Testimonies and Experiences Connected with the Loma Linda Sanitarium and College of Medical Evangelists

Ellen G. White

Copyright © 2018, Ellen G. White Estate, Inc.

Table of Contents

Information about this Book

Pioneer Work In Southern California

Out of the Cities

Another Place Described

Near Redlands and Riverside

The Mission of Our Sanitariums

To Be a Blessing

The First Money Obtained

“Go Ahead”

Land Not to be Sold

The Chosen Way for Proclaiming the Third Angel’s Message

The Testimonies Prove True

Information about this Book

Overview

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Ellen G. White (1827-1915) is considered the most widely translated American author, her works having been published in more than 160 languages. She wrote more than 100,000 pages on a wide variety of spiritual and practical topics. Guided by the Holy Spirit, she exalted Jesus and pointed to the Scriptures as the basis of one’s faith.

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“The God of heaven has been dishonored. You have found a place to invest means in various enterprises as though it were a virtue to leave my work in other lands to struggle with poverty and nakedness. You have not shared your abundant facilities as you might have done, even though the sacrifice required might appear large to you.

Nothing that earth has given is of sufficient value to recompense the travail and burden of [5] soul, the agony of mind that has been felt in seeing the people working at cross-purposes with God, hindering the work, and making it necessary for God to withdraw His prospering hand from the publishing association and from the conference.” [6]

“Then the test came upon the sanitarium. God has given it prosperity, not to be a means of self-exaltation, but that they might impart of their substance. When His servants were sent to Australia, you should have understood that God would work through them, and you should have exercised liberality in appropriating means to advance the work. The medical missionary work should ere this have been established upon a solid foundation. There should be no withholding of means. The Lord has let His chastening hand fall upon the Review and Herald office because they would not heed His voice. Self-sufficient managers hedged up the way that His work should not advance. The Lord calls upon the Battle Creek Sanitarium to extend her work and to place the health institution here upon a proper basis. This should have been done two years ago. The withholding tends to poverty.” [7]

“We have come to a time when every member of the church should take hold of medical missionary work.” “Christ is no longer in this world in person, to go through our cities and towns and villages, healing the sick. He has commissioned us to carry forward the medical missionary work that He began.”

“If ever the Lord has spoken by me, He speaks when I say that the workers engaged in educational lines, in ministerial lines, and in medical missionary lines must stand as a unit.” “Medical missionary work is yet in its infancy. The meaning of genuine medical missionary work is known by but few. Why? Because the Saviour’s plan of work has not been followed.”

“Christ, the great medical missionary, is our example. He healed the sick and preached the gospel. In His service, healing and teaching were linked closely together. Today they are not to be separated. The nurses who are trained in our institutions are to be fitted to go out as medical missionary evangelists uniting the ministry of the Word with that of physical healing.”

“There should be companies organized and educated most thoroughly to work as nurses, as ministers, as canvassers, as gospel students.” [8]

“From the instruction that the Lord has given me from time to time. I know there should be workers who make medical evangelistic tours among the towns and villages. Those who do this work will gather a rich harvest of souls, both from the higher and lower classes.”

“Let our ministers who have gained an experience in preaching the Word, learn how to give simple treatments, and then labor intelligently as medical missionary evangelists. Christ stands before us as a pattern man, the great medical missionary, an example to all who should come after.”

“The Lord calls upon our young people to enter our schools and quickly fit themselves for service. In various places, outside of cities, schools are to be established, where our youth can receive an education that would prepare them to go forth to do evangelical work and medical missionary work.” [9]

Pioneer Work In Southern California

Financial Help Needed

“For years the work in Southern California has needed help, and we now call upon our brethren and sisters who have means to spare to put it into circulation, that we may secure the places so well suited for our work.

“God has not been pleased with the way in which this field has been neglected. From many places in Southern California the light is to shine forth to the multitudes. Present truth is to be as a city set on a hill, which can not be hid.

“In Southern California there are many properties for sale on which buildings suitable for sanitarium work are already erected. Some of these properties should be purchased, and medical missionary work carried forward on sensible, [10] rational lines. Several small sanitariums are to be established in Southern California for the benefit of the multitudes drawn there in the hope of finding health. Instruction has been given me that now is our opportunity to reach the individuals flocking to the health resorts of Southern California, and that a work may be done also in behalf of their attendants.

“For months I carried on my soul the burden of the medical missionary work in Southern California. Recently much light has been given me in regard to the manner in which God desires us to conduct sanitarium work. We are to encourage patients to spend much of their time out-of-doors. I have been instructed to tell our brethren to keep on the lookout for cheap, desirable properties in healthful places, suitable for sanitarium purposes.

