History of Health Message In SD Adventist Church

 Lee Wellard

Many of our pioneers were raised in a time where a health message was very absent from society. If we go back to 1799, the time of George Washington made world news when he died at what was considered a young age, though not for that specific era. On Friday, December 13, Washington had taken a cold with mild hoarseness. The next morning, he awoke having difficulty breathing, and by 6:00 a.m. he was febrile with throat pain and respiratory distress. Unable to swallow, he spoke with difficulty, prompting his aide, Colonel Tobias Lear, to send for doctors and a bloodletter named George Rollins. At about 7:30 a.m., Rollins removed 12 to 40 ounces of blood. As Washington requested additional bloodletting, he continued to struggle for air, and his condition deteriorated. By 8:00 p.m., physicians applied blisters of cantharides to his feet, arms, and legs. At around 10:00 p.m., Washington whispered burial instructions to Lear. It was believed that just before he died, he had about 80 ounces of blood removed. Many doctors at the time believed that bloodletting could improve a patient’s condition, operating on the theory that a fever meant a person had too much blood. In accordance with this, alongside crude purgatives and emetics, over half of Washington’s blood was drained in just a few hours. It is widely held today that the father of our country died from aggressive bloodletting resulting in severely low blood pressure and shock, though it was considered a normal procedure back then. In the 1940s in the United States, the average lifespan for an adult was around 43 to 44 years of age. Specifically, life expectancy at birth for white males was around 40.2 years and white females it was 42.2 years. If an individual survived to age five, their life expectancy was roughly 51 years.

Bizarre Historic Medical Therapies

We have quite changed those statistics over the last few decades worldwide for a number of reasons. There was a lot of what was considered medical therapies used at that time that were supposedly very helpful, including whale blubber baths for arthritis, tobacco smoke enemas, animal magnetism, phrenology, and humoral theory, which attributed disease to fluid imbalances. They also used mercury and mineral poisons, blistering, and hot irons applied to the skin to allow toxins to be removed. Morphine was given for teething babies, and mothers could buy heroin at a local market to cure a cough. Other treatments included shock treatments to cure impotence, snakes for arthritis and inflammation, and munching on a paste of dried human remains. Alcohol was recommended to sedate women during childbirth, as well as for colds and fevers, and milk-based blood transfusions were utilized. This was the environment at the time our country was starting to establish the constitution and embed the grounds for religious liberty. The bedrock of American culture was being formed, and there was a dire need for a health message to come into the land. As it is written, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because thou has rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee.” Hosea 4:6 “The History of Our Health Message” Sermon by Lee Wellard It was a great time of ignorance in both health and biblical understanding, so God had to raise up a special people with a special message.

Parallels Between Ancient Israel and the Advent Movement

Many pioneers were dying from infectious diseases, and it was necessary to combine the spiritual message with a health message, otherwise, there would be no one left to proclaim it. God raised up people with a desire to share the truths of God’s word, replicating a system in the early advent movement that parallelled ancient Israel. Ancient Israel was called out of Egypt, while the modern movement was called out of the world. Both were made denominated people; we are told there have only been two denominated peoples: Israel and Seventh-day Adventists. He gave ancient Israel an earthly sanctuary, an earthly priesthood, a prophetess named Miriam, and revealed the ten commandments. Similarly, He gave the modern movement a heavenly sanctuary, a heavenly priesthood, a prophetess, and revealed the ten commandments, specifically the forgotten Sabbath. He gave both groups testimonies through the spirit of prophecy, laws of health, made them a spectacle to the world, and gave them promises—the first coming to ancient Israel and the second coming to modern Israel.

Simple Remedies and the Ministry of Christ

Jesus used simple remedies, sometimes telling people to wash in water, using clay, touching them, or speaking the word. God uses simple things to confound the wisdom of the wise. As stated, “Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.” Matthew 4:23 “The History of Our Health Message” Sermon by Lee Wellard Jesus was a walking sanitarium, leaving whole villages completely free of sickness. He never stopped his work until every soul was ministered to, diffusing lifegiving health to all who sought him. God needed to raise up a group of people with a health message, and He spoke the word to Ellen White, who was afflicted with many health conditions herself at an early age. Though she once thought she would die young due to a facial injury, she lived on for nearly 70 years after that, receiving visions of health necessary for the church’s survival when pioneers were dying of infectious conditions.

