Medical Ministry

Objectives and Conditions of Prosperity Unchanged

Great advances have been made in the medical world since the death of Ellen White in 1915. While these advances have brought adjustments in the details of the practice of medicine, they have not outmoded the therapeutic value of “pure air, exercise, proper diet, the use of water,” and “trust in divine power,” which Ellen G. White enumerated as “the true remedies.” While modern methods of rapid diagnosis and treatment of disease have shortened the time patients must stay at a medical institution, and while this has its bearing on the operation of Seventh-day Adventist institutions, the basic principles set forth in the Ellen G. White counsels constitute a safe, workable guide today. Writing reflectively, Mrs. White declared: MM xiii.2

“As our work has extended and institutions have multiplied, God's purpose in their establishment remains the same. The conditions of prosperity are unchanged.”—Testimonies for the Church 6, page 224. MM xiii.3

We can be reassured of the timelessness of these counsels in medical lines. As Mrs. White stood before the General Conference in session in 1909, she said: MM xiii.4

“I have been shown that the principles that were given us in the early days of the message are as important and should be regarded just as conscientiously today as they were then.”—Testimonies for the Church 9:158. MM xiii.5

Principle does not change, though changes in circumstances may make adjustment necessary in the application of some of the principles. Indeed, Ellen White wrote concerning the work at the newly established school in Loma Linda: MM xiii.6

“We cannot mark out a precise line to be followed unconditionally. Circumstances and emergencies will arise for which the Lord must give special instruction, but if we begin to work, depending wholly upon the Lord, watching, praying, walking in harmony with the light He sends us, we shall not be left to walk in darkness.”—Ellen G. White Letter 192, 1906. MM xiii.7