“Instead of investing in one medical institution all means obtainable, we ought to establish smaller sanitariums in many places. Soon the reputation of the health resorts in Southern California will stand even higher than it stands at present. Now is our time to enter that field for the purpose of carrying forward medical missionary work.”

Out of the Cities

“St. Helena, Cal.,

October 13, 1902.

“During my stay in Southern California, I was enabled to visit places that in the past have been presented to me by the Lord as suitable for the establishment of sanitariums and schools. For years I have been given special light that we are not to establish large centers for our work in the cities. The turmoil and confusion that fills these [11] cities, the conditions brought about by the labor unions and the strikes, would prove a great hindrance to our work.

“Men are seeking to bring those engaged in the different trades under certain unions. This is not God’s plan, but the planning of a power that we should in no case acknowledge. God’s word is fulfilling: the wicked are binding themselves in bundles ready to be burned.

“I have been instructed that the work in Southern California should have advantages that it has not yet enjoyed. I have been shown that in Southern California there are properties for sale on which buildings are already erected that could be utilized for our work, and that such properties will be offered to us at much less than their original cost. In these places, away from the din and confusion of the congested cities, we can establish sanitariums in which the sick can be cared for in the way God designs them to be. In our efforts to help the sick, we are to take them away from the cities, where they are continually annoyed by the noise of trains and street cars, and where there is little besides houses to see, to places where they can be surrounded by the scenes of nature, and where they can have the blessing of fresh air and sunshine.

“This subject was laid out before me in Australia. Light was given me that the cities would be filled with confusion, violence and crime, and that these things would increase till the close of this earth’s history. There is much to be said on this point. Instruction is to be given line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little. And our physicians and teachers should be quick to see the advantage of retired locations for our sanitariums and schools. [12]

“Properties such as those to which I have referred are being offered to us, and some of them we should purchase when it is plain that they are what we need, and when provision can be made for their acquisition without a burdensome debt. Where there are orchards on these places, so much the better: but on other properties where the buildings are just what we need, trees can be set out.

“The fact that in many cases the owners of these properties are anxious to dispose of them, and are therefore willing to sell them at a low price, is greatly in our favor. We must study economy in the outlay of means. At this stage of our work, we are not to erect large buildings in any of the cities. And we are not to follow extravagant and unduly large plans in our work in any place. We are to remember the cities which have been neglected and which must now be worked. The people in these cities must have the light of truth, In our establishment of sanitariums, we are not to spend large sums of money in the erection of costly buildings; for there are many places to be worked. We are to be wise in securing advantages already provided that the Lord desires us to have. We are to be wise as serpents and as harmless as doves in our efforts to secure country properties at a low figure, and from these outpost centers we are to work the cities.

“The work in Southern California is to advance more rapidly than it has advanced in the past. The means lying in banks or hidden in the earth is now called for to strengthen the work in Southern California. Every year many thousands of tourists visit Southern California, and by various [13] methods we should seek to reach them with the truth.” [14]

Another Place Described

“Sanitarium, Cal.,

August 8, 1904.

“Again and again during the past five years symbolic representations have been presented to me in visions of the night, showing what we ought to be doing in sanitarium work to help the sick to recover soundness of body and mind. On the night of October 10, 1901, I was unable to sleep after half past eleven at night. Many things regarding the sanitarium work were presented to me in figures and symbols. I was shown sanitariums near Los Angeles in running order. At one place I saw sanitarium work being carried on in a beautiful building. On the grounds surrounding the building there were many fruit trees. This institution, which was away from the city, was filled with life and activity.

“On the grounds of this beautiful place that I saw in the visions of the night, there were many shade trees, the boughs of which hung down in such a way as to form leafy canopies somewhat in the shape of tents. Underneath these canopies patients were resting. The sick were delighted with their surroundings. While some worked, others were singing. There was no sign of dissatisfaction.

“I awoke and for some time could not sleep. Many vivid scenes had passed before me, and I [15] could not forget the words I had spoken to the patients and helpers. Brethren and sisters, Christ has instructed me to say to you, the Holy Spirit will make your hearts tender and soft by His grace. The Lord will guide you and teach you His way.”

Near Redlands and Riverside

“I hope Brother -----, that when you see a suitable place in Redlands, which could be used as a sanitarium, offered for sale at a suitable price, you will let us know about it. We shall need a sanitarium in Redlands. Unless we start an enterprise of this kind, others will. I understand that the property owners are afraid that consumptives will come in, and thus the reputation of the place be spoiled. But, of course, we should make it clear that we are not going to establish a consumptive’s home.