Stories of Early Pioneers and Health Reform

Uriah Smith, an early pioneer who embraced the message, was only 14 in 1844, but a couple of years prior, he had his leg amputated on a kitchen table without anesthesia while his mother held him down. Joseph Bates, a key founder of the Adventist Church, became a vegetarian and advocated against the consumption of meat, including pork. He made drastic changes to his diet after becoming convinced of the nearness of Christ’s coming, giving up meat, butter, cheese, greasy pies, and rich cakes. As a sailor in Bristol, England, Bates noticed two young men shoveling salt who were doing the work of ten men. When he learned they were vegetarians, he realized it did not make a person weak, so he tried it himself and began propagating the health message. J.N. Andrews, a missionary to Switzerland, lost his wife early on. Back then, pioneers often remarried quickly just to care for the children and keep the evangelism going because they believed Jesus was coming so soon. Andrews went to Switzerland with his two children, and when his only daughter caught tuberculosis, he refused to stay away despite the risk. He ministered to her, caught the infection, and died as a result.

Cultural Ignorance and the Introduction of Health Visions

At that time, even some ministers were smoking because it was commonly believed to be good for the lungs, while leaving windows open at night was considered deadly. People severely needed education. At an Adventist museum in Michigan, there is a story about Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson eating tomatoes while everyone thought he was committing suicide because tomatoes were considered deadly. The real issue was that people used lead plates; the high acidity of the tomatoes dissolved the lead, causing lead poisoning, but people assumed the tomatoes were the killer. Therefore, a great work of health reform and nutrition had to take place, and God used Ellen White to impart this knowledge. One of her first visions detailed the dangers of tea and coffee, stating that God had shown her these things are to be avoided. We now know both contain chemicals that knock out GABA, a neurotransmitter related to self-control, which lowers resistance to temptation. Despite this, coffee remains the most consumed beverage in the world today. She also warned that drugs do not cure disease, noting that while they afford temporary relief, recovery happens because nature has sufficient vital force to expel the poison. In most cases, the drug only changes the form and location of the disease, working great harm at a later period.

Foundational Books and the Laws of Health

The original word for drug actually means dry plant or dry herbs. Because historical herbs were bitter, people began isolating chemicals from them to create formulations, giving birth to the modern pharmaceutical industry. To gain a balanced view of nutrition and lifestyle, books like Councils on Diet and Foods, Ministry of Healing, and Councils on Health are highly recommended and should be taught in health ministries today. The laws of health were emphasized as key remedies given by God, with a massive focus on prevention. The eight laws of health, including gratitude and service, have a vital impact on well-being. While hydrotherapy and herbal remedies are often misunderstood today, simple herbs of the field are beneficial. Ellen White suggested that knowledge of their use could prevent suffering and reduce the need for doctors, stating that herbs used for sudden ailments were a hundredfold better than drugs hidden under mysterious names. A knowledge of the laws of health enables us to use natural remedies intelligently, rather than in ways that undermine the constitution.

The True Purpose of Natural Remedies and Medical Missionary Work

Every person should have a basic understanding of nature’s remedial agencies. Though clinical studies on herbs did not truly begin until the 1950s, modern research shows that 75% of traditional herbal uses actually have clinical backing today. Medical missionary work is the right hand of the gospel, opening doors that would otherwise remain closed. When people desire to follow health principles, it is evidence they are open to the Holy Spirit. There are simple herbs and roots that every family may use for themselves without immediately calling a physician or a lawyer. This does not negate their use, but simply reduces the need for their services. An old allegory about the body parts arguing over who is the greatest illustrates this perfectly: the brain, heart, and kidney all claimed supremacy, but when the humble colon was laughed at, it shut down for a week, and everyone quickly agreed who was the most vital. Simple, humble things are often despised, but God does not see it that way.

The Rise and Centralization of Sanitariums

God has formed laws that govern our constitutions, and for every transgression, there is a fixed penalty. The majority of diseases are created by ignorance of organic laws, where people tear themselves to pieces and then drug themselves to death with doctors, which is not God’s plan. This understanding led to the desire for health institutes, resulting in the establishment of Madison in 1904, which was the only board Ellen White ever voted on. Prior to that, the Western Health Reform Institute was formed, later becoming the Battle Creek Sanitarium. It began when a sick man walked miles to ask the Adventists for help; Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and some nurse attendants treated him, he recovered, and crowds of people began arriving. Lifestyle centers grew massive, with at least 100 beds each, and half of the Seventh-day Adventist membership was fully engaged in medical missionary work full-time as doctors, nurses, and therapists. At Battle Creek, workers lined up to exercise together in the morning, and the operation featured people praying by the sick, utilizing hot water baths, sunbaths, nature, and herbal teas.

