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Testimonies for the Church Volume 3
It would please God for all our people who are able to do so to take
stock liberally in the Institute to place it in a condition where it can
help God’s humble, worthy poor. In connection with this I saw that
Christ identifies Himself with suffering humanity, and that what we
have the privilege of doing for even the least of His children, whom
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He calls His brethren, we do to the Son of God.
“Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye
blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world: for I was an hungered, and ye gave Me meat:
I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took
Me in: naked, and ye clothed Me: I was sick, and ye visited Me: I
was in prison, and ye came unto Me. Then shall the righteous answer
Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungered, and fed thee?
or thirsty, and gave Thee drink? When saw we Thee a stranger, and
took Thee in? or naked, and clothed Thee? Or when saw we Thee
sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee? And the King shall answer
and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it
unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.
Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye
cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: for
I was anhungered, and ye gave Me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave
Me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in: naked, and ye
clothed Me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited Me not. Then shall
they also answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee anhungered,
or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not
minister unto Thee? Then shall He answer them, saying, Verily I say
unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did
it not to Me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but
the righteous into life eternal.”
To raise the Health Institute from its low state in the autumn of 1869
to its present prosperous, hopeful condition has demanded sacrifices
and exertions of which its friends abroad know but little. Then it had a
debt of thirteen thousand dollars and had but eight paying patients. And
what was worse still, the course of former managers had been such as
to so far discourage its friends that they had no heart to furnish means
to lift the debt or to recommend the sick to patronize the Institute. It
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was at this discouraging point that my husband decided in his mind that
the Institute property must be sold to pay the debts, and the balance,