“I merely mention this so that you and Brother Burden may keep it in view. We shall not take any steps to establish a sanitarium in Redlands until we can be assured that we are doing the right thing. Brother Burden and you can visit [16] the place from time to time, and see what openings there are. And in all that you do be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves.”

“You can not think how thankful I am that there are two sanitariums in running order in Southern California. I hope that great good will be accomplished by these institutions. I was glad to read what you wrote about some belonging to the higher classes being at the San Diego Sanitarium. This is a class that we need to reach. Time is short, and the Lord would have the truth proclaimed in the highways and the byways. Angels of God will go before those who lift up the standard and wisely proclaim the truth.

“In closing, I would ask you not to forget that sometime a sanitarium will be needed in Redlands. When you have opportunity, examine the field cautiously, and tell us what you find there. We must not allow others to get in ahead of us, and shut us off. Now is the time to make discreet inquiries.”

“I hear that plans are being laid for Elder Simpson to leave Southern California. I had hoped to see him extend his work from Los Angeles to Redlands and Riverside. Redlands and Riverside have been presented to me as places that should be worked. These two places should not be longer neglected. Please consider the [17] advisability of establishing a sanitarium in the vicinity of these cities with treatment rooms in each place to act as feeders to the sanitarium.”

“Our people in Southern California need to awake to the magnitude of the work to be done within their own borders. Let them awake to prayer and labor. Let them manifest more spiritual vitality. They need a new conversion that they may labor untiringly for souls. Wherever there is spiritual life there will be an imparting as well as a receiving of light and blessing. The nourishment from God’s Word will be received, and earnest work will be done. The act of imparting keeps open the channel for receiving. This truth our Saviour ever sought to keep before the people.

The Mission of Our Sanitariums

“I have a message to bear to the church members in Southern California. Arouse, and avail yourselves of the opportunities open to you. While Christ pleads in your behalf, plead for yourselves that you may be purified from every unrighteous thought, every unholy action. Make an entire surrender to God, of body, soul, and spirit. Be determined to do all in your power to learn the true science of soul-saving. While the light of God’s day of mercy still shines, gather up every divine ray.

“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 disease of the soul. Let Christ be held up before [18] 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.”

“To the poor sin-sick soul repeat the Saviour’s invitation, ‘Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.’ There is true joy in learning of Christ.

“Tell the suffering ones of a compassionate Saviour. He is the only Physician who can heal both body and soul. He has given His life for the world, that men should not perish, but have everlasting life. He looks with compassion upon those who regard their case as hopeless.

“While the soul is filled with fear and terror, the mind can not see the tender compassion of Christ. Our sanitariums are to be an agency for bringing peace and rest to the troubled mind. If you can inspire the despondent with hopeful, saving faith, contentment and cheerfulness will take the place of discouragement and unrest. Wonderful changes will then be wrought in their physical condition. Christ will restore both body and soul; and, realizing His compassion and love, they will rest in Him. He is the bright and morning star, shining amid the moral darkness of this sinful, corrupt world. He is the light of the world, and all who give their hearts to Him will find peace and rest and joy.” [19] [20]

“Your letter has just been read. I had no sooner finished reading it than I said, I will counsel with no one; for I have no question at all about the matter.... Secure the property by all means, so that it can be held, and then obtain all the money you can and make sufficient payments to hold the place. Do not delay, for it is just what is needed.

“I think that sufficient help can be secured to carry the matter through. I want you to be sure to lose no time in securing the right to purchase the property. We will do our utmost to help you raise the money. I know that Redlands and Riverside are to be worked; and I pray that the Lord may be gracious, and not allow any one else to get this property instead of us.

“Here is the word of the Lord. Open up every place possible. We are to labor in faith, taking hold of a power that is pledged to do large things for us. We are to reach out in faith in Los Angeles and in Redlands and Riverside.

“If we do not succeed in getting this place, we shall have to search for another; for a sanitarium should be started at once, but I believe the Lord means that we shall have this place and that money can be obtained to purchase it. Let not this opportunity slip; for just such a place has been presented before me that it would be greatly to our advantage to obtain. May the Lord impress His people with the work long neglected in Southern California. I sent a telegram yesterday afternoon with a decided affirmation to purchase the place.” [21]

“I have been waiting to hear from you again regarding the place near Redlands about which you wrote me not long ago. I hope that this place can be secured, because I think that the Lord has made it possible for us to obtain it.

To Be a Blessing

“If you have anything further to tell us, please do so. We do not want this place to be a snare to us; for I feel impressed that it will be a great blessing. I hope that you will send me a line when you have come to a decision regarding the place.