The Influence and Fall of Dr. John Harvey Kellogg

The sanitarium had an incredible impact, drawing visits from royalty, Henry Ford, and President Roosevelt. Dr. John Harvey Kellogg pursued his medical education with financial support from James and Ellen White, training in surgery in France and returning fired up for service. Ellen White wrote to him stating: “The work in which you are engaged is not a common work… God designs that the sanitarium shall be a place where the sick may be relieved, not only physically, but spiritually.” “The History of Our Health Message” Sermon by Lee Wellard Dr. Kellogg was considered five years ahead of mainstream science because he used the spirit of prophecy to filter out false scientific bandwagons. He popularized peanut butter and established health foods like cornflakes. He performed about 20,000 surgical procedures without losing a single life, as a vision revealed God’s hand was guiding his own during surgery. However, Kellogg eventually began emphasizing human reason above divine authority, making science his guide rather than revelation. He separated the health message from the spiritual message of Revelation 14, and when he was defellowshipped from the church in 1907, nearly all the health workers left with him, causing a massive, unintended separation of the physical and spiritual work.

The Battle Creek Fire and God’s Lifeboats

Battle Creek Sanitarium grew to 3,000 beds, but in 1902, a fire burned it to the ground. It was never God’s plan to have one gigantic institution; the resources were meant to be scattered worldwide. When the institutions burned, it was a movement of divine searching, bringing the people to a place of confession rather than defense. Ellen White, who was in Australia at the time, had written a letter weeks prior that arrived after the fire had occurred, proving she could not have known about it through natural means. Elder Prescott read her letter to the congregation, moving hearts to repentance for ignoring prior counsel. As Battle Creek derailed into pantheism around 1903 with the publication of The Living Temple, God set up lifeboats in advance by establishing Madison, Loma Linda, and Glendale sanitariums in 1904. Loma Linda was specifically established to train physicians to be medical evangelists around the world, though this divine pattern was not always fully realized. God will work with an organization as long as they follow His principles, but if they turn away, the light moves to where hearts are most impressionable.

Education vs. Medication in the Modern Era

The world is a vast lazar house full of misery, and medical missionary work opens doors that nothing else can. We either pay for our health by getting educated or by getting medicated; by swallowing education, we can avoid a lot of medication. People are perishing for a want of knowledge, viewing natural blessings as curses due to ignorance. Every member of the church should take hold of medical missionary work, focusing first on removing the cause of disease through the laws of health and simple remedies. Today, this process is backwards, starting with heavy medications without educating the patient. When Christ healed the sick, He was revealing the character of God, practicing the gospel, and demonstrating grace. Anything that lessens physical strength enfeebles the mind, whereas the same power that saves the soul restores the body.

Close Contact Ministries and Spiritual Restoration

The sinner attains righteousness through faith, bringing the merits of Christ to account. Many people are physically sick because they carry guilt, shame, remorse, and regret, and they need to hear of Christ’s mercy and forgiveness. Natural methods like massage and hydrotherapy bring medical missionaries into close physical contact with people. Hydrotherapy was removed from modern hospitals because it is too much work to monetize, but doing it makes a person feel vulnerable and willing to share their confidence. As religious aggression threatens freedom of conscience, people must become intelligent regarding disease, its causes, prevention, and cure. Doing so will provide a field of labor anywhere among those suffering. We must educate ourselves before we can educate others, recognizing that medical missionary work is to the present truth what the body is to the head, restoring the moral image of God in man. Anything that hinders the nervous system or clogs brain function disrupts the channels through which God communicates. Our own suffering can become someone else’s medicine if we allow God to channel it for restoration.

Prayer

Father in heaven, we are so thankful for the health message that you have given us in teaching us the things to abstain in pointing out corrections that need to be made in giving us simple natural remedies that are so powerful when used intelligently and also giving us a tool whereby we can equip and help others, our neighbors, our friends, our community and be a blessing to them. And Father, I pray if you’re touching our hearts in a fuller way, impressing us with something that maybe it’s something in our lifestyle, maybe it’s a decision we need to make, maybe it’s someone we need to reach out to. Maybe you’re convicting us that we need to get more fully engaged in medical mission work. I pray that you will give us direction and counsel and that we will be open to your impressions and allow you to use us in a way to reach others. Thank you so much, Father. We pray for the food also your blessing on the food and our fellowship today. We praise you in the blessed name of Jesus. Amen.