In the Country
[
Testimonies for the Church 7:85-87
(1901).]
In August, 1901 while attending the Los Angeles camp meeting,
I was, in the visions of the night, in a council meeting. The question
under consideration was the establishment of a sanitarium in Southern
California. By some it was urged that this sanitarium should be built
in the city of Los Angeles, and the objections to establishing it out of
the city were pointed out. Others spoke of the advantages of a country
location.
There was among us One who presented this matter very clearly
and with the utmost simplicity. He told us that it would be a mistake
to establish a sanitarium within the city limits. A sanitarium should
have the advantage of plenty of land, so that the invalids can work in
the open air. For nervous, gloomy, feeble patients, outdoor work is
invaluable. Let them have flower beds to care for. In the use of rake
and hoe and spade, they will find relief for many of their maladies.
Idleness is the cause of many diseases.
Life in the open air is good for body and mind. It is God’s medicine
for the restoration of health. Pure air, good water, sunshine, the beauti-
ful surroundings of nature—these are His means for restoring the sick
to health in natural ways. To the sick it is worth more than silver or
gold to lie in the sunshine or in the shade of the trees.
In the country our sanitariums can be surrounded by flowers and
trees, orchards and vineyards. Here it is easy for physicians and nurses
to draw from the things of nature lessons teaching of God. Let them
point the patients to Him whose hand has made the lofty trees, the
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springing grass, and the beautiful flowers, encouraging them to see in
every opening bud and blossoming flower an expression of His love
for His children.
It is the expressed will of God that our sanitariums shall be estab-
lished as far from the cities as is consistent. So far as possible, these
institutions should be located in quiet, secluded places, where oppor-
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