“Redlands and Riverside must be worked, and they could be worked from the place about which you have written us.”

“We received your letter today. I wish to say that I can not ask the Conference to invest in a sanitarium at Redlands. They have enough responsibilities to carry without taking upon them other responsibilities. If you in Los Angeles will do your best, we will do our best. But if you will do nothing, say so, and we will do nothing. If [22] you will work intelligently, as we know you can, then we will do what we can. But if you do nothing, waiting for the Conference, you will lose your chance. If you are going to depend on the Conference purchasing it, I have no hope of your obtaining it.

“Brother Burden, if you wait for ----- to work out the plans, there will be no hope at all in the matter. I will not write more till I hear something further from you. Telegraph us at once the price of the property, and the best terms of payment you can obtain.”

The First Money Obtained

[23]

“When you wrote to me about the advisability of purchasing the property known as ‘Loma Linda,’ I did not consult with any one, because I thought this would hinder us, and I believed that we could carry the matter forward without putting the burden on the Conference. We do not desire to bring perplexity upon the Conference regarding this matter. Be assured, my brother, that I never advise anything unless I have a decided impression that it should be carried out, and unless I am firmly resolved to assist.

“I am glad that means are in sight to make the first payment on the place; for we ought to have it.

“By all means secure the property if you can; for I believe it to be the very place the Lord desires us to have.”

“Go Ahead”

Another letter dated May 31, 1905, reads as follows:

“We hope to see you soon now, but in regard to the purchase of ‘Loma Linda,” I will say, go ahead. I hope to be able to help by giving the proceeds from a certain number of copies of ‘Ministry of Healing.’ I can do no more except to borrow. I wish the place purchased. Do not neglect to tell me all I ought to know. I have been looking over your descriptive letter, and I am well satisfied that the place is one that we ought to have. It is cheap at forty thousand dollars. [24] We will not leave you, but will stand back of you and help you to raise the means.

“In regard to the right man to manage the institution. I am confident that we shall find some one when the right time comes.

“If we do not succeed in getting this place, then we shall have to search for another; but I believe the Lord means that we shall have this place and that money can be obtained to purchase it. Let not this opportunity slip, for just such a place has been presented before me, that would be greatly to our advantage to obtain.

“W. C. White sent the telegram yesterday with a decided affirmation to purchase the place.” [25]

“I am much encouraged by the letters that I have received from you regarding Loma Linda. [26] From your descriptions of this place, I believe it meets the representation which I have seen of what we should seek for as sanitarium locations. Such a place was presented to me a few miles from an important city. The city had recently been built up.

“I have tried to place before our people the representations given me regarding sanitariums in the country, and I have urged upon them the necessity of establishing our sanitariums outside of the cities. I have had repeatedly presented to me the advantage of securing locations some miles out of the cities. Those who follow the counsel of God in providing places where the sick and suffering can receive proper treatment, will be guided to the right places for the establishment of their work.

“Let our sanitariums be located where there is an abundance of land. I can see the advantage of such a place as Loma Linda. The Lord worked to help us to secure this property. The work of this institution is to be carried forward on pure, elevated lines. It can be conducted in such a way that truth will be presented as the rock upon which to build.

“In order that our institutions shall teach right lessons, there must be connected with them men of such simplicity that they are willing to learn of the great Teacher.

“We need workers who will gain breadth of mind by studying the book God has opened before us of His created works. Angels cooperate with those who proclaim the truths represented by the things of nature. These things are not God, but they are specimens of God’s handiwork.

“Our medical workers are to do all in their [27] power to cure disease of the body and also disease of the mind. They are to watch and pray and work, bringing spiritual as well as physical advantages to those for whom they labor. The physician in one of our sanitariums who is a true servant of God has an intensely interesting work to do for every suffering human being with whom he is brought in contact. He is to lose no opportunity to point souls to Christ, the great Healer of body and mind. Every physician should be a skillful worker in Christ’s lines. There is to be no lessening of the interest in spiritual things, else the power to fix the mind upon the great Physician will be diverted. While the needs of the body are to be strictly attended to, while all possible efforts are to be made to break the power of disease, the physician is never to forget that there is a soul to be labored for.

“God would draw minds from the conviction of logic to a conviction deeper, higher, purer, and more glorious, a conviction unperverted by human logic. Human logic has often nearly quenched the light which God would have shine forth in clear rays to convince minds that the God of nature is worthy of all praise and all glory, because He is the Creator of all things.”

