280
Counsels on Health
Amid the Scenes of Nature
The Garden of Eden, the home of our first parents, was exceedingly
beautiful. Graceful shrubs and delicate flowers greeted the eye at every
turn. In the garden were trees of every variety, many of them laden with
fragrant and delicious fruit. On their branches the birds caroled their
songs of praise. Adam and Eve, in their untainted purity, delighted in
the sights and sounds of Eden. And today, although sin has cast its
shadow over the earth, God desires His children to find delight in the
works of His hands. To locate our sanitariums amidst the scenes of
nature would be to follow God’s plan, and the more closely this plan
is followed, the more wonderfully will He work to restore suffering
humanity. For our educational and medical institutions, places should
be chosen where, away from the dark clouds of sin that hang over the
great cities, the Sun of Righteousness can arise, “with healing in His
wings.”
Malachi 4:2
.
Let the leaders in our work instruct the people that sanitariums
should be established in the midst of the most pleasant surroundings,
in places not disturbed by the turmoil of the city—places where by
wise instruction the thoughts of the patients can be bound up with the
thoughts of God. Again and again I have described such places, but it
seems that there has been no ear to hear. Recently, in a most clear and
convincing manner, the advantage of establishing our institutions, es-
pecially our sanitariums and schools, outside the cities, was presented
to me.
[267]
City Surroundings Unfavorable
Why are our physicians so eager to be located in the cities? The
very atmosphere of the cities is polluted. In them, patients who have
unnatural appetites to overcome cannot be properly guarded. To pa-
tients who are victims of strong drink, the saloons of a city are a
continual temptation. To place our sanitariums where they are sur-
rounded by ungodliness is to counterwork the efforts made to restore
the patients to health.
In the future the condition of things in the cities will grow more
and more objectionable, and the influence of city surroundings will be