotel, for the accommodation of tourists, or is it to be an agency for the promulgation of truth, for the doing of true medical missionary work? Are you prepared to understand what the will of the Lord is? 17LtMs, Lt 46, 1902, par. 6

When I see men in positions of trust who are not considerate, I think of how different their course would be if they took Christ as their Companion, to give them counsel, to guide them, to lead them in plain paths, lest the lame be turned out of the way. Let those who seek to control the ones who need direction ask themselves the question, Are we willing first to be controlled by God? Submit to God’s way. When you drink largely of the Holy Spirit, all pettishness will be overcome, all harshness, in speech or action, will be put away. 17LtMs, Lt 46, 1902, par. 7

The grace of God is the chief theme of the Bible. It is the light of the spiritual universe. O we need so much a conversion of the whole being, body, mind, and soul! 17LtMs, Lt 46, 1902, par. 8

Give yourselves to prayer. You cannot afford to move hastily in a matter that means so much. I urge you not to allow busy activity to keep you from earnest prayer. Establish yourselves in covenant relation with God. Go, put yourselves in fellowship with the great Teacher. Go, for your souls’ sakes, go to the throne of grace, and in contrition prostrate yourselves before God, pleading for clear light, that you may know that you are in the right way, because you see before you the footprints of Jesus. Go to God. Cast your helpless souls upon Him. 17LtMs, Lt 46, 1902, par. 9

I address this to you, my brethren, and through you embrace all the brethren and sisters in Los Angeles. The perils of the last days are upon us. I ask you to present to the church the matter of being so far behind in the Lord’s work, and to urge them to arouse to earnest action. 17LtMs, Lt 46, 1902, par. 10