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Testimonies for the Church Volume 1
When the vision was given me at Rochester, New York, I saw that
it would be far better for these parents and children to form a family
by themselves. The children should each do a part of the family labor
and thus obtain a valuable education which could not be obtained in
any other way. Life at-----or in any other place, surrounded by waiters
and helpers, is the greatest possible injury to mothers and children.
Jesus invites Sister F to find rest in Him and to let her mind receive a
healthy tone by dwelling upon heavenly things and earnestly seeking
to bring up her little flock in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
In this way she can best assist her husband by relieving him of the
feeling that she must be the object of so much of his attention, care,
and sympathy.
As to the extent of the accommodations of the Health Institute at
Battle Creek, I was shown, as I have before stated, that we should
have such an institution, small at its commencement, and cautiously
increased, as good physicians and helpers could be procured and means
raised, and as the wants of invalids should demand; and all should be
conducted in strict accordance with the principles and humble spirit of
the third angel’s message. And as I have seen the large calculations
hastily urged by those who have taken a leading part in the work, I
have felt alarmed, and in many private conversations and in letters I
have warned these brethren to move cautiously. My reasons for this
are that without the special blessing of God there are several ways in
which this enterprise might be hindered, for a time at least, any one
of which would be detrimental to the institution and an injury to the
cause. Should the physicians fail, through sickness, death, or any other
cause, to fill their places, the work would be hindered till others were
raised up; or should means fail to come in when extensive buildings
were in process of erection, and the work stop, capital would be sunk,
and a general discouragement would come over all interested; also
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there might be a lack of patients to occupy present accommodations,
consequently a lack of means to meet present expenses. With all the
efforts in every department put forth in a correct and judicious manner,
and with the blessing of God, the institution will prove a glorious
success, while a single failure in any one direction might sooner or
later prove a great injury. It should not be forgotten that out of many
hygienic institutions started in the United States within the last twenty-