To the Leaders in the Medical Work--
Dear Brethren: I have a message for you.
I am instructed to say that not all the arrangements connected
with the management of the medical missionary work are to originate
in Battle Creek. The medical missionary work is God's work, and
in every conference and every church we are to take a decided
stand against allowing it to be selfishly controlled.
After I received word in regard to the
excellent meeting of confession and unity that had been held
in Battle Creek I was writing in my diary and was about to record
the thankfulness I felt because a change had come, when my hand
was arrested, and there came to me the words: "Write it
not. No change for the better has taken place. Teachings that
are turning souls from the truth are being presented as of great
worth. Doctrines are being taught that lead into bypaths and
forbidden paths; doctrines that lead men to act in harmony with
their own inclinations and to work out their unsanctified purposes;
doctrines that, if received, would destroy the dignity and power
of God's people, obscuring the light that would otherwise come
to them through God's appointed agencies."
The leaders in our medical work at Battle
Creek have endeavored to bind our medical institutions fast,
in accordance with their plans. Notwithstanding the many warnings
given them that this should not be done, they have desired to
bind up these institutions in some way so that all our medical
work shall be under their control.
In the past I have written much upon this
subject, and I must now repeat
the admonitions given, for it seems difficult for my brethren
to understand their perilous position.
"The Lord forbids that every sanitarium
and bathhouse established should be brought under one control--bound
up with the medical institution at Battle Creek. The managers
of the Battle Creek Sanitarium have their hands full now. They
should devote their strength to the work of making this sanitarium
what it should be.
"One man is not to think that he can
be conscience for all the medical workers. Human beings are to
look to the Lord God of heaven alone for wisdom and guidance.
"In establishing and developing medical
institutions, our brethren must not be asked to work in accordance
with the plans of a kingly, ruling power. A change must be brought
about. The plan to fasten every medical institution to the central
organization at Battle Creek must be relinquished. This plan
God forbids.
"For years I have been instructed
that there is danger, constant danger, that our brethren will
look to their fellow men for permission to do this or that, instead
of looking to God. Thus they become weaklings, and permit themselves
to be bound with man-made restrictions disapproved by God. The
Lord can impress minds and consciences to do His work under bonds
to Him, and in a spirit of fraternity that is in accordance with
the principles of His law. . . .
"God knows the future. He is the One
to whom we are to look for guidance. Let us trust Him to direct
us in the development of the various branches of His work. Let
none attempt to labor in accordance with unsanctified impulses.
. . .
"The division of the General Conference
into District Union Conferences was God's arrangement. In the
work of the Lord for these last
days there should be no Jerusalem centers, no kingly power. And
the work in the different countries is not to be bound by contracts
to the work centering in Battle Creek, for this is not God's
plan. Brethren are to counsel together, for we are just as much
under the control of God in one part of His vineyard as in another.
Brethren are to be one in heart and soul, even as Christ and
the Father are one. Teach this, practice this, that we may be
one with Christ in God, all working to build up one another.
"The kingly power formerly revealed
in the General Conference at Battle Creek is not to be perpetuated.
The publishing institution is not to be a kingdom of itself.
It is essential that the principles that govern in General Conference
affairs should be maintained in the management of the publishing
work and the sanitarium work. One is not to think that the branch
of the work with which he is connected is of vastly more importance
than other branches.
"Educational work must be done in
every sanitarium that shall be established. God has control of
the work, and no one is to feel that everything done in the sanitariums
established must first be submitted to one group of men. This
course God forbids. The same God who has instructed the physicians
at Battle Creek will instruct the men and women who are called
to do service for the Master in various parts of His vineyard.
"Human laws and human arrangements
are being framed that are not acceptable to God. They will not
prove a savor of life unto life. I am under the necessity of
lifting the danger signal. The managers of every one of our institutions
need to become more intelligent in regard to their individual
work, not by depending upon another institution, but, while preserving
the identity of their work, by looking to God as their
instructor and by revealing their faith in
Him through whole-hearted service. Then they will develop talents
and capabilities."
"Christ calls for service of a higher
order than that which has been given Him. Men in positions of
responsibility should, through receiving the power of the Holy
Spirit, reveal the Redeemer much more clearly than they have
revealed Him. The infinite God so loved the world that He gave
His only-begotten Son as a sacrifice for us, in order that we,
by receiving Him in faith and practicing His virtues, might not
perish, but have everlasting life. My brethren, how do you suppose
He regards that great lack of spiritual enthusiasm manifested
over the record of the infinite sacrificial offering made for
our salvation?
"All human ambition, all boasting,
is to be laid in the dust. Self, sinful self, is to be abased,
not exalted. By holiness in the daily life we are to reveal Christ
to those around us. Corrupt human nature is to be subdued, not
exalted. Thus only can we become pure and undefiled. We are to
be humble, faithful men and women. Never are we to sit upon the
judgment seat. God demands that His representatives shall be
pure and holy, revealing the beauty of sanctification. The channel
is always to remain unobstructed, that the Holy Spirit may have
free course; otherwise some will gloss over the work that must
be done in the natural heart in order to perfect Christian character;
and they will present their own imperfections in such a way as
to make of no effect God's truth, which is as steadfast as the
eternal throne. And while God calls upon His watchmen to lift
the danger signal, at the same time He presents before them the life of the Saviour as an example
of what they must be and do in order to be saved.
"For His disciples Christ prayed: "Sanctify
them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth." A pleasant,
self-satisfied feeling is not an evidence of sanctification.
A faithful record is kept of all the acts of the children of
men. Nothing can be concealed from the eye of the high and holy
One that inhabiteth eternity. Some make Christ ashamed of them
by their devising and planning and scheming. God does not approve
of their conduct, for the Lord Jesus is dishonored by their spirit
and their works. They forget the words of the apostle: "We
are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men."
1 Corinthians 4:9.
"The instruction that the Lord has
given concerning His work points out the right way. God's plans
and God's thoughts are as much higher than man's plans and man's
thoughts as the heavens are higher than the earth. God's voice
is to be heard, His wisdom is to guide. He has outlined His plan
in His word and in the testimonies that He has sent to His people.
That work only which is carried on in accordance with the principles
of His word will stand fast forever.