“This is the very place that has been shown me and we must have it.” [28] [29] [30] [31] [32]

“This proposed school at Loma Linda,” said she, “must be molded by the early spirit of the message. We must try to get such men as Eld. S. N. Haskell to connect with it, in order that our students in training for service as medical missionary evangelists may get a new view of the work.” “We are now,” said she, “farther from the pattern than when our medical work first started.”

On June 26, 1905, Sister White wrote as follows:

“It is just daylight, and I am seated on my couch beginning a letter to you. There are many matters to be considered; and we all need the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

“I shall be pleased to hear from you at any time. I sincerely hope the brethren in Southern California will unite in pressing forward the school work and the sanitarium work. I hope that ----- will move understandingly in reference to the sanitariums already in operation, and also in regard to the new sanitarium. I pray that the Lord may provide suitable help to connect with this institution. [33]

“Do not be discouraged if in any wise there is some cutting across your plans, and if you are somewhat hindered. I hope that we shall never again have to meet the hindrances that we have had to meet in the past because of the way in which some things have been conducted in some lines in Southern California. I have seen the ‘hold-back’ principles followed, and I have seen the displeasure of the Lord because of this. If the same spirit is manifested. I shall not consent to keep silence as I have done.”

Land Not to be Sold

And again in a letter of July 5, 1905:

“I write you a few lines. One thing I wish you to do. I wish you to not be very anxious to get this property in the hands or power of the Conference to manage, but let parties manage the holding of this property. I learn that ----- has proposed to sell some of the land to help pay the standing debt. Tell me how the matter is now. Can you obtain the loan of money for to raise the rest of the five thousand dollars? If not, we must stir about to see if we can not obtain the means. I have sent you the letter that I have written; please tell me what is necessary for me to do. We must be sure and have every payment made in time, and not let it go out of our hands.”

“I just thought to write you a few lines to assure you that not one foot of that land is to be sold to raise money. We will hire money at the bank rather than this shall be done.” [34] [35] [36] [37] [38]

“I wish to present before our people the blessing that the Lord has placed within our reach by enabling us to obtain possession of the beautiful sanitarium property known as Loma Linda.... Until our recent visit, I had never before seen such a place as this with my natural eyes, but four years ago just such a place was presented before me as one of those that would come into our possession if we moved wisely. It is a wonderful place in which to work for the sick, and in which to begin our work for Redlands and Riverside. We must make decided efforts to secure helpers who will do most faithful medical missionary work.... Oh, how I long to see the sick and suffering coming to this institution! It is one of the most perfect places for a sanitarium that I have ever seen, and I thank our Heavenly Father for giving us such a place. It is provided with almost everything necessary for sanitarium work, and is the very place in which sanitarium work can be carried forward on right lines by faithful physicians and managers.... When I saw Loma Linda, I said, ‘Thank the Lord. This is the very place we have been hoping to find.” ... [39]

“The patients could live out of doors a large part of the time. The land will serve as a school for the education of patients. By outdoor exercise and working in the soil, men and women will regain their health. Rational methods for the cure of diseases will be used in a variety of ways. Drugs will be discarded....

“It is one of the best locations for sanitarium work that I have ever seen. At this place the sick can be given every natural advantage for retaining health and strength.

The Chosen Way for Proclaiming the Third Angel’s Message

“Forty years ago the Lord began to give us instruction in regard to the establishment of sanitariums as one of His chosen ways for proclaiming the third angel’s message.... Our sanitariums are to be schools in which people of all classes shall be taught the way of salvation. In them the sick are to be taught to overcome the appetite for tea, coffee, flesh-meat, tobacco and intoxicating liquor of all kinds. In every one of our medical institutions the sick and suffering are to be pointed to the Saviour as their only hope....

“For the past twenty years the Lord has been giving the message that plants are to be made in many places. He will greatly bless us as we endeavor to carry out His will. Out of the city into the country, is the word that has been given, and this word is to be obeyed. Our sanitariums are to be established in the most healthful surroundings.” ... [40]

The Testimonies Prove True

“God declared that we should find buildings suitable for our work, and that these buildings would be offered to us at a very low price. Has not our recent experience in Southern California proved this true? I could not but weep for joy as I saw how plainly the Providence of God had been revealed in our selection of places for sanitarium work in San Diego, Los Angeles and the Redlands and Riverside district.

“Money is needed with which to establish the work in places outside of the cities, from which the cities can be worked. We must have means with which to meet the payments on Loma Linda. I ask our brethren who have means to awake to the responsibilities resting upon them, and to do what they can to help us. Those who have the Lord’s money in trust should regard it as a privilege to give of their means to help to pay for a place so well adapted to sanitarium work.”