Basic HTML Version
136
Testimonies for the Church Volume 9
that God has given upon this subject. They eat as they please and
work as they please.
Let those who are teachers and leaders in our cause take their
stand firmly on Bible ground in regard to health reform, and give a
straight testimony to those who believe we are living in the last days
of this earth’s history. A line of distinction must be drawn between
those who serve God and those who serve themselves.
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. There are some who
have never followed the light given on the question of diet. It is now
time to take the light from under the bushel and let it shine forth in
clear, bright rays.
The principles of healthful living mean a great deal to us indi-
vidually and as a people. When the message of health reform first
came to me, I was weak and feeble, subject to frequent fainting
spells. I was pleading with God for help, and He opened before
me the great subject of health reform. He instructed me that those
who are keeping His commandments must be brought into sacred
[159]
relation to Himself, and that by temperance in eating and drinking
they must keep mind and body in the most favorable condition for
service. This light has been a great blessing to me. I took my stand
as a health reformer, knowing that the Lord would strengthen me. I
have better health today, notwithstanding my age, than I had in my
younger days.
It is reported by some that I have not followed the principles of
health reform as I have advocated them with my pen; but I can say
that I have been a faithful health reformer. Those who have been
members of my family know that this is true.
“To the Glory of God”
We do not mark out any precise line to be followed in diet; but
we do say that in countries where there are fruits, grains, and nuts
in abundance, flesh food is not the right food for God’s people. I
have been instructed that flesh food has a tendency to animalize the
nature, to rob men and women of that love and sympathy which they
should feel for everyone, and to give the lower passions control over